State of...Heroics

It's become almost a regular occurrence to read about some NFL goon getting caught with possession of drugs, or weapon charges, or attempted murder. So it's refreshing to hear about the good sports stories. Yesterday's Edmonton Sun had a great story that made me stand up and cheer.

Kitwana Jones is his name. For those of you who don't follow the CFL (and trust me, that's just about everyone), Kitwana is a defensive end for the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League. At 6'0, 240 pounds he is a somewhat imposing specimen (albeit nothing to compared to some of the NFL giants that roam the gridiron), but on the field he is just another averaged size athlete. Running down a would-be purse snatcher is a different story altogether.

While driving around town Kitwana heard a lady screaming. He slowed down the vehicle and was able to make out the cry "Help, Help". An older woman had just had her purse and laptop stolen by a petty thief. Kitwana took off like a sprinter and chased the man down "in seconds" and tackled him. He held him down, and maybe threw a few kicks in for good measure, and waited for the cops to arrive. While he waited he angrily asked "Why are you out here trying to beat up old women?". I don't know what response he got, but...

Can you imagine this man tackling you on the hard concrete?

I wonder how many of us, let alone star athletes, would do what KJ did. Literally he put him self in harms way for a complete stranger. Can you see T.O. stopping his tricked out Escalade (just a guess) to help an old lady? HA HA. Not in a million years. I'm not picking on T.O. in particular (okay, maybe just a bit)...I'm not sure that even I would do such a thing. The guy could be carrying a gun, knife, or whatever. I'd certainly call the cops...but would I get out of my car and run down the guy? Most likely....hells no.

When asked about his act of courage he said: “I’d put myself at risk for anybody, any day. I don’t have much fear for anything except God.” Kudos to you Kitwana! My hat goes off to you. You've done the Eskimos proud.

I might actually tune in the the next CFL game on TV (I think they air at 4 am on Tuesday mornings here).

Cheers,

LW

State of...Winning

I guess I only have myself to blame for this one. Since my last post about the all-time greatest athletes I have found myself a little more interested in the Tour de France than normal. I wouldn't usually pay it any attention whatsoever...but since Lance is back and the hype machine is running at full force I thought I'd follow it a bit. And that's where my confusion comes in.

Is this a team sport? Is it individual? To the best of my knowledge (which is limited I know), no individual rider can participate in the Tour. You need to have a team. And no rider can win the Tour without the full support of his team. There's certain procedure that the "lead rider" need to follow in order to win. Lance couldn't have won all those titles without the help of his team. Without the team taking part of the drafting and leading and strategy he would be slaughtered by other riders.

If this is the case, and that a team is so valuable, why does the team not get recognition on the podium? Lance Armstrong and his "teammate" Alberto Contador are in a battle for who is the team leader, i.e. who will be supported by the rest of the team in order to ensure a "team" (individual) victory. Contador even recently validated my above sentiment: "Believe me, everyone who wants to win a Tour needs a team - to win the Tour de France on your own, it's impossible." And about the most important part of the Tour: "We still have two weeks to go, the most important thing is that Astana wins in Paris."

Is this a team sport or an individual one? If it's a team sport then why isn't the "TEAM" recognized when an individual wins a stage? And if it's an individual sport, then why do all riders insist that a team is needed.

Normally I'd be all for this sort of selfless, for-the-good-of-the-team, we are family type nonsense...but for some reason it annoys me here. The idea that most of these riders are there only to support their team leader is ridiculous. And who's to say that the team leader is the best rider out of the team? It certainly appears that Contador is a better rider than Lance, but I'm sure Lance was the one that they have/had focused on getting the yellow jersey. Has that changed now that Contador broke away from his team?

You play to win the game. Why compete if you're not going to try and win? And if you're going to compete, why not try to win. You play to win the game. In the end, the Tour de France winner is an individual, NOT a team. So why not do everything in your power to beat EVERYONE (not just the other teams). This whole take-on-for-the-team attitude in an individual sport is silly. You play to win the game. (Bitch aren't you proud of me?!)

