Saskatoon's 60+ hockey league still going strong after more than 30 years
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League co-founder Stan Halliwell, 90, still laces up his skates and gets on the ice.
Canadians are starting to pay more attention to the NBA. Less attention to the NHL. Don’t blame Kawhi Leonard. The transition started long before Leonard’s improbable buzzer-beater put the Toronto Raptors into the NBA semifinals.
The Stanley Cup playoffs have no Canadian teams remaining, so that’s hurting hockey.
In the U.S., pundits believe basketball has overtaken the NFL as America’s favourite team sport. Baseball has long since fallen into the swamp.
It’s easy to see why the NBA is booming. It attracts a younger demographic with its frenetic, musical sideshows during games. The rules are designed to help offences, because scoring points is appealing.
The players are easier to recognize, wearing jerseys that are deemed the “sexiest” of any major sport, without helmets. The players are also encouraged to display their personalities, be politically active, be involved in their communities and get engaged in social media.
Other sports certainly encourage their athletes to be community leaders, but when it comes to creating off-court drama and in-game excitement, nobody beats the NBA.