So, We Meet Again...

Okay, it's obviously been a long time since I've posted anything on here, but with full time school and a full time internship (at TSN, no less), it's been hard to find the time to post my thoughts on the world of sports.

So, without further adieu...

- CC Sabathia signed with the Evil Empire today, 7 years @ over 160 mill. Not bad work in today's tough economic times if you can get it. Makes you wonder where that Sabathia to the Dodgers talk on Sunday came from. After weeks of speculation about CC's love of batting and wish to play in Southern California, it turns out in the end that money speaks louder than anything else. Or maybe it's just because pinstripes are slimming.

- With Sabathia and K-Rod (to the Mets) off the MLB free agent list, A.J. Burnett is likely the next big fish to find a new pond. Reports today put the Yanks and Braves 1-2 in the sweepstakes for the overrated right-hander, and it's anyone's guess where Burnett will end up. I'd love to see him join New York, just so long-suffering Blue Jays fans can watch him crash and burn in the Big Apple.

- Speaking of the Jays, a heartfelt goodbye to Ted Rogers. I worked for his company for 6 years, and while I never met the man, the one time he spoke to a group of us on a conference call really picked up the troops. He will be missed.

- While I was writing that, Nicklas Lidstrom won the Wings-Flames game for his team in overtime. And I cheered - not for the Wings win or the Flames loss, but for Lidstrom's game-winning goal for my fantasy hockey team. Sports have a much different meaning now with the advent of fantasy games.

- Was Bills in Toronto a flop? No, no, a thousand times no. Just because the game was garbage doesn't mean the experiment failed. The stadium was full (mostly) and we were able to showcase our city to the United States for something beside hockey. If the Bills hadn't put up a horrendous effort (7 days after another horrendous effort), we'd be praising how strong the experiment was. And to those who a) wanted the dome roof open or b) complained that the closed roof favoured the visiting Dolphins...grow up. Sunday was the coldest days of the year so far, and I doubt 50,000 people would have preferred sitting outside in that just to give their adopted home team a perceived advantage.

- Michael Phelps won the SI Sportsman of the Year. Chantal Petitclerc won the Toronto Star's Lou Marsh Award. It's almost like in Olympic years, no other sports matter.

- Does golf season ever end?

- This year's Winter Classic between Detroit and Chicago from Wrigley Field will get better ratings than last year's game by a mile... and will pass whichever college football game it is up against that afternoon. Mark my words. And if they put it in a Canadian city next year, the ratings will collapse. But put it in Yankee Stadium or Fenway Park...watch out.

- Why is no one talking about the Carolina Panthers for the Super Bowl this year?

- Why is everyone still talking about the New York Jets for the Super Bowl this year?

- There's lots of talk about salaries being cut because of the economic problems, but why is no one talking contraction in leagues? Both the NHL and the NBA have franchises which don't draw nearly enough people to sustain themselves now, and contraction will improve their talent pools immensely. And for the record, those franchises are Nashville, Florida, Atlanta, Tampa Bay, Phoenix and the Islanders for the NHL and Memphis, New Orleans, Charlotte, and Atlanta for the NBA.

- I'm the first one on board for the "let's get rid of Sean Avery from the NHL" train, but... If there's a belief that Avery needs "psychological help", then why hasn't it happened yet? There seems to be such a stigma in professional sports regarding mental illness, and to me, the perception is along the lines of homosexuality: the law of averages say it's there, but no one talks about it. If Avery does have some sort of mental illness, and he wishes to treat it, then we all need to back off. And maybe, in the long run, something like this will open the door for players to openly admit that they have issues with mental illness.

In a Few Years

In a few years, when we look back at the week that was in professional sports, we may realize that this week has had a profound impact on the sporting world more than we do today. In a stunning allegation, gambling's favourite son, former NBA referee Tim Donaghy, claimed that the outcomes of past playoff games were fixed by "company-men" refs who called the games in order to see the series extend to a game 7, and therefore, give the league the extra ratings it needed.

Many writers who covered one of the series in question, the West Final between the Kings and Lakers in 2002, said at the time that the calls in Game 6 were "offensively bad". Whether one believes the disgraced referee now or not, revelations like this, when tied to recent history, are too much of a coincidence to ignore.

