You know, I spent a long time trying to find something to write about this evening. The sky is falling only works so often you know. The good news is that the good folks over at the Globe and Mail were able to speak to some Maple Leaf players today and well, that’s all it took.

“As players, we’ve got to believe in ourselves and prove all the doubters wrong.” Matt “Stayon” Stajan

WOW

WOW

WOW

Matt Stajan can’t really be this stupid can he?

Oh, I get it, he’s joking right- he’s a regular John Candy

Doubters?????????

Doubters?????????

Matt- your team stinks.

Look in the standings, look in the papers, look in your dressing room. It doesn’t take a Harvard education to figure out what you got…

“I’m frustrated that I can’t do more,” said Leafs coach Ron Wilson, adding that losing his job is “the last thing” he’s concerned about. “I’m just going to do the best job I can – if I’m not good enough, someone will come down and tell me that.”

Now, on the other side of the island, reality has set in for Mr. Wilson. He can’t do more because his lineup is so devoid of talent there isn’t any coach alive or dead could do with this squad of losers.

“What’s hard to believe about this Leafs team, however, is just how unchanged its lineup has been all year. All of the 21 skaters who played or were scratched in Toronto’s season-opening loss to the Montreal Canadiens are still part of the team, with the only newcomers consisting of minor-league call-ups Tyler Bozak and Carl Gunnarsson.”

Damn straight. I was thinking the other day how our GM- and maybe the others around the league should only work from say March to October. They don’t appear to do ANYTHING the rest of the year. ( I know the f’n cap the owners wanted- killed everything)

“And despite the fact the Leafs sit dead last in team save percentage for the second season in a row, their situation in goal also remains the same – aside from the fact rookie Jonas Gustavsson has wrested the No. 1 role away from Vesa Toskala.”

Hey, even, the oldest, fattest, slowest cat still wants to eat a mouse from time to time. Stealing the number one spot from Toskala is no feat.

“Burke, in other words, cast his lot in the summer, spending up to the cap to add sniper Phil Kessel, a pair of defencemen and Gustavsson in goal, additions that have led Toronto to a worse record (15-23-9) than they had at this point last season (17-22-8) when they finished 24th overall.”

Now that gives us something to really look forward to on draft day- I mean UFA day.

“The Leaf GM’s only cards left to play will involve tearing down this roster after the Olympic break, selling off whichever of his eight unrestricted free agents who prove to have some marginal value and perhaps dealing defenceman Tomas Kaberle to bring in a late first-round pick from a contending team.”

Ah yes the dog days of spring.. I am really waiting for the first interviewer to ask Burke is he ever dreamed/imagined that his team – the one he built this year could finish below his team from last year. Hell, he was PISSED they made the playoffs then….What’s he going to be like this year when they are worse off????????

Awesome piece Mirtle….

TSM

@yyzsportsmedia

Funny how winning takes the mind off of other issues. The Toronto Raptors who had nearly as brutal a start to their season as their sister franchise, Toronto Maple Leafs, have made a nice recovery. So to those of us who are little “f” fans the talk of Chris Bosh’s future in Toronto seems to have quieted down. Bryan Colangelo’s team has made it back from the near dead to the heat of the playoff race and one would think that given Cloangelo’s mantra of the best way to keep Bosh happy it to get him on a winning franchise, that there would be little chance of dealing Bosh now.

“What we did hear, though, is that the Houston Rockets have made it known that they would be willing to trade for Bosh immediately … even if they don’t get a guarantee they can re-sign him this summer.

That’s the problem with any sort of Bosh deal at midseason. Even if the Raps do decide they want to make Bosh available now and avoid the threat of losing him without compensation in free agency after July 1, there’s an overwhelming majority of teams that wouldn’t dare consider trading for Bosh in February without some sort of assurance they could keep him.

But Houston is different.”

So if the Raptors aren’t sure what to do, could they be convinced to deal him by the offer you can’t refuse? I have no intention of selling my house right now, however if someone rang my bell and made me an offer I couldn’t refuse I would call the good folks at AMJ Cambell to make me the move of the game PDQ.

“Sources say the ever-aggressive Rockets are sure a half-season in Houston could convince the native Texan to pledge his long-term future to a city players love as well as a team that sits four games over .500 without the injured Yao Ming and the exiled Tracy McGrady. The Rockets also have the requisite stash of young assets, as evidenced by their success this season without marquee names, to assemble a legit deal for Toronto to consider … and without insisting that McGrady’s mammoth $22.5 million salary has to be part of it. ”

So NBA Fanatics, what would it take from the rockets to deal Bosh? Shouldn’t Colagnelo be willing to listen to an offer on Bosh even if he hasn’t decided to deal him?

