An Open Letter to The New Owners of MLSE....

 Rogers, Bell and Larry Tennenbaum....the new owners of MLSE

To Bell and Rogers,

First off, Congratulations on your recent purchase of Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment (possibly the first and only time you will ever agree to buy or DO anything together as it is). Your two businesses have been at war with each other for years in the business world with your mobile, Cable TV, Internet and home phone divisions as well as your sports networks (Bell with TSN and Rogers Sportsnet franchise) so this agreement to jointly buy MLSE took everyone by surprise.


Your recent purchase gives you control of the Maple Leafs, the Raptors (and the ACC where they both play), TFC (and BMO Field where they play), the AHL Toronto Marlies (And Ricoh Colieseum where they play as well), not to mention several condo developments and office towers in and around your facilities in Downtown Toronto. I just wanted to take the time to give you a little primer as to what is is you got yourself into exactly with a mini state of each team you just bought, to help you as you complete your purchase over the next few months.

Jerryd Bayless is part of a promising future for the Raptors

The Raptors seem to be on the right track as they are a young team with some key parts either learning on the job (DeRozen, Bayliss), already in place (Calderon and Bargnani), or on the way (another top 7 pick this year and Valinciunious, their top pick from last season). Bryan Colangelo miscalculated when he kept Chris Bosh (we were all lied to by him and his intentions were never made clear), but he has been able to piece together a young, defensively aggressive team and hired a good coach in Dwayne Casey, who is coming off of helping the Dallas Mavericks to their first NBA Title last season. The Raptors, you can leave alone for another year.

Danny Koevermans, Aron Winter and Torsten Frings are all part of a TFC side on the rise....

The same can be said for TFC. Their home opening defeat aside, this team looks like they finally have a solid core and a plan in place to turn the team into a power in the MLS. It only took 6 years (4 years too long), 5 coaches and severe fan dissatisfaction with the way the team was being managed to finally put into place Paul Mariner as director of player development and Aron Winter, a Dutch born and trained player turned head coach, to put this team along a positive path, including a semi-final birth in the CONCACAF Champions League (the first leg to be played tomorrow night at BMO Field). Again, leave this team alone as they are on the right track as well.

 Alex Anthopolous has the Jays going in the right direction, and possibly a Playoff spot this year

With that being said, you have bought control over just about every single sports franchise in the city of Toronto (except the Argos but nobody cares about them and Rogers already owns the Blue
Jays, possibly the best Toronto based team over the last few years) which means you will have exactly zero time to saver the moment and have to get right to work correcting issues with the biggest problem at MLSE: The Leafs.

This Douche bag was given 7 years as the GM of the Jays, and did nothing with them....

Instead of distracting us with blustery blow-hards in charge of our most cherished local team (Re: Brian Burke and JP Riccardi before him with the Jays), we need to have competent people in charge who not only have a connection to the city and understanding of what it means to be a fan in this region, but are not so insanely rigid in their ideology that they have to complain about the conditions in which they work (whether its salary constraints, the media, the fans booing their hand picked players, the state of the game they manage changing too much for them, etc.) and instead they can focus on the job at hand: Turning the Leafs into a Powerhouse again.



It makes no sense to continue to attempt to distract us with these types of major hiring decisions (while you reach around to grab the cash out of the sports fans' wallet). Leaf fans DEMAND that you begin to change with the times and make some drastic changes to this crumbling Leafs team. Clearly a major overhaul is needed.

The Captain of the Maple Leafs should not be losing fights to guys like Nathan Horton and Nick Foligno...

If you fail to make the playoffs, offer your season ticket base a rebate (because clearly you failed in your 1st duty to the fans in having a good product on the field of play or the ice). Put a freeze on ticket prices until you are a playoff team again (that would have meant an 8 year freeze for the Leafs but when you can still sell out the place, night after night, despite being a crap team, it really shouldn't matter). If you give someone 5 years to turn around a team (which is a fair amount of time), and they fail, fire them. They failed, they should be out. Period.

Yes Ron, that's the way to the exit....I just hope it hits you hard on the way out!

Hire the best possible candidates for the roles in their field. You currently have 6 men in the brain trust of the Maple Leafs who either have been or could be General Managers of teams in the league (Brian Burke, Dave Nonis, Claude Loiselle, Rick Dudley, Cliff Fletcher, and Dave Poulin) on which you are spending about $6.2 million a season. All of this for a team that was a playoff team (barely) up until February 1st, and has utterly collapsed in the time since then into one of the 5 worst teams in the league. You had a coach in place in Ron Wilson, who has never won anything in the NHL. Yes, he (Barely) won the 1996 World Cup of Hockey for the USA, but he was clearly out of his element as coach of the Leafs as he was ill prepared for the media crush that came with the job.

Even if a new GM comes in, Carlyle is a good choice for this young team....

At least now with Randy Carlyle in charge they have a coach who can teach young players to reach their FULL potential as he did in Anaheim with Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf, helping them mature from raw rookies into Stanley Cup winners when he was there. Leaving Carlyle in place is a good idea but replacing the man in charge (Burke) is the first step that both Rogers and Bell need to do to correct the mess that has been the Maple Leafs for over 8 years. They are the only team to not have made the Playoffs since the 2004 Lockout which cost the league and entire season!  Attendance may not drop but your beer sales, parking revenue and merchandise sales will wane significantly if this continues to be the norm for this team year after year.

