The Tim Thomas Incident

You've probably heard by now about Boston Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas, who refused to participate in his team's visit to the White House ''for political reasons'', defending his ideas/ideals which seem pretty damn close to Tea Party ideas.

Hockey is a sport built on tradition, and Thomas is as much an athlete as he is a student of the game; he respects the tradition that stipulates opponents trade handshakes after a playoff series. Tradition also calls for an American team winning the Stanley Cup to be invited to the White House - and to accept the invitation.

His only explanation came via Twitter Facebook, of all fucking places:

I believe the Federal government has grown out of control, threatening the Rights, Liberties, and Property of the People. This is being done at the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial level. This is in direct opposition to the Constitution and the Founding Fathers vision for the Federal government. Because I believe this, today I exercised my right as a Free Citizen, and did not visit the White House.

This was not about politics or party, as in my opinion both parties are responsible for the situation we are in as a country. This was about a choice I had to make as an INDIVIDUAL.

This is the only public statement I will be making on this topic. TT

Jesus Christ. I hope he's not afraid of heights, because his fucking pedestal is as high as they come.

Michael Grange from Sportsnet had this to say:

To me the real problem is that Thomas couldn't rise above his beliefs and not only support his team but support the tradition of public discourse and debate which is the only logical way out of whatever issues are ailing the United States and how many other democracies these days.

There's no objection to his views here, but there is an objection to the notion that you can't show respect to the individual democratically elected to serve your fellow citizens, even if it's to vigourously agree to disagree.

The Bruins shook hands with the Canucks, after all.

Sure they scrapped like brothers the next time they met. All the old wounds remained raw.
But they honoured the spirit of the game. Tim Thomas should have too.

Even Barack Obama spoke - highly! - of Thomas, as can be attested in this article from ESPN's Joe McDonald:

During his speech, President Obama spoke glowingly about Thomas and his performance during the Stanley Cup playoffs.

"This Stanley Cup was won by defense as much as by offense," Obama said. "Tim Thomas posted two shutouts in the Stanley Cup finals and set an all-time record for saves in the postseason, and he also earned the honor being only the second American ever to be recognized as the Stanley Cup playoffs MVP."

Thomas' absence was uncalled for. The president has more important things to worry about with Tuesday's State of the Union address.

But it's going to be interesting to see what this does to the State of the Bruins.

Team spirit can, indeed, take a monstruous fall. But Thomas is a hero in Boston; they're calling him possibly the team's best ever. He's a God in the city, and a heck of a warrior for his team. I, for one, think if one person could survive such an un-team-like act, it would be him, the team's most unselfish character.

Thomas' harshest critic, however, is from The Boston Globe's Kevin Paul Dupont:

Shabby. Immature. Unprofessional. Self-centered. Bush league. Need I go on? All that and more applies to what Thomas did, on a day when Cup teammates Mark Recchi (now retired), Shane Hnidy (a radio guy these days in Winnipeg), and Tomas Kaberle (a member of some Original Six team in Canada), all gladly joined the red-white-blue-black-and-gold hugfest at the White House.

Thomas needed to be there in solidarity, and celebration, with his team. It was the same government yesterday, and will be today, that protected his country, his security, his family, and his right to make $5 million a year, all last season. In his absence, he stole his teammates’ spotlight. Win as a team. Lose as a team. And when asked to stand up and take a bow, then stand up there and suffer if need be, even if you don’t like the setting, the host, or any of the political trappings and tenets that come with it.

And he went on to add even stronger words:

If Thomas is feeling the way he is today, it could not have happened overnight. He must have felt much the same just shy of 24 months ago when he sounded so proud to wear that Team USA sweater at the 2010 Olympics, and so proudly dipped his head to accept that silver medal. Or was he doing all of that under governmental duress, the pain of knowing our leaders were acting, as he wrote yesterday, “in direct opposition of the Constitution and the Founding Fathers’ vision of the Federal government.’’

Someone so disgusted with our government ought to turn in the sweater and the medal. It must be a horrible burden, if not a pox, to have them in his house.

That's the stuff!

Two In The Win Column For Common Sense (And People's Rights)

The one time Sean Avery says something intelligent - well, that makes common sense, at least - and I am referring to his public support for gay marriage alongside many other famous New Yorkers such as Michael Bloomberg, Bill Clinton and Julianne Moore - got a player agent (Todd Reynolds) so angry he tweeted his disagreement.

Many people reacted, most condemning him for being dumb and behind the times, a few in support. Sportsnet's Damian Godard was fired after supporting the agent, because we thought Canadians were more evolved than Americans on the matter.

