Sunday, December 28th, 2008

A good night to take the underdogs in the big three UFC fights, as Rampage Jackson (+330), Frank Mir (+140) and Rashad Evans (+120) all came through with impressive wins. Mir's win sets up a rematch with heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar for that title, and if Mir fights the way he did tonight, he'll make quicker work of Lesnar than he did the first time, though that was a fight Lesnar should have finished. Evans is now the new light heavyweight champion after finishing Forrest Griffin in the second round, and Rampage is very much back in that title picture after a devastating knockout of the legendary Wanderlei Silva. Great card...less than 48 hours after playing on Boxing Day, the majority of the English Premier League's squads will take the field again today, continuing their busy schedule...in the World Junior Hockey Championship, Canada will pound Kazakhstan today at 3:30. Whether they cover the 7 goal spread at Pinnacle remains the question...the Portland Tribune says that the NBA will be reducing the salary cap in 2009-2010 by at least a million dollars...Joe Posnanski at SI.com writes a great piece on the parity in baseball, noting there have been eight different winners of the World Series in the last ten years, 15 teams have made the World Series in the same ten years, and over the last thirty years, twenty different teams have won the World Series and all but four - the Chicago Cubs, Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers and the Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals - have at least made the World Series. Over the same 30 years, 10 teams have never made the Super Bowl - yet many would have you believe parity is a thing of the NFL moreso than any other sport...the final Prime Time Pick of the regular season goes tonight, and shooting to finish a solid, solid 22-14 (61.1%) which, if you know anything about gambling and picking national games in particular, is damn impressive. The Denver Broncos visit the San Diego Chargers and the Bolts are looking for a heap of revenge after the Ed Hochuli blown call in September. Given how Phillip Rivers is rolling of late, hard not to like the Bolts to cover the -8, as big a spread as that may be for the occasion. Also a big fan of Arizona at -6, and Miami at +3, and am loving Dallas at +1...for 2009, am going to expand the Prime Time Picks to include one wager per day. As always, get down with Pinnacle...Tom Brady is said to be engaged to Gisele Bundchen. What a guy. He goes and blows his knee out - a big deal to most - but gets to rehab with Gisele nursing him. Tough times...Brett Favre is hinting at retirement. This time, I can't imagine anybody will care or much notice...the Toronto Raptors were outscored 53-32 in the second half last night en route to a 102-89 loss to Portland. Nice work, Craptors...have a great Sunday.

Thursday, December 18th, 2008

I know Mike Tyson is on Zoloft to keep him from killing us all, but I'm guessing it has some pretty obvious side effects, one being he's starting to look like King Hippo from Punchout...Minnesota T-Wolves coach and GM Kevin McHale says bloggers are to blame for the rash of early firings in the first two months of the season. While I'd love to claim credit for Sam Mitchell's ouster in Toronto, the fact is that losing costs jobs, not bloggers. If the latter had that kind of stroke, George W. Bush wouldn't have made a second term, nevermind through it...Tony Romo is 5-6 in the month of December for his career, and an incredible 22-4 in all other months. He's going to need to go over .500 on that first stat and fast...why Canada is better than the U.S.: Canadian Idol has been cancelled for 2009...word from Real Madrid is they've got a deal in place to purchase Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United next summer. The way his form's been up and down this year - he's got no goals away from home - United will do well to get the big bucks discussed this past off-season...the Toronto Raptors are now 7-14 since their 3-0 start to the year. They're more likely heading towards the draft lottery than the playoffs at this point. Memo to Rogers Digital: if you promise not to add TSN2, I'll be glad to move over from ExpressVu so I don't have to watch this garbage squad..Cris Collinsworth tells Bill Simmons - The Sports Guy - he thinks that the Dallas Cowboys are the New York Giants of last season, right down to predicting Dallas knocks the Giants out in the playoffs. I like the sounds of that. Another prediction: if that prediction is right, me and TS are gonna have one fantasic Super Bowl Sunday...San Diego Padre Brian Giles is being sued for $10 million by an ex-girlfriend who he allegedly beat while pregnant and there's video of what appears to be the girlfiend hitting the ground after Giles smacked her. Most inappropriate but hilarious response: so Giles can hit...proof it is December: Peter Forsberg is talking about coming back...tonight, Prime Time Picks shoots for 19-12 and the play is on Jacksonville at +6.5. While the Colts are seemingly the easy play, they historically struggle against the Jags and have played a pile of close games this year. 6.5 points on the road is a lot of lumber. Do the Colts win? Likely. Cover? I'm saying no, and maybe there's even an upset in store...if you had bet the New York Yankees to win the World Series 10 days ago, you'd have got 6-1 odds, putting them behind the Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox, each at 5-1. Today, the Yankees are 3-1...have a great Thursday.

