Morning all,
I started this little foray into blogging way back in February of 1997 as part of the Toronto Raptors "Raptorschat" board (now RaptorsSpace). I had no expectations other than intending to do more than 99% of bloggers out there, which is code for "make it last beyond three entries" and that was definitely mission accomplished. After 488,000 hits there, moved to this forum a couple year's back and went almost daily for good stretches.
A few of the things I've learned:
if you want to get people to comment, just be honest about what you think of the state of the NHL
I seemingly never tire of hammering the Toronto Blue Jays
if you want people to comment, just post a countdown of hot ladies and sit back and watch the magic
Bukakke likes to party
the notion that golf isn't a sport, but a game, doesn't upset people nearly as much as I've seen in previous discussions over the years where some would act like I was insulting their wife's looks. Maybe people get that it's not all that different to poker, darts and bowling?
I'm pretty freaking good at betting picking prime time NFL games
And finally, I think I've learned it is time to shut 'er down. Increasingly, have found it tough to get the time to write something that is worthy of your time and mine, though that certainly isn't for a lack of content...there's always a tonne of interesting going's on in the world of sports and beyond. I think other things and interest in other avenues - Twitter most notably - have taken my interest in those directions. Will I miss it? Probably not. I'm not shy about sharing my opinion on all matters sports with my pals over beers as it is, but maybe I will and end up quietly returning, perhaps when the NFL returns on schedule in September (it will happen). Who knows? Never would have thought I went almost 4.5 years on this, that is for sure. Maybe you'll see me at The Bleacher Report, where I've been an approved contributor for months but done nothing with?
Later all, it has been fun, like anything worth doing should be.
A few weeks back, we referenced the SI players poll that had A-Rod rated as the most overrated player at 18%. SI ran the same poll on Facebook and fans gave a whopping 45% of the vote to Derek Jeter.
SI ran a half-page preview of the WNBA season. Seems wasted space, no? I did a double take to make sure it wasn't a Kentucky Derby preview.
How did the Vancouver Canucks take home so many trophies at the NHL Awards last night with all their "injuries"? Word is Danielle Sedin was dressed in Stella McCartney.
Only Dick Griffin at the Toronto Star could take the subject of Jose Bautista leading the AL in votes with five Yankee and two Red Sox, plus Josh Hamilton, and get it all twisted into some endorsement that he's truly more popular than the rest. Guess he has never heard of the term "vote splitting"? Let me know when he's the highest selling jersey, Dickhead.
If this doesn't get Yankees GM Brian Cashman an extension, nothing will: journeymen Freddy Garcia and Bartolo Colon have combined to deliver 157.1 innings pithed, with a combined ERA of about 3.20. Amazing.
Four minutes from the end of Canada's Under 17 World Cup game against England, with the good guys down 2-1, Canada equalized for a 2-2 draw with the most unlikely of feats. Awesome. And is there a country in the world that produces goalies that make bigger mistakes than England? Impressively futile.
Steve Nash - love that guy - has some serious game in this Chinese ad.
As Hitler references and news bloopers go, this one is one of my favs.
The NHL salary cap for next season is expected to rise by $5 million. Am I the only one that thinks the next time there is a labour war, the players are in for a far uglier time than they even saw last time? There's no way that league should have a high end of the cap north of $60 million when a dozen or so teams are for sale and or bleeding badly. And yes, I know it is revenue based, but that's heavily inflated by the financial performance of Canada's teams especially, and added to by a favorable currency exchange rate the last few years.
The rumoured NFL labour deal will not mandate an 18-game schedule, but will include Thursday night games each week. Me likes that muchly. There is some talk that the league will be back in business July 15th.
The New York Post says that Donald Trump is paid $65 million for Celebrity Apprentice, a show where celebs compete to raise money for charity. Perhaps Donald ought to lead the way at that pay rate? And no wonder The Donald has declined a Presidential run, he makes 162 times more than the President just for doing that show. Incredible.
With Derek Jeter slated to come off the DL next week, and only needing 6 hits to reach 3,000, Yankees brass has to be sweating a July 1st-3rd visit to Citi Field. Can't imagine they want to see the Mets cash in on that one. Speaking of Jeter, just noticed there's a slo-pitch team at the place me and the fellas play called "Jeter's Never Prosper".
The Boston Bruins had a good time celebrating their Stanley Cup win on Saturday night after their parade. A bunch of them rang up a $156,000 tab at Foxwoods Casino. Am sure Gary Bettman et al are thrilled the players partied at at casino. Of course, that's not nearly as impressive as the tab LeBron James and his crew rank up at the Wynn in Vegas. Check out some of the prices there. Incredible, and having been there last November, I can verify that's no mock up.
TSN is airing an NHL mock draft featuring all of two - 2! - pretend GM's tonight. That's all I've got on that.
Why do Boston Red Sox games take 4 hours? David Ortiz had a 14-pitch, 7 minute AB last night. That's a lot of gloves-adjusting, spit-in-the-palms and hand-clapping between pitches.
Toronto Maple Leafs top bossBrian Burke ordered Ron Wilson to change what he viewed as a "stale" coaching staff. And why not? Sure the Leafs had a great run the final few months of this past year, but they've had special teams issues for years so why not change now? And hey, if you can bring in two guys that worked for the New York Islanders, why wouldn't you? Oh, nevermind.
If you're on Twitter, be sure to follow @buckblunders. Incredible how many mistakes Suck Martinez makes nightly. A solid one from last night: he said Atlanta Brave Dan Uggla was continuing to have "re-production" issues. Yeah, that or run production issues.
For the 17-year old Vancouverite that was photographed lighting a lit rag leading into the gas tank of a police cruiser, coming forward and apologizing takes some stones, no doubt. It will cost very likely cost Nathan Kotylak a shot at the Olympics with Canada's water polo squad - yes, turns out we have one - but honest applause to the kid for coming correct. Don't hear the chorus of ostriches taking back their "rioters weren't Canucks fans or from Vancouver" line yet, which might be worse than the riot itself as far as ignorance goes.
The Florida Marlins are now 1-18 for the month of June. Ouch!
The NBA Draft goes this Thursday night and the hand wringing in Toronto is already well in progress. I'm no fan of the "anti-Euro" view some have, but after taking Andrea Bargnani as #1 and seeing his less than rounded game, and giving the keys to that stiff Jose Caleron, I can see why some might be nervous at the prospect of another player from across the pond.
