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ICE.. I suppose the “stats brigade” upbraided Cliff Fletcher for trading that goal machine Gary Leeman for undersized Doug Gilmour back in 1992; as a matter of fact, I remember them doing precisely that, as I tried to explain what a watershed moment for the franchise the acquisition of “Killer” represented. Over a decade later, I’m still meeting the same dweebs. Lads, it was four bags of hockey pucks for an elite defenseman. The Leafs won this trade hands down…Bob McKenzie suggests on the TSN site that Ian White is a better player than Dion Phaneuf. Appalling (well, once I stopped laughing). This man covers hockey for a living and he is not capable of putting the stats sheets away to actually watch the game? White is useful, kind of a poor man’s Mark Streit, and fans of the Toronto Maple Leafs put up with his repeated gaffes because of an “everyman” quality he seemed to embody. He’s the kind of player you find on bad teams, a kind of hard working yokel that fans can cheer for. He’s an entertaining donkey, while Phaneuf is a world class thoroughbred…the “other Alex”, Alexander Semin, has 17 points in the last ten games for the Washington Capitals…

 PUG LIFE..thankfully, it looks like Bob Arum has backed off his threat to put the immensely unpopular Antonio Margarito on the undercard of the March 13^thManny Pacquiao - Joshua Clottey battle. Margarito’s claim that he was unaware his hands were “loaded” holds no water whatsoever for anyone who has ever wrapped their fists. Fighters are notorious for wanting their wraps applied in a particular fashion and it is ludicrous to suggest Margarito wasn’t completely aware of  the permutations of any substance going on his fists…the bad news, however, is that the undercard is typical Bob Arum; lousy. Arum believes that people pay for the main event and the undercard has no impact on final sales. It is a short sighted and unfortunate view. The undercard will feature the ancient Jose Luis Castillo in a welterweight fight and the wildly popular, and overrated, John Duddy in a middleweight scrap… Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones Jr is a go for April 3^rd. Plans to have Amir Khan featured on the undercard have been scuttled, making the night one for the masochists only…Khan will now likely headline a card from Las Vegas in May against Juan Manuel Marquez. That’s a pretty intriguing fight with the Khan camp, perhaps, putting too much stock in the Mexicans futile effort against Floyd Mayweather. In his previous fight, against Juan Diaz, Marquez looked stellar, and he could be quite a handful for Khan. The Englishman has looked like dynamite in his last couple, but always arrives with those nagging concerns about his ability to take a punch…

PONIES..following the trail to the Kentucky Derby is one of the richest experiences available to a sports fan. The pathos of the journey is captivating, with the highs and lows aptly illustrated by the adventures of Winslow Homer. The colt burst into top ten lists with a hard fought win in the Holy Bull Stakes two weeks back but came up sore yesterday and has been ruled out of the May 1^strace. One moment you’re on top of the Twin Spires, the next just a bystander as other contenders march by…Jennifer Morrison advises two Canadian runners could end up on the Kentucky Derby trail; Hotep, a full brother to Queen’s Plate winner Eye of the Leopard, and Hollinger, an unbeaten colt…whispers have Oaklawn Park on the verge of tossing bushels of cash around to induce Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta, the California Cow, to meet in the April 3^rdApple Blossom Handicap. With Rachel just getting back to work, the schedule does seem a bit tight. I still think Saratoga in July, in the Go For Wand, presents the first realistic date for the pair to rumble…