Super Saturday

It'll be tough to think of a bigger sporting day than today, at least as far as this fan is concerned. Here we go with today's RM:

At 7:30pm on GolTV, Toronto FC travel to New York to face the Red Bulls in a win-and-you-could-well-be-in game tonight. Of course, there are a couple games that impact as well later in the night, but if things happen as they should, TFC could well be fixin' for a playoff game, likely next Saturday, and what a day that would be at BMO Field. Here's the preview from the good folks at Red Nation, who have TFC pencilled in as 2-0 victors.

At 7:57pm on SportsNet, the first pitch in Game 6 of the ALCS will fly at Yankee Stadium in The Bronx and while it is an elimination game for the Anaheim Angels, there is plenty of pressure on the Yanks as if they go to a Game 7 and win, that pushes ace CC Sabathia to starting Game 2 and only a pair in the World Series, a vastly different proposition than if he's in for three games potentially if they win tonight. My head and heart tell me that Andy Pettitte gets the job done at home.

And starting at 10pm, UFC 104 gets under way. Lyoto Machida faces Shogun Rua in the main event, and methinks Rua will be disposed of in short order. Something tells me that Joe Stevenson and Spencer Fisher will steal the show in their fight, probably because neither is shy about attacking even at the expense of eating a few punches, kicks or otherwise. Check out the entire card here.

Former Washington Redskins running back and Super Bowl legend John Riggins is following up his verbal beatdown of the organization last week by blaming the "state of decay" of the squad on owner Daniel Snyder. Gee, ya think? The NFL's best team every march has continually struggled to function come September and on, but thanks for stating the obvious J.R.

It's almost NBA season - and didn't that sneak up on us? - so why not a peak at the Top 10 NBA WAG's.

Philadelphia Phillies fans celebrated their NLCS win by having 49 arrested in post-victory celebrations. If that's what they did after the NLCS, it could get real interesting if they win the World Series.

A six game EPL card goes today with very few sexy matchups on the schedule today. Tomorrow, however, sees old rivals Liverpool visit Manchester United. Both teams have piles of injuries: Liverpool is down Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres while United is likely minus Wayne Rooney. United should have more than enough to dominate that shoddy Liverpool back line, especially at home.

The Vancouver Canucks are in Toronto to try to keep the Maple Leafs winless streak rolling. The Leafs are the lone NHL side without a win.

Have a great Saturday.

Back to the Bronx

The Los Angeles Angels of etc. lead for 4 batters the entire series against the Yankees before jumping on AJ Burnett for four runs in the first. It looked like they'd cruise til the 7th when the Yankees scored six off of John Lackey and the joke of an Angels bullpen, only to see the Angels rally back to win 7-6 to leave the series at 3-2 Yankees. Thrilling stuff. Well, other than the final result for some like yours truly. Game 6 goes tomorrow back in New York. The Yankees biggest mistakes have been authored by Joe Girardi who is overcooking things - yanking A-Rod for a pinch runner in the 9th? - and not putting Eric Hinske on the roster has left them with .118 hitting Nick Swisher.

Would-be St. Louis Rams owner, and current Colorado Avs and Denver Nuggets owner Stan Kroenke has quietly moved himself into a position where he's about to become the largest shareholder of the Arsenal Gunners of the English Premier League. Amazing how many big money Americans are chasing top tier English clubs.

WWE U.S. Champion "The Miz", born and raised in Cleveland, wants to hit Browns coach Eric Mangini so hard he soils himself. I know what you're thinking: "wait, there's a champion out of Cleveland?"

Have to say, I'm shocked that Toronto FC isn't sticking it to season ticket holders when it comes to playoff prices which came out yesterday and are quite reasonable, barely above regular season costs. Of course, it would shock nobody if they changed the prices should they actually qualify. I kid.

The Indianapolis Colts are about to get better coming off the bye week. Big hitter and run stuffer Bob Sanders is about to return for the first time this year and bolster their run defense. Somehow, the Colts have flown under the radar this year and are being taken for granted.

RM regular TS says that when Yankee Hideki Matsui comes to the plate, he switches from High Def to standard def. That's funny stuff right there.

One final Yankee bit, the last eight times they've won a World Series, the U.S. President has been a Democrat. So, they've got that in their favor too.

Have a great Friday!

Philly will defend

The Philadelphia Phillies are back in the World Series to defend their championship after a 4-1 series win over the LA Dodgers. If you're the LA Dodgers, swept in 2008 by the Philadelphia Phillies and you made several changes to your pitching staff, re-up with Manny Ramirez, and in the end, you manage to take one game off of Philadelphia in the rematch, it can't be seen as anything but a failure. With Joe Torre heading into his final year before retirement, that will only serve to galvanize the team, or see them implode entirely. For his part, Manny Ramirez says he has no regrets and he achieved all he wanted to achieve this year. Really, Manny? Busted for drugs?

