Chelsea went off for seven goals in a 7-1 thumping of Aston Villa, previously the English Premier League's best defensive side. Manchester United maintained their hold on top spot with a 4-0 win at Bolton, while Arsenal suffered a serious blow to their championship hopes with a 1-1 draw at Birmingham. Chelsea visits Man U next Saturday morning in a match that could well decide the champion. Frequent reader and poster Norway/Kristian passed on this slight alteration to the Villa logo. Hint: one part at the bottom normally reads "prepared".
Butler, Michigan State, Duke and West Virginia are the Final Four in a wildly unpredictable NCAA tourney. If you caught the Duke game, they benefited greatly from a terrible charging call and an equally dubious technical foul call that were largely the difference in a seven point win over Baylor. Lovely. I'd be thrilled to see any of the other three cut the nets ahead of that squad.
Toronto FC didn't exactly impress for a lot of their opening 2-0 loss at Columbus, but they weren't quite a disaster as feared heading into it. That said, Ty Harden and Nick Garcia in the heart of the defence doesn't inspire, and big signing Julian de Guzman was invincible for the most part. O'Brien White was impressive up front, and Martin Saric looks like he could be decent in the midfield.
Are CSKA Sofia the most dysfunctional club in Europe? Whether you're a soccer fan or not, be sure to take a read of this look at the club. What a freakin shit show they are.
Georges St. Pierre defended his UFC middleweight title with a dull decision over Dan Hardy. Shane Carwin made it 12-0 with all his wins by first round knockout in stopping Frank Mir to set up a July showdown with Brock Lesnar for the heavyweight title. That's gonna be the most hyped UFC bout, perhaps ever.
Word is that next year's NHL Winter Classic will be at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, with the Washington Capitals visiting. If that don't do a monster rating in the U.S., the NHL is officially dead in Uncle Sam's land.
Memo to the Buffalo Bills: if you're going to use Jim Kelly as someone to guage the personality and willingness to come to Buffalo of a player, especially one as high profile as Tim Tebow, be sure he tells his wife not to Tweet about it.
How serious is the Ben Roethlesberger case? Serious enough that Peter King at SI.com says the Steelers would be wise to plan for a 2010 season minus Big Ben.
UFC111 goes tonight in Newark, New Jersey and will see welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre, returning from a long layoff after a groin injury, face Dan Hardy. Hardy got off a great bit of smack in mocking GSP's wearing a traditional robe to the ring, saying just because you wear pyjamas to the ring, it doesn't make you an MMAer. The co-main event sees Frank Mir face Shane Carwin for the interim heavyweight title. All of Carwin's 11 fights have ended by knockout in the first round. Just sayin'.
Toronto FC start the season off today in Columbus, as is tradition of late, and optimism is in as short supply as players are for the Reds. TFC will dress anywhere from 13-15 players barring any last minute surprises, and it is a damning statement that Mo Johnston took six months to deliver what, other than a new coach, looks to be a less talented and more shallow squad. The knife sharpening is on.
If Donovan McNabb is traded, word is he'd prefer it be to the Minnesota Vikings. Right, him and any other QB would love that receiving corps and Adrian Peterson in the backfield. Trouble is, McNabb, they've already got another QB they're waiting on.
The 32nd round of the English Premier League season starts today and there is little margin for error at the top of the table. Chelsea faces the toughest opponent of the top three in hosting Aston Villa, though Arsenal's visit to Birmingham is no easy three points. Manchester United is at Bolton, and may be minus Wayne Rooney for that one.
Adam "Pacman" Jones is set to become a Detroit Lion. Wait til he finds out how many scrip clubs there are just over the border in Windsor!
Seems Formula 1 drivers have an issue with a twilight start in Melbourne, Australia and driving the final laps with the sun directly in their eyes. As if anything could go wrong that way?
New Orleans Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma thinks the new NFL overtime rules are a shot at the Saintsfor their overtime win over Minnesota in the playoffs. Guess Vilma forgets that OHB is perfectly capable of throwing a back-breaking interception in OT as much as in regulation. Far too sensitive, JV.
Mostly fantastic games in the NCAA last night as West Virginia and Kentucky punched their tickets to the Elite 8. #1 seed in the West RegionSyracuse bowed out thanks to a turnover filled effort against Butler, and in a ridiculously wild game, Kansas State beat Xavier 101-96 in double overtime. Tonight, another four games set with. Cannot wait. I'm betting Northern Iowa at +1. Get down.
The Oakland Raiders are said to be in on Donovan McNabb if the Philadelphia Eagles are selling. Guess the Raiders figure one overweight QB isn't enough.
Weirdest thing. I tuned in to Raptors TV last night and they were broadcasting a D-League game. That's not the weird part. That'd be the fact that guys making pennies to the Raptors dollars were actually making an effort and competing.
