Saturday, January 3rd, 2009

Freak NFL stat: if you are +1 on takeaways/giveaways, you will win 80% of the games...in what would be a huge development, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger may jump ship to take over at Real Madrid. What a difference that would be, going from a large club with significant restraints because of the financing on the Emirates Stadium to one that is a bottomless pit of money...Chris Paul and Lebron James told the great show E:60 that they regularly play XBox head to head. Online. Something about that amuses me...add the Arizona Cardinals to NFL home sides that are struggling or struggled to sell out their game this weekend. As of yesterday morning, they had 3,700 tickets to get rid of. This, for a team that hasn't been in the playoffs in a decade. No word on if they managed to sell out...Stephon Marbury might land with the Boston Celtics. Seriously. Interesting Starbury fact: teams that deal him improve by an average of 27 wins the following season. Look for the New York Knicks to make a huge leap next season if that holds...the Baltimore Ravens five losses this year are to Pittsburgh (twice), Tennessee, Indianapolis and the New York Giants, who combined to go a whopping 49-15...a perfect 2-0 start to the year on Prime Time Picks, and today, gunning to make it 3-0. Here's some background: teams that enter the playoffs .500 are 2-7 since 1972, with one of those wins coming when two 8-8 teams played each other. San Diego enters the playoffs at 8-8. Indy has won 12 straight, but is only a one point fav. Seems strangely, sucker-bet low, no? Regardless, taking Indy to drop the hammer on the Bolts and cover the spread (-1 +101) comfortably. Get down with Pinnacle here...it was only a matter of time before somebody was killed from a hockey fight, and now, Don Henderson of the Whitby Dunlops becomes the test case for what the game does going forward...Buffalo Bills safety Ko Simpson started the "NFLers Arrested" edition for 2009 off with a roaring start, busted for not leaving the area while a friend of his was being arrested. In true athlete fashion, he played the "don't you know who I am?" card and told the police he's "worth millions!" Step your game up, Ko, Eddie Belfour already used that tactic in telling the cops he was worth "billions" years ago...NBA ref Derrick Stafford will not be punished for calling Vince Carter "boy", which Winessa didn't like. That is not right in my opinion. The NBA should come down hard on Stafford for calling a girl a boy...Canada faces Russia in one semi-final of the World Junior Hockey Championships. Of note, the U.S. soiled the bed in their quarter-final yesterday with a 5-3 loss to Slovakia, a huge underdog to one of the pre-tourney favs who will now face Sweden in the other semi-final. If you sweat karma, however, saw one sign at a bar driving through town yesterday that said "Catch Canada go for gold on Monday here"...have a great Saturday.

Sunday, December 28th, 2008

A good night to take the underdogs in the big three UFC fights, as Rampage Jackson (+330), Frank Mir (+140) and Rashad Evans (+120) all came through with impressive wins. Mir's win sets up a rematch with heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar for that title, and if Mir fights the way he did tonight, he'll make quicker work of Lesnar than he did the first time, though that was a fight Lesnar should have finished. Evans is now the new light heavyweight champion after finishing Forrest Griffin in the second round, and Rampage is very much back in that title picture after a devastating knockout of the legendary Wanderlei Silva. Great card...less than 48 hours after playing on Boxing Day, the majority of the English Premier League's squads will take the field again today, continuing their busy schedule...in the World Junior Hockey Championship, Canada will pound Kazakhstan today at 3:30. Whether they cover the 7 goal spread at Pinnacle remains the question...the Portland Tribune says that the NBA will be reducing the salary cap in 2009-2010 by at least a million dollars...Joe Posnanski at SI.com writes a great piece on the parity in baseball, noting there have been eight different winners of the World Series in the last ten years, 15 teams have made the World Series in the same ten years, and over the last thirty years, twenty different teams have won the World Series and all but four - the Chicago Cubs, Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers and the Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals - have at least made the World Series. Over the same 30 years, 10 teams have never made the Super Bowl - yet many would have you believe parity is a thing of the NFL moreso than any other sport...the final Prime Time Pick of the regular season goes tonight, and shooting to finish a solid, solid 22-14 (61.1%) which, if you know anything about gambling and picking national games in particular, is damn impressive. The Denver Broncos visit the San Diego Chargers and the Bolts are looking for a heap of revenge after the Ed Hochuli blown call in September. Given how Phillip Rivers is rolling of late, hard not to like the Bolts to cover the -8, as big a spread as that may be for the occasion. Also a big fan of Arizona at -6, and Miami at +3, and am loving Dallas at +1...for 2009, am going to expand the Prime Time Picks to include one wager per day. As always, get down with Pinnacle...Tom Brady is said to be engaged to Gisele Bundchen. What a guy. He goes and blows his knee out - a big deal to most - but gets to rehab with Gisele nursing him. Tough times...Brett Favre is hinting at retirement. This time, I can't imagine anybody will care or much notice...the Toronto Raptors were outscored 53-32 in the second half last night en route to a 102-89 loss to Portland. Nice work, Craptors...have a great Sunday.

