After seeing the play of Cinci Bengals running Back Cedric Benson today against his old team the Chitown Bears, I started reminiscing about Benson’s road back to stardom. You see, I remember watching Benson play back in his college days for the Texas Longhorns where he destroyed the NCAA and was rated the #1 RB going into the draft. The Chicago Bears had high expectations for their 2005 1st round Draft pick (4th overall) but his career with them was nothing but a disappointment. In 3 years with the Bears Benson was involved in a lot of controversies (disagreements with coaches and notably 2 alcohol related arrests), had a lot of fumbles, a lot of injuries and very little TD’s and yards gained. His career was on the verge of ending until the Bears traded Benson to the Bengals in 08. Staring the year slow (making the critics say “here comes the usual Benson”), Cedric started to pick up his game finishing the year with 932 all-purpose yards (747 rushing – 185 receiving), his best year by far. Now with the 2009 season started the former #1 draft pick of the Bears is finally showing why he was picked so early. His 720 rushing yards this season is the best amongst NFL running backs after 8 weeks of play, all while becoming the first player to rush for over 100 yards in a single game against the Baltimore Ravens shut down defence in 40 games. The reason why this subject came to mind today is because while facing his former team for the first time since being traded, Benson had perfect timing to have his best career rushing game, he ran for 189 and 1 td!!
Cedric, I hope you really got your life together and wish you the best of luck with the rest of your career.
Hockey is a violent sport at times and it seems like every now and then there is an incident that happens that got people saying cheap shot or not… On Saturday, while I was watching the Habs beat the NY Rangers, a particular hit came up during the highlights of the other games. The incident involving Mike Richards hit of the Philly Flyers on David Booth of the Florida Panthers is a prime example of the thin line between a good solid clean hit and a dirty foul play hit. I personally, after reviewing the hit several times, think it was a clean hit. Unfortunately, it looks like Richards almost killed booth on the play, even when seeing it in slow motion, Booth had just delivered a pass when Richards, wanting to hit him before the pass went off, didn’t have the time to avoid the hit. When the hit first occurred, a buddy of mine (who was watching the game with me) thought because Richards dropped his shoulder a bit, that it was a dirty hit but in my opinion, the game is so fast and when your about to hit someone your natural reflexes are to protect yourself and that is the reason why he dropped his shoulder. Hockey players do at times cross the line when it comes to hitting other players on the ice but again to me that one was a clean hit. After reviewing the play, the league decided not to give any suspensions to Mike Richards but that makes me wonder if the league is a little prejudice when it comes to players that have no history of violence… What I mean is, if Donald Brashear hit Booth the exact same way Mike did, because Donald is considered as a brawler, I’m 99 % sure he would have been suspended as he was on a similar hit in last years playoffs.
I have 2 questions for you… 1: was Mike Richards hit legal? 2: is there a double standard for star players and brawler type players?
see for yourslef…
Now remember, Mike was not suspended but in this next video, Brachear was…
The torch relay for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics starter yesterday,Thursday October 22nd from ancient Olympia in Greece. The flame will cover 45 000 kilometres over 106 days and will land in Vancouver on Feb. 12, the opening day of the 2010 Winter Games.
Since this is my first time doing it, I will explain how this will work. Every now and then I will tell you guys about a moment in sports history that imprinted my life. Feel free to comment and let me know your moment, your thought, and if you saw this how did it make you feel…
Moment #1
“LE” Clin D’oeil (the wink)
As a kid, growing up in the suburbs of Montreal, regardless of your gender, religion or skin color, you grew up playing hockey in the streets and a Habs fan! (except for 2 brothers on my street that were Boston Bruins fans… LOOSERS ) Usually the other kids never wanted to be the goaltender in our street hockey games because who ever was had to carry the goalie equipment ( back the the pads weighed a tone) as we went from street to street to find some challengers. I had no problems carrying the gear because in reality i didn’t have to carry the net and I ALWAYS was in the game. Naturally, Montreal had a star player, Patrick “LE” Roy, maaaaaaaan I idolized that guy, wanted to be him, wanted to have his confidence and arrogance all while backing it up. Well, One day I was watching the game against the L.A. Kings and Roy made this amazing save, looked up a the shooter and gave him a wink. After that moment he was a brick wall in front of the net. I mean… the ballz he had to do that, and back his stuff up too…. Geeeez Louize! For me, that was an inspiring moment in my life, it thought me to have confidence in my self and i would be able to achieve anything… or at least make people believe that that is true, either way you’ll get far in life.
