2023

Ross Atkins Had No Chance

TORONTO (Oct. 8) — I wonder if Ross Atkins truly felt he could pull it off? Sitting, yesterday, in a room full of reporters and columnists smelling blood, did the general manager of the Toronto Blue Jays actually think that… Read More

Toronto Sports Wishes Came True

TORONTO (Oct. 4) — The moral of the story is simple and somewhat a cliché: Be careful what you wish for. Moments after the Maple Leafs kind of fluked their way to a playoff elimination of the Tampa Bay Lightning,… Read More

Give Cowan Some Breathing Room

TORONTO (Sep. 28) — Evidently, there is no further space for a bronze statue along Legends Row. Too bad. If not, Easton Cowan would likely be joining Dave Keon, Tim Horton, Johnny Bower, Darryl Sittler and the others outside the… Read More

Truthfully, the Leafs Are Scared

TORONTO (Sep. 22) — Training camp opened on Wednesday for the Toronto Maple Leafs with players and staff offering the same, tired assurances. To wit: Our team is different than its predecessors… the new additions claiming they signed in Toronto… Read More

Leafs Fans: There’s A Pro in Buffalo

TORONTO (Sep. 13) — For a few moments, Monday night, it seemed as if nothing worse had ever happened in New York on Sep. 11. Veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers — late of the Green Bay Packers and making his much–ballyhooed… Read More

Keep An Eye on Klingberg

TORONTO (Sep. 10) — In a season with virtually the same story lines for the Toronto Maple Leafs, a surprising narrative may evolve. It’s only a hunch, but I can see a healthy John Klingberg putting up career numbers on… Read More

Asset Management… or Insanity?

TORONTO (Aug. 27) — Yes, the Maple Leafs have hitched their wagon to Auston Matthews for another five years. Which is, assuredly, a good thing for the club — between October and April. But, the waste of money ($53 million)… Read More

Leafs/Auston Are All Talk, No Action

TORONTO (Aug. 21) — Logically, there are only two factors that would induce Auston Matthews to sign a National Hockey League contract extension before next July: a) he cannot fathom dressing for any other team but the Toronto Maple Leafs.… Read More

COVID Killed The Radio Stars

TORONTO (Aug. 5) — There is no reasonable excuse for such a billion–dollar company as Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment to stay cheap with its broadcasting arm. This is a money machine that can easily ensure its four major teams… Read More

Murray Sustains Timely Ailment

TORONTO (July 27) — So, we wonder: How did it happen? How did goaltender Matt Murray, cleared by the medical staff of the Toronto Maple Leafs prior to the Stanley Cup playoff series against Florida, wind up on Long Term… Read More

The Leafs Are Still Soul–less

TORONTO (July 22) — It’s going to require a maverick… a general manager with gonads the size of medicine balls… an executive possessing unlimited belief and self–esteem… one that doesn’t give a flying fu** what others think and say about… Read More

The Ron MacLean Phenomenon

TORONTO (July 19) — I can tell you, without equivocation, that you’ll never meet a nicer, more cordial and pleasant backstabber than Ron MacLean. The first three adjectives are mine; the latter, a non–stop, prodigious and largely inexplicable sentiment amid… Read More

Karlsson to Leafs Still on the Table

TORONTO (July 15) — Details involving the Toronto Maple Leafs are forever sketchy as the club makes an exhaustive effort to conduct business away from the media spotlight. But, sources elsewhere paint the picture of a front office conflicted over… Read More

“Only Elliotte Friedman Is Safe”

TORONTO (July 8) — It was an alarming bit of speculation from a media source familiar to everyone in the Canadian sports television industry: “We may not recognize the Hockey Night In Canada panel next season,” claimed this person. “Based… Read More

The Faulty Maple Leafs Myth

TORONTO (July 6) — It’s out there for all to see. In chat rooms, pop–up websites and even the most–credible newspaper columns: Will members of the Toronto Maple Leafs Core–4 accept less money in their forthcoming contracts so the quartet… Read More

McCown Will Have A Long Recovery

TORONTO (July 2) — The legendary voice of Prime Time Sports has been silenced. For how long, we do not know. Bob McCown, 71, is resting in hospital after incurring two, maybe three, strokes since June 15, when his alarming… Read More

Keeping the Charade Alive

TORONTO (June 27) — To the surprise of absolutely no one, the National Hockey League’s most–apathetic and complacent franchise is “running it back” for an eighth consecutive disaster in the Stanley Cup playoffs. If you’re a fan of the Toronto… Read More

Comparisons Are Rather Insulting

TORONTO (June 22) — Tragically for the Maple Leafs and their long–suffering fans, Auston Matthews will become the highest–paid hockey player of all time… probably in the next few months. Unwittingly, yet unavoidably, this will doom the Leafs to playoff… Read More