Sports & Society

Welcome to Bizarro, Arizona. 

Population: Four Professional Sports Teams

Established: 2009

Ok, can I see a show of hands of everyone that believed this is how the Arizona sports scene would look like half way through 2009?  Anyone?  No, no one.

Well at least you are not alone.

To think that the Arizona Cardinals are not only the best team, but have the best running organization, is a sight I would have never believed.

With the Stanley Cup and NBA Finals just now concluding, many sports fans have had to face the dubious task of who to root for now that their team missed the playoffs or got knocked out.

There are fans who just cheer for their team, and could care less about the greater excitement the actual sport provides.  For them, it doesn't matter.  But for others, this process of team selection can be either very technical in nature or rather whimsical.  In my case, I need to cheer for someone, and it makes the results more interesting.

I gotta tell you I’m pretty bummed out today.

It was my birthday yesterday and I had a good time with friends, but I woke up today feeling a little achy, a little dull, a little empty.  The Red Wings lost the Cup, and I’m feeling a little low.

This makes me contemplative and got me to wondering about how invested we can become with our sports teams, such that a guy like me, who doesn’t really get down about anything, can be so affected by the outcome of a hockey game that is essentially meaningless to the bottom line of his life.

Do you ever wonder just how talented our athletes today are? Sure, they are fast, athletic, agile, and strong... but can they act?

With the NBA Finals getting into full swing and the Stanley Cup winding down, I wondered what would happen if some of the players tried to fill certain roles in sports movies.

Obviously, they would have to try something close to type. I don't expect them to go out and start winning Oscars on their first try.

They can't all be Shaq.

Seth frantically tried to re-contact the office and reach Melissa on her cell phone, which he knew almost never had a full charge due to the fact that she was a compulsive text-messenger.

It took over an hour but he finally got through to his assistant/Secretary (oops…Administrative assistant, Seth chided himself)/ Receptionist.

The rest of the story:

Chapter 1

Captain Canada is not just a cartoon character or the name given to the captains of hockey teams representing hockey-mad Canada. It's also the name given to Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau when he was as popular in Canada as President Barak Obama is in the USA.

Bankruptcy court gave the NHL and Jerry Moyes of the Phoenix Coyotes two weeks to figure out who's in charge of the team.

The NHL will argue its case in court on May 15, according to the Calgary Herald. Moyes will make his case May 17, and both will face the judge on May 19.

Meanwhile, a letter from Moyes appeared in The Arizona Republic saying, essentially, "I still own the team." And Jim Balsillie got back-up in the form of major corporate sponsors for the Coyotes if they move to Canada.

In Sean Avery's exit interview at Madison Square Garden, after the New York Rangers lost Game Seven of their playoff series with the Washington Capitals, he told reporters his plan for the summer was to have more fun than you can imagine.

Since then, the Capitals have lost to the Penguins and Avery has been to Jamaica and back, gone to the New York City Ballet, given his suits away, and gone on radio to say he's looking forward to next season with coach John Tortorella, who challenged the team to show up in better shape after this summer.