khandor’s sports blog

Despite the best efforts of this corner to assert otherwise over the course of the last 2+ years, there are still a fair share of individuals who would try to suggest that the image which exists of Toronto, Canada in the hearts and minds of most American-born professional athletes is that of a backwater wasteland.

Well … for the  benefit of those people:

Why Pro Athletes Love Toronto

Today, however, Toronto is a road trip just about every pro athlete looks forward to. Some say the city has a cool, international vibe that increasingly stands out. Some like the plentitude of cheap concert tickets—a boon for athletes with big posses—or the convenience of the must-be-19 drinking law. (Rookie guard DeMar DeRozan of the Raptors, who is 20, was ordering chocolate milk at dinner before his teammates told him the good news).

Athletes get a warm welcome at the city’s relatively libertine gentlemen’s clubs which, according to a spokeswoman for the Toronto Convention and Visitors Bureau, tend to “clear out the champagne room” for visiting athletes. And it helps that the tentacles of the tabloids and gossip Web sites rarely extend this far into the frozen north. “People like to come here to party,” says Raptors power forward Chris Bosh.

Basketball stars like LeBron James and Shaquille O’Neal of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Jamaal Magloire of the Miami Heat (a Toronto native) have come to Toronto for fun—even during the NBA offseason. Since the Buffalo Bills began playing annual games at Toronto’s Rogers Centre (formerly SkyDome) in 2008, an increasing number of NFL players have started passing through “the 416,” which is the city’s area code. Baseball players, who’ve been coming here since 1977 to play the Blue Jays, have good memories.

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From a reputable source like the Wall Street Journal, no less.

Nuff said.

Although it may have taken them 43 years, too many heart-aches to count properly, and one absolutely devastating semi-”the-man”-made natural disaster …

Who Dat? Dat’s the Super Bowl Champs!

As Leigh, a friend and blogger from New Orleans, said to me,

“The energy in this entire town is incredible.  People here have been ready for this for decades…but the way the media is treating the Saints as underdogs isn’t a surprise to any of us.  The people of New Orleans have been subjected to those attitudes for a long time ourselves, and we still are in too, too many ways, but we’re still here.  And those who are still unable to return here due to the displacement caused by the storm, or the recession, or other circumstances - they’ll return in one way or another, because this is a town that can teach the rest of this country how to live.  It always has, and it always will, despite it all.”

Leigh’s pride runs across NOLA tonight. The same week that Education Secretary Arne Duncan outrageously called Hurricane Katrina “the best thing that happened to the education system in New Orleans”, the city has delivered a counterpunch to Duncan as well as any and all doubters. Their ascendancy means that the arduous post Hurricane recovery work has gotten more publicity in the last two weeks than it’s received in the last two years. This is maddening but many New Orleans residents wouldn’t have it any other way. As Saints linebacker Scott Fujita’s wife Jaclyn said, “The people of New Orleans love the Saints not because they provide a distraction from their fall but because they are a reflection of their rise.”

Whether you believe that or not, the proof is in the very vibe of the city. The French Quarter is hopping tonight. The Ninth Ward is hopping tonight. Algiers is hopping tonight. People in New Orleans are feeling damn good right now, and to scoff at that is to scoff at the very resiliency that makes us human. Community activist and former Black Panther Malik Rahim who has lived in the city for three decades and still works in Algiers, told me, “I haven’t seen people this happy since Katrina. No question about it.” That doesn’t mean all – or even some – questions about the future of New Orleans are solved by a Saints Super Bowl win. Jobs, housing, and the right of return for displaced residents still need to be at the forefront of everyone’s mind.

But it does mean that folks of the Big Easy are feeling fearless tonight. Every last person – from Bush to Brownie - that wrote this city off has to now bend down and kiss the ring. President Barack Obama, who often seems allergic to saying the words “New Orleans” must now greet the team at the White House and acknowledge both the Saints and the city that bears their name. Even if tomorrow is unbearably hard, we have today. And today feels mighty fine.

In case you might not know of him, just yet, Dave Zirin [Edge of Sports] is one of the finest sports writers in America today.

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Full [and much better quality] version of this post-game interview

… and, Jim Caldwell is one of the finest sportsmen these eyes have yet to see.

“Our head is bloodied, but unbowed.”
- Invictus

For the benefit of those who are regular readers of this space …

What you need to know is:

On an annual basis, the Super Bowl is the single most wagered upon event in North America. 

Successfully prognosticating upon the outcome of weekly NFL games is what first developed an interest in the field of “sports handicapping”, in general, on the part of yours truly, some 33 years ago.

Since that time, one thing which has gradually become crystal clear … across an array of sports … is that successfully handicapping BIG GAME [single day] events is an Art & Science, unto itself, and a “calling card”/specialty for yours truly.

Not everyone who is a successful “sports handicapper” can do this consistently.

In fact, few “sports handicappers” can authentically lay claim to the following statement:

“______________ is a service which nails the outcome of BIG GAMES,”

as an accurate description of what it is they provide for their clients.