 He is a winner, let's see him (finally) as a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs!

The fans turned on Wilson and he was gone only a few days later. Now they have started to turn on Burke.We can only hope the people at Bell and Rogers are listening. The best way to change the culture of this franchise is to bring in someone who has a history of winning and has built a winner in the past. There is one man currently out of hockey that has done that and has always wanted to have an association with the Maple Leafs. His name? Wayne Gretzky.

English Royalty side by side with Canadian Hockey Royalty......The Leafs need Wayne!!!

He can handle the media better then anyone else. He helped build Team Canada in 2002 and helped turn the tide of that tournament for the team when he deflected all the attention of the media from the teams' slow start onto himself with his tirade after a close game against the Germans. Sure, his coaching record was mediocre at best (with the amount of financial stresses on his back in Phoenix at the time, It's not that surprising really....he is STILL owed about $25 million from that team) but this is one of the flagship franchises in the NHL and it needs someone at the top that has the ability to handle the media and build a franchise at the same time. Steve Yzerman is doing a hell of a job in Tampa, Gretzky should be given that chance in Toronto.

 I would rather have a Canadian in charge of the Leafs on ice product then an American....Plus he knows the PM!

One other way to look at this from a marketing stand point for both Rogers and Bell: How could it possibly hurt to have the greatest player to ever play the game as your front man for one of the oldest and most revered teams in the league? You could use his name in conjunction with the Maple Leaf Brand to earn even more revenue then MLSE already makes in a given year. You know, a good way to try and start to recoup some of the $1.5 Billion you spent on buying into MLSE in the first place.

So in conclusion, once again congrats on your recent purchase. You really only have one fire to put out with regards to MLSE as the Raptors and TFC are in good hands and its' the Leafs who have stumbled badly for nearly a decade. Your job now is to get to work and earn the respect of Leaf fans everywhere by firing Brian Burke, and his know-it-all proclamations, and hire Hockey Royalty in his stead as his replacement, in Wayne Gretzky.

Regards....

Toronto Sports Fans

Dexter, Spartacus and Hank Moody....

 Can't Wait for Seaosn 7....

With the TV season close to wrapping up for some shows and the Blockbuster movies season just beginning (as I hinted at in my last Blog), I thought it would be appropriate to start looking at a few shows that are wrapping up their seasons, a couple of new shows that are set to debut and some other entertainment thoughts that have crossed my mind.

Since I will be mentioning some shows that others may not be caught up on, I will be giving you alerts about some sections that may include what happened in their latest season.

Lets start with Dexter <SPOILER ALERT!!!>

Season 6 was a a bit of a departure for Dex as he began to contemplate things such as God and faith and how it may even be possible to "Kill" his dark passenger off for good through faith. The Doomsday killer twist was a brilliant piece of writing but in a much more direct way then even they may have intended as we got to see someone who is just as delusional as Dex had he not been subjected to Harry's "Code" and instead was brainwashed into believing the end of the world was near. The fact that Colin Hanks was able to pull off such a vile (and yet at times sincere) character shows he may have inherited some of his acting ability from his famous parents (Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson).

Season 7 has one killer cliffhanger on its hands..."Oh God!"

Season 7 and Season 8 have been ordered so we can expect at least another 2 seasons of our favorite Serial Killer/Blood Splatter expert but for now, we have another, much more serious dilemma to consider....How exactly is Season 7 going to start with such a massive cliff hanger weighing so heavily on the entire show? What will Deb do now? How does Dexter get out of this one? And, for good measure, if the entire season revolves around just those 2 topics, how will it remain relevant and entertaining? All serious questions to consider when it comes to one of the darkest yet best written shows on television right now.

<Dexter Spoiler Alert now Over>

On to another Cable show; Spartacus: Vengeance. Cable shows seem to be the best to watch anyway as they tend to involve much more realistic language and sequences on reality as opposed to broadcast shows which, if they are an hour long only give you about 42 minutes of actual show (if that) and use language that won't offend the bible thumpers that reside deep in the American South. In case you haven't seen any of the (now 3) seasons, after the original Season (Spartacus: Blood and Sand), the lead actor, Andy Whitfield came down with Lymphoma which delayed the start of Season 2. While just about everyone involved with the production waited for Andy, a prequel was created which was a total of 6 episodes called Spartacus: Gods of the Arena.

The only one missing in this picture is Ashur, the engine that keeps this show purring along....

This show somehow manages to intertwine incredible language (the manner in which they combine simple words to create such foul, nasty words and phrases is almost comical in its brilliance) and grotesque violence along with graphic sexual scenes and absurd amounts of both male and female nudity would never have been allowed on anything other then cable TV. This show is not for the weak at heart, that's for sure, but it has such twists and turns that heading into the 2nd last episode of the season, I can't wait to see how it plays out.

