Sporting Madness

The Four Horsemen Of The ESPNocalypse

2012-01-13T15:51:00.001-08:00

It's no secret that sports media as a whole are collectively losing their minds over Denver Broncos' quarterback Tim Tebow, who embraces all the clichés about "will to win" and somehow triumphs despite not usually being, you know, a good quarterback. It's even less surprising that the Worldwide Leader In Vaguely Sports-Related News is leading the charge. Still, as Adam Kramer remarked earlier, ESPN's piece asking LeBron James what he thinks of Tim Tebow is the most ESPN story of all time. Surely that means the ESPNocalypse is near, especially as certain newspapers have already ventured into hellfire and damnation (as you can see from the Boston Metro cover at right). In the spirit of that, we present two pieces. First, a dramatic reworking of the first three paragraphs of Grantland Rice's "Four Horsemen", timely considering how ESPN has appropriated the man's name:

Outlined against a blue screen in Bristol, Connecticut, the Four Horsemen of the ESPNocalypse rode again. In dramatic lore they are known as Famine, Pestilence, Destruction and Death. These are only aliases. Their real names are Brett Favre, LeBron James, Tim Tebow and Craig James. They formed the crest of the media cyclone before which all intelligent sports commentary was swept over the precipice of the Internet yesterday afternoon as billions of spectators peered at the bewildering panorama spread on the ESPN.com homepage.

A cyclone can't be snared. It may be surrounded, but somewhere it breaks through to keep on going. When the cyclone starts from Bristol, where the studio lights still gleam through the fortress windows of the ESPN campus, those in the way must take to storm cellars at top speed.

Yesterday the cyclone struck again as ESPN beat the intelligent commentators decisively, with a set of made-for-TV stars that ripped and crashed through sports fans' defences with more speed and power than the open-minded could meet.

ESPN won yet again through the driving power of one of the most SEO-friendly lineups that ever churned up the pageviews of any website in any Internet age. Brilliant backfields may come and go, but in Favre, LeBron, Tebow and James, covered by a fast and charging array of sycophants, ESPN can take its place in front of the field.

The rest of the web sent one of its finest teams into action, an aggressive organization that fought to the last play around the first rim of darkness, but when George Bodenheimer rushed his Four Horsemen to the track they rode down everything in sight. It was in vain that 1,400 sensible sports fans pleaded for the rational line to hold. The rational line was giving all it had, but when a tank tears in with the speed of a motorcycle, what chance had flesh and blood to hold? The rest of the web had its share of stars, but they were up against four whirlwind backs who picked up at top speed from the first step as they swept through scant openings to slip on through the algorithm defences. The web had great writers, but the web had no such distribution power and ongoing determinedness, which seemed to carry the mixed blood of Charlie Sheen's tiger and the antelope.

And now, a reading from the Book of Revelation (inspired by Scott Feschuk's great piece):

"And I saw when the Bodenheimer opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, the voice of the Berman saying, 'Come and see.'

And I saw, and behold a purple horse: and the Favre that sat on him had a cell phone; and a lawsuit was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to throw interceptions, and to bring a famine of real football news about players who aren't retired.

And when the Bodenheimer had opened the second seal, I heard the Simmons say, 'Come and see.'

And there went out another horse that was red and black. And power was given to the LeBron that sat thereon to make a Decision, and take peace from the earth, and to make owners write angry e-mails in Comic Sans. And there was taken from him a great sword, and given to him a flaming basketball, and the power to command the media, and the power to bring an omnipresent pestilence of his presence.

And when the Bodenheimer had opened the third seal, I heard the Paige say, 'Come and see.'

And I beheld, and lo! A white horse. And the Tebow that knelt on him had a football in his left hand.

And I heard Skip Bayless' voice in the midst of the four beasts say, 'A flawed measure of a quarterback shall be designed to promote Tebow, and three measures that dislike him shall be ignored; and see thou hurt not the television ratings.' And power was given unto Tebow to cause the reasonable to lose their minds, and to create great and widespread destruction.

And when the Bodenheimer had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the Schad say, 'Come and see.'

And I looked, and behold a pale horse! And his name that sat on him was James, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto him over the domain of college football, to kill coaching jobs with accusations and lawsuits, to silence colleagues, to ignore ethical conflicts, to reduce the audience's intelligence, to break the laws of amateurism and get away with sanctimoniously criticizing others who did the same, and to run for political office, and cause the death of objectivity (and perhaps some scarlet damsels as well).

...

And the kings of the Internet, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in their mothers' basements.

And they said to the mountains and rocks, "Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Bodenheimer.

For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?"

The Marchand Of Venice

2012-01-11T16:19:00.002-08:00

It's remarkable how insane the Vancouver Canucks - Boston Bruins rivalry has become lately following Saturday's Stanley Cup rematch. It's led to everything from fanbase and organizational fights to media going after bloggers who cover the other team to reporters verbally duking it out with opposing players to allegations of media defacing the NHL's media guides merely because a player they didn't like adorned them. There are some serious questions about the media's role in all this, and I talked about some of them this morning in an excellent discussion with Jessica Quiroli and others. Serious discussions aren't a lot of fun, though, so instead, I present one of the wackier ideas that came to mind; rewriting Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice" (original quotations available here) to cover the Vancouver-Boston rivalry, and particularly Boston's Brad Marchand's polarizing hit on Sami Salo and subsequent suspension. Thanks to Cam Charron, Thomas Drance, Tom Hawthorn, Jason Ford and
Ashok Sadana for their help, and thanks to Maclean Kay and PPP for encouraging me to turn this into a post. What follows is a partial script. Call me, Hollywood!

THE MARCHAND OF VENICE

DRAMATIS PERSONAE:
- In the role of Shylock, Brad Marchand, A Bruin
- In the role of Portia, Brendan Shanahan, A Disciplinarian
- In the role of Antonio, Sami Salo, A Wounded Canuck
- In the role of Gratiano, Alain Vigneault, A Coach
- In the role of Bassanio, The Vancouver Media, A Dubious Entity
- In the role of Salarino, Zdeno Chara, A Boston Captain

ACT I:

"In sooth, I know not why I am always injured. It wearies me, you say it wearies you." - Salo

"I hold the NHL but as the NHL, Vigneault, a stage, where every man must play a part, and mine a sad one." - Salo

When criticized for his team fighting back against Boston, "Why should a man whose blood is warm within, sit like his grandsire cut in alabaster?" - Vigneault

"There are a sort of men, whose visages
Do cream and mantle like a standing pond;
And do a willful stillness entertain,
With purpose to be dress'd in an opinion
Of wisdom, gravity, profound conceit;
As who should say, I am Sir Oracle,
And when I ope my lips, let no dog bark!" - Vigneault on the Vancouver media

"Vigneault speaks an infinite deal of nothing, more than any man in all Vancouver." - The Vancouver media

"If to do were as easy as to know what were good to do, Brad Marchand and the rest wouldn't be in the league and Sidney Crosby would still be healthy." - Shanahan

"When he is best, he is a little worse than a man; and when he is worst, he is little better than a beast." - Shanahan on Marchand

"If I can catch him once upon the hip,
I will feed fat the ancient grudge I bear him." - Marchand on Salo.

"They hate our sacred nation; and they rail,
Even there where Canucks fans most do congregate,
On me, my hits, and my well-won roster spot,
Which they call a disgrace." - Marchand on the Vancouver media.

"Thee devil can cite scripture for his purpose.
An evil soul producing holy witness,
Is like a villain with a smiling cheek." - Salo on Marchand's justifications.

"O Father Shanahan! What these Canucks are,
Whose own hard dealings teaches them suspect
The thoughts of others!" - Marchand to Shanahan.

Act II:

"But hear thee, Vigneault;
Thou art not wild enough, not rude enough and not bold of voice enough!" - The Vancouver media to Vigneault.

"All that glisters is not black and gold. Not all those who wander are lost. Whoops, swapped Shakespeare with Tolkien for a second there." - Shanahan

"All things that are, are with more spirit chased than enjoy’d." - Vigneault on what it's like to coach the Canucks.

Act III: "Why, I am sure, if Salo shows up, thou wilt not take his mental health? What's that good for?" - Chara

"To bait newspaper scribes withal: if it will feed nothing else, it will feed my revenge. He hath disgraced me, and hindered me half a million in contract negotiations; laughed at my losses, mocked at my gains, scorned my nation, thwarted my bargains, cooled my friends, heated mine enemies; and what's his reason? I am a Bruin. Hath not a Bruin eyes? Hath not a Bruin hands, gloves, pads, hockey sticks, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions? Fed with the same food, hurt with the same bodychecks, subject to the same injuries, healed by the same team doctors, warmed and cooled by the same winter and summer, as a Canuck is? If you slash us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not give you a facewash? If you beat us in the playoffs, are we not eliminated? And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge? If we are like you in the rest, we shall resemble you in that. If a Bruin wrong a Canuck, what is his humility? Revenge. If a Canuck wrong a Bruin, what should his sufferance be by Canuck example? Why, revenge. The villainy you teach me I will execute, and it shall go hard but I will better the instruction." - Marchand

"In the NHL, what plea so tainted and corrupt,
But, being season’d with a gracious voice,
Obscures the show of evil by the Bruins? - The Vancouver Media

"Here are a few of the unpleasant’st words
That ever blotted paper! We'll run them on the front page!" - The Vancouver Media

Act IV:

"If you suspend me, fie upon your law!
There is no power in the decrees of Shanahan.
I stand for judgement: answer — shall I have it?" - Marchand

"I am a tainted wether of the flock,
Meetest for long-term injury reserve. The weakest kind of fruit
Drops earliest to the ground, and somehow blows out its knee in the process." - Salo

"The quantity of suspensions is not strain'd,
They droppeth as the gentle rain from NHL headquarters
Upon the league beneath. They are twice criticized: they offend him that gives and him that takes. They are mightiest in the mightiest; they become
The throned commissioner better than his crown." - Shanahan

"Nay, take my life and all; pardon not that;
You take my house, when you do take the bodychecks
That doth sustain my house; you take my life,
When you do take the means whereby I live." - Marchand

Act V:

"How far that little suspension is being covered! So shines any reaction in a violent world of hockey." - Shanahan

"How many suspensions by season season’d are
To their right praise, and true perfection!" - Shanahan

"These blessed suspensions of the night." - The Vancouver media

Blogs Take Manhattan: The Women Talk Sports panel, and women in sports media

2011-11-05T11:25:00.000-07:00

Back in September, I headed to New York for another Blogs With Balls conference. The two I’d attended before, in Vegas and Chicago, were amazing experiences, and this one was no different; it was a great time, an excellent chance to get some intelligent perspective on where blogging’s going and a chance to hang out with some awesome people. I was just going through my files and realized I had a lot of notes from the BWB4 panels that I’d never posted, so here they are. First up, the first panel, Women Talk Sports. Note on the notes: these are in chronological order (as much as possible), but I couldn’t write down every comment from every panelist, so this is more of a "Highlights" piece than a full transcript.

Panelists: Sarah Braesch , BlogHer/Draft Day Suit, Richard Deitsch, Sports Illustrated, Jemele Hill, ESPN, Tina Cervasio, MSG, Jane McManus. Moderator: Megan Hueter , Women Talk Sports.

The panel started with a discussion of why women’s sports aren’t shown more prominently on television, and Deitsch had some interesting comments about that.

"A lot of it has to do with economics and dollars," he said. "A lot of women’s sports don’t really rate on television."

The Olympics are an exception, but Deitsch thinks that has more to do with the flags involved than the genders of the athletes.

"Olympics, nationalism trumps gender," he said.

Another example where people tuned in en masse to watch a women’s sport was the Women’s World Cup this year, which put up huge TV ratings. Deitsch said a lot of that was just thanks to the U.S. team doing well, though.

"The [final] game against Japan drew 14 million viewers," he said. "Nationalism often trumps everything else."

Other, more regular efforts like the WNBA haven’t really pulled in the numbers, though, and Deitsch said it’s a surprising demographic that isn’t tuning in.

"In general, the sport has not been able to draw, interestingly, enough women on television," he said. "Until advertisers get some sort of scale and mass, women’s sports, at least on television, will remain a niche."

Deitsch also applied the scale and mass concept to Sports Illustrated for Women, which had a short-lived run in the early 2000s. He said the scale they acheived was actually reasonably impressive by today’s standards, but not as much by the standards of the publishing industry at the time, which played a role in the publication’s cancellation.

"[At Time Inc], a lot of the time when we do something it has to be on a scale," Deitsch said. "Initially, SI for Women did really good. … [We had circulation of] 200,000; it was a big number, but in that universe back then, it wasn’t such a big number."

Deitsch said it’s difficult to have a sports magazine for women that doesn’t stray across the sports/lifestyle divide.

"It’s been successful to do the latter because service magazines, fitness magazines make money," he said. "So far, there has not been a biz model to have a successful magazine like Sports Illustrated."

Deitsch said one interesting idea is ESPN’s new ESPNw, a web-based publication that focuses both on women’s sports and on women’s perspectives on men’s sports.

"I do have hope for ESPNw," he said. "I think you have to really commit to making that an interesting publication. … I think ESPN should send its best writers to cover women’s sports and not sort of ghettoize it."

Hill, who works for ESPN and has written for ESPNw, said she doesn’t think it’s a drastic contrast from writing regular pieces for ESPN.

"It wasn’t any different and that was the good thing about it," she said. "I didn’t change anything about it. I just wrote how I would normally write."

Hill said she’s been impressed with what ESPNw has done so far, and she doesn’t see it as a secluded area.
"The writing has been really smart, it’s been aggressive," she said. "Any of the writers we have for ESPNw could easily blend into the regular pallet of ESPN.com."

McManus had some interesting comments on ESPNw and how it fits into the picture of women’s sports and female sports fans in general, . To start with, she said that men are the main audience for women’s sports; meanwhile, plenty of women are sports fans, but more of them tend to watch men’s sports.

"When you’re talking about women’s sports, the audience on TV is predominantly male," she said.

Men are still the larger part of the men’s sports audience, but the numbers of women tuning in are growing all the time, McManus said (something Forbes has since backed up). Programming and advertising executives do cater to the larger demographic by focusing on men, but perhaps they go too far doing so and don’t recognize that they could do more to appeal to existing female fans and draw new ones.

"There’s a tremendous audience of women sports fans that is really underserved," McManus said.

As female sports fans don’t necessarily watch women’s sports, McManus said that presents a difficult conundrum for women-focused sites like ESPNw.

"I think that’s something w has really had to wrestle with," she said. "Are we going for women, or are we going for women’s sports?"

She said they’ve tried to have the best of both worlds thus far, and it’s worked pretty well.

"I think what they’re doing is providing a platform for women’s voices," she said. "There are several male writers on the site who cover women’s sports and that’s how it should be."

Cervasio had an interesting perspective on some of the issues discussed, as she’s worked on broadcasts of both the NBA’s New York Knicks and the WNBA’s New York Liberty. She said broadcasting men’s and women’s sports isn’t as different as you might think.

"I approach my preparation exactly the same way," she said. "To me, it’s a basketball game."

She added that the audiences are quite different, though, especially in the stadium. The Knicks obviously draw larger crowds, but many of those crowds are made up of suits there for corporate functions, while the Liberty’s audience is mostly intense basketball fans.

"Liberty fans as compared to Knicks fans, they are so educated and so hardcore," Cervasio said. "At a Liberty game, it’s packed with diehard fans."

Braesch said WNBA games tend to be more family-friendly thanks to the lower prices.

"There’s definitely a lot more families there," she said. "I take my daughter to [Washington] Mystics games when I can. I think it’s good for her to see women’s professional sports."

Braesch said many men’s sports have huge female fanbases, too, though.

"When I go to Redskins games, about half the people are women," she said. "Women are watching sports, they’re just underrepresented by advertising."

McManus said that perception is starting to change, partly thanks to social media’s ability to illustrate publicly that many women are knowledgeable, hardcore sports fans, not just watching with the men in their lives.

"I think one of the biggest changes is Twitter," McManus said. "People can see how many women are watching games and tweeting about it. … Before, it was sort of assumed that they’re the girlfriends who are out getting nachos. These fans become visible. It’s not assumed that they’re in the shadow any more."

McManus cited the growing popularity of breast cancer awareness promotions, which have sprung up in just about every league (including the CFL this year), as evidence that leagues and teams are starting to realize the importance of their female fans.

Hill said it’s still an uphill battle in many areas, though, including gaining respect as a knowledgeable female writer—which can be tough to earn both from fans and from your own outlet.

"I think a lot of media outlets don’t know what the statistics are with female sports fans," she said.
"There’s a perception that if a guy sees a woman talking about the NFL, they won’t take her as seriously. … I don’t think we’re completely past that, but I think we in the industry give that way too much currency."

McManus said commenters in particular can be more vitriolic towards women and often use gender as a criticism, something that’s been seen since BWB4 with the response to Albany Times-Union columnist’s Jennifer Gish’s piece on the Bills.

"When your pic is up next to your byline, it’s not just ‘you’re an idiot’, it’s ‘you’re a female idiot,’" McManus said. "You have to have a thick skin because you’re going to get that."

She saw that herself last year when she wrote that the New York Jets were interested in taking a running back in the 2010 NFL draft.

"I heard, ‘This is why women shouldn’t talk about the NFL,’" McManus said.

Of course, she was proven right when they took Joe McKnight in the fourth round.

Deitsch said commenting attacks aren’t restricted to female writers, but they do tend to be more personal and more offensive when aimed at women.

"I think all of us have felt the wrath of anonymity," Deitsch said. "You guys get it a lot worse."

The conversation then moved to women on sports television, and Deitsch dropped an excellent one-liner on the ESPN types in the room for their questionable decision to ignore the ethics violations Craig James has been accused of.

"If your network wants to replace Craig James with any woman in this room, I'll get behind that," Deitsch said, receiving plenty of applause.

The subject came up of women in sports media being hired for looks, and Cervazio argued that some may be, but knowledge is more important to long-term career success.

"How long do they stay in the business?" she asked. "Knowledgeable people last."

Braesch said she thinks there are more opportunities for women in sports media than ever today.

"I think, really, in the last five years, it’s getting a lot better," she said. "The pool is a lot bigger, and there are more doors open to women."

There are opportunities for women in sports, too. One woman who’s having a lot of success is Indy/NASCAR driver Danica Patrick. Some think she only gets attention for her looks, but McManus disputes that.

"She’s won, so she’s not just a marketing tool," McManus said. "She does get a lot of attention because of her beauty, but she’s a real comp."

Patrick has frequently used her looks to her advantage, with GoDaddy ads and Maxim photoshoots, but McManus thinks the latter in particular was a smart decision.

"That was a really good marketing move for her," McManus said.

Hueter said Patrick’s key value is as a trailblazer.

"She’s paving the way for other women in her sport."

Phil Van der Vossen from Gunaxin asked an excellent question as to why we don’t see more women calling games as opposed to sideline reporting. Cervasio said one key problem is that calling games on any major network requires experience and practice, and that’s not easy to get.

"That’s what I’ve run into is just not boom, being ready to go on there," she said.

She does think there are more opportunities for women to gain that experience these days, though, as the proliferation of TV networks and smaller-level sporting events means there are more places where people can learn on the job.

"There’s so many college networks now," she said. "Hopefully more women will be able to do that younger."

The panelists concluded with a discussion of fantasy sports, and they agreed that far more women play fantasy sports than popular perception might have you believe. In fact, Hueter said fantasy football in particular is a terrific way to get women into sports.

"Fantasy football is a really great entry point for women," she said.

Things certainly aren’t easy for women in the sports world, and some of the still-prevalent sexism out there against female fans, athletes and media types disgusts me. We live in a world where one of the UFC’s key faces can essentially get away with calling a female journalist "cunty" (he later apologized, but got only a talking-to from the UFC), where some idiots (like some of Dan Steinberg’s commenters) still think it’s okay to rail against women in locker rooms, and where the Masters can bar a female journalist from a locker room. Meanwhile, there still isn’t much attention paid to either women’s sports (except stupid crap like the Lingerie Football League, one of the things that grinds my gears the most) or female fans of men’s sports.

There is some progress being made, though, and having an entire panel at a key sports blogging event devoted to the topic of women in sports is a good sign from my standpoint. The panelists had some outstanding things to say, and they made great points about the issues surrounding women in sports. There are certainly some positive developments happening on many fronts, and hopefully those will continue.

For more BWB4 coverage, I already recapped the Rising Stars panel thanks to Josh Elliot’s surprising comments on ESPN, and should have pieces up on the rest of the conference this week. There are also great thoughts on the conference from the likes of Shotgun Spratling and Moderately Cerebral Bias that you should check out.

The Death of A (Google) Reader, and the problem with the mutable web

2011-10-27T00:18:00.001-07:00

They moved the curious back, the rain falling faster now, and they moved the reader over close to a pile of dead products. Brin had the halter and Green had the gun, shaped like a giant plus symbol. This symbol he placed, the crowd silent, on the reader's forehead, just between the eyes. The colt stood still and then Green, with the hammer in his other hand, struck the handle of the plus. There was a short, sharp sound and the reader toppled onto his left side, his comments unread, his friends gone, the free feeds quivering.

"Aw, ----" someone said.

That was all they said. They worked quickly, the two techs removing the broken comments as evidence for the insurance company, the crowd silently watching. Then the heavens opened, the rain pouring down, the lightning flashing, and they rushed for the cover of the internet, leaving alone on his side near a pile of deceased products, the rain running off his sharing settings, dead an hour and a quarter after his first start, Google Reader, son of Gmail, full brother of Google Docs.

Apologies to the great W.C. Heinz (who none of us damn bloggers have read anyway), but it felt appropriate. Google's bizarre decision to kill off the social functions in one of its best products has led to outrage from Tehran to Washington, for excellent reasons. Whether you use it for undermining a totalitarian state, exchanging political or social commentary or merely just hanging out with friends and laughing about DogFort or 3eanuts, Reader's an amazing tool and one that be can adapted to just about any purpose. It's much more than simply an RSS feed of blogs; it's one of the best things on the web.

For some of us, this feels more personal than just the demise of an Internet product, though. Blogging isn't an inherently social workplace; sure, I interact with people all day, but it's generally over e-mail and Twitter. There's nothing wrong with that, but it's nice to be able to have something deeper, and the Reader community has built itself into that. Reader works on a more profound level than something like Twitter or Facebook, as it's all about people sharing pieces that appeal to them, and the comment view conversations host some of the most interesting and nuanced discussions on the web. There's a reason so many ShareBros are bummed out about this; for many of us, this is a genuine way of maintaining existing friendships and building new ones, and a company whose motto is "Don't Be Evil" is out to take that away.

On another level, it speaks to a common problem in the world; things aren't defined by how good they are or how much people love them, but rather how many people can tolerate them. It's why Two and a Half Men persists while Firefly is canceled, why Leno won out over Conan, why Bill Simmons and Rick Reilly are two of the best-paid writers on the Internet and why Dan Brown's always near the top of the best-seller list. Reader obviously didn't have the adoption rate of, say, Gmail or Docs, but (to borrow from Alexander Keith's), those who liked it, liked it a lot. For those of us who like small sports, indie bands and lesser-known writers, this is just another stroke in the consolidation of everything.

It's also a disturbing pattern in the Internet world; things are built and adopted, but then frequently altered or shut down, to the detriment of the communities using them. I was already there for one of those (the old Deadspin commenter apocalypse), and it sucked. Sure, we all found ways to move on and new ways to connect with some of the people who mattered to us (I still keep up with a lot of those types through Twitter, Skype, etc), and that will undoubtedly happen with Reader; ShareBro Francis Cleary is working on a great backup solution, and we'll certainly find ways to interact with each other in the meantime. It won't be the same, though, and we'll probably never quite get back what we lost. Still, there's hope out there as well as despair, and it's always better to light a flamethrower than curse the darkness. To that end, two videos.

Namárië, ShareBros. See you on the other side.

BWB4: Rising Stars/In praise of Josh Elliott

2011-09-25T12:55:00.000-07:00

We're going to be running plenty of panel recaps from Blogs With Balls' fourth edition (which I'm in New York City for) here this week, but the best moment actually came in the final panel of the day yesterday. Thus, to borrow from a famous quotation, "the last shall be first and the first shall be last". The most newsworthy moment of the whole day came from Josh Elliott, former ESPN SportsCenter anchor and current ABC Good Morning America co-host, who was on the final BWB panel ("Rising Stars") and candidly responded to my question about how he handles criticism of ESPN (along the lines of what I've delivered in a couple of pieces at The Good Point).

"I absolutely understand why people criticize ESPN," Elliott said. "It’s so pervasive and there are certain decisions it makes that are so terrible it sets itself up."

