Sports
Kelly: The Irish are just happy to be at Euro 2016, and we should be thankful
In 1997, I attended my only game as a supporter of the Irish soccer team. It was held in Brussels. The winner would go to the next summer’s World Cup.
The Irish lost, as they are generally wont to do. It ended in farce with striker David Connolly petulantly kicking a Belgian opponent and being ejected.
Up to that point, it had been a brilliant, if blurry, couple of days. My strongest memory is of an ersatz Irish pub near the Bourse so rammed with visiting fans, they were climbing out second-storey windows rather than taking the stairs.
As is always the case with the Irish on tour, it was very drunken and entirely peaceful. Even the cops seemed amused.
But in that moment, it felt like it could go the other way. As Connolly trudged off the field, the mood soured. We were sitting hard up against the Belgian fans, separated by plexiglass barriers. Someone began shouting. Then someone else began chanting the ugliest curse the Irish could think of in the moment: “You’re French. And you know you are.”
By soccer rhetorical standards, this is weak stuff, but the Belgians weren’t amused. They began gesturing angrily. The chant picked up, 10,000 of us versus 60,000 of them. And it was a long walk back to the train station.
It was at this moment that an anonymous hero in the Irish ranks began frantically waving a Greek flag. Why Greek? No idea. But the chant changed seamlessly into, “We’re Greek. And we know we are.”
If there had ever been a problem, it dissolved in that moment of absurdity. After the game, we went back downtown for another bleary, beery night, most of it financed by consoling locals.
That scene is played out again and again wherever the Irish go. They know their team isn’t up to much. The best that can be said of every decent side in Irish history is that they punch above their weight – and they weigh a lot less than most.
“The Irish fans and players showed us what the game is really about,” Spanish manager Vicente del Bosque once said after they’d sung their way through a whipping by his European champions.
The Irish squeaked into this Euro. They don’t stand a chance here. You’d never know it to see them.
They were out in force in Paris on Sunday night. You can tell the good travelling support by the mix – it’s not just men, it’s not just young, and they’re not all clinging to each other tribally.
The Irish are out there roaring in the bars, drunk but never ridiculous, looking to make friends.
I watched one well-lubricated fellow in Irish kit wander out of a bar, stagger into a kebab shop across the street, walk behind the counter (!) to shakily request service. He was gently put in a seat. A call was made. A few moments later, a female bartender came across the street to collar him and bring him back.
Oh, Europe. This is why you’re better than us.
They were quieter on their way to Monday’s game. They surrounded the Stade de France in a gleeful encampment. Their opponents, the Swedes, are likewise noted for being good guests.
There was no separation between opponents. They mingled freely, singing and dancing and shotgunning pints.
The closest thing I witnessed to a shocking scene was provided by one young, overrefreshed Swede who had painted a very, ahem, notable part of his anatomy in Irish colours. He could not stop pulling down his pants to demonstrate his enthusiasm. That he remained unpunched and unarrested is a small miracle of cross-cultural understanding.
The atmosphere inside the arena was just as vibrant. You expect people to be respectful of each other’s anthems. Here, both sides raucously applauded each other’s national songs in one of those small moments that can catch you off guard.
It is unusual and moving to see people who should be arrayed against each other – I mean, that’s the whole point of playing the game – rushing to publicly embrace one another. You don’t see it often where we’re from, and it really gets me.
Perhaps the best measure of the friendliness on supply was that when the Swedes unfurled a massive tifo banner in their own end, it included the Irish colours.
It was a pure expression of the admiration that is so often contrived at these events. The displays were all so wonderful that when the game kicked off, it seemed like a small anti-climax.
The game itself? Pretty awful for the entire first half. So bad that Sweden’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic – far and away the most talented player on the field – could hardly rouse himself above a sullen walk. It’s difficult to play a violin concerto when your accompanists are 21 guys banging rocks together.
But in the second, the quality of the product began to match that of the audience.
The Irish scored, which was a nice surprise. Then they scored again, on themselves. Which was less nice as well as less surprising.
(Another nice encapsulation of the very different, but complementary Irish and Swedish psyches: After the match, a sympathetic Swede in the pressroom approached an Irish reporter. Swede: “That was a bit depressing. I am sorry for you.” Irishman: “Why? We scored twice!”)
If you watched it, you’d probably agree that a 1-1 draw was a fair result on more than one level.
