The usual mega-Monday edition...early!

The Minnesota Vikings will host the Chicago Bears on the Monday Nighter, and it'll be played at the University of Minnesota's TCF Bank Stadium with the Metrodome unavailable after last week's deflation of its roof.  Vikes punter Chris Kluwe, who has to be eyeing a post-football career in the player's union given his repeated bitching about how the league doesn't take care of players, is again spouting off that the field will be unplayable, and as hard as concrete, given the lack of heating coils.  Playing Chicago -8 tonight in this one.


If the rumor mill is running accurately, it sounds like we'll be talking about Qatar a lot more in 2011. Talk is a Qatari group is going to purchase Manchester United in June for a mere $2.3 billion (Canadian/U.S.) from those purveyors of trailer trash, the Glazer family, who also own the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

I don't know if Michael Vick is a better MVP choice than Tom Brady, and I'd say he's not even close given the time missed, but he sure wins for most exciting player. His Philadelphia Eagles were down 31-10 and in the final 7:28 and roared back to win 38-31 over the shell-shocked New York Giants. Tom Coughlin's dog is going to wish it was Vick's after that meltdown.  That of course brought on an epic Manning Face.

Despite winning 33-30 over the Washington Redskins in a wild game, the Dallas Cowboys can't be too thrilled that in 7 of their last night 9 games, they've allowed 30+ points.  Not exactly what was expected of that talented unit.  Skins QB Rex Grossman almost derailed the rumored reason behind starting him over Donovan McNabb: tanking to get a better draft pick.

The New Jersey Nets, soon heading to Brooklyn under a new name, have now compiled five first round draft picks in the next two years.  That's a hell of a team coming down the turnpike.

Not often I go with trivia here, but let's see if anybody can identify the guy at the right of the picture here.  And yes, that is St. Louis Cardinal Chris Carpenter in the pic as well.  Answer comes tomorrow.

The Price Is Right has seen its ratings drop precipitously since Bob Barker put away his ridiculously oversized microphone and Drew Carrey took over, so what better time for the NHL to get some representation on the show today at 11am?  After all, who knows poor ratings like the NHL?  Sidney Crosby, Alexander Ovechkin and Jeremy Roenick will be on, apparently to promote the Winter Classic during the showcase showdown.

The craziest fan brawls in sports, complete with video evidence.  Far too much North American content, unfortunately.  The rest of the world does fan brawls so much better.

Check out New England Patriots guard Dan Connelly, all 300 or so pounds of him, pick up a kickoff and rumble 71 yards down the field.  Awesome.  More awesome?  He didn't go to the lame oxygen mask after.
 

I'm going to confidently state that Houston Texan Brian Cushing, suspended earlier this year for PED usage, will follow the career arc of Shawne Merriman: explode on the scene, dominate, get busted and suspended, and come back and slowly fade away in a series of injuries.  Of course, Cushing did add "fight with teammate in the middle of a game" to that arc yesterday when he got into it with Antonio Smith.


This is Tom Ince, in England's FA Cup play for Notts County, absolutely embarrassing the AFC Bournemouth defence.

World Cup, LeBron in C-Town, and the Leafs suck

So much for all the talk of England and especially the U.S. being slam dunks to host the World Cup in 2018 and 2022.  Instead, it'll be mob-run Russia taking the ball in 2018, and a whole-lot-more-head-scratchingly Qatar in 2022.  Yeah, a  World Cup in the desert in mid-summer, in a country that doesn't widely allow people to drink, what a great idea!  For their part, Qatar is saying that they plan on air conditioning outdoor stadiums.  At least that isn't ridiculous.

Not sure what my fav moment was in the Miami Heat blowout of the Cleveland Cavaliers last night: the "like father like son" chant in warm-ups (LeBron's dad, of course, left the family when he was a child), the  "We should have drafted Darko" sign, or one of the Cavs assistant coaches telling 'bron to, well, pretty sure you can read his lips here (oh, and LOADS more below the vid...just mixing things up):

And speaking of the Heat, my GOD is Chris Bosh ever invisible there.  He looks as lost as Rafael Araujo did in his Toronto Raptors days, and that is some tough task.

