KFC Yum!

The second leg's of Champion's League get under way today.  Barcelona host Arsenal needing to overcome a 2-1 road loss and really, I get the feeling they could drop a four or five goal curb stomping on the Gunners, who looked to be down Robin van Persie and coming off an uninspired Sunderland performance, until ti was revealed RVP will indeed start.  I recall previous year's where Arsenal would have Champions League/FA Cup and their EPL runs all end in consecutive games.  The latter might not happen this time, but the previous two just may. The other game today sees AS Roma at Shaktar Donetsk, with Shaktar winning the first leg last month and largely in cruise control for this one.

Amar'e Stoudamire and Carmelo Anthony were laughing it up over the reports of the Miami Heat having some players in tears after their latest loss.  I'm loving the Knicks more and more all the time, especially for how they openly disrespect the Heat.

The arena in Louisville, Kentucky is named the "KFC Yum! Arena". Only in Necktucky.

Why is it everytime the Toronto Maple Leafs lose of late - and it hasn't been often, it must be said - the papers start speculating that goalie James Reimer is tired?  Plenty of goalies lose games without being tired. Crazy, I know.

Saw a list for NHL Rookie of the Year that included Jeff Skinner, Logan Couture, Taylor Hall, James Reimer and...PK Subban? For me, Reimer hasn't played enough and Subban is only on if he's wearing Skinner's jersey again. The former Kitchener Ranger - Skinner - is a lock.  That's no knock on Subban, who I think will be a star and is a nice break from the cliche spewing NHL machine, I just don't think he's had a great year.

Poor LeBron James, he will only need his Miami Heat to go 19-0 to close out the season to win more games than he did last year in Cleveland. There's a hole in my soul.  Great bit here on the idea that Miami never considered the possibility of what Dwayne Wade would think of watching LeBron fail repeatedly when games mattered most.

While it will barely register insofar as important MLB announcements are, it will register presumably insofar as your enjoyment of Toronto Blue Jays broadcasts on Rogers SportsNet go: Gregg Zaun is retiring.  Here's hoping he doesn't make it back up north to ruin broadcasts.

Sidney Crosby's sister has a concussion as well, and it makes front page news.  Only in Canada.

Steve Simmons at the Toronto Sun checks in on the latest with the Steve Moore lawsuit of Todd Bertuzzi  and the former Vancouver Canucks owners expected to make its way to trial next year and the .  It was seven year's ago yesterday that Moore was driven into the ice and had his neck broken.  My how far the NHL has come since then! Simmons says this one has the potential to bring the NHL to its knees.

When you're Carlo Ancelotti, manager at Chelsea, and declare that the team isn't really your team because it is the owner making personnel decisions, isn't that essentially saying "if it doesn't go right, it isn't on me"?  Going to guess that's exactly how owner Roman Abramovich interprets it and Ancelotti, accurate or not, walks the plank for saying so.

Here are the 25 Most Overrated Wrestlers. Lost on me: who rates Finlay, never mind overrates him?

Since their February 18th blockbuster deal, the Colorado Avalanche and St. Louis Blues have gone a combined 3-12-1.  Wonder if TSN and SportsNet will devote a day of coverage to analyzing that?

Could the stories of Alex Rodriguez being on the downward slope be premature? If early indications are accurate, A-Rod could have a monster year.

Epic Meal Time...road trip! The crew rolled to Kingston this weekend, where everything is legal, as long as you don't get caught.


The NFL needs to come to a labour agreement, quick.  Or, we'll be treated to more horrific videos like Tom Brady getting his groove on at Carnival in Rio, with a disaster of a pony tail.


Check out this past weekend's Duke loss (yeah!) at North Carolina at three frames a second, with no Dick Vitale (even more "yeah!")

Let It Be...

I'm not piling on the New York Jets, it just seems that way.  New England Patriot Danny Woodhead, released by the New York Jets earlier this year, had this to say to his former team after Monday's massacre in New England: "do you like apples?"  Funny stuff.  But not as funny as the work of some airport employees in Boston who decorated the Jets team plane to remind them how Monday night went, at right.

UFC President Dana White made a trip to Toronto yesterday to announce - finally - that UFC will indeed be coming to Toronto on April 30th, 2011 in what is anticipated to be the organization's largest attended event (a lock) and largest gate (a lock).  No word on the card yet.

