The Sports Section

Moving to a New Location

Hey everyone just wanted to let you all know that I have moved my blog to a new location and I hope you will continue to read it and enjoy as much as I enjoy writing it for you.

http://thesportsinformer.blogspot.com/

and please continue to email me at james.choleras@gmail.com

NHL - Serves the Leafs Right

I realize that writing this will probably earn me the ire of every Toronto Maple Leaf fan out there but I feel the need to address this current issue.  Over the weekend it was revealed that the Montreal Canadiens have been granted exclusive rights to talk to Leafs captain Mats Sundin about becoming a Canadien.  Now Leaf fans are up in arms that Sundin might leave and the Leafs will get nothing in return when he could have left at the deadline and the team could have received boat loads of compensation.  To this argument I say, “it serves you right.”

Mats Sundin has been the captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs for 10 seasons now and has been nothing but great to the organization.  He has scored at least 70 points in each of those seasons and led the team in points every year except 03-04 when Alexander Mogliny beat him by 7 points.  He is the organizations leading goal scorer (420) and points leader (984) and this is while playing with bums.  He has done everything for the team and more and yet what has he gotten in return?  Nothing.

His last few seasons Sundin has winged by career 3rd and 4th line players in an attempt to help them “develop” and to “spread out the talent” to me this means the Leafs don’t care enough about Sundin to go get a play maker.  Ever since the departure of Mogilny Sundin has been forced to play with the likes of Matt Stajan, Nik Antropov, Alex Steen, Alexi Ponikarovsky, and Jiri Tlusty.  Does the man not deserve better line mates than these stiffs?  In an effort to address the problem before the start of last season the Leafs went out and signed Jason Blake a decent player but he is a GOAL SCORER and not someone to set up Sundin.  Go out and sign an Alex Tanguay or someone who at least knows how to PASS the puck unlike shot happy Jason Blake.

Coincidentally since the departure of Alexander Mogilny the Leafs have yet to make the playoffs.  Coincidence?  I think not.  When Sundin has a play maker with him the Leafs can do great things and be an offensive force but when 4th liners populate your top line your going to have a problem.

Mats Sundin has done everything ever asked of him and he has earned the right to do what he wishes with the remaining years of his career.  Maybe the reason he didn’t leave at the trade deadline was because he believed in his team like a REAL fan should.  He didn’t just give up and say blow up the team for picks and young talent.  He thought they could win and played hard every night to try and get a spot in the playoffs.  Yet what does he get for all his hard work?  Fans now say he is a traitor and a bum and were trying to run him out of town at deadline day.  Its shameful behavior and i’m not surprised that it was perpetrated by Leaf fans.

So Mats Sundin if you want to leave Toronto for greener pastures and a chance to actually play in the playoffs then by all means pursue that opportunity.  Because it won’t happen with the Leafs and after seeing the way the fans and organization have treated him in Toronto lately would he really want to help them?

The Mailbag

So the way this works is im going to show the question posed by you the reader and then post my answer underneath.  I got a few emails this week but im hoping for even more next week.  So let”s get started.

“Do you actually think he can be given the best golfer in history if he doesnt beat Jack Nicklaus’s records? I mean that’s like saying Sidney Crosby is the best hockey player to ever live just because he has been given so much publicity and endorsments.”

In how many sports would you take 1 inidivual/team over the entire field?  In the NBA, NHL, NFL, MLB, and lately even tennis if I said pick one team and I get the field that wouldnt be a fair deal.  However in golf giving someone Tiger Woods and then taking the field yourself is a bad bet.  Tiger is clearly the most dominant athlete of my generation and will more than likely break Jack Nicklaus’s record of major wins.  PLus when you look at it Tigers percentage of major wins to top 10 finishes is more impressive than Jacks wich means if Tiger is close on Sunday he will more than likely win.

“Just wondering what your thoughts/predictions are for the upcoming EPL season. Obviously there are still many summer transfers to be made, but if the season started today how do you think it’d play out?”

