Feast or famine in this city when it comes to reporters. In one corner, at least with Blue Jays we have Griffin, Blair, Elliott and Arthur in addition to a few others who can actually really write. On the other hand are the lazy Loewen’s of the world who can’t even be bothered to do any research before writing a column, or eek god, proof reading it. Before you shit on me for my shitty grammar or spelling, I don’t get paid to do this. I do it for fun. Get a load of this:

“Medicine jest

St. Louis Cardinals star Albert Pujols doesn’t have any problem if drug-testers want to visit him during the off-season.

“They can come and check every place in my house, they can even come with me in my bathtub. I have nothing to hide,” Pujols told ESPN.com.

Hey, Albert, they’re not checking for rubber ducks.”

That is not, I repeat how Loewen’s article appeared in the print version of today’s paper nor the electronic version until one Greg Brady bashed the living shit out Loewen both on the radio and on twitter. Loewen had Albert as Louis, not once but twice.

Meanwhile, down the paperbox is Bruce Arthur:

“Sure, Aaron Hill started in the All-Star Game, and Halladay met Barack Obama, and … uh, OK, they’ve kind of lost 12 of 15. There’s not a lot else to be excited about. But this team has been headed for a fork in the road for a long time, and what happens with Halladay is going to send them down one road or the other. Right now, the Jays are neither an entirely young team, nor an entirely veteran team. They have a 33-year-old shortstop, a 33-year-old catcher, a 34-year-old third baseman, and a 33-year-old closer; they also have a 25-year-old DH, a 24-year-old rookie-of-the-year candidate pitcher, injured 27- and 24-year-old pitchers, and Alex Rios, who at 28, has all the maturity of a seventh grader. And in the middle, in his prime, they have Roy Halladay. He is what gives any hope of eventual contention any whiff of legitimacy. Without Roy, the rotation is just a bunch of guys who aren’t ready, who might get healthy, or who are scraping out better-than-expected results, most of the time. A bunch of arms, but no spine.”

Ding Ding Ding. Give the man a prize. This, is a completely accurate assessment of the Jays. People say Leaf nation looks at the world through blue and white colored glasses, have you ever heard a shitty thing said about any Jay prospect?????? Arthur hits more homeruns in this column than Alex Rios has hit all year.

“Last night on The Fan 590 radio, Jays interim CEO Paul Beeston mentioned to host Bob McCown and to this reporter that he had not discussed a potential contract extension with Halladay, but that he would within a week, and said money would not be an issue were Halladay amenable to such a deal. Which makes it feel like it might be Halladay, 32, who has nudged this process into motion. Before this season started, Halladay said some things that look a lot more ominous today.”

Anyone who suggests this is about money with Roy isn’t telling the whole story. The Jays would give Roy a blank check. The problem is that JP has so poorly managed his money by signing “albatross” contracts that they have no money for anyone other than Roy! Do you blame Roy for wanting to say I have given you enough chances, I no longer believe?

“If Roy goes, this team will have decided what it is, and had better damned well commit to it. No more fantasies of beating the Yankees or the Red Sox or the Tampa Bay Rays right now. No more qualified promises that maybe, if everything breaks just right, the games might mean something again, just over the next hill. Instead, go the way of the Orioles, who have young talent, and some thin strands of hope. Become the team of Adam Lind and Travis Snider and Romero, rather than of Halladay and Vernon Wells and Rios. Spend the money smarter. You can keep Halladay or move Halladay, but one way or the other, have a plan. The Toronto Blue Jays don’t have to become Kansas City or Pittsburgh or Washington, stranded and lost. They just have to find a way, one day, to avoid being counted among them.”

I agree, you can’t be half pregnant. The problem is the deals JP has signed has tied his and the next GM’s hands. It would be nice to have a faith in a GM and his plans for the team. Right now the team is stuck in neutral. Sounds like another team in Toronto used to be until they found the right GM.

TSM

Arthur is here.

Here are the lineups for the shows at noon:

On Baseball Show:
Mike Wilner hosting today:

Open phones with Wilner

On Leafs Lunch:

Brady and Watters:

1240 Damian Cristodero, St. Petersburg Times

College of Sports Media Game of the Night:

Imagine playing a game of HORSE to determine your mortgage rate. MLB does something similiar, the winner of the all star game gets home field advantage in the World Series. There be plenty of Canadian content in the Mid-Summer Classic. Toronto Blue Jay ace Roy Halladay gets the start for the American League and in the first inning he’ll face Hanley Ramirez, Chase Utley and Albert Pujols. Doc will have to be sharp from the get-go. He’ll be joined in the starting line up by teammate Aaron Hill who steps in for daddy-in-waiting Dustin Pedroia. Canuck Jason Bay gets the call in left field and Justin Morneau will come of the bench.

Over the last twelve games the AL has 11 wins and 1 tie (thanks to Bud Selig) and you can be sure the National League wants nothing more then to put a stop to that streak.

