The Point After

CIS Nationals — Day 1 (Night)

2009-02-28T02:59:00.004-06:00

Not sure that there's anything to really discuss about the No. 1-ranked Alberta Golden Bears win over the No. 8-ranked UNB Varsity Reds in the first round of the men's volleyball nationals here Friday night other than to say it was an absolute dissection.

The Bears, behind CIS player of the year Joel Schmuland, basically beat the V-Reds down as you'd have expected from an undefeated team playing a sub-.500 team from the weakest conference in Canada. But what was most notable — and this will come as a surprise to no one who has watched U of A this season — was how deep the Bears were and how many weapons they threw at UNB. Schmuland had 12 kills, but middle blocker Justin Merta added nine and left side Ben Saxton another eight, all impressive numbers considering U of A won the sets 12, 17 and 21. After sporting the never-in-chic dead in headlights look for the first two sets, the V-Reds rallied a bit in the third and even held a late lead before a five-point Alberta run ended things.

So we move on to the second match of the night, which was one of the more compelling ones of the day with the Brandon Bobcats somehow pulling out a five-set win over the Dalhousie Tigers in the final match of the night.

The Bobcats won't shy away from the fact that they played fairly brutally for much of the match, yet somehow are moving on to the semifinal to take on Alberta. How did they do it? Depends who you ask.

Basically, and I'm stealing Dal coach Dan Ota's words here, both teams had stretches of playing terrible and playing well.

Brandon just picked the right time to play well.

Fourth-year middle blocker Joel Small, who part-timed with the senior national program this summer, stepped up like a veteran late, helping cue a key run in which BU won four of five points in the fifth set to turn a 4-4 tie into a 9-5 advantage. Kevin Miller aced in that span as well and, in a race to 15, a four-point lead is not necessarily insurmountable, but it often feels like it to the team that is on the short end of the equation.

So the Bobcats blocked and swung hard when they needed to but weren't pretty in winning.

So the national semifinals are Brandon-Alberta and an enticing McMaster-Laval match-up between a pair of teams that a number of people around the tournament thought would be one of the victims of a first-round upset.

In the end, you could say, the pollsters got it right.

The top four move on to Day 2.

See you there.

CIS Nationals — Day 1

2009-02-27T18:45:00.005-06:00

EDMONTON — One half of Day 1 at the CIS national men's volleyball championship is down. And so are one half of the Canada West conference teams.

The Thompson Rivers Wolfpack and the Winnipeg Wesmen — seeded sixth and seventh respectively — could not pull off first-round upsets and were subsequently bounced from the championship side of the eight-team draw on Friday at the University of Alberta.

The result is that the Canada West, far and away the top conference in Canada, is left with only two teams with hopes of a national title and both of them are due up in the coming hours.

The No. 1-ranked Alberta Golden Bears are on the floor warming for their match with the No. 8-seeded UNB Varsity Reds, a team that posted a losing record in the three-team AUS. No one expects this one to take too long.

Following that the No. 4-ranked Brandon Bobcats will face the No. 5-seeded Dalhousie Tigers in one a toss-up match. The Tigers lost a bit from last year's fourth-place finisher but still have the services of first-team all-Canadian Sander Ratsep, who will get much of BU's attention. Dan Ota, Dalhousie's coach, told me Thursday night that you don't have to look much further than a stat book to see that the Bobcats are led by first-team all-Canadian left side Paul Sanderson and second-team all-Canada West middle blocker Joel Small. So it could very well come down to which team does a better job of shutting down the other's big weapons.

So that's our situation here in Edmonton. Updates from the night games coming later.

A year

2008-06-07T03:12:00.002-06:00

We raised a glass for you tonight, Jonesy.

It doesn't really seem like a year ago that we lost you, and nor does it quite seem fair that we're talking about you in hindsight.

It was one year ago that I was on my way to cover a baseball game when I got the call from Hendo.

"Yeah Larky, ... Jonesy's dead."

Even though that entire day I was worried and skeptical about what was going on, I went off on that assignment knowing — KNOWING — that it was nothing to worry about. But then I had to turn the car back 180 degrees and meet up with everyone who was already mourning you.

I'm not going to go on and on about what you meant and how we miss you. You know that already and, more to the point, you're not the kind of guy who wants to hear that anyway.

I just thought you should know that we thought about you today. We thought about you this week. You're not far from us. We share stories about you and what you would be doing and saying if you had been there with us. Of course it always brought a laugh and a smile.

We had a beer, we had a shot and we had you in our hearts.

We'll see you again.

Online domination

2007-12-16T17:42:00.000-06:00

Well it's come to this:

The Scrum.

Jeremy Sawatzky and I have started a new web site that will be updated with a weekly podcast, along with blogs and commentaries written frequently on a variety of topics.

I would suggest that that site will now get the bulk of my attention when it comes to writing and ranting, so if you like what has happened here (and there's no saying that you do), then shift over to www.thescrumbrandon.com and follow along.

See you over there.

Tick... tick...tick...

2007-12-12T01:21:00.000-06:00

A big announcement will be coming in the next few days from the people who brought you The Point After on a somewhat consistent basis.

Think media megapower...

See ya back here in a couple days.

Totem Poll No. 4

2007-12-04T23:14:00.000-06:00

Pardon the lateness of the newest poll, but a trip to Pittsburgh the last five days has kept me away from the computer, and happily so.

But I won't shirk my responsibility this week, especially considering the Canada West conference has shut 'er down for the holidays.

Here then, is the final Totem Poll of 2007. Oh, how far we've come:

1.(2) Calgary Dinos (9-1) — A sound beating of Saskatchewan on Friday, a sweep of their weekend, a seven-game winning streak and a UBC loss. It all adds up to the Dinos tasting top spot for the first time this season.
2.(3) Brandon Bobcats (9-1) — A pair of double-digit wins over Winnipeg won't make the earth shake, but the Bobcats are getting it done without their starting big man and 9-1 is 9-1. Still feels like something is missing with these 'Cats, though.
3.(1) UBC Thunderbirds (10-2) — Got soundly whipped by Victoria on their home floor, and we're not ready to push any panic buttons with the T-Birds. Still, this week was ripe for a shake-up.
4.(4) Alberta Golden Bears (7-3) — The Bears won't get a tonne of love here this week (in terms of climbing the ladder) simply because they beat up on the 98-pound weaklings of the conference (at Lethbridge, 114-70, 92-52). But the Bears, and some serious beatdowns they're giving out, are not going unnoticed.
5.(5) Victoria Vikes (9-3) — They probably deserve a bit more recognition, especially after nearly sweeping the Birds in Vancouver, but just don't feel right putting a team that sports just one 'good win' in conference play above the other four atop the leaderboard.
6. (8) Simon Fraser Clan (7-5) — Have won seven of their last eight and if they had just shown up to start the season (losers of their first four games), we'd be talking about them atop the Pacific Division. But they didn't, so we're not.
7.(6) Saskatchewan Huskies (5-5) — Middle of the road seems right for a team that has won a middling five of its last nine games and is sitting at .500.
8. (7) Regina Cougars (5-5) — Pretty inexcusable to lose one at home to Manitoba, a game that prolonged a losing streak that had reached five games.
9. (9) Winnipeg Wesmen (4-6) — The Wesmen hung tough with Brandon at home on Thursday before a late 17-2 run killed them. They usually get rejuvenated by their Wesmen Classic tournament at Christmas. For their sake they better: Second place in the Great Plains is now just one win away.
10. (10) Fraser Valley Cascades (5-7) — Perhaps Trinity fans would like to see their team get a bump for beating these guys in Abbotsford, but we're still not convinced. Still, UCFV gets a skunk-eye for dropping one at home.
11. (11) Trinity Western Spartans (4-8) — And why are we not convinced? We're still waiting for TWU to win back-to-back games this season.
12. (12) Thompson Rivers WolfPack (1-11) — Hard to fathom giving up 110 points to defensive-minded Simon Fraser.
13. (13) Manitoba Bisons (1-9) — Congrats to the Herd for getting off the schnied and doing it in Regina, a place suddenly losing its lustre for being a tough place to grab a win.
14. (14) Lethbridge Pronghorns (0-10) — Not much else to say here anymore, so we'll just provide the U of L fact of the week and this one is pretty straight forward: The 114 points given up against Alberta on Friday were the most given up by a team in 40 minutes of Canada West basketball since Jan. 21, 2006 (120, UBC at TRU) and only the third time in the past five years a team has hit that number in regulation. Yuck.

Totem Poll No. 3

2007-11-26T01:46:00.000-06:00

The most action of the season this week on the Totem Poll, including some shuffling near — but not at — the top of the list.

Teams have one more weekend of action before breaking for the holidays and a glance at this coming weekend's schedule suggests there might not be much more shuffling happening before the focus turns to 2008.

Here then, is your dose of Totem Poll.

1. (1) UBC Thunderbirds (9-1) — Granted it came against Thompson Rivers, but yet another pair of thorough beatings (by 20 on Friday, 28 on Saturday) and the T-Birds are once again an intimidating regular season team. The post-season? Well, that’s a different story.
2. (4) Calgary Dinos (7-1) — Made a serious, SERIOUS statement at home this weekend by absolutely pumping an Alberta Golden Bears team that had started to assert itself in the conference.
3. (3) Brandon Bobcats (7-1) — Held serve at home against rival Regina and played some of their better basketball of the season in doing so while also playing without two starters. They are far from flawless, but they’re still getting it done.
4. (2) Alberta Golden Bears (5-3) — Alright, just settle down. The people at the Totem Poll Head Office are well aware of the fact Alberta has beaten the team directly ahead of it in this week’s rankings. Sincerest apologies, but barely competing in your biggest rivalry game is grounds for a drop.
5. (5) Victoria Vikes (8-2) — Still not convinced that the glossy record is completely indicative of how good the Vikes are, but they can’t be blamed for their schedule to date. Leaving them here in the middle of the pack and expecting a slide when some of the tougher games finally hit their sked.
6. (6) Saskatchewan Huskies (5-3) — Not everyone is excited about spending a November weekend in Lethbridge. Unless, of course, you get to play its men’s basketball team. The Huskies were the beneficiaries of what we’ll here on out refer to as “The Lethbridge Twwo.” Yes, in this case, there’s two Ws in two.
7. (7) Regina Cougars (4-4) — With Yuri Whyms hurt and Tarik Tokar sitting out Saturday after receiving a Jamal Williams elbow on Friday, the Cougars had a glorious chance to grab a split against the ailing Bobcats. Instead we’re sitting here essentially crowning a Great Plains Division champion in November.
8. (10) Simon Fraser Clan (5-5) — The Clan were dealt a tough opening to their season with three of their first four games on the road and two of them coming against ranked opponents. Now, however, they’ve won five of their last six and it’s no surprise that Greg Wallis has led them in scoring in each of those victories.
9. (9) Winnipeg Wesmen (4-4) — A true middle-of-the-road team and suddenly finding themselves with a chance to grab second place in the Great Plains before the end of the semester. Any measure of success in a big home-and-home against Brandon this week could move that process along.
10. (8) Fraser Valley Cascades (4-6) — Had a shot at moving up the chain by stealing a roady in Victoria, but the winless weekend means UCFV has now lost six of its last seven and early-season excitement has been been washed out by a nasty slump.
11. (11) Trinity Western Spartans (3-7) — Still trying to find their way, they’ve been off and on in the past three weeks after starting the season 0-4. Suddenly they’re in a spot to jump into the Pacific’s final playoff spot with a pivotal doubleheader against UCFV in Abbottsford starting Friday.
12. (12) Thompson Rivers WolfPack (1-9) — Falling further and further out of the picture in the Pacific but in-division clashes with Simon Fraser this weekend might give the Wolfpack at least the appearance of a pulse.
13. (13) Manitoba Bisons (0-8) — The same cannot be said for these guys who are four games out of third place and continually losing close games. Including non-conference, they're 0-4 in one-possession games and 0-6 — half of their games — in games decided by five points or less.
14. (14) Lethbridge Pronghorns (0-8) — Dating back to last season, the Horns have now lost 13 straight games and only two of those games have been decided by less than 10 points. It will take an act from heaven to keep that streak from running to 15 this weekend when they host Alberta.

Rise again

2007-11-24T14:57:00.000-06:00

Gather 'round people. Today is about rebirth and resurrections and renewal.

Saturday was the ending of the Bill Callahan Era in Nebraska football, a black plague upon the followers of Lincoln, a pox that nearly sucked the life out of that congregation.

But this place is not the spot of absolution, or forgiveness. In fact, it is where we celebrate the cleansing of football souls across North America whose instincts tell them to yell "POWER" when someone else yells "HUSKER." They know the holiest of days — Game Day Saturday — is the time to drape themselves in red and they know their benediction is "Go Big Red."

And so it is that when Callahan got the axe after four relatively fruitless seasons — just one bowl win, no victories over the top 10 — that surging crescendo of joy you heard was coming from the Big Red Bretheren around the continent who celebrated this "loss" because of the perceived impending bigger gain. For it was Callahan who smudged so many historical items of a program that has been standing for 118 years. It was on his watch that the most embarrassing defeats ever witnessed in Lincoln came to fruition. So much of what made Husker fans proud was tarnished by a man who seemed wholly unaware of the team's importance to its followers and, worse yet, seemed uncaring of that history as well.

But there's bright lights to be seen. This story even has its saviour(s). One comes from Palos Heights, Ill., in the form of soon-to-be-senior quarterback Joe Ganz who, as a late-season replacement to the injured Sam Keller, tempted Husker fans in that what-might-have-been way by leading his offence with confidence and swagger, and even hanging a seven-TD effort on Kansas State.

And, you heard it here first (maybe): Let it ring out across the land that a man named Bo, a prodigal son, will return to Lincoln to help restore the luster to this program, and restore faith among its flock. Bo Pelini a former assistant under Tom Osborne, in my humble prediction, will be the next head coach of the Nebraska Cornhuskers.

And there will be cheers and relief and happiness in the corn-fed land of Lincoln. Men named Bo and Joe will send out their words and heal the Huskers, delivering them from their destruction. They will restore health and heal our wounds. They will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; ... they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.

This, my friends, is called believing. And I am a believer.

Amen.

Totem Poll No. 2

2007-11-19T23:19:00.001-06:00

So last Wednesday I started my Canada West conference rankings for men's basketball with the thought that having them come out the day after the national coaches' poll would be good timing.

I'm stupid.

No need to wait for the coaches to decide who they want to put where, I'm jumping the gun and changing the release date to every Monday.

Just think of it as a chance to disagree with me earlier in the week.

Here's the Canada West Totem Poll:

1. (1) UBC Thunderbirds (7-1) — They haven’t toyed with anyone this season. Convincing road wins at Winnipeg and Manitoba and UBC just continues to dominate.
2. (3) Alberta Golden Bears (5-1) — Took advantage of a sluggish Brandon team Saturday night and held serve on home court. Showing they can put up points with the best of them.
3. (2) Brandon Bobcats (5-1) — No one is doubting their ability to score, but the hallmark of BU has been its ability to stop even the most prolific point-getters. One-hundred-and-six points at Edmonton is not a good example.
4. (4) Calgary Dinos (5-1) — Did what they had to do by trouncing Lethbridge on the road. Kept pace with Alberta and more and more seems like the team the Bears will have to beat to grab the Central.
5. (5) Victoria Vikes (6-2) — Did the same trip as UBC but looked nowhere near as good in narrowly beating U of M and then dropping the weekend finale in OT to Winnipeg.
6. (7) Saskatchewan Huskies (3-3) — Perhaps having their starting PG quit the team will be a rallying call for the Dogs who are going to have a tough road to sled the rest of the way.
7. (6) Regina Cougars (4-2) — Got their first real test of the season — a roady at Saskatoon and Edmonton — and failed. Another benchmark weekend looms at Brandon with the Cougars suddenly needing something big to happen to challenge for the top spot in the Great Plains.
8. (8) Fraser Valley Cascades (4-4) — Give this group marks for rebounding after a feeble effort on Friday with a win on Saturday. It is very early but, with third place currently theirs, getting a split with SFU could prove to be huge.
9. (10) Winnipeg Wesmen (3-3) — No coach in the conference will be sad to see Erfan Nasajpour exhaust his eligibility after this season. The most recent applicant to the “Get Him Outta Here Club”? Craig Beaucamp, who’s Vikes watched the fifth-year guard score 41 and once again prove that the Wesmen can be in any game Erf is playing.
10. (9) Simon Fraser Clan (2-4) — One-up-one-down weekend seems apt for a team that has been hard to figure out. Maybe they’re getting too much credit but if they don’t do some convincing this weekend (vs. Manitoba, vs. Winnipeg), I’m off the bandwagon.
11. (11) Trinity Western Spartans (2-6) — With 20/20 hindsight, can now look back on a blown opportunity this weekend. By splitting with the previously winless Wolfpack, flunked a chance to pull into a tie for fourth in the division.
12. (14) Thompson Rivers WolfPack (1-7) — It took beating one of the conference bottom-feeders to do it, but the WolfPack are on the board with their first W. We think these will be few and far between, however.
13. (13) Manitoba Bisons (0-6) — The U of M women’s team is averaging 69 points per game. The U of M men’s team is averaging 64 points per game. Ladies and gentleman, your 2007-08 Manitoba Bisons. And even they rise above these guys ...
14. (12) Lethbridge Pronghorns (0-6) — Oh the Horns, who are a conference worst in scoring differential (-18.2 ppg), opponent field goal percentage (51%), rebounding margin (-15.3 rpg) and free-throw shooting (59%). So, they can’t score, they can’t stop anyone, they can’t rebound and they can’t shoot standing still.

Power Hour

2007-11-14T18:27:00.000-06:00

Time for a debut here, people.

Now is the time of year that I get knee deep into covering the Brandon Bobcats for the Brandon Sun while also providing colour commentary on WCG-TV, the cable access station of southwestern Manitoba. That being said, I'm going to introduce a Canada West conference power rankings for this site, something I've mulled over wanting to add to our web site at the Sun. But falling short of that, I am adding it into this space as a regular feature on Wednesdays, one day after the national coaches poll is released.

Now I am loath to spin again the same tired song that gets played everywhere else, but — as has been well-documented — I have very little creativity and am not overly interested in exhausting effort to come up with my own ideas. Now, we also have the venerable Howard Tsumura at the Vancouver Province who already does a conference ranking on his own time, but no one is going to argue that coverage of university sports in this country is over-saturated, so I'm putting my hat in the ring. (Alright, fine. I'll add my own twist to the tired old tradition and come up with a different name for these rankings. See below).

First things first, for the CIS basketball people who read this post — sorry for my lack of content — let me just assess a couple of things in the Canada West for those who are interested and don't get out to watch all the teams on a regular basis.

MEN:
Thus far, Brandon has hosted Simon Fraser, Trinity Western and Manitoba and has run to 4-0. So that gives us five teams to have a look at.

Simon Fraser: I originally had them pegged for the No. 2 spot in the Pacific but their lackluster start combined with the surprising play of Fraser Valley and Victoria (the Vikes have rallied in the face of losing almost everyone), has Simon Fraser (2-4) suddenly having to climb a big hill. Such is life in that division if you don't get a great start. But a couple of wins this weekend, including a nice one over Calgary, has the Clan at least back in the discussion. Still, I'm hesitant to drink the kool-aid (incidentally, I'm tired of the over-use of that term, and will put an embargo on it in my future posts) and think that the Clan's depth is going to be the major sticking point to their success.

Trinity Western: A team — on paper — built for the switch to the up-tempo FIBA rules but one not quite talented enough to make it work yet. The Spartans (1-5) have a guy in Lucas Goltz who can fill it up and Luke Robinson who can stick some shots, but in the grand scheme of things TWU is simply not that good.

Manitoba: It was never more obvious than last weekened how much Manitoba (0-4) relies on Isaac Ansah. The athletic guard sat out both games in Brandon with a deep thigh bruise and suddenly you realize how little the Bisons have in the way of offensive production. On top of that, they're very reliant on one-on-one production so without a bona fide scorer, their offensive really sputters. Darcy Coss can be keyed on and then Manitoba has to find anyone else to score the ball. And, truth be told, there isn't anyone there to do so.

Brandon: The Bobcats have played the last four games without big man Yuri Whyms and were dealt a blow when Nik Quick decided to leave the team to tend to financial matters (he's an American without a work visa in Canada). But credit the Bobcats for winning those four games despite the fact that each of them lacked any artistry whatsoever. They absolutely stunk on Saturday in a win over Manitoba in which they shot 5-for-24 from the three and the Bisons just packed into a 2-3 zone. It made for boring ball, and the Bobcats — for much of these four regular season games — have looked very beatable when teams slowed the game down. BU hasn't gotten into its transition game nearly as much as it would like.

WOMEN:
Simon Fraser: Nothing to say here. No one beats this team this season (including UBC), and if they do manage to lose a conference game, it's merely a blip. They're good enough to roll over anyone.

Trinity Western: Much improved Spartans team that boasts some size as well as capable guards. Won't make a ton of noise this season, but considering the past struggles that squad has had, they've already achieved a considerable amount.

Manitoba: Another versatile 6-foot player (in the mould of Melanie Schlicter) would do wonders for the Bisons, who are the most up-tempo of up-tempo teams in the conference. As it is, they're a young group that should remain middle of the road in CanWest but the youngsters they do have are talented. Watch this team in a couple of seasons.

Brandon: Same ol' same ol' in the Wheat City for the women's team. They are, however, significantly improved from the past but are still wholly incapable of playing 40 good minutes, which has been their downfall. They'll get a win somewhere, however. Still missing a couple of pieces, namely a solid veteran presence with consistent scoring ability.

Without further adieu, let's do the first-ever TPA Totem Poll (misspelling intended):

MEN:
1. UBC Thunderbirds (5-1) — Here's my thing: The defending conference champions get the benefit of the doubt. Sure they have a loss (Nov. 3 @ Calgary), but they also boast impressive road wins at Simon Fraser (92-55), vs Trinity Western (104-77) and vs Fraser Valley (84-63). While you could argue that the one stiff test they received they failed, I prefer to look at that as the exception to the rule. They're flat blowing teams out, which is more than you can say for...
2. Brandon Bobcats (4-0) — The team that lost to UBC in last year's conference final before charging all the way to the national championship game. Brandon remains one of only two undefeateds in the conference but they haven't been impressive on their way there. They man-handled Trinity but struggled for 35 minutes or so against Simon Fraser and had to eke one out. And although they were never seriously challenged by U of M, they were far from pretty there, either. This is a team that needs its swagger back and quickly.
3. Alberta Golden Bears (3-1) —The Bears already own a pre-season win over the Bobcats but split with the Saskatchewan Huskies on their home floor this weekend, a performance not becoming of the nation's No. 6-ranked team. (Note: The author is wholly unconvinced of U of S's place among the national elite.). But Alberta does boast some impressive wins, namely blowouts of Ottawa and Fraser Valley along with wins over BU and Victoria. A handful of guys who can flat-out fill it up and, once again, the Bears are worthy of being mentioned among the conference heavy-hitters.
4. Calgary Dinos (3-1) — Into this spot by the slimmest of margins, the Dinos would likely love a do-over from their loss in Burnaby on Friday but they've nonetheless posted good results to date. An athletic bunch — with the Brothers Bekkering at the top of that list — that seems destined to finish just short of U of A in the Central Division.
5. Victoria Vikes (5-1) — By virtue of a slim loss to the Dinos, the Vikes take a back seat in these rankings. But they earn points for putting up a 5-1 record to this point despite their line-up having been gutted. Their top five leading scorers from last season are all gone but Vic has perservered. That said, don't be surprised if this ranking slips in the coming weeks: UVic has had by far the weakest schedule of anyone in the conference through three weeks.
6. Regina Cougars (4-0) — OK Cougs, you have the most tenuous of holds in the rankings this week. First off, Regina has played all four games on home floor and secondly its done it against teams with a combined 7-13 record. Still, the Cougars are 4-0 and, with the addition of Bryden Wright back in the lineup from a year off, are capable of putting up a bunch of points. They won't contend for the conference title and they won't be playing in nationals but they fill the "I'm not sure I wanna play them in the playoffs" role.
7. Saskatchewan Huskies (2-2) — A record of 2-2 is probably apt for this team that, because of its star player, can beat anyone on any given day but likely isn't good enough to really be feared regularly. The Huskies have already played 18 conference and non-conference games (18!) and Andrew Spagrud is averaging 33 minutes a game. If that isn't a recipe for breaking down your bus come February, I don't know what is. Spags is certainly a game-changer but the rest of the Huskies are beatable. Shooting guard Kyle Grant can kill you if left alone. So the solution? Don't let him do what he wants. Make Grant, who has a slow first step, put the ball on the floor. Then you're immediately testing their depth, which is not very good. All that adds up to a team I can't trust betting on.
8. Fraser Valley Cascades (3-3) — No slighting Barnaby Craddock and his new team, but the Cascades have but one "good win" in six conference outings and that was an OT win over Saskatchewan. This is not to gloss over their narrow win over Thompson Rivers, which didn't instil confidence.
9. Simon Fraser Clan (2-4) — A team that can beat you up with its size and toughness, but one still not quite geared for going at a high pace with the best of them. When they feed Greg Wallis, they have their most success, but they still go away from their big man on occasion. If they get their act together, they're the typical team that will make you work for everything you get.
10. Winnipeg Wesmen (2-2) — Went on the road to Regina — admittedly a tough spot to get wins — and got worked. So that means their only two wins came against the conference weakling Bisons. They'll get a shot in the arm in two weeks when Winnipegger Cam Hornby is eligible after transferring from South Dakota State.
11. Trinity Western Spartans (1-5) — The one bright side is they have a true gunner in Goltz who can score a ton. The tools are there but they're not, shall we say, the best tools in the land. They hung in with Regina but have otherwise been thumped in every outing, save for their win over Lethbridge.
12. Lethbridge Pronghorns (0-4) — Really not much to say: They haven't won a game in the conference and the only reason they're not in the basement is because a pre-season win over Saskatchewan at least showed they have the capability of winning. That, and the two below them are that much worse.
13. Manitoba Bisons (0-4) — They need, repeat NEED, Isaac Ansah in their lineup if they have a hope in this world of winning more than two games this season. Even with that, the post-season is a distant hope for a team that hasn't tasted victory yet.
14. Thompson Rivers WolfPack (0-6) — They've been blown out a lot, but a three-point loss at Victoria gives an iota of hope.

No D, no AD

2007-10-17T01:46:00.000-06:00

On the most basic level, it stands to reason that Steve Pederson lost his job as athletic director at the University of Nebraska because of 11 kids.

Reality says that it is much more complex than that, but at a school where football trumps everything else, the fact that the Cornhuskers' defence can't actually tackle anymore certainly looms as a final straw.

So if you're keeping score, the Nebraska athletics department has the No. 1-ranked, and defending national champion, women's volleyball team, a competitive baseball team that was close to a national title just a couple of seasons go, and a number of other teams that earn recognition across the NCAA, yet Pederson is out of a job today because, basically, a football team is mediocre and its defence is the worst the school has ever seen.

At Nebraska, a 4-3 record is unacceptable and grounds for public lynchings. Add in that the team was humiliated in back-to-back games at Missouri and home to Oklahoma State and the cries for Pederson's head became louder and louder. Nebraska fans can accept losing (although begrudgingly), but not being competitive and seemingly hopeless is a whole other matter.

But for anyone who thinks it unfair that Pederson lost a prestigious position because of a lacklustre football team, it should be remembered that it was on his watch that Frank Solich was fired, which led to Pederson's infamous speech of refusal to "gravitate towards mediocrity." Consider, too, that Solich was Tom Osborne's hand-picked successor to the legend and it's clear to see that Pederson was working with a very short rope from the get-go.

But, to be fair, he shaved off much of that rope on his own.

Now Osborne, on an interim basis, has been enlisted to fly to the rescue of the Huskers — the football team that is — as the interim AD who will, by all accounts, decide the fate of the coaching staff, including head coach Bill Callahan and his gargantuan contract extension he signed earlier this summer.

But maybe Osborne needs to pick his battles. One of the most beloved figures in the history of the state of Nebraska, Osborne's risk-reward ratio slopes more towards the risk if only because thousands of followers are utterly convinced that, because of his years of great success as a coach, he will naturally return the program to the days when he was patrolling the sideline. And in the current state of college athletics, it takes much more than a snap of the finger to put programs into positions of prominence. That's why, if Osborne doesn't succeed in his temporary role as Nebraska superhero, it will be to Nebraska fans the same as watching Superman or Batman somehow not save the day at the end of their tales.

Still, if anyone can do it, it is the man who continues to work on campus and still bleeds bright scarlet red. He also understands the importance of the football team to the followers, to the alumni, to the state itself, all of whom are desperate to see the lustre restored to their beloved team. Osborne is about as close to that superhero status as a Nebraska man can be.

And if Osborne can shake off the dirt of the Pederson Era, come through and make Nebraska football relevant again and all the while do it with his typical dignified poise — considering how far things have fallen — then that would truly be this superhero's greatest rescue act.

Seeing Red

2007-09-08T12:00:00.000-06:00

In advance of the Nebraska-Wake Forest football game Saturday in Winston-Salem, N.C., a few Nebraska football facts, courtesy The Greensboro News-Record:

Academics: Nebraska boasts more Academic All-Americans (248) than any school. Since 2001, Wake has graduated 93 percent of its football players.

Fans: Wake sold a record 17,000 season tickets, about 1,000 to Huskers fans. The 17,000 figure represents approximately one-third of Wake's living alumni base. Over the past six years, Nebraska has averaged 61,000 fans. For its spring game.

Governor: Political office to which legendary former Nebraska coach Tom Osborne aspired in 2006. A member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 2001-07, Osborne lost in the Republican primary.

Heisman: Three Huskers have won college football's most coveted individual honor: Johnny Rodgers (1972), Mike Rozier (1983) and Eric Crouch (2001).

Itinerant: The professional lifestyle of Cornhuskers assistant coach Phil Elmassian. In 34 years in the business, Elmassian has worked at 16 schools: William & Mary, Richmond, Ferrum, East Carolina, Minnesota, Virginia Tech, Virginia, Syracuse, Washington, Boston College, Wisconsin, LSU, West Virginia, Marshall, Purdue and now Nebraska, where he has settled down for four seasons. If he returns to the Huskers in 2008, he ties a career high for longevity at a single institution.

Media: Eight Nebraska TV stations routinely travel to Huskers road games. Among the newspapers expected to staff Saturday's contest is The Star Herald in Scottsbluff, a 416-mile drive from Lincoln. How far is 416 miles? It's like driving from Greensboro to Pittsburgh.

Nicknames: Throughout their histories, both programs have employed coaches with distinctive monikers. Among those who have guided the Huskers: Walter C. "Bummy" Booth; W.C. "King" Cole; Ewald O. "Jumbo" Stiehm; Lawrence McCeney "Biff" Jones; and George "Potsy" Clark. On the Wake side, we offer Dixie Clyde "Peahead" Walker.

Offense: Bill Callahan took the job in 2004 with the reputation as a West Coast, fling-it-all-over-the-field guy. But in the opening win over Nevada, the Huskers ran for 413 yards.

Population: On the six Saturdays when it's full each year, Memorial Stadium (pop. 85,044) is the third-largest city in Nebraska. At those times, it's home to one of every 20 residents of the state.

Quarterbacks: Nebraska's Sam Keller was an Arizona State backup when the Sun Devils won at North Carolina 33-31 on Oct. 18, 2003.

Red: The Huskers' hue, and a dominant one. A year ago, 30,000 Nebraska supporters ventured to the L.A. Coliseum to see their team play USC.

Sellouts: The Huskers have sold out 283 consecutive home games since failing to fill Memorial Stadium Oct. 20, 1962. And there was an excuse that day: a distraction called the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Tokyo: That's where Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman and 100 other Cornhuskers will watch the game. They'll be taking a break from a trade mission to head to Legends Sports Bar and Grill, which caters to American tourists. The entourage returns home Sept. 13, two days before the Huskers' game with USC.

