A Question about Sports

 

 

I know the other guy on the other page writes about sports – and writes it well, by the way – but every now and then I get these sports urges that I need to get off my chest (or would that be my fingers?). These come in the form of questions, so I hope they don't baffle you too much.

1. Why is the World Series only played between teams linked with America? Shouldn't it be called the North American Series? The USA Series? The Lower-48 Series? It strikes me as a little ambitious, perhaps even pretentious, to claim a title for an event that has nothing to do with the actual title. The World Cup of Soccer, for instance, involves teams from around the world.

Maybe you don't even care, but the New York Yankees, also known as Club Spoiled Brats, is taking on the Philadelphia Phillies for this year's World Series. The Phillies, by the way, not to be confused with the Philadelphia Fillies (which are horses) won it all last year.

At one point, it was almost an all-California series, as in the LA Dodgers versus the LA Angels. The Dodgers once hailed from Brooklyn, home of the current Yankees; and the Angels have also been known as the California Angels (when I was a kid), and the Anaheim Angels, more recently. Technically, the team then could also be known as The Angels Angels – as "los angeles" is Spanish for angels. But again, who really cares?

2. Why do certain CFL players feel they haven't arrived until they have played in the NFL? The CFL, in my most humble opinion, is vastly superior league, for the following reasons: the field is longer, they only have three downs instead of four, the end zone is deeper, and the CFL has more man-in-motion options. Okay, their cheerleaders are cuter, but I'm talking about the actual sport – not the distraction on the sidelines.

I was never good enough to play football, though I once played end, guard and tackle. That was great until I learned that I was to sit at the end of the bench, guard the cooler and tackle anyone who came near. So I never had that same urge to head south. To play for an A-B-C (anyone but Calgary) team, would have been an honour. If I understand the CFL roster flexibility correctly, I think there is a greater chance of becoming a starter up here than down there. I should add that some of the greatest players down there got their professional start up here (hello, Doug Flutie and Warren Moon).

3. What has happened to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in these past few weeks? I know, I know, they're winning- that's why I'm asking, Horace. But how can essentially the same set of players who were so inept all year now become so good (or is it 'ept'?)? Believe it or not, their turnaround started around the time Calgary made a trade with them, but I am not aware of their new players playing any significant role in the wins. More sleep? Less drugs? The playbooks come in coloured paper now? Whatever, as long as the Lions win it all.

4. Hasn't anyone told the Colorado Avalanche that they are supposed to be one of the bottom feeders this year in the NHL? As I write this, they are 10-1-2; by the time you read this, they could easily be 12-1-2. The pundits placed them some where near the bottom in the whole NHL, not just the Western Conference.

Speaking of the Western Conference, it's going to be a gong show, come mid-April. I don't see any weak teams out here - well, okay, we have two question marks north of us – but I have no idea who will join the Toronto Maple Laughs and the New York Good Bye'landers in the basement.

I should comment on basketball and soccer, just to show my well-rounded approach to sports, but I have nothing to really say. I'm just not into them. And don't look here for a positive column on golf or tennis, demanding as they are. I'm not even sure they would make it into the other real sports column.