Remembering Greg Moore

Halloween Day will always be a day of sombre and remorse for me (until I have kids, anyway).

It was October 31, 1999. I was in my first year of college in Peterborough, living away from home for the first time with my great friend Jamie Grimmon. It was a Sunday, so naturally there were races on. At the time, I was a genuine open-wheel racing fan, primarily a CART fan.

And at the turn of the century, Canada was taking names and kicking ass in the sport.

The man leading the Canadian surge on the track was Greg Moore, and he was a phenom in CART.

On that fall day in 1999, Moore was on the 10th lap of the season-closing Marlboro 500 in Fontana, California, when his car left the track, and wrecked violently. Tragically, he died.

If you watch enough racing, you see your fair share of crashes. As Moore's crash went, the auto racing world has seen more spectacular. But as I was sitting there watching the race, and the crash, I knew it was bad. Don't know what it was, just had the feeling that this outcome was not going to be a good one.

Speculation went on throughout the race on Moore's fate, and ultimately it was announced that he had passed on. I felt numb, as a fan and as a Canadian. Back in 1999, it wouldn't be out of the ordinary for a CART race to lead the highligts on SportCentre. Greg Moore was to CART at the time, what Sidney Crosby is to the NHL now. He was the next big thing, already dominating the sport, and had such a promising future.

A lot has changed since then. CART is no longer around. Fellow Canadians Paul Tracy, Alex Tagliani, and Patrick Carpentier have all moved on to some NASCAR series or another, as have most racing fans.

Personally, as a fan of the sport, I couldn't move on or get over Greg's death. Racing to me was and never will be the same.

So I'll have a pop in Greg's memory tonight. He was on his way to being a true Canadian legend and sporting icon, cut down in his prime, and now... too soon and often forgotten.

See you at the front, indeed.

Morning Sickness - Oct24/08

Night of Big Hits in Beantown Check out these two beauties dished out on Thursday night... Milan Lucic smashes Mike Van Ryn straight to the depths of hell! (or through the glass)... Denis Wideman catches Matt Stajan with his head down in the middle... No Fun League strikes again Titan's RB Chris Johnson has been fined $10,000 for his "excessive" touchdown celebration last Sunday. All he did was bang on drums. Really, Roger? $10,000?!? Seems a bit much. Johnson abides.. "I am not happy about it," Johnson told The Tennessean newspaper. "I knew I was going to get a fine, but I am totally upset about how much. I am going to appeal. There's no fun in this league. I was trying to have fun and they want to penalize us for having fun." See for yourself...

Rays get World Serious, tie World Series

Turns out James Shields is money. He pitched the Rays to victory tonight over the Phils, who really really need Ryan Howard to stop hitting ground balls into the death shift. Before I get into it more, just wanted to point out that the Jayson Werth error (see photo) reminded me of David Justice's drop in Game 6 of the 1992 World Series. That is all. The first two games have been fairly entertaining, in my humble, and often correct opinion. Between plays at the plate, pick-offs, and great pitching, we already have the best World Series since 2003, when the Marlins shocked the world (again) and beat the Yankees (not again, but you know what I mean). Really though think back to the last few Fall Classics: 2004- Red Sox end the curse and dismantle the St. Louis Cardinals. Great story, history for sure, but a snooze of a World Series. Sweep. 2005- SWEEEEEEP. McCoy's Houston Astros (aka, the most boring World Series combatant in recent memory) get taken to school by the upstart Chicago White Sox. Brad Lidge sucked, no Astro could hit and it was some of the most nausiating baseball I've ever watched. 2006-Revenge of the Cards. They took advantage of a Tigers team that showed up in the Fall Classic and played minor league baseball. Detroit made 8 errors in the 5 game loss, most of them on simple throws to first base by pitchers. Bad, bad baseball. David Eckstein's swang song. 2007-Red Sox bring the Colorado Rockies back to earth in a huge way, sweeping them and outscoring them 29-10. HOLY SHIT. So you can see why I'm optimisitc we might have a Series on our hands here. It certainly couldn't be any worse than the previous 4.

