Wild Card Weekend

It is Wild Card weekend in the NFL today, and like most sports, the first round is usually the most interesting in terms of upsets and wild games. Up at 4:30, the New York Jets are 2.5 point underdogs at Cincinnati. It would be easy to take the Jets on the strength of their 37-0 whitewash over the Bengals last week but that assumes the Bengals were 100% invested in that game, which they weren't. That said, the Jets will ride their fantastic defence today and pounding run game over a one dimensional Bengals offence that can't pass, and an up and down defence that struggles against the run. Jets win 21-10. The 8pm game is an NFC East battle that sees the Philadelphia Eagles visit the Dallas Cowboys. The 'Boys won both games against Philly this year, both unders if you care, including a 24-0 shutout last week. The Eagles are likely to throw the kitchen sink at Tony Romo this week unlike last week, but Romo seems to know when they're blitzing and is calling the right plays out of it. With a great rushing game going and a defence that hasn't given up a point in 8 quarters, hard not to love Dallas at -3.5, which I do in a 31-17 Cowboys win. Romo gets his first playoff win and goes on an A-Rod playoff cleansing this year. Downside? Likely means another year of Wade Phillips as coach.

Speaking of Wade Phillips and the Buffalo Bills, never heard about the Curse of Doug Flutie until yesterday. Seems neither Phillips nor the Bills have won a playoff game since then Bills coach Phillips yanked Flutie in favor of Rob Johnson with the playoffs at hand, and that ended up being the wrong end of The Music City Miracle for the Bills. For his part, Flutie wishes Phillips all the best, so hopefully that does it for the Cowboys.

MLBTradeRumors.com sums up the latest on Cuban defect Aroldis Chapman, now believed to be heading to the Toronto Blue Jays on the strength of a $23 million offer. If there is silence coming from the big boys in the division, they're either not interested for a material reason that doesn't include money, or they're waiting to quietly pounce.

Make that eight of nine for the surging Toronto Raptors after coming back from a double digit deficit in Philadelphia last night for a 108-106 Raptors win. Chris Bosh and Andrea Bargnani had big nights to lead the way. Next up: the Boston Celtics tomorrow at The Hanger.

Five snowed out EPL fixtures this week, including Hull City v Chelsea, Burnley v Stoke City, Sunderland v Bolton, Fulham v Portsmouth, and most disappointingly, Liverpool v Tottenham. That leaves only a couple games today, with Arsenal and Everton the more appealing.

Manny Pacquiao has agreed to fight someone named Josh Clottey. Boxing does it again.

Pete Carroll is suddenly out as USC coach, which has to mean that there is serious trouble around the corner coming from the NCAA for some bevy of violations, and has already agreed to become next coach of the Seattle Seahawks. He must really have wanted to stay on the left coast to move that quick, as he'd surely be a hot candidate for any vacancy despite a less than stellar NFL head coaching resume from his time in New England. Yes, there was a time when Bill Belichick wasn't in charge.

This one comes from GBVH, and features the 12 strangest soccer stadiums. The last is an absolute gem.

Roll Tide!

When Texas QB Colt McCoy went out before most found their seats in the National Championship game, you'd have thought it would be an Arkansas blowout, and while it ended up that 37-21 in the end thanks to a few late turnovers, it was a lot closer than you'd have initially thought. How funny was it seeing Texas QB Gilbert picked off by Arkansas' Arenas?

Senator Chuck Schumer from New York went to Buffalo Bills owner Ralph Wilson looking for assurances that the Bills would remain in Western New York and got what he was after. Of course, Schumer would've preferred a healthy donation to his campaign funding but in the abscence thereof, appeals to the common man by talking to the uncommonly rich old man will do.

Atlanta Falcons fullback Ovie Mughelli is allegedly gay. And the world continues to spin on its axis.

More details of how the Gilbert Arenas gun incident went down are emerging and as stupid as he and Javaris Crittenton both are, it seems that Agent Zero is taking the hit for the latter. While Arenas left four guns out for Arenas with a letter for him to pick one, it was Crittenton that responded to Arenas' action by busting out his own firearm, loading the gun and chambering a round. Smart.

Check out this list of the Top 20 Most Despicable Coaches. Really, the word "despicable" doesn't get enough play, don't you think? Some surprises on here, but really hard to argue with the top two, who I'm sure you've heard of. Hint: they're not professional coaches.

The anonymous "Player X" continues his behind the scenes articles for ESPN The Magazine with a look at 10 playoff lessons heading into the NFL playoffs. Interesting stuff for sure.

If the talk is true, we could see the MLB World Series Champion play the JapaneseWorld Champion. champion to determine the true Doesn't this strike you as a bad idea if you're MLB? There's no doubt that they should win, but do you really think teams would take that much pride in it and treat it as more than an exhibition?

NFL cheerleaders aren't wearing nearly as little as they did earlier in the season when it was a lot warmer, or here when these 25 top cheerleaders were photographed.

Tony LaRussa is musing about adding Mark McGwire to the St. Louis Cardinals roster late in the 2010 season if they're in contention. Clearly, LaRussa is about to fail a field sobriety test again.

Back in the morning. Have a great Friday.

Crimson Tide

Today's RandoMango is brought to you in 3D. Strap on your goggles and get ready to go.

Had to go with two pictures today because I'm torn as to which is better. Gilbert Arenas "finger guns" which surely forced NBA Commissioner David Stern's hand into suspending him indefinitely without pay for his locker-room gun play, costing him $150k per game, or the screen cap from Boise State's Fiesta Bowl win earlier in the week featuring Jeron Johnson - and what else could it be but Johnson? - who apparently majors in porn judging by the picture below.

