Raptors Break Rule #1

Rule #1 in Sports

If your franchise player is an impending free agent and has made it abundantly clear that he does not plan to resign when his contract expires you MUST get something in return for him.

While Chris Bosh has not come out and publicly stated that he will test the free agent market it is pretty much a given. Why would he resign with the Raptors when it is quite clear that they do not have the talent to compete with the better teams in the Eastern Conference? Bosh has made it clear he wants to win a championship and I can tell you right now he will never do that with Andrea Bargnani and Hedo Turkoglu on his team.

Therefore he is leaving. Now going into this season Raptors General Manager Brian Colangelo had two options. 1) trade Bosh at the deadline and try and get something for him rather than allowing him to walk at the end of the season for nothing or 2) keep Bosh for the season and hope he resigns with the team after a strong playoff push.

Since Bosh is still a Raptor and the NBA Trade Deadline was on Thursday it is clear that Colangelo opted for option one and by doing so broke Sports Rule #1.

What happens at the end of the year now when Bosh walks? Well the Raptors will free up $15 million in cap space and will no doubt spend that on someone who doesn't deserve, like they did with Turkoglu last off-season. Our best player will be Andrea Bargnani and we will struggle to make the playoffs until we find another superstar to replace Bosh. Basically the Raptors will become as irrelevant as the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Golden State Warriors.

It's decisions like this that make me question how a guy like Colangelo can have a job? When he signed with the Raptors he was supposed to be this brilliant GM who would fix all of our problems and he just let the deadline pass without moving our soon-to-be free agent superstar, and why? So the Raptors could make the playoffs and lose in the 1st round to whoever it they play (as of right now they would play the Atlanta Hawks and get stomped without a doubt).

Is it really worth it? Is 2 home playoff games worth losing your franchise player for? And don't anyone try and defend the Raptors and say that they have a legitimate shot in the playoffs because let's face it, they don't. They aren't better than Atlanta, Boston, Cleveland or Orlando so what hope do they have going into the playoffs?

Now I will admit that the deals offered for Bosh were pretty weak but some were decent. There were talks that a possible Andrew Bynum for Bosh trade could happen. That would be an acceptable return for Bosh. Bynum is a young center with a decent contract and would finally give the Raptors a true center who isn't afraid to get rebounds and play in the paint.

There were also rumors that Bosh could be traded to the Bulls for a package that included Tyrus Thomas and Kirk Hinrich. Thomas is a developing young player who is a solid defender and Hinrich would give the Raptors a solid back up allowing them to trade either Calderon or Jack for another piece. This deal makes sense.

What doesn't make sense is letting Bosh walk for zip.

I wrote a similar article last year when the NHL trade deadline was looming about the Florida Panthers and Jay Bouwmeester. The Panthers wanted to keep Bouwmeester for their playoff push and ended up not trading him. What happened there? The Panthers missed the playoffs and eventually traded Bouwmeester for a grossly inferior package in comparison to what they would have received on deadline day (they ended up getting Jordan Leopold and a 3rd round pick instead of Kevin Bieksa, a prospect and a 1st round pick from the Canucks).

Moral of the story? Don't break Sports Rule #1.

Now if Bosh ends up resigning then this whole argument is moot but I just don't see that happening. Based on rumors Bosh could end up playing with either Wade or LeBron next season. A few teams cleared the necessary cap room at the deadline in order to sign either Wade/Bosh or LeBron/Bosh. How could anyone pass up playing with one of those 2 guys?

As a Raptors fan I have enjoyed watching Bosh progress over the years. While his ceiling as a player will never exceed "second banana" he plays with passion and heart and this year he has shown that he can be a dominate player. I am sad that he more than likely won't be back but I am even sadder that he will leave for nothing.

There is no excuse for that. None.

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Placing the Blame

I've always known that the average sports fan is a moron but last night it was taken to a whole new level. On the heels of Canada's 5-3 loss to the USA at the Olympics people were upset and looking for someone to blame. Instead of blaming Martin Brodeur,who let in 4 goals or Chris Pronger who looked out of place and had countless giveaways or even Steve Yzerman who assembled the team people blamed Corey Perry.

