I Blame The Maple Leafs

It's all finally making sense to me. It has now become crystal clear why in the middle of April and well into Spring, it feels this cold. It's actually -3C at this very moment as I type this. Hell has finally frozen over and all the blame falls squarely on those damn Toronto Maple Leafs.

Last night for the first time in something like 30 years (okay it's more like eight years) the Toronto Maple Leafs officially qualified for the playoffs.

Now I won't make excuses by reminding everyone that this is a shortened season and the Leafs are notorious for collapsing during the second half of a normal season which would usually start around this time. I don't mean April, I mean after this number of games played. So they certainly had that going in their favour.

While I'm not a Toronto fan (that's an understatement, I hate the Leafs) I am happy to see my many friends, who happen to be Leafs fans, thrilled by ending the post-season appearance drought.

But I caution the Blue & White faithful, don't start planning any parades just yet. Getting to the playoffs is one thing but winning the Stanley Cup is another beast all-together. Playoff hockey is entirely different from regular season hockey and only the best of the best or the hottest team peaking at the right time will get to hoist Lord Stanley's Cup when it's all over. Sixteen wins is all it takes but they never come easy.

Of course anything is possible once you make the playoffs. But I'd bet the Stanley Cup drought will continue for Toronto this year. For those keeping track, this would be 46 years since the Leafs last won the Stanley Cup should they fail to do it this year. To put that into perspective, I turn 45 this summer, so I wasn't even alive the last time they won. I have however been alive long enough to see my beloved Montreal Canadiens win the Cup a total of nine times. That doesn't include the cup they won just before I was born. I thought I'd mention that.

Bring on the Playoffs!!

Sorry We Suck

If I were a Toronto Maple Leafs fan I would be embarrassed. Not by the pitiful results the team has posted 8 years in a row (45 years since the last championship), or the way they constantly collapse down the stretch year after year or by their inconsistent goaltending, defense or lack of depth up front, but by the way the Leafs management and ownership thinks an apology makes up for their ineptitude.

It’s baffling to me how a once proud and powerful National Hockey League franchise can fall into such disrepair and disarray. It’s even more perplexing how Larry Tannenbaum and his rich and powerful senior staff can arrive at the idea that an apology in the local media will smooth things over.

Of course, I’m not even remotely a Toronto fan. I’m as far from it as is humanly possible. I’m a die-hard, red, white and blue, poutine eating, “ole ole” and “nah nah hey hey” singing Montreal Canadiens fan. But that doesn’t mean I can’t sympathize with Leafs fans, several of which I consider good friends.

I just sat through one of the worst seasons in Montreal history with management issues, coaching issues, player issues and poor results on the ice. As bad as it was, I’d still take the Habs over the Leafs any day. Montreal is trying to make moves to solve the problems of missing only one year of the playoffs. The GM is gone, the coach was fired mid-season and the interim coach will likely be let go as well. Add to that an assurance from the ownership that they’re committed to restoring the storied franchise to its rightful place among the league’s elite teams and I’m satisfied that they’re making an effort at least. I just hope it leads to results.

But what are they doing in Toronto? Yes they fired the coach and as much as I dislike Ron Wilson, the mess they’re in was hardly his fault. The Leafs this season were great guys but aside from maybe a handful of players, the rest were not skilled enough to succeed on a consistent basis. Sure they had good nights but those games were few and far between.

So who’s to blame? Is it bad scouting and drafting? Is GM Brian Burke, the architect of the team to blame? I don’t claim to be an expert but I think these are the two main issues with the Leafs.

Brian Burke

I am amazed that Brian Burke still has a key to the Air Canada Centre. The ultimate blame has to fall on him. This is his team and while they haven’t drafted well, with the amount of money behind this team, it amazes me that they can’t draw more skilled free agents or make trades to improve their situation. Let’s be honest, the deal for Phil Kessel looked bad when Burke made it and it looks even worse today. The picks they lost in that one deal were huge. I’m not saying Kessel isn’t a skilled player but he’s not worth the price they paid for him. But that’s old news and what’s done is done.

Toronto has to move on and right the ship before their fans finally come to their senses and revolt.  Its one thing to go to the games and “boo” the players but it’s another thing entirely to stop buying tickets, merchandise and lining the pockets of the owners Bell and Rogers who were smart for buying this franchise. They knew that no matter how much they sucked or how little they had to spend on the team, the cash was going to keep flowing in just as much as it would if they had a Stanley Cup contender.

