I cannot believe it, the summer is basically over and my kids are ready to head back to school. We are also entering the best time of the year for sports fans with the NFL, CFL, NCAA football, baseball pennant races, NHL training camps and "transition time" all in full swing. And now, on to this week's questions.
From: Dale
Comments: Hi Jim, is it true that Stan Smyl could hit the UFO landing pad in St. Paul with a slap shot from 400 feet away?
Sincerely, Dale
Answer: Hi Dale, great question. Trust me on this one, the Steamer could hit the UFO landing pad in St. Paul, Alberta from 1,400 metres away if he wanted to. I am pretty sure Smyl could take a slap shot in Stanley Park and hit the park Royal Shopping centre on Taylor Way if he wanted to.
------------------------------------
From: Shawn
Comments: Hi Jim, love the blogs. Quick question for you. Watching the Texas Rangers game I notice that they use the same chant as the Habs fans. Who ripped off whom on this one? Do you know when this chant actually started?
Take Care, Shawn
Answer: Hi Shawn, I love this question. The Na Na Na Hey Hey Hey Goodbye chant can trace its origins to the old Comiskey Park. White Sox organist Nancy Faust is believed to be the first person to start playing it at sports stadiums. During the "hey"day of Stan Smyl and King Richard Brodeur, Canucks fans chanted it in the early 1980s. Pretty soon Habs fans liked it and have tried to make it their own. Now, Habs fans didn't rip anyone off, they just perfected an already good thing.
------------------------------------
From: Tom
Comments: Hey Jim, at the beginning of your career I can respectfully say that I wasn't your biggest fan, now you are one of my faves. Keep up the good work. My question is what will it take to get the great game of lacrosse the visibility it needs and deserves? NHL greats like Adam Oates, Shanahan, Gretzky, Roberts and Joe Nieuwendyk all played the game as well as new up and comers like Tavares.
Thanks
Answer: Hi Tom. I appreciate your honesty and I am grateful that you stuck with me. My wife wasn't my biggest fan at the beginning either and now we've been married almost 10 years. Although I don't think I am one her faves yet. But, you know how that goes. I have a soft spot in my heart for lacrosse. I love the game and its origins date back to the Iroquois nation in and around the 12th century. I have been in the Air Canada Centre when there were 16,000 fans on hand to watch Steve Toll and Jim Veltman do their thing. Having said that Tom, I don't know if lacrosse will ever garner the same sort of visibility as hockey or football has in Canada. Don't get too stressed about it, I say watch the Mann Cup, the Minto Cup and the NLL and just enjoy a great sport.
------------------------------------
From: Andy
Comments: How can you tell a peach is perfectly ripe for eating?
Answer: Well Andy, you have to squeeze it. Not too hard, not too soft and no discoloured spots on the skin. There's nothing finer than a fresh, ripe peach.
------------------------------------
From: Doug in Nova Scotia
Comments: This would be a hypothetical question, however I'm interested in your answer ... suppose you were an NHL general manager and you were building a new team and you had your pick of any current NHL player to build that team around, who would that be?
Answer: Hi Doug, it's always nice to get a question from a viewer who lives in "God's Country." Say hi to my sister and her husband in Truro if you see them. I understand the old adage that you build a team from the goaltender out. But if I had my pick of any current player, I am going with Sid the Kid. Sidney Crosby is the total package and now he has the Stanley cup ring to prove it. And I am not just saying that because he's from Cole Harbour.
------------------------------------
From: Andrew
Comments: Hi Jim, Great to have you back! My Mondays just weren't the same without you. I've noticed that more and more networks are starting to show UFC or other MMA highlights and are added MMA-sections to their websites. Nonetheless, the jury is still out on MMA in major network/mainstream media. Sportsnet was one of the first to cover MMA and Showdown Joe and company do an amazing job, but I'm wondering, between you and me, is it respected as a sport by all/most/some/few of the Sportsnet team?
Thanks Jim and if you see Ian, I have a Beaver Tail with his name on it!
Answer: Hi Andrew, that's a pretty serious question. First off, thank you. Secondly, I cannot and I will not speak for my fellow on-air colleagues. To me, that is totally unprofessional. I will tell you that I have developed a real respect for the sport, the men and women who fight and money involved. No word of a lie, eight times out of ten, when someone recognizes me, they want to talk about the UFC. That's not scientific research, but it does tell me that the UFC has become a lot more mainstream than its critics will care to admit. While I enjoy the UFC and respect it, it's still not one of my top three sports. And I will let Ian know that you have some good Beaver tail for him.
------------------------------------
In my never ending quest to rid marred men in Canada of the dreaded honey do list, I have made an important amendment to my "transition time" Constitution. After talking to my buddy Mike, who is a hard working police officer, I realized that I needed to tweak the rules a bit. From this time forward, any police officer, firefighter, any other emergency worker or any member of the armed forces should be allowed to extend their "transition time" an extra five minutes over any civilian.
