Mitch Melnick's Blog

How I Spent My Week Off (In Bed)

2008-03-07T17:19:00.001-08:00

Friday March 7 8:15 PM

It's Picard's fault. Two weeks ago we had a grand time at Hotel Nelligan celebrating The Team 990's 2nd Sports Personality Of The Year luncheon. Robin Burns told dirty Irish jokes. Donald K Donald told a dirty Bo Diddley story. Shayne Murphy played dirty guitar. And Bob Gainey dropped an F bomb on live radio. And then we partied.

I'm still not sure what happened between the time I headed home for a quick nap and the following Monday but I do know that Picard lost his voice. Rod Francis lost his dinner. Scott Saxon lost his way (again). Connor McKenna lost his good sense. And Marco Polo almost lost his license.

I should have insisted that Francis stay away form the office because when he finally returned mid-week he sounded like Dave Manson. Looked like Marilyn Manson. And bled from the nose like Charles Manson (I have no idea what the connection is but it sounds right). Three days later I felt like I had been hit by a train. No way was I going to miss back to back concerts by Steve Earle and Bruce Springsteen. So into my box of medicine I checked and out came these huge music notes with words from "Stuck Inside of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again"

Now the rainman gave me two cures,
Then he said, "Jump right in."

The one was Texas medicine,

The other was just railroad gin.

An' like a fool I mixed them

An' it strangled up my mind,
An' now people just get uglier

An' I have no sense of time.

Back to the stage in just a few minutes...

What I had planned to say before I was knocked off my feet was that Bob Gainey was doing a terrific job as GM of the Habs. Even before he questioned which language Noel Butler spoke.

Not to re-hash trade deadline day but you could see the Huet trade coming from a season away. No way Gainey was about to lock up seven figures for a back up. Au revoir Cristobal et merci. Where exactly is the playoff experience that Gainey's detractors keep poitning to? Six games for Huet, with four losses. Carey Price meantime...ah, you know his story by now.

Heres what you really need to know about Gainey and the Habs:

http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/leagues/seasons/teams/0000452003.html

http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/leagues/seasons/teams/0007912003.html

That's the roster of the Canadiens and Hamilton Bulldogs when Gainey began work in Montreal in May of 2003. Now check out the draft, in the seasons just prior to Gainey's arrival and-just as important-when Trevor Timmins replaced Pierre Dorion as chief scout:

http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/draft/teams/dr000045.html

Gainey also hired Guy Carbonneau. And-vital for a team that had to re-build-hired Doug Jarvis then Don Lever and Ron Wilson to coach in Hamilton.

Now anybody who looks back four seasons (five years including the lockout) and doesn't see significant progress is simply not paying attention. Or choosing to ignore the obvious.

What's even scarier for opponents is that in addition to being about "a year ahead of the curve" (according to Carbonneau) is that Gainey has positioned himself to strike dramatically in the off season. For example, if I'm the Florida Panthers and looking to trade Olli Jokinen (actually I would keep Jokinen and fire Jacques Martin), is there a better group of cheap, talented players than the ones held by Gainey? NHL ready, almost NHL ready and just drafted?

If patience is a virtue than Canadiens fans have themselves a virtuoso. So what if he didn't get Marian Hossa.

Now back to the show.........

Steve Earle and Allison Moorer played (almost) solo acoustic at Theatre Outremont last Saturday night. I love the place. I'm certain Earle does too after the old palace lost complete power about one third of the way through his set. After telling fans to settle down, Earle correctly pointed out that most old theatres have great acoustics, so he stepped to the front of the stage with no light or microphone and sang and strummedd two long beautiful songs including "Goodbye" which earned him a standing ovation. 10 minutes of a true troubadour.

Then came the power and the beats, courtesy of DJ Neil MacDonald which went over a lot better than I thought it would. It gave Earle the opportunity to play almost his entire new album-Washington Square Serenade-without a band.

Other highlights included Moorer's own set of female covers from her gorgeous new album "Mockingbird"...Earle shaking his head after his newest wife left the stage muttering "I am seriously over-married"....and dedicating a song he hasn't played in years "Little Rock 'N Roller" to his now 26 year old son Justin Townes Earle (also a recording artist) and his recently deceased dad. Yes Copperhead Road sent everybody home happy. Except one or two heard muttering about the fact that there was no band.

http://www.allisonmoorer.com/

www.myspace.com/allisonmoorer

http://www.steveearle.com/

www.myspace.com/justinearle

Sunday morning and I felt like I had been hammered all over my body as I slept. But Springsteen and the E Street band were back in town. And I had an early date with Little Steven.

Bada-Bing!

Michel F*&@ING Beaudry & Dan F#$%ING Burton

2008-02-15T17:02:00.000-08:00

Friday February 15 8 PM

What a ridiculous week.

Ryan O'Byrne and Tom Kostopolous are arrested at a bar in Tampa. Nobody in Montreal really knows what happened. Yet we're supposed to believe they "sullied" the good name and reputation of the Montreal Canadiens and their fans. (Fake outrage & humiliation before proceeding.)

I love Chris Chelios. I'd rank him alongside Larry Robinson on my all- time Habs team. But he may have done more "damage" in a single hour circa 1987 than O'Byrne & Kostopolous could have possibly done in eight hours or so at and following the rookie dinner. Ditto for Shayne Corson. Mike Keane. Brian Skrudland. Guy Lafleur. John Ferguson. Want to hear that some of the best players of any given era were squeaky clean? Go read a fairy tale. The over-the-top reaction to the story will, in the end, likely far surpass the actual events of the night in question.

I have no clue what O'Byrne was thinking. Wait, scratch that. I'm a guy. I have some idea. What I'm more certain of is that Kostopolous, without getting physical with anybody, got himself arrested to make sure rookie O'Byrne didn't spend the night in jail by himself.

Kostopolous already made a name for himself-for all the wrong reasons-very early in the season when he had the audacity to cough up the puck in his own end which led directly to a Senators goal and victory in Ottawa. Reaction? You would have thought that he had impregnated Mitsou with the anti-Christ.

Slowly, Canadiens' fans have come to, if not fully appreciate the guy, understand why he's on the team. Hard work. Tireless. Selfless. Stands up for his team and teammates. Harder along the boards than Mike Johnson. Very limited ability but appreciated by the people who matter most.

So when Michel Beaudry decided to childlishy make fun of the winger on 110% he thought he was merely playing to the crowd. But the more sophisticated fan saw it for what it really was. Not necessarily a racist comment (loved that Friday on air apology to PJ Stock when Beaudry claimed he couldn't be racist because he "lives in (racially mixed) Brossard". Yes, but does he live next door to a non-white resident? Yeesh.) but a direct hit on an English guy who was playing at the expense of a French player (Steve Begin). Let's be honest about this. No way does Beaudry-or anybody on that panel-criticize a French player by poking fun at his name. No way. And if you believe otherwise you likely also believe Roger Clemens' denials of steroid use.

http://www.tqs.ca/videos/110/2008/02/debat-110----partie-2-24460.php

TQS is at least as much at fault as Beaudry. They hired him for a reason. 12 different guys yelling at each other was not enough. So they decided to hire somebody else who's NHL-knowledge expiration date coincided with the ousting of the Rejean Houle regime.

Beadry is to TQS what Rush Limbaugh was to NFL Today.

We received an enormous amount of e-mails as a result of what Beaudry said. Many from the Greek community. But an equal number came from French Montrealers who were also embarassed. Unfortunatley we also got a few from those who will always try to exploit a situation like this to try to paint all French citizens with the same xenophobic brush. Not fair.

Michel Beaudry is not a French Asshole. He's just an asshole.

.......................................................................................................................

Now that the Leafs have hit the rock bottom of the Eastern Confrence standings here's a mini "I told you so" from an early October post:

Tuesday, October 2, 2007

NHL East; Who's The Boss?
Tuesday October 2 10:22 PM (Bucky "Effin" Dent Day-no longer nearly as painful)Listening to "Magic" by Springsteen while wondering what Habs marketing genius Ray Lalonde has planned after placing billboards all over town of Maxim Lapierre, the 22 year old checking centerman who has a total of 47 games of NHL experience. Oops, now playing at an arena in Hamilton. What's next-television commercials featuring the key to the Habs blueline-Jean-Phillipe Cote?

Ok, here we go...drumroll please....how the NHL's Eastern Conference will wind up:
1. Ottawa: Spezza, Alfredsson & Heatley...who can possibly defeat me? (How about that 8th place team)
2. Pittsburgh: Crosby wins everything, including the Cup, then asks for trade to Montreal
3. Carolina: Back to top of Southeast but an early spring exit
4. NY Rangers: Sean Avery hosts season finale of SNL
5. Philadelphia: Paul Holmgren, Executive of the Year (By 2009 he'll look like an idiot)
6. Buffalo: Still stacked with talent; Tim Connelly is comeback player of the year
7. New Jersey: Brent Sutter takes them to the top...once they're in Newark
8. Montreal: Stop laughing; Carey Price makes the difference; all bets are off it's Huet
9. Florida: Olli Jokinen still looking for a playoff game
10.Washington: Olie Kolzig runs out of gas
11.Atlanta: Kovalchuk demands a trade by Christmas
12.NY Islanders: Di Pietro wins a Cup in 8th year of his contract
13.Tampa Bay: Tortorella finally fired; Feaster too
14. Boston:Next team for Claude Julien, the Leafs...
15. Toronto: Dysfunctional goofs would rather have John Ferguson Jr. than Scotty Bowman

Not bad, huh?

In addition to finding somebody to play alongside Saku Koivu & Chris Higgins Habs GM Bob Gainey has to be looking for some useful muscle. If not, by season's end Alex Kovalev will go from looking "sexy-ugly" (courtesy Andie Bennett) to just plain scary-ugly. Can former Hab Scott Thornton (LA Kings) still play?

Want to know more about the guy who made the biggest fool of himself this week on Capitol Hill in Washington? No, silly, not Roger Clemens. Indiana congressman Dan Burton, who seemed pained that Brian McNamee had previously lied to reporters and others about steroid use by Clemens and others he worked for.

"This is disgusting!", huffed Burton while questioning McNamee. "All lies!...the only thing I believe at this point is that I don't believe you!"

Here's the skinny on Mr. Burton, courtesy of Wikepedia:

Drug Warrior
In 1990, Burton introduced legislation that would require the death penalty for drug dealers. "We must educate our children about the dangers of drugs," Burton said, "and impose tough new penalties on dealers." In 1994, son Dan Burton, Jr. (Danny) was arrested while transporting nearly eight pounds of marijuana from Louisiana to Indiana. Just five months later, while awaiting trial in that case, police raided his Indianapolis apartment and Danny was arrested again for growing thirty marijuana plants. Police also found a shotgun in the apartment. Under federal law, Danny faced a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison just for the gun, plus up to three years in prison under state law for all the marijuana. Federal charges were never filed, and Indiana prosecutors got his charges dismissed. In Louisiana, he wound up receiving a mild sanction: a term of community service, probation and house arrest.[15][16]

[edit] Golf junkets
In 1997, Burton played in the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am with the AT&T's chairman. At the time, Burton headed the congressional committee overseeing the award of a federal telecommunications contract. AT&T hosted a fundraiser for Burton at the tournament.[17]
In 2004, the Guam government and tourism industry paid for Burton and two aides to fly to the Pacific Island in December. In addition to some official events including touring a military facility, Burton played in a charity golf tournament. After he returned, Burton tried to help Guam's tourism industry get a sought-after change in visa rules.[17]
In 2005, Burton accepted a trip to Taiwan paid for by the ROC-USA Business Council. The junket cost $15,520.[18]
Burton missed the beginning of the 2007 legislative session, choosing instead to play golf in California[19]. Upon his return, a measure banning lawmakers from accepting gifts and free trips from lobbyists and discounted trips on private planes was put before Congress. The measure passed 430-1, with Burton the sole vote against the measure.[20]

[edit] Missed votes
In February 2007, a review of House votes by the Indianapolis Star for the past decade showed that Burton had been absent every year votes coincided with the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic. Burton ranked last in voting among Indiana lawmakers in 2006, casting ballots in 89% of the 541 recorded votes.[17]

[edit] "... off the coast of Bolivia"
On March 29, 1995, during congressional hearings on the US War on Drugs, Burton proclaimed that the US military should place an aircraft carrier off the coast of Bolivia and crop dust the coca fields. It was later pointed out to him that a) Bolivia is landlocked and has no coast (Burton was chairman of the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee); b) the Bolivian coca fields (in the yungas and Amazon lowlands) are beyond the reach of any carrier-borne crop-duster, being separated from the nearest coastline (the Pacific coast of Peru and Chile) by the 20,000+ feet high peaks of the Andes; and c) F-18s cannot crop-dust. While criticism of this mis-statement was muted in Washington, it sparked a major anti-American backlash in Bolivia, derailing the same War on Drugs that Burton purported to be speaking for. [21] [22]

[edit] Investigation of Democratic Party fund-raising
Main article:House Government Reform and Oversight Committee investigation of alleged campaign finance abuse
In 1997, Burton headed an investigation into possible Democratic Party campaign finance abuse, focusing on the 1996 Presidential election. The committee investigation ran for several years and issued over 1,000 subpoenas of Clinton administration officials and cost over $7 million.[23]. The committee, and Burton's leadership, were labeled a "farce"[24], a "travesty"[25], a "parody"[25], and "its own cartoon, a joke, and a deserved embarrassment".[26]
In March 1997, as the investigation began, Burton was accused of demanding a $5,000 contribution from a Pakistani lobbyist. The lobbyist said that when he was unable to raise the funds, Burton complained to the Pakistani ambassador and threatened to make sure "none of his friends or colleagues" would meet with the lobbyist or his associates.[27]
In May 1998, Burton apologized for releasing edited transcripts of prison audiotapes of Webster Hubbell, a former associate of President Bill Clinton. The edited transcripts omitted substantial information and differed significantly from the original recordings. Burton was harshly criticized by members of his own party, including Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, who called the investigation a "circus", and chided Burton for initially refusing to admit any error.[28].
David Bossie, the staff member who arranged the editing and release of the tapes, resigned on Burton's request. Noting that Burton had personally released the tapes and had supported Bossie's plans over the objections of other committee staffers and attorneys, Democrats urged Burton to step down as well. Minority Leader Richard A. Gephardt said, "A committee staff member should not be made the scapegoat for Chairman Burton's mistakes, missteps, and misdeeds."[28] Burton said, "I take responsibility for those mistakes," but never resigned nor faced any consequences for his actions[28].
In President Clinton's final year in office, Burton was mentioned in a short film for the White House Correspondent's Dinner. President Clinton: Final Days, which depicted Clinton as a lonely man closing down a nearly-deserted White House. Clinton is shown hitting golf balls from the South Lawn, and gets excited when he hits a car parked in a spot near the U.S. Capitol that says "Reserved for Chairman Burton."

Insert laugh track here.

Until next week..in the meantime check out Dawn Tyler-Watson & Paul Deslauriers at
http://www.dawnandpaul.com/
They were tremendous in studio on Friday.

Oops

2008-02-04T09:16:00.000-08:00

Monday February 4, 12:15 PM

Ok, I got it wrong. And my numbers were slightly skewered. In the words of the immortal Dick Pound, "So sue me".

More later....

19-0

2008-02-01T18:10:00.000-08:00

Friday February 1, 9 PM

"Predictions are for Gypsies" - Toe Blake

Always thought I had gypsy blood so here goes...The Patriots can't be stopped. It's almost as if it's all been pre-destined. I've had this feeling a few times in my life. The 1971 Canadiens, once Ken Dryden showed up. The 1993 Habs (once they beat Quebec).The 1994 Rangers breaking a 50 year drought to win the Stanley Cup. Ray Bourque running out of time as Colorado won the Cup. John Elway winning a Super Bowl. Peyton Manning a year ago.The '81 Expos....oh, never mind.

How can a team go 18-0 and lose the Big One? No, silly, not easy. Tom Brady steps on a white rose petal meant for Giselle and breaks his ankle. Or Michael Strahan busts on through to the other side and does to Brady's leg what Lawrence Taylor once did to Joe Theismann (I still can't watch):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPBy21OD4rA

I know the Giants haven't lost on the road since Rudy Guliani was the Republican front-runner but this is the Patriots they're playing. It's not happening. Eli Manning goes 17-33 for 175 yards with one td & one intercption. Brady does a lot more. Pats win 33-17. (Hmm...just noticed this 17-33 pattern. Add 'em all up and it equals 14-two conversted touchdowns. See!(ever notice those numbers they put up on the RDS telecast after each period. Some of them are meaningful. But then there are the bafflers, like on Thursday night; Victor Kozlov has 24 points in 37 career games against the Canadiens. So?).

Most amusing story of Super Bowl week is Pennsylvannia Senator Arlen Spector complaining about NFL Commissioner Roger Goodall destroying Bill Belichick's stash from "spy-gate". The same Arlen Spector who came up with the cockamamie single bullet theory to help prove that Lee Harvey Oswald assasinated John F Kennedy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11Fl9ZVJ7B8

So I'm back...to the velvet underground Back to the floor....that I love To a room with some lace and paper flowers Back to the gypsy...that I was...to the gypsy...that I was...

Warning! Music ONLY!

2008-01-21T16:48:00.000-08:00

Monday January 21 7:45 PM

I miss Jeff Blair. The former Gazette baseball writer (think about this: The Gazette once had Blair and Michael Farber in the sports section at the same time) has moved on to become one of the best baseball columnists in North America. He's still only a phone call or e-mail away but I miss hanging with him. Always an adventure. Always a lot of laughs. Almost always aided by alcohol. And once in awhile I'd actually learn something. Like the time we were chilling at Toronto's famed Horseshoe Tavern in the late 90's and he mentioned a group called the Drive By Truckers. I had never heard of them but I loved the name. Filed away for future reference.

About two years later I finally found one of their cd's called Southern Rock Opera, dedicated to Lynyrd Skynyrd. I was hooked. Country. Rock. Country-Rock. Swamp. Blues. Soul. Sung by four different and distinct vocalists and songwriters. Bloodlines directly into Muscle Shoals. They quickly became my favorite group. To say they're closest to The Band since The Band might be a valid reference point but I actually prefer the songs of DBT. The comparison to The Band isn't lost on them either. One of their finest tunes is called Danko/Manuel.

My friends Gary Silverman and Lloyd Fischler (BillyBob Productions) have been trying to figure out a way to bring these guys into town. But, thankfully, with the release of their new CD they'll be touring and hitting Montreal (Le National) on Thursday March 20th. Can't wait.

Brighter Than Creation's Dark **** Is their newest CD. More tales of loss, hope and redemption. And abuse. Shifting easily between country and guitar-driven rock. With a lot of instrumental help from legendary soul man Spooner Oldham. Female vocalist Shonna Tucker sounds like Neko Case. Don't miss their show.
www.drivebytruckers.com

More music you might like, most recent; some I've just recently gotten to:

Jason Isbell: Sirens Of The Ditch *** Former member of Drive By Truckers now on his own. Still soul-based but with more of a pop sound than a typical Truckers CD. Not a bad thing at all, just not quite as gritty. www.jasonisbell.com

Ryan Adams & The Cardinals: Follow The Lights *** Seven more songs, including four previously released in a different form, while we wait for the not-surprisingly-delayed box set
www.ryan-adams.com

Ryan Bingham : Mescalito *** 1/2 25 year old sounds 30 years older. Think Tom Waits and Guy Clark. www.binghammusic.com

The Black Angels: Passover **** I love this group. Dark, brooding, guitar-droning music from Austin, Texas I first heard driving to NYC courtesy of Lorne Rubin's buddy Mike Kweatek. (Legit)Descendants of the Velvet Underground. Played here in 2005 & 2006 when I didn't know a damn thing about them.

Buck 65: Situation **** Back to what he does best. This baseball playing Canuck (and former Montreal resident) can rap. And write. www.buck65.com

Jeff Buckley: Grace (Legacy Edition) ***** How do you improve on Grace? If you've wondered if there was more, yeah there sure was. How about studio covers of "Lost Highway" and "Mama, You've Been On My Mind" and a kick ass live cover of "Kick Out The Jams"? Plus a DVD. As painful a loss as Kurt Cobain. Might as well splurge on Live at Sin-E Legacy edition while you're at it.
www.jeffbuckley.com

Luke Doucet and The White Falcon: Blood's Too Rich *** Hockey playing ace guitarist and songwriter, touring w/Blue Rodeo. Get to your seat early for show at Theatre St. Denis Jan 31 & Feb 2. www.lukedoucet.com

Robert Hazard: Troubadour *** Former Philadelphia rocker (Robert Hazard and the Heroes-best cover of "Blowin' In The Wind" I ever heard) who wrote "Girsl Just Want To Have Fun" quiets down a bit. Way under the radar.
http://www.phillyrockers.com/robert_hazard_and_the_heroes/history.htm

Levon Helm: Dirt Farmer **** Tremendous comeback by former drummer with The Band. Couldn't sing for years because of throat cancer. Near miracle at work. Gets a lot of help from former Dylan guitarist Larry Campbell. You can actually watch Levon and Larry and a host of others in Levon's living room in Woodstock. One of the most joyous musical experiences I've ever had.
http://www.levonhelm.com/midnight_ramble.htm

Highwaymen The Road Goes On Forever: 10th Anniversary edition **** 1/2 Final get together for Willie, Waylon, Johnny Cash & Kris Kristofferson. Try to find even more poignant DVD edition.
http://www.cmt.com/artists/az/highwaymen_country_/969778/album.jhtml

The Hives: The Black And White Album *** 1/2 Glorious hard driving punk directly from Sweden. www.thehivesbroadcastingservice.com

I'm Not There: Original Soundtrack ****1/2 Dylan songs from the movie performed by everybody from Eddie Vedder to Antony & The Johnsons to Willie Nelson to Jack Johnson. Includes title track from The Basement Tapes in its first official release. Pretty good "House" band, The Million Dollar Bashers, featuring Tom Verlaine, Nels Cline, Lee Ranaldo, Steve Shelley, Tony Garnier and John Medeski. Almost as spectacular as the movie.
http://www.myspace.com/imnottheresoundtrack

Willie Nile: Streets of New York **** Title says it all. Willie's been around to tell the tale; inevitable comparisons to Dylan and Springsteen, etc. Thankfully he's lived to tell more including "The Day I Saw Bo Diddley In Washington Square".
www.willienile.com

Jennifer Warnes: Famous Blue Raincoat (The Songs Of Leonard Cohen) 20th Anniversary Edition **** If you missed it in '87, Warnes singing "First We take Manhatten", "Bird On A Wire", "Joan of Arc", "Song Of Bernadette" and more; backed by Steve Ray Vaughan, Robben Ford and Van Dyke Parks
http://www.jenniferwarnes.com/

STAX 50th Anniversary Celebration ***** Discover what made Memphis-based Stax one of the most vital labels in American music history. Essential.
http://stax50.com/blog/

Dave Van Ronk: ...and the tin pan bended, and the story ended ***** His last concert. An absolute must for anybody who cares about the history of music. Van Ronk taught everybody. A two hour crash course on jazz, folk, and blues. Listen while reading his book "The Mayor Of MacDougal Street".
http://www.elijahwald.com/vanronk.html
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2002/feb2002/vanr-f14.shtml

And some of the best in local music:

Annakin Slayd: Stalwart Empire http://www.annakinslayd.xbuild.com/

Angela Desveaux: Wandering Eyes http://www.angeladesveaux.com/

Echo Hunters: Cabin Fever http://www.echohunters.com/echos/

Rob Lutes: ride the shadows: www.roblutes.com

the Jimmyriggers: Traveling Salesman, Killer On The Run http://www.myspace.com/thejimmyriggers

Ladies Of the Canyon: http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=90123180

Lee Mellor: Ghost Town Heart http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=36616999

No Barbers Required: Hard To Hold On To www.nobarbersrequired.com

The United Steel Workers Of Montreal: Kerosene & Coal www.uswm.ca

"Without music life would be a mistake" -Frederic Nietzsche

(Will it be a) Happy New Year (?)

2008-01-09T16:51:00.000-08:00

Wednesday January 9, 2008 8 PM

Still trying to come to grips with the fact that Elliott Price is in his 50's....David Bowie turned 60 this week...and Bobby Hull, 69 earlier this month, looks like all those vodkas have finally caught up with him...Me?...Thankful that I still have the "I survived Crescent Street 1982" t-shirt in my closet (always good to check it out every Christmas) but man, I keep getting wider everytime I see myself on TV....Happy 2008

The Habs seem to be getting better...credit to Guy Carbonneau and the coaching staff for the rapid development of so many young players....and apparently finding the right line combos....imagine if they had one more slam dunk top six forward to play on Saku Koivu's right wing...normally I shut it down during the holidays but actually looked forward to watching them play each night...they've been picking up points at a brisk pace even though their goaltending has dipped dramatically...Carey Price will be fine...The Bulldogs play 9 of their next 10 games in Hamilton...hopefully he'll play 'em all, get his game and technique back to where it should be and then come back and help the Habs because Huet will not steal as many points...Bryan Smolinski ready to return?...The guy has been a useful NHL player for a lot of years but unless he picks up all parts of his game the team would be better off with Kyle Chipchura...trade winds starting to blow? (Love what TSN's Gord Miller said about trade rumours, "They're started by two kinds of people; 13 year olds who live in their parent's basement and 30 year olds who live in their parent's basement"...Also love what Gord said to Jack Todd in the press room prior to Tuesday's Habs-Hawks game; "Go fuck yourself"...)

Got to see two superb movies over the holiday, "Juno" and "The Great Debaters"...Juno starring incredibly talented Canadian Ellen Page (watch "Hard Candy" before you see Juno) and written by former stripper Diablo Cody...

http://diablocody.blogspot.com/

http://www.myspace.com/diablocody

Debaters directed by and starring Denzel Washington plus Forest Whitaker and Whitaker's son Denzel...based on a true story of an all-black school in the U.S. south in the 1930's...

http://www.thegreatdebatersmovie.com/

Also watched plenty of music DVD's including two history-making events:
The Other Side Of The Mirror; Bob Dylan Live At Newport Folk Festival 1963-1965 *****
The Jimi Hendrix Experience Live At Monterey *****

No Doubt about it, the folkies booed Dylan when he plugged in at Newport in '65. The fact that this seminal moment is captured on film (by director Murray Lerner) is remarkable...So is Dylan's performance when he is called back (yes there were plenty in the crowd who loved it... they had already heard "Like A Rolling Stone" on the radio that summer) and plays "Mr. Tambourine Man" and the ultimate kiss-off to the staunch left wing folk crowd, "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue". Dylan's rendition of "Chimes Of Freedom" the previous summer is also transcendent.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3NN7F74Uq8

Two years after Bob plugged in, Hendrix was introduced to America, with his two British mates Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell...the stories of following The Who are legendary...but to watch the whole set again is to realize that thousands at Monterey were stunned by an artist who put them through something they had never previously been through. And then Jimi "sacrificed" his guitar. For love.

http://www.jimihendrix.com/index.php

Peace.

Merry Christmas Baby

2007-12-24T12:13:00.000-08:00

Monday December 24, 3:00 PM

Here's hoping these fine folks find what they're looking for under the Christmas tree (and you too):

Cristobal Huet-a thank you note with his parting gift

Michael Ryder-two weeks in Hamilton

Saku Koivu-a badly swollen middle finger

Guy Carbonneau-Brenden Morrow (oh wait...)

NHL Officials-a muzzle for Guy Carbonneau

Bob Gainey-Size and strength down the middle

Michel Therrien-a safety net

PJ Stock-An English/French dictionary

Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens et al-lie detector tests

Bud Selig-a pink slip

Washington Nationals-a fire; without the sale

Donald Fehr-Bah, humbug!

Michael Vick- a cell full of rabid rottweilers

Bill Belichik-a '72 Dolphins dartboard

Anthony Calvillo-a healthy family

Jim Popp-a Jack Todd whoopi cushion

Jack Todd-empathy, heart, soul & a baby seat in Popp's hummer

The Green Room-an Open for Business sign

Hurley's, Irish Embassy, Ye Olde Orchard, McKibbin's, Champs & Vargas-a very very Green Christmas

And from a very creative listener:

The following are a few of the gifts santa plans to hand to the HABS:

Francis Bouillon: 2 inch lifts.
Michael Ryder: A soccer net.
Andrei Markov: "Searching for Bobby Orr" by Steven Brunt.
Mike Komisarek: Darcy Tucker with his head down.
Christopher Higgins: 2 highly trained dobermann pinschers, Zeus and Apollo (A.K.A. "The Lads").
Tom Kostopoulos: A weekend with Bob Probert.
Andrei Kostitsyn: An invitation to Paul Maurice's house.
Maxim Lapierre: A double wide "tempo" for his Hummer. (St-Leonard style).
Sergei Kostitsyn: A fake ID card.
Saku Koivu: Subscription to the Journal de Montreal.
Patrice Brisebois: Already got his present... (Christmas was in July for Pat this year!)
Carey Price: 2 cases of REDBULL!
Guy Carbonneau: A perpetual road trip.
Doug Jarvis: A day off. (FINALLY!)
Bob Gainey: Alexander Ovechkin... or a win on Dec 23.

The rest get a $10 gift certificate to the Barfly. Thanks for all the good work.
Girth

Back in a few days with some suggestions for your eyes & ears.
Peace.

Snow Balls and Baseballs

2007-12-16T13:27:00.000-08:00

Sunday December 16 4:30 PM

What a great day to do nothing but eat and drink-oh wait, we did that Friday at our station Christmas party. Snow days like this remind me of elementary school, specifically Churchill school in Chomedey (later renamed Irving Bregman Memorial) where our gym teacher was future Queen's football coach Ian Breck. Those of us who were within walking distance actually looked forward to heading to school on snow days because Ian would gather some fellow teachers in the library for a bull session with students. A couple of times he introduced us to one of his roommates who looked vaguely familiar. Turns out he was an American Hockey League goaltender named Wayne Thomas. (The Canadiens' top farm team was based in Montreal for one year. Their home rink was the Forum. Some of the other players included Bobby Sheehan, Phil Roberto, Chuck Lefley, Bob Murdoch and another goaltender named Ken Dryden.)

The next time I met Wayne Thomas was in the early 1980's very late one night at a bar in Cape Cod. I don't remember how I was introduced to him but I do remember that he said he was part owner of the place. I told him the story about Churchill School in Chomedey. His eyes lit up (just like the rest of him at that point) and he started telling me stories of the Voyageurs. A few minutes later he took me over to another part of the room to introduce me to his partner in the bar. I instantly recognized Nick Fotiu. Oh the stories we could tell...

http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php3?pid=5378

http://www.legendsofhockey.net:8080/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/SearchPlayer.jsp?player=12635

Ian Breck is currently the head coach of Team Canada's Under- 20 Junior Football team.

The Mitchell Report. Just another in a list of "scandalous moments" in baseball. I keep reading of comparisons to the 1919 Black Sox scandal. How about the Dowd report? Or the cocaine scandal of the early 1980's? Have we already forgotten about the collusion cases organized by Commissioner Peter Ueberroth and the pathetic owners in the mid-80's? (if you don't think collusion helped kill at least one market, consider this-players forced back to their old teams included Tim Raines. But free agency rules being what they were, a player couldn't re-sign with his old team until May 1. So the 1987 Expos played the entire month of April with Triple A leftfielder Alonzo Powell. He batted .195. The Expos April record was 8-12. From the moment Raines re-joined the team ( in 139 games in 1987 Raines hit .330 with 18 home runs, 68 RBI's, 50 stolen bases, a slugging pct of .526, an OBP of .429 and a LEAGUE LEADING 123 runs scored) the Expos went 83-59. A total won loss record of 91-71 was good enough for 3rd place in the NL East, just four games behind the division champion St. Louis Cardinals. And what about baseball's biggest scandal of them all-not allowing a single black player to play until 1947?
So spare me the moralizing. There have been worse moments than this.

Two scenes I'll never forget:

Scene #1
A former Expos catcher tapping me on the shoulder in the clubhouse asking me what I thought about a couple of his teammates who were certainly on something (David Segui was one of them). I said if it's obvious to me what's going on how can anybody directly involved in the sport not seem to know or care? He then asked me if I thought it was fair that he should have to decide whether to bulk up or not. If ever there was a rhetorical question that was it. And it was repeated in every clubhouse in baseball. I salute the guys who resisted the temptation and played through through nothing stronger than the odd greenie or (in John Wetteland's case) an over consumption of caffeine.

