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

Tuesday’s Thoughts

While wondering how badly the Cleveland Browns will embarass themselves and their fans on Thursday night in Pittsburgh here is what's on my mind this morning:

* I had the opportunity to watch Pat Shurmur's press conference on Sportstime Ohio's All Bets are Off and I was totally outraged. As I have mentioned before, Shurmur's answers to questions are basically non-answers. His non-answers are dismissive of the questions something you might expect from a coach who has won a Super Bowl or two but not from a rookie coach who looks in over his head. But what really infuriated me was his answer to a question about the frustration of the fans. Shurmur basically said he wasn't around to know about the past and the fans have to have a belief that things are going to get better. Really??? We have been waiting since 1999 for things to get better.

* It's time for the Mike Holmgren-Tom Heckert regime to start being held accountable for the state of this team. As a Browns fan, I see no improvement. In fact, its getting worse. While knowledgeable Browns fans knew that they were not going to make the playoffs this year, with their schedule they should have more wins. But forget the wins. I will maintain that this offense is worse than what it was under Eric Mangini. We were sold a bill of goods on Pat Shurmur, brilliant offensive mind. Shurmur coaches like a bad high school coach. There is no imagination. Holmgren and Heckert have said that this team needs to build through the draft. I get that but this team has so many holes that they need to get into the free agent market. Can you imagine if the Browns had drafted Julio Jones and signed Brandon Lloyd?? The lack of activity in the free agent market tells me that the Holmgren regime is as clueless as their coach when it comes to understanding the frustration that Browns fans have. All we want is to see is improvement. If Holmgren, Heckert and Shurmur were in NYC, they would be run out on a rail and couldn't pull the crap they are pulling now.

* If you are a Browns fan and have Direct TV All Bets Are Off with Bruce Drennan is a must watch. Drennan is outstanding. He is very knowledgeable about sports (unlike the dopes on WGR550) and yesterday was a great show as he really called the Browns out. Sportstime Ohio provides great Browns coverage so if you are a Browns fan check it out. It's channel 662 on Direct TV. And on occasion yours truly gets through to talk to Bruce about the Browns.

* The Maple Leafs roared back from a tough two game beat down at the hands of the Boston Bruins by defeating the hot New York Rangers 4-2 at MSG. The Leafs are the only team this year to have beaten the Rangers at the World's Greatest Arena. Jonas Gustavsson was solid in net particularly in the third period and he has given the Leafs a solid 1-2 punch in goal. The Kessel-Bozak-Lupul line was flying last night. Joffrey Lupul was on fire and the Leafs power play bounced back after two dismal performances against the Bruins. If there are any more doubts about this team, yesterday's game proves once and for all that this Leaf team is different than any other Leaf team since the lockout. Ron Wilson made a great point last night when he said that this team continues to play well with having 6 or 7 regulars out of the lineup for a good portion of November. November was also a month that the Leafs had more road games than home games. It is clear that the Leafs speed is too much for many teams. A far cry from the days of Jason Allison and Jeff O'Neill.

* The Baseball Winter Meetings began yesterday and the Miami Marlins have made the first big splash by signing Jose Reyes. The Marlins have signed Heath Bell, Reyes and are in on Albert Pujols. The Mets?? Well, they have their fans in an uproar. I have to laugh as I recall the summer of 2007 when there was an actual debate about which shortstop-third base combo was better: AROD & Derek Jeter or Reyes & David Wright. How did you make out Met fans???

* Yankee fans who are expecting anything to happen to improve their team, forget it. These are not George's Yankees anymore. Joel Sherman's article on Sunday which explained how the Yankees want to take advantage of the new collective bargaining agreement and reduce their luxury tax obligation is accurate and tells Yankee fans that this team will no longer go all in on getting a big time free agent unless they cut payroll elsewhere. That's all fine and dandy but that should mean that we get to see some of these highly touted youngsters in the farm system. However, we know that we are not going to see Banuelos or Betances next year in the Bronx. And, but for Montero and to a lesser extent Romine, there are no Yankee farmhands who are going to contribute offensively for the big team.

* You are kidding yourself if you believe that the Yanks can go into the season with a starting rotation of CC, Nova, Burnett, Hughes and Garcia and expect to get to the World Series. Remember, if they don't win the division they will have to play in a one game playoff to advance to the ALDS. It's apparent that they are not going to sign a free agent pitcher so if they want to upgrade their starting pitching then they will need to make a trade. They are interested in John Danks but the White Sox are demanding way too much. If they could get Danks for Romine, Hector Noesi and another lower level prospect, I would make the trade. Danks is entering his walk year and will have an incentive to have a good year. He will turn 27 in April and the Yankees can determine whether they would want to keep him after the 2012 season. If they don't then Banuelos or Betances should be ready for 2013.

