Saturday, December 3:
Six days after another Grey Cup classic, another Vanier Cup classic! All hail to both the Laurier Golden Hawks and Saskatchewan Huskies for a great game. Nice to finally see an Ontario team prevail again, with a superb Hawks comeback. And the Rose Bowl match-up everybody wanted will be realized. Texas and USC punched their tickets by racking up a combined 136 points on Colorado and UCLA respectively. Mercy! I'm glad I don't have to set a line for that game.
Sunday, December 4:
OK, I'm of the belief that when it comes to football end zone celebrations, the coach who told his players, "act like you've been there before" is bang-on. But I have to admit I laughed out loud today when
Carolina's Steve Smith stiff-armed his way past two Atlanta defenders to dive into
the end zone and then celebrated by pretending the football was a baby that
needed its diaper changed. Funny stuff!
A couple of uniform notes from today's NFL games: This is the first time in decades I've seen the Washington Redskins wear their white jerseys with white pants. Usually one or the other is burgundy. Looked cool. But the New York Giants have to ditch those red "third" jerseys. Blue with all white trim is fine; white with all red trim is fine. But red jerseys? Nope.
Tuesday, December 6:
In this day of spoiled pro athletes, ladies and gentlemen, I give you the anti-egotist: Steve Yzeman, captain, Detroit Red Wings. All he did today was tell Canadian Olympic team boss Wayne Gretzky that he should not be considered for the team. Why? He says he's not playing well enough to take a roster spot from a more deserving player. Embrace him, folks. We may not see his kind again, the way pro sports is going.
Thursday, December 8:
I'm having a hard time getting my head around this: Manchester United competes in a Champions League group with Benfica, Villarreal and Lille -- and finishes last?! How the mighty have fallen. It seems like yesterday when United captured that 1999 championship with extra-time goals to beat Bayern Munich. I've been a Red Devils supporter since I first viewed a colour TV in the early 60's and was mezmorized by those red jerseys. (Admittedly, it was fate -- a different game, a different week and I might have been watching Liverpool or Arsenal. But United it was). Truth be told, they owe me nothing. It's been a marvelous dozen years since they captured that long elusive league crown in 1993.
Sunday, December 11:
If I've heard it once, I've heard it a thousand times: "TSN is showing CURLING, instead of (insert favourite sport here)??!! That cry of despair usually comes from my bemused American friends, or people in the American-wanna-be city of Toronto. And truth be told, I made that cry myself when I was younger. But to watch curling, you have to learn the rules, listen to the miked players and think along. It's a little like baseball that way -- it's most fun when you try to manage along with the skipper. Start trying to anticipate shots like a skip has to and before long you start yelling at the TV screen: "Whaddaya mean a hit-and-roll?! The draw to the four-foot is there for the taking!!" Next thing you know, you're a curling fan. There is no caste system in curling, meaning everyone from fans to volunteers to the top players socialize together. And give the game a whirl while you're at it. It's a wonderful social pastime and a great way to pass away the long Canadian winter!
Thursday, December 15:
OK, Montreal Expo fans, stop me if you've heard this one: Jeffrey Loria and his yes-man David Samson gut a talent-laden baseball team, tell fans they can't stay unless they have a new stadium, all while explaining earnestly that they really don't want to pull up stakes, but they have no choice. Your pain yesterday is Miami's today. Who knows where these carpetbaggers will end up? Maybe they will remain in South Florida. But any city thinking about taking on the Florida Marlins should take a close, hard look at the history of these two.
Friday, December 16:
For the luvva Pete...Having a Friday off work, I decided I would take in an OHL game tonight. And with a million things to do around the house and surrounding the holidays, I opted for the Saginaw at Oshawa game -- the closest to my home. Now, as you've probably guessed, I shoot pictures, so securing a ticket in the high rows is critical. I couldn't secure one high enough online through Ticketmaster, so I called them long distance. First came a menu that lasted forever. Then came "Claire," an automated voice that asked me: Province, then City. Yes, came another automated voice, telling me there were plenty of events in oh-SHAH-wah, Ontario. A couple of "press one's" later, and I was able to narrow it down to Friday, December 16th, the Saginaw Spirit versus the oh-SHAH-wah Generals at the oh-SHAH-wah Civic Auditorium -- stay on the line for a ticket representative. Fifteen minutes of "on hold" later, I gave up. Sheesh. Thankfully the online version gave me a ticket high enough for tomorrow night's game in Barrie.
Tuesday, December 20:
Christmas is five days away. Better start thinking about getting my shopping started in a couple of days (It's a guy thing!)
Lets go bowling! The US college football bowl season starts tonight. My must-see games are Ohio State-Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl, and the big one -- Texas-USC in the Rose Bowl.
Friday, December 23:
Gotta agree with radio sports host Bob McCown: What in thunder is with the hockey overkill these days? The games are (finally) enjoyable again, but do we need to provide complete wall-to-wall coverage of things like the announcement of Canada's Olympic teams? It was live on two (2) of my car pre-set radio stations and I can only imagine how many all-sports TV stations provided hours and hours of coverage. As for the men's team, I would have dropped Todd Bertuzzi and added Brendan Shanahan. But the folks doing the picking had a pretty good result four years ago, so who am I to complain?
Sunday, December 25:
!!! MERRY CHRISTMAS !!!
!!! HAPPY HANUKKAH !!!
Wednesday, December 28:
Michigan, a double-digit favourite against Nebraska?? Michigan, a double-digit favourite against anybody? I'd take Solid State and Whatsamattah U. and the points against the Wolverines, who play nothing but squeakers against everyone.
Gotta hand it to the Toronto Blue Jays for doing all they can to rebuild the roster. Troy Glaus is a great addition, but I don't like losing Orlando Hudson, strikeouts and all. The guy's a keeper on defence and don't teams get strong by building up the middle?
Thursday, December 29:
Watching the Michigan Wolverines spit the bit (again) in last night's Alomo Bowl loss to Nebraska was like watching the movie "Groundhog Day." Or an episode with the Keystone Kops, in regard to the hilariously inept officiating. But Michigan under Lloyd Carr is no longer a recipe for a winning program. Ever since the Wolverines ran the table in 1997, they play not to lose as opposed to going for the throat. If the program wants to truly join the elite, it must sweep away the current regime and bring in fresh coaching blood (as USC, Texas, Ohio State, LSU and countless others have done). It won't happen as long as Bo Schembechler (who WAS the fresh coaching blood 36 years ago) remains the virtual athletic director, and it won't happen as long as 110-plus large pack the Big House for every home game. Buckeye fans shudder when they remember the John Cooper years (a fellow who could beat everyone but Michigan). Now the Wolverines have their own version in Carr.
