Imagine

One of these second basemen is not like the others: Russ Adams, Aaron Hill, Royce Clayton, John McDonald, Marcus Giles.

If you guessed Giles, you’re right. He’s not a Blue Jay. And he’s also one of the best second basemen in baseball. He played in the 2003 All-Star Game, would look really nice batting in the two or seven hole, and is a serious upgrade at second over the minor-league-bound Adams, the shortstop of the future as recently as the start of 2006 Hill, “why’d the sign that guy” Clayton, and great with the leather but so-so at the dish McDonald (who also is more of a natural shortstop).

Sure. The numbers show Giles’ production has slipped at the plate. He’s still better than McDonald (and don’t get me wrong, McDonald was the best thing that ever could have happened to the Jays’ middle infield in 2006) at the dish. Adding Giles allows the Jays to slide Hill back to short, and suddenly things are looking up for the middle of the infield. His .983 fielding percentage at second was 15^th-best in the Majors, and just .001 behind NL Gold Glove winner Orlando Hudson (cough-cough-former Jay-cough-cough-cough).

Though Hill’s fielding percentage drops off precipitously when he moves to the other side of the bag, he won’t be stuck pairing with Russ Adams anymore and may be able to relax some.

Imagine a competent-to-All-Star caliber middle infield. Maybe the countless worries about pitching would be quelled just a little by some guys that can flash the leather. Imagine if the Jays had infielders as good as their outfielders.

Imagine also, spending $5 million a year for a second bagger three seasons removed from an All-Star appearance, which is so much better than spending $10 million a year on a pitcher named after part of a fish’s anatomy that nobody outside of Seattle knows anything about.

Of course, imagine the gay accountant doing the right thing.

If John Lennon can imagine, so can I.

On an unrelated note: the Montreal Canadiens made Boston’s Zdeno Chara look like an absolute fool Tuesday night. As the biggest guy in the league, every time he gets beaten to a puck, or beaten in a one-on-one battle, he’s getting beaten by someone smaller than he is. But to see guys like 6-foot rookie call-up Maxime Lapierre and 5-foot-generous-9-inch Tomas Plekanec beating him for two consecutive Habs goals has to have Bruins’ bench boss Dave Lewis scratching his head, and general manager Peter Chiarelli wondering what happened to his off-season coup.

One more hockey note: since I don’t watch the Maple Leafs, I had no idea this was happening, but after the game I read that the Leafs held a pre-game ceremony to honour their 1992-93 team. Now, I understand this team marked a significant shift in Leaf Land, in which the Leafs started being a competitive team again instead of the laughing stock they’d been through most of the 80s. But really? A pre-game ceremony for a team that lost in the conference final 13 years ago? Maybe the Dallas Stars should hold a ceremony for the 1990 Minnesota North Stars that lost to Edmonton in the conference final. Fewer of the 1989 Flames will be on hand for Mike Vernon’s jersey-retirement ceremony in Calgary than 1993 Leafs were in Toronto Tuesday night. Nicely done Toronto. Way to honour losers. The Colorado Avalanche would be better suited to hold a pre-game ceremony honouring Craig Wolanin’s contributions to their 1996 Stanley Cup win.

Getting behind our amateur athletes

Great news yesterday as speedskater Cindy Klassen was named Lou Marsh Award winner for 2006.

The Lou Marsh Award is given annually to the country’s top athlete, as voted on by members of the national media.

Klassen won five medals at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy-- the most ever by a Canadian athlete at on Olympiad.

Klassen edged 2005 and 2006 NBA MVP and 2005 Lou Marsh Award winner Steve Nash; NHL MVP Joe Thornton and the league’s top goal-scorer Jonathan Cheechoo; American League MVP Justin Morneau and other Olympians including Jennifer Heil and Clara Hughes in a reportedly close vote.

To be totally honest, I’m not sure most Canadians know who Klassen is, and the award sure could have used a marquee name like Nash or Thornton to bolster its profile. But the voters did the right thing by acknowledging Klassen’s outstanding performance at the Olympic Games.

While Nash and Morneau may have the most prolonged success ever by Canadians in their respective sports, and while Thornton and Cheechoo are the first Canadians to dominate NHL scoring charts in the last few years, Klassen performed at the highest level any athlete from this country ever has on the world’s biggest sporting stage for two nearly perfect weeks in February.

It’s a wonderful accomplishment, an amazing early Christmas present, and a great message sent to amateur athletes all across Canada as they prepare for Canada’s biggest Winter Olympiad in Vancouver in 2010.

Instead of kicking away at the dying horse, the national media is ready to get behind our athletes, and while the 2010 games are more than three years away, the media will be behind our performers every step of the way.

You’re in the spotlight now, guys. Go get ‘em.

Vernon, Please Don't Go

I know it’s just a rumour, and I know I can’t hit the panic button yet. In fact, I keep staring at the cover of the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy for the reminder.

That said, I’m panicking.

I cruised over to ESPN.com and saw something terrible. It was Vernon Wells’ face under the “Rumor Central” tab, mentioning the Los Angeles Dodgers interest in the Jays’ slugger/Gold Glover/best all-around player/MVP/face of the franchise/(I don’t think this is a stretch) the best home-grown player the Blue Jays have ever had. How’s that for a list of superlatives?

I know I bitch and moan about the Gay Accountant a lot. But this Vernon Wells business has to get sorted out. There’s no sense in letting this thing run on too long. The Ted Lilly (2007 or 2008 NL Cy Young winner against that division) debacle went on way too long. This Wells thing has been going strong for most of the 2006 season, and now the off-season (and it was prevalent in 2005 as well). When the media is focused on a guy’s contract status two years (TWO YEARS) before it’s set to expire, they’re telling the GM something. I don’t know if there’s ever been a player this popular with Jays fans. Ownership bumped the budget. Give this guy the A-Rod deal to stay.

If not, you’d better get a good return on this one. And dealing him in the middle of his last season under contract isn’t going to get a good return when most of the baseball world thinks he’s ready to head home to Arlington.

If Vernon Wells’ status isn’t settled before Spring Training, this team will be unsettled throughout the spring, into the early start of the season, and the next thing you know, it’s Victoria/Memorial Day and the Jays are burying themselves in the AL East. Wonderful.

Good news Jays fans. Another mediocre year for a club that should be flying high.

Not again

You sonofabitch. Things were just cruising along too smoothly, weren’t they J.P? So here I am, enjoying my little hiatus, and happy to write about something other sports every day. My 49ers, Bulldogs and Canadiens are all enjoying various levels of success, and I’m enjoying a nice night of drinks after work when the gay accountant strikes again!

Why is J.P. Ricciardi actively trying to ruin my life? And if there’s any facet of my life he’s not trying to ruin, could he let me know which ones those are so I can marry some nagging hag and let her handle those bits?

Let’s have a look-see, shall we? Sure, Frank Thomas can mash. This dude can flat-out hit. And I think he scored an ALDS MVP this year for one two-dinger game. The 39 homers last year was nice, and it may have meant a resurgence for the once feared hitter. Or it may have meant an injury-plagued former superstar was playing for an incentive-laden minimum wage contract. So if Frank plays 260 games over the next two years, is up there in AL MVP talk again, and bangs out a couple more 35 homer, 100 RBI seasons, I’ll be the first to eat crow. But it says here it will be a small miracle for this guy to see action in more than 100 games over the next two years, and we probably won’t see anything even close to an MVP performance.

Furthermore, by giving the Big Hurt (really, he’s so old, his nickname involves the word big) $18 million over the next two years, they Jays are kissing Ted Lilly goodbye. Now, I’m no brilliant Sabrmatrician like the gay accountant is, but hasn’t there been a thinking in baseball since the dawn of the game that good pitching beats good hitting? The word is that Lilly is after about $9 million a year, and he’ll probably get it. That’s probably a bargain, since this guy is one of the best second-tier starters around. He’s been the glue in the Jays’ staff every time Roy Halladay (the honeymoon’s not over till the next season-ending injury) has gone down (he may even be the only Jays pitcher to have a full complement of starts in each of the last five years), and it just doesn’t make any sense to let him walk.

