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ICE..the Atlanta Thrashers are facing an enormous dilemma with Ilya Kovalchuk. As long as their star refuses to sign a contract extension, they face the possibility of Kovalchuk walking away for nothing at the season’s end. They cannot, and will not, let that scenario transpire. If you were Toronto Maple Leaf GM Brian Burke, would you offer Luke Schenn and Nazim Kadri as core elements in a deal for Kovalchuk, predicated, naturally, on being able to sign Ilya to an extension? Kovalchuk is actually an underratedplayer, forlorn and forgotten in the wilds of Georgia. A move to The Big Smoke would ignite both his play and image…Kovalchuk, Kessel and Kulemin could form the KKK line - uh, okay scratch that…Michael Nylander is currently playing for Dynamo Minsk of the KHL. His unwieldy contract (over 4 million per) continues to count against the Washington Capitals cap, a situation that will continue through the 2010-2011 season…let’s not proclaim Anze Kopitar of the Los Angeles Kings a superstar just yet; he recorded one goal in the eleven games he has played without injured line-mate and physical support Ryan Smyth…Alexei Kovalev has zero goals in his last fifteen games. The Ottawa Senator was brought in to provide scoring punch but he has responded with a meagre four goals this season…Leaf Tomas Kaberle leads all NHL defensemen with 27 assists… Ryan Miller was the first netminder to shutout the Washington Capitals this season, leading his Sabres to a 3-0 win last night…that was ex-Red Wing Ty Conklin, currently of St Louis, who shutout Detroit last night. Motor City countered with Jimmy Howard…

GRID IRON..remember, it was in the last four games last year that Brett Favre hit the proverbial wall, tossing eight interceptions and sabotaging the chances of the New York Jets. Hey, I’m just saying…the New York Jets have done the right thing and taken Mark Sanchez out of consideration for Sundays match against Tampa. The busted up rookie was willing to play with braces on both knees…the Green Bay Packers now have the number one ranked defence in football. Dom Capers certainly took awhile to get the unit up to snuff, but they are currently playing fantastic football. The plot thickens in a very interesting NFC with a number of teams looking to peak at the right time, much like last year’s surprising Arizona Cardinals…the blood turns cold upon hearing the Dallas Cowboys intend to employ Tony Romo as the holder on future field goal attempts. Romo has established a reputation as the worst big game quarterback in the NFL, and a delicious chapter in that unsavoury history concerns his ineptness in 2007 when his inability to corral a perfect snap lead to a playoff  loss to the Seattle Seahawks… New Orleans QB Drew Brees has pronounced himself onboard for an attempt at a perfect season. Brees does not want to rest if the games become meaningless, a distinct possibility, but instead wants to keep the rubber burning until the Saints hit 19-0…the Saints are about 5-2 in most betting shops to win the Superbowl. They are taking huge amounts of money and these odds are paltry. Indy can be had at just over 3-1 while Minny ranks next at about 5-1. Green Bay caught my eye at 22-1, while Baltimore, one of the favourites a mere two months ago, are on sale at 50-1…the New England Patriots, 10-1 prospects for Superbowl glory, are losers of three of their past four for the first time since 2002. Things may have become worse; Tom Brady missed practice today for unspecified reasons…

PUG LIFE..we’re taking the elastic off the bankroll this weekend. I like Vitali Klitschko by KO “under” 9.5 rounds, -130, and Paulie Malignaggi, +120, to upset Juan Diaz in their highly anticipated rematch. I can’t take Kevin Johnson serious as a challenger to Vitali, the man I regard as the best heavyweight in the world, and Vitali has a bit of the mean streak that his brother Vladimir lacks…Paulie easily beat Juan Diaz in their controversial first encounter but was denied by rotten hometown judges. Diaz, the “Baby Bull”, is a very proud man and his career would be irreparably damaged by a loss. But Paulie might have found the world class foe that just can’t handle his spastic, non-stop convulsive dance steps. Certainly I can’t readily find a reason to bet against Paulie when I had him dominating the first fight. His motivation should be sky high and, Paulie being Paulie, I imagine he will love being the headliner of a Saturday night HBO card, a possibility which had appeared to have vanished after Ricky Hatton demolished him last year…the Staple Centre in Los Angeles has thrown down a breathtaking 20 million dollar offer to stage the Manny Pacquiao - Floyd Mayweather battle. This has thrown the negotiations into turmoil, apparently knocking Dallas and Jerry Jones out of the running, but the Las Vegas MGM Grand is expected to cobble together a counter proposal. One thing is clear, concerned parties are actively negotiating with the expectation that this will be the biggest grossing fight in history…I scoured the online books last night and found an amazing consistency; every wagering site has Manny Pacquiao as the underdog…the lines will be drawn thusly; professional gamblers will slap down big wagers on Floyd, while the general public will inject a massive amount of smaller wagers on Pacquiao…

PONIES..my outraged response to the mass media accolades for Zenyatta continues to find vindication as the true fans of the sport slowly assert the pre-eminence and superiority of the outrageously brilliant Rachel Alexandra. Put TIME Magazine on the bandwagon, lads; their list of the Top Ten Sports Moments of 2009 has Rachel’s Preakness win at number five. No sign of the California Cow anywhere…to a Zenyatta fan I say, let them race! Then meet me in the hidden room of The Rail and we’ll wager every penny we own, our stock holdings, our RRSP’s, our tombstones and unborn children, the blood in our veins and our wretched gamblers hearts. Rachel would have walloped any pretender with the vehemence of Mike Tyson refusing Adam Lamberts request for a moment under the mistletoe…