Last week, I wrote a blog asking our viewers and readers to ask me anything they wanted. Along with everyone involved with the Sportsnet.ca website, I was overwhelmed by the response over the past seven days. In an effort to keep my response blog from getting completely out of hand, I selected the five best questions from the last week. Enjoy.
From: Matt in Quebec
Comments:
Why do you hate Ottawa-based teams so much?
Answer: Hey Matt thanks for the question. First off, I don't "hate" Ottawa based teams. I hate liver, American coffee, home improvement shows, getting a soaker, the Denver Broncos, warm beer, racism, taxes, people who bad mouth the CFL, fake breasts, people who abuse animals, and finally I totally hate anyone who doesn't support all of our brave men and women in Afghanistan.
What I don't "hate" is Ottawa based teams. When I was attending St Mary's Catholic Elementary school in Trenton, Ontario in the 1970's I idolized Tony Gabriel and the Ottawa Rough Riders. Ottawa Senators athletic therapist Gerry Townend is a friend of mine dating back to his days with the Argos back in the late 1990's. Some of my favourite people in the NHL play for the Sens. Mike Fisher, Jason Spezza et al. I'm not sure if he still owns the car, but at one time, Spezza had one of the coolest rides in the NHL, a sweet Mercedes Benz SLK Roadster. A few years ago, we were both attending a charity golf tournament in Acton, Ontario and Spezza pulled up in this dream machine. After dropping off his clubs, he parked the car. He said hi to me then he hit a button and the car opened up like a space ship with a state of the art hard top that gently dropped onto the rest of the vehicle. How could anyone "hate" a nice guy like Spezza who drives a car like that?
From: Anthony
Comments:
I'm going to tackle some wallpapering in my house, any tips?
Answer: Hi Anthony, the key to wallpapering your house can be found in the wise words of former long time NFL head coach Chuck Knox. Proper Preparation Prevents a Piss Poor Performance. First off, prep the wall. That is the key to the whole operation. Make sure you measure twice, and then you can cut once. From there, it's time to prep the wallpaper. Fourth, it's time to hang that bad boy. Lastly, it's time to finish up. Use a fresh, razor blade to gingerly trim off the excess wallpaper. Afterwards it's time to quaff a frothy mug of lager or ale. A nice pint of Guinness would be even better.
From: Gary
Comments:
With all the truth about steroid use in the MLB coming out, don't you think that Pete Rose kinda looks like a angel compared to these liars and cheaters in the news right now? Don't you think that if those fools make it into the Hall and not Mr.Hustle... it will be a sad day for Baseball?
Answer:Hi Gary, great question. It's been 20 years since Pete Rose was handed his "death" sentence from Major League Baseball. Since that time, the use of performance enhancing drugs in baseball has exploded. No matter what you think of Rose and admission of gambling while he was a manager, you can never question the fact he broke Ty Cobb's record for most hits by a major leaguer. Since that time, some of baseball biggest stars in the modern era have played a portion of their career under the influence of performance enhancing drugs.
So what's worse; cheating your way to 300 wins or 500 home runs, or gambling? I am with you, if players who are found to have taken performance enhancing drugs end up getting into to the Hall and Pete Rose doesn't, then something is seriously wrong with the game.
From: Jeff
Comments:
As a CFL prognosticator, are the Hamilton Tiger-cats actually going to improve this year?
Answer: Jeff you big stud, thanks for the question. I absolutely love what Bob O'Billovich and the Ticats have done in the off season. First, they made some key additions on both sides of the ball. At the same time, they rid themselves of Casey Printers. `
They beefed up the offensive line with the signing of Alexandre Gauthier. The former Bomber is a 325-lbs Canadian stud who will automatically make the Ticats o-line stronger. I love the signings of linebacker Otis Floyd and defensive end Brandon Guillory. To top it off, the Ticats hired the highly respected Greg Marshall to be their defensive coordinator. So yes Jeff, I think the Ticats will be a much better team than they were in 2008.
From: Johnny Mac
Comments:
My question is this. Who would be the frontrunner for the Sportsnet Golf Tourney and who is most likely to be sitting in the corner at the after party with a lampshade on their head?
Answer: Hi John, that is a very tough question. Because of the nature of the job, all of the on-air talent at Sportsnet likes to golf. First off, I love to golf but I totally suck at the game. So it would definitely not be me. Our hockey guys end up being our best golfers because they usually have the most vacation time over the summer months. Daren Millard isn't long off the tee but he hits dead straight all the time. At one time, Millard sucked at the game, then a teaching pro told him to switch hands and it totally turned his game around.
The final pairing would see Nick Kypreos going head to head with Canucks reporter Dan Murphy. Kypper is a big hitter off the tee and has some serious game. But Murph is an absolute shark out there on the golf course. The dude is a legitimate single digit handicap and if he's really on his game, he's nearly unbeatable.
I am not saying he would be wearing a lamp shade on his head, but there is no one else I would rather hang out with at the bar after a round of golf than John Garrett. Without a doubt "Cheech" is one of the funniest guys I have ever met. His stories from his playing days in the WHA will have you spitting beer out of your nose you'll be laughing so hard.
Thanks for all the great questions everyone. Please keep them coming.
If you have a question for Jim Lang, submit below and return to Sportsnet.ca every Monday to read his responses.
