Tuesday Morning FOOTY Thoughts – Nov. 10

Cute to see Wayne Rooney slapping big men around the same way opposing defenses slap him around on the pitch now. Rooney smacked British big boy Wade Barrett at last night’s WWE RAW taping in Manchester. This is the only time I will ever talk about wrestling on this page.

Cristiano Ronaldo is also making the most of his time off. At the premiere of his self titled movie last night in London (which I can not wait to see mind you), CR7 set a Guinness world record for taking the most selfies in a 3 minute period. Now there’s an accomplishment to really celebrate. What the hell is wrong with the world?

David Moyes to Chelsea? Probably not. But boy, that would be something. Real Sociedad pulled the plug, with the squad winning just 12 of Moyses’ 42 games in charge. They’re just two points off the bottom. Was 12 months on the continent enough time for Moyes to get over his United failure? Only time will tell.

I am very excited to see Patrick Viera manage in MLS. But Jason Kreis got a raw deal there from NYCFC. There really is no loyalty left in football. Coaching a brand new team with 3 guys on $6 million a year and everybody else making $60k is not easy. Kreis will not be out of work long though.

I’m not excited at all for this international break. And neither is Roy Hodgson. More than a quarter of the Premier League’s 142 English players are injured right now. That’s 37 England qualified players to be exact. Crazy, but really, who cares?

It wasn’t that long ago we were joking about Garry Monk for the England job. But then Swansea went out and dropped 5 of 8 and now Huw Jenkins expects his former centre-back to hire an experienced assistant to ‘right the ship.’ Yea, good luck with that Garry.

Jesé Rodriguez would be a great pick up for Arsenal. I don’t see that happening. And I don’t think Karim Benzema would be a wise purchase. The Frenchman’s career can be defined with one word: inconsistent. That’s the last thing The Gunners need right now. They’ve had enough of that for a long time.

Dimitri Payet is a big reason West Ham are sixth in the table. But for the next three months, Slaven Bilic’s side will have to try to keep pace without their high-flying French talisman because of an ankle injury suffered in Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Everton.

Aston Villa might be keen to unload forgotten Frenchman Charkes N’Zogbia in January, but new boss Rémy Garde has given him two months to prove himself. And his £65,000 a week wage packet.

A couple of former Villa managers in completion for the QPR job. The Super Hoops would be wise to choose Tim Sherwood over Paul Lambert. With Fulham also hiring, I expect both men to be house hunting in London soon.

If you didn’t know, America loves the Premier League. Especially Big Money Amurica. Bournemouth’s Russian owner Maxim Demin has sold a 25% stake in the club to a Chicago-based private equity firm. I can’t wait for the big AFC Bournemouth v Chicago Fire friendly at the end of July!

Monday Morning Thoughts – Apr. 27

To quote my friend and producer Thomas Dobby, “It’s insane that Toronto FC are the pride of Toronto sports right now.”

NBA PLAYOFFS

I sure don’t envy Masai Ujiri.

What a difference a couple of weeks makes. The Raptors went from being a team growing into themselves, to one likely going to be torn apart. And rightfully so. Last night’s effort was pathetic. I’m not even a Raps fan and it was painful for me to get through the highlight pack. There was no fight whatsoever. I guess every guy booked their early offseason holiday Saturday at shoot around. I sure hope they’re off to Dubai instead of Miami or Vegas because if they run into parts of We The North, it could get ugly very quickly.

The only part of the team that brought anything to the table last night were the fans standing outside the Air Canada Centre. If they beat the Wizards, as they should’ve, and get swept in the second round by the Bulls, Dwayne Casey is still the coach next season. He must have felt like his players fired him in the second quarter. The coach is always the fall guy. I don’t think it’s the right move, but I don’t know what else Ujiri can do.

If the playoffs started in November, the Cavs would’ve lost in the first round. But they’ve been marinating all season, and this was a perfect first round test. They faced just enough adversity to make them really work for it, even though winning the series was always an eventuality. Wonder how long Kevin Love‘s shoulder will keep him out. Big loss, and I agree with Love, a bush league move by Kelly Olynyk.

