There's No Rush

Nobody likes the three-goalie system, at least not for long.

But until the Maple Leafs are sure they have a bona fide starter, doesn't it make sense for them to keep all the goalies they can get their hands on?

Let's be honest. Nobody, even super-confident goalie consultant Steve McKichan, can yet say for certain that Andrew Raycroft will bounce back from a sub-par season last year with the Boston Bruins.

Yes, the Bruins were awful. Yes, having Hannu Toivonen and Tim Thomas in and out of the lineup even when Raycroft was healthy didn't create a stable working environment.

Still, nobody knows for sure whether Raycroft is again ready to be a No. 1 goalie for a team that will need sterling goaltending to make the post-season.

And you won't know, realistically, until late November or early December.

So what if he bombs? Wouldn't it make sense under that scenario to have both Mikael Tellqvist and Jean-Sebastien Aubin around, particularly since that tandem seemed to work fairly well for the club in the last weeks of the season last spring?

Neither Tellqvist nor Aubin is eating up a lot of salary cap room. The team can easily go indefinitely with 13 forwards, seven defencemen and three goalies.

And the possible returns in a trade for either Aubin or Tellqvist are likely to be no more than a mid-round draft pick at best right now, particularly since neither is a proven backup, let alone a proven starter.

It's not like dealing one or the other is going to patch another hole in the Leaf lineup.

Remember when San Jose figured it had to get rid of a goalie, figuring three was too many? The Sharks kept Evgeny Nabokov and Vesa Toskala, and dumped Miikka Kiprusoff to the Calgary Flames for a second round pick.

This, of course, is not to compare either Aubin or Tellqvist with Kiprusoff. But the point is the Leafs need more information on all of their netminders before they feel the need to dump one. Geez, they only gave Aubin a shot at all last season because they had no choice, and look what they found out about him.

Moroever, this is a bit of a phony debate since the Leafs don't have to make a decision. The only people left uncomfortable in a three-goalie system are the No. 2 and 3 goalies, because they don't get enough work in practice, and the head coach, 'cause he's got to deal with long faces.

So let Raycroft establish himself and get comfortable. Once that has taken place, then it will be time to choose between Aubin and Tellqvist.

Are We There Yet?

Consider all the headlines and new stories surrounding Tie Domi and his personal life this week. Now imagine what it would all have been like, and would be like for weeks on end, if he was still playing for the Leafs. You can bet Paul Maurice has. ... Gee, more exhibition hockey still to come? How wonderful. Nobody in the sport believes this many pre-season games are necessary, or even particularly helpful. ... If there was any doubt that the Leafs will be a three-line team this season featuring more ice time for Mats Sundin, it was dispelled after Wednesday's game against Ottawa. "I thought Mats looked good," said Maurice. "In a three-line rotation.". ... Even sportswriters have hearts. Honest. So it is without reservation that I can tell you I'm rooting for Jay Harrison to crack the Leaf lineup this fall. He's an honest player, anything but flashy, but also a player who has fought diligently in recent years just to be considered for NHL work. "I'd like to be here next week," he said last night. "It would be a dream to be here. But dreams and reality are sometimes close, sometimes far apart. I'm hoping they see something in my game that can contribute to improving this team." A coach's dream. ... Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist is taking medication to relax his facial muscles and prevent a reoccurance of the migraine headaches that bothered his vision in last spring's playoffs. He has two shutouts this month already. ... New Boston head coach Dave Lewis has broken up last year's top line of Patrice Bergeron, Brad Boyes and Marco Sturm. Sturm has been replaced by 19-year-old Phil Kessel - important note for you poolies - while Sturm has moved to an alignment with Marc Savard and Glen Murray. There are those who believe the B's will be a strong offensive club this season. ... Speaking of poolies, don't forget the strong playoff enjoyed last spring by Steve Bernier of the San Jose Sharks. Bernier was the played selected by the Sharks with the first round pick they picked up from the Maple Leafs in the Owen Nolan deal. ... Once again, the CFL has made the correct decision regarding football in Ottawa. Just as folding the Renegades was the right move, so too is waiting to bring back the game in the nation's capital until new owners have all their ducks in a row. ... As a rich, successful and hugely talented athlete, Terrell Owens is the object of many. I'm not as rich, successful or hugely talented, but I just feel sorry for the grosteque public figure he has become. ... For those watching to see if there might be a market out there for Mikael Tellqvist or Jean-Sebastien Aubin that might bring help to the Leafs, 38-year-old Wade Flaherty allowed five goals on 15 shots for Vancouver against Edmonton Wednesday night and was pulled after two periods. In Philly, meanwhile, it's expected Antero Niittymaki will need surgery on his left hip. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that GM Bob Clarke turned down an offer of Sean Burke to fill his goaltending needs. There's absolutely no way Robert Esche can be a 65-75 game goalie, so the Flyers are looking hard for more than a warm body. ... In Montreal, there is great concern over a shoulder injury suffered by defenceman Sheldon Souray, particularly with Francois Bouillon not expected back from a knee injury until late October.

