Back!

We're back, after a busy work trip to my fav city in Canada - Montreal.  Sorry Toronto, regrets Vancouver, swing and a miss Halifax, sucks to be you Ottawa, nice try Edmonton, not-even-the-best-in-Alberta Calgary...Montreal wins hands down.  Wasn't all work by any means, not when your hotel is a couple blocks from Crescent Street.  Also, worked my way into some last minute Montreal Canadiens tickets Wednesday, a very entertaining 5-3 win over the New York Islanders.  I've always said that hockey is far better live than on TV (other than those painful TV-timeouts) but PK Subban is even more entertaining than that.  That is gonna be one hell of a player, and soon.  Had a laugh hearing the fans cheer Carey Price hard after he was booed equally hard last time I was there in February, and he wasn't even playing that night.  How soon they forget!  Great times.

Anytime the Texas Rangers want to show up would be fine.  A 9-0 beat down last night is no way to generate interest outside of San Francisco. Matt Cain has now thrown 21 2/3 shutout innings for the Giants, who are up 2-0 and had Bon Jovi's "Livin' On A Prayer" going last night post game.  You know, because they're "half way there".

Bud Selig should pounce on this one: the MLB players union says it would consider adding extra playoff teams.

Here's one way to handle your ejection from a sporting event: 1. Leave the field of play.  2. Return with car.  3. Try to run down the referee.

The NBA enlisted comic - they ones who draw, not make people funny - Stan Lee to draw covers for each NBA team.

Here are the 10 Greatest World Series photos of all time.  The way this series is going, don't imagine there will be any pictures taken of the final games.  Fox must be lamenting the abscence of the New York Yankees, given that ratings dropped 25% from Game 1 last year to this year.

I love frivolous lawsuits.  A man is suing McDonald's for making him fat.  Oh, he won.

Word is Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has been told he's got a transfer fund of £100 million.  Nice work, Wayne Rooney.  Wayne got himself a raise, and a way to improve the talent around him.  A start: get

A little late getting to this one, but a great history of rap with the always hilarious Justin Timberlake and the occasionally funny Jimmy Fallon.

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.

May the winners be ours!

Another day, another PTP winner, and a hefty +146 at that. How fun was it watching the St. Louis Cardinals race out to an early and big lead and cruise? For me, it was +146 fun. Hope you're enjoying the ride...in news that makes it all but official, the Montreal Canadiens are for sale. I'm sure it'll eat at Canadians coast to coast that the most famed and winningest franchise is being ditched so George Gillett can maintain a soccer team, but Gillette knows where the real fame and fortune are, and owning a truly global brand like Liverpool blows owning the Habs away...Sir Alex Ferguson is sour with his Manchester United squad after another uninspired start yesterday that ultimately cost them a home Champions League win against FC Porto, who scored to tie in the dying minutes. The rematch goes next Wednesday and United will have to win at Porto, something no English squad has done...suddenly Troy Aikman has an opinion, though I can't disagree with it. He says the cutting of Terrell Owens is an okay move, if Roy Williams steps up, but if he doesn't, thinks the trade for Williams "would be one of the biggest busts in the history of the league." No pressure, Roy and Tony Romo...saw a sign on the way into work for a salon. Name? Hairway to Heaven. Awesome...on the Jim Rome Show, noted rabble rouser AJ Pierzinsky worked in a comment about "working in a bunt to save your average Derek Jeter style." That's multiple stabs at Jeter in the last week from people in and around the game, a first in DJ's 15-year career...Tank Johnson has agreed to a deal with the Cincinnati Bengals, who apparentely require "run ins with the law" on a players resume before they become interested...back with your PTP shortly.