Saturday, August 30th, 2008 - RIP, Chad "Johnson"

Word is when Pacman Jones was reinstated, he was at a Hooter's. Go figure...Si.com's Jon Heyman takes a look at what ails the Yanks, and it almost reads like War and Peace. Robinson Cano takes a beating, including from one teammate (unnamed, of course). He raises one great point about A-Rod and that is that he's got better numbers than both David Ortiz and Man Ram this year, but takes all the heat in New York. Who is the captain, again?...Toronto FC travel to face Chivas USA tonight at 10:30 in the first end of a home and home series. Catch this one on Rogers SportsNet...Blue Jays colour man Rance Mulliniks on the Jays dropping a bunt last night: "good move on the Jays part bunting the runner over as they've struggled to score runs the last few games." If by "games", he means "years", then I agree...Carl Pavano gets warm applause coming to the mound but ARod gets booed. Figure that...the Chicago Cubs won their seventh straight to hold the best record in baseball. They are dynamite at home, and right now, my pick to win the World Series on the 100th anniversary of their last win...so, you think the Yankees would trade Ian Kennedy and Melky Cabrera for Johan Santana now?...Mike Weir shot a 61 to take the lead in a PGA event. Anybody want to wager this ends badly?...9 game EPL slate this weekend with Manchester United facing Zenit St. Petersburg in the Super Cup giving the Red Devils the week off. Tottenham is staring down an 0-3 start on the road at Chelsea...Chad Johnson legally changed his last name to Ocho Cinco. You can't make this stuff up...Calgary and Edmonton will co-host the World Junior hockey championships in the coming years, and Toronto is wondering why. Answer: you don't support junior hockey. Hell, you don't support anything that isn't Leafs hockey. Good of the Canadian Hockey Association for not pandering to the alleged centre of the hockey universe...have a great Saturday.

Friday, August 29th, 2008 - Pac is back!

Kenny Rogers isn't a fan of instant replay in baseball. Of course not. He is, after all, the guy who replay's busted for that "accidental" smudge on his hand in the playoffs a couple years back...BoSox pitcher Josh Beckett heard the four words you never want to hear if you're a pitcher: "visit Dr. James Andrews". If Beckett is out long term, and he's been scratched from his start tonight, the Sox will likely still make the playoffs, but I'd give them no chance of winning the World Series. Wonder if he thought the tingling in his fingers that serious when he woke up in Toronto a couple weeks ago or if he thought "hey, here's 'The Stranger'!"...NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has reinstated Adam "Pacman" Jones for the Dallas Cowboys. Now it is to Pacman to make that deal look like a steal for the 'boys...Isaac Bruce, now with the San Francisco 49ers, predicts that the 49ers will score 8 TD's in a game this year. Even with Joe Montana or Steve Young and Jerry Rice in their primes I'd wager that didn't happen. Bruce has suffered too many head injuries...the Champions League draw went yesterday and no group is more interesting than the one featuring UEFA Cup champion Zenit St. Petersburg of Russia, Italian powerhouse Juventus and Spanish champions Real Madrid, plus some Belarussian team that will get anihilated...is there anything worse in sports than Week 4 of the NFL pre-season? Bet the under...good of Carlos Ruiz to finally show up at Toronto FC's digs. The noted bad boy could be the anti-Christ for all I care, as long as he can hit the back of the net. TFC travel to face Chivas USA in L.A. tomorrow...Ana Ivanovic choked against the world's 188th ranked player. Suspect her reign as the world #1 will be really short if this is how she handles the pressure...here we go. Hank Steinbrenner is eyeing C.C. Sabathia and A.J. Burnett for next year, the latter which I said was entirely likely to friends last night. Maybe he likes guys with initials?...Matt Stairs is now a Philadelphia Philly...have a great Friday.

Thursday, August 28th, 2008 - Merriman is a fool

That picture to the left is the best I've seen women's tennis #1 Anna Ivanovic look, and the best part? No lame, overdone fist pumps...the San Diego Chargers Shawne Merriman is saying "no" to knee surgery and going to play with a badly damaged knee. First, somebody has told him that shooting 'roids to rehab isn't an option, right? Second, he's a fool. He's one errant blocker away from his career being over, and he's a fool if he thinks this will help him negotiate a contract down the road...time for another Top 10 list. This time, Top 10 Referee Attacks...Joe Sakic has announced that he's back for one more year for the Colorado Avs...England's World Cup qualifying campaign is off to a bad start. Midfield ace Steven Gerrard is out for at least the first two games with a groin injury...to all the fools thinking a Kobe Bryant or Lebron James would end up playing in Europe, allow this piece to debunk that idea...Tony Romo bought himself a new home that is entirely black and white, inside and out. Check it out...11-3 BoSox. At least the Yankees aren't just playing out the string. Maybe they can sign that 9-year old declared too good to pitch in his league?...have a great Thursday.

