Habs do it again in Game 7

There was no doubt left as to whether the Montreal Canadiens were the deserving winners last night, and in the series.  When you hold Sidney Crosby to one goal and four assists over the course of seven games, you're doing something right.  Had to laugh hearing Crosby mocking their style of giving up twice as many chances and shots and finding a way.  Isn't the latter the point?  Only fans should talk about style I think.  He would have a lot more credibility had his squad not found a way to lose three straight.  As for the rioting in Montreal last night, you'd think that a fan base that has seen as many Cups as they have might act a bit more like they've been there before, considering they're not even "there" yet.  I get that it is a small segment of the overall - and interestingly, growing - fan base, but come on people.  At least wait until the Cup is lifted before going LA Laker Fan on us.  It would not at all shock me to see the Habs in the Stanely Cup final as they'll be facing a very beat up Boston or Philadelphia team, both with considerable question marks of their own.  If I'm the Habs, I'd rather see Boston who don't have the playoff type warriors the Flyers do in Mike Richards and Chris Pronger, among others.

Speaking of the Flyers, they beat the Bruins 2-1 last night to escape a 3-0 crater in that series and force game seven tomorrow night.  The Flyers are the first team since 1975 to dig out of a 3-0 hole.

If you were at all wondering, wonder no more: Sammy Sosa is back to being black.

Lawrence Taylor's defence to the rape of a 16-year old will be that he didn't rape her, he was merely rubbing one out.  Guess that's at least slightly better.

Isn't it funny that the NFL's defensive rookie of the year Brian Cushing gets popped for performance enhancing drug use, and is suspended for four games, and that barely makes a ripple among every day sports fans?  And funnier still that they took a second vote for his award after the information came out and he still won?  A baseball player pops a Sudafed and it is days of discussion among the major media outlets and he's treated like he tried to kill the Pope. 

Dwayne Wade is going through a messy divorce, and he's now being sued for $25 million in a failed restaurant venture.  He's going to need a max contract to help pay for these lawsuits if he starts falling short in court.


Oakland A's pitcher - and the "before" poster boy for orthodentist's everywhere - Dallas Braden appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman and read the Top Ten a couple nights ago.  He also said the matter with A-Rod has been "taken care of."  For what it is worth, Daryl Strawberry told The Michael Kay Show that "he's never heard of" the unwritten rule Braden cried about, and he'd be pounded if it were him for his act a few weeks back.  Orel Hershiser added "traditions are passed from older players to the younger, not the other way around, and I'm going to side with Alex here, this guy is too big for his britches and arguing for some not deeply set rule.  I don't have a problem with it, I really don't."

RM returns early afternoon after the riots in Montreal settle...

Game 7!

The Vancouver Canucks met their demise with a 5-1 thumping - at home no less - to the Chicago Black Hawks.  The Hawks now face the San Jose Sharks in what should be a dynamite series, and I suspect the winner their lifts the Stanley Cup when the dust settles.

Tonight, the Boston Bruins are in Philly for game six, but the big one of the night sees the Pittsburgh Penguins try to maintain their Cup defence with a game 7 hosting Montreal.  The Habs are already playing with house money, and aren't making near the mistakes the Pens are on defence.  Mix in a goalie playing out of his mind in Jaroslav Halak against one who looks terrified at times in Marc-Andre Fleury and you have to think an upset is somewhere from possible to probable.  But, tough to go against any team with Sidney Crosby on it.  Too close to call, but I'm going to say the Habs do it.  If it goes OT, that pick changes to the Pens who would be a lot better four on four with the added room around Halak.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are now down 3-2 to the Boston Celtics after getting hammered at home 120-88 in a game where LeBron James didn't score til 30 minutes in, and shooting 3 of 14.  Last home game for LeBron?  Could well be.

Interesting thought on the NBA playoffs and how quick series have gone: the brevity of so many series will directly impact next year's salary cap negatively, so if a team like the New York Knicks was counting on an extra million or three in the pile to let them chase two max contracts, that is now under threat as the revenue pile won't be as large as it would in an average year's playoff run.

Who but the Cincinnati Bengals could be so quickly contemplating bringing in JaMarcus Russell already?  That team is threatening to replace the Oakland Raiders for where a player ends up rather than being a destination you aspire to.

With the Toronto Blue Jays hosting of the Philadelphia Phillies June 25-27 moved to Philly thanks to the G20 - and isn't that a commentary on the state of baseball in Toronto? - New York Met Jeff Francouer is arguing the extra home games for Philadelphia aren't fair.  He may have a point, but would love to hear his suggestion as to how you reschedule three interleague games.  It isn't like the Jays were hosting a divisional rival where there are a lot more opportunities to make games up with the odd double header.  That said, surely they could've gone to a neutral site to eliminate this discussion.  Montreal, perhaps?

Curious as to how your NFL team drafted relative to the Dallas Cowboys draft board?  Find out here, as the Cowboys board has been revealed.  A few bargains for the Miami Dolphins, the Tampa Bay Bucs got a better player at #3 in the Cowboys estimation than the Detroit Lions at #2, the Bills took CJ Spiller right where Dallas had him, and the Cowboys nabbed Dez Bryant a lot later than the 11th pick they had him projected.  Loads more at that link.

Maxim's annual Hot 100 is out.  Katy Perry topped the list.  Discuss.

The Bleacher Report weighs in with their take on the 25 worst uniforms.  For my money, the Pittsburgh Pirates aren't checking in nearly high enough at #15, nor are the Toronto Raptors at #9.

Do yourself a favor today, go hit your fav record store - yes, they still exist - and grab Danko Jones "Below The Belt".  You're welcome.  Caught Danko last night in Toronto at the Mod Club, and Jennifer Hedger and hubbie Sean McCormick were beside me for the show.  McCormick was jacked.  Hedger seemed astounded at Danko's tongue. 

Have a great day.

Habs survive, thrive

The Montreal Canadiens not only survived game six to even the series 3-3 with a 4-3 win, it is pretty safe to say they were full value for the win. Interesting that many of those that crack of Alexander Ovechkin as being a cheap shot artist while pumping up the virtues of Sidney Crosby aren't saying a word about his after-the-buzzer crosscheck on Tomas Plekanec. Game 7 goes tomorrow in Pittsburgh.