LeBron James weighed in on his old team and town and compared it to how Green Bay reacted when Brett Favre left town a few years back.  As poorly as that was handled in Green Bay, nobody went on TV with a "The Decision" moment.  That's about as close as you'll get to me defending everybody's favorite Sunday Afternoon Tackling Dummy Interception Machine.

The Dallas Cowboys are loving the fire and attention to detail that Jason Garrett has brought to the fold and are talking of how they're playing with a sense of urgency.  That's all well and good, but shame they didn't have a sense of urgency when there was something to be urgent about.  At any rate, pretty safe to say Garrett is the man for 2011 (or 2012, whenever the next season comes) and hard to argue against that so far.

At this point, 28 major league teams and 6 independents are said to have made offers to Cliff Lee, including a pair of matching 22-year offers.  Methinks that there's an agent at work building a competition that isn't as deep as it is being made out to be.  I love Lee at 5 or 6 years, I walk at 7.

The Toronto Blue Jays are said to be chasing Carlos Pena big time to fill their hole at first base.  They do know he had all of 95 hits last year right in 582 at-bats?  Granted, 28 left the park, but he's not exactly going to help the Jays fix their lack of runners on the bags anytime soon. EDIT: Pena signed with the Chicago Cubs for one year and $10 million.

Former Michigan running back Kevin Grady is building himself quite the resume when it comes to DUI.  Two years after getting clipped and blowing a .281, he blew a .30 late last month.  Call me crazy, but I'm going to suggest he's got a bit of a problem.  Bad Jocks ranks the best - meaning "worst" - blood alcohol content readings among athletes.  Grady now has two top ten slots.

The Texas Longhorns 2010 season summarized, using MS Paint.

100 vintage foreign objects - or as they're now called in this politically correct world: international objects - in the wrestling world.

Lance Bass is going to be one of New York Yankee Nick Swisher's groomsmen at his wedding this weekend.  I have no idea how this works.

Memo to Seattle Seahawk Leon Washington: if you're going to celebrate a punt return for a touchdown, make sure the punter doesn't take you down.




It was 30 years ago today that John Lennon left this earth, and in honour of that, we've got a version of Let It Be from a Norwegian TV show, featuring Ray Pruitt, Bud Bundy, John Bender, Ivan Drago and loads more.  Has to be seen to be believed.

Lyin' King comes home

If you are like most basketball fans, odds are you're pulling - heavy - for the Cleveland Cavaliers to dish out a little bit of revenge to LeBron James tonight when he brings his talents back to C-Town for the first time with his Miami Heat.  Cavs fans have a little something ready for LeBron too, as this official chant sheet - split out by 6 minute intervals each quarter - shows.  And if Cavs fans have been bringing signs already this season, am guessing they're going to paper the place like Monday Night Raw tonight.

Houston visit Philadelphia tonight in NFL action.  Considering what Michael Vick did the last time he was on Prime Time TV against Washington, he may break records tonight against a team as horrible against the pass as the Texans are.  I'm playing the Eagles at -8.5 for the Prime Time Pick.  I don't normally like going over a total at 51, but this one could be threatened early.

And your World Cup hosts for 2018 and 2022 are (drum roll)...being announced at 9:30am (Eastern).  You can watch here. If the stories are to be believed, Qatar has moved ahead of the U.S. as the likely winner for 2022.  Can't imagine what the rea$on$ behind that might be. 

This NFL season represents the first time in 51 years that every team has at least two losses at this point in the season.

A WWE themed wedding?  Sure, why not?  Not sure what I liked better, the Bret "Hitman" Hart routine, complete with sunglasses, the "Orient Express" entrance music for the Asian couple (Bill Parcells "Jap plays" think that was over the top), the Best Man rocking the theme from Karate Kid, or the groom going Mr. Perfect with his hankerchief...or Howard Finkel in house to announce it all.  Awesome.

