Opening day in the books, productivity tumbling

It is a horror that nobody should have to endure.  Wake up to your alarm clock on a Saturday morning after a great night before (read: malted hop frenzy) and think you're going to watch Argentina and Nigeria in World Cup action.  Instead, you find you're seeing the duller-than-dishwater Greece.  That's all you need to know, it don't matter who they're playing, that's a giant lunchbag letdown.  1-0 Korea though in the early stages, so that makes it a bit more palatable. Yes, Greece has a debt in this one too.

Those uniforms that the United States World Cup team will be rocking today were inspired by the U.S. team that had the biggest upset arguably in World Cup history some 60 years ago when they beat England.  Of course, the U.S will face England today kicking off at 2:30pm in what is expected to be the highest rated soccer game in American history.  The game will be played at a high altitude so it'll be interesting to see if the more worn down English players can keep pace with the U.S., who tend to be among the fittest teams in any competition.  Found out that the referees are having some special training to learn English swear words ahead of this one.  

Started a column to the right with the World Cup picks and record.  Be sure to toss your picks into the comments section.

UFC 115 goes tonight in Vancouver with a less than appealing main event of Chuck Lidell and Rich Franklin.  Maybe it is just me, but I find the Canadian UFC cards to date have been a little sub-standard relative to the cards you see in the U.S.  Cro Cop faces Pat Berry in the main undercard fight, and there will no doubt be a strong Croatian support in Vancouver for Cro Cop. Full card here.

Michael Davis was on The B.S. Report podcast this week talking World Cup and explained that there is a difference in the grass in the northern and southern hemisphere and that that has historically played into why teams from the opposite hemisphere don't win.  The southern grass tends to be longer, slower and thicker while the north tends to be shorter and faster, particularly when the fields tend to be watered pre-game leading to the ball sliding around the surface far quicker.  Interesting note: the South African fields have been designed to play more like the northern hemisphere.

The fashion crime of the World Cup day goes to France, where they were all wearing smedium shirts that looked more fit for the Tour de France than Les Bleus.

That sound you hear at World Cup stadia is the sounds of the "vuvuzela", a plastic horn that you blow and the effect you get is the sound of an IndyCar or F1 race.  GBVH offers up this site where you can blow your own.  Yours truly, in addition to using it as a funnel, once worked one in an Oktoberfest hall with a few friends that resulted in them being banned from Oktoberfest altogether.  Yep, we've got game.

A U.S. court ruled that urine samples that show Barry Bonds used steroids cannot be presented at his perjury trial where he said he didn't use steroids.  Make sense of that, if you can.

Enjoy the games.  Back tomorrow for a brief RM.

It has begun!!

In case you weren't aware, the World Cup starts today and this guy is freaking jacked for it.  That strange grinding sound you hear is the internet's bandwidth diving from everyone tuning into the South Africa/Mexico tilt at the office.

Florida Marlins ace Josh Johnson, who beat Roy Halladay and the limp hitting Philadelphia Phillies last night with a 2-0 shutout, has six straight starts of 6+ innings pitched with one run or less given up, the first to do that since Chris Carpenter did it in 2005.  It was also the 5th game this year that he allowed no more than three hits while pitching 6+, something nobody else has done this season.

Game six of the Stanley Cup Final was watched by 8 million households in the U.S., the highest figure since 1974.  Modest by any measure, but the NHL has to feel pretty good about the year it has had.  Having two traditional markets in the final, and a rub from the Olympics, had to have helped some.

Here's who a variety of experts have to advance and win in the World Cup.  Me, I've got Spain winning it all.  I know, pretty thick branch and all, but when they're on and healthy, they're a load for anybody.

Pittsburgh Steelers QB Ben Roethlesberger is playing the "young and immature" card in apologizing.  Right, because I'm sure he's aged and gained so much wisdom in mere months since he was accused of raping an underage girl in a bar bathroom.

A great soccer blog I've discovered in the last few days - - that developed an awesome points system that took into account diving, bad fouls, waving invisible cards and stealing yards on throw-ins, among other things, to determine the dirtiest eleven soccer players at the World Cup. 

A trio of picks for tomorrow's World Cup action are coming later today, a little hesitant to check the old gambling lines at the office.

Come to find out that the Lucha Libre set don't take kindly to fans trying to rip their masks off.  The slo-mo is amazing.

The Hawks win!

The Chicago Black Hawks won the Stanley Cup last night with a 4-3 overtime win that was eerily similar to Canada's gold medal win in February. A late goal from the opposition ties it up, and the winning goal comes early in overtime on a nice individual play - this from Patrick Kane - from the goalies right shooting five hole, just like Sidney Crosby did in Vancouver. Kane will never have to pay for a cab in his home town of Buffalo again.  Finally, a sincere "STFU" to Don Cherry for his continued raving about how many Canadians were in the final four.  We get it, you like Canada.  It stuns me that more people don't cringe at his broken record act.  Imagine if you tuned into the World Series or Super Bowl to hear "90% of the players here are American!"  You'd puke in disgust and bitch and moan, but that old curmudgeon does it and we get to pay for the privelege.  Can't wait til Father Time takes care of Grapes, because the CBC sure doesn't seem to have the stones to not cater to the lowest common denominator.

In the 2-3-2 format, the last ten years the winner of game three has won the NBA title.

The NHL is in the process of renaming some of its trophies.  If they were ever to rename the Stanley Cup, wouldn't "Scottie Bowman's Cup" be a slam dunk?  He's getting his name on it again after his run as a consultant with the Hawks, in addition to multiple Cups in Montreal, Pittsburgh and Detroit. The guy is as money as anybody in sports history.

A mere 100 hot female soccer fans.  Enjoy.  This is fantastic stuff.

The Seattle Mariners think the New York Yankees will come knocking soon to trade for starting pitcher Cliff Lee, and are scouring the Yankees farm system to get their legwork done ahead of time.  For their part, the Yankees insist they're not interested in Lee at the moment. Of course, they once insisted they weren't in on Mark Teixera and we know how that ended.

Well that didn't take long.  A trio of journalists were robbed in South Africa where they're covering the World Cup, in their hotel.  Two slept through it.

John Doyle at the Globe and Mail looks at diving in soccer and calls it part of the game.  My take is this: (1) yes, it is a part of the game.  A terrible part.  Let's be clear: not all players and teams engage in it, and not even close to most players.  For example: find the U.S. do it once this World Cup and I've got a beer for you.  No joke.  Lionel Messi - best player on the globe today - won't go down unless he's killed.  Wayne Rooney is largely the same way with a couple incidents I'd rather not discuss for my fav player who plays the game right 99% of the time (2) Don't necessarily watch a replay and see a guy go down and assume it was a dive.  Remember these guys are flying out there and a shoulder can knock you off balance and on your rear easy. Cristiano Ronaldo is a noted diver, but he also takes more of a pounding than virtually anyone as there isn't a way to slow him down otherwise and he doesn't often look to pass once he gets in top gear, so he's not always diving.  I won't reference his bitching to the refs, that's another topic.  (3) don't pretend it doesn't exist in hockey and basketball.  It does, and as GBVH pointed out, in the NBA it is often called "defending".  (4) I hate it, it is embarrassing, and have long maintained that if you were to dish out cards with post-game reviews by video, you'd see it disappear in a hurry when teams started losing guys to suspension and coaches jobs became threatened when stars started missing games and games were lost.  (5) Fortunately, it is also a rare, almost non-existant occurance in the MLS.