Elliott was particularly bothered by his colleagues' reactions to his GChat interview with Deadspin's A.J. Daulerio, shortly before he left to work at sister company ABC.

"I did an interview with AJ, but I got a torrent of criticism when I walked into the newsroom the next day," Elliott said. "It spoke to the knee-jerk response of this 1000 pound gorilla. They’d trust me to go on live TV for three hours but they wouldn’t trust me to GChat with somebody."

Elliott also criticized ESPN for its decision to start putting Chris Mortensen "reports" that were reworkings of other organizations' football stories on their ticker.

"They just started stealing scoops," he said. "It was a practice I never agreed with. ... I felt horrible."

Elliott said he made his concerns known to his bosses, but they never went too far.

"It’s such a big place," he said.

Elliott deserves thorough props for being willing to criticize his employer in front of an audience. It was one of the most interesting moments of the day, and one that gave me a great deal of respect for him. The rest of the panel was notable as well, though. Here's a transcript of the most interesting quotes they gave:

Grantland's Jonah Keri: - “Every site’s going to take some shit.”

- “I went to Grantland headquarters this week, and I’m so old compared to these people.”

- “I think it’s specifically designed to be a place where if you are talented, we’ll give you a shot.”

- On Grantland's Katie Baker: “She’s killing it.”

- “I hope there are 25 more sites like Grantland, so we can all have jobs that we like and get paid for it.”

- “Whatever company I’m with, I’m committed to it.”

-“If someone criticizes Grantland, I’m going to say, 'What don’t you like about it?'”

- “It’s not even so much the broad entity of Grantland, it’s these are people that I like.”

- “I’m going to defend the people who do good work.”

Bomani Jones:- “In the last six years, I’ve lost my job four times, but what I’ve been doing never stopped.”

-“When you start freelancing, it’s much more about what you do for yourself.”

“I started doing the job for myself, and most of the problems I had were just trying to tailor myself for someone else.”

- “Not having a job isn’t that bad, because in this day and age, people aren’t looking in the yellow pages for what they want. They’re looking for recommendations.”

- “They’re going to recommend it because of what it personally means for them.”

Josh Elliott, on transitioning from sports to Good Morning America:- “I definitely miss it.”

- “I start scratching at it like a phantom limb when football season rolls around and when you get the 20 MLB games that matter, and when you’d normally have a basketball season…”

- Re: Brett Favre and how sports turns into news: “There was a lot of talk about the male appendage earlier and when Anthony Weiner was blowing up, I was like, 'I did this for a year on SportsCenter!'”

- Bomani Jones on Sarah Palin reportedly sleeping with Glen Rice: “That’s the funniest story that’s come out in at least a year.”

- Elliott: “The Mike Tyson commentary on that might have been the greatest two paragraphs I ever read.”

- Tas Melas of The Basketball Jones on how they found success: “We’ve got the hustle gene.”

- J.E. Skeets on TBJ's deal with The Score: “If that didn’t happen right when it happened, I think we might have stopped.”

- Keri: “When I was growing up, my dream job was to write for Sports Illustrated-and I’m not saying that just to suck up to Richard.”

-On how the industry and dream jobs have changed: “I don’t think there’s one goal where any of us can look at and say that’s where we want to be, that’s the pinnacle.”

- “We’re all doing very different things, and we’re happy.”

- “In my lifetime as a sports person, it’s become acheiveable that whatever your second job was can become your first job.”

- Jones: “If you don’t love doing it for the sake of doing it… it will eat you alive.”

- Elliott: “Ambition’s okay. You can kind of want stuff.”

- “I never thought for a second I’d be on TV. I didn’t go to journalism school to be on TV.”

- “I hope there’s something next. I hope there’s always something next until I’m six feet under.”

- On podcasting: Melas: “There’s no question that’s what people should be doing.”

- “The difficult part is the editing part. It takes a fricking long time.”

-Jones: “Kevin Smith’s probably the most famous person for making a boatload of cash off a podcast.”

- “The advantage in sports is it's gone to sort of lifestyle sort of stuff.”

- "Video podcasts are a different animal because they’re far more likely to keep people engaged.”

- Melas said TBJ's numbers weren't great before they were bought out: “The Score bought an idea. They bought us. They bought talent.”

- Jones: “You never make money unless you act like you should be making money.”

- “You never accidentally make money.”

- Keri: “I think a lot of the skills you would learn at journalism school or at least sharpen at j-school are useful skills to have.”

“There are benefits to doing something else. If you’re a history major or a philosophy major, you’re a well-rounded thinker.”

“You have to be a networker and you have to meet people.”

Jones on how there's more to analysis than journalism: “There’s a lot of room for people to put things in context.”

Elliott on ESPN's short-lived Blog Buzz: “I sort of pictured that as an awkward parent showing up at their kids party and trying to be cool.”

He said morning SportsCenter was created because of blogs' impact:

- “The nine-noon was in response to you guys.”

-“The news cycle changed because of the blogosphere.”

-“You found stuff out at 6, 7, 8 a.m.”

= On Blog Buzz: “I think it was the closest they’ll ever come to admitting the blogosphere exists.”

- “The live SCs all day now are just them admitting the blogosphere exists.”

- “People in this room are the competitors for ESPN, and God bless all of you.”

On Sebastian Pruiti:

-Melas: "He’s created his own position.”

-Jones: "I have a colossal respect for anyone that’s like 'There’s a hole here, there’s not anyone doing this.'"

Overall, it was quite a useful panel. The people involved were far more established stars than rising ones, but it was very worthwhile hearing their takes, which turned out to be a valuable part of a superlative conference.

Conference expansion: Mike Slive gets his Aggies for nothing

2011-09-20T15:16:00.000-07:00

BIRMINGHAM, AL—The world of college football is going nuts at the moment with realignment, expansion and potential superconferences that could exacerbate the divide between the haves and have-nots. Other NCAA conference commissioners are raiding opponents, desperately trying to keep their conference alive, desperately trying to save their own job, lurking quietly or plotting world domination, but SEC commissioner Mike Slive has been rather quiet lately—despite extending an offer to Texas A&M and reportedly (or maybe not) to Missouri as well, allowing the ACC's raid on the Big East to dominate the headlines. Slive chose to break his silence at a Birmingham bar Tuesday night, walking out on stage with rock legend Mark Knopfler and debuting a new song the two of them have been secretly working on. Unfortunately, video cameras were not allowed, so to get a sense of what went down, watch this video of Knopfler's original (now permitted in Canada!) and substitute in the transcript of Slive's new lyrics below.

I want my, I want my, I want my ESS EEE CEE.

Now look at them Aggies, that’s the way you do it!
They’ll play their football in the ESS EEE CEE.
Conference expansion? That’s the way we do it!
Get our Aggies for nothing and our Tigers for free.

Conference ain’t working? That’s the way you do it
Let me tell you, them guys ain’t dumb
Maybe get a Baylor on your little finger
Maybe get a Baylor on your thumb.

We gotta install Missouri Tigers
Custom contract delivery!
We gotta move these threats of lawsuits
We gotta get more cash from TV.

That little AD with the beer sales and the couches?
Yeah buddy, that’s his own hair.
That little coach with the skullet and the Red Bull
He won’t fit in with our millionaires

We gotta install A&M Aggies
Top-ten fanbase delivery!
We gotta build our superconference
We gotta get more cash from TV

Look at that, look at that
I should have learned to play the tennis racket
I should have learned to play them bums
Look at that conference, cash sticking in the cameras
Man, can we have some?

And them out there, what’s that, Hawaiian noises?
Man, they just lost to UNLV!
That ain’t working, that ain’t the way to do it
No place for them in my ESS EEE CEE.

We gotta install new divisions
New big market delivery!
We gotta move these outdated contracts
We gotta get more cash from TV

I want my, I want my, I want my ESS EEE CEE
Get your Aggies for nothing, and your Tigers for free
I want my, I want my, I want my ESS EEE CEE

Destroy the Big 12 for nothing, get your cash for free.

Rick Rypien, depression, The Toronto Star and Mike Woods

2011-08-18T02:59:00.000-07:00

Rick Rypien's death at 27 is a tragic story, and one that's resonated with a lot of people. Hundreds headed to Rogers Arena for an impromptu memorial Wednesday, while his teammates in Winnipeg mournedtreatment programs and the role of fighting came to the surface. Information on what exactly happened to Rypien is still scanty, but for many of us, his death brought back memories of athletes who battled depression and wound up taking their own lives, such as Kenny McKinley and Dave Duerson.

We don't know yet if depression led to Rypien's death, but it's played a major role in the deaths of others. Before Rypien's death, Sports Illustrated's Pablo S. Torre wrote an excellent piece in this week's magazine on the suicides of Duerson, former San Jose Shark Tom Cavanaugh, former New York Yankee Hideki Irabu, American Olympic skier Speedy Peterson, former Duke basketball captain Thomas Emma and Austrian Olympic judoka Claudia Heill, and how they raise larger issues of how we look at depression in sports. Bruce Arthur had a great column on the same subject, but expanded it to life in general, and that's a conversation we absolutely need to have as a society. Depression is still heavily stigmatized, but it's hit more people than you think. I've had my own struggles with depression in the past, and it's not an easy monster to lick at all. It's a problem we have to take seriously, and it's something where we have to figure out a way to support the people affected.

Unfortunately, the serious, positive conversations around depression and its effects that have sprung up out of Rypien's tragic death have been somewhat derailed by an almost farcical element. That would be the Toronto Star's first story on the matter, and the subsequent reaction it provoked. The story originally included Vancouver Canucks' general manager Mike Gillis referring to Rypien as "crazy" in a quote he gave The Vancouver Sun, something he didn't say. That's obviously problematic, and it's been called out by people over the web, from Bruce Dowbiggin in The Globe and Mail to Trevor Presiloski at The Internet Trashcan. However, the sound and the fury here is signifying very little, and it's missing a lot of the point in the process.

This is the part where I fill a paragraph with disclosure, as I'm quite biased here. The offending Star story is written by Mike Woods, who I've worked with before. "Worked with" is putting it mildly, in fact, as Mike was my boss for a full year at The Queen's Journal (where we ran the sports section together) and is one of the best people I've ever had the pleasure to work with. He's also contributed a few pieces to this very site. Also, I should point out that I have absolutely zero inside information on this mess; I've never worked for the Star, I've never even visited their newsroom and I haven't received any information on what's happened apart from the pieces linked above. I don't know anything about how this particular piece was put together, edited or published. You can decide for yourself if that's enough to disqualify me from commenting on it.

If you're still here, thanks for the trust. I'm not trying to minimize the issue or blindly defend a friend; I'm happy to call media members out when the occasion demands it, and there's certainly a major screwup here. However, I think there are a few things that aren't perhaps being fully considered. Here are five of them.

1. Shit happens: It's more than just a bumper sticker and a common phrase, it's a way of life in the media world. Anyone who writes or blogs regularly is going to make mistakes, and sometimes major ones. Whether those ones see the light of day and draw intense criticism depends on your publication's editorial process, your stature and the topic you're writing on, though, and this one had the misfortune to both make it through and to be on something controversial. Criticism of it is fair, but there's a point to the old line about "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone." I wouldn't personally go quite that far, as that would instantly eliminate all media criticism, but it's worth keeping in mind when bashing something like this. We all make mistakes, but only some of those mistakes draw intense scrutiny. That's part and parcel of the media business.

2. Sourcing isn't as easy as it seems: On one level, it's perfectly fair to bash pulling a quote from a Wikipedia article (if that's in fact what happened; I don't know). On another one, it's more complicated than that. Go read Rick Rypien's Wikipedia page, and you'll find a couple of referenced Vancouver Sun articles. Try to click on them, though, and you'll get the lovely "Page Not Found" display. Believe me, as someone whose day job frequently involves digging up old information, I've run into these types of things before. You can sometimes get around them to find the actual old newspaper articles with sufficiently detailed web searching, but that isn't an easy process and it takes time, which is always in critically short supply these days. That's particularly true on a breaking news story like the Rypien one.

When you're quoting from other sources, yes, you always want to go to the original source when possible, but that isn't always an available option. (This goes beyond newspapers and Wikipedia, by the way: as a history major, I've had extensive experience dealing with sources that only survive in quotations from other sources. Yes, they're more questionable, but that doesn't mean they aren't usable; if we suddenly decided against that, we'd lose a lot of important Roman works.) To get back to Wikipedia, yes, the site has its problems, but it's also frequently very accurate about a wide range of subjects. Most of the quotations in it are fine. It's unfortunate that this one wasn't.

3. The supposed Gillis quote is not too far out to be true: I've seen this argument plenty of times, and it simply isn't the case. Athletes, coaches and executives often say dumb things without realizing it, and it's not inconceivable that could have happened in this situation (especially considering all the positive comments in the rest of Gillis' quote). Gillis obviously didn't say this, and it's understandable that he's mad about it, but I've had experiences where coaches have said very dumb things, had me print them and then tried to deny them and ruin my career in response. You're not going to convince me that a quote of this kind should be written off at first glance.

4. Breaking news isn't easy: In an era where sites are often judged by how quickly they can have a specific piece of news up, speed sometimes gets prioritized over quality and accuracy. Writing things quickly is never easy, and it gets even more difficult if you're dealing with physical printing press deadlines as well (believe me, I've got plenty of experience with these from my newspaper years). That doesn't mean we should abandon striving for accuracy; far from it. It just means that things are inevitably going to go wrong, particularly in cases where stories have to be finished quickly. That's not an excuse; my personal belief is that we should all strive to get it right the first time and try and achieve both accuracy and expediency. I'm just pointing out that there are complicating factors.

5. This whole situation is missing the point: Look, if Gillis called Rypien "crazy", that's obviously a problem. Thanks to The Star's apology, we now know for sure he didn't use that term in that particular article. To me, that's good enough. I've blasted plenty of media types who have screwed up in the past, but it's worth keeping in mind there are lots of worse situations out there. To me, this looks like a reporter making a factual error in good faith. I'd put that well below such things as deliberate plagiarism, lazy accusations of cheating without any proof, rampant sexism and attacking entire mediums for no good reason. That doesn't mean it's insignificant or shouldn't be criticized, but it should be kept in perspective. As Harrison Mooney wrote in an excellent post over at Pass It To Bulis, mistakes happen, and they're made by everyone. In my mind, we'd be much better off to leave the controversy over The Star's mistake alone and go back to the serious discussions on Rypien's death and what can be done to address depression.

On the Canucks, hatred, and why I want no part of the riots

2011-06-15T21:24:00.001-07:00

I'm a fan of the Vancouver Canucks. I have been for most of my 23 years on this planet. The team's had some tremendous highs in that time, including runs to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1994 and again this year, but they've also had some tremendous lows (the whole Mark Messier and Mike Keenan era, for one). Still, if anything's more likely to make me abandon my fandom than an awful team struggling under the mismanagement of Keenan, it's a few entitled idiots who take a loss in Game Seven of the Stanley Cup Finals as an excuse to start destroying property. I'm watching the images on CBC right now, and it's absolutely horrifying. It's that sort of hatred and destruction that's the worst part of sports, and for it to show up here sickens me.

If I could do away with one thing in this world, it would be hate. Hate not only leads to suffering, but it blinds us, convinces us to think irrationally, and tells us that whatever disgusting feelings we have are just fine, because whoever they're aimed at isn't worthy of consideration. It's hate that spawns hyper-partisanship, where fans blindly clothe themselves in their teams' colours and ignore whatever happens on the other side. It's hate that leads to messes like the football hooliganism we've seen over in Europe, or the reported attacks on Canucks' fans out in Boston (which probably happened in Vancouver too).It's hate that leads us to believe that sports are more than just a game, more than just a fun diversion, but rather some divinely-ordained way of determining that one group of people is better than another group. That's not acceptable with races, religions, political beliefs or anything else, so why should it be the case in sports?

I was reminded of this today thanks to a couple of excellent NBA pieces, one by Joe Posnanski on why there's nothing wrong with rooting against the cartoonish aspects of a character like LeBron James, and one by Tom Haberstroh on how even that kind of innocent hate tends to spill over into the personal. In my mind, both have points. There's nothing wrong with villains, in sports, literature, films or otherwise. There's nothing wrong with rooting against villains. The problem comes when "hate" is invoked, as it's a complicated term with a lot of baggage that can mean anything from "I dislike your team" to "I wish your star player's family dies." Part of that spectrum's obviously more acceptable than the rest, but our culture tends to glorify the hardcore "superfans", and one of the ways they show their devotion to their side is by hating the other side more than anyone else. That atmosphere is what leads to riots like the ones we've seen tonight in Vancouver.

These riots are just so short-sighted. If the Canucks' "fans" involved actually took the time to get to know some of the great Boston types out there, they'd realize they have far more in common with Bruins' fans than they think. Moreover, Vancouver made it to the Stanley Cup Finals and pushed the series to seven games; in a 30-team league, that's incredibly impressive. Throw in that randomness means the best team doesn't always win (contrary to narrative), and really, Vancouver fans have a fair bit to celebrate instead of things to get angry about. They didn't reach the top of the mountain this time, but they came as close as one possibly can. They're also in good shape to try again next year. To me, that's more of a reason for celebration than anger.

To the mobs of "fans" out looting and rioting, though, I hope you have fun. Your behaviour reflects on the rest of us who happen to live in the area, and it reflects on all the people who at one time or another have donned a Canucks jersey. Hopefully, it won't reflect on us too much, though. We may all be Canucks, but we're not all idiots.

Mad Libs, Tom Scocca, Tommy Craggs and why everything doesn't suck

2011-06-13T17:00:00.004-07:00

It's a pity Leonard B. Stern, creator of Mad Libs, died earlier this week, as he's not around to see how his invention is still being used in the media. The most persistent offender on this front is Slate, the remarkable Internet outlet that seems to largely thrive on finding things people like and writing contrarian pieces on why they're really awful. In the past, they've taken bold stands against such horrors as pie, criticism of Creed and hand sanitizer. As Jonah Goldberg once wrote (in a piece for Slate itself, which must have set off some sort of contrarianism loop), "Freelancers especially seem to have figured out how to get through Slate's editorial defenses: Pitch a story, any story, that's counterintuitive, and someone on the receiving end will say "brilliant!" The idea seems very Mad Libs-inspired: "[Group of people] likes [noun], therefore it is [derogatory adjective]".

This approach is now spreading thanks to former Slate type Tom Scocca's new role as the managing editor of Deadspin, where he's already brought over the Mad Libs approach. In the crosshairs this time? Famed former New York restaurant Elaine's, a writer's hangout praised by the likes of Chris Jones, Kevin Van Valkenburg, Jeff MacGregor and now Grantland's Wright Thompson. If that many prominent people like something, it must be awful, right, Scocca? Right.

Normally, I probably wouldn't care about this; it's a debate over a now-closed bar I've never been to in a city I don't live in. What makes it more notable is how it fits into the larger tradition of contrarian griping; Scocca goes on to complain about how many of the Grantland pieces so far have featured personal thoughts and details from the writers, probably because some of those personal details are what make sportswriting interesting to many of us. I don't have a particular interest in the New York Knicks, but I loved the way Katie Baker described how this year's team made her feel. There are thousands of pieces out there every month on the AL East, but Chris Jones' story on losing his virginity during the 1992 World Series (and decades later, feuding with both John Farrell and Terry Francona in the same day) is one of the most interesting I've read this year. Chris Ryan's piece on the experience of the Champions League final appeals to me much more than any straightforward account of the game. There's a certain irony in Scocca complaining about "Watch the writers watch themselves," as his piece is essentially watching those writers watch themselves, but it's worth noting that writers watching themselves can be entertaining and illuminating if they're done well. Contrarian grumblers complaining about writers watching themselves, not so much.

Look, it's not that Grantland should be immune from criticism (there are plenty of things I don't like about the site and Bill Simmons, Chuck Klosterman, et al), and it's not surprising that it's Scocca and Deadspin delivering it. Scocca's the guy who's previously feuded with Jones over some pretty stupid stuff and criticized Simmons' shoes. Meanwhile, Deadspin's tendencies to go after ESPN and Simmons are not just a matter of record, but are also often for worthwhile reasons. This doesn't appear to be a worthwhile one, though, but rather more just contrarianism for the sake of contrarianism.

Sadly, Scocca's screed isn't even the most aggravating piece Deadspin has written about the site. That debatable honour goes to this rather annoying piece by Tommy Craggs, who Grantland considered hiring. Rather than even analyzing the site itself, Craggs decides to go and blast the man it's named after, Grantland Rice, one of the most renowned sportswriters of our time and one of my personal favourites, in a piece cleverly titled "Why Grantland Rice Sucked". That piece itself is an exercise in unintentional hilarity, with Craggs dropping lines like "He was responsible for a lot of the worst pathologies of sportswriting today", lines I find are far better suited to himself than Rice. Much like Scocca, I find that Craggs' writing tends to be full of rants against everyone who disagrees with him and supreme pronouncements that [thing people like] is [derogatory adjective]. It's no wonder that he doesn't like Rice, who did a superb job of illustrating and relaying the magic and wonder sports can bring. Here's Rice's memorable opening paragraph in the famous Four Horsemen piece:

Outlined against a blue-gray October sky, the Four Horsemen rode again. In dramatic lore they are known as Famine, Pestilence, Destruction and Death. These are only aliases. Their real names are Stuhldreher, Miller, Crowley and Layden. They formed the crest of the South Bend cyclone before which another fighting Army football team was swept over the precipice at the Polo Grounds yesterday afternoon as 55,000 spectators peered down on the bewildering panorama spread on the green plain below.

And here's what Craggs probably would have written instead:

It was a miserable day at the Polo Grounds, and the weather was reflected in the miserable play on the field. Notre Dame and Army both muddled through a display of awful offensive football, which served as a demonstration of how pointless this sport ultimately is. Hacks will write in its praise, but I, Tommy Craggs, supreme arbiter of the universe, declare that it sucked, so it did. So say we all.

In my mind, the worst pathologies of sportswriting today aren't well-crafted prose, clever historical or literary allusions, or even personal thoughts or experiences. I'm much more annoyed by the growing trend towards absolutism and establishing oneself as a supreme authority, which has carried far beyond the realms of writing criticism into everyday sports coverage. Check out the masses of NBA Finals pieces declaring the Heat as supreme villains or LeBron James' move to South Beach as an incredible failure after his team's first season ended just short of a title, or the volumes of NHL stories painting the Canucks as a bunch of goons or Canada's great hope. These pieces have several things in common; they oversimplify a complex situation, they deliver stronger allegations than they can support and they set the writer up as an authority, proclaiming that anyone who dares to disagree is wrong. You like the Heat, or you don't think LeBron's all that bad? Well, YOU'RE WRONG!

It's the same thing that bugs me with the criticisms of Grantland and Rice himself Scocca and Craggs have delivered so far. If they don't like the writing, or the writers, or ESPN itself, or literary devices applied to sports, fine; that's their right. It just gets annoying when they start tossing out royal proclamations to that extent, and complaining without any sense that their criticisms could apply to themselves with equal or more validity. They're welcome to the jaded, cynical view of the world they display, and people are welcome to enjoy it if that what floats their boat. Instead of constantly using the contrary, critical Mad Libs, though, I prefer to enjoy sports and writing for what they have to offer instead of trying to deconstruct everything I don't like about them. Pick whichever approach you like, but don't feel compelled to hate something just because a writer tells you to.

Update: I just spoke to Craggs about this by e-mail, and I need to admit I made a couple of mistakes. First, this is meant as a professional criticism, not a personal one. The original piece crossed that line in a couple of places, and has been modified accordingly. Second, I was wrong to assume motivation; I can't speak for Scocca, but Craggs points out that he personally isn't criticizing Rice to be contrarian, but rather because he doesn't like the way Rice's "anointing of gods and his habit of reducing human beings to mere playthings of personal fantasy" has hurt the way people write about sports (and other related subjects, such as players' early attempts to organize unions, which is an excellent point). That's a fair stance, even if it's one I mostly don't agree with, and it deserves to be treated on its own merits rather than as just being contrary for the sake of contrary.

It's also worth pointing out that getting mad probably isn't the best state of mind for writing. I wrote this because I was annoyed by what I saw as contrary attacks on writers, ideas and forms I hold dear, and my response probably wasn't as thoroughly thought-out as it could have been. As always, I appreciate the feedback and the discussion. I'm leaving this piece up because I think my point is still somewhat valid; in my mind, there are a lot of positive things about both Grantland Rice and the site named after him that Scocca and Craggs are overlooking. However, that doesn't mean they don't have a right to criticize, or that they don't have some points. There's room for a multitude of views, and I think this debate shows that.

