Tuesday's Thoughts

While counting down the days to pitchers and catchers, here is what's on my mind this morning:

* The NFC Championship Game turned into an instant classic with Seattle's stunning come from behind overtime win over Green Bay. While everyone will point to the botched recovery of the onside kick by the Packers, the game was lost in the first half when Green Bay had to settle for field goals in the red zone as opposed to touchdowns. As a Browns fan I know that it always comes back to bite you.

* The New England Patriots emphatically became the AFC representative in the Super Bowl by manhandling the Indianapolis Colts 45-7. You can't help but be impressed and respect the job that both Bill Belichick and Tom Brady have done with the Patriots.

* While the NFL has become a passing league, both Super Bowl teams received huge games from running backs in the Conference Championship games. I guess you still need to be able to run the ball to win in December and January.

* If the Indianapolis Colts are to take the next step, they must be able to find a running game. Ahmad Bradshaw was playing well prior to his injury but the ex-Giant running back will be 29 years old next year and is on the small size. They thought Trent Richardson would be the answer but he wasn't even dressed for the playoffs. Without a go to back, Andrew Luck is going to have a tough time as evidenced by Sunday's game.

* The Chicago Bears made an excellent move by hiring John Fox to be their head coach. Fox is a defensive minded coach and that should bode well for a team that has been awful defensively for the last two years. The other thing about Fox is that he has had a history of building good coaching staffs and that will be important particularly as it relates to the offensive coordinator position.

* Can't wait to hear what the NFL finds out from their investigation on the claim that the Patriots deflated footballs in order to give their team a better grip on a wet ball. The Patriots may have taken over from the Yankees the title of "Evil Empire".

* Mike Harrington's column in Sunday's Buffalo News about the state of the Buffalo Sabres is right on point. Harrington calls into question the team's quest to be able to select Connor McDavid or Jack Eichel when there is hardly anything in place to help either of these kids if they get one of them. What veteran help is in place? Brian Gionta and Matt Moulson? Give me a break. And what about Jeremy White's man crush, Mikhail Grigerenko, who is becoming the latest NHL draft bust. Moreover, what about the fans who spend good money to come and watch the Sabres play. Some are buying the notion that this season is necessary to get the next Sidney Crosby. But there are no guarantees and it is foolish to think that an 18 year old kid is going to automatically turn a franchise around that is devoid of talent. As Harrington put it, this organization is a joke.

* I have no problem with the NCAA reinstating Joe Paterno's victories to his record which made him the most winning coach in college football history. What happened with Sandusky had absolutely nothing to do with those wins. The fact that the NCAA included this as part of a settlement shows that there was no basis for its action other than to bury Paterno.

* The All-Star break can't happen soon enough for the Toronto Maple Leafs as they dropped their fifth game in a row losing to the Carolina Hurricanes 4-1 at the ACC last night. But for the last 6 minutes of the game, the Leafs looked like a team totally lost. With each loss mounting it is becoming a foregone conclusion that they will not make the playoffs. As a result, Brendan Shanhan and Dave Nonis should take a page out of Knicks President Phil Jackson and start tearing things down.

* Not sure what is up with Tyler Bozak but he looked awful last night. He has regressed badly since the early part of the season and management should explore what kind of market there is for the soon to be 29 year old center. Jonathan Bernier is another player who did not look good last night and by his own admittance did not play well on Saturday night against St.Louis. If it were me, James Reimer would get the start in Ottawa on Wednesday. Based on what I saw last night, Nazem Kadri needs to be paired with Phil Kessel for the rest of the year. They seem to have a good chemistry and provided some real offensive creativity which the Leafs are in desperate need. Another player who seems to be regressing is James van Riemsdyk.

* The Dion Phaneuf bashing has grown to epic proportion and I believe it is unwarranted. He didn't ask to be captain and he didn't hold a gun to Nonis' head over his current contract. As has been said by many, he's not a number one defenseman but he is a top 2 or 3. I thought last night he tried very hard to get things going for his team yet he will still be criticized. A guy who should be criticized is David Clarkson. While it is true that Clarkson didn't hold up Dave Nonis for his massive free agent contract, the problem is unlike Phaneuf there is no redeeming value to Clarkson's game. Clarkson being on the second power play unit is an absolute joke and he is nothing more than a fourth line player at this point. He's also taking valuable ice time away from a younger player.

