The Ten Commandments of Beer League/Shinny Hockey

10. Thou shall never pay more than 20 bucks an hour to play

9. Thou shall always remove one piece of equipment somewhere to indicate this is not the NHL (neckguard, facemask, elbow pads and shoulder pads are popular in this regard)

8. Thou shall carry one light and one dark jersey in thine bag at all times

7. Thou shall remember who brought the pucks onto the ice and return them to their rightful owners after the game

6. Thou shall skate onto the ice not after, but just before the zamboni has finished resurfacing just to stick it to all those coaches and referees who told you that would get you a penalty as a kid

5. Thou shall have no less than 1 and no more than 5 substitutes on the bench at any given time

4. Thou shall not be a showoff, but if the opportunity arises to dangle around a lesser player, missing that chance would be a sin

3. If thou art substantially better or substantially worse than the other players in your game, thou shall excuse thyself from the league and find somewhere more suiting to your skill level

2. If thou art invited by a friend to play in a game for the first time, thou shall not chirp or be an agitator if thou does not know thine opponents

1. Thou shall spend at least five minutes after the game bantering about how much thine team or thines opponent sucked and how much better they usually are, no matter how much of a hurry thou art in to leave

So Much For The Pressure

A-Rod played in his first spring training game today since the steroid scandal hit the news a few weeks ago. The game happened to be in Dunedin versus the Blue Jays.

After being greeted with a hefty amount of jeers and boos, A-Rod was walked in his first at-bat and then promptly gave the crowd the proverbial 'nose-thumbing' by homering in his second outing to the plate.

Take that liberal, left-wing media bias!

Have We Crossed The Line Yet?

Hmm...what do we have here?

The young prophet who would save the game....
Reigned over the peoples of the golf (sports) world for many years...
Physical condition takes him away for several months...
Return...and redemption....

remind you of anyone in particular..?




Anyone else think ESPN.com is taking this thing a little too literally?

Your Morning Golf Jolt

It's Wednesday, the absolute middle of the work week...hooray...

So Tiger tees off today at 1pm Eastern against Brendan Jones in the Accenture WGC. It's a match play tournament and Tiger has won this event three times before. He has said in the past he plays every round of a match play like it's Sunday...and Tiger don't lose on Sundays.

ESPN.com has a fantasy game called Streak For The Cash, where if you correctly pick 27 pick'em game outcomes correctly, you win a million dollars. Sometimes the pick is simply who will win a game, sometimes its an over/under, sometimes you are forced to decide if the higher total will be Kobe Bryant's points in his game versus Sacramento, or Dwight Howard's rebounds, blocks and assists in his game versus Chicago. It's a lot harder than you would think.

Today one of the pick options is not whether Tiger will win his match, but if he'll win on holes 10-15, or 16+ or a loss. It would seem the confidence factor here is quite high.

During yesterday's practice round, Tiger missed just one fairway on the front nine. That shot he did misfire on was followed by him turning to the crowd of about 200 media following his every step and yelled, 'no pictures in my backswing!!'...to put things in perspective.

I got Tiger winning 6 and 5 (that's six holes up on his opponent with five to play. Match play means you play head to head on a hole-by-hole basis against one opponent in a bracketed tournament. That's versus traditional stroke play of four rounds versus the field for those of you not familiar with golf jargon).


Speaking of golf, Greg Norman has come out and publicly stated that golfers need to take a pay cut. He claims the purses are still too high and in these tough times, golfers should give up a portion of their potential winnings.

I couldn't disagree more. With the exception of the top 20 or 30 guys on tour, most professional golfers are not multi-millionaire jet-setters. The majority of every tournament is filled with guys playing week to week, paycheck to paycheck.

Golf, like tennis, is not a team sport with guaranteed - or even non-guaranteed - contracts. In golf, you don't make money unless you show up, play and play well. Yes, the average purse for PGA tournaments last year was $5.8 million, but most players don't see a whiff of that money.

According to stats from 2008, 262 PGA members played in tournaments last year.
While many are sponsored and have clubs and sometimes clothing payed for, not all are. Each member is a private organization unto themselves, meaning the PGA is not responsible for travel to and from events (which often times cross the country week by week), accommodation during the week or any other expenses that may be incurred related to their playing.

Of those 262 members, 157 of them made less than $1,000,000 in 2008, 109 made less than $500,000, 63 made less than $200,000, 40 made less than $100,000. Now I'm not saying that one hundred grand isn't a nice living to make, but when you factor in all the extra expenses, that amount dwindles very quickly. And a guy like Travis Perkins, who played in 23 tournaments last year and made just over $36,000 certainly doesn't have a big cushy Nike contract to fall back on.

I'm just saying that when people think of golf winnings, they often only think about the huge shares that the top five or 10 will take home and forget that the bottom 15 or 20 guys will only take a few thousand dollars and those who miss the cut get absolutely nothing.

Don't feel bad for golfers. There's still tons of potential money out there to be made and anyone has a shot at getting it on any given week. Unlike sports such as basketball, baseball, hockey and football, in golf you truly are rewarded based on the effort you put out and the performance you exhibit. If you're good enough, the money will be there.

But on the other hand, calling for a reduction in purses doesn't hurt the guys like Tiger Woods ($82 million career earning, endorsements not included), Vijay Singh ($60 million), or Phil Mickelson ($51 million), it hurts guys you don't know of and will never see on TV. It hurts people just hoping they can afford their next mortgage payment or diaper bill or flight ticket to next week's tournament.

In that sense Mr Norman, I must respectfully disagree.


Quick shot:

I know that was a pretty long post so I'll try to keep this short.
Today brings the announcement that Stephen Page has left the Barenaked Ladies to pursue solo projects. Page has had a pretty rough year after being arrested on drug charges last July that were eventually dropped pending him staying trouble free for six months.
That being said, BNL is and was one of my favourite bands and puts on one of the greatest live performances of any act I've seen (I think I've seen them live four or five times). It'll be weird seeing them tour now without their guitarist and lead singer, but I wish him and the rest of the band all the best.

Looking For A Way To Celebrate Tiger's Return?

If you're like most people (and I hope you are, conformity is a highly underrated quality), you should be unbelievably excited for the Return of The Tiger!!

Apparently Tiger Woods, the golfer - in case you were confused, will be returning to action tomorrow in the Accenture World Golf Championship.

Here's the proof...from the mouth of god himself



I'm guessing by all the hype that nobody in any sport has ever returned from any injury even remotely as grotesque as his....

Ok, ok...so he did play in the U.S Open last summer against doctors orders with four stress-fractures in his leg and a torn ACL...and he did kinda win the whole tournament while agony would shoot across his face after every swing...and he did kinda do it in five rounds, needing a Monday 18-hole playoff to decide the title...and maybe people have actually started realizing again that without Tiger, golf on TV really is akin to watching 80 fat old men take a walk in the park while breaking, albeit briefly, to gyrate in very unnatural ways.

