Predictions for the 2016 MLS Season

(Jamie Valdez – Portland Tribune)

The 2016 MLS season is about to begin, and expectations vary for all the teams. Some, like the Red Bulls and the LA Galaxy, will always be considered perennial favourites due to the deep squad. Others, like Chicago and Colorado, do not have a lot of money, a good market, and do not look like they are improving any time soon.

That being said, the MLS Cup is so unpredictable due to the fact that more than half of the teams make the playoffs, and the single elimination bracket means that an off-game for any of the teams ends the season, so any team going into good form into the playoffs can take advantage of that and punch above their own weight, and make a good playoff run. But the Shield standings are better to predict, partly because it takes the majority of the season’s results into account.

Here’s the projections for the 2016 MLS season:

Eastern Conference:

1. New York Red Bulls – They always have the most complete teams in the MLS, so there’s no reason why they can’t repeat what they’ve done in 2016.
2. Columbus Crew – Much like the Red Bulls, much of the same team is there in 2016. Hopefully Kei Kamara doesn’t quit on Columbus.
3. D.C. United – If the team had a proper stadium the team would be in the Top 2 contention. A good atmosphere can go a surprisingly long way.
4. Toronto FC – In a weak Eastern Conference, one player can carry a team to the playoffs. Giovinco can do just that. The offseason additions also help as well.
5. Montreal Impact – The player that carries this team is Didier Drogba. Probably going to be his last season but he is looking to go out on a high note.
6. Orlando City SC – Kaka and company can make the playoffs this year. Last year was a bit of a transitional period and the team can really gel now having a season already under their belt.
7. New England Revolution – Whether they like it or not, losing Jermaine Jones was a big loss to the team. He was an icon on the team, and it’s hard to see anyone else taking up the reigns as much as he did.
8. New York City FC – They have a talented team, but with the way they are aging are they going to keep off the injury list? Furthermore, can Andrea Pirlo and David Villa remain in constant form?
9. Philadelphia Union – An unremarkable team with very little to go by in a competitive (but weak) Eastern Conference. I don’t forsee them going very far with the squad they have.
10. Chicago Fire – Can a team really have a worse offseason than Chicago? Losing most of their good players doesn’t help matters.

Western Conference

1. FC Dallas – The team may not be very flashy but they are just that – a very good team. They managed to top the Western Conference last year and they have the tools to do so again this year.
2. Portland Timbers – They have a very good team that is riding high from their MLS Cup win in 2015. They have every advantage that they can have going into this season and they should start out in good form.
3. Seattle Sounders – They lost Obafemi Martins, but their team is still very good. I see them carrying over their good form this year. They deserved to be in the Conference Finals last year.
4. Vancouver Whitecaps FC – They have a good team, but they don’t exactly have “it” – that is, what makes them a truly good team. I think they’ll win a lot of games but I don’t see them being among the elite.
5. LA Galaxy – Much like NYCFC, in the sense that they are overpaid and sensationalized in a big market. They do have a half decent squad, though, and their superstars should help them into the playoffs.
6. Sporting Kansas City – They don’t really have that elite of a team, but they know how a good playoff run starts. They’ll get in the playoffs this year, despite others saying otherwise.
7. San Jose Earthquakes – Is Wondo still playing?? He will definitely have a positive impact on the team this season. There really isn’t much else to talk about San Jose, however.
8. Houston Dynamo – Much like Philadelphia, Houston is unremarkable in every way. In a packed Western Conference, it’s hard seeing Houston going very far in the playoffs.
9. Real Salt Lake – Don’t let their CCL berth fool you – this is clearly a team in a middle of a rebuild. Getting Moysisyan, a player in their 2009 MLS Cup run, won’t help in the present day.
10. Colorado Rapids – Remember when I said “Can anyone have a worse offseason than Chicago?” Colorado makes a compelling case with an apathetic owner and a team that is willing to pay gobs of money for a 36 year old goalkeeper. Makes total sense to nobody.