* Offensively, the Yankees need to consider Yoenis Cespedes or Jorge Soler. Both are Cuban ballplayers and Cespedes is highly touted as a 30 home run 100 RBI guy. He plays center field but is projected to be a corner outfielder. If the Yanks decide to trade Brett Gardner or Nick Swisher to get a starting pitcher, Cespedes could step right in. He is not going to come cheap and the Yankees may not be willing to pay the price which makes Soler a great alternative. Soler is 19 years old and will need some minor league seasoning. He is being projected as a possible 40 home run guy and has more upside than Cespedes. He will also come cheaper. The Yanks could sign him and play him in the minors. He would immediately upgrade their farm system from an offensive standpoint and could potentially be a replacement for Swisher if the Yankees decide to let him go after the 2012 season.

* My Heisman Trophy pick is Andrew Luck. Take Luck off Stanford and where would they be??? Probably lucky to play in the Poulan Weedwacker Bowl.

* The NHL announced their new re-alignment which will create 4 division. The first two rounds of the playoffs will match up teams from within their own division and once division playoff winners are identified then those teams will be re-seeded. So its possible that Boston could play Philadelphia in the Stanley Cup Finals. My problem with this format is that a team in a tough division may not make the playoffs but have more points than a team in a weaker division who will qualify.

* One of my avid Twitter followers informed me that the WNY All-Sports powerhouse radio station, WGR550, had a best chicken wing sauce draft yesterday. Are you kidding me??? These guys are as bad as their no pride, choking football team. I think what they should do next is have a Biggest Loser contest featuring heavyweights Howard Simon, Paul Hamilton and Chris Parker. They could do weigh-ins and actually analyze the whole thing. Instead of calling into question the direction of their two major sports teams they can discuss how Hamilton is at a disadvantage being on the road and having to eat at Kentucky Fried Chicken all the time. Great radio indeed.

* It's been reported that Terry Francona will replace Bobby Valentine in the booth on ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball. Add Francona to Schilling, Garciaparra and the Yankee-hating Fat Kruk and it will be another long season for Yankee fans having to deal with these Red Sox apologists.

* And finally, I want to give a shout out to @ClayMNU and @LenDiesel21, two of my most avid twitter followers. Thanks for following and for touting my blog site.

Tuesday’s Thoughts

While wondering if anyone really cares that the NBA is starting up on Christmas Day, here is what's on my mind this morning:

* The Toronto Maple Leafs completed their four game road trip going 3-1 despite a rash of injuries that saw six regulars out of the starting line-up in the last game against Anaheim. That number was down from seven when Mikhail Grabovski returned against the Ducks. Brian Burke was roasted last year by many as the team headed for another season missing the playoffs. But this year we are seeing the fruits of his labor as the Leaf youngsters have stepped to the forefront. Jake Gardiner continues to shine and in my mind will need to bear serious consideration for rookie of the year. He and defense partner Luke Schenn were exceptionally strong on the road trip. By the way, both of these guys are under the age of 23. The kid line of Joe Colborne, Matt Frattin and Joey Crabb continue to contribute offensively and Colborne, who was acquired in the Tomas Kaberle deal, is showing positive signs for the future as a possible big top line center. By the way, Colborne is 21 years old.

* As a Leaf fan you have to be happy for two guys who have taken plenty of heat but are playing very well right now and that is Jonas Gustavsson and Tyler Bozak. Gustavsson is probably playing his best hockey since becoming a Maple Leaf. He has re-established his standing as the team's back-up goalie behind James Reimer. In my mind, Gustavsson's success is attributed to better positioning in the net. He is not flopping around like he was early on in this season. When Reimer returns, Gustavsson will provide the Leafs with a solid back-up who is demonstrating that they can win with him in goal. Tyler Bozak has elevated his game and has developed great chemistry with the Leafs top scorers: Joffrey Lupul and Phil Kessel. Bozak is scoring goals and has improved his overall defensive play which will force the Leafs into making some tough decisions about who will stay with the big club once David Steckel is back in the line-up which could be as early as Wednesday. A year ago there was plenty of concern about the center position, the Leafs now find themselves with some very good depth up the middle.

* The Cleveland Browns lost another heart breaker on Sunday to their Ohio rivals, the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20. The Browns had a chance to win the game in the fourth quarter as they were driving and chewing up clock behind the running of Peyton Hillis and the short passing game. The Browns were having success running right up the gut with Hillis. But for some unknown reason, Coach Pat Shurmur decided to try Hillis on a sweep play to the left which saw Colt McCoy pitch the ball out to the big running back. The play resulted in losing yards and forced a 3rd and long which the Browns were not able to convert forcing a 55 yard field goal that was missed and giving the Bengals great field position which resulted in their game winning field goal. This pitch play with Hillis was stopped for no gain earlier in the half. It made no sense to try it again, particularly with the success Hillis was having running inside and the fact that the Bengal linebackers are quick and that the running back was just coming off of a hamstring injury.

