Friday, Dec.5

Sean Avery Musings
I hate Sean Avery. I really hate him. I'm thrilled to see him suspended, and I think his career with Dallas is over.
Everyone seems to think that there will be a team willing to take him. But I wonder if Avery may just walk away. If a team really steps up to the plate and says "we want you just the way you are" , then he would probably stick around the league. However, if it becomes apparent that no team will take him unless he tones it down, I would not be surprised to see him take his buy out and leave.
The guy loves fashion. He even interned at Vogue over the summer. It would not surprise me at all if he left and pursued a career in the fashion industry.
If you think the league needs a guy like Sean Avery to "shake things up" then you are sadly mistaken. The league needs more players like Crosby and Ovechkin. Watch TSN when they show highlights from a Penguins game and Capitals game back to back. That's exciting hockey.
Exciting hockey is not some idiot pre-madonna degrading women and pissing off his own teammates.

Toews/Kane Commercial
The NHL needs a lot less of Sean Avery, and a lot more stuff like the Jonathon Toews/Patrick Kane political ad parody on youtube. That's what the league needs. You say the league needs more fighting and guys like Sean Avery. I say the league needs more display of skill and feel good stuff like the Toews/Kane commercial.

Bartender Rips Plax
I love this story from the New York Post

It couldn't have happened to a nicer guy. Knucklehead receiver Plaxico Burress was acting like a Giant jerk at the Latin Quarter even before he shot himself and ended up on the floor shaking and bleeding, employees at the Midtown club said. "Burress was an ****," said a female bartender about his conduct last Saturday. "He was rude and disorderly and didn't acknowledge anyone unless they were in the VIP section. He didn't treat anybody with respect. "I'd rather work with regular customers. Celebrities like Plaxico just cause more problems. He gives the club a bad rep," the bartender said.

It's guys like this that makes professional sports very difficult to stomach sometimes.

Giants/Spurs/Dolphins
On the home front, the Giants are trying to get back into the mix. They have shored up the bullpen to go along with their young starting rotation, and they've upgraded at shortstop by signing Edgar Renteria (although they paid him way too much!). Now, according to Dan Patrick, they are going to make a serious run at.....C.C. Sabathia!! Heads up.

Spurs are pulling it together. The big 3 are healthy and the team has weathered a rough start. Last night they beat an improved Nuggets team in Denver by 17 points.

The analysts are starting to pick the Dolphins this weekend vs Buffalo. Three reasons;
1) J.P. Losman is horrible.
2) Not a true home game for the Bills (the game is at Rogers Centre in TO).
3) The Dolphins are a tough defensive team, they do not make mistakes on offence, and they are really confident. Meanwhile the Bills are in a freefall and 2-6 in their last 8 games. Must win game for the Fish if they are going to make the Wild Card. I'd also like to extend my support for Seattle, San Fran, Cincinatti, and Washington this weekend as they play vs AFC wildcard contenders.

Now if those National Champion Jayhawks can just get back into the Top 25.
Speaking of NCAA basketball.....

UNC is Dominant
It's only December but you can already book your NCAA bball champs. North Carolina.
I've heard rumours about how scary this team is, and after watching them demolish Mighigan State on Wed., I'm a believer. They have the best player in the country (Tyler Hansborough), the best point guard (Lawson), they are deep, big, and blessed with talent at all positions. Plus, they have one of the best coaches in the country in Roy Williams.
This would have been very difficult for me to accept in the past, as I was always bitter about Roy leaving KU for UNC. But after Bill Self's Jayhawks trashed UNC in last year's final four, all is forgiven.
Speaking of Mighigan State, they may have been totally dominated by UNC, but there is always a big difference between the Spartans in December, and the Spartans in March. No matter how much talent Tom Izzo has, MSU is always a tough out come tourney time.
Sticking with Tom Izzo, I've never seen him give up, but in the second half as UNC was extending thier lead to 30 points on MSU's home floor (all be it in Detroit), Izzo was visibly shaken by the Tar Heel explosion. Usually he goes down with guns blazing, but against UNC he succumbed to his fate. That's how good Carolina is. They broke the spirit of one of the most competitive and resourceful coaches in the country.

Florida/Alabama
If you like football and you are doing nothing around 5:00 on Saturday, watch Alabama and Florida. #1 vs #2 in the country, battling for the SEC title, and a spot in the National Championship game. Going to be an awesome spectacle.
There is so much excitement, enthusiasm, and pagentry at games like this that the 1st quarter is usually the most exciting part of the game! Everyone is picking Florida but I think Alabama has a more balanced attack, take the Tide by a touchdown