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?

Habs do it again in Game 7

There was no doubt left as to whether the Montreal Canadiens were the deserving winners last night, and in the series.  When you hold Sidney Crosby to one goal and four assists over the course of seven games, you're doing something right.  Had to laugh hearing Crosby mocking their style of giving up twice as many chances and shots and finding a way.  Isn't the latter the point?  Only fans should talk about style I think.  He would have a lot more credibility had his squad not found a way to lose three straight.  As for the rioting in Montreal last night, you'd think that a fan base that has seen as many Cups as they have might act a bit more like they've been there before, considering they're not even "there" yet.  I get that it is a small segment of the overall - and interestingly, growing - fan base, but come on people.  At least wait until the Cup is lifted before going LA Laker Fan on us.  It would not at all shock me to see the Habs in the Stanely Cup final as they'll be facing a very beat up Boston or Philadelphia team, both with considerable question marks of their own.  If I'm the Habs, I'd rather see Boston who don't have the playoff type warriors the Flyers do in Mike Richards and Chris Pronger, among others.

Speaking of the Flyers, they beat the Bruins 2-1 last night to escape a 3-0 crater in that series and force game seven tomorrow night.  The Flyers are the first team since 1975 to dig out of a 3-0 hole.

If you were at all wondering, wonder no more: Sammy Sosa is back to being black.

Lawrence Taylor's defence to the rape of a 16-year old will be that he didn't rape her, he was merely rubbing one out.  Guess that's at least slightly better.

Isn't it funny that the NFL's defensive rookie of the year Brian Cushing gets popped for performance enhancing drug use, and is suspended for four games, and that barely makes a ripple among every day sports fans?  And funnier still that they took a second vote for his award after the information came out and he still won?  A baseball player pops a Sudafed and it is days of discussion among the major media outlets and he's treated like he tried to kill the Pope. 

Dwayne Wade is going through a messy divorce, and he's now being sued for $25 million in a failed restaurant venture.  He's going to need a max contract to help pay for these lawsuits if he starts falling short in court.


Oakland A's pitcher - and the "before" poster boy for orthodentist's everywhere - Dallas Braden appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman and read the Top Ten a couple nights ago.  He also said the matter with A-Rod has been "taken care of."  For what it is worth, Daryl Strawberry told The Michael Kay Show that "he's never heard of" the unwritten rule Braden cried about, and he'd be pounded if it were him for his act a few weeks back.  Orel Hershiser added "traditions are passed from older players to the younger, not the other way around, and I'm going to side with Alex here, this guy is too big for his britches and arguing for some not deeply set rule.  I don't have a problem with it, I really don't."

RM returns early afternoon after the riots in Montreal settle...

Game 7!

The Vancouver Canucks met their demise with a 5-1 thumping - at home no less - to the Chicago Black Hawks.  The Hawks now face the San Jose Sharks in what should be a dynamite series, and I suspect the winner their lifts the Stanley Cup when the dust settles.

Tonight, the Boston Bruins are in Philly for game six, but the big one of the night sees the Pittsburgh Penguins try to maintain their Cup defence with a game 7 hosting Montreal.  The Habs are already playing with house money, and aren't making near the mistakes the Pens are on defence.  Mix in a goalie playing out of his mind in Jaroslav Halak against one who looks terrified at times in Marc-Andre Fleury and you have to think an upset is somewhere from possible to probable.  But, tough to go against any team with Sidney Crosby on it.  Too close to call, but I'm going to say the Habs do it.  If it goes OT, that pick changes to the Pens who would be a lot better four on four with the added room around Halak.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are now down 3-2 to the Boston Celtics after getting hammered at home 120-88 in a game where LeBron James didn't score til 30 minutes in, and shooting 3 of 14.  Last home game for LeBron?  Could well be.

Interesting thought on the NBA playoffs and how quick series have gone: the brevity of so many series will directly impact next year's salary cap negatively, so if a team like the New York Knicks was counting on an extra million or three in the pile to let them chase two max contracts, that is now under threat as the revenue pile won't be as large as it would in an average year's playoff run.

Who but the Cincinnati Bengals could be so quickly contemplating bringing in JaMarcus Russell already?  That team is threatening to replace the Oakland Raiders for where a player ends up rather than being a destination you aspire to.

With the Toronto Blue Jays hosting of the Philadelphia Phillies June 25-27 moved to Philly thanks to the G20 - and isn't that a commentary on the state of baseball in Toronto? - New York Met Jeff Francouer is arguing the extra home games for Philadelphia aren't fair.  He may have a point, but would love to hear his suggestion as to how you reschedule three interleague games.  It isn't like the Jays were hosting a divisional rival where there are a lot more opportunities to make games up with the odd double header.  That said, surely they could've gone to a neutral site to eliminate this discussion.  Montreal, perhaps?

