Sporting Madness

Wednesday's news that legendary singer Stompin' Tom Connors had passed away at 77 is making waves across Canada, and for good reason. Yes, he was known for his odes to hockey , football and more, but his impact went well beyond that, and even beyond his songs. One of the most poignant statements he ever made came in 1978, when he returned his Juno Awards in a protest of the American-focused state of the Canadian music industry at that time; Dave Bidini has an excellent piece on just what that meant here . It wasn't a contrived or spotlight-seeking moment; indeed, after doing so, Stompin' Tom withdrew from the Canadian music scene almost completely for much of a decade. Instead, returning those awards was a natural extension of what he believed, what he sung about and what made him so important to Canada. A Twitter hashtag I use a lot is #hoserism , and I think I can trace its origins back to Stompin' Tom. It's my version of Canadian nationalism, and it's ...

Last week, I spoke with Chicago Blackhawks' defenceman Brent Seabrook for a South Delta Leader piece about what it was like for him to compete in the Olympics at home, so I figured I'd spotlight that here. Let's take a look at what he had to say, consider why Olympic hockey is special and think about if there's a way to use those lessons to make the NHL more exciting. One of the most interesting comments I thought Seabrook made was about how Olympic competition is in some ways even more intense than the NHL playoffs, thanks to the single-elimination format and the national, not city-wide, focus on the games. "There was so much at stake in such a short time after the round-robin," Seabrook said. "The qualification and the medal round, it's one game and you're out. Everybody was putting it on the line and making every shift count." That single-elimination format also makes it tougher to recover from a bad shift or a bad game. "I...

It's almost a full week since the Olympics wrapped up, so I thought now would be a good time to look back at them. The emotions have faded, allowing for more logical analysis, but the implications of the Games—both positive and negative—will still be felt for some time to come. Ever since the Olympics were given to Vancouver, I've been juggling excitement and loathing. As I wrote in my initial piece , the Olympics are an interesting topic to write about, because they present such crass commercialism, excess and corruption alongside such genuine moments of inspiration. They bring highs and lows, and they come as a group package. I'm not a fan of those who fall head over heels in love with the Games while ignoring the very real issues and problems they present, but I'm also not a fan of those who lose track of the positives in their rush to condemn and criticize, especially when they hurt their own cause with senseless violence [ Doug Ward , The Vancouver Sun ]. The Ol...

Hockey. At times, it's just a game. Men's hockey is a somewhat odd inclusion in the Winter Olympics, given that its athletes are by and large ( Tore Vikingstad s excluded) internationally-renowned millionaires. That's in sharp contrast to the rest of the athletes, who generally aren't living the lifestyle of the rich and famous. At the same time, the sport is the marquee event of the Winter Olympics, and the most accessible event for many; most people have at least a passing familiarity with the game and the rules, unlike sports like curling or figure skating. It deserves to be here, and it deserves to be the final event. The problem with that, though, is that the men's hockey final takes on so much significance that it can overshadow the rest of the Games. This is especially true in Canada, where our national identity is so bound up with hockey. As I wrote earlier, that's a somewhat superficial comparison, because we are much, much more than that. It still i...

"A modern-day warrior, mean, mean stride/Today's Tom Sawyer, mean, mean pride" - Rush, "Tom Sawyer" Today's gold-medal hockey game between Canada and the U.S. is pretty much a perfect way to end the Olympics. The U.S. leads the medal count, while Canada leads all countries in gold medals. Moreover, hockey's "Canada's sport", but one the Americans have taken up in ever-increasing numbers, and the talent gap between the two countries has increasingly diminished in recent years. It should be a fantastic display of hockey. One of the questions is if Canada can keep its pride under control, though. For so long, there's been the attitude that all the Canadians need to do to win is just show up. That doesn't cut it anymore. Canada might still have the best roster on paper, but it's very close at the top, as their loss to the Americans in the round-robin and their close match against Slovakia in the semifinal proved. Anyone can w...