So in that spirit I'm gonna assume you're going to skip work tomorrow to watch Tiger play his first professional round of golf in eight months and presumably, save the world. And while you're doing that, you'll need something to commemorate the occasion.

May I suggest this


What's this, you ask? No, not any ordinary bottle of Gatorade....Tiger Woods' empty bottle of Gatorade. Supposedly drank from during Tiger's 2007 PGA Championship victory, this empty DNA carrying vessel can be yours for the low-low, buy-now price of $25,000.

Ever wanted to smell Tiger's saliva? Have you considered making a clone? Then this item is for you!!

There's no better way to watch Tiger demolish some little known Aussie named Brendan Woods in the match play event beginning tomorrow, than by holding a little Tiger (and if you take my advice about the cloning, you might ACTUALLY be holding a little Tiger) in your hands.

Say what you want about a recession, if this doesn't prove capitalism and free-market economy lives strong, I don't know what will.

Doesn't it Make You Smile When Bookies Lose?

For the second day in a row there's a wacky story coming out of the English soccer (should I feel guilty for not calling it football?) circuit.

This time it concerns Weymouth FC of the Blue Square Premiere League...whatever the hell that is.

Apparently the club has been in some amount of financial trouble for the past little while and several of the first-team players refused to play this past Saturday's match versus Rushden & Diamonds because of a lack of medical insurance.

This meant that Weymouth would need to field its' junior squad, turning what would have been a well balanced game pitting two very average, middle of the pack teams, into something of a joke.

The only problem here is that the Weymouth fans caught wind of this latest development before the local bookmakers did.

Eventually the bookies slashed the odds of the game after realizing that significantly more money than usual was being placed on Rushden & Diamonds. But by this point it was too late.

Fans of the team which draws no more than 1,000 fans to it's games reportedly took well over 1 million pounds in winnings (somewhere around 1.8 million Canadian dollars) after Weymouth was dominated 9-0 (thats nine to nothing...not nine-nill...again, we're writing in North America here).

Trying to take advantage, perhaps, of this recent windfall for some of it's fans, the team has gone ahead and posted on their website links to buy shares of the squad and other fundraising efforts.

I can't think of a better way to spend my gambling winnings than on the team I bet against in the first place because it was so cash-strapped.

How cash strapped exactly, you ask?

This is a recent news release from the team:

York City supporters’ group the York Minstermen are to sponsor the transport costs of Weymouth fans when the two teams meet at Bootham Crescent on Saturday 28th February.

“We have sent a cheque to Weymouth FC Supporters’ Club to cover the cost of their minibus to Saturday’s game,” said York Minstermen chairman Frank Ormston.


When your team can't even afford a ride to the game that it's playing...man these are some tough times. At least we know the fans will be sitting pretty.

The Kiss Of Death

What's the greatest sin a coach can commit and will undoubtedly lead to an immediate firing?

Of the six coaches let go this year in the NHL, the last two of them have been given the boot after a loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
On Feb. 14 the Pittsburgh Penguins lost 6-2 to Toronto and on Feb. 15, the Pens disposed of Michel Therrien and replaced him with Dan Bylsma. The New York Rangers canned Tom Renney in favour of John Tortorella yesterday after losing 3-2 to the Make-Believes on Sunday night.

The Leafs still have 22 more games to play this season, which means that as many as three or four more coaches might still be in danger of getting the axe.


On another note, all four of the teams that opened the 2008-09 season in Europe (Tampa Bay, New York, Ottawa, Pittsburgh) have fired their coaches this year.
Detroit, St. Louis, Chicago and Florida, who play in season-opening games next October in Sweden and Finland, are all on notice...a little nervous are we?

Suuure, Let Us Take Him...

One story I read this morning as I was cavorting around the internet looking for an interesting angle was that of Michael Vick.

Vick, for those of you who either don't read newspapers or the "internet", have lived under a rock for the past three years or have recently immigrated from Mongolia, was the highest paid player in the NFL playing QB for the Atlanta Falcons. Two summers ago he was placed directly in the middle of a very large dog-fighting ring of which he was found to be the ring-leader and chief financier.

In December of 2007 Vick was sentenced to 23 months in prison and he has been serving his time ever since.

Vick was suspended indefinitely by the NFL but was never technically cut by the Falcons. He still remains their property to this day.

The reason this issue is relevant again is because Vick will be eligible for parole come July 21 and the Falcons are being forced to consider their options. If and when Vick is released this summer and subsequently reinstated by the NFL, his old contract will kick back in that runs to 2013 and calls for him to receive a base salary of US$9 million and a bonus of $6.43 million in 2009. The remainder of the contract is worth $45.11 million, with another possible $3 million in Pro Bowl bonuses.

The Falcons have announced their intentions to trade his rights. If they can’t find a trade partner and they release Vick once he is reinstated, they would take a $15.430 million salary-cap hit in 2009.

That's a big deal.

So far there have been no teams come out and say they want him, not surprisingly, as the P.R nightmare alone that would create would be awful business for many teams.

What caught my eye specifically about this story though was one writer's opinion that he could make his return in the CFL.

Here are some pros and cons:

Pro: Vick in his prime was a superbly talented and eminently exciting quarterback
Con: I don't think the slammer's training regimen is as strict as he's been used to

Pro: Vick's combination of pass and run makes him a perfect fit for the CFL style of game
Con: There's no telling how all those prison showers will effect his ability to scramble

Pro: The Longest Yard profiled a prolific jail-house football team and was an awesome movie
Con: So was All Dogs Go To Heaven

Pro: Ricky Williams seemed to fit in pretty well in his season in the NFL
Con: Canadians generally have more sympathy for people who smoke weed than those who murder dogs....just sayin'

...and the list goes on

Now the CFL did institute a rule after the Ricky Williams saga saying no NFL player under contract with a team may play in the CFL while under suspension, if Vick were to be reinstated and released, this rule would not apply to him.

If I were a team owner, either in the CFL, NFL, USFL (does that even exist anymore?) Arena League or Flag Football, I wouldn't touch Vick with a 20-foot pole. This guy is poison.

While some say he'd be a great fit for any team looking to run the 'wild-cat' offense that combines passing, running 'the option' and different players and positions playing from the quarterback slot, Vick's combination of time in prison plus awful reputation carries a fairly large stink around with him.

It's probably a good bet Vick ends up playing somewhere not for the 2009, but the 2010 season. There will always be one crazy owner out there willing to take a chance on a troubled, yet talented personality (Jerry Jones are you listening?....Pacman Jones, Tank Johnson, Terrell Owens).

I just hope that owner doesn't currently run a franchise operating north of the 44.

Quick Tennis Update

Huuuge props to Andy Roddick, who pulled out of the Men's Dubai Tennis Tournament this past weekend while still in Memphis playing last week's tourney.

