The King Is Dead

Have you ever seen a team go from total dominance through two rounds of the NBA playoffs to a no-show in an elimination game than the Cleveland Cavs? The Cavs lost 103-90 to Orlando last night, and it wasn't even as close as that score. LeBron James wasn't talking post-game. Also something I haven't seen: the Eastern Conference trophy. Seriously, don't recall ever seeing that in the decades I've watched hoops...Everton opened the scoring in the first minute, but Chelsea proved to be the far stronger side as they lifted the FA Cup with a 2-1 win that seemed unlikely when forever the bridesmaid Michael Ballack came on for Chelsea...told that pitcher Chien-Ming Wang is upset that he isn't back in the starting rotation, New York Yankees GM Brian Cashman got off this gem: "his contract says 'baseball player', not 'starting pitcher'"...LA Dodgers manager Joe Torre says Manny Ramirez shouldn't go to the all-star game if he gets voted in. He also once said those still involved in the game shouldn't write books on the game, so there is that...Kansas City Royals stud pitcher Zach Grienke - only the third starting pitcher in the live ball era to have an ERA under 1.00 after his first 10 starts - gives great quote. Note the title of this piece here and you'll know what I mean by "great"...Chicago Cub Carlos Zambrano received a six game ban for his meltdown a few nights back. Does anything less than 10 days really mean much to a pitcher?...the NHL is expected to announce the Winter Classic is heading to Fenway Park. Also said to be in the works is a November date between the Montreal Canadiens and a visiting Toronto Maple Leafs team at Olympic Stadium. Awesome idea...tough day for #4 seeds at the French Open. Novak Djokovic is out on the men's side, while Elena Dementieva bowed out of the women's draw...the Washington Nationals are on pace to win 43 games this year. Soon to be #1 draft pick, flamethrower Stephen Strasburg, better be as good as advertised if they're going to ever turn it around...in the playoffs so far, Sidney Crosby and Gino Malkin have combined for an astounding 26 of the Pittsburgh Penguins 66 goals (39.4%) but the Detroit Red Wings shut them down last night and that was enough to give the Wings the opening game in the Stanley Cup finals with a 3-1 win...how to spend $1.5 billion in two minutes. Well, covering almost three years in two minutes of the construction of Cowboys Stadium in Dallas...the Toronto Sun's Steve Simmons outlines what the Toronto Maple Leafs off-season should look like. Well worth a read...have a great Sunday.

The Cups runeth over

Where's the arena to the left, you wonder? That's what Jim Balsillie is hoping to shape Copps Coliseum into. More here. And nice touch here having the hot ladies ogled by the creepy looking dude in the shades...the Toronto Blue Jays stopped their losing streak from reaching double digits with a 6-3 win over the Boston Red Sox. Mix in a New York Yankees win over Cleveland and the Bronx Bombers are alone in first place for the first time since the last day of the 2006 season...the LA Lakers are back in the NBA Finals after dispatching the Denver Nuggets. Have to say, I'm a bit surprised they turned it around as they did. They'll await the winner of Orlando and Cleveland's series, which sees game 6 tonight at the O-rena, or whatever they're calling it these days...Setanta Sports is carrying the FA Cup this morning, with Chelsea facing Everton at London's Wembley Stadium. Can't imagine Chelsea doesn't win this one comfortably. I'm in on the split line of -0.5 -1 -110 on Chelsea...Toronto FC star Dwayne De Rosario visits his former team - the Houston Dynamo - tonight. I'm guessing a very motivated DeRo puts on a show and TFC take three very key points on the road. Kickoff is 8:30 on SportsNet. I'm in on TFC at a great-value +383..not only is the Real Madrid at Toronto FC game happening, it will not be offered to season ticket holders as part of their one international friendly, for which they're already holding tickets. Ticket prices have not been announced, but my guess is MLSE is consulting with the New York Yankees about appropriate pricing models, starting with arm/leg and moving up to first born child and so on. Nice of MLSE to put a grass field in to accommodate Real, that has to make Toronto FC's players who've been begging to have grass installed for years feel great that it is good enough for an exhibition game, but not for the guys it pays every week. MLSE sucks, and we the fans swallow it all...the Stanley Cup starts tonight, and hard not to like the Pittsburgh Penguins at +134 for the series, I'm in on that too. Get down at Pinnacle. Pitt in 6 is my call, against the odds..today, I have gambling issues...have a great Saturday. May the winners be ours, and if not, at least mine.

