Wednesday, September 12, 2018
This and That in September, 2018
Father time
has again marched on past another Labour Day. On Monday, they played
the Classic football games in the East and the West, part of the
Canadian Football League.
The rivalry
between the Toronto Argonauts and the Hamilton Tiger Cats has always
been one of the best in all of sport. There is an animosity that
begins on the Monday before the actual game. And then, last Monday at
6:30pm, the teams began The Classic at Tim Hortons Field in
Hamilton.
As is
usually the case, the game was anything but predictable. The Ticats
raced out to a huge lead in the first half, only to see it dissipate,
in typical CFL fashion. Fumbles, interceptions, unsuccessful broken
plays. Throw in a few spectacular catches, great running plays, and a
couple of nifty tosses from the quarterbacks. There you have it.
Exciting football in the CFL.
The National
Football League gets underway south of the border this Thursday
night. Many of you pay more attention to that game. So be it. I
prefer the bigger field, the action in the backfield prior to the
snap, the three downs to get the job done. Then again, football is
football. I did mention last week that the Queen's Golden Gaels
started off their season on the right foot. They took a drubbing last
weekend, indicating that their season will be an interesting one.
There are
more than a few broken-hearted Blue Jay fans in our sports area today
as they realize that the season is now in the toilet, flushed, and
nicely settled in the septic tank. Josh Donaldson has left the
building. There were slight hopes at the beginning of the season that
old wounds could heal quickly, and that the team might have been able
to salvage a decent season. Such is not the case.
Gone is the
excitement from a handful of great players: Edwin Encarnacion, Jose
Bautista, Donaldson, Troy Tulowitzki, J.A. Happ, and a few others who
were not able to step up to the plate and get the job done. For many
reasons, these talented players have been jettisoned from the team.
The spin from management is that “they are building for the
future”. The correct interpretation of that comment is that Jays'
fans had better prepare themselves for a few very long seasons. “A
player to be named later” can bring great rewards, or bitter
disappointment.
There are
plenty of empty sets now at the Rogers Centre. Understandably so.
There are some exciting young players in the lineup, and some in the
minors who will make a difference next year. For team management, it
will be a matter of getting the best from the entire roster.
The Red Sox
have pretty well sewn up the American League East. Despite their
earlier success, the Yankees are now struggling to get a wild card.
In both of those cases, money does matter.
Our hopes
for a Canadian to succeed in the United States Open Tennis
Championship have been dashed, on both the men's and ladies' sides.
Veterans Federer , Djokovic, and Nadal continue to impress as does
Serena Williams. In all these cases, experience does make a
difference.
The cicadas
are still buzzing away. That all bodes well in this last gasp of
summer.
James Hurst
September 4,
2018
# posted by James Hurst @ 4:49 AM 
