Sunday, November 30, 2008 - Gift of Gab

-Sorry for the lack of content, it's that time of year again for college students, so expect a decrease in attendance from yours truly.
-Even after being stuck in an elevator for 50 minutes, Chris Bosh had another all-world performance, scoring 30 points, pulling down 10 rebounds and dishing out 7 assists, in the Raptors win over the Hawks.
-Lebron James' response to Sir Charles, "He's Stupid." Weak.
-Someone send the Pittsburgh (AP) a memo to follow their team a tad more closely, and particularly, their heralded saviour.
-Idiot of the week: none other than the Giants' Plaxico Burress accidentally shot himself in the leg in a Manhattan nightclub, and his teammate hid the weapon afterwards...there goes the Giants' dream season.
-It's been while since I've made a Blue Jays comment, so here it is, a typical Riccardi move - it's AJ Burnett or bust this offseason, apparently, likely meaning it could be Jesse Litsch of Burnett as the #2, neither of which is exactly music to my, and I'm sure any fan's ears.
-Strange that free-agent Ben Sheets has received little mention in the busiest time of the year with regards to baseball and even sports in general, the off-season. How AJ Burnett is garnering so much attention is beyond me - I mean, he's older and just as injury prone, yet demanding more of the green paper.
-Seeing as the Brian Burke situation is semi-official, you can expect a lot of unnecessary anti-Euro gab coming from Don Cherry in due time...
-If this doesn't say something about the Warriors defence, or lack thereof, I don't know what does.
-Don Garber says that the next expansion franchise in the MLS will cost $40 million, which is 4 times the amount Toronto FC (now worth $44M) was, and that now the average value of a team has risen to $37 mill.
-The Raptors visit LA tonight to entertain Kobe Bryant and the Lakers, who are 12 point favs according to Vegas. Good way to pick up some spare change just in time for Christmas.

Moving onto videos unrelated to sports, an oldie but a classic, Aries Spears doing a medley of your favourite hip-hop artists:

Tuesday, November 18, 2008 - Basic Arithmetic

-Rogers has been taking a lot of heat from Raptors fans for the TSN2 controversy, and with Sunday's game against the Miami Heat being the first of what will be 25 games aired exclusively on the network, I sure don't envy the folks working at their customer service call centers.
-Albert Pujols wins his second NL MVP award despite the Cardinals' 4th place finish and despite Ryan Howard's monster numbers for the World Series Champs. I think you get the point that I'm trying to make.
-I'm calling it right here, Kevin Youkilis of the BoSox wins AL MVP this year. Well, that's who I would have chosen anyhow.
-It's been four games and Pacman Jones is still awaiting the reply of commissioner Roger Goodell to be re-instated into the NFL.
-Mark Cuban gets caught pulling a "Martha Stewart" in a civil suit, so no jail-time - and somewhere Bud Selig is grinning. A perfect reason not to sell him the Cubs.
-Shaq has always been one of the more confident sports personalities, but his recent remarks on him and Kobe being the best Lakers duo ever, definitely puts him over the top. Sorry Shaq, but basic math tells me that 5 'chips is greater than 3, so I'm giving the nod to Magic and Kareem.
-Former Orangeman, Demetris Nichols was waived by the Chicago Bulls yesterday. I always hate to see any player out of 'cuse cut.
-Don Cherry was up to his usual Canuck slurping antics on Coaches Corner, with this nearly predictable quote regarding Brian Burke possibly coming to the Leafs: "We'll finally get some Canadians on this club and win some games"

Forget what I said about PTI full epi's in the last entry, that's only for insider's apparently...

Thursday, October 30, 2008 - Pardon the Imitation

-New blog name Pardon the Imitation, and this one's staying. Curt Schilling called out Manny Ramirez to epic proportions recently on his own blog, 38patches.
-The World Champion Phillies finished 88-0 record in games they were leading after the eighth inning - and I think it's safe to say Brad Lidge might have had a hand in that statistic.
-Greg Oden is injured again, in his first NBA game, about 2 min in...he's out for 2-4 weeks.
-David Beckham is heading back to Europe, AC Milan to be specific on a loan contract. I wish the Raptors could "loan" Kobe for a season or two...
-What are the Dallas Cowboys made of, glass?
-Gregg Poppovich called for the Hack-A-Shaq 5 seconds into the Suns-Spurs game, and Shaq was a good sport about it, sharing a laugh with Pops afterwards.
-The Ottawa Senators are looking for a goalie. Where's Ray Emery when you need him? Oh, that's right Russia!
-For a city fan-base who "booed Santa" at one point, it's sad that the last time (before this year's Phillies, of course) a team from the 4 major sports won it all was the '82-'83 76ers.
-The Lakers are "shipping his ass" in. Andrew Bynum's that is, with a $58M extension.
-Alex Rodriquez had lunch with a Kabbalah rabbi - Madonna's doings for sure. Unrelated, Derek Jeter said he's a fan of Friday Night Lights, but didn't answer to "who's your favourite character?".
-More news on Brett Favre (surprise, surprise), with the latest being rumours of the former Packer having a vendetta against his former team and giving tips to other teams. For more Favre-related drama, check out their family blog.
-Manny Legace sustained a hip injury slipping on a carpet. What a joke. Ice is no big deal, but watch out for them nasty carpets!
-Isiah Thomas' post-NBA legacy keeps getting better and better, as he has thrown his own daughter under the bus after the sleeping pill overdose incident.
-Guns N' Roses' Chinese Democracy is finally coming out (after ages of waiting), and has already leaked all over the web.
-Video of the day: Tony Hawk, Michael Phelps, Alex Rodriguez and Kobe Bryant in a Guitar Hero: World Tour ad - and a throw-back to Risky Business.