D-Day for JFJ in Columbus

Hey Peeps and anyone else checking in. A special "Hey" goes out to Hazel Mae if she is checking in.

Well its decision day in Columbus today as the NHL will hold the the first round of the 2007 Draft - the pundits are not predicting big things from this draft class; the consensus seems to be that the top five to seven players could be impact players in the league, with the rest of the first rounders being depth guys later on in their careers. This year's draft is going to be interesting in terms of trades, there is always a team or two that is willing to take a chance with their draft picks - either moving up the draft board, acquiring an extra pick or trading their pick for an established player.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have been players in the last few draft days - pulling off a number of trades; last year it was Tuukka Rask to Boston for Andrew Raycroft - the jury is still out on Raycroft. A rumour being circulated in Toronto is that the Leafs are working on a deal with the Wild to acquire goalie Manny Fernandez, who became expendable after the Wild signed Niklas Backstrom to a big deal. If JFJ manages to pull this one off today/tomorrow - Draft 2007 will be considered a success...no matter who we get; though we'd be VERY happy if the Maple Leafs got Logan Couture.

The Dodgers scored six runs in the eighth inning to erase a 3-2 lead and go on to win by a count of 8-4 and winning two out of three from the Jays. The Dodgers announced that P Jason Schmidt is out of the season after shoulder surgery - we didn't support the Schmidt signing when it happened, so you can imagine how we feel today - way to go Ned.

Funny thing about last night - after Wednesday 12-1 win over the Dodgers, Blue Jays DH Frank Thomas spoke about after the game about his grand slam off Hong-Chih Kuo; said Thomas "That is the kind of at-bat that can turn a season around." Well, it really seems to have kickstarted Thomas' resurgence; he went 0-2 after hitting the home run and again went 0-2 last night...though big Frank would like to point out that he was disciplined enough to draw two walks (one intentional)...ya Frank, because J.P. was thinking about your OBP when he signed you to a $20 M contract.

Tough night in the world of football - Portugal lost to Italy yesterday in Holland, 4-3 on penalty kicks...meaning we won't be going to the Olympics in Beijing; meh. We'll now turn our attention to the Under-20 World Cup set do start next week here in Canada. In what can only be described as "suspect" - the U.S. beat Canada last night by a count of 2-1 to advance to the finals of the CONCACAF Gold Club (errr CUP). As with any international football event, there was some controversy last night as Canada had scored the game tying goal in injury time, only to have it called back on an offside - replays showed the Canadians were clearly onside and the goal should have stood.

Gotta protect the U.S.'s FIFA world ranking huh?


THURSDAY'S THREE STARS
Dodgers 2B Jeff Kent hit a two-run home run and a double to lead the good guys to an 8-4 over the Blue Jays - Kent's double was inches away from being another two-run home run as it hit the top of the wall.

Seatlle Mariners P Felix Hernandez pitched eight shutout innings against the Pirates, striking out nine while giving up six hits and a walk in the M's 3-0 win.

Baltimore Orioles P Eric Bedard gave up two runs over six innings and had nine strikeouts in Baltimore's 6-3 win over the Padres.


FRIDAY'S THREE PLAY
We split yesterday, but the Yankees cost us. Total stands at + $400 for the week. Today's suggestions

NY Mets over Oakland - we'll go with Glavine over former Sox P Lenny DiNardo. Lay $100 on the Mets - $140.

Boston over San Diego - Dice-K gets to pitch in a pitchers park...Maddux gets to face the Red Sox lineup. Lay $100 on the Sox - $125.

Arizona over Baltimore - Webb over Cabrera...with Tejada's consecutive games played streak in jeopardy...this is a no-brainer. Lay $100 on the DBacks - $170.

Josh Towers goes for the Jays today...if you read earlier this week, you know what that means - go against him.

That's it for this morning - thanks for taking the time to check in. Have a great one peeps.

Hazel, I hope things are groovy in your world - have a great weekend.

I'm Out.