James Duthie — Duthie has proven throughout the Olympics he can do more than just his regular shtick of moderating the assorted jocks and goons TSN assembles for its hockey coverage. Duthie was natural, eloquent and, at times, humourous while serving as the co-host of Olympic Daytime. Early on in the games when Duthie mistakenly introduced a speed skating event as a women’s hockey game, he deadpanned “That was one of the strangest women’s hockey games I’ve ever seen,” when the feed came back to CTV studios.

Brian Williams ­— At his 13th Olympic games, Williams has proven he is timeless. Williams’ interviews were as legendary as ever, as we saw in several informative and telling question and answer sessions. His talks with Brian Burke and Joannie Rochette — two figures experiencing unbelievable grief — were highlights of CTV’s coverage. Williams was able to induce the pair to open up to audiences about the unimaginable tragedies occurring in their lives.

The helmet cam — The view from Daron Rahlves’ helmet as he spiralled out of control on the second jump of the men’s ski cross was absolutely phenomenal. Watching the skier’s gaze shifting through focusing on the jump, preparing for the landing, slowly turning up toward the sky as his skis entered the frame above him and the inevitable thud when he it the ground was unlike any shot we’ve ever seen at an Olympics. It gave a great perspective on the speed, amplitude and inherent danger of the sport.

The Bad

Jamie Campbell — I would tell Campbell not to quit his day job, but he was already fired by the Blue Jays where he served as play-by-play man from 2005-2009. The problem with Campbell is that he comes across as knowing absolutely nothing about the sports he covers. Surely he could have done a bit of research ahead of calling the snowboard halfpipe and freestyle skiing competitions instead of relying heavily on his colour analysts. Instead, Campbell was extraordinarily unprepared, not knowing many of the names of the tricks the athletes were performing. Plus his incessant cheerleading for Maëlle Ricker during the women’s snowboard cross — “Make it home, Maëlle! Make it home!” — was a tad much. Leave the cheering to the fans.

Lisa LaFlamme — It’s hard to criticize LaFlamme — whose day job is the National Affairs Correspondent for the CTV National News — because she was so far out of her element at these games. However, the Olympic Daytime co-host’s unfamiliarity and blinding ignorance with anything sport-related became increasingly evident throughout a series of jumbled intros, softball interviews and canned banter. LaFlamme’s unguarded bias and boosterism was also extremely irritating, even by CTV’s standards.

The Ugly

Michael Landsberg — Why are you here? Landsberg was a decent Sports Desk host about a decade ago who found a niche in moderating the sports discussion program Off The Record. Why CTV would take him out of the familiar confines of his OTR set, where he can talk about professional wrestling and fighting in hockey till the cows come home, and transplant him to Whistler to interview drunk Canadian fans is beyond comprehension.

Much Music’s Olympic Coverage — We get it, CTV. You own a whole whack of stations. But there was really no need to invite all of them to Vancouver. Especially Much Music, whose juvenile teenage audience doesn’t know the difference between Kevin Martin and Ricky Martin. Hosting your coverage from a bar is one thing — doing half-naked body shots in a hot tub mere moments after the tragic death of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili is another. It doesn’t matter what demographic your station appeals to — that was classless.

1. Don’t be fooled by Gary Bettman’s posturing over the NHL’s involvement in the2014 winter Olympic games in Sochi, Russia. The NHL will be there.

2. Bettman, a shrewd negotiator, is well aware of the fact the players want to be at that tournament. And with another session of collective bargaining with the NHLPA quickly approaching — is it almost 2012 already? — the Sochi chip is an important one for Bettman to hold. He’ll use Sochi as a bargaining concession, which will not only save the owners money but also make the players happy.

3. Bettman can’t possibly pull his players from competition in Russia after 26.5 million Canadians and 27.6 million Americans watched the gold medal final Sunday afternoon, according to the CBC. A hockey game in the United States hasn’t been viewed by that many people in more than 30 years — music to the ears of a man whose stated goal since he took the job has been to grow the game in the United States.