Taiwan makes the NHL a little more exciting

2011-06-03T16:03:00.000-07:00

The people from Taiwan's Next Media Animation have their own take on who to root for in the Stanley Cup finals, plus how to make them more interesting. Check it out:

Best use of a tiger since John Cleese's classes in self-defence against fresh fruit:

The Canucks' version of A New Hope

2011-06-01T17:44:00.002-07:00

It is a period of cold war. The Vancouver Canucks, striking from a hidden base, have won their first, second and third series victories against allies of the evil Galactic Empire. Now, they must confront the Empire itself, which has taken on the new name of the "Boston Bruins" but kept its old logo (with slight revisions). By watching footage of Boston's most recent battles, Vancouver coaches managed to steal secret plans to the Empire's ultimate weapon, TIM THOMAS, a clogging-up-space station with enough padding to deflect an entire planet. Pursued by the Empire's sinister agents, Henrik Sedin races home aboard his starship, custodian of the stolen plans that can save his hockey team and restore freedom to the galaxy…

...

DRAMATIS PERSONAE:

HENRIK SEDIN as Princess Leia (a twin, a key figure in the Rebellion)

ZDENO CHARA as Darth Vader (tall, violent)

DANIEL SEDIN as Luke Skywalker (a twin, capable of hitting small targets)

RYAN KESLER as Han Solo (cocky, shows up unexpectedly)

MANNY MALHOTRA as Obi-Wan Kenobi (called back into action from the sidelines)

ANDREW ALBERTS as C-3PO (tall (6'5'') and awkward)

KEITH BALLARD as R2-D2 (short (5'11''), importance underrated by many)

GARY BETTMAN as Grand Moff Tarkin (he'll blow up a rebellious market from time to time)

ALAIN VIGNEAULT as Jan Dodonna (he's picked out Vancouver's target)

CHRISTIAN EHRHOFF as Wedge Antilles (no one talks about him much, but he's crucial to the Rebellion's success)

MIKAEL SAMUELSSON as Biggs Darklighter (knocked out by the Empire, but important to getting them this far)

TIM THOMAS as the Death Star (dangerous, seemingly-impenetrable defences, but not really)

...

SELECTED SCENES:

ANDREW ALBERTS: "Their forwards are heading in this direction. What are we going to do? We'll be sent to the penalty box formerly reserved for Phil Kessel or smashed into who knows what!"

...

HENRIK SEDIN: "Zdeno Chara, I should have known. Only you could be so bold. The NHL's discipline committee will not sit for this, when they hear you've attacked Max Pacioretty..."

...

DANIEL SEDIN: "What is it?"

MANNY MALHOTRA: "Your father's hockey stick. This is the weapon of a Sedin twin. Not
as clumsy or as random as a blaster. An elegant weapon for a more civilized time."

...

HENRIK SEDIN: "General Malhotra, years ago you almost served this franchise in the Bure trade. Now they beg you to help them in their struggle against the Empire. ... This is our most desperate hour. Help me, Manny Malhotra, you're my only hope."

...

GARY BETTMAN: "The NHL discipline committee will no longer be of any concern to us. I've just received word that the Emperor has dissolved the council permanently."

...

ZDENO CHARA: "Don't be too proud of this technological terror you've constructed. The ability to destroy a franchise is insignificant next to the power of my elbows."

...

HENRIK SEDIN: "The more you tighten your grip, Bettman, the more franchises will slip through your fingers."

...

RYAN KESLER: "I ain't in this for your Stanley Cup victory, and I'm not in it for you, Henrik. I expect to be well paid. I'm in it for the money!"

...

ALAIN VIGNEAULT: "Tim Thomas' goal is heavily shielded and carries pads larger than half the star fleet. Its defenses are designed around a direct large-scale assault. A small one-man breakaway should be able to penetrate the outer defenses. ... The target area is only two inches wide. It's a small hole in the padding, right below Thomas' glove. The opening leads directly to the net. A precise hit will start a chain reaction which should destroy the Bruins."

CHRISTIAN EHRHOFF: "That's impossible, even for a computer."

DANIEL SEDIN: "It's not impossible. I used to bullseye targets in my NHL All-Star Game appearances. They're not much bigger than two inches."

...

MIKAEL SAMUELSSON: "Sir, Daniel is the best sniper in Sweden's outer rim territories."

...

MANNY MALHOTRA: "Use the Force, Daniel!"

...

ZDENO CHARA: "I have you now."

...

RYAN KESLER: "You're all clear, Sedin! Now let's blow this thing and go party!"

...

RYAN KESLER: "Well, I wasn't gonna let you get all the credit."

FIN.

Stanley Cup Finals preview: myself on the Canucks

2011-06-01T17:04:00.000-07:00

Here's the conclusion of this point/counterpoint setting up the Stanley Cup Finals. Earlier, my old Queen's Journal colleague Mike Woods made the case for the Bruins. Here's my take on why I think the Canucks will win.

The NHL playoffs are a funny thing, and the best team doesn't always win. In fact, as I've written before, contrary to the demands of narrative, the best team probably wins about 55 per cent of the time. That leaves 45 per cent of the time where upsets happen, and the odds may be even higher in a series like this that looks like it should be close. Thus, anything could happen here. If you're a betting man or someone making predictions, though, you want that 55 per cent chance over a 45 per cent one, and that's why I'm going with the Canucks.

What Vancouver accomplished this regular season was nothing short of historic. They finished first in the NHL with 117 points, 10 ahead of their nearest competitor (Washington) and 14 ahead of the Bruins. They scored an NHL-best 262 goals and conceded a NHL-low 185 (if you're not entirely convinced of the predictive value of goal differential, it's notable that Boston's +51 was second-best in the league, but miles behind Vancouver's +77). Even an 82-game or 162-game (as in baseball) regular season may not be enough to really give us a solid indication of who the best teams really are, but it's a pretty good sample size, and it suggests that these Canucks are a pretty incredible group.

Special teams also look like a particular advantage for Vancouver. The Canucks put up a NHL-best 24.3 per cent mark on the power play during the regular season, an area where Boston particularly struggled; the Bruins were 20th with a 16.2 per cent mark. Those trends have continued in the postseason, where Vancouver's third with a 28.3 mark (behind only first-round exitees Anaheim and Phoenix), while Boston is 14th with a miserable 8.2 mark (ahead of only the Rangers and Pittsburgh). Postseason penalty killing has also been an edge for Vancouver, where they've put up a 80.6 per cent mark against Boston's 79.4 per cent; that advantage was even more stark in the regular season, where Vancouver's 85.6 per cent mark (third in the league) was notably better than Boston's 82.8 per cent (16th). As close playoff games often come down to what you can do with the man advantage, it's hard not to like the Canucks there.

Vancouver's roster is strong throughout as well. Despite criticism of goaltender Roberto Luongo, his playoff save percentage is a sparkling .920, eighth-best all time. Boston's Tim Thomas may hold an even better .928 mark, but Luongo is no goaltending slouch, and he's got plenty of support. The Canucks' defining characteristic is their depth, as in addition to superb production from Henrik Sedin (a playoff-best 21 points), Daniel Sedin (16) and Ryan Kesler (18), they're also getting key contributions from the likes of Mason Raymond (eight points) and Chris Higgins (seven points). Their defence is also deep and consistent, with everyone from Christian Ehrhoff to Alex Edler to Kevin Bieksa having tremendous playoffs. Moreover, this year has been proof that bruins can be defeated by prominent B.C. products. I think it's going to be close, as Boston's a great team too, but I think the Canucks have enough edges to take this series.

Prediction: Canucks in seven

Stanley Cup Finals preview: Mike Woods on the Bruins

2011-06-01T14:13:00.000-07:00

To get you set for the Stanley Cup Finals, myself and former Queen's Journal colleague Mike Woods are running one of our traditional point/counterpoint pieces predicting who will win. First up, here's Mike to make the case for the Bruins. My piece on the Canucks will follow later before the series kicks off at 8 p.m. Eastern/5 p.m. Pacific today. Take it away, Mike!

After the Boston Bruins’ nail-biting 1-0 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning last week that got them a berth in the Stanley Cup final, my first thought was that the series would be evenly-matched and picking a winner would be a toss-up.

Instead, most people outside New England seem to be casting the Bruins as underdogs by a wide margin.

It’s hard to blame them. The Vancouver Canucks are rolling; they tamed the San Jose Sharks in the Western Conference final’s first four games, then relied on show-stopping goaltending from Roberto Luongo in Game 5, who stopped 54 of 56 shots when his team faltered. A President’s Trophy-winning team that has hit full stride heading into the final is hard to pick against. Even EA Sports’ NHL ’11, which is 13-for-14 so far this postseason, is picking the Canucks.

But don’t count Boston out so fast. The Bruins, who seem perfectly happy playing the underdog role, bring a number of things to the table the Canucks haven’t seen yet. How Vancouver responds to them will determine who takes the cake (or, if you will, the pizza).

The series’ most important match-up is Zdeno Chara lining up against the Daniel and Henrik Sedin. The Sedins thrived, of course, against the Sharks last round, who eventually resorted to using Kent Huskins and Marc-Edouard Vlasic to shut down Vancouver’s top line, which didn’t work at all.

The Sedins had the most trouble these playoffs against Nashville. Against a strong shutdown defensive pairing in Shea Weber and Ryan Suter, the twins combined for just seven points in six games—hardly top line numbers. They were also a combined minus-16 through the first two rounds.

Chara usually plays with Dennis Seidenberg, but the Big Z by himself is as good as any shutdown pair in the league. He’s likely to disrupt the Sedins’ cycle game, which is their bread and butter.

With the Sedin twins neutralized in Round 2, Vancouver beat Nashville largely due to a superhuman effort from Ryan Kesler. The Bruins and Predators are similar teams – both feature Vezina-calibre goaltending and stifling 5-on-5 defensive play. The difference, of course, is while Nashville could barely put together one scoring line, Boston’s forward depth is on par with Vancouver’s.

Boston’s top line has been as clutch as Vancouver’s, and even their third line features goal-scoring threats Michael Ryder and Tyler Seguin, who are more of a threat to score than the Canucks’ third unit. Vancouver hasn’t had to look beyond their top two lines for goal-scoring, but that could change against Boston.

Tim Thomas and Roberto Luongo are Vezina nominees who have both experienced blips. Luongo’s came in the first round, when he was the backup goalie in Game 6 against Chicago before an injury to Cory Schneider forced him back into action. Thomas’s have been less significant: a couple of games against Tampa where he let in five goals, and that’s about it. Questioning Luongo’s playoff credentials is kind of tacky at this point, but unless he wins a Cup, those questions aren’t going away.

Thomas is a wild card in net, which is just the way he and the Bruins like it. Thomas’s flopping around in the net, reminiscent of Dominik Hasek in his prime, could prove to be an asset against the Sedins; it could also be a hinderance. Not to read too much into regular-season stats, but it’s worth noting that Thomas has won his last two games against the Canucks, stopping 96 of 97 shots in the process.

The biggest concern for the Bruins heading into the final, as it has been all playoffs, is their atrocious power play. It’s a disastrous 5-for-61 in the playoffs, and it took until Game 6 of the conference finals for them to score a power-play goal on the road. The Canucks’ penalty killing was third-best in the league this season, which also doesn’t bode well for the B’s.

On the other hand, it can be said that the Bruins’ five-on-five play has made up for their awful power play. After all, they’ve made it this far while firing blanks with the man advantage the whole way. If they can pick things up on the power play, they could have the Canucks on the ropes early in the series.

These teams are evenly-matched five-on-five squads, and this series has great potential to be the most compelling Stanley Cup final in years. It’s right to call Vancouver the favourite, but writing Boston off is a huge mistake. If Chara effectively contains the Sedins and the Bruins’ special teams get back on track, look for the Bruins to be hoisting the Cup later this month.

Prediction: Bruins in 7.

Winnipeg, Phoenix, Seattle and why relocation is awful

2011-05-11T02:08:00.004-07:00

It looks like the Phoenix Coyotes are going to be around Glendale, Arizona for at least another year. TSN's Dave Naylor writes that the city council there voted 5-2 to give the team a $25 million subsidy if they haven't found a buyer by the end of the 2011-12 season. As Joe Yerdon writes, that subsidy should keep them there for at least another year, if not longer, and that means Winnipeg probably isn't getting a team this summer. Of course, that won't make everyone happy; it was only decided after a hilarious council meeting (described perfectly by friend of the blog Dennis Tarwood) that featured plenty of comments both for and against the idea, and it's sure to meet with criticism from the Goldwater Institute, many Canadian hockey fans and media outlets, economists and others. However, while there are substantial issues around hockey in Phoenix that still need to be addressed, keeping the team there is a good thing from this perspective.

It's not that economic arguments should be written off entirely. Having a league directly subsidize a team (as the NHL has been doing with Phoenix over the last while) is very problematic for the perception of that league, and it's also troubling from a financial point of view. Having a city council potentially hand out that kind of money to what's supposedly a professional, for-profit sports franchise isn't necessarily a great idea either; I can't speak for the taxpayers of Glendale, but they can decide if that's the best use of their money or not. It's certainly not the greatest long-term solution. However, there are positives to keeping the team in Phoenix, and those need to be recognized.

Look, Phoenix has had attendance issues, but those are understandable, especially with the uncertainty around the team's future over the last couple of years (plus the whole decision to put the team's arena in a suburb that isn't all that accessible to many, from what I've read). What's probably hurt them even more is their general lack of success over their time in Phoenix; they've made the playoffs regularly, but have never gotten out of the first round. They've never really been good enough to build a lot of buzz, and they've never really been bad enough to get the top draft picks.

It's a simple fact that winning sells in sports. For a case in point, consider the Nashville Predators, who only a few seasons ago were rumoured to be bought by Jim Balsille and moved to Hamilton (before he got into the whole chase for the Coyotes). At that time, Nashville was widely seen as a struggling NHL market, and they'd had the same sort of success as Phoenix (reasonably regular playoff appearances, but had never made it out of the first round). A few years later, they've continued to build, and hockey in Nashville has become a huge success story; not only did the team make it out of the first round for the first time (before losing to Vancouver in a very close six-game series), but they also drew tons of very knowledgeable fans. Some of those fans were always there (see James Mirtle's excellent series from way back when), but others have been attracted over time, and team success has a large role to play there. (Check out Sean Fitz-Gerald's recent piece on Nashville fans in The National Post, Cam Cole's column on watching a game in a bar in Nashville and Brian Cazeneuve's article in Sports Illustrated on where the Predators have come from for more on what things are like in Nashville these days.) Keep in mind that today Nashville is being celebrated as a success story for hockey in the south, and few credible people would envision relocating that franchise, but just a few years ago, it seemed sure they were going to move. Circumstances change, and they often change with the team's fortunes.

It's become a widely-trumpeted line that hockey can never work in Phoenix, but is that really true? Yes, the current financial circumstances of the Coyotes are anything but promising. If you were a hockey fan in Phoenix, though, would you really bother investing yourself in the current team? They're acceptable at the moment, sure, but they suffered another first-round playoff loss at the hands of Detroit this year and were never really in the series. Moreover, they've sort of been acceptable for a while, so they haven't had a lot of top draft picks. Doesn't that sound a lot like Nashville a few years back? If so, and if we accept that Nashville's been able to turn its team around with competent ownership and a solid low-budget franchise-building strategy, isn't there hope for Phoenix? From a marketing perspective, the area has huge upside; Nielsen lists it as the 12th-largest TV market in the U.S., far better than Nashville. A huge potential fanbase doesn't mean anything if the Coyotes don't draw those fans in, but there's certainly a lot to recommend the NHL trying to reach those fans instead of abandoning the market.

That brings us to another element of this. Yes, many decisions are made on the dollars and cents level, and yes, professional sports is absolutely big business these days. However, as pointed out above, the business case for the NHL to leave a team in Phoenix isn't as bad as some might make it seem; significant subsidies may be involved in the short term, but the market has major upside and a strong Phoenix team has the potential to not only make money but boost the league. However, ignore all the economic factors for a moment and think about the diehard Coyotes fans already out there, like Five For Howling's Travis Hair. They've devoted their time, money and attention to supporting a franchise, and deals sports franchises are not pure once-off business transactions; for example, when you pay $100 for a jersey, you're not paying just for the simple article of clothing, but also demonstrating that you support the team for a period of time. Sports fandom is an ongoing relationship rather than a pure commercial transaction, and it's important to recognize that the real fans will be significantly hurt if their team leaves.

The case that's always going to stick out in my mind there is Seattle, where I covered the court case, the fan protests and the eventual relocation of a franchise. Yes, there were plenty of complicating factors there; the owners really wanted to move, there were arena issues and there were definitely enough fans to sustain a franchise with a decent building. Still, I'll never forget some of the anguish I saw there. Look, sports may just be a diversion and a toy box, but it's an important one for many people; it's a distraction, but we need distractions to take our minds away from how screwed up the world can be. As Earl Warren famously said, "The sports page records people's accomplishments, the front page usually records nothing but man's failures." In cases of franchise relocation, the sports pages are reporting man's failures, and that's not all that great.

Fans in Winnipeg know this more than anyone. Their team was taken from them and moved to Phoenix back in 1996, and while (as is currently the case with Phoenix) there were some solid economic arguments in favour of relocation (notably the extremely low Canadian dollar, but also corporate sponsorship and arena issues), relocation was a devastating blow for those fans (and the city). I'd love to see them get a team back as much as anyone; I think Winnipeg has the potential to be a solid NHL city, and it would be fantastic to see once-spurned fans get another chance to really embrace the game. However, it's worth pointing out that franchise relocation hurts many people while it's helping others. As the NBA example shows, Oklahoma City was clearly ready for an NBA franchise, and they've done a great job of supporting their new team, but that relocation still damaged the league in the Pacific Northwest and alienated a lot of fans.

That's not to say that relocation should never be done. Obviously, there are markets out there in any sport that could handle teams, and giving them a chance to do that isn't necessarily a bad thing. Moreover, that can't always be done via expansion without diluting the quality of the league and hurting the overall product, so relocation will sometimes be necessary. In my mind, though, it should be seen as an absolute last resort, and it should be viewed as a sad state of affairs rather than a triumphant moment for the new city. That's why I like Phoenix's decision to hang on to the Coyotes for now; the city has the potential to grow into a good, profitable hockey market if they get some solid teams, and even if it never really works from the economic side, they'll still be bringing plenty of joy to the fans they do have. If Winnipeg does wind up getting a team via relocation at some point, I'll be happy for the fans in that area, but sad for the people who just lost their team. For now, things aren't really bad for anyone; Phoenix fans get to watch their team a while longer, Winnipeg fans still have hope for the future, and the NHL doesn't have to go through an embarrassing relocation just yet. It may not be a perfect long-term solution, but for now, it doesn't seem all that bad.

When narrative goes too far, and inequalities fail

2011-04-26T19:21:00.000-07:00

Regular readers will know that I'm pretty interested in how narratives shape our perception of sports. One of the most significant ones lately has been in the Vancouver-Chicago series in the NHL playoffs, where the Canucks led 3-0 before the Blackhawks won three straight games to force tonight's seventh game. Of course, that's led to plenty of pieces on how this is a defining moment for Vancouver, a historic occasion and all the rest. Those stories aren't necessarily wrong, as there certainly is a significant mental aspect to sports, and that mental element will be involved tonight; I give it more credence than Joe Posnanski does, even if I share some of his other opinions on storylines. What's happened in the series so far does have a bearing on tonight's game in my mind, so it's perfectly relevant to talk about the pressure, the situation and the rest.

What I don't like is when that analysis takes the next step, though, and ascribes narrative reasons to why one team lost and another won and narrative solutions as to how to remedy this in the future. We've seen this plenty of times before, with certain teams or players being labeled simply as "chokers" for poor performances in small playoff sample sizes, or authoritative declarations that there was some clear flaw in the team that lost; they didn't have enough depth, enough grit, good-enough goaltending or anything else. None of those claims are necessarily wrong or problematic on their own, as it's certainly worthwhile to try and analyze what went wrong and think about how it could potentially be solved. What bothers me is more along the lines of the shades of grey discussion; in essence, any particular claim about size, scoring, goaltending or the rest isn't necessarily wrong and could in fact be right, but pointing to one of those things as the definitive cause of a team's downfall and something that has to be remedied if they're going to win in the future is generally inaccurate.

Many people tend to look at sports as a system of mathematical inequalities. If Chicago beats Vancouver in this series, some claim that's proof Chicago's team > Vancouver's team. From the particular perspective of results in that series, that is correct, but when it's expanded throughout the playoffs, it's more problematic. For one thing, we don't know how teams would have fared against different opponents. Just because team B beats team C, and team A then beats team B, that doesn't mean A > B > C.

Even more importantly, though, it's worth recognizing that every single sports game carries a notable element of randomness. For example, the Canucks finished the regular season with a league-best 117 points, while the Edmonton Oilers had a league-low 62, but if you watched just the Oilers' 4-1 thumping of Vancouver earlier this month, you'd conclude that Edmonton was the better team. It's not just a small sample-size issue, either; in an excellent piece for Baseball Prospectus, Tommy Bennett calculated that even baseball's mammoth 162-game regular season doesn't necessarily tell us which team is the best. Here's part of what Bennett wrote:

hat do we mean when we talk about the best team? The team that had the best regular season record, most likely. But it turns out that performance over 162 games isn’t even enough to say for sure which team is the best. If an entire league with a “true talent” level of .500—that is, one in which God told you all the teams were .500 ballclubs—played a million 162-game seasons, two or three teams would end up with more than 90 wins each time. You’d probably look at those teams and assume they were the best, but we’ve specified that all of the teams were of exactly the same quality. So there’s a real way in which regular season record does a pretty lousy job of telling us which team is the best.

That's applicable to the playoffs too. Playoff outcomes matter, and good for the teams that win in the playoffs, but that's not necessarily proof that they were "better". It's proof that things broke their way on at least four occasions in each series. Part of that's down to their physical skill, part of it's coaching, part of it's mental and part of it's matchups, but a significant part is random, too; it's been found that even the best teams only have about a 55 per cent chance of winning any given playoff matchup. Thus, there's at least a 45 per cent chance that the team we wouldn't describe as "better" (in terms of true talent level) will win.

In essence, the most important thing to take away may be not overreacting to the result of any given playoff game or series. Winning a game or even a round doesn't magically make you an amazing team, while losing doesn't make you an awful one. It goes against the sports talk radio narrative that demands heads of coaches and executives and trades of players when things go wrong, but it's worth keeping in mind that a lot of the outcome of any sports event is pretty random. Sports and math have a lot in common, but I think playoffs are more about chaos theory than straight mathematical inequalities.

Subdivisions, exclusion and communities in sports

2011-04-22T17:53:00.000-07:00

I was reading Gary Smith's fantastic, tear-jerking piece entitled "The Wheels of Life" in my most recent Sports Illustrated magazine today, and it got me thinking. The piece is a superb tale of Dick Hoyt and his paralyzed son, Rick, and how they've worked together to compete in everything from marathons to triathlons for over 30 years. On one level, it's a great story of two people who have overcome incredible adversity to do things that many able-bodied people never will be able to, but I think there's a broader point there as well, and one that applies to our current sports world. Read this paragraph and see if you can figure out where I'm going with this:

Race day came a few days later. So closeted were the disabled in 1977 that many people, including Dick before the birth of his first son, had never laid eyes on a wheelchair or a quadriplegic, let alone one in a five-mile race. Dick's two other sons, Rob and Russ, wisecracked that the Hoyts' race number, 00, summed up their chances of making it to the finish line. Most people figured Dick would shove the kid as far as the first corner and peel off. None had a clue what happened inside Dick Hoyt's head when it bumped against a task.

What I take from that is that Dick and Rick's racing career isn't just a man-versus-himself conflict (them trying to overcome their physical limitations), or a man-versus-nature one (them trying to overcome the racecourse), or even man-versus-man (them trying to beat other racers), but also contains a profound element of man-versus-society. For them, racing is a way to prove that Rick in particular belongs and has value, despite the world's attempts to say that he doesn't. That point is emphasized more prominently in a later section of the piece, describing what happened after Dick experienced severe medical issues following their first race:

One hour. That's how long Dick remained under the impression that their short, happy, hellish racing life was over. That's how long it took Rick to squeeze out a single sentence and get his father off the floor to read it.

Dad, when I am running, I don't even feel like I am handicapped.

It dawned on Dick as he stared at the screen: I run. I push. He is.

Obviously, not everyone faces as difficult of a struggle for societal acceptance as Rick Hoyt, but many of us have gone through that on a smaller level. It's something that has more of a role in sports than you might think, too. One thing that came to mind was this piece on the Baltimore Orioles' Luke Scott, a reaction to a recent ESPN piece that included disturbing scenes like the following one, in reference to Dominican-born Orioles' outfielder Felix Pie:

"Felix is my friend," he says. "I give him a hard time. The reason why I give him a hard time is because there are certain people you deal with and you go up and talk to them, and it doesn't work. They don't understand.