Gabrielle Marcotti at ESPN SoccerNet takes a look at the English Premier League run in and concludes Chelsea has a very rocky road ahead, with a bumpy summer ahead with an aging roster. Chelsea with issues? Shame. Marcotti tabs Manchester United to win the league again.
NFLers give their fav swear words. Unofficially, I think "motherfuck" and variations thereof wins. Not surprisingly, a Manning comes up with the lamest of the lame in the bunch.
The grand jury investigating Roger Clemens for steroid use could get real interesting with talk that Jose Canseco may be subpoenaed. Canseco played with Clemens in Toronto and with the New York Yankees.
March Madness resumes tonight with the first four games of the Sweet 16 taking place. Liking the favs across the board tonight, and expecting Syracuse to roll big, though I have feeling Kentucky could be pressed.
The World Cup coverage schedule for this summer has been released, and all games will be broadcast in HD, with all of them live except where two games are taking place at the same time. Awesome news, CBC.
In other World Cup news, FIFA President Sepp Blatter has to be a little embarrassed that 650,000 tickets of the 2.95 million available remain unsold. Even England's federation returned 1,000 of its 29,000 tickets. Guess people don't want to fly that far for that much in a country not exactly known as being overly secure. When you're scaring the English off, that's something.
Here's why Toronto Raptors pylon Jose Calderon sucks: "it was too easy and it was kind of a straight line (to the basket) sometimes, so it was my fault. What are you going to do? It happens." Wrong, Jose, it just happens to you, over and over and over again. For those that loved him up two years ago, where are you now? His horrible defending is only exceeded by his worse contract.
BMO Field in Toronto, home of Toronto FC, will host the MLS Cup on November 21st, a good get for TFC. Wonder if they'll be the first team to host but not make the playoffs.
Word is Tim Tebow, Florida's QB that is preparing to enter the NFL draft, tried to get other prospects to join him in prayer before taking the Wonderlic test. One player responded with "shut the fuck up". I'll never understand why some people feel the need to shove their faith down other people's throats.
Donovan McNabb may end up a St. Louis Ram, if you believe the rumors coming out of St. Louis. For their part, Philadelphia coach Andy Reid isn't denying trade discussions regarding their three QB's have taken place.
Four English Premier League games on the slate today, with Manchester City hosting Everton in what is the best matchup of the day. At the other end of the spectrum, plenty of pressure on Chelsea to get winning again and fast with this game in hand they're using up in what should be a gimme of a game at last-place Portsmouth, but the Blues have struggled of late. A Chelsea win puts them in second place, a point ahead of Arsenal, a point behind Manchester United. Shaping up to be a fantastic EPL finish to the season.
Looking like the opening NFL game for the 2010 season will see the Minnesota Vikings in New Orleans to face the Saints. Not bad, I'd say! Other schedule rumblings are that it will be the Washington Redskins in Dallas on Thanksgiving. The entire schedule should be out mid to late April if tradition holds.
Saturday Night Live's Seth Meyers on the Tiger Woods interview on Sunday: "Wish Tom Rinaldi had ended 5 minute Tiger interview with 'Thanks for the quickie.'" Love Seth.
I can't claim to have ever heard a Justin Bieber song, but man is that kid and talk of him annoying me.
Fark.comdelivers this gem on Georgia authorities deciding they don't need Ben Roethlisberger's DNA: "Georgia authorities drop request for DNA sample from Ben Roethlisberger, presumably since it's so readily available."
The NFL has decided to change its overtime rules, but strangely, for the playoffs only at this point. Seems a touch XFLish to go that way, no? NFL coaches were surprisingly against the move, though I guess it does remove the excuse that "we lost the coin toss, that's why we lost" in OT.
Speaking of the XFL, the always funny SportsPickledetails the XFL's Hall of Fame inductees for 2010. True story: yours truly has a New York Hitmen jersey.
The Tampa Bay Rays are said to be looking to cut $20 million of payroll next year. Still, they've got a lot of young talent locked into good contracts, but that has to make an impact.
Ron Cooke from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says that the Minnesota Twinscontract extension for Joe Mauer is lunacy, and with eight players signed next year totally $70.5 million, they're going to see their current payroll of $97 million.
If I'm New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera, I'd be making sure I'm neither 5'6" or 160lbs, because the sex assault suspect at the right is looking a lot like you otherwise. Great find from SportsByBrooks.
David Letterman on the new health program brought in by Barrack Obama: "It covers the Kansas Jayhawks' choking." Can I tap it for lost pool entries? Washington Nationals top draft pick Stephen Strasburg, called by some the best pitching prospect in baseball history, recorded 27 outs in his 3 spring starts, 12 coming by srikeouts. Of the other 15, 14 were ground balls. Not bad. He'll start the season in Double A but won't be long before he's making good on his promise it seems.
