Olympic connection comes from a couple of key factors

Well, that was a heckuva trip.

First time I’ve ever been sent somewhere just so I could come back but the train ride with the Olympians and Paralympians was pretty cool.

Now I’m wondering what kind of support they’ll get in Toronto on Friday at the grand parade they’re planning.

I don’t know precisely what it is, and I tried to explore it with a few of the athletes I spoke to on the ride (the fruits of that labour are here), but there always seems to be a “connection” between fans and Olympic sports athletes that doesn’t exist with professionals in the traditional North American team sports.

I think it might have a lot to do with the fact we only see these folks every couple of years and they immediately become interesting stories that endure for the duration of whatever Games are on.

They are truly representing us, Canada, and we’re drawn to them far more easily than we are to pros who, all too often, are representing their own best interests and the company that pays their salaries.

I’m not painting all pros with those broad strokes, there are many who do great work in their hometowns or their in-season cities and they should be applauded.

But it’s different, simply different.

You throw a Maple Leaf on a rower or a sprinter or whatever and they become something special, even cynical old codgers feel a bit of patriotism when Canada is out there competing and it creates a bond you simply don’t get too often with teams that you cheer for.

That’s got to be the chief reason, I’d think, but there’s one other one:

These folks are, frankly, normal.

Not normal in the sense that their athletic ability and dedication to their craft is astounding but normal in the sense that they tend to compete to challenge themselves and make others proud as much as they do for any financial gain or desired level of fame and, almost to a woman or a man, they enjoy interaction with fans, sponsors and regular people.

They don’t tend to shy away from the people, they seem to honestly like chatting and saying hello and welcome the interest others show.

One of the folks on the train, my guy Josh Binstock the beach volleyball player I wrote about a lot over in London, probably hit the nail on the head when we were chatting before the train took off.

He said it’s enjoyable to meet people, it’s not hard, it’s something that doesn’t take much work and it does bring a measure of excitement to the fans who are getting to meet world class athletes.

And why wouldn’t it be? The folks I’ve had cursory contact with at the various Olympics know they hold a special place in the minds of Canadians and relish the chance to show that they are, at the basic, normal people with an abnormal amount of athletic ability.

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And, of course, since I’m thinking about trains, why wouldn’t this come quickly to mind?

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Man, the baseball pennant races have sure petered out, haven’t they?

What have we got?

I’d say the only real one we’ve got left is Yankees-Baltimore in the AL East – I’ve thought all season that the Orioles would fade, not sure I’m going to change my mind on that one, unfortunately because I have little regard for The Evil Empire – and the National League division races are all over.

The one that does command some attention, though, is the National League wild card where the Dodgers, who took that huge financial gamble with mega-trade with Boston mid-season, haven’t quite captured the magic they thought they had and might serve a cautionary tale to other teams who make major moves because it might put them over the top.

L.A. has ceded the West to the Giants and the Dodgers are still two back of the final wild card spot, hardly the position they expected to be in when they made that deal.

If they fail, will it make other teams reticent to pull the pin on mid-season deals that basically remake half the team? I’d think so.

I know there were all kinds of questions about the wisdom of that deal when it was finalized, people worried about chemistry, whether there was enough time for the newly-acquired players to get used to a new league and those concerns now seem well-founded.

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Let’s take one more shot at the mail, okay?

Click. Write. Send.

Can’t wait.

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I’ll tell you one other thing that was cool about the train ride.

They had the media stashed in the back two cars where we could do interviews and write and they put us in what’s known as The Glenfraser car, a lounge car that really create thoughts of the old train days.

Wide open, with little tables for two along one side, a couple of long banquettes on the other with a service area in the middle, I could just imagine tuxedo-clad swells standing with their cigarettes in one hand and martinis in the other swapping tales.

Ah, the good old days.

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Oh yeah, likely the last golf outing of the season today, a nice tournament for the company owned by one of the Mighty Red Tiger dads so there’s little chance I get to comments until this evening.

Sorry.

Have a good day.

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A couple of weeks until a truly competitive camp starts

You got the official word on Jamaal Magloire, right?

As we told you weeks ago, he’ll be back in camp with a small guarantee on his one-year deal and if he doesn’t stick – and with Bargnani, Valanciunas, Davis, Amir Johnson, Aaron Gray and Qincy Acy I’m not sure there’s an awful lot of room for another big – Jamaal’s likely to move into some kind of basketball development job.

I can’t see any trades on the horizon – teams tend to sit back in camp and the first few weeks of the season to see what they’ve got before making any moves – the Raptors are probably going to have to pay off the small guarantee to either Magloire or Dominic McGuire to get down to the 15 player limit.

It’s not going to be the most compelling story of camp – who they keep to fill the end of the roster – but it will give us one news story to write at some point and no one looks down on a news story during the long, long training camp and pre-season period.

In fact, and we’ll get to this in far more detail once things really get going, this is shaping up to be one of the most interesting training camp and exhibition seasons in a very, very long time for the HOTH.

Kind of can’t wait to see who emerges as the starting small forward, how the front court works out beside Bargnani and it’s going to be truly telling to see how DeMar DeRozan performs. They went out and got two guys – Ross and Fields – who can at least play the same position a little bit and for the first time in DeRozan’s career, I don’t think he’s assured of anything when he first gets on the court.

Should be fun to see how he handles true competition for a job.