"Corey Perry take your useless ass across the border and play for the americans. Fucking wanka!!!"

"never hated Corey Perry more than he does right now"

Why all the hating on Perry? Because with the score 4-3 he lost a foot race to the puck and allowed Ryan Kesler to knock it into the empty net with a diving effort. Let's forget for a second that Kesler's play was unreal and showed pure heart and focus on another undeniable fact, Ryan Miller was not letting in another goal.

Miller played like a champion last night making 42 saves on 43 shots. He had the game of his life and proved why he is the best goalie in the world right now. If you think Canada was scoring on him again you're delusional. Should Perry have won that footrace? Of course but that doesn't mean he is solely to blame for that loss.

If anything he barely played a role in the loss seeing as he only had 12:44 minutes of ice time which was 4th lowest on the team. The only players on the ice for less time were Patrice Bergeron, Brent Seabrook, Mike Richards and Brenden Morrow. He was also one of only 7 players not to finish with a minus rating so really how can he be blamed.

If you want to blame someone blame Martin Brodeur, Steve Yzerman and Mike Babcock. These 3 men combined to cost Canada that game and seem to be getting off the hook from the fans who know nothing and focus only on the little details instead of the big picture.

Let's start with Brodeur.

Party Marty made 18 saves on 22 shots which works out to a Vesa Toskola like .818 save percentage. In the first minute of the game he mishandled the puck and had 2 turnovers which led to scoring chances and then the eventual 1st goal. The second goal was a direct result of him trying to play baseball on the ice and giving the puck right to Brian Rafalski who then scored on the weakest shot in history.

He did make some big saves late in the game but by that time the damage had been done. Once that first goal went in not even 60 seconds into the game it was over. The crowd was deflated and the Americans gained the confidence they needed to win. That goal doesn't even compare to the 2nd goal however as that goal came just 21 seconds after the Canadians tied it at 1-1. 21 seconds later it is 2-1 and all the momentum gained by tying the game is lost because Chubbs (Sean Avery's nicnk name for Brodeur) wanted to be Babe Ruth.

But it's not as if Brodeur lost this game by himself, no he had some significant help from 2 guys that never touched the ice, Steve Yzerman and Mike Babcock.

Back in December when the roster was announced I wrote this, "I felt that in 2006 the reason Canada didn't win was because of the "old guard" yet the old guard still is very much present on this team in the form of Niedermayer and Pronger. These guys did not make the team based on merit they are past their primes and were only picked due to name and reputation"

Last night both Neidermayer and Pronger looked old. They were often outmuscled in the corners and couldn't handle the speed of the Americans. Neidermayer made some nice passes and was jumping in on the rush a lot but on the defensive end he was a liability just like Pronger who played the role of a pylon nicely on the 3rd goal. They both finished with a -1 rating and neither contributed a point.

These are the two guys Yzerman brought with him that still represent the "old guard." If Canada ever wants to be successful they need to stop bringing guys based on reputation and past accomplishments. Tell me why Mike Green and Jay Bouwmeester aren't on this team again? Mike Green would have been amazing last night as the Americans kept collapsing on the net in the defensive zone to eliminate rebounds. What does that mean? It means that the defensemen had all day to shoot from the point. Both Green and Bouwmeester have excellent shots and could have done some real damage last night.

In the end there is one person who should be shouldering the most blame for what happened last night and that man is Head Coach Mike Babcock.

Mistake #1 was making Scott Neidermayer captain. Going into the Olympics everyone was talking about Sidney Crosby needed to step up and be great for Canada and how he had to make it "his team." You know the best way to make it his team? Give him the 'C' and let him be the leader instead of a washed up defenseman who pulls the Brett Favre retiring game at the end of every season. Neidermayer is a great leader but Crosby is what makes this team go. He is the one everyone is counting on and the guy with the most to lose. He should have been given the 'C'.

