College of Sports Media Game of the Night:

It was a night of firsts for the Toronto Raptors last night. The Toronto Huskies paid a tribute to the NBA’s roots, be unveiling their Toronto Huskies retro look for the first of six games this season. Back on November 1, 1946 the Toronto Huskies played the New York Knickerbockers at Maple Leaf Gardens in the first game of the Basketball Association of America. The Raptors beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 94-88, winning their third straight game for the first time this season. Guard Jarrett Jack got his first start of the season, replacing an injured Jose Calderon. Jack filled in nicely scoring 17 points and dishing out eight assists. Tonight Toronto (10-13) is back at it again. They’re in Milwaukee to take on rookie sensation Brandon Jennings and the Bucks (9-11). Milwaukee sits two games in front of Toronto in the East, but the Bucks are on a four game losing skid. Last night they were in Boston and they lost 98-89. If the vote for rookie of the year were today, Jennings would win by a land slide. He’s averaging 21 points per game and just over 5 assists per game. Back on November 14, he lit up the Golden State Warriors for 55.

On the ice, the Toronto Maple Leafs are at home to take on the New York Islanders. On Monday night, the Leafs had five even strength goals in the second period and cruised to a 5-2 win over the Atlanta Thrashers. Now the last time the Leafs played the Isles, they peppered goaltender Dwayne Roloson with 61 shots and lost in overtime 4-3. Don’t look now, but since their horrible start the Leafs have been gaining ground in the East and are only five points back of the eight seed. The Islanders are one team of five teams that stand in their way. New York played last night and they took a beat down from the Philadelphia Flyers, losing 6-2. John Tavares scored his teams lone goals. Tavares leads all rookies with 13 goals and 23 points, but has yet to register a point at the ACC.

Seguin, Hall.

It’s a battle that has started early in this 2009-10 OHL season and could continue right through to the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.

Taylor Hall of the Windsor Spitfires has been on NHL teams’ radar screens for some time now, and had been tabbed the “next big thing” in the OHL once John Tavares moved on to the Island. However, Plymouth Whalers forward Tyler Seguin has turned heads for his scoring prowess early in the season, and it appears that we could be in for an interesting race to the scoring title.

TSN hockey insider Bob McKenzie is one of the many NHL experts keeping an eye on the Taylor / Tyler rivalry. In a recent blog post, McKenzie reported that “the Taylor Hall versus Tyler Seguin argument is one we’re going to be interested in watching as we head towards the 2010 NHL entry draft.”

Through 10 games this season, Seguin leads the league in goals and total points, potting 14 goals and collecting 25 points. Meanwhile, Hall has played 11 games, but still trails with 10 goals and 12 assists (22 points).

Hall, though, leads where it matters most. While Seguin’s Whalers currently rank sixth in the Western Conference with a 6-4 record, Hall has led the high-powered Spitfires’ attack out to a West-leading 7-3-0-1 mark.

The two young phenoms, along with Windsor defenceman and fellow 2010 top prospect Cam Fowler, will clash for the first time this season on Saturday in a rematch of last year’s six-game Western semifinal. Needless to say, NHL scouts will certainly be paying attention.

That collective shudder you just heard throughout the OHL is the surprising return of the 2008-09 Player of the Year, Cody Hodgson of the Brampton Batallion.

Tabbed by many, including TheHockeyNews.com, as a Calder Trophy contender heading into the season, Hodgson continued to show the lingering effects of the bulging disc he suffered in the off-season and did not impress in Canucks camp.

This is Christmas come early for a struggling Batallion squad that has stumbled out of the gate to an 0-3 start to the season after reaching the OHL finals one year ago. Interestingly, Brampton began the year in disappointing fashion last season as well, starting out 2-6 before turning the season around.

Hodgson’s return also marks another entry into what will be a fascinating OHL scoring race. With Nazem Kadri (London Knights) previously being sent down by the Leafs to join Taylor Hall (Windsor Spitfires), Tyler Seguin (Plymouth Whalers), Eric O’Dell (Sudbury Wolves), and Luke Pither and Alexander Burmistrov (Barrie Colts), Hodgson will be in tough to claim the OHL scoring mantle from John Tavares.

