Guessing is a fools game anyway! The closest of all the predictions was Wheeler's tri-fecta. While Campbell "to the West" wasn't exactly a bold one, it did come true and, frankly, it's the only thing any of us came close to.

Tune in to the show tonight (10:00pm on Men TV, 11:00pm on Sun TV, 7:30am tomorrow repeat) for our Trade Deadline review. The panel - Koshan, Rumack and Dankoff - still think the Ducks are the team to beat.

Okay, so we're all strapped in ready for what will be, please!, a BUSY day of NHL Trades. To spice it up, I've asked the sports department staff to come up with one bold predication. Whoever gets their prediction right, gets a pint at Betty's from me. So here goes:

Matthew Cauz (LOVES hockey): "Marian Hossa to Ottawa for Vermette, a quality player and 2nd-round draft pick."

Corey Struthers (Coco):
Made some bad (really bad) joke about a bowel movement and then, "Olli Jokinen to Ottawa for Vermette, Brian Lee and a 1st-round pick."

Gareth Wheeler (Man U fan):
"Hossa to Habs... Campbell to Western Conference... Federov to Red Wings." Because none of these are dead-specific, Wheels must get all 3 to earn the pint. On on a side note, Wheels doesn't have the stones to put it on record, but he wants to put it on record in an off the record kind of way: "Ray Emery will be traded". I then reminded him that a BETTER goalie with a brain (Ilya Bryzgalov) was put on waivers earlier this year.

Garth MacNeill (intern):
"Bryan McCabe and/or Nik Antropov to Detroit." That's bold enough, so much so, I aint even asking for what the Leafs get back.

Robert Gibson (me):
"Rob Blake to the Colorado Avalanche" and because it's not specific enough this as well: "Bryan McCabe to the New York Rangers"

Pint, Pint, Pint, Pint!

For a while it seemed like the last trade for the 2008 NHL Trade Deadline was going to be Jim Vandermeer to Calgary for the Flames 2009 third-round pick...yikes! But thankfully action has picked up in the last few hours. Here's a little summary.

- Peter Forsberg signs a one-year deal with the Colorado Avalanche

- Barret Jackman signs a four year extension with the St.Louis Blues

- Vaclav Prospal traded to the Philadelphia Flyers for Alexandre Picard and a second or third round draft pick in 2009

- Dan Boyle signs a six year extension with the Tampa Bay Lightning

With rumblings that Pavel Kubina might actually waive his no-trade, Brad Richards more than likely gone thanks to the Dan Boyle extension, Marian Hossa available and Brian Campbell's situation still up in the air, tomorrow looks like it will indeed turn out to be an eventful day in the NHL.

Be sure to catch our NHL Trade Deadline review show tomorrow(Tuseday) night on both Sun TV at 11pm and Men TV at 10pm.


Take off,
Coco

As I'm sure you've all heard, Mats Sundin will not be waiving his no-trade clause and will be finishing the 2007-08 NHL season with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

I understand Sundin loves Toronto and the Leafs. I also understand that he didn't want to look like he was abandoning the sinking ship. Lastly, I also understand that he has the right to exercise the no-trade clause that is in his contract. However, after all of these understandings, I still believe, like most Leaf fans, that Sundin should have waived his no-trade for the better of the team.

Trading Sundin to a contending team for at least a top prospect and 1st round pick would have been a great help in starting the rebuild that this team desperately needs. Not only that, it might have lead to McCabe waiving his no-trade, then Kubina and then maybe even Tucker and/or Kaberle. Instead, it seems highly unlikely any of the four remaining players will waive their no-trades and Fletcher is left with trying to get the most for players such as Jason Blake, Alexei Ponikarovsky and Nik Antropov.

Since Mats is staying and the rebuild has to start sooner rather than later, one player that Cliff should shop in the remaining hours is Vesa Toskala. Toskala is the only tradeable Leaf, depending on how GM's rate Antropov, that would bring in a good return to help start a rebuild. Now before you flip out, remember that winning from here on in only hurts the Leafs draft position and Vesa is also a 30-year old, 31 in May, goaltender with groin problems.

So you're next question is, "Who will be the Leafs #1 goaltender?" That answer is simple, Justin Pogge. I can just hear it now, "But look what happened to Marc-Andre Fleury." The situation is completely different. Fleury was drafted 1st overall and made his impact at the World Junior Championship and was being looked at as the next goalie to shine at the WJHC and then translate that into a stellar NHL career, ala Roberto Luongo. Pogge on the other hand was a 90th overall pick and didn't show up on anyone's radar until he had a solid camp in 2005. Also, unlike Fleury, he had to earn his job as the #1 goaltender for Team Canada at the World Juniors. Pogge is very tough mentally and playing behind a young inexperienced team wouldn't affect him like it did Fleury.

