By now whether you follow sports or not you've probably heard of the Toronto Maple Leafs fan who got busted for throwing waffles on the ice. Before I get into my rant I just want to make it clear that I do not agree with this fans method of expressing his frustration. This rant isn't going to be so much about what this fan did, as much as it's a tirade on MLSE!!!
Coles notes of what happened for those who may not know...basically a couple of weeks ago at the end of a Toronto Maple Leafs game versus the Philadelphia Flyers a fan threw a waffle onto the ice as the Leafs exited the ice. Then just last week in a 6-3 loss to the Atlanta Thrashers a fan threw waffles on the ice during play.
For his efforts this fan has been banned from the Air Canada Centre, BMO Field, the Richo Coliseum and all other MLSE affiliates for life. What really bothers me about this is that this was a victimless crime. No one was hurt in the throwing of these waffles and really it is just entertaining for other fans to see this new trend continued. So for throwing a couple soft, weightless pieces of debris on the ice this guy can no longer enjoy his favorite team live. Would the mental giants at MLSE prefer we throw beer, perhaps popcorn, maybe our jerseys? When you put a product on the ice night after night that doesn't meet or even come close to reaching expectations people are going to be frustrated. In the last few home games the Leafs have had some stiff competition playing teams ahead of them in the standings but they have also blown a lead in the last minute, only to lose in overtime, have been blown out by one of the worst teams in the NHL and have shown night in and night out they have no interest in competing. All of these events leads to fan frustration and there are many means of venting this frustration, but sometimes you can't stop a boiling pot from overflowing.
This act of this extreme punishment given to this fan is just another example of MLSE's flexing their muscle at anyone who tries to throw an egg on the face of any of their affiliates. Whether it's a calculated answer from a coach or banning a fan from future visits, the MLSE will do everything in their power to not be defeated, similar to the Evil Empire in the Star Wars movies. Lately I think a lot of Toronto sports fans look at the MLSE that way; an evil empire. They want to silence any form of criticism or negative attention. In this season of The Holiday Spirit of giving, MLSE is giving life time bans and receiving millions of dollars from the fans of Toronto teams who over the last 7 years have watched a less than favorable results come seasons ends with zero playoff appearances for both the Toronto Maple Leafs and Toronto FC.
Dear Fan,
Good on you for what you did and I am truly sorry you've been banned for life. Next time someone should throw a flaming bag of shit on the ice, that'll get the point across! You put shit on the ice, so will we!
Dear MLSE,
Much darkness I see in you? Fear is the path to the dark side....and continue to treat fans this way and guess what...you won't have any left!
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Rock 'Em, Stick a Sock in 'Em
My feet are still pretty wet when it comes to this whole world of blogging and I openly admit I do not have a lot of followers, but one of my friends and diligent followers of the blog has made a request. He has asked my opinion on Don Cherry, one of Canada's National "Treasures". I am going to give my opinion and thoughts to this topic and at the end of my rant, I will have attached a link to the Montreal Gazette which was very well written and almost made me consider not writing this blog because the composer of said article and I share very common opinions. I highly recommend after reading my blog you read this article.
