UFC 158

Outside of Toronto there was UFC 158, which had GSP VS Diaz in an emotion filled match. With lost of banter back and forth between the two it was lined up to be a brawl that would maybe not last all 5 rounds.
But classic GSP he won the fight and maintained his champion status but did it in a way that did not impress fans. At least myself as a fan. really hate watching GSP go to decision every time adn sure he wins but what is UFC there for if not to entertain fans everywhere. I question GSP as a main fight on any card and would switch that up come next GSP fight.
I want to see knockouts and tapouts I dont want to see it go to decision every time. Which seems to be the deal every time I watch GSP fight. Still I was entertained by some of the other fights on the card and still enjoy watching UFC, but something needs to change with GSP as a champion, just needs to go up against a worthy opponent i guess

Silva Vs GSP should be coming soon.... I hope!

Pitching Woes...?

With the new lineup of pitchers that the Blue Jays have acquired in the off season there may be a question about the starting lineup. Ricky Romero the jays former ace has not been playing well in the pre season and recently played a game in the minor leagues and got lit up by the opposition.
Could J.A. Happ be the Jays 5th starter?
If so how does that effect Ricky as a pitcher psychologically?
Personally I think they need to give Ricky the 5th start come regular season because he has been their number 1 for 2 years now and deserves the respect to earn the right to be in the starting lineup.
Although if Ricky does not perform in the regular season he is on a tight leash and could loose that job early on if need be.

TML

Nazim Kadri is top 8 in scoring in the NHL....... who could have predicted that. Generating over a point per game and playing well with any line Randy throws his way. Also the return of Lupul has given the Leafs a huge push and made them maybe even look like a playoff team. With the Trade Deadline approaching it is not crazy to wonder the Leafs might be buyers on deadline day. Still hoping for the Leafs to get a first line centre who can play with Kessel and JVR. We have lots of prospects to move and Defensive assets on their team to be able to make some moves come deadline day.

Blue Jay Mania

SPRING TRAINING HAS BEGUN!

Today the Blue Jays begin spring training with R.A Dickey on the mound.
We are going to get a good idea of what the team is going to look like for the season and how our new number 1 is going to perform or can perform with JP behind the plate. They have been working a lot in the off season, so it should be fun to see.

Being in the USA for the past 5 days and watching ESPN it has been interesting to see how the Blue Jays have been a large topic of conversation with spring training beginning. Makes me believe that the Jays have a real chance, other than having the best Jays team since they won in 92 and 93, they are getting media attention in the USA. This is a new trend, having been in the USA quite a bit and seeing ESPN there is never Canadian coverage, this is a good sign for our boys in Blue.

First game of spring training:
Blue Jays 2- Red Soxs 4

Always the Away Team

Leafs looking amazing away from home 6-1 away and 1-4 at home... why is this?
They used to call it home field or rink in this case advantage, but what are the leafs so glum at home.
My best guess is media attention and scrutiny. It is hard to be a productive team when all your thinking about is how will the city and media react. The fans boo you for no real reason and the media concentrate on the bad rather than the good.
Being the Second Youngest teams in the entire NHL there are a few things that we are going to have to work out. This is the same in basketball. We are seeing teams in Toronto that now are finding the urgency to get off their asses and make some moves for the sports world in Toronto.

I personally am waiting for the Leafs big move because there needs to be a little splash in the water soon or else the faithful may loose faith.

Super Bowl

The Super Bowl was surrounded with many highlight stories the Harbaugh brothers, Ray Lewis and the emergence of Colin Kapernick. Post Super Bowl Ray Lewis is retiring on the right note with a win on the big stage. There has been talk of ever having the Super Bowl in New Orleans again after the power outage, but shit happens when Beyonce is the half time show and takes all the energy in the city to perform. That being said maybe one of the best half time shows in years, they were able to capture the fans attention and keep it though out.

Bright Light

Toronto's bright light is going to be and in my mind is the Toronto Blue Jays. A team filled with talent and promise for the future. It not now then when. This is the teams year to thrive, with other teams in the division struggling this is the year of the BLUE JAY. Yankees are old, Boston is re-bilding, Baltimore cant keep up the play from last season and in my eyes our competition comes down to Tampa who have been pretty solid the past few seasons and have a lot of young talent.

The winter season will be hard to endure but as the we progress into the summer we will see the light at the end of the tunnel and continue into a successful season.

