Friday shorts.

Judge Smith has a great sense of humour. I finished reading the book last night and I thought it was excellent. I am also excited about the movie opening next month.

Just how horseshit is Tampa Bay goalie John Grahame? Watching to Tortorella rip him after the game was priceless.

I was very sad to hear about the death of Pat Marsden. He was a great sports commentator and truly a class act. He did his homework, loved the games he covered and spoke intelligently and articulately during his career spent mostly in Toronto. Having grown up in Toronto, he was part of my childhood. I will miss him even though I never met him.


I'm glad Pat Quinn went out with class. I think he was a great coach for the Leafs and was a great member of the organization. Nobody could handle the Toronto media the way he did. All eyes are now on you John Ferguson Jr.

Abbreviated NBA Playoff Preview

The NBA playoffs start today and only four teams have a hope in hell of winning the title - Detroit, Miami, San Antonio and Dallas. I like Detroit over San Antonio in the finals because Tim Duncan isn't 100% healthy.

Eastern Conference

Detroit Pistons (1) vs. Milwaukee Bucks (8)
This series is going to be short and ugly. The Pistons have too much talent in their starting five for Milwaukee to overcome. Milwaukee also doesn't have any consistent scoring behind Michael Redd and the Pistons will be able to key in on him and make his life miserable. The Pistons biggest weakness is a lack of depth but that won't make a lick of difference in this series.
Prediction: Detroit in 4

Miami Heat (2) vs. Chicago Bulls (7)
Everybody thought that the Heat would come together on time for the playoffs and be the huge favorite in the east and knock off the Pistons. I don't see it. Dwayne Wade is better than last year, and is arguably the second best player in the league behind Kobe Bryant, but Shaq is on the decline and not playing to the level he did last year. The Heat additions of Antoine Walker, Jason Williams, and Gary Payton hasn't helped chemistry to no one's surprise. But they are still loaded enough to beat the Bulls, even if Shaq is only 80% of what he used to be. The Bulls are not big enough up front and don't have an answer for Wade defensively. The Bulls will score points in this series and win a couple of games and continue to get better because they have a bright future with their young nucleus.
Prediction: Miami in 6

New Jersey Nets (3) vs. Indiana Pacers (6)
This will be an interesting series in the same way a car accident is interesting, The car wreck analogy is a perfect way to sum up the Pacers season after Ron Artest sabotaged them again. They have talent but don't look comfortable as a team right now. On the Jersey side it will be interesting to see how Vince Carter performs. He has absolutely no guts but thankfully for the Nets Jason Kidd and Richard Jefferson are the key to this team. These teams offer an interesting contrast as the Nets have a great perimeter game and no inside game at all, and the Pacers have a great inside game and a terrible perimeter game. Pacers center Jermaine O'Neil will be enough for the Pacers to hang around but ultimately Jason Kidd will control the series.
Prediction: New Jersey in 6

Cleveland Cavaliers (4) vs. Washington Wizards (5)
The Cavs LeBron James makes his playoff debut and is on his way to becoming the league's best player. The Cavs would have missed the playoffs without him. The Wizards are better than most people think and have some playoff experience. I think the Wizards have more defense than the Cavs who will not be able to stop both Gilbert Arenas and Antawn Jamison. LeBron is going to average over 30 per game but he is a year or two away from being to win in the playoffs without a better supporting cast.
Prediction: Wizards in 7

Western Conference

San Antonio Spurs (1) vs. Sacramento Kings (8)
San Antonio won a franchise record 63 games this year despite all world forward Tim Duncan and guard Manu Ginobili playing at about 80% healthy. That's how good point guard Tony Parker has become this year. The Spurs are the west's most mentally tough team and know what it takes to win. The Kings on the other hand are relying on Ron Artest. That says everything about how they are mentally. The Kings are playing with a new found swagger but they just don't have enough to compete with the Spurs.
Prediction: Spurs in 5

Phoenix Suns (2) vs. Los Angeles Lakers (7)
This is going to be the most entertaining series in the first round. Every game could finish 120-118. Points are going to be scored and Lakers guard Kobe Bryant is going to average over 40 per game for the series and I wouldn't be surprised if he went over 50 a couple of times. As for those who say he's a hog, I say this - He has to score for them to be successful. Think about it how, many teams can start Smush Parker and Kwame Brown and make the playoffs? That's how dominant Kobe is right now and the Suns defense can't stop him. But the Lakers can't stop guard Steve Nash and the Suns offense either and the Suns have too many offensive weapons. Kobe will make this series interesting but none of the other Lakers will score enough to pull off the upset, though if Lamar Odom steps it up the Lakers will win the series.
Prediction: Suns in 6