Yesterday, former NBA superstar Charles Barkley, ever the quotable man, said he'd probably played alongside homosexual basketball players on at least two teams. And that he was fine with it (which surprised me a bit, I must admit).

Violence In Hockey

Last week, there were two separate NHL games in which multiple fights resulted in almost record-breaking amounts of penalty minutes called and cheap shots taken.

This weekend, the Pittsburgh Penguins' best player of all time (and current minority owner) Mario Lemieux came out and said the suspensions the league handed out were ''a travesty'', and that the league didn't show its seriousness in eradicating such behaviour. He added that if this was the direction the league was headed in, he'd rather no longer be involved with it. This, after more than a decade of fighting for ways to get a new amphitheater built in Pittsburgh and the Pens finally moving into it a few months ago.

Yesterday, Detroit Red Wings legend and current Tampa Bay Lightning general manager Steve Yzerman held a phone conference in which he said Super Mario should actually get more involved with the league, not less, saying:

I think Mario is one of the most well-respected, intelligent people in the game. I would encourage him (and) I think we should all encourage him to get more involved with the league because he has a lot to offer.

In the best of worlds, this would be a Coup against current league commissioner Gary Bettman, whose reign has been marred by terrible decisions (over-aggressive expansion, two lock-outs, threatening to not let his players participate in the next Olympics) that have made a handful of owners a lot of money but has seen a majority of its ownership change more often than there actually are teams in the league since his arrival, losing such conglomerates as Disney and Blockbuster as parent companies, after spending years trying to convince the public they were right for the task.

Of course, the league - via Bettman lapdog/henchman Bill Daly - has gone out of its way to discredit Lemieux, saying he rarely even participates in Governors' Meetings, where team owners and general managers decide on the rules overseeing the game. Which means that in the past 10 months, the league has discredited both Lemieux and Wayne Gretzky (who is one of only two creditors, as part-owners of the Phoenix Coyotes, that didn't get compensated when the team was bought out of bankruptcy by the league itself), the two best players of Bettman's era - and arguably two of the five best players of all time no matter where you rank them.

Just for that, I do hope this is a coup.

But it has to be said that both Lemieux and Yzerman, in this case, should look in their own backyards before asking the league to up its credibility: Lemieux employs the league's most-renowned diver in Sidney Crosby and one of its dirtiest players in Matt Cooke, while Tampa has Steve Downie in its line-up, a guy who once beat his own teammate up in practice for refusing to get hazed while serving as captain of his team... the team? Team Canada, for the World Juniors. There's an expression about living in glass houses...

Yay Or Nay: The NHL All-Star Game

Well, Sportsnet has me reacting again, although for once I'm not outraged...

This time, they're debating the existence of the NHL All-Star Game. On one side, Nick Kypreos, like many pundits, claims players don't want to attend it anymore and that the game is boring; inversely, Ian Mendes argues that for kids, it's their chance to see their favourite (or hometown) players play with and against the best of their profession.

I'm siding with Mendes on this one. Even fans of crappy teams (say the Panthers or Leafs) get to see the best player(s) on their team compete with the best from other teams, in a game where checkers and cheap-shot artists don't matter. Defense wins championships? Who cares - offense sells tickets.

Homophobia In Sports

Yep, it still exists.

Here are some recent examples, courtesy of Sportsnet.ca.

Not exactly Festive, but it ain't Christmas yet.

I long for the day where it won't matter whether you're male, female, white, brown, want to fuck men or women, of whatever religion - as long as you're judged by the quality of work you do. Especially in sports.

Did I say religion? No, scratch that - fuck religion.

There's A Douche Part Two: Spector Returns

Less than three months after my rant about Sportsnet's Mark Spector being an ignorant racist douche, as if to prove my point and revive the flames of my anger, the currently-most-read CFL blogger and part-time sports journalist was at it again - this time not just dissing Quebecers, but adding a totally crazy comment I'm not even sure attacks just one race, which goes:

(In the CFL), there are entire receiving corps of white guys, for Pete’s sake. One of them — Saskatchewan’s — is maybe the best in the league!

Like, how imbalanced is the chemistry in his brain to even think about thinking that way? Who gives a shit what skin colour athletes are in the context of league play? A league that barely has eight teams and ran for years with two teams sporting the exact same name spelled differently?

But the man was into the subject of race - and perhaps the sole reason he even brought it up was to segue into his need to reiterate that one of the country's two founding peoples were too demanding for inferior folks:

Yet, faced with questions from the Francophone media over Alouettes complaints regarding their hotel and dressing room, Cohon switched into commissioner mode again.

