Big Sports Moments 2011

Here is my PassItOnSports YouTube Year in review.


Sports provide us with so many emotions, sometimes elation, sometimes despair. We see amazing athletic moments, combined with terrible tragedies. I have compiled some things that have made an impact on me throughout the year. Have a look.

1/This first one may be much more impactful than any of us can imagine.
Sidney Crosby at the Winter Classic.

What is the future of Sidney Crosby?

2/ Green Bay Packers win Super Bowl

One of the very best teams ever!! (hard for a Viking fan to admit)

 

3/ Flying High at the NBA All Star game.

This guy has some hops. Keep an eye on Blake Griffith of The LA Clippers..

4/ Dallas Mavericks win NBA Championship

The best "team" won.

5/ Boston Bruins win Stanley Cup.

The best "team" won (again).

6/ Usian Bolt

I just love to watch him run.

7/ The Tragic Dan Wheldon Indy Crash.

 A really tough sport.

8/ Toronto Rock win Championship

Toronto does have a winning team.

9/ Japan wins Women's World Cup

A great victory for a country that had a tough year.

 

10/  PGA - The Fedex Cup

Bill Hass wins on miracle shot.

My personal favorite. 

11/ Just an amazing Athletic Play. Jerome Simpson.

That is fun!!

 

Canadiana

2011 Canadian Press Male Athlete of the Year - Patrick Chan

A great athlete.

The Canadian Press Female Athlete of the year for 2011 -  Jennifer Heil

 

An Inspiring Canadian and person.

Well, that's it....some of the things that made an impact with me....there is so many more ups and downs and incredible plays from the past year.....i could go on forever.

If you want to share your favorite sporting moment.........send me your youtube at info@passitonsports.ca

Happy New Year.

2012 is going to Rock!!

CLax Lacrosse Update.

I went to Oshawa to check out the New Canadian Lacrosse League (CLax) games that were played at the beautiful General Motors Centre this past Saturday. It was a triple header, with all six teams playing.
They were all exhibition games as the teams are juggling their lineups and tuning up for the regular season beginning in January.

The first game saw the Peel Avengers defeat the Iroquois Ironmen 11 - 8. I was not there for that game.

In the second game...I arrived with the score Durham Turfdogs 7 and the Oshwekon Demons 2, but the fast paced (fight filled) game, took a turn, and the Oshweken team came back to win 17-16 in a thriller.

The final game was dominated by the home team Oshawa Machine, who went ahead 4 - 0 quickly on the Brampton Inferno and it was really never close, with Oshawa winning 18 -10.

The interesting part of the game for me was of course the transition. I absolutely loved it. Lacrosse for me, has always been a transition game...and over the years it has all but been eliminated from the game. You have heard about me going on and on about how defense off and offense on and vice versa seems to be the norm now in lacrosse at most levels. Defensive specialists on when needed, and goal scorers out the other door...and as a coach, I get it....it works. As a fan I do not. It is boring to watch (for me) - you of course are entitled to your own opinion.

I would like to make an important point here. I am not an NLL hater, quite the contrary, I go to NLL game regularly, and will go again this year - always a great night...but being a fan, allows me to shoot my mouth off, and I have seen too many times, a player steal a ball on defense, that could have led to a 3 on 2 or 2 on 1, but instead, he throws it back to his goalie or something, there is a line change made, so the "better" skill players can come out to score. Boring.

At the Clax on Saturday night this is all but eliminated by a simple rule change. When the offense loses the ball, they have to change at their goalie side door. In other words...they can not run to the the closest door and send somebody out the other door, they must run to the farthest door to make a change....and if they do this, more often then not, they are beat, because the offense are already (or should be) up the floor.

This created numerous fast breaks, long passes 4 on 3's, 3 on 2's and 2 on 1's. We really enjoyed this part of the game. When the lacrosse ball is moving, that is when this game is at its best....running and passing is the game of lacrosse....you have heard the ads over the years...."Lacrosse...the fastest game on two feet".
It was old time, fast paced lacrosse. You really need to check it out.

As for the skill level, well, it is very early. I noticed a lot of the players were definitely squeezing their stick a little tight...which of course leads to poor passes, which of course is a problem.

I am going to offer a little advice for the CLax boys...and any other lacrosse players than want to listen. Lacrosse is all about ball movement...a good ball movement team is just pretty to watch. The problem is, in this era of Pro Lacrosse, with lacrosse tricks available on You Tube, it is kind of fun to be a bit of a "hot dog"....but the thing of it is...there are probably 5% of all players than can do an over the shoulder pass or shot with any skill or accuracy, the rest of the players....GIVE IT A REST. Seriously.....make a simple over hand pass into the players stick....it is all about completing the pass...and completing the play. I saw a couple of over the shoulder passes that went into the stands....no good....so stop it. (that means you too DJ.)    :-)

One of the most frustrating things for a coach is to work on a play that works perfect, except a bad pass or a bad catch, stops it. I watched the CLax guys in warm up, clearly have the skill...so when the game begins..remember to play within your own skillset, not something you saw on TV or You Tube.
(coaching lesson complete).