At what point will the fans finally stop saying, “I support my team in good times and bad”? I appreciate the value of loyalty and not wanting to abandon your team but at some point you have to ask yourself, what are they doing to warrant my support and money? The relationship between the fan and the team is “give and take” and with Toronto the fans are giving everything and the Leafs ownership is gladly taking every dollar they can.

Obviously at this point the Leafs faithful are in it for the long haul or they would have done something besides bitch and moan by now. It would seem that they’re quite prepared to continue bending over and taking it from their beloved blue and white- jerseyed heroes. One thing is certain, unlike a lot of other fans in the league, Toronto supporters will be satisfied with one day making the Playoffs; while those other team’s fans expect and demand nothing less than a chance to celebrate with Lord Stanley’s Cup.

1967 Stanley Cup Champions

 

May I Have Your Attention Please

We interrupt this blog for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

OK...so my team (Montreal Canadiens) are in tough against the Washington Capitals down 2-1 in the series and will likely not survive the first round.

This does not mean I'll stop watching once they're out and therefore it will be tough for me to update my blog when my butt is firmly planted in my comfy chair.

If I find some time I'll try and get some new stuff up but as any Canadian will tell you...when the Playoffs begin, we can not be reached unless it's an emergency.

Lets Drop The Puck Already!

It has returned once again. The National Hockey League is set to start another season long quest to drink from Lord Stanley's Cup.

Thursday the NHL 09-10 season will kick off with four games but only one will really matter in my mind as the Toronto Maple Leafs will host my Montreal Canadiens on Hockey Night in Canada on CBC.

I think Montreal will have a good team this season but not a great one and will struggle to make the playoffs. I'm hoping I'm wrong about that but that's just what my gut tells me.

I also think this could be the year Toronto finds their way back into the post season...as much as it pains me to say that. I feel for the long suffering Toronto fans though. I can't imagine what that feels like.

So I suppose I should make my picks official right now. What teams will make it to the Stanley Cup final this season?

I have to pick Detroit and Boston to meet in the Stanley Cup Final with Detroit winning. It's tough to get to the final three years in a row but I think the Red Wings have what it takes to do it again. Boston was a tough choice for me over Pittsburgh returning but I liked what I saw last season and I think the Bruins will make that next step. Of course the San Jose Sharks blew it in the Playoffs last season and could get there as well. It's really a four team race in my mind but I'll stick with the Wings and Bruins. And as a Habs fan that isn't easy for me to say.

My dark horse pick to win the Cup is Vancouver. I think they have the best chance of any Canadian team to bring the cup north for the first time since Montreal won it last during the 92-93 season.

Now, lets stock the fridge, buy the snacks, iron our hockey sweaters, prepare for Don Cherry's bashing of all things non-Canadian (I love him for that) and re-form our ass print on the chesterfield because it's time to drop the puck.

Still not in the mood yet? Perhaps this will get the adrenaline flowing.

Game Seven Thriller In Motown

It was everything we hoped it would be and it wasn't decided until the clock ticked down to zero in the third period.

The Pittsburgh Penguins have won the Stanley Cup...the hardest trophy to win in professional sports.

I'm not a Penguins fan but as a hockey fan I must say this was a good series and a great seventh game. The only thing that would have made it better is if Montreal had won. Oh well...maybe some year in the not too distant future.

Here are the highlights for you to enjoy.

Stanley Cup Final Going Seven

I don't care for the Detroit Red Wings and the Pittsburgh Penguins don't really excite my athletic supporter but I for one have enjoyed the NHL Stanley Cup Final between these two teams.

Sure I'd rather see my Montreal Canadiens there, and to be honest I don't expect to see them there any time soon, but if my favourite team can't win "The Cup" then all I can hope for is some good, exciting, physical hockey and these two teams have delivered.

So I am actually pumped to see this series go the full seven games. I guess if I have to choose a team to cheer for I'd probably pick the flightless birds since the Wings won last year. Actually, once my Habs were out and I knew Ovechkin wasn't going to win, I stopped cheering for any one particular team.

As I've stated in the past I haven't been impressed by the officiating through these playoffs but I think they've done a better job in the finals.

So make sure your popcorn is popped, put on your loudest Don Cherry jacket, get the beverages on ice and tune your TV to Hockey Night in Canada because Friday night we are in for one heck of a finish.

To help get you in the mood (if you're Canadian that shouldn't take much) here are some highlights from Game Six. Sadly these are the NBC highlights so I apologize in advance for subjecting you to any comments made by the always annoying Pierre McGuire. I can't stand listening to him!

Kronwall - Ejected For Clean Hit

I've been saying all along through these 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs that the officiating has been the worst I've ever seen.