Roddick will miss out on defending his ranking points, as well as a hefty appearance fee saying, “I really didn’t agree with what went on over there,” he said of the tournament denying Shahar Peer a spot in the draw. “I don’t know if it’s the best thing to mix politics and sports, and that was probably a big part of it.”

It takes a lot for an international sports star to give up potential (and guranteed) money to make a political stand. If you weren't already a fan of Roddick, you should be now.

Send The Royalties To Mario...Uh, What Is His Last Name Anways?

If taking over the closer's role for the San Diego Padres wasn't enough pressure for Heath Bell, how about your television telling you you're obese.

That is exactly what happened when Bell plugged in his Wii Fit during this past off-season and stepped on the scale.

"It said I was obese," Bell said. "If you're obese, it makes (your character on screen) obese. I was disappointed that I was that big. I literally took the game to heart. I did the work but I kind of credit the Wii Fit."

After coming over to San Diego in a November 2006 trade from the New York Mets, Bell reported to camp in 2007 at 250 pounds.
Bell, who has been given the first crack at taking over the closing role vacated by all-time saves leader, Trevor Hoffman, reported to camp this year at a svelte 245 pounds.

No word on how much he can bench press, but my bet is he can out air-guitar the entire team.

All This Standing and Jumping Is Making My Tea Spill

Who said English soccer fans can't be civilized..?

This is an actual letter from the owners of Middlesbrough FC in the English Premier League addressed to their fans...
Apparently they're trying to attract more of the geriatric crowds to their games now..



Their next effort if this doesn't work, seatbelts...

He'll Never Be Criticized For Being Lazy Again

Last week we brought you an editing folly from the front page of TSN.ca, now it's our friends south of the border who've provided us with some chuckle inducing proofreading.



I think ESPN's football maniacal brains have taken this thing a little too far.
ESPN.com apparently seems to think Tony Romo has decided to take up a new hobby during the NFL off-season....being an NHL goalie.

The goaltender, Karri RAmo, actually played quite well last night...no word on whether Jessica Simpson was in attendance.

Weekend Musings

- The NFL Combine is the most boring television event I can imagine...how the NFL Network (which I've written about before) thinks this is a good idea to dedicate 17 hours a day to live and replay shows of this non-event is beyond me...

- Tony Kornheiser is hilarious...


- There is an interesting trend developing in both the NHL and NBA, where while the playoff races are tight, the divisional races aren't even close.
Here are the division leaders and by how much they lead the second place team:
NHL
New Jersey, 8 points
Boston, 19 points
Washington, 13 points
Detroit, 10 points
Calgary, 8 points
San Jose, 24 points
NBA
Boston, 16.5 games
Cleveland, 16 games
Orlando, 9 games
Denver, 1.5 games
LA Lakers, 14.5 games
San Antonio, 3 games

So there are exactly two divisions in both sports combined that are even remotely competitive, both in the NBA's Western Conference.

The races for the bottom four or five spots in the post-season are as tight as ever, but for some reason, the divisional leaders are all running away with it. Could just be one of those years.

- The Leaf fans and organization really know how to treat their former superstars. Upon Mats Sundin's first return to Toronto on Saturday night as a visiting Canuck player, the Leafs not only played a tear-inducing video tribute, but the fans gave him an extended standing ovation, prompting the linesman to back off the faceoff dot to allow for the cheers to die down and Sundin to regain his composure.
And say what you will about MLSE having no class, to cap off the night, the Leaf players even let Sundin score the winner in the shootout. You stay classy Toronto.

- 'Boom Goes The Dynamite' has made it all the way to the big time


- Speaking of the Oscars, am I the only person who didn't realize until last night that Amy Adams and Isla Fisher are actually two different people!?!......Really!?!?!...I guess that means now I get to have TWO totally unrealistic hollywood crushes...hmm, I think I'm ok with that.

- The Bruschetta Pizza from Boston Pizza is amaaaaaaazing...
(note: If any BP employees are reading this, please send all gift certificates to lonelysportsbum@gmail.com)

- Good for Venus Williams not just for winning the Dubai Tennis Championship, but for mentioning Shahar Pe'er in her post-match acceptance speech.
"I felt like I had to talk about her," Williams said. "I thought it was brave of her to come here and try and play despite knowing that it is not going to be easy for her. My dad grew up in an area where if you spoke too much, it was your life. So I felt I had a small opportunity to say something where everyone will listen."

- A-Rod hired the same lawyer who represented Sammy Sosa and Andy Pettite. I kinda like this story now, It just keeps getting more and more juicy.

- Seriously!?! The Beckham saga isn't over yet!?!?! This story has more legs than Uma Thurman.

This Reporter Just Got Told

What's a Draft Pick Worth These Days Anyway?

A recent article from TSN.ca explored the question of what correlation a player's draft position has to his number of games played in the NHL.

In essence, does being drafted higher than another player guarantee better return at the NHL level?

Looking at the 1994-2004 drafts (allowing for players drafted in 2005-2008 to still mature and reach their potential) the article broke down what percentage of players from specific draft positions went on to play (or is very likely to play) 100+ games in the NHL and gave a few specific examples of the best players from that position.

While some of the results were not surprising (96% of players taken 1-5 overall went on to play 100+ games), other results were far more interesting.

Some of the more eye-opening statistics said that although the top 5 picks were a virtual lock to play 100 games, that number dropped way down to 74% for players taken 6-10 overall.

The survey also showed that picking anywhere from 31-105 overall has almost virtually the same chance of getting you a regular NHLer. The variation in percentages did not dip below 21% and did not go above 32% for those picks from the second to the mid-fourth round.

Below the 105th pick also showed the same correlation in percentages with the 106th-211+ picks giving you a 7%-14% chance of bagging a player.

Sure these numbers are interesting, but what do they mean?

Well, if you're a team on draft day with the 8th overall pick and you have an offer to trade up to the 6th slot, maybe you think twice about doing it, since odds are that your pick will garner about the same chance of making it as the one you're trading for. But if you have the 6th overall pick and are offered a similar deal for the 4th selection, maybe that's a trade you pull off.

Similarly, it would seem that past the first round, most players picked in the middle of the draft fall into a very similar game of chance. Whether you pick 35th or 95th, this survey says your player has a 1-in-3 shot of playing 100 games in the big league.

Same goes for the bottom rounds, except the chances are much lower, about 1-in-10.

It would seem then, the process of drafting 18-year-olds is considerably more tricky than you might think. While draft eligible players seem to fall into four distinctive categories (top-5, first round, mid-round, late-round), drafting within those groups is really a crap shoot.

High-end talent will always be there, but within a physical sport like hockey, some players just don't develop their skills or their bodies until they are 19, 20, 21 or even later. How do you think players like Pavel Dastyuk and Henrik Zetterberg got to be drafted 171st and 210th overall respectively before they exploded at the NHL level?

