I may get carpal tunnel after this one...

To start with Brett Favre or Cliff Lee?  Hmm.  One is done, another not, so Lee it is.  In a stunner, Cliff Lee turned down a seven-year $148 million offer from the New York Yankees and looks like he'll take 5-years and $120 million from the Philadelphia Phillies to be the #2 to Roy Halladay.  First thing: why even have an agent?  Lee is said to have reached out to the Phillies himself to put the wheels in motion, and left nearly $30 million on the table.  For this you pay a guy 5% or $6 million?  Second thing: that is one hell of a rotation the Phillies will be trotting out with Halladay, Lee, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels as your top four.  Now, let's not get crazy and say they're better than what the Atlanta Braves rolled out in the 1990's, but that is damn good, although three will be 33 or older before 2011's season is done. Third thing: the Texas Rangers, in the game for dollars and years, have to be stinging in losing Lee, given they traded prized prospect Justin Smoak for four months of Lee.  Fifth thing: Yankees GM Brian Cashman will regret not throwing in Ivan Nova alongside Jesus Montero back in July when they were minutes from acquiring Lee.  I'd wager heavily that had Lee moved to New York then - and he wanted to - he might not have even hit free agency.  George Steinbrenner will be rolling in his grave here, this wouldn't have happened under his watch.  Sixth thing: history may show Texas and New York are happy they didn't have Lee for six or seven years, but short term, they won't be happy.  Sixth thing: the Phillies offered Lee three years and $54 million last winter, so he gained $66 million and two years by going away for a year.  Not bad!  Seventh thing:  my guess is with Albert Pujols vowing he'll go to free agency if he doesn't sign in the next 10 days, the Yankees will be approaching St. Louis for one of their pitchers, likely Chris Carpenter most readily available given age/risk, for a short term fix.  Eighth thing: cannot wait for next season!

In a gritty one, Manchester United were the more impressive side than sloppy Arsenal, who repeatedly gave the ball away, and were 1-0 winners to jump on top of the EPL by a pair of points with a game in hand. 
Arsenal have lost 10 and drawn one of their last 11 games against Man United and Chelsea in all competitions, scoring only five goals.  They cannot get it done when it matters most.  Chelsea and Man U will play Sunday in London.

And then, there is Brett Favre.  His vaunted streak of 297 games came to an end yesterday, and with the reaction on the sporting networks, you'd have thought he died for the treatment he got.  We can only dream.  It looks like Favre is officially done for the year as he's likely to be placed on IR, replacing "INT" as the way he ends a season for the last couple years.  But fret not for Brett, within minutes of word coming out that he wouldn't be playing in Detroit last night, his website was selling "297 starts" balls for a mere $499.99.  

Jon Heyman at SI.com has repeatedly referred to a "mystery team" being in the Cliff Lee running on Twitter, and has since seen a strong backlash from colleagues including Keith Law, Peter Gammons and most fiercely, Buster Olney, mocking him for being a mouthpiece for an agent looking to create leverage, among other things.  Funny stuff here. Still, in the end, Heyman either knew something, or guessed right, and he's not hiding his smugness over it.

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones told 60 Minutes that not only was he good friends with George Steinbrenner, but that he has no doubt that if Steinbrenner were alive and owned the Cowboys and Jones were GM that he'd "no doubt" be fired. Yet he keeps himself on the job.



FIFA President Sepp Blatter hasn't taken enough PR hits of late, so he's adding fuel to the fire by saying that homosexuals "should refrain from any sexual activities" during Qatar 2022.  The Pope thinks this guy has overstepped his bounds.

TSN.ca has an article touching on the top sports moment's of 2010 where you can vote for what will be the top moment on its annual Christmas Eve year in review show.  Not sure how the World Cup didn't get a mention.  The Toronto Star has an article on The Lou Marsh Award, for Canada's best athlete.  You can make your picks there as well.  Inexplicably to me, Joey Votto is trailing Sidney Crosby.

Jim Gray was allegedly paid $500,000 to try to give credibility to the joke that was LeBron James "The Decision".  Shame he cost himself any and all cred if that is true.


Carmelo Anthony is beating the trade drums again and says he'll only accept a move and sign an extension with the New York Knicks.  If I'm the Denver Nuggets, I make the deal now.  The Knicks want him, he wants to go there, and adding him gives the Knicks ensures the Knicks make the playoffs, and are a threat to do some damage.  May as well get something for him before he jumps for nothing.  Of course, word comes this morning that Anthony - again - says that he wants to remain with the Denver Nuggets. Sound familiar?

My bad for not mentioning UFC 124 in Montreal this past weekend.  When Georges St. Pierre said he'd shut Josh Koschek up, I assumed he just meant his mouth.  Didn't figure he'd shut his eye with some impressive jabs in the first round.  The fight was all GSP, a 30-25 shutout on all the scorecards.  Guess GSP's work with Freddie Roach, Manny Pacquiao's trainer, on his boxing worked a bit. Be sure to see the video at that link from 15 seconds on to get a glimpse of Kos' eye.  More importantly, GSP emerged healthy and should headline the massive UFC 131 coming to Toronto at the end of April.

The Sports Pickle has a great piece in which Al-Qaeda claims responsibility for the collapse of the roof on the Metrodome in Minnesota.  Nice.

113,000+ watched a hockey game in Ann Arbor, Michigan as Michigan hosted Michigan State this past Saturday, a world record.  That's about as many as watched the average NHL broadcast south of the border.  Impressive!

Buster Olney says it is time that MLB does away with its divisions and goes back to a balanced schedule, league format, with the key benefit being that the Toronto Blue Jays, Baltimore Orioles and Tampa Bay Rays don't have to worry about topping the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees every year with other spots available.  Who could argue against that?  A balanced sched is a far more fair test for all.  Article here, Insider only unfortunately.

Oh yeah, Baltimore beat Houston in overtime - and covered! - while the New York Giants beat the Minnesota Vikings, who appear to have packed it in for the season.

The usual mega-Monday edition...early!

Over the last nine quarters, the New England Patriots have outscored the Detroit Lions, New York Jets and Chicago Bears 103-10 combined. Tom Brady has won 21 of 22 games against NFC opponents. Pretty impressive run to say the least.