Just because it’s trade deadline day foesn’t mean you need to make a trade

(Taken from http://www.raptorsrepublic.com/2014/12/12/kyle-lowry-trickle-effect-demar-derozans-absence/)

Ever since the Raptors have gotten good – and really good – I’ve been noticing many people saying that the Raptors needed to find a player that could take the Raptors further than the first round in the playoffs. In other words, “It,” as Paul Pierce kindly reminded us as his Wizards swept the Raptors last year.

There’s no doubt that the Raptors need to win and they need to win now, given their immense talent and their recruitment of DeMarre Carroll and Bismack Biyombo during the offseason. But every year there’s always a frenzy near the trade deadline day in every league, not just in the NBA. Which begs the question: Why?

Maybe it’s the urgency of the situation, the fact that once the deadline passes, you can’t make any trades until the end of the season. The deadline gives that false sense of panic, the urge for people to barge into the discussion like they’re at a board meeting, feeling like they have to say something for the sake of saying something.

But don’t feel like you need to do that. Although there are examples of teams getting it done on deadline day (The David Price deal springs immediately into mind, never mind the fact that he kinda left after his deal was done), but there have been much more examples of deadline deals done for all the wrong reasons.

Take 2003, for example, when Ray Allen of the Milwaukee Bucks was traded to Seattle in a deal that centered around an aging Gary Payton. On paper, it looked… odd. In reality, it just looked bad on the GMs part. Or take 2011, when the Clippers traded Baron Davis and a first rounder for Jamario Moon and Mo Williams. The first rounder ended up being first overall, as Cleveland drafted Kyrie Irving with the first pick. Can you imagine Blake Griffin  and Kyrie Irving tearing up the court? Oh dear…

The point isn’t that trades shouldn’t be made right on the deadline. If the cards fall the right way, full advantage needs to be taken. But if the cards show something else, that there isn’t a good chance of improving your hand, it’s often best to move on and don’t do anything rash. Let the players take control of the situation and make their magic work in the postseason.

For Ronda’s sake, it would be better off for Ronda Rousey to retire

 

(Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

Before I begin, it should be known that I know next to nothing about UFC fighting. I don’t pretend to be a journalist in this sport. That being said, there’s no doubt that UFC is growing in popularity each and every year. When Georges St. Pierre first broke onto the scene, many fans in Canada were excited that one of the pioneers in the sport was making his mark on a growing sport. Now he’s regarded as one of the greats of all time.

Ronda Rousey has gone through the same meteoric rise, having gone on an undefeated run of victories and bringing a new name to UFC. However, it all came to a crashing end after her loss to Holly Holm. Since then, many people have questioned on how Rousey can return back to the spotlight. There has also been discussion on how she dealt with the loss already (Hint: She didn’t take it very well, and it is very depressing just to think about), and how she can recover from the situation that she has been in for the past while.

But at a perfect time in her career, Ronda Rousey has the best chance she has to retire now and go out on a personal high.

Why? Well, if she returns, there are two things that can happen if she returns back to the ring. If she wins, there’s now an added pressure to keep on winning, and that can’t be the best thing for someone clearly undergoing some serious mental trouble. The last thing she needs is more external pressure. If she loses, then obviously there’s the pain of loss that has happened, and that can’t be good for anyone, never mind someone like Ronda Rousey. It’s a no-win situation.

Also consider the physical toll of these matches. I’m no doctor, but if football players can get CTE by simply being tackled and hit by moving players, I can’t imagine what a UFC fighter must go through during a match. Conclusion: the results don’t look too good for all the concussion activists everywhere. And who’s to say that her mental problems may or may not have been caused by the senseless beating she has taken over the years.

It’s not like Rousey is going to leave lots of money on the table by quitting UFC. She already has worldwide fame due to her talents, and has taken full advantage of that. She has a movie deal, she landed the cover of Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit issue, and there’s no limits as to what she can do in her career, after she gets her mental problems sorted out. She could even coach the next generation of UFC fighters if she chooses.