Did I hear Deion Sanders say about Michael Vick:  "From Levinsworth to the limelike"?  I think you mean "limelight", Prime.  Vick was fantastic in last night's entertaining 34-24 win (and Prime Time Pick win) over the Houston Texans.

What could Rogers buying Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment mean for Hockey Night in Canada?  The end, speculates the Toronto Star.  

In case you didn't know, Dan Shulman is the new lead guy on Sunday Night Baseball.  This is a very, very good thing.

A breath of fresh air is new Toronto Raptor Jerryd Bayless, who writes in this piece of how excited he was to come to Toronto, and how excited he is to be a Raptor.  He keeps up with that attitude and he'll be a far greater fan fav than a defensively bankrupt never-was who holds up six fingers to indicate a three pointer.  Thanks to Boris D for that linkage.

A good week is about to kick off for the New York Yankees. Mariano Rivera is about to sign a two-year, $30 million deal today, after turning down three-years and $45 million (or more) from the Boston Red Sox, who clearly don't trust Jonathan Papelbon, and the LA Angels of Anaheim.  Hope you're paying attention, Captain Jeter.  The Cliff Lee chase is going to get heated up, with some predicting it'll be done before the end of next week, and Jeter should re-sign too with talk the Yankees may slightly - and wrongly - up their 3-year $45 million offer.

One thing this sports fan could do without: the big story of Tuesday-Friday of each NFL week being what guys are being fined.  Heard one laughable stat that Richard Seymour's fine for punching Ben Roethlesberger amounted to one quarter of a percent of his annual salary.  Yeah, that'll hurt.  So for the average guy making $50,000 a year, that's $125.  Back breaking stuff it is not.

None of Phil Jackson's 11 championship teams has ever lost four straight games in a season, something this year's LA Lakers have already accomplished.

Christmas gift idea for a New York Yankee fan: PlayStation 3/XBox MLB 10 The Show, because Derek Jeter will still be half decent in it.  Next year's edition won't be so kind.  If anybody has that game or another sitting in their desk drawer, send it my way.

So sour that the powder LeBron James throws up before the game wasn't swapped out for anthrax.

So the alleged Public Enemy #1 in Ottawa Dany Heatley made his first return to Ottawa with the San Jose Sharks last night and was met with plenty of empty seats.  Speculation is a rumor was floated that Heatley would be driving one of the buses moving fans out to Kanata.

Somehow, this guy dated Kate Moss.  What a freaking world.

Explain to me how Ron Wilson still is employed as coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs?  When they're not blowing late leads like they did again to Tampa Bay a couple nights ago, they're getting shut out by last year's league doormat, the Edmonton Oilers, 5-0...at home.  Predictably, fans booed.  But they'll be back next game, they always are.  And if you're wondering, that makes you more sucker than fan.

Best hockey goal celebration ever?  Easy button?  Awesome.

Lyin' King comes home

If you are like most basketball fans, odds are you're pulling - heavy - for the Cleveland Cavaliers to dish out a little bit of revenge to LeBron James tonight when he brings his talents back to C-Town for the first time with his Miami Heat.  Cavs fans have a little something ready for LeBron too, as this official chant sheet - split out by 6 minute intervals each quarter - shows.  And if Cavs fans have been bringing signs already this season, am guessing they're going to paper the place like Monday Night Raw tonight.

Houston visit Philadelphia tonight in NFL action.  Considering what Michael Vick did the last time he was on Prime Time TV against Washington, he may break records tonight against a team as horrible against the pass as the Texans are.  I'm playing the Eagles at -8.5 for the Prime Time Pick.  I don't normally like going over a total at 51, but this one could be threatened early.

And your World Cup hosts for 2018 and 2022 are (drum roll)...being announced at 9:30am (Eastern).  You can watch here. If the stories are to be believed, Qatar has moved ahead of the U.S. as the likely winner for 2022.  Can't imagine what the rea$on$ behind that might be. 

This NFL season represents the first time in 51 years that every team has at least two losses at this point in the season.

