- 03:01 PM
- 05/20/13
The Leafs have some good young talent and a great coach. What is missing is absolute commitment and buy-in by the team's leaders / veterans and a few tougher players who can actually play. The Bruins are a good example of what the Leafs are missing; there are no superstar level players on the Bruins (with the possible exception of Chara), just a collective group that works together to win.
Oh ... and for certain, a player or 2 who can defend and clear the front of the net. A goalie should never have to perform more than 3 backflip saves on the same play sequence without some help out front. A slow / smart defenceman like Carlyle was would fit nicely.
posted by cixelsyd at 04:30 PM on May 14
Ottawa in 7 - Pens may average 45 shots on goal but Anderson will stop 43 meaning if the Sens average 26 shots on the Penguins they'll win the series.
NY in 6 - Rangers won't give the Bruins a free pass to stand 2 to 4 feet from the goal crease without being checked the way the Leafs did .. plus they have HL in net.
Chicago in 6 - Hawks are too solid top to bottom for the Wings.
SJ in 7 - SJ should have enough to overcome hockey's best defenseman.
posted by cixelsyd at 10:39 AM on May 14
Being that the home center has the advantage makes Jonathan Toews 16 faceoff wins in 21 attempts at Minnesota in a playoff game even more remarkable.
Faceoffs, penalty kill, power play, defensive shutdown man, big goals .... MVP. No other player has a game as complete as Toews.
posted by cixelsyd at 02:54 PM on May 08
Folks, easy on him.
He's a Leafs fan and like all Leaf fans has endured decades of failure and despair.
Realize the poor guy is damaged goods.
posted by cixelsyd at 10:14 AM on May 07
I really think Tebow is a player that could help a team, just not at QB. Special teams, blocking back ... I don't know. The guy has character and will along with some athleticism. If he wants to play somebody will give him a shot - just not as a QB.
posted by cixelsyd at 01:22 AM on April 30
Pittsburgh in 6
Ottawa in 7
Washington in 6
Boston in 6
Chicago in 6
Anaheim in 6
Vancouver in 6
LA in 7
posted by cixelsyd at 01:16 AM on April 30
The last time Toronto beat Boston in a playoff series
I thought all those things were the last time the Leafs were in a playoff series.
Seriously, 2 excellent coaches and solid goaltenders. But Kessel/Phaneuf versus Krejci/Chara is about as one sided as you can get and there's no way the Leafs tough guys can play many shifts against the Bruins skilled tough guys.
Reimer needs to be spectacular and Carlyle has to do some masterful line matching work for the Leafs to be competitive.
posted by cixelsyd at 11:06 AM on April 29
Note to all - football isn't the only sport where injuries occur.
Guess the story got Kass some mileage, though.
posted by cixelsyd at 08:12 PM on April 24
You really think the Karlsson injury was done with intent??
Yes. Watch the video and draw your own conclusions.
posted by cixelsyd at 10:03 PM on April 23
If Cooke wasn't in the NHL he'd be incarcerated. The guy has something innate that drives him to want to injure people. I give him a small bit of credit for partially cleaning up his game, but without players like him we would have had a full year of Eric Karlsson .. and more a than few years of Savard.
posted by cixelsyd at 11:40 PM on April 22
The Leafs and the Canadiens both are stumbling into the playoffs, but at least they are in.
Jets fans sure wish they both the Leafs And Habs had played better down the stretch, then we too may have been in. (The only time Jets fans would ever cheer for a Leafs victory)
posted by cixelsyd at 02:00 PM on April 21
Chip Kelly must really love Philly to have left Oregon
Chip pulled a Calipari.
posted by cixelsyd at 05:02 PM on April 16
I guess golf *is* a sport, then...
Nope.
posted by cixelsyd at 04:56 PM on April 13
The best and only part of Quentin's game is getting hit by pitches.
Does he always put on a show when he's successful?
Is he stupid enough to think that if a pitcher wanted to intentionally hit him he would do it with a marshmallow?
posted by cixelsyd at 05:14 PM on April 12
Not biased towards either of those teams, and that was a horrendous call.
posted by cixelsyd at 11:16 AM on April 08
Just watched the Kevin Ware interview. Lots of character there, I'll be rooting for him when he returns next year.
He had really improved during the season. The Cardinals had trouble earlier in the season when Siva and Smith got in first half foul trouble. Later in the year Pitino didn't need to gamble as much with his starting guards because there was very little drop off going to Ware.
