Tiger deserved to have his face beaten for cheating on that, if you ask me

As expected, plenty of developments in the Tiger Woods incident from early yesterday. By now, it’s pretty clear this wasn’t a “serious accident” — well, unless you consider Woods’ wife beating his face to be just that. According to police, Woods and his Swedish nanny wife Elin Nordegren were involved in a domestic dispute before Woods left at 2:30 am Friday, only to crash his Escalade into a fire hydrant on his way off his property.

There were red flags all over this story to begin with. For one, the details of the crash were sketchy from the beginning: It wasn’t reported until more than 12 hours after it occurred and came on the heels of rumors of Tiger’s racy affair with “New York party girl”. Also, how exactly do you suffer serious injuries from hitting a fire hydrant at less than 33 miles per hour, as Woods would’ve had to have been going for the airbags not to have been deployed in his SUV? Well, all that stuff is out the window now, because the initial severity of the accident was now certainly just a cover.

With every report popping up, it’s becoming pretty evident Tiger’s “facial lacerations” came from a run-in with Nordegren, after which it looks he left his house, was chased by his wife who smashed the back window of his Escalade as he drove right into a fire hydrant. That’s the way I see it. Case closed. I should have my own TV show.

Anyway, I’m sure we’re far from hearing the last of this story. Should be interesting to see what Woods’ next move is. With trillions of dollars in endorsement money on the line, he’s gonna have to address it sooner rather than later.

Phil Kessel is a reason to celebrate in himself

Alright, so all wasn’t lost on the Toronto sports scene Friday night. Fresh off a win in Tampa Bay, the Leafs made it two in a row and points in three straight with a 6-4 victory over the Panthers. Niklas Hagman scored twice, giving him six in the past four games, and Phil Kessel added his seventh and eighth in his 12th game with Toronto.

Early on, this one looked like another long night for The Monster, who coughed up two goals in the first 2:04. Kessel scored just past the midway point of the first to cut it to 2-1, then tied things at four in the third period just 13 seconds after a Dmitry Kulikov power play goal had given Florida the lead just over four minutes in. Hagman’s second was the winner and Matt Stajan added an empty-netter to put it away. Alexei Ponikarovsky also scored and added three assists for the Leafs.

Everyone loves a trip to Florida, and it’s all the better if you’re a hockey team and you come out with a pair of wins. Shockingly, the Leafs actually have Saturday night off, returning home to face the Sabres Monday at the ACC.

Rondo and the Celtics took it to us tonight

Hey Jose and Andrea, next time you don’t feel like showing up for a game against a good team, do you mind informing the rest of the team in advance so they can try about 200% harder? Behind a pair of no-shows in their starting five and another patented third quarter collapse, the Raptors fell to the Celtics 116-103 in Boston tonight. Excuse the negativity, but there’s just nothing good to say about this team right now.

Calderon had nine points, four assists and three turnovers and Bargnani had seven points and four boards, negating strong efforts from Chris Bosh and Hedo Turkoglu, who each had 20 in the loss. After starting hot, Turkoglu didn’t help his cause by picking up his fourth foul of the night early in the third quarter, in which Toronto was outscored 33-17 and officially put to bed. In the past three games, the Raptors have been manhandled 105-64 in the third.

This one actually looked pretty good at halftime — despite committing 14 turnovers and allowing Boston to shoot 68% in the first half, Toronto held a one-point advantage and stretched it to four in the early minutes of the third before the wheels fell off. Paul Pierce capped it off by making a poster of Bosh early in the fourth, causing Jay Triano to raise some hell to which his team, not surprisingly, didn’t respond.

In the end, a loss that was likely to happen one way or another. Still, pretty disappointing when two guys that’ll be counted on if this team hopes to be any sort of a contender don’t bother making their presence felt.

Now 7-10, the Raps are home to face the Suns on Sunday in the first of two straight at the ACC.

A happy Tiger Woods

Tiger Woods‘ bad week just got way worse. According to a breaking report on ESPN.com, Woods was rushed to hospital in Orlando early this morning with serious injuries after a car accident near his house. Not too much at this point in the way of specifics, but definitely more to come as it develops.