Any way you slice it, Sundin is remaining a Leaf for the rest of the season and Mr.Fletcher has to now become creative in starting the rebuild process for the Leafs.


Take off,
Coco

Dear Leaf fans,



Man, it has been a really tough year for you guys. Your team is fighting to stay out of last place, the roster is littered with bad contracts, you have no blue chip prospects on the horizon, and the most pro-active move the organization has made is to find guys over the age of 70 to turn the ship around. Wow. I almost feel bad for you. Almost.



You see, I’m a New York Knicks fan. I have been for about 15 years, and when it comes to being hitched with a bad team, you guys don’t know what suffering really is. So, with the Knicks playing the Raptors tonight and the Leafs in their worst stretch since… well, I’m not old enough to remember a worse time… I thought it would be fun to look at who has it worse right now: Leaf Fans or Knicks Fans.


(One)

Has any Toronto General Manager or Coach ever destroyed an entire minor league? No? Well, guess what, Isiah Thomas has. Eighteen months after he purchased the Continental Basketball Association, the league went bankrupt. To quote Champ Kind, “That’s a whammy!”


(Two)

Last time I checked, no senior member of MLSE is or has ever been charged with sexual harassment. Let’s see, what famous former NBA player-turned-Coach/GM has been charged? Oh yeah, that’s right, Isiah Thomas. But wait, there’s more! He wasn’t just charged-- he was found guilty and MSG was forced to pay $11.6 million in damages. You may remember this trial for two great Isiah Moments:



#1 During the trial it came out that Isiah believes it is far worse for a white man to call a black woman a “bitch” than for a black man to make the same comment. That’s classy with a capital K!



#2 After being found guilty, Isiah served up a great one-liner outside the courtroom: “I’m innocent-- I’m very innocent.” Is it me or does Isiah sound like a 9-year-old trying to persuade his mommy that he didn’t take the last Pillsbury Cinnamon Roll. The only thing missing was for Isiah to spew out “Swear to God!”


(Three)

Sure, the Leafs lost 8-0 to Florida, but is that any worse than the Knicks losing by 40 to Philly?


(Four)

Speaking of that game… during Leafs’ road games, do fans ever chant “Fire Maurice”? Well, the 76er fans were doing that. Has this ever happened with any other coach?


(Five)

Are there any videos of Darcy Tucker throwing water at Mats Stajan during a game? I didn’t think so. Well, there is video evidence of Zack Randolph doing just that to Nate Robinson earlier this week. Nice discipline. If Isiah was a parent and the team his kids, he would be part of a special two-hour edition of “Nanny 911.”


(Six)

At the end of the ’05-’06 season, the Knicks had the highest payroll in the NBA, yet they garnered the second-worst record. Can the Leafs make the same claim? Oh wait, it gets better. Last season, the Knicks set a record for payroll at just over $190,000,000, and they finished 23rd overall. This season the Knicks again have the highest payroll, and again they are near the bottom in league standings.


(Seven)

Kubina, Hal Gill and McCabe may have bad deals, but at least they play. The Knicks are paying Jared Jeffries (5-year, $30 million ) and Jerome James (5-year $30 million) to do nothing. Currently they are slated to make a combined $11.4 million this year, but they’re averaging less than eight minutes and about 2.4 points per game.


(Eight)

Yeah, the Raycroft trade was lousy, but compare that to the Knicks’ trade for Eddy Curry. Curry plays hard for roughly one half, gets tired because he is out of shape, and then spends the next half collecting his breath. Eddy will make about $9 million this season. But the money and production aren’t even close to the bad part. The Knicks could have had the #2 overall pick and the #9 overall pick in the last two drafts. Hey, losing out on Tuukka Rask is tough but I’m not sure it’s as painful as knowing you’re stuck with an overweight centre with a heart condition vs. having Joakim Noah and Brandon Roy locked up.


(Nine)

I don’t remember the last time Gary Bettman was forcibly urged to step in and fire Richard Peddie, Larry Tanenbaum, Paul Maurice and John Ferguson. I do remember reports that David Stern was being asked to clean up the mess that is the New York Knicks.