On Monday night, while the LA Dodgers were busy going down 3-1, Manny Ramirez was busy in the 9th inning taking a shower. So much for Joe Torre's touch. The big question I've got is why ManRam needed to shower. He hasn't done anything since about July that would get him to break a sweat. Thanks to GBV for sending that article my way.

AC Milan upset Real Madrid 3-2 in Champions League play yesterday. Looks good on Real, though they'll more than likely advance. In other big games, Chelsea hammered Atletico Madrid 4-0 and Manchester United beat CSKA Moscow 1-0.

Here are six great International Hockey moments, or as they're often referred to - "Ice" hockey moments. That works out to one for each country that is actually good at hockey, 1.2 for each country that cares.

Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor's high school coach says he's being misused by the Buckeyes. I'm sure Jim Tressel is figuring that his high school coach must know better. After all, nothing ever changes in the couple years between high school graduation and your second year in college. And now comes word that LeBron James is mentoring Pryor to get used to being the big man on campus. Of course, LeBron's campus was high school at best.

Man, are the morning hosts on SportsNet's Connected ever lame. Like, unwatchable lame.

John Tavares scored the winner in the shoot-out to give the New York Islanders their first win of the year. Tavares is looking like a player, but he's taking some big hits. Speaking of big hits, did you see the crushing hit Johnathan Toews of the Chicago Black Hawks took last night? That had to hurt.

Game 5 of the ALCS goes today and a New York Yankee win will set off a six day break before the World Series. Well done, Bud Selig. From the first day of the playoffs til game 7 of the World Series is 34 days, and for the Yankees, as an example, it may be as few as 12 games in that span. You don't get that many days off over the course of 162 in the regular season.

Have a great Thursday.

Five to go...

CC Sabathia can now be termed a $161 million bargain. He went 8 innings for the Yankees and picked up the win on three days rest with a 10-1 beatdown of the Anaheim Angels. He only needed 37 pitches to get through the first four innings. Not sure who was shakier, the umpires, or Angels starter Scott Kazmir? The Yankees lead the series 3-1 with game 5 set for tomorrow despite there being no travel day today. Have I mentioned yet or lately I hate all these needless days off? On the opposite end of timing, Twitter is amazing for getting rapid feedback on plays, calls and so on during a game - the ripping those umps took on the Nick Swisher tag up call and the non-out call of Robinson Cano were awesome. Los Angeles starts today with two teams down 3-1 in the respective championship series. The Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies go tonight at 7:30 on SportsNet.

An odd day of Champions League group play yesterday, with Barcelona losing at home 2-1 to Russian champion Rubin Kazan, Liverpool losing to Olympique Lyon by the same score, and Inter Milan drew at home with Dynamo Kyiv 2-2. Strange. Liverpool could be in a world of trouble to advance to the next round, and look unlikely to lift the English Premier League trophy. Expect trouble if so. Today, the most appealing matchups are Real Madrid - minus Ronaldo - hosting disappointing AC Milan, Manchester United at CSKA Moscow, and Chelsea hosting Atletico Madrid.

After yet another homer last night and 2 RBI, A-Rod now has an RBI in eight straight Yankee post-season games - and Philly's Ryan Howard is also at eight and counting - tying them with Lou Gehrig for the most in playoff history. Is A-Rod a "true Yankee" yet? Wonder how many hitters come clean on drug usage next spring hoping to replicate this incredible performance?

Not sure what is more lame, towel waving or cracking thundersticks come playoff time in baseball and other sports. Gonna say the latter for environmental unfriendliness.

The Montreal Canadiens bumped Jaroslav Halak into the #1 goalie spot ahead of Carey Price and the move paid immediate dividends with the Habs 2-1 shoot-out winners over Atlanta. The game also marked the second time this season the Habs scored first.

The Denver Broncos are not only 6-0 straight up, but are also 6-0 against the spread. Broncos coach Josh McDaniels is 32-5 striaght up the last three years with Tom Brady, Matt Cassel and Kyle Orton as his quarterbacks.

Hard to believe that Alexander Ovechkin ranks 100th in the NHL in shooting percentage at 14.8%, no?

Have a great Wednesday.

Don't leave early, it gets great late

What a game in the ALCS yesterday, surely a recent classic despite the loss for my beloved New York Yankees, 5-4 in 11 riveting innings. In the top half of the 11th, the Angels confirmed for the world A-Rod is a playoff beast by intentionally walking him after he hit a homer earlier in the game that has yet to land. The series now stands at 2-1 for the Yankees with CC Sabathia taking the bump for the Bronx Bombers while the Halos send Scott Kazmir into the fray for the first time this series. The Yankees could use some hitting from guys not named Rodriguez, Jeter and Posada, particularly of there is a Teixera in the mix.

