Don't set your alarm, Chuck.

Could the Toronto Blue Jays be following the Raptors and having a good chunk of games on TSN2? It could be, if their home network of SportsNet or TSN don't pick up the slack. CBC has declined to pick up games after their two year deal expired. Not good days in Jaysland...the conventional thought in the NFL is it is tough to beat a team three times in one year. Reality is that in the free agency era, when a team has a chance to go 3-0 against a divisional foe, 65% of the time they've managed to do it. So call that another thing leaning towards the Pittsburgh Steelers...strange NFL playoff stat: Eli Manning has no touchdowns and 5 interceptions for his career playing at home...no late revealing of the PTP today, it is Manchester United at -1 -110 as they travel to face Bolton. Catch that game at 10am on Setanta Sports...if you're a believer in the Sports Illustrated jinx, you'll know that the Carolina Panthers were featured on the cover of the last issue. This week? The Pittsburgh Steelers...Newcastle United's Shola Ameobi returned home after a road trip with the Magpies to find his house turned upside down, so he called the police and reported a burglary, and then proceeded to remember he had left it that way. Nice play, Shola. Wonder if they test for weed in the EPL?...pretty understandable why the Tampa Bay Bucs would bounce coach Jon Gruden and GM Bruce Allen - didn't that guy manage Bryan Adams? - but strange timing, no? Guessing Gruden is sour about the timing given some of the college jobs that have come and gone, not to mention how far along certain NFL job interviews have gone. Upside? Maybe Jerry Jones in Dallas will see that making a move with strange timing beats no move at all...it almost seems impossible to believe: Ladanian Tomlinson can be had for a 4th rounder...has Toronto Raptor Jason Kapono ever broken a sweat?...have a great Saturday.

Friday, January 2nd, 2009

New York Jet running back Thomas Jones could be my new favorite player for blowing up Brett Favre as a self-centred, ineffective, team-killing sideshow who should have been benched for his terrible play the way anybody else would've. Good for Jones for giving Favre the treatment he has so richly earned...a nice and easy open to the year for Prime Time Picks as USC smoked Penn State 38-24 in the Rose Bowl. Up today, we're playing Russia at -2 (-103) at the World Junior Hockey Championships as they face the Czech Republic in quarter-final action. Get down with Pinnacle...Barroid Bonds had some work done on a hip to keep the flame of his professional career flickering for 2009. An alleged steroid user with joing issues? Weird...8,000 tickets remain unsold for the Minnesota Vikings home playoff game against Philadelphia this weekend. Clearly, the state of the economy is a big factor. When an NFL team is struggling to move playoff ducats, have to wonder what baseball teams are seeing in terms of season ticket sales for the 2009 year...just testing a little something today, please click here...San Diego Chargers LaDanian Tomlinson and Antonio Gates missed practice ahead of their playoff game this week. Just to confirm, it is 2009 and not 2008, though the stories remains the same. How does it make sense that the Bolts get home field at 8-8 instead of the Indianapolis Colts who were 12-5?...going back to Canada's thrilling 7-4 win over the U.S. in the World Junior Hockey Championships on New Year's Eve for a second, I'm amazed at how many are up in arms over the stick popping out of the American bench as the Canadians skated by celebrating a goal in the first period. Think about it: if the roles were reversed, what would your reaction be? Celebrating in front of the other teams bench like that is bush, and pretending it won't get some kind of reaction is naive...Eli Manning took a not-at-all veiled swipe at Dallas Cowboys QB Tony Romo. When asked what his plans were with the time off this week before they host their playoff game next week, Eli replied: "my plans to Cabo fell through, so I'm going to stay here. That's a joke, by the way". Have to say, clever, and strong...my fav bars: HiFi in New York City, and Refaeli...Charles Barkley ran the stop sign the night he got a DUI because he was racing to get around the corner to get some action from the girl who had given him the "best [blowjob] he had ever had in his life." Check out the police report here. Nice stuff, Chuck, other than the idiotic move of driving after drinking enough to fail a field sobriety test...a fantastic piece on the great day for the NHL at Wrigley Field, though the idea that Canada isn't an option seems odd. You'd think it'd be a natural. That said, a game in the new Yankee Stadium, or better - in Central Park - would be as good as it gets...have a great Friday.

