Too scary to call...by Apollo

Before we get to the substance of this entry, I'll admit that apologies are in order to the Boston Red Sox who shattered all expectations, including those of most people in New England, even if they refuse to admit it, to come back from an 0-3 deficit to beat the New York Yankees and ultimately win the World Series with a 4-0 sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals. With the exception of an offensive explosion in Game 1, St. Louis quietly whimpered out in four straight to cause viewers everywhere outside of the Eastern United States to tune out. I will give a big shout out to Red Sox ace Pedro Martinez, who in a champagne soaked winners' clubhouse stated that he shared his World Series win with the fans of the Montreal Expos, the organization who brought him into the majors. Martinez, the Expos' only Cy Young award winner, was part of the 1994 club who had the best record in baseball prior to the work stoppage which wiped out the World Series that year. A classy move by Martinez which hopefully will not be forgotten now that the Expos have moved on. It should be noted however that my predictions on the Red Sox winning two games at home, as well as the demise of the Houston Astros and Buffalo Bills running back Travis Henry were quite accurate.

The big news this week was the result of the 2004 elections in the United States, where this morning, Democrat candidate John Kerry conceeded the presidential race to incumbent George W. Bush, who will now carry the title of the "The most powerful man in the world" for another four years. Like most Americans in my opinion, I am not informed enough to comment exhaustively on the election and its issues, however Bush, who captured the majority of the popular vote by a large margin, hardly enjoyed a golden four years in his first term.

The debate on terrorism and Bush's war on Iraq aside, what I am having a hard time understanding is the fact that during his presidency, the American economy suffered. The country continues to run huge deficits and its debt is now so large that the common person cannot understand the implications. Bush's mandate will include increased spending for military objectives and it is unclear how exactly he will go about replacing the thousands of jobs that have been lost during his tenure. And yet, he was re-elected? I'm sure there's some logical explanation to all this and I admit that I am not completely informed, however generally, if a national economy is not good, change is usually immediate. A poor economy is one of the reasons that Arnold Schwarzenegger successfully became Governor of California. In Canada, any economic downturn on a provincial or national level usually brings with it an overwhelming change the next time the citizens go to the polls. The re-election of Bush is all the more surprising to me since Americans are supposedly more concerned with wealth and the economy than other countries, so a failing economy would seem to matter more to their capitalist population, but apparently not.

Bush's return to the White House does mark the end of the Washington Redskins' streak of correctly predicting the presidential race. An overstated and overused fact that emerged this past week was that the result of the Redskins' final home game before an election correctly predicted the last 16 presidential elections. When the Redskins won, the incumbent President returned for another term. When the Redskins lost, the incumbent also fell. In the wake of Sunday's heartbreaking loss by the Redskins to the Green Bay Packers in Washington, the trend called for Kerry to defeat the incumbent Bush. The streak of 16 correct predictions is now over, which will hopefully stop this obscure fact from ever being mentioned again.

A few other random sports thoughts this week:

1. Any athlete who feels they are resigned to sitting on the bench and not contributing for their team need only look to English striker Michael Owen for inspiration. Owen, who as a teenager burst onto the world scene with an incredible goal against Argentina at the 1998 World Cup, transferred from Liverpool where he was the leading goal scorer and number one striker to star-studded Real Madrid where he quickly found himself stuck behind starters Raul and Ronaldo. Owen whined and complained a little bit, then kept training, distinguished himself for England in 2006 World Cup qualifying matches and following an injury to countryman David Beckham, found himself starting in a three-striker formation. Owen proceeded to score four goals in four matches, all Madrid victories, and resurrect what many had thought was a dying career. Potential bench time still faces Owen, particularly when Beckham returns and Real goes back to a two-striker formation, but for now he's contributing and his coaches know that he's still a prolific goal scorer. That's sports. Injuries happen. Seasons are long. Depth is essential to any team. A smart pro athlete does not complain about his lack of playing time, he instead makes sure that his rare appearances are memorable to the point that his team cannot help but include him in the starting lineup. Even if Owen's future is not in Spain, and with the frequency of roster changes in soccer, who knows where he'll be next year, he served notice to the world that he can still be a top flight striker when given the chance.

2. The National Hockey League (or is it No Hockey League) canceled its 2005 NHL All-Star Game today as a result of the ongoing player lockout. This move was met by sighs of relief from players who detest having to give up three days off during the season to play in a meaningless game, as well as puzzled expressions from Americans who said "The NHL has an All-Star Game?" This entire saga has become sad. With neither side looking to compromise beyond their last hardline positions, it appears that not only will this season be lost, but next year suddenly looks in jeopardy as well. I am convinced that sports media will begin ignoring NHL hockey completely, if they haven't already. For my part, I'll be taking in a Hamilton Bulldogs game in the near future as the top prospects from the Montreal Canadiens organization have been relegated to the minor leagues during the work stoppage.

3. Wongoz will return. Trust me. While this is not particularly sports related, watching out for his next infrequent post has become a pseudo-athletic event, requiring endurance of marathon-like proportions to sit through the lengthy delays.