Friday, June 30th

1 - Warning, reader discretion advised:

Today's Sign of the Apocalypse: Study Claims Betting on World Cup Soccer Better than Sex

(I warned you.)

2 - By far the most entertaining article about the World Cup comes from Franklin Foer of The New Republic Online, who set out to find what kind of government produces the best opportunity for it's national team to win the World Cup. According to Foer's research, Social Democracies win the most (6 World Cups) because "Social democracy celebrates individualism, while relentlessly patting itself on the back for its sense of solidarity--a coherent team with room for stars." Some other interesting points:

a) Countries that export large amounts of oil generally underachieve due to what scientists call "The Paradox of Plenty", which is a scholarly way of saying their success makes them lazy.

b) Military Junta's are the second most successful form of government (3 World Cups).

c) Countries that have just overthrown communist or authoritarian oppression will often go on magical Cinderella runs, knocking heavily favored opponents out of the World Cup in the process.

The article's a really good read. If you want, head to the National Post website and take part in their poll, which asks whether Canada should become a junta since the whole social democracy thing just isn't working for our soccer team.

3 - As I previously stated to my esteemed colleague Mr. Robert Trost, I don't think Ricky Williams will do very well in the CFL this season. Watching Williams, the NFL's leading rusher not to long ago, has me thinking that the Argo's lack of solid run blocking isn't the only reason Ricky won't run wild, although he could if he wanted to. First of all, what does Williams have to gain by leading the CFL in rushing? Nothing. Barring a major injury, Williams will be back in the NFL next year, regardless of how he performs. His whole purpose in coming to Toronto was not to win a Grey Cup, but simply to stay in shape until his NFL suspension is over. Over the last four games the first player to touch Williams has almost always tackled him. Williams doesn't want to risk serious injury for a few extra yards in what is, for him, a rec league. Staying healthy is Williams number one priority right now, and that's not going to help the Argo's win games. In fact, the addition of Williams will do more for the other seven CFL teams than it will for Toronto. The Riders will fill Taylor Field, excuse me, Mosaic Stadium, when Ricky and the Argo's come to visit, and then have to play against a running back who's just trying to stay in shape. It doesn't get much better for the rest of the CFL, but I fear the Argo's are just getting used. I still believe that if Williams wanted to, he could tear the CFL apart, but he doesn't want to, so he won't.

4 - The CFL has one big advantage over the NFL: tradition. The NFL has all the money, all the hype, and the thrills, but what passes for tradition in the NFL doesn't stack up to the CFL. Taylor Field was a big part of tradition in Regina, until a few weeks ago. In it's place is Mosaic Stadium, so christened after a local mining company forked over 3.75 million dollars for the right to have the Home of the Riders renamed in their honor. Sad yes, but when you consider that the Riders are using the money to replace the aging astroturf (which is harder than pavement and twice as unforgiving) the move isn't that hard to swallow. Putting new turf in Taylor Fie-- Mosaic Stadium will cut the Rider's injured reserve in half, easily.

5 - Out of all the teams who were keeping an eye on this year's Stanley Cup Finals the Minnesota Wild were probably the happiest to see Carolina win. That's because the Wild had the Oilers first round pick (which they acquired in exchange for Dwayne Roloson) in this years entry draft. Had the Oilers won the Cup, the Wild would have had the last pick in the 1st round (30th overall). But since the Oilers lost, the Wild picked 17th over, due to the fact that Edmonton finished so far down in the regular season standings (in the NHL the reigning champs always pick last). On the other hand, the St. Louis Blues were probably rooting hard for the Oilers, because the Blues had acquired Carolina's 1st round pick in exchange for centerman Doug Weight. However, the stakes weren't as high for St. Louis, who would have only moved up five spots to number 25, had they Canes lost game 7.

6 - I'm happy with the Penguins draft. 1st round pick Jordan Staal will probably spend another year in Peterborough of the OHL, but his face-off ability and defensive tenacity should compliment Crosby and Malkin nicely in a few years. I like how the Pens are building though. With Crosby, Malkin, and Staal the Penguins will have two balanced, potent, scoring lines, and a third line that can play firewagon or shutdown hockey depending on the situation. With a year of seasoning under their belts the Pens defense should have their act together, and M-A Fleury will play better knowing he won't have to stop 40 shots a game. I just hope they don't sign a truck load of free-agents. They've got good young talent that will provide Crosby and Malkin with an able supporting cast. The Pens just need to be patient. I am upset that they haven't given Andy Hilbert a qualifying offer though. That guy had some good chem with Crosby.

7 - In other news, the Toronto Maple Leafs declined the option on the contracts of Ed Belfour and Tie Domi, essentially making them free agents. All I can say is, "it's about time!"