<SPOILER ALERT: SPARTACUS>

As of the 8th episode, Glaber (played by Craig Parker), the central figure behind the entire show and the reason why Spartacus became a slave then Gladiator, had completed his metamorphosis into the kind of villain that Quintus Batiatus was in the original season (Played amazingly by John Hannah, Jonathan in the Mummy Series). In other words, he is doing things that we all know are horrible but, in a twisted way, understandable. So far this season, he has killed slaves, cheated on his wife (after he found out she wanted to end their marriage, thanks to Ashur) killed her father and his main nemesis in Capua (when an opportunity presented itself that he could blame Spartacus for both), has employed Ashur (played brilliantly by Nick Tarabay) as his new right hand man (and we all know how well that went for Quintus before him, but Ashur is the best character on the show...PERIOD! So it doesn't matter) and basically thumbed his nose at all who would oppose him and his ways.

Arguably, he and Ashur have been the driving force behind a strong 2nd full season for the show. They have allowed Liam McIntyre (the man who took over for Andy Whitfield after he became deathly ill before passing away from Cancerous Lymphoma last year) to grow into the role and make it his own as he has had to do with his version of Spartacus. To be honest, if there was ever going to be a time when a new actor took over the role, this was the ideal time as the character has had to change this season from a marauding brute, hell bent on destroying and killing all those in his way, into a more cerebral leader of slaves. He has had to become a general who has had to train, motivate and take care of those around him instead of having a singular focus as he did when he was a Gladiator.

 Liam McIntyre has filled in perfectly, and at the right time too...

The first episode of the season was enough evidence of that as he could no longer think of only himself and be the selfish man he had been before. Now he had to devise a real plan and see it through in order to keep his newly freed legions alive and safe before any real "Vengeance" could be exacted.

With only 2 episodes left until the end of this season, I just hope, for the life of me, that they don't make the same mistake they did at the end of the 1st season, and kill off a key villain. If you watched season 1 and its finale, you saw a pure, unadulterated blood bath (caused by Ilithyia). While it was a spectacle to be sure, it robbed us of John Hannah's character and his acting ability being on display in this series. Sure, he did in fact need to go in order to push the story along but I am sure, had they really known how popular the series was going to be, they may have reconsidered his death the way it was played out (I would have possibly had him thrown off the cliff, making it LOOK like he was dead only to have him return down the road, battered and beaten but at least alive and, with his own want for vengeance).

Either way, here is hoping they don't kill off too many characters in the finale.

<SPOILER ALERT: Californication>

David Duhovny basically plays himself on this show...but why the 2 1/2 year jump?!?!

Another show I have been watching (since it began), Californication stars David Duchovny as a sex crazed, angst filled writer appropriately named Hank Moody. The start of this season really threw me for a loop. Why on earth would you do a fast forward of 2 1/2 years on a show and then proceed to take the first 2 episodes (really it was closer to 3) before you really explain everything that happened in that time Hank was living in New York? I mean considering how much he pines for Karen (Played by Natasha McElhorne), how could he have stayed away from her for so long? It's just not logical to me.

The one good thing I have to say about this season is that at least Hank seems to be maturing as the year comes to a close. He isn't all about the sex (not to say he hasn't had some really interesting sexual situations) but at least he seems to be trying to push his character from the overgrown man-child who can't get over his adult version of a Peter Pan complex, into a mature, functioning adult able to handle real life situations like, well, a real MAN! He's taken responsibility for someone else having sex with a prostitute by lying and saying she was his girlfriend (when Drea Di Matteo guest starred) all in an attempt to spare Karen from finding out her new husband cheated on her and he has done his best to stay out of his daughters' (Becca Moody) relationship to an Ashton Kutcher-clone he can't stand (and who now has stolen his job and his agent).

 Still don't know why Karen takes all his crap...and Runkle is just a mess

I just wish they would stop having him pine away, over and over again for Karen like he does. He had his shot, he blew it, she moved on (twice marrying other men) and yet he thinks he can just walk right back into her life almost 3 years later and win her back? Who in their right mind thinks that way? This is yet another reason why the fast forward thing they did with the time difference from the end of season 4 to the start of season 5 makes NO SENSE whatsoever. Lets hope the last couple of episodes this season give us something to look forward to in season 6.

<SPOLIER ALERT: Game of Thrones>

Sean Bean was the central figure of Season 1...Who will be that figure in Season 2?

Having never read the books, I didn't know what to expect when I first started watching this series. What I found was a rich and intricate quilt being sewn together with so many different patches and vibrant stories that I could not stop watching (Thanks Shannon for suggesting it by the way). The first season was riveting on so many levels that the last scene of the 2nd to last episode could have really been the season finale.

For those of you that don't know, this is a series based upon the novels of George R.R. Martin (who is also involved directly with the writing on the series as well) about a fantasy version of England (or another land similar) set in what could have been the late 16th or early 17th centuries. The writing on this show rivals any show out there.

 Emmy Award winner Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister

The amazing thing about this show is that the only real known actor involved (at least the only one that I had seen in anything before this series) was Sean Bean (who plays  Eddard Stark) and he was killed off in the scene I mentioned above. The only other actor who one could say had any modest success before being on this series would only have been known to the fans of Stargate: Atlantis as Jason Momoa (who plays Khal Drogo) was on the show as well but he too was killed off in the same episode as Sean Bean's character was. Peter Dinklage (who plays Tyrion Lannister) won an Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in the series BECAUSE of how good the writing is on this series, not because of being a known commodity as an actor because I doubt anyone had ever heard of him before this series.