As much as I love soccer and the EPL its one of my least favorite sports to follow as it lacks parody so much that even at this early date I can safely say that one of the  “Big 4” is going to win it all.  I can go as far as to say that they will finish 1 2 3 4 without much trouble really.  The only team I can see getting in there and making some noise, present sqaud intact, is Tottenham.  They have the strikers to match any teams and with the emmergence of young talent like Gareth Bale and Tommy Huddlestone the team can be dangerous.  But start striker Dimitar Berbatov is more than likely on his way out and the keeper situation is shaky at best.

“Do you think that Addam Dunn would help the Bluejays?”

Not at all.  Adam Dunn is exactly as JP Ricciardi described him a low average hitter with power.  While I realise the Jays do need some offense and need to hit more home runs there are other valuable options out there that could come much cheeper than Adam Dunn.

“Who is your early prediction to win the Super Bowl?”

The Minnesota Vikings.  They have an awesome defensive line with both Pat and Kevin Williams and with the trade for Jared Allen they shouldnt have any problems stopping the run or putting pressure on the quarterback.  They also signed free agents Madieu Williams, an active free safety for the Bengals last year and Charlie Gordon, a good, quick, free-agent cornerback.  This should help their pass defense which was one of their weak points last year.  Now for the offensive side of the ball they still have got Chester Taylor and Adrian Peterson who run behind one of the best o-lines in football that boasts Bryant McKinnie and Steve Hutchinson. The Vikings also went out and signed big play wide reciever Bernard Berrian who should give quarterback Tavaris Jackson a legitimate down field threat to work with.  Now the only weak point could be Tavaris Jackson who hasnt played great throughout his first seasons in the NFL.  But this year he has approached training camp with a new attitude and has impressed both teammates and coaches alike.  This could be the Vikings year.

Thanks for all the emails and please keep them coming.

james.choleras@gmail.com

MLB - Gibbons Out and Cito In…Ricciardi Next?

It is being reported by TSN.ca that Toronto Blue Jays Manager John Gibbons has been fired and will be replaced by…..Cito Gaston! Along with Gibbons goes coaches Marty Pevey, Ernie Whitt and Gary Denbo.  Dwayne Murphy will take over as the first Base Coach, Nick Leyva will coach at third base and Gene Tenace returns as the hitting coach.

But the real news here is the return of the greatest manager in Blue Jays history.  In his 9 seasons with the Jays Gaston had a record of 683-636 finishing 1st in the AL East 5 times and winning back to back World Series in 92 and 93.  Hopefully he can bring a winning attitude back to a team that coming into this season had high expectations and hoped to compete for a division title.

The news of Gibbons being fired isn’t a surprise to anyone as it seemed that with every loss he got closer to the exit door.  The real shock is bringing in Cito Gaston.  It is a shock but in the best way possible.  As a Jays fan I love Cito Gaston and know that he will be what this team needs to turn it around. 

Gibbons, took over the Jays job at the end of the 2004 season, replacing Carlos Tosca.  In his three full seasons from 2005 - 2007 under Gibbons, the Jays never finished with fewer than 80 wins or more than 87. In 610 career games as a manger, Gibbons has a 305-305 record.

Ricciardi Next?

This begs the question of how much time does JP Ricciardi have now that Gibbons is gone and it seems the Front Office is clearing house.  Ricciardi has brought in no one of real value and seems to have a love affair with older players past their prime and singing people who have no intention to stay here long. 

Added to that was a recent tirade on a radio show in which Ricciardi went off on a fan who suggested the Jays trade for Adam Dunn.  Of Dunn Ricciardi had this to say, “Do you know the guy doesn’t really like baseball that much?  Do you know the guy doesn’t have a passion to play the game that much? How much do you know about the player?”  Hmmm sounds to me an awful lot like AJ Burnett and you had no problems signing him.

The only bright spot to come out of this whole Ricciardi-Dunn mess was what Dunn said in response to JP’s comments. 

“I know nothing about this clown. I have no idea who he is,” Dunn said. “I don’t really care what one guy thinks, to be honest with you. If I’m a GM, I don’t know if I would go out of my way to kind of discredit a player.”

Adam Dunn you just became a personal favorite of mine.