Friday, October 31st, 2008

The World Series is now over, and the next baseball season is upon us: Free Agency Season. Mark Teixera, Ben Sheets and Manny Ramirez wasted no time in filing and no doubt, will soon be joined by CC Sabathia, AJ Burnett and loads, loads more. Even for this Yankee fan, it was a great season where it was hard not to be impressed by the Tampa Bay Rays and their boat load of talent, the plotlines that followed Manny Ramirez, the annual collapse of the New York Mets, the Chicago Cubs remaining losers, the Philadelphia Phillies are champions. It's a long way til February 14th though, when pitchers and catchers report to camp...got a few million to burn? Looking for a place in New York? Alex Rodriguez has a place for sale that might fit the bill...check out this Philadelphia Philly fan celebrating on top of a lamp post. Well, at least til another fan lobbed an empty bottle at him...I'm hardly a fan of NASCAR or Formula 1 racing, but those guys pull some seriously hot ladies. Here are one man's Top 10...it's been years since the NHL added the OTL column to their standings, and it is just as lame now as it was when first conceived...it is official, as of January 7th, David Beckham will be in AC Milan colours. Somebody alert Adidas to get their jersey production into overdrive...cannot believe how quickly the Ottawa Senators have become a bad, bad hockey team...Pittsburgh Steelers safety Ryan Clark was fined by the NFL for paying tribute to his late friend Sean Taylor by "radically" altering his uniform, or at least that is how the league viewed him etching the number 21 in his eye black. Some days, the NFL makes accountants and the Tax Man look easy going...Bud Selig got booed worse in Philly than Apollo Creed back in the day...with that beard he's rocking, San Antonio Spurs coach Greg Popovich looks a lot like Donald Sutherland, no?...Derek Jeter talks. Derek Jeter says nothing. Again...the New York Rangers opened in Europe and a month in, have played at least two games more than anyone else in the NHL at 13, and six more than the Phoenix Coyotes who have only played seven. What was the schedule maker doing when he came up with that? Despite that, they've picked up 21 points. Giving up fewer than two goals a game will help that...have a great Friday.

Monday, October 27th, 2008

Have to say, I'm shocked at the ease with which the Philadelphia Phillies are disposing of the Tampa Bay Rays, who are playing tighter than a snare drum. Not sure what is more surprising, Evan Longoria and Carlos Pena grinding their bats to sawdust or some of their fielders looking like they're sporting frying pans in place of gloves. As for the umps, I didn't know Ed Hochuli worked baseball too, there have been some real curious calls the last couple games. It is 3-1 Philly in the Series, and with Cole Hamels on the bump tonight, the National Guard best get mobilized to Philly, there's gonna be one impressive riot in that town if they close the deal tonight...it's always a good laugh for me when a guy's wife or mother needs to play public relations on their husband's/son's behalf. So this week, I'm laughing at you, Brett Favre...Patti LaBelle just finished the Star Spangled Banner in a time that a marathon runner would think slow. Her act was a total advertisement for why anthems at sporting events should be scrapped...what is with the World Series players introductions including what country they're from? Annoying...the Detroit Lions and Cincinnati Bengals remain winless after Week 8 action. Still think the Lions have the bads to go the distance winless...as wins go, yesterday's was a huge one for the Dallas Cowboys. Sure the offence looks feeble, but the defence looked great yesterday against the Tampa Bay Bucs. That said, don't like their chances facing the New York Giants next week, who have some serious mojo working after tying yesterday's game in Pittsburgh on a snap over the punter's head for a safety and then scored on the ensuing drive after the free kick...lookie here: Guns 'N Roses Chinese Democracy has leaked...in a bit of news that brings glee to this Toronto FC season ticket holder, David Beckham will be returning to the L.A. Galaxy after his loan to AC Milan, which should be finalized this week. I say "glee" because selling those tickets has brought a healthy windfall the last two seasons...Cristiano Ronaldo has seen the light, and says he'll be with Manchester United next year as well as this...here's a little Monday entertainment: 15 great sports broadcasting bloopers...have a great Monday.

New San Francisco 49ers coach Mike Singletary goes OFF post game yesterday...

