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Okay boys, get your minds out of the gutter, right now; this is our first mother and daughter tag team Wake UP call. I can’t decide who looks better…. hmmm, who you got? Let The Captain know, if you had one, only one choice to wake UP with, who would it be? Is the mother or the daughter?
by Martin Walter… Canada’s Northwind as it is known likes its chances as it enters into its final preparation for 2008 International Cup. Speaking from Toronto, Martin Walter, Northwind’s General Manager commented that the team’s management is very comfortable with where the team has been drawn. In a recent interview he commented “We have Finland up first on August 27th and we are now totally focused on that game, but at the end of the day, you have to beat them all and we believe we are capable of doing just that”. Canada is bringing a squad of 31 players along with ten support staff that have a combination of experience and youth and are the best that AFL Canada has ever brought to Australia. Last year the newly revamped Northwind silenced a lot of critics by beating USA’s Revolution in a game in Vancouver.
This is Northwind’s 3rd International Cup tournament and while they have not been that successful in the past, this year’s team has a new look to it. “We have a new Coach plus we have managed to get a number of strong corporate sponsorships for this year’s cup, especially from the mining industry such as companies like Foraco Drilling, Quantec Geoscience and Laramide Resources Inc all of which have business on both sides of the Pacific” Walter said. “This has put the team into a strong financial position, and that allows us to bring the best football talent that the Ontario Australian Rules Football League (“OAFL”) and other Canadian league’s have to offer” Walter went on to say.
AFL Canada this time around has appointed local OAFL legend Mark “Flash” Block as Northwind’s new coach and Emile Studham as his assistant skills coach. Mark is Canada’s most successful coach and has taken his local team, the Toronto Eagles to the past two OAFL Premierships. He is also no newcomer to the international arena as he captained the Northwind side in the 2002 International Cup. When asked what is different this time around? Flash Commented, “since being on board as coach I have made a number of changes to the National Program. For example we are playing more games together now and that is starting to give off results as the team is starting to gel”. He added “due to increasing levels of interest we have been able to set higher standards which have allowed us to name a well balanced team consisting of top line defence-men, a nice blend of big guys and vastly improved centre and forward lines that can move the ball forward quickly. For example I am very happy with the way champion brothers Taso and George Dimacakos are playing along with the way Danny Zimmerman and Danny Mcullagh are shaping up” stated the new Northwind Coach and finished off by saying “We also have a number of players that are improving their skills by playing in Australia this year and I think we have improved significantly since last year’s win over the US Revolution”.
The Team appointed Stefan Leyhane of the local Toronto club, the Broadview Hawks as its Captain and has named centre-half forward Aaron Falcione as its Vice-Captain. As previously mentioned Northwind is drawn against Finland on August 27th and has Sweden to face on Aug 29th, both games are in Melbourne. Their final game within their division will be against Ireland and is scheduled for September 1st in Warrnambool. This year Northwind’s host AFL club is the Sydney Swans who also hosted them in 2005. The team has also partnered up with local VAFA club, the NOBs St Patricks College Football Club who has offered their club facilities for Team Canada to train on and make their final preparations. While in Warnambool, Northwind will be hosted by the Allansford Football Club.
Representing Northwind at this year’s International Cup in Melbourne will be:
Players
Vancouver Saints – James Maitland, Gareth Bowley, Clayton Holmes,
Vancouver Cougars - Scott Flemming
Toronto Eagles - Olivier Haywood, Taso Dimacakos, George Dimacakos, Kevin Minaker, Matt Lowden, Steven Carew, Aaron Falcione (V.Capt.) Frank Luissier, Sean Kennedy
Broadview Hawks – Stefan Leyhane (Capt.), Rhys Harris, Mario Pareja
Central Toronto Blues – Bruce Parker, Kien La, Jacob Sone, Jared Postance
Toronto Downtown Dingos – Chris Buckowski, Danny McIlravey
Etobicoke Kangaroos – Murray Lovett, Chesley Long, Matata Emmanual, Adam Jacobs
High Park Demons – Dale Simnett
Guelph Gargoyles – Chris Cunning, Greg Logel
Coaching Staff
Head Coach: Mark Block (Toronto Eagles)
Assistant Coach: Emile Studham (Etobicoke Kangaroos)
Scott Sheen Assistant Coach (Vancouver Saints).
Administration
General Manager: Martin Walter
Team Manager: Helga Cunning
Media Manager: Bruce Parker
by Adam Wright… For those awaiting the return of “The Legend Killer” Randy Orton, I come to you with this bad news.
WWE.com is reporting that Orton was involved in a motorcycle accident, which re-injured his collarbone.
Orton will now be sidelined for another three months.
The original injury happened this past June at “One Night Stand” in a match against Triple H. Orton was thrown out of the ring, and landed straight on his collarbone.
