Friday, May 1:
I've been a little leery of jumping on the Toronto Blue Jays bandwagon. Not because they're probably not as good as their April record indicates and not because they're probably not as bad as they played in Kansas City this week. I'm simply hedging my bets because they haven't played a single game within their division yet, something that changes this evening when they open a homestand against Baltimore. It's encouraging that the Jays played as well as they did out of the gate against the Central and West Divisions, but until they go up against the likes of the Yankees, Red Sox and Rays, we won't get a good reading as to where this club is headed. But one thing is certain -- I've heard more early-season buzz about the Jays this year than I have in many seasons.
May. For many reasons, it's my favourite sporting month of the year. Baseball starts separating the men from the boys, the NBA and Stanley Cup playoffs shift into high gear, soccer championship are played out and the month is bookended by two great American institutions -- the Kentucky Derby tomorrow and the Indianapolis 500, which is early this year -- May 24th, the earliest it can be. And sometimes, like in 1992, that makes for some crazy racing weather.
Saturday, May 2:
I'm typing this with the lights out and a back-up generator running my computer. The power went out about 10 minutes ago. No apparent reason -- the weather's fine, no wind. Stouffville must lead the civilized world in power outages per capita. Aggravating, to say the least.
Derby Day. I'm a little more into it this year because I finally saw Churchill Downs for the first time few months ago. And I know favourites have a devil of a time winning the Run for the Roses, but it says here "I Want Revenge" will be first under the wire and visit the winner's circle today. Not that I'm betting or anything -- just a gut feeling. Of course, all bets are off if it's in the slop -- which is a better than average chance, according to the Louisville forecast.
UPDATE: Well, so much for that. "I Want Revenge" will not run in the big race. Trainers found a "hot spot" on his ankle and decided to scratch the colt. Smart move, even though x-rays came back negative. With the increase in horse breakdowns, it's always better to be safe than sorry.
UPDATE 2: The track is indeed sloppy, but officials say it is improving two hours before post time. So we'll pick "Chocolate Candy," said to be good in the slop.
Sunday, May 3:
Mine That What? What a wacky and wonderful day at Churchill Downs as "Mine That Bird" -- a scrawny, $9,500 gelding who sprouted his wings as Canada's two-year-old champion last year on the synthetic surface at Toronto's Woodbine -- roared along the rail to win the Kentucky Derby by six-and-three-quarter lengths, the biggest margin in my lifetime and largest since 1946. The horse, who travelled to Louisville from New Mexico in a van behind a pick-up truck, went off at 50-to-1 and recorded the biggest Derby upset since 1913 with a payout of $103.20.
Game sevens are rarely as good as the hype and that was true again last night as the Boston Celtics raced past the Chicago Bulls in a dominant second quarter and won the deciding game of their series by 10. But it was a classic series. Four of the seven games went into overtime and the Bulls' game-six, triple O-T victory was an instant classic.
I didn't buy the Manny Pacquiao-Ricky Hatton boxing match last night. Love Pac-Man but I think Hatton is overrated. I didn't think the fight would last long, and it didn't with Pacquiao unplugging his opponent in round two.
Tuesday, May 5:
The Bride was with her horses last night leaving me and Mandy the Wonder Pooch at home to share the couch and the TV remote. And she trusts me to watch the best programs. So there we were, totally enthralled by the Sidney Crosby-Alex Ovechkin ”anything you can do I can do better” show. Both stars recorded hat tricks and while Pittsburgh won most of the battles along the boards, Washington won the face-offs -- and the game. The Penguins had too many passengers -- hello Evgeni Malkin -- and that’s something they need to address back in Pennsylvania. But as great as the game was, we kept switching back to the Cleveland-Blue Jays ballgame. Both clubs were a strike away from victory in the ninth inning before the Indians finally prevailed in the 12th. Yes, Toronto lost this one but the Blue Jays under the remarkable Cito Gaston are not ones to give up. They play hard, right to the last out.
