Sunday Best

Another week has passed in the sporting world and it is about time that we review some of the best and worst from the week that was...

1. NBA Trade Deadline
-Best: Portland acquiring Gerald Wallace. He will help that team immensely. He adds a scoring threat, able to play defense and he will excel on a team/franchise that cares about basketball.
-Worst: (tie) Boston trading away Kendrick Perkins and Houston trading away Shane Battier. Kendrick Perkins was an key member of a very tight Celtics team. With the Eastern Conference stacking up on talent, having a big man who can defend the likes of Dwight Howard and Amar'e Stoudamire, along with the Lakers big men can not be looked upon lightly. Why was that Battier trade made again? A team that has struggled with injuries and trying to stay competitive trades away a player that has come to epitomize hard work and basketball smarts to a team who are the exact opposite of hard work and basketball. The Grizzlies are one of the teams that are rumoured to be on the move, so for Battier to go to the basketball abyss of Memphis is a shame.

2. Spring Training has started
Baseball is back! Lots of stories to start the year; do the Yankees have any pitching? Can the Cardinals sign Albert Pujols during the season? Will the hometown Blue Jays be able to improve on their 2010 campaign?

3. New golf #1 player
Most casual golf fans know the top 5 golfers in the world, or at least they think they do. A new number one player in the world was crowned during the World Match Play Championships over the weekend Martin Kaymer. The next world ranking will be Kaymer, Lee Westwood, Luke Donald (who won the tournament) and Graeme McDowell. It's the first time since March 15, 1992, that the top four spots have been occupied by Europeans.

4. Tournament Time
Just around the corner is the busiest time of year for gamblers, NCAA men's basketball tournament. This year the field is wide open due to many reasons. The biggest is the fact freshman leave for the NBA, bring favourites back to the pack every year and creating huge parity. This season, all the top teams have lost games to inferior opponents which makes gambling on the tournament all that more fun. If you are unsure who to cheer for this year, the best choices might be Texas (two Canadians on the team) or Syracuse (one Canadian) or Gonzaga (three Canadians). So pick a squad and go nuts

5. UFC Slowly Becoming Boxing
In the main event of UFC 127, the fight between BJ Penn and John Fitch fought to a majority draw. I've seen alot of fights in my day and I can't really recall one where I left saying "you know, they beat each other up equally". Boxing started to fall off when it was the judging that became the story as opposed to the fighters, if the UFC isn't careful it risks falling into the same trap.

6. Oscars vs. Razzies
With the whole twitter phenom, people loving to react quickly and judge others, it really is a shame that the Razzies hasn't taken off. Halle Barry started what should have been a trend of actors and actresses going to accept their award. I wish it would take off.

Things I Think and Things I Know

Lots going on these days and since most of my thoughts on sports have been in the spoken word for the past 3 weeks (have you heard about the podcast?), figured it was time to check in online and write something nice.

Here are some things I think and things I know (h/t to Peter King)
1. Really looking forward to baseball season. The Jays are going to be decent and the A's are favorites in the AL West.

2. Not looking forward to hearing about labour situations for the next 8-10 months. With both the NFL and NBA about to renew the CBA's there is going to be lots more going on in board rooms instead of on playing fields.

3. The two 10 year old girls that have been "discovered" on youtube by Simon Cowell and Lady Gaga will not be the next Justin Beiber. Beiber is a hit because of his image and the fact that 10-15 year old girls need someone to crush on. Boys of the same age don't crush on 10 year old girls and won't buy the posters, teen beat magazine, go see the movie, etc...that made Beiber the phenom.

4. Bautista signing with the Jays for 5 years and $64 million is fine by me. Winning with young players doesn't happen, you need to sprinkle in veterans and a couple of stars. Bautista can be that for the Jays.

5. I've really started to enjoy coffee the last 6 months. I'm not a cup a day guy yet, but want to stretch my boundaries a little, besides second cup/starbucks/timothys - what do I need to try?

6. NBA All-Star weekend is probably the best of the pro sports All-Star weekends. Many activities beside the game that you tune in for (3pt contest and dunk contest), even if you end up disappointed in the end.

