Ok Sports fans, here is your homework. It’s not very often that I insist you read something, but Michael Farber’s article in Sports Ilustrated is must reading. The story on Brian Burke is fantastic. Talk about a story that “captures the spirit of thing”:

“A few days after Brendan came out to his father, in late December 2007, Brian told him, “You know the best part? I don’t have to take anything back.” Burke says he never told his children there was anything wrong with homosexuality. But when he really rummages through his memory, he concedes there are smudges on his otherwise clean conscience. When he played in the American Hockey League in the late 1970s—he was a stay-at-home defenseman whose skills fast-tracked him to Harvard Law School—he spoke in the lingua franca of the locker room. “Yeah, I used those slurs,” he says. “I’m embarrassed by it. It was an accepted part of the [hockey] culture, and it still is. But not on my teams. It’s a big part of trash talking, and that’s got to change.”

That’s just one piece of Farber’s story that caputures much of the Brian Burke that we don’t get to see or hear about..

“”Last summer I said something [nasty] about Kevin Lowe, and Brendan asked, ‘How can you stay mad at someone?’” Burke says. “I said, ‘It’s easy.’ He said, ‘No, it’s not. He used to be your friend. It doesn’t make sense. I don’t approve.’”
When Lowe, now the Oilers’ president, learned of Brendan’s passing, he e-mailed Brian, referring to their shattered relationship while offering his sympathies. Burke immediately called Edmonton G.M. Steve Tambellini, with whom he had worked in Vancouver, and asked him to tell Lowe that this is one broken fence he wants to mend.
And so Burke and Lowe began the healing process last week at Canada Hockey Place. In their best moments, the Olympics can be as much about peace and friendship as about rivalries. Five nights before the U.S. beat Canada 5–3, the grieving father walked over to Lowe, a Team Canada executive, and offered his hand. Burke says an awkward sort of half man-hug accompanied the handshake. ”

Fantastic stuff Michael, a great story on a Burke. It becomes easier to become a fan of Burke with each passing day. While he portrays himself as the big truculent type, you can tell there is a softer side that is probably driving the bus more often than not. That’s good to see.

Sports Illustrated’s Michael Farber’s excellent article on Toronto Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke can be read here.

Are you panicking? No, really. Three games in, have the alarm bells started to ring? When the Blue Jays were on their tear early on, where you ready to annoint them playoff bound? When a guy hits a homerun or scores a goal in game one of the season, do you project their season totals???? I mean really.

We Toronto Sports fans take a lot of shit. Some of it is deserved. Most of it is fabricated in attempt to sell papers (who reads em) or radio ads(who listens)… Listening and looking around this town, you would think the Maple Leafs are this years version of the Detroit Lions. Wholly smokes folks, it’s 3 stinking games. It’s three games with how many new faces? Get a grip.

The good news, I think is that most of the hysteria is media generated. No one I know has hit the panic button yet. It is way too early for that. With all due respect, those who call in to Leafs talk aren’t, in my mind anyways representative of Leafs fans. Seriously, do you know anyone who calls in to those shows? That is not to say that people don’t…It’s just that the notion that those who do are speaking for the larger group is bunk. I mean the larger group doesn’t think that the guy from Maple is bang on when he suggested the Jamal Mayers for a first round draft pick.

So, is it the media who creates hysteria and the fans feed off of it, or are fans really panicked as has been suggested. I am not buying that it is the fans. I don’t see it, I don’t hear it and it makes no sense. It makes about as much sense as the Bruce Garrioch Ron Wilson story today.

Look, this is really simple. If the Leafs are any worse than they were last year when the season ends and lottery positions are finalized, Brian Burke is going to have some explaining to do. If the Boston Bruins are on the podium with the Maple Leafs pick things have gone dramatically astray. If this team regresses after the overhaul the lineup has undergone, something is amiss. It’s really that simple. To reach that conclusion after game 3?????????? I am sorry. We aren’t, collectively anyways, that dumb are we???????

I certainly hope not. Saturday could be ugly by the way. If the same Leafs team shows up that did against Ottawa, Pittsburgh may have a field day.

Chins up leafs nation. It’s a long haul, and we’ve only just begun.

I hope if nothing else, I have proven to be the first one to admit when I am wrong. Tonight is the perfect example. As I was leaving for dinner word broke that the NHL had submitted a bid to purchase the Phoenix Coyotes. I WRONGLY assumed that signaled the end of Jim Balsillie’s makeitseven push. I failed to realize that there had to be a reason for this move by Gary Bettman. It wasn’t until after my dinner that I received word that Jerry Reinsdorf has pulled out of the bidding for the Coyotes that I realized exactly what was going on here. The actual timeline of events was in contrast to how news broke tonight. You see, those who have been covering this story in Phoenix saw the NHL release but couldn’t get court confirmation of the actual bid or intention of a bid with the court. The reason was, that the NHL bid was entirely a reactionary move. The league knew that it’s white knight Jerry Reinsdorf has had enough and has decided that this really isn’t worth the headache. So rather than facing a PR disaster, the NHL went on the offensive and issues it’s own press release announcing their bid for the team. As a result of this diversion, almost all media outlets carried the NHL bid for the Coyotes as the main story tonight. Reinsdorf pulling out is an after thought. Diversion successful. Don’t be fooled sports fans. The story tonight is simple. When Reinsdorf informed the league that it was done, the league was left with the daunting realization that it was out of legitimate options. They can’t go forward with only Jim Balsillie bidding on the Coyotes. That would be a total disaster. So what do the do, prior to the Reinsdorf news coming out, which would have been really bad news for team Bettman, they issue their spin, their bid for the team and their intention to deal with this in their own way.