But gotta tip your hat to the Boston Celtics. They’ve been bad. They were over-matched countless times this season. But they never stopped fighting. I saw them lose to the New York Knicks at The Garden in December. The Knicks didn’t win again for a month. That was the kick in the ass Boston needed. Finishing the year by being swept by LeBron & Co. is nothing to feel bad about.

Where was this fight and determination by the Mavericks two games ago?

STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS

Slow clap for the Ottawa Senators. What an unbelievable season for a team that no one expected anything from. They were unlucky not to have tied the game last night. But for as frail as the Habs looked at times, they were always going to win the series in the end because Carey Price is the best goaltender in the game right now. Just give him the Vezina and the Hart already.

I’m glad the Minnesota Wild finished the Blues off yesterday. They’re the new San Jose Sharks. Stop wasting everyone’s time with stellar regular seasons only to implode in the playoffs. Figure it out! Give the Wild credit for doing so mid-season and sticking with Mike Yeo after his Phil Brown moment. And someone name a street in Minneapolis after GM Chuck Fletcher already for signing Devin Dubnyk. After this season, he’s going to get quite the raise on his $800,000 salary. I think the Oilers have good reason to invest in a good goalie…

I’d really like to see the New York Islanders beat the Capitals tonight. A Rangers/Isles second round series will be great for the rivalry. And it will be nice to see the Rangers pull the curtain down on the Nassau Coliseum.

The Wings wrap things up tonight in Detroit. And I like em to beat the Habs. In five.

MLB

It’s crazy to think that Alex Rodriguez is just one more homerun away from tying Willie Mays for fourth all-time. Crazy because I thought there was no way he’d play in the Major Leagues again. But good on him. Regardless of his indiscretions and incredibly hate-able personality, it is a truly remarkable feat.

After sweeping the Orioles, the Jays got their asses handed to them in Tampa. But the silver lining is that Baltimore beat the Red Sox 18-7 last night. There’s plenty of parity in the A.L. East. Aaron Sanchez starts against Joe Kelly tonight. Early 6pm starts all week at Fenway.

SOCCER THOUGHTS

For my Premier League take, click here.

Maybe Jozy Altidore really is worth $7 million. Credit to TFC for making me eat my words. I thought they’d come home in two weeks with only the three points from the season opening win to show for it. But they go into the Citrus Bowl and play their best game since Greg Vanney took over. The couldn’t have defended any better. Here’s to hoping they can play the same way in Philly on Saturday.

Bayern Munich clinched thier 25th Bundesliga title, and third straight, with four matches to spare. It was an eventuality they would win the league. Europe is still the measuring stick. Had they not overcome Porto in the quarterfinals, we’d be talking about “Pep‘s wasted season” despite yesterday’s domestic triumph. But now many have Bayern picked as the favourites to beat Barcelona in the semifinals. It’s funny how quickly things change in a short period of time, isn’t it?

Historic win for rarely talked about Torino. Nice to see Fabio Quagliarella score against Juve in the Torino derby. Why is Quags not in MLS? Montreal really that content with their frontline? C’mon Joey.

Sunday Morning Thoughts – Apr. 26

I’m sure glad I’m not a street cleaner working in Calgary this morning…

STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS

Last night was one of the most wild, and enjoyable, nights I’ve ever worked. I didn’t think there was any way that the Canucks and Flames game could possibly top the craziness we witnessed at The Madhouse. I’ll start with the All Canadian matchup because I know there’s a handful of Canucks fans that regularly read this blog and found it pretty hard to get out of bed this morning.

Sorry. Of the 16 teams that made the playoffs, many would’ve ranked both Vancouver and Calgary as number 15 and 16. The Canucks have more talent, but the Flames had more heart and out-muscled their way to their first playoff series win in six tries. The Canucks laid out fewer hits than anybody in the first round. Michael Ferland probably has a few steaks or at least hamburgers named after him in Calgary after that series. By the end of these playoffs, they might need to build him a statue. Guaranteed he spends the off-season in an ice bath though. There’s no way one can keep banging and crashing the way he did through these six games. But if he can get under the Ducks’ skin the same way, the Flames have a real shot at upsetting the top team in the West. Who thought the Flames would be in that position at this point in the season?