“You figure Chicago, Miami and New York also are on the short list of teams that would be willing to risk trading for Bosh before we get to the summer. Those are the teams thought to have the best shot at signing him in free agency and could inherit Bosh’s Larry Bird rights with a deal before the deadline. None of them, though, can offer a better talent deal than Houston. The Heat and Knicks — with their heavily stripped-down rosters as the countdown continues to July 1 — can’t come close.”

This is not an easy game of chess facing Colangelo. Bosh is his one trump card. Screwing this one up will set the franchise back for years. Being proactive and establishing the market early could be a huge advantage to Colangelo.

“I nonetheless was advised this week to expect Houston to make a hard Bosh push during these next 40 days if the Raptors invite it. Or perhaps even if they don’t invite it.”

I like Marc Stein and I think he is as credible an NBA writer as there is out there. He isn’t saying Bosh is going to be traded rather that Colangelo’s door bell could ring, question is, will he answer the door?

TSM

@yyzsportsmedia

Espn’s Marc Stein is here

Now this is funny. According to the good folks at the Torontoist, the Buds “illegally” spray painted their logo on Toronto Streets. A couple of times this has resulted in some artistic edits to the logos/slogan on the streets. Here is the latest:

Thanks to designwallah and Flickr for the photo

The good folks at the Fan 590 summed this one up pretty good today, with respect to the Maple Leafs, there’s nothing left to say. 20 games in and we all know the score. We all know where they stand. We all know what they face ahead. The reality is, this team with 62 games to go are in SALVATION MODE. Yes, it has already come to that. The season is now about small moral victories and good god, positive signs. It’s still only November!!!

Not sure if you heard Barry Melrose on the Fan this morning, but the most recent coaching success of your, Tampa Bay Lightning, forecasted a long, hard, cold winter in Leafs land. He talked about how hard it is to manage and coach teams in February when they are out of the hunt that early…STOP LAUGHING! He basically said that Wilson and Burke are going to want to off themselves.

Meanwhile, Damien checks in with his own commentary on the newless Leafs:

“Two things seem abundantly clear this morning.

One, this notion that sending big-money Leafs to the minors — Jason Blake is the most obvious target — will somehow fix what ails the club is just wrong. Blake may not be much use this season, but unless he is clearly a detrimental figure in the dressing room, just getting rid of him is essentially pointless and probably just symbolic.

Unless you have a replacement, dumping a player isn’t much of an answer.

Two, whatever is wrong with this team, Ron Wilson seems powerless to fix it.

The Leafs were the worst defensive team in the NHL last season and the worst penalty killing team. Today, they are the NHL’s worst defensive team and worst penalty killing team.

Faces have changed. Bodies have left town, others have been brought in. The blueline was rebuilt.”

Them’s fighting words, but true nonetheless. Now, in fairness, new faces doesn’t necessarily mean better faces does it. I mean look at the guys brought it. None have exactly been, ummm, effective save for Phil Kessel. Maybe the problem is Wilson’s assistants. I can think of one for example who has been around along time, and never seen a winning moment as an assistant coach…

“The off-season is when important change is made. Not November.

So Leaf fans can scream all they want, and they have good reason to scream.

But that won’t change much. In terms of the playing roster, the options are almost non-existent.”

Well, in that case, let’s go cancel our subscription to the Toronto Star. If the season’s as over as he alludes to, and there is nothing left to do until the off-season, then why bother reading the paper?

While on the topic of not reading or buying, check out this load of utter crap that Berger has, in all places, the National Post. No really, it’s the Seinfeld sports column, the one about nothing! As Steve Martin says to John Candy in Planes Trains and Automobiles, next time you tell a story, here’s an idea- HAVE A POINT! It makes it so much more interesting for the listener. What they hell kind of crap is this? Hell, it’s more readable when you call Leafs fans morons for listening to the Fan 590 and supporting their advertisers. This isn’t even fluff, it’s total and utter crap. Here’s what the guys at the post don’t get, for every great Bruce Arthur piece, there is utter crap from one Stay At Home Berger.

What a night, 2 paper subscriptions canceled. We are a Gary Loewen column away from a weekend of big savings. If I lower my Rogers bill to the point where I don’t have to get Leafs TV I may be able to afford Directv and get some good old US television. As a recent road warrior, I have to tell you that the US verison of the History Channel kicks the Canadian’s ass.

Tomorrow (today now) is the littlest TSM’s 5th birthday. Hard to believe but 5 years ago my little one was born in Royal Oak Michigan and my family was complete. Almost more amazing is the fact that it has been a little less than 5 years since I relocated the clan to Toronto.

Time flies….

TSM

@yyzsportsmedia

here is Melrosebarrymelrose-ms-20091120

Listen to the Chat here

We told you before that ch ch ch changes were coming to The Score, well they have and they hit pretty hard.