(Ten)

New York’s alleged “best player,” Stephon Marbury, threatened to expose Isiah Thomas’ dirtiest secrets unless he got his starting job again, revealed to having sex in the back seat of his car with a team intern, and has made a habit of mysteriously disappearing from the team. Mats Sundin’s only crime is he doesn’t want to go play for another team because he is committed to making the Leafs better. Oh, by the way, Marbury will make $19 million this year while Sundin is on the books for a mere $5.5 million.



I’d like to write a witty final conclusion, but to be honest I’m way too depressed right now.

When it comes to the Maple Leafs their is no better source than Mike Zeisberger. Mike breaks down what to expect with the trade deadline looming:

Just keeping this short and sweet ...

The NBA trade deadline's tomorrow at 3pm, and I want nothing more than to see this potential trade go down! VC TO THE KNICKS!!

The rumour goes like this;

Knicks get: Vince Carter

Heat get: Eddy Curry

Nets get: Jason Williams and Ricky Davis (expiring contracts)

Now, I don't want to get into the stupidity of EVER trading for Eddy Curry, but VC on the Knicks! ... that's priceless! That's exactly what Isiah needs - another over-paid, flake to "turn-around" their franchise. MAKE THIS HAPPEN ISIAH, MAKE THIS HAPPEN!

You can catch our NBA trade deadline review show Thursday night at 11pm on SUN TV.

gw

If you’re a sports fan there is nothing better right now than the NBA’s Western Conference. The final 30 games are going to be ridiculous. Just how crazy is it?
Well if the Spurs lose their next three games in a row they could easily be the 9th seed.
Now before I continue let me first say I’m biased on this topic. Over the past three years I have taken many a late afternoon nap just so I could be awake for these games, both in the regular season and in the playoffs.
I feel old just reading that last sentence, moving on.

So for the rest of the season I’ll preview the week’s best game’s involving Western Conference teams:

Tuesday February 19th … Golden State @ Utah

Why to watch:
-Golden State has dropped two games already to the Jazz, but that was without the services of Stephon Jackson. Let’s see how this game plays out now that both teams are relatively fully healthy.
-Little known fact, at 7-1, no team in the West has a better record in games decided by three points or less than the Warriors.
-Baron Davis vs. Deron Williams
-Combined these teams have won 16 of their past 20 games.

Wednesday February 20th … LA Lakers @ Phoenix

Why to watch:
-Shaq vs. Kobe … need I say more? … Actually yes.
-Everyone wants to see how Shaq handles himself in the Phoenix offense.
-This will only be the second team that the Lakers will have faced with a winning record since acquiring Pau Gasol. Let’s see how the new look Lakers look against an elite NBA team.
-Just how is Kobe’s finger?
-Phoenix eliminated the Lakers in the last two years in the playoffs so these games always have an added element of bad blood.

Thursday February 21st … Seattle @ Portland

Why to watch:
-Okay this isn’t exactly Spurs/Suns but there are only three games on tap.
-Between Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge and Kevin Durant you have three of the most promising players under the age of 24 on the court.

Friday February 22nd … Boston @ Phoenix

Why to watch:
-Potentially a preview of the NBA Finals with the #2 team in the West taking on the top team in the East.
-Less NBA star power then was at the All Star Game but certainly more than was at the Atlanta Goldclub Trial.
-Rajon Rondo’s defense vs. Steve Nash. The Celtics don’t need much O from Rondo but let’s see how he defends the 2-Time league MVP.
-Amare Stoudamire vs. Kevin Garnett

Saturday February 23rd … New Orleans @ San Antonio

Why to watch:
-Last time these teams met in San Antonio it was the Hornets who blew out the Spurs 102-78. Let’s see just what kind of revenge Popovich and company have in mind. Pride can cause Bruce Bowen to do some pretty dirty things on the court.
-Speaking of Bowen he managed only one rebound in 24 minutes. I want to see what he has in store for the Hornets front court. If I was Peja Stojakovic I’d watch my knees.
-It is around this time that San Antonio normally wakes up from their first half slumber and rips off 16 wins in 20 games. Let’s see if they still have that in them.

Sunday February 24th … Detroit @ Phoenix

Why to watch:
-It’s always fun to watch two teams with completely different offensive styles go at it.
-Shaq vs. Rasheed & Billups vs. Nash
-Eastern pride. With the gap between the two conferences growing it’s time for the Pistons to step up and show that an elite team from the East Coast can keep up.
-It’s a Sunday afternoon, the weather is lousy and you still have hours to find out if ‘No Country For Old Men’ will win for best picture.

