Cam Cole of CanWest News Service has an interesting piece up this morning in the National Post about the struggles of the Canadian Open to land big-name talent.

Much of the article centres on the Royal Canadian Golf Association's chartering a jet to fly golfers home from the British Open and deposit them neatly in Toronto for this week's tourney. According to the Open's tournament director, Bill Paul, five players -- Steve Stricker, Jerry Kelly, Carl Petterson, Ryan Moore and Boo Weekley -- took the flight and then took off.

This sounds unsporting, but Paul charged each passenger $1,000 for the flight, and later he says the RCGA allowed the players on as a matter of goodwill, and ...


"You know what? There are players that have been good to us, and we let them on," Paul said. "Will it pay dividends? I don't know, but I think it's goodwill and it's positive. I won't lose any sleep over it ? but I will definitely remind them."

So why the complaining then? It's not as if they were freeloading -- those five seats being filled is $5,000 back into the RCGA's pockets, and could fund a nice day camp for local youth, I'd think. In addition, any goodwill gained is definitely going to be dampened once word gets back to these players Paul has dumped on them after the fact.

It's possible Cole may have found this out on his own and pressed Paul for an explanation, but perhaps Paul needs to have someone hold up one of those "QUIET" signs in instances such as this.

Cole also takes David Love III to task for not playing in the Open.

No use asking why Love took a quarter of a million United States dollars from Angus Glen to re-design the North course two years ago -- move some tee boxes and bunkers, grow in the rough here and there, toughen it up -- then didn't show up at the tournament where the quality of his work will be judged.

Well, Cam, I'm guessing he took the $250,000US to, I don't know ... redesign the course? I mean, is Love not supposed to be paid for his work? And unless the deal had an appearance contract attached to it, Angus Glen has probably gotten $250,000 worth of publicity from having a PGA Tour star pimp its course.

Want to attract more players? Start with a larger purse. Apparently $5M doesn't buy what it used to, because that's one of the smaller payouts on the Tour. It puts the Canadian Open behind such Tour classics as the PODS Championship, the Frys Electronics Open and the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.

It's a tough go with no major sponsor, but that falls on the shoulders on the Open to find someone with deep pockets (Mr. Balsillie to the first tee, please). A big sponsor and a big purse means more of the little goodies for players Cole mentions -- a Mercedes loaner and a bottle of Dom at the Wachovia vs. a BMW at the Canadian -- and that could translate to a deeper field.

By the way, the Wachovia Open's purse is $6.3M.

The other big factor is playing the week after the British Open. Players are tired, full of haggis and looking to take a week off and recharge for the PGA and the NASCARization of golf, the Fed Ex Cup, but the chance to take home a huge first-place cheque -- say, $1.5M instead of $810,000 -- might make a few fellows take notice.

There isn't much the Open can do to force a change in the schedule, so it's going to have to be money and perks. Too bad a two-four of Moosehead and some autographed copies of "Strange Brew" won't cut it.

In case you missed it, Lindsay Lohan has been arrested for the umpteenth time. Not surprisingly, the incident involves drugs and alcohol.

Here's a photo of Lohan from the arrest:



Looks quite a bit like Farrah Fawcett from The Burning Bed, doesn't she?

Anyhow, my favourite quote in this story comes from Lohan attorney Blair Berk.

"Addiction is a terrible and vicious disease," Berk said in a statement Tuesday.

Now who does that sound like? Oh yeah, I remember ...



I'm hoping Lohan's penalty this time will include her being stripped naked and being beaten savagely with a sack of Valencia oranges. They apparently don't leave marks, and the whole thing could be put on PPV to raise some money for victims of drunk driving. I know I'd pay $29.99 for that.

I'm really puzzled by the lack of a secondary move by Toronto general manager John Ferguson Jr. Here's how I figured on things playing out right before the trade:

1) Leafs bring in Curtis Joseph for not much money on a one-year deal. Since the Leafs aren't going to win a Cup this year anyway, he mentors both Raycroft and Pogge while playing 20-25 games and taking some of the pressure off of Razor.
2a) Raycroft matures and shows marked improvement, solidifying his place as the No. 1 and giving Pogge time to develop slowly. The Leafs spend their draft picks and cap dollars on big wingers, and Curtis rides off into the sunset an even bigger hero in the GTA tham he already is.

or

2B) Raycroft fails to develop, and the Leafs hit the free agent market to pick up a goalie, or decide to move up Pogge and possibly resign Joseph for one more year as the back-up.

Picking up Toskala isn't a bad move -- it just underscores the lack of direction in the Toronto front office. I can only guess Ferguson figures he can play them as a platoon for the season, allowing Maurice to ride the hot hand, then deal one or the other next season.

That's not a terrible plan, but I can't imagine it's going to make either one of the Leaf netminders very happy -- and it's not going to thrill fans, either.

