Get a coffee, we're in for a long one today...

A wild one in Atlanta yesterday saw the San Francisco Giants working a shutout into the eighth before - who else? -  Eric Hinske hit a 2-run homer to give the Braves their only two runs of the game, and 2-1 lead. Hinske, you may recall, has been in the last three World Series with the Boston Red Sox, Tampa Bay Rays, and New York Yankees. Could he make it four with Atlanta?  How crazy is that streak as it stands?  I digress.  The Giants came back and won it with a pair of their own in the 9th for a 3-2 win.  Probably helped that Braves 2B Brooks Conrad had a day for the ages with three brutal errors.  The Giants now lead that series 2-1.

The Philadelphia Phillies did the expected yesterday and eliminated the Cincinnati Reds with a dominant start from Cole Hamels, a complete game shutout, for a 2-0 win.  The Reds managed all of 11 hits in the series, not good for a team that led the NL in hitting this season.  Chase Utley was greeted by chants of "Cheater!" after selling a hit by pitch.  Funny, don't see the front page debate on that like it was when Derek Jeter did the same which, of course, was my point back then: if it isn't a Yankee, people don't care near so much.

Arizona Cardinals beat the defending Super Bowl Champion New Orleans Saints yesterday. Guess if anyone is going to have a Super Bowl hangover, you'd have to bet on New Orleans. Looks like the Madden Curse is alive and well.

Phil "Any Dead Air" Simms is at least the spiritual brother of Pierre MacGuire, no?  Never a moment of silence. Loved his saying that Miles Austin is one of the key reasons the Dallas Cowboys got rid of Terrell Owens. That would've been some serious crystal ball work, since Austin surprised everyone last October after having no previous impact or even consideration, six months after they cut ties with T.O.  Keep swinging, Simms.   The Cowboys once again were their own worst enemies in a 34-27 loss to Tennessee.

The AFC South is a four-way tie at 3-2.

Word is the Brett Favre/Jenn Sterger case is on the fast track with the NFL. No word from Tiger...errr...Favre since. He may even be suspended. Somewhere, Ben Roethlesberger is smiling.

Had a debate recently over the merits of Carson Palmer, who I think has been ridiculously overrated in general, but especially since blowing out his knee almost five years back. Yesterday's showing against Tampa Bay convinced me he's more than just overrated, he's terrible.

Speaking of QB's having rough days, I didn't expect much from the Chicago Bears Todd Collins (4 INTs), but Aaron Rodgers brutal showing in a 16-13 loss in Washington was unexpected.

Settle down, Toronto Maple Leafs fans, the salute the players did to the fans at the end of Saturday's game is not something so original you should be celebrating. It is something teams like the New York Rangers have done for years, and something soccer teams the world over have done forever.  Stay in your lane, the season is but two games old.

Carolina, Buffalo and San Francisco are all 0-5 on the NFL season.  While Buffalo's mark isn't that surprising, and Carolina's you could have maybe seen coming, San Francisco's is something else when they were touted to win their (joke of a) division.  The Bills Donte Whitner says they're the "laughingstock of the league".  Don't be see hard on yourself, DW, you've got plenty of company.  That said, moving to a 3-4 defence hasn't done wonders, as the Bills have given up a league high 161 points.

After divorcing the Toronto Raptors and separating from the Leafs, I'm looking at counseling with the Dallas Cowboys.

A real tough call tonight for the Prime Time Picks (now sitting at 7-3, details on the right side of the page).  Minnesota badly needs at win and are visiting the New York Jets, who appear to be rolling.  Mix in Randy Moss on a Monday Night for the second straight week and you get even more plot-lines. My inital thought was Jets -4.5 (+102) and I'm sticking with that.

Love Chris Berman's Freudian slip here...

TFC steal one

The ancient rivals Liverpool and Manchester United will get it on this morning at 8:30 at Old Trafford. I've got a feeling United run wild, though Fernando Torres has ripped United apart in recent games.

Toronto FC stole three points last night in Houston with two goals from Dwayne DeRosario in the last 30 minutes, the second in the last minute of the game.  Massive win.

Joe Torre announced he won't return as the LA Dodgers manager next year. I'm sure the money troubled, sub-.500 Dodgers are real sour about having to replace him with the far cheaper Don Mattingly next year.

Your Prime Time Pick (3-0, +$300) for tonight is the New York Giants +5.  And if I like it at +5, I like the +9.5 one of my buddies gave me last night even more!  MZ, you're gonna hurt.

Kurt Warner had a higher quarterback ranking than Joe Montana. True story.

If you don't dial in to the Jim Rome Show daily, or aren't a Jungle Insider like yours truly, be sure to tune into TSN2 weekdays for Jim Rome is Burning. It doesn't have the comedy so much, and no clones obviously, but a quick look at his main takes of the day.

Love that the day after Jose Bautista sets the Toronto Blue Jays single season homer record on Friday, the cover of the Toronto Star sports section is filled with an article on Toronto Maple Leaf Phil Kessel showing up to camp - gasp! - in shape. Bautista was relegated to the inside. Shame.

Caught ESPN's 30 for 30 on Michael Jordan. What were the odds that when he rounded the bases after his first home run, the two guys greeting him at the plate wore #8 and #13, and his dad died on August 13th (8th month, 13th day). Why I notice stuff like that is beyond me.

Have a great Sunday.

Get comfortable, we're in for a long entry...

