William Houston had it first on his blog so give credit to the maven. Word is on the street, and multiple sources are telling TSM at this hour that Mike Toth has been advised that his services are no longer needed by the folks at Sportsnet. Toth wasn’t on the Fan 590’s Bullpen with Mike Hogan this am. Sources are telling TSM that Toth is gone from Sportsnet and what that means exactly for his duties for the Fan 590 has yet to be decided.

Let’s be clear, I am not a Mike Toth fan. I don’t think he is very good at what he does. That’s just one guy’s opinion, no more valuable than the other. Having said that, I feel for Mr. Toth today. He clearly enjoys what he does and is passionate about it. More importantly, time are tough out there and he does have a family. So in the pre-holiday spirit I offer Toth the best of luck in securing another job- perhaps in another market

More as we hear more.

@yyzsportsmedia

Here is another video previewing NBA Live 10…. This looks seriously cool…Can’t wait till I try it. EA sports has done another great job.

Had it been Brian Burke, or Brian Collangelo the firing of the executive would have been BREAKING NEWS. Instead, the story that J.P. Ricciardi was gonged (finally) was pretty much under the radar. There was a tiny mention of it on the cover of this morning’s Toronto Sun and the other papers and outlets had it equally as buried. There were stories about the firing, but I have to let you know I, for one have been left totally unsatisfied by the reports. I don’t care that they fired him on Saturday am. This is the age of the internet. Again, if the Leafs fired (or hired) Brian Burke, they somehow would have had every writer on it until you were sick of the story. As a fan, the coverage sucked.

I know, it’s not hockey. I know, it’s not as popular as hockey. However, it’s a major freaking sport people. This team has won championships before. This team did draw 50,000 people before. I know interest has waned. I am the one who told you I wouldn’t go to a game for free. I get it all. I am telling you that we as fans deserve better than this story received.

I know it came as no surprise. I know it was the right thing to do. I know all the reason why this could have been treated as a yawner… It shouldn’t have been. We have 3 major league sports teams (4 if you count TFC). When one of them fires their General Manager, it should be BREAKING NEWS. It’s the type of story that gets the professionals in on weekends (even if it is raining). It’s a big news story and it should have been treated as such.

Now writers write, and editors edit, so the question is who is to blame for this? Well, I have to point the finger at the boys upstairs on this one. It’s their job to get guys on all the angles of the story. We didn’t get all the angles on the story as we deserved. Hell, the Sun has made it a habit of having one of their editors write editorials on the Coyotes, on the Maple Leafs and they don’t touch this? How is this acceptable coverage?

I thought for a moment that perhaps it was because the Blue Jays have a reputation of being hard on the press. They apparently put pressure on their rights holders like no one else in town. However, I would have to think that the Rogers folks would want this story everywhere. Hell, ding dong the witch is dead! This is a surprise because for the most part it is the first time we have seen ANY evidence of a pulse from Rogers about the Jays or anyone who may want to follow them. Sure firing J.P was the easy thing. The fact they have at least taken that step is an unbelievable sign. They may actually care. People knock MLSE for not doing everything they can to win, hell, take a look at Rogers. As one scribe properly put it the other day, Rogers is making Interbrew look fantastic. So when the flat lining patient actually shows a small sign of life that is big. When something of this magnitude is done to a team whose home holds 50,000 and had games around 10,000 in attendance, it’s big news.

Hate to say it folks but, we have very good writers in this town. We got the short end on this story.

TSM

@yyzsportsmedia

So Tie Domi was on Hockey Central At Noon the other day. Here is a recap (the interview is below). it’s pretty funny and for the Sundin Lover in You, you will love it. Tie rips Bill Watters and takes lots of jabs at John Ferguson Jr. and even one at Howard Berger…

Tie Domi: wow does that guy still have the city fooled (Bill Watters)

Was very very close to Mats Sundin- Sundin used to buy dinner for Domi for taking care of him on the ice. Domi last speaker at the wedding. Took the high road, he made everyone feel comfortable from top to bottom, treated everyone the same, wanted to have family atmosphere like Messier did in New York. Sundin’s stats speak for themselves. We had good teams but we didn’t have the luck. Mats is going to live in Sweden so retiring in Toronto not as important to him. Thinks have to change here with the whole culture, Burke is going to do that. Why was it Mat’s job to fix the disaster that John Ferguson Jr. did here? People could have protected Mats better and I think Burke would have done it better. Mats Sundin’s wedding was the best wedding I have ever been to. It was UNBELIEVABLE. Sundin “crushed” that Kaberle didn’t come to the wedding.(likely kidding).. No head table at the wedding, his parents and his wife’s parents sitting together with him and the bride. 140 people at a golf course. When Roberts and Nieuendyk came to Toronto they changed his career, how they prepared and acted, when they left he was crushed. If there was ever a day he wanted to run over John Ferguson that was the day. New guys they brought in are all character guys. It’s been tough watching this team for a long time. Having guys being accountable. Colton Orr had dinner with Tie Domi, they have become friends, he is a good kid. “Berger couldn’t scoop ice cream berger”

Kypreos thinks Sundin is bitter on how things ended here. “wait till maclean is on in the 2nd hour…that guy doesn’t shut up” Colton Orr loooooves to fight..he reminds me of Tie- a little koo-koo.

tiedomi-hc-20090930

Listen to the Chat here

“99% of the time I report on simply what is being discussed.”

