The return of Babcock

Yeah, Rob Babcock is coming back. To the T-wolves, so relax:

Babcock, who spent 12 seasons in Minnesota, probably will travel with Wolves officials to next week's pre-draft camp in Orlando, Fla. The details of Babcock's hiring have yet to be finalized.
"He's helping us out," Wolves general manager Jim Stack said. "It remains to be seen what that's going to germinate into. It's tentative. I think Glen (Taylor, owner) has a good comfort level with him because he's been here for a lot of years. He's a guy we feel we can work easily with, and he's eager to be here, so hopefully it will work out as we go along."

Jeanneret's call of Sabres' OT winner

Regular visitor Carla M. is bothered that there hasn't been much hockey bloggin' going on around here of late.

Guilty as charged. Truth is, there's been prepping for the World Cup to do, and the NBA's playoffs and draft lottery pulled me away for a bit. Now the Suns, who continue to astound after Raja Bell did a Willis Reed last night (he even wears the same number, for pete's sake), are going head to head with the Sabres. But we have a game 7 in Carolina tomorrow night, so snap back to reality.

Meantime, in case you missed it, here's something from last night: Rick Jeanneret's call of Buffalo's OT goal overlaid on the video. A classic.

From my short time at the (RIP) Hockey Page blog, I know there's a lot of debate among the pucks crowd about announcers. I quite like Jeanneret's act, especially on these big moments. I can't imagine what he'd do if the Sabres were to win the Stanley Cup -- he'd probably go so crazy they'd be fishing parts of his vocal chords out of Lake Erie.

The amazing Kerlon

Going pretty much all-footy, all the time today, and this is worth a look - Kerlon, the next Ronaldinho. Word has been out for a while about this 18-year-old, full name Kerlon Moura Souza and he's been linked in rumours of a move from Cruzeiro to Manchester United. I wonder how that "seal dribble" will be greeted by jaded pro defenders - as he says himself, "Opponents say they will snap me."

Thanks to colleague Cathal Kelly for the link.

WM Post: Iraq flag-waving, Group E guesses

Here in Toronto, the car flags have begun to appear and the shop windows are getting that festive look. It's going on all around the world, with just a little over a week to go till it all begins. But it's not always one of those happy stories. Iraq-based 'Girl Blog' Riverbend tells a tale of World Cup flag-waving from Baghdad:

It’s fascinating to watch the world beyond Iraq prepare for the World Cup. I get pictures by email of people hanging flags and banners, in support of this team or that one. Oh we have flags and banners too- the hole-ridden black banners all over Baghdad, announcing deaths and wakes. The flags are all of one color, usually- black, green, red, or yellow- representing a certain religious party or political group.
(Snip)
G.’s cousin, who has lived in Canada for nearly 15 years, recently sent G. a large, colorful Brazilian flag- perfect for hanging on a shop window. He told us how he was planning to hang it right in the center and paint under it in big bold letters “VIVA BRASILIA!!”. E. looked dubious as G. excitedly described how he’d be changing the colors of the display- green and yellow to match the flag.
It was up for nearly two whole days before the problems began. The first hint of a problem came through G.’s neighbor. He stopped by the shop and told G. that a black-turbaned young cleric had been walking past the shop window, when the flag attracted his attention. According to the neighbor Abu Rossul, the young cleric stopped, gazed at the flag, took note of the shops name and location and went on his way. G. shrugged it off with the words, “Well maybe he’s a fan of Brazil too…” Abu Rossul wasn’t so sure, “He looked more like the ‘Viva Sadr!’ type to me…”.

From there, the flag and the footy give way to the fatwa, and no untoward window displays allowed in Sadr City. For a month at the World Cup, it's a chance to find common ground -- but not everywhere. Thanks to Peter M. for the link.

On to today's guessing exercise: it's Group E, carrying not quite the stiffness of that C bunch, but pretty close -- let's call it the Group of NDE:

1 Czech Republic. They're old and injured. Other than that, they're fine.

2 Italy. Gilardino sure can cycle.

3 United States. Get your game friendly-worn jerseys here (link from World Cup Blog) 

4 Ghana. Handy 4-1 win over Jamaica a big boost.

Vaguely related: Following on yesterday's post and Peter Crouch's goal celebration, here's more retro dance moves from the GoodTouchForaBigMan guy, if you dare.