"I tell him about some of the ways he's acted: 'Look, you're acting like an animal, you're acting like a savage.'"

Scott turns to his locker and pulls out a bag of plantain chips.

"So I throw bananas in his helmet. Here are my banana chips to remind him that whenever he acts like an animal, 'Hey, that's what other people are thinking. They're just not telling you, but that's what they're thinking about. And I'm telling you so that you're aware of that so you can make a cognitive decision to not behave like that.' I would want someone to tell me that instead of letting you making a jerk of yourself."

For the record, I haven't heard Pie complain about that, and black teammate Adam Jones did defend Scott's behaviour as innocent joking around. To me, though, regardless of what Scott's motivation is there, his actions seem to suggest an attempt to "other" players like Pie and try and get them to conform to Scott's social norms. Maybe Scott would act the same way towards a white teammate, maybe he wouldn't, but throwing bananas has long been associated with trying to portray non-whites as animals. Whatever Scott's intentions may be, his actions seem to showcase some of the tensions and difficulties that lurk in locker rooms. They're not just centred on race, either; former NBA player John Amaechi had an interesting piece at The New York Times on how being gay often made him feel excluded, and how Kobe Bryant's recent use of "faggot" has the potential to make other gay players even more uncomfortable. The divisions go beyond race and sexual orientation too, as there are plenty of straight, white players who don't necessarily fit in either; there's an excellent discussion on that in Dirk Hayhurst's book, The Bullpen Gospels, which goes into some of the difficulties he faced trying to fit in with other baseball players (a particularly notable moment in there is where Trevor Hoffman mocks him for asking a question in a rather verbose manner). In essence, professional locker rooms are just like any other clique or group, and Rush summed them up pretty well in the following song, Subdivisions: "Be cool or be cast out."

Dividing, assigning, disparaging and judging others thanks to one specific quality or stereotype is hardly something that's exclusive to professional athletes, though. We all do it from time to time, and examples are common throughout the world of sports. A particularly troubling aspect of this is the barriers women in sports media still face. Consider how the Masters decided to ban Bergen Record columnist Tara Sullivan from a dressing room this year solely because she's female (which Joe Posnanski perfectly roasted here). The Lisa Olson story from 1990 isn't all that long ago, and there are still plenty of cases of discrimination; read Nicole Auerbach's comments on being kept out of a minor-league locker room in 2008, and Jessica Quiroli's thoughts on what it was like being a female reporter covering the Can-Am League (although she noted that things got better after she complained). One piece that really stuck with me this week was Julie Veilleux's post on why she quit doing sports radio. This part in particular jumped out:

I thought I’d be called upon to be a voice for women into sports everywhere, to tell a story of exclusion, prejudice and passion, and encourage women everywhere to get involved and break down barriers. Instead I learned that I was to comment mostly on the physical attributes of athletes, and found that my co-hosts remembered to introduce me more often if I was wearing something that was appealing to them, that they would also mention on air. Be as asexual as possible, unless of course you expect on-air time at all.

In a lot of ways, these are the obvious examples, and they're the ones a lot of people have problems with. I think the use of divisions goes deeper, though, and it's something that many people still fall into in ways they might not even think about. Dividing people into us and them, good and evil, is something that goes back throughout history, and it's an instinct we still indulge in inside the sports world. For example, even being a fan of a team is in one way a divisive stance; you're identifying yourself with one team and its supporters, and many people also take that to mean identifying yourself as against that team's rivals. In a lot of cases, that isn't necessarily bad; rooting against a team isn't inherently wrong, and it can be a lot of fun. The problems can arise when that goes a bit farther, though; there are those who attack media types on Twitter for criticizing their team, or fans who tweet (probably in a joking manner, but still) that they'd like their opponents to die. While those aren't behaviours I like or endorse, even they're not as bad as the actions of those who turn fandom into an excuse for property destruction, poisoning trees or attacking other people.

Again, most people don't take it to those extremes, and that's a good thing. It's worth thinking about our own tendencies to judge and exclude people, though, and perhaps considering how we might change our approaches to be more inclusive. In a world of extremist positions, hyperbole and outright trolling, it's all too common to see exclusionary arguments. "My position's the best and yours is completely wrong!" "My team's the best and yours sucks!" We even see it on the levels of whole leagues: "You're an idiot for watching basketball while hockey's on!" "Soccer isn't an American sport!" "NCAA basketball's awful; you should only watch the NBA!" "Only morons like the CFL; real men watch the NFL!" We see it with fans insulting each other, writers attacking each other, radio hosts going after each other, mainstream media types bashing bloggers (and vice-versa), the war between the statistics and traditional communities, and plenty of other situations. It's like Lord of the Flies; we form tribal communities that are as much defined by what they're opposed to as what they're in favour of, and never realize that the beast was within us all along.

I'm not saying everyone should abandon their fandom, give up on defending their ideas and their principles, or never criticize anything. All of those things have their place. Maybe, though, let's take a little more time to think about how our communities, our words and our actions impact others. Are there specific people or groups we're excluding or targeting? Are we defining ourselves by what we're not, instead of reflecting on the positive things that we are? As I wrote a little while back, I see writing as a way to challenge myself, not a way to compete with others or try and insist that my ideas are best. That's why I love the conversations I have with fellow writers, both on Twitter and at various events like the Blogs With Balls sports blogging conventions; in my mind, we're all in it together. Maybe we can extend that approach across sports and life, recognizing the extraordinary abilities and strengths of people with disabilities like Hoyt, appreciating the diverse perspectives players like Pie, Amaechi and Hayhurst and writers like Sullivan bring, reaching out to and including fans of other teams and sports, celebrating sports and teams for what they are rather than what they're not, and appreciating the work of others even when we don't agree with it. To modify Rush a bit, perhaps it's possible to be cool without casting anyone out.

Canucks - Blackhawks Game IV live blog

2011-04-19T16:43:00.000-07:00

The last one of these was a lot of fun, so we're doing it again! Join me and a cast of Internet types for a live blog of tonight's Vancouver - Chicago game. Will the Canucks sweep the series, or will the Blackhawks live to fight another day? Find out in the live blog below, starting at 8 p.m. Eastern (5 p.m. Pacific). All are welcome to join!

Canucks - Blackhawks Game IV

Canucks - Blackhawks Game II live blog

2011-04-15T18:33:00.000-07:00

I'll be live-blogging tonight's Canucks - Blackhawks clash with an assortment of interweb friends, including Beau Brace and Josh Koebert. Vancouver's up 1-0 in the series after a 2-0 win Wednesday night, but Chicago certainly can't be written off yet. Everyone's welcome; drop in and give us your thoughts on the game, the series and the rest of the playoffs so far. The puck drops in Vancouver at 7 p.m. local (10 p.m. Eastern), so swing by and join us then!

Canucks - Blackhawks Game II

NHL playoff preview: setting up the first round

2011-04-13T16:42:00.002-07:00

The NHL playoffs get rolling tonight, with the Tampa Bay Lightning and Pittsburgh Penguins going head-to-head in one early game, the Phoenix Coyotes and Detroit Red Wings facing off in another clash and the New York Rangers and Washington Capitals in a third. There are also a pair of late games, featuring the Vancouver Canucks and Chicago Blackhawks and the Nashville Predators and Anaheim Ducks. There should be some excellent hockey on display tonight, and hopefully for much of the rest of the playoffs as well. Here's a preview of each first-round matchup, organized by game time (broadcast info from The 506):

(4) Pittsburgh Penguins - (5) Tampa Bay Lightning

First game: Wednesday, 7 p.m. Eastern, CBC (Ontario east, except Windsor)

This is an interesting one. The Penguins have a stronger defence and better goaltending (I'll happily take Marc-Andre Fleury over Dwayne Roloson), but their offence doesn't look as promising without Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin (at least to start). Meanwhile, Tampa Bay is deep up front with the likes of Steven Stamkos, Martin St. Louis and Vincent Lecavalier, but their depth is an issue just about everywhere else. I like Pittsburgh in this one, but the Lightning shouldn't be an easy out.

Prediction: Penguins in six

(3) Detroit Red Wings - (6) Phoenix Coyotes

First game: Wednesday, 7 p.m. Eastern, CBC (Manitoba west, plus Windsor)

The Red Wings are trying to fight off age to make a deep playoff run yet again, while the Coyotes are looking to pick up their first playoff series win since the move to Phoenix. The biggest question for Detroit appears to be in net, where Jimmy Howard hasn't exactly been all that successful this season. Meanwhile, goaltending might be the Coyotes' best aspect, as Ilya Bryzgalov has had another good year in net for them. The Red Wings seem deeper up front (they'll need that depth thanks to an injury to Henrik Zetterberg) and on the blue line, but I like the Coyotes to pull this one out thanks to their goalie.

Prediction: Coyotes in seven

(1) Washington Capitals - (8) New York Rangers:

First game: 7:30 p.m. Eastern Wednesday, TSN

It's an interesting one-versus-eight matchup out East, as the Capitals have long been burdened with the tag of playoff underacheivers, while the Rangers have frequently struggled to even get to the postseason in recent years (falling to Philadelphia in a pre-playoff shootout last year). One of these teams is going to have to step up. For Washington, Alex Ovechkin hasn't been as dominant as usual this year, but they've still gotten solid performances from most of the rest of the lineup. They had a great regular season, and they don't look as top-heavy as they have in the past. Beating Henrik Lundqvist isn't going to be easy, but the Caps' offence is about more than just Ovechkin these days, and that should help them pull away here.

Prediction: Rangers in five

(1) Vancouver Canucks - (8) Chicago Blackhawks:

First game: 10 p.m. Eastern Wednesday, CBC

We've seen the Canucks fall to the Blackhawks plenty of times in the postseason, including last year, but this year's teams are considerably different. Chicago faced plenty of attrition from their Stanley Cup-winning nucleus, while the Canucks got stronger in the offseason and delivered by far the best regular-season performance in franchise history. The Blackhawks are still a formidable opponent, but they're not as dominant as they were, while the Canucks are a better and more balanced team than they used to be. The injuries they suffered and survived this year have tested their depth, and the results have generally been very positive. I think Vancouver gets a little revenge here. (Also, I'll be live-blogging Game Two of this one here Friday night, and possibly later games as well.)

Prediction: Canucks in six

(4) Anaheim Ducks - (5) Nashville Predators:

First game: 10:30 p.m. Eastern Wednesday, TSN

This matchup probably isn't going to get a lot of attention thanks to its overlap with Canucks - Blackhawks, as its teams are far less well-known. Still, there's plenty of interesting stuff here, particularly the battle between Anaheim's tremendous forward line of Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry and Bobby Ryan and Nashville's superb goaltender, Pekka Rinne. The Predators also have a strong defence, led by Shea Weber and Ryan Suter, and they're not going to prove an easy nut to crack. Still, I think offence will eventually prevail.

Prediction: Ducks in six

(3) Boston Bruins - (6) Montreal Canadiens:

First game: 7 p.m. Eastern Thursday, CBC

One of hockey's most storied rivalries gets another installment this year, and it's had plenty of recent fuel to throw on the fire thanks to the Zdeno Chara hit on Max Pacioretty. On the ice, we should see an excellent goaltending duel between Tim Thomas and Carey Price. The main question is if the small-but-skilled Canadiens can hang with the bruising Bruins. Many don't seem to think so, but I like their chances; Montreal's coming into this series with a lot of emotion, and they've got more talent than people generally give them credit for. The NHL isn't all about big, hard-hitting guys any more; there's plenty of room for speed and skill, and I think the Canadiens have the edge there.

Prediction: Canadiens in seven

(2) Philadelphia Flyers - (7) Buffalo Sabres:

First game: 7:30 p.m. Eastern Thursday, TSN

This is another size-versus-speed matchup. The Flyers are still channeling their Broad Street Bullies era, and that emphasis on physical play took them to the Stanley Cup Final last season and a second seed this year. I'm not sure it's going to work against Buffalo, though. The Flyers do have plenty of offensive talent, including Jeff Carter and Mike Richards, but don't write off Buffalo either; they've got plenty of scoring depth, including Drew Stafford, Tyler Ennis and Thomas Vanek. The goaltending matchup in particular is stacked in the Sabres' favour. They have the reliable Ryan Miller, while Philly is bouncing back and forth between Sergei Bobrovsky and Brian Boucher. That might be enough to give the Sabres the win, especially considering that Chris Pronger is battling injuries.

Prediction: Sabres in seven

(2) San Jose Sharks - (7) Los Angeles Kings:

First game: Thursday, 10 p.m. Eastern, TSN

The Battle of California (or two of the three California teams, at least)'s always interesting, but this looks a bit imbalanced on paper. The Sharks have long had a tough time in the playoffs, but they're coming into this year's postseason on a considerable hot streak. Meanwhile, the Kings slumped their way into the seven seed and haven't looked particularly impressive lately. They do have a good defence, though, led by Jack Johnson and Drew Doughty, and Jonathan Quick is a solid goalie. What worries me about the Kings is their lack of depth up front; they've struggled to score ever since Anze Kopitar got hurt, while San Jose can field the likes of Logan Couture, Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau and Dany Heatley. The Sharks just seem to have too much firepower for the Kings.

Prediction: Sharks in five

Writing, competition, golf and basketball: a response to Chris Jones

2011-04-09T21:02:00.001-07:00

I'm really enjoying Esquire writer Chris Jones' Son Of Bold Venture blog and his take on writing. There isn't enough dialogue about the art and importance of writing out there, and Jones adds a lot to the conversation, particularly with his interviews (notable recent ones include ESPN's Wright Thompson, the Boston Globe's Charles P. Pierce and Glenn Stout, series editor of The Best American Sports Writing. With that said, though, I have to take issue with his two most recent posts, on awards and motivation.

To be clear, this isn't to say that Jones is wrong or that his arguments are invalid. Both of those posts deal heavily with his own feelings and his own approach, and that approach has obviously led to a lot of success for him over the years, so it can't be all that bad. It's not necessarily bad advice for young writers, either; everyone's different, and Jones' approach, involving writers "keeping score" and competing will undoubtedly work very well for some people. The only reason I'm writing this is to express my own feelings that while those may be valid ways to succeed as a writer, they aren't the only ways out there. That may not fit with Jones' avowed attraction to black and white, but it's reflective of one of the things I feel most strongly about; the shades of grey.

(Of course, I'm only a two-bit hack at the moment, so Jones certainly has a better track record to support his advice than I do for mine. Still, I am one of the few lucky people who have the opportunity to write for a living (at Yahoo! and Canadian Soccer News amongst other places), and I just wanted to share my approach, which is considerably different than the one Jones seems to be advocating. The point's not to get in a yelling match about how my way is better, as I wouldn't even make that argument. It's just a different approach, and it's one that's worked for me thus far.)

On the competition front, Jones writes among other things that "If you tell me that you don’t care if your book sells a thousand copies or a million copies, I know you have never done the hard work required to write a book and never will. If you tell me that you don’t care whether your story gets read, because it was worth writing purely for the art, then I know your story is a piece of unbearable, sanctimonious shit." That's potentially true in some cases, but I don't think it's true in all cases. Sure, I love it when my pieces get widely read or linked to, and being nominated for or winning an award can be one of the most simultaneously humbling and awesome things in the world. I think the vast majority of writers out there probably do enjoy recognition; having your work read can help to validate the time you put into it, as can winning awards. However, there's a distinction between enjoying those effects and setting out to achieve those effects.

Obviously, I want everything I write to be read and enjoyed widely. There isn't much point in writing something I don't want people to read. That doesn't mean that everything I write is crafted to try and draw in the largest-possible audience, though, and I think my writing would really suffer if I took that approach. In the sports world in particular, there are plenty of sites and writers that make it clear drawing pageviews is their primary goal, and there are a number of strategies that prove very effective at that; search-engine gaming can do it, trade rumours can do it, dirt on athletes' personal lives can do it, making over-the-top opinion statements can do it (see talk radio!); heck, even slideshows can do it. If your primary goal is getting the most people possible to read any specific piece, that isn't necessarily all that hard.

That doesn't mean what you turn out is going to be particularly valuable or insightful, though, and it doesn't mean you're going to be all that happy with it. It's the same with books; a headline-grabbing exposé of dirt on a particular athlete or team might sell more than an artful, insightful analysis of a team's keys to success, but that doesn't necessarily make it "better". I don't think Jones is necessarily endorsing those particular pageview/sales-grabbing strategies, as his work is much better and more nuanced than that; it's just a conclusion some could draw from his comments on how important it is to care about readership and sales. Those aspects matter, obviously; writing something that only you and a few friends will enjoy isn't likely to keep you employed for long, and spending years writing a book that will only interest a few people probably isn't the best career strategy. However, I don't think the opposite strategy (pursuing readers and sales as a key goal and doing everything possible to achieve them) works in all cases either. It carries some significant long-term issues, too; plenty of the pageview-focused sites and writers still do okay, but they're widely derided by those looking for a little more depth and a little less sensationalism.

Writing for awards is perhaps a more laudable goal than writing for pageviews, but it also carries its own problems. Most of the pieces that win notable awards are good pieces, and setting out to write a good piece is never a bad goal. I don't think setting out to write a piece that could potentially be selected for an award is necessarily bad either, if you take that as "I'm going to write the best damn piece I possibly can." In my mind, the problem comes if your focus shifts from writing the best piece possible to writing the piece most likely to appeal to judges for any particular award. In an ideal world, the two goals would be the same (most of these awards are for the "best" writing of a particular sort, of course), but in the real world, they don't always overlap.

The best example I can think of there is the "Oscar Bait" strategy, which focuses not necessarily on making the most interesting, entertaining or thought-provoking movie out there, but rather making the movie most likely to appeal to judges. I don't think that's as large of a problem in writing, as the awards themselves are less famous and their criteria do often overlap with the goals you'd have if there were no awards, but there are occasionally pieces where you can tell the writer or organization may be trying to do something more for its appeal to judges than what it honestly adds to the story. In a way, this is the reverse of the linkbait strategy, but it still has a lot in common with it; the goal in both is to appeal to a particular audience, and that becomes more important than the general goal of just writing the best piece possible. (I don't think Jones would necessarily disagree with this contention either, as he did write "All you can do is write the best story you can and hope that the rest comes to you," which certainly doesn't sound like an endorsement of award-baiting. The strategy does seem like a conclusion that could be drawn from some of his other comments, though.)

What bothers me a bit more than either writing for pageviews or awards are Jones' thoughts on competition with other writers, though. Here's the key part of his piece:

But all of it, every last bit of it, had better be born of desire. Because journalism is a business based, almost exclusively, on competition. There’s a reason they call it a beat. It is a game in which some people win, and a lot more people lose. And if you don’t want it bad enough, you will lose. Gary Smith will beat you. Tom Junod will beat you. Susan Orlean will beat you. Never forget that’s who’s out here, waiting for you.

I don't think many would disagree that working hard is important for writing success, or that there is an element of competition involved. Personally, I choose to view that competition in a different way, though. Jones' words make me think of one-on-one basketball, where you're taking your talents, your moves and your story directly up against those of another writer, and much of what you do isn't based solely on what you want to do, but rather what you think they're going to do. Of course, your stories are sometimes directly put up against others, either if you're writing on the same topic or if judges are deciding which of a few nominated pieces will get an award, and it certainly is valid to think about that while you're writing. If the thought of who you're "up against" motivates you to write a better piece, great. That's not how I see the world, though. I'd rather see writing as a game of golf, where the ultimate conflict isn't man-versus-man, but rather man-versus-nature, and competition is more indirect than direct.

Yes, Rory McIlroy, Jason Day, Charl Schwartzel, Angel Cabrera and the rest of the golfers in contention at this week's Masters are competing with each other on some level, but I see their primary struggle as one against the course, not one against each other. In essence, their goal is to go out there and shoot the best round they possibly can; they'll come away with the green jacket at the end of the weekend if their best is good enough (alternatively, if everyone else's best isn't good enough, but that's a more negative way to think of it). That's the approach I take to writing; rather than trying to top anyone else, I'd rather battle against my computer, trying to turn out the best work I can. If it's good enough for people to link to it or for it to be considered for awards, great, but I'd rather not use those as starting points.

Another reason I prefer the golf approach is it promotes a more positive attitude towards the other writers and bloggers out there. Instead of outright antagonists and competitors, I prefer to think of them as potential teammates (perhaps in some form of Ryder Cup scenario), colleagues, or, at the very least, fellow humans doing battle against the same machine. Sure, I may come into direct competition with some of them for a particular job or particular pageviews from time to time, but I'd rather focus on trying to refine my own swing than worrying about what others are doing. That's also why I try to link to and promote as many quality pieces by others as possible, both in my stories and on Twitter; in my mind, we all win when the best writing is being produced and when it's getting the attention it deserves.

My writing goal is simply to turn in the best pieces I can. If that leads to millions of pageviews and endless awards, fantastic; if it doesn't, I'm not going to be crushed. If at the end of the day, I've given it my best effort, developed my talent as much as possible and shot the lowest score I'm capable of achieving, I'm going to be satisfied regardless of whether I've got a green jacket on my shoulders or not.

Bob McCown doesn't stand for all of us

2011-03-09T14:34:00.001-08:00

[Image: Prime Time Sports host Bob McCown]

Dear Mr. McCown,

I'm writing to inform you that your statements (go to 1:37) on yesterday's nationally-syndicated Prime Time Sports radio/television show are not only offensive and inaccurate, but are also potentially defamatory and libelous.

For the record, you said, "The sole motivation for a man to watch any woman's sport is are they half-naked? Are they good-looking?" You then went on to say "Other than that, I don’t care if it’s a world championship or your next-door neighbour playing somebody. Guys are only interested in woman’s sport if it’s good-looking chicks."

Of course, it's mind-bogglingly stupid for a nationally-broadcast radio host to make those kinds of remarks on International Women's Day, but that's your own affair. What I'm more concerned with is that you're making a "statement that makes a claim, expressly stated or implied to be factual, that may give an individual, business, product, group,government, or nation a negative image", that this statement is false, and that it was communicated to a large group of people coast-to-coast. I can inform you that your comments definitely have the potential to give a group (men) a negative image, and that they are untrue. There are many of us who watch and appreciate women's sports for the sport value, just as we do with men's sports. We appreciate the sports on their own merits, not just how attractive the players are.

This isn't meant to seriously threaten a lawsuit, as I certainly don't have the time or inclination to bother with that, and I'm generally not a fan of trying to restrict speech. In my mind, you're perfectly welcome to express your troglodytic views on women's sports on your national platform; maybe that will help diminish your undeserved prominence. However, please don't claim to speak for all men while doing so; when you do that, you're ascribing your own misguided views to the rest of us and damaging our reputations in the process, and I don't think that's particularly fair. While you're stuck in the darkness and talking about leering at suggestive cave paintings, some of us have managed to move out into the light. It would be nice if you came to join us some day, but I don't expect that to happen any time soon.

Lisa Olson lists all the wrong reasons for FanHouse's end

2011-02-16T23:37:00.000-08:00

This sportsjournalism.org piece from Dave Kindred, which relays the thoughts of FanHouse's Lisa Olson on the forthcoming demise of that institution, has been gnawing at me for a few weeks; this is a delayed reaction to it, but I think it's still worth writing about. Kindred's article begins in promising fashion, eviscerating Bleacher Report for the lack of interest they've historically shown towards quality control, and I don't really disagree with the general theory that it would be nice to see quality material rewarded with more pageviews. However, it goes on to arbitrarily draw the line to blast all bloggers, and uses Olsen's words to do so:

She thought of FanHouse that way, a gathering of veterans on a journalistic adventure. "We were all experienced and qualified, not some 25-year-old bloggers," she said. "The motto was, ‘Go, go, go. Grow, grow, grow.' And we did. Then, this. It's devastating."

If you believe Olson, it was the mainstream journalists who made the bold move to jump to FanHouse who were involved in making that site something new and exciting before it was tragically sold by AOL. I don't buy that, though. Yes, FanHouse was making a lot of progress and had some great people, but I think that was as much in spite of the "big names" they recruited as because of them.

FanHouse does have some talented "mainstream" writers I frequently read, including Dan Graziano and Brett McMurphy, and I'd take them over any of the big-name columnists they regularly featured on the front page. However, I don't think FanHouse's success was entirely due to them, and I know it's not because of the likes of Jay Mariotti, who drew huge salaries only to write useless trolling columns, bring the brand into disrepute through their actions and then blame conspiracies for their actions. Instead, I think FanHouse's success owes a lot to the very bloggers Olsen blasted; Jamie Mottram initally did a terrific job of putting people like Greg Wyshynski, Dave Warner and others into place before leaving for Yahoo!, and guys like Matt Moore, Tom Ziller, Bruce Ciskie, Brandon Stroud and many others have carried on that legacy since. Those guys have been putting out great stuff for years without a lot of recognition, and I think they're at least as responsible for the success of FanHouse as Olsen and her well-paid fellow columnists.

