Denials and half-truths

Roger Clemens,Andy Pettitte,Brian Roberts,Fernando Vina and others who intend to come forward...JUST SHUT UP!!!

If you are going to send a press release,issue a statement or give an interview on the fact your name appeared in the Mitchell report,tell the entire truth or shut up.

Fernando Vina on Kirk Radomski : "I never bought steroids from him. All I used was HGH," Vina said in an interview on ESPN. Slow to recover from knee and hamstring injuries, Vina played only 61 games for the Cardinals in 2003.

He said he was under pressure from the team and himself to get back on the field, so he tried HGH. Vina said he met Radomski while with the Mets in 1994.

So let me get this straight.He knew the guy in 1994,but never used steroids.Then 10 years later he decided to call him for HGH.Give me a break.

Andy Pettitte statement :''In 2002 I was injured. I had heard that human growth hormone could promote faster healing for my elbow. I felt an obligation to get back to my team as soon as possible. For this reason, and only this reason, for two days I tried human growth hormone.''

Two days.Not a week, a month or two months but two days.OK Andy we believe you!

Brian Roberts statement : "In 2003, when I took one shot of steroids, I immediately realized that this was not what I stood for or anything that I wanted to continue doing. I never used steroids, human growth hormone or any other performance enhancing drugs prior to or since that single incident," he said.

Can you believe this guy.This is worse than Pettitte.Not two days but one shot.This is steroids not tequila!

And the one player who of course has the most to lose, a Hall of Fame vote, Roger Clemens issued this statement : ''I want to state clearly and without qualification: I did not take steroids, human growth hormone or any other banned substances at any time in my baseball career or, in fact, my entire life," he said in a statement issued through his agent.

I can't wait for a player to come forward and admit that he did in fact use steroids.Then when MLB started testing for steroids , this player like all other users moved to HGH.We know guys cheated and we will have a whole lot more respect if someone comes clean.

No excuses and half-truths.We do not believe you anymore.Remember the finger pointing Rafael Palmeiro in front of congress ?

The media and the fans are no longer buying it.

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Red Sox will win another World Series

After incorrectly predicting that Ottawa will win the Stanley Cup against Anaheim,the Jets,Bengals,Eagles,Saints and Rams would be playoff teams and that the Indians would face the Diamondbacks in the fall classic , here is my pick for the World Series.

For the third year in a row it will be a short one and I believe the Red Sox will sweep the Rockies.

The only decent starter that the Rockies have is Canadian Jeff Francis and unfortunately he is facing Josh Beckett in game one at Fenway.

The hottest team in baseball has not faced live pitching in 8 days and it will show in game one.

Meanwhile Dustin Pedroia seems out of his slump and JD Drew finally got a clutch hit so that is not good news for Colorado pitchers.

With Youkilis,Ortiz,Manny,Lowell,Varitek and rookie Jacoby Ellsbury , the only automatic out is number nine guy Julio Lugo.

By the way it should be interesting to watch Manny in left field at Coors field and I wouldn't be surprise to see Big Papi on the bench in the Mile High city because of his bad knee and the bat and defense of Youkilis at first base.

Yes Red Sox nation your team will win the World Series for the second time in 4 years.Wow!!!

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In the NFL there are the Pats and the Colts and everybody else.

Everyone talks about Tom Brady,Randy Moss,Wes Welker,Peyton Manning,Reggie Wayne and Marvin Harrison but the number one reason these two teams are undefeated is the O-line.

The Pats and Colts have the two best offensive lines in football.

Look at how much time Brady and Manning have to find their receivers and how effectively these two teams run the football.

For people who don't know these big guys (who does ?) here are these unsung heroes :

PATS : Matt Light-Logan Mankins-Dan Koppen-Stephen Neal and Nick Kaczur

COLTS : Tony Ugoh-Ryan Lilja-Jeff Saturday-Jake Scott and Ryan Diem.

Ask Anthony Calvillo how important a good o-line is!!!

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Predictions-predictions-predictions!!!

Sydney Crosby breaks his leg...Roberto Luongo tears his ACL...Daniel Alfredsson suffers a concussion...you get the picture.Predictions don't mean a whole lot but we have to make them anyway.

Here are my Eastern conference standings

1-OTTAWA
2-PITTSBURGH
3-CAROLINA
4-RANGERS
5-BUFFALO
6-NEW JERSEY
7-TORONTO
8-WASHINGTON
9-PHILADELPHIA
10-TAMPA BAY
11-HABS
12-ATLANTA
13-ISLANDERS
14-BOSTON
15-FLORIDA

First coach to be fired : Bob Hartley

Western conference preview

1-SAN JOSE
2-DETROIT
3-COLORADO
4-ANAHEIM
5-VANCOUVER
6-CALGARY
7-MINNESOTA
8-ST-LOUIS

First coach to be fired : Dave Tippett

By the way I also kept Starr and Price's picks.

Have a good season!

Pats vs The Snitch

The New England Patriots sent a loud message to the Chargers and the rest of the league on Sunday night.If you believe that we won all those games and those Super Bowls because we cheated you are an idiot.

The Pats are scary good and I would say that right now they are better than the defending Super Bowl champion Indianapolis Colts.

With Wes Welker in the slot (a better version of Brandon Stokley), a healthy and motivated Randy Moss , Donte Stallworth and tight end Ben Watson , the Pats are almost impossible to defend against.

You add Laurence Maroney in the backfield , newcomer Sammy Morris who replaces Cory Dillon and Kevin Faluk who can catch the ball out of the backfield and very few teams can match up against New England.

