Category Archives: Sports
Don’t be like those people…
This past week, a local sportswriter abruptly passed away – at a relatively young age – and many people expressed sadness about it on social media.
From the looks of it, this sportswriter was a mentor to aspiring sportswriters too, so, good for him.
I never interacted with this gentleman at all, so I didn’t know him. However, my past experiences with sportswriters from other cities haven’t been great.
Now, I should say that there have been a few who have been gracious and responded to my emails, such as the legendary Bob Ryan (who responded to me on three separate projects I was working on), L.A. sportswriter J.P. Hoornstra, and a couple other writers from the Boston area. There were a couple other national writers, Bob Nightengale and Mel Antonen. There was even a historian/author by the name of Todd Denault who responded to me.
I certainly appreciated the fact that these writers took time out to correspond with me and give me quotes for the books I was writing.
Then, there were those who couldn’t be bothered to respond back – and, interestingly, they’re writers from Toronto.
When I was writing the Tom Candiotti biography, I emailed several writers from Toronto who were around when Candiotti pitched for the Blue Jays (and those writers are still active today). Not one of them bothered even to respond back.
Then, when I was writing about the Boston-Montreal NHL rivalry book, it was the same. Now, I received replies from the Boston reporters I reached out to, including the aforementioned Ryan. But nothing from the writers in Toronto who covered Pat Burns.
That’s disgraceful. A Hall of Famer like Bob Ryan reaches out to me – and he’s a legend – and yet lesser likes couldn’t be bothered.
So, I mean, just like many athletes, I’m leery when it comes to sportswriters. None of those Toronto-based writers ever reached out or cared about what I was doing.
Not even a “Sorry, I am unable to assist you.” Just no response.
I’ll tell you what. If I became a successful writer, I wouldn’t be like those Toronto-based guys. Those guys are no role models. They’re not like the sportswriter who passed away this past week.
They’re gutless.
McNabb giving his honest analysis shouldn’t be criticized…
There was some controversy in Philadelphia over the weekend when former Eagles QB Donovan McNabb opined on CBS Radio on Saturday that the franchise should consider drafting another quarterback if Carson Wentz couldn’t lead the team past the second round of the playoffs in the next two seasons.
Of course, in this day and age of social media, McNabb’s take drew criticism from others, including eagles offensive tackle Lane Johnson on Twitter. Johnson then went on a radio station on Sunday to call out McNabb and other former Eagles players for criticizing current players on the team.
Now, I have to say that I don’t blame McNabb for giving his honest opinion and insights. McNabb, after all, guided the Eagles franchise to seven playoff appearances and a trip to the Super Bowl following the 2004 season. He was a proven winner in Philadelphia and in the NFL, and the fact that he played in the league for as long as he did certainly proves that he knows what he’s talking about when it comes to evaluating what he sees.
I mean, what he sees on the field would be valuable analysis – that’s precisely why networks bring in former players to do commentary.
It’s better than an athlete being a homer and with Donovan McNabb being asked a question on a radio show, he gave his honest assessment and shouldn’t be criticized for that.
I remember early in the 2018 season when poor place-kicking cost the Minnesota Vikings a game, and ex-Vikings great Cris Carter was on television passionately saying the kicker needed to be cut right away. That emotion probably stemmed from Carter’s own experience in the 1998 season when his 15-1 Vikings lost the NFC championship game after Gary Anderson missed what would have been an insurance field-goal attempt late in regulation.
That would not be what I would like to see or hear from an analyst when it comes to sports takes, having emotion cloud his judgement.
But that’s just how I see it – so shame on those who criticized Donovan McNabb over the weekend.
Vintage Video: Tom Candiotti – U Can’t Touch This
Tom Candiotti was kind enough to share this video with me a couple of weeks ago. It’s a video compiled using highlights from the 1991 season when he was in Toronto.
Reflecting back on Korea Trip 2018 – Cafe 7gram…
This post is also found on one of my other websites, “Let’s Grab A Burger.”
Cafe 7gram at 71-5 Jongno 2(1)-ga, Jongno-gu in Seoul is close to the hotel I stayed at during my Korea trip in September 2018.
I hung out there a few times during my second week of stay in Korea, including a couple of daytime visits when people were actually there to discuss business. It was great for me, just chilling while others were busy working. I recall being there one evening too – when it was nice and relaxing.
The few times I was there, I had some dessert items and beverages while working on the editing for my John Cangelosi baseball book (as I had tentatively reached an agreement with an American publisher during the first week I was in Korea) and writing my book on the 1992-93 Montreal Canadiens.
One time, the second floor was completely empty – other than me – and I texted my tour guide (whom I had befriended that week) to joke that I had the whole cafe rented. (The ground floor had only a table and some window seats, unlike the spacious second floor.)
Overall, Cafe 7gram served my purpose when I was in Korea. I was able to get some “work” (ie. writing) done yet also enjoy a, more or less, peaceful environment at the same time. After all, I had spent four days on a trip around Eastern Korea the previous week – doing sightseeing, obviously – and didn’t really have time to touch the laptop.
