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I used to be a Roberto Luongo guy.
At the Prospects’ Game in 1997 at Maple Leaf Gardens, I sat with Mike Milbury who turned to me during the game and said: “I love this kid, I’m going to take him.” And there was nothing to disagree about.
When he played for the Florida Panthers, I used to argue that if Luongo wasn’t the best goaltender in the National Hockey League, he was certaintly top three. Twice, I’ve picked him as a pre-season most valuable player.
That was before Vancouver, before his strange captaincy, before Olympic gold. Can’t say I’m a Luongo guy anymore. I’ve seen too many flaws. I’ve seen too many nights he was supposed to great and wasn’t. I’ve seen too many playoff series like this one, where he doesn’t rise to the occasion.
This is not the next Patrick Roy or Martin Brodeur. The statute of limitations has run out on that happening. You can’t allow 11 goals against in two home playoff games and expect to win anything, let alone be anything.
Luongo leaves you expecting more, wanting more. The great goalies win games when it matters most. He doesn’t.
This and that
Whatever it is the Blue Jays were supposed to be doing, they’re doing more. Alex Gonzalez leads the American League in extra-base hits. The team is pounding home runs and getting terrific starting pitching. And that’s without the young stars, Aaron Hill and Adam Lind, delivering much. In a city starving for any kind of team with promise, shouldn’t we start falling in love again? Or will it only break our hearts? ... Since the Stanley Cup playoffs began, I’m feeling much better about voting for Tuukka Rask over Jimmy Howard on my rookie-of-the-year ballot. Even if Howard ended up a finalist and Rask did not ... Roy Halladay is 6-1 and looking unstoppable and the great Philadelphia Phillies had the same number of wins Saturday as did the poor, bottoming-out Blue Jays ... What drags out longer, the plotlines on The Young And The Restless or an NBA playoff series? ... In honour of JaMarcus Russell being released by the Oakland Raiders, the website streetlevel.com listed the 11 worst sporting contracts of the past decade. Two had Toronto connections — Jermaine O’Neal and Vernon Wells. Not on the list, but always worthy of conversation, the Jeff Finger contract.
Hear and there
Time was, we knew and cared who the Canadian heavyweight boxing champion was. Now, we give you this public service announcement: The Canadian champ, Neven Pajkic (and put up your hands if you’ve ever heard of him) will again fight former champ Greg Kielsa (not a household name in his own home) for the grand title. And no, their first bout wasn’t all that terrible ... Can’t understand NBA all-star voting. There are two shooting guards (Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade) and no point guards on the first all-star team and two point guards (Steve Nash and Deron Williams) and no shooting guards on the second team ... A hockey worry: With both Boston and Montreal playing versions of the neutral zone trap and having playoff success, will others follow suit in the future? ... And trap aside, the hooking and holding that was supposed to be gone from the game is back every time Hal Gill plays a shift ... Whose idea was this? Ilya Kovalchuk, of all people, is the captain of the Russian team at the world championships. Good for Kovalchuk, sans contract, and having turned down $100 million US, for playing in the tournament. But a captain? I don’t think so.
Scene and heard
My first reaction to the news that sportscaster Sean McCormick is running for Toronto City Council is that the guy must be crazy. Upon further review, I thought: “He’s married to Jennifer Hedger.” Is that crazy or really lucky? ... To put Jamie Moyer’s complete-game shutout at the age 47 into some kind of perspective, consider this: When Moyer threw his first major league pitch, Cliff Johnson was the Blue Jays’ designated hitter and the youngest member of the Jays starting lineup was shortstop Tony Fernandez at 24 ... Any hockey player, young or old, could learn something watching Mark Recchi find open space in the offensive zone ... Not enough was made of the crowd of 77,803 in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, for the Germany-USA hockey opener at the world hockey champ. “It was fantastic,” Brian Burke, who doesn’t wow easily, said by e-mail. “And it started long before the puck was dropped. I will never forget the noise in the building last night.” ... If there’s a better charity event than the Baycrest hockey tournament, I’m unaware of it. What a weekend of big smiles for old slow broken down pickup hockey players. Got to play against Guy Lafleur, which was an honour and a treat. And got to play with Marty McSorley, a big-hearted, engaging, funny man who is the perfect player charity teammate.
And another thing
Four words that should appear on Lawrence Taylor’s eventual tombstone: What were you thinking? ... The greatest pro athletes in Canadian history: 1. Bobby Orr; 2. Wayne Gretzky; 3. Steve Nash ... The best thing commissioner Mark Cohon could do to improve the quickly growing CFL draft on television is remove himself. He gives that infomercial look, like he’s selling something ... Anybody who watched Lennox Lewis on HBO knows why he’s been let go from their boxing broadcasts. Lewis had nothing to say ... The Boston Bruins future, courtesy of Rask and either Taylor Hall or Tyler Seguin comes courtesy of your Maple Leafs ... One of the problems David Braley inherits as owner of the Argonauts is a lousy lease from Rogers Centre. The Argos had an excellent lease but, for some reason, previous management let it lapse and Braley will end up paying for it ... I’m sure Monica Seles has no problem with any fan being Tasered for entering the playing field ...Happy birthday to Steve Yzerman (45), Vernon Fiddler (30), Doug Christie (40), Mark Tinordi (44), Tony Gwynn (50), Billy Joel (61) and Candice Bergen (64) ... And hey, whatever became of David Harlock?
steve.simmons@sunmedia.ca
http://twitter.com/simmonssteve