Jason Momoa was the only other actor I had even seen anywhere else from the cast....

With Season 2 about to start, all out war seems to be on the door step of the child-King Joffrey (who looks like a fairy and needs to get his ass handed to him for the way he prances around even though he doesn't deserve to be King). Rival factions are building their forces all around him about to challenge for the Iron Throne and he doesn't appear to have as firm a grasp on the throne as he seems to think he does. This season the main question I have is when will the carnage begin? And who will end up as the King when everything is all said and done? Stay tuned as this is a series worth keeping your eye on.

Some 6 weeks ago, I was told by my doc that I had "Dangerously High Cholesterol" which required one of two things on my part. I could either change my diet or go on medication. I choose to change my diet, knowing that it wasn't going to be easy. I had to cut out fatty foods, red meats, steaks, burgers, bacon, whole fat cheeses, basically everything I had been eating in abundance for years. The point of this change was to see if my levels change dramatically or if they stay the same. If nothing changes, then clearly it is a hereditary thing and another course of action will need to be followed. If there are major changes in my levels, then clearly I was an idiot who needed to be shown the right path and my diet was a mess.

 Too much of this stuff, as I have learned, is unsustainable and not healthy

Well, 6 weeks in and I have held strong to my diet, eating mostly turkey, chicken and salmon with lots of veggies and oatmeal. My snacks now consist of grape tomoatoes or bell tomatoes instead of chips and I have had a ton more tuna then I had had in the past 2 years combined. The results are pretty clear: I'm down 12 pounds overall and I have a ton of stamina that I did not have before I started on this diet. The only problem? I REALLY miss having a steak, or even a nice, juicy Quarterpounder or Big Mac.
 

Damn........I DO want one though....

But I have stuck with this diet and, given the results, I think I will stick with it for a while longer (at least until a couple of weeks after my next Cholesterol test results come in, if they come in the way I think they will). I really do miss having a nice burger though. I realize now I was just overdoing it when it came to my intake of burgers (whether it was McPukes, BK or at home). My laziness was my main issue when it came to preparing food and now that I have overcome that issue, I really feel like my dietary issues are a thing of the past.

 Instead, I have been eating Salmon, like this, and it's been pretty good so far....

Of course, one of the other main issues in this regard was having to break it to my mother that I could no longer eat all her food. She took such offence to this (and still continues to make little remarks here and there) but I had no choice. Her being hurt because I have to do this is no match to the fact that I have to do this for my own health. At least now we are at a point where she seems to understand more then she did at first.

Next week I will be doing a political blog breaking down the idiotic Republican nominees (Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum), the Wildcat Strike by Air Canada staff (and why it was the right thing to do) and why Mayor Rob Ford needs help from the Premier (and won't get it) and the PM (and WILL get it) with regards to forcing the city of Toronto into a 22nd Century transit model instead of a 19th century one that the City Council seems intent on wasting billions of taxpayer dollars on.

Until next time....

Leafs Embarrasing, Jays Will Surprise and more...

 Tyler Seguin Scored the 8th goal of the game but didn't seem too happy about it...

It took me all of about 7 minutes into the Leafs-Bruins game tonight to see just how far the Leafs really are from being an actual Stanley Cup contender, or even a team that thinks they will have a shot at even MAKING the NHL Playoffs in the foreseeable future. The guys out on the ice wearing blue and white are supposed to be NHL players. They looked like a bunch of beer league players out there, running around trying to put out fire after fire, with no game plan, no leadership, nothing.

For the life of me, I do NOT understand why Carlyle (and Wilson before him) keeps insisting on playing 22 year old turnover machine, Luke Schenn over 23 year old offensively minded Cody Franson. Something was mentioned last week about Franson not practicing as hard as he should. Are you f-ing kidding me? Not to sound like anyone you may have heard of (Re: Iverson, Allen) PRACTICE???!!?!  We are talking about Practice....not the game, not the way you play in the game, but PRACTICE?!?!?! After tonight's performance, I think Carlyle needs to re-think who he plays on that defence because Schenn and Komisarek (despite valiantly putting up a fight against Milan Lucic, and getting his ass handed to him) are clearly just not good enough to be in the NHL.

It's just like the Leafs to fall completely out of the race when they were (apparently) locked in a playoff spot, fire their sarcastic, caustic and know-it-all coach, hire a Cup winner in his place, continue the freefall down the standings, do a quick turnaround and look as if they may finally be coming out of it, only to fall completely back on their backs and getting their butts whopped by their arch nemesis once again. Six games against the Bruins this year and 6 losses later, the team looks just as dysfunctional as ever. Four of the six games that the Leafs played against the Bruins resulted in games where the Bruins scored at least 6 goals.

The Bruins averaged 6 goals a a game against the Leafs this year. Read that sentence again.6...Goals...Per GAME!!! The average team gives up around 3 goals a game. This incarnation of the Leafs is twice as bad as the AVERAGE NHL team defensively. Most of this was covered up early in the season by an offense that was really clicking with Kessel and Lupol on fire but once teams started keying on them and being (illegally) physical with the Grabo line (coupled with Nik Kulemin continuing to have a nightmare season both personally and on the ice), the spiral into the abyss was almost pre-determined by the League office. Think about this: When have you ever heard of a team, like the Leafs, going through an entire month, playing 13 games and only having 16 penalties called on them? You just don't unless something is amiss, something foul is and has been afoot with regards to the officiating in this league.

