Each week, The Reporters put their thumbs out to the good and the bad in the world of sports. This week, they discuss the country's fascination with Wayne Gretzky, NBA Commissioner David Stern, Lance Armstrong's former doctor, and putting an end to the Manti Te'o story.
Bruce Arthur, National Post: My thumb is up to Wayne Gretzky for no matter what he does or doesn't do; and more often now it's what he doesn't do. Whenever his name surfaces, and this week it was a connection with the President's job at MLSE – which I don't believe is actually going to happen – we will talk about it. It provides jobs in this industry, we all get something to talk about. The fascination with Wayne Gretzky, so long after he ended the greatest career in NHL history, never goes away; it endures. I don't think it will ever go away.
Steve Simmons, Sun Media: My thumb is down to NBA Commissioner David Stern. For all he does right, he also sits back and allows good franchises to be moved. He's done it five times in the last 12 years where he doesn't get involved, and now it looks as though the Sacramento Kings - a successful entity in its own city - will be allowed to move to Seattle. For some reason Stern doesn't do the Bettman thing; he doesn't fight for his cities, he doesn't fight for his owners.
Dave Naylor, TSN: My thumb is down to the former doctor of Lance Armstrong, Michael Ferrari, who came out this week and said Armstrong didn't need to use drugs; he would have won anyway. I don't like this for two reasons, one is it kind of clouds this whole issue at a time when we're starting to get some clarity on Armstrong's past and two, if he was going to tell that to somebody he should have told it to Armstrong, 15 years ago!
Dave Hodge, TSN: I would like to put an end to the Manti Te'o story by saying “enough is enough.” For us and for him and his family. We've all had our fun, it was hard to resist. But enough is not enough for one Ronaiah Tuiasosopo, the self-confessed perpetrator of this and apparently other such hoaxes. Te'o is a talented football player who may also be the most naïve, gullible, and – to be polite – not very smart person walking this Earth. But he's not a bad person and the other guy is. If Tuiasosopo didn't break any laws, somebody should write some new ones.