Unprecedented: The Huskers have never played on an ACC team's home field. The Deacs lost in Lincoln, 31-3, on Sept. 10, 2005, and 36-12 on Sept. 12, 1970. (That 1970 season was pretty good for both teams; the Huskers won the national title and the Deacons claimed the ACC crown.)

Venue: Wake's stadium (official capacity 31,500) is the smallest facility to host a Nebraska game since the Huskers played Hawaii in 25,000-seat Honolulu Stadium, affectionately known as "The Termite Palace," on Dec. 4, 1971.

Winning: Nebraska's winning percentage in its football history is .704

Lessons learned

2007-09-07T03:37:00.000-06:00

There's now reason why we should be surprised by steroid allegations anymore.

Yet, we are.

There is no sport — aside from the painful "sport" of professional wrestling — that has endured more scrutiny about its lack of cleanliness than baseball. While we all sat back and watched brutes bang bombs out of parks throughout the major leagues and unknowingly idolized brutes who couldn't hit .250 but could pound 30 jackbombs a season, we turned yet another blind eye.

How so aware we were of the transgressions of countless ball players of past, and how quick we were to condemn those currently in the game who sought an edge. Bonds is villified to the point where you wouldn't want to offer to start his car in the morning; Giambi is a flat-out admitted cheater and yet back in the game, and Canseco dimed everyone out to make a few coins of his own.

We're more than exposed to cheaters in baseball.

So why do we still continue to follow the game that has such a closed mind?

A story released Thursday alleged that the new Crown Prince of MLB, Rick Ankiel, was juicing.

But, in a sport that has so repeatedly hurt followers who made the grave error of actually believing in its competitors, it's stunning that we were all so taken by storm by yet another cheater, a guy who has only been following the unwritten illegal rule that has been the back bone of this beleaguered sport.

Yet, when the headline appears, we're stil surprised? Was it that big of a stretch that Ankiel, who failed miserably as a pitcher in the bigs, was so desperate to get back to the MLB? Here's a guy who had probably the most public meltdowns in the history of sports, He was demoted to the minors, but yet when he returned to the bigs and started hitting home runs at an alarming rate, the most consensus response was: Wow, Rick Ankiel is unreal.

But never: Can someone check to see if Rick-Anks is juicin' a bit?

Well he's alleged to have used HGH, and while many hope Anks gets his act together,the fact is that we're so utterly willing to drop our opinions on cheating when it comes to sports.

Ankiel went lights out the past few days on the mound. But we're all the ones who remain oblivious to the cheaters in the most obvious sport.

Bad memories

2007-09-06T03:29:00.000-06:00

Perusing through ESPN.com Page 2 today and came across another installment of Paul Lukas' "Uni Watch",, which is completely frivolous yet enjoyable reading when you have enough time to click through 1000 links and look at jerseys.

Scrolling down through the column, you'll come to a point where he discusses a few of the teams in the NFL that are honouring members lost in the past year. You can find the links to those patches here, here, and here.

Which got me to thinking.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers grieved the loss of a former player when Orlando Bobo passed away in the spring.

Bobo was an offensive lineman for the 2004 season who left the team following that campaign in the midst of contract disputes.

The Bombers have honoured Bobo by putting a ...

well, they haven't honoured him at all.

Bobo was indeed a one-year member of the Bombers, but the Blue also had the misfortunate of saying goodbye to another former teammate this off-season when Nick Benjamin died. The team now wears a '68' on their helmets in honour of Benjamin, and while the tribute is a nice touch, it could also have been done much better.

The Benjamin number most certainly should be there but on first glance, if you can see in the photo above, the number looks almost identical to the number designating the player who is actually wearing that helmet. So, in actuality, the two numbers have very little distinction from one another, making the 68 almost unnoticeable and its impact decidedly lessened.

We've seen it time and time again through sports, a white number on a black background that makes the acknowledgement stand out while also being plainly clear what is trying to be conveyed.

Secondly, there are two players to consider here. Why Bobo's not mentioned and Benjamin is can likely be chalked up to years of service with the team.

Still, if the Bombers are going to make the effort to honour their lost alumni, it would've been nice if they did it properly.

Are you smarter than a fifth grader?

2007-08-23T00:14:00.000-06:00

A few links from a day of perusing the wire:

No one said life in the NFL was easy, especially for a guy playing in the most spotlighted position in the second biggest market in the league.

But does Chicago Bears' quarterback Rex Grossman really need to read this?

So Bears' fans are getting frustrated with their embattled pivot who, despite leading his team to the Super Bowl last season, has never really evoked confidence from the Windy City faithful.

Michael Vick needs some help, we can all be in agreement on that, but I'm not so sure this was what he was needing.

Perhaps it's Starbury that could use a little PR tutorial.

I get winded cheering at football games and this guy is trying out for an NCAA team?

I'm sure I'll be doing the same when I'm 59.

Finally, would be remiss to not mention this record-breaking effort from the Texas Rangers Wednesday night.

When a game story moves on the wire it generally has a slug (file name) like "BC-AMN-Tex-Bal", indicating it's an American League game between Texas and Baltimore.

In cases where a story has a historical context and is, for lack of a better term, Must See TV, the slug is something like "BC-Bonds-Homers, URGENT."

So when the URGENT tag was attached to a game story — after all, how often is a game between two non-playoff deadbeats really of a pressing matter? — only two explanations sprung to mind: Jarrod Saltalamacchia had killed someone with a line-drive to the head or ... well, that was about it. Someone must've died.

Thankfully for the people of Baltimore, the only casualty was the slow death they experienced while watching the visiting team put up 30 unanswered on their local nine.

Perhaps the Chicago Sun Times can be enlisted to teach Paul Shuey how to throw a ball.

Sweet sounds of summer

2007-08-02T23:13:00.000-06:00

"And folks, we've run out of July." — Vin Scully

The spectacle that is the Barry Bonds' chase of Hank Aaron's all-time home run mark touched down in Los Angeles this week but the most riveting television came from the rare chance (for Canadians, that is) to hear the man responsible for the colourful turn of phrase posted above.

Vin Scully opened the broadcast of Tuesday's series opener with those simple words, a phrase indicative of what has made him one of the most beloved broadcasters of all time. While so many broadcasters and talking heads try so desperately to find their niche by outdoing the last guy, Scully continues to be the class of them all because of his incredible ability to paint the big pictures with a mere few strokes.

As Bonds and the Giants settled in the City of Angels for a three-game set against the Dodgers — one that indeed had more vital implications to Dodger fans who were watching a team that actually has something to play for — throngs of media followed. Scully, who now limits the number of games he does for Fox Sports, was there too. The difference is when Bonds and the carnival takes its travelling road show south (next stop, San Diego) and sets up there for a few days, Scully will still be in L.A. and produce infinitely more captivating television than Bonds and his inevitable crowning as home run king.

Through nearly 60 years of covering a game that is best served narrated by great storytellers, Scully has become the ultimate elucidator. He has attached his voice to some of the most legendary calls ever heard and as renowned as they are for the action that took place, they are highlighted even more because of the man who chronicled the scenes. Bill Buckner's infamous gaffe in the 1986 World Series; Kirk Gibson's improbable home run in 1988 and Hank Aaron's record-breaking blast in Atlanta. They are all classic productions to which Vin Scully has laid the soundtrack.

It is ironic that as modern broadcasting has become an ongoing race to one-up the competition, television networks have added more people to their play-by-play booths, flooded us with countless sideline reporters and approached their studio shows like circus clowns to an old Volkswagen. When everywhere we look on the sports dial they are trying to cram in more, Scully's solitary act shows that less is more.

And while his voice has blessed some of the most significant baseball moments ever witnessed, it's his mastery of making the mundane poetic that exemplifies how so many others in the business are so painfully far behind.

•"He (Bob Gibson) pitches as though he's double-parked."
•"He's (Tom Glavine) like a tailor: A little off here, a little off there and you're done, take a seat."
•"It's a mere moment in a man's life between the All-Star Game and an old timer's game."
•"Statistics are used much like a drunk uses a lamp post: For support, not illumination."
•"The Dodgers are such a .500 team that if there was a way to split a three-game series, they'd find it."

Scully is in the booth by himself and his narration covers nearly every minute of those nine innings. It's a unique quality to rarely let silence hit the air and yet not have viewers wishing you'd give them a moment's peace. Scully is the guy you'd wish would tell just one more story.

When Barry Bonds was lifted in the seventh inning of Thursday's game at Chavez Ravine, Fox showed a tape of the pre-game hoopla that surrounded the Giants dugout, which included 100 newspaper reporters and nearly as many cameras and reporters. Bonds wasn't going to hit his historic home run in the city of his team's biggest rival and, unless Bonds is still seeking that thus far elusive home run on the final weekend of the season (when San Fran is next in L.A.), Vin Scully won't be there to lend audio to one of the most contentious moments of baseball history. Maybe it's better that way. Bonds hardly deserves the voiceover.

Instead Thursday night, Scully closed his chapter on the story of Bonds' chase just how you'd expect. He provided a line that will likely never be remembered, was just one in a million of utterances, but yet stood up as typically reserved and utterly perfect for the setting:

And hello San Diego, the circus is coming to town.

Can Vin come too?

A Blockbuster Night

2007-07-30T00:05:00.000-06:00

Furtherto the last post — regarding a perfect world where we could hire, fire and trade TV sports personalities — a couple of updates.

Regarding the comment that was made by another Larkins, my always contentious sister, allow my explanation:

The "Most Annoying Voice in All of TV Sports" award just happened to feature all women because, in this case, all the women mentioned are absolutely unbearable. And Bob McKenzie IS "loud." I won't argue that he's obnoxious but he doesn't have that "Sports Guy Voice" that I have long defined as "n. The unnecessary and forced fluctuating of vocal patterns.. Each of Hedger, Frolic and Dhillon have that horrendous quality.

Now, that said, I probably should have stretched the nominees into a couple of members of The Score, the network that, in its infancy, seemed to have a mandate to hire on-air talent based on them sounding more like computer-modulated sound files rather than actual human beings. So I'm looking in your direction Steve Kouleas and Tony Ambrogio.

Now, moving on. Our boy Swatter responded to my last post with a major offer. It goes like this:

We (TSN) give you:
- full rights to the CFL (this does NOT include cuthbert).
- every single raptors game (this DOES includes swirsky's mug).
- full rights to anything/everything poker.
- "off the record" with michael landsburg (the show appeals to most idiot canadian sports fans... your ratings will be huge!).
- cory woron.
- rod black (you'll need him for the CFL coverage).

I get:
- the sunday night MLB game (although you can have it for september, since we're airing sunday night football).
- canadian broadcast rights to the world series.
- broadcast rights to NBA all-star weekend (you've had this for years).
- full rights to anything/everything fishing.
- mike toth.
- sean mccormick.

I reject the poker idea for two reasons. We have poker already and I'm loathe to add anymore of it. Equally unappealing to me is adding Landsberg to my team. Putting him in our lineup, when we're looking to appeal to viewers, is the equivalent of trading for Barry Bonds to boost media relations.

I reject this trade because the only thing I'm getting out of it that I wanted in the first place was Woron, and even he was a bit player. He's a Mo Peterson in a blockbuster deal.

What's more, I am giving you two of my premiere anchors in McCormick and Toth. So who fills those roles now?

So if you were to throw in Onrait, take Toth off the board, take Nick Kypreos off our hands and give us those strongman competitions, then we have some talking points.

Also, I'm willing to bring in a third party here to negotiate a three-way deal for us to land Cabbie on the Street.

Trade Shows

2007-07-25T18:07:00.000-06:00

Got into a discussion with my pal and WCG-TV broadcast partner Jeremy Sawatzky about Canadian sports television personalities, namely from TSN and Sportsnet.

Now, there's undoubtedly no shortage of wretched "talents" on both networks, but Swatter is partial to TSN and I, not liking TSN whatsoever, sided with Sportsnet. So, we made ourselves virtual GMs, perused through our lineups and began proposing trade offers to each other.

I first boasted that I was in the position of leverage because Swatter/TSN had nothing that I wanted. So if he was looking to make a move, then he'd better pony up. Looking at the TSN lineup I felt like I was poaching from the rosters of the mid-1970s Washington Capitals. (Swatter, however, was looking at a roster, mine, that was maybe more like the Washington Generals. But I digress.)

So as in the real sports world, it's not always that a trade you get actually comes complete with players that you actually wanted. The "give something to get something" theory also streches into "you have to take this, to get this." The only person Swatter took off the table was Chris Cuthbert, a versatile and likable play-by-play guy who actually lends credibility to that sad-sack network. He's very good. (CBC, then, would have to be the Los Angeles Clippers at this point — making mind-boggling personnel moves only to have a renaissance, of sorts, recently despite their ignorance.)

I immediately went after Cory Woron. He's the Carlos Delfino of this dicussion: A guy who is buried on the bench (weekend anchoring), gets very little playing time (rarely seen) but you know he could step into a more significant role if given the chance. He won't carry your team, but he'll do some good things.

Swatter didn't flat out say he was off limits, but he made it difficult for me to get him.

In response, Swatter — trying to shed some of his deadweight — understandably offered up the bland and personality-free Holly Horton. Normally I would have shot this down from the git-go, but I see a fit for her. I said we might entertain an offer for her and then we could move her to Sportsnet's new "InBox" segment where she could stand in front of a TV and do a two-minute segment that basically just plays YouTube clips. That would enable us to shed Sportsnet newby Daru Dhillon, the woman who has wrestled the "Most Annoying Voice in All of TV Sports" away from Jennifer Hedger and The Score's Caroline Frolic.

With that in mind, here's a few of the trade proposals that are currently on the table. Luckily, no trade deadline is in place.

PROPOSAL #1:
TSN GETS: Jason Portuondo, Daru Dhillon and Rob Faulds
SPORTSNET GETS: Cory Woron, Holly Horton, Ryan Rishaug
LOGIC: TSN gets the benefit of actually having a minority in an anchor role (Portuondo), something for which it has never really been known. The Horton-Dhillon swap is a write-off and we dump a dead beat in Faulds in exchange for a decent field reporter who can cover our prairie region. TSN, however, would have to find a place for the ultra-untalented Faulds.
DEAL DEAD

PROPOSAL #1A:
Swatter proposes we take Woron out of the deal and TSN would offer us full Raptor coverage and Chuck Swirsky, the man who for which the term "face for radio" must have been made. Swirsky is a love-or-hate play by play guy. Luckily, I hate him. So that deal is not happening. I say: "I'll take Rishaug and I'll put him on the prairies reporting and take that David Bastl and send him back down to the minors. (i.e. Winnipeg Global where he belongs and no one watches so no one notices that he doesn't know anything about sports).

(Side note: Swatter then says, "we'll just assign Rod Black to Raptor games. ... Oh wait...." Even in jest, his comments are enough to shake your soul.)

PROPOSAL #2:
TSN GETS: Gord Stellick
SPORTSNET GETS: Bob McKenzie

Swatter offers this one up and I jump on it. McKenzie has more rep if only because he wasn't the GM of one of the worst teams in the history of the NHL (see: Stellick as GM of Leafs). McKenzie is loud but ... well he's not Stellick. To juice up the pot a bit, I offer Stellick's "Herbal Remedy" ads at no extra charge. He asks if I want Pierre McGuire, too. I bluntly reply: No.
DEAL DONE

PROPOSAL #3:
Moving to Jays baseball, Swatter suggests a one-for-one colour man deal in which we get Pat Tabler in exchange for Rance Muliniks, both former Jays. I, a fan of Rance in his playing days and never one to part with someone named Rance, turn this down. I offer that I'll make the deal if he throws in Michael Whalen because Sportsnet needs a Quebec presence.

A lifelong Montreal Canadiens fan, Swatter says no because Whalen is his mainstay.

I say it's sad that he's a fan of either.
DEAL DEAD

It was at this point, like so many GM meetings, that the talks broke down because of the offering of chicken wings. We broke for dinner ...

I'm sure this conversation will once again continue and I'll be sure to keep all you posted. I know you're all waiting to find out what I do with the rumoured deal that involves Nick Kypreos, Mike Toth and Sean McCormick.

Under a Raimbault

2007-07-24T23:37:00.000-06:00

BU has, as the Brandon Sun reported last week, officially hired Mike Raimbault as the new head coach of the program. Here is a column that appeared in the Sun on Tuesday:

Mike Raimbault has landed his dream job and it’s a dream he could be awaken from quite abruptly.

As previously reported in the Brandon Sun, the Brandonite was officially named the head men’s basketball coach of his home university on Monday — a team for which he once briefly suited up — and he will take over a program that once again is in the nation’s elite.

However, the job is a nine-month term that will conclude with Raimbault likely in an area of more uncertainty than where he was before his recent good fortune.

The reality is that when the 2008-09 season rolls around, Mike Raimbault may very well not be in his dream job anymore. The job will be posted again making what he does this season — and this season alone — critical to his future as a CIS coach.

It is a pivotal time for this Bobcats team. Two fifth-year starters return from a squad that made the national championship final in March and the team has lost just two players from that group.

While it is undoubtedly a pretty plum gig to have handed to you as your first CIS job — hey kid, there’s gas in the car and a straight road ahead, just try not to crash it — it is also one that does not come without its inherent pressures, more so than most any other program in Canada.

The scrutiny that comes down on you in Brandon is greater than it is in Windsor; the expectations to lead the Bobcats to the promised land is always higher than it is at Memorial and the backlash you can receive from any number of sources around the community is infinitely more than, say, Winnipeg or Saskatchewan.

Raimbault’s first order of business, then, should be to develop a thick skin.

Raimbault, like it or not, has inherited an expectation to win and win now. That pressure comes from getting the primo talent handed to you and a lot of people would suggest not at least making a run at another national would be considered a failure.

(Now, before anyone goes barking about “academics count, too”, be reminded that sports reporters aren’t assigned to cover a point guard’s Practicum in Geography class or a swingman’s Intro to Psychology. So, in this case, when it comes to academics and sports reporting, never the twain shall meet.)

It would not be far off to suggest that there would be considerable disappointment if this team — which will possess arguably the most lethal starting five in the conference — doesn’t book tickets for nationals in Ottawa next March.

Raimbault might be afforded some slack because of the short notice on which he was given the reins and because he’s a likable guy, well-respected throughout the community.

Raimbault’s hire certainly raised the eyebrows of many basketball people around the country if only because his youth and inexperience made him an easy target for naysayers who believe BU copped out by doing the easy thing by hiring Craddock’s assistant.

There are people angry over whom they didn’t hire. Still, with Craddock’s late and sudden departure is it not better to maintain some level of continuity at a school that has struggled so mightily to find that elusive trait?

Raimbault’s inexperience coaching at an elite level is most certainly a red flag but so too was Craddock’s and that turned out not too badly. In the end, the only people you need to care about are the ones you’re stepping out with every single day. So is it not better to appease the 12 players whom you’re entrusted to lead through the season and say to hell with all the outsiders who are all too willing to contradict?

I suggest so.

But that doesn’t take away the reality of the situation: Dreams can take sharp turns and right around the corner from golden opportunity could loom the dark alley of disappointment.

For the time being, it’s probably best that nobody pinches him.

And then there were ... four?

2007-07-13T13:59:00.000-06:00

Hey folks... Just working on the latest in the BU saga and trying to track down the short list of candidates who will be interviewed next week for the vacant men's basketball position. I have a lock on a few of them but, as I'm sure you can understand, can't post here until I've done it for my newspaper. Let's just say there appear to be no big-time names in the mix with respect to CIS experience.

In a follow up to the last post, the university did in fact make it a one-year term post (as I disagreed with) but the director of athletics said they received more applications than past years. That move tells me in my heart of hearts that they're going to allow assistant coach Mike Raimbault to take the reins for a year and see how it goes. That's just my gut feeling but let's be honest here, I am rarely right.

Here's the last story that appeared in the Sun:

Brandon University is wasting little time in trying to fill its vacant men’s head coaching position.

Less than a week after posting the job, the university closed the application process on Monday and began short-listing candidates on Tuesday for the position that was left open when Barnaby Craddock resigned on June 27 to take the University College of Fraser Valley head coaching position.

A handful of people with past connections to BU were among the applicants but none were short-listed, the Brandon Sun has learned.

Multiple sources requesting anonymity told the Sun that former all-Canadian Bobcats Keith Vassell and Joey Vickery were among the applicants and Vickery confirmed he applied but was not among the candidates BU officials are going to interview.

“I know what I’m capable of and I’ll take my services to Europe,” Vickery, a veteran in the Euro pro leagues, said in a telephone interview from Winnipeg. “They take people that are no doubt qualified and they don’t go through a lot of the steps that Canada goes through. ... (In Europe) they see the very good possibility of me being a good coach because they see what I do as a player.”

Reached via email, former Bobcat Gil Cheung — a five-year team member and former assistant coach at BU — also confirmed he was not short-listed and said he was disappointed by the school’s decision.

Former BU men’s and women’s assistant coach Steve Baur — now the assistant men’s coach at Acadia — applied for the job but was also not short-listed, Baur confirmed.
Mike Raimbault, who served as Craddock’s assistant the past two seasons, has been short-listed, according to sources. A message for Raimbault was not immediately returned Tuesday.

Craddock made no secret of the fact that Raimbault would be his pick to succeed him, but BU athletics director Rick Nickelchok said any recommendations are taken with a grain of salt.

“These decisions are committee decisions, so I certainly respect his opinion but a committee will decide who the best replacement is,” Nickelchok said. “I’m not taking anything away from Barnaby. That’s just the way the process is.”

Nickelchok did not divulge an exact number, but said the quantity of resumes submitted was more than in past years. When Craddock was hired two years ago, Nickelchok told the Brandon Sun at the time that there were 20 applications received.

“It was a very healthy number of applications,” Nickelchok said. “More so than past years.”

This time around, the job was posted as a one-year term position, meaning the school will have to re-post the job nationally again next year. After Craddock quit, the school was rushed into a hiring process and Nickelchok said that was the reason BU decided to be non-committal past this coming season. The school is now looking for its fourth head coach in five years.

“The one-year term is based on the timing of the process, the lateness in the year,” Nickelchok said. “A lot of the candidates that could be interested are already committed for the upcoming year. So, recognizing that, we want to make sure that we do have the opportunity to reach as many candidates as possible and that would not happen at this time of year. ...

“We’re looking for the best person to take the program. We’ve got an excellent team that’s in place for next year and my thought is we should be challenging for a championship again.

"Next year is as important as subsequent years to the program. We want to do well on the court as well as off the court, so we’re going to find the best individual that will lead the program on the interim basis and see how things fall out beyond that.”

Another source said none of the final four from the process two years ago — which were Lakeland College coach Phil Allen, former St. Francis Xavier X-Women coach Doc Ryan and Concordia University College Thunder coach Todd Warnick — were among the applicants. Warnick, for one, confirmed to the Sun that he did not apply.

More BU babble

2007-07-04T01:19:00.000-06:00

Anyone who followed this space or — if you're in southwestern Manitoba — the actual pages of the Brandon Sun this past week knows the transition phase that Brandon University currently finds itself.

The men's basketball coach has accepted a job in British Columbia and the athletic director, according to my sources, was interviewed for the vacant AD position at Acadia University.

Here's just a couple of random points from me on both of those issues:

MEN'S BASKETBALL COACH

THE IDEA:

THE ARGUMENT:

THE REALITY:

THE ATHLETIC DIRECTOR

First off, Rick Nickelchok has every right to pursue other interests ahead of the expiration of his contract next summer. I would suggest the ball is in BU's court and if the university is interested in keeping him, it'd be best served to do whatever possible to make him know he's a wanted commodity in the Wheat City.

Carleton and Acadia are just two schools that have put the Help Wanted signs in their windows advertising for AD jobs. But Nickelchok also has a background with national amateur sports so I don't think by any means he'd be confined to a university setting.

He told the Sun that his interest was to stay in Brandon and a few sources have told me he will not be getting the Acadia job.

The men's basketball position has not yet been posted although I'd expect that to happen some time this week. As for the AD job, my gut tells me you won't have to think about that position at BU for at least 10 or 11 months.

More headlines

2007-06-28T23:34:00.000-06:00

Another series of articles on the Brandon University basketball situation
BU Back to Square 1
BY DAVID LARKINS
Three factors combined to convince Barnaby Craddock that his time in Brandon was done.

The now former head coach of the Brandon University Bobcats men’s basketball team was officially introduced as the new head man for the Fraser Valley Cascades Wednesday, one day after a Brandon Sun story first reported the move to bring Craddock to the Abbotsford, B.C., campus was imminent. In fact, the announcement came earlier than originally planned when news leaked that Craddock had been offered the position.

But Craddock said Wednesday that the financial commitment from UCFV, a heightened workload that was being placed on him by BU and a chance to work closer to his native Vancouver all conspired to make his decision.

“Of course (the job) piqued my interested and at the time I had just been given a full teaching load at BU, which was more teaching than I done the previous two years, so that wasn’t making me any happier,” he said.

“But the chance to get back to B.C. was tempting ... eventually they upped their (offer). They made me an offer that became enough to get me out there and combined with the family and the location.”

Still, that decision wasn’t easy.

“I feel pretty strongly about all the guys on this team, so it was a bit heartbreaking. But hopefully over the long run I’ll know it was the right decision,” he said.

Craddock informed many of his players on Tuesday of his decision and — this is what Bobcat fans want to know — said he has no intention of taking any of his recruits or current players away from the BU program.

“I think there’s zero per cent chance of that,” he said. “The guys are all vocal in coming back to the program.”

Winnipeg high school all-stars Kyle Vince and Kevin Oliver committed months ago and Craddock says he still expects them to honour that commitment. Also expected in camp in September is former Manitoba Bisons point guard Tarik Tokar and Toronto product Martin Lawrence, an athletic 6-foot-7 big who played senior men’s basketball in the city last year but is more than capable of making the jump to the university game.

So with presumably a solid returning core that led the team to within three points of a national championship, the BU job should be a coveted one by out-of-work or upwardly mobile coaches in Canada. But with the Bobcats again searching for their third men’s head coach in the past four years, the BU job is suddenly appearing like a stepping stone for coaches, rather than a place to settle.

“There are challenges at Brandon than are different than many other schools,” BU director of athletics Rick Nickelchok said, citing the fact that coaches are faculty members and required to teach as well as coach and then go through a tenure process that he called “difficult.”

“It means they must go through a difficult tenure process to secure the security in their jobs and that is something that most schools don’t have to worry about.”

Speculation on who will be in line to make the move to Brandon has already started, but Craddock covets assistant coach Mike Raimbault to take over where he left off. Raimbault is among a few young coaches who have been linked to the position already.

“There is still some good news. It’s not that all of a sudden we’re lost in this process,” Nickelchok said. “There is continuity ... We still have Mike in the program and he’s going to stay in the program and Mike has come highly recommended by Barnaby in the past.”

Craddock echoed Nickelchok’s sentiments.

“Selfishly I’d like to see that be Mike Raimbault, to be honest with you,” Craddock said. “He’s a local guy that this would be his dream job. He’s from Brandon and he’d like to be here long-term, so I’d like to think that somehow this will work out for Mike and you might have a coach that’s here for a long, extended period of time.”

In an ironic twist, the Cascades will make their first-ever appearance in Brandon on Jan. 4, 2008, making Craddock’s homecoming the first game of the new year for both teams.

One of Craddock’s close friends joked with him that the reunion won’t exactly come with a ticker tape parade.

“... As for the Jan. 4 game, (women’s volleyball head coach) Lee Carter told me that he was going to jump out of the crowd and throw a tomato at me, so I’m a little scared to be honest with you on that,” he said.

AD could be next
BY DAVID LARKINS
By the end of this week, Brandon University could be out a men’s basketball coach as well as an athletic director.

Multiple sources requesting anonymity have confirmed to the Brandon Sun that BU director of athletics Rick Nickelchok has been interviewed for the vacant AD position at Acadia University.

Nickelchok’s interest in Acadia was first published in a Brandon Sun article on Wednesday that broke the story of the University College of Fraser Valley’s hiring of BU men’s basketball coach Barnaby Craddock. Nickelchok, whose contract at BU is set to expire next summer, would not confirm that he applied for the Acadia position but seemed to intimate that he is open to pursuing other opportunities.

“I’m in the last year of my contract and I have to go through a tenure process and I think at this stage of my contract I have a responsibility to my family to explore what options are available to me,” he said. “That’s where I am right now.”

A highly-placed source in Canadian Interuniversity Sport told the Sun that Nickelchok was a person Acadia was impressed with, but that AU alumnus Brian Heaney — a basketball analyst on TSN — is a front-runner for the job based on his national clout and connection to the school.

Nickelchok also denied he was trying to leverage tenure status out of BU by going after other positions.

“I think there’s a process in the collective agreement,” he said. “I don’t see any possibility of not following that process ... The university can’t not go through that process. I have to do what I need to do to look after my own personal best interests.”

Nickelchok reiterated his desire to stay in the city where he has lived since August, 2003.

“Yes, definitely,” he said.

An announcement from Acadia is expected either late this week or early next week.

Bobcats left high and dry

Barnaby Craddock will be back coaching in the Brandon University gymnasium after all.

You’ll just have to circle Jan. 4, 2008 on your calendar in order to see it.

That’s the day the Fraser Valley Cascades will make their first-ever trip to Brandon for a men’s basketball game that will now, ironically, feature Craddock coaching on the opposite bench he’s worked for the past two seasons.

Craddock is leaving BU in favour of heading closer to his hometown. We’ve heard this tune before, roughly two months before Craddock took the job vacated in 2005 by an off-to-greener-pastures Les Berry, who bolted back to his native Nova Scotia.

We’ll resist the desire to rehash the words from the story that ran in the May 12, 2005 edition, but the similarities are clear.

Craddock said it was a difficult decision to leave the team he led to the national championship game and one that he agonized over for a number of days. That would seem to be true given the fact UCFV reportedly had to sweeten its offer to finally convince Craddock to make the leap.

And while Berry and Craddock both headed home — or at least closer to home — for cherished opportunities, BU has been the one left to wonder “what now?”

BU director of athletics Rick Nickelchok — perhaps himself not long for the Wheat City after purportedly interviewing for a job at Acadia — acknowledged in today’s edition of the Sun that the challenges are greater for BU to have a coach stick around because of the teaching workload and difficulty of obtaining tenure.

The workload was a factor in Craddock’s departure; The tenure a factor in Berry’s exodus.

And obviously those issues are pretty prevalent considering Craddock was willing to pass up the chance to coach a potential national contender again in favour of joining a school in more disarray than Brandon.

You see, UCFV is the school that — in order to jive with Canada West conference regulations — dismissed the two men handling the coaching duties because one of them, Pat Lee, was not a full-time, on-campus coach and then, according to Lee, didn’t have the class to inform him to his face that his services were not going to be retained.

The school is also lacking a full-time athletic director and — did we mention — Craddock will take over a sophomore program in the toughest division in the conference that missed the playoffs with a 6-17 record last season.

As was written in that opinion piece way back in May of 2005, you can’t hate a man for taking a rare chance to be somewhere he always wanted to be. But as was the case in 2005, so too it is in 2007 when a number of people are left angered by once again being left in the dust by a coach who used BU as a springboard to bigger and better things.

Animosity towards Craddock, however, is misguided considering the above. He is an emotional coach who took the wins in stride and the losses to heart. And he undoubtedly struggled to leave behind a group of players he truly loved and went to the wall with.

The university wanted to keep Craddock, but its idea of enticing him was apparently to heap a larger off-court workload on him. If you love him, you’ve got a funny way of showing it.

Memo to BU’s decision-makers: Rooting down in Brandon isn’t exactly what everyone in this country has in mind for themselves. Sometimes you have to actually make the situation a little more likable. Craddock is not the coach of the Brandon men’s basketball team because a better offer came along.

