Robben takes a bat to Man United

With Wayne Rooney starting and looking fit, and Nani playing as well as he's played in his life, you'd have figured Manchester United was easily into the Champions League semis, especially after taking a 3-0 lead. But mix in an out-of-nowhere goal from Ivica Olic and a red card to Man United's Rafael that was largely the result of Franck Ribery whining to the referee with 40 minutes to go and Bayern Munich scored a second to see them advance on the away goals rule despite being played off the field when it was 11 v 11. Munich will now face Olympic Lyon, with the winner of that semi facing the winner of Inter Milan and Barcelona. So an early congratulations to Champions League winner Barcelona.

Go figure that the one New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox game that goes under three hours for nine innings stretches beyond that thanks to extra innings. The Yankees were 3-1 winners, and Red Sox "Nation" is in full on panic mode no doubt.

Jose Calderon whining over fans booing an air ball from him is pretty fresh. He's the same guy who collects his paycheque with a ski mask and gun, and panders to the fans when he hits threes by inexplicably holding up six fingers. He's not all that's wrong with the Toronto Raptors, but he's the biggest symptom: soft physically and mentally, a bloated long-term contract and can't defend a lick. Trade the piece of shit.

Said Toronto Raptor Sonny Weems after the Raps loss in Cleveland Tuesday night: "Every game we've played them, it's been real close. I don't think they want that in the first round of the playoffs. We're going to come to play." Said LeBron James in response: "I'm not getting into that," James said, grinning. "They're having a great season so far." Pwned.

Very classy of former New York Giant Tiki Barber to leave his pregnant wife for a 23-year old intern. What is it with people in the TV business and interns?

Love New York Yankees President Randy Levine getting after the whining Milwaukee Brewers owner Mark Attanasio, crying that the team will have a hard time re-signing Prince Fielder. Shame Levine didn't mention the Brewers shipping their best young talent to Cleveland for a rental of CC Sabathia, or that they also made a huge offer to Sabathia in free agency, but he just didn't want to live in Milwaukee. Some things are beyond mere money, Attanasio.

Try to steal a purse, and get suplexed for your efforts. Surely this isn't real, is it? Incredible either way. Click the link for video.

Have a great Thursday.

Bosh Busted, Barca Blowout, Brennan Bows Out

Barcelona's Lionel Messi went off for four goals, three of the gorgeous varietal, to put a stop to Arsenal's Champion's League hopes after the Gunners opened the scoring with a 4-1 win. Barca will now take on Inter Milan in the semi-finals, who downed CSKA Moscow 1-0. Messi is on an incredible tear of late, with a pair of recent hat-tricks and yesterday's four goal game.

There are 11 Major League Baseball teams with at least four guys on the DL. That's a lot of talent on the shelf so early in the season, nobody hurting moreso than the New York Mets who are minus Carlos Beltran and Jose Reyes, among others.

Jim Brennan is not only no longer the captain of Toronto FC, he's also done playing and moving up to the front office. All this after one regular season game played. If TFC were any more a circus, I'd think they were the Toronto entry in the CFL.

The other two Champions League semi-finalists will be decided today when Bayern Munich, 2-1 winners in the first leg at home, visit Manchester United. Here's a bit of a development that could end up being a major difference maker: there is talk that Wayne Rooney may in fact play today. He's either one hell of a quick healer, or United isn't liking the idea of life minus Rooney much in a critical game. Manager Sir Alex Ferguson says he won't be playing. Lyon visits Bordeaux in the other matchup, with the home side needing to win by a couple, for starters.