Alabama and Texas are playing the mythical National Championship bowl game tonight. Sorry, Longhorn, this one is Crimson Tide in a blowout, covering the four. Kickoff is 8pm Eastern. Yes, GS, I lifted your team name shtick. Love it.

Pardon The Interruption's Tony Kornheiser calls the New York Jets "the luckiest people since Ringo Starr." If you're not aware, that is pretty freaking lucky.

There's never, ever a dull moment when you're in Buffalo to see the Bills, but judging by this article sent my way from GBVH, this past Sunday's game was something special. As an added bonus, some Canadian content too.

More Bills news. Seems Brian Billick contacted Mike Tice, one of his former co-ordinators about joining him in Buffalo should he land the job. Tice in Buffalo? You know what this means...you can buy tickets to sit among the player's families come playoff time!

Tony Dungy figures the talk of how the Indianapolis Colts tanked a shot at perfection only to play some key players - Reggie Wayne, Dallas Clark, Peyton Manning - the week after in a blizzard in Buffalo so they could set some individual records will motivate them the way SpyGate motivated the New England Patriots in 2007. If you say so, TG.

Chad Ochocinco says that his knee feels fine after testing it out during a bout of sex earlier in the week. Whatever you say, 85.

The bidding on Cuban defector Aroldis Chapman is expected to go to $20 million. ESPN's Buster Olney notes that there is concern in some quarters that he is better suited for relief than as a starter. That's a boatload for a guy to get out of the gate as a reliever. Olney also says the New York Yankees are out, and the Toronto Blue Jays or Anaheim Angels are the likely landing spot.

The Hall of Fame votes are in for baseball and they got it both right in finally admitting Andre Dawson, who is the sole entrant this time around, and wrong in leaving Roberto Alomar, only three votes shy of the required 75%, out. The good news for Alomar is that since 1968, 13 players have polled 50% of the vote but failed to make it on their first try, and all 13 got in eventually. The NY Post's Joel Sherman offers his take on the voting process and results here. I'm not a fan of how political some voters get and think nobody should get in first year unanimously or sending in blank ballots, but the baseball Hall of Fame is the most legit of them all. It is strictly the best of the best. Dawson is said to be unsure which hat he'll be enshrined with. Hawk, it starts with "Montreal" and ends in "Expos".

Good to see boxing take something that would've been universally applauded - a huge fight - and turn it into a joke. After back and forth from both camps, and then mediation to try to bring them together for a March 13th fight, Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao will apparently not be getting it on, according to promoter Bob Arum. Way to go, Boxing.

Have a great Thursday, back in the morning.

The U.S. wins gold

The U.S. are the World Junior Hockey championships after a thrilling 6-5 overtime win last night that saw Canada rally from two down late to force overtime. Some horrible goaltending from Canada. At the opposite end, Jordan Eberle. In a word, "man". Does anybody in the U.S. know? Care?

Strange but true: my jersey sales contact tells me that even before Canada's Olympic hockey team was announced, he saw jersey's that had Crosby with an "A" on the front. If Nike has that kind of information before the rest of the world, that is truly stunning.

One reason for the Dallas Cowboys to be nervous, despite beating the Philadelphia Eagles twice this season: they did the same in 2007 to the New York Giants before getting bounced in the playoffs by the Giants, who went on to win the Super Bowl.

The Boston Red Sox have now signed Adrian Beltre and Mike Cameron to go with David Ortiz as those with drug ties. Nice. Beltre, set to make $9 million, had all of 44 RBI this season.

Oakland Raiders QB JaMarcus Russell blew off the team's year end meeting to hang out at The Palms in Las Vegas. I'm sure Raider Fan won't hold that against him the next bad throw he makes.

Not content with his offence and thinking it is too vanilla, South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier is looking at ways to make his offense more dynamic. With some colleges and pro teams running the "Wild Cat" or variations thereof, Spurrier is going with a tweaked version that, in honour of his schools team name, he's calling the "Wildcock". Amazing. South Carolina's squads are the Gamecocks, of course.

Baseball's Hall of Fame announcement will be made today and if the voters get it right, the Toronto Blue Jays will see their first entrant in Robbie Alomar.

Randy Johnson announced his retirement from baseball last night rather than mess with the Hall of Fame announcement. Uncharacteristically classy of him. The Big Unit was as dominant as they came in his prime, and in his 22 seasons chalked up 303 wins and 4875 strikeouts, and will also be remembered for blowing up this seagull in spring training one year.

More news coming out of the Edmonton Oilers rookie dinner. Seems the $8,000 portion on booze has attracted the attention of regulators. So very incredibly lame.

Bill Cowher is said to have met with the Buffalo Bills again yesterday, and the talk that he's backing out for the year is now being viewed as a bargaining ploy. Eventually, somebody will guess right.

Karl Malone writes a piece for SI.com letting the world know his thoughts on the Washington Wizards locker-room gun play. And as an avid hunter, he's none too pleased, and this is something a lot of would be gangsters in the pro-sports ranks would do well to read.

With the Jacksonville Jaguars said to be for sale, and the Buffalo Bills not far off, the company building the would-be NFL stadium for Los Angeles is said to be targeting those two to fill their stadium, along with five other possibilities.

The audio book of Sarah Palin's autobiography has some seriously harsh language from the former Vice Presidential candidate. Not for sensitive ears.

Have a great Wednesday.

Gold Medal frenzy

The Oakland Raiders are said to be contemplating firing Tom Cable. Well, at least they weren't rash in their decision making process. The Raiders have lost 11 or more games the last seven years. That is a serious Commitment to Excrement...err...Excellence.