 "So how many penalties are we supposed to miss tonight?"

"I was told we can't call more then 6, everything else, we let go...got it?"

 
Young, highly skilled and fast teams, the ones that were built to take advantage of the supposed new rules in the NHL, have begun to wonder aloud about what exactly is going on with the way that games are being called in the league since the start of 2012. The new year has seen a retro version of the rules return to the game as can be seen by a stat that the CBC's Eliot Friedman brought up only 2 weeks ago; Prior to January 1st this year, the average game had 12.3 penalties that resulted in power plays. Since January 1st, that number is down to 7.4 per game.

What does that say? To me, it reeks of a league that is doing it's best to bring down scoring right before a new Labour deal is ironed out. They are (for whatever reason) trying to lower revenues subtly by pushing both the Leafs and Habs (both small, skill teams) out of the Playoffs, therefore lowering the potential for revenue generation by the CBC by lowering their ratings. I know it sounds counter-intuitive but think about it.This new system that was brought in after the league was out of action for an entire year was supposed to keep salaries low and team costs low as well as generate more parody throughout the league. On the 2nd point, parody, the salary caps system has worked in a great manor but in terms of keeping costs lower, it has been a failure.

 "Now if you were to go to Toronto, we can really mess with this league...BIG TIME!!!"

 

The original cap started at around $40 million per team. After this season, it was already projected to reach into the $69 million range with the floor already over the top end of the original cap limit from 7 years ago. What exactly did the league lose an entire year over, if players are still making such massive amounts of money? And, more to the point, why is the cap going higher and higher each season? The Canadian Dollar.

The rise of the value of the Canadian Dollar has been a boon to both the Canadian Franchises and the NHL as they collect over 40% of their TOTAL revenue from Canada and its Canadian teams. Before this year, that meant that 6 our of 30 teams (or 20% of its franchises) brought in 40% of the leagues revenue. Now with another franchise in Winnipeg, that total is probably going to exceed 45%. What if Winnipeg, Toronto and Montreal made the Playoffs this season? Could you imagine the amount of extra revenue that the league would be making (and then have to divide with the players in their new collective bargaining agreement?). Is it any wonder that Gary Bettman's former right hand man is in charge of the Leafs and they, the one team that generates the MOST revenue for the league, are the only team in the cap era not to make the Playoffs? Hmmmmm.

Enough ranting and raving about the ills of the NHL, it's time to focus on spring and with the weather getting so much better lately, the Blue Jays are preparing for what will be their best season in almost a decade. Mark my words, as I write this every other team in the American League is very wary of the team that Alex Anthopolous has put together. They currently are 13-4-1 in the Grapefruit league pre-season but more then that, they just seem to finally have all the pieces in place to be mentioned as a bonafide playoff contender for the first time since 1993.

The Man with the Plan is all the talk of the MLB right now

I know I mentioned it before but along with the 2-time Hank Aaron Award Winner and 2-time defending Home Run King in Jose Bautista, this looks more and more like a really dangerous team from just about every spot in the lineup. Offensively speaking, along with Bautista (who will hit another 50 this season), Brett Lawrie has been every bit of what he was last season and more so far as he is hitting for power, average and production so far as he leads the pre-season with an average of .609, has 3 homers and 9 RBI's along with stealing bases and hitting for doubles and triples (he is probably running too much, hence his slightly strained groin he picked up Friday night.

Edwin Encarnacion is hitting the ball well as are Yunel Escobar, Travis Snider and Eric Thames (both of which are fighting tooth and nail to win the job as the everyday Left Fielder). The biggest difference is in the bullpen where everyone is enthralled with the improvement that the team has made in just that one area. With the additions of Sergio Santos, Francisco Cordero and Darren Oliver, the new bullpen is the envy of many a team in the league. Last year, the Jays led the league in one very dubious category: Blown saves (25). They finished the year with 81 wins. Had they only blown 12 saves last year (the average for the league), they would have finished with 94 wins, 1 more then the Wild Card winning Tampa Bay Rays won last season. Santos saved 35 games for a crappy White Sox team, Cordero had 38 for the Cincinnati Reds and Oliver has been to back to back World Series as a situational lefty for the Texas Rangers over the last 2 seasons. Needless to say, all three are a vast improvement over Jon Rauch, Frankie Francisco and Shawn Camp from last season.

 A strong Spring bodes well for the Jays this year....Do I smell Playoffs?!?!

As I have said before, I can see the Jays making it back to a playoff spot this season. I foresee them winning the first ever 5th Playoff spot and going into a winner take all game which could be all it is or the start of something really special for a Blue Jays franchise that seems to be very slowly rising out of the ashes of the mess they were in for the last 20 years.

I was lucky enough to be a the Toronto FC game 2 weeks ago at SkyDome, where 47,000 fans packed the place to witness a great first half (before the game was basically stolen away by poor officiating in the 2nd half). TFC did the unthinkable this past week when they were able to upset LA in LA, by winning 2-1 and advancing to the CONCACAF Champions League Semi-Final. This means another home game for TFC in this particular tournament and a chance to actually win a trophy of some significance (for once). Unfortunately, this home game (scheduled for March 28th) will be played at BMO instead of Skydome because of the fact that the 'dome is now being prepared for the Blue Jays Home Opener.

