Monday, April 30, 2007

Monday's Hazies - The Champs & Chumps


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

For those of you who haven't been here before, The Hazies take a look back at the week that was in the world of sports and single out some of the outstanding performances. The lucky few are awarded a Hazie and have the title of "Hazel's Hero" bestowed upon them - which is better than any recognition they may have gotten elsewhere. While Hazel hasn't officially approved this week's winners, we would like to think that she'd give her trademark smile and thumbs up to our nominees.

HAZEL'S HEROES - THE CHAMPS


MLB
Detroit Tigers OF Magglio Ordonez was named the American League Player of the Week - Mags finished the week with a .571 batting average, with two home runs and eleven runs batted in; if that wasn't enough, his slugging percentage for the week was an amazing 1.095.

Philadelphia Phillies 2B Chase Utley and Cincinnati Reds SS Alex Gonzalez were named co-winners of the National League Player of the Week.
  • Utley finished the week hitting .444, with three home runs, ten runs batted in and a slugging percentage of .778.

  • Gonzalez finished the week hitting .520 with three home runs and six runs batted in.
New York Yankees 3B Alex Rodriguez wrapped up a great month of April - the man everyone loves to hate (right Red Sox Nation?) finished the month hitting .355, with fourteen home runs, thirty four runs batted in, a slugging percentage of .882 and an on-base percentage of .415.

Hate him all you want, the guy has been great out of the gate. I only say that because ARod is one of the main reasons yours truly's Maeple Leafs are in first place in the yahoo fantasy baseball pool. I should also say that Ordonez and Utley are also valued members of the Maeple Leafs.

Cincinnati Reds OF Ken Griffey Jr. hit his 564th career home run last week against the Cardinals moving into 10th place on the all-time home run list.

We have had some fun with Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Fausto Carmona - often picking against him in the daily Three Play; but the kid had two pretty good games this week. He started off the week with a win over the Minnesota Twins on Monday and he had a great game yesterday against the Orioles, picking up another win pitching 8.1 innings and giving up one run on six hits and 2 BBs.

Two Boston Red Sox pitchers make the list this week
  • Josh Beckett seems to have his mind on pitching this year, looking like he is going to finally fulfill the promise that kept him on my NL Roto team from the time he broke in with the Marlins. Beckett has started the year 5-0 and is already being talked about for a Cy Young.

  • For those of you who have read the page in the past - you know that Curt Schilling isn't one of our favourite peeps - but I have to applaud him for how he handled the "bloody sock" controversy last week. Schilling came out swinging on his blog, and while many in the media questioned the wisdom of his rant - he gets a Hazie for his $1 Million dollar challenge to anyone who questioned whether that was real blood on the sock. I loved the ending "Any takers?" - classic. I will say this, while I would never dispute that that was his blood (I don't have $1M to wager - if I did, I'd be blogging full time), what's to say Curt didn't dab some blood there? Why didn't that blood run down the sock? Oh relax...before you email me to rip me a new one, I'm just kidding. Good job Curt.

NFL
I said it all this morning, but Bill Belichick is a champ. While the media reaction has ranged from skeptical to critical on the trade that made Randy Moss a member of the Patriots - Belichick should be commended for taking action to address one of New England's pressing needs. Belichick's bold move will be what NFL Draft Day 2007 will be remembered for.


HAZEL'S ZEROES - THE CHUMPS

MLB

The Toronto Blue Jays announced that fifth starter Josh Towers was being pulled from the rotation and sent to the bullpen. Towers is currently 1-2 with an ERA of 4.70, and has given up 27 hits and 4 walks in 23 innings of work - to put it more bluntly, opposing hitters are hitting .290 against him. When the Jays broke spring training and said that Towers had made the rotation - we knew it wouldn't last. But that's not why Josh makes this week's list - he is one of the week's chumps for his reaction to news that he had been demoted. Towers was quoted as saying "I was surprised...I thought I pitched well." The only people that could possibly think he was pitching well was opposing hitters - Towers needs a reality check - and a few days watching game film.


NFL
Atlanta Falcons QB Ron Mexico is in the news again - and again for all the wrong reasons. You have probably read the story - if you haven't, read it here. First it was passing on V.D, then it was the water bottle with the compartment in it, now it is his cousin being arrested on drug charges and evidence that dogs on the property were being bred to fight. I don't know how many times I said it last year, obviously the Falcons weren't reading, TRADE RON MEXICO. Too late now, the only team that was possibly dumb enough to trade for Vick drafted a QB number one overall. God help me if Jerry Jones is dumb enough to bite on Vick...god help me.

That's about it for tonight gang - have a great one peeps.

Hazel, I hope things are groovy in your world.

Song of the Night on Hazelspeeps - now playing

I Hear You Calling - GOB

Peesth Out...Buh Bye!

Gettin' "Giggy" With It

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

Sad news from St. Louis yesterday - Cardinals relief pitcher Josh Hancock was killed in a car accident early Sunday morning; details have not been released, other than a brief statement by police that there were no visible signs that alcohol was involved. In addition to pitching for the Cardinals, Hancock also pitched for Philadelphia and Cincinnati after breaking into the big leagues with a brief stop in Boston in 2002. Thoughts and prayers go out to Hancock's family, friends and teammates.

The second round of the NHL Playoffs - ok, for Mr. Bettman and the NHL we'll say "Conference Semi-Finals - are turning out to be much more compelling than the first round. Three of the four teams with home ice advantage lost it by splitting their first three games - the Sabres managed to pull out a win in game two against the Rangers to go up 2-0. The opening two games of each series have been marked by long overtime games where two of the three teams needing a win scored in double O/T to even up their series - Vancouver on Friday night and the Devils on Saturday night. The Red Wings, the NHL's version of the Philadelphia Eagles - counterfeit, scored late in the third period on Saturday afternoon to salvage a tie as they head out west to San Jose for games 3 & 4.

The Rangers prolonged the inevitable yesterday afternoon with a 2-1 win in double overtime against the Sabres - it won't matter though, expect the NHL's best road team to crush the Rangers in game 4 at Madison Square Garden.

The Anaheim Ducks survived a horrible first period in which Vancouver could have/should have had at least a couple of goals, to win by a 3-2 count. Ducks goalie J.S. Giguere was unbelievable in the first period and kept his team a game they should have been out of - having been outshot 15-2 in the first. Vancouver will look back at that first period as the point in which they lost the series.

Two games tonight - San Jose welcomes Detroit to the Shark Tank, we expect tonight's game to get ugly and expect the Sharks to roll over the Red Wings. The Devils come to town to play the SenaTards - as much as I hate to admit it, the Devils are lucky to be tied at one coming into Scotiabank Place; they were outplayed on Saturday night, and if not for Brodeur, they would be down and out in this series. We're expecting a split this week.

The NFL Draft went this weekend - why do fans who go to the draft love to boo their team's picks? I'm sick of seeing the amount of attention those idiot New York Jets fans get; the joke was that these clowns even booed the tribute to Virginia Tech. If you are new to the page - yours truly is a Dallas Cowboys fan (ya, I know you don't care) and I was happy with what the Cowboys came away with; namely two first round picks in 2008 - thanks to the Browns getting stupid and trading away too much to get Brady Quinn.

The big news from the weekend was that the Patriots finalized a trade for Randy Moss, giving up a fourth rounder for one of the NFL's best playmakers and biggest badasses. This was a great trade for New England - and I'm ready to say "uncle" and give Brady his fourth Super Bowl right now. I've been reading some of the messageboards, and people are questioning Moss' commitment, heart and attitude - I can't freakin believe that anyone would be questioning the NFL's best receiver. Oakland has been a crap hole for years and would kill the spirit of even the NFL's toughest warriors. Moss' drive and passion will be re-kindled playing on a championship calibre team, and you can bet Belichick told him how it was going to be.

Moss is going to completely transform New England's offensive - giving Tom Brady a legitimate number one receiver to throw to and opening things up for everyone else. While some suggest that Moss is washed up and has seen his better days - he still demands double coverage and the attention of every defensive player on the field. Randy Moss split out wide means that teams are going to think twice before bringing a safety up to support the run defensive - leaving Moss in man coverage - so expect Laurence Maroney to have a huge year running the ball. The same goes for blitzing - with Moss on the field, Brady knows that he will be able to get rid of the ball quickly, throwing it to an area of the field and knowing that Moss will go up and get the damn ball. Moss also brings a little bit of attitude to a team that could get a little meaner. This was the steal of the draft - New England wins big on NFL Draft Day.

My only question is will April 28th go down as Reche Caldwell Day? I mean, was his performance in the playoffs last year the main reason why New England went out and upgraded at WR?

Speaking of NFL Draft Day - leave it up to Ron Mexico to make headlines. Mike Vick was in the news again this weekend; we'll expand tonight as he has certainly made the list of Hazel's Zeroes - The Chumps.

Things are right in the world of baseball - Red Sox West won a 17 inning marathon against the San Diego Padres yesterday afternoon to move back into first place in the N.L. West.