CHL junior hockey is ready to kick off its 2009-10 season as 60 teams from the OHL, WHL, and QMJHL get set to embark upon the road to the Memorial Cup. To give you a taste of what to expect along the way, I will be examining who to watch and what to look for within each of the OHL’s three leagues. Today, let’s check in with the OHL.

The Windsor Spitfires juggernaut enters the season having not missed a beat since winning the franchise’s first ever Memorial Cup last May. LW Taylor Hall, fresh off an MVP performance at the tournament, looks primed to succeed John Tavares as hockey’s Next Big Thing and is already being tabbed by some as a projected first over-all pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. He is backed by an impressive supporting cast that includes D Ryan Ellis, a 2009 first rounder (No. 11, Nashville Predators) and Max Kaminsky Trophy winner (OHL MVP). All in all, the Spitfires have 11 returnees, not a good sign for the rest of the league.

But that target on their back will not fade, especially with a number of talented teams chasing them.

The London Knights always seem to loom large among the OHL contenders, and this season is no different for the Spitfires’ Western Conference rivals. With Tavares off in Long Island, the big question with the 2008-09 conference finalists is the availability of Leafs No. 1 pick Nazem Kadri (7th over-all), who is turning heads among some of the big club executives. While it would be difficult to absorb the blow of losing Tavares and Kadri, the presence of forwards Phil Varone and Philip McRae, along with defencemen Michael Del Zotto and over-ager Steven Tarasuk would certainly be a nice cushion.

Switching over to the Eastern Conference, the Barrie Colts represent one of the few teams in the “O” who can match the firepower of Windsor. New acquisitions Luke Pither (from Belleville) and Alexander Burmistrov (Russian import) will lead a deep forward corps that returns 10 Colts from last season. Their season will come down to performance on the back end, with a shaky defence and a first-time starting goaltender in Peter Di Salvo.

The league’s three local squads – the Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors, the Brampton Battalion, and the Oshawa Generals – are heading in a variety of different directions. The Majors are a team on the rise following their conference semifinal appearance last season. With a standout goaltending tandem of Chris Carrozzi and J.P. Anderson and defensive stalwart Cameron Gaunce, goals will be at a premium for opponents.

However, the Battalion and Generals seem to be going in the other direction. Fresh off a run to the OHL championship final, Brampton has been quickly thrust into a rebuilding phase after losing its top three scorers from last year – Matt Duchene (Colorado), Cody Hodgson (Vancouver), and Evgeny Grachev (New York Rangers). The Generals, meanwhile, are well into their rebuilding effort after getting younger in a hurry following their swap of Tavares and Del Zotto which netted them RW Christian Thomas, D Scott Valentine, G Michael Zador, and a slew of draft picks.

Aside from the championship contenders, there are a number of intriguing storylines to watch heading into the season.

-  The Kingston Frontenacs, led by head coach Doug Gilmour, looked primed to advance past the first round of the play-offs for the first time since the 1997-98 season.
-  A talented Ottawa 67’s team is set to reign in the post-Brian Kilrea era, led by a strong defensive unit that returns Tyler Cuma and Julien Demers.
-  Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds F Jordan Nolan, the team’s top scorer last year and the son of Ted Nolan, will open the season serving a 20-game suspension following an attack on R.J. Mahalak of the Plymouth Whalers late last year. In his absence, the Greyhounds will look for a boost from No. 1 over-all draft pick Daniel Catenacci.

Here’s your bikini of the day from bikinibeat.org:

On Fan 590 Tonight- thanks to Mike S.

- open phones with Faulds from 4:05 to 4:40
- co-host from 5:00 to 7:00 is Jim Kelley
- John Tavares New York Islander
-Howard Berger
-Keith Law
-Darryl Jones

Poor John Tavares. One rookie scrimage and the media has already started in. Get a load of this headline from wire this evening:

“John Tavares scoreless in first scrimmage”

OH MY GOD- the sky is falling, the sky is falling!

