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

Tuesday’s Thoughts

While thinking about how many times Yankee-Red Sox games will be on national television this season, here is what's on my mind this morning:

* The Toronto Maple Leafs came up with a big road win last night defeating the Philadelphia Flyers 4-2. The Leafs received scoring from four different players and once again received solid goaltending from Ben Scrivens. This was the type of game last year that the Leafs would have dropped as it was an opportunity to extend the gap between themselves and the teams below them. The victory left the Leafs 5 points ahead of Philly and Tampa Bay and 6 points ahead of the NY Rangers. They are also only 3 points behind conference leading Montreal, who they will face Wednesday at the Air Canada Centre.

* Interesting stat: the Canadiens only have 4 regulation losses this season and 2 of them were at the hands of the Maple Leafs. This should make tomorrow's game pretty heated between these long time rivals. On top of the fact that the Leafs beat Montreal 6-0 a couple of weeks ago that included plenty of fights where the Leafs came out on top.

* Dave Feschuk, a writer for the Toronto Star, is one of the most negative media types around. His column today about the Leafs not being straight about the return of James Reimer was a typical example. Feschuk keeps on saying that Reimer was suppose to be back in a week when in fact the initial statement from the Leafs was that Reimer would be out a minimum of one week. Most hockey observers and legitimate hockey media types concluded that this was going to be a 2-3 week recovery period. Obviously, Feschuk doesn't pay attention to that because he spends his time trying to cause a controversy where there is none.

* Once again, kudos to Buffalo News columnist Jerry Sullivan for continuing to tell it like it is. Yesterday on Schopp & the Bulldog's show, Sullivan said what most Sabre fans and Buffalo media types don't want to hear: the Sabres are not as good as we think they are. He went on to say that he questioned the claim that the team has all this talent and just haven't been able to mesh together. I'm sure Sullivan's comments didn't sit well with the WGR 550 gasbags as they have been responsible for building up expectations.

* You could tell that Schopp was uncomfortable as he changed the subject trying to get Sullivan to talk more about the firing of Lindy Ruff. Sullivan expressed that Ruff should have been let go last year and now the focus needs to be on General Manager Darcy Reiger which once again led Sullivan to proclaim that the roster that Darcy built is not that good.

* The New York Rangers had very high expectations this year, particularly with the addition of Rick Nash. However, they moved or let go a number of heart and soul types which has had an impact on the team. This is another example that winning the off season does not translate to winning on the ice or playing field. Think about that Blue Jays fans!!!

* Read an article in the NY Daily News questioning whether the Yankees should be interested in Alfonso Soriano. The point being made was that they only needed a short-term solution as a result of the injury to Curtis Granderson. Hello!!! The Yankees need a legitimate right-hand hitting outfielder and Soriano is a big upgrade over Juan Rivera and Matt Diaz. He also hits for power. In addition, Soriano's contract would be offset by the Cubs and he would be a Yankee next year when all signs point to the possibility of Granderson exiting due to free agency.

* Didn't watch one second of the NFL Combines.

* Nearly drove off the road yesterday when Schopp & the Bulldog actually were talking about baseball. For the record, Schopp was predicting the Rays to win the AL East and the Bulldog concurred while still thinking the Yankees and Red Sox will be contenders. That will probably be the extent of GR550's baseball talk for the season. It lasted a whole 3 minutes.

* I wonder when GR550 gasbag Jeremy White will finally admit that the Sabres have wasted a year of development for Mikhail Grigerenko. White had a man crush on the 18 year old and was lobbying hard for the Sabres to leave their first rounder up with the big club. Grigerenko should have been sent to Rochester where he could play. Now that this team looks to continue to fall hopelessly out of the playoff picture, Grigerenko should get more minutes. If he doesn't, whoever was responsible for keeping this kid in Buffalo should be held accountable.

* And finally, has anybody seen Ville Leino???