In series where the Philadelphia Phillies have visited an AL West team, they're now a perfectly terrible 0-6 in series wins. Why do I always find out these stats after?
Interleague play is going the way it typically has gone for a years. The AL is up 50-34.
If you thought the Toronto Blue Jays playing "home" games at Philadelphia last year for the G20 meetings in Toronto was lame, how about the Florida Marlins, who later this week will "host" the Seattle Mariners in Seattle because of - wait for it - a U2 show. But, judging by the picture at the right, it doesn't appear too many will even notice, other than the stench of "past it" emanating from Sun Life Stadium.
Speaking of the Toronto Blue Jays, the perfect storm is going to hit a home game. No, not an opener, or the New York Yankees or Boston Red Sox visiting: it appears likely Roy Halladay will pitch when the Philadelphia Phillies visit Toronto next weekend. Likely Canada Day. Somebody alert Jays staff at the Rogers Centre, they don't have a lot of practice with big crowds.
For all the talk of how great the Toronto Blue Jays pitching staff is or will be, it is worth noting that only three teams in all of baseball have given up more runs this year.
NHL salary cap has increased by 64 per cent since end of lockout. Started at $39 million cap. Floor is now $48 mil. Business is that good?
If NFL pre-season football is a joke, what does that make the CFL's version?
Another thing or two worth mentioning on the riot in Vancouver: more than a few hockey fans I've encountered love to crack on the UFC as being brutal, ignoring that UFC competitors do not fight with bare hands, and UFC as being a bit trashy (and there is something to that, albeit not universally). But when the UFC rolled into Vancouver just this past Saturday, there wasn't reports of a single fight before, during or after the event, nevermind burned out cars and looted stores. Just saying. Another point: this whole "it wasn't fans or people of Vancouver" is a load of shit. Get your head out of your ass if you buy that naive pap.
Left over from Wednesday is this gem of a quote: "These two teams hate each other but they despise each other". Buck Martinez? Nope, Donald S. Cherry, enemy of the English language and reason, between periods of Game 7. I even rolled back the PVR to make sure I heard it right. Damn TFC and New England had to be not only at the half, but at commercial, so ended up seeing the old dino.
One thing missed in the realignment discussion of Wednesday: two 15-team leagues would necessitate there are interleague games every day of the season so a team isn't left sitting.
I could get into how embarrassing it is for your team to show up in a Game 7 - at home - and effectively turtle in a 4-0 loss to a team you derided as inferior in goal at least. I could mock how the league's likely MVP this season Daniel Sedin guaranteed a win, only to later backtrack and soften his words pre-game, and then produce nothing of note. But why bother? The Boston Bruins should be the discussion here, because they were simply the better team top to bottom. Weeks back I said I didn't know how they were doing it with no true stars up front but maybe that was it, they got contributions top to bottom. And then there's Tim Thomas. There have been fistfuls of awesome goalies on playoff runs over the last few decades, and maybe it is the freshness of it, but I can't recall a performance over four rounds as awesome as that, and I've seen Patrick Roy (for me, still the most money goalie ever come playoff time), Martin Brodeur and more.
I could literally take down the internet with all my thoughts on the rioting last night so I'll try to keep it to a minimum. I will never - ever - understand how the response to your team losing in any game is to smash your town up. And I will never - ever - blame booze for it. I've got plenty of friends who would be listed as dependents if alcohol ever filed a tax return and not a single one has smashed up their town. I will also never - ever - understand what is so fascinating about people smashing up their town that you want to stick around taking pics and video of it, though I'm hoping that will aid in the clowns caught on digital being sent to the Crow Bar Motel. But for all the Vancouver snobbery I've seen and heard - and it is as beautiful a place I've ever been, maybe second to Sydney, Australia - there is these unassailable fact: Toronto never rioted when the Blue Jays won a pair of World Series' in the 90's, and Philadelphia - PHILAFREAKINGDELPHIA - didn't riot when the Phillies won a couple years back, or when the Eagles or Flyers lost. New Yorkers didn't smash up their town when the Yankees won - perhaps that is of routine. I'd love to know how many of the knuckleheads lobbing bottles, burning cars, smashing into stores and stabbing people have at one time or another derided soccer fans as nothing but a bunch of hooligans. So congratulations, Vancouverites. Way to do your city proud. Here's hoping you make the final and lose again next year, and that the cops don't come with half the restraint they showed early on last night.
Oh, and nice touch starting up the whining about injuries, Canucks. Am sure the Bruins were October fresh.
Buster Olney at ESPN.com says that between now and August 17th, the Tampa Bay Rays will play the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox 20 times, and that a balanced schedule is more important to Tampa, Baltimore and Toronto than realignment. Right, but realignment would flatten that even moreso.
I've seen some good anti-Heat pics this week, but really like this one. Let's just hope it doesn't end up on the back window of someone's car next to some lame graphic of how many people and pets are in their families.
Going into last night's action, the New York Yankees had MLB's third-best record (.569 win percentage). Despite being on pace for 92 wins, that would would be the Yanks second-lowest in 11 seasons.
The Pittsburgh Pirates are over .500 for the first time this late in the season since Aug 15, 1999.
Speaking of the Yankees, with Derek Jeter on the DL, it is worth noting that the alleged "Captain Clutch" is batting .179 with runners in scoring position this season, the second worst in the majors for anyone with 75 plate appearances in such situations. His .649 OPS is ranked 138th out of 165 major leaguers qualified for the batting title. And nobody will think any warm body will not be able to replace his defence. Joel Sherman at the NY Post says Jeter's injury could be a blessing in disguise.
Curtis Granderson and Mark Teixera have combined for 42HRs for the Yankees, which is more than four teams - San Diego, Oakland, Minnesota and Houston - have in total.
Brock Anton, Canucks fan, can expect a visit from the police any minute now.
It has been 15 years since a Canadian QB started in the not-so-Canadian Football League. 15?!?
Word is the Winnipeg NHL franchise is going to announce its team name and colours as soon as Tuesday.
If you saw none of the rioting videos, a small sampling below. This one is the longest of the bunch and gives a good taste of the kind of shit going on in Van City.
Shame on you for lighting a 5-series on fire. Nice Blake Griffin impression from some loser Canuck fan.
How about this nut shot for a Vancouver Canucks fan?
Real smart, asshole.
