FanNation - The Republic of Sport

Here's what it doesn't say in the blurb:
The reason he went to court is because this guy was using Bosh's name and face for advertisments that were not endorsed by Bosh. Bosh also has already said he will give back every domain name to its rightful owner FOR FREE, so that this does not happen to anyone again.

Come north Brady, my Argos could use a QB that can actually play football ... not to mention a coach who can understand the CFL game is different than the NFL game

What he's doing is having a contract that expires after next year. But Rogers is going to eat his contract. I predict that if one of his GM-ready assistants doesn't take over they will go lure Terry Ryan out of retirement from Minnesota.
For the record, everyone says Toronto is a small market. I live in Toronto, this is by no means a small market like Tampa or Kansas City. This is the 5th largest city in North America, a quarter of the entire population of my country live in the Golden Horseshoe area, which runs from northeast of the city down to Niagara Falls and the areas bordering NY State/Buffalo. This is a massive media market in North America and by far the largest in Canada. So by no means is this anything close to a small market. The Jays could easily operate with a much bigger budget than what they have, they just choose not to. Remember, they did it back when they were winning World Series.

Carlos Delgado will ALWAYS be a Toronto Blue Jay, and an honourary citizen of Toronto. What a class act, and probably the greatest hitter to wear the Jays uniform. Come back home Carlos!

I look down a FanNation post to read comments, and this is what I get? Some clown posting anti-semitic remarks? This is disgusting. I am a proud Jew, and although I don't like 99% of the job that Bettman has done in the NHL, he is my fraternity brother (Alpha Epsilon Pi), the world's only Jewish fraternity. That comment is vile, insulting, despicable, and not required at all to prove a point, even if it was meant as a "joke" (which I don't believe it was). I have reported this, and I hope that the proper actions will be taken against this individual.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't Favre still be a Jet if they wanted him back?
Now that we've established that, we can forget about this "story", since clearly it's old news.

Note that this was taken from the Bulls website. Could the Heat report this as tampering?

I'm a Cubs fan. The Cubs fans who were there and went after Bartman were so wrong.
This story parallels Buckner on so many levels. First off, let's leave aside the fact that because of Wrigley's narrow foul territory at that section of the park, there's ZERO chance Alou catches that baseball. So foul ball means the batter is still up. The very next pitch, it's a routine 6-4-3 double play ground ball to Alex Gonzalez. Gonzalez boots it, inning continues, floodgates open and Florida forces game 7 winning 8-3.
Now here's where it really parallels Buckner. Everyone forgets that the Red Sox blew a lead in the 9th inning of the Buckner game, and were only one strike away from winning that very night. Of course Calvin Schiraldi and Bob Stanley blew that game for the Red Sox in the 11th. But does anyone remember that? Of course not, because Buckner booted the ground ball. Does anyone also remember that Buckner's booted ground ball came AFTER Bob Stanley threw a wild pitch to bring home the tying run, which he had inherited from Schiraldi? Of course not, because Buckner booted the ground ball. Same situation here. Nobody remembers that the Cubs bullpen blew it, or that Alex Gonzalez booted a grounder in game 6.
Now to game 7. In 1986 the Red Sox had a three-run lead into the 6th inning when the Mets then stormed back and took the lead that would win them the Series. But of course nobody remembers that, because Buckner booted the grounder the game before. I'm sure many people out there still think that Buckner's grounder actually won the Mets the series, just like with Bartman. And again, back to 2003, because of the whole Bartman situation, everybody forgets about how the Cubs blew a lead in the 8th inning of game 7 (not to mention Josh Beckett throwing an incredible game for the Marlins, and even as a Cubs fan I have to give him props for that postseason). But nobody remembers that because of Bartman.
Now, having ranted about this long enough, I'll say one thing: ESPN is clearly milking this thing to the point where it's gotten too crazy. Nobody really cares anymore. The only reason I'm posting this is to possibly try and clear some sort of air around the story. The bottom line is we can make up all the curses, myths and weird stories we want, but when any team in any sport has any long drought without winning it means that management of the club, both at the ownership/administration and sport operation levels, are not very good and don't care about winning. You don't have to look further then the Cubs (mostly during the Tribune era, but even at the end of the Wrigleys), Blackhawks under Bill Wirtz, or the Maple Leafs since 1967 to understand this fact.
Now can we all just drop this Bartman crap please?

I live in Toronto, I'm a Cubs fan and I do love the jays to. BJ Ryan is a great guy, he had some great seasons. But watching him this year, he is done. He has no velocity, and I personally noticed his windup and release point have been altered since his surgery. At best now he's a situational lefty

You are not mistaken, Anaheim didn't sell out a few of their playoff games. And no disrespect to the true hockey fans in SoCal, but when you win a major professional sports championship and have to lure people to your celebration with promises of free food ... and STILL get only 15,000 ... well, then you have a problem, no matter which of the four major sports we're talking about.

