Bad Conduct | What game or sporting feat would you like to achieve?

Every week, sports journalists from Press answer a question with pleasure, and a little insolence as well.

Guillaume Lefrançois

On July 24, 2004, a Red Sox-Yankees classic at Fenway Park. Bronson Arroyo hits Alex Rodriguez on an effect ball which he visibly loses control. A-Rod does not accept it and begins to harangue the pitcher of the Red Sox. Receiver Jason Varitek stands up. “Hey man, we’re not aiming for .260 hitters. Rodriguez is no doubt hurt in his self-esteem, and Varitek slips his mitt right in his face. This is the “game” that I would have liked to succeed. Varitek is one of the best receivers in history to lead the pitchers, but he was also the heart and soul of the Red Sox of the 2000s. Here, he stands up to one of the big stars of the archenemy, in a high match. in emotion, disputed nine months after the heartbreaking elimination of the Sox at the hands of the Yankees. Varitek gets kicked out for his gesture.

“It was a critical time for us. We needed a spark and it was Jason, ”said Gabe Kapler, Red Sox color bearer at the time, in a fascinating report by The Athletic. The Red Sox are then 8.5 games behind the Yankees, and 3-0 in this duel. They end up winning 11-10. They will conclude the season with three games from the Yankees, but will recover in the playoffs by beating them thanks to a fabulous comeback. I am not an apostle of violence, I prefer my hockey without fights, but there is a difference between a planned fight and a pure demonstration of emotion and leadership.

Mathias Brunet

Who has not been surprised, as a kid, to imagine, during an epic game of boot hockey, scoring the winning goal in a seventh game of the Stanley Cup Final? Maxime Talbot perfectly symbolizes this ordinary little Quebecer whose dream is to change the game one evening of conquest. And his great humility and simplicity have always allowed us to identify with him. Despite a prolific career in the junior ranks, he entered the NHL by the back door. Modest choice of 8^e Turn, 234th in 2002, Talbot took a few years to establish himself with the Penguins, after two seasons in the American League. Talbot was a support player in Pittsburgh, lost among Crosby, Malkin, Letang, Staal, Gonchar, Guerin, Fleury and company. Then, in 2009, the Penguins and the mighty Detroit Red Wings met for the second straight year in the final. There is a seventh game. In a state of grace, Talbot scored the Penguins’ only two goals in a late 2-1 victory. This will be the first Stanley Cup of the Crosby era. I would have liked to be Maxime Talbot that evening.

Miguel bujold

David Tyree has played 83 games in 7 seasons in the NFL. He caught a total of 54 passes for 650 yards and scored 4 touchdowns. But football fans with a minimum of culture for their sport know this former receiver very well. This is of course thanks to his incredible catch on the 42^e Super Bowl, nicknamed the helmet catch. It was February 3, 2008. With only a few minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, the New York Giants were trying to come back from behind against Tom Brady and the powerful New England Patriots, who led 14-10. . After defeating an opponent, Eli Manning threw a pass to Tyree in desperation. The wide winger managed to wedge the ball against his helmet and we know the rest. That Tyree managed to keep the ball from touching the ground when it landed on its back made the game one of the most unlikely in the history of the sport. Plaxico Burress was going to score a 13-yard touchdown with only 39 seconds left on the clock and, poof! The Patriots’ perfect season was over. It was the year of spygate and the gods of the oval balloon had just spoken.

Simon drouin

Spontaneously, one of the countless anthology goals of Mario Lemieux when he “beat the goalkeeper like a rental mule”, according to the descriptor of the matches of the Penguins Mike Lange. Hey, a classic, the one in the Stanley Cup final against the North Stars where he took off Jon Casey. As I do not have the talent of Mario, only his back, I will choose the glide of Hermann Maier on the descent of the Olympic Games in Nagano. Only the glide, not the landing. The blue sky, the impression of flying, a moment captured by a single photographer, that of Sports Illustrated, installed in a ladder. After an interminable tumble through the nets, the Herminator got up, with snow filling its mouth, but not too much smacked. Three days later, he won the super-G, before winning again in the giant slalom. Apart from the French, no one remembers that Jean-Luc Crétier won the downhill at those Games.

Katherine Harvey-Pinard

I wish I had the talent and the courage to do what Canadian sprinter Andre De Grasse did in the 200m semifinal at the Rio Olympics in 2016: challenge Usain Bolt. Everyone remembers the ascent of De Grasse, who came close to overtaking Bolt just before crossing the finish line. The Jamaican turned his head and smiled at the Canadian, as if to say “my little tanner, you!” (Or something like that, you know). De Grasse seemed to be living the best moment of his life. Imagine being the person who challenges the fastest man in the world. Okay, okay, it wasn’t the grand finale. And it was not “necessary” – as Bolt told De Grasse after the race – but still, it must be done! If it had been me, I would still talk about it every day, even five years later.

Richard Labbé

The game that I would have liked to have succeeded is also one of my first sports memories, achieved by my first sports idol. Coincidence? I do not think so. All that to say that I would have liked to have been Guy Lafleur on the ice of the Forum in May 1979, mop in the wind and all, with a delay of only one goal at the end of this seventh game of the semi-final against the Boston Bruins. . When we review the images of this famous game, we can clearly see that it is Guy who wants the puck, because he has the deep conviction that he is going to score the big goal, a feeling that still lives in me at this time. day when I play another important game of floor hockey. These images, I know them by heart. And I even think I copied my stick swing from Guy’s. With a little less success, probably.

Simon-Olivier Lorange

How far can doing nothing be elevated to a stroke of genius? There was only Mario Lemieux to confuse us on this matter. At the Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, Canada faces the United States in a highly anticipated final. With the Americans ahead 1-0, defenseman Chris Pronger sends a puck to the net. Lemieux is the obvious target. However, the 66, in a gesture of indescribable fluidity, pretends to extend his stick, but withdraws and opens his legs slightly, letting himself slide towards the net. Defender Aaron Miller, completely hypnotized by Lemieux, never saw Paul Kariya rushing down the left wing to grab the disc and send it behind goalkeeper Mike Richter. I remember that, in the hours and days that followed, we wondered here and there whether the game was accidental or deliberate. The answer couldn’t be clearer to me. If Mario Lemieux lets the puck pass, he’s decided. For me who loves to be rewarded for doing nothing, it is simply amazing.

Alexandre pratt

Paul Henderson’s goal that gave Canada victory in the eighth and final game of the Century Series, against the USSR, in 1972. The Canadians were only 34 seconds away from having to share the honors of the series with the Soviets, who had “come to learn”. Henderson’s goal was the highlight of a clash that captivated two nations for … 26 days!

Jean-Francois Téotonio

I must admit my bias here. I am originally Portuguese. So I can’t help but want to put myself in Éder’s sneakers, in the 109^e minute of the Euro 2016 final against France. It was 0-0 in overtime. Éder, who had only scored four times for his selection, got the ball 10m from the penalty area. He was surrounded by five Frenchmen, who watched him go. They didn’t suspect a thing, coming from him. His shot, low and far, made its way to the back of the net. It was 1-0, and Portugal would win the first major league in their history. Éder, who had only played 11 minutes during the entire tournament before the final, became the country’s greatest hero. Yes, yes, even in front of Cristiano Ronaldo, left injured in the 25^e minute. The latter burst into tears – of joy – on the sidelines. Imagine provoking this reaction to the greatest player of all time, besides releasing an entire nation from the untenable tension of a major competitive final. Every athlete’s dream, from the most amateur garage league to the highest peak in their sport.