* There is no question that the Leafs are missing Peter Holland, Joffrey Lupul and Leo Komorov. As these players come back, it will be time for some moves to be made. If the Leafs are not going to use David Booth then they should put him on waivers. Trevor Smith should be sent back down to the Marlies and Troy Bodie should not be in a Maple Leaf uniform again. The Leafs need to explore if there is truly a market for Joffrey Lupul and if there is they need to move him. I'm not sure what to make of Cody Franson. Based on his age and his ability to score from the blue line, I would like to keep him. But management needs not to overpay and if they determine in their discussions with Franson's agent that his price is too steep, then they need to move him. With respect to David Clarkson, he would be healthy scratch. The Leafs need to give guys like Sam Carrick more ice time. Why bring Matt Frattin up if you are not going to give him regular minutes. If he can't get that ice time then you need to send him back down and he needs to stay with the Marlies.

* And finally, does anyone really care about the NFL and NHL All-Star Games?

Tuesday's Thoughts

While counting down the days until spring, here is what's on my mind this morning:

* Well, the ax finally fell on Randy Carlyle and I predicted back in September he wouldn't make it past January. All of the numbers show that the Leafs were regressing as far as puck possession and shots on goal. Leafs President Brendan Shanahan indicated last week that it was during the team's 10-1-1 streak that management began to consider making a change. The Leafs needed to make this move if they were going to utilize Shanahan's commitment to bring analytics into the team's mindset in evaluating players. Carlyle was coaching to save his job and not necessarily to let the young kids grow and become better players.

* After the Carlyle firing, an overwhelming majority of the mainstream media in Toronto focused their attention on Phil Kessel. Kessel is uncoachable. You can't win with Kessel. If the Leafs are to progress they must trade Kessel. What a joke. Kessel is the best scoring winger that the Leafs have had since Lanny McDonald. He has scored 30 goals or more for four of his five seasons with the Leafs and had 20 goals in the 48 game season in 2012-13. He is clearly the most talented player on the team yet he is the reason why this team has problems. It's a bunch of crap. As EJ Hradek said Monday morning on TSN1050, the Leafs have failed to provide players around Kessel that would allow him to be what he is: a top ten scorer. He's not a Selke Trophy candidate and those Gasbags in the Toronto media know better. Part of the problem is that many in the media don't like the fact that Kessel is not comfortable around them. He also is an American and that irritates some because he is the highest paid player on the team. The geniuses in the media also equate making the most money meaning that you are the team leader. Kessel is being paid to be a goal scorer and a point producer. In case they haven't noticed, he doesn't have a C or an A on his jersey. If you want to complain about how much money he makes then place the blame where it belong which is on Dave Nonis. 

* If the Toronto Gasbags want to look for who's responsible how about focusing on Nonis. It was Nonis who extended the current contracts to Kessel, Dion Phaneuf, Jake Gardiner and Tyler Bozak. He is also responsible for the terrible contract given to David Clarkson. Speaking of which, how come there isn't as much finger-pointing at number 71 as there is at Kessel? Maybe it has to do with him being a Mimico boy. 

* The Toronto Gasbag media was getting on Shanahan for his press conference last week. Oh they were saying he should have came out on the day when Carlyle was fired. But these are the same morons who got on Brian Burke for being so loud and out front. Shanahan's explanation was a good one: he has a GM and it was his responsibility to address the firing. He also indicated that he said all along that he would address the media at the beginning, the middle and the end of the season. The other criticism was that Shanahan did not spell out what his plans were for the team, ex.: who will they possibly look to coach the team next year,etc. Really?? No general manager or top executive of a team is going to share that type of information, particularly during the middle of the season. But, Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment is an easy target and the Toronto Gasbags love to take shots at them when they can.

* Funny how the same media types who hated Ron Wilson when he coached the Leafs were now welcoming him with open arms when he said that "Phil is 2 weeks on and then he's 2 weeks off." Oh, the TO Gasbags thought they had just received enlightment from the Dali Lama. As Brian Burke noted, he never heard Wilson complain about Kessel while he was head coach.

* The Dave Feschuk-Phil Kessel interaction on the day when it was announced Carlyle was fired was typical rat-bag Feschuk. What was more funny was how everyone in the Toronto mainstream media defended Feschuk. 

