Saturday, September 27th, 2008

Ian O'Conner at Fox Sports says that A-Rod won't play out his contract with the Yankees and is sure to move. He predicts 2011. To his credit, he predicted A-Rod would go to New York in 2003, before it happened...nothing says "team" more than fighting to have your fine reduced but accepting the game suspension issued by the team like Plaxico Burress has. If this is a statement of the state of the New York Giants for this season, it is not a good one...Warren Sapp is being a diva on Dancing With The Stars? Well, at least he's in the right place...if you're a coach with a horrible record, getting into a public staredown with a QB with a big contract isn't a great idea. Word is St. Louis Rams QB Marc Bulger said he will no longer play for coach Scott Linehan after he was benched by him in favor of Trent "Concussion" Green. Adios, Linehan. Probably doesn't help that Steven Jackson is siding with his QB, either...speaking of the Rams, check out their team photo. No, really, check it out...Ricardo Mayorga is coming back to the boxing ring tonight to face Sugar Shane Mosley. Mayorga smokes a mere three packs a day...Toronto FC are down to two home games in this season gone wrong. The first goes today as they host local boy Dwayne DeRosario and the Houston Dynamo. Kickoff is 3:30, coverage on CBC...Bill Simmons, aka "The Sports Guy" brings us new rules for guys, and they are beauties one and all...the 10 best Chris Rock stand-up clips...you know JP Ricciardi loves his former A's, and here's one you could well be seeing in Toronto: Jason Giambi. The story is already brewing. Can't wait to see the hypocrites who booed Giambi the last few years for his drug use while cheering that plank Greg Zaun all year suddenly sport Giambi jersey's...always a good day when cross-the-street rivals Liverpool and Everton - their stadiums are within a couple kilometres of each other - line up. They're the highlite of the English Premier League schedule today. I'm thinking draw in that one. In other games, look for Manchester United to romp over Bolton...rookie running back Rashard Mendenhall of the Pittsburgh Steelers sent Ray Rice of the Baltimore Ravens, a friend of his, a text message talking junk ahead of their Monday Night tilt and now it is bulletin board material. No clue why this is even a story, what was he supposed to say to a friend, that he was going to have a terrible night?...the Tampa Bay Rays finally wrapped up the AL East, thanks to a Yankee beatdown of Beantown...the New York Mets dropped a game off the pace in the NL Wild Card race, losers to Florida while the Milwaukee Brewers were downing the Chicago Cubs...have a great Saturday.

Friday, September 26th, 2008 - Save A.J.!

George King at the NY Post says when A.J. Burnett got hit by a ball on Wednesday off the bat of Robinson Cano, one Yankee player told Yankees trainer Gene Monahan to go out and check on him. Seems a few players want A.J. too, though they might not realize that while Burnett is 3-1 with a 1.64ERA against the Yankees, he's 15-9, 4.57 against everyone else...a couple Cleveland Browns went Roddy Piper on Willis McGahee and are being looked at by the NFL for raking his eyes...borrowing a page from Jeff Kent's book on "How To Hide The Real Cause of Your Injuries", the Golden State Warriors Monta Ellis didn't get hurt playing pick-up hoops, but riding a mo-ped. I can see why you might want to hide that. Checking the out of town scoreboard: Vespa's 1, Monta Ellis 0...Lance Armstrong says he's coming back to the Tour de France, among other races, to prove you can race clean. Umm, weren't you clean before, Lance? Granted, he's referring to his team in this case, but just seems an odd way to handle it, though I suppose if he had something to hide, his former teammates would be coming clean right about now when he's thrown them under the proverbial bus...there are reports that there have been a few domestic disturbances at the home of New York Giant Plaxico Burress in recent months. Seems like a reasonable assumption that something was afoot at Casa Burress that led him to miss practice and not respond to calls, leading to a suspension...anybody got any HGH to spare? Andy Pettitte was scratched from his last start this weekend...speaking of PED's, seems the feds have documents that prove Barroid Bonds used steroids. Shocker...as Rando reader Bukkake predicted, USC would go down. Wonder how many headlines are reading "Trojans can't penetrate Beavers" today?...staying with NCAA footbally, check out the the quarterbacks of Michigan for the 25 years who have made the NFL: Elvis Grbac, Jim Harbaugh, Todd Collins, Brian Griese, some guy named Tom Brady, Drew Henson, and Chad Henne. That there is a QB factory...Joe Girardi hasn't done himself many favors with the New York media, but there are a flurry of stories today calling him a liar for trying to cover up what appears to be an injury to Mariano Rivera. Not wise, Joey G...into the final weekend of the MLB season, and not all is decided yet. For some reason, I really find myself hoping the Mets choke and flame out...a couple Seattle Mariners were planning to go after Ichiro, and one vowed to knock him out. That is one messed up squad. Bank on Ichiro moving this off-season. Hey, don't the Yankees need a centre fielder?...quite the day in Blue Jay land. Cito Gaston was rightly extended through 2010, but J.P. Ricciardi will also be back. Ricciardi is the longest serving GM without a playoff appearance...have a great Friday.

