PAUL MARINER: A SPORTING HERO SUCCEEDS!

 

The images above are how I remember my soccer hero Paul Mariner.   The flowing brown locks, the strikers touch and the many, many great years he gave my favourite team Ipswich Town before moving on.  In fact, I'm pretty sure that I had the middle image on my bedroom wall somewhere. I've been an Ipswich fan since 1978, the year that they won their first and only FA Cup final.  In fact, I have a now ill-fitting replica of that shirt somewhere around.  I wore it proudly about 30lbs ago.  Now Ipswich languishes mid-table in the Championship League, a now small market team that neither succeeds nor fails, not unlike the Toronto Blue Jays.  The best part is I picked up their old away kit online for a song, and people don't know the difference!

Anyways, imagine the thrill and trepidation of finding out your soccer hero has become the manager of your favourite local team.  The thrill comes from the fact that the legend himself is just a mere 70 odd km's away.  The trepidation from the fact that TFC was a mess, and upon Mariner's arrival, some of his players got loaded and tried unsuccessfully to outrun the Houston police.  Since then, Mariner has worked magic with the team. They've won 5 matches,  drawn 4 and lost only 2 since he took over and find themselves on the periphery of the play-off race after their most recent win of 2-1 over Colorado.  Plus, Mariner gives you the price of admission alone for his over the top feisty antics on the sideline.   The team is playing well under Mariner and TFC would be well-suited to lock up the former Ipswich star and England international. Paul Mariner will never tarnish his legacy in my eyes.  That's the way it is with your heroes.  They can do no wrong.  The only other athlete who comes close to Mariner is Dan Marino.   A great quarterback, and might I say a fine acting turn in Ace Ventura Pet Detective.

Plus, Mariner has no grey in his hair, has not gone bald, and has not betrayed that magnificent flow he had in the 70's and 80's. It's almost a legend unto itself. 

I am very happy for Paul Mariner's success, and I hope he is not uncomfortable with the One-Direction like adoration.

Steve Clark

Ipswich fan 1978-

www.twitter.com/SteveClarkMedia

RANDOM THOUGHTS- SPORTS AND NON-SPORTS

There is a lot percolating on this fine June Monday morning, so lets have at it.  By the end you maybe unsure of whether or not I wrote this from my waterfront property next door to the Unabomber.  There is a rant or two contained...

• I was embarrassed to be an England fan yesterday.  While their talent level was marginal and their manager had only been put in place for five weeks before Euro, that is no excuse for their shameful display of football.  They should have lost by four or five goals yesterday and spent the day like a golden retriever in that they were entirely happy chasing the ball the whole game.   Lots of stars on that team, none shone brightly.

• Dare I say that the Leafs had a very good draft on Friday night/Saturday morning.  The drafting of smooth skating, puck moving Morgan Rielly was one thing, but to get a consensus 1st rounder at #35 the way they did with Matt Finn was a coup.  They also got one of the agitating Rupert brothers from London in the 6th round, and invited his twin to prospects camp.  

• It's official- you can call them the Niagara/New York Islanders as the team from Long Island grabbed Ice Dogs defenseman Jesse Graham after picking Mitch Theoret and Ryan Strome last year.  Congratulations to Jesse who was a steal at #155.

• The Blue Jays lost three starting pitchers in four games last week and replaced with minor league retreads and two guys they plucked off the waiver wire whose names I have immediately forgotten.  I know that the price will be high, but can the team please go out and find a guy who has something of a track record

• Lovely piece in the Toronto Star about teacher negotiations and how Dalton McGuinty is hoping to strike a deal with teacher unions. I had no idea that The Star wrote fiction now.   This article is so bloated with half-truths and inaccuracies it's not funny.  However, what is funny are the comments section, including the guy who groused about teachers working less hours and getting paid more.  Go figure, as you spend more years at your job, you get better at it and can manage your time wisely.  What a novel concept.   You find the article here

• The NHL came out with schedule last week, beating the OHL to the punch for the first time in a long time.  At this point the Phoenix Coyotes are on the schedule, but as of right now the Goldwater Group is one impediment to the process, while the other is Greg Jamieson trying to find the necessary cash flow to close the deal.  I'm guessing that many of his investors are good to go, providing the Glendale sweetheart deal remains in place.  Oh to be a tax payer in Glendale.  I hear lots of "die hard" Coyote fans chirping on Twitter, but as of right now, none have claimed to have been from Glendale. 

• Very happy that the lady who was harassed on the bus by a bunch of of Grade 7 students is set to receive a nice tidy windfall thanks to the generosity of a Toronto man who set up a fund originally designed for her to on vacation.  What is less than heartwarming are the hollow apologies that these ruffians have offered up.   They smack of insincerity.  Also, the bigger idiots out there are the ones harassing and threatening the family.  How does repeating what these clowns do make anything better?  