Everyone will be focusing on hockey for most of today, but I wanted to say a few words in praise of Canadian curling skip Kevin Martin before talking about the imminent Hockeypocalypse. For me, it was fantastic seeing Martin pick up his first Olympic gold medal in a hard-fought game against the Norwegians yesterday, the same country that beat him in the final in 2002. To me, Martin is the quintessential embodiment of Canada. He doesn't look like an elite athlete; in fact he looks rather like a middle-aged insurance executive. He plays a sport not many people worldwide have heard of, and far fewer understand. Plenty of Winter Olympics sports have exposure issues, but most of them are simple enough to understand and appreciate on first glance when people do tune in, whether it's the high-speed thrills of bobsled or luge, the ridiculous hang time found in snowboard cross or the halfpipe, or the artistry of figure skating. To the uneducated, men's curling in particular often...

Twenty-seven years ago, on September 28, 1972, Paul Henderson was centre stage in perhaps the most momentous moment in Canadian sports history. Henderson had led the Canadian comeback in the Summit Series against the Soviet Union, scoring the game-winner in both Game Six and Game Seven of the eight-game series. That was nothing compared to what came next, though. The eighth game was for all the marbles. Both teams entered with 3-3-1 records, and the atmosphere in Moscow was downright hostile. The Soviet Union led 5-3 after the second period, and it looked as if all was lost. Yet, Phil Esposito and Yvan Cournoyer tallied for Canada to tie it up. At that point, a Soviet official informed the Canadians that the Soviets would claim victory on goal differential if the series ended in a tie. This seemed the latest in a string of dubious Soviet moves to win, and at the very least, would have resulted in one of the greatest hockey matchups ever played ending in disputes and feuding. ...

A very interesting story came out yesterday that hasn't received a ton of coverage to date. Vancouver radio station CKNW reported that Simon Fraser University's athletic program has been placed on probation by Canada West for the 2009-10 season. Unlike NCAA probation, this move won't affect SFU teams and their quest for regional and national titles. However, it does remove SFU's vote on conference decisions. More importantly, it leaves them in limbo for next season (2010-11), the year before they're scheduled to join the NCAA's Division II (for the 2012 year). Sandy Slavin , the president of Canada West and the director of athletics at the University of Lethbridge, told CKNW the decision was made thanks to SFU's plan to join the NCAA. "We don't believe they have a vested interest in our business any more and they shouldn't be voting," she said. She said they decided to avoid measures that would penalize SFU's teams this year, though. ...

Things aren't looking too good for Setanta, one of the primary worldwide broadcasters of the English Premier League. According to The Times , the company may go off the air "at any moment" after fellow broadcaster BSkyB declined to provide them with a £50 million [ BBC News ] loan in exchange for access to their live EPL rights. They've also apparently suspended new subscriptions [ Ireland Online , found via Brian Zygo ]. Founders Leonard Ryan and Michael O'Rourke are reportedly trying to find a new source of financing, but that isn't easy these days. This could have profound implications for soccer across the globe. Some of the most drastic effects will likely take place in the Scottish Premier League. Check out this passage from the Times article: "The worst effects of a Setanta collapse, though, would be felt in Scotland. Payments currently due to the individual SPL clubs range in size from £70,000 to nearly £750,000, with the Old Firm obviously ...

Continuing in the vein of my first and second posts on this week's conference call about the official application to relocate the Phoenix Coyotes to Hamilton, I figured it would be worth taking a look at some of the other aspects of the situation. One element that's particularly interested me is if it makes any difference that the proposed new site would be in Canada, so that's the focus of today's post. Obviously, there are some major differences to be found in operating a professional sports franchise in the United States or in Canada. The biggest one is the currency. One of the main reasons that the Winnipeg Jets (who became the Coyotes) and Quebec Nordiques (who became the Colorado Avalanche) left for the U.S. in the 1990s was thanks to a slump in the Canadian economy and a correlated decline in the Canadian dollar. There were other issues in both cities, including arena capacity and capabilities, corporate support and television cash, but the dollar's weaknes...

Photo: Former CFL commissioner Tom Wright authored the Balsillie group's official relocation application. From daylife.com . Thanks to Brenna Flynn of Jim Balsillie 's media relations team, I was invited to take part in a media conference call this afternoon on the Balsillie group's official application to the NHL(filed yesterday) to relocate the Phoenix Coyotes. It was a highly informative discussion featuring many of the usual suspects who have been covering the story, including Kevin McGran of the Toronto Star , Ken Peters of the Hamilton Spectator and friend of this blog Norm James of A-Channel London. I've got plenty of material to discuss from the call, so I'll spread it out over several posts. First up, a piece on the man who wrote the relocation application, former CFL commissioner Tom Wright . It was perhaps an unusual situation for Wright to be speaking in favour of moving a franchise. Only three years ago, he was still the CFL commissioner and proba...