Interesting idea from JC Bradbury - lead man at Sabernomics.com - on the subject of Human Growth Hormone. Bradbury offers this tidbit in the March 22nd issue of ESPN The Magazine on HGH: "Make it legal. The uninformed public calls HGH a performance-enhancer, but researchers know better. Testifying before Congress in 2008, Thomas Perls, an HGH expert, said, 'There is no credible scientific evidence that growth hormone substantively increases muscle strength or aerobic-exercise capacity in normal individuals.' Perls didn't go rogue. He was reflecting the academic consensus that HGH offers little to no athletic benefits." Interesting stuff.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is aiming to grow NFL revenues by about $1 billion per year with a target of $25 billion a year in revenue in 2027. That's definitely something you want to be hyping up as you're telling the players and public how much teams are struggling and you need to cut the players take of revenues.

If you were to do the NL year-end awards after one game, check out who are your likely winners: MVP, Albert Pujols (two homers, four hits). Cy Young: Roy Halladay (seven innings, one run, nine strikeouts), Rookie of the Year, Jason Heyward (two hits, a homer, four RBIs). Quite likely the guys that win it at the end of the season.

If you're wondering why the New York Yankees 6-4 win at Boston last night took so long at a shade under 4 hours, it might have something to do with both teams combining to throw 333 pitches. In related news, the 0-fer-the-season David Ortiz went off on reporters post game: "You guys wait till [expletive] happens, then you can talk [expletive]. Two [expletive] games, and already you [expletives] are going crazy. What's up with that, man? [Expletive]. [Expletive] 160 games left. That's a [expletive]. One of you [expletives] got to go ahead and hit for me." The only one I can't figure out is the second last one. Maybe Ortiz hasn't taken his "eye drops" like he did last year after two cold months?

Chris Bosh had his face caved in by an accidental elbow from Cleveland Cavalier Antawn Jamison. Presumably, this hurts the Toronto Raptors playoff hopes, if there were any. The upside for Bosh is he'll have more content for a DVD to produce.

Champions League Quarters resume today...

Champions League quarter final play resumes today with Arsenal visiting Barcelona, minus Cesc Fabregas. Hard to see Barcelona not advancing. Am sure that Inter Milan will look to kill any game at all in CSKA Moscow and squeeze out a scoreless draw or 1-0 win. That's great strategy when it works for manager Jose Mourinho but funny things happen to his teams when they go down a goal.

Yes, Duke won the NCAA hoops title this year with a 61-59 win over Butler, who few gave a chance to entering the game. Is it me, or are the Blue Devils the least impressive team to win in recent memory? Sure feels that way.

Remember when Daisuke Matsuzaka was said to be a guy that would revolutionize pitching? He's now not good enough to be in the Boston Red Sox rotation.

Speaking of losing weight, word is Barry Bonds has lost 30-40lbs or so. Wonder why that is?

What do Kobe Bryant, Tracy McGrady, Kevin Garnett, Jermaine O'Neal, Tyson Chandler and Eddy Curry all have in common? All came to the NBA as teenagers, all now in their late 20's or early 30's and to varying degrees, older than their years would suggest. As ESPN The Magazine points out, of the nine high-schoolers drafted between 1995-1999, Bryant and Al Harrington are the only two whose games haven't undergone a substantial drop-off.

There were three starters yesterday - Shaun Marcum of the Toronto Blue Jays, Ben Sheets of the Oakland A's, and Jake Westbrook of the Cleveland Indians - that started their games with zero innings pitched the previous year. The last time that happened in MLB history was opening 1901, which was also the first day of American League history.

The Washington Redskins may have been 4-12 last year, but seven of those losses were by six points or less. It won't shock me if they're very much in the playoff hunt next year with a better coach and better QB now in the fold. There is also talk that Donovan McNabb, who has kissed and made up with Terrell Owens, may look to have T.O. brought in so the two can exact some revenge on Philadelphia together. Not sure how likely that is, but sure is an interesting story. The Eagles will visit the Redskins on Monday Night Football on October 25th.

Check out the line on Chicago Cubs starter, and alleged ace, Carlos Zambrano: 1 1/3 innings, 6 hits, 8 R, 8 ER, 2 BB, 1 HBP, 1 K. That's a 54.01 ERA through one game, folks. And Cubs fans thought all their problems left when Milton Bradley skipped town...

