Leafs win, Raps need a 3, and I Hate Chuck Swirsky.

It was another nice win for the Buds last night as they took down the Habs 6-3. Van Ryn was the recipient of a cheap shot that resulted in a 5 minute boarding call and ejection, and the NHL will be taking a closer look at the hit. There was a positive that came from this hit; the team had Van Ryn's back. Carlo went after Kostopoulos right away, and the rest of the team ran Carey Price for the rest of the night (which worked very well, better get used to Carey). This group of guys is really starting to look like a team. Every step in the right direction is a good thing.

I want to echo Billy Bee's comments on the Raptors need for a wing player. It is such a glaring hole in a team with so much potential that BC has to make a change. Jamario Moon has the potential to be a great bench player, but he is not an NBA starter. Joey Graham doesn't appear that he will make the leap either. Giving Darius Miles a 10 day contract (after he serves his suspension) isn't a bad idea. Something needs to change.

I decided that I should help the GM out and do a little homework with the ESPN Trade Machine. Every trade listed here works in terms of dollars. This is a birthday wish list of deals I'd like to see the Raps make to fill the hole at the 3.

4) Anthony Parker and Joey Graham for Hedo Turkoglu.
Hedo has lost a few steps on the D side of the ball in recent years, but he would give the Raps a veteran who can be another scoring option. Toronto is "international player friendly", but Turkoglu is a little older than I'd like.

3) Andrea Bargnani and Anthony Parker for Caron Butler.
The Wizards are going no where and the sooner they start to rebuild the better they will be in the long run. This is the kind of deal that could burn the Raps for years if Andrea develops any level of consistency.


2) Anthony Parker, Joey Graham and cash for Stephen Jackson.
Monta Ellis put the first nail in this teams coffin when he crashed his Vespa. Corey Maggette is the future in Golden State, and it's time for Jackson to move on. Stephen Jackson and Jermaine O'Neil being reunited in Toronto would make this the best season ever. If this trade happens I will officially buy a jersey before the first game. (I couldn't choose between these two pics; both rule).
1) Josh Howard for Andrea Bargnani, Jamario Moon, and Kris Humphries. Josh Howard would be a great option, but this trade is a long shot until he does something brutal. Gerald Green has been brought in as a security measure in case Howard does something dumb, which I am hoping happens in the worst way. Mark Cuban has always had a chubby for tall white guys (Raef, Dirk, Bradley), and although he loves controversy he wants to win a title even more. Dallas isn't going to win a title with the roster they have now.

On another note, I am so happy that I can finally watch Raptors games in peace. The salami and cheese is no more. Although Chuck Swirsky can be credited with helping to develop the Raptors thriving fan base, it was mostly new basketball fans who enjoyed his schtick. For fans who just wanted to watch basketball and not be "entertained" during EVERY SECOND, he was the most annoying person who every existed. Even this video click couldn't make it better.



I'm not 100% sold on Devlin yet, but ANYONE is better than Swirsky.

TFC Season Review - Part 2

A couple years ago, while watching Laurent Robert score a cracking goal for Newcastle, I declared him as having “The Most Electrifying Left Foot in the Premiership tm” - a purely subjective award that has since been bestowed upon such gifted southpaws (hoofs?) as Arjen Robben and Jon Arne Riise – all recipients have subsequently left the Premier League. You can imagine my delight when I found out that the temperamental Frenchman had signed for Toronto FC. Larry was to join former League MVP Amado Guevara, Welsh International “Crazy Carl” Robinson, 2007 Rookie of the Year and FIFA 09 coverboy Maurice Edu and team gadabout Rohan Ricketts in a midfield that could roll with any in the MLS. How then did this cosmopolitan and undoubtedly talented midfield fare in 2008? Well, in a word (and one that’s all too well known to Toronto sports fans), inconsistently.

