Browse >
Home / Archive: 11. May 2009
By Stoker MacIntosh… Shakespeare said: All the world’s a stage, and we are merely players; there are exits and entrances, and one man in his time plays many roles.
If he had said it this week, the Famous Playwright could have easily been referring to Floyd Mayweather Jr; who recently made his grand entrance back into the sport of boxing, and is once again feeling very much at home playing the role of the villain.
This time around however, the unpopular boxer is easier to hate than ever, and even more difficult to root for, and it looks to me like he planned it that way.
Its almost impossible to understand Mayweather unless you comprehend the fuel which fires his engine, which is money; and please know this, he cares about very little else.
Sadly, there seems to be many boxing fans out there who feel that Mayweather avoided the toughest challenges; there are also many Pretty Boy detractors who feel that the statement–regarding his readiness to fight anyone and everyone in his weight class, is a false one.
I however, am not a subscriber to these popular beliefs, I feel that Mayweather knows exactly what he is doing; and I also feel that he can, and will do it, all in his own time.
Knowing Mayweather the way we think we do, it’s safe to assume that he longs for an even greater legacy this time around, and of course, the thought of a huge-money mega-fight also remains constant.
One of the reasons, maybe first and foremost, is the reportedly jaw-dropping pay-per-view numbers that the extremely popular Filipino pound for pound champion Manny Pacquiao has been getting.
It’s also a strong possibility that Mayweather is looking past his July 18 fight against top contender Juan manual Marquez to even greater fame and fortune.
The delusions of grandeur that Pretty Boy may be focusing on could very well be a potential fall fight date with Pacquiao; which–with the right promotion and a popular HBO 24/7 prelude, would likely rival the Thrilla In Manila in comparison.
Remember, beginning July 18, 2005, until his brief retirement in June 2008 Mayweather had been rated by The Ring magazine as the number-one pound-for-pound boxer in the world.
Mayweather has won six world championships in five different weight classes but the sport of boxing is so painfully easy to him that he sometimes gets bored with it.
In his fight with Carlos Baldamir he resembled a cat which had killed its prey but refused to eat it, choosing instead to toy and play with it.
In his fight with Ricky Hatton it seemed at times as if he was pot-shotting him with lead right hands, and also appeared to be carrying the tough Brit into the later rounds, until finishing him off with a brilliant left hook.
Also, I’m sure he hasn’t returned to boxing for the pleasure of it, he has a logical plan as to what he hopes to gain and how he intends to gain it.
In fact, I think he may be one of the greatest fighters of all time in regards to his outside the ring intelligence and self promotion, thus the black Bank Robber out-fit he wore to the press conference.
Mayweather didn’t lose his pound-for-pound No. 1 status in the ring–he lost it by retiring; and I truly feel he is back to reclaim it.
Pacquiao is now the legitimate pound for pound title holder, to add to that, both men are the only real contenders for the Fighter of the Decade award.
A fight between these two warriors could potentially be the biggest fight in recent history, maybe even the biggest of all time.
I’m a dreamer. I have to dream and reach for the stars, and if I miss a star then I grab a handful of clouds. — Mike Tyson
By Louis “King of Roncesvalles” Pisano…
The big red machine that is the Detroit Red Wings rolled over a squawking Duck Sunday in the Joe Louis Arena, beating the Anaheim team 4-1 while outshooting them 38-17, and taking the lead in the series 3-2 heading back to the Duck Pond for game 6.
Johan Franzen “The Mule”, kept rolling, scoring his 7th goal in his 9th playoff game this year and his 20th goal in his last 25 playoff games including last year’s run to the cup. With 29 shots in the playoffs he scores at a rate of 24.1 percent pretty much one every four shots, pretty sick pace.
Justin Abdelkader who I had the pleasure of interviewing while he was playing with the Grand Rapids Griffin of the AHL was called up due to injuries, and in his first NHL playoff game, had an assist and 9 hits. This kid would have been up with any other NHL team all year but because of the obvious depth of Detroit he spent the year in the minors, definite guy to keep your eye on, and don’t be surprised if you see him up there next year.
Over to Boston, where the Hurricanes seemed more like a soft summer breeze drifting over a tea party, in the 4-0 loss, rather than a hockey team in the hunt for Lord Stanley’s coveted cup. Boston hasn’t ever come back from being down 3-1 in a series but it’s now 3-2 and they are a team that never says die.
Tim Thomas only had to make 17 saves in the shutout but many of them were timely to say the least and the flow of this game could easily changed if one of those had snuck through early.
