Off to the Dawg Pound

In football, it's usually not about individual confrontations, unless its QB vs. QB or A.J. Gass versus whomever he's clashed with most recently.

This weekend, however, it's a little different.

First, you have bad boy receiver versus bad boy receiver in Dallas, Terrell Owens against Randy Moss. Owens has uncharacteristically shut his mouth this week, going so far as to post a letter to the media explaining his silence and letting everyone know he'll have lots to say after the game about the "original 81" (him) against the "other 81" (Moss).

Not sure who to root for in this one. Neither guy? Moss gets the slightest white hat look because he's been a good fellow this season catching passes from All-American boy Tom Brady.

Now, I really, really like Tony Romo of the Cowboys, even coming off a five INT week. But trying to make T.O. look appealing as a person and/or athlete is something saintly Roger Staubach would have found difficult.

The other one-on-one matchup that the football world is talking about - or hearing about - will take place in Cleveland between Browns tight end Kellen Winslow and Miami Dolphins linebacker Joey Porter.

This one has been going on for a while, stemming back to a game last season. But it seems to be mostly Porter talking trash about Winslow, with not much nastiness coming back the other way.

"I think Joey Porter needs a hug," said Winslow.

Before a game in Pittsburgh last year, Winslow approached Porter and tried to shake hands and end their feud, but was rejected, and all this week the Miami linebacker has been has been running off at the mouth about his plans for Winslow.

This one has particular interest for yours truly since I'm heading down to Cleveland to see this one in person with a group of friends, my first NFL game in the stands in years. (We usually go to South Bend to see Notre Dame play, but guessed correctly before this season it might not be the best year to go.)

So any and all advice for heading into Browns territory - beer any good? Dog or sausage? Best place to park? - is welcome. I'll let you know how it all went Monday morning.

Tough Night for the Empire State

Hard not to be in a New York state of mind this morning. Just like the Billy Joel song for starters, but after watching the Yankees and the Bills go down to defeat last night, its hard not to hum it with a little irony.

First the $215 million Yankees, and frankly, the fact they were eliminated from post-season play by the Cleveland Indians in four games isn't the most interesting part.

It's that George Steinbrenner has already said publically, or at least in a newspaper, that Joe Torre would not be returning as manager if the New Yorkers lost in the first round for a third straight year.

Well, it happened. Maybe George is a man of his word, maybe not. But if he is, and if Torre is cut loose, one thought immediately jumps to mind.

The Blue Jays must seriously investigate Torre's availability if he becomes a free agent. It's just a no-brainer.

Now, maybe Torre doesn't want to become involved with the Blue Jays, or maybe he retires after a great run in the Big Apple.

But maybe he listens, and teams other than the Blue Jays - his old team, the Cardinals, for starters? - will likely be interested.

Even Paul Godfrey, for goodness sakes, would have to see the possibilities here, whether its with Torre as manager, GM or some other role. Torre made $7.5 million this season with the Yanks, a number that will scare any number of teams, but the man's got a serious resume.

If you're the Jays, you at least kick the tires on this one. You owe it to the fans were were misled and at times out-and-out lied to this past season. Hiring Gary Denbo to tutor the hitters just isn't going to be enough.

If Torre is cut loose and were to join the Jays, the entire profile of the franchise changes. Maybe the fans even respond by averaging more than 30,000 per game.

Now to the Bills, those poor, suffering Bills.

That just wasn't fair what happened to them last night in a 25-24 loss to Dallas in their first Monday Night Football appearance in 13 years.

It was as though the Bills won the game three or four times, but in the end lost because Cowboys kicker Nick Folk kicked it through the uprights not once but twice from 53 yards to decide the thrilling, topsy-turvy contest.

The difference was Folk, a brilliantly-executed onside kick and the ability of Cowboys QB Tony Romo to shake off five interceptions and then still put his team in position to win it on the last play of the game.

Maybe the game shouldn't have been that close, and maybe the undefeated 'Boys had their eyes on New England next Sunday a little too much.

But the Bills, with a ton of injuries on defence, played a whale of a game and just deserved better.

