Sports Santa’s Wish List
With Christmas just about upon us, I have a secret email listing Sports Santa's Christmas Wish List.
1. Concussion – Cure and Prevention: On the day I intercepted Santa’s email – at least half a dozen NHL stars were out with concussions. Sidney Crosby, who missed nearly a year of hockey, has been out for three games after a “minor” hit to the head. How long will he be gone? The Flyers announced that captain Chris Pronger will miss the rest the season and the playoffs because of a concussion.  NHL point leader Claude Giroux sustained a concussion when a teammate kneed him in the head as he tried to jump over him as he lay on the ice. Ottawa’s Milan Michalek had the most goals in the NHL before a collision with a teammate put him out with a concussion. As the concussion list grows longer, long time fans realize two things. First, the league is finally taking concussions seriously.  Ten years ago Eric Lindros was supposedly told to take a few aspirin and keep playing. It took the Crosby hit to change the hitting rules and introduce concussion protocols to protect the players.
Making new rules and punishments are not enough once a player has been hit. If we can send people to the moon then someone out there must be smart enough to design a different type of helmet that could prevent some of these injuries. (I have read articles where they claim this is impossible… but the impossible has been done before.)
2. Toronto Blue Jays – Pitching for the 9th inning (also known as a closer): In 2011 the Toronto Blue Jays pitchers blew 25 saves; third most in all of baseball. In practical terms if the Blue Jays had won 15 of the 25 games that were blown they would have had 96 wins instead of 81 wins. A 96-win season would have put them second only to the New York Yankees who has 97 wins. A solid closer could have / would have been the difference.
This past week, for the fifth year in a row Blue Jays management believes they have acquired the closer they need. The 2012 Closer will be Sergio Santos, who earned 30 saves in 36 save opportunities for the Chicago White Sox. There is no reason to believe that the 29 year old pitcher can’t be the reliable closer the Jays need. However, since Santos has only one full year in the big leagues behind him, there is always the concern that he might not be any more effective than the last 7 pitchers who were name the team’s closer and then blew it.
3. New Sports Arenas: In our time of economic recession it is both unlikely and unwise for governments to pay for new sports arenas. However, since Sports Santa is a sports fan; if he could just build  a few arenas / stadiums in Canada – professional sports across the country could expand to new heights.  Here are some of the requests Sports Santa has received:
-Quebec City – new hockey arena. Please build this quickly as the Phoenix Coyotes still do not have an owner and the December 1 deadline of when the NHL wanted an owner in place has come and gone. (That is about the fifth deadline that failed to find an owner for the team). Quebec City would sell out every game – can they just move the Phoenix arena to Quebec City?
-Hamilton – new hockey arena – Once the Phoenix Coyotes find a new home (in Quebec) there are at least three NHL teams that could be for sale if there was a place to put them. Will the new owners of the Toronto Maple Leafs please allow another team in this the largest hockey market in Canada?
-Moncton – football stadium – With the right football stadium there could be a CFL team in Atlantic Canada. Pre season and regular season games have been well supported. Experts argue that there is not a big enough population base to support a CFL team. However, CFL teams have only 9 home games. Atlantic Canada has never has a big league team in any sport – the sense of community could / might keep and support a viable CFL team. (Since Sports Santa is paying for the stadium how can we lose?)
-Hamilton and Winnipeg are getting new football stadiums. The BC Lions just moved into an upgraded BC Place. Secretly Sports Santa paid for those arenas.So we say thank you for that.
4. Gratitude: Each of the above requests have their place in the hearts and minds of sports fans. However, the greatest gift we could have at Christmas time is a gratitude for what we have and often take for granted. I have been reading a historical fiction series set in World War 2. We are spoiled today when the phrase 'battle' is used to describe a hockey game not a military action that cost thousands of lives.
As we fill our bellies well past capacity on the Christmas goodies, I think of some POWs who were thrilled to find a turnip one day as they marched through the Philipines. Not only did they savor every bite of the turnip the three prisoners shared it with their friends who could not find a turnip.
Each of us begins 2012 facing various challenges, but if we take the time to literally count the many wonderful things we have in our lives, the attitude of gratitude can help us face future challenges with hope and confidence.