All 53 of Lionel Messi's goals this past season in one awesome 15 minute vid. You're welcome.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Anything of note happening tonight in the sports world? Oh yeah, that "Stanley Cup" thing comes to a conclusion. Game 7, as you all know, goes in Vancouver tonight with word the city is shutting down booze stores at 4pm to try to keep things under control. Yeah, closed doors will really slow down rioting crowds. I've barely hidden my disdain for the Canucks whining, diving and theatrics over the course of the playoffs, so it shouldn't be a big surprise I not only think Boston will win but am actually pulling for them, which is a surprise given my Boston hate, largely focused on the Red Sox. In big games, I look to the team with experience, which Boston has more of in Mark Recchi alone than Vancouver combined. I look to which team plays smarter, which is a huge edge to Boston with the likes of Raffi Torres and Alex Burrows on the other side. I look to the team that is coming in more loose, and the thought of Roberto Luongo with a proverbial noose around his neck right now doesn't inspire confidence, regardless of how well he's performed over the playoffs at home (exclusively). And if you're looking for the team with momentum, it has to be the Bruins who have been in every single game in Vancouver. Can the Canucks win a fourth at home? Sure. But there isn't a line anywhere that I wouldn't bet on Boston tonight. I'm saying Bruins win it 4-1.
Canuck Daniel Sedin is guaranteeing a Canucks Game 7 win. Given how he's performed of late, that's just another reason to hurt your man with a Boston wager. Have the Canucks not learned yet that chirping Boston hasn't exactly panned out for them?
The Cleveland Indians were 30-15 a mere 22 days ago. Since then they've been shut out more times (6) than they've won (5). Ouch.
Yahoo! Sports columnist @DanWetzel tweets: "Source w knowledge of NFL negotiations: by Friday could be "substantial framework if not a complete plan" to bring back to owners/players." In other signs of progress, have you noticed of late the rhetoric has quieted down substantially from both sides? This thing gets done with no season lost, as I've mentioned repeatedly for over the last year.
Mark Cuban is taking the NBA trophy everywhere since they've won it. I'm sure NBA Commish David Stern will be thrilled that this one has leaked (heyooo!) out.
A little disappointed that the Toronto Blue Jays have sent Kyle Drabek down to the minors. I was really enjoying his walk-infested, guaranteed-over-the-posted-total starts.
Shaquille O'Neal has often spoke over the years about a post-NBA career in law enforcement. Not sure how allegations of a kidnapping to get a sex tape - starring him - returned will play with that. He's not charged or alleged to be involved, but who steals sex tapes of other people back?
Haven't touched on baseball's realignment plans. If you've not heard, they're finally considering balancing off the leagues at 15 squads a piece with talk of Houston or Florida making the move to the AL. There's also talk that this may lead to removing the divisions - yes, please! - and see the top five teams qualify in a far more balanced format. If you're the Toronto Blue Jays, from a business perspective, you'll miss roughly a quarter of your home schedule being dates with the New York Yankees or Boston Red Sox, but, am guessing you'll like having a far more open route to the playoffs and playing meaningful games - in theory - longer into the year. Feasibly, you could see 3 or 4 teams from the traditional division make it. I love it. Not sure how they address interleague in that if a balanced schedule is the goal - and it should be - but have even seen some suggestion from the Keith Law's of the world that there is a chance, small albeit, that the NL even goes to a DH, which I personally would prefer. Ken Rosenthal's take suggests moving the Boston Red Sox to the AL Central helps as well, if they stay in divisions. Not sure how a city on the coast suddenly becomes in the middle, but that's just from a guy who doesn't like the geographical bent without fully going on geography. Here's my take: 15 teams in each, no divisions with balanced schedules, no interleague if you can't balance the schedule, ditch the DH. If you are to keep interleague, I suggest a rotation of three teams faced by each, home and away, and you keep changing opponents each year. Lose this fabricated "local rivalry" nonsense that exists only for a handful of teams. Thoughts?
I'm no fan of the whole "lime in beer" concept, but this ad featuring UFC octagon girl Arianny Celeste sure is damn good.
Turns out LeBron James has made another "The Decision". I still can't see him winning on his new team. Enjoy.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Check out the shirt Dallas Maverick DeShawn Stevenson was rocking on Sunday night. If you can't guess, he's asking Lebron "how's my Dirk taste". Beautiful. We'll forgive the lack of a question mark. Guys with neck ink are not to be messed with.
Not sure which I like better: "Luongoal", "LeBrongo" or "LuGongShow". Either way, Roberto Luongo is a shell of himself when he's outside the comforts of home ice. Luongo lasted all of three goals and less than a period last night as the Boston Bruins evened the Stanley Cup Finals at 3-3 with a 5-2 win. Maybe he shouldn't have been talking so much junk about the Bruins and how Tim Thomas hasn't been as forthcoming with compliments for Luongo as Luongo has of Thomas? Maybe that's because Thomas knows he's a mirage on the road? Game 7 goes tomorrow night and it says here the Bruins win it. They've been close in every game in Van City and the Canucks aren't suddenly going to grow a pair after how badly they were abused last night, the Sedin twins in particular. If the Bruins score another pair quick, Luongo might not only not finish the game, he might well be done in Canucks colours, which I'm told would be his preference in any case.
The Canucks will be minus Mason Raymond if early reports of him having suffered a fractured vertebrae in that strange hit just 20 seconds into the game.
Bodog has its 2012 NBA championship odds up. Some notables: Miami Heat (5/2), LA Lakers (11/2), Chicago Bulls (6/1), Oklahoma City Thunder (8/1), Dallas Mavs (10/1) Boston Celts (12/1), San Antonio Spurs (20/1). Bodog gives the Toronto Raptors an NBA-worst 150-1 odds to win the 2012 title. Seems reasonable.
How big is first goal in this year's Stanley Cup? The team scoring first has won every game in the Stanley Cup final, as has the home team.
It dawned on me this morning that back in December, when the Cleveland Cavaliers were hammered in LA by the Lakers, LeBron James took to Twitter and spoke of God seeing all and karma coming into play. If that was the case then, LBJ, it is double the case now. Enjoy, loser. I love that in years prior he would argue he didn't have enough help. Now, he's in the "didn't help enough" group. LeBron's 8.9 point drop off from his regular season points per game average to what he averaged in the Finals is also historically the biggest drop off of any player. Here are the top jokes at LeBron's expense. The Miami Sun-Sentinel says that the Heat could be broken down to just the Big 2.5 this off-season. Me, I wouldn't be shocked to see them move Chris Bosh.