It's a finicky world these days, and one where your paycheque often doesn't reflect your true value. For all the people out there who have managed to land good jobs, there are many who are just as talented but aren't drawing a corporate salary. As I've written before, writing professionally these days isn't necessarily about skill, but rather more about the breaks you get. I like Chris Jones, but I don't buy his argument about professionalism as a criterion in and of itself; there are lots of great writers out there who don't have paying gigs, and then there are lesser writers like me who do.

I was thinking about this earlier this month thanks to going out to dinner with the parents of a friend whose concerts I used to go to. His band was huge for a while, and they did national tours and signed a record deal in Toronto, but they never really broke through and eventually wound up disbanding. Meanwhile, the likes of Nickelback, far less talented and interesting, continue to crank out albums and bathe in money. Is this fair? Hell no. I'd put my friend and plenty of other people I know well above Chad Kroeger et al for sheer talent, but they don't have well-paying musical gigs, and Nickelback does. Things fall apart all the time, but success doesn't mean something's "good" and failure doesn't mean it was "bad"; so much of everything is down to circumstances, timing, and factors beyond anyone's control. Some things collapse because they were inherently bad ideas; others go down for all the wrong reasons.

What can we do about these inequities? Well, except for those who have large sums of money stored up, not a hell of a lot. As Terry Pratchett once wrote, it's sometimes better to light a flamethrower than curse the darkness, and I think that applies to those of us in the creative fields. We should keep doing our paying jobs to the best of our abilities.

At the same time, though, I think it behooves those of us who do have those paying gigs to recognize that our current jobs may be as reliant on luck as they are on skill, and to frequently think of those who haven't been as fortunate despite terrific talent. You know, Ms. Olsen, it was those "25-year-old bloggers" who built FanHouse to a place where it could throw vast sums at you for worse work than they were already providing for far less money. Now that the operation's gone down the tubes, they're far more likely to be left out in the cold than you are. How about sparing a thought for them when you cash your next paycheque?

Some of this is awfully critical, but my larger point is not to rail against anyone, but rather to try and promote the idea that creative or journalism success isn't necessarily purely based on talent. Talent plays a role, for sure, but so does luck; getting paid doesn't make you a great writer or musician, and not getting paid doesn't mean you're awful. Olson and company should keep that in mind when bashing those who built their company, and they should remember that some of those "25-year-old bloggers" could write circles around them given the opportunity. So, to all the aspiring writers, musicians, artists and the rest out there, I'd urge you to keep at it even if you're not drawing a huge paycheque. The Lisa Olsons of this world may make more than you for a while, but they cannot triumph forever...

Super Bowl prediction and articles

2011-02-06T12:38:00.001-08:00

After weeks of waiting, it's finally time for the Super Bowl. As I wrote earlier, I love this matchup; the spread's 2.5, and there's a good argument that it should be a pick-em. It's one of the closest Super Bowl games I've seen in some time, and that's what I emphasized in my predictions; as usual, I have a complete breakdown of the game over at The Good Point with Mark Milner, and I also have a shorter pick posted over at Robert Carnell's blog. For those just looking for a score, I'm going to go with Pittsburgh 24, Green Bay 21. I also have a rundown of the CFL figures involved in the game over at 55-Yard Line. Finally, let's carry on from the conference championship games with a theme song for each team!

Green Bay: Judas Priest - Grinder

Appropriate for a team based on the meat-packing industry, no? Of course, given Clay Matthews' uncanny resemblance to Sunshine, we could always go with this:

Pittsburgh: Jag Panzer - Harder Than Steel

We'll see if their defence can indeed prove to be harder than steel tonight. Of course, if not for the snowy weather in Dallas, this might also be appropriate:

Enjoy the game!

Setting up the Super Bowl: a tale of two solid teams

2011-01-26T02:21:00.000-08:00

As a diehard football fan, I thoroughly enjoyed Sunday's NFL conference championship games. Both the Packers-Bears and Jets-Steelers games offered some compelling drama, with both looking out of range early on and then getting close down the stretch thanks to solid comeback attempts. In the end, Green Bay and Pittsburgh prevailed, and that sets up a very intriguing Super Bowl matchup Feb. 6 between two of the NFL's most storied teams. The early indication is that the Packers are three-point favourites according to the Super Bowl spread courtesy of BetUS, and that line also carries plenty of stories with it.

It's interesting to me that Green Bay's coming into this as a solid favourite. Their performance was perhaps the more impressive one of the weekend, as they never really let Chicago get too close, but Aaron Rodgers wasn't up to the incredible standards he'd set earlier in the postseason (the ones that motivated me to pick the Packers last weekend). Rodgers finished a respectable 17 of 30 for 244 yards, but he didn't throw a touchdown pass and was picked off twice. If the Bears hadn't had plenty of quarterback issues of their own between Jay Cutler, Todd Collins and Caleb Hanie, this might not have been a Green Bay triumph.

Granted, Pittsburgh wasn't all that impressive Sunday either, and they were outscored 16-0 in the second half. In fact, Ben Roethlisberger's performance under centre was even worse by the numbers (10/19,133 yards, 2 picks). Still, the Steelers did a much better job on the ground, and their defence reinforced the plaudits it had received all year. Based on what both squads have done so far, I don't necessarily think there's a huge advantage one way or the other. To me, everything sets up for a very close contest and a fascinating game.

NFL conference championship predictions, metal-style

2011-01-23T11:29:00.000-08:00

Just a note that Mark Milner and I have our conference championship picks up over at The Good Point. There should be a couple of great games today; I'm looking forward to seeing how the condition of Soldier Field affects the Bears - Packers matchup, and the Jets and Steelers should be a perfect clash for those of us who like hard-hitting defence. The above link has my full breakdown of each game, so rather than write the same stuff over again, here's a song for each team to get you ready for the games:

Pittsburgh: Judas Priest - Metal Gods

This classic track from the British Steel album seems thoroughly appropriate for a team from the Steel City. Also, it isn't tough to imagine James Harrison and the rest of the Pittsburgh defence ripping men apart.

New York: Iron Maiden - Aces High

The best non-crappy aerial song I could think of (and yes, there was no way in hell we were going with Benny and the Jets or Jet Airliner here). Besides, Rex Ryan's blitz-happy defence definitely lives by a do-or-die philosophy.

Chicago: Dio - Holy Diver

I've got a feeling Jay Cutler has been down too long in the midnight sea. Life with him as your starting quarterback is definitely riding the tiger, and there's always the chance of a sudden interception knocking you off. (Also, as a rivalry game, this might get as violent as the Hot Fuzz/Killswitch Engage version of this).

Green Bay: Dream Theater - In The Presence Of Enemies, Part I

As everyone has reminded you this week, Packers - Bears is the NFL's oldest rivalry, so that definitely qualifies as enemies. Moreover, though, Aaron Rodgers' incredible draft-day fall definitely qualifies him as forgotten, a body scorned and broken. He may have been initially rejected, but right now, he's looking like a pretty good chosen one.

Divisional round playoff predictions

2011-01-15T13:34:00.000-08:00

The NFL playoffs are always one of my favourite times of year, and if last week's games are any indication, we're in for a good playoff season. My picks for this round are up over at The Good Point, so go check those out! The game I'm most interested in is the Steelers-Ravens clash, which gets under way shortly. From an impartial perspective, it's one of the NFL's most interesting divisional rivalries, featuring two teams that have been quite good for the last decade and more. They play similar styles, and for those like me who enjoy great defence, they're some of the best franchises to watch. Of course, I'm not entirely impartial, as I've been a Steelers' fan for most of my life, so I'm definitely decked out in my black and gold today as you can see below. Feel free to hurl insults, but the B.C. chapter of Steeler Nation is reporting for duty.

Oregon carries its own ethical questions into BCS title game

2011-01-10T17:28:00.001-08:00

Tonight’s BCS national championship game between the Oregon Duck Star and the Auburn Tigers is about more than just the action on the field. There are rumours of shadowy background figures, stories of vast sums of money, and questions about undue influence floating around—and that’s just on the Oregon side!

I’m obviously exaggerating for effect there, but it does bother me a bit that all the questions people are raising about ethics and morality are surrounding Auburn, and particularly Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Cam Newton. I’m not here to defend Newton or the NCAA’s convoluted decision to declare him eligible despite finding evidence of a pay-for-play scheme that’s certainly against their rules as they currently stand. Whether those rules are right or not is another question entirely, and whether it’s possible to change them in a way that’s fair and equitable to all athletes is yet another issue, but I understand where the people who want to put black hats on Auburn are coming from. I don’t necessarily agree, but I understand it.

What I don’t get is the corresponding desire to paint Oregon as the good guys, the cavalry that are going to come charging over the hill to save amateurism from the evil Cam Newton. To me, the Oregon program comes with just as many questions, and yet few of them have really been talked about much. The Newton story revolves around a reported demand of $200 thousand; Nike founder and chairman Phil Knight has reportedly given $200 million to the Oregon athletics department over the last 25 years. Here’s what Michael Rosenberg of Sports Illustrated recently wrote:

Knight's influence on Oregon is so great that calling him a booster is like calling the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff a concerned citizen. Without Knight, Oregon would be thrilled to go to the Holiday Bowl. Without Knight, Oregon would be asking for money instead of printing it.
Without Knight, Oregon would be ... (gasp!) Oregon State.
Knight holds the key to Oregon athletics in his wallet, and everybody there knows it. The new basketball gym -- Matthew Knight Arena, named after Phil's late son -- is his project. The school's uniforms, more than any other team's, are a billboard for his company, Nike. There is a sense that every new building and every important hire needs Knight's stamp of approval.

And John Henderson, in The Denver Post:

How do you go from one of the pack to one of a kind? How does Colorado go from the bowels of the Big 12 Conference to battling Oregon at the top of the Pac-12? Find a booster like Phil Knight.
They aren't found at the local Elks Lodge. No Colorado alumnus is worth $11 billion, is a former athlete at the school and is one of its most rabid fans. But the power of one wealthy, loyal booster can change the course of an entire athletic department and, thus, a university.
What has Knight meant to Oregon?
Said Bellotti, "What is the sun to life on Earth?"

The main difference seems to be that Knight and Nike are playing by the NCAA’s rules. In an athletic environment that claims to value amateurism but is really about big bucks, they aren’t daring (at least not that we know of) to go around actually giving money to the players who do the real work and sacrifice their bodies. Instead, they’re dumping money into swanky new facilities, highly-regarded coaches and fancy uniform designs that turn those unpaid players into walking, talking advertisements for an apparel company that carries its own set of ethical concerns. All of that appears perfectly fine with the NCAA, which wants amateur players but professional quality in everything else. Meanwhile, the NCAA sees Cecil Newton’s reported scheme and others’ similar moves as the real problem. There is some merit to that, as Newton’s scheme directly contravenes the rules while Knight’s works within them. All I’m saying is from this corner, the shadow Phil Knight casts over Oregon is just as ominous as Cecil Newton’s over Auburn. Root for either, but let’s not reduce this to a good guys-bad guys story.

[Meanwhile, on the yes-there's-an-actual-game-going-on front, here's my prediction: Oregon 31, Auburn 24. Things should go well for Auburn initially, but Oregon’s conditioning might give them the edge in the second half. I think Darron Thomas can move the chains against Auburn’s struggling secondary, and that could open running holes for LaMichael James. For more detailed analysis, I point you to Matt Hinton, Chris Brown and Spencer Hall.]

Sebastian Bach's Oregon power ballad

2011-01-07T00:23:00.001-08:00

Like many other college football fans, I'm looking forward to the BCS championship game on Monday; it's a lousy way to determine a champion, but hey, it should be a good football game at least. Oregon's high-powered offence goes head-to-head with Heisman winner Cam Newton and the Auburn Tigers in what should be a thoroughly entertaining show. However, Oregon has one advantage Auburn may not be able to top. That advantage? Canadian metal star Sebastian Bach performing a school power ballad {lyrics NSFW}:

I don't know if it can compete with some of his earlier work, but what can?

The gauntlet for Canadian rock stars has been laid, Auburn, so you might want to give Geddy Lee a call. It's possible he could be impressed by Cam Newton's mean, mean stride.

[Via Dr. Saturday]

How Will Muschamp's first press conference at Florida should have gone

2010-12-18T19:00:00.000-08:00

Sometimes, I get an idea in my head and can't get it out. This is one of those times. Here's how Will Muschamp's first press conference as the head coach at the University of Florida should have played out:

(I know the transitions and such aren't perfect, but cut me some slack. I'm a writer, Jim, not a video editor!)

[Thanks to Spencer Hall and Holly Anderson at Every Day Should Be Saturday for the inspiration.]

How a CFL-style crossover could save the NFL playoffs

2010-12-16T22:34:00.013-08:00

Despite my CFL duties, I’ve been following the NFL perhaps even more closely than usual this year thanks to writing a weekly picks column over at The Good Point. It’s been a pretty solid season so far, with lots of exciting games, great storylines and terrific playoff races, and there isn’t any shortage of things to write about on any front.

However, there’s one lingering blot on the season that’s overshadowing many of the positive developments, and that’s the atrociousness of the NFC West. As Jon Bois wrote over at SB Nation a while back, the division has been terrible for almost its entire existence in its current 2002-on form, with its teams only recording a combined positive point differential once in that span (in 2003, and that wasn’t by much). This year might be a new low for the division, though, as all four of its teams are around the same degree of awful.

With the San Francisco 49ers getting blown out 34-7 by the San Diego Chargers on Thursday Night Football tonight, they’re now at 5-9 on the season. They also have a point differential of negative 37 and have scored only 243 points, tied for fourth-worst in the league. Yet, they still have a chance to win the division, thanks largely to their NFC West-best 3-1 divisional record. If they win out and get some favourable results from other teams, they could sneak into the playoffs at 7-9 and even host a first-round playoff game. That would make them the worst NFL team (by regular-season record) to make the playoffs since the 16-game season was brought in; nine teams have made the post-season with an 8-8 record.

The 49ers aren’t the only possible awful playoff team from that division, though. The St. Louis Rams and Seattle Seahawks are both 6-7 (with –23 and –68 point differentials, respectively), and neither team has a particularly easy remaining schedule. The Rams take on the 8-5 Kansas City Chiefs this week, then host the 49ers and then play at Seattle in the final week of the season. The Seahawks host the NFC-leading 11-2 Atlanta Falcons this week, then travel to Tampa Bay to take on the 8-5 Buccaneers before facing the Rams. If both go 1-2 or worse over that stretch, either could be a 7-9 division champion. Even the 4-9 Arizona Cardinals and their atrocious –109 point differential could wind up atop the division if they run the table against Carolina, Dallas and San Francisco and other teams slip up; it’s not likely, but it’s possible.

Meanwhile, at least one highly deserving potential playoff team is likely to miss out because of the NFC West. At the moment, the NFC’s wild-card slots would go to the 10-3 New Orleans Saints and the 9-4 New York Giants, with the 8-5 Buccaneers and Green Bay Packers left out in the cold. Regardless of who eventually winds up in the wild-card berths, it seems quite possible that at least one if not two of the excluded teams will have a better record than the NFC West champions, and the wild-card team that faces the NFC West team in the first round will have to go on the road despite a likely superior record.

One potential solution to this would be to abolish divisions altogether for the purposes of the playoff race. Keep them around for scheduling purposes, but just give playoff berths to the top six teams by record in each conference (or the top 12 in the entire league if you want to get rid of the conferences as well). This has its merits, but one problem with it is that it reduces the importance of divisional and conference games, and thus also diminishes many of the league’s best rivalries. By and large, the divisional playoff system works; getting rid of it is a rather radical change and might just turn out to be throwing out the baby with the bath. That sort of drastic alteration to the playoff system might also be tough to sell to enough owners or team executives to get the move done.

There’s an alternate solution that might offer the best of both worlds, and for it, the NFL only has to look north of the border. The CFL’s crossover system is the best way I’ve seen to balance keeping divisions while rewarding merit. For those unfamiliar with the league, the CFL currently has eight teams split into two (“East” and “West”) divisions. The top three teams in each division make the playoffs, which generally works quite well. However, there are some years where one division tends to be far better than the other one, such as 2008. That season, the West teams finished 13-5, 12-6, 11-7 and 10-8, while the East teams were 11-7, 8-10, 4-14 and 3-15. If the CFL followed the NFL system, the 10-8 Edmonton Eskimos would have been left out in the cold while the 4-14 Toronto Argonauts made the playoffs, a far more egregious case than even the current NFC West scenario.

Fortunately, the CFL’s crossover rule prevented that from happening. Basically, it means that if the fourth-place team in one division finishes with a better record than the third-place team in the other division, they take that team’s slot. If they finish with an equal or worse record, no crossover happens. If there is a crossover, the crossover team plays on the road in the divisional semi-final regardless of their record, and if they win, they’re on the road again for the conference final. It may eventually lead to some awkwardness in the Grey Cup thanks to the geography-based divisions (for example, last year could have seen the B.C. Lions representing the East Division against the Saskatchewan Roughriders), but in my mind, it strikes a nice balance between maintaining the integrity of divisions and the integrity of the larger regular-season.

It would be relatively simple to adapt this principle to the NFL. The subtlest way to do it would be stating that if the top team not given a wild-card slot has a better record than their conference’s worst division winner, the top wild-card team moves up into the divisional winner’s slot, the sixth seed moves to fifth and the new “crossover” team takes the sixth slot. For example, if the NFC teams this year remained in their current pecking order, Atlanta would take the top NFC seed, Chicago would be second and Philadelphia would be third, just as per usual. Assuming the NFC West champion Rams finished with a worse record than the Buccaneers, the fifth-place Saints would move to fourth and host a wild-card game against the sixth-place Giants (now fifth) and the seventh-place Bucs would move to sixth and face the Eagles.

This tweak provides a stronger overall playoff lineup without drastic changes. Furthermore, good teams like the 2005 Steelers have proven they can make a run from the wild-card slots before. I’d venture that we’d see a “crossover” team go deep in the playoffs or perhaps even win the Super Bowl under the new system long before a weak division winner selected under the old system did the same. Green Bay (especially if Aaron Rodgers is hurt) and Tampa Bay aren’t the strongest teams out there, but I’d rank either’s potential for a playoff upset well above anyone in the NFC West this season.

You could also tweak the system further if you wanted. It would be easy to make it possible for two “crossover” teams to make the playoffs if they were both better than the worst two division champions, or to allow AFC-NFC crossovers. All of those would be more drastic changes, though, and they could be more difficult to sell. The advantage of the simple, one-team, intra-conference crossover is that it would provide an easy way to prevent weak teams taking playoff berths thanks to the divisional structure, and it would also offer additional chances for good teams to get into the playoffs without completely destroying the importance of divisional rivalry games. To me, that’s a victory on both fronts.

(Thanks to @ninerchick05 for the inspiration for this post.)

Whitecaps - Islanders playoff live blog, Leg II

2010-10-17T13:53:00.001-07:00

After a 0-0 tie in Puerto Rico in the first leg of their USSF-II semifinal, the Vancouver Whitecaps have returned home (on the same flight as the Islanders) for the rematch. They take on Puerto Rico today at 4 p.m., and I'll be live-blogging it from Vancouver's Swangard Stadium. Wes Knight is back in the lineup, which should give the Whitecaps a boost, but facing the Islanders in an elimination game is never easy. Check out game previews from Marc Weber, Ben Massey, Simon Fudge and Bruce Constantineau, then come join me at 4 for the game!

Whitecaps - Islanders: Leg II

Vancouver Whitecaps - Puerto Rico Islanders playoff live blog, Leg One

2010-10-14T16:40:00.000-07:00

After narrowly surviving the Portland Timbers in the first round of the USSF-2 playoffs, the Vancouver Whitecaps hope to continue their run against the Puerto Rico Islanders, who upset top-seeded Rochester in the first round. Game One is today at 8 p.m. Eastern/5 p.m. Pacific in Puerto Rico. The Whitecaps are webcasting it, and it will be live-blogged here (as long as the webcast's working; Puerto Rico isn't on their usual ground, and I know Rochester had some issues trying to get a webcast from the temporary ground).

To get ready for this one, check out the game previews from Ben Massey, Marc Weber, Simon Fudge and Bruce Constantineau. After looking through those, come join me for the live blog below!

Vancouver Whitecaps - Puerto Rico Islanders

Whitecaps - Timbers: Second-leg live blog

2010-10-10T14:09:00.000-07:00

The Vancouver Whitecaps have a 2-0 aggregate lead heading into the second leg of their USSF Division II playoff series in Portland today, but the Timbers aren't going to be an easy foe to dispatch. The game's at 9 p.m. Eastern (6 p.m. Pacific) tonight, and will be streamed through the Whitecaps' website. I'll be live-blogging it here and at The 24th Minute. Check out the previews from Marc Weber, Bruce Constantineau, Simon Fudge and Ben Massey, and then come join me at 6 for the live blog!

Vancouver Whitecaps - Portland Timbers

PLAYOFFS!!!!1111 (Whitecaps - Timbers live blog)

2010-10-07T19:13:00.000-07:00

I'll be live-blogging tonight's Vancouver Whitecaps - Portland Timbers USSF-II playoff game from the Swangard Stadium press box. It should be a good one, as this rivalry's always interesting on its own and the playoff atmosphere should only add to that. Kickoff is set for 10:30 p.m. Eastern/7:30 p.m. Pacific, and you can watch the game on the Whitecaps' site here. Come join me then!

Vancouver Whitecaps - Portland Timbers

Whitecaps set for playoff start, Impact already off and running

2010-10-07T15:35:00.002-07:00

Canada’s two USSF-2 teams start their playoff campaigns this week with home-and-home series. Montreal got off on the right foot Wednesday, beating the Austin Aztex 2-0 thanks to an Ali Gerba brace. Meanwhile, Vancouver will face their long-time rivals from Portland in a two-game series starting tonight at Swangard Stadium (10:30 p.m. Eastern: I’ll be live-blogging from the stadium press box, and the game can be seen via streaming video at whitecapsfc.com). Both teams are in slightly different situations, but they have some of the same concerns and will face some of the same challenges.

For Montreal, putting the ball in the net consistently has been an issue for most of the year. Gerba was solid down the stretch run, scoring nine goals in his last seven regular-season games, but he didn’t score at all in the regular season before that. The Impact weren’t able to find much scoring depth, either, and their depth hasn’t shown up much at all lately.

The 2-0 home win was a terrific start for the Impact. As Ben Massey writes, they did well defensively against a determined Aztex team, and that does put them in the driver’s seat. Don’t go predicting them to advance just yet, though. The Impact have been much better at home than on the road all season long, going 12-11-7 at Stade Saputo with 19 goals for and 11 against.. By contrast, they were 5-7-3 on the road, where they allowed 19 goals and only scored 17.

Montreal is facing a difficult opponent as well. The Aztex finished second in the USL Conference with a 15-7-8 record and 53 points, 10 more than Montreal. They earned the third playoff seed overall, while Montreal was seeded sixth. Austin is particularly dangerous at home, where they won more games than any other USSF-2 squad, going 10-2-3. Austin has scored 33 of their 53 goals at home and conceded only 18 of the 40 they allowed all year. Keep an eye out for Manchester United academy product Eddie Johnson (not the American one); he led the team with 14 goals this season and looked absolutely dazzling in the games I saw. Max Griffin added 10 more goals for the Aztex, so he’s a guy to watch as well, as is Jamie Watson, who ranked third in the league with seven assists.

The Whitecaps share some of the same issues as Montreal, most notably finding consistent scoring. Their biggest problem this year has been putting the ball in the back of the net, and as Marc Weber writes, that’s the top question facing the team heading into tonight’s playoff opener. Vancouver finished second in the NASL Conference with a 10-5-15 record, but they only scored 32 goals all year. Part of that’s thanks to a revolving cast up front (and on the whole team, to be honest), but part of it has just been poor finishing. However, they don’t have a significant home-road split (5-2-8 at home with 17 goals for, 5-3-7 on the road with 15 goals for, 11 goals conceded both home and away), so it might not be quite as critical for them to win the first one as it was for Montreal.

Portland isn’t going to be easy to top, either. The Timbers finished third in the USL Conference, but actually put up more points than Vancouver (49 to 45) and thus are the higher-ranked side (fourth versus fifth) heading into this one. They’re a remarkably similar team, too; tough to beat, but with scoring issues (they notched 34 goals for, two more than Vancouver, and conceded 23 goals, one more than the Whitecaps). These teams know each other well, and even if tactical changes may or may not be in the mix, there’s going to be even more intensity to the matchup than normal. Expect plenty of harsh tackles and heated emotions tonight, even if we might not see many goals.