Raptors eye Spanish centre Garbajosa

My Spanish is not great, but I know Marca, the Spanish sports paper, and I know enough to read a headline:

Garbajosa tied to Raptors.

Garbajosa, at age 28, is more of a 4/5 type measuring 6-foot-8, and might seem a strange pickup. He's not a frontliner by any stretch, but he has been linked in the past to the Suns and the Raptors. This is Jose Calderon's old teammate (and also a former Mike D'Antoni player in Italy), and with Mauricio Gherardini on his way in to the Toronto FO as assistant GM, it does make sense. With the Raptors poised under Bryan Colangelo to finally mine Europe (or at least try to) in a big way, it makes further sense. A spare part in the middle who can face up and shoot the 3, even if he's untried at this level, can't be any worse than Loren Woods, can it? That is, if Sam Mitchell bothers to give him any p.t.

If anyone knows more about this, send it along. Not a major signing, but it looks like a move nonetheless.

Meantime, if it doesn't work out, of if it's just a case of the Spanish translation for "Nate Huffman", you know the old saying: Garbajosa in, Garbajosa out.

(Thanks to regular visitor Cyber Steak for the link).

UPDATE: Thanks to Alex and Joe C. for pointing out something I didn't put in here, that the article is reporting a three-year deal worth up to $12 million. And I stress "up to" -- Garbajosa is a free agent, and as such we probably won't have any of this confirmed until the FA signing period kicks in over the summer. And I wonder about that number.

WM Post: England and Group D guessing

(UPDATED at bottom)

Ten days to kickoff, and Sven-Goran Eriksson is up to his strange ways. Just like in the case of Theo Walcott's inclusion into the squad (and Aaron Lennon, for that matter), never has Sven seemed so daring as now, when he is on the verge of leaving (with a pretty hefty offer on the table).

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Sven plays Who's Got the Bib?

Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher will be used as a defensive midfielder in Eriksson's tinkering for tonight's friendly against Hungary, and if history is an indication, into England's World Cup opener:

When the first-team bibs were handed out in training yesterday a surprised but appreciative Carragher learned that he had overtaken Michael Carrick and Owen Hargreaves in the running for the holding position that has become known as "the Claude Makelele role".
(snip)
Carragher's instructions in training were to patrol the area in front of John Terry and Rio Ferdinand, providing cover for England's defence while allowing more attack-minded midfielders such as David Beckham, Joe Cole and Frank Lampard the licence to break forward.

Up front, Steven Gerrard feeding Michael Owen, returning from a broken foot, supply the attack, Liverpool's Peter Crouch is on the sideline sitting next to midfielders Hargreaves and Carrick - and Walcott, I suspect, is very available. That ramblin', gamblin' Sven, he's so unpredictable.

But enough news and speculation. Here's today's Group D guess:

1 Portugal. Is Toronto for them, or Brazil? (Good catch from Deadspin)

2 Mexico. All rise for the FIFA rankings. C'mon now. Stand up. Oh all right, forget it ...

3 Iran. Highlights of their friendly against Croatia - almost a great victory.

4 Angola. Just getting here is an accomplishment: "Yes, a lot of great footballers have been lost to our war. We cannot guess at how many or how good some former Angolan teams may have been."

UPDATE: England 3 (Gerrard 47, Terry 50, Crouch 84), Hungary 1

England: Robinson; G Neville (Hargreaves 46), Ferdinand, Terry (Campbell 76), A Cole; Carragher, C-Beckham, Lampard, J Cole, Gerrard (Walcott 65), Owen (Crouch 65)

Some notes after watching it on the telly: Beckham in set pieces deadly for England, their first two goals coming with Gerrard then Terry running on to his free-kick deliveries and heading home. That's a recipe they'll go to again and again in Germany. Joe Cole was full of activity and enterprise, and Hargreaves looked far more comfortable in that defensive-MFer role than did Carragher, who moved to right back for the second half -- although it was Hargreaves who failed to close out on Hungary captain Dardai when he thumped a beautiful curving 30-yarder in for the visitors' only goal.

Other impressions: The much underrated Crouch exhibited a nimble turn and shot from right at the top of the 18-yard box for his goal. For a big guy he's always been light on his feet and he showed a lot more than Owen, who was almost invisible. As for Walcott, he came on to become England's youngest-ever international (17 years, 75 days) but squandered his only chance to make it really memorable, missing wide from a tight angle after a nice ball from Hargreaves. And oh yeah, forgot to mention this earlier: Lampard missed a penalty, at the end of the first half after the only real spot of pressure England managed for the opening 45 minutes.