4:20, Bob

Seems there are some baseball people concerned that the new Yankee Stadium is a homer launching pad, particularly to right field. I'm going to guess the early totals are more an aberration, aided by "The Wang Effect" more than anything...is it just me, or does it seem everytime Toronto FC gives up a goal, the incredibly overrated Jim Brennan is in the vicinity and barking at someone else that they're to blame? All too common. TFC lost 3-2 at Dallas last night, victimized by a very bad penalty kick call in the dying minutes. Adrian Serioux? Stud. Best move of the off-season so far. Shame he's surrounded by such mediocre - being nice - defenders...Manchester United took an FA Cup semi-final win over Everton for granted judging by their resting of several prominent players yesterday, and they paid for it, losing in penalties. No quintuple this season, but a quad is still doable. Everton moves on to face Chelsea in the final May 30th..if you were asked to guess which Toronto Blue Jay is hitting .208 with no homers and six RBI, you probably guess a bench player, maybe John McDonald. But not Alex Rios, who if he doesn't get it turned around soon, he'll be in the running for worst Toronto pro signing since Bryan McCabe, Jason Kapono and Vernon Wells for the what he's produced since signing an extension two offseasons ago. Shocking it hasn't cost the Blue Jays, who are off to an impressive start...Randy Johnson is the latest pitcher in an early season trend of guys taking no-hitters into the late innings. Also a crazy trend: batters hitting for cycles. Most years you're lucky to see one. There have been 3? already this year...finally caught the Anderson Silva vs. Thales Leites fight at UFC 97. Perhaps the dullest main event in UFC history. Even UFC head honcho Dana White called it embarrassing...the San Jose Sharks, nearly bullet proof at home this season, are now down 2-0 in the series after a pair of home losses against the Anaheim Ducks and are in need of the Heimlich Manoeuvre . I'm not saying they're done, but they can't be a confident bunch given their playoff history. Looking strong are the Vancouver Canucks, a game from sweeping the St. Louis Blues. If the old adage is true that it isn't a series until a team has lost at home, then the Philadelphia Flyers are in business after a 6-3 win to cut Pittsburgh's series lead to 2-1. Yes, that was 9 goals in a game...one team that wasn't about to open any doors at home for the visitors was the LA Lakers, who hammered the Utah Jazz in the curtain raiser on that series. At the opposite end of that are the Orlando Magic, who turned an 18-point lead into a loss to the Philadelphia 76ers. Betting Stan Van Jeremy is wound tighter than a snare drum right now...the Miami Heat scored all of 64 points in a 90-64 loss at Atlanta. Thanks for coming...back with your PTP later...finally today, in honour of it being 4:20, the always hilarious contestant on The Price Is Right working in 4:20. View below.

London Showdown

UFC 97 goes tonight from Montreal, and no doubt, the town will be rocking. Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva takes on Thales Leites in the main event with something to prove after being less than his usual overwhelming self in his last fight against Patrick Cote. Chuck Lidell faces Mauricio Rua in a crossroads fight for those two - the loser goes way down the pecking order. The rest of the card can be seen here. Of course, if you're not at a bar, ordering at home or don't have the highly recommended Free To Air setup, you can watch here...the English Premier League is back in business today, but the FA Cup semi-finals is going to get all the attention over the next few days. Today, Arsenal face Chelsea in one semi-final loaded with intrigue. Coverage is on Setanta Sports, or if you don't have that, you can watch online here. RM is bringing you more piracy today than a trip through Somali waters...the Miami Dolphins are this year's Pittsburgh Steelers. No, not the team that will win the Super Bowl - they won't - but with respect to having the toughest schedule, they are. The entire breakdown can be seen here...San Diego Padres pitcher Heath Bell believes that ESPN only cares about the New York Yankees and Mets and Boston Red Sox. This is what happens when you pitch for the San Diego Padres. They're high profile, Heath, with huge followings and all happen to be contenders, of course they're going to get run...distant cousin Tony Mandarich says in four years as a Green Bay Packer, he never had a sober day. Hey, it was the 80's...if anyone has seen the offense in the NHL, it'd be great to have it returned. It is funny that some of the same people that deride soccer for being low scoring can praise the playoffs as exciting and credit good defense and goaltending in the very next breath. 11 goals total in three games last night, two of them in OT and one an empty netter. Vancouver and Pittsburgh are both up a pair of games after last night, while Carolina evened their set with New Jersey...have a great Saturday, back with your PTP later.

Tragically hip

Terrell Owens had a gem of a quote at his Buffalo Bills presser, noting that he's gone from America's Team to North America's Team, with the Bills of course playing in Toronto annually now. Guessing that the locals in Buffalo will not appreciate that so much. Hot on the heels of that, somebody came up with 10 reasons T.O. should have gone to the CFL. Owens scored 58 touchdowns in 65 games over three seasons with the Cowboys, more than any other wideout in the NFL in that period...watching midgets fight is like watching regular sized people fight from far away...the FA Cup semi-final draw has taken place and Manchester United will take on Everton, and Hull City or Arsenal will face Chelsea...like the NFL with Ron Mexico and others, you can no longer buy a customized A-Fraud jersey. A-Rod will be out 6-9 weeks after wisely opting for surgery to repair the torn labrum in his hip. Coming back towards the end of April or in May is a far better option than being a bad step away from being out for that time come later in the year. His doctor figures the six week time frame is likely..I nearly broke a rib laughing at this site that illustrates how to pee with morning wood...seems that there is indeed a limit to what the New York Yankees can charge for premium tickets, as some remain unsold at their new palace. For a mere $325 per ticket per game, you can get some great seats. For $2,500, you can get real close..here's a peak at the 10 most gruesome sports injuries. Not sure how Eduardo's broken leg playing for Arsenal last year didn't make the cut, but there's sure some bad ones in this list...continuing with the quick hits today, here's a page with the best male photo bombers. Awesome stuff...I'm amazed it has taken so long, but a lawyer by the name of David Cornwell, in the running to become the new head of the players union, has spoken out and questioned the legality of Roger Goodell dispensing discipline on players for offenses off the field. I'll be shocked if he doesn't win some concessions in that regard if he gets to the bargaining table for the next labor deal...Toronto Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke on whether fighting will get banned in the NHL: "I will personally challenge anyone who wants to get rid of fighting to a fight." Funny, but Burke is getting far too serious over something that does little to nothing to enhance the game...Arsenal striker Eduardo ended the debate as to who scored the goal of 2009 yesterday. There won't be one better than this...back later with your PTP.

4:53pm EDIT: Niagara is your PTP for the night - that's NCAA hoops for the uninitiated. 9pm tip.