Two games on the go tomorrow and here's how we're going to do it.  We're going to play every game on the money line available to either wager or win a hundred dollars.  So if a dog, we're wagering a theoretical $100, if a fav, we're betting to win the hundred.  I'm taking the draw in the South Africa-Mexico game at +231.  In the afternoon battle, I'm betting France at +120 over Uruguay.  All lines at Pinnacle where you can sign up, or just check lines, by clicking the link above today's entry.  If you're wondering why I'm doing them a day ahead, it is more to get the 7:30am kickoffs out of the way that start Saturday morning.  Post your picks in the discussion portion if you wanna go head to head.

No, it won't be all soccer here for the next month, but there will be a lot of it.  If you're not a fan, stick around, you might learn something.

Why Spain is my pick to win the World Cup...check them take Poland apart a couple days ago in a 6-0 beatdown.


Dan Patrick brings Jeremy Roenick to tears, leaving Roenick in the same spot Patrick leaves most.

The Boston Celtics opened a house of fire against the LA Lakers last night, with a rocking Gahhhhden, but it wasn't to last, as the Lakers took game three with a 91-84 decision.  Wonder if Paul Pierce still thinks it isn't going back to L.A.?  Funny stuff in the stands, as there were 5,000 Khloe Kardashian masks - aka Mrs. Lamar Odom - handed out pre-game, and the fans were working a "Ug-lee sis-ter" chant as he obviously did get the less attractive Kardashian option.

Stephen Strasburg made his Washington Natinals debut last night, and it was a strong one with a win, 14 K's and no walks over seven innings. ESPN.com's Buster Olney points out that a good major league pitcher will get about 11 missed swings of every 100. Strasburg had a stunning 18 missed swings among 94 pitches.  Now, before we get too crazy here, let's remember that he pitched against the Pittsburgh Pirates, a team not even good enough to be called bad.  Let's see what he does a month in when teams have a bit of a book on him and he's facing a team that's at least a threat.  Strasburg's next start is Sunday against the equally woeful Cleveland Indians.  Enjoy Strasburg while you can, word is his agent Scott Boras is being militant he's only to work 95 innings in the bigs this year, which leaves him with 88 left.

How much is estimated to be gambled on the World Cup?  A mere $1.5 billion, says Chad Millman at ESPN.com (Insider required). 

The Sporting News is predicting that the New York Jets will win the Super Bowl this year in Dallas, over Dallas.

Crazy World Cup stat: 11 of the last 13 World Cup's have had one or both of Brazil and Germany in the final.

I'm not going to explain to you why this is funny, but if you don't know, know that it is.  Portugal's Nani hurt himself and is said to be out of the World Cup thanks to a busted collarbone suffered while trying an overhead kick.

The Vancouver Whitecaps new logo is out in time for their MLS launch next year.  It is very much simple, which I tend to favor, but also a bit of a nod to those Canucks unis of yesteryear, no?  Some snow and water colours, and mountains, fittingly, but the rip job from Volkswagen seems a bit odd.

The rumor mill has Sacramento as Hedo Turkoglu's preferred destination if the Toronto Raptors can (miraculously) swing a deal to move his five-year, $53 million deal.  Sounds like it would be at least Andres Nocioni coming to the 416.

Manny Pacquiao has agreed to the 14-day blood test ahead of a proposed fight with Floyd Mayweather.  It'll be interesting to see what Floyd comes up with now, or whether he finally drops the issue, and figures making $40 million is worth doing if you might lose your perfect record.

David Geffen - entertainment mogul - wants to buy the LA Clippers and bring LeBron James in to make the franchise.  Not only that, he's said his ownership would in fact deliver LeBron.  Personally, I'd love to see it happen, but can't see 'bron going to a second class franchise in a city that Kobe Bryant owns already.

I'm figuring if I attempted to squat 1000+ pounds, whatever blew out of me wouldn't be spewing out of my mouth, but not this guy...

That's the very fine Rosie Jones holding the World Cup.  Not a bad way to start your day.  England may not win the Cup, but the Cup got nice and close to a nice lady!  More Rosie here.

Not sure how the NBA and NHL couldn't figure a way to stay out of each other's way, but they're head to head again tonight.  Surprisingly, Sunday's head-to-head saw the NHL put up surprisingly strong TV numbers in the U.S.

Derek Jeter and Jay-Z say they're not recruiting LeBron James to come to New York.  Thanks for that update, gents.

The Sports Pickle says if your fav team is one of these, it says much about you.

The Glazer family, who own both Manchester United and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, are a mere $1.6 billion in debt.  They have the biggest soccer club in the world and a team in the can't-lose-money NFL and somehow they're still going to screw it up.

Have you heard about the "icing" phenomena?  Simply put, don't do it.  It is the epitome of douchebaggery.

Where but Philadelphia would a camera pick up a kid, surely no more than 4-years old, drinking beer?

Starting Thursday, going to be picking every World Cup game for your entertainment and mine.  Feel free to post your picks in the comments, and track your own.  At stake: bragging rights.

Woody Harrelson scores a big penalty kick in a charity game, marking the first time the Rest of the World beat England in some kind of charity game.  Pretty funny seeing him and Mike Myers celebrate.


These Ray Bans never need cleaning...

Thanks for nothing, Blogger.com

Apologies for the delay, Blogger was down for most of the day.

Can you recall a Stanley Cup Final where there were two more inept goalies than this one?  Don't get me wrong, it is making for far more exciting stuff seeing some goals scored than when you're watching a dull game where five guys collapse before Hal…err…the goalie, but these guys don't look like champions.  The Chicago Black Hawks moved to within a game of winning the Cup thanks to a 7-4 win.  Not a good night for Chris Pronger.  He was -4 and in the box for another goal in the first five.

The Boston Celtics evened their NBA Final at a game apiece, beating the LA Lakers wire to wire last night in L.A.  Celtic Paul Pierce was caught on video saying the series will not be coming back to L.A.  See video at the bottom of today's entry.

We talked last week of Alex Rodriguez ridiculous numbers when a team walks Mark Teixera intentionally to get to him, so what did Toronto Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston do yesterday with one out?  He walked Tex.  Now, A-Rod didn't come through this time, but nor did he ground into a double play like Cito was hoping he might, so then that left the Jays to face Robinson Cano, who is hitting as well as anybody in the world this season, and doubled home a pair.  We'll leave it to SI.com's Jon Heyman to assess the move by Gaston via Twitter:  "Cito's call to int. walk Texeira w/ 1 out and pitch to ARod, Cano is single dumbest move I've seen this season. #getaclue".  Careful Heyman, lest Cito and the Jays see you suspended from your job for asking legit questions in much the same way that Fan590's Mike Wilner was for questioning Cito earlier in the week.   The Jays took two of three from the Yankees, though the last two could have gone either way.

