Saturday, May 31st, 2008 - No Beck's at The Ex

Once again, the LA Galaxy roll in to Toronto and David Beckham will not be playing. Those that scalped their tickets early must be loving it. Toronto will be minus Maurice Edu (U.S. National Team duty), Greg Sutton (Canadian National Team duty vs. Brazil!) and Laurent Robert (suspension) . Still, with LA's defence being so poor, I suspect my men's league team could score on them. TFC wins at Fortress BMO. Kickoff is 3pm Eastern, coverage on CBC...for the boneheads who brag that the Jays have never had a year where they were top payroll and didn't win the World Series, I give you 1995...here's an interesting dilemma. Derek Jeter's contract with the Yankees expires after the 2010 season. Any expert in the game and most novices will tell you his defense is sliding badly despite recent Gold Gloves. He doesn't hit for any kind of power anymore and the usual spot you'd move a Short Stop to is tied down by some guy named A-Rod. Do you move him to first, a spot where you typically want a power guy, when 28-year-old childhood Yankee and Don Mattingly fan Mark Teixera is available this off season? Or to the outfield, where you're not sure he can cover the ground? Something will change in the next couple years, that's for certain. He'll get huge money, but I'm not sure he's close to worth it anymore...guess which New York Giant didn't show up to get his ring? If you had Jeremy Shockey, you win...is it just me, or does it seem like the Williams sisters either both go deep or both go out at the same time?...Barry Melrose is rumored to be taking over the coaching job with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Now, isn't he exactly the same as the coach they have now in John Torterella?...that "idiot kicker" Mike Vanderjagt is back on the Toronto Argos. That ought to sell tickets...an emailer to the Jim Rome Show on Michael Jackson being in attendance at a UFC event: "he thought 'UFC' stood for 'Unlimited Five-year-0ld Children'"...speaking of Rome. Longtime listeners may recall his story of the homeless man being lodged in a windshield after getting hit, and the driver going home, and parking the car in her garage and getting her sex on while he slowly bled to death. Well, there's a movie being made on the story...Gene Simmons and Danko Jones, eat your hearts out...the NBA got its "dream" matchup, with the Lakers slated to face the Celtics in the final. The only way I'd feel more like my early days watching hoops would be if the 76ers were contenders too. At the start of the playoffs, I picked the Celtics to hoist the ugly trophy, but now, have some leanage to Kobe and the Lakers. Maybe some of that is due to the fact that I think if Boston fell into the ocean, I would celebrate for months on end...the Blue Jays will be the first to see Joba Chamberlain start a major league game on Tuesday...have a great Saturday.

Creative Lakers Fan

This was too good to pass up, and didn't want to save it up for too far after the Spurs season closed. That, and have a fitting pic for tomorrow. Leave it to the one guy not dressed in gold to come up with something original. It ain't tough being Tony Parker!

Friday, May 30th, 2008 - Monsieur Mustache

Guess who finished third in most annoying MLB mascots according to Maxim?...the Seattle/Oklahoma City Sonics have six - 6! - second round NBA picks in the coming draft…speaking of Seattle, Seattle Sounders FC, the expansion franchise in the MLS kicking off next year, are planning on bringing in a marching band college style. Not sure how I feel about that……C.C. Sabathia for Bobby Abreu? Could happen, if you believe Fox Sports Ken Rosenthal. As a Yankee fan, I'm begging for that to be done…Sammy Sosa says he's going to retire after the World Baseball Classic next spring. I'm not sure anyone, the Dominican included, cares...if you win an award called the Mark Messier Leadership Award, hand selected by Mark Messier himself, you're a great leader by definition. So to the clowns/idiots/mental midgets who have questioned Mats Sundin over the years, stop talking. Losers...Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun lists Montreal and Detroit as two teams ready, willing and able to land Mats Sundin this offseason...how is diving any more an embarrassment to the game of hockey than repeatedly taking cheap shots at a guys head who is coming back from a concussion like the Pens have done - that paragon of all that is "right" in hockey Gary Roberts leading the way - with Johan Franzen of the Red Wings?...tomorrow, RandoMango brings what should be an interesting Derek Jeter discussion your way. Some of my Yankee fan brethren may disown me...another day, another Raptors rumor. TJ Ford to the Knicks for pick #6...for all of you that like to have some suds on the golf course, I present to you, the "Uro Club"...good thing for Kobe Bryant and the Lakers that his trade requests of last summer never were fulfilled, no?...Jason Giambi is on fire since he started growing a mustache, and he plans to keep it...have a fantastic Friday.