The Dallas Cowboys can't stop anybody it seems, but their games are sure entertaining, and they don't blow their brains out like they did earlier in the year.  The covering the spread machines covered the +3.5 against Philadelphia last night in a 30-27 win that might be remembered most for running back Tashard Choice, who should have all but ended Marion Barber's days in Dallas the way he's been playing relative to MB3, asking Michael Vick for his autograph post-game.

Up next for the struggling New York Jets, who were a bumbling mess in a 10-6 home loss to the Miami Dolphins: road games in Pittsburgh and Chicago.  9-6 is well within reach, Jets fans, and judging by the look on Fireman Ed's face, he knows it.  And as if that isn't bad enough, then there is Sal Alosi, Jets strength and conditioning coach, who took it upon himself to trip a Miami Dolphin racing down the sideline. 



Speaking of reeling, the Washington Capitals have lost six straight, and were hammered 7-0 by the New York Rangers yesterday, who were sporting one of the nicer third jersey's in recent memory.  Alexander Ovechkin got in the second fight of his career and it didn't turn the fortunes of his team.  But wait, I thought that fighting always picked your team up?  Weird.

Manchester United and Arsenal will tangle today in Manchester with first place in the English Premier League on the line.  There's a 3pm (Eastern) kickoff there, and I'll be shocked if it isn't three points for Man U when all is said and done.  Chelsea continued their struggles with a draw at Tottenham in a game they were outplayed for the most part, but had a chance to win in the dying moments only to see Didier Drogba denied on a penalty kick that would have won it.  Remember when the talk was that Chelsea would have the title wrapped up around Christmas?  They might be out of the race by Christmas the way they're going.

How important is it to have a defensive gem like Carl Crawford in left for the Boston Red Sox?  Well, they did have Manny Ramirez out there for years. And who do you suppose is the most interested and potentially upset over the Sox dropping that contract on Crawford?  How about Liverpool, the soccer club in England's Premier League now owned by Sox owner John Henry.

Toronto FC's main man Jurgen Klinnsman told Soccer Central that he hopes to have a coach and GM - likely the same person - in place by Christmas.

Mentioned above that the New York Rangers were rocking some nice third jersey's.  At the other end of the spectrum, there's the Florida Everblades of the ECHL, rocking the most hideous jersey's of all the times.

Detroit's win over Green Bay was their first in twenty games against divisional opponents.

After yesterday's showing by the Kansas City Chiefs, their QB Matt Cassell, out after an appendectomy, might be in line for some MVP votes.  Why?  In his absence, the Chiefs generated all of 67 yards total offence yesterday.

If you've been under a rock and have not seen the video of the Metrodome roof collapsing in Minnesota, check it out below.  The only way this would have been better is if #4 was standing underneath it.  Of course, there's some suggestions that Favre might have been on the roof with a buck knife and snow suit to give him a chance to keep his precious streak alive.  The Vikings will now "host" the New York Giants in Detroit tonight, with tickets available for free in a nice move by the NFL in a city that could use some nice moves.

Here's Jets assistant coach Sal Alosi tripping Miami Dolphin Nolan Carroll.


Here's a new way to score in hockey, from an Under 20 game in Sweden.  Watch closely.

Prime Time Pick

Playing Philly -3.5 -105 tonight. As usual, expect the big weekend wrap edition tomorrow, likely morning.

GSP! GSP! GSP!

The UFC is back in Montreal, and there will be 23,000+ in attendance tonight at Bell Centre, a record gate and crowd size for Montreal. Native son Georges St. Pierre takes on Josh Koscheck in the main event. You may recall Kos bad mouthing the Montreal Canadiens in his last visit to Montreal, so he can expect a harsher reaction than even LeBron James saw last week in Cleveland. Shame for the Montreal fans it won't last, as GSP is absolutely going to demolish Kos. Rest of the card here.

The best games of the English Premier League schedule this weekend will not be going today, but tomorrow and the day after.  Chelsea faces Tottenham in a London battle, and on Monday, Manchester United host Arsenal in a battle for top spot in the league.  United will be glad to welcome back a trio of starters, while Chelsea captain John Terry questions the desire of his team.

We've been giving the New York Knicks a lot of love here of late, but it would only be right to mention that the winners of 11 of 12 now get 10 of their next 14 games against opponents playing .636 ball or better, with 3 of the 4 others on road.

Barcelona, who only in the last couple years caved to the sponsor on the front of their jersey, and even then had Unicef on for no proceeds to them, just inked a sponsorship deal with - no way! -  the Qatar Foundation that will net them a cool $170 million Euros.  Glad to say I've got one of the non-sponsored Barca jersey's, certainly relative to the new sponsor.

Hank Steinbrenner says it would "behoove" Cliff Lee to join the Yankees.  Never did like that word, but sure comes off forceful here.  Jon Heyman at SI.com compares the race for Lee between the Texas Rangers, who Heyman says have proximity to Lee's Arkansas home while the Yankees have, well, everything else.

With the NCAA on hiatus until bowl season gets in full swing, the NFL used to fill our need for a Saturday football fix, but for some reason, no dice this year, at least not until Week 16 and Christmas Day.

FIFA godfather President Sepp Blatter says the World Cup in 2014 may be pushed back into starting July versus the usual June to give players a little extra time to rest and recuperate after their long domestic seasons.  Good idea, methinks.  Of course, with the tournament in Brazil, a cynic might say "great, just what the competition needs…Brazil at full strength".

Word is Jenn Sterger is threatening to unleash a pile of evidence against Brett Favre if the league doesn't suspend him.  For once, I'm in Favre's corner.  The last thing I want to see is somebody take my favorite tackling dummy away in the dying moments of his career.

Seven hot ladies married to mediocre NHLers.

Abbot and Costello are in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Pete Rose is not.

GBVH tells me he did a $2 parlay with Pinnacle, where you can open an account here. He picked five NHL faves on the -1.5 goals line.  Payout?  $540.  The same payout on ProLine?  Payout is $92.  Don't waste your money there folks.

Ana Ivanovic and the top 30 Googled female athletes.