Thanks for reading

Steve Clark

NON SPORTS POST: BULLYING- A MAJOR, MAJOR ISSUE

A disclaimer for those expecting a light-hearted sports related fare, you can skip this posting.  

Perhaps you have heard of seen the lightest viral video out there entitled "Making the Bus Monitor Cry".  It is a 10 minute vicious mean-spirited verbal attack by middle school students on a 68 year old grandmother/bus monitor.  Personally, I could not watch the whole thing straight through due to the nastiness that spewed from the mouths of these students.   You will be shocked, and horrified by what is being said, and what is being threatened. 

The video is shocking, but not all together surprising in this day and age of societal coddling and entitlement.   I have been an educator for 12 years and have seen the slow downward spiral in terms of accountability and consequences for misbehavior and the temptation not only in school but also in society is to blame the victim as much as the perpetrator.   Sadly, my guess is that this will swept under the rug and not properly dealt with,  despite public clamoring.  The poor lady herself has declined to press charges.  Who could blame her?  The likely end result is a slap on the wrist, remanded to parents with a very good chance the cycle of behaviour beginning again. The fact of the matter is that bullying has been around forever in our schools and our workplaces, and it is rarely dealt with swiftly and appropriately. 

This video is also about the  viral video nature of our society.   This video is at 3.9 million hits and counting and this now unassuming grandmother has been thrust into the spotlight.   Yes, there will be sympathy and it is admirable to see a fund set up so this lady can retire, but it cannot be much fun seeing yourself get bullied in front of a large viral audience.   

Sadly I've seen it all before and I'll see it all again. 

Video is here: 

Steve Clark

ON THE EVE OF THE NHL DRAFT EURO 2012 AND OTHER INSIGHTS

The blog has been pretty quiet as of late.  A little writers block, plus a desire to take a break for a couple of weeks had me hanging up the digital closed sign for a little while, but with so much going on in sports, time for a few musings. 

NHL DRAFT 2012 

Damien Cox pens an interesting article talking about how precious draft picks are in the salary cap era.  In an era in which owners still cannot resist splashing big dollars for commodities do not necessarily yield the required production, young inexpensive talent helps both the team, and balance the bottom line.  Those teams who care to dabble in the Rick Nash sweepstakes may want to remember that as it is certain that the Columbus power forward will likely come at a price tag of a couple of NHL ready young prospects and a first round pick.  If you are Brian Burke, the gruff burly Irishman would likely have to part with his 1st rounder (5th overall), a 2nd rounder, Jake Gardner and Joe Colborne.  Is that a price worth paying?  It is one of many questions that will play out as Friday night in Pittsburgh approaches.   Nail Yakupov, the exciting but somewhat enigmatic Russian likely is the first pick overall, be it by Edmonton or whomever can entice the Oilers to move down.  Conventional wisdom says that the Oilers need defensemen but I just cannot see the steady, reliable Ryan Murray as a first overall pick.  The two most intriguing prospects are Sarnia's Alex Galchenyuk and Quebec's Mikhail Gregorenko.   Galchenyuk offers a tremendous upside but played only a few games last year after a serious knee injury, while Gregorenko's attitude and work ethic have been questioned.  Galchenyuk, knee injury aside, offers up tremendous growth and potential and will not make out of the top five.  Gregorenko could prove to be the most valuable prospect.  Teams, I think, might trade down trying to grab another asset while thinking that Gregorenko will remain on the table.  Either way Friday night will offer must see viewing.  

You can find Damien Cox's article here

ICE DOGS AND THE 2012 DRAFT 

Last year at this time Ice Dog fans were salivating at the prospect of seeing two of their own go in the top 10 as Ryan Strome went 5th overall to the Islanders and Dougie Hamilton went #9 to Boston.  This years mood is a little tempered, but all fans will be watching to see when Jesse Graham, Luke Mercer and Joel Wigle will be drafted on Saturday, the 2nd day of the draft.   Good luck to all three.  

EURO 2012  

Story lines around the tournament have centred around racism and fan violence in Poland and the Ukraine, which is sad but not altogether unexpected.  Fortunately there has been enough surprise, intrigue and brilliant football to overshadow the off-field ugliness.   Russia and Holland, two pre-tournament favourites have been eliminated while Greece is trying to rewrite their 2004 success under the spectre of political turmoil and financial disaster.   This tournament offers better, more free-flowing football than the World Cup and arguably is a more difficult trophy to win.  Before the tournament the three favourites were Spain, Holland Germany.  I said that I would gladly take the field against those three teams and I'm holding true to that word.  As for personal pride, I have worn a wonderful array of England wear and proudly fly the St. George's cross and the Three Lions on my car! Vindaloo everyone!