Best/Worst Owners Revealed

Sports Illustrated has put together a Top 5 Best and Worst owners in the big four team sports. Here's MLB, and the NFL, and the NBA and finally, the NHL where a certain team in Toronto finished - not surprisingly - with the worst owners in hockey...so much for the economy affecting the NFL. Teams will have a record increase of $12 million to spend on the salary cap, bringing the total to $128 million in the last year of this labour agreement. You'd think they would let teams know what they've got to spend before they actually started spending it, no?...the Pepsi Center in Denver, home of the Nuggets, is booked for WWE Monday Night Raw next Monday. Problem is the NBA wants the arena for Game 4 of the Nuggets/Lakers series the same night and it looks like the WWE is out of luck. Of course, that left WWE Chairman Vince McMahon to needle the Nuggets for not having enough faith to book potential playoff dates earlier. Love it...in addition to today's pic of the day, here are an assortment of Mike Tyson motivational pictures, sure to be a hit with Bukkake...for the first time this year, the Tampa Bay Rays are .500, and you have to think stud prospect David Price is on his way soon from AAA. In his last start, Price tossed 5 innings of no hit ball - striking out 9 - but didn't finish as the Rays are keeping his innings down...the Pittsburgh Penguins won the first game of the Eastern Conference final 3-2. For their part, the Carolina Hurricanes have lost the opener of the last five series they've won. They're now off until Thursday in the first of what could be three two-day breaks. Man I miss the every two days thing that they used to do by conference back in the day, which I believe GBVH also mentioned last week...Milwaukee Brewer 2B Rickie Weeks is done for the year after a wrist injury. Shame for the Brew Crew, who have been rolling of late in winning 11 of 13...the Toronto Blue Jays are off to Boston for a big series. The Sox will see Kevin Youkilis return in the series at some point, as will Daisuke Matsuzaka on Thursday...Mark Teixera continues his hot streak, at the plate where he hit homers from both sides, and in the field where his glove has saved runs each of the last three days. Somehow, despite some pretty solid Minnesota Twins teams over the years, the Twins are in a 3-23 run at Yankee Stadium since 2002 after last night's 7-6 loss. 40 of the 63 homers at Yankee Stadium have been hit to right field...pretty clear I'm becoming more selective on the PTP front. Forcing it wasn't working...have a great Tuesday.

Ricky be rolling...

Ricky Hatton suffered one of the scariest knockouts you're likely ever to see at the hands of Manny Pacquiao. Three times he hit the canvas in under two rounds, the last looking like he might be dead quite honestly. Pacquiao is incredible, particularly the speed with which he delivers his punches, and when Hatton started round two looking to brawl and flailing wildly, you had to figure it was only a matter of time before he hit the canvas for a final time...if you believe in omens - good or bad - then this one falls under the latter. In the middle of a storm, the Dallas Cowboys practice bubble collapsed and injured twelve at a rookie camp. No matter really, none of their picks were first rounders as it was...the Minnesota Vikings are seriously considering bringing in Brett Favre. Right, because that'll put them over the top. Can't wait to see the venom that would flow his way going back to Green Bay with a divisional rival...the Washington Capitals held serve in Game 1 of their series, downing the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-2. Heard at least a dozen people bitch about the start time of 1pm yesterday...suddenly, Don Cherry is taking up for Sidney Crosby, calling him the best player in the NHL...WWE star Batista was in Pacquiao's corner last night. Guess that explains the tat on his shoulder...a funny thing happened on the way to a comfortable 2-0 series lead for the Vancouver Canucks. With the 'nucks up 2-0 early, the Black Hawks rallied for five unanswered to take the game and even the series...the Boston Celtics did what champions do last night and defended their turf and finished off the Chicago Bulls at home...after a 1-1 draw in Toronto, the Columbus Crew 0-4-3 on the season, the worst ever record to open a season for a defending MLS champion...best email of the week to the Jim Rome Show comes after Rome interviewed Carolina Hurricane Ray Whitney, who had one of his kids crying in the background. The email read: "Dear Jim, why is Ray Whitney doing his interview from Sidney Crosby's house?"...Real Madrid were smashed 6-2 at home by Barcelona, effectively giving Barca the Spanish championship. Nice showing, Real...finally today, Bukkake gives you a great link to a sports site worth seeing...have a great Sunday.

Boom, outta here...

