Thursday, June 19th, 2008 - Cuban Ain't Feelin' The Olympic Spirit

More than a little surprised Sweden was a total no-show in their must-win game against Russia who totally dominated the game. That puts the Russians, coached by Guus Hiddink, up against his homeland Holland on Saturday which completes the final eight...the first quarter-final goes today with Germany facing Portugal. Maybe the most interesting matchup of the quarters. You've got a well rested Portuguese side with loads of skill in the midfield against the traditionally powerful, physical German side who have looked vulnerable, and have that mental midget Jens Lehmann in goal. Who wins? It's always tough to write off Germany as they've practically mastered the art of navigating a tournament but I've got Portugal going through (+145. Yours truly is 12-12 at Pinnacle, +$46). Why not? Nuno Gomes promised a goal after all...so I guess Tiger Woods wasn't just being dramatic when it came to his knee bothering him. He's got an ACL issue and stress fractures in his left leg and is having surgery and done for the year which begs the question, does golf even have a "year"? It never really ends, does it? Of course, that he's won 10 tournies with a torn ACL will do wonders for those that argue golf isn't a sport...Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban got off this gem on the Olympics: "It's not that I don't like the idea of them representing their countries. If the Olympics were truly a nationalistic endeavor built on sport and part of the public domain, I would be willing to take risk and support their playing. What I don't like is that we lie to ourselves and pretend that the Olympians represent our country. They don't. They have taken relatively low paying jobs working for the Olympics, who in turn sell the broadcast and marketing rights for billions of dollars in profits, all the while creating enormous risk for those of us who pay them for their day jobs that support their families. It's amazing how players who are free agents won't participate, but those with guaranteed contracts will. I hate the fact that we lie to ourselves and pretend this is about representing country. It's not. It's about money." Not one part of that do I disagree with...more and more, the similarities between the Leafs and Jays are blowing my mind. In the lead role, you've got Richard Peddie and Paul Godfrey, who think they know sports because they appear on Off The Record every other day. For GM's, you've got well, nothing yet and JP Ricciardi who incidentally has delivered nothing yet. Both have a guy that they vastly overpaid for considering what they've delivered: AJ Burnett? Meet Jason Blake. But at least both have a couple vets and great leaders in Mats Sundin and Roy Halladay. Oh, and the Jays don't have Don Cherry. Advantage Jays...the Yankees signed Sir Sidney Ponson to a minor league deal, his second go-round with the Yankees. Who is next? Boomer Wells?...it just doesn't sound right: Motley Crue, on Larry King Live tonight...have a great Thursday.