 The atmosphere, the crowd....things you will NEVER see at a Leaf game....

I already have bought a pair of tickets to this game (I actually have access to 3 in a row if anyone is interested...Section 114, row 16, seats 22-24....anyone wants them, let me know). This could be a massive party if the team comes out and plays like it has been so far this season. They look like a vastly improved outfit so far and, if they come out as strong next Wednesday as they did in their 2 games against the LA Galaxy, we could very well be seeing them in (GULP!) a Cup Final (now there is something a Toronto Team hasn't been in for quite some time).

With the return of spring weather, we are starting to enter into the Blockbuster movie season as well. Disney tried to force feed us on the dumbest movie name ever with their colossal money losing flop "John Carter". Last I read, it has already surpassed Water World as the biggest flop in movie history. 21 Jump Street is the #1 movie in the nation, proving that you can take a serious crime show from 80's and turn it into a caricature of itself for comedic purposes now.....wait, What?  I get that Jonah Hill is a really good comedic actor and Channing Tatum is considered to be a movie hunk but when this was attempted with bigger names and an even more serious old 70's TV show, it failed miserably (Starsky and Hutch anyone?). I guess there must be something to this movie but count it as a TMN view for me.

Ok Really? This is the #1 Movie right now?

After being convinced to read The Hunger Games (and enjoying it) I can honestly say I am looking forward to watching the movie when it comes out. It looks like they held true to the narrative of the book with their sets and costumes, even the actors that they cast seemed to fit very well into their characters (from what I have seen in the previews so far at least). Either way,  I can definitely see this movie becoming and staying as the top earning movie for quite some time as it has cross over appeal with both young and old as well as men and women. The only other serious contenders for top movie this summer will be The Avengers (which looks like the movie all the fans had hoped it would be since it was first announced 5 years ago) and The Dark Knight Rises (which could very well be the best Batman movie ever.

 If you havent read the book yet, you really should....

 I, along with many others, have been patiently waiting for this movie....lets hope it doesn't suck

 Like all other Christopher Nolan movies in the last 10 years, this one looks amazing

Another movie that should make some noise this summer looks to be Battleship. I know I know......how can a movie based on a board game we all played as kids be any good. Well, go watch the trailer and then you will see that maybe, just maybe there is a story there that will make it more then people think. I've seen the trailer for it and it looks a lot better of a movie then what I thought they could make of it when I first heard that they were seriously going to try to make one about a kids board game. I think my exact reaction was that the next movie they should try to make should be a rip off of Monopoly but they already did that when they made Wall Street. Either way, Battleship looks like it may be worth a shot.

 For some reason, the trailer really intrigues me for this movie

One other movie I wanted to mention, which really caught my attention, is Snow White and the Huntsman. Staring Charlize Theron, Chris Hemsworth, and Kristen Stewart as Snow White (kind of fitting since she is so dammed pale and always in Vampire movies!), this movie seems to be a different take on the old fairy tale but with a much more sinister streak than any previous movie about the fairy tale. Take a look and you will see that this movie has the making of being something really special.

 This could be a massive hit movie, in spite of Kristin Stewart and her inability to act....

I hope I have entertained today with my words and I leave you with one last thought. With regards to the whole Toronto Subway/LRT fight still raging on. The Prime Minister has sided with the Mayor and his steadfast belief in subway extensions over Light Rail Transit and he pointed to one LRT already in the city, which has been a massive failure: The St. Clair LRT. Dedicated lines all along St. Clair have taken nearly 7 years to build, caused massive gridlock to be created and forced many shop owners along St. Clair to go out of business since they no longer have any parking spaces in front of their shops. 

This has also resulted in a huge lawsuit being filed by all of the shop owners who went out of business against the City of Toronto as they allege that they were lied to by the city when it came to time frame and traffic issues that would be caused by this construction. The St. Clair LRT has been a bust and gone so incredibly over budget that it has proven to be huge waste of public funds.

Think about that the next time you think that the LRT is a better idea then subway extensions.

Look for a new blog in 2 days time on Dexter Season 7, Spartacus:Vengeance, Californication and my fight to lower my Cholesterol....

Until Next Time.... 

The Real Reason Why Europe is Struggling So much....

We all hear on an almost daily basis about how Europe and the Euro zone is in a crisis. How the Euro as a currency is a failure and how the entire eurozone concept as a whole is about to collapse upon itself. Well, all of this is very possible and could very well happen within the next few years but I'm not going to write about the inevitable. I'm going to try to explain to you why what we are seeing now in Europe was destined to happen from the start.

First lets start by looking at one fundamental difference between Europe and North America; Vacations. The average worker in Europe used to get somewhere between 4 to 6 weeks of PAID vacation. Let me say that again....they get 4-6 weeks of PAID vacation. I've been working at BMO for over a year and all I get is 10 business days off (2 weeks). This is one of many things that will be changing over the next few months as part of the austerity measures being introduced (in countries like Greece) to help stave off the utter failure of their financial system.

Add to this fact that the average working day in Europe (France in particular) only lasts until 3:30 in the afternoon or involves a rather long midday break (in the 2 hour range) and you start to get the sense that Europeans have no idea how hard we work over here in comparison to how they work there.