Don Cherry....for years this man has been a thorn in my side. There is nothing more I love to do on a Saturday than watch my boys in Blue take to the ice, but then I am subjected in the 1st period to listen to this grumpy old man rant about why he thinks the sky is blue. When I first read that Don Cherry would be part of the inauguration of Toronto's newest mistake (thank you very much residents of suburban Metro Toronto, you freak'n morons!!!) Rob Ford aka "Chris Farley" (this is opinion 1 I share with the Gazette), I could not believe that a ceremony of this magnitude would involve such a circus act. I am not here to talk about how much I dislike Rob Ford and how he is going to destroy a great city, but I am here to talk about how Don Cherry should keep his hideous fashion sense and 1950's opinions out of politics. Here is a man who many people do enjoy watching, because they either respect his opinion or just like to get a laugh, but over the years it's just gotten worse and worse. He uses his 7 minutes or so to force his opinion on those watching the CBC Hockey Night in Canada Broadcast. Whether it is a hockey related matter where he is calling out European players for being "sissy's" or going on about politics; which includes his opinions on the Operation in Iran, Afghanistan and surrounding countries. Poor Ron Maclean sits there and has to listen to him and try to keep him on track, which often times leads to verbal abuse from Cherry directly to Maclean. As he gets older, Don Cherry does not get wiser, he gets more and more aggressive and inappropriate. His rants lead to media outcries and usually leaves someone or some group offended. Yet week after week the CBC parades their circus act out there to yell and scream his thoughts so that people might think, "Hey, he's pretty animated about this, maybe I should think like Don...he makes a good point, all Europeans are "sissy's"." Don Cherry is the last person that anyone in this country should base their thoughts or opinions on. He spews verbal diarrhea weekly in hopes that he gets a reaction or that he can look at something such as a mayoral election win and think "I am the reason he won, because I'm Don Cherry Canada's National Treasure." What Don Cherry needs to realize is that the people who surround him merely agree in hopes that he shuts up! What I am about to say next may offend people and it's not intended to, but it's how I feel. On a very regular basis Cherry talks about the "war" and goes on about those participating in the war. I know that the soldiers have a lot of support in Canada and I support them as well, as much as I disagree with Canada's participation, BUT this is the last thing people want to see or hear about during a hockey game!!!! Most evenings on the news, most days in the paper we are reminded of the terrible things going on as part of this "war" and the live too soon lost because of it, BUT again, this is the last thing someone wants to see during a hockey game!!! This is just another example of Cherry pushing his beliefs and opinions down the throats of Canadians. If Cherry was sitting on his perch telling people to go to church or believe in the God he believes in they wouldn't stand for it. For some people politics are as big as religion, so I ask; CBC why are you not doing anything???
Dear CBC,
DO SOMETHING FOR CHRIST SAKE!!!! Don Cherry is an angry, bitter, racist and opinionated old man who needs to be silenced. I have never met the man, but I don't imagine he'd be easy to get along with if I did.
Dear Don Cherry,
Just go away. When you die, despite a lot of peoples desires you will be celebrated as a Canadian Hero. Can't you just wait until you die to get undeserved respect???
Don Cherry....for years this man has been a thorn in my side. There is nothing more I love to do on a Saturday than watch my boys in Blue take to the ice, but then I am subjected in the 1st period to listen to this grumpy old man rant about why he thinks the sky is blue. When I first read that Don Cherry would be part of the inauguration of Toronto's newest mistake (thank you very much residents of suburban Metro Toronto, you freak'n morons!!!) Rob Ford aka "Chris Farley" (this is opinion 1 I share with the Gazette), I could not believe that a ceremony of this magnitude would involve such a circus act. I am not here to talk about how much I dislike Rob Ford and how he is going to destroy a great city, but I am here to talk about how Don Cherry should keep his hideous fashion sense and 1950's opinions out of politics. Here is a man who many people do enjoy watching, because they either respect his opinion or just like to get a laugh, but over the years it's just gotten worse and worse. He uses his 7 minutes or so to force his opinion on those watching the CBC Hockey Night in Canada Broadcast. Whether it is a hockey related matter where he is calling out European players for being "sissy's" or going on about politics; which includes his opinions on the Operation in Iran, Afghanistan and surrounding countries. Poor Ron Maclean sits there and has to listen to him and try to keep him on track, which often times leads to verbal abuse from Cherry directly to Maclean. As he gets older, Don Cherry does not get wiser, he gets more and more aggressive and inappropriate. His rants lead to media outcries and usually leaves someone or some group offended. Yet week after week the CBC parades their circus act out there to yell and scream his thoughts so that people might think, "Hey, he's pretty animated about this, maybe I should think like Don...he makes a good point, all Europeans are "sissy's"." Don Cherry is the last person that anyone in this country should base their thoughts or opinions on. He spews verbal diarrhea weekly in hopes that he gets a reaction or that he can look at something such as a mayoral election win and think "I am the reason he won, because I'm Don Cherry Canada's National Treasure." What Don Cherry needs to realize is that the people who surround him merely agree in hopes that he shuts up! What I am about to say next may offend people and it's not intended to, but it's how I feel. On a very regular basis Cherry talks about the "war" and goes on about those participating in the war. I know that the soldiers have a lot of support in Canada and I support them as well, as much as I disagree with Canada's participation, BUT this is the last thing people want to see or hear about during a hockey game!!!! Most evenings on the news, most days in the paper we are reminded of the terrible things going on as part of this "war" and the live too soon lost because of it, BUT again, this is the last thing someone wants to see during a hockey game!!! This is just another example of Cherry pushing his beliefs and opinions down the throats of Canadians. If Cherry was sitting on his perch telling people to go to church or believe in the God he believes in they wouldn't stand for it. For some people politics are as big as religion, so I ask; CBC why are you not doing anything???
