Magic moments? Yes, there were a few
2017 delivered a scrumptious sports smorgasbord. Too many to digest in this space. However, here are a few of my favourites.
Canadian kids made a statement on the world basketball stage.
Canada’s U19 men’s gold medal performance at the FIBA World Championship (Cairo, Egypt) was simply staggering.
Canadian coach (and Ryerson Rams coach) Roy Rana’s kids won a world title beating Team Italy 79-60 in the final. Italy? Not the USA in the final? Yes. Italy.
The road to the U19 global final included Canada’s stunning 99-87 dismissal of the mighty Americans in the semifinal. Sweet. The talented teens made Canadian hoops history winning the firstever global gold medal. Take a bow, coach Roy Rana.
That triumph earned the Canadian kids Canadian Press 2017 Team of the Year recognition.
And Canada’s U19 women’s FIBA Women’s World Championship (Udine, Italy) featuring St. Thomas More CSS grad Hailey Brown (University of Michigan) and St. Mary’s CSS’s grad Hanna Hall (University of Buffalo) made Canadian hoops history, too.
Ryerson Ram’s coach Carly Clarke coached the fourth-ranked Canadian kids to a 67-60 victory over Japan to capture bronze at the U-19 FIBA Championships. Brown and Hall were huge contributors in the medal match, popping 12 and 10 points respectively. Sweet. And “The Miracle at McMahon” was my favourite football game.
With mere seconds left on the clock and trailing the UBC Thunderbirds by two points, the University of Calgary Dinos needed something magical to happen to win the Hardy Cup.
Dino ball on the 59-yard line. The only option — a field-goal attempt.
Nineteen-year old-Calgary kicker Niko DiFonte stepped into the ball. No time left on the clock.
The ball needed legs. Oh boy. Did it ever.
DiFonte looked up — following the ball’s trajectory from 59 yards out.
The officials arms signalled. Good.
“Are you kidding me,” screamed the announcer.
DiFonte’s heroics lifted the Dinos to the Mitchell Bowl with a 43-42 win over rival UBC Thunderbirds.
The Dino sophomore made history launching the leather 10 yards farther than his previous best-ever boot while rewriting the U Sports record book.
His monstrous kick even went viral. Sweet. Among the delirious Dinos was Burlington’s Darius Ciraco.
The Assumption Catholic SS grad played a huge role along the offensive line (“O” line) for the Hardy Cup Champions.
Arguably one of the most versatile “O” linemen in the country, Ciraco has been ranked the Number 1 Canadian university (U Sports) “O linemen” in the most recent 2018 CFL Top 20 Prospects list.
All-Star offensive lineman and 1986 Grey Cup Champion (Hamilton Tiger-Cats) Jason Riley validated Ciraco’s versatility.
“Darius is very versatile. He can (indeed) play any position on the OL. (As his high school teachercoach) I remember a young man who had that intangible quality of high football IQ.
“Young linemen can have all the tools, but if they don’t have an innate feel for the game it takes much longer to coach (teach) them into dominating players. And Darius has that.”
And Mike MacDonald, Ciraco’s Burlington Stampeders coach, added, “Darius’ ability to play multiple positions on the Oline is a huge plus for him, which is the reason he is rated so highly.
“(As his Burlington Stampeders coach) I believed Darius had potential to succeed at a high level as long as he was prepared to work hard — which he did.
“I am confident Darius will have a long career in the CFL. He has the determination, knowledge, size, and skills to do so.”
TSN will broadcast the 2018 CFL draft live on May 3.
Cecelia Carter Smith is a former fourtime Canadian champion and world indoor record-holder in track and a member of the Hamilton Sports Hall of Fame and McMaster Sports Hall of Fame.