Team Canada gets downed by USA

If you took a pole of our class, I would imagine only a few people would actually understand what happened when team USA beat team Canada 5-3. One reason why America is hated amongst other countries is because of its arrogance regarding sports. Most hockey fans in this country were happy that our team won as I was but very few of us actually understand what that meant for Canada. Hockey is to Canada what Basketball is to the US; they expect to win gold every four years because hockey is what they pride themselves on. In America our families put up basketball hoops in our driveways whereas in Canada they build hockey rinks in their backyard. They put their entire energy into the game of hockey and if you look at team Canada’s roster, you can see that it works well. They have by far the best roster in the world and have the majority of NHL players. Back to my point of how most people do not understand the magnitude of this defeat and what it truly does to Canada. Basketball fans are visually shaken when our teams don’t perform well in the summer Olympics, double that to what Canada is going through. We haven’t beaten Canada since 1960 in Olympic hockey, so even though our hockey team has talent and is up and coming, it still is a crushing defeat for Canada. If things work out right, I believe that the next time that we will play Canada will be for the Gold Medal. Will we see a team with a damaged psyche or a team on a mission not only to beat us but to grind us in the ground? I don’t think either will happen, that is why my prediction is 3-2 Canada, a respectable loss for us, and the Gold Medal goes home.

The bloody steroid era

A story that has been analyzed by every sportswriter in America at one point and probably the story that sports fans are sick of the most is the steroid issue. Analysts are still going back and forth with how the game should treat this issue and the tainted records that it brings with it, in regards to history. Is Barry Bonds the Homerun King? Is simply putting an asterisk next to their name enough? America is sick of this story, myself included, yet the importance of it is keeping it in the news. People like Hank Aaron are extremely upset that records are being broken by illegal substances but is it necessarily these players fault? These men are simply using everything that they can find to maximize their production. Would Aaron have used steroids or HGH if he were in the “steroid era”? These are questions that we will never have an answer to but the mere possibility is whats keeping the Bonds, the McGwires, and the Rodriguezs from being banned from baseball for a period of time. The steroid era is undoubtedly a black spot on baseballs history but during the era, the MLB got what it wanted. Homeruns were up, games were higher scoring, which was entertaining to the fans therefore making MLB money. Sosa vs. McGwire was good for baseball at the time. Looking back, was it a mistake? Of course but baseball learned its lesson and it shows it with such strict testing in today’s game. The game will recover and “the era” will cool down but it will be interesting to see how history treats the so-called cheaters.

The Super Bowl

Of the two teams playing in the Super Bowl, what scenario do you favor the most? You have the city of New Orleans and the tragedy of Katrina that they had to go through and the possibility of having their first Super Bowl trophy. On the other hand you have Peyton Manning, arguably the best quarterback in the league, who needs one more Super Bowl victory to possibly be considered the best of all time when his career is finally over. The idea of New Orleans finally having something that their city could be proud of for all time is intriguing but I personally have to side with Peyton this year. Katrina was a disaster which was undeserved but as a sports fan, being able to watch what could be the greatest quarterback ever, if he wins one more ring, appeals to me much more. Furthermore, I believe full heartedly that you have to first lose in order to learn how to win. Once Peyton gets his other ring, being able to jump on the Saints bandwagon will be hard to turn down. Some could say that Peyton has several years left and could easily win another Super Bowl so give the Saints and New Orleans this one but unfortunately thats not how it works. Ask Tom Brady, another stellar quarterback who has won his fair share of Super Bowls, what the chances are of him winning one more. Of course he'll tell you he has a great team and they could make a run for another but in reality, I dont see Brady winning another Super Bowl. Peyton needs this win more than the Saints because they will be around in thirty years and Peyton won't. Very rarely do we get a chance to see real greatness and on Super Bowl Sunday, my money says we will.