The Leafs have just made their first deal of the draft weekend, acquiring Vesa Toskala and Mark Bell from San Jose for (maybe)their first-round pick at No. 13 this season, a second rounder and a fourth-round pick in 2009.

I'm not thrilled about the loss of the first-round pick, but Toskala is the real deal. He was 26-10-1 with a 2.35 GAA and a .908 save percentage last year, and he'll only be better if he's the main man. The pick also can switch to the 2008 draft if the Sharks don't like who is available this year, but Toronto has Top 10 protection in that case.

Where this leaves Andrew Raycroft is up for debate. Raycroft wasn't the problem last season (hello, Kubina and McCabe!), but he wasn't the solution either. Dealing him or relegating him to the back-up spot would be an admission of defeat for Toronto GM John Ferguson, Jr., in the trade that sent Tuukka Rask to Boston last year. I have to think (and hope and pray) JFJ has a deal in place to move Razor and a defenseman.

It also makes you wonder whether the Leafs have already soured on Justin Pogge. I didn't hear anyone come away from last year's Marlies games saying they were overly impressed with Pogge, and the organization has been pretty mum. Pogge's way too young to write off, but if the right package came down the pike to move him and acquire either a high pick or a solid scorer, I think the Leafs would jump.

As for Mark Bell, he can't possibly play down to the lousy level of last year again, can he? Bell's 6-4, 205, so he's got the size Toronto needs in the corners and to free up Mats Sundin (hint hint), and he's only $2M a year. Wjat's the harm?

This is definitely a nice move by Ferguson, but keep your fingers crossed that another deal's coming.

HA HA!!!

Just a quickie -- if you haven't seen previews of the upcoming Family Guy season premiere, they're fantastic! The FG gang has remade Star Wars, and although the YouTube clip of the showing at a Star Wars celebration has been yanked (thanks to the legal idiots at 20th Century Fox), you can still find it at Devil Ducky.

It's worth the click, trust me!

I was just checking out my MySpace page (Yes, I have one. No, I'm not 15. Yes, I'd be glad to send $5,000 to Nigeria or view your web cam for $1.99 per minute) and near the bottom of the front page, there's a spot for some hot musical artist.

Today's choice is Ben Kweller, who is a part of the joint SPIN/MySpace Smashing Pumpkins tribute CD. I happen to love tribute albums (especially versions of rock tunes that switch genres -- see also Breathe, a collection of Dave Matthews songs as bluegrass), so I hopefully listened to Kweller's version of "Today", which is on his page.

Awful. Gigantically, spectacularly awful. Kweller takes a powerful, angry anthem and reduces it to a wimpy, washed-out whine. It's like remaking "Pulp Fiction" with Nathan Lane and Bob Ross.

Go listen for yourself and explain to me how this guy -- who sings like Fran Drescher acts -- got a record deal on the first place.

In the aftermath of last night's drive-by shouting by New York Yankee third baseman Alex Rodriguez, opinions seem to be wildly mixed on the legality and morality of the play.

In case you missed it, the Yankees led the Blue Jays 7-5 with two outs in the top of the ninth inning. With runners at first and second, Jorge Posada skied one to the right of third base. Howie Clark, appearing in his first major-league game of the season, camped under it, and then quickly ducked away as Rodriguez passed behind him.

An absolutely livid John McDonald, the Blue Jays shortstop, immediately began yelling at Rodriguez -- who stood at third smirking and, according to at least one report, pushed away third-base umpire Chad Fairchild when he appeared to disagree with the play -- and most of the Toronto bench came onto the top steps of the dugout or the field. Manager John Gibbons came out to ask for a ruling and argue with the crew chief but got nowhere.

But why didn't he? Rule 7.08 from the Official Rules of Major League Baseball states:

Any runner is out when --
(b) He intentionally interferes with a thrown ball; or hinders a fielder attempting to make a play on a batted ball

That's not particularly ambiguous to me. ARod is running from second to third and yells something at Clark as he passes behind him. After viewing the play repeatedly, I'm almost certain it was "Mine!", but that's not material here. Rodriguez attempted to hinder the fielder, he succeeded and he should have been called out.

There's no question as to the sportsmanship of the play. As a former high school player and coach, I know most leagues up through American League have rules forbidding yelling or clapping on the basepaths. Young players are quickly discouraged from attempting to distract the fielder, as it's a good way for the fielder to end up getting beaned with the ball.

How often does it happen in pro ball? Well, you could ask Clark:

"I was expecting McDonald to make the catch," the third baseman said. "I have been playing professional baseball for 16 years and never saw that."

Or you could ask consummate professional Matt Stairs. The journeyman was a bit less tactful, calling it "a horseshit play" and saying if Rodriguez's teammates gave no comment, that was their way of saying they didn't appreciate it either.

Yankee shortstop Derek Jeter, incidentally, didn't want to comment.

Some of the fault lies with McDonald, who as the shortstop should have called immediately for the ball. But there has also been blame assign to Clark for not sticking with the pop-up, and that's way off base.

