Even here in Milan the NBA All Star Game is big news. No, the talk around the water cooler isn’t whether this is Chris Bosh’s last ASG as a Toronto Raptor. Two really good stories on Bosh today that I thought I would point out:

First from ESPN, an unlikely source given the subject matter. Marc Stein though takes a good approach in his column:

““It’s funny you say that, because I was thinking about it. I was just looking at what people say and it’s like, ‘Chris is going to go here and play with him or this, this and that.’ I’m like, ‘Wait a minute.’ I feel like I should be built around. And maybe that’s just my ego talking, but I feel that I’m a very good player in this league and I’m only going to get better. So … maybe we should be getting somebody [in Toronto].”

Bosh is sure to field more probing questions about his future Friday when he meets the bulk of the media in town to cover All-Star Weekend. But the above comments, at the very least, give more insight into our assertion made back in November that Bosh likes his situation in Toronto more than many of us south of the border want to believe.”

That comment couldn’t be more accurate. Look, I don’t know if he is staying or not. Here is what I believe:

I don’t think Bosh is a liar. I don’t think he knows what he wants to do. If you read more of Stein’s column you will see that he want’s to be the guy and not the 2nd guy. He can be that in Toronto. I think the money is irrelevant as he will get it no matter what, here or there via sign and trade. What is important is winning. IF, and I say IF the Raptors can somehow go a run in the playoffs, I can’t see Bosh leaving. If they pull a Brady, and fizzle out early or not make the playoffs at all, I think all bets are off.

Now, Mike Ganter in today’s Toronto Sun hits a homerun (or a really long three pointer at the buzzer to win the game ):

” Maybe if the members of the American media throwing these blanket statements around so cavalierly had been in the countless pre-game, post-game, pre-shootaround, post-practice scrums that those of us who are actually around Bosh on a near daily basis have been, they wouldn’t be so quick to write off his Raptors future.

Now there’s no doubt that Bosh has confidantes in the media south of the border. He is an American. He grew up in Dallas. He helped his country win a gold medal in Beijing two summers ago. There is no way he hasn’t made those relationships.

He might even be more comfortable expressing future plans with that select few. We get that.

But Bosh has been so steadfastly adamant that he has not made up his mind about next season, let alone next week, that it’s hard to accept that anyone who has spent any time looking into his future could dismiss it. ”

It’s nice to know that the MSMers are getting us fed up with this bs as we fans are. Ganter does a great job running down all the accounts of Bosh’s exit and providing what I believe to be some real analysis on where things sit.

Marc Stein’s ESPN article on Chris Bosh can be found here.
Mike Ganter’s story on Chris Bosh is here.

I know I can sometimes be too in love with nostalgia, however this time it’s different. Rogers Sportsnet’s hiring of former Toronto Blue Jays player, manager and broadcaster Buck Martinez is nothing short of a homerun for fans of the ball club. Where hiring of Cito, and trying to bring back others from better days was cheered in this corner, the reality is, for the most part it was nothing more than an attempt to sell tickets to a team in dire need of a boost in revenue column.

This, however is different. Martinez is good at what he does and is not simply being hired to draw fans cause we used to like him. His tenure as manager wasn’t overly positive and therefore his hire should be viewed on the merits as hiring a good analyst for the product that has been badly missing since he left.

We (or at least me) are usually quick to slam the locals for that which they have done, this time they deserve all the credit.

TSM

@yyzsportsmedia

Are you panicking? No, really. Three games in, have the alarm bells started to ring? When the Blue Jays were on their tear early on, where you ready to annoint them playoff bound? When a guy hits a homerun or scores a goal in game one of the season, do you project their season totals???? I mean really.

We Toronto Sports fans take a lot of shit. Some of it is deserved. Most of it is fabricated in attempt to sell papers (who reads em) or radio ads(who listens)… Listening and looking around this town, you would think the Maple Leafs are this years version of the Detroit Lions. Wholly smokes folks, it’s 3 stinking games. It’s three games with how many new faces? Get a grip.

The good news, I think is that most of the hysteria is media generated. No one I know has hit the panic button yet. It is way too early for that. With all due respect, those who call in to Leafs talk aren’t, in my mind anyways representative of Leafs fans. Seriously, do you know anyone who calls in to those shows? That is not to say that people don’t…It’s just that the notion that those who do are speaking for the larger group is bunk. I mean the larger group doesn’t think that the guy from Maple is bang on when he suggested the Jamal Mayers for a first round draft pick.

So, is it the media who creates hysteria and the fans feed off of it, or are fans really panicked as has been suggested. I am not buying that it is the fans. I don’t see it, I don’t hear it and it makes no sense. It makes about as much sense as the Bruce Garrioch Ron Wilson story today.