Curious as to how your NFL team drafted relative to the Dallas Cowboys draft board?  Find out here, as the Cowboys board has been revealed.  A few bargains for the Miami Dolphins, the Tampa Bay Bucs got a better player at #3 in the Cowboys estimation than the Detroit Lions at #2, the Bills took CJ Spiller right where Dallas had him, and the Cowboys nabbed Dez Bryant a lot later than the 11th pick they had him projected.  Loads more at that link.

Maxim's annual Hot 100 is out.  Katy Perry topped the list.  Discuss.

The Bleacher Report weighs in with their take on the 25 worst uniforms.  For my money, the Pittsburgh Pirates aren't checking in nearly high enough at #15, nor are the Toronto Raptors at #9.

Do yourself a favor today, go hit your fav record store - yes, they still exist - and grab Danko Jones "Below The Belt".  You're welcome.  Caught Danko last night in Toronto at the Mod Club, and Jennifer Hedger and hubbie Sean McCormick were beside me for the show.  McCormick was jacked.  Hedger seemed astounded at Danko's tongue. 

Have a great day.

Habs survive, thrive

The Montreal Canadiens not only survived game six to even the series 3-3 with a 4-3 win, it is pretty safe to say they were full value for the win. Interesting that many of those that crack of Alexander Ovechkin as being a cheap shot artist while pumping up the virtues of Sidney Crosby aren't saying a word about his after-the-buzzer crosscheck on Tomas Plekanec. Game 7 goes tomorrow in Pittsburgh.

The Philadelphia Flyers shut out the Boston Bruins 4-0 to narrow the gap in that series to 3-2 with the next game set for Philadelphia.

I miss Kelly Kelly on Monday Night Raw.

It is almost a lock that the first game coming out of a series with Boston that the New York Yankees will lose, and that they did again in Detoilet last night.  Scoring more than two runs when they twice had the bases loaded with none out might have made a difference.

Says Bill Simmons (aka "The Sports Guy") via Twitter on Tiger Woods, with sarcasm oozing:
"I believe Tiger - there's no way a mysterious car accident that knocked him out for 10 mins had anything to do with his neck injury." Awesome. More on Tiger's injury below on video.

The Orlando Magic are 13-2 their last 15 against the spread.  In the two they didn't cover, they missed covering by a basket.  They're 8-0 straight up through two rounds of the playoffs.

The Toronto Blue Jays are 6-8 against teams above .500, and are also are 0-4 against Boston, 1-2 against Tampa and have yet to play Minnesota, Detroit or the New York Yankees.

What is going on with Adam Lind?

Check out this look at the five worst moves in the AFC East this off-season.  Not good news for Buffalo Bills fans, of which there are many reading here: the Bills check in with the top two bad moves.

There have been an incredible 498 arrests of NFL players since the year 2000.  Almost as impressively, somebody has taken the time to set up a database with all of them.

Over the weekend, Buster Olney said he'd be "stunned if [David] Ortiz finishes the month on the Boston roster."  Can't wait for that press conference by Big Papi!

Elisha Cuthbert, girlfriend of Dion Phaneuf (aka "The Next Leafs captain")...what happened?

Because the truth is always way funnier than fiction, check out this clip from the Golf Channel on Sunday after Tiger Woods pulled out (heyooo!) with a bulging dick...err...disc in his neck.

Champions crowned in the EPL

Chelsea eliminated any drama in the final day of a fantastic English Premier League season with an 8-0 pounding of Wigan giving them the championship with a one point gap over defending champion Manchester United, 4-0 winners over Stoke City. Chelsea and United will be joined in Champions League play next season by Arsenal and Tottenham.

In Italy, the race is also going down to the wire as Inter Milan maintained a two-point gap over AS Roma with a game to play. Spain has a tight race going to the wire with Barcelona up a single point on Real Madrid with a game to play. Great season in all the major leagues this year.

The Phoenix Suns swept the San Antonio Spurs to exorcise a rather large demon of theirs over the years. They could use a few extra days to heal Steve Nash's eye, looking pretty horrific in the picture above.

The Oakland Raiders finally released JaMarcus Russell, who earned $36m for going 7-18, with 18 TDs in 3 years. Hell of an argument, on top of logic, for a rookie  wage scale in the next round of collective bargaining, no?