Not when the team is in pretty good shape at the dish (top five in the Majors in hits, total bases, OBP, slugging and total average, plus only three teams had fewer strikeouts), and hurting for healthy pitching (though the stats suggest otherwise). The Jays will start the season with a 1-2-3 of Halladay, A.J. Burnett and Gustavo Chacin, all of whom missed time last season.

On the topic of A.J. Burnett, let’s go back to the day the Jays signed him to a $55 million contract. On that day, Burnett had a career mark of 49-50 and had never won more than 12 games in a single season. Plus there was something about a history of arm trouble.

On the day the Jays gave Ted Lilly’s money to Frank Thomas, Lilly had a career mark of 59-58, has won 12 or more games in three of the last four seasons, and is coming off a career-high of 15 wins. Plus no arm trouble and he is said to want a four-year deal at that $9 million previously mentioned.

Nice work again by the gay accountant.

Moreover, it looks as though the Jays are prepared to let catcher Gregg Zaun walk. While Zaun’s loss won’t be felt the way Vernon Wells’ will be in July when the gay accountant trades him for a ball-bag, Zaun is a productive fan favourite, and those are hard to replace.

All in all, we’re only three weeks into the off-season, and the Blue Jays are already making a mess of it. This has got to be what all those New York Rangers fans were feeling back in 2001 when the Rags were overspending on everyone they could, and going nowhere in return. Until next time…

NFL week 9, and lots of footbally goodness

Happy Friday everybody.

First, NFL picks. They go a little like so this week: Atlanta, Baltimore, Dallas, Buffalo, Houston, Kansas City, Chicago, New Orleans, Jacksonville, Minnesota, Cleveland, Denver, Indianapolis, Oakland.

Next up, a tribute to punt and kick-return touchdowns. The inspiration for this was Mewelde Moore’s punt-return touchdown Monday night against New England. Moore’s return cut New England’s lead to 17-7, and not only pulled the Vikes back into the game, but energized the Metrodome and gave his team new life. Well, at least until the end of the commercial break. New England followed-up Moore’s punt-return TD with a 74-kick return by rookie Laurence Maroney. The only thing that stopped Maroney was one of his own blockers. That set the Pats up at Minnesota’s 21-yard line, and three plays later the score was 24-7, and the game was effectively over.

Which brings us to the ode to kick returns, care of some quick YouTube-ing.

Devin Hester from the Arizona game.

I think this is from a high school game, and it’s awesome.

Remember Dante Hall?

I haven’t decided if this clip would be better or worse with a play-by-play call.

Can somebody teach these boys how to celebrate a major?

Good crowd noise on this one.

Go Reggie! Go Reggie! Whoooo!

That last one is priceless. I think that guy loves Reggie Bush more than I do.

Moving along, I’ve got you in my sights Peter Griffin, err, Ted Nonis. Ted, Ted, Ted. Ted. Ted. What the hell were you thinking? You run to a commerce meeting in Vancouver and spout off about basically having a job? You’re a moron. You can complain all you like about the new free agency rules in the NHL, you can complain all you want about the new scheduling format in the NHL, but you still don’t know the first thing about assembling a team. You fell into a very good Vancouver team, made one good trade, and still haven’t shown any inclination toward putting this team over the top. Futhermore, it says here, you won’t even get a chance to be a hypocrite when all is said and done because you’ll be out of a job before Sidney Crosby is an unrestricted free agent. The biggest issue here, is all the general managers and talking head crying about the new free agency system in the NHL. Without it, there isn’t a 2005-06 season, and there may not even be a league anymore. Shut up and live with it. Have a nice weekend everyone.

World champions and free agents as far as the eye can see

Monday! Everybody sing along with the Boomtown Rats.

Big weekend, so let’s get right to it.

Congratulations to the World Champion St. Louis Cardinals. From their tailspin in September to their tough first-round match-up against San Diego to being over-matched by the Mets in the NLCS to drawing the white-hot Detroit Tigers in the World Series, they were counted out at least four times, and they came through on the strength of some gutsy performances. Hell, even Albert Pujols didn’t play to the level we expect of him, but everyone else came through when it was their turn. It was a total team effort right down to the littlest Cardinal, shortstop and World Series MVP David Eckstein. In the end, the Tigers couldn’t play enough defense to be champs, even with the outstanding pitching they had.

As we all know, I’m not much of a basketball guy, but Red Auerbach’s death is a big deal in the basketball world. As such, it’s a big deal in mine. I don’t know a whole lot of his story, and I don’t have any stories to pass along. Simply the usual condolences. Red’s influence had been felt since he started in the game, and it will never be forgotten.

Probably the craziest story of the weekend is the death of boxer Trevor Berbick. The opening words of the Associated Press story that ran Saturday evening were incredible. “Found dead with chop wounds to his head in a suspected homicide,” and “believed to be 52,” are some of the most incredible sentences I’ve ever had the pleasure to read. Not to make light of the man’s death, but to me chop wounds scream homicide, and believed to be 52 in today’s information age is insane. Like when the kids at the Little League World Series are way older than they’re supposed to be. It just seems incredible that we can’t sort this sort of thing out. But again, condolences to Berbick’s family.

Moving to hockey, you may recall these words about the Buffalo Sabres: “Is there a team in the East that can beat them? If so, they’d be led by Marian Hossa and Ilya Kovalchuk.” I’ve been in the tank with the football picks, but I’m still OK with the puck.

And back to baseball, with an extra-special message for the Gay Accountant that doubles as the Blue Jays’ GM. Re-sign Ted Lilly! Free agency kicks into high gear November 12, but got started Saturday when 59 players filed. Among them: Barry Bonds, Nomar Garciaparra, Frank Thomas, Barry Zito and Alfonso Soriano. For me, the Jays are of most interest. Lilly, Frank Catalanotto and Justin Speier all filed, and it’s not expected the Jays will retain them all since they’re all in line for raises. While a full season from right-hander A.J. Burnett may have landed the Jays in the playoffs in 2006, Lilly was the Jays de facto ace in 2005 when Roy Halladay was injured, and in 2004 when he was the Jays only representative at the All-Star Game. And while he isn’t a front-line starter, he is an outstanding third starter, and a pretty good lefty to counter the hard-throwing righties Halladay and Burnett. He gives the Jays depth, and another insurance policy against extended losing streaks, while taking pressure away from both the front of the rotation, and the back. He will attract a lot of interest, but the Gay Accountant owes it to Jays fans to do something right, and re-signing Lilly is the right thing to do (especially since he’s probably going to trade Vernon Wells away, but that’s another story for another time).

Changes, picks and pucks

OK, first. It’s good to be back.

Second, my apologies for not communicating during my absence, though I’m sure nobody really noticed.

Third, some changes to the format.

The changes go like so: because November and December are the most ridiculously busy and horrible months of the year in my life, I am going to scale this thing back a little bit. Daily updates just aren’t going to be possible. As well, I felt the daily updates were negatively affecting the quality I want to bring. So with an eye to staying sane for the next two months, and giving my readers something good on the first day back to work, and the last day of work, I’m going to go Monday and Friday every week until at least the new year. I feel that’s the best way to bring you the best, which is what you deserve.

So, where to start? First, this week’s picks: Green Bay, Atlanta, New Orleans, Tennessee, Philadephia, Seattle, Chicago, Giants, San Diego, Indy, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Carolina, New England. Got all that? Good. Moving forward, hockey.