Check out this old-school bench brawl from an English hockey league.  I'll refrain from the too-easy "teeth" jokes.  Love the "he should get beaten' to hell for that" call.



UFC President Dana White took time to talk about The Undertaker's beef with Brock Lesnar on the George S. show...


Earlier in the week, we had a German overrotating while jumping a car.  Here, we've got an Asian MMAer UNDERrotating while trying a backflip.  Very nice.

BoSox going wild

The Indianapolis Colts simplified things some last night to get Peyton Manning in a rhythm, and then mixed in some bombs.  Still, they had to hold on to down the Tennessee Titans 30-28, a cheap cover for the Titans.  Randy Moss update: five games with the Titans, 5 catches, 62 yards, $1.88 million.  They might want a refund.

Richard Griffin writes that the life of the Toronto Blue Jays is a tough one after the Boston Red Sox re-loaded this week with Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford. What, did he think that the Sox were suddenly poor when their owner John Henry easily dropped a billion or so on Liverpool in England's Premier League?  He also talked to Jays GM Alex Anthopolous who thinks the Jays can fill the stadium again. Curious what makes AA think so, when he leans on a couple games last year as his evidence. Anthopolous also says the Jays are looking to have at least five #3 quality starting pitchers. Am sure he'll love hearing Buster Olney told the Baseball Today podcast that several baseball execs now project Kyle Drabek, the prize piece in the Jays deal that sent Roy Halladay to Philadelphia as a middle of the rotation guy now.  And a loud chorus of this emanates from Blue Jay hamlet:


The New York Knicks have won 11 of 12. Shocking.

Count Joe Torre, Cito Gaston, Mike Scioscia and Lou Pinella among those in favor of additional wild card teams in baseball playoffs.  They're part of Commissioner Bud Selig's advisory panel for on field matters and met this week among the chaos at the winter meetings.  There's a chance that an additional wild card round - best of three - is in play for 2012, as well as another much needed change: moving to a best of seven in the divisional round.

Very classy to read that Ottawa Senator Matt Carkner by all appearances appeared to flick blood at the New York Rangers bench last night after skating by after a fight with Derek Boogaard.  All "part of the game", right hockey?

Last year's Champions League and Italian league winner Inter Milan have struggled plenty under new manager Rafa Benitez, and there are already calls for his dismissal.  

When does an amateur wrestling match move from competition and into the area of sexual assault?  When you execute the "butt drag", that's when.

LeBron James is getting far, far too sensitive.  He actually goes and hammers Trent Dilfer for saying what everyone can see: that Peyton Manning is struggling, and says that Dilfer could never do what Manning did and does on the field.  I am praying, praying that Dilfer fires back and says that LeBron would do well to not criticize guys who have actually won championships, like Dilfer has.

The Boston Red Sox are not done.  Word is they're about to sign Blue Jays free agent reliever Scott Downs in a move that won't get the Jays a draft pick, as the Sox have already lost theirs in the Carl Crawford signing.  Maybe should've moved him last summer after all, Mr. Anthopolous?  The Sox, along with the Yankees and Jays, also are said to have an offer out to catcher Russell Martin.

As for Cliff Lee, the big name on the board to begin with and that remains, both the Yankees and the Texas Rangers are said to have offered him a buffet of contract options, with the Yankees listed here.

Crawford to Boston

The Indianapolis Colts have a ridiculously long injury list on a short week where they'll travel to Tennessee to face the circling-the-toilet-bowl Titans.  Of course, few are suggesting that maybe the Colts lack of depth this year is a product of Peyton Manning taking up a massive chunk of their salary structure.  Nice to see some Titans refer to pulling a "VY"  What a mess that team is.  So, with a spread of Indy  -3, your Prime Time Pick is the Colts.  How can you not play against a team that appears totally uninterested in competing, to the point they've rendered Chris Johnson useless?

Things went wild in the hot stove league for baseball last night.  Carl Crawford has agreed to a 7-year, $142 million deal with Boston, which puts them in the drivers seat in the AL East, if not all of baseball.  Kinda crazy to imagine that guy in that tight left field, like putting a governor on a Porsche. Pretty safe to say after dropping $142 million there, and talk of a similar extension for Adrian Gonzalez to be announced at the start of the season, that the Sox and their fans can cool the talk of the "evil empire", especially with strong suggestions that it was Boston who offered Cliff Lee a seven-year deal.  Speaking of, you figure those moves might have had something to do with the talk of the Cliff Lee offer moving to seven years from the New York Yankees?  The Florida Marlins are chasing Zach Greinke hard too, do the Toronto Blue Jays respond?  A wild week, no doubt, and it is still on with word that JJ Hardy is about to be dealt to Baltimore.  Ken Rosenthal looks at what the Crawford deal means to the Yankees, Texas Rangers and LA Angels.

The final 16 for the Champions League are set, and when the draw goes down next Friday, the group winners will be seeded and drawn to face someone that was a group runner-up.  Let your imagination run wild with these possibilities.  Group winners include: Manchester United, Tottenham, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Schalke, Bayern Munich, Shakhtar Donetsk and runners-up are Inter Milan, AC Milan, Roma, Arsenal, Lyon, Marseille, Valencia, FC Copenhagen. Three runners up, Italy?  What happened?  Teams cannot be drawn against teams from the same country, or teams they faced in the group stage.

In case you missed Darren Pang on TSN telling PK Subban he needs to do things the "white" way, be sure to see the special entry yesterday afternoon below this post.

Think Barcelona is any good?  All three players on FIFA's Ballon d'Or shortlist - awarded to the player of the year - are Barcelona players.  One of Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Lionel Messi will take the prize.

The Los Angeles Chargers?  It could happen as soon as 2012, says this bit.

Not a great week for those in the sporting world to be seen as people of much intelligence.  First, there was Don Cherry spouting off like the idiot he is about "pinkos" in Toronto when he introduced new mayor Rob Ford.  Nice work invoking a communist connotation, Grapes, real clever. And now, Baltimore Oriole Luke Scott showed that he's no threat to MENSA membership with a rambling rant about how he doesn't think U.S. President Barrack Obama is from the U.S., despite the small matter of that being a requirement to be President and his birth certificate saying so.