Want to see a video of a perfect goal scorer...I got video of this little guy between periods at The CLax game...perfect finish.

On the whole, I was impressed on Saturday night, and I encourage you to check out a CLax game yourself.

Now of course, I am still frustrated why it is so difficult to get people to the games. remember my Blog called Be a Lacrosse Fan?  I made a point about Canadians talk the talk of loving lacrosse, but do not walk the walk.

There was a triple header this day. Three great lacrosse games. $2 to get in, so money was not an issue. What is it? What is the problem. We say we love the game. We say it is the greatest and fastest game on two feet....but the only way to make believers of us all, is to pack the venue. I really would love to figure this out.

Come on people support Lacrosse.

For tickets and schedule, go to www.clax.ca

Lou Marsh Award

 Patrick Chan wins Lou Marsh Award!!!

...and I know for a fact a lot of Canadians are thrilled, but no one more than my Mom.

Yes, my Mom has been following skating her whole life, and is the proudest Canadian I know. She reads my blog daily, and puts up with me spouting off about every sport all the while, ignoring her beloved sport, figure skating. I think that it is time for me to give her a moment in the sun.

The Lou Marsh Trophy, also known as the Lou Marsh Memorial Trophy and Lou Marsh Award is a trophy that is awarded annually to Canada's top athlete professional or amateur. It is awarded by a panel of journalists, with the vote taking place in December. It was first awarded in 1936. It is named in honour of Lou Marsh a prominent Canadian athlete, referee, and former sports editor of the Toronto Star. Marsh died in 1936 and the trophy was named in his honour.

This award can some be controversial as to who should win it. Some people think that an award like this should be for amateur athletes and some think it should be for simply the best athlete. (pro or otherwise).
Also, there is some thought that an individual is more deserving than someone from a team, which again is a matter of opinion.

This year was no different as there was definitely some difference of opinion on who should win.
There is one thing I know for sure though, and that is the great Canadian Athletes on the list for this years award were just that....GREAT.  Have a look at this great slide show from The Toronto Star.

The top contenders for this years award were –    world champion figure skater Patrick Chan -  world No. 1 ranked shot putter Dylan Armstrong - speed skating world champion Christine Nesbitt -  rider Eric Lamaze and the late Hickstead.

Keep in mind, these athletes are not just good at their sport, they are in most cases the very best in the world at their sport. Chan, Armstrong and Nesbitt take a back seat to no one. They are the best.

Other greats to win this award are Wayne Gretzky, Steve Nash, Mike Weir and Sidney Crosby....some pretty respectable names to say the least.

So Congratulations Patrick, well deserved for sure!!

I could go on, but I think today I will let you read an email form my Mom sent a couple of days before the Lou Marsh was decided.

Hi there.

Thought it is about time you did a figure skating blog. Just call Steven and he will explain it to you...I "Forced" him to watch it years ago.
Patrick Chan won Gold at The Grand Prix final held in Quebec City.This is NOT a "one weekend win". Many, many months of competition held in USA, Canada, Russia, China etc. with the top 6 competitors coming together in Quebec City to compete in this rigourous final.
Rosie Dimanno of the Toronto Star wrote a good article about it on Sunday.Patrick had made a comment after his win in China (his parents were born there). It caused a minor ruffling of feathers but I like Rosie's comments about this fine young man.
Rosie's Comment:
1.  Chan is a pleasure to watch and from her perspective,enjoyably forthright and NATURAL under the spotlight glare.
2.Honesty and frankness-is becoming a rarity in sports. It should be nurtured rather than condemned.
3. Rosie states.."Good Lord, think about the creepy places so many sports celebrities have taken us...from sex scandals, congressional hearings on steroid cheating to illegal back room dog fighting".

My comments:
I have watched this fine athlete over many years and I feel he is a TRUE CANADIAN super star!!He makes Canada PROUD.
Patrick will NEVER "haul in" the big $$$$ like the "so-called biggies" of Hockey, Baseball, Basketball and Football.He
IS an athlete who entertains and delights us.
Michael, aren't you glad I read your blogs?
Just "Food for Thought"
Mom

(thanks mom - well said)

Tim Tebow (aka) The Closer

Tim Tebow - Do you know him? Have you heard of him?

Tim Tebow is the quarterback for the Denver Broncos in the National Football League. He was drafted by Denver 25th overall in the 2010 NFL Draft.

He played for the Florida Gators in college, and his claim to fame was the fact that he was know as a "double threat" - an opposition coaches nightmare...he can pass and he can run. How do you stop him?

