Sports...

For those of you who have zero interest in sports this will be of little interest to you and probably make little sense... so bugger off!!! (jokes) For those of you who do share my love for following every result, statistic and trade rumour in pretty much every sport; This is for you!

Funny thing sport... you fall in love with the game in it's simplest form, playing with a bunch of friends in a park or outdoor rink, and you work your way into more organized, formal, competitive versions of the 'said' game. Your main goal/aspiration/life's purpose becomes to play professionally in the 'said' league (ie. NHL, NBA). You eventually get to a point in your playing career that you realize that you have never been given a fair chance at making it big and it is everyone elses fault (the coaches, the referee's, the opposition) that you didn't make it to the next level, OR better yet, you realize that you weren't cut out to be the next Aki Berg!! At this point, playing takes a back seat and is limited to Pub League Football on a Sunday afternoon or Table Tennis Singles Social Night at the Brixton Recreational Complex. This is when following sports takes on another level... You start to delve into the most trivial of stats for every Toronto Maple Leaf game and suddenly have all the answers to why they haven't won the Cup in 40 bloody years and if only you were in charge instead of that half-witted Ferguson the Leafs would be well on their way towards that illustrious trophy! You get your fill of sports by reading every article on www.tsn.ca (go to this link... I get $0.10 for everybody referred through my blog), watching games on the telly, watch the same sports hightlights show three times in a row to be sure you didn't miss anything, and from the morning paper they give you on your morning commute (which by the way filled me in today that Frankie Lampard and his 4 digit bar tab got him in some trouble with the missus and he won't be allowed out to play again any time soon!! -I can sleep tonight knowing that-) Sooooo, long story short... this is pretty much where I am in my life but I have had to settle for internet hightlights of the Leafs and Raps and have been taking advantage of the 24 hours of 'football' coverage over here!! Oh how I long to sit down and watch a whole Leafs game complete with Coaches Corner with a couple of cold Alexander Keiths and some ten cent chicken wings! I haven't bought into giving up on playng sports just yet, as becoming a couch potato with a beer belly is not high on Long Term Plan! My exercise at the moment consists of playing one football match a week, and running after little kids for up to 10 hours a week!! Hey, if it's not broken don't fix it.

Leafs -
Having not seen a game, I am probably not qualified to have much of an opinion on this season and the the horrendous events that have transpired... but I still fancy myself an expert and will give my opinion anyways! (My blog...)
Congrats on the three wins in a row, but don't get too high on the horse just yet... We have many swings to go and unfortunately it looks like a few of those will be losing stretches! We still have two good goalies... but nobody to steal a game for us in the third likes the Belfours and Potvins of the past. We have a D-man in McCabe that we are stuck with beause of a contract that nobody in their right mind would consider taking on unless they were making a run at the 1st Overall Draft Pick. We have one forward who contriubutes offence consistently and 11 others who show up once in a blue moon. (Tough luck with Blake so far)
We will fight for a playoff spot (at best) this year and we can't expect anything better to happen as long as J. Ferg is holding the reins.

Raps -
This was the team to watch last year in Toronto, is the team to watch now, and it looks like they have a bright future with some young talent. I think they will put together a good run in January that will put them back in the mix with the top teams in the conference (except for Boston who are a favourite to top the league this year). Colanglelo seems to know what pieces are needed to fit in any puzzle and these boys will pull through for us, if nothing else they will give us something to cheer about with an exciting brand of basketball. Look for them to win their first round of the Playoffs at home and anything can happen after that.

Football -
Man U to win the league this year... followed by Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea...
Champions League I don't know what to expect but Liverpool is always dangerous in this format of tournament and that would be my somewhat biased choice! (If they make the next round with a win)
Euro Championships... haven't the slightest... I don't think there is a favourite that is head and shoulders above the rest... I'd be willing to bet England won't win it though!!
Next England Manager... Jose Mourinho... although he likes club football he is interested and the FA has the money to lure him if they so choose (and they should)... he is calm cool and collective under pressure and seems to be able to work the media like no other. The FA has just tried an English Manager and we all know how that went!!

I have written for too long already... Hope all is well with everyone!

Ciao bella(s) and bello(s)

Ryan