* Kyle Shanahan leaving the Browns does not bother me. Quite frankly I felt that his play calling in the second half of the season, particularly in the red zone was putrid. However, reports that Shanahan wanted out because of interference from the "personnel people", including the texting to the sidelines on what plays to call sheds a different light on his departure. It's also being reported that Shanahan was against putting Manziel in after the Indy game. Kudos to Shanahan for taking a stand. Unfortunately the dumpster fire that is the Cleveland Browns continues to burn thanks to the "personnel people". I would love to know who are these "personnel people". Is it Ray Farmer? What role does owner Jimmy Haslam have to play in all of this? It all leads up to the fourth offensive coordinator in four years.

* The Denver Broncos firing of John Fox was surprising. This guy has had an outstanding record and has had an outstanding coaching staff. Now with Fox gone, Defensive Coordinator Jack DelRio going for his second interview with the Oakland Raiders and Adam Gase being pursued by the 49ers, this team is looking at a major shake-up. I guess the genius John Elway has it all figured out.

* Many arouund the NFL believe that John Fox may end up in Chicago as the Bears head coach. The Bears need to rebuild their defense and Fox is a defensive-minded coach. He also has a relationship with Bears advisor Ernie Accorsi. This would be a good move for the Bears.

* With the upheaval in Denver, it makes you wonder if this will be the final straw that forces Peyton Manning into retirement. While it's been reported that Manning was suffering from an injury which was more serious than reported, I'm not sure if that was why he looked like an old quarterback struggling to hang on. Manning was non-committal on whether he would come back for another season. Time will tell but from what I saw on Sunday, Manning should call it a career, He has nothing further to prove.

* Rex Ryan's decision to accept the Buffalo Bills' offer to be their head coach was surprising. Ryan is a defensive minded coach and Buffalo's strength is their defensive unit. What was his undoing with the Jets was an unproven quarterback which is what he inherits in Buffalo along with no first round draft pick in this year's draft. From the Bills perspective, this was a great hiring. Ryan is an established head coach and he got a raw deal in New York. He took the Jets to 2 conference championships with Mark Sanchez as their quarterback. For years, the Bills have never hired an established NFL head coach. They have now and it remains to be seen how Ryan will be able to deal with an offensive unit that has major question marks. The first sign to look for is who he hires as his offensive coordinator. Rumor has it that Rex may be interested in Marc Trestman, who failed miserably as an NFL head coach but has been a good offensive coordinator in the NFL.

* I'm not an Urban Meyer fan but I have to acknowledge the job that he did this year with Ohio State which was capped off by their 42-20 victory over Oregon giving the Buckeyes the National Championship. It's incredible how Meyer was able to get this team to reach the top of the college football world with a third string quarterback. The Buckeyes are going to be good for a long time and the Big Ten is back on the map in college football.

* The New York Yankees have hired two hitting coaches (Jeff Pentland and Alan Cocknell) and an infield coach (Joe Espada). Espada will also be the third base coach, Tony Pena will be the first base coach and Rob Thomson will be the bench coach. Despite being interviewed, Willie Randolph was not hired as Brian Cashman indicated that Randolph would be an asset to any major league coaching staff. Any staff except the Yankees, a team and organization that Randolph loved as a player and as a coach. Another example of how this current Yankee regime could careless about one of their own.

* And finally, I can't wait to see and hear the interactions between Rex Ryan and the Buffalo Gasbags like Paul Hamilton and the other GR dopes. Could be very entertaining.

Tuesday's Thoughts

While trying to stay warm, here's what is on my mind this morning:

* The Toronto Maple Leafs are limping home after a terrible 2-7 road trip which leaves them hanging on to the 8th and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. There has been plenty of discussion about what needs to be done to turn this team around. There are those who believe that the coach should be fired and there are others who say that some of the core players should be moved. But another piece that should be considered is the general manager. If you want to talk about the core players, it was Nonis who re-signed Dion Phaneuf and Phil Kessel to their current contracts. It was Nonis who gave the ridiculous contract to Mimico's own David Clarkson. And it was Nonis who signed 37 year old Stephane Robidas. Maybe the first person that needs to go is Dave Nonis.

* While many like to get on Kessel and Phaneuf, the fact of the matter is that both of them are players who are miscast. Phaneuf is not a true number one defenseman. He's a good number 2 or 3 but he is expected to be the shut down guy. Kessel is a goal scorer. He's not a Selke Trophy candidate but neither is Patrick Kane. Kane has Toews, who does Kessel have? Both of these players are miscast and I have more of a problem with the contract that Clarkson has than Kessel's and Phaneuf's. Let me ask who would have more value on the trade market: Kessel, Phaneuf or Clarkson?