Inconsistency has been my biggest complaint and the choices between what should be called and what shouldn't has been atrocious. Missed calls and phantom penalties this playoff season has been the worst I've ever witnessed.

A prime example of this happened in game three of the Detroit / Chicago series last night when Niklas Kronwall was given a major penalty and a game misconduct for finishing one of the nicest and cleanest hits I've seen in a while.

Watch the video below which shows Kronwall laying the shoulder to Martin Havlat of the Blackhawks. It's clear that the puck was between his legs, he was bent over and lookng the wrong way as he came together with Kronwall. It's unfortunate that Havlat was knocked unconcious but that is not a reason to penalize a great hockey check.

Now I don't have an official rulebook to look at but the only argument to be made might be that Havlat hadn't actually touched the puck yet and therefore any contact would be called interference. What are you supposed to do then? Stop skating and wait for him to decide if he wants to touch the puck? If the puck is along the boards and a player is protecting it but hasn't touched the puck, does that mean you can't touch the player to move him off the puck? I think it's fair to assume that if the puck is between your skates, you should be fair game.

Regardless, I think Kronwall had no choice but to hit him and Havlat should have known it was coming. I also think these officials have been spending too much time watching their kids playing Timbits Hockey at their local arenas. This is the NHL and if you don't like the hitting then go judge figure skating.

Favourite Sports Memories

Welcome to part two of my series on sports. Actually I didn't plan this but I was reading the Toronto Sun today and over the next few days their reporters or writing about their favourite moment in sports history from their perspective. Obviously they won't be talking about the 1906 World Series or the Montreal Maroons Hockey team but instead they'll discuss a sporting event they actually witnessed.

So along the same lines, I've decided to post a few of my favourite sporting moments in the last 40 years of my life. OK, I'm 39, but who's counting. I've also included plenty of video evidence to help you enjoy the moments again. Hopefully the links don't disappear.

In no particular order, here we go...

1993 Stanley Cup Final
I can remember it as if it was yesterday as the Montreal Canadians (my team of course) defeated the L.A. Kings in five games to win their 24th Stanley Cup. Sadly they haven't won again since then but I've been fortunate enough to see the "Habs" win ten Stanley Cups in my lifetime. I don't recall ever seeing the Leafs win one however.


1992 Blue Jays Win World Series
As a fan of the Toronto Blue Jays baseball team since they were born in 1977 I was thrilled to watch as the Jays won for the first time. The 1992 World Series was the first Series ever played outside of the United States of America. It pitted the American League champion Toronto Blue Jays against the National League champion Atlanta Braves. Toronto defeated Atlanta, 4 games to 2, marking the first time a non-United States based team ever won the World Series.

You may remember a faux pas occurred when a United States Marine Corps colour guard erroneously displayed the Canadian flag upside down during the opening ceremony of the second game. In the end it didn't matter as Toronto beat the tomahawk chopping Braves.

I'll always remember the thrilling 11th inning win in game six for Toronto. Otis Nixon bunted the ball to Jays reliever Mike Timlin who turned and tossed the ball to Joe Carter at first base to earn the first World Series for Canada.

1993 Blue Jays Repeat
The defending champion Toronto Blue Jays of the American League against the National League champion Philadelphia Phillies. With Toronto ahead 3 games to 2 in the series, Joe Carter hit a three-run game-winning home run in the bottom of the 9th inning of Game 6 to win the series for Toronto, giving them their second consecutive championship (the first repeaters since the 1977-78 Yankees).

This was only the second Series concluded by such a home run (the first was in the 1960 World Series on a Bill Mazeroski home run for the Pittsburgh Pirates), and the first such occasion where a come-from-behind walk-off home run won a World Series.

I was in Toronto on Younge Street watching the game on the big screen at th HMV store and it was pandemonium when the game ended. I never kissed so many girls I'd never met before in my life. It was awesome...and a little scary.


1987 Canada Cup - Game 3
This was simply the best series of hockey I have ever seen in my life.

The final three-game series of this tournament between Canada and the USSR is considered by many to be the best exhibition of hockey in history. The tournament also was the first time ever that the two most dominant players of the last quarter century, Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux, played on the same forward unit, and as expected dazzled fans with electrifying goals.

With the series tied 1-1, the Soviets stunned all of Canada by scoring three times in the first eight minutes to take a 3-0 lead in Game 3. Canada's grinders took over after that (particularly Rick Tocchet, Brent Sutter, and Dale Hawerchuk), and pulled Canada into a 5-4 lead after two periods. The Soviets tied it back up in the third and the game looked like it would head to overtime again. But late in the third period, Canada coach Mike Keenan sent the Gretzky-Lemieux-Hawerchuk line out to play, with a faceoff in Canada's end.

