Will The Buffalo Bills Play In Canada Without a Backfield?

May 25, 2009

By Dan Boone… Its tougher to cross into Canada from the United States.

Folks going fishing have been turned back by Border Guards if they have minor infractions with the law on their records.

It’s going to get tougher too.

Which begs the question how is the NFL going to smuggle the Buffalo Bill’s backfield across the border?

Running back Marshawn Lynch has been charged with multiple crimes and has a criminal conviction for carrying an illegal lorded hand gun, while loaded himself of course.

Bill’s fullback Corey McIntyre was just charged with drunkenly fondling himself while staring through a women’s window at night.

Whispers of the net say the Bill boss men might be interesting in signing convicted felon Michael Vick to play quarterback.

A team should consider whether Vick can pass through international borders before giving him a contract. What if the NFL moves the Super Bowl to Toronto in a few years and Vick can’t make the trip?

Pity the poor pooches that would suffer pain and woe for that wrong.

The defense doesn’t rest either as safety Ko Simpson was arrested for interfering with a police officer and captain and safety Donte Whitner was tasered and charged with aggravated disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.

What is Ralph Wilson going to pay some rogue Mohawks to row his bad boys across Lake Ontario on a moon less midnight so they can sneak into Toronto?

Buffalo Bill Cody, the teams namesake, was handy with a gun, but does that mean the Bill’s backs should be packing pistols?

Why not make it OJ Simpson in Canada Day and squeeze the juice free and take him along as a Bills mascot? Let the Juice go on the loose in Toronto.

But does the NFL and the uber rich get an exception? Do they, as usual, get a free pass?

Joe Fan can’t go fishing for walleye in Canada because of a DUI a few years back, but bring on the Bills?

A man with misdemeanor can’t hunt a moose, but a man with a felony for sadistically murdering dogs gets a free pass to play pass and catch?

Fair’s fair, right?

The NFL is on its high moral soap box in its epic battle with tiny Delaware over gambling on parlay cards at state racetracks, but it will cut a dark deal to bring its bad boys north?

Some Bills fans with minor criminal records, lesser records, then some current Bill’s players will be barred at the border, but the team will roll right in?

What if the Cincinnati Bengals or Dallas Cowboys want to play overseas? What if the Bills or Jets sign PacMan Jones?

I don’t say ban the Bills, the border has become a bit of a bureaucratic overkill, but what’s fair for the fisherman and the fans should be fair for the Bills.

But maybe we should start paying attention to what the bureaucrats are doing at the border and why not use the Bills as an example?

If Marshawn Lynch wanted to go fishing he wouldn’t be allowed in, so should he be allowed in because he is bringing big bucks to Toronto?

Do we exist until two sets of standards and laws?

Joe Fan can’t fish, but Lynch can run?

Jays Again Fall Victim To The Tomahawk Chop

May 25, 2009

By Jeremy Visser… Somebody please make it stop. As the rest of the baseball world says “I told you so”, the Jays dropped their sixth straight game this afternoon, finally falling out of first place in the East following a 10-2 loss to the Braves. Alright, so it was about as close as an eight run game can be — the Jays had a chance to break a 2-2 tie in the top of the seventh, loading the bases with one out before Adam Lind K’d and Jose Bautista popped to right. And well, let’s just say that’s as close at it would get.

Some positives for the Jays: Vernon Wells, who decided to take this season off,  had a pair of hits. I haven’t checked, but those may be his first two knocks since Spring Training. Also, Scott Richmond strung together his second consecutive solid start and my man Jesse Carlson managed to keep Atlanta in check in his one inning of relief. The bad: Toronto left 11 men on base and scored two runs, giving them a total of 10 over the past six games.

It’s a long season, but after the start the Jays had, this ever-growing skid is doing its part in ruining my baseball life. Is Toronto out of the running with 115 games to go? Not even close. Are they as good as the team that started 27-14? No, probably not. Rest assured, though — a trip to Baltimore to hammer the Orioles is in store!

