Saturday, October 18th, 2008

Game 6 of the ALCS goes tonight in Tampa Bay with the Rays hoping to steal back momentum after the Boston Red Sox furious rally on Thursday. The Sox are saying Josh Beckett isn't hurt. They best hope not, because they're going to need a more typical Beckett performance tonight than what he's given them this playoff year against the awesome James Shields...talk about double dipping, Manny Ramirez has been voted to a two thirds playoff share by the Red Sox...speaking of Manny, his name makes a nice anagram: NY MAN. Manny has declared he will be going to the highest bidder, hardly a shocker for a Scott Boras client. Here's guessing the same will apply to Mark Teixera, and hopefully, the Yankees are that bidder..the new Yankee Stadium has the grass in, check out some pics of this stunning palace here and here...Michael Bisping takes on Chris Leben in the main event at UFC 89 from the U.K. Expect Bisping to win this one, but Leben is always entertaining and can pack a thundering punch. This one is available for free on Spike at 9pm and Rogers SportsNet at midnight in HD...after the international break, the English Premier League is back at it today. Arsenal and Everton lock horns in the most intriguing match of the day, though I would be shocked at anything but an Arsenal win...talk about a few of my favorite things colliding. Former NFLer Kevin Gogan told "Drive This" on Hardcore Sports Radio that Jerry Jones bought the Dallas Cowboys over the phone while drunk at the Sammy Hagar's legendary bar Cabo Wabo in Cabo San Lucas. Ahh, the life of a billionaiire...Toronto FC host Chicago Fire in what could well be their last home game this season. Kickoff is 3:30pm, coverage is on CBC...ten Wall Street hard hitters are in an NFL fantasy league where they each have ponied up $100k to enter. Winner takes home $600k with second worth $300k and third getting their money back. Wow...the Def Leppard Stanley Cup SNAFU is still going, and Chris Chelios is none too impressed with Joe Elliot of Leppard...the Yankees have made their off season plans, and they include guys named Mark Teixera, and two of CC Sabathia, AJ Burnett and Derek Lowe, and maybe some Jake Peavy. Me likes!...have a great Saturday.

Friday, October 17th, 2008

It was shaping up as a beatdown in Beantown as Tampa Bay raced out to a 7-0 lead, a lead they held as late as the seventh, but incredibly, the BoSox got off the mat and rallied to win 8-7 to stay alive in the ALCS to cut the series to 3-2. Game six goes in Tampa tomorrow...super agent Scott Boras says his client Manny Ramirez should get a six (!) year contract that would take him to 42 years old. If he gets that, I'll be stunned. SI.com's Jon Heyman has the Yankees, Blue Jays and Mets as suitors...speaking of suitors, the San Diego Padres are lining them up in a Jake Peavy auction. Very interesting...A-Rod is so into Madonna he's sending 10% of his salary to Kaballah, as required by the religion? Strange, very strange...good of Pittsburgh Steeler Troy Polamalu to rail against the bevy of fines being dropped by the NFL for hits and saying it is making it a "pansy" league. Unfortunately for him, he can expect a fine for saying so...grabbing three of a possible eight points was all it took for the Chicago Black Hawks to axe Denis Savard. Is that the quickest firing in NHL history? Hard to believe someone was gassed quicker than four games...baseball's player's union says it has evidence that teams colluded against Barroid Bonds. If that's the case, shame they waited until after he broke the home run record...Toronto FC striker and instant legend Danny Dichio might be calling it a career after this year. Shame...Russia's KHL will probe the death of 19-year old Alexei Cherepanov. Right, because when you think of transparency you think of Russia...have a great Friday.

Thursday, October 16th, 2008

Sure, visible minorities may be shrinking in number in baseball, but Fox Sports Ken Rosenthal posits that they may not be looking to sign with the Boston Red Sox because of the perception they are a very "white" team. The BoSox look to survive tonight in Game 5 at Fenway...the Philadelphia Phillies punched their ticket to the World Series, riding a dominant Cole Hamels start. They did this despite Jimmy Rollins, Ryan Howard and Chase Utley hitting a combined .250 in the playoffs so far...Charles Barkley says in terms of point guards, Chris Paul is driving, with Deron Williams in the back seat. Steve Nash? He's in the trunk, says Sir Charles. That would put Jose Calderon somewhere around the tailpipe...my boy Wayne Rooney is in some kind of form for England, scoring his sixth goal in five games yesterday with a pair against Belarus. Would prefer he saves those up - all of them - for Manchester United...What year is this? Shaq's been vowing to make the free throws when they count for over a decade, but whining that Hack-A-Shaq doesn't work because a certain team didn't go all the way despite them knocking you out isn't the height of logic...Tony Romo will be giving it a go after all so to those that were salivating at beating the Cowboys and Brad Johnson - which only the Giants would've in the next three - dial it down. Sounds like Romo isn't the only QB in the NFC East that is hurting: Eli Manning is banged up, too..Madonna and Guy Ritchie are officially done. Expect a bevy of uninspired A-Rod comments today...Andy Pettitte wants to pitch for the Yankees in 2009. I love Pettitte, but it is time to shut it down Andy. Of course, I said the same about Mike Mussina last year and we know how that turned out...if you can pre-order, it must be true: Chinese Democracy is coming out next month. Is there any need to even say who the artist is?...New York Knick Eddy Curry maight want to mix in a salad: he sat on a resistance ball, and it blew up...a Vancouver group including Steve Nash, and a Montreal group including Habs and Liverpool owner George Gillett are among the seven bidders for two MLS franchises...and hey, what ever happened to YF?...have a great Thursday.