If you forgot Chad Ochocinco's word last week ahead of the Cincinnati Bengals visit to the New York Jets, they went something like this: "Revis has put a lot of great receivers on him this season. That will not happen [this upcoming week]. Darrelle Revis couldn't cover me in a brown paper bag on a corner of a Manhattan street in a phone booth. It's impossible.'' Of course, Ochocinco went on to post exactly zero catches on Sunday, and also told Bob Costas of NBC that he'd change his name back to Chad Johnson if Revis shut him down Sunday night. When asked by a reporter after the game if he still planned to change his last name back, Ochocinco said, "Child, please.''

In the final 11 games of the season, the New York Giants went 3-8 and allowed 48, 40, 45, 41 and 44 points in five of those losses. This from a team that does much talking of how great its defence is. Best characterization I've heard of the Giants came on yesterday's Jim Rome Show, when one emailer likened the Giants to France.

All four bye teams from last year -- Carolina, the New York Giants, Pittsburgh and Tennessee - failed to make the playoffs this year. Not sure that kind of parity is a good thing, it doesn't hurt to have good and dominant teams here and there methinks.

Congratulations, Denver Broncos! You're the first team in NFL history to blow a 3.5 game lead in your division.

After a 24-0 beatdown and getting swept in the season series, Philadelphia Eagles mental heavyweight DeSean Jackson says "we gonna sting they ass". Very clever.

With the Buffalo Bills punting their entire coaching staff - good move, for starters - the talk of who the next head coach will be is heating up. Some names: Marty Schottenheimer, Brian Schottenheimer, Ron Rivera, Brian Billick, and more. Sounds like Bill Cowher will be sitting this one out, which with a lockout a possibility in 2011, would have him on the sidelines for a good five years if he doesn't land another gig.

Was that enough NFL talk for you?

Starting with the opening game at this summer's World Cup, ESPN is launching a 3D network. No, really. The future is coming real fast.

Canada faces the U.S. today in the gold medal game at the World Junior Hockey Championships tonight in Saskatoon. That one starts at 8pm and ought to be a great one, given the entertaining game they played on New Year's Eve. If Canada comes out in those green jersey's, I may be forced to cheer for the U.S. I'm not entirely kidding there either.

Check out these two St. Louis Rams fans falling from the stands trying to grab some players equipment being lobbed into the stands. Of course, when your team goes 1-15, a suicide attempt is also a possibility:

To the playoffs we go...

I don't know what the odds on this are, but three of the four Wild Card games this coming weekend are Week 17 rematches. If familiarity breeds contempt, then it should be extra interesting.

Safe to say Tony Romo has shut up some of the can't-do-it-after-November talk with his current run, even in the two losses they had to open the frame. The Cowboys are perhaps the hottest team entering the playoffs in the NFC, posting three wins and back to back shutouts including back to back shutouts after yesterday's 24-0 no-doubter over Philadelphia. They'll renew hostilities on Saturday night in Dallas, and anything other than a Dallas win will stun me. What was Wade Phillips doing leaving his starters in with the game well in hand? Romo took a nasty shot and was working through a back injury to close.

The Cincinnati Bengals laid down like a porn star in Chatsworth last night, handing the New York Jets an easy 37-0 win. Those two will get it on again in Cincinnati in Wild Card round. I suspect the result will be a little tighter the next time around.

Green Bay and Arizona will play again on Sunday after yesterday's 33-7 beatdown win for the Packers. Don't figure it'll be by that margin again next weekend, but the Packers are rolling of late.

The other Wild Card game will be a great one with Baltimore slated to visit New England. Patriots QB Tom Brady has been playing the last month or so with a broken finger and three broken ribs. The Pats lost wideout Wes Welker yesterday when his ACL and MCL blew up early in their loss to Houston.

Tennessee Titan Chris Johnson became the sixth player in NFL history to have a 2,000+ yard rushing season, finishing six yards over the mark. He also was the second youngest to achieve the number.

Only one team in NFL history - the Green Bay Packers decades ago - lost its last two games and went on to win the Super Bowl. That means you're in trouble, Indianapolis and New Orleans.

Another year, another fired Washington Redskins coach in the form of Jim Zorn. Are the Oakland Raiders really that much more of a joke? Hard to say.

Canada was never threatened in a comfortable 6-1 win over Switzerland in their half of the World Junior Hockey semi-finals. They'll face the U.S. in the finals tomorrow night after they beat Sweden 5-2. If the final approaches their New Year's Eve tilt, won by Canada 5-4 in a shootout, we're in for a treat. That one goes at 8pm tomorrow on TSN.

Bill Cowher is said to be making calls to round out a coaching staff. Sounds to me like a guy who is real close to making a comeback to the coaching ranks. With the season now over for the majority of teams, might just be a day or two before a vacancy is created and filled by Cowher. In related news - perhaps - Cowher is said to have had a secret second meeting with the Buffalo Bills last week.

To anyone looking to quit their job this year, just tell your boss you're going New York Giant. They'll know what you mean. The Giants gave up 44 and 41 the last two games in coach killing performances. The good folks at ProFootballTalk figure a change is in the offing.

Are the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox not really spending this off-season to earmark their money for Joe Mauer, Albert Pujols, Adrian Gonzalez or Prince Fielder in the next couple years? More than a few MLB execs seem to think so, as this article notes, and hints that a run at Mauer is why the Yankees have not dealt killer catcher prospect Jesus Montero to date. Interesting theory, to be sure.

Sounds like the NHL is eyeing New York City for the next Winter Classic, with Citi Field the likely spot with Yankee Stadium tied up for a college football bowl game most likely. How can they not look at Central Park? That'd be incredible.

