Goaltending:

Toskala hasn’t been the number one goalie many were used to seeing and Joseph hasn’t looked like a reliable back-up so far this season. The problem with Toskala may lie with Raycroft, last year Raycroft was there and both were trying to be the number one guy. This year, Raycroft is gone and Joseph comes in already aware of the role he has on the team. Throw in friends being traded from the team and perhaps Toskala doesn’t find Toronto too cozy anymore. In any case his game needs to pick up, whether he knows it or not. As for Joseph his time in the NHL appears to be over, allow him to be part of the organization in another form.

Solution: Call up Pogge and allow Joseph to retire. A young goalie looking to prove himself may be the kick Toskala needs. Or get rid of Toskala all together as the return for him later in the season could be good.

Coaching:

Nothing seems to be too bad here, Ron Wilson appears to be fitting into his role quite nicely. However he seems to be unsure of what the problem with his team is. He seems to blame the older players but doesn’t give the younger guys enough chances in key situations.

Solution: Keep him around for sure, but tell him to be harder on the veterans and give younger players more ice time.

General Manager:

It’s hard to really judge Brian Burke at this point as he has yet to do anything really worthwhile to this team. Cliff Fletcher built the team we have now and most of his moves have been good. He rid the team of older overpaid guys and brought in guys like Grabovski and Hagman. He had deals in place for Sundin (Higgins, first and second round picks) and Kaberle (Carter and first round pick) but both refused to waive their no trade clauses. Even his move before he handed the team over to Burke, which saw them give up Steen and Coliacovo for Stempniak seemed alright at the time and has been the real big deal for them this season.

Burke recently acquired Brad May as his first move, but what message does this convey? He is older and won’t do much more for the team aside from adding some leadership and toughness. Burke is sure to do something more soon but he should be stocking up on prospects and picks and avoid the older players completely. His trading pieces appear to be Kaberle, Kubina and Antropov, all of which would get a great return if the time came. Stajan too could get a decent return, especially since his stock won’t rise much more than the point it is this season.

Solution: Start testing the waters, look to see what picks and prospects teams would part with for the Leafs better players. Avoid older and overpaid players entirely.

Overall the Maple Leafs are not in rough shape, teams like the Senators are in a much worse spot at the moment. Things aren’t perfect in Toronto though, as a few key areas need to be addressed. It will be interesting to see what transpires in the rest of the season and more importantly what happens at the deadline.

by Jameson Fleming…

As a whole, this weekend will not be jam-packed with top games like past weekends as conference play starts to get going. All 25 ranked teams will be action on either Saturday or Sunday, and only one, Michigan State, will be venturing outside its conference for a game against Kansas. Only six of the top 25 teams will be playing each other, with four of those six squaring off in the Big East.

(3) North Carolina at (4) Wake Forest, 8 p.m. Sunday

This game for some reason isn’t on national television. It’s not even on pay-per-view television plans like ESPN FullCourt or ESPN360. The majority of America isn’t going to be able to see whether North Carolina still deserved the handful of first place votes the Tar Heels received in the AP and Coaches Polls. A win on the road against an undefeated top-five ranked team will go a long way in getting Roy Williams’ team’s confidence back.

According to Ken Pomeroy’s tempo-free statistics site, North Carolina enters this game as the sixth most efficient team in the country, while Wake Forest is 10th. With the game being at Wake Forest, that lack of disparity in efficiency means this game according to the numbers is as much of a toss-up as you can get. Pomeroy predicts Wake to win 84-83, but for the game to be played at a pace of 85 possessions.

That’s NBA fast.

But in a game that features two rosters littered with future pro prospects, a tempo that fast isn’t so surprising. Ty Lawson is the fastest point guard in the game, but Wake’s Jeff Teague can push the ball and get to the hoop almost as well as the Carolina floor general.

North Carolina is noticeably strong in the backcourt with the quartet of guards and wings Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington, Marcus Ginyard, and Danny Green. The only Demon Deacons guard that is arguably better than any of Carolina’s guards or wings is Jeff Teague.

Where Wake Forest can beat North Carolina is in the frontcourt. Coach Dino Gaudio boasts five players who stand 6′9″ or taller that are on the court for at least 30 percent of the game. Roy Williams has just three.

If the Demon Deacon trio of star sophomore James Johnson, seven-footer Chas McFarland, and superfrosh Al-Farouq Aminu can establish an interior presence and work UNC into foul trouble, Carolina could get absolutely pounded on the boards. Wake Forest ranks 17th in the country at getting to the free throw line.

(22) West Virginia vs. (15) Marquette, Noon Saturday ESPN FullCourt & ESPN360

This game has sizable implications for both teams in the Big East standings. West Virginia blew its chance to knock off a top-five team in UConn when the Mountaineers lost a close game at home in which they led for a decent amount of the second half. With a loss, WVU avoids a 1-2 start in the Big East.

On the flip side, Marquette can move to 4-0 and a likely first place tie with Syracuse (the Orange are at Rutgers on Saturday). With games to follow against DePaul and Providence, two teams that will likely finish in the bottom half of the Big East, Marquette could jump out to a 6-0 start in the conference.

With a trio of senior guards—Wesley Matthews, Jerel McNeal, and Dominic James—a bevy of momentum and senior leadership could go a long way to getting the Golden Eagles in position to make a run at the conference title.

As for the actual game, West Virginia ranks second in overall efficiency while Marquette stands 26th. By the numbers, the Mountaineers are six-point favorites and have a 71 percent chance to win.

