Say what you want about David Beckham the player; maybe you think he gets too much attention given what he’s done on the pitch. But having attended Beckham’s press conference on Tuesday, you would be hard pressed to say anything detrimental about Beckham the person.
When a star reaches the elite level of global recognition that Becks finds himself in, he or she knows the right thing to say. Beckham, however, comes across as actually believing what he is saying, a rarity in today’s world of media addiction.
Despite having probably heard the majority of the questions countless times, he did not appear to be going through the motions whatsoever. Soccer has had and will have better players than Beckham, but given how genuine he appears to be
I’m not sure they’ll find a better spokesman for the sport anytime soon.
• The B.C. Lions next loss might not happen until after this season, but it could be a big one. Director of Player Personnel, Bob O’Billovich, is being trumpeted by many as the next general manager of the Hamilton Ticats and why not?
O’Billovich has been both a coach and GM during his 25 plus years in the CFL, but perhaps more importantly, he knows how to find players. “Obie” has been credited with finding the likes of Dave Dickenson, Pinball Clemons, Darren Flutie, Cam Wake … you get the idea.
The Ticats have some nice pieces to build around, but O’Billovich could theoretically upgrade the talent around Casey Printers, Jesse Lumsden and company. Hamilton would also be a good fit geographically as he lives in Oakville, Ont., but O’Billovich has said he doesn’t want to do anything until after the season.
• Looks like Alain Vigneault has come full circle on his slot machine approach to line combinations. Much like he did to begin his first season in Vancouver, Vigneault says he’s going to stick with the Swedish Touch line for the foreseeable future.
The Sedins and Markus Naslund will be counted on to handle the bulk of the scoring tonight in Calgary as they did last weekend in Colorado, while the other lines are charged with keeping the puck out of their own net before trying to put it in the other.
Mix equal parts college athlete, sports fan and broadcaster. Shake vigorously. Serve chilled Monday-Friday on the TEAM 1040 from 6-9 a.m. or online at thetoulbox.blogspot.com
