The calendar turns and we naturally pause to reflect back upon the year that was in most things of interest to us, so it is with this week’s column, a look at the sports stories that most mattered to yours truly.
And, of course that is the caveat here, this will reflect only the sports I follow. While that list is a rather lengthy one, it does not encompass all sports. So while I understand, for example a Canadian excelled at tennis this past year, I know little of it as I do not watch the sport at all, so it does not make this short top-five list.
At number five is the Canadian Wild of Â鶹´«Ã½AVern Illinois. The women’s fastball team makes the list for two reasons beginning with their joining the National Pro Fastpitch league. The pro league offers some very high calibre ball, and with a Canadian team to follow tuning into games online over last summer was great.
The Wild, which bases out of Illinois for the season did not play in the playoffs, choosing to pursue a spot for Canada in the upcoming Summer Olympics instead. It was a goal they achieved, again giving fans tuning in online for games some great efforts to watch along the way.
The good news extends into 2020 with the Wild announced to be back in the NPF loop, and of course the Olympics ahead as well.
Number four is the birth of the Canadian Elite Basketball League with its six teams giving Canadian players a place to show off their talents.
The new league of course was made more relevant for me as it included a team in Saskatoon. Watching the Saskatchewan Rattlers host the initial CEBL finals tournament and emerge the winner was a huge highlight of the summer.
Speaking of new leagues Major League Rugby launched in 2018. Why do I mention that in a list of the big sports stories of 2019? Well it was this past year that the Toronto Arrows joined MLR giving me a team to really cheer for.
The Arrows, who joined along with New York, did not disappoint making it to the league semi-finals before bowing out to eventual repeat champion Seattle. For a huge fan of 15s rugby the Arrows could have been a heartstrings top story.
Of course living in Saskatchewan means a love of all things Roughriders, and so the emergence of Cody Fajardo as a legitimate Canadian Football League quarterback slots in at the second biggest story on 2019.
Going into the season in 2019 I had limited expectations, and certainly was not anticipating Fajardo to step in to the starting role for smoothly. The top finish in the west, and having a shot at winning the west final losing to Winnipeg who won the Grey Cup allowing a whopping 39 points against in three playoff games was a huge season for the ‘Riders in my books. That we have Fajardo inked for a couple more seasons bodes well too.
And, that brings me to the top story of 2019 in sports, the Toronto Raptors winning the NBA championship.
The Raptors have been fun to watch for a few seasons but the arrival of Kawhi Leonard, arguably the best two-way player in the game, the team became legitimate contenders.
The playoff run caught the imagination of sports fans across the country, and while the dying minutes of the final game dragged on to the point it sucked much of the elation out of the moment – a flaw in the NBA game – it was still a huge thing. The emotion lost because of the tedious gaming-ending process NBA rules allow were at least recaptured in the massive homecoming parade that will be far more remembered than the winning moments.
Leonard of course flew the coop for warmer California climes, but the Raptors remain a feisty and fun team to watch for the magnitude of the top story of 2019, also leeches into 2020.