There's talk in Philadelphia that the Flyersmay work a deal this summer for Carey Price, the only Montreal Canadien booed in pre-game intros - and heartily I might add - at a game recently attended by yours truly in Montreal. I don't include this for that story, but because the first comment is so hilarious. Some guy thinks the Flyers would give up Mike Richards or Jeff Carter for him at this point! The Habs would do well just to get his contract off the books right now.
Ronnie Brown of the Miami Dolphins got clipped for a DUI on the weekend leading the always clever Fark Sports to dub his squad the Miami DUIphins. Solid.
Keeping with running backs, the Toronto Argos chose not to re-sign Jamal Robertson. Guess where he landed? Yep, the other CFL team owned by David Braley, the B.C. Lions. Altogether now: "bush league!"
Duante Culpepperwants to play for the Buffalo Bills, his next step in a career arc that has seen him go from the Oakland Raiders to the Detroit Lions and possibly the Bills. Make of this what you will.
RedNationOnline has a piece about Toronto FC supporters being less than thrilled with the team as it prepares to launch the 2010 season. Why? I mean, who doesn't want to get excited about a team that has seen more red cards than goals scored in the pre-season?
Joe Mauer has agreed to an eight-year, $184 million extension that will keep him with the Minnesota Twins. He's a hell of a player, but that's big bucks and term for a catcher, where the health of knees and back, especially for a guy his size and who has already had some health issues and is on a team that isn't considered a big money team - though their owner is worth a load more than George Steinbrenner - could really sting them down the road if he doesn't stay healthy. Mauer will be taking up a quarter of the Twins payroll in the immediate future.
Less than two weeks until baseball season, the MLS season starts this week thanks to their 5-year labour deal Saturday, and March Madness is full on. I love this time of year.
I want to thank the Kansas Jayhawks for raining fecal matter on my pool entries. All of them.
Manchester United's 2-1 win over Liverpool wasn't a massive surprise, despite 'pool's ownership of United the previous three games, but Chelseadrawing 1-1 with Blackburnis a stunner. United now sit 2 points ahead of Arsenal with seven to play for each, and Chelsea are five back with eight to go. Didn't I mention the mentally weak Blues wouldn't get it done just a few days ago?
Who was the meathead in the Buffalo Bills marketing area that thought a season ticket renewal campaign tied to an image of punter Brian Moorman punting from his own endzone would inspire confidence? Check it out at right. Needless to say, fans aren't impressed in B-lo. Oh, the picture was taken during the Bills 6-3 loss to Cleveland this past season, something else that isn't likely to have people thinking "entertainment and value for the dollar". The only way it could've been a worse idea is if they had the picture from the Rogers Centre in Toronto.
Losers of six straight, including yesterday's beatdown at the hands of the last-in-the-league Edmonton Oilers, safe to say the San Jose Sharks are feeling the after-effects of nine players getting Olympic duty. That, or they're just rounding into playoff form.
Not saying no more Sunday blog's, but thinking they won't be quite as regular.
One thing I want to see this baseball season, badly: Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington tripping on his way to the mound and landing face first on the chalk line. That'd be amazing.
Another EPL weekend is about to kickoff today, with Liverpool at Manchester United tomorrow being the featured bout. Wolves are half way to an upset of Aston Villa at the moment, leading 2-1 at the half. Step your game up, Villains!
For at least the second straight year, the team with the fewest fights in the NHL - Washington - leads the overall standings. As is stands right now, three of the five teams with the most fights, with Calgary on the bubble to make it four, are in position to miss the playoffs. All that enforcing the "code" sure is doing wonders, ain't it?
Curt Schillingtook a run at users of performance enhancing drugs a few days back on the Dan Patrick Show, and thinks that Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds and others don't belong in the Hall of Fame. For the millionth time - how can you be punished for doing something that wasn't against the rules at the time? Funny, Patrick never asked him if he felt his World Series win was tainted in any way given David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez, just to name two, being tarred with the PED brush, but Schilling always did act like he was holier than all.
Mark Cubanoffers this warning to NBA players, disguised as a commentary to NFL players. http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2010/02/10/cuban-offers-warning-to-nfl-players/
JaMarcus Russell checked in to Oakland Raiders off season camp weighing a mere 271. He seems very committed, to eating.
Since February 17th 2009, the leading NHL goal scorers are Alexander Ovechkin with 59, Steve Stamkos with 58, and Sidney Crosby at 57. Betting the inclusion of Stamkos surprises most.
The ultimate point in how ludicrous NHL suspensions are: Sean Avery got six games for a "sloppy seconds" blast that was "conduct detrimental to the game" but hospitalize a guy, don't sweat it.