Robert typified this inconsistency by performing well in his first few games before he started putting in as much effort in his game as Dylan McKay does in being cool (i.e. none). This was rewarded with a mutual au revoir and a late August contract termination.

On the other wing, TFC scored a major pick-up in Rohan Ricketts. Having played with both Arsenal and Tottenham, Ricketts’ career seemed to be declining into first division obscurity before he was handed a fresh start in Toronto. Flashes of quality were overshadowed by a string of pretty ordinary displays that neither the fans nor Ricketts himself can be content with from a player of his caliber. His form did improve toward the end of the season, so hopefully his “poppin” off field persona can be matched with a greater presence on it in year three.

Going the other way across the Atlantic mid way through the season was Maurice Edu. At around $5 million, I think perhaps Rangers overpaid for an unproven centre mid who was having a bit of a sophomore slump at the time of the sale. He’s certainly got the quality to play in Europe in some capacity, but I don’t think the big leagues of Spain or England will be calling him for a few years. I met him briefly in the BMO Field beer garden just before he left for Scotland and wished him all the best. His response? “Thanks, man.” Pure class.

Amado Guevara was considered by some in MLS circles to be a moody, dramatic locker room cancer and therefore a risky acquisition for TFC. He’s proven to be the opposite, seeming to genuinely enjoy being in Toronto. The most frustrating thing about Guevara (when he’s playing for TFC, and not shredding Canada with the Honduran national team) is that, even though he’s always one of the better players on the field, he’ll occasionally pull some shit that leaves you scratching your head and wondering how this guy isn’t a perennial MVP candidate. The more Guevara plays with this team, the more those around him will be able to benefit from his skill.

I am firmly in the belief that Carl Robinson is a key to the squad. His occasional perfect passes to no one in particular notwithstanding, his role as the core of the team, tucked in between the more attacking Guevara and the back four was recognized recently with him being awarded team MVP (http://toronto.fc.mlsnet.com/news/team_news.jsp?ymd=20081029&content_id=200134&vkey=news_t280&fext=.jsp&team=t280 ). As of now, and despite assurances from the team management, it’s not certain whether or not Robinson will be in TFC red come pre-season. His would be a big pair of shoes to fill and for a team that hopes to build upon the improvements of this past season and qualify for the playoffs next year, Carl Robinson provides the all important steadying influence in the middle of the park.

Tyler Rosenlund and Gabe Gala provide the depth in midfield and are both promising in their own way - if not quite ready for regular MLS appearances. The most often used sub was Johann Smith, a genuine contender to Marvell Wynne’s “Fastest Guy in the League” title; his second half introductions throughout the latter part of the season had a twofold purpose in my opinion: motivate Ricketts, as he was more often than not subbed off to accommodate Smith, and to see if Smith was in fact the real deal as a player who could come on late in the match and influence the result. His performance at New York suggests he is. That being said, TFC is all bout influencing New York:

Overall 2008 Grade - Midfield: C
Top Off-season Priority: Keep Crazy Carl and acquire a solid left winger.

Declaration to Bryan

After watching the Raptors get destroyed by Joe Johnson tonight, BC needs to do something on the wing. I know Jose had a very rough night shooting, and I shouldn't over react. However, the Raptors are just too vulnerable on the wing defensively. I think the Raptor's big man rotation is decent. He needs to go out and sign Darius Miles. He'll play for the minimum. I know he might be totally useless, but so is Hassan Adams (Joe Johnson was shaking him so bad that he fell down, TWICE!!!!!). I mean, why not take a gamble. Dallas gave Gerald Green a shot, and he looked awesome against Denver.

Hopefully, BC recognizes this weakness in time. Bosh looks like he has made the leap. Jose is in great form (ATL not withstanding). JO looks like he is rounding into form, and Andrea is giving you something off the bench in the big man rotation. Kapono, while incredibly frustrating is a decent offensive option off the bench as well. Joey and Jamario just aren't getting it done. All I ask is for Colangelo to go out and give Darius a 10 day. What's the harm? He needs to address the wing. The Raptors got destroyed with the Joe Johnson iso play tonight. The Raps just did not have an answer. That retarded zone that Smitch was throwing out there put the Raps in terrible position. They need a perimeter stopper cause its not going to be Moon or Graham.

