Our pals in all the major dailies took the swords out to the Maple Leafs today in collective force. Here’s a recap of the day that was in the papers:

That was the cover story of the Toronto Sun today. The accompanying story by Gary Loewen, actually the best story he has ever written, basically compared the current Maple Leafs to that of the Ballard era.

” During Ballard’s 19-year term as principal owner, the Leafs never won fewer than 20 games and missed the playoffs only five times from 1972 to 1990. The current Leafs, under the condo-flogging, basketball-dribbling, soccer-scuffling Maple Leaf Short of Entertainment Ltd., are on target to miss the playoffs for the fifth year in a row! ”

Hard to argue with the facts as Loewen lays them out.

” As the owner, Pal Hal was visible — he attended practices and watched games from his end-zone bunker at Maple Leaf Gardens. He was an easy target for vilification by fans. Nowadays, could anyone actually pick out an MLSEL governor from a line up of chablis-swilling navy suits in the platinum club at the Air Canada Centre? Club president Richard Peddie might be recognizable, but even he has disappeared into condo limbo since GM Brian Burke become the face of the Leafs on Nov. 29, 2008. ”

Well, I am not sure how valid that point is. A certain former assistant GM who’s fingers used to have problems with fax machines is pretty blunt in his opinion of the current group. Not only that all the media outlets have no problem identifying the figure heads either. As for the Peddie part, he isn’t an owner and the fact that we don’t hear from is a good thing…

” When Steve Stavro was bought out in February 2003, it laid the groundwork for the current board. Mistakes were made: Board members and players formed relationships; certain players got contracts they didn’t deserve; and the inexperienced John Ferguson Jr. was hired as GM.

The Leafs are still trying to dig their way out of the JFJ mess, which left some lingering, malodorous contracts.

The Leafs have the fourth least salary-cap space (about $600,000) in the NHL, so trying to pull off a trade can be a financial nightmare.

However, Burke’s arrival has accomplished two things: It has cut off interference from the board, and his personality has brought passion to the organization. ”

I think that’s a very fair assessment. The truth of the matter is, until this current group wins a cup- they can’t claim much more than Ballard did.

Still with the Sun, Joe Warmington had a very good article entitled ‘It’s time we held Wilson and Burke accountable’. A good story in that I think it fairly reflects the current state of the team and where the blame, if any, should lay:

” Since the Toronto Maple Leafs are the worst team in the National Hockey League, in a year when you gave up a potential first-round lottery pick and could miss out on a franchise player, it’s your turn to be called out for a change.

We are No. 30, after all.

We saw fans with bags over their heads in the more successful eras.

How long before it happens again? Anybody can coach or manage this team to last place — and for a lot less salary.

Despite all of the bombastic banter, and off-season acquisitions, the Leafs at the 20-game mark have won just three and lost 17. Spare us the argument that overtime or shootout losses are ties!

The “pugnacity, testosterone, truculence and belligerence” Burke promised seems to have instead become poor, pathetic, pitiful and pomposity.

Still Burke woos always wishful Leafs Nation with sweet-talking BS about “like a movie” one day the Leafs will “ride off with the girl on the horse followed by a parade.”

That seems to sum up the sentiments of every email I have received from similarly depressed Toronto Maple Leaf fans. It’s not about being impatient with the results per se, rather the pathetic display of hockey this team has played this year. The team appears to have gone backwards and forwards from the team we saw last year.

” After the last-second blowing of the Carolina Hurricanes game, Wilson said, in his usual caustic way: “We need more commitment from some people who are feeling sorry for themselves.”

Yet it was him who had a minus-five Nikolai Kulemin on the ice to help blow it.

Perhaps Wilson should be sent to the minors.

As for the reporters he seems to loathe, they are having a better season. Everytime he says something like “I am sure you guys would petition City Hall to have a street named after” a player who did “well,” I wonder if he would prefer to have the kind of interest they have in Phoenix? ”

I totally agree with the last part. These guys are working in the hockey mecca of the world. As much as they may loathe the MSM- at least they get coverage. At least people care.

” As Hans Christian Andersen wrote in 1837, perhaps the emperor has no clothes. People are starting to notice the clothes are not new — as illustrated by former Leaf Gary Roberts raising questions about the team’s potentially “ludicrous” training regimen and former NHL tough guy Jim Thomson telling TSN’s Michael Landsberg that “Ron Wilson is not a good coach” and “can’t motivate players.”

