Sports roundtable – Jan. 6, 2010

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Trying to burn off the Christmas fat

Jonathan Hamelin, David Carnegie, Autumn McDowell, Ed Kapp, Rhiannon Ward
This week's roundtable

Seeing as a new semester is just starting up, meaning things won’t be as hectic, are you planning to take in any sporting events here at the University of Regina?

Jonathan Hamelin: There are definitely plenty of teams worth watching. Both the men’s and women’s basketball teams have exceeded expectations this season and are in contention. How could you not follow them? Some people seem to think the quality of the CIS is not that good. However, these people may change their minds if they actually saw a game.

David Carnegie: I’m looking forward to continue going to Cougars men’s hockey games. I’m the one in the penalty box opening and closing the door. Some days are busier than others.

Autumn McDowell: Definitely. The women’s basketball team is probably the school’s best chance at taking home a championship, so I will be keeping tabs on them. Although the men’s hockey team is currently dead last, I still love hockey, so I will continue to support them even though they are struggling.

Ed Kapp: No, I don’t think so. I’m not a big university sports fan. I’m not even really sure what kind of sports go on this time of year either. Hockey, I guess, but I can’t picture myself getting excited about any type of hockey game.

Rhiannon Ward: I would love to, but if we’re being honest here, I probably won’t. However, I’m the first to admit that watching U of R sporting events is very enjoyable and much more important than what I’ll be doing instead – sleeping and watching countless hours of TV on DVD until school swallows me whole again.

This Christmas, you likely consumed a lot of fattening food. Are you planning to hit the gym to burn off some of that holiday fat?

Hamelin: Definitely. I did work out during the holidays, but I took off far more days than I usually would and had my fair share of candy. It is so hard to work out consistently during a holiday, especially when it is only two weeks.

Carnegie: Definitely something students should take advantage of. I mean hey, you paid for it, why not use it?

McDowell: Well, I also work at Gold’s Gym, so I suppose I should take advantage of it and burn some calories.  However, I say that now, but let’s face it; it probably won’t happen. In the words of Bart Simpson, “I can’t promise I’ll try, but I’ll try to try”.

Kapp: I ate pretty modestly this Christmas, actually. I’m off the dead animals and eating generally healthy these days, so I should be okay. I enjoy exercising anyway, so I would’ve been out there grindin’ regardless.

Ward: It is some sort of cruel joke that right when students need it most, after weeks of poor eating and sleeping during finals and endless holiday eating, the gym is closed over the break. I’m hoping to get back in there and make up for lost time, again, while school is relatively calm.

Greg Marshall has just been named the Saskatchewan Roughriders' new head coach. Are you happy with Marshall as head coach?

Hamelin: It could be worse, the Riders could have looked to their own and brought in Doug Berry or Richie Hall. Still, I feel Scott Milanovich would have been a solid head coach. With his offensive expertise, he would have helped Darian Durant reach an elite status. I knew it was too good to be true when Milanovich’s name was tossed around.

Carnegie
: I was hoping it was going to be Marshall before his name even came up as a candidate, just because I think he’s one of the best out there. He deserves a shot at a head coaching job. But, as long as Jim Daly and Doug Berry are no longer on the coaching staff, I’ll be happy.

McDowell
: Not overly. I think Scott Milanovich would have been a better choice. The guy has won back-to-back Grey Cups, so he has obviously been doing something right in Montreal. I think he could have helped Durant step his game up better than Marshall can.

Kapp: Absolutely. Defence wins championships, and Greg Marshall is one of the league’s top defensive minds. Marshall is a guy that’s been around the CFL for quite a while – both as a player and coach – and has had a lot of success everywhere he’s been. Hopefully he can continue that tradition if he comes to Saskatchewan.

Ward: I am, not only because he seems like a good fellow and a promising coach, but also because he isn’t Richie Hall. The possibility of Coach Richie Hall for Saskatchewan was literally keeping me up some nights.

What are your top memories in the sporting world from 2010?

Hamelin: The Saskatchewan Roughriders playoff run ranks up there for sure. After such a disappointing end stretch to the season, I was not confident that the Green and White would make it back to the Grey Cup. They did and in the process eliminated every team from the West in exciting fashion.

Carnegie: NHL: What if the Flyers played like being down by three games was a bad thing? History will be made; MLB: Jim Joyce and Armando Galarraga, not quite perfect; NBA: The Decision; Olympics: John Montgomery getting handed a pitcher of beer. And the Golden Goal too, but I like to think that that's a given.

McDowell: The top memory has got to be Sidney Crosby’s golden goal at the Olympics. Behind that would be GSP utterly dominating Koscheck, even though he has had far too many decisions lately. Next would be the world juniors in our backyard, even though Canada lost in the gold medal game. I still love to watch them.

Kapp: I’d have to say the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ up-and-down season would be my top sporting memory of 2010. It’s too bad that they fell short in the final game of the season, but all-in-all it was a great year to watch the Green and White play. One of the most exciting seasons I can remember.

Ward: Being out of the country during the Olympics, the only event I managed to catch was the Canada-US men’s hockey final, in an airport bar. We watched and cheered while getting glares from some nearby Americans. Aside from that, and this will likely be a popular answer, the Rider season was a lot of fun. I’m counting the moments until 2011 CFL fun starts up.

As usual, the IIHF world junior hockey championships have raged on during the holidays. Thoughts on Canada’s performance? Do you even care to follow the tournament?

Hamelin: I can never really get into the tournament. It is very time consuming. Besides, there are usually two scenarios that play out. Canada either chokes and everyone thinks it’s a catastrophe, or we beat up on some country that has barely put any time into the game.

Carnegie: If you think about it there are a ton of players in the NHL that could be there right now (Hall, Seguin, Eberle, Tavares, some kid named Stamkos). But the world
juniors is still pretty good hockey to watch, especially when it’s in our time zone.

McDowell: I absolutely love to watch the world juniors! I can’t say I watch every game, as I could pretty much care less about who wins between Slovakia and Norway, but I’ll watch Canada all day. They don’t have as much offensive power this year, but they’re still a good squad.

Kapp: I didn’t even realize that was happening. I thought it was every four years or something. Between college football’s bowl season, the NFL’s regular season wrapping up, and all of the MMA over the holidays, I haven’t had any reason to even think about watching hockey.

Ward
: It isn’t that I don’t care, it’s just that the holidays are very busy. I’m sorry, WJHC. I know you are important and exciting. It isn’t you, it’s me.

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