Thursday, September 25th, 2008 - Millen Out

Who knew that a few bags of excrement could get the job done so fast in Detroit? Matt Millen. Out. Anybody want to make some deliveries to Dick Peddie's doorstep in Toronto?...Kurt Angle guarantees he'll be in the MMA world at some point next year, likely in the UFC...the RCA Dome in Indianapolis has seen the lid deflated, in preparation for the implosing coming in December. The Colts might want to mix in a few games there beforehand as playing at is hardly panning out for them thus far with an 0-2 home record...Lucas Oil Stadium...Dr. Z at SI.com has his power rankings up. Not sure there has ever been three teams from the same division atop the rankings, but the Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants have done just that...Jason Kidd is talking about three more years in the NBA? Has he seen tape of himself lately? His shot has gone from bad to worse, and his speed is a non-factor. Year-by-year, JK. Just be glad Joumana is out of your life. Small victories...are you sitting down? You might want to before reading this. Move all liquids away from your PC. Ready? The New Jersey Nets are looking to Wince Carter to lead. And I'm looking to Britney Spears for parenting tips...that knee issue that cracked St. Louis Blue Erik Johnson in a golf cart is a nasty one, he's out for the season...it was 20 years ago yesterday that Ben Johnson got busted for roiding up in Seoul. Funny that what was a shock then is now a regular occurrence...odd stat: Yankee Stadium is on 161st Street. There were 161 playoff games in the history of Yankee Stadium...still waiting for that wager-winning 84th Jays win...enjoy The Office tonight. Have a great Thursday.

Wednesday, September 24th - Wanted: Bags of Excrement

Last week on The Ultimate Fighter, one contender was saying he's as bad as Hitler. His opponent responded that the "bad as Hitler" guy had a better chance to get him pregnant than to defeat him. Best response to trash talk I've heard in some time, and the latter delivered. Watching Ultimate Fighter on SportsNet in HiDef is awesome. Episode 2 airs tonight on Spike and SNet...the Detroit Lions are 31-84 under Matt Millen's leadership since 2001. In response, fans are calling for bags of excrement to be delivered to the teams practice facility. Millen, interestingly, is the second highest paid team President behind Bill Parcells and ahead of, well, everyone else...UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva has an eye on retiring next year. Bet on a few large paydays and fights before this machine packs it in...first the Buffalo Bills in Toronto are strugg-a-ling to sell tickets, and then comes word even free tickets couldn't get people out to watch the Leafs in an exhibition game at the Air Canada Centre. Are Toronto sports fans wising up? Dave Feschuk at the Toronto Star closes with a serious bomb on the Leafs and President Richard Peddie...all this talk of how Joe Torre would've made a difference to the Yankees this season is a joke, unless, of course, Torre could beef up a starting pitching staff thinner than the stars of 90210 or keep that outfield from aging like Shannen Doherty. He's in the playoffs - maybe - in the worst division in baseball and only because Manny Ramirez is playing out of his head for a contract...in a week, the first round of baseball's playoffs will be under way and you can bet one of the Anaheim Angels or Chicago Cubs - runaway winners this year in their respective leagues - will be down a game and eying a quick exit in the lame best of five format. It needs to change, fast...if baseball games were 8 innings long, the New York Mets would be 5.5 games up on Philly. Instead, they've lost 14 that they led in the 8th or later and trail by 1.5 in the NL East...have a great Wednesday.

Tuesday, September 23rd, 2008 - Show Me Your Lightning Bolt!