The English Premier League's top three sides - Arsenal, Manchester United, and Chelsea - will all be facing each other before December is out.  That won't necessarily decide the champion, but two losses for any of the above might decide who isn't winning the title.  Arsenal's Arsene Wenger looks at the important weeks ahead. Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech says his squad will have to improve greatly and find consistency game to game if they're to be a factor.

Yes, I did say that seven years was too many for Cliff Lee and makes me nervous, but that Boston lineup makes me more nervous.  Seven it is!

French soccer legend Zinedine Zidane made $15 million when Qatar was awarded the 2022 World Cup. He was lobbying on their behalf.  Pretty good deal, especially when lobbying likely means squad with fat envelopes of cash being thrown around.

I'm hearing Jose Caleron put on a hell of a defensive showing last night, and not in the way one wants if they're a Toronto Raptor fan.  This should surprise exactly nobody.

10 t-shirts that you should never leave the house with.  Can't say I agree, generally.

Have a great day.

Freudian slip?

I could wait to use this tomorrow, especially with a pretty lengthy dose of content today that you can see below, but it is too good to hold on to.

Check out Darren Pang at TSN's analysis of Montreal Canadien P.K. Subban, who has been a hot topic of late for being a little too arrogant for such a young player.  Taking a page from Phil on the great Modern Family,  Pang suggests that Subban should do things the "white" way.


And of course, moments later, Pang apologizes.  Sorry, I mean "Panger"...don't want to wind up those puckheads!

Let It Be...

I'm not piling on the New York Jets, it just seems that way.  New England Patriot Danny Woodhead, released by the New York Jets earlier this year, had this to say to his former team after Monday's massacre in New England: "do you like apples?"  Funny stuff.  But not as funny as the work of some airport employees in Boston who decorated the Jets team plane to remind them how Monday night went, at right.

UFC President Dana White made a trip to Toronto yesterday to announce - finally - that UFC will indeed be coming to Toronto on April 30th, 2011 in what is anticipated to be the organization's largest attended event (a lock) and largest gate (a lock).  No word on the card yet.

LeBron James weighed in on his old team and town and compared it to how Green Bay reacted when Brett Favre left town a few years back.  As poorly as that was handled in Green Bay, nobody went on TV with a "The Decision" moment.  That's about as close as you'll get to me defending everybody's favorite Sunday Afternoon Tackling Dummy Interception Machine.

The Dallas Cowboys are loving the fire and attention to detail that Jason Garrett has brought to the fold and are talking of how they're playing with a sense of urgency.  That's all well and good, but shame they didn't have a sense of urgency when there was something to be urgent about.  At any rate, pretty safe to say Garrett is the man for 2011 (or 2012, whenever the next season comes) and hard to argue against that so far.

At this point, 28 major league teams and 6 independents are said to have made offers to Cliff Lee, including a pair of matching 22-year offers.  Methinks that there's an agent at work building a competition that isn't as deep as it is being made out to be.  I love Lee at 5 or 6 years, I walk at 7.

The Toronto Blue Jays are said to be chasing Carlos Pena big time to fill their hole at first base.  They do know he had all of 95 hits last year right in 582 at-bats?  Granted, 28 left the park, but he's not exactly going to help the Jays fix their lack of runners on the bags anytime soon. EDIT: Pena signed with the Chicago Cubs for one year and $10 million.

Former Michigan running back Kevin Grady is building himself quite the resume when it comes to DUI.  Two years after getting clipped and blowing a .281, he blew a .30 late last month.  Call me crazy, but I'm going to suggest he's got a bit of a problem.  Bad Jocks ranks the best - meaning "worst" - blood alcohol content readings among athletes.  Grady now has two top ten slots.

The Texas Longhorns 2010 season summarized, using MS Paint.

100 vintage foreign objects - or as they're now called in this politically correct world: international objects - in the wrestling world.

Lance Bass is going to be one of New York Yankee Nick Swisher's groomsmen at his wedding this weekend.  I have no idea how this works.

Memo to Seattle Seahawk Leon Washington: if you're going to celebrate a punt return for a touchdown, make sure the punter doesn't take you down.




It was 30 years ago today that John Lennon left this earth, and in honour of that, we've got a version of Let It Be from a Norwegian TV show, featuring Ray Pruitt, Bud Bundy, John Bender, Ivan Drago and loads more.  Has to be seen to be believed.

Jets blown up in New England

If there's one thing that might knock Rex Ryan and the New York Jets down a pile of pegs, it had to be the curb stomping they took at the hands of the New England Patriots last night. The Pats went out early and never looked threatened in a 45-3 blowout that was every bit as one-sided as that score suggests. Rex Ryan admits the Jets got their "butts kicked". LaDanian Thomlinson, who has made a career out of losing and terrible performances at Gillette Stadium, should have known better than to celebrate and early first down like this.

Far better was this first half hilight, the sight of Donald Trump's hair blowing in the wind despite being in a private box at Gillette Stadium. Words don't do this justice.

In the days leading up to last night's game in New England, I heard New York Jets Darrell Revis and Nick Mangold complain on The Michael Kay Show that they don't like night games as there's too much down time during the day. Guess they didn't hear the Super Bowl kicks off at 6:20pm?  Another thing the Jets don't like: a lot of time between games.  Coming off a bye earlier this year, the Jets were shut out at home 9-0 by the Green Bay Packers, and then got smoked 45-3 last night after 10 days off.  Mix in the night game bit and the 2-week break between the conference championship and Super Bowl and you can bet I'll be on whomever would face the Jets if they made the Super Bowl.

The Denver Broncos have cut ties with head coach Josh McDaniels.  What, ditching your franchise QB in Jay Cutler and franchise WR Brandon Marshall and then losing roughly three games for every one you're winning amid videotaping one teams practice and still losing that one is grounds for dismissal?  Tough league.

What's more ridiculous: the Phoenix Coyotes, who made the NHL playoffs last year, (a) averaging 10,400 fans a game, or that (b) they're losing $20 million a month while under ownership of the rest of the league's teams? The answer? "C" - that Commissioner Gary Bettman and the rest of the league think the situation is merely a new owner from being turned around.