He may have wanted to say, "Is anything ever good enough for you whiny Quebecers?" or, "My Gosh, do you divas EVER stop expecting preferential treatment?"

First, let's get this straight: the ''Francophone'' media asked a question regarding Alouettes' players complaints, who play in Edmonton  - where the Grey Cup game is being held this weekend - all year long and felt that this time, with the league taking care of accommodations, they are less comfortable this week in preparation for the season's most important game - the Final - than when they're in town for a regular-season game. That, perhaps, while they are in a hostile city (the crowd will, for sure, encourage the Western team), the other team is being treated with the respect Champions deserve. Oh, and the Als are the defending Champs.

Second, most Alouettes aren't Quebecers, they're American. And people of colour. Essentially, ''non-whites'' are asking for 'preferential treatment''... kinda feels like the 2008 U.S Presidential elections, when people were calling Barack Obama ''uppity''.

Jesus Christ, Spector. Look at a calendar. November. 27. 2010. Twenty-fucking-ten. They don't make people like you anymore, haven't in years; what fucked-up manufacturing plant are you from?

Mind you, I'm all for freedom of speech, I'm not asking for the douchebag to get fired. But since my freedom of speech also exists, I'm allowed to call him out on his bigotry. And, like most bigots, he justifies his reasoning with a vague (and false) sense of truth, right before going on on both tirades:

Just because it’s true, it doesn’t mean the commissioner can say it. And just because he can say it, it doesn’t mean it’s true.

In other words: the commissioner can't say these things in this PC-friendly era, so I have to. Because it's true.

Here's the truth, Spector: you are sick in the head. Every excuse, to you, is good enough to bash people for their race - especially Quebecers. Even when those who commit ''the actions'' aren't actually Quebecers, just representing a city full of them.

And Now, Sports...

The New York Yankees are trailing their series 3-1. I never thought that would happen. Of course, of late, it happens more and more, but each time I fail to believe it. They're awesome, they always make the playoffs, year in and year out. Their ''making the post-season'' record for the past 20 years is the best in baseball, it's incredible. But we mostly remember when they fail now, which is unfair.

Speaking of unfair, Louis Jean, of Sportsnet, is using Scott Gomez' salary to put him down and call him ''disappointing so far'', 5 games into the season. 5 games into an 82-game season, plus playoffs. But we all know Gomez isn't likely to put more than 60 points up on the board: it's his usual number, one he's reached or flirted with 8 times in his 9-season NHL career. To expect more is unfair. Sure, he has the statistics of a 4.5-million dollar man and is paid 7.3 - take the $3M difference as the price to pay for a two-time Stanley Cup winner, a Calder trophy winner, a responsible 2-way center, someone who stands up when the stakes are risen (say, the playoffs), and a bonus paid to have him on your team rather than the team you're competing against every night.

To expect more, statistically, than his usual 60 points amounts to, as I wrote in this post about Jason Spezza:

You can't get milk out of a stallion, and chances are you'll be disappointed if you try. And you'll end up with something else altogether.

Funny how in Ottawa, they have a 90-point guy and want him to play better defensively, like Scott Gomez, yet in Montréal, we have Gomez, and some people expect Spezza-like statistics from him. These guys have made it to be among the best at what they do in the best league in the world for their sport - and it's never enough.

Then again, that column was written by Louis Jean - the most over-rated, under-qualified reporter at Sportsnet. He's only on the Habs beat because he can speak and understand Québec French.

There's A Douche, Douche, Douche Hangin' 'Round The Back Door: Mark Spector Views Quebecers As Morally Corrupt

One thing that surprises me when a (or in this case many) racist comments towards Quebecers are published in an English Canada magazine or website is the lack of subtlety. Not only are the ''Frenchies'' the only people it's alright to be bashing, it's more often than not done in a way that it implies fact, like ''these sub-humans are terrible people, what, you didn't know? Here's yet another example why''; if you'd talk like that of Mexicans, Blacks, Jews - all hell would likely break loose. But the ''fucking frogs''? That's a-ok.

Case in point: this morning's Sportsnet column by Mark Spector. So he's against government funding for a proposed new arena in Québec City that could, perhaps, eventually, be used to lure in an NHL team, but would first and foremost be used in an Olympic bid and as a live concert venue.