He was expected to return any time now, but with this news, we still await the return of Randy Orton to the WWE.
by Bryan Thiel… It was all supposed to change this year. This was the year that the result would be different.
The bullpen? It was still expected to be the low-cost, high-reward monster it had been for the past few years. The starters? Starting at the top and working your way down, when these guys were at the top of their game, they could go toe-to-toe with any division leader, anywhere, anytime.
The defense supposedly received a tightening at the hot corner, and the late-inning solutions looked to be able to hold onto a lead like no other.
And the offense? This was the year that they were finally supposed to score.
Turns out that what they say is true: To believe in something, you truly have to see it. To be honest, I don’t think I can ever get excited about an off-season acquisition again until I see it reap fruitful benefits.
I believed in the Toronto Blue Jays this year. I believed the offense would finally be healthy, that everything would come together, and that we’d compete with the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox for supremacy in the AL East. Or at least challenge for a wild-card spot.
Instead, we’re watching as the Tampa Bay Rays do what we were promised such a long time ago; they’re competing against the best in the business with a low-budget roster that’s young and cheap. Meanwhile, we’re stuck to battle it out with the Baltimore Orioles for last in the division.
So how bad are we? Well check this out:
Our starters have come as advertised, if not better. A.J. Burnett leads the American League in strikeouts, followed closely by Roy Halladay. In a twist that no one saw coming, A.J. is third in the AL in wins with 14, followed by Halladay, who has 13. Roy is also third in the AL with a 2.72 ERA and second with a 1.05 WHIP.
Side note: Look, I know hindsight is 20/20, but if Alex Rios had have been traded for Tim Lincecum, I thoroughly believe that the Jays would have been much better off. For starters, Lincecum leads the majors with 175 strikeouts, is tied for first in the NL with a 2.68 ERA, and has lost a total of three games while winning 12 games.
If we dump Rios (and his less-than-stimulating campaign), then Reed Johnson and his .300 average, six homers, and 41 RBI (Rios is sitting pretty at .279, 8 homers, and 49 RBI) are still on the team, Adam Lind still gets his shot, and a spot is open for Travis Snyder who (with everything he’s been doing in the minors this season—after starting at Single-A he’s shot up to Triple-A now) could very well play himself into the picture in 2009 or 2010 at the latest.
At this point, I think I’m delirious—and most likely wrong. Going forward, the Jays are probably going to need Rios, whether he recaptures his power swing or not. This is just one of the “I’m pissed” moments to come from this season.
Continuing with the theme of pitching, the Jays have the second-best team ERA in the majors, just two point higher than the Los Angeles Dodgers. They lead the league in complete games with nine, thanks in most part to Roy Halladay’s seven (Quick Stat: That’s more than 27 TEAM totals in the league), and they’re tied for third in the majors with nine shutouts—two back of the Red Sox. They’re 27th in hits allowed, 29th in earned runs allowed, fifth in strikeouts, and 25th in walks allowed.
In other words, if this isn’t a championship-calibre pitching staff, I’m damn sure this is a playoff-bound pitching staff. Hell, if it wasn’t for a 4.62 ERA, then A.J. Burnett would probably be considered as one of the leading candidates for the AL Cy Young (His 14 wins is a career high by the way).
On defense, the Jays aren’t terrible. They feature a seventh-best fielding percentage, while they’ve caught 30 baserunners stealing this season—it may surprise you to know that that is the fourth best mark in the league.
The team is 25th in errors (despite a pitiful showing this past Saturday in support of Halladay), while the only defensive category the Jays really suffer in is double-plays turned, where they’re 26th—then again, the middle-infield has been re-done more than Simon Cowell’s hair this season.
So essentially, the Jays aren’t terrible—they’ve actually had a quality season, pitching and defense-wise, and they’ve come as-advertised this season…aside from the offense.
Here’s where we get terrible.
For just a really quick sample of how bad it really is, in Halladay’s nine losses this season, the Jays have scored nine runs while he’s still been in the game, and they’ve only registered one multi-run inning. After he’s left the game, the Jays have scored one run in the eighth inning, and five in the ninth in total.
The sad thing is that some of us are making out the wrong guys to be the culprits.
The one guy a lot of fans blame is Vernon Wells. Granted, Wells signed that monster $127 million contract in 2006, so he should be producing, but it’s hard to do that from the disabled list.
Is it frustrating that he’s had health issues the past two years? Sure it is, but although his offensive production suffered last year due to injury, it’s almost sad how his totals this season rack up to the rest of his teammates numbers.
To start with, Wells trails only Adam Lind and Joe Inglett in batting average with a .287 mark in 254 at-bats. So despite his inability to stay in the lineup for an extended period of time, he’s still consistent when he’s in the lineup.