“First overall draft pick John Tavares was held without a point and was a minus-2 on Sunday in the his first rookie camp scrimmage with the New York Islanders.”

No really, what is funnier this crap or the first episode of Entourage?

“Head coach Scott Gordon said the stats are not important in games like this, but effort does matter.

“I wouldn’t read too much into any particular performance by anybody,” he told the paper. “This was a great opportunity for all the players to get their feet wet. I really thought they competed hard. We want players to battle.”

Who do you feel worse for, Tavares, or Gorton, the Islander’s coach?

Man, if that is the type of crap people are writing on long island, can you imagine what would have happened to the poor guy if he was in Toronto? Leave him alone, it’s one scrimmage! Call me when we are 50 games into the season and he hasn’t scored!

“Signing Jonas Gustavsson? Good. Getting Hedo Turkoglu? Better. Seeing Quinton Porter lead the Hamilton Tiger-Cats to a first win in B.C. by an Eastern time zone team since 2004? Best.”

That from Jeff Blair. I don’t know about the last part. It was a good week for those of us who try to dispel the Toronto Sucks crowd out there. Our teams did in fact land a couple of gems off the free agent pile. In both cases the players chose TO over other alternatives. With Turkoglu, his choice was entirely about our garbage filled city. Gustavvson made a hockey decision. Having said that, he was highly sought after and he did choose the Leafs.

So Brian Burke suggested that a team made a sizeable offer for a defenceman not name Kaberle. Does anyone think he would deal one of his new acquisitions?

“It’s not likely Burke would be looking to deal defenseman Francois Beauchemin, who he just signed as an unrestricted free agent. The Leafs traded for hitter Garnet Exelby earlier in the summer, and he might fit the description of what the Hawks are looking for in a defenseman.”

That from the excellent Blackhawks beat writer Tim Sassone of the Chicago Daily Hearld. Sassone seems to think (as do many others) that the Leafs and Hawks both have what the others want. The Hawks looking for help on the blueline and the Leafs for help upfront. Peanut butter to chocolate no? Sassone analyized the Kaberle situation first, however he doesn’t appear convinced that Kabs is the type of player the Hawks would be looking for and he also isn’t sure that Burke will deal #15. Burke has one month and 3 days to get something for Kaberle. The time, my friends is now.

Looks like the Blue Jays have a media critic in…. Calgary:

“Now in his third season, (Jamie)Campbell has staked no claim to the team with either a flair for language or his keen insight into baseball. The genius of Vin Scully is that he tells you from the first pitch that he is the pilot, you are the passenger, and you are to sit back while he guides the ship. Even the lugubrious Chuck Swirsky grabbed the Toronto Raptors’ mike like a thirsty man throttling a pump handle. Campbell still gives the impression of someone filling in while the main guy is on holidays.”

Wow- how do you really feel Bruce?

“After this many games, he still has mighty trouble judging fly balls (watch the outfielders) and a propensity for reading the daily statistical notes as if it were Finnegans Wake . His monotone delivery suits the subway (“Next stop Spadina, Spadina next stop”) more than a pennant race.”

ha ha ha. Pennant what? It’s not very often that we see this type of criticism in our papers. Not sure how justified but WOW…

“Part of this is not Campbell’s fault. Sportsnet likes to grow its own timber and has thrust several people into key announcing spots before they are ready. The results are mixed. When it doesn’t work, the outcome is like a travelling company of High School Musical – you know, “Just wait till they grow up and move to Broadway” Except they don’t grow up. Campbell still seems stranded on first base. If he’s being coached it doesn’t show. Like Jays pitcher Scott Richmond, he’s left out there to eat innings and pray that the penny will finally drop. ”

Them’s poison darts from Calgary no? I watch games here and there. I have never wanted to have root canal as opposed to listening to the guys on tv. Having said that, we have never been really that strong on TV. I miss Buck Martinez myself. Who, does Bruce want instead?

