Tag Archives: jerrad peters

A Week in the Trenches.

The past week sure was fun.

1) LeBron James announced he was leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers and was going to play with Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade in Miami. Interesting choice. Wade and james play exactly the same game and Bosh did nothing in Toronto unless he had the ball. The Heat have no Rajon Rondo and no Pau Gasol. It will be fun to watch which one of these guys breaks down first.

If James really wanted to win, he’d have signed in Chicago. Gibson, Rose, Noah and Boozer with LeBron? That’s a winning combination.

In the meantime, his news conference was uncomfortable and embarrassing and it might just have been a little too foreboding for his own good.

2) Watched all or pieces of about 25 Major League Baseball games on MLB TV this week. Saw about 30 bad calls and four ejections. Why baseball is against replay is a question that just can’t be answered.

However, it feels good to be involved in the Northern League. The next time anyone says that umpiring in the NL is lousy, I can just point out how truly dreadful the umpiring is in the majors. Not one of those guys could call their dogs.

3) Had a chance to talk to author Jerrad Peters, the man who wrote, “We Call it Soccer,” about his impression of this year’s World Cup. A gigantic soccer maven, Peters had this to say about the final between the Netherlands and Spain coming up in about four hours:

“Hmmm… Am I happy with World Cup. Good question. I’m not sure whether this is a legendary World Cup, or an extremely sub-par one. I do know this—I am not at all excited for the final. It will be 0-0 after extra time and Spain will win on penalties. I will be shocked if it is an exciting game.”

Thanks, Jerrad. If you’re looking for excitement, the Goldeyes face Joliet at 1:30 p.m. CDT. If you can’t get to Canwest Park, the game will be live, with me and Kenny Wiebe, on Shaw TV Channel 9.

Four Questions, Two-and-a-Half Answers

It’s been a week of golf here in the ‘Peg.

First, a terrific Variety charity event at Niakwa that was an absolutely fantastic day. Played with Gail Kennedy, who will be teeing it up in the Pro Am portion of the LPGA event at St. Charles next month and if she keeps her head, she will be every bit as good as the pros who play in Winnipeg.

After that, we played in the NCI-Streetz 104.7 invitational tournament at Buffalo Point’s magnificent Lake of the Sandhills Golf Course and it’s just too good to believe. What a golf course. And playing with Sam, Rube and Lou Edwardsen was great fun, too.

At both of these tournaments, I was asked four questions. Not one of them had anything to do with the upcoming civic election. Here goes:

(1) Who do you like in game 7 of the NBA Final?

No question. The Lakers. They’re at home, Kobe’s going to win the MVP award and now that we’ve reached Game 7 there is no need for the league to worry about how much revenue it can suck out of the series.

Boston certainly has a chance. No doubt about it. But I’m buying a Sport Select ticket with Lakers on it today.

(2) Who do you like in the World Cup?

The experts (and that means my friend, soccer writer Jerrad Peters) like Brazil-Spain in the final. I like Brazil, Argentina, maybe England and perhaps even Germany.

So, do I get four choices?

(3) How are the Bombers going to do this year?

They could be a .500 team if the offensive line keeps Buck Pierce vertical. They could be 2-16 if Pierce suffers another head injury.

The simple answer is: Who knows?

The test is simple. If the Bombers win their first two games, both at home against Hamilton and Toronto, they’ll have a good season.

(4) Are the Jets coming back to Winnipeg?

Yes. And whomever acquires an NHL franchise had better call the team “the Jets.”