Pretty cool of the Philadelphia Phillies walking through the stands and a gauntlet of fans onto the field. Their starter last night Brett Myers may have quit drinking beer except for when watching football - a move that helped him drop 30 pounds this off season - but he pitched like the first half Myers of 2008, giving up three bombs as the reigning champs fell to the gonna-be-good Atlanta Braves. Expect a lot of Myers "boom, outta here" on The Jim Rome Show today. If you haven't heard the clip before, it is embedded below. The Bravos were a nice +121 winner if you had it...optimism may abound on baseball's Opening Day, but cold reality is going to hit in Toronto for games two and three where so far, fewer than 10,000 tickets have been sold...the NCAA final goes tonight in Detroit. Not sure about you, but I'm riding UNC to win it...the Toronto Raptors had a .220 winning percentage against teams better than .500. And somehow, GM Bryan Colangelo likes this team...the latest edition of People I Hate struck me on the way to the office this morning. People Who Don't Clean Their Car Off After A Snowfall. Turning on your windshield wipers is not cleaning your car off, you ignorant fools. I've contemplated starting a campaign where I buy a box of cheap brushes that I fire at cars who don't bother. If drinking and driving is sheer idiocy - and it is - this isn't far behind. If you can't see out of 3/4 of your cars windows, you're an accident waiting to happen...speaking of accidents, did you see WrestleMania? The Undertaker is lucky he can walk today after botching a dive out of the ring and going head first into the floor. Looked very, very bad. Overall, a great card and the final match - Triple H vs. Randy Orton - was pretty much the lone dud. I love Free To Air!...Manchester United looks like they'll be selling Cristiano Ronaldo this summer if the stories of them inking Franck Ribery from Bayern Munich are true. As great as Ronaldo can be, and he sure was yesterday, like this move. Ribery comes cheaper, and is a fantastic young player with a lot less drama...the New York Giants will likely trade for Braylon Edwards on draft day if the Cleveland Browns can manage to draft a top of the line receiver to replace him. You heard it here first...if you like stats going into your wagering decisions, Yankees starter CC Sabathia is 5-0, 2.38 against Baltimore in his career, 3-0, 2.60 in four starts at Camden Yards...how about the 10 Girliest Sports Fights?...back with your PTP later.

One Tiger Roars, Another Whimpers

Detroit Tiger Dontrelle Willis has been placed on the DL for anxiety. I guess when you've lost velocity, can't hit the plate, and have the pressure of a huge contract, you tend to get anxious...good of the Toronto Raptors to roll off four straight wins which will only serve to worsen their draft position. Of course, Jose Calderon is pumping up these four wins as being what this team is about and in typical Jose fashion, ignoring they're not exactly beating playoff bound teams because, well, they don't. They'll never win anything under that guy at the point, and yes, I say that after his 22 point 19 dime game - against Chicago...wonder if NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman is working on his list of excuses he'll be using come playoff time when there are scores of empty seats in arenas league wide?...Tiger Woods did what Tiger Woods does in coming back from five shots back to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational, and set up the global media heading to Augusta for the Masters with the requisite "Second Coming" stories...Jason Taylor could be the next signing by the New England Patriots. Why is it that you can see one team sign older players - thinking Washington Redskins here - and you know it won't work out, but the Pats sign a guy and in this case, the same guy the Redskins signed a year prior, and you figure it will end well?...it is WrestleMania week, and you know your faithful blogger will do his best to work in some past and present wrestling stuff. Today, the Top 10 Old School Promos...the long-running joke about Playboy is that one reads it for the articles. That may not be entirely true, but their articles are absolutely top notch regardless of field. The latest issue has a great piece on Barry Bonds and the treatment he has received. It's a long one, but well worth the read...less than a week until the MLB season starts, man I'm jacked for that...have a great Monday, back later with your PTP.

Check out this creepy laugh...