Why are all the cameras behind me?

The New York Jets couldn't have been much worse last night.  All of six first downs and a mere 14 penalties in a 10-9 home field loss to the Baltimore Ravens.  Looks good on them, after all the talk the last eight months, not to mention Hard Knocks, from a team that wouldn't have even made the playoffs last year if not for Indianapolis deciding they didn't want to go for a perfect season and tanking a game against the Jets late in the season.  It isn't going to get any easier for the Jets in Week 2, what with the New England Patriots visiting.  At a Jets practice last week, with former Miss Universe contestant Ines Sainz in attendance, now working for TV Azteca, a Mexican TV station - rear view at right - the Jets got juvenile with it and made several lewd comments directed her way, and were intentionally sending balls in her direction - footballs, that is - so they'd collide with her.  Needless to say, she's not ugly.  And of course, the NFL is investigating.

With first place in the AL East on the line, you'd think it was a buzzing crowd in Tampa Bay with the New York Yankees visiting.  Mix in leading Cy Young candidates David Price and CC Sabathia and you'd think a full house was guaranteed.  Nope.  The building was 3/4 full with 26,000 and change in attendance.  Terrible.  As for the game, it was a beauty.  Sabathia gave up no runs and two hits over eight frames and struck out nine while Price gave up no runs and three hits while fanning four over eight.  The Rays won it 1-0 in the 11th inning when Sergio Mitre - and why is he pitching in any important situation? - served up a meatball to Reid Brignac that he deposited into the right field seats, and they move a half game up on the Yankees.  If that's a playoff preview, October is gonna be awesome.

If the current standings hold into October, the eight playoff managers will bring a combined three World Series titles (as managers) into the postseason. Atlanta's Bobby Cox, the Yankees' Joe Girardi and Philadelphia's Charlie Manuel have one each.  That would mark the lowest such total since 1999, when Joe Torre's two (at the time) and Cox's one made for three. Last year, there were 10 October managerial winners with Torre (four), Boston's Terry Francona , (two), St. Louis' Tony La Russa (two), Manuel (one) and the Angels' Mike Scioscia (one).  What does it all mean?  Not much, but an interesting fact.

After a performance reminiscent of his pre-jail days on Sunday, Michael Vick isn't holding back, suggesting had he played the entire game on Sunday, his Philadelphia Eagles might have beat the Green Bay Packers.

The always funny DJ Gallo reviews Week 1 of the NFL.  Definitely worth seeing his captions alone, the last of which is my fav.

For those interested, 11 of 16 home teams covered the spread in Week 1 NFL action, including 6 of 8 home favorites.  Hope you enjoyed the 2-0 Prime Timers last night to move to a perfect 3-0 on the year (+$300).  No clue why I do so well in that area the last few years for what are typically the toughest games to nail.

I'm actually a bit surprised in Roger Goodell's NFL that he hasn't ordered the increasing number of long haired players to cut their lettuce so it isn't hanging half way down their backs.

The New England Patriots open with a nice beating of the Cincinnati Bengals, and what is Randy Moss worried about?  Why, Randy Moss, of course.  Moss says if the Pats wait until the end of the season, that will be a slap in the face to him.  I'm sure that will move the notoriously tough negotiating Pats to do exactly nothing they weren't planning already.

Champions League group play gets under way today with 8 games kicking off at 2:45pm today.  Glasgow Rangers visiting Manchester United will get the most hype, but really, it'll be a stunner if it is anything other than an easy Man U win.  The real interesting one I think is Tottenham Hotspur visiting Werder Bremen.

Really didn't give the U.S. Open tennis enough love this year.  Not sure why.  At any rate, Rafa Nadal took the men's title in a rain delayed final yesterday over Novak Djokovic.

And the latest on Floyd Mayweather is you can add uttering death threats to his ever growing rap sheet of late, to NBAer CJ Watson of the Chicago Bulls.

Nice move by boxer David Haye not only saying his November fight with Audley Harrison will be a "one sided gang-rape" but saying he won't apologize for it.  I guess the reality is if not for that quote, we wouldn't be talking about either of those two.  Moving on.

How's this for weird: Saturday's entry, on September 11th (aka 911) was blog entry #911 for yours truly.

Nice of the Buffalo Bills to kick their (wagering) fans in the nuts.  Down 13-10 in the dying minutes, the Bills, instead of punting, elected to give up a safety so they could free kick.  The move took the game from a push, to a Miami cover.  The other team that shot themselves in the foot in spectacular fashion were the Dallas Cowboys, 13-7 losers in Washington in a game they would've won comfortably if not their ridiculous penchant for penalties.  Guard Alex Barron was shakier than Michael J. Fox on Red Bull with all the penalties he took, one that negated a last second touchdown to win most significantly. Not good enough, Wade Phillips.  

Figured that the Houston Texans would give the Indianapolis Colts a tough game, but didn't figure they'd hammer them 34-24 in a game that wasn't even that close.  Also surprising whipping boys were the San Francisco 49ers, crushed by the Seattle Seahawks 31-6.

The worst team in the league shows up to BMO Field on Saturday with the hosts Toronto FC needing a win.  Easy money for the Reds, no?  Nope.  Not only were they outplayed and outscored, they were also outworked, which is especially embarrassing with your season essentially down the toilet now.  Yours truly is boycotting TFC for the remainder of the year.  No joke.  As for GM Mo Johnston, here's a little something to help get you on your way.  Rest of the MLS wrap here.

