Tuesday, December 23, 2014
We The North
Ah! The battle cry of
the Toronto
Mind you, they have
done a pretty good job of managing things up to this point in the season. They
stand in first place, and they are second in scoring in the NBA. They have more
wins this season, before the Christmas break, than at any other time in team
history. They are doing all of this without their star player, DeMar De Rozan.
The Raptors embarked
on a long road trip on Monday, beginning with a night with the Chicago
Rose ended the night
with 29 points, and the Bulls breezed to a 129-120 victory. For some reason,
likely for several reasons, the Raptors collapsed in the final stage of the
game. They shot poorly, their shot selection was questionable, and they stopped
playing defence. They did get 34 points from Kyle Lowry, and he played hard the
whole game. He showed no fear as he challenged Chicago
Coach Dwane Casey
threw out a couple of comments recently, perhaps to inspire the troops as they
head into the toughest road trip of the season. “I see our team like a hungry
team. We have to play hard with a chip on our shoulders as a group. You can go
through our roster, we have a lot of guys with something to prove. Whether you
can win the championship with guys like that I don’t know, but we’re going to
try to find out some day. That’s what you find in guys with chips on their
shoulders.”
The Raptors have a
break now, until December 27 when they play the Clippers on the West Coast
excursion. They play Denver the next night, then
Portland Sacramento
and Utah Canada
Centre in Toronto
There is a fine pair
of tickets for a Raptor game of your choice in the Super Sports Draw which takes
place on January 6th. You will be seated in a box with your food and
refreshments included in the package. You may contact me by phone
(613-399-2278) to get tickets. There are 25 prizes in the draw, with less than
100 remaining.
Merry Christmas!
Happy Holidays! To one and all!!
December 23,
2014
Tuesday, December 16, 2014
The Amazing Mr. Jagr
Jaromir Jagr recently
made headlines in the hockey world because he continues to move up in the
career scoring leader board. He now is ranked third on the list, having passed
Marcel Dionne.
For much of his
playing career, Jagr has been an enigma. To say the least. Once asked to name
his favourite player, he quickly replied “Jaromir Jagr!” He has baffled and
amazed his opponents, as well as his teammates since the first year he arrived
in the NHL in 1990.
He was the first
player chosen in the draft who did not have to sneak out from behind the “Iron
Curtain”. Ho chose to wear number 68, as a tribute to his fellow countrymen who
made sacrifices during the Prague Spring Rebellion in 1968. His grandfather
died in prison that year.
Jagr was chosen fifth
that draft year. The players selected in front of him? Owen Nolan, Petr Nedved,
Keith Primeau, and Mike Ricci. As you can well imagine, this drafting process
is not always a perfect science. Only one other member from that draft class
still plays in the NHL. That would be Martin Brodeur, now with the St. Louis Oshawa
I met Jagr after the
very first game he played at Maple
Leaf Gardens Pittsburgh Pennsylvania
As he left the arena,
I asked him how much he enjoyed playing in Canada
In 1999, he won the
Lester B. Pearson Award as the league’s most valuable player. He had previously
won the Hart Trophy. His comment? “With this award, you get voted on by the
players you play against every night, and I think they understand the game
better than the media”. Ouch! He did win the Pearson Award on two more
occasions, but not the Hart Trophy, as selected by the same media.
In 1994-95, he
returned to the Czech
Republic
Now 42 years old,
Jagr does not discuss retirement. He leads his current team, the New Jersey Washington
Capitals, New York Rangers, Philadelphia
Flyers, Dallas Stars, and the Boston Omsk
Always controversial,
he has fought with the tax man and accountants throughout his career. He
reportedly ran into difficulty with off-shore gambling folks in Belize
Do not be surprised
to find him enjoying himself in the NHL next season. The man knows how to have
a good time!
There are still a few
tickets remaining in the “Super Sports Draw”. You can catch me hanging around
arenas, here and there. Or you might give me a shout at home: 613-399-2278.
Twenty-five great sports prizes!
December16, 2014
Tuesday, December 09, 2014
Florida Gulf Coast Eagles Basketball
Protecting the Nest
How time flies! It
was Hallowe’en when I attended an open practice for the Eagles before the start
of the regular basketball season. Coach Dooley put the boys through the paces
for more than an hour, then let them loose for a few moments to chat with the
local media.