Wednesday, May 6:
It will be interesting to see how NHL commissioner Gary "Anywhere-but-Canada" Bettman plays this. If a bankruptcy judge accepts Jim Balsillie's inflated offer for the Phoenix Coyotes, then the battle will be on. Balsillie's offer is conditional on being able to move the franchise to southern Ontario, probably somewhere in the Kitchener-Waterloo or Brantford area. It's Bettman's worst nightmare but his hands may be tied this time. Still, you can bet the commish won't go down with a fight. And how would the city of Glendale take it? The Phoenix suburb spent gobs of cash for a brand new arena across the road from the new football stadium where the NFC champion Cardinals play. But without the Coyotes, it wouldn't have a tenant as basketball's Suns still play downtown. Yikes!
A marvelous performance by Manchester United yesterday in north London, scoring early and often to deflate Arsenal and win 3-1, advancing to the European Champions League final at month's end 4-1 on aggregate. Now I can sit back and enjoy today's second leg of the Barcelona-Chelsea semifinal at Stamford Bridge. That one is completely up for grabs as the teams played to a scoreless draw in Spain. A goal by Barca today and a draw would put them through. I'm torn. A Chelsea win would mean a repeat of last year's final, won by United on penalty kicks. But Barcelona is my second-favourite team in Europe and I only cheer against them on the rare occasion they play United. Having them both in the final in Rome would be wonderful -- and terrible at the same time.
I'm passing on round three of Crosby-Ovechkin for game four of the Windsor-Brampton OHL final tonight at the Bunker. And it won't be a Spitfires' coronation after all. The Battalion, down two games, roared into Windsor and won the other night, so they have a chance to tie the series this evening at home. I'm taking the small camera so there will be some pics, but mainly this is a social night with old friends.
Thursday, May 7:
Barcelona it is, after a wild finish as they scored three minutes into injury time to salvage the 1-1 draw with Chelsea and the away goal sees them through to the final against the Red Devils. Crushing for the Blues, who at least have a shot at the F-A Cup and are still, albeit barely, in the race to win the league. But what a horrible result for the fans at Stamford Bridge.
Try as they might, the Brampton Battalion couldn't put a dent in the Windsor Spitfires defence last night and with their 4-1 victory, the Spits have all but wrapped up their second OHL championship. Nice to see the Bunker full for the first time ever and it was great touching base with some old NOOF buddies after a couple of years' absence. The pictures are up but the quality is dreadful, as we were shooting through the glass from four rows away. But that's OK -- it was mainly a social outing. And it was great until there were about 10 minutes left when some righteous turds in front of us started whining that we were talking too much. We quickly told them to pound salt, directed them to the nearest church and watched the rest of the game in peace.
Saturday, May 9:
Congratulations to the Windsor Spitfires, Ontario Hockey League champions for the second time in franchise history and soon bound for the Memorial Cup tournament in Rimouski, Quebec. They were deserving winners, having had the best outfit over the course of the regular season and they dispatched Brampton with relative east in the league final. And somewhere Mickey Renaud is looking down from above and smiling.
Chelsea had no recourse after being robbed of penalty kicks more than once in Wednesday's draw against Barcelona. The 1-1 decision knocked them out of the Champions League, putting the Catalonians in the final against Manchester United. But the Detroit Red Wings did have another shot after a wrong decision cost them late tying goal in game three's 2-1 loss at Anaheim. They could have sulked and frittered the series away. Instead, they rebounded with a decisive 6-3 win in game four, taking back home ice advantage.
Sunday, May 10:
I always figured I had enough time -- she had enough time -- for me to tell my mom what she meant to me. Oh sure, there's were the constant and heartfelt "I love you's" but never enough "thanks" for the things she did. So, if your mom is still with us today, don't procrastinate. Make today her best Mother's Day ever. Do something she's not expecting. Surprise her somehow. And make sure you say thanks. Don't take today for granted. The day will come when all you have left are memories and the feeling that you never did enough to repay her for all the sacrifices she made for you. Because they're debts we can never adequately repay.
Tuesday, May 12:
The backhand. The deadly shot that was all but forgotten when Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita ushered in the era of the banana-shaped curved sticks in the late 1960s. The backhand was Maurice Richard's deadly weapon as a right winger who shot left. Gordie Howe's stick was perfectly straight and his aim was deadly with both the forehand and backhand. And as a goalie, there was nothing I dreaded more than a sizzling backhander from some winger's quick flick of the wrist. If you're wondering where the shot went, check out Patrick Kane's series-sealer last night for the Chicago Blackhawks. His third of the game and seventh in the Hawks 7-5 win over Vancouver was a thing of beauty, reminiscent of some of the great playoff goals I watched in my youth.