Then, of course, so does Joe Torre.

Having Missed the Point. . .

Maybe I'm just slow (everybody out there nod in agreement).

But I just don't get it.

I've listened to all the cries of outrage and disgust and indignation. I've listened to John Madden and Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth and Bob Costas and Roger Goodell and the other 8,456 people who have commented on TV, radio or in the newspaper about SpyGate/CameraGate and Bill Belichick.

And I'm still missing the point here. Why is everyone so upset? More to the point, why were the New England Patriots and Belichick fined $750,000 and docked a first round draft pick for using a camera to steal the defensive signals of the New York Jets in Week One of the NFL season?

Isn't that what they're supposed to do? Isn't that why such signals are delivered in code, often with a dummy signal man - or more than one - beside the real mccoy to confuse the opposition?

The NFL, more than any other league, is a league of military-like secrecy, with all 32 teams clearly aware other teams will do just about anything to get their hands on a playbook or any piece of information that might tip them off as to the intentions of the enemy squad.

So they guard those playbooks carefully, and make sure any player leaving the team hands his in before he leaves. They develop intricate, complicated secret signals for both offence and defence, knowing full well the opposition is undoubtedly watching carefully looking for anything that will tip off a play or two.

If Belichick had bugged the Jets offices or hotel rooms, that would be one thing. If he'd kidnapped a Jets assistant coach and filled him with truth serum and forced him to talk, well, then you're running into the Geneva Convention. If he'd illegally intercepted the Jets radio communications in the stadium, Goodell would be correct to be outraged.

But a camera on the sidelines? Couldn't it just as easily have been on the other side of the field, or in the stands, or linked up to a satellite for goodness sakes?

It seems hard to imagine, at any rate, that such an effort would result in evidence that would make a difference in that particular game.

Still, everyone's up in arms, barely noticing how utterly dominant the Pats looked in thrashing San Diego on Sunday night.

I'd love to be up in arms to in order to be part of the crowd. I like a good mob as much as the next guy.

But I still just don't get it.

Weekend conclusions

1. If you present a convincing excuse - or even a not-so-convincing one - uncertain athletes will grab on to it with enthusiasm.

That's sure the way it seems to be with the Raptors. They've been told so often and by so many people that they're too young for the playoffs, they're playing as though they believe that themselves these days. Every Raptor playing is offering that line up after four straight mediocre to dismal performancea against the very average Nets.

But while inexperience might result in mistakes or over-aggressive play, the kind of lazy defensive effort and absence of grittiness that especially seemed present in Sunday's embarassment seem more the result of a team that's been told not to expect to win and now believes it.

2. Its the last chance for Randy Moss in New England, at least the last chance for him to prove he's not only about individual success.

Its similar to, if not exactly the same, as the type of trade that landed Todd Bertuzzi in Detroit. Both the Patriots and Red Wings are recent champions with a stromg infrastructure of veteran, team-oriented players. Peer pressure works a lot better than yelling by a coach.

If Moss can't make it in New England, or if Bertuzzi fails in Motown, they can't make it anywhere.

3. There's a lot of talk about revolutionizing overtime in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Well, they've already done it.

Remember those bad old days when nothing short of a weapons charge would merit a minor penalty in the post-season?

It was a "let the players decide it" philosophy that turned playoff OT games into an utter joke.

Now, the game is basically being called the same way in the first period as the third, and the same in OT as well.

Doesn't this make a lot more sense to everybody?

It sure makes for better entertainment, as the Sabres and Rangers proved on Sunday.

Moreover, the players are accepting the change, once again demonstrating the way to "police" the sport is with reule enforcement, not to ask the players to take on that responsibility as well.

Friday Incompletions

My goodness, this Ryan Smyth story sure has some legs.

I have no problem with Kevin Lowe's decision. There just needed to be a slightly longer window between closing the door on the Smyth negotiations and the trade deadline so the entire matter seemed less rushed.

But if Smyth was looking at $5 million per season or more, you have to think the Leafs did a decent job getting Darcy Tucker under contract for $3 million a season.