Holy crap, what a week! Ken Hitchcock and Bobby Clarke are out in Philly, and that’s good news for the Flyers. I like John Stevens, I’ve watched him coach at the American League level for a couple years now, and I can see the younger guys in Philly really flourishing under him. It seems to me as thought the NHL is making an NFL-style move, and really becoming a young-man’s game the way the NFL is. Over there, you get what, maybe five years before you’re yesterday’s story? Same thing is happening in the NHL. Who even remembers Tampa Bay’s big guns now? They’re an anachronism, and that’s too bad. Even Sidney Crosby has taken a back seat this season to rookies Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal (who may just be the most complete player the Penguins have). And if you haven’t seen it, shame on you for missing Malkin’s goal against New Jersey this week. He made a pretty good defenseman (Colin White) and an all-world goalie (Martin Brodeur) look downright silly. Nice work, rook. In this space, I’d previously written to not be surprised if Pittsburgh made the playoffs, but to not expect it. I still don’t expect them to stay atop the Atlantic Division, but I’m sure not surprised to see them there.

Let’s go! Buffalo! Sorry, I couldn’t help myself. To anyone that every saw a game at the old Aud, could you imagine seeing a 10-0 Sabres team there? Wow! As is, HSBC will have to do, and I’m starting to wonder if they’ll have lost by the time I see them at the end of November. Is there a team in the East that can beat them? If so, they’d be led by Marian Hossa and Ilya Kovalchuk. I’m gonna go with a whole end of October review probably next Friday.

And now I’m going to rip into Darcy Tucker. This guy is a piece of crap, and I can’t believe he dares call himself a hockey player. This may be extreme, but if any player ever had to die on the ice, well, in the interest of maintaining a modicum of taste, I won’t finish that sentence. Way to pummel Patrick Eaves Tuesday night, idiot. You gotta feel really tough when you pound a guy that’s never been in a fight as a pro. Big mean Darcy then lined up beside Ottawa’s Chris Neil (who isn’t even Ottawa’s best fighter) at the opening face-off two nights later, and declined Mr. Neil’s invitation to dance, allegedly saying “I’m a scorer.” You’re worthless Darcy. By the way, I believe the aggregate score of the two games favoured Ottawa 13-4. Maybe you should do more scoring and less head-hunting, and less picking on players with talent.

Broken-hearted blues

Why Shawne, why?

Word came down late last night the NFL is going to suspend San Diego Chargers’ linebacker, and Sports With Steve favourite, Shawne Merriman for violating the league’s drug policy. ESPN.com is reporting the suspension is “definitely” for steroid use. This guy started in the Pro Bowl as a rookie last year, and is regarded in such esteem that nobody in the NFL makes fun of his Lights Out nickname. Frankly, it’s a handle that needs to be fulfilled in a particular manner, and Merriman did it. Let’s look back to week one of the season and we can see that I’d deemed the week a bust because Merriman didn’t decapitate anyone. Since the Toronto Maple Leafs didn’t win any games, this is officially the worst thing that happened all weekend. I’m so bummed about this, I can’t even get to the Philadelphia Flyers’ off-ice changes, or to baseball renewing their labour deal, or to Kenny Rogers’ dominant post-season. I don’t even know how I got up for work today. You break my heart, Shawne, you break my heart.

NFL Week 7

I know it’s his job and all, being the head of the World Anti-Doping Agency, but doesn’t Dick Pound have anything better to do? Who attacks the CFL for anything, let alone their lack of drug policy? First, the NHL, now this? Is he just being tougher on Canadians because he’s Canadian? Like when the coach is tougher on his own son? Does this guy regret being born on Canadian soil? If that’s the case, I’m sure most of the sports-loving citizens of Canada are OK with exiling him at this point. For the record, in three rounds of Olympic competition, zero NHL players have tested positive for doping, and football isn’t an Olympic sport. Keep your nose out of our business Dick, and worry about keeping the Olympics clean. And to the CFL, shame on you for shying away from this and letting good ol’ Mike Clemons handle it. Clemons is, of course, one of the best things ever to happen to the league, and his four-minute tirade is a gem. But for once, maybe the commissioner should stand up for his league.

Switching gears, to boring football we go. Last week was a bad one early, but I kind of rebounded for a 7-6 week, running the total to 55-32. A quick anecdote about the Monday night game: the owner of a local bar, who I know pretty well, was sitting there, decked in head-to-toe Cardinals gear just to give the gears to a Bears-fan friend of his. I haven’t seen him since Monday night, but I can only wonder where he tossed his brand new Matt Leinart jersey as a result. Great game, Arizona.

Carolina @ Cincinnati

Is it just me, or are the Panthers finding a stride?

Detroit @ New York Jets

Something’s gotta give.

Green Bay @ Miami

See above.

Jacksonville @ Houston

Jacksonville gets their first road win of the year.

New England @ Buffalo

We might just get an idea of just how bad Buffalo is this week.

Philadelphia @ Tampa Bay

So Tampa screwed me pretty royally last week, and Philly hasn’t looked so great, but I have to imagine Donovan and co. can win this one.

Pittsburgh @ Atlanta

Maybe it’s too soon to write the Steelers off.

San Diego @ Kansas City

The Chiefs seem to do the opposite of whatever I pick them to do, and if that holds true this week, I apologize to all the Chargers fans out there.

Denver @ Cleveland

Ugh.

Arizona @ Oakland

Clash of the Titans! As per the rule, Oakland is not the pick.

Minnesota @ Seattle

Hey, the defending NFC champs kinda showed up last week.

Washington @ Indianapolis

Washington can’t even beat Tennessee, how are they ever going to beat a good team?

New York Giants @ Dallas

Always tough to bet against the Cowboys when they’re at home.

This and that

Stuff from all over today.

We’ll start with that garbage from the Orange Bowl Saturday night. I know it seems I refer to each new topic as the worst part of it, and here’s the next thing I’m calling the worst: leading topic of discussion for three days now. But today we’re at least getting into the aftermath. Saying they will extend the disciplinary action against other players, the University of Miami has for now just suspended one player indefinitely. The player in question is Anthony Reddick, whom you may recognize as the guy that was using his helmet as a weapon in the melee. Florida International University made a slightly more impressive point by dismissing two players and extending the suspensions of the 16 other suspended players. They’ll all miss the remainder of the season. The analyst that was essentially cheering Miami players on during the brawl was fired by the TV channel. And once again, the network gets it right when they screw up, one team gets it half right, and the biggest name in the game walks away almost unscathed.

Lou Piniella will be introduced as the Chicago Cubs manager later today. Frankly, I’ve never thought Piniella was anything special as a manager. He took a phenomenally-talented Seattle team to the playoffs a couple times, but they never won anything. Later on down the road, he didn’t do much of anything with Tampa Bay when he didn’t have the same kind of talent. So we’ll see how it shakes down in Chicago. The most interesting part so far is the fact he wants management to do whatever it takes to acquire Alex Rodriguez. Tell me Chicago wouldn’t love A-Rod, and tell me A-Rod wouldn’t love playing in one of the sane baseball markets, where .290-35-121 ain’t so bad.

Last item today, the NHL has dropped their playoff of the week award, and instead will name a weekly three stars. Why did this change take so long? I love it. I wish I’d thought of it. It’s just one more way the NHL is molding its image around the things that make it unique, and I can’t express how much I like it. Especially in the wake of so many weekly co-MVPs Major League Baseball handed out this year. Hell, they even seemed to get it right with the first selections of the year: a 5-0 goalie in Marty Turco, the league’s points leader in Martin Havlat (10 points), and Mats Sundin, who’s scored eight points this year including the 500^th of his career Saturday night. Good work NHL.

Taking tomorrow off, but I’ll be back Thursday.

Better than a hockey fight

I went to the fights a couple nights ago and a football game broke out.

I always hated it when that joke involved hockey, so it’s nice to flip it around. But oh my, what a melee!

For those of you that don’t know, during a NCAA football game Saturday night a sideline-clearing brawl broke out, and the incident has so far led to 31 suspensions.