Time will tell on both because there are many years and millions of dollars owed to these “geniuses.”

I don’t have much faith in guys yapping from the sidelines. Everyone has an opinion and as long as you are on the sidelines you have an agenda. Is Wilson the next coming of Toe Blake? I have no clue, but the guy has won more than his fair share of games as a head coach. As the adage goes, he didn’t forget how to coach over night.

Over at the Toronto Star, Damien Cox chimed in on Wilson as well.

“Perception is everything in politics and sports, and in this case, there is a growing perception that Wilson would be safe even if the Leafs had zero victories because he has already by tabbed by Burke to coach the American Olympic team in February.

Leaf fans will take a lot. They’ve proven that over four decades. But keeping a coach in place so he can coach a U.S. team in the Olympics? That won’t fly, even if it’s not the reason Burke has indicated Wilson is safe.

So if the water keeps rising, and it’s rising very quickly around the Leaf enterprise right now, Burke may ultimately get pushed into doing something he is dead set against.”

I don’t believe Burke will get ‘pushed’ to do anything by anyone but the facts themselves. He doesn’t appear to be in the position to fire Wilson simply because ownership is unhappy. This is his bus and it’s way too early for him to do that. If Wilson’s team stays on this course 4 wins in 21 attempts, to 8 in 42, then Burke may be pushed to fire Wilson.

“The guess here is that Wilson has 10 more games to show some noticeably positive results.

The team is healthy, particularly the key players, Wilson was lucky enough to have a pure scorer in Phil Kessel added in early November and he’s working with a team that isn’t overly inexperienced.

The club, however, was dead last in defence and penalty killing last year. It still is. Youngsters like Luke Schenn, Nikolai Kulemin and John Mitchell are going backwards or sideways.

Whatever Wilson and his assistants are preaching either isn’t getting across to the players, or it’s a game plan they can’t execute”

I agree with that notion. To hear Burke suggest otherwise was laughable the other day. If this continues it just can’t be ALL the players, you have to look at the common denominator.

“Three wins in 20 games is pathetic. If, after 30 games, we’re still looking at six wins or less, the pressure on Burke to make a coaching change will be excruciating.

Maybe that won’t affect him. People should remember that his first two years in Vancouver were just as ugly as they have been so far in Toronto, maybe uglier.

But Burke wants to win, and so far, there is little or no evidence that Wilson is going to be able to fashion even a .500 club out of the current lineup, which may simply mean he’s no Criss Angel.”

I don’t disagree with any of that. Things just can’t keep on like this much longer. Tonight’s shootout win is a start. Let’s see it again and again and again…

“Burke, in London, Ont., watching top draft pick Nazem Kadri on Friday night, is working on at least two trades. He will undoubtedly attempt to make roster moves first, preferring to make a coaching change the last resort.”

Burke has to do something to get this team going. It doesn’t take rocket science to arrive at the conclusion that this squad doesn’t have the horses…

“Interestingly, Randy Carlyle has the Anaheim Ducks in last place in the West, and if he were to get canned there, Burke would have a bona fide option. Carlyle has worked for Burke with the Canucks and Ducks.

At the moment, there’s Wayne Gretzky, who was severely disappointing after failing to strike a free agent deal as a player with the Leafs in 1996 and probably isn’t done with coaching yet. It’s suggested Gretzky has lost 20 pounds and is feeling great these days, but also noted that a job that takes him far away from his home in Thousand Oaks, Calif., might not be at the top of his wish list.

Interestingly, Gretzky shares Burke’s philosophy on the need for toughness in the sport and enforcers on the ice. He learned a great deal from his experiences in Phoenix and, like the late Ron Lancaster of football fame, could be that rare superstar who struggles in his first coaching assignment then excels in his second attempt.

Certainly, you couldn’t get a bigger name.

Craig MacTavish, Peter Laviolette and Mike Keenan are also out there, and Ted Nolan’s name always comes up.

Burke won’t like it that candidates are even being discussed. But that’s the dark cloud that three wins in 20 games brings.”

I don’t think anyone likes that the team is as shitty as they’ve been. At least not anyone with any love of the Leafs anyways. The fact that the papers are circling before December 1 is astounding.

Over at the Globe, David Shoalts checks in and to be honest, I think his latest work is mostly out to lunch.