Scene #2
A bunch of media types gathered at Hurley's Irish pub. I mention to a baseball writer that players are starting to grumble about obvious steroid use. I tell him it's a huge story about to explode. He agrees but says he can't really sniff around because he'd have his "access" cut off. He says it's more of an investigative piece that has to be done on a national level with a parade of sources and an almost unlimited expense account. And then Ken Caminiti won the NL MVP award.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/magazine/12/13/flashback_juiced/index.html

Saku Koivu goes a dozen games without scoring and he's either washed up or a lousy leader or both. He scores two goals against the Leafs and his critics will say the Leafs were tired. I think we're all guilty of over analyzing after each game or block of games. There's still a lot of hockey left to play. Among Koivu's right wingers this season-Michael Ryder, Tom Kostopolous, Mark Streit, Bryan Smolinski, Guillame Latendresse, Alex Kovalev, Mathieu Dandenault and Sergei Kostitsyn. Who's next-Stephen Harper?

Saku Koivu is a special guy. "Un champion", says Bob Gainey. It takes one to know one. Koivu is not part of the problem, never has been. I'd concede that at this point he might not be part of the solution either. The fact that the Habs seem to go only as Koivu goes is not his fault. It's an organizational failure. But if they are to trade him (out west) they had better hit a home run. Steroid-free.

Dancing (5th, 6th, 7th, 6th, 8th cha cha cha) With the Habs

2007-12-09T10:49:00.000-08:00

Sunday December 9, 1:30 PM

What's wrong with the Canadiens? Let me count the ways.

-they can't win at home
-they can't win key face offs
-they can't score
-they can't kill penalties
-they can't (won't) fight
-their goalies have caved

What did I miss?

The Habs have no home identity-other than the "history" in the soon-to-be 12 year old Bell Center. Opposing teams dictate play. And with little or no physical fear they pretty much do what they want. Playing the Canadiens in Montreal has become ultra-comfortable. A pro sports sin. The only response the Habs have is to hope their goaltender out-plays everyone. From John Ferguson to Pierre Bouchard to Rick Chartraw to Chris Nilan to Lyle Odelein, every successful Montreal team has had a cop, a cop who could play. Some winning teams featured 4-5 guys who could fight. (The last Cup team in '93 featured Odelein, Todd Ewen, Mario Roberge and the league's best middleweight-Mike Keane.) This bunch? I'd rather see PJ Stock out there 3-4 minutes a game than Mark Streit. (I like Streit-as a power play specialist and role player. He gets way too many minutes of ice time).

The stat sheet (always be wary of the Montreal sheets) says the Canadiens won 60% of their face offs vs Carolina. Fact is, other than Koivu, Habs' centermen have been pretty dismal this season. Hard to comprehend with three of the best face-off men of their respective eras behind the bench. Lack of success in the face off circle also explains, partially, the woeful PK record.
I'm not enough of an X's & O's student to further explain the PK problems. Again, with Guy Carbonneau, Doug Jarvis and Kirk Muller to teach, it would be difficult to believe it's poor coaching. And it hasn't been the fault of the goaltending. Kyle Chipchura, Brian Smolinski, Tom Kostopolous and Steve Begin have been the go-to players on the PK unit. Chipchura will be fine but it's not often a rookie is handed that kind of responsibility. He's made some (rookie) mistakes. Smolinski, on the other hand, looks done. He doesn't win battles one on one or along the boards. Unlike Begin and Kostopolous he doesn't block shots. He's been a solid NHL player for a long time but this is beginning to look a lot like Janne Niinimaa revisited. (Which brings us to another area of concern for Hab fans-pro scouting. Ultimately, it's Bob Gainey who rightfully takes the heat for poor signings/trades. But a constant during the Gainey regime is Pierre Gauthier, who's title is assistant GM but who, in essence, is their top pro scout. Among the NHL players brought in during his watch: Radek Bonk, Todd Simpson, Mike Johnson, Sergei Samsanov, Niinimaa, Josh Gorges, Smolinski and Kostopolous. Those in a hurry to see Gainey go should shudder at the prospect of Gauthier as GM in-waiting.)

We knew goal scoring, especially five on five, would be tight for this team. But who could have possibly predicted that Michael Ryder would be stuck on three goals less than a month away from the all star break? It's sad to see. Sadder still is the pssibilty that his NHL career has already peaked. Shoot puck. Score goals. That's his job. He can't skate well or check and has possibly the worst hockey sense of any forward on the team. Shoot puck. Don't score goals. No job.

Goaltending, as mediocre as it's been lately, is a non-issue as far as I'm concerned. Carey Price will be fine. He's discovering that NHL shooters are pretty good. Rod Brindamour alone in the slot can pick a corner a lot faster than the typical AHL'er or Junior player. It's part of the learning curve.

Captain Koivu? Struggling to be sure. A goal here or there would help but remember first and foremost he's a playmaker. What I look for from Koivu is if he's putting the puck on the stick of his linemate(s), and whether it's Higgins, Ryder, Streit, Smolinski or whomever, he's getting that job done. Of more concern is that he looks a step or two slower.

Maybe it's just the late fall blahs, weeks ahead of the Christmas swoon. And what looks piss-poor right now will eventually be straightened out. Until then the Habs will likely drop lower than 8th. Perhaps to 10th or 11th. And two or three games later jump all the way to 6th. The only thing we know for certain about this team is they can't play with Detroit. So they have a lot of company.

In the meantime, Bob Gainey has to find a couple of bodies with some size and toughness and talent. That's all. And he has to find this player or two by himself.

New Month, Same Team

2007-12-01T10:59:00.001-08:00

Saturday December 1 2:00 PM

December-finally. I don't mind the blast of cold air-as long as the sun is shining. I'll spare you the metaphors.

Getting ready to watch the Rangers and Senators. Those silly comparisons to the Habs of the late 70's can now be buried for good. Love what Senators coach John Paddock said about his teams' losing streak. "It's part of the ebb and flow of a long season", said Paddock while (just a guess here) silently starting to worry about Martin Gerber. Canadiens fans need to keep that in mind. Look at the standings. As I write this the Habs are 5th in the eastern conference, two points behind the second place team and just two points out of eighth. Welcome to the salary cap era. It's just as tight in the west. Teams that started the season surprisingly slow (Buffalo, New Jersey) have righted themselves. Teams that started surprisngly well (Washington, Ottawa) have also settled into a more realistic zone.

For one of those rare instances this season, the Canadiens actually dominated a first period of play. Last night in Newark (what a great title for a movie, huh?) the Habs dominated, helped out by, but not just because of, the power play. Best save of the night was Martin Brodeur on Alex Kovalev, a low, well aimed wrister that Brodeur cooly kicked away. And as often has been the case the last two seasons, if the Canadiens don't score on the power play they find themselves in a bit of trouble. This season, their penalty killing unit continues to struggle. Lousy combo. One of the reasons Steve Begin and Tom Kostopolous are sitting tonight vs Nashville. The other reason-a team TOTAL of 9 hits the last two road games. Why bother putting on shoulder pads? If Begin and Kostopolous don't hit they don't play. Simple as that. Good move by Carbonneau. Why not Brian Smolinski or Michael Ryder? I think Ryder is next. Smolinski won 9 of 12 faceoffs last night.

So what does Bob Gainey do to improve his team's 5 on 5 play and/or goal scoring? He's not going to find it in Hamilton. The Bulldogs were shutout 6-0 on home ice last night. And their best players to start this season (Sergei Kostitsyn, Maxim Lapierre and Jonathan Ferland) are not goal scorers. Perhaps Gainey was in attendance in an effort to piece together a package for
immediate NHL help (Brad Richards?). In the meantime, Ryder sticks out like a sore thumb. A goal scorer not scoring for a team that needs a goal scorer.

Where have you gone Stephane Richer?

Martin Brodeur's career record against Montreal is 34-12-5. 12 losses? I can barely remember one...You won't have Jack Todd to kick around anymore...he's accepted a buyout from The Gazette...oh yeah, I'll have plenty more to say next month...The Black Hawks are once again fun to watch...They're playing for Denis Savard and Chicago area hockey fans who can once again see them on local TV....and whaddya know, the crowds are starting to return (over 16,000 last night vs Phoenix)...I'm starting to warm to the idea of bigger nets..the highest scoring team in the east is Carolina with 85 goals in 26 games...I'd rather see a little more room on the ice and I no longer buy the notion that ripping out the first few rows of seats in places like the Bell Center automatically means a huge loss in revenue...it's a loss the Habs can easily make up by charging more for premium seats and loges...the white- collared crowd that enjoys a pre-game meal at Queue De Cheval have plenty more money to spend...Angels owner Arte Moreno says baseball fans are "going to be angry and disappointed" when the Mitchell report on steroid use is made public...do you think one of Moreno's own stars might be on the list of players George Mitchell names as a user?...Best wishes to Terry DiMonte in Calgary, even though he thinks John Mellencamp is a better artist than Bob Dylan..Finally got around to actually seeing Nirvana Unplugged, finally out on DVD...It's stunning to see and hear the performance in HD and surround sound (watch for Kurt Cobain's facial expression at the end of Leadbelly classic):

http://www.nme.com/news/32183

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEtDC6MuImU

Happy December.

Hard To Hold A Candle In The Cold November Rain

2007-11-24T12:30:00.000-08:00

Saturday November 24 3:30 PM

I hate November. Worst time of the year. A clear reminder that many more dark and dreary days are ahead before we finally see the sun again on a regular basis. It's cold but far worse for me is the fact that it's so damp. I also hate the slush. So does the bottom of my jeans. Yet we all soldier on. Further proof that Montreal is one terrific place to live.

Can you find anything good about the month of November? Oh sure, if you're a winter outdoor enthusiast like Andie Bennett it means you're on the fast track to snowboarding, skiing, tobogganing (the first time I've ever written the word-honest), skating and washing your long underwear. Whoopi.

The best word I can use to describe this month is: bleak. Such a bleakness to it. In hockey the Canadiens play the Sabres and Leafs and Senators and Bruins. Same teams they played in October. There's no longer a local baseball hot stove session to follow. And only once in the last 30 years have we been able to attend a Grey Cup parade. And that one-five years ago-was damn cold-even with all the whiskey.

It's also hard to ignore-especially for anybody over 45-that the world changed forever-and for a lot worse-on November 22, 1963.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFpPjjKdUds&feature=related

Thanks to Larry Robinson for helping some of us escape the darkness for a few hours on November 19th. Shame on Ron Corey, Francois Seigneur, Pierre Boivin and anybody else who dragged their rear ends while Larry lost his mother, father and older brother while waiting to be properly honored. Kudos to Larry and Lou Lamorellio for making the evening so memorable.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9rp-ewJ8mI&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKd4HJNSbQg&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZmRWz_Dyk0&feature=related

Brief observations about the Habs more than one quarter through this season....anybody still need to be "sold" on Carey Price? Imagine how good he'll be when he plays more often then once a week or every 10 days...Mark Streit's bubble has burst...time to cut back on his ice time...I admire the guy but the Habs need an upgrade on Francis Boullion...How can a team coached by Guy Carbonneau, Doug Jarvis & Kirk Muller struggle so much to kill penalties?...it's not the goaltending...Michael Ryder is almost out of time...this year's Sergei Samsonov?...If he's still stuck in neutral by the 30 game mark he ought to be replaced...I'm not at all worried about Saku Koivu but I'm still waiting for another performance like the one he delivered against Briere and the Flyers; over three weeks ago...some refs clearly have it in for Alex Kovalev..then again some refs wouldn't be in the NHL if not for the two man system...brutal calls (and non-calls) seem to be a hot topic every night...to paraphrase Pierre McGuire..where can the Habs find a guy like Rick Tocchet (circa 1992)?...or Kevin Stevens for that matter?...Bob Gainey's x-mas wish list: Olli Jokinen, Marian Hossa, Mats Sundin (3-way trade?) or Shane Doan...

The greatest hockey team of all-time ( Montreal Canadiens 1955-1960) lost another Hall of Famer this week. Tom Johnson was Doug Harvey's defense partner. And Red Fisher's drinking partner. But he never called Fisher Red. Read it and weep. And laugh:

http://www.boston.com/sports/hockey/bruins/articles/2007/11/23/heres_looking_at_you_kid/

Bye Bye Barry (and Cristobal); Hello (Again) A-Rod; RIP Norman

2007-11-15T16:50:00.000-08:00

Thursday November 15, 7:45 PM

Poor Cristobal Huet. Quickly becoming the Rodney Dangerfield of the Montreal Canadiens. If NHL GM's outside of Montreal feel as strongly about the guy as some hardcore Hab fans do, then those very fans ought to rejoice. Because they'll get to see their man play a lot of hockey over the next couple of years. But they'll have to subscribe to the NHL Center Ice package to do so because Cristobal won't be here. There are many out there who believe Huet will return to Montreal with a "home town discount" but I find that far-fetched. He'll be 33 next season. He's currently making $2.75 million. He's going to return here to play 20 games-and the Habs are going to pay him about two million a year for that? I think not.

Cristobal Huet is a very good goaltender who should be creating interest among several GM's who are in search of a talented, experienced goaltender (Ray Shero?). A good team guy. And a big Bob Dylan fan. But he's on his way out as a Hab. To be remembered as the guy who forced Jose Theodore out of town (and who kept the crease warm for Carey Price).

Couldn't the Feds in the U.S. Justice Department have indicted Barry Bonds last summer? If Bonds is going to jail for lying to a grand jury then how about Bud Selig follow him into the same hole for lying to congress during the anti-trust exemption hearings which followed his announcment that MLB was going to contract the Expos and Twins. And oh, how he lied again during hearings into steroid use.

Picture it. Selig and Bonds in jail garb. Working together on a chain gang. Like Tony Curtis and Sydney Poitier in "The Defiant Ones". But those guys got paid to play a part. Selig and Bonds are paying the price. They deserve each other.

I was in New York when my favorite writer died. Norman Mailer, who lived in Brooklyn, spoke to me at a time when I was still searching for a literary hero. I tried reading many of the classics, mostly because the young woman I was in love with seemed so deep and she read 'em all-and I mean all of them, devouring one after the other (Kafka, Dostoyevsky, Thomas Mann, Camus, Jane Austen, Melville, Tolstoy, Chekov, Joseph Conrad...) until I started to go through her collection. I found it to be a chore. Too dark, too complicated for me. At the time, anyway.

I was always a political junkie, even as a kid. So I remember picking up Fear And Loathing: On the Campaign Trail '72 by a guy named Hunter S. Thompson. And howled for days. Which then led me directly to Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Hell's Angels. And I was hooked. It was through Thompson that I discovered Mailer.

I read The Naked And The Dead in one night. I couldn't believe it was written by a 25 year old. I then managed to find, mostly through the help at Cheap Thrills, everything Mailer had written.
If he wasn't America's finest novelist (too many clunkers) in my mind he was it's finest reporter.
If anybody wants to know what the 1960's were about read The Armies of The Night. He also chronicled the space program (Of a Fire on The Moon), politics, pop culture and sports. His masterpiece, The Executioner's Song, was essentially a reporting job on murderer Gary Gilmore's right to have himself executed. The book won the Pulitzer prize for literature.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/10/books/11mailer.html?ex=1210309200&en=52a0dcec1e5801af&ei=5087&excamp=GGGNnormanmailer&WT.srch=1&WT.mc_ev=click&WT.mc_id=GN-S-E-GG-NA-S-norman_mailer

And here's a terrific piece by Mark Kriegel on Mailer's love for boxing:

http://msn.foxsports.com/boxing/story/7441264

Mailer was a man who inspired me greatly. Somebody I wish I had the opportunity to interview. Or at least thank.

This week marked the 25th anniversary of the Ray Mancini-Duk Koo Kim championship fight in Las Vegas which resulted in the death of Kim. Long time boxing writer Ron Borges puts it in perspective:

http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/boxing/news/story?id=3107079

A-Rod back to the Yankees for even more money than what Tom Hicks paid him in Texas? Hank and Hal Steinbrenner have made it obvious in a hurry. Like father like son(s).

Schilling, Shula & Shots on Huet

2007-11-06T16:45:00.000-08:00

Tuesday November 6, 7:45 PM

Red Sox in three games was an accurate call in the world series wasn't it? I mean, you knew it was over after they took a 3-0 lead, right? The Red Sox second world championship since 2004 has resulted in a parade of appearances on various variety and late night talk shows (until the writer's strike got in the way). I especially enjoyed Manny Ramirez on The Tonight Show w/Jay Leno. I stopped watching Leno years ago. Great stand up comic. Horrible host. Best thing you can say about him is that he's a better talk show host than, say, Chevy Chase. Or Pat Sajak. Or Alan Thicke. Or John McEnroe. Anyway, an example of why Bill Lee, among others, loves Manny (check NESN video, about halfway down the page, on left):

http://www.boston.com/sports/

Further proof technology is taking us places we thought we'd never go: Curt Schilling announces he's re-signing with the Red Sox before the team does, with their permission:

http://www.38pitches.com/

Cristobal Huet looked a lot like Carey Price in goal as he shutout the Buffalo Sabres monday night. In perfect position, making tough saves look not so tough. Quiet, not flopping around. Now if he can only learn how to handle the puck like Price...Michael Ryder needs a puck to bounce off his rear end and into the net and then watch, he'll pull a Brian Savage and score five or six goals over two or three games...Andrei Markov is a legit all star defenseman right now...Mike Komisarek is on his way....Anybody still think letting Sheldon Souray go was a mistake?...I keep hearing people complain that Chris Higgins doesn't have much "finish". What do people expect, a 40-45 goal season?...Higgins reminds me a lot of Rod Brindamour...Where are the poppies on the two french round table shows (110% & La Zone)?...There's a new book out about Patrick Roy, written by Roy's father Michel. Wonder if Mathieu ("He's a cancer in the room") Schneider plans to read it:

http://www.thehockeynews.com/articles/10811-Patrick-Roys-dad-aims-to-correct-image-of-his-son-in-new-Quebec-book.html

The single season greatest team in NFL history is the 1972 Miami Dolphins. No ifs, and's, but's, or maybe's. Those Dolphins, led by a Hall of Fame coach & GM, a solid QB, a sensational running game and tremendous defense, were perfect 35 years ago. Hard to beat perfection.
If this year's New England Patriots go all the way to a Super Bowl championship without losing, they move past the Dolphins, again no if's, and's, etc. even though Don Shula would have you believe otherwise:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21655235/

http://www.miamidolphins.com/newsite/history/1972perfectseason/1972perfectseason.asp

The Jimi Hendrix Experience Live At Monterey has been re-released on cd & dvd. I have original album and cd, plus the entire Monterey Pop Festival (1967) on cd & dvd but it's Hendrix so of course I bought it. What I had forgotten was the less than enthusiastic response Jimi got for his first major concert in his homeland. Actually, there was a lot of stunned slilence before, during and after he"sacrificed" his guitar to express his "love". If you care about the history of rock and roll it's a must-have *****

http://www.hendrixatmonterey.com/

Also listening to "I'm Not There", the soundtrack to the much discussed Todd Haynes biopic on Bob Dylan. I was lucky enough to see the movie a few weeks back with my pal Terry Haig (who's in it-briefly) and can't wait to see it again later this month. I'm certain most Dylan fans will expect nothing less than a beautiful, mind-blowing experience. It was for me.

http://www.imnotthere-movie.com/

Standout performances on the cd are Eddie Vedder on "All Along The Watchtower"; Jim James (My Morning Jacket) & Calexico on "Goin' To Acapulco"; the amazing Cat Power on "Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again"; John Doe on "Pressing On"; Los Lobos on "Billy 1"; Jeff Tweedy (Wilco) on "Simple Twist Of Fate"; and Mark Lanegan on "Man In The Long Black Coat". And that's only disc one.

http://www.amazon.com/Im-Not-There-Original-Soundtrack/dp/B000VS6P9Q

Eric Lindros, we hardly knew ya.

Red Sox in 3; A Grand Alex-Music To My Ears

2007-10-25T16:51:00.000-07:00

Thursday Oct 25, 7:55 PM

I dont much care about this year's world series. As outlined earlier I feel for the long suffering fans in Cleveland. I guess it really was too much to ask for an Indians-Cubs series. Boston? Fine. But Colorado? I realize what they did to win the National League pennant but I just can't get excited over it. Red Sox-Mets; now you're talking. Red Sox-Phillies would have been interesting (Francona, Schilling back in Philly, a slugfest almost every night). But the fact that the Rockies are, statistically, one of the great defensive teams of all time? Yawn. I appreciate defense. I wish that boxscores could add another category-RS, as in" runs saved". But unless you can promise me Brooks Robinson circa 1970 or Graig Nettles circa '76 or Ozzie Smith in 1987, I'm not going to tune in to watch it.

The Red Sox had their scare. The only major league team close to them all season was Cleveland. The ALCS was in fact the World Series. It ends this weekend. I'll be watching hockey.

1,000 games for Alex Kovalev. !,000 headaches for 15 different coaches. I love the guy. Just imagine, if he had players other than Plekanic, Samsanov, Perezhogin, Ribeiro, Bulis, or Zednick as linemates the last three seasons. Oh, wait. In the 2004 playoffs he scored six goals and 10 points in 11 games, playing alongside Saku Koivu & Zednick. Imagine, say, Jaromir Jagr by his side. Or Peter Forsberg. Or Joe Thornton. Oh, wait again. We know what he can do playing with Jagr (mostly on the power play). Kovalev's career needs to be examined carefully. When not hampered by injuries he has put up solid numbers. When those numbers have dipped it hasn't all been on him. Toward the end of his first tenure in New York, Kovalev had as teammates/centermen a past his prime, the puck-is-mine-not-yours-Alex, Wayne Gretzky. And a past his prime Mark Messier. He gets sent to Pittsburgh. Re-born, playing mostly alongside Robert Lang and Martin Straka and part of one of hockey's great power plays with Jagr and Mario Lemieux. He remains effective offensively-even without Lang-on a terrible Penguins team. Sent back to New York he meets up again with a now 43 year old Messier. A past his prime Eric Lindros. And that noted play-making centerman at nine million a year Bobby Holik. Then it's onto Montreal for Josef Balej (when does Bob Gainey get full credit for that?). Other than Koivu, briefly, Kovalev has not had a centerman or linemates that fit his talent. That's an organization failure, not Kovalev's. Just watch, as I have since he got here, how many times Kovalev puts his teammates in a position to score. Rarely have I seen a talent with the Habs as good from the blueline in as Kovalev. While he still might not have the perfect centerman or linemates he's getting the opportunity to create offense on the power play. A major reason the team does not (so far) miss Sheldon Souray. Long live Alex.

While game one of the World Series was played at Fenway I was at Club Lambi for a cd launch party for The Jimmyriggers. Local musicians Andre Kirchoff, Ram Krishnan (yes the same guy who pours at Grumpy's) & David Pearce (son of Brent who used to sit in for Ted Tevan way back when) deliver the goods for the alt/country, country/rock crowd. The cd is Traveling Salesman, Killer On the Run...*** www.myspace.com/thejimmyriggers

More music you might have interest in with the holiday season approaching:

Ryan Adams: Easy Tiger *** 1/2 Tight, focused, happy; let's hope his Halloween Head is history

Johnny Cash: The Great Lost Performance *** 1990 Concert at Asbury Park before his American revival; rare live nuggets on this one http://www.invitatiionline.ro/johnny-cash-the-great-lost-performance-2007/

Guy Clark: Workbench Songs *** 1/2 Master craftsman whos songs never grow old
http://www.guyclark.com/

John Doe: A Year In The Wilderness **** Founding member of X delivers his best solo work with help from Dave Alvin, Kathleen Edwards & Aimee Mann http://www.yeproc.com/artist_info.php?artistId=9863

Goin' Home (A Tribute To Fats Domino) *** 1/2 Whos Who of Music biz salute New Orleans legend who lost his home and gold records in Katrina; first cd is a treat, second is just ok; the cause makes it worthwhile http://www.tipitinasfoundation.com/

Dropkick Murphys: The Meanest of Times **** My favorite Murphys cd; the title says it all spewed out with pure punk energy and anger; snaps, crackels but no pop; at Metropolis NOV 17
http://www.dropkickmurphys.com/

Steve Earle: Washington Square Serenade **** New Greenwich Village resident pays homage to his new home and new wife (Allison Moorer) http://www.steveearle.com/

Bryan Ferry: Dylaneque *** 1/2 Rolled my eyes when first heard of this Dylan tribute but it works. Try to find DVD to go with it http://www.bryanferry.com/

John Fogerty: Revival **** 1/2 Fantastic return to form with guitar heavy licks any punk band would be proud of; some great songs about American nightmare in Iraq http://www.johnfogerty.com/

Steve Forbert: Strange Names & New Sensations *** Workingman's musician now selling cd's on line and at live gigs; still worth listening to http://www.steveforbert.com/

Mary Gauthier: Between Daylight and Dark *** 1/2 pronounced Go-shay; gifted songwriter; some bleak stuff here http://www.marygauthier.com/

Ian Hunter: Shrunken Heads **** One of my all time favorite artists still going strong with well aimed swipes at Bush and neocons http://www.ianhunter.com/shrunkenus.shtml

Lee Hazelwood: Cake Or Death *** Legendary renegade songwriter knew he was dying while recording this; features original version of (These) Boots with Duane Eddy on guitar
http://www.everrecords.com/index.php

The Hold Steady: Boys And Girls In America **** Rock and roll party album of the year
http://www.theholdsteady.com/

Mark Knopfler: Kill To Get Crimson *** 1/2 Following tributes to U.S. in his last two albums Knopfler returns home to chronicle many lives; as close to a musical novel as you'll hear
http://www.mark-knopfler.com/

Jimmy LaFave: Cimarron Manifesto **** Gorgeous originals and three beautiful covers (including a striking re-working of Donovan's "Catch The Wind") by Montreal's favorite Austin musician; watch for november gig http://www.redhouserecords.com/LaFave.html

Bettye LaVette: The Scene Of The Crime *** 1/2 Soul great backed by Drive By Truckers recorded at Muscle Shoals http://www.bettyelavette.com/

Nick Lowe: At My Age ** 1/2 Nick doing the crooning thing; and so it goes...
http://www.nicklowe.net/

Joni Mitchell: Shine ** I admit it...I don't get it. I tried, I really did. Maybe you have to see the dances that go with it....or just read the lyrics and hum http://www.jonimitchell.com/

Robert Plant & Alison Krauss: Raising Sand **** 1/2 Beautiful; haunting versions of songs by The Everly Brothers, Tom Waits, Mel Tillis, Townes Van Zandt and the late, under appreciated Gene Clark; masterfully prodcued-as usual-by T-Bone Burnett who also backs up in the band which also features Norman Blake and Marc Ribot. A stunner. And Alison Krauss never looked so hot http://www.robertplant.com/
http://www.alisonkrauss.com/
http://www.tboneburnett.com/

Grace Potter And The Nocturnals: This is Somewhere **** I love this cd. Vermont resident Potter can rock and pop and write a damn good tune. If you want to feel what life is like for a young rock and roll band while touring "This" is it (along with Kings of Leon's "Aha Shake Heartbreak") . http://www.gracepotter.com/

Rilo Kiley: Under The Blacklight ** 1/2 Not nearly as good as Potter and nowehere near as good as the solo cd by lead singer Jenny Lewis http://www.rilokiley.com/

Tom Russell: Wounded Heart Of America (Tom Russell Songs) *** It's Russell songs covered by everyone from Johnny Cash to Ian Tyson to poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti plus a couple of new songs by the man himself http://www.hightone.com/product_info.php?manufacturers_id=138&products_id=335&osCsid=302073d13202e6e38e01a85dfc3bb1d8

Patti Scialfa: Play It As It Lays *** 1/2 I love her soulful voice; look for clues about her marriage to The Boss and you might actually find a couple; now if Bruce really had balls he'd let her open for him http://www.pattiscialfa.net/

Suzanne Vega: Beauty & Crime *** Vega's love letter to New York City http://www.suzannevega.com/

Porter Wagoner: Wagonmaster *** 1/2 The real thing; still sounding great at 80; lovingly produced and arranged by Marty Stuart http://www.anti.com/artist.php?id=42

The Weakerthans: Reunion Tour **** Tasteful, literary punk by Winnipeg Indies; includes "Elegy For Gump Worsley"; be sure to catch them Nov 2 at Le National http://www.myspace.com/theweakerthans

Neil Young: Chrome Dreams II **** It's getting mixed reviews but I can't get enough right now; some critics suggest "Ordinary People" is way too long at over 18:00. I say who cares how long a song is if it moves you? I think the song is fucking brilliant and I've heard it over a dozen times by now; like the ride home it seems to get shorter and shorter with each listen; if you're a big Neil Young (or Dylan, Van Morrison, Leonard Cohen, Elvis Costello) fan you've already dismissed what critics say. Buy/Download it now http://www.neilyoung.com/

Atlanta Belongs In The Deep North; Kovy Being Kovy?

2007-10-17T16:39:00.000-07:00

Wednesday October 17th 7:45 pm

Bob Hartley getting fired might be the first step towards eventual relocation of the Thrashers. Let's get the NHL out of Atlanta, Nashville and one or two other U.S. outposts and back here up north where it belongs-including, with or without Jim Balsillie-Hamilton or Southern Ontario.

Guy Carbonneau says Alex Kovalev criticizing him for not taking a time out late in tuesday's eventual loss to Florida was not that big a deal. He likens Kovalev's ill-timed outbursts to those of Guy Lafleur. As the late Lloyd Bentsen said about then VP Dan Quayle:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-7gpgXNWYI

And Alex Kovalev is no Guy Lafleur.

Carbonneau did not blow the time out issue, he just had the wrong guys on the ice with 10 seconds to play. Kyle Chipchura might soon develop into that defensive, shut- down centerman and elite penalty killer, perhaps as soon as later this season. But not in his 3rd NHL game. Mathieu Dandenault and Patrice Brisebois on the ice with Roman Hamrlik, Bryan Smolinski, Christopher Higgins, Thomas Plekanic and Saku Koivu on the bench makes little sense. But not exactly a fireable offense.

So TSN's Gord Miller sends NHL deputy Comissioner Bill Daly an e-mail with the names of players/agents/lawyers who were upset with Ted Saskin's knifing of Bob Goodenow so he could "get information back". Daly promptly forwards the e-mail to Saskin. Think Gord might want to stick to more reliable sources from now on? (Like his pal from Edmonton-Wayne Gretzky). This "incident" tells you everything you need to know about Daly, Saskin and especially Chris Chelios who's been as relentless off the ice in his pursuit of justice as he has been on it in pursuit of championships for 25 years.

It's now up to 50-50 that Joe Torre will actually return to manage the Yankees in 2008, probably with a new pitching coach. An even bigger decision in The Bronx is whether or not A-Rod opts out of his monster contract. Yankees fans (and Torre since he hasn't quit by now) have to hope that Rodriguez takes his act elsewhere. Check this out, courtesy of SI's Tom Verducci:

...his final 59 postseason at-bats as a Yankee will be one of the more confounding, odds-defying trends in the history of great players. In those 59 at-bats, Rodriguez:
• went 8-for-59, a .136 batting average.
• batted with a total of 38 runners on base and left every single one of them on base. Not one did he drive in. He went 0 for 27, including 11 strikeouts, in at-bats with runners on.
• went 0 for 12 with a total of 17 runners in scoring position, driving in none of them.
The streak dates to the fifth inning of Game 4 of the 2004 ALCS. The Yankees went 3-14 in that stretch...

A-Rod and agent Scott Boras have until November 10 to decide if they want to stay put with NY or head elsewhere. Boras' price tag this time around is even more than the stupid contract Tom Hicks paid him in texas (10 yrs, 250 Million). Or you can make that even more stupid. Some idiotic team (Angels? Giants?) will pay him $300 million this time. And he'll win an MVP award or three. And he'll still whiff in the post season.

How'd you like to have Jay Rothman as a boss? Rothman is the producer of Monday Night Football on ABC. Last weekend Joe Theismann, replaced this year in the MNF booth by Ron Jaworski whined to a newspaper that the show has "become three hours of Tony Kornheiser". So when Jimmy Kimmel aka Mr. Sarah Silverman shows up to promote his late night talk show on ABC he has a special hello for "Joe Theismann who's sitting at home with steam coming out of his ears." A good shot at Theismann who makes Tim McCarver sound mute. And a strong defense of fellow company employee Kornheiser. But Rothman sided with Theismann saying Kimmel's comments were "classless and disappointing." And for good measure Rothman has banned Kimmel from future monday night telecasts. An update on the "You'll never work in this town again" riff. Rothman should be forced to watch rerun after rerun of every Joe Theismann appearance on tv over the last 20 years. Should be enough to send him straight into sense of humour rehab.

Which is the most predictable headline of October?