Thursday, May 14:
Last night was akin to pining for fresh, red strawberries only to get home, discover the power out and find them warm, brown, soggy and ruined. I managed to get the lawn cut just before it started raining, knowing I was giving up the first period of game seven between the Penguins and Capitals. No problem. I would enjoy the final two frames of this great series. I turned on the TV and it was already 4-0 Pittsburgh and the Caps' crowd had settled into a funereal gloom. A couple of channels over, the Blue Jays were losing 5-1 to the Yankees in a game they would ultimately drop 8-2 before a crowd of less than half the size of Mondays. I switched to the Tigers-Twins where Dontrelle Willis was making his season debut. He was getting away with some no movement fastballs, and when Justin Morneau came up with one on and two out in the first inning, I actually said to Mandy the Wonder Pooch, "watch him lose this pitch." Bam! A two-run shot over the wall in centre. The Tigers would eventually lose 14-10 in 13 innings, taking a one-run lead on a balk, only to gag it up on a Matt Tolbert RBI single and a Joe Crede walk-off grand slam. Sheesh!
At least Manchester United came from behind to beat Wigan 2-1 and move to within one point of capturing the league title for a third straight year with two games remaining. Another fantastic season, no matter what happens in Rome at month's end in the Champions League final against Barcelona!
Friday, May 15:
Victoria Day weekend. Cloudy and (soon to be) wet and cold. Which is exactly par for the course for our annual summer season lid-lifters. Yet something tells me that if we ever had a May long weekend with perfect weather, we would complain about it anyway. At least next year, there will be a better chance. Victoria Day is as early as it can possibly be this year and in 2010 it will be at late as possible.
The Detroit Red Wings never do things the easy way. Which is why I'm devoid of fingernails after last night's too-close-for-comfort game seven 4-3 win over Anaheim. That was followed by Carolina's game seven overtime thriller against Boston. It's hard to believe the Bruins, in their long history, have never come back from a 3-1 games deficit in a playoff series. So now we have the All-Staal Games (brothers Eric and Jordan), in the Carolina-Pittsburgh series and Original Six madness with Detroit vs. Chicago. It doesn't get much better than that.
Sunday, May 17:
I rarely watch the Belmont if there's no chance for a Triple Crown victory. But I believe I will watch in three weeks time. I'm intrigued by Preakness runner-up "Mine That Bird", the 50-to-1 Kentucky Derby longshot who ran away from the field to win handily two weeks ago. Yesterday in Baltimore, the super filly "Rachel Alexandra" was added to the mix and won the shortest of the three U.S. Triple Crown races. But "Mine That Bird" would have won if they had been running at the Belmont's distance of a mile-and a-half. As it was, the gelding almost caught the favoured filly over the mile and three-16ths. I had written off "Mine That Bird" as a one-time freak, who had the perfect combination of a sloppy track and a fearless jockey at Churchill Downs. I was wrong.
Manchester United was held to a scoreless draw at home yesterday by Arsenal but that was enough to capture the English Premier League title -- again. Back in 1992, The Bride and I walked up to Old Trafford's ticket window two days before their home opener and bought a pair of tickets (the Queen might have trouble accomplishing that today). United lost that game 3-0 to Everton, but caught form and won the league that year, their first since 1967. This season's triumph is their 11th in 17 seasons and gives them 18 championships overall, tying them with Liverpool for a record thought to be as safe as any in sports. And who knows what next year will bring? Liverpool spanked United in both of their meetings this past season, so they could come out on top and break the deadlock.
Monday, May 18:
HAPPY VICTORIA DAY, CANADA! Please handle those fireworks with care!
Yesterday was eerie for the middle day of the long weekend. It was so chilly in these parts (with frost warnings overnight) that everyone was either all bundled up with coats and sweatshirts or they stayed inside. Even the birds were silent.