Realism in the Wake of Katrina

Not even once did you get the sense that the football game was the most important part of the evening.

For television, for big-time American sports television, that's saying something.

This is not an effort to stray into the territory of The Star's terrific TV and radio sports columnist Chris Zelkovich, but to watch ESPN's Monday Night Football as it attempted to cover the incredibly complicated story of the return of the New Orleans Saints to the Katrina-ravaged, expensively refurbished Superdome was fascinating stuff.

On his afternoon radio talk show yesterday, The Fan's Bob McCown led a spirited debate over the priorities of a city that had rebuilt a football stadium while thousands were still in temporary housing 13 months after the deadly hurricane hit the Gulf Coast and resulted in the biggest natural disaster in U.S. history.

How could $200 million be spent on the dome, McCown asked, when entire neighborhoods remained destroyed and unihabitable?

It was suggested by McCown and his round table partners that MNF would likely do what we've seen many times before, gloss over the bad stuff and focus on the football.

It was a good bet. But it didn't happen that way, much to the credit of ESPN.

Over the course of a 90-minute pre-game show and the 3 1/2 hour game between the Saints and Atlanta Falcons, the reality that New Orleans was still very much a city in distress was front and centre the entire time. In fact, there was a great deal of information on the precise state of the city, not just the precise state of the Saints.

Host Chris Berman had barely got the predictable suggestion that the Superdome is "a symbol of ongoing recovery" out of his mouth when football analyst Tom Jackson jumped in with "but there's still a lot of work to be done." Ex-QB Steve Young suggested that the game itself came "with an asterisk" because of the miles and miles of devastated city blocks that remained far from the dome.

Robin Roberts, a native of the Gulf Coast with a sister still in temporary New Orleans housing, gave the perspective that the people of the Crescent City were "so hungry after their lives have been shattered for something normal."

There was a long report showing Saints receiver Joe Horn visiting parts of the city that are being rebuilt, and parts that aren't, comparing the images of Katrina with the bitter childhood memory of he and his brother watching their family's trailer burn down.

There was a gloomy report on whether New Orleans, which has seen it's population basically halved by Katrina, can support an NFL team long-term with a population now less than Hamilton.

By the fourth quarter, the broadcast team of Mike Tirico, Tony Kornheiser and Joe Theismann was still making sure the game itself was being put into perspective. Tirico and Kornheiser were particularly focussed on this, even pushing filmmaker Spike Lee with some tough questions about whether governments had done enough to deal with the terrible human suffering in the city.

Lee, no stranger to aggressive public commentary, backed away from any controversy, but it was the ESPN guys who were doing the pushing.

"A year later. . .it's still not right here," was the only tepid offering from Lee.

Other than the hideous, grinning presence of ex-president George H. Bush, whose son's government was and has been so ineffective in reacting and dealing with Katrina, there was a real attempt to show all the different sides of the post-Katrina reality in New Orleans while still broadcasting a football game.

The concept of using a game and a team and a stadium as symbols of hope for the ravaged city while thousands have been unable to return to their homes 56 weeks after the storm was not an simple one to understand from afar.