4. Events like the Olympics and the NHL’s winter classic appeal to Americans and generate a buzz around hockey that a game between the Florida Panthers and Atlanta Thrashers never can. Americans viewers want a spectacle. They want story lines and characters like the goaltending hero Ryan Miller or the Canadian hometown boy Sidney Crosby. Without considerable production around the sport, it’s too easy for American audiences not to take interest.

5. Let’s give a bit of perspective. The American ratings for Sunday’s Canada-US gold medal game were higher than the ratings for any game of the highly competitive 2009 World Series between the New York Yankees and the Philadelphia Phillies. The ratings were also higher than every NBA finals and NCAA final four broadcast since 1998. How could Bettman ever pass that up?

6. Speaking of the NBA, the Toronto Raptors are learning just how critical Chris Bosh is to their franchise right now, having lost their last four games without the all star forward, including a 116-92 trouncing at the hands of the Houston Rockets Monday night. The Raptors are coming off a relatively easy portion of their schedule where they needed to pick up wins against inferior teams in order to bolster their position in the Eastern Conference playoff hunt.

7. Of course, this is Toronto and things rarely play out the way they should. The Raptors went just .500 over their easy February and now face a March schedule where they play 16 times over 31 days, including 9 games on the road. They’ve already dropped their first game of the month on Monday and if that night’s effort is any indication, without Bosh in the lineup things could get a lot worse before it gets any better.

8. Bryan Colangelo has assembled a nice team — Andrea Bargnani, Jose Calderon, Hedo Turkoglu and even Jarret Jack are all nice complimentary players. Complimentary to Chris Bosh, that is. The team is clearly built around the 6-foot-10 Texan and is at its best when he’s on his game. When Bosh operates down low and draws double teams, it frees up other Raptors with open looks and allows them to put up points.

9. But building the team around Bosh is cause for alarm, especially considering the fact his return to Toronto next year is unlikely at best. Every Toronto fan would love to see the Raptors pull off a playoff upset this spring, convincing Bosh to stick around for a few more seasons to try to build a championship contender. But if the more likely scenario of Bosh bolting for a strong American market materializes, this team will be missing the catalyst that creates good performances from the supporting cast. Replacing that element will be next to impossible.

10. One Toronto team that you can guarantee will be bad are the Blue Jays, who will certainly finish last in the American League East — look out for the much improved Orioles — and could even challenge for last place in the entire league.

11. The loss of Roy Halladay is a reality that probably hasn’t set in for many Jays fans who will watch a different pitcher throw the opening pitch of the Blue Jays season for the first time in seven years.

12. Number 32 is as close to a guaranteed win as you can get in baseball and knowing your team will only have to produce 3 or 4 runs to win every five days is a luxury that was taken for granted in Toronto over Halladay’s 11-year tenure.

13. That said, there are redeemable qualities to this team. Adam Lind and Aaron Hill may regress from their breakout seasons in 2008 but can still be counted on for 25 home runs and 100 RBIs a piece. Travis Snider should finally get regular at bats this season and could challenge for rookie of the year if he finally finds a groove as an everyday player.

14. The Jays pitching staff will be young and many of the team’s green arms will get a chance to prove themselves against some great teams with strong hitters in New York, Boston and Tampa Bay.

15. But past that, there is still Vernon Wells and Lyle Overbay weighing down the batting order and placeholders like Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion and Alex Gonzalez keeping seats warm for the Jays of tomorrow.

16. Jays fans have to be realistic about the team’s chances this year. 75 wins is the ceiling. Fair weather fans who measure progress purely on wins and losses will not be pleased.

Starting Roberto Luongo against the Germans Tuesday night and for the rest of the tournament is the easiest decision head coach Mike Babcock has had to make during these Olympic games. Martin Brodeur looked like an amateur playing against the United States Sunday night and was truly outclassed by his American counterpart Ryan Miller — a goalie seven years his junior.

Was it a surprise? Well, no. The page has been turned on a hockey generation and sadly Brodeur belongs more to the group of Sakic, Gretzky, Tkachuck and Chelios than he does to Crosby, Ovechkin, Kane and Keith. He’s old guard now — something Hockey Canada surely should have known coming into Vancouver.