Word is Philadelphia Phillie Ryan Howard is dating Victoria's Secret model Selita Ebanks. Nice work, RH.

Tweets the great site Mental Floss: Poet Heinrich Heine left his wife his fortune with one catch: she had to remarry. “Then there will be at least one man to regret my death.”

Gonna go out on a limb and suggest that the new Toronto Blue Jays ads, at left, featuring bird characters in suits are very much lifted from Them Crooked Vultures, at right.  Best move the Jays have made in decades!  To take it a step further, even the SportsNet broadcasts go to commercial playing TCV.

Gotta love Alberta allowing bars to serve booze at 8am for the World Cup.

The MLB draft starts tonight and ends sometime in the next year or so.  Only slight exaggeration there.  Ought to be an interesting few days for the Toronto Blue Jays, with four picks in the first 41.

Quick hits: Toronto FC played a scoreless draw with Kansas City that was as dull a game as you'll ever see.  Expected more from TFC ahead of a three week break for the World Cup…speaking of the World Cup, seems a lot of big name stars are going down ahead of the big tourney: Arjen Robben of Holland is the latest to join the list of the out or questionable with a bad hamstring.  Holland has looked damn impressive in the run up to the tourney…strange as it may seem, but Ken Griffey Jr. didn't hit over 100 RBI in his last decade in the Majors...

Paul Pierce talks smack...

Blogger.com had some technical difficulties all day, so your RM is written, but won't be up until 7pm (at latest).

Blogger is currently unavailable online, so RM is delayed for the moment.

"Bad" A.J.

If you've followed along, Chris Pronger went to the Stanley Cup finals in his first year as an Edmonton Oiler, as an Anaheim Duck and as a Philadelphia Flyer. That is damn impressive, and no small coincidence. The Flyers were 5-3 winners last night to even the series at 2-2, and send it back to Chicago for game five tomorrow.

Pity Kim Myong Won, a striker for the North Korean entry to the World Cup. When the team submitted their roster on Tuesday, they listed him as a goalie. No biggie, right?  Wrong. He will only be eligible to play goal in what has to be the most ridiculous thing I've heard all week.  But hey, at least he'll possibly play.  Same can't be said for Ivory Coast's Didier Drogba (broken arm) who appears to be doubtful or England's captain Rio Ferdinand (knee), who is in fact out.  I suspect that England might be better off without Ferdinand in any event.  Kudos to England manager Fabio Capello for not going the easy route and making John Terry captain again.  Instead, it'll be Steven Gerrard leading the team out of the tunnel next Saturday when they face the U.S.A.

Check out the Best Sports Quotes of the Week.  Always fun to see what the mostly uneducated can come up with.

Toronto FC look to keep their strong run of late, especially at home, on the go when they host Kansas City at 4pm. It is getting almost too easy to say they win. Who saw that coming after the first few games this year?

The Toronto Blue Jays bats keep pounding homers, and that led to a 6-1 beating of the New York Yankees at the Rogmahal last night. Up today is a juicy Ricky Romero v. Andy Pettitte matchup, and am personally pumped to be bringing my boy to the game, his first seeing the Yankees.

A prominnent concussion doctor says that the NFL is in need of an "enormous culture change" if they're to properly care for players.  He actually thinks the league really and truly cares?  They routinely send out guys with pain killers and a variety of injuries, what makes him think the tougher to recognize head injury would be so different?


How Not To Leave A Message For A Woman You're Hoping To Date. Exactly what it sounds like.

Sourced from our friends at Empties Crushed, check out this great send up of the NHL's "History..." ads.

Black Mamba Bites

The LA Lakers opened the NBA Finals last night with a no-doubt 102-89 win over the Boston Celtics at home.  Kobe Bryant had a mere 30 and has the look of a guy who is hell bent on avenging the 2008 championship loss to Beantown. Cannot imagine the Lakers don't win the series.

Word is the NHL schedule for next year could see the playoffs end as far out as June 17th, 6 days later than game 7 is slated for this year which was pushed out because of the three weeks lost due to the Olympics. How the hell does that make sense?  Game four of the Final goes tonight in Philadelphia.

The Baltimore Orioles are 39-89 since the 2009 All-Star break, and weren't exactly world beaters before that. They've had and have a pile of top flight prospects too in Matt Wieters, Brian Matusz, Adam Jones and more than a few others. Just goes to show prospects don't necessarily mean legit "pros".

The 10 Worst Blown Calls in Sports History. Speaking of, Tom Verducci at SI.com says that the call blown by Jim Joyce that cost Detroit Tiger Armando Galarraga a perfect game could change baseball.  Sure, but wouldn't you think the series of blown calls in last year's playoffs - as one example - would have prompted that even moreso?  If you've seen hilites of how Joyce and the Detroit Tigers squad and fans handled his appearance yesterday, you have to be impressed with all parties.

Honda dealerships in Ontario are picking up the tab at this year's Honda Toronto Indy on the Friday of the event, once more famously known as the Molson Indy.  Free admission.  I'm going to go out on a very sturdy limb here and suggest the only reason they're giving away tickets is because nobody is buying them.  Crazy, I know.  Somewhere in the Rogers Centre, there's an idea taking shape.

Speaking of the Rogers Centre, Toronto Blue Jays attendance ought to see a boost over the next few days, what with the New York Yankees in town.  The Jays will have their best attended series of the season so far this weekend.

The Sports Pickle presents A Xenophobe's Guide to Hating All 31 U.S. World Cup opponents.  Awesome stuff.  If you didn't know, the World Cup starts in one week.  Global productivity slides at approximately the same time.

Totally clutch athletes.  Or at least a few of them.

Cannot believe that the "Chris Pronger stole a puck" story is getting the run that it is.  Who.  Freaking.  Cares.  Question mark.

Don Cherry finally said or did something original, a first for him in at least a decade, and even that was a rip off job of something that's decades old.

Robbery

Game three of the Stanley Cup Final was the best of the bunch so far, and even went to overtime.  In the end, the Flyers were 4-3 winners were victorious, leaving them a game down.  Game four goes Saturday night in Philadelphia.

The Toronto Blue Jays have allowed four runs the last two nights total from innings one thru eight hosting the AL East leading Tampa Bay Rays. But, they've allowed 10 in inning nine the last two nights. Yep, Cito Gaston is back.  The Jays blew a 3-1 lead and lost 7-3.

Detroit Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga, who was robbed in the ninth by a horrible call which you can see here at the bottom of today's entry, was actually beat out for a rotation spot by Dontrelle Willis. Remember him? Willis was dealt to Arizona for next to nothing.  To his credit, Galarraga has been classy about umpire Jim Joyce severe error, but come on, that's a joke.