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I’m going to preface this by saying I generally loathe reality TV; it’s become something of a caricature of itself, there are so many idiotic shows (seriously, one about people opening storage lockers!) with some many idiotic premises (seriously, do we care about chefs who yell at subordinates in the guise of “entertainment?”) that it can’t be seen as anything more than a cheap way to fill time.

That said …

The original “reality TV” show – and it wasn’t really TV but you know what I mean -- was one of the very best and it came from the incredible film and sound skills of NFL Films and the incomparable Steve Sabol, who died yesterday.

I know gambling and now fantasy leagues are what drives the NFL but NFL Films brought us inside the game like nothing had before.

It was, and is, pretty cool; it was also the first and that made it even more special.

And this remains one of my favourites. Makes me want to matriculate the ball down the field all the time.

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By the way, I can highly recommend Sir John A on Elgin if you ever get to Ottawa and need a pub.

Good local brews – the lagers were nice, at least the ones I tried – good company with some new friends and a solid night all around.

Too bad we’re not coming back for camp.

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One more kick at the can? Why not?

Anyone find that faux apology from Yunel Escobar satisfactory?

I didn’t.

Yes, I get the whole linguistic nuance to the issue, always did; didn’t make it right, though, and I didn’t hear nearly enough explanation and it kind of left me empty.

Three games, a suspension levied by the team but after consultation with the union and the league, also seems a bit cheap to me but I’m not the one doling out the punishment.

What I’m most pleased about is the team’s plan to donate the lost salary to the two gay and lesbian advocacy groups, that’s a good start and I know organizations like that can always use some extra funds.

And if in some small way this helps increase awareness of a problem that still permeates pro sports to a startling degree, that’s the best thing to come out of the whole sorry episode.

I’d like to think that it would but I’m not entirely sure about that. It may for the moment put an issue before the public but the need now is to keep it there.

Not sure how the team can do it, not sure what the players can do but if this is a baby step, it’s time someone connected with the organization keeps those steps coming.

And now we move on; I’m kind of interested to see what, if any, reaction there is to Escobar when he gets back to the dome later this week.

This episode, coupled with the fact he’s having a so-so season at best, might create some buzz among the fans, don’t you think?

You got the official word on Jamaal Magloire, right?

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Seriously, I’ll ask again.

Anyone miss the pucks?

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Get your mail in now; not sure what time I’ll have – I’m riding the rails with a bunch of Olympians and Paralympians tonight – but there might be a few minutes to get some done.

Click. Write. Send.

As you usually do.

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Escobar's season has to be over, and that's just the start

No, I cannot for the life of me understand what Yunel Escobar was thinking when he put on those eye-black patches with a homophobic slur written on them the other day.

(Here’s Brendan’s excellent story that explains what’s going on).

It is senseless, vile, wrong, inflammatory; it makes no sense at so many levels I’m entirely confused.

And saddened.

And hoping that justice – heavy fine and a significant suspension – are meted out quickly by both the Blue Jays and major league baseball.

A suspension without pay for at least the remainder of this season is a start, I’d say.

 

Of course there’s no place for that kind of action in the game, any right-thinking human can understand that, and it makes you wonder about the kid’s personality and mindset and whether it’s really worth it to the ball club to even have him around.

Escobar’s a talented player, of that there can be no doubt. But he’s always been, to me, something less than the sum of his parts. He doesn’t seem to always hustle, he appears bored at times, I’m not entirely sure he can’t be moved with little impact on the team on the field.

What he did was so ridiculous it almost defies logic; I honestly can’t think what he was thinking and it will be interesting to hear what he says. And he has to speak to it and his actions, it has to be more than some scripted apology read off a piece of paper and I’m not even sure genuine contrition will be enough. There is no logical explanation but fans are owed an attempt at least.

But you know what?

Blame for this whole sorry charade has to be shared by everyone in the dugout and the clubhouse.

Someone – a manager, a coach, a teammate – needed to take him aside sometime Sunday and slap some sense into him.

Someone – John Farrell, Luis Rivera, Omar Vizquel, Jose Bautista, Brian Butterfield, Don Wakamatsu, all of ‘em and I could rattle off 35 names but there’s not enough space and that’s just a representative group and by no means am I singling them out alone -- needed to see what he was wearing and demand that he take it off.

I don’t for a second believe no one in the dugout saw it; it saddens me a bit that no one decided to confront him and, if it turns out they did and he ignored it, he’s got to go.

Two other points bother me greatly about this and I hope no one trots them out as explanations:

I don’t care what the non-literal translation is in some Spanish-speaking locales; we’re not there, we’re here and someone who saw it had to know what it means in these parts.

And when I saw or read something that perhaps someone else put the words on the patches made me laugh out loud. Who cares who did it, he wore it and he knew what it said.

This is a black mark on the entire organization – and organization I respect deeply because I know Alex Anthopoulous and Paul Beeston to be gentlemen of the first order – and they need to come down hard – very hard – on Escobar.

Today.

The acceptance of gays and lesbians in professional sports has long been a troubling issue to me but I do believe things are getting better.

They are not perfect and may never be but most leagues and teams are making strides to educate their employees and put out a message of inclusion to all fans.

This will set that back here a little bit, no doubt; how the Jays handle it will go a long way to speaking to their commitment to fans of every persuasion.

End of rant.

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Hey, Ottawans?

There’s a chance – late-day weather and Porter Airlines willing – that I’ll be among you later this evening.

I need a local spot – wings, tasty beverages, maybe a couple of TVs with ball games on them – in the area near the Arc hotel on Slater.

