Ritters Rant

March 25, 2009

by Mark Ritter…

The hilarity of the Toronto Maple Leafs smok’in the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night was beyond reproach, I haven’t seen a beating like that since Chris Brown smacked Rianna!
Can’t help but think Research In Motion big wig Balsillie will be front and centre in any Montreal Canadiens being for sale talk. Balsillie, who was a Canadiens fan as a youngster, has been itching to get his hands on a franchise for quite sometime, why not Les Canadiens?
Dear Tuukka Rask, two words for ya buddy, ANGER MANAGEMENT! What a spectacle!!!

Japan beat the snot out of the U.S. baseball team, question is, does anyone care? Until the U.S. is able to send their “Best” I suspect the fans will continue to tune out. On the positive side, at least we no longer have to listen to the “USA, USA” chants, God I hate that chant…but I loved the silence after the last out…priceless!!! Congrats goes out to Japan for winning the tourney, but really, nobody gives two figs in North America, especially when the US keeps losing.

Happened to come across Toronto Raptors tickets for Friday nights game against the Charlotte Bobcats, the tickets were free and I got ripped off! The only hustle that was going on was management stealing the fans money, the effort was terrible, the energy was non-existant and the players are not communicating. I left disgusted, the players should be ashamed of themselves…And hey, Shawn Marian, if you don’t like it here leave, you stunk anyways!
Can the Leafs make the playoffs this season? Ok, that might be near impossible, but they certainly have played exceptionally well of late. The question is, is this late season surge a mirage, or is this for real? Suddenly the likes of Mikhail Grabovski, Nikolai Kulemin and the sometimes hated Jason Blake look like World beaters, think Brian Burke is willing to go to war with this roster next season?
All the debate over Alexander Ovechkin’s celebration after his 50th goal is ridiculous, leave the guy alone, the NHL should be thankful they get any attention in the US, Ovechkin’s celebration was a breath of fresh air and made every highlight package in the US….. And Rick Tocchett preaching good sportsmanship, I “Bet” ya he’d have done the same thing if he had scored 50…Shut up Slick Rick!!!
My over/under for Toronto Blue Jay victories sits at 86, which side are you on? I see nothing that makes me a believer in the Jays, they did nothing in the off season, they stunk last year and now we brace for a repeat poor season. In the words of the great Yogi Berra, It’s going to be deja vu all over again.
Buffalo Bills coming to Toronto full-time, shoot me…..

The West Is The Best-Calgary: Canada’s Hope For The Cup

March 25, 2009

By Louis “King of Roncesvalles” Pisano…

Axel is a big Flames fan as you can see, and at the trade deadline it looked as though the Flames had truly made themselves legitimate contenders in the West, where I believe the Stanley Cup winner will come from. They reacquired Jordan Leopold and picked up Olli Jokinen, but their record even with the new additions has been mediocre at best going 4 and 5 loosing 5-2 to Atlanta and 8-6 to Toronto, teams you would expect a Stanley Cup contender to beat.  Mind you the game in Toronto was the last of a 7 game road trip and as anyone knows that last game of a long road trip is always a tough one, especially when teams that aren’t making the playoffs have guys working really hard in hopes of securing a job for the next season.

The problem for the Flames has been keeping the puck out of their own net recently, allowing 35 goals in the 9 games since the trade deadline, in un-Kiprusoff like fashion the pucks having been finding their way through holes. This doesn’t fall only on the shoulders of the all-star net minder, but on the defence as well, although they have, in my mind, one of the best defensive cores in hockey with Dion Phaneuf, Jordan Leopold, Robin Regehr, Adrian Aucoin, Cory Sarich, and Jim Vandermeer.

The forwards on this Calgary team are rugged for the most part, lead by captain, Jerome Iginla, and flanked by other experienced leaders such as Craig Conroy, Damon Langkow, and recently Olli Jokinen up the middle, and down the wings with Mike Cammalleri and Andre Roy. The depth is there and these guys know the game, they’ve been around it long enough to know what it takes to win.

The head coach for the Flames, Iron Mike Keenan has a solid resume including a Stanley Cup with the Rangers in 1994, three Presidents trophies, six division titles, three all star games, and a sparkling international as well as junior history. So it’s difficult for me to think that a problem with the flames could be coaching.