“If most fans had their way, Brian Burke would be busy this weekend firing Ron Wilson, trading Nazem Kadri, Tyler Bozak, Luke Schenn and just about any other prospect the Toronto Maple Leafs have, and presto, they would no longer be the worst team in the NHL.:

While I have heard people suggest Wilson’s firing, no one that I know has suggested trading ANY of the names Shoalts listed. At least no fans with brains.

“The populace that bragged during the summer of 2008 that it was willing to wait while the Leafs underwent a massive rebuilding operation that promised to be a minimum of two years is, 14 months later, somehow under the impression that today’s 3-11-6 team is the equivalent of seeing the 1977 Montreal Canadiens going off the rails.”

That’s just utter bullshit. The fan base has the stomach to go the right route. Burke elected not to go that way. He didn’t break the whole thing down and go with kids, he went a non -traditional route of being half pregnant. By signing the guys he signed and saying the things he said, he send a message that things weren’t going to be as bad as they are. That people are pissed isn’t a sign of impatience. It’s one of disbelief and reality of having seen this before.

“In the meantime, fans should remember this is a rebuilding team. Unlike previous years, there are some prospects on the farm, though. Consider that the best centres in the organization (Bozak and Kadri) are not even with the Leafs and practise some patience.

As for the current edition of the team, there is not much hope for dramatic improvement. In the wake of Thursday’s ghastly blown lead and loss to the Carolina Hurricanes, Stempniak admitted the Leafs are a little short on fortitude.

“We don’t respond to adversity very well, I guess,” he said. “We play really well and then let one little mistake get to us and compound it.

“We need to do a better a job of being mentally tough and being a team that knows it takes 60 minutes to win a game.”

Stempniak and a few others may have to learn this with the marlies”

Um David, your MSM brothers and sisters should remember that too, don’t ya think???????

So, one win versus Washington and now we see what happens. Burke can’t be swayed that things have turned by this one win…

Loewen is here
Warmington is here
Cox is here
Shoalts is here

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

TSM: Hey all- part one in a new thing we are trying here, point/counterpoint. Mark Farmer is up with his point (to which I, TSM) shall offer my counterpoint tomorrow…. and now…the Point:

Hey Everyone! My name is Mark Farmer, and I have been grown up watching the Toronto Maple Leafs for as long as I can remember. I like all of you haved lived through some of the biggest mess ups in Leafs history, John Ferguson JR? Looking in your direction.

But from what I’m hearing from some Leafs fans today, and I hope they are joking, is that the Maple Leafs are on the verge of making the playoffs this season. Come Again?

Granted the Leafs will be much improved from the last few years of futility and competing well enough for a low playoff spot or finishing just outside of the eight best teams in the NHL’s Eastern Conference.

Now all of a sudden because of the addition of a few college kids, only one or two who will be with the team on Opening Night, and some added new toughness with the likes of Mike Komisarek(who may not be able to dress Opening Night) and Garnet(don’t call me Grant) Exelby, and the trade for Phil Kessel(who hasn’t arrived yet) to give them much needed scoring, they are expected to compete for a playoff spot. Sorry I don’t buy it.

They didnt address one major glaring error, Goaltending. Don’t tell me Jonas Gustavsson is the savior, as good as he may be for the Leafs in the future. He still has to learn how to play hockey in the NHL and Europe. He is also still a rookie.

Hockey may be hockey, any way you slice it, but NHL vs Europe is completly different. Don’t believe me…Chicago Blackhawks: 9. HC Davos: 2.

Will the Leafs make the playoffs this year? I don’t think so because the team hasn’t had the chance to gel like other teams have.

And I know this is said by every Leafs fan by Christmas of every year, but Wait ’til Next Year. Then they have a chance.

Editors note- stay tuned for tomorrow’s counterpoint by TSM on why the Maple Leafs WILL make the playoffs.

Here are the lineups for the shows at noon:

On Hockey Central At Noon:
12-1 Darren Millard Nick Kypreos
1225 brad park
1245 john ferguson jr

1-2 Darren Milllard Doug MacLean

125 Rick Nash

College of Sports Media Game of the Night:

For the last couple of weeks the NL wild card has been considered a two horse race and the eventual winner would be either the Colorado Rockies or the San Francisco Giants. Well the Atlanta Braves and the Florida Marlins are now in the mix and have decided to crash the party. In fact the Braves, winners of their last three are now trailing the Rockies by three and a half games while the Marlins are tied with the Giants four games back. Three of the teams open up three game sets tonight, while the Giants hos the Chicago Cubs in game two of a four game set.