A WWE themed wedding?  Sure, why not?  Not sure what I liked better, the Bret "Hitman" Hart routine, complete with sunglasses, the "Orient Express" entrance music for the Asian couple (Bill Parcells "Jap plays" think that was over the top), the Best Man rocking the theme from Karate Kid, or the groom going Mr. Perfect with his hankerchief...or Howard Finkel in house to announce it all.  Awesome.

"Where's he gonna go, Cincinnati?"

Another Thursday night NFL game goes tonight with the Chicago Bears visiting the Miami Dolphins.  Hope you've been following the Prime Time Picks this year, hitting at a healthy 75%.  I'm playing the Fish at -1.5. 

Word out of the MLB meetings in Orlando is that St. Louis Cardinal and Hall of Fame lock Albert Pujols wants an A-Rod type contract in the 10-year, $300 million range.  Can't imagine it happening.  Think we're a long ways off from ever seeing that kind of deal again, particularly from a market like St. Louis.  That, and Pujols has had a lot more injuries up to age 32 - the same time A-Rod signed his extension - for a deal of that length to make sense.

The date may have changed, but the song remains the same: Portland Trail Blazer Greg Oden has an injury that has knocked him out for the year. He'll need microfracture surgery on his knee. 

The Detroit Tigers could be big players this off-season, with $52 million coming off their books from the 2010 payroll.

ProFootballTalk looks at the dilemma the Philadelphia Eagles have on their hands with Michael Vick, who is 4-0 in games he starts this year and lighting up the stat sheet.  The answer may lie in franchising him, but players are never happy with those deals, especially, I'd guess, a guy who already lost millions thanks to a jail stint and no doubt would want more years and guaranteed dollars.

Tiger Woods is now on Twitter.  What a perfect environment for a guy to speak like a robot in 140 characters.  What's next, Derek Jeter?  And what is it with these say-nothing Nike guys?

For some reason, the Arizona Diamondbacks are contemplating dealing super talent Justin Upton, and the New York Yankees are among the interested. DBacks GM Kevin Towers will know the Yankees young talent well, given he worked for GM Brian Cashman this past year.  Interesting.

The Calgary Flames traded Brett Sutter - who recently, and drunkenly, beat up a cab driver - and Ian White - who drove drunk while with Toronto - to Carolina for Babchuk and Kostoplous.  That kind of behavior will play far better among the 'necks.

Derek Jeter is said to be after a four-year deal from the New York Yankees. A little more realistic than the initial talk of wanting a sex-year pact, but still a year or two long by my estimation.  There is also word from the Yankees side of things that at least one executive is saying the team should play hardball with Jeter, because "where's he gonna go, Cincinnati?"  This is gonna get more and more interesting unless Jeter sees himself for what he is: a player on the decline.

In a bit of a surprise, it seems that MLB will indeed expand its playoffs for 2012.  Finally, they get it right.  And to those dreaming of a salary cap, I'll repeat: it will never, ever happen.

There's no shortage of Chris Bosh beatdowns lately, but this is hands down the best.  Including a definition: "Like A Bosh" [idiom, ~2010]: When someone or something desires the limelight only to wilt under the newfound pressure.

First up for the FIFA goal of the year nominees,  South Africa’s Siphiwe Tshabalala’s opening goal of the World Cup v Mexico.  As mentioned yesterday, I'll be including one of these daily.

Signs of life in The Bronx

San Francisco Giant Buster Posey may look like a kid, but he's playing like a seasoned vet in his rookie year.  A mere 4-for-4 night led the way for the Giants in a 6-5 win where they scored the winner in the last inning for the guy who has to be the 2010 NL Rookie of the Year (apologies to Jayson Heyward).  The Giants now hold a 3-1 lead over the Phillies with Game 5 slated for tonight.  Pretty decent pitching match-up in Roy Halladay and Tim Lincecum, no?  That one goes at 7:57pm (Eastern).  I might be in the minority, but baseball's playoffs rule, save for the commercials that stretch games way beyond what need happen.

The New York Yankees finally showed some signs of life last night and rode the back of a gritty CC Sabathia start in a must-win game to a 7-2 win.  The ghosts of Yankee Stadium showing up and pushing the Texas Rangers into a mistake filled second inning didn't hurt the cause, nor did homers from Nick Swisher and Robinson Cano.  Game 6 goes in Texas tomorrow night.