The other USSF-2 playoff matchups are the No. 1 Rochester Rhinos against the No. 8 Puerto Rico Islanders and the No. 2 Carolina RailHawks against the No. 7 NSC Minnesota Stars. The Stars and RailHawks played to a 0-0 draw in their opening leg in Minnesota yesterday, You’d have to think that favours the RailHawks to advance at home, as they were one of the league’s best teams this year; however, both teams don’t have a particularly notable home/road split, so the Stars might still be in it.

Rochester is in Puerto Rico tonight to take on the Islanders, and that match has already run into some controversy. Here’s the release that was just published on the Rhinos’ site:

Bayamon, Puerto Rico -- Due to inadequate and unplayable playing conditions at Puerto Rico's Juan Ramon Loubriel Stadium, tonight's first leg playoff match has been moved to the Bayamon Soccer Complex. Because of the sudden and unexpected change in tonight's venue there will be no broadcast available for tonight's match. Please follow the Rhinos twitter page for updates throughout the match.

That’s certainly interesting. It will be curious to see how that affects the game. Rochester should be heavily favoured, but odd things seem to happen in Puerto Rico. The return leg is Saturday in Rochester.

Remember to come back here at 10:30 p.m. Eastern/7:30 p.m. Pacific for the Vancouver – Portland live blog!

[Cross-posted to The 24th Minute]

Not dead yet...

2010-10-07T14:51:00.000-07:00

Well, this blog has been dead for far too long, but I'm going to try to give it some CPR. If you haven't noticed already, I've been spending most of my time writing about the CFL over at 55-Yard Line; unfortunately, that's combined with a bunch of my other writing projects to keep me away from here for a while. No longer, though! I can't commit to a regular schedule yet, but I'm hoping to post some sports musings here at least several times each week. If you want to know when something new's going up, follow me on Twitter or Facebook; the Twitter feed's got plenty of my sports thoughts that aren't long enough to make real posts, while the Facebook one's basically just my posts. You can also subscribe to the RSS feed of Sporting Madness posts here. Anyway, thank you for your patience, and my sincere apologies for the prolonged absence; I'll do my best to keep posting things here more consistently down the road.

Whitecaps - Puerto Rico live blog

2010-09-05T14:28:00.000-07:00

I'm taking a quick break from CFL coverage to live blog the Vancouver Whitecaps - Puerto Rico Islanders clash this afternoon at 4 p.m. Pacific. Marc Weber, Simon Fudge and Ben Massey have previews posted, so check those out, and then come back to join me in the live blog at four!

Whitecaps - Puerto Rico

The new home is up!

2010-09-05T14:22:00.000-07:00

My new home over at Yahoo!, the 55-Yard Line blog, is up and running! Go check it out and let me know what you think. So far, I've got posts up on Chris Leak and the Winnipeg decision to hide their starting quarterback. I'll have another one in the morning on today's game between Winnipeg and Saskatchewan, and I'll be live-blogging the Hamilton-Toronto clash tomorrow with other members of the Yahoo! Canada staff at 2:30 p.m. Eastern. Make sure to stop by for that!

Into the great wide open

2010-09-03T18:32:00.001-07:00

"It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to." - J.R.R. Tolkien

"When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro." - Hunter S. Thompson

My writing life's been an unusual journey, which is probably true for many writers. My parents have been heavily involved in the journalism industry for decades, but I wanted nothing to do with it growing up. I always loved sports, but I wasn't particularly interested in writing about them either. When I went off to school at Queen's University, my plan was to become a chemist; I was more concerned with compounds and formulas than vocabulary and turns of phrase.

That all changed thanks to the Queen's Journal, the campus paper I knew I wanted to be a part of soon after reading it for the first time. At first, I wanted the news and politics beats everyone else was interested in, but I took sports assignments because the editor (the very talented Erin Flegg) was looking for people. I found that I loved writing, and I particularly loved writing about sports. That eventually led to me working more-than-full-time for the paper for two years, first as the assistant sports editor and then the sports editor, and that in turn led to the time I've spent working for the Black Press chain of community newspapers as a roving reporter.

Throughout my career so far, traditional media outlets like the Journal and the Black Press papers have been my main focus, but sports blogging has been my outlet. That's about to change. Starting this weekend (probably Sunday), I'll be running Yahoo! Sports Canada's new CFL blog, The 55-Yard Line. The site will go live later this weekend, and I'll put up a new post with a link to it then; we're also going to be live-blogging the Labour Day Classic between the Toronto Argonauts and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats Monday at 2:30 p.m. Eastern, so make sure to swing by for that.

What does all this mean for this site and my other gigs? Well, hopefully not all that much. The Yahoo! gig is replacing my day job, and most of my 9-to-5 output will be concentrated there, but I'm planning to keep writing here, at The CIS Blog, at Canuck Puck and more in the evenings. If you like my sportswriting work, you'll have more of it to read; if you don't like it, you'll have more of it to avoid. Sorry about that.

Being a professional blogger is a thrilling opportunity, and one I can't wait for, but it's a huge transition from where I've been. Five years ago, when I first started working at the Journal, I established this blog just as a place to practice my writing and develop my voice. That's still largely what it remains today, but hopefully the standard of writing has improved a bit here and there over the years. I've always loved the style and the voice involved in blogging, but until now, it's only really been a hobby. I can't wait for the chance to try and make a career out of it.

Along the way to this point, I've received tremendous opportunities from a wide variety of people; I owe Neate Sager a lot for giving me the chance to write for Out of Left Field and The CIS Blog, and Rob Pettapiece has been a tremendous colleague and now co-editor at the latter site. Andy Hutchins brought me into The Rookies, which was a tremendous sports blogging collective while it lasted (and gave me a key group of friends I still remain in touch with). Scott Carefoot gave me the chance to join The Score's Sports Federation, which has done a lot for both this site and The CIS Blog. Bryan Douglass recruited me to run Canuck Puck for Fanball and has been a tremendous supporter of my work. Without them and others, there's no way I'd have made it to this point.

I wanted to thank everyone I've connected with through the Blogs With Balls conferences. I went to the second one in Vegas last year and the third one in Chicago this year, and both experiences have been among the best of my blogging career; the events were well-run, the panelists were generally insightful and informative, and almost everyone I met was incredibly friendly and inspiring. Many of them have kept in touch through Twitter, Google Reader and the like, and I really appreciate their support. I can't recommend the conferences highly enough for up-and-coming sports bloggers. There's way too many great people I met there to thank them all individually, but I do want to give a special shout-out to the Hugging Harold Reynolds guys for putting those conferences together, and further shout-outs to Greg Wyshynski, Peter James, Josh Zerkle, Sarah Sprague, Dennis Tarwood, Phil Catelinet, Jonah Keri, Jay Busbee, Adam Jacobi, Spencer Hall, Alana Nguyen, the The Basketball Jones crew, Trey Kerby, Matt Moore and Zach Harper, a group of people who are completely awesome. There are many more I'm overlooking here, and I apologize for that. It's these people and others like them that make the sports blogosphere such a great place, and they deserve all the recognition they get.

Last but not least, I owe a great deal of gratitude to everyone I've worked with on the print media side. Particularly notable are my old Queen's Journal colleagues; I've got great memories of all of them, but those who deserve particular thanks are those who put up with working with me for extended periods of time: former-editors-in-chief Anna Mehler Paperny, Katherine Laidlaw and the aforementioned Erin Flegg, former managing editor Angela Hickman, my former sports section partners in crime Mike Woods and Amrit Ahluwalia and photojournalist comrades Harrison Smith, Josh Chan, Matt Rushworth and Tyler Ball. Former Journal types who worked there before my time, including Matt Hartley, James Bradshaw and Dan Robson, have also been tremendously helpful and friendly to me over the years. The Journal is a fantastic paper and one I'm proud to have been a part of.

Our world today features a lot of labels, with many people out to slot everyone and every outlet into clearly-defined categories. That's where a lot of the negative stereotypes about bloggers, newspaper reporters, talk-radio hosts and everyone else are generated. I hate stereotypes in general and many of those ones in particular, and I'm hoping to break down a few of them. I'm a newspaper guy and a blog guy, and in my mind, there are key roles for both styles and both mediums going forward. I'm looking forward to bringing my experience from both sides into this new role. It's a brave new world out there, but it's one I can't wait to enter.

The CFL to NFL jump

2010-09-01T11:46:00.001-07:00

Doug Farrar has an excellent piece over at Yahoo! Sports on the jump from the CFL to the NFL. He talks to former B.C. Lions Cam Wake and Ricky Foley about their experiences in transition, but perhaps the most interesting part is his discussion with agent Paul Sheehy about the loss of the "NFL window" in the CFL's new CBA. That certainly will limit the CFL's personnel losses, which have been quite high in recent years, but Sheehy thinks it might also lower the quality of the CFL; talented players who miss out on NFL contracts or get cut may wind up heading to the UFL instead, which is easier to get out of. The whole piece is a good read, and I'd recommend it even if I didn't contribute some minor information on guys who could perhaps make that jump in the future. Check it out.

Whitecaps come home with muted results

2010-08-29T18:50:00.001-07:00

After a month-long road trip, the Vancouver Whitecaps completed their odyssey with a return to Burnaby’s Swangard Stadium. Unlike certain Greek mythological heroes, though, their return was less than triumphal, and they came away with just one point from a 2-2 draw with the Austin Aztex.

Whitecaps’ head coach Teitur Thordarson was impressed with his team’s play overall, but less pleased with their finishing touch.

“We created so many chances today, it is unbelievable we didn’t score more than two goals,” he said. “We could have been up 4-0 by half.”

Vancouver opened the scoring in the 16th minute when Martin Nash went in for a sliding tackle. The ball went off him and bounced to Cornelius Stewart, who broke in alone and drilled a low left-footed drive past keeper Miguel Gallardo into the bottom-right corner of the net.

The Whitecaps dominated much of the rest of the first half, recording six shots against Austin’s two and controlling the majority of the possession. They were unable to capitalize, though, and Austin equalized in the 44th minute when Lance Watson sent a corner that was knocked out of the box back in and Randi Patterson headed it perfectly back across goal to Yohance Marshall, who headed home from inches out.

Thordarson wasn’t particularly happy with his defence’s performance on the Marshall goal.

“The ball comes across the goal again and there were two players totally unmarked,” he said.

Buoyed by the goal, Austin came out strong in the second half. It was Vancouver who struck first, though. Stewart made a great pass to send new signing Ridge Mobulu in alone on goal. Mobulu had difficulty controlling the ball at first and slowed down, letting a defender catch him. He deked the defender but wound up on the touchline about four yards from the net. Somehow, he managed to deke another defender and drill the ball into the net from an impossible angle off a third Aztex player. It was a most impressive goal from a man who looks like he has the ball on a string much of the time. Even Thordarson had difficulty believing his eyes.

“It was incredible how he scored,” Thordarson said.

Austin wasn’t ready to give up without a fight, though. Their leading goalscorer, former Manchester United academy player Eddie Johnson, came into the game in the 79th minute and made an immediate impact. In the 80th minute, the Aztex earned a free kick about 25 yards out. It was sent in for Johnson, who made no mistake, climbing the ladder to execute a picture-perfect header that knotted the score at two. That marked the first time all year Vancouver had conceded two goals at home, and Thordarson was unimpressed.

“We conceded two totally unnecessary goals,” he said.

Both sides had further chances late on, most notably Austin. In the 90th minute, Maxwell Griffin made a superb left-side run into the box and crossed for Johnson, who was only about 10 yards out directly in front of goal. Johnson had to rush his shot thanks to the presence of a defender, though, and sent it skying high over the net into the beer garden. Neither side could add anything more and the clash finished 2-2.

The final statistics were remarkably even considering Vancouver’s long periods of domination. They finished with 10 shots against Austin’s eight and four saves against Austin’s three. The Aztex had a five-four edge in corners and were caught offside five times against the Whitecaps’ two. On the whole, the draw was probably a deserved result, but Vancouver will regret not capitalizing on another chance or two.

Thordarson said he thought the team played well on the whole, but they struggled towards the end.

“Over 65 or 70 minutes, I think we were quite good,” he said.

Finishing, or rather the lack thereof, was his primary concern, however.

“We struggled with finishing,” Thordarson said. “Of all the chances we created in the first half, if we could have scored one or two more, that would have changed the complexion of the game,”

He was impressed with the play of some of Vancouver’s new acquisitions, though, particularly Vancouver-born midfield Terry Dunfield.

“I think he played extremely well,” Thordarson said. “It’s not only that he won a lot of balls, but he played a lot of superb balls to the strikers.”

Dunfield shared Thordarson’s view that the team’s early play was strong.

“For the majority of the game, I thought we did well,” he said. “Really, for the first 75 minutes and especially in the first half, we executed what we worked on all week, which was playing high-tempo, high-pressure, getting the ball forward and causing them problems.”

Dunfield said he was thrilled to be playing with the Whitecaps.

“It was brilliant,” he said. “It was great waking up. I came to the game with my old man, I never thought I’d be doing that.”

He said his fitness isn’t quite there, but he’s working on it.

“If I’m honest, it’s probably a couple weeks away,” he said. “I’ll be sore tomorrow.”

Dunfield said a first-half spill that saw him down on the ground for a bit was nothing serious.

“I got winded a bit,” he said with a laugh. “I was hoping [the trainer] had some oxygen in his bag when he came on. I was after a pint from the beer garden.”

The draw moves Vancouver’s home record to a still-impressive 5-1-6. They’re 9-3-13 overall and remain in first place in the NASL Conference. Dunfield said it has been a challenge adjusting to so many new teammates, but the Whitecaps are still finding ways to earn points, and that will help them come together. Their road trip may be done, but their season-long odyssey isn't over yet.

“I think wins are the best way to earn chemistry,” Dunfield said. “I think the results speak for themselves.”

[Cross-posted to The 24th Minute]

Vancouver Whitecaps - Austin Aztex live blog

2010-08-29T12:11:00.002-07:00

After another month-long road trip, the Vancouver Whitecaps return home today [Simon Fudge, WhitecapsFC.com] to face the Austin Aztex [Benjamin Massey, Eighty-Six Forever] in a game I'll be live-blogging. It will be their first match at home in almost five weeks [Marc Weber, The Province]. Their last home fixture was a 1-1 draw against Minnesota all the way back on July 25.

The team went 2-0-3 on their month-long road trip, picking up wins at Montreal and Minnesota and earning draws with Carolina, St. Louis and Tampa Bay. They've also undergone quite the roster makeover in that time [Bruce Constantineau, Vancouver Sun: I focused on the reasons behind that in my World Soccer Reader column a few weeks back, but the changes have come even faster and on a wider scale than I would have imagined.

We should see some of the new faces in the lineup today; Weber expects 19-year-old Swiss forward Ridge Mobulu to start, with 22-year-old American striker Cody Arnoux and 22-year-old Costa Rican striker Jonathan McDonald predicted to come off the bench. Greg Janicki is suspended and Nelson Akwari is injured, so SFU product Luca Bellisomo will drop back into central defence and will partner with Zurab Tsiskaridze, who moves in from the wingback slot. It's also keeper Jay Nolly's 100th match for the club.

Vancouver is first in the NASL Conference, but full points here could still be quite important for them as Carolina is only five points back. They aren't facing an easy opponent, though; the Aztex are second in the USL conference with a 13-3-6 record and are only three points back of Rochester for first with four games in hand. They also feature Manchester United academy product Eddie Johnson, who's second in the league in goals with 10 in 21 games. Maxwell Griffin and Jamie Watson have added seven and six more respectively, so Austin can be very dangerous in attack. They are coming off a 1-1 draw in Portland [James Clay, Native Aztexan] only two days ago, though, so they may be more tired than usual or have to go to a heavily-rotated lineup. It should be an interesting one to watch. I'll be live-blogging from the Swangard Stadium press box starting at 7 p.m. Eastern/4 p.m. Pacific: come join me then!

Vancouver Whitecaps - Austin Aztex

The Whole 110 Yards: Cobb anything but corny

2010-08-27T20:08:00.000-07:00

Photo: Hamilton RB DeAndra Cobb (Michigan State) dances in for a touchdown before Toronto safety Willie Pile (Virginia Tech) can stop him. The Tiger-Cats won 16-12.

Welcome to another edition of The Whole 110 Yards, your weekly guide to the CFL! Only two games to cover last week and this week thanks to byes, so we'll get right to them. I'll also be live-blogging tonight's B.C. Lions - Calgary Stampeders clash tonight with the usual suspects in the CFL.ca Friday Night Football Live Chat; make sure to come join us at 10:30 Eastern/7:30 Pacific!

Game of the Week: Hamilton 16, Toronto 12

This edition of the Battle of Ontario was surprisingly entertaining despite the low score. Both teams' defences came to play and delivered impressive performances, particularly early; the score was 3-3 after the first quarter and 9-3 for Toronto at halftime. The Argonauts extended their lead to 12-3 in the third, but fell apart down the stretch, conceding 13 unanswered fourth-quarter points to lose the game.

Toronto actually did a pretty good job of shutting down Hamilton's star-studded receiving corps; Tiger-Cats' quarterback Kevin Glenn (Illinois State) completed only 25 of 36 passes for 247 yards, with no touchdowns and an interception, far below his usual standards. None of the Hamilton receivers, including Arland Bruce III (Minnesota) and Dave Stala (Saint Mary's) had great games, and no Tiger-Cats receiver was close to 100 yards.

Hamilton was able to get it done on the ground, though. Former Michigan State Spartan DeAndra Cobb came through in a big way for the second game in a row (unfortunately, the best possible Cobb headline was taken by the CFL.ca staff following that one) after a slow start to the season. Cobb picked up 99 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries to lead Hamilton to victory. They're now only one game back of Toronto for second in the East.

Other game: Montreal 39, Winnipeg 17

The real story in this one wasn't found on the scoreboard, but rather in the pain on the face of Alouettes' quarterback Anthony Calvillo (Utah State) as he was wheeled off the field following a hard hit. Montreal was up 24-0 by the time he left, so the game wasn't really in question, but the next few weeks for them certainly were.

Fortunately for the Alouettes, Calvillo's injury wasn't as bad as it looked. It's still nothing to be taken lightly, though; the official diagnosis is "a sternum injury with bruising to his ribs" [Herb Zurkowsky, Montreal Gazette]. Montreal has a bye this week, but Calvillo has already ruled himself out of at least next week's game with B.C. That means former Florida Gator Chris Leak, who completed 10 of 15 passes for 99 yards but threw one interception in relief of Calvillo last week, will get his first CFL start. It's going to be interesting to see how he does, and if the Alouettes change their game plan to take advantage of his skills [Matt Dunigan, TSN.ca].

For Winnipeg, the problems are more immediate. The Bombers sank to 2-6 with the loss and remain well in the basement of the CFL's East Division. Quarterback Steven Jyles (Louisiana - Monroe) was largely ineffective, completing 11 of 22 passes for 123 yards and a touchdown. That's just not good enough to win in this league. The Bombers don't have many other options, though; Buck Pierce (New Mexico State) is still struggling with injuries, and Alex Brink (Washington State) was worse than Jyles, completing just one of his five pass attempts in relief. Without better pivot performances, it might be a long year in Winnipeg.

Former College Star of the Week: Chris Leak, Florida

Leak was a huge star with the Gators. He first saw action as a freshman in 2003 and went 6-3 as a starter, incredibly impressive. He survived a change in head coaches (Ron Zook to Urban Meyer), worked under three different offensive coordinators and held off Tim Tebow in his senior year, carrying Florida to a national championship that was sealed with a 41-14 rout of The Ohio State University in the 2007 BCS National Championship Game (where he was named MVP). Things haven't gone as well for him since then, though; he wasn't picked in the NFL Draft after reportedly scoring an eight on his Wonderlic test. He signed with Chicago, but was soon cut. He decided to try the All-American Football League, which never made it off the ground, then tried out with Kansas City in 2008 but was cut. He signed with Hamilton June 3, 2008, but was cut only five days later. Montreal then swooped in and picked him up a day later. He's been there ever since, but mostly as the third-string quarterback, and he hasn't seen much on-field action. Now, thanks to injuries to Calvillo and usual backup Adrian McPherson (oddly enough, a Florida State product), Leak has another chance to shine.

Matchup of the week: Calgary at B.C. (tonight, 10:30 Eastern)

It's a 6-1 team versus a 1-6 one, but this might still be a compelling game. B.C. will be desperate for a win at home, and Calgary might just be lulled into a false sense of security. We'll have to see how it plays out, but it has the potential to be good, especially with B.C. quarterback Casey Printers (Texas Christian) returning from injury.

Pick: B.C.

Other game: Saskatchewan at Edmonton (tomorrow, 7:00 p.m. Eastern)

This is a 5-2 team versus a 1-6 team, but it might not be as close. Edmonton's really struggling, Saskatchewan's rolling, and the Riders will even have a quasi home-field advantage; with Edmonton being so bad this year, even more tickets than usual have been sold to Saskatchewan fans looking for a road trip. It's going to be a cold one, with a high of 9 Celsius (about 48 Fahrenheit) predicted. It might be another chilling result for Eskimos fans too.

Pick: Saskatchewan

Last week: 1-1

Season: 12-11

The Whole 110 Yards: A foul situation in Edmonton

2010-08-19T17:39:00.000-07:00

Photo: Calgary wide receiver Nik Lewis (Southern Arkansas) fights off three Edmonton Eskimos to score a touchdown Sunday. The Stampeders won 56-15. [Todd Korol, Reuters]

Welcome to another edition of The Whole 110 Yards! Here's a breakdown of all of this past week's action, as well as a preview of this week's games.

Game of the Week: Calgary 56, Edmonton 15

Most weeks, the game I feature in this slot is either a close result or an unexpected one. This game doesn't meet either of those criteria, but it deserves inclusion just for the sheer magnitude of this wipeout. As Professor Stephan might say, "This isn't entertainment, it's genocide!"

Stampeders' pivot Henry Burris (Temple) had perhaps his best game of the season, completing 21 of 29 passes for 305 yards and three touchdowns with nary a pick in sight. Backup Drew Tate got some action in mop-up duty and was also impressive, going four-for-four for 40 yards and a touchdown and rushing for a touchdown as well. Lewis led the receiving corps with 117 yards and two touchdowns on five catches, but Arjei Franklin (Windsor) and Romby Bryant (Tulsa) also had good games; Calgary's ground game was in good form too, with Joffrey Reynolds (Houston) rushing 14 times for 79 yards and a touchdown and Jon Cornish (Kansas) adding 74 more yards on seven carries.

The story was far less rosy for Edmonton. Quarterback Ricky Ray (Sacramento State) got knocked out of the game after completing just two passes for 19 yards on five attempts. The Eskimos were already losing 18-1 at that point, so it's not as if they were only slain by Ray's injury, but neither Jared Zabransky (Boise State) nor Jason Maas (Oregon) was terribly effective in relief. Zabransky showed flashes of his potential, but wound up only completing eight of 16 passes for 107 yards and a touchdown. He was also intercepted once. Maas completed five of eight for 62 yards, but was also picked off once. Edmonton's problems certainly aren't all on their quarterbacks, as their defence has been awful and their offensive line as struggled as well. Moreover, their ground game was non-existent Sunday, as Arkee Whitlock (Southern Illinois) was held to just 35 yards on 11 carries. Still, the Eskimos will have to get better quarterback play from somewhere if they want to get any better.

This was either an incredibly impressive showing from the Stampeders or a terribly pathetic performance from the Eskimos. Calgary's showing was good, but I'm tending towards the latter. One man who agrees is The Edmonton Journal's Dan Barnes, who delivered a scathing scatological screed in response to this one:

"It's not always fair, but it's physics, so the torrent of effluent produced by a 1-6 football team tends to run downhill. ... [I]it becomes ever more clear Hall is unfit to act as both defensive co-ordinator and head coach. At this point in time, he needs at least one less. And one umbrella."

Looks like it's going to be a long year in Edmonton.

Other games:

Toronto 37, Montreal 22:

This was the most surprising result of the week. The Alouettes have been one of the most dominant teams this year, while the Argos have been playing very well by their standards, but only decently by anyone else's. Remember, it was just last week that they eked out a one-point win over the cellar-dwelling Eskimos.

Particularly surprising was that this didn't follow the blueprint for most of Toronto's wins to date. Yes, they still got a solid performance from running back Cory Boyd (South Carolina), who rushed 17 times for 63 yards and a touchdown (but fumbled once). The real star, though, was a man who could charitably be described as "average" before this week; quarterback Cleo Lemon (Arkansas State).