Followers of this team over the years have been spoiled because they had a coach who was committed to staying, had a family and set up shop in town for the long haul.

Now that three coaches have done the job since Jerry Hemmings, perhaps it’s becoming clear that coaching basketball in Brandon isn’t the crown jewel of jobs in Canadian university sports after all: An environment ripe with politicking, less job security and more labour.

Whether we’re writing this exact same story next year, or the year after, is likely dependent on whether or not the school realizes it too has extra work to do.
-30-

Cats searching

2007-06-27T20:05:00.000-06:00

An article that appeared in today's Brandon Sun regarding the Brandon University men's basketball coaching situation.

Just when the Brandon University athletics department was starting to get back to a state of normalcy and consistency, rumours are swirling that there are major moves afoot in the staff.

Multiple anonymous sources have told the Brandon Sun that Bobcats men’s basketball head coach Barnaby Craddock has accepted the head coaching position at the University College of Fraser Valley, leaving a team he took to the national championship final in March once again looking to fill its top job.

Craddock, reached at his office at BU, declined comment yesterday.

However, a well-placed West Coast Canadian university source familiar with the situation confirmed that Craddock has been offered the Fraser Valley job, with an announcement expected sometime today.

Meanwhile, CIS sources have also told the Sun that BU athletic director Rick Nickelchok is in the running for the vacant AD position at Acadia University, where former Bobcat men’s and women’s basketball coach Les Berry is currently serving as the head men’s coach. Nickelchok, a source said, was shortlisted and interviewed for the position last week.

Calls to Nickelchok’s office and cell phone were not immediately returned.

If Craddock, head coach for the past two seasons, does bolt BUfor the Fraser Valley Cascades in Abbotsford, B.C., it will mean the Bobcats will be looking for a men’s basketball head coach for the fifth time in the past six years.

The Canadian Interuniversity Sport coach of the year this past season, Craddock led the Bobcats to a 20-2 Canada West conference record, a No. 1-ranking that they held for a total of five weeks and carried into the national final where they lost a 52-49 decision to the five-time defending champion Carleton Ravens.

The Cascades, meanwhile, played their first season in the CIS in 2006-07, finished in fourth place with a 6-17 record in the Pacific Division and missed the playoffs. At Fraser Valley, Craddock would inherit a Cascades team that won three national collegiate titles before making the jump to the university ranks.

The Cascades worked under a tandem coaching unit of Pat Lee and Tom Antil, but the university-college was concerned that the coaching situation didn’t adhere to CIS conditions, which state coaches are to be involved in on-campus coaching, a term which Lee — a high school counselor — was unable to fulfill completely.

According to the Abbotsford News, Lee was offered the full-time job last spring, but the two sides were unable to reach a viable agreement.

Craddock is originally from Vancouver and its believed that the location of the UCFV job — located 64 kilometres southeast of Vancouver — and recruiting potential were enticing factors.

“In the minds of a lot of coaches, the best place to coach is out west,” said one CIS source who spoke on the condition of anonymity. “The two biggest (assets) would be the recruiting pool would be a lot bigger, that would be one thing for sure, and maybe just the location. It’d be easier to do things whether to travel to the States or attract teams out there. It might be easier to build a program.”

Craddock took over the BU men’s position in 2005 from Berry, who coached one season after leading the women’s team. Prior to that, Reggie Carrick was a one-year interim coach in 2003-04 when he was coaching in place of longtime coach Jerry Hemmings, who was on sabbatical at the time.

There was no word Tuesday on the status of recruits for the Bobcats. Craddock had made it official in the winter that Winnipeg high school standouts Kyle Vince and Kevin Oliver had committed to BU, while it was rumoured that Vancouver product Bol Kong, a 6-foot-7 slasher, was coming to Brandon if he was unable to secure the necessary paperwork to play in the United States. The Bobcats were also reportedly in the running for the services of point guard Adrian Sapp, a product of Vanier College and a former teammate of current Bobcat Nathan Grant.

In addition Adam Philpott, a Neelin grad, was expected to transfer to BU after spending two seasons at Acadia.

Kobe beef

2007-06-19T02:36:00.000-06:00

There has been a strong precedent set that Kobe Bryant really, really thrives on controversy.

Since his first few formative years in the NBA after breaking into the league from high school, Bryant has always seemed a short jump shot away from some of the most contentious issues that hit the sports world.

From his Colorado rape case, to his perceived role in Shaquille O'Neal being traded — and the inevitable break up of the dynastical Lakers — to the eternal debate of his role as a team player, Bryant naturally gravitates toward controversy. Certainly he can thank himself for some of this, the rest of it is just a product of being arguably the biggest superstar in the basketball world.

No one, however, is to blame but Kobe himself for the most recent spat of publicity that has everyone in the basketball world talking, a topic big enough that it trumped the NBA Finals. Kobe blindsided almost everyone who follows the NBA recently by requesting a trade from the only team for which he has ever played. Hours later, on ESPN's Dan Patrick Show, Kobe back-pedalled slightly and confessed that a conversation with head coach Phil Jackson helped him to step back from the bombshell he had uttered earlier on Steven A. Smith's show.

Here's what he told Patrick:

He's optimistic and determined that we'll both be back. Phil's somebody that I listen to. I listen to heavily. I lean on him a lot. He assured me, saying, you know, "Things are going to be okay. Things will be alright. Don't go full bore just yet. Just take a deep breath, kind of let us work these things out and everything will be alright." Which was very encouraging for me to hear, because I don't want to go any place else. I don't want to. I want to be a Laker. I want to be here for the rest of my career."

But when it's someone of Kobe's stature involved, the story has to remain in the media even if those reporting it have flubbed it up. The Associated Press released a story Sunday quoting Kobe's web site as such:

Kobe Bryant implied again that he wants to be traded, writing on his website that ‘‘the Lakers and me just have two different visions for the future."

Only thing being, that if anyone paid attention Kobe Bryant did not "imply again." In fact, the post that the AP ran with was the exact same post Kobe left on his web site back in May. The topic being Bryant, it naturally caught on like a wildfire and the Kobe trade story was once again front-page news.

Luckily, the Los Angeles Daily News, for one, cleared things up for everyone.

Kobe Bryant is a smart guy. He knows what he's doing and he's a fiery competitor, one of the most determined athletes playing in the NBA. I suggest if you put all those traits together, you'll see what's really happening here.

Bryant knows the Lakers can't and won't win a championship in the near future with the lineup they have and going in the direction the organization has taken the team since Shaq's departure. He also knows he's the most prized commodity in the NBA and the Lakers are mortified at any thought he wouldn't be in royal purple and gold.

So by bullying the team in the media, threatening to leave if things don't get done to make this team a winner right away, Kobe has done more to motivate a change in the ideology of the Lakers than general manager Mitch Kupchak has done in years.

So while everyone is clamouring to write the "Where will Kobe go?" stories and fans are tripping over themselves on their way to ESPN's Trade Machine to crunch the numbers and see if it's possible he could end up on their favourite team, Kobe is running an NBA front office more efficiently than some of the GMs trying so desperately to grab him.

Certainly the possibility exists that Kobe will play somewhere other than L.A. and if the Lakers drag their feet and don't rush to make their most significant player happy, that possibility will increase drastically. But combine Kobe's ability, the Lakers desperation to keep him and an idle threat and you're likely to see the L.A. front office amp up its efforts to find some talent to surround the league's best player.

However, if a few years from now the Lakers are back in a position to win an NBA championship, remember this summer as the year that Kobe Bryant did as much off the floor to return his team to the league's elite as he often does on it.

And remember that he meant it that way all along.

Common: A Dream

2007-06-09T02:45:00.001-06:00

One the greatest things to ever happen to hip hop is Common. Here's one of many reasons why.

Lesson learned

2007-06-07T16:59:00.000-06:00

The Brandon Sun website is a subscriber-only site, meaning much of what I write in the paper isn't accessible to you Internet folks.

On Tuesday, the Sun lost an important and loved member of its family when sports editor Mike Jones passed away suddenly at the age of 49. Around the city of Brandon and Westman region, Mike was known simply as Jonesy and rarely referred to as anything else.

Jonesy's presence in the community was rooted in more than 25 years of devoting himself to covering the people of the area and the stories they had. I often remarked at the difference between my job here in Brandon and past daily newspapers I've worked at because Jonesy — and by extension us staffers — was vigilant about keeping track of athletes in all sports no matter where they went when they left the confines of our corner of the province. That is something that simply doesn't get done in many other papers. In a tight-knit community such as Brandon and area, I always thought it significant that Jonesy truly cared about keeping people informed about their neighbours, like the entire region was a family who cared about what all the others were doing.

His committment to his craft — he was a stickler for clean copy and well-produced material — was outdone only by his committment to the people who surrounded him, whether it be his staff or the many, many contacts and friends he made over his career that spanned three decades.

So, because of the subscriber issue on the Sun web site I have posted my article on Jonesy simply because I wanted to share my thoughts. I hope you appreciate where that sentiment comes from.

Jonesy will be missed.

By David Larkins
At the risk of uttering something that comes off as cliché and overused: Mike Jones taught me more about sportswriting in four years than I had ever learned in nearly 10 years working in this industry prior to joining the Brandon Sun.

It is a standardized statement, for sure, when someone close to you passes on to laud their importance and impact on your own life, but with the man I only ever referred to as Jonesy, this is not some simple platitude. Even before his sudden and stunning death Tuesday, I thought about this on many occasions and told others how infinitely better I had become at this job because I had the chance to work under him.

But nothing I’ve ever learned has taught me how to write something like this.

The thing that I always loved about working here was the freedom we are granted to allow our personality and sense of humour to shine through in our work. Jonesy would never hold you back on what you wanted to do creatively and, in an industry that so often can be so stale, that is such a welcome trait.

Perhaps the reason that freedom was granted was because Jonesy’s laissez-faire attitude shone through in so many of the things he did. He cared deeply about the things he was passionate about and that should never be mistaken, but he also understood that, at the end of the day, what remained important was making sure you appreciated and enjoyed the ride along the way.

That attitude perhaps was most apparent on the golf course where Jonesy always wanted the best results, but would not sacrifice all the other things that made his love for the game what it was.

I remember distinctly Jonesy telling me a few years back that when he drove through the gates at the Clear Lake golf course that, at that point, he was in absolute heaven. It was his place to lose himself, his place to be most content. I have thought about that brief conversation a lot over the past couple of days with the annual Grey Owl tournament slated to start Friday and Jonesy anxiously anticipating once again being in his element.

For all the hundreds of people who will tee off in the tournament, it will be tinged with sorrow by the one man who won’t.

Often pointed — and never, ever wavering — in his writing, the passion that showed up in newsprint was precisely what you’d get if he was there telling it to your face. Again, in this business, it’s a quality so often sought yet not often found, and I sincerely hope the people of this region realize the fervour and affection Mike Jones had for bringing these stories to them on a daily basis.

An old back-and-white photo of Jonesy swinging a golf club remains on a bulletin board behind his desk here at the office. It’s a reminder of the man when he was no doubt at his happiest.

My memories will be of him at moments like that. They will be images of him laughing in his familiar way along with his natural and endearing love for the simple pleasures of life.

Those memories, simple as they are, will forever be with me.

The loss is stunning. It is utterly difficult and painful to deal with.

Still, I will count myself fortunate that, from here on out, any and every time I put pen to pad I’m allowed to remember one man who impacted me on so many levels.

David Larkins has been a Sun sports reporter since 2003. He can be reached at 571-7386 or dlarkins@brandonsun.com

Faded memories

2007-06-05T16:40:00.000-06:00

It's been a long time since I've posted and certainly there's any number of things I could have ranted about. But I never really felt the inspiration and this post can't even really be considered one given what I'm about to do.

There.

As I told someone earlier, when I read something really good I want other people to read it too. ESPN.com's Bill Simmons writes about the faded memories of great NBA players, memories that are quickly replaced by the current stars. It's something I've repeatedly ranted about in the "they don't make 'em like they used to" argument but I think Simmons' version hits the nail on the head.

Fish tale

2007-05-10T01:04:00.000-06:00

The Utah Jazz came out of nowhere to pull out Game 2 on the Golden State Warriors Wednesday night but it was partially aided by a guy who wasn't even in the state when the opening tip took place.

I've been a fan of the Los Angeles Lakers for more than 20 years and in those two decades Derek Fisher and in eight seasons in L.A. became one of my three favourite Lakers of all time. Likely he isn't on a lot of Laker fans all-time lists but Fish was wildly underrated during his time in the City of Angels.

But Fisher — who is best known for his 0.4 shot — had another moment in the spotlight Wednesday when he flew back to Salt Lake City after being by the bedside of his 10-month old daughter who is fighting retinoblastoma, a rare cancer.

And in that paragraph are two reasons why Fisher's in my top three list alongside Magic Johnson and James Worthy. He was more clutch than anyone remembers (the 0.4 shot just got all the attention even though he was a legit second option to Kobe late in games) and he was always a class act and the consummate professional.

Fish hit a big three in OT for Utah and caused a late turnover on Baron Davis, both aspects of his game that have been generally overlooked. Because Fisher played in L.A. for most of his career under the shadow of Kobe and because now his later years are as a bench player, he's never truly been recognized as a key contributor. Truly he's never been a guy who you would ask to carry your team, but is he the guy you want to be a part of the bigger picture? Absolutely yes.

After arriving via charter flight late in the third quarter, Fisher finished with five points and three assists in just 10 minutes of playing time, fittingly a rather pedestrian line for a guy who for years has always played just outside the spotlight.

What is value?

2007-05-07T05:25:00.000-06:00

Following up yesterday's blog on the NBA's rookie of the year, time to chime in briefly on the upcoming announcement of the league's MVP.

It is likely that Dallas' Dirk Nowitzki will be named shortly as the MVP after a season in which he led the Mavs to a 67-win effort by averaging 24.6 points and 8.9 rebounds per game while shooting 50 per cent from the field and 42 per cent from deep.

Whether it be voters' hesitance to give Steve Nash a third-straight MVP or simply that Nowitzki was the best performer on, statistically, the league's best team, it's unlikely that anyone other than the German will garner the coveted trophy.

Unlike the rookie blog, we won't get overly into the statistical argument of Dirk v. Nash, but suffice to say Nowitzki's numbers are far from stunning in an historical sense. His stats don't rank him in the same echelon as many past MVPs and certainly Nowitzki's season will go down as relatively unmemorable for an MVP.

But besides all of that, there is likely no bigger indication of Dirk's un-MVP-ness than what has shaken down during the playoffs, which sadly don't play a role in the voting. Nowitzki couldn't even get his No.1-seed Mavericks into the second round of the playoffs and disappeared for much of the six-game upset that the Golden State Warriors dealt his team. His most significant minutes — when he bagged a pair of threes and had a huge block in a deciding late run in Game 5 — were a rarity in a series in which he was just another player.

Put two snapshots from the past week of Nash and Nowitzki together:

• Nowitzki lays an egg in a series-deciding game in Oakland (2-for-13 for eight points) and his team, the one that he is the unquestioned leader of, is bombed by 25 points by an 8-seed.

• Game 1 of the Phoenix-San Antonio semifinal series and Nash collides with Tony Parker, busting up his nose until it's an ugly, lacerated mess. Parker drops in a heap, Nash barely flinches, later hits a key three with bloodied bandages on his sniffer and is forced out of the game because the medical staff couldn't stop the thing from leaking. San Antonio wins the game, Nash finishes with 33 points and the Spurs afterwards sounded almost gloomy about the win, acknowledging that Nash's presence in the final minute would have likely changed the complexion of the finish.

Now, I'm not like many of the Canadian basketball fans who are just unabashedly pro-Nash because he happens to be one of us (although South Africans also have a claim to him, don't forget). He's a pretty damn good player, though. But what is most striking about Nash is his desire and fire to simply not let his team lose games. You see him take over games and you know that any game he's involved in, the Suns have a chance to win. His 18.6 points per game and 11.6 assists per are both equal or better than both of his previous MVP seasons and he shot the three at a ridiculous 50 per cent.

You feel like teams legitimately are concerned with how to defend Nash whereas the book on Dirk remains to pressure him on the perimeter, get physical with him and you can force him to struggle. It was less so this season than in the past, but the option still very much remains.

It's difficult, then, to say this is the most valuable basketball player to his team in the NBA even though the league and its voters are likely just days away from (mistakingly) telling you that he is.

A few other random notes:
• Roger Clemens coming back to New York is the winner for the award of running storyline that less and less people are paying attention to. Clemens unretired for the fourth time Saturday and signed a one-year, $28-million deal with the Yanks, giving the Bombers a much-needed arm in their starting rotation. No one should doubt that Clemens can still compete at a high level — he's proven year after year in his 40s that he can — but adding one ace to the rotation likely won't be enough for New York, which has suffered injury problems and has had a record 10 pitchers start games already through 30 contests. The Yankees are 5 1/2 back of the Red Sox and have beaten Boston just once in six outings this season.

Bold and ridiculous predictions are traditions in the Point After, so here's another: They're done.

• Also done are the Toronto Blue Jays who came into the season with such hope after a slew of off-season signings that beefed up their offence but failed to address their need throughout the bullpen. Injuries and blown saves have just served to highlight the glaring needs the Jays still had if they want to be in the elite of the money-grubbing AL East.

• Mentioned this prediction verbally back on April 8 after the San Diego Padres 2-1 win over Colorado, but never made it public record. Now I feel I have to get it out before it becomes less and less bold:

Jake Peavy will be the National League's Cy Young Award winner.

At 4-1 with a 1.75 ERA and only one home run allowed thus far, he's certainly making an early case for the award and is getting my nod for "Thing That Actally Makes Me Pay Attention To The Baseball Season" award.

The Rookie

2007-05-06T07:08:00.000-06:00

If you don't like Chuck Swirsky, you really don't like him. If you like him ... well, you've got bigger issues in your life.

But not hard to wonder why Swirsky, the all-the-time voice of the Toronto Raptors, is disliked by those who find him, among many things, completely unlistenable.

Portland Trail Blazers' guard Brandon Roy was named the NBA's rookie of the year recently, garnering 127 out of a possible 128 first-place votes and running away with an award that had practically been given to him two months ago. While the Memphis Grizzlies put together a unique campaign to get their guy, Rudy Gay, some love and Toronto-centric media trumpeted Andrea Bargnani for the prize, the consensus for some time was that Roy was the guy and very few argued it.

But there's that one lingering vote. The one first-place ballot that went to Bargnani instead of Roy. One person in all the media granted rights to vote on such things thought Bargnani was the guy over Roy. Three guesses as to whom it was.

Swirsky has received hate mail over his decision to check off Bargnani instead of Roy and there's no discussing how ridiculous and infantile that is. If your life has a section in it where you take the time to compose hate mail over one person's vote for the rookie of the year balloting, well — to take a basketball term — it's time to sub out. Shoot, it's not even the most coveted of the individual awards.

But Swirsky was recently quoted in The Oregonian this way:

This is not an anti-Brandon Roy thing, I hope people understand that. This was strictly a case of me seeing Bargnani day after day. He was a significant player on a playoff team."

Undoubtedly the Italian was a big part of Toronto's nice little regular season and he probably blossomed quicker than the pre-season naysayers had expected. But the problem with Swirsky's statement is when he says it was because he saw Bargnani day after day. He would have, conceivably, seen Roy play twice.

Swirsky has been bashed on more than one occasion for being unabashedly homer towards his beloved Raptors and anyone who watched Toronto broadcasts on the regular will have heard him big-up his boy Bargnani almost shamelessly.

The statistics between Roy and Bargnani were extremely similar but Roy has an edge in virtually every significant stat:

	PPG	RPG	APG	FG%	3FG%	FT%
ROY	16.8	4.4	4.0	45	37	83
BARGNANI	11.6	4.0	1.0	42	37	82

Roy also did this on one of the most atrocious teams in the NBA. You could make the argument that Bargnani assisted in a revamped and suddenly not so dreadful Raptors team and its newfound success. Until you consider that as rag-tag as Toronto was, it wasn't nearly on the same level as what Portland had to work with. For any player to step into an environment such as the one in Portland and make something good happen is commendable, for a rookie to step in and do it is remarkable.

But this isn't so much an argument for Roy vs Bargnani as it is against Swirsky who, try as he might to make his pick seem objective, can rarely be counted on to make a brains-first decision when he pretty much showed his allegiances in his quote. So whether the fault is in the process for allowing people who are going to be naturally biased to whatever team they see regularly, or the fault is on the person making the vote, Swirsky is entitled to his opinion even if an entire population tells him he's wrong.

But that's the problem. It's one thing that we have to listen to his goofy and non-sensical catch-phrases, sit through his homering and look at his made-for-radio face but if you tell me he actually has an impact on things other than his headset and cough button — things that matter on some level outside Raptor TV-land — that's when I'd suggest we cut his mike.

Devils may care

2007-04-26T16:09:00.000-06:00

As the second round of the NHL playoffs continue, the New Jersey Devils and Ottawa Senators kick off their Eastern Conference semifinal Thursday night in what is likely to be a pretty intriguing series.

The Senators, if you ask the Canadian media, are one of two franchises still alive in the quest for the Stanley Cup and, as such, carrying Canadian hockey fans hopes of the mug returning north of the border for the first time in 14 seasons.

Truthfully, there are many Canadian hockey fans who are not on the "Let the Stanley Cup Come Back to Canada" bandwagon but suffice to say that, yes, the large percentage of fans who don't have a team to root for are likely pulling for someone up north to win the damn thing already.

However, Ottawa Citizen columnist Wayne Scanlan — a long serving sports columnist in the capital region — suggests in Thursday's editions that because it's been 15 years without an NHL championship in Ottawa that perhaps the edge could go to the Senators for being hungrier.

Now we've heard it all.

The argument, and we're paraphrasing here, goes that Ottawa wants it bad and, because they've got a whack of those coveted rings already, perhaps the Devils won't be as bound and determined as the plucky Sens. While it holds true that close but no cigar would serve to motivate this Ottawa club, it's difficult to argue that that thirst overrides the copious amounts of championship experience possessed by the Devils, arguably the most battle-tested team in the post-season.

It's hard to say if the article was an attempt to give hope to a Senators fan base that has been hurt in the past and is following a team likely not equipped to make a long Cup run again this spring, but suggesting Ottawa's edge could come because of desire is akin to convincing yourself Ryan Leaf was a better prospect than Peyton Manning because of the former's rocket arm. You're ignoring a whole lot more evidence to the contrary if you're in that camp.

There's no saying Ottawa isn't capable of pulling off this series. It would be far from stunning if it did. Still, there is empirical evidence that says the Senators are up against it and the play of Ray Emery is going to be far more significant than some intangible, abstract quality like "who wants it more." (I'm pretty sure New Jersey still wants it, FYI.)

There's a reason why we see the likes of the New England Patriots, New York Yankees (OK, not the best example recently), heck even the Carleton Ravens, come through in the games that matter. Ask around: You want the guys who have been there before.

Hunger all you want, but when the guy you're facing on the other end is Martin Brodeur — three rings, and that little Olympic gold medal as well — along with a bunch of guys who have championship rings to prove their mettle ... Well, let's just say I'm putting my money not on the hungry horse but on the one who has strapped on the oat bag and gotten a good grub-on once or twice.

DEVILS IN 6

In triplicate

2007-04-23T00:10:00.000-06:00

They say things like this come in threes.

Universities caught the attention of people across North America over the past few weeks — from New Jersey, south to North Carolina and, ultimately, down in Virginia. Three cases that portrayed some of the ugliest sides of society and three cases that, at different times and if even just briefly, flashed a glaring lack of perspective from both onlookers and those embroiled deeply in the scandals.

That each of the Dom Imus v. Scarlet Knights debacle, Duke lacrosse scandal and Virginia Tech massacre took place on college campuses is one infallible link to three events otherwise completely detached. Yet, these three stories — the most sensationalistic of 2007 — that have captivated viewers and bystanders are also joined by rushes to judgment; hurried reactions that dodged around prudence on the way to irrational controversy.

Beginning in Camden, N.J., where a women's basketball team was completely blind-sided by the infantile, utterly random and bigoted comments of an irrelevant radio shock jock. Those who knew what Imus was all about prior to him calling the Scarlet Knights a group of "nappy-headed hos" weren't dismayed whatsoever that he said what he said. Those who didn't know what he was about were likely blown away that someone could be so patently stupid. Make no mistake there were thousands of people who jumped on the Imus-bashing bandwagon who previously had never heard his name before he went and made it household.

No one with a level head would argue that Imus shouldn't have been publicly raked over the coals but where this tale diverges into lunacy is with the sacramonious appearance of Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson, both of whom have become ambulance-chasers of racial outrage. While Jackson and Sharpton took the time to remind the world of all they have done to champion the causes of African-Americans, the fact remains that both of them do their most notable work only when the cameras are pointing in their direction. And unquestionably if such an opportunity presents itself, the reverends will be the first two on the scene. That was the case with the Imus debate. Sharpton and Jackson dragged the argument out in a process that reaked more of self-promotion than fighting for what was right.

In Durham, N.C., the case against three Blue Devils lacrosse players was dropped entirely by the North Carolina State Attorney General's office, exonerating Reade Seligmann, Collin Finnerty and David Evans from charges of rape and sexual assault against a stripper in 2006. Duke's president, Richard Brodhead, as well as school trustees released a statement in which they were thankful that the ordeal had passed and effusive in at least creating the perception they wished everyone involved the best.

A year ago Brodhead cancelled the lacrosse team's 2006 season. He sided with the law and due process in lieu of aligning with his tarnished athletes and made them pariahs way before the truth had a chance to come out. He, along with many others of the same mindset, expedited the process of passing wrongful blame.

The sport was examined more intently than it ever had been. In the immense scope of big-time college athletics, lacrosse barely existed to anyone outside the game. That didn't stop anyone from passing judgment on the players, on the school, on racial motivation or, most absurdly, the sport itself. The Durham Police Department even went so far as to post a full-page newspaper ad with every lacrosse player's head shot, a disturbing McCarthyist attempt to smoke out the rest of the evil-doers.

But earlier this month, that all changed when attorney general Roy Cooper called the case a "result of a tragic rush to accuse and a failure to verify serious allegations", and proclaimed the athletes innocent. Following that strong language of vindication, Brodhead quickly backpedalled and the board followed. Meanwhile, the three athletes — plus the coach who was compelled to resign in the wake of the scandal — were left in limbo as everyone tried as hard as they could to runaway from the case. Yet it still remains that a year's worth of accusations, insults and misguided abuse has gone unchecked. Those who spoke of innocence until guilt proven, hardly followed that very basic tenet.

To read the words of a year ago is to learn that those athletes were guilty and even an unequivocal exoneration a year later hasn't yielded so much as an "oops" from anyone who was blinded by the need to hurriedly weigh in, speak up or lash out. So much as those who actually commit the crimes are at fault and deserving of punishment, so too are those who choose to muddy the names of the wrongfully accused. No one, it's safe to say, is in a rush to get Seligmann, Finnerty and Evans their reputations back.

Most tragically, of the three interlinked stories, is the 33 people slain last week by a lone gunman who wreaked havoc on the college town of Blacksburg, Va. The morning of April 16 brought an unimaginable horror to the campus of Virgina Tech. The ensuing media spotlight shone on a student body quick to stick together and fortified by one of the worst tragedies in the history of the United States.

Eminent poet, and VaTech professor, Nikki Giovanni spoke eloquently at a school convocation a day later, reading her piece that served to galvanize the 15-some-thousand in attendance, ultimately resulting in the crowd pouring into a chant of "Let's Go Hokies." At a time when those on campus were still struggling with pain of what happened one day prior, Giovanni's words were an elixir that temporarily aided the healing process for thousands of mourners. There is, after all, strength in numbers.

Yet message-board posters and bloggers alike can't resist the urge to rail against it. Another example — and there are more — of an inability to see the forest for the trees. Some went so far as to call the chant — most often heard at Hokie football games — tacky and insensitive to the victims. Understandable that you'd exercise great discretion when approaching an extremely delicate event, but who are outsiders to suggest what these students and faculty should do to find that illusive solace?

The reality is that questions are more forthcoming than answers when discussing the Virgina Tech tragedy. But raising questions about something that so obviously united that group is off the mark. If it's something so simple as a chant or the words from a poet that lift the spirits of those who actually endured the catastrophe, then trying to squelch that is infinitely more callous and a dreadfully mistimed criticism.

There's always a bigger picture than one sentence a radio blowhard utters, or the initial reaction to an accusation. And there's always a bigger picture than complaining about the perceived sociopolitical agenda of someone who tries to relieve hundreds inextricably linked by a calamity.

So, over the past month, when so many others were missing the point, it would seem those students who gathered in VT's Cassell Coloseium were the rare individuals who actually understood it.

Men's Synchronized Swimming

2007-04-18T01:46:00.001-06:00

Unfortunately it's not the whole skit, but it's still one of the funniest SNL sketches ever.

$100,000 Jackpot Wad

2007-04-04T20:28:00.001-06:00

One of the defining moments of my comedic growing up. ... Ironically, the most unintentionally funny moment of the whole thing comes in the final 30 seconds of the clip.

Now THAT'S colour commentary

2007-04-03T15:02:00.000-06:00

A 2005 broadcast from Brandon's WCG-TV with Jeremy Sawatzky doing play-by-play and myself on colour. A classic moment in all regards.

The Easter Bunny Hates You

2007-03-28T11:46:00.001-06:00

This is absolutely moronic, non-sensical and... utterly hilarious.

The Randomness of Me

2007-03-28T09:47:00.000-06:00

It's been awhile since I posted anything on here, so I think I'll just do a lightning round of topics.

• Lost in the great Kobe Bryant point string is the fact the Los Angeles Lakers are still a fatally flawed team and never was that more apparent than in their loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday night. The Lakers, as has been the case all season long, can't defend anyone and it was only because the Grizzle are such a horrendous team that the Lake Show wasn't blown out of the water more. The Grizzlies were 3-for-15 from the three and missed their first 10 from distance and many of those were uncontested looks. What's more, the Lakers on offence can't get anyone other than Kobe or Lamar Odom, it would seem, to knock down shots with consistency. Sasha Vujacic is perhaps the only other player on the team whom you might actually think about defending on the perimeter. But LA went 13-for-35 (35!!!) from three on Tuesday night and had its fair share of open looks all the while blowing a lead that reached 15 points at one stage.

• Smush Parker is maybe the easiest starting guard in the league to defend. You don't have to have any respect for his shooting ability and if you can take away penetration from him, it's not like he's going to hurt you by finding other guys because, let's face it, he's a shoot-first style point guard who can't shoot.

• Nas' latest album "Hip Hop is Dead" has sparked a handful of debate on the topic the title speaks so loudly of. I'll blog on this more soon, but needless to say the hip-hop community never really gets the point. This whole "is it dead?" question isn't really a yes or no debate, although those who have a voice seem to want to make it that way. Incidentally, it's not his greatest album but his commentary on the genre is excellent in a handful of the tracks and makes the album, for hip-hop purists like me who were waiting for someone to step up and say something, worth the buy. (Ed. note: I'm aware the album is some three months old. I live in Brandon, cut me some slack.)

• It's official: I have no idea how to pick NCAA pools. My bracket blew up early again this year but I keep finding new ways to fail at predicting. Ironically, my bracket was a shambles this year because I went away from picking favourites. We all know that NCAA introduces us to Cinderella every year. Well, every year but 2007, I suppose. Two No. 1 seeds and two No. 2s are into the Final Four, leaving us without an upset special to hang our hats on.

One note pertaining to last weekend's games and it comes from the UNC-Georgetown regional final in which the Heels absolutely crumbled down the stretch. UNC coach Roy Williams has long been elevated in public opinion as one of the great coaches on the continent but there, in front of a national TV audience, was blatantly exposed. The Hoyas wiped out a late 11-point deficit and then brutalized UNC in the overtime all despite the fact that the Tar Heels had owned that game up until the final three minutes of the second half. The Heels absolutely owned the glass for the better part of the day — evidenced by their 20-10 edge in offensive rebounds — and Georgetown got itself into the game-long deficit mostly because it couldn't get second-chance points for itself and couldn't stop the Tar Heels from getting theirs.