If Smyth is the better player, Tucker is at least three-quarters as good, which makes the Leaf contract look pretty smart.

And while JFJ deserves all the criticism he's been getting over Bryan McCabe's inflated salary, he also did get Tomas Kaberle on board for $4.25 million per season, a bargain by NHL standards.

So if you believe McCabe got too much, you have to be willing to give the Leaf GM some marks for getting Kaberle and Tucker at good prices.

Other incomplete thoughts:

* After listening to McCabe get booed the other night at the ACC, you understand another level of smarts behind the Tucker deal. He'll never get criticized as overpaid, never get booed for not being worth the dough.

Moreover, people know Tucker could have got more elsewhere but wanted to stay in Toronto, and fans remember stuff like that.

* It's understandable that Jeff Garcia is a little cheesed off at the Eagles for letting him walk. But maybe Andy Reid just knows a one-time fluke when he sees one.

* It was fascinating to watch the Pittsburgh-Rangers game Wednesday night, the Pens first outing with Gary Roberts and Georges Laraque.

Roberts lasted about a period beside Sidney Crosby and Mark Recchi before being replaced by Evgeni Malkin and shunted to a line with Maxime Talbot and Colby Armstrong. That's a better fit.

Laraque, despite all the hype, looked terribly slow. Interestingly, while Crosby took an elbow in the head by Michal Roszival and Malkin was hit after the whistle by Colton Orr, Laraque was nowhere to be heard or seen. All this guy does is slow that team down.

* The 2007 NHL entry draft took a real slagging at the trade deadline when most of the teams seemed more interested in prying '08 draft choices out of the hands of opposition GMs than '07 picks.

* Damon Allen had to return to the Argos. He's still the best quarterback they have, and something tells me he'll be burning to bounce back in the fall. He's a solid bet for the Argos, particularly if his finger has been fixed properly this time.

* Curtis Joseph can't be the No. 1 goalie for the Leafs. But he'd be an ideal No. 2 man, and just might be the perfect player/coach/confidante understudy to Andrew Raycroft, particularly when it comes to playing in Toronto.

* You don't hear this much, but the reason the Oilers felt they didn't have enough to play Smyth was at least partially because they paid too much for Petr Sykora, Ales Hemsky and certainly oft-injured Fernando Pisani.

* Is it just me or are the Raptors a better team when Jose Calderon is in the game than T.J. Ford? That said, having two point guards who distribute the ball makes up for those years when the Raptors didn't have one.

* The tricky part for Paul Maurice about starting Andrew Raycroft in New Jersey on Friday and J.S. Aubin at home to Buffalo on Saturday is that if Aubin wins, wouldn't you have to go with the hot hand on Tuesday against Washington?

And then don't you have full-blown goalie controversy?

Just another Super Bowl prediction

Maybe its the hangover from watching the Chicago Bears at mid-season when they the NFL's most dominant and scariest team.

Maybe its watching Peyton Manning throw six playoff interceptions. So far.

Maybe its always doubting a dome team in the great outdoors.

But this sure doesn't look like a blowout.

Not unless the Bears are the ones hammering the Indy Colts.

While much of the emphasis has been on Rex Grossman and his statistical deficiencies, not enough has been said about his big play ability.

Again, he reminds me a lot of Jim Plunkett in his Raider days.

Just good enough to make the big play, good enough to win.

The Bears will run the ball, and with two punishing backs, and they won't abandon the run in the second half.

The Colts had better bring their lunch.

Yes, the Colts showed something by coming back to beat the Patriots.

But that said as much about the Pats as the Colts.

Then there's the things you just can't predict, like Ted Ginn Jr. turning his ankle while celebrating with an Ohio St. teammate after returning the opening kick in the BCS championship for a TD.

Ginn didn't play anymore, Troy Smith panicked without his go-to guy and the Buckeyes got swamped.

Something strange will undoubtedly happen on Sunday, and the Bears will handle it better.

So look for the Bears, 27-20, giving football fans another 12 months of Why Can't Peyton Win The Big One.

Oh joy.

Let's just hope it all ends by midnight.