Lemon completed 13 of 19 passes for 269 yards. More impressively, he threw three touchdown passes with no interceptions. He also pulled off a spectacular play, where he handed the ball to Boyd on a sweep to the right, then ducked left himself and headed downfield. Boyd faked a run, then threw a great pass to the wide-open Lemon for a first down. I wouldn't be surprised to see the Argonauts try this again; Boyd can throw, and most defensive backs don't stick with their coverage schemes once a play looks like a run. Moreover, most coverage schemes don't include the quarterback.

Unusual plays were the order of the day for Toronto. They also had fullback Bryan Crawford (Queen's) rumble for 42 yards on a fake punt, and both Chad Owens (Hawaii) and Ryan Christian (TCU) excelled in the kick-return game. Christian took the one kickoff he caught 110 yards for a touchdown and a new franchise record [Mark Masters, National Post], while Owens picked up 85 yards on two returns and added 43 more on six punt returns. Owens also had 163 yards and two touchdowns on six receptions, and Andre Durie (York) continued to be an excellent weapon out of the backfield, picking up 35 yards and a touchdown on three catches. Toronto will miss Jermaine Copeland (Tennessee), who was injured early on after a 50-yard catch, but in most other respects, the Boatmen appear to be holding water.

For Montreal, there are more questions. QB Anthony Calvillo (Utah State) completed 37 of 49 passes for 450 yards and three touchdowns despite a sore finger, but he was picked off once and fumbled once. That's certainly not a line to complain about from your quarterback, though. Of more concern is the dismal performance by RB Avon Cobourne (West Virginia), who only picked up 26 yards on 11 carries. Maybe Montreal should consider giving the ball to my old Queen's compatriot, FB Mike Giffin? I've heard he can run a bit [Mike Woods, Queen's Journal].

Hamilton 39, Winnipeg 28:

Not a bad game, even if it seemed like deja vu all over again; it was the third matchup between these teams in the seven weeks of the season so far. The Tiger-Cats took the season series 2-1 with this win. Despite the 11-point margin of victory, though, there really wasn't too much separating these teams on the stat sheet. Hamilton pivot Kevin Glenn (Illinois State) completed 18 of 26 passes for 274 yards and three touchdowns, but was intercepted twice. Buck Pierce (New Mexico State) started for Winnipeg and completed seven of 12 passes for 63 yards with one touchdown and one interception before being pulled thanks to a re-aggravated injured knee. Steven Jyles (Louisiana-Monroe) came in in relief and put up similar stats to Glenn, completing 14 of 22 passes for 227 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. There wasn't much of a difference on the ground, either; DeAndra Cobb (Michigan State) ran for 86 yards and a touchdown, but he got 22 carries, while Fred Reid (Mississippi State) was held to 48 yards, but only received 11 carries. In the end, the Tiger-Cats took advantage of their opportunities and Winnipeg didn't.

(You can read more of my thoughts on this one at the archive of our CFL.ca Friday Night Football Live Chat.)

Saskatchewan 37, B.C. 13

Not too much to say about this one. Saskatchewan's clearly the better team at the moment, and their 5-2 record reflects that. B.C.'s better than their 1-6 record shows, as they've had some tough luck and made some crucial mistakes in close games, but this wasn't anywhere near close. The Lions are going to have to turn this around quickly if their season is to be anything better than a total write-off.

Matchup of the week:

Hamilton at Toronto: (7:30 p.m. Eastern, Friday)

The Battle of Ontario should be particularly good this time around, as both the Argonauts and Tiger-Cats are playing well recently. For once, Toronto comes into one of these games with the upper hand; they're 5-2 as opposed to Hamilton's 3-4 record, and they're playing at home. This could be close, though, especially given that most people would probably take Kevin Glenn at quarterback over Cleo Lemon. Still, the Argos impressed me last week against Montreal, so I'm picking them here.Make sure to join us tomorrow for the CFL.ca Friday Night Football Live Chat during this one!

Pick: Toronto

Other game: (four teams are on byes this week)

Winnipeg at Montreal: (tonight, 7:30 p.m. Eastern)

I don't think this one will be as close. Winnipeg's struggling, and Montreal should be fired up after last week's loss. That doesn't bode well for the Blue Bombers.

Pick: Montreal

Last week: 3-1

Season: 11-10

Thanks for reading The Whole 110 Yards! Tune in next week for more.

On Sportsnet One and the demise of EPL TV in Canada

2010-08-14T09:56:00.001-07:00

The English Premier League kicked off this weekend, but if you're a Canadian without an extensive sports television package, you can be forgiven for not noticing. Of the 10 Premier League fixtures this weekend, exactly one was available on one of the three basic Canadian sports channels (TSN, Rogers Sportsnet and The Score). That was today's 4-0 win by Blackpool over Wigan, which was certainly thrilling, but hardly the most anticipated matchup of the weekend.

What about those other nine games? Well, two of them (Tottenham - Manchester City today and Manchester United - Newcastle on Monday) are available on TSN 2. You can make an argument that that's reasonable, as TSN 2 has a fair bit of quality content these days, but it is still an extra cost ($5 per month with one other channel on Shaw). Six of the games are on Setanta Sports, with two being carried live (Aston Villa - West Ham today and Liverpool - Arsenal tomorrow) and the other four as same-day replays today. That's not too bad for those looking for comprehensive coverage, but Setanta does cost $14.95 per month on Shaw.

What's particularly unfortunate for West Coast Premiership fans is the timing of the games. Often when games are on an expensive channel, you can get around subscribing by heading out to a sports bar to find them. That works out for everyone; the bar pays for the channel, you pay for the food and drink and you get to watch a game in a good atmosphere. That's tougher with soccer, though, as Premier League starts on the West Coast range from 4:30 a.m. (a few games) to 7 a.m. (most games) to 9 a.m. (the occasional late game), and I haven't yet found a Lower Mainland bar that's willing to open at 7 in the morning (if you do know of one, let me know in the comments or via e-mail!)

The most egregious violation, however, is the Chelsea - West Bromwich Albion match, which is being shown today on a new channel, Sportsnet OneR. I'd love to give you a price for that, but as Bruce Dowbiggin of The Globe and Mail points out, the only television provider that the channel is even being offered on at this point is Rogers (coincidentally, its corporate parent). According to their website, Rogers doesn't even offer cable in B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Quebec, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, the Northwest Territories, the Yukon or Nunavut. Thus, if you live in 10 of Canada's 13 provinces and territories, there is no way to watch the Chelsea - West Bromwich Albion game without resorting to an Internet feed.

I don't know the details of the negotiations between Rogers and the other television providers, so it's hard to definitively assign blame to one side or the other. There's more than enough to go around, though, and if the TSN2 spat is anything to go by, it could be months before a deal is reached. That doesn't just hurt EPL fans, as PPP pointed out: the channel's also slated to carry Jays and Raptors games, as well as games from the Vancouver Canucks, Edmonton Oilers, Calgary Flames and Ottawa Senators. Canadian hockey fans are devoted enough that they'll probably force cable providers to pick up Sportsnet One by the time that season starts in October, but it's unfortunate that Rogers is banking on that and it's even more unfortunate that most of the country won't be able to watch crucial EPL games until then.

The people who I have the most sympathy for are the young fans, though. I really got into the EPL in the late 90s, when Sportsnet would run triple-headers on their basic channel on Saturdays. That was fantastic; sure, you had to get up early, but you could watch some of the best teams and players in the world. Losing some sleep seemed like a small price to pay. Now, instead of just sleep, you have to shell out
big bucks to watch more than one Premiership game per week, and you have to hope and pray that your cable provider deigns to carry the channels games are on. Most existing EPL fans will probably either pay up or find workarounds, but I've got a feeling it will be a lot tougher for new fans to get interested in the game when it demands a substantial financial investment up front. That could hurt soccer's growth in Canada, and it's a shame that the fans are being targeted in the name of big money.

The Whole 110 Yards: The Comeback Boyd

2010-08-12T17:26:00.000-07:00

Photo: Toronto Argonauts' running back Cory Boyd (South Carolina) dives into the end zone for the tying touchdown in the last minute of the Toronto - Edmonton clash last Friday. The Argonauts won 29-28. [Dan Riedlhuber, Reuters]

Welcome to another edition of The Whole 110 Yards! Here's my breakdown of all of Week 6's CFL action and previews of the coming week.

Game of the Week: Toronto 29, Edmonton 28

A slow-starting game between two teams that aren't all that highly-regarded turned into a barnburner Friday night. 3-2 Toronto came out strong and scored 11 points in the first quarter on the road against a 1-4 Eskimos team that only picked up its first win the previous week. The Argonauts led 19-7 at the half, and it looked like this might be a blowout. Edmonton turned it on in the second half, though, with Arkee Whitlock (Southern Illinois) plunging one yard for a touchdown on the Eskimos' first drive. Slotback Jason Barnes (Sacramento State) then made a ridiculous play, catching a 45-yard end zone bomb from fellow ex-Hornet Ricky Ray with his knees in double coverage. Early in the fourth quarter, Jason Goss (Texas Christian) then picked off Toronto quarterback Cleo Lemon (Arkansas State) for a 49-yard interception return, and backup quarterback Jared Zabransky (Boise State) checked into the game and ran a bootleg in to put Edmonton up 28-19.

After doing nothing for most of the second half, Toronto finally came back to life in the dying moments. Lemon and running back Cory Boyd (South Carolina) orchestrated a drive that led to a Grant Shaw (Saskatchewan) field goal, pulling Toronto within six. It looked like the Argonauts might run out of time, but after a defensive stand, they pulled off a 94-yard drive (aided by a superb catch from former Tennessee Volunteer Jermaine Copeland and two pass interference penalties). The drive was capped off by Boyd's third touchdown of the day, which came on a one-yard run with only 22.8 seconds left and sealed the victory for Toronto.

Once again, Toronto won without a superb performance from Lemon. He finished the day 23 for 34 for 292 yards and a touchdown, but also gave up that critical interception. However, he kept them in the game and turned in a similar performance to the more-famed Ray, who completed 24 of 35 passes for 272 yards and a touchdown.

It was Boyd who really got it done for Toronto, though. He had a 25th birthday to remember, rushing 25 times for 164 yards and two touchdowns and then adding another 46 yards and a touchdown on four receptions. He's leading the league with 648 rushing yards, but has also kept a very good 6.5 yards per carry average. Much of the Argonauts' 4-2 record so far can probably be attributed to him, and if he can keep this level of production up, it could be a good season for the Boatmen.

Calgary 27, BC 22:

This game didn't particularly look like a clash of a 4-1 team and a 1-4 team. B.C. actually led 10-7 after the first quarter, and they only trailed 17-13 at halftime. Things went off the rails in the third quarter, though, particularly when Dwight Anderson (South Dakota) picked off an errant pass from Travis Lulay (Montana State) and returned it 48 yards to the Lions' 10. That interception was particularly ill-timed, as it came right on the heels of B.C.'s Stanley Franks (Idaho) picking off Henry Burris (Temple) and it was followed by Burris finding former Lion Ryan Thelwell (Minnesota) for a touchdown that gave the Stampeders an 11-point lead. B.C. pulled six points back in the fourth quarter with Jarious Jackson (Notre Dame) working reasonably well in relief of Lulay, but he too threw a crucial interception that sealed the Lions' fate. The Calgary offence wasn't overly impressive, with Burris only completing 22 of 32 passes for 238 yards and two touchdowns while being intercepted once, but they outshone the anemic B.C. offence and did enough to get the job done. They now lead the West Division with a 5-1 record, while B.C. is tied for last with a 1-5 record.

Montreal 30, Saskatchewan 26:

This was quite the game, which shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone who's followed the recent clashes between these two teams. Montreal led 10-7 after the first quarter and increased their lead to 17-7 partway through the second. However, Saskatchewan looked set to cut the lead to a single touchdown with a 42-yard field goal attempt from Luca Congi (Simon Fraser). The kick was wide, though, and Montreal's Tim Maypray (Virginia Military Institute) returned it 118 yards for a touchdown and a 10-point swing. Congi hit a field goal to narrow the gap a bit, but the Alouettes still led 24-10 at the half.

The Roughriders came out to play in the second half, though, particularly on defence. They held Montreal's high-powered offence to just 31 yards in the second half. Their offence then took advantage, adding three more Congi field goals and a touchdown pass from Darian Durant (North Carolina) to Wes Cates (California University of Pennsylvania) to pull within two points. Things then went wrong, though, as Andy Fantuz (Western) bobbled a pass from Durant and Chip Cox (Ohio) stepped in to intercept it. Montreal punted it back, but J.P. Bekasiak (Toledo) sacked Durant in the end zone to force a safety and a final Durant Hail Mary was batted down, sealing a Montreal victory.

It was an impressive performance from Durant, though, especially considering that he was fending off the effects of salmonella from eating undercooked chicken [Rob Vanstone, Regina Leader-Post via The Montreal Gazette]] after a July 10 game in B.C., as well as struggling with a thumb injury. He completed 35 of 62 passing attempts for 445 yards and two touchdowns, despite being picked off twice. If that's how he plays while feeling awful, the rest of the league had better watch out [Jamie Nye, NewsTalk 650] now that he's recovered.

Hamilton 29, Winnipeg 22:

There were a couple of interesting stories in this one. Hamilton kicker Sandro DeAngelis (Nebraska) had been struggling horribly this year, only hitting 58.3 of his field goals before Saturday's clash, but he went three-for-three on the day and credited the improvement to a discussion he had with former Tiger-Cats kicker Paul Osbaldiston about wind trends at Ivor Wynne Stadium. Winnipeg kicker Alexis Serna probably wishes he received the same advice; he was one for three on the day and was released later this week [Adam Wazny, Winnipeg Free Press]. Hamilton quarterback Kevin Glenn (Illinois State) and Winnipeg pivot Steven Jyles (Louisiana - Monroe) both turned in tremendous performances. Glenn completed 24 of 41 attempts for 371 yards and three touchdowns while being picked off once, while Jyles was 24 for 35 for 349 yards and two touchdowns. The real star was former Minnesota Golden Gopher Arland Bruce III, though, who's turned it on for Hamilton lately after a slow start to the year. He reeled in 11 passes for 197 yards and a touchdown, leading the Tiger-Cats to the win in the process. If he can keep that up, the Tiger-Cats' prospects look bright.

Former College Star of the Week: Jared Zabransky, Boise State

One of the great things about college football is the upsets, and in recent years, one of the most memorable ones is Boise State's 43-42 win [Spencer Hall, Every Day Should Be Saturday] over 7.5 point favourite Oklahoma in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl. Their quarterback for that game just happened to be one Jared Zabransky. You've probably seen these highlights of the game a million times, but they never get old (and yes, that is current Hamilton wide receiver Drisan James who's also prominently featured!).

Zabransky signed with the NFL's Houston Texans as a free agent after that game and then went to the Pittsburgh Steelers before winding up with Edmonton in 2009. However, he hadn't had many opportunities to run the kind of trick plays he did with Boise State until he spelled Ricky Ray for one play in Friday night's game (skip to 3:23).

Welcome back, Lord of Trickery. Good to have you in the CFL.

Off-Field Story of the Week: The Hamilton stadium mess. This has been an issue for a while, but it exploded this week when Tiger-Cats owner Bob Young withdrew from the stadium discussion Monday [Mark Masters, National Post]. Mayor Fred Eisenberger and council opted to go on without him and build at the West Harbour site Young believes is unsuitable for the team. That's led to speculation that the Ti-Cats could move anywhere from Ottawa to Moncton to Burlington to Quebec City [Drew Edwards, The Hamilton Spectator], and even tiny Milton, Ontario is throwing its hat into the ring [Masters]. There's a long way to go still, but unless things get worked out, Hamilton could build a stadium that sits vacant much of the time and have their CFL team leave anyway. This is going to be one of the most interesting off-field stories to follow this year.

Matchup of the Week: B.C. at Saskatchewan (9:00 p.m. Eastern tonight)

This should be an interesting one. The 1-5 Lions are off to their worst start ever in the Wally Buono era, so they'll be desperate to turn it around tonight. They're going to their third different starting quarterback of the year, former Notre Dame pivot Jarious Jackson. However, they're in a tough spot in Saskatchewan, facing a very talented 4-2 Roughriders team that now has quarterback Darian Durant back at full health [Murray McCormick, Regina Leader-Post]. The always-intimidating Rider fans should be fired up for tonight as well. Adding more fuel to the fire, legendary Saskatchewan receiver Don Narcisse was welcomed into the CFL Hall of Fame todayCP] along with Tracy Ham, Bob Cameron, Joe Pistilli and Elfrid Payton. The inductees will be honoured at tonight's game as well, which will add yet another interesting touch to this one. In the end, I think the Roughriders will be just too much for B.C.

Pick: Saskatchewan

Other games:

Hamilton at Winnipeg (8:30 p.m. Eastern Friday; I'll be running the CFL.ca Friday Night Football Live Chat with the usual gang for this one.

Pick: Hamilton

Montreal at Toronto (7:30 p.m. Eastern Saturday)

Pick: Montreal

Edmonton at Calgary (8:00 p.m. Eastern Sunday)

Pick: Calgary

Last week: 2-2

Season: 8-9

Thanks for reading The Whole 110 Yards! Tune in again next week for another edition.

Softball, Wakamatsu and the blame game

2010-08-10T07:58:00.001-07:00

I was in an amateur slo-pitch softball tournament in Revelstoke, B.C. over the weekend, and it brought some interesting ideas to my mind. For one thing, I left a lot of skin behind on the diamonds diving for fly balls in the outfield and sliding into the bases. As a result, I've got some rather painfully bunged-up knees and elbows. Conventional sports logic would suggest that it's hardly woth it to take that pain for so little gain; this was a rather unimportant tournament in the grand scheme of things. Yet, there was no question about it at the time; you do what you need to play hard and win, regardless of the stakes or the level competition. At the same time, though, it was refreshing to be participating in a sport that was just for fun.

The most interesting element of the tournament was that there wasn't a lot of blame passed around, though. Yes, people on every team screwed up, but the focus was on encouragement and getting it right the next time rather than assigning blame and finding scapegoats. That marked a refreshing change from the world of professional sports, where so much of the analysis focuses on who did what wrong.

I think elements of that approach could perhaps benefit professional sports, though. Yes, there's a need to identify past mistakes, but it seems often that changes are made not to better prepare a team for the future but as punishment for their past failures. One example that happened yesterday was the Seattle Mariners' decision to fire manager Don Wakamatsu; as Jerry Brewer of The Seattle Times wrote, the move seemed to be more about finding a scapegoat for the team's disappointing season than any belief that Wakamatsu wasn't the best manager going forward. Last year, he demonstrated a great ability to work with and develop players; this year, he received remarkably little support from head office and was saddled with an inferior lineup sure to cause problems, including a rebellious Eric Byrnes and a almost-useless Ken Griffey Jr. who refused to admit his declining skills. As Joe Posnanski wrote, many people (including me) bought into the Mariners in the off season, creating artificially high expectations that probably weren't realistic. When the team failed to live up to those, a scapegoat was sought and Wakamatsu was chosen.

In contrast, a pair of CFL teams have made smarter personnel decisions that have looked at the future as well as assigning blame for the past. The Edmonton Eskimos recently fired general manager Danny Maciocia after the team's first victory of the season. There was an element of blame for past failures there, but also a recognition that Maciocia might not be the best person to move the team forward; their issues clearly were at least partly due to their personnel, and had been for several years. The B.C. Lions also have looked to the future thus far, electing to keep head coach and general manager Wally Buono despite the team's 1-5 start. It's a rare unsuccessful year for Buono, and his team's been close in almost every game. The Lions do have issues, but they have plenty of talented players and their future could be very bright. So far, they've wisely focused on what's best for that future rather than assigning blame for the past, and that's good to see. If only the Mariners had followed suit, their future might look brighter than it does right now.

Find all the best pubs for the next match at YellowPages.ca.

The Whole 110 Yards: Maciocia left holding the bag

2010-08-06T07:40:00.000-07:00

Photo: Some Edmonton Eskimos fans resorted to the ever-popular "bag on the head" look last Friday against the B.C. Lions. The Eskimos came away with a 28-25 win, their first of the season, but general manager Danny Maciocia was fired after the game anyway [Dan Riedlhuber, Reuters]

Welcome to another edition of The Whole 110 Yards! Here's my breakdown of all of Week 5's CFL action and previews of the coming week.

Game of the week: Edmonton 28, B.C. 25

This was a surprisingly interesting Friday Night Football clash between the 1-3 Lions and the 0-4 Eskimos. There wasn't a lot of offence at first, but there was a little juice added after a lightning storm forced an early halftime break.

B.C. took a 25-21 lead with eight minutes to go when Yonus Davis (San Jose State) returned a kickoff 88 yards for a touchdown, but Edmonton quarterback Ricky Ray (Sacramento State) found Kelly Campbell (Georgia Tech) for a 46-yard gain on the ensuing drive and then hit Andre Talbot (Wilfrid Laurier) on a 15-yard touchdown pass. Trailing 28-25, the Lions had an excellent chance to win or at least tie the game on their final drive, but quarterback Travis Lulay (Montana State) fumbled the ball and Edmonton recovered and ran out the clock.

For B.C., it was a very disappointing performance offensively, especially from Lulay. After a promising debut as a starter the week before against Toronto, where he completed 26 of 40 passes for 330 yards (but was picked off twice), Lulay's production fell off a cliff this week. He finished with 16 completions on 26 attempts for 134 yards, was picked off twice and fumbled three times (only losing one, however). He did get things done on the ground, though, rushing seven times for 62 yards and a touchdown, and he could have picked up a win with a little more luck, but he'll need to be better to be a serviceable starter in the CFL.

For Edmonton, their quarterback looked like the Ricky Ray of old, not the Rachael Ray version that's shown up more frequently this season. He completed 25 of 34 passes for 360 yards and two touchdowns, although he was picked off once. He also spread the ball around: Fred Stamps (Louisiana-Lafayette) had five catches for 118 yards, while Campbell had eight for 97 and Talbot had six for 75.

Despite the win, though, Eskimos general manager Danny Maciocia was fired the next day [The Province]. It's tough to question the decision considering that the Eskimos have struggled mightily in recent years, and an 0-4 start is never good for anyone's job prospects. Moreover, the Eskimos' problems this year have been more thanks to personnel than scheme or coaching in my mind, so it makes sense to axe Maciocia before he could fire head coach Richie Hall in an attempt to save his own skin. The timing is very curious, but this may be a good move for Edmonton.

Other games:

Calgary 23, Winnipeg 20:
Both teams have had their share of struggles this year, but this was still surprisingly close. Calgary has a talented roster that just hasn't produced the way they can, while Winnipeg's in more of a rebuilding mode after the disastrous Mike Kelly era, but the Bombers kept this very close and could have come away with the win. Stampeders' pivot Henry Burris (Temple) had his best game of the season so far, completing 28 of 38 passes for 340 yards and two touchdowns, but the Calgary running back tandem of Joffrey Reynolds (Houston) and Jon Cornish (Kansas) was held to only 39 yards on 11 carries. For Winnipeg, RB Fred Reid (Mississippi State) was the key figure, rushing 12 times for 75 yards and a touchdown.

Saskatchewan 37, Hamilton 24:

It was a night of individual efforts for Hamilton. Wide receiver Arland Bruce III (Minnesota) tied a CFL record with 16 catches for 272 yards, quarterback Kevin Glenn (Illinois State) threw for 425 yards and three touchdowns (but was picked off twice), and slotback Dave Stala (Saint Mary's) delivered the touchdown celebration of the year so far:

Still, the Tiger-Cats fell in a game that wasn't even close. Saskatchewan may have lost the statistical battle, but they won the scoreboard one, and that's what really matters in the end.

Montreal 41, Toronto 10: Not too much you can really say about this one. Montreal's still a dominant force, and Toronto isn't, despite their improvement this year. The Alouettes look to still be the class of the East Division.

Matchup of the Week: Saskatchewan at Montreal (7 p.m. Eastern/4 p.m. Pacific tonight)

This rematch of last year's Grey Cup has the potential to be one of the best regular-season games so far this year. Montreal and Saskatchewan have both found their form from last campaign after slow starts, and they again have looked like two of the league's strongest teams. If they both come out to play, we could see some fireworks tonight. Montreal's impressed me more to date, though, so I think they take this.

Pick: Montreal

Other games:

Toronto at Edmonton: (tonight, 10 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Pacific)

Look for the Eskimos to build off last week's momentum in this one. Can Toronto rebound from a thumping by Montreal to come away with a road win? My guess is no.

Pick: Edmonton

Winnipeg at Hamilton: (tomorrow, 7 p.m. Eastern/4 p.m. Pacific)

It's another battle of two of the league's most inconsistent teams. Both of these teams have looked very good at times, but very weak at other times. Much will depend on who gets the stronger quarterbacking performance, and I'd bet on Kevin Glenn ahead of Steven Jyles.