His (actual, decent) arguments:

So what if arenas in Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal, Winnipeg and Vancouver were all privately built, with no handouts from the Feds? Who cares if in Edmonton, where two years of local haggling has included every scheme except looking to Ottawa or provincial coffers for the lion’s share of the costs?

Ok. Except Winnipeg got some of the feds' money for their arena's renovations. And Calgary's arena, conveniently is left out. Why? Because its actual name is the 'Olympic Saddledome', as it was built to host the 1988 Winter Games. Just like the feds spent over $5-billion in Vancouver infrastructures for their 2010 Games. Which is exactly what Québec wants for 2022 - Olympics.

And what about all the other pro sports stadiums paid for by the government? Montréal's Olympic Stadium? BC Place's roof? The proposed new Hamilton Stadium - or the Hamilton Copps Coliseum, formerly the Civic Center.

Where Spector, who shares a last name with alleged killer Phil Spector, goes a tad awry is when he tries to hypnotize us with fake math:

If the Mayor of Quebec figures that tacit level of commitment is solid enough to wager all those taxpayer’s dollars, than who are we to argue? Other than, of course, the Rest of Canada, whose hard-earned money, through copious transfer payments to the needy La Belle Province would make up both the provincial and federal input.

But we’ll ask you: If no one in Quebec cares where the money comes from, why should we? They’re getting the tax dollars from the Rest of Canada anyhow — who are we to say what they should spend it on?

Ok, Champ. Here's how it really works: Québec and Ontario, at this point, make up for between 45-50% of the country's population, with Ontario being the richest province. Chances are we're also the two provinces giving up the most in federal income taxes, no? Yes. Québec provides 20-25% of federal income taxes.

But that's not it: Québec is, in fact, a distinct society. It spends more and saves less. And guess what that means? In federal GST sales taxes, we're #1, with a whopping 30% of the country's GST revenues coming from this province. Sure, some Ontarians account for it when they cross the border after 1AM to drink here, but mainly, we like to spend our cash. And when we do, we fill up the coffins in Ottawa.

So... one of the provinces who ends up paying for the others the most is... needy? Makes no sense. Unless...

Ah yes. The bigotry:

It is too easy though, for an Albertan to paint the picture of a province that seems always to have it's [sic] hand out; a people who look at the way things are done across the rest of Canada and appear to say to themselves, “Why should we have to pay also?”  (...)

Of course, that is the mantra of a province that has become the Florida of Canada.

In the United States, a disproportionate amount of mail scammers, telephone fraudsters, real estate schemes and all-around con artists reside in Florida. In Canada, whenever there is a Shawinigate, a sponsorship scandal, accusations of a crooked judge-naming process, or a good old-fashioned political sex scandal a la Julie Couillard, it seems it is brought to us by our Quebecois friends.

Ok, wow. First off, let's decipher the apples from the nectarines, and the oranges from the ice cream: Canada's leader in mail/phone scams is Montréal, whose team built its arena with its own cash, not QC. And Montréal's pretty much the reason why Québec is still a province and not its own country, so be nice.

Shawinigate: when former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien helped a hotel/motel/auberge get federal funds for its renovations... which seems less bad than all the Western MPs in current PM Stephen Harper's cabinet, who have each had billions invested in their own 'hoods in Saskachewan and Alberta for brand-spanking new projects. That's today. And the past 5 years. And some of them are couples, and they own businesses together that pay no taxes anywhere. Helena Guergis, anyone?

Sponsorship scandal: at the time (the '95 referendum of Québec sovereignty), most of the ROC was pleading with the feds to massively invest in the ''No'' campaign to stop the province from seceding. And the feds did just that. Had they not, we wouldn't even be having this conversation.

The judge-naming controversy is provincial, sure, but it's also on-going, which means it hasn't concluded yet. But the way all of Canadian politics seem to work, I wouldn't be surprised if here was but the first of 10 or 13 province/territory investigations. Party fund-raisers have way too much power over who gets appointed where - and Harper's feds are yet again a prime example, with dozens of partial senators named by Harper's money-man - who included himself, and former illiterate NHL coach Jacques Demers.

And calling the Couillard thing a sex scandal? Really? She's a hot chick who likes to fuck men who have power. She dated an MP, he was stupid enough to leave confidential documents at her home. I fail to see how this is a Lewinsky-gate or a pedophilia ring or how it compromised national security, seeing as the only thing Bernier did as an MP was bring Twinkies to the troops in the Middle East.

Myself, usually, when I see inequalities in the Québec/Canada divide, I see Omar Khadr, a Canadian citizen, not being brought back from whence he is tortured by U.S. military.