That’s what I’m saying, guy… check out Jeremy’s blog! NOmeSAME!!

Legendary Leaf Trios - Part 1

May 25, 2009

By Tommy G… The 2008-09 NHL season was a stepping stone for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

There wasn’t very much to be excited about for Leafs Nation except for a possibility at a brighter future.

There was, however, the emergence of two lines that entertained the Leaf faithful.

The first was the Jason Blake, Dominic Moore, Lee Stempniak line which finally had Blake earning his money.

The second line consisted of Nikolai Kulemin, Mikhail Grabovski, and Alexei Ponikarovsky. This line made us witness Ponikarovsky becoming a leader and a legitimate top six forward.

These two lines had me thinking about some of the most memorable Leaf lines in their long and illustrious history.

When we think of great hockey lines there are a few that quickly come to mind like the “French Connection” which consisted of Rick Martin, Gilbert Perreault, and Rene Robert.

A good hockey line comes in all shapes and sizes. Some are known for scoring and others are known for checking while the best possess every skill under the scoreboard.

There are lines that have nick names like Los Angeles Kings’ “Triple Crown” line with Charlie Simmer, Marcel Dionne, and Dave Taylor.

And there are those that remain unlabeled by society such as the Boston Bruins’ Ken Hodge, Phil Esposito, and Wayne Cashman.

There are also lines that dominate for years and others that were only magical for a short while.

But there are three things that all hockey lines have in common; they have great chemistry, they demonstrate to the world that hockey is a great team sport, and they are exciting and memorable to witness.

At last, let’s take a peak at some of the more famous Toronto Maple Leafs trios. I hope it brings back great memories for most Leafs fans.

Harvey “Busher” Jackson – LW / Joe Primeau – C / Charlie Conacher – RW

This line graced the Maple Leafs line up from 1929-30 to 1935-36 and if I was ranking these choices it would definitely be number one on the list.

Perhaps more than any other Leaf line in history the “Kid Line” didn’t just dominate their own team. Year after year this trio was the best in the NHL.

Charlie Conacher led the NHL in goals a total of 5 times.

Harvey Jackson was a first-team all-star three times.

Joe Primeau led the league in assists three times and won the Lady Byng Trophy in 1931-32.

In 1931-32, the “Kid Line” finished in the NHL top four scoring places; Jackson was number one with 53 points, Primeau number two with 50 points, and Conacher number four with 48 points. Only Montreal’s Howie Morenz was in between with 49 points.

Harvey “Busher” Jackson – LW / Syl Apps – C / Gord Drillon – RW

Jackson was only with this line for a year and half before being traded to the New York Americans for Sweeney Schriner but Apps and Drillon continued to play well together into the 1940’s.

In 1937-38, Drillon and Apps finished in the top two spots in NHL scoring. This was the second year in row that Apps placed second in league scoring.

They were also first-team all-stars for a combined total of four times (Drillon 1938 and 1939/Apps 1939 and 1942).

Sweeney Schriner – LW / Billy Taylor – C / Lorne Carr – RW

One of the biggest nights this line had was on April 18, 1942. The war overseas was at its height and it dominated the headlines.

The Leafs managed to bring some joy into the lives of Anglophone Canadians by coming back from a three game to zero deficit versus the Detroit Red Wings.

On this night Schriner scored two goals as this line secured a marvelous comeback to steal the 1942 Stanley Cup from Detroit’s grasp.

This was the first cup in over a decade for the Maple Leafs after six final losses from 1933 to 1940.

Vic Lynn – LW / Ted “Teeder” Kennedy – C / Howie Meeker –RW

This line clicked for three seasons and helped the Leafs capture the cup in 1947, 1948, and 1949.

They were known as one of the best two-way lines in the NHL during this time period.

In 1946-47, Kennedy placed 5th in league scoring with 60 points (28 goals) and Meeker won the Calder Trophy with 27 goals and 45 points.