7. Brian Burke re-vamping the Leafs line-up is smart. It will take the rest of the season for the Toronto sports media to realize the new guys he has brought in our crap and then he is off the hook until the start of next season.

8. Do baseball players really need a month of spring training anymore? They used to because they wouldn't train in the offseason. Now that they arrive to camp in shape (except for Joba Chamberlain), why have a month to get ready. Two weeks tops...

9. CC Sabathia showed up to Yankees spring training about 20 lbs lighter. He lost all the weight by giving up his habit of eating a BOX of Cap'n Crunch cereal each day. That guy must have some serious cuts on the roof of his mouth.

10. How long can you wear the jersey of a player who has been traded from your favorite team? Carmelo Anthony is either going to be dealt in the next couple of weeks or will sign elsewhere in the offseason. Do I get a one season grace period before having to purchase a new Nuggets jersey? I don't want to spend all the money for a new jersey of a player who will be gone quickly.

11. Can you believe Joe Smith (former number 1 overall pick) has now played for 12 different NBA franchises? It ties the record of Chucky Brown, Tony Massenburg, and Jim Jackson (h/t Uniwatch Blog).

It's Over Ladies and Gentleman, It's Over...

Well the major league baseball season is done, we have crowned a new champion, the President has called the team and the ticker tape has fallen. Now what? The off season can be cruel to fans, no games to follow, no daily news on the team, what is a guy supposed to do?

Well there was an argument on the local sports talk radio the other day that baseball does the off season the best. By that they meant they were able to keep the fans involved in the league, even if there was no games by creating news. The examples of naming the managers of the year, Cy Young award winners, Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Players after the season then the start of free agency in December and once the holidays are done, you wake up and its March and the season starts again. Not a bad argument.

For more of an argument, let's look at the other sports. The NHL has a glitzy award show to present its awards, then free agency and the owners meetings seem to get alot of attention every year for how they might decide to change the game. Nothing ever really changes, but the Canadian sports channels take the opportunity for an 8 man panel show.

The NBA had one of its best off seasons ever because of the intrigue of free agency and where 3 of the top 15 players in the league would play the following season. This years free agency created 3 years of hype, but next summer the same won't be true because the players aren't as high profile. The NBA draft is always a good show in particular because it is only two rounds and that means basketball fans know most of the players being taken, unlike the other major sports which extend over multiple days.

Then we come to the new national pastime, the NFL. In my mind this is the league that has made its league a 12 month phenomenon. There isn't an off season anymore if you are a football fan. The NFL has created events around all of its activities that make it as popular as it is. Once the Super Bowl is played in February, there is the Pro Bowl the week after. Then the draftniks start making appearances to promote the April draft weekend. This year, the NFL moved its first round to Friday night in prime time, then continued the draft for the next two days. The whole draft is televised on its own network. After the draft, there is rookie camps, optional training activities (OTA) for players (which aren't really optional), then training camp starts in August and 3 weeks later the season starts again.

Which league can't you live without for 12 months and which league does it best in keeping you interested all year?

5 Things To Look Forward To...

You made it through the work week and if you are reading this from Canada you get to enjoy a long weekend. If you are reading from elsewhere, all you can probably think about is only two days until I need to go back to work. So, with that forward thinking, here is what you have to look forward to next week...

1. NFL - Training camps around the league open this weekend. From the circus that will be Cincinnati and NY Jets camps, to the expectations in the Dallas and New England camps or the hope in places like Miami and Kansas City, fans from everywhere will be tuning in to see how their teams are progressing and hoping there are no injuries.

2. The MLB Trade Deadline - Saturday at 4pm is the baseball trade deadline. Even though their aren't many "big" names that will be on the move, there will be lots of movement as contenders try to shore up rotations, bullpens and depth and those out of the playoffs build for next year. Also, interesting will be where the Blue Jays fit into all of this. They are sellers this year and have interesting pieces to move including Jose Bautista, Scott Downs and Lyle Overbay.