Wasn’t this supposed to be the tournament where we right the wrongs we committed in 2006? Weren’t we supposed to be going with the new youth movement who are poised to lead Canadian hockey to success in the future instead of the veterans who had brought us success in the past?

Starting Brodeur against the Americans was the wrong move. Granted, that’s easy to say on Monday morning, but would the country truly have been outraged if Luongo got the start Sunday night? Would anyone have questioned Babcock for going with a proven goalie in his prime rather than a well-decorated veteran whose prime status is teetering from late to past?

The only reasons for Babcock to start Brodeur were his solid resume and past experience in the Olympics. But for all the weight that is placed on experience in international tournaments, the 2010 Olympic hockey competition has proven that this is a sport that is played in the now — not the past. Younger, faster, stronger, smarter. That’s the way the game is going. Babcock should have known that. For all his experience, the old dog Brodeur was overmatched by the new tricks of a young, fast, and skilled American team Sunday night.

Like I said, starting Luongo the rest of the way is the easy choice. The tough one? Who to play with Sidney Crosby.

Practically every player on this roster has been penciled in on the wing of the Pittsburgh Penguins captain and none of the combinations have yet to give Canada that dynamic top line they are looking for. An extraordinary top line isn’t necessary to win this tournament, but Babcock’s constant jumbling has shown he’s certainly looking for it.

For what it’s worth, here’s how I would draw it up for Tuesday night’s game versus the Germans:

Toews — Crosby — Iginla

Staal — Getzlaf — Nash

Heatley — Thornton — Marleau

Bergeron — Richards — Morrow

13th forward — Perry

Jonathan Toews is a young, unselfish player who has proven his dexterity for playmaking and a hunger for the net. He knows when to pass and when too shoot, unlike several players on this roster who can’t strike that balance. This team is flush with centres, so moving him to the wing should not be an issue. Him and Crosby are poets with the puck on their stick and should be able to feed off each other’s creativity in the offensive zone.

Jarome Iginla hasn’t been given a fair chance in this tournament. After scoring a hat trick in under ten minutes in his first game, Iginla was immediately banished to checking duty on the third and fourth lines for the games against Switzerland and the US. Some speculated he was hurt, which has been vehemently denied by Hockey Canada brass. Others have questioned his relationship with Babcock and whether that has landed him in his doghouse — a situation that would be extremely uncharacteristic of the unselfish Iginla.

No matter what the reason is for his demotion, Iginla deserves another chance to play with the big boys. He’s proven time and again in a Calgary Flames uniform that he can be in the right place at the right time to score goals, a point he further drove home against Norway in game one. Iginla’s scoring touch would be a great compliment for Toews and Crosby’s playmaking abilities.

Finally, Corey Perry’s tournament has been extremely underwhelming for me which is why he finds himself as my 13th forward. Canada doesn’t have the time to allow him to find his feet.

Meanwhile, Dallas Stars captain Brendan Morrow has been making the most of the few minutes he’s received so far, fore-checking hard, grinding opponents against the boards and defending actively in his own zone. He doesn’t show up on the score sheet too often, but his willingness to do the dirty work is something you won’t find from other members of this team. Plus, having someone on the ice willing to get their hands dirty can often lead to goals — see: Ovechkin’s hit on Jagr in the Russia-Czech game. Morrow has earned more ice time.

“I hear stories of lineups all the way out to Concrete Beach,” Sacha Kumar, vice-president finance for the University Students’ Council, said of the Spoke’s beginnings.

Once filled with carved wooden tables and crowds of students several nights a week, the Spoke was once the place to be on campus, rivalling the Ceeps and Jim Bob’s in popularity.

But its heyday came to an abrupt end in 2005 when a renovation transformed the bar into a lounge.

Popular events like Rick McGhie nights migrated to the Wave. The menu was revamped and the bar shrunk into the back corner. Soon enough, profits started plummeting and managers had to struggle with how to manage a good idea gone wrong.

“From a financial perspective, it wasn’t the greatest business model,” Kumar said.