“That’s not happening now with any of the analysts, and the occasional insertions of the eager Sam Cosentino are not much more illuminating. Again, this is an awfully young crew, and it shows. You’d like the think Campbell will eventually improve, but for now he simply leaves you pining for his predecessor, Rob Faulds, who was not exactly mistaken for Red Barber himself. You’d think that as owners of the team and the network that Rogers would make improving the telecasts a priority. But they seem content to allow the televised product to drift the same way the baseball team has slid into mediocrity the past several years.”

Two things come to mind; one, Dowbiggin is never getting a gig at Sportsnet, nor a Christmas card from David Akande. Second, nothing anyone can say would make me pine for Rob Faulds.

Make no mistake, I am thrilled that Bruce is out west and no longer here in TO. Having said that if he has the balls to write stuff like this, then I am going to be reading him a lot more often!

Here are the lineups for the shows at noon:

On Hockey Central at Noon:
Howard Berger hosting today

On Leafs Lunch:

Greg Brady is hosting

Bob McKenzie at 12:40pm

College of Sports Media Game of the Night:
The Toronto Blue Jays welcome the Tampa Bay Rays for their first visit to the Rogers Centre tonight. Amazing news for the Jays, as Roy Halladay (10-1) will make his first start since straining his groin. A win tonight and Doc will be the first 11 game winner in the majors. Tampa has been hot as of late. They’ve won five straight and are third in the American League East one game ahead of Toronto.

A couple intriguing games oversees at Wimbledon. On centre court it will be a French Open rematch as Roger Federer battles Robin Soderling. On the women’s side number three-seeded Venus Williams faces former number one Ana Ivanovic.

Here are the lineups for the shows at noon:

On Hockey Central at Noon:
Doug Fairway hosting today

Howard Berger, Live from Montreal, entire hour

On Leafs Lunch:

Greg Brady is hosting

Kessel, Kessel, and more Kessel…

College of Sports Media Game of the Night:
Even though we are months away from the opening camp and even further from the start of the regular season, all eyes will be on Montreal this evening to see who goes where in the NHL Entry Draft. Will John Tavares, Victor Hedman or Matt Duchene be the number one pick? What will the Canadian teams do? A big trades may still the show. Rumours are a plenty about possible moves involving Dany Heatly, Vincent Lecavalier, Jay Bouwmeester and Chris Pronger. The draft is arguably the biggest day for most NHL teams in realizing Stanley Cup dreams-just ask this years champs the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Wow brutal day in Hollywood.. How badly do you think the folks who shot that photo of Jonah Hill are feeling right now?

For those who sometimes wonder how Damien Cox has stayed in the business for so long take a look at this blog today. It’s a great read. No really, it may be the best column he has ever written:

“If Burke were willing to sacrifice Luke Schenn, there’s the belief he could get the No. 2 pick in tomorrow’s NHL entry draft and quite possibly the right to draft Tavares, presuming the New York Islanders play along.”

Would you Leaf nation trade Luke Schenn to get to 2? My answer is, it depends on what else he has to throw in. I don’t care what Cliff paid for Schenn, I am only interested in value for value. If Burke believes he gets a better player at #2 then Luke, then he should make the deal.

“The likelihood is that Tavares will be the superior NHL player, certainly in terms of offensive output. Burke wouldn’t necessarily disagree. What he would argue, however, is that Schenn has qualities of leadership and defensive presence that every good team needs, and that sacrificing one top prospect for another just puts the club back on the “hamster on a wheel” process, always making one step back to make one forward and never making actual progress. He understands the specific short- and long-term implications. As part of the process of landing the Sedins for Vancouver, he gave up Bryan McCabe, who at that time was a top-notch, hard-nosed blueline prospect and, to be fair, developed into a quality NHL defenceman with significant offensive ability.”

That’s a great debate. Really, it is intriguing as hell. I only saw JT a few times, so I can’t speak to his abilities and I certainly can’t speak to his character either. Anyone else?