Wednesday, October 15th, 2008 - Stop this senseless slaughter!

Mercifully, and inexplicably, the ALCS will take a day off today. Maybe that will help cool off the smoking hot Tampa Bay Rays, 13-4 winners (and 22-5 in two games at Fenway) to take a 3-1 series lead. I know Red Sox Nation will boast about 2004 and coming back from 3-0, but this year, not happening...Why I always said Manny Ramirez was a far better hitter than David Ortiz: Ortiz has one RBI in 31 postseason at-bats this season...this week's Sunday Night Football match-up may not be great, with Seattle visiting Tampa Bay, but the broadcast is about to get a whole lot better with news that John Madden is sitting this one out and the fantastic Cris Collinsworth is in...I'm not surprised Dana White went off about Elite XC being a threat to the credibility of the MMA game, just that it took this long...want a cheap NFL ticket? How about the Cincinnati Bengals, with 3,000 tickets available for Sunday's game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on stubhub.com, including many at half price...Brett Favre called Tony Romo to offer encouragement after his broken finger shelved him. Of course, in typical self serving, "ain't-I-a-great-guy?" fashion he let it be know he called. He says Romo is a top five player in the NFL regardless of position. Sorry, Favre. Even as a Cowboy fan I can't agree with that right now, not based on his play this calendar year...speaking of the Cowboys, they made the only deal of significance at the NFL's way-too-early trade deadline, picking up Detroit Lions wideout Roy Williams. Question: can Williams play corner at all? They've got a huge need there with Pacman Jones suspended for at least four games. It says here that with Williams demanding a trade and the Lions going nowhere, the Cowboys gave up way too much for him unless he suddenly becomes all-pro...the Detroit Lions are 0-5 for the third time this decade...not sure what is more impressive, that soccer giant FC Barcelona is launching a bid for an MLS team for Miami, or that the MLS expansion fee is now up to $50 million (USD). By comparison, Toronto FC's fee to enter a mere three years back was $10 million...not sure where some of the sports media out there get the idea that a Boston Red Sox vs. L.A. Dodgers World Series would be a "disgrace" because the Sox are still paying Manny Ramirez' salary. Players DO NOT get paid in the playoffs. Period. Not to mention that seems a pretty unlikely matchup now...the New Jersey Nets move to Brooklyn is on hold until at least 2011. Wince Carturd's contract expires before the 2011 season. Seems to me Brooklyn wants to leave the toxic waste in Jersey. Wise move...have a great Wednesday.

Tuesday, October 14th, 2008

So much for Jon Lester's playoff invincibility. Lester was beaten badly as the Rays romped to a 9-1 win in game 3 to take a 2-1 series lead...as if Sunday's loss wasn't enough, Tony Romo is now out for a month with a broken finger. This once promising Cowboys season is threatening to go real south, real fast. Oh, and Pacman Jones may have violated his probation. Excellent...former Blue Jays manager John Gibbons has been hired as the bench coach in Kansas City? Right. Because when I think of "guy you want bouncing strategy to the manager" I think of Gibbons. And by that, I mean I don't. Ever...biggest surprise of the baseball playoffs? L.A. Dodgers fans sticking around beyond the sixth inning. Shame last night they got to be there for Matt Stairs - remember him? - hitting a go ahead bomb that probably has yet to land to bring the Phillies back and give them a 3-1 series lead..make that a 1-3 weekend for the NFC East after the New York Giants got rocked in Cleveland. By the way, are you thinking this whole "Eli is better than Peyton" thing is more than a little laughable? I can't stand Peyton as much as the next guy, but his resume is light year's ahead of little brothers...that KHL - the new Russian hockey league - is off to a roaring start. First player death, and it is 19-year old New York Rangers first round pick Alexei Cherepanov. I'm sure Don Cherry will be thinking that his teammate Jaromir Jagr's errant elbow did him in and will spout off on that...nice of the NHL to schedule the Montreal Canadiens three times in 63 hours or so with a game in Buffalo Friday, Toronto Saturday, and Philadelphia last night. That they made it through 2-1 is impressive...it is election day in Canada. Remember to get out and vote, and if you don't vote, don't bitch. Have a great day.

