What a difference a day makes. Bruce Arthur takes the seat from John Shannon and voila, you have a co-host with some depth. Hell, the show was listenable again. Prime Time Sports was much improved tonight. Shannon and Kelley were replaced with Arthur and Blair and suddenly their was some humor, some insight and well a show worth listening to.

I have had the debate with others as to the value of the hosts vs. guests when it comes to sports radio. I’ll say this, If the hosts aren’t good I don’t care who they are interviewing the show is going to suck. A good host can save a bad guest, but the inverse isn’t true. I, and I am pretty sure I am the minority here do turn in for the guest over the host. I prefer listening to Brady and Wilbur as a choice. However, if their guests don’t interest me, I am done. Similarly, if Kelley is the co-host, it’s unlikely I am going to be listening to Mccown. This isn’t news I know, but the battle between the shows will come down to the guest. It’s not over the local guest either. Burke, AO and Colangelo all appear on both shows. There is no real race for getting the guest first, it’s the interview that matters. I don’t care who has Paul Kelly first, I care who gets him to say the most.

Speaking of Jeff Blair, did you catch his latest column on the Maple Leafs? It’s a dandy!

“But losing to another bad team – and doing so in the manner in which they did last night, blowing a 2-0 lead to the Atlanta Thrashers in front of a crowd that was considerably less than the 10,208 announced – also reinforces something about this team. It is susceptible even to clubs with just one really good player. Whether it’s in-game coaching decisions or preparation, it is nights like last night that make it impossible to view the 2009-2010 season so far as being anything other than a step backward – or at least an uncertain step sideways. Can’t beat the best if you can’t handle your fellow dregs. ”

Come on now, doesn’t that echo what we all say most mornings after another Maple Leaf loss? Blair hit this one right on the head.

“No serious questions have been answered. Most people knew Vesa Toskala was at best a backup on a mediocre team; nothing’s changed. He is a rally-killer, wholly unreliable. Other than Phil Kessel, the Leafs are a collection of middling forwards and third and fourth defencemen. But, hell, you know all this, don’t you? The Leafs know all this, too. Nikolai Kulemin and Tyler Bozak have, along with Kessel, formed a decent first line but ask yourself this: Do you want that to be the Leafs’ No. 1 line next season? Really? Uh-huh. Thought so. ”

Therein lies the problem with our Maple Leafs. The question I have for you is, do you think Brian Burke knew this and expected it. Does he know for example, that for right now his biggest enemy is time. It’s going to take a lot of time to turn this around. He gets a long contract because he knows just how long it will take to get to meaningful hockey games.

“It’s time for a fresh voice to explain these losses, because players are tired of answering questions and reporters are tired of asking them. They can only say, “We suck,” so often. ”

It is refreshing to hear Wilson talk so candidly some time about the lack of talent. It certainly beats hearing the coach say that he has never been surrounded by a more talented group. Who should the voice of this team be? Right now there is no player. It’s why there is no captain They lack leadership and character.

Mike Danton, sports fans is holding a press conference tomorrow. Do us all a favor and ignore it. This guy is a total piece of crap and to no one should give a rats behind what he has to say. The odds of me every watching a CIS game just went from slim to none.

i know I know Jack about NBA basketball, but am I correct that when your best player puts up 44 points, you have to win?? While on the subject, riddle me this batman, have you ever seen a less interested athlete than Hedo Turkoglu. Seriously, look at the guy’s expression on the court- He looks more intense in those pizza pizza commercials! Am I wrong?

TSM

@yyzsportsmedia

Blair is here

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

On Fan 590 Tonight

Bruce Arthur Co-hosts….

5:20 Kypreos

5:42 Doug Smith, toronto star

6:05 Don banks, si.com

6:30 Paul Kelly

6:45 John Buccigross, ESPN.COM

On 640 with Brady and Watters thanks to Mike S.