Don’t want to venture too far, don’t want to be out too late, might only have a couple of hours but do want to do something other than sit in my room for the night.

Whaddya got?

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Oh yeah, if it’s Tuesday, I must be delivering Super Son to school for 7-freaking-a.m. because he has some saxophone skills.

How come there’s never a PD day on a Tuesday? Riddle me that, would you?

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I wasn’t the biggest fan by any stretch of the imagination but there is no doubting Jimi Hendrix’s guitar-playing chops, is there?

More than 40 years after his death – this day in 1970 – still not too many who come close to his talent.

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Back to baseball for a bit – there is no basketball, really – how cool is going to be when the TOD hooks up with Buffalo as it’s AAA affiliate next season?

If you’re from here and haven’t been down to that pretty little park smack dab at the bottom of downtown Buffalo – sometimes known as Urban Blight Central – you’ll love it.

Open air, tiny, comfortable and, last I checked, with ticket prices greatly affordable. About 15 minutes from the Peace Bridge, it’s going to be perfect for weekend ballgame/golf getaways.

Oh, and it’ll be easier for the team, too. No more having to wonder about inflated PCL stats from Vegas, no more travel woes for demotions and call ups; it’s win-win.

Only thing better was if they refurbished Oakes Park and put the team in the true centre of the universe.

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Hey, let’s start early ‘cause I might have a flight and some airport time to get some work in.

Mail?

You know the drill, right?

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The art of storytelling is what sets good baseball broadcasts apart

Quick question off the top:

Miss the pucks yet?

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You know, I’m quite glad when good people get big jobs and there’s no doubt that Dan Shulman is one of the very best baseball broadcasters in the world but, man, did I miss him on the radio Sunday night.

(I know, it’s been a while since he’s been there but I’m not in the car for extended time on most Sundays).

Was driving back from Buffalo and not much helps pass the time than a big ball game on the radio and the Nats-Braves last night was pretty big with division and wild card implications.

But it wasn’t that good, to tell you the truth.

No disrespect to the guys doing the game but they seemed to be treating it as some fast-paced action event, all breathless and loud and excited.

It was baseball. It unfolds at a leisurely pace, you can’t over-hype it with excited yelps with every hit and baserunner.

I guess that’s why the best pros get to the really big gigs, they understand radio inflection, they get that the game is somewhat slow and there are times when stories should be told rather than stats delivered.

The game I listened to was too full of “information” rather than stories, I could learn what this guy or that guy had done in his last 20 at-bats or four pitching outings but I didn’t hear an old story once.

I wish Vin Scully did every baseball game every night from every ball park.

There is no sport better suited to radio than baseball, never will be, but it’s best suited to that medium because the best broadcasters know how weave tales into the game, they know when to throttle back on the excitement and let some history come through.

It’s got to be tremendously hard, requiring experience, context, the ability to string along a story in between plays.

The greats do it; the lesser greats turn what could be a tremendously enjoyable evening into just another game.

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So, what’s an NFL day like for a grunt?

(Yeah, that’s how I spent my Sunday, chronicling the adventures of the Buffalo Bills; Smelly Ford Focus got me through another few hours of driving)

Well, I don’t have anything to compare the Buffalo experience to but the Bills do it up pretty well.

An interloper gets a seat on the 50, albeit three rows back, but there’s a good gratis breakfast, the PR folks couldn’t do enough for you, access to the locker room and interview room post-game goes off without a hitch and the players were quotable, glad to answer any question and available in pretty good time.

The only issue would be the somewhat antiseptic feeling in the press box, which is glass-enclosed and the windows don’t open.

Now, I understand how glad you’d be for that in, say, November or December but it tends to make it eerily quiet in there, no ambient crowd noise, you can’t hear the hits and it’s kind of lke watching a game on the best 120-yard long HD television in the world.

If it wasn’t for all the Sunday afternoon/evening basketball that’s in my future, I’d go back again in a heartbeat.

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Heard this on the radio whilst typing this morning (thanks, Q107, you never disappoint) and it opens an age-old debate.

Bewitched debuted today in 1964 – I don’t remember the first episode but I sure saw of lot of them – and I need to know:

Which Darrin was better?

I’m going with Dick York but it’s close.

And, yes, I had as big a crush on Elizabeth Montgomery as you can imagine; who didn’t?

But I liked Serena a bit better than Samantha and when I used to watch Hollywood Squares, I always thought of Paul Lynde as Uncle Arthur.

And wasn’t Abner Kravitz the most put-upon husband of all time?

Yeah, I spent far too many hours of the formative years watching TV.

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Speaking of coming Sunday afternoons …

Two weeks today is media day, two weeks tomorrow is first practice out east in Halifax (yes, I’ll be seeking food/drink input from Haligonians as we get closer to the date) and you can sense a level of anticipation here and around the league.

I understand Valanciunas got in on the weekend, I think about a dozen of the 16 guys coming to camp are in town (Lowry gets in today, I’m reading) and the coaches are hanging around devising practice plans and stuff like that.

Guess that’s all a long-winded way of saying we’re closing in on a time when there’ll be legitimate HOTH items for here.

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Oh, yeah, Bills fans.

I know we couldn’t hear the audience as well as we’d like but apparently there’s some reward system where fans get free subs or somesuch if the team scores 20 points in a game and when the Bills got third touchdown, I didn’t see anyone going wild with glee over free food at all.