As the NBA draft turns

Will Phoenix trade up?
Will Chicago trade out?
And can Bryan, holding some key information, get involved?
So here's the scenario, pitched through the Daily Herald's Mike McGraw: The Bulls, holding the (nee-Knicks') pick at No. 2, are looking to pick up a veteran.

MATT YORK/AP

Shawn Marion: Intriguing.

And Phoenix, with Diaw and Barbosa heading into their qualifying offer summer next year, want to keep both of them and, even bigger, might be willing to trade away pogo stickin' Shawn Marion to make room for the Diaw/Barbosa salary hikes and pick up a younger, cheaper big in return:

The Bulls could send their two first-round draft picks to Phoenix for Marion, which would give the Suns a shot at LaMarcus Aldridge or Tyrus Thomas with the No. 2 selection and also lower their payroll by about $10 million.
Would the Suns be interested in such a deal? Hard to say, but former Phoenix general manager Bryan Colangelo is sitting in Toronto with the No. 1 pick and might jump on the same trade if it’s available.

Marion's a just-below-the-marquee player. He's hit the heights with Steve Nash running the show in Phoenix, but I'm not at all sold on how he might fit in Chicago, let alone Toronto. And he's due to make huge money, as McGraw points out - $48 million for the next three seasons, including $17.1 million in the final year. It's an intriguing float, but those are potentially cap-busting numbers. Pass.
(Thanks to Can't Stop the Bleeding for the catch.)

WM Post: Group C and other predictions

Before we get to today's wild guess prediction, some more, er, predictions:

Decision Technology, a firm of prediction experts who claim to be the best in the business, has invented a computer program that boasts a better record than any bookmaker, pundit or sports tipster. While most bookmakers rank England as second favourites behind Brazil to land football's greatest prize, Dectech ranks Sven-Goran Eriksson's side ninth in the list it has produced to estimate the chance each of the 32 teams has of lifting the trophy. Brazil have the highest probability at 13.1 per cent.

My rudimentary level of odds-board calculating, honed by years of research at Woodbine, translates 13.1 per cent to a little longer than 6-to-1 odds. They're 2-to-1 in most books -- a huge underlay, in other words. Which most of us already knew.

But who to back?

Stott says anyone seeking to make a profit on events in Germany should back France, Holland or the Czech Republic, whose chances, he says, have been underestimated.

France? Things haven't improved much from last week. The Netherlands are anywhere between 9 and 12 to 1 -- not great either. But the Czech Republic? A very nice 32-to-1 in most places, says Oddschecker.

On to the Group C forecast -- the obligatory Group of Death, where anything can happen:

1 Netherlands. "Women are threatened with being overwhelmed with an orange testosterone cloud of football madness ... This must stop, here and now."

2 Serbia & Montenegro. Looked like they held back in weekend friendly vs. Uruguay (and if not, they're in trouble).

3 Argentina. Flopped as co-favourites in 2002, and now there's doubts about Lionel Messi.

4 Ivory Coast. Could finish on top, it's that close, and sell a lot of chocolate as well.

Ricky Williams checks in

Ricky Williams made it to the practice field at the Argos' Erindale College training camp this morning, which is a good thing. Another helping of yesterday’s unveiling of Ricky as philosopher savant and gridiron Mother Teresa and I’d be reaching for the barf bag:

CARLOS OSORIO/TORONTO STAR

Ricky Williams: New ball game.

Keith Pelley, team president: “We all know Ricky Williams is special on the field but what I’ve learned in the last couple of days is that Ricky Williams is more special off the field. Working side by side with the legendary Mike Clemons, I can categorically foresee how influential these two men can be to Toronto’s youth.”

Pinball Clemons: “I’ve personally given this considerable consideration and unequivocally understand my personal position. This, however, did not satisfy my concerns for our League and our fans. That is, until I met Ricky Williams. He is quite literally one of the kindest and most thoughtful persons I have ever spent time with. He is a kindred spirit, a man after my own heart, whose articulated desire is to serve others. Interestingly enough, I haven’t said anything about his physical talents because it is Ricky Williams the man that is most impressive."

Pelley again, on whether Williams, who will apparently be tested 10 times a month by an NFL official, will be subject to a “zero tolerance” policy on any positive drug test (his teammates, full time members of a league that has no drug testing, face no such policing): "No. That would be totally hypocritical of what the Argonauts stand for."