- Steven Stamkos of the Lightning

- Dave Randorf of TSN on the Grey Cup

- Hockey insiders Darren Dreger & Bob McKenzie at 6:10

The news out of the NHLPA just keeps getting more and more pathetic. REALLY. As a friend said to the other day, with the agents these guys have and the money they are making, why the hell do they need a union? The truth is, in fact what the majority of them may need is protection from their union. What a complete and utter joke. Two great interviews tonight on the topic. First Russ Conway was with Bill Watters and Greg Brady on 640 Toronto. Conway is the authoritative expert on the PA and les affairs Eagleson. Conway unloaded on the PA, Eric Lindros, Ron Maclean, Buzz Hargrove and more. Then he dropped a bombshell. Conway said and then repeated quite clearly that he has learned and confirmed over the last couple of days that Buzz Hargrove, the NHLPA obudsman, “hacked” the NHLPA email system to review Paul Kelly’s email!!!!! Seriously, I can’t make this up. Conway is smart enough to know the ramifications for making such a claim if it weren’t true. Seriously folks, answer me when I ask this incredulously, who the hell reads their employees or their employers emails- WHO DOES THIS???? Am I totally naive???? I don’t get it. These guys broomed a guy for doing that and now the OMBUDSMAN does it too??!!!

It’s just so damn pathetic. Every time I hear NHLPA I laugh. Conway didn’t stop there. He confirmed again that Lindros is the driving force behind this mess. He said that in essence it was Lindros who helped pick the teams union reps. He worked to pick the advisory committee, he is the strong force behind the mess that caused Kelly to get fired….all according to Conway. I loved in the interview when he took Ron MacLean to town for his asinine position not once but two times on Saturday night. It got better when Conway said, correctly so that Lindros is in breach of a confidentiality clause by yapping privileged information to Ron MacLean. MacLean named Lindros as the source of his information on HNIC. Conway suggested that the players should go the authorities on both sides of the border to have this whole thing investigated.

Down the dial, on the Fan 590, Lester Munson was on talking to Mccown and Bruce Arthur. The story there is quite the same. A group of NHLers lead by Chris Chelios, Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin (to name but a few) are trying to wrestle control back from Lindros, Penny and Pink and co. Munson thinks they will have to settle with Kelly who likely wouldn’t return as they search for an executive director who is a lot like Kelly. Interestingly enough Munson said that the PA has never had the type of leader that MLB or the NFL have had, one who really looked out for the players.

It’s amazing listening to all this stuff as the games are back on. It really seems like their is going to be one big showdown between the two factions. Oh to be a fly on that wall. It all seems kind of sad what Lindros has apparently turned into isn’t it????? We shall see what the fallout of this is. The players spent 6 hours on the phone on Sunday….6 hours!!!! So far they have nothing to show for it. They need to fire everyone at the top, the middle and the bottom and start all over. Kind of like the Blue Jays and Toronto City Council.

TSM

@yyzsportsmedia

The truth will come out; it always does. The mess that is the Nhlpa still has many more cycles to go. Until the power hungry get what they want there will be blood.

Today we got a very good idea as to what happened in another great article by the Boston Globe’s Kevin Paul Dupont:

“Some players, respected veterans and elite players around the league among them, have been enlightened over the last four weeks that Kelly was bumrushed without due cause, and without their knowledge or consent. Kelly had a contentious relationship with NHLPA ombudsman Eric Lindros, leading to L’Enfant Terrible’s resignation from that post earlier this year, which triggered a cabal of Lindros sympathizers to go after Kelly.

That’s the crux of what led to the vote in Chicago, which came after some 10 hours of jawboning among the player reps and the anti-Kelly conspirers who kept them in that room, shaping their opinion and then forcing the vote.

It’s about to get more interesting, and some of the Lindros sympathizers who orchestrated the firing could begin to feel the heat in the coming days and weeks. Following comments by ex-Bruins defenseman Brad Park printed in the Globe last week, calling into question the union’s motives and intelligence in sacking Kelly, there will be an ad hoc players conference call tomorrow open to all members.”

So who do you think is the Rat?

