Sports Roundtable – Oct. 28, 2010
Jonathan Hamelin, Matthew Blackwell, Colin Buchinski, Autumn McDowell, Ed Kapp
This week's roundtable
What is the best sports-related Halloween costume you’ve ever seen or worn?
Jonathan Hamelin: There are some pretty scary costumes on the field at a Saskatchewan Roughriders game. An ugly sight! Oh wait, excuse me, that is the Roughriders’ run defence. But seriously, it seems like they can’t stop any running back these days.
Matthew Blackwell: I think that Nik Lewis is walking Halloween costume. Does that count?
Colin Buchinski: The best sports-related costume I’ve ever seen probably has to be one I saw at a Sharks-Canucks game. Oh wait … that was just Mike Ricci flying up the wing. Man, is that guy ugly.
Autumn McDowell: I am always a fan of the referee costume that doubles as a clown costume. It’s usually the most realistic.
Ed Kapp: It’s definitely not sports-related, but my favourite costume of all time has got to be me back in kindergarten when I dressed up as a tube of Colgate toothpaste—that’s a classic.
With their recent struggles, is it safe to say the Saskatchewan Roughriders still suffer from the “curse of the 13th man?”
Hamelin: Definitely. How else can you explain the monstrosity that has been this season? For the first time in a long time, the Riders were actually favoured heading into a season. But, poor run defence, special teams blunders, and a lack of offensive creativity have suddenly turned a team that should have been so good into a team that is sooooo bad. It’s got to be a curse.
Blackwell: The Roughriders don’t suffer from the “curse of the 13th man.” They suffer from the curse of sucking down the stretch, apparently.
Buchinski: I don’t believe in the “curse of the 13th man.” A lot of teams get penalties for having incorrect personnel on the field. The Riders need to move on and will do just that on Nov. 28th at Commonwealth, you’ll see.
McDowell: Oh God I hope not. But, judging by our terribly embarrassing loss to Edmonton, it’s entirely possible. I mean Edmonton, really?
Kapp: The offensive line is struggling, Durant’s not playing up to his potential, and there’s no balance on offence. On defence, we aren’t getting pressure, we’ve been brutal in stopping the run, and we’re missing easy tackles. Special teams have been lackluster and Miller has made more than a few questionable calls … maybe we are cursed.
If you could cast one professional athlete to play the lead role in a horror movie, who you would select?
Hamelin: I would select Jim Daley to star in Not So Special Teams: The Jim Daley Story. It would be the shocking story of how one man took a fairly credible special teams unit and massacred it. Daley created a monster.
Blackwell: LeBron James in a remake of The Beast from Yucca Flats.
Buchinski: I’d cast former Regina Pat, Rick Rypien. After last week’s debacle, he clearly has the ability to strike fear into the eyes of innocent bystanders. The Pats need to retire this guy’s number ASAP.
McDowell: Well, Brock Lesnar is a relatively gross and scary human being, so he would probably fit the part of the villain quite nicely. Playing one in a movie shouldn’t be as hard as playing one in real life. Also, since he was in the WWE, he has a lot of experience reading off of a script.
Kapp: It’s got to be Shaq. He’s humongous and he can act; not very well, but he can act.
What’s the scariest thing that’s happened in the world of sports over the past year?
Hamelin: I know this happened last year, but for me it’s still the too many men call. No one will ever forget the call that took a sure Grey Cup victory out of the hands of the Saskatchewan Roughriders. It was an ominous sign that foreshadowed the Riders’ current struggles.
Blackwell: It’s scary that the Yankees essentially tried to buy a World Series and even that didn’t work. Scary good, mind you.
Buchinski: The scariest thing that’s happened in the world of sports in the last year has to be Ondrej Pavelec of the Atlanta Thrashers collapsing in his net. With the recent death of youngster Alexei Cherepanov during a KHL game, it really drives home the fact that it’s just a game.
McDowell: Well, the fact that Frankie Edgar is the lightweight champ of the UFC is pretty scary. But, on a more serious note, the 17-year-old hockey player that died at his practice in Strasbourg last week is a pretty scary thing.
Kapp: I’d say the conditions of the athlete’s village for the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi were pretty scary. Factor in a botched terrorist attack, widespread corruption, broken child labour laws, and the unjust evictions of thousands of Indians, and I’d say India’s Commonwealth Games have been pretty horrifying.
When there are sporting events held on Halloween, should the athletes be required to wear costumes?
Hamelin: It would be pretty epic to see a witch drop back to pass, throw the ball downfield to a mummy, who then gets tackled by a werewolf and fumbles the ball, which is picked up by the Joker and returned for a touchdown.
Blackwell: Absolutely. I think that if Teen Wolf and Teen Wolf Too have taught us anything, it’s that werewolves are amazing basketball players.
Buchinski: Yuck! Not at all! I can’t imagine a team like the Chicago Blackhawks or Montreal Canadiens ever wearing anything other than their classic uniforms. Leave Halloween for the fans.
McDowell: I would find it rather amusing if the players all dressed up as their coach and a prize went to the one that was the most accurate. I can just imagine what sorts of costumes the boys would come up with, and since money is no object with these pro athletes, I would expect the best.
Kapp: Absolutely. Why not?
