Sports roundup

Buck, Belinda Beck and boxing

By Edward Zawadzki

Thursday, October 12, 2006

The world of professional baseball is mourning the loss of one of its most charismatic characters and spokesmen with the passing Saturday of 94 year old Buck O'Neill. A slick, hard hitting first baseman who barnstormed the Negro Leagues with contemporaries such as Satchel Paige, Ray Brown and Andy Cooper, O'Neill made baseball history in 1962 when he became the very first black coach in the majors when he signed on as a bench coach with the Chicago Cubs. Unfortunately O'Neill was never inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in his lifetime missing the cut in 2005 by a single vote. There may have been better ball players but as a true ambassador of the sport this special man will be sorely missed by all who ever met him and the likes of will never be duplicated.

After all these years toiling for the Maple Leafs as their resident enforcer it was off the ice the recently retired Tie Domi truly developed his scoring touch. From Hollywoods own Relic Hunter Tia Carrera to Liberal maven Belinda Stronach, Domi found the time for high romance while also building a financial and business empire, all while patrolling the wings for 16 total NHL seasons,11 full seasons as a member of our Toronto Maple Leafs.

Domi who faces the prospect losing a huge part of his wealth in his now public and messy divorce proceedings from long time wife and mother to his three children Leanne Domi, has proven himself a shrewd business man and will most likely survive any setbacks to his financial fortune. A less clear picture is just how this public mess will affect the political ambitions of reported Domi "friend" Stronach who has gained media fame in recent years for changing parties more than Paris Hilton on a Saturday night.

Trust me when I tell you that this is truly the year of the Tigers. How many people would have predicted just a few short seasons ago that this would be the team to post a stellar 95-67 record and knock off the legendary Yankees in the teams run for their first World Series title since 1984. It really seems like yesterday that the team set the American League record for futility when they lost an incredible 119 games in 2003. With a great roster of both talented young players and solid veterans, complimented with the managerial skills of Jim Leyland this is a team that will challenge for the gold for years to come.

Over the past couple of months I've begun to watch US conservative broadcaster Glen Beck on CNNs Headline News. If you can get over some of Becks over the top rantings you'll find that this is a guy with something constructive to say about the sorry state of the world today. The fascinating part that I have found is that on several occasions he is featuring stories and interviews which have been already been covered days before by CFP head honcho Judi McLeod and our crack team of feature writers. It truly is cool to see the CFP beat out such network and cable biggies to the scoop on important political issues. Way to go guys!

Watched the crap that they're trying to pass off as a heavyweight championship bout Saturday night when the walking freak show 7 foot tall Nikolai Valuev ko'ed fringe contender Monte Barrett 31-5 in the 11^th round to up his record to a totally misleading 45-0 with 33 knockouts. Yes, he may wear a major belt around his waist but the giant Russian just isn't a real champion in my humble opinion. Jack Dempsey, Joe Louis, Rocky Marciano, Ali and Mike Tyson, those were real heavyweight champs who love or hate them deserved the gold that proudly adorned their waste and held those who watched and witnessed in awe of their talents. I know that I may sound slightly prejudicial because of our close friendship but our own George Chuvalo would knock both of these tomatoe cans out in the same night as an hors derve and then proceed to hungrily devour the main course made up of Vladimir Klitszko and John Ruiz.

I'm sitting back here in my living room as I write this column watching the Chicago Bears completely dismantle and dominate the fairly respectable Buffalo Bills 40-7 in the fourth quarter and I truly am impressed with this wrecking crew of a team who has to be heavily favored to become the first Bears team to win the Super bowl since 1985. From QB Rex Grossman to one of the greatest defenses ever assembled led by reigning defensive player of the year Brian Urlacher and this years MVP favorite Tommy Harris to the brilliant coaching of Lovie Smith and his vaunted staff has truly made me a renewed fan of the Windy City.

This week's trivia question

Who is the only female hockey player to score a goal in a professional hockey league?

One of Canada's finest athletes, Saskatchewan's Hayley Wickenheiser has broken many boundaries in the world of women's sports. In 2003, she joined the ranks of male professional hockey players when she joined the Salamat team in the Finnish second division. On February 1st she made hockey history when she scored a goal against Titaanit in a 5-4 loss. Winning Wickenheiser, a fine multi-sport athlete, has represented Canada not only as a member of the 2002 gold medal winning hockey team but in the sport of softball at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

Until next time

Glad to announce that my new radio program can now be heard daily at 4.30 p.m. daily on radio station AM740. They are radio vignettes based on my best selling Ultimate Canadian Sports Trivia Books, Volume 1 and 2. Give it a listen and let me know what you think of the vignettes. I'd love to hear from you

Until next time

Copyright@ Edward Zawadzki All rights reserved