The question isn’t what Rousey will do when she retires from UFC – it’s when she decides to retire. Right now, she is at a crossroads not only in her sporting career but also in her entire life as well. What she does can ultimately decide the fate of the sport as a whole. It would be remiss to dismiss this impact, and Rousey should listen to her gut – and her mind- to make this important decision.

The Hall of Fame Ballot everyone would be proud of

(Photo Credit: Thisiscooperstown.com)

The strange thing about the Baseball Hall of Fame’s voting process is that it only allows for a small window for players to be enshrined for eternity into the Hall. After this window closes, the only hope then is to be enshrined elsewhere through other means – namely, the Veterans Committee or the various side awards given out by the balloting process, but that usually takes a bit of time. But the only award most people talk about is the main ballot – the one ballot everyone knows and loves.

If I was given the honour of filling out this years’ Hall of Fame ballot, here’s who I would have filled out:

Ken Griffey Jr.

This one is a bit of a gimme – over 2,700 hits, 1,800 RBI, and 630 homeruns is stacked on his resume. On top of that, he’s considered a hero in not one but two cities  – Seattle and Cincinnati. And on top of that, he’s a face of a generation, someone to look up to during the dark ages of PEDs and Steroids in Baseball. There’s no way he doesn’t make the Hall this year. You may think that someone who is a near lock to make the Hall doesn’t really need another vote given that just 75% of the ballots is needed to be elected, but I say, give the votes to the players that deserve them. Not giving Griffey my vote would be a horrendous mess.

Curt Schilling

Like Griffey, Schilling was the face of more than one MLB team. Unlike Griffey, he made the World Series with three teams, Philadelphia (losing to Toronto in 1993), Arizona, and Boston. He was also one of the most feared players in his time. Having a career 3.46 ERA and over 3,000 strikeouts can do that. But he was so dominant during his career that it’s shocking that he never won a Cy Young – despite leading the NL in strikeouts twice and the MLB in wins twice. His determination was also one of the reasons why he was a great player, proven by the now infamous bloody sock. Schilling may be not very well liked in the media these days but he still has all the necessary credentials to be in the Hall.

Trevor Hoffman

When a player goes on the field and the game instantly ends under “Trevor Time,” you know he’s made an impact on the game. Having a 2.87 ERA and over 600 saves, Hoffman was one of the best reliever pitchers of all time. His saves record stands second only to the great Mariano Rivera, who is also another lock for the Hall of Fame. What makes Hoffman’s stats all the more impressive is that he spent the majority of his career in lowly San Diego, who made the playoffs a grand total of 4 times during his time (1993-2008) in the team. His dominance on the mound for the 9th inning of the game made him a great player, and an even better face of the San Diego Padres.

Larry Walker

From hereon in, the votes for the Hall are based on opinion and the mood of the people at that point in time. In my case, I can see the case for the former NL MVP to make the Hall. Sure, his homerun stats may have been inflated due to him playing in thin-aired Colorado for most of his career, but at least it wasn’t inflated due to steroids or any other cheating mechanism. Besides, that’s not the main selling point of Walker’s Hall candidacy – he also has a .313 career batting average and over 1,300 RBI. That isn’t inflated by thin air. Walker was an absolute stud in outfield, and his bust in the Hall of Fame would be a more than welcome, if not well deserved place.

Tim Raines

This may be due to me wanting more Canadiana in the Hall of Fame, but Raines is a more than deserving candidate for the Hall of Fame. He has more than 2,600 hits, ranks fifth all-time for Stolen Bases with 808 (and it should be worth noting that players with a lot less have also made the Hall), and also ranks in the Top 10 among switch hitters in hits, runs, triples, and extra base hits. During the 1980s, Raines was one of the best players, and constantly made the All-Star game during the decade. His Hall of Fame status still remains unlikely, but his stats make him a qualified candidate.

Alan Trammell

Trammell may not have the greatest stats for an automatic Hall of Fame selection, given a .285 career batting average, but what he does have is over 2,300 hits and over 1,000 RBI. That’s nothing to sneeze at, but unfortunately his time may be up for his Hall of Fame candidacy. In fact, my vote for him comes from the fact that this is his last year of his candidacy before he can fall back through the Veteran’s Committee, and that usually takes years. So my vote is purely just a vote of confidence of him more than anything else. Let’s all give Trammell one more good year of Hall consideration.