The Philadelphia Flyers shut out the Boston Bruins 4-0 to narrow the gap in that series to 3-2 with the next game set for Philadelphia.

I miss Kelly Kelly on Monday Night Raw.

It is almost a lock that the first game coming out of a series with Boston that the New York Yankees will lose, and that they did again in Detoilet last night.  Scoring more than two runs when they twice had the bases loaded with none out might have made a difference.

Says Bill Simmons (aka "The Sports Guy") via Twitter on Tiger Woods, with sarcasm oozing:
"I believe Tiger - there's no way a mysterious car accident that knocked him out for 10 mins had anything to do with his neck injury." Awesome. More on Tiger's injury below on video.

The Orlando Magic are 13-2 their last 15 against the spread.  In the two they didn't cover, they missed covering by a basket.  They're 8-0 straight up through two rounds of the playoffs.

The Toronto Blue Jays are 6-8 against teams above .500, and are also are 0-4 against Boston, 1-2 against Tampa and have yet to play Minnesota, Detroit or the New York Yankees.

What is going on with Adam Lind?

Check out this look at the five worst moves in the AFC East this off-season.  Not good news for Buffalo Bills fans, of which there are many reading here: the Bills check in with the top two bad moves.

There have been an incredible 498 arrests of NFL players since the year 2000.  Almost as impressively, somebody has taken the time to set up a database with all of them.

Over the weekend, Buster Olney said he'd be "stunned if [David] Ortiz finishes the month on the Boston roster."  Can't wait for that press conference by Big Papi!

Elisha Cuthbert, girlfriend of Dion Phaneuf (aka "The Next Leafs captain")...what happened?

Because the truth is always way funnier than fiction, check out this clip from the Golf Channel on Sunday after Tiger Woods pulled out (heyooo!) with a bulging dick...err...disc in his neck.

Champions crowned in the EPL

Chelsea eliminated any drama in the final day of a fantastic English Premier League season with an 8-0 pounding of Wigan giving them the championship with a one point gap over defending champion Manchester United, 4-0 winners over Stoke City. Chelsea and United will be joined in Champions League play next season by Arsenal and Tottenham.

In Italy, the race is also going down to the wire as Inter Milan maintained a two-point gap over AS Roma with a game to play. Spain has a tight race going to the wire with Barcelona up a single point on Real Madrid with a game to play. Great season in all the major leagues this year.

The Phoenix Suns swept the San Antonio Spurs to exorcise a rather large demon of theirs over the years. They could use a few extra days to heal Steve Nash's eye, looking pretty horrific in the picture above.

The Oakland Raiders finally released JaMarcus Russell, who earned $36m for going 7-18, with 18 TDs in 3 years. Hell of an argument, on top of logic, for a rookie  wage scale in the next round of collective bargaining, no?

The Boston Red Sox are 2-8 at home against Tampa Bay and the New York Yankees, outscored 67-37 in those games.  Ouch.

Is it me, or does PJ Stock on Hockey Night in Canada seem as comfortable on TV as the "Boom Goes The Dynamite" guy?

Gotta hand it to Dana White. With the public perception his is a dirty sport - right or wrong - he acts swiftly to address a cheap shot from Paul Daley on Josh Koschek following their fight on Saturday in Montreal, tossing Daley from UFC permanently, despite him being a talent and in the championship mix. And people think Roger Goodell is tough on NFLers. If you hadn't heard, Mauricio "Shogun" Rua beat Lyoto Machida for the Light Heavyweight title with a first round knockout. Good card in Montreal.

Toronto FC looked as good as they've ever looked in a 4-1 win over the Chicago Fire Saturday at a ridiculously windy BMO Field. Chad Barrett, O'Brian White and Dwayne De Rosario looked fantastic together attacking Chicago in the second half. If TFC can get it going on the road, they're gonna be something. As it stands, a hell of a turnaround from the first two games of the year when things seemed dire.

As customized jersey's go, this LA Dodgers one is stellar. Gonna go out on a limb and suggest this guy is single. 

The Detroit Red Wings were eliminated Saturday by the San Jose Sharks, who are gaining steam the deeper the playoffs get.  Last night, the Vancouver Canucks had a stay of execution with a game five 4-1 win in Chicago. Tonight, the Pittsburgh Penguins have the guillotine poised over the necks of the past best-before-date Montreal Canadiens in Montreal while the Boston Bruins look to finish off the Philadelphia Flyers.

Those Phoenix Coyotes to Winnipeg rumors continue to percolate. Have to say I'd love to see the Jets back, even though a second team in Toronto or another in southern Ontario make far more sense.

Interesting argument put my way on drug use in baseball this weekend. For all the talk of Barry Bonds having used steroids in breaking the all-time record, nobody talks of how amped on amphetamines Pete Rose was for decades in breaking the all-time hit record, and that was done openly with plenty of witnesses in the media. For me, same principle applies in both cases: if there wasn't a rule against it at the time, he didn't break a rule. Period. 

Finally today, early win total lines for the NFL season...

Team	Venetian/Palazzo	Lucky's
Indianapolis Colts	11	11
San Diego Chargers	10.5	11
New Orleans Saints	10.5	10.5
Dallas Cowboys	10	10
New York Jets	9.5	9.5
New England Patriots	9.5	9.5
Minnesota Vikings	9	9.5
Baltimore Ravens	9	9.5
San Francisco 49ers	9	8.5
Green Bay Packers	9	9.5
Philadelphia Eagles	8.5	8.5
New York Giants	8.5	9
Houston Texans	8.5	8.5
Tennessee Titans	8.5	8.5
Atlanta Falcons	8	9
Pittsburgh Steelers	8	8.5
Cincinnati Bengals	8	8
Miami Dolphins	8	8
Chicago Bears	7.5	8
Carolina Panthers	7.5	8
Washington Redskins	7.5	7.5
Arizona Cardinals	7.5	7.5
Jacksonville Jaguars	7.5	7
Denver Broncos	7	7.5
Seattle Seahawks	7	7.5
Kansas City Chiefs	6	6
Buffalo Bills	5.5	6
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	5.5	5.5
Oakland Raiders	5.5	6
Detroit Lions	5.5	5.5
Cleveland Browns	5	5.5
St. Louis Rams	5	5

UFC back in Montreal...

