KP's Weekly Rant--I

Today, I had the chance to sit down at lunchtime at a pub and catch Headline Sports.

They were showing some hockey tournament featuring a Quebec team versus a Russian squad. Not sure what the tourney was, but it was certainly nice to see daytime hockey on a Friday.

The Quebec team jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first period, with the third goal one of those you’d call either a fluke play or a highly-skilled one.

The play was in the Russian zone, and right off the face-off, the Quebecer taking the draw swiped the puck right off the draw and it got past the goaltender.

This kind of a goal doesn’t happen frequently, but is sure nice to see—and if you blinked or turned away for a split second thinking it’s just a face-off, you would have missed it.

Mario Lemieux has done it before in the NHL, along with several others.

The one I remember the most happened in the 1992 Adams semi-finals when Adam Oates turned the trick for the Bruins in overtime to give Boston a 3-2 triumph over the Sabres.

Classic play, classic game, and yet this is a game you won’t see on ESPN Classic.

Ironically, today, ESPN Classic (Canada) was showing the 1991 Wales Finals Game Five, a contest in which the Bruins lost 7-2 to Pittsburgh. The network is airing this game as part of its “classics replaying the day it happened” package, rebroadcasting the game which happened 17 years earlier to the day on May 9, 1991.

It’s just unfortunate that the network often shows games in which the Bruins got embarrassed and yet doesn’t air the ones in which Boston participated in during the same era. After all, this was a team that went to two Cup Finals in three seasons, and four Conference Finals in five years.

Shame—this is a pity, and something that I discussed to death in my book.

On a more positive note, Hooray for House, as I see he’s decided to pick Dallas and Philly too! This will be a matchup Bettman wouldn’t want, since a Detroit-Pittsburgh Finals would mean much better ratings. Way to go, House!

Blue Jays tie it!

Well, moments after I posted the 3-0 score, the Blue Jays tied things up against Tampa Bay in the last of the ninth with three runs off closer Troy Percival.

Jesse Litsch is off the hook!

Tough luck for the Rays' Edwin Jackson, though. Jackson has been either very good or very bad.

Three times this season, Jackson has allowed five runs or more, and the Rays lost all three of those games.

In his four other starts, Jackson has allowed one run or fewer--including tonight.

Against the Jays tonight, Jackson pitched a six-hit, eight-hit shutout, but will not pick up the win thanks to Percival's meltdown.

The Cain Watch Part 3 - May 8, 2008

Some pitchers just don't have any luck. Here's the third feature on Matt Cain of the San Francisco Giants.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/22075-Cain-gets-run-support-but-still-loses

Speaking of lack of run support, fittingly, as I am writing this, Jesse Litsch and the Jays are down 3-0 going into the last of the ninth against the Rays at Rogers Centre...

Marcum + Litsch = BJs contend for wild card?

Shaun Macum did the job once again on Wednesday night, picking up his 4th win of the year--tied with Jesse Litsch--and Toronto won for the sixth time in seven tries.

How about this young duo for the Blue Jays?

If both Marcum and Litsch continue to pitch this well and get the run support, and mix in Roy Halladay, shouldn't this team be contending for a wild card spot?

And Marcum was impressive for sure--in his previous start, he pitched shutout ball against the White Sox despite his sickness, and Wednesday he took a one-hitter into the ninth inning against the Rays. Impressive.

Here are my thoughts:
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/21938-Toronto-Tampa-Bay-Shaun-Marcum-Comes-Up-Big-Against-the-Rays-070508

Where were all the zonk mates?

Well, I was trying to see if the regular house residents on the zonk (or, resident friends, as Rick calls it) were available on Tuesday night, but they all seemed to have their own things going on.

Saw Rick on MSN, but he didn't reply to my messages. Oh well.

Didn't see House or Cliff on FB either.

And the Trouts? Well, no idea how to contact them, but perhaps The Trout may not be that useful anyway, given its negativity at times.

Well, trying to round these guys up to give some feedback about the book cover I was assigned. But with no focus group of Rick, House, and/or Cliff around, I had to just go along with what the graphic designers proposed.

Though it would have been interesting if everyone else was around to give suggestions... oh well, maybe next time!

Update...after 2 rounds

Okay, two rounds are done, and Cliff was the big winner on our OA picks by nailing three of four series in the conference semi-finals.

Taking a look, though, at our friendly OA pool on Sportsnet, Cliff is tied with Slats (ie. Rick) for LAST place! Holy smokes, how is Slats in last place?

