Sunday, November 30, 2008

Your Christmas Gift Wishlist - For the Hockey Fan

Somehow, it is December. I don't know how it happened, or how we got here, but here we are. With December of course, comes the onset of the Holiday season. For all you sports lovers out there, I have compiled a list of items you should be asking for this Christmas season. First up are the need-to-have gifts for the casual to the hardcore hockey fan. Future Greats and Heartbreaks: A Year Undercover in the Secret World of NHL Scouts written by Gare Joyce Perhaps the best hockey book I've ever read, this book gives in depth behind the scenes looks into the NHL scouting business. The book pulls no punches into critical insight into guys like Akim Aliu, Angelo Esposito, and most notably (and harshly) Phil Kessel. Joyce contacted every NHL team about the book, and only the Columbus Blue Jackets took the bait. If you are a fan of major junior or college hockey, this book is beyond a must read. Reflections 2008: The NHL Hockey Year in Photographs The perfect coffee table book for the NHL fan, the photos in this book are simply amazing. It is a chronological look at the 2007-2008 NHL season, starting with the season openers in London, England. Several photos are dedicated to the All Star Game in Atlanta, the Winter Classic in Buffalo, and the Stanley Cup Finals between Pittsburgh and Detroit. The only writing in the book is the foreword, and after that its nothing but high-resolution, breath-taking photos. All captions are found at the back of the book in an index. One of the best parts of this book is gauging the crowd's reaction to the events capture in a still frame. The looks on some of the spectator's faces are priceless. The photos really do a great job of capturing the emotion both on and off the ice. One of the best examples is a shot of Joffrey Lupul of the Flyers scoring the overtime winner in Game 7 vs the Capitals, in Washington. Lupul is in extasy on the ice, the Caps fans in the background look ready to jump off a bridge. As a nice bonus to help you feel better about yourself, proceeds from the sale of the book go to Hockey Fights Cancer. Hockey Fights Cancer Tie Speaking of which, the Hockey Fights Cancer neck tie this year is very nice. It is 100% silk, and the lavender colour is very sharp (if you ask me). For the ladies, they also make a HFC Scarf. Silk as well and very nice. Again, a portion of the proceeds go to the charity. NHL Center Ice Package This is a no-brainer, and something I can't believe I don't have. Next year, it will be on my list for sure. You've all heard of it and maybe everyone but me has it. Watch every NHL game all season long with the Center Ice package. For those Saturday nights when you don't want to see Toronto vs Philadelphia and would rather see Minnesota vs Dallas.

Podcast!

This week we talk about the inevitable Brian Burke - Leafs- TSN lovefest, the American Thanksgiving NFL games, more MLB free agency and much much more. Give it a listen and let us know what you think. To listen to the podcast, follow the link below. AS360.com Podcast, Season 3 Ep. 3

Friday, November 28, 2008

Hey, you know who you look like?

Here is perhaps the best athlete/celebrity look-a-like I've ever seen. The only one that beats this is maybe Robert Horry and Will Smith. What do you think?

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Sens 3rd jersey leak

Well Sens fans, I don't know if your season could get any worse, so you be the judge... The team will unveil their new third jerseys Saturday night when they host (and ultimately lose) to the New York Rangers. The Sens have been teasing the jersey and the whole "Back in Black" thing. Wow, a black third jersey, thats original! Anyways, here it is... let us know what you think. I think its gross. All the credit on these third jerseys leaking belongs to this great website.

Podcast(s)!

Well, the third riveting season of the AS360.com podcasts is upon us. After taking the summer off, we are back with our weekly go-around of the sports world. Links are below. Episode 1 - November 5th Hear our thoughts on the recently wrapped up World Series, pending MLB free agency, the start of the NHL season, and Steve's dominating Tennessee Titans. Episode 2 - November 12th "As much as I hate the Maple Leafs, I hate their fans more." Listen to me alienate several friends and family members. We also talk about Pierre McGuire, the Brian Burke-GTA love-fest-a-thon, and NFL MVP talk. Until we figure out to post them here, you can find all our podcasts and at http://podcast.aroundsports360.com/

This is why I don't collect cards anymore

Somewhere in a basement in Picton, there are binders full of hockey and baseball cards. Like 12,000 of them. Some of them are worth some money, some of them are useless and should be burned (I'm looking at you, David Volek). When I was collecting them some time ago, I was an "insert" chaser. Insert cards were called "chasers", and pulling one was pure joy. When I managed to be lucky enough to do so, I would immediately put them in a protective hard plastic holder and set up my bedroom as if it were my own sports card shop. My sister and foster brother were regular customers. Its been about a decade since I stopped collecting. My last hurrah as a sports card enthusiast was a trade show in Toronto. I spent the whole day hunting for all the Tom Barrasso and Dainius Zubrus cards I could find. Personal favourites. Well it seems the luster of collecting has slowed down, as have the profits for the big companies such as Upper Deck and Topps. So what do you do when times get tough? You mix it up. And holy sweet hell have card companies ever done that. The big "chase" card these days? Celebrity hair cards. It is exactly what it sounds like. Yes, you could own a strand of JFK, Babe Ruth, or even Abe Lincoln's precious hair. Don't believe me? Read for yourself!