There’s a difference in the two crowds.

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Wonder if the guy I was following down the Peace Bridge yesterday morning – the one with the Ontario licence plate that read SASK RR – was a bit conflicted about going to a Bills game?

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And I guess there’s nothing wrong with a church charging $20 a car to park on a Sunday morning but when I pulled up around 11 a.m. I did wonder where all the parishioners were.

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The end of the weekend mail

Good job as always, Irregulars.

And while you’re reading this, I’m off to Buffalo in the guise of a football scribbler to cover the Bills. Lucky readers, eh?

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Q: Ciao Doug. 2 very different questions from Italy.

Raptors players can officially train with the coaching staff starting Oct. 2. During the next 2 weeks what kind of training sessions are they allowed? Are they using the Raptors gyms? Can the coaching staff work with them during these not official sessions?

Last week I was in Naples. Sorry for you and all the Canadians but I could taste the best Italian pizza in an historical and typical environment. The final bill for my family (my wife and 2 hungry teenagers) was 28 euros, beers, cokes and Napoletan espresso coffees included.

When do you come again to Italy to have a perfect wine & food full immersion?

Paolo P, Roma

A: Oh, yeah, coaches can work with them as they have most of the summer but it can’t be “official” or mandatory since the players don’t have to be back until Oct. 1 by contract. But almost all of them are in well in advance of that. And, yes, they use the practice facility at the Air Canada Centre, it’s got all the stuff they need.

And I’m entirely jealous of the meal; not sure when I’ll get back but if Super Family could do a week in Italy and a week in, say, Spain next summer as a great vacation, that sounds pretty good to me.

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Q: Hello. What are the "duties" of the rookie dinos? Does JV get treated any differently than say TR? Do they get a chance to whack the pebble?

Speaking of rock. How about a little Mitch Ryder? The rooks might have to be mindful of a devil in a blue dress.

Bob E, Kanata

A: All rookies are created equal and I’d imagine – it varies from year to year – that they’ll be in charge of bringing donuts to practice most days and I’m not sure, but there’ve been years when they’ve had to carry silly young girls backpacks on the road. Dora The Explorer was big one year.

Other than that, they do what rooks do, fetch socks from the trainers, gather balls at end of practice and the grunt work kids should do.

And, sure, why not?

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Q: Doug. You mentioned about missing Downchild - who i have heard many times - assume you meant at the Port Credit blues thingy? A band who was there on Friday was the Stacey Mitchart band from Nashville, outstanding entertainers with a killer horn section.

If they are back, don't miss them. This could be the theme song for men our age - you might like from 4.15 on.

Awaiting some miracles on the court this year - and your peerless coverage - now time to take advantage of the sun and go play some Monday noon golf. Even if it means working on lesson plans into the evening (part time instructor)

Bill W, Dresden

A: A solid tip, thanks. And yeah, it was the Port Credit blues thingy, wish I could have gone. Won’t miss it next year, that’s for sure.

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Q: Hi Doug! What do you make of the Texas Tech story now that one of the top players has publicly stated he doesn't want his own back after a medical leave (unheard of?!?)!

John S, Toronto

A: I don’t know if it’s unprecedented or not but nothing that happens in the NCAA – far too often a cesspool of maniacal coaches, rampant cheating and various manners of abuse -- surprlses me. Actually find it kind of refreshing that a kid would speak up.

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Q: Hi Doug. Same here, too much crap/reality shows on TV these days to grab my attention. I did come across an interesting one last winter; it’s called The Walking Dead, on at a perfect time, Sunday nights at 9pm on AMC. Season 3 starts on October 14. It’s basically a drama about human survivors following a zombie apocalypse. Always has a great zombie killing scene in every show. I recommend you watch Episode 1 of Season 1, followed by Ep. 2 and you will be hooked. It goes much deeper than any Zombie movie ever could.

Now for a Bball question. Do you honestly think the Raptors have a chance to beat out Philly and Washington for the last playoff spot?

Daniel A, Don Mills

A: Sorry, I am so uninterested in anything vampire or zombie that it’s not even funny. Appreciate the tip, though.

And I have no idea what’s going to transpire; if I did, I’d be off making a whole lot more money doing something else. But, sure, why couldn’t they contend for that 7-11 space in the conference if everything goes along normally, which it’s unlikely to do. Not sure where your Washington stuff comes into it but to each their own.

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Q: RAPS. fan. IF RAPS don’t make the postseason (hate to ask or even think) will BC on hot seat? Thanks. For the record- they WILL.

Alex K, Toronto

A: I have a feeling I’m going to be saying this a kazillion times and I should put it in a file so I don’t have to type it.

General managers in every sport are, to use one of the worst clichés of all time, on the hot seat continuously. So, since we have no real clue what “on the hot seat” actually means because it means nothing, the answer is “yes.”

The start of the weekend mail

All right, ladies and gentlemen. Not the greatest or lengthiest of mailbags but here’s a start and there’s some more for tomorrow.

If you’re so inclined …

Click. Write. Send.

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Q: Hey Doug: I'm assuming, based on recent posts, that if the writing gig didn't work out, you'd probably be on the PGA Tour right now (or maybe not). So, I'd like your opinion: for a major golf tournament, would you prefer the final two or three holes easy, so that birdies (and maybe an eagle or two) are possible? Or, would you prefer that they be very challenging, so that you have to play very well in order to par?

Thanks again for all of your hard work - it is appreciated!