Winnie the Pooh vs. Frank Merriwell

You can't but want to see Rex Grossman get to the Super Bowl.

Forget his abilities and his judgment as a play caller and decision maker.

The Chicago Bears quarterback is, at the end of the day, so incredibly human.

He lays his personal doubts and demons right out on the table for the world to see.

He reminds me of that Saturday night Live character played by the late Chris Farley who conducts celebrity interviews then berates himself for his questions, pounding his head saying "Stupid, stupid."

He'll admit that he didn't prepare hard enough for a meaningless late season game, and acknowledge on a certain play he really didn't know what he was thinking or if he was thinking at all. For the most part, he seems oddly unscripted, and he never points the finger at anyone else.

Grossman is a little Winnie-the-Pooh, a little Jean van de Velde and on his best days, a little Jim Plunkett.

You wonder if he'll remember to put his helmet on, then he'll rifle a perfect strike 50 yards downfield.

Sometimes to a member of his own team.

Having come this far, it seems inconceivable that the pigskin gods wouldn't let Grossman play one more game after Sunday's NFC championship.

I hear what you're saying. Saints QB Drew Brees, he of the miraculously healed shoulder, is as good or better a story for being part of bringing a sliver of joy to Katrina-ravaged New Orleans.

Plus he's got one humdinger of a mother to deal with.

But while Brees is an obvious hero, Grossman has heroic intentions but, as often as not, feet of clay.

Brees, right now, is a Frank Merriwell-like figure.

Grossman, by contrast, is Jughead.

So I'm going with Grossman and the Bears this weekend, also thinking a dome team going to Soldier Field in January might get cold feet at the altar.

And what about the Patriots and Colts?

Well, right now it seems Tom Brady is to Peyton Manning as Troy Aikman was to Dan Marino.

And the Pats just seem a little meaner, a little more driven.

So it'll be the Bears and Patriots in the Big Game with the Roman Numerals.

Hope Rex doesn't take the wrong bus to the stadium.

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.

Who Wants Barry?

Love the fact Jordan Staal earned his way into the NHL on merit, not as a would-be gate attraction or because a team wanted to prove it had a future. That said, all the fuss over the contractual implications down the road were a bit goofy. Both Staal and Evgeny Malkin, after all, are scheduled to become unrestricted free agents under the next NHL collective bargaining agreement. The rules might be totally different, so why worry now? . . . If you're keeping score at home, Andrew Raycroft is now 2-and-0 after resting and watching Jean-Sebastien Aubin play. Raycroft looked sharp and rested Monday night against Atlanta and two out of three games sounds about right. Aubin, don't forget, has a superb winning record over the past two seasons as a Leaf . . . Now that a snore of a World Series is over, baseball's most interesting story becomes the Barry Bonds free agent sweepstakes. Who wants this guy and all the baggage he brings? The natural speculation is that some AL team - speculation out of San Fran says maybe Baltimore or Texas - will want him as a DH. I'm thinking Tampa Bay is the right fit. They stink - still! - and maybe somebody might come to watch the creepy Bonds in that awful domed park . . . Even with Pavel Kubina back soon, the Leafs are still sniffing around for blueline help. The names of Jon Klemm of Dallas and Luke Richardson of Tampa Bay have come up. Richardson, getting five minutes a game most nights, played very well down the stretch for the Leafs and would come cheaply . . . The NHL received all kinds of grief last fall for its ridiculous ad campaign using actors as players in some kind of peculiar martial arts-style scenario. Well, as bad as that was, the league has done much better this fall. The concept, in case you haven't seen them, is that an NHL player pops up just to remind people that the season has started. So far I've seen Jonathan Cheechoo in full gear on a surfboard, Sidney Crosby in a shower, Marty Turco being picked up from school and jammed in the back seat of a car and Peter Forsberg lying in bed and turning out the lights with a whack of his hockey stick. They're all hilarious, and nicely illustrate the dry wit you'll find in any NHL dressing room . . . Best story of the day. New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees fighting with mom over her trying to use him to win a political campaign. And no sign of Belinda Stronach. Yet.