That's all for today, I've kicked the wounded dog named LeBron enough.
One thing clear during the entire NBA Finals was that the Heat core lack humility, and even after losing last night - decisively - they weren't showing any, though in a step forward, LeBron James did stick around to shake at least Jason Kidd's hand post-game. Over the weekend, we learned that LeBron James and Dwayne Wade were caught on camera mock coughing and sniffling, making light of Dirk Nowitzki's fever/flu going into game 5. Not sure how that works for them, considering they lost that game. In the end, the Mavs sent the Heat to defeat with a 105-95 win last night that any non-Heat fans were ecstatic over, judging by what I saw on Twitter, Facebook and via email.
I was thinking about the "most hated player" thing over the weekend and I've cemented LeBron James in my mind as that, particularly after last night (more on that below in the videos). There have been guys with huge profiles that make huge jack before, and have moved teams famously. One happens to play for my fav baseball team in New York and goes by the name of Alex Rodriguez. A-Rod has had a penchant for putting his foot in his mouth as much as Fred Flintstone in his prime, as does LeBron. But a few things A-Rod never did was hammer his previous team/city and in fact, hometown the way LeBron did. Nor did he make bold promises of seven plus championships before ever taking the floor (or field) with his new team. And when A-Rod had some playoff failures, he owned them. Not LeBron, he repeatedly points the finger at teammates both current and former and betrays his obvious talent and ability. A-Rod didn't talk down a media member the way LeBron did in telling him to watch the game-tape after Game 5 again and he "might come up with a better question tomorrow" for why LeBron disappeared. Which brings us to the next point, and one where you can't discuss A-Rod at all. I'm not sure there is a worse thing that you can be called in sport than a quitter, and we've seen twice now that LeBron has been referred to as a quitter. Last year against Boston he completely shut down and mailed in game five. This year, he did the same repeatedly in the Finals, averaging all of three points in the fourth quarter for the series. And even after Dallas Mav DeShawn Stevenson very publicly said it wasn't the Mavs defence that marginalized LeBron in Game 5 - a game LeBron was quoted as saying was do or die and the biggest of his life - and after noted hard man Chris Bosh (severe sarcasm there, folks) said they needed more of him, and Dwayne Wade said they needed more assertiveness from LeBron, he didn't exactly crank it up last night, did he? This guys fear of failure is damn impressive, but it doesn't lift him, it overwhelms him. LeBron James: quitter. Until proven otherwise, a big game nothing. A passenger. I love it.
The line of the post-game pressers last night went to a strangely-silent-til-after-the-game Mark Cuban: "who gives a fuck about Lebron James?" Well put, MC. Enjoy that title. And in a little blast from the past, check out this article from last November in whichCuban warned LeBron that no team have ever signed a couple free agents and automatically went on to win.
LeBron James took to Twitter to say that God said it wasn't his time to win. Yeah, the NBA Finals is right up there on God's "to do" list, LeBron. Grow the hell up.
Nevermind "Real Sports", MLSE really should have named their sports bar The Draught Lottery. Admittedly, stolen by some random person on Twitter.
After Vancouver won Game 5, the Canucks attempted to sell the broadcast rights to their Stanley Cup parade. NHL said no. Karma has yet to respond, but it will get a chance tonight as these two go at it in Boston for Game 6 with the Canucks having a chance to close it off, despite only scoring six goals in five games to date. It says here this series is going seven, and the Bruins will win it.
In 45 seconds, LeBron James clearly illustrates he's the biggest motherfucker in sports.
Adolf Hitler weighs in on LeBron's flame out and the Mavs victory.
Dallas 112 Miami 103. Hey LeBron...oh-oh! You called that the biggest game of your life and came up with that? A sign in Dallas last night read: "not 6, not 7, not 8...points". To that, if all goes well in Miami in the next few days, you can add "not 6, not 7, not 8...championships" that LeBron spoke of. I really can't think of a more despised athlete right now. As for the game itself, ridiculously entertaining stuff.
What time is it in Vancouver? Twelve past Luongo. The Canucks host the Boston Bruins tonight in a pivotal game and with a world of pressure on the home side's goalie and team overall. A quick Bruin start would be awesome to see the panic set in. One group sure to panic is staff at the Rogers Arena. As soon as the game is done, they'll be working frantically to get the arena ready for UFC 131 tomorrow night with Junior Dos Santos and Shane Carwin slated for what could be an explosive heavyweight main event.
For the first time ever last night, in 161 games, David Ortiz was hit by a New York Yankee pitcher. CC Sabathia finally drilled him on the leg after a couple days of talking junk and over the top celebration of a homer. You'd think that got the biggest ovation of the night at Yankee Stadium, right? Nope, when they showed LeBron and the Heatles lost, that got the biggest ovation. Ortiz blamed the media post-game for getting hit: "I finally got hit. I hope you motherfuckers are happy." Classy. The Sox are now 8-1 against the Yanks this year and have swept twice at Yankee Stadium. Word is in honour of the Yankees rapidly sinking season, there is talk of swapping out "God Bless America" in the 7th inning with this. Usain Bolt says that he could and hopes to play for Manchester United "because I've watched football over the years". If it were that easy, I'd be playing that, the NFL version, NHL and on your tube for some WWE action as well because I've "watched a lot". Give me a break, Bolt.
TSN Radio's James Cybulski asked Dan Shulman if Jose Bautista was approaching "legendary" status. Yeah, after a strong year and two months, the man's a legend. Freaking please.
Big sports weekend ahead with both the NHL and NBA finals winding down. We could well see the end of the NBA season for quite some time if they go lockout. Enjoy.
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Road Warriors, the Vancouver Canucks are not. Start with goalie Roberto Luongo's and his 2010-11 playoff splits, prior to tonight: HOME 9-3, 1.84, .937, 3 SO. ROAD 5-5, and the rest of his line going into last night, since gone worse: 3.31, .892, 0 SO. The Bruins pounded the Canucks on the boards, and the score board, for a 4-0 win that was rarely in doubt. Oh, and if you're keeping score at home, the Canucks five goals scored in four games isn't exactly awe inspiring stuff for a team that - incredibly hilariously - that one CBC talking head compared to Barcelona but was laughing too hard to recall who said it - yeah, compare one of the best teams ever with a team that's likely to be forgotten around July even if they do win. The Bruins scored 8 goals on Cam Neely night, and 4 on Bobby Orr night last night, and when the series goes back to Boston, they're going to be looking for a Ray Bourque night - 7 or 77 will do. Remember, you can't spell "Canucks" without "s-u-c-k".