Sid Smith – LW / Ted “Teeder” Kennedy – C / Todd Sloan – C/RW

In 1950-51 this line helped the Leafs triumphantly lift the Stanley Cup.

All three of these line mates were in the top 10 in NHL scoring for that season. Kennedy was 6th with 61 points (43 assists), Sloan was 8th with 56 points (31 goals), and Smith tallied 51 points (30 goals) which was good for 10th place.

In the playoffs Sloan was famous for scoring the game tying goal in the last game of the 1951 Stanley Cup finals. This pushed the game into over time where Bill Barilko scored his legendary cup winning goal.

More from Tommy G at Changing On The Fly

“Iron Mike” Torched By Flames

May 25, 2009

By Mark “The Hard Hitter” Ritter…

In a move that was hardly surprising, Head Coach “Iron Mike” Keenan was fired by the Calgary Flames on Friday. The Flames brought Keenan to Calgary in June 2007 with the hope that he would change the culture of the team and make the likes of Team Captain Jarome Iginla and Goaltender Mikka Kipprusoff more “Accountable”, sadly for Flames fans, Keenan failed.

Keenan, who won a Stanley Cup in 1996 with the New York Rangers, led the Flames to a reasonable regular season record of 46-30-6 in 2008/09, but, for the most part, the Flames were inconsistent all season long, ultimately it was Keenan’s failure to catapult the Flames past the first round of the playoffs that ultimately sealed his fate.

The decision to fire Keenan has been applauded in Calgary, many fans felt Keenan did not Handle Franchise Goaltender Mikka Kipprusoff well (Big surprise there!) and there were questions about his gruff demeanor interfering with the success of Jarome Iginla. Keenan’s biggest fault is his refusal to take a step back and see his club for what it is, Keenan is NEVER wrong in how he handles his players, in this case he WAS wrong, including trying to force the chemistry between trade deadline acquisition Olli Jokinen and Iginla, which clearly was not there.

This leaves both Alberta teams, Edmonton Oilers and Calgary, looking for a new head Coach. New Jersey Devils Head Coach Brent Sutter has been considering bolting from the Devils organization, with an eye on heading back to the Alberta area, should get some consideration but he has one year left on his contract, which might make that difficult. Another guy that should get some consideration is Toronto Maple Leafs ex-GM and Head Coach Pat Quinn. Quinn, who has had all kinds of success in the NHL and with team Canada, would be a good fit to work with Iginla, which, in my mind anyways, is a key component in the Flames future success or failure.

It was long overdue, so long Keenan, may your coaching career Rest In Peace……

Glen Johnson May Get His Much Desired Rematch With Chad Dawson

May 25, 2009

By Stoker MacIntosh… The 40 year old Jamaican born Glen Johnson who now makes his home and fights out of Miami Fla. was 32 - 0 when he met and lost to Bernard Hopkins in the summer of 1997.

In the 12 years since that fight, Johnson has had a scattering of wins and almost an equal amount of losses. Johnson—known in boxing circles as The Gentleman—now posessess a journeyman’s record of 49-12 with 2 draws and 33 knockouts.

In his last five fights however, Johnson has looked extremely good, and has only one blemish, a controversial 12 round unanimous decision loss to a young up and coming contender named Chad Dawson.

The 28 year old Dawson recently fought and won an uneventful mandatory rematch with past-prime gatekeeper Antonio Tarver.

This recent fight against Tarver did not in any way, shape, or form, showcase Dawson’s tremendous boxing skills, and on this night, he was not the critically acclaimed boxing sensation that he was built up to be.

In fact it was quite the opposite, he struggled with the extremely awkward pitty-pat style punching of the slower Tarver, which inevitably allowed the fight to become much more competitive for Dawson than it ought to have been.

Quite honestly, it was one of the worst fights I’ve seen in years between two light heavyweights who are presumably the top fighters in thier division.

The fight was almost the exact opposite of Dawson’s April 12th 08 performance against the tough as nails Johnson.