Maybe someone can explain this to me, but it makes the whole Tour seem frivolous. It makes it feel rigged for some reason. I know that these guys are in fantastic shape and have put in years and years of training...but that's my point - why spend all that time so you can help your teammate win? I'd say "Sack up" but it would be in poor taste...so I'll just say this: PLAY LIKE A CHAMPION! Go for the win!

Cheers,
LW

State of...Egomania

I was beginning to think that my gut was leading me astray, but it's good to know that I've still got it. A few months ago I posted about LeBron. I was a little harsh on him at the time and when I saw a nice interview a few weeks later I decided that I had been too quick to judge. Well, boy was I wrong!

This guy is an out-of-control egomaniac! Reports are coming out (here) that LeBron recently had an embarrassing moment. He was dunked on by a college kid in a friendly game of pickup basketball. Apparently there were two camera men filming the event when the dunking took place. LeBron called over his representative from Nike and a minute later that same rep asked both camera men for their tapes.

There were no issues with the filming of this UNTIL the King was dunked on. And of course we can't have THAT getting out in the public can we? Much better to have a story come out that you are an EGOMANIAC!!! What, you can't handle that someone was able to dunk on you? All the greatest players have had these moments - but you don't see Michael Jordan asking to have the tapes destroyed. It happens, get over it you scum-bag!

LeBron, you're never going to be perfect. Nobody is. Michael Phelps got beaten in the pool (by a Canadian no less) a few weeks ago. You didn't see him whine about it and ask for people to cover it up. The great Albert Pujols even strikes out from time to time. You don't see him keeping it quiet. It's VERY rare that I agree with Skip Bayliss, but he nailed it this time.

You are a whiny toddler and I can't stand you. I was right about you months ago when I called you out. You are a self serving, classless, ego maniacal douche-bag! I hope you never win a championship. Get a life.

LW

State of...Tenure

First off, let me send out a very large and heartfelt congratulations to Mr. Joe Sakic on a wonderful career. He is certainly one of the greatest players to ever play the game of hockey. He is also one of the great ambassadors of the game. It has been a pleasure watching him play hockey for all these years. He will most definitely be missed – not only from the NHL but from Team Canada.

Joe’s retirement got me wondering about sports “stars” these days. It feels like the days of an athlete playing out his time for ONE team is gone. I remember growing up and watching guys like Ryne Sandberg, Steve Yzerman, Cal Ripken, Mario Lemieux, and Magic Johnson.

Those guys bled their team colours and it was a given that they would retire with that team. I’m not sure when all that changed (Gretzky to the Kings perhaps?), but today’s stars seem to move around a lot more than they did in previous times.

This got me chatting with my friend Bev about current stars that could spend their entire career with the same team. We came up with a partial list of the guys that could conceivably play their entire career with the same team. In order to be really considered you had to have spent at least 10 years in the league.

I'm sure that we've missed some, but here is what we came up with so far:

Derek Jeter – Can you imagine him playing anywhere else? There’s no way that the captain of the Yankees would ever get traded and I don’t see him deciding to move on. Derek IS pinstripes.

Nicklas Lidstrom – at 53rd overall the Wings made one of the greatest draft picks ever. Nick will finish his career with the Winged Wheel.

Peyton Manning – See above. Peyton now embodies what the Colts are all about….although isn’t that what we said about Favre and the Packers?

Hines Ward – A perennial fan favourite, there would be a revolt if he were let go or traded.

Kobe Bryant – He’s been in the league for 13 years already! Granted he’s only like 26 years old (I know, he was drafted at 13 – that’s crazy!!!) and has several years left, but he certainly has made a name/home for himself in LA.

Ray Lewis – I’m not sure that he’s untouchable anymore…but he made the Ravens what they are today. A couple more years and hopefully he gets to retire in the black and purple.