Gone from the Score lineup are both Hardcore Hockey and Score Tonight. Tony Ambrogio is gone and that really, really sucks. He is a really good reporter and I am a big fan. I don’t know how Gerry Dee stays in his stead. Also gone are Steve “Eklund” Ludzik and Al “don’t cry for me” Strachan. Although Koules’s Hardcore Hockey is gone, he isn’t. However if I were a betting man I would think that he will be at the first real offer he has coming him way…

So apparently Strachan handled himself like a real a$$ in a rather large disagreement with the good folks at The Score, he allegedly insulted management and well, yadda yadda yadda, the camel’s back was broken. Score management, hope you don’t lose any sleep!

Over at Hockey Night in Canada, word is that Mike Milbury is gone too. Milbury gets enough coin from NBC and doesn’t need the loonies. I am curious who gets more tears, Milbury or Strachan? I ask this again by the way, HOW or WHY THE HELL IS STRACHAN STILL ON HNIC??????

Funny how things are running in parallel between two of our teams, the Jays and the Maple Leafs. Take a look at the GM’s, what they are saying publicly and of course their current dillemas. For JP, Beeston and Rogers folks it to trade or not trade the best pitcher the team has ever had. For Burke, it’s to trade or not trade the most valuable asset he has, Tomas Kaberle. The media following both stories are, to a certain degree selling the same story, without drawing the compairson.

First lets look at the Kaberle. We know, or are lead to believe he was as good as traded hours before the draft for Phil Kessel. Since that deal died we haven’t heard much on Kaberle. Burke, or Nonis now have about 19 days to decide what they are doing with #15. Burke went public last week in saying that he know very much doubts that Kaberle will get dealt.

Then there is the mess that is the Jays. J.P. Ricciardi is a walking PR circus. No one believes anything that come out of his mouth. However, as the scribes across MLB are pumping out stores on this J.P. Ricciardi, is saying that he very much doubts that Kaberle, I mean Halladay will get dealt.

Our very one Jeff Blair who is carrying the torch in the Doc stories races these days seems to think that J.P. Ricciardi’s words may not be anything more than an attempt to up the ante. Jayson Stark at ESPN says the Phillies turned down a Jays offer and in kind the Jays turned down the Phillies counter offer. Down the dial, the good folks at Foxpsports are saying the Angles, Phillies and Red Sox are in the mix with the Yankees lurking.

I love this bit from Stark:

“The Blue Jays have spent the last 24 hours trying to get the word out that they don’t have to deal their ace. In the next few days, everyone will find out whether they’re serious, or just trying to ratchet up the price.”

Can’t the same thing be said about Burke and the Leafs? No I didn’t get water on the brain this weekend (well, I probably did, but it didn’t effect my logic). Kaberle is no Halladay. No one, not even a blue jay live blogger on the score would say that TK is one of the best if not the best D in the league as Doc is in MLB. Take TK away from the Leafs and they aren’t nearly as lost as the Jays are without Roy.

If it’s possible, if not logical that the Jays are denying a deal with Doc is likely, than why too can’t Burke be doing the same thing with TK? Personally I think they are both selling it and working it at the same time. The real question I have is, does it really matter? I mean if you are an an NHL GM are you buying what Burke is telling the Toronto Star? If you are a Baseball GM are you less inclined to deal for the best pitcher in the game because the Globe and Mail quotes the GM as saying he doesn’t have to deal him??

Hell no in both cases. It’s all about symantics. The truth is both guys have to do what they can do maximize returns on key assets. Neither can afford to lose their guy for nothing. So while the best of scribes put dealing Roy at 40% today, and a NHL writer has TK at 50-50, i am not buying either until the clock strikes passed the real deadline on both occasions.

By the way, there was not a whole lot to write about in any of the Sunday papers today, however I did like it that Simmons and I agree on one thing, hit the brakes on trading Justin Pogge. I mean you just hired the guy you claim is the best in the business and then you go “giveaway” a goaltending prospect??? WHY???? Unless Burke comes out and says that the coach says Pogge is a complete and utter dud, why not wait it out?????

Have enough rain this weekend? Don’t worry, it should help keep Mayor Miller’s Rats at bay. I will say it again, let the strikers stay out forever. I don’t miss them or the lousy service one bit!

TSM

Hey all:

You know that I am a big believer in promoting all the area teams and that includes some teams who may not hit our normal radar. Unlike Berger, I happen to think that Toronto is a great sports town, offering tons of bang for the consumer buck across many sports that you can’t find in other cities. The good folks at Rugby Union dropped me a note about their big game this weekend and of course I am all too happy to help them promote their match. Hell, who doesn’t love a good scrum from time to time??