Dear CBC,
DO SOMETHING FOR CHRIST SAKE!!!! Don Cherry is an angry, bitter, racist and opinionated old man who needs to be silenced. I have never met the man, but I don't imagine he'd be easy to get along with if I did.
Dear Don Cherry,
Just go away. When you die, despite a lot of peoples desires you will be celebrated as a Canadian Hero. Can't you just wait until you die to get undeserved respect???
Again, read this article...better written then mine, but he get's paid for it!
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Sal Alosi, Shame on You!
Sal Alosi,
I bet before Sunday afternoon, unless you are a die hard Jets fan, you had no clue who this guy was. Now the whole sporting community knows who he is, but for all the wrong reasons. Sal Alosi is the strength and conditioning coach for the New York Jets of the NFL. On Sunday, during the Miami Dolphins, New York Jets game Alosi took it upon himself to trip a member of the Miami Dolphins as he ran down the sidelines during a kick return. This is the video here - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgYXBpIYnvU. When you see it live action it looks as though the Dolphins player just trips, but watching it again and again in slow motion I think to myself, "What the hell is this guy thinking?" Obviously he wasn't, because it is clear in the video that this was premeditated, this wasn't something he decided to do at the last second. You can clearly see in the video that he is in a forward stance that allowed him to just stick his knee out and trip the player. This is just an act of complete stupidity. There could be many reasons why he did it, the Jets were losing and had lost their last game and depending how they finish the season could miss the playoffs, frustration from all of this could have led to his decision, but I think it is just because he's an idiot! This collision was knee on knee and the Dolphins player was running at full speed, Alosi is lucky there wasn't any injury to the player, because that would have spelled imminent trouble for Alosi. As it is the Jets have suspended him for the remainder of the season, including playoffs as well as a $25,000 dollar fine. The NFL plans to take no further action, which is understandable as Alosi is an employee of the Jets. Following the game Alosi said in response to a question from the media about why he did what he did; "You're asking me to give you a logical explanation to an illogical act," he said. "I can't do that. I can't explain that."....yeah the media is going to ask you why you did it, it's what they do...be honest, say "Because I'm a god damn moron!!!". There have been many incidents in all sports where coaches and players interact, even mascots get into it with opposing players from time to time, but nothing that I can remember like this. This was an attack on a player without warning and really could be look at as a criminal act of abuse. Alosi is fortunate that that Jets didn't out right release him of his duties with the team. Perhaps Alosi should throw on some pads for the next game the Jets play and see how he likes being taken down, but in the way that a football player is supposed to be taken down and not blindsided.