Assume, as Clark did, that the person loudly yelling "Mine!" in your ear is McDonald. If you don't clear the way and you collide with McDonald, it's your fault for not yielding to the shortstop on a ball that could easily have been his.

Finally, Rodriguez said similar things happened to him "three or four times a week." That would seem unlikely. As Clark said, it's not something he'd ever experienced. Blue Jays slugger Troy Glaus said it had never happened to him in 30 years of baseball.


It's more likely Rodriguez either was read the riot act or given the cold shoulder in the Yankee locker room after the game -- not that he isn't use to that -- and felt compelled to concoct something to make himself look better.

The most unfortunate victim of the whole situation was pitcher Brian Wolfe. Making his major-league debut, he ended up being charged with two hits and a run when he induced a pop-up from Posada that should have ended the threat.

It was also unfortunate for Gibbons, who may have told a more experienced pitcher to buzz the tower of the next hitter as a way of expressing the displeasure of the Jays. But then, it's tough to justify beaning Giambi in retaliation when ARod's teammates seem to dislike him as much as the Jays do right now.

No, Toronto will have to wait to extract its measure of revenge until the next meeting between the two teams on July 16.

Well, that or just hang out outside strip clubs and watch for Rodriguez leaving with women other than his wife.

A few thoughts from around the world of sports today:

* Kobe Bryant is apparently demanding a trade out of Los Angeles. Most of the discussion is centering on how the Lakers could possibly get fair value for Bryant. I suspect they'll move Kobe for a lesser player and a pick, but there's good news -- at least this time he let the other party involved know before he stuck it up their ass.

* Mike Milbury has stepped down as general manager of the New York Islanders, which has shocked many hockey insiders who had no idea Milbury still had a job.

* The New York Post published photos Wednesday of Yankee slugger Alex Rodriguez in the company of a blonde woman who was not his wife in downtown Toronto on Sunday evening. Surprisingly, however, Belinda Stronach has an alibi.

* Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is considering forming a professional football league in partnership with one of search engine Google's top executives. Before he gets too involved, Cuban may want to visit Google and type in "USFL".

I just finished watching "Leela's Homeworld", an episode of from season four of Futurama. Does anyone else cry every time they see this one?



It's not the funniest episode of the show, but damn it ... every time! There's an episode of Family Guy that does the same thing to me, the one where Brian ends up spending time with Pearl, and then holding her hand when she dies.

Anyone else? And stop laughing!

I don't want to turn this into YouTube central, but this video of Martin Leung -- "The Video Game Pianist" -- is definitely worth a look, whether you like tremendous musicianship or you just love the old video game classics. It brings a tear to the eye of this old man to hear the "Super Mario Brothers" theme treated so lovingly, and Leung so obviously enjoys himself (even playing with a blindfold at one point), how can I not also enjoy it?

Martin Leung - Super Mario Piano Medley

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Leung has toured all over the world playing not only as VGP, but also simply as one of the world's best young pianists. You can find out more about him at VideoGamePianist.com.

I feel for the family of Josh Hancock, I really do. The former St. Louis Cardinals pitcher died after slamming into the back of a parked towed truck at 1 a.m. last month on Interstate 40.

Rumours were rampant about Hancock being drunk at the time of the accident, and the subsequent toxicology reports showed him with a blood alcohol level of 0.157 -- nearly double the legal limit in Missouri.

But now Hancock's father has filed a wrongful-death suit. In it, he names Shannon's, a popular hangout near Busch Stadium, as a defendant, and adds:

* Patricia Shannon Van Matre, daughter of the former Cardinal player and current broadcaster, and manager of his bar/restaurant;
* Justin Tolar, the driver of the car which struck a median wall and was stranded in the left lane of the highway;
* Jacob E. Hargrove, the tow truck driver who stopped to help Tolar; and
* Eddie's Towing, owner of the tow truck.

You can read the particulars of the suit in the linked story, but there's one extremely sentence -- "The intoxication of Joshua Morgan Hancock on said occasion was involuntary."

Involuntary? Did the staff at Shannon's hold Hancock down and force the alcohol down his throat? Did they surreptitiously inject it into him while he was looking the other way?

Hancock was a grown man. He headed for Shannon's of his own free will, and I'm guessing he didn't go there for the curly fries. He got drunk, then chose to put himself behind the wheel of his vehicle and endanger himself and anyone else on the road. If Shannon's overserved him, they may be held partially liable.

But to target the driver of the stopped vehicle, the tow truck driver and the tow company is misguided and mean-spirited. The only possible gain from this is financial, and to try and pull money from those incidentally involved is nothing short of a macabre cash grab.

If the Hancocks were upset about the speculation over their son's condition at the time of his death, they're going to be shattered by the well-deserved villification they'll now receive. I hope Tolar and Hargrove file a countersuit against the Hancocks for mental anguish caused by having to be a party in their drunk son's death.