Terrible Toronto

Just finished reading an article about the woes of professional sports in Toronto. With cities that have NHL, NBA, MLB and Football, TO ranks 13th out of 14 in terms of winning percentage over the last year.

My first thought was, who cares? With all due respect to Leafs fans (Woodsy), its been a couple of generations since they had a shot. Isn't it just a cultural thing to make fun of the Buds? 1967 was a long time ago, so its not like they've just been bad recently. Nor is it all John Jr.'s fault...He didn't screw them up for the 3 decades before he was there. Nor will it be Brian Burke's fault when the Leafs fail to win a Cup in the next decade.

Moving along but staying in the ACC. The Raptors. Well, their first mistake was to name themselves after an extinct species. Although, the Toronto Dodo Birds does seem to fit. Over a dozen years into their existence and the only thing they've won worth note is Vince Carter in the slam dunk contest. Bryan Colangelo may be one hell of a basketball executive, but he can't put the ball in the hoop.

The Blue Jays haven't soared very high since their back to back World Series titles, almost 20 years ago. Oh sure they tried to rekindle things with Cito Gaston. They've even upped the payroll to compete with the superpowers. Now correct me if I'm wrong but wasn't Tampa Bay in the World Series this year? Wonder what their payroll is? J.P. does not fall into the 'one hell of a good executive' category, unless you say that he's on the hot seat in the next year.

Last but not least lets not forget about the Argos. (I'm leaving Toronto FC out of this because they are just too new to be counted as losers, yet) The Boatmen have pulled some doozies lately. The great way with which they handled Damon Allen, the CFL's All-Time QB. Oh, then there was the way overpaying of Kerry Joseph and a defence that is looking older than Mary's Joseph. Ummm, did the Double Blue win a game in the last 3 months of the season? How about unthawing 'The Don' to turn the ship around! It's a good thing Pinball is the guy he is or can you imagine the revolt.

Now why do all these teams do their fair share of sucking. Because in Toronto its about the CA$H....MLSE wants to make money before it wins championships. Rogers wants the Jays to be competitive, but not at a loss (see recent State of the Jays speech by Paul Beeston). And the Argos can't be taken seriously by anyone as they wait for the Buffalo Bills to move into their home.

Whether its recent or distant, the sports scene in Toronto has been bad. So if they are bad and have been for so long, why do we still here so much about them? Well, T-Dot is like that kid in the playground who tells you how great he is, only to have no game at all...We all love reminding him that he is brutal. And as long as there is media and sports in Toronto, there will be someone kicking dirt on the CN Tower.