Seems we'll get the Rashad Evans/Rampage Jackson fight after all, next summer after Rampage's obligations to the A-Team movie - he's playing B.A. Barracus - are wrapped up. If you caught the last season of The Ultimate Fighter, these two had a serious hate on.

Can you feel the excitement, Uganda? Evander Holyfield will be fighting Francois Botha on January 16th. How boxing allows this is beyond me.

The Edmonton Oilers had their rookie dinner in Calgary on New Year's Eve and after initially asking for a 50% discount - who does that, anyways? - they then decided that paying $12,381.45 of a bill of $16,796.39 - before tip - was good enough. Stay classy, Oil. If an NBA/NFL/MLB team tried that, they'd be crucified by the media.

Rashad Evans survived a late onslaught from Thiago Silva to win a decision in a wild Light Heavyweight fight at UFC 108. More here.

Add Brian Billick to the list of people interviewing for the Buffalo Bills job. That's quite a few high profile names, it'll be interesting to see if the notoriously frugal Ralph Wilson pays up for a name.

Kristian Jack at The Footy Blog put together his list of the Top 100 players in the English Premier League. Impressive, and prolific. A couple things I'd object to. One, how is Niko Krajncar at #63 behind guys like Anderson (Man Utd) and Louis Saha (Everton)? And as great as I think Michael Essien is, and he is Chelsea's best for my money, I don't rank him ahead of Wayne Rooney. My top three today: Cesc Fabregas, Wayne Rooney, Fernando Torres. I'd put Torres behind Rooney simply because the former is out with injuries too often this season.

Seems hard to figure out how a 6'6" guy dates a 5'1" girl, but that's the case with the IBF, WBO, IBO Heavyweight Champion Wladimir Klitschko dating actress Hayden Panettiere.

And this right here is why Dallas Cowboys coach Wade Phillips isn't a championship coach. Phillips plants his nose firmly in owner/GM Jerry Jones' posterior in praising his dual role as being efficient, despite Jones lack of football experience in terms of scouting and coaching.

What is old is new again for the Denver Broncos. Brandon Marshall has been benched for an "accountability" issue. With their other two wideouts also out, the Broncos are in tough today, even if it is only Kansas City.

Barely into 2010 and already we've got 15 WAGs for you to watch for this year.

Are you sitting down? Switzerland beat Russia in the quarterfinals at the World Junior Hockey Championships, 3-2 in overtime. The Swiss will now move on to face Canada, who could not have seen this coming, in a semi-final game this afternoon, 4:30pm (Eastern) on TSN. Sweden takes on the U.S. in the other semi-final at 9pm.

Going to be a wild day in the NFL with playoff positions to be sorted out. Only thing for certain is the New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts, and San Diego are locked into their spots and will have byes when the playoffs starts. The rest is wide open.

Have a great Sunday.

Classic? Really?

Rashad Evans and Thiago Silva meet in a key light heavyweight matchup tonight at UFC 108 where one of them will suffer the second loss of their career. Hard not to like Rashad, methinks. The rest of the card isn't loaded with big names, but those usually end up being the best fights. That goes tonight at 10pm.

A strange weekend for the English Premier League. After a flurry of games the past three weeks, the fixture list is empty until January 5th. What to do?

Considering no wideout this year has put up over 70 yards on the New York Jets lock-down corner Darrelle Revis - not Randy Moss, not Steve Smith, not anybody - Cincinnati Bengal Chad Ochocinco is talking a big game for Sunday night. Should he manage a TD on Revis, #85 is planning to jump on somebody's shoulder like famed Jet's fan "Fireman Ed" and work the crowd on a "O-C-H-O, Ocho, Ocho, Ocho!" chant. How awesome is that idea? Hope it happens, but with Revis, odds are it won't.

Do pictures of yourself from New Year's Eve have you embarrassed? It could be worse, you could be a celeb. Check out these 50 fine drunken looks.

Shame on me for not going with a Washington "Bullets" joke yesterday in the Gilbert Arenas discussion. If proven true, you have to figure the Wizards look to
void his large, very bad contract. More details are emerging on the incident and it occurred over a card game on a plane two days prior. Well at least they're not going overboard.

Shouldn't the NHL stop calling the annual outdoor game the "Winter Classic" until it actually has, you know, a classic game or two? Another snoozer yesterday, won by the Boston Bruins 2-1 in overtime. Still, an awesome atmosphere, but how lame was the "Sweet Caroline" bit? I'd have rather seen Dennis Leary up there singing "Asshole", dedicated to Gary Bettman.

After LaMarr Woodley of the Pittsburgh Steelers talked of how the Cincinnati Bengals would lay down, Bengal Tank Johnson fired back - get it? - and telling Woodley to mind his own business, and reminding him the Bengals didn't lie down against the Steelers twice this year. Still, speculation is the Indianapolis Colts pulled their starters last week to help keep the Steelers out of the playoff mix...errr...to rest them.

The NFL Competition Committee is going to look into the resting of players issue. Nonsense, I say. If a team is in a spot to rest players, they've earned it. The rest of the teams can't count on another to do their work for them if they haven't taken care of business themselves. As hot as Indianapolis Colts fans have been over giving up a shot at going perfect, they'll quickly forget it with a win in Miami on February 7th.

The U.S. Olympic hockey team was announced yesterday with no major production, no iron grip on the media of the nation, and little fanfare. They've got a very interesting team put together, and a new generation of players for the most part with the old horses - Mike Modano, Keith Tkachuk, etc. - on the outside. Wonder if Chris Chelios was figuring on an invite?

Toronto Blue Jay Edwin Encarnacion was hospitalized after a firework blew up in his face. Imagine that - a Blue Jay having something blow up in his face? It is usually May when that happens. Hit this!