The Boston Red Sox are 2-8 at home against Tampa Bay and the New York Yankees, outscored 67-37 in those games.  Ouch.

Is it me, or does PJ Stock on Hockey Night in Canada seem as comfortable on TV as the "Boom Goes The Dynamite" guy?

Gotta hand it to Dana White. With the public perception his is a dirty sport - right or wrong - he acts swiftly to address a cheap shot from Paul Daley on Josh Koschek following their fight on Saturday in Montreal, tossing Daley from UFC permanently, despite him being a talent and in the championship mix. And people think Roger Goodell is tough on NFLers. If you hadn't heard, Mauricio "Shogun" Rua beat Lyoto Machida for the Light Heavyweight title with a first round knockout. Good card in Montreal.

Toronto FC looked as good as they've ever looked in a 4-1 win over the Chicago Fire Saturday at a ridiculously windy BMO Field. Chad Barrett, O'Brian White and Dwayne De Rosario looked fantastic together attacking Chicago in the second half. If TFC can get it going on the road, they're gonna be something. As it stands, a hell of a turnaround from the first two games of the year when things seemed dire.

As customized jersey's go, this LA Dodgers one is stellar. Gonna go out on a limb and suggest this guy is single. 

The Detroit Red Wings were eliminated Saturday by the San Jose Sharks, who are gaining steam the deeper the playoffs get.  Last night, the Vancouver Canucks had a stay of execution with a game five 4-1 win in Chicago. Tonight, the Pittsburgh Penguins have the guillotine poised over the necks of the past best-before-date Montreal Canadiens in Montreal while the Boston Bruins look to finish off the Philadelphia Flyers.

Those Phoenix Coyotes to Winnipeg rumors continue to percolate. Have to say I'd love to see the Jets back, even though a second team in Toronto or another in southern Ontario make far more sense.

Interesting argument put my way on drug use in baseball this weekend. For all the talk of Barry Bonds having used steroids in breaking the all-time record, nobody talks of how amped on amphetamines Pete Rose was for decades in breaking the all-time hit record, and that was done openly with plenty of witnesses in the media. For me, same principle applies in both cases: if there wasn't a rule against it at the time, he didn't break a rule. Period. 

Finally today, early win total lines for the NFL season...

Team	Venetian/Palazzo	Lucky's
Indianapolis Colts	11	11
San Diego Chargers	10.5	11
New Orleans Saints	10.5	10.5
Dallas Cowboys	10	10
New York Jets	9.5	9.5
New England Patriots	9.5	9.5
Minnesota Vikings	9	9.5
Baltimore Ravens	9	9.5
San Francisco 49ers	9	8.5
Green Bay Packers	9	9.5
Philadelphia Eagles	8.5	8.5
New York Giants	8.5	9
Houston Texans	8.5	8.5
Tennessee Titans	8.5	8.5
Atlanta Falcons	8	9
Pittsburgh Steelers	8	8.5
Cincinnati Bengals	8	8
Miami Dolphins	8	8
Chicago Bears	7.5	8
Carolina Panthers	7.5	8
Washington Redskins	7.5	7.5
Arizona Cardinals	7.5	7.5
Jacksonville Jaguars	7.5	7
Denver Broncos	7	7.5
Seattle Seahawks	7	7.5
Kansas City Chiefs	6	6
Buffalo Bills	5.5	6
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	5.5	5.5
Oakland Raiders	5.5	6
Detroit Lions	5.5	5.5
Cleveland Browns	5	5.5
St. Louis Rams	5	5

UFC back in Montreal...

 

UFC 113 goes in Montreal tonight, with a light heavyweight title rematch between champion Lyoto Machida and Mauricio "Shogun" Rua the main event.  The first match was a controversial one, with most - myself including - figuring Rua was the runaway winner, but Machida got the decision.  Hopefully this one is more entertaining, Machida tends to be a pretty dull fighter looking to defend as much as attack.  Also on the card, Josh Koscheck takes on Paul Daley, and Kimbo Slice takes on Matt Mitrione.  Rest of the card here.

Toronto FC host the Chicago Fire today at BMO Field where they'll hope to maintain their perfect record at home.  Kickoff is 4pm

With Derek Jeter the lone unscathed member of the "core four" after the Sports Illustrated, looks at the left like the Yankees are taking steps to keep the captain healthy in Boston this weekend, at left.  The Yankees beat up on Josh Beckett again in a 10-3 win, but lost the ridiculously hot Robinson Cano in the process after he was drilled on the knee by Beckett.  He's day to day.

