2012 September

Leafs Could Blow It With Kadri

By HOWARD BERGER TORONTO (Sep. 29) – My goodness, are the standards suddenly astronomical for the worst team in the National Hockey League at the end of last season. Of course, that’s nothing new for Nazem Kadri. From the moment … Read More

The Day Our [Uri]Nation Stood Still

By HOWARD BERGER TORONTO (Sep. 28) – I remember it oh-so well: walking through the corridor at Dufferin Heights Junior-High School in North York – 13½ years of age – and returning from the most untimely bathroom visit of … Read More

Leafs-Detroit ’93 Playoff Was Phenomenal

By HOWARD BERGER TORONTO (Sep. 25) – If you aren’t old enough to remember the spring of 1993 – and just how good the Maple Leafs really were – all you have to know is your favorite team knocked off … Read More

How Low Can Toronto Sink?

By HOWARD BERGER TORONTO (Sep. 23) – No person – least of all, Brian Burke – requires ESPN The Magazine to determine that our city is the absolute worst in major professional sports right now. It is there for all … Read More

NHL Season Could Be in Jeopardy

By HOWARD BERGER TORONTO (Sep. 22) – While there is ample opportunity for the National Hockey League and its players to salvage the 2012-13 season, the calendar could be deceiving. “The two sides are so entrenched in their positions that … Read More

Burke Not Content With Leafs

By HOWARD BERGER TORONTO (Sep. 20) – For Brian Burke, the summer of 2012 has been all about tempering expectation. The Maple Leafs’ general manager made a couple of modest additions and suggested – rather strongly – that no further … Read More

When Hockey Trumped Labor

By HOWARD BERGER TORONTO (Sep. 19) – April 1992. September 1994 to January 1995. September 2004 to July 2005. And then today. The litany of woe in the National Hockey League is truly impressive. By comparison, Madison Avenue bumping heads … Read More

Don’t Blame Leafs For Allaire Parting

By HOWARD BERGER TORONTO (Sep. 18) – While acknowledging that it’s easy and convenient to rip the Maple Leafs nowadays, I’m not certain why colleagues in the media have accused the club of dysfunction in the wake of Francois Allaire’s … Read More

Francois Allaire Done With Leafs

THIS STORY WAS BROKEN TODAY BY HOCKEY WRITER JAMES MIRTLE OF THE GLOBE AND MAIL: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/hockey/leafs-beat/goalie-coach-francois-allaire-done-with-maple-leafs/article4549045/ I HAD MY SAY (BELOW) ABOUT FRANCOIS ALLAIRE WHILE WITH THE LEAFS ON A FLORIDA TRIP SIX MONTHS AGO. THOUGH I WISH HIM … Read More

NHL Players Undermining Their Cause

By HOWARD BERGER TORONTO (Sep. 16) – With minimal leverage in their labor quarrel, locked out NHL players are damaging any pretense of solidarity by scrambling for work overseas. That is the opinion of a senior NHL executive, who claimed … Read More

When Toronto Reigned

By HOWARD BERGER TORONTO (Sep. 16) – An avid sports fan in this city is clearly living through the worst of times. Four of five major professional teams are entrenched near the basement of their respective leagues: Maple Leafs in … Read More

How to Stomach NHL Lockout

By HOWARD BERGER NEW YORK (Sep. 13) – In a city renowned for star appeal, the National Hockey League trotted out its biggest names on Thursday afternoon – players and owners separated by a mere three blocks and two high-rise … Read More

When Will Leafs Play Hockey?

By HOWARD BERGER MILTON, Ont. (Sep. 10) – It is impossible, on a day like this, not to feel the impending void. Every living cell in the September hockey mind is geared toward a resumption of activity: informal skates; training … Read More

Leafs of 1977-78 – Part 3 [Playoffs]

By HOWARD BERGER TORONTO (Sep. 9) – During the 1970s, Maple Leafs qualified for the Stanley Cup tournament in all but two seasons (1969-70 and 1972-73). Leafs competed in 60 playoff games and were absolutely slaughtered in overtime. On four … Read More

Leafs of 1977-78 – Part 2

By HOWARD BERGER TORONTO (Sep. 6) – While the Maple Leafs team of 35 years ago enjoyed its best season in the Harold Ballard era, it declined rather dramatically after Game 28. Rampaging to a 19-6-3 record from Oct. 13 … Read More

Sep. 15 Meaningless in NHL Labor Clash

By HOWARD BERGER TORONTO (Sep. 5) – Though coverage of the now-dormant negotiation between the National Hockey League and its players has been typically thorough, I’m astonished at the number of well-connected people that consider Sep. 15 a “deadline”. No … Read More

Hamilton, Labour Day and Football

By HOWARD BERGER TORONTO (Sep. 4) – How wonderfully apropos that the final Labour Day battle between the Toronto Argonauts and Hamilton Tiger-Cats at Ivor Wynne Stadium was indeed a classic – perhaps the best of 44-such engagements involving the … Read More

Leafs of 1977-78 – Part 1

By HOWARD BERGER TORONTO (Sep. 1) – While the Maple Leafs are in the midst of their longest-ever playoff drought – a seven-season debacle with no apparent conclusion – veteran observers still contend that the Zenith of ineptitude was the … Read More