The San Diego Padres have been shut out 10 times in 60 games. On the other side of the coin, the New York Yankees haven't been shut out 10 times since 1991.
Ecuador-Greece played a soccer exhibition match at Citi Field in New York, home of the Mets. They drew 39,656 fans, or more than any Mets game other than home opener. Not bad for two teams that nobody would call powerhouses, or really at all interesting.
The list of athletes who have something objectionable posted on Twitter and later claim they were hacked is a long one. Check it out, with the subject matter that cause them to come up with that story.
Funniest comment I read after the Boston Bruins 8-1 win from The Sports Pickle: I'm suspicious. Usually when a Boston team is playing this well they're on steroids or have illegally filmed the opponent's practices. Game 4 goes tonight in Beantown.
Vancouver Canuck Aaron Rome has been suspended for four games for his hit on Nathan Horton, who will be out at least four games with a concussion. How many games did Sean Avery get for talking junk about Elisha Cuthbert again? Was more than four, no?
The Dallas Mavs have evened the NBA Finals with the Miami Heat with am 86-83 win that landed right on the three point spread. Damn Vegas is good. No matter what happens next game in Dallas, the series will get decided in Miami. Can't wait to see what that kind of pressure does to LeBron James and Chris Bosh.
Since the Toronto Blue Jays media and fans love leading the league in anything so much, regardless of sample size, here's another: Kyle Drabek leads the game in walks issued and is on pace for 130 free passes. ESPN's Keith Law told ESPN's Baseball Today Podcast he'd be more surprised to see him sent down to the minors than hit the DL with an elbow issue. Oh-oh!
If you've been thinking it is a bit odd to see Blackberry so prominently advertising in the Stanley Cup Finals - an ad package worth into seven figures - then it shouldn't seem so odd to read from Forbes that the stories circulating are that NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman has told Jim Balsillie he'll get a team provided he stays in line and doesn't make any more spectacles.
The Miami Heat parade route has been leaked already. Map to your right.
Here are Michael Jordan's NBA Finals point totals per game: 36, 33, 29, 28, 30, 39, 39, 26, 32, 46, 33, 31, 42, 44, 55, 41, 33, 28, 29, 36, 23, 26, 22, 31, 38, 26, 22, 38, 38, 33, 37, 24, 34, 28, 45. And someone wants to say that LeBron James is better than him? LeBron had all of eight points last night and was largely ineffective on both sides of the floor. Case closed, not that there ever was one.
Buster Olney notes that the New York Mets are playing without Johan Santana, David Wright, Ike Davis, and getting little from the corpse known as Jason Bay, and they're almost at .500. Not too shabby, Mets.
And finally today, remember this original of yours truly: you can't spell "Human Centipede" without "H-E-A-T". If you're not sure about what the former refers too, be sure to click the link.
In last night's Toronto Blue Jay victory, at the end of the second inning, play by play man Buck Martinez told viewers at the end of the second inning that "the jays are leading 5-3". The score was 4-1 at the time. But, there were 5 hits for the Jays and 3 for KC.
Chick fight at Wendy's, and this one gets real nasty. Is that a dude pounding on one at the end? Just goes to show, never mess with a woman's Baconator.
Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals saw things get real ugly in more ways than one. First, Boston Bruin playoff stud Nathan Horton was stretchered out after a nasty blind side hit from Vancouver Canuck Aaron Rome. If you didn't see the hit - what rock are you living under? Here it is again. Nasty. Had to laugh that post-game, Don Cherry said Rome would get a game. I've got my money on rest of the series, with 5-10 games to go next season. Of course, when Ron MacLean said between periods that Horton was "moving his extremities" when he left the building, Cherry added he was "moving his hands and legs too" so you can see what his thoughts are worth. And no, he wasn't being funny. Horton's playoffs are over with a bad concussion.
Of course, the other key way the game got nasty was on the scoreboard: the Bruins pasted the Canucks 8-1 after the Horton hit rallied them. Down the stretch, predictably, things got testy as they tend to do in blowouts, and players were getting tossed left and right and Milan Lucic, among others, even waved a pair of fingers in the face of Game 1 biter and all round dirt merchant Alex Burrows. There was a whole lot of hate on last night, and the Bruins took more than a few runs at the Sedin twins. Game 4 goes tomorrow and it should be quite interesting, a lot more interesting than the first couple games were anyway. Up today, Rome is on the carpet with the league. Damien Cox speculated that he might get a game, five, or twenty...or Horton might get a delay of game penalty, such being the logic of NHL discipline. Solid.
The last year before this the active leader in wins as a pitcher had under 200 wins? How' bout 1879.
In Dirk Nowitzki's 1998 NBA Draft, six of the top 20 picks were white Americans. None made an All-Star Game. Dirk and the Dallas Mavs host Miami tonight in Game 4 of their final series.
Great story on Cincinnati Red Brandon Phillips. A 14-year old suggested to Phillips on Twitter that he should come out and watch his team play that night and with the Reds off that day, Phillips surprised the boy and his team with an appearance. Very cool.
Why I sometimes hate NL baseball: LA Dodgers pitcher Ted Lilly is now on an 0-42 run at the plate.
The Gold Cup is in full swing, the North and Central American regional tourney. Canada faces the host U.S. in Detroit at Ford Field tonight. Uncle Sam's Army will be in a surly mood I'm sure after they were pounded 4-0 by world champion Spain on the weekend, but Canada has been known to surprise in this tourney. 8pm kickoff on SportsNet One.
The Cleveland Indians are sliding badly, having dropped five straight. Not good timing, with the rest of the division riding streaks of a game (Chicago and KC), three games (Detroit) and five games (Minnesota). The slide has seen the hot New York Yankees move into top spot in the AL. Not bad when the Yankees offence - homers aside - has yet to really get going this year.
Monday, June 6, 2011
The Miami Heat took a 2-1 series lead last night with an 88-86 win over the Dallas Mavs in the Lone Star State. The Mavs trailed most of the game and could never seem to find the extra gear to break away when they did get close. Needless to say, Game 4 falls under "must win" as 3-1 is curtains in the NBA typically.