Speaking of "remember", remember when Tampa Bay Ray Carlos Pena was even a decent player?

It took 24 innings over two nights for the LA Dodgers to beat the Arizona Diamondbacks, both 1-0 scores over 10 and 14 inning games.

Hard to believe, but the New England Patriots are letting Tom Brady enter his last year of his contract and aren't talking extension. I know they're not a team to be bullied by any player, but Tom Brady isn't just an ordinary player, is he?  Might Brady jump ship?

Is there anybody anywhere that would've guessed the two Yankee pitchers most likely to head to the All-Star Game this year would have been Andy Pettitte and Phil Hughes?  Hughes-es is now 7-1 on the year after another stellar start last night.

Looks like Liverpool may be rid of Manager Rafa Benitez after all, as he is said to be ready to accept a £3 million buyout. Next stop, Juventus?

Didn't Jose Canseco once out Roger Clemens as a steroid user?  So how is it he's part of Rocket Roger's defence?

Robbery.  Period.

"I'm gonna burn this playhouse DOWN!"

The Toronto Blue Jays had the Tampa Bay Rays on the ropes last night, but Jays closer Kevin Gregg brought his gas can out to the mound and tried to burn the Rogers Centre down - which would've left a sea of burnt plastic seats and very few casualties, if it were to happen literally - and the Rays worked four runs across the plate in the 9th on all of one hit in the inning.  Five walks will tend to help that cause on occasion.  Speaking of five, five games is all that separates first through fourth in the AL East.

Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals goes tonight in Philadelphia with the Flyers badly needing a win to get back in the series.  The Flyers have only lost three of their last 10 so it is far too early to count them out.

Nine times since they became New York Yankees teammates, an opposing team has chosen to walk Mark Teixera to get to Alex Rodriguez. All A-Rod has done is go 5 of 6 with three grand slams, two walks, a sac fly and 19 RBIs.  Might not want to walk Teixera ever to get to A-Rod.

Ought to be a festive night at BMO Field in a nothing game as Toronto FC host Vancouver in the final game of the Canadian Championships.  That's a small "f" in final intentionally, TFC has already wrapped up the title and will lift the Voyageur Cup for the second straight year.

The quality blog SportsbyBrooks figures the only chance that soccer has to be as big in the U.S. as the NFL is if the English Premier League drops a team or several in the U.S.  Cannot see it happening, either the EPL going that route or it getting NFL big.  That would be huge, however.

Washington Redskin Albert Haynesworth is being sued for $10 million by a stripper he impregnated, and then decided he should no longer talk to her after finding out she was pregnant, leaving her to fend for her self.  Maybe AH figured that blue collar ballerinas have a great benefits package?

For those that aren't hip to the World Cup nations, this blog does a pretty solid take on which North American team each nation most resembles.  It'll take you some scrolling to get through it after the history of the Cup bit, but well worth it.

So I hear the NBA Finals start tomorrow.  Good of them to get around to that.

A bad, bad own goal...from a country I won't mention.

The Chicago Black Hawks were 2-1 winners to grab a 2-0 series lead over the Philadelphia Flyers.  If game one was open and exciting, game two was the complete opposite.

Colorado Rocky Ubaldo Jimenez shut out the San Francisco Giants yesterday to move to 10-1 on the season and lower his ERA to a ridiculous 0.78. 

Enjoy these short films on the living players who scored goals in the World Cup Final. Beautiful, and addictive stuff.

Shame on me for missing out on another ridiculous baseball injury in the past few days. This one is Los Angeles Angels catch Kendry Morales breaking his leg celebrating a walk-off grand slam.

Stephen Strasburg, aka "the best pitching prospect ever", will make his debut for the surprising Washington Nationals on June 8th. Nats manager Manny Acta told The Jim Rome Show last week that Strasburg is on a 150-160 innings pitched limit for this season, which leaves him about 100 innings to throw.

The best idea to come to attending live NFL games, perhaps ever, is that NFL RedZone, which moves to each game as it goes into the red zone, will be available to every stadium. Why?  Frankly, because the NFL in-game experience is real dull aside from the party with all the ridiculous time outs.

If you can't sell tickets to a game ahead of time, you may as well try to sell them after. The Florida Marlins are selling leftover tickets from Roy Halladay's perfect game on Saturday.  In other news, the Toronto Blue Jays are said to be contemplating doing the same, what with all their inventory.

Speaking of the Jays, they were impressive 3-2 winners over the suddenly shaky Tampa Bay Rays. Brandon Morrow looked impressive on the bump as the Jays moved to 3.5 behind the first place Rays. Is the AL East a four team race?

A little late today, blame a pretty crazy time at the office.

Barely a week after winning the Champions League, Jose Mourinho is off, as was rumored last week, to Real Madrid.  Check out this article, in which JM sets a new world record for usage of the word "I".  The guy has a hell of a resume, but I suspect the moment Sir Alex Ferguson bails from Manchester United, he'll be in hot pursuit of that job to continue his whoredom to the biggest clubs in the game.

You can almost set your watch to it.  Adidas unveils the new ball for a given World Cup, declaring it the most technologically advanced version yet.  Shortly thereafter, players complain that it is difficult to control, behaves strangely, and Adidas responds denying the feedback and mentioning they had extensive player feedback in the development process.  The tourney starts, the comments die off, life goes on.

Bob McCown of Fan 590 called Toronto Blue Jay Aaron Hill the worst hitter in the American League. Ouch.

One AL executive on the subject of pending free agent Cliff Lee: “I have no doubt that the Yankees will sign Cliff Lee.”  Here's hoping said executive is with Seattle right now, or New York.

Spanish midfielder Xavi thinks that England will be very much in the running for the World Cup.  Maybe he doesn't know their goaltending is at best average?

Quick weekend wrap to wrap: the NBA Final is set, and will see Boston and the L.A. Lakers play for the ugly trophy...Toronto FC were 3-1 winners at San Jose, and sit second place in the Eastern Conference...the Chicago Black Hawks opened the Stanley Cup Finals with a wild 6-5 win over Philadelphia.  That's almost as many goals as were scored in last year's entire final series.  Only mild sarcasm there...Rashad Evans beat "Rampage" Jackson by decision in UFC 114's main event...Rock of Ages in Toronto is one hell of a great night of entertainment.  Guaranteed hit for anybody who grew up in the 80's or was a fan of that era's rock.

Have a great day.

RM returns over the noon hour, I hope.

Baltimore Oriole Adam Jones - seen at left - was detained by Canada Customs who have taken to holding back any athletes with criminal records.  Wonder who they got him mixed up with?  Hmmm.

The Stanley Cup Final starts tonight with Chicago hosting Philadelphia, two teams that were 26th and dead last just three seasons ago.  There ought to be a lot of post-whistle trash talk as both feature some yappy players. Between the two, 29 of the 40 players that closed out their respective conference championships are Canadian born, so expect Don Cherry at his nauseating finest. Who wins? I've got Chicago in six. You?

