Klinsmann!

Hope somebody has alerted the Texas Rangers that it is time to show up and start playing some ball, especially now that they're at home for Game 3.  Not sure anybody figured the Rangers would give up 20 runs in the first two games, most of that coming from a seriously inept bullpen.

I know I had a few beverages last night, but did I hear the Toronto Raptors not only won, but that they did it in convincing fashion and played a little defence?  Oh, it was merely the Cleveland Cavaliers.  Hear from a recent Vegas visitor the Raps are tied - with the Minnesota T-Wolves - for the biggest longshot to win the NBA title at 34,000 - 1.  Wouldn't put a penny on it.  Reggie Evans has 30 rebounds in two games.


The big game on the English Premier League calendar today is a 12:30pm (Eastern) showdown between Tottenham and Manchester United, with Man U hosting.  These two typically play some wide open games so should be interesting.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell says he's in favor of European expansion for his league.  Maybe it is the travel or the trouble some players would have getting into the EU with their records off the field, but just can't see it working.  That said, a team in Amsterdam, for example, would make for some awesome happenings

Cliff Lee - or at least his agent - insists talk that Yankee fans harassed and possibly spit on his wife during the ALCS does not at all affect their standing this off-season as he nears free agency.  Something tells me his agent would say that if the guys in Section 123 went Ben Roethlesberger on her.

If Toronto FC were looking to make some splash and score some credibility, they sure accomplished that in hiring German soccer legend Jurgen Klinsmann.  Stephen Brunt at the Globe points out that if Bryan Colangelo and Brian Burke were credibility hirings with experience for their slices of the MLSE empire, Klinsmann is on another planet  as a world class player, decorated champion and certified top flight coach.  He'll have the authority to do as he sees fit with the team.  Damn impressive move.

Scouts speculate the Yankees might try to trade Nick Swisher this off-season.  They not only weren't impressed with his smack-talking Cliff Lee, but he's also hitting .162 in 33 playoff games.

Interesting piece from Roy MacGregor at The Globe And Mail on the "baseball-ization" of hockey stats and descending into the irrelevant.

50 crunching NFL hits, mashed up.

25 perverted Hallowe'en costumes.  Not for the sensitive, that's for sure.

Have a great day.

Back!

We're back, after a busy work trip to my fav city in Canada - Montreal.  Sorry Toronto, regrets Vancouver, swing and a miss Halifax, sucks to be you Ottawa, nice try Edmonton, not-even-the-best-in-Alberta Calgary...Montreal wins hands down.  Wasn't all work by any means, not when your hotel is a couple blocks from Crescent Street.  Also, worked my way into some last minute Montreal Canadiens tickets Wednesday, a very entertaining 5-3 win over the New York Islanders.  I've always said that hockey is far better live than on TV (other than those painful TV-timeouts) but PK Subban is even more entertaining than that.  That is gonna be one hell of a player, and soon.  Had a laugh hearing the fans cheer Carey Price hard after he was booed equally hard last time I was there in February, and he wasn't even playing that night.  How soon they forget!  Great times.

Anytime the Texas Rangers want to show up would be fine.  A 9-0 beat down last night is no way to generate interest outside of San Francisco. Matt Cain has now thrown 21 2/3 shutout innings for the Giants, who are up 2-0 and had Bon Jovi's "Livin' On A Prayer" going last night post game.  You know, because they're "half way there".

Bud Selig should pounce on this one: the MLB players union says it would consider adding extra playoff teams.

Here's one way to handle your ejection from a sporting event: 1. Leave the field of play.  2. Return with car.  3. Try to run down the referee.

The NBA enlisted comic - they ones who draw, not make people funny - Stan Lee to draw covers for each NBA team.

Here are the 10 Greatest World Series photos of all time.  The way this series is going, don't imagine there will be any pictures taken of the final games.  Fox must be lamenting the abscence of the New York Yankees, given that ratings dropped 25% from Game 1 last year to this year.

I love frivolous lawsuits.  A man is suing McDonald's for making him fat.  Oh, he won.

Word is Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has been told he's got a transfer fund of £100 million.  Nice work, Wayne Rooney.  Wayne got himself a raise, and a way to improve the talent around him.  A start: get

A little late getting to this one, but a great history of rap with the always hilarious Justin Timberlake and the occasionally funny Jimmy Fallon.