That's part of what makes a team like Detroit so successful. In those years of '94-'04 that this survey looked at, the Red Wings never selected higher than 23rd overall. However, they were able, through shrewd scouting and drafting, to get great value out of their late picks. Datsyuk and Zetterberg are the best examples of that but they also stole Johan Franzen at 97th overall in 2004 (he was their first pick in the draft), Jiri Dudler at 58th overall in 2002, Petr Sykora at 76th in 1997 and the list goes on. Because of the confidence they had in their drafting ability, they were never gun-shy to trade high picks away mid-season for talented veteran players to help them win Stanley Cups.

What this survey proves is the draft is an inexact science at best. While it is traditionally the worst teams that get to choose highest every year, it is the mid-late round picks that can form a team's long-term nucleus of players.

Knowing which third of the players you are evaluating will make it and which two-thirds will not isn't easy, but it's essential if you intend to turn your team into a long-term contender.

This Won't Be Good For Business...

It's a slow news day...except that a few Montreal Canadiens have been recently connected with an alleged mobster and drug trafficker....

um....oops....

From the National Post, reporting a story originally from La Press:

"One of the suspects arrested this month in a Montreal police operation targetting organized crime is closely linked with Canadiens' players Andrei and Sergei Kostitsyn, La Presse reports in its Friday edition.

Pasquale Mangiola, who faces drug-trafficking and illegal weapon charges, is a close associate of the brothers and spoke to them often, La Presse says.

The three were often seen together at local bars and restaurants, the French-language newspaper reports.

Canadiens defenceman Roman Hamrlik was also acquainted with Mr. Mangiola, La Presse reports."

Now this will be interesting...

Oh...And One More Thing

So despite Andy Ram being granted his visa for next week's men's tennis tournament in Dubai, The Tennis Channel will still not be televising the event, claiming that it is of little consolation to Shahar Peer, not allowed to play in hers.

Just to stick it to the man, the channel is currently searching through their archives to find Peer's and Ram's best matches to air during the slots intended for the men's semifinal and final rounds next weekend. Boooo-yah Dubai!

As a sidenote...President Obama just finished his meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper in Ottawa. I hear it went well...I think Tim Hortons catered.

It's Ok, He's Used To The Heat

Someone in the UAE must read this blog because Andy Ram has been granted a visa to play in Dubai in next week's tennis tournament after-all.

Good for the ATP for putting enough pressure on the organizers to get this done.
In recent days, people such as Bille Jean King and Serena Williams had all come to the defense of Ram and Shahar Pe'er (who was denied entry for her tournament) and there was talk of Dubai losing their very lucrative tournament in the future.

The Tennis Channel had already said they would refuse to air the women's tourney, costing Dubai an unknown amount of money from ad revenue.

It seems that pressure has paid off.

Sometimes Ridiculous Just Isn't Enough

A few things I think are ridiculous this morning:

LOST...this is the smartest show on television. I've been watching since the very beginning and been hooked ever since.

TSN2...Why can't you and Rogers TV just be friends already? I've missed countless amounts of important hockey and basketball games (not to mention golf, tennis, boxing and other sports), despite getting the Super Sports Pack of NHL Center Ice, NBA Home Court, NFL Sunday Ticket...etc, because the country's largest cable provider won't offer you to me. Although I shouldn't complain too much cause Rogers already gave me 3 months of that package for free for complaining...sidenote: Rogers raised their tv and internet fees today...awesome!

Tyson Chandler...was traded yesterday from Oklahoma City of the NBA to New Orleans. All's well and good right? Well, Chandler failed his physical and the trade was rescinded today.
While he has missed 18 games this season with injuries, he has started all 32 that he's played and averaged just over 8 points and 8 rebounds per game. OKC didn't give a specific reason why he failed the physical, but if this has anything to do with conditioning or lack of rehab, Chandler and the Hornets should be ashamed. You don't trade players mid-season who are woefully out of shape, you wait till the year is done and peddle them to Sacramento.

Playing hockey until 11:30pm the night before waking up for work at 7:15...

Ken Griffey Jr....after 10 years in exile and speculation he was going to Atlanta, the smooth swing has announced his return to Seattle for his swan song. In 10 seasons since leaving the Mariners, Griffey has averaged just 98 games played per season and hit 213 home runs over that span. That compared with 398 home runs in his first 11 seasons averaging 139 games played, all with Seattle. You could say that all has to do with ageing, but those later career numbers average out about the same as the early ones if you expand those numbers to full seasons, so clearly Griffey still had it. Many say had he not been so injury prone in his years with Cincinnati and recently Chicago, Griffey would be the all-time home run hitter right now. He currently sits in fifth place all-time with 611.

Tatinana Del Toro...if you know, you know...'nuff said

Bernard Madoff...50 billion...really? You couldn't have stopped at like...30 billion, could you? You reeaallly needed that extra 20 billion to buy Cuba like you always wanted, right? And you stole from Sandy Koufax!?!?! Whaaaaaaat???

And finally...and possibly the most ridiculous moment of the year...

Alex Ovechkin...at his absurd best...

Anti-tennis-ism?

First we learned the other day of how Israeli tennis player Shahar Pe'er was denied entry into Dubai for a tournament this week.

While the WTA decided to go ahead with the tournament anyway after much debate, the Tennis Channel has taken a stand and opted out of their contract to televise the tourney.

The organizers of the Dubai event claimed that Pe'er was not let in due to "security reasons" involving fan's reactions to Israel's recent battle in Gaza. But we all kinda know the truth, Dubai and Israel just don't really get along so well.

The plot thickens, however, because next week the men will take their turn playing in Dubai and on the slate of competitors is fourth ranked doubles player and fellow-Israeli, Andy Ram.

Ram, his lawyer says, is currently in France awaiting word of whether he will, like Pe'er, be denied entry to the country as well. The ATP, who runs the men's side of tennis has said that they are awaiting word on Ram's visa status before making any decisions about going ahead with the tournament or not.

Add to this breaking news that an upcoming Davis Cup match pitting Israel versus host Sweden will be played in an empty 4,000 seat arena. Sweden's government voted 5-4 to take this measure saying they could not guarantee the security of the fans.

I suppose none of this is surprising, but still it is saddening.

Sport has always been touted as borderless and unifying. They say the Olympics is a politics-free zone. But we know better than that.

We've seen examples of the Israeli soccer team's struggle with anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli sentiment on many occasions. From more recent players refusing to play against Israel, to whole teams dropping out or refusing entry into tournaments Israel has been in, to games being played in empty stadiums.

Israel has been a full-time member of UEFA, Europe's governing soccer body, since 1994 due to alienation from Middle Eastern and some Asian soccer bodies, despite not even being a European country.

