Like many others, I love sports. For years we have all dutifully listened to a myriad of experts prepare us for games, analyze and breakdown situations or give us insight into the sport(s). We have come to accept the above and appreciate being a little more educated about the game.
What has me constantly shaking my head lately is the scourge of the endless commercials or TV spots hammering me with betting analytics. Now the personalities we used to trust for some insight into games almost seem to have been relegated to second-tier status behind the expert view of.............gambling?
Give me Ferraro, Lacroix, Bieksa, et al, please. I really don't need Louis Daline's best bets swamping me during sportscasts. It's almost like sports has become the bastion of betting as opposed to an appreciation of the game itself.
"Oh, Mully, you"re such a prude.” No … The push and the ads are relentless and need to be curtailed. On a site where I usually expect to find something like, “Crosby/Ovechkin continue 15-year epic head-to-head battle tonight in Pittsburgh" or "Can Avalanche extend dominance versus Sharks on home ice?" I find the lead story on that site to be: "Edmonton -1.5 to give up first goal of game to Buffalo today." What? Do I or have I bet on sports? Of course I have. Usually on a lark with friends. But when people attempt to make my sports about the sport of gambling … you can bet that I'm getting pee'd off.
Small world
Diane and I are down a cart trail two weeks ago searching for a spot on a faraway lake about 75 kilometres south of Timmins to launch our jon boat. I notice some campers on another sideroad and decide to stop in and see what's up.
Four guys are up from the south on an annual hunting trip. Now, I've always said that sports makes our world a smaller place and it is never a surprise when sports (fishing, hockey, ball sports, etc.) bring us pleasant experiences. After some pleasantries, the conversation kind of goes like this: "We are originally from Timmins.” “Really?” “Yup.” “Mike and Diane Mulryan here.” “We're Pete and Matt Landriault.” “The Majors coach?” “We remember you. Matt was playing for Legion Midgets and I (Peter) coached in minor hockey back then.” “Hey, Mike, you know Sheila and Barry McCusker? We used to fish a lot at Horwood together.” "Of course I do. They are friends and as a kid, I worked at their sports store.” “Well, you must have known Al Cochrane from hockey? He was my father-in-law.” “Al? Of course I knew him.”
(Matt speaking) “You must know Colleen and Mike Landers. Did David not play for you?” “Well ya. Know them very well. In fact, Diane was at David's wedding in London (dummy here missed his flight).”
(Matt) “I spoke at that wedding.” (Diane) “I remember that !" Over the course of the next little while the names and some stories about mutual Timmins friends flew back and forth. MacNair, Legault, McGee and more. Pete and Matt are father and son. There was two other young men who were a treat to be around, but I forget their names. Also, Matt was wearing an Expedition Helicopters hat, and I asked where he got it. His son Joey works for the Cochrane-based company.
Joey was not there back then, but in 2011, I flew with Expedition around the same time of year, on the Hudson/Barilko plane recovery. And I have a bunch of those hats. The six of us had some huge laughs and shared some awesome stories. And of course we were all fascinated by the whole "small world" vibe.
I hope to see them again next year. There are still lots of stories to hear and tell.
Short adjustment period
So, Derek Seguin took all of one game to fit in with Harsefeld, Germany. In his first exhibition game, he calmly potted four goals and two assists. Meh!
RELATED: Seguin heading to Germany to play pro hockey
Like/dislikes of late
Likes:
- Sean Monahan and Kirby Dach healthy and playing well with Habs.
- Crosby's strong start.
- Phillies, Padres, and Astros advancing.
- Joey Logano off to final four.
- Watching my two nephews excitement about their new hockey season in Barrie.
- Vikings lead in NFC North.
- Fifth game between New York and Cleveland.
- F1 cost-cap violations drama.
- Three Canadians doing well in MLB with Cleveland.
- The Manning casts.
- Vols fans removing goalposts from stadium and marching them down main street after beating Crimson Tide. (Not legal, but a hoot to watch.)
- Diane's 21-plus inch bass caught in a nearby lake.
Dislikes:
- Basketball, Nascar and football fights … not cool
- Matt Murray hurt early in season.
- Denver's dismal start to NFL season.
- Tom Brady's struggles.
- U.S. media dissing of Raptors.
- Weather.
- Did I mention the overbearing amount of sports betting hoopla?
- Seems like everyone on sports TV thinking it's cool to yell their opinion.
- Sports officiating.
- Second-guessing the Blue Jays over and over and over and over.
Still early, but …
Lose to Habs, Coyotes and squeak by Caps and Sens. Not very confidence-inspiring for Leaf fans. The Wild are getting swamped and are off to a poor start after a strong season last year. Vegas on the other hand is off to a good start (3-0) when most had them struggling this season.
And
The newest sports injury label? Cranial Bruise. Huh? Not to make light of any head injury but to me it's either a concussion or a bump on the head. Do we really need another acronym?
Thanks
I'd be remiss if I did not say thanks to so many of you who had such kind words of encouragement and likes, shares, and hits for a return to a column. And the response to column number one on both the TimminsToday page and Timmins Sports Heritage Hall of Fame site, where it was shared.
Later, Skater!