Pittsburgh Steeler linebacker James Harrison is said to be contemplating retirement because he's so livid over the NFL's $75,000 fine on him for his nasty hit on Mohammod Massaquoi of the Cleveland Browns Sunday.  Of course, Harrison didn't help his cause by admitting Monday he was out to hurt guys.  Retirement?  Really?  Me thinks Harrison is a bit of a drama queen.  Who would retire with your team just about the favorite to win the Super Bowl right now?

Champions League group play saw eight games take place yesterday. Inter Milan raced out to a 4-0 lead after an early red card on Tottenham's 'keeper Gomes, but Spurs made it real interesting and it ended 4-3.  The group stage is now half complete and only Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Lyon, Real Madrid and Arsenal are a perfect 3-0.

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson says the Wayne Rooney issue will be "put to bed" this morning.  I'm sure a guy who has had several allegations of marital infidelities recently is thrilled with Ferguson's choice of words.  Former EPL cokehead striker Robbie Fowler, now playing in Australia, says that Rooney is interested in playing in the Aussie A-League.  Right, just as soon as he spends a couple years with Toronto FC.

I can't say I've ever much paid attention to or respected the dozen's of NFL Power Rankings that appear every week, but this one caught my eye simply for the dominance of the AFC.  You're into the sixth slot before a single NFC team appears.

Dallas Cowboys Tight End Jason Witten tweeted that his kids were going to go out as Buzz Lightyear and Woody of Toy Story fame for Hallowe'en.  So of course, yours truly thought it would be a good idea to respond with this: "dressing as Wade and Jason far scarier."  In typical Cowboy fashion, he did not respond.

I generally take up for Terrell Owens because he has always kept his nose clean of a lot of the off-the-field that a lot of other guys get a pass for to a greater degree than you should relative to a guy who trashed the odd QB (see Favre, Brett).  And while I'd never take up for Ben Roethlesberger and his act of recent years that saw multiple allegations of sexual assault, T.O. trying to compare his suspension to Michael Vick's and imply he got off lighter is just rhetoric.  One, Roethlesberger wasn't charged with anything and got four games.  Two, Vick was charged with something got three games.  It was the John Q. Laws that took care of the rest of his time from the game with a stay in the crowbar motel.

Do not mess with the St. Leonard Cougar's of the Ontario Football League.  Check out their act at Ivor Lose Stadium in Hamilton on Saturday in their league semis, as a dozen or so players ventured into the stands with bad intentions and got into it with fans.  My personal fav comes around the 21 second mark.  Watch left of the screen as #40 crowns a guy with a milk crate shot that Mick Foley would think was stiff.  Good of the refs to let it go for a couple minutes before slowly wading in to try to separate people.

This dog got some bite...

Pretty interesting cover page on yesterday's Philadelphia Daily News.  And no, not referring to Roy Halladay winning his 20th game and being on the cusp of the playoffs for the first time in ever.

Dallas Cowboys cornerback Terence Newman wonders it the 'boys practice hard enough.  If you have to ask the question, the answer can only be "no".  One positive in the Cowboys 0-2 start: they've outgained both opponents thus far.

A Toronto FC blogger - View From The South Stands - takes a peak at the just announced ticket packages for next year.  Fantastic take.  Here's another from a fan who wrote a letter to his ticket rep.  Colour me stunned - literally - to find out the median ticket price for Toronto FC, converted to UK pounds, costs more than English Premier League clubs Newcastle, Fulham, Sunderland, Wolves, Everton, Stoke, Birmingham and Manchester City, among others. At the top end of the ticket pricing, only Arsenal, Tottenham, and Chelsea charge more.  Yes, Man United and Liverpool are actually cheaper to attend in the best seats.

The Cleveland Browns put a call into the Philadelphia Eagles inquiring about Kevin Kolb and the Eagles declined to discuss moving him, though it sounds like they may entertain the idea later before the trade deadline.