Will my buddy Axel be cheering on a legit contender to the end, I hope so! All in all the pieces to the puzzle are all in place, and now it’s up to this team to take it to the next level, and in my eye’s this team is Canada’s best hope. People might argue Vancouver, but I beg to differ, I don’t think they have enough toughness. Who do you have to win it all for Canada or otherwise? Lord Stanley’s Cup is up for grabs will it end up in Canada, I’m hoping so!

The Best Toronto Maple Leafs Prospects: Who Needs Tavares?

March 25, 2009

by Tyler Hill… Over the course of the year, the Leafs have played a number of rookies. Some were call-ups from the AHL Marlies that got the chance to shine or were given their big break.

The Leafs have made a few bad moves, trading Draft picks and prospects away.

But after seeing a few of the current crop of youngsters, I have decided to focus on a positive (I know, very unlike me). Here’s the top five Leafs prospects in the system!

Don’t be alarmed if you’ve never heard of half these guys. It’s to be expected.

Alex Berry: 6′2″, 212 lbs., 23 years old

He’s a big guy and knows it; he uses his size to his advantage. He could be a third line guy, primarily serving as a checker.

But that’s not to say he doesn’t know how to contribute to the offense. Indeed, he has 30 points playing in Massachusetts.

He recently signed a two-year entry-level contract which will see him with the Marlies for the remainder of the season, and I’m sure at some point next year we will see him in the bigs playing for the Leafs.

Viktor Stalberg: 6′4″, 208 lbs., 23 years old

Never heard of him? I’m not surprised. He was drafted 166th overall in 2006 by a man all Leafs fans love, John Ferguson, Jr. When he was taken, he may have been regarded as a crap pick, a “best-of-the-worst” kind of guy.

But this year, the big kid is breaking out. Playing for the University of Vermont, Stalberg is in serious consideration for the Hobey Baker Award.

In his first two years, he had a total of only 17 goals. He has 22 already in 2008-09. He will one day be a top-six player in the Leafs’ lineup.

Chris DiDomenico: 5′11″, 165 lbs., 20 years old

I think most of you are familiar with DiDomenico, who played with the Canadian Juniors and won gold this past year. With his junior team, St. John of the QMJHL, he has 34 points, 23 of which are assists.

In my opinion, he’ll be a great complementary center to the man I rank No. 1 on this list.

Two speedy youngsters, a playmaker and goal scorer, will make the perfect combo in the “new” NHL and will be great together in Toronto in the near future.

Dale Mitchell: 5′9″, 207 lbs., 20 years old

Currently playing for Windsor in the OHL, he has 68 points in 66 games and has compiled a plus-24 mark.

But beyond his numbers, Mitchell proved that speed is his main weapon in his first few seasons with the Oshawa Generals. He was hands-down the fastest on that squad.

This guy will fit perfectly with the new Maple Leafs, who are quick and youthful.

Greg Scott: 6′0″, 178 lbs., 20 years old

If you’ve never heard of Greg Scott, then listen up. In 65 games with the WHL’s Seattle club, the kid has 76 points on 38 goals!

Last year, he had 32 points total, but this season, he has shown much improvment. He plays right wing, which is a position that needs addressing for the Leafs.

Scott could carry the Leafs offense now, and certainly will later.

So there you have them: the guys I think will be most vital to the Leafs future. But this is just me, and I’m not always right.

Who do you think should be on this list? What guys have your attention? Let me know, leave a comment.

Note: For people that say I’m too heavy on stats and goals, guess what? That’s all that really matters nowadays. Stats are your friend. Enforcers aren’t top priorities anymore.

Parody And A Diminishing Cap, Breeds Possibilities For Leafs In 2010

March 25, 2009

By Mark Ritter…

With the 2008/09 season winding down many teams are locking up playoff spots and preparing for a long run en route to a Stanley Cup championship, sadly, for the fourth year in a row the Toronto Maple Leafs will do no such thing. Instead, Leafs management, players and fans will eagerly await the off-season, free agency and draft day will be big events, the question is, what is realistic and what is pure fodder? Will Brian Burke blow his current roster up in an attempt to start from square one, or will he try to make a splash, signing big name players for big money?