The Big Lead, a solid blog if I must say, entertains the idea of baseball moving to a promotion/relegation system like is found in most soccer leagues. Interesting read, even though he's saying it isn't likely to happen. Also interesting is finding out that England's de facto second division is the fourth biggest soccer league in Europe in terms of dollars and cents.
New stadiums coming in New York and Kansas City, and expanded seating at BMO Field in Toronto and in Seattle, and here Richard Peddie of MLSE is trying to tell us that the league is year's from profitable and can't afford the player's modest demands in the continuing labour discussions? Nonsense, Peddie. Bankers don't fund big capital projects in this day and age unless there is a damn solid business plan in place showing how loans will be paid.
Of the Toronto Raptors, disgraced again at home, I will repeat the bombs I was dropping on Twitter: The Toronto Raptors are the Corey Haim of the NBA...you know how it ends way before they do. Chris Bosh couldn't lead Tiger Woods to a naked whore. Well done Raptors, highest payroll, darkest future among the MLSE teams. The Raptors Dance Pak has more sack than the Raptors.Andrea Bargnani and Jarrett Jack are about the only guys I don't have some issue with right now. I hate that team.
Worst part about March Madness? We're down to fewer games already. The last two days have been incredible. A little sour Siena burst my perfect run yesterday, but had Gonzaga as an easy winner last night. Betting St. Mary's +4.5 today. Get down at Pinnacle if you need, link above this post.
The Champions League quarter-final draw is complete and will see Bordeaux and Lyon battle for a French spot in the semi-finals that Lyon should win, Manchester United face a tough Bayern Munich side in a tie they should handle, Inter Milan will beat CSKA Moscow with ease, and Barcelona and Arsenal lock horns in what pits two of the best passing squads in the world in what should be a great one. I'm going to say here that Manchester United and Barcelona will again be meeting in the finals in Madrid, and that scenario would drive the gel from Cristiano Ronaldo's hair seeing his former team and now current rival playing on his home field.
Looks like the Pittsburgh media isn't exactly taking up for Ben Roethlesberger on the heels of his sexual assault charges. So the team has been silent, other than stories the Rooney's are livid, and no players that I can recall have stepped up in support. Must be a great guy, that Ben.
The New York Jets and Giants will both play at their new stadium to open the 2010 weekend, with the Giants getting opening duties after winning a coin toss at the league office in which neither team was represented because, presumably, it was so far away from the league's Manhattan offices. Very transparent, Mr. Commissioner Goodell. Predictably, the Jets are unhappy. They'll also be unhappy that five of the Jets non-division foes scheduled for games at Meadowlands in 2010 had winning records in 2009.
If you can figure out how James Wisniewski gets eight games for this hit, while Alexander Ovechkin got two for his and Matt Cooke got nothing for his that put Marc Savard into a darkened room since, you're far more intelligent than 99.9% of the population. Love that people still think that fighting is in the game to police this stuff out of it. Funny, seems to have done nothing of the sort. Damien Cox of the Toronto Star tweeted that NHL hockey is ridiculous because some think Matt Cooke's beating at the hands of Boston Bruin Shawn Thornton, a much larger opponent, somehow is viewed as justice.
Pinnacle Sports has a line on whether LeBron James will stay with the Cleveland Cavaliers and "no" is getting +250. Hard not to hit that, so I did. Get down by clicking the ad above.
Had a great day betting March Madness yesterday, so will give you a tip today for some fun. Hit Siena +4.5, they're going to give Purdue all they can handle. Oh, my Final Four is Kansas, Syracuse, Kentucky and Baylor. Lot of chalk, yes, but that's the way she'll roll. Don't believe in Duke, that stuff gets you busted. The downside of yesterday's incredible slate of games? We're almost guaranteed the NCAA uses it as a reason to jump to 96 teams, or all of them.
No more headshots allowed. No big discussion, just straight to implementation and a clear cut and dried application: you either did or didn't hit a guy in the head. The way the NHL is going? Nope. WWE has taken away chair shots to the dome.
The Boston Bruins host the Pittsburgh Penguins tonight in the first meeting between the two teams since Matt Cooke crushed Marc Savard with a blind-side hit last Sunday. Love how Penguin Eric Godard is saying nothing ever happens when teams talk retribution. Guess the names Todd Bertuzzi and Steve Moore don't ring a bell? It should for Cooke. After all, he was the Vancouver Canucks tough guy that Moore took on to answer the call for his "dirty" hit on Marcus Naslund earlier. The problems for Moore spiraled because he actually beat Cooke in the first period and the Avs went on to hammer the Canucks before Bertuzzi pile drove him into the ice.
It looks like the MLS Players Union is about to go on strike Monday unless there is a last minute deal brokered. Fools, them and the league for taking the positive momentum they've been building and getting involved in a power play at this time. They need each other to survive and thrive, and coming four days ahead of the first game of the season is a terrible development.
So Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington tested positive for cocaine last season? Shocking...that he didn't pin it on Josh Hamilton.
Barcelona comfortably sealed their Champions League quarter-final spot with a comfortable 4-0 win at home over Stuttgart. Bordeaux clinched the final spot with a last minute goal to win 2-1 over Olympiakos. The draw will go tomorrow, with no seedings whatsoever, with these teams: Arsenal, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Bordeaux, CSKA Moscow, Inter Milan, Lyon and Manchester United. For those scoring at home, that's two English sides, two French, one Spanish, one German, one Russian, and one Italian.
Oh, Chelsea. That's why they can't win knock out games. They cave under pressure and are far too mentally fragile when trailing. Inter Milan wasn't leading more than five minutes before Chelsea striker Didier Drogba picked up a red card for stepping on an opponent and John Terry was getting in guys faces and it was only a 1-0 Inter Milan lead at the time, which ended up being the final. With a trip to Old Trafford remaining on the EPL schedule, bet on Chelsea not winning the EPL either. Love it. Inter Milan will move into the quarter finals with yesterday's other winner, CSKA Moscow. The final two slots will be sorted out today when Barcelona hosts Stuttgart, and Bordeaux hosts Olympiakos.
I've purposely stayed away from any March Madness talk this week as there is plenty of that everywhere at the moment. That said, here's a peak at the seven types of people in every NCAA bracket pool.
From the March 8th issue of ESPN The Magazine: "look for a big post-All-Star push from Toronto, which has both the Atlantic Division and playoff home court advantage in its sights. While they trail the Celtics by five games, the Raptors have the league's fifth easiest remaining schedule and face 12 .500-or-under teams in their last 24." Not exactly working out that way, is it?
Shame that the days I write the most, the fewest ad clicks happen. Such is life, I guess.
Tiger Woods has announced he'll be back at The Masters in Augusta, Georgia. Wonder if anyone will be lobbing one of these Tiger sex toys at him when he does?
And remember folks: green beer is like birthday cake, something you should stop doing at 14.
Joel Sherman at the NY Post looks at the talk of baseball moving to fluid divisions and lays out a spot on look at what is not going to happen (salary caps), what makes no sense (fluid divisions), what is possible (moving the Boston Red Sox to the AL Central) and what is most likely (a second Wild Card team in each league starting in 2012). Love how he lays out those asking how the Kansas City Royals (or Pittsburgh Pirates, etc.) can compete with the New York Yankees by saying they've yet to compete with teams in their own division for over a decade. Sherman adds in another piece that people foolishly overvalue payroll, adding it reflects where players are in there career more than true value. Good point. For example, the Tampa Bay Rays of today would be worth closer to $200 million than the $70 million they're inked for. Former Commissioner Faye Vincent told The Michael Kay Show on ESPN Radio that talk of divisional realignment that would see low salary teams in with high salary teams was as much about punishing the Florida Marlins and their kind for not using the revenue sharing dollars they've been pocketing for players. Interesting insight. I've long been a "fewer games, add a playoff time" advocate, so this is welcome news. That said, I could see the Red Sox move happening too and it actually leading to both the Sox and Yankees ultimately ending up with reduced payrolls by not having to match each others every move.
The talk of a Ryan Howard for Albert Pujols deal seems crazy, no? As great as Howard is, and even factoring in payroll, I can't think of any reason why St. Louis would deal one of the top players in the game - ever - and a surefire Hall of Famer.
As reckless as Alexander Ovechkin's "hit" on Brian Campbell was Sunday, not sure where he gets two games but Pittsburgh Penguin Matt Cooke got nothing for his dirtier-than-hell shot on Boston Bruin Marc Savard, one of many on his rap sheet if you happened to catch Don Cherry and Coach's Corner on Saturday. Is there anyone that thinks the latter wasn't intent to injure moreso than the former? For his part, Campbell drove the league and union head first into the boards, saying they've ruined a great opportunity in the U.S. in the wake of the Olympics by not outlawing this stuff in the game and asking why any parent would want their kid to play or watch NHL hockey. Well said, B.C.
Champions League action resumes today and the biggest game of the tourney to date is surely Italy's Serie A leader Inter Milan in London to face English Premier League leader Chelsea. A 1-0 win will see Chelsea advance, but tough to assume Inter gets held scoreless. I'm feeling Chelsea in extra time.
If you haven't heard already, David Beckham's dreams of playing a fourth World Cup for England this summer are done after he snapped his achilles tendon on the weekend playing for AC Milan. Not hard to believe a player in his mid-30's would suffer a freak injury like that - nobody was near him when it burst - when he's had virtually no time off for three years, going from one season to the next with only a few weeks in between. Beckham was never as great as the hype made him out to be, but he's always seemed like a good enough guy to me, so sad to see a guy end his international career, and maybe more, in that fashion.
