The SBP Archives - Your less than frequent dose of SBP!

At first, I was a little apprehensive about the announcement the Academy Awards were changing things up as radically as it did. No more five best picture nominations: Starting next year, they're moving to ten.

Traditionalists won't like it, but believe it or not, in the beginning the Oscars did have ten best picture nominees until that practice ended in 1943. Certainly the prestige of being a nominee of just five contenders is huge, and I suppose if there are now ten it may lessen the significance of the nomination somewhat. But on the whole, I like this move.

The last few years of the awards show have not exactly been a TV ratings magnet and not too many people even talk about them anymore, and a lot has to do with the nominees. They may have earned their accolades, but really, how many people went to the theatre to see Frost/Nixon or Milk?

It may be a money driven decision, but giving more exposure to ten nominees instead of five will alert audiences to movies they may have missed, and will likely give a movie they can root for when watching the awards unfold. In other words, give them a reason to tune in.

The Academy Awards needed a shakeup, and this just might be what the doctor ordered. If it turns out to be a bad idea, they can always revert back to the old format. I was a bit skeptical at first, but after thinking about it, I think this will renew interest in the Oscars.

Worst NHL draft ever.

Is that too harsh? Well, to start there were few surprises with Tavares, Hedman and Duchene taken 1-2-3 in the draft. But mainly I was looking forward to seeing the trades that would transpire over the course of the evening and not much happened. The Chris Pronger for The Flyers' future deal sure seemed to imply many transactions would take place but last year's 11 or so deals wasn't even close to being equaled. And TSN's Darren Dreger telling the audience that he spoke to GM Bryan Murray to report that all Dany Heatley talk is dead, and well, that didn't add much intrigue to the evening.

Anyway, I was hoping that a Heatley deal would have been made so Otawa can move on and concentrate on free agency day July 1st. But with not knowing what return Heatley will give, or heaven forbid, if he has to play for the Senators and the start of the season, it will be difficult to make any significant signings Canada Day and to narrow down exactly what the Senators need moving forward.

Man, I am so mad at Heatley. He really screwed over the Sens with his public demand for a trade. And of course, he's not around to face the same public to answer why he went about this way to get off the team, or why he can't just listen to coach Cory Clouston and be a team player.

So in sum, yeah, the draft sucked.

I'm not going to sit here and say I was a big of his music or anything. Unfortunately, when I think of Jackson I think of this photo you're looking at. Plastic surgery gone wrong. A man accused of molesting children (who admitted sharing his bed with children). He was a running joke for a good decade or so: No one was talking about his music, just his ridiculous circus otherwise known as his life.

But having said all that...when I heard the news he passed away, I was stunned. He was still a young 50 years old, not enough time on this planet for sure. And whether or not I was a fan of his music, it took his death for me to realize just how big a star he really is (I heard a radio DJ call him this generation's Elvis. Perhaps that's not too far off).

I remember back in grade 3 when the Thriller video premiered on television. I actually did NOT see it. But EVERYONE in my class was going on and on about how scary it was and I felt like such an outsider for missing the whole thing. For 1983, it probably was scary. It was quite original in retrospect: A near 15 minute music/short story complete with Vincent Price's eerie narration. And everyone ate it up.

Time will likely forgive his surgery and courtroom shenanigans and perhaps that's the way it should be. Still, it's really too bad he couldn't have left on a higher note. Didn't he have just one more great album or even just one good song left in him? Or did his artistry peak and he simply had no more left to give?

Guess we'll never know.

 - It's getting late, I'm tired, but I'm still writing my blog, for you, my loyal SBP fans!  

And you're not even worth spelling your last name correctly, either!!!

What stands out to me the most is that there aren't as many Canadians nominated for these awards much less favoured to win, magnified by the Russian sweep of nominations for the Hart Trophy. And don't forget Evgeni Malkin already took the Calder Trophy as playoff MVP.

- It was all just wishful thinking, as Jim Balsillie's attempts to move the Phoenix Coyotes was rejected in court today and I just can't see it happening anytime soon. He is simply disliked by Gary Bettman and the rest of his gang, and until you make nice with them, he will always be on the outside looking in. He thought a bankruptcy proceeding might be the loophole to get his franchise in Canada, but it did not work out.

- Patrick Sharp earned his last name, as he was responsible for spearing Nicklas Lidstrom in the groin during the Conference finals and required surgery. Amazing no one is calling out Sharp for such a barbaric act, everyone instead going after Sidney Crosby for not shaking hands with the Red Wings quick enough after winning the Stanley Cup.

- If Hossa signed with the Penguins instead of the Wings, Pittsburgh would not have won the Cup. There is no way the team could have acquired Bill Guerin or Chris Kunitz at the trade deadline with the cap space he takes up.

- Woo-hoo. Another Indiana Jones film is in the works. I thought it was passable entertainment the first time I saw Crystal Skull, but a second viewing worsened the experience for me. Until George Lucas retires or dies, he will continue to run his beloved franchises into the ground.

- I've only golfed maybe twice in the last year, but looking at golf equipment flyers makes me want to get a nice, brand new shiny set of clubs. I play softball just once a year, and I want to get a brand new bat and glove.

- That Tiger Woods emblem reminds me an awful lot of the old Hartford Whalers logo:

It doesn't seem to matter who's playing, or even that your favourite team has been knocked out (or didn't even qualify) a long time ago. A game 7 in the NHL Stanley Cup finals is exciting enough to change your social calendar to make sure you don't miss it. Well I probably spoke too soon writing that, I had to drive up to Niagara Falls to play at my work's slo-pitch softball tournament (The results don't matter. We were consistent at least!) and spent seven hours in a car while the game was going on. Not too many of my friends made other plans regardless: They wanted to see if it was a start of a dynasty or if youth would prevail.

