Don Cherry has always been one to have an opinion on just about everything. You might not like it but you always listened to it. Kind of like this page. I know a lot of you don't like what I have to say. Some of you even go on Twitter and take a shot at me, knowing I'm not on Twitter and I probably won't see it. I know who you are.
Cherry had escaped the sack more than once for things that would have seen others fired but his comments about "you people" was one too many. Any time you start a line with those two words, it won't end well and it didn't for Cherry. Sportsnet, which owns the rights to Hockey Night in Canada, gave him the boot on Nov. 11, rather ironic considering Cherry's words in the first place were about the poppy and how those people don't wear them.
Now, I agree with him that everyone should wear a poppy because it is the ultimate sign of remembrance. They do not glorify war nor do they promote conflict. Remembrance Day itself is to signify the end of the Second World War and the hope that it never happens again. We've come close but thankfully, it hasn't happened.
I didn't like what he said because I'm the son of an immigrant whose father fought in the Second World War with soldiers of all sorts of backgrounds. My late grandfather, James O'Neill, considered anyone who fought with the allies a friend, creed or colour be damned. He always defended the rights of the Gurkhas, the legendary soldiers who employ gonads of steel and who have the iciest of blood in their veins, and that they should receive the same benefits that British soldiers received. The Gurkhas were under British command during the Second World War, after all.
But I disagree with his firing. This was a chance for that "teachable moment" we all love talking about when someone steps out of line or says something unpalatable. We all know how soldiers of different backgrounds and faiths step forward to do the job 99.9 per cent of us would never have the courage to do. Why not have Cherry do a segment about that? He's not apologizing for what he said and that's fine because that's how Don Cherry rolls. With that in mind, Sportsnet could have had him talk with veterans of colour, Indigenous veterans, you name it.
There were so many ways to make this a positive. Firing Cherry only placated people who were upset with what he said and it won't stop there. You know it won't. Yeah, his words bothered me but plenty of people have said much worse and knowing my mother, she would have laughed it off and called him a rather naughty name.
Looks like they're for real
photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
The Toronto Wolfpack became the first team from outside Europe to make into Super League, the top competition of rugby league in the northern hemisphere. They did it by winning promotion from the division below earlier this year and are showing people that they mean business.
The Wolfpack went out and signed Sonny Bill Williams of New Zealand, one of the best players going today, and they're reportedly planning to pay him upwards of $10 million over the next two years. That makes him the highest-paid rugby player anywhere on the planet and while Super League has a strict salary cap, each of the 12 teams is allowed to sign one marquee player over and above the cap so long as they can afford it. Guess the Wolfpack can afford it.
If people didn't take the Wolfpack seriously before, they will now. Williams brings instant credibility to both the Wolfpack and to Super League simply because of his ability. Rugby league is where he got his start before he moved on to rugby union, where he won two Rugby World Cups with New Zealand. But rugby league is where it's at for Williams and he will no doubt be a force to be reckoned with.
The only thing I hope is that he doesn't pull a Gilmour and wreck his knee on his first set of six plays because if that happens, you can pretty much kiss any chance of the Wolfpack being a force goodbye.
And finally …
Good Idea: An inbounds play in basketball.
Bad Idea: Forgetting that you have to actually pass the ball to another player on an inbounds play.
It's one of the most basic plays in basketball: inbounding the ball when it goes out of bounds. It's one of the first things a player is taught. Eric Bledsoe of the Milwaukee Bucks obviously forgot that part of the game on Nov. 6.
Bledsoe was set to inbound versus the Los Angeles Clippers that evening after the ball had gone out of play. The referee handed him the ball and he literally began dribbling up the court. I had to take a look at this twice to make sure I was actually seeing Eric Bledsoe dribble up court on an inbound play.
The referee caught it right away and everyone wondered what was happening once the whistle blew. No, Eric, you can't simply dribble up the floor on an inbound, as much as several players would love to. There's one image that came to my mind when I saw that: LeBron James chewing out J.R. Smith in the 2017 NBA Finals after Smith blew it in Game 1 of that series.
Bledsoe was able to laugh it off and so can we because plays like this happen all of the time.
Until next time, folks …