The one team people aren’t talking about enough are the Utah Jazz. They are 18-3 over their past 21 games.

Read that sentence again!

They beat a hot Trailblazers team, blew out both Phoenix and the Western Conference leading New Orleans Hornets by 22 points, Orlando, San Antonio and Denver during this run.

Utah is built for the playoffs. They have the point guard and big man in Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer respectively that you need to get through a seven game series. They got the defensive stopper in Andrei Kirilenko and a more than serviceable centre in Mehmet Okur.

Then there is Kyle Korver. Over looked in all the mega deals that have happened or will happen is the deal that sent Korver to the Utah Jazz. The team needed a pure jump shooter to help spread the floor and oh by the way the team started its crazy hot steak after they acquired Korver.

On New Years Eve the Jazz were 16-16 when Korver joined the team. The Jazz are now 34-19. I’m not saying he is the main reason but he has more than played his part in leading this resurgence.

Finally they have Jerry Sloan, one of the most underrated coaches in sports on the bench. A lot of people thought he was done about five years ago but instead he has created the Utah Jazz 2.0 with Boozer and Williams playing the roles of Karl Malone and John Stockton.

No one is talking about them because they just aren’t that a sexy team. They don't give great sound bite, they aren’t exactly in a major market and none of their stars are very marketable (Deron Williams will be in two years).

Just remember the Utah Jazz are first in their conference and more importantly they have the second best point differential in the Western Conference at 6.0 points per game.

Don’t be surprised if it is the Jazz and not the Lakers or Suns going to the finals.

Wow, if you're reading this - we really do love you. But, please, why stop here?! You can look elsewhere for witty sports banter. Here's a short list of some of the main websites/blogs I'll visit on a daily basis to stay in the loop:

Cot's Baseball Contracts - http://mlbcontracts.blogspot.com/ - Cot's compiles every single contract in MLB on one website. And this isn't just $5M/year for 6 years type crap - we're talking DETAILS. For example, did you know Roy Halladay is obligated, as per his contract, to donate $100,000 per year to the Jays Care Foundation?

CNNSI - http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/ - "CNNSI" is my newest favourite "all sports" website. Lost among the other "all sports" sites such as espn.com, tsn.ca and yahoo.com/sports etc is this one. The "my SI" option is the coolest of all the "persoanlize this website" crap that most sites seem to be doing now. "Extra Mustard" is their better version of espn.com's "Page 2"...

Dobber's Hockey - http://www.dobberhockey.com/index.php - Good fantasy hockey websites seem few and far between and Dobber's "Daily Ramblings" is a must for all fantasy hockey nerds.

Drunk Jays Fans - http://drunkjaysfans.blogspot.com/ - Flat-out my favourite sports blog on the web right now. The mainstream media's coverage of the Jays leaves a true fan wanting more and these guys deliver. From the players to management and even the local media - NO ONE is safe from drunk analysis. Hey, I thought us here at THE GRILL ROOM were the only one's to have a crush on Mike Wilner.

Kukla's Korner - http://www.kuklaskorner.com/ - You gotta love the blogs that go out of their way to scour every single major daily newspaper in North America for YOU. This is what Kukla does (at least from a hockey perspective) and provides a tease and a link for all NHL-related stories that TSN may have ignored.

Nothing But Leafs - http://blog.rogersradiointernet.com/nothingbutleafs/ - Howard Berger, who has been following this Leafs beat since I can remember, uses the FAN 590 site to, essentially, offer one of the most honest perspectives of the Leafs you'll find on the web. He's connected, opinionated and NOT one to mince words when it comes to trashing the team he's paid to follow. A definite good read for Leafs fans (who he can sober up) and Leafs haters (who can offer some non-biased insight).

Pro Football Talk - http://profootballtalk.com/- Any huge (read: nerdy) football fan knows this site. it's been around forever and stays true to it's budget roots despite it's growth in popularity.

Roto World - http://www.rotoworld.com/ - You a fantasy nerd? You want all your sports news to relate, somehow in someway to your fantasy league - these guys do that. THE place to go for fantasy geeks of all stripes. MLB, NFL, NHL and NBA all considered.

Sports By Brooks - http://www.sportsbybrooks.com/ - Deadspin usually gets all the acclaim but I dig SBB even more. Probably the first blog I ever came across. The sports news is brilliant - you'll find stuff here no one else will DARE touch. Bonus - the babes. Brooks has his own stable of amazingly hot women who are featured in very little clothing.