UFC 114 goes tonight in Las Vegas, with a juicy main event of blood rivals Quinton "Rampage" Jackson facing Rashad Evans.  This one ought to be nasty given the venom each have been spewing about each other for over a year now.  I'm going to call Rampage to win by knockout, but no result would surprise me.

Toronto FC travel to San Jose to face the Earthquakes. With a week between games, it'll be interesting to see if TFC retain momentum. Methinks they win 2-0, even on the road where few MLS teams are tearing it up.

The NBA's top free agents this off-season - no need to name them again and add nauseum - are said to be ready to hold a summit to discuss their plans.  Sounds like Dirk Nowitzki will be among them as well, as he's likely to opt out of his Dallas Mavericks contract.

Steve Nash is promising the Phoenix Suns win today to force a Game 7.  Often, I find guys making "guarantees" annoying, largely because unlike Joe Namath or Mark Messier, they so often don't come through, but I'd really like to see this one happen.  Nash rules.  The winner of the Western Conference will move on to face the Boston Celtics, the surprise representative of the East.  The Celts closed off Orlando last night.

My hatred of Wince Carturd for his Toronto Raptors days has been well documented over the years, but honestly, he may have been supplanted by Hedo Turkoglu, who is trying to justify his unavailability for a game this season because he had a sore tummy and was later seen out on the town.  Funny that despite talking of how he was only at the venue he was photographed in for 15 or 20 minutes and left, he doesn't say he went home.  Hedon't now wants out of Toronto.  Here's hoping it happens.  Thanks to GBV for the linkage.

The Boston Red Sox through 49 Games in 2009 were 28-21 with 256 runs for and 229 against. This year, through 49 they are 27-22 with 255 runs scored and 238 against, aided by a couple solid weeks.  That said, two straight losses to the Kansas City Royals have a way of killing some of that momentum.

The Philadelphia Phillies were first team in modern history to go five straight games without scoring against the opposing team's starter. Seems impossible for any team, nevermind one with as many weapons as they've got.

Before passing away yesterday, Gary Coleman had fallen and hurt his head. So much for "the bigger they are..."
Best wishes to long time reader Boris D on the day of his nuptials.  All the best, my friend.

Beer isn't only for drinking.  You can also catch a baseball with it first, and then drink it, like this Chicago Cubs fan did this week.  Awesome.

Tru Warrior wins it

Generally in the NBA, if you have a better field goal percentage, three-point percentage and attempt more field goals, you're going to win. Except for the Phoenix Suns, who lost game five 103-101 in L.A. last night giving the Lakeshow a 3-2 series lead.

Today, the NHL is expected to announce a pair of "Winter Classic" games. Washington will play Pittsburgh at Heinz Field on January 1st, 2011. Calgary will host Montreal in February.  No clue why they announce that on the eve of the Stanley Cup Finals starting.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell expects to start talks with the players union about expanding the regular season soon. While I think most league's regular season's run too long, the NFL could afford another couple games to their schedule, and certainly fewer exhibitions.

Al Davis and the Oakland Raiders have filed a grievance against their former QB JaMarcus Russell to recoup some of the signing bonus they paid him that would include the coming three seasons when he won't be a Raider.

MLB Umpire Joe West is at the eye of a storm again, this time feuding with the Chicago White Sox and Ozzie Guillen, and of course, talking publicly about it.  He is the only ump with a publicist, so shows he is wanting the attention.  He should be fired immediately.

The Philadelphia Phillies not only lost three straight to the New York Mets, but they were shut out in all three games.

Water finds its level

Boston has to be gripping with the Celtics losing again last night to bring the Orlando Magic within a game of levelling the Eastern Conference Championship.  Heard Boston media member Dan Shaughnessy on The Jim Rome Show call Rasheed Wallace a "green" player for his regular season "energy conservation".  Love that.  The Toronto Raptors are a very enviro friendly team, in that respect, at least defensively.

Toronto FC didn't even need to play last night to win the Canadian Championship - their second straight - after their competition - Vancouver Whitecaps and Montreal Impact - drew 1-1 rendering them out and leaving TFC with a meaningless home game next week against Vancouver.

Strange bit of World Cup trivia: no northern hemisphere team has ever won the World Cup when held in the southern hemisphere.  Same applies to the south when held in the north.  So does that mean Spain has no chance?  Methinks not, especially with Cesc Fabregas and Fernando Torres getting healthy.

Tiger Woods is building a new house on 12 acres in Florida, and it includes four separate pools.  Yeah, losing some endorsements is really hurting his cashflow.

If your eyes don't tell you that Derek Jeter's range to his left is slipping, then how about some numbers to do it?

Jose Mourinho appears to be heading to Real Madrid.  Something about that seems real fitting.

Nobody will ever accuse David Ortiz of being the most mobile guy in the world, but a thirty second trot around the bags after a home run is downright glacial.  Video included.

The Toronto Blue Jays are now fourth in the AL East.  Somewhere, Shea Hillenbrand is getting his marker out for a dry erase board. 

RM returns later this morning...

Loving the Canadian version of Operation, courtesy of The Sports Pickle.  Face seem familiar? 
Steve Nash and the Phoenix Suns evened their series with the LA Lakers last night. Not bad, when some would've seen them winning a game tops this series after getting badly outplayed in LA.

The great site Mental Floss says that before they settled on "Magic," names suggested for Orlando’s NBA franchise included Juice, Orbits, Challengers and Aquamen.  Maybe Raptors isn't so horrible after all.  Wouldn't it be awesome if the Boston Celtics, like the Boston Bruins did earlier in the month, soiled the bed on a 3-0 series lead?  The Celts visit Orlando tonight.

Milton Bradley is back with the Seattle Mariners after admitting he needed some help for his inner demons, and is now speaking openly about his issues, including suicidal thoughts.  Scary stuff.

How can the Texas Rangers be filing for bankruptcy?  Start with owing at least $30 million to former players, including $24.9 million owed to A-Rod, the top unsecured creditor.  Former Ranger pitcher and Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan is leading a group of investors that have bought the team.

Hard to believe, but for all the World Cup soccer finals played, there have only been 35 different players that have ever scored in final game.

Somebody has set up a Twitter feed posing as BP Global, even selling BP merchandise. Full marks for creativity.

Dave Shoalts at the Globe and Mail looks at how NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman  has coolly exploited both Winnipeg and Glendale to get his way.

The Philadelphia Phillies fan that earlier this year puked on a young girl has pleaded guilty to assault. Classy. 

If WWE's intent is to go and stay PG, not sure how showing a guy remove his own eyeball as a talent on Raw on Monday night is playing into that.

Have a great day.

The Philadelphia Flyers took care of the Montreal Canadiens with a 4-2 score, and 4-1 on the series last night, to set up a very interesting Stanley Cup Final matchup where they'll face the Chicago Black Hawks.  Unfortunately, the series won't start until Friday.  How does it make sense that previous rounds would start a day or two after a previous round but now they're holding off four days?  And to start on a Friday?  The worst TV night there is?  Only Gary Bettman's NHL.

