Farewell, Tom Cheek

Amid the clutter and noise of a sports-filled Thanksgiving weekend, there was a little more silence on Sunday. Tom Cheek passed away.
The tributes have been coming since, as they should, including this one from Pat Gillick:

"He was sort of like Cal Ripken, in that you knew he was going to show up every day, you knew he was going to be there with the same pride, the same dedication to excellence."

Cheek, the original voice of the Blue Jays -- for many of us, the only voice -- was inseparable from their fortunes. For 27 years, he never missed a game behind the microphone, a record that, as Chris Zelkovich notes, should have put him in the Baseball Hall of Fame by now.
In case you missed it, here's Geoff Baker's story, and Dave Perkins, one of Cheek's many golfing buddies, has this remembrance. If you've got any stories or memories of your own, feel free to pass them along here or here.
Touch 'em all, Tom.

And elsewhere...
Among the other many sporting moments from the weekend, there were many worth noting, some more obvious than others. You can do a lot in six hours -- drive to Montreal, fly across the Atlantic, make a paella or watch the Astros reach the National League final for the second straight season against St. Louis and catch two home run balls in the stands.
Over on the AL side of the grid, the Angels played in New York Sunday night,  caught the red-eye to Anaheim for last night's deciding game -- beat 'em, beat 'em good, so break out the balloons and the bunting and check out the brilliant Soxaholix's take -- then headed back across the U.S. to Chicago, where it'll be the Rally Monkey against that annoying Na Na Na Na Hey Hey Hey Goodbye song.

In football, the Argos were dismantled by Edmonton newbie Troy Davis, turning the eastern race at the top into a dead-heat and the west into a tighter place too, thanks to Winnipeg's Stegalling of the Lions.

In the NFL, the Steelers win in San Diego and are breathing easier with good news on the health of their quarterback.

And finally, welcome back, Hockey Night in Canada, and with it, our first of many regular Poet's Corner updates, this one from Saturday the latest to go into The Collected Works of Donald Stewart Cherry:

When I really
have to laugh
is
when they say:
We don't know
why
you do it.
You know why
you don't know?
'Cause
you don't know.

Tat's the way to do it

Before you head off to a long weekend of Thanksgiving, consider Rafael Araujo. Observe how hard he appears to have worked in the offseason. Tattoes like that just don’t grow on trees -- they take months of dedication, discipline and Vitamin E cream. The Raptors have a new slogan and Hoffa’s their poster boy: We might stink, but check out our Ink!

CP PHOTO

Rafael Araujo: Inking of you.

Some links for you:

Hoffa might tat, but Tony Parker can rap (Quicktime req'd).

He's 3-foot-1 and 110 pounds, and no high school footballer is more celebrated right now than Bobby Martin.

So you think you could be an NHL star? Take the tests.

Punters corner: Friday afternoon means it’s that time again. You can go to the Linebacker, or Chris Schultz, or any of a number of other smart people. But only here will you get five Pro-Line plays that you can’t get anywhere else. And for good reason. Here we go (for entertainment purposes only, and although I’m not one to toot my own horn I did go 3-0 last week on King Football, and it was only English soccer and college football that beat me, so so what? and these are not to be used as the basis for wagers, but TAKE A LOOK AT THAT 3-0 RECORD, etc.):

HAM-OTT Tie 3.1. After Jumbotron foul-up screwed Renegades in Toronto and in effort to woo more female fans, CFL to install sideline PVRs for instant replay review and this week’s episodes of Ellen.

MIA V win 2.40 (at BUF). On Lostman this week: Bills quarterback J.P. crash-lands his career in the wilds of greater Tonawanda, where he is tormented by a mysterious all-sports radio host and confronted by a strange hatch.

BAL V win 2.10 (at DET). On this week’s Joey, “Joey uses his stuntman double to distract guys while romancing their girlfriends.” On this Sunday’s Joey, Harrington could sure use that guy.