Truth & Rumours - http://www.fannation.com/truth_and_rumors - Straight up, who doesn't like a good sports rumour? This is the place to start for all major leagues.

True Hoop - http://myespn.go.com/nba/truehoop - What to say here: want a lot of ball news, links, stats, kickers one one page? Go here.

Wall Street Journal's The Daily Fix - http://blogs.wsj.com/dailyfix/ - I know, I know you're probably all "Wall Street Journal"??? - but trust a bro, these guys make it simple: their mission is to find the "best sportswriting on the Web" and present it to you. A great way to discover good sportwriting from other cities.

If you have others that, you think, should be on this list, please let us know...

I wanted to post my thoughts on the Brian McNamee and Roger Clemens hearing yesterday, but I thought it would be a wise move to wait 24 hours to digest my thoughts first. So here they are.

Roger Clemens took steroids/HGH. After everything that has gone on since the Mitchell Report came out, it is painfully obvious that he has. Yes, some of what McNamee says seems sketchy and he is a slime ball. However, you can't ignore the fact that he said he also injected Andy Pettitte and Chuck Knoblauch with steroids/HGH and they've both said that they have taken steroids and McNamee was telling the truth. Also, Pettitte told Congress that he had two conversations with Mr.Clemens about HGH and that Roger told him he had taken it.

My personal highlight from yesterday's hearing was when Roger didn't know what a Vegan was. Which brings me to Clemens biggest flaw in his lie, B12 injections. Sure, he takes, or took, B12, thats fine, no problem there. But, they have this wonderful vitamin in pill form, which he said he took. So, why would he all of a sudden decide to take a couple shots of this from a needle instead? Because his mama told him to? I don't think so.

Then, when he was getting hit over the head, he started saying statements such as, "as far as I know", when talking about what he knew was in the needles of his injections. What does he mean by that? All of the professional athletes I've met and talked to have said they don't have anyone put anything into their body unless they know %100 what it is.

It's been a valiant effort for William Roger Clemens, but it's time he sets his massive ego aside, faces the music, and tells the world what it already knows.

Don't worry though Roger. Whatever money troubles you run into, I'm sure the Yankees are willing to give you another $22,222,222 contract.


Take off,
Coco

Valentine’s Day, the holiday that all women profess they do not care about, as long as you do something nice/thoughtful. It is supposed to be about love, but for many couples it’s about fear. Women fear their husband/boyfriend will either forget or get them something that has nothing to do with them or their relationship. Men fear having to find the right gift/gesture.

Well, in the world of sports, I fear there is too much love going on. Say what you want, but what makes sports so riveting is the pure unadulterated hate. Nothing makes a storyline better than animosity. So, for my extra special Valentine’s Day blog, here are five of my favourite hate-inspired sporting events:

(1) 2002 Women’s Hockey Gold Medal Game: Canada vs. America

I’ll be the first to admit I am not a huge hockey fan, and I am even less a fan of women’s sports in general. It has nothing to do with the fact that the participants have a greater amount of estrogen than their male counterparts. I just find women’s sports slower and less athletic. Should I feel guilty about that? I don’t think so.

Anyway… if you remember, rumours were swirling that the American team had stomped on a Canadian flag in their locker room. Nothing gets the hate going like a good dose of nationalistic fervor. I couldn’t wait to watch this game. Not because I enjoy the passive beauty that is women’s hockey, but because these teams genuinely did not like one another. Also, to be fair, those Canadian teams were stacked with talented players, many of whom do belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

(2) Any Playoff series with the San Antonio Spurs

From Tim Duncan bitching on every call to the amazing Flopping Brothers (Tony Parker and his loveable sidekick Manu Ginobili), there is little to like about this team. Whoever their opponent is instantly becomes my favourite team.

(3) Terrell Owens vs. the Ravens, Eagles, the Media, Bill Parcells... et cetera

No player in sports has been such a lightning rod for controversy than Owens. Forget Sprewell choking his coach, Iverson’s homophobic rap album or Todd Bertuzzi’s on-ice thuggery; no athlete delivers the goods like Owens. He single-handedly has kept the sports media industry alive.

Terrell took an already great rivalry like Cowboys/Eagles and transported it to a whole other level. Or what about Owens taunting Ray Lewis? Who else would do this???? Just a refresher: the man was involved in a double murder many years back, and is the most intimidating player in the NFL. I can’t think of another player who openly makes fun of Ray Lewis.

