Six Bits of Sports Stuff on a Saturday
1. The Passing of John Beliveau
Dad described him as all class. He was a true gentleman who appears on the Stanley Cup more times than anything not named the Montreal Canadians. According to Michael Farber, ''Beliveau was the most universally respected hockey player and man''. People refer to him the same way I refer to Mr. Russell; I believe that puts them both in great company.
http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/beliveau-obituary/
Repose en paix M. Beliveau!
2. Women’s World Cup
The draw for the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup came out today. There are a lot of talking points to analyze from the US being in ''The Group of Death'' to Canada’s ''No Excuses Now'' reaction, but the most important story to me is the discussion and anticipation of a women’s sporting event. Finally, an all-girl event being treated like a sporting event by the mainstream media. On the last day of the NCAA Football season, the WWC is even trending on Twitter.
3. Tiger is Playing
I realize ''Tiger is Back'' would be an overused proclamation but while I sit here praying for the mild weather to continue, Tiger is playing golf again. The over analysis of his game since his fateful fall from grace has been a little much. Tiger will win another major but it will sneak up on us. He will be a dark horse at best and Bam, he is hoisting a trophy. Many are pointing out his lack of success in 2014, conveniently omitting that he only played eight times and never looked right the whole time. Golf is better when Tiger is competing. I hope his career gets back on track and we have a lot of red on Sundays.
4. Michigan lost to whom?
The number 17 ranked Wolverines lost to the New Jersey Institute of Technology Highlanders today. Let that sink in a little, NJIT was 2-5 before the game and their coach admitted he thought they were going to lose. I believe these types of losses are on the coaches. You have to remind your players to go to work and avoid listening to the experts. This type of game was meant to be a cash grab for the Highlanders and they get to add a W as well.
5. 76ers Win
I believe the 76ers might be the worst team of all time, but on Wednesday night they beat the Timberwolves. This brings up a scary thought for Minnesota, ''How did you lose to Philly? '' If I ran the Wolves, I might have woken up on Thursday and fired my coach. Similar to the Michigan loss, this one stinks of unfocused players. To quote Julius Campbell, ''Attitude reflects Leadership! ''
6. Internet Sports Videos
I got caught in the internet void today and I came across these two gems.
The first represents my generation of competitors who never want to quit.
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/video/most-intense-hilarious-squash-rally-104024846.html
The second represents the importance of waiting to celebrate until after the task is complete and not one second before. I love the cheers of, ''Oh No!''
*Raptors Watch*
After a loss to the Lakers on Sunday, we took care of business in Sacramento and Utah before having our butts handed to us last night. They still went 2-2 during the week and remain in first place in the East. Casey is looking for more effort on the defensive side of the ball. We may need a lull to remind us how good we are not without the effort that makes us special. (Sorry if I seem like I consider myself part of the team with the overuse of WE, but hey #wethenorth) DeRozan is still three weeks away but we only play three times this week. If we go 2-1, I consider that a success.
*Mes Observations des Chevaliers*
I learned our school name was the Chevaliers (Knights) this week. The boys are presently 1-2 on the season. Two of the losses were blowouts but our ceiling seems to be high. Turnovers and defensive positioning are hurting us and a lot of that is on the coach. There is a lot of teaching left to be done and we will need to improve a ton to compete for the league title. But I believe we can compete for the league title.