Reason for optimism for Toronto Blue Jays fans: Sports Illustrated has them ranked #10 in their latest power rankings.  

Oakland A's pitcher Dallas Braden - and that is required information so you know who and what he is - is still chirping about A-Rod running across the pitcher's mound a few weeks back and openly talking about revenge, including a fight because that's the way they roll from the 209.  Yes, he referenced his area code from Stockton, California.  If I'm A-Rod, I laugh, and then on the first conference on the mound, dance on it, and spit on the rubber when running off the field.  For a guy who trumpets himself as a team guy while trashing A-Rod as playing for the name on the back of his jersey - which doesn't exist, by the way - Braden sure says "I" a lot in this piece.  Very appropriate initials in DB for a D-Bag.  Rodriguez lone response was to say he didn't want to add to Braden's 15 minutes of fame. 

Have a great Saturday.

They only had 9 shots after two periods, but the Montreal Canadiens stole game four with a couple late third period goals to even their series with the Pittsburgh Penguins.  Said SportsNet hockey analyst Nick Kypreos on Prime Time Sports: "the Montreal Canadiens might be the worst five-on-five team in the history of the Stanley Cup playoffs."

The Detroit Red Wings made a statement last night in a 7-1 beatdown of the San Jose Sharks that got real nasty the further on it went.  Even the normally cool Joe Thornton got in the act with a late hit on Tomas Holmstrom on a shift where he also sparred with Nik Lidstrom.  The Sharks lead 3-1 heading back to San Jose.

Why did the Tennessee Titans record drop off last year to 8-8 after going 13-3 the year prior?  Well, if you believe former running back LenDale White, it is because of their over reliance on Chris Johnson, who rushed for a mere 2,000+ yards, and not using White enough.  If anyone can make sense of that, I'd love to hear it.

Jerry Crasnick at ESPN.com talks to Bert Blyleven, Jim Palmer and Goose Gossage on a variety of "unwritten rules" situations to get their thoughts.

Seems former New York Giant and NFL Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor has been accused of raping a 15-year old, or 16 depending on the report you read.   In related news, Ben Roethlesberger breathed a sigh of relief.  In more related news, the SportsPickle tweets that "It's the nickname of a rapist" has jumped "it's unoriginal" as the top reason LaDainian Tomlinson shouldn't go by L.T.

It has only been a couple weeks since Sports Illustrated ran a cover with the New York Yankees "core four" of Andy Pettitte, Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera and Jorge Posada on it.  Since, all but Jeter have run into injury concerns.  The "SI Jinx" lives!

Seems Jerry Reinsdorf is out on purchasing the Phoenix Coyotes.  It's a good thing that Gary Bettman didn't just sell the team to Jim Balsillie.  I mean, who would want a team selling at a premium with no other suitable buyers in the mix?

Check out New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees take part in a home run derby against some teammates recently, switch hitting no less.  And going deep from both sides.  He also once beat Andy Roddick in tennis, was an elite soccer player, and carries a 3-handicap in golf.  Dude rules.

I don't know what is more impressive, that the guy that jumped on the field in Philadelphia on Tuesday night Tweeted his shot first (at right), or that he did it after the guy the night prior was hit with a taser blast.  Oh wait, I know, the most impressive part was that the fool did it with drugs on him.  Smart play, clown. To their credit, the crowed booed the hell out of him.  Video below.

Speaking of Philadelphia, more than a little surprised the Flyers are down 3-0 to the Boston Bruins, largely because I think the Bruins are so very unimpressive.  The Bruins were 4-1 winners last night. 

The Chicago Black Hawks took a 2-1 series lead thanks to a hat-trick from Dustin Byfulgien, who is proving far too big a load for the Vancouver defence to handle.  The Hawks were 5-2 winners last night.

In the NBA, the Phoenix Suns took a 2-0 lead over the San Antonio Spurs, their long time playoff nemesis.  I'm impressed how much every hoops fan I talk to is pulling for Steve Nash and the Suns to keep going in the playoffs.  Count me among those.  Love me some Steve Nash.

There's a big Sports Illustrated feature coming up on Ben Roethlesberger.  The fine folks at ProFootballTalk have summarized the finer points here.  Honestly, is there a worse guy in sports if half of this is true?  Even Tiger Woods?  Deadspin has read the article, and concluded that it is six pages of "Ben is a dick."  Now, that's not a crime, but some of what he's been doing sure seems to be.

In addition to the indignity of not qualifying for the World Cup, this year is getting even tougher for Croatian soccer players when they're given yellow cards for diving, when it turns out they weren't diving, they were merely in the first stages of dying on the field. 