*UPDATE*: According to a new article, Woods has been released from hospital after suffering facial lacerations.

"Why are you so mean, KG?"

I usually love watching the Celtics play, but that mood changes considerably when they’re facing the Raptors. Fresh off a 116-81 pounding at the hands of the Bobcats, Toronto will look to bounce back tonight against Jose Calderon’s best friend (Mr. KG, in case you forget) in Boston. As always, check in at Raptors Republic for the best preview in the business.

As easily as the Celtics have handled us in Toronto the past couple years, the Raps have actually put up some decent battles on the parquet floor in Boston. Calderon took over a game in January ‘08 (the Celts’ championship year) before his famous encounter with Garnett early last season, and Andrea Bargnani forced overtime with a late three in an eventual 115-109 loss in the second meeting. The Celtics come into this one looking a little susceptible too, following a tight win over a Sixers team they usually pound and a near-disastrous loss to the Knicks over the weekend. Still, at 11-4 and with the Fantastic Four still in tact, they’re as good a bet as any to win the East this season.

Toronto comes in desperately in need of a bounce-back following Wednesday’s embarrassment in Charlotte. I called out Chris Bosh yesterday and stand by it — now’s the time to step up, big man. This is as tough a game as you’ll play all year, so let’s go make a statement.

The Raptors and Celtics get going from TD Banknorth Garden at 7:30.

Denver’s Josh McDaniels is quickly turning into biggest little fireball head coach the NFL has seen in some time. On Sunday he was busy “owning” the Chargers’ linebackers before a 32-3 loss and yesterday was caught wishing his team a Happy Thanksgiving while mic’d up on the NFL Network. Nice editing job, by the way…

By the way, the Broncos, behind the return of Hall of Fame quarterback Kyle Orton, got back on track with a 26-6 win over the Giants in that motherf—— game. Elsewhere, the Cowboys beat the Raiders 24-7 and the Packers downed the Lions and a poised Matthew Stafford 34-12.

The story of the night

Yeah, so the Raptors were pounded last night in Charlotte. How does that happen, even on the road and in the second of a back-to-back? Well, here’s how: The team just ain’t that good. And what’s this breakout year everyone is talking about Chris Bosh having? The team is 7-9! Not sure if you recall, but last November Bosh had even better numbers than these, then got tired at the end of the month and limped the rest of the way home. If you’re a superstar, CB, then let’s see it. Win some games.

Anyway, that’s my opening rant. I’m probably overreacting, because realistically this is a slightly-better-than .500 team and that’s probably where it’ll end up at the end of the year. Still, last night’s effort in Charlotte was embarrassing. After making an apparent first quarter defensive stand, the Raps let their guard down, allowing the Bobcats — a team that had scored 100-plus three times in 14 games and never more than 104 this season — to score 116 and set franchise-record with a 35-point win. Toronto shot a season-low 34.5% from the field and was out-boarded 49-42.

There isn’t much use going around pointing fingers, since this was just an all-around ugly effort. Jose Calderon had six turnovers, Bosh was held without a field goal until right before halftime, big-time free agent signing Hedo Turkoglu had five points and no rebounds and the bench, aside from Amir Johnson, combined to shoot 4-of-27. Johnson was the only real bright spot, finishing with 13 points, eight boards and three blocks in 23 minutes.

As bad as that was, it may get worse — the Raps are off today but are in Boston to face the Celtics tomorrow. How about this is where you prove you’re a star in this league, CB4?

Who wouldn't love a guy that gets a standing ovation?

Alex Gonzalez is coming back to Toronto. Okay, okay not that Alex Gonzalez. A day after signing Johnny Mac to a two-year, $3 million deal, ESPN.com is reporting the Jays have also agreed to a one-year, $2.75 million contract with the other Alex Gonzalez, who hit .238 with eight homers in 112 games with Cincinnati and Boston last year.