PuckJunkie, no question hockey should stay in Texas. That's one of the non-traditional markets that has really embraced the sport, and it's a great market. I'm sure Houston could support a team too.

Here's my take as a Canadian (and I am a jilted Leafs fan who loves the sport): hockey can work in these places. Take a look at baseball. How many people would have said Major League Baseball would work in a place like my city, Toronto? And yet the Jays have a great history, and are beloved and a major fabric in this city for casual and die-hard baseball fans. Look, the bottom line is hockey (and any sport) can for sure work in a non-traditional market. It takes the right kind of marketing, and people have to be exposed to how great the sport in question truly is.
Now take Phoenix or Atlanta. There, it's been tried (in the case of Atlanta, twice) and it's failed (in the case of Atlanta, both times). There are hockey fans there, but it's clear there's not enough. A place like Nashville gets some major flack for having a hockey team, but I think if it wasn't for the horrific ownership they might have a slightly more solid footing there. They may not be true-blood "hockey fans" in Nashville, but people there have come to love the sport and grown into Predator fans. You could have said the same thing for just about any US market such as New York, Boston, or Chicago in the 1920s, when the league was still almost 100% Canadian. Who would have thought hockey would succeed in those cities? And did you know that when the original Ottawa Senators moved to St. Louis in 1935 the St. Louis Eagles sold out every game that season? They only folded because of travel costs during the depression.
Anyways, the point of my rant is that the southern expansion has worked in many places. San Jose (which I'd compare to Toronto and baseball), Los Angeles because of Gretzky (and the NHL has to have a team in LA), Dallas, Tampa because of the Cup, St. Louis, and maybe Carolina (Cup) and Nashville. Sorry Anaheim (even with a Cup), Phoenix, Atlanta, and Florida, but you've run your course. Teams should go to Seattle, Portland, Winnipeg, Quebec, Hamilton, and Hartford. Then you still have some teams in the south, but every team is in a place where you know hockey will be strong.
As for the neglected markets? Well, the south's obsession with minor-league hockey is still strong. Look how many minor-league teams are in Mississippi and Alabama. Hey, University of Alabama-Huntsville has a NCAA hockey team that's pretty popular there!
Finally, and I know I'm going on long, but if you want to grow the sport in non-traditional markets why doesn't the NHL help the NCAA build DI college hockey in places like North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, California, etc? We all know college sports are a huge part of American culture. Watching the sport at a college level in non-traditional markets could help sell the game at the professional level. The non-hockey fans will always support their alma mater in any sport, from football to archery.
But I've rambled enough. Please discuss.

I am from Toronto. Read my words: THIS IS NOT HAPPENING.
Let's end this bulls--t story now before it gets out of ... oh wait, I forgot, it's Toronto and hockey, this will never end as long as the sport is around.

Isn't it amazing how the media makes this crap up just for a good read? And what's even more amazing is that we're all suckers reading it! Boy our world is wonderful!
(By the way, the cynical individual writing this comment is in journalism school with an intent on becoming a sportswriter)

Wait a minute, I need to call Bowden. My name is Frowny Rodriguez and I'm 16 years old from Canada, he can give me Smiley's contract! Only afterwards I'll tell him I'm a scrawny 21 year old who can't swing a bat for his life, but man Bowden will fall hook line and sinker! :)

The last team that should be complaining about the Yankees spending is Boston.

I live in Toronto. This guy is all class. He's the face of the organization, as big of a name in Toronto sports as any Maple Leaf or Chris Bosh, or any of the Jays from the glory years. He's also the best pitcher in all of baseball. He deserves a chance to go to a team that will win and pitch in the playoffs. I know all of Toronto would give him a huge standing ovation when he returned to pitch against Toronto, and again when the Blue Jays finally break tradition and retire his number 32. However, get rid of JP first, because nobody trusts him to make a good deal for Halladay; it would be Babcock-esque (as in Rob Babcock trading VC for a rack of basketballs).

This is a story because SI needs to fill a page with more useless drivel, especially since Brett Favre can't help them out with that anymore. He'll be back in LA when they retire number 34, that's it.

Don't you think EVERY team would be very very interested in the best young catcher in baseball?

I'm a broncos fan, I despise the chargers, but you gotta keep them in SD. The only thing I can say that is nice about the team is that its fans are real people, and they aren't corporate drums which is about all the LA team would be. Here's hoping there will be many more Denver-San Diego matchups, with Denver winning them all!

These types of insane Leaf rumors from the only tabloid worse than the New York Post (trust me on this one, I live in Toronto) is why I have stopped following and caring about the Leafs and hockey. It sounds like something someone would call up the Fan 590 and say, which I'm sure has happened recently.