In 64 games, Vernon Wells has hit nine home runs. The team leader, Matt Stairs, has hit 11 home runs in 96 games. RBI-wise, Vernon Wells is third on the team with 42 RBI. In case anyone forgot, it’s Aug. 10, and our third-leading RBI guy has played just over half of his teams games.
One of the main culprits for the sagging offense could be Alex Rios. It’s long been said that Rios has 30-homer, 30-steal potential—I just wish someone could have told us that he can only hit 30 in one of those categories a season. Given the choice, I’d take a 25 homer, 85 RBI, .300-hitting Rios with 15-17 steals over a .279, 8 homer, 49 RBI guy with 30 steals—especially at what he’s getting paid.
Lyle Overbay has fallen a very long way from his 2006 season. For a guy that once hit .300 with 20 homers and 46 doubles, Lyle seems to have fallen under the same spell that Eric Hinske did—not being able to fully recover his performance after suffering a broken hand.
But rest assured, Scott Rolen has produced at the same clip…that he did last year. Rolen, like many of the Jays, has had an off year—a VERY off year. His average is the lowest it’s ever been, while the promise of Rolen recapturing his 25-30 homer magic looks to be long gone.
The defensive upgrade over Troy Glaus is still heart-settling, although I’m starting to wish that we didn’t run him out of town now that he’s found his stroke again in St. Louis.
And don’t get me started on David Eckstein.
The Blue Jays’ offensive stars this season have been Adam Lind, Joe Inglett, and Rod Barajas—which, given their standing amongst the league’s worst offenses, isn’t surprising.
As it stands, the Toronto Blue Jays are the only team without a player with 50 RBI. Just this past week, Jesus Flores of the Washington Nationals knocked in his 50th run this season (Go figure, they leave Canada and the Expos still mop the floor with us).
Across the majors, there are only seven teams without a 20-home-run man on their roster. Of those seven, only three have a player with fewer than 15: Washington, San Francisco, and Toronto.
I’m sick and tired of the promises, and I’m sick and tired of the unfulfilled expectations.
The first step towards success has already been taken—that was firing John Gibbons (or as Sean Crowe often mistakes him for: Jimy Williams). Gibbons was told to pack up his Texas drawl and dysfunctional management style and “get the hell out of Dodge.”
In came Cito Gaston, who has edged the offense along, introducing a “see ball, hit ball” mentality. Go figure.
What Gaston is doing right now is weeding out the players Toronto won’t (or at least shouldn’t) be moving forward with. The lack of playing time given to veterans like Gregg Zaun and David Eckstein in favor of Rod Barajas, Marco Scutaro, and Joe Inglett seems as if Cito is preparing for life without the soon-to-be free agents.
The next step? Do what everyone’s been begging for since day one of this debauchery of a season began: fire J.P. Ricciardi.
Bring in someone, anyone, with the track record and ability to either reshape this team, or to somehow work with Cito to light a fire underneath the rash of underachievement that’s swept this team.
It’s been seven years, and I’m sick and tired of the same story after every season.
Injuries happen, that’s part of the game, and that’s why you’re allowed to carry players on the bench. The good teams rise above injuries. J.P. Ricciardi uses them as the Toronto Blue Jays excuse.
Injuries are no excuse. Fielding a hard-luck offense for a few months can be excusable. Fielding one for the past four years? Something is wrong there.
If J.P. remains with this team, I can’t be held responsible for my actions…the Pittsburgh Pirates are looking mighty attractive right now.
by Josh Lewis… The other night, I was watching CBC’s coverage of Canadian swimmer Brent Hayden’s decision to withdraw from the 200-metre freestyle semifinals. Then Ron MacLean mentioned that the final for the men’s rowing eights would be broadcast in the middle of the night (3:50 a.m. Atlantic time).
At least that’s what I thought he said.
Despite having to work the next morning, I decided to set my alarm clock and get up in the wee hours to watch the Canadian gold medal favourites try to win Canada’s first medal of the Beijing Olympics.
3:50 a.m. came, far too quickly, and the TV was clicked on (turned down low, of course). Then, to my complete surprise, it wasn’t the men’s eights competing. It was the women!
Now, with all due respect to the Canadian women’s rowing team, I was not exactly pleased to see this. The men’s eights are considered a heavy gold medal favourite. The women’s eights, not so much.
Did I mention that it was a preliminary heat and not the final?
Figuring that I was awake anyway, I decided to watch the women’s heat. The Canadians finished third out of four boats and must race in the repechage on Wednesday to advance to the semis.
Despite all that, I enjoyed the race. Rowing is one of my favourite Olympic sports, and it was a pleasure to watch the four boats giving it their all, finding the mental strength to push forward (or, in their case, backward) while their bodies screamed for relief.