The Boston Red Sox beat the Yankees again, winning two of three in New York and building up a 6.5 game lead on their rivals - we don't think its worth mentioning that Toronto, Baltimore and Tampa Bay are all ahead of the Yankees; its only temporary. Alex Cora had another big game against the Yankees - is there such a thing as a "second baseman controversy"? Dustin Pedroia's status as the starting second baseman has to be tenuous at best - isn't it?


HAZEL'S THREE STARS
We've been away for a few days, so we are going to look at the weekend that was.

Vancouver Canucks G Roberto Luongo won Friday night's game in Anaheim - with the Canucks down 1-0 in the series, and knowing that a second loss would realistically kill their playoffs hopes, Luongo stopped 43 shots to lead his team to a 2-1 win in double overtime. Its probably time to say that Luongo is the best goalie in the NHL - one look at the Canucks roster and you can see why I say that.

New Jersey Devils RW Jamie Langenbrunner scored the double overtime winner in a 3-2 win over the SenaTards on Saturday night. An interesting stat about Langenbrunner - his points per game in the playoffs is higher than his PPG in the regular season.

Anaheim Ducks G J.S. Giguere was the difference in yesterday's game against Vancouver - he stood on his head in the first period stopping 14 of 15 shots he faced. While the rest of his night wasn't particularly busy - he put in a full night's work in the first.


MONDAY THREE PLAY
The total for the season is + $700. We'll get on the right track tonight with a few winners.

San Jose over Detroit - the Sharks have been able to jump all over Detroit early on in games - expect them to overwhelm the Red Wings early tonight and not let them off the hook. Lay $100 on San Jose - $150.

San Diego over Washington - Jake Peavy has been dominant to start the season, the Nationals shouldn't pose a problem. Lay $100 on the Padres - $260.

LA Angels over Kansas City - John Lackey vs Odalis Perez, this one could get ugly in a hurry. Lay $100 on the Angels - $160.

That's about it for this morning gang - have a great one peeps.

One question - Steve Simmons, are you reading this blog? Yesterday's column got me thinking...you can tell me Steve; c'mon.


KEEPING HAZEL UP ON WHAT'S WHAT IN TORONTO
Zambrano in - Towers out

Toronto will be watching the Chickenhawk in June

Josh being Josh


HAZEL'S MONDAY HOROSCOPE

You may have to go the extra mile to get what you want but it will be worth it. You may be tempted to get involved with someone who isn't right for you. Keep your thoughts to yourself and avoid gossip. 4 stars

Hazel, I hope things are groovy in your world.

Song of the Day on Hazelspeeps - now playing

Monday Morning - Skydiggers

Peesth Out...Buh Bye!

Thursday, April 26, 2007

NHL Breakdown & More

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

We were supposed to break down the second round of the NHL Playoffs last night, but we had a better offer - watching the playoffs on a big screen plasma, with a fridge stocked with ice cold Guinness...gotta love family. We picked Buffalo and Anaheim to win their series, and we'll complete it with a look at the other two series that start tonight.

Buffalo over New York Rangers - The Rangers went into the series thinking they could take advantage of a Buffalo team that didn't look very good against the Islanders. Sean Avery started the trash talk, and coach Tom Renney got involved in it - a definite sign of fear is when you start talking trash. The Sabres are one of the few teams in the NHL that can turn it on at will - the Rangers are going to find out that Buffalo is quite a bit tougher to play against than the Atlanta Thrashers. The Sabres can run and gun with anyone in the league - they have three lines that can score; and if you want to play a tight checking grinding trap game like the Rangers will employ - they can beat you at that too. I can't see the Rangers winning in Buffalo, and I can definitely see the NHL's best road team winning at least one in Madison Square Garden. It all adds up to the Sabres winning in five games.

Anaheim over Vancouver - The Vancouver Canucks have Roberto Luongo, and that is about it. The Ducks have solid, if unspectacular goaltending, two stud defencemen in Pronger and Niedermeyer, and two solid scoring lines - not to mention they are big and fast enough to punish you physically and wear you down. The Canucks beat the Dallas Stars because of Dave Tippett's defensive style of hockey - the only way to beat the Canucks is to generate a lot of scoring chances on Luongo and hope you score a few times...the Ducks can definitely do that. Anaheim has too much for the Canucks - too much speed, too much size, too much scoring; factor in that their GM Brian Burke has an axe to grind with his old team and you have the Ducks in 5.

New Jersey over Ottawa - First off, I'll apologize to my girl "B" who is a fan of the SenaTards. I am only sorry that there isn't a way for both teams to lose - I hate them both that much right now. This will be a series between two evenly matched teams - the difference from years gone by is that New Jersey can match the SenaTards with two scoring lines - thanks to the emergence of Travis Zajak and Zach Parise. These aren't the Devils of old that could only win by a 2-1 count - they have enough talent and creativity on their power play to be the difference in the series. Factor in the fact that John Madden has had a history of shutting down Tards number one center Jason Spezza (who seems to quit when the going gets tough), and the fact that having Martin "I need a rest vs the Islanders" Brodeur gives them a huge edge over Ray Emery...you've got the Devils winning this one in seven...maybe six. Let the Tards excuses begin now!

San Jose over Detroit - The Red Wings are coming off a long, physical series with the Flames, they are going to feel it against a bigger, tougher, faster skating team in the San Jose Sharks. The Red Wings had a relatively easy time containing the Flames number one line - the problem now is, how they are going to contain San Jose's top two lines. San Jose is going to generate a lot more chances than the Flames did, and they are going to score more too. Detroit comes into the series missing a couple of players, which is only going to hurt them. San Jose wins this one in six games.


THINGS THAT MAKE YOU GO HUH?
A couple of stories from the world of hockey that have me scratching my head and wondering just how stupid some hockey people can be.

The Swedish Ice Hockey Federation announced that they had hired former Flyers coach Mike Keenan as a senior hockey advisor. I'm really wondering what these people are thinking - Mike Keenan's legacy in the NHL is that he every team he was employed by worsened under his direction. Ask the Flyers, the Blackhawks, the Canucks and Panthers - in the case of Vancouver they took years to recover from the Keenan experience and the Panthers have to face the next ten years knowing that they (Keenan) traded away Roberto Luongo for Todd Bertuzzi.

The Columbus Blue Jackets have let it be known that they are considering hiring Flyers GM/Senior VP/Asswipe Bob Clarke to be their GM after firing Doug MacLean. MacLean was fired because of poor results, poor personnel decisions and poor drafting - they obviously overlooked the fact that Bob Clarke was the guy who badly misread the evolution of the NHL; how bad was his misread? He signed Mike Rathje and Derian Hatcher to long term deals after the lockout. While the Flyers point to the young crop of talent in the system - experts are pointing to the fact they have cap room to sign a couple of big name free agents...so much for Bob's keen eye for young talent huh?


LAST NIGHT IN THE MLB
In game that Hazel obviously had her eye on last night - the Red Sox put the embarassment of losing two at Fenway to the Chickenhawk's sad sack "injury-riddled" Blue Jays, and beat up on the Orioles last night. Curt Schilling led the way for the Sox pitching seven solid innings to get the win. Josh Beckett takes the mound for Boston today - so it isn't going to get any easier for the O's. I have a couple of questions for Red Sox Nation:
  • Is it time to start worrying about Julio Lugo as a lead-off hitter?
  • Did you ever think you'd be calling for Coco Crisp over Wily Mo Pena?
Red Sox West didn't fair so well. Lefty Randy Wolf gave up a first inning three run shot to Barry "pumpkin head Bonds en route to a 6-4 loss. Funny thing about last night, Randy Wolf told reporters that Bonds' HR didn't sound like one it left the bat - but went on to say that Bonds is so powerful, maybe he doesn't need to hit it perfect for it to be a home run. I wonder if that was a bit of a shot at Bonds.


HAZEL'S THREE STARS
As mentioned, Boston Red Sox P Curt Schilling steadied a shaky Red Sox ship with seven solid innings against the O's last night. The Blogger's numbers on the night were 7 IP, 5 H (one mistake to Tejada), 2 BB and 3 Ks. I wonder when the Sox open up talks regarding an extension - I wonder if Schilling will eat his words and participate in negotiations during the season.

Buffalo Sabres LW Thomas Vanek had two goals in last night's 5-2 win over the Rangers. Vanek broke a scoreless game open with two goals late in the second period - Ryan Miller made a few unbelievable saves last night too. I kept looking for Sean Avery to impose himself on the Sabres last night - he finished the game with two holding penalties. Ya, Sean really knocked the Sabres around like he said he was going to.

Anaheim Ducks C Andy McDonald had a hat-trick and added an assist in the Ducks 5-1 win over a tired looking and over-matched Vancouver Canucks team.


THURSDAY THREE PLAY
I told you we would get well yesterday - three wins. The total for the week is still a little ugly, but we're back on the right track, so it will look a lot better by Sunday.

