From Raptors.com, here is video of the team’s scrimmage in Ottawa this weekend. You get six minutes of the best highlights and it’s worth a look.

For a nice recap, see this piece from Arsenalist of Raptors Republic.

-DL

Hats off to Ian Mendes for bring to reality what is gurgling as a freak show under the water in Ottawa.

Here is what you need to know in terms of background:

“There have been some hints from the Ottawa media that suggest several members plan on crashing Jason Spezza’s upcoming wedding in an attempt to force Dany Heatley to speak”

Give me a freaking break! I mean, when is enough enough? Seriously, there should be some times and some places where the media just isn’t welcome. We don’t need to get into the pro’s and con’s of the Clinton White House Years. However i tihnk one thing that I think we can all agree on is the way in which Slick Willie and Billary handled the press with respect to their daughter. Chelsea was hands off. There are times when the story just isn’t that important for god’s sake.

“Personally, I think as a media group we need to act with some class and show a little respect for someone’s special day. Unfortunately, those two words (class & respect) aren’t in many reporters’ vocabularies and it’s a big reason why we are wedged comfortably between telemarketers and personal injury lawyers on the scale of likable professionals.

If Heatley chooses not to speak to the media before his friend’s wedding, that does not constitute an open invitation for us to attend. I understand that Heatley is a legitimate story and everyone wants to hear his thoughts on why he might want to leave Ottawa. I firmly believe that he owes Senators fans an explanation at some point.

But there’s a time and a place for that to happen. And guess what? It’s not at somebody’s wedding. If you want to stake out the airport for his arrival, I think that’s fair game. Camp out for him at some local bars in case he hits the town? Knock yourself out and pretend you work for TMZ for a night. I don’t have an issue with it.”

Hats off to Mendes. He is right. There is a place, hard to believe where the story does begin and end. This is one place where the line should be drawn.

“If anything, we owe it to Spezza to leave this thing alone on his big day. Jason has been the most accommodating star to deal with from the media’s perspective. Jason has asked all of us to respect his privacy on his special day and not show up. He’s hired security to make sure no unauthorized guests (hint, hint, media) try to sneak in. He couldn’t make it any more clear: “I’m nice to you guys 364 days a year. Please give me one day off.” But I can’t shake the nagging feeling that pack journalism is going to rule the day. Everyone is going to be scared that the competition is going to get the scoop, so we better head to the wedding ourselves. Let me just say this: If a bunch of media show up to Jason Spezza’s wedding, don’t be surprised if another superstar wants a trade out of Ottawa at some point. And once again, us clueless members of the media will be wondering why.”

Funny I can’t shake the thought of Bruce Garrioch in a tuxedo outside the church waiting for a scoop. No seriously, if the media does indeed stake out the event after they have been asked by what appears to be a good guy then all bets are off. If I were Spezza and I asked for co-operation on my wedding day and I wasn’t left alone I would be pissed. It is fully expected that the photowhores will be there. That doesn’t mean the scribes have to lineup too. There will be non athletes and non-dignitaries at the event, gasp real ordinary people, and they and the Mrs. Spezza to be are entitled to some degree of privacy on one day.

Good job Ian, great post.

Speaking of privacy, I guess I would be remiss if I didn’t comment on the whole Erin Andrews thing. Andrews, for those of you who don’t know is a very successful and attractive ESPN reporter. She has been for lack of a better word, a shooting start at the network for several years. She covers many live events for ESPN and is good at what she does. Andews is, in addition to being good at what she does, an attractive woman:

Andrews has recently been a victim of our times. A perpetrator allegedly went to great lengths to booby trap Andrews’ hotel room and install a camera through a peephole. The video captured Andrews’ totally in the nude in her hotel room. The video has been all over the internet and of course as a result all over the news. The story has been featured on most of the main street news as well. While the stories all express outrage and compassion for Andrews most of the stories show the video! In addition, many of the outlets that ran to her defense have described previous Andrews stories using sexually suggestive language, capitalizing on our good looks to increase hits on their site. In fact many of the sites that are currently supporting her have gone so far as to say how great she looks in the video.

