Steve Nash could rule the world, and he's damned funny

There is another viral video of Canada's greatest Steve Nash in addition to the one of him on Letterman last night.

The one for his new not-for-profit social business, Football For Good, seems just as worthy of attention, as is the fact he will be involved in an ESPN documentary about the life of the late, great Terry Fox.

Steve Nash - 'The Player' from meathawk on Vimeo.

Football For Good speaks the whole notion of how the two-time NBA MVP from Victoria, B.C., is a sports hero for Generation X. From afar, he comes across like a guy who would be the last one to describe himself as the leader of a social movement. Like he told Chuck Klosterman for that Esquire piece in 2005, "I don't even like to use the word philosophy when describing what I do for a living; I don't want to glorify the idea of playing basketball. But if you give of yourself, you do get things back." Taking a simple step like soliciting $5 donations to build a football academy in a war-ravaged region of Africa fits right in with the notion of a "hundred million solutions." It's one of just many small ideas that can take what works in our culture and improve what doesn't.

Improving the world isn't going to come from the top down or big, sweeping ideas, policy changes or mission statements the highers-up at your work like to issue periodically (and please, forgiveness if this sounds way too sincere). As Gordinier said in X Saves the World, change comes in stealth. Steve Nash kind of embodies that, or at least does for these purposes. He can do the spotlight stuff, sit in the chair and joke with Dave, ask ESPN.com's Jeff Van Gundy if his brother Stan, the Orlando Magic coach, "got laid in high school," but all of that would be mental dross if it wasn't backed by the change in thinking he represents.

He stepped up to sponsor youth basketball leagues when NBA rules kept the Raptors from doing so outside of a certain geographical radius. That's important, since with divorced-from-sanity cost of hockey, it's important to introduce girls and boys to an affordable athletic option which cuts across cultural lines. He's invested in Women's Professional Soccer, which seems to be gaining some traction in the face of tough economic times. Others can speak better to this, but it's a fair bet that when — not if — WPS expands into Canada, Nash could end up having something to do with a Vancouver team which will (ahem) probably end up beating the pants off the Toronto team. Starting a football academy in Africa with $5 donations from well-off, middle-class North Americans, well, it's a simple idea: Build better stuff for people in need. And anyone who wants to help can. It's a very Generation X idea. Meantime, you respect who came before, as he's doing by, as Jonah Keri noted, "leading the effort on a documentary about Terry Fox."



Getting back to Nash ... The easy way out is to say, "Well, it's not hard to do all that when you're paid obscene amounts of money to play point guard." That might get the point upside-down and backwards. Nash needs that platform. He wouldn't be sitting next to Letterman, getting Dave to go heh-heh-heh, if he was a hockey player or was the central midfielder for the New York Red Bulls. It's as if, on a subconscious level, something told him that if he wanted to make a difference beyond playing a sport , he should play basketball. It's a relatively global game which also is popular in the United States.

A lot of what Nash does is purely for amusement, whether it's playing basketball or his Letterman appearance. The latter probably shows it's better to appear casual, since painfully earnest can backfire. Seeing what Steve Nash is up to raises hope any of us can have a small, goofy impact on our corner of the world. In this day and age, if you're going to have a hero, it better be a guy who can laugh at himself:



P.S. Incidentally, here's an update on the next Nash, Toronto point guard Junior Cadougan, who's going to Marquette:

"Cadougan's greatest strength, however, may be his high basketball IQ. Similar to Canada's most famous basketball product, two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash, Cadougan exemplifies complete body control and court vision. Whether it be a crossover dribble, pull-up jumpshot or pick and roll, seldom will you see Cadougan rush into an offensive set or force a play that is not there."

(Nash clip via Ben Rycroft at It's Called Football. Ben talks the footy talk regularly with Duane Rollins on a podcast of the same name.

Snark break...

• This is how far former Vikings star Daunte Culpepper has fallen off the radar screen, four years after he had the fifth-best passer rating in NFL history. 
  
  A column that's sympathetic to the unemployed QB, refers to how his college team, Central Florida, would "love to unfurl his ol' No. 9 jersey and invite him back to campus for 'Daunte Day.' " One problem: Culpepper wore No. 8 in college.
• The CBC's new channel, CBC Sports Plus, will have an "emphasis on amateurs." Doesn't Hockey Night in Canada already do that enough with the Leafs?
  
