Word is that Toronto Maple Leafs Hockey Executive is now the head hauncho in Dallas. Joe nieuwendyk is the new GM of your Dallas Stars. This ends the two headed monster GM reign that saw Sean Avery land in Dallas.
TSM
In case you missed it, LeBron James left the building quickly last night, without congratulating the Orlando Magic, and without speaking to reporters. He’s being called out by plenty of people, including Doug Smith of the Toronto Star:
“I know defeat stings and failing to meeting expectations has to hurt more than anything you can imagine to a great athlete like LeBron James but the way he handled himself at the end of the game, well, it sucks.
Blowing off the media is one thing – although it’s out of character for him, and he sure seemed to be around every other time anyone ever wanted to talk to him, after wins or losses or at halftime or pre-game.
But to not walk down the court, or even stay on the court to congratulate the Magic? That’s just wrong.
A quick handshake, maybe a quick hug, maybe a word of congratulations to Dwight Howard, a former Olympic teammate. Something.
But nothing? Nothing’s bush league and James is better than that.
I’m sure he’ll get a pass, his teammates were giving him one post-game if you believe the stuff in this story, but we shouldn’t in my opinion.
Yes, you can love his skills and we all do. But no, you cannot excuse the way he handled himself in defeat.
Maybe you do learn more about people in defeat than in victory. ”
I agree that it would be nice to see LeBron face the music. He is front and centre after wins, and he loves to be the centre of attention at any other time. Still, it’s almost refreshing to see an athlete care this much, as opposed to the love-fest we often see on NBA courts these days. I did catch LeBron giving Dwight Howard a subtle low-five late in the game, and I’m sure we will hear from James in the coming days.
The question remains, though – Was LeBron disrespectful? Unsportsmanlike? Neither?
-DL
Smith is here.
Skydome turns 20 this year, and The Star’s Garth Woolsey has written a nice summary of the building’s pros and cons. Yes, there is plenty of history, but many other cities have built beautiful outdoor ballparks in recent years, and the dome may have lost some appeal with many fans in Toronto. From Woolsey’s article:
“The Rolling Stones and the Backstreet Boys played there, Nelson Mandela and the Dalai Lama spoke there, folks mourned Princess Diana and egged on Hulk Hogan there, the Jays won a pair of World Series (“touch ‘em all Joe”), the Argos had Grey Cup-winning seasons, and consenting adults did unmentionable things in the hotel rooms overlooking the outfield, teenagers had first dates and/or beers, friendships were forged, marriages were proposed and accepted.
It really is something unique to behold, the place corporately called the Rogers Centre but still good, old SkyDome underneath, an engineering marvel, as much machine as building.
But two decades on, the place is also showing signs of advancing age, if not structurally so much as in the public imagination. Its vastness and greyness can give it the feel and sound of a mausoleum, the sterility of a hospital operating theatre. Its bells and whistles can’t hide its oh-so 1989 feel – that’s the year the Berlin Wall came down and Driving Miss Daisy won the best picture Oscar.
Once a must-attend, it has also gradually slipped down the list of best places to watch baseball: ESPN rated all 30 ballparks in 2006 and the SkyDome came in at No.23, exactly the same rating Forbes.com gave it last month in a more recent set of rankings.
Columnist Jim Caple of ESPN.com: “SkyDome is like the rich kid in your neighbourhood who was the first to get a TV/ VCR/PlayStation/DVD player. He seemed incredibly cool for a while, but as soon as everyone else got something newer and better, no one wanted to visit him any more.”
But really, what can the Blue Jays and the city of Toronto do? Nothing much, as far as I can tell. When the city bid on the 2008 Olympics, there was a plan to build a new stadium, and redesign parts of downtown. At this point, in this economy, there is little chance of any changes in the near future, with no plans to build a new facility anytime soon.
Personally, I love the ability to avoid rainouts, and Toronto is mighty cold in April. Still, how nice would it be to have a beautiful ballpark like so many cities have built in recent years? When Skydome (I still refuse to call it Rogers Centre) has at least 30,000 fans, it’s great, but it has absolutely no feel when the fans don’t show up. Clearly it’s a huge upgrade from old Exhibition Stadium, but many fans are less than enthused. What are your thoughts on the building, 20 years later?
-DL
Woolsey is here.
Very interesting article in today’s Globe and Mail. Michael Grange, using information from an interview in Italy, writes that Andrea Bargnani was happy to see Sam Mitchell leave.
More importantly for Raptors fans, Bargnani says Jay Triano is the right coach for Toronto, which echoes what other players and staff have said publicly about Triano.
From Grange’s article:
“As a coach, everyone in the team likes him (Triano), unlike Mitchell, and he earned the respect of all the players right from Day 1,” Bargnani said. “That’s why we asked [Raptors president Bryan Colangelo] to confirm him. And he agreed, because he’s the right man to start over with.”
It’s no secret that Bargnani improved under Triano, averaging 19 points per game as a starter. Raptors fans have long assumed that Triano helped his centre improve, but it’s a little surprising to read such a blunt statement from Bargnani.