 

UFC 113 goes in Montreal tonight, with a light heavyweight title rematch between champion Lyoto Machida and Mauricio "Shogun" Rua the main event.  The first match was a controversial one, with most - myself including - figuring Rua was the runaway winner, but Machida got the decision.  Hopefully this one is more entertaining, Machida tends to be a pretty dull fighter looking to defend as much as attack.  Also on the card, Josh Koscheck takes on Paul Daley, and Kimbo Slice takes on Matt Mitrione.  Rest of the card here.

Toronto FC host the Chicago Fire today at BMO Field where they'll hope to maintain their perfect record at home.  Kickoff is 4pm

With Derek Jeter the lone unscathed member of the "core four" after the Sports Illustrated, looks at the left like the Yankees are taking steps to keep the captain healthy in Boston this weekend, at left.  The Yankees beat up on Josh Beckett again in a 10-3 win, but lost the ridiculously hot Robinson Cano in the process after he was drilled on the knee by Beckett.  He's day to day.

Reason for optimism for Toronto Blue Jays fans: Sports Illustrated has them ranked #10 in their latest power rankings.  

Oakland A's pitcher Dallas Braden - and that is required information so you know who and what he is - is still chirping about A-Rod running across the pitcher's mound a few weeks back and openly talking about revenge, including a fight because that's the way they roll from the 209.  Yes, he referenced his area code from Stockton, California.  If I'm A-Rod, I laugh, and then on the first conference on the mound, dance on it, and spit on the rubber when running off the field.  For a guy who trumpets himself as a team guy while trashing A-Rod as playing for the name on the back of his jersey - which doesn't exist, by the way - Braden sure says "I" a lot in this piece.  Very appropriate initials in DB for a D-Bag.  Rodriguez lone response was to say he didn't want to add to Braden's 15 minutes of fame. 

Have a great Saturday.

They only had 9 shots after two periods, but the Montreal Canadiens stole game four with a couple late third period goals to even their series with the Pittsburgh Penguins.  Said SportsNet hockey analyst Nick Kypreos on Prime Time Sports: "the Montreal Canadiens might be the worst five-on-five team in the history of the Stanley Cup playoffs."

The Detroit Red Wings made a statement last night in a 7-1 beatdown of the San Jose Sharks that got real nasty the further on it went.  Even the normally cool Joe Thornton got in the act with a late hit on Tomas Holmstrom on a shift where he also sparred with Nik Lidstrom.  The Sharks lead 3-1 heading back to San Jose.

Why did the Tennessee Titans record drop off last year to 8-8 after going 13-3 the year prior?  Well, if you believe former running back LenDale White, it is because of their over reliance on Chris Johnson, who rushed for a mere 2,000+ yards, and not using White enough.  If anyone can make sense of that, I'd love to hear it.

Jerry Crasnick at ESPN.com talks to Bert Blyleven, Jim Palmer and Goose Gossage on a variety of "unwritten rules" situations to get their thoughts.

Seems former New York Giant and NFL Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor has been accused of raping a 15-year old, or 16 depending on the report you read.   In related news, Ben Roethlesberger breathed a sigh of relief.  In more related news, the SportsPickle tweets that "It's the nickname of a rapist" has jumped "it's unoriginal" as the top reason LaDainian Tomlinson shouldn't go by L.T.

It has only been a couple weeks since Sports Illustrated ran a cover with the New York Yankees "core four" of Andy Pettitte, Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera and Jorge Posada on it.  Since, all but Jeter have run into injury concerns.  The "SI Jinx" lives!

Seems Jerry Reinsdorf is out on purchasing the Phoenix Coyotes.  It's a good thing that Gary Bettman didn't just sell the team to Jim Balsillie.  I mean, who would want a team selling at a premium with no other suitable buyers in the mix?

Check out New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees take part in a home run derby against some teammates recently, switch hitting no less.  And going deep from both sides.  He also once beat Andy Roddick in tennis, was an elite soccer player, and carries a 3-handicap in golf.  Dude rules.

I don't know what is more impressive, that the guy that jumped on the field in Philadelphia on Tuesday night Tweeted his shot first (at right), or that he did it after the guy the night prior was hit with a taser blast.  Oh wait, I know, the most impressive part was that the fool did it with drugs on him.  Smart play, clown. To their credit, the crowed booed the hell out of him.  Video below.

Speaking of Philadelphia, more than a little surprised the Flyers are down 3-0 to the Boston Bruins, largely because I think the Bruins are so very unimpressive.  The Bruins were 4-1 winners last night. 

The Chicago Black Hawks took a 2-1 series lead thanks to a hat-trick from Dustin Byfulgien, who is proving far too big a load for the Vancouver defence to handle.  The Hawks were 5-2 winners last night.

In the NBA, the Phoenix Suns took a 2-0 lead over the San Antonio Spurs, their long time playoff nemesis.  I'm impressed how much every hoops fan I talk to is pulling for Steve Nash and the Suns to keep going in the playoffs.  Count me among those.  Love me some Steve Nash.

There's a big Sports Illustrated feature coming up on Ben Roethlesberger.  The fine folks at ProFootballTalk have summarized the finer points here.  Honestly, is there a worse guy in sports if half of this is true?  Even Tiger Woods?  Deadspin has read the article, and concluded that it is six pages of "Ben is a dick."  Now, that's not a crime, but some of what he's been doing sure seems to be.

In addition to the indignity of not qualifying for the World Cup, this year is getting even tougher for Croatian soccer players when they're given yellow cards for diving, when it turns out they weren't diving, they were merely in the first stages of dying on the field. 

Been a while since we went "WAG" around these parts, but with the World Cup on the way, how about enlisting some of the WAG's to model uniforms for South Africa?  You're welcome.