Dominican't

So, about the idea that Real Madrid is a soccer power in Europe? Nevermind. Liverpool were never threatened by the Spanish side in yesterdays second leg of their Champions League round of 16 game, taking Real apart with stunning ease 4-0, and it wasn't even that close. Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard were beasts all game. Why Cristiano Ronaldo would contemplate leaving Manchester United for that outfit is beyond me. Real is likely heading toward another coaching change and more roster turmoil. Chelsea, Bayern Munich and Villareal also advanced to the final eight..SI.com's Peter King, between sips of Starbucks, figures Arizona Cardinal Anquan Boldin will be a Philadelphia Eagle or New York Giant before July hits. As a Cowboy fan, at least the Redskins will always suck...Koko B. Ware is going into the WWE Hall of Fame? Who is next, The Berzerker?...Carlos Marmol came on to close out Holland and the Dutch proved too much and downed the Dominican 2-1 in 12 innings. Anybody else think that he's going to get the Andreas Escobar treatment when he goes home to the D.R.?...it didn't take long for the conspiracy theorists to figure A-Rod's sudden hip injury and surgery is merely cover for an MLB suspension...since November 28th, the New York Isles are 1-19-2 on the road. The 1980's must seem decades ago. Forgive me while I channel Yogi Berra...among the many interesting points in Declan Hill's book "The Fix" - a look at the extent to which soccer is fixed in the gambling world - is a revelation that some bookmakers in Russia stopped taking bets on the NHL in the 1990's, such was the level of fixing going on there with Russian players in particular. At the time, there were rumblings of "protection money" being extorted from Pavel Bure and Alexander Mogilny, but I don't recall gambling ever being brought up...Bret Hart once gave Vince McMahon a clothesline in a strip joint. True story. By the way, if you've never read Hart's bio "Hitman", do yourself a favor and start now...in Champions League action today, it doesn't get any bigger than Inter Milan at Manchester United. Also a big one in Rome, as Arsenal travel to face AS Roma. Again, I feel a strange fever coming over me today at the office around 3pm...Adam "Pacman" Jones has a new job, but it isn't in the NFL. He's on the terrible show "Pros vs. Joes", which led to this awesome email to Jim Rome: "Dear Jim, is Pacman a 'Pro' or a 'Joe'?"...line of the day from Gary Loewen at the Toronto Sun: "the NBA Development League is being innovative by allowing its three division winners to choose their first-round playoff opponents. No Raptors jokes here, please"...finally on my 10th listen, I figured out what Quinton "Rampage" Jackson screamed into the mic as he and champion Rashad Evans faced off in the ring after Jackson's win over Keith Jardine to hype their fight down the road: "there's gonna be some black on black crime." Amazing. Love me some Rampage...have a great Wednesday, back later with your PTP.

Craptors at it again

I've heard some suggestions for improving the NFL's overtime format but here is a new one that is said to be gaining steam: first team to score six points wins. That's fantastic and eliminates a lot of the current method of winning the toss, picking up a couple first down and kicking a winning field goal, while not getting to the lame college method of starting at the opposing team's 35 with both getting equal chances to win. This idea is most like the actual game. Make it happen, Roger Goodell...the Dallas Stars are 15-6-3 since ditching Sean Avery. GM Brett Hull may have screwed up signing him, but he deserves credit for changing course when most GM's would stubbornly stick to their initial instinct...Stephen A. Smith has not backed off one bit from his statement that Chris Bosh will leave the Toronto Raptors when his contract expires after next season. And the more Bosh tries to play it as made up while not saying he wants to stay, you have to give it some credence...Bosh and the Raptors were killed in Cleveland last night, and tonight get Kobe Bryant and the LA Lakers at home. Fortunately, this one is on TSN2 so most won't see the senseless slaughter of the Raps. I'd contemplate betting the Lakers even at -100...new poll question at the right. Get your vote in...not sure which Jim Rome take on Michael Phelps is funnier. That his bong rips explain the 10,000 calories he packs in a day, or that with his lung capacity, he must have crushed all the weed in that house in one shot...202 WWE Diva pics. Why? Because 201 would not be enough...if you're ever contemplating plastic surgery, here are 30 reasons why it is a bad idea...when you think your job sucks, consider that there is someone that was getting paid to rub hot liniment oil all over Roger Clemens for a time, including on his beanbag. Seriously. That comes from the new Joe Torre/Tom Verducci book "The Yankee Years". Added bonus from the book, according to Sports Illustrated's Alex Belth? It reminds us how great Alex Rodriguez really is...if you heard about the PETA ad that was banned as being "too hot" for Super Bowl Sunday but haven't seen it, here's your chance. Whatever your opinion, it probably wasn't as steamy as the porn that was shown for a time on an Arizona station. Here are the rest of the ads, if you care...back later with the PTP. Still sour over last night's fourth quarter deluge to push the game over...hope NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman doesn't read the Toronto Sun, because this piece on the state of the NHL from Bill Lankhof would likely ruin his day. Illuminating stuff for those with their heads in the sand about the health of the NHL...have a great Wednesday.