Here is a list of awards in college.

Very impressive stats to be sure, but i know some of you may wonder why I am talking about him today.

Those of you that know me, know this. I love great athletes doing great things. I love to watch athletes that are at their best...and still do more. I enjoy a good sports story and even more, if you understand my philosophy of www.passitonsports.ca I love a "feel good" sports story.

Tim Tebow is smack dab in the middle of an incredible feel good sports story and that cool part is, you never know when it will end.

Here is a brief synopsis for those of you that do not follow the NFL. The Denver Broncos started this season with 1 win and 4 losses. Not good. Enter Tim Tebow. He got his first start against the hapless Miami Dolphins, and they were winless...so this should be easy. But, this is pro football, nothing is easy and the Broncos found themselves down 15 - 0 with about 9 minutes left in the game. Well, something happened. Tebow led them back after tying the game with a 2 point convert...the Broncos went on to win in overtime. It was a crazy game...and he was just getting started.

The Broncos lost the next week to a solid Detroit Lions team, but since then Tebow and the Broncos have rattled off six consecutive victories.

The last 4 wins have all been amazing come from behind victories, all in the fourth quarter and all have had a heroic leader...Tim Tebow.

What makes this really special is how these wins are manufactured. I really have seen nothing like it. Tebow does nothing spectacular for most of these games...I would even say at some points he is even below mediocre. No excitement, just run of the mill plays..until the fourth quarter. In the fourth quarter a switch seems to go off..click...and something happens.

He runs, he jukes, he throws, evades tackles...it is like watching a totally abstract unscripted combination of ballet and athleticism like you rarely see in any athlete. The other astonishing thing is how his entire team believe in him so much that they will do anything to make this happen. The entire team rises up to the highest possible level, and things begin to happen.

Last night in Chicago, same old story (it is unreal) - Denver down 10 - 0 with less the 3 minutes to go, and Tebow takes them down for a touchdown..10 - 7 Chicago leads..less than two minutes and Denver has no timeouts. Tebow gets them down the field...but they are forced to try a 59 yard field goal...can it be true? Don't forget the whole team rises up and the field goal is good. They go into overtime...Chicago marches down the field for victory....but...FUMBLE. A few plays later, another long field goal and Denver wins again. Hard to believe it. Really amazing story.

What makes this story so special for me is simply how this guy wanted to win so bad, that when it gets to crunch time, he elevates to a level few people ever get to. He is a genuine person, and has suddenly become a leader of exceptional quality. The Broncos are now 8 wins and 5 losses and in first place in their division.

I don't know when or where this story will end...but do yourself a favour and check it out before it does.

The Business of Sports

What a week. Shocking, interesting and disturbing....are some of the words I would use.
The amount of $$$$ we are talking about here are staggering.

Number 1 - The Sale of MLSE

Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment has been sold.

This deal was a blockbuster to say the least...and I did not see it coming. The two partners are Rogers and Bell...corporate enemies, both competing for the same customers, both jockeying for your hard earned money...whether it is your TV, your phones or your Internet...they want your business.

Suddenly these two "enemies" are "partners" in a huge, shocking deal, purchasing the brand known as MLSE from the Teachers Pension Fund. They now are 75% owners, with Larry Tanenbaum owning 25%, and the new partners only had to pay $1.32 billion dollars. That's all. What a deal!!

The possibilities of media opportunities that is pairing can provide are absolutely mind boggling and it is really going to be interesting to see what happens.

I thought about what it would have been like to be in the meeting where the decision was made to make this purchase. I am sure at some point, someone would have said, what are the longtime future prospects like for MLSE....will there be a down turn in interest? I think we know the answer to that. The answer is a resounding NO! The addiction to the Maple Leaf brand is nothing short of astounding. Have a look at any bar on the night of a Leaf game...or look at the insane media frenzy surrounding the Leaf's after any event...practice, game...anything. The real obsession though take place down at the ACC. If you go into the Real Sports Bar, where the prices are ridiculous, it is lined up forever. If you are lucky enough to get into a game...you will be privileged to lineup for a beer and a slice of pizza for $16. That is one medium beer and a slice.

Oh yes, I think this insanity will continue to play out for a very, very long time.

Only two question remain. Will my cable bill go up? And the big one...Will we win the Cup....after all, that is all we care about.

Number 2 - The Los Angeles Angels

The USA has gone through some pretty tough times over the last few years, people losing their homes and jobs...and trying deperately to figure it all out.
Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson do not have this problem. Both players were signed to mega deals this week and the face of The Angels has been radically changed.