Look, this is really simple. If the Leafs are any worse than they were last year when the season ends and lottery positions are finalized, Brian Burke is going to have some explaining to do. If the Boston Bruins are on the podium with the Maple Leafs pick things have gone dramatically astray. If this team regresses after the overhaul the lineup has undergone, something is amiss. It’s really that simple. To reach that conclusion after game 3?????????? I am sorry. We aren’t, collectively anyways, that dumb are we???????

I certainly hope not. Saturday could be ugly by the way. If the same Leafs team shows up that did against Ottawa, Pittsburgh may have a field day.

Chins up leafs nation. It’s a long haul, and we’ve only just begun.

Back in Toronto after a wet weekend in New York. Had a great time but man it was miserable weather wise. So here is what I am hearing this evening on the Kessel front. Burke absolutely wants him. I am told from multiple people that he has presented three different scenarios (I say scenarios because I am not sure an actual offer has been made).

The first you may have seen on the net or twitter tonight, two first round picks and a second for Kessel.
The second is a first round pick plus a top 6 forward on the Maple Leafs who the Bruins are extremely high on and may actually be insisting on in any deal for Kessel, in return the Maple Leafs may actually get a pick back plus Kessel.
The third would involve a mix of prospects and picks in exchange for Kessel.

So there you have it. Personally, I despise the first scenario. I don’t like dealing 1st round draft picks, trading 2 of them has to be for a guaranteed home run. With all due respect to Kessel, he isn’t a guaranteed homerun. I like the second one, as I am not overly in love with any of the Maple Leaf forwards enough to say untouchable. The third scenario makes little sense to me. This is the first time we may actually have any prospects, dealing them now seems way too early. I will be really pissed if Burke deals Stalberg.

Word on the street is that Kessel will be dealt early this week and likely no later than Wednesday. We shall see I guess, but it could get very interesting around here over the next couple of days.

Here are the lineups for the shows at noon:

On Baseball Show:

Blue Jays talk with Mike Wilner

On Leafs Lunch:

Greg Brady hosts:

Topics & Guests TBA

College of Sports Media Game of the Night:

The first two games between the Detroit Tigers and Boston Red Sox have resulted in two dramatic wins for the Red Sox and a total of five hit batsmen. Things blew up in the second inning of last nights game when Kevin Youkilis was plunked by Detroit’s Rick Porcello. Youkilis rushed the mound throwing his helmut at the pitcher and bear-hugging him to the ground. Both dugouts emptied, but that was the worst of it. Youkilis and Porcello were given the rest of the night off. Mike Lowell replaced Youk and proceeded to hit two homeruns. He also scored on Jason Bays three run homerun. Bay by the way has three long balls in his last four games since returning from a hamstring injury.

In game three of this four gamer, Josh Beckett (13-4) gets the call for the Bo-Sox. Beckett’s no stranger to plunking the odd batter or two. He was suspended earlier this season for intentionally throwing over the head of Los Angeles Angel Bobby Abreu. Armando Galarraga (6-10) goes for the Tigers.

It’s GameShow Post Night here at TSM..

Not much out there at this hour, however old TSM is off to Atlanta tomorrow so I am not sure how much time I will have to add in the am.

“Burke, in an email Monday night, said he liked, Primeau’s “size and compete level.”

“He can really help us if he can stay healthy,” continued Burke.

“he was on the ice Monday with Keith teaching at a hockey camp in the Owen Sound area where he spends his summers. That’s where his wife found him to let him know that Calgary GM Darryl Sutter was trying to reach him.

“I figured I was on the move,” said Primeau, who is joining his seventh NHL team. “I turned to my friend and said that if I’m going somewhere, I hope it’s Toronto.”

“I really enjoyed playing for Ron,” he said. “He was just one of those guys that if you worked hard he rewarded you and he just showed a lot of confidence in me. A big part of hockey is confidence and he brought my game up to another level.”

Burke wrote Monday night that he is still looking to move another defenceman, or at least listening to offers, though last week he said he’d be “shocked” if Tomas Kaberle – the player who could likely bring the most in return – wasn’t in Toronto’s opening night roster.

“(It’s) still crowded back there,” he said. The Leafs have nine defencemen who will arrive at camp with realistic expectations of being on the NHL roster.

All those of quotes came via the Toronto Star.

As I crawl around the net tonight I am seeing a lot of unhappy Leaf fans. Howie, will of course say that this is just delusional Leaf Nation over-valuing Stralman, or some other annecdote from his in-laws stately mansion in LA. I think this is the type of deal we can expect from Mr. Burke. Not every deal is going to be a homerun. I think sometimes you will see him make moves that may appear to be a backwards step or one to the side….I am willing to bet, at least for now that this part of a bigger plan.

More in the am or from Atlanta.

Before I run however, how many of you remember this great clip from the Newlywed’s?:

Newlywed Game – Watch more Funny Videos

TSM