(4) The Yankees vs. anyone in the playoffs

Like the Spurs, the Yankees are a great villain. And when it comes to the Yankees, attention must be paid. You either love them or you hate them. I, personally, hate the idea of them winning another World Series, but even more than that, I hate the thought of them not making the playoffs. I don’t remember Minnesota vs. Oakland a couple years back, but I sure remember Joba Chamberlain getting attacked by flies as Cleveland defeated New York, or two years ago when Kenny Rogers was masterful against that crazy lineup. They always make great theatre. No one corners the market of a great “good vs. evil” sports storyline like the Yankees vs. Insert Other Team Here.

(5) Vince Carter

He quit on his team, he quit on his coach, and he quit on his own talents. Vince Carter represents all that is wrong with pro sports, and he is an easy athlete to hate. You might not care about the Nets, but I bet you love seeing Nets highlights when Vince goes down with an “injury” and his fellow teammates grudgingly draw straws to see whose turn it is to pick his ass up. That scene always reminds me of the lack of enthusiasm from the San Francisco Giants to congratulate Barry Bonds at Home Plate every time he passed another home run milestone.

One of my favourite moments from the Raptors home playoff games last year was when the crowd started up their own chant without help from the Jumbotron: “Let’s go Raptors … Vince Carter Sucks!” You see, that sort of spontaneous reaction can only come from hate.

Man, I love moments like that.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

In celebration of the Raptors' 1,000th game, allow me to present my Top Ten Raptor moments:

#10 - Watching Zan Tabak get the ball in the low post and pretend to be Hakeem Olajuwon. Always killed me seeing him try his assorted collection of horrible post moves that usually led to a turnover or the ball being flung at the side of the back board.

#9 - Speaking of Hakeem, my next favourite moment is Olajuwon's contract. 3-Year, $17.4 million for a creaky 38 year old centre? Check out his stats: 61 games played / 37 games started / 7.1 PPG & 6.0 RPG.
Good to see Vince Carter's as good a GM as he is a player.

#8 - Watching all the players flat-out refuse to play for the Raptors.

My personal favourites inlcude:

-BJ Armstrong (The Raptors first overall pick in the expansion draft, never showed up at training camp. Good times.)
-Kenny Anderson (Part of the convoluted Damon Stoudamire
trade back in '98.)
-Alonzo Mourning (Forget the Vince Carter trade, most Raptor fans will tell you that Rob Babcock's decision to buy out the remainder of Alonzo's contract for a reported $10 million
was the worst move he ever made.)

#7 - April 12, 1996. Acie Earl scores 40 pints against the Celtics. Just an incredible anomaly. Oh sure the team lost 136-108 but it was Acie freakin Earl!

#6 - The Toronto crowd booing the selection of Damon Stoudamire over oft-injured Ed O'Bannon. Clearly it would take some time before Raptor fans actually understood the game of basketball. O'Bannon played in a total of 128 games, scoring 5.0 PPG, and I still get asked every now and then about why a player is shooting a free throw.

#5 - The mishandling of Chauncey Billups. The future NBA Finals MVP played a grand total of 29 games for the Raps. He shot a career worst .349 from the field and averaged only 3.3 APG. Nice job Darrell Walker.

#4 - Sitting with media mogul and former 'Off The Record' producer Bob Mackowycz at Game Four of the Playoffs vs. the Knicks. We were only a couple rows from front court side seats, perfect taunting distance from Marcus Camby. Now, remember Camby had missed Game Three to be with his family after his mom and two sisters had been held hostage for eight hours by some nut job who knew the family. Was it wrong for
me to yell out "Hey, Marcus, the kidnappers called. They're holding your shot hostage"? Probably.

#3 - Oliver Miller. Miller proved that it isn't impossible to be obese and be a pro basketball player. Seriously, how you can be fat and play in the NBA? Wouldn't you sweat out about 5-10 pounds every day at practice? Just imagine his eating regime.

#2 - Charles Oakley vs. Tyrone Hill. Oak had a blood feud going with Tyrone, who owed Oakley $54,000 from an earlier dice game. Before one game, Charles started tossing basketballs at him. Great quote from Eric Snow: "Every time we play each other, Oakley says something about Hill. He'll say 'Where's Hill at?"
You would never see that today. With players like Vince Carter practically French-kissing opponents before games-- there just isn't any hate left in the game. Oak was one of a kind.