Follow us on Twitter at @yyzsportsmedia

Fighting is “integral to the way the game is played,” according to NHL commissioner Gary Bettman,

“nobody has a divine right” to a second franchise in the Toronto market.”

“We’re not going to encourage or allow teams to play games,” Bettman said.

You know, credibility is a hard thing to earn, and even harder to maintain. These three comments by the Commissioner are ludicrous. Let’s look at them one by one:

To say fighting is an integral part of hockey is, in my opinion nuts especially given his previous stances on the matter. I want to be there when the first player dies in a hockey fight and the they call the count up to the stand, as the league is being sued and he tries to say out outraged he is and appalled at the actions of the player who threw the killer punch when the defense attorney gets up and asks him to read this direct quote. Let me make this clear. I am not anti-fighting. I don’t think it should be banned. However this “integral part of the game” stuff is nuts. Skating, passing, body contact- all are integral. How is something that is punishable integral? If you can get kicked out of a game for doing it, how do you define it as an integral part? From my perspective, fighting is a necessary evil(again, I like watching the odd tussle, don’t get wrong). The threat of getting your butt kicked in a fight keeps people honest. There is a difference between a good fight and a dumb one. The majority I have seen this year (not scene) have been the dumb kind, but that more a product of whom the Leafs “tough” guy is….. Call a spade a spade. I think calling fighting integral to hockey is insulting.

The second line is a direct shot at RIM head hauncho Jim Balsille. Again, ENOUGH already. This is just getting plain old stupid. You have a very wealthy owner who wants into the club. For the most part (present charges excluded) he isn’t a crook. Or at least he hasn’t been charged with a crime in which incarceration is the penalty. Compared to the other clowns that Bettman’s crack due diligence team has allowed into the club this guy is a saint. He has cash, he loves the game, oh and he heads a tech company that could change the way fans interact with the players/game. Having the head of a major tech company like RIM own a team would be a great thing. Look at the Caps and all that they do because their owner is deeply involved in technology. Give it up, already. Find a way for this guy to get a team. As for the Toronto part, why would you want a 2nd team in a market that can support it? That would be stupid! I mean why not have more teams in markets where $17 tickets (complete with gas cards, parking and food) aren’t enough to fill the building? Time to get progressive and move on.

The last one is the best. We aren’t allowing people to play games??? Oh, you mean like current owners who are part of your executive team loaning money to other owners so in fact they are principal owners of more then one team at a time? Those aren’t the games you are playing?? Allowing teams to spend the absolute minimum so they can steal money from other teams via revenue sharing, those games? Allowing owners to personally buy tickets to guarantee their teams hit those minimums? Papering the house isn’t a game right Count Bettman?

These comments are insulting. Try speaking the truth next time, you will get much higher approval ratings…

Hey folks, why, do you think the good folks over at the Toronto Star Changed the headline of Damien’s article last night? When I went to bed last night, and woke up this am the Headline was “Burke Likely Would Have Sent Schenn Down”. An odd title given there was one line in the story where Damien actually only guessed that to be true. There was nothing in the story to suggest that was true…only a suggestion. Now, the headline reads “Schenn a ray of hope amid all the gloom” EXCUSE ME????????? Are you kidding me. How stupid do you think your readers are (and no this isn’t directed at Damien) This changes the entire tone of the article! What was the intent here and why are you trying to mislead or taint the opinions of your readers. The story last night was clearly a negative shot… That’s ok, Damien is entitled to his opinion. Now it has a positive spin to it?: Give me a break…..Why the sudden change?

I am really curious folks, if the All-Star Game weren’t played, would anyone care? No really, forget the folks in Montreal (just for a second, not to be cruel), if the game wasn’t happening, and instead there was just a weekend off, would you care? Would you miss the festivities? I for one wouldn’t. If you want to do away with it, I have no objection. Please don’t replace with a world cup of hockey as some have suggested. A break is a good idea. Why do we need a diversion. I for one like a pause. It’s good for everyone. It’s good for the trainers, the equipment guys, the officials, the media, the players, their families….and the fans. The game is quite bizarre when you think about it. Rather Seinfeldian, it’s a game about nothing. There is no real winner, no real loser, it’s not a real hockey game. It’s not for the benefit of the fans. It’s not for the benefit of the players. This whole, or the benefit of the sponsors is a little twisted. If I were a sponsor I would rather be wooed, wined and dined at the Stanley Cup finals. So the question is, would you miss it? If there was no hockey this weekend and things started up again on Monday, would that be a bad thing?

Tim Thomas and I both attended the University of Vermont. So I have to admit bias, at least to some degree towards the Boston goalie, we were there at the same time for all of one year. Having said that, if you only listen to one hockey interview this week, make it the one Wilbur and Brady did today with Thomas. He is everything a hockey player should be. He is smart, honest and has almost no ego. He is the prototypical hockey player. When you listen to the folks in the media, especially those in the US say how much easier it is to deal with hockey players as opposed to athletes in other sports, this is a prime example.

You can listen to the clip here, by the way the 640 website is BRUTAL, so click on the Tim Thomas link when you go to the site…