3. More LeBron Bashing - It hasn't stopped since "The Decision", everyone has been taking shots at the King. Most recently ESPN pulled an article talking about a day in the life of LeBron while he was in Vegas. As I read the story, I was wishing it was my club experience...Expect more piling on until training camp opens.

4. Rogers Cup - Tennis comes to Toronto and this year it is the men's turn to take the Rexall Tennis Centre by storm. It is your chance to see Rafeal Nadal and Roger Federer. Should be exciting and there is nothing like seeing the action up close and personal.

5. Kanye West on Twitter - Through just 3 days on the site, has 310 000 followers and has been talking jibberish non stop, it's great! Can't wait to read what he says next.

Gear Down

It is the time of year when the sports world slows down just a bit. The NHL and NFL training camps are still about a month away (although it is never to early for a fantasy football mock draft), the NBA has finished and all the big free agents are now signed and even MLB is on its All-Star break which means besides the exhibition match being played tonight, there was no baseball yesterday and no baseball tomorrow. Even the World Cup is over which means no early drinking at the bars. What is a sports fan to do?

Here are a couple of suggestions to get you through the July until NFL kicks in and the baseball pennant races heat up.

1. Tour de France – No Lance Armstrong no problem. The TDF as those in the know like to call it, can fill your morning sports void for the next couple of weeks. Unlike the World Cup, we actually have a Canadian to cheer for. Victoria's Ryder Hesjedal was in contention (top 5) until yesterday’s brutal ride up the hills and is currently out of the overall top 10.

2. Video Games – Today is the release of EA’s NCAA Football game featuring Tim Tebow on the cover (minus the writing on his eye black). So, even though the first game is a month away you can still win the national championship as your favorite institution.

3. Play a Sport – Here is a list of the best “adult” leagues in Toronto. I need a soccer team if you are in need of players.

4. Message Boards – Become addicted to message boards and you won’t even realize when games are being played. You get to argue about sports all day long with other anonymous people on the interwebs, make fun of them electronically and ignore them when they say you’re wrong. You also get to feel much better about yourself when you finally turn them off.

5. ESPY Awards - Tomorrow night is the annual ESPN awards show that allows you to relieve the best teams, plays and moments for the year that was. There is a lot of comedy gold that happens at this event. Think of how many awkward interviews, Kanye moments and tears of joy will be shed during this live broadcast. The one thing I can tell you that won’t be happening this year – LeBron James coming out and dancing as MC Hammer. Someone from the crowd is likely to throw a banana peel on stage so he slips and hurts himself. (header photo is of the newest ESPN ‘it girl’ – Jenn Brown who will patrolling college football sidelines this fall)

6. Watch a Movie – With that I will let you know that tomorrow’s blog post will be a summer movie guide. Reviews of movies I haven’t seen!

Still have time to kill and missing the FIFA World Cup – check out all the goals in one video segment, courtesy of The Spoiler GOOOOOOAAAALLLLL!… or this clip of German super kid doing a wonderful trick with a piece of gum.

Stupid is as Stupid Does

When you cross the land, you may stumble across some weird and stupid stuff. These weird things are often times turned into competitions by bored individuals. Heck ESPN writer Rick Reilly even wrote a whole book about them.

If you want to be the stupidest of them all, you should be in Spain right now…not to be part of the World Cup finals experience, which would be unbelievable, not stupid – but to take part in the running of the bulls.

What was once a simple act of transporting the bulls to the market, became a competition between the men to move the cattle faster. They would use tactics of fear and excitement to get the bulls move quicker. This developed into a race to beat the bulls to their pens and attracted more attention developing into the spectacle on the streets of Pamplona that we witness today.

Not only is there no sense in running away from the bulls, how many of us can really pull off the all white look?

If you to argue about which other sports can be in the mix about being the dumbest, you have to include the following couple, but I think they all come in after the running of the bulls because it is the only one where you can leave with a hole in your body.

Cheese-rolling event on Cooper's Hill in Gloucester
The event where they begin by rolling a wheel of cheese down a hill and then have everyone chase it, often tumbling head over heels to be the first one down and claim the cheese as your own. Unfortunately for youtube viewers everywhere the 183 year history of this event ended in March because, get this – it was unsafe.