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Donvan McNabb uses a spoon to eat his Chunky Soup.

After the Philadelphia Eagles and Cincinnati Bengals fought to a 13-13 tie this past weekend, Eagles QB Donovan McNabb talked about his on field performance and whether this may hurt the teams chances of a post-season birth after explaining to reporters NFL overtime rules were unaware to him.
"I Don't think so..." McNabb responded, "We're still in the hunt for a wildcard birth and feel that with the remaining games we have there's still a shot." When asked about future sponsorship deals for the long time Eagle, McNabb wasn't to worried. "Sponsorship deals usually take into account more aspects that just on-field performance. I had a long standing relationship with Campbell's however both parties decided that it was best to part ways".
Asked to explain the relationship further McNabb responded that Campbell's was upset with the athlete after informing the company he wasn't aware both spoons and forks could be used to eat the product. "I always thought that you used a spoon, I was never aware that the fork could be used at all."
Steve

Monday, November 17, 2008

Fantasy Players Beware

I'm relatively new to Fantasy Sports and don't ever plan on leaving. In this wonderful world of Head-to-Heads, Rotisserie's and Salary Caps you can create a team of your favourite players (or least favourite players) depending on their current season production and watch them lead you to victory or defeat. Some owners are waiver nuts, while others (like myself) has patience that rivals very few. The draft of any fantasy sports is something that I always look forward to. Going to a buddy's house or a pub and have a few frosty's while exchanging jabs with your fellow "Fantasy Freaks" is always a good time had by all. A little bonus if you have a significant other is that your given the chance to get out of the house and have a little me time with your friends. However the following information is extremely important and may apply to you if your better half loathes the idea of your involvement in this fantasy world. I came across a site for WAFS (http://www.womenagainstfantasysports.com/), a site dedicated for those scorned by this glorious fantasy sporting world. The site, complete with forums, news, apparel and even spotlights, offers solitude to women crying and whining. If you check out the site look our for their forums and my personal fav' "ways to ruin his draft". Just a heads up guys, you never know what could happen. Steve

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Begun, the MLB free agent wars have

We are just over 24 hours into Major League Baseball's free agent frenzy, and the first move has been made by (surprise!) the New York Yankees. Apparently the Yanks have offered rotund lefty C.C. Sabathia a six-year deal worth over $137.5 million, more than Johan Santana got last year from the Mets. The deal would obviously make the portly fellow the highest paid pitcher in baseball history. The New York Mets seem to have their hat in the fray as well. Unbelievably, but not surprisingly, the Yankees are going after not only C.C., but A.J. Burnett AND Derek Lowe. In other words, just the three best pitchers on the open market this year. Burnett is a sure fire bet to land there, but Lowe on the other hand I'm not so sure. It would make the free agent period very boring if the Yanks went out and got all three of those guys PLUS Manny Ramirez. Oh, and they are working on a deal with the Padres for Jake Peavy. Think the Yankees are a little pissed off about last season?

(Probably our first and last) High School Football report

I caught a little bit of this story on SportsCentre this week, but its popping up again on Yahoo! Oaks Christian High School in California is boasting a pretty decent pedigree of players these days. The starting quarterback is Nick Montana, son of Hall of Famer Joe. You mighta heard of him before. Montana and his team are cruising through the regular season. Oaks Christian is ranked 95th by Yahoo! sports, after being well off the charts to start the season. Add Wayne Gretzky's and Will Smith's kid to the picture, and you have a pretty interesting team. Their fellow teammates will love the paparazzi influence I'm sure. (Yahoo! Sports Rival High)

Friday, November 14, 2008

Fired!

Barry, we hardly knew ye. The most famous mullet is sports is sans job as of this afternoon. Barry Melrose has been fired from his head coaching duties with the drastically under-achieving Tampa Bay Lightning. It was a joke of a hiring from the start, Steve and I both agreed on that (I think). Rick "The Gambler" Tocchet takes over the Lightning squad for the time being. Tampa is a woeful 5-7-4 to start the season, one that began with a lot of promise and new faces, most notably that of first overall draft pick Steven Stamkos. Melrose was criticized for the lack of playing time he gave the star rookie.