Denver Nuggets (3) vs. Los Angeles Clippers (6)
That's a typo right? The Clippers in the playoffs? Damn right they are in the playoffs and they are dangerous as hell. Anytime your point guard is Sam Cassell you have a chance to win, especially when he's surrounded by guys like Elton Brand and Cory Magette. The Clips are playing with nothing to lose and play an up tempo game with not great but tough interior defense. And they have Cassell to take the big shots so they won't be nervous at the end of games. The Nuggets have Carmelo Anthony who has become a great game on the line player as well. The problem is that Kenyon Martin has not played well the last couple of months and he is their second scoring option. They have a strong defensive game with Marcus Camby anchoring the middle but it won't be enough. This won't really be an upset because the Clips were six games better than the Nuggets in the regular season, but have the lower seed because the Nuggets won their division.
Prediction: Clippers in 6

Dallas Mavericks (4) vs. Memphis Grizzlies (5)
The Mavs play good defense. Another typo? No they really do, they finally figured it out. They don't play Spurs or Pistons defense but they play well enough to potentially win the whole thing because they are still phenomenal offensively. Look for Dirk Nowitzki to dominate games down the stretch and to take all the big shots. The Grizzlies have a well balanced team, led by Pau Gasol, and all five starters are capable of scoring 20 points. That's their problem though, they don't have anyone who really dominates and that's what you need in the playoffs. The Griz are a nice team but no match for the Mavs.
Prediction: Mavericks in 5

Abbreviated NHL Playoff Preview

Eastern Conference

Ottawa (1) vs. Tampa Bay (8)
I think this series will be more competitive than most people think. Senator goalie Ray Emery is not going to carry the Sens too deep into these playoffs, the Sens are still very fragile mentally, and only have one productive line offensively. If Tampa wins Game 1 tonight the Sens might just role over and die as usual. But I don't think they will because Tampa's goaltending is just terrible. The Sens will win a tight series on the strength of their better defense core. But enjoy this round Sens fans, it's the only one you're winning.
Prediction: Ottawa in 7

Carolina (2) vs. Montreal (7)
Carolina is the deepest and most balanced team in the east and they are going to completely outclass the Habs. The 'Canes have two scoring lines, a quick mobile defense group and solid goaltending. The Habs have a thin blue line, enigma Alexie Kovalev up front who is as likely to score 0 points as 10 in a short series, and a question mark in net. If Huet stands on his head the Habs may pull it out but I can't see it.
Prediction: Carolina in 5

New Jersey (3) vs. New York (6)
The Devils have to be the scariest team in the east coming into the playoffs. They have been on a tear lately and still have Brodeur in net. I honestly think he could take a peewee team to the finals. But just as scary as Brodeur is between the pipes is Jaromir Jagr for the Rangers. He can lift his team and take them a long way. I think this series will be the best in the first round but the Devils will take it on experience and home ice.
Prediction: New Jersey in 7

Buffalo (4) vs. Philadelphia (5)
Buffalo is made for this new NHL. Young guys who can just fly up and down the ice, with a mobile defense core. I worry about them in net though. Which Ryan Miller will we see, the one who dominated to start the season or the one who struggled late. The Sabres fate is in the answer to that question because the Flyers blue line is big and slow and won't be able to keep up the Sabres forwards. But don't discount the Peter Forsberg factor. he has proven time and again to be the best playoff performer in the league and will keep this series close.
Prediction: Buffalo in 6

Western Conference

Detroit (1) vs. Edmonton (8)
The Wings are the old faithful of the league. They shuffle players in and out each year, everyone says they are headed for a slide and every year they finish in the top three. Edmonton adds better players every year like Pronger, Peca and Samsonov and never get any better. They always either make or miss the playoffs in the final week of the year. Sooner or later they have to have a real breakthrough year or stop whining about being a small market team. This isn't the year. The Wings are just too godd to lose to a team with Dwayne Roloson in net.
Prediction: Detroit in 5

Dallas (2) vs. Colorado (7)
This isn't your typical 2-7 match up because I think Colrado can win this. They have enough offence up front and still have a pretty solid D. The question mark is going to be G Jose Theodore. Maybe getting out of Montreal was just what he needed and he has settled in in Denver. I don't think he has just yet and Dallas is a very strong defensive team with Modano and Zubov playing like they are 25 again.
Prediction: Dallas in 6

Calgary (3) vs. Anaheim (6)
Somebody forgot to tell Calgary that the NHL changed it's style of play this year. The Flames are still horrible to watch. They will go as far as gaolie Mika Kiprusoff will take them, which luckily for them is pretty far. Jerome Iginla also has to step up after a mediocre regular season, at least by his standards. I think he will. The Ducks are a curiosity because they flew under the radar all season. I think they rely too much on Teemu Selanne and Scott Nediermayer though and Selanne can be thrown off his game very easily.
Prediction: Calgary in 6

