Jim Lang

Jim Lang can be seen anchoring Connected on the weekends with Evanka Osmak and is the senior NFL reporter for sportsnet and sportsnet.ca. Jim is also a regular contributor to sportsnet.ca. For more you check out Jim's website, www.jimlang.ca

Alexandre Bilodeau winning Canada's first Olympic gold medal on home soil, with the inspiration of his brother, moved some people to tears.

Certain sports moments can get even a manly man like Jim Lang a little choked up.

With the Vancouver games well underway I wanted to point yet another reason Canada is such a great country. Out coffee kicks ass. After spending two weeks in Florida for business and pleasure the first thing I did when I got off the plane was go straight to Tim Horton's. Don't get me wrong, I have all the respect in the world for the USA; but their coffee sucks.

I know what doesn't suck, Ryan Miller. The pride of Team USA put on an incredible display of goaltending Sunday night in their win over Team Canada. And now to this week's questions.

Name: Danny

Comment:

Clubber, after watching Alex Bilodeau win gold, and then talk about his brother who inspired him, I couldn't help but shed a few tears. My question to you is, which, if any, sporting events have literally made you cry? I know you are secure enough in yourself as a person to answer this.

Answer:

Hi Danny, that's a tough question for a man to answer. According to the sacred tenant of the man law, there are only a few times in your life when it's cool for a man to cry. I know some pretty tough dudes -- I'm talking about bad-ass bouncers and guys like that -- and they've told me they would cry if the Leafs ever won the Stanley Cup. I have never cried watching a sporting event, but I must admit I have been a little choked up from time to time.

2008 Summer Games in Beijing - Carol Huynh - Gold Medal in women's wrestling. Here parents escaped Vietnam and found refuge in Canada after a church in B.C. sponsored them to come over. After Huynh won her gold medal she talked about her pride of Canada and how much winning meant to hear and her family. I got pretty choked up over that one.

1997 Masters - I got a little choked up when Tiger Woods hugged his dad Earl after blowing away the field to win his first major. Even a tough old former Green Beret like Earl had tears in his eyes.

1999 - Wayne Gretzky's final game - When Wayne skating around the ice at MSG waving to his family, friends and teammates; it hit me that the Great One's career was over. That got me a little choked up. If I live 200 years, there's a good chance I will never see a player put up the kind of numbers that Gretzky did in his career.

December 2003 Monday Night Football - Brett Favre has the greatest regular-season game of his career, one day after his dad and close friend Irv had passed away. As Brett walked off the field I was choking back the tears.

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Name: Kevin

Comment:

I was having a chat with another guy about the Olympics and we both commented on the number of fourth-place finishes we seem to end up with.

Is this a stat that is documented? In all the Olympics I have watched, I have noticed this fourth-place finish issue and it seems that we do have more than our share. Can you comment on this?

Kevin

Answer:

Hi Kevin, as a matter of fact, fourth place is very important in the Olympics. Because of drug testing, it is not unusual for someone to be stripped of their medal after being found positive of using PEDs. Say for instance the silver medalist was found guilty, the bronze medalist would be award the silver and the fourth-place finisher would receive the bronze.

As far as Canadians ending up in fourth place, that is a regular occurrence at the Olympics. I don't mind that. What really bugs me is the term "personal best" when one of our athletes ends up finishing 20th. Like it's alright because he or she is Canadian and they had their "personal best."

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Name: Darrell in Calgary

Comment:

In 1972, Derek Sanderson signed a contract with the WHA's Philadelphia Blazers, paying him 2.6 million dollars which made him the richest athlete in the world. All this for a player who averaged roughly 50 points a season in the NHL. Sanderson played just 8 games (3 goals, 3 assists) for Philadelphia before he was bought out for 1 million dollars.

The average salary in the NHL at the time was about $25,000. The NHL average salary today is somewhere between 1.9 million and 2 million dollars. Let's say by today's standards, a 50 point guy makes about 4 million bucks, which I think is fairly reasonable, putting Sanderson's NHL salary at around $50,000. Today, a 50 point player would make 80 times ($4million/$50000) what a 50 point player did in 1972. That means that for this season, Derek Sanderson would've signed a contract for 206 million dollars then been bought out for 80 million dollars making 10 million dollars for every game he played and 26.67 million for every goal he scored.