Tonight's home opener for the San Diego Chargers, hosting rival Kansas City, will most likely be blacked out in SoCal as it hasn't sold out.  Monday night, home opener, for a good team hosting a rising team.  Not good, NFL.

Damien Cox of the Toronto Star has a strong blog entry looking at how badly the Toronto Blue Jays are struggling at the gate, despite generally positive media support and a few young talents to get behind, and Jose Bautista approaching 50 homers.  Concludes Cox: "has to leave the Jays thoroughly puzzled as to what it will take - if anything - to bring the people back."

Hey Pittsburgh Penguins fans, rock some (fake) ink supporting your team.  Tap Out shirt not included.

Rick Reilly at ESPN, who always thinks he's a step quicker than everyone, puts together a list of things he'd tweet if he didn't hate Twitter.  Somebody ought to let him know a good chunk of his ideas are beyond 140 characters.

I'm sure everyone saw the show of union solidarity in Thursday's NFL opener in New Orleans.  Noticeably absent was one player.  I'll give you one guess.  Got it yet?  Yep, the FFF had his back turned to the rest of  the players. 

Even the most serious of soccer fans would tell you that they can't stand games getting solved by penalty kicks if still tied through overtime.  So what is FIFA President Sepp Blatter looking to do at the World Cup?  Have all tie games end with a round of PK's, of course.  Idiot.

A racist rant and domestic assault claims the last couple weeks weren't enough for Floyd Mayweather.  He also was arrested for stealing an iPhone.

Prime Time Picks (1-0, +$100 on the year) for tonight: Baltimore +1, KC +4.5.  Liking the road dogs!

Awesome penalty kick goal here, or maybe it is better termed "goalie fail"...

For openers, a snoozer...

And with all that buildup, and two teams that averaged 61.3 points (combined) per game last year, what did we get in the New Orleans Saints and Minnesota Vikings?  A 14-9 snore.  That said, that game had the feeling that if the Saints were just a little cleaner, they'd have won by 20 easy.  Still, it puts the Prime Time Picks at 1-0 on the year (+$100).  We'll take it for starters! 

These NFL Kickoffs are lame. "I love football...let's NOT watch the game and see Dave Matthews instead!" Nothing against Dave Matthews Band, of course. This time.


Former Dallas Cowboy and Hall of Fame wideout Michael Irvin took black on black crime to new levels with an awesome blast on current Cowboys wideout Roy Williams, saying "I won't take Dallas [to make the Super Bowl] until Dallas has whatever it needs to stop playing 10 vs. 11. And with Roy Williams on the field, they're playing 10 vs. 11.  now, if they put the young boy Dez Bryant in?  You better believe I'll take Dallas."  Memo to Roy Williams: there's only one way to respond to that, and it isn't with your mouth.  Memo to The Playmaker: Jerry Jones on line one.  He's not happy.

Former NHLer Jason Smith is not a good guy. The Calgary resident was arrested after a domestic incident involving his wife and child. I'm sure it was just a big misunderstanding.  Thanks for that one, KD.  Smith isn't alone though, boxer Floyd Mayweather is adding "domestic battery" to last week's "racist rant".

Who is the guy in this picture at right?  The brother of Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Scott Downs perhaps?  Nope. That's Marilyn Manson, sans makeup and contact lenses. Not sure if this is better or worse.  Again, thanks for sending that, KD.

Chin up, Buffalo Bills fans.  Sure just about every media outlet has you penciled in for the top overall pick in the next draft, but the fine folks at The Big Lead are a lot more optimistic, and if they're right, you're looking at a real solid 6-10 year.

A couple poor results and Carlos Queiroz is out as Portugal's national team coach.  Okay, they sucked in the World Cup too. 


So if the Toronto police are seizing documents from the Toronto Blue Jays pertaining to Roger Clemens days in Toronto, that must mean a one-time Toronto Blue Jay is suspected of using steroids?  In other news, dozens of ostriches still have their heads in the sand...err...I mean...there's nobody in the stands.  10,658 last night, 10,616 the night before at Rogers Centre.


Boston Red Sock David Ortiz says that Carl Crawford will be a New York Yankee next year, or less likely, an Anaheim Angel.  And then there was Cito Gaston last week, saying Crawford will end up in the Hall of Fame.  Some of that has to be related.

I don't know that I'll be betting the picks from the hottie at Hot Tub Huddle - shot in the famous Grotto of the Playboy Mansion - but I will bet I'll be watching regularly.

A trio of videos to close out the day.  Check them out.  Amazing one and all.

Check this guy out trying to catch a home run ball in Oakland a couple nights ago.  15 seconds in.

Check out this incredible brawl between two Asian soccer teams.  Around 1:55 in, after a nasty tackle, it gets on and then about 2:20 in, the benches empty and the drop kicks ensue.  Awesome.

Make the world a better place, slingshot a watermelon into your own face.  Incredible!

PTP

We're playing Chicago +3 tonight.

Pac Man wins

Manny Pacquiao beat Miguel Cotto with a 12th round stoppage, and turned Cotto's face into a bloody mess in the process. That's now 7 world titles at 7 different weights for the seemingly invincible Pac Man. Hopefully him and Floyd Mayweather can book a date next.

In one of the dullest main events in recent history, or longer, and a total screw job, Randy Couture beat Brandon Vera by decision. Not sure what fight the judges were watching as it was clear that Vera won two of the three rounds. Perhaps UFC is looking to go the way of boxing and push the more marketable name? If so, total shame.