Besides just that mistake Babcock has made many others. He loves to play the San Jose line way too much and often has them out there in crunch time. Does he not realize that he has Crosby-Nash-Iginla on his team? Chemistry is all well and good but Joe Thornton is a choke artists and no one on the San Jose line is better than the guys on the top line.

The one thing I will give Babcock credit for is playing Jonathan Toews more. So far in this tournament no one has played with more passion and effort than Toews. Every shift he gets he is out there working hard and making plays. He barely touched the ice against Switzerland and still had an impact and in last nights game he had 2 big assists and countless great plays. He and the rest of the young guys on the team like Doughty, Weber and Keith all played really well last night and showed that they are ready for International play.

So there you have it. Three guys for fans to blame instead of Corey Perry. If you are one of the many who blame Perry for last nights loss do yourself a favor and stop talking about hockey. Yes Perry had a bad game but to say he lost Canada that game last night is a joke.

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UFC 110 Predictions

Minotauro Nogueira 32-5-1, 1 NC vs Cain Velasquez 7-0-0

Cain Velasquez is a beast. There is no better way to describe him. His thorough domination of Ben Rothwell and Cheick Kongo showed fans that he is for real. It also showed that he has a great chin, amazing cardio and strength for days. I think he will be able to manhandle Big Nog and dictate where the fight will take place.

After losing to Frank Mir Nogueria came back with an impressive win over Randy Couture and proved that his claim of being “sick” when he fought Mir had some validity. Big Nog can take a beating better than anyone in the UFC so he should be able to weather the storm from Cain and wait for an opening to take advantage of while on the ground.

This fight is real hard to call and could go either way.

Prediction: Can via Decision


Wanderlei “Axe Murderer” Silva 32-10-1, 1 NC vs Michael “the Count” Bisping 19-2-0

I HATE Michael Bisbing. He is my least favourite fighter in the UFC so therefore I hope Wanderlei kills him in the ring.

Wanderlei desperately needs a win as he is coming off losses to Rampage and Rich Franklin and hasn’t won a fight since May of 2008. He has the power to put Bisbing away and hopefully he will.

I don’t care what anyone says Michael Bisbing is not a good fighter. His best win is against Denis Kang, who is awful. He has never beaten anyone who is truly great. He beats up on guys like Chris Leben and Jason day. His 8-2 UFC record is inflated thanks to weak opponents. His 2 losses came against top ranked guys like Rashad Evans and Dan Henderson.

I badly want Wanderlie to murder Bisbing but he is just so old. I don’t think he wins this fight in any way other than a knockout. So Bisbing should win but I refuse to pick him to do so.

Prediction: Wanderlei via KO


Joe “Daddy” Stevenson 36-10-0 vs George Sotiropoulos 11-2-0

Steven followed up losses to Kenny Florian and Diego Sanchez with wins over Nate Diaz and Spencer Fisher. In his last 2 fights he is shown real improvement in his wrestling and grappling and is starting to become more well rounded. He definitely has the strength advantage over Sptiropoulos and has better stand up as well.

Sotiropoulos has world class jujitsu and will definitely want to take this fight to the ground. He is on a 4 fight win streak but has never faced anyone nearly as talented as Joe Daddy. I mean his last 2 wins were against Jason Dent and George Roop, not exactly the cream of the crop.

While Sotiropoulos has unreal jujitsu skills I don’t see him being strong enough to handle Stevenson who is one of the more powerful fighters in the divisions. Stevenson has fought submission fighters before and made easy work of them. This fight should go the same way the Natie Diaz fight went.

Prediction: Stevenson via Decision


Keith “the Dean of Mean” Jardine 14-7-1 vs Ryan “Darth” Bader 11-0-0

Keith Jardine remains the biggest mystery in MMA. He has wins in his career over Chuck Liddell, Brandon Vera and Forrest Griffin but has losses to Houston Alexander, and Stephan Bonnar. He only fights good fighters and is never given easy opponents but he has yet to make an impact in the 205lb division.

Since winning the Ultimate Fighter Rayn Bader has gone 3-0 in the UFC but has yet to face anyone I would call “decent.” Jardine will definitely be his hardest fight and should give fans a true impression of how good Bader is.