Stay Tuned

Ups and Downs

Raptors made a big move over the past week to pick up an All Star player which was much needed. with the move we lost a large asset in Ed Davis who has been having a career year and Jose Calderon who only has one year left in his contract so is not much of a loss, except for his presence and leadership off the bench. Overall the team that gets the best player wins the trade and the Raptors have done just that. Looks like Brian Colangelo is fighting for his job. UP

Leaving off from last year the Leafs have been loosing their cool in the later periods not scoring a goal in 5 games at home and having a record of 1-4 is not something to be proud of. concentration needs to be on being defensively responsible and making the right plays at the right time. Jordan Stall's goal last night was complete defensive break down. In this short season every game is critical and the leafs need to become a stronger team on both sides of the rink. DOWN

A Tough Weekend In Toronto

This past weekend was filled with upset in the Toronto sports market.
I was lucky enough or unlucky to be at the Raps VS Cavs game on Saturday. With a 15 point lead at one point in the game, as usual, the Raps were able to give away the lead and end up with a buzzer beater loss.

This seems to be a common theme among Toronto sports teams. We lack the ability to finish out games strong. Again this weekend the Leafs were unable to hold a 2-1 third period lead against the NY Rangers. Which is not that bad considering the Rangers have potentially the best front 3 in the entire league (Gaborik, Richards, Nash).

The only way Toronto sports teams are going to be able to rise from the ashes is with the proper leadership and support. This is one of the largest sports cities, not only in Canada but in the world. If we can not keep up with the emerging markets then soon enough interest in the younger generations in Toronto sports teams will fade. We can already see signs of it with young kids cheering for the Pittsburgh penguins due to Sydney Crosby. For us to survive we need a leader and play maker like this on our teams.

This is already being done with the Toronto Blue Jays, making tons of trades and acquisitions to create a power house and a 1/8 favourite to win the world series. I am personally looking forward to this Blue Jays team more than any team in Toronto history, that I can remember. Being compared to the 92/93 Jays I like our odds!

Stay Tuned

The First Weekend

The first weekend of hockey is back in North America again. It was an exciting weekend with lots of games to watch and starts to see shine. All eyes were on new pieces of teams, rookies and surprisingly a group of veterans.

This week my attention turned to the Dallas Stars and Anaheim Ducks. the reason being that the veteran presence on these teams shone brighter than anyone else in the league. Jagr producing a 4 point night and Selane having the same success with 4 points was a shock and a pleasant surprise. It is great to see older guys in the league still able to produce at such a high level. These are the true super stars of the NHL that we watched as we do young talented kids now.

The Leafs were in action on Saturday and proved that they can win against a lacklustre Montreal team. With many new faces on the team is was exciting to analyze the talent level of the players and overall chemistry as a unit. It will be interesting to see how the Leafs do against a Buffalo team that looked very solid in their first game against Philadelphia.

I will be attending the Leafs game tonight to see our boys play in person. This will show how the attendance will keep up post lockout. It will be exciting to see the Leafs in person as a squad again. New faces, New Management, New coach, New Ending is how I see it.

Go Leafs GO
Stay Tuned

David and Goliath

After attending yesterdays Raptors VS Lakers game it was apparent that the Lakers have some things they still need to figure out. Other than this fact, the Raptors were able to perform as a unit, and were able to take dow the apparent kings of the league who have not been running their kingdom with very much success.

A sold out crowd at the ACC yesterday in Toronto was a sight to see. Being a Raptors fan is not always the easiest thing to do but after a win like yesterday I believe it gives our team and city hope for the future. 

Ed Davis was a monster at both ends of the court, as well as Amir Johnson. These two guys down low are a force to be reckoned with and have shown they can get it done at both ends of the court. 

Points my finger too trade rumours in the near future about Andrea Bargnani being traded for whatever the Raptors can get. 

Designing a offence around one guy who has not performed the way he should is a travesty and I have a hard time watching a Raptors team so dedicated to getting Drea the ball, when what they need is ball movement on the court. This is the only way they are going to beat teams like the Lakers, Brooklyn, Heat, and OKC. These teams are exploding with talent, unfortunately the Raptors have not been quit so blessed with an All Star line up. but resilience and team work will, in my opinion, prove to be a winning strategy. 

Stay Tuned

Game On

LOCKOUT IS OVER. old news I know but the Leafs are back, we have a lot to talk about.
I think the main thing on everyones mind is what our roster is going to look like after the short training camps the teams are provided.
Creating a mid-season form team is going to be a struggle for the Leafs as they have added some new pieces and as fans we are still looking for some moves in the future.... Luongo, first line center.

Leafs look to have some pretty good depth on the blue line, is this depth affected with trade rumours?
Aside from the rumours Leafs have had one of the highest paid defensive units over the past few years and yet we have not be able to hurdle into the playoffs.

With Burkes departure the structure of the team looks like it may change, although Dave Nonis has a similar style being Burke's protégé in Vancouver. But maybe he is the man to make the tough decisions and make the big trades. Isn't that what we thought bringing Burkey in as GM?