King for a Day

The 2 Wise Men are still around. Our opinions are as strong as ever, and our banter is just as lively, we have been choosing to share them privately more than publicly though for the last while. We both follow and discuss the latest news and highlights in most sports on a regular basis. Whether it is the FA Cup Final, the Champions League, the current Major League Baseball season, or the ongoing hilarity that is the Toronto Maple Leafs, sports are being discussed, rest assured.

What has perhaps blunted this space since our last posts probably has a lot to do with procrastination and laziness, but more so the fact that there simply isn't a whole lot to talk about that is worth the effort of putting up a post. It's one thing for us to talk to each other about sports or even current events, but it's quite another for us to post to the internet, particularly in today's age where there are trained and untrained professionals who make a living commenting on the smallest minutiae in the world of sports.

So in that context, we've been waiting for a sports moment that demands that we stand up and take notice, and that we post our thoughts for the world. There are always worthy candidates of course - the winning streak of Rafael Nadal, the April of Alex Rodriguez, the Toronto Raptors 2007 season - but nothing forced us to step up...until now. For my part, watching the basketball career of LeBron James has been a pleasure, but nothing particularly noteworthy. A product of immense talent, freakish body proportions and the Nike hype machine, "King James" was anointed the next Michael Jordan when he was still in high school. One of my best friends even made a bet with me that LeBron would be the best player in the history of the NBA before he was even drafted, so pervasive was LeBron's reputation.

Since entering the league as the top pick in what may eventually be declared the most talented draft class of all time, LeBron has lived up to the hype as far as athleticism and talent go. However, mired on a mediocre Cleveland Cavaliers team, LeBron has seen the "best player in the NBA" tag that was supposedly reserved for him vested with other stars such as Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, and most notably, his draft classmate and friend, Dwyane Wade, who led the Miami Heat to the 2006 NBA Championship. It was one thing for LeBron to have to wait his turn behind established stars, but quite another for someone from his own draft year to surpass him so soon.

Then came May 31, 2007, where for one glorious night, King James truly ascended to the throne, carrying his team to a 109-108 double overtime victory over the Detroit Pistons and a 3-2 lead in their Eastern Conference semifinal. Whether the Cavaliers advance to the NBA Finals and ultimately win a championship this season is, for now, not important. What matters is that LeBron showed fans the world over the tantalizing extent of his abilities. The numbers are staggering. 48 points, 7 assists, 9 rebounds in 50 minutes. On the road. 25 straight points in the fourth quarter and both overtimes. 29 of his team's final 30 points in the game. Shots over double-teams, triple-teams, zone defences, dunks in the clutch when defences NEVER give up dunks. It was a performance that brought me out of my seat at least a half dozen times, staring at the television in bewilderment.

The Detroit Pistons are surely a better overall team. The Pistons have more experience and they may still win this series. Even if the Cavaliers win this series, they will be underdogs to the rested San Antonio Spurs in the Finals. However, what makes James' performance so compelling is the sheer determination that he brought in those final three quarters. Everyone across the world knew that James would shoot the ball on each possession. The Cavaliers never called any significant offensive play to suggest otherwise. Despite that, James continued to attack the basket, getting past defenders and running through clear fouls to score the basketball. He launched shots from distance with near impossible degrees of difficulty. He refused to let his team lose this game. That type of performance is what makes sports worth writing about. A fundamentally sound shooting performance, with shots falling from all over the floor, is impressive and can be beautiful in its own way. What LeBron did in this game was beyond that. He took on the best the defence had to offer, including taking contact, and he never shied away from any of it. For one evening, LeBron James was the sheer force of nature that so many commentators have tried to make him out to be, and it was awesome to watch.

French toast...by Apollo

It is now the day after the 2006 FIFA World Cup and besides having no idea what to do with myself now that football coverage will once again slow to a predictably North American trickle, I am reflecting over this year's tournament with the following thoughts, in no particular order:

Fabio Cannavaro: Easily the biggest reason that Puma will be stitching the fourth star on Italy's jerseys any day now. Without running mate Alessandro Nesta, the Juventus centre-back was forced to deal with the world's top strikers, all the while shepherding a changing backline that included the mercurial Marco Materazzi. Cannavaro seldom put a foot wrong all tournament, and while his club seems destined for Serie C or lower next year, the euros of Real Madrid and a host of other clubs will soon be beckoning the Italian Captain.