If, in the next few weeks and months, more revelations of this sort come out against the NBA, the NFL's SpyGate will seem like minor shoplifting when compared to the game fixing the NBA will be accused of. How can we know it's not going on now? The league already admitted they wanted a Celtics-Lakers Final before the playoffs began; now we have one. Coincidence? When so much circumstancial evidence is presented, it's difficult to give the league a free pass. Let's hope the league steps up and tries to clean up after itself like baseball did after allegations of steroids.

In other (seemingly) more important news, CBC did not renew the famous "Hockey Theme" song, leaving the door open for rival CTV to purchase it for TSN and for its Olympic coverage in 2010. Besides my obvious joy from this (being an intern at TSN this fall), I can't help but wonder if this is the beginning of the end for hockey on Canada's public broadcaster. Will CTV go after Don Cherry next? Bob Cole? And when will the next eventual bid for full broadcasting rights be? One year, two tops?

In a few years, we may look back at June 2008 and pinpoint this week as the time that the NBA hit rock bottom and the death of hockey on CBC. And if not, it's just another week in sports.

Time for a New Obsession

Well, another hockey season is in the books, and, for once, the best team in the regular season was the best team in the playoffs, and, as a result, no one can deny that the Detroit Red Wings were the NHL's best in 2007-2008. As much as everyone wanted to pick Pittsburgh, Montreal, or (gulp!) San Jose, the better team won. And we can't even complain that they rode a hot goalie or bullied their way to the Cup (ah, the Ducks): Detroit played smart, classy hockey and deserved to win.

But there is no hockey until training camp starts in September (yes, only 3 months from now), so now we must focus our attention on other sports.

First, the NBA.

Crap. Their final (heretofor referred to as "Finals") begins tonight and as I write this the Celtics lead by 5 with 5 minutes left in the first half. I guess that means I can turn the channel back in 90 minutes and very little will change. Any sport that has a referee with gambling and Mafia connections and another who was openly hostile against one particular player one year - Tim Duncan last year - then suspended for such hostility, then referees a series featuring that exact player the following year has some serious issues with fair play. Forget the SpyGate and steroid hearings, U.S. Congress; get your attention towards the unfair competition at hand in the NBA. Maybe that's why the league got their dream Finals match-up...

Okay, well, there's always baseball. But it's June, and virtually nothing is decided now. Oh, except that the Blue Jays are an average team and will likely stay that way throughout the rest of the year. Next.

The NFL season is still 3 months away, and hockey is 4. Maybe it's time I brush up on my CFL knowledge.

Or I could just stop watching sports...

Hmm...

How many teams are in the CFL again?

Caps In, Canes Out, Jays Dominate, Raptors Suck

That's Saturday's sports in a nutshell, folks. Washington did what Carolina couldn't - beat the Florida Panthers (a team long out of the playoffs) when it counted for real. As a result, the Canes are out of the playoffs this year, not too far removed from their Stanley Cup winning year. It just goes to show you how even the NHL is this year.

On the other side, the league, TSN, and NBC must be happy tonight; instead of having to show Carolina hockey this post-season, they get to show Alex Ovechkin and the exciting Capitals. Here's hoping they draw the Pens in the 2nd round.

The Jays won their second straight over the Red Sox, 10-2, in a dominating performance by the majority of the team. Jesse Litsch kept the Jays' starters' streak going of 5 straight strong outings by the starting staff. Tomorrow, one of the best pitching match-ups of the year (and it's only April) - Roy Halladay v Josh Beckett.

Apparently, the Raptors are still playing. I had no idea. You see, after the Leafs were eliminated and the Jays started this season, the Toronto sports media has ignored the Dinos. Good thing too - they lost again tonight, this time to New Jersey. They have now lost to Charlotte (twice), Atlanta, and the Nets this week. I should have faith in this team this year because...?

NHL playoff predictions coming soon...

Post #100 Means More Random Ramblings

First, am I the only one who is surprised by the fallout of the Jonathan Roy pummeling/subsequent suspension? Roy get 8 games for beating the daylights out of an unwilling participant, and the outrage sparks a debate on whether or not fighting in junior hockey should be banned.