While Jardine has the power to end the fight quickly I don’t think he will get a chance to use is as Bader should ensure this fight takes place on the ground. Bader has amazing wrestling skills and should be able to handle Jardine, a one dimensional fighter, with ease. That being said Bader may fall into the trap of the stand up and may want to prove to people he is well-rounded.

Prediction: Bader via TKO


Mirko Cro Cop 25-7-2, 1 NC vs Anthony “the Hippo” Perosh 10-5-0

Cro Cop has looked terrible lately having lost 3 of his last 4 fights. He is no longer regarded as an elite heavyweight and definitely seems to be on his way out. Maybe this will be his last fight in the UFC. Hard to believe such a great career has fallen apart so quickly.

Perosh is the definition of a duster. He is 0-2 in the UFC and is a average at best fighter. If he wins it will gain him nothing as defeating Crop Cop these days carries as much prestige as wining Roll Up the Rim at Tim Hortons.

I personally don’t care who wins this fight and the only reason I will watch it is because Cro Cop might have one more head kick left in him.

Prediction: Crop Cop via TKO


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The Buffalo F*cking Sabres

"NOW YOU'RE GOING TO LOSE TO COLUMBUS?! THIS IS GETTING RIDICULOUS!!"

"That's it sabres. We're done. Between squandering your 3-1 lead against Pittsburgh, losing to Ottawa and now your inability to beat the 2nd worse team in the nhl, WITH A BACKUP GOALIE IN has pushed me too far"

"Dear Buffalo, If you do not beat a "ward-less" hurricanes, I will never cheer for you again. Sincerely Draper"

"Awesome Sabres, lose to Carolina twice in a week. You guys are the best!"

These are some of the Facebook status updates that have been posted by my buddy, and longtime Sabres fan, Drapes. Because he was so upset, and because I am lazy, I let him write a post for the blog so he could vent his frustrations about the Sabres recent play.

Before the rant however there are 3 critical facts you need to know about Drapes as a sports fan, 1) his favorite baseball team is the Atlanta Braves 2) his favorite basketball team is the Toronto Raptors and 3) he likes the CFL.

What do these 3 facts tell us about Drapes?

He is a glutton for punishment and enjoys the crappier things in life. Imagine watching your team win 5 NL Pennants and only 1 World Series? Or having your favorite hockey team lose the Stanley Cup on the worst no call in NHL history. Or worse yet having to watch the CFL. Its a hard life and one that seems to have finally broken his spirits.

Here is a desperate rant by a desperate man:

Now I have been a Buffalo Sabres fan for 11 years at this point. So I have followed them through crappy season after crappy season and still my faith has not shaken.

I watched them turn a President’s Trophy season into a disappointing loss in the Conference Finals to the Carolina Hurricanes, and still my faith was not shaken.

I even watched Sabres management take a Stanley Cup contending team and throw it away by losing not just Daniel Briere OR Chris Drury, a pill that would have been hard to swallow on its own, but instead, losing both Briere AND Drury.

And yet STILL my faith was not shaken.

This season however, I see my faith and my pride wavering as the Sabres are successfully turning what looked to be a great season, into the most frustrating season of my 11 year history with the team.

Now there is really no difference in talent this year as there has been in Buffalo for the last 2 non playoff seasons, so I had little hopes for a decent showing this season. But for some reason the Sabres started the season hot and have had a controlling lead in the Northeast Division since about the 2^nd week of the season.

At one point, we were so far ahead that not only were we in contention to take the conference lead, but we were the only team in the Northeast division to even be in a playoff spot.

So I am sitting at home thinking “wow, what an impressive showing”. But oh wait, I knew things couldn’t be that easy.

Cue the streaking Senators.

The Senators, for some reason unknown to me or anybody else, were able to turn themselves from a team that was struggling to get out of the basement of the conference, to a team that is suddenly being toted as a contender. They went on a ridiculous 12 game winning streak pulling themselves ever closer to the Buffalo Sabres in the Northeast Division standings.