Fred McGriff

Although he’s known more for being the guy that was traded for future Blue Jays Hall of Famer Roberto Alomar, McGriff is a Hall of Famer in his own right. With over 2,400 hits and over 1,500 RBI, McGriff was one of the most known players of the 1990s. What made McGriff great was his consistency at being an All-Star during the Steroid era. McGriff still hit 493 homeruns, a great record to have all things considered, and led both leagues in different years in the same category. McGriff is the kind of player that somehow got great stats during his playing days yet somehow slipped past the usual suspects in each Hall of Fame ballot. Hopefully that will change for the better in the future years that he’s on the ballot. Even if he doesn’t get elected, let’s hope McGriff gets the respect he deserves.

Edgar Martinez

Martinez, like McGriff, also shined during the dreaded Steroid era of Baseball. He had a .312 career batting average and over 2,200 hits during his career. He won the Silver Slugger on 5 occasions, and he is also a batting champion in the AL. He also led Seattle through the biggest playoff run they had (so far), scoring the game-winning double that advanced Seattle to the ALCS. He also had 1,200 RBI during his entire career. Martinez’s stats are more than enough to warrant Hall of Fame consideration, yet he gets dismissed sometimes because he played primarily as a Designated Hitter. But he turned that designation into something meaningful, as he could be counted on to do the one thing he did well – which was hitting.

Mike Mussina

Mussina may be a bit of a wild pick for the Hall of Fame considering there are more pitchers on the ballot with better stats (we’ll get to that later), but Mussina is definitely worth consideration. As a member of the Baltimore Orioles, he was a perennial all-star, a winner, and a player that knew how to strike out. As a member of the New York Yankees, he still became a winner and also still knew how to strike out. He has over 2,800 strikeouts, an impressive number to say the least. He has an impressive record of 270-153, despite the fact that wins aren’t necessarily a Hall of Fame stat. The only stat that may be holding Mussina down may be his ERA, which is at 3.68. Good, but not exactly Hall of Fame numbers. What he does have is his frequency to have near perfect games – he has about 5 1-hit games, which is just completely crazy. Even if he doesn’t make the Hall his tendency to go on a complete tear makes him one of the better pitchers during the Steroid era.

Lee Smith

Like Trammell, Smith gets my vote on the basis that he will be running out of time on his Hall of Fame candidacy. It’s not like his stats are completely bad; he has a 3.03 career ERA, led the league in Saves four times, and has 1,200 strikeouts – as a reliever, no doubt – and has 478 saves to add to his total. That’s third all time in the entire MLB. It’s completely crazy that given his stats, he hasn’t made the Hall of Fame yet. When he retired in 1997, both Hoffman and Rivera were just starting their time in the MLB. Smith will go down as one of the best relievers of all-time, and nothing short of a Hall of Fame ballot will be completely crazy beyond comprehension.

“But wait! Where’s Bonds, Clemens, and Sosa?”

Ah yes. Just about every year since Mark McGwire appeared on the ballot, there has been a constant debate on whether or not players who have taken PEDs/Steroids or who probably have taken Steroids should be in the Hall of Fame. After all, the Hall of Fame highlights those who were the best in Baseball, and doing so by the way of cheating through biological means – i.e. getting an unfair advantage over everyone else because they can’t physically be better than you. At least when someone is stealing signs or putting spitballs in play, there’s still a chance that someone responds to that and ends up overcoming that adversity. But when one person is much stronger than someone else, there’s no chance of overcoming that adversity, because the steroid user is producing more than what even the most fit people are capable of becoming.