Dear Sal Alosi,
Shame on you, your mother is or would be disappointed in you (she could be dead for all I know...or maybe he never had a mother....) whoever you cherish the most is disappointed in you!!! You are no better than Sean Avery who runs around delivering sucker punches to other players in the NHL. You have a job that most people would love to have. You got to go day in and day out, hang out with stars of the Jets and the entire NFL!!! Then for one moment you decide you are going to trip a guy and why? To get a laugh, out of frustration or just shear stupidity and now it's all gone, for this season at least. As a sports fan, it would be a dream come true for me to work with or on a sports team in any facet and guys like you who take it for granted don't deserve your jobs.
I bet before Sunday afternoon, unless you are a die hard Jets fan, you had no clue who this guy was. Now the whole sporting community knows who he is, but for all the wrong reasons. Sal Alosi is the strength and conditioning coach for the New York Jets of the NFL. On Sunday, during the Miami Dolphins, New York Jets game Alosi took it upon himself to trip a member of the Miami Dolphins as he ran down the sidelines during a kick return. This is the video here - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgYXBpIYnvU. When you see it live action it looks as though the Dolphins player just trips, but watching it again and again in slow motion I think to myself, "What the hell is this guy thinking?" Obviously he wasn't, because it is clear in the video that this was premeditated, this wasn't something he decided to do at the last second. You can clearly see in the video that he is in a forward stance that allowed him to just stick his knee out and trip the player. This is just an act of complete stupidity. There could be many reasons why he did it, the Jets were losing and had lost their last game and depending how they finish the season could miss the playoffs, frustration from all of this could have led to his decision, but I think it is just because he's an idiot! This collision was knee on knee and the Dolphins player was running at full speed, Alosi is lucky there wasn't any injury to the player, because that would have spelled imminent trouble for Alosi. As it is the Jets have suspended him for the remainder of the season, including playoffs as well as a $25,000 dollar fine. The NFL plans to take no further action, which is understandable as Alosi is an employee of the Jets. Following the game Alosi said in response to a question from the media about why he did what he did; "You're asking me to give you a logical explanation to an illogical act," he said. "I can't do that. I can't explain that."....yeah the media is going to ask you why you did it, it's what they do...be honest, say "Because I'm a god damn moron!!!". There have been many incidents in all sports where coaches and players interact, even mascots get into it with opposing players from time to time, but nothing that I can remember like this. This was an attack on a player without warning and really could be look at as a criminal act of abuse. Alosi is fortunate that that Jets didn't out right release him of his duties with the team. Perhaps Alosi should throw on some pads for the next game the Jets play and see how he likes being taken down, but in the way that a football player is supposed to be taken down and not blindsided.
Dear Sal Alosi,
Shame on you, your mother is or would be disappointed in you (she could be dead for all I know...or maybe he never had a mother....) whoever you cherish the most is disappointed in you!!! You are no better than Sean Avery who runs around delivering sucker punches to other players in the NHL. You have a job that most people would love to have. You got to go day in and day out, hang out with stars of the Jets and the entire NFL!!! Then for one moment you decide you are going to trip a guy and why? To get a laugh, out of frustration or just shear stupidity and now it's all gone, for this season at least. As a sports fan, it would be a dream come true for me to work with or on a sports team in any facet and guys like you who take it for granted don't deserve your jobs.