The brawl started shortly after a University of Miami player bowed to the crowd after scoring a touchdown. As the point-after was kicked, Miami players, and the Florida International University players at the line of scrimmage started to push and shove one another. The situation boiled over as a FIU player kicked a fallen Miami player in the head, then all hell broke loose. One Miami player went into the brawl swinging his helmet at players.

The coaches, security and police calmed the brawl down quickly, and the whole thing lasted a little more than a minute. But it speaks to probably the biggest problem in football -- at all levels -- today: showmanship, one-upmanship, and the lack of respect for one another such actions create.

Most leagues are trying to curtail excessive touchdown celebrations, which fans and players alike lament, but the end goal of the penalties and fines is to prevent one individual setting off the egos in 53 (at the NFL level) opponents by disrespecting and mocking them.

Another very concerning development was the pockets of players that formed very quickly. Very few players were paired off to fight, as for the most part groups of three or more players were attacking individuals, many of whom had unsurprisingly fallen to the ground. The malice shown in such attacks, which would be called gang beatings if they happened off a football field, is far greater than the malice and lack of judgment that saw Albert Haynesworth of the Tennessee Titans spike an opposing player after a play. Haynesworth was suspended five games for his action, and if the NCAA has any balls, they will suspend players from both sides of this brawl for equally long periods of time.

And what the hell was that little celebration Miami players engaged in on their sideline after the whole thing had been cleared up? Way to defend your turf morons.

Probably the worst of it all was the moron in the play-by-play booth that loved every moment of the brawl and even insinuated that he was ready to join it, to defend The U, and was spouting off idiotically about not letting opponents talk trash the week before the game.

In 2005, hazing incidents cost McGill University in Montreal their football season and Duke’s lacrosse team their season. Is it right to compare an on-field brawl to sexual assault? It isn’t wrong to. The coaching staffs should be suspended for the remainder of the season, and essentially fired. The players should be suspended, and some of those involved should lose their scholarships. Especially those involved in the gang-style swarmings. The schools should be placed on probation and be stripped of scholarships. If Oklahoma University is going to lose scholarships and be placed on probation because a local car dealership overpaid football players, then I am going to go as far as to say Miami and FIU’s football programs should be suspended for the remainder of the year.

And since the academics seem to be breaking down, I’ll remind the guys that they were all wearing helmets with facemasks, and punches don’t have much effect.

NFL week 6

Week six! Almost halfway there. This NFL stuff is looking up for me now that I have the Sunday Ticket. Never again will I be stuck with a Bills-Jets game when the Colts and Jags are battling for the early division lead. Never again will I miss a New Orleans Saints possession, and the subsequent Reggie Bush highlights. Six open dates this week makes for a short 13-game table, so let’s get at it. I was 11-3 last week, which adds up to 48-26 on the season. I’m starting to wish I was in a cumulative pool.

A quick "welcome to the party" to the new NHL. Awesome third-period collapses last night by the Leafs (three-goal lead) and the Sharks (two), and then the always fun to ruin my pool-life New York Rangers and Pittsburgh Penguins collecting 13 goals. Goals are good. So are football picks, so with a nod to the unfathomably popular UFC fight tomorrow night, let’s get it on.

Buffalo @ Detroit

I’m not picking an 0-5 team to win. Not even against Buffalo, when I have absolutely no faith in the Bills to win this thing.

Carolina @ Baltimore

I like Carolina, I think they’re moving in the right direction still, but I can’t see them beating Baltimore this week. We’ll get to see how the Ravens rebound after a tough loss Monday night.

Cincinnati @ Tampa Bay

Tampa Bay should remain winless this week. And I’m OK with that.

Houston @ Dallas

Houston has already proven the “blind squirrel” theory once, and I’d like to see them do it again, this time against their cross-state “rivals,” the Cowboys. The T.O. project in Dallas is getting messy, and I think the only surprise is that it took this long. I have more faith in a complete T.O. meltdown on the field Sunday afternoon than I do in my pick.

New York Giants @ Atlanta

Even at a pretty pedestrian 2-2, I’ve been drinking enough of the Giants pre-season Kool-Aid that I can’t stop picking them. Even against a 3-1 Atlanta team at home, who’s only loss of the season was in the first NFL game in New Orleans in nearly two years.

Philadelphia @ New Orleans

My head is telling me no, but my heart, and my eyes are screaming yes.

Seattle @ St. Louis

Stupid NFC West.

Tennessee @ Washington

This could be Tennessee’s first win, but in accordance with the now-revived ban on picking winless teams to win, the ‘skins are the pick.

Kansas City @ Pittsburgh

I hate you, Brock Huard. But it’s a love-hate kind of thing. Keep doing your thing.

Miami @ New York Jets

Joey Harrington looked pretty good last week for Miami. I typed that with a straight face. Well, all the way up to “last.” But it’s true, he did. And against a much better New England team than the Jets will throw at him this week. But the Dolphins still won’t win.

San Diego @ San Francisco

The novelty of LT, Shawne Merriman and co. has worn off. The Chargers are still a pretty nice 3-1 though, and there’s no reason to think they can’t beat the 49ers.

Oakland @ Denver

Forget the short week, Denver could prepare for Oakland over their pre-game meal.

Chicago @ Arizona

Hahahaha, remember when people were picking ‘zona as the sleeper team? That was almost as poorly judged as the Dolphins sleeper picks.

Well, see you guys next week.

Terrorist attack NYC -- or not

Don’t want to read about Corey Lidle? You’ve come to the wrong place. I’m going to tackle that, and break format a little today.

I feel for Lidle’s family the same as I’ve felt for those I’ve mentioned in this space before. As someone that relies very heavily on sports in their life, it’s never a good thing when a member of the extended family we call the sports world dies. It’s actually always pretty awful.

One thing that makes it even more awful is when it’s a current New York Yankee, and he flies his four-seat plane into a building in Manhattan five years and a month -- to the day -- after the terrorist attacks of 9/11.

Here’s the first reaction: terrorists!

So the reaction of some New Yorkers was to assume this tiny plane was another terrorist attack. Are you kidding me? To borrow from Russell Peters, “nothing’s going down up there, dude.”

Welcome to the post-9/11 world.

A friend left the following on my voice mail; “Hey man, Corey Lidle’s a terrorist, call me.” And that joke is also the first thing I thought when I heard the news. But it couldn’t have been further from the truth.

It turns out, though not a first-ballot Hall of Famer, Lidle is a well-respected player loved throughout the Major League ranks. Fans in the cities he played in have nothing but the highest respect for him. During his time in Toronto, I only got to know the Lidle that took up residence on the field, where he was sometimes hit-or-miss. Off the field, he was just a hit.

While Lidle’s immediate friends and family will feel this lost most, his death is a significant loss not for the New York Yankees/Evil Empire, not for Major League Baseball, but for fans. At a time when $25 million can’t buy you more than a base hit in the playoffs, or an autograph before the game, it’s the Corey Lidles that make this game so great.

An apology for the awful joke, you deserved better Corey, and hats off to you. You’re an all star where it matters most -- off the field.

As for the rest of you, if you want to stop living in a world where a four-seat plane crashing into the side of a building in New York City is the next wave of terrorist attacks, maybe it’s time to take a look inside, and figure out what we do that makes people so angry with us, and stop doing it.

National League Championship Series

A couple of quick NFL hits to start things off. Did anyone else see Reggie Bush’s punt-return touchdown? He was untouched after he broke the initial tackle. This guy is a special player. And am I alone in thinking I’d rather watch two scrub teams battle it out on a Monday night, and maybe actually see some points scored? I wasn’t exactly glued to my seat throughout the 3-3 “defensive struggle.” It was a struggle alright, a struggle to watch.

The National League Championship Series may also be a struggle to watch.