So let me say what everyone in the Hall so far is trying to say – those who have been positively linked to drugs or Steroids should not be admitted into the Hall of Fame. Period. Those who blatantly cheat to win (like what I have mentioned above) should be ruled ineligible to be considered for the Hall. When you look at those who have been admitted into the Hall of Fame, you look at those who have a high standard of ethics in the game. Sure, there may be players like Ty Cobb who may have broken a few rules and played dirty tricks like putting sharp spikes on their shoes to gain an advantage. There may have been a few sign stealers in there as well. Heck, maybe even Babe Ruth may have broken a few rules here and there.

With those players, the cheating may be temporary, and is quickly solved through the removal of a tool or an ommittance of an act. With Steroids, that becomes much harder to do. How long does Steroids last inside a person’s system? A day? A week? For years? Nobody truly knows exactly how long. Besides, when someone brings in a corked bat or wears a spiked shoe everyone else doesn’t know they are cheating unless they actually win. With Steroid users, they are always cheating due to their bigger muscles. That causes more batters to be walked, more people playing more defensively, and more cautious decisions to be made against the user in question. Steroids changes the entire complexity of a game.

The use of steroids in Baseball needs to be stopped and exhumed in order to make the game more genuine again. Banning those who have taken steroids from the Hall would ensure that will be the case.

Crazy and bold predictions for 2016

(The Canadian Press/Chris Young)

2015 was a crazy year for just about every sport, and there were a few moments that people simply could not forget. Who could have predicted  that the Blue Jays would make the playoffs after the All-Star Game? Still, we try to predict the unpredictable, and given what’s happened in 2015, here’s what I predict in 2016;

MLB

• The Jays get off to a slow start in 2016 – naturally the GM tries to make some trades but it only makes the team worse and the Jays finish last in the AL East. Gibbons somehow keeps his job.
• Aroldis Chapman still gets investigated but doesn’t get fined a dime for his troubles. He becomes the most hated pitcher in America. The most hated pitcher in Canada, of course, will be David Price.
• Division winners: Yankees, Kansas City, LA Angels, Nationals, Cardinals, Dodgers. Wildcards: White Sox, Rangers, Mets, Pirates. None of the wildcards win more than one game in the playoffs.
• Both MVPs will be from non-playoff teams.
• A reliever will make a case for winning the Cy Young. A starter will win it anyways.
• We won’t have any no-hitters, but we will have one ruined by a blown call.

NFL

• The Bengals still won’t win a playoff game. The Packers won’t, either.
• New England defeats Carolina in the Super Bowl. Belichick will set up a timeline for his retirement but won’t do it at the end of the next season.
• Over-Under on people arrested who are playing in the NFL: 22.5.
• Tom Brady doesn’t win the NFL MVP because of deflategate. Cam Newton wins the MVP instead.
• Rex Ryan gets fired after Buffalo misses the playoffs again next season.
• A 6-10 team makes the playoffs while a 11-5 team misses the playoffs in the same conference. The NFL will be pleaded to change the format but will ignore everyone.

NBA

• The Golden State Warriors will go 72-10 in the regular season. Despite this, the San Antonio Spurs upset them in the Conference finals and win the NBA title.
• The Dunk contest won’t be remembered for its dunks anytime soon. Despite this, Vince Carter somehow makes his mark on the All-Star Game in Toronto.
• A key player in Toronto will fall out of form and the whole team will collapse, but will still make 8th seed in the playoffs. They get swept by the Cavs in the first round, however.

Premier League/Soccer

• Top 7 in the PL: Man City, Leicester, Arsenal, Tottenham, Liverpool, West Ham, Manchester United.
• Despite finishing in the Top 7, Louis Van Gaal gets sacked anyways.  Ryan Giggs replaces him.
• Manuel Pellegrini joins Bayern after going out on a high and Jose Mourinho replaces him.
• Jamie Vardy gets transferred to Manchester United during the summer and flops.
• Olivier Giroud gets the most goals in the PL, and then gets transferred to Real Madrid or PSG for a large sum of money.
• Relegated: Swansea, Sunderland, Aston Villa. Somehow, Newcastle finds a way to not get relegated and continue their miserable ways.

How can Toronto recover after losing David Price?