Check out the numbers put up by Philadelphia Phillies Cole Hamels, Roy Halladay and Roy Oswalt in their key three game series with the Atlanta Braves this week:  2-0 with a 1.64 ERA in 22 IP in the series. Dominant?  Yeah, I'd say so.  Oswalt is up to 187 strikeouts for the year.  Another 13 will give the Phillies three starters with 200+ whiff's thrown, the first to do that since the 1969 Houston Astros.  Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. admitted they're concerned that Halladay is at 241+ innings pitched with 10 days left in the season, plus pitching in October which he's never done before.  I suspect the Phil's will push hard to clinch and then give the big boy some rest.  With ten straight wins, they're plenty hot to get that done soon.

If historical events had Facebook status updates, here's what they might look like.  Good stuff.

The Minnesota Twins did a very un-Twinlike thing a couple nights ago. They clinched the AL Central title with lots of time to spare, no playoff game required.  So, they've got the benefit of sorting out their rotation and have announced the Francisco Liriano will be opening Game 1.  I've got a feeling Yankee fans would love to see the Twins at some point, especially with the thought of Carl "American Idle" Pavano starting in the Bronx, assuming he doesn't get a hangnail or crash a car.

Joe Posnanski at SI.com takes a peak at Toronto Blue Jay Jose Bautista and says, using a formula to pick his 32 flukiest home run seasons, Bautista's the runaway winner no matter how he tweaked the formula. Does that mean he won't hit 30+ next year?  No, but it doesn't mean he will either.

If you're ever stuck without a beer bottle opener, and twisting it off seems far too easy, try one of these 31 ways to open a beer bottle.

Check out the most hilarious - intentional or otherwise - jersey's.

Stop the world, the Leafs not only scored, they did it more than once.  And won.  I think.  Well, they were up 3-1 and I paid no mind after running into that.  Nor should you to any pre-season NHL action.

Have a good day.

Weekend wrap

Dimitar Berbatov scored a hat-trick for Manchester United, continuing a great run for him early in the EPL season, as United beat Liverpool 3-2. Check out his goals below. The second will be up there in most goal of the year contests.  Leaders Chelsea looked like they'd threaten double digits with three goals in the opening 30 minutes against Blackpool, but cruised to a 4-0 win.  Chelsea is averaging 5.2 goals a game so far this season.

About the only bright side to the Dallas Cowboys 0-2 start after yesterday's embarrassment at home to the Chicago Bears is the rest of the division is only a game ahead after the Washington Redskins pissed away a 27-10 lead and lost in overtime, the New York Giants got hammered 38-14 in Indy, and the Philadelphia Eagles got to 1-1 after a 35-32 win at Detroit in a game that ended four hours after it started. Is Tony RomoCowboys woes? to blame for the

Speaking of the Eagles, I get that they view Kevin Kolb as the quarterback of the future, but the present? Better teams have sat better quarterbacks than him - the New England Patriots sitting Drew Bledsoe springs to mind - and benefited, so not sure why they wouldn't at least ride Mike Vick while he's hot. Vick sure looks like he's got his legs back, and made a few plays yesterday that only he makes. Andy Reid is nuts if he doesn't see that. For Vick, the more he plays, the more he makes.

The Tampa Bay Rays are at Yankee Stadium for a four game set starting today. If it is anything like last week's series in Tampa, call it appointment viewing. The Yanks had a chance to enter the series a game and a half up but Mariano Rivera blew a save chance and the Bombers lost in 11.  The real good news though is Andy Pettitte returned and turned in 6 innings of 1 run baseball.

If  a quarterback was to take every snap in a game and spike it, their quarterback ranking would be 39.6.  Baltimore Ravens QB Joe Flacco rated a 23.8 yesterday.  Ouch.

Three AFC teams are 2-0. Not sure many would have figured Miami with two games opening on the road, one at Minnesota. KC is also a surprise 2-0, and if they're a surprise, not sure what that makes the Pittsburgh Steelers, minus Ben Rapelesberger. NFC perfects so far include Chicago, Green Bay, Tampa Bay (no, really) and potentially New Orleans if they pull it out tonight in San Francisco, which it says here they do as your Prime Time Pick (3-1, +$198).

Chicago Cub Tyler Colvin is lucky to be alive today.  He was taken to hospital yesterday after a broken bat impaled him in the chest.  Only the Cubs.