Wife Carrying
Popularized in Scandanavia where the wives are sometimes just as big as the men that are carrying them, this “sport” has grown in popularity for some reason. Competitors throw their WAGs on their back and carry them through an cross-country course consisting of obstacles that they must climb or water they need to wade through. The winner of the race is often awarded beer equivalent to his wife’s weight.

Competitive Eating
How this became a sport is beyond me. I enjoy eating, but that is mainly because I like the taste of food, I savour it, enjoying every bite, mmmm food. I don’t enjoy the sight of people stuffing themselves with food to the point of being sick. YOU ARE WASTING A GOOD HOT DOG! Give me competitions about food that involve the best of “insert tasty food”. The organizers and participants should be ashamed for contributing to obesity. By the way my personal best for hot dog eating is 13 (in one hour) and the other personal food best is 10 McDonald’s cheeseburgers, 1 fries and 1 McFlurry in one sitting.


Have you participated in any stupid sports? What are your competitive eating personal bests?

Who To Cheer For

Very easy job this weekend in the category of who to cheer for this weekend. There is only one choice - Canada.

Whether you want to cheer for the men's hockey team tonight and then on the weekend as they play for a medal or whether you want to cheer for the curling teams, both men's and women's curling are going for gold.

The other reason to cheer is for the closing ceremonies of the Vancouver 2010 games. The closing ceremonies at the Olympics are always the biggest party. Athletes can finally let loose all at the same time and the closing ceremonies gives a chance for the hosts to close the show in a big way and pass the torch (literally) to the next host country, in this case Russia. So we'll probably see some some Russian elements in the closing ceremonies also.

There are rumours that Nickelback is performing during the closing ceremonies, which is big, but all I have to say about that is I am glad it isn't Celine Dion.

The Return of the Mack

After a sabbatical, the Sandwich Shoppe is open for business again...

A quick round up of the weekend events and what you have to look forward to in the week ahead.

1. Lucas Glover wins the US Open golf tournament. After four rain soak days at Bethpage Black the unknown Glover outlasted the field and took the silver trophy. The golfers that finished second were the bigger story. Phil Mickelson who overcame a couple of bad rounds, the mental stress of dealing with his wife's cancer and was so close to winning another major championship. The other story was David Duval. Coming into the weekend he was ranked 832nd (didn't know there was that many pro golfers) and he put on quite the show. Still wearing the trademark Oakley's Duval looked like the player he once was. It will be a great story for the remainder of the season if Duval can keep up his play and challenge for titles.

2. The US soccer team pulled off the improbable. After getting smacked around in their first two Confederation Cup games by Brazil and Italy, they needed a three goal win against Egypt and have Brazil beat Italy by three goals. Well, both things happened and the US goes on to face the number one team in the world - Spain. Nobody, not even former US player Alexei Lalas believes they have a chance, and with good reason. Look for them to get destroyed, but not for the reasons you think (skill), but because the US is starting to lose players to other countries. Two of the better players that could be playing with the US are playing for Italy and another wants to play for Germany. This feels too much like Canada tennis or boxing.

3. In other soccer news Manchester United has found their new jersey sponsor - AON Consulting will adorn the front of the red devils jersey next season. Open up the pocket books fans!

4. Wimbeldon started today and the hands on favorite to win on the men's side is Roger Federer. Unfortunately, he won't have his Joker to his Batman when he goes to win his record 15th major tournament as Rafeal Nadal had to withdraw due to tendinitis in his knees. It will still be fun to watch him win, and will be emotional for Federer if he can pull it off, but after the epic match last year, it would have been nice to see again.

5. Not even sure why I want to mention this, but it has been reported that Brett Favre has signed to play with the Minnesota Vikings in the upcoming season. The news hasn't been "officially" released but the deal is supposedly done and will be announced soon to hysterical Green Bay fans everywhere. Those two bitter division game between the Vikings and the Packers will become even more tense this year.

Tuesday Mind Dump

Apparently I am American and didn't know it because I took the Memorial Day weekend off.

