Thursday, January 1st, 2008

Today is one of the rare occasions I get excited for an NHL game - the Winter Classic goes in Chicago today as the Black Hawks host the Detroit Red Wings. The Wings shut out the Hawks on Tuesday night 4-0 and have All World defenceman Nik Lidstrom coming back for this one, but have to like the youth of the Hawks to deal with the cold better than those old bones from Detroit. That, and the Hawks are a damn good team these days..the first of 365 Prime Time Picks for 2009 goes today, and they'll be tracked at the right of the page as well for verification purposes. All bets will be to win $100 just to keep it simple. Today, we're playing USC to cover the -8 points (-108) in the Rose Bowl against Joe Paterno and Penn State. Paterno will be coaching from the press box in this one after hip surgery, something you tend to need when you're older than God. If you want to play along, get your account set up with the fine folks at Pinnacle - it's easy, secure, and most importantly, yours truly gets a little kickback from them...a new DVD ought to be in the works - How To Trash Talk A Referree For Two Minutes And Not Get A Technical: by Rasheed Wallace of the Detroit Pistons...Dallas Cowboys Terence Newman ripped into the "coward" who not-so-anonymously went to the media to leak the meetings between wide receivers and offensive coordinator Jason Garrett. Said coward goes by the name "Jason Witten". It is going to get worse before it gets better in Dallas. My prediction for next move: a key player, or players, issue a "fire Phillips or trade me" edict to Jerry Jones...Bill Cowher didn't want to coach the New York Jets because he wants no part of Brett Favre as his quarterback. Smart man, that Cowher. After all, if there's one thing he wants, it is a QB who protects the ball and plays a system. Favre is said to have had serious issues over now-fired coach Eric Mangini calling out his decision making in film sessions...Scott Boras has gone crawling back to the LA Dodgers trying to revive interest in Manny Ramirez. You'd think after how he was embarrassed by A-Rod and the New York Yankees last season that maybe he learned to reign it in a little with the "smartest man in the room" act, but clearly that isn't the case. I hope the Dodgers offer $39 million over two years, giving ManRam a paycut from the money he'd have made staying in Boston, just to hear Mount ManRam errupt...have a great 2009!

Wednesday, December 31st, 2008

It is the last day of the year and a time to briefly look back. The latest cover of Sports Illustrated calls it the best sporting year ever and frankly, hard to disagree. From the fantastic Super Bowl finish that saw the New York Giants down the 18-0 New England Patriots, the incredible Wimbledon final that saw Rafael Nadal down Roger Federer, great soccer in the English Premier League and Champions League - both won by Manchester United - and a superb Euro 2008 won by Spain, the year had no shortage of individual and team performances to remember. Usain Bolt owned the Olympics with two awesome performances, and you have to mention Michael Phelps too, though Bolt covering the 100m in four fewer strides than has ever been done before screams "special," and, well, "freak". There were great come-from-nowhere teams in baseball's Tampa Bay Rays and Turkey at the Euro's who kept pulling out last gasp miracles and there were teams that lived up to expectations like the Detroit Red Wings, Stanley Cup winners and the Boston Celtics who transformed from the depths of the NBA to league fav and champion in one season. Not sure about you, but I continually was stunned at the rising popularity of UFC this year, and the conversations you'd hear at the office and about town before and after an event were unlike anything else, it is HUGE. At the same time, some stories just refused to go away - Roger Clemens and the performance enhancing drugs stories, Brett Favre's retirement and comeback, Mats Sundin's future and of course, the Brian Burke as Leafs General Manager soap opera - these stories got old and old fast. More locally, Toronto teams were a collective disaster, but at least Toronto FC has its newness to fall back on, for now. The Maple Leafs, Raptors and Argos? Not so much. What are your fav memories? Feel free to add them to the discussion today...in the Year of the Rat, it is only fitting that the last coach axed in the NFL this calendar year could well be a total rat lookalike in Mike Shanahan in Denver. Long time coming, to be sure, but that team's kept him through worse so it is certainly surprising he gets the axe now...the International Ice Hockey Federation is contemplating expanding the World Junior Hockey Championships to 12 teams at a time when the field of 10 looks bloated. Yeah, just what the game needs - Canada and other top nations pounding weak sisters by double digits...this is the first time in NFL history that all four road teams have been favored on Wild Card weekend...the Orlando Magic are 11-1 in their last 12 against the Western Conference...since becoming the starter in San Diego, Phillip Rivers is 14-0 in the month of December...Curtis Joseph picked up his 450th win last night in the Maple Leafs overtime win over Atlanta. Now, go and retire Cujo...word is that when he passed out in the shower on Sunday post-game, Tony Romo fumbled the soap and it was returned for a touchdown...have a great New Year's Eve everyone, catch you on the other side.