Richmond Row also began to boom during this time, with upstart bars like Jack’s and the London Tap House stealing watering hole regulars away from the once glorified Spoke.

“Students were voting with their wallets,” Jeff Armour, USC food and beverage manager, explained. “They said ‘We don’t want to be here. We want the old Spoke back.’”

The Spoke’s profits have been on a steady decline for the past three years.

The Spoke lost $104,116 last year, after losing $96,434 and $48,835 in the two years prior, according to numbers provided by Kumar. He explained the latest deficit is not a real loss since the USC already accounted for the $240,000 of rent the Spoke pays to operate out of the University Community Centre. Essentially, the USC does not have to dip into their pockets to cover the staggering losses.

“In the current model where people can go and just lounge and choose to eat or not to eat, it will be extremely difficult to bring into the black,” Kumar said. “It’s hard to gauge the Spoke purely on [revenue] because it could lose $20,000 more this year and that doesn’t necessarily mean students liked it any less.”

This year, adding to the $240,000 rental fee is the fact the Spoke was closed for the entire summer and most of September, which is traditionally its busiest month. Armour said that hole would be almost impossible to climb out of.

“We knew going in that we were going to have some problems with being closed for so long,” Armour said. “But we weigh that against the benefits of having the patio done and re-launching this new business model and decided [the patio] is worth it for students.”

Also sinking the Spoke’s ship is the current menu, which underwent a facelift when it reopened in September after its most recent renovations. Added was a bar menu featuring meatball sliders, jalapeno poppers and the “Nacho Pie,” which was advertised as a future Spoke favourite.

Armour and Kumar are both currently looking to change the Spoke’s menu once again, with some changes possibly taking effect after Reading Week.

Kumar recently commissioned a break-even analysis on almost every product offered at the Spoke, while Armour speculated most of the Spoke’s bar menu would be eliminated, with former Spoke staples like the grilled cheese sandwich making a return.

“We’re trying to get the margins on the food a little better,” Kumar said. “We’re going to see if we can switch up the suppliers, switch up some products and see if there’s something we can do down there to change the menu so students will like it more.”

When it comes to setting a menu, the USC has a litany of factors to contemplate. Some students want traditional pub fare like fries and wings, while others want healthy alternatives like salads or veggie wraps.

“What students want in terms of product offerings [is] all over the place,” Kumar said. “Low Prices — that’s probably the one thing you’ll find consensus on.”

However, the Spoke’s already discounted prices are part of the reason why the venue is in the red. Armour said food sales have almost doubled since last year while labour costs have increased. If the Spoke raised its prices, it could begin seeing a profit.

“The [profit] margins at the Spoke are very student-friendly,” Armour said. “It’s already an uphill battle. What we have to do is adjust our procedures — especially with labour. We’re reinventing the wheel, basically.”

The options of either outsourcing the Spoke to another company or closing the Spoke altogether are still on the table for the USC.

“I would never close the Spoke unless […] students had a reasonable level of understanding of the situation and I could get feedback from them confirming my decision,” Kumar said. “It may come to the point where we need to take drastic action in the future. But we’re still trying to make improvements. There’s still hope.”

The USC wants to keep the Spoke’s current atmosphere and structure. Students, according to Kumar, do not want to lose their lounge space. But the end goal will be to take the Spoke back to its popularity of the late 1990s and early 2000s.

“Six years ago, the Spoke was the place to be at Western. It was a place to be seen,” Armour said. “I truly believe with time we’ll get back there. Just give me more than two-and-a-half months.”

While the chances of his lobbying being successful are slim, van Gaalen’s academic advocacy is a fresh and innovative idea that separates him from the pack — no other candidate explores how the USC can influence academic policy.

His pass/fail interest credit idea might inspire students to learn about subjects outside their primary studies, thus encouraging a more diverse and vibrant campus. It is refreshing to see a candidate who is interested in lobbying for pedagogical causes.

Van Gaalen deserves praise for presenting a directional shift for the USC; however, convincing administration to apply these changes will be an up-hill and most likely fruitless struggle.