Will there be a comeback from the perennial champ? Or is he over the hill?

We'll find out.... but here are the standings:

1. kp 134 points
2. i_pick_corners 127
3. splatking 121
T4. slacks 120
T4. cliff 120

Am I getting tame? No ruthless comments on Crede

Joe Crede cost the White Sox two straight games at Rogers Centre. Somehow I decided not to take shots at the third baseman in my somewhat clean recap.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/21225-Blue-Jays-White-Sox-Litsch-wins-Crede-wears-goat-horns-again

Philly should have ...

Three NHL conference semi-final series saw the first three contests won by the same team, with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Dallas Stars, and Detroit Red Wings all going up 3-0 in their respective series.

Of course, the Red Wings polished off the Colorado Avalanche with ease to complete the sweep, while the Penguins and Stars both lost their fourth games and have to win one more to advance.

What about the Montreal-Philadelphia series?

The Flyers are up three games to one after winning three in a row following their Game One collapse.

Yes, the Habs have dominated the series, and with a few breaks could actually be up 3-1 instead.

In fact, there are some in the media who think the Habs have a chance to make a comeback, based on their strong play thus far.

However, my contention is that this series might well have been over already.

All four series should have been 3-0 after three games.

Don't forget, the Flyers jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in Game One, saw the Canadiens rally to tie it, before going back up early in the third thanks to Joffrey Lupul.

But a questionable penalty call late in regulation put the Habs on the power play, and the NHL's best PP team capitalized. Alexei Kovalev tied it with 28.6 ticks remaning, and Montreal went on to win in overtime.

If not for that collapse by Philadelphia, the series might well have ended in a sweep for the Flyers, as they've been riding the hot play of Martin Biron the entire series.

Also, the Flyers have gone up 2-0 in every single game thus far, forcing the Habs to have to play catchup in every game.

Of course, in the third game the Habs totally outplayed the Flyers and outshot them 34-14, including a 17-2 edge in the final 20 minutes, had a long power play thanks to Derian Hatcher's ejection, and still lost.

Still, give the Flyers a lot of credit. They've been able to win three games already, although it should have already been over.

We'll see what they can do when the series resumes Saturday at the Bell Centre.

Solving New York's problems...

I weigh in on why Bonds should be a Yankee.

And thanks to the Blue Jays (12-17), New York (14-16) isn't in last place--yet.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/20931-Why-Isn-t-Bonds-a-Yankee-Yet-

Rick's in third place!

Well, looks like Rick's slumping this year with his picks.

I'm leading the way right on the overanything pool with 110 points, followed closely by "I-Pick-Corners", trailing by four points.

Rick, aka "Slacks"? Third place with 102 points.

Haha! I wonder how Rick's taking it with bronze, and with Splatking (Detroit?) just one point back. Rick may not finish in the top three!

Sharks lose again!

Here's my editorial on the San Jose Sharks:

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/20522-Sharks-going-down-like-92-93-Bruins

All right, zonk mates, no negative comments out of me this time around... ;-)

The Cain Watch Part 2 - April 29, 2008

The Giants' hard-luck Matt Cain finally wins for the first time this season, but his performance was overshadowed by his manager and teammate-starter-turned-reliever.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/20406-Giants-Matt-Cain-Finally-Wins-but-Victory-is-Overshadowed

I'll try to keep track of the "Cain Watch" on here regularly.

Alou Part 2

...By the way, as far as Alou's San Francisco career was concerned, I don't blame the Giants' failures in 2003 on the manager.

The Jints made it to the post-season after their 2002 World Series berth under former skipper Dusty Baker.

San Francisco would have beaten the Fish (haha, take that- Trout!) in the Division Series, but I blame two people:

- Sidney Ponson
- Jose Cruz, Jr.

Ponson was acquired down the stretch from the Orioles in order to provide an extra dependable arm to follow ace Jason Schmidt in the rotation. Ponson, however, was rocked in Game Two as the Marlins gained a split going to Miami.

Cruz, whom I'm sure all the zonk mates will remember since he's a former Blue Jay, was the goat in Game Three. He failed to get a hit with the bases loaded in the middle innings of the contest, and then dropped an easy fly ball in extra innings--with his team ahead by a run and three outs away from winning--and the Giants lost when Pudge Rodriguez hit a two-run single.

And the muff came after Cruz had failed to get a clutch hit to drive in an insurance run in the top half of the inning.

What do the Zonk House mates think about Felipe Alou?