View From Above The Tunnel: Not Maverick Enough

So the Raps faced a somewhat depleted Pistons team last night, and came up short. I was hoping for a another strong comeback, but alas it was not to be. Onto my observations:

Three things I liked:

1. Chris Bosh stepping up in the 2nd half: After not being able to buy a bucket in the 1st and 2nd quarters, Bosh went into the zone. He almost brought the Raps all the way back, but just didn't get enough help at the end.

2. Jose Calderon taking on a bigger scoring load: With 50 Cent guarding him last night, Jose showed Fidy, who was a real gangster by dropping 20 plus on him.

3. Andrea's continued solid play off the bench: Obviously it would be ridiculous for me to say that Andrea is the 6th man of the year, but he is certainly playing well. 5 of 6 from the field off the bench, plus he almost made the defensive play of the game when he stuffed Rip on his drive (unfortunately, Sheed was being lazy, and hanging out by the 3 pt line, and lucked out by picking up the loose ball and hitting the long 2).

Three things that made me shudder:

1. Will Solomon is a disaster: What can I say, this guy is a bum. When he was in the game, the Pistons went on big runs. When Jose needed a quick breather in the 4th after the Raps pulled within 2, Solomon promptly allowed the 50 Cent to drive the lane, and he stagnated the offense by not giving the ball to a RED HOT BOSH. Note to Solomon, you got cut BY THE VANCOUVER GRIZZLIES, AND GOT BANISHED TO EUROPE; IN THE 4TH QUARTER OF CLOSE GAMES, PASS THE BALL TO BOSH (idiot).

2. Sam Mitchell not chewing out Will Soloman's ass before he got in the game: See above. What the hell!!!! Be the coach for god sakes. I mean, if Will Solomon is gonna suck that bad, why not just like Roko play????????

3. JO's disappearing offense: The Raps desperately needed a 3rd option last night, and given the fact that JO was able to shake his man pretty consistently in the post, you have finish!!!!! I am chalking it up to rust right now, but I am CONCERNED if he doesn't start finishing better around the hoop.

Is Age (Young or Old) Really That Important Anymore? And other ruminations on the Leafs...

Cliff Fletcher is 78 years old and working his blackberry like crazy while doing a job designed for men much younger, with much less need for rest. Luke Schenn is 19 years old - and at an age when most of his peers are playing beer league hockey or just plain drinking beers in college, Luke is competing every night for one of the most storied franchises in professional sports.

First, my apologies to Cliff Fletcher. We have, admittedly, referred to him as "Grandpa Cliffy" around these parts in a derogatory manner based on our summertime belief that he was not what this club needed in the post-lockout era. However, seeing as how I write on this blog anonymously, and that my wife doesn't read it, I can admit to being wrong on occasion. In fact, given the club that Cliff has assembled so far, and how he and Ronnie have these guys playing over the first few weeks, I may just continue to use that term, but in an affectionate way.

We also all know about the ascension of Our Luke and Savior to the ranks of the top 4 dmen on the club. So with that said I ask the question: does age really matter anymore?

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During the summer, I was firmly on board with the "tanking" strategy. In fact, I thought the current squad was largely devoid of legit NHL'ers and that this team - with a few exceptions - would struggle to compete against even the bottom dwellers of the big leagues. With Ron Wilson's patience and preaching, this team is proving me - and c'mon admit it, a lot of you - wrong. Plus, as the Celtics proved with their tank job during the Oden/Durant sweepstakes, tanking a season doesn't always land you the #1 pick. Plus, as Mike Brophy alludes to, the distinct lack of depth in this draft after the first and second spots (some combo of Tavares and Victor Hedman) makes tanking a risky strategy this year if you do happen to miss out on those top two guys.