Talk among NHL governors is that the Atlanta Thrashers are Quebec City bound. Didn't we mention that here back in February?  Damien Cox at The Toronto Star says there are at least seven teams for sale.


Managed to hear New York Yankee great Reggie Jackson on The Michael Kay Show podcast.  Mr. October confirmed the rumor is true that he had purchased the giant "Yankee Stadium" lettering from atop the old stadium and has it in his back yard.  Says Reggie: "I've got a big yard, and this way even when I'm 75, I can still hit homers at Yankee Stadium."  Love it.

The Philadelphia Eagles played four games in 17 days, and went 3-1 in the process.  Pretty not bad.  They've got a date in Dallas this Sunday night.

Another round of Champions League play goes over the next two days, with four spots in the final 16 up for grabs.

Qatar is twice the size of Prince Edward Island and the stadiums will be in a 30km radius. Just seems like a worse idea all the time.

Best thing I've heard about NCAA football bowl season: it is one championship game surrounded by a series of exhibitions.

If you can afford a car, you can afford a snow brush.  Don't be one of those losers driving around with half their windows blocked off.

The SportsPickle dropped this great tweet on the disaster known as the Washington Redskins: "The RedZone channel should be renamed the Redskins channel in honor of Washington's defense."

The Washington Nationals are said to be ready to make an over-the-top offer for Cliff Lee.  Well, no sense stopping at one this week.

Slight over-rotation here on a German game show.

Mega Monday RandoMango

It is usually pretty violent when the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens tangle, and last night might have been even moreso despite the NFL's desire to pull the game way back from the edge. Steeler tight-end Heath Miller got absolutely crushed (video at the bottom), and his QB Ben Roethlesberger's beak got re-arranged badly, as you can see at right.  The Steelers emerged as 13-10 winners, and it is the fourth straight game played by these two that ended with a three point margin of victory.  The playoffs need these two to meet again.  In the meantime, I suspect Roger Goodell will be dishing out some more fines this week, particularly when he reviews this hit which was about as dirty as they come. 



The Monday Night game tonight will see the New York Jets visit the New England Patriots. Both teams have had 10 days since their last game and should be amped up for a pivotal game in how the AFC East, and AFC in general, shapes up come playoff time. Tom Brady has led his Patriots to 25 straight home wins.  Tough to argue against that. As we all know, streaks only end once and you bet with them, so playing the Pats tonight at -3.5.

Phillip Rivers was 18-0 for his career in December, until yesterday's potentially season killing 28-13 loss to the Oakland Raiders.  Speaking of season killing, nice interception deep in Atlanta's zone with the game on the line, Josh Freeman, which let the Falcons hold on to a 28-24 victory. Oh, and you too, Peyton Manning, nice Brett Favre impression.  4 interceptions - 2 that went back for touchdowns - and a 38-35 loss to the Dallas Cowboys, who if this were an 18 game schedule, would be dangerous.

The Washington Nationals dropped a seven-year, $126 million deal on Jayson Werth, and Buster Olney says baseball execs haven't been this livid about a deal since the San Diego Padres blew up the salary scale on the Kevin Brown deal, including one who said now they'll lose games 9-4 instead of 9-1 (ouch).  Werth is a solid player, but he has 684 career hits and has never hit .300 or driven in 100 runs. That, and $126 million contracts are historically failures. See "Wells, Vernon" and "Zito, Barry". Interesting to note that in 2002, the Nationals were bought for $120 million.

Carl Crawford has to be pretty happy with that news given he's two years younger and a better, more proven player than Werth.  He could be eyeing 8-years and $150 million, which shrinks the field considerably.

Derek Jeter's new deal with the New York Yankees is 3 years and $51 million with player option for $8 million in the fourth year with an additional $9 mil in incentives in 4th year. At least one year too long there I suspect.

Toronto Maple Leafs centre Tyler Bozak on the Phil Kessel trade from last season with Boston: "we'd take that deal every day of the week."  Really?  I mean, Kessel can score like few do, but a #2 overall pick last year in Tyler Seguin with another top fiver potentially on the way and Bozak is that certain?  Says something about he and his teammates.

When the Montreal Canadiens dealt goalie Jaroslav Halak, the thinking was the small Halak couldn't handle a big workload. Halak the last three weeks: 2-5, with a 3.42 goals against average and a plummeting .874 save percentage. Mix in the fantastic year Carey Price is having and it appears the Habs thinking was spot on.

It don't seem right, but the St. Louis Rams are slated to host a Wild Card game as things stand right now, while teams with more wins would be out of the playoffs altogether, most notably Green Bay who are actually good.

I wonder if soccer players were to watch interviews with any pro athlete - especially hockey players - on this side of the pond what they'd think. The former offer actual insight and opinion. The latter mostly offer clichés and scrubbed down politically correct pap.

That's seven straight road wins for the New York Knicks, in a league where few teams even make .500 on the road. The Knicks pounded the Toronto Raptors yesterday.

The Toronto Blue Jays could have a busy week. They dealt Shaun Marcum to the Milwaukee Brewers last night, much to the dismay of Toronto area buffet's. Canadian boy Brett Lawrie, a highly rated second base prospect drafted 16th overall a couple years back, comes to Toronto. The Jays are also hot on the trail of Kansas City Royal Zach Greinke, with a deal centering on Kyle Drabek and Travis Snider, for starters, going the other way. Problem is Toronto are on Greinke's no-trade list, but he's believed to be open to a move anywhere. 

Francesco Aquilini, owner of the Vancouver Canucks, is said to be interested in bringing a team back to Vancouver. And now comes word that the New Orleans Hornets are going under league ownership and hemorrhaging money badly. Make the connection as you will. 


Chelsea continues to struggle in the English Premier League, drawing 1-1 with Everton on Saturday. That, along with an idle Manchester United and a win by Arsenal, sees the Gunners go top of the table for the time being, with United holding a game in hand.

Auburn will face Oregon for the NCAA title of champion.  Strangely, the game opened with Oregon a 3.5 point favorite on Saturday afternoon, but by that night, flipped to Auburn by a point.