Do you believe in Magic? I do now, after Orlando’s dismantling of my Boston Celtics last night in game seven of their NBA Eastern Conference semifinal. Last spring was magic for me with the Celtics, Red Wings and Manchester United all winning championships. The Wings are closer than any team right now to the Stanley Cup, United has a shot at repeating as Champions League winners. But there’s no joy in Beantown with the Celts and Bruins both losing game sevens at home and the Red Sox on a losing streak.
Tuesday, May 19:
So now it starts -- Toronto at Boston. I've been a tad reluctant to hop on the Blue Jays' bandwagon, seeing as they've yet to play the Red Sox (or Tampa Bay for that matter). But my goodness, they've impressed me so far. After dropping two of three to the Yankees last week, they rebounded by sweeping the White Sox in a four-game series. I don't know what Cito Gaston feeds these guys but it sure seems to be working. And shame on the rest of baseball for ignoring this two-time World Series winner for more than a decade after the Jays let him go. Just one word of caution: I remember being giddy at the Detroit Tigers 31 years ago, who were shocking the baseball world by leading the American League East at the time. They took a 24-and-15 record into Fenway Park over the U.S. Memorial Day weekend. I was in Indianapolis to see the first of the 15 Indy 500's I've seen live and when I returned home, the Tigers had been swept in their four-game series. It was part of a seven-game losing streak, one of two the Tigers would suffer over a three-week span, dropping them to .500. Not that this is going to happen to the Jays, but baseball is a funny game.
Thursday, May 21:
Some days you just want to crawl into a cocoon and stay there. First of all, yesterday would have been my brother-in-law's 61st birthday, so I was both sad and angry again at losing him this year. Then, after arriving at work following some crazy traffic tie-ups, the lead story is Victoria Stafford, the eight-year-old girl who disappeared six weeks ago in Woodstock, Ontario. Two people were charged in connection with her murder so now the rescue mission becomes a recovery mission for the child's body. I've been working in newsrooms for 33 years but stories like this still leave scars. It was a challenge reading that one on the air. The equally crazy traffic on the drive home didn't help any.
Glad I have sports as a distraction. Don't look now but the Detroit Tigers have won five in a row and no team in the American League has lost less than the 16 they've dropped. And if Dontrelle Willis is back, as his role in Tuesday's one-hit shutout of Texas might suggest, then that's a wonderful bonus. No one's printing playoff tickets, but first place in their division makes this fan happy, even if it is just late May.
Saturday, May 23:
Tomorrow is the day of the year for gearheads like me. Auto racing's biggest day -- the Monaco Grand Prix, the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600. I can't watch it all -- my alarm clock goes off at 4 a.m. Monday -- but I'll watch as much as I can. Indy's the big one for me of course, having attended 15 of them in person. One thing to watch out for -- the start. On the inside of row four is Danica Patrick, noted beauty queen, hothead and a cautious racer with unfulfilled potential. Right behind her in row five is Paul Tracy, noted Canadian, hothead and an impatient racer with brief flashes of fulfilled potential -- and with a faster qualifying time. Tracy also (rightfully) feels he was robbed of winning this race (in 2002). That doesn't mean anything bad is going to happen. Just sayin'.
Sunday, May 24:
OK -- I give. I didn't mean it. Since I offered my warning about the Blue Jays, they've dropped six in a row, and now that Boston salvaged the final game of its series against the New York Mets, the Jays have now fallen to second place in the American League East. It's too early to have the wheels come off the bandwagon.
The Memorial Cup tournament has never seen anything like it. The Windsor Spitfires lost their first two games, were facing elimination in four straight games, yet won them all -- including today's 4-win over Kelowna -- to capture the cup for the first time in franchise history. Mickey Renaud's hand must have been on their collective shoulders from above.
UPDATE 1 - Monaco: Jenson Button led this race from flag to flag and this one was virtually settled after 20 laps. It's a good thing Monte Carlo is such a spectacular setting because its annual race, while the gem of the Formula One series, is certainly amongst F1's most boring.
UPDATE 2 - Indianapolis: From the threat of bread and water in jail to a quart of milk. Helio Castroneves, acquitted of fraud charges earlier this month, won a crash-marred 500 for his third victory at the Brickyard. Some thoughts -- thank heavens for the SAFER barriers along the walls, which no doubt saved some very serious injuries today. Nice runs for Canadians Paul Tracy and Alex Tagliani. And some day, Danica Patrick, who placed a solid third, will win this race. Take it to the bank.
