racingmeridian.com

G N R..Axl and his mates performed in Montreal last night. Because of the bands proclivity for late starts, they were politely informed that some adjustment might need to be made given the Montreal Metro’s (subway) closing time of close to 1am. Fans need to get home, right? Instead of starting the show at a reasonable time, say 9pm, the start time remained 10.45pm but they did trim six songs from the set list to wrap up earlier. Pricks…

GRID IRON..interesting points by the S N Scouts; they allow that Peyton Manning deserves consideration as the best of all time. The consensus, from the Scouts and others, seems to be a belief that the New Orleans Saints need to find a way to run the ball, escaping a toe -to - toe aerial slugfest with Indy’s offense. The Scouts also report that the Dwight Feeney vs. Jermon Bushrod battle on the Saints offensive line has the potential to be a mismatch in favour of Indy’s all pro rusher. Duh. I’m still waiting for someone to come up with a compelling case for the Saints. If Brees was in top form, an argument for an upset could possibly be crafted. But the Saints are in the doldrums, relying on a rescue from the village idiot and the refs to get past the Vikes…

ICE..the press are going to be all over the simmering feud between Montreal Canadiens Andrei Markov and Carey Price. Markov reportedly told Price to “stay home” if he wasn’t going to play “with heart”. Price has just a brutal reputation “on the street” but continues to be idolized in the mainstream media.  Markhov, as the team’s leader and top D Man, did the right thing in bringing the situation to a head. Jaroslav Halak, the puck stopping back-up, has been outplaying Price for over a year now…the Washington Capitals have an interesting challenge with injuries to both Jose Theodore and Semyon Varalmov. The Caps will be going with a couple of rookies but, with the way they’re playing at the moment (eight wins in a row), it’s probably not going to matter…Toronto Maple Leaf Garnet Exelby had a terrific pre-season, using smart and aggressive play to secure a spot on the Leaf roster. His playing time was curtailed when the season started and now he rarely plays. I’m not sure why. He certainly has outplayed many of the starting defenseman but seems to have earned a spot in Coach Ron Wilson’s doghouse. Exelby plays hard and dishes out hits, attributes sorely lacking on the squad recently. Is Wilson allowing a personal dislike to influence his selection of the starting roster?…the Chicago Blackhawks play the San Jose Sharks tonight in a battle that could foreshadow the 2010 Western Conference final (just saying it could, though we all know the Sharks are going to, gag, gag, CHOKE)…uh oh, Ryan Miller outplayed Martin Brodeur last night (albeit, in a shootout) as his Buffalo sabres beat the New Jersey Devils 2-1. The pair will face-off in the Olympics when the U S plays Canada, hopefully with a different outcome…

MEDIA..Pete Townshend let the cat out of the bag concerning the The Who’s Superbowl set list. It will be a medley consisting of Baba O’Reilly, Pinball Wizard, the close of Tommy, Who Are You and Won’t Get Fooled Again…it’s not going to come close to topping Prince’s majestic turn as the host of halftime…the other great appearance was U2’s post 9/11 performance, with the names of those who perished in the destruction of the Twin Towers passing across a luminous screen while the band played Where The Streets Have No Name…okay, I’d followed the Tampa Bay Buccaneers forever when they finally made their first start in the Great Game. The Bucs had a shaky start before gaining control of the match. I was overjoyed, hammered and emotional as Shania Twain took the stage. The story of how the hero of Timmins used to entertain pub goers at last call when she was very young, the tragic episodes of her life, my beloved Bucs on the verge of crushing the Oakland Raiders - all swirled around and created a maelstrom of passion and, well, you’re buddy, the Racing Meridian, unleashed a torrent of tears as Twain warbled some forgettable ditty. Most  embarrassing  moment  ever…the British Bookmaker William Hill is offering 1-4 odds that Tiger will play in the April Masters (bet 4 bucks to win 1). With rumours Tiger is close to reconciliation with the blond thing that gave birth to his children, it seems a pretty safe bet. Incidentally, Gerald Posner, on The Daily Beast, has the definitive account of what happened on the night of the infamous 911 call. Tiger comes off as a bit of a dork…seventeen days to the Daytona 500…

PUG LIFE.. no surprise here when Manny Pacquiao’s opening price of -400 for his fight with Joshua Clottey collapsed to -290 after a flood of money on the challenger.  I understand the punter’s reasoning. It would say, look, Manny’s first two ventures north of 140 may not be as impressive as they appear at first glance. Why? Well, first, Oscar De La Hoya was clearly past his prime, clearly ill equipped as an older fighter to cope with the speed of the dynamic Pac Man. Second, Miguel Cotto, a large welter, was forced to drop to two pounds below 147, as a condition of getting the fight and, in hindsight, may have been softened up by the savage beating he endured at the hands of Antonio Margarito. Following this route of logic (and, frankly, logic may not the the word you were thinking), it could well be that Joshua Clottey, at 147, may be the toughest challenge the Filipino has ever faced. Also, Pac Man could have motivation problems after botched negotiations with Floyd Mayweather killed the pair$ dream fight.  March 13^th is the night of a lifetime for the African. The word on the street never lies, and the sharp move in the lines speaks to the desire of many sharpies to bet Clottey. It’s going to be a great, competitive fight, but here’s the skinny; Clottey has shown a propensity to “spit the bit” in his most important fights. If he had shown greater determination, he likely would have received the nod in his last fight against Cotto. The reason I would lay off betting this fight is because I would not trust Clottey to launch a “pedal to the metal”, all out assault on the champion. He will keep it close, and competitive, but the utter commitment of Pacquiao to getting the win, at any cost, will likely see him surviving a very stern test…a week ago the Floyd Mayweather and Shane Mosley camps were bubbly with the prospects of their fight on May 1st. Since then..nothing. Are “Money” and Papa Floyd aghast at the startling hypocrisy of replacing Pacquiao with a confirmed drug cheat? Or, as darker rumours suggest, is Mayweather genuinely determined to avoid the very best of the welterweight division. Mayweather has battled chronically sore hands and he used that ailment as the reason for an earlier retirement. He may be facing physical issues that he elects to keep private. Either way, a September engagement with Pacquiao, tune-up or not, is still the predicted date for the superfight…