Let's get right to the heart of the matter, Europeans have had a much better quality of life over Canadians and Americans for decades because they have had the chance to actually live their lives instead of working their lives away like we do here. The average worker in North America works between 45-60 hours a week just tpo make ends meet. That drops to 37 hours a week on average in Europe (which is an increase of 5 hours a week for them over the last 3 years alone).

I don't know about you but those two things alone make me want to go work in a European city.  When you couple the shorter hours they work with the longer vacation times, you can see how any changes being forced upon them will lead to protests and riots (like the ones we are seeing in Greece). The biggest surprise about how they have lived for decades is the fact that despite somehow NOT having huge amounts of personal debt (like we do here in North America), their governments have rung up MASSIVE amounts of debt because of their refusal to have a proportional tax system.

The rich in Europe must still think they are royalty or something as they have not been (as is the case in Greece, Portugal and Spain most notably) paying their own fair share of taxes, which has created massive amounts of government debt. On top of that, government staff (especially in the 3 aforementioned countries) get benefits that would make some members of royalty blush; Pensions that go on and on even after they pass away, multiple uncapped pensions from various levels of government (depending on where they worked and years of service), free living accommodations even after leaving public office, free vehicles (with gas, insurance and maintenance covered by the government for life) or free driver service.

Just in Portugal alone, there are 33 former ministers who are earning pensions like this or some variation of this type of pension. No wonder the people are revolting. Instead of focusing on their own sweet "Golden parachutes", the current ministers of nations like Portugal and Greece are instead cutting into the average working mans' pensions, making it harder to get their hard earned money, while sitting back knowing that they will get to ride off into the sunset in the lap of luxury.

Many ordinary everyday people in Europe have been living the good life for years and now that their governments are starting to hack away at things that have made their lives so much easier then ours here in North America (like their pensions, the length of their working days and their vacations), now they are starting to understand what we have had to live with for so long, hence their reluctance to just bend over and take it.

The inevitability of their downfall comes from the fact that unfortunately our world is just moving way too fast to accommodate the kind of lifestyle that they live. The pace that they live their lives is actually ideal; work a little, play a little, enjoy both life and work at a pace that makes life worth living. The problem is that we are living in a world where people want everything done a minute ago and they want everything open 24/7, 7 days a week. They want banks open everyday until 8 and on Sundays too because it fits into THEIR schedule.

People are too selfish now to understand the enormous burden that this kind of pace puts on others. Why do you need a bank open until 8 pm or on Sundays when there are about a million other ways to do your banking? Why do you need McDonald's open 24/7 when you have a fridge and/or freezer full of food sitting at home? It's selfishness and greed. There are actual people who of course want/need to work those hours to fulfill their need to have more. They believe in the old Gordon Gecko modo that "Greed is Good". They forget that there was a 2nd Wall Street movie that came out recently where even the man who said that regrets that sentiment as it not only ruined his family life but nearly made the entire financial system go bankrupt.

We don't need to work as much as we do here. What we need is for everyone to pay their fair share and have the kind of work/life balance that existed in Europe. The only reason they are screwed now is because the rich were unwilling (and still are) to pay their fair share in taxes, stealing (essentially) from the rest of the people in their respective nations. And that is why their fall was inevitable; the rich got rich by keeping what was theirs (and/or taking what was yours as well). Their refusal to do their part has pushed Europe to the brink of collapse. All these politicians rushing in with Eurozone bailout packages and forcing austerity measures on the regular everyday working citizen is only going to continue to lead to more and more protests and demands for change until the root cause of the problem is addressed.

That simply won't happen since that is not the focus of these politicians and their bailouts.

So the financial collapse clock should continue to tick away until the term "revolution" begins to resonate with these politicians. It happened in France in 1791 when the people were starving as Royalty sat on golden chairs and ate all the finest foods. Now, the politicians with their Golden Parachutes are pushing the Eurozone to the brink of another political revolution. Only time will tell.

TFC, Grabo, the Leafs Collapse & More....

I had the pleasure of being at the TFC game last night, along with 47000 other people, to be witness to a great first 30 minutes of play before the officials decided to take over the game. I really don't know what it is about the officiating I have seen over this past year but it seems as if, in EVERY sport, the officials (even with all the tools at their disposal) have become either incompetent all at the same time (which is impossible) or they are starting to allow their own biases to influence them (plausible and possible) or they are being directed to steer games in a certain direction (Scary, if true, although highly unlikely).

Case in point, last nights TFC game against the World All-Stars, er, LA Galaxy. Sure, they have David Beckham and Robbie Keane (Irish National Team Captain) and Landon Donovan (US Team Captain) but for the first 25 minutes, a fairly officiated game resulted in a 2-0 score line in favour of the home team. All the whining in the world by these prima donnas should not have had an impact on the all Jamaican Officiating crew, except that it did. LA started getting away with some really questionable tackling, elbows making contact with TFC players heads, holding up players as they tried to make their way around them.