So, where are we tonight? We now have 2 bidders for the team, the NHL and Balsille. Bruce Arthur lays this out perfectly in tomorrow’s paper:

“There’s truth in that statement, though it is not contained in the part about somebody operating the franchise in Glendale, Ariz. Operating the franchise in Glendale is idiotic and always was, which is the issue at the heart of this whole sordid drama. The NHL has too many franchises in too much trouble; it is a regional league pretending to be something else.

And in the case of this particular failure, the truth is that nobody else was foolish enough to own and operate the team in Glendale, and the NHL is desperate to keep it out of the hands of combative Canadian billionaire Jim Balsillie, who wants to move the team to Hamilton over the NHL’s objections.

To do that, the NHL will have to pay. The league’s preferred straw man, Chicago sports owner Jerry Reinsdorf, withdrew his house-of-cards bid yesterday, saying “we have been unable to reach an acceptable lease deal for the operation of the team” with the city of Glendale.

In other words, Mr. Reinsdorf’s mirage finally evaporated, since it proposed that in a state with a US$3.4-billion budget deficit, the city of Glendale should surrender up to US$23-million in annual concessions.

And even that league-approved pipe dream put the lie to the NHL’s position that hockey belongs in Glendale: Mr. Reinsdorf’s bid also included the inevitable escape clause, which stated that if the team were still losing money after five years of new administration, the city of Glendale would either have to pay the team US$15-million per year of losses, or watch the Coyotes walk away.

The only other guys at the table, a group of Canadian gentlemen calling themselves Ice Edge Holdings LLC, have proposed that the team play some of its games in Saskatoon or Halifax, which is precisely as ridiculous as it sounds.”

What a friggin mess. Richard Rodier has to be laughing tonight. This has unfolded almost entirely as he has predicted. The problem is, where does this go from here. Bettman is as stubborn as he is short. There is no way he can go back. It is really too bad that the Melnyk’s name has been smeared as the only way that I saw this ending in Balsillie’s favor was by having someone bridge the gap. Eugene could have been that guy. Clearly that isn’t going to happen now. Can you imagine a scenario where the bidding on the franchise is between the NHL and Balsillie? Furthermore, Balsillie turned up the heat by etching in pencil a new deadline to have this wrapped up by September 14th or he is out. The worst thing for the court in this matter is to only have one bidding party and that party being the NHL who wants to pay the least amount for the asset as possible.

“o after all the bluster and the blather and the bull, this is what it has come to. If Mr. Balsillie bids US$212.5-million, the National Hockey League has to come up with US$213-million. That, and try to keep a straight face when it talks about this team staying just where it is.

We don’t know the bid’s details just yet, but it seems likely that this could be a blow to Mr. Balsillie’s chances, since the league might actually be willing to put up money where Mr. Reinsdorf was not.

Regardless, the NHL has finally found its last stand, with the Sept. 10 auction looming. When Mr. Balsillie’s bid for the Coyotes was revealed back in May, the league protested that it had another bidder all lined up and willing to buy the team. The league protested that Mr. Moyes lacked the legal authority to sell the team. And of course, before that, the league assured anybody who would listen that the Coyotes, which the NHL was secretly funding, were not in trouble.

But at the end of the day, money talks and all of that walks, and the NHL loses no matter what. Finally, after all the endless mendacity, we have arrived at the unpleasant but necessary truth.”

Bettman, some say won the lockout. If his idea of winning here is keeping Balsillie out of the club he certainly is doing a lot of damage to achieve that goal. What a mess. it was suggested to me tonight that the league would sooner fold the team than allow Balsillie to own it. I want to be there when someone tells Paul Kelley that is happening. As a fan, I would love to see one less team. As a fan of sports though, it’s hard to root for a city losing a team. No one wins in those scenarios. I would love to see the lawsuits filed as a result of the NHL folding the team though, that would be interesting.

This is going to be a wild 7-14 days, I am loving watching this, it’s way more intreging to me than the team Canada hold hands and sing camp. Buckle up, its going to be a bumpy ride.

TSM

Bruce Arthur is here

When twitter is working, which it isn’t right now, you can follow me at @yyzsportsmedia

So we are losers and idiots, that is the story that we hear all the time right. Dumb Leaf fans. Idiots follow the team through thick and thick. We dish out our hard earned cash in unwavering support day after day, time after time. As a result of this support, the theory goes, there is no pressure on the franchise to ever improve and therefore the team will forever suck. Right? Did I miss a point?