Been a while since we went "WAG" around these parts, but with the World Cup on the way, how about enlisting some of the WAG's to model uniforms for South Africa?  You're welcome.

Some seriously creepy stuff makes its way onto eBay.  Like this item for late New York Yankee legend Thurman Munson, who of course died in a plane crash in the 70's.  The item?  His pilots license.

Toronto Mayoral candidate Rob Ford says that if elected, he will heavily lobby the provincial government to go the route of Quebec and B.C. and ignore the archaic interpretation of the law that is keeping Mixed Martial Arts out of the province right now.  He makes a very compelling argument here, and it is sad that it takes an elected leader to open a city and province to millions in tourism dollars that will otherwise go somewhere else.  I know, I make it sound like small minds in politics is a shocking thing.  I don't intend to.

Philly field jumper #2, from Tuesday night.

Hawks lay down for Magic

Hope you've cleared some time today, this is gonna take a bit.  Enjoy.

Not sure how you can play so in a shell with nearly 21,000 fans absolutely foaming at the mouth for you, but the Montreal Canadiens tried to do it again, and failed.  Guess when you're deep into the second period with only ten shots on goal, that isn't a recipe for success against a team with even average goaltending, and despite only 18 shots against last night, Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury was superb in a couple key spots, and the Pens won 2-0 to take a 2-1 series lead.  Here's a thought: if the Pens go up in a game 2-0, they'll have either scored the second goal late, or they're going to blow the Habs out when they open up.  That said, man am I impressed with Mike Camalleri.  Hard to figure how two teams have given up on that guy.

I don't want to chime the final bell on the Detroit Red Wings, but down 3-0 and looking tapped out, it is hard to imagine them winning four straight, especially when they blew a 3-1 lead last night to lose 4-3 in overtime.  Don't look now, but the San Jose Sharks are getting enough balanced scoring and decent goaltending to be an actual contender to win it all.

Nice of the Atlanta Hawks to show up to open their series with the Orlando Magic. The Hawks were smoked 114-71. No typo there, they really only scored 71.

For all the grief that Tracy McGrady has received over the year's for never making it out of the first round, it is hard to imagine that this is Grant Hill's first time advancing to round two.

The Boston Red Sox, who spent more than anyone this past off-season, are looking down the barrel of some big changes if things don't turn in short order with the LA Angels of Anaheim and New York Yankees in this week, says GM Theo Epstein.  Word is that there is a gulf in the clubhouse with the new players not fitting in with the old guard, save for Marco Scutaro who has bridged the gap.

Philadelphia Phillies closer for the closer Ryan Madson is on the DL after breaking a toe.  Kicking a chair.  I love baseball injuries!  Good to see the taser blast of a couple nights ago didn't deter anyone.  Another fan ran onto the field last night.  I'm for an outright shooting now.  The Phillies are going to threaten the Red Sox for worst fans.

Another Phillies note: yes, they have Roy Halladay.  They also have the same record as Leroy's old team, the Toronto Blue Jays.  Who would have bet that?

TSN's James Cybulski thinks it is time that the Toronto Raptors ditch that horror-show of a name, and bring back the Huskies name and colours.  Amen to that, I say.  Worst name, and logo, in sports.  But just keep the mascot, he's pretty kick ass as they go.

AJ Burnett is having the best year of his career so far.  Pass it on.  Burnett's ERA is down to 1.99, and he's 4-0 on the year. Not bad for a guy who is barely using his curve.

The SportsPickle - and how many times must I rave about it for you to follow? - offers up seven accurate entrance songs for MLB players. Love the B-side suggested for David Ortiz. The A-Rod suggestions, I have to say, are pretty funny too.

A survey of soccer fans says 51% said they'd starve themselves for a week for their team to win the World Cup, 40% said they'd give up dating for a year, and 4% would offer up a limb.  The best sporting even period starts in 36 days.  Pool info to follow.

Expect a serious push in these parts to see regular reader Bukakke hold up a sign advertising this blog at the June 13th Edmonton Eskimos game.  Why?  Because our boy is going to be holding the down yardsticks.  Be sure to tune in on TSN for what will surely be the highest rated regular season game.

The BleacherReport presents the Top 25 Worst Nightmare Moments in Sports.

Finally, on a non-sporting note, I know things have a way of changing over the course of 40 years, but check out this pic from Kabul, Afghanistan in 1970, and today.

Check out this Formula 2 racing clip, and watch around the 1:10 mark for a wild accident.  Then, rewatch it looking only at the "mirror" on the bottom right.  Incredible stuff.