Monday, December 15th, 2008

A Prime Time Pick never felt so good as the Dallas Cowboys easily covered the three points in a 20-8 win over the New York Giants. Tonight, we're gunning for 18-12 and playing the Philadelphia Eagles at -14 to keep pace in the NFC playoff race...in Marion Barber, Felix Jones and Tashard Choice, the Dallas Cowboys have three fantastic running backs...you're up with 2 minutes to play in an NFL game. You run, right? Not the Buffalo Bills. They confounded the six losers who still play QB1 and called a pass play, leading to a big hit on QB JP Losman, a fumble recovery for a touchdown and a sudden win by the New York Jets...the Miami Dolphins haven't given up a touchdown in three games. Them or Jets will win the division if they win out, and to make it real interesting, they face each other in Week 17...scratch the Ottawa Sens off the list of possible destinations for Mats Sundin. He's expected to sort out his landing spot this week, with the New York Rangers, Chicago Blackhawks and Vancouver Canucks the likely landing spots...during the writing of this entry, Eli Manning was sacked again. And again...say what you will about the Pittsburgh Steelers not winning with a whole lot of style, the fact remains they're getting it done despite the NFL's toughest schedule. They're my pick to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl...in a move that ought to surprise nobody, Sean Avery is done in Dallas. Wonder if NHL owners will push for non-guaranteed deals at the next labour deal? Bryan McCabe would "never" play in such an environment, of course, but the world would adjust...so much for Chelsea going tops yesterday. Like the other top sides, they drew this week as well. This is shaping up to be the best EPL race in years, just for how many teams are in the mix...former Giant Tiki Barber admit that he was wrong about Eli Manning's leadership abilities. Thanks Tiki, what's next, the sky is blue?...have a great Monday.

Thursday, October 16th, 2008

Sure, visible minorities may be shrinking in number in baseball, but Fox Sports Ken Rosenthal posits that they may not be looking to sign with the Boston Red Sox because of the perception they are a very "white" team. The BoSox look to survive tonight in Game 5 at Fenway...the Philadelphia Phillies punched their ticket to the World Series, riding a dominant Cole Hamels start. They did this despite Jimmy Rollins, Ryan Howard and Chase Utley hitting a combined .250 in the playoffs so far...Charles Barkley says in terms of point guards, Chris Paul is driving, with Deron Williams in the back seat. Steve Nash? He's in the trunk, says Sir Charles. That would put Jose Calderon somewhere around the tailpipe...my boy Wayne Rooney is in some kind of form for England, scoring his sixth goal in five games yesterday with a pair against Belarus. Would prefer he saves those up - all of them - for Manchester United...What year is this? Shaq's been vowing to make the free throws when they count for over a decade, but whining that Hack-A-Shaq doesn't work because a certain team didn't go all the way despite them knocking you out isn't the height of logic...Tony Romo will be giving it a go after all so to those that were salivating at beating the Cowboys and Brad Johnson - which only the Giants would've in the next three - dial it down. Sounds like Romo isn't the only QB in the NFC East that is hurting: Eli Manning is banged up, too..Madonna and Guy Ritchie are officially done. Expect a bevy of uninspired A-Rod comments today...Andy Pettitte wants to pitch for the Yankees in 2009. I love Pettitte, but it is time to shut it down Andy. Of course, I said the same about Mike Mussina last year and we know how that turned out...if you can pre-order, it must be true: Chinese Democracy is coming out next month. Is there any need to even say who the artist is?...New York Knick Eddy Curry maight want to mix in a salad: he sat on a resistance ball, and it blew up...a Vancouver group including Steve Nash, and a Montreal group including Habs and Liverpool owner George Gillett are among the seven bidders for two MLS franchises...and hey, what ever happened to YF?...have a great Thursday.