But Georgetown goes to its 2-3 zone late in the second and suddenly UNC can't shoot a lick. The Tar Heels went 1-for-24 from the field over a 15-minute stretch that spanned part of the second half and overtime. But while they were absolutely horrendous from the field, two things happened that kept the Tar Heels from just getting the one or two hoops that could have sealed the win:

Even against a soft zone defence, they couldn't rebound the ball and looked like they had lost all desire to chase down loose balls and errant misses.

AND

Roy Williams refused to call a timeout.

And that's where the legend gets called out. No timeouts called in overtime even as the Hoyas built a quick six-point lead and had the crowd going bonkers in the first moments of OT. No timeout to calm things down, to make an adjustment against the zone. No timeout to just regroup and try to end the Georgetown run. Nothing.

Call it whatever you want, but a "legend" coach should know better.

• The Pittsburgh Steelers will take Nebraska DE Adam Carriker with their first pick of the 2007 NFL Entry Draft. Yes, this is me hoping, but it's also a very real possibility. A lot of mock drafts have the Steelers going for another DE — Florida's Jarvis Moss — and that's not a bad situation for the Steelers at all. Moss is versatile and should be able to make the adjustment to playing in the current 3-4 set that the Steelers have employed for years or to a 4-3 that many believe they'll switch to next year under new coach Mike Tomlin. However, just because many are picking Moss in their mocks, I'm going the other way and having wishful thinking that Carriker will be around and the Steelers will want him.

Do you realize I'm still waiting for my Nebraska and pro football worlds to collide just ONCE in this lifetime? Between Carriker's possibility of being a Steeler and December's announcement that the Winnipeg Blue Bombers added Zac Taylor to their neg list, I'm pretty much losing my mind. It has to happen some time. Please.

• One last CIS note, for those who care: The Brandon Bobcats men's basketball team stands to lose just two players from this season's team that was oh-so-close to winning a national championship but there is one player who is up in the air and with him carries a lot of 'ifs' for next season's squad. If PG Yul Michel doesn't return for his fifth season, the Bobcats are going to need to regroup fast. BU loses shooters Chad Jacobson and Taylor Cherris-Wilding and, as important as those two were to its season in 2006-07, Michel's presence can't be overstated. You have arguably the best defender in Canada, a veteran leader who rarely turns the ball over and regularly puts his teammates in better situations. It's very difficult to find a player with that kind pedigree to run your team. This would still be a very talented and experienced team, but if the Bobcats want to return to the place they were this March and be a legit contender on the national scene, they'll all have their fingers crossed that Michel returns.

That's it for today. Again, nothing overly deep or engaging. Just like the author.

Wrap it up

2007-03-20T14:51:00.000-06:00

A few final thoughts from Halifax after a real good week of basketball wrapped up for one last time in the Nova Scotian capital...

To deal with the championship final, I said to anyone who would listen prior to the game that I thought Aaron Doornekamp would be the big factor for Carleton, and obviously he was. He hit two gigantic threes and the second one sealed BU's fate and was not well defended by the Bobcats at all.

Ironic, too, because the BU defence all game long was outstanding I thought. Yul Michel locked up Osvaldo Jeanty and he shot poorly from the field as did the entire Ravens team. Jeanty said after the game that "they didn't make my life difficult, I thought I made my own life difficult" in reference to the defensive match-up and his shot selection. I couldn't disagree more and I thought it was a completely misguided comment to not at least tip your hat to an oustanding defensive effort. There were some 6,000 people in the building and a lion's share of them would have totally disagreed with that statement.

That said, Carleton head coach Dave Smart did acknowledge the effort right off the bat. He mentioned that most people will see the poor shooting numbers of both teams and suggest it was a bad offensive game, but that would be to disregard how hard and how well the teams defended.

I agree with this. Yes, there were open looks missed by both teams, many from distance, but I have yet to see two teams battle defensively like these two did on Sunday. When you're clamping down on every possession, when you're having virtually every shot challenged with a hand in your face and then you manage to actually get a good look... well, those shots also become tougher.

I told coach Smart following the game that I thought as good as Michel's job on Jeanty was, so too was the job the Ravens did on Chad Jacobson, the Bobcat gunner. They knew full well he could hurt you from the perimeter (he had killed two teams prior to that game) and they made things very hard for him. He got virtually nothing in the way of open looks at the basket and they took away most of his catch-and-shoot chances. In the end, he hit two of his four threes and the last one was a pretty tough make where he curled off a screen and hit a quick release three that made it 51-49 at the time.

And that's what I'll remember from this championship more than anything is two teams absolutely beating up on each other with tremendous D and playing with all the intensity you expect from a national title game. Both teams kept raising the bar and Carleton — to steal (and paraphrase) a Vince Lombardi quote — just happened to be ahead when time ran out.

So those are the things I'll remember. That and the fact that Aaron Doornekamp pushes off every time he puts the ball on the floor.

Day 2

2007-03-18T03:18:00.000-06:00

I told Dale Stevens and Mark Wacyk , both CIS diehards, that I'm lazy and this is proving it...

It's been a long few days but I'll just drop a few random notes on the Carleton-Brandon game that will determine the national championship Sunday:

• An interesting dynamic here: You have a team that has won four straight nationals and is clearly rolling with some confidence of knowing how to win big games vs a team that ABSOLUTELY wants them and has wanted them all year. BU has been overlooked, in their eyes, so who has more to battle for?

•The Yul Michel-Osvaldo Jeanty match-up is what we're likely to see to start, however, it's very easy we see a number of different sets from BU to try to make life difficult. We might see some zones from BU, if you asked my opinion. As for Yul, straight up he can lock down Jeanty but it will be tough and it will also come down to whoever can D him up in the event of changes or just foul trouble/strategy. Also, BU's attention to Oz will open things up, you'd figure, for some others like Stu Turnbell, the team's off guard.

• Jeanty might be the CIS player of the year the last two years, but (because of match-ups) I'm saying the most important part of Sunday's final is going to be Aaron Doornekamp and what BU does with him. Windsor shut him down well in the OUA final and Carleton struggled.

• Eric Glavic of St. Mary's got into two chirping matches with Brandon players Saturday, both which were started by the SMU quarterback who also plays hoops. He was first to get into Adam Hartman's grilll (no fouls), stood over Dany Charlery after a hard-ish foul and that left Whyms to come and get in his face Lrwe on. Both players shoved and got tech'd up. After the big loss, Glavic beaked at his towel boy, making it look like the guy who comes off a short bench ua better than anyone who stands behind it.

• Carleton is your favourite for a reason but BU is athletic and confident. I think ytou've got a 5 point game in the works and anyone who knows BU, and read Saturday's Brandon Sun, knows how it plays in five-point games.

This will be a great match-up. Check up with you in about 20 hours.

Day 1

2007-03-16T19:20:00.000-06:00

HALIFAX — There will be no conference champions in the final four of the national men's basketball championship this weekend.

Lending more credence to the argument that conference winners aren't the only ones worthy of Halifax, all four conference champs went in the tank on the first day of the national tournament here Friday.

The Acadia Axemen were absolutely horrendous in a loss to a Carleton Ravens team looked every bit the part of a four-time national champion. The Ravens — who Windsor Star reporter Bob Duff felt shouldn't have been eligible to come to nationals because they lost the OUA final — were sharp and cold-blooded in dicing up an Axemen team that had become one of the great stories in Canada this season. Acadia was over-powered early, lost its discipline before you could blink and watched as Carleton landed a punch right square in the mouth of the AUS champions.

Elsewhere, the St. Mary's Huskies pulled off the first upset of the day and the Concordia Stingers looked nothing like a No. 1. First-team all-Canadian Patrick Perrotte was basically invisible and the Huskies grinded the game almost to a halt with a style that emphasized holding possessions and keeping the ball out of the favoured team's hands.

The Huskies will get the Brandon Bobcats who used a solid second half and a sudden Windsor Lancer collapse to earn a berth into the semifinals. Greg Surmacz, the 6-foot-7 NCAA transfer, had 12 points and seven boards in the first half but the Lancers went away from him in the second and instead settled for jumpers from distance. The Lancers even owned a nine-point lead at one point in the first half but really hurt themselves with shot selection in the second half and going away from the big Surmacz who was eating on every touch but suddenly was cut off.

The UBC Thunderbirds are once again going into the second day of competition as a losing squad in a 92-85 defeat at the hands of the wild card Ottawa Gee-Gees. The T-Birds wasted an absolutely outstanding performance from fifth-year conference MVP Casey Archibald who had 32 points on 13-for-15 shooting. Unfortunately, UBC has no one to blame but itself. Once again the Thunderbirds are not playing for a championship because they couldn't stop anyone from scoring and they didn't get enough help elsewhere. Chris Dyck, a class act and a dead-eye shooter, did not respond well to his first-ever nationals appearance missing 10 of his 12 shots from the field. But they gave up 92 points and that's not going to win you a lot of games ever. At Nationals, at anywhere. Ever.

Ottawa, meanwhile, was pretty impressive in its athleticism and looked like a battle-tested, self-assured and downright braggadocious. The Ottawa-Carleton match-up that we'll see in the semifinal is redundant, for sure, but the battle should be worthwhile. Do the Ravens and Gee-Gees want to play each other again? Hard to say. Probably not. After you've played someone 87 times in the past two seasons it gets a bit overdone.

There's one man's very brief and random thoughts on Day 1. Check back Saturday.

Beginning of the end

2007-03-14T03:07:00.001-06:00

A small group of committed CIS supporters have successfully lobbied to have the non-televised tournament games available to watch via webcast on this site. They are going to by pay-per-view, however the fee is a paltry $7. If you just want to follow the games online, up-to-the-minute stats are kept here.

HALIFAX — Arriving in the Halifax airport three days before the CIS national tournament starts, you might actually get away with believing not much was on tap for the Maritime city.

The airport is quiet, relatively without activity on a dull Tuesday afternoon. There are, however, volunteers — folks who have been doing this every year for many years — there to shuttle you off to the host hotel and get you ready for another March in Nova Scotia.

Upon finding me not on his list of expected arrivals in need of a shuttle back to said hotel, a volunteer obliged to assist and stuck me in with the UBC Thunderbirds who were on the same flight as I.

"Just keep in mind next year ..." and he edits himself.

As far as Halifax is concerned, there is no next year. The tournament that has rested in the city for nearly the past three decades will finally load up and move out, heading to Ottawa next year after Carleton successfully bid for a three-year term as the host of the CIS' marquis event.

Most teams have yet to arrive in Halifax. A couple will fly in Wednesday, Acadia will drive down Thursday. So the hotel is rather quiet and far from a hub of activity. Still the Thunderbirds, clad in "UBC BASKETBALL" from head to toe, were targets of questioning locals who showed their interest in the tournament that has become the city's baby.

Back to the airport, I completed the volunteer's sentence.

"Let's say, four years from now," I said with the assumption that the CIS would eventually change tunes and come back to the hotbed.

"Hey maybe next year when they screw it up," was his reply not-so-subtly insinuating that Ottawa's run as host wasn't going to be as illustrious as the predecessor's.

Odd that we're more than a year away from the nation's capital taking its first crack at nationals and yet there have been more than a few of those types of comments by more than one person. Ottawa's run as host could be a resounding success but there's no doubt that no matter where it's held, the fact that it's not in Halifax next year will mean the same shine won't be present in the eyes of many. There's just something about coming here. The east coast, the close proximity of most everything, the night life, the history of the city ... everything just combines to make Halifax a tremendous city to host. Oh, and they're pretty crazy about their local basketball too.

So maybe Ottawa is stepping in already down in the count.

Or maybe, all the obituaries that are so predictably to be written this week on the end of an era are much adieu about nothing. Seinfeld had to end eventually, Barry Sanders was going to retire one day and Barbaro was guaranteed of going to the glue factory. It tells us, too, that Halifax was bound to lose its yearly jewel one day even if a lot of people would prefer it differently.

If you're ruing the switch over to Ottawa for strictly logistical purposes, then you very likely have some beef and a fair debate.

If, however, the argument is solely nostalgic then the only recourse left is to just accept it at face value and not lament something that we all knew was bound to happen one day anyway.

Tears in your Duff

2007-03-11T22:07:00.000-06:00

Well, I was going to leave well enough alone with the posts for Sunday after my cursory run at the Final 8 seedings, but a perusal of headlines around Canada eventually landed me at the web site of the Windsor Star and an absolutely misguided and downright foolish column that made the pages of the Star.

Columnist Bob Duff ranted about the Carleton Ravens' inclusion into the national tournament that comes despite the fact the four-time national champs lost in the OUA final this weekend. Duff's argument was that the Windsor Lancers deserved to be the lone Ontario team heading to the big dance and his logic was, put succinctly: "That’s how the post-season is supposed to work. You win, you go on. You lose, you go home."

So in Duff's world the national championship tournament shall only include four teams, a representative from each conference because, after all, those other losers should just go home. If you're going to be making the nationals a four-team tournament, keep in mind that you are also completely taking away the lustre of a three-day tournament in which much of the intrigue is generated by having more good teams all competing for one prize. Very simply, eight is a lot more fun than four.

Why in heaven's name would you ever want to diminish the marquis event in Canadian university sports? An event, it should be noted, that struggles mightily already for national recognition. Now you want to eliminate teams because, on any given night, they dropped one solitary game? A bit over-reactionary to say the least.

Now Duff's point that you have to win to move on isn't without merit because obviously you're looking to get the creme of the crop into the tournament. But anyone suggesting that Carleton isn't among the creme hasn't watched enough basketball.

Duff also suggests that the Wilson Cup final was meaningless because both teams were guaranteed spots in nationals already. By that logic, the folks at Texas and Kansas were probably sleepwalking through their Big 12 championship game on Sunday. No, instead they went to overtime with Kevin Durant scoring 37 points in a losing effort for Texas. Tell the Longhorns they don't deserve their spot in the NCAA March Madness. While you're at it, cancel the tickets of Duke, Boston College, Texas A&M, UCLA and countless other schools that didn't win their conference championships this weekend. Losers.

Shifting back to Canada, tell the Brandon Bobcats they can't go either. The team that was No. 1 for six of the final seven weeks of the season isn't worthy because of dropping a 76-73 decision to the UBC Thunderbirds in the Canada West final last weekend.

In fact, there is plenty on the line in these conference championships, guaranteed berth or not. Sure there's the admittedly minor aspect of winning your conference, which in the grand scheme of things amounts to merely bragging rights. But, on a much lesser scale than the grandiose NCAA tournament, wins in conference finals mean something in the rankings. With eight teams going, there is less wiggle room for teams to move up or down into different match-ups but make no mistake had Windsor lost that final, the Lancers would be looking at likely a No. 7 seed and a match with the Thunderbirds. Analyze it how you like, but some people would suggest the Lancers were much better served by winning.

"As well as they played Saturday," Duff wrote, "their reward should be more than a mere rubber stamp as the best team in Ontario."

Who cares?

Their reward is the exact same whether Carleton goes to the tournament or not. Having the Ravens there and having a national berth already sewn up doesn't diminish what Windsor achieved nor does it tarnish the overall picture of the national tournament. If Windsor goes and loses its first two games at nationals, is that Wilson Cup still going to gleam and be the ultimate source of pride? No, it will still be just the smaller trophy the Lancers earned when they wanted the big one. Maybe it's just folks in Ontario over-emphasizing the value of the Wilson Cup; after all, no one goes into the season with the ultimate goal being the Wilson Cup. In fact, all across this continent in university and college sports at all levels teams set out at the beginning of the season knowing full well that there are smaller prizes to be won, but there's only one big prize that they're after. This isn't a new concept, folks.

Regardless, if you went to university campuses in Lawrence, Kan., Chapel Hill, N.C., Eugene, Ore., Columbus, Ohio, or Gainesville, Fla., you would see celebrations and a tickled pink student body, for there you would be amongst conference champions. Heck, you'd find the same thing on the campus of Butler University, which captured the championship of the Horizon League, a mid-major conference that put two teams into the annual 64-team showdown.

But when Thursday rolls around and the NCAA tournament begins, no one will care a lick about those trophies. Nor will anyone care a lick about the Wilson Cup come Friday.

And that, in reality, is the way it's supposed to be.

In the national tournament, the more the merrier. And the sooner those pouting about conference championships realize that, the sooner they can just relax and enjoy the real games.

On The Road

2007-03-11T18:40:00.000-06:00

The Final 8 field is officially set after representatives from the CIS came together to seed the national men's tournament that will start Friday in Halifax.

Here was my original prediction, late Saturday night:
1. Concordia
2. UBC
3. Brandon
4. Windsor
5. Acadia
6. Carleton
7. Ottawa
8. St. Mary's

Obviously, the red ones are the seedings I ended up being wrong on, but if you look at it, there really is only one mistake in that, and that's Carleton not being harshly penalized for losing the OUA final on Saturday. That was sort of the first domino and, in hindsight, I likely shouldn't have dropped them as far as I did.

Here, then, are your first-round match-ups:
(1) Concordia vs (8) St. Mary's
(2) UBC vs. (7) Ottawa
(3) Carleton vs (6) Acadia
(4) Brandon vs (5) Windsor

Posting my previous thoughts on the seedings, I suggested that I thought a Brandon-Carleton match-up would be a good one for the Bobcats and that was certainly not meant to diminish the potential for Carleton to once again win this thing. Obviously, no one in Canada would be cheering at getting Carleton in the first round. However, I just think speaking purely about match-ups, it's one that would have favoured BU because of the Bobcats athleticism, and ability to go greyhound and turn games into track meets. Conversely, Carleton would love to lock you down but we saw a bit of it in the Wilson Cup final on Saturday against Windsor that perhaps the Ravens can be susceptable to teams that have that sort of make up.

As it is, the relatively inexperienced Bobcats get a totally inexperienced Windsor team that is making its first nationals appearance in 25 years. The Bobcats boast just two players who have played in Halifax (Yul Michel and Adam Hartman) while the Lancers are going in completely wet behind the ears. To be honest, I think this is the biggest toss-up game of the first round, although Ottawa and UBC has some intriguing plot lines as well.

One of the red flags I raised about the Bobcats potential as a national contender was their inexperience in Halifax and, specifically, their ability to shoot the ball in an arena setting. The Bobcats are a very perimeter-oriented offence and, say what you want, but shooting in that enviroment — when you're used to basically playing in a glorified high school gym all season — requires a major adjustment. I think it's going to be integral that BU finds its touch from the outside early but also balances that with the understanding that their inside and mid-range game is very likely to be the key to whether they move on to the second round or get bounced in the first round for the third straight time.

This is why Windsor presents some difficulties for the ultra-athletic Bobcats. The Lancers are deep with talented bigs — and that's not overlooking BU's posts — and in a game between two largely inexperienced teams that will be battling nerves and new surroundings, points in the paint, rebounding and second-chance opportunities are going to be the biggest factors in my mind.

UPSET SPECIAL: I'm taking a hard-working Ottawa Gee-Gees squad over the UBC Thunderbirds. If this doesn't come through as an upset then I think you're seeing all four top seeds move on to the second round. (Even as I type that, however, I don't feel comfortable with the prediction. It's just been that kind of year).

UBC has gotten grittier on the defensive side, something I think was lacking in its past entries into the nationals. The big question will be whether Ottawa can clamp down and keep the Birds from running and crashing. The UBC big men aren't traditional post-up players: They get most of their rebounds and points from crashing and they do it well. The beauty with UBC is that it can rotate in a handful of talented posts and not really lose a step between any of them. Its backcourt, on paper, is an all-star team with Chris Dyck, former all-Canadian Adam Friesen and Canada West MVP Casey Archibald.

Again, though, the Thunderbirds are going to have to show they can play lockdown defence and win what could be an ugly game. In their defence, they did show that ability to grind out wins during the Canada West Final Four, proving that maybe they do possess a Halifax-style game after all.

One final note, on Acadia and Carleton. It's a tough draw for the Axemen who have hit their stride at exactly the right time. Acadia's doing great things with its depth, as evidenced by the championship win over St. Mary's on Saturday when AUS POY Paulo Santana fouled out with a few minutes to go in the game and the result still very much in the balance. I think this ends up being a low-scoring, gritty game and, if you consider Acadia an overwhelming underdog, then those types of games are the ones that underdogs salivate for. The Axemen can't get down to Carleton like they did against St. Mary's (down 16 with 10 to go). It just won't work. If the scoring remains low, if the Axemen can control possessions and be efficient with those possessions, then you might just have an upset.

Selection Sunday

2007-03-11T01:38:00.000-06:00

The final seedings for the CIS national men's basketball tournament will be released Sunday, so I'll take one last crack at predicting where the Elite 8 will find themselves.

First off, this is how I see it going:
1. Concordia
2. UBC
3. Brandon
4. Windsor
5. Acadia
6. Carleton
7. Ottawa
8. St. Mary's

Now, let me explain (with last week's rankings in parentheses):

St. Mary's (NR) absolutely has to be an 8 after being unranked all year and then losing the AUS championship on Saturday. Concordia (1) won its conference after being the No. 1 in last week's rankings, so the Stingers are absolutely the 1 heading into Halifax. So that's your lock for a first-round game.

Moving down the list, Carleton (2) has to drop for a loss, but how far? UBC (3) will move up because of the Ravens loss in the Wilson Cup on Saturday. I have to think Brandon will move up too. But Carleton has to be ranked ahead of Ottawa (5) AND you can't have any of Ottawa, Windsor (8) or Carleton in a 4-5 or 3-6 game because they're in the same conference. (The CIS avoids inter-conference first-round games). In reality, Carleton's loss just pushes Ottawa further down now, whereas they might have been a 6 before the Wilson Cup final on Saturday.

Now, Windsor and Acadia (T9) both need top-6 spots — CIS rule — and Windsor needs to be ahead of Carleton but I don't think you can justify them moving up past UBC or Brandon (both have better records and have been ranked higher). Plus, you'd be asking Windsor to make a four-step rise in the rankings, which I think is bold considering the only team the Lancers beat who were ranked in the playoffs was Carleton. Windsor's 22-7 overall record and soft strength-of-schedule rating also hurts them. But I think you put Windsor ahead of Acadia because their record is better, their SOS is better and they've been ranked higher than them most of the season.

So there you have Carleton dropping all the way to the 6 (for the loss to Windsor and also having to avoid Windsor in a first-round game) and then Ottawa has to be below them.

The only question mark here is, does Brandon deserve to be a No. 3 when the Bobcats didn't even win their conference while Windsor and Acadia both did. However, Brandon's record is better, they were ranked higher, they were the No. 1 for six weeks, they have a stronger SOS and a higher RPI (the overall power index). No way Acadia should jump Brandon and I think Windsor's case for doing that is thin too.

So there you have it (I think)... The Brandon Bobcats, if you want to listen to me, will be playing the four-time defending national champion Carleton Ravens in the first round.

I'll deal with this on Sunday when the seedings officially come out, but I think — and call me crazy if you want — the Carleton match-up is honestly the best one available for the Bobcats.

More on that tomorrow.

Goin' Dancin'

2007-03-06T01:03:00.000-06:00

The CIS men's basketball national championship tournament is less than two weeks away, marking the final time (as it stands now) the Big Dance will be hosted in Hali.

Following my trip to Halifax in 2003-04, I wrote an opinion piece in the Brandon Sun railing against the CIS' decision to stick with Halifax as its host site for its most marquis tournament. The article was in no way a condemnation of Halifax itself — anyone who knows me knows my affinity for the city — but rather a comment on the national university body's almost blind acceptance of the status quo.

Be careful — I suppse you could say — what you wish for.

The national tournament, which has been in the Nova Scotia capital for the past 24 years, will move to the nation's capital in 2008 for a three-year effort that marks the first time since 1982 the event will rest outside the Maritimes. Standing by the argument I made a few years ago, I'd normally be in favour of the switch: The bigger picture, I'd argue, is to keep the nationals from becoming the stale product you're in danger of creating by keeping it in the same place year after year.

But, as usual, the CIS has bungled it.

• More than one person has pointed out the fact that the tournament won't be held in Ottawa itself, but rather 20 minutes down the road in Kanata. All fine and good if out-of-town tournament teams, officials and media are staying in Kanata — which they won't be — but playing the tournament in a town that isn't actually Ottawa just isolates the centre of off-court activity (umm, you remember Ottawa, the supposed host site) from where games will actually be played. A 20-minute commute, at least once a day, from the host hotels to the host venue just insures massive frustration and inevitable hassles with shuttles, cabs and any other transportation.

• Taking another shot at Kanata, the host venue is the 19,000-seat Scotiabank Place, home of the Ottawa Senators and a wholly overambitious place to host the men's tournament. With all due respect to the people of Ottawa and southern Ontario in general, a best-case scenario would never lead to anywhere near a sellout of an arena that is 9,000 seats larger than the venue in Halifax that currently can't post sellouts. Now, while sellouts aren't needed nor expected, the fact remains that Scotiabank Place will just end up being more cavernous than the Halifax Metro Centre already is and anyone who has watched the nationals on TV in the past knows that will just make the event look bush league.

Shoot, I've been in the Metro Centre when it's three-quarters full and it still barely makes an impression when translated to TV.

• And finally, and most ridiculously, the successful bid from Carleton University (the official hosts) also included a virtually unreported clause that guarantees the Ravens a host bid into the Elite 8 each of the three years they host. So read that correctly:

In 2008, 2009 and 2010, the Carleton Ravens will be guaranteed their spot in the national tournament. Not Ontario. Not the OUA East. Carleton. Take one tournament bid off the table for the rest of the country to play for and, while you're at it, give the Ravens — the four-time defending national champions — another leg up in the recruiting wars. Oh, and see what you can do about getting a third Ontario team into the tournament, deserved or not.

We're more than a year away from changing locales for the biggest university event in Canada and already anyone who chooses to take more than a cursory glance at the situation can see question marks all over.

The good news is Carleton, the CIS and everyone involved with taking the men's nationals to Ottawa have time to make sure those questions are answered.

The bad news is, if the CIS' track record is any indication, some will get answered, most will not and even those like me who criticized the CIS' lack of action will be pining for the days when they left well enough alone.

Timmy Two Tone

2007-02-15T04:18:00.000-06:00

It seems every columnist in North America with 600 words and a job at a newspaper got his or her two cents in on the John Amaechi story that broke last week. Some of it remotely enlightened, few of it better than that, some of it downright mind-boggling.

It took Tim Hardway to trump it all.

Hardaway, the retired point guard formerly of the Miami Heat and Golden State Warriors, did not hold back in his comments on the hot-button topic in sports this week.

"You know, I hate gay people, so I let it be known," Hardaway told Dan LeBatard on Sports Talk 790 in Miami on Wednesday afternoon. "I am homophobic. I don't like it. It shouldn't be in the world or in the United States."

Hardaway's frank comments set off a mild commotion — all things considered — in light of Amaechi's decision to come out of the closet and the inevitable debate that ensued.

Thank goodness he said it.

Now Hardaway gets the public lambasting for being foolish enough to not have an off switch or the common sense to know that what he was saying was likely going to end up getting him in a bit of hot water. (He was also, at the time, doing work for the honourable NBA Cares program, ironically).

Hardaway's comments were as backwater, ignorant and disappointing as you can get but he was the only public figure to come out and actually show the slightest bit of honesty. Across the league, athletes tip-toed around the question choosing to say the diplomatic and politically correct things, the safe answers that hide ignorance and homophobia. Hardaway just voiced what many of them, you have to know, were thinking.

In reality, Hardaway's comments, as deplorable and ugly as they are, arguably do more to advance the discussion than any one else's. Like Borat back-handedly dressing down rednecks.

What's more dangerous than Hardaway: How about LeBron James? The do-gooder poster boy on whom the NBA is hanging all its PR hats, sidestepped the question only to say that he would be angry with a player who didn't admit he was gay in the dressing room because it's a matter of trust.

"With teammates you have to be trustworthy and if you're gay and you're not admitting that you are, then you are not trustworthy," James said, as if the dilemma facing a gay athlete is that simple or that the issue truthfully had anything remotely to do with that.

Hardaway is dragged into the light but James, the 23-year-old 'future' of the NBA, gets a free pass. As does Shavlik Randolph, a serviceable big man from Duke stock, who said "as long as he doesn't bring his gayness on me." The list of people, who said something akin, unfortunately goes on.

Salt Lake Tribune columnist Steve Luhm even got space in his pages to rant about John Amaechi as a basketball player. "Let's be clear about one thing," he began his column. "This isn't about John Amaechi's sexual orientation or his decision to write about being a gay man in the NBA in a soon-to-be-released book. This is about John Amaechi, basketball player with the Utah Jazz from 2001-03."

Luhm attempts to pass his mistimed column off as a critique of Amaechi as a hooper, as if that column would have ever been written again, considering Amaechi ended his career after the 2003 season. The disappointing reality is that column has everything to do with Amaechi's orientation, whether Luhm wants to admit it or not. Why else would you take that privileged space to rant about something so utterly insignificant and obsolete? Four years ago it was about Amaechi as a basketball player. In 2007, it is absolutely about Amaechi the gay man and apparently Luhm isn't fine with it. Unfortunately, he passes that homophobia off as X's and O's analysis.

From LeBron's uneasyness, to Shavlik's queeziness to Luhm's pathetic attempt to fill 100 picas of newspaper space, they're all thin veils over the reality that we're still utterly stuck in the dark ages of tolerance towards sexual orientation.

It's perhaps not surprising that Amaechi — by all accounts a strikingly intelligent, introspective and eloquent man — had the most apt response to Hardaway's mindless outburst.

"Finally, someone who is honest," Meech said. "It is ridiculous, absurb, petty, bigoted and shows a lack of empathy that is gargantuan and unfathomable. But it is honest. And it illustrates the problem better than any of the fuzzy language other people have used so far."

Hardaway, of course, later publicly apologized in a miserable — and completely coreographed — attempt to backtrack. He apologized for saying it, he didn't apologize for what he said.

And nor should he.

If we're supposed to be tolerant — and not just in disguise — then we're all better off for having heard it.

Renewal of faith

2007-02-08T18:42:00.000-06:00

Recently I've ranted, on a couple of occasions, about the indifference and often inspiration-deprived work of a large part of the sports reporting industry. In one of those posts, however, I conceded that there were still hundreds of great sports reporters who really make an impression with thought-provoking and relevant work that isn't just the same old formula. I think too often sports reporting is relegated to an X's and O's category and people tend to forget that it's OK for a sports story to be about something outside the lines, if you will.

This piece by ESPN's Wright Thompson is one of those works that wonderfully draws the parallels between the success of a small-town high school basketball team and the inevitable failure or success of the town itself. Nazareth's story is one that might never be known to people outside of Texas but Thompson brings that story to light with an engaging look that proves good writing is good writing, and that sports writing doesn't have to be a side category in that discussion.

It is a piece that reminds me that sports writing is allowed to be utterly great and that I wish, if even just occasionally, I could have the chance to write the same such stories that move people to wish the end of words didn't come.

Pointless pasttimes

2007-02-05T22:56:00.000-06:00

Probably the most useless web site on the Internet, but this provided me at least three good minutes of laughter. Beware, you really should be a fan of The Simpsons to appreciate it.

• On another note, for those frustrated by the Brandon Sun's subscriber-based web site, and I'm aware you're out there, if you're looking for something to read of mine, then you can see one of my more recent pieces here.

Gwynn 'n' Juice

2007-01-10T00:59:00.000-06:00

Consider this another product of the Steroid Era of baseball, one that has not only tainted the game but apparently the logical reasoning of those people who cover it as well. ...