This keeps the party going for at least another week. Ireland’s in with a slim but realistic shot to advance.
But winning isn’t the point when it comes to this team and its fans. Just being there is. Just being part of something.
Given the way this tournament has started, with atrocious scenes of violence farther south, the Irish seem more necessary than ever. More necessary perhaps than the soccer countries better known for their skill than their generosity of spirit.
Del Bosque had it right.
The Irish and everyone else willing to come here open-armed remind you what games – all of them – are really about.
Every year, a raft of exciting new players come onto the scene across all of the major US sports. With the MLS season getting underway and the NFL and MLB drafts not too far away, now is a great time to look at the young sports stars that could have a very bright future ahead of them, and the ones that are already proving they are destined for greatness.
Theo Bair (MLS)
This MLS season is looking like it could be one of the best yet, with David Beckham’s Inter Miami team adding some extra dazzle to the league. Whilst Beckham might be able to attract a lot of new players to his MLS team, there are a lot of young stars on their way through such as Theo Bair at Vancouver Whitecaps. Bair has already made an impact on the first team and after impressing at under-20 and under-23 level for the national team, he has made two appearances for the senior team, well before his 21st birthday. This year could see Bair make a real name for himself in the MLS.
Source: Pixabay
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (MLB)
Montreal-born Vladimir Guerrero Jr has one MLB season under his belt but it looks like the best is still yet to come from him at the Blue Jays. He was heavily backed to take the league by storm but he failed to live up to the hype that surrounded him. Without the pressure of being the top-ranked prospect, this season could see Guerrero play with some weight lifted off his shoulders. He has been working very hard on his fitness over the offseason, something that his manager Montoyo has been quick to comment upon.
“Baseball” (CC BY 2.0) by andrewmalone
Connor McDavid (NHL)
McDavid has already established him as a top hockey player but at 23, he has the potential to go on to do so much more. The player was born in Ontario and was the first overall draft pick, showing how much expectation was already on him at that stage but he has gone on to prove that he is one of the best players in the NHL. McDavid could go on to be one the NHL’s best-ever hockey players and this season could be the year that he shows the world, not just the NHL.
Chuba Hubbard (College Football)
The Oklahoma State Cowboys running back has been making the headlines for several years now. He continues to improve and grab more attention for his impressive stats and performances. He was close to being a sprinter and nearly made the Canadian Olympic team before switching over to football. He is passing up the 2020 NFL draft to play his senior season at Cowboys. He should give them a good chance of winning the College Football Championship, though they’re trailing at the seventh spot in the latest American football odds at +2400.00, with Clemson as the current betting favorites.
2020 will definitely be a very exciting time with some of these young stars looking to breakthrough in their respective sports and show the world what they are capable of.
Bob Baffert is back at the Kentucky Derby with early favourite Justify after watching the race from his sofa in Southern California last year.
The Hall of Fame trainer’s ability to produce Derby contenders year after year is an enviable feat and why his absence a year ago stood out. It was just his second since 2009 and occurred because his lone candidate got hurt.
Baffert will saddle Justify and 30-to-1 shot Solomini in Saturday’s Derby.
Justify is one of the greenest colts Baffert has brought to Churchill Downs. He’s won all three of his starts by a combined 19 lengths. If Justify wins, he’d be the first to do so since Apollo in 1882 without racing as a two-year-old.
“The thing about the Kentucky Derby, you have to have the right horse. It just happens. You can’t force it,” Baffert said. “All of a sudden, you have good horses and you’re there. So I’ve been really fortunate to have some really good horses.”
Baffert’s four victories are tied for second-most in Derby history. He’s finished second three times, too, including in 2012 with Bodemeister, also the last time he had two starters in the same year.
Like Justify, Bodemeister didn’t race as a two-year-old. He set a blistering pace and led the Derby until the final 150 yards when I’ll Have Another overtook him to win by 1 1/2 lengths.
Magnum Moon, the 6-to-1 third choice, also is unbeaten and didn’t run as a two-year-old.
“It’s going to happen,” Baffert said, referring to the curse being broken. “Whether it happens this year or whatever, but it will happen because Bodemeister almost got away with it. But I don’t really worry about that.”
Baffert almost had a third starter this year until McKinzie developed a hind-end issue that knocked him off the Derby trail.
“When McKinzie got hurt, I wanted to throw up,” he said. “I really think McKinzie would probably be second choice here. We’d really have a 1-2 here.”
