Sports roundtable – Mar. 8, 2012
RIP Blockbuster, both the movie store and any exciting trades
Edward Dodd, Jhett Folk, Britton Gray, Colton Hordichuk, Jonathan Petrychyn
This week's roundtable
The U of R women’s basketball team is on a quest for a national championship. Who will be their biggest competition?
Dodd: Isn’t the biggest competition for any team in any sports movie ever the internal divisions the team faces? In that regard, their biggest competition will be each other. But don’t worry! They’ll overcome it in the end! (Is it obvious my only exposure to basketball is on film?)
Folk: I’m going to have to go with themselves! So much of basketball comes down to mentality and whether you can perform under pressure. If you can stay in the right state of mind, you can accomplish a lot in basketball.
Gray: The biggest competition they will face will be remaining focused and not allowing them to be put off of their games. When going for a national title, the pressure can mount and the atmosphere can get a little overwhelming. If they can do that, then they have all the tools to walk away with the title.
Hordichuk: I’m going to be honest and say that I have absolutely no idea. In sports, sometimes the biggest competition is your own nerves. So ultimately, I’m going to say that that the U of R women’s basketball team’s biggest competition is the U of R women’s basketball team. Make sense.
Petrychyn: I think their biggest competition will be themselves. They’ve been undefeated for a whole season; at this point, the biggest threat to their unbroken streak is their own egos. If sports movies have taught me anything, it’s thinking your shit don’t stink is what makes you lose the big game.
Which U of R athlete deserves the overall MVP for this year?
Dodd: I can’t name specific names, but someone on the women's basketball team deserves overall MVP this year. An undefeated year is incredibly impressive, especially considering the competition they are facing from other universities. Scanning the breakdowns of the games, I’d wager Joanna Zalesiak or Lindsay Ledingham.
Folk: That one is easy! I’m giving it to Austin Guilleman of my floor hockey team, The Chiefs. The kid was great every game he played. A real shutdown defender with a great shot from the point. He’s also a great guy too, ladies.
Gray: Chris Bodnar deserves the MVP nod. When the rest of the football team was falling to unfortunate injuries, he was one of the few bright spots on the Rams season. And who says punters aren’t real football players?
Hordichuk: I believe we had a question specifically on Akiem Hicks a few weeks ago. He’ll be my vote for the U of R athlete that deserves the overall MVP for this year. Sounds like he’s the real deal and he’s going places.
Petrychyn: I don’t really know any U of R athletes except for Gaelan Malloy because he plays with Descalso. So really, he should get MVP because not only does he do sports, he plays music. It’s like two very cool things rolled into one well-oiled package!
B.C. Lions head coach Wally Buono was named CFL coach of the year. Thoughts?
Dodd: Oh, how startlingly original. Naming the coach that won the Grey Cup the “coach of the year?” Who is surprised by that? If that’s how you are going to play it, you might as well just award the coach of the year award at the Grey Cup ceremony.
Folk: Well-deserved. A very respected coach in both the CFL and NFL. A guy like this is bound to win this award a few times in his career. Definitely no question marks coming from me on this one.
Gray: If anyone deserved it, it was Buono. He has had a great career and helped turn this Lions season around and ended it with the Grey Cup. When the chips were down he kept his team going. It was a good way to end his career.
Hordichuk: Honestly, whatever. Good for him, I guess. I’m not a bitter football fan or anything, but after turning their season around like he did, who’s surprised to see that kind of reward going to him? I can’t even think of another coach who even remotely deserves it.
Petrychyn: Well, as long as it wasn’t whatshisname who coached the Riders, that’s fine by me. B.C. is usually one of the more consistent teams in the league, so this makes sense. Also, insert obligatory “thank goodness it wasn’t the Bombers because Winnipeg is filled with a bunch of hicks” joke here.
What did you think of this years NHL trade deadline?
Dodd: The same thing I think of every NHL trade deadline. It’s a lot of pomp and circumstance that is generally meaningless. but makes for easy-to write television. If you have a “tradecentre” update every two minutes to say “nothing has happened yet,” you’re basically phoning it in as a sports journalist for the day.
Folk: Loved it as a Canucks fan. We may have lost one of my favorites in Hodgson, but hey Zack Kassian (mark my words) will be one of the elite power forwards in the NHL in a few years. Not to mention Marc-Andre Gragnani (the D-man they got in the deal) was the top defender in the AHL last year, averaging nearly a point a game. Clearly this guy will pick up the points Ehrhoff used to on our blue line.
Gray: Wasn’t anything too special. Nashville got better and might be able to make a little bit of noise in the playoffs. The biggest deal of the day was Vancouver sending Hodgson to Buffalo. If Kassian turns into the physical force Vancouver needs to win a Stanley Cup, it could be a very good deal. Of course Hodgson could always burn the Canucks for many years to come.
Hordichuk: I think this year’s NHL trade deadline is like the Toronto Maple Leaf’s 45 year rebuilding plan – all talk and no results. It’s overhyped and nothing but rumors. Also, TSN gets too stoked, too easily, over nothing. Cody Hodgson for Zach Kassian … THAT’S the biggest trade? Sheesh, give it a rest. Free Agent Frenzy > Tradecenter.
Petrychyn: If Sidney Crosby was traded to the Pats, I think this is a good thing. If he wasn’t, then I think they need to reconsider their deadline.
Do you think that Wii Fit, or any other “fitness” video game actually works for losing weight?
Dodd: No way. Not only is it not really all that strenuous to do, the fact is, it is on a Wii, which means that it probably gets played for about two days and then shoved behind the TV, only to reemerge at Christmas so the family can stand around and laugh themselves silly watching Uncle Merv flail wildly around while Wii skiing.
Folk: I don’t see why not. You’re moving, right? You’re taking part in physical fitness, right? I mean it just makes sense that you’d lose wait.
Gray: Well movement burns fat. These games cause movement. Therefore, using my amazing logic skills, I would concur that these games do in fact cause people to lose weight. Of course they could try walking outside and get the same result, but who wants to do that. Lets face it, the graphics in real life suck.
Hordichuk: For a guy like me that’s been out of sports for almost two years, I think any form of exercise, whether it be Wii Fit or any other fitness game, would work. But I’m not trying to lose weight – I’m just trying to make sure I don’t cough up blood after I walk up the stairs to the 4th floor of the classroom building.
Petrychyn: Obviously. You should see my roommate go on Wii Fit. She’s a much happier person after she does her Wii Fit exercise. Does she lose any weight? I don’t know, but who cares! Exercise is exercise.
