Wiggins chokes, gives up b'ball to play for Leafs instead

Apparently the rumours that Wiggins was offered a tryout with the Maple Leafs after his inexplicable choke against Stanford are unfounded.

What the hell went on there? Stage fright? You wouldn't think so. Wiggins has had enough money games behind him that you wouldn't think the pressure would make a difference.

Maybe he just had a bad day.

Hopefully it's not a remake of the Carl English story.

Not that Carl has done that poorly for himself. Yes, it was a humiliation for the ages to watch that draft where Carl never got drafted, but it was the twats at CBC who engineered that, so don't blame Carl.

Carl just wanted to play hoops, and that's what he's been doing, and he's made a great living off of it. Maybe not a first-round NBA draft pick kind of living, but definitely a better living than virtually anybody he left behind in Newfoundland.

But for some reason I don't see Wiggins playing in Spain, regardless of his meltdown the other day.

Which was the exact same day that I fired up the F-150 for the first time in months! Yup, she's sat there under a snowbank since November. For a good part of that time there was no sign of her - just a bump in the big snow berm that accumulated in front of the garage.

A few warm days lately have melted enough snow that I could see a bit of red peeking though that snow berm. Three tires were flat.

But we got that taken care of and we're off to see the Leafs beat the Red Wings tonight!

And I hear Wiggins has got a spot on the D!

Detroit bankrupt but state government finds $300 million to subsidize new hockey arena

Gov. Rick Snyder says there's no money to help Detroit, nosiree, bankruptcy is the only answer. Don't be expecting a bailout ...

But it looks like he can scrape together $300 million to help a billionaire put up a new hockey arena!

Funny how things work in the world of the privatize-everything, slash-and-burn, union-hating economic fundamentalists who get elected on a promise to "fix" the economy.

Governor Snyder is riding at record lows in the polls and knows he won't have a chance for a second term, so he's in a rush to do as much "fixing" as possible before the clock runs out.

The New York Times reports that the vultures are already eyeballing the city-owned Detroit Institute of Arts for its $2 billion art collection.

And what a stroke of genius!

After all, Detroit is mostly a bunch of poor black folks. They need a Rembrandt for what? They probably think Van Gogh is a kind of running shoe.

And obviously, if they can't run a run-down city, forget about a world class art collection, so taking that burden from them and letting rich people buy the art would be a win-win!

Maybe a couple of paintings will be sold to cover that gift to billionaire Red Wings owner Mike Ilitch, thereby fulfilling the Bible prophecy, "to those who have much, much will be given."

Game seven

Are professional sports franchises finding themselves more likely to go seven games in a playoff series than in days gone by?

Seems there's been a burst of them just in the past week or so. Kings - Sharks, Hawks - Wings in the NHL. Heat - Pacers in the NBA.

Sometimes these series have the markings of a bona-fide struggle between evenly matched teams.

But other times you gotta wonder.

Like whoever thought Miami - Indiana would go to seven? Four, maybe five, and there was no doubt that Miami would prevail.

Last night's blowout was a foregone conclusion.

So why did the series go to seven games?

Do you think it could have anything to do with the fact that every playoff game is worth a minimum of 4-5 million dollars to the owners?

When a series runs to seven games instead of being wrapped up in four there is 12 to 15 million in free money on the table. At least.

Is it possible that could motivate at least some owners to extend a playoff series?

Just wondering.

Bye-bye Burkie

Word has it that the Leaf players, many of them playing in Europe and Russia this season due to the NHL lock-out, refused to ratify the new NHLPA contract if they had to come back and play under the same management.

Who can blame them? Better to be a contender in the Trans-Siberia Hockey League than miss the playoffs again under Burkie's stewardship.

Burke has been rebuilding the team for four seasons and it was an arguably better team before he started rebuilding. At the rate he was rebuilding it could easily have been another four years before the next playoff appearance.

Building a team around Phil Kessel and Dionne Phaneuf seemed like a no-brainer all along, as in only somebody with no brain would go down that road, but go down it he did, with disastrous results.

So here's to a fresh start for the Leafs. I give them this season to undo the damage Burke wrought. By next year I want to see a contender, or dammit I'm gonna be a Red Wings fan again.