Wednesday, December 17th, 2008

Talk about the spirit of giving: Toronto Raptor Jose Calderon is donating $100 to Right to Play not per three pointer, not per assist - per double double! There goes my hero. What would he have done without the big raise he got this summer, donated a quarter?...take away the game against the Arizona Cardinals and Brett Favre has more interceptions than touchdown passes this year...there won't be a tonne to write about, but the plan is to go right through the holidays, including Christmas Day...Penn State has given Joe Paterno a three year contract extension. How you do that with a guy who was just out of frame for the picture at The Last Supper is beyond me...one possible benefit of a potential collapse of Ford, General Motors and Chrysler: it would seriously hurt NASCAR, no? That can only be a good thing for the state of humankind...the Detroit Lions have lost 21 of 22 going back to last season. This is a team for the ages...St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa thinks Mark McGwire belongs in the Hall of Fame because of his "integrity". Of course, he'd have a tough time seeing what integrity is what with his sunglasses-at-night ways...Bill Romanowski, who has been to the Super Bowl more than once, has tipped the Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys to contest it come February 2009 on "Drive This". I like it, Romo...former WWE monster Bobby Lashley is following in the footsteps of UFC Heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar and getting into the MMA game. He annihilated his opponent in his first fight in under a minute...I get that Sean Avery isn't the most cuddly player out there, and not exactly popular among even his teammates. But the talk that he might be effectively blackballed for his "sloppy seconds" comments - ill advised though they may be - is ridiculous given Todd Bertuzzi is still floating around and has been given more second chances than he's scored goals since his Vancouver prime. If anyone can honestly say Avery's actions did more damage to the game than Bertuzzi's, I'd be stunned...hopefully somebody has pulled the Chicago Black Hawks off of the Edmonton Oilers by now. Wow, that was a savage beating...if you thought the Winter Classic uniforms were impressive this past year, wait til you see what the Black Hawks and Detroit Red Wings are pulling out for the next edition, and yes, I know people that can hook you up for far cheaper, if you're interested...have a great Wednesday.

Sunday, November 16th, 2008

Anybody think it is a little suspicious that three Montreal Canadiens are flattening the field in All Star Game voting? Hell, Sidney Crosby has fewer than half the votes of Alex Tanguay. I find it incredible that anyone thinks fan voting is worthwhile...the Tampa Bay Lightning fired Barry Melrose and replaced him with Rick Tocchet? Bet that ends badly. Pun intended...how does six years and $140 million sound, CC Sabathia? Of course, that could just be the opening bid by the New York Yankees, who also intend to pursue AJ Burnett and Derek Lowe...since wrestling is always an entertaining topic here, how about 20 wrestling moves that sound like sexual acts? What, no "sidewalk slam", "sweet chin music" or "the gore"?...Clarence Seedorf, who isn't afraid to give his opinion whether asked or not, speculates that David Beckham might not even get into game action for AC Milan. Clearly, Seedorf doesn't know how huge Beckham remains globally, and his ability to move shirts still counts for something. What's with Beckham wearing #75 though? Lame...as if you needed any further proof that Lawrence Taylor isn't normal, check out this video from The Best Damn Sports Show Period...the Grey Cup is set, and it'll be Calgary facing Montreal for all the marbles next Sunday. In honour of that, how about a few cheerleaders, CFL style?...one day after a Jake Peavy trade to Atlanta was all but done, the Braves have backed off, citing the asking price as being too high...the red-hot Prime Time Picks are back (12-6, +635), and tonight, am picking the Dallas Cowboys (-1) to turn the tide. They really have to have this one if they're to have any playoff hopes, and Washington being minus Clinton Portis certainly helps. As always, get your bets down at Pinnacle Sports. Also like Atlanta today (-6)...it took just over three minutes of the second round for Brock Lesnar to floor Randy Couture and win the UFC Heavyweight Championship. It's tough to say anyone looks like they'll stay on top for a time in MMA, but Lesnar is just so big and fast he could be the one to do so, provided Lesnar doesn't get bored and decide he wants to try another sport. If Frank Mir wins his next fight, it'll set up a rematch with Lesnar..the Toronto Raptors game today will air only on TSN2, shutting out two million homes in Ontario that are Rogers subscribers, who are not offering it. I suspect an all-time low rating will be coming in...have a great Sunday.

Saturday, November 15th, 2008

The MLB off-season is about to heat up. Added bonus of the New York Yankees deal for Nick Swisher: he's good friends with CC Sabathia, though a deal with Mark Teixera seems unlikely now. Looks like Jake Peavy is almost Atlanta Braves bound to make the NL East even more interesting...Chelsea striker Didier Drogba could be in a world of trouble. After scoring a couple days ago, a coin was thrown on the field, which he responded to by promptly firing it back into the crowd. Not smart, DD...another day of EPL action goes today. Interested to see if Tottenham continue their smoking form as they travel across London to face Fulham. Arsenal vs. Aston Villa also looks like a juicy matchup...it's actually hard to believe the Friday Night SmackDown is produced by the same company that brings us Monday Night Raw. The former is a terrible, terrible mess...the big sporting even of the day is of course UFC 91, when heavyweight champion Randy "The Natural" Couture faces former college and WWE wrestling champion Brock Lesnar for the title, in only Lesnar's third fight in UFC. Frankly, I'll be surprised if Lesnar doesn't win, though Couture can win the fight by outthinking the inexperienced Lesnar. Should be an awesome fight...have a great Saturday.

