Yesterday marked a historic milestone in the long, storied tradition of a game called tennis at a place called Wimbledon. Who knew back in 1868 that one day, men and women would swing their rackets on these lawns without fear of wetness or darkness? Surely, Major Walter Clopton Wingfield could never have foreseen such technological advances when he originally called the game Sphairistike, until someone came up with the snappier moniker of "lawn tennis." Yes, it's comforting to know in these days of interwebification, space travel and Baconnaise, that someone was finally able to put a roof over a tennis court.
(above: Former NHLer Ulf Samuelsson takes some snaps of his son Philip, a 2nd round pick by the Penguins)
Lots of people follow in their parent's footsteps when it comes to choosing a career -- doctors, lawyers, Presidents, blacksmiths, butchers, bakers, candlestick... you get the idea. One of the more interesting aspects of this year's NHL draft has been the sheer number of picks with family ties to the league, whether through fathers, brothers, grandfathers or uncles. Fourteen draft picks had dads that played in the NHL, while six have brothers currently playing, two had grandpa NHLers and three had uncles who played. Some of them include the sons of Ray Bourque, Steve Smith, Samuelsson, Mike Foligno, and grandson of former Hart Trophy winner Andy Bathgate.
Obviously all these players have made it this far on more than just their name and family tree, but it does bring up the age-old question of nature vs. nurture. How much of their skills might be hereditary? Or is it more a result of the ol' tabula rasa -- being surrounded by hockey and having that strong an influence from an elite player?
Today is NBA Draft day. But you'd be forgiven for forgetting that this afternoon as the big news on the interwibbles has been Shaq joining LeBron in Cleveland. Yes, for the small price of Ben Wallace, Sasha Pavlovic, $500K and a few free passes to the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame, the Suns and Cavaliers have given Shaq-Fu yet another chance to team up with a talented youngster and win a championship.
Since this is 2009 and it involves a major announcement of some kind, it's no surprise that it's being suggested the big guy learned of his trade on Twitter.
When Twitter user Alonso Fernandez sent Shaq
an @reply saying "@THE_REAL_SHAQ is it true u a CLEVELAND CAVALIER" the
Big Twitterer responded "@allonso I didn't hear dat yet".
When DJJTR3Y sent Shaq
an @reply saying "@the_real_shaq U CLEVELAND BOUND...shaq found out he
was traded thru twitter! lmao....hahahaaaaaa", Shaq responded "@DJJTR3Y
I kno right"
Shaq also didn't watch his alma mater LSU beat Texas for the College World Series championship because, as he replied to @jds1258 "I dnt have cable".
Somehow I doubt that's how Mike Babcock found out about his new job.
Well, well, well. The team who says football is played with helmets and mostly hands has gone and beat the world's top team. This afternoon in South Africa, the U.S. handed Spain its first loss in 35 games, advancing to the Confederations Cup finals with a 2-0 win.
After getting beat down by Brazil and Italy, the Americans -- 14th in world rankings -- needed a six-goal differential miracle to advance and got it when they beat Egypt 3-0 and Brazil beat Italy 3-0 last Sunday. Heading into today's game, not many would've given the U.S. much of a chance, but goals by Clint Dempsey and Jozy Altidore told a different story. A story that will surely infuriate those who see a country that cares so little about the sport, continue to play it pretty damn well.
The Confederations Cup final is on Sunday, when the U.S. will face either Brazil or South Africa.
For many sports, summer marks the off-season -- a time for relaxation, family and possibly looking for a new contract. You're a professional athlete with a healthy amount of name recognition. You've played for your country on the world stage. Sure, certain people have called both your skill and ability to remain healthy into question, but you know they're wrong. Now you've got the opportunity to play the open market, but instead of relying on the opinions of pro scouts or managers, perhaps the best thing to do is take things into your own hands... with a corporate brochure!
