How could I explain my love? I could take you to the basketball court and show you the creativity and athleticism of the sport. Show you how a connection between two strangers can create a stronger bond from a perfectly executed backdoor cut, then it could after an entire night conversing at a party.

I could tell you how the pick and roll is the oldest play in the game but even professional teams still can’t stop it. Maybe let you watch a college game so you could see that a game executed so flawlessly can literally make your heart beat one hundred and eighty times per minute as the voice of Gus Johnson thrillingly narrates each breathtaking play.

We could sit on the couch and watch the movies “Love and Basketball,” “Coach Carter,” and “Above The Rim.” Explain how the 1966 Texas Western team shattered racial barriers on the court. How Kobe Bryant breaks hearts with his game-winning shots and LeBron James flies like a 747.

I could tell you about the night Michael Jordan scored sixty three points in Madison Square Garden, and when Vince Carter stuck his arm in the rim it set off the whole damn gym. Show you elderly men jumping off bar stools yelling “PITTSNOGLE!!!” who could tell you exactly where George Mason University is (Fairfax County, Virginia) but who routinely forget where their daughter is currently residing.

Greatest of all, I can show you what it’s like to stand alone in an empty gym with nothing but a basketball, a hoop, and your thoughts.

I could show and tell you all I want about basketball. Even use salt and pepper shakers in the cafeteria to teach you the art of the 2-2-1 UCLA full court press.

In the end, basketball is a game you grow to love and never grow out of. So how do I explain my love? Easy. Basketball makes me happy and a better person. I suggest giving it a try because maybe you’ll fall in love. After all, basketball is where anything is possible.

After a disappointing effort resulted in a loss two days earlier against the Nanaimo Clippers, the Trail Smoke Eaters came back on Saturday, January 17 in front of 1018 fans, to win in a brilliant game against the Salmon Arm Silverbacks.

With trade deadline pickups Brett Corcoran and Scott Jacklin in uniform, the Smokies came out with one of their best efforts of this season and were rewarded with a 4-2 victory over the Silverbacks. The Silverbacks, who were ranked first in the BCHL and third in Canada overall, defeated the Smoke Eaters 5-2, just a week prior to the January 17 game.

Corcoran made an early impact when he scored the Smokies’ first goal on a beautiful tip from defenseman Steve Koshey’s shot from the point. This goal would spark an advantageous power play for Trail, who were able to score their last three goals with the extra on-ice player.

Near the end of the first period, Salmon Arm heavyweight Matt Wray fought Trail d-man Graeme Strukoff. Although, he was giving up four inches and twenty-five pounds to Wray, Strukoff earned the win in this scrap. Three quarters of the way through the second period, the captain of the Smokies, Ryan Bulach, pounded home a rebound on the power play with assists from line mates Nick Sandor and Paul Mailey. It was a case of Trail being rewarded for their hard work proving that when you play well, the bounces seem to be in your favour.

After Trail took a two-nothing lead, a fight at the faceoff between Trail’s Sean Nugent and the Silverback’s Colin Lidster seemed to excite the teams, but with only a few punches thrown, it seemed the Silverback’s needed another spark somewhere else. That spark came thirteen minutes into the third period when Koshey turned the puck over at his own blueline and Conor Morrison of Salmon Arm put the puck over goalie Marco Raimondo’s shoulder to score his 32nd goal of the season.

Nineteen seconds later, Patrick Raley dumped the puck in off the end boards and the Silverback’s net minder misplayed the puck where the Smokies Bulach was to knock in his second goal of the game and 21st of the season. After this goal, the Smokies would cruise to victory through Nick Sandor sniping a goal on an assist from Strukoff as the Silverback’s tried to make things interesting by scoring a goal on a five-minute power play at the end of the game.

One theme remains clear as Trail looks forward to a strong play-off run: the Cominco Arena is still home to the best hockey in the Kootenay’s.

by: Derek Szilagyi

With starting pitchers A.J. Burnett and C.C. Sabathia, alongside All-Star first baseman Mark Teixeira, the New York Yankees bought the three most coveted prizes for an astounding 423.5 million dollars. These three players have a higher net worth than each National Hockey League franchise, excluding the Toronto Maple Leafs. And back in 2006, New York Yankee Alex Rodriguez was earning more in his annual salary than the entire roster of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

If a salary cap was instituted, a team such as the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Rays, would have a fighting chance of competing with the New York Yankee’s of the baseball world. With the current economic situation worsening, owners cannot afford to lose money. After all, the Milwaukee Brewers, coming off their most successful season in years, recently lost Mercedes-Benz as a sponsor and the Oakland Athletics’ ticket sales have decreased by ten per cent. Instituting a salary cap would keep overhead costs down and potentially increase profits earned through ticket sales and advertising sponsorships.

In addition, is there a fan alive that wouldn’t want to see more than five teams competing for four playoff spots, each and every year? Wouldn’t it be amazing for the sport if ten teams were competing for the post-season games in September? Ticket sales would spike, sponsorship sales would rocket and there would be no escape from baseball coverage on national television.

Maintaining the current salary status quo, would only hurt the game in this suffering economy, until a lockout situation like the one that forced the NHL into near ruin, would be all the more inevitable.

by: Derek Szilagyi