He'll be missed on the court this weekend.
posted by cixelsyd at 11:43 PM on April 03
My bet is that video isn't part of the Rutgers recruiting package.
posted by cixelsyd at 12:05 AM on April 03
Interesting how a corporation can identify top students and provide for education, living expenses, etc without any controls.
Give a student athlete's high school coach a sweatshirt and that athlete gets suspended. Have a corporation donating to the same athlete's university program and it's no issue.
The logisitics of paying student athletes is a dilemma. Perhaps some form of pooled money in a trust fund might work.
posted by cixelsyd at 11:56 AM on April 02
... and on Monday Jerry and the Cowboys are set to announce the signings of Terrell Owens and Randy Moss to 5 year deals.
Local news reports Garrett has been spotted in the Dallas airport with a fully shaved head selling flowers.
posted by cixelsyd at 11:34 PM on March 30
Geez - they could have made the same amount of money by keeping their old logo and attempting to field a decent team.
I guess this move is easier.
posted by cixelsyd at 10:20 PM on March 28
Adding a tough as nails skilled 2 way player to the Penguins ... look out. Would make sense he'll play on a line with Crosby a free up a bunch of ice for him just as he did in the last Olympics.
posted by cixelsyd at 11:03 AM on March 28
By my way of thinking you've got to be pretty well off to afford anything Nike is marketing via Tiger anyways. To that demographic the whole mistresses / divorce settlements noise surrounding Tiger may not seem either foreign or tremendously shocking.
posted by cixelsyd at 02:55 PM on March 27
I've entered UConn Huskies in the tournament.
posted by cixelsyd at 10:03 AM on March 21
When did the NCAA decide to let schools play "home games" during the first two rounds of March Madness?
Kind of makes financial sense to have teams playing close to their fan base. I do agree a team shouldn't be allowed to play on their true home court or a court they play any games considered home games on.
... Um, telling someone in Lexington that Louisville is playing a home game there might not be wise ...
Enjoy the games!
posted by cixelsyd at 10:59 PM on March 17
Want to tell me which of them is the vital cog the team has been missing?
My point is that the Patriots were rolling with Branch. Yes, he benefited from the offensive system the same way Welker, Brady, and the others do. Branch delivered in big games and he deserved to be rewarded. Vinateri also deserved to be rewarded, as does Welker.
It's wasn't as if the Patriots were looking to upgrade at their positions or had other good options. It wasn't that the Patriots used the money saved to upgrade at other positions. Yes, management proved a point by not having any give during negotiations - they won the deals. But the organization as a whole lost.
Feel very lucky that Brady makes a boat load of money outside of his reported football salary and felt charitable towards the Patriots or he too would have been gone this year. It's been reported Brady made concessions with the thought the ownership would use the money to keep Welker around.
Drives home the message loud and clear: Nobody is as important as management and Bill.
posted by cixelsyd at 01:02 AM on March 15
The Patriots obviously continue to believe it's Tom Brady who makes receivers like Welker, Deion Branch, etc. thrive, not the other way around
I'd like to point out the Patriots won back to back Superbowls with Branch then let him walk away also. They haven't won since.
posted by cixelsyd at 06:01 PM on March 14
Yahoo! Sports and ESPN provide plenty of threads for that kind of thing if you're looking for it.
Don't get your message.
My point - $2 Million over 2 years could have kept a productive part of your offense and an extremely popular player under contract versus gambling on a player who has been less productive and injury prone ... something real funky there.
posted by cixelsyd at 03:49 PM on March 14
Welker is at the tail end of his career but it still comes across as nothing but extreme arrogance by Belicheat and the Patriots management to make him feel he wasn't an important part of the Patriots success. Only other reason I can think of is they have developed a young budding star ready to step in for Welker, but I certainly didn't notice anyone in the few Pats games I followed last season.
posted by cixelsyd at 12:41 PM on March 14
Agree that Boldin probably has peaked.
But he's a dependable big game performer. He was the leading wide receiver in Baltimore every year and led all receivers during the 2013 playoffs. Even if he's only slotted in the role the Niners expected of Randy Moss last year it's a massive upgrade. He's a proven blue chip commodity whereas Harvin is an interesting albeit risky futures play.
posted by cixelsyd at 12:15 PM on March 12
Niners get an established team guy at the peak of his career who executes in whatever role he's asked to. Harvin has flashes of brilliance and loads of potential but the injuries need to stop and he's got a lot of growing up to do to become the player Boldin is.