Some seriously creepy stuff makes its way onto eBay.  Like this item for late New York Yankee legend Thurman Munson, who of course died in a plane crash in the 70's.  The item?  His pilots license.

Toronto Mayoral candidate Rob Ford says that if elected, he will heavily lobby the provincial government to go the route of Quebec and B.C. and ignore the archaic interpretation of the law that is keeping Mixed Martial Arts out of the province right now.  He makes a very compelling argument here, and it is sad that it takes an elected leader to open a city and province to millions in tourism dollars that will otherwise go somewhere else.  I know, I make it sound like small minds in politics is a shocking thing.  I don't intend to.

Philly field jumper #2, from Tuesday night.

Hawks lay down for Magic

Hope you've cleared some time today, this is gonna take a bit.  Enjoy.

Not sure how you can play so in a shell with nearly 21,000 fans absolutely foaming at the mouth for you, but the Montreal Canadiens tried to do it again, and failed.  Guess when you're deep into the second period with only ten shots on goal, that isn't a recipe for success against a team with even average goaltending, and despite only 18 shots against last night, Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury was superb in a couple key spots, and the Pens won 2-0 to take a 2-1 series lead.  Here's a thought: if the Pens go up in a game 2-0, they'll have either scored the second goal late, or they're going to blow the Habs out when they open up.  That said, man am I impressed with Mike Camalleri.  Hard to figure how two teams have given up on that guy.

I don't want to chime the final bell on the Detroit Red Wings, but down 3-0 and looking tapped out, it is hard to imagine them winning four straight, especially when they blew a 3-1 lead last night to lose 4-3 in overtime.  Don't look now, but the San Jose Sharks are getting enough balanced scoring and decent goaltending to be an actual contender to win it all.

Nice of the Atlanta Hawks to show up to open their series with the Orlando Magic. The Hawks were smoked 114-71. No typo there, they really only scored 71.

For all the grief that Tracy McGrady has received over the year's for never making it out of the first round, it is hard to imagine that this is Grant Hill's first time advancing to round two.

The Boston Red Sox, who spent more than anyone this past off-season, are looking down the barrel of some big changes if things don't turn in short order with the LA Angels of Anaheim and New York Yankees in this week, says GM Theo Epstein.  Word is that there is a gulf in the clubhouse with the new players not fitting in with the old guard, save for Marco Scutaro who has bridged the gap.

Philadelphia Phillies closer for the closer Ryan Madson is on the DL after breaking a toe.  Kicking a chair.  I love baseball injuries!  Good to see the taser blast of a couple nights ago didn't deter anyone.  Another fan ran onto the field last night.  I'm for an outright shooting now.  The Phillies are going to threaten the Red Sox for worst fans.

Another Phillies note: yes, they have Roy Halladay.  They also have the same record as Leroy's old team, the Toronto Blue Jays.  Who would have bet that?

TSN's James Cybulski thinks it is time that the Toronto Raptors ditch that horror-show of a name, and bring back the Huskies name and colours.  Amen to that, I say.  Worst name, and logo, in sports.  But just keep the mascot, he's pretty kick ass as they go.

AJ Burnett is having the best year of his career so far.  Pass it on.  Burnett's ERA is down to 1.99, and he's 4-0 on the year. Not bad for a guy who is barely using his curve.

The SportsPickle - and how many times must I rave about it for you to follow? - offers up seven accurate entrance songs for MLB players. Love the B-side suggested for David Ortiz. The A-Rod suggestions, I have to say, are pretty funny too.

A survey of soccer fans says 51% said they'd starve themselves for a week for their team to win the World Cup, 40% said they'd give up dating for a year, and 4% would offer up a limb.  The best sporting even period starts in 36 days.  Pool info to follow.

Expect a serious push in these parts to see regular reader Bukakke hold up a sign advertising this blog at the June 13th Edmonton Eskimos game.  Why?  Because our boy is going to be holding the down yardsticks.  Be sure to tune in on TSN for what will surely be the highest rated regular season game.

The BleacherReport presents the Top 25 Worst Nightmare Moments in Sports.

Finally, on a non-sporting note, I know things have a way of changing over the course of 40 years, but check out this pic from Kabul, Afghanistan in 1970, and today.

Check out this Formula 2 racing clip, and watch around the 1:10 mark for a wild accident.  Then, rewatch it looking only at the "mirror" on the bottom right.  Incredible stuff.

Don't tase me, bro!

It took almost four periods, but we now have an officially documented Chicago Black Hawks sighting in their series with the Vancouver Canucks.  The 'nucks grabbed an early 2-0 lead last night before the Canucks got on the board late in the first, and then the rest of the game saw the Hawks find the gear they had been missing and roll to a 4-2 win to even that series.  The Boston Bruins grabbed a surprising - for me at least - 2-0 series lead on the Philadelphia Flyers with a 3-2 win.


It appears that Manny Pacquiao is coming around to the drug testing that Floyd Mayweather is insisting on if they are to fight.  $40 million plus has a way of changing a mind, it seems.  Pac Man now says he'll submit to a blood test up to 14 days before the fight.  Mayweather had previously said 14 days was the magic number, though some contend he has insisted all along that it be anytime right up to fight time, so we'll see how that goes.  Here's a thought: 14 days before, immediately after.  Make it happen, Boxing.

Joel Sherman of the New York Post takes a look at the awesome Tampa Bay Rays, owners of the best record in baseball, and figures that with it making no difference in their woeful attendance, that maybe it is time they leave St. Petersburg.  Sherman lists Portland, Charlotte, San Antonio, Mexico City, Vancouver (!) and Connecticut as possibilities.

The Old Has Been has allegedly told a fellow player he is 100% certain that he'll "never put on pads again".  Depends beg to differ, for a guy who has spent the last few years shitting the proverbial bed in the playoffs.  Those are pads, right?  Anyways, is there anyone anywhere, this clowns wife included, that believes a word he says?  I won't until he's taken out to the glue factory.

The great gambling site Covers.com (so a warning for some of you reading at work) lists the five best sports conspiracy theories. 

Which starting pitcher had an uglier week last week?  Oakland A Ben Sheets (7 1/3 IP 19 hits 17 runs 5 HR) or Arizona Diamondback Edwin Jackson (6 1/3 IP 22 hits 18 runs 2 HR)?

