Bad Things Come in 3s

Canucks lose again, Babcock is fired, and Minny and Boston play "lets make a deal". Let's roll...

Canucks Slide Continues

The Canucks lose their 3rd game in a row by a score of 2-1 to the Detroit Red Wings tonight in Detroit. The effort level was solid but the Red Wings got the breaks, especially by the refs. The problem with the loss here is that had the Canucks beaten the Blues and Blue Jackets earlier in the week, this loss wouldn't be so tough to swallow. Now, Canucks' fans are in full panic mode. As many have pointed out, the top line has been completely unproductive in the last dozen games. You have to wonder when Nonis will decide to make a move here. He's been quite patient thus far, but with the Olympic roster freeze coming up and a rush afterwards to make up for lost time, there is much urgency to make a move before it's too late. It's like the stock market, and waiting for the market to bottom out before dipping in. Experts know that you can't predict the bottom, if you try you'll almost always end up missing the boat altogether.
*Photo from Yahoo!Sports

Anyone Looking to Buy a House??

That quote from Ron Babcock, formerly the GM of the Toronto Raptors who was turfed today. Anyone surprised?? Hell no. This is the guy that traded Vince Carter to New Jersey for Alonzo Mourning. Wait, Mourning never played for Toronto. Ya, that's right, Babcock shipped Mourning to Miami for NOTHING and the news gets better, he agreed the Raptors would pay his salary not Miami. Lets see, recent draft history, Babcock decides that his #7 pick is worthy of selecting Charlie Villanueva. The year before, Babcock thinks Rafael Araujo is going to set the world on fire and selects him with the #8 pick overall. And so when Babcock said in his press conference today that he was "totally shocked" that he was being let go, it all starts to make sense. This guy was NEVER meant to be a GM, he just doesn't get it, never has, never will. As optimistic as I am about the move and how it will only get better going forward, I think about the irreparable damage that Babcock has created for the franchise. It will literally take years, several at the least, before the Raptors can rise again to highs they once acheived. I will always have hope as a Raptor fan, hope for a better day. Tomorrow will be a good day, a new day.
*Photo from Yahoo!Sports

Beantown welcomes Wallyworld

Another day featuring another blockbuster trade in the NBA. This time, the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Boston Celtics hook up in a mega-deal that essentially sees Wally Szczerbiak of the T-Wolves go to the Celtics for Ricky Davis. I like the deal for the Timberwolves, they get a more versatile, explosive, and durable player in Davis. Wally was often injured and rarely played a full season in Minnesota. The Celtics are clearly rebuilding right now, trading for Wally is a curious move as you would've thought that the Celtics would go for more draft picks or a young promising talent rather than the oft-injured Szcerbiak and the hugely disappointing Michael Olowakandi. But then again, the Celtics are one of the worst teams for a reason (Doc Rivers hasn't helped the cause either). As for Minnesota, the player they really coveted was Ron Artest but a deal wasn't in the cards and so the T-Wolves will have to settle for Davis.
*Photo from Yahoo!Sports

What's on TV
NBA, Toronto vs Milwaukee, 5:30pm PST on the Score
Tennis, Australian Open Women's Final (Live), 6:30pm PST on TSN

Picks of the Day
Orlando/New York O206.5
NJ Devils -125 over Florida
Record YTD (29-32, -853)