I might as well get this out of the way, because many of you are thinking it and somebody has to do it: yes, it is true that as of Saturday night, as many Canadian teams have made it to the NBA Finals as they have to the Stanley Cup Finals since 2011 and — yes – it’s true that there are seven Canadian-based NHL teams compared to just one NBA team: the Toronto Raptors.
And if the Raptors somehow pull this off, at a time when the last Canadian Stanley Cup champion was crowned in 1993 — two years before the Raptors were founded? Nah. Let’s not go there. Or 1967 and all that…
Admit it, Canadian basketball fans. That is a large part of the reason why this all feels so special. Canadian baseball fans have been there: the feeling that hockey, no matter what it is but especially the NHL, drives the sports media agenda in this country, in terms of coverage and churn. Winning back-to-back World Series titles really changed nothing. Nor would a Raptors title. Soccer. Amateur sports. Every four years or so it seems as if we adopt a whole bunch of athletes in sports to which we don’t otherwise pay attention. We become living room experts in the 200-metre butterfly or 4 x 100-metre relay or bobsleigh or god knows what else and then — poof! Like a Giannis Antetokounmpo free throw it… just… kind of…
Disappears.
And then it’s hockey season all over again. Or, “worrying about hockey” season.
We are a vastly different country than we were back in the days when you played hockey in the fall and winter and baseball in the summer in and around swimming lessons; different economically and socially. We are more diverse, more complex, and even just a cursory glance at the world of sports makes it easy to find Canadians dominating — not just making up the numbers — in sports other than hockey.
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Basketball is in a particular period of growth, especially in urban centres. We’ve always played hoops here, of course: every high school had a program and when I started covering sports at the Winnipeg Free Press in the late ’70s and early ’80s, the University of Manitoba men’s and women’s basketball programs were a staple of the sports pages. The Wesmen Classic, a tournament held over the Christmas holidays, was a significant event on the local and regional sports calendar.
So it’s not like basketball is a new thing. Bill Wennington, my guy Leo Rautins, Todd MacCulloch… they were Canadian-born NBAers. Canadians have played at major U.S. college programs for decades.
So here’s the thing to remember at a time when the Raptors will go head-to-head with yet another Stanley Cup Final that doesn’t involve Canadian teams: this really isn’t a referendum on whose sport is better or more Canadian or dying or growing or anything. The success or lack of success of a pro team in your sport says nothing about the strength of your sport across the country. Canada has and is changing and, hopefully, will always change. This week might represent a further evolution, which is only a good thing. Surely in a country this big there’s room for all.
NOW TWEET THIS
In which we invite you to a Green party… love Kawhi’s accidental nuance… plump for Vlady… marvel at the Astros other-worldly acumen…
• Overlook Draymond Green at your peril: he has three triple-doubles this post-season and has eight for his career, more than all other Warriors combined. His eight career are tied with the Big O for ninth, one shy of Wilt’s. Magic’s 30 sets the pace #three’sacharm
• Saturday’s 19-4 thumping ought to be eradicated from consciousness, but it did provide a historical anecdote: the 11th time in Major League history that both teams lost the DH in a game. The Jays were part of the first time it happened: Aug. 24, 1986 against the Twins #de-H
• Best part of Kawhi Leonard’s on-court interview after Game 6? Referring to the Golden State Warriors as “the next team” #wethenuanced
• No one gets to sit in a chair when they watch Sumo wrestling in Japan. Regardless of status. No surprise, though, that President Trump asked for and was given a chair when he visited what is for the Japanese a profound and hallowed Sumo ring this weekend. Nice houseguest #SCROTUS
• Calgary’s Mike Soroka is a front-runner for NL Rookie of the Year: the third pitcher since 1920 to open with eight consecutive starts of one run or less and his 1.07 ERA is the best for a pitcher 21 or younger through eight starts since Fernando Valenzuela (0.50) #beleafer
• If I’m Charlie Montoyo and his staff, I’m seriously having a re-think about my positioning of Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. I understand the reasoning behind playing off the line but since the arm’s good enough to stay at third, I need to be more cautious with his positioning #third’sacharm
• The Astros’ strength isn’t just their pitching and young players: it’s their shrewdness. Their modest off-season acquisitions (Michael Brantley, Robinson Chirinos, Wade Miley and Aledmys Diaz) have combined for a 5.5 WAR; their payroll is $2 million less than last season #worldly
THE ENDGAME
Despite the lack of ballyhoo surrounding his progress through the minors — certainly compared to that accorded Vladimir Guerrero, Jr., and Bo Bichette — Cavan Biggio could represent the type of found money that every organization needs if it is successful in building excellence from within.
Think Jose Ramirez, for example: signed for $50,000 by the Cleveland Indians, in short order he became the team’s answer at third base, played some left field and second base, was good enough at shortstop to keep Francisco Lindor in the minors a little longer than Lindor wanted, and finished third in American League Most Valuable Player voting the past two seasons.
Biggio is a left-handed hitter in an organization whose top position prospects generally bat right: Guerrero, Bichette, Anthony Alford, Jordan Groshans, Kevin Smith among them. Rowdy Tellez is the exception. Add in his strike-zone knowledge and ability to draw a walk, and you can make the case that the speed of the Blue Jays rebuild and its ability to surprise could well be determined by Biggio. Do not under-estimate the importance of his first year.
Jeff Blair hosts The Jeff Blair Show from 9 a.m.-11 a.m. and Baseball Central from 11-Noon ET. He also appears frequently on Prime Time Sports with Bob McCown
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