The author with his buddies in Dallas for some Friday Night Lights high school football. (Oh - I forgot to add road trips, sports fan buddies and any sport under the lights!)

 

 

This column marks the 200th piece (sports or otherwise) I've written that's been suitable for publication.

(You should see the one hundred that weren't suitable - not pretty.)

 

To mark the occasion, I've compiled a list of one hundred things I love about sports.

(I know there's a disconnect there but work with me, people - we're in strange times right now)

 

They're in no particular order and I'm sure I'll think of some later and regret having left them out.

 

Be that as it may, here's my list:

 

I love the flowers and foliage of Augusta in April. I love the red roses of Churchill Downs come Derby Day, the ivy-green walls of Wrigley come spring and the unforgiving gorse of Great Britain come Open time.

 

I love the all-yellow jersey of the cycling leader that signifies summer in France. I love the all-whites of All-England, the All Blacks of New Zealand and the all-the-same t-shirts that NBA and NHL home crowds wear during playoff time.

 

I love watching the Super Bowl halftime show whether it's my cup of tea or not.

 

I love the close play at the plate, the finger-tip catch, the win by a nose and the walk-off home run. I love the sand-save from the bunker, the diving save from the other side of the crease and the 9th-inning save from the bullpen.

 

I love the penalty kick, the penalty shot, the penalty box and the inning-ending double-play.

 

I love every play of every Ohio State-Michigan game even if we lose - which we don't very often.

Go Buckeyes!

 

And I love when the Habs beat the Leafs. Or the Bruins. Or the Senators…

(Right now, I'd even love to watch the Habs beat themselves)

 

I love the look on fan's faces when they realize they're on the Jumbotron or the KissCam. And I love the look on young kids' faces when they make a basket they didn't expect to go in.

 

I love Brooke Henderson's smile, Poppy's frown, Kyles's whiny face (sometimes), Bianca's determination, Federer's focus and McDavid's pizzazz.

 

I love when the red light goes on, the gun goes off, the crowd goes silent…or the crowd goes nuts.

 

I love the fist pump, the high five, the touchdown dance, the tip of the cap, the victory lap and more than any of them, the series-ending hockey handshake.

 

I love when fans of the losing team stay until the end. I love when the base runner runs hard to first no matter what. I love when a long distance runner is so far back in last place most people think the race has already ended...but they finish anyway.

 

And I love the people who stay to watch them, applaud them and put their arms around them.

 

I love the opening tip and the drop of the puck.

 

I love the anticipation, speculation and conversation about who will start, who will play, what might happen and who might win.

 

Who'll be the hero? Who'll be the goat? Who is the GOAT? And who's in the house?

 

I love the hole-in-one, the double steal, the Triple Crown and the 4th-quarter drive.

 

I love the block at the net and the dig on the floor. I love the 100 metre dash, the bell lap, the end-to-end rush, the home stretch, the 7-10 split, the half-court heave and the Hail Mary pass - especially when they work.

 

I love when Tony K grumbles, Wilbon interrupts, Jim Nantz whispers, Ron Maclean puns, Jackie MacMullan ponders out loud and Vin Scully voices anything at all…but especially baseball.

 

I love the hit-and-run, the clean-and-jerk, the down-out-and-down, the and-one, and the plus-fours Payne Stewart used to wear.

RIP Payne.

 

I love the Madness of March, breakfast at Wimbledon, Super Bowl Sunday and the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. And I love college football on a Saturday afternoon whether I'm in the stands or on my couch.

 

I love listening to baseball on the radio when it's late at night and I'm driving by myself on a mostly empty road.

 

I love watching the U.S. Open on Father's Day, the Blue Jays on Opening Day and the Rams…most days.

 

I love cheering for Canadian teams and Canadian athletes anytime, anywhere, doing anything.

 

I love when winners smile and those who didn't, still try to.

 

I love when parents take pictures and beam; when grandparents applaud no matter which team or which player made a nice play; when younger siblings want to carry their older sib's equipment; when fans are acknowledged; and when teammates become friends…opponents, too.

 

I love when coaches volunteer, officials are respected and players give back.

 

I love the national anthem at the beginning; the logo in the middle; and at the end, looking forward to next time…when we get to love all these things all over again.

 

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I did some tweeking along the way so I'm not even sure if my list comes to exactly one hundred anymore.

 

But I don't really care anyway.

 

Not on days like these.

 

What I do care about is that we all do our best, we look out for each other and we keep our chin up during these trying times that are sure to get tougher.

 

There's a lot we can't control but there's much that we can - so allow your best to shine through. Because one thing is absolutely for certain - better days do lie ahead.