Can’t help but feel bad for Pekke Rinne. Without Shea Weber commanding the defense in front of him, the big Finn did everything he could to keep the Preds in it, but the Blackhawks were just too much for him. Shame this series is over really. It was thrilling. You never knew what to expect. Thanks to yesterday, they reached a combined 18 first period goals. The Penguins and Rangers scored 19 goals in their ENTIRE series.

It’s amazing that Petr Mrazek has stolen the number one job away from Jimmy Howard in Detroit. It’s even more amazing that the Lightning have only been shutout three times this year, and every time, Mrazek has been the one between the pipes. Unless Steven Stamkos can muster a hat-trick at the Joe, the Wings wrap this up on Monday. In the playoffs, experience wins over hot talent.

Glad to see the Islanders force a game 7. I hope they win the series too. Because I want the Rangers to be the team that pulls the curtain down on the Nassau Coliseum. BOOM! (If you’re new to this site, my NY Rangers bias is obnoxious and uncontrollable.)

NBA PLAYOFFS

Credit to the New Orleans Pelicans for making the Warriors work for it in Game 3. But I don’t think there is a gambler in North America that didn’t bet Golden State to sweep this series.

The Bulls couldn’t do that in Milwaukee. Derrick Rose isn’t my favourite NBA player, but as a guy that has watched basketball for years and feels for a guy that is one of the best players in the NBA and hasn’t been able to run on the floor consistently, I’m really happy to see him contributing in the playoffs. The United Center faithful deserve to see their #1 one more time before the next round.

The Blazers are making the Grizzlies look far better than they are.

SOCCER THOUGHTS

Arsenal have their chance to take a bite out of Chelsea‘s cushion. Might this be the day that Arsène Wenger finally beats José Mourinho? If 13 is his lucky number, then yes. Because he failed the first 12 times. Jose’s sales pitch to poach Cesc Fabregas from Barca has opened up old wounds for Gooners. “I promised him he’d be an important player in our project… And that, normally, good projects end with titles.” Take comfort in this you Gunners, you know it’s only a matter of time before Fab becomes disposable, like Juan Mata, Demba Ba and somehow now, Oscar.

Toronto FC are going to come home in two weeks after seven games on the road, with three points. Is that really surprising though? Tonight against expansion club Orlando “holy shit Kaka plays there” City they’ll again be without captain Steven Caldwell and sufficient defender Mark Bloom. Good luck. They’re going to bloody need it.

MLB

As a Tigers fan, I know about Blue Jays fans’ bullpen frustrations all too well. It’s still early in the season. Castro needs to marinate in the oven a little bit. It’s Brett Cecil that would make me worried.

Caps Do Good Business

“What have you done for me lately?”

That’s the reality of how football clubs operate.

Au revoir Eric Hassli. Cheers Kenny Miller. And now, “so long bruv” to Nigel Reo-Coker.

On the surface it might seem like a surprising move. Deal away a 30 year old fan favourite for a 33 year depreciating vet. Where’s the logic?

Reo-Coker was great last year. Not this.

After that concussion, from reportedly walking into a bicycle rack, Reo-Coker hasn’t been the same. He’s been inconsistent, and while he proved a decent option at Right-Back while Steven Beitashour was away at the World Cup, he was only good enough to play one minute in Vancouver’s last five outings.

Vancouver has one distinct problem this season: creating goals.

In Mauro Rosales they get a proven distributer. He started 16 of his 21 appearances for Chivas USA this season and set up 8 goals, third best in the league this year. Not to mention his 42 assists are the second most in MLS since 2011.

Rosales has played at River Plate, Ajax, and was a stud at Seattle. Well, at least his first season.

Bottom line, Robinson got value for a guy on the decline. Rosales isn’t going to win Vancouver MLS Cup but should help to turn a few more of those draws into wins.