Random Thoughts and Ideas

Couple of quick hit things to finish off a Wednesday and get you into a Thursday. For the record this post isn't going up late because it was St. Patrick's day yesterday, when I am hung over, I just don't post - see February 25th (the day after Mardi Gras).

1. With all the time and energy President Obama is spending on AIG it is a wonder he had the time to pick a NCAA bracket, but he put aside the health of the country to concentrate on his selections. For those of you without the time to click on the link and analyze his selections - final four includes Louisville, Memphis, Pitt and UNC. Louisville and UNC in the finals, with UNC winning it all.

2. The USA overcame a 9th inning 2 run deficit to beat Puerto Rico and move on in the WBC. This is a bad thing for the tournament. The USA needed to lose that game and be embarrassed. This would have led to a greater sense of pride the next time the tournament comes around, which means the stars would have to come out in play. This happened to USA basketball and Canada hockey, it would have been a wake up call for USA baseball.

3. The Jay Cutler vs. Denver Broncos situation is getting out of hand. Cutler has demanded a trade because he feels disrespected by the Broncos for trying to trade him. He feels that he won't be seen as a leader in the dressing room and will not have the confidence of his coach as the season progresses. I think Cutler realizes it is a business and that someday he might not be wearing an orange uniform, but in the back of his mind he probably wanted to be like Elway and have that be his only uniform. Cutler has put himself and the Broncos in a bad situation by demanding the trade. The Broncos can't get fair market value for him and won't be able to trade him to any team. The teams rumoured to be in the hunt for Cutler are the Lions, Redskins, Bills and Bucs. Could the Bills actually pull in two marquee players in one offseason. Would Cutler, Owens and Lynch be the nucleus to lead the Bills to the Super Bowl?

4. The MLS season kicks off tomorrow. Did any one realize? Who starts the season the day March Madness kicks off? The commissioner should be fired for agreeing to this. If you are interested and somehow get ESPN2 you can watch the NY Redbulls vs. Seattle Sounders. Seattle is this years expansion team. Even as a soccer fan I have trouble getting excited about the MLS. The soccer is disorganized and the play can get sloppy at times. Just so you are aware - Toronto FC kick off their season on Saturday in Kansas City versus the Wizards, the home season begins at BMO Field April 4 against Seattle.

The other big MLS news today was the announcement that Vancouver will be getting an expansion team that will start play in the 2011 season. The Whitecaps will get a new stadium and will no doubt start a rivalry with TFC that will pale in comparison to the Grizzlies vs. Raptors.

5. The Olympics are a little under a year away and is it bad that I am already tired of the seeing the spots on TSN and SportsNet that talk about athlete's and their dreams of success on home soil. Even more tiresome than the talk about athlete's is the RBC commercials. You'll no doubt hear more complaining in the next 10 months.