Niners never had their passing game at full strength during Kaepernick's run last year with injuries to Manningham, Walker, Davis, and their backups. Boldin should be a huge complement to Crabtree at wideout this year especially with Manningham recovering from ACL and PCL injuries.
posted by cixelsyd at 10:30 AM on March 12
Harvin wanted out of Minnesota anyways, and was a problem on that team. He needed to be `the man`and that wasn`t ever going to happen with AP around.
Minnesota wins this one. Be interesting to see how Harvin adjusts to being the 3rd or 4th option in Seattle after being a solid 2nd in Minnesota.
posted by cixelsyd at 11:07 PM on March 11
Bo Jackson.
Sure wish some of today's young athletes had the opportunity to be connected with Bo. Great athlete, great role model.
posted by cixelsyd at 06:57 PM on March 10
As a Canadian, all of our sports networks are based in Toronto, so we get prioritized coverage of the Leafs on 3 different networks. 24 hours a day. 365 days a year.
More networks aren't always better.
posted by cixelsyd at 10:34 PM on March 06
One wonders whether Flacco gets that contract without the brutal Broncos' defensive play on 3 and 3 with 31 seconds remaining that kept the Ravens in the playoffs.
posted by cixelsyd at 05:30 PM on March 04
Andy Reid made an ex-convict into a pro-bowler. He made Kevin Kolb many millions of dollars. He had Philidelphia a perennial playoff contender with Donovan McNabb at the helm. I give Alex a pretty decent chance in KC, even though he is limited as to the types of routes he can complete.
posted by cixelsyd at 04:20 PM on February 28
First, sad to see the greatest sports franchise owner of all time pass in a season where his creation is coming apart at the seams.
The Lakers' poor performance this year is sort of irrelevant and will fade away
Really? Their core consists of players retiring this year or next (Kobe and Nash), a guy they don't want (Gasol), a guy that can't play anymore (Artest), and a guy they wish they never signed who doesn't want to play (Howard).
Unless Kevin Durant, Chris Paul, and 3 other top level players join the Lakers next year they are in for a long period of hurt. It's not as if they need 1 or 2 young players to round out the lineup, they have nothing.
And they don't have Jerry Buss or Jerry West to right the ship.
posted by cixelsyd at 05:57 PM on February 18
in 20 years soccer will have surpassed football as the number one sport in America
Soccer is actually the largest sport in Canada by numbers of participants.
Cost of participation is amongst the lowest of any sport.
Hockey, Football, and (gag) Curling are the largest spectator sports.
posted by cixelsyd at 03:41 PM on February 17
bordered on dirty
Take it that you were attempting to use the kindest words possible ...
Cooke has a history of deliberately attempting and succeeding at injuring opponents. I do agree he hasn't been suspended recently, but it's puzzling as to why he lifts his skate and kicks the way he does.
posted by cixelsyd at 01:16 PM on February 14
Perhaps we can teach the wrestlers a true olympic sport with more appeal, like curling.
posted by cixelsyd at 05:32 PM on February 12
Yep.
Probably an instant classic. I guarantee they will edit Vitale's commentary before it's aired next.
posted by cixelsyd at 01:02 AM on February 10
I was watching a Big East battle between Louisville and Notre Dame but just couldn't take any more of Dick Vitale. He's terrible, he just doesn't understand the game.
I cannot believe that he will be doing some big final four games this year.
Maybe it's time for a "Ditch Dick" campaign.
posted by cixelsyd at 11:08 PM on February 09
But are there ever a lot of teams contending that could use Garnett's grit and leadership, like ALL of them.
posted by cixelsyd at 07:24 PM on February 08
Kind of fits with the Ravens' mindset - it's not a penalty unless it's called; it's not murder unless you are convicted.
posted by cixelsyd at 10:52 AM on February 08
Imagine what he could've done with a token year playing college hoops
Garnett is one of the very few players who was truly NBA ready out of high school.
And really, how much better prepared are the current 1 and dones coming out of programs like Kentucky? It's the players that stay in college for 3 or 4 years in legitimate programs that develop.
posted by cixelsyd at 10:00 AM on February 08
Eli made some unbelievable throws in both bowl victories under big defensive pressure. He was clearly the better QB on the field in both games.
I'm a Niners fan, but I don't think Flacco outplayed Kaepernick in this one. Nor do I think he made the same types of clutch throws that Eli did.
posted by cixelsyd at 04:08 PM on February 04
Yes, but ... Properly covered and being underthrown like that normally results in an interception. Niners safety blew the coverage and Jones made a huge play on the ball.