They say… talk good about it, talk bad about it, just talk about… In some cases this might not always apply but in the George Laraque / Octane ad, I would say it does. I caught myself writing about my feelings towards this add and later on thought about it… If even I spoke on this highly controversial ad it must mean something. It’s crazy to say that an ad made for Youtube was depicted in all forms of media such as blogs, internet, newspapers and even televised news; the whole world heard about it. So whether it was a tasteful add or not, it was an ad that everyone saw it and had an opinion. I wonder if the genius’s behind 33mtl.com, which produced the ad and if the owners of Octane ever though that their product would get so much publicity…
With the Montreal Canadiens desperately needing a win, the Habs gave their “#1” goaltender a rest and started Jaroslav Halak against the Thrashers Tuesday night. Halak, not disappointing, came through allowing 1 goal on 23 shots sending both teams into shootouts, he continues his brilliant play by stopping both of Atlanta’s breakaway shots. Now let the debate begin… Should Carey keep his #1 status or should the Habs give Halak a shot at that title??? Here’s my dilemma, I truly believe that Price is a #1 goalie; the 22 year old has proven he can be but at times he looses focus and has minor breakdowns. Now that I cleared that… I can finally talk about HALAK! Last year I sent an email to 110% (a hockey analyst show on TV) about what I’m about to tell you; it was the subject of the day but they never got back to me… Anyways, this is basically what I said… Halak, whose scout report states that his downfall is his size because he wouldn’t last a full season as a starter. I say BULL S%*T! Again I don’t mean to cry “conspiracy” again but I think that’s all to protect Bob Gaines (Habs GM) “protégé” Carey Price. They say: “give Price a chance he’s only 22 years old”… Last time I checked Halak was only 24! This Controversy all started when, 3 years ago, Halak was called up from the minors to fill in for the injured, at the time, starter Cristobal Huet. What had happened was that the Canadiens were not suppose to make the playoffs that year but when Halak came in (near the end of the season) he goaled his ass of and single handily brought the Habs into the post season. Now, the Habs had a problem on their hands because in back of Bob Gainey’s head he knew that the following year he was going to have his rising star, Carey Price, on the team. So what did the Habs do? They benched Halak once the playoffs started and played a half injured Huet… SMH! That way, had Halak played and played well, they didn’t have a tough decision to make… Halak or Price?! The next year, without that controversy surrounding the team, Carey happily started the year along side Cristobal finishing first in their division, Bob Gainey is a genius right? The year after (last year) the team had a chance to trade Huet and they did, Halak was called up, splitting duties with Carey but always as his back-up. During the last season, Carey got injured or was not playing well (either way he was not there) Halak stepped in Won some many crucial games for the team (and I mean HE won those games) then comes along Carey on his white horse and cowboy hat and snatches the job away from Halak. Carey disappoints in the playoffs. So what I’m saying is that for some odd reason the Habs have never given the Czech Halak a fair chance at being #1. Again, I’m not saying that Carey is not a #1 goaltender, what I’m saying is that Halak needs his chance and if it’s not with the Canadiens, it should be with someone else. The Habs need to let him play a bit, make a decision and if that decision is to trade him at least they will get their moneys worth in a trade.
My suggestions to the Habs… Do it soon cuz his contract is up next year, you KNOW he CAN play so show him off a little; I’m tired of loosing players for a bag of peanuts and you know he’s not coming back if you don’t do as I say.
Btw, I really want to specify that Halak has not once complained about his situation, he’s professional and talented. Don’t slip up Habs…
Question of the day…
Who do you think the Canadiens will start against the Lonely Islanders Thursday night???
I was listening to CKAC sports radio on my way to work today and I was lucky enough to fall on an interview with a Hockey player’s father, Richard Riopel. Basically he talks about the route his son took to get drafted in the NHL. Nicolas Riopel, whom the piece was about, has really inspired me not to give up, keep working hard, be positive and your dreams will come true.
