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It was one of those weekends that leaves you punchy and in desperate need of exercise and nutrition. I took in the Breeders Cup, a heavyweight fight, two hockey games, the Manchester United-Chelsea match, NASCAR and three NFL games. Very productive, I know.

Highlight, without question, was the brilliant play of Jonas Gustavsson Saturday night for the Toronto Maple Leafs. The man is peculiar and unorthodox, qualities particularly reassuring in a goaltender. At one point during Saturday night’s telecast they produced footage as bizarre as anything we’ve ever seen; The Monster stood frozen at centre ice as the Leafs exited after their pregame warm-up. All alone, he then went through an explosive series of imaginary “saves” before exiting the ice. Commentators noted they had never seen a goalie leave the ice after all of his teammates. Clearly this Monster marches to the beat of his own loopy cortex. Others who made the weekend memorable include the sparkling efforts of Goldikova and Conduit on the lawn, and the rebooted Tony Romo, playing with impressive snap and style. And, oh yeah, (cringe) great game from Josh Freeman and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. All they needed was a little rest, right?

Lowlight has to be the brutal play of the Chicago Bear defence. Their inability to stop the Arizona Cardinals was disconcerting and surprising. They have the look and feel of a team that has quit on Coach Lovie Smith. Others who made me want to reduce the TV to fragments were Kieran Fallon and his disjointed efforts in the saddle and any NFL commentator not named Troy Aikman. Another gloomy portion of the weekend was the Breeders Cup telecast interview with jockey Kent Desormeaux. The intellectually stunted rider was prodded repeatedly about his impending divorce and the health of his young child. It was shameless, a stark reminder of the lack of class and decorum ushered in by the brazen stupidity and crassness of Oprah and her imitators.

 GRID IRON..Aaron Rodgers play against Tampa Bay yesterday shocked me. A professional QB is not expected to take sacks from the right side. He has a visual on that side of the field and is expected, for the most part, to evade rushers or discard the pigskin. Rodgers is looking like a real nutter these days, giving up sacks that are his fault and not the lines. He is absorbing enormous punishment and is starting to look more like a bust than a phenom…the Chicago defence has disintegrated. The worst rushing team in the League, the Cardinals of Arizona, galloped for an outrageous 182 yards against the pedestrian Bears. The slaughter was so absolute that Fox bailed on the game in the third quarter and picked up the feed to the Bucs- Pack game…

ICE..ex Toronto Maple Leaf Carlo Colaiacovo has been a healthy scratch in the St Louis Blues last two games. The highly touted defenseman appears unlikely to ever live up to the hype. Lee Stempniak, acquired by the Leafs in the deal, is having a very solid year for the Buds…persistent rumours have Jean-Sebastian Giguere moving from Anaheim to Toronto. The Leafs would assume the final two years of the goalies contract while sending Vesa Toskala to the Ducks. The incentive for Anaheim is the cap room created when Toskala’s contract expires at the end of this year…the Leafs have taken at least a point in seven consecutive games…Daniel Sedin could return to the Vancouver Canucks as early as tomorrow night…

PUG LIFE…it is fight week, the next best thing to fight night. We have the genuine article Saturday night, a legitimate Superfight. My Pinoy homeboy’s crowded into Las Vegas on Sunday and promise to spend the week wreaking havoc. They certainly brought their cash - money has poured in on the diminutive Filipino. The odds have moved to the point where Pacquiao is nudging -300 and as high as +270 can apparently be found on Cotto. Pacquiao’s visage graces the current international edition of Time Magazine and that lends momentum to the feeling that Saturday night’s battle is a foregone conclusion. It most certainly is not. Pacquiao will be facing his toughest opponent. The idea of a first round knockout for the Pac Man is outlandish. His speed and movement will provide an enormous challenge for the stoic Puerto Rican but his most assured road to victory is through cuts. Cotto does love to bleed. I intend to savour the week, reviewing the pairs recent battles and developing a cognitive understanding how the fight will unfold. The betting prospects seem obvious; either take the juicy odds on Cotto or take a pass…Londoner David Haye dethroned Nikolai Valuev in a dreary affair Saturday night. The judging community seemed to let out a collective yawn and simply deem it appropriate to bring the gentle giants reign to an end. Ironically, it was one of Valuev’s better efforts. He certainly deserved the decision or, let’s rephrase that, he didn’t deserve to lose his crown against such a timid challenger. Haye was given the close rounds and eked out a majority decision. While Haye looks to be quite a character and a welcome change, it is hard to see him upending the Klitschkos. He would be advised to ignore the WBA’s command that he fight John Ruiz and instead attempt to get a fight with Vladimir. He would at least have a punchers chance against the occasionally glass jawed Ukrainian…Fernando Vargas, seventy pounds over his fighting weight and apparently slurring when he speaks, is reportedly set to make a comeback. He is rumoured to be on the verge of signing to fight Hector Camacho Jr…Don King is putting the screws to Mike Tyson concerning an Iron Mike comeback. Tyson is 43 and in poor condition. A proposed third fight with Evander Holyfield would be the inducement for one more sordid night with Tyson…