AN ISLAND ALL MY OWN IN TOP ATHLETE VOTE
I fess up, that one vote for Murray of NBA'S Nuggets was from me
Murray, Murray … quite contrary!
Jamal Murray of the Denver Nuggets received only one firstplace vote for the Lou Marsh Trophy, which was presented Tuesday to Canada's athlete(s) of the year.
For just the third time in 82 years, a tie was declared — the worthy co-winners being Alphonso Davies (soccer) and Laurent Duvernay-tardif (football, humanity).
Davies and Duvernay-tardif each received 18 votes. Murray, who had two 50-point games in the 2020 NBA playoffs, got one vote.
My vote.
Such was my disclosure on Wednesday. I could have opted to hide beneath the cloak of anonymity, considering the curiosity — and, to a degree, the controversy — over the identity of the rogue voter.
That is not how I operate. As one who has routinely used this forum to push for accountability and transparency from others, shouldn't I fairly demand the same of myself?
To grant an exemption individually would be the height of hypocrisy and audacity.
Besides, this is not a life-ordeath matter. We're interacting about sports here, people. A robust debate is a lovely, long-standing derivative of games people play.
In my solitary little world, the perfect column angle pertains to an issue that generates strong, credible and defensible opinions on both sides. A 50-50 split is the ideal outcome.
We take you back to 1988 and 1989, when a fiery debate often raged as to who should quarterback the Saskatchewan Roughriders — Kent Austin or Tom Burgess?
Ultimately, there wasn't a right or wrong answer. A compelling case could be made for either quarterback. However, head coach John Gregory had to make a choice. You can't sit on the fence when you have to pick one.
As it turned out, the Roughriders needed both Austin and Burgess during the championship season of 1989.
If not for the two touchdown passes thrown by Burgess, after Austin suffered a knee injury in the second quarter, the Roughriders would not have upset the Edmonton Eskimos 32-21 in the CFL'S West Division final.
Austin took it from there, throwing for 474 yards and three touchdowns as the Roughriders registered a 43-40 Grey Cup victory over the Hamilton TigerCats.
There was a 50-50 split on
Tuesday, given the equal number of votes for Davies and Duvernay-tardif. The debate about their relative merits continues. Personally, I am pleased that two elite athletes can be celebrated in a difficult year.
However, there was the question of who might have cast that one vote — and for whom it was cast.
I could have saved myself plenty of time and backlash by remaining anonymous. The easy way, however, isn't always the best way.
Soccer commentator Gareth Wheeler went on Twitter to take exception to the “1” for Murray.
Miraculously, Wheeler stopped short of demanding a recount.
Bryan Hayes, Jeff O'neill and Jamie Mclennan opted for a reasoned, objective, debate for sixplus minutes on TSN'S Overdrive.
Throughout the night, there were several exchanges between yours truly and sundry Twitter commentators, most of whom debated: “Davies or Murray?”
Most people disagreed with me, which is fine. It is all fair game, as am I.
As someone who in the line of duty unavoidably dispenses criticism, it should be accepted in return.
You can't have it both ways — as was proven in the classic case of Austin and Burgess.
By some interpretations, my vote for Murray may have been tantamount to endorsing the 1989 Roughriders' No. 3 quarterback, Jeff Bentrim.
But he, too, made important contributions.