And under the premise of finishing up strong, a great day in the sporting world was capped off with a moment that really started the day. Mere minutes into a 38-14 win over the Buffalo Bills, Minnesota Vikings QB Brett Favre was buried into the Metrodome turf and has a sprained shoulder. Favre left the game in obvious pain and even better, the man he shoved aside, Tarvaris Jackson, had a solid day coming off the bench. Now to see if I can get me an Arthur Moats Bills jersey.

Here's a way to celebrate a goal: cuff a teammate in the head.

Red Sox bust the block

A wild baseball weekend is shaping up: the Boston Red Sox are about to acquire Adrian Gonzalez from the San Diego Padres for a package of prospects. Helluva move when you don't touch your major league roster and pick up that kind of player. And then there are the New York Yankees: about to re-sign Derek Jeter for $19 million a year and three years, and you know how I feel about that, so a bit more of a response would be nice. Word is they're looking at inking Carl Crawford and dealing one of Nick Swisher or Brett Gardner is a good start, and the Cliff Lee chase is heating up. The Texas Rangers are also chasing Lee and looking at dealing for Zach Greinke, 2009's AL Cy Young award winner.

Qatar are going to build a 46,000 capacity stadium in a town with a population of 5,400.  Sometimes the jokes come without saying them.

How valuable is Dion Phaneuf to the Toronto Maple Leafs? Leafs have lost just 15 of 37 games he's played in regulation.  On the downside, they've won just 3 of 13 without him.

In English Premier League action, leaders Manchester United were to visit Blackpool, but the game has been postponed after a run of bad weather. The game of the day should be fourth place Manchester City hosting surprising sixth place Bolton, but a lot of interest in seeing whether Chelsea starts pulling it together in a month where they'll face United and Arsenal on back to back weekends. They're hosting Everton today.

The Ultimate Finale goes tonight from The Palms in Las Vegas. Michael Johnson faces Jonathan Brookins for a UFC contract at 155lb. I think Brookins has more game overall, and a bigger gas tank, and wins this one.  Catch it - free - on Rogers SportsNet Ontario at 8:30pm (Eastern).

Jayson Stark says that after Cliff Lee and - gasp! - Carl Pavano, the list of available free agent pitchers turns into gambles and reclamation projects.  Stark quotes a pair of baseball execs who laugh at the suggestion Lee is going anywhere but to the Yankees.  Ken Rosenthal says the Rangers would be better off losing out on Lee.

Red Nation Online says that Toronto FC are in a solid salary cap position for a New York Red Bull-style reload for 2011.  Forgive me if I'm taking a firm "I'll see it when I believe it" approach.

Until winning its World Cup bid for 2022, here's what 113th ranked Qatar was best known for, a moment that came just weeks ago.


Everything you needed to know about Hip Hop.  Awesome.
THIS IS HIP-HOP! from Airwave Ranger on Vimeo.

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.

Rogers to buy Leafs/Raptors/TFC/Marlies?

Rogers Communications is in talks to drop $1.3 billion to buy the Ontario Teacher's Pension Fund'sMaple Leaf Sports and Entertainment share in .  The move would make Rogers the largest shareholder in MLSE, and give them control of the Maple Leafs, Raptors, Toronto FC and the Marlies, the Air Canada Centre, Ricoh and BMO Field, in addition to their ownership of the Blue Jays and their building.  That'd be some powerhouse of an ownership group, but if I'm a Jays fan, can't imagine I'm thrilled to be in bed with the Leafs, who dominate all things Toronto.  Glad to see my monthly contributions to Rogers by my cell, cable, internet and home phone bills aren't at all profitable.  At least they get those right, their sporting record is poor, at best, if you consider their Jays run and how well their "Bills in Toronto" investment has gone.  Buried in all that talk is word that MLSE President Richard Peddie will be packing it in on December 31st.  Unfortunately, 2011 and not 2010.  He's a shoe-in to be Gary Bettman's speech writer, given how well he does smug through repeated failure.

A thief, and the suspicion is it is somebody that knew the family and certainly the circumstances, broke into the van of Pat Burns widow during his funeral and snagged a bunch of memorabilia that was due for a charity auction.  If there is a hell, that clown has a special spot reserved I'm hoping.

As if the Minnesota Vikings weren't already treating their fanbase so well this season, with one circus after the next, they're upped the ante: they're talking moving to Los Angeles now.  The Vikes lease at the Metrodome expires after next season, whether there is one or not.

If you're at all an NBA fan, and want a great look at the drama queens that are the Miami Heat, check out this podcast with Bill Simmons and Dan Le Batard in which they dissect where the Heat are, and where they're going.  Simmons figures Chris Bosh will be ultimately dealt - I'm hoping somewhere really happening like Sacramento or Memphis - while Le Batard says it'll be Dwayne Wade that gets moved.  Great stuff.  The Heat, if you haven't heard, are in Cleveland tomorrow night.

At even strength, where he plays the majority of his shifts, Toronto Maple Leaf winger Phil Kessel is tied for 160th in NHL scoring. He's 2 points ahead of defenceman, and not exactly scoring machine, Mike Komisarek.  Oh, and the Leafs blew a 3-1 lead and lost in overtime to the Tampa Bay Lightning.  Can Ron Wilson anytime now, will you?

Another week in the NFL books, another fine for Pittsburgh Steeler James Harrison.  This time, Harrison was fined for a helmet shot to the chest of Buffalo Bills QB Ryan Fitzpatrick who was allegedly defenceless.  Looking at it, seems Zinedine Zidane's famed head butt to Marco Materazzi in the World Cup final of 2006 was a stiffer shot, minus pads, and didn't get dinged $25k if I recall.

Jim Rome says Derek Jeter doesn't just need to drink some "reality potion", as someone in the New York Yankees organization has suggested, but that a keg of would be more appropriate.  When one of the top shortstops in the game - in his prime - in Troy Tulowitzki signs for $16 million a year, how does Jeter figure he's worth more?

Tomorrow, FIFA will announce which nations will play host to the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.  There's a breakdown for 2018 here, for which Russia is the fav, and one here for 2022, for which the United States is expected to win the bidding.