Eleven members of the Baseball Writers Association of America didn't believe Tony Gwynn was worthy of the Hall of Fame. When considering 545 ballots were cast, 11 doesn't seem like that large of a number, and it isn't.

When looking at it the other way, however, that figure is absolutely obscene. The thought of being able to find 11 people, 11 people who cover the sport for a living for heaven sakes, who believe somewhere in their logic-deprived brain that one of the greatest hitters in the history of the game doesn't have the right credentials — and then provide an argument to back that up — is exactly what motivates me to write things like the other day when I suggested that sportswriters are often a pitiful group of petty, lazy, and all-around valueless hypocrits. Sometimes all of the above.

Listen, there are THOUSANDS of great sports journalists who bring the craft to a level of excellence. This is not damning of the countless many who deserve to be read regularly. Good sports journalism still does exist, despite the fact that so much of it has become formulaic and indifferent.

Unfortunately, there are THOUSANDS of sports journalists who fit the former mould. They are niggling and self-important. They are the ones who openly admit to not voting for someone simply because they don't want a player to go in unanimous (as Gwynn and Cal Ripken, Jr should have). They are the ones who cast blank ballots as some sort of vain and pointless protest that only succeeds to put their name above the process.

As ESPN.com's Jayson Stark wrote earlier this week, anyone who doesn't vote for Gwynn should be embarassed. If Gwynn isn't a Hall of Famer, then why do we even have a Hall of Fame?

• Career .338 batting average, better than any player since Ted Williams.
• Hit. 350 or better five years in a row, a streak no one has remotely touched in the past 70 years.
• Fifteen-time all-star, five Gold Gloves and batted .500 in the 1998 World Series against a stacked New York Yankees team.
• Most remarkable: Five times Gwynn struck out less than 25 times in a season he hit .350 or better. He was virtually impossible to strike out.

On top of all that, Gwynn is widely accepted as one of the great class acts of the game, which still amounts to something in this era of distrust and antipathy towards modern-day ball players.

Yet 11 people — for whatever their reasons, which we likely will never know — found him unworthy of going into the Hall of Fame even though he did things many couldn't come close to repeating, and did it over the course of 19 seasons.

Tony Gwynn is a better man than I, I suppose. He doesn't care about those 11 imbeciles who chose to butcher their prestigious honour by casting completely disgraceful ballots that fly in the face of the spirit of the Hall of Fame.

To steal Jayson Stark's line, with people like this entrusted as the decision-makers... why do we even have a Hall of Fame?

Words worth

2007-01-08T20:38:00.000-06:00

Many people have heard me say that sports reporters are a joke. Many are hypocrits, many more take themselves way too seriously and a select few more really give us all a bad name.

One problem is that sports reporters are given way — and I mean WAY — too much of a voice for the rest of the public to hear. It's not proportional to their role in society, either. Let's face it, rarely is what a sports reporter does of any great import on a grand scale. Collectively, we tell some stories, try to paint those stories in an interesting light and hope we've provided a unique or compelling angle to what you've seen.

That's it. It's the toy department in the hardware store of life.

Not that you folks who read us would get that mixed up, but every once and awhile one of the reporters seems to mistake his or her role in this galaxy.

Perfect examples have come to the fore in the past few weeks as sportswriters have taken their yearly place at the voting booth for various honours.

Most recently, a story moved on the wire on Monday pre-empting any drama over Tuesday's Baseball Hall of Fame announcement. Tuesday's announcement has been anticipated because of the fact this year's eligible cast includes the much-battered Mark McGwire who has received nearly every headline as sportswriters debate aloud the morality of including a man who very likely took steroids during his playing days.

Now, while the debate of McGwire's inclusion is an understandable and just one, what appeared on the wire today went out of bounds of discussion.

Paul Ladewski, a columnist with the Daily Southtown in suburban Chicago wrote in a column Monday that he submitted a blank ballot because of doubts he had over performance-enhancing drugs in baseball.

He wrote:

At this point, I don’t have nearly enough information to make a value judgment of this magnitude. In particular, that concerns any player in the Steroids Era, which I consider to be the 1993-2004 period, give or a take a season. This isn’t to suggest that (Tony) Gwynn or (Cal) Ripken or the majority of the other eligible candidates padded his statistics with performance-enhancers and cheated the game, their predecessors and the fans in the process. But tell me, except for the players themselves, who can say what they put into their bodies over the years with any degree of certainty?

Well, thank you Paul. Thank you for taking your one measly vote and in the process make yourself the loudest voice and the champion of morality in sports. Gwynn and Ripken will be in the Hall of Fame, of that there is no doubt, and they will likely have been voted in by the time you read this on Tuesday.

The only drama for those two was whether either of them would be the first-ever unanimous selections. Ladewski saw to it that they weren't with his pitiful attempt at protest.

By his logic, Ladewski might as well start handing in all his ballots blank for the next decade or so. After all, if your theory that you can't make value judgments on players in this era stands as gospel now, then logic would dictate that it has to hold true next year, and the year after, and the year after. Put a lid on the Hall of Fame folks, Ladewski can't make up his mind who's clean and who isn't.

What's most upsetting about this is not the fact that genuine, not-a-doubt, not-even-open-for-debate, 110 per cent Hall guys like Gwynn and Ripken are somehow lumped in with McGwire, but rather that sportswriters like Ladewski feel the Hall is somehow a place for them to place their soapbox and then rail against the sport in a feeble attempt to protest something you know very little about. Who's using steroids now? Who was then? What was being used? What benefits precisely did it serve? Is baseball the only sport?

Ladewski, and those backers he's undoubtedly going to have, has made this year's voting an issue about one man and in so doing made his name bigger than it needs to be.

Your job is not to be the clearing house for moral turpitude in sports. No one cares about what your moral stance is and no one cares to have your individual code of ethics override something that is meant for everyone. Take your very lofty privilege and do something good with it. Vote for those who deserve to be in the Hall and save your opinions for the pages of your newspaper.

On a much smaller scale, a sportswriter somewhere in Canada apparently lost his mind recently, too.

NBA star Steve Nash was, very deservedly, named the Lionel Conacher Award winner for the country's male athlete of the year just before Christmas. What was alarming about this was not that Nash won the award — it's hardly a shock given that he won his second straight league MVP award — but what the voting breakdown showed us.

While Nash was the runaway winner, apparently one Canadian Press-authorized reporter who had a vote (they are secret ballots) decided to use his or her vote to nominate Carolina Hurricanes' forward Rod Brind'Amour for the award.

Nothing against the 36-year-old Brind'Amour, but I would love to have the thought process explained to me that says he is more deserving of this nation's athlete of the year award over not only Nash but also American League MVP Justin Morneau and Joe Thornton, the MVP of Brind'Amour's league.

The short answer? There is none, other than the fact that someone doesn't understand the importance of the privilege they are given. Either that or they fall into the category of sportswriters who actually don't know a lot about sports at all, and trust that there are tonnes of those.

(Side note: Montreal Gazette sports editor Stu Cowan called Nash "our Wayne Gretzky of basketball." Can we stop this please? Not only is it apples and oranges, but do we have to compare any athlete with success in this country to Wayne Gretzky? Not only that, the comparison really makes no sense at all.)

I'm by no means sickened to be a member of the sportswriters family, but often times a look around at some of my brothers and sisters makes me wonder if I was adopted. Hopefully.

Hypocritic oath

2006-12-27T19:13:00.000-06:00

Perhaps this will please fellow Sun employee John Hughes:

Miami Dolphins' defensive end Jason Taylor was the first NFL personality to finally step up and call a spade a spade on the NFL's blind-eye hypocrisy to steroid use.

One day after Jim Caple made a brief mention of it in his ESPN.com Page 2 column, Taylor went on record to call out the league's idolatry over San Diego Chargers linebacker Shawne (Lights Out) Merriman.

For those unaware, Merriman was suspended for four games this season for violating the league's policy on performance-enhancing drugs.

Here's Taylor's paraphrased take:

"You really shouldn’t be able to fail a test like that and play in this league, to begin with. To make the Pro Bowl and all the other awards, I think you’re walking a fine line of sending the wrong message. ... You fail that test, I think it’s not right, it’s against the rules and ultimately I think it’s sending the wrong message to the youth in America and the people who look at this game not only as entertainment but also to learn lessons from it."

But for whatever reason, the NFL and its fans have a very short-term memory and convenient amnesia is prevalent. While the likes of Jason Giambi, Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa (etcetera, etcetera) are under constant scrutiny for their use (or alleged use) of performance-enhancers and perhaps will never again be looked at by fans without a tinge of skepticism, here's a player who was caught breaking the rules but yet is back in the league with everyone forgetting it ever happened.

In his Page 2 piece, Caple surmised that the reason the baseball players are taking it a lot worse than the NFLers (or more accurately the NFLers are getting off so much easier than the ball players) is because baseball is a sport married to its individual statistics and the historical importance that they hold. Undoubtedly he's right. The most sacred aspects of the American national pastime are the records, the ones earned decades prior when the game was pure and still an intrinsic part of American sports culture. Roger Maris' home run record was the ultimate of those marks, the one almost-untouchable feat that — whenever challenged — was sure to capture the awe of baseball's followers.

When it was broken, and the subsequent steroid allegations came on like wildfire, the sport and its athletes had forever sewn their seeds with an already cynical following who felt betrayed and were, rightfully, peeved at being duped. That was that and even the likes of good-guys Ryan Howard or David Ortiz are placed under the same unflattering spotlight that exists because of their cheating predecessors.

But the NFL is different. Perhaps of the rough-and-tumble nature, perhaps because you expect your favourite players to be nearly unhuman masses of muscle, perhaps because you just don't care what they're doing to get their shape so long as they can outrun, outhit and outlast their opponent. Yet it's foolish to ever think that all these muscle-bound men who get bigger and faster and more freakish by the year are all doing it simply with a solid commitment to workouts and healthy diets.

The nature of the NFL is different than the laid-back, easy-going world of baseball where a 5-foot-7, 165-pound David Eckstein has no problems competing against a landmass like Big Papi Ortiz. He can still be a big part of that team even if he doesn't jack 40 bombs a year. An Eckstein-ian player in the NFL? He'd better be able to kick.

That there are fundamental differences between the two leagues doesn't excuse the blind eye, of course. It just serves to explain why a guy like Merriman can skate and avoid public scorn even when he's been publicly identified as an offender while Giambi, or Tour de France champion Floyd Landis are verbally stoned by a hypocritical sports public that seems to find their transgressions infinitely more indefensible yet can provide no reasons why.

For the record, here was Merriman's rebuttal to Taylor's words:

"The NFL will always have the level of integrity. That’s what makes the NFL. In my situation, everything happened in an appropriate way. I sat out my four games, my money was taken away from me, my four games were taken away from me, and I came back and played my rear off.

"If I wasn’t having the kind of season I’m having, this wouldn’t even be a conversation."

But Merriman is having the season he's having and his successes should be scrutinized just as any other cheater who's been forced to face-up and answer the questions of their integrity. But he's not. He's back on the field, he's in the Pro Bowl, heck, he was this week's AFC defensive player of the week. By not only allowing players right back in the league but also rewarding them with these individual honours, the NFL extends a tacit approval of their actions and essentially says that streoid use isn't a paramount concern.

U.S. Congress was so intent on exposing the dirty secrets of baseball and the major leagues took a significant step in disciplining the offenders with harsh sentences for those found using performance-enhancing drugs.

It's likely time for the NFL to start waking up to it as well instead of slapping wrists and staying silent while it takes one of its player who actually gets it to stand up and say what everyone should have already known.

Unfinished Business

2006-12-22T20:34:00.000-06:00

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention this at some point.

Last weekend the Nebraska Cornhuskers women's volleyball team captured its third ever national championship in front of a record (and astonishing) 17, 203 fans in Omaha, Neb.

I mentioned this in a column in a Brandon Sun column I wrote earlier this week, but the team was led by a Canadian. If you follow volleyball and don't know Sarah Pavan's name ... well, you don't really follow volleyball. A 6-foot-5 junior, Pavan won seemingly every individual accolade possible in leading the Huskers to a one-loss season and undoubtedly has a place in the NU volleyball Hall of Fame sitting and waiting for her.

One thing I found interesting, however, was after the Huskers had beaten the Stanford Cardinal in four sets, Stanford head coach John Dunning was quoted as saying: "“She has been playing volleyball a long time. ... Like some of the players (in Canada), it’s in her blood.”

It was a nice tip of the cap to Canadian volleyball, which has been hindered by the success of some of its players down south. Pavan is not a national-team member because of her commitments to Nebraska and don't doubt for a second that Canada would be much more competitive on the international scene if it could get everyone it desired.

I also drew comparisons in the aforementioned column between Nebraska and Manitoba for volleyball because both are quietly the hotbeds of their respective nations for producing female volleyball players.

But enough of that. The Huskers have another national championship to their credit and for anyone suggesting that UNL is a football school only, consider the fact the volleyball team repeatedly set attendance records this season.

Oh, and another thing: Pavan was the most highly recruited athlete in Nebraska athletics history.

Giddy. Up.

2006-12-20T06:15:00.000-06:00

My sister just told me it's not in my nature to be giddy.

She's exactly right.

Still there's a couple things that lift the spirits. In this case it's randomness. Stumbling across some clips online like

Lauryn Hill's "Killing Me Softly" rendition off Block Party.

OR...

Kanye's West "Jesus Walks" rendition with the backing of the Central State University marching band. and John Legend on vocals.

OR...

And I don't even hesitate to tell you how janked up this made me to FINALLY find it online. After searching every P2P music-sharing program, scouring the internet, trying to find this song ANYWHERE and — even with a pretty good knowledge of how to find obscure things online — striking out with great frustration, I found it.

Cody Chesnutt's very brief appearance in the final scene from Block Party. His performance of "Parting Ways," the song I've never been able to find, plays solely for just a moment. I even blogged about all of this here.

It is one of my favourite 30 seconds of music ever, even though it's not the whole thing. But you take what you can get.

So, it's not giddy, but it's close.

Take what you can get.

You know what, while we're at it: Step shows are pretty cool, too.

For those unitiated to step shows, or 'steppin,' the practice is common and popular in historically black colleges and universities. They are highly-detailed dance routines that incorporate the likes of cheerleading, military, and drill-team moves, as well as the call-and-response element of those forms. Large competitions are held all over the continent and they're likely to populate any number of school homecoming weekends. They are highly intricate and definite crowd engagers. Step shows are rooted in the black colleges and universities — specifically fraternities and sororities — because the history they draw from is a hybrid of African culture and African-American music and culture.

Have a look here and, if so compelled, watch Part 2 here..

Big Red to Big Blue

2006-12-19T23:18:00.000-06:00

Went to the Winnipeg Free Press' sports section to read Ed Tait's annual "Bomber Bowling" feature, which gives Blue Bomber fans a glance at who their home team is looking at in the slew of NCAA college football bowl games.

Opened up the paper, went to C1 and... literally made a noise comparable to a yelp mixed with a wahoo. It went something like "Ah!!"

Before I proceed allow me to just say I know full well how big the gun is that I'm jumping right now, but it's fun to do it.

So there on the page, staring back at me, was Nebraska quarterback (and some will say program saviour) Zac Taylor who has apparently found his way onto the Blue Bombers negotiation list.

From a guy who has longed for a Nebraska player to end up in Blue and Gold, let me just channell Keith Jackson here and say: "Ohhhhh nelly."

A little background perhaps on Zac. A native of Norman, Okla., home of the evil Sooners, Taylor was ignored by his hometown school and bounced from Wake Forest to Butler (Kan.) Community College before being recruited to come to rival Nebraska and lift Husker fans out of the doom and gloom that was the short-lived Joe Dailey Era.

In his first full season, Taylor was up and down as the Huskers adapted to the West Coast system but finished 2005 by helping Big Red win its final three games including the Alamo Bowl victory over Michigan. It was in that game that Taylor fully earned his reputation as a gamer and the confidence of the Nebraska faithful. He took an absolute beating but hung in and led the Huskers to a season-ending upset that had everyone immediately ready for 2006.

This season, he's continued what he started and — I at least — have been mournfully realizing that once Jan. 1 has come and gone, so too will have Taylor. He has passed for more than 3,000 yards, tossed 25 touchdowns, just seven interceptions — a record-breaking season on every level at UNL — and won over the enamoured followers like the protagonist in a Disney movie.

So perhaps one day I'll have the fortune of watching two of my football worlds collide and, obviously, I feel like the Bombers would be better off for it, although it's hard to say how Taylor would adapt to a CFL game. He's got decent mobility and if put in a situation where he can thrive off making quick decisions — like he does in the Husker offence — he's the type of QB who could one day really thrive in the CFL. Think young Dave Dickenson.

Taylor will at least get a look in the NFL, however. Perhaps depending on what he does in the Cotton Bowl on New Year's Day, Taylor is a lock to be drafted somewhere after being named the Big 12 Conference's 1st Team quarterback this season. That said, my never-ending desire to see a former Husker dressing for the Bombers (to my knowledge it's never happened before) is telling me that it's OK to go complete overboard on this one. (For that matter, I would like to see RB Cory Ross placed on the neg list, too. (At 5-foot-6 and slippery as all get out, think a future Charles Roberts without the drama).

So not wanting to see Taylor leave Nebraska combined with wanting to see a Husker go from red to blue, has me excited for something that will probably not happen for years down the road. If at all.

Zac Taylor, Winnipeg Blue Bomber. It looks good in writing too.

And nobody catches Bo

2006-11-30T04:22:00.000-06:00

In honour of Al Michaels' classic call of a Bo Jackson touchdown on Monday Night Football here is a blast from the past.

For those who can appreciate the greatness that was Tecmo Bowl, here is video Bo Jackson showing why he was the greatest video game athlete of all time.

OU didn't!

2006-11-29T01:04:00.000-06:00

I, as lover of Big Red and as obligated in the unwritten code that accompanies fandom of said Huskers, hate Oklahoma.

Now, that's nothing new or rare in the ranks of the Big 12. Pretty much everyone in the conference has a hate on for the Sooners and it comes for a number of reasons, not the least of which is most of their fans come off as complete (insert expletive).

So it was with great interest that I read an email forwarded to me by a fellow Husker fan in Omaha with the subject line: JEALOUS OF OU.

		The Sooners think we're all jealous of their football team/program...and here are a few reasons why........... 1)I'm jealous their football program is under NCAA investigation and will have to forfeit games that Rhett "Big Red Sports & Imports" Bomar played in. 2) I'm jealous their basketball program is on probation for cheating. 3) I'm jealous their legendary Coach they refer to as "The King" and they honor by naming buildings after ran a dirty program and got caught committing serious violations and got the program put on probation. 4) I'm jealous their team is named after their ancestors who were Dirt Burglars, cheaters and thieves (notice a theme here?). 5) I'm jealous their team is filled with brainiacs, so much that they got a whole 5 players named to the All Big XII Academic Team, ranking right up there with the likes of Kansas State for the lowest in the conference ...as an FYI the teams they hate like Texas and NU, had 24 and 22 respectively, most in the conference! 6) I'm jealous because during their 90s slump they had a five year stretch with a 23-33-1 including 3 losing seasons in row. In contrast, our slump consisted of one .500 season and one losing season, and only one year where we didn't go to a bowl game. 7) I'm jealous because despite their having an admirable run earlier this decade, going 60-7 in 5 years, playing for 3 National Titles, yet only winning one...it pales in comparison to our prolific run from 93-97 where we went 60-3, having played for 4 National Championships and having won 3 in that same 5 year stretch (the loss coming by missing a game winning field goal in the final seconds). Contrast that with our trouncing of Florida by a record 38 points in the '96 Fiesta Bowl, whereas the mighty Sooners nearly let USC break that record by getting trounced by a score of 55-19 in the 2004 title game. 8) I'm jealous because obviously our fans have nothing to cheer for, that's why NU has the longest sell out streak in the country, dating back to the early 1960s. 9) I'm jealous that in my lifetime OU has won 4 National Championships and my Huskers have 5.

That pretty much gets the point across.

The Huskers and Sooners will face off in the Big 12 Championship game on Saturday with a berth in a BCS bowl game on the line. It will be the first time in 11 years that the two heated rivals will play in the conference championship but there is no thought that that has dulled the fever heading into the big game. Nebraska beating Oklahoma any year makes the weekends sweet, but beating them in the title game? Well, that's off the charts.

Again the responsibilities of a career will keep me from watching the game unfettered. A Brandon-Simon Fraser women's volleyball match that I'll be doing play-by-play on falls right smack dab in the middle of the football fun. Just a little FYI, though? I'll have our courtside monitor switched to ABC. Don't tell anyone.

A few rambling thoughts to fill this thing out...

• Got a letter to the editor in the Brandon Sun the other day in response to a column I did last week in which I tried to put a spark in the southwestern Manitoba community and its penchant for being, shall we say, dull at BU games. Neither disparaging nor insulting, the piece was meant to question why, at exciting sporting events, no one in the region seems to want to make their voices heard. The environment is, more often than not, maddeningly monotonous. The letter, in short, stated that this particular person had at one time been an avid fan who was vocal and energetic until being told by the athletic therapist to quiet down because BU fans didn't act that way and had respect for the opposition. Just when I thought that was his cue he was in support of my piece, his letter went on to tell me that it's not my job to tell folks what to do at games and that, in fact, BU is not that kind of school and the letter-writer seemed quite proud of that fact.

Listen, there's a fine line between being an obnoxious jerk at games and being a vocal, intense fan who knows it's OK to make some noise. I can't even believe I'm feeling the need to justify this and perhaps the fact that I do feel it says volumes about the community in which I currently reside.

Not to beat this horse again, but the greatest sporting environment I've ever been in was in Lincoln and the fans there are known for their over-the-top graciousness to the opposition. Well somehow they manage to balance that with being absolutely rabid for their team.

So explain to me again why it's wrong to suggest Brandon could do the same.

• Last week I got through watching the five-part long VH1 documentary "And You Don't Stop: 30 Years of Hip Hop" on YouTube, which was a nostalgic reminder of all the things that make that genre great to me. That enthusiasm was anhilated, however, a day later when I read an Associated Press review of Kevin Federline's album that said, in so many words, "hey, it's not so bad, y'know."

Actually, it is. Atrocious. What the reason behind suggesting it is anything but a steaming pile is, I don't know, but make no mistake there is nothing redeemable here and allowing Federline to come off as some sort of rags to riches inspiration is preposterous. Crediting his lyrics as "some of the most sincere urban storytelling" is just plain insulting.

Reading someone actually pimp this album as a worthwhile offering gave me an ugly feeling in my stomach. Actually, no.

Realizing that there's people who think this way about music gave me that feeling.

• Haven't done a list in a while, so here is...

The List of Five:
5. Dog Bites Man — My new funniest show on TV
4. The Simpsons Bart vs. Australia on as I type this. — I see you've played Knifey-Spooney before.
3. Jean Grae — Great voice of hip hop.
2. Sarah Pavan — The biggest star at Nebraska.
1. Fiesta Bowl — Go Big Red

My Cup runneth over

2006-11-20T20:16:00.000-06:00

In hindsight, I really should have known.

If you're telling me I'm going to go see a football game between the British Columbia Lions and Montreal Alouettes, in the very best case scenario I'm going to be indifferent to the proposal. And, it would be safe to say, seeing those two teams at the Grey Cup in my hometown could be classified as "the very best case scenario" for said opportunity.

But here's the thing: I hate the Montreal Alouettes and I'm only mildly short of hatred for the Lions. So, when the chance to see the Grey Cup game came up months and months ago, I prayed that my team — the Winnipeg Blue Bombers — would manage to be in it. When they were eliminated from the playoffs, my indifference shot through the roof to "rather be reading Chaucer" status.

So I should have really known better that even going to my first-ever Grey Cup would be polluted by the fact that I really couldn't give a damn who won the game.

Esthetically speaking, Sunday's big game was the equivalent of an orangutang doing colour-by-numbers. Montreal QB Anthony Calvillo was below average, his counterpart Dave Dickson was marginally better and the outstanding Canadian of the game got the honour because he managed to kick six field goals, an indication of sputtering offences more than a clutch boot. When a kicker wins any type of MVP award, ... well, that says a lot, doesn't it?

On top of that, neither team spread the field much. Calvillo went deep on the first play of the game and then spent the rest of the contest dodging defensive linemen and watching his receivers drop every pass they could. (This is excluding Ben Cahoon who was actually the best offensive player on the field.) Two touchdowns were scored, both on the ground, one on a plunge. Hardly riveting theatre.

For those who have been to Winnipeg Stadium (I don't use the corporate name), then you're likely aware of the binary opposites that are the East Side and the West Side. For those who don't: One side is drunk, the other side is old, okay?

It's a mass generalization but for the sake of proving my point I am sticking with it as reality. It's a little thing I like to call Armchair Prophecy and I learned about it in first-year psych, so just roll with it.

The West Side is the old, reserved and utterly unentertaining side. Members of this side of the Stadium are known to bring seat cushions with back support, wear hats they bought at the old Osborne Stadium and — this is most important to remember — never, under any circumstances, get up out of their seats. Dieter Brock could be handing out winning lottery tickets and they wouldn't so much as budge unless they were telling him to quiet down. In fact, after the referees blew a big call (more on this later), a frustrated Alouette hurled a game ball into the stands and it caused all of five people to react to try to get it. Unbelievable.

This is the side I sat on and, with most of the seats being retained by season-ticket holders, this is the crowd with which I watched the game.

So take an indifferent me, with a crowd better suited for an elementary school Christmas recital and mix in a bad football performance, and you'll see perhaps I'm not the right guy to ask "How was the game?"

And here is where you all ask me to turn in my Canadian citizenship...

The Grey Cup did nothing for me and the more I think about it the Canadian Football League more and more isn't doing anything for me.

I still pull rabidly for the Blue Bombers, I still believe at the most basic level the CFL game is far more exciting than the NFL game and I would be utterly crushed if the league somehow went away. But there is something that has tainted it for me and I believe it's a combination of a number of variables, a few that showed up throughout the playoffs.

The putridity of the CFL referees reared its ugly head on the game's biggest stage. Head ref Jake Ireland blew down a play in which Dickenson fumbled and the Als recovered and were alone into the endzone. The most senior official in the league took six points off the board with his rash reaction in the biggest game of the year (not to mention he had arguably the worst angle, coming from behind the flow of the play while another official was facing it head on and didn't blow the play down). If Ireland believes that the player is down, let the play run and then let the video replay prove you to be right or wrong. Instead, his move costs a team six points and plays a major factor in the final outcome.

Furtherto that, the analysts on the TSN post-game acknowledged merely that it was "unfortunate" for it to happen and left it at that further adding fuel to my argument that the CFL and the networks are in some sort of cohoots with each other to never lambaste or black-mark the league with actual commentary.

You're damn right that play should be held up to considerble scrutiny and rather than the CFL admit it or, lord help us, the analysts actually disect it for what it was, everyone just brushes it off and carries on with the "isn't it fun to play football"-type dialogue. No bite and barely even any bark.

In Canadian sports we have this notion that the Grey Cup is the be all and end all of sports in this country, which it very likely is when considering the one-game urgency of it. The presentation in-stadium was very good and the "show" itself was just fine but I guess I needed (or expected) more than just a few flashing lights and a full stadium.

It is understood that Grey Cup Week is more about the lead up to the game, than the game itself. But, with that said, the experience of any football game is not about how many decibals and watts you pump into the stadium.

A great football experience doesn't include: People getting up out of their seat and sliding past you in the aisle every 10 minutes, drunks spilling beer over any and everyone in the three rows in front of them, fans leaving the stands by the hundreds at various points in the game and, most importantly, spectator indifference.

Winnipeg and the league teamed up to do all possible to make the experience a memorable one but one thing they can't control is thousands of fans standing around you who don't care about the game or who have it ingrained in their every action that it is somehow wrong to whoop it up and behave with a modicum of craziness. How very Canadian of you. (Incidentally, I'm aware that this is what Super Bowls are like live as well, so leave that analogy at home.)

I have been to great football venues and the Grey Cup is easily trumped. It's nothing the CFL can cure; the city of Winnipeg put on a marvelous show and by all accounts made the week-long event well worth the effort of those who came to the city. But if we're just talking about going to the game, then I could go through another 50 years of Grey Cup games, not attend one of them and still live contently without regret.

Perhaps it's just simple enough to say the Grey Cup is the epitomy of putting Canadian and Sport together: Always falling short of spectacular because that's way we want it.

No Bye Weeks Here

2006-11-13T05:28:00.000-06:00

In honour of Big Red's cliffhanger 28-27 win over Texas A&M in College Station on Saturday — and accompanying clinching of the Big 12 North Division — here's a bit of randomdess as we enter the UNL bye week with one regular-season game left before the Big 12 Conference Championship in December against Texas.

So to tide me over until the Huskers' next action — which is Nov. 24 in Lincoln against Colorado. Check your local listings — I went YouTube'ing to satiate my Big Red blood. So I bring you this:

The famous Nebraska Tunnel Walk with your special guest host Keith Jackson, the greatest voice in the history of football.

"Can you think of a better place to be than Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska?"

Nope. Go Big Red.

The Tunnell Walk Prayer
Dear Lord, the battles we go through life,
We ask for a chance that's fair
A chance to equal our stride,
A chance to do or dare
If we should win, let it be by the code,
Faith and Honor held high
If we should lose, we'll stand by the road,
And cheer as the winners go by
Day by Day, we get better and better!
Til' we can't be beat...WON'T BE BEAT!

Legend

2006-11-09T02:18:00.000-06:00

As in sports, the toughest thing to do is repeat.

After the flourish with which John Legend entered the music scene two years ago, the follow up album was a highly-anticipated offering from the man who brought soulful cool back to the R&B music scene and, with it, became a multi-platinum, Grammy-winning, certified music star.

Legend's first full-length solo venture Get Lifted beautifully flashed the Chicagoan's vocal ability against a brilliantly produced Kanye West musical backdrop; a perfect melding of two of urban music's most talented men and an ideal canvas for Legend to show off his unmistakable tone. The result was a return of classic R&B mixed with just enough pop tendencies to make Get Lifted a commercial and critical success.

With Legend essentially a household name, he returns with Once Again, his second solo effort that lets him step out more on his own. Although Kanye is still there to lay a bulk of the tracks, Legend is left to his own devices lyrically with no thoughts that guest appearances are needed to assist the overall product.

In the end, the second helping of Legend is not entirely like the first serving, but not entirely unlike it either.

The strengths on Get Lifted — Legend's soothing vocals and touch on the keys — are still readily evident on Once Again as is his ability to produce mesmorizing ballads. "Again" is the marquis ballad of the collection and has Legend reflecting on a relationship started out of sin and now ironically wrought with mistrust because of that guilty beginning. As compared to Get Lifted's flagship slow jam, "Ordinary People," it is perhaps not as extraordinary nor as poignant but it still makes a listener stand up and take notice. For those looking for the heart-wrenching feel of "Ordinary People" it lies in "Where Did My Baby Go?", a saccharine-y tale of unrequited love that is not nearly as peurile as the title may suggest.

On that same level, "Coming Home" hits close to the heart as well, a narrative of homes left empty by those off to battle. While it seems destined to back-up a CNN slow-motion montage of Iraq footage, it is nonetheless eloquent and while everyone seemingly wants to jump in with their poetic social commentary, Legend's entry aspires to be more down home than condemning.

As a whole, Once Again seems to lend itself more to Legend's stylings than to those of West, whose inspirations and hip-hop leanings could be felt more on Get Lifted. But that doesn't mean Once Again loses those feelings of the original completely, moreso that Legend is allowed to dip into his roots of funk and neo-soul more than he showed on his first album.

The product, then, is an album more funky and enterprising, one that plays with sound and comes off slightly more experimental while staying true to Legend as an artist. Once Again is less about making a cutting-edge R&B album — been there, done that — and more about producing just a cutting-edge album in general. For all its currentness — and undoubtedly it is current — Once Again is still decidedly nostalgic; as if you took Legend of today back 30 years ago and told Stevie Wonder, Jimmy Hendrix and Minnie Riperton (and whatever friends they could muster) to meet in a studio.