Onrait wants Manny in a Jays uniform

One of the best personalities TSN has these days is Jay Onrait. Actually, he is pretty much the only bright spot on an overly-serious network that is growing lame.
Today marks the start of MLB's free agent frenzy, and players are able to sign with the team that offers them the most cashitos.
Onrait's blug at TSN.ca today is all about J.P Ricciardi and how he should bring Manny Ramirez to the Blue Jays. Its a longshot (even Onrait admits that), but it would really solve a lot of problems with the Jays, most notably its anemic offence.
"I know what you're thinking: "Onrait, there's no way Manny signs in Toronto" and I admit it's a massive long-shot. But during J.P's entire rocky tenure as General Manager of the Toronto Blue Jays, there has never been a single, one-shot opportunity to change his fortunes with the signing of one player. One player who can flat-out hit right now and will probably be able to flat-out hit for the next 5 seasons."
Jay has a point and many Jays fans hope the longshot odds play out. Too good to be true though, in all likelihood.
Read the entire blog, here....

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Eat it, Pierre!

So, as a Penguins fan, its fair to say I had a vented interest in the Stanley Cup Finals rematch tonight in Detroit. I don't have TSN 2, so I was stuck watching the Habs shutout the Sens, while listening to the Pens/Wings online. Things weren't going well in the second period. TSN broke to a highlight when the Wings scored to make it 5-2. When they got back from the clip, here is what Pierre "Turtle, Turtle" McGuire had to say: "Thats just men playing boys there. It was like that all the Finals last year and its still like that now." Nice call, Pierre. Sure enough, the Pens come back, tie it at 6 in the last minute and win the game in overtime. Oh how I wish I could somehow ram his tiny, albino foot down his skrawny turtle neck. Maybe that would make me one of McGuires Monsters. For anybody else looking to hate on this loud, arrogant hockey "expert", there are no shortage of anti-Pierre groups on the Facebook. I decided on People Against Pierre McGuire.

This little kid just won the Cy Young

The little kid is of course San Francisco Giants phenom Tim Lincecum. Not really much of a surprise, he had my vote (if I had one. Surprisingly, I do not). Lincecum was 18-5 for the horrible Giants, with an MLB leading 265 strikeouts. He also posted a second-best N.L earned run average of 2.62. Opponents hit just .221 against him. Not too shabby. Here is how the voting broke down... 1. Tim Lincecum 137 pts 2. Brandon Webb 73 pts 3. Johan Santana 55 pts 4. Brad Lidge 10 pts 5. C.C Sabathia 9 pts 6. Ryan Dempster 4 pts The American League Cy Young award will be awarded on Thursday, with Cliff Lee the favourite to win it. Throw in Roy Halladay and K-rod in the discussion too, they'll both get first place votes. I can't write about Lincecum without throwing another jab at inept Blue Jays G.M J.P Ricciardi. Rumours were floating around this time last year that a Alex Rios-for-Lincecum deal was in the works. Obvioulsy it never panned out and I had to watch Rios phone it in every game he played for the Jays this summer.

Monday, November 10, 2008

Holliday wants to go to a perennial contender, so Oakland makes sense

Matt Holliday is apparently on the move to the Oakland Athletics, in a deal that apparently will see closer Huston Street head to the Coors Light State. This is a bit of surprise. Last week, the should-have-been 2007 National League MVP (see image) stated that he wanted to be dealt to a team that has a chance to compete for the World Series year in and year out. Apparently, that team is Oakland. Quick! Name five other current Oakland A's! I can't either. Doesn't matter though, Holliday is one hell of a pick up for Oakland, but does he make them an immediate favourite in the A.L West? He'll need some help. And a better question is do the A's have the resources to lock him up after next season? Might they be starting to build their empire now, preparing to move into a new stadium in the next few seasons?

The self destruction of Big John Daly

By now, everybody has heard about the latest John Daly fuck up. Passed out in a Hooters, although if you listen to the big man himself, he was merely "sleeping with his eyes open." John Daly has always been a guy I've secretly rooted for, and I don't think I am alone. The guy keeps digging a bigger hole for himself, almost daily. If he ever perseveres and puts it all together again, it would be one of the best feel-good stories in all of sports history. But thats a longer shot than Daly is off the tee. Gambling, divocre(s), drinking, chain-smoking, its all a regular part of Daly's life. He has gone on record as saying that he has lost $60 million gambling over the years. Good christ. There is a terrific article up on Yahoo! Sports about Big John and his downfall. Read it here.

Thursday, November 6, 2008

NHL related election propoganda!

These are all courtesy of the Puck Daddy blog at Y! Sports... I'll post my fave three.... here is the link to the rest.

Sunday, November 2, 2008

Hockey Canada vs IOC = logo-gate!

So because of a suuuuuper serious IOC rule, Hockey Canada may have to change its trademark maple leaf logo for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. There are so many menial and strict rules that surround the Olympics, and this one is certainly up there. Bob Nicholson, Hockey Canada President is none too happy... "I can't believe that they're taking a chunk of history, especially when we're hosting it in our country... They're putting Team Canada at a disadvantage in its own country." The decision could have a lot of consequences, both on and off the ice. (TSN)