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It’s nice to focus on sports after very trying times at work. My company underwent a massive downsizing last week and it was painful to say farewell to so many friends. Those still standing plunge forward, ever was it so, but the dogs of economic chaos continue to howl. Who gets shredded next? You? Me? These are the days when a resume needs to be constantly updated and qualifications continuously strengthened. I can’t take much more away from the week than that. Some folks left bitter, some left outraged, some were quiet and sad. The best conversation I had was with a long-time employee who spoke eloquently about the futile nature of our current society, where striving for credentials, backstabbing and gossiping all take precedence over more nourishing human relations. She intends to buy a small plot of land in Ireland and leave the hurly burly behind. Some day I may follow her…but not today…

GRID IRON..I highly recommend Michael Lewis’s “The Blind Side” to any football fan looking for some insight into strategic developments in the NFL. The book has two main flows, one which traces the rise of the left tackle to a position of prominence, and the second which tracks the rise of Michael Oher from abject poverty to a ranking as the No 1 high school prospect in the United States. The book has an ongoing happy ending with the smart play of Oher as the current right tackle for the Baltimore Ravens (this in his rookie year - Oher will eventually migrate to the left side of the line). A movie version of the book drops Nov 20^th…after reading the book the way I watched a game changed dramatically. Instead of looking at the defence’s middle linebacker, or the QB, I would watch the left tackle. Within an “eye blink” of the snap the actions of the player will tell you what kind of play is about to be run. The position requires an extraordinary individual, physically imposing but also with the speed of an athlete half his size. After the snap, these gargantuan men shift their bulk like dancers, setting up the appropriate approach to the unfolding play. He must move immediately into either run blocking or pass defence mode. Ineffectual work at left tackle is contributing directly to the poor play of teams like the Washington Redskins and the Seattle Seahawks. But you wouldn’t know it by the commentary of announcers; instead they focus on the prominent “skilled” positions (running back, wide receiver, quarterback)…the Chicago Bears are hibernating when away from Soldier field; they have lost five of their last seven road games…the Sporting News Power Poll has the Cincinnati Bengals as the fifth ranked team in football, just behind the New England Patriots and ahead of the Pittsburgh Steelers. The New Orleans Saints are at the top of the poll…15 of the Carolina Panther’s league leading 21 turnovers are the direct result of QB Jake Delhomme (thirteen interceptions and two fumbles)…the Washington Redskins outgained the Philadelphia Eagles last night but any possibly of winning was sabotaged by three lost fumbles and the surrendering of six sacks. The Skins have an excellent defence but are undermined by the ineffectualness of their offence. The offence spends a great deal of the time surrendering yardage or turning over the ball. It’s just painful to watch. The crazy thing is the Skins, with a series of shrewd moves (including dumping Jim Zorn and Jason Campbell) are not that far from respectability. If the offense would simply play like the Ravens circa 2000, and look to adopt a conservative, ball control approach, the defence could engender far better results than those currently on offer…the San Francisco 49ers are turning to the much maligned Alex Smith as their starting quarterback. Smith was drafted in 2005 and has been brought along with studied patience. It is an old school approach and one that may well pay dividends. In these days of prodigious rookie performances, it is interesting to see an organization advocate a player who needed an extended timeframe to properly grasp an NFL offence…Dallas Cowboy Tony Romo excelled Sunday against Atlanta when getting the ball out in no more than 2.5 seconds. If Romo is stalled, or forced to run through a complex series of reads, his effectiveness diminishes. A sharp, popping series of plays puts Romo in charge and makes the ‘Boys very dangerous, indeed…THE COURT..while Sports Illustrated is bullish on the current Toronto Raptors, ESPN’s Bill Simmons was quick to pour cold water on the teams chances in 2009/10. Simmons is fairly scathing in his evaluation of new acquisition Hedo Turkoglu, condemning him as overpaid, overrated and on the downside of his career. The last time Simmons was so adamant in his dismissal of a Raptor he was warning denizens of the Big Smoke about Jermaine O’Neal. Unfortunately, in this instance, he tends to be an astute observer of the NBA…if you’re not reading Bill Simmons, you should be. His current NBA preview is riveting, particularly his rumination on the possibility that the breakthrough player of the year could be, gulp, Vince Carter…ICE..like many of you, I’m tired this morning, having been unable to turn sleep while the Toronto Maple Leafs waged war on the west coast against the Anaheim Ducks. And we won. We bloody well won! And, puck hounds, the news only gets better with the suggestion that Phil Kessel could join the line-up in a mere one week’s time, Nov 3^rd against the Tampa Bay Lightning. In the history of the sport, I doubt there are many instances of a team needing a player as badly as the Buds need the sniper (though Atlanta Thrasher fans are certainly entitled to bemoan the loss of Ilya Kovalchuk ha ha). Kessel addresses the biggest shortcoming of the team, the inability to generate a coherent assault in the opposition zone…hmmm, guess we can cancel the panic concerning Roberto Luongo; he’s stopped 80 of 83 shots while guiding his Vancouver Canucks to three straight wins…TURN LEFT..reports that 20% of the crowd at Martinsville left after Dale Earnhardt Jr crapped out on lap 359 last Sunday are shocking. Earnhardt Jr’s enduring popularity, despite a marked lack of achievement on the track, is amazing and certainly a tribute to the stature of his late, lamented father. But patrons leaving a tightly contested race, one that would result in an upset win for Denny Hamlin, constitutes bizarre behaviour. NASCAR is so much more than Junior but, to this day, Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart et al, combined, cannot sell merchandising equal to the pull of the underachieving driver. With sponsors like Jack Daniels and Crown Royal pulling out, and behemoth DuPont sharply cutting back, it’s worrisome that NASCAR has so ineffectively marketed the rogues and lunatics that inhabit the backstretch. The economic slowdown stateside is going to translate into a very tough 2010 for motor sports and the proliferation of Dale Earnhardt Jr fans, instead of NASCAR fans, is going to translate into empty seats if he continues to implode on the track…