The Look Ahead Another vote for Votto

Joey Votto should be named on Tuesday as winner of the Lou Marsh Award as Canadian athlete of the year, not just because he was named the National League’s most valuable player but also because his public battle with depression – and reluctance to milk it – has resonated beyond the game. Sidney Crosby? Jonathan Toews? Bah, give it a rest: We produce hockey players like maple syrup. Give it to one of ’em next year.
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It is understandable that in a year in which Canadian Olympic athletes lived up to the expectations placed on them by an expectant and frightful host nation, there would be a rush to honour Joannie Rochette, Charles Hamelin and Alexandre Bilodeau, Christine Nesbitt or Jon Montgomery.

Their performances in Vancouver last February are symbolic on many levels – Rochette because of her poise and perseverance following her mother’s death; Montgomery because he staked a Canadian claim to the Whistler Sliding Centre after the life of a luger had been taken. Nobody does self-guilt like Canadians. The tattoos and T-shirts crowd will scream for Georges St-Pierre, but not until mixed martial arts is proven to be something more than a bunch of exhibitions designed to keep Dana White employed

The Look Ahead Another vote for Votto