To make the situation any worse for the Toronto Blue Jays would be seemingly impossible.  Last night they achieved the impossible after a report that J.P. Ricciardi claimed to have talked to Adam Dunn over the telephone to squash any hard feelings stemming from comments they have made towards one another.  Dunn claims he never made a phone call to Ricciardi.

The situation reminds me of a politician who decides to make up a story which would have no real effect in his or her political campaign.  Regardless of what story you believe, whether Ricciardi was tricked or whether he made the story up, J.P. should have been the one to go out of his way to make the phone call.  He did start the fire.

Here in Toronto it has been difficult to give Ricciardi the benefit of the doubt.  We have seen some baffling changes over his 7 years as General Manager of the Blue Jays - considering he is in year 7 of a 5-year plan.  Here are a few quick points...

- What was once a proud franchise that use to have one of the best minor league systems around has now become one of the worst.  That comes to no surprise when Ricciardi got rid of most of the scouting department that had ties with the organization dating back to Pat Gillick.  Since the changes, few of Ricciardi's draft picks have made any kind of impact at the major league level.  The 3 faces of the Blue Jays organization, Vernon Wells, Alex Rios and Roy Halladay, were all drafted by Gord Ash.

- Ricciardi was specifically hired to make a contender out of a team that was not going to spend a lot of money.  Coming from the Oakland Athletics organization, Ricciardi was brought in to be the next Billy Beane, his close buddy.  After the 2005 season, the Blue Jays decided to boost payroll since they had brought in more revenue after the franchise successfully purchased Skydome - now Rogers Center.  The problem is, Ricciardi was brought in to win without a huge payroll and he still can't win WITH the boost in spending options.

- Ed Wade, the GM of the Houston Astros, offered Ricciardi Ryan Howard in exchange for Ted Lilly back in 2005 when Wade was GM for Philadelphia.  It was a deal that should have been made; Howard was ready for the big leagues after tearing up AAA for a couple of years and Lilly was just an above average pitcher at best.  Lilly was Ricciardi's guy, he liked Lilly from his Oakland days and felt he was going to accomplish big things.  Lilly walked after 2006 and signed with the Cubs while Howard won an MVP and hit nearly 60 home runs.

- In 2002 the New York Mets were interested in Jose Cruz Jr., then an outfielder and soon-to-be free agent for the Blue Jays.  Ricciardi was looking to deal Cruz and the Mets could only offer a Single-A player by the name of David Wright.  Cruz was not traded and signed with San Francisco after the season.

- That same year, Orlando Hudson called Ricciardi a "pimp", which Ricciardi did not take kindly.  He sent down Hudson who had a great spring training.  In AAA, Hudson was having a great year but as punishment, Ricciardi did not call him up to the big club.  Meanwhile, Homer Bush was battling injuries, Felipe Lopez was not adjusting to the major league level and Ricciardi decided to call up 1st round draft bust Joel Lawrence, who couldn't hit in the minors, let alone the majors.  Lawrence batted a cool .180 in 150 at bats while Hudson continued to abuse pitchers in Syracuse.  Hudson deserved a shot months earlier.

- 2005 draft.  The Blue Jays looked up and down the list and Ricciardi felt the need to draft a pitcher Ricky Romero.  Although the next best prospect on that list was Troy Tulowitzki, Ricciardi felt no need to draft another shortstop.  Unlike basketball or football, you have to draft the best available player in baseball because they will take a couple years before they are ready to play in the big leagues.  Therefore, not drafting the best player in the draft was a mistake.  Tulowitzki helped Colorado get to the World Series in 2007 while Romero may not ever make it to Toronto.  Other notable players that were passed over by the Blue Jays: Cameron Maybin, Jay Bruce, Michael Pelfrey and Jacoby Ellisbury.

- After the 2006 season Ricciardi had agreed to a deal with catcher Rod Barajas - or so he thought.  Barajas apparently backed out of the deal and signed with Philadelphia.  Ricciardi was enraged and spoke out about how Barajas had given him his word on signing with Toronto.  A year later, Ricciardi signs Barajas.  Funny considering the way he laid Barajas out just a year earlier. 

- If Ricciardi does his homework on guys like Adam Dunn, why did he sign Shea Hillenbrand?

There have been other things during his 7-year tenure as GM of the Jays (calling out A.J. Burnett through the media, lying about B.J. Ryan's injury last year, etc.).  What baffles me is how he still has his job.  He is down to his last few bullets after firing his friend John Gibbons, so he may be on the clock.  He has, however, established a great relationship with the media.  There have been very few people in Toronto that has taken a run at Ricciardi.  Whether it's the newspapers, television or the pre-game and post-game radio host, Ricciardi seems to have been given a pass within the media.  From now until his run as GM is over, he'll maintain a positive relationship with the media. 

Otherwise his days are numbered.

It was an interesting scene in Toronto tonight as I arrived to the Air Canada Centre just an hour after news broke of the big trade between the Los Angeles Lakers and Memphis Grizzlies.  Over the last couple seasons we have waited to see if the Lake-show could pull the trigger on a deal - or if they had the players to deal for an impact player.

With Kwame Brown's contract about to expire and Memphis's intent to rebuild it made sense to make a deal.  Memphis grabs a young kid, a relatively young guy in Brown and 2 draft picks that need lots of prayer to become impactful.  This allows the Grizz to start over amd they will have some cash to show for it.

The Lakers grab a guy who can make an immediate impact.  This move allows them some breathing room as Andrew Bynum recovers from injury, and it gives them a blanket if Bynum does not return to form.  If he does return to form it allows Lamar Odom to slide to the small forward position while Pau plays the 4.  And, it gives them a deeper bench when Luke Walton slides beside some of the other contributors like Ronny Turiaf and Jordan Farmar.

This is a win-win for both teams without a doubt.  The need to crash the boards is imperative in the West and Los Angeles has more weapons than they know what to do with.  I should know; I watched a depleted Laker team roll over the Toronto Raptors.  Kobe Bryant was on tonight and unlike last night he got some help offensively.  Tonight's game proved that Toronto may be able to score but can't hold it together defensively on a consistent basis.  But with L.A. playing their 2nd game in as many nights they should have been stronger out of the gate.  Lakers got momentum and never looked back.

Last point on the Lakers: Prior to this deal I was still not on-board with putting them into the serious contender category despite their strong record.  Now, my view has changed.  They are absolutely a team that should be a factor in April.  This is a team built to go past round 1.  If they don't there is a problem.  They now have a great starting 5 (with Bynum back) and the forward position was a bigger need than point guard.  Derek Fisher can run the show because he won't try to do too much.  He knows the offense, he knows his limitations, he can still hit shots and knows how to play in big games.  Specifically speaking, Paul Gasol is a better acquisition than Jason Kidd.

Other stuff....

- I just realized Fox used the "Pau-er" line.  I'm pissed.

- After his 13.5 million is up in 2008, Johan Santana will pull in 137.5 million over 6 years.  That is phenomenal.  Hope the kid can hit.

All seriousness, the guy is one of the best pitchers in baseball and barring any setback or injury he should contend for a Cy Young.  Being able to avoid a big bopping DH and getting the opportunity to face pitchers with 1 or 2 out and runners on base will pay off for Johan.  It is a different ballgame with different scenarios when you play in the National League in comparison to the American League.

As for the contract itself, a lot of bad pitchers get paid a ton, so this is not a surprise and not out of this world in comparison to the #3 pitchers who make 8 figures per year.

- When Bill Belichick says his team is "ready to roll", I tend to believe him.  Some may feel the New York Giants can beat New England and they may be right, but I don't see it.  Yes, they played the Pats tight IN New York IN the cold IN front of their hometown.  In Arizona it will be warm and it is a neutral site.  The way I see it, the conditions favour the New England passing attack.  Passes that went through the hands of receivers will be easier to catch, and nobody is as accurate or precise as Tom Brady - even if he is disrupted in the pocket.

The real question should be if Eli Manning can continue his excellent play.  In my mind, he's grown as a player over the last month or so.  And he should be proud of the way he has battled throughout the playoffs.  He has beaten two teams he wasn't suppose to beat, outplay both quarterbacks and has defied expectations, which brings me to this...

- Tiki Barber is trying to protect himself now that his former team has made it to the Super Bowl the year after he reitres.  Tiki came with baggage and now that the baggage is gone the team can re-focus.  He had his quarrels with Eli Manning, Tom Coughlin and Michael Strahan.  This isn't a coincidence.  Somewhere down the line we have to look and say that maybe New York really IS better off without him.  I think they are.

- Who are we kidding when Pat Riley says Shaquille O'Neal should be in the All-Star game?  Should Magic be playing as well?

- Again, I realize nobody really cares about hockey but I will say it again: Alexander Ovechkin is THE best hockey player on the planet.  He is one of the very few players who has to single-handedly carry his team to victories.  I wonder how long he can keep this up.  Eventually he will need a stud playing alongside him.

Time to unwind.  And get ready for the Super Bowl.  I hope to witness history this Sunday.  It will be nice to explain how I got to watch a Football team go undefeated in one season.  Doesn't come around often folks.

The countdown has begun for...

- ...The Super Bowl, as New England and New York square off on Sunday.  What I'm not sure about is whether Bill Parcells or Dave Meggett will be cheering for the Giants or Patriots.  Perhaps Tiki Barber will put on a throwback Drew Bledsoe jersey and pray New York doesn't win.  If he says he's happy for his ex-teammates he's lying - he's wanted a ring so badly and it stings that the team has come together without him or his ego in that locker room.

Speaking of Bledsoe, it would have been interesting if Robert Kraft were to have called him for this game in case Tom Brady's foot fell off during a drive.  Kid you not, I was thinking about it.

What I do know is this is New England's game to win and to lose.  The New York Giants have fought hard to get here and should be credited for coming together and growing as a team through the pains they have shared together.  Nobody expected the week 17 matchup of these two teams to be the Super Bowl preview.  We'd be in for a great game if this was the case.  But instead of the game being played in New York we watch this in Arizona, a neutral site game.

That said, Arizona's warm weather plays into New England's passing attack and if their O-line stays one step ahead of the Giants defensive front it will be a long game for that Giant defense that has a very suspect secondary as is.

My call is New England will win and cap off one of the greatest seasons in sports history.

-...Jason Kidd sweepstakes have begun as the disgruntled point guard wants out of New Jersey.  The backboard and basketball rims inside the area breathe a sigh of relief.

Let's remember how he showed up; he left a deep West Conference and a checkered past with Phoenix to a depleted East with virtually no dominant point guard left (A.I. had moved to the 2 spot by then).  Though he couldn't shake off the rusty jump shot or his wife's makeup from his knuckles he gave New Jersey a lift into the NBA finals twice and quickly helped himself to becoming the best point guard on the planet - facing nobody in the East to get there.

Since then he helped Byron Scott get fired and he still dents rims with regularity.  He also went through a messy divorce and hasn't been that leader New Jersey can depend on.  Perhaps he will head back West to help a decent team get better, but he will quickly find out that there are point guards - LOTS OF THEM - that will shread him to pieces every night.  If he goes to the West he isn't a top 4 point guard in that conference.  Good luck with that trade.

-...Johan Santana is looking to get PAID by the New York Mets.  Is it just me or are these prospects not what they seem?  If I'm giving up potentially the best pitcher in baseball why would I want a mid-20's pitcher with a losing record and a 22 year old who makes Richie Sexson a batting champ?  I suppose the Mets needed this one as they held onto Lastings Milledge so long that they got, well, nothing in return.  Unless this 22 year old becomes legit overnight and learns to hit at least .260 in the major leagues this trade will be a success for the Mets - unless Santana goes Francisco Liriano in two months.  God forbid.

-...Tiger Woods attempt at the Grand Slam.  We say this every year and we see him fall short.  No slight on the guy - it's not like he sucks or anything.

But Tiger is entering his golf prime, or at least according to history as guys in their early 30's find their best success on the golf course, Seve Ballasteros excluded.  So if there was a shot at it we could see the best attempts over the next couple of years.  After that, we may not see another male golfer bring the kind of game or intensity or desire to win like Tiger Woods. 

It's sad, but wait and see when Tiger hits 45; we'll watch Tiger past his prime and obviously not the golfer he once was KILLING himself on the golf course for another major championship and he'll be playing with a young stud who just doesn't have the same will, focus or guts Tiger brings to the golf course.  It's great now that we see the guy who wants it the most winning the most - but how will we react when we see that same man unable to beat random Joe's who luck out a major victory? 

We'll probably be cheering for the fallen hero to return to glory one last time the way we rooted for Jack Nicklaus in 1986 and, for me, 1998.

The countdown has begun.  Tick tock, tick tock.

Let's get this right out of the way so that fans of Jimmy Rollins or Philadelphia can think about jabbing the pitchfork through this blog rather than no thought whatsoever: Jimmy Rollins is a good shortstop and has been one of the best in the National League for years.  Teams would kill for a guy like him to play position 6 for several years.  His game has transformed him from being a speed guy to an all-around, perennial All-Star shortstop.  

But he is not the MVP of the National League.  In fact, he is not the MVP of his team.  

That distinction goes to Chase Utley.  I realize Utley's playoff performance was a disappointment while Rollins showed up, but the playoffs do not dictate who the MVP of the regular season is.  The Phillies could not have gotten to the playoffs without the play of Rollins, Utley or Ryan Howard, the reigning MVP of last season.  The team went through a roller coaster ride all season; from a manager on the hot seat to the team losing pitchers to injury to a head-screwed starter-turned-closer losing his head (only this time it was not on his wife), to making an improbable comeback to win the division.  Who was the one guy Philly could not play without?  Chase Utley.  When he was hurt, Philadelphia went into a funk.  When he came back from injury, they starting clicking again.  That is why he is the MVP of this team.  They were not the same team when Utley was out of the lineup.

As for Rollins, who played a big role in Philadelphia's run for the playoffs, is to his team what Kenny Lofton was to Cleveland in the mid-90's, what Roberto Alomar was to the Toronto Blue Jays in the early 90's and what Derek Jeter has been to the New York Yankees.  All rock-solid players who are valuable to their team - but none of them have an MVP under their name during the regular season.  Seems strange because those guys were impact players in their prime (in Jeter's case he still is an impact player), but that does not downplay how great they were or are.  Rollins is that guy. 

But don't go Barry Larkin and give him the MVP. 

Who takes the award then?

Some people are saying Matt Holliday.  Granted, Holliday plays in Colorado - a place known for offense but he certainly had a great year.  However, Holliday wasn't even on the radar until the last week of the season.  An MVP should have had strong consideration before September 15th.  Therefore, Holliday is not an option.

This decision, however, will allow you to pile up ridicule.

David Wright.

I realize New York just had one of the biggest choke jobs in baseball history.  But Wright was the man the entire year, hit for a great average with great power, fielded his position like a gold glover and added 30+ stolen bases to his credit.  Not to mention that his second half and September batting average was incredible.  So how do you fault the guy?  The Toronto Blue Jays choked a big lead away in 1987 to the Detroit Tigers when they lost their final 7 games of the season.  The man who won the MVP award that season was George Bell, who played with the Jays.  He was the MVP that season and David Wright should be the MVP of the National League. 

Other Awards:

- A-Rod should win the AL MVP, Jake Peavy should win the Cy Young Award in the NL and I'd give the AL Cy Young to Josh Beckett with C.C. Sabathia being a close second.  Give Ryan Braun the Rookie of the year in the NL and Dustin Pedroia the Rookie of the year in the AL.  Coaches of the year?  Let's go with Eric Wedge and Bob Melvin.

***My show has been on hiatus since Sept 20 as I have been working on other projects while recharging the batteries.  I will be back next Tuesday October 16 at 9AM EST. 

A nice 4-week hiatus is exactly what The Dan ordered.  I kept tabs on what was going on here (with the exception of hotblondemilf, I missed that one).  Needless to say I walked away for a brief period and did it exactly the way I came into this small fraternity - quietly.

One of the lessons I revisted during my time off was the one fact of life that people take for granted: no matter what happens or where you go, everything will continue as it should.  Bloggers will continue blogging, the world will continue turning and life will continue whether or not you are around.  And while I'm still here I may as well do what I can with the time I have.  Speaking of which, I might as well take off my age since I had my birthday last week.  However, starting next year I will be going backward in age.  So next year I will be 24 again, and then 23, 22, 21....

If only we could do that to athletes - on second thought some athletes already do...

MLB Pennant Races

- We all love a photo finish at the end of the season to decide who gets to play in October and who gets to play with themselves while watching it.  Unfortunately, what we will be left with are a few good teams and not much to show in the National League.  Let's be straight; the Detroit Tigers have shot themselves in the pants badly over the last two months when they were riding high after a big sweep of the Boston Red Sox prior to the All-Star break.  They have played themselves out of a playoff spot in the American League.  But can you tell me the teams out of the NL Central and NL West are better than Detroit?  Not a chance in hell.  There are some weak teams in the Central and the stronger teams in that division cannot take advantage of that.  They have been putrid all year and they could STILL make the World Series.  Why?  Because the hottest team in October prevails.  Ask the previous 5 World Series winners.  I'd consider Detroit the 5th best team in baseball, just ahead of the Mets, and they won't touch the playoffs.

Why I love Toronto?

I read several blogs pertaining to the team they love.  Nobody wrote about the Toronto Blue Jays so I will and I will keep this brief. 

I don't have a clue why I love the Blue Jays except for one reason: The Underdog.  They aren't just an underdog against Boston and New York, they are an underdog in their own city.  The fans turned their back on the franchise who desperately wanted no part of the strike or replacement players at any time.  They are in love with a franchise that steals their money and has no incentive or motivation to win, and that is their joke of a hockey team - The Toronto Maple Leafs.  The hypocrisy of my city that use to draw 50 000 people a night to baseball games and now they draw half that blame the strike of 1994.  They lost fans in 1994 so that is a total lie.  Yet hockey shuts down for a year and not a single season-ticket holder budges.  Not one fan gave up their tickets despite the way the sport and the franchise has treated them.  Hence, the Jays are underdogs.  I root for the underdog.  I loved them when I was younger and when they were winning titles.  But I support them because I am loyal to the team who may not have a great GM but they know their backs are against the wall every single year.  I'll support a franchise who is hungry than a franchise who will throw their food away.

Federer v. Wood

There is no discussion - the most dominant player out of the two is Roger Federer.  His run over the last 2+ years is something Tiger has never touched - and may never will. 

People want to talk about Tiger's competition being better than Federer's and that isn't true.  Take Roger out of the sport and you have Rafael Nadal who would be well on his way to being ahead of the pace to run down Pete Sampras's majors record.  At 21 Nadal would be looked at as one of the all-time greats.  Don't believe me?  Well if he had 5 titles at this age he'd be way ahead of Federer at that age with no Federer to track him down. 

Without Tiger, Phil Mickelson would not even be close to being regarded as one of the best ever. 

Nothing taken away from Tiger because he has jacked his sport to a whole new level, but Federer simply won't be thought of as the better athlete.  The reason: he isn't American.  Sorry folks, but it does have an effect.  Being American would give him more exposure in North America and exposure would be huge for him, his sport, and his legacy.

NFL is back

- Thank god. 

I have to cut this short because dinner is calling my name.  Don't be a stranger - listen to me tomorrow at www.chevradioam.com.  I still leave Thursdays to you.  I hope to hear from you all.
 

It's the beginning of a new week with the beginning of a new blog, new shows for the week, new blog show from Frank and every second that we live is new.  Pretty cheesy but who cares?  Let's get this post rocking and rolling...

- The Detroit Pistons prided themselves on playing their best basketball when their backs are against the wall.  Really?  Where's the proof?  How close to the wall were you when you beat the Lakers in 5 games in 2004?  Where was the Game 7 victory when your backs were against the wall in 2005?  What about 2006?  What the hell was 2007?  Basically, the Pistons are full of #### when they say they play their best when their backs are against the wall.  They disproved everyone that thought they were the runaway favourite to win the East Conference.  They let one stud and a bench player kill them.  They were given every opportunity to exploit the massive holes on the Cleveland Cavaliers team and they decided they wanted to play the "light switch" game, where they could turn it on and off whenever they felt like it.  That is the wrong way to play the game and they simply got burned.  Now Cleveland can walk into the NBA Finals where they should get their brains beaten.

- Yes, San Antonio should win their 4th title since 1999 after they dispose Cleveland in no more than 5 games.  If it takes 6, call LeBron the Playoff MVP (or finals MVP, whatever you want).   There are no enough seat belts on LeBron's back to carry them to a championship.  Besides, watching Cleveland win would be a problem.

Why?  Because the West is the dominating conference and they produce the best teams in the NBA today.  The East is struggling and to see a team considered very weak for NBA Finals standards win this year's championship would not sit well with most people including me.  The Spurs have been better, have played better and have played better teams from day one in this season. 

- How many times will you continue to let things slide, NHL?  How many hits to the head will you let Chris Pronger commit before you finally give him a severe penalty?  Give him a suspension for the rest of the Stanley Cup finals and send a message to the rest of the league that this will not be tolerated.  Will you get flack for the ruling?  Yes, but what is the difference to you?  You get flack anyway for your poor rating, poor decisions and poor product exposure and how you've handled the product.  There is nothing to lose for making the proper decision for not only this series but for the future of the NHL where there will eventually be a casualty for a blow to the head that you didn't fix because of weak suspensions like this.  As the saying goes, "No Guts, No Glory".

- Jason Giambi may be done for the season.  Is that because he is legitimately injured or is he ducking the drug testing?  Regardless, the Yankees had their chance of voiding the contract and should have done so.  They would need to use that money to pay Roger Clemens who has hurt his groin.  Apparently it was a pitching injury but supposedly he was in Alex Rodriguez and A-Rod turned at the wrong time.  That was probably caused by Andy Pettitte walking in.

- AL MVP and NL MVP so far: Vladimir Guerrero and Jose Reyes.  Any problems with that?

- Back to Stray-Rod, to blow his marriage and family on a stripper is ridiculous.  There is nothing intelligent about that decision.  You don't make your child grow up resenting you because you couldn't stop yourself from ####ing a stripper.  Could you blame that child for growing up angry?

- The Los Angeles Lakers are thinking about taking a run at Marcus Camby.  Why?  So they can lose round 1 from the 6th spot rather than the 7th?  Camby is not the answer to their problems.  If Andrew Bynum is suppose to be their future big man then let him be your guy from now until you decide he cannot cut it.  A championship-type run for the Lakers is 3 years away so you may as well build Bynum, get a point guard and may need to trade Lamar Odom as he may not fit into their future plans. 

- The French Open is getting closer to becoming watchable as Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are playing themselves closer to the finals.  They are the two biggest reasons to watch Men's tennis, and are probably to two tennis players you want to watch the most.  That is based on play and not on looks, because Maria Sharapova and Ava Ivanovic would obviously be the most watchable players from the male demographic between 16-96.

- When will the NFL season begin?  Can't wait.

Bizarro Deeley-O this Thursday.  Stay tuned.  www.chevradioam.com is my show address.  Cheers.

 

In Toronto, you have the Toronto Maple Leafs and then the next team.  The next team could be anybody: Blue Jays, Raptors, Argonauts, Rock (Lacrosse - Yes, Lacrosse).  But the number one team in the city of Toronto is the Maple Leafs and that is just the way it is.  That does not reflect too well on our city's intelligence but that's a whole-new debate.  The organization and the fans that support their bullcrap is not something to be proud of.  However, the Raptors this season has given us reason to be proud of sports in the city, and Sam Mitchell's coach of the year award is the icing on the cake.

- Here's the thing about the award choice: Every league and every award (most of the time) will have more than one worthy candidate to win that particular award.  This year is no exception when it comes to the MVP or coach of the year in basketball.  Mitchell has great reasons why he deserved the award.

Let's remember, he had 4 returning players from last season (not including Pape Sow, who usually sported a nice suit to each game - he would make 5).  Mitchell also received players from Europe, who not only had to adjust to the NBA but adjust to the lifestyle as well, mainly the language barrier.  Bryan Colangelo deserves a ton of credit for bringing in Rasho Nesterovic to be the natural center and to tutor Uros Slokar, as well as Jorge Garbajosa to compliment Jose Calderon.  The cultural differences would prove to pay off for Andrea Bargnani, an Italian who was a true rookie.  Put all those guys together and you have yourself a tough task of keeping the team together and getting along, as well as the added pressure for Mitchell as a lame-duck coach.  They not only made the playoffs, they won the division, albeit a very soft division.  But here is my problem: Wouldn't this award for Mitchell downgrade the job done by Bryan Colangelo?  I mean, how can you give executive of the year to the GM who's coach won the COY award yet their team may not reach the second round of the playoffs?  

I think Mitchell was a worthy-candidate and a great choice.  He wasn't my first choice.  Mine goes to the coach who's team had to fight 2 other 50+ teams in his division and a playoff worthy team in New Orleans, an 0-4 start to the season,  the ghosts of the 2006 NBA finals and constant work on the defensive end of the floor for a team that has been known in recent years as an offensive powerhouse.  That award should have went to Avery Johnson.  Dallas wins 20 more games than Toronto in a much tougher division AND with the added pressures of repeating as West Conference champions.  I congratulate Mitchell's win, nonetheless.

- While I'm still on the topic of Toronto, they need to sweep New York over the next two games for two seperate reasons...1) They need to do this for themselves and their confidence and 2) To seperate themselves from New York who should eventually snap out of this.  They are the Yankees, they always do, right?  Despite Alex Rodriguez's hot start, the team cannot win because their suspect and ####ed up pitching has faltered.  Joe Torre was looking for extra arms in the bullpen but forgot to ask for quality from The Boss.  New York's Jason Giambi has been text messaging Roger Clemens to come back and pitch for them.  They do need Clemens right now, even if Clemens is not the same as he was with Houston.  But if Toronto beats them twice and the Yanks fall to 8-13, Clemens should respond to Giambi like this: Go #### URself.  That's how people text message, right?

- Staying in T.O., hockey fans are absolutely jealous at Buffalo and insensed with Ottawa.  If Ottawa were to shock everyone and blow away each team en route to a Stanley Cup win, there will be a lot of blue and white jerseys standing on tall buildings with slit wrists.  They hate Ottawa, and Ottawa probably doesn't care for Toronto either.  All I know is if you are in Toronto during the Stanley Cup final with Ottawa about to win Lord Stanley, look above you to make sure leaves with humans wearing them aren't plunging down on you.  You think I'm joking?  Leaf fans want anyone but Ottawa to win the cup.

- Watching a bit of the New York Mets v. Colorado Rockies game today was rather akward.  First because Colorado was actually hitting outside of their own home ballpark, but also for the advertisement behind the backstop.  There was a no-smoking ad which featured a guy holding the space on his throat where he breathes.  This was more disturbing than watching softcore porn actors trying to act.  All I know is if that doesn't get the attention of youths today to never start smoking, I don't know what will.  For that entire half-inning Tom Seaver was saying something but I was so fixated on that ad that I can't remember what he was talking about.  Something regarding Jerry Koosmen and him helping eachother.  Hopefully it was to tell eachother not to end up like that dude on the advertisement.

- Mock draft, mock draft, mock draft....there have been tons of scenarios and I have no idea what to make of it.  Talent v. need is a big issue.  Oakland needs a quarterback, but can they survive with a rookie for another year as Randy Moss gets a year older?  Will Detroit trade their pick or even take another receiver?  Who's taking Adrian Peterson? 

There are two teams that may not address their needs in the draft unless they trade up: Minnesota at QB and Buffalo at RB.  Now the Vikings may be content with who they have and they might be correct.  But Buffalo needs Peterson badly.  But I don't think they want to draft that high because I doubt they will want to spend the kind of money a #3 or #4 draft pick will command in the market.  But this is one intriguing draft in a sense that we have no clue from the very beginning.

- Annika Sorenstam wants to be ready for the next major championship as she's fighting injury.  This is important because Sorenstam has epitomized dominance in her sport.  We tend to bypass the LPGA tour which is sad, but we cannot bypass the legacy of Sorenstam.  She is still a top-flight golfer and can still break all the LPGA records for wins and majors by the time she is ready to retire from competitive golf.  Coming back early from injury and contending, much less win, will be another notch in her storied career.  As a male who golfs from time to time, I find it more useful to watch the female golfers because they will have similar strategies to me.  Why?  Because we probably hit the ball the same in terms of distances.  They will be much more accurate and simply more talented, but taking a cue from their game is much better for my game than it is watching the men who will out-distance and out-perform my buddies and I.  Keep that in mind if you need tips, and I bet you do.

"WHAT'S THE DEELEY-O?" is back on tomorrow at 11:05AM EST.  Send your Canadian-based questions to chevradionoise@gmail.com.  If you cannot catch the show at that time, it will be replayed from 5-8PM, which means the segment will run sometime between 7-7:15 PM tomorrow night.  We plan to podcast this one as our podcasting program is back working again.  Check me out at www.chevradioam.com if you have the time or if you are working at a cubicle and need some entertainment.  I am great to listen to during the work day.  I will carry you from 9AM to lunch with relative ease.  Sports is on, time to watch.  Cheers.

 

Every Friday before I begin my radio show I have one song stuck in my head.  Being Canadian, it happens to be from Loverboy called "Working for the weekend".  It's not even their best song or even that good but the damn thing is nailed inside my skull and I can't get it out.

We always knew Dave Navarro faked being straight but is Carmen Electra really with the chick who sang "I love rock n roll"?  Damn, another song in my head.  Let's get to sports.

- David Beckham is being paid a lot of money.  First off I apologize for lying because I said I'd be talking sports and instead I insult you by talking soccer.  The contract he received is absurd money.  He makes A-Rod's contract look minor league.  Strange thing is Beckham is not regarded as the best player in his sport, not even close.  At least at one time or another you could make a case for Rodriguez.  

How did Beckham get so famous?  Well marrying the hottest woman of the hottest female group in the mid-late 1990's helped him considerably, and being a good looking guy does not hurt either (someone told me to say that, I did not check him out to know for sure).  But leave it up to soccer to do something outside of normal or any type of logic.  I think this is where the soccer lovers are going to come after me.  Before you do, just know that I have given the game a chance.  Actually I'm lying, MORE than one chance.  So try to keep your 'you don't understand' argument because I understand loud and clear.

- I'll never be the one to defend Barry Bonds for his actions but because the MLB has explicit rules about certain discrepancies committed by players and then had it breached forces me to defend the guy.  He is probably not the first person to test positive for greenies and I bet there are other star players who have been caught yet baseball did not protect Barry Bonds' name.  The first offense is suppose to be a secret and now the word is out.  If you are not capable of executing the rules don't make them.  Bonds got laid out.  Now he did not handle it very well right off the bat but MLB did a poor job protecting its player.

Then again maybe they planned on leaking Bonds' positive test for a reason.

- Chris Webber wants to go to Detroit.  Does Michigan even want him back?  If I were Webber I'd go somewhere that will give my playing time and that would be with the LA Lakers.  Though I have this feeling Phil Jackson may not be high on him.  Regardless, I look at Webber and think about the two times I've visited Ann Arbor to watch Michigan Wolverines basketball only to find nothing from Webber or his accomplishments at the school, team or individually.  Its as if Doc Brown and Marty McFly travelled back in time and erased Webber from existence.

- Not to take away anything from Sidney Crosby because Sid the Kid is a phenomenal hockey player.  The best hockey player in the world today is Alexander Ovechkin.  He has turned some very ordinary players into respectable players.  Meanwhile Sid has capable guys like Malkin, Recchi and others.  I have a hard time saying this because I wish there was no truth to this but its hard not to shake off: hockey media is not prepare to crown a non-Canadian the best hockey player in the world.  They couldn't do it for Jagr or Forsberg and they aren't doing it for Ovechkin right now.  We've been told over and over that Canada hockey has more talent, heart and grit over every other country.  All of that is bullcrap and not true.  If you watch Ovechkin play you'll see his passion, desire and fire he brings every game.  The notion that Canadian hockey has more heart than everyone else is a fairy tale.

- Philly, Chicago, Baltimore and San Diego are my picks.  Going against my New England Patriots because they have a knack for fumbling the football around.  They have to play mistake-free to win and they aren't that kind of team anymore.  

- The Sony Open is happy they let Wie into the tournament.  Without her the tourney and the amount of fans that came out would have been a lot less.  For a 17 year old girl to play against men the way she has is nothing short of impressive.  For the time being, her playing against men is exactly what she needs.  8 tourneys are not enough and you don't get into tournament focus during a practice round.  She needs an outlet and the PGA and other male tours are more than happy to have her.

-  Scott Schoeneweis deserves some props as he has not squeezed another organization out of their money.  Schowencrap is taking nearly 11 million over 3 years just to have a 4 ERA along with mild effectiveness against lefties.  Not sure who his agent is but he deserves a pay raise for stealing money for an a$s pitcher.

- Does John Thomson even know who Paul LoDuca is?  Have they ever been teammates?  I'm still wondering how Thomson could make an assessment that LoDuca isn't a good catcher.  His logic makes no sense so there are either two things to this: 1) He knows something about LoDuca or has had a confrontation with him before or 2) Thomson is a tool.  So LoDuca kicks it with college girls, big deal?  Thomson just picked Gregg Zaun who is a nice catcher but not a good catcher.   Maybe  Thomson was having surgeries done on the wrong body part.

Ok that's all folks.  It's Friday night which means its back to Loverboy music.  Take off hosers.