The easy answer is to say ignore the circus and focus on the bread, and that's certainly not wrong. But would New Orleans, a socially challenged city before Katrina, be better off today if the stadium hadn't been fixed and the Saints hadn't been able to return and a North American TV audience hadn't had the terrible problems of The Big Easy brought into their living rooms last night?

It allowed musician Harry Connick Jr. to use TV as a platform to tell the world the best way to help New Orleans would be to start bringing their tourist dollars again.

It wasn't necessarily all meaningful, but it wasn't meaningless, either.

Another Tough Week for Team America

The U.S. is on one cold streak internationally. Just over the past week their women lost at the world basketball championships, following on the heels of their men, the best American golfers were pounded in the Ryder Cup and the Russians knocked off the U.S. in a Davis Cup semifinal in Moscow. Throw in the World Baseball Classic and Floyd Landis and this is what you would call a slump. ... In that Davis Cup match, Andy Roddick lost the crucial match to Dmitry Tursonov 17-15 in the fifth set. Roddick was beaten by Marat Safin as well, all this coming off his loss to Roger Federer in the final of the U.S. Open. What's Jimmy Connors doing for him again?. ... Andy Fantusz; That's why it's so great to have the Canadian Football League. ... Given that Doug Flutie had such a flair for the dramatic as a player, you'd think he'd have a nose for it in his new role as a broadcaster. Instead, Flutie let his Boston College colours leak through Saturday night when he spent most of ESPN's halftime show in the Notre Dame-Michigan State game making fun of the Irish and saying repeatedly he just didn't think the Notre Dame defence had the athletes to stop the Spartans after MSU had run up 31 points in the first half. After Flutie's mocking had died down, the Irish roared back and won the game in the second half, holding the Spartans to six points. ... Of course visors will be mandatory in the NHL within five years. The fact the NHL Players Association doesn't get behind it now is just more evidence of how lost this group still is. ... Green Riders are now 3-1 since Eric Tillman took over from Roy Shivers as GM. ... A week ago, the New York Giants were celebrating a fabulous comeback win against the Eagles. Today, New York papers are filled with quotes from tight end Jeremy Shockey ripping the team's coaching staff after an ugly loss to Seattle. ... I know I should really know a lot about Trevor Hoffman. I just don't. I knew who Lee Smith was. ... Jocelyn Thibault, not Marc-Andre Fleury, may be the opening night goalie for the Penguins. ... If Markus Naslund moves in beside the Sedin twins, where will that leave Brendan Morrison. ... Tiger Woods; great individual golfer, dicey team player. ... The Hamilton Tiger-Cats should definitely wait until season's end to find a new head coach. They may, after all, get to interview Wally Buono, Danny Barrett and/or Don Matthews the way this season is going. ... Calgary's the best team in the CFL right now. Unfortunately, it doesn't really matter which is the best team in the CFL right now. With an eight-team league, at least six teams are all co-favorites to win the Grey Cup. ... I'm impressed with John Pohl and Ian White. But it sure seems Nik Antropov has returned with the same game, the same snoozy approach. ... Great battle looming in the NHL boardroom over New Jersey's attempt to have Alexander Mogilny's contract wiped off their cap on the basis of long-term disability. Philly GM Bob Clarke is a very interested party, arguing that every team who screws up with a 35-and-older player in the future will just use long-term disability as a way to get out of what the new collective bargaining agreement was supposed to achieve.

Ryder Cup Intrigue

You have to like the Ryder Cup if only because it's the only time the world's most incredibly boring "sport" actually encourages it's "athletes" to speak their minds, get a litte controversial and walk around wearing the same sleeveless sweaters.

The fact it's a team event seems to build greater pressure on each player, rather than diffuse it throughout the group. It was with that in mind this week that it was interesting to hear Tiger Woods defend his model wife at a news conference after pictures were published and insinuations were made about porn sites. Maybe he was really upset, and good for him to defend his wife. But given that she is a former international bikini model who has pictures pasted all over the Internet, I'm guessing this is an issue Mr. and Mrs. Woods have dealt with many times. You have to wonder if making a big deal of it in Ireland this week wasn't Woods' way of reducing the focus and pressure on the rest of the team, which includes four rookies.

