Results tagged “easternconference”

Hope is a cruel thing for a sports fan: no matter how bleak the situation, as long as there's a straw in sight we'll happily clutch at it. Case in point: Leafs Nation, of which we're proud, occasionally defiant members. We've been flip-flopping over the Leafs all season long. A few weeks ago we'd written them off, then watched as the team put together an impressive run (which included comprehensive victories over the Ottawa Senators and the Boston Bruins). Suddenly, they were back in the thick of things—and hope, suddenly, sprung eternal once more.

In the best campaign commercial since HuckChuckFacts, Chris Bosh has assumed the identity of a Texas used car salesman in order to try to drum up votes to make it to this year's NBA All-Star Game in New Orleans.

One month into the new NHL season, and this much is obvious: the Toronto Maple Leafs are a mystery, wrapped in an enigma, dressed in the league’s silly new jerseys. The Leafs are scoring more often than your younger sister, but they’re also leaking goals at a potentially historic rate. They’ve lost two games by 7–1 final scores, but they’ve also got an 8–1 win and consecutive 4–1 road victories against consensus preseason favourites (Pittsburgh and the New York Rangers). The result is that the Maple Leafs are one of the most entertaining teams in the league, even if they’re seemingly hell-bent on driving their doggedly loyal fans to drink.

It was one of the wildest final weekends in NHL history. The Toronto Maple Leafs delivered a knockout blow to the Montreal Canadiens in one of the most electric matches in recent memory, only to have the New York Islanders break our hearts and take the final playoff spot in a shootout against the New Jersey Devils the following day.

Now boarding at Platform 1: The Toronto Raptors Bandwagon. Please form a line to the right, and have your tickets ready. Prepare for a bumpy ride, this trip is standing room only.

With their 4-1 loss to the defending Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes Tuesday night, the Toronto Maple Leafs slipped back to a .500 record (19-19-6) yet again, and now sit tied for ninth place in the Eastern Conference, fighting for their playoff lives after having played more than half of their games this season. They're missing a hospital ward full of regular players due to injury (Mike Peca, Alexei Ponikarovsky, Ian White, Kyle Wellwood, Darcy Tucker, etc.). They continue to struggle with goaltending that, while decent at times, is far from superior, with neither Andrew Raycroft nor Jean-Sebastien Aubin stealing a single game for them this year. So what has general manager John Ferguson, Jr. done to shore up his team with the all-star break and stretch run looming? Well, yesterday he claimed former Leaf third/fourth-liner Travis Green (two points in seven games this year with Anaheim, 22 points in 82 games with Boston last season) off of waivers. While a noted faceoff and penalty kill specialist, Green is hardly a replacement for the likes of Tucker (19-12-31 in 39 games), Ponikarovsky (11-13-24 in 35 games) or Wellwood (9-22-31 in 35 games) on a team that even when fully healthy is still lacking offensively.

Once a month Torontoist would like to encourage you to drag yourself off the couch and across the room to that nice, comfy swivel chair in front of your computer, to experience something from the wonderful world of streaming. Anyone who's visited YouTube or eBaum's World knows how gratifying watching two Asian kids lipsynch to Jessica Simpson can be! So in the interest of expanding your horizons (or at least giving you some way to kill time at the office without actually having to do any work), we'll find some interesting, funny, or just plain stupid and entertaining way to amuse yourself with your computer (without the need for pornography).

Yesterday, Jorge Garbajosa was named the Rookie of the Month for the NBA’s Eastern Conference, and he has been leading NBA.com’s unofficial Rookie of the Year Race for the past month. Garbajosa, however, is not a typical rookie; he doesn’t look like one and he doesn’t play like one.

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.

With the way Montreal Canadiens netminder Christobel Huet has been playing in 2006, it could be all but over for the Maple Leafs as the two teams face off at the ACC tonight. The second worst team since January 1st could have their dreams of a first round playoff exit ripped from their hearts if they come up short yet again this evening. The Leafs currently sit last place in the Northeast Division and are just a single point ahead of the New York Islanders for 11th spot in the Eastern Conference. With the NHL trade deadline only two-days away, tonight's game could decide where a few current Leafs will be calling their home this weekend.

The same team of minds that confused you with a Scottish talking stick of gum have taken it an EXTRA step with their latest marketing initiative.

Torontoist was on hand to take in the action and develop a new crush on Midfielder Amanda Cicchini. Cicchini scored the first goal in franchise history, tying the game partway through the first half.

Similar to a child's excitement prior to christmas morning, Torontoist will be tossing and turning in it's bed tonight. The terrible sleep will be credited to the anticipation of Vince Carter's return to the ACC tomorrow evening. With his New Jersey Nets only a game and a half back of the Philadlelpia 76ers for the Eastern Conference's eighth and final playoff spot, Vince's long awaited return to Toronto could be the game that decides his team's fate.

Although the Raptors are only 4.5 games out of the final playoff spot, and 6 games back of the division leading Boston Celtics, the hopes of a playoff birth should realistically be dropped.

Don’t look now, but the Toronto Raptors are only 2 games out of third place in the Eastern Conference. Currently sitting 10th, and three and a half games back of the streaking Chicago Bulls for the final playoff spot, the Raps can thank the NBA playoff structure and their abysmal Atlantic division for their opportunity at a home court playoff series. Despite how poor a record, the division leader is guaranteed a top-three seed. With their play of late, the 18 and 24 Raptors have a strong chance of securing the division title. Torontoist is thrilled with the Raptors turnaround, while equally excited that Vince Carter’s New Jersey Nets sit dead last in the same Atlantic Division.