The rest is history as Hawerchuk tripped up Vyacheslav Bykov and Gretzky, Lemieux and Larry Murphy rushed down the ice on a three-on-one. Once again, Gretzky set up Lemieux, who fired a shot over the glove of goaltender Sergei Mylnikov with 1:26 remaining. The Gretzky to Lemieux play is one of the most memorable plays in Canadian hockey history.


Canada Wins 4x100 Relay in Atlanta
It was the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. My dad and I were in Toronto to watch a Jays game with some American friends who were up camping. After the game ended and everyone was making their way from their seats, all of a sudden the Jumbotron screen came alive just in time with the start of the race.

Donovan Bailey teamed up with fellow sprinters Bruny Surin, Glenroy Gilbert and Robert Esmie to defeat a faltering American team in the 4x100 metre relay. The year before the Olympic final, the Canadian foursome captured the title at the world track and field championships. But some commented that the absence of the United States left some lingering doubt as to how good the Canadians really were.

In Atlanta, their victory confirmed their status as the champions. The cheering in the dome was deafening as everyone was cheering wildly. Our American friends didn't feel too welcome with the anti-American comments being thrown around following the win.


1972 Summit Series
My memories of this series are dim at best as I was only four years old but it still remains one of the greatest sports moments ever and if you're Canadian then you know all about it. Canada needed a in win in game eight of the series in Russia to claim victory after a slow start. In the end they did just that thanks to a late goal by Paul Henderson.


1988 World Series - Game One
I'll be honest...I don't remember much about this series other than the fact that the L.A. Dodgers went on to upset the Oakland Athletics. However, one of the most amazing moments in baseball history took place in the bottom of the 9th in game one when an injured Kirk Gibson came off the bench to pinch hit and hit an impossible homerun to take the lead in the series.

To see Gibson hobble around the bases was unforgettable and to see Manager Tommy Lasorda jumping up and down like a little kid reminded us all that baseball is still just a game.


Red Army versus Montreal - December 31, 1975
The game showcased two distinct systems: not capitalism versus communism, but the determined, linear play of a Montreal team on the cusp of a dynasty versus the swooping, circular style of the Soviets -- the one now prevalent in the NHL.

The Canadiens outshot the Red Army 38-13, but Boris Aleksandrov beat Montreal goalie Ken Dryden on a three-on-one late in the third period to secure the tie. After the game Montreal defenseman Serge Savard said, "God was Russian tonight." It was a game for the ages.

1987 World Junior Hockey Championships
The "Punch-up in Piestany" erupted halfway through the final game of the 1987 world junior hockey championship. Canada was assured a medal, and would have moved ahead of Finland for the gold if they had beaten the Soviets by at least five goals.

The blow-up began as a fight between Pavel Kostichkin and Theoren Fleury. Four Soviet players left their bench to join the brawl, and then all the players on both teams swarmed onto the ice. I was never so proud as I was to see our boys stand up to the Russians and in the end...kick their Commie asses.


1984 Adams Division Finals - Game 6
Montreal Canadiens vs. Quebec Nordiques - Known as "Good Friday brawl/the battle of Quebec" this is possibly the most famous game ever played between the Montreal Canadiens and the Quebec Nordiques. A bench clearing brawl erupts and during the brawl Louie Slegr KO's Jean Hamel and later Dale Hunter goes ballistic. I really miss this old rivalry.


2002 Winter Olympics - Canadian Gold
It had been a long time since Canada had won a Gold Medal in Men's Hockey at the Winter Olympics and this time they were on a mission that nobody was going to stop. The final game was an awesome match-up with Team U.S.A. and was the perfect finish.

Sadly my memories of this game are mostly from video tape and from what I saw at the airport. I was flying home from a cruise of the Caribbean and we had left New Orleans and landed in Houston to catch our connecting flight. We didn't have a lot of time but we did see a bit of the game before we had to board the next flight. At that point the game was still close. We had asked the Captain to give us updates which he really never did until the game was over and when he announced that Canada had won...the plane erupted in cheers and applause by the Canadian passengers...mostly in our group.

Upon our arrival in Toronto there were people waving flags and blowing their car horns in celebration. Thankfully my parents taped the game for me and I was able to watch it once I got home. Knowing the outcome certainly made it easier on the nerves to watch. It was an amazing game even on tape.


And so that's a list of my favourite Sports Moments. I'm sure I've missed a lot of others but perhaps I can save those for another day. If you can think of any, please feel free to let me know by leaving a comment.