• White people aren't very fast, unless they're pointing out that a Jamaican track and field gold medallist is showboating, eh Bob Costas?
• Ken Griffey Jr. finally hit his first homer as a Chisox today, and he rounded the bases all by himself. (Does it count if it's against the Mariners?)
• It's been almost 6 hours since Duane put the question out there and no one has nominated how J.P. Ricciardi has managed to keep his job as the greatest sporting accomplishment they've ever seen? Disappointing doesn't begin to describe the feeling.
• Zinger via Windsor columnist Bob Duff: "Don’t tell Gary Bettman this, but I haven’t seen a single sign of any National Hockey League paraphernalia anywhere in Beijing. It appears the NHL is just as popular in China as it is in the United States."

The stuff you might have missed:

• Rollins' Belleville Bulls have signed a member of the U.S. under-17 national team development program, Bjorn Krupp, a defenceman just like his old man, Uwe Krupp, the long-time NHL defender. So he's got a Scandinavian first name, a German last name, and he's going to play for the Frontenacs' geographical rivals...
• Word is that Six Nations lacrosse star Cody Jacobs is going to play for the reigning NCAA champion Syracuse Orange.
• Raptors coach Sam Mitchell is a fashion plate.
• Canadian ballers Junior Cadougan and Mangisto Arop are both in the Rivals.com top 100.

(Seriously, if CBC Sports is looking for a young it-getter — OK, not that young — who knows the CIS cold, they know how to call. 

Campus corner: Checking in...

A couple hoops links about some Toronto ballers whom you should be getting to know about, because you'll hear from them:

• SLAM Online on Friday had some rave raviews for big man Tristan Thompson, who is slated to begin his college career at Texas in 2010:

  "...it feels pretty good to see him dominate elite talent with his combination of length (despite his slender frame, the class of 2010 prospect hits the boards hard, battles on the inside, finishes with power and blocks shots), quickness (the Texas commit runs the floor like guard and can guard all five positions on the court) and skill (a role player for St. Benedict’s in Jersey last season and the go-to guy on his Grassroots Canada AAU squad, he can handle the rock in perimeter and in transition, see the floor, hit the mid-range J and has a wide array of post moves)."

• Here's a look at the rigamarole that Toronto baller Devoe Joseph has faced getting his credits approved by the NCAA so he could play at the University of Minnesota. It seems bogus that Joseph was subject to such scrutiny when there are players with no desire of an education, who are waved right into college.
• The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel has posted a Q&A with point guard Junior Cadougan, who's planning to go to Marquette.

That's three good building blocks for the senior national team, if not for when London 2012 qualifying begins in three years' time, but somewhere down the line. It would be great to not have to type that with your fingers crossed.

Remember the name ... Junior Cadougan

It's a good idea to have a mental list of who would form the core group of that mythical future Canadian hoops squad that will qualify for some future Olympics, and maybe even contend for a medal. It's either that or hold out hope that 38-year-old Steve Nash will give 'er in 2012.

You're probably going to hear more in the years ahead about Point guard Junior Cadougan (pictured), a Toronto lad who's committed to play in the Big East in 2009 at Marquette, Dwyane Wade's old school.

"Last week, he helped lead his team, Grassroots Canada, to the U-17 championship at the prestigious adidas Super 64 in Las Vegas by averaging roughly 23.0 points, 6.5 assists, 5.0 rebounds and 3.0 steals in eight games.

"Cadougan came up big when it mattered most as well, scoring 22 points to lead Grassroots to an 88-79, double-overtime victory over the Compton Magic on Saturday night." -- Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

Cadougan's coach with Grassroots Canada, Ro Russell, told the J-S that, "Junior outplayed every point guard that he faced at the tournament, and maybe changed the minds of a lot of scouts who before were kind of saying, 'Well, he's good, but he's not one of the elite point guards in the country.' One guy in his last report specifically mentioned that he messed up in his ranking of Junior -- or his lack of ranking Junior -- and now Junior's separating himself from his peers and really raised his stock dramatically."

With Canada Basketball, typically it isn't a slam dunk that the best players eligible to play for Canada actually want to play for their country. A point guard with Cadougan's potential, well, that's one hell of a catalyst to make those days history.

(The junior women's national team, including Ottawa native Steph MacDonald, won silver at the FIBA Americas championship winning by 20 over Venezuela on Sunday. It's the same result as two years ago -- second to you-know-who -- but try not to be so cynical.

Update: Here's how it's different in the U.S. Tristan Thompson is one of the best basketball players in the Class of 2010 and he's virtually unknown in his own country, but in the States, recruiters are already making projections for 14-year-old Sydney Moss, Randy Moss' daughter. How crazy is that? How crazy is it that Randy Moss -- he's a month younger than me -- has a daughter who's starting high school?)

Related:
Catching up on Cadougan (Todd Rosiak, Golden Eagles Blog, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel)
Canadians' huge win raises profile for hoops program (USA Today)