Have a great Saturday.

Happy 2010!

A happy and healthy 2010 to all, and welcome to a new decade. May it be filled with good health and fun. I know in terms of sports, it is a special year ahead with the World Cup set for June/July and the Olympics of course in February in Vancouver/Whistler. Good times ahead!

Here's an incredible article that looks at the business of baseball. Going to include a lengthy quote, not attributing the source initially, because that may colour your opinion. For those that are worried about what the big money teams spend, here's what could well be an even bigger problem to the competitive fabric of the game: what the "small" market teams spend:

“We heard a lot last year about the impending doom of the economics of baseball, and they had another record year of revenues, $6 billion again this year, and the economy is better, so the real truth of baseball right now is a lot of teams are starting to identify their ownerships from the following perspective: that they have an ownership that’s going to pay off their debt by getting the revenue sharing and money they’re getting from central baseball - $80 million-$90 million a year - and they’re going to turn around and draw 1.5-2 million, make $40 or $50 a head. All of a sudden, they’re sitting there with $200 million in revenues and they’re spending $50 million, $60 million, $70 million on players. Those are obviously owners that are going to have to be looked at.’’

“We’ve seen a number of teams that are just sitting back,’’ he said. “We have clubs who aren’t successful getting $80 million before they ever sell a ticket. The question is always going to be, in the end, what are they doing with that money? For most of them, they’re paying off their debt to purchase the franchise. So they become owners, debt-free, but they have not done a lot to contribute to the success of the game.

“The fans have to look at it and realize that kind of revenue is available. The other part of it is I think we’ve proven time and time again that investment in players produces revenue streams and success points for franchises. Even in an economy where many businesses are struggling, in our industry, as I said last year, we’ve been able to keep revenues at a record level.’’

"While that growth was going on - which is phenomenal growth - every offseason there were statements by teams that the industry was headed south,’’ he said. “Go back and look at the quotes and who’s making them. If I’m a fan, I really have to question it and look at the history of my franchise and the others and evaluate what commitment each franchise is making.

“Some are doing a good job of it. Some are making decisions going forward, and there are others basically using our industry as a method for acquiring hundreds of millions of dollars in assets on the backs of the industry.’’

The source? Super agent Scott Boras, who clearly doesn't buy the stories some franchises are selling. Frankly, the math he's offering works so the real losers out there are the fans supporting the Pittsburgh's, Florida's and San Diego's of the world and financing their team's ownership while watching a crap product most years. Thoughts?

Check out the Top 10 Middle Finger moments in sports. Good stuff.

As per New Year's Day tradition, plenty of NCAA action on the go today including the Rose Bowl where Ohio State will face Oregon, and the Sugar Bowl that will see two new coaches in play for Cincinnati and Florida.

AT&T is ending its sponsorship of Tiger Woods. This really shouldn't affect the company greatly. Now, if Tiger were to drop AT&T as his cell provider and vehicle for his text messages to his ladies, then we'd have concern for AT&T.

The NHL Winter Classic goes today in Boston, with the Bruins hosting the Philadelphia Flyers. It is always more cool to watch the atmosphere than the game itself, which usually tends to be a bit dicey with choppy ice, especially with the forecast calling for temperatures around freezing and a chance of rain. In fact, the game may be called off and moved to Saturday. Check it on NBC at 1pm.

Pittsburgh Steeler LaMarr Woodley is whining that the Cincinnati Bengals are going to lie down to keep his Steelers out of the NFL playoffs, as a Bengals loss eliminates the Steelers and puts the New York Jets in. Three things on that: the Bengals didn't lie down when they beat said Steelers this year. Twice. Second: they don't owe you anything. Third: the Steelers had far more to do with their situation than the Bengals did.

What would All-Star voting - any sport - be without something ridiculous like Tracy McGrady and Allen Iverson leading voting?

And what says "team" more than two guys drawing guns on each other in the locker room over a gambling debt? That's what Washington Wizards Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton did on Christmas Eve. Lovely stuff.

At the World Junior's, Canada rallied to beat the U.S. 5-4 in a shootout. Cost me a wager at -2 +112, the sons of...

Have a great New Year's Day.

Last entry of the decade

Well, at least yesterday's coverage of The Announcement of Canada's Men's Olympic Hockey Team For Vancouver 2010 wasn't ridiculous and overdone. End sarcasm. Tiger Woods could have been in the middle of a battle with H1N1 and banged the Queen on Parliament Hill with Osama bin Laden ready to tag in and it wouldn't have got a mention yesterday in the media. Sad, really.

One prominent baseball source says if the Minnesota Twins don't re-up with catcher Joe Mauer before he hits free agency, it could cost $30 million to do so with both the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox anxious to ink the three time batting champion.

SI.com lists the Top 10 new stadiums of the past decade, with photos of course. Definitely some lookers in the bunch.

Here are the Quotes of the Year, and there just happens to be 25 of them.

Concerned with what kind of environment they could have on their hands with a playoff birth on the line, and a night game to host it, the New York Jets will not be selling booze at the last regular season game at Giants Stadium this Sunday night. Great idea, now people will just drink that much more before going in. They best hope there isn't a snowfall or fans will have two hands free to launch some snowballs.

Baseball America lists the Top 20 MLB prospects going into 2010. Good news for you Toronto Blue Jay fans who dominate the readership here, Kyle Drabek, acquired in the Roy Halladay deal, made the grade at #16. The bad news: one guy they were looking to deal for - Jesus Montero, in the Yankee system - ranked #5.

There are a lot of athletes with some impressive dating resume's. Here are the top 10. For me, Brad Penny, Andy Roddick and Tom Brady are the winners, though Brady lags behind for what Tara Reid has become. Derek Jeter has a helluva list, but you already knew that.