If you have only 1 sporting proposition to make this year, today is the opportunity to make it …

based on the selection provided by yours truly, in the post above this one, titled: “Khandor’s Sports Service, Games Of The Day.”

It is listed under the category of, “KSS GOTD Selections, NFL - GOTW [Super Bowl XLIV], Game 1,” and comes at a cost of $100.00.

As always, the choice of whether to act, or not, is yours to make.

Either way …

Enjoy today’s BIG GAME and the remainder of your Sunday, hopefully, with friends and family.

khandor

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“Life is short; and, things happen quickly.”
- Derek Fisher

This was a terrific NFL game with oustanding plays made all over the field by a number of different individuals for each team, including Mark Sanchez [QB], Leon Washington [RB], Thomas Jones [RB], Braylon Edwards [WR], Chad Henne [QB], Ricky Williams [RB], Ronnie Brown [RB] and Ted Ginn [WR].

Dolphins run over rival Jets [video highlights included]
The running back combination of Brown and Ricky Williams was nearly unstoppable. Brown scored a pair of touchdowns while rushing for 74 yards. Williams had 138 scrimmage yards, the big game coming on a 59-yard reception.

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Of particular note was the outstanding play-calling of Dan Henning [Dolphins' Offensive Coordinator], who mixed conventional running formations with Wildcat sets and a variety of pass plays to keep the Jets’ pressure defense off balance for much of the game.

Once upon a time …  there was no more SURE WIN in all of sports than a play on the Dolphins, at home on Monday Night Football, as a wagering underdog.

Dolphins vs Bears [MNF] 1985

If Chad Henne & Co. can maintain this level of offensive production, this group of Dolphins might just have come of age last night. 

Here’s a nice short piece on the Thunder’s young GM, Sam Presti, who is off to a terrific start in Oklahoma City …

Page 2: My Idol with Sam Presti
It’s a long list that Presti will tell you extends beyond the sports realm. But on the playing fields, Presti most admired Bill Russell, Bill Walsh and Cal Ripken — a trio he says helped quench his thirst for knowledge and quell his hunger to better himself.

It was Russell’s sense of team and trailblazing courage, Ripken’s toughness and preparation and Walsh’s innovation, commitment to philosophy and teaching and managerial skills that set them apart. And all displayed the consistency Presti adores.

They all are different in some ways. But I think they all demonstrate a fortitude and a belief in process that was seen throughout their playing or coaching careers. The focus was always on doing the work, controlling what you can control and allowing the outcome to be predicated on the job you do every day.

My interest is more grounded in their approach to the craft. Their preparation, their willingness to invest deeply into something they have a passion for and their focus on working at that every day and allowing the results to take form as a result of their preparation and their focus.

I’m always looking to learn and looking to gain knowledge from people that have been successful. And their stories are stories that I thought were worthy of studying and trying to learn as much about as I can.

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… expressing some of the most important factors at the root of success for high-achievers everywhere:

1. The love of, and commitment to, life-long learning.

2. The prioritization of Teamwork and outstanding character.

3. The fundamental roles of Toughness, Preparation, Innovation and Passion.

Know and understand these … and you, too, will be well on your way to achieving the truly worthwhile your goals in your life.

Here are the video clip answers to yesterday’s motion picture trivia …

1. Juror #4

2. Who are those guys?

3. First comes the Football Quiz, then comes the marriage?

Can you correctly identify the “character” with the name of “Baltimore” in each of these film classics?

PS. Enjoy your weekend, one and all.

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Related:

ARTICLE OF THE WEEK: A Mind For The Game

On Tuesday, SI.com published its review of owners in the NFL, MLB, NBA & NHL, listing both the top 5 and the bottom 5 in each of these leagues. These are the bottom 5’s, respectively:

[Number Rank, Owner, Franchise, Purchase Year, Purchase Price, Current Value, Winning %, Playoff Seasons, Championship Season]

National Football League
5 Denise DeBartolo York, 49ERS, 2000, N/A, $865 M, .417, 2, 0
4 Mike Brown, BENGALS, 1991, N/A, $941 M, .351, 1, 0
3 Dan Snyder, REDSKINS, 1999, $750 M, $1,538 M, .488, 3, 0
2 William Clay Ford, LIONS, 1964, $5 M, $917 M, .411, 9, 0
1 Al Davis, RAIDERS, 1966, $180,000, $861 M, .569, 21, 4 

Major League Baseball
5 Ted Lerner, NATIONALS, 2006, $450 M, $406 M, .419, 0, 0
4 Jeffrey Loria, MARLINS, 2002, $158 M, $277 M, .502, 1, 1
3 David Glass, ROYALS, 1993, $96 M, $ 314 M, .432, 0, 0
2 Tom Hicks, RANGERS, 1998, $250 M, $405 M, .489, 2, 0
1 Peter Angelos, ORIOLES, 1993, $173 M, $400 M, .486, 2, 0