Kovalev Criticizes Carbonneau

Souray Out With Separated Shoulder

Alex Hilton Arrested After Acquittal

How about those wild and crazy Grey Cup organizers in Toronto going all out by lining up Lenny Kravitz to perform at half time. Oh, that's not all. There WILL be Canadian content too. Blue Rodeo, Great Big Sea, Spirit Of The West, Kim Mitchell, Loverboy & Trooper. Oh, the cutting edginess of it all. Couldn't they find room for April Wine? Chiliwack? Dan Hill?

So a genuine Montreal moment takes place sunday night as Win Butler and Regine Chassagne of Arcade Fire join Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band onstage......in &%@! Ottawa:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5bT1_niUgk&mode=related&search=

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4Zkz2pUt_g&mode=related&search=

Last month Jack White jumped onstage with Bob Dylan and his band at the famed Ryman in Nashville, getting Dylan to play two songs he had never performed in public, "Outlaw Blues" (..don't ask me nothin' about nothin' , I just might tell you the truth") and Meet Me In The Morning" plus the rarely performed "One More Cup Of Coffee (Valley Below)":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSfSHD9SW_g&mode=related&search=

Great to see two generations of superb talent sharing the stage. Think about more possibilities.
The Strokes & Lou Reed. Ryan Adams & Neil Young. Cat Power & Patti Smith. Joss Stone & Aretha Franklin. Pete Doherty & Keith Richards...

http://music.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,,2161966,00.html

Cleveland Rocks! Elvis Lives! (Where Are The Mets?)

2007-10-09T17:31:00.000-07:00

Tuesday October 9 8:30 PM

What a great time of the year for a sports fan. NHL underway, CFL winding down, NFL in full gear and MLB in LCS mode. Ah yes, major League baseball. First year in 40 that I did not attend a single game. Since the loss of the Expos I've managed to get to Fenway Park and Shea Stadium a few times but this year-not even a trip to Ottawa for an Expos tribute. Call it a nasty divorce. I still read boxscores, every one of them. I read stories, mostly those written by Jeff Blair. But otherwise I've lost that lovin' feeling. Haven't played fantasy baseball since 2003. Watch very little during regular season. Maybe the odd Jays game, cheering for Matt Stairs.
Some late games involving Cabrera and Angels or Russell Martin and the Dodgers. The Red Sox. The Mets, especially after Pedro returned. But that's pretty much been it. Until now.

I've already explained why I'd like to see Cleveland win it all. But can Joe Borowski really close it out at Fenway against Manny & Ortiz? Jonathan Papelbon reminds me so much of John Wetteland circa 1993 (9-3, 43 saves, 1.37 ERA, 70 G, 83 IP, 58 H, 28 BB 113 K) while Grady Sizemore make me think of a young Larry Walker. Josh Beckett & CC Sabathia would both be legit Cy Young award winners. RED SOX in 6.

While we're still on topic, don't the Colorado Rockie make you think of the 1993 Expos? Problem in '93 was, the Expos simply ran out of time to catch the Philadelphia Phillies. Remember, there were still only two divisions and no wild card. The Rockies are on a roll that might not stop until the final game is played this season. Whether they win or not, they're certainly poised to pick up in 2008 as the Expos were in 1994. Pitching is a big concern as Canadian Jeff Francis (17-9) is the only member of the rotation to win more than 10 games. Arizona rellies a lot more on it's staff, especially true ace Brandon Webb, plus Doug Davis (13-12) & Livan Hernandez (11-11; 6-2 career post season). Imagine if they had a healthy Randy Johnson. Arizona in 7.

Still can't believe the Mets collapsed they way they did. Billy Wagner didn't get it done down the stretch yet told a NY magazine that pitching coach Rick Peterson and manager Willie Randolph didn't properly handle the bullpen. He might have had a point. Randolph repeatedly went back to ineffective middle men Jorge Sosa (4.47 ERA) Scott Schoenweiss (5.03), Aaron Sele (5.37) and Guillermo Mota (5.76-pretty bad without the 'roids, huh?). But then again what else was he supposed to do? Omar Minaya did the right thing in keeping Randolph. Now he has to rebuild the bullpen. And good riddance to Tom Glavine who's matter-of-fact reponse to getting blown out of the final game of the season versus Florida...Florida ! (7 runs in less than an inning) was enough to lead one to believe that he just wanted to go home with his 300 victories.

Congrats to Dan Seligman and staff at Pop Montreal for putting together a music and arts festival that seems to perfectly fit the indy spirit of our city. Last thursday at Barfly I got to see four bands in four hours including Hey Rosetta from St. John's. Lead vocalist and songwriter Tim Baker joined us in studio earlier in the day with just his acoustic guitar and some stories about Newfoundland and living around Concordia 5-6 years ago. He was awfully impressive and very intense while performing a couple of songs for us, repeating the mood with his full band (and string section) at the stage-less Barfly. Baker's masterpiece (so far) is "Lions for Scottie", a tribute to Jeff Buckley.

http://www.heyrosetta.com/

Friday night I was among 2,000 who worshipped at the church of Patti Smith. I met Patti a few years back while strolling through Greenwich Village with Cathy Newton. She seemed pleased when I mentioned that I had been reading her work for years. At the beautiful St Jean Baptiste church on Rachel Street Patti began her sermon by reading Alan Ginsberg:

http://www.fort.org/ginsberg_footnote_to_howl.html

Then came the music as she opened with "Within You Without You" from her recent cd "Twelve" (as in number of cover tunes), one of five songs performed from the album ("Are You Experienced" with a glaring clarinet solo, "Helpless" which she dedicated to her late husband Fred "Sonic" Smith ("...sing with me somehow"), The Doors' "Soul Kitchen" and "Smells Like Teen Spirit" which earned the loudest pre-encore ovation of the night). Between well aimed blasts at George Bush Patti also managed to make her way onto the floor a couple of times, dancing and grooving to her longtime band, especially during "Dancing Barefoot". She reached way back for "Because The Night" but not for "Gloria". Improvised a song about the three days she spent in Montreal. And finished off with "Rock and Roll Nigger" while pulling off the strings from her electric guitar. It was all so beautiful.

http://www.pattismith.net/

Fourteen hours later I was at the border, waiting over two hours to cross for an Elvis Costello-Bob Dylan double bill in Albany, thinking a lot about what Bruce Springsteen recently said about his country in response to the right wing lunatic fringe crowd labelling of him as "Anti-American":

"I think we've seen things happen over the past six years that I don't think anybody ever thought they'd ever see in the United States," Springsteen told CBS television.He notably criticised CIA interrogation techniques, Bush's domestic surveillance program and the detention of terrorist suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, without referring to them explicitly."When people think of the Unites States' identity, they don't think of torture. They don't think of illegal wiretapping ... They don't think of no habeas corpus," he said, referring to suspects being held without charge."Those are things that are anti-American," he said.

Elvis is performing solo on this tour of U.S. college towns. His entire back catalogue has been given the deluxe reissue treatement. A back catalogue that prompted former music critic Stephen Brunt to suggest on monday that "He's never made a bad album".
Currently listening to "My Aim Is True" **** 1/2, bolstered by out-takes (including an early version of "No Action") and demos plus a second cd of a soundcheck and complete concert at The Nashville Rooms in August of 1977, a show that was nearly scrapped for security reasons.

http://www.elviscostello.com/

In less than 24 hours I saw Patti Smith, Elvis Costello and Bob Dylan. So did Montreal Jazz Fest
President Andre Menard who arrived during Costello's set to ask a couple of guys he didn't know if we were in the right seats. We weren't. And we didn't move.

NHL East; Who's The Boss?

2007-10-02T19:22:00.001-07:00

Tuesday October 2 10:22 PM (Bucky "Effin" Dent Day-no longer nearly as painful)

Listening to "Magic" by Springsteen while wondering what Habs marketing genius Ray Lalonde has planned after placing billboards all over town of Maxim Lapierre, the 22 year old checking centerman who has a total of 47 games of NHL experience. Oops, now playing at an arena in Hamilton. What's next-television commercials featuring the key to the Habs blueline-Jean-Phillipe Cote?

Ok, here we go...drumroll please....how the NHL's Eastern Conference will wind up:

1. Ottawa: Spezza, Alfredsson & Heatley...who can possibly defeat me? (How about that 8th place team)
2. Pittsburgh: Crosby wins everything, including the Cup, then asks for trade to Montreal
3. Carolina: Back to top of Southeast but an early spring exit
4. NY Rangers: Sean Avery hosts season finale of SNL
5. Philadelphia: Paul Holmgren, Executive of the Year (By 2009 he'll look like an idiot)
6. Buffalo: Still stacked with talent; Tim Connelly is comeback player of the year
7. New Jersey: Brent Sutter takes them to the top...once they're in Newark
8. Montreal: Stop laughing; Carey Price makes the difference; all bets are off it's Huet
9. Florida: Olli Jokinen still looking for a playoff game
10.Washington: Olie Kolzig runs out of gas
11.Atlanta: Kovalchuk demands a trade by Christmas
12.NY Islanders: Di Pietro wins a Cup in 8th year of his contract
13.Tampa Bay: Tortorella finally fired; Feaster too
14. Boston:Next team for Claude Julien, the Leafs...
15. Toronto: Dysfunctional goofs would rather have John Ferguson Jr. than Scotty Bowman

Now that you've composed yourself...Price is that good. If given the opportunity he'll steal the starting job from Huet. Suddenly 4-3 losses and 3-2 losses in overtime turn to victories. Remember this is a team that finished just six points behind the Rangers last season.

Where does the offense come from? Both Ryder and Higgins can score 30. Kovalev is the key. He must be given every opportunity to do what he does best-create offense-which means more power play time than anybody on the team. It's difficult to believe that a content Kovalev won't be able to jump back to where he was two seasons ago, averaging nearly a point per game. If Kovalev moves as I think he does than so do his linemates. I love what Bob Gainey said when asked if Grabovski (for now) can elevate Kovalev's game. "Maybe it's up to Kovalev to get Grabovski moving" said the Habs GM. Bingo. And Kovalev will do the same for Kostitsyn.

The best young forward on the team might actually be Thomas Plekanic. I think he might end up back between Kovalev and Kostitsyn but ends up scoring at least 25 no matter where he plays.

Koivu, Ryder, Higgins, Kovalev, Plekanic, Smolinski, Latendresse, Kostitsyn, Grabovski, Begin, Kostopolous, Chipchura...I like this group. Maybe one serious body short but they should be fun to watch.

The blueline will miss Craig Rivet. Like countless other non-flashy anglos through the years (Doug Jarvis, Jimmy Roberts, Brian Skrudland, Mike McPhee, Mike Keane, Turner Stevenson, Lyle Odelein among others) Rivet was under appreciated here. He struggled through the first part of last season but he's a proud guy and might have let his contract status get the better of him. He sure looked like the old, solid Rivet once he made it to San Jose. Anybody who'd rather have Mathieu Dandenault or Francis Boullion ought to have their hockey heads examined.

Andrei Markov served notice last spring at the World Hockey Championships that he was ready to elevate his play. His decsion to re-sign here also seems to have loosened him up. By far the Habs best player during training camp Markov is now ready to join a select group of NHL defensemen. Not quite Lidstrom or Pronger territory but just a rung lower.

Mike Komisarek is a star-in-the-making. Roman Hamrlik is a dependable, strong, minutes-eating, experienced two way vet the Canadiens sure could have used the last few seasons.

Dandenault and Boullion appear to be on their way out. Mark Streit has zoomed past both of them and will be asked to fill a huge void on the power play. Josh Gorges? I still don't know what he looks like. And Patrice Brisebois. Oy.

A year ago at this time Bob Gainey swung a deal that appeared to make sense. Mike Ribeiro for Janne Niinimaa. The trade looked good. For about three weeks. 12 months later Gainey again needs to make a move. The current hole on defense will not be filled by Ryan O'Byrne or anybody else in Hamilton. Which is why goaltending will be even more important than it usually is. Which is why I like a multiple award winning 20 year old over a 32 year old knee flopper.

Can Cristobal Huet take the Habs into the post-season? He's done it once. To do it again he'd have to perform some magic...

Magic **** 1/2 Springsteen at his rocking, rollicking, message-from-the-heartland best. I can already see the concert highlight that Montrealers evidently won't get to experience. Bruce and the E Street Band get you out of your seat feelin' oh so James Brown good before they deliver a kick to the gut and the mind with "Last To Die", invoking the John Kerry line about Iraq.

Who'll be the last to die for a mistake
The last to die for a mistake
Whose blood will spill, whose heart will break
Who'll be the last to die, for a mistake

Bic lighter anyone?

http://www.brucespringsteen.net/

McGuire Hates Montreal; Ryan Adams Doesn't

2007-09-24T19:46:00.000-07:00

Monday September 24 10:45 PM

So now even Pierre McGuire says the Canadiens won't make the playoffs. During his 5:25 hit today Pierre gave us his list of playoff teams in the eastern conference, as part of a TSN project:

1. Ottawa
2. NY Rangers
3. Carolina (wins Southeast)
4. Pittsburgh
5. Philadelphia
6. NJ Devils
7. Buffalo
8. ?

Pierre wouldn't tell us who he picked for 8th, other than to say it was a "darkhorse". Not Florida. And not Montreal. There, further proof that the Montreal- born and raised McGuire hates the Habs.

Somewhere along the way being a die-hard Canadiens fan meant acting like a Leafs fan, taking every perceived slight or criticism of their team oh so personally. Maybe it's just an extension of the in-game experience at the always sold out Bell Center. (Remember making fun of those Leafs fans who kept showing up at Maple Leaf Gardens year after year while they're team finished out of the playoffs or were quickly eliminated? Still find it funny?) Treat the customer like it's the first game they've ever been to and they start acting like hockey newbies.

McGuire thinks Cristobal Huet is playing over his head. Lambaste him. McGuire thinks Sheldon Souray has trouble in his own end. Crucify him. McGuire think Guilluame Latendresse should have been sent back to Junior. Ridicule him. McGuire thinks the Habs are in for a losing season. Fire him!

I'll make my picks next week. How I think the Habs finish will depend on the make up of the final roster. In the meantime, contrary to current popular opinion, here are a few reasons why I believe the Canadiens might make the playoffs:

Alex Kovalev will score more than 47 points.
Chris Higgins won't miss over 20 games.
Andrei Markov moves into legit #1 defenseman territory.
Mike Komisarek picks up where he left off a year ago. So does Thomas Plekanic.
Bryan Smolinski is better than Radek Bonk.
Roman Hamrlik is better than Sheldon Souray.
Tom Kostoplous is more valuable than Mike Johnson.
Michael Ryder is a free agent-to-be.
Sergei Samsanov is in Chicago.
The coaching staff-with 0 days of previous head coaching experience a year ago-will be better.
A nasty virus won't re-emerge at Christmas time.
Key players (especially captain Koivu) won't take nearly as many penalties in the offensive zone.
Andrei Kostitsyn will show why he was selected 10th overall in the 2003 draft.

What about the loss of Souray on the power play? I'll get to that more in-depth next week. But of the 19 power play goals that he takes to Edmonton with him, do you think the Canadiens get absolutely nothing back?

Once again this year we at Melnick in the Afternoon are offering the opportunity of a lifetime for an enterprising business type who loves his or her Habs. The chance to sponsor a segment, small as it might be, every afternoon at 5:15 called "Michel Bergeron can kiss Saku Koivu's ass".
Please send an e-mail to drive@team990.com addressed to me. Imagine. Everyday during the hockey season and the playoffs you'll get to hear me say, "Michel Bergeron can kiss Saku Koivu's ass! Brought to you by (your company)". Don't wait.

Red Sox-Yankees. Yankees-Red Sox. Yankees-Angels. Red Sox-Angels. Ho-Hum.
Sorry but even as a Red Sox fan I want to see the Cleveland Indians win the world series. I've seen my miracle Red Sox season. I can wait a little longer for a second. Cleveland fans have been waiting since 1948.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/CLE/1948.shtml

Plus it would give the rest of the world a chance to see so many terrific players they know so little about including Victor Martinez, Ryan Garko, Jhonny Peralta, Franklin Gutierrez, Casey Blake, Fausto Carmona, Rafael Perez, Rafael Betancourt (5-1, 1.41, 76 IP, 49 H, 9 BB, 75 K!) and the best former Expo never to play for the Expos Grady Sizemore. Difficult as it might be to think that a team who's closer is Joe Borowski can get by Jonathan Papelbon, Mariano Rivera or Fransisco Rodriguez but stranger things have happened. And if the Cubs can win the NLCS in search of their first world series win since 1908 then we'd really have something to talk about. A world series featuring the two worst closers in modern history (Borowski-a former Cub & Ryan Dempster). Anybody seen Steve Bartman lately?

Ben Cahoon tells Herb Zurkowsky there are "in-house issues" affecting the Alouettes moments after they lose their second straight game to a very mediocre Edmonton Eskimos team and VP & GM & Head Coach Jim Popp questions the play calling of his offensive co-oridnator and two days after Herb reported that Don Matthews had been in town as a guest of owner Robert Wettenhall, something Popp was not aware of until questioned about it by Herb. There's no smoke here. It's a full blown fire. And Robert Wettenhall will not watch his team go up in flames while getting ready to add 5,000 new seats to Molson Stadium. Not Surprisingly Zurkowsky thinks re-hiring Matthews is a terrible idea.

http://communities.canada.com/montrealgazette/blogs/thesnap/default.aspx

For all those in the Montreal media (and I mean all) who couldn't stand the guy (continuously harping on Matthews as if the fans cared about their problems dealing with him) I ask, now what? There too likely goes your Grey Cup expense account.

It was so good to see singer-songwriter Ryan Adams in a positive frame of mind last wednesday in a (at least) one-third empty Theatre St. Denis. Perhaps put-off by his last performance at The Spectrum (puffing away madly on cigarettes when he wasn't downing Beaujolais right out of the bottle and challenging the obligatory idiot who yelled out "Summer of '69!") or competition from Rilo Kiley across town at La Tulipe not enough music fans came out to watch the newly straight and sober Adams with his group The Cardinals ("Our group" says Adams. "I'll never be a solo act again"). Pity. The sound was as pristine as I've ever heard in the place while Adams' voice soared to new heights. After jamming out on "Beautiful Sorta" Adams announced that his underwear had snuck up into his crack making the jam a little difficult. Yes, he was in a playful mood, describing his off-day browsing in a french bookstore, poking fun at himself "Not that I'd know what it's like to perform on stage on drugs and alcohol" and riffing hysterically on Bon Jovi and a massive leather jacket (you had to be there). Most of it all it was about the songs. Delivered with passion and focus including "Off Broadway" and "Goodnight Rose" from Easy Tiger, "Peaceful Valley", "Dear John", "Magnolia Mountain", "Cold Roses" solo at the piano versions of "Sylvia Plath" and "Sweet L'il Gal" plus, among others "Rescue Blues" and "Goodnight Hollywood Boulevard".
Here's hoping his daily speedballs are gone forever. As a singer-songwriter-guitarist and bandleader I can think of only Jack White and Jeff Tweedy who can rival Adams among the under 40 crowd in rock and roll. We need them.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/17/arts/music/17decu.html

The Cro Flies in; Briere Flies South

2007-09-12T16:40:00.000-07:00

Wednesday September 12 8:00 PM

Warren Cromartie aka "Chief Running Mouth" has been in Montreal all week...in studio with me everyday at three...what a treat...Cro deserves a lot of credit for trying to revive the Expos fantasy camp....Mike Stenhouse ran it from 1993-1997....I was fortunate enough to be a part of all of them....winning the Cy Young award in year one....the entire experience was an absolute joy....if you've always wanted to check one out it looks like you'll be able to do so this january....Cro and his friends (including Stenhouse) are THIS close to finalizing plans....please stay tuned to The Team 990 for a chance to win a coveted spot to the camp...in the meantime, if you have any questions at all send Cro an email at warrencromartie49@yahoo.com

This just in: Daniele Briere says he didn't sign with the Canadiens because there are too many french people in Montreal while player agent Bob Perno says Saku Koivu is a "cancer" in the room....

Quite a start to the NFl season, huh? Randy Moss and Terrell Owens combine for 15 receptions for 270 yards (that's 18 yards a catch) and 3 td's..wonder what Keyshawn Johnson was thinking?...Shaun Alexander (105 yrds rushing) serves notice that he's healthy while LaDainien Tomlinson shows-again-that he can beat you in more ways than any other player in the league with 7 receptions and an all-important TD pass in a tight win over the Bears....LT's Passing rating for the day-158.3....passing rating for his career (8-11 with 7 TD's)-154.4'...I know the Chargers are a strong pick by many to win the AFC but really, unless Peyton Manning tears up his knee or Bill Belichick joins the CIA can you really see a team coached by Norv Turner get past Belichick or Tony Dungy?...Personally I'm rooting for Manning, hoping to see Peyton win again while Eli at least comes close...Eli will do his part but it looks like he'll need help from a few retired Giants not named Tiki Barber...(Everson Walls, Pepper Martin, Lawrence Taylor...)..I'm also rooting for Brett Favre, Carson Palmer, Donovan McNabb, J.P. Losman and the New Orleans Saints...Losman? Check out final item in Peter King's column last week:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/peter_king/09/04/letters/2.html

Now, more than ever, we need more stories like the one about Losman. Which naturally brings us to Michael Vick and our leading contender for e-mail of the year:

Subject: Vick goin bye bye
Mitch;
Last Friday I returned from an extended sabbatical as a guest of the New York State Department of Corrections in beautiful downtown Altona N.Y. Fortunately Altona is close enough to the border that 990 comes in loud and clear. On Tuesday the 14th, all of cell block "C" rejoiced to here the news that Andie Bennett loves her "Bangs," there are now 8 guys willing to accommodate her as soon as they're paroled. Except for "Little Guido" who wants to give Rod Francis a pedicure and facial. With what I've learned I feel qualified to give Michael Vick some free advice for his up coming hiatus. The top ten pearls of wisdom:

10. Start smoking, cigarettes are like money.
9. Never call a screw a "screw".
8. Devout Muslims and Orthodox Jews eat better.
7. If offered a "Milkbone" decline.
6. Those women who look like Cher, Liza Minelli and Madonna are not.
5. Cock fighting isn't what you think it is.
4. "The Longest Yard" is just a movie.
3. Avoid prison rodeos, especially "bareback riding".
2. Learn to "moonwalk" in the shower.
1. Don't forget to set your TiVo before you leave.

R.K. Kahnawake (via Altona)

This just in: Daniele Briere says he signed with the Flyers instead of the Habs because he prefers hoagies to smoked meat...must be Koivu's fault...an unnamed agent claims Koivu had no intention of ever taking Briere to Schwartz's...

Feeling Nostalgic

2007-09-05T16:38:00.000-07:00

Wednesday Sept 5 7:45 PM

You know what say about nostalgia-it never goes out of style.

I was reminded recently by Elliott Price that we had just passed a significant date in our broadcasting careers. We did our first on-air gig together 25 years ago last month.

I was hired by Jeff Rimer at CFCF-radio in september of 1981, just in time to (kind of) experience Blue Monday (chronicled in an earlier but no longer available blog-I've since learned how to save- but rescuscitated here (after a frantic google search) for your enjoyment:

http://www.baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?t=52831

By the spring of '82 I had established myself as a talented smart-ass who still sounded several gallons of whiskey and hundreds of cartons of cigarettes away from having any kind of depth to my voice. But I brought an attitude into the booth and pressbox shaped not by what teams or players wanted me to say but having grown up watching and reading Howard Cosell and Jim Bouton and listening to talk shows, especially south of the border, that featured hosts who were outspoken. Here in Montreal Ted Tevan ruled the airwaves, hardly a yes man to anybody. So I had an attitude that rubbed some older members of the media the wrong way but those who took the time to listen realized that I had the smarts, and most importantly, the passion, to go with the attitude. Bob Dunn was one of those guys.

Dunn had been an Expos beat writer who later became the sports director at CJAD where they were attempting to re-build the sports department and "get younger" (some things never change). He had already hired a young kid from Ontario who sounded even squeakier than I did but who was clearly on the fast track to a newtork job. His name was Chris Cuthbert.

I was told to phone Dunn (quick lesson on negotiating from strength: let them call you) which I did that June. I was hired only after he agreed to bump my starting salary to a more reasonable
$14, 500. I was late for my first shift (co-hosting a show called "Sunday Morning Sportspage") but hey, as Larry Parrish once said, "I was single, in my early 20's and living in downtown Montreal...") but smoothed things over the following monday. It was the first week of july. On my way out for lunch I walked out of the Fort street elevator right passed a young guy with an even bigger head of curls than mine. Later, I was told that Bob had just hired somebody from Regina to fill out the department. A native Montrealer who was described to me just as that guy I had passed in the elevator. Name was Elliott Price.

Elliott and I first appeared on the air together in August of 1982. There was instant chemistry. We came from similar backgrounds although he had to go the Maritimes to do a country music show (Haggard rules!) before driving out to Regina for what he promised that station manager would be a long term arrangement. Three days later he was on his way back to Montreal. Thankfully, I never had to leave town, cutting my teeth at CKO Radio, before heading back to school, then a cross-continent trip during the baseball strike of 1981 and eventually to CFCF.

In August of 1982 The Expos had gone through umpteen second basemen while trying to replace Rodney Scott (Wallace Johnson, Mike Gates, Frank Taveras, Tim Raines (yes-Raines), Bryan Little, Joel Youngblood and Mike Phillips) before finally settling on Doug Flynn. And a few southpaws trying to replace Bill Lee (Randy Lerch anyone? Tom Gorman? Dave Tomlin? Chris Welch in '83) before finally re-acquiring Dan Schatzeder. The so-called Team of the 80's was falling apart. It didn't take long for Dunn's boys to go after the culprits, namely John McHale and Jim Fanning.

Professional soccer was "the next big thing" in North America in the 1970's thanks to the New York Cosmos and the North American Soccer league. In the summer of '82 The Montreal Manic
were into its second season after a move from Philadelphia. With former Cosmos coach Eddie Firmani leading the way, the Manic, bankrolled by Molson's, appeared on solid ground averaging over 21 thousand fans a game at Olympic Stadium. Chris Cuthbert was the radio voice of the franchise, occasionally calling games in front of over 55,000 fans.

Montreal's CFL franchise in 1982 was actually known as the Concordes. The Alouettes died following the 1981 season when Nelson Skalbania tried to buy a Grey Cup by importing NFL stars Vince Ferragamo, James Scott and Billy "White Shoes" Johnson. As was the case with baseball in 1968, Charles Bronfman came to the rescue and in august of '82 the franchise seemed as solid in Montreal as baseball itself.

In the summer of '82 the Montreal Canadiens were coached by Bob Berry who would spend many a post game media session slumped on a chair in his office, head down, puffing on cigarettes (usually bummed off Elliott or Randy Tieman) while waiting for the 5-6 reporters to finish up so he could head up to DJ's on Crescent for a couple of drinks and a lot more (bummed) cigarettes. Berry had reason to stress. Even though the '82 Habs featured Lafleur, Shutt, Robinson, Lapointe and Gainey the magic of the late 70's was clearly gone. Their leading scorer was Keith Acton. The goaltending, two years removed from the Ken Dryden era, was merely adequate (Rick Wamsley, Denis Herron, Richard Sevigny). And Doug Wickenheiser, drafted instead of Denis Savard in 1980, had scored a total of 19 goals in his first two seasons while Savard's 81-82 season produced 119 points for Chicago. But surely help was on the way in 1982-83 after Irving Grundman's staff, with its first two selections, drafted Alain Heroux and Jocelyn Gauvreau. By the end of the season Berry and Grundman (and his staff including Ron Caron) were gone. And the Ron Corey era would begin.

We've seen a lot, Elliott and I in the last 25 years. Covered most of it. Would have made a good full time radio team if only radio execs had more of "that vision thang" that Bob Dunn had way back then. We've been roommates, radio opponents, brief adversaries and finally on air partners once again during the last two years of the Expos. Somewhere along the way we also became related. Didn't really need a marriage to make that happen. We've been brothers since August of 1982.

1982 Habs & Expos you might have forgotten about:

Jeff Brubaker, Dan Daoust, Yvan Joly, Bill Kitchen, Mark Holden, John Newberry, Dave Orleski, Bill Root, Dwight Schofield; Terry Francona, Brad Mills, Tim Blackwell, Brad Gulden, Bob James,Roy Johnson, Dan Norman, Chris Smith.

Nostalgia-it ain't what it used to be.

How Conveeeeeeeenient!!!

2007-08-27T19:07:00.000-07:00

Monday August 27 10:00 PM

Michael Vick and Dana Carvey (aka the Church Lady) linked forever. I'd love to be in Carvey's presence right about now. Convince him to take the Church lady on the road. First stop Hollywood. Paris Hilton step right up. Can Lindsay Lohan be far behind? (and what's with Owen Wilson???)....Paris, after yelling for Mommy, does (soft) time, appears on Larry King to announce that she's found Jesus. Give Vick some credit. He didn't wait for his CNN appearance. Or even HBO's Real Sports. We all got the scoop at the same time. Time will tell if Vick's confession is a righteous one. But at this very moment it seems as though he read from the same damage-control script as Hilton did.

I think Jesus was a helluva guy (sorry, make that heckuva). He intrigues me at least as much as Babe Ruth. Or Eddie Shore. But I can't help but think that if the original JC were around today his face would be filled by a constant stream of tear drops. Much like that commercial from the 70's featuring the Native American crying over what polluters have done to his land.
Don't remember it/Never seen it?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3QKvEy0AIk

If I could speak to Michael Vick I'd ask him if he ever listened to Kris Kristofferson instead of Roc-a-fella
http://www.homestead.com/deehymn/whyme.html

http://www.nflplayers.com/players/player.aspx?id=30067&section=qa

Good judgement...hmmm. Could it have been... SATAN???

August 20-July 4 (Or How I Spent My Summer)

2007-08-20T18:34:00.000-07:00

Monday August 20, 9:30 PM

1st attempt at a blog in hebrew...back to front...Michael Vick is guilty, now let him plead for mercy on his hands and knees...doggy style...attended 14th annual Ottawa Folk Festival saturday at Brittania Park on the Ottawa River....Kris Kristofferson was headliner, age 72 but looking at least 20 years younger...Buffy Sainte Marie also looks terrific at age 65 (?)(she's the Satchel Paige of singer-songwriters)..plus Jimmy Lafave, Ray Bonneville, Eliza Gilkyson, Oh Susanna, Penny Lang, Michael Jerome Browne and many others....Woody Guthrie was dominant theme...his daughter Nora was featured guest along with Lafave and Kristofferson during saturday afternoon interview session with Mike Regenstreif plus the travelling Guthrie tribute show "Ribbon of Highway" closed the concert after 1 sunday morning...listen for audio highlites on mike's thursday morning CKUT show...kristofferson was truly shocked that woody guthrie is not in country music hall of fame...
http://www.ribbonofhighway.com/

I dont know what Dan Patrick is going to do now(apparently neither does he) but count me among the crowd that will miss him on ESPN radio, especially right before my own show....Patrick signed off friday at 4 after 18 years at ESPN...
http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-patrick10jul10,1,1292278.story?track=crosspromo&coll=la-headlines-sports&ctrack=2&cset=true

I've had a major crush on Emmylou Harris since the time I first saw her on The Mike Douglas Show in the mid-70's...now 60 emmylou headlined a show in shelbourne, vermont on august 6th...not only does she sing like an angel (and looks even better) but she is a baseball junkie who keeps a portable sportsticker backstage to keep track of her favorite team, the atlanta braves...and is a big time animal lover, especially dogs, fostering three at a time until they are ready for adoption...how do you think she feels about michael vick?...wish she could find out how i feel about her...
http://www.emmylou.net/

What did I learn about myself after taking all but one day in july off?...that i could easily do it again...don't get me wrong, i love this job but after nearly 30 years i discovered that i enjoy doing nothing even more..well, not exactly nothing but just having the opportunity to sit under a tree on the lachine canal...or enjoy a pint on the terrace at hurley's...or meet a friend for a movie...all between 3 and 7...was a real treat...so was pulling my first all-nighter in years...first all-nighter without worrying about being coherent the next day...i'll spare you most of the details other than to say we forced Tony to open up early for us the next morning at Cosmo...and the mish-mash never tasted so good...there was plenty of music to enjoy, as always during a Montreal july but even by montreal standards this past july was exceptional...Dweezil Zappa and friends finished off the month in grand style...his second visit to montreal with "Zappa plays Zappa" in less than a year was sensational....as musician Liam Callaghan observed Zappa played the equivalent of six hours over two nights in town with a different band and did not play a single song twice...I found the moments that Dweezil "shared" the stage with his dad (beamed onto giant screen) very emotional...be sure to check out the videos, exceptional quality of two performances from his first montreal visit last october...
http://www.zappaplayszappa.com/index.html

I'd never say nearly 40 years is worth waiting for anybody or anything but John Fogerty sure delivered during his first ever Montreal appearance on july 17 at Place Des Arts..I heard some sound complaints but fogerty and his band-including kenny aranoff on drums and billy burnette on lead guitar- sounded tremendous from where i was located (corbeil-5th row)...so now that one of the best-if not THE best songwriter in American rock and roll history (that's songwriter-not lyricist) can anybody explain why Montrealers had to wait so long???...
http://www.johnfogerty.com/
http://www.kennyaronoff.com/
http://www.burnette-rock.com/BillyBurnette.htm

Canada week began in style at the JazzFest as I saw The Cowboy Junkies (my last show at The Spectrum), Van Morrison, Bob Dylan, The White Stripes and Buddy Guy from July 2-7.
Dylan, playing at Place Des Arts for the first time since 1966, was tremendous(what-you expected me to say he was crap?)...highlites included a slow, mournful "Shelter From the Storm" and a song that is currently my favorite from Modern Times-"Spirit On The Water"...when Dylan got to final verse of "Spirit" fans in cheap(er) seats had their say....
"You say I'm over the hill", sang Bob...followed by shouts of "NO! NO!"...
"You think I'm past my prime"..again followed by cries of "NO! NO! NO!"...
"Let me see what you got gal
We could have a whoppin' good time"
...we sure did...Dylan is still "headed for another joint"...currently in Australia, he returns to North America in October for a series of concerts in U.S. college towns accompanied by Elvis Costello...
http://www.bobdylan.com/moderntimes/songs/spiritonthewater.html

I knew The Spectrum was too good to be true...I haven't been to every select rock club in north america but I have been to a lot and none of them are/were better than The Spectrum...I consider it a privilege to have played a small but vital role in the history of the venue as a member of BillyBob Productions...we (Lloyd Fischler, Gary Silverman, Andrew Besner) coaxed Jesse Winchester out of hibernation in January of 1998 to help fill the place (with Loudon Wainwright III opening up)...I'll never forget the site of Jack Todd with tears rolling down his cheeks as Jesse sang "Yankee Lady"...Frank Marino, also on the comeback trail shortly afterwards, approached us to promote his return gig there and then to top it all off legendary singer-songwriter John Prine played a sold-out show (we even made money-$300) for us...Prine had previously never been asked to play Montreal...he slashed his usual performance fee (down to 10g) for us as long as we took him out for a genuine french meal...i asked him to play "Bad Boy" which he did...at soundcheck-just for me...perhaps not The Police circa 1982 but historic music nights nonetheless...and it couldn't have happened without us...(you're welcome)...The Prine concert also led me out of a hosting gig on "The Habs This Week" but that's a long story for another time...