The deal with Pujols is for 10 years, includes a full no-trade clause and is worth between $250 million and $260 million, a source told MLB.com. Ken Rosenthal reported on MLB Network that the exact value is $254 million, which would place it second behind the record-setting 10-year, $275 million contract Alex Rodriguez signed with the Yankees in December 2007. Wilson gets five years and $77.5 million, with a full no-trade clause for the first two years and a partial no-trade clause (featuring eight teams) for the last three.  AMAZING MONEY. How ever will they pay for this? (sarcastic tone)

The Los Angeles Angels, following these huge signings,  have reached a lucrative long-term agreement with FOX Sports. The Los Angeles Times reported the pact is worth at least $3 billion for a length of 20 years. The deal has yet to be officially announced. Money...wow...where does it all come from.

The insanity of the money in these two deals are without description...but they are all made possible simply because of sports fans. We go to the games, watch them on TV, buy the merchandise, drink the beer etc. etc. ...and we do it with excess, year after year. We are the reason these deals can be made. Seems kind of funny to me somehow.

Interesting Sports News

Sports, both pro and amateur, never cease to amaze me...and intrigue me...surprise me, and even shock me. Sometimes I like to talk about the odd ball thing that peak my interest. Here is this weeks installment.

1. Tiger Woods won a golf tournament on the weekend past. The media frenzy was disturbing to me to say the least. The "media/Tiger" love affair is back. He is back. He birdied the last two holes on Sunday and won. Wow ! Amazing.     NOT!!!!                                                                                                             -   Give me a Break!!! I mean really. What is the big deal? Do you realize that most golf tournaments during the year have 120 to 140 golfers in a full field. This past weekend in the big Tourney that Tiger won...there was a grand total of 18 golfers. 18 GOLFERS!! That's it!. Yes the field was strong, but only 18 guys? Settle down a bit. Let's see what 2012 brings...and a full field. Then we can talk.
2. The NBA is back. They start playing on December 25th. (that date rings a bell somehow) - oh, btw does Toronto still have a team? (ouch!)
3. For a fantastic holiday sporting event...don't forget the World Junior Hockey starts on December 26th....great tournament.
4. Lindsey Vonn won her fourth World Cup Ski race today (in a row) - impressive stuff.                  

         
                                  

           5. It is December 7th and Phil Kessel is still the leading point getter in the NHL.

   

I am just sayin' (again)

On a personal note...I am not the biggest Ron Wilson and Brian Burke fan, and I don't normally defend them....but....the Toronto media is out of hand. It is time to give it a rest. Please.

  6. Sidney Crosby is sitting out two games....fingers crossed.

That is my update for the week...and it is only Wednesday.

talk to you soon.

  

                         

'Tis the Season

Bought a Christmas Tree today. (am I allowed to say that?)

Yes I am....but let's face it "our holidays are changing".  (or are they?)

I actually find it interesting how people are getting so upset, because their "traditions" are being compromised.

For example:

• Merry Christmas? or Happy Holidays? or "Best of the Season"? Happy Hanukkah!
• Christmas Concert or Holiday Celebration.
• Christmas Tree or Holiday Tree.

There "seems" to be more rules surrounding this time of year. Where are these rules coming from. Are they real, or are they imagined.

Get this - I heard this week that Santa will not be at the Eaton Centre this year. Can it be true?!

Lately I hear people all over the place complaining how "their" traditions are being changed. Why are they doing this and why are they doing that. I find it interesting, and also a little bit disturbing.

ok, now to get up on my soap box and give my opinion.

I live in Canada. More specifically I live in the very best country in the entire world.

DO YOU THINK THAT IS A SECRET?!!

 No, it is not. A lot of people know that Canada is an amazing place to live. The secret got out a long time ago. Guess what? When people found that out, they wanted to move here. Go figure. When we hear about great restaurants or great movies or great vacation spots...we usually go if we can. If we like it...we go back.

Canada is all about immigration and has been for a very long time. People want to come here...and we want and need them to come. We are an incredibly culturally diverse country, and believe me, this is a good thing. But...(you knew this was coming)....but...some people seem to have an opinion that if somebody from another country comes to our country...then they should change.

I have heard this said many times. "you are in our country now, so you need to adapt to the way we do things, and believe what we believe".

Have you heard that? (or something like that?) Have you said that? It is a ridiculous statement. Look at it this way, if I decided to move to another country, for any reason...and I decided to live there...I would like to hold on to "my belief system", It is what I know. It is who I am.

Our schools and other institutions are faced with challenges that we never ever faced before. Not everyone celebrates Christmas. That is a fact. Don't get mad at that. Understand it. They are not trying to change the way you believe, they are trying to adapt to a new way of looking at things.

So Relax. Please!

Nothing has changed in my traditions. We put up the Christmas tree today, put out some lights and played some Christmas songs. It was a nice afternoon. It is our tradition.

Let others celebrate their traditions too. No matter where they are from.

Merry Christmas. ( I know it is early)

And just to make sure that this remains a "sports blog" - Guess what. Basketball is back. First NBA game is on Christmas Day. You have to love it. Ho Ho Ho.