TB V win 1.7 (at NYJ). After guest-starring on So You Think You Want to Be Jets Quarterback last week, Brooks Bollinger returns to his regular job in Sears menswear department and Vinny Testaverde replaces him. Next week: that Ned Flanders dude from the Canadian Tire ads.

SUI H win 3.7 (v FRA). Expecting that fabled Swiss mean streak to show up here.

We’re watching: On a long weekend where there are so many candidates, Monday’s Argos-Edmonton tilt (1 p.m., CBC) not only is a Grey Cup preview -- yep, you read it here first -- but it also gives us a chance to talk back to our long-absent CBC announcers.

We're not watching: Mike Mularkey (Ch. 7, Saturday 7 p.m.). Someone has to explain to me how this guy has a show, but Pinball Clemons does not.

Happy Thanksgiving.

They do go on a bit

Couple of recent e-mails, before we head into one of the busiest sports weekends of the year:
First, from Kevin Fox, on TSN puckist Pierre McGuire:

"His overuse of hyperbole is mind numbing.  I’ve never felt a need to hit the mute button when there’s a stoppage in play until listening to this guy. Please ask him to just tone it down a few notches."

Kevin, I think you just did. And judging by some of the folks who have joined us for our text commentaries, you're not alone.
Last week, I noted here the fine work of Pat Tabler, and his on-air contention that Fenway Park measured less than the advertised 310 feet down the left-field line. Tabler sent along this email to elaborate:

"When I was with Cleveland or KC (it's been so long now) we were out at Fenway early for a game one day and a couple of us stepped it off from home plate to left field corner. It measured 285-290 ft. Just steps mind you ... but we were surprised at the distance. Have you heard of anyone else doing the same thing? I'm going to re-step it next time in Boston. ... Fenway was the only one that we stepped off. It is a one of a kind ballpark."

I don't want to rag on TV announcers here. It's a job -- so much air to fill, they're bound to say the odd inane thing. (Imagine tracking a dinner-party conversation with the same fervour).
The irony is that Tabler has been criticized for blandness -- it's true, he's not the most dynamic of cheerleaders. McGuire, the anti-Tabler, knows the game back to front but the schtick says he has to scream it to the world -- Mute buttons of the world, unite!
Today it's time to throw the comments open to your favourite moments in sports broadcasting -- your favourites and your worst, something someone said to amuse you, impress you, infuriate you, whatever. And in the spirit of the holiday, please give thanks. It could be you, there, putting your foot in your mouth. Or even worse, me. Or, worst of all, Pierre.

Some of what's making news today:

The Argos get another look at Troy Davis this weekend. In an Eskimos uniform, yet. (And don't you think the West just got a little more interesting this week with that trade?)

Doug Smith gets an early read on Jose Calderon, whose job is to make fans forget Rafer Alston. (Oh, they already have? Never mind that last bit). And lookee here, Vlade Divac is available.

The NBA wants to bring in a dress code, which has Dave Feschuk pining for the good old days of Charles Oakley.

With baseball's playoff season in full swing, Rich Griffin offers up five dream World Series matchups -- and five nightmares.

Out with the GM, in with free parking. Welcome the new Devil Rays.

It's a World Cup qualifying break, and Cathal Kelly is in full Go Uzbek Go! mode.

In Oklahoma, there are questions about a man -- perhaps a suicide bomber, according to some reports -- who blew himself up outside an Oklahoma University game.

Be back later today, with some Pro-Line stabs in the dark picks and last items before the weekend begins.