Finally, RM is coming back. Today at 3pm (at the latest).

The Carolina Hurricanes are finally playing their home opener today, after travelling 21,000 kilometers - aided by opening in Finland - to play their first seven games.  Am sure they'll be coming home to a heroes welcome in the four figures.

Catcher Bengie Molina is a World Series winner this year, regardless of the outcome.  Having played for both the San Francisco Giants and now the Texas Rangers this year, he'll collect a ring either way it goes, though you have to figure getting one in a Giants win has to sting.  That will be five rings in nine years for the catching Molina brothers.

Back tomorrow

RM returns tomorrow.  For the record, like Texas to win the World Series.

Best SNL parody ad ever

Well how else could the Dallas Cowboys season go but to see Tony Romo get pounded into the ground and break his collarbone?  The Cowboys were 41-35 losers to the New York Giants in a wild Monday Nighter.  1-5 on the year, the death march starts now for the next 10 weeks.  The biggest fear of this Cowboys fan?  That Jerry Jones might view Romo's abscence as a reason to give Wade Phillips another year.

Speaking of broken bones.  Brett Favre is in a cast with a stress fracture in his ankle.  Looking like that consecutive starts streak - impressive, no doubt - is about to come to an end.

Allen Iverson has signed a 2-year deal to play in Turkey. If you're wondering how to say it, "Biz pratik hakkında konuşuyor" translates to "we're talking about practice" in Turkish. Strangely, Hedo Turkoglu hasn't heard the word in either language.

One approach I'm guessing the NFL won't use to market the London, England game featuring San Francisco and Denver on Sunday: "Come see a 1-6 bust face a team that gave up 59 in 3 quarters to the God-forsaken Oakland Raiders!"

Work trip on the go.  Gotta keep it brief the next few days, unfortunately.  One last thing:

An awesome ad from Saturday Night Live featuring Brett Favre.

RM returns later today. Stay tuned.

It was not my pecker

How anybody can figure they know what will happen on any NFL Sunday is beyond me. Hands up if you had the Oakland Raiders scoring 59 in Denver, or the Cleveland Browns winning 30-17 in New Orleans, or Tennessee - with Kerry "Tom" Collins starting at QB - humiliating Philly 37-19?  Liars.

Tough day for Brett Favre.  First up, reports are that he admits the voicemails to Jenn Sterger were in fact his, though he disowned the pecker shots.  Then he went out and got beat up in Green Bay as his Vikings dropped to 2-4.  And compounding all that, his coach Brad Childress largely threw him under the bus and admitted he thought (and is thinking?) of pulling him.

I wasn't in the school that thought there was nobody that could beat Brock Lesnar, but I didn't figure he could be beat as savagely as Cain Velasquez did with a first round TKO to win the UFC Heavyweight title. That cut under Lesnar's eye was nasty. He'll be back, but that was a shocker. Great card overall, with Diego Sanchez win over Thiago Alves the fight of the night for my eyes.  Rest of the results here.

Phil Simms on New England Patriot Danny Woodhead: "You realize what a good athlete is when you talk to him."

26 different teams have played in the last 30 World Series.  There is no league that can even approach that level.

Cleveland is used to this: In each of the past three years, the Browns have beaten the defending Super Bowl champion, including yesterday's shock fisting - see what I did there? - in New Orleans by a 30-17 score.

The Toronto Argos clinched a playoff spot this weekend, not that that is a big chore when 6 of 8 teams, or 75% if you're not a mathlete, make it. Not bad for an 8-8 team. Clearly, the CFL stands for "Charitable Football League".  At least Toronto gets a team in some playoffs now.

Whenever Hawk or Matthews make a play, it's time to cue up their video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1W6-ErrHls

The San Francisco Giants went and knocked out the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday and the ever-classy Philly fans booed the Giants off the field. Brian Wilson closed it out, and as great a closer he is, he's even a more entertaining guy. Check out his act here on Jim Rome is Burning a few weeks back. The World Series starts ???, I've got Texas in six.





Check out this interview with the WWE's Undertaker after Brock Lesnar's loss at UFC 121.  Pretty safe to say that he and Lesnar aren't exactly tight.