Serious Guacamole

How great is that caricature on the right? If you don't agree, you clearly haven't seen who is lounging on Jessica's couch...Shannon Sharpe says that on Super Bowl Sunday, there are enough avocado's consumed to stack them 18 feet high from endzone to endzone. Who figures this stuff out?...in 2008, there was only one left-handed starting pitcher who gave up fewer home runs, pitched more innings and had a lower rate of walks per 9 innings than the New York Yankees Andy Pettitte. That would be CC Sabathia. Two lefties at Yankee Stadium is going to be a real good thing..the Pittsburgh Steelers faced nine of the top 10 defenses this past season. Translation: they'll get theirs against the Arizona Cardinals who are not a top 10 team defensively...maybe it is just me, but I think I'm looking forward to Georges St. Pierre vs. BJ Penn at UFC 94 tomorrow as much as I am the Super Bowl this weekend. If you get a chance to see UFC Primetime - a three part preview of the fight that goes to each man's camp - check it out on Spike pre-fight today or tomorrow. This is gonna be a war. My money is on GSP, but no result would surprise me...it wasn't looking good for the "under" on 195 play last night at 111 points at the half but thanks to a 29 point half for the Cleveland Cavs and 76 on the half including the Orlando Magic, it was a comfortable under in the end and a 99-88 Magic win...it'll be Roger Federer against Rafael Nadal in the finals of the Australian Open. Great weekend for sports, to state the obvious...I get that TSN paid some big bucks to cover the Olympics, but that watermark they're using on screen is a touch oversized, no? Then again, it is more subtle than the four billion ads they ran over the last year plus telling everyone they had the Grey Cup...how has Joe Torre's upcoming book been received by his former employers? Not good. Best line on the subject: "David Wells will be named the team nutritionist before Torre is invited back to the Bronx." Hope it was worth it, Torre. No more number retirement, no Old Timers Day, nada. Asked what he'd do if he saw Torre now, Wells said he'd "knock him out"...Dallas Cowboys Hall of Famer Michael Irvin told Jim Rome that not only will Anquoin Boldin have a greater impact on the Super Bowl than Larry Fitzgerald, he's also a better receiver overall...as you may have seen from GBVH yesterday, Mickey Rourke will not be taking on Chris Jericho at Wrestlemania after all. I'd expect Vince McMahon to kill Rourke for backing out over the coming weeks, but the publicity will be well worth it for the WWE...the United States is putting in bids for the 2018 and 2022 World Cup's. Bet on them getting one of the two. The beauty of the World Cup is that you don't even need to say what sport it is. Really, it is the only true World Cup...back with the Friday night PTP later. Have a great day.

"Losers"?

A recent category called "Losers" on Jeopardy! had this for a $1000 answer: "one second from defeat in the 2008 Super Bowl, this losing head coach threw a hissy fit and stalked off the field." Question: "who is Bill Belichick?". Wow, that's incredible...Tony Romo has the NFL's biggest endorsement deal for Starter. Well, it is a good thing there isn't a product called Finisher, because he wouldn't be endorsing that. I'll stop hammering him and the Cowboys once we're a month out from that debacle in Philadelphia. Wade Phillips excepted, of course..anybody figured out yet how the NFL, NBA and MLB have all talked to varying degrees about economic concerns in the past few months, but Gary Bettman insists all is well in the NHL? Seriously, does anybody believe him? Emperor Nero thinks he's deluded...a full slate of English Premier League action today. Manchester United 'keeper Edwin van der Sar will set an EPL record for consecutive shutout minutes if he keeps a clean sheet against West Brom into the 84th minute today which would give him 1,026...just week's after panning "The Wrestler" as not representative of the business that is WWE, Vince McMahon sees opportunity knock and he tears the door off the hinges: star of "The Wrestler" and Oscar nominee Mickey Rourke will face Chris Jericho at Wrestlemania. Genius move by Vinnie Mac given how much pub that movie and Rourke are pulling right now. A genius move by you would be going to see this movie, it meets the hype and then some...under the Department of Bargain: Andy Pettitte at $5.5 million. Granted, he's got the chance to double that with incentives so it is a great deal for both the Yankees and Pettitte if he has a solid year. Pettitte is expected to pitch fourth as the Yanks try to manage Joba Chamberlain's innings. Still would have preferred Ben Sheets, but he's a huge injury concern...is Andrei Arshavin Arsenal bound? Sure looks that way...5 out of 6 now for PTP, life is good! Back later today with another winner...have a great Tuesday.