San Jose over Detroit - the Sharks were sitting back watching the Red Wings and Flames beat the tar out of each other while; good news for a team that needed a break to rest some injured players. We like San Jose to take advantage of a banged up Red Wings team. Lay $100 on the Sharks + $135.

Boston over Baltimore - we think Beckett has gotten his act together; a 5-0 start would go a long way to proving that. We'll grudgingly take the big Texan over Canadian born Adam Loewen tonight. Lay $100 on the Red Sox - $150.

Philadelphia over Washington - Cole Hamels takes the mound today, that's really bad news for the Nationals who can't get it done against some of the league's weaker pitchers...never mind Hamels. Lay $150 on the Phillies - $210.


KEEPING HAZEL UP ON WHAT'S WHAT IN TORONTO
Hazel's old pal Richard Griffin checks in to answer questions from whining Blue Jays fans

That's about it for today gang - have a great one peeps!


HAZEL'S THURSDAY HOROSCOPE

Don't hold back when you have so much to say, offer and do. You can make things happen if you push for what you want. A change in location, job or even the way you do things will all pay off. 5 stars

Hazel, I hope things are groovy in your world.

Song of the Day on Hazelspeeps - wake up song

Cupid's Chokehold - Gym Class Heroes

Peesth Out...Buh Bye!

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Quick Hits

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

I couldn't start today's post off without mentioning that Cristiano Ronaldo won another award yesterday - this time being voted the Player of the Year by the fans in England - the same jackasses that spent four months booing him in every park he visited. The kid showed heart and courage playing through the abuse during the first half of the season.

Round Two of the NHL Playoffs starts tonight (does any self respecting hockey fan actually call it the "Conference Semi-Finals"?) in Buffalo and Anaheim. New York Rangers forward Sean Avery just can't keep his big mouth shut - Avery tried to initiate a war of words with the Sabres but Lindy's boys weren't biting. Avery told the media that he was going to be out there hitting and punishing the Sabres - funny how the most quotable guys are, way more often that not, bit players in the event they are talking about.

We'll break things down tonight, but we'll go on record as saying we like Buffalo over the Rangers in five games, and Anaheim over Vancouver in five.

Red Sox East/West both lost last night, so I guess we are all a little grouchy this morning. I don't know what is worse though, losing to your hated rival (the Giants) or losing to a team that comes to your park losers of five straight and missing some key players (Jays). Can someone in Boston please explain to me why the Red Sox have Manny Ramirez playing so short in left field when he doesn't go back on balls very well? I counted at least three doubles over the last two days that would have been outs had the Sox had Manny playing deeper against big hitters. One question for Red Sox Nation - are we still loving Eric Hinske?????

We're running late today - so we have to book.

HAZEL'S THREE STARS

Former Red Sox SS Alex Gonzalez had four hits last night, including two home runs and five rbi to lead the Reds to a 10-3 pounding of the St. Louis Cardinals. Paging Albert Pujols...Albert Pujols...where in the hell is Albert Pujols?

Blue Jays OF Vernon Wells had another great night in Boston last night - four hits, three runs scored, three runs batted in, a home run and a stolen base; Wells owned Boston over the two game series.

Houston Astros P Paul Maholm pitched a gem last night in a 3-0 win over the Astros - 9 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K.


WEDNESDAY THREE PLAY
A bad night last night - the total for the week is looking ugly after two days, don't ask.

Buffalo over NY Rangers - Lindy Ruff will pump his players up with some crap about Sean Avery...Ruff is a melo-dramatic jackass, but his players drink his koolaid. Remember, Buffalo is "Ruff" at home. Lay $100 on the Sabres - $180.

Anaheim over Vancouver - Anaheim will be fresh tonight, they won't let this one get away. Lay $100 on the Ducks - $225.

Boston over Baltimore - we like the Sox to wake up tonight against Daniel Cabrera, the Blogger is on the mound for Boston. Lay $100 on Boston - $125.

That's it for this morning gang...have a great one peeps.

HAZEL'S WEDNESDAY HOROSCOPE
You will make a great impression today. Love is on the rise, romance in the stars and no matter what, you will excel. An older relative will help you with an emotional matter you've been concerned with. 5 stars

Hazel, I hope things are groovy in your world.

Song of the Day on Hazelspeeps - wake up song

Blurry - Puddle of Mudd

Peesth Out...Buh Bye!

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Tomo Arigato

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

Well, the euphoria of Red Sox Nation was short-lived after sweeping the Yankees over the weekend. The Red Sox dropped a 7-3 decision to Hazel's hometown Toronto Blue Jays last night at Fenway, what must make the loss tough to stomach is that the Jays came into the game missing a few regulars and losers of five straight before last night.

Toronto's starter Tomo Ohka survived a few shaky innings on his way to picking up the win; truth be told, the Red Sox let him off the hook a couple of times, not being able to cash in runners in scoring position. Julio Lugo and Kevin Youkilis combined to leave ten men on base, while the heart of Boston's lineup (Big Papi, Manny and D.L. Drew) combined to go 1 for 13.

On the night Ohka pitched five plus innings, giving up three runs (two earned) on six hits and three walks while striking out four; he really didn't pitch very well and was let off the hook a number of times when Boston couldn't manage to come up with a clutch two-out hit. Was it just me, or did Wily Mo Pena look really really bad in a couple of at-bats? There were times when he looked like he didn't have a clue against Ohka. As I said last week when they lost to Gustavo Chacin - unacceptable. (I have since received emails telling me Chacin is a Red Sox killer - doesn't matter, he shouldn't be, he isn't that good).

Boston and Toronto go at it again tonight with Roy Halladay taking the mound against Julian Tavarez - it is going to get a lot tougher for Boston tonight, another loss tonight (while not devastating) may bring the Nation back to reality after a weekend in the clouds against the Yankees.

The Vancouver Canucks beat the Dallas Stars last night by a count of 4-1 (two empty net goals) to advance to the Conference Semi-Finals against the Anaheim Ducks. Game 7 was much like the rest of the series, a close-checking, boring, "make no mistakes" kind of game - exactly what the NHL didn't want to see in the playoffs. Roberto Luongo showed what a great goalie can do to another team - he wasn't tested very often last night, but was there when his teammates needed him, making at least four unbelievable saves. Luongo was key in killing off a few Dallas 5 on 3 power plays. Stu Barnes is going to have nightmares about Luongo all summer. The trade with Florida could wind up being one of the best ever in the NHL. Mike Keenan - haha.

Champions League action today - ya, I know most of you don't like football/"soccer", but Cristiano Ronaldo leads an injury-riddled Manchester United team against A.C. Milan at Old Trafford today. I'm calling on the kid to create some magic today.

HAZEL'S THREE STARS

Toronto Blue Jays 2B Aaron Hill was 4 for 5, with a home run and two doubles while driving in two runs, to lead the depleted Jays to a 7-3 win last night. We don't know how Hazel would feel about this one - is Boston number one over Toronto now? If so, hopefully ONLY in baseball - we'd like to think she is still part of Leaf Nation.

Chicago White Sox 1B Paul Konerko was 3 for 4 with two home runs, and drove in five, to lead the other Sox to a 7-4 victory over the Kansas City Royals last night. For the record, we like big Paul and hated to see the Dodgers trade him all those years ago.

Vancouver Canucks G Roberto Luongo - see above.

TUESDAY THREE PLAY
Well, we pretty much called it yesterday - an emotional letdown by Boston ended up costing us big; the Rangers dropping one of the Mariners didn't help either. After having read a preview of the Rangers/Mariners game, I wanted to change the pick, but couldn't get on to blogger to do it. Oh well, we've had bad starts to a week before - we'll recover. We start the week at - $240.

Texas over Seattle - we are going with the Rangers again today, the Mariners are still bad on the road and it won't get an easier facing Vincente Padilla today. Lay $100 on the Rangers - $116.

Minnesota over Cleveland - Red Sox Nation could call this one, its Johan Santana vs Fausto Carmona...need I say more? Lay $100 on the Twins - $220.

Chicago over Milwaukee - Rich Hill goes for the Cubs (and the Maeple Leafs) and he's been money this year. No reason to think it will be any different tonight at Wrigley. Lay $100 on the Cubs - $160.

With the Jays in Boston - Hazel doesn't needed to be kept up on what's what in Toronto. That's it for this morning gang have a great one peeps!

HAZEL'S TUESDAY HOROSCOPE

Get the lowdown on something that interests you and then move full steam ahead. You can increase your confidence by enhancing your looks and your attitude. An emotional matter can be taken care of by addressing the problem head-on. 5 stars

Hazel, I hope things are groovy in your world.

Song of the Day on Hazelspeeps - wake up song

Feel Good Inc - Gorillaz

Windmill windmill for the land
Turn forever hand in hand
Take it all it on your stride
It is ticking falling down
Love forever love is free
Let's turn forever you and me
windmill windmill for the land
Is everybody in?


Peesth Out...Buh Bye!