#1 - Charles Oakley vs. Jeff McInnis. This time the bad blood was over a woman. Apparently McInnis was going after a woman that Oakley was dating.

Big mistake.

Charles is like the villain Anton Chigurh from 'No Country for Old Men'. If you piss off the Oak Man, he will get
you, guaranteed. This time Oakley sucker-punched Jess in the head while he was sitting on the bench. The lesson is, as always, don't mess with Charles Oakley.

The rebirth of Eli Manning

After writing off Eli Manning near the end of the 2007 season I never thought he could win me back over.
Oh sure Eli had a winning record and had led the Giants to the playoffs in his first two years as the teams starting quarterback but he had three flaws that are killers for any NFL QB.

(1) He routinely missed wide open targets. Too many times you would see Amani Toomer or Plaxico Burress shake free from coverage, run the route they were supposed to and Eli’s passes would either be high or wide of the target. You can’t be an elite QB without a high degree of accuracy. The job of the quarterback is to get the ball into his playmakers.

(2) Turnovers. Really I don’t need to add much here. He was tied for the league lead in picks this past season (20) and had averaged over 18 interceptions a season since being named the full time starter.

(3) Eli had been too much of a push over. He let Tiki Barger and Jeremy Shockey run the locker room. He never got on, at least not publicly, guys like Burress and Jeremy Shockey for skipping voluntary team practices. The quarterback is supposed to be the leader of the team but he didn’t seem to know how to be that guy.

Well over the course of the past month all that has changed. He threw one interception (again not his fault) in the playoffs, he was hitting his passes at a 60% completion rate against four tough defences and he is has entrenched himself as the unquestionable leader of the team.

Manning’s leadership grew, not by calling out Tiki, but by two massive drives.
The first was against the Cowboys near the end of the first half. Remember he led the team on a 7 play, 71 yard drive in 46 seconds to tie the game at 14 at the half. If they don’t score the second half could have ended up very differently and Wade Philips would probably not be worrying about his job security.

The second drive, well we all know about that one. Down by four with 2:39 left to go … the crazy David Tyree play, you don’t need me to refresh your memory. Eli led the team 83 yards to the game winning touchdown against the supposedly greatest team of all time.

It is these kinds of drives that instil confidence in your team mates and you can’t win in this league unless the other 10 guys on offence believe in the guy who is under center.

Just an unbelievable turnaround for Eli Manning as a football player and as a leader. Yes he always had the talent to be this good, but no one saw it coming, not like this. I don’t think you can blame me for writing off Eli. He was a major factor in the teams poor second half play over the past three years, he stunk in his first playoff game and was so-so in last year’s loss to the Eagles.

This season Manning had two historical stinkers:

Week 15: Eli tied Joe Namath’s record for most incompletions in one game (35) in a loss on Sunday Night to the Washington Redskins.

Week 16: Manning threw three passes in the second half of that pivotal game against Buffalo and had two of them picked off, he even lost a fumble. The Giants needed that win bad and Eli was horrible.

The great thing about sports is that it has always been a bastion for that great redemption story. Next to the Patriots failing to obtain perfection, Eli’s accession to the level of elite Quarterback will be what people remember the most from this year’s playoff.

Eli and I have talked it over. He apologized to me for his inconsistencies and flaws and I apologized for pulling the classic sports fan knee jerk reaction and writing off Eli as a legitimate NFL quarterback.

So in the end I couldn’t be happier with having Eli Manning winning me back as a fan of his. No matter what happens for the rest of his career Eli has met every expectation you could ever want from your first overall draft pick QB.
He got his team a Super Bowl win and was named the Most Valuable Player.

It still hasn’t sunk in.

Interesting Manning to manning Stat from NFL.com:

After four seasons, Eli Manning is 36-28 as a starter and is the reigning Super Bowl MVP.
Peyton Manning after four seasons is 32-32 as a starter and has yet to register a playoff victory.

Now this is not to say Eli Manning is a better quarterback than Peyton, he isn’t. Just throwing out the numbers.

My article on the Super Bowl will be coming later on today. The easiest thing to say is that the play of Eli Manning and the entire defence are the main reasons why the Giants are the 2008 Super Bowl Champions. Here are a couple of playoff stats to chew on ...

Defensive rankings of the Giants four playoff opponents:

Tampa Bay: #2
Dallas: #9
Green Bay: #11
New England: #4

Eli Manning threw six touchdowns and a 95.7 QB rating against these teams while completing over 60% of his passes. Manning only had one interception and that wasn’t even his own fault. That stat is even more impressive when you consider Dallas, New England and Green Bay were all tied for 6th for interceptions and the Bucs arguably have the best pass D of the four teams.


