Category Archives: Sport

Sport

Canadian Tennis On The Map

With Brayden Schnur’s runner up finish at the New York Open this past week, Canada now has five men ranked in the top 110. This is a statistic never seen before to my knowledge. I had the pleasure of watching Brayden warm up at the Calgary Tennis Club a couple years back and play the Challenger Tour event here last fall. He has the physique, the strokes and the drive to win. However; I’m a bit concerned about the stress he puts on his front knee during his service motion. He’ll get to contend with the ace machine and ultimate victor of the New York Open, Reilly Opelka, throughout his playing career.

The two young guns Shapovalov and Auger-Alliasime have burst onto the scene demonstrating court prowess atypical of their youth. We’ll see how this pair contends with the rigors of the tour in the face of fully mature men.

Canadian men on the outside looking in are Peter Polansky and Filip Peliwo. Peter seems to have more fire burning than ever before and Filip may be struggling a bit on the mental side of the game as I witnessed in his match here in Calgary last fall.

The ladies are also making waves. I’m sensing some healthy rivalry building in their ranks given some competitive off court exchanges. There are a handful of ladies now in the mix to provide Eugenie with some company. Bianca Andreescu currently outranks Bouchard.

I’d be amiss not to reference the formally developed coaching development program over at Tennis Canada as an obvious resource in propelling Canada upward in the international tennis scene. 

Sport

Costas Carillo Cosell

I’ve put these three C’s together because alliteration wasn’t foreign to any of these three. My biggest miss for cancelling cable has been the celebration of athletic feats through language. There was Bob Costas’ deployment of vocabulary atypical of the arena but succulent to the scholastic. Mary Carillo triumphed with unrehearsed back seat colour laden with one- liners. Howard Cosell’s deliberately slurred maligned characterizations injected fodder for the fortunate fans of Wide World of Sports.

Costas is in the news because of an opinion in the face of the sports machine. He’ll retire after a good run and his legacy will be steeped in his affinity for the formidable phrase fitting to the forum (okay, I can do alliteration too).

I have no idea what happened to Mary but her charisma simply shone through the TV.

Although young as an admirer during the Cosell years, I remember Cosell as an obvious stalwart in and industry critical to extracting entertainment value from sport. There were the Muhammad Ali interviews and the Monday Night Football mantras such as “he could go all the way”. As a boy, it became evident that there was eloquence in sport beyond finesse on the field. In spite of having snipped the cable, my sense is that the market and mystique of midfield monologue has now left the broadcast booth. Was Cosell’s opinion that ex-athletes were not best equipped for the microphone correct? I suspect yes with exceptions.   ���F�z�Q4 �h

Sport, Philosophy

Nike’s “Believe In Something”

I agree. Believe in something and while doing it, undertake the process for change available to every other citizen in your country rather than grand standing at the sidelines of a sports venue.  Western democracies are endowed with the right of speech freedom. This right empowers citizens irrespective of race, sex, or religious affiliation to express themselves in the public domain. What is the public domain? Well, you can write a letter. You can recite your beliefs on a street corner. You can visit a government official. You can attend a political rally.  You can start a political party. You can espouse your beliefs in conversation. You can light up the twitter sphere with one liners. You can form an organization as a form of lobby. As you can see, the opportunity to freely express oneself has many outlets.

Colin Kaepernick had chosen a method of expression convenient to him in an apolitical domain – the football arena in a football uniform employed by a football franchise in the spotlight broadcast around North America via television. He chose an outlet reserved for an occasion other than politics and it was his right. The interesting thing about his behaviour is that his employer has the right to sanction him accordingly for behaviour not in accordance with his duty.  His behaviour will obviously impact the perceptions of other potential employers.  Some citizens loyal to his cause may empathize with his plight and even lavish him with praise of courage. However; it would be misplaced. I view Colin Kaepernick as a career martyr deserving of his plight. I consider him lazy for not pursuing the outlets of expression available to him with the same vigour in parallel to the apparent passion he brings to a cause.  

As for Nike’s endorsement of him, I’ve been avoiding Nike in stores for decades.

Sport

Talking Canadian Women’s Tennis

Tennis Canada is making headway in player development. Upon taking the Instructor Level One course in 2014, I sensed that the curriculum for the introductory player was strong. There have been advancements in addressing the needs of the young players. This year at Roland Garros, four Canadian women have merited entries into first round qualifying with No. 120 ranked Francoise Abanda leading the charge. In fact Ms. Abanda was seeded 16 in the qualifying tournament. 

Indeed, Ms. Abanda has ruffled some feathers of late in her claim that race has played a role in the context of her lack of exposure on the tennis scene despite her rise in ranking. She could be right. She could be wrong but she’s allowed to feel the way she feels. One can label her as a “victim” or a grandstander. In a facebook post just yesterday, I wished luck to the Canadian men vying for the French Open title but I did so having first checked the first round of the women’s draw having concluded that no Canadian woman made it through qualifying. I am sensitive this way knowing full well the current state of Bouchard’s game and the past history of Canadian women’s tennis. Bianca Andreescu just missed by the way.

I’m willing to cut Canadian sport reporters some slack given Canada’s tennis track record.  The most decorated Canadian tennis player, Daniel Nestor, did in fact move out of the country (for good reason due to our exorbitant tax system) and his residency would have been relevant in our sports reporters refrain from covering him. Have you heard of him?  Canada’s attention to the sport has paralleled the relative lack of players at the top level but it’s good to see that things are changing. More indoor facilities and grass roots programs will further improve the sport’s appeal.   

Gratitude, ski, Sport

The Passing of Warren Miller

Without question, Mr. Miller and his annual ski movie editions were tantamount to the excitement circulating through the halls of Kamloops’ Sahali Junior secondary as friends and I anticipated the first snow and trips to local Tod Mountain (now Sun Peaks Resort). The thing most distinct in my memory of his adventure movies was his calm yet drama filled voice and perfect annunciation fitting of the exuberant spirit of the sport. This self proclaimed “ski bum” grew his audience from modest beginnings by sharing with friends scenes captured from his eight millimetre camera taken at Sun Valley Idaho while working as a young ski instructor.

Over time, with success and a growing budget, he moved his sets world-wide and depicted wondrous winter landscapes as backdrops for elite skiers stunting or careening knee deep in breathtaking unmarked fresh powder. Now, I marvel at the planning which would have went into acquiring the miraculous footage when factoring in winter travel, weather, procuring skiers, cooperation from resorts and heli-ski operators. As teenagers, these things didn’t cross our minds while mystified by the possibilities of where our ski interests may lead along with the upcoming ski season.

In anything we do, there needs to be particular seeds of inspiration which compels us to move and to actualize the joy freedom offers. To this day, Warren Miller and his movie making team play a definite role in inspiring yours truly to seek winter solace and athletic prowess in the mountains ranges of Western Canada and to them I say thanks!