(Sorry... but...) PLEASE let the Leafs be Relevant Again!

[CaptainCrunch]

[CroFlames]

I appreciate that people have different tastes in sports. Hockey is, was, and always will be my #1 sport. I used to love basketball, but basically since ol Jordan retired the 2nd time or whatever, it's turned into a group of individuals, not a team sport. LeBron is bigger than basketball, whereas Sid or Gretz were never bigger than the game. I'm slowly growing apart from soccer too. I think soccer desperately needs some rule changes, and I cannot stand the diving anymore.

Having said that, the Toronto media machine PISSES me off. The offseason is the worst I found. Every time you go to any of the outlets, all you see is Leafs, Argos, Raps news and how TO is getting an NFL team.

That's what annoys me. I couldn't care less if the Leafs turned into an Oiler Copy cat franchise.

[FanIn80]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

Are they not Canada's team though?

Just because some fans have picked another team doesn't make them not Canada's team.

I would think that overall more people care about the BlueJays and Raptors more then the other NBA/MLB teams.

Media has to play to the majority and overall those two teams are the most relevant in Canada overall.

Canada's Teams
Canadian Olympic Ski Team
Canadian Junior Hockey Team
Canadian World Cup Biathlon Team

Not Canada's Teams
Toronto Blue Jays
Moose Jaw Warriors
Calgary Flames

Notice the difference between the two groups?

[V]

If a little more basketball coverage is the price I have to pay for the leafs to be terrible I'll pay that every day, gladly.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by FanIn80

Steve Nash is one of the greatest athletes of all time. He's also Canadian, and he bleeds red and white. Even diehard fans of rival teams have mad respect for him and everything he's done for the sport he loves.

You can hate on basketball all you want, but cracking off about Steve Nash just makes you look like a fool.

What are you using as the measuring stick for Greatest Athlete of all time?

[Puppet Guy]

Originally Posted by InCoGnEtO

I am no basketball fan, but it is about 100000 times better than Baseball. God, I would rather die of dysentery then have to sit through an entire baseball game. Soooo slow, plotting and boring.

...but baseball provides a legit excuse to get drunk in the afternoon. Basketball can't do that.

[Fighting Banana Slug]

Originally Posted by undercoverbrother

What are you using as the measuring stick for Greatest Athlete of all time?

Probably something about playing at the pinnacle of his sport for a number of years. Not saying he is necessarily at the very top, but should be in the conversation with the usual hockey suspects.

[SuperMatt18]

Originally Posted by FanIn80

Canada's Teams
Canadian Olympic Ski Team
Canadian Junior Hockey Team
Canadian World Cup Biathlon Team

Not Canada's Teams
Toronto Blue Jays
Moose Jaw Warriors
Calgary Flames

Notice the difference between the two groups?

That is only if you take the definition very literally though.

Toronto has Canada's only MLB and NBA teams.

Hence they also make up the biggest proportion of fan bases for those sports in the country. It also means that a lot of people outside of Toronto will cheer for them and will see them as Canada's team.

Just because you and troutman don't agree, doesn't mean it is not reality in Canada right now.

It means they will occasionally lead off Sportscenter and have more focus on them since they have a bigger fan base then say the Portland Trail Blazers or Houston Astros in Canada.

IMO it's like complaining that the Canadian teams are shown first in the NHL highlights, going by your theories we should just start with the biggest sporting event of the day regardless of sport or team playing.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by Fighting Banana Slug

Probably something about playing at the pinnacle of his sport for a number of years. Not saying he is necessarily at the very top, but should be in the conversation with the usual hockey suspects.

FBS, it seems like you are reading it as Greatest Canadian Athlete of all time.

I read it as Greatest on a world stage.

I agree he deserves to be in the discussion of Canadian Greatest, but not sure I buy into the world.

[troutman]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

Are they not Canada's team though?

Just because some fans have picked another team doesn't make them not Canada's team.

I would think that overall more people care about the BlueJays and Raptors more then the other NBA/MLB teams.

Media has to play to the majority and overall those two teams are the most relevant in Canada overall.

They are surely the most popular team in Canada, but the majority of baseball fans in Canada surely cheer for other teams.

I was an Expos fan.

[CroFlames]

Originally Posted by troutman

They are surely the most popular team in Canada, but the majority of baseball fans in Canada surely cheer for other teams.

I was an Expos fan.

Baseball has really grown on me the last couple of years. You have to take it for what it's worth though. They don't bill themselves as a fast paced sport, and it's not. Neither is NFL football with all the stops in plays.

But both are entertaining in their own right. If I had to pick a team to be a fan of, it would be the Mariners since I'm a Seahawks fan.

[Vinny01]

Basketball was my number 1 sport growing up and I still love the game. I followed the NBA much closer than the NHL as a kid because I played the game more and my close buddies also preferred it. I enjoyed hockey as well just not as much.

As an adult I have enjoyed hockey more and is now easily my favorite sport to watch. I still love the NBA and NFL though. NBA playoffs are exciting as well especially as the parity is starting to grow within the league. I would love for the Raptors to go on a run this year to the second or third round.