With the U.S. having lost four of the last five Ryder Cups, it was undoubtedly helpful for the Americans to have the world press focussing on non-golf issues for a day or two. Kind of reminiscent of Wayne Gretzky at the Salt Lake Olympics.

***

 

At first blush, six years and $24 million for Brenden Morrow of the Dallas Stars seems like way too much money and way too much term. To put Morrow in the context of the game's elite, remember he was a spare on the Canadian 2002 World Cup team but wasn't even a consideration for Turin. That said, maybe this is a statement by the Stars that the commodities Morrow brings to the rink - grit, character, physical play, backchecking - are as much worth paying for as goals and assists.

I'm thinking that Darcy Tucker, four years old than Morrow but with similar numbers and style, had to be thrilled to see Morrow's new deal. Tucker makes about $1.6 million in the final year of his deal.

                                                ***

 

"Fitness" has become the buzzword of the Leaf camp. Being fit, however, is the bare minimum for an NHL player. It's not an achievement. ... I really like the idea of identifying the top 50 CFL players all-time. I just can't imagine how it can be done with any true accuracy. ... Several great matchups in Week 3 of the NFL season including Colts-Jags and Bengals-Steelers. But the neat twist is the former Cleveland Browns (Baltimore Ravens) going to Cleveland to play and the St. Louis Rams heading to Arizona to play the former St. Louis Cardinals. ... The idea of having the New Jersey Nets moving to Brooklyn to become the first pro sports team to play out of the city since the Dodgers left in '57 was a quaint, fun story. But the Nets owner, Bruce Ratner, can't seem to get an arena built and the Nets have quietly signed a new lease to continue playing out of the Continental Airlines Arena. Have to believe they'll eventually end up at the Devils' new arena in Newark.

Silence and Superstars

Not negative. Not positive. Just, well, nothing.

That has been the sum impact of Ricky Williams on the Toronto sports scene, a neutral result no one would have anticipated.

Williams, don't forget, was a hugely controversial figure when he arrived in early summer on loan from the Miami Dolphins. He'd been huge news wherever he'd played football - the University of Texas, the New Orleans Saints, the Miami Dolphins - and it was assumed that at the very least he would leave an indelible mark on the little old Canadian Football League.

Years from now, it was believed, we would tell our grandchildren that the great American running back actually played in Toronto, just as people were recounting this week how Babe Ruth hit his first home run as a professional right into Lake Ontario.

Moreover, Williams promised to be accessible and to contribute to the community. The latter he may well have done, but very quietly. The former, well, he wasn't talking yesterday for some obscure reason and after a series of long interviews upon his arrival he hasn't had much else to say. Maybe none of us know the proper question to ask.

There have been 57 rushes with the football for 231 yards and seven catches for 58 yards. Once, he has crossed the goal line with the pigskin tucked under his arm. He has yet to rush for 100 yards, but then again, he's been all but invisible since breaking his arm in Regina on July 22nd.

Williams returns this weekend against Calgary with six regular games left - four at home - to make an impression of some kind.

Assuming he's still healthy by then, he'll get at least one playoff game, and possibly even a chance to play in the Grey Cup game.

There's still time for Ricky Williams to make us remember he was ever here.

Being Tie Domi

For one night, I walked in Tie Domi's shoes.

Well, not exactly one night. About 30 seconds. And I didn't have to do any of the more challenging stuff, like fighting men twice my size while wearing skates and fufilling the duties of the toughest job in hockey year after year, through bruised knuckles and dislocated shoulders.

All I had to do was look like him. In the right light. To certain Philadelphians under certain circumstances.

It all happened after that goofy game in Philly in which Sandy McCarthy attempted to mock Domi by giving him the old chicken wing act, questioning Domi's willingness to scrap. McCarthy made quite the show of it, infuriating Domi and delighting Flyer fans.

Later that night, what then constituted The Star's hockey braintrust - Paul Hunter, Ken Campbell and myself - assembled in a fine Philly dining establishment and took a table near the front window.

After a few minutes, we were startled by a loud knock on the window.