Justify cleared the biggest pre-Derby hurdle by drawing the No. 7 post. Jockey Mike Smith can use the colt’s early speed to position him well for the long run to the chaotic first turn. Solomini ended up in the No. 17 post; no horse has ever won from there.
Baffert turned 65 in January, making him eligible for Medicare and retirement at most other jobs. However, he entertains no such thoughts.
“I work hard at it. I just don’t give up,” the white-haired trainer said. “I’m constantly meeting people. They’re sending me horses. If you don’t have success, you’re not going to get those opportunities.”
After a successful run in the quarter horse ranks, Baffert switched to thoroughbreds. He started with one horse.
“After 25 years, I’m finally getting horses that I don’t have to buy,” he said. “The big guys are sending me horses.”
None was bigger than American Pharoah in 2015. The colt swept the Derby, Preakness and Belmont to become racing’s first Triple Crown winner in 37 years.
Baffert has compared Justify to American Pharoah, citing the colt’s imposing physical presence and big stride. Still, Justify has yet to encounter the kind of traffic the Derby’s 20-horse stampede creates and the talent as he’ll run against on Saturday.
“I’d rather have a really talented horse than one who’s seasoned and just on par with the rest of them,” Baffert said.
Early on, Baffert knew Justify had the goods.
“The first time I worked him at Santa Anita, I knew he was a really good horse,” he said. “The track was really deep that morning, and he went around there effortlessly. His first race, he ran incredibly and showed how special he was.”
That kind of intuition is what separates Baffert from his rivals, fellow Hall of Famer trainer D. Wayne Lukas said.
“Bob’s got a great feel for it,” he said.
NASHVILLE — The hurtin’ tune that Auston Matthews has been singing for the past four weeks finally can be put in the remainder bin in Music City.
The Maple Leafs’ top centre on Wednesday declared himself set to return to the lineup after recovering from a right shoulder injury.
Wonderful timing, of course, considering the Leafs will take on the No. 1 club in the National Hockey League, the Nashville Predators, on Thursday night.
“In my mind, I think I’m ready to go and taking it as I’m getting ready to play (Thursday),” Matthews said after resuming his normal role, between William Nylander and Zach Hyman, during practice at Bridgestone Arena.
“It felt good, nice to get in all the reps and everything. (Wednesday) was a good step forward in that process, going through the line rushes.”
It seemed probable that the Leafs also will have defenceman Nikita Zaitsev, who missed the past five games as he recovered from an illness, against Nashville. Zaitsev was paired with Jake Gardiner, his regular partner, at practice.
For Matthews, it has been 10 games as a spectator with his latest injury, his third of the 2017-18 regular season after he missed four games in November with a back issue and then sat for six in December because of a concussion.
Thursday will mark four weeks since Matthews was hurt when he was sandwiched by the New York Islanders’ Cal Clutterbuck and Adam Pelech in a game at the Air Canada Centre.
A major bonus for Matthews in his recovery has been the fact he has been able to skate though much of his recuperation. That was not the case when he was out with his previous two injuries.
It’s worth noting that Matthews scored two goals versus the Montreal Canadiens upon returning on Nov. 18 from his back injury; in his first two games upon coming back from a concussion, he scored a goal in each.
Mike Babcock said a final decision on the participation of Matthews and Zaitsev against the Predators would be made on Thursday morning, but the Leafs coach was talking as though it would be a rubber stamp.
“This is going to be the best opportunity for (Matthews) because he has been able to skate and compete,” Babcock said. “The other times he was not able to do anything.
“To get him back … it’s still going to be going way faster than he has been practising, so there is going to be an adjustment period, but he’s a good player and he will figure it out.”
Defenceman Morgan Rielly didn’t think Matthews will take long to find his footing. Rielly missed six games in late January/early February with an arm injury, so knows what Matthews could be feeling.
“You’re nervous and you just want to get back into it,” Rielly said. “You play your first shift a bit hesitant, but after that it’s important you get back to yourself.
“It’s never easy, but Auston is one of those guys that I will imagine it won’t take long for him to get back into a rhythm.”
And there’s the trickle-down effect through the forward lines with Matthews in uniform.
“Guys are used to playing with certain players and when everyone is healthy, I think you get better chemistry throughout the entire lineup,” centre Nazem Kadri said. “Certain guys don’t have to play with different guys constantly and it’s just more of a set group, so I think it’s going to help us.”