The good folks over at PPP had a brillant post today comparing Mr. Berger and comments made by Mr Hogan (that I didn’t hear) about the Toronto Blue Jays and the lack of fan support the Jays received on Sunday.

“Contrast this with the reason typically given for the lack of championships won by the local hockey team. “The Leafs don’t have to win because the sucker fan base show up all the time regardless.” So which is it? Jays fans don’t deserve a winner because they don’t show up. Leaf fans don’t deserve a winner because they do.”

Aint that the truth! However, let’s take this one step even further sports fans. Imagine for one second that interest in the Leafs starts to wane. Try to imagine that this team’s attendance starts to drop off to let’s say, oh I don’t know, the St. Louis, Chicago (in years past) or other struggling markets. Before you say it will never happen, anything is possible and, more importantly go with me here, it is my post.

So, what would happen if Maple Leaf nation was no more. Leaf fans lost interest. Did what the media wants, stayed away, stopped tuning in, turning on and paying attention. Would those who call us idiots be happy then? No really, where would the Howard Berger’s be then? Think about, suddenly readership on Maple Leaf centric blogs, Toronto Sports papers and audience on both Toronto radio shows dropped like a stone. You know all those folks who bash the shit out of their audience for “suckeredly” follow the team, do you know where they would be?

UNEMPLOYED IN GREENLAND!

It’s one thing to be suckers for following our teams. It’s quite another to be suckers for taking shit from the media. Now, I happen to side with Hogan on this one. I think that 36k to see Roy Halladay pitch vs. the Red Sox is sad. I know, it’s better than other teams draw, I know it’s better than most games, but it is still not a large number. However, Jays fans aren’t the cause for the teams demise. Their GM is. Their GM signed the contracts that are now “albatrosses” around the team’s neck. If you want to point the finger of blame in why the Jays are where they are, then it starts with the GM. This is his team. He put it together. He signed the guys. Ownership initially hired him to cut costs. The plan was to give in to JP when the time was right and spend as necessary. Ownership followed that plan. JP asked for more money, ASH money and guess what? He got it! Boy did he ever. The payroll swelled again and the team didn’t improve. Jays fans fault? Hell no.

One day, more guys will join the likes of Norm Rumack on the real sidelines. Norm is there as a result of tough economic times. There will come a day, maybe not in the foreseeable future that the good ship Maple Leaf will not be what it is today. The coach of the Maple Leafs will one day face a media scrum of less than 10 people. Free agent day in Toronto won’t garner hours of coverage, nor will the NHL trade deadline day. Nothing lasts forever, NOTHING. Then, I promise you those media types will be longing for the days when jobs in the greatest hockey city were aplenty. A time when the fans hung on every word, read every paper, listened to every show and saught information on the team as if it were more important than food. That day will come.

You can read the rest of brilliance here

Get this sports fans, you know the sportsnet story earlier today, the one about Burke discussing a potential deal which involved trading Kaberle, Schenn and the #7 pick overall to Tampa for the #2 pick over, the one that Doug MacLean reported? ALL BULLSHIT. Sources close to Sportsnet are telling TSM that Sportsnet knows they’re in hot water over this story. The story was completely FALSE.

Brian Burke had to call Luke Schenn and Tomas Kaberle today to tell them there was nothing to the rumors, while he was spending time with his daughter’s family in Boston and Burke was less then thrilled with how he had to spend his down time….. It is Interesting that Doug MacLean, a former GM is behind this mess.

The Toronto Sun has run a story on the Burke denials:

“And about this request from the Lightning that Burke send defencemen Luke Schenn and Tomas Kaberle and the seventh pick in exchange for the second pick? ‘The concept is absurd,’ Burke said. ‘I have said so to Luke, and am trying to reach Kabba to tell him the same.’ ”

On the apparent email that got sent to MacLean from Burke (recall this from the article “Leafs general manager Brian Burke has confirmed to Sportsnet via e-mail that the Lightning have asked for Toronto defencemen Tomas Kaberle and Luke Schenn along with the team’s No. 7 pick in exchange for Tampa’s No. 2 selection. Burke also said in his e-mail to Sportsnet that Schenn is not going anywhere.”):

“Brian Burke went into quash mode on Tuesday. The Maple Leafs general manager shot down a rumour that he would send the Leafs’ seventh overall pick in the NHL entry draft next month to the Tampa Bay Lightning for the second pick overall and right winger Ryan Malone. The catch is Malone is under contract through the 2014-15 season at a salary cap hit of $4.5-million US for each of the next six years. ‘I have no comment,’ Burke said. ‘It certainly has not been discussed at our end.’”

Now does that sound like the words of someone who sent a “confirming email??????????

The Fan 590 is still running the rumour story..

More on this tomorrow I am sure.