NHL - Should Have Been A Locke

With the NHL Entry Draft set to happen tonight in Ottawa you would expect that I would write on that but unfortunately for me I don’t know enough about junior hockey to speak on the matter.  I know Steve Stamkos will go first overall and then expect there to be a lot of defensemen taken.  I also know that almost every player who played for the Team Canada World Juniors will get drafted as well.

So instead of the draft I’m going to talk about something that bothers me to no end and that is how Corey Locke is not currently on an NHL roster.

What made me think to write about this was the fact that I saw a special on the Montreal Canadians draft needs and someone said that they needed a forward with goal scoring ability to replace Saku Koivu when he retires.  It made me stop and think for a bit because I knew that they already had someone Corey Locke.  His name is not a familiar one to the casual NHL fan as he has only ever played 1 career NHL game but in reality he could be a superstar.

I first heard of Corey Locke when my dad sold his dad a car, my dad works at Pickering Honda (shameless plug I know), and came home and told me all about it.  I immediately went on the internet and looked up this guy to see if he was ay good.  To my surprise I discovered that in that year he was:

CHL

• First Team All-Star - 2004 
• CHL Player of the Year - 2003 
• CHL Top Scorer Award - 2003 
• First Team All-Star - 2003

OHL

• Red Tilson Trophy - 2004 
• Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy - 2004 
• First Team All-Star - 2004 
• Red Tilson Trophy - 2003 
• Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy - 2003 
• First Team All-Star - 2003

I got excited because in my mind I thought that meant my dad would have sold a car to a future NHLer who had potential to be a star in the league.  I started to follow Locke’s career pretty closely checking in on his progress from time to time so see if he was still on the right path.  In 2003 it was his draft year and I made sure that I watched all the pre-game shows and then the draft itself so I could see him selected.  But to my surprise he wasn’t mentioned at all.  No one on TSN dropped his name and he wasn’t on anyone’s board to be selected in the 1st round.

What’s going on i thought to myself.  This guy was the Player of the Year and the Top Scorer in the CHL does that not merit a mention?  Guys that he outperformed and skated circles around were being selected ahead of him.  It wasn’t until the 113th that the Montreal Canadiens selected him finally.  I felt glad for him and knew that if he continued to play well he would get his chance in the NHL. 

So after the draft he moved from the OHL to the AHL and played for the Hamilton Bulldogs.  Not to my surprise he continued his success and had an excellent rookie season with the Bulldogs that continued into a solid career:

AHL

• Calder Cup Champion - 2007 
• Hamilton Bulldogs Career Points Leader (229)
• Hamilton Bulldogs Career Goals Leader (85)
• Hamilton Bulldogs Career Assists Leader (144)

Yet after all of these accomplishments he has only played 1 career NHL game and why?  Because people in the NHL feel that he is too small.  The guy can flat out play and will make any team that he is on better but because he’s 5’9 168 he doesn’t get a shot.  I could have sworn that the new NHL was about speed and finesse and less about size and yet he still is labeled as too small.  The belief that someone cant compete because of their size is ridiculous.  Locke competed in the minor leagues where everyone in the NHL plays at some point so what is the difference?  Look at Martin St Louis, he wasn’t even drafted because he was said to be too small.  Now he has accomplished almost everything there is to accomplish in the NHL and on the International stage.  All he needed was a chance and that is all Corey Locke needs…a chance.

Your Opinion

I am going to ask everyone a question and I would love to get your feedback and thoughts.  This question is asked mostly to people of Toronto but it can be relatable to many scenarios.

Question: If Vince Carter retired next year and his last game was in Toronto after the game was over would you boo him?

The question was asked to me by a co-worker and in the course of my day I changed my answer numerous times.  Does the way Vince acted in Toronto outweigh his contribution to the city of Toronto and the Toronto Raptors?  He put T.O. on the map with his amazing dunks and made casual fans look forward to watching Raptors games.  However he was often injured, acted like a jerk, and in his return to Toronto while playing for the Nets questioned the skills of Chris Bosh. 

Taking all of this in I personally would cheer for Carter, and loudly.  He was the Raptors franchise for numerous years and helped make the Raptors the great organization that it is.  Was he a jerk?  Of Course.  But how many professional athletes aren’t jerks?  That doesn’t make it ok to be a jerk but in my mind Vince Carter deserves to be cheered.