How bad is the Kansas City Royals bullpen? Zack Greinke is winless in six starts but has an ERA of 2.27.

Not sure what is going on in the NHL playoffs this year with the too-many-men issues, but the count is now at 25, or 8 more than there were the entire playoffs last season.  Maybe it is the education of the players coming to the forefront, not too many post-secondary guys out there.

Philadelphia Phillies fan enters the playing field, Philadelphia Phillies fan introduced to taser,  Philadelphia Phillies fan goes down.


 Check out this truck job by the Barrie Colts Darren Archibald in the OHL Championship on Windsor's goalie Phillip Grubauer.  Of course, a brawl ensued and Archibald was suspended indefinitely, though I'm not sure he did anything against the rules.  Oh, wait...the "code".  Kudos to Grubauer for executing a brilliant dive, however.  Between Daniel Carcillo last night, and Evgeni Nabakov on Sunday, seems more than a few hockey players are doing wonders for the idea that hockey players don't dive.

Stevie Me-rrard gifts it to Chelsea...

Liverpool's Steven Gerrard may just have decided the English Premier League race yesterday all by himself - fitting for a guy often dubbed Stevie Me - with an errant pass that Chelsea's Didier Drogba picked off and danced around the Liverpool 'keeper Pepe Reina for the opening goal in Chelsea's easy 2-0 win over Liverpool, who will now be facing major changes with a season minus Champions League play facing them.  The EPL is down to a final game next weekend, and Manchester United will need a win and help from Wigan, who are at Chelsea, if they're to win a record fourth straight and record 19th championship overall.

The New Jersey Canadiens rode a hot goaltending performance from Jaroslav Halak, aided by collapsing teammates regularly, to an unlikely 3-1 win in which they were dominated by the Pens.  Pretty it was not.  That series is all even heading to Montreal for what will be a deafening pro-Devils crowd.

San Jose took a 2-0 series lead with a 4-3 win over a Detroit team that looks gassed. The Sharks are even getting production from Joe Thornton and Dany Heatley, quiet for much of the playoffs.

Tiger Wood's dad allegedly once said, "concentrate on golf, and fuck everything else." So he did. Author of the great "I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell", Tucker Max, tweeted this on Tiger: "Tiger Woods admitted to cheating with 121 women. 121 in 5 YEARS? Amateur. If you need lessons Tiger, I'll he happy to help."

The guy that shot and killed Denver Bronco Darrent Williams a couple years back has been sentenced. Ready for it? Life... plus 1,152 years. What, because 1,153 would've been excessive?

Love that you can still go to NFL.com and purchase a Pittsburgh #7 jersey with "Therapist" on the back

Strange but true hitting comparison. Entering the weekend, Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Dan Haren was 9-for-18 at the plate this season. New York Yankee DH Nick Johnson: 8-for-58.

Home teams are 25-29 this NHL playoff season.  Not exactly what you'd expect, no?

One last NHL comment for the day. Man, I miss the days of one conference one day, the other the next. Repeat til Cup finalists are sorted.

The Baltimore Orioles almost doubled their win total for the season over the weekend, jumping from 3 to 7, with a sweep of the Boston Red Sox, who now find themselves seven games behind Tampa Bay. Nobody in the AL, and only three teams in the NL, have given up more runs than the Sox 134.

Seattle Mariners starter Cliff Lee, who you will recall pitching as well as anybody ever has in last year's playoffs, is unlikely to resign with Seattle.  Not hard to figure why that would be given how thin the pitching market will be next off-season.  Lee would look great in pinstripes with Andy Pettitte likely to retire and Javier Vazquez about ready to be taken to the glue factory.  Just sayin'.

After Saturday's domination of Shane Mosley, the talk again turns to a dream Floyd Mayweather/Manny Pacquiao match-up.  Look, I get that most people don't like Mayweather and think he's far too arrogant, but blaming him for the fight not already happening because he's insisting on drug testing ahead of the fight and buying Pacquiao's talk that he's afraid of needles - incredible for a guy with that many tattoos and who has blood drawn to renew his boxing licenses - is weak.

Have a great Monday.

So if you get hurt in a given sport, you generally don't want it to affect your status long term or into the next season, right?  Especially if said injury occurs at the conclusion of a season.  Get it fixed, heal in time for the new season.  That's what anyone with a brain or sense of logic or loyalty to the team would do.  Of course, that's not what the Old Has Been did.  He's got an ankle injury that requires surgery if he is to be ready for the 2010 season.  To make matters worse, it appears he didn't even tell the Minnesota Vikings 'til after the draft.   And very classy of him to let Green Bay Packers fans know that the one year in Minnesota meant as much to him as ten in Green Bay.

It is a lot to ask for a team to come out of a game seven win and bounce back to start the next round two days later, and so far, it has seen the Detroit Red Wings and Montreal Canadiens drop the openers in their respective series.  The Habs were pounded by the Pittsburgh Penguins 6-3, who showed the Habs what a power play looks like.

It wasn't easy, but the LA Lakers got a clutch moment out of Pau Gasol - and who would have bet on that? - to finish off the Oklahoma City Thunder in six games with a 95-94 win.  The Thunder are just getting started.  And how awkward is that picture at right?

Should be a great night of boxing tonight in Vegas as Floyd Mayweather faces "Sugar" Shane Mosley.  I've got a juicy +401 on Money May to win by TKO, KO or DQ.  Get in at Pinnacle (link above).


Bill Simmons, aka "The Sports Guy", tweets on the NBA MVP vote:  "Twelve people voted against LeBron as MVP? Last time we had 12 people that dumb, they were delivering the OJ Trial verdict."

Speaking of the NBA and Twitter, good to see Chris Bosh take to Twitter to ask if he should stay or leave Toronto.  Good to see he's taking things so seriously.

Pretty classy of a Boston sports radio host, Fred Toettcher, to refer to Tim Tebow and family and friends at the draft last week appearing to be so white it was "like some kind of Nazi rally." Didn't Don Imus get canned for saying something like that once?