(Cole Burston / Toronto Star)

So it’s not even been more than a month after the MLB season ended, and already the odds are looking to go against the Toronto Blue Jays in the 2016 season, with GM Alex Anthopoulos and now with the news that David Price has signed with the Jays’ AL East rivals Boston Red Sox in a whopping $217 million dollar deal for seven years.

$217 million.

The Blue Jays fans can’t knock themselves too much for having lost a free agent for that kind of ridiculous money, even if it may be truly justified. But this is the kind of deal that could blow up right in the Red Sox’s face, given the high amount of investment and the frequent bust rate of pitchers who sign big deals with a new team. (Does Mike Hampton ring a bell for anyone?)

Even still, the only way the Toronto Blue Jays will find out if letting go of David Price or not is to see if they make the playoffs. After all, Price was the player that led Toronto to the playoffs in the first place, making the Blue Jays not only relevant in the MLB but also in Canada as well. If the Blue Jays still make the playoffs next year, then this decision will understandably be called a success, since they managed to win without the guy that started the winning in Toronto.

If the Jays don’t make the playoffs? Well, there will be heads rolling for sure. It doesn’t help that the replacements for Price haven’t been the best votes of confidence in the first place – take J.A. Happ, who pitched for the Blue Jays from 2012 to 2014 and posting his best year in 2014, with a 4.22 ERA and pitching 158 innings. Not exactly the best player to replace a perennial All-Star. Still, this deal could work out for Toronto if he repeats his form that he had in Pittsburgh.

Regardless of who pitches in place for Price, one thing needs to be made perfectly clear; this had better not sink Toronto back into their usual complacency in the lower half of the AL East. The Blue Jays need to get the best players on the field in order to be the best in the AL East.

Allow me to be the first to say that Mike Trout deserved to be MVP

(Joe Robbins, Getty Images)

With the dust finally having settled in the 2015 MLB season, the awards have all been handed out in order. The Toronto Blue Jays may have fallen short of making the World Series, but Josh Donaldson walked away with the American League MVP in convincing fashion.

But with even with Canadian bias and the playoff run magic, Donaldson still won despite the fact that Mike Trout had a better batting average than him. Trout had a .299 batting average while Donaldson had a .297 average. Trout also had a better OBS than Donaldson as well, Their homerun count was even as well, with 41 for each batter. The only stat that Donaldson had a big advantage over is in RBIs, which Donaldson led the league with 123, compared to only 90 for Trout. Stats wise, both players stand even with each other on that front.

But it’s not just stats that define what makes an MVP season. It’s also based on defensive play as well. For Donaldson, he has the advantage of playing the hardest position in baseball at third base, and did so well with good play and spectacular catches, including his dive into the stands against Tampa Bay. But Trout doesn’t state his case with flash or flair, but rather with being the best player in baseball. Trout has consistently been one of the best players in baseball, and has been overshadowed in MVP races’ past by Miguel Cabrera, who’s Triple Crown performance outdid Trout’s consistent play. And rightfully so. But in this instance, Trout beats Donaldson in almost every batting category in the league. And Donaldson’s main stat – his RBIs – is aided by the potent Blue Jays offence.

But rewarding someone based mainly on the on scoring the most runs misses the whole point of the Most Valuable Player award – being the most valuable player. In Trout’s case, he’s the most valuable player on that team because without him, the Angels would be a complete mess. The team has no other recognizable stars aside from Trout, and even with that cast Trout carried his team to within one game of a wildcard spot. One can only imagine what the Angels could have done against the Kansas City Royals. Without Donaldson it’s hard to say what the Jays would have done. Even with him, the Jays were .500 and didn’t really get into the playoff hunt until they traded for Tulowitzki, Revere, and Price.

The point of the matter is that the MVP should go to the best player. Hence the name Most Valuable Player. Mike Trout, for this season, was the better player because he carried the team on his back. He also had great stats and proved himself to be an elite all-star and outfielder for another year.

Matter of opinion shouldn’t get in the way of deciding who is the best player in the league. Then again, awards are often decided by just that – a matter of opinion.

