The Montreal Canadiens: Imploding Since (At Least) 2008

Courtesy of Peter Lewin.

It all started the summer of 2008.  Or at least that’s where I’m starting because otherwise I’d be writing a book instead of ablog post.

<– Click to enlarge, well worth it

The Montreal Canadiens just came off of a pretty good season in which they won the division title and their coach at the time Guy Carbonneau was nominated for coach of the year (only losing out by 2 votes to Bruce Boudreau).  However a trend started that summer that would foreshadow much worse things to come for MTL when they let Mark Streit become an unrestricted free agent, letting him go for absolutely nothing despite the fact that he put up 62 points in 07/08 and was one of the best offensive defensemen in the league that year.  He would end up signing with the New York Islanders for 5 years at a reasonable 4.1 million/year.  It was also during the summer of 2008 that MTL traded Mikhail Grabovski to the Toronto Maple Leafs for Greg Pateryn (who?) and a second round pick in 2010 (who they would end up using to trade up to get Jarred Tinordi, a huge mucker at 6”7 who has little offensive upside but is at least a full foot taller than their team captain).  This summer also saw Michael Ryder leave MTL as an unrestricted free agent.

Happy New Year! Now Figure it Out, Blue Jays

It’s been more then a month since one of the best Free-Agent classes in MLB history went on the market.  The Big Pujols got his. But the younger, fatter, less successful version of Pujols, Prince Fielder, is still sitting on the market.

Robert Griffin III… Learn the Name Now

NCAA Bowl games are funny. For the most part, they don’t mean anything. It’s an odd way to end a season. Other than good background noise for eating turkey, or recovering from a hangover, I could care less about them*. But this year I made a point of seeing one particular game, for one particular player, and it was a smart decision.

Basketball v Canada, and the Chris Paul Story everyone should know

With the holidays (mostly) completed, and 2012 drawing nearer, this blog has been taking up an ever-growing spot in the back of my brain.  With all the exciting crap going on in the sports world, I find it harder and harder not to come on here and put my thoughts down on the screen.   Instead of trying to discuss all of it in one half-assed, largely-unread post, I’ll take my time and go one-by-one.

First up: what else? The NBA.

MLB Winter Meetings, Some Quick Thoughts

So we know that Fat Albert signed the second largest deal in MLB history. He is joining the American League because he’s lazy and will probably play some DH. Him and Vernon and gonna become one of the the most feared highest paid middle of the lineup duo’s in the league. Maybe like Joey Bats and the Prince?

Lets take a look at some of the other signings over the past few days.

Media takes over T.O. sports… And it will be a good thing

Big, big news this morning: Canada’s two largest telecommunications companies, BCE Inc (AKA Bell) and Rogers, came together to buy a majority stake in Maple Leafs Sports Entertainment. MLSE is the parent company that operates the Toronto Maple Leafs, Toronto Raptors, Toronto Marlies and Toronto FC, and was formerly owned by the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Fund.

Bell and Rogers will each get 37.5 % of the company. Together, they paid a reported $1.3 billion(!!!) to the teachers.

Some Old School Shit for your Eardrums

This week, three of the my All-Time Favourite bands were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: The Red Hot Chilli Peppers (25+ years of playing everything awesome,) The Beastie Boys (exposed rap to white kids like me,) and GUNS N ROSES (no explanation needed.)

So in honour of this momentous occasion, and because I’m too lazy to write a whole post about baseball (more on Pujols-to-Angels another time), Here are my personal favourite tunes by each band.

The Rollercoaster that is the Jays Rumour Mill

Busy opening Monday of the winter meetings (the annual gathering of MLB general managers and other head honchos) for Blue Jays fans. Over the course of the last 9 hours, the team has been rumoured to be interested in: Martin Prado, Jair Jurggens, Alberto Callaspo Albert Pujols, C.J. Wilson, but DEFINITELY NOT Prince Fielder.

The Basketbology

Last week I wrote about how there was absolutely no chance the NBA would be playing it’s season this year, and what we would miss out on.

And of course, I predicted it ….. so the complete opposite happened.  (More on this distiubing trend another time.)

Here’s the gist of it all, because it’s complicated as shit:

Why the MLB is Delusional (not just Bud)

Last year, Jose Bautista hits 54 hot and ready’s with 124 RBI’s and doesn’t win the MVP. Okay he only hit .260. Sure, Josh Hamilton misses 41 games and still wins it. Okay, lame as shit, but okay. This year he hits .302, with 43 hot and ready’s and 103 RBI’s and still doesn’t win it? ARE U F#$%^&* KIDDING ME?