In a move that would more than likely fix all of the Dallas Cowboys discipline, accountability and divisiveness issues by his sheer presence, the squad might be hotly pursuing Baltimore Ravens free agent Ray Lewis. Wonder if Terrell Owens will do his Lewis dance impression again if that happens? Hell, if I'm Jerry Jones, I make the offer, and give him the head coaching job while he's at it...the Super Bowl coverage has yet to start, but one thing for certain: nobody else will be publishing a Top 10 Quarterback WAG's - Wives and Girlfriends - list like this...the Atlanta Braves are looking to add Andruw Jones after he was released by the L.A. Dodgers. Frankly, for a mere $400k, with the Dodgers picking up the other $20 million and change, I'm shocked more teams aren't looking to gamble. Word is Jones has shed a few pounds, that's a start...if anybody can figure out why Dallas Mavs owner Mark Cuban, in keeping his tradition of matching fines received by the NBA with donations to charities, is looking to make a donation to the NHL Players Association Goals and Dreams Fund in the names of Steve Moore and Todd Bertuzzi, I'd love ti hear it...in a five month period ending last year, 41 WWE wrestlers tested positive for marijuana. Well, if you can't pop painkillers like candy anymore, what else are these busted up guys to do?...interesting English Premier League stat: if you take away the final five minutes of the game, here's how the standings would look with the points on 85 minutes, with the actual position and points in parenthesis. 1. Arsenal - 45 (41, 5th); 2. Chelsea - 44 (45, 3rd); 3. Manchester United - 43 (47, 1st), Liverpool - 43 (47, 2nd), Aston Villa - 43 (44, 4th)...interesting point about the idea salary caps promote parity: in the last 30 years, there have been 20 champions in Major League Baseball. In the NBA, with a cap? 9...Washington Capital star - and one of the world's most electric players in any sport - Alexander Ovechkin has taken over 100 shots on goal more than the next player in the league...quick poll at the right, enjoy...have a great Wednesday.

Tuesday, December 2nd, 2008

How good is Kobe Bryant? If he could've scored another 15 points on Sunday against the Toronto Raptors, and we all know he's treated them like a hotel employee in Denver over the years, he would have reached 22,000 at the age of 30 years and 99 days, beating Wilt Chamberlain by one day to become the youngest to achieve that mark in league history...Cris Collinsworth on NBC's Football Night In America: "I was an idiot for believing in the Jets."...Bob Costas, same show: "when is the last time a player brought a gun to a public place that helped make the situation better?" Sounds more and more like Plaxico Burress time with Big Blue is done. The big loss will be if Antonio Pierce gets suspended by the league for helping him dispose of the gun...remember that mess that the Pittsburgh Steelers called Heinz "Field" last year when they replaced the grass late in the year? Well, they've done it again, and it could be a big factor come Sunday when they host the Dallas Cowboys in the game of the week, though you could argue that Tampa visiting Carolina is just as big in terms of playoff implications...it wasn't the three point bulge they wanted, but Liverpool went top of the table with a draw against West Ham to give them a one point lead. Wonder if the NHL will ever see the wisdom of the three points for a win system?...when Stephanie McMahon says she'll make Monday Night Raw "bigger", and you only see her shot from the chest up, you have to wonder if she is referring to herself literally...one angle that the Bills in Toronto haven't tried - yet - the return of Ricky Williams to his old stomping grounds. That is about the only stone left unturned in their desperate bid to sell out. Well, that and to buy tickets in honour of the now-deceased Ted Rogers...speaking of Rogers, wonder what his departure from this mortal coil means for the Toronto Blue Jays? Interesting times ahead...the Week 12 NFL average for points was a whopping 52.3. And the CFL thinks it has the market cornered on high scoring football. Nope, not even close. In fact, the two are moving in opposite directions...just what the world needed: a Toronto Maple Leafs team 2-0 since hiring Brian Burke after beating L.A. 3-1 last night. The Leafs Nation no doubt thinks the turnaround will be that easy and fast...have a great Tuesday.