(NOT SO) Deep thoughts
SCOTT RADLEY
THE HAMILTON SPECTATOR
A few scattered thoughts for the weekend we celebrate National Working Parents Day. Which is a nice sentiment even though holding it on the weekend when nobody is actually working seems a little poorly planned …
PIGSKIN PETER?
When Dan Black resigned the role of Pigskin Pete this week, former Ticat Peter Dyakowski sent out a tongue-in-cheek tweet saying, “While it’s a tremendous honour, I must preemptively decline the Ticats forthcoming offer to be their next Pigskin Pete. Thank you.”
He might want to rethink this. Honestly, who would be better?
And he wouldn’t even have to change his name.
GOTTA BE BERNIE
At Monday evening’s public school board meeting, trustees will vote on whether to name the new high school across from Tim Hortons Field after Hamilton football legend, trailblazer and educator Bernie Custis.
Here’s hoping common sense prevails.
C’MON, MAN
As the Ottawa Senators — a franchise that didn’t have the cash to pay the league’s expansion fee back in 1990, then built an arena in the middle of nowhere, tried to draft three ineligible players in the expansion draft, used their first-overall draft pick one year on all-time bust Alexandre Daigle who promptly said he was glad he went No. 1 because nobody remembers No. 2 (which turned out to be Hall of Famer Chris Pronger) and appeared in a full-page ad in a nurse’s uniform not long before being kicked off a team plane for jokingly saying there was a bomb on board, put a halfnaked actor in a Roman centurion’s outfit at centre ice to pump up the crowd before a playoff game but gave him too big a helmet so it kept falling over his eyes blocking his view of the script he was to read, found a way to be the only Canadian market that can’t sell tickets, had the owner and a defenceman do a state-of-thefranchise video that looks like an episode of “Between Two Ferns” in which the same owner who threatened to move the franchise just a few months ago now says he’d never move it, and now trades the best player in franchise history for a handful of guys nobody’s ever heard of — continue to look more and more like the biggest joke in professional sports with every passing day, remember that this is the NHL franchise that should’ve been in Hamilton.
How embarrassing and infuriating is it that we got bypassed for this?
HE STINKS
In the Buffalo Bills’ disastrous season-opening 47-3 loss, starting
quarterback Nathan Peterman was 5-of-18 in passing for 24 yards with two interceptions and a QB rating of 0.0 when he was mercifully pulled. Despite this, head coach Sean McDermott said he had to review the game tape to assess his pivot’s performance.
Really?
HE REALLY STINKS
Speaking of Peterman, he has now started three games in his NFL career. He has completed just 38.1 per cent of his passes while throwing seven interceptions and fumbling twice.
Need more? His 16.8 QB rating in those games is far below Johnny Manziel’s CFL QB rating of 39.4.
NOT THE RIGHT ANSWER
As for the aforementioned Manziel, he doesn’t seem to be enjoying his backup role in Montreal.
“They traded half of an organization, I feel like, in terms of what they gave up to get me here,” he told Montreal journalists this week. “I would think I would get a chance to come in and still play. That’s where maybe it’s a little bit lost on me because I was felt like I was brought in here to be a piece, y’know they had a lot of faith in me the first couple weeks I was here. Obviously, the first week didn’t go as well (editor’s note: Ya think?) but we built on that the next week and since then missing the games because of concussion and then not getting to play once I was back, it’s been frustrating, for sure.”
So to be clear, the previously abysmal Alouettes beat Toronto and beat Ottawa with Antonio Pipkin under centre, and the other QB who was terrible in his first game and slightly better in his second is upset he’s not playing?
Ohhhh-kay.
MEDIEVAL TIMES
When the Canadian Premier League starts and the Forge play the Valour, do the players have to dress up in medieval costumes, drink pre-game mead and be entertainment during breaks by dancing minstrels and troubadours?
What exactly would’ve been wrong with Hamilton FC and Winnipeg FC?
SWING AND A MISS
Was Serena Williams right? Was her penalty at the U.S. Open blatant sexism? Was she correct that men don’t get penalized for the same behaviour that cost her a point and then a game?
According to the New York Times, women at this year’s tournament received 22 code violations while men received 86. So, not so much traction to that part of her argument.
But what about the point she was docked? And the game she lost? The difference between her and all the rest of those cited is that once given a warning, the others generally rein it in and get on with playing tennis. She went the other way and cranked it up a bunch of notches.
So, no, this was not sexism. This was a petulant tantrum from the greatest female player of all time who, on this day, believed she was bigger than the game. And when penalized for her behaviour — while she was losing — tried to change the conversation and play the victim.
THIS WAS A FLIP
For those who think Jose Bautista’s bat flip against Texas in 2015 was a little understated for their tastes, check out Starlin Rodriguez’s show in Game 6 of the Intercounty Baseball League championship.
For five full seconds after making contact, the Barrie Baycats’ shortstop stands unmoving at home plate, audaciously admiring his blast. After which he chucks his bat at least 25 feet in the air and begins his home run trot.
If he hadn’t already broken most of baseball’s unwritten rules, this 39-second rounding of the bases that felt longer than the LRT and stadium debates combined — followed by a shoving of the catcher at home plate leading to the benches clearing — checked off the rest of the boxes.
WORST HOCKEY MOVIES
With NHL training camps opening this week, we thought we’d come up with a list of the best hockey movies ever made. Trouble is, there’s “Slap Shot,” “Miracle” and, depending on your tastes, the original Mighty Ducks.
So instead, here are the five worst hockey movies ever put on film.
1. Slap Shot III: The Junior League
2. Slap Shot II: Breaking The Ice
3. The Love Guru
4. Youngblood
5. Most Valuable Primate
ANDREW LLOYD GRETZKY
“Score: A Hockey Musical” wasn’t included in the last list because I haven’t seen it. But a singing and dancing hockey musical starring Olivia NewtonJohn, Nellie Furtado and George Stroumboulopoulos? With characters named the not-at-all-stereotypical-for-a-hockey-movie Gump, Maurice, Darryl and Ace? Not to mention two actresses simply credited as Puck Bunny as well as guys listed in the credits simply as Fat Bellied Man and Sensitive Player? What could possibly go wrong?
BULLDOG LEGEND
When Steve Yzerman shockingly stepped down as general manager of the Tampa Bay Lightning, the job went to Julien BriseBois.
It’s worth pointing out that the 41-year-old used to be the general manager of the Hamilton Bulldogs. In fact, his first year in that role was 2006-07, which happened to be the only year they won the Calder Cup.
NOT MUCH PRODUCTION
In the modern NHL, a good farm system feeding talented-yetinexpensive players to the big club is crucial to success for any team.
With the trade of Max Pacioretty, the Montreal Canadiens now have just two players who played at least 40 games in Hamilton — Tomas Plekanec and Charles Hudon — while developing in the minors and turning into a player.
Brendan Gallagher was here for 36 games but was basically ready when he arrived. Carey Price was more than ready throughout all his 12 regularseason and 22 playoff games.
WOW
The 50-50 prize for the Moose Jaw Warriors’ season opener on Sept. 22 will be starting at $166,615 and rising from there based on ticket sales.
There are 96 homes in Moose Jaw right now listed for less than that amount on Realtor.ca.
RUNNING WILD
Jesse Lumsden is being inducted into the McMaster Sports Hall of Fame on Saturday. Back on Oct. 4, 2003, he had five rushing touchdowns in a single game against Western.
The 2018 Marauders have yet to score a single major on the ground so far this season.