Starting on the bump, the Cards have exactly one thing in their favour: 13 to 16 innings over two starts (if this thing goes seven) from Chris Carpenter. Carpenter shook off a terrible first inning in game four of the Division Series, and absolutely dominated the Padres thereafter. The Mets will counter with Tom Glavine, who at this point in his career isn’t as dominant as he once was, but is still a proven playoff performer, and will give the Mets a chance to win every game he starts. The Mets also counter with a much deeper bullpen, which could be the determining factor in the series.

At the corners, the Cardinals are theoretically set. Albert Pujols is a National League MVP candidate, and a healthy Scott Rolen is about as good as it gets at third base. If Rolen can’t go because of injury, Scott Spiezio has a proven track record in the playoffs, with his most recent triumphs coming just this past Sunday night. The Mets, however, counter with the best young third baseman in the game in David Wright, and one of the most prolific power hitters of the last decade in Carlos Delgado -- whose performance has led to at least six Jays fans’ suicides when they finally saw what October Carlos looks like.

Up the middle, Ronnie Belliard and David Eckstein look like something of an odd couple in St. Louis, but they get the job done with both the leather and the bat. They’re an effective pair, but once again, the Mets counter with flash and dash. Jose Reyes is held in the same esteem in Flushing as Derek Jeter is in the Bronx, and he seems to like old-man Valentin beside him.

And if you’re trying to teach someone the finer points of playing the outfield, you may want to skip this series. Both the Cards’ Jim Edmonds and the Mets’ Carlos Beltran are capable of the spectacular. They’re human highlight reels, but Cliff Floyd and Shawn Green in New York are on the down-side of their playing days, and whoever else the Cards throw out there (Chris Duncan, So Taguchi, Pedro Wilson, Juan Encarnacion, even Timo Perez is an option), well, when there’s that many of them, they can’t all be Cinderella, right?

And if it comes down to a managerial decision, even after reading Three Nights in August, I’ll still take Willie Randolph over Tony LaRussa.

It all adds up to a quick series, with the Mets winning, probably in five.

It's the (second) most wonderful time of the (baseball) year

Welcome back, hope Thanksgiving treated everyone well, and let's get to it. A-Rod, head-butts, and the ALCS are on tap today. Ice cold as always.

Fine. I’ll pile on too. Alex Rodriguez is terribly un-clutch. I don’t know, but I have to assume Tom Hicks didn’t know about A-Rod’s playoff track record when he gave him $250 million. But maybe he knew just a little more than the rest of us did when he dealt A-Rod to the Evil Empire/New York Yankees. Impressive as A-Rod’s 1-for-14 hitting in the American League Division Series was, it pales in comparison to his errors-per-defensive chances numbers, where he erred at a .083 clip -- a whole 12 points higher than his .071 batting average in the ALDS. I know I can error once every 12 tries at the Major League level, and I’m pretty sure I could gain one base in 14 at-bats, so where’s my money? Oh, and. Joe Torre is one of the best managers the big leagues have ever seen, while Lou Piniella is a circus. If the Torre-out, Piniella-in rumours are true, the Yankees will regret it for a long time.

Next, I’m sorry I ignored the Division Series in favour of the hockey write-ups. Now that they’re out of the way, I can focus on the League Championship Series.

Very quick soccer note here. I’m not too good with Italian translations, but Does Marco Materazzi’s name translate loosely to “whore?” I’m so sure this guy’s written a book listing 248 things he may have said to Zidane to provoke the world’s most famous head-butt, and the one actual quip. Maybe Materazzi just translates to something that starts with the letter C and rhymes with bunt. Back to the baseball

Now I know everyone had Oakland and Detroit before the season started, but who would ever have guessed St. Louis had a chance?

It is entirely possible I’m giving the Tigers too much credit for beating a loaded Yankees team, but at this point, I’ve got to think they’re the new favourites to win the World Series.

Tigers pitchers stepped up and answered every question being lobbed around about them, while shutting down one of the most dangerous batting lineups the modern era’s ever seen. When was the last time a team’s number nine batter challenged for the batting crown the way New York’s Robinson Cano did this year? Oakland’s trio of Barry Zito, Esteban Loaiza and Rich Harden are no slouches, and will probably represent a tougher challenge for Detroit’s batters than the Yankees’ starters did. They too shut down an impressive batting lineup, which included the American League batting champ and RBI leader.

If everything defensive in this game starts with pitching, the Tigers have a pretty solid guy next in line, with Pudge Rodriguez behind the dish. He’s probably a Hall of Fame catcher, and he led his pitching staff beautifully through the first round of the playoffs. There is no reason to believe he can’t do it against Oakland. Here, the A’s have an answer as well in Jason Kendall. While Kendall’s bat isn’t what it used to be, he is still among the best defensive catchers in the game, and can still call a game.

On the corners, it doesn’t get much better than Oakland’s Nick Swisher and Eric Chavez, though Chavez seems to have some playoff demons to slay. Both are in the top third of the American League both defensively, and offensively. They’re countered by Detroit’s Sean Casey and Brandon Inge. Casey is steady as they come defensively, but his batting average has dropped nearly 90 points since coming over from Pittsburgh, and Inge’s 22 errors this season were second only to Alex Rodriguez in the American League.

In the middle, Marco Scutaro and Mark Ellis are an underrated tandem who combined for just 11 errors this season. They both bat around .270, which pales in comparison to Detroit’s .300 hitters in Carlos Guillen and Placido Polanco. But Detroit seemed to have trouble turning double plays against the Yankees, and the A’s will jump all over those opportunities if Polanco can’t find the range.

Detroit has an edge in the outfield as not many players cover more ground than Curtis Granderson, while Magglio Ordonez and Craig Monroe provide the muscle. This is a balanced group that won’t hurt the Tigers’ chances to win ballgames. On the other side, you never know what’s going to happen when Milton Bradley’s around. But the A’s have a very understated cast in the outfield. They don’t take many chances, and they get the job done pretty quietly.

At DH, Marcus Thames can’t hold a candle to Frank Thomas. Thomas found the fountain of youth somewhere between his World Series ring in South Chicago last autumn, and the A’s spring training facility this spring. David Ortiz was the only better DH this season.

In the end, Detroit just seems to have too many bats to lose this series. Oakland is probably a better defensive team, and the pitching is essentially a wash, so it comes down to bats. And home field? Forget it. Neither team has been this far in the playoffs since before the strike in 1994 so the fans are going to be rabid in both parks (assuming they actually show up in Oakland). Don’t be surprised at all if we see the away teams win games one and three. And like all the experts, this guy’s going with a long series: Tigers in six.

NHL preview - Atlantic Division

Division overview

The Atlantic is pretty simple. The Rangers are the class of the division, even though they were bounced in four games by New Jersey during last season’s playoffs. The Rangers got better in the off-season, while the other teams didn’t really do a whole lot. Philadelphia and New Jersey are both riddled with question marks, while the Penguins and Islanders are playing to avoid the draft lottery. That said, take these five teams lightly at your own peril.

New York Rangers

In the past, the Rangers over-spent on free agents, and got nothing in return other than a seven-year playoff drought. Then the lockout came along, and suddenly the Rags figured it out. They rocketed to the top of the Eastern Conference last season, but ran out of fuel near the end of the season. To that end, they added some very nice complementary talent to the lineup in hopes the added depth will lead to additional playoff success. Forwards Brendan Shanahan, Matt Cullen and Adam Hall bring scoring, leadership, speed, penalty killing and toughness to the lineup, while defenseman Aaron Ward is just four months removed from anchoring the Carolina Hurricanes’ Stanley Cup-winning blue line. And did I mention Vezina Trophy-nominee Henrik Lundqvist or Hart Trophy-nominee Jaromir Jagr?

Fantasy Sleeper: Petr Prucha is a sniper who scored 30 goals as a rookie despite missing time because of injury.

Rookie Watch: Nigel Dawes is a talented winger that made a name for himself playing for Canada’s World Junior entries in 2004 and 2005. The Rangers hope he can bring some talent to the third or fourth line.