Monday, April 23, 2007

The Hazies - The Champs & Chumps

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

For those of you who haven't been here before, The Hazies take a look back at the week that was in the world of sports and single out some of the outstanding performances. The lucky few are awarded a Hazie and have the title of "Hazel's Hero" bestowed upon them - which is better than any recognition they may have gotten elsewhere. While Hazel hasn't officially approved this week's winners, we would like to think that she'd give her trademark smile and thumbs up to our nominees.

HAZEL'S HEROES - THE CHAMPS


NHL

Dallas Stars G Marty Turco has often been criticized for sub-par performances in the NHL Playoffs after having stellar regular season - the Stars are in the midst of Game 7 of their first round series against the Vancouver Canucks and Turco is one of the main reasons. Turco has matched Canucks superstar Roberto Luongo save for save in this series and has posted three shutouts in the first six games. No matter what the result tonight, Turco deserves some credit for how he has played and can't be held responsible if Dallas doesn't get it done tonight.

The Pittsburgh Penguins didn't get it done against the SenaTards - getting bounced in five games, but Sidney Crosby deserves some mention in the opening round loss. Crosby was asked to play for Team Canada at the IIHF World Championships and had to decline; the Penguins announced that Crosby had played the first round with a broken bone in his foot. To their credit, the Penguins (nor Crosby for that matter) used the injury as an excuse for the first round exit. We've given Crosby some grief here for being a flopper and a whiner - but he deserves some credit for showing up and playing through the pain.

Honourable mention goes to Flames G Miikka Kiprusoff who stood on his head against Detroit and was the main reason Calgary managed to win two games.


MLB
New York Mets OF Carlos Beltran was named the National League Player of the Week. Beltran hit .448, connecting for two home runs and driving in nine - with 27 total bases, Beltran's slugging percentage was .951...his on-base percentage was .484. A big money player putting up big numbers.

Chicago White Sox P Mark Buehrle threw the first no-hitter of the season last week against the Texas Rangers, facing the minimum 27 batters in the process. A walk spoiled a perfect game for the lefty - he struck out eight for good measure.

Boston Red Sox P Josh Beckett showed me something last Saturday against the Yankees. Beckett has had great starts to the season in previous years - when he was with the Marlins, you could almost count on him to start 3-0 - but his great starts would normally come undone when he faced some adversity. Beckett didn't have his best stuff to start the game last Saturday against the Yankees, giving up four runs early in the game, but he kept battling and found his game and was untouchable in the middle innings - keeping the Red Sox in the game and giving them a chance to come back and win. I've often criticized him for being Nuke LaLouche - but he really seems to have matured this year; this might be the year he puts it all together and walks away with a Cy Young.

Honourable mention goes to Los Angeles Dodgers C Russell Martin who hit a walk-off grand slam home run in the 10 inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates last weekend. Martin has had a so-so start to the season - so Dodger fans were happy to see that. Plus, he's a local boy to boot.

I know Red Sox Nation doesn't want to hear about ARod right now - but you know we'll have to give him some play next week when he is awarded the American League Player of the Month. He's one of the main reasons the Maeple Leafs are in first place in the yahoo pool.


EUROPEAN FOOTBALL



This morning we posted a picture of Manchester United Winger Cristiano Ronaldo - he's been soccer's answer to Big Papi on this page. The Portuguese international didn't score in the Red Devils 1-1 draw against Middlesborough on Saturday - but he walked away with the Professional Football Association's Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year; the awards were voted on by players, the ultimate sign of respect from your peers. While the British media keeps referring to incident at the World Cup and blaming Ronaldo for having England's Wayne Rooney sent off - he has put it all aside and had a great season for Man U. He should be in the running for World Player of the Year and European Footballer of the Year as well - not bad for a kid from an island off the coast of Portugal huh? We think Hazel would be down with kids from an island.


HAZEL'S ZEROES - THE CHUMPS

NHL
I'm sure Canadian hockey fans are going to hate me for this one - but former Bruins coach and current Hockey Night in Canada personality Don Cherry makes the list this week. When New Jersey's Cam Janssens laid out Toronto's Tomas Kaberle last month - Cherry was right there on his Coach's Corner segment to say that Kaberle should have been more aware of his surroundings and not admired his pass before being laid out by Janssens - Cherry didn't care that the hit came three to four seconds after Kaberle had dished off the puck.

Last week, Dallas Stars C Mike Ribeiro (another good Portuguese kid) absolutely destroyed Vancouver's Lukas Krajicek - Krajicek had dished off and was looking back at the puck when Ribeiro flattened him. There was Cherry on Coach's Corner showing the hit, comparing it to Janssens hit and saying the NHL wouldn't do anything because Ribeiro is a "dancer". He condemned the NHL for punishing Janssens and not suspending Ribeiro. Two things Don

1) Ribeiro's hit came less than two strides after Krajicek dished off, it wasn't even close to the Janssens hit;

2) We all know you didn't mind Janssens hit because Kaberle is a "Euro" - we also know that had Ribeiro's name been "Rivers" or any other Anglo name, you'd be creaming yourself over a good Canadian boy taking out a fancy Euro. By the way Don...Ribeiro was born in Montreal...you dumb old jackass.

Calgary Flames G Jamie McLennan lost his mind against Red Wings on Saturday, after coming in to replace Miikka Kiprusoff. McLennan has wielding his stick like an axe on Saturday afternoon and it culminated with a vicious slash to Red Wings forward Johan Franzen. Way to go Jamie...you should them huh?

New York Islanders D Sean Hill was suspended for twenty games for violating the league's substance abuse policy - details of the violation weren't made public, so we'll hold off on ripping him until we find out what it was about.


CYCLING
Remember Floyd Landis? His "B" sample tested positive for testosterone - so now, while maintain his innocence, he is on to blaming the US Anti-Doping Agency. Go away Floyd...please.

That's it for tonight gang - have a great one peeps.

Hazel, I hope things are groovy in your world.

Song of the Night on Hazelspeeps - for Cristiano Ronaldo, who is tearing up England's Premiership, we'll do a little Euro Techno/Dance from the FIFA 2006 World Cup video game

Destroy Everything You Touch - Ladytron


You only have to look behind you
At who's undermined you
Destroy everything you touch today
Destroy me this way

Peesth Out...Buh Bye!

A Nation Clad In Red Rejoices

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

Why is this guy Monday morning's poster boy on " Thoughts of Hazel Mae"?

If you have been here before, you know who he is and you know that he did something special. If you haven't been here before, you should still know who he is. If you don't know who he is, check back tonight to find out why he is first in line for this week's Hazies. We'll just say that people in God's country are very happy with his latest accomplishment.

Red Sox Nation is celebrating after sweeping the Yankees this week - last night's game featured four straight home runs by Boston in the third inning to erase a 3-0 deficit, as well as a three -run shot in the seventh to erase a 5-4 deficit. Matsuzaka evens his record at 2-2 with the victory - keeping the Red Sox in the game after a shaky start. That was one thing that impressed me this weekend, both Matsuzaka and Beckett overcoming shaky starts, on days where they clearly didn't start out with their best stuff.

In the case of Beckett, we may be seeing the next step in the maturation of Josh - in years gone by in Florida, he would always come out of the gate well - but would have a game like he did on Saturday (not getting the win) and then toss three or four sub-par games. He overcame a shaky start and was dominant for from innings three through six.

The Toronto Blue Jays are in trouble - real trouble; while the team has spent the last week talking about "keeping things close" while they try to get healthy, they are doing anything but. The Jays get swept by the O's in Baltimore, after yet another sub-par performance by one of their starters; this time Gustavo Chacin takes the loss. Chacin's start yesterday was much like Josh Towers' start on Saturday - he came out throwing strikes...unfortunately for Jays fans, his strikes were a little too good and Baltimore hit him all over the park. I'm not sure what pitching coach Brad Arnsberg is telling these guys, but he would be well advised to show them a clip of the Red Sox/Yankees game last night - Matsuzaka was "effectively wild last night", meaning hitters don't dig in as much as they do against guys like Towers and Chacin who are around the plate all the time (I know neither throws the ball in the mid-90s).

Note to J.P. Ricciardi - the Josh Towers experiment should be called off - he is what he is...a AAA pitcher; stop trying to say otherwise.

Tough afternoon for Red Sox West - we had to lose eventually I guess. Dodgers drop a 7-5 decision to the Pirates yesterday but still sit on top of the N.L. West with a 13-6 record.

I'd like to be the first person to welcome Albert Pujols back to the major leagues after having gone missing for the first two weeks of the season - Pujols' miserable start (among others) is killing me in the Hazelspeeps Rotisserie Baseball pool.

Round 2 of the NHL playoffs are almost set - Dallas is in Vancouver for game 7 of their first round series - Dallas will go into tonight's game under-manned, having suffered a few injuries in game 6, but something tells me they are going to pull it out tonight. We'll breakdown round 2 of the NHL playoffs tomorrow. In a glass half-full view of round two - the Devils are facing off against the SenaTards, meaning one of those two will be out of the playoffs!


