2023

If Leafs Win Another, Look Out

TORONTO (May 10) — Would anyone like their palms read on Thursday? While puttering around on the Internet, just after 3 p.m., I came to an epiphany (above) on my Twitter page. So, I missed the final score. Big deal.… Read More

Nightmare Scenario For The Leafs

TORONTO (May 8) — Truth be known, there was only one circumstance the Toronto Maple Leafs wished to avoid after winning their first playoff round in nearly two decades: getting drubbed in the second round and forcing management to trade… Read More

Seixeiro Said It (Very) Straight

TORONTO (May 6) — It wasn’t exactly Peter Finch exclaiming, in the 1977 movie Network, “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore!” Neither, thank goodness, was Sid Seixeiro murdered live on television, as with the… Read More

TSN–1050 Manhandling Sportsnet–590

TORONTO (May 3) — Bob McCown never cared much about competition. As it pertained to jock talk, the late–afternoon hours had long been the domain of Prime Time Sports — a magazine show that began on local radio in October… Read More

Poetic Justice For Miserly MLSE

TORONTO (May 1) — It ranks among the oldest sayings in the English language: You get what you pay for. Or, in this instance, what you decline to pay for. An otherwise–glorious weekend for Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment —… Read More

Oh, How We Suffered…

TORONTO (Apr. 30) — It was Stockholm Syndrome. There’s no other way to describe being a fan of the Maple Leafs during the Harold Ballard era. The jailbird–turned–owner held our city hostage for nearly two decades, beginning in 1972. Yet… Read More

The Ghost of Machine Gun Lanny

TORONTO (Apr. 28) — If nothing else, the Maple Leafs will have calendar karma tomorrow night in their second attempt to eliminate the Tampa Bay Lightning. You’ve got to be an old fart like me to remember Saturday, Apr. 29,… Read More

Is Tonight (Finally) The Night?

TORONTO (Apr. 27) — There is no such thing as a sure thing in professional sport, particularly in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Otherwise, the Boston Bruins would be cooling their heels and awaiting the survivor of… Read More

The Forbidden Word

Collapse [ kuh–laps ]: to fall or cave in; crumble suddenly… to break down; come to nothing; fail. TORONTO (Apr. 25) — So, here we are again, precisely one year and eleven months later. Your Toronto Maple Leafs, after the… Read More

The Leafs Are Becoming Maulers

TORONTO (Apr. 23) — Let us begin with some words of playoff caution: 2017: Maple Leafs led the Washington Capitals 2–1 after Game 3. 2019: Maple Leafs led the Boston Bruins 2–1 after Game 3. 2021: Maple Leafs led the… Read More

Odd Timing For Raptors Change

TORONTO (Apr. 22) — Let’s assume, without first–hand knowledge, that the Toronto Raptors knew long before Friday they were going to fire coach Nick Nurse. The decision caught no one by surprise; it had been “in the air” even before… Read More

Hedman Injury A Series Changer

TORONTO (Apr. 21) — The best coach in the National Hockey League over the past decade told a fib for the ages on Thursday night. “Playing without Victor Hedman had nothing to do with this loss,” said Jon Cooper —… Read More

Leafs Newspaper War No More

TORONTO (Apr. 17) — It is sad and rather inexplicable. The Toronto Sun, so long the go–to newspaper for sports coverage in our city, has thrown in the towel. Neither a hockey beat–writer nor a columnist will be on site… Read More

Can TV Still Indulge Brian Burke?

TORONTO (Apr. 15) — You’ve got to think that Brian Burke, at nearly 68 years of age, has grown fed up with the inevitable hiring–and–firing cycle of professional hockey. This is a man with a Stanley Cup ring as architect… Read More

Can Leafs Doff Their “Choke” Label?

TORONTO (Apr. 14) — Once more, there is virtually nothing about the 82–game regular season that portends an abrupt playoff exit by the Toronto Maple Leafs. And, once more, the Maple Leafs have to exorcize the demons accumulated during the… Read More

A Shocking Prediction (Sigh)

TORONTO (Apr. 6) — Leading off the playoff prediction game for your Toronto Maple Leafs was the club’s No. 1 media addict. Flag–waver Luke Fox of Sportsnet.ca laid it on thick in his Tuesday mailbag column. When asked for his… Read More

Thoughtless Decision By The Leafs

TORONTO (Apr. 3) — The Toronto Maple Leafs got what they deserved on Sunday night. Their loyal fans? Not so much. It is hardly advisable to throw away a game on the cusp of the Stanley Cup playoffs, as the… Read More

Bobcat Open To A Prime Time Return

TORONTO (Mar. 30) — At some point, Rogers Communications and Sportsnet will get around to letting us know their plans for the coveted and important time–slot being vacated by Tim Micallef on Apr. 11, as Tim & Friends goes… Read More