It doesn't matter that the Boston Celtics are "struggaling", the Toronto Raptors will need a big effort - particularly from the Killer B's - to down them today. Tip off is at 12:30..just hours away from the huge English Premier League tilt between Chelsea and hosts Manchester United. It is always a heated affair when these two giants lock horns and my prediction is today is no different. Hard to not like United at home, even with Chelsea captain John Terry returning from suspension, but United has struggled to find the net this year a lot more than last, so could be real tight. Catch it on The Score at 11am (Eastern). One small request - please don't give that score up here. I've got the PVR rolling and am aiming to not find out the score, a tough task to be sure...burning through Jeff Pearlman's "Boys Will Be Boys" book on the Dallas Cowboys of the 1990's and it is an incredible read for any fan of the game. Michael Irvin slept with twelve ladies in four days during Super Bowl Week ahead of their first trip against Buffalo. Reputation enhancing depictions come to Troy Aikman and Jay Novacek. Emmitt Smith? Not so much. Selfish and self serving. Charles Haley is crazy, no better word to describe him. Well worth the read...when running back Brandon Jacobs is out of the New York Giants lineup, they average 93 yards rushing as a team. When he's in, they average 171. With Jacobs in, tough not to like the defending champions at home against the Philadelphia Eagles...updating the Wayne Fleming story from yesterday, turns out he wasn't fired between periods. He was benched. Seriously. He's back next game..."American Idle" Carl Pavano, now of the Cleveland Indians, had this to say of his time as a New York Yankee: "When you're down, you expect your organization to pick you up, not kick you when you're down. I've had to pick myself up quite a few times the last four years." The only thing he picked up was a paycheque with a gun and ski-mask. Did Yankees GM Brian Cashman ever question his effort? No. They just kept paying him and rehabbing him and giving him chances. What a tool. The Tribe best make sure his feelings aren't hurt - he could end up out for the season...the latest Pat Quinn rumor has him going to the Pittsburgh Penguins...the Baltimore Ravens may not have deserved to beat the Tennessee Titans yesterday, but when you pick up that many key turnovers deep in your own zone, you did something right. 13-10 winners over the Tennessee Titans and they move on to the Conference Final. Oddly, if the San Diego Chargers - they of the 8-8 regular season record beat Pittsburgh today, the Bolts will host the Conference final. Strange, no?...outwitted myself yesterday in the Prime Time Picks by gunning for positive dollar value and looking for the extra goal. Of course, Arsenal fell short and didn't cover the -1.5. Today, and I know it wreaks of "sucker bet", but how can you not love the New York Giants, at a mere -4 -107, at home against the Philadelphia Eagles? If you're telling me the Eagles will not only go on the road and win, but do it for the second time this year at the Meadowlands, I call LIES. The rested conference champions and defending Super Bowl champions should feast on the Eagles, and let's be serious, Donovan McNabb vs. Eli Manning - who do you trust? Has to be Eli, no? The Eagles beat a Vikings squad that was intent on giving the game away, and if there's one thing the Giants don't do, it is beat themselves (that's what she said). Bet the Giants, bet the Giants hard with your good friends at Pinnacle...have a great Sunday.

Check out the tattoo some Detroit Lions fan had done this week. Somewhere, Andy Warhol just ticked off another on the "everybody gets 15 minutes of fame" list...Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo wrecked his $450,000 Ferrari on the way to practice yesterday. No word if the car was touched before crashing. Ronaldo was unhurt in the accident, but hopefully this knocked his 2008/9 rust out. Manchester United will need it ahead of Sunday's huge game against Chelsea. Tune in to The Score at 11am Eastern - Hi Def if you've got it - for what should be a great one...basking in the glory of last night's Florida cover to move to 5-3 (+187) on the year. Tonight, gonna make a play on the Toronto Raptors (-5 -113) as they hose the Memphis Grizzlies...the Seattle Sounders FC are running a reality type show on a local news station that culminates on Super Bowl Sunday with the winner getting a roster spot on the team. Lame...the Toronto Maple Leafs Mikhael Grabovski picked up a three game suspension for his shove of the referee last night. So if you're keeping score at home: two for biting, three for shoving a ref, six for "sloppy seconds" blasts...Brett Favre says he's going to take his time making a decision whether to play or retire. Memo to Favre: the only fan picketing you'll see this time will be to keep you at home, not to return...I've figured out the real reason that the Boston Celtics are reeling: the mere mention of Stephon Marbury heading there...Max Kellerman mentioned on his radio show out of New York that he's been told by a very credible source in the New York Knicks organization that the Knicks are making their moves with an eye towards signing Lebron James and Chris Bosh...have a great Friday, back in the morning.

