The problem with pro sports
Something I don’t like about almost every professional sport is there are too many teams. It makes it harder for the average fan to follow and it also waters down the talent pool. If each of the major sports capped the number of franchises at 24, each baseball team would have an amazing bullpen and batting line-up and every hockey team would have four solid lines.
One of the good things about the Canadian Football League is that with a small number of teams, it’s easy to follow. I wasn’t around during the days of the NHL’s Original Six (that would have been too few of teams), but I remember when there were 12 and kids were able to know every player in the league. It was easier to collect hockey cards in those days. With fewer teams, the minor pro leagues and senior hockey were far stronger because there were far fewer players in the NHL.
The flipside is that in the modern era, more cities enjoy having a professional team and reap the economic benefits. It also gives more players the opportunity to play in the show.
New in the pages of your Okanagan Weekend (Page E1 to be precise — wow, an E section!), is a column by my new friend Rosemary Thomson from the Okanagan Symphony Orchestra, a truly valley-wide organization. She will submit a column at least every second week.
My friend, who would like to remain anonymous (Butch) sucks me in all the time with his classic rock questions on social media, the latest being: “Who is the most under-rated drummer of all-time?” Easy — all of the women: Gina Schock (The Go Gos), Debbi Peterson (Bangles), Sheila E., and Stefanie Eulinberg (Kid Rock’s Twisted Brown Trucker). It’s too bad history judges the GoGos as a bubble-gum band. If you listen to songs like “Head Over Heals,” and “We’ve Got the Beat,” they’re drum songs. Headline: “Brawl at the Dallas Smith concert in Dawson Creek.” Come on country fans, music is about love and having a good time, not anger and hate.
Coming in July, “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again,” a film sequel to the 2007 movie musical, which was based on the stage play, featuring ABBA songs not used in the original. The whole gang is back — Meryl Streep, Amanda Seyfried, Colin Firth, and acclaimed vocalist Pierce Brosnan. New this time around is a cameo by Cher, as the mother of Meryl Streep’s character. It sounds like a lot of fun. I hope they include “Eagle” in the score. Ritchie Valens was gone too soon.
Today concludes my third full week of primarily working out of the Kelowna office. I’m asked how I like it and, like every new job, some things are better, others worse. I did, however, have a better parking spot in Penticton. Go Riders! James Miller is valley editor. This column appears in Okanagan Weekend. To contact the writer, phone 250-470-0741 or email: james.miller@ok.bc.ca.