Tiger Woods wants to renew his wedding vows with wife Elin according to reports. I can see why he'd want to, but why would she? Not like he took them at all seriously the first time around. Jason Whitlock at the Kansas City Star says Tiger hit his presser out of the park yesterday.

I'm a fantasy sports and pool nut. Football pools, hockey, soccer, basketball...you name it, I'm in. Hell, I once ran a CFL pool with 40+ people in it where you'd pick the spreads and over/unders, and regularly took advantage of everyone's assumptions that all CFL games go over. But this is one I won't be participating in: a CFL fantasy league. Yes, using players.

Biggest surprise of MLB's opening day yesterday? No snow, anywhere.

Check out this Vanderbilt pitcher having his knee cap shattered by a line drive, and yet still makes the play to first. Nails.

Sox spank Yanks

It appears as if Duke will win the title without having to play a team in the entire NCAA tournament that ranked in the top 3 all season. Purdue was their highest ranked opponent and they checked in at one point as 4th. Of the millions of entrants in the ESPN.com bracket contest, only .03% of entrants picked this as the final matchup. I'm going to say "Go Duke" looking to work a reverse jinx here.

The four teams fighting for the last few Eastern Conference playoff spots - Boston, Philadelphia, New York Rangers and Montreal - will all play the Toronto Maple Leafs in succession. What are the odds on that?

Donovan McNabb is headed to the Washington Redskins in a true head scratcher of a trade methinks as far as the Philadelphia Eagles are concerned. By no means do I think McNabb is still a top five QB in the game, but to trade a guy with some game left within your division seems a bit crazy. Sure, Kevin Kolb may look good in practice and the odd game over the years, but NFL defences have a way of catching up to guys once there is a couple handfuls of games of tape on them. Take Derek Anderson, as one example. #NFL

Word out of the Buffalo Bills mini-camp is that some of Marshawn Lynch's teammates figure he wants out of Buffalo. Speculation is they're thinking so based on his absence from said workouts. Talk about jumping to conclusions.

Pretty sure I'm a rarity in 2010: haven't seen Avatar, heard a song by Justin Bieber, or been banged by Tiger Woods.

Speaking of Woods, expect productivity around North America to drop at 2pm today when he holds his presser at The Masters, where he'll likely say nothing worth hearing, in typical Eldrick fashion.

So much for the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox stacked pitching, if last night's first sample means anything. Both Josh Beckett and CC Sabathia were out relatively early, each tagged for five runs, in a game won 9-7 by the Sox. Today, another baker's dozen of season openers on the go.

Have a great Monday.

Happy Easter

The Major League Baseball season starts tonight at 8pm with the Defending World Series Champion New York Yankees visiting the hated Boston Red Sox. CC Sabathia and Josh Beckett will be the starters - not a bad matchup to say the least.

Mindblowing that a linesman in the right spot can miss not one, but two Chelsea attackers being offside in yesterday's 2-1 Chelsea win at Manchester United, the second goal which came off that play. United looked real flat for the first 45 minutes and I've said repeatedly that they're not going to win anything important with Gary Neville on the field. The race isn't over, but Chelsea definitely gained the upper hand yesterday.

So the Detroit Red Wings have had what most would term a very down year, yet they're four points short of another 100 point season with four games to play. They're also, it is worth noting, getting healthy just in time for the playoffs.

Who do the New York Mets grab to throw out the opening pitch of the season? Recent Celebrity Apprentice quitter Daryl Strawberry. Are they trying to tell their fans the season is one to quit on?

Butler beat Michigan State 52-50 in a brutally played game that looked at times like neither team wanted to win. Butler will face Duke in the finals on Monday night, who throttled a surprisingly timid West Virginia. The pre-season coaches poll had all four Final Four teams ranked in the top ten.

Have always wondered how NCAA college athletes, who allegedly don't make any money and aren't allowed to work, can afford so much ink.