“Will the Leafs one day regret not moving Schenn to get Tavares? Maybe. Then again, there’s also a sweet deal here for Tampa. If I’m Brian Lawton, I would surely look seriously at a deal that gave me Tomas Kaberle or Pavel Kubina, Mikhail Grabovski and the Leafs No. 7 pick (potentially defenceman Jared Cowan, which is what Tampa needs). Most important, however, Lawton should insist on getting the Leafs’ No. 1 pick next year. That could be a lottery pick and possibly even a top three selection, and that would be the kind of Sam Pollock-like move that could really set up the Lightning down the road. ”

That’s the million dollar question, what’s the price?

“But let’s say Burke won’t deal Schenn and Tampa’s not interested in a deal with Toronto. Then position B for Burke has to be the double Schenn. There are those who see Brayden Schenn as a Mike Richards-type player, and this would be an acquisition that would surely grab the attention of the city after last season in which Burke was personally offended by the way many simply yawned as the Leafs once again missed post-season play. Let’s face it. Burke didn’t come to Toronto to be just another sports executive in town. He’s wants to be the Big Kahuna, and, let’s face it, Bryan Colangelo and J.P. Ricciardi haven’t set the bar particularly high.”

How much do you give up to move up to get the second Schenn? Burke has said he likes younger brothers becuase he knows the bloodlines. Anyone watched Brayden play?

“So, in the name of scientific research, I asked my 10-year-old son, a true Leaf fan, whether he’d rather have the Leafs pick up Tavares or end up with two Schenns. “Is Braydon Schenn as good as Luke Schenn?” was his first question. Maybe, was the answer.Hmmm. “Then I would trade for John Tavares,” was his analysis.”

Here is what I will say in young Cox’s defence. In my lifetime, I am fairly sure the Leafs have never had a marquee player of the type that folks are projecting Tavares to be. Yes we had good players. Yes we had all-stars, but we have never had THE GUY. Is John Tavares going to be THE GUY, the NHL Poster Boy?? I have no clue. If you think he is, then…….

“Well, he and I will have to disagree. As I’ve been saying for some time, this shapes up as a draft so deep that the ideal result for the Leafs would not be to end up with Hedman or Tavares, but to get two top prospects. They need numbers as well as talent. So if they could get Brayden Schenn and then Zack Kassian somewhere between No. 10 and No. 20, that would be a good day. Or if they could land Dmitry Kulikov – Burke has already said he’s a Canadian in a Russian’s body – and Scott Glennie, that would be progress. So we’ll see. The sense is this is going right down to the wire, and Burke will be going hard tonight and right up to draft time tomorrow night. For the second straight draft, the Leafs are a team trying to make something big happen.”

Lots of people say Cliff messed up in trading for Schenn. Not that he isn’t a good player. Just that Cliff overpaid. I don’t say that, but I know lots of commentators who do. So, if Burke can get a couple of high picks and not give up much future wise to do so, I agree with Damien. The best part, for my 2 cents anyways is that the the right guy is pulling the strings. Let’s hope he can do half of what he wants. Awsome article Damien!

Sad to here about Michael Jackson. I saw him in concert with the Jackson 5 way back at Exhibition stadium years ago. I can’t think of anyone who took the world by storm as he did. Man did he fall from grace fast. How the hell did he get to 50 too?

damien is here

Here are the lineups for the shows at noon:

Nothing released on time

College of Sports Media Game of the Night:
It’s pretty rare for a game involving the Washington Nationals to be considered the game of the day, but today is an exception. John Smoltz makes his Boston Red Sox debut in the last game of their three game set. Smoltz is the only pitcher in major league history to win over 200 games and have over 150 saves. Smoltz knows the Nationals well. Last season, while pitching with the Braves Smoltz struck out Washington’s Felipe Lopez to become the 16th member of the 3000 strikeout club. Flame thrower Jordan Zimmerman (2-3) gets the call for the Nats.