racingmeridian.com

…Ron Wilson is sure turning out to be a foul little twit. His decision to pull Vesa Toskala for the shootout segment of last night’s game against the Sacred Ducks of Anaheim borders on ridiculous. Curtis Joseph, at 41, had been drooling on the bench all night. How could he be expected to go between the pipes with the proper preparation, mental and/or physical? Toskala had been buoyed by a sensational overtime save, and then was humiliated by the thoughtless insult. Joseph’s superior save percentage in the shootout is not reflective of his ability when stepping into a game cold…and is Ron Wilson starting to enjoy the media scrums just a little too much? While he criticizes the treatment of Leaf players as far too fawning he seems to revel in his moments around the cameras and microphones. Yet he inevitably turns foul and unsavoury while belittling any query he deems unworthy of his attention…Jose Canseco really needs to go away. He’s fresh off another TV documentary but, who’s watching? Who cares?…suddenly big feature articles are decrying the records of NFL West Coast team travelling to the East Coast and playing in the early 1pm slot (0-8 this year). Gamblers have known and profited from this angle for years! The solution may be 4pm game starts for these matchups but punters will sure lose a tried and tested angle…Drew Brees starts against his former club, the San Diego Chargers, in a London, England showdown. Brees was moved to the Saints when the Chargers made the decision to start Phillip Rivers. I think it was the wrong choice, and I bet Brees feels the same way. This is a consideration as you handicap that match, I mean Brees is going to want to brutalize his old team. And, ahem, the Chargers defence against the pass currently ranks 31st…desperately sad to hear Rodney Harrison suffered a potentially career ending injury this weekend, but on the other hand, have to love the rumour that John Lynch could be called back to New England as his replacement…Brad Johnson will start for the Dallas Cowboys against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday. Johnson was the QB for the Bucs when they won the Superbowl in 2002. Still, he can expect no mercy as the Bucs quietly go about fashioning a contending season…appears the Wild have given up on signing Marion Gaborik. The two teams mentioned as frontrunners for his services are the Montreal Canadiens and the Los Angeles Kings. The Habs would be loaded for bear with the addition of the enigmatic sniper but will have to get creative to work him in under their salary cap…the “two teams in Toronto” scenario is preposterous. It will not happen, but here is what might. As the value of NHL teams stabilizes at around 180-190 million, the Board of Governors will drop their opposition to Jim Balsillie in return for his commitment to move an existing franchise to Kansas. Watch and see if I’m right…the Leafs make a fortune but have tremendous upside as the range of ticket prices in professional sports trends sharply upward. The team will soon be able to bring the payroll down by using a plethora of cheap young players. A decision can then be made, under the supervision of Brian Burke, whether to continue soaking the fans or to ramp up the talent level in pursuit of a winning team. I expect an analysis of revenue streams will provide the deciding factor in the ensuing decision…the fields are set for Friday and Saturday’s Breeders Cup action. Check out the drf.com site for all the info. Also, for a serious howl, check out The Onion parody site where a headline yesterday hailed the debut of the first openly gay racehorse…the hype surrounding the Breeders will be devoid of the suspicions that surround Curlin’s trainer Steve Asmussen. On the backstretch and in the stands many are openly derisive of the trainer’s talent and suspect his skill comes from other, mysterious sources. Magic? Maybe Pixie dust? Or could it be the rarest source of all, old fashioned hard work…