HAZEL'S THREE STARS
Florida Marlins 2B Dan Uggla had three hits, including two home runs, and drove in six runs in the Marlins 12-6 victory over Washington yesterday afternoon; I know its only the Nationals, but driving in that many has to get you something.

Atlanta Braves 2B Kelly Johnson also hit two home runs and drove in four, leading the Braves to a 9-6 win over the New York Mets.

Boston Red Sox 3B Mike Lowell hit two home runs, including a three-run shot in the seventh inning to lead the Sox to a .


MONDAY THREE PLAY

We didn't get anything in yesterday - which is too bad, because it would have been a big day for us; still though, we finish the week at + $150, with our total for the year up to + $1,110.

Boston over Toronto - we don't know if Hazel would go on record to pick a winner tonight - conflicting interests - and we don't blame her. The Sox, coming off an emotional weekend series vs. the Yankees, could be in for a letdown tonight against Toronto; but we don't think so. Lay $100 on Wakefield and the Red Sox - $200.

NY Mets over Colorado - the Rockies are 3-6 on the road, not good when you are heading to Shea to play a Mets team that dropped two of three at home to the Braves over the weekend. Lay $100 on the Mets - $200.

Texas over Seattle - two teams that are off to a bad start, the difference in this game will be that the Rangers play well at home and the Mariners have lost 4 of 5 on the road. Lay $100 on the Rangers - $140.

That's it for this morning gang - gotta run. Have a great one peeps!


HAZEL'S MONDAY HOROSCOPE
Take a serious look at your present situation and decide what you must do to make things more to your liking. A little time and space to think things through will help. Plan a mini vacation or a business trip. 2 stars

Hazel, I hope things are groovy in your world.

Song of the Day on Hazelspeeps - wake up song

Dance Dance - Fall Out Boy

Peesth Out...Buh Bye!

Saturday, April 21, 2007

Spring Is Here!

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

I don't know what things are like south of the border in New England, but up here, on the first nice Friday of spring there is an exodus of people (leaving early) from their places of work to hit a patio for drinks. I got a call yesterday afternoon from a woman I used to work with - telling me she was in town for a visit (she retired a few years ago) asking me to meet her and some former colleagues for a drink. I affectionately referred to her as my "work mom" as she used to say that I was the son she never had...and never wanted. So I joined the seniors for a drink, little did I know that my "work mom" remembered it was my b-day earlier this month and she had arranged for a surprised party for me. Well, an afternoon drink turned into a night of Caesars...thank god those angellic souls that volunteer to be designated drivers - God has a spot for all of you in heaven. The only bad thing was that my work mom bought me a SenaTards t-shirt, and insisted I put it on for a picture. Ugh.

We had a blurred eye on the night that was in the world of sports:

My pick for the Stanley Cup this year, the San Jose Sharks beat the Nashville Predators to advance to the next round of the playoffs;

The Red Sox took Game 1 of their weekend war with the Yankees, overcoming two home runs by ARod to win 7-6; it must be killing some members of Red Sox Nation that Coco Crisp was the man of the night - though he looked awful going over the fence in center field on a ball he should have caught.

Red Sox West keep chugging along, another win last night, this time a 10-2 pasting of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The Toronto Blue Jays bullpen blows another lead, this time to the Orioles as they wound up losing 5-4; you know I'm loving the misery the Chickenhawk is going through right now...this is all on him.

HAZEL'S THREE STARS

San Jose Sharks C Patrick Marleau finally got it going last night, scoring two goals in the Sharks 3-2 victory over the Predators. Funny, while I was having Caesars with seniors (say that five times) I told an old-timer that if Marleau ever got going during the playoffs, the Sharks would be unbeatable.

Boston Red Sox CF Coco Crisp tripled in the tying run and scored the winning run on a single from Alex Cora; ya he should have caught ARod's shot...but given the tough time he's had in Boston, this might be the only time he is named one of Hazel's Stars. Somewhere Mike Adams must have that stupid smile on his face saying he is "Koo Koo for Coco".

Red Sox West P Randy Wolf gave up one run over six innings and struck out ten Pirates in the Dodgers 10-2 win last night; he's looking like one of the Dodgers better off season acquisitions.


SATURDAY THREE PLAY

We went 2-1 last night but only wound up $40 in the black on the night - thanks for nothing Florida. We'll get it right tonight.

Philadelphia over Cincinnati - we'll go with Cole Hamels (a member of the Maeple Leafs in the yahoo pool) to get it done in Cincy tonight. Lay $100 on the Phillies - $130.

Milwaukee over Houston - the Astros had a good time in Cincy earlier this week, they will find things decidely tougher against Chris Capuano tonight. Lay $100 on the Brewers - $150.

Florida over Washington - we are going with Anibal Sanchez (with Beckett's great start, has Red Sox Nation gotten over giving Sanchez up?) to beat the Nationals tonight. Lay $100 on the Marlins - $160.

Los Angeles Angels over Seattle - we'll go with Bartolo Colon to overpower the Mariners tonight, do we have to explain? Lay $100 on the Angels - $150.

That's it for today gang - I know I'm late, but spring is here dammit!


HAZEL'S SATURDAY HOROSCOPE
Your life philosophy is reflecting what you have experienced and what you know you need to do in the future. Questioning is good and will help you make the right choices. It's time to let go of the past and update your life. 4 stars

Hazel, I hope things are groovy in your world.

Song of the Day on Hazelspeeps - with thoughts of last night (the drinks dammit)

Jerk It Out - The Caesars

Peesth Out...Buh Bye!

Friday, April 20, 2007

Wasted Night

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

Its short and not so sweet today. I don't have much to say today (I can almost see the shocked look on your face). A day which started out well, another Dodgers' victory over the Rockies, the Red Sox beat the Blue Jays (the Jays are my MLB's SenaTards), the Three Play was looking great, the birds were singing...blah blah.

Then the call came - a call that I knew would end up ruining my night. "Hey buddy...what's going on? We have a ticket to the game tonight - why don't you come along and watch us win tonight." Normally, I don't go to SenaTards games unless the Leafs are in town - so I reminded him of my policy. The calls started coming for the other two guys that were going - I was backed into a corner and couldn't say no.

The stinking game was over before it even really started - I knew the game was lost when the Penguins failed to score on a 5 on 3 power play 74 seconds into the game. What followed for me was two and a half hours of agony listening to 19,000 SenaTards idiots screaming, whining, and finally cheering. If that wasn't enough - I couldn't leave the building early because my friends made sure that I left my car at home...so you know what that meant. I had to stay in the bar long after the game was over watching these smiling idiots celebrate. God I hate the SenaTards.

"B" I know you are reading this - I don't want to hear from you for a few days...I don't want to hear it about the SenaTards.

So after wasting five and a half hours last night on what amounted to a great big nothing - I don't have much to post today. Given my policy of not nominating any SenaTards player as one of Hazel's Three Stars...I don't have three stars to name today.

FRIDAY THREE PLAY

We almost pulled ourselves out of the red - but somehow the Cincinnati Reds managed to find a way to give up a 5 run inning late in the game. So we were 3-1 yesterday, but only finishing +$160 for the night; leaving our total for the week at about - $295.

Florida over Washington - We like the Marlins at home. Lay $100 on Florida - $160.

Cleveland over Tampa Bay - We'll take Sabathia tonight against the DRays. Lay $100 on the Indians - $185.

Buffalo over NY Islanders - The dream ends tonight for the Islanders...it should have ended 12 days ago...THANKS FOR NOTHING LAMORIELLO. Lay $100 on the Sabres - $350.

That's it for this morning gang - have a great one peeps.


HAZEL'S FRIDAY HOROSCOPE
The time is right to push for what you want. Talk to whoever can help you out or link you to a key person. Using every means possible to get what you are working on off the ground will be what's important. 4 stars

Hazel, I hope things are groovy in your world - enjoy the Yankees/Sox series this weekend.

Song of the Day on Hazelspeeps - for my girl "B" who took some time out of her busy day yesterday to hang with yours truly

Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic - The Police

Peesth Out...Buh Bye!

Thursday, April 19, 2007

I quit!!!

Last night I decided to review my hand history from my last month of playing online poker. Quickly, I realized that I was losing 90% of the hands where I am a 90% favorite to win (ie. AA vs. 33). In doing some further looking, I realized that in most instances I was losing on the river to lesser hands.

Not that I believe in the online sites being rigged, but its hard to imagine that I would lose that many hands, that I should have won. Miracle river cards seem to pop up all over the place. I can say that I'm unlucky at times, but I can't believe that I'm that unlucky. Over the past month, I have lost AA to many lesser hands - but none more than QQ. Heads up AA is an 82% favorite to win. In a month alone, I have lost a total of 6 times.

Even worse, is that I'm losing with high pocket pairs to straight and flush draws.

So after calculating all of this, and in light of my recent play at live tables - I have come to the conclusion that online poker is no longer for me. I've had enough of donkeys who I can't see calling with medicore hands, or idiots who haven't realized that AK is not as good of a hand as they think (AK is the best DRAWING hand, not the best hand in poker).