I loved hearing Jeremy Roenick today. His candor is so refreshing. However I take issue with a lot of what he said while a guest on Leafs Lunch on 640 Toronto:

D: What’s your assessment of what’s gone on? Roenick on everything that’s gone on including the firing of Paul Kelly and the resignation of Glenn Healy, etc.

R: To tell you the truth, I don’t know all the intricacies of what happened. I don’t know if there is a kind of an underlying power in the NHLPA that wants to take over. I don’t think Paul Kelly was doing a bad job. I think he was obviously very well qualified. Is the PA nervous about whether Paul Kelly can handle maybe another future lockout or maybe a future strike if that’s the case? It did seem premature. I feel bad for Paul. I think the way they treated him was not right, was not fair. They had him sitting out, drinking coffee till four in the morning while they pow wowed. And I think the disrespect to Paul Kelly was very evident, and it’s not right. All Paul has been trying to do is trying to help this organization and help the PA move forward and you treat a guy like that after a year and a half, two years unfortunately it’s unacceptable. I don’t know what their ultimate goal is here. But, there’s definitely a lot of uneasiness and unrest in the NHLPA and somebody better figure it out real quick because if they don’t there’s going to be even more problems that are gonna unfold with the National Hockey League and some of the issues that they have through the PA with the league and they need somebody that’s gonna be there that’s gonna help them maneuver them through that.

W: Roenick on anonymous letter.

R: Why is it anonymous? That’s what I don’t understand. Why is it anonymous?

Cowardly? It’s not cowardly; sensor button, it’s “chickenshit”. That’s alright, I can use this cause nobody’s gonna slap me on my knuckles. It’s chickenshit! If you have something to say about somebody, stand up and say it.

W: Anonymous letter is doing of someone who has a greater role planned for himself.

R: Correct. I totally…That’s exactly the feeling that I got when I heard of all this happenings. I specifically said to myself, “there is a ‘me’ entity to this and I don’t know where it’s stemming from.”

D: Hearing about “quiet discontent” about process. Roenick on concern over the process in terms of player reps voting on a decision without consulting with his constituents.

R: Ya, I’d be pissed. I would say something. And, I would try to get as many guys as I possibly could to fight the system. And, I think that’s been the problem with the National Hockey League players’ association for many years is it’s been a very small clique that have tried to make all the decisions and the decisions that are made are not a unanimous decisions by the union. A whole fact of having a union is for everybody to have a say. And when you have a little clique that’s gonna run it and that’s gonna make the decisions, there’s gonna be not only unrest, but there’s gonna be mistakes made and those mistakes are gonna turn into big problems like it has. It’s really unfortunate that our PA, the NHLPA continues to make a mockery of itself and take away its credibility by doing things that are very…I wanna say, it’s almost like “there’s one little group that’s trying to control it and that’s not how a players’ association is gonna work”.

D: Who is that group?

R: It seems to move around, it seems to change. A couple of years back during the Goodenow it seemed to be Trevor Linden, it seemed to be Bob Goodenow, it seemed to be a couple of other guys that were with them. I don’t know who’s doing it now. But, something has to happen; something has to change.

W: Clique of administrators who have convinced the membership, the executive board, which unfortunately is made up 90% of players under the age of 23 or players in the bottom 10% of the league (mentioned that he did not have facts to back up).

R: Ok, let’s continue that analogy by also saying that the education of those players are going to be very low. I would say most of them have high school educations. Do not have college educations. And not to put athletes down, but they’re not the brightest bulbs in the box. So, that being said, they really are influenced by the smarter people; by the lawyers; by the people who have gone to college who seem to be the guys who wear the suits and ties that represent themselves as being the smart people. That’s who the hockey players look at and they put all their faith in and sometimes they shouldn’t do that.

D: Roenick on interest in becoming involved management-wise with the players’ association.