Washington Capitals owner Ted Leonsis says that the NHL is in better financial shape than the NBA because of the salary cap that prevents owners "from taking stupid pills".  He does know his team is signing guys to 10 year deals, right?  And that the NBA limits both terms and dollars?  That said, the NBA does allow teams to exceed the cap maximum.

The Kansas City Chiefs are dropping a cone of silence on themselves in the wake of Dwayne Bowe's "importing" story last week.  I'm sure he'll be a real popular guy around camp this year, what with every guy on the team and surely more than a few coaches subjected to their involvement.

And you thought the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox stage long games: a NCAA Division II baseball game went 12 innings and over 9 hours to complete.

Not sure what good Canada playing Argentina in a soccer friendly accomplishes for either team, but yesterday's 5-0 beatdown didn't accomplish much.  Frankly, the Canadian Soccer Association would do well to ensure games like that are not broadcast.  Frankly, it could have been double digits, and Lionel Messi wasn't even in the mix.

As athletes go, Barry Zito isn't the most normal one.  He doesn't generally speak in cliche's, has opinions worth hearing, but when you hear this voicemail he left, you start thinking he's on the wrong side of crazy.

I know there are a lot of hockey fans out here in Ontario that despise the Montreal Canadiens, but I was shocked to go to a corner store this morning and see people stocking up on fireworks in anticipation of their elimination in Philadelphia tonight.  Did not see that coming.

You'd think with Canadian border patrols detaining major leaguers with criminal records when they come into the country, the Toronto Blue Jays would have a better home record.  Strangely, the Jays are actually a better road team this year.

Might the Philadelphia Phillies be riding Roy Halladay too hard?   He is averaging 122.5 pitches a start, and had four straight of 115+, and is the only starter in the bigs to have four complete games, more than many teams have.  They do know he's never gone into October before, right?  Might be worth saving some, just in case.  Halladay had his worst outing of the year yesterday in getting torched by the Boston Red Sox.

Dallas Cowboys QB Tony Romo is another step closer to qualifying for the U.S. Open.  One more strong showing and he'll be rubbing elbows with the top of the PGA.  Impressive.

After cracking on Andre Johnson as not being all he was made out to be for holding out early into a contract, it would only be fair to acknowledge he did show up for Houston Texans camp because he didn't feel right sitting at home.  What, he figured that staying away would feel great?

Off the rails for a second.  The KFC Double Down, that 1,400mg-sodium-heart-attack-waiting-to-happen has sold a mere 10 million sandos since its release in the U.S.   Make of this what you will.

Don't let the good-guy image of Albert Pujols get too large, lest you find out he's blasted his manager Tony LaRussa for overmanaging.

Watching last night's New York Yankee loss at the Mets, it dawned on me that if the surest hit in baseball is the home run, the second surest is anything to Derek Jeter's left.  What's worse for D.J. is in a contract year, he's not hitting either.

The rest of the weekend in short: TFC wins (good), Inter Milan wins (bad), Chicago Black Hawks advance to Stanley Cup finals (good), Czech's win hockey worlds (who cares?), Phoenix Suns pull one back (nice!), and weather (kick ass).

Scoring from 45 metres out on a dead ball should never, every happen...but does.

The Montreal Canadiens looked a far more committed team in game three last night, and saw a much improved Jaroslav Halak, and walked away easy 5-1 winners to pull a game back in their Easter Conference Series.  Had a good laugh hearing some Habs friends - silent like Buddhist Monks all week - talking about "Destiny".  Had to borrow a bit from Curt Schilling and let them know that Destiny was appearing at Chez Parée.

Scored me some Manchester United tickets yesterday for their July 16th visit to Rogers Centre to face Scottish powerhouse - oxymoron? - Celtic FC.  For the privilege of sitting mid-field, 18 rows up, I'm $166.50 lighter in the pocket.  Ouch.

Speaking of Man United, Forbes.com reports they're now the second most valuable sports brand in the world, behind the New York Yankees. 

The OHB - and if you don't know who that is, look above under the RandoMango title for a hint - says he's going to come back if Southern Miss baseball team wins the College World Series.  Is it bad karma if I suggest that it would not suck if they went down in a plane crash?  At least OHB isn't making a mockery of his playing status.

Frequent RM reader Big Daddy passed on this amazing website that documents the "WTF?" jersey's you see people sporting.  And, you can participate.  The Toronto Raptors even make the cut if you look further in, and you won't believe which jersey a guy is repping.

Fresh of the Delonte-West-tapping-'Bron's-Mom rumor, here are the 20 craziest rumors in sports.

Quick head's up that RM returns Monday.  Have a great weekend, enjoy the weather.

Simply put, the best commercial I've ever seen.

Well, not sure why the NHL thought it was a great idea to have both NHL playoff series going the same night in the Conference Finals, but they're finally breaking up that pattern tonight with the Western Conference series getting the extra day in between games two and three.  The Eastern Conference series moves to Montreal tonight and Damien Cox of the Toronto Star thinks it may be time for the Canadiens to give Carey Price a go.  So much for going with who brought you to the dance.  What if Price starts and bombs, then what?  The Habs won't have Andrei Markov in the lineup, his season is done after knee surgery that will keep him out for six months.

The Phoenix Suns are not only getting pounded in their Western Conference series, the LA Lakers are doing it playing the Suns up-tempo style.  The Lakers were 124-112 winners last night to take a 2-0 series lead.

Inter Milan manager Jose Mourinho - whose ego knows no bounds - thinks that winning the Champions League is bigger than the World Cup.  Different, perhaps, and I do accept his point that you could argue you're the world's best team given you can get players from everywhere, but no chance is it more prestigious.  The World Cup is once every four years and ask anybody at all connected to the game who won the last World Cup and they'll say "Italy" in a heartbeat.  Quick, who won the Champions League four years ago?  Inter Milan faces Bayern Munich Saturday in Madrid for the Champions League final.

Joel Sherman of the NY Post writes that A-Rod is the no-doubt New York Yankees go-to guy in a big moment if they have a choice, a change from the past to be sure.  Not mentioned yesterday, but worth mentioning that the New York Yankees had Nick Swisher up on the steps holding a bad, ready to pinch hit for Derek Jeter in the bottom of the 9th with the game on the line.  Has Jeter been pinch hit for in the last decade plus?  The Tampa Bay Rays continued their roll last night in pounding the Yanks 10-2 to move four games up in the East.

Tom Verducci at SI.com looks at whether the Washington Nationals, surprisingly competitive this year, are being too careful with Stephen Strasburg.  I've got two words to answer that in the "negative": Mark Prior.

What does Al-Qaeda have to do with sports?  Well, when they're plotting revenge on Holland and Denmark over their depictions of Allah, and the World Cup is looming, lots as it turns out.  Love how one person can do something they deem offensive and it is an all out assault planned on a sporting event, team or country.  Very reasonable.