November 5th can't come soon enough

Thats the day after the U.S. Election where (if there truly is a God), we will never have to hear from Sarah Palin again. In an article due out in People on Friday she claims she wants to have a son and name him "Zamboni." (Yahoo) We get it, Sarah. You are a hockey Mom. Truth be told, you are probably turning a lot of hockey fans off of the game. I'm surprised Gary Bettman hasn't put you in any "Is This the Year?" commercials. Oh, and if you haven't had enough of her yet, you can catch her dropping the puck at the Blues game on Friday. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch) Smart. Especially after you consider the fact that the Flyers haven't won a game all year after she dropped the puck at their home opener. Jinx City!

Morning Sickness - Oct 23/08

Sean Avery's doucheness unrewarded Martin Brodeur shuts down the NHL's resident scumbag and the rest of the Stars 5-0. I was told about Sean Avery when he was drafted. I knew a chick who went to high school with him in Owen Sound. She said he was the biggest asshole she ever met. He has sure lived up to that reputation. Naturally, Avery didn't talk to reporters after the blowout loss. Think it would have been the same way if the score was reveresed? He'd still be talking. None of this shit would be happening if Scott Stevens were still around. (Newark Star-Ledger...) What an awful way to start the World Series I'm not talking about the Phillies taking Game 1, I'm talking about the dispicable anthem singing of the Backstreet Boys. Holy Christ, they really couldn't find anybody else to perform? Ashley Simpson wasn't available? Come on, World Series organizers. Pats not happy with Tom Brady, his knee, or his doctors So the Pats wanted a doctor in Boston to operate on Brady's knee, but he decided to get it done by a family friend in California. Infection, shitstorm ensues... (ESPN) Sign of the Times

All-Time Rays Great Evan Longoria Throws Out First Pitch Of World Series

I love the Onion. http://www.theonion.com/content/news_briefs/all_time_rays_great_evan

Please don't cry again Hines...

All this talk about the Ravens having a bounty out on Steelers wideout and noted crier Hines Ward appears to be true. "Suggs said that the Ravens wanted to get Ward during the September 29 game between Baltimore and Pittsburgh, but that they couldn’t line him up during a live play.

The problem is Ward’s reputation for knocking the blocks off of unsuspecting defenders. “He does a little cheap shot,” Suggs said. “It’s legal but it be cheap.”

So what happens when the Steelers go to Baltimore?

“We’ve got something in store for him,” Suggs said."

And apparently there was a bounty on rookie running back Rashard Mendenhall, whose season was ended via a broken shoulder sustained against Baltimore. http://www.profootballtalk.com/2008/10/21/suggs-says-the-ravens-have-a-bounty-on-ward/

Hamels vs Kazmir: a look back at the '02 Draft

The starting pitchers tonight are Cole Hamels (PHI) and Scott Kazmir (TB). Both guys were drafted in the middle of the first round of the 2002 MLB Draft. Hamels was drafted 15th, and Kazmir at 17th. Why do I care? Because J.P Ricciardi took RUSS FUCKING ADAMS at 14th. Come on! Lets take a look at who else J.P could have taken at 14th... 16. Nick Swisher 19. James Loney 20. Denard Span 22. Jeremy Guthrie 23. Jeff Francoeur 24. Joe Blanton 25. Matt Cain 39. Mark Teahan Wow I love J.P.

Crazy Viking guy at Pats game is a Canadian (damn it)

Last night I posted a pic of that crazy Hulk Hogan-Vikings fan-Randy Moss stalker-real life viking guy at the Monday Nighter. Turns out we now know who he is. He is Syd Davy, better known to Minnesota Vikings fans at 100 Percent Cheese Free. Whatever that means. He has a Packers tattoo on his arm, so whatever. I'm not one to judge nicknames' validity. Apparently he is a huge Randy Moss fan and drives 7 hours from CANADA for every Pats home game. That, my friends, is dedication. Or maybe something a bit more disturbing. He loved the Blue Bombers growing up and ended up rooting for the Vikings when his hero, Bud Grant left the Bombers to coach the Vikes. Awww, thats kinda nice.

Forget pacifiers, how about dildos?

Apparently this was all a bit-to-do with a visiting Swedish Elite league player who was involved in a saucy sex scandal in the summer. European seems so much sexier then the North American game. I'd hate to be the poor guy cleaning all those things up.