I believe Toronto Maple Leafs General Manager Brian Burke will have a very busy off-season, but don’t think for a minute that Burke will be signing a ton of free agents, it simply is not going to happen. Now, it would be foolish to think that Burke does not already have a detailed plan of what he intends to do this off-season, in fact, with rumors abound that Burke is interested in signing the Sedin twins out of Vancouver, many would suggest that part of BB’s plan has already leaked out into the media circles. Weather or not the media suspicions are correct or not is besides the point right now, trust me, the Sedin twins coming to Toronto is just the first of what will be numerous rumors that will hit the airwaves and tv broadcasts in the coming months, some true, some pure speculation, all will create great debate and excite the fans to no end, my money is on Burke being relatively quiet on the free agent front, but we’ll have to wait and see.

When the NHL implemented the salary cap system after the 2003 lockout season the intention was to create parody amongst all teams. Playoff races would be closer, last longer, interest in the games would be heightened and each franchise, could, with some luck anyways, afford the opportunity to sign a true super-star talent; essentially the NHL felt that by implementing the salary cap every team would, for the most part, have a chance to make the playoffs every season. On the surface the plan has worked, if you take a look at the current NHL standings you will find that 4 points separate the 12th place teams from the 8th place teams in the Western Conference and 9 points separate the 12th place team form the 8th in the Eastern Conference, playoff races are alive and well in most NHL cities, that’s parody my friends!

Make no mistake about it, the salary cap is a huge factor when determining how to go forward with any NHL franchise. General Managers in must gaze into the future in order to be a success, gone are the days of filling holes by reaching into ownerships deep pockets, money has become a secondary factor, it no longer creates separation, in fact, in some cases, money has handcuffed franchises that went to the well more often than not, they didn’t know anything else, thus their talent pool is typically depleted from past deadline deals, handcuffing their current and future success. This is clearly the case with the Toronto Maple Leafs, as such, Burke will need to take care of the now and the future, a daunting task to say the least.

There are four prospects worth talking about in the Leafs organization, goaltender Justin Pogge, Forward Jiri Tlusty, Forward Chris DiDomenico, and to a lesser extent Defenseman Phil Oreskovic. That’s it…None of these players made The Hockey News top 50 prospects list, none of these players are regarded as a “Sure thing”, none of these players are NHL ready right now. Therein lies a huge problem for Burke, he’d love to fill a hole or two with young talent, but he simply doesn’t have the horses to pick from the stable, essentially, he is handcuffed by past mismanagement. So, with little in the way of talent in the system and a diminishing salary cap to deal with, where oh where will Brian Burke find the talent? Well, it is going to take a combination of patience, perseverance and creativity to make the Leafs a better team to start the 2009/10 season. Any players drafted in 2009/10 will likely see action at the junior level and/or in the AHL, remember, Luke Schenn is the exception, not the norm, most draft choices take a minimum of 3-5 years to mature into genuine NHL players, very few succeed right away.

Free agency will provide Brian Burke an opportunity to explore some interesting players, but at the end of the day I see Burke looking to make hockey trades to make his club better. There are numerous teams that, when and if the NHL decides to lower the salary cap, will have little choice but to move essential pieces off their NHL rosters. The Detroit Red Wings, Calgary Flames, Washington Capitals, Chicago Blackhawks, San Jose Sharks, Boston Bruins and Pittsburgh Penguins, to name a few, will all struggle to make it under next years salary cap. All of these teams have key free agents to re-sign, all of them will need to consider which pieces they are willing to give up in order to make it under the cap, not an easy chore. The asking price for these players will be next to nothing, it is unlikely these teams will be able to take dollars back, thus handcuffing their returns. Advantage Maple Leafs. One thing Burke has is loads of room in salary cap, something he will surely look to use to his advantage this offseason. Depending on how much the salary cap drops in the off-season, Burke will have upwards of $9 Million dollars to spend on players, that’s significant dough, it also makes Burke a convenient trading partner for teams that need to dump salary and with the NHL likely to lower the cap this off-season, there will be plenty of teams looking to dump players. The trick for Burke is to make moves that make sense financially now and for the foreseeable future, Burke will have to weigh today’s acquisition against the impact on his teams future. For example, a player like Chris Pronger might look great in a Toronto uniform, but in the long run, is Pronger considered a diminishing asset? Is Pronger a fit long term, or by acquiring him are you just handcuffing the Leafs down the road?