Philadelphia Flyers

They’ll go where Peter Forsberg takes them. When healthy, there are few that can match Forsberg’s talent and drive. The Flyers gave big money to Simon Gagne in the off-season, and he will be expected to produce big numbers. Keith Primeau’s retirement hurts the Flyers down the middle, but they remain strong at centre with Michal Handzus, Mike Richards and Peter Nedved behind Forsberg. The wings are solid, and moves were made in the off-season to quicken a plodding defensive group. This is a very talented team, as long as they stay healthy. Coach Ken Hitchcock is regarded as one of the best in the business, and another playoff flop will be unacceptable in Philadelphia. The goaltending tandem of Robert Esche and Antero Niitymaki should give the Flyers a quality goalie in net every night, and a chance to win every night.

Fantasy Sleeper: Freddy Meyer had 27 points in 57 games from the blue line. He’ll split time between the first and second power play units and should improve on those numbers.

Rookie Watch: Barring injury (which is never safe in Philly), the Flyers won’t have any rookies among the regulars in the lineup.

New Jersey Devils

New coach, basically the same roster. The Devils have strengths. Claude Julien is an excellent coach. Colin White is one of the best defensemen in the game. Patrik Elias, Brian Gionta and Scott Gomez combined to be one of the league’s most prolific scoring lines last season. And Martin Brodeur is on his way to being considered the best goalie ever to play the game. But that’s about it. Scoping depth is a real concern. Production from the blue line is an even more dire affair. But, having an all-world goalie gives them a chance to win every game they play. Jay Pandolfo and John Madden are two thirds of a checking line that really has no equal, but they’ll have to chip in some goals for the Devils to really succeed. Paul Martin has developed very quickly, and the Devils are starting to rebuild some of their defensive depth that was lost after the 2004 season.

Fantasy Sleeper: This is Zach Parise’s year. The sophomore forward has to step up and come through with the promise he’s shown for years.

Rookie Watch: Travis Zajac made the team out of camp after posting impressive numbers with North Dakota in the NCAA last year. The Devils hope he can be another scoring presence.

Pittsburgh Penguins

Don’t expect it, but don’t be surprised if the Penguins make the playoffs in what could be their swansong in Pittsburgh. Everyone knows Sidney Crosby’s incredible talents. The 19-year old, who finished sixth in points last season, spent the summer working on his “weaknesses” and will probably be in the running for the Art Ross Trophy this year. He’ll play with Colby Armstrong all year after they developed excellent chemistry in the second half of last season. Newcomer Nils Ekman is an excellent two-way forward with good offensive upside. Rookie Evgeni Malkin starts the year on the shelf with a shoulder injury, but looked right a home playing against NHL talent at the 2006 Olympics and World Championships. The Penguins still have holes in their team defense and rely too much on their power play, but this team is not far off. If they’re close, look for a trade near the deadline for a proven defenseman.

Fantasy Sleeper: Didn’t get Ovechkin, Crosby, Thornton or Jagr in your fantasy draft? Grab a sidekick. Armstrong had 40 points in 47 games last year and should approach 90 at Crosby’s side.

Rookie Watch: Malkin is the odds-on favourite to win the Calder Trophy this year, while defenseman Kris Letang and centre Jordan Staal (the second-overall pick in June) will both start the year with the team and don’t figure to be sent back to junior.

New York Islanders

This team is a mess. But they’ve got a maid. They enter the year with a roster very similar to the one that lost 40 games last season, but there are some good pieces in good places. Alexei Yashin, while overpaid, is a good first-line centre, while Mikes York and Sillinger are good second- and third-line centres, and Shawn Bates has a motor that doesn’t quit. Mix in Jason Blake and Miroslav Satan, and the Isles have the makings of two decent forward lines. Alexei Zhitnik is still among the best defensemen around, and he’ll be joined by Brendan Witt, who still takes too many penalties, but is an imposing physical presence. Tom Poti will likely quarterback the power play, and youngsters Bruno Gervais and Chris Campoli looked good as rookies last year. In goal, 15 years is a long time, but Rick DiPietro is one of very few goalies I’d give even a five-year deal to. The Islanders are very certain he’ll win 30 games for them each year for the next decade and a half, and it’s not inconceivable.

Fantasy Sleeper: Campoli had 34 points as a rookie defenseman, and should improve with help from Poti, who knows a thing or two about running a power play.

Rookie Watch: No rookies made the team out of camp, though Jeff Tambellini and Gervais have played just 53 games between them, and any number of call-ups could see time during the season.

NFL week 5

Week 5, let’s do this. A pretty pedestrian 8-6 last week brings me to 37-23 overall. Here’s the picks, see you at the Pro Line booth.

Buffalo @ Chicago

I knew the Bills would screw me last week, and there’s a good chance they’ll screw me again this week. Chicago is too good to lose this game, but they seem to be drinking some of the Kool-Aid, and may already be thinking about going to Miami.

Cleveland @ Carolina

I don’t know why Keyshawn Johnson clotheslined DeShaun Foster after Foster’s big touchdown last week, but it looks like the Panthers are back in business.

Detroit @ Minnesota

Despite the fact they couldn’t even beat Buffalo last week, I’m riding shotgun with Minny again this week, as per my Lions boycott.

Miami @ New England

I can’t watch. This is going to make Saw look like one of Dora’s explorations.

St. Louis @ Green Bay

Next.

Tampa Bay @ New Orleans

Just for kicks, I’m going here: Good thing hockey season has started, and Bucs fans can turn their attention to something else. Well, it makes me laugh. The Saints get back in the win column.

Tennessee @ Indianapolis

Vince Young, meet Dwight Freeney. Again and again. Welcome to the big leagues rook.

Washington @ New York Giants

We may all be underestimating the Redskins. That was an impressive win over Jacksonville last week, while the Giants are sort of floundering. Still, the Giants are the pick, but a very cautious pick.

Kansas City @ Arizona

I refuse to believe the Chiefs are 41-0 good.

New York Jets @ Jacksonville

The Jaguars bus is still running strong, even if we’re only 2-2.

Oakland @ San Francisco

I actually let a coin-flip make this pick.

Dallas @ Philadelphia

Forget all the excessive Terrell Owens garbage. These guys are battling it out for the early division lead, and this is Philly’s first second chance to prove themselves against a decent opponent.

Pittsburgh @ San Diego

At 1-2, Pittsburgh has fallen so far off the radar most people probably didn’t even blink before picking the Padres this week, including me.

Baltimore @ Denver

Finally! Someone that can beat Denver. At 2-1, the Broncos are having too good a season so far, and they need to be stopped. Go get ‘em Baltimore.

A reminder that there will be a Saturday post again. It'll be a hybrid Atlantic Division rundown/thank God I was back at Copps for a Bulldogs game last night.

You know it's hockey season when...

Note: this is a little lengthy, so the last NHL preview will be pushed to Saturday with NFL picks tomorrow like regular.

Here we go again. NHL to Hamilton, blah blah blah blah freaking blah.

I’m from Hamilton, still go to hockey games in Hamilton, still love Hamilton, and I don’t want to see it happen.

My grievances:

1 - Hamilton is a Leafs town. It’s the Leafs market, and walking through town, you’ll see more Leafs jerseys than Hamilton Bulldogs and Hamilton Tiger-Cats jerseys combined. There are idiots that wear Leafs jerseys to Tiger-Cat games, and even more that wear them to Bulldogs games. Fact: since setting the AHL record for single-game attendance for game seven of the 2003 Calder Cup Final (the record has since been broken), the Bulldogs have sold out one game when the opposing team wasn’t the St. John’s Maple Leafs or Toronto Marlies. Fact: during the Calder Cup playoff run in 2003, the Bulldogs sold out two games during the entire playoff run. I got walk-up tickets to every game that year except games six (which I missed) and seven.