Friday, November 14th, 2008

Evander Holyfield will fight Nikolai Valuev for one slice of the world heavyweight boxing championship on December 20th. This tells you all you need to know about the state of heavyweight boxing...Jose Calderon will miss at least a game? Memo to Pinnacle: I'm betting against the Raptors, money line...things I love about Hi Def: sports, Sarah Meehan, Kelly Kelly, Rachelle Leah...Nick Swisher is a Yankee? I think the Yankees have finally found a heart and soul guy like Paul O'Neill, provided Derek Jeter can't suck the personality out of him. And hey, they picked up Texeira - Kanekoa Texiera. Yes, I know the spelling is different, but the idea that Tex could be a Yankee has me moist...the MLB free agent season starts today, just over two hours ago. This is gonna be the best one in recent memory with the Yankees having lopped $90 million off their 2008 payroll. Here's a solid primer on who is available. It sounds like the Yankees will pounce on CC Sabathia, and fast..missed out on a Prime Time Pick yesterday, I blame this whole "not used to Thursday games" thing...rumors are flying that the Tampa Bay Lightning might soon be unable to meet payroll, which of course the NHL vehemently denies...the New York Jets are in first in the AFC East after a 34-31 OT win last night. Colour me shocked...Jason Blake wants to be moved from the Toronto Maple Leafs. No doubt they'd love to move him, if there was a big market for an overpaid goal scorer who can't score...Diego Maradona may quit as Argentina coach after a disagreement with a big wig in the Argentine FA. Hard to believe that situation would be volatile with the notoriously volatile Maradona, no?...UFC President Dana White says tomorrow's Randy Couture/Brock Lesnar fight will be the biggest pay-per-view fight in MMA history. Here's betting he's right...with three weeks to go, the amount of advertising for the Buffalo Bills vs. Miami Dolphins game in Toronto is incredible. Is anybody going to this thing?...in a result that should shock nobody, Cliff Lee is your AL Cy Young winner. Unlike the NL voting, there were not real candidates from winning teams that should've been ahead of Lee, unless you take the view a closer - Francisco Rodriguez - should be in the running..have a great Friday.

Wednesday, November 5th, 2008

Check out T-Mac going throwback to his college days with the t-shirt underneath his uniform. Oh, wait, lazy-eye didn't go to college. My bad...the Ottawa Senators are real hot on getting Mats Sundin inked, which would give them two lethal lines presumably with a top four of Sundin, Jason Spezza, Dany Heatley and Daniel Alfreddson. Also said to be interested are the New York Rangers, Philadelpia Flyers, Montreal Canadiens, Chicago Blackhawks, Anaheim Ducks, and of course, the Toronto Maple Leafs. My money - and hope - remains on my second fav team, the Rangers...apparently the declining price of oil has been felt by Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich: he's fired 15 of Chelsea's scouts...another day of Champion's League action goes today. I'm starting to feel a fever coming on at about 2:45 that will take me out of the office...guess who studies show as the worst defensive player in all of baseball? Yours truly checks in at comment 179 (on page 9)...how's this for election news: AJ Burnett has elected to opt out of his contract with the Toronto Blue Jays and has declared free agency. No word on if the New York Yankees have a rule about nipple rings being added to his contract language...there has always been that argument that Martin Brodeur, while great, has been aided significantly by a team that is defence first and defence second. With Brodeur now out three months or more with an injury, it'll be interesting to see what kind of numbers Kevin Weekes puts up as he takes over between the pipes...co-NBA player of the week Chris Bosh and the Toronto Raptors travel to Detoilet to face the Pistons tonight in an early season measuring stick. Bet Jose Calderon is thrilled that Chauncey Billups is gone from the Pistons. He typically whips him...Former NCAA, Olympic, WWE and TNA wrestling champion Kurt Angle is taking his MMA physical today and plans to venture into that world. Will be real interesting to see how he progresses, especially as he has talked of wanting to fight the winner of Randy Couture and Brock Lesnar. My money says he'll do just fine. Angle made a passionate argument on The Max Kellerman show for why pro wrestling is a lot harder on you than MMA...I find it strange how many people in Canada religiously bash the U.S. and claim to be anti-media, but have slurped the kool-aid on Barrack Obama and the "change" he will bring. Fact is, he's as establishment as any other politico but a heavily liberal leaning media has built him up as the Second Coming. Will he do a good job? Sure. Considering who he is following, the bar is pretty low. But don't expect miracles and a sudden arrival of world peace and roaring financial markets. You'll be sorely disappointed, no matter what Oprah tells you. Besides, I'd wager the vast majority polluting Facebook and the like with their declarations of how proud they are of the U.S. for electing Obama don't know their ass from an electoral college..have a great Wednesday.