Favorite Spectrum Shows (I can remember...)

1. John Prine
2. Stevie Ray Vaughan
3. Frank Marino & Mahogany Rush
4. Steve Earle
5. Jesse Winchester
6. Little Steven & Disciples Of Soul
7. Gary "U.S." Bonds
8. Clarence Clemons
9. Sonny Landreth
10.Daniel Lanois

www.johnprine.net

Spectrum Shows I wish I had seen:

Alvin Lee, Big Joe Turner, Cat Power, Iggy Pop, Joe Strummer, Lonnie Mack, Paul Butterfield, Phish, Rory Gallagher, Screaming Blue Messiahs, The Blasters w/The Fabulous Thunderbirds, The Replacements, Wilson Pickett

I've never been hassled by a wrestler before but this Green Phantom guy swears he's coming to get me this week....anyone have Jacques Rougeau's phone #?...

http://youtube.com/watch?v=BLvApsbEJbo

Back In The Saddle Again

2007-08-08T20:24:00.000-07:00

Wednesday August 8th 11:25 PM

....Now where was I?

Received a couple of humorous text messages on my cellphone recently.....at 3:23 this afternoon:

"I liked Picard better"
From: pj

And from Aug 3 @ 5:44 PM:

"This is Oliver from The Stills. I'm so sorry to bother you but I'm so fucking pissed about the Brisebois signing I just had to tell you! Have a nice weekend!"

Oliver (Crowe) is actually Olivier Corbeil, bass player for the popular Montreal rock group. And that's how I found out that Brisebois was back. Oh, the angst. More on this later in the week. But I'll say this. I'd rather have Brisebois than Luke Richardson (Richardson just signed a similar deal with Ottawa).

http://www.myspace.com/thestills

Where's Bud? (composed 1:30 AM AUG 8)

watchin' Bonds on tv
waiting on the hit
playin' the old expos
do you believe that shit?
without a homer
the game's a dud
but I keep thinking
where's Bud?

the pitcher's name is Bacsik
an ordinary lefty
Hey-there's Tony Batista!
(looking a little hefty)
and Brian Schneider, like Wilkerson in Texas
how their careers went thud!
they're all there in 'Frisco but
where's Bud?

thousands of flashbulbs on every pitch
lighting up the park
watch him go 2 for 2
not a bad way to start
Kuiper and Krukow upstairs keeping it real
(I suddenly find myself thinking of Todd Zeile)
steroids make it unreal?
who am I to judge
the only question I really have is
where's Bud?

Into the 5th; third time up
25 is on every pitch
locked-in, looking good
he's really going to do it
(the son of a bitch)
seven pitches in, the ball strikes
Sam Holman's wood
Deep to right center
and there Barry stood
alone

40 years later it's another love-in
in San Fransisco
but now there's no reason to go
unless you'd like to visit F.P. Santangelo
a New York kid gets the ball
kind of fitting, with Willie in the hall
755 shows some class
a lot more than barry who spent his career
asking everybody to kiss his ass
and suck his
blood
but where's Bud?

let the debate begin
hall of fame? No question he's in
asterisk? Leave alone his next of kin
Barry didn't start this fight
he just took it to a different height
looking for a villian
who's wrong and who's right?
look no further than the man who led the sport
dragging it through the mud
Look! There's Bud

Among many e-mails received today (from our New York producer Stu Hackel)

Welcome back.

I am not among those confused about Bonds, of course. As a Giants fan, I've cheered this guy for 15 years, like all the iconoclasts in San Francisco (which is the entire city, most likely). I may not like his standoffish attitude toward the media or the fact he did steroids, but so did so many others. Brunt alluded to this, that so many people were complicit in Bonds taking supplements, but I think of it in even stronger terms. I think Baseball forced Bonds (and others) to take this stuff by turning a blind eye to it in the quest for home runs, the weapon the sport used to win fans back and revive their business after the mid-90s strike. This is the era in which Bonds played and, not only does Bud Selig have no moral high ground to be critical of Bonds, but no one does. Bonds doesn't do himself any favors by being curt and disparaging of the media, of course, but the media has ganged up on him. He's an easy target and I find the media's treatment of him the same as most of the US media accords hockey, jumping on every little wrinkle and gaffe as proof the NHL is not a major league sport, when in fact, they don't understand the game and have no desire to broaden their shallow understanding of it.

And you know something? I think the MLB players by in large have supported and cheered Bonds on. They understand the magnitude of his accomplishment, they understand the era in which he lived, they know he is probably the greatest hitter and one of the greatest players who ever lived. You don't see a gigantic outcry from the players to condemn him for cheating. The few who have (I think Schilling was one) have gotten headlines, but I sense most of the players are happy for him.

Personally, this guy won a bunch of games for the team I cheer for, a seven time MVP, and -- just like a hated visiting irritating hockey player, a Chelios, a John Ferguson, maybe every sandpaper guy except Claude Lemieux -- every baseball fan would be happy to have had Barry Bonds to have him on their team, wearing their uniform and winning games for them. Given who he is and the way he carries himself, he is fated to be hated in every city he plays in except his home team and their fans..

Stu

A more nastier e-mail was sent by a Montreal wrestler who goes by the name "Green Phantom". Apparently Mr. Greenie took exception to my recent posting of an old Phil Mushnick column about steroids in wrestling.
This ugly guy (must be ugly since he hides behind a mask) says I should "watch my back everday between 3 and 7".
Oooh, I'm scared. At least I know where to bite him:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDC08_issBc

See You Later, Alan Ginsberg

2007-07-21T10:50:00.000-07:00

Saturday July 21st 1:45 PM

What am I doing inside on this first gorgeous day since mid-week? Well, as somebody who gets on fellow bloggers for not updating their sites more often, I was about to start whipping myself. Plus, I just completed an email to Gail Zappa in an effort to get her on the air next week to discuss the upcoming Zappa plays Zappa concert and the recently released DVD on the making of two hugely important albums of all-time, not just the 1970's: Apostrophe (') & Over-Nite Sensation.
http://www.zappa.com/

I'm having a great time. Who wouldn't want to hang out in Montreal for the month of July? Will tell all when I'm back in August.

Hi-lights include Van Morrison & Bob Dylan back to back at Place des Arts during the Jazz Fest, Buddy Guy at Metropolis wading into the crowd and buying a round of shots for everybody at the bar closest to the stage and Shane Murphy's raucous cd launch on friday the 13th in front of an over-capacity crowd that included Habs GM Bob Gainey.
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=18101956

Low-light? The death of one of my earliest hockey heroes John Ferguson. I had the privilege of interviewing Fergy many times through the years. Stay tuned for an in-depth tribute when I get back on the air.

Looking forward to director Todd Haynes' take on Bob Dylan. The Biopic "I'm Not There" features several different actors playing Dylan at various stages of his career, including Cate Blanchett. Check this out, it might have been filmed in Rawdon:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imGyrMce-pU

Back on the air Wednesday August 8th. Enjoy the sun.

Zebras, Free Agents & Bruno Sammartino

2007-06-27T19:30:00.000-07:00

Wednesday June 27 10:30 PM

Just got back from a wonderful afternoon and evening with members of the NHL Officials Association. Last year Montreal native Dave Jackson organized a BBQ in his back yard. Today we were at an art gallery in Lachine. Beautiful place. New York style loft run by Mike Valee. If you need a fully equipped loft to showcase art or rent it out for a private party, cd launch or Scientology convention be sure to contact Mike:
http://www.canvasmontreal.com/

Much like a year ago the officials were terrific guests, offering thoughtful, insightful commentary on the state of the game and their profession. Most noteworthy moment for me was Don Koharski's response to my question about there being no doubt that the post lockout NHL rulebook has delivered on it's promise, no matter the criticism.
"3o years in the league...it's the best hockey I've seen" said Koharski who runs an officiating camp every summer in Boucherville.
http://www.dkrefcamps.com/

The officials get together each year to honor the late Stephane Provost and to help his young family.
http://www.nhlofficials.com/display_news.asp?articleID=106

For the last two years we've had the opportunity to spend quality air time with Jackson, Koharski, Mike Leggo, Don VanMassenhoven, Terry Gregson, Greg Devorksi, Jean Morin,
Brian Murphy, Pierre Racicot, Brad Watson, Rob Shick, Bill McCreary and Director of Officiating Stephen Walkom. The NHL would be doing itself a big favour by allowing these guys the freedom to talk at length during the season and the playoffs. They care every bit as deeply about their sport as players, coaches, and managers. (I hesitate to add owners only because Boston's Jeremy Jacobs has been named Chairman of the Board of Governors. What's next-Bill Wirtz as Director of Marketing?)
http://www.nhlofficials.com/home.asp

And now for your viewing pleasure, described by Greg Devorski as the easiest fight he's had to break up since both guys were so tired...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJJPivHWy2k

I liked the idea of having this year's draft in prime time but couldn't GM's have done a little more to co-operate? I realize you can't force guys to make trades but if the event were any duller it would be called The NHL Awards Show. Thank goodness Pierre McGuire was around to describe the slippage of Russian Alexei Cherepanov as "Unonscionable". McGuire was just about the only TSN Staffer to win props from former hockey fan Bill Simmons in his post draft blog on ESPN:
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/070625

Why all the continued hand-wringing over the Habs decsion to skip Angelo Esposito? Don't think Max Pacioretty will raise the passion level in Lasalle and St. Leonard?

I'm far more interested in right now. I've believed all along that Bob Gainey will make a dramatic player move or two (trade, free agent signing or both) beacuse he has to. A team that hasn't played to an empty seat since 2004 has to deliver more than a 10th place finish. So, assuming Sheldon Souray is gone, who becomes the most sought after free agent for Habs fans come Sunday morning? Here's how my shopping list would look, with even more slippage anticipated than Cherapanov and Esposito combined:

1. Chris Drury - perfect combo at C, might get 7 million
2. Brian Rafalski - best playmaking D, much better than Souray
3. Ryan Smith- Oh Canada and Oh can he play
4. Peter Forsberg - superstar C who plays like a Sutter; expiry date very near
4. Daniel Briere - Oh Quebec
5. Scott Gomez - Scary good and just 27
6. Jason Blake - last 3 goal scoring seasons: 22, 28, 40
7. Paul Kariya - yes Habs need size, but if he wants to play here...
8. Teemu Selanne - retiring after 48 goal season? Imagine Koivu & Selanne...
9. Roman Hamrlik - when Rafalski signs elsewhere
10.Brad Stuart - ok, so when Hamrlik goes elsewhere...
11. Scott Hannan - strong leader type
12. Corey Sarich -big, strong, young, much needed RH shot
13. Brent Sopel - Souray lite
14. Andy Sutton - thus ends our run of defensemen
15. Todd Bertuzzi; And just for fun Ed Belfour because once the Habs trade Huet they'll need an experienced back up...and while we're at it...Ladislav Nagy & Eric Lindros...then sign restricted free agent Sean Avery and watch 110% studio implode....oy, it's getting late

But seriously, Michel Ouellet cut loose by Pittsburgh at 25 is very intriguing; as is 6'5" 26 year old winger Brad Winchester non-tendered by Edmonton. And I'd like to see the Habs bring Aaron Asham back to play alongside Maxime Lapierre/Steve Begin.

You can watch the free agent frenzy unfold live on TSN. Don't look for the Bill Simmons sequel on monday.

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=212042&hubname=

The first thing I thought of after hearing the news that wrestler Chris Benoit had killed his family and then himself was Phil Mushnick. Mushnick is a New York Post columnist who made his name critiquing members of the electronic sports media in the Big Apple. He usually takes the high-sometimes too high-moral ground on issues but can be relentless once he has a target in sight. But to his credit, he's usually way ahead of the curve on the most important issues dogging the world of sports and the sports media world. For instance, this is just one in a series of columns he wrote on the sad state of professional wrestling. This was ELEVEN years ago:
http://www.solie.org/articles/gilbert.html

And five years later:

WWF DROPS GOP INTO GUTTER
(New York Post, August 13, 2000)
By Phil Mushnick
The worst forces of popular culture now are more powerful than mainstream, two-party American presidential politics.
To sleep, perchance to dream - even a bad one - has become a welcomed alternative to the nightmarish reality of witnessing the free fall of common decency and common sense at the highest levels of media, commerce and politics. Anything for a buck, anything for a vote.
Two weeks ago in Philadelphia, in nominating George W. Bush as its presidential candidate, the Republican Party reached a new low in expeditious, Machiavellian pandering.
While the Republican Party ostensibly stands for good, old-fashioned family values, its special guests during its presidential convention were none other than the leading action figures of the World Wrestling Federation, an organization practiced at wearing its sweet, civic-minded mask when needed, but that's long been in the business of popularizing degenerate acts.
That the Republican Party was able to escape widespread and lasting ridicule for embracing the WWF during a presidential convention is evidence of a news media that is either sorrowfully blind to the WWF's content or, in the case of television news, co-opted by their networks' investments in pro wrestling.
Two Mondays ago, as the Republican National Convention began in Philly, Vince McMahon's WWF staged a nationally televised show in Atlanta. It featured its usual pornographic, hateful and violent performances that have made it so attractive to children, young adults and now, three months before a presidential election, to the Republican Party.
At one point, a group of barely clothed, large-breasted WWF women paraded outside the Georgia Dome in a mock demonstration. They encouraged onlookers to chant, "Save the Ho's!"
"Ho's" is street for whores. Little boys now reflexively refer to little girls as bitches and ho's in large part thanks to McMahon and his national TV enablers, which now, incredibly, include NBC and CBS.
As a WWF camera panned the crowd, children, some no older than 8, chanted, "Save the Ho's!"
During the in-house, scripted prime-time TV show, McMahon's latest top star, The Rock, slammed a shapely female wrestler to the mat. She was left stretched out, "unconscious," on her back.
The Rock then grabbed a folding chair and hit a male nemesis over the head with it. He staggered, then fell, also "unconscious." He landed with his face in her crotch and her face in his crotch. And there they stayed as The Rock sauntered around the ring, grinning broadly and knowingly. The live audience, comprised of thousands of children, was delighted.
Two nights later, this same guy, "The Rock," sat on the podium, among the Bush family, including the ex-President of the United States and his wife, Barbara. The Rock was an honored guest of the Republican Party and a featured speaker at the Republican National Presidential Convention in Philadelphia. This is the state of our nation.
In fact, Vince McMahon and his WWF were bestowed fully credentialed, VIP treatment at the convention. Within the same WWF show that included 8-year-olds chanting "Save the ho's" and The Rock's latest vile performance, came remote video reports from a WWF announcer working the floor from the Republican National Convention.
If only The Rock had brought along the tape from that show, two nights earlier, to demonstrate to the delegates and to national TV audiences what makes him so popular among younger folks that he was worthy of featured speaker status at the Republican Presidential Convention. And just how badly the Republicans were being had.
If only he had brought along tapes of some of his celebrated TV acts, like the one where he demands sex by hollering a profane expression for the female genitalia. That one was popular enough to inspire McMahon to sell merchandise carrying The Rock's visage along with the unprintable expression.
Why didn't The Rock and McMahon demonstrate to the assembled exactly why they're so popular that they were worthy of invites as honored guests and speakers? Why so circumspect before this audience?
Linda McMahon, Vince's wife, addressed a Republican Convention symposium entitled "The American Dream." Why didn't she distribute some of those oversized, foam rubber hands - the ones with the raised middle finger - that the WWF sells to kids at shows and features on TV?
Why didn't she explain to her Republican Convention audience how one of the WWF's most popular acts features wrestlers pointing to their crotches and hollering "Suck it"? Why didn't she provide full disclosure to her audience, especially to the uninitiated, as to how she and her husband have fulfilled their American Dream?
"Ladies and gentlemen" she might have begun, "I stand before you today to tell you that we've grown fabulously wealthy by selling violence, homophobia, misogyny, twisted sex, negative ethnic stereotyping and senseless hate to American children!
"We have grown rich, famous and powerful by doing dirt to society, but especially to your children. That's the realization of our American Dream. Oh, and God knows how many of our wrestlers are juiced to the max on steroids. Good day."
The Republican Party is one that largely embraces the sanctity of the Bible. Why didn't Mrs. McMahon or The Rock or Vince, while working the convention, tell their audiences how Stone Cold Steve Austin, another WWF American Dream money-maker, draws approval among young audiences by making lewd gestures and mocking the New Testament?
Why didn't Vince, or Linda, or The Rock speak of the modern, ongoing history of the WWF - and all of pro wrestling, for that matter - that includes rampant and systematic drug abuse? Why not a roll call of the wrestlers who have died closeted deaths from drug overdoses in order to "get big" for the likes of the McMahons?
Why not talk about the ring announcer/ring boss in the McMahons' employ who was widely known to use his position to sexually prey on under-aged boys? He operated with Vince's knowledge and to his amusement. McMahon cracked jokes about his deviance.
Why not show the tape of the transvestite oral sex scene that the WWF staged and aired in primetime? McMahon claimed to have loved that one, so why not share it with those delegates who might have missed it?
Why not a moment of silence for Owen Hart, who died last year performing a pay-per-view stunt for McMahon? Why not note for the assembled that after Hart was killed the show not only continued, but the next night, McMahon, rather than allow his wrestlers to mourn, gathered them for a national TV show to exploit Hart's death for bigger-than-usual ratings?
Or why not tell the Republican National Convention how the WWF's physician did a stretch in federal prison for distributing drugs to McMahon and his wrestlers?
Why not tell the Republican Party about how major TV advertisers, including the U.S. Armed Forces, pulled out of WWF shows because their content has become so vile?
Of all the "works" McMahon has pulled, this one's tops. The Republican National Committee provided the WWF with a starring role during its presidential convention. Staggering.
The WWF is extremely hot among the young, so the Republicans wanted a piece of the feel. They may not know why it's hot. They may not even care. Look what pro wrestling did for Jesse Ventura.
McMahon lately has talked big about how 14 million eligible voters watch the WWF every week. Bigshots within the Republican Party must've bought that.
While the WWF is enormously popular, on a good night it attracts roughly 7 million viewers, nearly 40 percent of whom are minors. How does that translate into 14 million voters?
But that's McMahon. One day he says the WWF is adult entertainment, the next day he brags about the increased number of kids who watch. One day he says it's up to parents to monitor what their kids watch, the next day he grows solemn and speaks of how his father was never around when he was growing up.
One day he says that there's no drug problem within the WWF, the next day he admits that there's a big drug problem within the WWF. One day he holds a news conference to declare that he has instituted rigid drug testing, the next day he says there's no drug testing because no one cares if his wrestlers are on drugs.
And just a few days ago, he and his charges took time out from producing another disgusting, kid-desensitizing national TV show to be the honored guests and speakers at the Republican National Presidential Convention. And the WWF, we're told, will be embraced by the Democrats this week in Los Angeles. God help us. _________________________________________

Summer's Here And The Time Is Right...

2007-06-18T16:42:00.000-07:00

Monday June 18 7:45 PM

I realize that golf courses are busy right now (remember what Mark Twain once said about golf, "A good walk spoiled") but here's a hint for those who's summer social gatherings stretch beyond the golf crowd. We non-golfers don't care about your game, your clubs, your holes, your pars, your slices, your back nines, your tee shots, your 19th hole shots or anything else remotely to do with your game. Oh, we might smile and pretend to listen but we're just being polite.

Why do you go on incessantly about a pasttime? Do you ever wonder just how much time you spend discussing something that should have been covered for good in the clubhouse or during the drive home?

Rarely, if ever, do I find myself trying to get away from somebody who's cornered me to talk about the on ice move they made during their oldtimers hockey game. Or the time they went into the hole at short while playing softball. Or the elbow they took under the basket in a game of 21. Or the number of laps they swam at the Y. Or the number of neighborhood enemies they've made because of their dominance on the tennis court. Or even the number of teeth they've lost because of a poorly thrown frisbee.

But the golfers; on and on and on they go as if they're on the PGA tour talking to their biographer. What's up with that? Does golf attract more obsessives than any other sport/activity? Any studies on this? (I don't really need to know but it would sure make sense.)

That's not to say I hate golf. I like it. I really do. I've watched it on televsion for over 35 years. I actually took it up a few years back. I especially enjoyed the non-green action. I simply don't have the time to devote. And I'm not big on rules. And I'd rather be on the water somewhere.
But I can definately see myself taking it up again, perhaps when the kids are gone. In the meantime I continue to follow, and enjoy hearing from, the real pros.

One day, no doubt about the same time my kids are out of the house, Tiger Woods will rightfully be called the greatest golfer of all time. He'll pass Jack Nicklaus in every category and that will be that. But not now. Not yet. And I don't put much into the argument that unlike Nicklaus he hasn't been able to come from behind to win, most recently this past weekend at the U.S. Open.

Like Phil Mickelsen winning a major, or Peyton Manning winning a Super Bowl, Woods is too talented not pull off a few come-from-behind wins before he's done. But will he still have the combination of desire and skill to win, when he's in his mid-40's sailing around the world on his 25 million dollar yacht?

The best in depth piece on Tiger vs Jack appeared a few years ago in Golf Digest.

http://www.golfdigest.com/features/index.ssf?/features/gd200212tigervsjack.html

John Muckler barely got his clubs out before discovering that he was no longer wanted or needed in Ottawa. Tough way to go for a 73 year old who's devoted so much of his life to hockey.
Wonder what Ted Nolan is thinking?

Bryan Murray is a good hockey man. But I've always wondered about guys who had already been GM's going back to work as a coach for a different GM. Has it ever ended well?

Good move by Bob Gainey to find a taker for Sergei Samsanov and free up some more money
to spend this summer. Let's see if Sergei is indeed serious about his immediate future. If he shows up for camp in Chicago 20 pounds lighter than he was last september than the Hawks just got a 25 goal scorer for next to nothing.

Brian Burke now has the total resume to back up the IQ. If I'm an NHL owner Burke automatically becomes my go-to guy to build a winner, contract be damned.

Has another GM in hockey in the last decade been able to move as quickly and effectively as Paul Holmgren? Since taking over for Bob Clarke just eight months ago Holmgren has already transformed the Flyers. He got Ryan Parent, Scottie Upshall plus a first round pick and a third round pick from Nashville for Peter Forsberg. He acquired big 21 year old defenseman Braydon Coburn from Atlanta for Alexei Zhitnick. He did something Clarke was never able to do; land a talented goaltender at the peak of his career, 30 year old Martin Biron from Buffalo. And now, giving wide new meaning to the phrase "pre-emptive strike", acquiring Scott Hartnell and Kimmo Timonen from Nashville and then locking up both. True, their contracts are outrageously high (a combined 10.5 million a year for six years) but there isn't a Flyers comptetitor in the east, including and especially the Canadiens, who wouldn't want both players.

Looks like Sheldon Souray will get his six million dollars a year afterall. But not from the Habs, thank goodness. Who do they target instead? Brian Rafalski? Tom Preissing? Brad Stuart? Darryl Sydor? 39 year old Teppo Numminen? Or the frequently pickled 35 year old Sandis Ozolinsh?

Make sure you read Tony Marinaro's "If I Were Bob" (Gainey) piece on this very site. It's on the lefthand side of the page. And remember to listen to live coverage of friday night's draft from Columbus right here on The Team 990, courtesy of The Fourth Period.

http://www.thefourthperiod.com/draft/

Pierre McGuire told us that during TSN's mock draft he selected Angelo Esposito 12th overall. The Canadiens draft 12th-and 22nd. Not a strong crop of players but there figures to be plenty of drama. I'm hoping the Habs can grab Colton Gillies, nephew of former Islanders great Clark Gillies.

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/feature/?fid=11063&hubname=

Finally got around to seeing "Knocked Up" over the weekend. I thought it was near perfect. Funny, intelligent, real and thought provoking. Seth Rogan might be the new Albert Brooks. Oh yeah, the music by Loudon Wainwright and Joe Henry is also a stand out.
http://www.knockedupmovie.com/

Some great new and great new old music recently (or about to be) released:

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club- Baby 81 **** Return to brooding, guitar drenched sound following acoustic/blues of "Howl". Writing has improved. Great live show at La Tulipe.
http://www.blackrebelmotorcycleclub.com/

A Tribute to June Carter Cash-Anchored In Love *** Loving all star tribute to underrated songwriter/performer frequently lost in a large shadow
http://www.anchoredinlove.com/

Leonard Cohen-Songs Of Leonard Cohen ****1/2 Debut album re-mastered. Marred only by over-production of John Simon.

-Songs From A Room **** Bird on the Wire, You Know Who I Am, Tonight Will Be Fine...
http://www.leonardcohen.com/

Joan Osbourne- Breakfast in Bed *** 1/2 Often spectacular covers of 70's soul plus a few originals http://www.joanosbourne.com/

Bruce Springsteen with The Sessions Band- Live In Dublin ***** If you're going to buy just one concert DVD all year make sure it's this one. Traditional music (and some Bruce originals, dramatically re-worked) has never sounded like this. Stunningly good. Two cd's as well.
http://www.brucespringsteen.net/

The Traveling Wilburys Collection **** George Harrison needs a B-side to go with a single from his late 1987 album "Cloud Nine". Harrison and friends (Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne) call Bob Dylan who invites them over to his home studio. Roy Orbison drops by. The "single" session("Handle With Care")becomes one of Rolling Stone's best albums of all-time. Orbison dies of a heart attack at 52. More on this in a later post.
http://www.travelingwilburys.com/

Watermelon Slim and The Workers - The Wheel Man *** 1/2 Former Vietnam vet and truck driver from Oklahoma is the real deal.
http://www.northernblues.com/

The White Stripes- Icky Thump **** 1/2 Give me another week with this and I'll make it five stars. Just when you think Jack White can't possibly get any better...he does.
http://www.whitestripes.com/

Wilco - Sky Blue Sky **** If you liked early Wilco and/or "Summer Teeth" you should love this. If you liked "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" or "A Ghost Is Born" you might be disappointed. Or you could, like me, find something beautiful in everything Jeff Tweedy does.
http://www.wilcoworld.net/

Warren Zevon - Stand In The Fire **** Frantic live album never before available on cd. Originally released in 1980. From Zevon's stand at The Roxy in LA.
- The Envoy *** Originally released in 1982. The music hasn't aged as well. But the lyrics, especially the title track, are so good.
- Preludes *** For Zevon fanatics only. Subtitled rare and unreleased recordings. Second cd features mostly Warren talking on numerous subjects. Great stuff if you host a radio show.
http://www.warrenzevon.com/

Have you picked up a copy of The Montrealer? There's a cover story featuring Bob Dylan. I wrote it. Pick it up, you might learn something. Don't worry, it's free.
http://www.themontrealeronline.com/

Hope to see you at Parc Jarry this week for the second annual celebrity softball game for the ALS Society of Quebec. Last year was a blast.
http://match.globetrotter.net/en/default.aspx

Alfredsson Goes Wellman

2007-06-05T16:49:00.000-07:00

Tuesday June 5 7:45 PM

Daniel Alfredsson has quickly gone from a choking dog to a leader on par with Mark Messier (John Muckler's words) who was on the verge of becoming the first European captain to win the stanley cup to a guy who must have had the worst flashback of anybody who's gone through Stockholm syndrome. How else can you explain his decsion to fire the puck at Scott Niedermayer at the end of the second period last night in Ottawa? I'm not sure who once abducted Alfredsson but I am certain that unless he leads the way to one of the greatest comebacks in Stanley Cup history his brain-dead moment will not merely be a footnote. This will hound him like Steve Smith putting the puck into his own net in 1986(at least that really was an accident) or Marty McSorley's decsion to use-and get caught with- an illegal stick against the Canadiens in 1993.

I have yet to see a clip of Alfredsson trying to explain himself. Only this post-game quote:

"I looked up at the clock. There were five, six seconds left. I wind up (to shoot the puck into the Anaheim end) and the puck kinda stops. I'm just getting rid of it. Didn't really mean to hit him … I saw him, yeah, but I just wanted to shoot the puck away."

And Chris Pronger only meant to give Dean McCammond a chance to catch up on some sleep.

Eventually, Alfredsson should be fine. (But judging by the way Ottawa hockey fans normally react in the spring, he might want to re-think his decision to raise his family in Ottawa.)

Can't say the same for Phillip Wellman. The Mississippi Braves manager should be in a straitjacket by now:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUcFWPgB8oY&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Ebadjocks%2Ecom%2F

Prior to Wellman the worst on field meltdown I ever saw was, believe it or not, Andre Dawson. The normally mild mannered Hawk was with the Cubs by then. Home plate umpire Joe West (I could stop right here...) called Dawson out on strikes. Moments later, after barking at West all the way into the Chicago dugout, Dawson flung every bat from the bat rack onto the field at Wrigley, followed by baseballs, gloves, helmets,pine tar rags, even a coach's wig (or so it seemed) while Cubs fans treated him to a standing ovation.

On the subject of umpires, but good ones, condolences and deepest sympathy to our friend Jim Mckean who's wife Ann passed away last month in Florida. She was 55.

http://http://obit.andersonmcqueen.com/obit_display.cgi?id=419933&listing=Current

Which MLB milestone happens first-Barry Bonds career home run #756 or Tom Glavine career win #300?...Who gets fired first-Joe Torre, Ozzie Guillen or Nationals GM Jim Bowden?...Who do the Yankees get next to play first base-Julio Franco?...And in the I-thought-he-was-done department: Matt Stairs, age 39, is hitting .298 with a slugging percentage of .553 and an on base percentage of .383 after 39 games and 94 at bats with the Blue Jays. That's an OPS of .936....and how about Orlando Cabrera with the Angels, trying to sneak into the top 10 in AL batting average at .329 following his second career four hit game monday night. He's now 7th in the AL in runs scored with 40. Wonder what Orlando thinks of Gary Sheffield suggesting that latinos are "more easily controlled' than blacks?

http://http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2891875

Right about now I'd love to see Sheffield dig in against Pedro Martinez.