But I look forward to hearing your answer.  Let me know what you think.

Soccer - Knock Out Stage

After Russia’s convincing victory over Sweden yesterday the knockout bracket has been filled and should provide for some amazing games.  Now looking back I think I did a pretty decent job with some of my predictions but I will say that after watching yesterdays game calling Group D the weakest group was unfair.  Russia looked dominant against Sweden in a 2-0 win that very easily could have been 6-0.  Even Greece looked a bit better but still couldn’t pull off a win against Spain’s bench.  With all of that said its time for some more predictions.

Portugal vs. Germany - This should be an absolutely amazing game with two heavyweights of football going head to head with bragging rights and a spot in the next round on the line.  Germany’s coach Joachim Low has been banned from the match which could prove costly to the German side who are now being seen as underdogs.  Portugal also rested their starters in the last game of the the group stage so they should be ready to go.  Look for this game to be won by whichever team can control the midfield as both teams have world class athletes patrolling this area of the pitch.

Prediction: Germany 2-1 Portugal

Croatia vs. Turkey - This game could potentially be one of the best games of the tournament as Turkey is such an exciting team to watch and Croatia is no slouch itself.  Unfortunately the Turkish goalkeeper Volkan Demirel recieved a red card in Turkeys last match so he will be unable to play.  With that in mind it should make things much easier for Croatia.  But if I have learned one lesson this Euro 2008 it is never to count out Turkey.

Prediction: Croatia 1-0 Turkey

Netherlans vs. Russia -  This is the game that I will be looking forward to the most as the Netherlands are my favorite team and pick to win it all.  They are usually well known for having tremendous talent but no chemistry as a team but this tournament they have been outstanding.  Their counter attack has been magical and they have gotten world class efforts out of Wesley Sneijder and Robin van Persie.  Even Ruud van Nistelrooy has been playing well and not simpling parking himself in front of goal and waiting for crosses.  Russia has also been playing very well but their inability to show finish against Sweden makes me belive they are not ready for the Dutch.

Prediction: Netherlands 3 - 0 Russia

Spain vs. Italy - The Spainish have looked dominant so far in the tournament and have made excellent teams look like house leaguers who got lost on their way to a tournament.  They showed the depth of their bench yesterday by beating Greece and David Villa has looked sublime so far.  Italy on the other hand tied Romania and that was only after Gianluigi Buffon stopped a penalty late.  They looked a bit better against France but this tournament that isnt saying much.  Italy cant be counted out entirely but I feel that the traffic will be one way in this game and Buffon had better be ready.

Prediction: Spain 2 - 0 Italy

However the games turn out it should be great football.  Luckily for me its the weekend and I will be able to actually watch all of the games instead of catching glimpses at work.

One Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

The Boston Celtics win the NBA Championship and no article is needed because everyone knew they were going to win it from the start.  Just look at the face of Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce it says it all really.

Great Series.  Great Season.  Great Team.  Raptors in ‘09.

Hit or Miss

Hit

Everything They Could Have Dreamed For - The NBA got exactly what it wnated out of the NBA Finals this year.  It was exciting, historic, and had some amazing basketball.  Two historic teams clashing again in an amazing series that ended with the Lakers getting embarassed by a NBA Finals record 39 points in game 6 last night.

About Time – Willie Randolph was fired on Tuesday which begs the question what took so long?  Don’t get me wrong I’m not glad the man lost his job but I mean honestly how much longer could this be dragged out?  Randolph has led the team to an underachieving 34-35 and has been a distraction of late with his comments on racism in the New York media.

Euro 2008 – The tournament has been absolutely amazing and has included some of the most exciting games in recent memory.  Sports fans need to look no further than the Turkey – Czech Republic game to understand why soccer is such an amazing sport.  Too bad about the Netherlands not laying down and dying though as it would have been nice to see Romania make it through and Italy and France watch from home.