I'll acknowledge the Toronto Blue Jays are beating everybody's expectations - including yours, if you're thinking of lying and telling us different - but remember this: they were 27-16 a year ago today and in first place in the AL East, and we know how that ended up (28 games back, if you didn't).  That, and as Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star noted yesterday, the Jays have only played 14 to date against the best of the AL, and are a less than stellar 3-11 in those games.

The International Ice Hockey Federation took a swipe at Sidney Crosby, among others, for skipping the second rate World Championships, insinuating they lack loyalty to the programs that made them rich and famous.  Translation: they're sour they don't have those guys over in Germany to help sell tickets to a nothing event.  Criticizing those players for their fatigue and comparing them to miners is ridiculous.  Crosby, as one example, went from the Stanley Cup win last year to a camp in Calgary less than two months later, then into the Olympic camp, and into a season with the Penguins.  At some point, the gas tank has to be tapped. 

The captain of New Zealand's World Cup entry predicts England will win the World Cup for the first time since 1966, for what that is worth, beating either Spain or Brazil in the final.  On the other side of the coin, American player Jozy Altidore bumped into David Beckham at an LA Lakers game a couple nights back and told Beckham the U.S. would beat his England side on the opening weekend 3-0.  If you're not a fan of the game and looking for a team to cheer for that is a bit of an underdog, take the U.S.  They won't annoy you with the diving tactics that certain other countries can't let go of (looking at you, Portugal and Italy), and play with speed from the opening whistle on.

It is a good thing Tiger Woods doesn't have friends like Kansas City Chiefs wideout Dwayne Bowe, who let a rather large secret loose when he talked of how his Chiefs teammates would fly ladies in from around the country on road trips, including sending messages to girls on teammates Facebook accounts and flying those girls in for them.
 
The "cutting edge of broadcasting".  English commentators rule.


Have you ever seen a double alley-oop?  You can now.

Olé, Olé, Oh Leighton!

Who knew that the soccer-ripping-off "Olé! Olé! Olé!" chant that many Habs fans think they invented was really a lead in to the much more original "Olé, Olé, Oh Leighton!"   Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Michale Leighton is perfect through two games after last night's 3-0 shutout to give him two in a row on the series as the Flyers took care of business at home again for a 2-0 series lead.  As for his counterpart in the Montreal goal, Jaroslav Halak, he's now looking a lot more beatable and as though midnight has struck for his Cinderella run.  Needless to say, the Habs are in trouble.

In worse trouble, however, are the San Jose Sharks after losing 4-2 last night as the Chicago Black Hawks will be heading home with a 2-0 series lead after taking a pair in California.

Why the Phoenix Suns are in a lot of trouble after losing Game 1 to the LA Lakers: Lakers coach Phil Jackson is 46-0 in playoff series after winning Game 1, including 22-0 with the Lakers.

Safe to say that much like last year at this time, the New York Yankees bullpen is their soft spot, at least if the last 10 days are any indication.  Leading 5-1 against the lifeless Boston Red Sox, Joba Chamberlain and Mariano Rivera combined to blow their second lead in three days, and they're the reliable ones in that pen this year.  Also a problem for the Yanks: going into last night, Derek Jeter had swung at just 19.8 percent of pitches out of the strike zone since 2002. This year, however, Jeter has swung at 33.3 percent of all pitches out of the strike zone.  Might explain the plummeting average the last couple weeks.  All three are going to need to be much better with the awesome Tampa Bay Rays visiting for a couple of games starting today.

Word is Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas - a top five to ten player in the world - wants to bolt London and head to Barcelona.  That'd be a terrible loss for Arsenal, but Fabregas might not want to follow in the same path of Arsenal-captain-to-Barcelona footsteps of Thierry Henry, didn't exactly work out fantastic for the player.

Deadspin is running some of the best soccer chants of the year - the Liverpool Europa League bit is my fav - and you can check out the rest here.

Drunk Soccer League?  Hell freaking yes.  Somewhere, Paul Gascoigne is limbering up.

After years of intensive research, I can officially confirm that if you wear sunglasses indoors, you're a douchebag.  Rock stars exempted.

The Toronto Raptors may not have won the NBA Draft Lottery last night - that was the Washington Wizards - but their remaining fans were treated to a draft lottery day playoff treat when one Wince Carturd stepped up to the free throw line with roughly thirty ticks on the clock and his Orlando Magic trailing by three.  Carturd, who shoots free throws at a mid-80's clip, missed both.  Oh sweet, delicious karma.  The Magic are down 2-0 to the Boston Celtics with the series moving to Boston.

Very classy of Florida Marlins shortstop Hanley Ramirez, a first rate talent, to blast his manager for benching him when H-Ram took six seconds to get to a ball he missed because he was loafing it to the ball.  Problem is he's such a talent that unless he wants Fredi Gonzalez to keep his job, he likely won't.  Shame he's such a dickhead that refuses to apologize to his manager or teammates, who came out in support of the benching.

Toronto FC are at Vancouver tonight to face the Whitecaps in the latest round of the Canadian Championship.  A win will wrap up the title for TFC for the second year running.

So about the Phoenix Suns threatening the LA Lakers in the Western Conference finals...nevermind. It was a 128-107 blow-out last night to open that series, and it wasn't even as close as that score suggested.

A poll of 100 major leaguers during spring training and published in the latest issue of ESPN The Magazine has 38% saying the New York Yankees will win the World Series; the players estimate 5% of players are using some form of performance enhancers; 52% called the Yankees the best franchise to play for and 23% called the Pittsburgh Pirates the worst, 67% said Barry Bonds deserves to be in the Hall of Fame, and the players guessed 36% of players were unfaithful to their spouses.

It was a wild one in The Bronx last night, as there were 6 homers in the Yankees 11-9 win over the Boston Red Sox, four for the Sox, and the Yankees pair coming in the bottom of the 9th to tie the game thanks to an A-Rod blast, and win on a Marcus Thames two run shot.  The loss drops the Sox 8.5 back of the AL East leading Tampa Bay Rays.  With Toronto and New York ahead of them as well, they've got a mountain to climb.  Real shame for Jonathan Papelbon, who gave up the big bombs.

The irony of Bret "Hitman" Hart rocking a Toronto Blue Jays jersey on Monday Night Raw last night: so few of the Jays hit with any regularity.

What ever happened to Tampa Bay Ray Carlos Pena?

Peter King at SI.com has his first cut at the NFL Power Rankings, for what they're worth in the middle of May.  Good news if you're a Green Bay fan, as they check in top of the list.  Not so good if you're a Buffalo Bills fan, unless you think having the second pick in the draft in 2011 is something to look forward to right now.

After watching his Barcelona team look to an unproven player in a key game, Thierry Henry started to read the writing on the wall, and it now appears his signing with New York Red Bull in the MLS is about to happen.  Good news for NYRB fans especially, and soccer fans on this side of the pond of Henry can find even a fraction of his old form he showed at Arsenal.  He was a special, special player just a few years back.