Speaking of the UFC, heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar is so ill - said to be mono - that he's been hospitalized. Scary. Said UFC President Dana White: "He's not well and he's not going to be getting well anytime soon."

Could be good times for DeMarcus Ware and the Dallas Cowboys pass rush today: Green Bay QB Aaron Rodgers has been sacked a league high 37 times going into today's game.

Ohio State booked their ticket for the Rose Bowl with a 27-24 overtime win over Iowa State. USC continued their slide with a 55-21 loss to Stanford, who seems to have their number the last few years. No Saturday of NCAA football is a good Saturday if Notre Dame wins, and yesterday was a good one as Pitt beat the Domers 27-22.

The Washington Redskins have had the easiest first half schedule based on their opposition's win percentage the previous year, not just this year, but in the history of the NFL. We all know how that turned out so far.

The latest NBA free agency rumors for next summer have LeBron James and Chris Bosh joining Dwayne Wade in Miami. How scary would that be? Enough to give Kobe Bryant a nervous breakdown?

About the best rivals of the decade - the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts - will get it on in Indy tonight. The Colts are 3 point favs, and are also your Prime Time Pick for tonight.

Former Toronto FC striker Danny Dichio is proving to be a hell of a prognosticator. His selection of Real Salt Lake to go against the odds and make the MLS Cup final proved accurate, as RSL beat Chicago in a shootout 5-4.

France, Russia and Portugal all won the first legs of their World Cup knockout games, while Ukraine and Greece played to an NHL-style 0-0 regulation final. The return matchups go Wednesday.

Have a great Sunday.

A Toronto team that can defend? Can't be.

The NFL Thursday night schedule starts this week with the NCAA having vacated that night. Tonight, it is the Chicago Bears visiting the San Francisco 49ers. Your Prime Time Pick is the Chicago Bears +3 (Prime Time Picks 8-8, -44).

Somehow, the Chicago Bulls have yet to hit 100 points in this early NBA season, and despite pouring in 60 in the first half in Toronto last night, they finished with 89 after a paltry 29 in the second half. The Raptors won 99-89.

The Detroit Red Wings beat Columbus 9-1 last night. 10 goals in a hockey game. I had to check that I wasn't dialed in to ESPN Classic.

Turns out that the New York Yankees are indeed going to look at adding Roy Halladay to the mix says Jon Heyman at SI.com, and sounds like Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopolous isn't opposed to going in division if it is the best deal. Not sure what the Yankees would do - maybe outfielder and speed demon Austin Jackson and one of Phil Hughes or Joba Chamberlain, and catching prospect and stud hitter Jesus Montero?

After an embarrassing dive on Monday that earned a penalty kick, looks like the venom against diving is heating up again in soccer circles. Good thing.

The always hilarious Sports Pickle reveals the deleted chapter from Andre Agassi's book in which Agassi is revealed to have had his merkin slip. For those that don't know what a merkin is, this may be even more entertaining for you. As an aside, there was a soccer team in a lower division of my soccer league called Merkins. True story.

And in more Sports Pickle content, they've got an interview with former NBAer Jalen Rose. Sorry folks, this one is legit. Check it here.

Here are 10 predictions from the fine folks at SI.com for the second half of the NFL season. Dallas Cowboys fans will not be happy with this one.

Have a great Thursday.

Who are these Cowboys?

The New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts remain undefeated after Week 8, but just. The Saints had another second half where they poured on the points after a slow start in a 30-20 win over the Carolina Panthers. The Colts also moved to 8-0 after the Houston Texans missed a last second field goal attempt that would've sent the game to overtime. The Colts prevailed 20-17. The Colts have also won 17 straight regular season games now.

They're first place in their division at 6-2, winners of four straight and last night, against a team that has had their number for what seems like forever, they played smart, disciplined and patient - and won. Am I allowed to start believing in this Dallas Cowboys squad yet? Can't believe this is the same team I watched the first month of the season. The Cowboys beat Philly 20-16 on the road.

Speaking of the Saints, they now have 7 defensive touchdowns this year. To put that into perspective, the Cleveland Browns have 5 offensive touchdowns on the year. Ouch.

It was chippy, chirpy and entertaining as hell, and Chelsea scored a late second half goal off the head of John Terry to earn a 1-0 win over a very patchwork Manchester United defence. Truth told, it was United who took the game to the Blues for large stretches and despite being five points back of Chelsea, they can feel good having faced the best lineup Chelsea has to offer, on the road, and still barely lost. Long way to go yet.

Carson Palmer is now 8-3 in his career against the Baltimore Ravens after yesterday's 17-7 win. The Ravens, now 4-4, have a schedule that includes two dates with Pittsburgh, Indy, Green Bay and Chicago. They're going to be in tough to make the playoffs with that on the go. The upside is they do also have Cleveland, Oakland and Detroit.

I've heard of some side effects from steroid usage, but have never heard it to cause a black man to go Jacko and suddenly turn, well, white. But that's what is happening with Sammy Sosa. Check out this picture. Hard to believe it is the same guy.

The Monday Nighter tonight ought to be a great one, with the rejuvenated Pittsburgh Steelers visiting the Denver Broncos. Finally in positive territory at 8-7 (+61) after last night's pick, your Prime Time Pick is Denver +3. Hard not to take a strong home team getting points.