UPDATE 3 - Charlotte: No "boogity, boogity!" tonight with the on-and-off storms that kept soaking the track at Lowe's. So, noon tomorrow for the green flag. But it won't be quite the same -- especially since Monday is just another day on this side of the border. And there's something magical about running 600 miles, starting in daylight and ending under the lights, to close out auto racing's biggest day.
Monday, May 25:
A happy Memorial Day to our friends and neighbours in the United States. Hope you have a safe and enjoyable holiday.
"Luck is the residue of design," said the late Branch Rickey many years ago. Words Roger Penske has lived by. Year-long planning on his racing team -- along with every other aspect of the Captain's world-wide operations -- is so meticulous that it's little wonder Penske has won 15 Indy 500s, the latest being yesterday's victory by Helio Castroneves. Midway through yesterday's run. the Target team racers of Chip Ganassi were 1-2 and threatening to run away with it. At the end, there was Roger in Victory Lane with the driver he stood by through all of Castroneves' trials and tribulations. Great stuff.
UPDATE 1 - Charlotte: Sunshine, clouds, rain. Repeat. It's a good thing they started the Coca-Cola 600 at noon today because it may take all day to run it. Weather radar shows about 100 different tiny storms blanketing the U.S. southeast -- any one of which can bring enough rain to red flag the race. It's already happened twice today and we're into our fourth yellow for rain. But my main man Jimmie Johnson is hanging in there in the top six. He used to own this mile-and-a-half track until they repaved it a few years ago but he appears to be in great shape for a high finish today.
UPDATE 2 - Charlotte: Another red for rain at 4:30 in the afternoon and they're just past the halfway mark (lap 227 of 400). And Jimmie Johnson is now down in 13th having darted into the pits with most of the field under yellow. Among those who gambled and stayed on the track is David Reutimann, who will win this race if it doesn't get restarted. They surely won't go into the evening today as a great many fans have come from far away and will be returning to their workday lives tomorrow.
UPDATE 3 - Charlotte: Red and checker to David Reutimann -- his first-ever Sprint Cup win -- after a two hour rain delay, prompting one wag on TV to call it the "24 Hours of Charlotte." The 50th World/Coca-Cola 600 becomes both the shortest-ever at 227 laps and the longest-ever at 24 hours and 41 minutes from yesterday's scheduled green flag to today's checker. The winners were the ones who gambled that the fourth yellow of the day for rain would be "the big one" and stayed on the track instead of pitting. My man Jimmie Johnson was not among them, falling from 6th to 13th, a costly pit decision. But when Mother Nature is in control, all the strategy in the world goes out the window.
Tuesday, May 26:
Somewhere, whilst I was busy watching cars zip around racetracks (and rain fall), the Toronto Blue Jays lost seven in a row to slip to third place in the American League East. And Pittsburgh and Detroit appear poised to tangle again in the Stanley Cup final. The Penguins have Carolina in a 3-0 choke-hold while the Red Wings are returning home from breezytown with a 3-1 series lead on the Blackhawks. And any thoughts that the Lakers and Cavaliers would breeze into a dream NBA final have been dashed. Los Angeles has its hands full with Denver having split four games, and Cleveland is down 2-1 to magical Orlando. And then there's tomorrow's dream European Champions League match-up in soccer -- Barcelona vs. Manchester United in Rome. It's tough to beat May for great months in the world of sport.
Wednesday, May 27:
Here it is -- the day of the Champions League soccer final in Rome between Manchester United and Barcelona. I've got a red shirt on to show my allegiance (although I'm led to believe United will be in its white away kit today). And there's an omen to this game -- arguably, United's greatest victory in modern times was the snatch-victory-from-defeat final against Bayern Munich a decade ago. Where? Right at Camp Nou, Barca's home ground. Manchester dispatched the Catalan side a year ago in the knockout stage but will have its hands full, especially in the midfield today. A win would be great but Manchester United owes me nothing, with the repeated thrills the franchise has given me over the past 17 seasons.