Franck-ly, I can see why French soccer star Franck Ribery, among others, would be fooled into thinking Zahia Dehar is older than 17.  Loads of pics here of the girl that has a few Frenchmen in legal hot water.

It is only game two, but it looms large for the Montreal Canadiens after you're on the wrong end of a 6-0 curb stomping.  Will the Habs turn to Jaroslav Halak again?  You'd think that's a no-brainer given what he has produced in the playoffs so far.  If he doesn't find that form or something close to it, and there's little reason to believe in Carey Price right now, the Habs are not long for the playoffs.

Anytime you hear features of how a guy "isn't like the rest", be skeptical, because ultimately, it ends up being a load of garbage when all is said and done.  The latest is Houston Texans wideout Andre Johnson, who figures that he's outperformed his contract and wants to renegotiate the remaining five years and $60 million remaining, the poor guy.

Speaking of contracts, the Washington Capitals have lobbed $67 million over 10-years at Niklas Backstrom.  I really, really cannot believe teams think deals of that length are wise.  Way too much room for issues, be it injury, rising caps leaving players undervalued, or simply a player unde performing for years and becoming a bad contract. 

Barcelona's Lionel Messi scored 47 goals this past season for his La Liga winning club. In case you missed any, or wanted to see some of his brilliance again, check them out here.  Yes, all of them.  Even if not a soccer fan, check this guy out.  Mindblowing many times.  Oh, Messi also took a dig at England's Ashley Cole, saying his soon-to-be-ex-wife Cheryl Cole - smokin' Cheryl Cole - should cheer for Argentina as his team plays the most attractive football and Argentinian men know how to treat women.  Ouch.

Philly romps

Gonna be a very good day in offices everywhere today across Canadaland, what with the Montreal Canadiens getting it prison style in Philadelphia last night with the Flyers winning 6-0 to take the first game of their Eastern Conference series.  Could it be that Habs fans emulate their team last night and simply don't show up to work today?  I have yet to see my boss today, interestingly.

In the Western Conference series, the Chicago Black Hawks downed San Jose 2-1.

Real heartbreaker - or not - seeing Wince Carturd have himself a decent game in a losing effort for his Orlando Magic in the first game of their series against the Boston Celtics.  Searching high and low for a line on Kevin Garnett busting Carturd's and his mother's noses with "errant" elbows. The Phoenix Suns visit the LA Lakers in the first of their Western Conference series.



Word is that TSN analyst Pierre McGuire could be the frontrunner to take over the GM’s duties of the Tampa Bay Lightning, which would leave a giant vacancy on the airwaves, and a welcome one at that.  Can you imagine being a rival GM and calling that guy around the trade deadline?  You might celebrate three birthdays before getting a deal done.

The head of English soccer was recorded saying that Spain are working with the Russian's to bribe World Cup officials, and promising their support for the Russian 2018 hosting bid in return.  I'm sure that's the kind of thing FIFA love to hear about with the tournament weeks away from kicking off.  Pretty sure Spain needs more help in getting players healthy than they do from the officials.

German captain Michael Ballack is out of the World Cup after suffering an ankle injury in the FA Cup final won this weekend by his Chelsea club side.  With Ballack out of the tourney, I'm sure the referee's will appreciate not being shadowed by that constant whiner.

Philadelphia Eagles wideout DeSean Jackson is on his way to becoming the next Terrell Owens, say the fine folks at ProFootballTalk.  Do they mean "unemployed"?

Check out the SportsPickle's 20 Most WTF Couples.

Finally today, 10 great England goals.

The Boston Bruins weren't content to blow a 3-0 series lead, they had to go and blow a 3-0 lead in game seven as well. Mix in a late too many men on the ice call - the 33rd of all teams combined this playoffs - and the Philadelphia Flyers scored to win 4-3 and move on to the next round where they'll have home ice advantage against the Montreal Canadiens. Not bad for two teams that waited til their 82nd game to qualify for the playoffs as the #7 and #8 seeds.

Check out the average numbers for American League DH's going into yesterday: .231 batting average, 4 home runs and a .699 OPS. Says one GM to Peter Gammons: "drug testing at work."

Most Slashing Penalties, Most Dives, and a whole lot more in the 2010 Alternative NHL Awards.

Ahh, the internet. It isn't enough that the Cleveland Cavaliers can lose a series, that LeBron James had a less than stellar series, or that he may be leaving Cleveland. But here's one - I'm gonna say "ridiculous" - theory as to why they lost: LeBron found out teammate Delonte West was tapping LeBron's mother. I will say ridiculous as there's no way that story didn't go mainstream if true, not with how many media members are watching LBJ's every move right now.

Don Cherry says he'd invest in the return of the Winnipeg Jets?  Finally, we have good reason to keep the team in Phoenix.  Sincerely, Don Cherry's Restaurants, and the Mississauga IceDogs.

Toronto FC are in LA tonight to face the Galaxy. Kickoff is 10:30pm Eastern and TFC looks to grab their first road points of the season and continue a fine run of form. They've had success at LA in the past, but a second game in 3 days across the continent seems a big ask.

LeBron is Le-Gon

Man is that wager that LeBron James will skip town on Cleveland ever looking good after the Cavs were a second round flameout to the Boston Celtics thanks to a game six 94-85 loss. Does anybody think he'll stay?  There are some great hoops fans that read here daily and curious what they're figuring.

The Philadelphia Flyers are in Boston for game seven in their bruising series. The Flyers have won the last three games and Chris Pronger has turned back the clock. If they get decent goaltending again, they'll be hosting Montreal Sunday night. San Jose visits Chicago Sunday afternoon as that series gets under way.

ESPN The Magazine's May 3rd issue ran an article on whether playing fantasy sports for money is gambling and concluded that if the definition of gambling is "to put something of value at risk", fantasy has to be gambling. To pretend it is anything but gambling is laughable.

If the Boston Bruins should win tonight, it'll mark the 33rd time they've met in the playoffs, the most of any of the playoff matches in the NHL/NBA/NFL/MLB. The Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs are a distant second at 23.




Tough year to be a Hart Trophy or Vezina Trophy nominee in the NHL, and tougher still for at least one, if you check out the picture to the right.  All said nominees have been bounced for the playoffs with a couple rounds to go.


Mike Tyson is going vegan?  How long til somebody gets off an "ear of corn" joke?

The always quotable Chicago White Sox Manager - he of the no filter - Ozzie Guillen gets off this gem on Chicago's sports teams: “We all suck, all sports in Chicago are very bad…  we need something good and positive for the city.  We need the Blackhawks to eat some Sharks.” I'm sure his boss will be thrilled he just did his team like that.

How to silence a Habs fan?  Well, here are four solid ways.

Sometimes, you read a headline and it doesn't have any more significance than normal.  But there are other time's - like this - where the same headline takes on a whole new meaning, or is funny.  Or both.

Umm, what?