Toronto Star columnist Bruce Arthur paid tribute to Steve Nash, the longtime NBA point guard who retired Saturday after a 19-year career.
Nash, who is from Victoria, British Columbia, won the NBA MVP award in the 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 seasons.
"The list of players who won back-to-back MVPs is a roll call of the gods: Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Moses Malone, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Tim Duncan, Steve Nash, LeBron James," Arthur wrote.
"Nash is the only one without a title, but the list is more than that. It is a roll call of players who defined eras. It's a token of faith that Nash redefined basketball in this country, inspired a generation of Canadians, and will oversee what could be a golden generation at Canada Basketball. There is an argument that he is the greatest Canadian athlete ever, if only because Canada was destined to produce the greatest hockey player of all-time. Producing a two-time MVP in the world's second-most populous sport? Unthinkable. The argument includes Lionel Conacher, Wayne Gretzky, Donovan Bailey, Terry Fox. And it includes Nash.
"But Nash helped redefine basketball itself, too. When Nash got to Phoenix in 2004 the league favoured a ponderous style. The 2005 Finals between Detroit and San Antonio ended with World War I trench warfare ball; the two teams topped 100 points once, total, in seven games.
"Nash and Coach Mike D'Antoni unleashed something different with the Suns: spreading the floor, pick and rolls, three-point shooting, passing the ball like crazy, playing so fast. They played like acrobats. It was a thrill, and they were unlucky not to win a championship.
"The way the best teams play now, the most pleasing teams -- Golden State, Atlanta, San Antonio -- are the logical evolution. Point guards stole from him, borrowed from him, evolved from him; watch the best ones slip through screens, duck behind pick and rolls, keep their dribble alive. Gregg Popovich, the game's best coach, borrowed from D'Antoni and Nash. So has Golden State this year, the best team in basketball. Last year, San Antonio -- once a ponderous, pounding team -- won a title with some of the prettiest basketball anybody has ever seen.
"Creativity is allowed now. Nash was the engine of a more beautiful form of basketball. He wasn't just our pioneer."
No more
Pittsburgh Pirates center fielder Andrew McCutchen would be just fine if he never had to hear John Fogerty's 1985 hit song "Centerfield" at a Major League Baseball stadium again.
McCutchen, the 2013 NL MVP, filled out a questionnaire at The Players Tribune on Friday. One of the questions: "The song I never want to hear again in an arena/ballpark/stadium is..."
McCutchen answered, "Put me in coach", which is a lyric from "Centerfield".
There were a few positive answers from McCutchen's questionnaire, though.
He said his favorite road city is Denver and that he's the best dressed player on his team.
SPORTS QUIZ
Where did Steve Nash play college basketball?
ANSWER
Santa Clara
Sports on 03/23/2015