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Sports Movies Are Like Priest and Rabbi Jokes
......there hasn't been a new good one in years. Last night I was lucky enough to come across the Disney movie The Mighty Ducks. It was a staple in the '80's and early '90's (not the actual Mighty Ducks movies) but sports movies and good ones at that, before they started using animals as the saviors of sports teams. When you think of sports movies I'm sure we all have different ideas of great ones. I automatically think of Slapshot, The Longest Yard (the original not Adam Sandler's remake....all though I liked it too) or maybe the Mighty Ducks. If you are American you probably think of the Miracle on Ice or Mystery Alaska, but the Miracle on Ice is American Propaganda and Russell Crowe was in Mystery Alaska so it sucks for that reason. I just don't understand why out of all the great sports stories in history or all of the writers, directors and production companies why someone can't come up with a good sports movie. Perhaps everyone is too busy making movies about real life events like the end of the world or a clan of blue natives whom the army is at war with or Jack Dawson controlling your dreams. It's not that difficult to put together a sports movie, you just need to have an under dog, the hated rival and an inspirational story that ends with the movie fading to black with "We are the champions...." playing. So why no new sports movies? When did they lose their popularity or appeal? People still pay big money to watch live sport and some even pay hundreds a year in cable subscriptions to watch all kinds of sports everyday of the week. It seems to me as sports movies lost their steam it became about dancing movies or movies that used the same formula that a sports movie would use. Sports movies bring viewers to their feet, tears to their eyes and all in a different way than a Robert Pattenson or the final ending of Harry Potter. Over the years these great sports movies have made their respective production studios plenty of movie, Christ the Mighty Ducks created an NHL team! Sports movies of the early '90's gave fans of struggling francises hope. With the Major League movies came the end of years of losing for the Cleveland Indians who did make a World Series appearance in 1996. There was Little Big League and Rookie of the Year which took their teams from mediocrity to respectability. Don't get me wrong, I'm not attributing the sudden success of these teams to the fact that a movie was made about them, but it the movies provided hope.
Daer Hollywood,
Forget love stories or war movies, books turned into movies or disaster films. SPORTS!!! GO SPORTS GO!! Give me what I want! Sports and maybe Zombies....yeah a Zombie Sports Movie...it'll be just as good as Basketballs or even better!
Honorable Mention
- Happy Gilmore
- Blades of Glory (doesn't count as a sports movie because figure skating is an art, not a sport)
- Semi Pro
Daer Hollywood,
Forget love stories or war movies, books turned into movies or disaster films. SPORTS!!! GO SPORTS GO!! Give me what I want! Sports and maybe Zombies....yeah a Zombie Sports Movie...it'll be just as good as Basketballs or even better!
Honorable Mention
- Happy Gilmore
- Blades of Glory (doesn't count as a sports movie because figure skating is an art, not a sport)
- Semi Pro
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Winning Records vs. The Other Guys
So it's been talked about a lot so far this week, whether or not a team in the NFL who doesn't at least hold a .500 or better record at txhe end of the season should be allowed to make the playoffs, even if that team leads their respective division. Some have agreed with the idea that unless you have a winning record you do not belong in the playoffs. This is absolutely, the stupidest thought I have encountered. Teams play every season, in every sport to win as many games as possible. As Herman Edwards once said "you play to win the game!". The notion that a league can decide or set out rules that determine if a team can make the playoffs is ridiculous. Twice there have been teams who have been 9-7 and not only made the playoffs but gone to the Super Bowl. This season it appears that the NFC West will be won by a record of 7-9 (currently led by the St. Louis Rams). My belief is that whether you win 12 games or 6, if you are the best team in your division you have every right to be in the playoffs. You play those other teams in your division twice a season, so at the end if you are at the top you have obviously done something right.
This same problem has been occurring in the MLB for the past few years. No division is as strong as the other. To win the AL East you need to win at least 95 games, where as in other divisions teams are winning with records just over .500. To those fans in the cities where there teams are missing the playoffs with better records it is frustrating, but you can't take away that competitive advantage, it's just not sport.
Dear NFL,
Leave it be! No matter who makes the playoffs you are still going to make way too much money from tv deals and commercial profits, you should actually hope the Pittsburg Steelers make the playoffs because then you can make more money off of James Harrison.
This same problem has been occurring in the MLB for the past few years. No division is as strong as the other. To win the AL East you need to win at least 95 games, where as in other divisions teams are winning with records just over .500. To those fans in the cities where there teams are missing the playoffs with better records it is frustrating, but you can't take away that competitive advantage, it's just not sport.
Dear NFL,
Leave it be! No matter who makes the playoffs you are still going to make way too much money from tv deals and commercial profits, you should actually hope the Pittsburg Steelers make the playoffs because then you can make more money off of James Harrison.
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