So good luck to those of you continuing to play. I will take my earning from Full Tilt Poker and leave.

About Last Night

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

The news of the day comes from Chicago, where White Sox P Mark Buehrle threw a no-hitter last night against Texas; as a matter of fact, he faced the minimum number of batters, giving up only one walk while striking out eight.

The Atlanta Thrashers were bounced out of the playoffs last night after losing 4-2 in New York last night - I wonder how safe Atlanta GM Don Waddell is this morning; he mortgaged a good piece of his team's future before the trade deadline - and all he has to show for it is two home games. How do ya like Keith Tkachuk now?

The Sabres and Sharks both won to take commanding 3-1 series leads - while the Lightning blew a chance to do the same against the Lou Lamoriello's New Jersey Devils. The Lightning looked like they were destined to win last night, as they fought back from a 3-1 deficit to tie the game and send it into overtime - but a turnover in the Devils' end during overtime led to a Scott Gomez goal, and with it, a ticket out of the series for the Lightning. To a man, the Lightning left the ice with their heads down - I don't think they will recover from last night's loss; as much as I'd love to see them beat the Devils, I think NJ wins the next two.

The Pittsburgh Penguins are facing elimination tonight as they come to town to visit the SenaTards - here's hoping that Gary Roberts brings his A-game. I still think that a win tonight brings Pittsburgh right back in this series with a 50/50 chance to make it all the way back to win it. "B" if you are reading this this morning...sorry.

The Anaheim Ducks and Vancouver Canucks can both close out their first round series with wins tonight - we like both of them tonight.


HAZEL'S THREE STARS

As mentioned earlier, Chicago White Sox P Mark Buerhle threw a no-hitter last night against the Rangers.

Oakland A's P Dan Haren threw seven shutout innings in a 3-0 win over the Los Angeles Angels yesterday afternon - pretty good pick up for the Maeple Leafs in the yahoo pool.

San Jose Sharks G Evgeni Nabokov made 23 saves in a 3-2 victory over the Nashville Predators last night.


THURSDAY THREE PLAY
Another tough day yesterday - with the Tigers blowing a two run lead in the ninth to kill the day yesterday. For the week we stand at - $453, time to make things right.

Milwaukee over Pittsburgh - we'll go with Jeff Suppan to get it done this afternoon against the Pirates. Lay $100 on Milwaukee - $130.

Cincinnati over Houston - we'll back Arroyo tonight at home against Woody Williams and the Astros. Lay $100 on the Reds - $140.

San Diego over Arizona - we'll go with Peavy to keep the D-Backs in check. Lay $100 on the Padres - $170.

New York over Cleveland - Red Sox fans will remember the name Faustoo Carmona, he's pitching today at Yankee Stadium - you know what that means. Lay $100 on the Yankees - $155.

That's it for today gang - have a great one peeps!

KEEPING HAZEL UP ON WHAT'S WHAT IN TORONTO
We hear that Hazel doesn't need to be kept up on what's what in Toronto this week.


HAZEL'S THURSDAY HOROSCOPE
Look for any excuse to take a trip, sign up for a course or attend a conference. You will be able to put whatever information you acquire to good use immediately. Romance will lead to something very good. 3 stars

Hazel, I hope things are groovy in your world - enjoy that down time.

Song of the Day on Hazelspeeps - I'm doing coffee with my girl "B" today...so you know I'm in a great mood.

Walking On The Moon - The Police

Peesth Out...Buh Bye!

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Things Coming Up Snake Eyes For Dice-K

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

Daisuke Matsuzaka must be feeling like he is cursed; another very good pitching performance squandered against a Toronto Blue Jays team missing two starters and their closer. Matsuzaka again pitched well enough to win, gving up two runs over six innings of work while striking out ten - but for the second game in a row, the Sox big bats were dormant; Ortiz was held hitless and Ramirez was 1 for 4. In watching the game tonight, I thought Boston was too tenative at the plate - I know they have a lot of hitters that like to work the count, but with Chacin being around the plate from the beginning - sometimes you have to go up there swinging because the first pitch might be the best one you see in that particular at-bat.

Dice-K likely won't take any comfort in another moral victory - pitching a good game and not getting the win - but he has nothing to hang his head about; he gave his team every opportunity to win. So far this season, the Sox are rolling snake eyes for Dice-K - two very good performances spoiled by lack of run support; being shut down by a guy like Felix Hernandez is understandable - he is one of the game's best young pitchers; having said that, being limited to one run by the likes of Gustavo Chacin is unacceptable.

One team that isn't feeling snake bitten is Red Sox West - the Dodgers won their tenth in twelve games last night with a 6-4 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks - led by that crusty old fart Jeff Kent who went 3 for 4 with an RBI. You know, a few experts picked Boston and Los Angeles to be in the World Series - we're holding up our end of the bargain so far.

What must Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins be thinking this morning after another sub-par effort vs. the SenaTards? The fell behind again, this time on a lucky goal - a pass by Jason Spezza that was deflected into the net by Jordan Staal - and they couldn't finish when they had their chances. The Penguins came into the playoffs with one of the league's better power play units but failed to scored on four straight power play opportunities in the second period. The Penguins again said they were disappointed with their play, and that might be their biggest problem - talking about being disappointed, instead of doing something on the ice to correct things.

If I'm coaching the Penguins, I would remind them that the Tards have had a history of choking - they are a house of cards, one bad loss could cause all the doubts to creep back into their game. Pittsburgh MUST come out and score the first goal, they have to come out in waves and get on the Tards defence. Scoring the first goal on Thursday would go a long way to bringing the series back to Pittsburgh - and with it, a chance to gain some momentum and get back into the series. It is high time the NHL's MVP, Sidney Crosby, start playing like one - we caught him flopping twice tonight. "B" if you are reading this morning...no hate mail about this entry, you know the deal with me and the Tards - we'll discuss it tomorrow over coffee.

Other surprises last night - the Vancouver Canucks took a commanding three games to one lead in their series vs the Dallas Stars by winning both games in the Lone Star state. The Atlanta Thrashers were humiliated last night at Madison Square Gardens, falling 7-0 to the Rangers...I'm surprised by just how little fight the Thrashers have - especially with Bob Hartley coaching them. The Calgary Flames showed some fight last night, beating the Red Wings by a 3-2 count to get themselves back into the series.

HAZEL'S THREE STARS
Vancouver Canucks G Roberto Luongo was the best player on the ice again last night - the third time in four games vs. Dallas. Luongo made 26 saves to lead the Canucks to a 2-1 victory over the Stars and a commanding lead in the series.

New York Rangers C Michael Nylander had a hat-trick and added an assist the Rangers 7-0 beatdown of the Atlanta Thrashers; the Thrashers were awful last night, but part of that was due to the play of Nylander - he was unstoppable last night.

New York Mets OF Moises Alou hit two home runs and drove in three runs to lead the Mets to an 8-1 victory over the Phillies - the old guy still has some game left in him.


WEDNESDAY THREE PLAY
It was an ugly night last night - our first 0-3 night in a long time, and with it our first venture into the red in a while (- $235 on the week). We'll get back on track today.

Philadelphia over Washington - we'll go with Adam Eaton and the Phillies bats tonight against the Nationals. Lay $100 on the Phillies - $138.

Detroit over Kansas City - we'll take Bonderman over Kansas City's $55M man Gil Meche. Lay $100 on the Tigers - $190.

New York over Cleveland - Yankees bats are booming, so we like Igawa with some run support - the price is right. Lay $100 on the Yankees - $130.


That's it for this morning gang - have a great one peeps.

HAZEL'S WEDNESDAY HOROSCOPE

Get busy learning whatever it is you need to know in order to advance. You hate sitting idle, so start the ball rolling on your own. You have the potential so stop thinking you need so much help. 3 stars

Hazel, I hope things are groovy in your world.

Song of the Day on Hazelspeeps - wake up song

Out Of My Head - Mobile

Peesth Out...Buh Bye

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Let The Excuses Begin In Jays Land

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

It is cold, dark and rainy - so we are all about bitterness today.

To be totally honest, we didn't expect it to happen this early, but the Toronto Blue Jays can now be taken off the list of AL East contenders. Toronto placed OF Reed Johnson on the disabled list after he underwent back surgery, and closer BJ Ryan who is off to the great state of Alabama to have his sore elbow examined by James Andrews. The talk is that Johnson will be out until at least July; and whispers that Ryan's injury is much more serious that the Jays have let on..."Tommy John surgery" is what people in Toronto are talking about. If the latter is indeed true, and Toronto is forced to go with Jason Frasor, or Shaun Marcum as their closer, they are in big trouble. Last year's set-up man Brandon League hasn't been talked about since the season opened - so he is nowhere near ready to assume the role. If the whispers are true and Toronto has lost their lead-off man and closer for an extended period of time - Blue Jays fans can kiss the season goodbye...they don't have the depth to get through it. I mean, let's face it, they aren't the Los Angeles Dodgers - a team that has actually built up a farm system.