Fans have also assumed that many of Andrea’s problems were mental, and Bargnani confirmed that in his interview, while taking another small jab at Mitchell, who constantly gave him a quick hook during games:
“When I was permanently [a starter] I started to play better,” Bargnani said. “Something changed in my head last summer, but not having a lot of minutes on court, I didn’t get the chance to show it.”
-DL
Grange is here.
Greetings from Las Vegas, Lots of people have been asking, so here’s’ the scoop on sin city: the hotels are packed, the casinos, restauarants and shops are empty. Last night at the hard rock casino and hotel, was the first time it felt like the Vegas of old. Apparently there are a ton of conventions here and those people arent getting the large expense accounts anymore so they come and dont do much. The hotels are cheap so people come but they arent spending a penny.
The detroit red wings are 3:2 favorites to win the stanley cup. A bet on a penguins sweep will pay 15:1.
So i read this in todays star:
“We intend to be pushing the cap every year,” said Burke. “We want to spend the money intelligently.”We’re Big Blue, we’re going to spend to the cap.”
From a fan perspective that is good on an excitement point of view. In order to spend to the cap Burke will have to be very busy. I have said all along that until the leafs cut ticket prices they owe it to their fans to spend the maximum. Its easy to spend the money, just ask JfJ…it’s another thing all together to spend it wisely. The biggest asset Burke has right now is cap space, how he maximizes that asset will be fascinating and will determine the success or failure of his regime.
TSM
Here’s your bikini of the day from bikinibeat.org:
On Fan 590 Tonight- thanks to Mike S.
McCown is on vacation, Rob Faulds is guest host.
- Open phones with Faulds from 4:05 to 4:55
- Business report at 4:55
- Co-host at 5:05 is Jim Kelley
- Friday roundtable from 5:05 to 7:00 with Gord Kirke and Jeff Blair
On 640 with Brady and Watters:
440 Bob McKenzie, TSN
5-6 Bruce Boudreau & John Anderson, Caps & Thrashers coaches
610 Darren Dreger, TSN
640 John Davidson, St. Louis Blues GM
Hey everyone,
I just finished a full hour of baseball talk with London, Ontario’s Ben Nicholson-Smith of MLBTradeRumors.com. We touched on the Blue Jays, Cito Gaston, JP Ricciardi, Vernon Wells, Roy Halladay, Aaron Hill, Pedro Martinez, potential trades, the American League East, and whatever else came up.
Here is the audio, in a couple different formats – Comments are appreciated, along with any ideas for next time.
-DL
Listen to the Chat here
Here’s your bikini of the day from bikinibeat.org:
On Fan 590 Tonight- thanks to Mike S.
McCown is on vacation, Rob Faulds is guest host.
- Open phones with Faulds from 4:05 to 4:55
- Business report at 4:55
- Co-host at 5:05 is Jim Kelley
- Nick Kypreos of Sportsnet on hockey
- Shane Milloy on the upcoming NHL draft
- Dan Shulman on baseball
- Legal analyst Rob Becker
- Bobby Hull
On 640 with Brady and Watters:
440 Cal Ripken, Baseball Hall-of-Famer
510 Niklas Kronwall, Detroit Red Wings
540 Jordan Staal, Pittsburgh Penguins
610 Darren Dreger, Inside The NHL
640 Rob Higgins, Fantasy Hockey Expert
LANDRY & STELLICK vs. JOHN OAKLEY
Men 25-54
S2-2008 5.6 to 3.8
S1-2009 5.6 to 3.0
S2-2009 5.0 to 3.6
HOCKEYCENTRAL vs. LEAFS LUNCH
Men 25-54
S2-2008 4.7 to 5.5
S1-2009 6.1 to 3.3.
S2-2009 7.3 to 2.9
Men 35-54
S2-2008 3.6 to 6.8
S2-2009 9.1 to 2.8
PRIMETIME SPORTS vs. WATTERS SHOW
Men 25-54
S2-2008 8.7 to 2.5
S1-2009 7.3 to 3.5
S2-2009 8.4 to 3.4
Adults 25-54
S2-2008 4.7 to 1.4
S2-2009 4.5 to 1.8
12+
S2:2008 5.3 to 1.2
S2:2009 3.5 to 1.7
THE BULLPEN
Men 25-54
S2:2008: 5.0
S2:2009: 4.4
S2:2009: 5.6
THE GAME PLAN
Men 25-54
S2:2008 5.3 (Swirsky Show)
S1:2009 4.3
S2:2009 5.4
OVERALL
12+ AM640 up 17.8%
12+ 590 down 11.7%
Adults 25-54 – 590 vs 640
S2:2008 2.6 to 1.7
S2:2009 2.1 to 1.9
I will post more later on as i have details. This is coming from multiple industry sources. The big news is that the Watters show had huge gains again. I am told that they are up 53.7 percent from spring book in 2008. I have also heard that the numbers at the Fan are down across the board. Again this is just what I am hearing right now…
Off to the strip!
Twitter: yyzsportsmedia