Let's say the KHL were to make a ridiculous offer to an NHL player. Who would be your "Derek Sanderson"?

Darrell, Calgary

Answer:

Whoa, Darrell. I think you have way too much free time on your hands. Other than Willie Mitchell of the Canucks, a few players would be prime candidates to be the "Derek Sanderson" of the KHL. I can see one of the uber-rich Russian Oligarch's doling out some sick money to get Alexander Ovechkin or Evgeni Malkin to come home to the Rodina and play in the KHL. Most of the wealthy owners in the KHL made their money through natural gas and oil. So I don't see their fortunes going away anytime soon. If I had to pick just one possible "Derek Sanderson," I would go with Malkin. He's already won a Stanley Cup and eventually the Penguins will get to the point where they can't afford to pay both him and Crosby.

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Name: Brendan

Comment:

Hey Jim, your columns rule. I just wanted to say that I appreciate your writing style, your pov and I hope to see much more Jim Lang in the future. When is Jim Lang's sports shack coming to fruition? I can sponsor $5.

Answer:

Hi Brendan thanks for the kind words. Five dollars! Let's get "Jim Lang's Sports Shack" rolling. I like it. Hopefully the powers that be at Sportsnet will get the message that the people want the Sports Shack to come to their town and we can make it happen.

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Name: Tim

Comment:

Why do people buy vowels? Why do they buy vowels when the vowel is sooo obvious?? Is it a requirement to play the game ? Is it something that the people who run the show tell them they HAVE TO DO? Are the people just STUPID????

I hate watching this show because of the idiots that spend/waste their money on vowels....they spend money when they only have a very small amount of money won and then they solve the puzzle. I can't take it anymore! I will never watch this show again.

Answer:

Tim, buddy, you need to take a giant step off of that emotional ledge you're perched on right now.

I have no doubt that when his day of taping is done that Pat Sajak retires to his palatial dressing room, takes off his suit coat and pours himself a Ron Burgundy-sized glass of scotch. I log on to YouTube every day anxiously waiting to see Sajak totally snap after some moron buys two vowels to complete the word that describes an object that mixes food, "Bl_nd_r." Like Fredo was to Michael Corleone in the Godfather 2; Wheel Of Fortune is dead to me now.

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Name: Chris

Comment:

Welcome back Langer, the action in Miami at the Super Bowl must have been a real circus. What was the strangest thing you saw while you were there?

Answer:

Hi Chris. Now the "code of the road" prevents me from going into too many details about what went on that week in Miami for Super Bowl XLIV. I can tell you South Beach itself is very strange. I don't find it too odd to see super hot looking models wearing next to nothing and walking little teacup dogs. What I did find strange was the sight of these wannabe male models with huge biceps and skin tight tank tops walking around with these little tiny teacup dogs.

The Saturday before the Super Bowl we had to go down to South Beach to tape an interview with Jamie Dukes of the NFL network. Maybe it was the free flowing liquor or maybe it was the energy of the Who Dat? Nation. Whatever the reason there were a large number of hot looking women who felt the need to lift up their tops or start kissing each other in broad daylight. Hey, it's a free country; they can do what they want.

As a matter of fact, for the week of Super Bowl, greater Miami and Ft. Lauderdale lifted their local bylaws and allowed people to drink alcohol whenever and wherever they liked. I can tell you those Saints fans like to have a good time and they made full use of the liberal liquor laws in Miami.

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Name: Garen from the U of T

Comment:

Hey Jim, are there any players that have played on all 6 current Canadian hockey teams (Van, Tor, Mon, Cal, Edm, Ott)?

Answer:

Hi Garen, Go Blues. I like this question. After a lot of research, I went to a dear friend and walking encyclopaedia when it comes to all things hockey, Liam Maguire.

There has not been anyone that has played for all six current Canadian NHL teams. However, Liam did point out that Saskatoon's Vic Lynn is the only guy to have played for all of the Original six teams. Now if Mike Sillinger can manage to keep his career going long enough, he has a chance to play for all six Canadian NHL teams.

That's it for this week. While a big part of me wishes I was working alongside my brothers and sisters from Sportsnet in Vancouver, I have really enjoyed just sitting back and watching all of the events. After watching Jon Montgomery do his thing, I realized you couldn't pay me enough money to try skeleton. That sport is flat-out nuts. Ski jumping is a close second.