Tim H, Windsor

A: Oh yeah, next stop the Tour for sure.

Personally, I like to see them challenged but in a risk-reward kind of way so when I’m designing my course, it finishes:

No. 16: I’d say maybe a 230-yard uphill par-3 to a kidney-shaped, two-tier green with yawning bunkers front left and back right.

No. 17: How about a 325-yard par-4 winding around water left and a huge pot bunker front right. The bailout area would be about 265 yards on the right side so they could drive it or lay up and hit wedges in.

No. 18: Let’s go with a 575-yard par-5, slight dogleg right at end so they’d have to hit fades over many trees. Oh, and I’d probably put a huge waste area down the entire left side.

Then I’d go triple-double-other and be gone.

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Q: Hi Doug. With all the recent lockouts in North American sports the past couple of years, it made me wonder if this is mostly a North American phenomenon. Or whether perhaps the North American centric nature of the sports we read means that lockouts/strikes in other areas aren't reported. Do you know if there have been lockouts in say Euroleague basketball, or the like? Or any other non-North American sports leagues recently?

Sohail G, Collingwood

A: Purely North American. The only time I’ve heard of players in Europe in any sport withholding services is when basketball teams are late with paycheques; I do not know of a work stoppage initiated by ownership. I could be wrong but I checked with people smarter than I and they drew blanks, too.

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Q: I stopped by Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese on Monday night after some meetings in London. I tried to get a beer recommendation from you as I entered the establishment but the mobile coverage died almost immediately when I entered the bar as it is truly a rabbit warren! I had a great time - thanks for the tip! I'll be back again soon so any thoughts on the best beverages would be appreciated. I went for the bitter - excellent.

Hugh H, Toronto

A: Not sure if this is too late but I know Cheshire Cheese is a Sam Smith pub and if you don’t try Sam Smith’s Organic Lager, you’re cheating yourself.

And, yes, cell or iPhone reception in there is tough, which makes it even more wonderful; no one (hi, bosses!) can find you.

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Q: Doug. I have also found it hard to keeping up with any one TV series but have found NetFlix to be a nice alternative as long as I don't care about keeping up on the latest water cooler discussions about last night's episode. This past summer I "discovered" series such as Community and Arrested Development. Being able to watch a bunch of episodes in order when I have time or even 10 minutes of an episode if I don't, is convenient. With you being on the road you would have access to even more stuff. For a monthly price of an in room movie, you have access to a whole library of movies and TV shows.

Richard Y, Kincardine

A: Oh, we’re all set up with Netflix for the coming season; those hours in the room and at airports are going to fly by.

And Community is outstanding!

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Q: Hey Doug! Withering looks: (well, for starters...) Ricky Romero and John Farrell, Patrick Roy and Mario Tremblay, Billy Martin and Reggie Jackson (that's the one I remember, but think Billy might've thrown a few others to a few others!), Mike Singletary and Troy Smith. Passions run high, lots on the line and sometimes during a game and on national television with millions of viewers watching, tempers explode. Can you recall some other infamous sideline or courtside, dugout or rinkside confrontations between coach and player? Hey - has there ever been one between reporter and player? And have you ever been tempted? :) Thanks!

Lorie P, London

A: Well, we had Sam banishing Loren Woods and Rafer to the locker room in Boston that night, prompting one of the funniest exchanges of the era. Stumpy and I are talking to Skip, he says that perhaps he and the NBA aren’t made for each other and he might just be done. We race over to get reaction from the always-quotable Jalen and when we tell him what Rafer said, Jalen looks up and says:

“That’s strong.”

Two reporter ones come quickly to mind, at least ones that I saw, nothing too serious.

Perk had written something critical of AD once and mentioned Antonio’s wife. Well, AD didn’t take too kindly to that and was yelling stuff like “leave my family out of this” the next day when Perk showed up.

And, way, way, way, way back in the day, there was a player named Victor Alexander, who couldn’t play, was out of shape and, perhaps, injured, or at least that’s what he said. Craig Daniels, then of the Sun, had ripped him and before a game, Victor was searching Craig out. He wandered over courtside where we were both standing with malice aforethought and Criag, to his credit, waited there and said:

“Hey, if you’re going to hit me, wait ‘til I get a photographer over here to take a picture of it.”

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Q: You’re giving Bill Maher competition. Your rather innocuous comment regarding PD days elicited some flying fingers. Nice to hear your fellow grunts are giving the HOTH some love.

Looked at the sled, what jumped out to me was Orlando has 2 back to backs with the front end starting in Orleans/Miami. What does that mean for you on a culinary basis? Do you miss the delights of those 2 great cities and get stuck with Orlando Night life? I hope not for your sake!

John C, Mississauga

A: Actually, it’s the better way. We’ll have a night off between Christmas and New Year’s in New Orleans after the San Antonio game and a night off in Miami on the second trip.

Works out great.

Sometimes, it appears winning isn't enough

I’m sitting a chatting with one of my boys one night this week and, as usual, there’s a lament for the state of professional sports in this city.

You know the deal: There are Grade 2 kids who don’t know the glory of a first-round playoff ouster for the Leaves; the HOTH haven’t been in the playoffs in half a decade; TOD haven’t sniffed a series since the early-90s and the TFCs have had almost as many coaches as seasons.

Nice city you’ve got there.

And then my man Steve says, as he is wont to do, “sure, there’s a winning team, it’s just that no one seems to care.”

That, folks, sadly sums up the Argos, doesn’t it?