To that end, the sound is more soulful and inventive, mixing multiple genres into one pot before finally producing what could be referred to as neo-retro: A throwback album made for the 21st century and meant to last well beyond.

The Cries of Texas

2006-10-24T00:22:00.000-06:00

"You jinxed it."

Just when the Nebraska Cornhuskers are three yards away from a first down and hanging the biggest upset of the Bill Callahan Era in the books, Terrence Nunn fumbles, the Texas Longhorns recover and the Huskers, for all intents and purposes, were done. Moments later, a field goal.

Texas 22, Nebraska 20.

A few minutes before T-Nunn's fumble the Huskers had gotten a key defensive stop, were just a few minutes away from sealing the deal on the No.7-ranked Horns and I made reference to "I'm not going home 2-1": My record on these road trips being at 2-0 coming into last weekend.

"You jinxed it."

The guy I had stood beside all game heard my statement, saw me climb a few rows up into the stands to join some other revellers and then turned to me and told me...

"You jinxed it."

A clarification is as follows: That statement was not made in the sense of realization but more in defiance. So it wasn't my way of saying we've won, rather my way of saying "hell no, I didn't drive all this way to lose." That didn't change my feeling, though. What he said rang in my ears but the realization that he was, in my mind, bang on correct was what made me sink.

Why do I say all this? Simply because I'm the most superstitious person you'll likely ever meet. Example: At one point I went to go put my hoody up, realized I hadn't worn it all game long and quickly dropped it knowing that would mess with the cosmic energy in a critical game.

That's just the small stuff. I make the trip to Memorial Stadium on the first night of our arrival every year — in the middle of the night — park in the same spot, touch the "Through These Gates Walk The Greatest Fans In College Football" sign and proceed to tour around the outside.

Back at home, I wear my same jersey every Saturday. A jersey I emblazoned with Turner Gill's name on the back simply because the quarterback who owned No.12 when I bought it had transferred out of UNL. Didn't need his ghost coming back.

So when someone says the words "You jinxed it," and says it with such earnest, well, let's just say it's the kind of thing that hangs in my head... oh, I don't know... all damn weekend.

Listen, no rational thought says superstitions are worth two cents but you're crazy if you think I can entertain that notion. You're talking to a guy who's beard and unwashed Jerome Bettis jersey won the Super Bowl last season.

In the end, however, the loss didn't taint what was my favourite of the three trips so far. We saw an absolutely unforgettable, classic game, were welcomed and received by the unfathomably genuine people of Lincoln and almost immediately began counting the days until 2007's trip.

And that is why an absolutely devastating, heart-wrenching and painful loss like Saturday's can be dealt with, because what we get out of this annual pilgrimmage becomes so much more than just the 60 minutes of football we watch. And consider that coming from the guy who goes to the office on his days off so he can listen to the games online, keeps a yearly schedule/scoreboard from every season on his walls and half thought of stealing a six-foot high statue of Lil Red from a local sporting goods store simply because I liked the thought of having it standing by my desk.

The Canadians for Nebraska banner that made the trip has been left for the good folks at Christo's Pub on O Street with our hopes it will one day grace a wall there. The accompanying t-shirts (Canadians for Nebraska on the front, The Eh Team on the back) are being sent out to different corners of North America, a surprisingly hot commodity considering our phony chapter is half lark, half homage.

The loss stung, the wholly irrational thought of my role in it stung more (sorry T-Nunn) but the greatness of Lincoln in October and the luck I have to be a part of it will ultimately mean more than what shows up on the scoreboard.

But I think I'll wear some lucky socks next time just to be sure.

Go Big Red.

Say it ain't Joe

2006-10-10T06:20:00.000-06:00

While four teams remain in the Major League Baseball playoffs — and with them a handful of intriguing storylines — the focus of the baseball world is unfortunately still focused on the team that hogs the headlines virtually every other day of the baseball year.

As the Detroit Tigers, Oakland Athletics, St. Louis Cardinals and N.Y. Mets continued on in a quest for the World Series, it was the New York Yankees who continued to fill newspapers, web sites and sports radio programs. Less was made of the Yankees meltdown in the American League Division Series against Detroit mostly because mere moments after being bounced by the Tigers all the focus in the baseball world was on George Steinbrenner, manager Joe Torre and the latter's reported impending firing. A New York Times report early Tuesday morning said Torre was staying on board.

To me, the Yankees are a complete joke. They are the over-compensating "cool guy" from high school who came from privilege, drove a Mustang, occasionally got the good-looking girls but in reality was the biggest putz you'd ever wanna meet. Devoid of personality, dumb as cotton and, for all intents and purposes, wholly unlikeable.

But what makes the Yankees a joke to me is the man running the show, Steinbrenner. With all the money in the world the Yankees couldn't get the prize much of the sports world had practically already granted them before the playoffs had started. Rightfully so, the Yankees were the odds-on favourites to win the World Series but falling short of that — specifically at the hands of a Tigers team that won just three games less than NYY in the regular season — is not some sort of cataclysmic disaster or abject failure.

However, Steinbrenner's delusions about his team, mistaken often for passion, leaves no scenario other than a championship every single year a possibility. And perhaps when you can afford to shell out $200 million in salaries every year, when your payroll is $56 million more than two of the remaining teams combined (Twins and Athletics) and your jerseys have pinstripes with an interlocking NY on them then you have the right to expect more. But as teams throughout sports prove year in and year out, the highest salary expenditures don't always translate into championships.

As Steinbrenner reprises his role from the 1980s as the evil owner who shuffles managers like hockey teams shifting on the fly, the routine has become more than a bit tired. Torre was said to be on the hot seat despite the fact the Yankee players — whose ineptitude in clutch situations is truly to blame for the early exit — are to a man in support of him. But Steinbrenner has never been particularly concerned with the needs, likes or interests of his players.

What's utterly irritating about The Boss' routine, year in and year out, is it comes with the same rhetoric, the same words only rearranged and the same blame placed everywhere but on himself. A self-effacing monologue every once and awhile would be appreciated as would a realization that there are times the one to accept some of the blame is the one staring back at you in the mirror.

Putting the blame on Torre is not only misplaced it's borderline idiotic when you consider how the series played out. Torre put the pieces on the board, he wasn't responsible for moving them around while they were out there. And when you field a roster like the Yankees did, the expectations of a championship are accompanied by the expectations that those assembled will do something resembling what their responsibilities are.

But Joe Torre didn't coach Alex Rodriguez into hitting .080 for the series. He didn't coach Jaret Wright into lasting only 2 2-3 innings in the biggest game of the season and he didn't coach Randy Johnson's sub-par, injury-hampered performance in Game 3 either.

Fox's Kevin Kennedy said the only mistake he felt Torre made was starting Wright in Game 4 instead of their ace Chien-Ming Wang, who was waiting in the wings for a shot at a deciding Game 5. With the season on the line, Kennedy argued, he didn't want to put the ball in Wright's hands. I disagree to the extent that you're a team — like the San Diego Padres who went to Woody Williams instead of Jake Peavy in their must-win Game 4 — needing to win two games and if you get Game 4, then Game 5 is the most important game of the season.

But Kennedy's point is valid. With the season on the line he said, I don't put the ball in Jaret Wright's hands. Therein lies the truth. For all the dollars and no sense, the Yankees season, ironically, came down to not having enough. You can spend $200 million dollars any way you want but when the guy you throw out there when you absolutely, positively need a win simply isn't good enough, it doesn't matter if you paid him $7 million or $7,000.

Steinbrenner could switch managers in the off-season and the Yankees won't even blink — they'll still be atop the AL East and they'll still be a favourite. Rip Taylor could coach this team to 90 wins for crying out loud.

Perhaps more accurately, Larry David as George Steinbrenner — with George Costanza as the assistant to the travelling secretary (cotton uniforms and all) — could still get this team to the playoffs.

With only slightly varying conclusions, the plot line will be the same every year until Steinbrenner no longer owns the New York Yankees, which is to say when George Steinbrenner dies. In the meantime, all those being subjected to watching his tired old routine have little in the way of choice.

The best bet is to laugh it off for the joke that it is.

False Dynasty

2006-10-02T23:20:00.000-06:00

The New England Patriots beat the Cincinnati Bengals on the road Sunday, sending the collective group of criminals and all around jackasses to their first loss of the season.

The Patriots, who aside from quarterback Tom Brady are decidedly average in talent on paper, simply pummelled the Bengals on their home field and in the process essentially said "not so fast" to anyone who would have written them off as shadows of their former dynastic selves.

On two separate occasions, however, NFL television analysts remarked something akin to "this was supposed to be the game where the AFC power shifted" and "the Patriots weren't ready to hand over the torch."

Um, what? Hand over what torch? Let me just take a second here. ... I have something I want to remind people.

Just bear with me. This should only take a quick sec.

I know it's hear somewhere. What did I do with it?

Oh yeah, here it is:

So this torch that you speak of? Well, with all due respect to the dynasty of the Patriots — and make no mistake that's a team I respect and hold nothing against — that torch wasn't in their hands as of right now anyway. However, I'll humour the argument for the time being and let's say we accept the fact that the Patriots are still in their dynasty — hey, another Super Bowl this season would certainly prolong it — what is the suggestion that this game in Week 4(!!!) is the one in which the dynasty is to be handed over.

Of course even more preposterous is that this suggests that the Football Gods who look over such a thing — they of course being the concentric rings of organized crime that affect betting lines and coerce teams and officials to throw games — have evidentally selected the Bengals as the team of the future, the one worthy of taking the torch as the new dynasty of American football. Why that might be is beyond me. Perhaps it has something to do with the city of Cincinnati being completely uninhabitable and devoid of any noticeable redeeming qualities.

Alright, you know, I'll play along with this line of thinking for a moment, too. Hey, OK, Cincinnati Bengals, you're the chosen ones. We've decided: Those coveted AFC North Division champions hats you guys are so proud of wearing, well toss those to the side, boys. Your dynasty lids are in the mail. Hey, don't worry about all those years and years of futility and missed playoffs, that North Division title from last year is good enough for us. Your franchise wasn't even worth our contempt a couple of seasons ago, but don't wortty those days are over. You're now the greatest franchise in the National Football League, pishaw to the fact that in all reality you should be no better than 2-2 right now. We're suckers for overnight success stories, even if they're completely contrived.

Yup, that was the dynasty-hander-over game. We hope you enjoy your stay atop the NFL and have fun with your new torch. Just a memo: Some of the other dynasties — the 1970s Steelers, the 49ers, the Cowboys — get together once a week for a barbecue and lawn darts. If you can manage to get your guys out of prison for the day or if you need us to come by your place (y'know because of the house arrests), then that's cool too. Bring your probation officers too, we'll make a day of it.

Now, enjoy your torches. We now return you to reality...

Full Disclosure

2006-09-21T20:35:00.000-06:00

A judge has sentenced two San Francisco Chronicle reporters to 18 months in prison for refusing to reveal the sources they used in cracking the steroid saga, a web that famously includes the likes of Barry Bonds, Jeremy Giambi and other athletic superstars.

The two reporters, Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada, have said repeatedly they'd rather spend time in jail rather than reveal the sources that leaked them the grand jury testimony that allowed them to write a series of groundbreaking stories as well as their book Game of Shadows. For the time being they will avoid the prison time as they appeal the latest decision.

While trying to avoid the soapbox on this subject, the freedom of the press is rooted so deeply in the uses of anonymous sources that asking a reporter to reveal their secret informant is tantamount to confiscating their tools as an investigative journalist and then expecting them to be able to do their job somehow just as effectively as before. And while many might feel that a journalist being required to make public the names of people who provided them critical information is a small price, make no mistake that if these two reporters eventually to give up the names, it changes their entire livelihood and will ultimately trigger a domino effect for reporters of all beats.

Fainaru-Wada and Williams know full well if they ever have to suffer the fate of disclosing these names — people who themselves performed the illegal act of giving up sealed testimony — that their careers as investigative journalists are over. No one ever again will provide these writers with the public information we need, but wouldn't always be privy to.

That Fainaru-Wada and Williams are sentenced to 18 months in prison, not for an illegal act mind you, while the likes of Victor Conte and Greg Anderson combined haven't served that amount despite the fact they are the ones right at the heart of the entire debacle.

Fainaru-Wada and Williams very likely will end up serving jail time for an act that sits at the very heart of what it means to be an investigative journalist. They did their job well, they exposed dirty secrets that we all should know about and they stood their ethical ground in the face of the threat of prison.

Unnamed sources helped expose a president, they have been integral in exposing the seedy underbelly of municipal, civic and federal politics and they've found their way into arguably the biggest sports story of all time.

If we are to continue our pursual of vital information such as that which was exposed by the Chronicle, the journalists who bring us such material can't be burdened with the need to constantly look over their shoulders wary of another misguided legal battle.

Big Red's Big Talk

2006-09-13T11:39:00.000-06:00

Good friend Julio alerted me to this story, just a few days before the beloved Big Red is to get its first major challenge of the season, a trip to Los Angeles to face the juggernaut USC Trojans.

I won't get into this too much, my superstitious side won't allow me to. But let's just say, in my unconditional support for all that is Nebraska, I appreciate our boys going in with confidence and talking big, but the last thing anyone needs to be doing is giving a team that's won 27 straight at home. It's a new team there in L.A. but it's still the fourth-ranked team in the nation and firing them up isn't always advised. So can we please just all calm down?

Perhaps that's the weak me talking — the guy who doesn't even want to utter words of impending games because of my belief if jinxes the good guys.

That said, Nebraska is a three-touchdown road dog in this game, which makes little sense to me. Hopefully the Huskers use that as their motivation to counteract what will undoubtedly be a fired up USC group in light of Jones' remarks.

Where to begin

2006-09-09T23:38:00.000-06:00

Just way too much football to deal with now that the NFL and NCAA have gotten their seasons underway. We'll start with Pittsburgh, which got a nice win against a Miami team that still should be considered to at least contend for the AFC East.

Still, I can't help but think they're the same as the Minnesota Vikings from a year ago: Make a ton of off-season moves, get everyone janky about your prospects, get pre-season Super Bowl hype. Hell, they've even got their starting quarterback. Anyway, we all know how that story turns out.

The only thing I'll say about the controversial Heath Miller touchdown is that if I'm a Dolphins fan I'm absolutely livid at my coach. Yes, he got the flag down to challenge the score but where in heaven's name was the intensity you'd want to see from your coach? I just think that was a guy who wasn't entirely convinced he should challenge the play, which begs the question: Why wasn't he? At that stage of the game, as backbreaking as the play could potentially be, how can you not just automatically get out there and KNOW you need to challenge the play. And then when you do, you'd better be damn sure you're on the field making it known you've challenged. That said, the refs botched the call AND botched the "hey, should we be looking even slightly in the Miami bench's direction to see if they want to challenge this thing?" thing.

The Steelers still need to get more a running game going and hopefully bringing in Najeh Davenport addresses their slight lack of power running, which I don't think is yet an area of panic concern.

Moving west, the Nebraska Cornhuskers are 2-for-2 in the softies category. Two wins at Memorial over peons Lousiana Tech and Nicholls State aren't anything to jump for joy about but the manner in which they got those wins is encouraging.

The Huskers much-publicized running troubles of a year ago are seemingly taking care of with the four-headed monster in the backfield of Marlon Lucky (showing why he was so coveted a recruit), Kenny Wilson (ridiculously talented), Cody Glenn (change-of-pace bruiser) and Brandon Jackson (extra piece to the puzzle).

Zac Taylor has looked very good throwing seven touchdowns against one INT and the defence, well ... the defence is what it always is.

That said, the biggest benchmark comes next Saturday when they head to L.A. for the USC game. I'm not convinced that Nebraska is so out of its league here. We'll see. It's just way too hard to tell right now, but I'm absolutely bubbling over in anticpation for it. A win in this game is not even huge, or HUGE.... it would be HYYUUGGGE.

Since you asked

2006-09-08T15:22:00.000-06:00

Editor's note: An MSNBC.com column suggested, putting an asterisk on the home run totals of Mark McGwire et. al.

Since You Asked: Asterisking an Era

-----Original Message-----
From: David Larkins [mailto:dlarkins@steelersfan.org]
Sent: Monday, August 28, 2006 6:03 PM
To: Garasa, Julio: OPS
Subject: Re: Since you asked ...

While it would be foolish to argue legitimacy when talking about the home run record, undoubtedly there are legions of people who will go to their grave fighting the futile fight. I call those people San Francisco Giants fans.

But my feeling on this has always been that you can't just change one record and disregard everything else. If there's one thing we've learned from this debacle of steroids over the past few years it is that people are ignoring all the other juicers because they're so transfixed on the power numbers. Well, pitchers are arguably worse offenders and have slid under the radar. While we lay into McGwire and Palmeiro - and rightfully so - no one even raises a brow towards, say, Roger Clemens. This is a guy who, at 44, has made no only a living, but a dominant one at that, at doing something that is widely known as the most unnatural athletic motion the human body can perform. We talk about what the drugs did for Bonds - improving his ability to return from injury and allowing his body to regenerate strength through the vigors of a long season - but
somehow that same discussion is never brought up for pitchers, namely a guy like Clemens. So here's a guy who is performing at a high level years after what is considered peak for most pitchers, looking like he hasn't lost a stride all the while doing a job that requires you to do things the body isn't even meant to do and we don't think "hmm, how does
he do it?"

If you change one record - just because balls were flying further and more frequent - you have to change them all, because it isn't just home runs that have been affected by the steroid era.

— — —

From: "Garasa, Julio: OPS"
To:
Subject: Since you asked ...
Date: Mon, 28 Aug 2006 16:55:00 -0400

You know, I remember questioning Clemens' prowess when he came out of retirement and then even more when he went deep into the season with a ridiculous 1.2 ERA and more shutout innings than he may have had his entire career. But I decided to not get too hasty in condemning him, for three main reasons. First, he was playing in the NL which, frankly,
does not have the hitters that strike the fear of God into you (save for Albert Pujols) that the AL has. Sad but true.

Second, he's not an anomaly. He's rare as an over-40 pitcher that still completely dominates his craft. But he's not unique. Nolan Ryan is an obvious example of a fireballer that no one dares suggests took anything untoward to further his career. I'm sure he stocked up on pain medications and a few of the legal uppers and whatnot, but HGH or high-end Stanazolol? Doubtful. So benefit of the doubt has to be given here, unlike with Bonds or McGwire who were doing things completely out
of this world and not commensurate with their obvious natural abilities.

The changes were too drastic. McGwire was always a good hitter and his 49 HRs in his rookie season were the most until the mid-90s (the 'juiced age'?) when he went off the charts. Same goes with Bonds. Always a good hitter but had never hit more than 50 until late in his career when, normally, power and speed decline at the plate. Then he goes off and hits 73? Please. At least with Clemens and Ryan (or even Tom Glavine and Greg Maddux for that matter) their careers demonstrated their mastery of their position. And being able to continue at such a high level and at their age is not too hard to grasp precisely because they are the rare cases. I understand the counterargument that McGwire or Bonds are equally rare cases but a hitter is in a different framework than a pitcher. Pitchers can continue their careers by adjusting so as to save their arms. Randy Johnson has learned only this season that he can no longer over power hitters and is learning how to actually pitch.
Maddux and Glavine never were power pitchers but even they could occasionally call on a fast ball. Today? Not so much. Even Clemens has had to rely much more on sinkers and curves more so than the fastball. He's even fallen in love with his split-fingered fastball that has more movement than speed.

Thirdly, don't get me wrong. I agree that today there are undoubtedly a lot more chemicals going around to try to squeeze out every possible year from your body to stay at the major league level. But let's face it, it still takes an enormous amount of talent to continue to dominate - or at least to be effective -. For every Roger Clemens (and I'm not suggesting he's doing/taking anything illegal or banned) you have about 1000 Jason Grimsley's who HAVE taken banned stuff and who are STILL
average at best. Consider this: I ran a marathon in 3:07 just two years ago. You could make my diet nothing but EPO and I still wouldn't come close to winning any of the major (or minor) marathons. Natural ability still plays a dominant role. That doesn't mean it's condoned. It just means that those players who are, effectively, doing more harm than good
to their bodies are postponing the inevitable and extending average careers even longer.

As for the asterisking of the era, I still don't mind it. The records can stay on the books (just like Roger Maris' 61 was always on the books) but the asterisk is there to remind us that something was amiss those years and should be looked at in that context.

-----Original Message-----
From: David Larkins
Sent: Saturday, September 2, 2006 5:18 PM
To: Garasa, Julio: OPS
Subject: RE: Since you asked ...

I think to me the bottom line in this particular argument is that we're so consumed with the pop in bats as if that's the only thing to be viewed in this discussion of steroids. But because that's not the reality whatsoever, it then becomes misguided to start asterisk-ing what are in fact random stats. Yes, the home runs are the power figure but every other aspect of the game is affected by rampant steroid use.

If we're asterisk-ing one thing, we have to asterisk everything else. And doing it to an entire era is illogical because anything that is fair - and who's really to say what is - is also encompassed in that.

In short, it's much too simplistic to just say "give it an asterisk". It misses every point.

— — —
From: "Garasa, Julio: OPS"
To:
Subject: Since you asked ...
Date: Mon, 9 Sept. 2006 —0900
All very good points. I suppose that's the nature of the steroid beast: it's about power, and HRs are the sexiest demonstration of that. If pitchers all of sudden started consistently throwing in the 100s (not just the random few pitches), then you'd have incontrovertible proof on the non-hitting side of the game. But it doesn't work that way. Such things as better speed or stronger arms (either outfield or infield) don't really have records that would question their legitimacy
(exception: SBs. But when I think of speed I'm not thinking blazing base stealing speed a la Carl Crawford or Joey Gathright but more so becoming the first 50/50 man or shagging balls in the outfield that 2-3 years previous would have harmlessly passed you by.). Asterisking the era is not about taking all manners of records or accomplishments off the books. Rather, it serves as a reminder that there were widespread - and questionable - circumstances that need to be accounted for. It's
akin to acknowledging the 'dead ball' era or the 'live ball' era or when parks were downsized making 400' the exception rather than the shortest part of the park. Ruth and Gehrig were consistently hitting bombs well over 400. How many of our non-juiced guys could do that? On a consistent basis? Of course, pitchers also weren't throwing in the mid-to high 90s and there were no such things as bullpens. These are academic debates and perhaps not fair comparisons but the point is that
these types of circumstances are acknowledged, all the while leaving the records intact. I realize my asterisking idea is harsh to what I think (hope?) is the majority of players but sometimes those "few bad apples" really do ruin it for the rest by calling everything into question.

I wish that I was Jesse ...

2006-08-22T23:30:00.000-06:00

Meant to post this earlier this week, but got sidetracked...

The Jesse of whom I speak is the one and only Jesse Lumsden, the former Canadian university standout still trying to get his rep as a fulltime NFL running back.

For whatever reason, Lumsden's attention in the Canadian media is so grossly outweighing his potential and ability — as it translates to NFL competition — it's further from reality than Whitney Houston.

Listen, it's a nice thought to ponder a Canadian university-bred player, in one of the skill positions — and not, say, on the offensive line or special teams — taking the NFL by storm, but that's a pipe dream and everyone knows it. What Lumsden's goals are in the NFL, they're probably modest and likely no one knows better than he the major mountain he has to climb to make that lofty goal a reality.

But the national media — I'm looking at you TSN and Sportsnet — can't get enough of the Disney script to the point where they've painted Lumsden as a legitimate NFL hopeful each of the past two seasons he's tried to crack a roster down south.

When Lumsden became eligible for the CFL draft, and the Hamilton Tiger Cats subsequently picked the hometown boy, the ever obtuse "experts" who cover the CFL openly questioned the logic of picking a guy who had his sights firmly set on making the NFL. Never mind that Lumsden was the most talented Canadian coming out of the draft of CIS athletes (by far) or that keeping a local makes PR sense, the experts had fooled themselves into believing that the Ticats had wasted a pick for, as they reasoned, Lumsden wasn't long for the CFL with NFL glory surely awaiting him.

Yeah, right.

Sportsnet covered Lumsden's brief foray with the Seattle Seahawks in 2005 training camp with all the vigour they'd muster if Todd Bertuzzi and Steve Moore opened a coffee shop together on Richards St. (That is to say, with a lot of it.)

If Lumsden broke the line of scrimmage, Sportsnet was there with blanket coverage and this year has been no different as Lumsden tries to make it with the Washington Redskins. TSN has continued the unwarranted fervour with the same type of attention as last year.

Wanna know when that excitement should be toned down a notch? When the guy isn't even listed on the team's depth chart.

Look for yourself.

There's a major difference between a Canadian — and there have been quite a few of them — making an NFL roster and a Canadian attempting to be a running back on an NFL roster. I don't care how many yards Lumsden ran for in the CIS, he could have run for 10 grand in a single season, it still doesn't put him in the NFL elite. An article on Redskins.com highlighted Lumsden's 344-yard performance in a 2004 game. Impressive no doubt, but let's remember this was against the Waterloo Warriors, not the Texas Longhorns. The two-win Waterloo Warriors, I might add.

This is not to say I wouldn't pull for him to earn a place down there, for sure I would, I would just like the media to check their Lumsden for President signs at the door and scale back what is so utterly over the top it's embarassing. After all, what are the expectations for him down there? It can't be to earn a spot as the feature back, that's preposterous. So then what? To spell Clinton Portis? Not a chance. To be realistic, Lumsden's best hopes are to somehow weasel into a role as a third-down back, which would be a tremendous, (read: TREMENDOUS) accomplishment, all things considered. But even if he does, one day, earn that status would that alone be enough to garner the abundance of media attention he's been privy too already? I say no.

I know we as Canadians love to boast about and cheer for our own when they branch out into the big-time of the U.S. but while we're giving all this attention to every one of Lumsden's insignificant moves, it's also forgetting that there are in fact Canadians throughout the NFL.

Israel Idonije is on an NFL roster. Mitch Berger is on an NFL roster. J.P. Darche is on an NFL roster. So too is Jerome Pathon, O.J. Santiago and Brett Romberg.

Jon Ryan just beat out B.J. Sander, the incumbent, for the punting job in Green Bay despite the fact Sander was a former third-round draft pick and the Packers had once upon a time invested a handsome sum in the Ohio State product. That's not a story of note? Instead it has slid under the radar while we're all told what hand Lumsden used to try and high-five Antwaan Randle-El.

Maybe it's because Ryan's a punter, maybe it's because he's from Regina and Regina's not in Ontario. Whatever the case his story is significantly more... well, significant... than that of Lumsden who is bound to return to Canada.

In the meantime, TSN can champion Lumsden all it wants, I'll quietly wish well to those Canadians who will actually play a game this year.

Oh, Big Red

2006-08-08T16:19:00.000-06:00

Things aren't always grand in the land of the Cornhusker.

Sophomore quarterback Harrison Beck, touted as one of the best QBs from his recruiting class, has quit the team apparently disgruntled over the number of reps he was getting during Nebraska summer camp.

The loss of Beck isn't so much significant this season — senior starter Zac Taylor is the locked-in No.1 and the Big Red faithful are excited about this season with Taylor — but I think many people were anxious to see what Beck could do if the keys to the car were handed over to him.

Beck burned his red shirt last season and stepped in for an injured Taylor in a win over Kansas State in November and was less than impressive. Still, he is widely regarded as one of the better passers in pro-style, west-coast offences and it's too bad he's moved on.

What's more interesting though is what this does for him as a college QB. Having burned that red shirt and appeared in NCAA games, Beck won't be elligible to play for anyone until at least November, the liklihood of that happening being very slim. The reality is that Beck now has to find himself a place to play — likely back in his home state of Florida where he was heavily recruited by the Big 3 there — learn a new system, work his way up a depth chart and then eventually, he hopes, get himself in as the No.1.

The alternative? Suck it up and take your lumps at Nebraska and battle your ass off for a chance to be No.2 behind Taylor and the favourite to step in for 2007.

Instead, Beck backed down while his mother of all people chirped about how he wasn't getting enough reps behind Joe Ganz, the guy on whom Nebraska future hopes now rest. But all this goes to show a bit of Beck's mentality and far be it for someone to crucify the decision-making of a guy not even out of his teenage years. Lord knows, we all wouldn't want to be held up to that light.

But maybe it stands to reason — through his actions and the observations of teammates — that the competitive juices just aren't there the way they need to be. Would a true competitor slink off because he wasn't happy about his reps, leave town, skip meetings and not tell anyone? Especially when things for the 2006 season haven't even been decided.

And Mom? Stay out of it. Evelyn Beck-Bothwell, Harrison's mother, was quoted in the Lincoln Journal Star as saying maybe her son should have stayed in Florida.

"Maybe if he would have stayed in the SEC, he would've been playing," Beck-Bothwell said. "Maybe he made the wrong decision. He knows that playbook. It's just an issue of not getting respect from the older players."

She then went on to take a shot at Taylor saying her son would beat him out for the starting job if the coaches devoted more time to him.

"It'd be different if he was sitting behind Matt Leinart or Brady Quinn," she said.

Really Ev? Just so happens that QB is a senior, has a full year of live action in that complex offence under his belt. That guy, who isn't Notre Dame's Quinn or USC's Leinart, led the team to a bowl game and a win in that bowl game. And during that game, Ev, while Nebraska's offensive line was struggling and Michigan's defence was unloading on him all night long, Taylor showed the poise and grit you want in your starter, a guy who takes all the beatings, injuries and knocks and still gets back up.

Beck, meanwhile, quit before a real pass had even been thrown. Sounds to me like a player who's been babied at home, pampered as the star quarterback all his life and now everyone in his camp expects the same from the world of Division 1. This is a guy, after all, who has his own web site devoted to all that is Harrison Beck.

You think for a second Evelyn is chiding her son for making a poor life decision right now? Doesn't sound like it to me. In fact, if her public remarks are any indication then she's very likely telling him it was everyone else's fault, when Harrison needs to own up to the fact that things were handled poorly from his standpoint.

Beck will be 19 in September and often times in the world of competitive sports — whether its NCAA or WHL — you have to remember you're still dealing with teenagers and the fanaticism that comes with following your teams very often clouds — if not completely blacks out — that fact. Further, it's a crapshoot when recruiting and drafting kids. In the WHL you're trying to draft 14- and 15-year-olds in anticipation of what they'll be like as 19- and 20-year-olds, a difficult task to say the least. Guess work at best.

Beck will find himself another spot on another roster in another state somewhere down the line. The Huskers will move on and perhaps are fortunate they found out now the character of the kid they thought was the jewel of Bill Callahan's 2004-05 recruiting class.

After all, in a few years when you're searching for a guy who will go to war, I wouldn't be too exhilarated to be lead by the guy who didn't want to enlist in the first place.

Sweet merciful crap!

2006-08-05T23:04:00.000-06:00

What the hell was that?

Well I guess I got too big for my britches by predicting the Bombers defence would not allow a 100-yard rusher this season. I knew it was a bet that was bound to fail, I just couldn't have predicted how soon after it would fall.

Nor, to whom would make that prediction fail.

Seriously, Josh Ranek?

Credit the Hamilton Tiger Cats, they absolutely smacked the Blue Bombers in the mouth on Friday night. And watching that debacle at Winnipeg Stadium gave me flashbacks — horrible, life-altering, mind-numbing flashbacks — to the atrocity that was the 2005 season.

Winnipeg fans could make excuses that our star slotback wasn't dressed and that our starting quarterback was knocked out of the game, but none of that would address the putrid effort the defensive dozen put up. It was like watching 2005 all over again, when no one on the defensive side of the ball could wrap up a man and Ron Lancaster's daughter could break through the tackles.

Going back to the offence, watching the Bombers try to move the ball without Kanye West in the lineup should serve as a swift wake-up call to all those who still don't believe they should get behind KG and an even sharper slap in the face to those who were convinced we should have stuck with Russ Michna as our No.1.