Thursday, May 29th, 2008 - Celts Take Five

Some crazy numbers on Yankee pitchers Ian Kennedy and Phil Hughes, both on the DL 52 games into the season. They are a combined 0-7 with a 7.99 ERA. The Yankees are 3-12 in the games they have pitched this season, 22-15 in their other games. Still, if the talk of Johan Santana losing velocity is true, and talk of a damaged shoulder, the non-trade remains the right move for the future, though definitely not the present…with the Jays pitching being as deep as it is, and AJ Burnett in a potential walk year, do you not deal him for a bat? Surely somebody else can be fooled by his "electric" stuff, and the staff is deep enough that finding another .500 pitcher can't be that tough a task...Sharon Stone suggested the earthquakes in China could be the result of bad karma for their treatment of Tibet. Wonder what she gets for Basic Instint 2?...just for fun, I went on Ticketmaster to look up Bills tickets in Toronto. $270 per ticket, corner of the endzone. Bills in Toronto and TicketRaper, a marriage made in heaven. And no, I did not buy...former Raptor Jalen Rose to Doug Smith of the Toronto Star: "you've got to get a team you cover that gets out of the first round." Smith would've been wise to remind Jalen that he didn't exactly help the Raptors get out of the first round himself...the Penguins win at home last night to narrow the Stanley Cup final to 2-1 was their 17th straight at home. If I've heard right, Marian Hossa has yet to lose at home since moving to the Pens. Somehow, I suspect people in Ottawa are in particular disbelief...this week in Overkill, there is a Sex And The City movie, if you didn't know...Pete Rose says he was betting $2,000 per game on the Reds while he managed. He also says he did it via Pinnacle. Okay, I had a little D-X moment on that last bit...Brian McBride to Toronto FC? TFC has first right of refusal, and McBride wants back to the MLS. Excuse me while I get on my knees and pray...have a great Thursday. Boom, outta here.

Wednesday, May 28th, 2008 - 17.5 beers and the Stanley Cup

Darren McCarty of the Detroit Red Wings determined that the Stanley Cup holds 17.5 beers. He might get a chance to test that research soon…for the final leg of the Triple Crown, Big Brown is listed at 1 to 20 at some outlets. So for your $100 wager, you get back $2. Pro Line thinks those odds are embarrassing...Elite XC - the "XC" stands for "Extreme Combat" - will air Saturday night on CBS at 9pm Eastern, and includes YouTube star Kimbo Slice. Dana White and the UFC may have put the sport on the map with their relationship with Spike, but Spike isn't coast to coast network TV...elite soccer players are something else. They're going from finishing up domestic leagues that for some started at the beginning of last August, through those and 40 or so games there, and other competitions like Champions League or UEFA Cup where they could play another 20 or more, plus their national team schedules for another half dozen to a dozen, and straight into Euro 2008. How much is too much?...good of Damon Allen to tell us what we already knew - that his career as a football player is over...Germany tied Belarus 2-2 in a Euro 2008 tuneup? Despite that poor result, they remain my pick to take the Euro title...Tiger Woods is on course to return for the U.S. Open. Would it surprise anyone that he got off his couch and smoked the field?...the Cleveland Indians pulled off a triple steal last night, the first in 21 years...a hilarious look at NBA players of today and the past and which WWF/WWE stars they compare to. They missed one all too literal one: Rudy Tomjanovich = Brutus Beefcake. You know, because both had their faces explode into a million pieces, Rudy T's by Kermit Washington, Beefcake's by a boat...I have developed a serious addiction to Starbucks. Where do I get help?...goodnight, San Antonio Spurs...have a tremendous Wednesday.

