Good thing I’m not a passionate Green Bay Packers fan or else I’d have a hard time recovering from what I watched on Sunday afternoon. They were up 19-7 with 2:09 left in the fourth quarter and, somehow, found a way to give up 2 touchdowns, screw up receiving an onside kick, allow a two-point convert, and then another touchdown in the first drive of overtime to lose 28-22 to the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Championship game on Sunday. It was the biggest choke job I’ve ever seen in sports and I’m including the Toronto Maple Leafs’ 2013 third period meltdown in game seven against the Boston Bruins. It was a colossal collapse. Especially when you consider Russell Wilson threw four interceptions and the Seahawks turned the ball over five times in total. Wilson had completed two passes at halftime. Rider fans would have had the man on the bench to sit and watch if it was their number one QB. Many pundits fault Packer head coach Mike McCarthy and I can’t disagree. He coached scared in week one against Seattle when they lost 36-16 and he coached scared again on Sunday as he, twice, opted for field goals on 4th and goal from the one-yard line. To me, I’m alright with kicking a field goal the first time. I think it’s important to score and erase the 0 beside your team’s name as quickly as possible. The second time, however, is inexcusable. You have the expected MVP of the NFL (Aaron Rodgers) and several options at your disposal. Besides, the second field goal only makes it 6-0 and you are a Seattle touchdown away from being behind despite having two drives at the one-yard line. You have to go for it. To me, 6-0 or 3-0 is the same thing. But 10-0 means Seattle has to score twice to get ahead.
Major League Baseball is instituting a clock at the minor league level this season in an effort to try and speed up the game. Most purists hate this. I love it. If you can’t figure out what pitch to throw within twenty seconds, you have a very serious problem. And, if the batter isn’t ready within that same time frame, he’s got major issues too. While they are at it, they should really put a limit on the number of visits a catcher can make to the mound to discuss tragedy (or, as I call it, stall). These rules should not be necessary, but as time has evolved we have athletes abusing the fact there is no clock and it’s become a strategy to outwait the opponent as a means to lower the sharpness of the pitcher’s ability to throw what he wants or the hitter’s ability to focus on what’s coming at him. That, to me, is not baseball.
Both Melville and Yorkton held sportsman’s dinners on Saturday night. Without pointing fingers at who was first, all I will say is that this should not ever happen. Each community relies on the other to help out, economically, and there are people that would like to go to both evenings. Making someone (or a company) choose which table they are buying and which community gets the support isn’t fair. Let’s communicate a bit better so this never happens again. In Melville’s case, I’m told it is now the largest sportsman’s dinner in Saskatchewan.
There is an incredible amount of disrespect in society for the work done by police officers and I’m offended by it all. The reason, I believe, is because the media has escalated and sensationalized a few incidents from the United States and, for whatever reason, that has carried over into Canada. People need to get a grip. There are bad people in every profession. It’s never going to be perfect and we can’t let one officer’s bad choice in Ottawa reflect that of an entire nationwide force. It represents less than 1% of RCMP or a city police team. Use some perspective.
In Edmonton over the weekend, two RCMP members were shot by a man who exhibited an incredible amount of disregard for the law for years prior to the early Saturday morning tragedy. I am saddened whenever I see such a violent crime committed by someone who shouldn’t be free to walk among us in the first place. I don’t know why we put these ticking time bombs back on the street over and over and over again. It’s clear the common citizen has no voice because I talk to people all the time who are tired of seeing convicted criminals released from custody or given nothing more than a harsh scolding for crimes that should require lengthy jail terms. Maybe the RCMP will have better success dealing with lawmakers in this country. After all, they can’t be happy having to deal with the same people over and over again and having their lives put in grave danger because there are those that roam free when we all know they shouldn’t be.
Nice people this week: Lola Antony, Lisa Istace, Cheryl Denesowych, and Genevieve Shukin.
