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Maple Leafs Facebook Feed (Top Secret!)
Published May 6, 2009 @ 20:00 in Humour, Toronto Maple Leafs
He discovered that the Toronto Maple Leafs have been operating a Facebook page for almost a year now -- but for some reason it's closed to the general public. He hacked in and secured a screen cap. Well done, DGB. I'm just sorry I didn't think of this first.
Killing the Culture of Entitlement Means Pogge Has To Go
Published April 28, 2009 @ 16:51 in Toronto Maple Leafs, Toronto Marlies
I have a great relationship with the Marlies PR people, and when I told them I wanted to meet Justin Pogge and ask him some questions, they quickly made it happen. He was the only Marlie I wanted to meet. Who wouldn't want to meet the future of Toronto Maple Leafs hockey? I was there during the low points and the high points. It's been a roller coaster ride with peaks and valleys. When I learnt he was benched for the final playoff game of the season in Winnipeg, I responded with this tweet.
For the second season in a row, Greg Gilbert passed over Pogge at playoff time. Pogge's NHL record this season was abysmal. There's a reason we picked up Gerber... Pogge isn't anywhere close to being an NHL starting goaltender. I want to believe, I really do, and that's the problem. There's a culture of entitlement with this franchise that Ron Wilson and Brian Burke are working hard to destroy, and that means Pogge has to go. I hate that this has to happen, but it's for the best. It's time to get Jonas Gustavsson to compete with Vesa Toskala for the Leafs spot. James Reimer is ready to play with Adam Munro with the Marlies. The Justin Pogge era has indeed ground to a halt.
@torontomike Wins Stajan Autograph from @TorontoMarlies
Published April 23, 2009 @ 11:41 in Toronto Maple Leafs, Toronto Marlies, Twitter
I'm glad I won, because it gives me an excuse to respond to something I just read on the Toronto Sports Media Blog.
As anyone who reads this blog knows, I have a blast at Marlies games. I'm going tonight to watch game five from the front row. My son and I know all the players by name, know their strengths, their weaknesses and have remarkable access to them. I'm not blowing smoke up your ass when I tell you we sincerely love watching the Marlies live. Having said that, I can vouch for the fact that weeknight games are poorly attended. Even playoff games, and that doesn't make sense to me. I've dealt with the Marlies PR folks and they seem to be doing a lot of things right. They reached out to me, they do great things with kids hockey leagues, including my son's Timbits hockey at Swansea, they're now on Twitter and Facebook and they're open to creative marketing solutions. I think the OHL is outdrawing the Marlies because the Marlies are part of the MLSE empire, and it's hard to paint yourself as a low-cost family alternative when you're printing money with the Leafs, Raptors and TFC. Even though the product is excellent and most of the players have already suited up or will suit up for the Maple Leafs, those looking for a low-cost family alternative sway toward the OHL, the more grass-roots, organic flavour of minor league hockey in the GTA. There's nothing the Marlies can do about this, but I have one suggestion. Lower ticket prices because you're already gouging us on the NHL level and we know it. My preferred Marlies seats cost $38 each... Decent side seats are $33 on game day. Even the end zone seats are $21 on game day. IMHO, that's too high to be a true low-cost family alternative, especially when we pay $12 to park. The product is good but the competition is fierce. Aggressive pricing and continued good grass-roots work on the marketing front is the best bet for future Marlies success. I can't wait for puck droppage tonight @ 7pm at Ricoh. I'll tweet from the game... and hopefully pick up my Matt Stajan autograph.
You Celebrate 4/20, I'll Celebrate 4/21
Published April 20, 2009 @ 21:00 in Toronto Maple Leafs
4/21 references the date April 21, the anniversary of the most legendary goal in the rich history of Canada's team. It was April 21st, 1951, game 5 of the Stanley Cup final between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Montreal Canadiens. At the 2:53 mark of the first overtime period, Bill Barilko scored the last goal of his life winning the Stanley Cup for the Leafs. The 24 year old defenseman perished in a light plane crash that summer while on a fishing trip to Northern Ontario. Not until his body was recovered 11 years later in the bush near Cochrane, Ontario, did the Leafs win another championship. I recently received several documents from the daughter of Ron Boyd who was the helicopter pilot who found the crash site of Bill Barilko. I also conducted an interview with Kevin Shea, author of "Barilko: Without a Trace". He's our Buddy Holly, and every year, his legend grows. Join me in celebrating 4/21 this year as we tip our hats to #5 Bashin' Bill Barilko. For more Bill Barilko videos, pictures, stats and info, visit my Bill Barilko tribute page.