Then there was the Danny Koevermans incident which should have told everyone in the building that the officials clearly had an agenda in mind as to who should actually win the game and who shouldn't. For those of you who weren't there or missed the incident in question, all you would see if you were to look at a stats line for the game is a yellow card given to Koevermans but what you won't see (and what isn't even being explained on Sportsnet.ca, and they were the channel that aired the game on TV) was that the Galaxy goalie grabbed the ball outside the 18 yard box and brought it back in.

This missed call sent the fans into a fury and Koevermans ran into the goalie a few seconds after as a way to protest the missed call. A shoving match then started and Koevermans was CLEARLY kicked in the thigh by the keeper and yet only the TFC player ended up with a booking. Right after he was given the card, he lifted his shorts to show a bright red mark on his thigh where he had been hit only to be ignored by the Ref.

Time after time, even non-soccer aficionados (Like my buddy Cliff who went with me), and others around us, started to see the inequity of the calls by the officials. I'm usually a quiet fan at TFC games but even I started yelling at key moments where I felt the refs were dead wrong, to the point where I am hoarse today with a much deeper voice then normal.

TFC are now faced with a daunting challenge: Win in LA a week from now to advance to the CONCACAF Champions League Semi-Finals in the hopes of repeating that amazing scene last night at the SKY DOME (Yes, last night was the first time in a long time that it felt like the early 90's at the "Concrete Convertible").

So Burke actually did 2 things I thought he needed to do in the past week; He fired Ron Wilson (CALLED IT!!!) and he re-signed Mikail Grabovski to a whopping 5 year, $27.5 million contract extantion ($5.5 million per year) that kicks in next season.

The Wilson thing is about 3 years late if you ask me. I have been railing against Wilson for years. He doesn't have a clue how to develop young players, he's just WAY too sarcastic to have ever developed a cordial relationship with the media, and he is just too damned arrogant to have ever succeeded in this market. He has better success with older, more veteran teams (like the ones he led in Washington in 1998 and San Jose in the early 2000's) then he is at helping young players make a name for themselves and become solid NHL players. His time had come and now with Randy Carlyle as the coach, we will see a man who knows the market, has actually won a Stanley Cup as a coach recently, and someone who can actually teach these guys how to play defensively.

Grabovski had earned himself an extension and clearly wanted very much to stay in Toronto for personal reasons. His 2 children were born here, he met his girlfriend and mother of his 2 kids here as well and, he has found a home as the 2nd line center of the team that gave him his biggest chance to turn himself into the player he has always believed he could be. The only thing I would have liked would have been if he had given the team a "Home town Discount" because now he is making WAY more money then a 2nd line center should be making.

However, as Burke stated this week, as many as 14 other NHL teams came calling the Leafs about acquiring him before the trade deadline. This would lead you to believe that clearly he would have had many offers if he had been allowed to become a free agent and, who knows, maybe this WAS a discounted deal given the fact that he would have been the best center available on July 1st as a free agent.

He has played well most of the season. As has Phil Kessel and Joffrey Lupol but that hasn't stopped the team from, as Burke himself put it, "Falling off a cliff" when it comes to their overall play. After yesterdays loss, the team is now 2-12-1 since February 1st, falling all the way from 7th place and being 5 points up on the 9th place team, all the way down to 12th and being 5 points BACK of the 8th and final playoff spot. With 15 games left, it's going to take a minor miracle to battle over all the way back, overtake 4 teams and somehow manage to get themselves back into the playoffs.

It will be even tougher now with the loss of Lupol for 4 weeks with a separated shoulder after he was drilled from behind into the boards by David Kreicji on Tuesday night against the Boston Bruins (no penalty on the play either, which was asinine). The 5th highest scorer in the league when he was injured, his loss is probably the final straw for this team as they seem to have just lost their way for one reason or another, and can't seem to get back to their winning ways. They should tank right now and try to get a high pick but that's not how Burke likes to build his teams....

Spring training is now upon us and the Jays are starting to look like a team that will make a little noise this year. It is really early (a week into the Grapefruit league schedule) but already there are signs that some of the key players that they will be counting on this season, are really ready to step up. Brett Lawrie has picked up where he left off last year, Travis Snyder looks to have finally figured out how to stick with the team for good, Edwin "Easy E" Encarnacion is hitting the cover off the ball as well. The bullpen looks like it could be among the best in the game with Sergio Santos as a hard throwing closer and Francisco Cordeiro as his set up man. Then you have Casey Janssen, Darren Oliver and Jason Fraser to work anywhere from the the 6th, 7th or 8th inning and you have some pretty solid guys right there helping bridge the gap to your closer in Santos.

Add to that Ricky Romero, Brandon Morrow and Brett Cecil (who lost 30 pounds in the offseason) all looking strong so far and you have the makings of a very solid team. The feel good story of the starting rotation is Dustin McGowan who seems to have finally recovered enough to become the 5th starter for this team. With the kind of pitches he has (and from what Yunel Escobar was saying after a BP session, his stuff is just incredible) and the velocity he has regained, if there is a God he will allow this guy the chance to finally become the player he has always had the ability to turn into (if he had been able to stay healthy of course).

With the added playoff team this year in each League, it is entirely possible that the Jays could finally make it back into the Playoffs for the first time since 1993. It will happen, write it down.....I predict that the Jays will make it back this year and Boston will be on the outside looking in for the 2nd straight year.

It's March, why not go out on a limb and make that kind of bold prediction.....

Until next time....