If there was any doubt that OHB will be back quarterbacking the Minnesota Vikings next year, it should be eliminated when you hear that he was involved in recruiting LaDanian TomlinsonVikes. to jump on board with the In the end, L.T. decided that playing with one "me" quarterback in the form of Ryan Leaf is enough for a career and went with the New York Jets, or something like that.
I'm starting to wonder if Gilbert Arenas having four guns in the Washington Wizards locker room was such a big deal after all. I mean, he only had 500 at home so it wasn't like he was overdoing it at the workplace.
Former Canadian international soccer player Jason DeVos, now a CBC broadcaster covering TFC games, rarely has much nice to say about anybody so take comments from him with a heavy grain of salt, but when he hammers TFC for how they handled a class act like Carl Robinson, he's dead on. Had the opportunity to meet Robo at BMO Field a couple years back as he was leaving the locker room and me and some fellas were going in to play and he couldn't have been a nicer guy. Can't say the same for Jim Brennan. I know one thing: no way TFC loses a must-win game 5-0 like they did in New York last year with Robo on the field.
If you haven't seen Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras talking smack to each other at a charity event over the weekend - and it was by no means friendly banter - check it out here. Vince McMahon has to be thinking cage match. Sadly, Agassi has apologized for his part.
So you play an 82-game NHL season, and come out with 16 playoff contenders. How about doing 14, and then having the remaining teams play a single elimination tourney to sort out the 8th playoff team in each conference? Stupid? About as stupid as signing Rick DiPietro to a decade plus contract which is to say, very stupid. That idea was put forth by New York Islanders owner Charles Wang.
Toronto Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo tells the Toronto Sun's Steve Simmons that if fans want to lay blame for this year's performance by the team, he ought to be blamed. Did he think we were gonna blame the Dance Pak for signing Hedo Turkoglu, or not looking at more experienced coaching options? There's nothing wrong with the Raptors a dozen or so heart transplants wouldn't fix. And getting rid Jose Calderon. And Hedon't. Dave Feshuk at the Toronto Star says that when asked whether another failed/failing Raptors season should be a reflection on him, Chris Bosh answered "No...what else do you want me to do?" Wrong answer, CB4.
Red Nation Online says that Toronto FC GM Mo Johnston should be telling us all that if the fans want to lay blame for this year's roster so far, he ought to be blamed. That, and Mo should be fired.
What kind of world do we live in when the Toronto Maple Leafs seem the best hope at Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment?
Check out Ben Sheets line for the Texas Rangers yesterday against Cincinnati: 0 IP, 8 hits, 10 runs (9 ER), 1 walk, 1 HR and the tag line "Sheets faced 10 hitters in 1st." Yikes!
Jim Lampley says "bang" 22 times in about 30 seconds during the Manny Pacquiao fight this past weekend.
A full weekend of English Premier League action starts off today. Leaders Chelsea will look to regain their form when they host West Ham just days ahead of a crucial Champions League game with Inter Milan, minus keeper Peter Cech. Manchester United host the squad that has given them huge problems the last couple years, Fulham, tomorrow. The Cottagers pounded United 3-0 back in November. Sunderland look to win for the first time since November 21st.
The Phoenix Coyotes, if you're wondering, are averaging 11,296 fans a game, and are projected to lose another $20 million U.S. Yeah, that's way better than selling to Jim Balsillie and moving the team to greener pastures.
A New Jersey seamhead says he's got the 2010 MLB season figured out. Good news fellow New York Yankee fans, 103 wins and 10 games ahead of Tampa Bay in the AL East it is. Toronto Blue Jays? 70 wins and 33 back. Ouch. Or not.
In one of the funnier things I've read recently, there is talk of Oakland Raiders QB JaMarcus Russell, half hearted and now being taken seriously given the subject, having "lethargy addiction".
Don't often preview NHL match-ups in these parts, but tonight in Montreal there is a big one as the Boston Bruins, visiting the Montreal Canadiens, are both fighting for their playoff lives at the bottom end of the Eastern Conference qualifiers. Should be a great game tonight.
Check out this incredible analysis of water consumption in the city of Edmonton during the gold medal hockey game last Sunday, complete with detail on what was happening when in the game, as well as how things looked the day before. Amazing. Wonder what Super Bowl looks like? Guess there's a lot more time to hit the can with all the ad spots but you'd have to think half time is a huge spike. More impressive would be a booze consumption chart, if that were possible.
When Chris Chelios, called up by the Atlanta Thrashers earlier this week, was traded to Chicago for Denis Savard in 1990, current Thrasher Evander Kane had not been conceived. He was born a year later.