Oh, by the way, they have a QB that is in complete control of this offense and arguably the best leader in the league and you have a recipe for success.

Now circle on your calendar Sunday December 16Th.That is the date when the NY Jets and Eric ''The Snitch'' Mangini are the visitors at Gilette stadium.

This game is going to be ugly and the Patriots will try and humiliate, pulverize,and embarrass the Jets head coach for spilling the beans on his former mentor Bill Belichick.

Mangini broke the code and his team will pay the price in week 15.You never heard Romeo Crennel , Deion Branch, Willie McGinest,Lawyer Milloy and Ty Law talk about the practices of their former head coach because they have character and they know that in pro sports, what goes on in the locker room , stays in the locker room.

Belichick may have lost a draft pick and half a million dollars, but Mangini lost a whole lot more...it's called RESPECT.

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NFL Predictions

Here it is, my fearless NFL predictions.

AFC EAST

PATS
JETS(WC)
BILLS
DOLPHINS

AFC NORTH

BENGALS
RAVENS
STEELERS
BROWNS

AFC SOUTH

COLTS
JAGS
TEXANS
TITANS

AFC WEST

CHARGERS
BRONCOS(WC)
CHIEFS
RAIDERS

NFC EAST

COWBOYS
EAGLES(WC)
GIANTS
REDSKINS

NFC NORTH

BEARS
LIONS
PACKERS
VIKINGS

NFC SOUTH

SAINTS
PANTHERS
FALCONS
BUCS

NFC WEST

RAMS
SEAHAWKS(WC)
CARDS
49ERS



Have a good season

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My NFL experience

I have been covering sports since 1982 and I have had the chance to see many sporting events live :

-The Bill Buckner ground ball at Shea stadium in the 1986 World Series

-The Kirk Gibson walk-off home run at Dodger stadium in the 1988 World Series

- Dennis Martinez's perfect game also in LA in 1991

-The Bo Jackson home run at the All-Star game in Anaheim in 1989

I have also had the chance to visit many great sporting venues like Yankee stadium,Dodger stadium,Wrigley field and Fenway park.

Saturday was a first for me, my very first NFL game live at the beautiful Soldier field in Chicago.

I have to admit that I was awestruck walking around and going into the stadium.

It is a perfect blend of old and new , tradition and modern, a spectacular sight in downtown Chicago on the shores of lake Michigan.Renovated at a cost of 365 million in 2003, it does look from the outside like a spaceship has landed right in the middle of a stadium that was built in 1922.

The field is natural grass, the seats are all dark blue and there are two giant 82-foot-by-23-foot video scoreboards so you do not miss anything.

On the field , the Bears completely dominated the 49ers in the first half scoring four touchdowns on their way to a 31-28 win.

Here is an easy prediction : the Bears will be the NFC representatives for a second year in a row in the Super Bowl.The are scary good and if Rex Grossman can avoid the Good Rex-Bad Rex syndrome , they will dominate a weak NFC.

More NFL predictions next week.

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Golden Bear still better than Tiger

On Monday morning while discussing the US Open in the nine o'clock hour , my good friend and co-host Shaun Starr said to me on air: ''I don't like this Tiger bashing this morning''.

I had just finished saying that golf fans and Tiger fans could not say that he is the greatest golfer of all-time.Not when you have played in 41 Majors and not once have you been able to comeback from a deficit after 54 holes to win.After Sunday he is now a BIG 0 for 29!!!

Yes , yes I know he is a perfect 12 for 12 when leading after three rounds.But you have to admit that these stats are very strange.How do you explain, that the best player in the world is not able to win on Sunday, if he doesn't have the lead while eating breakfast.

To help with my argument that Tiger is not the best of all-time , I decided to do some research on Jack Nicklaus.Thank God for the Internet.Here is the breakdown:

Nicklaus won 18 Majors(6 Masters-5 PGA Championship-4 US Open-3 British Open)

Of those 18 wins , 8 times he was trailing after 54 holes.That's right 8 times.That would be 8 times more than Tiger.In fact, in his last win at a Major , the 1986 Masters , Nicklaus was actually trailing by four shots going into Sunday.

And let's not forget that the Golden Bear was also runner-up at a Major an amazing 19 times.In comparison , Tiger has placed second only four times in his 41 Majors.

Tiger Woods may need to win only seven more Majors to break Jack's all-time record.But until he erases a deficit on championship Sunday in one of those , the so-called experts cannot proclaim that he is the greatest golfer of all-time.For now he is not even the Comeback Kid!

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My first blog !!!

After french television and english radio I am now joining the wonderful world of blogging.(Is that a word?)

According to Mitch this is next big thing in our multimedia world.

I am exited about the possibility of sharing some of my takes on the world of sport , something that I dont always have a chance to do on the Morning Show with Elliott and Shaun talking all the time.(Just kidding guys!!!)

Great ceremony last night at the Bell centre for Ken Dryden. He was my favorite player on the Montreal Canadiens in the seventies.

Five days away from Super Bowl 41 in Miami and I have a hard time finding a reason to pick the Bears to win.

I just heard Marshall Faulk on PTI say that he wants to come back next year.If he does I dont think it will be with the Rams. I would see him in a Detroit Lions uniform reunited with Mike Martz.

Finally, now that Craig Conroy is back in Calgary , will Bob Gainey make a pitch for Bryan Smolinski of the Blackhawks ?

The Canadiens have 8 UFA's at the end of the year so Gainey doesn't have a choice , he has to take a shot at going all the way this season.