Now, I point you to Cliff's recent comments in a Sportsnet interview that "we are not about to go and get any short-term help to get us into the playoffs," and ask the question: Why not? Would you rather finish the season with the current group and have the #13 or 14 pick in the draft - or would you rather make a playoff appearance for the first time in years and have a slightly lower pick in an admittedly weak draft class?

Naturally, I'm sure most of you readers are out there yelling: "I agree with Cliff! Of course we shouldn't leverage the good thing we've got going just for a short term rental! Those days are dead!" However, let's consider a scenario that most of us couldn't imagine 5 minutes before the puck dropped in Detroit on opening night: what if this team is juuuuuuust good enough to sneak into that #8 playoff spot? Are we going to be able to keep that level-headed calmness during a spring time playoff push and continue to argue that Gramps (there I go again) stay put and do what's in the best interest of the long term future of the club? Even with the perceived dearth of talent in this year's draft class AND with all that cap space we've got?

I continue to vote for the long term build, but have a feeling I'll be reading plenty of "Trade for Gabby!" and "Trade for Kovy!" postings in the Barilkosphere come trade deadline time.

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In that same interview, Fletcher says there isn't much action on the trade front right now. That shouldn't come as a surprise to those who've been reading the blog entries by former NY Rangers GM Neil Smith, who is doing some guest blogging duties over at the very good Torontosportsmedia blog. Smith says that at this point in time, GMs of all teams - rebuilding or contending - are going through the process of evaluating the players on their own rosters to determine who they believe is going to contribute this year and in the years ahead. When Gramps does make the inevitable move - whether it be White, Carlo or whoever else - it'll show us what the club thinks of those guys.

The Leafs and Obama: Work To Do

By now you all know the big story of the night... the Leafs lost 5-4 to the 'Canes in OT, after attempting, again, to be the comeback kids.

Kidding, obviously. The big story was, of course, the election of Barack Obama as President of the United States. To those who think politics has no place on a Toronto-based sports blog: get over yourselves. Elections alone are big news that happen only once every 4 years, and this one in particular was a monumental event. Plus, the reality is that no matter where you live, you are affected in some way or another by the USA. So deal with it.

Now, in keeping with my metaphor, much like President-Elect Barrack Obama's upcoming challenges, the Leafs have got a lot of work to do. While the offense has been clicking, there are a few areas of the club that need some attention:

1) Defence
With a strong goalie in Vesa Toskala, a stable of young and capable d-men and Ron Wilson's system, defense was supposed to be the hallmark of this Leafs team. Unfortunately though, they have given up 18 goals in the past 4 games. Yikes. That's an ugly stat. As pointed out by Cox today, the Leafs "started out the year in the top half of the league defensively but is now tied with Atlanta for the most goals given up (46) by any team in the Eastern Conference." They can't expect to be keep that up and continue to be competitive in games. The offense will, inevitably, go through stretches of drought and the defence will have to carry them. Captain Ron and his crew need to hit the film room and practice ice with a new determination over the coming weeks to tighten up the leaks.

2) Keep Developing the Youngsters
The play of Borat has been borderline spectacular over the early part of this season, and the addition of Hagman has been a revelation. However, the focus can't come off the youngsters. While Stajan and Poni have had their moments, Schenn continues to be steady and Grabovski currently leads the team in goals, we can't forget that Steen continues to disappoint, Kulemin has a long way to go before being able to perform to his full abilities night after night, and Tlutsy was assigned to the AHL. All these guys need to keep seeing the ice night after night and Ron & Co. need to keep working their magic during practice, as well as keeping the kids focused for the long haul. (Note: I still think a vet like Shanny would be a good add if we could get him on a 1 year deal at a decent price. Jason Blake sucks ass and is obviously not providing the kind of on-ice leadership this team needs.)

