(Deep) NOT SO thoughts
A few random thoughts for Masters weekend, which is the unofficial start of spring — that’s welcome to arrive as soon as the snow and hurricane-force winds stop ...
CRANKY, CRANKY
Philadelphia sports fans are known for being ruthless. They are, after all, the ones who pelted Santa Claus with snowballs at an Eagles game a few years back, who fell into the penalty box and fought Tie Domi once upon a time, and who intentionally threw up on an 11-year-old girl when he was kicked out of a Phillies game for bad behaviour.
But they may have reached a new level this week when rookie Phillies manager Gabe Kapler was booed during introduction ... at the home opener.
They weren’t alone. New York Yankees newcomer Giancarlo Stanton was booed in his home debut after having the audacity to strike out five times. Even though he’d homered twice against the Blue Jays just a couple days before.
You stay classy, East Coast.
AN ALARM, PERHAPS?
The Hamilton Bulldogs played the best 30 minutes of their season in Game 1 against Niagara on Thursday night. At one point, they were outshooting the IceDogs 22-6. Then they played perhaps the worst 30 minutes of their season in the second half of that same game, blowing a 4-0 lead and sending the contest to overtime.
They eventually won but head coach John Gruden said this was a “wake-up call.”
This means either he or his players have now referred to three of the six playoff games they’ve played this year as wakeup calls.
COMMONWEALTH YAWNS
Remember when Hamilton was really eager to host the Commonwealth Games? This sporting extravaganza was going to put this city in the spotlight and bring glory and tourism dollars to our borders. This was going to make us a player on the world stage. This was going to expose our wonderfulness far and wide. Because this event is a big, big deal that tons of people care about. Remember all that?
Well, the 2018 Commonwealth Games are on right now in Australia. Hands up if you were aware.
Seeing none, we move onto the next item.
AND WHO GETS THE ATTENTION?
The endless fascination with the-would-be-CFL-quarterbackwith-the-questionable-past-whowon’t-be-named-here continues across the North American media landscape as the inane, breathless coverage of his next
move continues unabated. Meanwhile, all-world good guy Tim Tebow hit a three-run home run on the first pitch he sees in his first AA game this week, and online comments were largely comprised of mockery.
People are weird sometimes.
QUITE DELICIOUS, REALLY
If you’re watching the Masters this weekend, you’ll inevitably hear about the famous pimento cheese sandwiches that patrons eat at Augusta National. In case you’re wondering, it’s not made with a slice of cheese dotted with those little red bits you find in olives. The filling is actually yellowy-orange and more of an egg-salad consistency.
WATERWORLD
Sergio Garcia hit five balls into the water on Hole 15 during Thursday’s first round and took a 13 there. It’s a record high for a hole in the 82-year history of the event — shocking since that hole is ranked the third-easiest on the course — and led many to refer to it as his Tin Cup moment.
That’s not exactly fair. To Kevin Costner.
In Tin Cup, his character carded only a 12 on his disastrous hole.
WHY NOW?
The OHL does some good things with its draft. Not letting teams trade their first-round pick is inspired — it means every team has a chance to get better. Even the bad ones.
However, it also does some odd things, and holding its draft in the middle of playoffs is just goofy. That’s what happens Saturday. The league’s Priority Selection begins at 9 a.m. Which may be fine for those teams that have already been eliminated but guarantees little attention in the eight markets with teams that are still alive. Or draws attention away from the race to the Memorial Cup which is equally defeating and misguided.
There’s a reason the NHL, NFL, NBA, CFL, MLB and others hold their draft out of season.
WHAT’S IN A NAME
The five greatest names you might hear called in the OHL draft on Saturday
1. Dave Andreychuk Apparently he’s a distant relative of the Hall of Famer 2. Connor MacGregor This one is in Quinte, not in jail in New York 3. Antonio Stranges
But only if you say this name in a deep, sexy, Ricardo Montalban accent 4. David Jesus Obvious reasons, no? 5. Alexander Thundercloud AC/DC will play every time he scores
BULLDOGS PICKING
Hamilton picks 18th in the first round (there are 20 teams in the league and thus, 20 picks each round) and twice in the second (34 and 37) but not again until the fifth. Overall, the Bulldogs have 17 picks including three in a seven-pick span (95, 98 and 101).
MAKES NO SENSE
The NHL’s playoff format does little to reward a strong regular season. Not when three of the top seven teams in the entire league (Tampa Bay, Boston and Toronto) are in the same division and therefore run into each other in the first round or two, necessarily knocking two out early.
The way things should work is the way they did once upon a time. The top team should play No. 16, No. 2 should play No. 15, No. 3 should get No. 14 and so on.
Not only that, the higher-seeded team should get to choose the order of home and away games. Want to open with the first two on the road? No problem. Want four in a row at home to start but then have to play the last three on the road? Fine. Want it to be a 2-3-2 series? Okey-dokey.
The regular season is long. Adding incentive for those who clinch a playoff spot early would make every game meaningful.
SOME RESEARCH WOULD BE AWESOME
When Giancarlo Stanton hit his first homer of the season, Yankees play-by-play announcer John Sterling offered up this little gem: “Giancarlo, non si può stoparlo.” Which, loosely means, “Giancarlo, you can’t be stopped” in Italian.
It’s a cool little line. Until you consider that Stanton was born and raised in Los Angeles to a Puerto Rican mother and Irish father, who despite his name, hasn’t got a drop of Italian blood — or speech — in him.
DEEP FRIED WHAT?
If you go to an Oakland A’s game this season, be sure to try their new offering from the concession stand ... deep fried crickets. Which sounds delicious, if you’re a frog.
THE SAMURAI OF SWAT
When Anaheim Angels newcomer Shohei Ohtani hit a homer as a position player the day after winning a game as a pitcher, he became the first person to pull off the double in 97 years. The last player to do it was a guy named Babe Ruth.