Hartley Miller’s Slap-Shots December 30th, 2011
Friday, December 30, 2011 @ 3:45 AM
We do not remember days; we remember moments.
~Cesare Pavese, The Burning Brand
The thrills (good), the spills (bad) and the chills (ugly)! 2011 had all of that and more. As I look back to the year that has nearly passed, here are some of the ups and downs.
Thrills:
Baseball’s best: This tops all lists. The Cardinals won the World Series that will always be remembered for game six and not the 6-2 game seven victory. St. Louis won the 6th game 10-9 in 11 innings over the Texas Rangers in arguably the most exciting game the sport has ever witnessed. No team had ever won a World Series game when trailing in the 9th and 10th inning until the Cards pulled it off.
Cuba tops WBC: The number one sports event of the year in Prince George was the World Baseball
Challenge. Cuba powered its way to the title as they doubled Chinese Taipei 10-5 in the final before 2,077 fans at Citizen Field. Cuba smacked 25 of 54 homers in the tournament.
Challenge. Cuba powered its way to the title as they doubled Chinese Taipei 10-5 in the final before 2,077 fans at Citizen Field. Cuba smacked 25 of 54 homers in the tournament.
Yes to CIS: After a few rejections, the UNBC Timberwolves were finally accepted into the Canada West Universities Athletics Association. Both the men’s and women’s UNBC basketball and soccer teams will commence play in Canada West in 2012-13.
Terrific career:Timberwolves guard Inderbir Gill will be regarded as the top player to ever wear UNBC colors. Gill was named the 2011 CCAA Men’s Basketball Player of the Year. In addition, he was selected the 2010-2011 BCCAA Male Athlete of the Year. Gill guided the Timberwolves to second place at the Provincials and a tie for 5th at Nationals, a year after he led UNBC to the 2010 B.C. and Canadian titles.
Jets fly:Winnipeg became relevant again as Canada’s 7th NHL franchise. The Atlanta Spirit Group sold the Thrashers to True North Sports and Entertainment for $170 million.
Goalie shines: Led by Tim Thomas, The Boston Bruins won their first Stanley Cup in 39 years as they skunked the Vancouver Canucks 4-0 in the 7th and deciding game.
Lions roar: The B.C. Lions became the first team in CFL history to start the season with five straight losses to win the Grey Cup. The hometown Lions dumped Winnipeg 34-23.
The Pack is back: The Green Bay Packers returned to prominence, winning Super Bowl 45 in Dallas 31-25 over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Tebowmania: Tim Tebow won 7 of his first 8 games as the Denver starting quarterback, however, the Tebow magic disappeared in back to back losses to New England & Buffalo.
Mavs celebrate: Dirk Nowitzki finally got his ring as the NBA Finals MVP led the Dallas Mavericks to a 4-2 series victory over the Miami Heat.
Spills:
Bring on the jokes: It is debatable who had a worse final: Roberto Luongo or Lebron James? Luongo allowed 15 goals on 66 shots for an 8.05 GAA in 3 games in Boston. In addition, he gave up 3 goals on just 20 shots in the 4-0 loss in game 7.
Meanwhile, Lebron disappeared in the 4th quarter in most of the games against Dallas which resulted in several jokes including: Today is National Lebron Day. Everyone gets to leave work 12 minutes early!
Canadian heartbreak: It appeared Brett Connolly and Team Canada would win gold at the World Junior Hockey Championship in Buffalo with a 3-0 lead in the final, but the Russians got the last laugh with a 5-3 victory.
Headache for Crosby: Concussions in sport, particularly for hockey’s top star, Sidney Crosby, made headlines from the start to the end of the year.
Season to forget: Ineptitude for both the Prince George Spruce Kings and UNBC Timberwolves women’s soccer team. The Spruce Kings missed the playoffs for a 2nd straight year while the Lady Timberwolves failed to win a game.
Mills move south: The Millionaires, a hockey fixture for many years in Quesnel, finally succumbed to financial woes and ended up moving to Chilliwack.
Chills:
Penn State nightmare: Joe Paterno was fired in his 46th season as Head Coach of the Penn State football team in the wake of a child sex abuse scandal. Paterno’s former defensive coordinator, Jerry Sandusky, was arrested and charged with 40 counts of sexual abuse of young boys over a 15-year period.
Hockey’s darkest days: In the worst ever sporting tragedy to hit Russia, 44 people were killed after a private Russian jet slammed into a riverbank shortly after take-off. Among the victims were 28 players from the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl KHL team.
The final fight: The NHL sadly lost three former tough guys. The much debated topic of whether fighting should be banned from hockey came to the forefront following the deaths of ex PG Cougar Derek Boogaard as well as Rick Rypien and Wade Belak.
Black eye for Vancouver: The Stanley Cup riots broke out in the downtown core of Vancouver immediately after the conclusion of the Bruins victory over the Canucks in game seven.
Yes, 2011 provided many lows and highs, but the time has come to say our goodbyes, May you and yours celebrate with a holiday cheer, and have a very happy healthy prosperous New Year!
From the Quote Rack:
The Quebec government is unhappy because newly hired Montreal Canadiens coach Randy Cunneyworth can’t speak French. Big deal, in California we just had a governor who couldn’t speak English.
Secret Memo from Jesus to Tim Tebow – "Sorry, I love you man, but got to go with the guy who is a Saint." Congrats to Drew Brees, 5087 yards.
Tim Tebow has committed seven turnovers in the last two games as the Broncos have lost by an average of 22 points. Not since Jim Bakker and Jimmy Swaggart has religion seen such a fall from grace.
Kobe Bryant is reportedly doing everything he can do to save his marriage to Vanessa–he’s currently in negotiations to purchase the Orapa Diamond Mine.
Contributor Bill Littlejohn of South Lake Tahoe, California
The City of Vancouver is looking to implement scramble crosswalks at the city’s busiest and most dangerous intersections. Police feel this will allow greater safety when trying to cross the street during riots.
North Korea’s dictator Kim Jong Ill died this week with officials saying the last undisputed dictatorship now resides in Toronto and have nicknamed him Kim Jong Burke.
There are rumours the NFL will make Ndamukong Suh take anger management training. I just hope it’s more than a one-step program.
Kempton Park racetrack in England held its first-ever reindeer race. The favourite was Rudolph by a shiny nose.
Comedy writer RJ Currie www.Sportsdeke.com
And in case you missed it:
Two men dressed as Santas were involved in a fight outside The Rusty Gull Bar in North Vancouver this month. The two suspects, believed to be Joe Kapp and Angelo Mosca fled before the police arrived.
Comedy writer TC Chong
Hartley Miller is the sports director for radio stations 94X and the Wolf@97fm. He also writes for the PG Free Press. Send along a quote, note, or anecdote to hmiller@94xfm.com.
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