Zinedine Zidane: The insane red card incident aside, it's hard to imagine how the world's sports media could have voted for Zidane as Golden Ball winner as tournament MVP at halftime of a Final that stood 1-1. Up to that point, Cannavaro had far more of an impact on his side's fortunes, even if the red card in extra time had never been given to the Frenchman. Zidane, while brilliant in spots, and surely the sentimental favourite to hoist the title for France on the eve of his retirement from the game, was suspended twice in the tournament, and was forced to sit out the match against Togo in the group stage where France actually faced elimination. To that point, Zidane had done virtually nothing to distinguish himself while playing in undoubtedly the weakest group of the tournament. Meanwhile, France owe their Finals appearance as much to the ineptitude of Spain, Brazil, and Portugal as to Zidane's near vintage performances. If Cannavaro had been able to somehow score a goal or two throughout the tournament, the Golden Ball surely would have been his. That aside, it's just as sure that Zidane is harldy feeling comfort with this latest award, while Cannavaro has a much more satisfying prize in his possession.

Ronaldinho Gaucho: The demise of this year's Brazilian Selecao would have generated far more headlines if it hadn't happened so early in the knockout phase. The world had to move on to enticing semifinal matchups and had little time to perform a post mortem on the flameout of the world's most talented side. That's just as well, as it is almost impossible to explain how Brazil, and their talisman midfielder, could have performed so badly. In the weeks leading up to the tournament, everything seemed in place. Ronaldinho was coming off successive FIFA World Player of the Year awards, and had steered Barcelona to a coveted double of La Liga and Champions League titles. Almost invisible in the Champions League Final against Arsenal, he was still enough of a threat that great things were expected of him in Germany. Having burst on the scene with an outrageous winning goal against England in 2002, Ronaldinho was poised to be the lasting memory of this World Cup. There were doubts raised of Ronaldo, Adriano, Cafu and Roberto Carlos. But no one questioned Ronaldinho. He would show up. He would carry Brazil as he did in the 2004 Confederations Cup.

Like his teammates, the world waited patiently and nervously for Ronaldinho to finally shine, and he simply never did. Forced into the midfield in the 4-2-2-2 system, Ronaldinho did show plenty of tricks and magic to make Nike's marketing gurus drool, and there was always a lingering belief from the faithful that he was merely one goal away from making the tournament his. However, finally pushed up to a forward position against France, he discovered to his dismay that without him in the midfield, the service to the front was woefully inadequate. By the time substitutions were made and Robinho and Adriano were brought into the game, it was too late. While Kaka' was similarly disappointing save for a brilliant goal against Croatia, Ronaldinho just never got on track. True to form, as he went, so did Brazil, out of the tournament in the quarterfinal stage.

England: The most talented team ever assembled under St. George's Cross once again failed to live up to expectations. The Wayne Rooney injury, thought to be so devastating weeks before the tournament, proved to be a mere subplot. Far worse was Rooney's fiery temper, which again betrayed him and his country at a crucial moment. Also unexpected were the absolutely abysmal performances by Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard, who got England off to a horrible start in the deciding shootout against Portugal by feebly missing their chances. For once, captain David Beckham was not to blame, although this did not stop the media from lambasting him in any event. In the end, the decision to add Theo Walcott to the squad was not nearly as fatal as the decision not to play him, or anyone other striker who had a remote ability to finish the dozens of chances that Lampard wasted.

With the next major tournament, Euro 2008 now less than two years away, the beautiful game will return once again very shortly, at least on the Continent. The rest of the world will need to return to their domestic leagues, which begin play in a matter of mere weeks in some quarters. Meanwhile, the chants of Forza Italia will carry on at least until Italian fans and media find something to satisfy their relentless pessimism.