Rugby Union may not be the first sport you think of when you’re considering the top teams in Toronto. But with the Jays fourth in the AL East and the Argos off to an all too familiar slow start in the CFL, a Toronto sports fan could legitimately start looking for a greener pasture … well, here it is.
The Toronto Rebellion is Toronto’s rugby team; it represents an all-star array of under-20 players from across the various Toronto Rugby Union clubs. And the Rebellion have already smashed their way through the regular season going undefeated at 4 and 0. Huge wins over the 2008 National Junior Champions Niagara Lightning (twice I might add), the Ottawa Jr Harlequins (twice again), coupled with senior men’s victories over the Quebec Caribou and the Ottawa Harlequins Sr side, have cemented Toronto’s place in the upcoming Championship.

This coming Sunday, the Toronto Rebellion will face off against the Newfoundland Rock to determine who’s the best rugby team in Eastern Canada. The game kicks off at 2pm at Fletcher’s Fields in Markham. Admission is a mere five bucks for eighty minutes of champagne rugby.
Once the Rebellion make neat work of the Rock – as General Manager Alan Kasperski has predicted ‘crushing them into pebbles’ – the victors will move on to the Rugby Canada National Junior Championship out west against the winner of the game between the Vancouver Wave and the Calgary Mavericks … the National Championship game taking place on August 1st. Toronto has won the Eastern Championship three times in the past, but never a National Championship. This year is Toronto’s year. We expect to see you there.

The ‘When and Where’:
Rugby Canada Eastern Final: Sunday July 26th, 2009 – Kick off at 2pm sharp
Admission: $5, includes parking on site
Location: Fletcher’s Fields in Markham – 2743 19th Ave, Markham, ON L0H 1G0
Map
Toronto Rugby website
Toronto Rebellion photos

So we are losers and idiots, that is the story that we hear all the time right. Dumb Leaf fans. Idiots follow the team through thick and thick. We dish out our hard earned cash in unwavering support day after day, time after time. As a result of this support, the theory goes, there is no pressure on the franchise to ever improve and therefore the team will forever suck. Right? Did I miss a point?

The good folks over at PPP had a brillant post today comparing Mr. Berger and comments made by Mr Hogan (that I didn’t hear) about the Toronto Blue Jays and the lack of fan support the Jays received on Sunday.

“Contrast this with the reason typically given for the lack of championships won by the local hockey team. “The Leafs don’t have to win because the sucker fan base show up all the time regardless.” So which is it? Jays fans don’t deserve a winner because they don’t show up. Leaf fans don’t deserve a winner because they do.”

Aint that the truth! However, let’s take this one step even further sports fans. Imagine for one second that interest in the Leafs starts to wane. Try to imagine that this team’s attendance starts to drop off to let’s say, oh I don’t know, the St. Louis, Chicago (in years past) or other struggling markets. Before you say it will never happen, anything is possible and, more importantly go with me here, it is my post.

So, what would happen if Maple Leaf nation was no more. Leaf fans lost interest. Did what the media wants, stayed away, stopped tuning in, turning on and paying attention. Would those who call us idiots be happy then? No really, where would the Howard Berger’s be then? Think about, suddenly readership on Maple Leaf centric blogs, Toronto Sports papers and audience on both Toronto radio shows dropped like a stone. You know all those folks who bash the shit out of their audience for “suckeredly” follow the team, do you know where they would be?

UNEMPLOYED IN GREENLAND!

It’s one thing to be suckers for following our teams. It’s quite another to be suckers for taking shit from the media. Now, I happen to side with Hogan on this one. I think that 36k to see Roy Halladay pitch vs. the Red Sox is sad. I know, it’s better than other teams draw, I know it’s better than most games, but it is still not a large number. However, Jays fans aren’t the cause for the teams demise. Their GM is. Their GM signed the contracts that are now “albatrosses” around the team’s neck. If you want to point the finger of blame in why the Jays are where they are, then it starts with the GM. This is his team. He put it together. He signed the guys. Ownership initially hired him to cut costs. The plan was to give in to JP when the time was right and spend as necessary. Ownership followed that plan. JP asked for more money, ASH money and guess what? He got it! Boy did he ever. The payroll swelled again and the team didn’t improve. Jays fans fault? Hell no.

One day, more guys will join the likes of Norm Rumack on the real sidelines. Norm is there as a result of tough economic times. There will come a day, maybe not in the foreseeable future that the good ship Maple Leaf will not be what it is today. The coach of the Maple Leafs will one day face a media scrum of less than 10 people. Free agent day in Toronto won’t garner hours of coverage, nor will the NHL trade deadline day. Nothing lasts forever, NOTHING. Then, I promise you those media types will be longing for the days when jobs in the greatest hockey city were aplenty. A time when the fans hung on every word, read every paper, listened to every show and saught information on the team as if it were more important than food. That day will come.

You can read the rest of brilliance here