In that fight, Dawson won a hard fought twelve round decision over Johnson in a fight that was much more competitive than Dawson had ever expected.

In fact, during the memorable tenth round Johnson had Dawson in a lot of trouble , and there were many people including myself who scored the fight for Johnson.

Johnson now finds himself in a very great position, and if he makes the best of this opportunity he could also find himself ranked as the number one contender in boxing’s light heavyweight division.

The website Boxingscene.com reported today that there are early and on going discussions regarding the much anticipated rematch between IBF light heavyweight champion Dawson and Johnson, the former champion.

According to an unnamed source the rematch is scheduled to take place sometime this fall.

Dawson has recently signed a deal with HBO so—due to his current contract with the network—they would have the television rights to the event.

This is great news for Johnson who has sparred with Dawson and feels that if he were to be given another shot he could potentially score an upset win over the young contender.

Understandably, after the poor performance against Tarver—fans and critics alike are calling for Dawson to either shape up or ship out; so now they will get another opportunity to have a better look at him, and further assess his performance.

As for Dawson it would be wise for him to try and put forth a better showing next time out; or he could find himself being the odd man out, when names are called for all of the future, big money, Pay Per View fights.

“The Pessimist complains about the wind, the Optimist expects it to change and the REALIST adjusts his sails.”

– Author unknown

Chase’s Lists: Top Five Underrated Sporting Events

May 25, 2009

By Chace… The great thing about sports is there are endless possibilities of sports you can follow, especially with today’s technology, you can watch almost anything. But the big dogs still remain, grabbing the majority of sports fans eyes.

But there are still the little guys, the MLS, the NLL and MLL, track and field, and countless other sports. Here are the top five underrated sporting events you should check out.

5. The MLS Regular Season (Spring/Summer)

Major League Soccer has been deadpanned everywhere, from across the pond and at home, but with all the expansion and the importing of successful European stars, the MLS is quickly on the road to surpass the NHL as the fourth Major North American pro sport.

But it still doesn’t get the recognition it deserves. Ask anyone outside, or even inside, an MLS city what their star players’ names are, and 80% of the time you will get blank stares.

The play of MLS is always exciting due to the level of parity in the league, and the quality of players is improving. It is time to let the MLS into your homes.

4. Army/Navy Game (November) (CBS)

One of sports best rivalries, the Army-Navy game is among one of the oldest in sports. While other rivalries may feature more high profile teams, there is no denying the passion these kids bring when their comrades are cheering them own from the sidelines, in full uniform. It is quite the viewing experience. And it is a fitting send off to these brave young men who will go fight for the freedom of the U.S.

3. The Frozen Four (March) (ESPN)

College sports seem to be the most notoriously underrated sports in North America, and it should change as these kids bring their best in what likely will be the last game of their careers, and it ends in the national spotlight on ESPN.

This year Miami Ohio and Boston collided in one of the rarest of treats, a overtime Junior Hockey game. When you get young men playing in their last game, with the whistles put away, it is almost a violent poetry, filled with emotion and heart-stopping moments.

The beauty of this tournament is the pure amateurism, most of the players will not go on to the pros like in the NCAA Basketball or Football Finals, these players while fade away, remembering their moment in the sports spotlight for the rest of their lives.

2. The IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship (December/January) (NHL Network/TSN)

The level of hockey around the world opposed to twenty years ago is amazing. More and more foreign players are entering the ranks of the NHL and before that they need to go through the juniors and the World Junior Hockey Championship is the premier showcase of young hockey talent.

Beginning every Boxing Day in December, the world’s hockey powers converge in a three week battle for world hockey domination, and the players get to showcase their talents for the scouts.

Every superstar who is in the NHL right now has played in this tournament, which has had many classic moments. From Russia and Canada’s classic brawl in the 1987 tournament, resulting in a disqualification to both teams. Canada and Russia’s instant classic in the semi-finals of this year’s tournament. And finally the greatest moment in World Junior history, the epic shootout between the U.S. and Canada in the 2007 Final.