Like his namesake, Gonzalez is also a shortstop, so his signing all but ends the Marco Scutaro era in Toronto, which, as I implied yesterday, is fine by me. Don’t get me wrong — Scutaro is cool and all, but at age 34 and coming off a career-year, he’s due to get waaaay overpaid. I’ll gladly let someone else do that.

Gonzalez will be 33 on Opening Day, having kicked around the majors since breaking in with Florida in 1998. He hit 23 homers in 2003 and added a walk-off in the World Series, which the Marlins won that year, and hit 16 and .272 as recently as 2007 before missing all of the following year with a broken kneecap. Since leaving Florida in 2006, he’s had a pair of stints in Boston and spent two seasons in Cincinnati.

Also of note (and kind of sadly), Gonzalez has a three-year-old son in Miami that’s been in a coma for two years. That really, really sucks. Anyway, all the best to the new man in town, both on and especially off the field.

And one

The Toronto Raptors? Never heard of ‘em. There are embarrassing performances, and then there are outright horrible ones that make me make me wanna deny my team’s existence. It happens far too often in Raptorland. I’m on my way to bed, but I’ll check in with more on the Raps’ ugly effort in Charlotte tomorrow.

On the positive, the Leafs came out with a 4-3 win in Tampa Bay, catapulting them to sole possession of 29th place in the league at 5-11-7 (or 5-18, if you don’t speak hockey). I might have more on them tomorrow too, or maybe I won’t. You’ll have to wait and see!

Time to make it two straight, Rasho

Last night was fun, but here’s hoping the Raps have something left in their run-and-gun legs. Coming off a 123-112 home win over the Pacers, Toronto is in Charlotte tonight to face the 4-9 Bobcats. Full game coverage and other great Raptors stuff is available over at Raptors Republic.

Charlotte snapped a seven-game losing streak with a 104-88 win over Indiana on Sunday, its first win since picking up renowned douchebag Stephen Jackson in a deal with Golden State early last week. Jackson’s production with the Bobcats has been par for his course — decent scoring numbers (17.6), low shooting percentages (42.6 from the field and 29.4 from deep) and little in the way of wins (one in four games). He and Gerald Wallace share the scoring load on a team void of any real star players — one that Raptors should be able to handle even on a back-t0-back.

Last night’s Raptors performance was typical of the way they’ve played in most of their wins this season — great offense, no D and a sketchy second half before closing out strong. Jose Calderon had his best game, attacking early both with the drive and from deep and finishing with a season-high 21 on 8-of-11. Chris Bosh was sloppy offensively, but I’m counting on him bouncing back with a strong effort and leading the boys to a win tonight.

The Raptors and Bobcats get going from Charlotte at seven.

Introducing the next Ray Lewis (well, let’s hope he doesn’t grow up and start stabbing people to death): It’s six-year-old Nyrel Sevilla of the Huntington Bulldogs and he’s out to break your neck.

Looks like Johnny Mac is gonna be back for another go-round

Here’s some good news for Jays fans shocked and hurt by the imminent Roy Halladay trade: ESPN.com’s Buster Olney reports the team is close to bringing back some standout shortstop named John McDonald on a one-year deal worth $1.5 million.

With contending out of the question for the next 47 years, re-signing Johnny Mac makes sense. With a host of young pitchers, why not get the best defensive shortstop in the world to make their lives easier? Of course, a Mac signing also makes it less likely Marco Scutaro won’t be back in black in 2010, leaving another team to grossly overpay him. Fine by me — I’ll take the draft picks (just make sure you sign them, Alex Anthopolous Ricciardi Jr.).

Meanwhile, in Halladay news, ESPN also reports the Red Sox are aggressively pushing for his services, saying they’re “putting on a full-court press” and hope to get a deal done before the winter meetings get rolling Dec. 7. Not sure if it’s the best idea to deal Doc within the decision, but a package including Clay Buchholz and Josh Bard might be the best we see. Let’s see what happens!

I'll still take Jose over T.J.

