Good day folks!!! Sorry I haven't posted in a while...I was on a much-needed vacation with my family for about 10 days in the great state of Florida. We enjoyed Disneyworld, Seaworld, and the Islands of Adventure to no end...you can't put a price on the enthusiasm of a child in any of those theme parks. It was fabulous!!!!
Of course, for the kids and my wife it was great...I also had a great time however for some reason I couldn't get my sports fix!!! To be more specific I couldn't get my hockey fix!!! Now, the last time I checked, there were 2 NHL teams located in Florida...the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Florida Panthers. The Panthers are basically out of the playoff picture but the Tampa Bay Lightning are still fighting for 7th or 8th position which will get them into the playoffs. This should be BIG news. It is also worth noting that the Lightning won the Stanley Cup in 2004...right before the lockout. Now with 2 NHL teams located in one state how come I can't get any NHL news? The only sports news I received was NCAA March Madness basketball!!! To those of you who aren't familiar with this we're talking about college/university basketball championships...not a professional sport but bigger than any Canadian sporting event to be sure. That being said I should still be able to receive updates and hi-lights from professional sports...at least from the leagues that are local!!! In Florida they have teams in every professional sport...Major League Baseball (Florida Marlins, Tampa Bay Devil Rays), National Football League (Miami Dolphins, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Jacksonville Jaguars), the National Basketball Association (Miami Heat, Orlando Magic) and the National Hockey League (Florida Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning). Yet I can only receive news from the NCAA (not professional), the NCWAA (the women's college/university basketball program...again non-professional) the NBA and some grapefruit league action...which is MLB's pre-season.
I'm sure I'm not the only individual who encounters this dilemma. I understand that Florida is not a huge hockey market however they are somehow able to support 2 hockey franchises in this state...someone down there must want to follow one or both teams. Florida is also known for it's abundance of Snowbirds...these are also known as retired Canadians who reside in Florida for the winter months. Hmmmm....let's see....Canadians in Florida during hockey season. That should equate to some people requesting hockey info especially as the playoff race tightens. For some reason that info is not supplied!!! I'm beginning to wonder if any of the news stations ever bothered to check what their viewing audience may want at different times of the year!?!?!? I doubt it!!!
Living in Ontario we have 2 NHL teams as well. The fan base is huge and when you watch Sportscentre or Sportsnet, hockey is front and centre in the news. However, I believe we have a higher sports IQ!!! We not only show the NHL we also show hi-lights of NCAA, MLB, NFL, NBA, Soccer, Cricket, Diving, Skiing, etc.
I'm not ashamed to say that, as Canadians, we have more sports knowledge and more sports savvy than the U.S. We're just too damn nice to pick up the phone and tell the station what we want to see...we're also too damn polite to tell the bartender to change the channel and find some NHL action!!!! Who knows...if more hockey news was broadcasted in the southern U.S. they might actually attract some fans!!! Remember when I said that Tampa Bay won the Stanley Cup in 2004??? They couldn't fill the arena...even during the playoffs...and they were giving tickets away!!!! Sad isn't it!?!?!?
If they spend as much time on the NHL as they do on the grapefruit league or NCAA I would bet the attendance would climb and the buzz would spread!!! After all, it's the best game in the world...if you know about it!!!!
Keep your stick on the ice...
All cheap shots and comments are welcome!!!
CHEERS!!!!
The Rokpig
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Friday, March 09, 2007
International Women's Day
Don't let the title fool you...I will tie this into the wonderful world of sports!!!
In case anyone missed it, yesterday (March 8th) was International Women's Day. A day to reflect on the changes that women have gone through since the early 1900's when they fought for, and won, recognition as human beings. Since then the feminist movement has been strong as they fight for equality with men...at times though, the line has been crossed.
I personally have no issue with women having the same rights as men however I have issue when they want more rights than men. I'm only going to address this issue from a sport's perspective as that's my area of expertise.
As far as I'm concerned, women should be able to play any sport they choose whether it's considered a man's sport or not. There are hockey leagues, basketball leagues, golf leagues, rugby leagues, football leagues, etc. that are all available as a men's league or as a women's league. What I don't understand is the need for a woman to try and play in a men's league if they already have a league of their own. If women are in pursuit of equality then they should try and achieve it without running the risk of a double-standard. Sadly, in sports we have a double-standard. It is now acceptable for a woman to try and make the cut and play in a men's league. In some cases it's even encouraged through sponsorship exemptions or clever marketing ploys...but what would happen if a man tried to join a women's league? Case in point...Manon Rheaume started a pre-season game in goal for the Tampa Bay Lightning against the St. Louis Blues. She only played one period, faced 9 shots and let in 2 goals. Good for her??? Yes. Good for the women's league??? I don't think so. Good for the Lightning? Absolutely!!! Phil Esposito even went on the record to state that putting her in nets was nothing more than a marketing ploy to get people in the building. What if a male goaltender wanted to play in the women's leagues? There's the Ontario Women's Hockey League, The Western Women's Hockey League, the Mid-Atlantic Women's Hockey League, etc...would that be acceptable??? Absolutely not!!! Have you heard of any of these leagues??? Probably not!!! Wouldn't that be a good marketing ploy to bring some exposure to these leagues??? I would say yes but would it be good for women's hockey??? I'd say no!!!