If you watched those clips and didn’t like what you saw, you are not a sports fan.

1. NCAA Lacrosse Final Fours (Memorial Day Weekend) (ESPN/CBS College Sports)

Lacrosse, which was once an Aboriginal war training exercise has evolved into one of the most entertaining sports in the world. From the indoor “box” Lacrosse game, designed for arena’s, to the more popular, and NCAA sanctioned, field game, which is basically a combination of soccer and hockey, with high scoring.

It is a great weekend of action and i like catching up on the sport once a year for one weekend to be reminded about the other parts of the sports landscape.

So there you have it five sporting events you may have missed that you should check out. Feel free to leave feedback and give your own top fives as the purpose of these is to strike debate.

Stay Classy

Why The NHL Draft Needs To Change

May 25, 2009

By Mark “The Hard Hitter” Ritter…

Failure, for the most part anyways, is not rewarded, unless of course you are a professional sports team and it’s draft time, then you are rewarded.

The NHL draft has long been the subject of great debate, some feel the current system of the draft lottery (Heavily weighted towards rewarding the bottom 5 teams) is the fairest way of establishing which team will get the coveted first overall pick; others liked the old way of awarding the worst team in the League with the first overall pick, plain and simple, yet still ineffective in my mind. In each case the bottom feeders of the League are being rewarded for mediocrity and failure, is this the right way to do it? It says here, no!

The NHL draft lottery is in need of change, the current system still does not address the issue of teams “Tanking” in order to position themselves to be in consideration for the top draft picks. Sometimes, a team has a bad year and ends up on the bottom- key player injuries, bad luck, poor Free Agent signings and poor coaching can conspire to handcuff a team from competing, “Stuff” happens, and I am “Ok” with that. The problem I have is that we often see a string of 4-5 years where a team continually finishes in the bottom five selling their fans with dreams of “A bright future”, the Chicago Blackhawks and Pittsburgh Penguins are a prime example of this. Consider this for a moment, if not for the rewards of a top draft pick, where would these two franchises be? Nowhere, that’s where, and in the case of the Pittsburgh Penguins, they would likely be in Hamilton. Why should either one of these franchises be in the position they are now when they essentially gave up? Why were these teams rewarded for being bad?

Herein lies the problem with the bottom feeders. Most of these teams do not spend anywhere near the top of the Salary Cap, most of these teams spend very little money on free agents, so from the NHLPA side of things, these teams actually bring the value of it’s membership down. Also, many of these teams bury players in the minors that otherwise deserve a shot in NHL, why bring a player up late in the year if he is going to catapult your club out of the basement, right?

Well, I have a solution. Instead of rewarding mediocrity, why not make the draft lottery a far less biased lottery? In my draft, teams that spend to the limit, develop their young players and make great managerial decisions (Builders) will be rewarded for a job well done, not slighted. My draft would feature a more balanced approach, designed to reward all teams with a very marginal greater chance of getting a top pick if your team falters, fair is fair, right? My draft would accomplish a few things, first, it would ensure that all clubs would strive to be as competitive as possible, no tanking- thus we would have a better product/more competitive product on the ice, which is better for the NHL and it’s fans alike. Second, teams would be forced to spend more on Free Agents, which is good for the players and fans. Third, it would put an end to teams being unfairly rewarded for poor play, poor management and poor coaching, essentially making each and every NHL team accountable for their results, no passengers here, just hard working franchises on and off the ice.

The thought of being exempt from consideration for a top draft pick would likely serve as a wake-up call for many of the NHL’s troubled franchises. If you force NHL clubs to be accountable for their actions or lack-thereof, you are sending the right message, essentially, “Get your S*it together”, nobody is feeling sorry for you, pick it up, or shove off, end of story….. There are consequences in everyday life for mediocrity, it’s about time it transferred into the NHL.