Hope is restored, citizens of Toronto! The Raptors got our beloved city back in the win column tonight, jumping on the Pacers with 74 first half points en route to a 123-112 win at the ACC. Of course, it wasn’t without the usual second half fun: This time the Raptors saw a 21-point lead slip to five (the fourth time in five home wins they’ve come close to blowing huge leads) before rallying late and putting it away.

Jose Calderon led the Raptors with 21 points on 8-of-11, effectively getting to the hoop early and knocking down a handful of jumpers in what was probably his strongest game of the year. Jarrett Jack continued his recent string of solid play, going 7-of-7 and finishing with 18 points and six assists in 30 minutes off the bench against his former mates.

Calderon and Jack’s efforts weren’t the only strong ones for Toronto, whose first half output was its best since 1999 — Hedo Turkoglu and Andrea Bargnani each had efficient 14-point outings, with Bargnani coming on strong after a sluggish, foul-plagued start. Chris Bosh was just 5-of-19 but had 12 boards and a few big second half blocks.

In all, another up-tempo, catch-me-if-you-can type game for the Raps — a style of play that Toronto fans are going to need to adjust to if they haven’t already. The win bumps the Raps to 7-8 — good for seventh in the East — with a road date in Charlotte Wednesday.

Bill Belichick is naked, in his own mind at least

I finally figured out why Bill Belichick is such an asshole: He’s simply bitter because he suffers from a rare psychological disorder that allows him to never be completed naked — that’s right, like Tobias Funke, he’s a never-nude, hence the cut-off shorts. Considering the cut-off hoodies he famously wears, Belichick likely even suffers from a rarer and more advanced form of the illness. Get well Bill…

Bargnani and the Raps should cruise tonight

A win tonight and the Raptors slip into the East’s last playoff spot with 67 games remaining! Still a ways to go, but we might as well start making a push now. The Pacers are in town tonight for a tilt at the ACC, tipping at seven. Check out the full preview at Raptors Republic, featuring my NBA 2k10 game sim.

It’s been an up-and-down year for the Pacers to say the least — after starting with three losses, they won five straight (including a homey over the LeBrons) but have since lost three, leaving them 5-6. Indiana is led by Danny Granger, a guy that shoots a ton and scores a lot, though I’m not so convinced he’s the type of guy that is gonna take a team too far as a number one scoring option (case in point: The Pacers kinda suck). Of course, it’ll also be fun to check out the infamous T.J. Ford, who’s averaged just 9.7 points and 2.6 assists in 11 games this season with a back and neck that are seemingly in tact. If you haven’t caught on by now, I’m not too high on the Pacers and don’t see why we shouldn’t beat them by 100 tonight.

If all goes according to plan, Toronto shouldn’t need Hedo Turkoglu come crunch time, which is good because he hasn’t crunched a thing in his first month as a Raptor. Still, it’d be nice to see the guy get it rolling tonight. The Raptors should also get a boost with Marco Belinelli and Antoine Wright supposedly ready to go, adding some punch to a second unit that has looked better with an improved Jarrett Jack at the helm.

I’ll be checking this one out live, so hopefully I’ll slide into some seats close enough to get a good perspective. Go Raps!

Darrell Walker quit midway through the Raptors’ hellish 1997-98 season, earning himself the status as Most Useless Coach in team history (and yes, that includes Kevin O’Neill). Nevertheless, I tip my hat to him for this never-before-seen tirade, which seemingly indicates he cared a little, at least.

The footage comes from a Raptors-Pacers game — see where I’m going with this? Yes, the Pacers are in town Wednesday night for a date at the ACC.

For more Random Raptors Moments, check the archive here.

Grabovski & co. let another one get away

Can we just throw in the towel already? Seriously, wouldn’t the world of sports be so much better off without Toronto’s crew of embarrassing franchises? The Leafs carried the torch tonight at the ACC, managing to lose 4-3 to the Islanders in overtime despite out-shooting them 61-21.

The Leafs battled back from a 3-0 deficit, clawing away after Vesa Toskala left with an “injury” late in the second period after giving up goals on three consecutive shots. The Monster faced six shots the rest of the way, coughing up the winner to Josh Bailey in overtime after a turnover gave the Islanders an easy give-and-go right on the doorstep.