* In my mind, Randy Carlyle needs to go. Carlyle's teams have historically declined in the area of puck possession. This includes his time in Anaheim. In the three seasons that Carlyle started as head coach, the Leafs have had monumental collapses. Players certainly share in the blame, but so does the head coach.

* I find it interesting how in love so many Leaf fans are with Cody Franson. He certainly has a great shot from the point but he is slow and I don't find him all that great defensively. If history tells us anything, the Leafs will overpay to keep him. In case anyone realizes it, Franson is part of the core.

* In the end, the problem stills circles back to Dave Nonis.

* The National Football League should be ashamed of itself for a lot of reasons but one of them has to be the state of the performance of their referees. Officiating this year has been awful and the Detroit-Dallas playoff game really put a spotlight on this sad state of affairs. I have been watching football for over 50 years and all I have ever heard was that a defender needs to be looking at the ball in order to potentially make a play. The Dallas linebacker never looked back toward the ball and he made contact with the Detroit receiver. How the flag could be picked up on that play is a joke. But it doesn't end there. At the end of this play, Dez Bryant goes on the field without his helmet on and was screaming at the officials. This is a blatant unsportsmanlike penalty but apparently no offical saw this. The NFL is the most popular major sport in North America but it is the only sport of the four major ones that employs part-time officials. The integrity of the game is being called into question with such terrible officiating.

* Of course, no one should think that the NFL cares about integrity when money is what drives it. Case in point, the owner of the St.Louis Rams has announced that he is going to build a new stadium in Inglewood, California which would lead to the franchise moving to Los Angeles. How does a current St.Louis season ticket holder re-up for the 2015 season? And where is Roger Goodell looking out for those fans? He could careless because it is all about the money.

* But for the Dallas game, the other three wild card matchups were not very exciting. 

* The situation with the Buffalo Bills has really gone south. While everyone wants to blast Doug Marrone, it was Russ Brandon who gave him his contract with the $4 million dollar guaranteed opt out and it was Doug Whaley who traded away the team's first round draft pick in 2015 in order to acquire Sammy Watkins. The problem is there is only one person currently on the roster who could throw to Watkins and that is EJ Manuel.

* Speaking of the Watkins trade, it seems that Marrone was extremely opposed to the trade as he and Whaley argued over the move. While Bills fans may feel that Marrone is a control freak jerk, he was right about the trade as the Bills could have drafted an Odell Beckham Jr. and still had their number one draft pick this year. 

* Reports out of New York is that the interview with the Jets did not go very well for Marrone. One has to wonder how much of that was as a result of the New York media, particularly the Daily News, slamming the Jets if they settled on Marrone. In the end, Marrone may find himself sitting out this season while he collects his $4 million dollars from Terry Pegula.

* Johnny Manziel was involved in another bar incident, this time in Houston, Texas. Browns owner Jimmy Haslam said that the team would not put up with players who are not committed to winning. What more does this organization need to see that this kid is a media creation who is nothing more than a cartoon character. Manziel needs to be removed from the Browns organization.

* While very painful to watch, Phil Jackson is doing the right thing by tearing down the New York Knicks. With only 5 wins, New York is going nowhere this season and so it is imperative to clear cap space and be in position for a top pick in this year's draft.

* It has been reported that the Yankees have interviewed Willie Randolph for the first base/infield coaching job. I have been calling for this to happen since Mick Kelleher was fired. This is a no-brainer and Number 30 should be in the first base coaching box this season.

* When is the NCAA going to start looking into the lawless college football program called Florida State. Jimbo Fisher is an enabler who condones all of the various misdeeds. If you want a window in the mindset of this program, just look at the end of their game against Oregon when the team went straight to their locker room without congratulating the Ducks.

* I pity the team who drafts "Crablegs" Winston in the 2015 NFL Re-entry Draft.

* Here's hoping that Jim Harbaugh restores the Michigan football program.

* Love the fact that the SEC had a terrible bowl season. The smugness of its fans and the ESPN connection is enough to make anyone get sick.

* As someone pointed out yesterday, if there was no playoff format the national championship game would have been between Florida State and Alabama.

* I'm not an Urban Meyer fan, so I will be rooting for Oregon to win the national championship.

* And finally, congratulations to my Canadian friends in the big win for Team Canada in the World Juniors Tournament.