Coffee, black, no sugar

Finally, a day off.
Not really, mind you. But there's no Leafs game. No football, or even futbol. No baseball.
Just National League baseball, which I've always thought of as the vanilla bean latte next to the AL's "Coffee -- Black -- No sugar" brand.
Maybe it comes from all these years as an AL city. Some of you -- okay, a few of us -- recall 1976, when the San Francisco Giants all but moved to Toronto. That was a close one. Imagine the alternate universe where that's going down right now. Instead of Joe and Robbie, we're wondering about Barry Bonds. *Shiver*
I have pals in NL cities who love the double switch, who regard Tony LaRussa as the Stephen Hawking of the diamond, who grow wet in the loins as the pitcher squares to bunt, and who regard the DH as an acronym for Doofus Humongous. Good. Enjoy the day, friends. I'll be out savouring what they're saying might well be the last day of Indian summer in these parts, and then doing some laundry tonight.
Am I reading too much into this? Is there really a difference between the average AL and NL fan, to say nothing of the brand of baseball itself? Which do you prefer? Let me know in the comments, this here space being your antidote to the usual Leafs lunch.

Barry Bonds. Brrrr.

Oh, about last night:
The Yankees and the Angels just might be brewing up a good series, while the Red Sox are at death's door (and if last year is the guide, they've got Chicago right where they want 'em).
Here's your NL report, if you must: Astros romp, and the Padres are looking to the immortal Pedro Astacio, who couldn't pitch his way on to the Texas Rangers staff this season, to square their series. In other words, they're done.

In the CFL, the Ticats made a trade yesterday that may well help the Eskimos this year, and their chances next. Run, Jesse, run. That's the hope, anyway.

The stories out of Camp Raptor including Doug Smith checking in on new guy Mike James, who has a few things to learn about, including, apparently, our soaring gas prices. Mike, this ain't Texas anymore:

"I'd love to be in Houston with my convertible. Here, I'll have my Hummer. I have my snow boots. I have my snow coat, I understand how to adjust."

Sure Mike. Snow coat?
In the Globe, Rob MacLeod checks in on first-round pick Charlie Villanueva, and the Sun has a Matt Bonner update.
Almost forgot: The Rafer Alston Experience is tuning up in Houston.

I said this was the antidote to the Leafs. I lied, just because this is kinda good. (Thanks to Torontoist).

Finally, here's a good read on the guy who writes those Monday Night Football halftime ditties.

What the hell are they doing up in Toronto?

A few things to ponder as you clear your desk this afternoon, while waiting for the puckage to begin:

Michelle Wie is now a pro golfer.

Vinny Testaverde is now a starting quarterback.

In a move designed to eliminate icky shuffles, Real Madrid have been told: no more of those cockroach celebrations.

True Hoop keeps hearing the same question: What the hell are they doing up in Toronto?

Did you hear the one about the caddy who lost a couple matches to a woman? Well, he's suing.

I'm not much of a vroom-vroomer, but these racing car dioramas are quite spectacular.

You knew that the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue was a dead giveaway, didn't you?

There's more to life than hockey

Oh, I know what you're thinking this morning. Hockey. Even I'm thinking about it, what with the hoopla around the Leafs opener, the Senators in town, and live text commentary on the website.
But for now, I'm here to get the puck outta here with a tour around the other sports linkage, starting with -- the Raptors. They're back, but Rafer, he's real gone. Some guy named Mike James is real in. Doug Smith's got all the details, and Dave Feschuk chimes in:

"Babcock took a step in the right direction, even if it was a backtrack."

On to baseball. Let's call the playoff roll. Cards win 8-5, and it wasn't that close. Pale Hose win 14-2 and yes, it was that close. Yanks put up four quick ones then cruise to a 4-2 W that was really quite dull but mercifully didn't take us up to the pumpkin hour.
8-5. 14-2. 4-2. I love the playoffs. But this was like the first drink on Foam Night at Senor Frog's. Will somebody please get this party started?
And on that note, I've never been sure what Sportsnet's in-studio heads bring to a U.S.-based broadcast -- familiarity? CanCon requirements? Something to keep Warren Sawkiw off the streets? If it's going to result in less McCarver or a reduction in Fox's A.D.D. production values, I'm all for it. But it doesn't, so I'm not.

