Big Move of June 11th

Mike McCoy pitching a 1-2-3 ninth inning against the Boston Red sox. If you're not familiar with McCoy then you might be asking why this is such a big deal since plenty of pitchers throw 1-2-3 innings. Well, it just so happens that Mike McCoy is not a pitcher and rather a position player who is used in various spots in the infield or occasionally the outfield. After the Red Sox routed the Jays starting pitcher Brandon Morrow for nine runs and then had their way with Frasor, Dotel and Janssen the Jays turned to McCoy to play the role of the mop up pitcher to end a lost game. Turns out he's not a bad pitcher and did what few Jays pitchers could do on the day by shutting out the Red Sox in the ninth. Word is the Jays are now scouting Air Canada for pitching talent since they'll probably be throwing more strikes than anyone on the Jays roster this summer (with the exception of Romero and Rzypcenski).

Big Move of June 5th

Manny Malhotra returns to the Canucks lineup after suffering a gruesome eye injury that required emergency surgery in March and has kept him out ever since. It was once thought that Malhotra's career was in jeopardy and that he may never see out of his left eye again. Returning to hockey at all was in doubt let alone making a comeback in the stanley cup final. His return to the lineup last night was nothing short of outstanding and provided one of the greatest moments of hockey this season when he took his first shift and faceoff two minutes into the game in front of a standing ovation and crowd chanting his name. Malhotra's return was a huge emotional boost for the Canucks and his presence in the lineup was by no means trivial or to act as a cheerleader. Malhotra is an excellent faceoff man and proved so by winning 86% of his draws last night, which is a very important and often overlooked part of the game, especially in the playoffs.

Co big move of the day, some asslcown who should have been suspended for last night's game scoring the overtime goal to put the Vancouver Canucks up 2-0 and all but lock up the stanley cup. If you think I'm jinxing it or talking too soon consider this statistic, of 34 teams to open the finals with two straight losses on the road only 2 have been able to come back and win the cup. The most recent being the Pittsburgh Penguins beating the Detroit Red Wings in 2009. I'm going to go out and say Boston will not become the third team to do so and I wouldn't be surprised to see Vancouver sweep the Beaners. 

Big Move of June 4th

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal winning their semi-final matches to set up a great final at the French Open this coming Sunday. I struggled finding a big move from yesterday but I suppose this deserved mention. I was pretty pleased to see Federer beat jokeavich, especially since I thought he was starting to move towards the twilight part of his career and edging towards being washed up. Maybe that's a bit ignorant of me to say, I'll be honest I don't know a heck of a lot about tennis but aren't they like running backs and all but done when they hit 30? I just haven't heard his name a lot lately or seen him win any big tournaments. Again, I don't watch much tennis so feel free to correct me if you do. Either way, great final for Sunday and if Federer can beat Nadal on clay at Rolen Garos (not sure if that's how you spell it) I'd imagine it will be considered one of his greatest victories and perhaps complete all there is to accomplish in his career since I don't believe he has beaten Nadal at the French Open. I know he won the French a few years ago to complete the career grand slam but he never faced Nadal because Rafael lost before the championship and was hobbled by a leg injury. To me this would really legitimize the French Open title for Federer and is kind of like how a career is not complete at Michigan if you don't beat Ohio State, or beating USC if you go to Notre Dame, or beating the Steelers if you play for the Ravens... You get the idea.

Big Move of June 2nd

Dirk Nowitzki leading a 15 point comeback against the heat with only six minutes left in game 2 of the NBA finals. I'm not a big fan of basketball and will admit I did not watch any of this game but I can respect the significance and difficulty of this comeback so I'll concede BMOD honours to it. Especially considering it came against the team I hate most in basketball along with everyone outside of Miami. I did watch the highlights and the part of the game I enjoyed most was Dirk making Bosh look like an idiot several times in the last few minutes of the game, including his drive with 3 seconds left to score the winning bucket. Out of the 'Big 3' I'd definitely say Bosh is the most annoying and insignificant player but fills the role of the 'group loser' quite nicely (George in Seinfeld for instance... or was it Elaine? Maybe Turtle from Entourage is the better example). The 'group loser' is essentially that guy who adds nothing and you only notice when he screws up big, like Bosh did last night. Occasionally they have one big day and ride that glory forever (Bosh in game 3 vs. Chicago last series) but for the most part they don't do much. He is paid quite handsomely though to fill this role so I'm sure he has no complaints. However, with the impending NBA lockout, which will surely bring a cutback to players salaries and a lower cap Bosh will likely be banished from Miami next season in order for the team to keep Lebron and Dwayne Wade. I think Milwaukee would be a nice destination and serve him right for the bulls$!# he pulled on Toronto during his last season.  The only drawback to that is he'll incrase his already annoying tweets by 200% in order to try and stay relevant.

In other news. I will have to concede that 'Joey Bats' is the proper nickname for Jose Bautista and I'm all for it after seeing this promotion. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lohgU46mRA
Big move by MLB digging up Bobby Bacallieri and Johnny Sacs brothe rin law from the Sopranos to do this promotion.