While I think it should, as a long proponent of banning fighting at all levels of hockey - including the NHL - fighting generally involves two people who are, you know, interested in fighting each other. What Roy did was above and beyond cruel, and his famous father encouraging to do so was just as bad.

Roy Jr. should have been thrown out of the league, for good, and his daddy should have had his bags packed. But don't tell me that a ban on junior fighting would have saved this situation from happening. After all, when you watch the video (which I specifically will not link from here), you can't see a referee in sight.

When something of this magnitude occurs, it is only natural to discuss the ramifications for the rest of the league, and the sporting world in general. In this case, the Q sent a message to the hockey world that bullying is permitted in their game.

Second, a huge thumbs-up to Raptors point guard Jose Calderon. In a sporting world filled with narcissistic, selfish dolts, Calderon is a breath of fresh air. Before Wednesday's game against the Pistons, Calderon suggested to his coach, Sam Mitchell, that T.J. Ford take his place in the starting line-up. Calderon said it was the best move for the team, and he was dead-on. Toronto beat the far superior Pistons by 7. If more players acted like Jose, sports fans would be far less cynical.

Third, on the same topic, Calderon makes less than one million dollars this season, and is up for free agency. If Bryan Colangelo and his team don't resign the guard, the fallout will be epic for years to come.

Fourth, it has finally come to a head for the Leafs. Last night, Toronto lost 4-2 to the Bruins, taking any remote chance of playoff hockey away from the Buds. The best thing the Leafs can do for the rest of the season is to start Andrew Raycroft in net, so one of two things can happen: either lose more to get a better draft spot, or show him off as trade bait this summer. Either way, Vesa Toskala deserves a break after 26 straight starts for the blue and white.

For Once, Toronto's Division Pays Dividends

For years, baseball fans in the GTA have gripped that the Blue Jays' fortunes were hampered by playing in the same division as the high spending Yankees and Red Sox.

Arguments against that aside (hello, remember 1992 and 1993?), Toronto sports fans get it both ways, as the Raptors are currently enjoying being 5th in the NBA's Eastern Conference, one and a half games back of home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

A quick look at the standings, though, reveals that if the Raps were in the Jays' boat, and in the tougher conference, Toronto's basketball team wouldn't even make the playoffs; in fact, they would be about 5 games out of the last playoff spot.

The reason, of course, is that the NBA's Western Conference dominates the East like the Maple Leafs dominate... well, bad example. The point is, when the 8th best in the West would be 3rd in the East, something needs to be done to level the playing field.

(Insert ironic Tim Donaghy joke here)

The purpose of the post-season should be to determine the champion, and that cannot be done if the best teams don't make the playoffs because of their particular division or conference.

So, how would it look?

Here, if the season ended today and the top 16 teams made the playoffs, is how it would look:

(1) Boston v (16) Washington
(2) Detroit v (15) Portland
(3) L.A. Lakers v (14) Toronto
(4) San Antonio v (13) Cleveland
(5) Houston v (12) Denver
(6) New Orleans v (11) Orlando
(7) Utah v (10) Golden State
(8) Phoenix v (9) Dallas

Under this format, only 1 sub-.500 team makes the playoffs, and that's only because, currently, there are only 15 teams above .500.

Are there problems? Of course. A Lakers/Raptors series would be logistically troubling, as would Pistons/Blazers. But we make accomodations for TV, why not for travel? Give the bi-coastal series an extra day off and call it even.

In the end, playoff ball would be improved because the best teams get in, and isn't that the point of all this? Oh, and keeping pathetic teams like Atlanta and New Jersey out of the post-season dance.

If Sport Was Religion

If sport was religion, my faith would be waning right now.

In the last week, now former NBA referee Tim Donaghy was investigated for betting on games for the last two years, including ones he oversaw, and NFL star quarterback Michael Vick was indicted for his involvement in a dogfighting ring.

The majority of attention from sports fans, and casual observers in general, has been to the Vick story, and not just because that story broke first.

Vick is a star in America's most popular sport, and his alleged crime disturbs the vast majority of people for its disgusting content.