Okay, enough harrumphing. The Tigers have hired Jim Leyland, which can only mean one thing: the non-smoking signs just got taken down in the Detroit clubhouse.

Now here's a good read, courtesy of David Grossman: A high-school football player who seems as capable of winning a Hec Crighton Trophy as a Nobel Prize.

In football, Arland Bruce III is an Argo, and a good one, but last weekend he was on the sidelines in Kansas City, watching the Chiefs: "It was perfect. Get a victory here, go home, be on the sidelines at the Chiefs game and talk to people you know and get some gifts. Gloves, hats. It was cool."

It's a World Cup qualifying break, starting this weekend. Get your schedule here, get your obligatory Sven's-latest-crisis story here, and oh, I was wondering when (and where) this week's Toronto soccer stadium story was going to show up.

Today's fascinating stat: Only two games on this weekend's NFL slate have a spread over 3 1/2 points. Which means that, if you've already taken Indianapolis (14 over the 0.9ers) and Denver (a TD over unbeaten Washington) in your suicide pool, you've got a tight call this week.

Tonight's fascinating schedule: Tonight's Yankees-Angels game is a 10 p.m. start.  Guess they don't want to overlap too much with the Leafs opener.

Alston on the move, now what?

So Rafer Alston is gone from the Raptors, and it's hello to Mike James. The story line for this will no doubt be something like Alston the me-first ballhog in exchange for standup guy James.

How does it affect the Raptors? GM Rob Babcock just pulled the plug on his biggest signing of one year ago. His off-season prize, six-year Spanish pro Jose Calderon, and James vying for the starter's job at the point should be one of the bigger stories of this just-started training camp. And let's just say, right now, there is no favourite -- James has never been a consistent NBA starter, and Calderon is just getting his feet wet over here. (Other possible longshots are out of the question: Anything they get out of Alvin Williams is a bonus at this point, while Jalen Rose is not a point man and Robert Pack is, well, Robert Pack).

Last February, Houston acquired the 30-year-old James as they tooled for a playoff run behind Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady. But in the first round, the Rockets lost in seven games to the Dallas Mavericks. Putting Alston into the backcourt in Houston makes the Rockets a lot more explosive -- in so many ways, including locker-room volatility. There just might not be enough balls to go around.

James is headed into the second year of a three-year, $10.2 million contract he signed with the Milwaukee Bucks a year ago. Undrafted by the NBA, he spent three seasons in Europe and one in the CBA before finally catching on for good with the Miami Heat in December of 2001.

Alston, meantime, is going into the second year of a six-year, $26 million deal he signed with the Raptors last year. He never fit well with Sam Mitchell, who is probably feeling pretty good about saying goodbye to this headache this afternoon -- until he starts wondering who will carry the mail at PG, that is.

What do you think?

We've got it covered

(BREAKING NEWS: Raptors trade Rafer Alston to the Rockets for guard Mike James. Check it out here.)

NHL preview week never looked so bad as here, with our collection of the Best Worst Hockey Media Guide Covers Ever. Click here to have a look, and after you're done, let fly in the Comments below.

Some points to ponder:

What's going on with that Nordiques cover, with the Chateau Frontenac flying though the air? Is it some kind of Gallic thing? Or just a Grade 10 Art class kind of thing?

Why all this Pat Quinn? Twice in four years, the guy gets the cover slot with two different franchises. That has to be an NHL record.

The shark fin menacing San Jose would be a little scarier if there really was a San Jose River, or Bay, or anything other than a few gutters and storm drains. But who needs accuracy when a really Good Bad Media Guide Cover is on the line?

Pat and Rogie: L.A. Confidential.

What's your favourite here? I'm partial to Quinn and Rogie, but when the treeware division's sports crowd took a look, they liked the Blues' reporter-guy cover (Two things I have never seen in this business: Anyone wearing a fedora with "Press" stuck in the bill, and any sports reporter running. Note, too, the street shoes, and the Blues defender coming over to cross-check the reporter into a career of rewrite).