A Cup of Glory...by Apollo

With May winding down and June right around the corner, the focus of the World will soon fall on the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. An event so huge that even North Americans who can't stand soccer still have to take notice, the World Cup is an epic spectacle, bigger than even the Olympics, and is one of those glorious moments where grown adults watch television cheering on athletes and countries that they may never have even heard of before. Quick, name more than one player for Ghana, Angola or Iran!

I still believe in the World Cup as a sporting spectacle, as opposed to the calculated and cyncial corporate parties that most sports events have become. Don't get me wrong, there's plenty of capitalism and accompanying corruption in football to rank right up there with any of North America's professional sports, or the Olympics. However, there's something quite simplistic about the sport of football itself that helps suspend your disbelief just enough to enjoy those 90 minutes of game time.

On the surface, football is a basic game, apparently too basic for North American fans to understand. Sure, it is true that adidas is unveiling yet another technologically advanced ball for this year's tournament and the ultra expensive shoes worn by the world's best and supplied by manufacturers such as Nike are far cries from the studded slippers of yesteryear, but superficially anyway, football is all about talent and nothing else. There are no alumnium composite sticks that break at key moments of hockey games, no wireless headset in the quarterback's helmet allowing communication with the sidelines, no oversized driver optimized for the perfect fade, no lycra suit tested in a wind tunnel to eliminate resistence. Football is all about putting the ball into the net more times than the other team. That purity is a quality that still enthralls even the most battle-worn, pessimistic of sports fans, just like myself, and renders, if only for mere moments, to appreciative fans awestruck by the grace of a Ronaldinho, the power of a Shevchenko, and the brilliance of a Zidane.

There are sure to be controversies, as with any sport involving the discretion and judgment of human referees. There will be missed calls, missed shots, missed opportunities, and misplaced intentions. But by the time July 9 comes and the Selecao of Brazil hoist their sixth World Cup victory (or so the 2 Wise Men hope), there will be only memories, glorious memories of how great the game can be, and hopefully plenty of evidence that it is worth believing in the beautiful game itself, rather than paying too much attention to the scandals and controversies that plague the professional leagues of soccer in the four years between World Cups. Forca Brasil!

"Why not?" indeed...by Apollo

It's amazing how important timing is in life. At the proper times, decisions and choices and events can take on virtual mythic proportions. Other times, these same moments can be reduced to mere afterthoughts. So it was today when the Toronto Star newspaper reported that Toronto Raptors All-Star forward Chris Bosh had agreed to "be open to" signing a six-year contract extension this summer, thereby keeping him in Toronto for the next seven seasons. What is surprising about the announcement is not so much Bosh's decision - which can be classified as both brilliant and ridiculous depending on your point of view - but that this announcement went virtually unnoticed compared to the fanfare and party-like atmosphere that accompanied a similar announcement by Vince Carter several years ago.

Bosh's comment, which it must be noted techinically means very little until he actually does physically sign an actual contract extension, was easily drowned out by the moaning and groaning of Leafs fans over the firing of head coach Pat Quinn today. The press-conference to announce the firing was carried live on several sports networks. The Bosh comment was a brief blurb on a newspaper website, placed under a lead story regarding the Pat Quinn firing. If it wasn't for the fact that the Toronto Blue Jays were off today before playing the Boston Red Sox this weekend, the Bosh story would have been buried further still.

Bosh apparently came to a decision after meeting with President and General Manager Bryan Colangelo this morning. Colangelo, who alone has more basketball experience than all of the employees of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment put together, was able to convince Bosh that the Raptors were moving in the right direction. Bosh is quoted as saying "My whole thing is 'why not?' I have a chance to have my own team, be a leader on the team and challenge myself to bring it back up."

Bosh, who just recently turned 22, would have been one of the prime targets in the free-agent class of 2007. This class could potentially include his fellow 2003 draftees, Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, and Carmelo Anthony. Bosh is an even more attractive target considering he had a breakout season this year playing for a terrible team, is one of only three All-Stars from that draft class (after Wade and LeBron and before Carmelo) and is easily the best big man available.