Perseverance is a virtue!
Press the link to hear the audio take of the interview, it’s worth the listen. Sorry it’s in French but if anyone wants me to translate let me know, I will be glad to translate it for you…
Really… What is this world coming too? I don’t know the circumstances of the event but is killing someone really necessary? On the October 18th, the night of Howard Jasper’s homecoming game with the University of Connecticut, a tragic story happened. After Receiving the game ball for his brilliant play in their victory, Howard went to a “welcome back” party on the school’s campus where ,a little after midnight, a fight broke out and he was stabbed. Tragically Howard was unable to survive the vicious attack and now leaves his family and teammates in mourning.
Air Jordan’s Son, Marcus Jordan, finds himself in the mist of some controversy. Recently committing to play basketball for the University of Central Florida, Marcus is stirring up some rifts between the school and their athletic sponsors: Adidas. You see Adidas supplies UCF with all their sports gear including their sneakers. Now MJ (Marcus) has reportedly agreed with wearing the Adidas made Unis. but will not, I said, WILL NOT wear Adidas sneakers to play. He says that he would be dishonouring his Families legacy by not wearing his father’s brand named shoes. Now Adidas is having a hussy fit over the situation threatening to pull away their sponsorship from the school if Marcus does not oblige the contract that states all athletes at UCF must wear nothing but Adidas while playing. My thoughts on this are that, contrary with the Laraque / Otane ad, Adidas may be causing more damage to their brand then good. Had they just made an exception for Jordan no one other then a few athletes and maybe fans would have noticed that he was not wearing Adidas, now because of the highly publicised situation everyone now knows. (cuz T Points just hit you with that info ) Adidas, unlike overseas, is not as strong as a brand as is Nike in North America and truthfully they are probably helping the Jordan Brand more than themselves. Nike/Jordan does not make apparel or sports gear for all sports but if Adidas pulls the plug, The Jordan brand may have to step in (because essentially they caused the riff) and make some, let’s say, Baseball Unis (how sick would those be!!) and in essence expanding the brands horizons even more (we all know about Air Jordan’s adventure in baseball right…) Really, I totally understand and agree with Marcus for wanting to wear his father’s brand, it’s his legacy, his family name and his honour to wear Jordan’s; how many athletes out there have the luck to say “my daddy’s name is on my shoes”? I know some may say that he shouldn’t get any special treatment and should do as all the other athletes from that school. But I say F%#@ that, his last name is JORDAN. Lay off the kid, make an exception, even the athletic director is behind him on the whole situation.
So to Adidas…. SMH!
I curious to know what you think… leave a comment!
So in an earlier post I said I would talk about Michael Vick’s return to the NFL, I waited and waited and WAITED for something positive to happen with the whole situation but is it just me or he has had a lot less impact then expected? Don’t get me wrong, the mere fact that he is back with all that he went through is enough to talk about, but I personally was expecting to deliver a crazy comeback story. I must admit I am a little disappointed that I truly have nothing to add. I still believe that by the end of the season Vick will have some sort of impact on the Eagles but so far… nothing. With the loss to the horrendous Oakland Raiders maybe Coach Reid will set up a better game plan to involve Vick a little more.
Please comment and let me know your thoughts on the Michael Vick situation.
*side bar: So far this year Vick has 5 passes with 1 completion for 1 yard and 6 rushes for 13 yards. Not quite the impact expected…
) Usually the other kids never wanted to be the goaltender in our street hockey games because who ever was had to carry the goalie equipment ( back the the pads weighed a tone) as we went from street to street to find some challengers. I had no problems carrying the gear because in reality i didn’t have to carry the net and I ALWAYS was in the game. Naturally, Montreal had a star player, Patrick “LE” Roy, maaaaaaaan I idolized that guy, wanted to be him, wanted to have his confidence and arrogance all while backing it up. Well, One day I was watching the game against the L.A. Kings and Roy made this amazing save, looked up a the shooter and gave him a wink. After that moment he was a brick wall in front of the net. I mean… the ballz he had to do that, and back his stuff up too…. Geeeez Louize! For me, that was an inspiring moment in my life, it thought me to have confidence in my self and i would be able to achieve anything… or at least make people believe that that is true, either way you’ll get far in life.