Big Move of June 1st

Alex Burrows getting pumped up for game 1 by watching the replay of the Mike Tyson/Evander Holyfield fight from 1997. Unfortunately he took a little bit too much from watching this fight and brought Tyson's antics into the arena by trying to bite off Patrice Bergeron's finger while Bergeron gave him a nice facewash.  Burrows is known for bush league antics and cowardly acts when confronted by players much tougher than him (the entire league) so this act really shouldn't come as any surprise. The bite only furthers his title as the most despised player in the NHL amongst players and fans (yes, he's even passed Avery). I have to say that it's really going to suck watching this guy lift the cup over his head in about a week's time. I'm fully behind the Canucks along with the majority of Canadians but Burrows and Ryan Kesler sure do make you want to cheer against this team at times. Maybe Kesler will lighten up when the Canucks win but Burrows will still be annoying to look at and listen to.

Big Move of May 31st

The sale of the Atlanta Thrashers to True North Sports paving the way for a relocation to Winnipeg. Over 15 years have passed since the Jets left town and now the city of Winnipeg is looking for redemption trying to provie it can support an NHL franchise once again. Funny, didn't Atlanta say the same thing in 1999 when they got a second chance at NHL hockey after it failed? I'll admit that these are two different cities and fan support was not the reason the Jets left in 1996 while fan support was the major reason hockey failed twice in Atlanta. Actually, to be honest, Atlanta is a pretty brutal town for fan support regardless of what sport is being played, unless of course the Falcons are over 500. Hockey had no chance to survive in Atlanta to begin with but Gary Bettman continually showed blind support for the team and was always quick to point out that it is the 4th largest TV market in the U.S. That's a very nice statistic, by that reasoning a team should be put in Beijing or New Delhi because they're two of the biggest cities in the world. Of course a large population will flock to a team and sport they have no history or roots in. To be honest, I wouldn't be surprised to see Bettman trying to move a team into Asia before he makes the most obvious decision to relocate a team to the GTA, or two for that matter. He's either incredibly dumb or the Maple Leafs have a photo of him punishing a donkey from behind, which are the only two theories I can come up with to explain why he's avoided this money making market. But I digress, today is about Winnipeg and not the dictator that runs the NHL with an iron fist and stubborness. Congratulations Winnipeg, it's great to see another Canadian team join the fold and I think everyone is happy for you... well, except for the wives and families of the Thrasher players who now have to spend the Winter in the Peg as opposed to the country clubs of the south where you can wear shorts and t-shirts in February. Odds are the players will be buying homes close to James Armstrong Richardson airport, otherwise known as the best part of Winnipeg. Why? Because when you're there you know you can leave!

Big Move of May 30th

Jim Tressel resigning from THE Ohio State and by resign I really mean fired but allowed to make the announcement himself and save face. Ohio State has never had very high academic or moral standards for its players (see Maurice Clarett) and Tressel's time on campus didn't see any change in this culture. Most turned a blind eye to the low standards the Buckeyes had for it's players off the field because they compiled a 106-22 record, a national championship title, two other trips to the big game and a 9-1 record against arch rival Michigan under Tressel's watch. However, reports surfaced this offseason about five player's involvement (including overrated qb Tyrell Prior) in a scandal where memorabilia was exchanged for free tattoos from the owner of a local tatoo parlour, who I might add is also being investigated for drug trafficking. Such an exchange is against NCAA rules and the five players were suspended for the first five games of the upcoming season by Ohio State. This was an appropriate action taken by Ohio State and the matter would have likely died there but the scandal picked up legs when it was found that Jim Tressel knew about the inappropriate exchanges his players made with the tattoo parlour. Tressel previously denied knowing of such infractions but emails between him and a whistle blower would prove otherwise. What's worse is that he allowed these players to play in football games and flat out lied to the NCAA by saying he knew nothing about their transgressions. He did this in order to keep the players on the field and give the Buckeyes a chance at winning another national championship. In March of this year Tressel admitted to knowing of his player's involvement with the tatoo parlour and imposed a five game suspension on himself for the upcoming season, matching the suspension handed down to the players involved. The NCAA wouldn't let the matter die there though and are starting to dig deeper into Tressel's years at Ohio State. Other cases where he allowed ineligible players to suit up for football games are beginning to surface and it appears the tattoo parlour scheme is not an isolated incident. This all piled up and led to his firing or 'resignation' today.

So who is to blame? I would say both Tressel and Ohio State. Tressel was the head coach of an administration that continually lowered academic and moral standards in order to keep its players on the field. Ohio State meanwhile let him run the program and never really questioned what was going on as long as they kept winning. In a way you could say Tressel was Tony Soprano and Ohio State Carmella. One was allowed to go about their business and enjoy great financial gain for their shady practices (Tony/Tressel) while the other asked no questions and enjoyed the lavish lifestyle the other provided (Carmella/Ohio State). Sadly, this is the case amongst a lot of schools in the NCAA (Alabama, Auburn, USC etc) and creates an unequal playing field where it is difficult for legitimate schools like Notre Dame to succeed.