Torontoist » Adrian the Adorable Sports Writer

Friday the 13th

Adrian the Adorable Sports Writer — Fri, 27 Oct 2006 04:01:47 +0000

Nope, Torontoist isn’t referring to the classic movie series. With Halloween just around the corner, it’s a different goalie mask creating this sequence of horrors. Although it may be Friday the 27th, the number 13 represents the total amount of goals Toronto Maple Leaf netminders – mainly Andrew Raycroft – have allowed to Ottawa Senator shooters this week. Even by factoring in his day off in between, Raycroft’s goals against average over those 3 days would still put him near the bottom of the NHL. Now Torontoist has been quick to jump to conclusions in the past. Granted the Leafs were off to a rather decent start this season, and it was Raycroft who was indeed leading the way. However, Tuesday’s 6-2 and Thursday’s 7-2 losses to their provincial rivals are an all too familiar occurance over the past couple of seasons, and surely have to serve as a reality check for Paul Maurice’s club.
General Manager John Ferguson Jr. said it himself during TSN‘s opening night broadcast. With his team finishing merely two points out of the Eastern Conference’s final playoff spot last year, it was the lopsided season series with the Senators which was seen as the crippler. Well the series is already 3-1 for Ottawa and appears very much to be headed for a similar outcome. Combine that with the fact the the Buffalo Sabres have yet to lose, and it looks like the Leafs are going to be punished by those closest to home.
(AP Photo/Tom Hanson,CP)

Maple Leafs 2006: The Struggle Begins

Adrian the Adorable Sports Writer — Wed, 04 Oct 2006 22:17:45 +0000

After the Leafs out-performed Torontoist’s pre-season predictions, the real deal gets underway tonight. Despite the 3-5 record over the past two and a half weeks, the team lost a pair against Ottawa, followed by a pair against Detroit (with the Red Wings playing their “B” squad against the Leafs top unit in the second of the two games) leading in to the start of the regular season. So will they turn it around tonight? The smart money is on no. However, stranger things have happened. One thing’s for certain – Goaltender Andrew Raycroft WILL continue to disappoint fans this season. The Leafs play a back-to-back set against their provincial rivals, with the first installment at the ACC tonight. What better way to get off to an 0-2 start?

New Goalie, New Coach, Same Losers

Adrian the Adorable Sports Writer — Tue, 19 Sep 2006 04:14:55 +0000

With all the personnel changes the Maple Leafs made this offseason, it appears little has infact changed on the ice. With the team opening their 2006-07 pre-season against the Buffalo Sabres at the ACC Monday night, it was the same old story for Mats Sundin’s team. Excessive penalties, an inability to score, a bleeding Darcy Tucker, average goaltending and Bryan McCabe’s goatee each contributed to a performance that was all too familiar to post-lockout Leaf fans. Even with their unsightly new uniforms, the Sabres had no problem picking up where they left off last season. After dominating the Leafs head-to-head in 05-06, the Sabres scored all of their goals on the powerplay, while Martin Biron turned aside twenty-three Toronto shots in the 4-0 victory. Three of those Sabre goals came during a stretch of the second period in which the Leafs committed six consecutive penalties. All-in-all, it was a dissappointing start to what fans had hoped would be a more satisfying season. The team now travels to Ottawa to play the Senators tomorrow night.

With More Comebacks Than Mike Tyson: Once Again, Back is the Incredible

Adrian the Adorable Sports Writer — Wed, 06 Sep 2006 16:42:12 +0000

With Torontoist’s past two “sports” entries being titled “Toronto Bike Posts Both Strong and Vulnerable” and “We’ve Got a Thing ’bout The Post-and-Ring” (the first installment of the two-part series on our city’s bike posts), the Adorable Sports Writer feels like it’s time to re-capture the floor.
And what better time for a comeback. Whether good or bad, not one of our city’s pro teams has been without its fair share of headlines over the past couple of months. With the Blue Jays winding down a “what could have been” season, an NFL all-star unable to hack it in the CFL, and both the Leafs and Raptors un-sure of what to expect in 2006-07, sports fans in Toronto have been treated to quite an eventful summer.
Yet there are so many questions left to be answered. Will the Jays increased budget that Ted Rogers just announced for 2007 allow them to compete with the Red Sox and Yankees?? Will Andrea Bargnani prove to be a Kwame Brown, a Dwight Howard, or something in between?? Will Darcy Tucker score 50 goals in 50 games?? Will Ricky Williams will need Pinball Clemons to tie his shoes?? Only time will tell. Sadly, one certainty has emerged. It appears that Blue Jay fans had their hopes of a consolation prize taken away from them Tuesday evening. With Roy Halladay yet again failing (yet again by no fault of his own) to recored his 17th victory, Minnesota’s Johan Santana essentially locked-up his second Cy Young award, notching his 17th in a two-hit, twelve-strikeout victory.

