Editor's picks: Best of Yahoo Canada Sports in 2017
As we reflect on another remarkable, unpredictable and emotional year in sports, here are some of the best stories and videos produced by the Yahoo Canada Sports staff in 2017.
‘An absolute stud’: The Nazem Kadri playoff shift
Perhaps lost in the hysteria of the Leafs’ first-round thriller with the Capitals was an explosive 28-second shift by Nazem Kadri during Game 3 that sparked a stunning comeback and unlikely series lead for the Buds. While most stories understandably focused on Auston Matthews’ first career playoff goal or Toronto’s surprising 2-1 series advantage over the top-seeded Caps, Justin Cuthbert put Kadri’s pivotal 28-second power burst under a microscope in this entertaining mashup of storytelling and analysis.
As fans sat silent, attempting to unpack the two-goal deficit the Toronto Maple Leafs dug themselves versus the Washington Capitals five minutes into the city’s first home playoff game in four years, Nazem Kadri was close to combustion on the bench.
He had just returned after his line failed woefully in its attempts to take back the goal they had coughed up shifts before. Misused aggression saw Kadri spilled on three separate collisions, and now wiping snow off his gear.
He wasn’t just mad; if you asked him, he was quite literally fuming while waiting for his next shift.
“I had smoke coming out of my ears,” he said. “So I felt like I had to do something about it.”
Several months later we caught up with Kadri, who talked to Sophia Jurksztowicz about his continued evolution as a two-way specialist. Produced by Ciaran Breen and Justin Cuthbert.
‘An absolute stud’: Kadri lifts Leafs to surprise series lead (Justin Cuthbert)
Beers, cheers and gamesmanship with Blue Jays coach Tim Leiper
Did you know the Blue Jays coaching staff has a secret signal to fetch post-game beers? Ever wondered what first base coaches talk about with opposing stars like Joey Votto and Freddie Freeman? Yahoo Canada Sports host and two-time Pan Am Gold Medallist Tim Smith takes us behind the curtains with Tim Leiper, the Toronto Blue Jays first base boss, in this entertaining, insightful, and laugh-out-loud interview at the Rogers Centre.
Among the more notable athlete interviews conducted by Smith this year was his chat with the Blue Jays’ Kevin Pillar in centre field at the Rogers Centre, where “Superman” explained how he makes those awesome wall-crashing catches.
Post-game beers and first base chatter with Tim Leiper (Interview with Tim Smith)
Lovejoy moved by Engelland’s ‘powerful’ Vegas speech
It’s less than 60 seconds long, but in this clip Ben Lovejoy, who we caught up with in Toronto 10 days after the horrific shooting in Las Vegas, offers some pointed perspective in describing the emotional speech former teammate Deryk Engelland gave the Golden Knights crowd before their home opener.
Lovejoy moved by Engelland’s ‘powerful’ Vegas speech
Why it’s so hard to find the next Russell Martin
During his profile of four-time All-Star Russell Martin, Nick Ashbourne interviewed several people around baseball, including the Blue Jays catcher himself, in hopes of gleaning insight into what makes the veteran backstop so unique. As this particular excerpt details, the search for the next Russell Martin may yield more questions than answers.
To summarize, if you want to find and develop the next player who can call a great game and manage your pitching staff with aplomb, you need to draft a kid who might not have called a game before at a high level of competition, and teach him something that may or may not be teachable – depending on your ideology.
Making the waters even murkier is the fact that even a player like Martin – who at 34 is considered one of the most accomplished practitioners of the art form walking the planet – doesn’t feel like a finished product.
“I’m still learning,” he said. “I’m not even done learning because game-calling is a relationship that you have with your pitchers.”
Why it’s so hard to find the next Russell Martin (Nick Ashbourne)
Seguin: ‘It’s definitely humbling coming back here’
NHL star Tyler Seguin returns to his old high school, St. Michael’s College, every summer for BioSteel’s annual hockey camp in Toronto. What he hadn’t done until this year, though, was walk through the hallways at St. Mike’s where he began his hockey career in earnest, some nine years ago. This past August, the Dallas Stars forward took a break in the action at camp to spend time with Yahoo Canada Sports, and reflect on his re-routed path to the NHL. Produced by Amit Mann.