Not only could a capless year result in spending gone wild in 2010 for the NFL's teams, it could also result in teams bottoming out their payroll too with no minimum in play. Don't kid yourself folks, the only way a cap works for parity purposes is if there is a floor. The lack of a labor deal will also make it tougher for free agents to move. Must read stuff here.

Former Pittsburgh Steeler's coach Bill Cowher has expressed interest in the head coaching job in Buffalo and really, could there be a better fit than the iron-willed blue collar Cowher in that town? That team needs a name like that badly after year's of ineptitude.

Five straight wins for the Toronto Raptors now after they beat Charlotte 107-103, all minus Jose Calderon. Interestingly, and not coincidentally, they've also shown shards of defence in the process.

The San Jose Sharks became the first NHL team since 1982 to score two penalty shot goals in the same game. Wow your friends tonight with that bit of trivia.

So Mike Leach was finally turfed from Texas Tech after locking a concussed player in a dark room for three hours. Word is that Under Armour, who make their uniforms, is developing a glow in the dark jersey to honour the occasion. I kid.

Finally, best wishes for a Happy 2010 to all of you. Most importantly tonight, do not drink and drive. Catch you on the flipside.

Loads of NFL stuff, Pens BUSted

With their team bus stuck en route to Buffalo in heavy snow, do you think a single player got out to help the coaching staff push the thing? Incredible. I know hockey players bill themselves as the most regular of athletes, but wasn't it the Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens who helped shovel out the field in Baltimore a couple weeks ago so they could play? Boo, Pens. The Sabres ended up beating the Pens 4-3.

With New England Patriots QB Tom Brady nursing a shore shoulder, ribs, and finger, and his team locked into their playoff slot, coach Bill Belichick was asked if he has a philosophy on resting key players and came back with this gem: "yeah, absolutely...I do what's best for our football team. That's definitely my philosophy." Brilliant.

Check out Oklahoma City Thunder's Kevin Durant point production the last five games, four of which were on the road: 30-38-30-40-35. He has also scored 30-plus in 16 of his last 24 games, and just turned 21 three months ago. Meanwhile, the guy picked ahead of him in the draft - Greg Oden - is out for the year with another season ending injury. Portland, you got this one wrong.

As great as Adrian Peterson is, he has already fumbled 20 times in 988 touches in his three seasons for the Minnesota Vikings. Over the course of 15 years, Emmitt Smith fumbled 54 times on 4,924 touches. And don't kid yourself, Smith played on some terrible teams in his early years and late. Thanks to TS for that stat.

Oakland Raiders coach Tom Cable throws out the suggestion that JaMarcus Russell killed the Raiders season. Right, because the circus of the head coach busting an assistant's jaw and having allegations of beating his wife was good for the team.

B. Kennedy sends this gem on hockey fights: if fighting is part of the game, why don't coaches spend time drilling it and teaching it? Why are there no instructional videos on how to fight? But, I guess that diving is also part of the game and it isn't practiced or drilled, presumably. Funny that Hockey Fan gets up in arms at talk of the former not being part of the game but objects to the latter. At least the latter happens with the clock moving.

Four teams are still alive for the No. 2 seed in the NFC. Here's how it breaks down.

The New York Mets finally made a move of significance yesterday, inking left fielder Jason Bay to a 4 year, $66 million deal. Not sure how much Bay will enjoy going from the smallest outfield to perhaps the biggest with wonky knees and an arm Johnny Damon doesn't even envy. Expect his offence to suffer plenty. But hey, at least he can give the Mets the book on Roy Halladay! Lee Jenkins at SI.com likes the move for the Mets.

Tracey McGrady's days in Houston are finally done. One might say he's got an eye on the exit and the other somewhere else, even. Not content playing small minutes in nothing situations, T-Mac has parted ways with the club and they're looking to deal him. Interesting and shocking fact: T-Mac is the highest paid player in the NBA.

Four ESPN analysts joined Mike and Mike on ESPN Radio and at various times called the Dallas Cowboys the class of the NFC, and the most complete team in all aspects in the league. Not sure what those statements mean, other than the tide turns quick in the NFL.

The Indianapolis Colts are selling how they're not concerned with streaks and are looking to win the Super Bowl. Does that mean Peyton Manning's streak of never having missed a start comes to an end with a nothing game Sunday? Doubtful.

The New York Jets could slide into the playoffs with two wins over teams resting players: Indy last week and Cincinnati this. If the Bengals see the right results Sunday afternoon, they'll pull some key names for Sunday night.

And another thing: why don't all the teams play at the same time in Week 17 to prevent teams getting this kind of advantage like the Bengals and Jets are getting?

Not sure how two Cleveland Browns make the Pro Bowl, but no Cincinnati Bengals. Not even Cedric Benson? Save for missing a couple games, I'd think he'd be an MVP contender so to not make the Pro Bowl is meaningless. Jim Trotter at SI.com looks at other omissions. Good news for The Old Has Been: he made the Pro Bowl as a back up to Drew Brees. Better news for the The Old Has Been: with the New Orleans Saints a legit contender, he may get the start now that the game is being played the week before the Super Bowl.

Have a great Wednesday.

A 9-iron to the face?

The way the playoffs are shaping up, there's a chance we could see Cincinnati vs. New York Jets, Philadelphia vs Dallas and Arizona vs. Green Bay in Week 17 and the Wild Card weekend. Odd. Here is what the AFC playoff picture shapes up as and who needs to do what, and see what else happen. Right now it is advantage New York Jets and Baltimore Ravens.

