Re. Karri Ramo

Goalie for goalie.

The Canadiens have sent Cedrick Desjardins - who spent most of his time in Hamilton - to Tampa Bay for Karri Ramo.

Desjardins, along with colleague Curtis Sanford, posted the lowest combined GAA in the AHL last season.

Ramo, who played for Omsk in the KHL, was sixth in GAA and was in a fourth-place tie for shutouts. His overall record in 44 games was 21-17-4. He also played 48 NHL games for Tampa from 2006-2009. Ramo's NHL record: 11-21-10.

Judging by the posts on Twitter, Habs fans aren't happy.

Hands up if you think Karri Ramo will be the next Georges Vezina!

- ER

Made In Your Neighborhood

Episode 32 of This Is Toronto is now available!!!

The Freedom Clothing Collective is an eco-friendly store that supports local artists and designers. However, it's more than just a clothing store.

www.thisistorontopodcast.blogspot.com

NEXT EPISODE: Aug. 27, 2010

- ER

Raptors 2010-11 Schedule

The NBA/Raptors have released their 2010-11 regular season schedule.

Important dates:

Oct. 27 - Season opener vs. New York

Mar. 4-5 - Two games against New Jersey in London, England

Feb. 16 and April 13 - CB4 returns to the ACC

Feb. 25 - Turk returns to the ACC

- ER

Zamboni Ramblings - The Return

Yes, the Zamboni is still rambling.

Nobody is safe; especially the cast of Inception, the Chicago Blackhawks and BGL.

- ER

Re. Arencibia & Morrow

What an incredible weekend for the Blue Jays. Two well-pitched games and one match with a football-esque score. They also manage to sweep the wild-card leading Rays and that's not even the important part of story.

Brandon Morrow's performance on Sunday was a true masterpiece.

17 strikeouts, one hit and a complete game shutout. He was just one out away from Toronto's first no-hitter in almost 20 years. Unfortunately, he fell short of the no-hit bid and Dave Stieb, after all this time, still stands alone.

The one-hitter should not overshadow Morrow's outing. It was an incredible display of pitching and shows just how good this young hurler can be. And to think, all AA had to give up for Morrow was Brendon League.

Full marks also have to be given out to Vernon Wells for that sensational catch and Jose Molina for keeping everything intact.

***

Forgive the cliche, but J.P. Arencibia's debut on Saturday was one for the ages.

Two homeruns, a double and a single. That's what I would call a good start.

I've always been skeptical when players like Arencibia are described as prospects or studs. However, the hype surrounding Arencibia is holding true. Of course, it's one game and before we start to anoint the young catcher as a future hall-of-famer, let's see what else he can do.

In the past seven days, the Jays took two out of three from the Yankees and swept Tampa. If you're a Blue Jays fan, you can't help but feel optimistic about the future.

- ER

PS: The Zamboni is rambling again.

Heart and Soul

VH1 did a five-part series on the top 100 one-hit wonders from the 1980's. Quite a few tunes from the series are now floating in my head, including this one:

T'Pau - Heart and Soul

Such soft vocals and then.......T'PAU!!!!

- ER

Re. Ricky Romero vs. NYY last night

Damn!

And here I thought Romero always seemed to pitch poorly against AL East opposition. Good time to adapt and change.

Actually, it was a great team effort. Almost everybody chipped in and given the last few seasons, that doesn't happen frequently for the Blue Jays.

- ER

Toronto After Dark

Episode 31 of This Is Toronto is now available!!!

This latest edition previews the 5th annual Toronto After Dark Film Festival; Aug. 13-20.

http://www.thisistorontopodcast.blogspot.com/

NEXT EPISODE: Aug. 13, 2010

- ER

Blue Jays vs. TFC

Mark down this date: July 27, 2010

The Blue Jays defeated the Baltimore Orioles 8-2. About 16,000 people were at the Skydome.

Toronto FC beat CD Motagua 1-0. About 18,000 people were at BMO Field.

To quote Bob Dylan, "The times, they are a changin'."

- ER

Zamboni Ramblings

(Cheap Plug Alert)

The answer: Lebron James, Chris Bosh, Dwayne Wade, Lindsay Lohan, Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin, Ryan Miller, Ilya Kovalchuk and Launy Schwartz.

The question: Who appears in my latest Hockey54.com article?

- ER

Mos Def

Mos Def gives a little freestyle.

It's all on the spot. Incredible.

- ER

Draft The Schwartz

Unfortunately, I'm not a top ten finalist for season two of Drafted.

But...

I'm very happy to report that my fellow Hockey54.com colleague (and he's the co-owner of the site too) LAUNY SCHWARTZ has made it to the top ten.

As far as I'm concerned, The Schwartz is Canada's next sportscaster. He will "Be Like Brothers."

The Score has chosen wisely.

- ER

Two Short Film Reviews

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus: 4 stars. Incredible imagery. The story flies off the rails. However, it's a Terry Gilliam film, so that's expected.

I watched Dr. Parnassus to prepare for...

Inception: 4.5 stars. IN-FREAKING-CREDIBLE! I highly recommend it. It's a long film (2.5 hours), but it keeps your interest.

- ER

Late Night in the Bedroom

Episode 30 of This Is Toronto is now available.