This most recent news concerning Dubai and the Davis Cup is only adding to the mountain of evidence that sport is not as pure and peaceful as most organizations, notably the Olympics, claim it is. One need only look back to the horrific events of Munich, 1972 to see the ultimate case on the matter.

The Tennis Channel has made their stand. Here's hoping if Ram is denied entry into Dubai next week, the ATP makes their voice heard and shows their commitment to the entire international tennis community by cancelling the event and not renewing their contract for coming years.

They Can't Handle The Truth

Watching Alex Rodriguez's press conference yesterday I was pretty impressed with how well orchestrated the whole thing was.

While there were reportedly over 200 journalists in attendance at the Yankees practice facility in Tampa Bay, A-Rod and his recently hired crisis management team (I'm not making that up) did a very intelligent thing for him and laid out a few ground rules in order to keep the situation from getting out of hand and keep the message he was feeding us consistent.

Firstly, no follow up questions allowed.

How can you expect to get a full answer out of someone who is clearly reluctant to give the whooole truth away, without asking any follow ups.

A-Rod kept his responses short and consistent. The two messages we heard over and over from him were, "I was young and immature" and "That's not for me to decide".

The other ground-rule of the 30 minute or so interview was that they would try to allow reporters who cover the Yankees on a regular basis to ask their questions before others. While this may have been done as a simple courtesy to those who spend the most time with the organization, I think it was actually done to put a small censor on some of the questions.
Who do you think is more likely to ask a pressing and damaging question to someones face, someone who deals with these people everyday, or someone who flies in to Tampa for a single interview and is never seen or heard from again.

There were pressing questions asked, but most fell short of getting to the true heart of the matter and it was not made any easier on the gathered press as a result of the 'no follow-up' rule.

A-Rod was, at one point, asked if he believed he cheated during the three years he claimed to have been a user of 'boli', something he referred to as an energy booster and "we knew we weren't taking tic-tacs". This was Rodriguez's opportunity to fully and completely fall on his sword. He had admitted wrong-doing, he said his cousin injected him on average twice a month for six months during three seasons, he apologized to letting his fans, teammates and organizations down. But he did not, or could not admit to cheating.

"That's not for me to decide" was what seemed to be his stock answer of the day in failing to take full responsibility for his actions. It had an aura of McGwire's "I'm not here to talk about the past" performance in front of congress a few years ago.

While A-Rod did seem contrite in his press conference, it is but a little irking, if not down right puzzling, why all of a sudden he could remember copious amounts of details pertaining to his steroid use when just a week ago during his initial interview with ESPN he could not remember what the steroid was, where he got it and what it did for him.

Some part of me still wants to put this issue aside, forget about it and go back to playing baseball. But another, equally sized part, is still very quizzical about what other details may or not still be out there.

I'm waiting for someone to admit the whole truth. I'm waiting for someone to come out and say, "You know what, I did it and I'm not sorry for doing it. I did it because everyone else was doing it and it was the only way I could keep up. And you know what, my teammates knew about it, my agent knew about it, my coaches and doctors knew about it and they all did nothing either. You know why, because nobody cared back then. It was just the way it worked."

We know that's what A-Rod was thinking, we know that's probably what he wanted to tell us, that everyone was doing it and he's no different from the other 103 people on that list who tested positive. I fear, however, that will never happen. No active player will ever have the guts to come out and put their career on the line for the pursuit of truth and justice.

A-Rod, as the recent SI cover so eloquently put it, is the latest and greatest to fall. But that doesn't mean we can't still have some sympathy for the position he's in. He is, after all, but one of an unknown number of players during that era to have used. He just happened to get caught.

It also doesn't mean that this story is anywhere near being over. He had the opportunity to put it to rest for good yesterday and though A-Rod should get much credit for being considerably more open than anyone and everyone who has come before him, ultimately, if full and complete truth is the test, A-Rod failed.

Recession has now affected TSN's proofreading corps

I've seen some interesting headlines in my days, but I really like TSN's take on the A-Rod news conference today in Tampa...
It took me a minute to figure out what was going on...at first I wondered if I missed something in the presser about him not reading a label correctly, or corresponding via SMS...but alas, no.

Now, TSN is a very large and well-read web site, especially in Canada...they don't have anyone proofreading their main story headlines!?!?!

First he gets Marion back, now this?

Brian Colangelo is really taking this "Phoenix North" thing pretty seriously.

Last Friday, the former Suns' GM dumped (not so) Super-Jamario Moon and Jermaine O'Neill for Marcus Banks and former Sun, Shawn Marion.

Now, a rumour has been floating around the web that a three-way trade may be in the works between the Raptors, Suns and Chicago Bulls.
The details that are coming out are that the Bulls would get Chris Bosh, while the Suns would get a package of young players and/or expiring contracts and a few draft picks and the Raptors would pick up Amare Stoudamire from the Suns.

When Stephen A. Smith reported a week or two ago that Bosh wanted out of Toronto and the Raps would look at trading him before he becomes a free-agent in 2010, both Bosh and Colangelo dissed the rumour immediately. But now that there are specifics involved, I wonder how the story will change.

I understand, if Bosh truly wants to go, why this is good for Toronto. They'd be trading one of the most dominant power-forwards in the NBA but getting back an exceptionally talented center who is also part of that 2010 free-agent class.
But then who would play the four for the Raps? I assume that would mean Andrea Bargnani would slide down to allow Amare to play the five. But this also means that, assuming the rumours are true, Toronto believes it would have a better shot at resigning Amare than it would Bosh.

Consider a starting five of Jose Calderon, Anthony Parker, Marion, Bargnani and Amare. When healthy and effective, that would be a pretty scary group to go up against with all it's inside-outside potential and full court running style of offense.

Now, if Bosh does still want to stay, and the Raps think there's even a small chance he re-signs in 2010, I don't think you do this deal. He is the heart and soul of that team and can bring it every night. But assuming Colangelo knows something we don't about CB4's intentions...this might not be such a bad idea.

Just when you thought it was dead...

Apparently this story just wont go away...

News out of Italy is that AC Milan doesn't really believe in "deadlines".
They are reportedly still holding out hope that negotiations with the LA Galaxy can be re-opened this week after last Friday's self-imposed deadline passed with no deal getting done.
Now they REALLY mean it when they say this Friday is the new deadline, or is it March 9 when the loan expires...maybe they'll just keep negotiation till the end of the summer and hope the Galaxy doesn't notice that Beckham hasn't left yet.

It's official, I am definitely bored with this story.

LA should just cut their losses, take their $10-20 million that they'll get from the transfer and move on. Beckham was supposed to come and sell the game to North Americans, but how the hell do you sell the game with someone who is begrudgingly playing in your city and league when he really wants to be putting his feet up while dining on some Tuscan favours?

Please, won't this story just go away.