Michna and Banks were atrocious, at best. Michna fumbled twice — some slack granted because he hasn't thrown a meaningful pass in weeks — and Banks once again showed he's far from deserving of all the accolades that have been heaped upon him for his potential. Again, I understand the idea that a guy needs to get his reps and his experience in a system, but when are we supposed to finally see that potential come to fruition? Banks flat out missed wide-open men and, I don't care what anyone says, that has nothing to do with the "system" and just "getting it." At some point there has to be some confidence that if No.1 goes down, then the team has someone, anyone, to turn to and pick things up in stride.

Winnipeg surely doesn't have that.

Or maybe it does. If Mike Quinn is healthy, and all accounts say he will be next week, then he's likely to start against the B.C. Lions and he has been the most sure of the three back-ups. In fact, with Quinn potentially starting next week, I don't have a sense of dread that it will be an undeniable failure.

I think the loss to Hamilton also shows clearly that the Bombers still aren't good enough. Championship teams don't lose games in that way, even when being decimated by injuries. Some of the ugly scars were revealed and you can bet that anything short of a win next week against one of the league's best will put the Bombers back in that "are they really for real?" conversation.

Caught Dave Chappelle's Block Party the other night.

Warning: To some, this next section will likely appear to be overblown, hyperbolic and over-exaggerated. Those people are wrong.

The idea behind Block Party, and the eventual final product, is deserving of status among the most important concert movies of all time. It's not wrong to suggest that this was an utterly significant piece of work in the history of the genre.

For Chappelle to have the idea in the first place — essentially gather as many random people for a street concert in Brooklyn's Bedford Stuyvesant district and keep the star-studded list of talent, as well as the show itself, a secret — is a beautiful thing. That he assembled the kind of hip hop greatness that he did is nothing short of remarkable. And that's to say nothing about the fact that he did what even The Fugees couldn't do: Get The Fugees back together.

Assembling Pras, Clef and Lauryn Hill for their first appearance together in God-knows-how-long, was one of the best things I've seen since I started listening to hip hop. (Alongside seeing Ice-T wearing a Blue Bombers shirt at a 1991 show at the Winnipeg Convention Centre).

But more accurately, Block Party is easily among the best gatherings of hip hop talent and at the very least, the artists are among the most important, influential and significant hip hop voices of any era. From Common, to Talib Kweli to Mos Def — with the undeniable tones of Erykah Badu and Jill Scott mixed in — Block Party is the soundtrack to the true hip hop head's daydreams. Sure, you could have gotten others with equal or more clout; others with longer track records of greatness, but if this group is not at least a part of the roster you'd assemble for the dream hip hop show, then you need to rethink your allegiances to the genre, because you're entirely misguided.

But Block Party's charm also stems from the willingness to assemble people of all creeds and bring a day of good music and happiness to an area and its people who could stand to use more such goodwill.

And when Lauryn Hill belts out "Killing Me Softly", it's nothing short of mesmerizing, a rendition utterly worthy of being mentioned in the same breath as its classic original.

What makes Block Party even more effective is the touch Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) puts on it as director. The film breaks away from the traditional "hip hop guy makes a movie" and allows the thick-accented Frenchman Gondry — a true outsider — to provide a unique angle that likely wouldn't have come across if Chappelle had gone for a director more typical of the genre.

Where Block Party stands out more than any other concert film is it serves as a lesson of what great hip hop music is. The Roots play their own instruments and show their power as a live act, drummer
"?uestlove" (pron. Questlove) works with all the musical acts, showing his versatility, Scott and Badu team up for the first time ever and put new twists and turns on the other acts' classics, and Dead Prez perform to prove that protest music isn't dead and that the voice of hip hop is still a relevant one.

It's more than a collection of great hip hop artists, there's a human element as well and Chappelle comes off as genuine — of course genuinely funny as well — and his interactions with Joe and Jane Blow are worth the viewing time. His idea to bring a black college marching band into the proceedings just elevated what was already a fantastic musical mixture. And when the band performs with Kanye West on "Jesus Walks", forget about it. It's a brilliant new twist and sound to what became a heavy-rotated single.

One final note: Cody Chesnutt makes brief appearances in the film and very simply is an artist worthy of keeping tabs. (Check some of his work out here.) You could call him the next John Legend if you mixed Legend with Bootsy Collins, Jimi Hendrix, Marvin Gaye, Lenny Kravitz (and probably 50 others of varying sounds). He accentuates the penultimate scene singing his acapella ballad "Parting Ways" over a montage of the everyday folks who joined in on the journey.

The song is striking and the images that accompany it serve as a reminder of how enjoyable the two-hour journey was. And utterly memorable to boot.

Steel terrible

2006-08-01T03:59:00.000-06:00

Well the Hamilton Spectator took some shots at the Blue Bombers and the city of Winnipeg last week — all in the spirit of competition and rivalries no doubt — and, as I mentioned in here before, vibe around the Steel City weeks ago was that Hamilton fans felt the team's best chance for a win was going to come against the beloved Big Blue.

Really?

Well, lo and behod, the Bombers go and pull a blank job on the lowly Cats, move their record to 5-2 and make those who get paid to be experts on the CFL look ridiculous for their pre-season picks.

If you just joined us, the Bombers were picked by many (read: all) experts to:

A) Miss the playoffs
B) Win no more than five games
C) Both.

If you listened to enough of them, you'd probably have heard some suggest the Bombers put corks on the end of their dinner forks for fear that a group so incompetent couldn't possibly eat without poking an eye out with the pronged utensils.

After all, that's what was being said right?

The Bombers still have a ways to go, but second place is almost all but sewn up for them what with Hamilton being egregiously awful and Toronto right there with them. Sure, 5-2 (with Hamilton at home on Friday) is a nice spot to be in but hopefully it doesn't overshadow the fact that there are still glitches.

A few other randoms:

• A Canadian Press article suggested earlier this week that it appeared B.C. was getting back on its horse with back-to-back convincing wins over the Argonauts and Stampeders. I'm not convinced.

Contrary to the scoreboard, the Lions did not look overly sharp against a Toronto team that was downright awful (more on them in a minute). They left a lot of points on the field, started most of their possessions near centrefield and yet left the Argos hanging around until midway through the second half before finally putting the foot down (thanks largely to Toronto's incompetence.)

• The Stampeders have fallen from grace, meaning they are not the media darlings of the league anymore. Seems the consensus was, after a 3-0 start, that the Stamps were giant killers but now, since losing their last four, it would appear that's a joke too. Very simply, how can you trust a team led by Henry Burris? Undoubtedly he has the athletic ability oft coveted in a CFL quaterback, but it's hard for me to imagine a team winning a Cup with him in charge, especially considering he really doesn't have that many weapons around him. Yes, I know Joffrey Reynolds — who I think is the best all-around player in the CFL — and I know Jeremaine Copeland and Nik Lewis, too. I'd just think you need more, especiallyl when Mr. Two Face is at the helm.

• Toronto is in bad shape. That offensive line might be the worst in the history of the league. If you didn't see that when Ricky Williams was having troubles just getting out of the backfield, then it was evident, too, last week when Damon Allen returned to the lineup and was chased out of the pocket nearly every time he dropped back.

Wasn't it just last year when Kent Austin was being praised as an offensive genius? Yet with Allen returning from his broken finger, Austin and the Argos decided to pick up where they left off and start throwing the ball all over the field. Allen, as veteran as he is, doesn't need a bit of time to get to game speed and into the motions? They talk about how great a back-up RB Jeff Johnson is but in the first half he might as well have had ebola, because Allen certainly didn't go anywhere near him.

So back to Guru Austin. Is it not the most basic of football principles that the run sets up the pass, and the pass feeds off the run? Yet here are the Argos, with a rusty quarterback, avoiding the run like the plague and deciding to live and die in the air. It made no sense and it doesn't seem like the decisions that an offensive genius would make. Good thing he didn't come to Winnipeg after all.

• I hate Montreal more than any team I've ever despised. The Cleveland Browns, Sacramento Kings and New York Yankees could assemble a team in the CFL, have Elvira Kurt coaching them, and come out to music by 50 Cent and I still wouldn't hate them as much as I hate Montreal.

Further to that, tell me one person — other than people in the city he works in — that actually LIKES Don Matthews. He's the biggest puke in the history of Canadian football. In fact, I'm getting on the horn tomorrow to track down Lawrence Phillips to see if he wouldn't mind taking a drive into Matthews yard. If he coached the Bombers, I'd honestly have to re-think a lot of things in my life. Perhaps that would be the straw that would make me leave Canada.

• Saskatchewan still stinks, despite winning on Saturday. What a gawd-awful game that was. I will keep to my assertion that so long as Shivers and Barrett are at the helm there, nothing good will come to the Roughriders. Why no one can see that is beyond me.

• I made Bold Prediction No. 3 today. In case you hadn't seen before, I predicted that Ricky Williams would not run for 100 yards against the Bombers (check) and the Bombers would finish 11-7 (pending). So that leads to:

Bold Prediction No. 3:
• The Winnipeg Blue Bombers will not give up a 100-yard rusher this season.

So that's random, completely uninteresting musings from the week that was.

Here, I'll give you my picks too: Montreal (10.5); Winnipeg (6.5); Edmonton (1.5) and Calgary (3.5)

Hidden Dragon

2006-07-23T02:04:00.000-06:00

A few random notes from the end of the CFL week:

• Somewhat surprisingly, Eric Crouch got to take a meaningful snap in a CFL game when he was forced into the game following the injury to Spergon Wynn.

I'm partial to Crouch enjoying some level of success in the CFL. After all, Crouch is Big Red. Nebraska Heisman. The guy who did this, and this and then punked this guy.

He did himself well in his first action since 2001 and let's be real here, can the Argos be any worse off with Crouch in at QB than Wynn? Wynn has been entirely ineffective and has been way too slow in decision making and even if he is good to go next week, I'm not so sure he's necessarily the right choice. In fact, I know he isn't. When in doubt, never gloss over the Nebraska guy to get to someone who went to Southwest Texas State.

• So let's get this straight: Last week, CBC studio analyst Sean Millington steps up and speaks out on the CFL refereeing. CFL head ref — and resident "nothing is wrong" guy — George Black lashes back at Millington. Result? The CBC broadcast team practically falls over itself trying desperately not to say anything that could be deemed inflammatory during the Toronto-Saskatchewan game. In fact, colour man Darren Flutie set the all-time record for "the refs made a good call on that one" proclamations, shattering the previously untouchable mark shared by Glen Suitor and Leif Petterson. Pathetic.

Look, we know the CFL never wants anything negative to come out in public and we're well aware that Black will never, ever, EVER admit when his crews mess up, but openly capitulating on national television with all the backbone of a snitch whose getting squeezed by the Don was embarassing to watch.

Two instances. First, Millington's assertion during the halftime that the league needs to crack down on helmet-to-helmet hits. As Millington was in mid rant, Greg Frers butted in and said something akin to "hey this is a tough league and it's unfortunate when a guy gets hurt, but let's talk about Toronto's defence..."

Astonishing. Millington might as well have been castrated on sight or just had his mic cut by production control. It would have been less obvious.

Have a look at what led to Millington's speech:

Any question that this is a helmet-to-helmet hit? I'm not sure what's worse: The fact there was an official right there who didn't make the call (I guess his helmet shooting off his head wasn't enough of an indication) or the fact that no one on the CBC crew deemed it necessary to call it as it was. Sure, they dabbled in it, but the severity of that hit deserved more than a once-over.

For years broadcasters have shied away from lambasting poor officiating in this league, as if the hidden agreement between the league and networks is "we're trying to promote the league, don't call us out."

It's astonishing to me that someone can't step up and call the CFL officials what they are: At best, a 50-50 crap shoot. At worst, a gathering of low-paid full-time 9 to 5ers who are lucky to get the calls right.

• Tough on Ricky Williams. Have to get my sister in on this one to prognosticate the length of time out of action from a fractured forearm. I didn't want to see Ricky go out like that.

• How is Danny Barrett still employed? Ask Roy Shivers who insists on hanging with DB regardless of results: See sub-.500 record in eight seasons and nary a Grey Cup appearance in the mix. Shiv won't make a move to fire his boy even though the writing is on the wall that this organization is better off without the both of them.

• One last note on the officials, just because I want to: Kerry Joseph's touchdown in the second quarter was an example of why I was moderately against the league going to instant replay.

Despite the replay showing Joseph's foot touching out of bounds, they still awarded him the touchdown, just going to show that the only thing more infuriating than watching a CFL ref blow a call, is watching a CFL ref blow a call after he's had 90 seconds of replay time to watch it over and over.

Oh, and add this to my conspiracy theory list. The video review is being used to further the CFL's agenda that the refs get a large part of the calls right. The league has been quick to trumpet the percentages of calls that have been overturned vs. calls that have stayed as originally ruled on the field (largely in favour of the latter). You don't think it's in the best interest of the league to use this as their marketing tool?

"Look, you can't argue the refs are bad now, the stats show the rulings on the field are standing."

Please. The Internet doesn't provide me with enough space to adequately argue that.

• Tell me again, what is there to like about the Montreal Alouettes? Their coach is a puke, they have the dirtiest and most overrated player in the league (Ed Philion), the most obscenely atrocious uniforms in the league, their constantly being lauded for their sellout streak even though the place only seats 20 grand and their fans need those obnoxious thundersticks to generate noise. I don't believe I've ever hated a team like this.

I can think of only one thing good...

They once had a guy who went to Nebraska.

Go Big Red.

The band is on the field!

2006-07-21T15:24:00.000-06:00

Well, with all due respect to the play that has actually become "The Play" — the historic Stanford-Cal ending from 1982 — what happened in Edmonton on Thursday night is my equivalent.

In fact this"The Play" was arguably the best thing I've ever watched my beloved Blue Bombers do. Big enough for ESPN to think it worthy of a little air time.

My colleague Swatter — the famous Barney to my Fred on local basketball broadcasts — called it the Immaculate Reception and ironic that I, as devout Steeler fan, didn't even think of that reference originally. Instead, I thought of Stanford-Cal. Of course, I thought of Nebraska-Michigan from the 2005 Alamo Bowl.

What the ramifications of pulling that win out of the jaws of defeat will be, however, remains to be seen but as we sit here six games into the Blue Bombers season, it looks pretty pivotal. Think about it, you go from having a game in your grasp, yours for the taking before a shocking fumble sways everything madly in the other direction. Now you're looking at having an L hung on you in a game you shouldn't have lost; A deflating defeat that sends you to 3-3 and puts the term mediocre suddenly on a season that had started promisingly.

There's a big difference in 4-2 and 3-3.

So instead of stinging, life-draining loss you get envigorating, thirst-quenching victory. And I, my friends, come to work with a little extra hop in my step today.

Consistency issues offensively are still lingering, however, for the Bombers. An inability to sustain drives really makes watching this team a nerve-wracking experience. There hasn't been — save for the thrashing of Edmonton a few weeks back — a time this season that Winnipeg has taken advantage of a lead and put the foot down. And teams are hanging around and hanging around and then ... well let's just say those kinds of Thursdays don't show up very often.

Other random stuff from the game: Danny Maciocia should have some questions to answer after that loss. It is utterly unimaginable that the Esks would BLITZ on the final play of the game when the opposing team has 100 yards to go to score. If you watch that clip, the Eskimos put seven guys in the box and blitz a corner leaving basically man-on-man coverage on the Bomber receivers. It was a completely brain dead decision — and Friday's Edmonton Journal said as much — that Maciocia should have to answer to. The theory perhaps says that sending a blitz forces Glenn into a quicker read, a faster throw and a shorter pass play. That theory applies when there's eight minutes left in the second quarter, not when there's four seconds left in the fourth. (Don't forget, this is the guy who prematurely celebrated a Grey Cup win last year before the game was over, then realized they still had another play to go — causing national humiliation — and then reacted to the eventual victory in a manner that can only be described as something you'd see in the ballet or an off-Broadway musical. So, let's just say the jury is reconsidering its verdict on him.)

Memo to Coach: I'm officially extending an invitation to you Mr. Maciocia to come visit me and watch me play a game of EA Sports Madden '06 so you can see how it is you should defend a lead on a last-second play. It's called Prevent, Dan, and you will be able to find it in your dime coverages section of your playbook. You see, I tend to drop all my virtual players back in coverage. I know what you're saying: "But then they can complete a 20-yard pass!" That's true, they can. But 20 is not enough yards when they need 100. Get it? Oh look who I'm talking to! You're a professional football coach, I don't need to tell you this. After all, you get paid to strategize football. Ah forget it, send the house. Nothing bad could possibly come from that.

Winnipeg still hasn't allowed a 100-yard rusher and now has back-to-backs with a frisky Hamilton Tiger-Cats team. While the Ticats sport the league's worst record I'm not assuming two wins here. Looking ahead, however, to the very real possibility of being 6-2 is a nice thought. Side note: My "source" in Hamilton tells me that the vibe around the Steel City before the Cats finally got off the schnide was that Hamilton's first win would come against Winnipeg. See, that's the perverted logic that makes Hamilton fans so loathsome and, well, so utterly stupid.

Side note No.2: While discussing the Tiger-Cats woeful situation with a die-hard fan a couple of weeks ago, I suggested Hamilton and the Saskatchewan Roughriders just put together their two pathetic franchises. After all, each of their recipes of middling success mixed with abject failure have only produced a melange of dreadful sucking. What, you ask, will that team be called?

The Saskatchilton Tiger Riders.

In the words of the anonymous sportscaster on an episode of Seinfeld: "You gotta love sports!"

Winnipeg 24, Toronto 17

2006-07-09T19:43:00.000-06:00

Williams put Toronto in position to go for it with a stellar seven-yard reception. He took a swing pass from Wynn, delivered a brilliant stiff-arm on Winnipeg's Kelly Malveaux, then hurdled cornerback William Fields before being pushed out of bounds.

That's enough already.

I've never heard of a stiff-arm being brilliant and it's a rarity that a seven-yard screen pass is worthy of being deemed "stellar."

Again, I like Ricky Williams. Got nothing against the guy. Think he marches to the beat of his own drum and that's something you can say about very, very few athletes, which I find refreshing. However, that paragraph appeared in the Canadian Press account of the Bombers latest victory, exalting Williams for his lone highlight in another fruitless effort against the CFL's top defence. Undoubtedly, he stuck Malveaux good with a solid right, but just pump your breaks for a few seconds here. In the scheme of things, that play barely warranted mentioning, let alone puffed up with words like "stellar" and "brilliant."

That said, I'm starting to get absolutely giddy over this defence, which I'm trying to suppress if only because I don't want to get caught up in things too early just to watch the team break my heart. Case in point, just when things are going along smoothly DT Ron Warner goes down with an injury and is likely out of next week's game against Montreal.

I'm also remaining in the category of cautiously optimistic in regards to Kevin Glenn. Although it's hard to argue with what he's done in the last two weeks. He hasn't thrown a pick in those two games, has thrown for three TDs and Sunday went 24-for-36 for 261 yards while running the offence efficiently and picking his spots of when to stretch the field. (Side note: Winnipeg's play-action to Roberts was effective all game long and it was almost dumbfounding how the Argonauts never found a way to control it. What they ran was close to a QB waggle: A fake to Roberts with the offensive line pulling one way while Kanye roles out the opposite way in a naked bootleg. It was good for eight yards on average, I'd guess, and they must have run it 20 times in the game.)

So, for those keeping score, Williams has now run 17 times for 22 yards in two games against the Bombers and i honestly feel sorry for the guy. His offensive line is a joke right now and in the games against Winnipeg he has been rendered useless because the front line can't help out enough for him to get much more than a yard or two on first down. First-down production is critical in the CFL and Williams' sightings on the T.O. sidelines will become all the more frequent if they can't muster some assistance for him. That said, in the two games I've watched the Argos, their play calling has been very vanilla (save for the botched reverse between Ricky and Arland Bruce) and clearly running in between the tackles hasn't done the job.

So Saturday will roll around and the Bombers will host the Alouettes in what is already a critical game and a chance for the Bombers to shove it down all the "experts" throats by winning and going into first place in the division. There's no way I'm NOT going to be at the Stadium for that game.

In my uneducated, unsolicited opinion, the biggest thing the Bombers need to change is how they handle the inevitable Montreal blitz. Speaking of not making adjustments! In Week 1 it was as predictable as a Jenna Jameson screenplay: On second and long, loaded up the box and blitzed the edge leaving Kanye little to no time to make a decision. Whether it's KG needing to recognize blitzes better or Winnipeg needing to bring another man in on protection, something has to be better. Montreal mustered six sacks and forced Glenn into two ill-advised throws that became interceptions. There's nothing surprising defensively from Montreal, you know the Als are putting an extra guy in the box in their "all or nothing" attack.

RANDOMNESS: ESPN.com has a great feature,George Solomon, Ombudsman, in which the public's concerns, complaints and queries are aired publicly and answered by Solomon. Now, for all that TSN has stolen from ESPN (yes, I know, they're "partners"), this isn't something that silly network could think to incorporate? I know I have a few questions regarding Jennifer Hedger and her phony sports' guy voice. Honestly, does she HAVE to talk like that?

2006-07-03T22:26:00.000-06:00

Aerial Assault?

2006-07-03T18:30:00.000-06:00

People know I'm the eternal optimist with my teams and that giddyness over the start of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers season wasn't tempered slightly by the fact every so-called "expert" around the Canadian Football League was picking on my beloved Blue.

That said, I'm playing the role of cautious optimist with the Bombers latest spanking, a 46-10 rumbling over the Grey-Cup champion Edmonton Eskimos on Saturday night, specifically as it relates to this man ...

The teaser on the front page of the Winnipeg Free Press on Monday proclaimed "Everyone Loves Glenn" while the main hed on the sports front screamed "Glenn shutting up doubters." After the embattled quarterback had shouldered the brunt of naysayers through the first two weeks of the regular season — as well as all preseason — Glenn stepped up with his best performance as a Bomber on Saturday with this line:

15-24-368-3-0

That three is for touchdowns and the zero? Interceptions. That's over the course of three quarters, to boot.

To be sure it was a nice little effort from Glenn who finally got the memo that Chris Brazzell plays on this team and the deep threat caught two of those three TD strikes.

Still, it's unbelievable to me that one game has all of a sudden made Glenn Public Hero No. 1 when everyone and their sister was rushing to burn his likeness in effigy right up until kickoff on Saturday.

This is where my hesitance comes in. Listen, I'm by far the biggest Glenn hater on the block, in fact this season I'd arguably be considered one of his supporters — sometimes a reluctant one, but a supporter nonetheless. My theory is you dance with the one that brung ya and so long as Kanye is leading this team as its starting quarterback, I live and die with him. In my book, it's fan sacrilege to boo the starter and cheer for the reliever especially in situations where you likely won't be significantly better a team by going to the back-up.

But I digress. It's just to say that I'm excited about the Bombers again but Glenn still needs to back it up with a few more like performances in the coming weeks for me to be completely on board. And Bomber fans are being hypocritical to being rah-rah over Glenn after the Edmonton win when most of them know damn well they'll boo him the first chance they get.

But you know, I documented the lunacy of the Winnipeg football fan in July of last year and how it makes no matter what is actually going on on the field, Bomber fans will always hate their quarterback. Trust me, this honeymoon phase is over as soon as Winnipeg loses another game and Kanye has a subpar performance.

I just hope it's not forthcoming anytime soon.

Other notes from Winnipeg through Week 3: The Bombers haven't allowed a 100-yard rusher yet this season despite facing three of the best in the league to start the season — Robert Edwards, Ricky Williams and Troy Davis. ... Doesn't that just go to show how solid this front seven is? So why, then, did every expert granted a voice have the Bombers finishing somewhere between the Minnesota State Screaming Eagles and the Orlando Breakers? Because of one guy (Glenn) they didn't think could get the job done? Or because we had a dreadful defence last year? ... Glenn's not being asked to do much in the offence and that's a good thing. Charles Roberts was quoted in the FreeP on Monday saying "look at the Pittsburgh Steelers and Ben Roethlisberger. He doesn't put up big-time numbers every week but he wins games and people respect him." Good quote. The similarities should be similar. Roethlisberger shines because the offence — specifically in his rookie year — was simplified to make his life in a tough spot that much easier. So it should be for Glenn and then when he is asked to make a play, he can do it. ... Along those lines, Glenn's best play was his touchdown to Stegall who got open in broken coverage. While the cynic will say all he had to do was throw it to a wide-open man, the reality is Glenn made a nice play by staying in the pocket, checking receivers before rolling out into space and finding Stegall. In order for that play to ever happen, he had to let it happen and that's not something he's always done in the past.

Doctor, heal thyself

2006-06-26T23:10:00.000-06:00

Editor's note: This is a column that I contemplated submitting for the Tuesday edition of The Brandon Sun but decided better of it and am instead using it just for this space. My reasoning being that I feel the high road is the best to travel in this instance and saving it for my small little space on the Internet best accomplishes that.

Brandon University announced its newest women's basketball coach Monday holding a press conference to unveil Jaime Hickson as the fourth coach of the past five years for the losingest basketball program in the history of Canadian university basketball.

With Brandon's volleyball teams set to begin a promising second year of play in the fall and the men's basketball team again among the more talented in the Canada West conference, it is safe to say that BU athletics is in a reasonably happy place. That is save for the woeful women's team that is undoubtedly poised to repeat its unseemly losing tradition for at least one more year.

For all of Hickson's chutzpah and eagerness to coach this BU team to success on and off the court, there appears to be little thought that the Bobcats have a focus on being competitive right away and without a major overhaul — which is not forthcoming — it's naive to think they'd have a chance at doing so.

So this team that has gone 0-40 in the conference the past two seasons and has won just four of its past 100 conference games is back on the path to dirtying up that abysmal record while the higher ups at BU shrug with nary an interest in seeing these players put in a successful athletics atmosphere.

At Monday's press conference, BU president Dr. Louis Visentin used his time at the podium — meant to be an introductory speech — to lash out repeatedly with thinly-veiled insults towards the sports writer who regularly covers BU athletics for the city's lone daily newspaper. Anyone in the room knew what — and whom — he was getting at, yet the supposed esteemed president could not pump his breaks to avoid embarassing himself, the school he represents and his newest employee.

Hickson hadn't even been introduced to the media gathering yet Visentin proceeded on a rambling tirade in which he clearly stated that winning and losing is not everything when it comes to university sports; that academic success trumps any and all misfortune on the court and that "what sports writers don't understand" is that universities are for learning first and that wins aren't what marks a success. He opened his condescending address by insulting a reporter's comprehension of the english language — passed off poorly, it should be added, as a joke — and followed that by suggesting that turnover in employment at the university level is a common thing (more on this later), even going so far as to call out the Brandon Sun by name and equate BU's coaching changes to the Sun's changeover at the managing editor position.

Apples to oranges indeed.

Visentine's lecture continued for the better part of 10 minutes and a lion's share of it was devoted to jabs, barbs and all in all topics completely unbefitting of the event.

Printing the facts of the Bobcats losing ways has routinely been a source of angst for some involved with the women's program of late. Apparently that goes for Visentin who almost fell over himself in his desperate attempt to put a spin on the university's most athletically unsuccessful group. Listen, everyone knows that student-athletes are at university to gain their education and no one is going to argue the merits of having a strong academic lineage. Yet if a student is adding the "athlete" designation, then it goes to suggest that the university should be in the business of making that aspect of their school life equally as rewarding as the one spent in the classroom. BU's indifference to doing that over the past two decades speaks for itself and it is highly hypocritical to preach about the quality of the education when its actions towards athletics have clearly undercut that.

No one in this industry, least of all anyone from the paper I am employed by, is in the business of intentionally burying the BU women's basketball team just for the sake of making scandal. What we are more than willing to do, however, is do our job of printing the unalienable truths that present themselves. Until I'm assigned to report on BU's first-year Intro to Psychology class, my job will be to report on what happens within the lines of that court and these are the facts: Four coaches, five years. Four wins for the last 100 tries.

What I would like is for Dr. Visentin to inform the public what other school in this country — and even this continent — has the unfortunate track record of coaching turnover that BU does. While he's busy espousing the apparent regularity of turnover in the university ranks, he'll find he's going to be hard-pressed to find any school remotely close to BU in that area.

What I would also like is for Visentin to inform the public what the benefits of such instability are to the school and to the players who work hard to wear the BU uniform.

Mostly, though, what I would like is for Visentin to represent himself properly as the prominent community figure he is supposed to be rather than choosing precisely the worst time and worst venue to serve as his misguided soapbox.

Unfortunately the president, as its figurehead, went and spoke for all of Brandon University on Monday and what he chose to say did more to the detriment of the school than 96 losses in five years ever could.

Glenn and now

2006-06-18T05:05:00.000-06:00

Let's get this straight: Kevin Glenn blew it in the fourth quarter Friday night.

But get this straight, too: He was better for three quarters than Anthony Calvillo and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers — AGAIN — have other things to worry about other than their quarterback.

The issue — or concerns — with Kanye is that his clutch-time decisions and performances are not up to par and that was certainly the case in the Bombers loss to Montreal on Friday. He threw two interceptions in the fourth quarter and put his team up against the wall, in a virtually impossible situation. In the end, the Bomber defence that was utterly outstanding through three quarters finally broke when faced with having to defend its goal line on a suddenly shortened field.

Glenn's problem, it would appear, is his patience in the offence he's surrounded by and that translates into his decision-making. This is — capital letters IS — his pivotal season. The Bombers have surrounded Kanye with the perfect storm of talent and protection and if he doesn't at least show signs that he's capable of being among the elite.

Now, that said, TSN's pre-game coverage of the game was a joke. A graphic, accompanied by Jock Climie's analysis, showed in one column seven CFL starting quarterbacks Climie described as the elite of the league and, in the other column, ... Glenn. Climie insinuated that Glenn was the only quarterback in the CFL not worthy of acknowledgement among the "greats" of the current three-down era. Including, I might add, Kerry Joseph who is the most overrated entity since the McDLT.

Get off the topic already. It's ignorant. It's ignorant to suggest that Glenn is whole-heartedly to blame for that loss. It's ignorant to be oblivious to the atrocious performance of the revamped offensive line. It's ignorant to not count into the equation the excessive penalties the Bombers taken. And the list goes on.

Glenn made a terrible couple of throws and that's what's easy to pick out. And, of course, Bomber fans are going to start screaming for his head, even if that's not what's best because, after all, that's what Bomber fans do because they're not smart enough to watch other aspects of the game.

Glenn needs to get better. But, let's not forget, every other player on that team needs to join together to do the same thing.

On another note, since Ben Roethlisberger's motorcycle accident, odds of the Steelers repeating as Super Bowl champions (those last three words are still fun to type) have gone in some books from 8-1 to 20-1. That, allow me to point out, could put them as underdogs to the likes of the Chicago Bears, Carolina Panthers, Washington Redskins and Kansas City Chiefs.

I don't think the Steelers were the best team in the NFL last season but don't undercut them. They are, and have been consistently, among the elite of the league but now their star QB suffers injuries not even close to being career-altering and they take a slide down the prognostication totem pole?

Hey, who cares? It's not even training camp yet, but it's of interest. My thoughts? If I've got a unit to put down in Vegas, I'll take the 20-1 and love every minute of it.

Limb and a prayer

2006-05-31T20:22:00.000-06:00

I am nothing if not bold.

And not bold in the corporate advertising sense when they use the word to describe a new steaksauce's taste alongside the word "zesty." Because, let's be honest: I may be bold, but I am far from zesty.

(I have no idea what I'm talking about.)

Bold in the sense of predictions. Understanding whole-heartedly that even if I can brag about boldness in my predictions, I rarely get to brag about success in my predictions. That's the thing, if you step far enough out on a limb, you rarely get a chance to come back and talk gleefully about it.

But here's a few I have entertained in the past few days.