Bruce Bochy of the San Francisco Giants moved past Felipe Alou as the winningest foreign-born manager in baseball when his team defeated Colorado 4-0.

Alou, of course, is not managing in the big leagues right now.

Most Zonk mates on OA know that Moises' dad used to be the Montreal Expos skipper during the 1990s, and often had to deal with a lack of talent on the big-league roster. Guys like Ken Hill, John Wetteland, Jeff Fassero, Mel Rojas, his own son Moises, Larry Walker, Pedro Martinez, and on and on, all left Montreal as free agents or via trades because the Expos couldn't afford to pay all of them.

Alou's Expos never made the post-season, although as most remember, they were the best team in baseball when the strike of 1994 wiped out the rest of the season. Then they lost Walker, Hill, Wetteland, and Marquis Grissom. Ouch.

Unfazed, Alou led the '96 Expos to within two games of winning the NL wild card, but unfortunately the Padres and Dodgers--who both finished two games better--won the NL West and wild card, respectively.

In 1997, they started out well but collapsed down the stretch when other teams--even the non-contending ones--were acquiring the big stars (ie. the Cards getting Mark McGwire) but the Expos were getting only the immortal Mike Johnson.

Some in the media have said that Alou was not a great manager for failing to win with the Expos. Most notable was Bob Kemp, who used to host his own show on Sporting News Radio, and he would often bash Alou for not being innovative with his lineups, etc. (And this was around 2001-2002, before Alou got the Giants gig.)

So, my question to House, Trout, Rick, and Cliff, is: Was Alou one of the elite skippers in the big leagues? Or was Bob Kemp accurate in his accessment?

Let's hear some answers on the zonk!

Seattle & Thomas bashing

Thomas is 1-for-10 for the A's. Seattle's DHing stinks. How long will each continue?
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/19976-A-s-Mariners-Bedard-Dominates-Oakland-allowing-two-hits

C i B c SUCKS!!!!!

Another one of these big companies trying to target ordinary people... and this isn't my own post; I saw it online and decided to post the link here. I was gonna say "unbelievable" at first, but then, hey, this is CIBC, so no surprise, actually. Shame.

http://www.shanesworld.ca/cibc-you-suck

History in Denver, NOT in San Diego

Well, zonk mates, history was made in Denver, as the Cubs got win No. 10,000. Out in San Diego, Trevor Hoffman blew Greg Maddux's 350th win, so no history there.

Hopefully no controversy with Thomas or Cliff this time!

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/19470-Hoffman-Blows-Maddux-s-Bid-for-No-350-230408

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/19464-Chicago-Cubs-Baseball-Congratulations-for-getting-No-10-000-230408

Caps lose again!

Amazing--the Washington Capitals choke again.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/19234-Washington-Capitals-Playoff-Failures-Continue

More injustice in the world--Part 4

Well, posting this just to shut Rick up...

Last week, there was this big story about Telus and how they charged an extra $2.95 for residents in B.C. and Alberta for months and this was for long-distance services that people didn't use or sign up for. Wow.

Again, big companies trying to take money from people. Who can you trust these days?

Translink has these so-called "Fare Zones" on their buses now, but still, drivers are letting these scammers get on on a daily basis. (I see it with my own eyes on daily commutes.) A reader on the free daily "24 Hours" called Translink on that last week, wondering how come he gets to spend hundreds of dollars a month for a two-zone pass while drivers are letting these people get on for free.

So, on Friday night on the #16 downtown bus when transit cops got on and turned away at least a half dozen people, I couldn't help but find satisfaction. For one night, these people weren't allowed on.

"But it's raining," they protested. (Actually, oddly enough, it was snowing--in April, no less.) Tough luck. You don't want to pay for the service, you don't get to get on board.

And, in class again, I was showing a CBC consumer affairs program to encourage debates about street smarts and common sense for consumers. Apparently, one dating service in Ontario decided to charge 60-year-old women $9,000+ for 15 dates, but allowed that price to go down to by half for 35-year-olds, and get this: $2 for women 25 and under because they're reportedly more attractive.

NO, that's not a typo. A toonie.

And looking at the video footage, that dating service's "office" seemed to be a residential house. Well, it appeared to be, anyway.

This company would not budge on the $9,000 price tag for the 60-year-old interviewed on the program.

Welcome to our world of companies--big and small--and people--think of the buses--trying to cheat their way in society. Yikes.

My take on Giambi on Bleacher

Check it out, zonk mates:

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/18871-New-York-Baseball-Why-Is-Jason-Giambi-Still-in-the-Yankees-Lineup-