Colorado is in tough in their match up this evening as they welcome the St Louis Cardinal to the Mile High State. The Card have been the hottest team in the National League since the all star break and are one game away from punching their ticket to the postseason. Aaron Cook (10-9) gets the call for the Rox. St. Louis give the ball to the ace of their staff, Chris Carpenter (16-4).

Atlanta has the easiest match up. They are in Washington to play arguably the worst team in all of the baseball, the Nationals. The only danger in playing this type of an opponent is the potential of overlooking them and focusing on the their crucial series against Florida. Javier Vazquez (14-9) starts for the Braves. The Nationals counter with lefty John Lannan (9-12).

The Marlins welcome the disappointing New York Mets to Florida tonight. The Mets were supposed to be World Series contenders, but injuries to Carlos Delgado, Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran and David Wright put an early end to any play off aspirations. Ricky Nolasco (12-9) goes for Florida and Tim Redding (3-6) starts for the Mets.

Last night San Fran was one out away from the win, when disaster struck. Closer Brian Wilson gave up a two run bomb to Jeff Baker and the Cubs won 3-2. Ouch. Tonight the Giants send reigning CY Young winner Tim Lincecum (14-6) to the mound. The Cubbies counter with Carlos Zambrano (8-6).

This is the era of L O N G term contracts in the NHL. So while John Ferguson Jr. may have been a total knucklehead, nothing that I have read or seen since he blew out of town has changed my mind about that, but at least he didn’t give away any 12 year contracts. You have to believe that is for one reason. He wasn’t smart enough to figure it out! If he was Jason Blake would have been on the books for another 9 years, not to pick on Blake, but that last contract Domi signed would have been for at least 8 years, with Tie actually having to pay the Leafs in years 7 and an8. Nope, our last full time GM wasn’t so bad after all, he didn’t stick us with any of those L O N G term contracts. Problem is, he also didn’t get any players deserving of them.

Of course that was written tongue in cheek, however it does beg the question, do you think that our Leafs will ever have the type of player you would want to sign to an excessively long term contract. I know many of you are in love with Luke Schenn. I don’t know why, but I just don’t imagine ever giving him that type of contract. I recognize that I may one day eat those words, and hell I hope I do. Other than him, is there someone you see who could one day get that deal??? A Schrute Buck to the first person who yells Kadri!

I doubt these long term contracts will be around when Buzz Hargrove negotiates the next CBA for the NHLPA, so we can only dream…

What do you think?

By the way, I loved all the emails responding to both little TSM’s bedwetting alarm and the guest vs. host question- keep em coming.

TSM

@yyzsportsmedia

There are always three sides to every story. Literally, there is one side, the other side and then the truth which usually lies somewhere in between the two. So when we read Craig Button’s account of life under John Ferguson Jr. we have to take it with grain of a salt, knowing that there has to be more to the story. I am not calling Button a liar, on the contrary, I am saying he is human, and he is good at telling a version of the story that best suits him.

Having said that, in reading a couple of excerpts of Leafs AbomiNation: The Dismayed Fan’s Handbook to Why the Leafs Stink and How They Can Rise Again, by Dave Feschuk and Michael Grange, I am intrigued enough to want to read the rest of the book. The Toronto Star ran a piece today, as did the Globe and Mail. It appears to be a book that most Leaf fans will want to read as it provides an inside look into what was happening on the inside of our team. None of the stories on their own surprise me. What does surprise me is just how bad things were. I mean, we as fans always heard tales. There have been rumblings about the ways of Richard Peddie, and the competency of John Ferguson Jr. but I don’t think that anyone every REALLY believed that either was as bad as the pundits made them out to be.

“A big reason I left is there’s got to be a fit. When you don’t feel you’re contributing, when you don’t feel anybody’s paying attention even, it’s difficult to stick around,” says Button. “I cannot begin to tell you how non-communicative John Ferguson and Mike Penny were. I’m talking, not even, `Good idea.’ “You’d send stuff to them – nothing. Somebody asked me once, `What’s John like in private?’ I said, `Exactly like he is in public.’ And I’m not trying to rip on John. I think he was overwhelmed. I think he was like a deer in the headlights and he didn’t know what to do.”