The odds were really stacked against the Penguins. The Wings had only lost one game at home during these playoffs. Fleury was lit up 5-0 the last time they visited Joe Louis arena. And sure they beat Detroit twice in a row before...but could they really do it again? I certainly didn't think they could, but like so many times before when faced with adversity, they overcame it and it was sure refreshing to see the young Penguins team take Lord Stanley. And let's be honest: Sidney Crosby was going to win the Cup at one point in his career. Why not now just before he has his sights set on Vancouver 2010 representing Canada? The experience of winning a do-or-die game 7 is exactly what Canada's best player needs, especially when he comes out on the winning end.

Anyway, now I can fully concentrate on the Heatley debacle and what the Sens will do at the draft, free agency and training camp to disappoint me next year.

Only four months to go.

Look at that jerk. All smug and cocky. His name is Jeffrey Lisandro. And he won the $1,500 buy-in Seven card stud tournament at this year's World Series of Poker. "Look at my bracelet!" he's saying with that pose. Boooo. It's actually his second WSOP bracelet, also earned playing stud.

That bracelet should have been mine, all mine! LISANDRO KNOWS IT!

Sigh. It would have been nice to try again.

Here's hoping 2010 will be the year.

As pointed out to me by a good friend, it seems the Senators can never have a quiet summer without some sort of distraction that would cast some doubt over the organization. In recent years: the Emery saga, the Gerber Saga, the Redden/Chara debate, the revolving door of coaches: It seemed that finally, this year, new coach Cory Clouston stabilized the team, had them playing well again and put Ottawa in a position to strengthen their team in the off-season and not have to blow it up and start all over. Well, at least that's what I thought.

But now, Dany Heatley apparently wants a trade. There are two rumours circulating as to why: One is he does not like the style of play Clouston has imposed on the team (which seemed to be more attack oriented, so I don't quite get that) and the other is that he wants to be closer to his girlfriend who lives on the west coast. Perhaps this is true, but if he really wants out, he must know his contract will severely limit the Sens' options for a trade if there is just a handful of teams he wants to play for.

Heatley apparently has a $4 million bonus due July 1st and you know Melnyk won't be happy to pay that when his player is going to be out of here next season. GM Bryan Murray is definitely under pressure to get a deal done in the next three weeks.

Murray can try to trade for prospects and draft picks if he thinks he can sign a significant free agent this summer, but technically he isn't allowed to speak to anyone until that July 1st date so there are no guarantees. A team with cap space to take him in (the L.A. Kings come to mind) would be an option. But Melnyk isn't interested in rebuilding and the Ottawa fanbase won't stand for that so I don't see this happening.

A trade will likely be contract for contract. The first player that comes to mind is Joe Thornton. The Sharks had a bad playoff again, Joe is getting a ton of grief and the pressure might be getting to him as their team captain. The team might feel a shakeup is needed, and their contracts are virtually dollar for dollar, although Thornton's deal has only 2 years left on it.

Another player is Vincent Lecavalier. Heatley's contract is big, but not as big as Lecavalier's and every day there seems to be a rumour that Tampa Bay wants to unload the expensive Lecavalier contract. If the additional cap space needed can be had, perhaps this is a viable option. However it's not a Western destination, and unless there's flexibility in his choices that may not be a possibility.

It's all speculation regardless, but I'm not going to sit here and say I'm not disappointed. I like Dany Heatley, and certainly fans are very quick to throw him under the bus right now, but I truly believe last year's sub-par performance was an anomaly and he can rebound back to the same player who scored 50 goals in back-to-back seasons. What's most upsetting is the fact he doesn't want to be a Senator anymore. Alfredsson, Phillips, Spezza: Those are players who've gone on record saying they don't want to play for anyone else. I was hoping Heatley felt the same way.

But I guess I was a fool for thinking so.

Football football football football, tennis, hockey...golf!

It was done in less-than-dramatic fashion.

And the main event isn't going to happen for another year.

But after tying Qatar 0-0 (I admit, I had to look up where Qatar was on a map) Australia is on its way to the 2010 World Cup of Soccer being held in South Africa.

No one outside of Europe or South America has ever won the World Cup and indeed Australia isn't a favourite to reverse this trend. But at the 2006 tournament they made great strides, qualifying for the World Cup for the first time in 32 years and getting past the first round to make it to the knockout stages, the first for an Oceanic team. Can they build on this to greater success in 2010?

I don't follow soccer religiously by any means, but during the World Cup, perhaps because the whole world seems to be paying attention, I tune in. And having a team to root for certainly makes for a more enjoyable experience.

Canada didn't qualify...and I'm sure most of you reading this don't care much for the US of A. So join me in 2010...Go Australia, go!!!

There's something amusing about pro athletes who think they're bigger and better than everyone else and slight people like, oh, 10 year old kids looking for an autograph. And it's even more amusing when the player, in this case Alex Rios, haven't exactly been tearing it up lately.

I can sort of understand his reaction if an adult was bothering him for a signature but c'mon, it's just a kid. When you're rich, when you're famous, and when you're doing something the rest of us can only dream of, things like autograph requests are going to come up. Why be a jerk about?

Signing autographs sure beats working for a living.

I used to think of myself as an expert of Subway sandwiches. But I was duped. Or maybe lazy. I found out something that seemed quite surprising to me.

- As Rogers froze my online account because I couldn't remember my password, I thought to myself, "Why are they making it so difficult for me to use their online services?"  I don't want to reset my password, because that means I have to think of something else I'll forget later on, and if manage to pick one I've already used, they won't let use that since it was, well, recently used.  I have passwords for everything: Bank account, credit card, email, work, Best Buy, Future Shop, Subway Scrabble contest...how can they expect us to remember them all, especially when you use them once a year?