What’s going on at Chelsea right now?

(Courtesy ESPNFC.us)

Despite having won the Premier League title last season, Chelsea are currently in horrendous form. Eleven games in, Chelsea sit 15th in the standings, having won only three times during that span. Its still early days yet, but when you consider that often the teams that go into European competitions often have good starts to the season, it’s not surprising when some people are already writing off Chelsea’s season this year.

Besides, it’s not just the fact that Chelsea are losing a lot but the way they are losing – the teams often are uninspired and do not look like they want to win on any given day. Compare that to a team like Bournemouth, heavily tipped as a relegation bound team, yet their undeniable grit and energy have given them a one point lead over Newcastle in the relegation race.

Many have called for Jose Mourinho’s sacking. Maybe it’s because he’s never led a team this far down in the standings before. Maybe it’s because of his confrontational leadership style, with his exoneration of Eva Carneiro and John Terry, for example. Maybe it’s because Chelsea’s owner, Roman Abramovic, has a notorious trigger finger, and that he’s fired many other managers – Mourinho included, in 2007 – for far less than what Chelsea are going through now. Maybe it’s the media hyping the fact that he’s never lasted more than three seasons at a single club at one time.

Whatever the case, it does appear that Chelsea and Mourinho are in a deep funk, and a change in manager has been cited as a way to turn around their season before it becomes too late, much like it was when David Moyes managed Manchester United in 2013. Here’s some of the names that have been floated around the betting line so far:

Pep Guardiola: He’s been linked to the Premier League for many years, including when Alex Ferguson retired in 2013 with Manchester United. It’d be a perfect fit for Guardiola, but the only problem with this plan is that he’s very happy at Bayern Munich right now. He’s also been linked more to Manchester City lately, so he might decide to go there instead and potentially get paid more by City.

Carlo Ancelotti: He’s coached at Chelsea before from 2009 to 2011, and won the Premier League with them in 2010. He’s also been very successful at clubs such as Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain. He’s also readily available and ready to coach after being sacked this summer by Real Madrid. But after getting sacked by Chelsea before, Ancelotti may not be ready to return so soon. But if Mourinho can come back after getting sacked, who knows what might happen with Ancelotti…

Diego Simeone: The Atletico Madrid manager has been linked to just about every club after nearly winning the Champions League in 2014, but has always remained faithful to Atletico. Even still, a good offer from Chelsea could convince him to change teams.

Ronald Koeman: The current Southampton manager doesn’t have a lot of winning experience as a manager, but as a player he led through successful sides with PSV Eindhoven and Barcelona. Experience aside, he’s only been at Southampton since 2014, and he might not want to leave for another club so soon.

Brendan Rodgers: He has the experience and he has led a winning side at the Premier League before with Liverpool. But he only got sacked as recently as October, and it’s doubtful that he’d want to immediately join bitter rivals Chelsea. But who knows, given the fact that he’s unemployed, he might take up that opportunity.

Other names, such as Frank de Boer, Guus Hiddink, and Antonio Conte have been thrown around, but none of them have very good odds to get the job. The bookies right now have Mourinho staying at least until the end of the calendar year. It seems now that Roman Abramovic has finally seen the light on his wild managerial changes, or otherwise Mourinho would have been out the door by now. But when Abramovic is involved, there’s never a dull moment – especially when there’s trouble at Chelsea.

The Blue Jays just threw away Alex Anthopoulos

(Mark Blinch/The Canadian Press)

Despite the fact that that he accomplished what is considered the best Deadline Day deals in history, Alex Anthopoulos will be without a job in a few days.

Who knows exactly why Anthopoulos turned down a generous offer to stay with the Blue Jays – and aptly enough, a five year contract – and left on his own terms, saying that “This is on me 100 per cent,” There’s no doubt about that, and whether he goes, I wish him well.

Question is, why did he leave in the first place? His statement was more vague than election promises from all the candidates. Little details are given from everybody. Immediately this should raise some red flags that there was some beef between Anthopoulos and the management of the Toronto Blue Jays.