Carolina looked nothing like the team that had taken a 3-1 lead in the series during this drubbing, being outplayed outhit outshot, and overall, dominated!
This series finally took on a playoff atmosphere in the third period when the teams dislike for each other became all too apparent and 57 minutes in penalties were handed out. The ground work has been laid for game 6 in Carolina and it should be a hell of a battle, get your popcorn ready! (Thanks TO!)
By Mark “The Hard Hitter” Ritter…
Talk about a great hockey series, if you’ve missed even a minute of this series you’ve missed a lot. Big hits, stupendous scoring plays, super goaltending and a little bloodshed, has made for one of the best playoff series in recent memory.
After being down 2-0 to the Washington Capitals the Pittsburgh Penguins found another gear, took two games from the Capitals in Pittsburgh and then beat Washington 4-3 in O/T in the Capitals barn. Oh, and did I mention the whole Sidney Crosby vs. Alexander Ovechkin thing? These two Warriors have flip-flopped in and out of the League lead for playoff goals and points, these guys are true competitors, we are privileged to be watching these future Hall of Fame inductees.
The intensity these games are being played at is stupendous! When is the last time you watched two teams fight so hard each and every shift? The emergence of Capitals goaltender Simeon Varlamov has been a pleasant surprise, as has the play of Pens goaltender Marc-Andre Fluery (Who many suspected would falter in the playoffs).
For my money this is the best playoff series going, here’s hoping it goes seven games and ends in triple Overtime, I just can’t get enough!
By Martin Avery… The excitement builds as The Battle Of Ontario could feature the 28th place Phoenix Coyotes competing with the 24th place Toronto Maple Leafs and the 22nd place Ottawa Senators in the 30 team National Hockey League.
Ever since there was even the slightest hint that RIM/Blackberry billionaire Jim Balsillie wanted another NHL franchise in southern Ontario, there have been lots of suggestions about what the team should be called when it moves to Hamilton.
The team was called the Winnipeg Jets before it became the Phoenix Coyotes, so it doesn’t have to be called the Hamilton Coyotes. It could be called the Hamilton Jets.
According to many hockey media outlets, Jim Balsillie has offered $212.5 million to purchase the Phoenix Coyotes if he can move them to Ontario.
There is some controversy over locating the team halfway between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Buffalo Sabres.Some say that instead of relocating the Coyotes to Southern Ontario, they should either move it back to Winnipeg or perhaps start fresh in Quebec City.
Others say another location in southern Ontario would work, such as Kitchener-Waterloo, where Balsillie’s BlackBerry offices are located, or Vaughan, just north of Toronto.
Jim Young of The Arizona Republic suggests a good name for the new team would be The Golden Horseshoes. That might bring them some luck!
I like the name Hamilton BlackBerries. How about the Hamilton Steelers?
An unsigned column in The Cheap Seats suggested the team could be called the Vaughan Sprawl or the Vaughan Mauls. If they go to Hamilton, call them the Hammer.
Hamilton is affectionately called the Hammer by many people
including prospective owner, Balsillie.
Jack Porter, came up with a lot of names, including: North Toronto Coyotes, Toronto Seneca or Mohawk,The Hamilton Steel Workers, and The Golden Horseshoe Mustangs.
The Hamilton Tigers was the name of Hamilton’s original NHL franchise, back in the 1920s. They played in the NHL from 1920 – 1925. After the 1919–20 season, when they finished last in the NHL with a horrible record of four wins and twenty losses in 24 games, the NHL took the Quebec Bulldogs franchise and sold the team to the owner of an ice company in Hamilton.
The Hamilton Bulldogs play in the American Hockey League.
Hamilton Mohawks might be too much like the Chicago Blackhawks.
One person, who wants to remain nameless, suggests that if the team stays in Phoenix, they should be renamed the Bettman Bulls.
By Brady Rynyk…
Tuesday, May 12th is a day that many Blue Jays fans have had marked on their calendars since the beginning of the 2009 baseball season. It is the first divisional series for the team and sees the return of former Toronto ace A.J. Burnett to the mound at the Rogers Center. Burnett who opted out of the last two years of his contract for free agency to sign a 5-yr $82.5 million contract with division rival New York Yankees will showdown against his one time mentor Roy Halladay. Burnett is coming off one of his best seasons where he recorded personal career bests with American League high 231 strikeouts along with 34 starts and just over 221 innings pitched. There is no question the Arkansas born hurler still has his stuff, having already taken a no-hitter into the 7th inning this season against the reigning AL champion Tampa Bay Rays - So far this season with the Bronx Bombers, the pitcher seems to continue to perform right where he left off with the Jays.