Speaking of kissing things goodbye - Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi should be kissing his job goodbye (unfortunately for Jays fans, he's going to be around a lot longer) if the Jays aren't competitive this year - and by competitive, I don't mean a distant third place. Ricciardi has been around long enough to stock and build a farm system that should be able to step up and keep a team competitive in times of injury - the Jays' farm system is by all accounts, average to below average; meaning they likely won't be able to come close to replacing Ryan. We won't even get into the inevitable - an injury to A.J. Burnett (you know its coming). When Ricciardi signed Ryan to big money, I thought it was a huge mistake - signing a closer with one good season to big dollars when the team had other more pressing holes to fill. I know Ricciardi signed Ryan because they didn't have a bonafide closer - but that is the Chickenhawk's fault for not drafting and devloping one in his first five years with the team. Ricciardi has blown $30 M - Ryan, Burnett, and yes Frank Thomas (an over the hill DH who had a career year when he was playing for a contract)...if for nothing else, he should be fired for those three acquisitions...especially when the Jays finish a very distant third. The silver lining for J.P. is that he can blame this year's failure on injuries - instead of the usual "you can't compete with the Yankees and Red Sox with an inferior payroll."

Its too early to say it, and I certainly don't want to jinx anything, but how nice would it be to see the Tampa Bay Lightning bounce the Devils out of the playoffs? Vincent Lecavalier led the way last night and Johan Holmqvist was solid between the pipes in Tampa's 3-2 victory over Lou Lamoriello's Devils. I wonder how big Claude Julien's smile is this morning?


HAZEL'S THREE STARS

Red Sox West P Brad Penny won again last night against the first place Arizona Diamondbacks, pushing his record to 3-0 to start the season. Penny pitched seven strong innings giving up one earned run on five hits and three walks in leading the Dodgers to a 5-1 win.

Detroit Tigers C Ivan Rodriguez went 2 for 5, with a home run and six RBIs to lead the Tigers to a 12-5 win over the Kansas City Royals.

Tampa Bay Lightning C Vincent Lecavalier scored one and set up the winner in a 3-2 victory over the Devils...love it.


TUESDAY THREE PLAY
We started the week off well going 2-1 and finishing the night at + $150. Tonight's suggestions are:

Boston over Toronto - Matsuzaka makes his first appearance in Toronto, and we think he'll make a big splash. We don't expect Chacin to be able to silence Boston's bats. Lay $100 on the Red Sox - $150.

St. Louis over Pittsburgh - Cards dropped one yesterday to the Pirates, so expect them to get it done today; we like Adam Wainwright on the mound. Lay $100 on the Cards - $155.

Dallas over Vancouver - this one looks to be a back and forth series; with Vancouver having won game 3 in OT, look for Dallas to even it up in regulation tonight. Lay $50 on the Stars - $170.

That's about it for this morning - we may be back before 6 pm to add a game or two. Have a great one peeps.


HAZEL'S TUESDAY HOROSCOPE
Take a load off your mind by asking the questions you need to ask. Don't be shy -- just be honest and you can't go wrong. You can make headway if you set your sights on something that means a lot to you. 3 stars

Hazel, I hope things are groovy in your world.

Song of the Day on Hazelspeeps - hey, its Borje Salming's birthday today...the former Leaf great is 56 today. Just thought I'd mention it. Wake up song this morning...with thoughts of Crosby vs the Tards tonight.

Jesus of Suburbia - Green Day

Peesth Out...Buh Bye!

Monday, April 16, 2007

Monday's Hazies - The Champs & Chumps

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

For those of you who haven't been here before, The Hazies take a look back at the week that was in the world of sports and single out some of the outstanding performances. The lucky few are awarded a Hazie and have the title of "Hazel's Hero" bestowed upon them - which is better than any recognition they may have gotten elsewhere. While Hazel hasn't officially approved this week's winners, we would like to think that she'd give her trademark smile and thumbs up to our nominees.

HAZEL'S HEROES - THE CHAMPS


NHL

The NHL Playoffs are in full swing and a few players have distinguished themselves above all others, no surprise that goalies are topping the list of champs.

Anaheim Ducks G Ilja Bryzgalov spent most of the season backing up J.S Giguere, but he has established himself as the Ducks go-to goaltender in the playoffs - much like he did last year. Bryzgalov's play is a big reason why the Ducks are up 3-0 over the Wild in the opening round of the playoffs - he has a goals against avg of 1.34 with a save percentage of .948. As the guy who drafted him in the yahoo pool - I'm a little upset he didn't get this kind of consideration during the regular season.

Vancouver Canucks G Roberto Luongo is a playoff rookie, never having made it with the awful Florida Panthers, but he is playing like he's been there before. Luongo is main reason the Canucks are up 2-1 in their series against the Dallas Stars - he has kept Vancouver in two games they had no business being in, winning both in overtime - including a 72 save performance in quadruple overtime in the opening game of the series. Vancouver's playoff fate rests in Luongo's glove hand - I wonder if Mike Keenan still likes the trade he made for Todd Bertuzzi.

Tampa Bay Lightning C Vincent Lecavalier been a playoff monster through the first three games of their series with the Devils - many, including yours truly, didn't give the Lightning much of a chance to win the series; but Lecavalier's four goals and one assist is the main reason why the Lightning will wake up tomorrow up 2-1 on New Jersey. What did I tell Lamoriello and the Devils last week? Karma Lou...Karma.

Honourable mention goes to Detroit Red Wings C Pavel Datsyuk who is off to a good start against Calgary - Dats has been criticized for being one of those guys who is great during the regular season, but disappears come playoff time.

We didn't mention it last week - but the yahoo group's fantasy sports Commish Drisc won this year's Hazelspeeps Fantasy Hockey pool. Drisc pretty much led wire to wire this year - good show Drisc!


MLB

The 2007 season is into its second week - time to start looking at the Players of the Week.

Texas Rangers 2B Ian Kinsler was named the American League Player of the Week. Kinsler started out the season on the wrong foot, but seems to have found his form again. Kinsler (who was picked up last week by the Maeple Leafs in the Hazelspeeps Fantasy Baseball Pool) posted a .476 batting avg (10 for 21) with four home runs and eight RBIs. His six home runs on the season put him behind the guy you love to hate in pinstripes.

Atlanta Braves P Tim Hudson was named the National League Player of the Week. Hudson was 2-0 on the week, pitching 14 innings with an earned run avg. of 0.64. Hudson came into the season with loads of questions about whether or not he was still a top of the rotation starter - after a couple of sub-par seasons - so far the answer is yes.

Cleveland Indians P C.C. Sabathia is off to a great start this season and is the main reason Cleveland is off to a quick start this season. C.C. is 3-0 with an earned run avg of 2.14 and 19 K's in 21 innings of work; a pretty good start for a guy who was supposed to start the season on the DL.

Boston Red Sox P Josh Beckett is also off to a great start after a disappointing 2006 season, displaying the form that had National League fans thinking he was one of the game's best. Beckett is also off to a 3-0 start with an earned run avg of 1.50 and 18Ks in 18 innings of work - granted two of those wins game against light hitting lineups (K.C. and Seattle), but you have to give him credit.

Cincinnati Reds OF Ken Griffey Jr gets a Hazie this week - not for his performance on the field, but for being the man who first approached MLB Commissioner Bud Selig with the idea of wearing number 42 on April 15th to honour the memory of Jackie Robinson. Griffey has always struck me as a guy who respected the game - this proves it.

Honourable mention goes to Boston Red Sox P Curt Schilling who rebounded from an awful performance on Opening Day and posted two wins in which he dominated on the mound. He isn't one of our favourites...but we'll give credit where its due (unless you are a SenaTard). Roy Halladay's 10 inning win over the Tigers also deserves mention - in a day and age where we applaud starters who go seven innings - Halladay pitched 10 when his team needed him.


FOOTBALL


Yes, we are talking about world football or soccer.

Manchester United Winger (and yes of course Portugal International) Cristiano Ronaldo makes the list again this week. Ronaldo led Man U to two big wins last week: scoring two goals and setting up two others in the Red Devils 7-1 thrashing of AS Roma in Champions League play; finishing the week with a goal and setting up another in a 4-1 win over Watford in the semi-finals of the FA Cup. News from England today is that Ronaldo is up for two awards in England - he has been nominated for the Professional Footballers Association's Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year. He is a lock to win the Young Player of the Year, and should win the Player of the Year given what he has meant to his team - two of his peers, teammate Ryan Giggs and John Terry of Chelsea, have said he is the best player on the planet right now (haven't I been saying that for weeks?); we'll see if the rest of the players in the English Premiership agree. If Ronaldo wins both awards, which we obviously think he should - he has a pretty good chance of winning three Player of the Year awards; he should be nominated and win either FIFA'S World Player of the Year or UEFA's European Footballer of the Year. Wouldn't all four look good on the young gun's resume? We think so.