The Toronto Blue Jays signed Adam Lind to a 4-year, $18 million extension with three decent club options beyond that. Maybe with that money, Lind will now hire a better agent as his current agent just got exposed as out of his league in giving the Jays a bargain of a deal.

In following the daily player Q&A with different Toronto Blue Jays in the Toronto Star, this much is clear: these guys listen to some horrible, horrible music.

A few videos to close today. If you haven't seen Andrew Bogut's gruesome fall last night in which he dislocated his elbow, check it out here. He'll be out for the year with that and a broken hand.


Check out Sky Sports commentator Chris Kamara completely unawares a Portsmouth player had been sent off.


Here's a time lapse of the grass install at BMO Field in Toronto...

EPL pivotal game

An earlier than normal edition of RM today, largely because there's no way I could do this later with a giant game kicking off at 7:45 today when Chelsea visit Manchester United in a game that could well determine the English Premier League champion, especially with third place side Arsenal now minus Cesc Fabregas for six weeks and Andrei Arshavin out for three weeks as well. It is going to be tough for the defending champions - United - minus Wayne Rooney, but they are at home. Loads of pressure on Dimitar Berbatov to provide something in attack with Rooney out, and I suspect he rises to the occasion. My head says "tie" here, but have a feeling that the more mentally tough United beat a mentally fragile Chelsea here 2-1.

The NCAA Final Four goes tonight from Indianapolis. I'm liking Butler and West Virginia myself, though the West Virginia selection is no doubt coloured by my hatred of Duke.

Speaking of Manchester United, they're said to be ready to drop £40million to land Bayern Munich/French midfielder Franck Ribiery. Not sure that will get the irate fan base off of the Glazer ownership group, but it wouldn't hurt.

The Hedo Turkoglu Party Machine. 'nuff said.

I don't know why a guy with Tourette's sucker punching his wife is funny, I just know that it is. Check the vid at that link.

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman figures that the value of the NHL's next American TV contract will more than double over the current $75 million. Even if it does, that's hardly anything to be bragging about.

As if two free cards on TV and a pay-per-view weren't enough action for the UFC the last two weeks, they've got another pay-per-view lined up for week today, this one in Abu Dhabi. It has also been announced that UFC 115 will go in Vancouver on June 12th.

What happens when you take a video of a bulldog banging a stuffed animal, and mix it with a soundboard of NCAA commentator Gus Johnson? In a word: magic.

A very Good Friday to you...

Here is a Final Four primer. Or at least a look at the cheerleaders of the Final Four squads. If this has any bearing, it is gonna be Michigan State cutting the nets.

Toronto Maple Leafs coach Ron Wilson is the first coach in team history to miss the playoffs in consecutive years and get a crack at making it a third. It says here that the Leafs make the playoffs next season.

Inter Milan coach Jose Mourinho says he isn't happy in Italy, and is no doubt throwing it out there as a thought for the big clubs in England where he wants back, badly. Great thing to say with your team barely hanging on to first place in Serie A and in the quarterfinals for the Champions League.

So if minimum wage is increasing and that includes wait staff, does that mean we can cut tips to correspond with the increase? Seems reasonable enough. Here comes the hate mail!

For a guy who went to a good academic school in Stanford, Tiger Woods sure isn't bright. Sure, he may have paid Rachel Uchitel $10 million in hush money, if the TMZ reports are true, but he must've neglected to pay over a dozen more, judging by how freely and frequently we are hearing more details of his affairs. Can't imagine he strays from his "that's between me and Elin" auto response at his presser Monday.

In another step to increase the quality of the product on field, and recognition off of it, Major League Soccer has expanded the "Beckham Rule" to allow teams the option of adding a second designated player spot and allowing teams to purchase a third. Here's hoping Toronto FC acts fast and as important, correctly. A man can dream, no?

90 days until LeBron James is a free agent. You've been warned.

Charles Barkley flips off TNT audience.


