THE THRILLS OF HOCKEY — AND BOOS FOR AMERICA — BURIES THE NBA ALL-STARS
Whipping Canada in Montreal was a delight, regardless of your stance on Trump’s tariffs, and the surge blew out Mac McClung jumping over a Kia sedan in a sport called “very boring” by Draymond Green
In the same way Canada owns hockey, America flaunts a geopolitical arrogance. This explains why President Trump eyes the northern neighbors as our country’s “51st state” while threatening tariffs, which could bring a mean guitar blast from Neil Young. So on Saturday night in Montreal, wasn’t it uniquely American to brawl three times with the Canadians in the opening nine seconds and draw loud boos during our national anthem?
We used to enjoy them, or at least a Stanley Cup that America’s NHL teams have won 32 consecutive times. Now we are loathed for simply being on their ice, especially on an evening when the United States stole a 3-1 victory in the 4 Nations Face-Off scrum. I remember being stuck in riots in Vancouver, when the U.S. beat the host nation in the 2010 Winter Olympics before losing in the final. Were there thoughts of wilder rampages this weekend when the rivalry was continued — amid strife among associates — after players went almost a decade without the nations playing each other?
“We knew it was going to happen. We obviously don’t like it,” U.S. defenseman Zach Werenski said of booing in Bell Centre. “We used it as motivation the best we could and found a way to get a win.”
“Paid no attention to it,” U.S. goalie Connor Hellebuyck said. “You have free speech. You can do whatever you want. If you’re going to boo the anthem, we sing it for the troops that protected our freedom. That doesn’t really mean anything to me. You can do whatever you want. But I don’t use it at all.”
Said Matthew Tkachuk, who sparked the fights with brother Brady and J.T. Miller: “We needed to send a message. We’re here in Montreal on a Saturday night. The message we wanted to send is ‘It’s our time.’ That’s the message we sent from the get-go.”
Who actually was watching the NBA’s All-Star Weekend? Basketball is struggling with unwieldy trades and an overexplosion of three-point shooting while Mac McClung — not an NBA player — won the slam dunk contest for the third straight year by jumping over a Kia sedan. Asked if the league is boring, Draymond Green said, “Absolutely. … It's just who can run faster, who can hit more 3s, it's no substance. I think it's very boring.” And Damian Lillard said too many threes “kind of takes away the originality of the game.”
And yet, the commissioner is “happy” about the league’s condition. For those still stunned that Luka Doncic was traded for Anthony Davis — with the level of volatility forever agitated in Dallas — Adam Silver enjoyed the attention waves. “I followed it like a fan,” he said, mentioning “the state of the game is excellent.” Does he enjoy the drop in TV ratings? And the NFL’s Netflix blowout on Christmas Day? That the NBA Finals might be headed toward oblique-land?
“You have Oklahoma City and Cleveland with top records,” said Silver, “and the great news is, I don’t hear many people saying, ‘Oh, and by the way, they’re smaller markets.’ ”
They’re smaller markets with zero non-stop flights between them.
Why wouldn’t we focus, during a lull between the Super Bowl and baseball’s Opening Day, on a raging puck conflict? Canada lost for the first time in 26 games with Sidney Crosby as the team leader. The Americans were in heaven, knowing Canadians perform in the league with a provincial smugness. Those who prefer hockey without fighting didn’t appreciate the brawls. They were very relevant to the bigger scene.
“That was one of the best experiences of my life — just an unbelievable hockey game,” said Dylan Larkin, who gave Team USA the lead in the second period. “The Tkachuk brothers and Millsy, what a start, and credit to those guys for answering the bell. And the crowd, just a great night for our sport and a great night for this rivalry.”
“Matthew’s fight to start it off was just such an energy boost,” said his brother, Brady. “That was pretty electric, getting the fans into it. Everyone just ramped up even more.”
The tension reached the point where Drew Doughty, the Canadian defenseman, didn’t want to hear boos. “Obviously, I know what’s going on, and I understand the Canadians’ frustration, but I think we should respect the anthems and stuff like that,” he said. “I don’t think anyone should be booing.”
The Americans return to home ice in Boston, where the championship game is set for Thursday night. Imagine if they play Canada again. With a victory, will New Englanders throw a party on Causeway Street? Will President Trump be in the house? “It was fast, tight-checking, competitive and emotional. It had everything you would want in a hockey game,” Canadian superstar Connor McDavid said. “It sucks it didn’t go our way, but this thing’s far from over.”
Too bad the NBA All-Star Game, by comparison, involves little interest. The league is fighting a long-term shooting blitz launched by Steph Curry, the host of weekend events in the Bay Area. His three-point wizardry led other teams to dwell on deep efforts, whether they go in or not. Now the game seems bombs-away predictable, though Silver will cite new broadcast and streaming deals bringing in $76 billion.
The league isn’t in a crisis mode, not when YouTube is a hit for daily highlights. “We’re at a point where our social media audience is at the highest of any league and continuing to grow exponentially,” Silver said. “So it’s not a lack of interest in this game.” But the artistry of hoops is missing when some of us remember Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant … and wonder what will happen when Curry and LeBron James retire. It made no sense when the best two teams of a four-team tournament played Sunday night. No one cared last year when a record 397 points were scored. “I hate it. I absolutely hate it,” Kevin Durant said of the new format.
Even Caitlin Clark said no to the NBA. The greatest of female attractions rejected a shooting spree with Curry, preferring to debut from the three-point line at the WNBA’s All-Star Weekend. Talks about a Curry rematch against Sabrina Ionescu faded out. “Last year was so magical with that competition, it started to feel forced,” Silver said. That would have brought the biggest viewership to a weekend when Charles Barkley continued to rip an industry that pays him $21 million a year.
We’re supposed to be excited about McClung? He’s special as a dunker, but he plays for the G League Osceola Magic in Kissimmee. There was more news coverage of Victor Wembanyama and Chris Paul purposely not taking “valid” shots in the skills event, which ended with both players being disqualified. “I mean, if the challenge lets us do that, there’s a loophole. It means we’re not a problem,” said Wembanyama, who should write poetry or play chess when he has another shaky idea.
While real sports fans prepared for another wild hockey night, Steve Kerr was making a case that the 2020s are better than the past. “Anyone who doesn’t like the game, go look at a random game from the ’80s and tell me that was great,” said the Golden State Warriors coach. “Was it great when only three guys on the floor could shoot? … To have 10 guys on the floor who are really skilled is a good thing. Now is there a way to make things look less homogenized? That would be interesting.”
Kerr helped create Curry. He helped create Green. Now they’re homogenized and boring, which never can be said about Matthew Tkachuk or Team USA or tariffs.
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Jay Mariotti, called “without question the most impacting Chicago sportswriter of the past quarter-century,’’ writes general sports columns for Substack while appearing on some of the 1,678,498 podcasts and shows in production today. He is an accomplished columnist, TV panelist and talk/podcast host. Living in Los Angeles, he gravitated by osmosis to film projects.