2 - Copps Coliseum, while a fine minor league venue, and a great place to stage the 1987 Canada Cup, 1991 Memorial Cup (and more would be cool if we could support an OHL team), concerts and the next Brier. But the place barely holds the 4,000 extra people that show up when the Leafs’ farm team is in town, and I remember being one of 17,000 people there once, and it was awful. I love the rink, it’s where I learned hockey (the Steelhawks, baby), and it’s where I watch the hockey I’ve loved most for the last six years (the Bulldogs, baby), but it’s not an NHL-caliber arena.

3 - I hate this part, but it’s a reality in today’s sports landscape. Where’s the money going to come from? Hamilton is a blue collar town, and if it’s going to cost $400 or more for a family of four to see a game, they won’t be there. It’s not like the people of Hamilton have been socking cash away for the day the NHL comes. Then what? Blackouts on televised games like the CFL used to have and the Blackhawks have? Ask Bill Wirtz how that’s working out for him the next time Chicago’s AHL team out-draws the Blackhawks. Again, I hate this, but it’s reality. And forget the “cheap seat” money, where is the corporate money going to come from? Let’s say Copps is retro-fitted with 40 luxury suites, are there 40 corporate and private suitors in line? I’ve got my doubts.

4 - I need to lighten this one up, cause it’s been too much doom and gloom so far. People in Hamilton still call the Hamilton City Centre the Eaton Centre, even though they changed the name nearly a decade ago. There are people in Hamilton that still don’t realize James and John Streets aren’t one-way anymore. How long do you figure a new name on the side of Copps will take to catch on? Entering their 11^th season, I wouldn’t be surprised to learn there are people in Hamilton that don’t know who or what the Bulldogs are.

5 - How would an NHL team affect the Tiger-Cats? After two sold-out seasons, the Tiger-Cats fielded a terrible team this season, and attendance is way down. The people of Hamilton won’t pay for a loser, or a team stuck spinning its wheels the way the Cats are now. Without some cuts in ticket pricing before next season, ticket renewal is going to plummet. Forced to choose, most Hamilton sports fans would likely choose the comfortable confines of a renovated Copps Coliseum to the cold and windy, though charming and beloved, Ivor Wynne Stadium. I’ve no doubt that if the NHL came to Hamilton, it would be the end of the Tiger-Cats as we know them (or entirely).

6 - The Toronto Maple Leafs are on the strongest financial footing they’ve ever been on, so one could assume they would be less adverse to the idea of a team in Hamilton than they were back in the late 80’s when Tampa Bay got the nod over Hamilton (which is so much better a “Hockey Bay” than Tampa could ever be), but the Sabres are still not sound, and they would probably still exercise territorial rights till they’re blue in the face and actually look like a hockey team again. An aside: how in the world is Buffalo’s farm team one of the sharpest-looking hockey teams in the world, and the big club just can’t figure it out?

7 - Lastly, the league simply doesn’t seem to want it to happen. It doesn’t even seem to be a matter of not wanting Hamilton to have a team, so much as the league is desperate to keep the Penguins where they are.

So to recap, figure $20 million for arena upgrades, and an as-yet-undecided arbitrarily-decided number of millions to the Sabres and Leafs for territorial rights, and it’s going to cost somewhere in the $35 to $50 million ballpark just to get the team to Hamilton.

Folks, it’s just like 1990 all over again. Las Vegas, Kansas City or Winnipeg will get a team long before Hamilton does.

NHL preview - Central division

Division overview

It may actually be something of a shame that one of these teams has to make the playoffs. Detroit is ripe for the picking, if Nashville’s goaltending can hold up. If not, maybe it’s Columbus, or even Chicago making a run at the top. Maybe a fresh start is just what St. Louis’ Manny Legace needs. With so many goaltending questions, forwards are the strength of pretty well every team in this division, so the team that gets the most hot streaks out of their goalie is going to fare the best.

Detroit Red Wings

The Red Wings, despite the loss of Steve Yzerman and Brendan Shanahan, are still the deepest team in the division. Henrik Zetterberg looks primed for a breakout year, Pavel Datsyuk remains mind-bogglingly talented, and the equally talented (though questionably devoted) Jiri Hudler will have a chance to make an impact this season. Mikael Samuelsson was a pleasant surprise last season, scoring 45 points, and the Wings are hoping he can improve on that output. Kris Draper and Kirk Maltby remain the anchors of the game’s premier checking unit. The Wings boost the deepest defense in the Central, with four-time Norris Trophy winner Niklas Lidstrom as well as veterans Chris Chelios, Mathieu Schneider, and newcomer Danny Markov. Goalie Dominik Hasek is back for another tour of duty, and is trying to shake the injury problems that cost him the 2005-06 season. A healthy Dom can take this team to the top of the Western Conference heap.

Fantasy Sleeper: Zetterberg record 85 of the quietest point ever last season, while Tomas Holmstrom is usually good for 50-plus.

Rookie Watch: Valteri Filppula and Hudler ripped up the American League last year, and will be given every opportunity to light lamps in the NHL.

Nasvhille Predators

This collection of Predators is without a doubt the most talented group the Music City has seen in their short tenure in the NHL. Jason Arnott’s arrival as the new top centre will make life easier for everyone else on this team. Less frequent trips to the trainer’s office will also make life easier for the Preds -- Nasvhille lost more than 270 man-games to injury last season. Up front, Steve Sullivan and Paul Kariya return as a dangerous pair, newcomer Josef Vasicek is looking for a place to happen, and Martin Erat looks ready to break out after a strong Olympics and second half last season. Nashville will feel the loss of the steady Mark Eaton and Danny Markov on defense, but they feel their call-ups are ready to fill the voids. Kimmo Timonen has quietly built a reputation as one of the best in the business. They key to the whole thing is the health of Tomas Vokoun, who was felled by a blood condition just before playoffs. If he is back in form, he’s a top five goalie in the league.

Fantasy Sleeper: Erat has spent all or part of the last four seasons in the NHL, and has posted 49 points in each of the last two. Sixty is not out of the question.

Rookie Watch: Alexander Radulov made a mockery of QMJHL defenses and goalies last year, and the Preds think he can do the same at the NHL level in time, though he’ll start the year in the American League.

Columbus Blue Jackets

The Blue Jackets have bolstered their attack by adding another pair of snipers. Anson Carter and Fredrik Modin are new faces, and they’re joined by rookie Gilbert Brule. Throw the returning Rick Nash, the unstoppable David Vyborny, and Nik Zherdev into the mix, and the fans in Columbus may be seeing a lot of red behind opposing goals. The question is whether or not the Jackets can stop their own lamp from being lit. Adam Foote is looking to improve on the poor first impression he gave last year, while management is hoping this is the year Rostislav Klesla gets it (have you read that before?). Otherwise, the blue line is pretty unremarkable. Bryan Berard was steady last season, Duvie Westcott put in a strong season, but there isn’t much to choose from back there. In goal, Pascal Leclaire has been handed the reigns after being Marc Denis’ understudy. The Jackets have felt for some time that Leclaire would eventually be the go-to guy, and that time is now.

Fantasy Sleeper: The unstoppable David Vyborny posted 65 points last year as part of his one-man show. With a stronger supporting cast, there is no real ceiling for Vyborny.

Chicago Blackhawks

If the games were played on paper, the Hawks would have to be considered favourites, especially since injuries aren’t a factor on paper. The Hawks would be guaranteed full seasons from Eric Daze, Tuomo Ruutu, Adrian Aucoin, newcomer Martin Havlat, and motivated play from Nik Khabibulin. As is, Daze appears to be gone from the game forever, Ruutu will miss the start of the season, Aucoin and Havlat are OK for now, and Khabibulin is rolling in money. Backup goalie Patrick Lalime, brought in to spell the Hawks when Khabibulin’s play slipped, is out after having back surgery. Rookie defenseman Cam Barker is out to start the year with an ankle injury. And so it goes. “Injury report” is one of the main tabs at the Hawks’ website. There is a silver lining though, and his name is Brent Seabrook. Seabrook was at least equal to Calgary’s Dion Phaneuf last year, and if not for Crosby and Ovechkin would have won the Calder Trophy. He will battle Phaneuf for years in the hunt for Norris.

