BONDS: FROM PRISON TO COOPERSTOWN?

Baseball's all-time home run king, Barry Bonds is on trial in San Francisco on perjury charges stemming from a 2003 testimony he gave to a grand jury investigating steroid use among major league baseball players. Frankly speaking, it does not take a genius to see from pictures of Bonds as his career progressed, along with the sudden rise in his numbers after age 35, that he almost certainly was a big-time steroid user, as well as a likely user of HGH. The evidence is damming, and the likelihood of a conviction is quite high. With that as a backdrop, the question that must be asked is this: Once he is free after a jail sentence, does MLB prohibit him from the Hall Of Fame ballot? There is no provision for banning a drug user from the Hall Of Fame, unlike gamblers (read Pete Rose), so there is quite a high likelihood of Barry Bonds going from Prison to Cooperstown, and this is what makes no sense about this whole situation: Barry Bonds almost certainly would have been in the Hall, even if he had never touched the stuff, as, assuming his stats were inflated perhaps 20% by PEDs, he still would have hit at least 600 home runs, making him a first-ballot inductee, but his ego may well have made him throw it all away.

A POTENTIAL NIGHTMARE SCENARIO FOR THE CBC

There has been much speculation about the CBC's second-round playoff schedule, since the Canadian election is scheduled for Monday May 2nd. While a potential "Heidi" situation exists for the network a few days earlier. The second round of the playoffs begins Aprl 28. Assuming the Vancouver Canucks win their first-round series(which I believe they will), they will host Game one of their second-round series at 10 P.M. that night. The nightmare for CBC is this: Multiple Overtime. In such a scenario,
Game One could still be going, when the clock is approaching 4 A.M. EDT April 29th, when CBC, unlike Versus in the U.S.(Who hopefully would have the good sense to, if anything simulcast a U.S. local broadcast from a RSN that would not be affected by this), is planning to begin coverage of the Royal Wedding. So, if you are CBC, what do you do? Pull the plug on a triple-OT playoff game(the "Heidi" scenario), farm it out to Bold? (similar to what NBC did during the playoffs some years ago, where they farmed out an OT to Versus, so they could show a Preakness pre-race show), or begin showing Will and Kate's big show on Bold, praying that someone scores quickly, so HNIC can sign off, and CBC news take over? WHAT DO YOU DO?

56 years ago tonight

56 years ago tonight, the worst riot in NHL history took place in Montreal.
To set the scene, the Red Wings were first and the Canadiens second, as the teams began a home-and-home at the Forum that would end the regular season, and decide the league championship.

In the game before the home-and-home with the Wings, the Habs had a brawl with the Bruins(some things never change, doesn't it ALWAYS come down to the Habs and B's about something?-Richard and Laycoe then, Chara and Pacioretty now). Maurice "Rocket" Richard was fighting with Hal Laycoe, when linesman Cliff Thompson attempted to break it up, when Richard accidentally punched him. The NHL was not about to let that go, so NHL president Clarence Campbell suspended Richard for the remainder of the regular season AND the playoffs. Needless to say, the atmosphere in the Forum was surly when the Wings and Habs began the home-and-home on St. Patrick's night, 1955. The Wings raced out to a 4-1 lead, as the crowd got more-and-more incensed, and to make matters worse, Campbell showed up with his fiancee (who was also his assistant, which angered the crowd even more. A young man approached Campbell, seemingly to shake his hand, but instead he punched him. Then, someone lit a smoke bomb, and Campbell met with the Fire Marshall, ordered the Forum cleared, and the game forfeited to the Wings.

Campbell sent a message to Jack Adams (the Jack Adams who the coach-of-the-year trophy is named after) that the game was forfeited and he could take his team "on their way". The Wings got a police escort out of the area, but the nightmare in Montreal was just beginning. The crowd ran amok, smashing windows causing over $100,000 in damage, and injuring over 100 people. The Detroit News ran a headline saying "Over 100 Hurt In Wing Riot". The next morning Richard went onto the radio, and told the fans to calm down and go home, and he was hoping to help the Canadiens win the Cup the next year.

When the teams returned to Detroit, they played the second half of the home-and home at Olympia Stadium, where the Wings blew out the Habs 6-0, winning the regular season title, and gaining home-ice throughout the playoffs. They would need it, as they won the Cup in a seven-game final. Richard paid the price, as he lost what would prove to be his best chance to win the scoring championship. The rest of the Rocket's career was much better, as the Habs won the next five Stanley Cups.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1GQ1ulT1rs

$1.3 Billion for the man who has everything

I have a birthday coming up next month..last night I heard about the perfect gift. For only $1.3 Billion dollars, THAT'S WITH A B, you can buy Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, so you can own the Leafs! You can also own Toronto FC and the Raptors as well, but let's not kid ourselves, the Leafs are the crown jewel in this scenario, as they must be worth at least $500 Million themselves. So, folks, I DO have a birthday coming up...

CHARA SHOULD HAVE BEEN SUSPENDED

Last night on "Coaches Corner", Don Cherry showed his pro-Bruin bias(as if we didn't know he had one) when he attacked Canadiens president Geoff Molson for his reaction to the hit Zdeno Chara laid on Max Pacioretty, saying that the stansions in Centre Bell were responsible for Pacioretty's injuries. Further a tweeter the other day commented that the Habs were "whining" about Pacioretty's injuries. Well, Pacioretty suffered a concussion and a cervical fracture. THAT'S A BROKEN NECK FOLKS! Pacioretty is almost certainly done for the season...assuming he ever plays again. Cherry said the NHL had to either give Chara "20 games, or nothing". Fine, give him the 20 games. At least Todd Bertuzzi was suspended for the rest of the season(which turned into a season+ due to the lockout the following season) when his attack ended Steve Moore's career. It wasn't perfect, but it was better than nothing. It's funny how, no matter how things change, they stay the same. Just like the Red Sox and the Yankees, it always comes back to the Bruins and Canadiens.

A STUPID DECISION

A fan invaded the pitch in a low-level Soccer match in Dorchester, England last week dressed like Borat in a mankini. He was tackled by Dorchester's Ashley Vickers, who was (justifiably) upset that this idiot invaded the pitch. Vickers wasa red-carded for violent conduct, which is the letter, though not the spirit of the law. I was a youth to high school official for several years, and I can tell you, I would NOT have ejected Vickers. In fact, I would have commended him for helping get this moron off the pitch. In my view, when you invade the field or the ice, you deserve what you get.
As far as ejecting Vickers, it was a stupid decision.

Charlie Sheen admits he's "losing his mind"

Charlie Sheen admits he is "losing his mind"...YA THINK? But, I thought he was "WINNING"! BTW, there was talk of him starring in "Major League 3", reprising his role as "Wild Thing". Now, here's my thought. He played a Cleveland Indian in the first two. Shouldn't he be playing for Detroit, since he has TIGER BLOOD? (His words, not mine) Just sayin'.