Tony Dungy calls the Buffalo Bills "a dark horse" landing spot for Michael Vick. After canning any reference to Vick that includes animals, can anybody explain why even the quarterback bankrupt Bills would look to add Vick? It isn't like he's done anything to date to show he's able to lead anybody. Maybe the Bills figure he can allow them to put off fixing their woeful offensive line for the dozenth plus year running?

Tim Kirkjian at ESPN.com speculates that the New York Yankees may turf both Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui and chase Jason Bay or Matt Holliday. I could see them ditching both Damon and Matsui before chasing either of those two. Most likely, they just ditch Matsui.

Now this is the very definition of dirty. Having a virus dump child porn on your PC, and then losing your job, reputation and friends as a result. Brutal. You should rot in hell if you do that to someone.

Have a great Monday.

Brown Town

The Miami Dolphins ran the ball with authority all over the Indianapolis Colts last night keeping the Colts to 14:53 possession for the entire game and only three second half possessions. Dolphins win, right? Nope. 27-23 Colts. That last Dolphins drive brought back memories of the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl for how bad the play calling was. Only thing missing was a quarterback puking.
That drops the PTP up to 1-5 (-424) for the season. A long ways to go to approach last year's performance.

Herschel Walker has signed to fight for Strikeforce, a rising MMA outfit. It is an awesome deal for Strikeforce as they inked 29 personalities and fighters for the price of one.

The last few road trips of a baseball season are typically when teams have their rookie initiations. The Yankees, for example, decked out their rookies as Batman characters including Ramiro Peña as Catwoman. The Washington Natinals? Well, the always strong Sportspickle says the Nats dressed their rooks in a far more humiliating get-up: as Natinals.

First Buffalo Bill Leodis McKelvin's lawn was vandalized, and now the latest Bills incident saw Donte Whitner's house robbed of $400,000 worth of jewelry. Not safe times for Bills in Buffalo, but word is to make them feel like at home when they come to Toronto later in the year, they'll either be staying in the Jane/Finch area or in Scarborough.

Speaking of robbery, seems a Florida robber was busted. Not for leaving fingerprints, or caught on camera, but because in the middle of his robbery, he flipped on the homeowners computer to check his Facebook page, and neglected to log out afterwards. Real smart. You can't make stuff like this up.

Memo to Chuckie Gruden: you're not working an infomercial. Slow down, drop the volume, take a breath.

Fox Sports Ken Rosenthal figures that J.P. Ricciardi of the Toronto Blue Jays is the only big league GM likely to lose his job at this point. That would put Ricciardi in the exclusive kind of territory he believes he's worthy of, though not quite the destination he figured.

Before and after a fight photos. Exactly how it sounds.

Had to laugh that T.O. retweeted on Sunday night that Dallas might not have a T.O. problem now, but they may in fact have a T.R. problem still, as in Tony Romo. Until we see different, there's something to that.

Washington Redskin rookie Robert Henson got off a couple fan slamming gems on Twitter after the 'Skins were booed throughout their lacklustre 9-7 win over St. Louis Sunday. Pretty sure his blast that most of the fans booing work 9-5 at McDonalds wins Best Comment of the Week.

Another game, another one for the record books as the Toronto Blue Jays drew one of their smallest crowds to the Rogers Centre with 11,598 making it out. Manager Cito Gaston says fans clearly want to support a winner and while that is true, fans also want to see a team that plays like it cares. So more Adam Linds and fewer Vernon Wells', if you know what I mean.

In probably the most exciting moment in what has been a dreadfully dull CFL season, check out this guy working the goal posts at Ivor Lose Stadium in Hamilton. Thanks to GBV for this link.

For those about to rock...

The opening NFL Sunday is in the books and plenty of attention grabbing stuff. I want to thank Chicago Bears QB Jay Cutler for robbing me of a 2-0 Prime Time Pick start with a shoddy performance in a 21-15 loss at Green Bay. Prick.

Toronto Maple Leafs coach Ron Wilson has issued a fighting ban at Leafs training camp. How ever will the players "police" themselves without fighting? The horror!

Surprising NFL stat of the day: the Houston Texans entered yesterday's home opener at 12-4 at home the last two seasons, second best in the league. Of course, they promptly lost to the New York Jets.

The Boston Red Sox allegedly offered six pitchers for Roy Halladay at the trade deadline - Clay Bucholz, Daniel Bard and Justin Masterson among them - and JP Ricciardi declined? Insanity. No other way to describe it.

Carolina Panthers QB Jake Delhomme could be the football equivalent of baseball's Steve Sax, Chuck Knoblauch, or Rick Ankiel in losing the ability to throw where he wants to. He's got 9 picks in 51 passing attempts going back to last year's playoff debacle and yesterday's 4 pick, 1 fumble showing in three quarters.

Didn't get into Serena Williams meltdown on Saturday night yesterday with the flurry of other activity, but clearly, she lost sight of the prize and showed herself to be a mental midget. Just waiting for her dad to call the foot fault call that led to her meltdown a racist thing. It has to be coming, no?

The Boston media seems to think Phil Kessel will be a Toronto Maple Leaf. I wouldn't bet his nut on it.

Trying to figure what is a better tweet today. Sportspickle with "Cutler throws into four Packers. This probably reminds Packer DBs of practice from 1992-2007" or Jay Mohr with "Derek Jeter passed Lou Gehrig. But will he die of Derek Jeter's disease? That would be SO WEIRD."