If trading off all the prospects was a problem for the management, I don’t see why. The Jays have been trying to win with prospects for 22 years. It didn’t work. Alex finally saw the light and found out that if you trade for players that win, people will flock to your games and force the CFL out of your stadium. Better still, you can make baseball relevant in Canada again. Never before have we seen such enthusiasm across the country for one team. Anything comparable would be if Canada somehow made the FIFA World Cup. Bottom line: Winning gets you more fans. Period.

Secondly, there were rumours that Anthopolous was not going to be given full reign of the Blue Jays squad, and that new Jays president Mark Shapiro would get the final say on any trade. If this was true, I do not blame Anthopolous at all for walking away. Firstly, the main part of doing your job is to be able to do your job – in this case, dealing for the best possible players in the MLB. Having to beg at the front office to get anything done is just plain nuts. Also, it doesn’t show very well about the confidence that your team has on you – if they have to approve every deal that you make, does that team fully trust you? In this case, if true, the answer is clearly no. And for that reason, Alex Anthopolous thought well in getting out.

By leaving now, Anthopolous leaves a positive impact on the Toronto Blue Jays. Before this season, he had a reputation for getting blockbuster trades that turned out to be mediocre. (Jose Reyes anyone?) Heading into this season everybody expected more of the same boring, also-ran Blue Jays that everyone had seen for 22 years. Alex Anthopolous helped change that, even for a year. Any disappointments next year will be brought onto the hands of Mark Shapiro and company, and not on Anthopolous. Perhaps for everyone in Toronto, that may be for the better.

As the Blue Jays get eliminated, reality sets in for Toronto

(Matt Slocum/The Associated Press)

There’s no doubt that the Toronto Blue Jays captivated a city, and even a whole nation, for the past three months as they ascended from perennial cellar-dwellers to Postseason contenders. Winning their first AL East title in 22 years finally put an end to decades of miserable mediocrity as the Blue Jays laid themselves in an existential crisis, and eventually led themselves to make themselves must-see action by doing one thing and one thing only – winning.

So where does the Blue Jays – and the fans – go from here? Well, the first priority has to go towards retaining their star players; David Price, Troy Tulowitzki, and so on. If the Blue Jays want to keep their run going next season, they’ll need the players which nearly got them to the promised land in the first place. The fans will thank the front office for it. Toronto has had enough of playing runner-up for the past few years, and the Jays can’t win big if they’re not willing to pay horrendous sums of money to get those players playing for the Blue Jays. Alex Anthopoulos should know that going into discussions with David Price.

But the Blue Jays are the least of the problems for Toronto, however. The other teams that have been playing during the playoff run have been completely ignored by the rest of the city. The Maple Leafs, for instance, have only won one game since the start of the season in October and nobody seems to be batting an eye about that. But the expectations have been exceedingly low for the Maple Leafs this season, so this comes as no surprise. The Argonauts have been ignored by the city for years, and the Jays playoff run only exasperates their stadium problems. Playing in your rival team’s city, Hamilton, doesn’t help matters, either. The Argos made the playoffs but their offense is sputtering and the players know most of the city doesn’t care much about them anymore.

It’s not all bad news for the rest of Toronto’s sports teams, however. Toronto FC made the playoffs during the Jays playoff run, for the first time in their existence. Their star player, Sebastian Giovinco, is a heavy favourite for Most Valuable Player, and has been the anchor for the team for the past few months. Even with the Jays playoff run, attendance has been decent for the team which hasn’t found much recognition in the past few years. The Raptors are also hoping they will win another division title this season, as they prepare for the new season which starts in November.

Despite have a very good season, Sebastian Giovinco finds himself overshadowed by the Toronto Blue Jays. (The Canadian Press/Aaron Vincent Elkaim)

But overall, things are looking up in Toronto. The teams are finally getting better and the teams are finally aiming for real victories instead of moral victories. Toronto is becoming more than a world class city, it’s becoming a winning city for a change. And that’s the way it should be.