National Basketball Association
5 R-Johnson/M-Jordan, BOBCATS, 2004, $300 M, $284 M, .417, 0, 0
4 Chris Cohan, WARRIORS, 1991, $130 M, $335 M, .409, 3, 0
3 Michael Heisley, GRIZZLIES, 2000, $160 M, $294 M, .388, 3, 0
2 Cablevision/J-Dolan, KNICKS, 1997, $300 M, $613 M, .439, 7, 0
1 Donald Sterling, CLIPPERS, 1981, $12.5 M, $297 M, .341, 4, 0

National Hockey League
5 Predator Holdings LLC, PREDATORS, 2007, $193 M, $164 M, .499, 1, 0
4 Atlanta Spirit, HAWKS, 2004, $80 M, $158 M, .519, 1, 0
3 Charles Wang, ISLANDERS, 2000, $187.5 M, $154 M, .416, 4, 0
2 Alan Cohen, PANTHERS, 2001, $101 M, $163 M, .443, 0, 0
1 MLSE, MAPLE LEAFS, 1994, $102 M, $448 M, .471, 8, 0 

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Now …

Which of those 20 separate owners also happen to have a 2nd franchise in one of the other 3 leagues?

MLSE also owns the Raptors [NBA, 1998, N/A, $400 M, .454, 5, 0].

If you combine the efforts of the Maple Leafs and the Raptors, might it be accurate to say that MLSE is possibly the worst owner of them all?

Current Franchise Value: $848 M
W-L Record: 920-1984
Winning %: .464
Playoff Seasons: 13 [of 26]
Championship Seasons: 0 [of 26]

You make the call.

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A seminal article, by Malcolm Gladwell, for the benefit of team sport coaches everywhere:

How David Beats Goliath
This is the second half of the insurgent’s creed. Insurgents work harder than Goliath. But their other advantage is that they will do what is “socially horrifying”—they will challenge the conventions about how battles are supposed to be fought. All the things that distinguish the ideal basketball player are acts of skill and coördination. When the game becomes about effort over ability, it becomes unrecognizable—a shocking mixture of broken plays and flailing limbs and usually competent players panicking and throwing the ball out of bounds. You have to be outside the establishment—a foreigner new to the game or a skinny kid from New York at the end of the bench—to have the audacity to play it that way. George Washington couldn’t do it. His dream, before the war, was to be a British Army officer, finely turned out in a red coat and brass buttons. He found the guerrillas who had served the American Revolution so well to be “an exceeding dirty and nasty people.” He couldn’t fight the establishment, because he was the establishment.

T. E. Lawrence, by contrast, was the farthest thing from a proper British Army officer. He did not graduate with honors from Sandhurst. He was an archeologist by trade, a dreamy poet. He wore sandals and full Bedouin dress when he went to see his military superiors. He spoke Arabic like a native, and handled a camel as if he had been riding one all his life. And David, let’s not forget, was a shepherd. He came at Goliath with a slingshot and staff because those were the tools of his trade. He didn’t know that duels with Philistines were supposed to proceed formally, with the crossing of swords. “When the lion or the bear would come and carry off a sheep from the herd, I would go out after him and strike him down and rescue it from his clutches,” David explained to Saul. He brought a shepherd’s rules to the battlefield.

The price that the outsider pays for being so heedless of custom is, of course, the disapproval of the insider.

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Outstanding stuff, right there.

This is a quote from yesterday’s Toronto Star newspaper, concerning a new sports book titled, “The Complete Game: Reflections on Baseball, Pitching and Life on the Mound”, by Ron Darling.

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“This book is not a traditional baseball memoir,” writes Darling, who broke into the majors with the New York Mets in 1983 and currently works as a television analyst, a good one at that. “It’s not a wistful reflection on a workmanlike career. I haven’t set out to tell the story of my life or my time in the game. Rather, it’s an attempt to bring readers inside the mind of a major-league pitcher – to break the game of baseball down to its component parts and to offer my take on each piece so that we might better understand the whole. One inning at a time, one pitch at a time – because every pitch is different.”
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The vast majority of sports fans are absolutely clueless when it comes to understanding exactly how a top flight athlete, and/or a coach, actually “thinks” about the game which s/he plays.

Top flight athletes and coaches look at the game …

One Possession at a time, in basketball
One Possession at a time, in soccer
One Possession at a time, in hockey
One Pitch at a time, in baseball
One Play at a time, in North American football
etc., etc., etc.

They do NOT look at the game in terms of “seasonal averages”, or “career averages”, or “appropriate sample sizes”, etc..

To focus on these types of “measures”, exclusively, or at the expense of actual expertise, when it comes to understanding how exactly a specific sport/game works in real life, is simply a waste of time.

Each and every game in a season has considerable meaning attached to it.

It’s up to each separate observer to ascertain with accuracy what that is.

Those who do that consistently … get it.

Those who can’t do THAT consistently … do not.

It’s as simple and, at-once, as complicated as THAT. : )

[ ... and, yours truly thinks that certain astute individuals like Dave, Scott G., Raps Fan, AltRaps, etc., understand exactly what is meant by those words, right there ↑↑↑, despite THE FACT that numerous others DO NOT. Life's not fair in that sense, either, but ... That's [also] Just the Way It Is. ]