Now, what’s the saying about those who live in glass houses? I admit it. On a daily basis, Monday to Friday I post photos of attractive women in bikini’s. So, who the hell am I to judge what other sites are doing, posting or saying? I agree with anyone who attacks my position on that basis. However I will say this. Andrews’ like all of us should have an expectation of privacy in her hotel room or in her home for that matter. Photowhores caputre celebs in their daily lives, usually in some degree of public life. To rig a camera in someone hotel room to gain a video of that person while naked is so beyond creepy. Hell, it would “ALMOST” be more acceptable to have photoshopped her head on to a nude photo! Anyone who has ever leafed through an adult magazine (yes both of you reading this) can appreciate the psyche involved in “erotica”. There is, in my opinion nothing the least bit attractive to the video that resulted from this cowardly act.

We live in a train wreck society, so naturally the entire world is scouring to find the video. I am not going to stand on a perch and tell people not to. We all will do what we want to do regardless of what some idiot blogger says. I do think we as consumers can control what is acceptable or not through our voices and opinions to media outlets. I think that the liklihood of a copycat to this is high unless there is total outrage and reprehension to the act.(even still that probably won’t be enough). This story won’t go away as Andrews is seeking legal action against the guilty party(s). There are some great articles out there on the subject, too many to mention or list here. I do like the piece by Bruce Arthur in tomorrow’s National Post. You can read that here. If you want to read more, google Erin Andrews video and select the news tab.

TSM

I literally just came downstairs from reading the story of the boy who cried wolf to my 2 kids. I opened up the laptop and surfed on over to the National Post and how ironic what I found:

“Bettman said Thursday that the franchise has been managed poorly since the Winnipeg Jets moved to Arizona in 1997 and became the Coyotes, and that there are elements in place in Arizona that will allow the Coyotes to succeed. The Coyotes have not turned a profit since Moyes took over the team in 2001. “There is a brand-new building in Phoenix,” Bettman said of the Jobing.com Arena, the Coyotes’ home in Glendale, a Phoenix suburb. “There are people that are supportive of the franchise and want to keep it there. The team hasn’t been particularly well run. It’s fixable.”

Ummmmmm Mirror Mirror On The Wall, who put the team in the hands of the those who managed this team? Who empowered those who weren’t running it “particularly well”.

Ohhhh and while we are it, why, after you lied to us before should we believe you now?

“When you have fans invest in a franchise emotionally and financially, you just don’t give up on them when times get tough. If the standard was, ‘When times get tough,’ we would have been out of Chicago, for Pete’s sakes. We would have been out of Ottawa, Buffalo and Pittsburgh, and they were all situations that were fixable.”

What about this one, you don’t go on international radio, tv and newspapers and say one thing when you know the one thing to be entirely false? The analogy is all wrong too. This isn’t taking a team from an established market that has been mismanaged by a crusty old owner who wouldn’t put his games on tv. This is a team in a place that was never given the chance to succeed because of the leagues inability to properly develop it in the market and with the right management team. Where was the due diligence on those who didn’t do such a good job running it?

“This is about a league structure and a covenant that every game has to have with its fans,” Bettman said. “Otherwise you don’t have the stability you need to stay in business. To portray the whole debate as anything else does a disservice to the fans of the game.”

What about the trust those fans must have in those who lead the league???? What about that covenant?? Does that one not matter? When you look into a microphone and answer questions completely dishonestly does that not do a disservice to the fans of the game?

My kids got the whole, lie to me once, lie to me twice thing pretty quickly. Even my 4 year old daughter got the boy who cried wolf thing. So when the commish opens his mouth and tries to tell us the state of things anywhere, not ever my 4 year old would believe him.

TSM

The Post is here

Elliotte Friedman’s blog on the Vinny situation is as good a read as I have seen. The only thing missing from it is an accurate read on how dire things are in Tampa Bay. Elliott’s analysis of the current financial implications and the realities of a trade of this magnitude are bang on.

“So, how many teams are really in this race?

Montreal, for sure. Vancouver definitely could be. It has cap room and prospects. Toronto has cap room, but no prospects. It fits Edmonton’s profile, since the Oilers threw bags of cash at Jaromir Jagr and Marian Hossa. I also wonder about a Colorado, a Dallas, or an LA.”

Take the Leafs out of the picture. It’s not happening. Could you imagine Vinny in Vancouver with Sundin??? Almost happened in TO!

“Lecavalier is a great talent, and a durable one, too. Only twice in his nine seasons has he played less than 80 games – 68 in 2000-01 and 76 in 2001-02. Those two things are extremely attractive to any GM interested in anyone with a long-term deal. But you know what’s become even more important to these GMs? Flexibility.”

