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THE ONLY BI-LINGUAL AND BI-WEEKLY NEWSPAPER OF THE MUSLIM COMMUNITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA
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| Volume 13 Issue 336 Rajab 7, 1434 AH / May 17, 2013 |
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| :: Sports |
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Canucks star Roberto Luongo says goodbye again |
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 This time, Roberto Luongo really does hope it’s goodbye. Of course, he said so long last year at this time and we all know what happened. But on Thursday, when he joined the rest of the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena for a final team get-together, Luongo made it clear that he does think it’s time to move on. Actually, way past time. If Luongo learned anything this past season, it’s to expect the unexpected. He didn’t think he’d start the season in Vancouver, let alone end it here. Asked if he could envision returning to the same situation next season and again play second fiddle to Cory Schneider, Luongo said: “Not really. Like I just said before, I want to play and that’s the bottom line. “The way I came into camp, the way I felt about my game and stuff I was really excited about that. For once I had a good start to the season and I was happy and with all the stuff going around I kind of lost a little momentum in the middle. But at the end of the day I feel like I have many good years left in me and I can contribute somewhere and I want to be part of something like that.” Luongo made his comments about an hour before Vancouver general manager Mike Gillis addressed the media. It sounds like Gillis plans to grant Luongo his wish. Asked about the likelihood of Luongo being here next season, Gillis said simply: “I think it is unlikely.” It doesn’t figure to be easy, as Gillis discovered this past season. Luongo is 34 and has nine years and just over $40 million left on the 12-year deal he signed with the Canucks. Luongo thinks everyone -- he and Schneider, the coaches, the rest of the team -- handled a difficult situation as best they could. As Luongo spoke, Schneider was at the other end of the hall giving his own interview. He disclosed that it was a groin injury that kept him out of Games 1 and 2 of the playoff series with the San Jose Sharks. He suffered the injury in the third period of Vancouver’s 3-1 home-ice win over the Chicago Blackhawks on April 22 while stretching to make a save. “Felt something I hadn’t felt before in my career,” Schneider said. “It wasn’t anything major. I was able to finish the game, but there was some discomfort and I could tell that something wasn’t right. But with 10 minutes left in a game against Chicago, I didn’t want to come out of the net.” If he really is leaving, Luongo seems to be departing Vancouver with the fans solidly behind him. They clearly appreciated not only the solid goaltending he provided most nights over his seven seasons here, but the class and humour he displayed in what was an uncomfortable situation. For them, Luongo offered a thank you and an apology before leaving the rink Thursday.
Source: Vancouver Sun
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| Seattle, Sacramento enter final chapter in fight for control of NBA Kings |
Inside the small club on Seattle’s Capitol Hill late Monday night, the chant would not be contained by the walls, drifting out onto the street with every urging scream from the performers on stage. “Super,” the DJs would shout. “Sonics,” was the emphatic reply from the crowd. After months of waiting and politicking, recommendations and reversals, and a remarkable amount of money being thrown around, fans in Seattle will finally learn Wednesday whether they will cheer on a team with the SuperSonics name again or whether the Kings will remain in Sacramento. “May” remains the important word as the NBA Board of Governors meets on Wednesday in Dallas to tackle the issue of whether the Kings stay in Sacramento or are allowed to move to Seattle, where they would be rechristened the SuperSonics. Investor Chris Hansen and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer have had a deal since January to buy a 65 per cent controlling interest in the Kings from the Maloof family. Hansen originally offered a total valuation of $525 million, then increased that offer to $550 million after a competing Sacramento group matched his deal. He hoped to move the team to Seattle to replace the original Sonics, who were relocated and renamed the Thunder in 2008. After months of staying quiet and letting the process play out, the Hansen and Ballmer group went on the offensive following the NBA relocation committee’s decision on April 29 to recommend denying the move. The Hansen and Ballmer group elbowed its way back into the conversation using money and creativity. It started last Friday when Hansen increased his total valuation of the Kings from $550 million to $625 million. Hansen also announced on his website that he has guaranteed owners that the franchise would pay into the league’s revenue-sharing system if it was in Seattle and not collect money as it has in Sacramento. On Saturday, word leaked of a backup deal with the Maloofs to purchase a minority interest in the Kings, with the Maloofs remaining the controlling party. The limited partnership would be a purchase of at least 20 per cent of the Maloofs’ stake in the franchise at a valuation of $600 million, but the Hansen/Ballmer group would retain a two-year option to purchase majority control. They were bold and aggressive moves by the Seattle group. And for fans, they were a needed boost. “If they had folded, we would have
folded,” said Robinson. All that brings the whirlwind back to Wednesday’s meeting in Dallas and likely the last chance to provide clarity. Anyone who says they definitively know what will come out of the meeting is likely just taking educated guesses. The roller coaster both cities have been on emotionally since January has come with stomach-knotting twists and turns that have provided little clarity about what the final answer will be. Will the Kings stay in Sacramento with an ownership group led by Vivek Ranadive and plans for a new downtown arena? Will the Maloof family remain majority owners with Hansen and Ballmer as minority investors in a Sacramento team? Will Hansen and Ballmer be successful in throwing enough money into the pot that owners are swayed to give the Kings a one-way ticket to Seattle? Or will expansion finally be a plausible solution that could satisfy both markets despite the NBA’s stance thus far that expansion won’t be discussed until after the league’s next television deal is negotiated? There is just as much apprehension in Seattle, where the criticism of the NBA has quickly risen since the relocation committee’s recommendation. Fans already feeling burned by the league after the messy Sonics divorce are having flashbacks. On Monday night, those concerns were forgotten for a few hours. Bouncers were forced to turn fans away from the club after capacity was reached and then exceeded. Those fortunate to arrive early and stay inside raised their bottles at every scream of the word “Sonics,” and they treated former Seattle great Shawn Kemp like a rock star when he took the stage. Kemp was the same as the others, keeping hope that Wednesday’s result would see a return of the Sonics. Source: Vancouver Sun
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| :: Other Features |
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IQRA School holds Expansion Fundraising Dinner
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