As for the Leafs. I hope they stay in the basement for a long time. I certainly do not want to hear about how great they are because of that team is relevant they eat up the time on TSN and SN like no other

[GranteedEV]

Basketball can be a more fun sport than hockey, especially if a game is close. When I read stuff like what OP is posting, I just giggle at the shallow observations. They're akin to saying hockey is just 60 minutes of missed slap shots from the point and then a lucky deflection to decide who wins. Any hockey fan would laugh at that too, which tells you how us basketball fans read comments like "both teams go down the ice and score a lot".

It mostly just shows how clueless you are to the skillsets and fundamentals on display. It's also an obvious ignorance of the complexity of team systems which make hockey look pedestrian.

I also laugh at comments like pylon's about height when guys like Nate Robinson are still in the NBA and guys like Chris Paul are among the league's finest. Yes it's a more vertical sport more favorable to tall people just as hockey is more favorable to a Joe Thornton over a Paul Byron. It's not the sport's fault it has a bigger talent pool to draw from, though.

There are five positions in basketball, and centers are going to have to be big enough to be successful at their role - but I don't see how that's any different from how talented under-6'0 goaltenders shouldn't even consider pro careers. Just as 5'10 wingers can be successful in the NHL, so can a 5" 11 point guard be successful in the NBA. You have to be better than other players though, and if there's a 6'3 player who's as skilled as you, well go fish.

[flames_fan_down_under]

I sit on the complete opposite side of the fence and wish that sports coverage in Canada would be a lot more balanced. The level of hockey-centric sports coverage has reached ridiculous proportions. Trade deadline day is completely insane, how does a trade deadline require this amount of coverage?

I love hockey, but I also love baseball, basketball, and NFL football, and I see no problem in giving equal shares of time to each sport.

But of course we could get some more front page, exhaustive coverage on Kessel fighting Booth in a practice while the Leafs sit at the bottom of the standings. That's what we need.

[FanIn80]

Originally Posted by undercoverbrother

FBS, it seems like you are reading it as Greatest Canadian Athlete of all time.

I read it as Greatest on a world stage.

I agree he deserves to be in the discussion of Canadian Greatest, but not sure I buy into the world.

NBA career highlights

• 2× NBA Most Valuable Player: 2005, 2006
  • One of only two Point Guards in NBA history to win at least two MVPs (the other being Magic Johnson)
• 8× NBA All-Star: 2002–03, 2005–08, 2010, 2012
• 7× All-NBA selection:
  • First team: 2005, 2006, 2007
  • Second team: 2008, 2010
  • Third team: 2002, 2003
• 2× NBA All-Star Weekend Skills Challenge winner: 2005, 2010
• 5× NBA regular season leader for assists per game: 2005 (11.5), 2006 (10.5), 2007 (11.6), 2010 (11.0), 2011 (11.4)
• 6× NBA regular season leader for total assists: 2005 (861), 2006 (826), 2007 (884), 2010 (892), 2011 (855), 2012 (664)
• 2× NBA regular season leader for free-throw percentage: 2006 (.921), 2010 (.938)
• 7× NBA regular season leader for assists per 48 minutes: 2004 (12.6), 2005 (16.1), 2006 (14.2), 2007 (15.8), 2008 (15.5), 2010 (16.1), 2011 (16.4)
• 4× member of 50–40–90 Club: (2006, 2008, 2009, 2010)
  • Has more 50–40–90 seasons than any other player in NBA history
  • One of only six players to have ever shot 50–40–90
  • One of only two players (the other being Larry Bird, who did it twice) to have shot 50–40–90 more than once
  • Retired with a 49-43-90 career average, missing out on being a career 50-40-90 shooter by 1% from the field
• J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award (NBA award for outstanding citizenship and community service): 2007
• Highest career free throw percentage in NBA history (minimum 1200 career attempts), 90.42 percent
• Third-most career assists in NBA history

I'm going to have a hard time taking you seriously after this thread.

[Frequitude]

Blue Jays > Raptors > Leafs

[heep223]

I love to play and watch almost every sport, I'll watch table tennis. However, pumpkin toss should be shot into the sun without remorse. It's the worst. I would actually turn down free tickets to the NBA finals.

Can't believe a few here are insinuating it's racist to not like pumpkin toss. Isn't that racist in itself?

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by FanIn80

I'm going to have a hard time taking you seriously after this thread.

I don't need you to take me seriously, but my question was honest.


To me if you want to talk about Greatest Athlete (Canadian or International) you could talk about Clara Hughes, a medalist in not one but two totally different sports.

Certainly Nash is a great athlete and certainly one of the best basketball players ever, but greatest athlete, not for me.

[JiriHrdina]

Moved to the other sports forum since this doesn't seem to be really about hockey. Also considered just putting it the gear grinder thread since basketball seems to really grind the gears of the thread starter.

[V]

Originally Posted by FanIn80

Steve Nash is one of the greatest athletes of all time.

He isn't even in the conversation of GOAT for his own sport, let alone GOAT over all sport.

I'm a big Nash fan, but this is just plain silly.