There are about 5.5 million people in Finland. It’s the most sparsely populated nation in the European Union, with most of its inhabitants shivering away in the southern tier of the nation. The Finns also eat less red meat than the peoples of other developed nations.

This promises to be a spring unlike any other for Toronto sports teams. To be followed by a summer unlike any other as well.

One of the least reported stories from the sports world in 2018 was the legalization of sports gambling in the United States by its Supreme Court. 

It is a cliché in city planning that, adding roads to prevent congestion, in fact ends up in more cars and more congestion. 

Huawei Did They Go? That was the question on Saturday as Hockey Night In Canada hit the airwaves.

If Ken Hitchcock is the answer for the Edmonton Oilers, what is the question?

Probably something like, “Who did we piss off?" 

It was a staple of TV game shows. The grinning host on the stage. The dishevelled contestant looking dazed before him. “Do you want the $100 I am holding in my hand… or would you like what’s behind the curtain up on stage?”

One of these people being recognized at the Hockey Hall of Fame on Monday is not like the others. Martin St. Louis. Martin Brodeur. Willie O’Ree. Jayna Hefford. Alexander Yakushev. Gary Bettman. Hmm, wonder who?

The venerable Bob Cole is making his farewell tour of Canadian NHL cities this fall. The long-time play-by-play voice of Hockey Night In Canada is leaving the broadcast booth after 50 years of “Oh baby!” And “They’re going home, they’re going home”.

How forbidden was sports betting in society? Just ask Pete Rose. Even though the MLB’s all-time leader in hits never bet against his own team, Rose was given a lifetime suspension for making wagers on his sport. So there must be a bitter irony for the suspended-for-life MLB great in the news that the NHL is going mainstream with MGM Hotels in pro sports wagering.

These are difficult days for the people who play fantasy baseball or bet the sport. As the 2018 season comes to its conclusion with a Red Sox/ Dodgers World series, managers are taking apart the time-honoured strategies of the sport.

It was the NHL Final series of 2011. Vancouver versus Boston. It was more than just the best chance for a Canadian NHL team to win the Stanley Cup since 1993. 

The NBA season is upon us. And if you haven’t noticed, Canada is on the verge of becoming a hoops nation. Or maybe we should say Hoops Nation. But there are lingering questions of whether Basketball Canada can get its act together to employ all the best talent the nation is providing.

Legendary baseball manager Leo Durocher once growled, “Show me a good loser, and I‘ll show you a loser.”

For a moment he was lost in the throng. Then, like Gandhi emerging from the mass, he pulled free of the adoring throng. The noise, the exuberance of the crowd, their cameras soaking up the moment. All to proclaim. Tiger Woods, the People’s Champion. 

The problem with giving an athlete all the money he’ll ever need in his life is that he’s going to ask you for something that you can’t guarantee— no matter how much money you have. And that is a championship.

If you’re one of those who think that today’s uber-rich athletes are maybe a little got up on their societal importance, last week was not a great time to be a sports fan. From Nike playing the Colin Kaepernick race card to Serena Williams pleading for women’s rights, it was the agony of the feed from the culture mavens.

In retail the time-honoured phrase is “Under-promise and over-deliver”. 
In sports you might amend that to: “If your promise something you’d better deliver”.