Meantime, we started it yesterday, and we're continuing it today whether you like it or not: You Forgot It in Them, a look back at the pages of the media guides we've liberated from the McKee Memorial Library here at the Star's sports department.

Today it's -- well, why not? -- Pat Quinn, from the 1974-75 Atlanta Flames guide:

"Before last season, everyone thought of Pat Quinn as nothing more than "The Irish Enforcer". His history had been that of a policeman, a big, tough, defenceman who guarded the fort. Last winter with the Flames changed a few folks' minds. Quinn, who had set his own personal scoring record the season before with 20 points, turned it on and came home with five goals and 27 assists, by far the most ever for the big fellow. Ask the New York Rangers. In one game against them he scored twice including the tying goal with just a few seconds left. Never before in a season had Quinn scored more than three goals, including the minors. His other activities didn't suffer, though, as he tied for the club lead in penalty minutes with 94."

A couple other items we're kicking around this lunchtime:

Boxing world champion Mary Spencer arrives home today.

Nyjah Houston is a skateboarding legend -- at age 10.

And 50 years ago today, the Dodgers gave Brooklyn its shining moment.

What these guys need is a curse

The Chicago White Sox haven't won a home playoff game since the 1959 World Series. They haven't won a World Series since 1917. It's been 86 years since Eddie Cicotte plunked the first batter to let Arnold Rothstein know the fix was in.
And the Cubs are the cursed ones?   
In Chicago, the White Sox can't even find themselves a good curse to lean on this time of year. The Cubs have the goat, a cute ivy-walled ballpark that's always full, Bartman ... The White Sox have Ozzie Guillen throwing up before a game. They have the mayor, appealing to Cubs fans to become South Siders -- fat chance, Your Worship.
And if the betting public has it right, this figures to be the tightest of today's opening games as MLB's playoff season gets underway. (And you can check here for the latest scoreboard.)

Elsewhere this morning, Rich Griffin pitches this scenario: Corey Koskie for Justin Morneau.

Still on baseball, the Dodgers are looking for a new manager (We'll be watching to read what Tommy Lasorda has to say. Umm, maybe not).

The Packers, meantime, are staring at an 0-4 start after last night's defenceless Monday night encounter with Carolina. And if you can take it, there's more on the NFL in Toronto (last for a while, promise).

The Raptors (remember them?) are back, and so is Alvin Williams (remember him?). And in New York, Isiah Thomas has either just acquired the Knicks a franchise centre in Eddy Curry, or it's "the worst deal Thomas has ever made" (worse than Nazr Mohammed for Malik Rose? That would be saying something).

And for you footy types, Barcelona could leave Arsenal with a severe case of Thierry ennui.

Easy listening

In keeping with it being hockey preview week around here, and they've been away for a while y'know -- we'll follow today's earlier posting with another not-to-special thing for you tomorrow, and on Wednesday, for the Leafs opener, we'll be going live -- here's one more feature we'll run in this space every day this NHL's back week: You Forgot It in Them.

Today: Wayne Gretzky, from the 1980-81 Edmonton Oilers media guide:

"Favourite book: Jaws.

Favourite movie: Apocalypse Now.

Favourite music: Easy Listening.

Favourite food: Pyrogies.

Favourite TV show: MASH and Vegas.

Pet Peeve: Having to get to the arena so early."

And here's some afternoon links:

The Tigers have fired Alan Trammell, and Jim Leyland is on his way.

The good news with the Red Sox getting into the playoffs? More Soxaholix. And although they haven't started the playoffs, the Yankees are in full whine.

And with the MLSE folks apparently back from their fact-finding mission to Mexico -- the city, not Ron -- NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue wants a "universal obligation" for the league's owners to play regular season games in places like Mexico, England, Japan and yup, Canada.