This type of story by Button is the exact thing I used to hear about JFJ all the time. He didn’t listen to anyone’s advise or counsel EVER. Despite the fact that he was a rookie GM, he always considered himself the smartest guy in the room. What’s surprising about this is not only that it comes from Button, but that stories were true. Button tries to salvage Ferguson’s reputation by blaming those who hired him. While I am the first to admit he was a brutal hire, not listening to those around you is a character flaw. It’s not the responsibility of Peddie or anyone else. Either Ferguson is smart or he isn’t. He either listened to advice or he didn’t. Being overwhelmed usually means you are smart enough to get help. Typically when someone is overwhelmed they don’t try to do everything themselves.

“”I think it’s the dumbest thing they ever could have done. Putting [prospects] under the scrutiny of Toronto? I can’t think of anything dumber. How do you live in a city like Toronto when you’re a young player making $50,000 a year? But that was a business-side decision. They thought they were going to make a ton of money off the Marlies. They thought they’d make something like $3 million or $4 million a year. And they’re losing $3 million or $4 million a year. So they were off by $6 or $8 million.”

It’s actually pretty funny. We on this site say it all the time. the Marlies are on of the poorest run organizations off the ice in sports we have ever seen. While I don’t like the fact that a smaller market lost their team, I think moving the team to Toronto was a good thing. It allows the kids to get lots of exposure, to be seen by scouts and it’s a great way for the Leafs brass to keep an eye on them. It cuts down on travel and makes moving players around a lot easier. MLSE had no clue how to run a minor league franchise, and as late as the playoffs last season it was apparent they still had lots to learn. Toronto remains an event driven market, and a Maple Leaf market. It is not a hockey city. The only way they are going to ever fill the building is if the find a way to penetrate the kids leagues and groups. They also have to find a way to make the games into an event. They have to sell more sizzle and less steak.

Button’s story about his recommendation to sign Fabian Brunnstrom is epic. Button recommended signing Brunnstrom while he was in Europe long before he was on anyone’s radar:

“”It was a no-brainer,” says Button, looking back. “I mean, here was a free agent you can sign for next to nothing? It’s a no-brainer.”

But when Bergman brought the plan to Ferguson and the GM’s lieutenant, Mike Penny, the no-brainer became a flat-out no.

“Mike Penny, with John Ferguson right there, said, `There’s no f–king way we’re f–king signing a guy and having him play in f–king Sweden. What the f–k is this bullshit?’” says Button. “I’m sitting there thinking, `Okay. Don’t listen to me. That’s okay. But you hired this guy, Thommie Bergman, and this is his job, to find talent in Europe, and this is how he gets treated?’ But that’s exactly what was said.”

Again, who knows how true any of this is. Either way it’s hilarious. It totally sounds like the Ferguson that the media portrayed him out to be. I can’t imagine that Button will be getting Christmas cards from MLSE anytime soon.

The book sounds like a great read. I have yet to see if it is available on my Amazon Kindle. When I read it I will try to post a full review. I would love to hear more from others who have read it or who have planed to read it.

TSM

@yyzsportsmedia

I have suggested it for a long time, but to no avail, here’s hoping Simmon’s has better luck than I have:

“Why allow J.P. Ricciardi to trade Roy Halladay at all?

“Why not just fire the highly unpopular general manager of the Blue Jays now rather than have him charged with the responsibility of dealing away the most treasured asset in Toronto sports?Ricciardi and his Jays are where they always are — nowhere — which has been his condescending history on the job. Eight years of spinning his wheels, going nowhere, talking a better game than his team played. If Ricciardi isn’t going to be around beyond this season — and please, tell me why he should be? — why not strip him of his powers now, rather than place him in a position to deal away Halladay and establish the template for the Blue Jays’ future. This is not unlike John Ferguson Jr.’s last year on the job with the Maple Leafs, although in fairness to Ricciardi, he is no Ferguson. He hasn’t set this franchise back a decade, although he has signed enough questionable contracts along the way to do so. If trading Halladay is deemed in the best interest of the Jays — and that itself is open to debate — then trade him. But don’t have Ricciardi do it. His time has come and gone. He won’t be here to see the prospects he picks up make it. Someone else will be in his chair. And that someone should be making this all-important transaction: Not a lame-duck general manager certainly on his way out.”