My issue with the Sabres is not doing them doing poorly. That I can handle. My issue is the way they play with my emotions through their inconsistent play.

For instance, this season; no more than a month ago I was excited because my Sabres were in the midst of a 7 game winning streak. However in the last 10 games they are 3-5-2 and have just fallen to 5^th place in the conference. 2 of those losses have come to the Carolina Hurricanes, who don’t even have Cam Ward, and a 4-0 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets! And yet Saturday night they can somehow come out and win against the San Jose Sharks.

And inconsistency doesn’t just exist at the standings level, it is even a factor during their games. I often watch the Sabres throw away leads to lose games. I was watching the Sabres/Pens game last week with a friend of mine who is a Pens fan, and going into the 3^rd period the score was 3-1 Sabres. Needless to say I did a little bit of gloating. Then comes the Sidney Crosby hat trick and a 5-4 Sabres loss.

Now don’t get me wrong, I still love the Buffalo Sabres, and I probably always will, but I don’t know how much longer my heart can handle the ups and downs of their inconsistent games and standings. Smarten up, and give Miller some support up front, he can’t do it all.

Now Ryan Miller is off to play for team USA in the Olympics which will surely fatigue him even more. The Sabres are a team in trouble right now and I don't see things getting better for them. I could personally care less about the Sabres. If anything their continued struggles provide me with endless entertainment as I get to see the frustrations and emotion of a normally calm man boil to the surface via Facebook.

For now it seems as if there is no end in sight for Drapes' agony and even though he is wavering at the moment I know that come next year he will still be a Sabres fan and will still defend them to the death.

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Canada Gets Its Gold

The drought is over. And Canada has a new sports hero.

Alexandre Bilodeau captured a gold medal in the men’s moguls event Sunday night, marking him forever as the first Canadian athlete to win Olympic gold on Canadian soil. The 22-year-old from Montreal wasn’t the favorite coming in, but on a gloriously sunny day in West Vancouver he brought home a first-place finish — and forever cemented his name in the Canadian sports hall of fame.

Before Bilodeau had his final run he was forced to watch as Dale Begg-Smith of Australia knocked his fellow countrymen off the podium with an unreal run that I thought would for sure win him the gold.

At this point I was pissed because Begg-Smith was born in Vancouver and lived in Canada until he was 15. He only left for Australia because he had disputes with the Canadian coaches about his dedication. Had he won it would have been a real kick in the nuts.

But Bilodeau came through with a marvellous performance under incredible pressure, firing up a 26.75 score on the second-last run of the evening in perfect weather.

The last skier, Guilbaut Colas of France, had a chance to knock him out of first but couldn’t get it done. Colas was faster but both his jumps were lackluster and he even missed a grab on his second jump which really hurt him.

As for Bilodeau, he was clearly pumped on the whole evening. “It’s too good to be true,” he told CTV as the crowd chanted “Bilodeau, Bilodeau, Bilodeau.” “There’s more to come. We have such a strong team.

“The party’s just starting for Canada.”

More likely, the party’s just starting in downtown Vancouver. The place was nuts on Saturday night; packed with all sorts of partiers and tourists listening to live music and checking out the scene. Even the Canadian Luge team, who didn't win a single medal, had fans at their outdoor interview. Sunday night should be even crazier given Bilodeau’s gold.

Going today I had no idea who Bilodeau was. That was until TSN ran a piece on him and his relationship with his older brother Frederic who has cerebral palsy. The two are very close and tonight Frederic was at the finish line cheering wildly for his younger sibling. Bilodeau was close to tears when he spoke to CTV about his brother and his family.

“A lot,” he said when asked how much of his historic medal belongs to Frederic. “It’s really getting me right now. My brother is my inspiration. Growing up with handicapped people puts everything back in perspective and he taught me so many things in life. My parents did, too.”

Now that Bilodeau has won a gold medal the theme of the Olympics can change. No longer will every athlete have to feel the pressure of trying to be the 1st to win gold. Instead they can simply focus on doing their best and trying to make Canada proud with their performance.

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