How Seguin gives back to St. Mike’s, the school that helped launch his NHL career (Justin Cuthbert)
Peeling away the layers of Blue Jays enigma Joe Biagini
Social media has connected sports fans to their favourite athletes with unprecedented ease, but does that access compromise authenticity? One player you won’t find posting workout vids or motivational memes is Joe Biagini, the Blue Jays’ wonderfully weird right-hander who’s “simultaneously one of the biggest personalities on his team and a guy who invests very little time putting himself out into the world.” Nick Ashbourne traced Biagini’s mysterious reputation back to high school, and interviewed almost a dozen current and former teammates and coaches in this entertaining profile of the Blue Jays’ most interesting man. The results were predictably fascinating.
If there’s one misconception about Biagini that’s spawned from two years of unpredictable, often-nonsensical, interviews, it’s that he’s a simple class clown. It’s not hard to come across that label when your most recent claim to fame is engaging in a high-five saga with Jimmy Fallon.
In fact, when you ask anyone about the 27-year-old, the word “intelligent” might be the most common adjective used. That intellect shows when you talk to Biagini, even if you have to navigate some banter about equestrian to get to it. Ultimately, you can’t summon raw absurdity at a moment’s notice without something between your ears, right?
“We could debate that into the ground,” deadpans reliever Danny Barnes, who describes Biagini as the guy he’s closest to on the Blue Jays.
Peeling away the layers of Blue Jays enigma Joe Biagini (Nick Ashbourne)
The Great NHL Toaster Debate of 2017
Anytime a story involves Wayne Gretzky, Connor McDavid and Jonathan Toews, you better believe we’re going to cover it. Even when it involves gimmicky toasters sent to us by Canadian Tire. Flanked by three red toasters bearing the likeness of an NHL legend and two superstars, Nick Ashbourne and Mackenzie Liddell dove deep into the idiosyncrasies of toasting bread during this entertaining, at times thought-provoking, what-the-hell-am-I watching Facebook Live in November.
FB Live: The Great NHL Toaster Debate of 2017
CFL running backs square off in ultimate board game challenge
In an unlikely foreshadowing of the showdown that awaited, we hung out with Stampeders star Jerome Messam and unknown rookie James Wilder Jr. for some board game trash talk in Toronto this summer. Little did we all know that three months later Wilder would have seized the starting running back role for the Argos, won the CFL’s most outstanding rookie award, and helped power the Boatmen to a thrilling Grey Cup win over the powerhouse Stamps and their star running back Messam. Let’s just say Wilder must have been playing for revenge. Produced by Ciaran Breen.
Messam-Wilder square off in ultimate board game challenge
Halladay didn’t need to be Canadian to be a Canadian icon
Roy Halladay reached what was arguably the peak of his career as a member of the Philadelphia Phillies, where he won his second Cy Young, threw a perfect game, and became just the second pitcher ever to toss a no-hitter during the playoffs. But as Nick Ashbourne notes in this most appropriate tribute to the late Halladay, those aren’t the things Blue Jays fans will remember most about him.
Halladay was about the Herculean day-in day-out effort. Remarkably consistent excellence regardless of the circumstances around him. A belligerent refusal to let apathy seep in for one second. A humility that ran in stark contrast to his accomplishments.
In other words, a true Canadian.
Roy Halladay didn’t need to be Canadian to be a Canadian icon (Nick Ashbourne)
Lou Marsh honour ages well for Canada’s top athletes
It’s arguably the most revered award a Canadian athlete can win outside of their sport and competition – Jon Cornish says the Lou Marsh Trophy is the “greatest achievement” of his lifetime – yet fanfare around the winner is usually restricted to a conference call. In this nuanced look into what this honour truly means to Canadian athletes, Justin Cuthbert wonders whether it’s time for a more formalized celebration of the trophy, which Kaillie Humphries says is as “great as my medals.”
Lou Marsh honour ages well for Canada’s top athletes (Justin Cuthbert)
More year-end coverage on Yahoo Sports:
