Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Best Costume - YouTube Costume


SIGNS THAT YOU ARE TOO OLD TO TRICK-OR-TREAT

10. You get winded from knocking on the door.

9. You have to have another kid chew the candy for you.

8. You ask for high fiber candy only.

7. When someone drops a candy bar in your bag, you lose your balance and fall over.

6. People say, "Great Keith Richards mask!" and you're not wearing a mask.

5. When the door opens you yell, "Trick or..." and can't remember the rest.

4. By the end of the night, you have a bag full of restraining orders.

3. You have to carefully choose a costume that won't dislodge your hairpiece.

2. You're the only Power Ranger in the neighborhood with a walker.

1. You avoid going to houses where your ex-wives live.

Unusual Pumpkin Carvings







Happy Halloween to Storm Nation


30 Hockey Games in 30 Days

Steve Williamson is my hero. The Orlando man (not exactly a hockey hotbed) has planned to visit all 30 NHL cities and attend a game over a 30 day period. A killer schedule no doubt but he is an experienced traveller with over 550,000 flying miles since 2000.

Of course he has his own website and blog where he is recording his travels. Lat night was game 5 in Montreal. Tonight he is in New Jersey at the brand new Prudential Center. He will be in Toronto on November 20.

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Cheerleader Mishap

Communications 101

The instructions for the message on the cake were "Best Wishes Suzanne" and underneath that "We will miss you"


Latest Leaf Trade Rumours

JRJ has been busy talking with other GMs on a trade that would hopefully turn his team around. Teams are interested in young Toronto Maple Leafs like Alex Steen and Matt Stajan but JFJ is actively trying to move Pavel Kubina, Bryan McCabe and Hal Gill. The Leafs also investigated signing Danny Markov who is currently playing in Russia but his $3.5 million salary demands is a "little rich" for the club which has little cap space.

Interesting that JFJ is trying to move 3 of his top 6 free agent signings (the others are Tucker, Kaberle and Blake) over the past 2 summers. An admission that they were all mistakes. All three carry hefty contracts that are as good as "no-trade" clauses in today's salary cap era except around the trade deadline. McCabe has a "no movement" clause and Kubina can only be moved to certain teams. Gill is the only one without a no trade or movement clause, but again his salary makes him almost impossible to shop right now. As for Markov, his salary demands are more than "a little rich" for a team bumping up against the cap like Toronto, and really, why add another high priced veteran with an injury history to the most expensive blueline in the NHL?

Hockey Leagues Steals Halloween Treats

With ice time so scarce in the city, coaches are reluctant to cancel games and incur a loss, a suspension and a $500 fine. This is putting hockey parents on Halloween under extra pressure on an already stressful night.

In fact the parents of the North Toronto Selects minor bantam team offered to work out a deal with their opponent for a game on Halloween to reschedule at no cost to the league, proposing that their 7 p.m. game against the Vaughan Selects be moved to their own ice time on Saturday. The parents even offered to foot the bill.

But the request was denied by the North York Hockey League, which insisted they must play on Vaughan ice.

Toronto Maple Leafs are the NHL's Chicago Cubs

MLSE likes to promotes the Maple Leafs like they were the NHL's New York Yankees. Ridiculous ticket prices and seat license fees, tons of merchandising, their own cable station, condos, etc. Except the Yankees win championships. The Leafs are more like the Chicago Cubs who have not won the World Series since 1908. How many current Leafs fans are going to be around that long?

It's hard to believe that executives at MLSE will let this mess continue. Either John Ferguson or Paul Maurice (or both) will be axed, the only question is when? Considering the reluctance to give Ferguson a long term contract and unsuccessful search for a mentor, I would venture to guess JFJ is gone. The only question is when. Fill out my survey on the sidebar if you have a view.
Finally, here is a great example of the greed that drives MLSE. Rich guy pays BIG BUCKS for front row VIP season seats to the Raptors. Team adds a few seats in front of his front row seats since the team had one good year. What does rich guy you do? He sue for BIG BUCKS, obviously. I'd love to hear how "damages of $1.6 million, and a further $20,000 for every Raptors game the company's executives miss" are justified.

Monday, October 29, 2007

Remember size doesn't matter




$72 million is not enough

Wow.


Alex Rodriguez could have played out the remaining three years of his contract with the Yankees and, by doing so, he would have been guaranteed $72 million. But his contract gives him the right to "opt out" and become a free agent in order to go to the highest bidder.

The man did it yesterday. Amazing.

But the champagne bottles you hear popping are from the home of Texas Rangers owner Tom Hicks who will no longer be responsible for $21 million that he would have had to pay to the Yankees if he had stayed. When the Rangers traded Rodriguez to the Yankees, they agreed to pay part of the contract in order to unload it.

Interesting to see who the highest bidder will be. Remember the Red Sox lost out on the bidding for A-Rod when he was last on the market.

Sunday, October 28, 2007

ARRRRRGOOOOOOOOOOOS!


The Argos have certainly turned their season around by moving into first place in the CFL East Division. As has been the case all season, the defense and special teams dominated as the Argos edged Winnipeg 16-8. Their previous two wins were by scores of 16-9 and 18-11.


It was their sixth consecutive win and eighth in their past nine games.

Storm Fall Short to Orangeville

A good start did not end well as the Storm lost 1-0 to Orangeville and split the home and home series at a win each. After the first period the Storm did not generate many scoring chances as many players did not have their usual skating legs. Losing Mari to a sprained her ankle as a result of a collision on Saturday removed one of the better skaters from the lineup. In fact, the Storm had a 2-man advantage at the end of the game and then pulled the goalie for an extra skater. Despite having 6 skaters to only 3 for Orangeville, the Storm still could not generate scoring chances.

Still the game is just another learning experience early in the season. Next game isn't until November 15 against Vaughan. Would be nice to finally beat them.

Randy Jones Hit on Patrice Bergeron

Boston Bruins centre Patrice Bergeron was taken off the ice on a stretcher Saturday after a scary hit from behind by Philadelphia Flyers defenceman Randy Jones.

Bergeron was chasing after a loose puck in the Flyers zone late in the first period when Jones closed in on him and drove his head into the boards with his forearm.

Jones was given a five-minute boarding penalty with a game misconduct.



At first glance, it looks like an ugly, dirty hit from behind. Bergeron's face was rammed face first into the ledge on the boards, and the latest reports say he has a broken nose and a concussion, but all feeling in his extremities.

Flyers defenseman Randy Jones issued the following statement:

“Words really can’t express the way that I feel right now. I am very apologetic for the hit and what I did. It was not intentional. It is something that I have never done before and it is not part of my character. I am extremely sorry. I hope he does ok and everything works out for him. I wish him nothing but the best in his recovery.”

Comparing Results After 10 Games


TGF - Total Goals For, TGA - Total Goals Against, GD - Goal Differential, ESGF - Even Strength Goals For, ESGA - Even Strength Goals Against, PPG - Power Play Goals, PPA - Power Play Attempts, PP% - Power Play Percentage, SPK - Successful Penalty Kills, PKA - Penalty Kill Attempts, PK% - Penalty Kill Percentage, STDIF - Special Teams Differential (PPG For minus PKG against), SHGF - Short-handed Goals For, SHGA - Short-handed Goals Against.
The boxes highlighted in yellow are the ones that really standout.
Last season, at the end of the year the Leafs' STDIF was minus 27 which means that they gave up 27 more goals while shorthanded than they scored while on the powerplay. This year through ten games they are already minus 8 in that category.
The PKA is significant because it represents the most times that anyone in the NHL has been short-handed. Discipline has long been the Leafs' achilles heel.
The Leafs are at the top of the league in goals scored but 2nd to last on goals given up. Likely because they are among the league leaders in shots given up and penalty minutes. All things considered, if someone can ever get this team to play team defense and with more discipline, they would be much more competitive. Which is why Paul Maurice's job may be at risk.

Saturday, October 27, 2007

Storm Shuts Out Orangeville for 1st Win

Today the Storm played a strong first period and although they didn't score, they also didn't fall behind. The result was a 2-0 win over a chippy Orangeville Tiger team. There were 11 penalties in the game including to penalties to Orangeville players after the final buzzer.

Kendra has a strong game in net and made some great saves to earn her first shut out. The first goal was scored by Amanda on a strong individual effort. Crossing the blueline she went wide on the Orangeville defenseman who forced her into the corner. She continued to fight for the puck and drove from behind the net to the front of the net where she scored on her second shot after the goalie stopped the first one. It was the first time this season that the Storm lead in a game.

The team continued to pressure the Tigers and had some excellent scoring chances. Early in the third period Lauren N blocked a clearing high clearing pass at the Orangeville blueline with her chest. The puck dropped to her feet and she drove a shot towards the net that beat the goalie fro a 2-0 lead. Late in the 3rd the Storm got into some penalty trouble and when Orangeville pulled their goalie, North York found themselves down 3 players. Great penalty killing by Amanda and Jackie kept Orangeville from scoring. Final shots on net were 23-13 in favour of the Storm.

The only downside of the game was an injury to Mari who went hard into the boards late in the game chasing a puck. It appears to only be a bruised ankle but she was going to have it examined after the game.

Toronto Star Hates the Toronto Maple Leafs

It's always been my belief that the Toronto Star is unlike other newspaper in that it is one of the biggest critics of the local sports teams. The usually reserve the biggest attacks for the Maple Leafs. Now some of it is well deserved. The team has not even come close to a championship in 41 years. But they often go over the top. Here is a sample of just this week.

There was an article on the Leaf board of directors complete with photo that suggested that fans boo the owners of the team not the players.

There was an article on the confidential financial files of the organization. It included a story about how after Mats Sundin collected his 500th NHL goal last season, the nylon mesh used in the goal net was removed and shipped to a factory where workers cut it into 2,000 pieces to sell off as souvenirs.

There was also an article that suggested that the team could only get better if there was a second NHL franchise in the region to force the Leafs to compete for fans and revenue.

There was an article on why the Leafs are going after John Tavares. Why of course it's another cynical, MLSE revenue-generating scheme.

And finally there was an article suggesting that the Leafs were underspending on hockey operations (includes scouting) which is why they are not competitive.

Not bad for one week.

Friday, October 26, 2007

Rookie Tlusty leads Leafs to 5-2 win over Penguins


Jiri Tlusty, playing his first NHL game, scored two goals 35 seconds apart during a four-goal Toronto flurry in the third period and the Maple Leafs shook off an early season slump to beat Pittsburgh 5-2 Thursday night and end the Penguins' three-game winning streak.

Maybe this is the reason why you don't trade away first round draft picks.

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Pre-Game Report From a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Blog

About the Maple Leafs:

Record: 3-4-3

Leading Scorer: Mats Sundin 17 points (6 goals, 11 assists).

Last Game: 5-4 shootout loss to the Thrashers, Oct. 23.

Last Game Against The Penguins: 6-4 loss in Toronto Oct. 13.

Maple Leafs Player We Would Bet Money On Scoring: Mats Sundin. The Leafs captain is the all-time leading scorer among active players in career points against the Penguins with 76 points in 51 games. He tallied a goal and an assist on Oct. 13.

Ex-Penguins: None.

Useless Maple Leafs Trivia: The Maples Leafs have played under four identities: The Toronto Blueshirts (1912-17), the Toronto Arenas (1917-19), the Toronto St. Pats (1919-1927) and the Toronto Maple Leafs (1927-present.).

NOTES:

-Maple Leafs defenseman Bryan McCabe is probable for tonight's game. Expect the Penguins to score 14 goals tonight if that's the case.

-Jiri Tlusty, the Maple Leafs first round draft pick in 2006, will be making his NHL debut tonight.

-We'll be sitting in Section D-7, Row E, Seat 10 at tonight's game. Pregame Festivities will be taking place at Pizza Milano on Fifth Ave. sometime between 6 p.m. and game time. Look for a handsome devil in a Team Russia jersey. (We spilled nacho cheese on our Lemieux jersey Tuesday night and never got a chance to wash it.) Stop by and say hi.

-Even if the Maple Leaf fans are surly and boorish tonight (as they usually are), don't boo the Canadian national anthem. Have some class and applaud it politely at the very least. You're representing Pittsburgh.

-It certainly is appropriate to boo the Maple Leafs and their fans afterwards however.

Source

What's Happened to Eric Lindros?

When Paul Kelly was being introduced as the new executive director of the NHL Players' Association Eric Lindros in the room listening closely. The Big E put in countless hours over the last few months in helping the players' union. He was a member of the five-player search committee for the executive director and also a key cog on the constitutional review committee that helped reshape the union from top to bottom.

Now Lindros would dearly love to play another year. After all he is only 34. But all those injuries have taken their toll. His first seven seasons were of superstar caliber. But the last six have been ravaged by injury and controversy.

He will likely announce his retirement at some point. The new NHLPA constitution will have a newly created ombudsman position and Lindros is the favourite to get that job.

Another Chinese Toy Recalled


Try explaining this to the insurance company

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Storm Earns First Point of the Season


A power play goal by Kailee early in the 3rd period and some solid goaltending by Bianca earned the Storm a well deserved tie against the first place Barrie Sharks. Again, the team had a very slow start and was outplayed in the first period. They were down by only one goal and it could have been worse if it wasn't for some great saves by Bianca.

As was the case in previous games, the Storm began to get rolling in the 2nd period and dominated in the 3rd. It was the Barrie goalie who had to make some big saves to preserve the tie during the last 5 minutes of the game. Both Mari and Genevieve had great chances but failed to hit the mesh.

You can see the steady improvement in each game as the team begins to gain some confidence and cohesiveness. In particular, a lot of credit should go to the defense and goalies who have been very steady despite the fact that they are all first year Midgets.

There have been 16 games played in Midget B - North Central division and no one has yet scored more than 2 goals. So obviously once our offense starts connecting the wins will follow.

Nest game is Saturday, 3 pm at Risk against Orangeville.

Sundin can no longer carry the Leafs

In a scenario that has long been typical of the Leafs, Mats Sundin may be the best player in the NHL through the first three weeks of the schedule, with little to show for it. Having compiled 17 points in 10 games (including a league-leading 11 assists), Sundin is tied for the NHL scoring lead with Henrik Zetterberg of Detroit, and is on pace for a career year. Like usual, however, his exceptional performance is not translating into team success.

And, the burden of carrying his underachieving club is once again likely to cause a flame-out in the late stages of the season, as it did a year ago. Mats is almost 37 years old. He's playing like a 27-year-old right now, but the lack of offensive support other than Antropov will turn him into a 57-year-old by February. A healthy Wellwood and Tucker would help but their return is not likely anytime soon.

Incidently, there is a rumour going around that the Leafs have been talking to Atlanta about trading for Marion Hossa in exchange for Kaberle and Raycroft. I have no way of knowing whether there is any truth to this rumour but the deal makes some sense. Leafs have an excess of offensive defensemen, no heir apparent for Sundin and 2 starting goalies (although some might argue 2 back up goalies). Hossa becomes a free agent at the end of the year and Atlanta may not be able to sign him. As well, the only offensive defenseman in their line up is Zhitnik who is 35 and slowing down. Their #1 goalie Lehtonen is out with a groin injury.

I'd think this would be better protection than a pitbull




Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Arizona Photos

Main Street in Scottsdale


Poolside in Scottsdale


Climbing Camelback Mtn in Phoenix


Cemeteries in Phoenix have no grass



Main Street in Scottsdale

Beautiful Sedona


Mary Anne and Willie in Sedona



Red Rock Park in Sedona



Jeep tour in Red Rock Park, Sedona


Red Rock Park in Sedona
Sun setting in the mountains

Willie and Mary Anne at the Grand Canyon



Hiking into the Grand Canyon



Colorado River in the Grand Canyon

Grand Canyon at sun down



Monday, October 22, 2007

Will Anyone Catch Gordie Howe?

Gordie Howe played a total of 1,767 regular season games (that doesn't include WHA and playoff games). He played to the age of 52.

Chris Chelios leads all active players with 1556 games played but he is 45 years old. Still Chelios is playing very well and if he stays healthy he might be able to continue playing beyond this season. In fact, if he plays 2.57 more seasons he will break Howe's record at the spry age of 48. There are some notable veterans who based on durability and ability could creep into Howe territory.

Brendan Shanahan 1424 games, needs 4.18 seasons (age 42) to catch Howe
Joe Sakic, 1327 games, needs 5.37 seasons (age 43)
Rod Brind'Amour, 1273 games, needs 6.02 seasons (age 43)
Mats Sundin, 1240 games, needs 6.43 seasons (age 42)
Jaromir Jagr, 1198 games, needs 6.94 seasons (age 42)
Nicklas Lidstrom, 1185 games, needs 7.10 games (age 44)

Sunday, October 21, 2007

Halloween is coming

Nicest Goal So Far in the NHL This Season

Caught this goal by Jonathan Toews on the sports news the other day. Sort of reminds me of his coach Denis Savard when he was 20.


What's wrong with the Leafs?

Got back in town last night to see the latest Leaf disaster - and we will see a lot of them until there are some dramatic changes. The things that I have been harping before the season started are mostly coming true. The Leafs are the worst defensive team in the league. That's hard to believe when they have the most expensive defense in the NHL.

Toronto has allowed the most shots on goal per game of any team in the league so far — this after finishing seventh in the category last season. And the one thing that hasn't changed is the team save percentage, which after dipping to a god-awful .888 last year is down to .884. (Los Angeles is the bottom feeder at .862).

Toronto's been bad at even strength (21 goals against, better than only the Kings), and on the penalty kill (13 goals against, better than only Atlanta). They've been shorthanded a league-high 61 times, and the power play's firing at just 11.1 per cent.

The real wonder, come to think of it, is just how this team has managed to get eight points out of its first nine games. Well, that and the fact Nik Antropov leads the league in plus-minus.

At least they've got Atlanta on Tuesday.

Not sure how much longer Paul Maurice will last.

Can we start games in the 2nd period?

Today the Storm again played the Vaughan Flames for the 3rd time but this time the game counted. And once again the Storm had a slow start falling behind 2-0 in the first period only to come on strong in the second half of the game. Which leads to the question - can we start games in the 2nd period?

It was a day of firsts. For a while it looked as if the Storm would go penalty-free for another game but finally in the 2nd period Paitra was took the first penalty of the season. Later in the period the first goal of the season was scored by Genevieve and it was also her first goal as a rep player.

Once the first period was over with, the team continued to show good speed. Early in the 3rd period Mari's aggressive skating forced a couple of Vaughan penalties. The Storm had a 2 man advantage for about 1:30 but couldn't put one over the sprawling Vaughan goalie. Sheri, Kailee, Jackie and Mari all had great chances. The Storm continued to put on pressure for the rest of the period. With the goalie on the bench for an extra attacker, Sheri had a terrific chance to tie the score as time ran out. The Storm lost 2-1 but gained some valuable early season experience.

Poor Joe Torre


I got to tell you, I’m a little annoyed with the sudden Joe Torre love affair going on. Everyone is talking about how Joe Torre was disrespected and how the Yankees gave him no choice but not walk away. This guy was making 7 million a year as the Yankees manager. That is 2.5 times more than the next closest manager is making in the major leagues. In other words, Torre was by far and away the richest manager in the game and it wasn’t even close. So when people say the Yankees insulted him by offering him a pay cut it should be noted that they were still offering to pay him more than anybody else is currently making.

I mean did Torre really think he deserved a raise from the 7 million per year? What has he done to earn that besides getting bounced in the first round of the playoffs the last 7 years in a row? He’s lucky the Yankees even offered him anything. And what’s up with the indignation on being offered an incentive laden contract? Apparently Torre wanted to get paid just for getting the Yankees to the playoffs every year even though a monkey could do that.

At some point you got to earn your money and that’s the way this new offer was set up. No more robbing the Yankees blind. He would have gladly signed this contract and accepted the challenge.

Saturday, October 20, 2007

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Message From Arizona: Find McCabe a Partner


I heard about how Bryan McCabe scored the winning goal in last night's game all the way down here in Arizona. Unfortunately he scored it for the Sabres. The Leafs do have a dilemma on their hands (of their own creation). McCabe is the highest paid player on the team and is not performing even close to that level.

The immediate reaction from suffering Leaf fans is to demand that he be traded. That's not so easy. What GM wants to trade for a struggling player with that contract? In fact who has that kind of cap space? Maybe at the trading deadline the Leafs might find a taker but JFJ might not survive that long.

McCabe is a gifted athlete who has yet to put his game together. That contract he signed doesn't make it happen automatically happen. JFJ needs to go out and find a defensive partner that will help McCabe find his game. That player isn't on the Leaf roster. JFJ has created this mess and he needs to now find a solution.

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Will be back for the season opener on October 21


Fans to Leafs: All is Forgiven!


The Maple Leafs got their act together tonight with a 8-1 blow out of the Islanders. This followed their embarrassing 7-1 loss to Carolina on Tuesday. Sundin broke Leaf goal and point scoring records and was picked the 1st, 2nd and 3rd stars of the game. Quite fitting since he is their only true star.

Tonight followed the same pattern as last season. A terrible game followed by a great game.
So why can't they play like this every night?

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Hey Toskala, did they warn you about this team?


Newcomer Vesa Toskala was left out there on his own for most of last night's game. The result was an embarrassing 7-1 win by Carolina. In fact the score could have been worse if not for some excellent saves by Toskala. The best goalie in the world couldn't have won last night's game.

What is becoming alarming is that the poor play during the preseason has carried over into the regular season. Most people recognize that the overpaid defense is actually quite porous. But what is worrisome is the lack of effort and emotion displayed by the players. Fans are being told not to panic, it's still early. So at what point do you begin to panic? They are playing in front of their own fans but refuse to give them anything to cheer about.

The Leafs had a number of games like this last season in which they appeared to sleepwalk through the game. Now that it has carried over to this season, you have to ask why the lineup has remained intact? I am sure the attitude of visiting team is that games at the ACC are must win games. There are no easy marks in the NHL and the Leafs could become the closest thing to one. Score early, the Leafs will give up and the fans will turn ugly.

One thing for sure, if the coach can't get this team motivated, he will not last another month.

Tuesday, October 09, 2007

Another Shot at the All Star Game for Rory?

The Philadelphia Flyers announced today that they have signed 6’2”, 210-pound defenseman Rory Fitzpatrick to a one-year contract.

For those who missed it, last year Fitzpatrick played for Vancouver and finished third in All-Star Game voting for defensemen in the West with 550,177 votes, falling 23,000 votes shy of second place Nicklas Lidstrom. He was the object of an Internet campaign to get the most obscure player in the league into the All-Star game. The plot was originally conceived as a humorous campaign designed to show the flaws in the NHL voting system.

The magazine Slate found the final results suspicious due to unlikely numerical coincidences in the final week of voting, and believes that the NHL altered the vote counts.
I love an underdog like everyone else.

Marion Jones Hands Over Medals

I found it very gratifying to see American sprinter Marion Jones give up the five medals she won at the Sydney Olympics and accepted a two-year ban. I'm just disappointed on how long she took to admit it. She made millions on endorsements, race prizes and appearance fees. I doubt she will ever have to give any of that back. So she gave up the glory but not the cash.

I think back on the American media and sport establishment that was so critical of the East German medal machine in the 1970s and 1980s. Back then the German female swimmers were so broad-shouldered and muscle-bound, that there was no doubt they were cheating. At the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, East German athletes won 40 gold medals — twice as many as in 1972 — including 11 of 13 golds in women's swimming events.

But after the Berlin Wall fell, the truth emerged: the young athletes were subjected to a state-run program of heavy steroid use. In 1998 former East German coaches, trainers and officials faced criminal charges. The former athletes continue to face health problems, and lingering doubts about what they thought had been their finest hours.

Not much has changed since then except the flags of the cheaters.

NY Yankee-Haters are Smiling Today


Sunday, October 07, 2007

Leafs Play Poorly but Montreal was Even Worse

I thought the Leafs played better in the two loses to Ottawa but sometimes all you have to be is better than your opposition to win. Last night the Leafs made fewer mistake than Montreal and skated away with an overtime win.

The Leafs would never had gotten to overtime if it wasn't for some awful giveaways by the Canadien defense that lead to 2 goals for Alexei Ponikarovsky. I love Leaf-Hab games but this one was a stinker. Both teams made a ton of mistakes. There were pucks jumping over sticks, defensive zone giveaways, and untimely penalties. Toronto was awful early, while the Canadiens saved their worst for last. This one should have ended in a tie if it could. Neither team deserved to win. But in the new NHL someone has to win.

I thought Matt Stajan and Alex Steen were Toronto’s best forwards. Once Ponikarovsky switched with Jason Blake and joined Mats Sundin and Nik Antropov on the top line, I thought that unit was good. Vesa Toskala silenced his critics with an above average performance. But he was far from great. The usual fickle ACC crowd quickly got behind him.

Pavel Kubina looked terrible. Bryan McCabe’s inability to keep the puck in the Montreal zone in the 2nd led to a shorthanded goal by the Canadiens. McCabe was on the ice for all three Montreal goals. Is that the best you can get for $7 million?

Watch out for the Yellow Line


New Blog Feature

A new feature has been introduced recently to Blogger which allow me to upload videos. So this year the blog will feature post-game interviews. Below is a sample video taken at today's practice.

Friday, October 05, 2007

LeBron James Backs Yankees over Cleveland


LeBron James announced to millions during his recent appearance on "Saturday Night Live" his intention to root against his hometown Indians this week in the American League Division Series.

Man, he wasn't kidding.

In a move that provides quite the dilemma for Cleveland fans, James not only sported enemy gear to Thursday's Game 1 against the Yankees at Jacobs Field, but he even playfully taunted fans by doffing his Yankees cap and raising it in front of a camera during a TV interview. The crowd chanted "Take off the cap!"

Now that's just wrong. And the Yankees of all teams.

Cleveland Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Feller said he was going to a Cavaliers game and sit right by their bench, wearing a Detroit Pistons cap.

Human Nature