Mental toughness and some great lines once uttered

Kind of jarring to wake up this morning to see Griff’s dispatch from Dunedin suggesting there’s a possibility – slim, but a possibility nonetheless – that Ricky Romero begins the season in the minor leagues.

Griff’s point is well taken – the change in mechanics makes a demotion easier to explain for everyone concerned – but, still.

I’ve always found it fascinating to try and watch the mental mechanics of professional athletes, to try to figure out why some are tougher than others because it’s such an integral part of success – or failure.

There is no questioning the physical capabilities of athletes in all professional sports, they can run and jump and shoot and throw and hit better than mere mortals but what separates them often is what goes on in their heads.

Romero, in the few times I’ve seen him and chatted with him (and I bow to the intelligence of others in this regard) has always struck me as a bit too introspective at times; he’d have an outing either good or bad and try to dissect it a bit too much in his post-game scrums.

His confidence seemed to waver a bit, at least that’s how it came across every now and then, and I would suggest he’s now at one of the great confidence crossroads of his career.

Things have not gone well, last year or this spring, and it’s going to be interesting to see how he handles this crisis point in what I still believe can be an excellent career.

Physically, the changes in his delivery should help him find his old stuff, at least that’s the impression I get from reading people with more knowledge than I have.

Mentally? That’s going to be the fun part to watch and will be very telling.

I love athletes because the great ones operate on a different mental plane than others; they get their heads right and get determined and get through rough stretches with their heads as much as their bodies.

Wonder if Romero can?

It’s not like the fate of the TOD season hangs in the balance, they have constructed an intimidating staff even without him but Romero’s always struck me as a nice, thoughtful, talented young man and you’d like to see him do well.

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All right, in keeping with our CMW-basketball kind of week, if these guys are cool enough for Matt Bonner, they’re definitely cool enough for me and you and all of our friends.

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Hey, let’s play a game.

Did you see this little story in our paper the other day? Justin Trudeau goes back in time to steal a line from his dad and tells a supporter who wonders if he can beat Harper:

“Just watch me.”

Good line, quick retort, gotta like the guy’s sense of timing.

Anyway, it got me thinking (my mind works in wondrous ways) about other great lines uttered by Canadians that have stuck with me over the years.

I came up with four or five off the top of my head:

“The Olympics can no more lose money than a man can have a baby”

That’s Jean Drapeau before the 1976 Olympics. Seems he wasn’t quite so prescient.

“A Canadian is someone who knows how to make love in a canoe.”

Pierre Burton, national treasure.

“The medium is the message”

Marshall McLuhan, of course.

“Fuddle duddle”

PET; he knew how to rattle off a zinger, no?

“Let the Eastern bastards freeze in the dark.”

Ralph Klein, hardly a favourite in the parts.

“Take off, eh?”

Anyone want to add to the list?

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And does anyone want to add to a smallish mailbag?

It’s askdoug@thestar.ca and it’s pretty empty over there.

Thanks.

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The Raptors?

Guess the only interesting thing that’s on the agenda is the fact Rudy Gay is messing around wearing sight-correcting goggles in practice these days.

They are trying to see if there’s some deficiency in his sight out of one eye – nothing major at all – and trying to see what they can do to make things easier for him.

Now, before people go off half-cocked and suggest he’s blind in one eye and can’t see out of the other (that’s an old umpire baiting line from my youth) it should be pointed out Gay is shooting 50 per cent from the field in his last four games – a fact probably attributable to a better back than anything else.

Anyway, it’s a tiny interesting issue that we’ll follow every now and then to see what they come up with.

And with this team these days, it passes for news.

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No, I cannot believe it’s been 10 years since Mike Weir won the Masters (we are all getting old) but, yes, I will certainly find a way to watch this show when it comes on as a lead-in to coverage on Masters weekend.

Got a look at this trailer thanks to a couple of friends yesterday and it looks pretty darn good.

We’ll have more on that win a decade ago when the toonamint (sorry, Perk, for stealing your line) gets closer but that was a helluva moment, wasn’t it?

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So, were you all glued to March Madness yesterday?

Big day for the Canadians, no?

Pangos makes the big shot for Gonzaga after Olynyk dominated for most of the game and Laurent Rivard nails five three-pointers in the biggest upset of the day as Harvard knocks off New Mexico State.