Damn straight. Look at the ducks current cap situation, ummmm, who made that mess again ?

“Other execs are wondering what Chicago is going to do with Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook – tough choices despite Nikolai Khabibulin’s $7 million per season clearing this summer. Even Detroit, the model franchise when it comes to drafting, developing and getting players to take hometown discounts, has team-altering decisions to make. Henrik Zetterberg, Marian Hossa, Johan Franzen and Jiri Hudler (restricted) are all up, and Zetterberg is testing the Red Wings’ limits. (They gave Hossa a one-year deal equal to Nicklas Lidstrom’s $7.45 million, and a 10-year, $75 million offer to Zetterberg has apparently been rejected.) The Lightning themselves are in this situation because of the Stanley Cup gifts awarded to three players, Lecavalier being one.”

Folks- this is why it is good to be a Maple Leaf fan right now. Keep your heads up. If Burke plays this right he is going to be able to have a buffet of choices for top players fairly soon. Be patient. Wait until the cap goes down, then watch teams squirm to get under the cap! This is going to be interesting as hell.

“Then, there is the economic collapse. Teams are under the impression that, at best, the cap will stay the same next season, before decreasing in 2010-11. From Oct. 1, 2007, until the financial lunacy began in mid-September, 37 NHL players signed contracts of at least five years in length. That’s an average of three per month. Since then, there have been three in total .”

That’s right. How would you like to the Isles with a goalie tied up for 13/15 more years who has suffered long term injuries of late. The goal is to build properly. Our building is full every night. MLSE is patient enough to get this built properly.

“Managers exhibiting buyer’s remorse are recognizing a painful reality – that if you want to trade one of these contracts, you’re going to have to make the kind of deal that is difficult to explain to your fans. What they’re hearing from potential partners is some variation of this: “If you want me to help you take this contract off your books, well then you’re going to have to take my brutal contract. Oh, you don’t want to do that? Well, you’re going to have to take something else I don’t want – like a middling prospect or a later-round draft pick. You’re not getting anything of value from me for an asset you’re desperately trying to get rid of.”

Keep an eye on guys like Jason Blake and even, gulp Sean Avery…..These are guys who’s contracts get moved in order to accommodate other moves.

The focus in the trade market has changed drastically.:

“As much as Senators fans are making Jason Spezza the scapegoat, how happy would they be if Bryan Murray traded him for a mid-level prospect and a draft pick that wouldn’t be in the first round? A couple of different executives said unless Murray is willing to take on an ugly contract in return – and he probably isn’t – he may not get much more for his best centre. If you believe the whispers, that’s why number 19 remains in the nation’s capital. A harsh reality for the Senators and their fans. But, if you think trading Spezza is going to bring in the players who will start an immediate turnaround, you’re mistaken.”

This is the reality of life in a cap world. In the NBA they talk of trading salary slots. The NHL is moving towards that. For those who love trades and banter, it’s boring as hell.

“Considering some pretty smart hockey people are now saying they knew about the captain’s availability a week ago, chances are the Lightning know all this already. They might as well roll up the sidewalks outside the rink if they screw up this one. Maybe they can’t afford to keep him. But they can’t afford to trade him for what’s being made available, either.”

I am not so sure on this one. If things are as bad as I am hearing (and who the hell am I?) then I cant imagine how bad things really are.

Under 50 days to go until the deadline…. Buckle up!

I had to take the little TSM’s to school this am and with work and of course the weather I got bogged down. I didn’t see this article until just now when I sat down to read the Post. This whole Maple Leaf thing is really not that complicated. It seems that the Toronto Media (print especially) is LOST (sorry, I am so psyched for next week’s premiere). The season is playing out (results wise) as many of us had hoped. The team is playing well and losing lots. With the exception of a few games the effort has not been the problem, it has been the lack of talent. Unlike in years past when the talent appeared to be there but the attitude and effort weren’t. So, why, after everyone, and I mean everyone called for the blowing up of the team, is the concept so hard to grasp. The same guru’s who said it wasn’t going to be easy, who said it was going to be ugly, are now crying because it is painful. As I have said all along. The fans have no problem buying in. We have sucked for so long, what’s another season or 3. At least this time we are being told the truth! To quote PPP, we don’t boo the losing, we boo the lack of effort. Really, it’s just not that hard.

