Twenty years ago, I used to watch professional wrestling and it was very clear who you were supposed to cheer for and who you were supposed to despise. It's 2011 and the NBA has developed its own heel: the Miami Heat. From the offseason right up until the final game, the Heat and its players did a number of things to get just about everyone outside of South Beach to dislike them.
I'm not sure if I found one sports fan outside Miami that was rooting for the Heat.
Darren Rovell, of CNBC, is one of the best sports business writers I have ever run across and he had a couple of polls going on his Twitter account last week that I found most interesting. In an effort to determine if LeBron James is the most hated professional athlete, he posed the question for his followers. James came a close second to Barry Bonds. OJ Simpson and Alex Rodriguez rounded out the top four and coming in fifth, showing just how long some people's memories are, was John Rocker. For me, it's a bit more clear cut. I have Mark Teixeira first, followed by Jorge Posada, and Brett Gardner. Can you tell I'm no fan of the Yankees?
Rogers Sportsnet posted a poll about the most hated sports teams and I never did see the results; but the Miami Heat were lumped in with the Yankees, Dallas Cowboys, and Vancouver Canucks. I think you can also throw the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadians in there too. For me, it's not close. The Yankees win hands down. The Canadians edge out the Leafs for second, but only because they are more competitive.
Quarterback Terrelle Pryor, who can be a polarizing figure, announced he is leaving his senior season with Ohio State and it was thought that maybe the Saskatchewan Roughriders would be his landing spot. It turns out Pryor wanted too much money. Go figure. I never understood the hype. He could never beat out Darian Durant for a starting job and would probably be in the NFL after one season anyway. No loss.
As I mentioned last week, this can be an exciting time of year for young people as many will be graduating. It can also be a tragic time as it seems there are more automobile fatalities involving teenagers during the month of June than any other month of the year. In neighbouring communities Swan River and Melville there is tremendous heartbreak following three separate crashes.
I was in Langenburg last week, and it is a small community that requires motorists to play close attention as its downtown is split by the Yellowhead Highway. There is a cross walk with well lit signals too. One of my pet peeves concerns approaching a cross walk like that when a pedestrian appears ready to cross and then once you come to a complete stop, that pedestrian waves you on through. To me, this is dangerous. Drivers are in a no-win situation in cases like this. Apparently, if you stop to let a walker cross at a non-cross walk area and are rear ended by another vehicle, you are partially at fault. You would also be at fault if you hit the pedestrian. And, of course, it is the law to stop at all cross walks if there is someone waiting to cross the street. This is a law lost on most people in Yorkton.
With Father's Day approaching and staying on the subject of driving, a recent survey of kids aged 6-15 say they feel more safe and more entertained when mom is behind the wheel. Seven out of ten claim to have dads who are bigger risk takers, more likely to speed, and also more prone to freak out on other drivers (I am guilty as charged here). Mom is also more likely to crack jokes and play games in the vehicle. Dads won out in technical areas like parking and reversing. Kids say mom is more likely to stall or get lost.
Speaking of Father's Day, I have to publicly thank my family for the 'early' gift. We have a seasonal camp site at Canora Beach and you can imagine my surprise when I saw a nice relaxing swing already set up for me to lounge and read on during those nice (rare) days. It is greatly appreciated, especially for a guy that doesn't camp really well! It makes things a little easier. Maybe it's a message from my wife and kids that they want me at the campsite as much as possible and they'll make me as comfortable as possible in order for it to happen!
Nice person mentions this week to Bonnie Jean Muir, Rob Kozak, Clinton Halliday, Sean Frankfurt, Mike Farquharson, and Melissa Kowbel.
