New Twist on an Old Story

There's is no sports story more tired in Toronto than the NFL story.

Other than Paul Godfrey, no one has really ever seemed to believe there was a reason why the NFL would want to be in Canada or, specifically, why it would allow an existing team to move north of the border.

Expansion, however, is a different story.

Particularly when you're dealing with a new commissioner, a commissioner whose No. 1 job is coming up with ways to make obscenely rich NFL owners even richer.

And how many options does the new man, Roger Goodell, really have?

Expansion, of course, has always been a favorite revenue tool for leagues uncertain where to turn.

The NFL, you have to believe, will expand one day beyond it's current 32 teams. It's going to try to go somewhere, maybe adding over time another four teams.

Why? Well, for starters, because it can.

The NHL has too many teams now and too many that can't sell tickets. The NBA doesn't have enough big men to go around now. Major League Baseball, which hasn't expanded since 1998, doesn't have enough pitching to feed it's teams.

The NFL, on the other hand, has a bottomless pit of football talent from which to draw.

And if Goodell is looking for ways to impress his bosses, stuffing some quick, easy money in their jeans is the easiest way.

The TV world is becoming more fractured by the day, it's space invaded by the Internet and technology that allows fans to skip annoying commercials.

Expansion, on the other hand, is a tried and true way to make money.

The franchise fee for the Houston Texans in '02 was $700 million, so you have to believe the next round will cost $1 billion or more.

So two teams at $1 billion would provide a quick $60 million injection of cash to the current 32 teams.

Even to the NFL, $60 million is big money.

That's how you keep Jerry Jones happy if you're Goodell. Not by moving existing teams. That doesn't make any money for the franchises already in place.

So it's no surprise Goodell is talking expansion, and no surprise he's mentioning Mexico and Canada because he needs as many suitors as possible.

That's how a $1 billion franchise fee could turn into $1.5 billion. Or higher.

Then it becomes a question of which cities are willing to pony up the dough.

Could one of those be Toronto? Well, if nobody else wants to pay, you betcha.

 

Still Not Too Late

It's not too late for Mark McGwire to be a stand-up guy.

And that might just save him from the same fate as Pete Rose.

On the outside of Cooperstown indefinitely while the debate over his candidacy rages on and on and on. . .

When he defiantly sat before Congress and stonewalled, McGwire alienated a lot of Hall of Fame voters, as well as fans. People weren't necessarily hoping to get details of every pill and every needle, but some honesty and some humility would have gone a long way.

Now, with balloting for this year's Hall of Fame class about to commence, McGwire could still do the honesty and humility thing.

He could say sorry. He could admit to doing things to his body that while not necessarily illegal under baseball's rules certainly were unsportsmanlike. He could articulate the reasons why he and others chose to enhance their performance in an era in which baseball was hungry for star power and chose to turn a blind eye to much of what was going on.

He could just be a standup guy. One statement, one press conference, and the argument that he should be denied access to Cooperstown solely on the basis of his congressional filibuster would vanish.

The betting here is that had Rose come clean right away when he first sought admittance to the Hall of Fame, he'd be enshrined by now.

There is, of course, no indication that McGwire intends to go public at all. In fact, he apparently has declined to co-operate in any way with baseball's ongoing investigation into drug use in the sport.

So the debate over his eligibility/suitability has really picked up steam.

Many writers, and many Hall of Fame voters, have stepped up with excellent explanations of their reasons for or against voting for McGwire. The Star's Dave Perkins, to my mind, has the best reason not to vote in the slugging first baseman; he just doesn't have Hall of Fame numbers. It may be because I'm predisposed to keeping McGwire out, but this argument makes good sense.

In St. Louis, the town where Big Mac had his collision with history, this is a volatile issue. Jeff Gordon, a fine columnist with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, weighs in with his belief that McGwire has no chance of being a first ballot choice.

The New York Daily News goes to the heart of the steroid matter, it's influence on younger athletes,   while veteran Boston Globe writer Bob Ryan adamantly refuses to even consider giving McGwire his vote.

This is clearly an issue that evokes a great deal of passion among those who have been around this game for a long, long time.

Right now, it appears McGwire won't get enough votes to get in this year. But that just means the debate will be shifted to next year, and to years beyond.

The Heart of the Matter

It was a wonder to be in Pittsburgh Saturday night.

There, at the league's oldest arena, were hundreds of young Ontario female hockey players, all gathered for the first annual Thanksgiving Weekend tournament sponsored by the local girls hockey organizations.

Many got to meet Mario Lemieux during the day, for No. 66 coaches his daughter's peewee team and made himself wonderfully available to meet young players from Stratford, Kitchener, Oakville, Burlington, Ancaster, Aurora and other Ontario cities.