Yes, they're not just for mutual funds or health care plans anymore. You too can take full advantage of coma-inducing design and having your entire existence summed up on a few tasteful Excel spreadsheets. Now get out there and show 'em what you've got!
See the complete, mind-numbing brochure at the Daily Mail.
As some fans attempt to wrest themselves from hockey's icy teat, even just for a couple months, maybe watch some golf, look forward to some Wimbledon tennis action -- we're drawn right back in by all the noise around this Friday's NHL draft. Mock drafts, predictions, never-ending speculations... it will all come to an end this weekend in Montreal. And then it'll all be about draft scorecards, hits and misses, big trades, little trades, no trades, who wore the ugliest tie... oh sweet jeebus, it's never going to end.
That said, there is some actual intrigue to this year's cattle call. First, you have the "Will They or Won't They?" surrounding the New York Islanders and their up-til-now tight lips on just who they'll take with the top pick. Of course, most of the hype is about John Tavares, with Victor Hedman and Matt Duchene close behind. Leafs fans are chewing their fingertips down to bloody nubs in anticipation of a big time Brian Burke move that can get them back to prematurely planning parade routes again.
The U.S. Open is a golf tournament rich in history and sporting tradition. Getting drunk and heckling is also a pastime rich in history and sporting tradition. This weekend at Bethpage Black in Long Island, New York, it appears the two have become intimately acquainted. It's nice to see golf fans move beyond the boring old staple of "You da man!", but the wit behind "This Bud's for you!" and "You suck!" is still a tad lacking. And while the ethics of heckling in golf are obviously a bit more dodgy than, say, at a hockey game, at least someone came up with a decent line.
From Newsday: (Tiger) Woods did not respond to the people who were heckling him but tried to
quiet the crowd with a "sshh" hand gesture, putting his finger to his
lips, as golfers prepared to tee off on the adjacent 12th tee.
"Suck it up, you've got your own video game!" someone shouted at Woods.
OK, we know, we know, it's about damn time to stop talking about hockey... But this is a story where one of the sports' superstitious quirks actually had a measurable affect on something other than lumberjackian lengths of facial hair.
As you may have read during the Cup finals, Pittsburgh coach Dan Bylsma had a routine he followed, which included stopping by his local Qdoba Mexican Grill, a 440-franchise chain, for a BBQ pork burrito. And, as you definitely know, the Pens kept on winning. Here's where it gets interesting, as biz weekly Advertising Age reports today, Qdoba was smart enough to cash in on the craze to the tune of a 20 percent sales increase. Once the franchise had learned of Bylsma's burrito winning streak, a Facebook page was created and had more than 1200 fans in less than 72 hours, and pretty soon local news crews were covering the coach's ritual. There were even Twitter Tweet-ups, where fans would go watch Bylsma and his burrito in-person.
Jim Balsillie and the folks behind MakeItSeven.ca have designated tomorrow "Make It Seven Day," a day where all Canadians can come together and demand the NHL put another team in the Great White North. Though, to be fair, they really only mean Hamilton this time. Sorry, Winnipeg.
There's even a rally planned. Sort of like all that business in Iran, except instead of thousands of people demanding free and fair elections, it'll be an untold number of hockey fans out back of Copps Coliseum, possibly burning Gary Bettman in effigy.
"It all adds up," said Balsillie, before subtlely fitting in all the required sponsors. "We have a market that is crying out for an NHL
franchise, great fans, a plan for a state-of-the-art arena and
tremendous corporate support from Home Hardware, Labatt Blue, Prime
Restaurants, DEWALT and FirstOntario Credit Union."
The hockey season's over, Pittsburgh's still relishing in its massive Stanley Cup parade, Balsillie's still hunting Coyotes -- but what's an everyday hockey fan/aspiring shinny hero supposed to do all summer? Well, if you've got the heart and desire, as well as a penchant for learning lessons that come with synthesizer and back-up singer accompaniment, well old chap, this is the instructional video for you.
May 2009