Over in the NLCS, the LA Dodgers pen couldn't hold off the Philadelphia Phillies, who won 5-4 in their last at-bat thanks to a homer from Matt Stairs to take a 3-1 series lead, with game 5 set for the City of Brotherly Love and for some reason, after a day off despite playing game 4 there. The ALCS will have the same lame day off. Hate that.

If you're a fan of the Toronto Blue Jays, you may have received an email from StubHub pimping Blue Jays playoff tickets. No word on if the email was signed by Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny or Big Foot, but that would be about right.

With the WNBA's Detroit Shock have moved from the Motor City to Tulsa, call it another blow against a battered city, if you're a fool and think anyone cares. Seriously, isn't it time David Stern admit his mistake and mothball that thing? Would anyone even notice?

If the New England Patriots dropped 59 on the Tennessee Titans, what are they going to do to the Tampa Bay Bucs in London this weekend? The Titans, by the way, are 0-6 for the first time since 1984 when they were in Houston.
Denver Broncos are 6-0. Let it percolate for a second.

You want to read about a 100% fixed soccer game in Brazil? Read the first post here for the back story, and then watch the attached video. Incredible.

Ever wonder what Ryan Leaf is up to these days? Me neither, but found out anyways. He's living here in Canada. No, really. Speaking of people missing in action, word is Bukakke is still hung over from his bachelor party in New Orleans on Thanksgiving weekend. Impressive.

Been a while since we WAG'd it up here, and we'll keep it topical and call it the WAGs of the 2009 MLB League Championship Series. If these ladies count for anything on the field, the Yankees win. Big.

Keeping it Brazilian, check out this incredible double scissor kick goal. Yes, I said "double"...

Prime Time Pick

Playing the Denver Broncos tonight at +3.5 (even).

Monday Mayhem

The Philadelphia Phillies made sure their bullpen would be a non-factor in Game 3 of the NLCS, racing out to a 6-0 lead and prevailing 11-0 over the LA Dodgers. Wonder if Joe Torre will still be spewing his tired "Game 3's are pivotal" line now? And who would've figured the Phil's score more than the cross-parking lot Eagles, who lost in Oakland yesterday 13-9?

Game 3 of the ALCS goes today, and the Anaheim Angels are in a lot of trouble if they don't tidy up their defence - 5 errors in losing the first two games - or find a way to keep Alex Rodriguez from stabbing them in the heart every time there's a big moment. A-Rod is exorcising some demons from the past, and if this continues - and he's got great career numbers playing in Anaheim - he'll be getting the loudest cheers in the Canyon of Heroes. Game 3 goes today at 4:07pm Eastern.

Manchester United are back on top of the EPL table after a wild weekend that saw Chelsea and Liverpool both go down in upsets.

The New York Giants were playing a team that has a win for the first time this year yesterday in the New Orleans Saints, and it turned into a disaster for them as they were hammered 48-27 by the very much for real Saints. That said, the Gints are still in great shape with some tough road games out of the way.

Now losers of two straight, New York Jets coach Rex Ryan is eating some humble pie to go with the other pies he's been crushing. QB Mark Sanchez was picked five times by the Buffalo Bills defence as the Bills won 16-13 with a late overtime field goal.

Toronto FC made it a nailbiter but scraped out a tight 1-0 win over Real Salt Lake at a rocking BMO Field on Saturday. Next up is a trip to last place New York Red Bull with a win a must to lock up a playoff spot.

Who would have guessed Week 6 would turn out to be the Dallas Cowboys best of the season so far, as they gained ground on their entire division as all lost yesterday with the Cowboys on a bye? Among the losers were the Washington Redskins, and that one has seen head coach Jim Zorn stripped of play calling for the offence. Not sure I ever recall a head coach who had those duties ripped before. If you're Zorn, wouldn't you be thinking of quitting now? Then again, if he sticks around, he'll get axed and paid, so there is that.

Just in case you weren't in Ontario where it is being treated like a terror alert and needed reminding, we're beyond the middle of October now and the Toronto Maple Leafs remain winless. Life, as it turns out, is moving on regardless.

I don't own an X-Box or PlayStation 3, but after seeing the ad for Let's Fifa 10, I'm seriously considering a purchase.

Check out this video of Argentina's soccer coach Diego Maradona on the team bus after he saw the team through qualifying for South Africa's World Cup next summer, mocking doubters who questioned whether they'd qualify. Maradona is in hot water for this one, and may be suspended for five games for a profanity loaded tirade to the media.

Speaking of the World Cup, the UEFA draw was held to sort out the final four qualifiers from Europe. Ireland will face France, Portugal gets Bosnia-Herzegovina, Greece faces Ukraine and Russia takes on Slovenia.

Have a great Monday.