The best part about U.S. gold medalist Lindsey Vonn delivering the game ball to a New York Red Bulls game isn't that she rolled in in a NASCAR, but that the Red Bulls player Ibrahim Salou (#29) is a knuckle deep into his nose before shaking her hand.

Pig power

Chicago Black Hawks fans aren't too pleased over this mural at right going up in Chi-Town of Jonathan Toews in which his nose looks, well, like that of a pig. Also, fans are unhappy the mural includes the Stanley Cup, something the Hawks haven't lifted since 1961. Superstition, and all.

"Nosed" out of the picture of the day is this gem by a restaurant in - where else? - Bangkok, where they've created a life size replica of Tiger Woods made entirely out of condoms. No, really.

Barcelona opened yesterday's Champions League visit at Arsenal with as dominant a start as you could imagine, and only incredible keeping from Manuel Almunia - no, really...not an April Fool's joke - kept Barça from blowing them out early. The second half saw each side score a pair of goals for a thrilling 2-2 finish. Arsenal's in a lot of trouble for next week's return leg in Barcelona with Cesc Fabregas out on a suspension, in addition to him suspecting he's got a broken leg. The other game of the day saw Inter Milan grind out a 1-0 win over CSKA Moscow. In other injury news, Manchester United's Wayne Rooney is out 2-4 weeks with a bad ankle.

Damien Cox suspects the Toronto Maple Leafs will be splashing the cash around this summer. With most big names tied up, might they be a cap relief source for a team like the Chicago Black Hawks? Dealing Tomas Kaberle, which seems likely as he and coach Ron Wilson are feuding, will clear up an additional $4 million or so.

Toronto Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopolous says the brains of the management in the AL East are far more challenging to overcome than the dollars. So there.

NFL prospect Dez Bryant, who has had some shady dealings in the past that have led to an NCAA suspension, says "I ain't never got in trouble with nobody. I never said anything. I don't say anything wrong to nobody." Not sure what kind of pro he'll end up being, but if he can pound an opponent like he just did the English language, he'll be in Canton ultimately.

Kevin Durant gets some calls from officials, Kevin Garnett drops an f-bomb in the presser post-game. Nice work, KG.

Not sure if you've heard, but...

The book ends of Manchester United's visit to Munich yesterday proved polar opposites. Wayne Rooney opened the scoring a minute in, and went out in the last minute with what looks to be a serious ankle injury just as Bayern scored to win the first leg of their Champions League quarter 2-1. Gonna be tough to see United win anything minus Rooney this year, who has been incredible, but I'll be shocked if they don't advance given all they need is a 1-0 home win. The other match saw Lyon beat visiting Bordeaux 3-1.

Not sure if you've heard but NCAA Final Four team Butler is 10km from Husky Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

Confirming what the Globe and Mail and RM wrote a week back, the MLS Cup will indeed go in Toronto this November 21st with an 8:30 kick off. Ought to be frigid, but it'll be a rare opportunity for a trophy to be lifted in Toronto, so celebrate, T-Dot! Also being discussed is a friendly at Roger Centre where Manchester United would likely face Glasgow Celtic July 17th.

Was Diego Maradona recreating that scene from Hannibal where he convinced a drugged up victim to let his dogs chew on his face? Could definitely see the drug angle given Maradona's history, and especially now that his dog used his face as a chew toy. Thanks to GBVH for that linkage.

Up today in Champions League play, Barcelona visit Arsenal and Inter Milan visit CSKA Moscow. The first ought to be a thriller with two teams that think attack first and only.

Not sure if you've heard but Tiger Woods is playing the Master's next weekend.

Good of the National Post to step up in an editorial in favor of Ontario legalizing mixed martial arts.

In a sign of budgetary consciousness, the New York Yankees rolled out ambidextrous pitcher Pat Venditte yesterday who changed hands depending on the batter. Wonder if this guy develops if he is a complete game lock?

Not sure if you've heard, but Kelly Kelly is smokin' hot.

The Toronto Maple Leafs will be changing their uniforms for next season, doing away with the practice jersey look. No word on if they'll correct a long standing grammatical error. They'll be revealed this summer.

