By Jason Menard,
The riots in Vancouver were not perpetrated by fans; instead, this ugly blight on a beautiful city was caused by cowards who used a hockey game to fan the flames of violence and stupidity.
All over Facebook, Twitter, and traditional media, people are criticizing Vancouverites for the horrendous actions that followed the Canucks’ game-seven loss to the Boston Bruins. And while the criticism is warranted, it’s also misdirected. Continue reading
Yesterday’s New York Times ran a story about Phoenix Suns’ president and chief executive Rick Welts, who recently decided to come out to the sporting world. What should be a “so what?” moment, unfortunately, won’t be. And, despite Welts’ bravery, true change won’t come about until an active player walks proudly out of the closet. Continue reading
Bryzgalov, you see, went on an ignorance-filled rant against the Manitoban capital, castigating it for it’s cold winters, lack of excitement, and death of parks and family oriented activities. Of course, Bryzgalov is speaking from the vast experience he’s gleaned from at most two games played in Manitoba during his stint in the AHL. Continue reading
By Jason Menard
It takes a lot to besmirch the name Raffi. The Vancouver Canucks’ version is not only managing to do that, but he’s also shown that he may not even be as smart as the original Raffi’s target audience.
Raffi Number One is a global troubadour! The Egyptian-born Canadian has had a career out of entertaining children, mixing in social and environmental messaging and world music. Raffi Number Two, Canucks’ winger Raffi Torres, is also a Canadian. But that’s where the similarities end. Continue reading
If you could watch me watch a sporting event, you might be struck at how little passion I display. But I’ll tell you right now that I appreciate and enjoy sports more than I ever did in my youth.
The main reason? I’ve become less of a fanatic and more of a fan.
Despite the fact that the word fan is derived from fanatic, there are significant differences between the two terms. And the clearest distinction is that fanatics live and die with their teams; fans love the sport unconditionally. Continue reading
The M-Dash by Jason Menard 