On Saturday night, meanwhile, many of the teams had organized tickets to see the Penguins and Rangers and showed up wearing their various team jerseys, cheering wildly when the name of their respective hockey associations were flashed on the main video screen.

There was disappointment, needless to say, when it was announced that Sidney Crosby wouldn't be playing. His status was the chatter of the girls tournament - Is Sidney playing Saturday night? - and a measure of the young star's growing celebrity.

But while Crosby didn't dress because of his groin problem, there were two other legitimate drawing cards worth watching.

On the Pittsburgh side, super rookie Evgeny Malkin.

For the New Yorkers, the perenially brilliant Jaromir Jagr.

And here, watching these two play Saturday night in front of all those kids who had come a long way to watch, appeared the essence of the new NHL.

The heart of the entire matter, as it were.

You actually got to watch Malkin and Jagr play. It wasn't a wildly offensive game, but both were able to exhibit their skill on almost every single shift for which they appeared without being unduly grabbed, hooked, tripped or obstructed.

They were checked, that's for sure, which is why neither had a big offensive night.

But the "new" NHL allows the stars to play their game. Now, if you buy a ticket to see Joe Thornton or Jarome Iginla or Ilya Kovalchuk or Anze Kopitar, you actually get to see that player play the game.

What a concept.

In an over-expanded 30-team league, this is absolutely critical. Few teams have more than two or three players really worth watching, and so for this league to succeed and be interesting on a nightly basis those players have to be allowed to play.

And that's what is happening.

So for those who got all bent out of shape about the officiating in the Leafs-Sabres game last week or tried to perversely use the nasty hit on Detroit's Johan Franzen as evidence that the manner in which the league is calling the game is somehow hurting the sport, a word of advice.

Look beyond your navel at the big picture. Just for a second.

Surprise, Surprise - Or Maybe Not

Guess people didn't forget Turin.

Either that or there's more speedskating fans in this country than I thought.

Or there's more Cindy Klassen fans.

The Olympic star, based on responses to The Spin yesterday, might be considered the early favorite to win the Lou Marsh Trophy as Canada's athlete-of-the-year, at least when it comes to the public. Some of the comments from readers are posted, and there seems to be a strong sentiment that Klassen's performance defined Canada's year in sport.

Of course, the public doesn't get to vote on the Lou Marsh. A collection of former athletes, sports editors, writers and broadcasters does that sometime next month.

But many of them - including myself - will go in to the meeting unsure whether Klassen, Hart Trophy winner Joe Thornton, American League MVP Justin Morneau or Steve Nash, the NBA's MVP, should be the winner.

So here's your chance for input.

What's interesting is that Klassen's dazzling performance at the oval in Turin came first, followed by Nash, then Thornton, then Morneau.

Yet it is Klassen's performance that seems indelibly etched in the minds of Canadian sports fans.

So far, the results suggest Klassen is ahead in the public's mind, followed by Nash, then by Morneau. Poor Joe Thornton is still waiting for some love.

And who said hockey always rules in this country?

Let the Debate Commence

Chances are, ladies and gentlemen, we'll never see this again.

MVPs of the NHL, NBA and the American League of Major League Baseball.

All at once.

Joe Thornton, Steve Nash and Justin Morneau. Somehow I don't feel so bad about whatever depths we've sunk to in world soccer rankings, or why our Olympic swimming program doesn't win so much anymore.

Thornton, Nash and Morneau are, at least to my mind, evidence of a great sporting country.

To bad they all play professionally in the U.S., not Canada.

Morneau's victory over Derek Jeter in the American League MVP race, as colleague Dave Perkins pointed out in Wednesday's edition of The Star, only makes the process of voting for this year's Lou Marsh Trophy (Canada's top athlete) a heckuva lot more difficult.

The great Silken Laumann against chairs the Lou Marsh panel this year, and the arguments will rage when the group gets together to decide on a winner next month.

So here's your chance to get you vote in now.

The top four candidates are:

--Joe Thornton, NHL Hart Trophy winner

--Steve Nash, reigning MVP of the NBA

--Justin Morneau, 2006 American League MVP

--Cindy Klassen, Olympic speedskater hero

How would you rate them? In what order? Why?

Crunch Time Comes Early

Everybody likes Sam Mitchell. Direct, blunt and honest, with a little profanity tossed in to make sure nobody thinks he's a pushover.

Moreover, most people want Mitchell to succeed. He played the game hard and well, and waited patiently for his turn as an NBA head coach only to find that opportunity came with the dysfunctional Raptors.