The Geriatric General Is Delusional

Adrian the Adorable Sports Writer — Fri, 14 Apr 2006 19:19:02 +0000

Matt Stajan was eight years old the last time Pat Quinn was considered to be the NHL’s best coach. That’s right… this season will mark fourteen years since Quinn was at the top of the game. So with the way things unfolded for the Maple Leafs and Team Canada this year, one might expect him to quietly disappear into retirement. Unfortunately that doesn’t seem to be the case. Although Torontoist may not be a big fan of Quinn, they would never wish for the energetic coach to lose his mind. Sadly, it may have just happened. Following the Leafs victory over the Islanders on Wednesday night, Quinn stated that his team will make the playoffs. Understandably Leaf supporters are on a high right now, with the team recording points in each of the past 9 games. It’s the same classic symptoms that Leaf Nation has been plagued with for too long now. A few wins and the Stanley Cup is now a sure thing, management is praised, contracts are extended, and everyone forgets that Jean-Sebastien Aubin isn’t Martin Brodeur.
Perhaps with this being his twentieth and likely final coaching year, Quinn is like a desperate player at the end of their career, delusionally dreaming of Stanley Cup glory. Well a wakeup call is on the way. After seeing teams like the Islanders, Bruins and Panthers during the winning streak, the Leafs now face the Ottawa Senators at the ACC tomorrow night. If you include the preseason, this will be the tenth time the two teams will play this year, with the Leafs winning zero of the previous meetings. It seems like Quinn’s dream and career are about to be over.

O-K… BLUE-JAYS!!

Adrian the Adorable Sports Writer — Tue, 04 Apr 2006 05:50:46 +0000

The last time the Toronto Blue Jays touched post-season turf Jean Chretien was two days away from his first Majority Government, Aerosmith’s Get a Grip was Billboard’s #1 album and the Adorable Sports Writer was likely sporting an undershave. Sadly it’s been one partially locked-out and ten full seasons since Joe Carter hit one of baseball’s most memorable home runs. However during that span, some pretty decent teams have filled the Skydome/Rogers Centre’s home dugout. Four Cy-Young’s have been awarded to Jays pitching and Carlos Delgado was robbed of an MVP trophy in 2003. Unfortunately that’s life in the American League East, where competition has consisted of All-World New York Yankee lineups and extremely strong Boston Red Sox teams.
So the question now is obvious… With all the moves the Jays made this offseason, will the pieces fall into place for the team to move above the third place finish they’ve landed at for seven of the past eight seasons? The new faces in the Jays 06 lineup include third baseman Troy Glaus, catcher Bengie Molina, closer BJ Ryan, starting pitcher AJ Burnett and first baseman Lyle Overbay. There is no question that this is both the best and most expensive Jays team in a while, but it’s worth noting that the Yankees scored seven runs in their second inning of the season last night. With opponents like that, the Jays are going to need yet another Cy-Young type performance from Roy Halladay this season. The 2003 winner takes the mound against the 2004 winner as it’s Halladay against the Minnesota Twins’ Johan Santana in the season opener tonight. The game is reportedly sold out. Expectations are high… LETS… PLAY… BALL!!

Villanueva Sets The Bar

Adrian the Adorable Sports Writer — Mon, 27 Mar 2006 15:28:00 +0000

With Chris Bosh spraining his finger just six minutes into the first quarter of Sunday’s game against the Milwaukee Bucks, it was Raptor rookie Charlie Villanueva who stepped in for the all-star forward. Villanueva scored an NBA rookie season-high 48 points on 20-for-32 shooting. Unfortunately the Raps came up short, losing 125-116 in overtime.
Villanueva has been a welcomed addition for Toronto fans following all the tur moil the team has endured over the past couple of seasons. In fact Charlie V has shown the type of poise and composure both on-and-off the court that might be expected of someone years beyond his age. Take that Dick Vitale! In fact the whole Raptor team has remained pleasantly upbeat despite enduring yet another losing campaign. If new GM Bryan Colangelo manages to re-sign Bosh, the Raps won’t be far from where they’re looking to head.

One Hall-of-a-Payday

Adrian the Adorable Sports Writer — Thu, 16 Mar 2006 23:45:23 +0000

The Toronto Blue Jays extended the length of their MVP’s contract today, securing the services of Roy Halladay through the 2010 season. The 2003 Cy-Young award winner will be thirty-three years old when his 3-year, $40 Million extension expires. After a less productive 2004 campaign, Halladay looked to be well headed towards his second award in three years when a Kevin Mench line-drive ended his and essentially his team’s 2005 seasons. With all the spending GM J.P. Ricciardi did this off-season, Roy has been given the best opportunity of his career to lead the Jays deep into the fall. The future looks bright for our city’s MLB franchise.