This latest edition profiles Late Night in the Bedroom, an online talk show that features local artists, musicians and cultural players.

www.thisistorontopodcast.blogspot.com

NEXT EPISODE: July 30, 2010

- ER

The Trades

A Raptor trade and a Blue Jay trade, all in the same day? I thought my poor head was going to explode. Some notes about both transactions:

Blue Jays

- The second Alex Gonzalez era has ended. Sorry to see him go, but his value is at its highest point and won't go any higher.

- Yunel Escobar has potential, but he's slumping and said to have off-field issues. Perhaps a change of location will lead to positive results.

- For the Blue Jays, this trade was about the future. For the Braves, this trade was about adding additional parts.

- Don't really have anything to say about the minor leaguers exchanged in the deal. Personally, I feel all minor leaguers are gambles. Labelling prospects is a waste of time.

Raptors

- Bye Turk.

- Barbosa is coming off an injury-plagued season. Wrists injuries can really affect a career. So forgive me for being a little skeptical.

- Barbosa, DeRozan, Calderon, Jack. One of these four won't be here in the fall. My guess (reluctantly) is Jose.

- Dwayne Jones will likely spend most of his time on the bench.

Something tells me BC & AA aren't done.

- ER

George Steinbrenner: 1930-2010

Likable or not, Mr. Steinbrenner was extremely successful.

In honour of the late Yankee owner:



- ER

Before the trade becomes official...

Bryan Colangelo sent this e-mail to every Raptor fan on the team's mailing list last week:

Dear ERIC,
What a spectacle! What we have all just witnessed is something unprecedented in professional basketball and possibly even in professional sports. In a year where multiple NBA teams positioned themselves for the ability to sign a "maximum" contract player (or players) in free agency, three of the NBA's bright young stars are teaming together in an attempt to win an NBA Championship. Kudos to the Miami Heat for pulling off such a feat.

I'm sure that there is frustration and disappointment, possibly even resentment, upon hearing the news that Chris Bosh is leaving Toronto to join forces with Dwyane Wade and LeBron James in South Beach. Well that certainly is the feeling from this vantage point as we lose a player that has been the centrepiece of our franchise for the last several years. I can assure you every move/investment made in the last four years to improve our basketball team was designed with the belief that putting the right pieces around Chris would get us closer to our goal of winning an NBA Championship. In fact, Chris actively participated in that process as transactions and changes were contemplated because I have always believed that a franchise player experiences a sense of ownership in team building. Unfortunately, we fell short of that goal and must now move on to a post-Bosh era in Toronto.

In completing a Sign-and-Trade transaction with Miami, we were able to extract a very valuable Trade Exception and future draft picks that will serve as building blocks in the process of re-tooling our basketball team. The Trade Exception can be used to acquire players under contract with other teams via trade, or it can be used to leverage the acquisition of additional future assets. Speaking of the future, I can't tell you how energized we all feel to see the positive growth and development of so much young athletic talent on our roster including re-signing Amir Johnson and the recent first-round draft selection of Ed Davis. While more changes to the roster are possible, even likely, we can promise you now that this team will compete every night they take to the floor.

We believe we have the best fans in the NBA and we believe in the city and country that we play in. Your passion, pride and support has been tremendous no matter what the circumstances, and we cannot thank you enough for that. We all share a commitment to winning both on and off the floor and MLSE/Toronto Raptors ownership and management will do whatever it takes to WIN while also making the community a better place. Our franchise will evolve and emerge stronger than before, and I assure you that our combined efforts will produce the WINNER you are hoping for.

Sincerely,

Bryan Colangelo

President and General Manager
Toronto Raptors Basketball Club


Very different from Dan Gilbert's tone.

- ER

Brendan vs. Zach

Forget Taylor vs. Tyler. Let's take a look at Brendan vs. Zach.

It's the biggest debate in hockey (at least in my head).

- ER

Re. Lebron James

Yeah, I saw this coming.

Did anyone really expect him to stay in Cleveland? Miami gives him more money and a greater chance to win a title. In case you weren't aware, loyalty is very, very rare in the world of professional sports.

So...

James+Wade+Bosh = The 2010-11 Miami Heat.

What looks like a gift could also be a curse. Just saying.

- ER

Re. Chris Bosh

And so, the Chris Bosh era has ended.

Can't say I'm surprised.

Fans knew he would leave if the Raptors weren't a winning team. For any fan, it was their biggest fear. I made peace with Bosh's eventual departure many months ago.

Bosh was solid player. He gave a full effort every night. He was respectful to the fans and the media. He never complained or embellished success. From my end - and I'm just one Raptor fan - there is no hate for Chris Bosh; only affection.

Could he have handled his free agency adventure better? Absolutely! But Twitter or no Twitter, Bosh was leaving the Raptors.

And I'm fine with that.

The Raptors survived without Damon Stoudamire, they survived without Vince Carter and they'll survive without CB4.

For the remaining roster, there is nothing but opportunity.

Almost every player has the chance to become the leader; the one to bring the troops together and lead them into battle. There are some good candidates: Jack, Bargnani, Turkoglu (if the rumours about making amends are true), even DeRozan and Ed Davis.

Don't be fooled. Bosh's presence will be missed and every player will need to step up their game. The upcoming season will not be pretty. But the outlook isn't consumed completely by darkness.

Bosh is gone and just like Carter, Stoudamire, Doug Flutie, Mats Sundin and Roy Halladay, it's time to move on.

- ER