WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON?

by Joshua Murray…

Good morning sports fans.  I trust that everyone has been enjoying the recent up and down weather in the GTA (and where ever else you may be reading this) It reminds me a little of the up and down play I’ve seen from many of my favourite sports teams lately.

In Montreal, mes Canadiens haven’t done anything worth talking about other than losing.  It’s gotten so bad that my younger brother asked me what’s wrong with Carey “Jesus” Price.  The only answer I had for him is, I don’t know.  We even joked about inviting him over to our old back yard pond to play around but we agreed that we are far too skilled and may ruin his confidence forever.

There’s also the Alex Kovalev controversy about whether or not he can play without the “C” on his chest now that he’s had a taste of it.  Personally I don’t care who gets a letter on their jersey as long as we win a freaking game.  There are 11 free agents on this team and as far as I’m concerned none of them should be looking at summer contracts worth talking about if they can’t get this team into the play-offs.  It’s time for les Habitants to man up.

In Toronto all the talk is about rebuilding.  Tomas Kaberle and Pavel Kubina have offered to waive their no trade clauses and could net something in return.  Kaberle’s contract takes him through 2 more seasons at a manageable 4.25 million cap hit per season.  A team like Montreal or even Ottawa could use a puck moving defenseman and that could be Kaberle.  As for other Leafs that could be gone either before the deadline or the start of the 2009-2010 season we can start the list with Nik Antrpov, Dominic Moore, Vesa Toskala, Jason Blake and Alexie Ponikarovsky.  I ran into Al Strachan yesterday at a book store in Toronto and heard him talking about the Canucks looking to move the Sedin twins before they walk away as UFA’s this summer.  How about a package of Antropov, Ponikarovsky and Kaberle for the twins?  Maybe Toronto has to throw in a pick or a prospect, but Vancouver is also faced with the possibility of losing defenseman Mattius Ohlund as a free agent it could look good to them to get Kaberle now instead of scrambling to replace a guy like that this summer.

How about this for a thought, Brian Burke moves Vesa Toskala for a forward and a pick and brings Ray Emery back from Russia and goes with an Emery/ Pogge tandem next year.

In Raptor news, we suck.  Whether S. A. Smith is blowing smoke or fanning a fire with all the Chris Bosh talk, this is a ship that is in danger of sinking.  The coach (though I like him) can’t get the team to finish a game, which was one of the last coach’s problems as well, our point guard is great, but looks like a health risk (which was why we picked him over TJ Ford if I remember correctly) and we don’t have a wing player that strikes fear in anyone’s heart outside of the EuroLeague.

The team is in trouble, the season is far worse than that, and I’m not even sure what a desktop GM like me would do to fix it.

The good news is that Spring Training Starts next week in Dunedin for the Toronto Blue Jays.  The bad news is that we’re not sure what the heck is going to happen once the real season happens.  Keep your fingers crossed though folks.  It’s a long schedule and pretty much anything can happen.

That’s all I’ve got for now.  I’m starting to feel both sad and angry.

Brian Burke Weighing His Options For March 4th PLUS Deadline Day Blog Returns!

by Derek Harmsworth…

My logic says to re-sign him.  He is a twenty-eight year old, Ontario born centre who loves playing for his childhood favourite team, the Toronto Maple Leafs.  He has done everything that has been asked of him during his time with the team, and no one would argue if you said he has done far more.

At a young age, and a cheap price tag, Moore is someone I would keep around, as a solid bottom six guy with character to spare.

That’s not to say there won’t be offers.  Similar to a situation the Leafs may face with Ian White come this March.  Is he more valuable to the team through trade, or by sticking around?

White, you remember, was banished to the press box during the pre season and couldn’t make this team out of training camp.  As a player who had played in all 82 games the season before, the development clearly frustrated White, who openly questioned why he wasn’t on the ice with his teammates.

However, once he got into the lineup, he was cast in the unfamiliar role of forward.  Injuries had forced Leafs coach Ron Wilson to play White on the wing.

He responded with a goal, and was arguably the teams best player that night.

Since then, White has shuffled himself back and forth from the back end to the forward slot, with little to no difficulty.