Barcelona bitch-slap Real Madrid

Barcelona left no doubt who the best side in Spain, if not the world, are after an absolute dominant performance against visiting Real Madrid. Barca shredded the Real defence wide, in the middle, over the top...whatever way they wanted to attack they did, and rendered guys like Mehmet Ozil and Cristiano Ronaldo invisible. Damn impressive. 5-0 final, and could've pushed double that with the odd break.  Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho says Real weren't humiliated says , as the loss is easy to deal with given how emphatic it was. Deadspin has the highlites here if you missed it.

Jon Heyman at SI.com takes a look at MLB's hot stove league, which should heat up considerably in the coming days, and where certain players may end up.

How important is Tom Brady in the New England area?  Important enough that stories about whether he's having hair transplant treatments makes the news.

ESPN Radio's Colin Cowherd says Derek Jeter is the "family values politician who has an affair...selling one thing and doing another".  Presumably he means selling he's all about team?  Cowherd also argues that Jeter has been overpaid his entire career because power hitters and aces make the kind of money he's made, not guys whose numbers compare to Alan Trammell, Barry Larkin and Roberto Alomar historically.  He finished comparing Johnny Damon's 2009 against Jeter's 2010.  Damon hit .283 with 82 RBI and a .365 OBP, Jeter .270, 67 RBI and .340.  The Yankees wouldn't pay Damon, who Cowherd says was still better defensively and more useful at the top of the order, $7 million.  So offering Jeter $15 million is extremely generous.  Interesting take.  Oh, and someone in the Yankees camp says that Jeter needs to take a "reality potion". Remember how sour Jeter was for years after A-Rod's comments about Jeter never having to lead and it being different hitting in the #2 hole?  Have to figure this has him carrying a lifelong grudge by comparison.

NFL jersey's...camouflage style.  No, for real. If you rock one of these, you're a certifiable piece of trash.

The Miami Heat are said to be questioning whether Erik Spoelstra is the right coach for them.  I'm going to guess he's got a few issues with the make-up of his team in response.  So if they move to Pat Riley and they remain a poor team, albeit a better than .500 team, what then?  Here's a damning stat: LeBron James has 11 offensive boards on the entire season.  11.  0.6 per game.  If that isn't the sign of a guy content to put it up from the outside, or watch someone else do the dirty work, I don't know what is.  That average represents a career low.  

I couldn't even count how many versions of the same we've had, but here's the latest look at the top WAG's - wives and girlfriends - in the soccer world.  A top 50, if you will.

If you like your toast in the morning, maybe you'll like it even more with the logo of your favorite team burnt onto it?  Warning: word is the Toronto Blue Jays version sees the toast pop out extra early.

Best interception ever?
 

In a month that has been polluted by creepy 'stache's, it is only fitting that the close of the month sees the ante raised with "Hedo Rick" and his dance below.


The final submission for FIFA Goal of the Year comes from Barcelona's Lionel Messi with this gem against Valencia.

Are you sitting comfortably? Then we'll begin...

Wonder if the Indianapolis Colts still think not going for perfection last year was worth it?  Since then, they were upset in the Super Bowl and have slid badly this year. But hey, they gave Peyton Manning a massive contract. Some of these things are more a cause of their problems than others. And why was Manning still in the game last night with 4 minutes left trailing the San Diego Chargers 36-14?  Oh, and the Colts are 6-7 their last 13.

Can we all finally agree that the myth of "Grey Cup games are always great" is permanently dead and buried?  That has no more truth to it than "Super Bowl's are boring". Lately, the latter has produced far more entertaining games than the three down version has. Oh, and Montreal beat Saskatchewan 21-18 to repeat. And just when I thought the NFL had the market cornered on halftime acts older than God, the Grey Cup exhumes Bachman Turner, and not quite sure what happened to Overdrive, for yesterday's half-time show in Edmonton. Literally can't think of another act that is older and alive to say "what, 'x' weren't available?"

New York Giant Brandon Jacobs was fined for obscene gestures and obscenities after last week's visit to Philadelphia.  Isn't that kind of like fining tourists for speaking Italian in Rome?

The Buffalo Bills had every opportunity to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers yesterday in regulation and overtime, including a dropped pass in the endzone that Stevie Johnson had both hands on.  That led to Johnson going to Twitter to question, well, God, as you can see at right.

Sidney Crosby is the only player in the entire NHL scoring more than a point a game at even strength.

After Saturday's 3-0 loss in Ottawa, that's five shoutouts on the road of the allegedly ornery and tough Toronto Maple Leafs. Teams that get shut out that regularly not only lack talent, they lack commitment, and defenceman Luke Schenn called out some teammates for playing soft.

Under coach Tom Coughlin, the Giants are 25-32 from November through the end of the season.  They picked up one of those wins yesterday with an impressive comeback against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Chelsea continued their recent struggles with a draw at Newcastle United, which, when mixed in with Manchester United's 7-1 beatdown of Blackburn, in which Dimitar Berbatov scored five times, sends United top of the table alone.  Fantastic game yesterday between Tottenham and Liverpool, with the Spurs winning 2-1 with a last gasp goal from Aaron Lennon.  Not sure there are teams with more dynamic midfields than the Spurs send out in Lennon, Luka Modric, Rafael Van der Vaart and Gareth Bale.

An anonymous NFLer writes in ESPN The Magazine that he figures four in ten NFLers are using HGH.

In the minutes after actor Leslie Nielsen died, the Sports Pickle got off this gem on Twitter: "Leslie Nielsen died? That sucks. Shoulda been you, Detective Nordberg." Nordberg, of course, was the character played by O.J. Simpson in the classic comedy starring Nielsen, Naked Gun. Perhaps Nielsen died returning a pair of sunglasses to Nordberg's ex-wife?

The New York Knicks are 6-4 in their last 10 games, while the Miami Heat are 4-6.  It could be worse, it isn't like LeBron James is bumping into his coach.  Oh...wait...nevermind.

Toronto FC fans can vote for one of five submissions for one of the teams uniforms.  Personally, option one wins in a weak, uninspired field overall.  Kinda like TFC for most of 2010.