He has also hurt his cause by not focusing on more tangible points that are relatable to the average student. Van Gaalen should have augmented his big picture ideas with more concrete changes and improvements to student life. A new website and promoting environmentalism are pedestrian ideas.

Furthermore, van Gaalen’s welcome week for upper-year students is an extraordinarily trivial idea. Most upper-years — who live off campus and are already familiar with campus and London — will be going to Richmond Row during the first week of school — not wet/dry programming on campus.

The $3 meal is an incredibly inane idea. According to the numbers in a break-even analysis provided by Goldfarb himself, he would have to sell 1,000 meals a week just to break even. Reaching that plateau is about as probable as a women’s issues primer in Student Magazine. Not to mention the fact this endeavour will drive business away from the USC’s cash-strapped Spoke and Wave.

Furthermore, Goldfarb’s proposal to disperse tickets for athletic events will not only be valueless to students — who already get into Mustang games for free — but also unnecessarily wasteful. The actual design, printing, cutting and distribution of these tickets will be a monumental project to undertake for a glorified flyer.

Expanding HYPE and reorganizing it into a promotional operation is a noble idea — HYPE would be more useful to the USC as a promotional vehicle. However, Goldfarb underestimates the sheer human resources and financial clout required to pull this off. The increased cost of promotions will force Goldfarb to implement cover charges and hike up drink prices, which will almost certainly discourage students from attending his on-campus events.

1. I suppose I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the moves the Leafs made last Sunday. For me, they are both very low risk, high reward moves for the Leafs. The players that left town won’t be missed and the players coming back have very high upsides. Let me explain.

2. Dion Phaneuf is one of the most polarizing figures I’ve ever seen in hockey. It wasn’t that long ago that he was a Canadian hero at the World Junior Championships in 2004 and 2005. He was easily the best defender on both those teams and earned tournament all star nods both years, despite playing with future Canadian Olympians Shea Weber and Brent Seabrook.

But Phaneuf clearly wore out his welcome in Calgary, leaving amid accusations he was under-performing and rumours he was not getting along with team mates. How he performs in a Leaf uniform remains to be seen, but Phaneuf still has the potential to be a Norris Trophy candidate. Or a tremendous bust. At just 24 and with good coaching there is a lot of upside for the Leafs here.

3. The price the Leafs paid is more than acceptable. Really, the only one of the four going Calgary’s way who can be an impact player is Niklas Hagman. Ian White was a good defenceman on a bad team, Jamal Mayers is a glorified goon and Matt Stajan should have trouble cracking the third line on a good team. Why Darryl Sutter is convinced he can centre a line with Jarome Iginla is beyond me.

The Leafs didn’t have to cough up a draft pick — not that they have one that’s worth anything — and they managed to pry Keith Aulie away from the Flames, who is a very good, young defenceman. If you’re looking for a sleeper in this trade, he’s it.

4. In the Giguere deal, the Leafs get a goalie who clearly has a good history with Francois Allaire, the Leafs goaltending coach, and a guy who can still be a legitimate number one goaltender. Not to mention a veteran who has won a championship and can act as a mentor to young Jonas Gustavsson, who the Leafs are clearly not prepared to give up on.

5. What do you Leafs send to Anaheim for Gigure? A couple under-performing players who had clearly fallen out of favour with fans, in Vesa Toskala and Jason Blake. The risk is low. You aren’t giving up anything spectacular and if Gigure is a bust, he won’t be around for long. But the reward is high. Giguere could very well find his form once again — he mentioned on Hockey Night in Canada on Saturday night that he felt like he was in a rut in Anaheim — and even inspire Gustavsson to play better hockey. I know it’s a weird feeling to take the glass is half full approach with the Leafs, but when this organization makes a roster decision that, you know, make sense — it’s big news.

6. That said, there really aren’t many players on the current roster left over from the John Ferguson Jr. era. And if current Leafs G.M. Brian Burke eventually trades Alexei Ponikarovsky and Tomas Kaberle as everyone expects him to, there will be almost no one left over from that arduous period in Leafs history. That’s good for fans of hockey in Toronto, but bad for Burke because he’s running out of people to blame for the Leafs woes. If the team continues to falter, he may have to confront a touchy subject with his college buddy Ron Wilson.