A measure of tough love will have to be used when evaluating the current roster as well. Veteran Players like Thomas Kaberle, Pavol Kubina, Vesa Toskala, Jason Blake, Alex Ponikarovsky and Ian White will all need to endure considerable evaluation at season’s end. Are these the horses you want going forward, or do you consider moving one or more of them in the hopes of acquiring future assets? Kaberle and Kubina have reasonable contracts, as does Ponikarovsky, but is their value on the open market worth giving the thought of trading them? For instance, at just over $4 Million per season, for a player of Kaberle’s talent level he brings great value and an enormous amount of talent, so, if you trade Kabby how do you replace that talent without having to go out and pay another equally talented player $2 Million more per season than Kabby makes? Is trading that kind of player worth the negative impact it could have on a teams salary cap, or are you better off keeping Kaberle and losing out on acquiring players that can potentially help your franchise in the long term? It’s a tricky question and a slippery slope indeed. What would you do? Do you take a player with potential and a draft pick in return for your franchises biggest asset and then try to replace him?

My best guess is that 2 or more of those players will be traded by Brian Burke this off-season. If he is able to make such a move, a little more cap space will open up, thus making it possible for Burke to consider some big ticket players that, in my mind anyways, will surely be available come June. The cap may not have created pure parody on the ice, but it has forced teams to evaluate and re-evaluate their costs, teams that did not do their due diligence in projecting correctly will suffer and be forced to move players they typically would have been able to afford to keep. It would seem that the salary cap has created financial parody, the trickle down effect of which should, over time, create a more balanced league. The teams who miscalculated will be the losers in all of this, Biran Burke and the Leafs are poised to reap the rewards.

So, I foresee the impact on the Leafs by their prospects will be minimal, free agency, while a valuable piece to the Leafs puzzle, should be minimal, trades will be a plenty and should have the biggest impact on this franchise going forward, while coaching, scouting and management, will continue to be key positions, likely having the most impact on the Leafs future success in the long run. Today’s NHL is all about development and opportunity, the Leafs have a great opportunity to make huge strides this off-season, let’s hope my predictions come to fruition.

Until next time,

Peace!

Toronto FC Off to Winning Start

March 25, 2009

by Derek Viveiros… A formidable away win in Kansas City last week has John Carver’s Toronto squad with three points going into the second week of their Major League Soccer schedule.

Their first ever opening day away victory isn’t much to brag about. But it does place much needed confidence into the hearts of the Toronto Football Club faithful.

Aside from allowing two remarkable strikes by Davy Arnaud, a solid defensive effort was complemented by a consistent three goal offensive display. Aside from missing a late penalty, Dwayne DeRosario’s performance proved why he is the prize acquisition of Mo Johnston’s impressive tenure as the mastermind of this franchise.

The combination of “De-Ro” and Amado Guevara kept the Wizards defense on their heels. They controlled possession for most of the game as they spread the ball around the pitch to the starting 11. Guevara’s two goals were just a glimpse of what this duo will provide us with this season.

Toronto will now head to Crew Stadium for a Saturday date to take on the defending league champions, Colombus Crew. Colombus began its season by scraping out a point through a Guillermo Barros Schelotto 82nd minute equaliser to draw 1-1 at Houston.

Colombus will be looking to open Crew Stadium on a winning note as they host Toronto in the first leg of the home and home series dubbed the Trillium Cup.

Look for these two attacking sides to provide an up-tempo, appealing brand of soccer. Should be interesting to see if Toronto can pull off another huge road win before heading back home to BMO field, where the best fans in the league anxiously await.

Five Reasons Not To Watch The NFL Draft

March 25, 2009

by John Gehan… I love football as much as any guy, probably more. Staying in on the first day of the NFL draft, ordering pizza and drinking a few beers, is my normal routine.

Why do we watch the draft? Is it an excuse to watch anything football-related? Is it an outside chance that your team drafts the next Tom Brady? No, most people watch the draft for the simple fact that it’s the “draft” and it’s been beaten in our heads with a big media mallet to do so.

Here are my top five reasons to skip the NFL draft:

The Detroit Lions

Arguably the best player in the draft is Michael Crabtree, a hobbled WR who will be an absolute stud in the NFL. We all know how the Lions lick their chops when wide receivers are available. If the Lions choose Michael Crabtree, Lions fans should drive to owner William Clay Ford’s house and burn it down (that is to say he actually lives in Detroit, which is doubtful).