How about the world of golf? Michelle Wie continues to try and make the cut on the PGA tour. This one really confuses me. I would think that, before a woman would try and compete in a men's league she would have at least dominated somewhat in the women's league. I'm not taking anything away from her ability. She's one heck of a golfer. But there is a league for her to play in and it's called the LPGA...that's the Ladie's Professional Golf Association. Can you imagine the uproar if Tiger Woods decided to play in an LPGA event??? Same idea though isn't it??? And that's becoming a double-standard which is, by definiton...A set of principles establishing different provisions for one group than another. Does that sound like equality? It doesn't sound that way to me.
Again...don't get me wrong...I think women should be treated equally as men but at the same time the realization that men and women are different has to be recognized.
In case anyone missed it, yesterday (March 8th) was International Women's Day. A day to reflect on the changes that women have gone through since the early 1900's when they fought for, and won, recognition as human beings. Since then the feminist movement has been strong as they fight for equality with men...at times though, the line has been crossed.
I personally have no issue with women having the same rights as men however I have issue when they want more rights than men. I'm only going to address this issue from a sport's perspective as that's my area of expertise.
As far as I'm concerned, women should be able to play any sport they choose whether it's considered a man's sport or not. There are hockey leagues, basketball leagues, golf leagues, rugby leagues, football leagues, etc. that are all available as a men's league or as a women's league. What I don't understand is the need for a woman to try and play in a men's league if they already have a league of their own. If women are in pursuit of equality then they should try and achieve it without running the risk of a double-standard. Sadly, in sports we have a double-standard. It is now acceptable for a woman to try and make the cut and play in a men's league. In some cases it's even encouraged through sponsorship exemptions or clever marketing ploys...but what would happen if a man tried to join a women's league? Case in point...Manon Rheaume started a pre-season game in goal for the Tampa Bay Lightning against the St. Louis Blues. She only played one period, faced 9 shots and let in 2 goals. Good for her??? Yes. Good for the women's league??? I don't think so. Good for the Lightning? Absolutely!!! Phil Esposito even went on the record to state that putting her in nets was nothing more than a marketing ploy to get people in the building. What if a male goaltender wanted to play in the women's leagues? There's the Ontario Women's Hockey League, The Western Women's Hockey League, the Mid-Atlantic Women's Hockey League, etc...would that be acceptable??? Absolutely not!!! Have you heard of any of these leagues??? Probably not!!! Wouldn't that be a good marketing ploy to bring some exposure to these leagues??? I would say yes but would it be good for women's hockey??? I'd say no!!!
How about the world of golf? Michelle Wie continues to try and make the cut on the PGA tour. This one really confuses me. I would think that, before a woman would try and compete in a men's league she would have at least dominated somewhat in the women's league. I'm not taking anything away from her ability. She's one heck of a golfer. But there is a league for her to play in and it's called the LPGA...that's the Ladie's Professional Golf Association. Can you imagine the uproar if Tiger Woods decided to play in an LPGA event??? Same idea though isn't it??? And that's becoming a double-standard which is, by definiton...A set of principles establishing different provisions for one group than another. Does that sound like equality? It doesn't sound that way to me.
Again...don't get me wrong...I think women should be treated equally as men but at the same time the realization that men and women are different has to be recognized.
- They can't share a change room for obvious reasons
- Men are physically stronger than women
- Women tend to be more emotional...(there's no crying in baseball...Tom Hanks)
- Typically records held by men are higher than the one's held by women in the same sport.
To sum up...there are fundamental differences between men and women. The fight for equality is a good one and should continue. The fight for women to compete with men in a man's sports' league should be stopped. Efforts should be spent on trying to raise the level of awareness of women's leagues which would eventually create a market. Once you have a market you will get television contracts and sponsorships. Instead, you're wasting energy by creating a higher profile for men's leagues. Sounds like women's fight for equality is being won by the men...again!!!
That's just my 2 cents...
Thanks for tuning in!!!
CHEERS!!!
The Rokpig...
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