Check out the 10 Funniest Videos of Athletes Cursing in sports. I have to say, I can watch number one every day forever and I think I'd still laugh.

And another top 10, check out the Top 10 Controversial World Cup moments.

And a third, for your viewing pleasure: SportsCenter's Not Top Play's of the Week.

Here's a crazy baseball analysis, complete with graphics, at HardballTimes that shows umpires strike zones shrinking the pitcher is at two strikes, and grows when they're at three balls and no strikes. Measurement wise, from 3.02 square feet to 2.42. An absolute must see if you're a baseball fan for the graphics alone.

Toronto FC visit Real Salt Lake tonight in MLS play. Kickoff there goes at 9pm, coverage on SportsNet in glorious HD, if you like.

Speaking of the MLS, interesting article here in which the Seattle Sounders Freddie Ljungberg says that high profile players from Europe that he talks to are intrigued by the idea of coming to the MLS, but put off by the idea of being giant fish in their team's pond, with the thinking being you need two or three such players per team to start to mold quality sides.  He's got a hell of a point.

LeBron James, D-Bag.

.06...not a blood alcohol reading

If we had heard that Tiger Woods had tapped 19 ladies, you had to know the actual number had to be a multiple of that.  Well, word from the National Enquirer - not the strictly gossip rag it used to be - got their hands on a list Eldrick had to complete as part of his sex addiction rehab, and the actual number is 121.

The New York Mets are in first place in the NL East. Not sure there is a bigger surprise in baseball with the first calendar month just about in the books.

The FanHouse looks at whether the slight decrease in baseball attendance early in the season is a crisis, or a temporary condition. I'm going with the latter, especially with the Yankees and Philadelphia having played so few home games where they push 50,000 a night. The other side of the argument, says Joel Sherman of the NY Post, is that there isn't likely to be overly compelling races with the AL Central and NL Central almost certainly Minnesota's and St. Louis' to lose, and the AL East the likely source of the Wild Card.

You won't ever be able to accuse Colorado Rockies catcher Miguel Olivo of not having stones, literally or figuratively.  In the middle of a game earlier this week, he went and passed a kidney stone.  Wow.

The San Jose Sharks opened their series with the Detroit Red Wings with an entertaining 4-3 win.  The Wings looked a little gassed from a tough seven game series with Phoenix.

Check out the Washington Capitals shot stats for the first round loss to Montreal: 292 on net, 182 blocked, and 102 missed the net for 576 Total or an average of 82.3 per-game.  That's an incredible shot rate for so few goals in the end.  The "blocked" total is especially impressive. Great line of smack on Washington: Wednesday wasn't the first time a group of Canadiens came into your town and burnt it to the ground.  The Caps are the third Presidents Trophy winner to make a first round exit in the last five years.


AJ Burnett threw eight innings of three hit, shutout baseball yesterday to move to 3-0.  Imagine if him and Roy Halladay were on the same team?

 The Tampa Bay Rays 17-5 start is the best start in the game since 2003.

No matter what Ben Roethlesberger, you'll always be able to say that you were the subject of an Eminem dagger, in his new song "Recovery" when he delivers this gem: "I'd rather turn this club into a bar room brawl, get as rowdy as Roethlisberger in a bathroom stall."

The SportsPickle gives us 13 ways to shorten MLB games. Funny stuff. Love #13. Sorry, America.

"Iron" Mike Ditka took to the airwaves to discuss Miami Dolphins GM Jeff Ireland'sDez Bryant of the Dallas Cowboys question to as to whether his mother is a prostitute, and he's less than impressed with Ireland, saying he deserved a smack in the head. What's really shocking for me - if you've ever heard Ditka speak - is that he managed to stay on one topic for more than a couple sentences.

This one is gonna hurt more than most. Croatian hoops team Cibona was taking on the Serbian squad Partizan for the NLB league championship. With .06 on the clock, Cibona hits a three-pointer to take the lead. Fire up the party, game over, right? Wrong. Partizan inbounded the ball and with a last-ditch effort, Partizan's star Dušan Kecman tossed up a 75 foot prayer. It goes in and it is the Partizan fans that get to go crazy as the Cibona team walks off the court in shock, never having even contested the shot having been too busy celebrating early. As a Nigerian gent told me at The Bulldog in Amsterdam years ago, when it comes to sports, "it is NEVER over" til the whistle goes.

In-termilan-ally boring

The Champions League final for May 22nd is now set, with Bayern Munich ready to face Inter Milan, who advanced despite a 1-0 loss in Barcelona yesterday in a skill killing, sit-back-and-defend effort, indirectly aided by the referee who only made that kind of play a no brainer when he wrongly sent off Thiago Motta after a second yellow card early on for what was clearly an exaggerated reaction from Sergi Busquets, who ought to be ashamed of himself for embarrassing himself and his team like that. Crazy Stat Dept: Barcelona completed 1372 passes over the two games, while Inter Milan completed 373, a difference of 999.

The Montreal Canadiens took more shots - some to the face - than a film set in Chatsworth, California, but did just enough to sneak by the Washington Capitals, President's Cup trophy winners this past season, and also now holders of the record for most home ice Game 7 losses. Alexander Ovechkin handled 20 questions post game, 17 of which were met with "I don't know" as an answer, and three met with a one word answer. Safe to say he's a little sour, and who can blame him, particularly where the ghost that is Alexander Semin is concerned. For the Leafs Nation out there who are stinging from the Habs win, take heart in this: if not for the Leafs win in overtime the last game against the Habs, they'd be facing a much easier opponent in Boston. Hockey fans take heart in this: because the Habs aren't facing the Bruins, the NHL won't have to hold emergency meetings on how to get teams to break an interminable 0-0 deadlock. I kid because I love. Methinks we'll see an all Pennsylvania Eastern Conference Final, with Chicago and Detroit tangling in the West. Crazy Stat Dept.: Habs goalie Jaroslav Halak stopped 131 of the last 134 shots he faced.