Blackburn Rovers manager Sam Allardyce says that he's more suited to being the lead man with Inter Milan or Real Madrid.  He also said he'd win a league title every year if he was running Real or Manchester United.  Delusional much, Sam?  Memo to gamblers: mark down November 27th on your calendar.  Sir Alex Ferguson is going to have United wipe Blackburn up.

What, you thought I wasn't going to mention the OHB and his incredible performance yesterday did you?  Three picks, one fumble and back to back losses?  What do I think of his return now?  Best idea ever.  I suspect he's going to start "missing his family" a lot more in the near future.

Here's Dimitar Berbatov's beauty against Liverpool yesterday...


Check out Ray Lewis trash the officiating in yesterday's Ravens-Bengals game and Carson Palmer.  He can expect a fine here, but good for him.  Is it me or do him and The Rock have a strong resemblance to each other?

Chickens are athletic

Any guesses as to which two numbers are retired by the Miami Heat? If you had Michael Jordan and Dan Marino - yes, THAT Dan Marino - you are correct...ESPN The Magazine on hockey in its January 26th issue: "goals are only a bit more common than broadcast deals."...Michael Vick thinks chicken are clever and agile. I predict cock fighting in the future...good to see former Major Leaguer and full-time white trash John Rocker hasn't learned to keep his hate to himself, going off about a Jew...the Cleveland Cavs are 20-0 at home to start the season. Of course, now that we're talking about it, you can bet they'll lose in the next week...at the NHL Skills Competition, how awkward was that standing ovation for Vincent Lecavalier and then prolonged wait for the introduction of Alexander Ovechkin to egg it on?...last night's Prime Time Pick went sour as easily as the previous two nights went sweetly. Today's pick comes between 3 and 4pm...having trouble deciding what is more lame: All-Star weekends including skills competitions in general, or people who buy All-Star jerseys of their fav player...one week from a fantastic sports weekend with UFC 94 with a BJ Penn vs. Georges St. Pierre main event on Saturday, and then the small matter of the Super Bowl Sunday. Will beat this weekend's washout...is it just me, or does Cristiano Ronaldo look really uninterested this season?...that the NHL asks people to pay to watch that Young Stars game is a joke. That was the most awful sporting event you'll see this year, and a half hour of my life I'll never get back...4-1 underdog "Sugar" Shane Mosley whipped Antonio Margarito in the first big boxing matchup of the year. Expect some serious gloating from Cam Stewart on Drive This on Monday - he was pumping up what a great value play Mosley was at 4-1...have a great Sunday.

PRIME TIME PICK: A bit earlier than anticipated. Playing the Boston Celtics today at -9 to crush the Dallas Mavs. Enjoy. Get down with Pinnacle.

Tuesday, November 25th, 2008

It took a few days, but finally found a solid picture of Ricky Hatton post-fight on Saturday with a couple fellow Mancunians who he had carry his belts in. Awesome...while General Motors and the others in the Big Three automakers are busy fighting for a U.S. government bailout - and they showed up in Washington in private jets to underscore how desperate they are - they announced they will not be renewing their endorsement deal with Tiger Woods. I'm sure Tiger is thrilled he'll no longer have to maintain the charade he's a Buick fan and he can now move on to the BMW's of the world...the Arizona Cardinals are complaining because the New York Giants listed Brandon Jacobs as probable and he didn't play? They do know that Jacobs is good, right?...the Pro Bowl looks like it'll move to the week before the Super Bowl which will only make it slightly more relevant...After Tom Brady's first 11 starts in the NFL, his completion percentage was 66.3%. Matt Cassel's over the same time frame? 66.3%...a bad idea: the Philadelphia Eagles, circling the toilet bowl, and a Thursday night Thanksgiving Day game. Expect ugliness...Michael Vick is eyeing an early release once his last charge is resolved, and will be out July 20th, 2009 or sooner it appears. It'll be interesting to see how Roger Goodell handles his status following that...Doug Flutie is being mentioned as a possible Toronto Argos coach. Maybe they can look to see if he still feels at all like playing. With their inability to get a solid QB of late, it couldn't hurt...while completing today's entry, Drew Brees passed for another 300 yards. Wonder if San Diego would like a do-over on that deal that saw them favor Phillip Rivers?...have a great Tuesday.