The Vancouver Canucks are half way to their first Stanley Cup win thanks to Saturday's 3-2 overtime win. It has been a tight series thus far but the Canucks seem to be in total control of this one. Perhaps things change in Boston tonight for Game 3.
After Chicago series, Scottie Pippen was declaring that LeBron James was better than one Michael Jordan. So far this series, it appears to me at least that LeBron is more suited to comparisons with Pippen himself. And how awesome will it be if Dwayne Wade ends up taking the series MVP? I'm sure he won't even contain how happy he is that "LeBron came here and joined me". Emphasis on "joined me".
Love the indignation of Jeff Van Gundy during last night's Game 3 of the NBA Final when a pop held by a fan in the front row spilled on the floor when players chased a loose ball for the delay it caused. Yeah, the 87 timeouts a game are fine though. Come on.
Why interleague baseball continues to make no sense in terms of scheduling: the Milwaukee Brewers this year will face both the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees. Their divisional rival, St. Louis, will face neither.
Baseball's schedule maker sure was kind to the Toronto Blue Jays the last four weekends as they've faced these cream puffs: Minnesota, Houston, Chicago White Sox and Baltimore, all last place teams save for the ChiSox, who just moved out of second last to Minnesota in the AL Central. The Jays start a set with the sinking KC Royals today.
June has been a dead zone for the Toronto Blue Jays the last few seasons, judging by this: from 2008 through 2010, the Jays have navigated the first two months of the season in a reasonable 91-73. But in June, they are a combined 31-47.
Texas Ranger Alexi Ogando is a bit of a feel good story this year for coming from out of nowhere to a 6-0 record with a 2.20 ERA. That is, of course, if you ignore the five years he spent in jail for human trafficking.
Speaking of the Rangers, they're scoring about two runs more a game when Josh Hamilton is in the lineup, so his health is a big deal to state the obvious.
There are currently 10 pitchers with a WHIP of 1.00 or less in baseball. In 2001 no pitcher posted a WHIP of 1.00 or less. Runs per game are also down for the fifth straight year. While the easy and obvious reason would be drug testing, Joel Sherman at the New York Post says "but wait, there's more!"
It took all of 17 minutes for the Winnipeg should-be-Jets to sell out their 13,000 season tickets. Never a doubt. Shame Gary Bettman didn't know that before he opened his mouth.
A 75-year old Belgian man cracks five soccer balls off the bar - intentionally - in 18 seconds. Damn good. Seems real too with the trees moving naturally in the background from what I can tell.
Friday, June 3, 2011
When facing a decent opponent, it is always best to never give them a personal reason to fight harder when you're already winning handily. Guess Miami Heat's Dwayne Wade never figured that one out. He scored a three pointer with 7:14 left to put Miami up 88-73 in game two, and it looked like the Heat were going to coast to victory. Except he went and posed in front if the Mavs bench. Bad move. Immediately after, the fired up Mavs went on a 20-2 run and ended up winning the game 95-93. Game three goes in Dallas on Sunday.
Since the NBA Finals went to 2-3-2 format in 1985, a series has been tied 1-1 a total of 11 times. The winner of Game 3 has won all 11 Finals. Pivotal film, anyone?
LA Angel of Anaheim Vernon Wells has made $2,981,481.48 since he was placed on the DL. Only 8 current Toronto Blue Jays players make that much for the entire year.
It isn't Georges St. Pierre vs. Anderson Silva, but it might end up being even better. GSP is slated to fight Strikeforce champion Nick Diaz - UFC owns Strikeforce now, of course - on October 29th at UFC 137 at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. Diaz is a beast, and won't stand by eating punches like GSP's last two opponents did. In other UFC news, they've got a free card on SportsNet tomorrow night at 9pm for the Ultimate Finale with Ramsey Nejim fighting Tony Ferguson for a contract in a too-tough-to-call fight, though I hope the former whips him. There's also Anthony "Showtime" Pettis fighting against the always electric Clay Guida in another fight aired. You may remember Pettis from this highlite at the 9 second mark.
Not sure why one would look to get an autograph from Lionel Messi, and then try to punch the man. Word is The Father prevented said attempt from even landing on The Son.
Tweets the always hilarious @PaulyPeligroso: Hitler is a huge cock-block for dudes named Adolf.
Sidney Crosby has only now been cleared for off-ice workouts after his setback in early April. You get the feeling his condition is a whole lot worse than we've been told it is? What a shame it would be to see his career cut short - safe to say he's already lost some years off it - to concussions. That would make two guys who were top of the game - along with Eric Lindros - lost to concussions essentially.
The Winnipeg NHL franchise is selling season ticket packages in their "Drive to 13" (thousand) is under way for existing corporate and season holders of the Manitoba Moose, and they're over 4,100 tickets sold already with the general on-sale tomorrow at noon. I'm going to guess they do the 13,000 somewhere 12:30pm Winnipeg time. Follow along here.
That's it for today, back Monday. Have a great weekend.
Foo Fighters "Walk" vid, inspired by the great movie "Falling Down"
The Vancouver Canucks opened last night's Stanley Cup Finals with a 1-nil win over the Boston Bruins with a goal in the dying seconds from Raffi Torres. There was no lack of intensity in this one, if not shots necessarily with the Canucks going shotless for the first 9 minutes of the middle period. I get that the league wants a game on Saturday, but do we really need two days off here with no travel required?
Steve Buffery at the Toronto Sun says, among other things, thatAtlanta didn't so much fail the NHL as the NHL failed Atlanta with a watered down product, and that "there aren’t enough goals. There aren’t enough open-ice plays. There are too many defensive schemes and systems." No, I am not Steve Buffery.
Interesting TV stat: more people watched Game 7 of the Vancouver/San Jose series in Canada than did in the U.S. And yet U.S. TV continues to drive the bus.
UFC heavyweightBrock Lesnar had surgery on his colon to try to remedy his nasty recurring bouts with diverticulitis, and he will be out of action until early 2012, which now doesn't seem all that far away given we're in June.
Shaquille O'Neal announced his retirement yesterday on Twitter. Of course, he might well be kidding, but if he's honest with himself, he'll shut it down. Shaq was a beast in his prime, as unstoppable as anybody has ever been, but it was a shame to see him bounce around to close out his career with a variety of injuries the last few years.
Colin Campbell is giving up his duties - fired? - as the NHL's lead disciplinarian, with Brendan Shanahan. taking over. Memo to Shanny: just be consistent in any way, good or bad, and you're a huge improvement.
