racingmeridian.com

The elegance of the Toronto Maple Leaf franchise has long disappeared, buried under the avalanche of vulgarity that passes for a front office. Yet the optimism of the average fan persists and, despite my reserve, there are signs that things could improve in the near future. The first portent is the indication that Brian Burke will relocate to take on a position of authority within the Leaf organization following the current season. A legitimate hockey man with clout would be an immeasurable improvement over the Peddie/Tannenbaum rabble. Secondly, the recent moves made by Cliff Fletcher will prove helpful and flow into the greater restructuring inevitable when Burke arrives. With the removal of the wretched Darcy Tucker, the incompetent Andrew Raycoft, the pitiful Bryan McCabe and the indifferent Mats Sundin, the Leafs have moved forward through subtraction. Fletcher has made a series of mature decisions, dispatching Justin Pogge to the netherworld and making a nice pick-up in Mikhail Grabovsky. It is certainly a long road back to respectability but the team is finally in the hands of a legitimate hockey decision makers. The real possibility of a dreadful season is, thus, made palatable with the knowledge that constructive change abounds…well, that and the hope the Buds can draft John Tavares…ironically, as the Yankees, Mets and the Jets get set to absolutely fleece their fans, the outrageous prices at the ACC seem a tad more rational…poor Troy Aikman wrote a glowing piece on Kurt Warner for the current Sporting News that, unfortunately,  was published on the heels of his career worst performance against the Jets…if Vince Young of the Titans truly had a suicidal episode, shouldn’t he be concerned with issues other than football? He sits on the sideline, supposedly ready to take over if Kerry Collins goes back on the booze (Kerry would be delighted with a shot of Jagger before every third down). We know Young balked at going back into a game after being booed, and the next day provoked enough concern that Coach Jeff Fischer felt a call to the police was warranted. Vince Young, the commodity, strolls the sidelines. Vince Young, the human being, deserves allot better…Lane Kiffin refused to call a timeout in the last 45 seconds against Buffalo, thus negating any possibility of a Raiders comeback after the Bills wound down time and kicked the eventual game winning field goal. A professional head coach cannot make mistakes of that magnitude. Combine that with the infamous 70 yard field goal attempt and I suspect Al Davis has far more chance of winning a “fired for cause” lawsuit than the media would have you believe…according to ex-NFLer Brian Baldinger the Panthers, Giants and Steelers have continued to blitz and play aggressive defence while minding precarious fourth quarter leads. This has lead to well earned wins. The soft “prevent” defence assumed by the Texans and Raiders late in recent games has enabled those wicked 0-4 starts…the Breeders Cup has been awarded to Churchill Downs in 2010. Undoubtedly an attempt to placate the angry mob, still seething after the 2008 and 2009 Breeders Cups were given to the plastic elastic of sunny Santa Anita…the Breeders should be staged every year at Belmont. Period. The fair dirt surface and cool fall temperatures address and satisfy a wide range of significant concerns generated alternative choices…racing is dark at Woodbine today due to the demands of the extra card staged on Thanksgiving…