Not a lame duck who has performed as lousy as this one has! What doesn’t matter is what the fans think. GM’s don’t get into lame duck years unless ownerships desire to keep them is in question. Never before has a GM been left hanging when ownership was funny sold on him. Either they are re-upped or they won’t be. Why then let JP deal the most valuable asset? Success in the guys tenure is easy to measure. He has been around that long. You either believe in him or you don’t. I say they don’t and therefore he should be the guy setting up the most important move in the last 10 years.

“Brian Burke has invested more than $22 million in the Maple Leafs defence, which is about $5 million more than the Boston Bruins will pay for their defence this coming season. The Bruins, for the record, allowed 96 fewer goals against than did the Leafs last season”

And the point is??? Look, as you will see in a minute, Burke inherited a mess. He has also brought on salary. You have to start somewhere.

“Burke is still victimized by lousy contracts he had nothing to do with — Jeff Finger at $3.5 million; Jason Blake at $4.5 million; Lee Stempniak at $2.5 million; Jamal Mayers at $1.4 million; and the buyout dollars of Darcy Tucker and Andrew Raycroft at $1.7 million. And if you include the $3.3 million for the rarely healthy Mike Van Ryn, that’s almost $17 million worth of useless contracts — or just about one Vernon Wells deal.”

The Wells deal sucks, but at least everyone is being honest in saying they endorsed it. Cliff and JFJ really had some gems didn’t they? Am I crazy, or I am the only guy who isn’t stuck on this anti-Jeff Finger parade. He is what he is. He got market money for last year. N E X T

So I wasn’t the only one was ready to puke every time @chrisbosh tweeted over the last couple of weeks…

First Simmons:”The Chris Bosh Twitter update you can’t live without: “Hello world! Left my iphone on the plane last night, definitely not happy about that one.”
Then Blair” Chris Bosh’s agent, Henry Thomas, is moving to Creative Artists Agency and taking his clients (Bosh, Dwyane Wade and Devin Harris, among others) with him. I wish he’d take Bosh’s BlackBerry with him and throw it in the garbage. The Charlie V thing was good for charity but enough is enough. We’re verging on Bosh overkill”

Funny how twitter has been used and then in some rare cases abused by some in the sports world. Quick all you social media guru’s how many of CB’s 50,000 followers are active users???

“This could very well be our last homestand,” she said. “We’re leaving on Monday. If something happens before the trade deadline, I won’t be back. That’s difficult. That’s more than difficult.”

The “she” is Mrs. Halladay. Wow- talk about one foot out the door already! I mean come on. Are the kids things packed too???

The Espy’s were on tonight. Did you watch? Me neither.

So tomorrow is d-day for Jarett Jack. Here’s hoping he becomes a Raptor and that 640 locks him up for a weekly appearance. The guy brings it (whatever it is) on the radio.

Let’s see, one week one, one week off, doesn’t that put Mccown off this week? Faulds???? Anyone????

For those who keep emailing me about updates on the Phoenix Coyotes thing, I will be happy to do so when there is news. By the way, what was the name of the Balisillie drive to get another team in the golden horseshoe again? Make it what?????

Have a good night

Simmons is here
Blair is here

Pierre McGuire was on the Fan this am, the fan doesn’t post too many of their insiders clips on the net so it’s hard to get clips for you. However, I got a good chunk of it. McGuire was saying how far back the Muskoka Five set the Leafs franchise. “If they hadn’t refused to waive there no movement/no trade clauses the team wouldn’t be in this 3-5 year rebuilding program., I guarantee it.”

Well, a couple of things come to mind…

1. If the queen had balls, she would be king
2. the following scene from an absolute classic:
“Tommy: Let’s think about this for a sec, Ted, why do they put a guarantee on a box? Hmm, very interesting.
Ted: I’m listening.
Tommy: Here’s how I see it. A guy puts a guarantee on the box ’cause he wants you to fell all warm and toasty inside.
Ted: Yeah, makes a man feel good.
Tommy: ‘Course it does. Ya think if you leave that box under your pillow at night, the Guarantee Fairy might come by and leave a quarter.
Ted: What’s your point?
Tommy: The point is, how do you know the Guarantee Fairy isn’t a crazy glue sniffer? “Building model airplanes” says the little fairy, but we’re not buying it. Next thing you know, there’s money missing off the dresser and your daughter’s knocked up, I seen it a hundred times.
Ted: But why do they put a guarantee on the box then?
Tommy: Because they know all they solda ya was a guaranteed piece of shit. That’s all it is. Hey, if you want me to take a dump in a box and mark it guaranteed, I will. I got spare time. But for right now, for your sake, for your daughter’s sake, ya might wanna think about buying a quality item from me.
Ted: Hmm. Okay, I’ll buy from you.
Tommy: Well I… What?