Not sure how the bracket made out – I usually check after the Friday games and again on Monday – but as I was watching a little bit one of my criticisms of the college game was proved true.

If it’s such a sport dominated by coaches, how come no one runs any plays?

Seriously, it’s three-man weaves and three-pointers most of the time, I didn’t see a spec of creativity in any of the games I watched, no taking advantage of mismatches, no nothing.

It’s boring and basically poorly played and coached until the final seconds of a close game and even it’s basically freelance stuff that gets the game-winning shot.

And, yes, in those rare instances of buzzer-beaters, it’s fun and exciting. The rest of the time? Paint drying.

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Yes, we will be around for an IGBT tonight but tomorrow’s a night off. There’s either the semi-annual Poker Night And Storytelling Evening back in Niagara with some cronies or a night on the couch catching up on some rest.

Wonder what I’ll choose?

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Comments

[larry lukeeborg]

the canoe comment reminded me of an old joke: how are american beer and sex in a canoe similar? they're both ***ing close to water.

[LeeZ]

"It's not a lie if you know the truth."
- J.P. Ricciardi
(Granted, not a Canadian, but he said it on Canadian soil...)
"Watson, come quickly! I need your help."
- Alexander Graham Bell (a naturalized Canadian)

[John D.]

The one is very recent, but has stuck with me for a week or so (which is truly saying something). At Stompin' Tom Connors' memorial his son left off with: "It might be nice to travel south, it'll be warmer on your skin. But if you travel east and west, it'll be warmer on your heart."

[Stavros]

Will Gay's "ghost" also be wearing goggles?

[adam]

"Don't eat yellow snow" - every Canadian parent.

lol.

[Lorie]

"The beaver, which has come to represent Canada as the eagle does the United States and the lion Britain, is a flat-tailed, slow-witted, toothy rodent known to bite off it's own testicles or to stand under its own falling trees."
-- From the sublime mind of June Callwood
Oh, Canada! So misunderstood (let alone located on a map). Especially by Americans. Most especially by American celebs:
"I get to go to lots of overseas places, like Canada." -- Britney Spears, when asked the best part of being famous.

[AT]

It was nice to hear Pangos' coach talk about what a gym rat he is and then jack and Sam Mitchell talked more about as well. Not sure if I would compare it to Paint Drying but there was a LOT of sloppy play and for someone who hasn't watched a college all year, it was a bit of an adjustment. But among it all, there are a lot of great 3-point shooters

[john]

I can see where people pick apart college basketball, but image if the NBA had rules that allowed players to leave the team after one year and they could only stay with a team for maximum of 4 years I could only imagine what the quality of basketball would be. It’s a bunch of kids who are playing the highest level of basketball they ever will. It’s the apex of their careers. It’s not the NBA, but neither is women’s international basketball and I find that just as entertaining.
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Let’s hope that if Justin does manage to get elected to the top job, the closest he comes to his father’s legacy is that one quote.

[Nick M]

@Stavros
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You beat me to the punch.
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I thought the sportsVU guys were playing around with Gay's ghost wearing a monocle.

[David in Oakville]

Good Morning Doug,

Great post and really enjoyable Nothing But Net this morning.

What about the two words heard around these parts most mornings.. "double double".

Or PM Chretien.. "A proof is a proof is a proof"

@Lorie.. hilarious. Although we should not laugh too hard given some of the things that have come out of Justin Bieber's mouth like this gem; "I'm actually part Indian. I think Inuit or something? I'm enough per cent that in Canada I can get free gas."

[D-Mac Ottawa]

"When one door closes another door opens; but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us." – Alexander Graham Bell
"To be complex does not mean to be fragmented. This is the paradox and the genius of our Canadian civilization." – Adrienne Clarkson
"I take tips from Canada on a lot of things" – Barack Obama
"Cheers. Go Jays!" – D-Mac Ottawa

[Cluck Kent]

A proof is a proof. What kind of a proof? It's a proof. A proof is a proof. And when you have a good proof, it's because it's proven

Jean Chretien

[sam]

A trip to the minors might be the best thing for Ricky Romero. It worked for Roy H many years back - It's a shame Mel Queen isn't around anymore to help.