Which makes his decision to stay in Toronto puzzling to say the least. Bosh could very easily determine which teams will have the most salary cap room in 2007 and pick the best contender of the bunch to sign with. By that time, his homestate Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs would surely have the resources to pay his salary and also offer him a far better chance of winning than the 2007 version of the Raptors.

On the other hand, expectations for the Raptors have fallen so far that if Bosh leads them back to the playoffs he will have done his job, and playing in a city with less media attention, pressure and criticism than Los Angeles or New York likely appeals to his nature. Bosh is not outspoken, loud or flashy. He is decidely low key, particularly in comparison to the other stars of his draft class. However, if his true motivation is to win an NBA title within his lifetime, Toronto is one of the hardest places to do it. For now, Toronto fans should be happy that their franchise player appears to have chosen to stay, and that his decision will lead to far more newsworthy results in the near future.

Leasing the Podium...by Apollo

It is a distinctly Canadian trait to always hedge your bets. Canadians generally don't like to brag or show any outward display of pride or arrogance. It is not because Canadians are not arrogant. Far from it. Within the confines of own homes, and in the privacy of our own conversations, we can be as boorish, cocky, or overly-confident as the staunchest of flag-waving Americans. Canadians tend not to show this cockiness too much because we're all afraid of being let down, of being disappointed, of basically looking like fools when our misplaced faith comes crumbling down.

So as usual, once the international spectacle that is the Winter Olympics began in Torino, Italy several weeks ago, Canadians were once again, cautiously optimistic. Canadian officials and those associated with the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games were boasting of finishing in the Top 3 of the overall medal count. Buzzwords such as the Own The Podium fundraising campaign were being bandied about as some sort of evidence that Canada now had the resources to compete, and beat, the World's best. The Canadian population was tuning in and somewhat buying in to the bravado, albeit with a collective holding of their breath. Canada is the only nation to fail to win a Gold Medal while hosting the Olympics...and we've done it twice, in Montreal 1976 and Calgary 1988. It is a distinctly Canadian irony that the stereotypically French-hating province of Alberta made sure that Quebec did not hold that dubious distinction by itself.

When Canada's Olympians got off to a slow start, the guarded optimism turned to justified pessimism and even cynicism. The glorious Gold Medal performance of Jennifer Heil, on the first day of the Games no less, was quickly overshadowed by the failures of Jeremy Wotherspoon, Jasey-Jay Anderson and Beckie Scott. By focusing on the goal of 25 medals and a Top 3 finish, Canadians now had expectations beyond mere personal best performances and the "happy to compete" attitude that Team Canada usually brought to the Olympics.

A funny thing happened though as the Olympics progressed. Canada started winning medals; a lot of medals. A 1-2 finish in Skeleton was accompanied by a surprise Bronze in figure skating and a shocking Gold in cross-country skiing. Speedskater Cindy Klassen quietly blazed her way to a record five medals over five different distances. As the second week of the Olympics progressed, Canadians were slowly realizing that the athletes they were sending, the ones who were supposed to win medals, actually were winning them. Even poor starts by the men's and women's curling teams resulted in Gold and Bronze respectively. With success at the Olympics now confirmed, Canadians were letting loose and celebrating every performance, every medal, and every raising of the flag in sports that most of the population had no clue about.

By the time the flame was extinguished on Torino 2006 and the Olympic flag passed to Vancouver, Canada had won a record 24 medals and secured the coveted Top 3 finish that seemed an overly ambitious dream mere weeks ago.

The success of the Games even managed to overshadow, to a certain degree, the disappointment of the NHL superstar-laden Men's Hockey Team failing to medal once again ebbed just a bit. The hue and cry over the demise of Canadian men's hockey was loud and persistent, but it was rarely mentioned as Clara Hughes and Klassen stood on the podium following the Ladies' 5000m final and laughed their way through the playing of "O, Canada". That moment, and not the slumped shoulders of NHL millionaires leaving the ice after a quarterfinal exit, was the most indelible for Canadians coast-to-coast.