The Pittsburgh Pirates have now won as many road games this year - 17 - as they won all of last season. Finally, they're on the upswing.
Canadian and New York Met Jason Bay has three extra base hits in the last 30 games, while pulling an $18 million paycheque. He must be heavily tied up with how his hometown Vancouver Canucks are doing.
Bob Klapisch of NorthJersey.com on New York Yankee Bartolo Colon: "no man shaped like a watermelon should be throwing 96-mph on the black." BK looks at the stem-cell procedure that seems to have given new life to the once fading Colon.
Just one of a handful of rejected Stanley Cup promo pieces appears at right. Rest appear here.
Have a couple beers you favor and are wondering which is the better option in terms of lower calories and better efficiency in terms of better buzz for fewer trips to the bathroom? Wonder no more. And while we're at it, the Beer Advocate will help you sort out which taste the best on their probably ridiculous, overly pretentious scale.
Game 2 of the NBA Finals goes tonight in Miami and the Dallas Mavs really need to bounce back if they're to spare me/us the nightmare of the Heat winning the whole enchilada. The upside is they're certainly capable of great improvement over their game one showing. Tip off is 9pm Eastern.
With the Atlanta Thrashers moving to Winnipeg, you'd think the league and team would get off to a good start in the 204, but not the NHL. First, Gary Bettman essentially goes asshole - as if he could go any other way - and tells the locals they need to have 13,000 season tickets and sell the building to make it viable, as if the local owners haven't already done that research and like that's some huge challenge in a 15,000 seat arena. That of course begs the question, how are all the franchises in the U.S. getting by with a lot fewer than those figures buying tickets? Hopefully somebody is forwarding Gary Bettman this piece by the National Post's Bruce Arthur that reminds him that the league needs Winnipeg more than Winnipeg needs the league. Second, the NHL says that it won't realign for 2011-12, so Winnipeg will play in the Southeast division. The schedule for next year isn't out, so why wait? It isn't like the move totally sneaked up on them. Word is they'll flip conferences next year with Detroit finally moving to the East. Third, the team name hasn't been officially announced as Jets. Memo to True North: there is no other option, despite word you're leaning to Manitoba Moose. GBVH passes word from Forbes saying the average ticket price in Winnipeg is going to be $82, which would tie Montreal for second highest average price, trailing only Toronto.
Oh yeah, the Stanley Cup Final starts tonight. Seems nobody is giving the Boston Bruins much of a chance in this one, and maybe that is just a product of living in Canada. But if I'm a betting man - and I am - I have a lot more faith in Tim Thomas than I do in Roberto Luongo. It isn't the sexy pick, but I'll take Boston to win this one in six, completing Boston's sweep of all the major titles in the last decade: NFL, MLB, NBA, and MLS. Incredible. Bastards.
It is never wise to say a series is over after one game, but the NBA Final could well be with the Dallas Mavs throwing away a very winnable game - and they didn't cover to make it worse. The Heat won by six last night, and you get the feeling that the Mavs winning 4 of 6 is going to be a tough call. Word that Dirk Nowitzki has a finger injury doesn't help. How hot are the Heat in Miami? Not very. Three hours before the first game in Miami last night, there were still 800 tickets left on StubHub.
Let's not get too carried away with this discussion seemingly everywhere about how flat the baseball standings are with so many teams hovering around .500 at the moment. We're not even a third of the way through the season for most teams. How many teams would be close to .500 in the NFL after 5 weeks? That said, in the 2000's, 59% of the teams holding a playoff spot on June 1st went on to make the playoffs. A Yankee fan will be pleased to note the Yanks were first on April 1st, May 1st and now June 1st, which the boys in my fantasy league will notice lines up with yours truly, although I've been on top every day in between save for two.
Wondering what all 30 of the NHL arena's goal horns sound like, because they don't score as often as they used to? Wonder no more. Can't say that the Montreal and Toronto ones sound overly familiar, nor do I recall them typically using horns.
Say what you will aboutSwedish soccer playerZlatan Ibrahimovic, now with AC Milan in Italy, but the dude is a winner. 8 titles in 8 years, with 5 different clubs in 3 countries.That's incredible.
The Seattle Sounders fans raised the bar on the Portland Timbers in their heated confrontation a few weeks back. This is freaking awesome. Seattle's average attendanceof 36,000+ would be 9th inEnglishPremier League, 6th inSpain'sLa Liga, 2nd inFrance'sLigue 1,and4th in Italy's Serie A.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
The NBA Final gets under way tonight in Miami with Dallas visiting. Not sure who I like in the series, but know I love the Mavs at +4.5 tonight. They've had a ridiculous record against the spread the entire playoffs, especially on the road.
Manchester United long-timer Paul Scholes has retired, and the accolades don't get better than Zinedine Zidane calling him the best midfielder of his generation. Who replaces him at United? If the stories are true, could be Wesley Sneijder or Luka Modric, among other possibilities. Either would be considerable improvements.
Smooth as sandpaper that Buck Martinez. In talking about Breast Cancer Awareness during last night's Blue Jay beatdown of the Cleveland Indians, he seemed to omit the middle word. Add that to other recent transgressions including butchering the pronunciation of some guy named Jose Bautista's last name.
Had a good laugh last week over the ever-bitter Scottie Pippen suggesting that LeBron James might be better than Michael Jordan. Said the BlackSuperhero on Twitter: Damn, I guess Jordan, Kobe and Sonic are the only ones that care about rings these days.
Still playing a bit of catch-up after the two weeks down, so forgive some of the more dated subjects. Ray Lewis says that crime will increase if there is no NFL season. Is that a threat, Ray? I'd be staying out of any place Ray is, especially if there is a limo nearby. Watch from a minute in.
When bearing down on an empty net in soccer, it is important to remember that balls bounce, particularly on shoddy fields. This is an awesome, awesome miss from close range.
I tend not to get too carried away with the "best of all time" talk that gets too easily thrown around, and Barcelona has been the subject of that talk for the last year or two with their dominant ways, but after Saturday's dominance of a pretty damn good Manchester United squad who played the right players and system to contain them and still lost 3-1, tough not to imagine there are too many better. One bit of hyperbole I will subscribe to is that Lionel Messi is the most talented and electric athlete in the world. Absolute freak.
At some point this week, the NBA and NHL finals will both get under way, contested by teams we can't remember by the time it rolls around. For compelling though, I believe the NBA final blows the NHL away.