As stories go, tough to top Kim Clijsters coming back after a couple year's off to be a mom - not that that has stopped - and taking a wild card entry into the U.S. Open in New York and parlaying it into a $1.6 million winners cheque. Awesome stuff. The men's final will go today as Roger Federer will face the giant Juan Martin del Potro, whom Federer has a 6-0 career record against.

The NFL kicked off yesterday, the U.S. Open tennis finals are being contested with a huge story in the women's final and the men's about to go, and 2 of the 3 stories covering the Toronto Star's front page of its sports section are on the Toronto Maple Leafs camp minutiae. Pathetic.

My fav part of the NFL Sunday? Cris Collinsworth over John Madden. Hell to tha yes.

Onto tonight's Prime Time Picks (1-1, -$10), and there are two with two games on the go. The early game tonight sees Buffalo visiting New England (-10.5, -104) with Terrell Owens throwing gas on the fire in their opener by revisiting SpyGate. I have a feeling this one is going to get incredibly ugly. Like, 45-10 kind of thing. Bet the Patsies, hard. Similarly, am playing chalk in the second game and betting San Diego (-10, -105) who should have far too much for the hapless Oakland Raiders. Enjoy.

Have a great Monday.

John who?

Richard Seymour, traded to the Oakland Raiders earlier this week by the New England Patriots, has yet to report to the Raiders. What does it say of the Raiders when a guy is willing to give up big bucks rather than deal with that mess?

Opening night of the NFL season is in the books, and the Pittsburgh Steelers won in overtime 13-10, but did not cover the 5.5 points. Your Prime Time Pick of Under 35.5 was a winner (1-0, +100). Look for more Sunday and Monday, of course. Best part of the game last night? Not how tight it was or the big hits, but Cris Collinsworth in for John Madden. Weird seeing Steeler Santonio Holmes show up to the game rocking a Michael Vick jersey, no?

Ohio State Buckeyes QB Terrell Pryor wore a couple eye black strips last week, one honouring Michael Vick. Of course, some controversy ensued and T.P. got off this odd quote: "Not everybody is a perfect person in this world. I mean, everyone does ... kills people, murders people, steals from you, steals from me. I just feel people need to give him a chance. I always looked up to Mike Vick and I always will because I still think he's one of the best quarterbacks to me and I just love Mike Vick." Everyone kills people? Really?

So the judge presiding over the Phoenix Coyotes sale/auction is saying he may refuse bids by both the NHL and Jim Balsillie. Is it me, or is this guy starting to sound like he's in love with being a media darling in Canada and the six people who care in the U.S.? If I didn't know better, I'd think he was Lance Ito.

I know the Toronto Blue Jays are officially eliminated from contention, but pulling under 12,000 for a game being started by Roy Halladay seems a tad ridiculous. To riff on a marketing phrase: "you should be at the game, because you're not."

Audrina Patridge in the latest issue of Maxim. Just because.

Derek Jeter needs a single hit to break the all-time Yankees hits record tonight, and it seem almost certain he'll do it. Just hoping he doesn't bunt to do it.

Word is Dany Heatley has been traded to the San Jose Sharks in a three way deal that sees Alexander Frolov and Jarrett Stoll off to Ottawa, and Patrick Marleau off to Los Angeles. Interesting. I'm sure Heatley's rep for not showing up when needed will flourish with the traditionally soft Sharks.

Mike Comrie has signed with the Edmonton Oilers. Wait, don't they hate him in E-Town?

Have a great Friday.

There will be blood

I accept the argument that women's tennis is more esthetically appealing, looks aside. It doesn't have the power of the men's game so rallies are naturally longer. But I don't accept the argument they should be getting paid the same as the men in a Grand Slam when Serena Williams can dispatch her opponent in 2 of 3 sets to win the Aussie Open in 59 minutes as it turned out in a 6-0, 6-3 beating. At 59 minutes, the guys are barely breaking a sweat. Play 3 of 5 and then you can have the same cash. You can be sure that Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal will be earning their payday tonight in the men's final...also tonight, UFC 94 goes from Las Vegas and as mentioned a couple days back, it should be one hell of a main event in Georges St. Pierre vs. B.J. Penn. Penn backed off his "I want to kill GSP" statements Thursday on the Jim Rome Show but was one hell of an interview. Quick question: how was GSP not Canada's Athlete of the Year last year?...Serie A - Italy's top flight soccer league - might be in another gambling scandal as it appears champion Inter Milan intentionally dropped points down the stretch last year to increase the gambling odds on the chances they'd take the title in the end, which they did, resulting in a higher payout presumably for some heavy hitters...you learn something every day in the sporting world, baseball in particular. Did you know that there is actually a limit to the number of "Type A" free agents you can sign? Each year, baseball classifies free agents as Type "A" or "B" based on their value, and draft picks are assigned for "A" free agents you sign from another team. That is common knowledge I'd guess. But they also have a formula that specifies how many "Type A's" you're allowed to sign in a given year and this time, it is three. So if the New York Yankees even wanted to sign Manny Ramirez or Ben Sheets right now and the players were willing to play for a dollar, they can't because they previously signed CC Sabathia, AJ Burnett and Mark Teixera. I suspect that somewhere, Scott Boras is curled into the fetal position lamenting the loss of his fav bargaining chip, the "Yankees are interested" card...have one last chance to get to a .500 record for the month of January which is pretty impressive after one horrific week this month. Playing the Atlanta Hawks +2 -105 tonight. Enjoy!...see, an entire RM during Super Bowl Week with nary an NFL reference. I'm sure that'll be more than made up for tomorrow. Have a great Saturday, enjoy UFC 94 if you can.