Joey Chestnut adds Pizza Champion to his resume...

Monday, October 13th, 2008 - Ten 13

Good to see Tiger Woods rocking the LA Dodgers gear yesterday in the home town team's 7-2 win over the Philadelphia Phillies. Shame it is so easy to find pics of Eldrick rocking Yankee gear at any number of Yankee games in the last few years. Whatever works, Tiger...five NFL games yesterday were decided in the final ten seconds or overtime. That's wild stuff. Not among them were the New England Patriots who got smoked in San Diego. I'll say it now: the Patriots aren't even making the playoffs this year...isn't it great that The Bills In Toronto have now had to resort to TV advertising to try to sell out what they thought a sure thing even with Super Bowl like ticket prices? I may have to call Rogers and see if I can work a freebie as a customer. No way this thing sells out...take away the Washington Redskins and the New York Giants opponents have all of one win. Don't be planning a repeat Super Bowl win just yet...speaking of the Redskins, in true Skins fashion, they go and win two huge games on the road, and them come home and lose to previously winless St. Louis...if the rumors are true, Saturday's Toronto FC home season closer will be played with no alcohol served at BMO Field...New Orleans Saint Drew Brees just may be the best quarterback in the NFL today. Seriously...how lame are those new "Leafs Nation" commercials? And isn't the whole "nation" thing far overplayed?...if anybody has seen Tony Romo, please return him to the Dallas Cowboys. The guy they've got playing now looks more fit for the Toronto Argos...another thing I don't understand about baseball's playoffs. Why not have the wild card play a team in its own division in the first round if that means that the team with the best record gets the weakest team? That would've seen Anaheim play the ChiSox this year, not Boston, and shouldn't those 162 games and the best record give you that kind of advantage?...if anybody has seen the Dallas Cowboys, please return them to the Dallas Cowboys. This bumbling squad right now looks like the Toronto Argos of the south, and didn't deserve to even make it to OT in yesterday's loss to Arizona...the last four Stanley Cup champions have a combined October record of 88-19-15. In related news, New York Rangers fans are feeling good...a day after noting the NFC East had one loss out of division, along came two more...a 4:30 start for game 3 of the ALCS today, with the NLCS following at 8:30. Should be a pair of huge games. Tough to not like the Red Sox with the impressive Jon Lester going, he of the two earned runs in 23.1 playoff innings pitched...have a great Thanksgiving.

Sunday, October 12th, 2008

It took 11 innings over five hours and 27 minutes for the Tampa Bay Rays to even the ALCS with a dramatic 9-8 win. BoSox starter Josh Beckett gave up 8 runs over 4 1/3, a sure sign he isn't right...last night's 6-1 beatdown at the hands of the Habs ought to make for more sober assessments of the Leafs this season. What was Jason Blake doing celebrating his goal like it was a Cup winner in OT with his squad down 5-0?...the October 13th issue of Sports Illustrated says the New York Mets leased all 49 of their private boxes for a minimum of three years at a cost of $250-$500k per year. The Yankees are said to be in a similar spot with their boxes going for $650k-$850k. That's two teams that are going to have huge bucks to throw around. Here's a long and interesting read into the economy and sports...Tito Ortiz and Jenna Jameson are having twins. Well, at least the doctors know they'll have an easy time coming out...the NFC East has only one loss out of the division this year...the New York Rangers have opened 4-0 with their second win in two nights. Guess their European jaunt last weekend didn't affect them...anybody able to explain why baseball managers are allowed to come out and argue calls? A ridiculous part of the game...for all their talk of hurting Florida QB Tim Tebow and whipping Florida, it was LSU that got crushed, 51-21...Texas upset top ranked Oklahoma in a 45-35 shootout. This is another NCAA season where being #1 all but guarantees you've got a defeat coming..the Kansas City Chiefs will move tight end Tony Gonzalez by the Monday trade deadline if they get the right package in return...Toronto FC was up 2-1 in the dying moments when a questionable penalty call was made, and FC Dallas Kenny Cooper - who scored all four goals against TFC this year - put it home for a 2-2 tie. Brutal...after two losses, now sitting at 6-5 and +106 on the PrimeTime Picks. Tonight's is a toughie, but am going to have to take New England and the points at +5. Wouldn't you? A big fan of Carolina at +1.5 and hate to say it, but it wouldn't shock me if Arizona put a scare into the Cowboys at +5...have a great Sunday. Bet wise at Pinnacle.