Further to yesterday's baseball realignment story, Deadspin has passed on its thoughts in an article called "How To Ruin Baseball in One Easy Step". Deadspin furthers the discussion by asking what teams with designated hitters, generally highly paid specialists, would do if they chose to move to the NL for a season.
The knives are out in Spain for Real Madrid, as the manager and players are taking a tonne of flack for another round of 16 flameout this week. Couldn't happen to a more deserving club. One caption beside a picture of Cristiano Ronaldo read "Cristiano, humiliated. He promised every title and has already lost two".
There is actual talk, says ProFootballTalk, that another embarrassing incident from Ben Roethlesberger could spell the end of his days in Pittsburgh. Say one thing about the Rooney's, they don't mess around.
Hard to believe I went through two days of Champions League play the last two days with nary a mention. Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 7th goal in six games but it wasn't enough to send Real Madrid into the quarters as Olympic Lyon drew 1-1 in Madrid. Real captain Gutiblames a lack of teamwork on their flaming out - didn't we say there would be problems with that many fresh faces and egos demanding the ball? Very classy of Ronaldo to saunter off to the dressing room without shaking hands post-game. Best talent in the world, but grow up and take it like a man, CR9. Manchester United advanced with a 4-0 win over AC Milanpowered by two Wayne Rooney goals, knocking out former star David Beckham. Not a good week for former #7's of Manchester United, obviously, with Ronaldo and Beckham both getting to watch their former side advance. Arsenal and Bayern Munich also punched their tickets into the quarter-finals by finishing off their match-ups this week. The other four entrants will be sorted out next week.
Says the great Jason Whitlock via Twitter: "we ripped Pacman 4 lovin 'scrip clubs,' but malewhores r better off making it rain in 'scrip clubs' than trying 2 game college students, no?" Other than the part about people getting shot, he makes a solid point. Whitlock also says that David Copperfield couldn't extricate himself from the mess Ben Roethlesberger is in right now.
So much for a carry-over effect from the Olympics for the NHL on NBC. Ratings for this past Sunday's Detroit Red Wings/Chicago Black Hawks tilt - a matchup of two Original Six squads - drew ratings about as low as the games broadcast before the Olympic games. Tony Kornheiser at PTI says, semi-tongue in cheek - that maybe the ratings are abysmal for regular NHL games and much higher for the Olympic version because there isn't fighting. That, and games take about 40 minutes less, are more entertaining etc.
MLB Commissioner Bud Selig's committee for on-field matters is investigating a system that would see different divisional alignments year to year, not allowing teams to play in a division more than two timezones away. One example: the Cleveland Indians, in payroll slashing and rebuilding mode, might look to actually play in the AL East to capitalize on 18 visits - instead of eight - from the well-drawing New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox. The divisions would align on competitive and budgetary reasons. Seems pretty convoluted, no? I think, as I've mentioned before, the easiest route is to open the playoffs to more Wild Cards and shave off a dozen or so regular season games. Sure, some will argue it negatively impacts the record book, but MLB clearly spent about a decade not concerned about the integrity of the record book, right?
Not sure which of these 10 awesome game show fails is my fav, but it is a toss-up between the wheel spin at The Price is Right and the bonus round answers on Family Feud. Great stuff.
Howard Stern held a beauty pageant among some of the ladies who Tiger Woods tapped in recent years and winner Jamie Jungers, among the rest, had all kinds of interesting information to reveal.
Check out these fans trying to hook Chelsea captain John Terry into signing an autograph "To Wayne...sorry...John Terry". "Wayne" of course would refer to former teammate, Wayne Bridge, a story we've covered here at length. Awesome.
Former Cleveland Browns QB Derek Anderson, just released by the Browns, is hoping to get a measure of revenge on a franchise and a fanbase that he calls "ruthless" and "don't deserve a winner" after they cheered when he went down with a tore knee ligament in 2008. Guess Anderson forgot that he didn't exactly live up to his contract after a huge 2007 that got him paid.
If the estimates that there are 20-40 blows to the head in an average NHL game, not including fights, the league and players can forget about eliminating it totally - simply too much incidental contact. But you can increase suspensions for the Matt Cooke's of the world who deliver blind siders, intended or not, and eliminating fighting might decrease the odd head shot, but that's too obvious for some of the Mensa rejects at all levels of hockey. It sounds like there is a new rule in the works for next season that will punish any hits from behind or the side - an improvement - while still allowing for head on head shots (think Scott Stevens plastering Eric Lindros in 2000).
Look for the Chicago Cubs to come out strong out of the gate this year, as they've only got 6 of 38 games to start against teams that were .500 or better last year.
Italy's top soccer league, Serie A, will now be punishing blasphemy with immediate suspensions, and they'll be using video evidence as source material. Good to see one of the leagues most renowned for diving focusing on what really matters in the game.
