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Home / Archive: 19. August 2008
By Ranhvir Samra…
It seems like we humans believe in “best before” dates. Like a loaf of bread, where Dempsters recommends consuming the product before a set date for optimum taste and freshness. The same can be said about sports and athletes. Wayne Gretzky, Michael Jordan, Joe Montana are a few of the athletes whose play deteriorated after reaching the age of thirty. Now many might say that Gretzky led the 1993 L.A. Kings to their only Stanley Cup Finals appearance at the age of 32, but anyone who follows hockey would also note that Gretzky struggled all throughout the 1992-93 NHL regular season and could not even lead the Kings to a playoff appearance the next season.
The wear and tear that a professional athlete goes through season in and season out is something that very few of us will ever understand. These athletes endure long hours of practice, pre-season games, training, road trips and worst of all, injuries. Professional sport is a business, first and foremost. Owners want to sell as many tickets as they can, for as much as they can. Athletes make much more money today than ever before and the expectations of the athletes are higher than ever before. When a fan pays $250 for a nosebleed seat to watch Peyton Manning and the Colts play, he or she wants to see Peyton pass for 300 yards, a few touchdowns and a Colts win. These lofty expectations are hard to achieve, even by the world’s greatest athletes. So when an athlete such as Gretzky, Ken Griffey Junior, Jordan are not putting up numbers like they use to, fans become disappointed and so do the athletes.
When the L.A. Kings went downhill following their 1993 finals appearance, Gretzky wanted a change of scenary. He wanted out of L.A. because his one time loyal fans were expecting too much from an aging Gretzky. Injuries had taken a toll on his body yet his mind believed that he was still capable of leading a team to a Stanley Cup. Unfortunately this did not happen and Gretzky retired at age 38 scoring only 9 goals during his last NHL season. The same can be said of Michael Jordan. Arguably the greatest athlete of all time. Jordan retired in 1993 at the age of 30, he was a high flying, high scoring basketball God. When he returned in 1995, he was slower, less athletic and scoring much less. Despite winning another three NBA titles, he was no longer “Air Jordan”. After retiring again in 1998, Jordan returned and played another two seasons for the Washington Wizards, where he did not do much and retired for good at the age of 40.
Nobody is to blame, age influences all of us. I’ve heard that “30 is the new 20″, however this adage cannot apply to professional athletes. We all would like to remember Jordan as he was in 1991 or Gretzky with the Oilers, Joe Montana with the San Francisco teams of the 1980’s but we cannot forget the twilight of their careers either. What these athletes did on a regular basis during the prime of their careers, is what we expected them to do all throughout their careers, and despite this not occurring as often as we would like, we cheered with delight when the athlete showed glimpses of his “old self”. So next time you see Alexander Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby, Lebron James, Peyton Manning play, enjoy the moment. Very few athletes reach their prime after the age of 30 and a setback or injury can prevent a “prime” from even occurring, just ask Michael Vick.
by TJ Zwarych… Center in the NBA can be one of the most dominant positions. If you get a big guy inside who can bang around and grab boards, you have a great piece to start a team with. But if that big guy can bang around, grab boards, block shots AND score, you picked yourself a good one.
The NBA has seen many great centers in it’s time like Hakeem Olajuwan, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Shaquille O’Neal, Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell. Now that’s a good list of players. That however is the past. I mean, O’Neal still plays but is nothing like he used to be. Today’s NBA has many good centers as well. Most of the time now, players can play either center or power forward.
Great centers include Tim Duncan, Yao Ming, Dwight Howard, Tyson Chandler, Shaquille O’Neal, Jermaine O’Neal, Andrew Bogut, Greg Oden, Andrew Bynum and many, many others. Here is a list that I think will round up the top 5 centers in the NBA this coming season.