It didn't take Pittsburgh long to dispatch Carolina in the NHL East final. I thought they'd win but never thought they'd sweep. Unless Chicago rallies, it will be a repeat of last year, but maybe with a different result.
Hard to believe the Toronto Blue Jays have gone more than a week without a home run. Their bats have been messed up ever since Boston knuckleballer Tim Wakefield handcuffed them in the first of what is now an eight-game losing streak. If Roy Halladay can't pitch them past Baltimore today, it would wrap up a very ugly 0-and-9 road trip.
Thursday, May 28:
Somehow, I feared the worst yesterday in regards to the big match and my fears were realized. Aside from a spirited start, Barcelona made Manchester United look rather ordinary and their 2-0 victory in the Champions League final was well deserved and a fair result. But United, with an astonishing five titles up for grabs this season, won three -- failing only here and in the FA Cup semifinal. Ultimate disappointment but a season most any other team would gleefully take.
Not sure what to make of the Blue Jays who received great pitching from Roy Halladay, great hitting for a change, and still lost their ninth straight, 12-10 to Baltimore in 11 innings. Yesterday, the bullpen was brutal. Now they return home to face Boston and knuckleballer Tim Wakefield, who started them on their nightmare road trip 10 days ago.
At least my Red Wings gave me some small comfort last night with their 2-1 overtime win against a game but overmatched Chicago outfit, which will learn from this and emerge very shortly as one of the league's elite teams. So Detroit and Pittsburgh again. A repeat of last year's championship would be delightful but this will be a tougher test for my Wings than it was a year ago.
Friday, May 29:
Somehow I get the feeling that if American television asked Gary "Anywhere-but-Canada" Bettman to play the Stanley Cup final at 4am on pond scum, the NHL commissioner would gleefully give his OK. Knuckling under demands from NBC (which pays the league in dollars the freezing point of water in Celsius degrees) games one and two of the final will be played Saturday and Sunday evenings in Detroit. What's the rush? To avoid going head-to-head with the NBA championship? Suppose tomorrow night's game goes three overtimes? Making players turn right around and play game two mere hours later isn't just unfair to both fans and players but destroys integrity and makes a travesty of the league's showcase event. Madness.
Radio host Jim Richards makes some valid points on his blog regarding Toronto's war on cars. He rightly points out that the city completely missed the boat over the past half century in not keeping up with its transit demands. Had construction on additional subways and transit infrastructure been made, then council's recent decisions to shaft automobile drivers wouldn't be of great concern. There would be far less drivers and many more citizens taking public transit. But the city didn't do those things so now the loony decisions of mayor David Miller and his equally brain-addled lieutenants on council will simply make things worse. Eliminating right-hand turns on red at some intersections and closing a lane of Jarvis (a rare street that works) will just result in more clogged traffic and more pollution from idling cars. Council says the loss of one lane will add just two more minutes to the drive along of Jarvis (two things come to mind. 1) Who says? and 2) Raccoon poop.) More reason why the best sight I see after each work day is Toronto the Stupid in my rear-view mirror.
Saturday, May 30:
Despite our hopes and an early 1-0 lead, Everton lost the FA Cup final 2-1 to Chelsea. We were hoping Liverpool's blues would pull off the upset.
Stouffville + thunderstorm = power outage. Always, it seems. So, we're on back-up power and about to shut off the computer.
Sunday, May 31:
And about four hours after the original thunderstorm and subsequent 90 minute power outage, another boomer roars through and sure enough, off go the lights again. Just after all the clocks had been reset, of course. It was a much shorter outage but an outage all the same.
Thankfully, everything was back up and running in time for game one of the Stanley Cup final and game six of the NBA Eastern Conference final. Not only did Detroit win the hockey game but they avoided overtime to allow the maximum time of rest before game two tomorrow night. As for Orlando's win over the Cavaliers -- man, it must be agonizing to cheer for Cleveland's sports teams. No NHL team, the Cavs still have never won an NBA crown, the Browns have never played in a Super Bowl and the Indians' last World Series win was in 1948. No wonder the whole city gets its sports jollies from Ohio State, down Columbus way.
Unfortunate that "Rachel Alexandra" is giving next week's Belmont a pass. Another head-to-head with "Mine That Bird" over the longer distance would have been great to watch.
