When Canada and Ireland failed to qualify for the World Cup this year, I was left without a rooting interest. I contemplated rooting for The Netherlands because I'm always hearing from other Boons in that part of the world and my surname apparently originated there. I'm not much of a
This June 1st article by Greg Wyshynski makes the following statement. Eddie Vedder and the boys were on top of the world in the early 1990s, and then suffered public indifference and critical blasting for the next decade. But they kept making the albums they wanted to make, and touring
I was just reading about the World Cup and which teams are favoured to win, when I realized something. I’ve never played a soccer match. That’s right, I’ve never participated in a single match, not in school, not in a league and not as an adult. Soccer
Time sure does fly. It was almost ten years ago that 12 year old Jeffrey Maier interfered with a deep fly ball hit by Yankee shortstop Derek Jeter. Had Maier not deflected the ball, Oriole outfielder Tony Tarasco would have made the catch and Baltimore would have won game one
It's that time again when otherwise proud Canadians delve into their family tree until they hit a country represented in the World Cup. We all know the drill. Checking the schedule you know which areas in the GTA to avoid on which days. It all gets underway a week from
Barry Bonds hit his seventh home run of the season yesterday. It was also the 715th of his career, bumping him ahead of the Babe into second place all-time. Majoring in history at the University of Toronto, one of my favourite classes was American Pop Culture. This class was amazing.
A couple of years ago I wrote an entry entitled "America Doesn't Like Hockey". I thought it best that we all just accept this fact and move on without taking America's disinterest as a slight against our game. The game may be more exciting now than it was then, but
Deciding to completely ignore my plea, Doug Flutie has called it a career. They list him at 5-foot-10, but there's no way he's that tall. 5-feet-8 would probably be closer to the truth. What he lacked in stature he more than made up for in heart. The highlights break nicely
I own the jerseys of two Dougies. One is a #93 home Toronto Maple Leafs jersey with Gilmour on the back and the other is a #7 Bills jersey for Flutie. At the age of 43, Flutie is considering retirement. I hope he plays one more year. In March of
Is the apocalypse upon us? Are my eyes deceiving me? Did the Clippers really win a playoff round last night? I can't think of a team in professional sports that better symbolizes mediocrity to me. The Clippers have been pretty damn awful throughout most of my life. They hadn't won
Wow x 2. Victoria, British Columbia native Steve Nash will be named the Most Valuable Player of the National Basketball Association for the second year in a row. You may recall he won it last year, and I suggested he run for Prime Minister. He is only the 10th player
This weekend is The Masters golf tournament from Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. Once again, I've entered a Masters pool. I had to select three golfers and the objective is to have the lowest combined score. Every member of the threesome chosen have to make the cut or
On Saturday, the final four teams left standing in the NCAA tournament will play and we'll be left with two. One of the final four teams is George Mason, an 11th seed that came out of the Colonial Athletic Association. George Mason is Cinderella on steroids. They've beaten 6th seed
Yesterday I wondered how Canada would fare against American at the 2006 World Baseball Classic. Today I got my answer. We beat the USA 8-6 in a most excellent upset victory for the red and white. Adam Stern went 3 for 4 with 4 RBIs to lead the charge. We're
I'm not sure what to think about the 2006 World Baseball Classic. At first I thought it was a pretty cool idea, but now that it's here and Canada plays South Africa tonight at 21:00 EST, I've downgraded my vibe on the whole deal to "kinda neat". I love
An article in today's Star from Garth Woolsey has me thinking about Toronto's next championship team. Excluding the Argos and Rock, which franchise will next win it all? The Leafs haven't won since 1967 and appear further and further from this goal every game they play. The Raptors have never
With the signing of free-agent catcher Bengie Molina to a one-year deal worth $4.5 million US with a mutual option for 2007 worth $7.5 million or a $500,000 buyout, Toronto Blue Jays general manager J.P. Ricciardi has now made five significant upgrades to the roster. Right-handed
In my adult life, I've never watched so little NFL action as I did during this past season. I saw the Colts blow their undefeated season, I saw the Colts lose in the playoffs and I watched yesterday's Super Bowl. My interest in the NFL began to wane when my
For a while, this game looked a lot like this one. We jumped out to a 3-0 lead and sat back while the opposition made a run. This time, Ed Belfour shone bright and we held on for a badly needed two points.Current Record Last GamesSeason Leaders26-23-5 57 points
I thought the Leafs did a really good job neutralizing Alexander Ovechkin. He took a number of big hits, had an angry Bryan McCabe in his face all day and had little room to work his magic. Unfortunately, there were other Capitals on the ice who made us look like
Team Canada's blue line has injury issues. Ed Jovanovski is a no-go and Scott Niedermayer may have to withdraw as well. When the team was announced back in December, I proposed adding another defenseman outright. I wanted Dion Phaneuf in Turin. I hope The Great One realizes the time is
Despite having lost nine of their last ten games, the Leafs are still in decent shape to make the playoffs. We're currently sitting in the 8th and final spot with a three point lead over Montreal, Boston and Atlanta. Montreal actually has a couple of games in hand, but the
Dave Andreychuk cleared waivers this afternoon. This most likely marks the end of the road for the 42-year-old. He broke into the NHL way back in 1982 while playing for the Sabres, but I'll always remember him for his brief stint with the blue and white. He arrived in 1992-93
A guy known only as Raphael jumped on the ice during a Montreal Canadiens practice and shot a puck at Jose Theodore. He was in full hockey equipment and just wanted to show off his skills by scoring on a great goalie. This guy is a freakin' hero to thousands
Has it been twenty years already? I have vivid memories of watching the Maple Leafs-Oilers game that took place on January 8th, 1986. The reason I remember the game so well is because of what transpired that night when my lowly Leafs met the best team in the league at