(Long) Weekend Musings

A few trades were made this weekend in sport. The Montreal Canadiens acquired 39-year-old defenseman Matthieu Schneider for what one can only assume will be a weekly mah-jong or bridge tournament they plan on holding.
Also, Shawn Marion got traded to the Raptors for Jermaine O'Neil. In other news, the Raps were yet again denied permission for a 'redo' on their 'Vince Carter for a bag of pucks' trade a few years back.

Speaking of basketball, the All-Star Slam Dunk Competition Weekend took place...I don't get why they even play a game.
Nate Robertson's dunk OVER Dwight Howard was...jaw-dropping mostly for the physics involved in a 5'8 player leaping...again....OVER a 7-footer.
That, however, was not my favourite dunk of the night. Rudy Fernandez got hosed on his first dunk of the competition throwing a behind the back pass off the top right of the backboard then catching it with one hand and throwing down...that was awesome, but he got the lowest mark in the entire competition!!. Is it cause he's white?? C'mon, can't a white man get ahead in this world??

Apparently, Shaq has completed his transformation from credible basketball player to something called a Jabbawockee...?

The weather this past weekend in the Muskoka region a few hours north of Toronto was absolutely perfect. Mad thanks to the cottage hosts for putting me/us up.

David Beckham was denied permission to transfer to Milan permanently. He must now report back to LA in the beginning of March for MLS training camp. Again, I'm not saying it's gonna happen, but he would feel mighty at home in Toronto with TFC.

I miss fantasy football.

They raced the Daytona 380 this weekend...with the final however many thousand laps getting cancelled due to rain.
The final round of the Pebble Beach Pro-Am tourney in the PGA was also rained out and cancelled with Mike Weir sitting in second place and only four shots back. How much would that suck if you were him to only play 3 rounds and then collect your check for a little under a million dollars with sti.....oh...wait....

In the most 'won't this please just fade away' story of the year so far, the Richland County Sheriff says Michael Phelps will NOT be charged for doing something that about 50% percent of the US has done themselves and thinks is ok anyways...Prosecutor turns his attention back to the Duke lacrosse boys.

Brett Favre still hasn't un-retired...yet.

Shahar Pe'er, the Israeli pro tennis player, was denied permission to enter Dubai for a tournament this weekend because of her silly mistake of trying to enter Dubai with an Israeli passport...oops.

Finally, It's the most exciting (read: insignificant) time of the year for the baseball fan. Spring training is underway in Florida and Arizona and all teams have a hope again. Everyone has a perfect record and.....wait...it's still February, who the hell cares??
Note: The Blue Jays are the only (literally, the ONLY) team in the majors not to have signed a real major league level free-agent this off-season. Man, remember when these guys were good and competing every year and winning World Series' and Cito Gaston was the manager...oh...wait.

Quick Hit and Long Weekend

Good news football fans.

Breaking news just across the wire. The CFL has released its coach of the year candidates from the 2008 seaso....wait...what?

Didn't the season end in like, November? Why are we doing this now??

Man, this league may produce an exciting brand of football, but boy does it have it's head screwed on the wrong way.



It's a long weekend in Canada and I'll be celebrating by enjoying the beauty of cottage country along with a few brewskies...so no posts till Monday night or Tuesday.

Happy Family Day!!

Deadline Day

No, not in the NHL, that's March 4. Not in the NBA either, that's Feb 19.

Today is the deadline for negotiations in the case of Beckham v. the city of Los Angeles.
Beckham maintains he wants to remain in Milan where he's been playing the last several weeks on loan from his MLS club, but so far the Galaxy have not been happy with the money that Milan has been offering them for his release.

The latest news on the matter was that LA had rejected a deal in the $10 million dollar range. My money is on the deal getting done before the end of the day and Beckham moving back full-time to the land of pasta and pizza.

But what if it doesn't? What if Milan does not make what the Galaxy would refer to as a suitable offer. What then?

I don't think Beckham can play in LA anymore. He's clearly vilified himself there and pretty much turned the collective hatred of the city square on him. But what are his other options?

Well, firstly he can play and play through the boos and jeers that he undoubtedly will get. Secondly he can sit out and wait for the team to file a suit against him asking for their money back.

Or, he can discuss the possibility of a trade to another team.

But where?

Beckham commands big dollars, we know that. So he'd have to go to a city or a team that would a)be able to afford him, b)want him and c)has a soccer crowd already so he can feel appreciated (because clearly that's important to him).

Hmm...Do I know of any cities that has a big MLS following, a rich-as-snot ownership group, a vacant 'designated player' spot and also happens to be the most 'European' feeling city of all the MLS clubs...?

Yes, my friends. I am talking about Toronto.

The TFC are owned by Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment (MLSE), the same fine people who bring you the Toronto Maple Leafs, Toronto Raptors, Air Canada Center and soon, Maple Leaf Square condominiums (good rooms still available). These guys fill their pillows with 50 dollar bills to sleep on. They use 20's as kindling when their furnace breaks down...In short, they've got the dough.

TFC already has a huge following in the city, with every single game selling out and season tickets impossible to grab. They even attract a big following on the road. Just as an added point, TFC fans were in the news last year for their habit of tossing streamers and toilet paper onto the field (specifically their opponents) during games. A very 'Euro' thing to do.

Toronto is the most multi-cultural city in the MLS and has the most distinctive Euro-feel to it. Just ask Andrea Bargnani how comfortable he was the first time he stepped into Little Italy. Maybe he and Becks can hang out, trade canoli recipes.

TFC also has an empty designated player spot to fill on their roster. Meaning that no matter how close they are to the cap, they can add Beckham in that role at no penalty.

Imagine the publicity Toronto would get for adding the worlds most famous soccer player to it's list of residents. I don't see any way the sponsorship and merchandise dollars don't come pouring down if Beckham comes to town and we all know how much MLSE loves money.

Listen, I'm not saying it's gonna happen, I'm not even saying it might happen. I'm just saying that from a not so objective standpoint, if talks between Beckham and the Galaxy don't go as they'd hoped, they have an option for him in hogtown.

My Second Bar Mitzvah

Lordy, lordy....

I get home from work today and realize that it is the greatest day of the year. Why is that you ask? Because today is the day the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition landed on my doorstep.

Normally I am far above that type of immodest, immature, unseemly and generally inappropriate type of objectification in the media....But I'll make an exception this one time.

I was very happy to learn earlier in the week that gracing the cover would be none other than Bar Rafaeli. Rafaeli , a Jew, was born and raised by an Israeli family in the city of Hod HaSharon. After some modelling and acting, she first appeared in the 2007 Swimsuit Edition and again in 2008.

With this year's magazine she now becomes the first of the tribe to grace the cover of the SI SE.

Say what you want about the role of this issue and whether or not it objectifies women beyond what our society might classify as 'reasonable' (if there can be any objectification that is reasonable at all), but being on the cover of one of the most read magazines - sporting or otherwise - is a big deal.

Is her Jewish heritage a big deal though? Should Jews and non-Jews alike even care about her religion?