Nice showing last night, Brett Favre. How's retirement looking right about now?...back in April, made a wager with the fine folks at Pinnacle on the Blue Jays to win more than 83.5 games this year. The Jays are at 83. Why do I fear "Operation Shutdown"?...it was a week ago, but check this portion of Dave Dameshek ESPN podcast on September 16th around the 7:50 mark. Freaking hilarious stuff...when told that women's tennis players shouldn't be paid as much as the men because they play two of three sets instead of three of five, Billy Jean King responded that that is because women used to play in corsets and playing longer would be dangerous to their health. Okay, BJK, that may be the case, but I don't see anyone saying they're willing to go three of five to get the equal pay...no NFL team - and there are four - from Ohio or Missouri has won a game this year. 0-12...so much for fewer blocking duties helping preserve the health of one Jeremy Shockey, now of the New Orleans Saints. Shockey is now out up to six weeks with a hernia...after three games, Pittsburgh Steelers QB Ben Roethlesberger has been sacked 12 times, including nine on Sunday against Philadelphia. He'll be getting a place on the sidelines before long at this pace...Bang! Cartoons presents "Patriot Games", an inside look at the world of the Patriots on the heels of Tom Brady's injury. Speaking of Brady's injury, not only did it continue in the long line of the fabled "SI Jinx", the picture also had Brady with his left knee extended towards the camera...good to see the 0-3 Cincinnati Bengals hamming it up in the front row on WWE Monday Night Raw last night...seems "Rocket" Roger Clemens was "heartbroken" at being snubbed by the Yankees in the stadium close Sunday and I can see why. After all, Andy Pettitte did get the start and Jason Giambi was front and centre at first base...if once is notable and two is cause for concern, then a third time has to be a conspiracy. The Denver Broncos are working on #3 after another blown call late helped them out...Memo to JP Ricciardi: trade BJ Ryan to the Mets as soon as possible and pick up one of their pitchers...what a weekend a Yankees sweep of the Jays would set up if the Red Sox lose til Friday: four games. Fenway. A Yankee sweep there and they're somehow in the playoffs, with a severe lack of infield dirt at Yankee Stadium. For the record, not happening...first Boston sports fans had to deal with Manny Ramirez shutdown, now they could be looking down the barrel of a really unhappy Randy Moss...it hit me hard last night when scanning the fish wrap: Toronto FC. DFL. Dead Freaking Last...and this concludes the only publication on sports to come out of Canada today to not mention the start of the inane NHL pre-season. Have a great Tuesday.

Monday, September 22nd 2008 - Last Call at The Stadium

All this talk about who will captain the Leafs is pathetic. And who would want to? It'd be like discussing who should've captained the Titanic while it was taking on water...the Arizona Cardinals are the NFL's longest running team without a playoff appearance at 9 years. Buffalo Bills sit second at 8...missing in yesterday's pre-game ceremony at Yankee Stadium? Roger Clemens. And nary a word during the broadcast...so much for the CFL's rep as the more offensively minded league: two teams - Toronto and Edmonton - managed four points each in losses this past week...Tony Romo tied the NFL record for most wins in his first 15 starts as QB with 13 after the Cowboys dominated Green Bay and Lambeau Field, their first win there...the Indianapolis Colts are now 0-2 at their new home and looking like they've aged...when it starts to fall apart, it really falls apart: the New England Patriots, demolished at home to the lowly Miami Dolphins...the U.S. finally won the Ryder Cup again after a decade in the wilderness. Less surprising? That Sergio Garcia took a giant beating on a Sunday...stop me if you've heard this one before - Philadelphia Eagles Brian Westbrook and Donovan F. McNabb with injury concerns...sounds to me like the Brady Quinn era is about to begin in Cleveland. The way Derek Anderson is going, it is for the best...as storied as Yankee Stadium is, hard not to look at the pics of the new stadium coming along and not be in awe. Best part? No corporate name attached, as you can see at the top of the wall behind left field. Derek Jeter's closing speech was off the cuff, and awesome...4-3 in Prime Time Picks (+103). Tonight, the New York Jets are 8 point dogs at San Diego. The Bolts have lost two last second games to good teams, and have some injury concerns around LaDanian Tomlinson. As much as my dislike for Brett Favre is well documented, I think the Jets have enough to cover that spread, though I think the Bolts win the game. So, the Jets are your play. Get your wagers in at Pinnacle...have a great Monday.

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