HAZEL'S ZEROES - THE CHUMPS

NHL


The opening round of the playoffs have seen a few ugly incidents - but there was one that stood out enough to have the main actor called this week's Chump.

Nashville Predators F Alexander Radulov had been one of the Preds best performers through the first two games of the series - the rookie had 4 points in two games and was one of the primary reasons the Predators escaped Nashville with the series tied at one. Radulov wiped it all out though with a cheap hit on San Jose Sharks' LW Steve Bernier over the weekend. For those of you who didn't see it, Bernier had the puck along the boards when Radulov comes out of nowhere, charging and leaving his feet as he pastes Bernier into the glass - Bernier had to leave the game. You can check it out on youtube - cheap.


NFL

No explanation needed - Pacman Jones and Chris Henry. How will the NFL ever get along without these two jokers?

That's about it for tonight gang - have a great one.

Hazel, I hope things are groovy in your world.

Song of the Night on Hazelspeeps - now playing.

Barely Listening - Pilot Speed

Peesth Out...Buh Bye!

Another Day For Road Warriors In The NHL

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

Another day/night for road teams in the NHL yesterday with three of the four visiting teams coming away with wins: Anaheim took a commanding 3-0 lead in their series with 2-1 win over the Wild in Minnesota last night; Vancouver shocked Dallas by winning their second overtime game of the series; the SenaTards beat Sid the Kid (blah blah blah - we don't talk about SenaTards' wins). The Calgary Flames lost to Detroit again yesterday afternoon - but the old adage goes that you are in a series until you lose a home game.

A great night yesterday at Dodger Stadium last night - while weather issues forced the cancellation of a number of games, they played in Los Angeles last night and Red Sox West celebrated the 60th Anniversary of Jackie Robinson's first game with a 9-3 beatdown of Chris Young and the San Diego Padres. The Dodgers, as expected, put on a first class event to commemorate what Robinson did for the game; and I have to hand it to ESPN who did a great job of educating fans about what Robinson did for the game and for the USA.


HAZEL'S THREE STARS

St. Louis Cardinals 1B Albert Pujols finally got things going - the straw that stirs the "Maeple Leafs" drink, hit two HRs and drove in five runs in the Cards' 10-2 win over Milwaukee.

Red Sox West OF Andre Ethier went 3 for 5, with a HR and four RBI to lead the Dodgers to a 9-3 victory over the Padres.

Cleveland Indians P C.C. Sabathia pitched eight innings of one-run ball yesterday to lead his team to a 2-1 victory over the White Sox, Sabathia won despite his team only registering one hit. Sabathia gave up five hits and three walks while striking out 10.

All three players wore number 42 in honour of Jackie Robinson.


MONDAY THREE PLAY
We had a tough day yesterday - told you we were playin' hurt. Still though, we finished the week at + $210 - putting our total for the year at + $960.

San Jose over Nashville - it has been a nasty series so far, we expect things to heat up even more tonight. It is always tough going into San Jose, especially for a team that isn't loaded up with playoff experience. Lay $100 on the Sharks - $150.

Anaheim over Boston - we are going to take a chance this morning - call it another hunch pick. We're expecting Beckett to have his first rough outing of the season today. Lay $50 on the Angels + $170.

Detroit over Kansas City - Verlander is pitching...go with the Tigers. Lay $100 on the Tigers - $200.

That's about it for this morning gang - have a great one peeps!


HAZEL'S MONDAY HOROSCOPE
You can get a lot done today if you refuse to let anyone or anything stand in your way. Be a little forceful and you will gain respect. Travel, publishing and networking should all be a part of your day. 3 stars

Song of the Day on Hazelspeeps - wake up song

Don't Speak - No Doubt

Peesth Out...Buh Bye!

Sunday, April 15, 2007

NHL Road Warriors

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

As we mentioned this morning - today marks the 60th anniversary of Jackie Robinson suiting up for the Brooklyn Dodgers and breaking the colour barrier. I don't think I can bring anything fresh to the table, having never seen Robinson play - but reading about him, I'll let baseball historians write about Robinson's legacy; about what a great player he was, about what a great human being he was, and about the courage and determination he showed. What I will say is that on the sixtieth anniversary of Robinson's first game, it is sort of sad that there isn't a team in Montreal today - Robinson spent some time playing for the Dodgers' farm team in Montreal and the fans in the city always loved him. When former Dodger OF Duke Snider was a broadcaster for the Expos, he often talked about the love affair between Montreal's baseball fans and the Montreal Royals; Jackie Robinson was often talked about when Snider spoke of the Montreal Royals. I'm sure they are doing something in Montreal today...unfortunately it doesn't involve going to the ballpark.

A rare occurance in the NHL last night, and I can't say that I'm disappointed with it. Game 2 of the NHL Eastern Conference Playoffs went yesterday and all four road teams carried the day/night. It goes without saying that yesterday's game between the SenaTards and the Pittsburgh Penguins was especially sweet, watching the Tards blow two third period leads to the Penguins - and our X factor, Gary Roberts, being at the center of the storm. Roberts lifted a flat Penguins team in the third with a couple of hard checks and being the unstoppable force against a soft Tards D. Its been a great day today, listening to the Tards faithful call in to the Team 1200 to tear their team apart for being soft and gutless - with most predicting that the series is over; then "sens" the inevitable choke that is starting to happen. The only thing better than watching the Maple Leafs win is watching the Tards lose - call it a glass half full view of the NHL.

The Islanders welcomed back Rick DiPietro yesterday and he was the main reason why the Islanders upset the Buffalo Sabres by a 3-2 count last night - DiPietro won't be able to win this series for the Islanders, but last night's performance should serve as a wakeup call for the Sabres.

In another shocker, the Tampa Bay Lightning evened their series with the Devils last night in New Jersey - Lightning forwards Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis lead the way for the Bolts; New Jersey couldn't contain either of them and wound up paying the price. Like I said in the breakdown last week - I'd love to be wrong about the Devils winning this series; Game 3 may be the pivotal game, if the Lightning get a win...they might just be able to pull this one off - and guess who will be celebrating?

The Rangers took a 2-0 lead in their series with a win over the Thrashers yesterday afternoon in Atlanta - not surprising, we expect the Rangers to win this series.

HAZEL'S THREE STARS
In keeping with the road warrior theme - we are going to go with three big playoff performances.

Pittsburgh Penguins LW Gary Roberts is again inside the SenaTards head; Roberts put the Pens on his back and lead them back from two third period deficits. On the afternoon, Roberts had a goal and an assist - but as the Tards faithful can attest to, he did much more than score.

New York Islanders G Rick DiPietro made 32 saves to lead the Islanders to a 3-2 victory over the Sabres last night; the Isles are a different team with him in goal...we hope this isn't another case of the kid being rushed back. Funny moment in last night's intermission - CBC showed a clip of Lindy Ruff going after Isles goalie Billy Smith during a playoff encounter years back. Funny, Ruff would have a fit if that happened to one of his goalies today - forgetting what a piece of crap he was as a player.

Tampa Bay Lightning C Vincent Lecavalier was a force yesterday against the Devils, he scored the game winner and was constantly in Martin Brodeur's line of vision.

Honourable mention goes to Boston Red Sox P Curt Schilling who pitched a beauty yesterday against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, and Chicago Cubs P Rich Hill who overpowered the Cincinnati Reds - a day after Lou Piniella lost it after watching the Cubs blow a 5-0 lead.


SUNDAY THREE PLAY
We'll pick three for this afternoon/evening.

Pittsburgh over Ottawa - the Tards are consoling themselves with the thought that the outplayed Pittsburgh in the first two games of the series; the Pens go home knowing that they haven't come close to playing their best and that one good period got them a win in Game 2. Penguins come out firing tonight. Lay $100 on the Pens even.

Minnesota over Anaheim - we expect the Wild to get their game back on track at home tonight; it won't be enough to win the series, but they'll get one tonight for their fans. Lay $50 on the Wild - $145.

Los Angeles over San Diego - Red Sox West on a Sunday night broadcast...sweet! We are going to back Randy Wolf to pitch the Dodgers to a series victory tonight. Lay $100 on the Dodgers + $105.

That's it for today gang - we've got the Pens/Sens coming up and the Dodgers tonight. Enjoy your Sunday.


KEEPING UP ON WHAT'S WHAT IN TORONTO

Ryan out indefinitely with elbow problems - Ricciardi sweating bullets right now

Reed Johnson is out too

Jays honouring Jackie today


HAZEL'S SUNDAY HOROSCOPE
Interacting with others either on the phone, in person or over the Internet will bring about some interesting information that sparks a new idea. You are a pioneer and it's time to break ground in areas that other people have not even considered. 3 stars

Hazel, I hope things are groovy in your world on this cold rainy Sunday.

Song of the Day on Hazelspeeps - we're starting to come around...ready to joining the ranks of "the functioning". For the NHL Road Warriors

Oh Be Joyful - Matthew Good

Peesth Out...Buh Bye!

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