Favorite Latin Pitchers

1. Pedro Martinez
2. Dennis Martinez
3. Juan Marichal
4. Orlando Hernandez (El Duque)
5. Luis Tiant
6. Livan Hernandez
7. Johan Santana
8. Pascual Perez
9. Teddy Higuera
10.Mike Cuellar

Is The Stanley Cup Final Music To Your Ears?

2007-05-25T16:58:00.000-07:00

Friday May 25 8 PM

Still three days away from the start of the stanley cup final...does anybody outside of Ottawa & Anaheim still care?...Has Ray Emery had to come out and play yet? I'll be convinced when he holds the Cup...just want to see good hockey with better officiating...

Anaheim in seven

Conference Finals Predictions: 1-1
Total Playoff Predictions: 13-2

CBC has added Greg Millen to the booth in an effort to save Bob Cole & Harry Neale. That's a lost cause...Make sure you listen to The Team 990 instead with Sam Rosen & Darren Pang...Not everybody liked Howard Cosell on Monday Night Football on ABC in the 70's (I did) so they used to turn the sound down and listen to the CBS radio feed with Jack Buck and Hank Stram...I often turn the sound down on pro sports events and listen to music...I have found very few people outside of Pierre McGuire who can tell me something about an event/athlete that I didn't already know. And unless someone has reached Harry Carey status, out and out cheerleading during a broadcast turns me off quicker than a visual of Rosanne Barr mud wrestling Rosie O'Donnell.

http://www.powermaxconsulting.com/HarrySounds.htm

My favorite baseball broadcasting team is Duane Kiper and Mike Krukow with the San Fransisco Giants. Both former players consistently deliver the goods: Informative, entertaining, soothing and colorful without being intrusive. And they never seem to clash... It's a delicate balancing act but these guys have pulled it off for nearly 20 years.

http://www.knbr.com/giants/krukKuip.html

I also liked The Expos english radio broadcasts from olympic Stadium during the final two years of the franchise...those guys were pretty good...

Now that the San Antonio Spurs and David Stern have helped eliminate Steve Nash and the Phoenix Suns from the post season I have little interest left in the NBA playoffs...and it's not just "the Canadian factor"...I'd love to see a run 'n gun offense like the Suns win a championship, especially with so many basketball "experts" (Charles Barkley among them) who don't believe it can be done...
Stern effectively squashed any hopes of a "7 seconds or less" team winning it all when he suspended Amore Stoudamire and Boris Diaw for game five of the western semifinal for stepping onto the court...Diaw has never received a technical foul in his career, yet the all-knowing Stern assumed he was going to start throwing punches?...like George Steinbrenner, Al Davis and yes, even Harry Caray, Stern is guilty of, if nothing else, overstaying his welcome...and a once impenetrable public facade is crumbling quickly with more and more calls for his resignation...

http://onmilwaukee.com/sports/articles/davidsternmustgo.html

http://www.amazon.com/Seven-Seconds-Less-Season-Phoenix/dp/074329811X

Long suffering Van Morrison fans in Montreal finally got their wish today when tickets when on sale for Van's first Montreal concert in over 20 years...I couldn't wait that long so a couple of years back I headed to Boston over St.Patrick's week to catch Van the Man at the Orphium, a small Theatre St. Denis-like venue across from Boston Common...I paid the equivalent of $400 Cdn for a 5th row center seat, the most I've ever paid to see anybody at any venue....tickets read 7:30 SHARP...I was in the washroom at 7:25 when the crowd went nuts.... stuck at a urinal while Van sang "Into The Mystic"...finally making it into my seat in time for the second tune, most of which Van spent playing his saxophone...in fact, it seemed like he played the sax more often than he sang...he was done, with no encore, by 8:55...I'm glad I finally caught him but vowed never to pay to see him again..assuming that he would keep his promise from 1986 when he vowed never to play Montreal again following some boos for his opening act Mose Allison...so now I'm kind of torn, especially after the release of his first country album, "Pay The Devil" and recent appearance on Austin City Limits which featured him in good spirits, even taking requests!...

http://www.vanmorrison.co.uk/

http://www.moseallison.net/

More Music:

The Allman Brothers Band: Hittin' The Note **** Released in 2003 I only got to it this year, stunned by how good Gregg Allman sounds with Warren Haynes' guitar coming out of the left speaker and Derek Trucks' work pouring out of the right...many songs seem to be about the then recently fired Dickie Betts

Joe Bonamassa: You & Me *** Blues based work from young virtuoso discovered by the late Tom Dowd...Jason Bonham on drums
www.jbonamassa.com

Ry Cooder: My Name Is Buddy ***1/2 Don't be fooled by the cover or text..this is not a kids album...serious american roots music by a seriously good musician and his friends
http://www.nonesuch.com/Hi_Band/index_frameset2.cfm?pointer=cooder.gif

Drive-By Truckers: A Blessing and A Curse ***1/2 My favorite American rock band...Three main songwriters all with considerable depth...four vocalists...might be the best band around since...The Band
www.drivebytruckers.com

Van Morrison: Pay The Devil *** Van as cowboy

Willie Nelson:
Countryman *** Willie as reggae master...he be groovin... about time, huh?
You Don't Know Me (The songs of Cindy Walker) ****1/2 Can't beat combo
Songbird ***1/2 Willie gets added muscle from Ryan Adams & The Cardinals
www.willienelson.com

Old Crow Medicine Show: Big Iron World *** New wave bluegrass, even better live
www.crowmedicine.com

Tom Russell: Love & Fear *** Gifted songwriter tackles love, fear and growing old
www.tomrussell.com

Steve Wynn&theMiracle3: ...tick...tick...tick *** Former Dream Syndicate frontman has been making great music with his new friends for about five years...
www.stevewynn.net

Favorite American Bands(Current):

1. Drive-By Truckers
2. White Stripes
3. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
4. Wilco
5. Kings Of Leon
6. My Morning Jacket
7. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
8. New York Dolls
9. Iggy & The Stooges
10 Raconteurs

And this just in: NBC admits to true meaning behind it's call letters...
No Body Cares

Bud Selig is an Idiot

2007-05-18T17:09:00.000-07:00

Friday May 18 8:00 PM

I enjoy watching Bud Selig squirm. The mlb comissioner's facetious response to Barry Bonds record home run chase, "Oh, is he approaching a record?" reveals far more of this man with the snake oil in his veins (and hair) than any speech from a podium might do. On the surface he might appear pleasant, even charming. But make no mistake. There's a darkness lurking.

The fact that he doesn't like answering questions about Bonds, never mind that he apparently doesn't know if he'll be in attendance when Hank Aaron's all time home run mark is eclipsed, is a delicious irony for those of us who have followed him closely since he helped knock Fay Vincent out of the park.

Selig was merely the "interim" comissioner at the time. Playing the "Aw shucks, I don't really want the job" routine as believably as his fellow owners who feigned admiration for Vincent. Just the beginning of a pack of lies. And always unbelievable performances. Oh, let me count some of the ways:

It "pained" Selig "terribly" to cancel the rest of the 1994 season.
It "saddened" him to announce the contraction of Montreal and Minnesota.
He lied to Congress during anti-trust exemption hearings in 2001 before being verbally body-slammed by Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura.
He lied on The Team 990 during an in-game conversation with Elliott Price (Remember the Expos-tied for the lead in the NL wild card race-were not allowed to expand their roster on september 1st? "First I hear of this" Said Selig to Elliott.)
Montreal is "the last residue of contraction"'
"We want to get rid of them" (The Expos); "We need to get rid of them"
Declaring the All Star game a tie; subsequently awarding the winner home field advantage in the World Series.
Claimed he wasn't aware of rampant steroid use in baseball; before BALCO.
Claimed he wasn't aware of rampant steroid use in baseball; after BALCO
Continues to refer to current state of baseball as "A Renaissance"; 2006 World Series TV ratings hit a record low

I need to head home for the weekend or I'd go on all night. Put it this way. Bud Selig makes Gary Bettman look like Pete Rozelle.

Selig is clearly fucked on the Bonds issue. May he squirm forever.

I think Jeff Blair has been around the baseball beat long enough to earn a "Well, Jeff..." reply from Selig. I know Blair has reached the rarefied air status of "insider" with "access" directly to the comissioner's office, a must for anyone with a baseball column. So while he regularly lets the high & mighty off the hook he hasn't lost his ability to dish it out. Only now his cutting sarcasm (no, let's make that sardonic humour) is directed mostly at players and fans. But it's only rock 'n roll. And I love it:

http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070518.wsptblair18/GSStory/GlobeSportsBaseball/home

Another sports blogger who always gets me going-and who, like Blair-is always a terrific radio guest is Sportsnet's Jim Kelley:

http://www2.sportsnet.ca/blogs/jim_kelley/2007/05/18/end_of_days/

Nice moment at last saturday's Norah Jones concert at Theatre St. Denis. During her second encore (Tom Waits' "Long Way Home") a gentleman in the front row dropped to his knees while presenting an engagement ring to his girlfriend. She squeeled, accepted his invitation, then kissed and hugged him while a smattering of applause could be heard from some of us seated in the same section. The couple continued to embrace and slow dance while the ravishing Miss Jones and her band (including boyfriend and bass player Lee Alexander) looked on somewhat bemused.

Beats the proposal- via- sports- scoreboard route.

Jones makes her big screen debut in a movie that opened this week at Cannes. It's called "My Blueberry Nights". She plays a woman who tries to mend her broken heart by taking a cross-country road trip. She's sure to light up the screen. But I'm not as sure she'll equal the screen debuts of a couple of other beauties:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BylTBPNu7cU

and 50 years ago:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAp-wd3Yf60&mode=related&search=

Pamela Anderson couldn't hold their g-strings.

Happy Victoria Day.

Montreal Expos 8, New York Mets 4
Day
Game Played on Monday, May 18, 1970 (D) at Parc Jarry

NY N 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 3 0 - 4 9 0
MON N 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 5 - 8 12 1

Time of Game: 3:10 Attendance: 31004
Starting Lineups:

New York Mets Montreal Expos
1. Agee cf Staehle 2b
2. Harrelson ss Jones lf
3. Jones lf Staub rf
4. Shamsky 1b Fairly 1b
5. Boswell 2b Fairey cf
6. Marshall rf Laboy 3b
7. Foy 3b Bateman c
8. Grote c Wine ss
9. Gentry p Stoneman p

METS 1ST: Agee was called out on strikes; Harrelson walked;
Harrelson was picked off and caught stealing second (pitcher to
first to shortstop); Jones popped to catcher in foul territory;
0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Mets 0, Expos 0.
EXPOS 1ST: Staehle flied to center; Jones doubled to left; Staub
walked; Fairly walked [Jones to third, Staub to second]; Fairey
grounded into a double play (shortstop to second to first)
[Fairly out at second]; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 2 LOB. Mets 0, Expos 0.

METS 2ND: Shamsky struck out; Boswell grounded out (second to
first); Marshall popped to first; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Mets 0,
Expos 0.
EXPOS 2ND: Laboy struck out; Bateman singled to left; Wine
singled to center [Bateman to second]; Stoneman struck out;
Staehle singled to right [Wine to third, Bateman scored, Staehle
to second (on throw)]; Jones was hit by a pitch; Staub popped to
third in foul territory; 1 R, 3 H, 0 E, 3 LOB. Mets 0, Expos 1.

METS 3RD: Foy grounded out (pitcher to first); Grote walked;
Gentry struck out; Agee singled to right [Grote to third];
Harrelson walked [Agee to second]; Jones struck out; 0 R, 1 H, 0
E, 3 LOB. Mets 0, Expos 1.
EXPOS 3RD: Fairly flied to center; Fairey lined to center; Laboy
struck out; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Mets 0, Expos 1.

METS 4TH: Shamsky lined to center; Boswell singled to right;
Marshall doubled to center [Boswell scored, Marshall out at
third (center to shortstop to third)]; Foy walked; Foy stole
second; Grote grounded out (shortstop to first); 1 R, 2 H, 0 E,
1 LOB. Mets 1, Expos 1.
EXPOS 4TH: Bateman was called out on strikes; Wine grounded out
(second to first); On a bunt Stoneman singled; Staehle struck
out; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Mets 1, Expos 1.

METS 5TH: Gentry struck out; Agee reached on an error by
Staehle; Harrelson singled to center [Agee to second]; Jones
forced Harrelson (second to shortstop) [Agee to third]; Shamsky
popped to shortstop; 0 R, 1 H, 1 E, 2 LOB. Mets 1, Expos 1.
EXPOS 5TH: Jones struck out; Staub flied to right; Fairly struck
out; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Mets 1, Expos 1.

METS 6TH: Boswell singled to right; Marshall flied to left; Foy
singled to left [Boswell to second]; Grote flied to left; Gentry
struck out; 0 R, 2 H, 0 E, 2 LOB. Mets 1, Expos 1.
EXPOS 6TH: Fairey struck out; Laboy flied to left; Bateman
grounded out (third to first); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Mets 1,
Expos 1.

METS 7TH: Agee was called out on strikes; Harrelson grounded out
(first unassisted); Jones popped to second; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0
LOB. Mets 1, Expos 1.
EXPOS 7TH: Wine grounded out (pitcher to first); Stoneman
grounded out (catcher to first); Staehle grounded out (first
unassisted); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Mets 1, Expos 1.

METS 8TH: Shamsky flied to center; Boswell walked; Boswell was
caught stealing second (catcher to shortstop); Marshall homered;
Foy homered; Grote homered; RAYMOND REPLACED STONEMAN
(PITCHING); Gentry struck out; 3 R, 3 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Mets 4,
Expos 1.
EXPOS 8TH: JORGENSEN REPLACED SHAMSKY (PLAYING 1B); SWOBODA
REPLACED MARSHALL (PLAYING RF); Jones was called out on strikes;
Staub singled to right; Fairly singled to right [Staub to
second]; Fairey singled to left [Fairly to second, Staub
scored]; TAYLOR REPLACED GENTRY (PITCHING); Laboy struck out;
Bateman singled to center [Fairey to third, Fairly scored]; DAY
BATTED FOR WINE; Day popped to third in foul territory; 2 R, 4
H, 0 E, 2 LOB. Mets 4, Expos 3.

METS 9TH: SUTHERLAND REPLACED DAY (PLAYING SS); Agee popped to
first; Harrelson flied to left; Jones was called out on strikes;
0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Mets 4, Expos 3.
EXPOS 9TH: BRAND BATTED FOR RAYMOND; Brand singled to center;
MCGRAW REPLACED TAYLOR (PITCHING); Staehle forced Brand (catcher
to shortstop); PHILLIPS BATTED FOR JONES; Phillips walked
[Staehle to second]; Staub doubled to center [Phillips to third,
Staehle scored]; Fairly was walked intentionally; BAILEY BATTED
FOR FAIREY; KOONCE REPLACED MCGRAW (PITCHING); Bailey homered
[Phillips scored, Staub scored, Fairly scored]; 5 R, 3 H, 0 E, 0
LOB. Mets 4, Expos 8.

Final Totals
Mets 4 9 0 8
Expos 8 12 1 8
Read Me

http://www.baseball-reference.com/b/bailebo01.shtml

Playoffs & Payoffs

2007-05-11T16:33:00.000-07:00

Friday May 11 7:39 PM

Were the Buffalo Sabres really that bad on home ice last night? Were (are) the Ottawa Senators really that good? One of the reasons I picked Buffalo to win the series is because they have yet to perform they way they did during the regular season. Perhaps by the time it's over, we'll still be waiting.

Another reason I like the Sabres is Ryan Miller. I think he'll be better than Ray Emery. Emery is much improved from a year ago but I still can't root for a guy who idolizes Mike Tyson. A grown man who thinks so highly of Tyson that he'd put the fighter on his mask has issues.

Sabres in seven.

Something is definately wrong in San Jose. I say that not as someone who picked the Sharks to beat Detroit but someone who has seen a team quit on its coach. Ron Wilson literally has the NHL in his blood (father Larry and uncle Johnny both won Stanley Cups for Detroit) but his handling of Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton tells me he's gone, or they are; and we know Thornton isn't going anywhere. I know the Sharks power play was pitiful in the playoffs but not starting Thornton to begin the third period while on the PP reminded me of Guy Carbonneau nailing Alex Kovalev to the bench in the dying minute of the regular season finale in Toronto. Pass the buck. Find the scapegoat. Call it whatever. It worked for Carbonneau. Most members of the local media took his cue and pounded Kovalev. It won't work for Wilson.

Anaheim vs Detroit feaures a first: All three nominees for the Norris Trophy in the same series.
It also features a 45 year old playing like a 25 year old. Two goaltenders who have already won a Cup(Hasek) and a Conn Smythe Trophy(Giguere); one of whom is 10-1 in 11 overtimes games (it's not Hasek).
The series also spotlights a team that fights the most vs a team that fights the least.

I think the injury to Mathieu Schneider is critical for the Wings. They're also missing Niklas Kromwell. I believe the well rested, disgustingly healthy Ducks will eventually wear down the Red Wings.

Anaheim in six

I'd like to see the Sabres win. Buffalo fans have waited 37 years. If not, I'd like to see Ottawa win. They've had to wait since 1992. Enough already. Fact is any of the four remaining teams would be a worthy Stanley Cup Champion. Hopefully the games will result in the kind of sustained action the "My New NHL" is all about. And at least silence the what-have-I-got-to-complain-about-next critics who want to see more goals.

Round Two Predictions: 3-1

Total Playoff Predictions: 11-1

I didn't like Ted Saskin from the moment I heard him on the air during the lockout at The Fan 590 in Toronto when he called in during a segment to belittle 70-something Stan Fischler. Saskin sounded like a smarmy, insecure little man. Good for Chris Chelios, Trent Klatt and Dwayne Roloson for sniffing out a rat.

The Calgary Flames looking to trade Matthew Lombardi? Bring him home:

http://www2.sportsnet.ca/blogs/hockey_hearsay/2007/05/11/goodbye_lombardi_hello_grit/

Catching up on music: If you missed the Anjani show at Cabaret you missed a special treat. Leonard Cohen appeared on stage with her for three songs, including an encore. Magical.

Kings of Leon keep getting better. These sons (and one cousin) of a preacher play filthy guitar driven rock 'n roll with the best of them. "Black Thumbnail" is as good a rock song I've heard this year.

www.kingsofleon.com

While I'm in a groove, here's more:

Arcade Fire: Neon Bible **** As good as advertised. Especially "Antichrist Televsion Blues"
www.arcadefire.com

Bright Eyes: Casadega *** Not the new Dylan. But better than the new Paul Simon
www.saddle-creek.com

Solomon Burke: Nashville *** Soul great puts on a cowboy hat
www.thekingsolomonburke.com

JJ Cale & Eric Clapton: The Road To Escondido ***1/2 As familiar and smooth as your favorite single malt. And effective. Epitome of the term professional musicianship
http://www.rosebudus.com/cale/

Elvis Costello & Allen Toussaint: The River In Reverse **** Speaking of musicianship...
http://www.vervemusicgroup.com/product.aspx?ob=prd&src=exp&pid=11509

Jet: Shine On *** Not just rip 'n roll; melodies too
www.jettheband.com

Norah Jones: Not Too Late ***1/2 Now she's writing too. I'm in love. Again
www.norahjones.com

Jesse Malin: Glitter in the Gutter *** Paul Westerberg for the 21st century
www.jessemalin.com

Amos Lee: Supply and Demand *** James Taylor-with an edge-for the 21st century
www.amoslee.com

Jerry Lee Lewis: Last Man Standing **** Rock 'n Roll party album of the year
www.jerryleelewis.com

Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard & Ray Price: Last of the Breed **** Classic country at it's finest
www.losthighwayrecords.com

Aaron Neville: The Soul Classics **1/2 The big man never sounded sweeter
www.AaronNeville.com

New York Dolls: One Day It Will Please Us To Remember Even This **** Comeback of the year
www.nydolls.org

Graham Parker: Don't Tell Columbus *** Literate rock by born again American
www.grahamparker.net www.bloodshotrecords.com

Cat Power: The Greatest **** Yes, it is that good
www.catpowerthegreatest.com

Dan Reeder: Sweetheart *** John Prine discovery; modern Leon Redbone
www.danreeder.com

Patti Smith: Twelve **1/2 Hit & miss covers
www.pattismith.net

Todd Snider: The Devil You Know *** Perceptive, thoughtful, funny songwriter. One of my favorites
www.toddsnider.net

Mavis Staples: We'll Never Turn Back *** Mostly Civil Rights era Gospel classics; If you don't wake up sunday morning to The Velvet Underground, wake up to this
www.mavisstaples.com

The Stooges: The Weirdness *** How about a Stooges/Dolls doubleheader?
www.iggypop.com

Lucinda Williams: West *** The best female songwriter on the planet but something's missing on this one
www.LucindaWilliams.com

Neil Young: Live at Massey Hall 1971 ****1/2 Long bootlegged masterpiece
www.neilyoung.com

Happy Birthday to Ryan Adams who was 34 today.

Favorite Ryan Adms songs:

1. New York, New York
2. Starting To Hurt
3. A Kiss Before I Go
4. Hotel Chelsea Nights
5. English Girls Approximately
6. Beautiful Sorta
7. To Be Young (is to be sad, is to be high)
8. Peaceful Valley
9. When Will You Come Back Home
10.Love Is Hell

www.ryan-adams.com

"Shane, You're Hurt!"

2007-05-07T16:52:00.000-07:00

Monday May 7 7:45 PM

For a guy who never swears Shane Doan sure performed a spot-on impression of Pierre Trudeau last friday when he scored three goals in less than seven minutes for Team Canada at the World Hockey Championship in Russia. Vintage Trudeau in fact. In both official languages.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsZRxyK2YMg

In dragging Doan through the political process the seperatists ran into their toughest opponent since Trudeau. Tough but clean. Who knew an NHL captain never swears, or even says fuddle duddle for that matter? I'm a proud Canadian but watching some of the gutless pukes who run this country try to turn Doan into Canada's version of David Duke was embarassing. The fact that Doan was the first to launch a lawsuit (against the lying, blowhard of a former sports minister Denis Coderre) should have sent a loud and clear signal that this former first round draft pick is not your typical NHL player. I keep reading about how "frivolous" the suit is(Coderre counter-sued). But how would you react if a federal minister accused you of uttering a racial slur if it never happened? I liken it to the Jose Canseco book. For all the denials about steroid use that Canseco alleged , from Rafael Palmeiro to Juan Gonzalez to Ivan Rodriguez to Mark McGwire, among many others, there wasn't a single lawsuit launched. Now if a best selling book claimed you were juicing when in fact the only juice you consumed was orange, wouldn't you want to sue Canseco's bulky ass?

Next time you watch a tape of the incident watch everybody on the ice.

Carefully.

One of the referees delivers a friendly pat to Doan's hip. The same ref takes off in a hurry as soon as Cormier sticks his finger in Doan's face. Doan reacts as if he can't believe what he's been told. Cormier, who's likely heard enough all night, almost sprints to the officials room. Doan is escorted off the ice.

Fast forward two years. Most of the french media is relentless in slagging Doan after he is named captain of Team Canada. What do they know about him? That he's a unilingual anglo from Alberta. Enough to convict. People who know Doan and claim he could not have uttered a slur are completely dismissed. The fact that Colin Campbell and the NHL cleared Doan is also seen as meaningless because it's just the NHL trying to cover up. Politicians from all parties are quick to condemn. Jack Layton says Doan's captaincy will "overshadow" Team Canada. But as the tide begins to turn, and it becomes more and more clear that Doan might in fact be the cleanest captain in the history of sports, Hockey Canada gets slagged for not having a single francophone player on Team Canada, as if Vincent Lecavalier wasn't invited (so were seven other french players who declined). Denis Gauthier tells Denis Casavant that Doan, one of his best friends, did not say what he's accused of saying. Daniel Briere in Buffalo concurs. Layton, giving new meaning to wishy-washy and weak kneed, reverses himself and leaves a voice mail apology on Doan's phone.

It's a belly full of laughs, for Jacques Parizeau. Until Doan scores the hat trick.

Terry Ryan had the best line of the week. Speaking from St. John's during his weekly monday chat Ryan, selected by the Canadiens right after Winnipeg picked Doan in 1995, said there are more strong leaders on Team Canada than on Parliament Hill.

I have two incredible daughters. If one of them had been a son we would have named him Shane. I can't help but wonder if Bernie & Bernice Doan named their son for the same reason. (A) Character:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvVbXkgVUVw

Still with character, I think NFL comissioner Roger Goodell might be close to suspending Michael Vick. Especially after this letter from the Humane Society of the United States reaches his desk:

May 3, 2007
Roger Goodell
Commissioner
National Football League
280 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10017

Dear Mr. Goodell:

On behalf of The Humane Society of the United States (The HSUS), the nation’s largest
animal protection organization, I am writing to you regarding recent dog fighting
allegations against Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick. In light of these serious
allegations and other incidents of illegal animal fighting involving NFL players, The
HSUS is calling upon the NFL to collaborate with us in an organized effort to eradicate
animal cruelty and illegal animal fighting activity from the ranks of the NFL.
As you and most of the public are keenly aware of by now, Michael Vick is the subject of
an ongoing investigation into allegations that he operated an illegal dog fighting operation
out of his Virginia home. During a drug-related raid on the home, authorities found over
fifty pit bulls, all of whom were in various stages of physical deterioration, locked inside
concrete kennels behind the home. Also found was an inventory of instruments specific to
organized dog fighting operations. Confidential informants of The Humane Society of the
United States have provided us with prior intelligence about Mr. Vick’s participation in
this practice.
We believe that the current situation involving Michael Vick is indicative of a larger
subculture within the NFL of dog fighting and other forms of violence against animals.
Indeed, dogfighters do not typically stage fights between two animals they own. Rather,
they fight their dogs against the dogs of other aficionados. The HSUS tracks 10
underground dog fighting magazines and a laundry list of web sites, and we can assure you
that this is a major underground criminal industry. You may be aware that former NFL
player LeShon Johnson was recently convicted of illegal dog fighting after a raid in
Oklahoma in which 141 fighting dogs were seized.
Likewise former Dallas Cowboys lineman Nate Newton was once arrested at a dog fight,
and former Oakland Raider Tyrone Wheatley, a former pit-bull breeder, once glorified pit
bull fighting by describing it as “instinctive” and “motivational” in a 2001 Sports
Illustrated interview. Wheatley also reportedly even once bragged about having sold dogs
for fighting.

Page 2
More recently, in February 2007, Atlanta Falcons Jonathan Babineaux was charged with
animal cruelty for allegedly beating to death of his girlfriend’s pit bull. Charges against
Babineaux are still pending, but the case, like all of the aforementioned cases, underscores
the need for the NFL to undertake a truly aggressive outreach program targeting the issue
of illegal animal fighting and animal cruelty among its players.
The problem of illegal animal fighting and other forms of animal cruelty is widespread, but
they have a particular significance where high-profile sports personalities are concerned
because of the influence the behavior and habits of these athletes have over fans. As you
yourself stated in announcing the NFL’s recently-amended Personal Conduct Policy, “It is
important that the NFL be represented consistently by outstanding people as well as great
football players, coaches, and staff."
Dog fighting is a serious crime, not only causing appalling animal cruelty, but also often
associated with other criminal activity, such as narcotics traffic, illegal gambling, and
human violence. All 50 states ban dog fighting, and it is a felony in 48 states. The
Congress just passed legislation making it a federal felony to move fighting dogs across
state lines, with penalties per violation of 3 years in jail and fines up to $250,000.
We invite you to join with The HSUS in crafting the guidelines for an effective, zerotolerance
policy for NFL players and staff regarding animal cruelty and illegal animal
fighting. We feel such a partnership has the potential to positively impact millions of
young people in communities who look up to NFL athletes as role models. Additionally, a
partnership between the HSUS and the NFL will help support the NFL’s stated goal of
holding its employees to a higher standard and will help the NFL maintain its integrity in
the face of increasing concerns over the conduct of its players.
Finally, we hope you will collaborate with The HSUS to combat animal cruelty and animal
fighting in order to send a clear message to the public that the NFL does indeed intend to
hold its players to the highest standards. By setting an example of compassion for the
public, the NFL has the chance to tackle the problem of animal cruelty and animal fighting
from the top down and to truly make a difference for our communities.
I would certainly be willing to meet with you at your earliest convenience to develop the
elements of a pro-active plan to address this problem. Thank you for your attention to this
matter, and we look forward to your response.

Sincerely,
Wayne Pacelle
President & CEO

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/football/nfl/wires/05/03/2020.ap.fbn.falcons.vick.0629/index.html

I'd pay to see Vick run. From a pack of hungry dogs.

Dogs as pets through the years:

Jocko (Black poodle)
Hobo (German Sheppard)
Sam (Sheepdog)
Candy (Mutt)
Teddy (Chesapeake Bay retriever)
Tom Tom (mini toy white poodle)

Round Two To Anjani

2007-04-25T17:23:00.000-07:00

Wednesday April 25 8:30 PM

Round two playoff predictions:

Buffalo over NY Rangers in 7

Ottawa over NJ Devils in 6

Anaheim over Vancouver in 4

San Jose over Detroit in 7

Record in Round One : 8-0 (Thank goodness there's no spread)

So Rejean Tremblay and Bert Raymond are on the warpath again. They'd like to see a new general manager for the Canadiens. Must be difficult for them to realize they have zero influence these days, compared to the way it was when Ron Corey worried about what they thought. Gainey's record as Habs GM? I'd say mixed, with this off season looming as his most important. I also see a track record, something neither Rejean or Bert own. While Gainey built a Stanley Cup winner in Dallas, Tremblay and Raymond, as a two headed de facto GM here, helped ruin the franchise. When they sneezed Corey replied "Bless You".

Canadiens fans got Denis Savard for Chris Chelios, Rejean Houle as GM & Mario Tremblay as coach(some piles of crap leftover from that era are still visible), Pierre Turgeon as captain, Stephane Richer for Lyle Odelein and an oh so tiring demand every season for Lafleur II.

I hope Bob Gainey finishes his job here. I think it's safe to say that whenever that time comes he'll leave the organization in a lot better shape than how he found it. In the meantime, think again of the grace and dignity in which he has handled himself this year. Contrast that with the behavior of his harshest critics. Touche.

www.gaineyfoundation.com

Speaking of zero influence. Can Jack Todd sink any lower on the sports relevancy scale? Why doesn't The Gazette do the right thing and put Jack out of his misery and the sports section and move Mike Boone in? There are still an awful lot of readers who can't connect to Boone online.

http://www.habsinsideout.com/boone/

Predictably sad news about Mark Prior missing the rest of the 2007 season with a shoulder problem. Prior and Kerry Wood, as any scout would have told you, were two of the most electric arms to come along in years, but because of poor mechanics were arm/elbow/shoulder injuries waiting to happen. Brings to mind three hot prospects the Mets once had who were being compared to Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman and Jon Matlack.

Jason Isringhausen, Bill Pulsipher and Paul Wilson were going to, at the every least, dominate National League hitters for a decade and surely one of them would end the long Mets no-hitter drought. (Hard to believe, with all the great arms they've had, no Met has pitched a no-hitter since the franchise began play in 1962.). All three were slowed by serious arm problems.

Isringhausen has had success but only after he was reborn as a closer. Pulsipher was hanging around as a lefty specialist. And Wilson, supposedly the best of the trio, could no longer throw the ball by hitters and was regularly mashed around while pitching for Tampa Bay and Cincinnati.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/spring2007/news/story?id=2806884

http://www.baseball-reference.com/p/pulsibi01.shtml

Kerry Wood is trying to come back out of the bullpen, but only if his right arm lets him. Right now it doesn't look good. When he was healthy the Texas native was the closest we've seen to Nolan Ryan at his peak.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/spring2007/news/story?id=2813179

Must see tv tonight-in addition to the playoffs-is the return of original PBS star Bill Moyers. The former press secretary for LBJ apparently delivers a scathing attack on the U.S. media for its lapdog approach to coverage of the Iraq war.
Here's a brief exchange from a lengthy interview in The Christian Century:

If the Bush administration were to ask you for your advice, what would you say to them?

Well, I did give President Bush advice once: on a broadcast I urged him to make Al Gore head of homeland security—in other words, turn our response to the terrorist attacks into a bipartisan effort, make the fight against terroism an American cause, not a partisan battle cry.
What would I say now? Fire the ideologues and assign them to scrub the floors at Guantánamo for penitence. Stop confusing neocon pundits with Old Testament prophets. Read the Bible for humility's sake, but for policy's sake commit to memory the report of the Iraq Study Group. Don't sacrifice any more soldiers to prove you're in charge; get the soldiers out of the line of fire between Sunnis and Shi'ites. And remind your hirelings of Winston Churchill's definition of democracy as the occasional necessity of deferring to the opinions of other people.

http://www.christiancentury.org/article.lasso?id=3196

I spoke to Leonard Cohen's lady today. Anjani (Thomas) will sing from her cd "Blue Alert" Friday night at Cabaret Juste Pour Rire. Turns out the couple live in LA and Montreal. No big scoop? Los Angeles in the summer, Montreal in the winter.

