Big Papi wants a no-hitter

As predicted here, that Pittsburgh/Philly series is really shaping up to be doozy. The Flyers staved off elimination with a 3-0 win to send the series back to Philly. Two other shutouts last night as the New Jersey Devils beat Carolina 1-0 in a game where Martin Brodeur tied Patrick Roy's playoff shutout record, and Anaheim put San Jose one foot into the grave with a 4-0 win to take a 3-1 series lead...remember when Hull City was in the top five of the English Premier League earlier this year? They've fallen all the way to being potentially relegated...how weird will it be to see Tight End Tony Gonzalez in Atlanta Falcon gear after he was shipped for a second round pick in 2010?...how's this for a Toronto Raptor trade rumour: Tayshaun Prince for Chris Bosh. Discuss...if Boston Red Sock David Ortiz is chirping New York Yankee Joba Chamberlain to not buzz Kevin Youkilis - again - it must be with a Sox/Yanks series around the corner, and that's what we get this weekend for the first three of the season in Beantown. Big Papi doesn't have to worry about Joba or anyone buzzing him, he's far easier to just pitch to...the Tampa Bay Lightning leaking that they were in discussions with the Montreal Canadiens to trade Vinny Lecavalier may be unusual, but I'd hardly call it a contributing factor to the Habs flameout versus Boston the way Bob Gainey is painting it. If that's the case, then a late season coaching change and benching of a star player for a couple games is even more of a distraction...reason #862 it is embarrassing being a fan of the Toronto Maple Leafs: the sheer number I've seen on Facebook celebrating the Habs demise. Kind of odd to celebrate that when your team was out since November, no? Had one guy tell me he's just annoyed by the superiority complex of Habs fans. Well, why wouldn't they act that way towards the Leafs and their fans? The Leafs haven't done jack. Damn you, TV, for airing Leafs games when I was a child and making me a fan of that joke of a team, and worse, aligning me with the most moronic group of fans. I'm begging for a second team closer to home...back with your PTP later today.

Real Stunned

With Steven Gerrard out and Fernando Torres on the bench for the second half due to injury, you'd think that Liverpool wouldn't win at Real Madrid? Win they did, hard as it may be to believe. Also winners were Chelsea against a surprisingly flat Juventus squad, and Bayern Munich who flattened Sporting Lisbon 5-0 on the road. Villareal and Panathanaikos drew...one week until NHL Trade Deadline day. Expect far more discussion than actual activity of consequence. The Ottawa Senators are going to look to move any unrestricted free agents, including Filip Kuba and Chris Neil, and it ought to be an interesting week as Brian Burke looks to move virtually everyone from the Toronto Maple Leafs...it only took two at-bats, the first a walk, for A-Rod to go yard in the New York Yankees first Grapefruit League game. There will be no referencing wins and losses in Spring Training as that is entirely irrelevant...John Tortorella has a rule about not stepping on the team logo for his New York Rangers. Scott Gomez hasn't stepped across the logo on the ice at Madison Square Garden or elsewhere all season...Jerry Jones is musing on a Super Bowl at his new stadium with 125,000 fans in attendance, and talking of how he can get to that number by removing the arm rests in parts of the stadium to get more people in. After all, when you think of paying ridiculous ticket prices for the Super Bowl, why would you assume you've got the luxury of arm rests?...The LA Lakers are 29-2 when Kobe Bryant scores 29 or less, 18-8 when he goes north of that number...Scott Clemenssen carried the New Jersey Devils in goal with Martin Brodeur out, but is now back to the AHL with Brodeur coming back. Life is not always fair, clearly. How is he not dangled at the deadline?...a nice and easy under last night in the Boston Celtics/LA Clippers game. Here's hoping the ship has been righted...have a great Thursday, back with your PTP later today.

3:22pm UPDATE: Going off the beaten path with a limited NBA board, and not happy with how the NHL has gone of late and playing an NCAA hoops pick. Play Louisiana Tech -2.5 tonight. Good luck!

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.