[LeeZ]

The Chrétien "proof" quote is indeed extremely funny. I used to translate for Prime Minister Chrétien, and he was an equal opportunity linguistic mangler: he butchered BOTH official languages. But give the man his props: his "proof" quote had to do with Canada's refusal to be dragged into the war against Iraq, and specifically the fact that Dubya had failed to come up with the, well, PROOF to justify the invasion. And that alone merits a place for Monsieur Chrétien in the Canadian Hall of Fame.

[C-Mac]

In the spirit of quotes perhaps Ricky should start "breathing through his eyeballs" or even put on the garter belt under his uniform. Any basketball players suffer a similar blockage fate outside of free thows? (can't include anyone on the current Raptor squad - that's to easy an answer...)
Thanks Doug!

[John M.]

Popular Canadian quotes "The trouble with normal is it always gets worse" by Bruce Cockburn. (and a great song too)

[saatuk]

Sometimes it tough to see teams eliminated in the NCAA tournament. One example is New Mexico State losing to Saint Louis. Sim Bhullar of the Aggies is a nice story. He's the biggest man in the tourney (7'5' and heavy), from Toronto, and may be the most significant Indian ancestry player yet. He's already pretty good, but if we was to lose another 40 or 50 pounds and become more mobile, he could have a career.

[james]

The Drapeau quote reminded my of my very favourite editorial cartoon, Aislin's depiction of the pregnant Montreal mayor on the phone saying, " 'Allo Morgentaler?"

Maybe I'm just a junkie, or a bear for punishment, but I don't share your dyspeptic view of the tournament, at least not these first couple of days. Like John, I find the level of effort these kids display to be very compelling, and there is always the possibility of the monumental upset (the Harvard game was a blast because New Mexico had been hyped so much by Barkley and others). In recent years, the further it goes the less interested I seem to be, unless Cinderella is making a run.

[Mike kovacs]

Actually it was Frank Zappa who said: 'watch out where the huskies go and don't you eat that yellow snow!'

Another one from PET: 'the government has no business in the bedrooms of the nation'.

[DaveB]

Clara Hughes during a TV interview "I was in Iqaluit, Quebec".

Another reason Rudy's shooting percentage has improved the last few games is that he was playing closer to the basket and in one game was posting up a bit. Anything that limits his 3-point shooting is good. Let his ghost take all the three point shots.

Speaking of mental toughness and other mental issues, I see Royce White has left the Rio Grande Valley Vipers. Imagine the angst if Bryan had drafted him.

[akashsingh]

todays blog didn't have enough raptor content, Im a basketball fan and don't care for ricky romero or the most boring sport on earth. Sorry, just my opinion.

Blogger's note: Well, I'm not going to make stuff up; guess you could search elsewhere, nothing's likely to change here

[Rob.V]

You know what I find interesting today?

The Miami Heat have won 24! consecutive games as we all know, and yet they have exactly (1) more win than the San Antonio Spurs.

That kind of says something (BIG) about both teams, no?

[Russ Never Sleeps]

While "Let the Eastern bastards freeze in the dark" is a great line, it wasn't uttered by Ralph Klein. It was a popular slogan & bumper sticker from the days of the NEP when Lougheed was Premier and Klein was a lowly reporter on his way to becoming mayor of Calgary.

Klein's (in)famous quote about Easterners was calling them "creeps" and "bums".

[Mike D.]

If Romero's already a bit too instrospective, it's a good thing the Jays don't use SportVU.

It will be interesting to see the result of Gay's sight-correcting goggles. I started wearing glasses at 18 after many years of not noticing that one eye was much weaker than the other. The good news was that my vision (and depth perception) were corrected. The bad news was that without glasses my eyes had sort of developed their own half-a**ed method of depth perception, so once I got the glasses I actually spent a good few months bumping into and tripping over things.

[Geoff Read]

I too am a Romero fan - if he figures it out this year the Jays will have 5 top 3 caliber starters and their playoff hopes will get a big boost. Let's hope he gets over his self-doubt sooner rather than later.

I add my two favourite Jack Layton quotes to your list:

"Are you hiding the [Conservative] platform under your sweater?" - to Stephen Harper wearing a sweater to soften his image during a televised national debate.

"You know, most Canadians, if they don’t show up for work, they don’t get a promotion!" - to Michael Ignatieff about the fact he had the worst attendance record in the House of Commons, again during a televised national debate.