All of this success on the international scene now presents an interesting situation for the newly minted federal government of Stephen Harper. Millions were already pledged to amateur sport to ensure that Canada had not just a respectable showing at Vancouver 2010, but a first place showing, something this nation has never come close to doing. With plans to cut taxes and costly social programs, Harper's minority government will need to tread carefully regarding funds that have already been pledged. After all, Harper surely hopes his minority government will be able to win another election, which will place the mantle of leadership squarely on his shoulders when the youth of the world once again gather in Canada in four years' time. In the grand context of billion dollar budget surpluses that the Canadian government continues to enjoy, a few hundred million for amateur sport is a small price to pay for the feel-good political mileage that is generated whenever Canada does well internationally.

Therefore, Canada's stellar performance in Torino still carries several questions along with it. The long term commitment from all levels of public and private donors will determine whether Canada truly has arrived as an international sports power, a nation that can be relied upon for consistent top 3 performances every four years, or whether it was merely convenient to pump some money into sport when the world was watching, and leave athletes to their own devices the next time the Olympics are held outside North America. Further, the ongoing participation of NHL players in the Olympics is seriously in question beyond 2010. Judging by Canada's failed bid in Torino, that may not be such a bad thing. For now, Canada will continue to bask in the bright lights of Olympic glory, and in the privacy of their own homes, thump their chests a bit more. Time will tell whether these occassional displays of overt patriotism actually last beyond the next four years.

Le Magnifique...by Apollo

Most of the working classes of the world look forward to retirement and the day when they no longer will need to answer to someone else's rules, schedule, or demands. Indeed, we spend the vast majority of our lives working and earning a living in the hope of one day retiring so we won't have to work anymore. As with most things, the world of professional sports is different. Retirement is met with wistful nostalgia and often quite a few tears. Such was the case today, when Pittsburgh Penguins superstar Mario Lemieux announced his retirement from hockey.

Lemieux has retired before, and staged an inspiring comeback recently which culminated in serving as captain for the winning Team Canada Men's Hockey Team at both the 2002 Winter Olympics and the 2004 World Cup of Hockey. In his prime, when he was leading the Penguins to two Stanley Cup championships in the early 1990's, Lemieux was simply unstoppable. The puck seemed glued to his stick like in some early Nintendo hockey game, and his combination of size and speed allowed him to move past even the best of defencemen and make goaltenders look like pylons. If not for a bout with cancer that forced him to miss several years and ultimately retire for the first time, Lemieux would have given a serious run to the lofty records of Wayne Gretzky. Many hockey fans, including the 2 Wise Men, can still wax poetic about the incredible 1987 Canada Cup where Lemieux wired a top corner championship winning goal off of an exquisite drop pass from Gretzky to defeat the Russians.

In recent years, Lemieux has fallen from his throne as being the most talented player in hockey. Age, and lack of speed, have made him look positively ordinary from time to time, particularly playing alongside phenom Sidney Crosby this season. Lemieux admitted that the new NHL is geared more towards speed and youth, two traits that have unfortunately declined in him to the point he felt he could no longer compete at his lofty standards. If he wanted to, Lemieux could very easily continue his career for another two seasons exclusively as a power play specialist. Despite the lack of speed, the lightning quick hands and incredible vision remain. Ask the Toronto Maple Leafs or Montreal Canadiens, or any number of struggling NHL franchises if they could make room on their roster for the Magnificent One and the answer would be a resounding yes. However, as when most of the greats retire, it has been extremely difficult for Lemieux to leave the game, and in the end it was not because he could no longer play, but rather because he could no longer play like Mario Lemieux. A salute then, to easily one of the top 4 players in the history of the sport, and set the TiVo's and PVR's for all the Lemieux retrospective highlights that are sure to be shown in the next few days.