We turned to see a small group of young men. One pointed to me, burst into a huge smile and then gave me the chicken wing routine, apparently thinking he'd stumbled upon the Leaf enforcer in an after hours moment.

Must have been the eyebrows.

Needless to say, Domi was a complicated character during his NHL career, one in which I interviewed him first as a Peterborough Pete at the Memorial Cup, saw him as a Leaf rookie, watched him hone his WWF show in the 'Peg, actually flew to New York to cover his first game as a Ranger then saw him return to the Leafs.

He was nice enough to include me among a group of writers he felt had been "fair" to him during his farewell address yesterday, but the truth was we had an up-and-down relationship that including more than a few "F--- you," "No, f--- you" exchanges.

After last season, he called, upset at a column in which he had been characterized as being too close to Leaf owner Larry Tanenbaum. Offered a chance for a full, unedited rebuttal, he never called back.

I always admired him for the job he did, even as I gradually came to believe the value of the enforcer's job was hugely exaggerated and that fighting should be banned from the game. His errors - Scott Niedermayer, Ulf Samuelsson - were spectacular, viciously violent and reprehensible, but there were many, many nights in which he didn't take dumb penalties to put his team in a bad position. He fought, but rarely tripped, held, interfered or highsticked, understanding that his ice time depending on staying out of the box for anything but dropping the gloves.

Interestingly, that meant for the giant number of penalty minutes he accumulated over his career, for most of them his team was not left shorthanded. Like a physician sworn to "do no harm," Domi may not have helped the Leafs win games, but the majority of nights he didn't hurt the effort.

It's a lousy bargain for fighters. Teams use them until they get beat up, then bring in the new boy. The Leafs, for example, used John Kordic until the time bomb exploded, never really doing anything to help him with the demons that eventually killed him.

Domi, however, turned the deal to his advantage. As much as the Leafs used him, he used the Leafs to sell the brand of Tie.

Maybe better than any Leaf ever.

Even yesterday during his retirement news conference, he was already into the business of selling himself on TSN. Sportsnet, which carried the event live, must have been thrilled to broadcast Domi singing the praises of its rival network over and over.

Some say he was a phony, but to be fair, how phony could he have been as a player to have fought that many nasty characters over the years? Was he any phonier than the players who were happy to skate under his protection?

If anything, he sold himself so well that he came to believe too much in what he was sellling.

Monday Morning Coffee

Interesting. Ricky Williams is supposed to return to the Argo lineup this week against Calgary and there is absolutely no buzz about it at all. Extraordinary, considering how big this story was in August. ... CFL commish Tom Wright has been carrying lame-duck status for weeks, so it'll be interesting to see this week if anybody at head office has any power left. Edmonton linebacker A.J. Gass should most certainly be suspended for next weekend's home game against Hamilton after kicking at Tiger-Cat receiver Brock Ralph while Ralph was lying on the turf at Ivor Wynne Stadium Saturday night. Gass was outraged after Ralph dove at the knees of Eskie lineman Adam Braidwood while the Tiger-Cats were running out the final seconds, but that really doesn't matter. So we'll find out today or tomorrow whether there are any lights still on at CFL headquarters. ... By the way, if the Esks lose to the Tabbies again next weekend, you have to believe Danny Macioca will be goners. ... Now, I've never been a John Madden fan. Too much "Whap!" and goofy bus stuff and All-Madden team mumbling. But in his first two Sunday night games for NBC, the veteran broadcaster seems reborn. His analysis is snappier, his stories are crisper and he's adding more to the show than just a cariacature. It's great TV. ... It was only one game, but Notre Dame's Brady Quinn was most definitely not the flashiest looking quarterback on the field against Michigan on Saturday. Wolverine junior QB Chad Henne stole the show, delivering his own message to pro scouts on national TV. ... Gosh, so thrilled to hear Mats Sundin and Darcy Tucker want to play in Toronto. I was so worried. ... Really unfortunate to see Carlo Colaiacovo struggling with health problems again. But in the cold competitive world of pro hockey, Colaiacovo's absence certainly enhances the chances of either Brendan Bell or Ian White to start the season in the NHL. ... Jean-Sebastien Aubin's strong late season play earned him a one-way contract, no small thing for a veteran pro. But it should also mean Mikael Tellqvist should have to outplay Aubin to retain the No. 2 job with the Leafs, not the other way around. ... Washington safety Sean Taylor is the most dangerous hitter in the NFL. Up north, Argos Kenny Wheaton is similarly fearsome. ... The Devils were hoping that both Alexander Mogilny and Vladimir Malakhov might be able to earn roster spots this fall, seeing as how they're combined salaries are eating up more than $7 million worth of cap space. Instead, Mogilny has been a training camp scratch with his chronic hip problem and Malakhov didn't even show up for his physical.