Nashville (4) vs. San Jose (5)
This should be the most entertaining series of the opening round. Both teams play an aggressive, fast game. All these games might end 6-5. San Jose is probably the scariest team in the west right now. The have been on fire since the Thornton trade and are playing with a lot of confidence. They have the best top two lines in the league, a fast defense group, and good goaltending. The Predators have an inflated record because they got to play in the same division as St. Louis and Chicago and I think their think offense will be there downfall. The Sharks were my pre-season Stanley Cup pick and I am going to ride that horse.
Prediction: San Jose in 6

Pat Quinn should not have been fired

I am extremely unimpressed that Toronto Maple Leaf GM John Ferguson Jr., who I fear is going to send this franchise back to the Ballard years incompetence, fired Pat Quinn yesterday. Quinn coached this team into the playoffs each year, got them to 100 points a few times, and advanced deeper into the playoffs than anybody thought they would. All without a hell of a lot of real talent. Quinn also had the perfect personality to handle the Toronto media. Yes he should have played the young guys earlier in the season, but he didn't sign Lindros, Allison, and most ridiculously, Belfour to a three year deal. That was Ferguson Jr. If they don't replace Quinn with Paul Maurice I will be even more pissed off.

Good for Tony Clement

I've been on hiatus for a while but am now back full time. Tony Clement has given a $10 million dollar grant to The Terry Fox Foundation to help their fight against cancer. I consider Terry Fox to be Canada's greatest hero so I am very pleased with this announcement.

On Vacation

I will not be posting for a few days because I am going to an old roommates wedding in warm and sunny Phoenix, Arizona 'til Monday. Don't forget me when I'm gone.

The Simpson movie and other stuff.

The Simpsons are finally coming to the big screen. I don't really know what to make of this though. I think it would have been a big deal five or six years ago but I don't see how this movie will do a big box office. The show is still good but it is in no way a must see every week as witnessed by it's declining ratings. One way to liven it up would be to have some swearing and simulated Marge-Homer sex but I don't see it happening.

Even Sesame Street is not oblivious to ridiculous protests. The show's new DVD, which is aimed at babies as young as six months old, has come under attack from a group called Campaign for a Commercial-Free childhood. The last time I checked babies under the age of one did not know how to work a remote control. This group should be going after the parents if they want to stop commercialism to young kids. It's parents that buy the DVD's, and for that matter, what the hell is wrong with plunking a kid in front of the TV for an hour if it keeps the kid happy and gives the parents or sitters or chance to relax and get other things done. I have no doubt that future press releases from the CCFC will claim Big Bird and Oscar to be puppets (no pun intended) of the right wing corporate agenda.

How is this guy still alive? He took 40,000 ecstasy pills over 9 years. He had been taking 25 a day for the last four years. This is a far more serious potential health problem for youth than most people realize. In my previous job I did some work the RCMP's national drug enforcement teams and learned some scary stuff about "e". Prolonged usage not only causes depression and reduced impulse control, as cited in the article, but it also kills off the synapses in the brain that control muscle function. This is one of the main symptoms of Parkinson's disease. In other words, with the proliferation of ecstasy in the last 10 years, you are going to see a generation of kids growing up with premature Parkinson's. Tell that to your kids next time they go raving.

Major League Baseball Preview.

Last night was opening night for MLB so here is my abbreviated preview for this year. I am not going to go into long in depth analysis of each team because nobody would read all of it. So what follows are my predictions for division races and playoffs as well as other things to watch for throughout the year.

National League East

1. New York Met
2. Atlanta Braves*
3. Washington Nationals
4. Philadelphia Phillies
5. Florida Marlins

National League Central

1. St. Louis Cardinals
2. Milwaukee Brewers
3. Houston Astros
4. Pittsburgh Pirates
5. Chicago Cubs
6. Cincinnati Reds

National League West

1. Los Angeles Dodgers
2. San Francisco Giants
3. San Diego Padres
4. Arizona Diamondbacks
5. Colorado Rockies

MVP - Albert Pujols, Cardinals
Cy Young - Roy Oswalt, Astros
Rookie of the Year - Prince Fielder, Brewers
Manager of the Year - Ned Yost, Brewers


American League East

1. Boston Red Sox
2. Toronto Blue Jays
3. New York Yankees
4. Baltimore Orioles
5. Tampa Bay Devil Rays

American League Central

1. Chicago White Sox
2. Cleveland Indians
3. Minnesota Twins
4. Detroit Tigers
5. Kansas City Royals

Amercian League West

1. Los Angeles Angels
2. Oakland Athletics*
3. Seattle Mariners
4. Texas Rangers

MVP - Alex Rodriguez, Yankees
Cy Young - Roy Halladay, Blue Jays
Rookie of the Year - Felix Hernandez, Mariners
Manager of the Year - Mike Scioscia, Angels