I am afraid of Ron Wilson

A day removed from the pre-shootout goalie swap, Leafs coach Ron Wilson wasn't pulling any punches and shooting from the hip at practise today. Among his beauty lines today... "To be honest with you, we have a lot of guys who aren't worried about the W's, they're worried about their ice time. Once they get through that, is where we'll be fine." Ronnie isn't too happy with Jason Blake either. Two days ago he had the team skate as hard as they possibly could until he blew his whistle. He bag skated the team for 2:34. Why that number? That was the length of a Jason Blake shift in the previous game ( a loss to Pittsburgh). Really Jason? 2:34? That might be a record for longest shift ever. Unheard of. Now there are rumblings that Blake might take a regular seat in the press box. "He might be on the fourth line, he might not be playing, we'll see," Wilson said of Blake. Wilson also touched on the fact that the Toronto media creates problems for the team, especially in the aspect of some his own players believing their own hype. "If it wasn't for the city they play in, most of the guys on this team wouldn't think they were as good as they do now." Yes. I hate the Leafs, but Vive le Ron Wilson.

Oh to be sitting next to this guy...

If anybody saw the Pats dismantling of the Broncos on MNF, you might have could a glimpse of this crazy bastard... Good lord.

Morning Sickness - Oct22/08

Tyler Sloan and the 9 minute powerplay If you caught the Caps and Flames game last night, you witnessed the hit of the year so far. The Caps Tyler Sloan, on his first shift in the NHL, absolutely obliterated Daymond Langkow. Rene Bourque came in and tried to pummel Sloan afterwards, and got 9 minutes worth of penalties. The Caps didn't score on that 9 min. PP. Weak. Ron Wilson pulls the ol' switcheroo So the Leafs are putting up a great effort against the Ducks last night. Game goes into a shootout thanks, mainly to J.S Giguere, who made 36 saves. Toskala has been bad in shootouts so Ronnie Wilson pulls him and puts Cujo in. Cujo promptly allows the first two shooters to score and the Leafs lose. I'm almost feeling bad for Leaf fans this season. You could subsitute the Leafs fans into this Daily Show clip about the "Stupid" demographic. Signs of the times

Somebody sign that ref

This happened during a college football game in the States over the weekend and has been getting some moderate to strong play on the major media outlets down there. Its actually pretty unbelievable and by all accounts, real. To the right is your screenshot, below is the link to the video. Ideally, I will learn to post the video directly to this page. Patience. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcdWdBgUBqw&feature=rec-fresh

Rays and Phillies: REALLY?!

Quick, put your hand up if you thought the Tampa Bay Rays would win 70 games this year. Ya, me neither. But alas, the time has come, hell hath frozen over. The Rays are the American League representatives in the 2008 World Series. The Phillies are coming off a surprising cake-walk of Manny's Dodgers and the debate will now begin. Is it better to be the team who has been waiting and resting, or the one with an engine full of Red Sox killing momentum? I happen to side with the latter. The Rays and Phils lineups are both strong, top to bottom. The advantage the Rays have is on the mound. Beyond Cole Hamels, there are question marks. Brett Myers has been perorming out of his skull so far in the playoffs and against a hot lineup with the likes of Longoria, Upton, et al., I just can't see it continuing. Same thing for his batting too. Somethings gotta give. And how about that spritely Jamie Moyer? In his two starts so far in the postseason, he has been lucky to escape the first inning. Moyer would be better served in this series as a second Phillies pitching coach. All I'm saying is I'd take an Andy Sonnanstine over a Jamie Moyer anyday. The only way I see the Rays losing this series is if their bullpen blows it for them. Having said that, they may have found their fireman for the remainder of the playoffs in super rookie David Price. And his stomach soothing performance couldn't have come at a better time. Rays manager Joe "Don't Call Me John" Maddon is done relying on Dan Wheeler to get 9th inning outs. At least Rays fans should hope so. On the topic of bullpens, I've never been one to hold in my opnions of Brad Lidge. The guy was brutal in the playoffs for the Astros when they went to the World Series in 2005, only to be swept by the ChiSox. Seemed like he was going to be one of those closers who couldn't handle the heat in big situations. So yes, he has yet to blow a save yet this season, but each opportunity seems a little bit more Miguel Batista-esque than the last. The Phillies and the city of Philadelphia are looking for another Mitch Williams. Time will tell if they have found him in Lidge. (God, I hope so. Nothing like a good ol' lynching). So, ultimately to my predicition. Rays in 5. Too much hot, sticky momentum. Sorry, Philadelphia. But not really.