It’s too long

The NFL draft is the most drawn-out event in the history of sports, period. Teams are given too much time to consider something that should have been decided in the six months that preceded it. If a team (*cough* Vikings) can’t make a choice in six months and fifteen minutes, that front office deserves a swift kick.

They’re too young

With 46 underclassmen entering this year’s draft, I have to ask what they are thinking. Get your degree, because if football ends up not working out, what are you going to do? Teach physical education? You have a long shot at starting within the next five years anyway; develop your game and your mind!

Draft commentators

If I have to hear one more prediction gone wrong, I may go crazy. If I have to hear Cris Carter, Suzy Kolber, or Trent Dilfer give their expert analysis, I might need therapy. The only person that has any valid opinion is Mike Golic, as his insight is usually intelligent and relevant.

The combine

I absolutely hate the fact that the media pumps up the whole event. Combine results and top prospects mean nothing.

I’m not saying to totally boycott the NFL draft this year. What I’m saying is, while your watching and drinking that beer, read the label, it’s probably more intriguing.

Will Winky Wright Punish Paul The Punisher Williams On April 11th ?

March 25, 2009

by Stoker Dafire… History has shown us that the most feared and avoided fighters in boxing were heavyweights like Sonny Liston, David Tua and Riddick Bowe.

Once asked about an up-coming fight with Mike Tyson in June of 1988; Michael Spinks told the curious reporter he was having nightmares involving his death in the ring due to thoughts of the upcoming fight.

When fight night finally arrived, Spinks was visibly nervous, he looked as though he was about to faint during the national anthem.

Spinks was on his bicycle from the opening round, but a solid Tyson left hook to the rib cage forced Spinks to take a knee, seconds later he stood and met the full 220 lbs of a thundering Tyson right hook.

Spinks was Tysons most highly-touted rival at the time, but the fight was over in 91 seconds of the first round.

Paul Williams will fight Ronald “Winky” Wright at 160 lbs on April 11th.

There is no question that these two are the most avoided and feared fighters in the sport today, but in my opinion their styles have major differences.

True, both are south paws and historically south paws are naturally avoided for obvious reasons; they are extremely unorthodox and hard to defend against and even harder to knock out.

A right hand power puncher will naturally move to his right against a lefty, which would be a fatal mistake as he would be moving into the lefty’s power zone.

In my opinion,the right-hander would eventually succumb to a diet of powerful straight lefts and left hooks to the body.

Williams is a tall-rangy-fighter who uses the entire ring to his advantage, he can knock his opponent out in a single punch; he also has a long jack hammer style jab which he can transform into a right hook or uppercut.

Williams length and reach advantage usually allows him to  accomplish his tasks with amazing fluidity.

Wright on the other hand has a prodding, jabbing style..he will jab his opponent to death..winning the fight by attrition and dominance.

If its true that styles make fights, this one should be a pier six brawl.

These two men are–notoriously feared and avoided south-paw boxers–one is arguably, already a legend, and the other is looking to gain his legendary status by defeating Wright.

Wright’s last fight was against ageless pound-for-pound warrior Bernard “The Executioner” Hopkins on July 21, 2007.

Hopkins beat Wright at his own game in my opinion; content to out-box Wright with well-timed jabs and–lightning fast–combination’s on the outside.

Wright fought hard and caused Hopkins trouble in the middle rounds; but Hopkins won unanimously on the judges’ score cards 116–112, 117–111, 117–111.

This was Wrights first loss in more than 8 years.

Recently there were reports regarding Wright not being able to negotiate, being stubborn and hard to work with, however, Wright and his management say this is simply not the case.

Richard Schaefer, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions says that Wright was willing to fight anyone, anywhere.

“He was willing to fight Felix Strum, anywhere, he was also willing to fight Abraham anywhere and these were all reasonable deals. It was about these guys being scared and I am putting my full credibility behind these claims,” said Schaefer.

“Like I said after Bernard and Shane won their matches earlier on, this is the year of the legends. Winky is one of the true legends of the sport. He’s on a mission, just like Shane was on a mission, and just like Bernard was on a mission. I like that he’s the underdog.”

“A great secret of success is to go through life as a man who never gets used up.”
Albert Schweitzer
French philosopher & physician (1875 - 1965)