Maybe it's politically incorrect to say this, but 'the chosen people' haven't always been known as the modelling type. As far as stereotypes go you could get away with smart, entrepreneurial, doctors, lawyers, cheap (we are talking stereotypes here and I already threw out the politically incorrect card, so sue me) maybe even handsome. But classically beautiful, or what might be referred to as "hot"?...I don't think so bubby...ah...buddy.

In that sense it's kinda refreshing, or maybe affirming even to some people that yes, Jews can be hot. Why not?

Hey, if she's good enough for Leo DiCaprio, why can't she be good enough for SI, let alone you and me?

On that note, I've gotta run and do some more...ah...research on this topic...

P.S...fly Southwest

Time Counting Down. Expecations Rising Up

So today marks the official 1-year-out date until the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver/Whistler and while there's a lot to be excited about, there's still plenty of worry to go around.

First and foremost is this; Coming off the most lavish, expensive, grandiose Olympics in it's history, the issue is not how will Vancouver respond - because in these economic times they clearly can't or won't - but how that recent memory may stain or tarnish the image of this upcoming event.

The comparisons will undoubtedly be there. 'Oh that opening ceremonies was ok, but where were the thousand dancers doing acrobatics in synchronicity?'. Or, 'yah, so the new skating oval is pretty cool, but remember that water cube?'.

Vancouver would do very well by distancing itself as far from the image of Beijing as possible. After all, the two games, venues and world climate could not be any different.

Another issue is that of the Olympic village. For the most part, building projects for 2010 are ahead of schedule. All but one olympic venue is completed. That does not include the Olympic Village.

Due to the worsening of the world's economy and falling housing prices, the deal that the city made to help finance the building of the village and later sell the high-rise condominiums to the public is not looking so good after hundreds of millions of dollars more were needed to be poured into the project. The tax-paying public has become very worried about what that means for them.

Yet another issue on the long vs. short term economic benefits checklist for hosting an Olympics. The fact that this will be the first major worldwide event held under this 'new economic reality' makes it even more disconcerting. Nobody knows what to expect.

On top of all this, Canada has never won a gold medal in its own country. Not in Montreal in '76, not in Calgary in '88. While that is highly expected to change, the pressure on Canadian athletes will be unprecedented.

For some reason, Canada enjoys playing the underdog role. We don't like being the star of the stage and we prefer mostly to sit in the shadows and get our work done effectively. I don't think it's an insult to say that Canada is a pretty middle-of-the-pack country. Not only in sports, but in politics and world affairs as well. We just don't really seek or enjoy the limelight. Some might say we even have a bit of an inferiority complex. And even when we do accomplish something great, we aren't really ones for huge celebrations or pomp and circumstance, with the lone major exception of hockey on the international stage.

With that one exception of hockey, if you would tell an average Canadian citizen that their country won a medal in the biathlon, or short-track speed skating, or the moguls, I think most people would be pretty proud about it no matter the colour. (Yes that's right, coloUr. When you're in our house, we decide how it's spelled.)

The expectations for next winter's games though will be through the roof and though the "Own The Podium" campaign has been drawing rave reviews so far and results are already beginning to be seen in non traditionally Canadian dominated sports such as World Cup downhill, the pressure come February 2010 will be absolutely unprecedented.

No one will be surprised when Cindy Klassen, or Jeremy Witherspoon, or Jennifer Heil or Kristina Groves wins that first gold medal. But will the majority or even some large part of Canada's representation be able to step up their games and perform under pressure in front of the home crowd when it matters most?

Maybe. Just don't throw us too big of a party if we pull it off, it's a little embarrassing.

A busy day in sports..hmm...coincidence?

Something seems fishy here...
We had the Alomar allegations, Brett Favre retires (again), Adam Dunn and Bobby Abreu sign contracts, Miguel Tejada pleads guilty of lying to congress about steroids, Guy LaFleur is ordered to stand trial and it's only 4:20 (do YOU know where Michael Phelps is?).

I know A-Rod had some connections but this is ridiculous...

Did Roberto Alomar play knowing he had HIV?

Well this is a bit of a shocker...

Former baseball great and one of the all-time second basemen in the game, Roberto Alomar, is being sued for 15 million dollars according to The New York Daily News.

The allegation? His ex-girlfriend is claiming that he insisted on having unprotected sex with her for 3 years without informing her that he was HIV positive. She has since been tested negative for the virus.

There's not much funny about this story, in fact the specific details of the allegation are pretty scary in how they detail Alomar's condition worsening over the past several years until he was finally tested positive for AIDS in 2006, so the suit alleges.

Alomar's agent has denied the allegations, saying that the claims are baseless and that Alomar's private life should stay private.

The most shocking part of the allegation is that according to the plaintiff, Alomar claimed he was raped when he was 17 years old by two Mexican men after a baseball game in a southwestern state and that is where he contracted the virus, meaning he played his entire career with it, knowingly or not.

Though HIV has never been transmitted through saliva, this does put Alomar's infamous 1996 umpire-spitting incident in a different light. John Hirshbeck, the umpire in question, was quoted last night as saying, "You're telling me something I'm shocked at. I wish him nothing but the best."

If the allegations are true and if Alomar played even a part of his career with the HIV virus or AIDS, this would be a huge story. While I would hope that we, as a society, are past the point where we are afraid of going near a person with HIV for fear of contracting the disease, there are certain precautions that must still be taken within a sports environment if a player on yours or another team is known to have the virus. The obvious first concern would be for the athletic trainers and doctors who might have worked on Alomar throughout his career.

While all this is obviously speculation at this point and the lawsuit is very fresh, it's still a scary thought.

Alomar was and remains to this day one of the greatest second basemen in the history of the game, but would have a lot of 'splainin to do if any of these allegations are proven true. Which they have not yet been in a court of law.

For all we know this could be nothing more than an angry ex-girlfriend trying to extort Alomar for a lot of money. I have a feeling we'll be hearing a lot more about this very soon...stay tuned.

Is This the Most Credible Man in Baseball???

Really!?!?

No way.....He's not even wearing a shirt!

OK, well apparently Jose Canseco kinda told us about this whole "steroids" thing a few years ago and none of us were willing to "believe" him. He wrote in his 2005 book Juiced that Mark McGwire did it (check), Rafael Palmeiro did it (check), Jason Giambi did it (check), Juan Gonzalez did it (check), Ivan Rodriguez...well, we can't all be perfect can we?

He even wrote in his latest book, entitled Vindicated, that he introduced A-Rod to a steroids dealer a number of years ago. Well it would seem even if it was not a result of that meeting, Canseco's inclination that A-Rod might not be 'the clean hope' after all, was bang on.

So Jose Canseco now apparently has a plan.