Good to see The Old Has Been remembering it is the stretch run and he's piloting his team into the ground with their third loss in four games and now has his Vikings in danger of losing their bye week. This was a 36-30 overtime loss in what should've been a gimme on a Monday night with the Chicago Bears dead and buried. Apparently, Bears QB Jay Cutler flipped a middle finger towards the stands when the fans at Soldier Field booed when they kneeled the ball with seconds to go before overtime. Cutler is a tool.

In case you missed Jerry Jones on Sunday night's broadcast discussing labor talks, it was pretty clear that the owners are intending to blow up the current system. A season in 2011 is by no means a guarantee at this point, and with an uncapped year in 2010, the landscape of the NFL could be changing very significantly in years to come.

Canada downed Switzerland 6-0 yesterday to move to 2-0 in the World Junior's. The Canucks have yet to concede a goal.

There is an interesting email making the rounds detailing the moments before and after Tiger Woods fateful meeting with a tree and a fire hydrant a month or so ago. Pretty interesting stuff, if only for the vision of his wife cracking him in the head with a nine iron. Also, word there is they aren't divorcing.

The Buffalo Bills are said to be interested in bringing Charlie Weis in to coach the team next year, and word is he's interested in doing so. If that happens, do the Bills deal for Brady Quinn to work with his former coach at Notre Lame? Let that percolate, Bills fans.

A great SI piece on the biggest trades of the decade in baseball, as well as best and worst free agent signings, best draft bargains and biggest draft busts. Rest easy, Blue Jays fans, Vernon Wells didn't crack the top five. Interestingly, the Boston Red Sox figured on three of the five trades listed.

Bill Simmons - The Sports Guy - at ESPN looks at ways to change your NBA destiny, including more than a few scenarios for the Toronto Raptors that see them dealing away Chris Bosh (perhaps necessary) and Jose Calderon (answering my prayers).

Hard to imagine that the NFL didn't anticipate booking The Who to play the Super Bowl this season might not be greeted with some protest over Pete Townsend's child porn past and former registration as a sex offender in the UK. And right on cue, the protests are mounting.

Check out the 20 Most Oogled Women of Playboy 2009.

Indianapolis Colts coach Jim Caldwell might have overplayed his hand. Yanking his starters to show he's not worried about a perfect record is fine, but only if they go the distance and win the Super Bowl. Anything less and he'll be reminded that this past Sunday is where things started to go askew. By worrying about the pressure of perfection, he may have just put even more pressure on his team.

If you've got time, take a read of the Toronto Sun's Bob Elliot breaking down the Roy Halladay deal day by day and the aftermath. Very interesting stuff. The classy Halladay even sent Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopolous a text message on December 17th to thank him for the opportunity. I'm a Yankee fan to the core - if you didn't know - but if my squad doesn't get another ring in 2010, can't think of a guy who deserves it more than Leroy.

Have a great Tuesday.

NFC comes clear, AFC not so much

The playoff picture became a little clearer in the NFC at least, with Dallas and Green Bay locking up their spots to settle the field of six, and the New York Giants flaming out spectacularly in losing 41-9 to the Carolina Panthers in their last home game at Giants Stadium. What were the New Orleans Saints doing losing to Tampa Bay? I know the Saints have little to play for, but that's ridiculous. Check out Saints owner Tom Benson celebrating what he thought was the game winning field goal for his team, only to see it go wide.

In the AFC, the New York Jets stayed alive with a 29-15 win over previously unbeaten Indianapolis, who decided it was a good idea to take Peyton Manning out of the game with lots to of time on the clock and a mere 15-10 lead. The Jets scored 19 from then on, the Colts nada. Does Giants Stadium now become Jets Stadium for a week? They're the only team that will play there again after all. Should the Jets beat Cincinnati next week, they're in among a pack of 8-7 teams at the moment, including Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Houston and formerly 6-0 Denver.

Memo to Tony Romo: I believe again.

Real Madrid have targeted Sergio Aguero, David Villa and Wayne Rooney for future acquisitions. I think I'd cry if they picked up Rooney, who is my fav player in the game. Maybe they've figured out that it was Rooney who made Ronaldo as good as he was the past couple seasons? Rooney was dynamite in yesterday's 3-1 win for Manchester United over Hull City, including an incredible pass through a defenders legs to Dimitar Berbatov.

Hard to imagine there are many better players in the world today than Cesc Fabregas. He scored a pair of beauties yesterday for Arsenal as they downed Aston Villa 3-0.

China has instituted a karaoke monitoring system to alert authorities when inappropriate songs are being played. That ought to be put in place everywhere.

The sporting world is about to get a big jolt in the near future when TMZ Sports launches. This is gonna be great.

Here's an idea for the World Junior Hockey Championships to prevent 16-0 jokes that do nothing for anybody when you count +/- as a tiebreaker. Have goals against elevated above that. Seriously - why not reward a team that keeps the total against down, something a good team can control, to save from the game becoming a joke? Far more sporting, that's for certain. Canada faces Switzerland today.

Have a great Monday. It is Monday, right?

Boxing Day

A few technical issues cost me a good chunk of today's RM. Here it is, take 2, in addition to the below entry.

Is it too late to throw Phillip Rivers into the MVP discussion? Rivers was dynamite in leading his San Diego Chargers to another December win. Shocked the Tennessee Titans were pounded 52-17 like that at home. It would not shock me to see the Bolts in the Super Bowl.

The big free agent signing of last off-season, Albert Haynesworth, is tired of the Washington Redskins system and their losing ways and wants out. He was also sent home for disciplinary reasons this week. Just the kind of thing I like to see around a team with my Dallas Cowboys set to visit tomorrow.

