Written Before I Realized it was Theme Week

[der meister 3,247]

               The Toronto Legion and defenseman Ryuji Sakamoto continue to struggle at the halfway point of the season. The Legion find themselves as the worst team in the VHL, trailing the Prague Phantoms by a single point. In the North American Conference, however, the Legion are an astonishing 8 points behind the New York Americans and Chicago Phoenix [or is it Phoenix Chicagoes? There's something in here about ashes, the Chicago fire, and rising like a Phoenix out of Arizona, but I digress]. The Legion also have the league's worst goal differential at an absurd -39 in 37 games, the worst offense with just 71 goals [the aforementioned Americans are the second-worst with 87], and a Conference-worst 110 goals against. That final stat is the least concerning if you're a Legion fan, however, as the team at the top of the North American table, the Seattle Bears, have surrendered 106 goals, though they've also played two additional games.

 

               For Sakamoto, he's on pace to at least meet most of his individual statistics from his rookie season. As a rookie, he notched 7 goals, 31 points, 158 minutes in the Sin Bin, 159 hits, and 102 blocked shots. Just one game over the halfway part of the season, Sakamoto has 2 goals, 20 points, 59 minutes in the box, 87 hits, and 93 blocked shots. The all-around improvement in his individual game can certainly be largely attributed to maturity. At least, that's what I'd say with almost any player who put up these stat lines, aside from Ryuji Sakamoto. Just when I thought he was turning the corner, both with his commitment to owning a home and his friendship with young Ms. Ann Takamaki, he has doubled down on childish outbursts and, rarely, full on tantrums.

              

               Perhaps the most shocking display occurred this past weekend, when Sakamoto and I went to Toronto's relatively-small Japantown, a section of the city near Dundas and Bay. Sometimes referred to as Little Tokyo, the neighborhood in Toronto is one of urban Canada's smallest iterations, but it has a certain, unmistakable charm to it. After an excellent meal at Miku Toronto, one of the swankiest Sushi restaurants I've ever been in, we had an unfortunate altercation on the street. Sakamoto's peroxide-blond hair is enough to have him stand out amongst people of his ethnicity, even without his local fame from being part of the Legion. Long story short, Sakamoto was heckled by a passerby and completely lost his cool. I suppose as a reporter, I should be grateful that most of his furious diatribe was in Japanese, so I cannot feel obligated to provide a full and accurate transcript. Suffice it to say that I wouldn't be shocked to see video of the incident go viral in the coming days. For my part, I briefly tried to pull Sakamoto into a store selling tourist t-shirts in the window, but he pulled his arm free of my grasp as easily as a candy-swiping bodybuilder.

              

               In my humble opinion, what the Legion really need right now is to attempt to salvage some positives from the season. In the heart of Toronto, they're a target for scorn and ridicule. What they need is some time away from the city. Unfortunately, in the short-term, their longest road trip is a scant two games, first in New York City against the Americans, then a flight across the Atlantic to take on HC Davos Dynamo before returning to face off against the D.C. Dragons. New York is the weakest of those three teams and the Legion's best chance to try to build some upward momentum as they head into the second half of the season.

 

The scene inside Miku Toronto