* Hillis' performance clearly illustrated why the Browns need to re-sign this guy. He provided another weapon for the offense and provided additional protection for Colt McCoy. The failure to keep Peyton Hillis on this team will prove to be a major mistake.

* At this time of the year baseball general managers tend to be coy about what their plans are as they head into the Baseball Winter Meetings. Word out of Yankeeland is that Brian Cashman has indicated that he is not in any hurry to make a deal to acquire another starting pitcher and would be perfectly happy to go into the season with a starting rotation of CC Sabathia, Ivan Nova, AJ Burnett, Phil Hughes and Freddy Garcia. Really, Brian???? With the new playoff format, it will be more important to win your division. This starting rotation is put together with Sabathia and a lot of rubber bands and duct tape. Will Nova build off his success last year or will he suffer a sophomore slump?? Can Phil Hughes bounce back??? Is there one more worthwhile year in the arm of Freddy Garcia??? And then there is AJ Burnett. Here's hoping that Cashman is not wanting to tip his hand and is able to make a deal for a quality starting pitcher. I still say that a two or three year contract with Mark Buerhle would be the ticket.

* Two NHL coaches were fired yesterday: Bruce Boudreau of the Capitals and Paul Maurice of the Hurricanes. Both are quality guys and have been let down by star players on their respective teams. Eric Staal and Cam Ward have not played up to par and has been the contributing factor in the Canes slow start. In Washington, it was a clear case of a player mutiny as the Caps stars were not happy with Boudreau's attempt to instill some discipline. I was at the Sabre game against the Capitals on Saturday and it was a total disgrace the way Alex Ovechkin and Alexander Semin played. Well, they got what they wanted. It will be interesting to see how they will react to their new coach: Dale Hunter.

* Last Friday the Sabres were in Columbus and I can't tell you how enjoyable it was to watch the game without hearing the annoying play-by-play of Rick "Pork Chop" Jenneret. Listening to Kevin Sylvester and Danny Gare was a treat. I have always liked Gare as he brings insight to the game. I was surprised when he was let go from the Blue Jacket broadcast team and it was a nice pick-up for the Sabres. You may wonder why I call Jenneret "pork chop". The reason: it sounds like he has a pork chop lodged in his throat when he calls a goal for the Sabres.

* Had to laugh at the tweets from Bills fans after the Jets game. There was all kinds of talk about how the future looks bright and next year they will surpass the Jets and challenge the Patriots for the division. Really, BillsMafia???? Earth to Bills fans: your team has lost four games in a row!!!! You have gone from 5-2 to 5-6. This is the stuff that drives me crazy about Bills fans.

* Yesterday if you had the opportunity to be tuned into WGR550 at around 9-9:15 am you heard great radio as Howard Simon, Jeremy White and Jerry Sullivan got into a heated discussion about the Stevie Johnson incident. Sullivan was all over Johnson for his immature actions that cost the Bills with an excessive celebration penalty that resulted in great field position for the Jets which led to a tying touchdown just before halftime. White maintained that all Johnson cost the Bills was a 15 yard penalty and that it was the defense's fault for not stopping the Jets. These guys were screaming at each other with Simon ultimately siding with his tag-team partner White. For the record, Sullivan won this special handicap match and moreover he is right. Johnson cost his team the game with his stupid penalty and his key drops in the fourth quarter. Not sure what planet White and Simon are on since they were faulting Fitzpatrick for Johnson's inability to catch the pass in the end zone at the end of the game. Really????

* And finally, whatever happened to that 70 point season that Ville Leino was projected to score after he signed for all of that Pegula money?? I think I remember Lindy Ruff projecting him as a top line center. Not looking so good right now and quite frankly I think it will prove to be a contract that the Sabres will ultimately try to move. But hey, at least their spending money!!!!