It's going to be an epic clash of countries at Toronto's BMO Field tonight as the Canadian women take on the top-ranked Americans in head coach Carolina Morace 's home debut. It's the 44th match between the sides (the U.S. is 37-3-4 against Canada), but only the fifth match between them on Canadian soil. Canada has never beaten the American senior team at home, losing three times and pulling off one draw. We'll find out if that will change tonight. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. Eastern, and the game will be televised live on all four regions of Rogers Sportsnet. Come join me here then for the live blog! You can also check out my full match preview here . Canada - USA women's soccer

Well, the Jim Balsillie story continues to develop. The most interesting news since my last post is that of Gary Bettman 's apocalyptic reaction yesterday [ James Mirtle , From the Rink ]. I'll have more analysis on this one later, but for now, I figured I'd start the day with an appropriate song. Here is my version of "The Ballad of Jim and Gary" (apologies to The Beatles ): Standing on the plane down to Phoenix, Trying to get the team refinanced. The man in the back said, "Jim Balsillie's back". I said "Hell no! Just give us a chance." Jim, you know it ain't easy, You know how hard it can be. But the way things are going You're gonna crucify me. At first, things with Jim went so well, In Pittsburgh, we thought he'd be fine. But then the press called to say, "He wants to move away," So I told him he had to refrain. Jim, you know it ain't easy, You know how hard it can be. But the way things are going You're ...

Photo: Karina LeBlanc makes a save while training with the Canadian women's team in 2007 [Photo from CTV.ca]. In what may perhaps be a big step forward for women's soccer in the United States, a Canadian played a key role. Karina LeBlanc , the long-serving Canadian international (69 caps at the senior level according to the CSA site ), made several impressive saves [ The Canadian Press ] to preserve a 2-0 victory for the Los Angeles Sol over the Washington Freedom in the first-ever game in the new Women's Professional Soccer league. It's been a long road to this point for LeBlanc. According to her bio page , she was born in Atlanta but moved to Maple Ridge, B.C. with her family at a young age. She went to Maple Ridge Secondary, where she didn't play high school soccer (as they didn't have a team at that point) but starred in basketball, track and field hockey. She then spent four very successful years playing soccer at the University of Nebraska, finishing wi...

The wait is over, and Dale Mitchell has officially been axed as the head of the Canadian men's national soccer team. I have more over at The 24th Minute .

Two stories on the Globe and Mail 's website only hours apart give rather different takes on this year's Grey Cup viewership. The headline for the story from The Canadian Press is "Cup audience increases five per cent", while the headline for William Houston 's column is "Small audience tunes in to Grey Cup Game" (game really shouldn't be capitalized, but so be it). The ledes are also rather different, as shown below: CP: "An average of 3.65 million people tuned in to watch the first-ever Grey Cup broadcast on TSN and RDS on Sunday, according to numbers released by the network. The total audience for Calgary's win over Montreal in the 96th Grey Cup represented a five per cent increase over the viewership for last year's game, which Saskatchewan won over Winnipeg. That game was aired on CBC." Houston: "TSN's first Grey Cup telecast drew one of the lowest television audiences in the history of the CFL championship game. Th...

David Shoalts has a very interesting piece in today's Globe and Mail that certainly opens with a bang. As he writes: "NHL governors are talking informally about placing a second hockey team in Toronto alongside the Maple Leafs, The Globe and Mail has learned. 'Why shouldn't we put another team in the best and biggest market in the world?' one of several NHL governors who spoke with The Globe anonymously said of the Greater Toronto Area. According to this governor, one idea floated is for prospective owner Jim Balsillie to be rewarded with an expansion team in Toronto after helping to restore financial ballast to the Nashville Predators. 'I've heard this exact scenario,' a second governor said." This is a very interesting idea, and one that certainly hasn't been floated very much relative to the idea of putting another team in either Hamilton or Kitchener-Waterloo. Toronto could sustain two teams in my mind, given the hockey-mad population, t...