His goal totals are already at career high levels, and his points should join him there if he continues at the pace he has been playing at.  The question then comes, is he worth keeping around, or is now the time to deal?

There is no question the Leafs have tried to move White before, unsuccessfully.  With a career year set to go on the books, is now the time to sell high for Toronto?  Or should they hold onto their investments a little longer and see where it takes them?

Oh, to be inside the mind of one Brian Burke.

Takin’ a T/O With BT: Sean Avery—Better or Not He Still Has a Long Way to Go

by Bryan Thiel…

Second chances—sometimes they’re given too hastily, while sometimes they aren’t even given to those truly deserving of one. The idea of giving someone a second, third, or fourth chance though can either energize a team and a fanbase, or it can disrupt a delicate chemistry, a subtle balance, and destroy the idea of “team”.
Just ask Jerry Jones, the Dallas Cowboys, and Adam Jones.

But it seems that, no matter what, as long as someone appears remorseful they’re privy to another opportunity whether they deserve it or not depending on one’s opinion.

Jones’ told those around him he had changed, then he fought his body guard. Others have apologized, cleaned up their act, and have been re-embraced by an adoring public as the skepticism slowly fades.

This is what currently faces Sean Avery.

Over the past few months, Avery has made headlines without even doing anything.
People still continue to wonder aloud where he’ll end up, what ramifications it will have on the team he goes to, or if anyone will want to take a flyer on the super-pest.

Even amidst this speculation though, Avery’s done something that he hasn’t done in a long time.

He’s stayed quiet.

From everything we’ve heard, it would seem that Avery has turned a corner; that he’s found that kinder, gentler Sean that everyone was longing for.

According to his agent Pat Morris, Avery is “responsive, he listens, I (Morris) think he takes advice better, he interacts, he’s kinder and gentler, and a better people person”.

Granted any sort of “people person” is better than what Avery has evolved from, but why overlook reported progress? Despite his history, the things he’s said and done, and the way he’s acted, Avery seems to have been committed to the cause, and it sounds as if he’s taken all the right steps in turning his attitude, and his life around.

But while this is refreshing, should this change anyone’s perception or attitude towards him?

No, at least not yet.

But what Avery’s done will strike a chord with the odd person familiar with a difficult change themselves.

If Avery stays true to the program, the practice, and himself, then he may start to gain a few people in his corner.

And maybe, just maybe, a team will come calling.

At this point, it’s too early to tell which, if any, buy into Morris’ selling of his client.

The Dallas Stars have put him on waivers and the New York Rangers have “discussed” the prospects of bringing him back, but nothing is solidified.

But while there will be teams discussing the pros and cons of bringing on the troubled Pickering-native, there’s still a giant question that needs to be answered:

What kind of player is Sean Avery going to be once he gets back on the ice?

The level makes no difference; it could be NHL, AHL, ECHL, KHL, SEL, or any ice surface you could think of, the country he plays in is a moot point, and the money, no matter what, is going to be way too much.

When Avery was a bitter, Brodeur-screening, pain-in-the-neck four years at $15 million was way too much for a one-time 48-point player.

What will make a difference is how Avery plays the game.

Fan-favorite or not, in watching him play the game it was evident that Avery’s off-ice attitude oozed out onto the ice from the dressing room through the Zamboni gate.
He was just as disturbingly quotable off ice as he was irritating on it, and those that say when Avery was on the ice (with his head on right), the Rangers (the best example of Avery’s best play) were a different squad are right: being the pest that he was, Avery changed how teams approached the Rangers.

But whether you’re amongst those that don’t buy into Avery’s change (Saying a personality disorder takes a long time to rehab) or you’re hesitantly believing him, is it possible for Avery to “get his groove back? y”

There are numerous players in the history of sport who have had a quiet demeanor off the field, and eviscerated everything in site while on the field. How many of them have undergone a personality rehabilitation though?

And to how many of them were both so dangerously intertwined.

While each team does their research before a signing, there’s only so much that can be done with regards to what Avery’s undergone; all of the psychological tests in the world still can’t tell you how he’ll perform out there on the ice, and whether that $15 million super-pest is now just a $15 million super-shell of his former self.