R: No, I wouldn’t do with the players’ association. I hate to say it but that’s a whole entity that I think needs to be worked out and I think they have to get their credibility back before they’re gonna have more people that want to come work with them. I love the National Hockey League, I love a lot that has to do with it. But, there’s so many problems that are going on right now in there. Somebody like me, I don’t think I could fix something like that. I’d be more in tune of going to a personal team and working with a team in general rather than the whole National Hockey League to try to figure out what’s going on because, you know, I’m more of a mouth than a mouthpiece. Sometimes I’m not going to get that same kind of respect maybe that I should for just having that opinion. But, that’s just me. ”

I just think the players get what they deserve. If 90 % of the reps are under23, that is for one reason, the vets gave the shit job to the kids. For the players to bitch after the fact is a joke. Either you care enough to be involved or you don’t. The reality is most of these guys don’t care. After the lockout all they want to do is play. I don’t blame them for it. For vets to be crying after the fact??????

Also, why are players in the NHL less educated as rookies then they are as vets? How many of these “lightbulbs” somehow become “educated” by playing hockey? Jr made the point that the guys on the exec board have no more than a highschool degree. The inference is that older guys have degrees. I don’t buy it.

That bring said this whole thing stinks. Name one corporation where the president or CEO isn’t allowed to be involved in who his general counsel is??

The players have made a mistake here. This will cost them in the long run. I don’t know who is behind this or what they think they will accomplish. The reality is they have no leverage. Face it, in a fight without hockey who lasts longer Matt Stajan or the Teachers Pension ? In a fight between billionaires and millionaires I am betting on the billionaires.

In the end the players have to play, what else will they do? So they can hire whomever they think the biggest pitbull is, and it won’t matter. Bettman inc won before and he has way more will power than the last time.

And now, the rumors may start…. Credit to Tim Wharnsby at the Globe and Mail, for being the first writer to publish what may have been at the heart of Paul Kelly’s dismissal:

“One of the prime reasons Paul Kelly was fired as NHLPA executive director is that he was allegedly caught reading a transcript from a confidential meeting between the union’s advisory board and 30-member player executive last June.

Some details began to leak out yesterday, including charges that Kelly peaked at a confidential transcript from a private session at the NHLPA summer meetings in Las Vegas two months ago.

The players were burned by the previous executive director Ted Saskin, who was fired after allegations that he monitored players’ e-mails for personal gain. So after learning about Kelly’s actions, mixed in with other concerns, they felt they could no longer trust him after he read the minutes of the private session.

When an executive board member was contacted yesterday to confirm the private session was part of the reason for Kelly’s dismissal, the phone line went silent. He then said, “The players have agreed not to say anything.” The player was given a chance to refute the story and did not deny the allegations.”

And there you have it, the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Now, I know what you are going to say, you don’t fire a guy for seeing a document, this isn’t the same as reading emails from your bosses (whatever happend to Ken Kim?). This is the first real issue that we have heard for the reason given for his dismissal. Is it the whole story? Not likely. Everyone who has spoken on the record has said the same thing, when the truth is told everyone will understand. We aren’t there yet, for sure, but this is a start.

By the way, there has been a lot of talk about the “anonymous Paul Kelly letter”. I have heard excerpts, but don’t have the whole thing. If anyone out there does it, send it along so I can supply it to those who wish to see it. I am too lazy to do much digging, so if you have it send it to torontosportsmedia at gmail dot com.

TSM

The Globe article about Paul Kelly snooping is here

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

On Fan 590 Tonight-

- open phones with McCown from 4:05 to 4:40
- co-host from 5:00 to 7:00 is James Deacon
-Scott Mitchell, Ti Cats President IN studio
-Anton Thun, NHL Agent
-Paul Kelly
-Mike Gillis, Canucks GM
-Stephen Brunt

On 640 with Brady and Wattersthanks to Mike S.:

- Garnet Exelby, new Maple Leaf but still player rep for the Thrashers
- replay of interview with Paul Kelly, former executive director of the NHLPA
- Jason Smith, Senators defenceman who retired today

Paul Kelly spoke to Leafs Lunch this afternoon. Below is a recap of his comments. He really didn’t say that much, substance wise. He had a message he wanted to convey and he repeated it throughout his interview. It’s a good listen that will be replayed on the Watters show this afternoon. Here is my recap:

hope that the PA is in better place when i joined- enormous respect and admiration for the players and staff at the PA – fab group of people to work with. My comments will be confined to certain matters. My efforts were always designed and intended to protect the players. It’s what i woke thinking and what i retired thinking at the end of the day. Also driven by the good of the game, what grows the game etc. Those are things that motivated me. AS i headed into the meetings, those were the things that were on my mind. I am saddened and developed, until you have gone through it you can’t imagine the range of emotions, i leave with enormous affinity for the players in the NHL and i want to do what’s write.

