This is the August we’ll never know again, this August of curiosity, hopefully never to be seen again.
An August of sporting history, political and social, games with protests but not fans, games on our big-screen televisions every day and every night as we rarely leave home, life inside and outside bubbles, the perennial winter sports of basketball and hockey being played in this life-altering pandemic summer.
There is one day left in the month and already 202 NBA and NHL games have been played — almost seven a day, sports coming at us like we’ve never seen before — at a time we normally reserve for watching baseball, CFL, NFL pre-season and searching for golf balls.
This will never happen again, not like this, not under these circumstances, not with all these kind of twists and turns.
When the Milwaukee Bucks made history in walking away from their playoff game against the Orlando Magic, what followed was almost as fascinating. Within days the 81% black, primarily American NBA players figuratively locked arms in protest with the 94% white, primarily non-American NHL players. Two leagues and two sets of athletes that couldn’t be more different coming together: Suddenly together for more than Black Lives Matter. Together against social injustice. Stunningly together, against all odds.
This was August of 2020. This was a month, for many reasons, we’ll never forget.
THIS AND THAT
Take the home crowd out and who has the advantage in the Raptors-Celtics series that begins Sunday afternoon? In recent years, the Raptors have played terribly in Boston, the Celtics have played badly in Toronto, losing 11 of 14 games since Brad Stevens took over as coach. So what now, with piped in noise and two teams this good? … If Kyle Lowry plays in reasonable health, I think it’s a seven game pick-em series. If Lowry doesn’t play or can’t play impactful games, I can’t see the Raptors beating Boston … The Raptors and Celtics have never met in a playoff series. The Blue Jays and Red Sox have never met in a playoff series. The Maple Leafs have played the Bruins 16 different times in the post-season, with each team winning eight. And it’s been a while since the Leafs beat Boston. You have to go all the way back to 1959 to remember. The Leafs won two overtimes against Boston in that seven-game series on goals by Dick Duff and Frank Mahovlich. Mahovlich was 21 at the time. The Bruins’ Johnny Bucyk was 23 … Pascal Siakam has to play better than he did in the rollover opening round against the Brooklyn Nets. He has to dominate more, be more challenging off the dribble. And he has to match Jayson Tatum, who scored 27 points a game against Philadelphia. Boston doesn’t have as many scoring options as the Raptors do. A possible mismatch in the series: Serge Ibaka and Marc Gasol at centre against Celtics’ Daniel Theis and Enes Kanter.
HEAR AND THERE
How does Kyle Dubas explain Brayden Point to Maple Leaf fans? Point signed last summer in Tampa for three years and a cap hit of $6.75 million. Over the past two summers, Dubas signed Mitch Marner for $10.8 a year and the veteran John Tavares for $11 a year for longer term. It’s not much of a debate now: Point is a better player than either Tavares or Marner … This is when you know you’ve jumped from star to superstar: When you’re Nathan MacKinnon and have 20 points in 11 playoff games with Colorado. MacKinnon has never scored 100 points in an NHL season. But he’s scored at 111-point pace in 36 playoff games for the Avalanche and at 149-point pace this playoff season … Whatever chance the Bruins had at winning the Stanley Cup ended when Tuukka Rask chose to go home. Jaroslav Halak is a solid NHL goalie; Rask is a great one. You need great to beat Andrei Vasilevskiy and the Tampa Bay Lightning … I find it amusing that analysts were calling the Leafs winners for how they made out in the Kasperi Kapanen deal with Pittsburgh. They may well be winners in time, but until you know who they draft with the first pick they got from Jimmy Rutherford, how that player turns out, whether they trade the pick, and how they use the $3.5 million they freed up by moving Kapanen, you can’t assign a winner. If the Leafs spend the money on a Cody Ceci-type player and draft a Timothy Liljegren, it’s a loss. If they spend the money wisely and draft Nick Robertson, it’s a win … One thing about dealing with Rutherford: He has a history of finding undervalued players on NHL teams and dealing for them. The Leafs didn’t mind trading Kapanen. Rutherford is going to try him on a line with either Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin. Lots to chew on here … Department of go figure: The seemingly done Luke Schenn filling in on defence admirably for the Tampa Bay Lighting and Jamie Oleksiak playing 20-plus minutes a game for for Dallas. Weird thing with the less-famous Oleksiak: Dallas drafted him and traded him to Pittsburgh for a fourth-round pick. Pittsburgh tried him and didn’t like him, and sent him back to Dallas for a fourth-round pick. Now Oleksiak is partnering with Miro Heiskanen, the brilliant 21-year-old, and doing just fine.
SEEN AND HEARD
This is where you see a certain division between what NBA players are attempting and pushing for and how it doesn’t affect Canada or Canadians in any way. There is a big movement going on about voting in the upcoming U.S. election and NBA owners have agreed to open arenas for local voting polls. Canadians don’t vote for Prime Minister or judges or police chiefs or local propositions. The whole election system is different country to country … So sad to learn of the passing of Wayne Embry’s wife, Terri. She was a rather amazing women and not just because she spent 62 years married to this rather amazing man. Embry likes to tell the story of Terri marching on Selma, Ala., in March of 1965. A story that seems especially important now in the wake of this NBA week of protest. Terri went with Oscar Robertson’s wife, against the advice of their husbands to the march. Embry and the great Robertson were teammates and roommates with the Cincinnati Royals. Terri called their hotel on the road to let them know what was going on. Embry is so proud to tell that story and others about her. Condolences to the Raptors senior advisor and to his family … You can’t judge much from 30 games of a baseball season — especially in a 60-game season overall — but Teoscar Hernandez has been one of the better power hitters in baseball this half-season. What he’s done at the plate and what Randal Grichuk has managed, is impressive, with an asterisk. It’s just 30 games. That’s normally early May. This isn’t the norm. But so far, at the plate, so good.