We long lamented the fact that team doesn’t get much attention from the general public and it was my point a while ago that some level of interest and respect would come with winning because this area seems starved for some kind of sporting success.

Well, it’s got it. The Argos are tied for first in their division, they’ve won four of six, they have some intriguing talent and yet remain so far off the radar for the general public it’s not funny.

I’ve seen more than a few games this year – or at least large parts of them – and the quarterback’s skilled, I really like this Inman kid our man Mitchell wrote about today, Chad Owens can make a big play at any time from anywhere on the field and the Running Back Who Is Not Cory Boyd seems quite good.

It’s a fun team, it appears, and, for now at least, is giving people around here what they say they want: A winner.

Guess I don’t buy that theory.

I wonder if Toronto sports fans aren’t happy unless they’re unhappy because a team having some success can’t capture enough imaginations to work its way into the casual conversations that sports fans have all the time.

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I’ll just say I can watch Omar Vizquel field ground balls for hours quite contently and watching him make those two plays at second base last night just affirmed it to me.

There is little in all sports that’s more graceful and quick than good baseball defence.

And I know Vizquel’s destined for the Hall of Fame but, man, I’m glad he got to play a season here so we could see him more often.

A joy.

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Cat? Go among the pigeons.

Figured I’d get to this one early, maximize reaction (tee-hee)

Q: Hi Doug. There's so little BBall going on I have nothing to say/ask. Maybe as a Torontonian and sports fan you'll indulge me some local politics. What is your take on the heat Mayor Ford got for taking time out of the day to coach his local football team?

Some folks think he shouldn't use 'company time' for that, but personally I think it is great the City's leader would spend some time in the community doing grass roots stuff.

What do you think?

David W, Toronto

A: Well, you asked and since I’m not a Torontonian – I (heart) Hazelville right now – I’m not going to get into politics, per se. At least not today.

Look, I have no problem with anyone volunteering their time to coach kids, I do it myself and find it incredibly rewarding to see house league baseball players have fun and become better ball players from when they start in May and end in late August or September. It’s fun, it’s a challenge and I hope the kids get something out of it; I know I do.

That said …

There is no way on this Earth that the mayor of a city of 4 million or whatever it is, should blow off the majority of an executive committee meeting – long-scheduled, as I’ve come to know – to coach a practice, a game, a scrimmage or whatever. Those meetings are big, it’s the de-facto cabinet for the city, and can’t be blown off to coach minor football for goodness sakes.

I don’t, for a second, buy the line about the kids won’t play if he’s not there; that’s hubris to the worst degree, if there aren’t assistants who can handle one practice once a month, well, that team’s in bad hands.

Your dutifully elected Mayor, to these eyes, is a bully and a blowhard, small-minded and petulant and is enabled by his equally blustery, small-minded brother.

Yes, it’s good that he’s a coach of a kids team, all the power to him on that one. But work is work; big meetings are big meetings and he needs to govern when it’s necessary and not run away from his responsibility.

I get that being Mayor is a 24/7 job – heck, in some ways it’s like mine, you always have to be ready to work – and there’s a need to get away whenever you can and do something you love. But you have to pick your spots, and, shockingly, Ford made a wrong decision. Go figure!

Have at it.

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Oh yeah, anyone got any more mail?

Click. Write. Send. Allow me to vent.

Thanks.

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Raptors? Well, a couple of key guys – Lowry and Calderon – are due in today, there are already half a dozen or so guys hanging around town and I’m told the whole squad should be here by the middle of next week and the fun can begin.

It’ll be those informal workouts and scrimmages and drills to start and the two main things they need to get accomplished in the two or so weeks before the official opening of training camp is to get to know each other and get into some kind of better game shape.

None of them were totally slothful over the summer and will show up 20 pounds overweight but having a couple of weeks of hard work and time in the weight room should have them ready to hit the ground running when Dwane can officially get at them starting Oct. 2. Championships, or even playoff spots, aren’t won at this time of year but a foundation can be built and that’s as important as anything.

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Maybe rest wasn't what the doctor ordered

A few little things here since nothing seems to be jumping off the page. Hope that changes soon.

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Hmm, guess eight days rest wasn’t what the doctor ordered for Ricky Romero, was it?

It’s not that he got drilled last night – the numbers were predictably bad but the game wasn’t out of hand – but skipping a start seemed to have no effect.

And did you see the withering look he gave manager John Farrell when he got the hook?

If I was him, I’d have been thinking, “Hey, it’s a 3-2 game, it’s the fifth inning, you already sat me down for more than a week, why not let me see if I can get out of this mess since it’s a meaningless September game against a go-nowhere team? Maybe I give up a three-run homer or a two-run double and that’d suck but why not let me see if I can get some confidence back by getting myself out of this. Sure, numbers suggest I won’t but maybe I will and wouldn’t that be better for my psyche than getting the hook?”

But that’s just me.

We all know Romero’s been awful for months, he can’t win a game, his stuff is all over the map and this is a season that’s bee circling the toilet bowl since about May. No question he’s been brutal at times, as he’d fully admit.

Theories abound (read Brendan’s game story to see some of them) but I’ll say it again: I think they need to keep running him out there and see if he can turn it around. And the team needs to show that it’s got his back and last night, that’s the last thing that they did and the look on his face told me he knew it.

Anyway, season can’t end soon enough for him, I’d bet.

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The TFCs lose and are officially, finally, totally eliminated from playoff contention?