In further evidence that winning cures all ills, New York Yankees Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter are back to being buddies again, driving to games together, warming up together and so on. Pretty sour that regular reader and occasional contributor TS beat me to the punch on saying they're not truly friends until they have a sleepover.
Is there anyone anywhere that can look at Pen Rapelisberger and think he looks like an elite athlete? He looks like a bouncer at best. Check out Big Ben's off season track record: 2006, he wins the Super Bowl in February and follows that up five months later by nearly dying after cracking through the windshield of a car in a motorcycle accident where he wasn't wearing a helmet. That said, I'm going to guess he couldn't find a bucket to fill that giant mellon (and it is rare that any Croatian blooded guy can accuse someone of having a giant mellon). In 2009, Ben again wins the Super Bowl in February and in July is named in a civil lawsuit for allegedly raping a hotel worker in Reno, Nevada. 2010: Alleged sexual assault.
If you're the owner of a team trailing the Phoenix Coyotes by a couple of points, a team that you're helping see through the year financially thanks to the wisdom of Gary Bettman, wonder how you feel about them adding $2 million in payroll last week at the trade deadline, moves that could see you out of playoff contention?
In case you missed it, and it being an NFL drug suspension and not an MLB one, you likely did, Miami Dolphin's free agent - and that ought to help his free agency cause, no? - Jason Ferguson was suspended for eight games for violating the league's performance enhancing drugs policy.
Tough off-season for the Arizona Cardinals so far. They've dealt Anquan Boldin, have seen Kurt Warner retire, and have lost Karlos Dansby and Antrel Rolle to free agency.
Here's a great piece on Sidney Crosby's gold medal winning goal last Sunday, covering off how things went down in the final seconds. It all happened so quick that the fourth picture only has one guy aware that the game is over in the entire building by the looks of it, #87 himself.
See the video of Matt Barnes of the Orlando Magic faking throwing the ball at Kobe Bryant's face on Sunday? Barnes and Kobe were going at it all game. Would make an interesting finals, no?
With ESPN not allowing for use of their pics - the source of most used in this corner - gonna mix it up on occasion and throw in the odd lady, in this case, yesterday's SunShine Girl. Good move, or bad?
The latest Chris Bosh story has him moving to the New York Knicks in a sign and trade this summer, where he'd join LeBron James. The Raps would get David Lee, for starters. Do with this what you will.
Here are 20 Epic Logo Fails. Not sure what the folks who designed the logo for Arlington Pediatric Center, Clinica Dental, China Restaurant and really, the rest, were thinking.
Are you like me, and look at Toronto Blue Jay Travis Snider and think "Brock Lesnar"? Eerily similar faces.
When did TSN's SportsCentre start including hits among its stats for hockey? Just noticed that.
Manchester United's Wayne Rooney hurt his knee playing for Englandin a friendly last week, and his Man U manager Sir Alex Ferguson, in a big departure as far as coaches go, blamed...the player.
Remember the blown calls in last year's baseball playoffs? It took a while, but MLB finally got around to addressing the matter with the umpires in question, and three paid with their jobs.
Tony Kornheiser returns to Pardon The Interruption today after a two week suspension for trashing Hannah Storm's outfit. That ought to be interesting.
Pittsburgh Penguins dirt merchant Matt Cooke crushed Marc Savard with a blind-side head shot for his third such hit this year. This guy shouldn't be in the NHL. Period.
Not content to be left out of overtime discussions, the CFL is looking at mandating that teams go for two points in overtime after scoring a TD. Headline from Deadspin: CFL Slowly Morphing Into XFL. I didn't realize the XFL ever awarded points for failure, like the CFL lamely does with the "rouge".
Sidney Crosbydeclined a chance to handle the Top 10 on The Late Show with David Letterman. He does know the NHL isn't exactly swimming in big name exposure like that, right?
FIFA, soccer's ruling body, is leaving the "paradinha" - Portuguese for "little stop" - up to its officials to call as permissible or not at this year's World Cup. I've been playing for decades and never once did I think the penalty kick rule allowed a stop of any kind, it was always required that there be forward motion. This is bush league stuff, completely unfair to goalies, and FIFA would be wise to clarify the rule immediately. Check it out below:
Chelsea went off for seven goals in a 7-1 thumping of Aston Villa, previously the English Premier League's best defensive side. Manchester United maintained their hold on top spot with a 4-0 win at Bolton, while Arsenal suffered a serious blow to their championship hopes with a 1-1 draw at Birmingham. Chelsea visits Man U next Saturday morning in a match that could well decide the champion. Frequent reader and poster Norway/Kristian passed on this slight alteration to the Villa logo. Hint: one part at the bottom normally reads "prepared".