But you have to believe the next nine games - three at home, six on the road - are going to decide whether Mitchell makes it to Christmas as the club's head coach after a horrendous 2-8 start.

Colleague Doug Smith, one of the country's most respected basketball writers, argues Mitchell can't be blamed for the club's inability to shoot and needs at least another 20 games.

Fair enough. But for a coach who was a strong defender during his NBA career, it's unfathomable why the Raps are so bad defensively. In 10 games, they've held the opponent under 100 points ONCE in a league in which two-thirds of the teams don't average 100 points a game.

The Raps are averaging 105.4 points against per game, 29th in the NBA out of 30 teams. They don't stop anybody, and statistically they rebound the ball less effectively than pretty much everybody except Milwaukee.

By comparison, Toronto's offence - 10th in the NBA - doesn't look so bad.

Given those lopsided numbers and the apparent direction of the team, it's hard to believe Mitchell will last if he can't win at the very least three of the upcoming nine.

One of those is against the Knicks, who are almost as bad as the Raptors. There are winnable contests against Atlanta, Indiana, Boston and Chicago.

Three wins out of those nine would put the Raps at 5-14 on the season, but at least there would be some encouraging signs.

Anything less and the skids will be greased for Mitchell.

Bryan Colangelo came to Toronto from Phoenix billed as a miracle worker, and the influx of Euro-talent over the summer gave the Raptors a new look and optimism.

This dreadful start, however, isn't making Colangelo look too sharp, and don't forget, he didn't hire Mitchell.

It wasn't that long ago that everybody was treating Colangelo as the fair-haired boy and John Ferguson as the village idiot.

Suddenly you don't hear that so much.

Moreover, the Raps have to wait until January until they get to load up on home games with 10 in that month.

But if they're way, way out of the playoff race by then - no easy trick in the NBA Eastern Conference, mind you - selling tickets is going to be much more difficult.

Colangelo doesn't have many cards to play. Bringing in his own coach sooner, as opposed to later, is one he does have in his hand.

A Glorious Football Weekend

When it comes to football, it sure pays to be Canadian.

As this past weekend proved, it means you get double the fun.

Professional and collegiate football on both sides of the border delivered a wild assortment of results and news on the weekend. Our poor American friends, however, just got to watch the NFL and NCAA.

Here in the Great White North, we also enjoyed the CFL and the CIS over the past 48 hours.

See? Just another reason to love living here.

Here's what the weekend delivered:

The 94th Grey Cup. No, it wasn't a particularly entertaining game, but it's the Grey Cup and it's ours and only the CFL would see its championship trophy busted in two in the boisterous post-game celebration.

The Paul McCallum sidebar was great, it was quintessentially Canadian to see the winners use three quarterbacks with none being injured and there's no denying the Lions were the most dominant team in the league this season.

A spectacular comeback by the University of Saskatchewan Huskies against the Ottawa Gee-Gees on Saturday pushed the Huskies into the Vanier Cup, which coincidentally will take place in their home province at Saskatoon next Saturday.

Saskatchewan will face powerful Laval, which destroyed Acadia on Saturday. Next season, don't forget, the Vanier Cup will move to Grey Cup weekend when it will be played on the Friday night at the Rogers Centre before the 95th Grey Cup two days later.

A tremendously exciting clash in NCAA between No. 1 Ohio State and No. 2 Michigan, with the Buckeyes coming out on top by a field goal in a fabulously entertaining match set against the backdrop of the passing of legendary Michigan coach Bo Schembechler in the hours before the big game.

It was a unique experience to sit in a bar in Winnipeg on Saturday, with one TV on the Huskies-Gee Gees game and the other on Ohio State-Michigan.

The absurd NCAA ranking system, however, cranked out a new top 25 yesterday that left the Buckeyes and Wolverines still ranked 1-2, thus keeping alive the possibility the two schools could meet again in the U.S. title game.

That, needless to say, could leave every major school, possibly including USC, Notre Dame, Florida and Arkansas, severely annoyed, but some believe it could also potentially create momentum for a true playoff system in the future to decide the U.S. collegiate champ.

Oh yes, the NFL. Indianapolis is no longer undefeated, and doesn't Bill Parcells look like an awfully smart fellow for replacing Drew Bledsoe with Tony Romo?

Donovan McNabb is out for the year, a terrible blow for a Philly franchise that tried to do the right thing when it came to T.O. and now seems cursed by bad luck.

The Bears squeaked by in New York, the Chargers dumped the Broncos and it remains absolutely unclear who will emerge with the Super Bowl this winter. But it's unlikely the winner will break the trophy in two.