Playoff Push 06: After The Belve Then It’s Probably Cris

Adrian the Adorable Sports Writer — Mon, 13 Mar 2006 20:08:33 +0000

The Toronto Maple Leafs looked like a real team this past weekend. After a hard fought shootout loss to the New York Islanders on Friday, they went on to capture their third point in two nights, defeating the defending Stanley Cup Champion Tampa Bay Lightning 5-1 at the Air Canada Centre.
After avoiding a trade deadline move this past Thursday, centreman Jason Allison played one of his best games as Leaf, scoring a pair of goals and adding an assist in the win. After rocketing his season goal total to a whopping thirteen, Allison celebrated the 2-goal performance by guzzling 2-shot Belvedere and Sodas at one of Torontoist’s favourite College Street destinations. If the playoffs are going to be an option this year, certain Leafs will need to double up on the score sheet again this week as they currently sit 6 points behind the Lightning for the final spot, yet still 2 points behind the Atlanta Thrashers for ninth.
The Leafs host Boston on Tuesday evening before they go on the road for three games over the next five nights – Buffalo on Wednesday, New York to face the Rangers on Saturday, and Pittsburgh on Sunday.

WBC 06: Just Like Women’s Hockey – Canada Dominates US

Adrian the Adorable Sports Writer — Thu, 09 Mar 2006 15:42:18 +0000

In a game that appeared to be heading towards the seventh inning mercy rule, the final innings turned out to be more of a nail-biter than earlier anticipated.
For the second straight day, coach Ernie Whitt gave the ball to a Baltimore Orioles lefthander, and on Wednesday afternoon Adam Loewen didn’t disappoint. While Loewen pitched nearly four scoreless innings, his teammates counted for seven runs, chasing 2005 Cy-Young finalist Dontrelle Willis from the game midway through the third.
Following Canadian Adam Stern‘s inside-the-park home run which stretched the lead over the favoured Americans to eight, the dangerous US lineup exploded for six runs in the bottom of the sixth inning, with four coming off a Jason Varitek grand slam.
Fortunately for Canada, their pitching staff only gave up a single hit after the Varitek slam and it came with two outs in the ninth when the ball fell out of center-fielder Adam Stern’s glove on what would’ve been a remarkable catch. Stern did it all on Wednesday. Offensively he was a double away from hitting for the cycle and added four RBIs. Defensively he showed his tremendous speed while making some highlight reel plays. Perhaps the Red Sox won’t miss Johnny Damon as much as they thought.
Canada now plays Mexico to see who will advance from group B. A win guarantees them top seed in the group. A loss coupled with a US win over South Africa and the group is decided by a tie-breaker. Game time is 8pm tonight.

Dear Leafs Skeptics: Hold Your Horses!

Adrian the Adorable Sports Writer — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 23:12:51 +0000

By merely parting with a fifth-round draft pick, John Ferguson Jr. made a strong statement today that his team is for real. The Maple Leafs General Manager acquired veteran defenseman Luke Richardson in a trade with the Columbus Blue Jackets this afternoon. Turning thirty-seven later this month, Richardson is expected to add his speed and youthful enthusiasm to a tired Leafs defense. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the rugged blue liner, that previous sentence couldn’t be less truthful. Richardson, who began his career with the Blue and White, has lost a step over the last four or five years and has done little to contribute for the disappointing Blue Jackets this season. His stat line for the year reads: 44 GP, 1 G, 6 A, -18, 30 PIM
Does Leafs management actually think they have a shot at the playoffs following last night’s win against a tired Montreal team?? Or was Richardson solely brought in to fill the roster spot when the team parts ways with Bryan McCabe during tomorrow’s trade deadline??
Torontoist apologizes for the photo quality… I mean it was taken in the 80′s and all.

WBC 06: Wake-up Call for Canada

Adrian the Adorable Sports Writer — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 19:14:46 +0000

Canada faced a tougher challenge than expected in their World Baseball Classic opener Tuesday evening. After giving up three runs during an eighth inning South African rally, Ernie Whitt’s team found themselves heading to the ninth trailing by a run. Fortunately the team exploded, scoring four in their next series while creating some breathing room for Minnesota Twins Jesse Crain to close out the 11-8 victory. Former Blue Jay Corey Koskie homered for the Canadians.
Canada will be up against a much stronger opponent this afternoon, as the Florida Marlins’ Dontrelle Willis will take the mound for a powerful American side. The United States beat Mexico 2-0 on the back of some phenomenal pitching in their tournament opener. Their seven pitchers combined for a team WHIP rating of 0.44 in the four-hit victory. Blue Jay fans will get to see star outfielder Vernon Wells take the field for the US team. The game can be seen at 4pm on Rogers Sportsnet.