Little Caesars – Congratulations to Mike Illitch (owner of the Detroit Tigers and Little Caesars) who is finally starting to see a return on his investment of $130 million.  The Tigers are 8-2 in their last 10 and are only 6 ½ games back of first in the division.

Miss

Wang Comes up Lame – Yankees pitcher Chien Ming Wang was injured in a game on June 15^th against the Houston Astros while running the bases.  Due to the fact that it was interleague play Wang was forced to bat.  He got on base and was coming around 3rd when he started to limp.  After the game Hank Steinbrenner went off at the media claiming that, “My only message is simple. The National League needs to join the 21st century.”  Should the NL adopt the DH rule?  Let the debate begin.

“Down Goes Rocco” – Rocco Mediate had numerous chances to put Tiger Woods away on the weekend but couldn’t sink the putts when it mattered the most.  Woods did what he always does and that is win.  This will probably haunt Rocco for a while but at least he seemed to take it all in good faith as a smile seemed glued to his face.

Think You Got the Wrong Guy - The Seattle Mariners fired general manager Bill Bavasi on Monday, as the team lags with the worst record in baseball after starting the season with playoff hopes.  This move I don’t understand.  The GM brought in talented players like Eric Bedard and promising youngster Carlos Silva but they haven’t preformed up to expectations.  Is that the GMs fault or should the manager not be blamed?  Why wasn’t manager John McLaren fired?  That is the real question.

NFL Issues – The latest attack on Javon Walker is yet another incident that the NFL did not need as it seems they cant get their names out of the papers.  Im not saying Walker did anything wrong as it has yet to be explained what really happened but the NFL could really use some positive press right now.

MLB - Randolph Shown the Door

After weeks of speculation that his job was in jeopardy, Willie Randolph, Manager of the New York Mets, finally got fired while most Met fans were fast asleep dreaming about him getting fired.

This was a long time coming for Randolph as he, and everyone else, knew that his time was coming after 2 1/2 months into the season he had the Mets at a 34-35 record.  This is also following the epic collapse the Mets had last year where they blew a 7 game lead to wind up missing the playoffs entirely.

At the start of this season they were an early favorite to win the pennant but the team with the $138 million payroll just never clicked and could not return to the form that brought them to within one game of the World Series just two years earlier.

Even with the offseason acquisition of Johan Santana the Mets couldnt win.  Injuries to key players such as Ryan Church and Pedro Martinez didnt help either.  Couple that with the poor play of Billy Wagner and Caros Delgado and its easy to see why the Mets couldnt win.

The 53-year old Randolph just couldnt get his team motivated and always seemed to make the wrong move at every opportunity this year.  Even when things were looking up for the Mets Randolph found a way to ruin it.

Coming off a massive two-game sweep of the Yankees in the Subway series in May, the first black manager in New York baseball history created a stir by suggesting in a newspaper interview that he was portrayed on Mets broadcasts differently than a white manager might be.Randolph brought up the race issue as he detailed the way he’s been shown by SNY, the team’s TV network.

“Is it racial?” Randolph was quoted. “Huh? It smells a little bit. … I don’t know how to put my finger on it, but I think there’s something there.”

A couple of days later, Randolph apologized to Mets ownership, SNY and his players “for the unnecessary distraction” he’d created.

The question that then needs to be asked is did Randolph deserve it?

Yes.  When you are the manager of a team whos batting order could realistically be the majority of the All-Star team and yet you are under .500 there is a serious problem.  Granted they are in of the more difficult divisions in baseball where 19 time a year they have to play the Phillies, Marlins, and Braves (I excluded the Nationals because they are awful) but the Mets still have a team that should compete. 

Players like Jose Reyes and Carlos Delgado have been struggling for the majority of the season but you can’t fire the players.  The manager then becomes accountable and needs to step up and make something happen.  Its not as if Randolph was out there losing games on his own but sadly in the world of sports the coach is blamed when the team loses and the players get credit when the team does well.  It is an occupational hazard and Randolph knew it. 

Randolph got the axe and deserved it.  His inability to get his players to play to their utmost potential cost him his job.  He will more than likely find work sooner rather than later however as Seattle Mariners bench boss John McLaren looks poised to join Randolph in the unemployment line.