3) Make a Trade
As noted above, we've got a log jam on the blue line. We can't continue sitting guys like Ian White and Carlo in the press box night after night. While the prospect of being benched is a nice carrot/stick motivator for Wilson, its a waste of resources to sit all those guys on a nightly basis and certainly not helping their development. Grandpa Cliffy has got to swing a deal for a forward who can be a part of this club for the long haul. Obviously Kovalchuk would be an incredible add - but I have no faith in that happening with the parts we have to deal. Next move is yours, Gramps.

4) Forget about Sundin
He's in SoCal right now looking at the Ducks, 'Nucks and even Kings. I can't blame him entirely for wanting to live in a nice climate with no focus on hockey. He gave us his best years and the decision is his to make. Let's all just move on.

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DISCLAIMER: The following is a rant about U.S. politics and journalism. Turn away now - or rip me in the comments - if you think it has no place on this site.

How about this piece of crap from the Wall St. Journal (a paper I admittedly subscribe to for business news), which goes on to spew about the "disgraceful" treatment current President Bush has received over the past few years. The author's main contention seems to be that simply saying that you're going to be bipartisan, and acknowledging that you'll need the support of all Americans, means you somehow were bipartisan and should somehow be immune from that criticism?!? I think that an illegal and unjustified war, keeping prisoners locked away in Gitmo with no due process rights, torturing other prisoners, conducting warrant-less wire-tapping of your own citizens, politicizing the Justice Dept, overseeing an economic collapse of monumental proportions, etc. etc. etc. might make you deserving of most, if not all, of said treatment. What's been disgraceful is his two terms as President. End of rant.

Leafs bend the Rangers over with 5 goals in the 3rd

Nice win boys, that was one hell of a game. I don't think anyone expected a 5 goal explosion over 5 minutes and 22 seconds, but we'll happily take it. It's a little worrying that the Buds are developing a habit for coming back from a deficit, but this is a young team and now is the time to learn these sorts of lessons.

Captain Ron has been living up to the hype of being able to develop young talent and rule with an iron fist, and a few weeks into the season I like what I see. He's had the balls to bench underachievers like Blake and Stajan, and it has had a positive impact in most cases. Stajan has been working harder and is not shying away from the front of the net, and even Blake is skating harder in recent games (though I still think that we should trade him for a pick and a reach-around). This team isn't going to be led from the doldrums by some Saviour superstar player, it's going to happen because we've got a young talented core that doesn't EVER quit.

Luke Schenn - Toronto's new favorite son has continued to impress. Time will tell if he can keep up with the rigors of the brutal NHL schedule, but he currently looks like he belongs. He's made a few rookie mistakes, but this is the perfect opportunity for him to get those out of his system with little to no expectations (for the team as a whole). Wilson seems to have his pulse on the situation, so we'll have to trust him to protect Schenn from getting Dan Blackburned (where a player gets burnt out early in his career by getting destroyed night in, and night out).

John Mitchell - This kid has been incredible over the last few games. The 2 goals last night were a great reward for how hard Oakville boy Mitchell has been working this season. This kid just loves to play hockey, and works his ass off every time his skates touch the ice. He's all heart, with what seems to be the talent to back it up. It's nice to see players on the ice this season who really want to be there.

As Leaf fans we've had to accept douche bags like Khristich and Berezin who were more concerned with their personal stats and pay cheques than with bleeding Blue and giving it everything they've got on a nightly basis. A strong young Canadian core of Schenn, Stajan, Steen, Moore, and Mitchell have the future looking brighter than it has in years. If Carlo can find his game, and Pogge can finally make the jump to the next level then I think we're getting closer. It's still early to tell how this core will develop, but last night was another indicator that we're moving in the right direction.

Remember the days with Dougie or Wendal put their bodies on the line to such a degree that you could see them wince? I do, and I hope that they are back.

And on the topic of things that make me wince, please see below.

Got crabs?