Champions League Quarters start today...

Champions League quarter-final play starts today with Bordeaux at Lyon, and Manchester United in Munich to face Bayern. United will see Wayne Rooney back after missing a game for injury and if recent form continues, they'll be in great shape even for a road game. Bet 'em at Pinnacle.

Sources in Phoenix say that the NHL is ready to move the Coyotes to Winnipeg if the current deal to keep the team in Arizona falls through. Say, didn't we talk about that here a month or so ago?

MLB will be reducing the number of days off during the League Championship Series by one. Funny that it took them up until now since the overly stretched 2009 playoffs to sort out that the previous system wasn't right.

Remember that Jim Lampley "Bang!" flurry during the last Manny Pacquiao fight? Here it is mashed with Metallica's "Master of Puppets". Strangely hypnotizing.

TMZ, entering the sports business more by the day, says that 50% of NBA wives are groupies. Maybe that explains why Jackie Christie was working so hard to shelter her man.

In an NBA shocker, the New Jersey Nets beat the San Antonio Spurs to ensure they won't finish with the all-time worst record.

How good are Barcelona? Good enough that Zlatan Ibrahimovic is playing a literal back pass.

Weekend wrap

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.

It almost seems too good to not be scripted, but the Phoenix Coyotes have clinched a playoff spot for the first time in eight seasons. This could well mark the first time a playoff team in the NHL draws under 10,000 fans to a game.

Check out the coach of the American Hockey League's Abbotsford Heat Jim Playfair going Hulk Hogan on a ref.

GSP returns

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 Saints for 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.

For my boy, Bukakke, I present the poet, Charles Bukakke.

Since Dion Phaneuf was traded from Calgary to Toronto, the Flames are is 10-8-1 while the Leafs are 10-7-1.

A pair of beauty goals from Cristiano Ronaldo on Thursday...

More Madness, please!

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 Region Syracuse 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.

The Chicago Cubs have to be looking at another futile season, if players sitting on folding chairs only to have them collapse and leave the player - Derek Lee in this case - with a bad back. Baseball injuries are one of a kind.

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.

I've sat on this one a couple days now, but shocking that there has been next to no coverage of the story that a doctor may have provided three Washington Capitals players with steroids.

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.

RM returns early afternoon. No, really.

The Madness resumes...

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.

Perfect in March Madness

An autistic 17-year old has picked the first two rounds of the NCAA tourney perfectly. No, really. But, as you can see at right, he's a Cubs fan, so nobody is perfect.

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.com delivers 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 SportsPickle details 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 Twins contract 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.

Stirring the water in the toilet bowl

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 Flyers may 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.

Count on South Park to hit the nail on the head with this take on Tiger Woods and his Thanksgiving 2009. Thanks to Bukakke for passing this along.

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!"

Abbey Clancy in body paint of the English national soccer team's jersey? Hell to the yes please.

Duante Culpepper wants 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?

Have a great Tuesday, back tomorrow morning.

Mauer stays in Minny

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 Chelsea drawing 1-1 with Blackburn is 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.

Not a great UFC Fight Night Live last night when no fights broadcast - free - went the distance, but Jon "Bones" Jones was incredible in beating Brandon Vera in the main event. Jones is amazing, quite simply.

Have a great Monday!

Ooooooooooh yeahhhhhhhhhh!

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 Schilling took 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 Cuban offers 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.

Very classy of New Orleans Saints owner Tom Benson to boot 1,200 long time season ticket owners so he can add private boxes.

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.

Sext me up, Tiger.

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.

When you read Tiger Woods sext messages to porn star Joslyn James, are you like me and think "what kind of freaking text plan does this guy have?"

How quiet has the Dallas Cowboys off season been? They've yet to lose a free agent, sign a free agent, or make a trade. They do know that when you fall short of a championship, it is probably best to make some kind of move, right?

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.

Have a great Friday.