Bold Prediction No.1: Ricky Williams will not lead the CFL in rushing this season.
Bold Prediction No.2: The Winnipeg Blue Bombers will finish 11-7 this season.
Bold Prediction No.3: On June 23, 2006, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, in their regular-season home debut, will hold Ricky Williams to under 100 yards rushing.

Now, the latter of the first two is decidedly less bold than the former, but not all that lacking in brashness when you consider how immersed in suckitude the Bombers were in 2005. I think 11-7 has a nice ring to it and I'd certainly be pleased with that mark. I will be seeing the Blue in their first regular-season action on Friday night at Winnipeg Stadium (we don't have to use the corporate name, you know), and I will form a report on first glimpse from that. In the meantime, I'll reserve judgment on Nos.2 and 3 except to say that I'm encouraged by what is in camp this season.

But as for No.1, it's a prognostication that many people would utterly disagree with, evidenced by the lambasting I took when I shook hands on a 10-dollar bet of the like.

So here is my theory.

Ricky Williams is indeed a tremendous talent and would likely be Pro Bowl material in the NFL this season all things being equal. Let the rest of this argument not go on without understanding that I acknowledge the aforementioned's potential to completely annihilate this league in his one kick at it.

I just don't think it's going to happen that way.

I'll fully acknowledge that perhaps 50 per cent of my logic stems from my just-now-devised Theorem of Mass Hysteria that says, paraphrased: If the entire population is convinced it's going to happen, be prepared that it won't. The most recent proof of this came in the NFL Draft (re: Bush, Reggie).

Are we not underestimating the talent of the defensive players in the CFL? And are we not overlooking the very different styles of play from what Ricky has gotten used to and what he'll experience in the CFL?

The CFL has always had this air of inferiority hanging over it whenever an NFL star comes north. And you know what happens when they get here? Usually not much.

Jim Zorn, who's on the Seattle Seahawks wall of fame for God-sake, was a complete bust; Albert Connell breezed through with hardly anyone noticing, Dexter Manley was as expected (old and useless) and, Lawrence Phillips — with arguably the same athletic pedigree as Williams — had a measure of success but was far from becoming the historical back he hastily christened himself when he arrived.

This is where I see Ricky fitting in, somewhere in the middle.

First off, linebackers in this league aren't just pylons. They're athletic, very quick and they're damn sure not going to be comically diving and missing by five feet as he sprints untouched down the field like some poorly-produced sitcom scene. This isn't Rudy "Sweet Feet" Huxtable people.

I can't back up my gut feeling with statistics, except to suggest that the Argonauts are the pass-happiest team in the pass-happy CFL. Hence, Ricky won't be getting 30 carries a game, likely. That said, I don't even really believe that to be a strong argument. After all, you'd be a fool to not use your most dangerous weapon repeatedly.

No, I can't and don't feel the need to back up my gut reactions with these things called facts. Just suffice it to say, I'm confident that Ricky won't get off like everyone and their mother is predicting. Leading me to...

Still, the Argos are suddenly loaded at the RB and we're just to expect that incumbent John Avery and young gun Jeff Johnson, who the team was in love with late last season in a relief role, are suddenly not getting the ball ever?

I just think we need to tone it down a bit before we go predicting a 2,000-yard season with 36 TDs or something ridiculous. He's very good. I get it.

Bold Prediction, No.3:

If I'm way off base on either of Nos.1-2, I will delete records of this blog and deny any and all existence of the words stated herein.

But I'm predicting that won't be necessary.

Go Blue.

I'd know that face anywhere...

2006-05-27T20:52:00.000-06:00

You know the theory.

The one that says you can go your entire life without ever hearing a word, a name, a person, a place or whatever it may be. Then, once you hear it once, you hear it at least three more times in the next week, month. You can't avoid it.

That's how I feel about Lordi.

To save the long story about how I ever found about out this... uhhh ... unique Scandinavian band, suffice to say that I've heard repeatedly about the fearsome Finns over the past couple of weeks, culminating in ...

This story.

As it relates to my blog, this story and this band and the fact I'm putting it on my little space has nothing to do with anything. I simply thought it was quite funny and it makes my point...

Finnish people are crazy.

A place to stand, a place to grow....

2006-05-12T16:02:00.000-06:00

Onterri-erri-erri-o!

With a tip of the hat to the catchy old propagandist Ontario tourism board song, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers inked NFL castoff Onterrio Smith to a reported one-year-with-option deal while he serves a suspension down south.

Current Bombers running back Charles Roberts did his expected routine of raising hell about the much-anticipated deal and even reportedly demanded a trade in the process. Roberts is pretty much the boy crying wolf on the Bombers, a guy who has stomped his feet and gone public with his beefs in the past to the point where no one even really bats an eye when he throws out another idle threat. Now, that comment isn't said with any malignancy, it's just that Roberts has made a habit in the past of rocking the boat but with very little muscle behind his punch. Roberts is in a great situation in Winnipeg, he knows it — we all know it — and the Bombers aren't stupid enough to compromise the abilities of arguably the best RB in the league by putting him on the backburner.

However, it will be interesting to see how the Bombers use Smith and still get Roberts the number of touches he needs and should garner. One media outlet suggested he'd be used in a Keith Stokes-esque capacity, which would mean lining up in a slot, returning kicks and occasionally coming out of the backfield.

Whatever. Just get it done.

The Bombers have made, thus far, the biggest splash in the CFL off-season by signing — to date — the biggest name of the spring free agency period (statement subject to change; Re: Williams, Ricky). In fact, you could make an argument that the 25-year-old is the most marquis of signings since Dexter Manley signed on with the old Ottawa Roughriders. Or Andre Rison with the Toronto Argonauts? Albert Connell to the Calgary Stampeders? Big statement? Sure, but off the top of your head name a guy who's come up here from the NFL with such pedigree, pomp and circumstance.

Smith, if he ever gets his stuff together, is a bonafide NFL back who the Vikings were elated about having when he came out of Oregon. (Side note: He was also good enough to crack my fantasy football team as a rookie. Very impressive.)

What accompanies Smith's arrival in the Peg City is the expected condescension of those who say the CFL shouldn't be welcoming players like Smith and Williams who have each had much-publicized drug run-ins that have stalled promising, even all-star, careers in the NFL.

Get over yourself and look at what the CFL is. The Bombers could have an "Original Whizzinator" promotional night for all I care, as long as the guy packing the prosthesis helps put W's in the standings. This is also a league that houses the Hamilton Tiger Cats who, once upon a time, put steroid-addled sprinter Ben Johnson on its negotiation list just because he was fast.

No one in that league should be able to look themselves in the mirror and keep a straight face when they suggest that the league itself would even consider not bringing these guys in. The CFL is not only highly reliant on ticket sales and walk-up crowds but also constantly champing at the bit to get any kind of marquis name in its ranks, which is why Rison, Manley, Connell et. al. have found a home here if only for a brief time.

Now, this will come off as some hypocrisy on my part because I've always bragged about the Pittsburgh Steelers being a class organization that drafts and sign only class act athletes and coaches, and that that is one of the great things about being a fan of them. Terrell Owens, for example, would never be signed by the Steelers nor, for that matter, would Onterrio Smith quite likely. In fact, I found the Dallas Cowboys signing of Owens not only embarassing, but about as predictable as the sunrise. America's Team, if you haven't seen it before, is a mess with a nice track record of complete jackasses. But I digress.

Yet, the difference being — and it's a big one — is that that's the NFL, where you have your pick of the litter of talented players by the thousands waiting to play. Guys like Onterrio Smith and Ricky Williams don't come the CFL's way every day and any organization in this league would be insane to pass up the chance. The Winnipeg Blue Bombers aren't the Pittsburgh Steelers and that's fine with me.

Regardless, Smith is good. Very good. If I were running the Bombers and you had told me a few years ago, when he was at Oregon, that he would be a Bomber some day, I'd have jumped up, said "when" and then began printing his jerseys. And I'm not the only one.

This is professional sports folks, and in this particular case talent trumps all.

The Whale

2006-04-24T19:10:00.000-06:00

I'm sitting at work watching the Carolina Hurricanes roar back on the Montreal Canadiens and, I'll be honest, it sickens me.

That "fans" in Raleigh, N.C. even get an NHL team is infuriating enough, that the NHL pillaged the good people of Hartford, Conn. in order to put another squad in NASCARland and, in so doing, ridded professional sports of the greatest team logo in the world of athletics, was a downright tragedy.

I, my friends, remain a Hartford Whalers fan. Ron Francis was the first non-Winnipeg Jet professional athlete to give me an autograph and that had me hooked. I bought a Whalers jersey for my hockey practises, watched the team religiously tease me with first-round playoff exits that were littered with so-close-but-oh-so-far efforts and then eventually swore off the bastard league that took away my two beloved teams.

Hartford Whalers, we hardly knew ye.

In honour of the harpooned Whale, I give you this, the most catchy of catchy tunes, The Hartford Whalers Victory March (nee: The Brass Bonanza), played after every goal by Kevin Dineen, Ray Ferraro, Terry Yake, Pat Verbeek or even Randy Ladouceur. Back in the days when the NHL wasn't playing the latest techno/trance song to pump up its team, when organs were regulars in the rafters of old barns, when divisions were named after great men like Adams, Smythe and Norris, and the closest the deep south got to having a team was trying to remember what that "Flames" team was that played somewhere in Georgia.

March on Whalers.

Here's to an early Carolina exit so the people of Raleigh can go back to cheering for what they actually know something about:

Purge and binge

2006-04-15T16:12:00.000-06:00

My talking about the topic of the dismantling of the Ottawa Renegades wouldn't just be overkill, it would be completely frivolous as well. No one needs to read another person espousing on the mess that is the capital city's former football team. Needless to say, I feel bad for the people of Ottawa but am absolutely taxing my brain to figure out why the CFL would allow the Gliebermans anywhere within 1,000 feet of a franchise.

I did, however, see in one of the number of visual obituaries that aired on TV a small group of fans holding a black flag at a game that said "Renegade Nation." Seriously? I have to put some sort of moratorium on the use of " Nation" in sports. Leaf Nation, Raider Nation, Rider Nation... Enough. When the biggest laughingstock franchise in the history of the CFL gets to have a "Nation" — as if to insinuate this is some sort of storied franchise with legions of fans across the continent — then we've gone too far. Personally, I think it's time Ottawa is gone for good. The CFL — and the city of Ottawa — loses credibility everytime it tries to resurrect a team in the capital and the past two decades have shown that, for many and varying reasons, it's just not going to happen. Take that horse to the glue factory.

That said, the dispersal draft was a fun time, wasn't it? I mean, this was the equivalent of some old, rich coot — who never really was successful, just rich — filing Chapter 11 and then being forced to have a yard sale where everything was selling for 11 cents and under. Like the Enron guys comping that big Crooked E for a couple bucks.

Some experts have pegged the Bombers as the big winner in the draft and no doubt they've done well with their picks. Ibrahim Khan was arguably the most coveted player and Val St. Germain brings more veteran leadership to the O-line. More importantly, the Bombers now have two Canadians on the line allowing them to use some non-import spots in skill positions. Brad Banks is a guy everyone is very excited about but I think the jury is still out on him. He's athletic as hell, a former Heisman candidate at Iowa and has shown signs of being someone with a bright future, but you could dike the Red River with the bodies of the QBs who have been reported to have big upside and then never materialized.

The most curious move to me was the Saskatchewan Roughriders perhaps throwing their franchise under the bus for Kerry Joseph. I'm still not remotely sold on Joseph even though everyone has druelled over his potential since he came in the league. In the CFL, every team has a chance to be competitive every season and the Renegades never matured into much more than a team that scored a couple upset wins, scared a few people early on and then fell back into the "wait til next year" mode. Despite how badly CFL talking heads wanted them to succeed — after all it's their job to constantly hide the Emperor's nudity — the Renegades were a chump team that never made the playoffs and Joseph has to take a chunk of the responsibility for that.

In 2003, he had one of his best seasons and even then he threw for 19 TDs against 20 INTs. There's no doubting his athletic ability, although the Riders giving away Corey Holmes — perhaps the most versatile and dangerous player in the league — to get a guy who fits the mold of every Saskatchewan quarterback of the past decade is curious to say the least.

Marcus Crandell, Nealon Greene, Rocky Butler, Kevin Glenn, Henry Burris and now Kerry Joseph. Anyone seeing a connection between all these guys and the degree of suck the Riders have displayed? Kerry Joseph could be the guy to take them over the top, but I'm not betting on it. To franchise one of the best players in the league just to obtain a carbon copy of all the other failing QBs you've had is bone-headed at best. But we wouldn't expect much else out of the Gappers, now would we?

How I didn't lead with this item is beyond me but, brace yourself people, Saturday was Nebraska's Spring Game meaning there is just 141 days until the season starts against Louisiana Tech at old Memorial.

Some 57,000 people showed up to see the Red-White game, which is little more than the final scrimmage of spring practice but nonetheless a golden chance to have a look at what might be for 2006-07.

To say I'm excited about this season is an understatement. For the first time in the Bill Callahan/West Coast-era, the Huskers have expectations on them. A three-game win streak that included a road win at Colorado and an Alamo Bowl-victory over Michigan capped off last season and got Big Red fans jazzed about the team again. Well, not like the fans ever went anywhere, but the last few seasons have been the most taxing in Husker history.

Zac Taylor is back to lead the offence, the backfield could be a three-headed monster with Cody Glenn, Marlon Lucky and Leon Jackson all lining up to take the departed Cory Ross' place, the defence will be as good as ever and kicker Jordan Congdon enters his sophomore season after one of the best freshman year's in the Big 12.

For the first time since Callahan took over, the Huskers are once again at least being mentioned as a potential North Division winner, although they'll have Iowa State it would appear to jump over.

This year's Canadians for Nebraska roady takes place Oct. 19-22 when we head down to Lincoln to see the defending national champion Texas Longhorns. This trip will top everything I've ever done in my life. That's how successful I've been.

Anyway, one time before we break for the summer ... GO BIG RED!

The Final Countdown

2006-03-28T00:01:00.000-06:00

The demolition of the Winnipeg Arena made national news and was captured with great commitment to detail by this site.

So the Old Barn, as it was affectionately called, was eulogized over the past couple of days despite the fact the demolition had been occuring over a number of months and Sunday morning's implosion was just the death blow that — eventually — brought it officially to ruin.

The Arena was forgotten about rather quickly after it was officially made a relic when the ritzy downtown MTS Centre was opened in 2004 and the main tenants, the Manitoba Moose, switched homes. Winnipeg is a city not big enough for the both of them, after all.

With the cookie-cutter variety of arenas in North America popping up in virtually every city of any repute, I always enjoyed the fact the Winnipeg Arena had its quirks and was proud of those quirks. I think that's a statement about most Winnipeggers, too: We're usually proud of our idiosyncrasies.

The Arena held a number of memories for me and I was far from pleased to see it destroyed. When the Eaton's building downtown was demolished to put up the MTS Centre, I hardly shed a tear because I had no emotional connection to that structure, what with it having been constructed and long through its heyday decades before I came around.

But the Arena, I realize now, was the first building anywhere that I held an affinity towards and — now that it no longer exists — I too know now that I had some sort of odd emotional investment in it. Folks who had been in Winnipeg for decades were sad to see the Eaton's building fall because it had been a part of their upbringing, a significant figure throughout their lives and the loss of it was taking away something they directly identified with for a large part of their existence. So then, suggesting that a faceless framework of steel and bricks has a familial feel to it isn't so crazy.

That's how Winnipeg Arena was to me.

I watched from the cheap seats my first Jets games when I was in Grade 1 and my brother got some tickets through school for being a patrol guard. I saw the Calgary Flames — Hakan Loob, Lanny McDonald and Kent Nilsson — and the Boston Bruins — Rick Middleton and Ray Bourque — that year. As years went on I got to see the Hartford Whalers (my beloved other team), Wayne Gretzky and the Edmonton Oilers at their peak, Denis Savard and the Chicago Blackhawks. In essence, I saw some of the greatest NHLers ever come to my city, something significant now in hindsight as Winnipeg yearns to bring a team back. From the low rows in 1993, I watched the Toronto Maple Leafs with my dad.

I went with my Sir John Franklin Explorers hockey team and cheered wildly from the absolute back of the arena as our head coach miraculously managed to land a paper airplane on the ice. I still remember Andy Van Hellemond pausing the game slightly between face-offs so that he could retrieve it from the ice. A tremendous memory and it happened some 15 years ago.

I skated on that ice, too, which still ranks among the greatest experiences of my life. My brother, when coaching our River Heights Cardinals, got us a practice on the Arena ice and I couldn't get over that I was skating on the same spots that Dale Hawerchuk did when he was the idol of all Winnipeg Jets fans.

In elementary school I competed in the city-wide speedskating championships and even won a few, although I don't remember how many. I do remember, however, that with all the schools bringing supporters it was — even then — an electric feeling of performing on the city's most coveted stretch of ice in front of screaming onlookers.

I was there in 1995 at the premature funeral of the Jets. Don Cherry called Winnipeggers the greatest fans on the planet, Ed Olczyk screamed "when we win the Stanley Cup ... It's coming back to Winnipeg" and, quite conversely Thomas Steen, in his famously shy way, wished aloud for one more year of the NHL in Winnipeg. He, and all of us, surprisingly got our wish to have one final year-long good-bye.

I made it a point to be at the final game ever played at Winnipeg Arena and wrote a column about it for the next day's edition, Nov. 7/2004, and I'm glad I did.

I've barely been back to Winnipeg in the months since the deconstruction of the Arena began and I'm not sure I'm all that enthused to see the blank hole that now exists.

A crowd gathered around in a prolonged state of perverse gawking on Sunday morning to see the Winnipeg Arena, and 50 years of history, implode. Cheers went up with the dust and the smoke. I wasn't there and I'm glad I wasn't.

All the images I need are permanently engrained in me and I'll prefer to leave them that way. After all, that Old Barn housed a lot more than just some steel and bricks.

NB: For another reminder of Winnipeggers' unique and unmatchable love for their Jets, this is a nice trip down memory lane.

Firing line

2006-03-21T22:49:00.000-06:00

This is ridiculous.

By all accounts, Andy Murray's one of the good guys in the NHL and I won't hide the fact that the following has a tinge of bias because the man is a local and he's always made himself available to myself or other reporters at the Sun when a story was in the works. I interviewed him after he led the Canadian team to the world championship gold medal in 2003.

That said, well before Murray was given the axe by the underachieving, if not overly talented, Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday, I've ranted about idiot organizations that prove time and again why they are regularly forgotten about when the term "success" is brought up.

With all due respect to the adage that coaches are hired to be fired, it's not hard to figure out why certain teams continue to wallow in mediocrity. What's infuriating, from a fan's standpoint, is the seeming obliviousness of the people who run these teams have to what is going on right beneath their noses.

Sometimes, however, it's not inattention but rather indifference. The Chicago Cubs, save for the Year of Bartman, have regularly been bottom-feeders to the extent they've earned a nickname that characterizes them as such. Curses be damned, this is an organization that has never seen any urgency to make a concerted effort to build a contender knowing full well people will still flock to the Friendly Confines regardless of the bums who are put on the field.

But for those teams that do at least purport to be about getting better, the road to success is often littered with idiocy.

Best case scenario? The Buffalo Sabres fire Ted Nolan following the 1996-97 season, a campaign in which all he did was take his God-awful team to the second round of the playoffs and win the Jack Adams Trophy for coach of the year. Peruse the roster of that Sabres team and you'll find what Nolan did with it was nothing short of remarkable. It's a murderers' row of lame ducks: Donald Audette, Brian Holzinger, Dixon Ward and team-leading scorer Derek Plante (!), who blistered to 53 points in 82 games. (And before you suggest the Late 90s-NHL-as-no-offence-league argument, consider the fact that the top nine scorers in the league had at least 90 points).

Anyway, that's off topic.

Bringing us back to Murray, the Kings are nine games above .500, currently sitting in a tenuous playoff position and have 12 games remaining in the regular season. Top scorers Pavol Demitra and Alexander Frolov have been in and out of the lineup all season with injuries (mostly out) and the Kings have a shaky goaltending situation. Re: Ted Nolan, it's a wonder this team has been successful as it has.

The timing of the decision appears, at the outset, to be atrocious at the very least and shortsighted at best. Now the Kings will go through the drama of a coaching change at the most critical point of their season and, even if they do make the playoffs, are likely fodder for a first-round opponent anyway.

You can run off a laundry list of teams that simply don't get it. A grab bag of organizations run by mental midgets who somehow never notice the difference between themselves and the ones that are regularly, consistently among sports elite.

Put the L.A. Kings in that category.

The only question is: Is it because of inattention or indifference?

Please wipe your feet

2006-03-20T05:03:00.000-06:00

The weekly documentary news program CNN Presents discussed the world's oil crisis on Sunday and discovered Canada's oil surplus, investigating what Alberta's land means to the rest of the world... Well, to the U.S.

Not nearly as offensive as most American TV is about Canada, the episode still reaked of the usual jingoism American media is so well known for. Of course, it prompted me to write an email.

My words to CNN:

It would be prudent, I believe, to remind CNN that the network is a global entity and, more specifically, a North American network that needs to remember there are Canadians who turn to it for news as well. While we are indeed honoured that CNN has found a story north of the 49th parallel, let us please not forget that the oil crisis, and Canada's role in assisting, also affects Canadians. So when you raise, on air, the question "how does this affect us?" the attitude plays like the U.S. eating off our plate and saying "oh, were you gonna finish that?" It is a global crisis. The least you could do is portray it as such. And while you're at it, leave out the misguided allusions to my country being some arctic outpost. Americans' views of Canada are already skewed enough as it is.

Parched Madness

2006-03-19T02:19:00.000-06:00

If you heard a wooshing sound about ... oh ... around midday Friday, that was the sound of my NCAA bracket going down the drain.

Now, let's be straight here people. I put in more thought, logged more hours and crunched more statistics for this year's draft than any year previous. I printed upwards of 50 pages from bracketologist Pete Tiernan and poured over the minutia of his statistical renderings. I was the Expert of All Experts.

I filled out the bracket with confident pen strokes yet all the while maintaining the same caution a teenager uses to avoid stepping on the creaky parts of the floor when he's sneaking in the house at night. I got through the first round sluggishly and pondered the key games in bracket pools: Figuring out the Nos.10, 11 and even 12 that might play the role of Cinderella.

Well, San Diego State literally (literally)threw the game away against Indiana; Utah State never looked remotely competitive against Washington and Bucknell beat Alabama, making my lone "upset" to come through a mere No.9 over a No.8. Big deal.

On top of all that? Because of Tiernan's overwhelming statistical findings I even went against my gut in games such as Montana v. Nevada, George Mason v. Michigan State, Texas A&M v. Syracuse. Had I gone with the Larkins system, tested and true in a pool victory last season, I would have had three significant upset picks through to the second round.

I almost had to quit my job to cover all of the Tiernan compilation and then almost enrolled in a night course to figure out what the hell he was talking about.

A sample:

The No. 1 seeds that advance to the Final Four tend to be experienced squads, having been to the tourney the previous year. They also boast a preseason Associated Press All-American, beat their opponents by more than 10 points per game and get between 25 and 65 percent of their scoring from the backcourt. Top seeds with these attributes are 31-21 in getting into the semifinals; those without them are 5-27.

Now, it's not biochemistry or thermonuclear dynamics but it's rather involved, nonetheless. Incidentally, I would have fared just as well in a pool on those subjects as I have done on the NCAA. The lesson here? Never read.

Point of the matter?

*turns body to face full-length mirror*

David, believe in yourself. When someone says Zips, you go Zags. When everyone and their mother is banging Boston College for the Final Four, you stick to your guns and remember Villanova was your pick for the championship game a month ago and you're not wavering from it. So when some nerdlinger ad-exec-by-day turns bracketologist and tries to blaspheme your beloved sport by making manno a manno into an exact science and you buy it up like a fat man reaches for his SaunaBelt, you remember, oh Merchant of the Madness, you're the guy who picked Louisville (on a TV appearance no doubt) to be in the Final Four last year and no one can ever replace gut reactions.

Now, everyone, suck up the Iowa's, Tennessee's and Nevada's and move happily into the second round of the greatest tournament in sports. New games await and they are yours for the picking.

Just remember to flip a coin.

Premonitions

2006-03-11T18:58:00.000-06:00

I'm not saying I predicted Slobodan Milosevic's death, just that he doesn't watch beach volleyball, but perhaps my blog is now a death clock of sorts.

If I have somehow, through some sort of unspoken, unknown connection between my blog and the future of humanity, directly affected a person's existence, then...

I think I'll blog more about Elvira Kurtz.

UPDATE!

Do yourself a favour and Google the name Elvira Kurtz. Go, do it. Now.

Alright, here, I'll do it for you.

See that? I'm out there baby!

The Bread Crumbs post worked. My stupid, utterly ridiculous ploy has me back on top of yet another Google search.

If you don't know me, this is basically what I cling to in life — completely meaningless accomplishments. This is my equivalent of having a hit single on the Billboard charts or a best-selling novel. Yup, it's true.

Side note, here friends: Have I also been directly involved in the annihilation of Kurtz's career? No.

But, think about it, is this not a beautiful commentary that backs up everything I've ever said about her? This is supposedly one of Canada's finest comedians (according to her people only of course), she hosted a nationally-televised show, she has been shoved down our throat over the past five years despite blatant evidence of her disgraceful lack of talent and the end result is that a Google search turns up, right at the top, my stupid little rant.

Beautiful. Friends, I present to you the career death knell of Elvira Kurtz, brought to you — in part — by David Larkins.

I will try not to use my powers for evil.

Reintroduction

2006-03-10T18:11:00.000-06:00

Friends, I'm admitting to an addicition the last couple of weeks. It's the finest point of hoop season around the continent and, while I watch as many conference tournaments in anticipation of The Big One, I'm getting my fix on the Internet as well.

This addiction knows no bounds. In fact, as I type this, I'm listening to the audio archive of the Montana-Eastern Washington Big Sky Conference semifinal from Tuesday night.

Eastern, if you didn't know, holds a small piece of the family of Canadian basketball. Like the Sutters or the Staals of hockey, the Bekkering family has produced an inordinate amount of talented basketball players. Anna and Cory both played five years with the University of Calgary women's team, their brother Ross just completed his first year with U of C's men's team, youngest sibling Janelle is one of the best high school girls players in western Canada and cousin Matt just wrapped up his fourth year with the Lethbridge Pronghorns.

And then there's Henry, the 6-foot-7 sophomore with the Eagles who turned the Canadian basketball community on its ear with his remarkable showing at the 2003 SuperPages II All-Canadian High School Basketball Game. Bekkering made his name in Alberta basketball circles well before his senior year at Taber's W.R. Myers, but the appearance at the all-Canadian game cemented him as — rightly or wrongly — one of the most exciting Canadian players to keep your eye on.

Without further adieu, watch Bekkering's dunk contest footage from that 2003 game at Capilano College. That clip made him an Internet underground legend and earned him an appearance on The Best Damn Sports Show and a small blurb in the online encyclopdia, Wikipedia.

From Wikipedia:
This Canadian dunk contest was made famous on the internet by the amazing dunks of 6'5" Henry Bekkering which included a windmill slam over a standing person and a left handed freethrow line dunk jumping off 2 feet. Video of the contest dissemnated quickly across the internet and it's fame led to a television appearance for Bekkering on the "Best Damn Sports Show"

Ed. note: A blurry, pudgy figure in the background near the end of the clip is yours truly.

When you're done all that, though, get your eyes focused on a guy who will actually be playing in this year's NCAA tournament: Champlain St. Lambert graduate Pierre Marie Altidor-Cespedes, a 6-foot guard whose got more game than letters in his name. He will play start and play significant minutes for a very highly-touted Gonzaga Bulldogs team.

Puck

2006-03-07T04:40:00.000-06:00

A friend of mine, earlier in the day Monday, told me an out-of-nowhere bit about someone they knew — and we both didn't have much affinity for — had died of a brain aneurysm. The connection we had to this person was thin, to say the least, but her mentioning it still stuck an empty feeling in me, despite the fact he was not overly liked by either of us (for reasons not needing to be mentioned).

We walked silently for a bit after she dropped that morsel of info on me until I said "it's an ugly feeling to hear about anybody dying," and this was with full recognition that this guy wasn't anywhere near our good graces.

It's a hollow feeling, no matter your connection — or lack thereof — to the person in question.

So I'm sitting here being an insomniac but, because of a day off, separated from the sports world as I sometimes try to avoid headlines when I'm not in the office.

I turn on CNN and the ticker is rolling with those quotes. You know the ones, when someone dies, that you read or hear and just know they're talking about someone in the past tense.

I'm reading Carleton Fisk and Carl Pohlad's quotes and I know that Kirby Puckett is dead.

I flick to ESPN.com and he's there smiling — as I think his lasting image always was going to be — with that depressing stamp that goes on visual obituaries, the birth-to-death year.

If I'm to be honest, I was never a Minnesota Twins fan, and I can't even say I ever felt overly fanatical about Kirby Puckett either. If someone asked me if I liked him, then the natural answer would be yes and "how could you not?"

Laying out page B3 of the Brandon Sun for Monday's pages on Sunday night, I needed a story to fill a spot and realized I had Puckett's stroke/surgery story yet to be placed. At the time, it was a minor story — a guy who was surely going to make it through — and I played it low on the page, grabbed a photo off the wire of him smiling with his Hall of Fame plaque. In hindsight, I'm glad that I did.

Monday I went into the office and read the story on the wire that Puckett was in critical condition. Later, quite surprised, I found out he was dead.

Puckett was part of an era of sports when I was a kid, when I was playing every sport I could, every day that I could and followed every stat line and every highlight. My friend Paul was a big Twinkies fan and, even though I wasn't a fan myself, Puckett's career was still parelled by my fandom in sports. As I soaked in every baseball highlight — and understand I'm not even a huge stickball fan — his playing days were playing out in front of me.

Point being? Fanatical or indifferent, fact remains that I grew up watching Kirby Puckett and I have an appreciation for what that means.

Puckett was not, by any means, a flawless hero as sometimes his sports image was made out to be. He certainly had very public flaws at times.

Still, Puckett is remembered — as anyone in death will be — for the positives. And because of those, his premature death makes those instinctive feelings around death that much uglier.

Bread crumbs

2006-03-05T05:57:00.000-06:00

Just installed a hit metre on the blog here, allowing me to keep track of how many folks are coming by on any given day and one of the things I can do is track how people found the site.

For instance, when I so innocently decreed that Mike Holmgren "reacted like a schoolchild who lost the tetherball championship when his opponent grabbed a piece of the rope," over his childish pouting after the Super Bowl, I managed to move The Point After to No.2 on the Google search for "tetherball championships." Brilliant.

So watch me now as I make an attempt to again generate some random traffic through the good people at Google in a little segment I like to call:

Finding Me on Google

• Hey did you hear about that war in Iraq? Right now President Bush's approval rating is about as low as an introvert Christian girl on an episode of Elimidate.. Possible Google searches:Iraq Elimidate; President Bush Elimidate; introvert Christian Elimidate.

• I drank three bottles of Nestea today. There is a beach volleyball tournament in The Hague that is sponsored by Nestea. I doubt that Slobodan Milosevic watches beach volleyball. Possible Google searches:Beach volleyball Slobodan Milosevic; Nestea Slobodan Milosevic.

• The Acadamey Awards are today and I can safely say I can't name you one woman in line for best female lead. I will, however, wager that it's not Laura Prepon for Karla or Elvira Kurtz for anything. Ever.Possible Google searches:Elvira Kurtz not funny; Elvira Kurtz laughably God-awful; Elvira Kurtz the worst thing to happen to Canadian comedy since Check it Out.

And if anyone happens to Google "Don Adams Check it Out" well then I'll score myself another one.

In the meantime, good night everyone and enjoy the tetherball championships!