Pick: Hamilton

Calgary at B.C.:

The Lions are feeling the heat, and they'll have to start producing some wins soon. This isn't going to be easy, though, as Calgary finally lived up to their potential last week. However, if the Lions get a boost from the home crowd at Empire Field and a half-decent quarterbacking performance, they just might be able to come away with the upset win.

Pick: B.C.

Thanks for reading The Whole 110 Yards! Tune in next week for more.

The Whole 110 Yards: Saskatchewan ridden down

2010-07-31T14:30:00.000-07:00

Photo: Saskatchewan Roughriders defensive back Leron Mitchell (Western) tries unsuccessfully to block Calgary Stampeders receiver Deon Murphy (Kansas State) last Saturday. Calgary won 40-20. [Zuma Press]

Welcome to another edition of The Whole 110 Yards! Here's the breakdown on all of Week 4's CFL action. Sorry this is later than usual; it's been a hectic week around here. I'll try to get the Week 5 edition up early this coming week.

Game of the week: Calgary 40, Saskatchewan 20

This was a pretty remarkable result, if not a remarkable game. Calgary had looked very vulnerable the week before, falling 27-24 to Toronto in last week's Game Of The Week, while the defending West Division champion Roughriders rolled into Calgary's McMahon Stadium with a 3-0 record.

Stampeders' quarterback Henry Burris (Temple) finally displayed some of his usual form, though, completing 21 of 31 passes for 279 yards and four touchdowns. He was picked off twice, but he also got some much-needed help on the ground from running back Joffrey Reynolds (Houston), who recovered from a subpar outing the previous week to rush 15 times for 93 yards and a touchdown, and Reynolds' backfield mate Jon Cornish (Kansas), who picked up 77 yards on five carries. Receivers Romby Bryant (Tulsa), Nik Lewis (Southern Arkansas) and P.K. Sam (Florida State) all had a touchdown catch, and Bryant picked up 117 yards and two touchdowns on seven catches. Weston Dressler (North Dakota) had a good game for Saskatchewan (9 catches for 125 yards and a touchdown), but Darian Durant (North Carolina) was mediocre; despite throwing for an impressive 354 yards and one touchdown, he only completed 22 of 37 passes and was picked off three times.

In the long run, I'm not sure this result will mean all that much. Saskatchewan still seems like the class of the West to me, despite a very rough outing here. This was a great performance from Calgary, but they haven't been the most consistent team yet, and they'll have to find that consistency if they want to challenge the Riders' dominance in the long term. This might be the first step down that road, though.

Other games:

Toronto 24, B.C. 20:

Last week's Friday Night Football offering was quite the contest. B.C. came out of the gate strong with a solid performance from quarterback Travis Lulay (Montana State), who was making his first CFL start in relief of Casey Printers (TCU). Jamal Robertson (Ohio Northern) saw a few more carries than he had the previous week and rushed for two touchdowns, although he only picked up 54 yards on 12 carries on the day. By contrast, Argos' quarterback Cleo Lemon (Arkansas State) started very slowly and they only remained in the game through the superlative performance of running back Cory Boyd (South Carolina), who showed off his ESS EEE CEE speed against the Lions, rushing 19 times for 148 yards. Towards the end, though, Lulay and the Lions faltered and Lemon and the Argos improved. Both quarterbacks finished with not-overly-impressive stat lines (Lulay was 26 for 40 for 330 yards with two picks, while Lemon was 19 for 28 for 222 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions), but Lulay doomed his team with a pick-six to Byron Parker (Tulane) in the final moments, while Lemon recovered from his early struggles to lead a Toronto comeback. Really, though, the Argos were 3-1 after this and the Lions were 1-3, but there's been very little separating the two teams' play so far. The Argos have found a way to win and the Lions haven't, and that tells you a lot about the roles of luck and late-game mistakes in this league.

Montreal 37, Hamilton 14: This could have been a battle of the two teams expected to contend for the East Division crown this year, but it was really more of the traditional massacre. Anthony Calvillo (Utah State) was his usual self, completing 28 of 38 passes for 310 yards and two touchdowns. AC didn't get a lot of help in the run game, as Avon Cobourne (West Virginia) only carried eight times for 55 yards, but Calvillo remained cool under pressure regardless and spread the ball around, rewarding four different receivers with at least five catches. Kevin Glenn (Illinois State) struggled under centre for Hamilton, completing only 16 of 32 passes before giving way to Quinton Porter (Boston College), and the Ticats couldn't run the ball either; former Michigan State Spartan DeAndra Cobb only picked up 25 yards on eight carries while fumbling once. Hamilton's got a ways to go before they catch up to Montreal.

Winnipeg 47, Edmonton 21: Not much to say about this one. Edmonton continued their winless season with a horrid performance, while Winnipeg's offence looked pretty potent under backup QB Steven Jyles (UL Monroe), who completed 14 of 22 for 267 yards and a touchdown. He was picked off twice, but Edmonton couldn't do anything offensively and the outcome was never really in question.

Former College Star Of The Week: Jon Cornish, Kansas

Cornish had a tremendous performance this week for Calgary. He only saw limited backfield duty, spelling Joffrey Reynolds, but he made the most of his opportunities, rushing five times for 77 yards. He's an interesting story, as he's a Canadian who grew up in New Westminster, B.C. and played basketball, track and football at Burnaby's famed St. Thomas More Collegiate high school. He opted for the NCAA route and didn't see too much time in his first couple of seasons at Kansas, but ran for 780 yards as a junior, was selected in the second round of the CFL draft by Calgary and then set the Jayhawks' all-time single-season rushing record as a senior, running for 1,457 yards and leading the Big 12 in rushing yards. He put up 201 yards and two touchdowns against Kansas State in 2006. He's part of an ever-emerging corps of Canadian running backs in the CFL, and if he keeps this up, he looks likely to be a CFL star in the coming years.

Off-field Story Of The Week: The Braley Bowl! [Mark Masters, National Post]. Last week's Lions-Argos game saw the first clash in CFL history where both teams were owned by the same man, Senator David Braley. I don't think that's ever happened in the NFL, but it did in the XFL (thanks to Vince McMahon owning everything), it still does in MLS and it used to in hockey. Frankly, as I wrote back in 2009 when it came out that Braley had loaned money to the Argos (before he bought them outright), there are far more troubling ownership situations in other sports. This could cause problems if it was someone else, but Braley tends to be a relatively hands-off guy on the football side, so the biggest problem it might create is his decision on who to cheer for. Last Friday, he took the diplomatic route, wearing a Hamilton Tiger-Cats shirt (the team he used to own) instead of either Lions or Argos apparel.

Matchup of the week: Hamilton at Saskatchewan (6:30 p.m. Eastern/3:30 p.m. Pacific Saturday, on TSN in Canada and NFL Network in the States).

This could be an interesting one. Both teams are coming off humiliating losses, and they'll be eager to avenge them. I think the Riders will take it, though; they have home-field advantage, so they'll be backed by hordes of green-clad, watermelon-headed fans, and they're just a stronger team.

Pick: Saskatchewan

Other games:

Winnipeg at Calgary (9:30 p.m. Eastern/6:30 p.m. Pacific tonight, TSN)

Pick: Calgary

Montreal 41, Toronto 10 (Thursday)

Pick: Montreal (on Twitter)

Edmonton 28, B.C. 25 (Friday)

Pick: B.C. (on Twitter)

Last week: 1-3

Season: 6-7

Scribblings of the Scribes of Sport: The World Is A Ball by John Doyle

2010-07-26T13:41:00.002-07:00

The Scribblings of the Scribes of Sport book review series is back! Leave your own thoughts on the book in the comments below, or get in touch with me at andrew_bucholtz@hotmail.com if you have suggestions for other books for me to review!

The World Is A Ball: The Joy, Madness and Meaning of Soccer, by John Doyle

The World Cup is over, but soccer rolls on. North American soccer is in full swing, and things are looking good for Canadian teams at the moment, with Toronto FC finding success in MLS and Vancouver and Montreal both having solid USSF Division II campaigns. There have been plenty of interesting international friendlies, including the Kansas City Wizards' surprising win over Manchester United [The Telegraph] yesterday, and the English Premier League's set to kick off in just a few short weeks.

With soccer, and particularly with major international competitions, it's important to remember that it's about much more than just the results. Sure, we'll remember Spain's victory down the road, but we'll also remember individual moments such as Bastian Schweinsteiger's run through the Argentina team, Luis Suarez's memorable handball against Ghana, Robert Green's "Hand Of Clod" moment in England's opener against the U.S., the French team's mutiny falling out with Raymond Domenech. and Maicon's incredible goal from an impossible angle against North Korea:

Soccer's story goes beyond the field of play as well, though, and that's much of the focus of John Doyle's superlative book, The World Is A Ball. Doyle is an arts columnist for The Globe and Mail, focusing on television, but he's also written about soccer for them for much of the last decade. The book is primarily a chronicle of Doyle's adventures covering the 2002 and 2006 World Cups and the 2004 and 2008 European Championships, but it's a particularly good read because Doyle doesn't limit himself to the on-pitch action. He discusses the atmosphere in each host country, the various fans he encountered and the struggles he ran into with hotels and transportation. The differences between countries and how they embrace the tournament are particularly notable, especially in Doyle's account of the jointly-hosted 2002
World Cup, where the South Koreans got wrapped up in the tournament's excitement while the Japanese quietly waited for it to go away. Dutch, English, Italian and Brazilian fans all are featured prominently, and Doyle's writing gives us a great sense of how the beautiful game is seen so differently by each culture.

Doyle's tales of the various games also remain highly interesting even years after the fact, and I'd imagine part of that is because of scarcity. The scarcity of goals in soccer as compared to other sports tends to make many of the goals memorable, even those that lack aesthetic quality on their own. For me at least, it's far easier
to remember the notable moment of a 1-0 soccer game years after the fact than the crucial goal in a 5-4 hockey game, the most important play in a 28-21 football game or the key shot in a 102-100 basketball game. Those sports have their transcendent and memorable moments too, but not as many.

Scarcity also comes into play on the tournament level. Doyle's book covers almost a decade of soccer, but only four major tournaments (and the leadup to a fifth, this year's World Cup). With big tournaments only rolling around every two years, and the largest in the World Cup only coming every four years, each tournament becomes a massive experience in and of itself. Reading Doyle's book, I vividly remembered where I was for each tournament and for most of the individual games and goals as well. That's not the case for the NHL, MLB, NBA or NFL playoffs; each interest me while they're on, but only a few specific plays, games and even championships really stand out looking back. I think FIFA's been wise to keep their big tournaments so staggered; the qualification process is always intense and thorough, and there's always club soccer, so it's not like the sport stagnates in between big events, but around major tournaments, the interest rises to a fever pitch no other sport can match. That's a large part of what makes this book so compelling; it's not just a bland retelling of what happened, but rather a grand narrative looking at momentous events through prisms of culture, fandom and nationality.

Two sections of the book really stood out for me. The first is right near the beginning, where Doyle gets into the Mick McCarthy - Roy Keane feud that was such a big story at the 2002 World Cup. Doyle's Irish heritage and his journalistic background gives him a unique perspective on the issue, as he approaches it both from the standpoint of an Irish fan and from the position of a journalist who can see both sides. The second comes close to the end, where Doyle goes to Argentina to watch the team attempt to qualify under Diego Maradona. The stories he tells there are fascinating, and provide a lot of insight into Maradona's actions at this year's World Cup.

One minor quibble I have with Doyle's book is his tendency to complain about England. He's quite right that they're often overrated by many fans, commentators and pundits, but I think he goes too far the other way and passes them off as just another run-of-the-mill side. England had some tremendous players this decade, and they made the quarterfinals in the 2002 and 2006 World Cups and Euro 2004.That's not great considering their talent, but it's certainly not bad either.

Apart from that, though, The World Is A Ball is a fascinating read. Reliving the tournaments and games is a lot of fun, but what really makes the book stand out is its accounts of visiting fans and the differing local cultures in each country. Doyle goes beyond the typical stereotypes to present detailed pictures such as the non-hooligan English supporters, the distinctions between former West German and East German cities, and how Switzerland and Austria handled Euro 2008 very differently. It's these vignettes that give the book its power and help it truly describe how a round world revolves around a simple game.

Whitecaps earn draw with Minnesota

2010-07-25T20:52:00.005-07:00

In a twist from three days earlier, the Vancouver Whitecaps came hard out of the gate against the NSC Minnesota Stars—and initially, they wound up worse off for their troubles. In the end, their efforts were rewarded, but not to the degree they would have hoped for as they finished with a 1-1 draw.

"It was two points lost," head coach Teitur Thordarson said. "I think we played well, especially in the first half. ... I think we still played well in the second half, but there wasn't the energy and there wasn't the intensity."

Unlike Thursday’s game against Portland where they started slow but came on late in the half and collected the match’s first goal, Vancouver controlled the play early on and created plenty of great chances. Marc Weber of The Province tweeted that it looked like a 3-0 Vancouver victory, and I concurred.

The game changed dramatically in the 28th minute on a counterattack when Johnny Meyongar sent Simone Bracalello through with a perfect long ball and Bracalello beat Jay Nolly with a tremendous strike from about 25 yards out. Energized by the goal, Minnesota began playing better defence and taking away some of Vancouver’s possession. The Whitecaps seemed somewhat stunned by the change in their fortunes and limped into the half.

The first half didn't produce the results for the Whitecaps it did against Portland, but it was a much better effort from Vancouver. Thordarson said he didn't change the pre-game approach, but his team came out a lot stronger.

"We were still focusing on having a go at them," Thordarson said. "We managed better today to keep posesssion in the open field. ... I thought we played extremely well in the first half."

The second half featured less stellar play, but it produced better results for Vancouver. Chances went back and forth, with Martin Nash narrowly missing in the 49th minute and Nolly diving to get one hand on a Bracalello long-range blast. The Whitecaps finally got on the scoreboard in the 67th minute when Marlon James, making his first appearance since May thanks to injury, set up Cornelius Stewart. Stewart fed Nash near the top of the six yard box, and Nash deked a defender, pulled it onto his left foot and beat keeper Matthew VanOekel.

Vancouver poured on the pressure after that, but the Minnesota defence held. Residency products Alex Elliott and Alex Semenets, the latter of whom was making his first-team competitive debut, gave good accounts of themselves as substitutes, but they couldn’t find the net. James narrowly missed in the 80th minute and Takashi Hirano sent a 25-yard free kick just high in the 86th minute. In addition to dominating the possession, the Whitecaps outshot Minnesota 16-7 and had nine corners to the Stars' two, but all the offence came to naught and they finished with only a single point.

Thordarson said he was impressed with his young players' performances.

"These are guys with great talents," he said.

According to Thordarson, the recent moves to trade Ricardo Sanchez and Jonny Steele and release Justin Moose were partly due to a desire to see what he had in his young players.

"Quite a bit, but it's more about trying to get together a roster we think is right to move forward with," he said.

Nash said the roster turnover has been a bit difficult to adjust to personally.

"It's tough," he said. "I've made friends with these guys over the past years."

Nash said he thinks the team has made the adjustment well on the pitch, though, despite the recent lack of results. He chalked part of that up to familiarity with many of the young players through their time in the Residency system and their occasional first-team appearances.

"They're all players who have been around us," he said.

Nash said he was comfortable working with Ethan Gage in central midfield thanks to the youngster's presence with the first team on and off over the past few years.

"Ethan's been kind of in and out for a while, but we know he can do it," Nash said.

The team may have adjusted to their new lineup, but they haven't produced the desired results yet. After a 1-1-2 record on this homestand, they head out on a five-game road trip and won't be back home until August 29. Nash said the recent results may be concerning, but the team's play isn't.

"I thought we had a great start to the game and we had a great first half," he said. "Tonight, we deserved more than a draw. We're playing well, we just have to find a way to win."

[Cross-posted to The 24th Minute]

Whitecaps - Minnesota live blog

2010-07-25T16:44:00.000-07:00

The weekend of Whitecaps coverage continues here and at The 24th Minute. I'll be live-blogging tonight's clash against the NSC Minnesota Stars. Kickoff is at 10 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Pacific. Here are match previews from Simon Fudge of WhitecapsFC.com and Marc Weber of The Province. Check them out, then join me at 7 for the live blog!

Vancouver Whitecaps - NSC Minnesota Stars

Whitecaps women off to Final Four

2010-07-24T18:26:00.001-07:00

The Vancouver Whitecaps will be heading to the W-League Final Four for the first time since they hosted the tournament and claimed the championship in 2006. They sealed a berth today with a 2-1 victory in the Western Conference final against the rival Pali Blues in front of 1,712 fans at Swangard Stadium, but it wasn’t an easy one.

Keeper Siobhan Chamberlain turned in a tremendous performance for Vancouver, turning away four shots, including one that went off her and then off the post. She said it was a thrilling experience despite the pressure.

"I enjoyed this one, although it was hard work," she said. "You need a bit of luck sometimes and we got it today."

Pali began with a lot of pressure, but the scoring chances they generated were repelled by the Vancouver defence. Emily Zurrer and Martina Franko stood strong in the middle, while Robyn Gayle and Chelsea Stewart were solid on the wing and Chamberlain made some key stops. Still, Pali easily could have pocketed a couple of goals in the early going if luck had been on their side.

Vancouver broke the game open in the 35th minute when Desiree Scott crossed it across the field to Gayle, who delivered a lovely ball in to Melissa Tancredi. Tancredi made no mistake, heading it home past Pali keeper Chante Sandiford from short range to give Vancouver a 1-0 lead. Six minutes later, Gayle sent in a great free kick for Tancredi, who crossed it to the wide-open Amy Vermeulen. Vermeulen made no mistake, burying the shot from six yards out to put the Whitecaps up 2-0. It looked like they were well on their way to victory.

The momentum shifted after halftime, though. The Blues put on pressure and created several good chances, but they still couldn’t beat Chamberlain. That changed in the 61st minute when Julie Bukh delivered a perfect free kick from 30 yards out to defender Sara Gama, who finished off a superb run with a terrific header that beat Chamberlain and pulled Pali within one.

Both sides continued to go for goal, and they each had their chances. Tancredi delivered a tremendous strike from 25 yards out that Sandiford punched off the bar. The rebound fell for Melanie Booth, who volleyed it wide. Christen Press and Janice Cayman each had chances for Pali, but they couldn’t convert and the match finished 2-1.

Head coach Hubert Busby Jr. said the close game followed a pattern the team's seen all season.

"We always try to make it interesting for the fans," he said with a laugh.

Busby said Pali's three-defender formation caught the Whitecaps by surprise at first, and they weren't prepared for the waves of attackers heading at their goal.

"We tried to make adjustments during the game," he said.

He was particularly impressed with Chamberlain's performance in goal.

"She made some key saves at key moments."

Defender Martina Franko concurred with that assessment.

"She had the game of her season," Franko said. "She just showed leadership and made saves when needed."

It was Tancredi who won the game for Vancouver, though, scoring one goal and setting up the other. Busby said her performance didn't surprise him.

"She's been our MVP," he said. "She's a very experienced player, she knows how to get the goals."

Tancredi said it was a terrific feeling to see off a long-time rival.

"I feel great," she said. "This is a great win against Pali, again. I'm kind of sick of playing them, but it was great."

She said she was worried when they conceded a goal in the second half, though.

"I was kind of afraid because we have kind of a tendency to let teams back in games," she said.

Tancredi attributed Vancouver's eventual success to the decision to keep attacking rather than sitting back and defending.

"We kept pressure, kept going, and it worked for us."

The Final Four starts next week in California. The semifinals will take place Thursday, with the final set for Saturday. The Whitecaps men are back in action tomorrow night at 7 p.m. Pacific against Minnesota; I'll be live-blogging that one so come back then!

[Cross-posted to The 24th Minute]

Whitecaps women - Pali Blues live blog

2010-07-24T14:52:00.000-07:00

It's time for a bit of different blogging coverage today, as I'll be heading to Swangard Stadium to live blog the Whitecaps' women's team in their W-League Western Conference playoff clash against the Pali Blues. Alan Douglas has a preview of the game and who to watch over at whitecapsfc.com. The game's at 7 p.m. Eastern/4 p.m. Pacific, so come swing by then for the live blog!

Vancouver Whitecaps women - Pali Blues

Whitecaps fall to Timbers, lose Cascadia Cup

2010-07-23T15:57:00.000-07:00

Last night's 2-1 Portland Timbers victory over the Vancouver Whitecaps was an odd game for a variety of reasons. For one thing, Portland had won only one of their last 17 matches at Swangard Stadium and hadn't won there in six years [Prost Amerika]. The victory also allowed Portland to retain the Cascadia Cup [Simon Fudge, WhitecapsFC.com]. Furthermore, the result was probably pretty fair given the overall flow of the game, but it came in a highly unexpected way.

The Timbers dominated the first half of play, but didn't come away with much to show for it. Vancouver had a few early chances as well, but they looked disorganized at the back at times and not terribly dangerous in attack. George Josten really should have opened the scoring for Portland; he had a tremendous chance in the 26th minute that was nullified by an offensive foul, and had another chance in the 29th minute, but drilled a rebound wide from five yards out.

The second half was a different story. The Whitecaps were fired up coming out of the break, and they took the lead six minutes in when Phillipe Davies ran down the right flank and picked out Nizar Khalfan in front, who blasted a tight-angle shot home from close range. It was Davies' first-ever point for the Whitecaps [Marc Weber, The Province] and Khalfan's second goal of the year.

The weirdness continued from there, though. For a while, it looked like Vancouver would take over the game, but momentum abruptly shifted when the ever-dangerous Ryan Pore broke away from the pack. Greg Janicki went after him and brought him down from behind, receiving a red card for his efforts and conceding a penalty. Pore stepped up and clinically drilled it into the bottom-left corner to tie the match; Vancouver keeper Jay Nolly guessed right, but couldn't quite get a hand on it. The call changed the landscape of the game, and it stirred up some controversy.

Whitecaps' captain Martin Nash said after the game he understands the foul being called, but he didn't think it should have been a penalty or an ejection.

"You're going to get that call pretty much all the time, but, for me, I think he was outside the box when it happened," Nash said.

Vancouver head coach Teitur Thordarson said he also didn't agree with the decision to award a penalty.

"I don't think so," he said. "It happened outside the box from where I was standing."

Thordarson said the call knocked the Whitecaps off balance.

"After the penalty, we were a little irritated and lost focus a little bit," he said.

That lost focus proved critical. Only six minutes later, Portland sent a free kick in towards the top of the box. There appeared to be a communication mixup on the defence, causing Nolly to come a long way out for it. He couldn't collect, and the loose ball eventually fell to Timbers' defender Mamadou Danso, who put the winner home.

Nolly took the blame afterwards, saying a goal like that was a tough way to lose.

"I took a bad run at it, I think two or three of us missed it and it was just a scrum ball," he said. "It's just tough to lose like that."

Nolly was particularly disappointed to lose the last second-division Cascadia Cup competition. Vancouver, Portland and Seattle will all compete for the trophy again in MLS next season, but that didn't take the sting out of this one for him.

"We lost the Cascadia Cup at home and it's frustrating," he said. "As a player, you want to win every cup that's out there."

What frustrated Thordarson more than the loss of the cup was a late Bright Dike tackle on Takashi Hirano that only earned a yellow card, although it capped off an evening of tough tackles and rough play.

"I usually do not criticize referees, but there were a lot of things that weren't called," Thordarson said. "That last challenge on Taka was a straight red."

There were positive signs for the Whitecaps, though. Only a few days after shipping out a pair of highly-regarded veteran midfielders in Jonny Steele and Ricardo Sanchez, they didn't appear too much worse for the trade. Nash and Luca Bellisomo continued their strong play in central midfield, with Blake Wagner and Phillipe Davies threatening on the wings. Alex Elliott, Ethan Gage and Justin Moose also appeared impressive in relief. The trade means the Whitecaps' reliance on young players has gone even further, but Thordarson said he isn't too worried about a lack of experience on the bench.

"Those guys who were on the 18-man roster today, we feel that they are good enough," he said. "We could have had a bit more experience out there, but young and fresh is always good."

A pair of young players who have been particularly impressive lately are striker Cornelius Stewart (who left thanks to injury in the 79th minute) and midfielder-turned-striker Nizar Khalfan. Thordarson said he likes the strike-force pairing the two have formed.

"They have been very good together, and very important to our team," Thordarson said. "They help each other out all the time, and hopefully they'll just keep getting better."

The Whitecaps will need them and their other young players to keep getting better quickly, though. Vancouver is still in first place in the NASL Conference, but losses like Thursday night's will be significant setbacks. They don't have a lot of turnaround time, either, as they host Minnesota Sunday night at 7 p.m. Pacific (10 p.m. Eastern). I'll be live-blogging that one here and at The 24th Minute; come join me then!