The boys of summer are back

Blue Jays home opener vs. Twins - April 1,  2011

 It’s that time of the year again - hot dogs, peanuts, the smell of the baseball turf, and the sound of a roaring stadium.



It’s time for home runs, RBIs, double plays, strikeouts, grand slams, sweat, heartache, frustration, grit, grind, pride, mid-season slumps, and loyalty for sticking by your team through thick and thin.

All in all, it’s time to put on that baseball cap and jersey with pride and root for your home team.  Summer’s here, which only means one thing - LET THE BASEBALL SEASON BEGIN!

Looking ahead...

Contrary to my last post, on the bright side, the Leafs look very promising next year.  All Burke’s gotta do is re-sign MacArthur, Schenn, and Grabovski and sign a top six centre on free agent day (crossing my fingers for Brad Richards).  There isn’t a lot of depth on the team yet but I see a possible eighth place finish and maybe a chance to take the first round in the playoffs next season.

We also have a few young players from the Leafs' farm system:  Kadri, Aulie, Crabb, and Boyce are all promising players for a permanent spot on the roster next year. 

And lets not forget James Reimer, a.k.a. “Optimus Reim”.  I think he will be the one to revive this team and the key to their rebuild.  Since Wilson announced that Reimer will be our starter, he has made saves no goalie after Curtis Joseph or Ed Belfour has ever made before.  His vision between traffic in front of the net is crystal clear and he has an amazing ability to eliminate any chances for a rebound.

 
So for the forty-fourth year in a row, “There’s always next year”.  But at least this gives Leafs Nation a little room to breathe knowing that the Leafs finished strong in the second half of the regular season with a net-minder everyone can feel confident with.  

We made it through and supported the boys during their eight game losing streak and survived the frustration of “when will this streak ever end?” Us blue and white fans can withstand anything.

The countdown to the Leafs’ 2011-2012 regular season home opener begins now, Go Leafs Go!

Once reality hits, it’s over...literally

Devastation is what you can call this kind of feeling hovering over Leafs Nation right now.  It’s one thing to know that your team is eliminated, but it’s another to actually see it happen.  

It was just a matter of time.  For the past month everyone has been be-LEAF-ing and saying we still had a chance to make it to the playoffs (no thanks to Carolina and Buffalo).  But I think deep down, everyone knew it was coming but no one wanted to admit it.   

To support your team through thick and thin, ups and downs, injuries and controversial trades, players’ slumps, losing streaks, winning streaks, the boos from fans at home, and of course the waffle tossing, “elimination” is definitely something that’s hard to accept.  It’s the worst feeling in the world and a feeling that’s tremendously hard to swallow.  
 
The Leafs played their heart and soul out for the past few months barely clinging on to any playoff hope.  Just when we thought the playoffs were out of reach, the Leafs surprised everyone after the All-Star break and began winning the games that mattered the most.  Every game for the past month was a “must win” and every win brought us closer and closer.  Even watching the standings and knowing that you couldn’t do anything about it except pray for the Rangers, Hurricanes, and Sabres to lose was nerve-wracking enough.  Unfortunately those teams knew how high the stakes were and kept racking up points which made it even harder for us to catch up.  I would use four words to sum up this season: emotional roller coaster ride. 

Like I said earlier, this is definitely hard to accept.  It will take a few days for Leafs fans to really process this and move on.  But for now, let me crawl into my hole with my Maple Leafs jersey and cry ......

Not so much an “all-star” game this weekend

Well it’s that time again, where fans get to see their favourite players compete in the All-Star game this Sunday.  However, NHL’s best player Sidney Crosby won’t be there, as well as Jerome Iginla,  Ales Hempsky, Evgeni Malkin, and Tobias Enstrom all due to injuries (except Iginla who will be with his sick grandmother).  It’s like the players got injured on purpose just so they can miss this event.  And why is big-mouth P.K. Subban from the Montreal Canadiens in the rookie skills competition?  I mean sure, he’s been good defensively for the Habs this year but this guy does not know the first thing about respect in the NHL.  To me, that’s no all-star material.  But this event is all about the ratings and money from the fans anyway so I have no say over the league’s marketing tactics.  

Super Bowl XLV

The biggest sporting event is about to rattle up North America in two weeks.  And I think it will break television viewer records.  Since the new York Jets and Pittsburgh Steelers game was the most watched in NFL history, Super Bowl XLV Sunday will be the most watched NFL game of all time. 

Football is not exactly my favourite sport but I’m beginning to get into it.  Watching the Jets beat the overrated Tom Brady and his New England Patriots was the first time I really sat down and tried to learn the players and rules of the game.  Most of the time I had no idea what was happening.  From watching TV and listening to sports radio (mainly the FAN590), the NY Jets seemed to have come in as the underdogs.  Everyone definitely underestimated them before they beat the Patriots.  I would love to have seen the Jets beat the Steelers last week in the AFC because of this.

But all I know is that I’m definitely watching the Super Bowl in HD on Feb. 6!

“...Kuli’s not a fighter” - Clarke MacArthur

Courtesy: YouTube

For those who don’t know about the controversial fight between Nikolai Kulimen and Tim Gleason on Monday against the Carolina Hurricanes, Kulimen received a punch to the face from Gleason in a scramble near the end of the first period.  It’s controversial because some are saying Gleason didn’t abide to the unwritten “code” hockey players have when getting into a fight on the ice: you both have to agree to drop your gloves before fighting.  In this case, Kulimen was giving Gleason a face wash with his gloves and Gleason dropped his gloves and sucker-punched him.  Kulimen dropped to the ice instantly and was gone for the remainder of the game with what the Leafs called a “facial injury”.

Some are saying that Gleason was wrong and he should of waited for Kulimen to drop his gloves before engaging into the fight.  Others say it wasn’t Gleason’s fault because Kulimen started throwing punches first and he should of expected it.  Kulimen is not a fighter and as much as I want to defend him, I would have to agree that Kulimen had it coming.  If you constantly antagonize a player, chances are, you will get yourself in a brawl.  It’s natural to fight back. 

Good thing nothing serious happened to Kulimen except he had to pay the price of a black eye.  What do you think? Watch the video and you be the judge.

Buds fall...again

Need I say more?  Playing two games in a row this week (Monday and Tuesday), they really needed the two wins and four points before the all-star break.  Once again, they fail to do this.  On the bright side, Tim Brent signed up for Twitter!  Not that that makes anything better for the organization but I will still follow him. Tweet him at http://twitter.com/#!/Brenter37.