Weekly Takes - Monday, January 3 Edition

Weekly Takes - Monday, January 3 Edition

1. My three stars from the Maple Leafs dominant win over the Senators on Saturday…

1. T.J. Brodie

2. Ilya Mikheyev

3. Rasmus Sandin

2. My three stars from Canada’s 11-2 win over Austria on Tuesday…

1. Connor Bedard

2. Cole Perfetti

3. Mason McTavish

After two games, here is what my forward lines would have been if I was Dave Cameron for the rest of the tournament…

Perfetti - Shane Wright - Bedard

Kent Johnson - McTavish - Dylan Guenther

Jake Neighbours - Ridley Grieg - Justin Sourdif

Will Cuylle - Mavrik Bourque - Logan Stankoven

13th Forward: Xavier Bourgault

14th Forward: Elliot Desnoyers

3. Sadly, none of the above matters anymore, because our society has lost all sense of reality.

The easy answer is to blame the IIHF and Hockey Canada for not putting this tournament into a bubble (it is absurd that they did not) but there is a much bigger issue at hand here.

We are almost two years into the world knowing about the seriousness of this pandemic, and yet, we are still treating cases as if it is a precursor to hospitalizations and death.

That is… not the case. Vaccinations protect us against that. Boosters protect us against that.

Why, two years later, are we still acting the same? Vaccinations were the ultimate game-changer.

I truly have no idea what the end goal is here. Over 80% of the population is vaccinated. Tens of thousands are being boosted daily. The new variant is a regular flu to a vast majority of people, burning out prior variants that were a lot more deadly.

Are we just doing this every winter for the next X amount of years? What do we do with kids who were freshmen in March of 2020? What do we do with young people who have had their competitive sports cancelled for three years in a row? What do we do with small businesses that will never be able to recover?

We do not live in a Utopian. Risks need to be balanced. Despite what some in the media think, Theresa Tam is not God. Nor is Ryan Imgrund. These people have no idea what is best for society.

Power is addicting, so I understand a lot of people who previously did not have power prior to this pandemic do not want to let it go, but it is time. It is time for all of us to live our lives again. The damage we are doing to so many people is going to last generations.

4. None of this means we completely move on from the virus. That is not a solution either.

Giving every Canadian a proper mask to wear, ending the hygiene theatre, providing subsidies to businesses who invest in ventilation, and promoting vaccinations through education rather than mockery, on the other hand? These types of actions will let us live with the virus.

5. No one is more deserving than the season DeMar DeRozan is having right now.

An extremely flawed player coming into the league and throughout his prime years, he has gotten better every single season in every possible aspect and it has finally led to him being an MVP calibre player, even if it is at the age of 32.

In life, your ceiling is only what you let it be.

6. Speaking of DeRozan, with NBA All-Star voting now underway, here is who my All-Stars would be as of right now…

Eastern Conference Starters…

Fred VanVleet - Trae Young - DeRozan - Kevin Durant - Giannis Antetokunmpo

Eastern Conference Reserves…

Jrue Holiday, LaMelo Ball, Jimmy Butler, Jayson Tatum, Jarrett Allen, John Collins, and Joel Embiid

Western Conference Starters…

Steph Curry - De’Angelo Russell - Paul George - LeBron James - Nikola Jokic

Western Conference Reserves…

Mike Conley, Donovan Mitchell, Jalen Brunson, Dejounte Murray, Devin Booker, Rudy Gobert, and Jonas Valanciunas

Notable names left off who could still make it: Darius Garland, Damian Lillard, Kyle Lowry, James Harden, Bradley Beal, and Domantas Sabonis

7. Prime Antonio Brown is one of the greatest wide receivers in football history and based purely on his play, is a Hall of Famer.

He went from being an unheard-of sixth-round pick to stardom in a matter of months and did so by gaining the reputation of being the hardest working player in the league.

His downfall is beyond sad for numerous reasons and one can only hope it does not end with him doing something to himself or someone else.

The NFL should have gotten him help in 2019 instead of letting the Raiders, Patriots, and Bucs give him chance after chance despite his antics only getting worse and more dangerous.

8. My week 18 NFL picks…

• Steelers (+6.5)

• Bills (-17)

• Bengals (+1.5)

• Saints (-3.5)

• Texans (+10)

• Football Team (-4)

• Patriots (-2.5)

• Bears (+6)

• Cowboys (-3.5)

• Panthers (+16.5)

• Colts (-8.5)

• Packers (-11)

• Chargers (-1.5)

• Kansas City (-3)

• 49ers (+6.5)

• Cardinals (-5)

I went…. two for 12 in week 17, getting burned by the underdogs. On the season, I am now 118-122.