It’s the allure of the Olympics and the thrill of international competition that hooks me every time. I find myself getting up at 7 a.m. to watch a field hockey match between South Korea and New Zealand, or a badminton match featuring a German and a Mexican.
These are sports that I would never watch under normal circumstances, especially if Canada is not involved, but somehow the Olympic banner and the prospect of best-on-best competition reels me in every time.
So, what drives me to get up in the middle of the night to watch a rowing competition? Even a hockey game would be hard-pressed to drag me out of bed at that hour.
It’s the excitement of watching athletes, everyday human beings, from all over the world try to better themselves. Their ability captivates our imagination. Their drive and determination reflect what we would like to see in ourselves. And the goal of achievement is something that we can all identify with.
by James Borbath… When the NBA first decided to send it’s stars to the Olympic Games it was all about the “Dream Team” but it was about more than a Gold Medal for the United States in Basketball. David Stern saw it as great chance to get the Stars of his league on the biggest sports stage in the world. The U.S.A would crush the teams they would face and it was really from a basketball stand point almost like watching the Harlem Globetrotters. The game of basketball was growing in the world and Stern and the NBA were aware of it. At the time of the first “Dream Team” there were few international players in the NBA. But as time marched on this would change and basketball would become a truly global game.
The NHL and Gary Betman would also send it stars to the winter Olympics. Although the games on the ice were exciting and made for much more competition in who would actually win, the fact is the NHL was doing this for same reasons as the NBA. The success that the NBA has enjoyed from it becoming part of the Olympic family has been far greater than the NHL. The NBA is huge in the global marketplace. China is a shining example of that fact. Who do you think is the largest selling jersey in China for the NBA? Yao Ming? Nope he is sixth behind names like Iverson, James and Anthony. That speaks to the success the NBA has had in marketing it’s game. I don’t thing many kids in China are rocking NHL Jerseys or could even name you a single player in the NHL.
Did Stern ever imagine a day he would see the United States lose at the Olympics? I am not sure about that. But even in defeat the United States and the NBA would still get the same boost in global marketing. The addition of international stars like Yao Ming, Dirk Nowitzki, Jose Calderon and many more have only increased the interest in the NBA. The Olympic Basketball Tournament has become the single greatest marketing tool for the NBA beyond it’s own All Star Game and the NBA Finals.
The whole concept has come a long way from a guy from Angola asking for Charles Barkley’s autograph at halftime of a game he was playing against him. The rest of the world is no longer afraid to battle America’s best and the odd time they will win. The last time the U.S.A won an Olympic Gold was in 2000 in Sydney. The one image of that team was Vince Carter dunking over top of a 7 foot plus french guy that was a draft choice of the New York Knicks. But what was forgotten was how close that moment came to never happening. The United States almost lost to Lithuania and if not for a missed shot they may not have ever played France and won a gold. The reality would hit home in 2004 and the Americans would lose and fail to win gold.
It has caused the U.S program to change and look at what they needed to do to be better. Jerry Colangelo the father of Raptors G.M Bryan was the man put in charge of doing that. This team in China right now is a product of that work. But some other things have changed to as far as the players and attitudes. It has been refreshing to see the NBA stars embrace the Olympic Experience. Kobe Bryant marched along with many athletes that he and most Americans likely did not know. Chris Bosh wanted to get a picture with swimmer Michael Phelps. Phelps is looking to make history and win 8 gold medals in Swimming. The U.S Team has also come out and supported the American stars of the WNBA when they are playing games. In the past the U.S “Dream Team” was not really a part of “Team U.S.A” but this version of the post era dream team has been. It is a refreshing change and does nothing but add to the mass marketing it does for the players and the league.
In the Opening Ceremonies you also saw several international players carrying the flag for their respective nations. This is one of the most watched events around the entire world. Speaking of large television audiences the game between the U.S and China was said to be the most watched game in the history of the sport. Over a billion people watched China and U.S play the game invented by a Canadian James Naismith. Could Stern or Naismith have imagined that? It is truly an amazing moment in the history of the sport.
So in a summer that has seen a lot of bad things for David Stern. This is something that must have brought a smile to his face. The NBA Ref Scandal and an ugly franchise move out of Seattle can not take away from this moment. It has been a great success for the NBA in taking part in the Olympics and I can not see that changing anytime soon. It has been a huge success for the NBA in global marketing and is the shining example for all leagues to only hope to do half as well.
If the NBA ever one day has European Expansion it is born of the entire dream team concept. David Stern is one of the most intelligent people in sports today. He has done a great job in marketing the NBA and bringing to the level it is at today. He deserves a lot of credit for having the vision to see what bringing the NBA to the Olympics could be. It may have grown far beyond what even he had thought it would be. But if not for coming up with the idea to begin with none of it ever happens.
Check out more James at Dino Nation Blog
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