“Here it is, the groove, slightly trans…formed. Just a bit of a break from the norm…” Nostalgic, isn’t it? Next May will mark the twenty-fifth anniversary of the timeless single that still gets airplay on the radio. Of course, I’m referring to “Summertime,” the g-funk-inspired melody from DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince. Next summer may be a break from the norm. The free agency class of 2016...
A Comparison of the 2015 Team with its 1992 Predecessor Part Two: Examining the Outfield Earlier in Part One, I compared the make-up of the 2015 Toronto Blue Jays infield with its 1992 counterpart and concluded that the former is stronger than the latter. Here in Part Two, I will look into the two teams’ outfield composition. Left Field: Ben Revere (2015) versus Candy Maldonado (1992)...
What are the ingredients for an unenviable offseason? Well, start off with a “teaspoon” of a workplace investigation, followed by a report that implicates you in scandalous behaviour. Then, the Commissioner of the (National Football League) NFL drops a “pinch” of sanctions on the Patriots, with Tom Brady emerging scathed as the only suspended player on the team. How about a “scoop” of Ben...
The End of Idealism in Professional Sports One of the main arguments in favor of participation in team sports has long focused on the values that they foster. It is argued that athletes are more honorable, team oriented, and simply better members of society. Simply, more sportsmanlike. This may remain the case in principle, and in the context of child focused, participatory sports. However, in...
A Comparison of the 2015 Team With Its 1992 Predecessor Part One: Examining the Infield At first glance, mentioning the two teams—the 2015 Toronto Blue Jays and its 1992 counterpart—in the same sentence seems daring, if not ludicrous. The latter team was first ever non-U.S. based Major League Baseball (MLB) team to win a World Series while the former had a losing record as late as July 28, 2015...
Thirty-one. Thirty-one days from now marks the beginning of the postseason in Major League Baseball (MLB). October is a huge month, as it is one of only two months that will have regular or post-season games from the four major professional sports leagues (and Major League Soccer). More importantly, October is the month with the most optimism for sports fans here as the Raptors and Leafs begin...
When J. P. Ricciardi was hired as the General Manager (GM) of the Toronto Blue Jays, he was given the initial mandate to slash payroll because his predecessor Gord Ash had constructed an eighty-eight million dollar roster that failed to make the postseason. More importantly, Ricciardi was supposed to create “mini-Oaklands” by following the “Moneyball” philosophy of his...
I pray every Sunday. Before you label me as a zealot-dogmatist, I would like to inform you that a lot of my praying occurs during afternoon football games. I am a football fanatic. I watch the draft. I exceed my allotted mobile data to follow the off-season signings and trades. I watch the 1:00 p.m., 4:00 p.m., and late night games on Sunday. I watch the terrible matchups on Thursday nights...
The hypocrisy of American university sports American university sports are founded on the idealistic notion of amateurism in the form of student-athletes. Supposedly, what matters is the personal growth of the students, and the school spirit fostered by competition. Perhaps this was once the case, and perhaps in some corners it remains the case. However, at the largest American universities this...
A look into the team’s ascension to greatness and its heydays Part 5: Reaching the pinnacle (Part 1 of Double Truck) After Toronto became the first ever non-U.S.-based team to win the Fall Classic on 24 October 1992, GM Pat Gillick intended to keep as much of the team together as possible. Since the Blue Jays’ championship window was still open, it would have been foolish to dismantle...
The Maple Leafs haven’t won the Stanley Cup since 1967. The Blue Jays haven’t made the playoffs since 1993. Most people reading this likely don’t remember the last time these teams were truly successful. So why do we care so much? Why are we fans? I asked myself these questions this past week after one of the Blue Jays’ best pitchers was unexpectedly injured. He will likely miss the entire...
A look into the team’s ascension to greatness and its heydays Part 4: Putting the finishing touch on the masterpiece The signing of Morris and Winfield after the 1991 season was of ample significance. For the longest time, it was inconceivable to envision that elite unrestricted free agents would be willing to sign in Toronto. One reason is because in the eyes of these top-end unrestricted...
