So preseason game number two for the Sens brought some interesting information forward and provided a little bit of reassurance for the naturally fretful Ottawa fan. The big three seemed to have picked up where they left off, each scoring a goal. Spezza was the most impressive, driving the net for his goal and dominating the faceoff circle. His continued development as a strong faceoff man is a huge plus for a team that has traditionally struggled in that role. Alfredsson laid a hit on the opening shift, starting the preseason with a nice mirror of his start to last year's playoffs. Wade Redden produced two assists as did Cristoph Schubert, making a strong case against the push to use him as a forward again this year. Nick Foligno had another strong game, producing a pretty goal and a nice pass for his goal and assist while delivering the sort of straight ahead effort that will be more important in his making the team. Other top prospect, Brian Lee, again looked strong and confident though he is clearly going to be better served by playing in the one spot in Binghamton instead of the six or seven spot in Ottawa. As a team, there were some sloppy breakouts and disorganized penalty killing but these are things that they have a couple of weeks to work out.
Last night's opponent, the Washington Capitals, demonstrated that at least one of last years non-playoff teams will be more difficult to contend with. Especially notable was the performance of their two new Swedes, veteran Michael Nylander and rookie Nicklas Backstrom. Though held off the score sheet, they demonstrated great puck skills and offensive flare in often cycling the puck and controlling their shifts. Ovechkin continues to show his tenacious nose for goal-scoring areas and Tom Poti gives them a legitimate threat from the point on the powerplay. They skated well last night and there are enough prospects pushing for a chance that internal competition should keep most of their players sharp on most nights. They could be a surprise team in the East this year, especially if they can provide a little defensive protection for Olaf Kolzig.
The other Ottawa team, the one whose name starts with a 6 and ends with an S, started their regular season with a come from behind win. They got a game-winning goal from top pick Michael Latta and strong performances from holdover stars Tyler Cuma and Logan Couture. They showed some scoring balance which was a big problem last year.
The other big story of the past couple of days and the one which raises some interesting topics for discussion beyond the field of play was the comments from Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb with regards to the continued obstacles faced by black quarterbacks. Racism remains an issue despite all the progress that has been made by minorities in North America and McNabb is probably right that there is still more scrutiny of the NFL's black pivots than of mistake-prone white quarterbacks. The bigger issue, however, is probably the reaction of some that he is looking for excuses and trying to resurrect a dead issue. If young black quarterbacks, like Tennessee's Vince Young haven't faced the same problems that is cause for celebration but it is also not an excuse to ignore the fight that previous generations had to put into getting to the position where they could carve a path for the younger men to follow. The abandonment of any sense of history and the seeming believe that progress gained cannot be lost seem to be a plague that afflicts many these days. The backlash against people who continue to push a civil rights agenda, be they women or homosexuals or visible minorities, shows a surprising intolerance and unwillingness to engage in discussions that remain important regardless of how the situation has changed. The importance of freedom of speech is often trumpeted as a great accomplishment of Western democracy but self-censorship is beginning to undermine that freedom. Important topics are ignored because of potential offense or because of a fear of defending a position. I'm not sure if the fear is a result of an inability to articulately express the reasons for a certain belief or because of a fear that asserting a position undermines the tolerance that our society also celebrates as an achievement. The fact that too few people are willing to respond to McNabb with a recognition of his point and a question about the importance of the progress that has been made with an eye to what could potentially improve the situation further for the generations that will follow him. Will the increasing presence of black coaches further improve the treatment of black quarterbacks? Will fans rally behind these quarterbacks if called to? Is there a problem of representation in the media that might be distorting the situation that these individuals actually face? Why aren't these questions being asked?
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I think it was good of MacNabb to bring up the issue of race when it comes to the treatment of sports celebrities, and Michael Wilbon makes an excellent point when he highlights the fact that this discussion was initiated by
MacNabb himself, without thought for personal gain or sponsorship/endorsements. The question I have is: the criticism of black quarterbacks, where is it coming from? While historically there is much evidence for institutional racism in the
NFL, both in league offices and in the privately owned clubs, is this still occurring, and can MacNabb please provide us with evidence so that the problem can be dragged into the light of day an dealt with. Because if this is the case then we have laws on the books that seek (and yes often ineffectively) to address this issue and provide redress to the wronged. As a paid employee and member of an organisation a person has the right to equal treatment regardless of race.
If MacNabb was referring to criticism levied by the media, then the issue is also serious and there doesn't seem to be a specified remedy for it-- except perhaps for brave souls like MacNabb to take the opportunity to point it out and bring it to the public's attention. That MacNabb did so is a testament to his character, but it might also go to show that not all media (at least the host/show/network where he made these comments) are implicated in racist criticisms.
If however this statement is more or less relegated to dealing with the racist mutterings of fans (as Wilbon points out in his article on this topic) then all MacNabb is saying is that some football fans are racist, and while deplorable, execrable and backward, there is not much to be done about it. We must only hope that time and tolerance, education and empathy will take their toll on these racists. Of course, if the hateful epithets of fans are all we have to base MacNabb's comments on, then surely we could have asked any person from a minority group whether or not they felt that they were targets of hate. I'm sure there answers would reflect the reality that there are still racists in society. Or did MacNabb think he would be exempt as a star athlete?
When you look at the proportion of black versus white people playing pro football at the QB position versus the proportion playing at other positions, clearly there is a historical racial bias preventing black QBs. But I just don't know about this argument that there is a media bias, and that the media is more critical to black QBs. You play poorly in a big football city like Philly, you get blasted by the fans and the media. In Chicago Rex (a.k.a in the media 'Wrecks')Grossman is heavily criticized. In New York, Eli is constantly under scrutiny for his performance. Charlie Frye was traded after week 1 cause he was that bad. All white QBs. McNabb is my starting fantasy QB this year, I've watched pretty much everyone of his snaps, and up until week 2 he was aweful. Monday night football on week 2 is the big stage and it comes with the added media scrutiny. Add to that the fact that he's coming off of injury and everyone is watching that much closer. He blew it. He played aweful. The Eagles would have won that with an average performance from McNabb, but he wasnt even close. So I think that's
the reality of the game, you play poorly and the media will criticize, you play well and you get the praise. That was the case 6 days later when McNabb proved everyone wrong, throwing 4 TD passes in week 3 and setting a franchise record for points scored in a game. I decided to stick with McNabb in week 3, give him one more shot, and my fantasy team was rewarded with 38 fantasy points..he almost single-handedly won it for me this week. Keep it up Donovan!
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