And They're Off!

It's an interesting contrast that while the Blue Jays seem to have little or no playoff future while playing in the American League East with the Yankees and Red Sox, the Maple Leafs are in entirely the opposite situation while skating in the NHL's Eastern Conference.

There's absolutely no excuse for them NOT to be in the post-season next spring.

While the East is, don't forget, the conference that produced the 2004 and 2006 Stanley Cup champions, it is a conference that goes into the 2006-07 season without any team that looks particularly dominating or threatening.

Few believe Carolina can repeat. Tampa's still reconfiguring. Philly get a goalie yet? Buffalo's still fighting the budget crunch. Ottawa is still, well, Ottawa, but now without the towering presence of Zdeno Chara.

In fact, you could argue that the top five favourites for the '07 Cup are all from the Western Conference. They would be:

1. Calgary . . . Beefed up scoring with the addition of Alex Tanguay, maybe the best blueline corps in the league.

2. Anaheim . . . Scott Niedermayer and Chris Pronger can play so much that the Ducks could go with three D-men and 15 forwards.

3. Vancouver . . . Collective team I.Q. skyrocketed over the off-season. Roberto Luongo can carry this team.

4. San Jose . . . A disappointing dismissal at the hands of Edmonton should not obscure the depth and talent on the Sharks.

5. Minnesota Wild . . . A team that has finally added payroll and star power.

Now, somebody from the east will have to emerge. It's like, in the rules.

And unless it's Ottawa, finally, it'll be a team that's as much a surprise as was Carolina a year ago.

"Free" Agency

Whether its Ryan Kesler, Nikolai Zherdev or Evgeny Artyukhin, what's clear is that many NHL execs believe restricted free agency should in no way resemble free agency. They want it to be a one-way street where a player is forced to accept what he is offered or forced to sit out. ... With respect to Kesler, what's all this about this contract producing wild salary inflation? How can you have spiralling inflation in a league were payrolls are capped and the players are held to 54 per cent of the purse? Fact is, rather than insulting Bob Clarke, fans of the other 28 NHL teams should be demanding to know why their GM didn't make the offer to the young right winger. Also, notice that not one rival GM will go after Clarke with anything but an anonymous quote. ... It's interesting to look back at the NHL drafts of the early 1990s. In 1990, power forwards Owen Nolan and Keith Primeau were supposed to be big, strapping youngsters that would dominate the sport, but both fell short of expectations and saw their careers bogged down repeatedly by injuries. Ditto for the first pick the next year, Eric Lindros. ... We'll know find out whether Anson Carter made the Sedins or the Sedins made Anson Carter. ... Smart move by Matt Stajan to get signed and get to camp. This is probably the most significant year of his career and he needs to be in there working. If he delivers, he'll get his dough. ... If his dream was to play in the NFL, then it is surely too bad Jesse Lumsden didn't make it. But here's hoping his dream now is simply carry the ball, and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats better damn well give it to him. ... Back to the Kesler deal for a moment. If he turns out to be unworthy of a $1.9 million paycheque, then either the Canucks or Flyers can decline to offer him a qualifying offer next spring or, under the new CBA rules, can take him to salary arbitration and try to force his salary downwards. There are all kinds of mechanisms in place for teams to control costs - they just choose not to use them. ... Don't look now, but the Pittsburgh Penguins are up for sale to the highest bidder again. Sam Fingold, the fellow who apparently bought the Pens for $175 million, hasn't been able to close the deal.