Stay classy, Joe

Joe Torre's reputation as a classy guy is about flushed now with a new book coming out next week. How else do explain him cracking on former boss Brian Cashman for not standing up for him after the 2007 season, when Torre had previously and repeatedly said he had? If not for Cash, he'd have been unemployed after he led the Yanks into the toilet with a 3-0 lead over the Boston Red Sox in 2004. Good of him to hammer A-Rod too, the guy who almost single-handedly took the Yanks to the playoffs in 2007 and made him even a possibility for 2008. Let's see what kind of manager he is if the LA Dodgers are minus Manny Ramirez. ManRam's the only reason Torre saw the playoffs last year, even in a garbage division. Stay classy, Joe...the LA Galaxy have set their sites on Newcastle United striker Michael Owen. I'd give that about no chance of happening in the next couple years, and why would they want Owen in any event? He's about as fragile as an athlete can be...current Galaxy star David Beckham, on loan with AC Milan, scored his first with the Serie A side and that will only escalate the talk he's going to stay beyond March...incredibly, 65% of respondants at an ESPN.com poll would rather have Arizona Cardinals QB Kurt Warner lead their team in the Super Bowl than the Pittsburgh Steelers Ben Roethlesberger, leading in every state but Pennsylvania. Count me among the 35% and come next Monday, that number will flip. Warner cannot handle a rush, and it forces him to make bad throws and fumble the ball. Big Ben doesn't rattle that easy, and hell, he can carry a couple would be tacklers if need be and complete a throw...any regular reader here will know I crack on the NHL regularly for being pretty dull to watch overall, but yesterday's 12-11 goalfest in the All-Star game may have been even worse than watching two skill-killing trap teams go at it. Perhaps I shouldn't be so harsh, what with my legendary hate of the All-Star game concept in all sports aside from baseball...how'd you like that for easy Prime Time Pickin's yesterday? The Boston Celtics dumped 74 points on the Dallas Mavs by the break and cruised to a 24 point beatdown. Have .500 well within my sites and the horror of that second week in January is starting to fade...have a great Monday, back later with your Prime Time winner.

Check out the tattoo some Detroit Lions fan had done this week. Somewhere, Andy Warhol just ticked off another on the "everybody gets 15 minutes of fame" list...Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo wrecked his $450,000 Ferrari on the way to practice yesterday. No word if the car was touched before crashing. Ronaldo was unhurt in the accident, but hopefully this knocked his 2008/9 rust out. Manchester United will need it ahead of Sunday's huge game against Chelsea. Tune in to The Score at 11am Eastern - Hi Def if you've got it - for what should be a great one...basking in the glory of last night's Florida cover to move to 5-3 (+187) on the year. Tonight, gonna make a play on the Toronto Raptors (-5 -113) as they hose the Memphis Grizzlies...the Seattle Sounders FC are running a reality type show on a local news station that culminates on Super Bowl Sunday with the winner getting a roster spot on the team. Lame...the Toronto Maple Leafs Mikhael Grabovski picked up a three game suspension for his shove of the referee last night. So if you're keeping score at home: two for biting, three for shoving a ref, six for "sloppy seconds" blasts...Brett Favre says he's going to take his time making a decision whether to play or retire. Memo to Favre: the only fan picketing you'll see this time will be to keep you at home, not to return...I've figured out the real reason that the Boston Celtics are reeling: the mere mention of Stephon Marbury heading there...Max Kellerman mentioned on his radio show out of New York that he's been told by a very credible source in the New York Knicks organization that the Knicks are making their moves with an eye towards signing Lebron James and Chris Bosh...have a great Friday, back in the morning.

Well that didn't take long. The Dallas Cowboys have released Adam "Pacman" Jones for something that happened a few years back. Seems odd to release a guy for something the NFL was aware of and that he wasn't going to be punished for, particularly when he showed he can play a bit this year. After all, they're keeping a head coach who showed far less...if the NHL is front page news at ESPN, odds are somebody did something wrong. Ottawa Senator Jarko Ruutu went Mike Tyson and bit Andrew Peters of the Buffalo Sabres Tuesday night, through the glove. Ruutu was suspended for two games...yesterday's Prime Time Pick of Manchester United seemed doomed from the start with that plank Tomasz Kuszczak in goal. Still, United brought on Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo in the second half, but all for naught as Derby held on for the upset. This brings the PTP to 4-3 (+$87) on the year. Today, we are on Florida (-4.5 -108, though I wisely got in at -3 a week ago) to crush Oklahoma and take the NCAA National Title, complete with the requisite asterisk...7 of the 8 NFC playoff teams this year weren't in the playoffs last year. The New York Giants, of course, are the exception there...speaking of the Giants, does that 4.5 points they're favored by over Philadelphia this weekend seem exceedingly low? Has suckers bet written all over it, and I will likely bite regardless...are the Anaheim Ducks about to become to Brian Burke what the Oakland A's are to J.P. Ricciardi? Burke dealt a 6th round pick for Brad May. With the Ducks having most of their team unsigned next year, expect to see a bunch of Ducks heading to Leafland...for each game he misses, Toronto Raptor Jermaine O'Neal is paid more than $250,000. Funny that with him and Jose Calderon out, the Toronto Raptors are in arguably their best run of the year. With Calderon no longer freezing him out of the offence, Andrea Bargnani is seeing his point totals increase significantly...at least one Ottawa Senator is scoring this year: Mike Fisher is dating Carrie Underwood. Somehow, I don't suspect a certain player in Dallas is preparing a "sloppy seconds" blast...not sure how many of you have seen Manswers on Spike TV, but here's a look at the Top 10 "You've got questions? We've got Manswers" of last year. I'm a little shocked that the "what's the fastest way to get drunk?" didn't make the list. Curious to see if anybody has any guesses as to what that is/was. Answer coming after a few guesses...love that the New York Yankees got Mark Teixera amped up to go to the Yankees with a video montage set to his favorite tune: Twisted Sister's "I Wanna Rock". No word on if a separate video was sent to Teixera by his agent Scott Boras to the tune of "The Price"...this NFL season, 9 of the 15 overtime games have ended after one possession. Overall, 33% of games in regular season history have been won on the first possession...John Smoltz to the Boston Red Sox? Seems odd, no?...have a great Thursday, despite no new "The Office" tonight.