Toronto FC opened defence of their Canadian Championship with a strong 2-0 homefield win over the Montreal Impact on goals by (who else!?) Dwayne De Rosario and Chad Barrett, with a beauty. There was a lot of bad blood in this one as the odd punch flew, and TFC defender Ty Harden had his leg sliced down to the bone with one collision. That's 3-0 on grass at home, and 3-1 since Jim Brennan retired. Just sayin'.

It dawned on me that David Stern is to the WNBA as Gary Bettman is to franchises in the horrible markets. Both are costing their leagues money propping up doomed enterprises.

Check out the top ten worst staph infections in MMA history. Try not to yack.

How about this story: Boston Red Sox slappy - on a good day - David Ortiz says he wants to play two or three more years. He may not be on any performance enhancers anymore, but he's on some kind of drugs if he thinks a washed out Designated Hitter who can't hit is gonna see another two or three years. At this pace, he'll be lucky to make it to the All-Star break in a Red Sox uniform.

Freaking Mark Sanchez. California boy gets drafted to the New York Jets, dates models right out of the chute, and now has graduated to Jamie-Lynn Sigler, aka "Meadow Soprano". Damn.

E.J. Hradek at ESPN.com says the New Jersey Devils should make the wise choice and cut bait with pending free agent Ilya Kovalchuk. I can already hear Leaf Nation getting moist over the prospect of signing Kovy. But tell me if this sounds familiar: a pure goal scorer of questionable work ethic, weak defensively, that contributed little to his nation's Olympic run. Sound like Kovy? Take away one nut and it is Phil Kessel, too.

As if yesterday's dive in the Barcelona/Inter Milan match wasn't ridiculous enough, check out this. I love soccer - I can't state that enough - but guys like this shouldn't play. They're an embarrassment to themselves, the team and their game. Be a pro, or at least a man.

Three-lic

The second leg of the Barcelona and Inter Milan Champions League matchup goes today in Barcelona with Barca needing a 2-0 win in the most simple scenario after a 3-1 loss in Milan. Should be a gem, with kickoff at 2:45pm (Eastern) on SportsNet. Prediction: a similar 3-1 score for Barcelona, sending the game to overtime.

The Detroit Red Wings made it a no-doubter in game seven of their first round series, hammering the Phoenix Coyotes 6-1 to move on to face San Jose in the next round, while Vancouver will meet Chicago in what should be a great series. The Western Conference matchups will get sorted out tonight when the Montreal Canadiens visit the Washington Capitals in their own game seven. The Habs could turn the Caps into hockey's version of Kansas' hoops team, as far as poolies are concerned.

Here are the Super Bowl 2011 odds as they stand after the draft, via Bodog. Indianapolis Colts 8/1, New Orleans Saints 9/1, San Diego Chargers 10/1, New England Patriots 10/1, Dallas Cowboys 11/1, New York Jets 12/1. Right now, I'm thinking Cowboys host the Jets.

For a guy who is suspect defensively and against lefties, the idea that the Philadelphia Phillies Ryan Howard is overpaid seems possible as he's about to hit $25 million a year averaged out. But, his numbers the last four years average out to 49.5 HRs and 143 RBIs a season, and MVP voting finishes of: 1, 5, 2, 3, though Rob Neyer at ESPN says at the very best, he's one of the top 20 players in baseball. Here's a peak at six baseball writers on the deal. And here's another that says the biggest fan of the deal might be New York Yankees GM Brian Cashman, who inked Mark Teixera, a better fielder by miles, and a more complete hitter with power numbers in the same area code, for less.

The Canadian Championships get started at BMO Field tonight with the Montreal Impact visiting Toronto FC. That's going to be no easy task for TFC despite last year's thumping of the Impact.

Bases loaded, 8th inning, tie game, David Ortiz at the plate. What do the Red Sox do? Elect to pinch hit. That, Big Pop-Up, is a sign you're officially finished, and it happened in Toronto last night.

Word is the Oakland Raiders will finally throw in the towel on JaMarcus Russell, perhaps as early as this week. Hard to determine if he's a bigger bust than Ryan Leaf, isn't it? Time will tell, but Russell has to get points for eating himself out of a job, after a big holdout before he set foot on the field.

In Champions League semi-final play yesterday, Bayern Munich reached the final with an emphatic 3-0 win over Lyon, all three goals coming from Croatian Ivica Olic.

The "one day contract" thing teams throw about is always, without fail, lame. What's worse is a guy musing on whether it will happen while (a) he is still playing and (b) discussing it with regard to a certain GM he's not a fan of and (c) the GM responding. Looking at you, LaDanian Tomlinson and AJ Smith in San Diego.

Very classy of Miami Dolphins GM Jeff Ireland to ask now-Dallas Cowboy first rounder Dez Bryant if his mom was a hooker in pre-draft interviews. That the discipline challenged Bryant didn't bust him in two is shocking. Ireland has since apologized, as if that matters.

Check out the Milwaukee Bucks mascot dunking off a ridiculously high ladder. Pretty sure that this wasn't Andrew Bogut.

To 7 they go...

Former Toronto FC coach Chris Cummins finally came clean in an interview with Kristian Jack at The Score as to how things closed out with Toronto FC and he buries GM Mo Johnston, painting him as a backstabbing control freak. In response, Mo is saying he's going to pursue legal action. Also likely suing: Backstabbing Control Freaks, coming after yours truly after that association. How very MLSE of him. Remember when Toronto Raptor coach Butch Carter sued Marcus Camby, then of the New York Knicks, for $5 million during the playoffs for defamation of character, only serving to embarrass himself and his bosses? I digress. RedNationOnline cracks Mo saying he'll either go loudly or quietly, but go he must. I wouldn't be so sure, this is MLSE we are talking about and normal logic doesn't apply.

Over first 10 years of Philadelphia Philly Ryan Howard's career, he'll have earned $190.5 million, including the five year extension he signed yesterday for $125 million. Who else has done that the first ten years of their career? Nobody. The Toronto Sun's Bob Elliot tweets that it is a "good thing the Jays chipped in $6 M to help Phillies make 2010 budget" on the Roy Halladay deal. Ouch. So if he's worth $25 million, that has to be the starting point for Albert Pujols, no? ESPN looks at how two years ago, Howard and the Phillies couldn't agree on a one year deal and how this came up.