Fantasy Sleeper: Several Hawks are capable of 70-point seasons, the surprise will be actually playing enough games to reach that mark.

Rookie Watch: Though sidelined until November, Barker should be able to step in and make contributions to a very thin blue line.

St. Louis Blues

This is an aptly-named team right now. After spending 25-consecutive springs watching the playoffs, it’ll be a while before Blues fans see them again. That said, the Blues have some talent in some significant areas. Their top line of Doug Weight, Keith Tkachuk and Bill Guerin is getting long in the tooth, but they’re proven performers that love to play together. Dan Hinote is a free agent acquisition from Colorado, and brings an excellent mentality to every shift. He will help teach the young players what it takes to compete every night. Jay McKee comes over from Buffalo, looking to improve a pretty solid blue line which includes incumbents Eric Brewer (who will be happy to get out of the number one spot), Barret Jackman (who is tough as nails) and Christian Backman, who could be the team’s captain in just his third season. But after the above list, it’s all youngsters that saw trial by fire last season, which the Blues are hoping makes them hungrier to achieve more. In goal, Manny Legace gets a fresh start after never having a real shot at the job in Detroit. The weak team in front of him won’t bail him out very often, but he will bail them out from time to time.

Fantasy Sleeper: Tkachuk had 36 points in 41 games last season, so he could be counted on for 75 or more in a full (and in shape) season. Dan Hinote may take advantage of an expanded offensive role.

Rookie Watch: Many Blues played their way out of Calder eligibility last season, and no true rookies look to make the team.

NHL preview - Northeast division

Division overview

Outside of Buffalo and Ottawa, the Northeast is an enigma. Montreal barely made the playoffs last season, and is arguably no better than last year. Toronto should have an upgraded defense corps after shelling out big money for Pavel Kubina and Hal Gill, but questions in goal and up from remain. Throw Boston, who picked up proven talent in Marc Savard and Zdeno Chara, into the mix and this division is going to be about taking advantage of the few opportunities that come a team’s way during the season.

Buffalo Sabres

The Sabres (and their snazzy chest-patch uni numbers) figure to dethrone Ottawa at the top of the division. Buffalo will run with the same deep and balanced attack they had last year, but are hoping for better fortune on the injury front. A full season from captain Dan Briere probably means a 100-point campaign, while the Sabres are hoping the other parts can continue to chip in. Eleven Sabres notched 40 or more points last season, and there is little reason to believe they can’t produce at the same rate this year. At the back end, losing Jay McKee hurts. McKee was a good locker room guy and led the league in blocked shots last season. The Sabres believe (pylon) Jaroslav Spacek can make up for McKee’s on-ice presence. In goal, the job is all Ryan Miller’s now, and he is going to have to prove his worth.

Fantasy Sleeper: Jason Pominville scored 30 points in 57 games as a rookie last year and figures to move to the second line this year.

Rookie Watch: Jiri Novotny maintained his rookie status by one game, and the big centre will be given a chance to make an impact after four years in the American League.

Ottawa Senators

Make no mistake, these are not the Senators you’ve gotten used to seeing the last five seasons. In the last two off-seasons they’ve sacrificed high fliers Marian Hossa and Martin Havlat in the pursuit of a blood-sweat-and-tears kind of team. The result is an explosive top line in Jason Spezza (Art Ross trophy within three years), Dany Heatley (Rocket Richard award as soon as this season) and whomever they feel like playing with on a particular night. Beyond that, Mike Fisher and Peter Schaefer lead the way with great two-way play that leaves them on the verge of an offensive breakout any minute. The Sens have also upgraded their production from the blue line, adding offensive but steady defensemen Joe Corvo and Tom Preissing to Wade Redden’s crew. Andrej Meszaros and new goalie Martin Gerber will be under pressure to prove last season was no fluke.

Fantasy Sleeper: Patrick Eaves (29 points in 58 games) figures to see time on Ottawa’s top line, while Corvo will likely step into the top power play unit.

Rookie Watch: Alexei Kaigorodov will give play-by-play teams fits, and the Sens are confident he’ll give the opposition just as many.

Montreal Canadiens

Make no mistake, Montreal is very much a bubble team this season. Cristobal Huet was the team’s hero last year, rescuing a season that looked in jeopardy. The Habs are hoping to have improved team defense, and will look to their young players to step up and contribute more offense than they did last year. Chris Higgins, Tomas Plekanec, and to a degree Michael Ryder all performed beyond expectations last year. Higgins and Plekanec became penalty-killing staples, while Ryder led the team in goals. Higgins and Plekanec will be asked to produce more offense, and Plekanec will get that chance playing on a line with Alex Kovalev and Sergei Samsonov. Montreal’s defense will have to stay healthy, and if they can, the Habs have a good mix on the blue line. Francis Bouillion had an excellent season and Andrei Markov looks ready to be the number one guy. Huet will again probably be the difference between a win and a loss most nights.

Fantasy Sleeper: Plekanec’s ability to step into the role of a second-line centre will be critical to the team. If he succeeds, his big numbers will mean big things in Montreal, but if he falters…

Rookie Watch: After nearly making the team out of camp last year, 19-year-old Guillaume Latendresse looks ready to make the jump. His play in camp this year forced the Habs to keep the junior-aged player.

Toronto Maple Leafs

Not that anyone outside of Toronto wants to read this, but there is a very good chance the Leafs will ice a better team this year than last year’s edition. Immediately jumping out is the addition of Hal Gill and Pavel Kubina to the defense corps. Though the Leafs overpaid for both, they will bring stability to the back end, which was taxed endlessly by injuries and inconsistent play of minor-league call ups last season. Up front, the time is now for youngsters Kyle Wellwood, Matt Stajan and Alex Steen. While they seemed to be held back under Pat Quinn’s coaching, they will play lots of key minutes under new head coach Paul Maurice. The way they adapt to their new roles will be a big factor in the Leafs’ fortunes this season. And the biggest factor of all will be new goaltender Andrew Raycroft. After Tim Thomas and Hannu Toivonen played admirably in Raycroft’s injury-induced absence last season, the Bruins cut him loose and shipped him to Toronto. There is no real reason he can’t succeed in Toronto. All that said, this team will be in a dogfight for the playoffs.

Fantasy Sleeper: Stajan had something of a sophomore jinx last year, tallying just 27 points, but that total should increase with a bump in ice time.

Rookie Watch: Ian White appears to have the inside track of the last defense spot. He notched six points in 12 games last season.

Boston Bruins

This may come as a surprise, but the Bruins spent some money in the off-season. The big new additions are defenseman Zdeno Chara and forward Marc Savard. But the really good pick-ups are Shean Donovan and Paul Mara. All four players bring unique sets of attributes that will help the Bruins immediately. Chara and Mara are physical and mean defenseman, who are capable of chipping in some offense. Savard piled up 97 points with Atlanta last year, and the Bruins are hoping he can kick start Glen Murray, while Donovan is a speed demon with the heart of a champion, and the special teams prowess needed to compete in today’s game. Incumbents Brad Boyes, Patrice Bergeron and Marco Sturm will give Boston a solid two-line attack, while P. J. Axelsson and Wayne Primeau will anchor one of the best checking units around. Brad Stuart found a home at the top of Boston’s defense chart last season, and looks to play on the top unit with Chara. In goal, this is Hannu Toivonen’s team now, while backup Tim Thomas figures to see action in about a third of Boston’s games. The B’s feel they are set in goal.

Fantasy Sleeper: No real sleepers here, but expect Murray to get back over the 30-goal mark.

Rookie Watch: Defenseman Mark Stuart is two games past Calder eligibility, though 17 games hardly makes a player a veteran. The Bruins hope he can pick up where he left off at the end of last season.