Despite the overdue sunny weather during the weekend, some still stuck it out inside their houses and cabins.
Those hiding indoors were not hiding from the floods, not in this area anyway, but from the swarms of bloodsucking mosquitoes. Those hiding inside could have found plenty of professional sports to follow to kill their time.
I didn't hide inside all week, believe me - just look at my legs when I have shorts on, looks like I have the chickenpox again.
It was busy week in the professional sports world - Kobe and Lakers won game seven of the NBA finals. Graeme McDowell was crowned the U.S. Open champion. The Toronto Blue Jays sit 14th on the MLB power rankings, but have Dustin McGowan set for surgery. The FIFA World Cup is taking over the world. The Saskatchewan Roughriders ended the pre-season winless. The NHL entry draft is days away.
Since I know a little about a lot of things, and not much of one thing, I figured this week would be the perfect time to give you my opinion on some of those headlines.
Starting with the NBA playoffs. Although some think it is a conspiracy, the Lakers and Celtics were playing in the finals, it was the best two teams playing off, without a doubt.
Even with Kobe Bryant being all but invisible in game seven, the Lakers' depth players clutched up and helped Phil Jackson win his record 11th championship as a coach. He is officially the God Father of basketball coaches after creating dynasties in both Chicago and Los Angeles. Having Kobe and Michael Jordan on your roster doesn't hurt when looking to build a dynasty either.
Something surprising, was that the NBA finals were among the most watched finals in Canada with an average of 576,000 fans watching.
Out on the links, McDowell made history as the first European to win the U.S. Open in 40 years.
Unfortunately the golf wasn't great on the weekend. The course was nearly impossible to par and the world's best golfers had a difficult time with their second, third and fourth shots. Maybe it is safe to say it was too hard.
The course was intended to sort out the good golfers from the great golfers, quickly. Some of those greats were disappointed with their final scores. Tigers Woods couldn't really come up with a positive from his round and he finished tied for fourth with Phil Mickelson. Having those two golfers in the top five is no surprise, but those two at +3 after the U.S. Open is more surprising than me finishing a round with the same ball.
In nine years the U.S. Open will be back at Pebble Beach, how much more course changes will happen by then? Will there be any fairway left, or will it all be cut into long rough. Maybe they need to put a windmill on the 11th green and use dynamite to get the course even more into the ocean.
The Blue Jays are still willing to fight in the American League East, which is a good sign, but they need to start having more runners on when they hit their home runs to keep pace.
The pitching staff is giving them a chance to win more often than not, but solo home runs don't seem to be the key to success.
Maybe it is time for some small ball. I have a total of three sacrifice bunts this season in seven games, the Blue Jays have five as a team in 70 games. The Jays also have the least steals in the majors, the third worst on base percentage and the fourth worst team average.
Hopefully having McGowan sitting on the DL isn't the official start of the Blue Jays' annual decline.
The sweet 16 soccer teams will start to be knocked out Saturday and the gold, silver and bronze medal winners from four years ago are looking anything but dominate this time around. Italy was second in group F, France was third in group A and Germany was second in group D. In soccer, maybe more than any other sport, the underdog has a chance. They run around for over two hours and sometimes don't score a goal. That is nothing like the elementary school soccer days I played in. If a goal wasn't scored in 10 minutes something was wrong.
In the CFL, the Saskatchewan Roughriders became the only team not to win a pre-season game and now they turn their attention to the season that really matters. Ken Miller and his team were a lot like Tiger Woods after the U.S. Open - there weren't a lot of positives Sunday, but fortunately for the Riders it meant nothing.
Darian Durant is prepared to once again quiet his critics and solidify his spot as an elite quarterback in the CFL's West Division. The Riders' receiving core is second to none and when Wes Cates is on he is dangerous. Special teams and defence have a question mark hanging over them, but like years before, the Riders are hoping the new crop mixed with the veterans will be the answer.
Last but not least, is the debate of Taylor or Tyler, which isn't much of a debate if you ask anyone who followed the major junior hockey events this season. Taylor Hall is awesome and with Jordan Eberle could be a cornerstone in Edmonton for years. His performance in the World Juniors and Memorial Cup has raised the bar heading into the draft this weekend.
There is also a good chance a former SJHL player, who gave the North Stars headaches, will be drafted in the first round. Jaden Schwartz, formerly of the Notre Dame Hounds and currently of the Tri-City Storm of the USHL is ranked in the top 30 players.