West Virginia does two things really well that can give Bob Huggins’ team a decisive advantage. First, the Mountaineers rebound the ball extremely well, especially on the offensive glass, ranking fourth in the country in O-boarding. Marquette lacks a stable of bigs beneath the basket, which should give WVU’s fairly efficient offense extra looks at the basket.

West Virginia ranks third in the country in forcing turnovers per possession. 30 percent of opponents’ offensive possessions end in turnovers. With a solid three guard lineup, WVU’s pressure on the ball will be something Marquette hasn’t seen yet.

(21) Louisville vs. (17) Villanova, Noon Saturday, ESPN

Villanova is facing the same problem that West Virginia is. The Wildcats need to defend their home turf to avoid dropping to 1-2 in the conference. Louisville has played just one conference game thus far, and that was a fairly easy 14-point victory over perennial conference doormat South Florida.

Louisville surprisingly ranks 17th in overall efficiency; that ranking is fueled by UL’s fourth-ranked defense. Louisville’s freakishly athletic players are outstanding across the board on the defensive end of the floor. The Cardinals rank 19th in the country in opponents’ field goal percentage, ninth in limiting offensive rebounds, seventh in blocking shots, and 20th in picking up steals.

Louisville’s defense will also be its best offense. The amount of steals in the backcourt and run-outs from blocked shots create easy transition baskets for a team anemic in the frontcourt.

Villanova generally does a lot of things well, but nothing spectacular. The Wildcats are solid on both sides of the ball, can rebound the ball, and are careful with the ball on offense. ‘Nova has enough ball handlers to get past Louisville’s absurdly strong on-the-ball pressure in the full court.

Manchester City might have had their significantly increased bid from the initial £12m for Roque Santa Cruz rejected by Blackburn Rovers.

But the City board cannot handle being rejected well. According to Tuttosport, Manchester City are ready to launch a mega €97 million bid for Juventus duo Gianluigi Buffon and David Trezeguet.

Meanwhile Juventus are reportedly ready to cash in for Gremio wing-back Felipe Mattioni in a deal presumably worth €7m.

Barcelona are planning a £45m double summer swoop for Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas and striker Robin van Persie. Big spending transfer stories make great stories, don’t they?

Manchester City have tabled an £8m bid for Newcastle goalkeeper Shay Given. It’s either that City’s plan is that Buffon will be the number one keeper, Given number two and Hart number three or this is all part of the silly spending that doesn’t need a plan.

Hull are poised to sign midfielder Kevin Kilbane from Wigan for £1m. Phil Brown thinks Kilbane will finally be able to show he’s worth being called a professional footballer.

Portsmouth manager Tony Adams will loan former Arsenal team-mate Edu from Valencia. Also on Adam’s wanted list are Dennis Bergkamp and Martin Keown.

According to The Mirror, Bolton are close to loaning Zenit St Petersburg centre-back Sebastien Puygrenier.

Meanwhile Queens Park Rangers are hoping their reputation can lour Manchester City’s young midfield star Michael Johnson. Keep dreaming folks, you never know when dreams come true.

Tottenham could move for Polonia Warsaw’s Polish goalkeeper Sebastien Przyrowski. Why the need for a keeper? Oh, they have Gomes! Good, get yourself a decent goalkeeper this time.

Inter Milan are being linked to Arsenal’s Abou Diaby and Emmanuel Eboue. The writers need something to write about you know.

Manchester United are keen on landing French midfielder Sofiane Feghouli from Grenoble.

Middlesbrough are leading the race to sign Newcastle striker Alan Smith. Everyone is running out of St. James Park, but cheers to the fans who still go there. 

Manchester United are interested in Villarreal goalkeeper Diego Lopez. With Edwin van der Sar aging, United are keen to find a future replacement. Bring back Massimo Taibi or Mark Bosnich, they are sure to bring some memorable moments to Old Trafford.

Hull City are on the verge of signing Luis Boa Morte from West Ham for a fee of around £2m. Hull seems richer than Chelsea.

Newcastle are expected to renew their interest in Rangers‘ £3m-rated midfielder Barry Ferguson. Is he crazy enough to head to that circus? Only time will tell.

While Callum Davenport is poised to leave West Ham for Bolton in a deal probably worth £3m after telling polite Gianfranco Zola, “I ain’t f*****g playing for you.”

Davenport will be heading the F’ out of West Ham for that!

Rumors & Realities is happy to know that Cristiano Ronaldo was not injured following his horrific car accident. R-R wishes no one in the world any harm including those under seige.

Until next time,

Cheers for a better world, my friends.

You know, it’s funny.  That some people still don’t understand that the NHL has role players is beyond me.

Yesterday, the Maple Leafs made a trade with the Anaheim Ducks, obtaining veteran Brad May in exchange for a conditional sixth round pick.

And then the hounds came.

The same people who were saying the Maple Leafs were too soft on Tuesday were now laughing at the team for its addition of a gritty guy who will fight.  If I had a nickel for every time I heard “plan the parade” yesterday, I wouldn’t have enough to buy a cup of Starbucks coffee.

But that’s not to belittle how many times I heard it yesterday, it’s just that Starbucks is really expensive.  Heck, it’s going to cost me $3.50 for using the name twice in this piece.

Still, it’s a move that, for a rebuilding team, is irrelevant to the future. Nonetheless, the move was one that had to be made. The Toronto Maple Leafs lack toughness and are better off with the added leadership that this deal gives them.

While Brad May’s five assists won’t put the Maple Leafs over the top, it addresses the club’s need that’s taken its foot off the “intensity pedal.”

To make room for the incoming May, the Maple Leafs made a move to send rookie forward Nikolai Kulemin to the AHL’s Toronto Marlies, a move that seems a tad puzzling.