Too much to catch up with over the weekend, but a couple of highlights included Helio Castroneves winning the Indy 500 just about a week after getting cleared of tax evasion charges that could have put him away for 7 years. The Blue Jays continue to lose. The two NBA playoffs series have been unbelievable. It looks like both series could go seven games.

Some updates and stuff to look for in the next couple of days.

1 - NFL practices continue this week. Look out for which players show up, those that don't and if injuries pop-up. Already this week, Tom Brady is going to practice, Anquan Boldin has fired his agent and of course this sideshow Terrell Owens is back in Buffalo after throwing Tony Romo and Offensive Coordinator Jason Garrett under the bus this week via twitter.

2 - The Jays are finishing up a series with the Baltimore Orioles today and tomorrow. They have lost 7 in a row. The hope is that if they can't end the skid Tuesday night, Doc Halladay can put the breaks on it tomorrow afternoon. The pitching is still going strong, it is the hitting that is failing them. We need that Cito and Gene hitting magic any time now. As long as they can leave Baltimore without losing 9 in a row, the weekend series against the new division leaders Boston Red Sox will be huge and the SkyDome should be rocking...

3 - The biggest futbol match of the year is tomorrow - not TFC vs. Columbus, but the Champions League Final from Rome featuring English champion Manchester United and Spanish Liga champion Barcelona. It should be a great game between two wonderful teams. Since I'll be at work during the live telecast, I need to decide - do I PVR the game and ignore all the websites in the afternoon OR do I watch the gamecast so I see the result, but don't actually see the action. Opinions??

4 - More soccer - I know...but the new Philadelphia MLS team announced their colors and logo the other day - check them out here.

5 - For those of you who don't listen to all the Bill Simmons Sports Guy podcast, he had a great idea today - remake Cheers but base it in Chicago. He debated the new characters with his guests but left some of the spots open. Also, the one big idea was that they cast Norm and Cliff as African Americans...who do you think should play the characters
Sam Malone - Vince Vaughn (Simmons idea)
Diane - Estella Warren (BLT idea)
Carla - *need help
Coach - William Peterson (BLT idea)*might not be old enough, but could work
Woody - *need help
Norm - Tyler Perry (BLT idea)
Cliff - Anthony Anderson (BLT idea)

Thirsty Thursday

Great patio weather in Toronto! The spring has finally sprung, the birds are signing and the flowers are in bloom. You know what else blossomed last night? Big Papi! He ended his longest home run draught at 150 at bats (35 games) with a dinger off of Brett Cecil.

What else is happening around us?

1. Eminem album officially released on Tuesday. It has been available on the interweb for almost two full weeks. If you haven't heard it and want to, drop me a message and it might magically appear in your inbox. The album is dark, agressive and frankly quite disturbing. Not really sure how he sat down and wrote some of those lyrics. Some catchy tunes, but nothing classic here.

2. Notre Dame at Yankee Stadium: The rumour started today that Notre Dame is looking at playing a football game at the New Yankee Stadium. The Irish used to play games at Yankee stadium and as cool as this might seem, they have a great tradition in South Bend and why would you take that away from your student body and alumni? Also, this trend of teams playing games that is not their arena has to stop.

3. Jake Peavy to White Sox: Another rumour today is San Diego Padres pitcher being traded to the Chicago White Sox. Peavy, the 2007 Cy Young winner has been the subject of trade rumours for the past couple of seasons. He has expressed his desire to go to the mid-West and the White Sox seem to be the destination. They definately need the pitching help. Peavy still has to approve the trade, since he has a no trade clause, but the good money says he will be on the mound in Chicago by the start of next week.***UPDATE***Peavy rejected the trade, maybe it had something to do with the White Sox getting blown out 20-1 on Thursday night.

4. Lakers vs. Nuggets: GO NUGGETS! George Karl better not blow this one! That is all.

5. Mark Sanchez in GQ: Mrs. MMMMBLT was happy...

Freestyle Friday

A couple of items and musings to lead you into the weekend.