8 - Now that free agency is here it's time for the annual "Rumored to be Headed to Toronto" Circus. For those of you who aren't familiar with this time of the year, this is when every free agent and his dog is "reportedly" going to sign with the Maple Leafs. Sportsnet has jumped out to an early lead in the 'Who's Going to the Leafs' sweepstakes, reporting that the Leafs and Oilers have been talking about disgruntled D-man Chris Pronger. The Toronto Sun is running a close second after reporter Mike Zeisberger wrote that Dallas Stars centerman Jason Arnott is 'intrigued' about the possibility of joining the Leafs. Arnott has already informed the Stars he is going to test the Free Agent market. The Sun also said Jay McKee has a 'soft spot' for the Leafs, and could head to the Blue and White after turning down a contract offer from the Buffalo Sabers.

9 - Prime Minister Stephen Harper's spat with the Parliamentary Press Gallery is old news now, but Canada is going to feel it's effects for a long time. During that time frame the Conservatives spent a large fortune on the military, cancelled all Liberal global warming programs, and passed a budget unanimously, all without so much as a whimper from their opponents in the House, Media, and Electorate. Instead of focusing on the big fish, everyone was engaged in the 'Rights of Reporters' debate. I don't know if they planned it this way or not, but this was the political version of a reverse in football. Get the defense moving to one side while running to the other. It's classic misdirection, and it's a good way to get unpopular bills and motions through parliament. In other news, two members of the CBC's political panel felt Stephen Harper was Canada's most underrated politician during the last year, which coincides somewhat with my belief that Canadians expect too little from their current Prime Minister.

10 - For those of you who are wondering, Canada's only appearance in the World Cup was back in 1986. We didn't even score a goal, much less win a game. We should have been in the World Cup this year, but we were robbed by some terrible decisions by the referees. I'm not talking about poor judgment calls here either, I'm talking about blatant CHEATING!

11 - The Oilers lost. TheDing no longer shapes sports destiny, I've just decided. Well, maybe he can still shape CFL destiny. We'll see in November, when we have this discussion again. Later.

Man on Fire

Friday, June 2nd

1 - Last Fall the Edmonton Eskimos won the Grey Cup despite the fact the Shawn 'theDING' Rotchford cheered against them in every single play-off game. I wondered if this was merely co-incidence, or perhaps Shawn had the ability to shape sports destiny. Well, if the NHL play-offs are any indication the answer is 'almost'. The Anaheim Mighty Ducks advanced to the Western Conference Finals after disposing of Shawn's beloved Flames in the first round. I have no idea if Shawn was at all bitter or vengeful after that series, but if he was his magic seems to be wearing off. However, I do think that it was ironic that the Ducks were beaten out by the Edmonton Oilers.

2 - My apologies. As of game 5, it's now Anaheim Ducks, at least un-officially.

3 - I'm getting the impression that most Canadians are pleasantly surprised by Stephen Harper's government. Polls show that if Canadians were head to the polls tomorrow they would elect a Conservative majority. What has changed? Well, for one thing, the Conservatives are much more decisive and direct than the Liberals ever were, and I think people like that, but the real reason I think people are happy with the new government is because they expected so little from Harper. He has easily exceeded their expectations because they were so simple to begin with. Low expectations are Harpers greatest ally. Compare and contrast that with Paul Martin, who wasn't as terrible as everyone makes him sound. His problem was that the expectations voters and (mostly) journalists placed on him were too high to begin with, and when he failed to meet them that gave the opposition parties plenty of ammunition to fire at him.

4 - I'm with Rob Vanstone of the Regina Leader-Post, who says if Ricky Williams can't turn his career around playing under 'Pinball' Clemons in Toronto then no one can.

5 - For what it's worth, Vanstone has been just as bad as I have in the play-off predictions department. If fact, he has been so bad that an Oiler fan in Regina phoned him up a few days ago and begged him to pick the Oilers to lose the Stanley Cup final, hoping his string of failure would continue. Vanstone happily obliged by predicting that the Oilers would be swept in the Cup Finals by the Buffalo Sabers (whom Vanstone had pegged to win game 7 against Carolina).

6 - After seeing the new 'I am Man' ads Burger King is putting out I have decided that I will no longer support any other fast food chain but them. I like to reward good advertising.

7 - Soccer fans in Israel have organized an economic boycott that actually works. Forced to pay hundreds of dollars to have a few World Cup (soccer) games, broadcast on local networks, the Israelis boycotted have the network packages, and prices have dropped significantly. Meanwhile, on the other side of the security fence, the Palestinians have turned their diplomatic guns on Iran, after the Iranian network responsible for broadcasting the World Cup into Palestinian homes jacked up their prices too. It wouldn't surprise me to see the deaths and bombings in the Middle East slow to a crawl as everyone but the Americans stop fighting so they can watch soccer, unless of course, it's too expensive.

Man on Fire