So the CFL, CIS, NCAA and NFL, all of which matter to varying degrees to Canadians, delivered a generous blessing this weekend for those who love the game of football.

For Sale: CFL's Soul

It's just wrong.

Wrong on so many levels it's hard to know where to start.

That the CFL, according to a salesman in the front office, is officially willing to sell naming rights to the Grey Cup is a concept that tears at the very notion that this league and its traditions are pieces of unique Canadiana worth preserving.

I can see it now. Ben Johnson doing spots for the Cheetah Grey Cup.

This idea, of course, has been kicking around for a few years. Somebody named Gavin Roth, apparently the CFL's senior director of partnerships, just made the decision to go public with it and lend it some official weight yesterday.

You might think this kind of pronouncement might be left to, say, the commissioner.

Except the commissioner, Tom Wright, is on his way out. As we've seen this year with a number of issues, that's left the CFL with a huge vacuum at the top.

Having some sales guy come out in the middle of Grey Cup week and tell the world the league is willing to besmirch the legacy of one of this country's most revered sporting traditions by attaching some company's name to it just makes you want to throw up.

It smacks of desperation.

Roth tried to soft-peddle the idea by saying the Grey Cup is "a very sacred name" - not just sacred, but very sacred - and that the league wouldn't just sell naming rights to Joe's Garage or Meatloaf Express.

It would have to be an "absolute stellar brand." Like a beer company, perhaps? Oh yeah, and they'd have to be willing to pony up a lot of dough.

That means, just like the punchline to an old joke, the CFL has made it clear what it is.

Now we're just negotiating the price.

Someone needs to stop this and stop it now. Anybody with great affection for this league understands an enormous element in the CFL's appeal is it's history.

The Grey Cup is the ultimate symbol of that history, both good and bad.

Moreover, it's not named after a colour, for crying out loud. It was named in honor of a former governor general of Canada 97 years ago, and attaching a corporate name and sponsor to it would be akin to slapping a giant swoosh on the Peace Tower.

While we're at it, imagine the snazzy corporate logo you could fit in the middle of the Canadian flag.

See, this is less about being a CFL traditionalist and more about being a proud Canadian.

But with no new commish in sight, and with leadership sorely needed on a variety of fronts, including returning excitement and pizzazz to the game itself, it is more than worrisome that there is no strong leader dictating direction here.

And once the CFL sells its soul, they'll be no going back.

Something's Gotta Give

Fair or unfair, you could see Gerard Gallant's firing coming for weeks.

Once the Columbus Blue Jackets got off to a wobbly start, and once it became clear star forward Rick Nash was no longer performing at a level even close to that which had some proclaiming him as the best player on the planet during the 2005 world championships in Austria, all the denials in the world from GM Doug MacLean couldn't hide the fact Gallant would be the first Jacket hung out to dry.

In Ottawa, however, it's not nearly so clear.

The Senators are having a miserable time these days, including Monday night's lousy performance in a 6-3 loss to Montreal that dropped the Sens to 2-6 on home ice.

The boys from the nation's capital are 13th in the Eastern Conference, closer to dead last (five points) than they are to eighth (six points).

One approach for owner Eugene Melynk would be to hang in there and wait until this talented team turns it around.

Problem is, he's already done that once this season. After a mediocre start, the Sens looked like all would be well after they waxed the Leafs 6-2 and 7-2 in a home-and-home series in late October. Ottawa appeared to have finally gotten its act together, and there was great concern in Toronto that big trouble was in the offing.

Well, since then the Sens have one win and seven losses, one of those by shootout, while the Leafs have gone on a tear, winning seven of eight.

So now what happens?

The Sens are in the middle of a challenging schedule of games, facing the Sabres and Devils on the road this week and then returning home for games against Buffalo and the very tough Minnesota Wild. It's unlikely they'll have the stabilizing presence of defenceman Wade Redden (groin) for any of those games, and it's unclear when the talented rearguard will return as he battles that chronic problem.

After that quartet of matches, the sked eases up a bit, but then again the Senators have lost to Washington and Boston (twice) in the past couple of weeks.

Hey, it could be worse. The departed Martin Havlat could still leading the NHL in scoring as he was for Chicago before he went down to injury Oct. 20.

If a body is to be tossed overboard in Gallant-like fashion, the prime candidates are GM John Muckler, head coach Bryan Murray and captain Daniel Alfredsson, not necessarily in that order.

Muckler is in the trickiest position, having chosen to keep Redden ahead of Zdeno Chara in the off-season and failed to convincingly address the team's goaltending needs. Without Martin Gerber struggling in the nets and without Redden or Chara in the lineup, the Sens are a very vulnerable squad at this moment.