Sunday, November 9th, 2008

With a win over the Buffalo Bills, the New England Patriots will tie the longest active win streak against one team with 10 wins...the New York Giants have won 13 of 14 on the road. Tough not to like them plus the points today as they travel to face the Philadelphia Eagles...Josh Childress life as a basketballer in Europe: commercial flights, five hour bus trips, roommates in modest hotels and occasional games in 1,000 seat gyms. Yeah, I can see Kobe and Lebron going there, approximately never...somehow, the Tennessee Titans have gone 8-0 despite not having a single 200-yard passing game...Manchester United's Gary Neville really should retire. His brutal performance yesterday could be a championship deal breaker as United dropped a 2-1 thriller to Arsenal...CC Sabathia and Derek Jeter have been exchanging phone calls. Here's hoping it is for CC asking Jeter about a good place to live in New York...I know Remembrance Day is around the corner, but anybody able to guess what pictures of Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan are doing airing between periods of a hockey game? I prefer religion, politics and sport to not cross into each others domains...Al Strachan suggested on Hockey Night in Canada that if General Motors, Ford and Chrysler go bankrupt as some are predicting they will next year, the Detroit Red Wings won't last a year in Detroit because there will be a mass exodus from Detoilet. Scary thought, no? And actually seems possible in this environment...the last decade, no Stanley Cup winner played lower than .636 hockey in October (1999/2000 New Jersey Devils), with the other nine going .750 or better and an overall average of .801. Make of this what you will...the New York Rangers are looking for a compensatory draft pick because - wait for it! - Alexei Cherapanov was unsigned when he died last month. Seriously...Pat Gillick to run the Toronto Maple Leafs? Hardly ridiculous...the Leafs hammered the Montreal Canadiens last night 6-3, shocking anyone who cares about hockey...11-6 (+435) and that increases to 12-6 tonight when the New York Giants win outright at Philadelphia. The three points you're being given by the fine folks at Pinnacle are just a bonus. Also a big fan of Atlanta (-1), and have a weird belief that the Buffalo Bills (+4) can win in New England...have a great Sunday.

Friday, October 10th, 2008

Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison was fined $20,000 for criticizing officials after a bad call on Sunday. His comment is an instant classic: “You don’t make a call like that unless he might have money on it.” Betting - no pun intended - that has NFL Commissioner Rodger Goodell way more round up than a Pacman dust-up in a bathroom...Ottawa Senators owner Eugene Melnyk wants Mats Sundin, a message he delivered in Sweden last week...it was a banner night for the Detroit Red Wings last night, as they hoisted theirs, and a banner night for the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs, who rained on their parade in winning 3-2. Here comes the irrational hopes of the dreaded Leafs Nation...the Philadelphia Phillies rode a pair of homers to a 3-2 win in the series opener against the LA Dodgers. Game two goes at 4:20 Eastern, with game one of the ALCS following at 8:30...here's 10 reasons to care about the NHL, including snazzy new threads from the Carolina Hurricanes...just so Bukkake isn't left disappointed, Pacman Jones is playing this week...remember Clint Malarchuk, one time NHL goalie who famously had his jugular cut? As if that wasn't enough, he accidentally shot himself. In the face...the average score of the New York Giants first four wins is 32-12...good start for the Calgary Flames Craig Conroy and Rene Bourque: -4 last night...looks like the fine folks at EliteXC are under investigation for match fixing for last week's Kimbo Slice/Seth Petruzelli fight. Problem one if they were working a fix was that Petruzelli played the part of Butch Coolidge from Pulp Fiction and didn't work the fix, instead winning the fight...one big sign that the Leafs management is heading in the right direction: Don Cherry says they're not...Curtis Joseph and Shania Twain? Seriously? First Mutt, now Cujo?...have a great Friday.

Thursday, October 9th, 2008 - Cero Cinco

Today is a day I wonder "where would we be without photoshop?"...Cleveland Indians one-time slugger Travis Hafner - whose power seemed to disappear about the time drug testing came into play - has spent most of 2008 on the shelf and now they figure out he may need shoulder surgery? What were they doing with him the last five months?...seems a death in the family is what had Terrell Owens in tears on Sunday with a towel draped over his head...the NHL season starts today and my biggest fear is a Maple Leafs win over Detroit tonight for what the Toronto media and fan base will be spewing in the morning. That said, a blow-out might also be just as tough to stomach...Seth Petruzelli, who beat Kimbo Slice in 14 seconds in the EliteXC event, might have done more damage to that organization than knocking out its golden boy: he talked openly of how EliteXC promotors gave him enough cash to "make it worth his while" to stand and trade blows with Slice, rather than taking him to the ground where he isn't as good...since April 16 and including the postseason, the Tampa Bay Rays are 32-4 at the Trop in games decided by two or less...if Indy Colt Marvin Harrison's slow start could be blamed at all on being distracted over the summer shooting involving a gun of his, later dumped at a car wash he owns, he's about to get way more distracted: the victim is suing him and fingering him as the triggerman...Toronto FC coach John Carver is officially my fav coach in any sport. He's issued an ultimatum to Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment and GM Mo Johnston: open the purse strings and bring in a top notch player or he walks. Amen to that, J.C....Philadelphia Eagle Hank Baskett is having himself some cybersex with Hugh Hefner's now ex-girlfriend Kendra Wilkinson. Make of this what you will...UEFA boss Michel Platini is talking about salary caps being brought in to levelize the playing field for clubs in Europe. I think you'll see Paul Gascoine sober, sane, and Prime Minister of England before that happens...Michael Strahan is endorsing Vaseline? Yeah, that'll do wonders to keep his secret safe...have a great Thursday.