That, is funny shit.

I mean, how many “people” out there either online or otherwise can really say they are reporting on what is being discussed? 1? 2? 5? 10??? How much misinformation is out there in this age of the internet? First, if you want to know how many people really know what is being discussed, count the number of GM’s there are. Those are probably the only guys who know what is being discussed. From there you can add the odd scout, agent and maybe player. From those groups there are big mouths, misdirectors and plants. Big mouths, people who know something, maybe not all, but something and can’t keep their traps shut. Then there are the misdirectors, folks who may or may not know shit, but who talk, but not about what is really going on, rather they offer up the wrong information as a distraction. Then of course there are the plants. People who may or may not something who speak for the intent of getting things going.

Then there is the press. Those whose job it is to try to make sense out of this crap. The good ones know who is legit, who is spreading shit and when something is really going on. There are very few in this class. There are others, especially in the blogosphere who are mathematicians. That is, they can put two and two together to get 4. Team a has a glut of goalies, team b’s goalie is hurt, therefore they are talking. I do also believe there are those who simply make shit up to sell papers, or clicks. I am a big fan of the website hfboards.com I love the trade rumour section. The best posts (and I say that entirely with tongue in cheek) is the proposal posts. I mean, what’s the difference between those posts and the brains who call talk shows with these trades that they dream up in between classes and recess???

So, for someone to come up with a rumour rating system and to say “99% of the time I report on simply what is being discussed.” is pretty fucking funny. I mean, Tomas Kaberle is tradeable for until what, August 15th? How hard is it to deduce that if he is going to be traded that Burke would be talking about him??? How hard is it to come up with a list of teams who would be looking for a player like Kaberle??? Hankey site is brilliant for one thing, entertainment. He started during the lockout and is the pre-eminent example of how information crazy hockey fans are. It’s:

“However, and e5 is nothing like an E1, E2, E3, or E4….An E5 is supposed to be a done deal. For the most part, save a very few instances in the last four years, e5s have been you can “take it to the bank” deals. Over 80 e5s have been reported with 4 false positives. But remember, I can only report what I am told”

E N T E R T A I N M E N T

Then there is the sad and pathetic:

“Once again, sports fans in Toronto — a.k.a. Loserville — must look to a change of weather for a small glimmer of hope.”

Raise your hand if you think, anyone person cries harder into a pillow each time a Toronto team loses than Howard Berger. I love his Toronto sucks posts. Why? Cause it kills Toronto’s number one fan more than anyone when our teams fail.

“No wonder the Kool-Aid is in fully supply for the Leafs. Fans are convinced the addition of defensemen Michael Komisarek, Garnet Exelby and Francois Beauchemin will enable the club to make up 13 points in the standings and qualify for the playoffs. Of course, that’s assuming every other team in the East stands still. Promises from the Blue & White have been a dime a dozen in recent decades; accomplishment has been sporadic, or non-existent. But, hope always runs rampant in the warm months. As for the Raptors… well, talk about promises!”

Who the fuck is convinced that the Leafs as they are today are playoff bound? I haven’t heard one fan gurantee that? Everyone seems to be inline with the small steps. What promises have the Blue and White made other than that the playoffs are the goal? Isn’t this the same clown who hadn’t heard about nor believed in “tank”ing in the before??? I mean in Berger’s world, team play to win every night right?? I have no problem with the theory that guys like Wilson and Burke wanting to win every night. I have no problem with the same theory about players. We fans, don’t have to give up or fandom to realize that perhaps the best thing short term is in not making the playoffs. I will say this again. If Leaf fans were head over heals in love with their team, runts like Berger wouldn’t have a job. There would be no reason to send the Miami Dolphin wearing reporter on every roadtrip if Leaf fans were, ummmmmmm Jays fans. Seriously, consider this, How many roadtrips does Wilner go on? He is the closest thing the Fan has to Berger for the Jays right? I know the jobs are different, Wilner does pre and post games on the fan, but he certainly appears to be just as knowledgeable on basbeall as the guy who doesn’t watch any non-leaf games is.

Why Berger dumps on Toronto as much as he does is remarkable. One day it will eventually lead to his downfall. The worst part is, it’s a total fraud. He is the biggest closet fan out there.

Have a good night

TSM