Tuesday’s Thoughts

While hoping that the sun comes out so I can finish getting rid of leaves, here's what's on my mind this morning:

* It was really sad to hear of the passing of Smokin' Joe Frazier. Frazier was a huge part of the last great era of heavyweight boxing. I can remember March 8, 1971 like it was yesterday. It was billed as the Fight of the Century as the heavyweight champion Joe Frazier was going to take on Muhammad Ali at Madison Square Garden. Ali was stripped of the title in 1968 for refusing to go to fight in Vietnam. Frazier won the title in 1970 by defeating Jimmy Ellis at MSG with a fourth rouund knockout. This was going to be a battle and it certainly lived up to the expectations. I remember listening to Stan Barron on WBEN Radio as he read round-by-round accounts of the fight that came over the Associated Press teletype machine. Earlier that day, I had made a number of small wagers with my 9th grade classmates. They were all pulling for Ali but for me it was Smokin' Joe. Needless to say, when Ali was knocked down by Frazier with a thunderous left in the 15th Round it was clear that he was going to retain his title. Ali's jaw was broken and I'll never forget the picture of Frazier's face in Sports Illustrated badly swollen from the many punches delivered by Ali. They would fight two more times. The second time was at MSG and Ali won in a 12 round non-title fight decision. The third time was The Thrilla In Manilla and Ali was the champ. I had the opportunity to watch that fight at the Niagara Falls Convention Center via closed circuit television. Everything you read about the fight is true: it was a war. The best fight I have ever seen. In the end, Smokin' Joe's manager Eddie Futch stopped the fight in the 14th Round as Frazier's one eye was almost swollen shut. Ali has said that he was contemplating not coming out for that round. As I left the Convention Center I had a tear in my eye as these guys both gave it there all and in the end Smokin' Joe couldn't pull it off. R.I.P Smokin' Joe Frazier. You will always be remembered as one of the greatest fighters of all-time.

* The Maple Leafs are back in action tonight as they take on the Florida Panthers. The Leafs are coming off their worst game of the season as they were dominated by the Boston Bruins 7-0 for their first loss at home. The Leafs have made it a point not to lose two in a row this season so it will be interesting to see how they perform tonight. Penalty killing is still killing them and it is an area that they must improve on if they are to make the playoffs this year. It looks like Tim Connolly will be out 10-14 days with an upper body injury. Looks like Connolly hasn't shaken the injury bug that plagued him in Buffalo.

* Jonas Gustavsson will probably be in the net tonight for the Leafs as we still don't know what the status is of James Reimer. It is really frustrating that the Leaf organization has been so secretive about Reimer's injury. While they deny it is a concussion it sure seems like it is and there is no idea as to when Reimer will be back. I'm not sure how long the Leafs can go without Reimer before it starts to effect their wins and losses.

* Had the opportunity to Watch Browns Coach Pat Shurmur's press conference yesterday. Shurmur is about as accommodating as Eric Mangini yet he seems to get a pass from the Cleveland media. Several times he said that Colt McCoy is improving each game. My question would be: how and where is he improving?? He certainly is showing that he can take a pounding. I'm sorry but I don't have much confidence in Shurmur. While its definitely too early to call for his dismissal, I think that it is time to start calling into question where Mike Holmgren is leading this team.

* Isn't it interesting that perennial AFC powers, the Patriots and the Steelers, both lost games in the final minute at home. For the Patriots they have now lost two in a row and face the New York Jets on the road. The Steelers have now lost twice to the Ravens and find themselves heading to Cincinnati to face a Bengals team that is ahead of them in the standings. Many so-called experts had the Patriots or the Steelers representing the AFC in the Super Bowl. While it still could happen, they both have limited room for error.

* This afternoon Joe Paterno will hold his weekly press conference and it has the makings of being one that he has never experienced in the 40 years that he has been head coach at Penn State. The allegations of sexual abuse of young boys by former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky is disgusting. Many in the media are calling for Paterno to step down. Not knowing everything that happened here makes it difficult for me to have an opinion on that. But what I do have an opinion on and what is being totally missed by many is that this is just another example, albeit a disgusting and vile one, of how college football dominates major colleges to the point that administrators will do anything to make sure that no one tips over the cash cow apple cart. Major college football programs bring in millions and millions of dollars to their schools. While the actual vile acts had nothing to do with the football program directly, the cover-up certainly does.

* Buffalo sports fans never cease to amaze me. Of course the Bills bandwagon is a little lighter today after the 27-11 loss to the Jets. I wonder what the feeling is about their $9 million a year quarterback. Ryan Fitzpatrick is a nice story but let's be real folks, he's not taking the Bills to the Super Bowl. Then we venture off to Pegulaville. The natives are getting what they want in seeing their goalie saviour Jonas Enroth play and win. It's funny listening to die-hard Sabre fans calling for Miller to be traded to bring in another big time goal scorer. Funny but whatever happened to Ville Leino??? Wasn't he suppose to be a 70 point top line center???

* The college basketball season opened last night and the U.B. Bulls open their season Friday at home. I wonder if the sports geniuses at WGR 550 are aware of this. Probably not. There are more important thiings to talk about like whether or not Marie's Blue Cheese is better than Rooties.

* And finally, has anyone seen C.J.Spiller???