One guy who finally seems to be getting it is Bruce Arthur at the National Post. So while Gary Lowen is off….ummmm, well I am not sure what he is doing, maybe watching old re-runs of the Golden Girls or something,Bruce is paying attention:

“So you move into a new house, and it needs some work. The previous occupants had pretty much trashed the place – scraped up the floors, disconnected the plumbing, sunk the foundations, blew off the roof. It’s all painted blue and white, and it’s a mess. To be fair, there are some saleable items left. A Kaberle-brand dishwasher, an Antropov barbecue, a Kubina TV, a Ponikarovsky rug. But they’re only really useful if you can sell them off to pay for the real reconstruction, and that’s what you would like to do.”

Wow, now that is actually worth chuckling over- better then that moronic Gilligan’s Island cast story…..

“Because they are part of this franchise fixer-upper, the media only half-heartedly grills various Toronto Maple Leafs players about the spate of slow starts, or quizzes Nik Antropov about his 10-game goalless streak, or corners Tomas Kaberle in the locker room. It all feels like we’re killing time, on temporary duty, waiting to be reassigned to a different team entirely.”

WAIT a minute. the media only what?? Sorry Bruce, perhaps you haven’t been paying attention to this group. This “grilling” is as good as it gets! You weren’t expecting in-depth analysis where you? The hardest question asked by a beat reporter last year was are you going to waive your no trade clause? That is no joke…

“If there’s a temporary feeling, there’s a reason,” Leafs general manager Brian Burke says over the phone from Boston, on his way to the Providence-Boston College hockey game last night. “A team with our number of points, with our record, it should feel temporary.”

It is, what it is…It is what we were told it would be……

“It’s guys throwing anchors at people,” Burke says. “And they’re not even embarrassed. People figure if you’re struggling, you’re desperate. And we’re struggling. It’s not even offensive to me.”

This suggests two things to me. The current cap system is going to change so that the logjam blocking the transaction section of my newspapers will once again flow properly. Secondly, NHL GM’s should be seeing a ton more of junior’s and pro players then they used to be. There is no real reason to stay home. I mean cellphones keep you in touch anyway, but if there is no chance of a deal now, may as well be on the road looking at players, right?

“Struggling team or not, Burke is less than two months into a five-year contract, so he is not desperate. So he waits. He has truly taken inventory, now. He would like to replace some of the draft picks that were missing when he arrived, and he needs young players. It may not be in Burke’s DNA to lose games, but it is in his interest. “It’s not just a DNA question,” Burke says. “This is the tightrope you walk as the general manager of a team that’s struggling. There’s a difference between tanking and putting a young lineup on the ice that’s going to have some trouble. I think people can accept [the latter] and support that.”

It’s like the old SCTV skits, 3D house or horrors- where John Candy would move an object in and out of the camera… How does someone who is “trained” to win, resist the urge to do all he can to win. Burke isn’t used to standing by and watching his team’s season going down the pike. That, is for guys like Bryan Murray (sorry, couldn’t help myself). Burke knows what we have suffered through here and knows what has to be done. Anyone who suggests a quick fix solution to make the playoffs this year is a moron.

“Every Toronto Maple Leafs game is by definition a big game to somebody out there, but right now, what’s the point in getting exercised over stuff like scoring slumps or the penalty kill? The floors may be scratched up, but they’re going to be replaced.That – and the four-year contract – may be why coach Ron Wilson doesn’t have to sugarcoat his public assessments of his team. Yesterday alone he uttered the following sentences: 1. “We are what we are.” 2. “We know what we are as a team. We’re not a team that’s built [to], or that should be, scoring five or six goals a night, plain and simple.” 3. “I personally think we’re not surprising anybody any more, and that’s the realistic version of it.” 4. “It’s a rebuilding year, period.”

That’s right. Lay the foundation this year. It’s too cold to build yet. Pour the foundation, set the tone, start to change bad habits. Eradicate the pests and vermin. Then as winter starts to thaw in say 50 days (god shoot me if it stays cold that long) we can start the building…

“Burke says he loves some things about this team: The work ethic, the way they don’t get discouraged when they fall behind, their general adherence to the structure Wilson has put in place. Add talent, and they might have something. “I think people in Toronto have witnessed since 1967 that anything but a long-term approach is doomed,” Burke says. “I think people get it.” And so we wait. It’s probably for the best.”

It is definitely for the best. Even if we don’t win the cup as a result. There are no harm in doing what we are doing. It won’t be worse then what we had, that is for sure.

You can read Arthur here…