Offensive rankings of the Giants four playoff opponents:

New England #1 at 36.8 PPG
(Giants held them to 14 points)
Dallas #2 at 28.4 PPG
(Giants held them to 17 points)
Green Bay #4 at 27.2 PPG
(Giants held them to 20 points)
Tampa Bay #18 at 20.9 PPG
(Giants held them to 14 points)

So these four teams scored an average of 28.3 points per game. The Giants held them to 16.3 points per game. An unbelievable stat.

The worst part of the two-week layoff isn’t the endless hype. Yes, sitting through a feature about the Giants backup left guard or watching the TMZ video of Tom Brady is the sports equivalent of a rusty drill root canal, but there are far worse ramifications. Namely, it transforms sports writers into morons. They now have two weeks to dissect one game, which means they have a lot of hours to fill on air, on radio, and in page after page of columns discussing The Big Game.

So what happens?

They start to come up with reasons why the Giants will win the game. It’s only natural. Many broadcasters have to try to convince you that the game will be entertaining, so they’ll give the Giants a big push. What else are you going to talk about for two weeks?
How good the Pats are?

Bo-ring.

But coming up with a crazy scenario by which the Giants can win... hey, that’s just far more sexy. It’s the hero pick.

Well, you’re not going to get a hero pick here.

Yes, the Giants can win this game. If, and it’s a big IF, they play their perfect game and the Pats are sloppy. They need the front four to apply pressure on their own... they need Aaron Ross and Corey Webster to play at least at the level they’ve been for this past month... and it is essential that Eli Manning continue his trend of not making mistakes. Finally, the offense must score touchdowns in the red zone, not field goals.

Will that happen? Again, no.

When it comes to predicting the Super Bowl, I like to keep things pretty simple. I don’t see this as a game where you need to analyze 22 different individual match-ups to divine who is going to win.
While Tom Coughlin has done an admirable job and bought himself at least two more years on his contract and Eli Manning has been the breakout player for the 2008 playoffs, the Pats have a Hall of Fame coach in Bill Belichick and a Hall of Fame quarterback in Tom Brady. It’s just that simple: one team has a far superior coach and quarterback, so they will win the biggest game of the year.
Give Belichick two weeks to game plan, and he can dissect another team’s strengths and weakness better than any other living coach. Probably the best big game coach since Bill Walsh.

I see the game being close in the first half, probably with the Pats leading by six at the half. By midway through the third quarter, the Giants will start making critical mistakes and the Pats will pull away. Since the stakes are so high, once a team starts making a few mistakes it usually snowballs into a smorgasbord of chaotic events that a lesser team can never get out of in time.

Give the Giants credit for showing the world that they are a legit team, just not a team of destiny. That would be the undefeated Patriots.

Final Score: 37-20.

The Phoenix Suns will never win an NBA Championship.

That sentence alone is enough to depress any NBA fan. No team is more exciting to watch than Phoenix. They embrace the team concept, always looking for the open man, always moving.

I defy you to find a more entertaining team. Unfortunately their run and gun mentality and lack of a low post defender will once again kill them once the playoffs start where half court offence is king and every possession takes on a higher level of intensity.

Watching Phoenix crumble to the Spurs last night reiterated this grim reality. There is no way the Suns should have lost to a team that was playing their third straight road game in four nights and without their starting point guard in the line-up. But Amare Stoudamire proved he can’t be trusted to hit free throws late in the game and the entire Suns team just plain wilted to the physical Spurs.

Speaking of Amare, the Suns should have traded him ages ago. He is a great offensive player but part of that is due to having Steve Nash feeding him easy dunk and lay-up opportunities all the time. Defensively the guy is a dream to opposing teams big men, especially those with performance bonus’s in their contracts.

So enjoy watching them in the regular season because once they run into Duncan and Co. in the playoffs their shooting % will drop below .400 and the team will lose in five.

Of course all NBA fans will be the real losers. Having to watch Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker flop around like they are on a soccer pitch is just too much too take. Throw in Tim Duncan bitching to the refs every time he doesn’t get a call or has a foul called on him is nauseating. No one talks about it, but Duncan is the biggest baby in the league. Just because he is brilliant fundamentally on the court doesn’t mean he can’t also be a Prima Donna with the officials.

Now I’m just depressed.