Colour me shocked.

Maybe there’s a Cup they can still win or somesuch.

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So this news about Seattle’s new arena has to be met with great glee, doesn’t it?

You’ve got a potential owner who will sink a lot of his own money into the facility and the surrounding infrastructure (to say nothing of offering to buy all the fans a beer if they showed up at a neighbourhood saloon) and if it leads to Seattle getting back in the NBA, I will be as happy as anyone who lives there, and it’s a sentiment shared almost universally among my NBA friends.

One thing I wonder about, though.

Through all this arena chatter, I keep hearing how the city might now be home to an NBA and an NHL team and I cannot imagine that works. I would think it’s a one-sport city in the winter, the first league to get in will do well, I don’t think it would support two teams in the same building, as financially lucrative as that might be to the owners.

And the other, major point is this: If Seattle is going to get an NBA team, it’s going to have to take one from an existing city; there is no chance of expansion happening.

It’ll have to be some kind of steal/purchase of a team and I would think the most logical one right now would be Sacramento, which is stumbling along on its own pursuit of a new arena.

But whatever team it is, there is a sense of inevitability to an NBA return to the Pacific Northwest, which makes entire sense to me. Just hope it doesn’t take too long, I only have so many years left in this gig with this aging body.

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One sign that you’re getting a bit long in the tooth? Or that work is about to really begin?

No anticipation of the new TV season.

Remember the time when the new shows debuted the week after Labour Day and we got the TV Guide to read up on them and plan the week’s viewing with new dramas, comedies and the like?

Now the season starts way later, it seems there’s a new show on every week and you can’t possibly keep track of them all, can you?

Now if you’re flipping through the channels and see something new you might stop for a couple of minutes but that’s about it.

Guess it might have as much to do with the proliferation of the number of stations, and the fact once Oct. 1 hits the last thing I have time to do is figure out some new plot given that there are usually games or flights four nights a week.

Kind of a downer, actually. Not a lot to look forward to and not a lot of time to think about it so if anyone’s got some must-see things and I find the time, I’m all ears on what I should watch.

(And thanks to the marvels of on-demand video and computers, I could find time whenever I want to)

Thanks.

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Speaking of all ears …

Mail time, please.

Got lots done Thursday and Friday last week so I could sleep in a bit on Saturday and that was nice so I’d like to do it again.

Thanks.

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Now, I don’t want to go piling on teachers ‘cause it’s not nice and they do have, in many ways, tough jobs (not that we all don’t have tough jobs in some respect) but …

Super Son informed me that there is no school tomorrow because it’s a Professional Development day. What? They’ve been in class for, what, seven or eight days and they get a day off? Yeesh.

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It's a tale of two games on the way to the World Cup

This is why we should love sports.

A week ago, soccer fans in Canada were over the moon – and casual observers were pretty impressed, too – after the men beat Panama in what was a stirring World Cup qualifying game in Toronto.

It was a great event and a great game, rabid fans actually supporting the home team, a solid result; everyone went away happy and dreaming of Rio in 2014.

Now?

Now that over-the-moon feeling’s pretty much gone after last night’s 2-0 loss in Panama and the road to the World Cup all of a sudden is a lot more rocky than it was.

Euphoria on Friday, dejection on Tuesday; it’s the kind of emotional swing that makes it so much fun to follow sports.

But what of Canada?

I’m going to leave the Xs and Os to those who know far more about the game than I (Hello, Cathal and Daniel) but the result tells you as much about world-class soccer as anything else.

I used to think basketball, with its sometimes unique gyms and momentum-swinging crowds was the sport with the greatest home facility advantage but no more.

It’s world class soccer by a mile.

I don’t know if it was the zany fans surrounding the team hotel the nights leading up to the game or the screaming fans at the stadium or that uneasy feeling inexperienced teams in all sports get playing big games in hostile surroundings but it’s been proven time and again that the road is not kind to any travelling football team.

And Canada, for all that it did well in Toronto last week, finding a way to replicate that on the road was impossible.

Guess the biggest thing is that there’s still one home game to go and it’s a way off and if they can do the same thing at BMO Field next time that they did last time, all might be well in the world once again.

The World Cup is the most significant single-sport event in the world, there isn’t a world championship that can hold a candle to it and even for people who don’t follow the sport religiously, it captures the imagination like nothing else.

And if Canada wants to be seen globally as a true sporting nation, there are those who will not take us seriously until we at least qualify for a World Cup.

It’s monstrously difficult to gain admittance to it – it’s the most difficult team event to qualify for in any sport – and now Canada has to prove its mettle once again.

Sure, a draw in Panama would have been good and win would have been tremendous but there are still a couple of games left and the job is still doable.

But, as we’ve seen, games at home are far different than games on the road, even the marginally skilled teams can somehow find the necessary magic when they are buoyed by home audiences and comfortable surroundings.

Canada proved something to itself – and the soccer world – last Friday night; the gains they made there were significant and I don’t know that anyone really expected a result Tuesday night.

But if they capture that same magic the next time out, it’ll be a big story again and the good feelings will flow.

It’s sport, it’s up and down and highs and lows and it’s wonderful.

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So I’m at a reception with 30 NBA PR types and a gaggle of league poobahs and the consensus of the few I talked to at length is that the HOTH are going to be more interesting this year than they have been in some time.

No one knows how good they’ll be but the chatter was that they’re better and no longer an afterthought.

Make you fans feel a bit better?