Williams, on his new number 27: "This is a more positive outlook on life than I've had in the past and I wanted to initiate with No. 27, which is a positive number.”

So there you are. This is an example of “what the Argos stand for” to Pelley, Pinball and the rest, and it’s balance + thought = completion for Williams, a keen believer in numerology.

Geez. This is a football player. He's come from a difficult background, from all accounts. He's different, perhaps even unique - how many players have walked away from millions of dollars to go smoke dope in a tent halfway around the world, then come back on another drug suspension, owing $8.6 million to his team, and child support on three children from three relationships, with another on the way?

There's almost no risk here from the Argos' point of view, save perhaps a complete and utter, Anthony Davislike flop. It's Williams, hightly motivated, taking all the chances: One season trying to salvage his career and reputation, avoid the local hydroponics, come out of it in one piece and, having overrode the Dolphins' objections to come up here, be back in Miami come the end of the year.

Good luck to him, and to the Argos. One thing, though. As others before him have found, this league is much tougher than it seems. Didn't hear any of that yesterday, but I suspect Williams knows about it now.

Romario, Bargnani and Art

Time to pack it up around here, following an eventful week. And this just in from Centennial Stadium, where the Lynx are playing a morning match: Romario has scored. I'm guessing if it wasn't a toe poke, it was a penalty. Bully for him. Now on to some real scoring.

One last read. This was a big week in Raptorland. Here's Dave Feschuk's fine read on how he figures all this Bargnani talk is just a smokescreen -- well, 'tis the season. What stopped me here -- what was a really big stop sign, actually -- was this bit:

Colangelo tried awfully hard to make it known that the Raptors like him more than anybody else on the shortlist. The GM mentioned that Sam Mitchell, the Raptors coach, and Wayne Embry, a senior executive, were jetting to see Bargnani play on the Continent this week. He mentioned that Larry Tanenbaum, the club chairman, had taken in one of Bargnani's games at Colangelo's urging. And he mentioned — surely only in passing — that the man with whom he is in talks to hire as an assistant, Maurizio Gherardini, is the top executive with the club, Benetton Treviso, that owns Bargnani's contract.

I guess if you own the team, even just a portion of it, you can do what you want. But isn't this where Colangelo is supposed to be left alone to do the job? Any owner scouting makes me shudder. An MLSE owner scouting is even worse.

One last look. Matthew McGough on the art of sport:

The art critic Dave Hickey builds his essay ''The Heresy of Zone Defense" (published in his 1997 collection ''Air Guitar") around another such moment of transcendent athletic beauty: Julius Erving driving baseline in the 1980 NBA Finals, veering though the air around Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, under the backboard, and then, somehow, reaching back under the glass for a reverse layup. After the game, Magic Johnson joked that the Lakers weren't sure at the time whether to inbound the ball or ask Erving to do it again.
''Everyone who cares about basketball knows this play," Hickey writes, and it's true: Even for sports fans like myself who were merely toddlers in 1980, the words ''Dr. J" and ''reverse layup" are sufficient to summon the precise mental image.
Hickey attributes the universal joy inspired by Erving's play to the fact that it ''was at once new and fair": within the rules of the game invented in 1891 by James Naismith, and yet impossible for Naismith (or anyone else, for that matter) to have anticipated until Dr. J actually pulled it off. The relationship between fair play and aesthetic appreciation may also explain why replays of Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa's record-setting 1998 home run chase felt breathtaking just a few years ago but now seem to have lost their capacity to inspire strong feelings.

Breaking news. No results in yet, but the Australian finals of the World Air Guitar Championships are today. Okay, some real news: Michael Ballack, following on this morning's WM Post, will miss Germany's friendly against Luxembourg due to a sore ankle.

Sports around town. The baseball Maple Leafs are off to a 4-1 start and host Stratford in an Intercounty League game, Sunday at 2 p.m. at Christie Pits.

Watching. The Memorial Cup final, Sunday, 4 p.m. A national championship on the line, Patrick Roy's Quebec Remparts against the winner of tonight's Moncton-Vancouver semifinal. I'm hoping it's Moncton for the home ice crowd, and the simmering back and forth between Roy and Ted Nolan.

Not watching. The Sopranos, off for a week before next Sunday's season finale (and judging from last week, all-out war is about to break loose).