Reexamining Baseball’s Steroid Era In the summer of 2013, a New York Times investigation revealed that Alex Rodriguez had been obtaining steroids from a man in Miami for several years. This eventually resulted in Rodriguez being suspended for the entire 2014 season, the longest steroids suspension ever passed down in baseball. As Rodriguez prepares to return to the New York Yankees this season, I...
A look into the team’s ascension to greatness and its heydays Part 3: Major surgery on the roster for the perennial winner After the 86-76 Toronto Blue Jays finished the 1990 season in second place (two games behind the division winning Boston Red Sox), GM Pat Gillick pulled off arguably the most significant trade in the history of the franchise. It would soon pay huge dividends to the team...
The Past, Present, and Future of the Toronto Raptors on its 20th Anniversary PART 3 OF 3: A TRUE BREATH OF FRESH AIR As I watched the 2014 to 2015 edition of the Toronto Raptors secure a convincing 109 to 102 victory in their October 29th season opener at home against the Atlanta Hawks, I couldn’t help but feel that the lone-Canadian franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA) has...
The Past, Present, and Future of the Toronto Raptors on its 20th Anniversary PART 2: MISSING THAT 3RD ELEMENT I can still recall the date in which Vince Carter put the Toronto Raptors on the NBA Map: February 12, 2000. On this date in NBA history, Carter, known as “Air Canada,” “Half-Man, Half-Amazing,” and “Vinsanity,” put on a show when he electrified the...
What impact will current economic circumstances have on Canadian professional sports? In just over six months, the price of oil has dropped from over one hundred dollars per barrel to under fifty dollars per barrel. A significant portion of the Canadian economy is dependent on oil. Over the same period of time, the Canadian dollar has dropped from a high of over ninety-four US cents to a low of...
A look into the team’s ascension to greatness and its heydays Staying competitive while passing the torch I always felt that the 99-62 Toronto Blue Jays were cheated out of a World Series appearance in 1985, as the team was leading with three games to one over the Kansas City Royals before losing the series in seven games in heartbreaking fashion. It was especially devastating since 1985...
A look into the team’s ascension to greatness and its heydays Part 1: Establishing an identity and a winning culture As a die-hard supporter of the Toronto Blue Jays who has followed the baseball club for nearly three decades, I believe they have come a long way since playing their first ever regular season game at Exhibition Stadium on April 7, 1977 when the field was covered with snow...
Donald Sterling’s NBA ban There had long been rumors that Donald Sterling was a racist. People who worked for him, or even simply crossed paths with him, all knew it. The NBA always knew it. But until the events of 2014 it seemed as if there was nothing that could be done about it. In February 2014 NBA commissioner David Stern retired, and was replaced by Adam Silver. Soon after taking over as...
The Past, Present, and Future of the Toronto Raptors on its 20th Anniversary Part 1: The Revolving Door As the Raptors enter their twentieth season, long-time armchair GMs like myself and faithful fans of the franchise can recall the painful journey that the team has taken since Toronto was awarded a National Basketball Association (NBA) team back in 1995. Over the past two decades, we had...
Part Three of Three If the Leafs are serious about changing their fortune, management needs to endure a painful full-scale rebuild. I am not suggesting that the Leafs should tank intentionally (particularly since finishing last will not ensure getting the 1st overall selection with the implementation of the draft lottery); rather, I am preaching that the organization should be patient and focus...
What the Experience of One Sports Journalist Can Tell Us About Media in Canada On February 15th 2014, Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice punched his fiancée in the head in the elevator of an Atlantic City casino, knocking her unconscious. The casino’s cameras captured the incident, the details of which became known to the Ravens mere hours later. Sometime thereafter, the National Football...
Are sports leagues going to continue the current pattern of ever-increasing revenues, or will the current sports economic system come crashing down under its own weight? There is no denying that sports is big business. The NBA just signed a new television deal for 24 billion dollars over nine years. The NHL Canadian television deal was for 5.2 billion dollars, and is now suggested to have been...
Part two of three Prior to the cancelled 2004 to 2005 season, the Leafs had an ill-advised pattern of trading away 1st-round selections for unproven and/or unspectacular (and sometimes rental) players in order to make a run (albeit a short one at best) in the playoffs. They would also opt for band-aid solutions in the form of signing relatively-big names but past-their-prime unrestricted/Group...