In a move that should surprise nobody after the Tom Brady setback stories surfaced last week, the talk is the New England Patriots will place the franchise tag on quarterback Matt Cassel, giving him a nice raise to $14 million giving the Pats $29 million in two quarterbacks. Seems crazy on the surface, but when your backup can bang off eleven wins in a season, you're crazy not to when Brady is a question mark...if the story I heard is true and that the Toronto Maple Leafs may ship Tomas Kaberle and Vesa Toskala to the Ottawa Senators for a draft pick and Jason Spezza, that is a trade Leafs GM Brian Burke needs to make now...after last night's New York Knicks loss and non-cover, Prime Time Picks sit at 4-2 for the year. Up today, taking Manchester United in Carling Cup play to top Derby at -1 -107. Yes, the Carling Cup is an annoyance in many ways, but United has enough depth to knock off a team from a division lower who set a Premier League record when they were up last year for fewest points in a season. And hey, all world defender Nemanja Vidic insists United are very much interested in winning this one. Mix in Derby is lacking a manager at the moment and United takes this one with ease. This game kicks off at 2:45 Eastern so get over to Pinnacle now. Coverage on Setanta Sports...here's one take on the 20 Hottest TV Sports Personalities "of all da times". Clearly, whoever put this together must not consider UFC a sport - wrong! - because there's no other way to explain how Rachelle Leah isn't top, well, two...wonder where the NHL ranks in the pecking order in the U.S.? In the new set-up at ESPN.com, it is printed furthest to the right of the page, behind soccer and the rest of the sports you'd expect. Now, I'm sure some will brush this off and look for things like alphabetical order and the like but let me assure you, there's no other reason than where it stands in the minds of "the worldwide leader" who know that people read left to right in most places...reading lists of athletes with illegitimate kids never ceases to amuse me. Here's an update...the Boston Celtics lost for the fifth time in seven games, this time to the lowly Charlotte Bobcats...have a great Wednesday.

Monday, January 5th, 2008

The Utah Utes have quite the "we deserve to be National Champions" argument. Six of their 13 wins in this undefeated season came against bowl teams. Of course, it won't matter a lick in the end. And are you like me, where you can't think of "Utes" without thinking of Joe Pesci and "My Cousin Vinny"?...so far, my New Year's Resolution of not watching the Toronto Raptors until they win three straight is intact, but with Jose Calderon out, that could be done next game. Yeah, I said it...after throwing 7INT's all season, the Miami Dolphins Chad Pennington went and tossed four Favre's, err, interceptions. The Baltimore Ravens won easy 27-9. The Ravens move on to Tennessee for what should be a hard hitting game and frankly, I think the Ravens can win it. That said, once they dispose of San Diego, the Pittsburgh Steelers remain my AFC pick to play in the Super Bowl against...the New York Giants, who host the Philadelphia Eagles while the Arizona Cardinals travel to face the Carolina Panthers...in case you missed it the 865 times it aired this weekend, Bruce Springsteen is playing the Super Bowl...one of the great baseball sites out there is Fangraphs, which has a formula to calculate a players value relative to his actual salary. Check out Los Angeles Angel Gary Matthews Jr., who has been paid $15 million the last two years with a value of -$600,000. Yes, NEGATIVE...funny that Keyshawn Johnson's fellow analysts hammered him for trashing Brett Favre yesterday, and Thomas Jones earlier for doing so, but I don't exactly hear any New York Jets saying Jones was wrong. Part of their argument was that Jones has been on four teams in nine years. Well, there's two teams in six months now that haven't wanted Favre. ESPN Radio in New York's Max Kellerman calls Favre the "white T.O." and railed on last week that Favre's act is actually far worse than anything T.O. has done in recent memory in how he has held teams hostage, and nowhere near the talent that T.O. is and never has been...3-1 now in Prime Time Picks and ahead $200 after the Philadelphia Eagles nicely covered the field goal spread over Minnesota. Up today, who else could we play but Canada to take the Gold at the World Junior Hockey Championships? Got in a nice price of -1 -106 as well. Get on that fast before it shoots up, as it no doubt will, at Pinnacle...have a great Monday.

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.

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!