Sunday, October 26th, 2008

It took a while to get going, and a wild ninth inning, but the Philadelphia Phillies took game three 5-4 to take a 2-1 series lead...Busy day in Philadelphia. If you've ever been to Philly, you'll know that the homes of the Flyers, Eagles and Phillies are all in the same complex - literally sharing a parking lot. Today at 1pm, the Eagles host Atlanta. At 7pm, The Who is playing the home of the Flyers, the Wachovia Center. And of course, at 8pm, the Phillies host the Tampa Bay Rays in game 4 of the World Series. Traffic should lift by about Tuesday...what do Tony Hawk, Michael Phelps, Alex Rodriguez and Kobe Bryant have in common? They did a Guitar Hero World Tour ad. In their underwear, a la Tom Cruise in Risky Business. Check it out...St. Louis Blue goalie Manny Legace went baseball on us, pulling his hammy slipping on the carpet laid out for Republican Veep nominee Sarah Palin for the ceremonial faceoff. Seems odd, don't it? Wipe out on carpet, but no sweat on ice?...word is the Toronto Blue Jays are willing to give AJ Burnett four years and $54-million in a take-it-or-leave-it offer. Bank on the latter...there is talk the LA Dodgers will make a two-year, $60 million offer to Manny Ramirez. If you're ManRam, how do you not take that? When your agent is Scott Boras, that's how...surprise, surprise, the Ottawa Senators are looking for a goalie. Shame Ray Emery is in Russia...hey, no PrimeTime Picks tonight. But, a big fan of Buffalo (-1), Pittsburgh (-3) and Seattle (+5). Place your wagers at Pinnacle...it wasn't easy, but Anderson Silva beat Patrick Cote by TKO last night after Cote blew out his knee...Buffalo Bills QB Trent Edwards is completing 76% of his passes in the fourth quarter. That'll do. Oddly, the Bills are playing their first divisional game of the season this week, and 6 of the next 10...the Detroit Lions have yet to score in the first quarter this season...freaking Penn State. Sour...funny that ten NFLers can get busted for steroids and it's almost a non-story, but one baseball player is even suspected and it is top billing everywhere. Strange...Isaiah Thomas trying to cover up the overdose story and say it was his daughter puts him in O.J. Simpson territory for worst father ever...have a great Sunday.

Saturday, October 25th, 2008 - Joe Pa Going Down In C-Bus Tonight

As lame as the "This One Counts!" aspect of the baseball All Star Game is, here's an interesting fact. The winning pitcher of this year's game was Tampa Bay Ray Scott Kazmir, the loser was Philadelphia Philly Brad Lidge. In game 1 of the World Series, Kazmir was the loser, and Lidge chalked up the save. One difference: Ryan Howard was in the All Star Game. He's missing and presumed dead this playoff year...want a free wager winner tonight? Bet Ohio State at +2 at home against Penn State. Yes, I know Penn State is scoring 45 a game, but they're not going into the Shoe and winning. Tune in to ABC at 8, enjoy Terrelle Pryor going wild. Bet with Pinnacle...Curt Schilling took to his blog again to hammer Manny Ramirez. Shortly after, he pulled down the more offensive comments but like Two Girls & One Cup, once it is out on the internet, it lives forever. Check out the hard hitting stuff here from He Who Is An Authority On Everything...big day in Toronto today. The annual Rock, Paper, Scissors World Championship is on. As always, I'm pulling for rock...last year, the Cleveland Browns averaged 25.1 points per game. Going into tomorrow's game, they're at 15.3...Australia, China, England, Russia and the United States are among the bidders for the 2018 and 2022 World Cup's...Isaiah Thomas overdosed on sleeping pills? Somewhere, Kim Etheridge is trying to calculate how many reasons Zeke has to live...Toronto FC closes off the regular season with a trip to San Jose tonight. A win or loss only hurts their draft position - they have their own pick plus San Jose's first rounders - so here's hoping for a draw...UFC 90 goes tonight and Canadian Patrick "The Predator" Cote gets served to the incredible Anderson "The Spider" Silva. Cote is a 5-1 underdog in this one, and will do well to last two rounds...have a great Saturday.

Thursday, October 23rd, 2008

With their 3-2 win to take a 1-0 series lead, the Philadelphia Phillies are now 87-0 on the year when leading after 8 frames...the Tampa Bay Rays are the first team since the 1991 Atlanta Braves in any sport to go from having the worst record the prior year to making the championship the next year...the Phillies have lost four World Series, each time to AL East opponents...if you're like me, you got another email on buying Bills tickets for their Toronto game. Warms the cockles of my heart every time...good of the Browns to suspend Kellen Winslow for stating, well, the truth about his having a staph infection and being the sixth Brownie to suffer from it. The Browns are a disaster and only last year's weak schedule gave them any appearance of a future and hope...for sale: Carey Price jersey. New. Stitched. Drop me a line for details...true story: I have yet to watch a full period of NHL action this year...Tony Romo will in fact be out until after the bye in Week 9 it seems. So much for optimism...the Tennessee Titans opponents thus far are a combined 12-26, if you care about these things...the Toronto Raptors will have 25 of their games broadcast on TSN2. This isn't a big deal, unless you're a Rogers subscriber, where that channel isn't carried to date. If you're on Bell ExpressVu, you're all set...happened to stumble into one minutes of Knight Rider. Other than the smoking hot Deanna Russo, that show is a horror show based on that one minute...and if you haven't been watching Entourage this season, shame on you. That show is on FIRE this season with non-stop hilarity...Tom Brady ignored the New England Patriots wishes to have the surgery done by doctors of his choosing and - surprise, surprise - he's now got infection problems. Beantown is starting to look like the mojo is gone, no?...check out this survey of NBA GM's on the looming season. Minnesota T-Wolves GM Kevin McHale picked the Raptors to win the Atlantic division this year. There's reason enough to believe it won't happen. 16% of GM's picked Andrea Bargnani as the international most likely to have a breakout year which placed him second in that category. 0% gave Jose Calderon a vote as best international, and only four got votes there. Interesting stuff...have a great Thursday.