Flacco was solid. Jones was outstanding.
posted by cixelsyd at 01:19 PM on February 04
he had two steps on a receiver way down the field and the ball was delivered nearly perfectly
On Jones's TD? Jones had the db beat and the ball was underthrown by about 10 yards. Jones dove back to catch the ball. Flacco's other TD throws were on the money. But the biggest passing plays were all balls that required the Ravens receivers to win, which they did.
posted by cixelsyd at 12:01 PM on February 04
Jacoby Jones probably should have gotten the MVP nod
Yep.
The biggest offensive plays for the Ravens were made by Jones and Boldin making good plays on desperation heaves by Flacco. Give Flacco credit for knowing his guys had a shot and putting the ball in the general area.
Conversely Kaepernick had a few great throws missed by his receivers. And attempting to connect with Randy Moss on a crossing route has always and continues to be a recipie for disaster .. scratching my head at how that play made it into the gameplan.
posted by cixelsyd at 10:07 AM on February 04
BTW, the blackout was caused by Vegas mobsters.
Why?
Heavy betting was on the Niners -4, Vegas mobsters were sitting real pretty prior to the blackout. Lots of smiling bookmakers after this one.
posted by cixelsyd at 11:01 PM on February 03
1. 49ers
2. Under
3. Flacco
4. Gore
5. Crabtree
6. Vernon Davis
7. Patrick Willis
8. Navarro Bowman
9. Aldon Smith
10. Samsung
11. 49
12. 43
posted by cixelsyd at 10:44 PM on February 02
The countdown to Chris Culliver
Real disappointing both the media play that story is getting and Culliver not being wise enough to respond appropriately. A young talented guy who may have screwed his career by agreeing to talk with a comedian.
posted by cixelsyd at 11:39 PM on January 31
Those in the know say they are moving to Seattle.
The NHL is banking on milking more money out of QC and Markham (TO) in eventual expansion to 32 teams.
Hockey might actually work in Seattle, assuming they don't pull a Phoenix and decide to build the arena on an island accessible only via a 45 minute ferry ride.
posted by cixelsyd at 02:17 PM on January 31
So the Yankees stand to save $114 Million if it can be proven A-Rod was juicing.
I smell conspiracy ... and a gaggle of lawyers being well compensated.
posted by cixelsyd at 09:58 AM on January 30
will be in about 10 years when Calvin Johnson and Larry Fitzgerald
One would hope that both of those guys get to play on a team that has a chance to win. And, if they do, there will be other offensive options. Rice was never the only option on any team he played for. He set records within the context of contributing to winning.
I recall watching some 49ers games where Rice was double covered the entire game and his role was adjusted to be primarily a blocker. He always executed to perfection, the 49ers won, and another player was credited with the key offensive plays. On other occasions he could go nuts a rack up 200 yards receiving in the Superbowl.
I believe I've seen Larry block. Can Calvin block?
Does Randy Moss even get off the line of scrimmage when he's not a primary or secondary option? (no need to re-post the video evidence here)
I hope Randy does what is necessary on Sunday to help the Niners win. I'm pretty certain Harbaugh won't be expecting the same contribution from Randy that was expected every single game from Rice.
posted by cixelsyd at 12:19 AM on January 30
Had the talent to be the greatest ever but lacked the drive and desire that Rice had.
posted by cixelsyd at 05:51 PM on January 29
A-Rod's rapid performance decline appears to back his claim that he isn't using anymore.
Or perhaps he's just using weak juice.
posted by cixelsyd at 09:45 AM on January 29
How Adrian Peterson has responded this year is amazing ... but he isn't playing basketball.
I think Rondo understands the game well enough to be able to adjust and still be effective if he is slowed after ACL issues. On the other hand, a huge part of Derrick Rose's game has to do with his ability to get himself open via lateral movement (jumping laterally rather than vertically) - I just can't see him being as effective, although I hope I'm wrong.
posted by cixelsyd at 08:05 PM on January 27
NFC
Over
Luck
Peterson
Fitzgerald
Colquitt
posted by cixelsyd at 11:26 PM on January 26
You know. Priorities.
Nice.
I forsee that blowing up big time next year when a defender gets penalized and heavily fined for making contact with poor innocent Tommy boy.
posted by cixelsyd at 11:19 AM on January 24
SportsFilter: The Tuesday Huddle
Sorry about the "I don't want to see .." stuff grum, but you must know if you live anywhere in Canada it's mandatory that every single national sports broadcast must start with something Leafs.