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Toronto Maple Leaf conspicuous non efforts, like last nights numbing 8-2 loss to the Dallas Stars, would be easier to take if the possibility existed that John Tavares was arriving in 2009. But with the Leafs cruising at a .500 clip, the possibility of a meaningful lottery pick is diminishing. Clearly, Ron Wilson is squeezing every ounce of effort from his motley crew. It’s a shame. If the Leafs would only tank the rest of the season, off load slugs like Andropov, Toskala and Kubina and then welcome the Sedin twins and Tavares for the start of 2009, we could really believe the rebuilding process is underway…I stayed at the ACC to the bitter end last night. I believe it could be one of the last opportunities any of us might have to see Curtis Joseph mind the twine. Lordy, what a goalie Cujo was in the early nineties. Problem is, it’s 2008, and the clock is ticking in that particular dog house. …with the Stars up 7-0 it was wonderful to see Brian Burke wade into the crowd and begin beating on anyone wearing a Stars jersey. A real old fashioned donnybrook ensued with Leaf fans using violence to take back the night…no, none of that actually happened but the mind does wander during those big time drubbings…the Tampa Bay Lightning endured a training session so torturous on Tuesday that Steve Stamkos ended up feint in a pool of his own vomit. Bizarrely, the medieval training session reaped immediate benefits as the Lightning shut out the Pittsburgh Penguins 2-0 last night…I’m getting fed up with the Carolina Hurricanes playing Mike Leighton, 1-5-2 in his last eight, with such frequency. The Canes have a goalie in Cam Ward who is on the cusp of joining the Leagues elite, but any attempt at finding his game or acquiring momentum is stifled with Paul Maurice utilizing the insufferable backup…mercifully, the New York Knicks, according to the New York Daily News, will release Stephen Marbury in January. The lousy Knicks and the petulant Marbury can, then, both move on…. Mark Teixeira joined the Bronx Bombers yesterday, accepting a 180 million dollar deal. The New York Yankees now have the four largest contracts in baseball, allocating 161 million to C C Sabathia, 275 million to Alex Rodriguez and 189 million to Derek Jeter. It may be time for the impoverished A J Burnett, at a mere 82.5 million, to renegotiate…the Yankees last won the World Series in 2000. In two subsequent visits they lost to the Arizona Diamondbacks, in 2001, and the Florida Marlins, in 2003.  Between 1996 and 2000 the Pinstripes accounted for four of a possible five fall championships…is it possible the Yanks aren’t finished yet? Manny Ramirez is still available and the Scott Boras client has had discussions with New York.  With the Red Sox and Dodgers professing no interest in Big Poppa, is it out of the question that the biggest spending spree in sports history could be building to a memorable climax?…the Pittsburgh Steelers have a robust organization loaded with depth and determination. I fancy them in their Week 17 match-up with the Cleveland Browns, gladly giving the 10.5. I’ll also hit the over 32…the Tennessee Titans, facing the Indy Colts on Sunday, will give significant playing time to Vince Young. You have been warned…now, having said that, no one rests players on the final week like Colt coach Tony Dungy. He often stripped the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of all momentum as they prepared for the playoffs. The Bucs only achieved Super Bowl greatness when Dungy was tossed overboard and Jon Gruden brought in… Marshall Faulk has announced he would like to be considered for the head coaching job of the St Louis Rams. Faulk, 36, has no coaching experience whatsoever….Colorado Avalanche Paul Stastny fractured his forearm in last nights 5-4 win over Phoenix. There is no word yet on how long the precocious sophomore will be out……we’ll brook no argument; the Fight of the Year was Antonio Margarito - Miguel Cotto. I found myself as recently as last week watching the fight again. The embattled Cotto uses every trick in the book to try to slow down the onrushing Margarito and ultimately fails in a bloody, draining finish. Of course, the Fighter of the Year is the incomparable Manny Pacquiao…the Nikolai Valuev-Evander Holyfield fight will be shown on TSN on Boxing Day at 12.30pm. It is interesting to peruse if only for the great continental divide that has arisen in the scoring of the bout. Americans are outraged that Holyfield did not get the decision while Europeans are virtually unanimous in scoring for the 7 foot gentle giant. Nothing happens during this monumental bore of a scrap but there is no doubt in my mind that Holyfield did not do enough to deserve the belt…racing returns to New York with the Aqueduct meet on Dec 26^th…very quietly, Rafael Bejarano won all five major California meets in 2008 (Santa Anita, Del Mar, Hollywood twice and Oak Tree at Santa Anita). This is only the third time a jockey has managed the formidable feat, after Chris McCarron in 1983 and junkie Pat Valenzuela in 2003. McCarron is retired while Valenzuela has been run off the circuit for repeated violations of the California substance abuse regulations…