"Montreal is too crazy in the summer with festivals all over the place", Anjani told me in her smoky, seductive voice over the phone from Toronto. "It's much more laid back in the winter. We chill in the winter, live just off the Main".

Asked to describe what it's like to hang out with the legendary poet-songwriter, Anjani couldn't hide her affection. "Oh, he's just so cool...he's a keeper".

She looks as great as she sounds. Don't miss the show. At a cheap ticket price.

www.anjani-music.com

"Leonard Cohen's backup singer (as well as his lover) ransacked the great bard's notebooks to unearth stray, leftover lyrics, which, it turns out, tower over most other writers' finest lines. Thomas then matched Cohen's words to her own melodies of woe. The combination of her blue-hued voice and jazzy tunes with Cohen's impeccable verse created literature you can hum...” Jim Farber NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Red Sox-Yankees & David Halberstam

2007-04-23T16:39:00.000-07:00

Monday April 23 7:40 PM

Is a picture still worth a thousand words? I don't have an iPod but I'd listen to this one:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/features/2007_swimsuit/models/marisa_miller/07_marisa_miller_7.html

Soon to be 66 year old Bob Dylan is playing the Montreal Jazz Festival July 4 at Place Des Arts.. The last time Dylan played the venue he was 25:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xO0gSJGJ7Fs

(He used to look like that...now he looks like this...)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPHwm3JSEXs

Still with music, legendary surf guitarist Dick Dale offers aspiring musicians (with talent) some sound advice (Thanks to Dave Kaufman):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AJxc3Lxn4o

Sunday Night's Red Sox-Yankees game was the most emotionally involved I've been to an MLB game since the Sox magical world series win in 2004. It's still difficult to watch baseball (but not difficult to see the Nationals flounder) at this time of the year. But sunday's game had a bit of everything. Dice- K starting against the Yankees for the first time... hitting 97 on the radar gun but also A-Rod and Jeter... the four consecutive home runs. (I figured the Sox would get to rookie lefty Chase Wright his second time through the order, but four straight bombs without a brushback? No wonder Joe Torre looked disgusted.)...Andy Petitte out of the bullpen for nine pitches (starters used to do this all the time, another case of over-protecting arms that will, in many cases, break down anyway)...One of my favorite players, Mike Lowell, hitting two home runs including a game winning three run shot...Josh Phelps, way too good a hitter to be in Triple A, getting robbed in a pinch hit appearance, then forced to catch for the first time in six years...Jonathan Papelbon, best closer stuff-wise since John Wetteland circa 1993, getting A-Rod to ground out to end game....Sox completing first sweep of Yanks at Fenway since first days of Reagan Presidency...

Just found out horrible news...acclaimed author and historian David Halberstam has been killed in a car accident in San Fransisco. Halberstam wrote one of the earliest in depth critical accounts of the U.S. involvement in Viet Nam, "The Best And the Brightest". It won a Pulitzer Prize. He also wrote, among many other important works, "The Powers That Be", a history of the media in the U.S.; an absolute must for anybody interested in, or for that matter, working in journalism. Like many great reporters, Halberstam was a big sports fan. Thankfully he parlayed that passion into several outstanding sports books including The Breaks of the Game (Halberstam hung out with the 1979 Portland Trail Blazers), Summer of '49 (Yankees-Red Sox; DiMaggio-Williams), October 1964 (pivotal moment in sports in the 60's as the mostly white establishment, the NY Yankees and American League, were outpaced by the younger, more integrated "Junior" circuit, St. Louis Cardinals and National League) ,The Teammates: A Portrait of a Friendship (Johnny Pesky and Dom DiMaggio travel to Florida to say goodbye to Ted Williams), and most recently, Bill Belichik: The Education of a Coach. I had the opportunity to interview Halberstam following the publication of The Teammates. We'll air that conversation tomorrow.

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/writers/writer.asp?cid=193781

Ron, Ron, Ron, Ron, Ron, Ron.....

2007-04-16T17:00:00.000-07:00

Monday April 23 8 PM

I Love Ron Fournier. I think he's a great showman. I 've never asked him but I wonder if he really believes half of what he says. If not, I give him credit, able to fake outrage to the point of foaming at the mouth.

He's also part of a very small group of media types in this city who literally went to bat for Terry Haig and myself at a time when the Montreal Expos were trying their best to get rid us. I'll tell the whole story in my next post but this much I'll share right now. The Expos were doing their best to bully Haig & I when we were on the air at CIQC and Rejean Tremblay (whom I barely knew at the time) wrote a scathing column in La Presse revealing the Expos at their paranoid worst. Fournier followed up that night by interviewing Haig. Blackman and Farber spent a few minutes discussing our plight the next morning on the Balcan show. Jeff Blair wrote a piece in The Gazette the next day. And that was it. Nobody else in the city, as far as we knew, found it important enough to back a couple of guys who were simply doing their jobs. And who's livelihood was now being threatened.

So I'll always have a soft spot for both Fournier and Tremblay no matter how outrageous their commentary might get. (Their lack of humanity in attacking Koivu & Gainey is most disturbing. They're not alone.)

But when I suggest, based on their public comments since the elimination of the Canadiens, that Fournier and Company ought to be hauled away in a straitjacket, I'm reminded of a not-so-old clip that aired during the on-going Jose Theodore saga:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4EhYrt_zjM

Check out Ron about fifty seconds into the clip and tell me the man in the white suit isn't getting ready....

...And so it goes...

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/k/kurt_vonnegut/index.html?inline=nyt-per

Here Come the Playoffs...

2007-04-11T16:55:00.000-07:00

Wednesday April 11th 8 PM

Playoff Predictions (But why bother?):

East

Buffalo over NY Islanders in 4
Ottawa over Pittsburgh in 6
New Jersey over Tampa Bay in 5
NY Rangers over Atlanta in 6

West

Detroit over Calgary in 5
Anaheim over Minnesota in 7
Vancouver over Dallas in 7
San Jose over Nashville in 7

Habs get knocked out of the playoffs, Saku Koivu gets ripped apart. As normal a part of a Montreal spring as piles of dog shit and cigarette butts. Oh, what I wouldn't give for the opportunity to rub some faces in that dog poo. Bravo to Bob Gainey for his strong public defense
of Koivu. Who knows what makes a champion more than a champion himself?

Instead of a dozen questions about Samsanov and Kovalev I wish somebody had asked Gainey about the availability of Belfour or CuJo at the trading deadline. Most encouraging comments I heard were Gainey suggesting that virtually every move in the off season will be about improving The Habs-at the NHL level. Enough with the prospects. Teams that need draft picks and young players (Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington, Florida, Phoenix, Columbus, St Louis, Los Angeles and maybe Edmonton) can look at Gainey's two first round picks and impressive stable of young talent and play "Let's Make A Deal".

Pierre Boivin calling for a superstar? We hear Boivin is pissed at Le Journal de Montreal for making the front page story appear as an exclusive when it was in fact, Boivin speaking in the stands, in what he thought was an off-the-cuff conversation. Anyway, who doesn't want to see a superstar here? Like trading Kovalev. Easier said than done.
Bottom line on Koivu & Gainey: They have earned and deserve more respect than anybody else active in hockey in this town. Not immunity from criticism. But RESPECT.

Pronunciation: ri-'spekt
Function: nounEtymology: Middle English, from Latin respectus, literally, act of looking back, from respicere to look back, regard, from re- + specere to look -- more at SPY1 : a relation or reference to a particular thing or situation 2 : an act of giving particular attention : CONSIDERATION3 a : high or special regard : ESTEEM

More questions to ponder while we wait for Ron Fournier and Michel Villeneuve, among others, to be hauled away in straitjackets:

How can Wayne Gretzky look in the mirror and like what he sees after the firing of his long time agent/advisor Mike Barnett as GM in Phoenix?

How happy is Michel Therrien knowing Kerry Fraser didn't make it into the playoffs?

Can the NY Yankees win every game 8-7?

If Dave Winfield was "Mr. May" does that make A-Rod "Mr. April"?

What's the over/under on losses by the Washington Nationals this season? 110?

Now that two major sponsors have pulled out of his radio show (Staples, Proctor & Gamble) how many days does Don Imus have left in commercial radio?

George Bush instead of Al Gore???

How much longer before Sydney Crosby, like Gretzky and Mario, becomes ineligible for playoff pools?

Philip Roth or Saul Bellow?

Favorite Montreal Playoff moments:

1. Jacques Lemaire beats Tony Esposito from center ice in 1971
2. Ken Dryden save on Jim Pappin 1971
3. Henri Richard tying and winning goals 1971
4. Jean Beliveau winning Cup in his last game 1971
5. Dryden and Habs upsetting Boston Bruins (399 goals) in 1st round 1971
(yeah, '71 was THAT special)
6. Bruins too many men penalty followed by Lafleur goal 1979
7. Lambert game winner in OT (assisted by Tremblay & Houle) to win '79 semifinal
8. Patrick Roy 10 overtime wins 1993
9. Patrick Roy overtime win in New York 1986
10.Canadiens dethrone Flyers 1976

Some of Saku Koivu's teammates in previous non-playoff seasons:

Shayne Corson, Craig Rivet

Martin Rucinsky, Vladimir Malakhov, Benoit Brunet, Turner Stevenson, Brian Savage, Stephane Quintal, Eric Weinrich, Patrice Brisebois, Richard Zednick, Jan Bulis,

Sergei Zholtok, Jonas Hoglund, Igor Ulanov, Scott Thornton, Dainius Zubrus, Trevor Linden

Patrick Poulin, Jason Dawe, Scott Lachance, Matt Higgins, Dave Morissette, Oleg Petrov, Karl Dykhuis, Craig Darby, Jesse Belanger, Jim Cummins, Aaron Asham, Jason Ward, Juha Lind, Christian Laflamme, Barry Richter, Miroslav Guren, Trent McCLeary, Chad Kilger, Jim Campbell, Eric Landry, Xavier Delisle, Patrick Traverse, Johan Witehall, Andrei Bashkirov, Francis Belanger, Eric Chouinard, Andreas Dackell, Donald Audette, Joe Juneau, Randy McKay, Nicklas Sundstrom, Mariusz Czerkawski, Marcel Hossa, Bill Lindsey, Sylvain Blouin, Gord Dwyer, PJ STOCK

Just like those Habs teams of the 70's, huh?

The Predictable End

2007-04-08T16:38:00.000-07:00

Sunday April 8, 7:30 PM

Justice prevails. The NY Islanders are in the playoffs. The Habs and Leafs are out. Ted Nolan returns to Buffalo. Andrew Raycroft returns to no man's land. Bob Gainey goes back to the drawing board.

I don't think I'll get much argument that the Islanders deserve a playoff spot ahead of Montreal and Toronto but what about Tampa Bay? Yes I know they have the Rocket Richard winner and MVP candidate (If I had a vote it would go to Sydney Crosby #1) in Vinny Lecavalier and another 100 point scorer in Martin St Louis but other than them plus Brad Richards and Dan Boyle what else have they got? Not to mention being saddled with embarrasingly bad goaltending, again. One day after being told that he's going to be "their guy the rest of the year", Johan Holmqvist lasted 16 minutes against the Florida Panthers. The Lightning are the worst team in the playoffs. Both the Habs and Leafs would do a better job against the Devils than what we're about to see from Tampa.

What to make of The Habs Jekyl & Hyde season?
I don't mind embarassing myself so let's go back to opening night:

Thursday October 5, 8 PM

Has it really been six months since The Canadiens were eliminated by the eventual Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes? Six months since Bob Gainey said one goal losses are tough but in playoff hockey one goal is a lot? Six months since Saku Koivu, worried about his future, was ambushed by a TVA reporter who demanded to know why he didn’t speak French? Six months since Michel Bergeron put his foot in his mouth? Six months since Gainey said if players are looking for some “spice” in their life they’d consider Montreal as a a hockey home not an NHL outpost? Six months since Hurricanes President Jim Rutherford said the Habs were his teams toughest opponent during their run to the cup?

Rutherford wasn’t simply being diplomatic. Justin Williams, Dan Marouelli and Dennis LaRue made sure Rutherford could spend the summer celebrating rather than rebuilding.

Gainey? He discovered an ongoing problem as GM and no-longer-coach. While Montreal may in fact be the “spiciest” city in North America, NHLers would rather work elsewhere.
High taxes and character assassination just don’t make it onto the radar screen of agents and their clients. Sergei Samsanov? May the force, and 3.5 million a year, be with him (I love the signing, even at an overblown price. The Habs are getting him at just the right time. He’s 27).

So which comes first-a long playoff run or the signing/acquisition of a true marquee player? Hopefully Gainey can find out as soon as this season. If not, you have to wonder how much patience he’ll have in trying to fill out a championship roster while striking out more often than a 40 year old virgin. All the Tom Hicks money he spent/wasted in Dallas is no doubt beginning to look more and more appealing.

Count me among those who believe the Canadiens can improve from a season ago. Even if Cristobal Huet is not a Roger Crozier trophy winner this season, he’ll have to morph into an AHL goalie not to improve on the Jose Theodore performance of a year ago.

The addition of Janne Niinimmaa gives the team six solid defensemen. In fact, you can argue that even at 2.5 million per year Niinimmaa IS the sixth defenseman. Markov, Souray, Rivet and Dandenault are all players most general managers would love to have. And in Mike Komisarek the Canadiens finally have the combination of size, strength, toughness and mobility that was most recently disguised as Zarley Zalapski. Mark Streit, a fine skater and power play asset, is now a more reassuring number seven (#8 with Francis Boullion) while Patrick Traverse finds himself- more appropriately-back in the minors.

I like the forwards, save for a glaring hole down the middle. But if the talented, speedy crop of made-for-the-new-NHL skaters continue to draw penalties, the Canadiens will rely on a power play unit that was among the best in the NHL a year ago(#5 overall). The “loss” of Ribeiro may hurt the second unit, but should be offset by more ice time for Perezhogen and Latendresse.

Ryder, Higgins, Plekanic, Perezhogen, Samsanov, and yes, Radek Bonk should all improve on their offensive numbers of a year ago.

The penalty killing wasn’t very good a year ago but neither was the goaltending until Huet wrestled the job away from Theodore. And it’s hard to believe that a hockey staff that features Gainey, Guy Carbonneau, Doug Jarvis and Kirk Muller can’t turn the PK unit into
something a lot more formidable.

Which brings us to ? & The Mysterians….

http://96tears.net/

Can Saku Koivu play 70 + games? Can he see properly for all 70 games or does he become the most effective disabled player since “One Eyed” Frank McGee?(You mean you haven’t watched Hockey: A People’s History?).
Will Latendresse actually contribute beyond the odd power play/4th line shift? And if he doesn’t, will he get enough work to avoid turning into, in the words of Mike Farber, Ginette Reno?
Can Andre Markov finally put it all together? Or will he pack it in and head home to Russia?
Will Sheldon Souray break a years’ supply of composite sticks on opening night? And if he does, will that give him time to ghostwrite “The Dave Stubbs Story”?
Will Herb Zurkowsky get kicked off the Als beat only to resurface at the Bell Center to torment Guy Carbonneau?
Can Bonk and Mike Johnson click often enough to make headline writers drool? (Johnson, Bonk…c’mon, use your imagination…)
And the 6.4 million dollar question: Is Cristobal Huet for real?

Habs finish 6th. Meet and beat Carolina in first round of playoffs.

Melnick’s Eastern Finish:

Buffalo-speed, coaching, came so close a yr ago & Ryan Miller
NYR-goaltending, speed & a bionic shoulder for Jagr
Carolina-grit, experience, Erics & Cam Ward
NJ-Brodeur, Lamierello & Julien (where’s Larry?)
Ottawa-solid core of 5-6, will look for a G by X-mas
Montreal-will win it for Don Matthews (oops, sorry)
Boston-Toivenen wins Calder, Chara wins nothing
Philadelphia-Bobby Clarke & Ed Snider walk into a bar….
Tampa Bay-Will reacquire Buhlin Wall
Atlanta- Hartley 1st coach in east to be fired after trade request by Kovalchuk
Pittsburgh-Crosby, Staal, Malkin and…Thibeault???
NYI-Nolan sends Garth Snow to Muckler on X-Mas morning
Toronto-Fergy Jr 1st Gm to be fired, replaced by Tie Domi
Florida-Ed Belfour punches out Jacques Martin, or Alex Auld, or Denis Potvin…
Washington-Gainey offers McPhee a 15 for 1 deal for Ovechkin; Alex prefers DC

Hit & Miss, huh? I figure my batting average is at least as good as Thomas Plekanic's face-off percentage (48.3). I thought in "My New NHL" Samsanov and Kovalev would score 55-60 goals between them. They totalled 27. Samsanov needs a new mirror in the off season. And a new stationary bike. Love handles and a nine goal season at 3.5 million a year is not a good combination. Kovalev? I'm very disappointed. I believe he was playing hurt for much of the season but that certainly does not explain his disappearing act the final week. Unless there's something else in play that we're not aware of Kovalev will not likely be given the chance to spar with Carbonneau, a la Samsanov this year.

The coach made mistakes. Forget about the choice of goaltenders saturday night in Toronto. (But please don't tell me that Cristobal Huet played well. ) The Habs horrid five on five play all season is at least a measure of coaching, not getting the right people on the ice at the right time. Saku Koivu spends too much time on the penalty killing unit, where he was again in the 3rd period saturday night when he took his final bad penalty of the season. (Anyone blaming saturday's loss -or the season-on Koivu is an idiot or a racist. Maybe both. In the last eight games of the season he scored 15 points.) Carbonneau's ref-baiting didn't help as the Habs swooned at Christmas time but he did eventually learn to bite his lip more often. All in all a bumpy rookie ride but let's remember that he heads an entire staff that prior to this season combined for zero days of NHL head coaching experience.

The General Manager? Nobody should ever have to go through what Bob Gainey had to endure this season. It's hard to tell if the death of his daughter Laura hampered his GM duties in any way. Bert Raymond of Le Journal De Montreal believes it did and devoted an entire column to the subject following the trade deadline. I was fortunate to run into Gainey a couple of months back as his family was celebrating the engagement of his daughter Anna. It was heartwarming to see the family (including son Steve whos own brief NHL carer is now over) enjoy themselves. Raymond, and others, point to Gainey's lack of movement at the trade deadline as proof that he was paralyzed by grief. I don't see it that way. But it's difficult to read Gainey at the best of times. His refusal to speak publicly following the deadline was unfortunate. I'm going to assume he'll have something to say early this week as once again management and coaches will try to explain what went wrong. The trade of Craig Rivet to San Jose made this edition of the team worse. No follow up move and not dressing Josh Gorges on deadline day in New York had a predictable result. Sheldon Souray admitted the team was "distracted". Ganey's refusal to add a goaltender, especially with free agents-to-be Ed Belfour and Curtis Joseph available for draft picks, cost his team. Not until Jaroslav Halak went back in goal did the Canadiens start to take off again. But there were points to be won that David Aebischer couldn't. (For Murray Wilson to go on Satellite Hot Stove on Hockey Night In Canada and explain away the non-move by saying hindsight is 20-20 and Aebsicher had been playing well was beyond disingenuous.) Ribeiro for Niinimaa worked out horribly. Watching a once key NHL defenseman struggle as Niinimaa did reminded me of Rob Ramage here in Montreal at the end of his career in 1993. As poorly as he played Ramage at least got to see his team win a Cup. With Gainey and Carbonneau both behind the bench for the second half of last season, somebody had to tell them what Pierre McGuire told us on the air. That for all his experience and popularity with teammates, and as good a career as he's had, Niinimaa's best days were way behind him.

Let's cut to (cue Ennio Morricone) The Good, The Bad and The Ugly:

Good: Koivu, Chris Higgins, Thomas Plekanic, Andrei Markov, Mike Komisarek, Halak, Andrei Kostitsyn, Mark Streit, and, well, okay with a strong finish...Ryder

Bad: Mathieu Dandenault, Francis Boullion

Ugly: Samsanov, Kovalev, Aebischer

That leaves a few others who fit somewhere in between:

Radek Bonk-Mike Johnson-Alex Perzhogen was one of the best lines in the league...for a month.
Bonk had a good year. Johnson was terrific in the first half, faded badly in the second. Perezhogen is a mystery. Created almost zero offense.

Guillaume Latendresse proved he is going to be a factor in the NHL. But not today. Can the Canadiens afford to have both Steve Begin and Maxim Lapierre down the middle? Who are Josh Gorges and Michael Leighton? Will we find out?

Cristobal Huet will be next season's Jose Theodore. At half the salary.

Sheldon Souray just had one of the most mind-boggling black and white seasons in NHL history.
I'd take him back but not at five million per season.

Gainey's to do list:

Dump Samsanov (to Chicago) and Kovalev(easier said than done); Re-sign Markov and maybe even Bonk but only at less than half his current salary. Add size up front and on the blueline. Boullion and Dandenault are useful players, but they play way too many minutes. Trade Huet and perhaps Ryder if, as usual, the free agent market dries up.

Should be a hot week on the air, or a week full of hot air,so let me get this out of the way. Blame it all on Jeffrey Loria and David Samson.

Melnick MVP Voting:

1. Sydney Crosby
2. Roberto Luongo
3. Martin Brodeur/Vincent Lecavalier
5. Joe Thornton
6. Nicklas Lidstrom
7. Scott Neidermayer
8. Rick DiPietro
9. Danny Heatley
10.Thomas Vanek

How To Lay An Egg In New York

2007-04-05T19:22:00.000-07:00

Thursday April 5 10:30 PM

I forgot to add something to my mini-guide to a good time in New York City. While there are any number of terrific spots for an omelette, not just the Empire Diner; where does one go to see the actual process of laying an egg? Back up to the Catskills? Across the Hudson River to New Jersey? Staten Island? Nah, just head to 33rd & 7th Avenue, whenever the Montreal Canadiens are in town.

Rotten eggs don't smell as bad as The Habs' performance at Madison Square Garden tonight. For the umpteenth time this season the Canadiens began a game as if they were protecting a four goal lead. No forecheck, no body slams, no speed, no passion. Jaroslav Halak did his part to keep them in the game, far longer than they should have been. This was the same kind of mis-match that had resulted in a 7-2 Rangers victory over the Maple Leafs last sunday night. Which might say a lot more about Halak vs Andrew Raycroft than anything else at this point. Which is one reason I stay with the kid saturday night.

There were a lot of villians with white sweaters tonight. But Halak was not among them. Perhaps if Cristobal Huet had stood on his head and faced a barrage of shots you'd think more seriously of starting him in Toronto but the Rangers had a total of eight shots on goal and really tested him just once, a good shot but from well out by Sean Avery. I didn't like what I saw from Huet before he got hurt. I like a lot of what I've seen from Halak, even with the poor road record.

As for the real villians? As an Alex Kovalev fan let me state the obvious. I thought he'd be a big factor tonight, maybe even the difference. Instead it looked like Alex was thinking about his next flight log. Seems to me he lost interest after Michael Ryder failed to get him the puck, when that was clearly the play, after Kovalev had established position in front of Henrik Lundqvist, only to watch Ryder hang onto the puck (turning into Richard Zednick before our eyes, huh?), circle the net, but once again fail to get a shot while losing possession and watching the puck slide towards his own net.

Saku Koivu created plays. Chris Higgins worked hard but again with no result. Thomas Plekanic and Andrei Kostitsyn, so strong down the stretch, were barely visible. Guillaume Latendresse might soon find himself on a milk carton. Francis Bouillion handed the Rangers their second goal. And you can't be caught in a Boullion-Jagr match up, which the Habs were, twice. Credit to Tom Renney.

So here we go. Canadiens-Leafs on a Saturday night in Toronto. The most playoff-like non-playoff game since, well, what St. Patrick's Day night here in Montreal? Last March when the Habs swept the Leafs in back to back games and Darcy Tucker was forced to eat Kovalev's forearm? Or do we have to go all the way back to the last legit playoff match up in April 1979 when the Canadiens defeated Toronto en route to their fourth straight Stanley Cup.

Koivu always plays well against Toronto. I don't worry about him. Kovalev has to bounce back. If not, he's bounced himself right out of town. Higgins is overdue. The kids (Plekanic, Kostitsyn, Lapierre) will once again be a factor. Mike Johnson is going home. Latendresse must wake up, especially against a bigger, more physical team. Carbonneau has to play match ups, as difficult as that is on the road. Keep Bouillion away from the Sundin line.

Even though the Leafs are still the more desperate of the teams, the Habs have to play just as desperate. Not wait around to see how Toronto starts. I think Montreal will be fine. They've laid their egg. Only thing worse is to follow up by playing like the proverbial chicken with its head cut off. Hopefully Ryder will be the only Hab to go that route.

There is another possibility of course. And it might be the most just at this stage. Leafs beat the Habs in regulation. Toronto reacts as if they've won the Cup. The Islanders follow up tonight by winning their final two games against Philadelphia and an -already- clinched New Jersey Devils. They get in. Leafs and Habs wind up together afterall. On the outside looking in.

Favorite Leafs from 1979 Montreal-Toronto playoff series:

1. Dan Maloney
2. Mike Palmateer
3. Tiger Williams
4. Lanny McDonald
5. Darryl Sittler

Weekend in New York

2007-04-04T16:35:00.000-07:00

Wednesday April 4, 7:30 PM

Very tempted to head back to New York for tomorrow nights' Habs-Rangers showdown. On somebody else's dime of course, so it's not happening. Will definately look at organizing some kind of Team 990 excursion, perhaps later in the baseball season when Pedro Martinez returns to the Mets rotation.

A decade ago, CIQC radio organized a contest/trip to New York to watch the Expos take on the Yankees at Yankee Stadium. I hosted my show from the pressbox but at 7 PM I left The Bronx to head to Manhattan. Six years ago I drove down with Shaun Starr for the Expos-Mets series that had been pushed back because of 9/11. Instead of attending all four games at Shea, I took the opportunity to spend thursdsay through saturday drinking/dining and experiencing so much of what the city has to offer. Starr, a big baseball fan himself, had never been to New York and quickly realized that Manhattan was more interesting than whatever the Expos or Mets were doing in Queens and decided to hang with me. We watched the friday night game from an Irish bar while finally making it to Shea for the series finale on sunday afternoon. Jeffrey Loria joined us for a moment, waving a copy of that nasty cartoon in Le Journal de Montreal.

Like the old slogan, I Love New York. Perhaps I'd feel differently if I actually lived there but I really don't think so. There's a rhythym and an energy to the city that I absolutely feed off. It's almost chemical. Maybe I lived a previous life in Greenwich Village but I believe I am more of myself when I'm there than anywhere else, except perhaps in a radio studio. It feels like home.

I have great respect and admiration for my late sister who was an aritist and aspiring actress. Not content to remain in Montreal she decided to move to New York while in her 30's and lived there, not without some difficulty, until the day she died in July of 1998. She too adored the city. Maybe it's in our blood.

I'm often asked how I can afford to head down as often as I do. It's not easy. But there are ways, especially with a small group of people, where you can enjoy the scene for less than you think. Here's a bit of a guide:

When I'm alone I stay in a small (closet sized) but very clean room in the Union Square area. I don't need space in a hotel room where I am only going to sleep and shower. It's a short walk to The Village and SoHo and so many of the places I like to hang out at including the Strand bookstore where I once ran into Willem Dafoe loading a crateful of used books into the back of a friends pick up truck. www.strandbooks.com

The Virgin Megastore is located in the heart of Union Square. Why wait weeks for a CD in Montreal when it's already on display at Virgin? And like The Strand you could spend hours browsing through cd's, dvd's, boxsets and books that you can't possibly find here at home.
http://www.virginmegamagazine.com/default.asp?vms=7

If it's import, hardcore, punk or "special" recordings you're looking for than head a few blocks south to Thompson. I've spent way too much money in there over the years on many recordings that are becoming obsolete as Dylan and Neil Young are now releasing their own bootleg series.

Among the food places to hit in The Village are John's Pizza and Arturo's. The pizza at both joints are made in coal ovens, which no longer exist anywhere else in the city. It's the best pizza I've ever had. John's is on Bleeker Street (and in midtown) and is strictly about the pies (no slices). Arturo's is much more of a hang out with a variety of fabulous Italian food.

http://www.johnsofbleeckerstreet.com/

http://nymag.com/listings/restaurant/arturos/

If it's a burger you want head to another legendary joint, The Corner Bistro on West 4th. If you're still thirsty head to Hudson and 11th where The White Horse Tavern awaits as it has since 1880, with a wall-sized image of Dylan Thomas who drank himself to death at the establishment in 1953.

If you're a music fan a stroll down to Prince Street in SoHo is a must. The Morrison Hotel Gallery features astonishing portraits of some of the greatest names in music history shot by some of the greatest photographers in music history.

http://www.morrisonhotelgallery.com/

Last weekend, before I headed to Woodstock, I attended a couple of small shows. Rocky Votolato is an interesting singer-songwriter who can remind you of early Springsteen or perhaps Jakob Dylan. I have a couple of his cd's but had never seen him. So I headed to The Knitting Factory in the TriBeca section of Manhattan. Jam packed and over heated I was hoping it was worth the trek. It wasn't. He sang in barely a whisper, played in virtually the same key the entire set and accompanied himself with a recorded rythym section. The place went nuts. I went up to the Rodeo Bar at 3rd and 27th to catch Elana James and The Continental Two. This was old time country music at its best with no cover.

www.rockyvotolalo.com
www.knittingfactory.com
www.rodeobar.com
www.elanajames.com

Last friday in New York was a fabulous day. Sunny and 68 degrees. I decided to take the opportunity to do something I had never done before. Walk across the Brooklyn Bridge.
It's a mile walk each way but there is a subway stop on site if your feet give out. Even without the World Trade Center the views on the bridge are breathtaking. I don't know why I waited so long.

http://www.endex.com/gf/buildings/bbridge/bbridge.html

Later that night I attended The Allman Brothers show at the Beacon Theatre. I'm a big fan of both guitarists, Warren Haynes and Dereck Trucks, but on this night my seats were too far off to the side to fully appreciate their work. Besides I had been terribly distracted prior to the show at Yogi's, another legendary spot, a block north of the Beacon. So prior to the end of the first set I headed back. And stayed until my empty stomach forced me a couple of blocks north to Big Nick's. After sampling everything in their kitchen I headed back to Yogi's and waited for the post show crush while dancing the night away to umpteen renditions of "Whipping Post" that poured out of the jukebox while Knob Creek was poured into me. A great night.

www.allmanbrothersband.com
www.beacontheater.net
http://newyork.citysearch.com/profile/36628417/new_york_ny/yogi_s.html
http://bignicksnyc.com/

Closing time meant a 50 block cab ride to the Chelsea Hotel, made famous by the aformentioned Thomas, who collapsed in his room after his drinking binge at The White Horse; Thomas Wolfe, Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, Janis Joplin and countless other artists/writers and bohemians. The place is huge, filled with valuable and not so valuable artwork on every available wallspace with some surprisingly affordable rooms. The lobby itself is a show of eccentrics by eccentrics. And dogs are constantly being walked in and out. The staff is very friendly. And the room? By Manhattan standards it was almost earily quiet.

http://www.hotelchelsea.com/

Woke up Saturday morning to a breakfast at The Empire Diner. Don't remember walking in. But I do remember sitting at the counter, waiting for an omelette while coming to the rescue of a waiter who couldn't figure out the name of a former Met who's picture he had taken the night before. It was Ed Kranepool. The Met, not the waiter.

http://www.nyc-architecture.com/CHE/CHE004-EmpireDiner.htm

Then it was up to Woodstock. The rest, as Red Fisher would say, you know.

