SPORTING LIFE News you need to get through the day …
A few thoughts for a weekend in which the Ticats begin playing out the string ... NOT TOO LATE Within hours of Gord Downie’s passing this week, Hamilton city council unanimously passed a motion to have a plaque placed at FirstOntario Centre. One of the catalysts for this remarkably rapid move was the fact that the Tragically Hip was the first group to perform back-to-back sold-out shows at the arena.
Interestingly, 30 years after the 1987 Canada Cup, there is still nothing in the arena marking it as the site of the Wayne-Gretzky-to-Mario-Lemieux goal, one of the most-significant moments in international hockey history and one of the three most-important goals in Canadian hockey lore.
This week, Gretzky and a number of members of that Team Canada were in town for a banquet to honour and celebrate that occasion which would’ve been a terrific time to rectify that oversight. DOESN’T SOUND FUN According to researchers at New York University’s Langone School of Medicine, a person’s mind continues working for a time after death. Meaning that people might be able to realize they’ve died.
Wonder if the Ticats are having that sensation right now? THAT’S A LONG WAY Toronto Argonauts’ quarterback Ricky Ray is 335 yards away from reaching 60,000 passing yards in his career. He could get there on Saturday against Winnipeg. That would put him in some rarefied air both north and south of the border.
The professional football 60,000-yard club includes: 1. Anthony Calvillo — 79,816 2. Damon Allen — 72,381 3. Peyton Manning — 71,940 4. Brett Favre — 71,838 5. Warren Moon — 70,553 6. Drew Brees — 67,432* 7. Henry Burris — 64,023 8. Tom Brady — 63,541* 9. Dan Marino — 61,361 * Still playing IN-OFFENSIVE Lonzo Ball’s first NBA game for the Los Angeles Lakers was one to forget. The rookie with the zany father and the shoe brand and all the hype and everything else was shut down by the Los Angeles Clippers on opening night, scoring a grand total of three points. As an offensive threat, he was a bust.
Which means if Lonzo Ball was a hockey player, he would’ve been drafted by the Montreal Canadiens.
NO GOALS
Going into Friday’s late game against Anaheim, the Canadiens had scored just 10 goals in their seven games, averaging a soccer-like 1.4 goals each time they stepped on the ice. No surprise, that’s the worst in the league. The shocking part of this is that the Habs are fourth in the league in shots on net per game at 36.6. Suggesting either a remarkable lack of luck or a disconcerting lack of skill up front. Which one is it? Discuss among yourselves. TROUBLE AROUND THE NET Speaking of teams struggling to score, going into Friday’s game the Hamilton Bulldogs have found the net just 26 times in nine games. Only four teams have found the net less often.
Like the Habs, the Bulldogs have also taken the fourth-most shots in the league but its shooting percentage is second-worst at 7.6 per cent. SPELLING BEE NIGHTMARE In her facts and figures column in Friday’s paper, The Spec’s Teri Pecoskie cited Owen Sound Attack forward Alan Lyszczarczyk as the guy with the hardest name in the OHL to spell and the biggest nightmare for play-by-play callers. She’s correct.
“Scared the crap out of all of us,” laughs Bulldogs’ radio voice Stu Kernan, who used to have to say the name regularly when he was Sudbury’s play-by-play guy and the player was with the Wolves. For the record, it is pronounced Lazar-chuck. STAMMER THE PASSER Some people might’ve predicted all-world sniper Steven Stamkos would have a bounce-back season for the Tampa Bay Lightning. So seeing him sitting second in the NHL scoring race is really no huge shock.
But hands up if you thought 11 of his 13 points so far would come on assists. NON-FIGHT CLUB Six NHL teams have yet to have a player involved in a fight this season. The New York Rangers, Montreal Canadiens, Los Angeles Kings, Winnipeg Jets, San Jose Sharks and Carolina Hurricanes lead in the pacifism department. Another nine teams have only had one fight. That puts those latter franchises on pace for about 10 bouts this season.
Five years ago, only three teams had that few and the Maple Leafs led the league with 47. WOW. JUST WOW. The Toronto Maple Leafs are now in first place and the betting favourites to win the Stanley Cup.
That is all.