As far as match-ups go, they don't get much bigger or better than Spanish and global soccer powerhouses Real Madrid and Barcelona locking horns at 3pm Eastern today on GolTV.  Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho has the mind games full on ahead of this one, while Cristiano Ronaldo is downplaying talk that this is a match pitting him against Lionel Messi, the two best players in the world in most books.  We know this much for sure: not everybody likes Messi, as you can see in this video from last week's Champions League game in Greece.



It isn't often that football fights are particularly violent, but Houston Texan Andre Johnson took Tennessee Titans dirt merchant Cortland Finnegan to the woodshed in a pounding that you can see here.  Love it, AJ.
 

Check out this kid falling from the stands in the UCLA/Arizona State game on the weekend.  Word is he not only was fine, but didn't even shed a tear.  Tough kid.


And finally, Linus Hallenius delivers another FIFA Goal of the Year candidate for Hammarby.  This has to be my fav of the bunch.

Prime Time Pick

Playing San Diego tonight at +2.5, liking them to win the game outright obviously. Back tomorrow with a big entry after a big sports weekend.

$150 million for Jeter? You've got to be joking.

Pretty solid day of NFL action yesterday, especially the New Orleans at Dallas game which looked like it'd be over before the first quarter was done, but the Cowboys gamely fought back and might have won it if not for Roy Williams not knowing how to protect the ball in the shadows of the opposing goalposts against a team that constantly looks for turnovers.  In the end, a good result for Dallas even in a 30-27 loss: they competed, but still lost to keep the draft pick for 2011 nice and high.  Detroit looked fantastic in the first half against New England, but in the second half, they remembered they're Detroit and they got smoked 45-24.  And in the late game, Derrell Revis showed Terrell Owens just what an "average" cornerback can do, holding T.O. to three catches and 17 yards in the Jets 26-10 win.

Phil Simms to Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson after the latter broke down the Lions/Pats game: "good analyzation there". Yeah, great "analyzation," Phil.

Derek Jeter is said to be after 6 years and $150 million from the New York Yankees.  I'd sooner see a terrorist be given a cache of nukes before giving Jeter that term or dollar amount.  Strange, coming from The Guy Who Wants To Win More Than Anything.

Cathal Kelly at the Toronto Star hammers the idea that MLS is floating about lining up its schedule to match the rest of the world's, which would see the league run through the winter instead of the summer.  I'm sure that would be a lot of fun attending games in Toronto, Seattle, Portland, New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Salt Lake City, Colorado, Kansas City, New England, Columbus, D.C.,  and soon, Montreal.  That leaves about a handful of cities where it would work.

Good news, Buffalo Bills fans.  Forbes has a piece on who the best quarterback for the dollar is this year in the NFL and it is Bills QB Ryan Fitzpatrick.

Toronto FC is still apologizing to its fans for the Mo Johnston/Preki team of 2010, ditching five players closely tied with the two.

A great bit from The Sports Pickle on using sports cliche's in everyday life.

Check out these NBA cheerleaders slam dunking.

The latest FIFA Goal of the Year nominee sees Arsenal's Samir Nasri shred FC Porto's defence.  Awesome.

RM returns this afternoon

Turkey Day throwdown

A trio of NFL games today for US Thanksgiving, starting with the Detroit Lions hosting the New England Patriots. The Pats are -7 in this one, and coming off a hard fought game with Indy, may struggle to cover that number. Like the game to see a lot of points and go over the posted 50 total. Dallas hosts defending champion New Orleans at 4:15 and strangely, I like the Cowboys at +3.5 at home in a low scoring game with two defenses that are tightening up. The night game has the New York Jets hosting Cincinnati. I'm playing the Jets as a Prime Time Pick tonight at -9 despite their last four wins coming in the last minute or in overtime.  That's living dangerously, but also pulling it out in crunch time.  Here are 9 reasons to love Thanksgiving Day, USA style, for its NFL action.

Tottenham continued a nice run in UEFA Champions League play with a 3-0 win over Werder Bremen to lock up their spot for the next round. Wayne Rooney - yes, Wayne Rooney - scored the loan goal for Manchester United in their win over Glasgow Rangers as they too punched their ticket to the next round. Neither team had players earn intentional red cards. Also locked up for the next round are Real Madrid, Barcelona, Inter Milan, Valencia, Schalke, Olympique Lyon, Marseille, AC Milan, Chelsea, and Bayern Munich. Four spots remain to be sorted out in the remaining game left for each team.

At least the New York Post isn't getting dramatic about the possibility of Derek Jeter leaving the Yankees. Joe Posnanski at SI.com says that there is no doubt that Jeter will remain a Yankee, it is just a question of how this all plays out.  JP also says that Jeter has been paid well - true - for the past decade, the third largest contract in baseball history behind A-Rod and A-Rod (no typo), and the Yankees shouldn't budge from the current offer.  Agree.

Which quarterback, a career 38-17 won-lost record, is being shoved aside by his head coach?  Vince Young.  

The first big free agent contract of the MLB off-season has come, and it sees Victor Martinez move from the Boston Red Sox - and isn't it a shame when a good bat leaves there? - to the Detroit Tigers. 4 years and $50 million for V-Mart.

Between 1990-1998, the Chicago Bulls never lost three straight. And then there's the Miami Heat, whose stars were chirping about winning over a handful of rings, now losers of three straight in the first month of the NBA season.  I'm not about to write them off for this year, but sure not the start they figured on.  Starting to see Chris Bosh trade ideas floating on Twitter from some prominent sources as well. Loving this trainwreck!

Don't look now, but the Toronto Raptors have won four straight.

Not sure why LA Lakers coach Phil Jackson saying that it is easier to get rid of a coach - Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra was named - than the players, is a big deal.  Isn't that the old sports cliche?  Stan Van Gundy, Ron Jeremy clone, is not impressed.

The hot ladies of Entourage, singing and being, well, hot.

A couple videos to close out the proceedings today.  Enjoy.

The latest FIFA Goal of the Year nominee comes off the foot of Northern Ireland’s Matty Burrows, an unforgettable goal for Glentoran we've shown in these parts before.  Three left after today.


Yeah, football is all "man's game", right?