Mariners plot course to playoffs
With Ladner native Paxton piloting the ship when healthy, meaningful September games await
It’s always a great day when the Red Sox beat the Yankees and this will make your day even better, the Monday morning musings and meditations on the world of sports.
Hard to believe the Seattle Mariners are in the playoff hunt with a 63-62 won-lost record and their only real starting pitcher, Ladner’s James Paxton, on the disabled list. But the M’s deserve some credit for scrapping their way into the AL wildcard race. It’s been — yikes — 16 years since Seattle baseball fans had something to cheer about and even if this team is deeply flawed, it’s still entertaining and still has star power.
There’s a dog’s breakfast around the AL’s final wild-card spot with the Twins, Angels, Royals, Mariners and Rangers all in the mix. Don’t see any of these teams as championship timbre, but at least the Mariners will be playing meaningful games in September.
There are about 3,000 issues tied up with Colin Kaepernick and we have neither the energy nor space to explore them all here. Instead, here’s a simple question: Why are national anthems played before sporting events in North America?
I get the tradition. I also get there are occasions when an expression of national pride is important. I just question if the rendering of an anthem before a sports event is the most sincere expression of that pride.
n Following the Leos’ loss Friday to Calgary, Wally Buono said he’d be seeking an explanation from the league for the roughing-the-passer penalty on Craig Roh in the third quarter.
Buono couldn’t be reached for comment Sunday, but on the play in question, it was ruled Roh had horse-collared Stamps quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell. Instead of a Stampeders punt from their own 15, the penalty resulted in a first down. Calgary would eventually kick a crucial field goal in their 21-17 win.
I’ve looked at the play about 50 times and while you can make a case, maybe, it was a foul according to the letter of the law, there are a bunch of mitigating circumstances.
Roh first grabs Mitchell as the quarterback is trying to escape to his left. At that point it’s fairly routine play, but Mitchell turns his back to Roh, who then grabs him by the numbers with his right hand as he’s pulling him down by the hip with his left.
OK, I understand the league has expanded the criteria for a horse-collar tackle, but to me this was a football play, pure and simple.
Roh didn’t yank Mitchell down by his jersey. Mitchell’s pivot and turn to his left exposed his back to Roh. I’m sorry, what is the Lions’ defensive end supposed to do?
The larger point here is, again, a judgment call had a huge impact on a CFL game. I’d just like to see officials keep their flags in their pockets more often when confronted with these judgment calls.
n And finally, it would have been nice if the ceremony would have coincided with a win, but the Lions did place two originals on the Wall of Fame Friday night.
Carl Kidd, the sometimes incomprehensible, always entertaining Arkansan, played a key role in two Lions Grey Cup wins, but his larger contribution to the game was helping to revolutionize the nickel linebacker position. Kidd, a size-andspeed safety type, was one of the first defensive backs to move to the nickel and brought a wide array of skills — including a relentless verbosity — to the position.
Everyone remembers Kidd and the fabled 2006 Grey Cup team, but his contribution to the surprise 2000 title team has been an under-reported part of Lions’ history. Kidd joined the Lions in October of that year and helped turn an average CFL team into a champion.
Brent Johnson, for his part, was a unicorn. An unremarkable physical type, he was blessed with a nonstop motor and sublime pass-rushing skills that he parlayed into a Hall of Fame career.
Now settled in North Van, he still looks like a phys-ed teacher who keeps himself in good shape and not one of the baddest defensive ends to play the Canadian game. But the Johnson of 2006, who was named outstanding Canadian and the league’s outstanding defensive player, is right there with any defensive player our country has ever produced. That year he recorded 17 sacks, intercepted two passes, recovered three fumbles and, my favourite, caught two touchdown passes.
The other great Johnson stat — he missed one regular season game in 11 years with the Lions. That was in his final year, 2011, and it was for the birth of his son Roman.
“You miss it,” said the 40-year-old Johnson. “The people. All of it.
“It’s a little weird now because I’ve been retired for five years and my appearance has changed. But you never quite leave it. This will always be a part of me.”
And he will always be a part of Lions’ lore.