Paul Pierce – At the rate the Celtics are moving players and bringing in new talent, who knows if PP can stay on forever. He certainly looks at home in the green jersey.

Tim Duncan – it’s not like they don’t have a history of keeping their captains. The Admiral made a career of playing for the Spurs…I don’t see Timmy leaving any time soon (unless to retire).

Dirk Nowitzki – Strangely, we’ve heard talks over the years of him moving so I don’t know how stable this is…but he’s been there for 11 years so I guess he’s got the potential.

Steven Gerrard – Who? I know, I know…it’s soccer so it hardly counts, but he is a hometown hero (born 10 minutes from the stadium) so he makes the list. He’s been with his team for 12 years and he’s a fan favourite. Thanks for the insight Bev.

Other than this, there isn’t much out there. Some names that were thrown about were Tom Brady (he’s been with the Pats for 9 years), Donovan McNabb (who’s name is rumoured every year to be traded), and maybe Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, David Wright (all too young to be considered Lifers yet). Rich Nash just too an 8 year deal to stay with Columbus, but that deal expires when he's in his mid 30's so he has another contract before he retires. Other than this there isn't much out there.

I know that sports has become a much larger business than it was in years past, but it saddens me a little bit to know that some of the stars that my kids grow up watching may get moved around every 3-5 years when their contract expires. Is that what sports has become; take as much money as you can while you can? Surely there is more to sports than that?! We’re just not seeing as many players taking the “home town discount” as we used to.

I’d love to think that a player like Roy Halladay, who was drafted by the Jays and was developed in the minor league system, would want to stay on with the team forever…but the reality is, players want to win and players want more money. Sometimes a player is okay settling for just one of those things and sometimes players need both. It’s what sport has become.

How many people would rather have seen Bret Favre retire as a Green Bay Packer instead of the circus that he's been involved in over the past couple of years? I'm not even sure that Jets fans would have wanted to see him come out of retirement for what he did last year.

Maybe it's just that there are too many teams now. Back in the day when there was only 6 hockey teams there was no need to trade players. If you wanted another stud you just got him from down on the farm (literally). Maybe it's free agency. I'm not even sure there was "free agency" back in the day. You stayed with the team because that was your only option.

Either way, I miss having players that played their entire career with the same team. It helped me remember who the good guys and bad guys were. Now the lines are all blurred. If Halladay goes to Philly do I still hate them? What if Hines Ward becomes a Bill?

Thanks Joe, Steve, Mario, Cal, Magic, Ryne and all the others for your dedication to your team. My hat goes off to you.

Cheers,

LW

State of...Disappointment - Part II

Well, I got called out by my good friend Bitch. Upon reading his review of my LeBron rant he made a potentially valid point regarding Sid the Kid. I had to go back to the tape and watch the incident. If you recall, I relayed what I had heard on Hockey Night in Canada Radio in which they said they saw that Sidney showed remorse regarding missing the handshake after the Cup series. Here is what I saw (after a multiple viewing no less!):

Sidney did NOT show any remorse from missing the first half of the Detroit Red Wings team. In fact, in the background of the handshake line you can see Sid skating in front of the bench and NOT in an interview like it was claimed. While the US feed of this incident didn't show an interview at all, the Canadian feed could have.

Either way, Sidney should know better. And if he has the chance to skate by the bench then I would be shocked if he didn't see that the handshake lineup was in full effect. While I don't think that it was deliberate, I am left without a real explanation as to why he missed this. Without a reason I am forced to believe that either Sidney just messed up or he felt like he had some reason to display a lack of respect to the Wings. Perhaps this stems from last years handshake??? I guess we'll never know.

Either way, I am man enough to admit that what I saw did in fact disappoint me. I thought Crosby had more class or smarts than that. It appears that both he AND LeBron have some growing up to do. To his credit, Sid did participate in roughly half of the ceremony. LeBron didn't do ANY handshakes. He showed NO respect to his opponent...at least Sid showed some. Small victory, but a victory nonetheless.

Cheers,

LW