It’s harsh, but as much as people will seem to care about what Avery’s gone through, ultimately they won’t. If he ends up on their favorite team, then those fans will soon only care about one thing—results.

Results Avery may not be able to produce, now that the NHL’s taken away his bark and his bite.

Love him or hate him, buy into his change or not, Sean Avery’s journey back to the NHL has only barely started.

And he’s got a long way to go, and a lot to prove, before it’s done.

How the Toronto Raptors Hit Rock Bottom

by Robert Seagal…

Coming off of what was the most embarrassing loss of the season, the men in red might want to do a little soul searching before they head to Minnesota to take on the Timberwolves. On Saturday night, the Raptors dropped a game in the fourth quarter to the Memphis Grizzlies who were without their stud forward Rudy Gay.

What does this team lack? They have three big men who could start on most NBA teams, a point guard who was apparently so good that they traded away TJ Ford just to give him starter status, and a bunch of wing players who are each supposed to specialize in something. What’s the problem?

Let’s go through them one by one by damn one.

1. Bad Coaching, Bad system

Culprit: Sam Mitchell, Jay Triano

I found myself getting worse and worse at video games this past year, and it never occurred to me that I was putting Jay Triano’s and Sam Mitchell’s deeply flawed system into practice in virtual reality.

I find myself doubling constantly, scrambling and getting into mismatches, and leaving shooters wide open at the worst possible times. Who’s at fault here? Is it the players who simply aren’t rotating, or is it the coaching staff who have no idea what they’re doing?

Perhaps it’s Colangelo’s fault that he’s given both coaches such a miserable group of defenders to work with. Outside of O’Neal, Bargnani, Parker, Ukic, and at times Graham, every player on this team is a below average defender. In the case of Calderon and Kapono, we’re probably talking about two of the worst defenders in the league. What is a coach to do?

2. Poor Defensive Players

Culprit: Jose Calderon, Chris Bosh, Jamario Moon, Jason Kapono, Bryan Colangelo

Extending from the first point, three of your four highest paid players are horrible defenders. If help comes down for Bosh against a big from the wing, for Calderon from a big, or for Kapono from everyone, it’s the job of these players to switch over and ninety percent of the time, they’re just not doing it.

Calderon is the absolute best example of poor defense this team his seen since the days of Lamond Murray. He sees his man beat him, and sees the help coming from either Bargnani or O’Neal. Instead of covering their man to the best of his ability, he sticks to the player he’s guarding, following them from behind.

This leads to one of two things: It leaves a seven-footer in the paint for a rebound or an easy layup, and if that seven-footer is covered over by a wing player, it leaves a shooter wide open in the corner. Where does it start? Jose Calderon.

Kapono hardly seems worth mentioning. His job is to provide the team with an offensive spark off the bench, and indeed in hindsight, I’m sure Colangelo sees what the rest of the league probably saw. Guys like Kapono should play a maximum of seven to eight minutes per night, and should earn less than three million dollars per year for doing it. Colangelo doubled up.

In the process, he gave the Raptors a player with the lateral quickness of a fifty year old. Luckily for the Raptors, Kapono is a smart player defensively and his lack of quickness never hurts the Raptors as much as Calderon’s lack of focus.

Bosh is the final culprit, and considering he wants max money, I’d certainly be a little hesitant to give it to him before he can show some improvement on the other end of the floor. Bargnani took a big leap forward this season, and if Bosh took even half that leap, the Raptors would be sitting in playoff contention right now.

His being unable to guard opposing bigs creates a lot of problems for the Raptors, and considering he doesn’t really try to defend, he usually doesn’t get into foul trouble. If the Raptors have one flaw, it is that they find their defense from their offense. Most good teams do it the other way, and unfortunately, Bosh hasn’t seen that in his first six seasons.

3. Lack of closer/Slasher

Culprit: Bryan Colangelo

You really can’t win in this league without a guy who can guarantee you two points. May that be Kobe, Turkoglu, Duncan, Ginobili, or Bibby. The point is, the Raptors have no one, and because of this lack of closer, they’ve been attempting to go to Bosh down the stretch of close games.