Wednesday, October 22nd, 2008

Game 1 of the World Series goes tonight, finally. I'm thinking Tampa Bay Rays in six though recent history says - think Detroit and Colorado - that the team that is off as long as the Philadelphia Phillies has been tends to go out, and go out fast...how is this for a nice contract kicker: Boston Red Sock Dice-K Matsuzaka will see his annual salary for 2009 and 2010 go up by $2 million if he finishes top three in Cy Young voting this year, which he could well given his win total - assuming his ugly ERA is ignored...Manny Ramirez to the Philadelphia Phillies? My keeper fantasy team is begging for that development. He might hit a billion homers playing in that launching pad...Jose Canseco says he regrets writing "Juiced" and naming names. What he should regret is calling it much of a book at all. Pretty sure I've seen better writing from Grade 4's. On a more serious note, his book did a lot to clean up baseball, far more than The Mitchell Report did or will...without looking at the standings, who do you figure has scored more points than anyone else in the NFL this year, and it isn't even close? Believe it or not, the Chicago Bears...word is that EliteXC is done. The MMA company that UFC President Dana White said wouldn't last until Christmas didn't. So, does that mean that Kimbo Slice could participate in a future run of The Ultimate Fighter?..."The Special One" Jose Morinho is at it again, deriding players in the English Premier League for diving. This, while holding up Italy's "Serie A" as a league where that doesn't happen. That in itself is funny, and by funny, I mean incredibly wrong. What's funnier is that Morinho is Portuguese, the land where the art was developed, refined and perfected. At least of the players he named, none were English. If there's one thing you have to respect among English players, it is that that kind of garbage is frowned upon. Reason #1 why Wayne Rooney is my fav player...another NHL team in Toronto would be my hockey dream come true - any team in the area to supplant the Leafs as my team - who I simultaneously love and hate - would be great. Shame the odds of it happening are nil...if the Leafs keep not stealing the extra point in the shootout, people are going to think they're under orders...Buffalo Bills QB and rising star Trent Edwards was on Pardon The Interruption yesterday and was asked to play a little "Toss up" for what city he preferred - Toronto or Buffalo. He chose Buffalo. In response, Edwards degree from the esteemed Stanford has been revoked...going to be another week minus Tony Romo at the helm for the Dallas Cowboys. Wonderful...have a great Wednesday.

Tuesday, October 21st, 2008 - Beantown Bandwagon Empties

Teams from Florida - the Marlins and Rays - have never lost a playoff series to date...for the seventh time in eight years, baseball will have a different World Series winner...when Gary Bettman talks of how NHL season tickets are up 4%, he might want to mention that the Chicago Black Hawks are carrying most of that. Their figure went up from 3,500 to 14,000...Sargeant Kellen Winslow says that his latest illness is another bout of staph infection, the sixth time a Cleveland Browns player has had to deal with that. Does wonders for the image of Cleveland, I'm sure...good of the Green Bay Packers to hammer that fake named Brett Favre for allegedly calling the Detroit Lions to tip them off on some of what the Packers would run when they played a couple weeks back. It didn't work for the Lions, and only serves to show what a prick Favre really is. Losing to Oakland looked good on him. It won't be the last this year in a season going nowhere for 'ol Brett...hard to believe, but Ben Wallace is actually making more - about $100k more - than some teammate named Lebron James this year...so who thought New England had that kind of performance in them? And what happened to the smoking hot Denver Broncos of September?...as far as Champions League matchups go, hard to get too many that are more appealing than Real Madrid travelling to Turin to face Juventus. That, and seven other Champions League games go off today at 2:45 Eastern...good to see Kansas City Chief Larry Johnson has that anger under wraps. I mean, why else would a guy spit in a woman's face?...have a great Tuesday.

This might be the best thing I've seen in some time...

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