Celebrating a dream...by Apollo

Today, January 16, 2005, the third Monday in January, marks the annual American national holiday for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. The national holiday for the American civil rights icon is finally celebrated in all 50 American states, after Arizona, New Hampshire, and Utah recently enacted legislation to recognize the holiday in both name and effect. While no holiday exists in Canada for Dr. King, the impact of the American civil rights movement on African-Canadians is profound, to the point that many Canadians will be celebrating today in some way as well.

One day per year is hardly enough to truly understand or appreciate the struggle that Dr. King and others in the Civil Rights Movement had to endure. However, there is no lack of resources avaiable that can be enjoyed throughout the year. One such academic institution is The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute at Stanford University in California. Check out the papers of Dr. King and other resources and information on the Civil Rights Movement and broaden your own wisdom.

Wisdom comes with time...by Apollo

Happy New Year to all. The 2 Wise Men have been off for a few months, and apparently the world seems to be still moving along without any major catastrophes - although the results of the upcoming Canadian Federal Election may change my view on that. Before this resurrection post continues, a special shout out to The Traveling Chef and his Asian exploits. The mid-mid-life crisis...nice...we should all be so lucky, or foolish? haha...nah, we'll stick to lucky.

While Wongoz is continuing with his quest to better himself academically (and perhaps redeem his past efforts in academia), here's some upcoming events in 2006 that we're looking forward to:

1) The Election: We try and refrain from appearing overtly biased when we discuss topics in this forum, so rather than endorse any particular party or candidate, we'll be paying attention to the voter participation numbers instead. As we have already discussed in the last federal election, voter participation has been slightly rising as of late, and with a rather close vote and a potential minority government in the balance, it will be interesting to see how many Canadians decide to exercise their constitutional rights on January 23.

2) The 2006 Winter Olympics: The "citizens of the world" shall assemble once again beginning February 10, 2006 in Torino, Italy for the Winter Games. The Winter Games, being smaller and more manageable than the summer version, usually comes off less like a massive corporate sponsored event, and more like an athletic competition. This small Italian city, home of Juventus, will host the supposedly strongest Canadian team ever assembled. In anticipation of hosting the Winter Games in Vancouver in 2010, Canada has set a lofty goal of finishing in the top 3 in the overall medal standings. This ambitious goal, which has never been accomplished in the lifetimes of the 2 Wise Men, would hopefully harness the rare Canadian patriotism on display during the Olympics and lead to an even better performance in 2010. We shall see, however hopefully there will be more provocative stories to discuss than whether or not Bryan McCabe should have been named to the Team Canada Olympic Hockey Roster or not.

3) The 2006 FIFA World Cup: As in 2002, an Olympic Year also includes the largest, most-watched sporting event in the world - soccer's World Cup. When fans (and with some luck, the 2 Wise Men) arrive in Germany in June, the debate will rage on as to which nations will join heavy favourite Brazil in the knockout stages for soccer's most prestigious trophy. Hopefully by June, there will be far more analysis on this page than in the past 6 months as well.

A lot to look forward to, and in turn, a lot to talk about. We shall see if we can shake off our recent bout of laziness to share our thoughts more often.

London Calling - by Apollo

Among other things that were originally going to be discussed in this column was the tight victory of London over Paris for the right to host the Olympic Summer Games of 2012. The victory, as sports usually are, was short lived and rendered virtually meaningless with the news of bombings in the subway and transportation system of the English capital today.

This cold reminder that living in today's world includes the responsibility of being constantly vigilant also should notify us to take the time to appreciate all that we have and all that is worth living for as well.

Is it drafty in here, or is it just me?... Part 8 by wongoz

You know, it's really saying something when you draft a good swingman like Joey Graham and get what ESPN's Chad Ford describes as possibly "the steal of the second round" in point guard Roko Ukic, and college basketball guru Dick Vitale still lists you as the biggest loser. That's how big a shock it was for Raptors GM Rob Babcock to take Charlie Villanueva with the 7th selection. Why are we always stuck with crazy GMs in this town?

Well, apparently other teams had concerns with the players that were passed up... but come on, you can't tell me that there wasn't an opportunity to trade down if the big man you wanted was Villanueva... rage. The jury's definitely still out on Babcock.