1. The Cavaliers look unstoppable. Behind NBA MVP LeBron James (heard of him?) and hussle from their role players, they are blowing out the Atlanta Hawks and will run over either the Magic or the Celtics. Their first test will be in the NBA finals. The best thing to come out of all the Cavs/LeBron-ness is the nice shoes and t-shirts that are popping up.

2. Whatever happened to the no fighting during the playoffs? Both in the NBA and NHL playoffs we have seen multiple scraps. Players are getting ejected, suspended and fined. There was always chippy play - but never have we seen this. Actual hockey fights, Kenyon Martin giving Dirk Nowitzki a forearm shiver, and Derek Fisher running through the screen. It is getting out of control and both leagues need to be careful, because you don't want to cost a team a series because of suspensions (see Suns, Phoenix).

3. A-Rod is back! Just in time as we are one game into the Manny Ramirez suspension, and ESPN needs something to focus on. Rodriguez knows how to manipulate the press and soon enough he will be back on their good side, the fans won't be so forgiving and he will take alot of grief when he goes on the road.

4. Tiger Woods sucks, I could take him at a match play event right now. That is what it seems like everyone thinks. Do people remember before his injury that he didn't win EVERY tournament he entered? For people to question that he isn't the best golfer in the world is silly. So he is "struggling" with his putter. He is still better than 98% of the field. He will win another couple of tournaments this season, and now we know he passed two drug tests, but did Phil?

5. Twitter is blowing up...you can't keep up with the amount of stuff, celebrities, athletes that are part of this social network. Some are more interesting than others, but soon we are going to get all the information directly from the players and coaches. If you are part of twitter-nation - make sure you are following me - @mmmmblt

3 Websites to Kill Time on a Friday

This Is Why You Are Fat

F My Life

Texts from Last Night

Thursday Thoughts

After taking the NFL Draft weekend off, my batteries are charged and ready to produce again...

Some quick thoughts on a Thursday;

1. A-Roid did PEDs during high school? Really, who cares now? He has admitted to taking them during his days as a Texas Ranger, so why does it matter if he took them before, all we want to know if has taken them since, including his miraculous recovery from hip surgery.

2. The Nuggets are into the second round of the playoffs for the first time since 1994! That was the year they upset the Sonics (remember them?) on the back of Dikembe Mutumbo. The match-up vs. the Mavs in round 2 looks good, since the Nuggets went 4-0 vs. Dallas during the season.

3. Zach Greinke looks like this year's version of Cliff Lee. He will probably rob Roy Halladay of another Cy Young. Where would Doc be listed on the all time greats if he could have finished this season with three trophies?

4. Kentucky Derby is coming and the favorite is a horse named "I Want Revenge", even if he wasn't the favorite, how could you not bet on him?

5. NBA is the new NHL. Some violent acts over the past week in the NBA playoffs. Between Rajon Rondo smacking Brad Miller across the face at the end of the game, while Miller was going for the game winning lay-up or Dwight Howard throwing a round-house elbow to the head of Samuel Dalembert it was reminiscent of playoff hockey. Good show boys!

Random Thought Wednesday

Some random hump day thoughts...

1. NBA playoff games have been really entertaining so far. The only problem is that everyone assumes it is going to be Cavs vs. Lakers in the finals. PTI even suggested that they should just pay off all the other playoff teams and let the Cavs and Lakers play the best of seven now. Couldn't say I disagree, but I would like to see the Nuggets get out of the first round before that happens.

2. The more we hear about the ESPN documentary series 30 in 30, the more I feel like I will have 30 documentaries to see when they are released in September. Some of the topics that they will cover include the Ali vs. Holmes fight, the Baltimore Colts leaving, Luis Tiant, and 1992 Dream Team.

3. In entertainment news - Andrew Bynum is supposedly getting cuddly with Rihanna. An NBA center dating any women is a mismatch in size unless her name is Lisa Leslie, but this is pretty odd. If she thought Chris Brown hurt her, wait till Bynum climbs into bed with her.