Without further adieu, here is a look at a more balanced, realistic draft. In order to make the draft completely void of teams “Tanking” I took into consideration how the current system rewards the bottom feeders and took that away from them. The first thing I would do is make the draft lottery a pure “Lottery”- essentially each team would have a pre-determined amount of balls put into a barrel, the first ball picked would receive the 30th overall pick, the second ball picked would receive the 29th overall pick, and so on until there was only one team left, that team would get the coveted number one pick, essentially the NHL draft would turn into Survivor! Sounds a little like the current draft, doesn’t it? Well, there is a twist (You knew it was coming, didn’t you?) My draft would be limited to a total of 100 balls, If a team finishes in the bottom 5 (26th-30th) they will receive 4 balls, thus they would have a 4% chance of getting the coveted #1 pick, the teams that finish 6th-25th would receive 3 balls, thus they will have a 3% chance of winning the number one pick, the teams that finish 1st-5th would receive 4 balls, giving the teams at the top the same chance (4%) as the bottom feeders, essentially they are rewarded for a job well done.

If the NHL adopted this draft teams would be focused on winning, not trying to ensure a better draft position. The difference in reward is so marginal that all NHL teams will be forced to be better, every move would be of the utmost importance, there would be a sense of accountability, no longer could your franchise sit in the weeds in hopes of landing the next Sidney Crosby or Steven Stamkos, essentially all franchises would have a realistic shot at bettering their teams, and deservedly so.

The NHL draft is in dire need of a shakeup, and the sooner the better. Let’s hope the powers that be see the value in instituting a draft like this, after all, it’s only fair to reward the franchises that do a great job, they are the ones the NHL markets itself around, rewarding failure just doesn’t make sense.

Until next time,

Peace!

Crosby/Ovechkin, Teammates? It Almost Happened

May 25, 2009

By Mark “The Hard Hitter” Ritter…

Ahhhhh, what could have been…..The 2004 NHL entry draft is viewed by many as one of the deepest drafts in recent memory. It is also remembered for two Russian born players going 1-2, their names? Alexander Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin. There wasn’t a ton of debate as to which one of these players would go number one, Ovechkin was the consensus favorite, the real drama was in which team would win the right to draft first overall, for those of you who have forgotten, the Washington Capitals won the Draft Lottery over the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Now, just for fun, can you imagine if the Penguins had won the right to draft Ovechkin? I mean, Malkin is a nice player, and he does play well with Sidney Crosby, but one can’t help but wonder what sweet music Ovie and Sid the kid could have made together. Now, let’s be clear here, I like Malkin, he has a total of 351 career points, but Ovechkin is all the better with 450 career points. Besides, it’s not just the points, Ovechkin is a better fit for Crosby. First of all, Crosby likes to distribute the puck, Malkin, while talented, is not the finisher that Ovechkin is. Ovechkin is a natural Left Winger, Malkin is a Center, so Malkin’s time is limited to playing on the Power Play with Crosby or the coaching staff must take Malkin off the second line and throw Malkin up with Crosby, kind of defeats the purpose of having two great centers, right? If the Pens had Ovechkin they could play both players on the same line for all three periods and the Power Play…Man, would that be sweet or what?

Crosby and Malkin would, in my humble opinion, be the most potent combination in NHL history. Both players are fierce competitors, never get intimidated, both players are more than capable of throwing a hit, both players think the game as well as anyone to have ever played the game, both players give 150% every time they hit the ice. Crosby and Malkin is nice, Crosby and Ovechkin would be sick! Just imagine that Power Play? Better yet, imagine the fear in a goalies eyes when he is faced with the challenge of stopping both Crosby and Ovechkin in a shoot-out? What about the defense pair that has the task of shutting down Crosby and Ovechkin for 60 minutes, good luck with that!

In the end we (As hockey fans) can only dream of this dynamic duo playing 82 games together for the next decade, it almost happened, we’ll just have to settle for Crosby/Malkin and Ovechkin/Alexander Semin…Somehow, it’s just not the same, is it?