Hockey Canada is going to a place where the NHL hasn't had the sack to go: they're banning all head hits. Period. That said, the rules don't apply to the independently operated junior loops.
Chicago White Sox starterJohn Danks is no fan of Toronto Blue Jay Jose Bautista, who he told to quit acting like a clown in slamming his bat down after a pop up with the Jays leading 9-1. Will be interesting to see the react to that one. If it were A-Rod, I'm sure Jays Nation Hamlet would be singing a different tune.
First there was Chris Bosh selling a phantom blow and then last night, Lebron James acted like he got snipered when he wasn't even touched and then winked to his bench after drawing the foul. Stay classy, Lebron. The Heatles downed the Chicago Bulls last night thanks to an 18-3 run to close the game to complete a 4-1 series win. They'll get the Dallas Mavericks next in the NBA Final.
Hard not to figure out who is running the show in the NHL when the Stanley Cup Finals schedule gets announced by NBC and not the league. For the efforts of winning the President's Trophy and Western Conference, the Vancouver Canucks will have all their games - home included - starting at 5pm local time. That's a joke. Also a joke: they're starting Wednesday, after the Eastern Conference sorts out its winner tonight in Boston.
After losing Wednesday, Toronto Blue Jays starter Jo-Jo Reyes has 28 consecutive winless starts dating back to June 13, 2008. Over that time period, 67 pitchers have won 28 or more games. The most wins since Reyes' last win: CC Sabathia has 58, Roy Halladay has 56, Jon Lester has 52, Justin Verlander is at 49, and surprising - to me anyways - Bronson Arroyo has 46.
What do Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Isiah Thomas, Michael Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwan, Tim Duncan, Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant have in common? Answer: one of them has been in the NBA Final since 1979. And salary caps ensure parity. Uh-huh.
Ian O'Conner, author of the new book on Derek Jeter, says the day the New York Yankees ask Derek Jeter to move from Short Stop is the day he retires. Don't be shy now, Brian Cashman.
The Boston Red Sox have 28 runs their last two games. The San Diego Padres have 12 runs in their last 9 games.
NFL Commish Roger Goodell is still beating the drum of an 18-game NFL season, saying it is something season ticket holders want. When season ticket holders are paying full ride for four pre-season games, of course they're going to want an 18-game, 2 pre-season package instead. That's hardly sound surveying.
The Champions League final goes tomorrow and while the head says Barcelona, it isn't clear in my mind like it was weeks back. I think Manchester United just might win this one, with a 2-1 scoreline in Edwin Van Der Sar's, and possibly Paul Scholes, swan song, though Scholes won't be starting if this article showing United's starting lineup is true.
Check out the ink on Monta Ellis of the Golden State Warriors. Wow.
Nice work by the knuckleheads at the Canadian Soccer Association - and what could we expect of them but stupidity? - in putting the safety of fans and players at risk by trying to force-fit the Canadian Championship at BMO Field last night in the middle of a torrential biblical downpour with lightning flashing last night. Guess they didn't notice the stands are, you know, metal. The game was called with Vancouver leading 1-0, but wasn't an official game as it didn't reach the 75th minute, so will be replayed in full on July 2nd at BMO Field.
I made a crack on Twitter about it being hard for Buck Martinez to not trip over his words as it must be hard to speak with Jays dick in your mouth and I immediately get followed by somebody who has a site called "Buck Blunders". Exactly how it sounds. Remember when he was a great colour guy? Was that real, or was that just Dan Shulman carrying him?
The Dallas Mavericks finished off the Oklahoma City Thunder - and you'll be hearing plenty from the Thunder the next few years - to take the West and await a date with most-likely Miami, where they'll carry the hopes of Heat Haters everywhere.
The Tampa Bay Lightning scored an impressive win over Boston last night to take their Eastern Conference championship to a 7th game tomorrow night. Awesome run by Steve Yzerman's crew, and quite the turnaround no matter what they do tomorrow. Martin St. Louis is a pint sized beast.
GBVH, brother of RM, son of Flicka, noted that in the Chicago-Miami game on Tuesday night, with four minutes left to play, the Vancouver-San Jose NHL game was intermission. In the time it took to complete the four minutes of hoops and a five minute OT, the hockey game's third period had already begun and finished. The forced drama of NBA timeouts is beyond ridiculous, and if I were to rank the worst things in sports, that would have to rank near the top of my list.
St. Louis Cardinal Albert Pujols has been top 3 in MVP voting in 8 of his first 10 seasons, with three wins, but only once has he been among even the National League's top-10 salaried players when he came in 9th in 2006. He's not exactly having a contract year for the ages this year, is he?
Poor Andrea (that's pronounced: AN-dree-uh) Bargnani. GM Brian Colangelo cracked him weeks back for his lack of effort on defence and in rebounding - shortcomings so obvious Stevie Wonder can see them -and Andrea's panties are in a bunch and he wouldn't mind moving to another team, preferably in a warmer climate. Don't let the door hit you, plank.
Isn't it a bit odd that NHL players won't touch the Conference trophy but have zero problem putting on the Conference championship hats and t-shirts? Uh...ok.
Baseball is a cruel, vicious game. Toronto Blue Jay starter Jo Jo Reyes is winless in 28 trips to the bump, but the Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Wilson Valdez picked up the "W" for the Phil's last night in a 19 inning win over the Cincinnati Reds.
It is worth noting that the San Francisco Giant fan beat into a coma by LA Dodgers fans on opening day won't have to worry about his kid's tuition for college: Barry Bonds will be taking care of it. Good on you, BB.
Now former Chelsea manager - and how insane are they ditching that guy because they had the nerve to finish second in the EPL and bow out in the semis in the Champions League? - Carlo Ancelotti says he'd take Wayne Rooney over Lionel Messi. I love Rooney, but that's another planet entirely as I'm not sure I've ever seen Messi have a bad game - quiet ones, sure - or do anything that hurt his team like virtually every other player - Rooney included - can and does.
Foo Fighters main man Dave Grohl does limericks at a show last week: There once was a hooker from Dallas, who used a dynamite stick as a phallus, they found her vagina in North Carolina, her asshole at Buckingham Palace.
Ivan Hrvatska is a big, big fan of the Vancouver Canucks, and has a remix of his 2008 classic saluting the team's playoff win.
Half-time at the Miami Heat-Chicago Bulls game. Wonder what this cameraman was thinking of?