During the off-season, Muckler declined to deal Alfredsson, the goat on the season-ending shorthanded goal by Buffalo's Jason Pominville in last spring's playoffs.

That now appears to be the last major card Muckler has to play, and it's a tough one. Moving a 33-year-old winger with a $4.7 million salary is no easy transaction in the salary cap era.

He's not going to move Jason Spezza, or Dany Heatley or Redden, and trading Chris Phillips, Mike Fisher or Peter Schaefer wouldn't have the same impact as an Alfredsson deal.

If Philly is itching to move Peter Forsberg and his $5.75 million salary, that might be a match, captain for captain.

But the time to do an Alfredsson deal was in the summer, a change to significantly remake the face of this team. Muckler didn't do it, and if the club remains in freefall and a major deal can't be made, he may ultimately pay for it.

Having Murray on hand, a man who has not only managed before but has held the GM/coaching portfolios simultaneously, just makes it easier for Melnyk to pull the trigger.

And what about Columbus?

There remains opportunity here with big-time talent up front, Adam Foote on the backline and a schedule that frequently includes St. Louis and Chicago in the NHL's weakest division, the Central.

There's Ken Hitchcock. There's Andy Murray. And, of course, there's Pat Quinn, still itching to get back in the game.

All three have strong resumes. The toughest hire for MacLean would be Quinn, if only because he might theoretically be hiring his own successor.

That said, the Jackets can't score, and doesn't that remind you of the situation with the Leafs when Quinn arrived in town and took over from Mike Murphy in 1998?

Quinn might be the guy who can get Nash and Nikolai Zherdev rolling, the strong, imposing authority figure who could help this team develop a personality.

In six years, the Jackets have been coached by Dave King, MacLean and Gallant, and now it's Gary Agnew's team on an interim basis.

Looking at the three other clubs that came into the NHL in the same wave of expansion, the Wild have had one coach (Jacques Lemaire), Nashville has had one coach (Barry Trotz) and Atlanta has had two, Curt Fraser and Bob Hartley.

Maybe MacLean hoped King would be that type of coach when he gave him the job as the Jackets' first head coach in 2000.

Agnew's a nice fellow who deserves a shot, but you have to believe the time has come for Columbus to go for a big name.

Despite all his warts and laissez faire coaching notions, and despite the fact he would come with Rick Ley welded to his hip, Quinn makes a lot of sense.

Now That It's Over

Remember back in the summer when Ricky Williams signed with the Argos?

Let's say Pinball Clemons had introduced him in the following way:

"Despite being a major ball carrier in the NFL, we intend to mostly let Ricky block. By the end of the season, you can expect that he won't have managed a single 100-yard game and will have crossed the goal line just twice.

"When we get to the Eastern final, he'll score once more, but he'll also cough up the ball on a crucial second half play. He won't be anything close to a star in the CFL, but he's a really nice guy and that's good enough for us."

Had Clemons uttered those words, he would have left the Toronto sport community totally mystified.

Isn't this pro football where only winning matters? You know, just win, baby.

But after the Argos bowed out of the playoffs yesterday, there was Pinball explaining the team's experience with Williams as an "unorthodox win" and well worth the effort and money expended in bringing him to Canada.

It's wonderful that the Argos love Ricky. But in the wake of the running back's underwhelming sojourn into three-down football, this sounds an awful lot like rationalization after the fact.

The Argos don't put nice people ahead of winning. They may have quality individuals in the organization, or many of them, but this franchise wants to win.

They're not in it for the participation badges.

Had the Argos known Williams would have such limited impact, they never would have signed him.

Indeed, had they known his offensive contributions would be so pedestrian and that he would have no positive impact on the gate - Argo attendance actually dropped fractionally this season - you can bet owners David Cynamon and Howard Sokolowski would have found better ways to spend money.

Otherwise, we should assume the Argos won't bother with college combines this off-season but will instead visit churches and yoga schools throughout North American searching out really nice, interesting, thoughtful folks to play for the team.

Look, it's quite possible Williams might have been able to do more with a team more committed to the run. Put him in the Alouette backfield in place of Robert Edwards, and perhaps Williams churns up the same amount of yards.

But it's also at least arguable that despite his talent he was ill-suited to the CFL game, or at least that he struggled mightily to adapt to the intricacies and unique challenges of Canadian football.

Had he been around for more than a year, the apprenticeship would have been worth it.

But he's gone. And while the Argos claim to have been thrilled just to have had the chance to spend time with the man, to most CFL fans he'll go down as just another Vince Ferragamo.