Other NYC locations worth checking out:

Music: Irving Plaza, Mercury Lounge, Red Lion (live music till 4 AM), Joe's Pub, The Living Room, Bowery Ballroom, Town Hall, Supper Club, Blue Note, Iridium Jazz Club (Les Paul every monday night), BB King Blues Club

Comedy: Comedy Cellar, Gotham, Caroline's

Always be observant in New York. Among the famous I've seen and met:

Bruce Sprinsgteen
Vinnie "Mad Dog" Lopez (original E Street drummer)
Patti Smith
Harvey Keitel
Jesse Malin
Rufus Wainwright
Steve Van Zandt
Amos Lee
Conan O'Brien
Jerry Seinfeld
Barry Shenk (Simpson DNA lawyer)
Bill Walton
George Recile (Dylan's drummer)
John Riggins
George Steinbrenner
Charlie Rangel (Congressman)
David Dinkins (Former mayor)

Favorite NY Rangers:

1. Eddie Giacomin
2. Glen Sather
3. Bobby Rousseau
4. Steve Vickers
5. Dave Maloney
6. James Patrick
7. Nick Fotiu
8. John Davidson
9. Adam Graves
10 PJ Stock

Saturday Night at Levon's

2007-04-02T16:11:00.000-07:00

Monday April 2 7:30 PM

As most of you know I'm a big music fan. Always have some tune in my head. Right now I'm hearing Positively Fourth Street by Dylan, thinking about Claude Julien and Lou Lamoriello. I take vacation time around the Jazz Fest and try to book time off whenever I see an artist I admire booked into a small club in New York or Boston. Live music is an addiction of mine (along with caffeine and potato chips) that can be costly but healthy. It often provides me the same spiritual lift that many people get through organized religion. This past weekend I visited the church of Levon.

Levon Helm is one of the founding members of The Band. A Rock and Roll Hall of Famer who still lives close to where the group created such great music in the late 60's and early 70s. Music From Big Pink is one of the seminal albums of the 60s ("It changed my life" said Eric Clapton), and it actually still exists. The house where The Band lived is located in Saugerties near Woodstock, New York. It was painted pink. Apparently still is. Most people hear Woodstock and think of the music festival in 1969. But the festival was actually held about 35 miles away in Bethel. Woodstock already had a long history of attracting artists, musicians and writers long before Bob Dylan and The Band moved in. While Robbie Robertson and the late Richard Manuel eventually moved away, Garth Hudson, the late Rick Danko and Helm all stayed.

Today Levon lives about a five minute drive from the center of town. I was among a group of about 150 music fans who got to hang out in his home on saturday night as part of his continuing Midnight Ramble sessions. I'd call it heaven. Once you arrive on his property in the woods, friends and neighboors outfitted with "Helmland Security" t-shirts hand you your tickets and direct you to a parking spot. And it's nothing but good vibes for the rest of the night.

I first read about the Midnight Ramble in the Sunday New York Times about a year ago. It sounded almost too good to be true. Levon Helm is creating a lasting impression of the power of live music (in an era that relies so heavily on packaging and all that is phony) similar to what he grew up experiencing in sheds and open fields and front porches in his home state of Arkansas; not to mention the old medicine shows that used to roll into his and other southern towns. Throw in fans from across the world who show up for this event, many bringing food and drinks for all to share, and you have an evening that is simply unforgettable.
I urge you to make a pilgrimmage.

http://www.levonhelm.com/midnight_ramble.htm

Got a chance to walk around the town for a couple of hours prior to the show. There's certainly no shortage of "Woodstock Nation" memorabilia (almost expected to find some of the bad brown acid from the festival freeze dried and on sale, along with a Jimi Hendrix plastic cast) but what struck me was how many burned out casualties seemed to be walking around, most looking just like the Dennis Hopper character in Apocalypse Now. Bill Lee suggested that they've all been pickled.

That's not to say it's not a neat spot. It's located in the Catskill Mountains. Beautiful and peaceful. A refreshing way to wind up a weekend after spending a couple of enjoyable but frenzied nights in Manhatten including a night at The Chelsea Hotel following a concert by The Allman Brothers.

More details to follow. Enjoy the matzoh.

Favorite Jewish musicians:

1. Bob Dylan (Zimmerman)
2. Elvis Presley (Original family name was Pressler): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elvis_Presley
3. Lou Reed
4. Warren Zevon (father was Jewish gangster)
5. Leonard Cohen
6. Joey Ramone
7. Dan Bern
8. Paul Simon
9. Steve Wynn
10. Kinky Friedman
11. Ramblin' Jack Elliott (Adnopoz)
12. Mike Bloomfield
13. Al Jolson
14. Lucy Kaplansky
15. Jackie Wilson (converted)

The Terry Ryan Flu

2007-03-24T12:04:00.000-07:00

Saturday March 24 3 PM

My head hurts. Not a hang-over hurt. Not a normal headache. More of a dull ache. Maybe it's a withdrawl sympton. I've been off the air for over a week. Haven't had a Guinness or Jamieson since last sunday. Been away from Terry Ryan since later that night as he, in the words of the late Danny Gallivan "gingerly negotiated his way" down the ice- filled steps of my place, a St. Johns Leafs hockey bag flung over his left shoulder, another bag of jeans, t-shirts, cd's and dvd's he purchased while in Montreal flung over the same shoulder, while his right hand clutched a pair of hockey sticks he used to help lead the Melnick in the Afternoon team to the first ever Team 990 Molson-Ex Hockey Challenge Championship three days earlier.

Now he was gone. In an Atlas taxi heading to the airport. And my head started to hurt. Ryan-itis?

Long before I got to know him, I always liked Terry Ryan. What was not to like? A big winger with a bigger heart who could fight and score. Yeah, there were players the Habs probably should have selected (most notably Jerome Iginla) instead of using the 8th overall pick in the 1995 draft on Terry. http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/draft/nhl1995e.html
But how many players across the country were coming off the kind of season Ryan had for Tri-City? Playing on the same team as Daymond Langkow and Sheldon Souray, Ryan scored 50 goals, 110 points in 70 games while racking up 207 penalty minutes. He added another 27 points including 12 goals in 17 playoff games.

When he first joined the Habs Terry impressed, if not with his skating, then certainly his willingness to mix it up. He has a tape of me from the the old "Habs This Week" tv show I used to host suggesting that he might one day develop into a Rick Tocchet style player. Not exactly cherry picking his opponents, among Terry's early NHL dance partners was Tie Domi. Unfortunately that moment might be his lasting NHL legacy. NHL totals: 8 games, 0 points, 36 PIM. What happened? It's a tale better left told by Terry himself. Suffice to say the Ron Corey move of canning Jacques Demers and Serge Savard didn't help.

I met him over breakfast last summer while he was in Montreal for a ball hockey tournament. Turned out we share a love of sports and music. Very similar tastes. He also tells a great story.
And he was interested in radio. So he agreed to join me every monday at 4:10 from his home/office or on the road somewhere in St. John's. We talk, surprise surprise, hockey and music.

Looking for any reason at all to return to Montreal Terry jumped at the chance to play in The Team 990 Molson Ex Challenge. Especially as it lead into St. Patrick's Day weekend. While there seemed to be an awful lot of trash talk in our studio leading to the event (most notably by PJ Stock) I've always subscribed to the wonderful quote from who knows where (if anybody knows the source please pass along) "When you lose say little, when you win say less".

Based on the quote I should stop right here. But a bit of background info. I used to play hockey regularly (weekly, usually friday nights, saturday mornings at 3 or 4 AM) in my 20's; semi-regularly( once or twice a month, whenever a team needed a goalie) in my 30's, and almost never since I turned 40 (the odd charity game-last one I played in was five years ago, I think we(I) got beat the Alouettes, most of whom were very hung over and nasty on the ice. I do remember Shaun Starr playing defense, farting his way through most of his shifts, while Jacques Demers coached from our bench). Even though I didn't play much I skated often, especially with my kids, as I lived across the street from Westmount Arena for nearly a decade. I was very much looking forward to playing in the Molson Ex Challenge. Until I started to prepare for it. Lifting weights wasn't the hard part, although I did feel unusually gassed after three sets. Then I hopped onto my stationary bike in an attempt to peddle through the new John Fogerty concert DVD, The Long Road Home (It's terrific; Fogerty hardly looks or sounds like a guy in his 60's), or at least 20 minutes of it. One song in and I started to feel dizzy. Then I nearly fell right off. A completely blocked left ear was obviously affecting my balance. I tried the same exercise the next day with the same result. A call to my doctor eventually led me to an ear specialist who told me what I already knew except that it could last six weeks. Following a return visit the following week I was sent to the Audiology department at the Jewish General Hospsital for more tests (which included repeating taped messages of a soothing voice: "Say the word....castle" (I thought the word was hassle), "Say the word...tick" (I thought it was tit but realized it couldn't have been, I took a wild guess and said tick). Turns out I do have some permanent hearing loss, due mostly to aging and way too many concerts. Ear plugs are definately in my near future, perhaps as soon as this friday as I'm scheduled to catch The Allman Brothers at The Beacon Theatre in New York.

While I continued to work on the air, terribly over-compensating for my left ear blockage by blasting my headphones to the max, I was beyond uncomfortable. While many of us have worked or tried to work through various illnesses or injuries, I could no longer do my job properly because I could not hear myself. Kind of like a musician without a stage monitor.
And any hopes of making myself feel better by playing some hockey and running PJ Stock into the crossbar were dashed when "Who'll Stop The Rain" seemed to be turning into "Strawberry Fields Forever". I resigned myself to not playing. But I wouldn't miss the event. So I made my Bell Center coaching debut. How many men can say they stood where Guy Carbonneau stands and own a perfect record?

Special thanks to our Twin Towers on defense, Martin Paulhus and Paul Lambert, nearly 300 pounds of skill and muscle. Our second defense pair was right out of Molson headquarters, Geoff Molson with converted right winger Bradley Ogier, who once played against Chris Pronger in high school.

Team Marinaro might have had a Luongo in goal (Leo, very good) but nobody played better than our own 40 year old Triple D Domenic "Dominator" Durante who played up to his nickname.

Successful coaches know when to change on the fly and play matchs ups when possible. These guys made it so easy for me, all I really had to do was chew on some ice:

Marc Lussier, career beer leaguer Mark Bartholomew, longtime teammates Chris Hoffman and Anthony "Tony" Granato, Julien "The Comet" Francis, Bill "Vassy" Vassilas, Robert Varillo, and our regular contributors; Lorne "The Advisor" Rubin (better than any other freelancer), Andie "She's really getting dressed with us?" Bennett (and UNdressed!) and our captain Terry Ryan.

Marinaro has apparently been whining about not getting much rest between games. Each game was 24 minutes. That's a total of 24 minutes. Running time. Wonder what John Torterella would say?

Anyway, it was a great event. A mini fantasy camp for everybody involved. Special thanks to Molson's, The Bell Center (especially security and zamboni staff) La Cage Aux Sports and our on ice officials: Kevin Mitchell, Kevin Rechil, Derek Widgington and Tommy Carkovic. Look forward to defending the championship-while playing-next year.

Back to Ryan. His on ice mission now accomplished (I left the dressing room prior to the first game to let Terry adress his teammates. His remarks were apparently Messier-like in depth and inspiration. Grown men and women will be weeping for years whenever they're asked about it.) Terry's actual work was just starting. Shmoozing with the masses before running into old friends deep into the night at Hurley's, co-hosting Friday morning editions of The Stock Exchange and The Montreal Forum (thoroughly embarrassed by his teams' 0-3 mark, PJ Stock shipped off to Boston for the weekend), guesting with Stephen Brunt and others at our annual St. Patrick's Day blow out at Hurley's, discovering people and places and bodies he never knew existed while arriving in time for a saturday breakfast show at McKibbins with Joey Elias, heading to the Bell Center early enough prior to the Habs-Leafs match up to catch up with old friends Ron MacLean and Don Cherry, hanging out in their studio for a period before heading into a private lodge run by relatives of Marinaro, meeting up again at Hurley's following the game with a few members of the Canadiens family in the not-yet-officially-opened-for business brand new wing of the Pub (it's going to be gorgeous) on the second floor, resting up just long enough to land with a thud on The Team 990 float for the parade on sunday, taking the microphone during a computer malfunction, imploring hundreds along Ste Catherine and Fort to "Visit the Ryan's this summer in St John's!!!". And then his work was done. Oh, to be 30 again.

With Ryan safely (?) back home, my condition seemed to worsen. While I detected some movement in my ear tube (when sneezing) the rest of my body seemed to be telling me that I had done enough damage for awhile. I couldn't move for the week. Literally.

I slept. I shuffled to the sofa. I read. I ate. I watched hockey. I shuffled back to bed. I read more about Conrad Black than I ever thought I would. I read about a new 36 hole golf course going up in Israel adjacent to the Sea of Galilea. Craters from Hamas attacks will be turned into sand traps. I listened to music. Neil Young at Massey Hall 1971 is sensational. The new Rickie Lee Jones (The Sermon On Exposition Boulevard) is inspiring. The Stooges first cd in 30 years (The Weirdness) sounds like...The Stooges! If you like guitar heroes check out Joe Bonamassa. His latest is an all blues effort with help from Jason Bonham. Yes, they cover Zeppelin. http://www.jbonamassa.com/index2.htm

At least I still had an appetite. But I still can't hear out of my left ear. Next week will mark the magic 6 week period since I first noticed the blockage. I'll remain off the air until it clears up, or until the Canadiens clinch a playoff spot, whichever comes first.

Amazing what above average goaltending can do for a team, huh? Or, in the case of the NY Islanders without Rick DiPietro and the Habs prior to Halak II, below average goaltending. No deep mysteries. No wondering why the team is so listless (A Hall of Fame broadcaster recently went on tv to suggest that a friend of his, who has season tickets at ice level, complains that players in the penalty box show no emotion! The surest sign yet that there must be a coaching/leadership/chemistry/talent problem on the team.)

Over the years I have grown a very high tolerance level, as is a necessity in this business, for those who might sound off base on a particular topic. Everyone is entitled to an opinion should be printed on business cards for anybody in talk radio. But I must confess there is one topic I have virtually no time left to discuss, clearly no patience for and frankly, at this stage, no respect for anybody who buys into the Saku Koivu is not a real captain bullshit. It's enough to make my head throb, again. We all get e-mails from listeners who want to know why, after 10 years without winning "anything", I continue to support Koivu in the manner in which I do. As if simply by having the 'C' on his sweater gives him the power to carry everybody on his back and all the way to what...a Stanley Cup? Can anybody tell me which team Koivu has been a part of while he's been here that should have gone further than it did? You want him to, at some point, "guarantee a win" in a key game, a la Messier, who by the way, spent the last seven years of his career OUT of the playoffs?
If you have yet to figure out what kind of competitor, talent, spirit and leader this man is than you're either blind, ignorant or simply prefer to take out your frustrations on the most visible player(s) available, outside of the goaltender, without regard to facts or evidence.
It was very gratifying then, as part of lie-on-my couch week, to hi-lite PVR material which included tributes to Koivu on TSN and HNIC. The occasion was Koivu being cancer free for five years. And how he has helped and inspired so many others, without lifting a Cup.

That's character. That's leadership. That's a winner. In more than three languages.

After A Week Like This...

2007-03-09T17:42:00.000-08:00

Friday March 9, 8:45 PM

Just another week in Habland....

La Presse devotes six pages in it's monday sports section to "L'Affaire Kovalev", printing what it says is a word for word transcript of an interview a Russian journalist says she conducted with Kovalev on his birthday (Feb 24)... Kovalev is critical of Guy Carbonneau and some teammates, especially the French ones... La Presse says it heard a portion of the interview....Francois Gagnon offers up a vigorous defense of his paper on The Team 990 morning show, saying the paper has the conversation on tape...Kovalev denies everything, then addresses his teammates before they publicly go to bat for him, some suggesting there is no chemistry problem on the team (Saku Koivu: "Best room we've had in 10 years")...Out of nowhere Jack Todd emerges, describing La Presse as "brave" and a journalist he's never met or read as "courageous"...Todd then returns to work on his life story, entitled "One New Adventure In The Cuckoo's Nest"...PJ Stock, a frequent critic of Kovalev, demands a copy of the so-called taped interview...A veteran Russian journalist, who also happens to be Kovalev's biographer says he doesn't believe the story, and the publication it originally appeared in "constantly makes things up"...The journalist in question says a lot of what appeared in La Presse is not what Kovalev told her, that there must have been something "lost in the tanslation"...Stock and Gagnon battle it out on 110%....Making the best use of a prop in public since Russian Premier Nikita Kruschev banged a table at the UN with his shoe, Stock pulls out a black cassette ('The Best of Boston" had been taped over), taps it on the table and asks Gagnon for proof that Kovalev said what La Presse had reported....Gagnon, for the first time in his professional life cannot get a word in...Stock, outnumbered four to one, makes like Henri Richard versus the Bruins in Boston circa 1959 and wins a unanimous decsion over all of his opponents...Gagnon finally gets to speak (yell) off the air as he chases Stock down the hallway...TQS staff alert security as Stock turns to face Gagnon and fires back...Enrico Ciccone, warming up in the Green Room for his appearance the next night, begins to stretch...Stock manages to get into his Anglo car without further incident...calls a radio friend to tell him that "It got ugly"...Kovalev is described in print as "The Godfather of the Russian Mob" inside the Canadiens dressing room....Andie Bennett reports to pratice and is besieged by the media, wanting to know what had happened between Stock and Gagnon...Gagnon, supposedly enjoying time off with the wife and kids rips Stock in his blog...Pierre McGuire calls in from Edmonton wanting to know what happened between Stock and Gagnon...Stock reluctantly appears on the air at six, obviously angered by Gagnon's blog...Gagnon appears on the air, as scheduled, the next morning at 8:05...says he shouldn't have said that La Presse had a tape, and was hopeful that he and PJ could laugh about the previous night...Dave Stubbs interviews Yvan Cournoyer and Richard for The Gazette...both legends suggest media coverage of Kovalev is out of control and could scare players away....Cournoyer suggesting the French press could "demolish" Montreal as a hockey city...The Habs play the surging Thrashers in Atlanta...29 minutes into the game they trail 6-0...Kovalev is nearly invisible...Carbonneau "gets tough" at practice...Rejean Tremblay bookmarks everything for future use in "Lance et Compte"...

Meanwhile...in New york Chris Simon tries to slice off Ryan Holweg's head with his stick....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOdGMaaV-8A

I'd suspend Simon for the rest of the regular season (15 games) , the playoffs, plus 10 games next season.

Time to prepare for some much needed levity at the Irishman of the Year Breakfast. Don't forget we'll carry it live beginning at 9 AM.

Favorite Drinks:

1. The Macallan, 12 years old
2. Jack Daniels Single Barrel
3. The Macallan, 25 years
4. The Macallan, 10 years (60% alcohol!)
5. Knob Creek
6. Tequila (Cuervo shot)
7. Johnny Walker Blue
8. Guinness
9. Heineken
10.Dr.Pepper

-The worst thing about some men is that when they are not drunk they are sober.
William Butler Yeats

Favorite Irish Musicians:

1. Van Morrison
2. U2
3. The Pogues
4. Rory Gallagher
5. The Chieftains
6. Thin Lizzy
7. The Undertones
8. The Clancy Brothers
9. Luka Bloom
10. Sinead O'Connor

-The most beautiful music of all is the music of what happens
Irish proverb

Of Awards, Playoff Races, Goalie Coaches & 110%

2007-03-07T16:48:00.000-08:00

Wednesday March 7, 7:45 PM

Let me get this out of the way before I forget, yet again.

The first Team 990 Sports Personality of the Year luncheon was a tremendous success. We couldn't have pulled it off without the incredible spirit of cooperation from the staff at Place D'Armes Hotel. Most of the tables were purchased without a moment of hesitation. Many thanks to Bill Hurley, Gerry O'Regan, Peter & Jerry Kakkaroubous, Peter Bitharas, Nigel & Carmine at Champs, Christine Pickrell and the entire Pickrell clan at Westmount Florists, Lorne Rubin, Lloyd Fischler, Gary Silverman, Ed Langton, Peter Pisoto, Steve Traynor, John Gillman, George Fontopolous, Roy Halpin, Spiro Krallis, John Christofaro, Linda Nolet, Mike Chiasson,The Montreal Alouettes, The Montreal Impact, The Montreal Royals, Rodger Brulotte, Randy Tieman, Ron Reusch, Arpon Basu, Jimmy Montgomery Sr, Bruce Roberts, Dino Cerasa, Donald K Donald, GEG, Warner Canada and many others.
But the man who deserves the most love is Noel Butler who conceived the idea during a drunken stupor at another fundraiser at some other radio station. Noel pulled off the biggest single day in the six year history of the station while working on a floss-string budget.

Some Hi-lights: Otis Grant putting an end to speculation that he's fueding with former longtime manager/trainer Russ Anber by explaining that Russ is the only man-other than himself-to ever touch his genitals...Anber, on crutches, poking fun at Tony Marinaro...Peter Dalla Riva, dryly but effectively warning Russ what happens to those who make fun of Italians...then presenting the Coach of the Year Award to the wrong Tony Iaucaduca(long story)...Denis Casvant presenting the Female Athlete of the Year Award to a ravishing Charline Labonte of McGill... Elliott Price & Brulotte comiserating on the loss of baseball...Shaun Starr presenting the Community Volunteer Award to a shocked Trevor Williams...Joey Elias travelling in from Ottawa to be with us making 200 people laugh...then heading right back to Ottawa via Via but not without putting out an SOS for Ms. Labonte...PJ Stock accepting the only award voted on by The Team 990 listeners, which went overwhelmingly to Saku Koivu, and delivering his brief address in French only...and Pierre McGuire bringing the room to a standstill with his keynote speech on life, success and leadership, ending it to a standing O....And the food was amazing...Oh yeah, all this happened on my Dad's 82nd birthday.

Wait till next year.

Perfect segue, huh?

I believe the Canadiens lost the opportunity to go to the playoffs at the trade deadline(see earlier posts). While they sit just one point out of 8th place as I write this I feel even more strongly about them not getting in as I did prior to the start of the season when I thought they'd make it. I also thought Sergei Samsanov and Alex Kovalev would scoree 55 to 60 goals between them.

Looking at the schedule of not only the Habs but their main competitors as well, keeping in mind the various moves that were made on or prior to february 27th, the Canadiens appear to need a minor miracle to make it. They've already lost winnable games to the Rangers and Bruins. One of the best indicators of the relative strength of a team is goal differential. Only the Bruins have a worse mark in that department than the Canadiens. And then there's goaltending.

Can I be the first to ask not how hard he works but just how effective Rollie Melanson is as a goaltending coach? Is it just me or has every goaltender he's worked with at the NHL level gotten worse instead of better? Jocelyn Thibeault. Jeff Hackett. Jose Theodore. Cristobal Huet. David Aebischer. See a pattern here?

It figures that with four days off between the loss in Boston and tomorrow night in Atlanta some firestorm at Camp Habitant was going to develop. I've seen enough of these in nearly 30 years but it's usually a tabloid involved. Oops, La Presse sports is a tabloid.

Rule #1 in journalism: Consider the source. I'm playing catch up on this Kovalev "he said she said" story but what I do know sounds awfully murky to me. What saddens me more than anything is that the debate has degenerated into yet another French-English battle, specifically Francois Gagnon vs PJ Stock. If I had never seen 110% before I would have thought that PJ's performance on tuesday night was out-of-control and over-the-top. But the more I watched it online earlier today( http://www.tqs.ca/emissions/110/) the more I admired PJ's stance. He was giving those guys a taste of their own medicine. And he finally figured out that you can dominate a show by not taking a breath. Afterwards, off the air, as we discovered earlier today, Gagnon told producers he'll never again appear on the same show as PJ. And then the two raised the audio level of debate to Blue. With TQS Security on stand-by.

Kovalev and Samsanov have had lousy years. That much is obvious. I happen to think the coaching staff shares at least some of the blame. There was no chemistry going all the way back to training camp when Mike Ribeiro played between them. Thomas Plekanic's season was going nowhere until he was taken away from them. A crucial part of coaching is getting the most out of your players. In this instance, we'll find out by this time next year if Guy Carbonneau could have/should have done more with these guys or if they both suddenly morphed into Mariusz Czerkawski.

This much we do know: Both were free agents. Both decided to sign with Montreal. Saku Koivu, who's been booed at home, decided to re-sign, with a no-trade clause (I still think he's nuts). Craig Rivet, who saw-and read- his share of misery (remember Rejean Tremblay writing, "Who the fuck is Craig Rivet?") loved playing here. As difficult as it is for Bob Gainey to attract free agents, why are some members of the media so anxious to rip apart some of the few guys who choose to be here? And is the level of vitriol, let alone criticism, the same for players who are french? I think it's a fair question. I have to search for a meaningful answer.

Stephane Richer was a flake. Terrifically talented to be sure but his heart simply wasn't into playing every night. Did he ever get it a la Koivu and Kovalev? I don't remember if he did. What I do remember is certain Francophone media members rejoicing when Rejean Houle commited yet another blunder and sent Lyle Odelein packing to re-acquire Richer. (Richer played less than 80 games in his second tour with the Habs. Odelein won a Cup in Jersey).

Pierre Turgeon was even more talented than Richer. But posessed even a smaller heart. Yet some in this town tried to turn him into Jean Beliveau II. As he was under- producing in a playoff series one spring a member of the Canadiens organization said I should back off from criticizing Turgeon because he was "Playing with the flu". When I mentioned this to a member of the coaching staff I was told "He's not playing with anything...he's playing LIKE shit". Or, to quote from the wonderful Gare Joyce book "When The Lights Went Out (How One Brawl Ended Hockey's Cold War And Changed The Game):
A Former Canadiens star says that his old team's problems in the mid-90's started with Turgeon, the most skilled player in the line up at the time. "You're never going to win", he said, "When your captain has the balls of snow peas."
Page 295 http://www.randomhouse.ca/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780385662741

Claude Lemieux, three years into his NHL career, had managed to alienate everybody. Teammates, coaches, officials, even some fans (ask former bartender Noel Butler). Yet Rejean Tremblay writes that Pat Burns (French mother) is subconsciously biased against french players.

The decline of Jose Theodore was chronicled in a much more accurate manner in the english media.

Michel Bergeron? Hey, I give him credit. Couldn't win in the playoffs as an NHL coach. Couldn't keep his job as a radio analyst. So he gets born again as a French Don Cherry. Applauded and admired by many of the same people who think Cherry should be banned from radio and tv.

Double standard? Pas ici.

Entre les lignes
P.J. Stock reproche aux médias francophones et aux partisans qui parlent la même langue qu’eux d’être constamment sur le dos des vedettes surtout si elle ne parle pas français. Ce doit être pour ça qu’il a passé les trois premiers mois de la saison à décrier Guillaume Latendresse, à dénoncer ses moindres erreurs et à rire de tous ceux qui l’appuyaient alors qu’il défendait bec et ongle son ami Sergei Samsonov qui souffrait de l’incompréhension des journalistes, des amateurs et de son coach… En passant P.J. ce ne sont pas les anglophones du West Island qui t’ont adulé quand tu jouais à Victoriaville et qui t’ont rendu l’hommage suprême de retirer ton chandail l’automne dernier. Et ce ne sont pas juste les partisans du West Island qui t’ont appuyé quand tu mettais plus de cœur sur la patinoire, les rares fois que tu y posais les patins, à Montréal que les 17 autres joueurs qui t’y accompagnaient. Et ce ne sont pas juste des anglos du West Island qui t’écoute à la radio et qui se demande comment tu peux aujourd’hui leur cracher dessus… Think about it…

http://www.cyberpresse.ca/article/20070306/CPBLOGUES02/70306070&blogdate=20070306&cacheid=20070306

Habs Sold Their Season

2007-02-27T18:23:00.000-08:00

Tuesday February 27th 9:30 PM

.....As I was saying....veteran players on the team, following the loss of Craig Rivet, with opponents above and below them all arming up for the stretch drive, and with nobody added to the mix, save for a 4th string goaltender, have to wonder if the front office has packed it in. So they followed that lead tonight in New York. A performance against a depleted Rangers team that has to go down as their worst effort of the year. Coincidence? No way San Jose Rivet. Don't blame the players for this one.

On the one hand they're told that Rivet was expendable (check comments from Souray, Koivu, Higgins and others who feel differently) but the younger defenseman they got in return can be a valuable NHL player. So where the heck is he while Steve Begin tries to play with a foot that's as mashed up as my late Bubby's potato pancakes, and Sergei Samsanov and Chris Higgins are going through more kleenex than a 12 year old Pamela Anderson wanna be?

I thought when he made the deal with San Jose on sunday that Bob Gainey was loading up for another move. It would be nice to know if he came close. The fact that he refused to talk today, while the NHL sells the day as a marketing tool (in Canada anyway) should result in a fine. Perhaps not Lindy Ruff fine territory but a fine nonetheless. Even simple "Yes" or "No" answers would at least tell part of the story.

So, if Gainey couldn't add to the mix, while everybody around him did, it's no surprise that the players responded as if they had been told their work for the season was meaningless. And of all the people around the Canadiens family, none more so than Gainey himself, along with Carbonneau and Muller, should know the ripple down effect of losing a valuable, popular leader at this time of the year. Craig Rivet never wore the 'C' but he was at the least a co-captain.

Maybe by Friday in Buffalo the players will channel their disappointment into anger. Gainey? Maybe by Friday he'll have something to say.

Rivet Traded...and more

2007-02-25T15:38:00.000-08:00

Sunday February 25 6:30 PM

Just came into the office to pick up my bag of tricks, logged on to check some e-mail, and arriving in my Inbox almost simultaneously was a message from The Canadiens that they had traded Craig Rivet to San Jose for Josh Gorges and a first round draft choice next June. This marks the second time a Habs GM has acquired a defenseman named Josh (what-you don't remember Josh DeWolf?)I like Craig Rivet very much. He's the ultimate team player. Clearly not as important on the ice as Andrei Markov and Sheldon Souray. But important nonetheless. More valuable than Francis Boullion. Yes, Bouillion gives you a lot, can skate well, plays bigger than his size, etc. But I'll take Rivet. Bouillion was awful saturday on Long Island. He was knocked off the puck early by Victor Kozlov and played jittery in his own end the rest of the afternoon. Even though he doesn't back down from anybody Bouillion is often seperated from the puck by opposing forwards. While Rivet lacks Bouillion's mobility, and as much as he struggled this season, he's been much more reliable in his own end. And has been more effective on the point on the second power play unit.

The Canadiens will receive a low first round pick and a young NHL ready defenseman for a player who wasn't in their plans. On the surface a good deal for Gainey. But while Atlanta gets Alexei Zhitnik and Keith Tkaczuk, Carolina picks up Anson Carter, the Penguins apparently ready to move on Georges Laracque, the Rangers earlier acquring Sean Avery and Pascal Dupuis and the Islanders recent acquisition of Marc Andre Bergeron makes you wonder if last Thursday's improbable comeback win in Nashville has Gainey re-examing his priorities. Maybe he needs an additional first round pick to eventually deal one in return for an impact type rent-a-player. If not, I can guarantee you that the veterans in the room will be looking at each other wondering if the front office has packed it in.

The victory in Nashville wasn't completely wiped out by the loss to the Islanders but the eastern conference match up had a lot more on the line. Don't sell the Islanders short. They've been a strong five on five team all season. Ted Nolan's record speaks for itself. Weak on the power play, especially without Alexei Yashin, they improved it with the acquisition of Bergeron. Now, after a slow start following his 15 year contract signing Rick DiPietro is playing as well as any goaltender in the east not named Martin Brodeur.

As I was saying in my last post, the Canadiens were looking for a spark from an unexpected source and Jaroslav Halak and Andrei Kostitsyn have supplied it since their arrival from Hamilton. And clearly Michael Ryder and Sergei Samsanov have look more dangerous offensively rather than just offensive. Is it now David Aebischer's turn?

I love the way Halak has looked in the four games he's played. True, he'd love the Jason Blake backhander back, but more than made up for it with several terrific saves the rest of the game. Aebischer getting the start against Toronto surprises me. He better be good. The Canadiens play their following five games on the road. In New York against the Rangers, in Buffalo, in Boston, in Atlanta and in St Louis prior to returning home against...the Islanders.

Coming up in the next day or two a complete wrap up of the first ever Team 990 Sports Personality of the Year luncheon friday at Place D'armes hotel. Saku Koivu was the overwhelming choice-as voted on by listeners-as personality of the year.

Favorite Habs from Craig Rivet's NHL debut (1994-95):

1. Mike Keane
2. Lyle Odelein
3. Turner Stevenson
4. Mark Recchi
5. Patrick Roy

Maudit Canadien!

2007-02-16T18:32:00.000-08:00

Feb 16th 2007 9:30 PM

Fire Carbonneau. Fire Gainey. Trade Koivu (but before you do strip him of his captaincy). Fire Muller. Fire Jarvis. (What about Rollie Melanson while you're at it?). Bring in more French guys. Aye yaye aye, here we go again.