AND ANOTHER THING
The U.S. Open begins Monday — one of my favourite events — but will any tennis tournament or any event for that matter miss fans the way this one will. New York fans are part of the identity of the Open. Can’t imagine a night match without them … Milos Raonic took apart Novak Djokovic on Saturday in the first set in Cincinnati, winning 6-1, then was quickly shown the door after that. The long-haired Raonic looks as ready for the Open as he ever has … The NHL took a first-round pick and a second-round pick away from the Arizona Coyotes, who had already traded away a bunch of draft picks, for violating draft workout regulations. And nowhere to be found, the former genius, John Chayka, leaving all kinds of trouble behind … Now coaching the Philadelphia Flyers: Rip Van Winkle … Inducted into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame on Saturday night: Calgary Flames’ Stanley Cup-winning coach and former Flyer, Terry Crisp … I loved the Marty Brodeur rent-a-car commercial the first time I saw it. Liked it the second, third and fourth time. Now I’d like it to go away … Asked Pat Gillick what he thought of the Blue Jays and he stopped in conversation to talk about Cavan Biggio. “He’s one of those players you can’t judge by a boxscore. Those guys are unique. I’ve always liked those kind of guys. They do things that don’t register in the boxscore. He’s that kind of player.” … What an amazing playoffs this has been for Kitchener’s Jamal Murray. Games of 40, 43 and 41 points in the five games Denver has played against against Utah. An average of 36 per game … Ross Atkins is on a roll. He will attempt to add more parts, primarily pitchers, before Monday’s trade deadline. And why not? He’ll need depth for his post-season roster … If Bruce Cassidy wants to be upset with anybody, why not Nick Ritchie who made a dangerous play and deserved to be penalized for his hit on Yanni Gourde? And it’s not a good look smirking on the bench when a opposing player is struggling to get up … Born on this date: Ted Williams, the greatest hitter there ever was … And a happy birthday to Jean-Claude Killy (77), Andy Roddick (38), Robert Parish (67), Jonas Hoglund (48), Noah Syndergaard (28), Warren Buffett (90), Chris Hadfield (61), Ray Elgaard (61) and Eddie Murray (64) … And, hey, whatever became of Alexander Semin?
ssimmons@postmedia.com
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ANDERSEN LIKELY WILL BE LEAFS FALL GUY
Before the Leafs traded Kasperi Kapanen to Pittsburgh, I asked a longtime hockey executive how he thinks the club will respond to losing to Columbus in the qualifying round.
“They’ll hang it on Freddie,” he said, referring to goaltender Frederik Andersen. “You watch. It’s probably not the right thing to do but I think they’ll do that. They don’t want to touch their big guys. They want to keep that group together.
“Freddie’s the easy move to make.”
Those comments were made before it was reported in the past week that Andersen’s name has been on the trade block and it was later reported that his agent, Claude Lemieux, had heard of the speculation and told the Toronto Sun ’s Terry Koshan that this “comes with the territory.”
Andersen has been a top-flight goalie in his four years with the Leafs, playing behind one of the NHL’s least responsible defensive teams. At times, over the years, he had been talked about as a Vezina Trophy candidate. But in losing four straight times in the first round — this season, really, before the first round began — Andersen has never won his team a round, the way Carey Price won a round, almost two, for Montreal this season.
Trading Andersen won’t necessarily be easy in a flooded goalie market but the options to replace him (to find someone to team with Jack Campbell) are many.
Is Andersen the Leafs biggest problem? Probably not. But around the hockey world there seems to be the belief his time in Toronto is coming to an end.
MARK IT DOWN: JAYS GOING TO THE PLAYOFFS
Just past the halfway point of this shrunken Major League Baseball season, this much is obvious: The Toronto Blue Jays will be going to the playoffs.
And I can’t think of the last time, halfway through a season, any season, where I made that kind of proclamation.
Bo Bichette is hurt, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., is just starting to find hit bat — they’re the future — and the Blue Jays have gone through pitchers the way most of us go through socks and still it’s pretty much a slam dunk that this team without its real home, will get a first round series in October.
A best-of-three with the very impressive Hyun-Jin Ryu starting the opener — assuming he’s healthy come October — which would give the Jays a rather remarkable chance to compete in a season that defies description.
All you need to make the playoffs in the American League is a .500 record or thereabouts. Eight teams qualify for the post-season. Eight of 15.
There are currently seven teams in the AL below .500, the best of them being the Baltimore Orioles, who are dropping like a bad stock. The Angels are 11 games under .500. The Red Sox are 12. With 30 games to go, there isn’t a sign that any of the bottom teams could win anything close to the 20 remaining games
The Jays may be spotty defensively and with dubious starting pitching, but they have more than the terribly weak teams behind them. If they win half their remaining games, play .500, they’ll be in. Believe it.
Copyright Postmedia Network Inc., 2020
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