Bernard Thompson told
me that he was excited to start the season. “Our depth is going to be really
valuable to us this season. I don’t think anyone is going to be tired at the
end of a game. Sure, we did just finish a good practice. We went through
everything, trying to get all the new players used to our style. Ball movement
is critical, to get the open shots.”
In a blurb I received
yesterday from the team, it appears that Bernard hit the nail on the head over
a month ago. For the second time in three weeks, he has been recognized as the “Men’s
Co-Player of the Week” in the Atlantic Sun Conference. He led the Eagles to a
pair of wins, shooting 77% from three point range.
The coach is
impressed. “Bernard is a great player, and he’s really starting to get into a
rhythm offensively the past few games,” he noted. “It’s another great and well
deserved honour for him, and it’s once again a testament to the players around
him, in particular Brett Comer. They do a terrific job of getting Bernard the
ball in spots where he can continue to score and knock down open shots”.
Brett Comer
Comer is the NCAA
active career assist leader now with 681, averaging eight assists per game.
That mark is third in the nation, and he is tied for the national lead with 72
assists. He also protects the ball well, averaging just 2.1 turnovers per game.
Newcomer Marc-Eddy
Norelia has been a welcome addition to the team this year. He is averaging
double figure points, and leads the A-Sun Conference with an average of 8
rebounds per game.
The team is off to
its best start as an NCAA Division One team. They are 8-1 heading into a week’s
break for exams, always a bit of a harrowing time, memory serving me correctly.
Those exams can certainly cut into one’s social calendar as well.
The Eagles return to
action on Sunday, December 14th, when they host cross-state rival
FIU for an afternoon tilt at Alico Arena.
Thompson also told me
in the pre-season interview that it was “crunch time” for the Eagles, and
particularly for the players who had transferred to the team. “They can’t be
timid at this time. We are an athletic team with very high potential. This is
the best team since I’ve been here. We are better prepared this year. Last
year, we weren’t consistent with our half-court defence. The coach is trying to
teach me to be a leader, to pay attention to details. There is great chemistry
with all of the players on this team.”
The ultimate goal is
to play in the madness in March. “That’s where I want to be,” Bernard stated
emphatically.
Pass me my
sunglasses. I’m heading to the Arena!
Sportslices.blogspot.com
December 9, 2014
Tuesday, December 02, 2014
Post Cereal Hockey Cards 2014
About this time last
year, I was pleased to report that the Post Cereal Corporation was unveiling a
series of junior hockey cards on their cereal boxes. I have discovered that
they are at it again. My grandson Hunter is most pleased with the results.
I caught up with
Hunter after his game last Saturday at one of the rinks at the Quinte Sports
Centre. He is now eight years old, and plays for the Belleville
One of the first
books that we shared with him was a story about Maurice “The Rocket” Richard.
Hunter can tell you several facts about Richard, and about the Canadiens. He
also enjoyed the classic Canadian hockey story called “The Sweater”. His
grandmother has shared her passion for the Habs with the child. He will tell
you in no uncertain terms that Montreal
He has always been a
Sidney Crosby fan, and lists Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, and Patrick Roy as
his favourite players.
There are six
different cereal boxes in the Post collection. In the photograph, Hunter is
holding the Aaron Ekblad box, taken when he was wearing his Barrie Florida box
# 3
Kikolaj Ehlers, from
the Halifax Mooseheads, Nicolas Petan from the Portland Winter Hawks, Jake Virtanen
from the Calgary Hitmen and Jeremy Roy from the Sherbrooke Phoenix
There are four cards
on the back of each box, making a set of 24 cards in the series. The company
also has a contest associated with the CHL, with a trip for four to the
Memorial Cup as the prize.
Hockey Canada
The NHL has a “roster
freeze deadline” on December 19. The folks at Hockey Canada
need to convince teams like the Florida
By the time the
tournament begins, Hunter will have most of the names of the players memorized.
He did tell me he has difficulty with the French names. He attends Quinte Mohawk
School
Before he headed home
he added that he could use another box of Sugar Crisp!
James Hurst
Sportslices.blogspot.com
December 2, 2014