4. When is it okay to remove songs from your ipod? Now, half my problem is that mine is only the 2 gig version, so it can hold about 400 songs. Since I love my music and download pretty regularly my library has about 3 times that many songs. I am always distraught when I need to remove some music, because I know there is a good chance I will never listen to that song again. Most of my tunes haven't changed since December because no major albums have been released since then, but it is now the end of the first quarter of the year and some big names are releasing albums (k-os, Jadakiss, and some quality mixtapes - kid cudi) and my trauma was last night when I had to remove about 40 songs to add some new music. Do I just invest in a bigger ipod, is it that easy?

5. You were probably aware that former Raptors and Knicks boss Isiah Thomas has signed on as the new head coach of Florida International University. What you probably didn't hear was that he is going to coach for FREE during his first year. The hiring has brought big interest to the FIU program who last year averaged 694 fans, since Thomas's hiring they have already sold 1000 season tickets. Good or trainwreck, Thomas presence will bring in the fans and hopefully for them, the recruits.

Random Weekend Thoughts

Some random thoughts for a Saturday afternoon...

1. Going to my first Jays game of the year tomorrow afternoon. Certain to see the following things a) Jays score at least 5 runs b) give up at least 5 runs c) 10K fans there early to get the Lyle Overbay bobblehead d) at least one A's fan heckling Rios on his poor start (me).

2. NBA playoffs start today. Some good first round match-ups, like Boston vs. Chicago, San Antonio vs. Dallas and Portland vs. Houston, but for the most part this is going to be three rounds of basketball to end up seeing the LA Lakers and Cleveland Cavaliers in the finals. These have been the two best teams all season and seeing any other teams in the finals would be a travesty. If you are so inclined to put money on someone - the Lakers have my support on experience, some better support players and Kobe needing a championship to secure his legacy. LeBron still has time.

3. NHL playoffs started earlier this week. Lots of cuts, bruises and beards will be seen on Canadian TV over the next couple of months. Not really sure who are the favourites because hockey seems to be the one sport where upsets can happen in 7 game series based on the play of one player (the goalie). My hope is that two Canadian teams make the finals and Gino Reda's head explodes.

4. Canada qualifies for the World Cup of Cricket. Not sure what this says about our amateur athletics system when we can qualify for a world cup event without a professional league in the country or even any infrastructure for the sport in the country. On the other hand you have sport like soccer, which is played by more kids than any other sport and a semi-pro and professional leagues and we cannot qualify for the world cup or even hire a coach. The Canada Soccer Association has hired another interim coach in Stephen Hart. Who knows what comes next for the CSA, but they need to make a decision on a coach who can ensure qualification for 2014 world cup while our talent (DeRosario and Guzman) can still able to play at high level.

5. The Buffalo Bills - who are you?? The Bills made two major moves in the last couple of days. First they traded Pro Bowl Tackle Jason Peters to the Philadelphia Eagles for multiple draft picks including a first round pick this year. Peters made the Pro Bowl last year on reputation only. He held out and missed training camp and then was out of shape and out of position most of the season. A good player, but is replaceable on the Bills o-line. The second move was the signing of free agent running back Dominic Rhodes. Rhodes will prove to be a valuable addition. Able to be the featured back during the three game suspension of Marshawn Lynch to start the season and then will be the third down back when Lynch returns. This will continue to make Fred Jackson a valuable piece in small doses.

Random Thoughts and Musings

Random thoughts to finish off an interesting hump day/April Fool's day...

1. Jay Cutler and the Broncos soap opera. The Broncos have now publicly come out and said that they will trade their quarterback as he and the new coach Josh McDaniel can't get along after McDaniel tried to trade Cutler a month ago to acquire Matt Cassel. Cutler will get his wish and leave the franchise that has wronged him. Now it is just a matter of what team will acquire him. A couple of teams have already made inquiries about the pivot and it is thinking that a second round pick will get him. The teams in the running include the New York Jets, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, San Francisco 49ers Jacksonville Jaguars and Cleveland Browns according to the Sporting News.

2. John Calipari is ditching the University of Memphis basketball program for some bluegrass. He is going to take over the troubled University of Kentucky program which lost in the elite eight of the NIT tournament. Callipari is a loud coach who demands attention and if gets Kentucky and their superfan Ashley Judd back on TV I am okay with this hire.

