Rogers to buy Leafs/Raptors/TFC/Marlies?

Rogers Communications is in talks to drop $1.3 billion to buy the Ontario Teacher's Pension Fund'sMaple Leaf Sports and Entertainment share in .  The move would make Rogers the largest shareholder in MLSE, and give them control of the Maple Leafs, Raptors, Toronto FC and the Marlies, the Air Canada Centre, Ricoh and BMO Field, in addition to their ownership of the Blue Jays and their building.  That'd be some powerhouse of an ownership group, but if I'm a Jays fan, can't imagine I'm thrilled to be in bed with the Leafs, who dominate all things Toronto.  Glad to see my monthly contributions to Rogers by my cell, cable, internet and home phone bills aren't at all profitable.  At least they get those right, their sporting record is poor, at best, if you consider their Jays run and how well their "Bills in Toronto" investment has gone.  Buried in all that talk is word that MLSE President Richard Peddie will be packing it in on December 31st.  Unfortunately, 2011 and not 2010.  He's a shoe-in to be Gary Bettman's speech writer, given how well he does smug through repeated failure.

A thief, and the suspicion is it is somebody that knew the family and certainly the circumstances, broke into the van of Pat Burns widow during his funeral and snagged a bunch of memorabilia that was due for a charity auction.  If there is a hell, that clown has a special spot reserved I'm hoping.

As if the Minnesota Vikings weren't already treating their fanbase so well this season, with one circus after the next, they're upped the ante: they're talking moving to Los Angeles now.  The Vikes lease at the Metrodome expires after next season, whether there is one or not.

If you're at all an NBA fan, and want a great look at the drama queens that are the Miami Heat, check out this podcast with Bill Simmons and Dan Le Batard in which they dissect where the Heat are, and where they're going.  Simmons figures Chris Bosh will be ultimately dealt - I'm hoping somewhere really happening like Sacramento or Memphis - while Le Batard says it'll be Dwayne Wade that gets moved.  Great stuff.  The Heat, if you haven't heard, are in Cleveland tomorrow night.

At even strength, where he plays the majority of his shifts, Toronto Maple Leaf winger Phil Kessel is tied for 160th in NHL scoring. He's 2 points ahead of defenceman, and not exactly scoring machine, Mike Komisarek.  Oh, and the Leafs blew a 3-1 lead and lost in overtime to the Tampa Bay Lightning.  Can Ron Wilson anytime now, will you?

Another week in the NFL books, another fine for Pittsburgh Steeler James Harrison.  This time, Harrison was fined for a helmet shot to the chest of Buffalo Bills QB Ryan Fitzpatrick who was allegedly defenceless.  Looking at it, seems Zinedine Zidane's famed head butt to Marco Materazzi in the World Cup final of 2006 was a stiffer shot, minus pads, and didn't get dinged $25k if I recall.

Jim Rome says Derek Jeter doesn't just need to drink some "reality potion", as someone in the New York Yankees organization has suggested, but that a keg of would be more appropriate.  When one of the top shortstops in the game - in his prime - in Troy Tulowitzki signs for $16 million a year, how does Jeter figure he's worth more?

Tomorrow, FIFA will announce which nations will play host to the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.  There's a breakdown for 2018 here, for which Russia is the fav, and one here for 2022, for which the United States is expected to win the bidding.

Signs of life in The Bronx

San Francisco Giant Buster Posey may look like a kid, but he's playing like a seasoned vet in his rookie year.  A mere 4-for-4 night led the way for the Giants in a 6-5 win where they scored the winner in the last inning for the guy who has to be the 2010 NL Rookie of the Year (apologies to Jayson Heyward).  The Giants now hold a 3-1 lead over the Phillies with Game 5 slated for tonight.  Pretty decent pitching match-up in Roy Halladay and Tim Lincecum, no?  That one goes at 7:57pm (Eastern).  I might be in the minority, but baseball's playoffs rule, save for the commercials that stretch games way beyond what need happen.

The New York Yankees finally showed some signs of life last night and rode the back of a gritty CC Sabathia start in a must-win game to a 7-2 win.  The ghosts of Yankee Stadium showing up and pushing the Texas Rangers into a mistake filled second inning didn't hurt the cause, nor did homers from Nick Swisher and Robinson Cano.  Game 6 goes in Texas tomorrow night.

Pittsburgh Steeler linebacker James Harrison is said to be contemplating retirement because he's so livid over the NFL's $75,000 fine on him for his nasty hit on Mohammod Massaquoi of the Cleveland Browns Sunday.  Of course, Harrison didn't help his cause by admitting Monday he was out to hurt guys.  Retirement?  Really?  Me thinks Harrison is a bit of a drama queen.  Who would retire with your team just about the favorite to win the Super Bowl right now?

Champions League group play saw eight games take place yesterday. Inter Milan raced out to a 4-0 lead after an early red card on Tottenham's 'keeper Gomes, but Spurs made it real interesting and it ended 4-3.  The group stage is now half complete and only Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Lyon, Real Madrid and Arsenal are a perfect 3-0.

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson says the Wayne Rooney issue will be "put to bed" this morning.  I'm sure a guy who has had several allegations of marital infidelities recently is thrilled with Ferguson's choice of words.  Former EPL cokehead striker Robbie Fowler, now playing in Australia, says that Rooney is interested in playing in the Aussie A-League.  Right, just as soon as he spends a couple years with Toronto FC.

I can't say I've ever much paid attention to or respected the dozen's of NFL Power Rankings that appear every week, but this one caught my eye simply for the dominance of the AFC.  You're into the sixth slot before a single NFC team appears.

Dallas Cowboys Tight End Jason Witten tweeted that his kids were going to go out as Buzz Lightyear and Woody of Toy Story fame for Hallowe'en.  So of course, yours truly thought it would be a good idea to respond with this: "dressing as Wade and Jason far scarier."  In typical Cowboy fashion, he did not respond.

I generally take up for Terrell Owens because he has always kept his nose clean of a lot of the off-the-field that a lot of other guys get a pass for to a greater degree than you should relative to a guy who trashed the odd QB (see Favre, Brett).  And while I'd never take up for Ben Roethlesberger and his act of recent years that saw multiple allegations of sexual assault, T.O. trying to compare his suspension to Michael Vick's and imply he got off lighter is just rhetoric.  One, Roethlesberger wasn't charged with anything and got four games.  Two, Vick was charged with something got three games.  It was the John Q. Laws that took care of the rest of his time from the game with a stay in the crowbar motel.

Do not mess with the St. Leonard Cougar's of the Ontario Football League.  Check out their act at Ivor Lose Stadium in Hamilton on Saturday in their league semis, as a dozen or so players ventured into the stands with bad intentions and got into it with fans.  My personal fav comes around the 21 second mark.  Watch left of the screen as #40 crowns a guy with a milk crate shot that Mick Foley would think was stiff.  Good of the refs to let it go for a couple minutes before slowly wading in to try to separate people.

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.