Going Big or Going Home: A Guide to Drafting John Tavares
Published April 16, 2009 @ 09:41 in Toronto Maple Leafs
Guys and gals my age have the same laundry list of great Leaf memories. We remember sweeping the Blackhawks in the first round in '86, we remember Gilmour's wrap-around goal in game one of the Norris division final against Cujo and the Blues, we remember losing game seven of the conference finals against the Kings, making it back the conference finals in '94, a couple of similar runs with Quinn at the helm and many, many playoff victories against the Sens. That's it. None of us remember a Stanley Cup appearance or any moment in the history of this club when the best player in the league wore the blue and white. Sure, Gilmour was great the in the early 90s, but in my lifetime, we've never drafted a potential superstar. Never. I'm sick of it. I want a bonafide blue chip prospect. I'm sure Luke Schenn will be a fantastic player, but I want the next one. I want John Tavares, and so does Brian Burke. The New York Islanders have the first pick in this year's NHL Draft. Burke's already on the phone with Garth Snow seeing what it will take to pry that pick out of his hands. I say we should do whatever it takes. I can't imagine what we have that the Islanders would want, other than our next ten first round picks, but the Islanders are a franchise known for questionable decisions of this nature, and Burke seems serious about acquiring the Oakville native. Snow can have whatever he wants. I want to go big or go home. I want John Tavares because our current "never draft a potential superstar" model ain't working.
Maple Leafs 5, Senators 2
Published April 12, 2009 @ 09:23 in Toronto Maple Leafs
Boyd Devereaux finished strong, recording a hat trick. In the final standings, Ottawa beat us by two points. If you're disappointed, imagine how they feel over there. They actually had some hope this year. We haven't played an NHL playoff game in this city in five years. Leafs playoff games are an urban legend as far as my daughter is concerned. I don't know about you, but I'm getting awfully sick of this futility. Burke better have something up his sleeve and 2009/2010 has to be a better year.
Maple Leafs 1, Sabres 3
Published April 9, 2009 @ 09:32 in Toronto Maple Leafs
Cujo made a little history himself last night, losing game #352, tying Gump Worsley for most losses in NHL history. And yes, it was another loss. If we count overtime and shootout losses, and we should, this was our 48th loss of the season. We've been topped 48 out of 81 times out, that's 59.25%. That sucks.
Maple Leafs 4, Devils 1
Published April 8, 2009 @ 09:26 in Toronto Maple Leafs
That's nice and all, but it was a damn rough season, difficult to watch and difficult to write about. Even the Senators have passed us in the standings. In more interesting hockey news (to me, anyway), the Marlies have a huge game tonight before they finish up their regular season Friday night and Saturday afternoon. I'll be at those two games as we try to hold on to our playoff spot. Hey Burkey, shouldn't we send Luke Schenn down to the Marlies?
Maple Leafs 2, Canadiens 6
Published April 5, 2009 @ 09:50 in Toronto Maple Leafs
For those of you who don't follow the Marlies as closely as I do, Pogge was awesome last night in beating the Manitoba Moose as we continue to hold onto a slim one-point edge over the Crunch for the fourth and final playoff spot. We've got three games left and they are all here in Toronto, so get your ass to Ricoh. This is gonna be a fun finish.
Maple Leafs 5, Flyers 8
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Published April 4, 2009 @ 08:04 in Toronto Maple Leafs
Christian Hanson, son of Dave "Slap Shot" Hanson, made his NHL debut. He appears to be just like his old man, only without the killer instinct.
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Down Goes Brown wrote 
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I'm as guilty as anyone. Justin Pogge was awesome during the 2006 World Junior Hockey Championship, and ever since we've been waiting for him to assume his role as Maple Leafs saviour. Here's 
I just won an autographed Matt Stajan card from the Toronto Marlies. I won via Twitter, where I suspect my odds were pretty awesome. @torontomarlies currently has 208 followers and I'm fairly certain only a handful played along with their RT contest yesterday.
I get that today's 4/20. I actually know that means. Happy 4/20 to all who celebrate the day, but I choose not to partake. I celebrate 4/21.