In a move that should surprise nobody after the Tom Brady setback stories surfaced last week, the talk is the New England Patriots will place the franchise tag on quarterback Matt Cassel, giving him a nice raise to $14 million giving the Pats $29 million in two quarterbacks. Seems crazy on the surface, but when your backup can bang off eleven wins in a season, you're crazy not to when Brady is a question mark...if the story I heard is true and that the Toronto Maple Leafs may ship Tomas Kaberle and Vesa Toskala to the Ottawa Senators for a draft pick and Jason Spezza, that is a trade Leafs GM Brian Burke needs to make now...after last night's New York Knicks loss and non-cover, Prime Time Picks sit at 4-2 for the year. Up today, taking Manchester United in Carling Cup play to top Derby at -1 -107. Yes, the Carling Cup is an annoyance in many ways, but United has enough depth to knock off a team from a division lower who set a Premier League record when they were up last year for fewest points in a season. And hey, all world defender Nemanja Vidic insists United are very much interested in winning this one. Mix in Derby is lacking a manager at the moment and United takes this one with ease. This game kicks off at 2:45 Eastern so get over to Pinnacle now. Coverage on Setanta Sports...here's one take on the 20 Hottest TV Sports Personalities "of all da times". Clearly, whoever put this together must not consider UFC a sport - wrong! - because there's no other way to explain how Rachelle Leah isn't top, well, two...wonder where the NHL ranks in the pecking order in the U.S.? In the new set-up at ESPN.com, it is printed furthest to the right of the page, behind soccer and the rest of the sports you'd expect. Now, I'm sure some will brush this off and look for things like alphabetical order and the like but let me assure you, there's no other reason than where it stands in the minds of "the worldwide leader" who know that people read left to right in most places...reading lists of athletes with illegitimate kids never ceases to amuse me. Here's an update...the Boston Celtics lost for the fifth time in seven games, this time to the lowly Charlotte Bobcats...have a great Wednesday.

Friday, December 26th, 2008

Tickets for the six LA Kings home games in January - even for good seats in the lower bowl - can be had for $11.50. They're not rolling Nashville or Atlanta in either: Philly, Anaheim, Detroit, Chicago, New Jersey and Tampa Bay. Wonder if anybody believes the salary cap - revenue determined - will continue to rise? A great article on tickets at bargain basement prices runs here....the elephant in the Yankee room is where will Derek Jeter play when his defense goes from sub-par to brutal? First base is no option with Mark Teixera installed. Right field?...the Phoenix Coyotes are set to receive funds from the NHL to maintain operations. How long until Wayne Gretzky extricates himself from that mess? He doesn't seem the kind of guy that would go down with a sinking ship and sully his name...there is a high school football team in Arkansas that is removing punts from its playbook. Seriously, they're going to go for it on every fourth down. That is awesome...one thing about the the NFL/CFL I'll never understand: why you need a two/three minute warning in a sport that already gives plenty of timeouts, of the official and TV variety...for a guy who put up some insane numbers and single handedly carried the LA Dodgers to the playoffs - despite what Jeff Kent would have you believe - things sure are looking dicey for Manny Ramirez to land that big last contract. Scott Boras is starting a nice streak of failing to come through for some high profile clients. Last year, A-Rod, this year, Manny. The Anaheim Angels say they're out of the bidding on Man-Ram..a whole heap of English Premier League action goes today with the traditional Boxing Day slate. Arsenal travels to Aston Villa in the most attractive match of the day. Shame Arsenal is minus Cesc Fabregas for the next four months. All the teams will turn around and play again Sunday...speaking of Boxing Day traditions, the World Junior Hockey Championships, important nowhere in the world but in Canada, start today. Canada faces the Czech Republic tonight at 7pm (Eastern) from the nation's capital. Drinking game idea: have a sip each time Pat Quinn is mentioned as a possible head coach in Edmonton. Do not plan to drive anywhere...the LA Lakers ended the Boston Celtics 19 game win streak with an emphatic home win yesterday. Is there any way those two don't meet in the finals again this year?...have a great Friday.