3. TFC is off to a good start in the 2009 season. They won their opener in Kansas City and then tied the defending champions Columbus Crew 1-1 in Columbus. The only negative from the game was a small riot after the game that lead to an arrest of a TFC fan and another fan being tasered. They open the 2009 home on Saturday vs. the expansion Seattle Sounders. GO REDS!

4. Finally some new music for 2009. The man with the most alias ever DOOM has released his new album Born Like This. Not sure how to classify his rap or songs except that they are chopped, quick hitting and raw. He has some great collaborations on the album with appearances by Ghostface Killah and Slug. Support good music...

5. Can anyone stop Tiger Woods? Arnold Palmer and his course couldn't do it and neither could the largest final day deficit of his career. He finished it off with a huge birdie putt. You can't really bet against him when the Masters kicks off on April 9. If you have the choice between Tiger or the Field, how do you really take the field?

5. Don't forget to go read the latest bleacher report article and vote for who you think is the greatest jays pitcher of all time.

Thursday Thoughts

Random mind musings on a slow news day...

1. Lance Armstrong was involved in crash during a race a couple of days ago. Turns out he was injured pretty severely, breaking his collarbone. He had surgery and pins were inserted to repair the break. He is saying that he will still race in the Italian bike race and the Tour de France. Not certain if this is something we should be all be cheering for his resilience and fortitude or is this just another excuse for Lance to take allegedly take performance enhancing drugs. One thing is for certain, if he isn't in the Tour de France, no one of this side of the ocean will watch race.

2. Sad and disturbing story about NFL running back Ryan Moats ...thought we had moved past some of this.

3. Rumour floating around NFL circles that the Bills are looking into the possibility of making a trade for the KC Chiefs TE Tony Gonzalez. Adding this offensive weapon, perhaps the best TE of all time, would make the Bills great on offence if all cylinders are clicking. It would also allow them to draft defence and o-line help in April.

4. Friday night is full of basketball. Beside the four NCAA games that will captivate most fans - the Toronto Raptors will try and ruin their draft position a little more when they go for a win versus the OKC Thunder. This is an opportunity for TO fans to see one of the best young players in the game, Kevin Durant. He is a hungrier version of Chris Bosh. Watch how he will take the ball to the basket, run the floor and rebound. All things Bosh did, but has stopped for now...just wait for next season in his contract year.

5. The Blue Jays are playing some exciting baseball down in Florida, which will hopefully continue when the open the season on April 6th vs Detroit. Stealing home, scoring in bunches, these are all things that will get fans going to the Dome again. They need the pitching to continue to mature and come through for them to have a chance at being competitive though. Don't forget - you can read my full Blue Jays preview over at Bleacher Report.

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.

Tuesday Quick Hits

Couple of quick tidbits to get you through a Tuesday and into Hump Day;

1. College Basketball is about to reach its peak. With all the conference tourneys either finishing in the next couple of days or over the weekend, all leading up to Selection Sunday.

The most interesting major-conference tournaments will be the Big East where everyone has beaten up on each other all season. My best guess is that Pittsburgh comes out with the title this time. The other tournament to watch will be the Big 10. Even though Michigan State probably has the best team in the conference those game are always so tight. Hard to say who comes out ahead, my pick for the champs of the Big Ten is Michigan.

2. A-Fraud's surgery went well. Hopefully he'll be able to stay out of the papers for a little bit. Maybe he should take some advice from Captain Jeter on how to keep his mug from the back page of the NY Post.

3. Roger Clemens is back in the news for steroids. There are reports that Clemen's DNA and other drugs were on the needles that trainer Brian McNamee gave to the Feds. D'OH!

4. Pedro Martinez and Ivan Rodriguez are making some pretty good cases for themselves at the WBC as to why they should get another shot in the Majors this season.

As a Blue Jays fan, is I-Roid not worth signing for a one year deal? Is he not better than Rod Barajas? He would also be a welcome coach on the bench to the developing catchers.

5. Have a look at Michael Vick's house which is on the market in Atlanta. Do I get to keep the #7 rug. (h/t to Thrill for the link)