The Montreal Canadiens rode a 53-save performance from Jaroslav Halak to a 4-1 game 6 win over the Washington Capitals. The SportsPickle tweets that "the word 'clutch' in Russian is 'сцепление'. Just as I suspected. It looks nothing like 'Ovechkin.'" A mite harsh for a guy who has virtually won all there is to win, but this is a #1 seed a game away from a first round exit. Speaking of exits, the Buffalo Sabres and Nashville Predators are out.

Ratings for the first round of the NHL playoffs have been remarkably strong. Strong enough that ESPN is contemplating picking up hockey again for 2011. Gary Bettman is no doubt not interested.

With the New York Yankees visit to the White House yesterday, that is now five visits with three different Presidents for "The Core Four" of Mariano Rivera, Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada and Andy Pettitte. Thanks for that, TS.

The combined score of the last four Milwaukee Brewers and Pittsburgh Pirates games: 53-3 Brewers. Incredible.

A TV idea that has to happen soon: "The Bachelor: Ben Roethlesberger."

Remember when the Boston Red Sox would assure 30,000+ were at the Rogers Centre for a visit? Last night there might have been less than a third of that, despite the announced crowd of 13,000. This long piece in the Toronto Star looks at whether the Jays will ever draw again.

Turns out there is an entire website, with a book available, dedicated to "The Baseball Codes".

Is it possible that Taylor Hall and Tyler Seguin, expected to go top two in the NHL draft, would prefer to go second overall to avoid being taken by the Edmonton Oilers? Eric Francis seems to think so. Frankly, I don't get it - have always loved any trip to Edmonton, and if a place was good enough for some guys named Gretzky and Messier for years and years, not sure how you wouldn't want to add your name to those ranks by getting that team back to glory.

Four out of five aren't had. CC Sabathia, AJ Burnett, Andy Pettitte and Phil Hughes are a combined 9-1/2.43ERA/.211 BAA/3HRs in 92.2IP. At the other end of the spectrum is Javier Vazquez: 1-3/ 9.00ERA/.309BAA/5HRs in 20IP.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is talking up a rookie wage scale, and can't possibly agree more. As he notes, the St. Louis Rams are likely to pay Sam Bradford $40-$45 million before he steps on a field. What if he's the next Ryan Leaf? I've long thought nothing does more to blow up a team's salary structure, and arguably chemistry, than giving a guy who turns out to be a bust huge dollars.

No team has ever started 4-9 or worse in the AL East - like the Boston Red Sox did - and ever made the playoffs, even as a wildcard. What's the problem with the Red Sox? Well, as the Boston Globe puts it: "In Tim Wakefield, David Ortiz, Mike Lowell, and Jason Varitek, [manager] Terry Francona also has four older players on the downside of their careers who believe they should be playing every day and aren't. Having two such players on the roster would be a lot to handle. He has four."

With the "retirement" of New Jersey Devils coach Jacques Lemaire, the the next Devils coach will be the 15th in 23 years for Lou Lamoriello.

Tito Ortiz was arrested for beating Jenna Jameson yesterday. Are you like me and thinking "hey, Tito won a fight!"

Perhaps the best post-goal celebration I've ever seen...

We're back!

Seriously, following Jose Canseco on Twitter is the height of hilarity, if you don't mind watching a guy that is unravelling mentally. Check out the post at right.

Toronto FC played far and away their best game of the year in a 2-0 home win over the Seattle Sounders at soggy BMO Field. Nice to see Julian De Guzman show up, heard he signed last August. Coach Preki was glowing in his praise of the effort and result though he's concerned about the recklessness of some players: "I want us to be committed and hard, but not stupid."

Strangely, so far there hasn't been a single rainout this MLB season, and only two games thus far -- one at Yankee Stadium on April 16th, and last night at Citi Field -- have been shortened by the elements.

All eight NHL postseason series were even after two games for the first time in the best-of-seven era. Also this round: 18 too-many-men penalties, so far. Seems a bit much, no?

Speaking of the NHL, Vancouver took out LA Kings last night to advance, joining the Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins and San Jose Sharks as the first to move onto round two. Three game sixes on the go tonight with Pittsburgh, Chicago and Boston all needing a win to advance. Quite the competitive first round, it must be said, with only the Flyers taking care of business in five games.

Chelsea crushed Stoke City 7-0 to get a touch closer to the English Premier League title. Two games left to play and one point up on Manchester United. Chelsea can all but seal it with a win Saturday at Liverpool, though that is no gimme.

Check out the Baltimore Orioles next 14 games: four against Boston, six against the New York Yankees, and four against Minnesota. The Orioles, 3-16 now, might sit 5-28 after all that is said and done. Ouch.

I could go the easy route and just unload with a variety of takes on the NFL draft this past weekend, but instead I'll go with two. The first covers the winners and losers, the second does the grade method. If the latter proves accurate and Dez Bryant ends up rookie of the year for the Dallas Cowboys, that's a hell of a steal for a #24 pick.

As for the Buffalo Bills, owner Ralph Wilson emphatically stated the Bills had no intention of moving up to pick Tim Tebow with a late first round pick, while the Denver Broncos camp contends they were hellbent on Tebow. I don't know what Tebow does as a pro, but the one universally agreed upon bit of analysis I've read this weekend is Denver reached big in taking him in the first round.

Sir Alex Ferguson, Manchester United's manager, is as good as they come with more medals than a war vet. But when he says that Gary Neville could and should be in the mix for a spot on England's World Cup entry, it makes me question his sanity. I get having your players back, but Neville is beyond expired.

Here's a little quiz for you if you've got some time. Take your pick on Vancouver real estate, and guess whether it is Crack Shack Or Mansion. Frightening.

At the Penn Relays this past weekend, Usain Bolt ran am 8.79 anchor leg in the 4x100 race. Crazy fast. Check this out.


Finally today, if you haven't seen the A-Rod run across the mound that created a fuss in Oakland last week, check it out below. Just wondering though, when a pitcher covers behind the plate on a run-scoring hit, is he allowed to walk through the batter's box? Does anybody care?