Tuesday, May 27th, 2008 - Crosby Still Scoreless and Nash

To answer yesterday's question on what do England, Germany, Scotland, France, Spain, Holland, Italy and Croatia all have in common, the answer is obviously NOT that all are in Euro 2008 - because England and Scotland are not, of course - but that all of their top soccer leagues had the same champion in 2008 as in 2007...the French Open is on? Who knew?...Steve Nash is looking into MLS franchise ownership. This can only be a good thing for the league...the Tampa Bay Rays are in first and drawing flies. What a joke. Also a joke is the umpires calling a ball that hit the catwalk and never came down a homer, then reversing it and calling it a double. That's five such disputed homerun calls in the last 10 days...when I picked Pittsburgh in six, what I really meant was Pittsburgh might only score six, which is now looking overly generous after a second shutout loss...oh, and about all those headlines and features on Gary Roberts as the difference maker? Nevermind. Roberts going after Pavel Datsyuk was real class too (that's sarcasm for the newer readers)...there's no way the Bills in Toronto numbers aren't inflated. Of my friends and beyond, I know of four that registered, myself included. All four won the lottery. That's either incredible luck, or the 180,000 entries advertised is a lie. Wouldn't it be great if it didn't sell out?...David Beckham scored from 70 metres out in the dying moments of the LA Galaxy win over Kansas City on Saturday...the Blue Jays are an incredible 13-1 in afternoon games. Now, if at least half of those were at home, what does this say of Toronto's nightlife?...I never thought being in the shadow of 500 career homers would effect Manny Ramirez, but he's been stuck of 498 for weeks now...Toronto FC travel to face the Montreal Impact in the opening leg of Champions League action for Canada. The game can be seen on CBC Bold at 7pm tonight. I expect former TFC defender Adam Braz, now with Montreal, to get abused in a TFC victory...have a great Tuesday.

Monday, May 26th, 2008 - Danny Dichio, Toronto's Best Pro? Umm, No.

Chelsea didn't wait long to gas Avram Grant. As much as he was a bit of a joke, he did guide them to second place EPL and Champions League finishes. Sam Mitchell must be thankful he's not a soccer coach...what do England, Germany, Scotland, France, Spain, Holland, Italy and Croatia all have in common? Take a guess. The answer comes tomorrow...the Toronto Sun held a Readers Choice Awards, and Toronto FC striker Danny Dichio won Best Pro Sports Player. That had to be some serious ballot box stuffing going on from the Red Patch Boys...did you laugh out loud when the Spokane Chiefs broke the Memorial Cup trophy? And is there any doubt that it would only happen to an American based team? For me, the answers are yes, and no...Chicago Bull Joakim Noah was arrested for marijuana possession. No word on if he's sour with Josh Howard for letting the world know what it already knew, that NBA players burn blunts in the off season, and no doubt, during...so after waiting until Saturday to get the Stanley Cup finals started, the geniuses at the league office ended up putting themselves in a spot where three home games for Detroit are scheduled the same night as the Detroit Pistons, all but assuring themselves of weak local ratings...when Colts receiver Reggie Wayne says "I guess I'm Marv now," you can assume that the end is near for Marvin Harrison for a few reasons: injuries, age, and legal troubles...cannot believe we're under two weeks until Euro 2008 starts...have a great Monday.

Sunday, May 25th, 2008 - Go Raaaaaaaaangers!

I "won" the Buffalo Bills in Toronto lottery and am contemplating not cashing in my winning entry for the right to buy overpriced tickets at an antiseptic venue that will not come close to approaching the blast that is a game in Buffalo...I'm sticking by the Kitchener Rangers to win the Memorial Cup over the Spokane Chiefs. They've been the top team all year, after all. It'll come down to how well they can gain the zone with speed as the Chiefs are all too content to collapse five guys in front of their net to cut down any view of the goal...the Boston Celtics finally pulled out a road win in Detroit...quite honestly, Weezer may have unleashed the greatest music video of all time. Check out "Pork & Beans" and see how much internet history shows up in the vid. Miss Teen South Carolina is, for obvious reasons like such as, my fav...Toronto FC had a momentary lapse and it cost them two goals in short order last night. A 3-2 loss at D.C. Also lost is Laurent Robert after picking up a red card late...if game one is any indication, this Stanley Cup final is gonna be dull...the Indy 500 goes today. I remember the days where it was a real big deal. Now, if not for the Danica Patrick talk, I'm guessing I might have missed it entirely...if you're like me, you hate Ticketmaster...everyone has heard of someone being traded for the proverbial bag of balls or pucks or whatever, but here's a guy traded for some bats. Still, not as great as the Romanian soccer player traded for meat...I didn't know that Beavis of Beavis and Butthead fame was a real dude...the LoHud Yankee Blog notes that Arizona's Doug Davis had surgery to remove a cancerous thyroid gland on April 10th of this year, and came back to win on May 23rd. On the other hand, Carl Pavano has pitched two games since June 27th, 2005. Two games in 35 months, or out 42 days with cancer...mark another in the win column for RandoMango, as BJ Penn defeated Sean Sherk with a TKO. Hoping the Rangers make it a 5-0 week!...have a great Sunday.