Thursday, December 25th, 2008 - Merry Christmas!

It has been a fantastic year in sports, and AskMen presents a look at the Top 10 moments of the year and you could easily argue for others...thankfully, the NBA will break the sporting darkness that started with the conclusion of the Notre Dame-Hawaii game last night, including three games getting TV coverage. The big one goes at 5pm as the LA Lakers host the Boston Celtics in a rematch of last year's championship series...I know leagues value divisional setups for the rivalries they create, and how teams stay in playoff races longer. But something seems wrong with the idea that the San Diego Chargers could be in at 8-8 while the 11-5 New England Patriots could be out in the cold come playoff time...ESPN's Rob Neyer says that after the three big moves, the New York Yankees are indeed the team to beat in 2009. Me, I cannot wait to see if it pans out that way...so there are no college bowl games today, only a handful of hoops games, and the NHL has no games scheduled? Makes no sense to me, either. But at least the Toronto Maple Leafs Brian Burke's moratorium on not trading players withing the 10 days leading up to Christmas is up. Ought to be some interesting moves in the offing now for Tomas Kaberle and others...have a great Christmas. Back tomorrow.

Monday, November 24th, 2008

I heard a rumor that the Dallas Cowboys traded for and gave a huge contract to wideout Roy Williams. Anybody able to confirm? Haven't seen him...one fine gentleman was ejected at Friday's Toronto Raptors game for riding coach Sam Mitchell a little too hard from the blue blood seats behind the Raps bench. The same guy was back yesterday and leading a very audible "Jeff Van Gun-dy" chant from the same seat. Not sure about you, but I'm loving this guy. Would also love to see Balki take over for SMitch...New England QB Matt Cassel is going to earn some huge cash as a free agent this off-season. No way he stays with the Pats. Meanwhile, the two guys he watched for four years at USC - Carson Palmer and Matt Leinhart - both hold clipboards. Cassel and the Patriots crushed the Miami Dolphins...the Tennessee Titans are unbeaten no more after a dismal performance against the New York Jets. I still don't believe in the Jets. When you lose to the Oakland Raiders, that tends to happen. As for the Titans dropping their first, somehow I don't figure the Patriots of 2007 are popping champagne corks like those grumpy old men from the 1972 Miami Dolphins...why PVR's rule: I watched the entire Dallas Cowboys win over San Francisco in just over 90 minutes. Watch a play, skip forward 30 seconds. Next play starts...good NBA teams do not open 2-5 at home. Ergo, the Toronto Raptors are not a good team. The Raps looked like boys to the Boston Celtics men in a 118-103 loss. Oh, and if you had "November" for when Jermaine O'Neal became an injury concern, you win. That's two straight now that slO'Neal started a game but didn't finish...the MLS Cup final, won by Columbus Crew 3-1 - and it said in these parts that was easy pickins' - was as good a one game final as you'll see in any sport as both sides went all out to win, and entertain. Who says a team from Columbus can't win a title?...in the last four games, the St. Louis Rams have been outscored in the first half 123-13...they might not be able to keep Ben Roethlesberger healthy but the Pittsburgh Steelers have managed to keep all 11 teams they've faced under 300 total yards. That there is an AFC side not getting nearly enough love in the championship discussion...the "Grey Cup is thrilling" thing seems more legend than reality of late, no? The Calgary Stampeders won 22-14 over the Montreal Als, who could only manage a point in the entire second half. An easy under!...one more mistake - including missing a meeting - and Adam "Pacman" Jones is in line for a lifetime ban. Talk about operating without a net. Does it even seem possible that he can stay out of trouble for the next two months, nevermind for years?...baseball writer extraordinaire Buster Olney at ESPN says he can see a reunion in New York of two guys who got their pro starts in Cleveland: CC Sabathia and Lebron James...14-8 now on Prime Time Picks thanks to a late drive by the Indianapolis Colts to down the San Diego Chargers. Bolts coach Norv Turner had best get the resume polished up. Tonight, liking Green Bay +3 at New Orleans. As usual, get your wagers down at Pinnacle, enjoy the ride...have a great Monday.