Canseco has reportedly approached the powers that be at MLB that he would like to be a part of the solution to this little issue that baseball has been having. He would reveal no details of what his actual plan is, but said he would like to meet directly with MLB commissioner Bud Selig and union head Donal Fehr to discuss his ideas. Something smells fishy here...

"I think everyone realizes I have not in any way, shape or form tried to create smoke and mirrors like Major League Baseball has and the players have," said Canseco. "I have been excruciatingly honest about what's going on in baseball."

Kinda throwing the league under the bus there a wee bit, aren't we?

Either way, the point is despite his recent forays into a season of the Surreal Life, where he was seen prancing around in a thong and his "fighting" career with bouts against Vai Sicahema, which he was knocked out of in the first round and Danny Bonaduce, who he drew to a tie, Canseco kinda has been the most forthright of any person related to this entire scandal.

We know he's been truthful, but should he be trusted?

So far, it's been very clear the reason for Canseco's candor. He's trying to make some cash and keep himself in the public eye for as long as possible.

If you were the owner of all this super-secretive information and had nothing to lose by giving it up (except for the respect and trust of everyone who thought they were your friends), would you not do the same...? Maybe not?...Oh, ok.

To me, this latest effort by Canseco reeks of yet another publicity stunt, trying to boost his own credibility and prove to himself, once again, that he was right all along.

If I'm MLB, I run as fast and as far as I can from this guy.

I start my own independent commission on the eradication of steroids in sports. This commission would have a goal towards implementing a curriculum at the elementary school age that teaches kids all the potential dangers of doing steroids. One of the ways I would do this is by showing a career retrospective of Jose Canseco.

How a man once known for smashing homers waaaaay out of the park has been reduced to side shows, tell-alls, cheap publicity stunts and quick money grabs is truly a sad sight.

The MLB needs to treat this issue with the seriousness it deserves and not allow it to turn into a mockery further than it already is.

Jose, you may have been right about who did it, but your actions have proved that in no way are you to be trusted in fixing this problem.

Puppiiiiiiiiies!!!

Alright, full disclosure here: I love dogs.

Yup, love em to death. I love my own dog, my friends dogs and I even sometimes stop on the street when I see a cute one passing by. I try to avoid using that annoying baby voice that people put on around cute animals, but hey, sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do.

For anyone like me who is a dog-lover, this article by Bill Simmons of ESPN.com is an absolute must read. I don't mean it's pretty good, I mean my buddy wrote BS an email afterward telling him that the last time so many 18-35 year old men had cried was when Rudy sacked the quarterback.

I mention all this now because last night and tonight are the two biggest nights in the doggie calendar, The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show.

For two nights every year, people like me all over the world stop what they're doing and flock to New York City to watch this showcase of the planet's prettiest pups....Ok, not really.

See, apparently the show, like much of the rest of the world, has fallen upon hard times.
Doggie entries are down this year, as are ticket sales. Even PETA could only afford to send two protesters this year!

But what's up with the public's obsession over this show anyways? Is it just a gimmick, like the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest or the X Games, that comes around once a year and for the most part gets ignored for the rest? Or is there something deeper to it?

Anyone who's seen Best In Show, and I hope that's most of you, can relate to the fact that no matter how crazy or opulent the show, or the owners can get, in the end it really is about the dogs.

Maybe the answer lies in people like me. There's a reason this dog show is shown live on TV throughout the States on the USA Network, a channel dedicated, for the most part, to showing cop shows, dramas and sports and in Canada on its' sports leader, TSN.

How many people are there out there that are hardened sports fans, wouldn't cry if you stuck a nail in their big toe, drink a dozen raw eggs in the morning before the crack of dawn before spending the day on a construction site....but gush at the site of a one-year-old chocolate lab chasing a tennis ball in the park? Probably more than you think.

There's some sort of natural, instinctive response that people have to dogs. Maybe it's been ingrained in our brains throughout history, maybe it's just that people like cute things. I've actually seen studies that show people with dogs live a quantitatively happier life than those without. The bond a human can make with his pet can be as strong or stronger than any they might have with a person.

For more evidence look no further than the Michael Vick situation of two summers ago. Yes, of course what he did was illegal, deplorable, disgusting and repremandable, but the public outcry from it seemed utterly disproportional to that of the plethora of other crimes that have been committed by athletes. Ed Belfour beat up his wife, Ray Lewis was on trial for murder (of a human) and even pleaded guilty to a lower charge as part of a plea bargain, Mike Tyson did three years in jail for rape, but never had anyone seen the level of sheer shock and outcry as occurred over Vick's treatment of his pit bulls.

A recent SI Cover Story told the tale of a number of Vick's dogs and where they are now. It's amazing and somewhat inspirational to hear of the transformation so many of them have made to becoming caring, loving house-pets.

Once a year we get a chance to see man's best friend strut their stuff on the biggest stage. For all they give to us year-round, I suggest you tune in.

Honestly the Only Policy for A-Rod

Breaking News from ESPN.com

"I did take a banned substance. For that, I'm very sorry and deeply regretful."

Alex Rodriguez really only had one option here. He's had the benefit of seeing what's happened to guys like Mark McGwire, Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens who have either refused to admit their wrong-doings or downright denied them all together.

He's also seen how his teammates Andy Pettite and Jason Giambi were able to move on with their careers and remove the shadow from above their heads by being honest and forthright in their admissions.

Let's be real here, once this cat got out of the bag and SI reported the piece over the weekend about A-Rod being one of 104 players to have tested positive in a supposedly anonymous 2003 test, we all knew this could end one of two ways:

Either A-Rod could deny until the bitter end and enter the realm of Roger Clemens, a talent like no other whose shady past will forever cast a shadow on his legacy, never allowing the public to forgive and move on. How can you forgive someone for something they can't admit to?

The other option was to do what he just did. Consult with his agent, take a day or two to allow this to digest and then swiftly conduct an interview being as contrite, honest and apologetic as possible. A-Rod admitted today to taking performance enhancing drugs for three years in Texas and says, among other things "I was young, I was stupid, I was naïve. I wanted to prove to everyone I was worth being one of the greatest players of all time."

Pete Rose learned this same lesson not too long ago. The North American sporting public WANTS to forgive you. They want to let you off the hook. But they aren't stupid. They know when you're lying and the longer you go, the less willing they will be to forgive. Already you hear of people calling for Rose' reinstatement into baseball culture and the hall of fame. You hear none of that for Barry Bonds, whose stubborn refusal to admit the truth is the reason he is currently out of baseball, on trial for perjury and may very well spend significant time in jail.

He is not on trial for doing steroids, which after all were not even against the rules at the time. He is on trial for lying under oath, which according to Joe Public anyway, is a much, much worse offense.

Good for A-Rod for avoiding the controversy and owning up to his mistakes. Though we still can't quite think of him in the same light as we did a few days ago, his reputation can now begin it's steady climb back up.

We forgive you...now won't you just start playing well in October??