As horrible as Vick's alleged crime is, it is not at all related to his sport, and does not put his sport's integrity in jeopardy.

The Tim Donaghy situation goes well beyond that of Pete Rose, and is the closest the modern day sports world has to the Black Sox scandal of 1919, when the A.L. Champion White Sox threw the World Series against the Reds.

After a playoff that featured an horrendous series of blunders, particularly in the Suns-Spurs series, this is the last thing the NBA needed. Donaghy's alleged crimes put every call, every game, and every record the league has into question, and as much as Commissioner David Stern would like to believe that it is an isolated incident, nothing of the sort can be taken at face value anymore.

Stern, certainly a better commissioner than his counterparts in the other leagues, needs to issue a full blown investigation into all facets of the league, not just referees. No aspect of the league can receive the benefit of the doubt if the NBA wants to repair its image, and the league with the biggest crackdown on gambling needs to prove to the fans that it is a clean game.

Sport is not a religion. But if Stern wants his paying patrons to believe again, he'll need to perform a miracle.

If a NBA Finals game was on and no one watched, did it exist?

This week, the San Antonio Spurs defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers in 4 dull, lifeless games to win their 4th championship in the last 10 years. And as with the NHL finals, the television ratings were extremely disappointing for the broadcasting network.

While this shouldn't come as a surprise for hockey, it is a little odd for the NBA. After all, this was the "coming out party" for superstar LeBron James, and this alone should have brought enough interest from the casual basketball fan to tune into the series.

Alas, the (lack of) appeal of the Spurs in the series, frequent shots of Eva Longoria notwithstanding, sent viewers away in droves, apparently preferring summer reality programming to championship hoop.

There are many valid reasons for this, such as the localization of sport, where viewers' focus is on their home team rather than the sport as a whole, but when the two "best" teams can't break 40 points at the half, it seems as clear as day to me.

The San Antonio Spurs are ruining the NBA for the casual sports fan. With defensive lockdowns and a slow style of play, the only thing worse than the Spurs in the Final is if the Pistons joined them there.

The glory days of the NBA are being rejunevated in places like Phoenix and Golden State, with fast breaks and high scores the name of the game there, and if teams like the Spurs and Pistons don't change over, rule changes to the sport are necessary to boost scoring, reduce stoppage, and generally improve what was once a great game.

My solution: cut the number of fouls a player needs to foul out from 6 to 3, and increase the roster by at least 3 more players to compensate for the increased foul outs. What will this do? It will reduce fouls to the most important ones, and leave these highly skilled players more room to produce the type of play we want to see in a basketball game.

Teams shouldn't be winning games in the 70's, they should be doing so in the 100's. Eliminate the fouls, and the game speeds up and the skill players do what they do best. Less fouls will also mean more shot attempts, which will create more transition baskets, which will also increase scoring.

I also think the number of timeouts should be cut in half, and the shot clock cut down to 18 seconds, but one problem at a time.

Here's hoping for a Phoenix/Toronto final next year. Not for any basketball reason, just because I want to see it.

Is This The Raptors Year? Don't Bet On It

Toronto is abuzz over their NBA franchise, as the Raptors seem poised to win their division, thus likely earning them a home court advantage in their first round series.

But there is talk that this year could see the Raptors advance further than ever before, which would mean at least a trip to the Eastern Conference finals. Of course, the Raps best playoff performance came to an end when Toronto lost to the Sixers in a fantastic seven game East semi.

With a weak conference, and an improving team, could this be the year? Likely not.

Toronto currently stands in 3rd, thanks to tonight's win over Miami. But with their playoff experience, the odds are good that the Raps will finish in 4th in the East, likely drawing Chicago in the first round.

The Bulls are a formidale opponent, but are beatable. Assuming Toronto does so, they would then draw the top seed in the East, likely Detroit. Here, the Raptors do not stand a chance. Detroit is on par with the elite in the West, and as a result, is miles ahead of the rest of the pathetic Eastern conference.

So while the Raptors should be commended for a fantastic turnaround season, and be hopeful that this is a sign of things to come, don't bet on them getting to the conference finals.