Wednesday, August 27th, 2008 - Good night, Yankees

A whole heap of goodies to the right of the page to keep you occupied and clicking on RandoMango day in and out. Hope you like the new stuff...ESPN.com's Peter Gammons was asked which pitcher in all of baseball he'd sign for 4 years and $60 million and without blinking, Gammons responded with Roy Halladay who he lauded for his toughness, pace with which he works, and how much players love playing behind him. The Tampa Bay Rays were working on a 4th win over Halladay this season last night, but Halladay got the best of them. Maybe the 13,478 in the stands at Tropicana didn't fire up the Rays?...the LPGA is requiring all its players to speak English. What's next, they've got to be hetero too?...Elite XC is trying to peddle Ken Shamrock vs. Kimbo Slice on its October 4th CBS card. Shammy was done a couple years ago when the also-done Tito Ortiz pounded him like a drum...with Andriy Shevchenko's mostly disastrous run with Chelsea of the EPL now done with him heading back to AC Milan, the Kaka to Chelsea talk is really heating up with the September 1st transfer window about to close...Peyton Manning is back practicing for the Indianapolis Colts. Watch how quick he's ready for Week 1...horrible night for A-Rod as the Yanks went down 7-3 to the BoSox in a key game. Easy to pin a season on one guy's failings in one night, but the Yanks failings this season have been many...Cadillac Williams of the Tampa Bay Bucs is on the physically unable to perform list after tearing his patellar tendon in Week 4 last year. That guy simply cannot stay healthy, or get healthy as it were...a whole heap of NCAA college football is just about upon us running tomorrow through Saturday. Summer must truly be ending...think the media is having enough fun piling on Roger Federer, wondering if he's done? If I'm a betting man - and I am - I've got him to win at least another major before his all-timer career is done...have a great Wednesday.

Tuesday, August 26th, 2008 - Do or Die

The Yankees and Red Sox will stage their final series - barring a playoff miracle - at Yankee Stadium starting tonight. Anything less than a sweep for the Yankees and it is curtains...the fine folks at Pinnacle are offering football lines for Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS). No, seriously. Check it out here and get in. Early advice: don't bet U of T on the money line...Alex Smith went to the 49ers as a can't-miss top pick, nothing but a winner. Yet here he is, making $10 million plus, slated to back up J.T. O'Sullivan, who will make $645,000...not sure if this has happened before, but the Oakland A's entire starting rotation is lefties right now...Roy Halladay has 34 complete games since 2003, which is more than 21 teams over that same period...word is five U.S. national teamers, Chris Bosh included, have talked to Jerry Colangelo about coming back in 2012 in London...Jason Kidd has retired from the U.S. hoops team. Here's a stat: he's 56-0 in all play with the men's team. That is impressive...one thing I didn't know about The Beatles "Hey Jude": at 2:58, you can hear John Lennon say "fuckin' hell"...Warren Sapp is the next athlete up for Dancing With The Stars. This ought to be worth watching...Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp thinks that not only will Manchester United and Chelsea be the two slugging it out to win the English Premier League, but the same two will also be deep in the running for the Champions League. Hello, Pinnacle...the talk of Usain Bolt going to the NFL is a joke. There are plenty of speed merchants in their time who have played football for years who couldn't make it on the biggest stage, what makes him more likely than a top draft pick to succeed? No chance...HiDef The Good: Kelly Kelly. HiDef The Bad: John Brassiere Layfield...Week 3 of the NFL pre-season is done - that's the game teams try to win and play their starters most - and you've got Shawne Merriman hurt and maybe out for the year, Chad Johnson with a torn labrum, and as mentioned yesterday, Osi Umenyiora. Stars, all. Not to mention the previously hurt Tom Brady and Peyton Manning...have a great Tuesday.

Monday, August 25th, 2008 - Guess who's back?

The New York Giants bid to defend their Super Bowl win just got a lot tougher, with Usi Umenyiora out for the year with a bumb knee. This is particularly of interest for yours truly, as I'm now in a wager with a good friend for who will go deeper this year, my Dallas Cowboys or his New York Jets. The stakes? 10 cases of beer...not sure which quote I found more hilarious in the wake of Carl Pavano's return to the Yankees on Saturday in which he picked up the win, Carl Pavano saying: “This is what I get paid to do, obviously. This is what I live for. This is all I really know, to go out there every fifth day and do my job”or Pudge Rodriguez delivering this dagger: “Remember, it’s only one start. We need to see how he feels tomorrow”...Fox Sports Ken Rosenthal says AJ Burnett would have Baltimore, Philadelphia and - wait for it - Washington on his list of teams to go to next year. Plus, of course, the usual suspects in New York...in the end, the Olympics I said I had little interest in at the outset turned out to be real interesting and almost entirely controversy free. For me, the story of the games was Usain Bolt, just awesome to watch. Loved seeing the U.S. hoops team take care of Spain. Maybe if Spain weren't whining to the refs for every single call made they might've had a little more for the game itself? But good to see that it wasn't just Jose Calderon doing the whining like he does each and every game for the Toronto Raptors. If you've been listening to Hardcore Sports Radio's "Drive This" the last few days, Calderon's reputation has taken a serious pounding over "the picture". One guy said he burnt his Calderon jersey. Will be an interesting year in Toronto...Manchester United face Portsmouth today in English Premier League action. 3pm on Setanta if you're investing $15 a month for that channel...have a great Monday.

RandoMango returns tomorrow...