So, the guarantee isn’t that important. We all know the truth. The question is what put us in the mess? If you listen to Wilbur, the pressure to succeed was so great on JFJ he couldn’t do the things he wanted to do. I scream bullshit. Look where failure got him. FIRED. I also don’t buy that he acted differently because he didn’t have job security. There are lots of GM’s out there on 1 year deals who don’t mortgage everything on nothing. This guy was a complete baphoon. He will never be a GM again in the NHL. As one exec told me, he will be a GM again, but only of a Walmart! These deals that he made were so brutal. Every single one of them. I don’t blame any of the players for not waiving their clauses. The jerk on the other side was willing to give it and hey they each earned it. Who was JFJ bidding against when he signed any of the guys he gave the NTC’s too? NO ONE. Did he have to up the anti on Tucker because someone else was going to go higher? NO. Did someone threaten to overpay McCabe? Nope…He was bidding against himself in almost every case. Oh no, he wouldn’t have gotten Kubina…alone, and no offense to Kubina, but what the hell was this one guy going to add to this franchise???

I just love the argument that ownership screwed this up. I don’t buy 1 cent of it. You don’t get to the GM level by being a yes man. All of the sudden you are an order taker? Give me a break. If that is true, then JFJ is more spineless then I originally thought. The guy was making big bucks. He knows only hockey. He had to know that his reputation was on the line with every move he made. The question is was he just to stubborn to listen to those around him? Did he really act totally alone on these moves? Forget the board. The board wasn’t telling him to go sign Pavel Kubina. Was the board out there trying to replace him? Sure, that may be the case. Was the board in disagreement over his status. Sure. Did that undermine him? Absolutely. Did that force him to make stupid moves? Hell no. I don’t buy it for one second. He was apparently turned down one time by the board, and that was to blow things up entirely. I know that may sound hypocritical. Wait though, before you pounce. Ask yourself this? Do you want that tool doing the rebuilding. We got nothing for Sundin. We got Van Ryn for McCabe. The damage Cliff did in blowing up was pretty minimal. The guys he got back have been OK. Not great. OK. They haven’t been complete disasters (save for the village idiot who for some reason Wilson seems to like). I didn’t want it then and I re-enforce it today, JFJ was not the man ever to do the re-tooling.

We see it in every day life all the time. People who excel in one area aspire to do something else. Not everyone is a good manager. That doesn’t mean they aren’t good at something. I have run into this countless times. Leading sales people aspire to be sales managers. When they become sales managers they hate it, they are miserable. Why? Simple, they aren’t selling anymore, they are bogged down in red tape and process. So they have the title and yet they are miserable. JFJ sounded like he was good at contracts (stop laughing). Maybe he was good at negotiating them when he was provided with limitations. I would like to say he was a good talent evaluator but we all know that just can’t be true. Who knows, I am sure he has a home in hockey. Right now he is a scout (stop laughing). I don’t think he has the makeup to be a GM in this league. It’s really quite simple. I get asked a lot, whether I think Burke was the right guy for the leafs. The answer is absolutely. Why, because he is the one guy who can handle the board and the media. As much as I love Doug Wilson and think he would have been a better GM choice, he would have gotten killed here. He is too quite, too thoughtful. If Richard Peddie walks in to Burke’s office and says ya know, this guy on Columbus looks pretty good, we all know where Burke is going to put Peddie. There will be no discussion, no second thought. If McCown wants to rip Burke on the air, Burke isn’t going to run from the Bobcat. That is the type of person the Buds need at this point.

So I agree with you Pierre. We may not agree on the why or the who is to blame but the Muskoka 5 really hurt this team. It says here the blame falls squarely on JFJ. He may not have started the country club atmosphere, he allowed it to remain, he installed the coach who did nothing about it. He signed the players, it all falls on him. When history looks back no one will say, oh yeah that guy from the Ontatio Teachers Pension fund really screwed the leafs up, they will say JFJ did.