7. Speaking of trades, Olli Jokinen is a guy the Flames should have gotten more return on. He still has 40 goal potential and his contract — which comes off the books when he becomes a free agent on July 1st — only has a cap hit of $5.25 million, which is reasonable for a player of his calibre. Darryl Sutter and the Flames should have waited until deadline day and sold Jokinen for a higher price instead of settling for Chris Higgins and Ales Kotalik from the Rangers — two players who don’t immediately improve the team.

8. That said, Sutter now has one of the most impressive collections of third line forwards I’ve ever seen. If Gary Bettman decides to introduce clutching and grabbing back into the game, his team is going to be remarkable.

9. Might as well get them all out of the way and say this about the Kovalchuk deal — Atlanta was never going to get the top six forward, first round pick and NHL-ready depth players that they coveted in return for the Russian sniper. Atlanta G.M. Don Waddell had to deal Kovalchuk — every G.M. in the league knew it. That put Waddell in a very tough position and forced him to settle for what he thought was the best offer at the time. He did get his first round pick and a couple of serviceable players in Johnny Oduya and Niclas Bergfors. But if anyone thought he would get fair value for an elite player like Kovalchuk under the circumstances, they were crazy. If Waddell wanted maximum value, he would have never let Kovalchuk reach the last year of his deal.

10. The same situation presented itself with Alex Anthopoulos and the Blue Jays this summer. They had an elite player, Roy Halladay, who did not want to resign with the team. Instead of going into the player’s final contract year trying to convince him to resign with a dwindling franchise, Anthopoulos sold the asset for the highest market value before the final year of the contract. If Waddell moved Kovalchuk during the summer or even at the trade deadline last year he would have seen better return on his asset. More G.M.’s from all sports should follow Anthopoulos’ lead and not let the players or other G.M.’s control the scenario.

11. What happens with Patrice Cormier will be the most interesting aspect of this deal. No one was particularly impressed with his performance as the captain of Team Canada at the 2010 World Juniors and his penchant for dirty play is something that has plagued the early stages of his young career. Cormier will sit out the rest of his final junior season to think about this hit. Whether the suspension has a positive effect on the young player remains to be seen.

It’s a commonly held opinion that Cormier could be a very good power forward if he could get his head on straight, but New Jersey — otherwise known as the New England Patriots of the NHL — would have been a much better place to accomplish that than Atlanta. Cormier needs good coaching and a good system under which to flourish. I’m not sure Waddell and Thrashers head coach John Anderson can create that kind of environment in Atlanta.

12. As for Kovalchuk himself — if he’s turning down a $100 million deal from Atlanta, either he really doesn’t want to play for the Thrashers or he plans to bolt to Russia and the KHL when he becomes a free agent after this season. Right now I’m leaning toward the latter. Kovalchuk is a hero in Russia and would earn a ridiculous amount of money in the KHL. In the NHL he’s never had a taste of stardom, toiling away on a terrible team for the first eight seasons of his career. New Jersey may make some noise in the playoffs this year, but they still don’t have to ability to draw the crowds and the attention that can turn Kovalchuk into a superstar on the same level as Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby.

For Kovalchuck, the talent is undeniably there. Just not the surroundings.

13. What, you thought I was done with baseball? I really like the Jay’s Kevin Gregg signing. Make no mistake, he isn’t here to be the next great Jays closer — he’s an asset for Anthopoulos, nothing more. Gregg’s contract is for only a year — with two club options that will no doubt be denied —and he comes at the very economical price of $2.75 million. In the likeliest scenario, Gregg will be a Type B free agent next year, meaning if the Jays offer him arbitration and he signs with another team the Jays will pick up a top 40 pick for the 2011 entry draft.

Best case scenario? Gregg blows the roof off and reverts back to his form in his years with the Marlins, becoming a Type A free agent and giving the Jays a first round pick from whichever club signs him next year.

$2.75 million isn’t a bad price to pay for a high draft pick —especially when you’re a team with a revamped scouting department, looking to rebuild through the draft like the Jays.

