Has there been a more tender wooing than the Toronto Raptors pursuit of Kawhi Leonard, their presumptive star? Perhaps Prince Harry pitched a sweeter song to his intended Megan Markle. But were the chocolates and flowers from the Palace more passionate and pleading than the Raptors’ entreaties to their meal ticket to stay in Toronto?

O joy.

The Feb. 25 NHL Trade deadline hoves into view just as the NBA’s version of Trader Vic’s has expired. The fact that these two arbitrary dates are considered five-star attractions of the regular season tells you a lot about what a grinding bore the regular season has become in pro sports.

I’m reading Ted Barris’ book The Dam Busters, about the epic 1943 raid by RAF and RCAF flyers on the Möhne and Eder dams. The raid was famous for its risk— 53 men were killed, 18 of them Canadian— and for the new technologies used by the bombers to land “bouncing” bombs.. 

It’s late in Super Bowl LIII this Sunday. The driving New England Patriots, favoured by a field goal, have a three-point lead in the game. Hundreds of millions of dollars worldwide ride on whether the Rams can hold them out of the end zone or whether Brady will push it in for a dagger shot to under bettors. Millions more ride on Brady as MVP of the game.  And no one says a word about it.

It was supposed to be the winter when money ran like water in baseball. With superstars Manny Machado and Bryce Harper dangling for anxious teams, it was predicted that the previous records for an MLB contract were going to be shattered. That would be the $ 325 M deal inked by Giancarlo Stanton.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the transcendent TV series The Sopranos. As its creator, David Chase, understands better than most, a lousy ending can ruin a lot of the good work you’ve done.

There are about 5.5 million people in Finland. It’s the most sparsely populated nation in the European Union, with most of its inhabitants shivering away in the southern tier of the nation. The Finns also eat less red meat than the peoples of other developed nations.

This promises to be a spring unlike any other for Toronto sports teams. To be followed by a summer unlike any other as well.

One of the least reported stories from the sports world in 2018 was the legalization of sports gambling in the United States by its Supreme Court. 

It is a cliché in city planning that, adding roads to prevent congestion, in fact ends up in more cars and more congestion. 

Huawei Did They Go? That was the question on Saturday as Hockey Night In Canada hit the airwaves.

If Ken Hitchcock is the answer for the Edmonton Oilers, what is the question?

Probably something like, “Who did we piss off?" 

It was a staple of TV game shows. The grinning host on the stage. The dishevelled contestant looking dazed before him. “Do you want the $100 I am holding in my hand… or would you like what’s behind the curtain up on stage?”

One of these people being recognized at the Hockey Hall of Fame on Monday is not like the others. Martin St. Louis. Martin Brodeur. Willie O’Ree. Jayna Hefford. Alexander Yakushev. Gary Bettman. Hmm, wonder who?

The venerable Bob Cole is making his farewell tour of Canadian NHL cities this fall. The long-time play-by-play voice of Hockey Night In Canada is leaving the broadcast booth after 50 years of “Oh baby!” And “They’re going home, they’re going home”.

How forbidden was sports betting in society? Just ask Pete Rose. Even though the MLB’s all-time leader in hits never bet against his own team, Rose was given a lifetime suspension for making wagers on his sport. So there must be a bitter irony for the suspended-for-life MLB great in the news that the NHL is going mainstream with MGM Hotels in pro sports wagering.

These are difficult days for the people who play fantasy baseball or bet the sport. As the 2018 season comes to its conclusion with a Red Sox/ Dodgers World series, managers are taking apart the time-honoured strategies of the sport.

It was the NHL Final series of 2011. Vancouver versus Boston. It was more than just the best chance for a Canadian NHL team to win the Stanley Cup since 1993. 

The NBA season is upon us. And if you haven’t noticed, Canada is on the verge of becoming a hoops nation. Or maybe we should say Hoops Nation. But there are lingering questions of whether Basketball Canada can get its act together to employ all the best talent the nation is providing.