The day i started at NHLPA we came in with new constitution, sometimes when there is change you swing the pendulum too far to make changes.There are an abundance of checks and balances in the system. Didn’t realize some of the challenges of that system when I started. It’s a challenging job to begin with, but given this system (the checks and the balances) who critique every action, every word being challenged, which isn’t bad, but no other players union has these in place, I hope the PA takes a look and addresses so that it can better function.

Not going to talk about internal union matters, what goes on in the locker room stays in the locker room. I am motivated by what’s best for the players. Thankful for having had the opportunity, I am a big boy and I hopefully have some talents to bring to the next phase of my life.

People take shots at public people. I didn’t see the anonymous letter until a few days ago. When you see something written that isn’t factual it’s upsetting, but I have broad shoulders, I wasn’t surprised by it. MY concern was my family and my kids. I can’t control it and I understand it.

No animosity towards anyone at the NHLPA. Everything I did was for the players.

I was fatigued, walking in I was concerned and apprehensive because of what had transpired, walking out I was shocked, disappointed and the range of human emotions people feel. People get terminated all the time, it hurts. I loved my job there. I will come to grips with this over time. I hope I left it better than when I started. I worked with great people and I am a better person for having had the experience.

you can listen to it here

Here are the lineups for the shows at noon:

On Baseball Show:

TBA

On Leafs Lunch:

Dreger is back and Paul Kelly joins him and Watters at 12:40

College of Sports Media Game of the Night:

Nothing like some good old fashion Us Open tennis to get things going on hump day. Arthur Ashe Stadium will be hosting some of the top seeds in the world in second round play at Flushing Meadows. Starting it off you have Amelie Mauresmo taking on Canadian Aleksandra Wozniak. Tough draw for the Canuck as she gets a former world number one so early in the tournament. Wozniak is looking to bounce back from an early exit at the Roger’s Cup. Next up is another lay who had a short stay in TO, Venus Williams and she will be facing Bethanie Mattek-Sands. Rafael Nadal is on court next for his opening round match. France’s Richard Gasquet is his opponent. In the evening matches, Roger Federer continues his quest for his sixth straight Us Open title. He battles Simon Greul in his second round match. Serena Williams rounds out the day at centre court. The younger Williams sister takes on Melinda Czink.

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

On Fan 590 Tonight-

- open phones with McCown from 4:05 to 4:40
- co-host from 5:00 to 7:00 is James Deacon
-Don banks
-Lester munson
-Adam rita

On 640 with Brady and Watters: thanks to Mike S.
440 Matt Stajan

TSM TAKE: Ex NHLPA guru will be on with Bob Mccown and James Deacon tomorrow night exclusively on PTS on the fan 590 at 6:05pm, the network hour

As predicted it was a great night for sports radio last night. Mccown and Deacon were very good. Bob Elliott was fantastic on all things Blue Jays. He doesn’t think JP will be back next season, he does think Cito will be back and he thinks that Beeston will be in a CEO role with a new President and GM running things. Hargrove was good on both shows, he broke the Penny story on the Watters show which was a coup for them. The chat about the Leafs new book was pretty funny as any time the Maple Leafs of old are the topic I am sure the folks at 640 are praying Wilbur watched his p’s and q’s.

Tonight, still a ton to talk about. More on Kelly and Coyotes go to court tomorrow. Pacman Jones comes to the CFL and college football inches closer to kickoff. I am sure 640 will replay their Pat Flatley interview from Leafs Lunch in case you missed it as I did.

Can’t wait to hear Kelly tomorrow night.

TSM

@yyzsportsmedia