5. Greg Oden - Portland Trail Blazers
Oden will have a fantastic season this year in his first season playing in the NBA. He should have the starting center position down pat as Aldridge will now be able to go back to his natural position at power forward. Oden is a great young center who looks fantastic. He is very good with both hands and can grab rebounds and block shots. He won’t have too much trouble scoring the ball either. Projected Stats: 14.8 ppg, 10.6 rpg, 1.8 bpg
4. Tyson Chandler - New Orleans Hornets
Chandler will have a much improved season this year with the Hornets as his chemistry with Chris Paul will blossom into something we haven’t seen from them before. Chandler will not be their primary scorer but he will pick up his defense to a new level and be a strong defensive player of the year candidate. Projected Stats: 12.9 ppg, 13.6 rpg, 2.6 bpg
3. Yao Ming - Houston Rockets
Yao will have a Yao like season this year and he will be a West all-star. Injuries won’t be as big of a factor this year and he will help finally lead the Rockets past the first round. With Artest there, teams won’t be able to double down on him as much. With Yao, Artest and McGrady, the Rockets will have a good season. Projected Stats: 19.4 ppg, 11.2 rpg, 1.5 bpg
2. Tim Duncan - San Antonio Spurs
Although getting old, Timmy D will still get it done. He will still be a solid, consistent center that brings passion to his team everyday. Duncan still is and will be the heart and soul of the Spurs until he retires. As Parker gets more experience and he progresses into a better player, Duncan will get more feeds inside from Parker getting open and finding him. Projected Stats: 21.7 ppg, 10.9 rpg, 2.0 bpg
1. Dwight Howard - Orlando Magic
In my mind, Dwight Howard will eventually emerge as one of the greatest centers to ever play the game. Howard is one of the strongest, the fastest and the highest jumping center in the league. He can score inside and has been recently working on his jump shot. Howard is a block machine and grabs boards at will. He will have his best season yet. Projected Stats: 22.8 ppg, 15.1 rpg, 2.6 bpg
by Daniel Sallows… Long gone now is the age of Canadian teams relocating south to the States.
With the strength of the Canadian dollar, and the Leafs, Canadiens, Flames, Oilers, Senators and Canucks making up a huge percentage of the NHL’s overall revenue. In fact the 6 based Canadian teams make up around 30.5% of overall league revenue.
Canadian teams operating income surpasses the league total, which means that the combined operating income in the US is negative.
So doesn’t it only make sense to expand back into Canada?
Bring back the Winnipeg Jets and Quebec Nordiques, and put teams in Hamilton and Saskatoon.
The talent pool is probably now at its highest, and the new rules allow for the smaller more skilled players to make an impact like never before which means there wouldn’t be a drowning of talent if an expansion was to take place.
Which brings us to the Tampa Bay Lightning situation.
It is no secret that the new owners and alot of the front office are involved in Bear Mountain (Victoria BC’s premier resort community), which is Len Barrie’s bread and butter.
With a population of over 750,000 and growing it could very easily support an NHL franchise, especially after the 2010 Winter Olympics are set to be held in the scenic surroundings.
Len Barrie and his group have denied any rumours that they will move the team, but if they struggle at the gate don’t be surprised if the Tampa Bay Lightning find a new home for the 2011-12 season.
If not, well I’m sure it is only a matter of time before the league expands back into the “Great White North”, because like Barrie’s Bear Mountain; Canada is the NHL’s bread and butter.
by Navin Vaswani… Wow. That was most enjoyable. Ain’t nothing like beating the living shit out of the Boston Red Sox. To do it at Fenway Park, against their “ace,” well, I can’t ask for much more than that.
Sure, it was only a two game set thanks to Friday’s game being rained out, but we won ‘em both. And last I checked, that’s still a sweep. The legendary Tao of Stieb put it best: “Yah chowdah heads! Why don’t you take those 15 runs and shove them up Sweet Caroline’s pooper?!”
The Jays looked like they were making up for a season’s worth of terrible hitting, and overall execution, in yesterday’s joyous matinee affair. It was fun to watch. Fifteen runs, 22 hits, and an astonishing 10 doubles. It was the type of offensive display I envisioned I’d be watching on a regular basis from these Blue Jays. Oh, how wrong I was.
Alex Rios was the main event in yesterday’s doubles parade. Dude was simply on fire, finishing five-for-six with four two-baggers and a single, three runs scored, and two runs batted in.
Once again, I’ve got to show Johnny McDonald some love. In the first inning, with the Jays up four-nil and runners on second and third with two down, Mac, the ultra-light hitting PMoD (if you still don’t know what PMoD stands for, shame on you), stroked a Josh Beckett offering off the Green Monstah for a double. Six-nothing Jays. It was a huge hit early from the number nine hitter, and it sent a message to the BoSox. The message? Something along the lines of “Today, we will not be fucked with. And Beckett sucks.”
Hey, you know that Adam Lind guy? He’s good.
Hey, you know that Brad Wilkerson guy? He’s, uh, not very good. Yeah, he’s made some circus catches the last couple of months in the field, but his .215 batting average and .624 OPS, in 74 games with Toronto, are downright awful.
Might there be a Richie Sexson sighting?
The Jays, fresh off their successful 5-1 road trip, head into their off day today with a 65-60 record, and seven games behind Boston in the wild card race (you’re damned right it’s a race). If the Red Sox look hard enough, they might just see Toronto in their rear view mirror, far off in the distance, but gaining some ground nonetheless. Remember what the always-wise Ace Ventura Pet Detective said: “Assholes in mirror are closer than they appear!” Yes, we are those assholes.
Seven games. Crazier shit has happened. And New York and Boston will be in town this week, beginning tomorrow night. This is what it’s all about, folks.
Bring on the Yankees.
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