Despite it being Burnett’s first return to Toronto, there is just as much anticipation regarding the pitchers duel that is scheduled to take place. With his near dominance against opposing AL East teams, Burnett has repeatedly credited his turnaround and recent success to the guidance and tutelage of Roy Halladay over the last few seasons. Burnett has been open with his relationship with Doc, who he has said helped the new Yankee mature beyond a heavy fastball pitcher to develop a larger arsenal of reliable go to pitches.
Burnett, who is looking forward to his return to his one time home and a pitching mound where he feels comfortable, is well aware of what is in store for him and the struggling Yankees. From the mixture of jeers and cheers that fans will supply on Tuesday, Burnett is well aware of the importance the upcoming series against the current division leading Blue Jays, who the Yankees are currently trailing by 5 ½ games. Having pitched alongside the Cy Young award winner and 5 time all-star, Burnett knows he will have to pitch a gem of a game against Halladay for his team to stand a chance at winning.
Much like any other start for Doc, there is always a high probability that Halladay will go deep into the game, inducing grounders and striking out even the best of hitters. However, it is important for the Jays not to put their fate solely in Halladay’s hand – despite him being more then capable of delivering. Even though the Yankees are struggling at the plate, the new addition of Alex Rodriguez into the line-up may give Jeter, Swisher, Damon & touted off-season acquisition Teixera (who are all amongst the top 50 in the AL for strikeouts) enough of a boost to get out of their slump.
For the Jays, despite winning seven of their last ten, they still only have a slim lead over the Boston Red Sox, and should be very cognizant of the importance of the upcoming series against the pinstripes. Having yet to square off against anyone in the AL East, the Jays haven’t really been taken too seriously as a viable contender for the pennant, so convincing critics will have to start with a series win over the Yankees.
In order to do so, it is important for the offence to start strong at the plate. It will be crucial for Toronto to get to Burnett early and avoid chasing pitches out of the strike zone. The Jays need forget that they are facing off against former teammate & friend and use their knowledge of Burnett’s tendencies to their advantage. The key to the team’s success will be inducing walks from the hurlers deceiving off-speed outside pitches. If the hitters can pick-up on Burnett’s mid velocity slider and average change-up, they can force the right-hander to rely more on his bread-an-butter pitches (fastball & curveball). In doing so, it might be easier for the batters to pick-up on the hurlers curveball which he often throws with a three-quarter (almost side arm) delivery, and predict when fastball might be coming towards home plate. If the Jays can execute good plate discipline and get Burnett to add to his already mounting 15 walks this season, they can drive up his pitch count and hopefully induce an early exit from the game. In doing so, New York will be forced to rely on an unlikely hero shutdown the Jays bats - baseball’s weakest bullpen.
Photo by Michelle Lindo, Celebrity Seen
By Mark “The Hard Hitter” Ritter…
Russia beat Canada on Sunday afternoon to take the Gold medal at the World Championships. Russia, who also won the Gold in 2007/08, now takes the All-Time lead in Gold Medals 25-24 over Canada. Russian Goaltender Ilya Brysgalov stood on his head for the Russians earning him Player Of The game Honors, while NHL defect Alexander Radulov scored the eventual game winner in the second period, another “Ilya”, Ilya Kovalchuk, received the award as the tournament MVP.
Russia didn’t outplay Canada, but they did beat Canada by playing a very “Canadian” game. Russia rested on it’s 2-1 lead, dumping the puck in at every chance they had, rarely engaging in the offensive zone. Russia also took the body on a regular basis and, while outshot by a large margin, were able to pull off the victory thanks in large part to the dominant performance by Bryzgalov.
Ottawa Senators forward Jason Spezza opened up the scoring for Canada early in the first period, today’s loss was Canada’s first when netting the first goal in the game. Throughout the game Canada had a tough time down low,and could not get much going on the Power Play often settling for a lot of perimeter shots that had little to no chance of beating Bryzgalov.
The World Championships are hardly the Olympics, but the Russians win should prove valuable psychologically heading into Vancouver in 2010. Russia showed that they can play a solid defensive game, not what the Russians are typically known for, proving they can adapt to their opponent, which should serve them well in Vancouver.
Give credit where it’s due, make no mistake about it, Russia played a solid game, and deserved to beat Canada (As much as it pains me to write that).
Congrats Russia! See you at the Olympics………
PS…just in case you were wondering who’s the chick in the picture, that’s right you guessed it, it’s Alyonka Larionov! - The Captain
Recent Comments