Sports roundtable – Jan. 26, 2012
Hockey players should put a lid on it in warm ups
Autumn McDowell, Jonathan Petrychyn, Jhett Folk, Britton Gray, Colton Hordichuk
This week's roundtable
If you were a dual-sport athlete at the U of R, which two sports would you choose to compete in and why?
McDowell: I would probably have to go with volleyball and football. Volleyball because I played and coached it for roughly five years, and let’s be honest, I’m built like a volleyball player. However, my secret dream is to play football. I was a quarterback and receiver on my football team growing up and still run plays with my brothers and dad daily in the summer. Put me in, coach.
Petrychyn: Starcraft and Mario Tennis. Do we have a university Mario Tennis team yet?
Folk: That’s easy: basketball and volleyball. When you’re lanky like me you have to take advantage of what you’ve got! Although a close third sport would be floor hockey. That counts, right?
Gray: It would have to be football and hockey. Hockey’s a big deal here in Canada, and – let’s face it – football is just awesome.
Hordichuk: I’ll keep this short and sweet: football and hockey. I just love hockey, and football is popular, and I used to play it years ago.
Do you think helmets should be mandatory for NHL players to wear during warmup?
McDowell: Let’s ask Taylor Hall – and the giant gash on his face that is causing him to look more and more like Sloth from The Goonies everyday – what he thinks.
Petrychyn: I’ve hurt myself warming up for Dance Dance Revolution, so I think helmets should be a thing for NHL players. I mean, they have blades and shit on the ice; all I have is my lawn chair and a bowl of Cheetos in my basement.
Folk: Oh yes, absolutely no question! I mean in all honesty these players should be completely wrapped in bubble wrap! I hope you could catch my sarcasm.
Gray: Why not? I don’t see it being a big controversy if they were forced to wear them during warm-ups; they wear them during the game anyways. Also, extra safety precautions might not be a bad thing because anything can happen at anytime like we saw with the tragic passing of skier Sarah Burke.
Hordichuk: The odds of Hall’s accident happening are like one in 1,000, but sometimes that one is all it takes. So yes. Even when I played hockey with full-caged helmets, accidents still happened. Hockey by nature is a dangerous sport, and it’s not going to kill them to wear their buckets for a lazy warm up skate.
Who has been the Saskatchewan Roughriders biggest loss in the off-season?
McDowell: It’s got to be the mustache that Nick Hutchins was dawning during Movember. Bring it back, Hutchdown, bring it back.
Petrychyn: Wait, the Riders are still a thing? I thought they stopped being a thing when they sucked ass last year?
Folk: The Riders can be even bigger losers?
Gray: Not making a bid for Peyton Manning or trying to convince Favre to come out of retirement again. I hear he’s becoming available and Favre can only go fishing for so long.
Hordichuk: In my opinion, Jerrell Freeman. Last season, Freeman lead the CFL in tackles with 105, was named defensive player of the week in Week 10, and was named defensive player of the month in September.
Which player would you pick first overall for your NHL all-star team?
McDowell: I think I’ll go with Sidney Crosby – but, dammit, he’s still hurt. OK, I’ll take Chris Pronger – wait, he’s still having trouble walking? Fine then, I’ll take Mikko Koivu. No? OK, well, he’s young but I like him, so I’ll take Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Oh, wait. He isn’t playing either. Might as well just cancel the whole weekend. But seriously, Steven Stamkos. Boom.
Petrychyn: Sidney Crosby. Duh.
Folk: As a Canucks fan, Ryan Kesler. As a general hockey viewer, Claude Giroux. As a “fine I guess I won’t hate on the Blackhawks or Bruins for a second though it’ll kill me,” I’d go with Jonathan Toews or Tim Thomas.
Gray: Jonathan Toews for the simple reason I believe he is the most complete player in the NHL, and without Crosby he might be the best player right now.
Hordichuk: I don’t think it matters who goes first, because no matter what, all the players are going to drag their ass and not try anyway. But for the sake of the question, I’d take Claude Giroux because of his breakout season.
What has been your favourite NFL playoff moment this season?
McDowell: If by favourite you mean most annoying then it would have to be Billy Cundiff missing that 32-yard field goal. That moment reminded me all too well of Paul McCallum missing the 19-yarder. People don’t forget.
Petrychyn: Tebow. (That’s an NFL term, right?)
Folk: My favourite moment in particular would be when the 49ers and Saints went shot-for-shot at the end of the fourth quarter. Although an honourable mention goes out to my boy, Eli. Manning family for the win! Here’s hoping for a Giants Super Bowl win over the Patriots again!
Gray: The Tebow Mile High Miracle. All he needed was one pass in OT to beat the Steelers and advance the Broncos. It seems that it’s also going to take a miracle for Elway to actually believe that he can win them games.
Hordichuk: My favourite moment was watching the New York Giants win. I have nothing against the Packers, in fact I really like them. I just like seeing the underdogs win.
