Each week, The Reporters put their thumbs out to the good and the bad in the world of sports. This week, they discuss the Minnesota Vikings stadium situation, Josh Beckett's off-day trip to the golf course, Steve Nash being hired by Canada Basketball and Major League Baseball's proposed rule change for the fake-to-third, throw-to-first move.
Dave Naylor, TSN: My thumb is down to the Minnesota Vikings -- not for anchoring themselves in Minneapolis for the next three decades as they decided to this week -- but for doing so in an indoor stadium. You have to be 40-something to remember the days when Minnesota football meant battling the elements late in the season, the "Purple People Eaters" with steam coming out of their nostrils. We'll have to be happy with the Vikings temporary move outdoors to the University of Minnesota while the new stadium is being built, before they move back to a carpet and air conditioning.
Cathal Kelly, Toronto Star: My thumb is down to Josh Beckett, the $17-million Red Sox pitcher who really values his down time. A few years ago, I was standing on the field at Fenway during BP with another Jays' beat writer. We were watching Beckett and A.J. Burnett having what appeared to be a very deep conversation. The other writer looked me and said, "It must be a meeting of the Boston chapter of Mensa." It was a good line, but didn't go far enough in capturing exactly how dim Beckett is. There was last year's beer and chicken fiasco, followed by this year's golfing while injured fiasco. This week, Beckett tried to turn his entire Red Sox tenure into a fiasco with the most self-defeating press conference of all time. The takeaway line: "We get 18 days off a year. I think we deserve a little time to ourselves," proves there's a difference between age and wisdom.
Dave Feschuk, Toronto Star: My thumb is up to Canada Basketball for naming Steve Nash general manager of the national team. The move recalls Wayne Gretzky and the 2002 Olympics. But there's a big difference. For too long, too many of Canada's best hoopsters haven't viewed playing for their country as a priority. The hope is that a call from Nash can change that, even if that call might have to include an explanation about why Nash never suited up in his MVP prime. He's actually got a good excuse for that, not to mention a good chance to succeed here. No one's asking him to beat the Americans for Olympic gold. Beating, say, Panama for Canada's first Olympic berth since 2000 would qualify Nash as a great one.
Dave Hodge, TSN: Thumbs up to Major League Baseball for the proposed rule change that would ban the time-wasting, seldom successful and clearly deceptive pitcher's move that involves a quick fake to third base followed by a pickoff try at first. You know, it's the move that brings fans out of their seats yelling "balk" every time. Well, it's not, but it will be, and it should be. While they're at it, baseball's rule-makers should go ahead and disallow the fake move to second base as well.