The LA Clippers are 8-1 against Minnesota, Golden State, Memphis, Philadelphia and Washington and 4-16 against everyone else, including 1-10. against teams above .500.

The LA Lakers were crushed at home last night by the Cleveland Cavaliers, and the Lakers fans were so in the Christmas mood that they pelted the court late in the game with foam fingers and at least one water bottle. Classy.

The World Junior Hockey Championships start today for host Canada. This is definitely one of my fav traditions of the sporting year, and usually reminds me how great a game hockey can be without goonery and other "part of the game" nonsense more prevalent in the NHL. Canada faces xxx today in Saskatoon.

The English Premier League continues its torrid December schedule. Up today in terms of interesting matchups are xxxxx

Can't figure why the NFL would have a game last night but not today. Odd.

Elephants (Live)

Merry Christmas all...enjoy.

Merry Christmas!

A Merry Christmas to all, or whatever it is you're celebrating today.

Not a tonne going in the sporting world today, but the NBA as always has some juicy matchups at the ready. Up today are five games, including Cleveland visiting the LA Lakers in what should be a dandy. That one goes at 2:30 on ABC. The rest of the games here.

The NFL gives us a game tonight, with San Diego visiting Tennessee. Kickoff there is 7:30. With San Diego having their division wrapped up and traveling across the country to play on Christmas Day, and Tennessee desperately needing a win, you have to like the Titans today at -3.

Seems Manchester City didn't take into account one important factor when they axed manager Mark Hughes last weekend: that the players may revolt. Welcome to Manchester, Roberto Mancini. Good luck.

Chelsea/Germany midfielder Michael Ballack weighs in on who he feels are the World Cup favs next year. He lists Brazil, Italy, England and France as favs and ranks them ahead of his own squad. Normally, I find such honesty refreshing, but you know with Ballack it was delivered with total smugness.

The LA Clippers #1 pick in last year's draft is a step closer to returning and making his debut - does that make sense? Can't wait to see Blake Griffin take his game to the big leagues. Shame about the whole Clipper thing, though.

Rick Reilly at ESPN The Magazine does an overview of the Tiger Woods fiasco of the last month or so. Solid read. He cites Tiger's legendary cheapness as a main cause.

Jersey Shore sound board? Hell yes I want that.

And finally on this day, the 40 Hottest WAGs of 2009.

Have a great Christmas.

Battle of the Brutal

Guess Shannon Brown of the LA Lakers wasn't aware that cameras were rolling when he was busy getting changed last night.

The Minnesota T-Wolves and New Jersey Nets faced each other last night in the swamps of Jersey. Their records entering were a combined 7-50. Attendance was listed at 10,204 but if you saw the "hilites", there's no way it was even half that.

The Cleveland Browns are looking into whether Eric Mangini violated terms of his contract so they can fire him and save paying out the remainder of his salary. Would it shock anyone if they kept him on to save the cash if they find they don't have cause, other than him being a terrible coach, of course?

After losing on Sunday, New York Jet coach Rex Ryan figured his team was out of the playoff hunt, only to be informed later they weren't. Donovan McNabb Not Knowing Games Can End In A Tie thinks that's ridiculous.

Another Top 10 goals of the year from the soccer world. Never get tired of these.

Manny Pacquiao/Floyd Mayweather could be off as Manny is refusing to undergo a full drug test within 30 days of the fight, as demanded by Money May. Manny cites superstition as a reason to not do it. In this day and age, does anybody buy that? Take the test, make your $40-$50 million. Thanks to ROTR for that piece.

Check out these 10 quickest and funniest knockouts from the MMA and boxing worlds. Awesome stuff. #4 is still my fav.

Have a great Christmas Eve, and yes, back in the morning.

Old Has Been Knows All, Or So He Thinks

Good of the Toronto Star to run numbers "for the 30" MLB teams payrolls for 2009 but only include 23 teams in actuality. They trying to make the Jays stipend look low-end when it is really middle, even with a nearly 15% cut from 2008?

Talk about what comes around, goes around. The New York Yankees traded Javier Vazquez in 2004 after he gave up that game 7 grand-slam to then Boston Red Sock Johnny Damon. Vazquez was acquired in a trade for Nick Johnson, whose signing by the Yanks last week likely means the end of Damon's stay in The Bronx. Seems like that great movie Crash, no? With the Vazquez move, and the Sox loading up, Ken Rosenthal at Fox Sports says the rest of the East should just pack it in. Well, duh.

Speaking of Boston, the ice is down at Fenway Park for the Winter Classic that will see the Philadelphia Flyers face the Boston Bruins. Check out the time lapse vid here. And why is it time lapse vids are always playing banjo's in the background?

If anyone can explain why people are generally pricks at this time of year if you're out and about, I'd love to hear it. People act like they're the only ones that have things to get done and places to be.

Snow + Philadelphia Eagles Fan Spotting 49ers Fans In Their Midst = Good times. Check out these two 49er fans getting pelted on Sunday. They hung in their longer than Ben Roethlesberger hangs in the face of a pass rush.

Some serious work goes into making Jabulani, the official game ball of the World Cup 2010.

If you have 27 kids, your first name can only be Philander, no? Yep, Philander Rodman. That's a name a porn star should have. And yes, Dennis is but one.

SI gives us their top 20 male athletes of the decade. Absolute hilarity that Derek Jeter ranks ahead of Alex Rodriguez here, that's the first list I've seen Jeter rank in the top 20 on and never ahead of A-Rod.

The Old Has Been figures not only should he decide if and when he comes out of games, he should also decide how he runs the offence. Knock me over with a feather, #4 thinks he knows more than everyone else?

Thanks for showing up, Oregon State.

Have a great Wednesday.