QUICK HITS  

• My soccer hero Paul Mariner is new coach at Toronto FC and I sure hope he does not tarnish his legendary status with this mess of a team.  Only a week into the job and the team lost 2-0 to Sporting KC and then three players got arrested in Houston for public intoxication and resisting arrest.  Nice...

• Love the golf pundits and media who were touting Tiger Woods and then quickly had to back-track when old Eldrick tanked late 3rd and early 4th round.  I do wonder what Tiger had done to the guy who interrupted Webb Simpson's victory interview with bird calls. 

• By the way Roger Clemens, and his fans.  Not Guilty is a whole lot different than Innocent.  Clemens was found Not Guilty, which means the prosecution could not meet it's lofty burden of proof.  In this case if the needle fits....

Go England! and Sing Along to this one!

Steve Clark

RANTINGS AND RAMBLINGS

Some quick thoughts from the hip:

MEMORIAL CUP 

Congratulations to Shawinigan for hoisting the Memorial Cup at the expense of the London Knights.  Anytime you see a championship game decided in Overtime, it is a special thing even though it is absolutely devastating for the vanquished team.   Four London Knights who really stood out for me were Austin Watson, Greg McKegg , Matt Rupert and Ryan Rupert.  Everyone was talking about the two way game and intensity that Watson brought to the table, but equally impressive was McKegg.   His offensive talents are well documented, but he also developed a very, very solid two way game.The Leafs have a bonafide solid prospect.  It will be hard for any NHL team to ignore the Ruperts, two guys with 50 point, 100 PIM potential.  They are cut from the Andrew Shaw mold and he made an instant impact with the Chicago Black Hawks this year.  Michael Houser was ranked 16th for goaltenders in the upcoming draft.   His stock has sky-rocketed since then and will be a great pick for whomever is lucky enough to nab him.  The only negative from the tournament was the poor ice that seemed to plague games.  Credit goes to the players for putting on a first class performance in spite of the ice issues. 

SPORTSNET 

People may quibble with the nature of Sportsnet's coverage for a variety of reasons.  Sometimes the announcers style are not everyone's cup of tea and the "expert analysis" is lacking.  Many do not like the interruption of the flow of the game.  Personally, I enjoyed the game coverage, but in particular getting a regular Friday night spot did wonders for the legitimacy of the product, and it showed during the Memorial Cup.  During OT, upwards of a million people tuned in at some point.  Those are great numbers for junior hockey.  This combined with the wall to wall coverage put forth by local cable companies gives great exposure to the athletes.  

ICEDOGS

Congratulations to Dougie Hamilton, CHL Defenseman of the Year and to Mark Visentin who had a chance to savour some playoff experience with Phoenix before they bowed out of the conference final versus LA.  The next announcement I hope to make in regards to the IceDogs is a pro contract signing for Andrew Agozzino.  The guy is just too good not to get a look professionally. 

BARRY BONDS 

Hearing he wants back in the game with the San Francisco in some sort of front office/advisory role.  Here is the irony of the situation.  There is no doubt that Bonds could add something to a team, but his complete selfishness, and propensity to treat people with complete and utter disdain ruin any credibility he could have with an organization.   How could any team want to take a chance on that?   

BLUE JAYS

Unfortunately this team is getting more headlines for their emotional outbursts and real or contrived war with the umpires.  Plus, they seem to be spiralling in the wrong direction having lost 5 of their last 6.  The talent is there, but the maturity and consistency have a long way to go.  They got a stabilizing performance from Drew Hutchinson last night after Kyle Drabek and Brandon Morrow got lit up, Henderson Alvarez gave up back to back to back jacks before getting tossed, and then Ricky Romero who cannot locate the plate, but did find the time to snipe back to fans on Twitter.  Brett Lawrie also took to social media to bash at the "haters" out there.   I think they need to corral their emotional outbursts and channel on the field don't you think?  Not quite the halcyon days of the glaring, crotch grabbing Dave Stieb and the uniform burning of Damaso Garcia, but getting there!!

STANLEY CUP 

This might rank up there with Carolina/Edmonton, Ottawa/Anaheim in terms of match ups with a lack of buzz.  That said this year's Stanley Cup does have a nice level of intrigue with the upstart Kings versus a Devils team with a lot of talent and goalie hoping for one last Stanley Cup before riding off into the sunset.  That said, I'm cringing in advance at what Ron MacLean might come up with for an opening for CBC.   

Steve Clark

www.twitter.comSteveClarkMedia