Wool-pulling and softball tosses

Nice smoke and mirrors routine coach Brian Cranford threw up to local CBC TV and mainland media types who neglected to ask the obvious questions regarding Mount Pearl Mark’s Work Wearhouse Blades junior hockey suspension and fine.

Cranford gave his side of the controversy via a telephone interview on Bob Mccown’s Prime Time Sports program on Sportsnet Monday night. Mccown didn’t have anyone on to defend the suspension and, after Cranford told Mccown he was a “big fan of the show” at the start of the interview, you could guess whose side Mccown, and his buddy Damien Cox, favoured.

Here was a poor hockey volunteer being picked on by the big, bad Hockey Newfoundland and Labrador monolith, which was apparently discriminanting against student-athletes.

Mccown actually tossed up a softball question about how much Cranford was paid to coach, as if that had anything to do with the issue.

Not knowing or caring about the background of the story, it was a slam dunk for Mccown and Cox to have a virtual-reality hand-holding moment with Cranford while singing a verse of Kumbayah when Won’t Get Fooled Again would have been more appropriate for what had just gone down.

Hey, I love Mccown’s show too, but this was a rare swing and a miss.

Everyone in every sport knows you are expected to show up for an opening ceremonies. I can’t recall another incident where a team failed to show for an opening and I’ve covered sports for over 30 years.

I don’t often agree with Hockey Newfoundland and Labrador, but this time the association got it right. HNL, on the recommendation of provincial junior hockey, was right to suspend Cranford, who I believe had no intention of co-operating in any way with the tournament organizers from Day 1. Team management deserves the fine. At least one team representative should have shown up for opening ceremonies and banquet for the Don Johnson Cup.

Here’s part of what Mount Pearl junior player Steve Barrett sent me in an email during all of this controversy some months ago:

“It is a shame to miss the opening ceremonies. We had players give up their studying time and work all week for this tournament and we only had a half-dozen people or so able to attend. We decided, as a team, that looks worse than not showing at all.”

So, according to one of their own team members there were some players available to attend the opening ceremonies. The coach and/or team president should have made the decision to have some sort of representation from the team at those ceremonies. It’s not about numbers. It’s about respect. It’s about obligation. A coach and six players would certainly have been adequate for that purpose. And no one could take two hours out of their time for a bite to eat at Saturday tourney banquet?

More proof there was no excuse for the boycott.

It was an insult to Don Johnson and I, for one, and one of many, won’t forget it.

The question is: will Hockey Canada take Cranford’s side now that the story has made it to the mainland media? In the past, the national body has always sided with the provincial body. There’s no reason for that to change given this recent suspension.

•••••

For many years, you could count on three things at King George V Park. The players and the officials would show up for the soccer games and so would Jim Goff. Goff died last week and he will be missed. Soccer has lost a true gentleman and friend on the passing of Jim Goff, says Newfoundland and Labrador Soccer Association president Doug Redmond.

“Jim was most notably referred to as Mr. Goff by most fans of soccer in the province,” said Redmond. “Mr. Goff loved the game of soccer at all levels and he often travelled to the Burin Peninsula when the finals were on the Burin Peninsula.

“He loved the game and often was asked who his favorite team was, but he would only grin and say I loved a good game of soccer.”

Redmond said Goff was known by fans all over the province and was a fan of the game for over 70 years.

“Mr. Goff for most of his life came to the game in a shirt and tie and it was only in the past few years did he stop wearing a neck tie to the game,” noted Redmond.

Redmond said Goff's wife Ruth and daughter Sandra, who occasionally went to a game with him, were amazed at the number of fans, players and officials who chat with him before, during and after the game.

“Just as the Molson Challenge Cup season would be about to begin,we would get a call from Mr. Goff asking for the schedule and asking about the teams and who would be the strong teams,” said Redmond, who noted Goff also enjoyed watching Memorial Sea-Hawks soccer.

The high regard soccer players held the man was obvious when Holy Cross won the provincial Challenge Cup three years ago.

Redmond said coach Jake Stanford and a few of the players went to Goff ’s house with the trophy a day before they were scheduled to travel to the nationals.

He followed the provincial teams at the nationals and would always listen to the competition when aired on CKCM.

Redmond points out the Molson Challenge Cup most gentlemenly and effective player is named in Goff's honour.

“Mr. Goff was truly honoured and humbled to present the award each year and he always wanted a picture of the player who won the award for that season,” explained Redmond.

Redmond said Goff was also an avid lover of boxing and often traveled to the United States to take in some big boxing matches.