14. And finally, our deepest condolences go to the Burke family after the tragic passing of Brendan Burke, the 21-year-old son of Leafs President and G.M. Brian Burke. Brendan recently came out to the hockey world through an excellent article written by ESPN’s John Buccigross.

I was truly excited to watch Brendan — who was interested in hockey management and clearly had the pedigree to be successful — take on the traditionally homophobic hockey world and climb the ranks as the first openly gay hockey executive.

No matter what your feelings are about the oft-controversial Brian Burke, it’s undeniable that there is no worse day for a parent than losing a child. I really wish I knew the words to do it justice.

It’s not like he was being a very good goon, either. Laraque only fought 13 times in that span or about once every five games. In the NHL, those who cannot score fight. And those who cannot fight or score should look for a new line of work.

2. Chris Bosh is the real deal. He showed everyone his aggressive off-season work out regimen is paying off by following up a 21-point, 10 rebound, 42 minute effort against Cleveland in which he was battling with Shaq the entire night with another 42 minutes of solid play against Milwaukee the next night, where he put up a career high 42 points.

It’s scary how much better the 25-year-old gets with every new season. If MLSE is serious about raising a basketball banner that doesn’t say division champion they will do everything in their power to ensure Bosh stays in Toronto past this season. That includes giving him the maximum salary and spending way into the luxury tax to surround him with quality, championship-driven players.

3. Third is the spot where the Maple Leafs will most likely pick in the 2010 NHL entry draft, assuming they stay in 28th place in the standings, which is where they sit today. Oh, wait. Traded that first round pick away. Well, there’s always next year. Oh, wait. Traded that one too.

Aside from proving my preseason prediction that they would fail miserably to be correct, the Leafs this year continue to demonstrate new ways to lose on a nightly basis — like in overtime to the lowly Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday night.

4. Unlike the aforementioned Laraque, Michael Peca was worth every penny he was paid over his 13-year NHL career which unfortunately came to an end this past week when Peca announced his retirement after he couldn’t find an NHL suitor. Peca was one of the best two-way players in the NHL, providing a scoring threat in the offensive zone while playing shutdown defence in his own end.

His contributions to the penalty kill were also greatly underappreciated, although 30 NHL teams felt his shorthanded services weren’t needed this season, including the Leafs whose 69.7% penalty kill sits dead last in the NHL by a mile. How Rickard Wallin and Colton Orr can find employment in the NHL while Mike Peca can not is a fact that will forever puzzle me.

5. Fifth is the number where the Ottawa Senators currently sit in the NHL Eastern Conference standings — also about five spots higher than anyone expected them to place. Albeit quietly, the Sens are piecing together a nice run in the new year, having won their last six games in a row. The team is only three points behind defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh who the Senators will play next Thursday in a game that may be a bit more intriguing than it was before the season began.

6. Why does everyone hate the Jets? A hard-nosed team who were considered by most to be nothing more than also-rans in the AFC East this year makes the conference championships on the heels of stellar defence, a solid ground game and a 23-year-old QB who has risen to the occasion in just his first year in the league. What’s not to like? Do I think they will beat the Colts on Sunday? No. But, will I be cheering for them to upset Peyton and his troops? No doubt.

7. We can all breathe a sigh of relief now that the rumours about Carlos Delgado signing with the Blue Jays have proven false. Aside from the nice sentimental value of having the greatest Jays first baseman since John Olerud return to the nest, Delgado would have provided absolutely nothing to this team.

His inclusion at first base or DH would take valuable playing time away from the Jays young guns: Travis Snider, Randy Ruiz, Adam Lind and Brett Wallace. Not to mention the age-advanced Delgado will probably hit around the same clip as Jays current first baseman Lyle Overbay, while providing an incredible downgrade in terms of defence.

The Jays have admitted they won’t be contending this year, so taking a flyer on a past-his-prime veteran is definitely a bad move. Let the kids develop and we can all dream of how good this team can be in 2012. Just like how in 2008 we all dreamed of how good the team would be in 2010. Wait a second…