Phil Kessel, Wayne Primeau and Niklas Hagman all scored for the Leafs, with Hagman’s tying things midway through the third. Kessel had 12 of Toronto’s 61 shots, but had his best scoring change (well, I guess his second-best, since he potted the best) deflected from about a foot out a minute or so before Bailey’s winner.

Of course, the NHL’s ridiculous points system will reward the Leafs for again losing in overtime, the seventh time Toronto has picked up a dirty point in 22 games this season. At 4-11-7 and tied for last in the league, the Leafs are in Tampa Bay to face the Lightning Wednesday.

The Devin Hester Ass Show

This whole ordeal wouldn’t have happened if Chicago saviour Jay Cutler could hit his receivers in the hands. Hey, he has no problem hitting defending players right in the hands, so why not Devin Hester?

Stafford could've thrown a touchdown on this play but he didn't feel like it

Are Matthew Stafford and Brady Quinn the most poised quarterbacks in the NFL or what? Okay, well maybe they’re not, but they did pretty well when their brutal teams matched up this afternoon. After trailing 24-3 in the first quarter, Stafford led the Lions back, winning 38-37 on the final play of the game on a one-yard hookup with Brandon Pettigrew. The touchdown, Stafford’s fifth of the game, came after a Hank Poteat pass interference call on a desperation hail mary the previous play.

Stafford, who came in with six touchdown passes on the year, threw for 422 yards. Quinn, who took back Cleveland’s starting duties from Derek Anderson last week, threw for 304 yards and a career-high four touchdowns.

Elsewhere, the Colts and Saints stayed undefeated, with Indy winning a 17-15 grinder in Baltimore and New Orleans cruising 38-7 in Tampa Bay. Peyton Manning threw for 299 yards and a touchdown for the Colts and Drew Brees had 187 and three for the Saints.

Other scores from Sunday: Dallas 7, Washington 6 (Game of the Year?); Green Bay 30, San Francisco 24; Kansas City 27, Pittsburgh 24 (OT); Minnesota 35, Seattle 9; NY Giants 34, Atlanta 31 (OT); Jacksonville 18, Buffalo 15 (Terrell Owens had 197 yards receiving — quadrupling his season output to this point); New England 31, NY Jets 14; Arizona 21, St. Louis 13; San Diego 32, Denver sans Orton 3; Oakland! 20, Cincinnati 17.

Superman and the Magic got the best of the Raps

Thanks for showing up, Hedo “fourth quarter” Turkoglu, and thanks for bringing your buddies. The Raps entered the final 12 this afternoon tied, but watched a crew of Orlando scrubs led by J.J. Redick run wild and put it away before Superman and Vince Carter got back on the floor, winning 104-96. Turkoglu, Toronto’s supposed difference maker this season, finished 3-of-11 for 12 points against his former team.

This was a tough game, but one the Raptors could’ve won if they’d played to their strengths. Chris Bosh drew a couple first quarter fouls on Dwight Howard, then decided to loft jumpers the rest of the game. CB finished with 22 points on 10-of-22 shooting and grabbed five boards. Andrea Bargnani, in foul trouble most of the day and ineffective offensively when on the floor, led the Raptors with nine boards.

Turkoglu’s the guy that’s really getting to me, though. Early in the fourth with the game tied, Jason Williams found Marcin Gortat underneath for a layup that Turkoglu didn’t even both contesting, despite Gortat missing a pair of free throws minutes earlier. Yeah, and thanks Matt Devlin for pointing out that we brought him in because he shot 42% in the playoffs last year. That’s an impeccable number.

After a rough first half, Carter did his usual second half damage against Toronto, finishing with 24 points — 18 on 7-of-12 in the final two quarters. Redick had the second-best game of his career (the best coming at the ACC a few weeks ago), finishing with 19 and five assists.

The loss drops the Raptors to 6-8, with the Pacers coming to Toronto on Tuesday.