*Wild card team

NL Division Series
Mets over Dodgers
Cardinals over Braves

AL Division Series
White Sox over Athletics
Angels over Red Sox

NL Championship
Cardinals over Mets

AL Championship
Angels over White Sox

World Series
Angels over Cardinals

Things to watch
- Offense will be down this year. The crack down on steroids will be widely recognized as the reason but the real reason will be the ban this year of amphetamines. "Greenies" have been used for decades by everyone in the league as a way to combat hectic travel, day games after night games, and hangovers.
- The greenie ban is going to cost older teams at least 5-10 wins a year. Look for older teams like the Yankees and Giants to lose a lot of Saturday afternoon games they should win to younger, fresher teams like Tampa Bay and Colorado.
- Teams in the AL East will have to win their division to make the playoffs. With the schedule now set up for so many interdivisional games, the teams in this division are going to beat up on each other and the division winner may only win 92 games. Meanwhile the Angels and A's will beat up on their own division as well as the pitiful NL West in inter-league play giving them a big advantage in schedule.
- The Blue Jays are a year and a corner outfield bat away from winning the division. But if Alex Rios blossoms this year they can knock of the Yanks and Red Sox. With Troy Glaus to protect him in the order, Vernon Wells will have a huge year and become an MVP candidate.
- The Yankees pitching will not hold up this year. Even if Randy Johnson stays healthy, Mike Mussina is well past his prime and Shawn Chacon and Carl Pavano can't take the pressure of playing in NY. The Yanks are also terrible defensively. ARod and Derek Jeter are the only two position players they have that are even average in the field. The outfield of Johnny Damon, Hideki Matsui, and Gary Sheffield is awful.
- The Yankees are going to score a hell of a lot of runs. With ARod moving to third in the order, and with Damon and Jeter in front of him, he is going to get 150 RBI's.
- Coco Crisp will hit for a higher average and be better this year than Damon for the Red Sox. He is a far better outfielder and will be a spark at the top of the lineup. Letting Damon go was a good step for the Sox.
- With Leo Mazzone as their new pitching coach, look for Baltimore to be a lot better than people think. Eric Bedard is going to blossom into a 17 game winner this year.
- All five White Sox starters will win 15 games.
- If Jim Thome can stay healthy, which I think he will, he will hit 40 home runs and win Comeback player of the year for the White Sox. Nobody is more competitive or has more pride than Thome.
- Cleveland will miss Kevin Millwood this year and take a small step backwards.
- Oakland has the best starting staff in baseball. Rich Harden will be the ace which means Barry Zito will be no.2 which I think he is far more comfortable with. The A's offense won't be able to score enough runs to win the division though.
- This is the Angels year to win it and they know it. Guys like Garrett Anderson and Darin Erstad probably won't be back next year. Their staff is deep, their lineup strong with Vlady Guerrero anchoring it, they are a great defensive club, and closer Francisco Rodriguez is lights out. Their only potential hole is starting a rookie catcher in Jeff Mathis.
- The Mariners Felix Hernandez is the real deal. His stuff is absolutely nasty. Think Dwight Gooden 20 years ago king of good. He seems to have his head on straight too. He is going to be unhittable by the start of next year.
- The Braves will not win the NL East for the 15th straight time. The key to the Braves run was never Bobby Cox, it was Leo Mazzone. Cox is a terrible game manager and one World Series title in 14 trips to the playoffs proves that. Leo Mazzone made winning pitchers out of complete retreads and guys nobody else wanted. Then those same guys signed other places and stunk again. The rest of the NL is so bad though that the Braves have enough to hold on to the wild card.
- Carlos Delgado, with Carlos Beltran and stud in the making David Wright, batting in front and behind him, will get 140 RBI's.
- Nationals manager Frank Robinson will be caught falling asleep in the dugout at least three times.
- Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria should be banned from baseball. He helped drive the Expos into the ground and is now trying to do the same thing with Florida. They will relocate to either Las Vegas or San Antonio within two years.
- The Cardinals will win the NL Central by at least 15 games. Pujols will continue to put up ridiculous numbers and will be recognized as the best hitter in the game.
- The Brewers are going to contend for the wild card this year. Their staff is young but good and Ben Sheets could win the Cy Young. Prince Fielder will hit for power and Cory Koskie will return to full health and have a good year.
- Despite Roger Clemens' likely retirement, Astros will still have a strong starting staff. It's just that their offense is going to be very bad. They won't score enough runs to make the wild card.
- The NL West is the worst division in baseball. The Dodgers will win it and may do it with only 85 wins.
- The steroid investigation will not bother Barry Bonds at all. Nothing bothers Bonds, he really doesn't care about anything and has the ability to completely block out the media on his march to 756 home runs.