The result is more than often a turnover, a missed shot, or simply a bad shot. Colangelo should work the phones to see if he can find a wing player who the Raptors can work through in the crunch. They don’t grow on trees, but having one means you’re never truly out of a game until it’s over.

At this point, your best slashers are Roko Ukic and Joey Graham, followed by Bosh and Bargnani. Not quite Ginobili, Bryant, or Maggette. Slashers create open shots for their teammates, and put pressure on the defense to constantly be on their toes, and perhaps out of place.

If the Raptors’ best slasher is a talented third string point guard who can’t shoot, and an inconsistent small forward who can’t do much with the ball in terms of creativity, one might say this could explain why a guy like Kapono has been so ineffective this season. I wouldn’t bring back TJ Ford, but I think we can accept he wasn’t the problem with this team.

4. Lack of Desire and Toughness

Culprit: Everyone

They look like a team that quits on games, lies down, and takes punches instead of delivering them. Perhaps this extends back to their Captain Chris Bosh who is among the most emotionally reactive and mentally weak players I’ve seen in a long time.

It just makes you think that this team was so used to the mental boost they received from Sam Mitchell, that under a quieter coach, they’ve simply caved. For the record, the reason Mitchell kept his job as long as he did was because Colangelo felt the players played hard for him in the worst of times. I’d imagine Triano is wondering why they’re not playing with as much intensity for him.

5. Roster Imbalance

Culprit: Bryan Colangelo

The three best players on this team are natural power forwards, and two can fill in admirably at center. The fact remains that Moon, Kapono, and Graham are three small forwards that fall to the bottom end of the Raptor roster. Trading either Bosh, O’Neal or Bargnani for a wing would be the best move Colangelo can make right now. It certainly beats the hell out of making the 7’0”, 260-pound Bargnani play small forward.

Diagnosis

1. Trade

Trading Calderon, Bosh, Kapono seems needed, and if not all three then at least two. A team cannot win when it’s giving up nearly half its salary to three guys who can’t spell defense.

2. Change coaches

Yes, again. Triano isn’t the right guy for this job, and while I’m happy that he got a chance, he’s going to end this season at the bottom of the Raptor coaching ranks for his win-loss percentage. Bringing in a coach that can teach a young team defense, and at the same time actually has a defensive system might be helpful. Where is Jeff Van Gundy when you need him? Messina?

Sayonara, Jason Blake: Why He Is Out Of Toronto Come The Trade Deadline

by Tyler Hill…

Toronto Maple Leafs fans have heard the name Jason Blake tossed around more and more as the trade deadline nears.

The 35-year-old veteran winger is stirring up a lot of trade talk in the past few weeks with his constant stellar play and the debate over whether he should be shipped out of Toronto for a young prospect or draft pick.

Those against the trade say he is more valuable in Toronto for his skill and role as a mentor to the younger guys on the team.

The fact of the matter is Jason Blake is old, too old to be on a team rebuilding. The Leafs can use him best to gain assets for the future.

Now is the perfect time for a trade, with Blake on pace for a 30-goal season (which would be only the second time in his career he hit the 30-goal mark). He surely is attractive to a team that could use a good veteran presence in the playoff push or as another weapon for a finals-bound team needing help to win the Cup.

If you were the one in control, if you were the one to decide Blake future in Toronto, what would you do? Give him to a team that is a contender, one that thinks that within the next four years they could win the Cup. Trade for a draft pick or a young prospect.

When I say prospect, I don’t mean a player who has been compared to Sidney or Ovie or any of those guys. I’m just thinking about a guy who can contribute every night, maybe score 20 goals a season. Someone reliable for the Leafs roster.

We don’t need a superstar and I don’t expect one. Jason Blake isn’t going draw trade talks for Malkin, Stamkos, or Kane, and he doesn’t have to. They just need someone that can make their presence felt and let you know they mean business.

Some don’t want to see Blake leave because in the past months they have fallen in love with the scoring “machine” he has become. But that is not in the best interest of the team as a whole, neither now or in the future.

Need further proof? After this season, Blake’s payout on his contract goes down. Any GM not on board with that needs their head examined.