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Oh yeah, if you want fancy-schmancy in Chicago, I give you The Paris Club, where we had a wee bit of a reception, but if you’re downtown and looking for a spot that’s real, go to O’Neil’s on Wells and tell ‘em we said hello.

Great spot, owned by a guy who works for the Bulls, and a long night of good stories.

And, no, it wasn’t like this joint, nor was the music as good.

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Finally found something we do better than Chicago.

Teachers labour disputes.

Arrived here to find the streets around the hotel packed with demonstrating, on-strike teachers who aren’t in the classroom, much to the chagrin of buddies who have to find child care.

No, I don’t know the specifics of the dispute, nor do I really know the intricacies of the fight in our neck of the woods but I do think we have the right answer to working it out.

And thus endeth the political portion of today’s offering.

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Right.

The mail.

Let’s start it, please.

Click. Write. Send. You’ll be glad you did. Honest.

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One of those days we'll never forget

It’s one of those days, isn’t it?

For those of us Of A Certain Vintage there are scant few days that resonate in our lifetime, days when you absolutely remember what you were doing at the moment “it” happened.

You have Neil Armstrong landing on the moon.

You have the Kennedy assassination, both perhaps.

You have the Challenger explosion.

You might have Paul Henderson’s goal.

You likely have Ben Johnson’s 9.79 in Seoul.

And you have today.

9/11.

It’s a day that fundamentally changed all of our lives in some way, didn’t it?

It made us more aware of the world and the dangers and evil that lurk in it.

Sadly, it made some of us far less trusting of things we don’t know much about, made us more wary, more afraid, more skeptical, more a lot of things.

Remember where you were?

I was driving downtown – I believe back then I listened to all sports radio and if I’m not mistaken that was in the McCown in the morning era and I remember standing my office slack-jawed with a dozen people huddled around the TV when the towers fell and the world changed.

You?

I don’t know that the world is a lot safer now than it was then, despite the institutionalized security paranoia that runs rampant. Sure, they check our coffee at the airport and we are subjected to screening that borders, often, on the ridiculous. We take off our shoes and go through scanners at airports and sometimes arenas and stadiums and it all seems, well, it seems more for the comfort of our own minds than anything else. It is a grand inconvenience at many levels and when I hear people say “well, I’d rather be inconvenienced that the alternative” it makes me chuckle a little bit.

Most of the great security work by governments and their agencies happens so far out of our sight and out of our minds that it’s not even funny. That’s where I want my money going, to root out threats before they get too serious and legit, I want our spies given every advantage, not some hourly-wage airport or arena scanner being given a new uniforms and a new toy and power that can be abused.

The world changed forever that day 11 years ago, our lives in many small ways are different; but the work done at making the world a safer place doesn’t start at the screening area of airports, it starts on the ground far away and is done by men and women we know nothing about.

Those are the heroes of the post-9/11 era, we don’t know them but we should thank them.

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Speaking of …

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So, ready for the big game?

Whaddya mean, which one?

Canada-Panama in the football tonight, World Cup qualifying. Could be a doozy.

Not sure how many have paid much attention to the run-up to the game but it’s been hilarious.

Seems the Panama fans are going to kind of storm the Canadian team’s hotel, blaring loud music 24 hours a day and generally causing a ruckus in the hopes the Canucks can’t sleep and can’t play and can’t win.

(After all, with the way the Americans treated Panamian Strongman Manuel Noriega – and I love the phrase Panamanian Strongman, by the way – the folks down there must figure if it worked against a despot it’ll work against a bunch of footballers).

But can you imagine that happening here?

I cannot for the life of me envision a scenario when the fans of some Canadian team would gather outside a hotel to try and rankle some visiting team.

First off, they’d be arrested within minutes, I bet; no way the good citizens of the neighbouring condos and hotels would put up with it.

Second, we just don’t have that passion; never have, never will.

Too bad. I’d love to see a couple of thousand fans of any team going berserk on the street a couple of days before some big game. A sight to behold.

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Seriously, it’s all well and good that a kid wants to do well at school and the teachers want to get there early to work in the Jazz Lab and the results are really cool.

But, I tell ya, if they’d ever told me I had to be at school at 7 a.m. there would have been a revolt and if Super Grandpa had to drive me at that gawdawful hour, well, I don’t know if he would have.

After all, we used to walk 20 miles to and from school every day, uphill both ways with the sun in our eyes and the wind against us.

Now?

Now I’m trotting off to Cawthra at 6:30 in the freaking morning once week so the kid can blow the sax.

Father Of The Year?

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And so it begins.

The road.

Off to Chicago for a couple days of chats with the NBA media relations staff and the PR directors of all the teams for my PBWA gig and, I have to tell you, thinking about the various flights and hotels and nights on the road becomes less alluring with each passing year.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s fun to see some of the stuff in the cities and being around the games – that part of the job probably won’t ever be diminished and when it does, I’m done – but the extraneous stuff’s a killer.

Delays, weather, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Gets tiring.

But Not Grace Kelly and I have looked over the first couple of months of the season and it’s going to be a lot better than last year.

Where there were five games a week some weeks and four being the ordinary, we’re at weeks of three games, no back-to-back-to-backs and I don’t even see a lot four-games-in-five-nights early in the season.

Even the first west coast trip is a five-gamer and that’s a long trek but there’s only one back-to-back.

Not sure anyone but me would have scrutinized the schedule but, all told, it’s really, really good.

Time to get started.

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