And the mental giants in the media have it all figured out. Alex Kovalev is hurt because Sheldon Souray popped him when they got into a fight during the closed door meeting following last saturdays loss to Ottawa. Saku Koivu is playing poorly and taking too many bad penalties because his buddy Craig Rivet was a healthy scratch. Kovalev is telling everybody who hates him to fuck off by saying that he won't continue to play hurt. Bob Gainey is an idiot because he wouldn't go on the record with Journal De Montreal hockey writer Marc De Foy during an encounter on the road at a coffee shop. None of this is true, as far as I know, except for Gainey and DeFoy briefly sharing the same air space in New Jersey.

I'll pick up on this in a moment, but here's an early candidate for e-mail of the year:

From: "Bill Maslen"
To:
Sent: Friday, February 16, 2007 3:48 PM
Subject: Montreal Maroons or Morons ?

> People wonder why quality free agents don't come to Montreal? Look no
> further than the dump Samsonov campaign after half a season, or the "is
> Kovalev really hurt" propaganda running amok in the public and the local
> media. Why have the captain and Les Boyz "run out of gas"? Why are the
> goalies looking more like Theodore than "Close the door"? Has the coach
> lost the room? What a joke folks, you need to relax!
>
> We're begging Gainey to trade our biggest offensive weapon on defence
since Larry Robinson instead of trying to find out if he will stay here at a
> reasonable cost. The minute you become a star in Montreal, you're never
good enough any more. People forget that Guy Lafleur was booed towards the end
of his run here, and we all know what happened with St. Patrick.
>
> At this rate, we will be holding a 40th anniversary of our last Stanley
Cup in a few years if the fans and media around here don't get a grip on
reality and develop the patience and understanding necessary to develop a real
positive atmosphere to draw players here instead of repel them.
>
> Please give these guys a break and be realistic with your expectations.
> Hounding and chasing the stars away is not solving anything, and frankly,
I can't wait until Carbo has had enough of the dumb questions and flips the
> bird at us again.

Nicely done Bill.

Guy Carbonneau is going to develop into a terrific NHL coach. He's learning, like Claude Julien before him, how to do it on a daily basis, without the previous pro experience that Julien had. His hand-picked assistant Kirk Muller is spending his first pro season behind a bench. Mistakes have been made. Not fireable offenses.

Save for comments strictly relating to possible NHL rule changes (to Mathias Brunet of La Presse) Bob Gainey has not spoken publicly since the death of his daughter Laura. He never comments on trade rumours and is hardly going to issue one of those dreaded votes of confidence for his coach. So DeFoy and his allies are insulted. Like that's got anything to do with the state of the team.

Has Gainey made mistakes? Absolutely. Ribeiro for Ninimma doesn't loook good. I thought he would make a trade following that awful loss to the Leafs in Toronto following the all star break. Not knowing what's been offered, it looks like he might have waited too long. Perhaps showing too much confidence, especially in some of the players he acquired.

Let's take a closer look at some key forwards on the Canadiens and what could have been reasonably expected of them offensively(De Foy did a nice job this week pointing out that the top four forwards on the Habs this season are a combined minus 57):

Actual Typical Diff

Koivu 45 pts (47) (-2)
Kovalev 38 (46) (-8)
Ryder 36 (43) (-7)
Samsanov 40 (23) (-17)

The first table is how many points each player currently has. The second is where they should be based on a typical NHL season through their respective careers. Clearly, there is some juice missing. After scoring 25 & 30 goals in his first two seasons, at age 26, Michael Ryder has found the unlikely ability to slide backwards. Kovalev has been playing hurt and Samsanov has been the biggest free agent bust since Mark Davis. http://www.retrosheet.org/

So did Carbonneau lose the room when Rivet was scratched? Or merely his captain?(a captain who beat an aggressive form of cancer, nearly lost an eye while his team went down without him, but still gets dumped on because he's not Vincent Lecavalier) Did Cristobal Huet fail to get home by midnight? Even without Richard Zednick and Jan Bulis are there still too many Europeans on the team? Not enough French guys? Oh, so many deep questions to ponder.

For two seasons in a row the Canadiens have hit a wall at Christmas time. Last year they were re-energized by the coaching change and Cristobal Huet. This year, it appears a nasty virus has, in part, knocked them toward the bottom of the eastern conference. I've spoken to several respected scouts in the last week or so and theyre all in agreement. The Habs' gas tank is on empty. Hamilton Bulldogs coach Don Lever told me this week the same thing happened to his team until Jaroslav Halak stood on his head and stole a couple of games. Barring a dramatic player move or two a second wind this time around is going to have to come from an unexpected source. Halak? Andrei Kostitsyn? Samsanov? David Aebischer?

And Darcy Tucker is about to re-join the Leafs. This could get worse before it gets better.

The Week That Was

2007-02-09T17:08:00.000-08:00

Friday February 9 8:10 PM

I know there was a lot of snickering when we announced the death of Anna Nicole Smith Thursday afternoon at 3:55 but I just felt sad. I had met her years ago at the old CIQC studio in Verdun when she paid an early morning visit to Jim Duff's show. She could barely stand let alone speak. As she slurred her way through a quicker than expected chat with Duff I felt a lot of anger build up towards the P.R. flak she was with. How could they allow her to embarass herself on the air like that? I don't remember what she was selling (other than herself) but she was an absolute wreck. I don't know what she's done professionally since that bizarre morning six or seven years ago, other than realize she had become a joke. But there's nothing funny about susbtance abuse. First thing I thought of when she died was how she had lasted this long.

Puts the Canadiens slide into perspective a little, huh? Maybe his critics ought to cut Pierre McGuire a little slack now that Christobal Huet looks merely mortal. Back in november McGuire said publicly that while it was obvious Huet was playing exceptionally well he wanted to wait until the 60 game mark before hopping on the Huet as star-goalie bandwagon. Maybe he
IS just good, not great. Nothing wrong with good.

Michael Ryder might end up scoring 40 goals somewhere else (John Leclair light?) but I'd rather see him go if it means prying a Peter Forsberg or a Bill Guerin away in time for the playoffs. The Canadiens have a lot of similar offensive minded players in their system, not as big as Ryder, but definately quicker. And organizational depth in goal. Bob Gainey has to pull the trigger before it's too late.

I caught the first of a series of sold out shows by Arcade Fire at the Ukranian Federation Hall (corner of Hutchison and Fairmount) tuesday night.. I love what the band is doing, giving back to its core fans before they next see them in the cavernous Bell Center. It was fun to be there in the cramped old place. Win Butler and Company may have produced the best Wall of Sound since Phil Spector but his vocals were buried in the mix of 10 instruments on stage. Bruce Hills of Just for Laughs had the same reaction but we were in the extreme minority. The acoustic-based new songs from "Neon Bible"sounded beautiful.

http://www.arcadefire.com/flash.html

So the old debate about whether we'll ever see a current male pro athlete in a team sport come out was rekindled this week when former NBA center John Amaeche announced he is gay(through a taped interview with ESPN to be seen monday). As I stated on the air, I hope to be around when it does happen. The stated argument against such a development is the extreme negative reaction to that possibility, from teammates and "fans". Do you honestly think any amount of verbal abuse heaped on such an athlete would be worse than what Jackie robinson went through 60 years ago? Or Hank Aaron while he was chasing Babe Ruth's ghost in 1974? I think we will see a brave guy, backed by a brave organization(no jokes about the tomahawk chop) reach that point where player and team see the greater good. And I think it'll happen when that athlete, whomever it might be, is in the final year of his career.

Having said all that, it's very sad that members of the media in this city, and in this country, are not yet prepared themselves to come out. And I don't mean just the sports media. I am aware of a few openly gay sportswriters and radio hosts in the United States, but outside of Richard (Bugs) Burnett in Hour where are they on this side of the border? Reminds me of my early days in this business when I worked in the same building as an FM Radio News Director who's behavior at company Christmas parties was legendary. Yet he always went home to his wife and kids. Until he could no longer wait for "special occasions". So he got divorced and came out. Another well known male media type used to invite guys out to strip joints after last call to get them worked up enough so he could pleasure them (yes, I was invited once). How sad, I thought, to have to keep up a front, to live a lie, and for whom exactly? The guy was awfully lonely. Never made it to 60.

http://outsports.com/entertainment/20050218gumbybookexcerpt.htm

Had the great pleasure to interview Packers legend Jerry Kramer("Instant Replay") prior to the Super Bowl. In the course of our conversation about the Packers dynasty of the 60's Jerry talked about how many players of his generation were in dire financial need. Abandoned by the current NFL owners and Players Association. I was outraged to learn that one of his best friends was getting a pension of $126 a month. Sounded even worse than the NHL pension fund fiasco that the late Carl Brewer battled for years to correct. Sure enough, moments after we spoke, Jerry had a press conference which too many media outlets, especially those directly connected with the NFL, chose to downplay or ignore completely. But among those who were listening was one of America's finest columnists, Ray Ratto of the San Fransisco Chronicle:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/02/02/RATTO.TMP

www.jerrykramer.com

Favorite NFL stars of the 60's:

1. Jim Brown
2. Joe Namath
3. Jerry Kramer
4. Daryle Lamonica
5. Gayle Sayers
6. Bob Hayes
7. Roman Gabriel
8. Johnny Unitas
9. Dick Butkus
10.Jim Otto

Musings by Mitch

2007-02-06T06:09:00.000-08:00

Monday February 5 2007 7:30pm

Meandering thoughts while basking in the glow of yet another easy win over Global at the Chili Bowl serving table at Bourbon Street West on Sunday:

-Doesn’t anybody work at Global?

-Wouldn’t you like to see Peyton Manning stuff one of his footballs into a certain Gazette columnist who shall remain nameless?

-I can see why the Habs coaching staff loses patience with Alex Perezhogin. A terribly lazy penalty deep in the offensive zone led to the Islanders comeback win Saturday afternoon

-Are you beginning to think that maybe Saku Koivu’s left eye problem is finally affecting his play?

-I would have benched Michael Ryder and Chris Higgins for their inaction Thursday in Pittsburgh after Koivu was flattened right in front of them.

-Pierre McGuire standing between Jarko Ruutu and Garth Murray was priceless. But where was Pierre Sunday while Aaron Downey & Sydney Crosby were discussing the state of the game? (In the seats, actually)

-Don Koharski dishing out 27 minutes in penalties to Sheldon Souray and zero to Colby Armstrong was the worst call I’ve seen in years, or the worst since Bruce Froemming worked the plate at Olympic Stadium

-Why doesn’t the NHL just put four man official units in place, much like umpiring crews in baseball?

-As I predicted earlier, the Chicago Bears will be nothing more than tackling dummies standing in the way of a Colts Super Bowl win, but 430 net total yards to 265? 24 first downs to 11? And 38:04 time of possession to 21:56? It was almost too easy for the Colts.

-Joseph Addai would have been a strong choice for MVP but it’s Manning who directs the offense, tough to argue with his selection.

-I’m impressed by Michel Therrien’s seemingly new-found ability to stay calm. Let’s see if he remains so at playoff time.

-Aren’t the Canadiens a much better team when Aaron Downey plays?

-Now that Manning has won his championship, whom do the critics attack next, Steve Nash?

On Dryden

2007-01-31T16:37:00.001-08:00

Wednesday January 31st 2007 7:30 PM

I cried in the Forum pressbox on March 11. 1996. I wasn't alone that night. Most tears flowed during the 11 minute ovation for The Rocket. I started to cry when Ken Dryden was introduced.
Dryden was the first local athlete I felt a real conncection with. Oh, I loved Rogie Vachon and Rusty Staub and Terry Evanshen. But that was like puppy love. As someone who clearly was interested in a media career at a young age (I devoured everything I could as if studying for an exam) Dryden was the first local guy I found to be, well, different. And then came Bill Lee (that's another book).

Dryden, with the long hair and longer pads (hello Jim Pappin), strange stance, which had to be, to at least some opponents, as intimidating as Cournoyer's speed or Lemaire's slapshot or Robinson's bodychecks or Gainey's shadow. Leaning on his stick was a statement. I'm in control. And I'm the most relaxed guy in the rink. Beat that.
He spent time working with "Nader's raiders" when Ralph Nader was deep into investigating government corruption. He studied law. He won a Cup and a Conn Smythe before winning a Calder (had never been done prior to him, nor since). He quit the Habs, feeling betrayed by the front office. They won with him. Lost without him. Point made. Six Cups in eight years. And then, like Jim Brown and Sandy Koufax in 1966, poof! Gone, at age 31. And with him the chance to win another Cup. Until a skinny 20 years old from St Foy arrived in 1986.

Where some hear long-winded, I hear eloquence. How many current or former NHLers other than Dryden could have written "The Game"? The smartest man in hockey? Maybe the smartest man in sports. Ever. And he was ours.

Until he went to Toronto. And thank goodness Leaf ownership (now there's a genius or two) wouldn't let him hire Bob Gainey.

It was difficlut to watch the Montreal hockey scene unfold without the presence of Dryden. He was rarely around. Introduced to the Forum crowd only once (1982), making an occasional pit-stop to sell a book. It was clear he was no longer ours. Until March 1996.

Watching the jersey retirement ceremony for #29 monday at the Bell Centre wasn't as emotional-for me-as his return to the Forum but was a lot more meaningful. Frankly, I never thought the Canadiens would actually get around to honoring Dryden. Especially before #33. I was thrilled to see Al McNeil start things off, visibly nervous, speaking without notes, about the improbable Cup win of 1971. I'm sure the last time a set of eyes focused on McNeil in Montreal, he was surrounded by bodyguards. Dave Dryden couldn't have done a better job articulating the pride, honor and love the entire Dryden clan has for Ken. To be privy to that kind of intimacy and susequent brotherly embrace was a privilege. Tretiak, spending 24 hours in the air over two days to be there says it all. Thanks to Red Fisher for hooking them up. And if Vladislav Tretiak wants to have a Summit Series, take two, let's do it. Dryden himself was warm, gracious, passionate, moving and funny. The perfect speech.

And then the present-day Habs reverted to form (forum?) and beat the hottest team in the league, backstopped by David Aebischer. The perfect night.

Habs in Toronto: What the F#&*!?

2007-01-29T10:38:00.000-08:00

Sunday January 28 2007 6 PM

While trying to sleep and sweat my way out of a vicious throat infection (how vicious? Swallowing razor blades would hurt less. But a good sign- about an hour ago I coughed up projectile phlegm that got me thinking about a new Olympic sport; Winter Olympics, of course) I kept waking up in the middle of the night screaming “Mats Naslund, where are you???”

Getting consistently embarrassed on HNIC will do that to an old hockey fan. For the second time this year in Toronto on a Saturday night (and coming off that rididulous no-show in Ottawa on Hockey Day in Canada) the Canadiens decided to leave their game in the hallways at the Harbour Castle. Facing a Leafs team that’s sliding in the standings, minus Darcy Tucker, minus Michael Peca, minus Kyle Wellwood and with mediocre goaltending, the Canadiens barely worked up a sweat in another emotion-less, intensity-less, does-anybody-around-here-even-care-the-whole-country-is-watching, performance that might be the most worrisome of the season.

True they lost earlier in the year on a Saturday night (5-1) but bounced back. Even the back to back recent horror non-show losses to Ottawa and Vancouver were answered by impressive wins in Atlanta and at home against Buffalo. Now what?

To start with they’ll play the hottest team in the league-Ottawa-three times in the next 13 days. No surprise the Senators, with Jason Spezza back, have overtaken the Habs in the standings. The defending Cup champion Hurricanes, in town a week from Tuesday, now trail Montreal by just one point with two games in hand.

Bob Gainey doesn’t need a front page poll to get him to act. He saw for himself Saturday night in Toronto that this time needs a spark. Steve Begin will help. But Peter Forsberg or Craig Conroy or Mats Sundin or some other proven NHLer who wants to win would help even more. If this keeps up for another game or two, I’d even consider calling Naslund.

All Time Favorite Leafs Team:
G-Johnny Bower
D-Jim Dorey
D-Al Iafrate
C-Doug Gilmour
RW-Darcy Tucker (yeah I know, but he's on my team)
LW-Tiger Williams
Coach-Pat Burns

Go ahead, laugh a little: http://www.slobberbomb.com/video_clips/conan_obrien_1864_baseball.php

Peyton Manning is going to The Super Bowl

2007-01-29T10:34:00.000-08:00

Monday January 22 9 PM
It was déjà vu all over again. On a football field. Maybe good things really do come to those who wait. (I first heard that phrase from a teenage girlfriend. She was right.) My first thought after Peyton Manning completed his version of “The Drive” was how it carried much the same emotional response-albeit at a lower level-as Johnny Damon’s grand slam home run off Javier Vazquez in game seven of the American League Championship Series on October 20, 2004.

Not only did Damon’s blast all but ensure a Red Sox victory (he hit another off Vazquez two innings later) but it put several exclamation points on the improbable pennant win. And set the stage for a relatively easy win over St Louis to give Boston its first World Series since 1918. They had done it, doing something no other team in baseball had ever done (come back from a 3-0 defecit) against their arch rivals. As the late Jackie Gleason used to shout, “How sweet it is!”

As a football fan who has always admired quarterbacks who can throw (I can go as far back as “The Mad Bomber” of the Oakland Raiders, Darryle Lamonica & Joe Namath in the mid to late 60’s, having just missed the glory years of Johnny Unitas) Dan Marino and Peyton Manning have been my favorite quarterbacks. I don’t buy the “Can’t-win-the-big-game” descriptions heaped on athletes who don’t win championships. Marino is the prime example. Manning was on his way.

Let’s examine Marino’s lone Super Bowl appearance. January 1985 versus the San Fransisco 49ers. That would be the 49ers of Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, Dwight Clark, Freddie Soloman, Russ Francis, Roger Craig, Randy Cross, Jack Reynolds, Keena Turner, Dwight Hicks and Ronnie Lott. Have I forgotten anybody?

Montana would win his second Super Bowl MVP as the 49ers beat Marino’s Dolphins 38-16. Time of possession in the game: San Fransisco 37:30; Miami 22:30.

Must have been Marino’s fault. In the 1985 playoffs Marino helped the Dolphins beat Seattle and Pittsburgh to get to the Super Bowl. Were they not “big games”?

Or how about January 1986 when the Dolphins trailed 21-3 in the third quarter only to have Marino march them down field to three consecutive touchdowns to win 24-21. (Dolphins lost to New England 31-14 in AFC Championship (Five turnovers) for the right to lose to Da Bears in the Super Bowl). Not a big game?

Next up-January 1991, 1990 AFC Wild Card Game. Down 16-3 in the fourth quarter, Marino throws a pair of touchdown passes to win 17-16. A nothing game? It sent the Dolphins into the next round against the Buffalo Bills, led by the no-huddle offense of Jim Kelly. Marino threw three touchdown passes and helped put up 34 points. But Kelly also threw for three touchdowns and the Bills scored 44.

Damn that Marino.

Two years later Marino throws two touchdown passes as the Dolphins blank San Diego 31-0. They move into the AFC title game against Buffalo. Jim Kelly wins again with help from Thurman Thomas and Kenneth Davis. Who did Marino have in his backfield? Bobby Humphrey and Aaron Craver.

The point being, there are too many variables, too many teammates, too many opponents and too many coaches for one single football player to be charged with a defeat. The question should not have been-all these years later-why Dan Marino couldn’t get back to the Super Bowl, but rather did Marino take his offense as far as he could? As somebody who followed the Marino years closely the answer is a resounding yes. A better question to ask is why couldn’t Hall of Famer Don Shula provide Marino with a better running attack (remember Don Nottebart?) or build a better defense?

Dumping solely on Peyton Manning for his inability to win deep into the payoffs is intellectually lazy and does a great disservice to one of the best pro sports organizations of all time, the New England Patriots.

Which brings us back to Sunday. Down 21-3 I’m asking myself why Manning always finds himself in the position of having to play catch up. But a strong start in the second half had visions of Johnny Damon dancing in my head. And when Manning did complete the greatest comeback in the history of the AFC title game, it was a replay of that blast of exhilaration from 2004. Not only did Manning finally win “the big one”, but like the Red Sox that October past, he did it in style. Creating a first. Against his arch rivals. How sweet it is!

Oh, the Bears might be a tackling dummy in the way to a Super Bowl win but does anybody outside of Chicago doubt the Colts will go on to do what The Red Sox did two autumns ago?

How fitting is it that Manning can win the Super Bowl in Miami?

On a field that once belonged to Dan Marino.

Mark Mcgwire: Hall of Famer; Pierre Mcguire vs Jack Fraud

2007-01-29T10:21:00.000-08:00

Wednesday January 17th 7:30 PM

Things have been tough and testy locally so let’s start with a laugh-as first seen on Monday’s Golden Globe awards:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9Hb8SenD98
(If you have yet to see Borat, you might want to skip the above clip)

Now, back to the sandbox. If that wasn’t a royal “F-You” by members of the Baseball Writers Association of America to Mark McGwire then I misunderstand the true meaning of the phrase. In receiving just 23% support for the Hall of Fame, McGwire is a lot closer to sliding off the ballot completely then he is to ever getting in. (75% support needed for enshrinement, 5% or less and you’re gone for good.)

Now the question becomes how many writers, such as The Gazette’s Pat Hickey wanted to punish him in at least his first year of eligibility, but might be willing to vote for him somewhere down the line, compared to the number of hacks who will never vote for him.

Here’s what I would do if I was a sports editor at a large daily: dig into the archives and find all those columns and features written about McGwire while he became the talk of the baseball world-and beyond-in the summer of 1998. Print ‘em all over again, juxtaposed with the most recent drool induced hatred spewing from some of the very same people who willingly went along for perhaps the professional ride of their lives back then. Expose the double standard.

Look, I’m not happy about guys on juice. Especially if the most glamorous career record goes down because of it. But it’s not just Barry Bonds assault on Hank Aaron’s all time home run mark of 755 that’s so bothersome. It’s watching names like Frank Robinson, Harmon Killebrew, Reggie Jackson, Mike Schmidt, Mickey Mantle and a host of others being passed by guys who simply weren’t as good. Except with a needle instead of a bat.

But what to do about it? Simply white out the name of anybody who juiced up? Anybody have a definitive start and end date? If hitters did end up blasting 50-100 more career home runs as a result, how many were hit against pitchers who were also juiced? Deny entrance to the Hall of Fame if there’s any doubt whatsoever? Who’s to judge, a sportswriter whose moral compass extends to the bridge of his own nose? And now that amphetamines are banned do writers aim their vitriol at those who “greenied up” before games? Or are those numbers so outrageous it’s not even worth going there. What if I were to tell you that, say, the late Willie Stargell used amphetamines through most of his career. And a corked bat (I have absolutely no knowledge of Willie cheating…with a corked bat)? Oh, it’s not the same you say? Listen to speed and steroid expert Charles Yesaris, professor emeritus at Penn State who told the New York Post: "They're far more risky than steroids," said Charles Yesalis, an expert in performance-enhancing drugs. "They can stone-cold kill you. It's far more dangerous. They're not even in the same room with steroids."

Hmmm. Now what? Can anybody say with complete certainty that other than Tony Gwynn and David Wells most MLB players did not use steroids? Or speed? Or both?

Mark McGwire hit 49 home runs as a slender rookie with the 1987 Oakland A’s. He also drove in 118 runs. His on best percentage was .370. He slugged over .600. His power numbers over the next five years:
32 HR 99 RBI
33 HR 95 RBI
39 HR 108 RBI
22 HR 75 RBI
42 HR 104 RBI

He was on his way to a Hall of Fame career long before anybody discovered a jar of Andro in his locker. He finished his career with the best home run to at bat ratio in major league history. Second on that list is Babe Ruth. But McGwire never did cozy up to the writers. And he didn’t give them the big headline they wanted when he appeared before congress. He lashed out at Jose Canseco and Canseco’s book as a teammates’ “betrayal”, adding that he, himself would never have thought to discuss anything about a teammate’s personal life, including “sexual preference”. Now there’s a possible headline but writers were too blinded by rage. Forced to admit they were asleep at their keyboards back in ’98. Or perhaps since 1988.

Unlike Rafael Palmeiro, Sammy Sosa and even Curt Schilling, Mark McGwire did not lie during his testimony. He did what anybody who studied law by reading “Lawyers for Dummies” would suggest. He took the 5th, knowing full well what it really meant.

Jack Todd (you knew I was getting to him) argued this week, while explaining his decision not to vote for McGwire, that anybody who compared cheating via throwing spitballs to using drugs was “out of their ever-lovin’ minds”. (Don Sutton is in the Hall of Fame. He pitched for 23 years. Won 20 games in a season once. But for his entire career won 324. Now anybody who knows anything about the career of Don Sutton knows he scuffed balls. But 300+ wins is apparently automatic. So, if Sutton doesn’t scuff, especially while pitching well into his 40’s, does he win 29 games over the final three years of his career? If not, he’s stuck at 295. That’s just seven more wins than Tommy John who’s never getting in. Capisce?).

Besides, the fact that Jack Todd has a vote tells you all you need to know about the entire Hall of Fame process.

Jack is a slimeball. What he did to Pierre McGuire this week should cost him his job.
In Jack’s world (what a place that must be) Pierre initiated everything.

Scene October-Indoors
Typical TV room on the south shore.
A large man with a dent in his forehead is lying on the sofa watching a hockey game. A phone rings loudly, startling the man, nearly sending him sprawling off the sofa. He picks up the phone.

Jack: “Hello”
Pierre: “Sheldon Souray can’t play in the NHL”
Jack: “Huh?”
Pierre: “You heard me stud, Sheldon Souray can’t play in this league”
Jack: “Oh, hi Pierre” Click.

Jack Todd writes, in his lead four months later, that “A certain TSN hockey analyst who shall remain nameless doesn’t think Sheldon Souray can play in the NHL”.

Learning how to do my own job by studying every scene and every line from “All The President’s Men” I decide to get to the bottom of this. I ask Pierre on the air if HE is the TSN analyst Jack was referring to. (I had a 50-50 shot. TSN has two game analysts. That’s right two. Pierre and Glenn Healy).

Pierre says he talked to Jack after reading a column he wrote. That he said, as he had several times on the air, that Souray, with his lack of foot speed is probably going to struggle defensively in the new NHL. And if Jack was in fact referring to him, then “It’s fictitious reporting and I’d be concerned if I was a Gazette editor.”

What followed this week was an all-out attack on the same guy who had provided oodles of background information for years to not only Todd but other members of the gazette sports department: The Gazette Monday Januray 15th McGuire on McGuire: Look, if you say something, at least have the integrity to admit that you say it. Yes, it was TSN's Pierre McGuire who phoned me early this season to say - and this is a direct quote - "Jack, Sheldon Souray can't play in the National Hockey League. "

I didn't phone McGuire on that occasion, I didn't ask him about Souray. He phoned me, he offered the opinion on his own. I didn't name him when I wrote about Souray making the all-star team because I thought it was kind of funny that the guy who considers himself the world's biggest expert on the NHL could be so wrong. Truth be told, although he didn't say it was off the record, I probably should not have quoted McGuire - but that's why I didn't use his name. But when McGuire goes on the air and denies he said it and then says the Gazette has a problem - well, I have a problem with that. It's one thing to be wrong, but lying is something else - and calling me a liar is something else again. You drop the gloves, you'd better be ready to dance.

If you have an opinion, have the guts to own up to it. McGuire was wrong about Souray, just as he was wrong when he said "the league has the book on (Cristobal) Huet." We all make mistakes. It happens. McGuire should have fessed up, admitted his mistake, laughed about it and moved on. Unfortunately, he doesn't have the integrity or the guts. Ironically, Souray and Huet are now in the All-Star Game. And if either of them runs into McGuire in Dallas, you know what he'll say: "Hey, big guy! Congratulations! I've been telling them all along you should be an all-star." Right.

And: Other zeros: Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro, Sammy Sosa, Randy Johnson, David Samson, Jeffrey Loria, Don King, Bud Selig Jr., Claude Brochu, Brian Billick, Peyton Manning, Randy Johnson, TSN &&&& last but not least, Pierre McGuire, because the man lacks those three qualities Koivu has in abundance n heart, courage and integrity.

Jack Todd suggesting Pierre Mcguire lacks guts is akin to George Bush suggesting that Barack Obama lacks intelligence. Jack writes that Pierre had called him EARLY IN THE SEASON to tell him that Souray can’t play. Yet he waits until January to write it? Oh, he didn’t name Pierre. But at the same time admits TRUTH BE TOLD I PROBABLY SHOULDN’T HAVE QUOTED MCGUIRE. Huh? Try to find how many times Todd has referred to Mcguire in his columns, usually in an effort to support his own opinions. Or better yet “My friend, Pierre McGuire says…” Whatever was said, in whatever context, I can assure you that Pierre makes and receives several calls a day from across the league. Most are for gathering info. Occasionally, if he has an extra 3-5 minutes, he’ll shoot the shit. But unless a writer/columnist specifically calls him for an interview he certainly is not being quoted. Until now. As Pierre Mcguire’s star has risen (TSN, NBC, Sports Illustrated, The Team radio, etc) Jack’s has dimmed. It's now barely a flicker. I can think of no other reason why Todd deliberately set out to embarrass Pierre. It was yellow, gutter journalism at its worst. Beyond unprofessional. The epitome of gutless. Unless Jack has finally hit rock bottom and-in his own words-is now completely “out of his ever-lovin’ mind”.
http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/stats/historical/individual_stats_player.jsp?c_id=mlb&playerID=118743&HS=True

http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/stats/historical/leaders.jsp?c_id=mlb&baseballScope=mlb&statType=1&sortByStat=HR&timeFrame=3&timeSubFrame=0

http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/stats/historical/leaders.jsp?c_id=mlb&baseballScope=mlb&statType=2&sortByStat=W&timeFrame=3&timeSubFrame=0

http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/stats/historical/individual_stats_player.jsp?c_id=mlb&playerID=123006&HS=True

Welcome to 2007; And Here's To You.....

2007-01-29T10:14:00.000-08:00

Friday January 12 7:45 PM

Hope you had a safe, productive holiday season. In no particular order here is my 2007 wish list for some of your favorite/not-so-favorite sports people/places/things:
Tony Romo: Stickum
Alex Kovalev: Saku Koivu
Sergei Samsanov: A new nose; for the net
Michael Ryder: A fire
Guy Carbonneau: Peter Forsberg….Craig Conroy….Darcy Tucker…. Jose Theodore: A new job
Steve Begin: A new body
Cristobal Huet: A greeting card…from Pierre McGuire; a ticket to Dallas
Glenn Healy: Positive pills
Andrei Markov: A new contract
Sheldon Souray: Ditto
Craig Rivet: Ditto
Montreal scalpers: 40 more home games for the Habs
Mayor Tremblay: Same as Jose Theodore
Bell Center: Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers and/or The Allman Brothers
Residents of Park Avenue: Otis Grant’s gloves
TSN Hockey Crew: A gold medal too
Marty Shottenheiemer: A Super Bowl before Peyton Manning
Pop Montreal: Tom Waits
Anthony Calvillo: A new playbook
Joey Saputo: A new league
Larry Smith: A new radio station
Montrteal Matrix: A cheque book
Montreal Baseball Fans: Tampa Bay Devil Rays
Mitch Garber: You’re kidding, right? Not a thing
PJ Stock: Rookie of the year award
City of New Orleans: Superbowl win of the Century
Red Fisher: A sequel: Hockey, Heroes & Me (Two)
Pat Hickey: Same as Steve Begin
BillyBob Productions: A road trip to Austin
Ron Reusch: A live show
Dick Pound: Duct tape
Jack Todd: A new fastball
Dick Irvin: Pablum
Ron Fournier: Weed
Murray Wilson: Coffee
Stu Cowan: Young talent
Shane Murphy Trio: A new cd
Denis Casavant: Sleep
Shaun Starr; Cheech & Chong boxset
Elliott Price: 51 Candles
David Beckham: A gas mask
Noel Butler: A translator
Tony Marinaro: Per Diem
Picard: Claws
Scott Saxon: Tranquility
Rod Francis: 10 minutes with Rhona Ambrose; or Marv Levy
Andie Bennett: Her own mountain; or a couple of small ones
PJ Kennedy: Season tickets to The Paramount & AMC
Lorne Rubin: A Cowboy hat
Stephen Brunt: Professor status
Pierre McGuire: A helmet
Mike Boone: A laughtrack
Joey Elias: Another patch
Bill Lee: A congressional seat
Melnick In The Afternoon: Bob Dylan
Listeners of The Team 990: A million thanks
Paris Hilton, Brittany Spears, Jessica Simpson, Terrell Owens, A-Rod, Bud Selig, Mel Gibson, Tom Cruise, Todd Bertuzzi, The War on Terror, Troop Surge, Climate Change, George Bush, Dick Cheney: A Disappearing Act
Bob Gainey: Everlasting Peace