tonytalkssports My Take on Sports, particularly the Yankees, Maple Leafs and Browns

Tuesday’s Thoughts

While wondering if along with reportedly being the father of Khloe Kardashian if OJ Simpson could be the father of Lindsay Lohan, here's what is on my mind this morning:

*The Toronto Maple Leafs played a strong game defensively and came away with a 3-0 win over the New York Islanders last night at the Air Canada Centre. Jonas Gustavsson posted the shut out for the Leafs and had to be solid in goal in the third period as the Leafs seemed to be back on its heels before Phil Kessel scored the Leafs second goal. Kessel's goal happened because he drove toward the net and was able to tip in the rebound off of a shot by Joffrey Lupul. It appears that Ron Wilson's message sunk in. Hopefully, the Leafs don't have amnesia tonight at the venerable Nassau Veterans Coliseum.

* Matthew Lombardi scored the other two Leaf goals last night and the Leaf forward seems to be rounding his game back into shape after missing almost all of last season due to a concussion. The acquisition of Lombardi and Cody Franson for Brett Lebda and Robert Slaney may be the steal of the century. This coupled with the acquisition of Lupul and Jake Gardiner from the Ducks should silence those members of Leaf Nation who want to criticize Brian Burke. I'll be the first to get on the Leaf GM when it is warranted but the bottom line is that Burke has done an excellent job in acquiring talent and building up the farm system.

* Nikolai Kulemin did not get an assist on Lombardi's second goal but his hit on John Tavares in the Leaf zone is what started the Leafs offensive rush. The hit had Tavares doubled over as he headed to the Islander bench.

* Not sure I can remember two better NFL conference championship games than the ones that we saw this past Sunday. The Patriots were very fortunate as the Ravens had the opportunity to win the game when Lee Evans had a catch stripped from him by Pats defensive back Sterling Moore. Then, Billy Cundiff missed a chip shot field goal that would have sent the game to overtime. Meanwhile, in San Francisco we witnessed an old fashion defensive battle as it seemed that both defenses got better as the game went on. The Patriots-Giants Super Bowl should be a good one and I think the Giants are the more complete team right now.

* Jim Harbaugh's boorish behavior at the end of the game with Tom Coughlin was disrespectful at best. You could tell that the older more experienced Coughlin wanted to say something to the young coach as they approached to shake hands but Harbaugh immediately turned away. It was classless to say the least.

* I don't want to hear anyone question Eli Manning's ability or toughness again. Manning took a pounding Sunday and it was incredible watching him complete passes while getting buried. The kid is a gamer and he is an elite quarterback.

* The idiots who have made death threats against 49er wide receiver and kick returner Kyle Williams should get a life. I have suffered many a miserable defeat (Think Earnest Byner's fumble in 1988 AFC Championship Game) but would never wish death on anybody. It's a sad commentary on today's society and explains why fans get beaten to a pulp at games because they have the temerity to root for the visiting team. I give Williams credit for being a stand up guy by not ducking any questions from reporters after the game. He showed more class than his head coach who refused to be interviewed by Fox after the game.

* There was a great article in yesterday's NY Post by Steve Serby pertaining to Ray Lewis. During the CBS pregame show, Shannon Sharpe interviewed Ray Lewis. After the interview, it was proclaimed that Lewis has been the face of the NFL for years. Really??? Serby points out that not once in the interview was the still-unsolved double homicide brought up that Lewis was found guilty of obstruction of justice and where he paid a settlement to the 2 victims families. Here is the article:

http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/more_sports/playing_innocent_7Ix2Jn8pLN1YlGgoQtSApL

* Isn't interesting how the talking heads like to throw subtle shots at Tim Tebow for his outward demonstrations pertaining to his religious beliefs yet they glorify Ray Lewis. Let me ask you this question, who would you want your daughter going out with: Ray Lewis or Tim Tebow.

* Joe Paterno passed away Sunday morning. It is really unfortunate that a man who dedicated his life to Penn State University and to helping young people had his legacy tarnished by the horrible child sex abuse scandal. As Joe Paterno said himself, he wished he would have done more. But I for one am not going to condemn Joe Pa. It seems like there is misplaced anger being directed toward Paterno when it was Sandusky who was abusing young boys. The testimony from his former players and even from former PSU students indicate that this man had a positive impact in a lot of people's lives. Penn State will never be the same. See the article below wriiten by Pat Forde.

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/news?slug=pf-forde_paterno_passing_conflicted_complicated_012212

* The Yankees are supposedly shopping around to acquire another bat to fill the DH role at the very least on a part-time basis. Yankee GM Brian Cashman has indicated that he could sign a free agent but wants to see if can utilize the excess pitching the Yankees have to acquire a hitter. Supposedly, AJ Burnett is on the block but I can't see anyone biting. The more appealing trade chip is Phil Hughes. I think the Yanks should start the season with a DH platoon that would feature Eduardo Nunez, ARod and Derek Jeter. You can never have enough pitching. However, if they can find a sucker to take Burnett I would do it in a heartbeat.

* Well, I have Friday circled on my calendar as the great sports radio giant WGR 550 will hold an Animal Draft. Really???? These guys are a total joke. There is so much to talk about in the world of sports with the Super Bowl on the horizon, of course the Sabres and college basketball. What might be novel for the blowhards at WGR 550 is if they took the time to begin a major league baseball pre season show. They could even look at it from a fantasy baseball perspective. But these guys want to be entertainers. I would rather listen to polka musice than to listen to Schopp & The Bulldog justify why they picked a Tiger over a Lion.

* And finally, I could careless what Tim Thomas' political beliefs are and in fact I'll be honest and tell you that I think he's nuts. But my political beliefs mean nothing as do his. I am sick of multimillion dollar athletes thinking that they have to make a political statement, particularly when it involves what has become a tradition of championship teams going to the White House to meet the President. I really don't care who the President is, it's about the office of the President. I remember when Bush was President that players elected not to go for various reasons. It's all crap. Maybe they should end this whole tradition and maybe these multimillion dollar athletes should do something to encourage people to vote.