SPORTS QUESTIONS

--If the Toronto Maple Leafs were planning on making Nazem Kadri a healthy scratch for two games, why not assign him to the AHL so he can serve his two game suspension?  Is he never returning to the 'A'?

--Does anyone else remember Brian Burke saying at the 2009 NHL Entry Draft that he could have landed John Tavares, but he wasn't about to trade Kadri (7th overall selection) and Luke Schenn for him?  Sure, Tavares isn't developing as fast as Matt Duchene, for example, but I consider that a by-product of where Tavares is playing.  Besides, Burke could always have drafted Duchene if he had made that deal for the #1 overall selection.  If Brian Burke's name was anything but Brian Burke, he would have been canned already.

--When was the last time Rogers Communications did something for the benefit of their customer base without the bottom line being the most important factor?  If you can't remember, don't expect the Toronto Blue Jays to spend money to try and usurp the New York Yankees and/or Boston Red Sox in the AL East.  It would be more likely that the Jays tease their fan base for awhile before bailing because they don't want to add salary.

--MLB teams in Kansas City, San Diego, Pittsburgh, and Florida should all be contracted, shouldn't they?  The Marlins and Padres have had success by accident, but there is no doubting that all of those teams have no intention of ever actually trying to field a competitive team.

--Wouldn't it be quite a storyline to see an NFC championship game between Michael Vick's Philadelphia Eagles and Vick's former team, the Atlanta Falcons?  Vick is an exciting player and maybe, just maybe, he's turned his life around.  Still, taking into account all aspects of building a franchise (on-field, off-field, etc.) I would rather have Matt Ryan, who's an excellent player and has a reputation as a guy to be that of a total gentleman.  Ryan won't put up the eye popping stats that Vick does, but he's plenty good and I don't think you'll have to worry where he spends his free time.

--Are the World Junior Hockey Championships truly a 'future stars' competition?  At random, I looked to see who the leading scorers at the 2001 tournament were and here they are:  Pavel Brendl, Jani Rita, Jon DiSalvatore, Vaclav Nedorost, Andy Hilbert, Jeff Taffe, Zdenek Blatny, Ville Hamalainen, Jamie Lundmark, and Rostislav Klesla.  The top goalies were Tomas Duba, Rick DiPietro, Ari Ahonen, Maxime Ouellet, and Henrik Lundqvist.

--Am I alone in hoping Donald Fehr is so tough on the NHL owners that he runs a few of them out of business?  I think it may, inadvertently, help cities like Winnipeg and Quebec City get their teams back.  If he can bleed Phoenix, Florida, and Atlanta completely dry they'll need to be relocated.  Bettman can put one of them in Las Vegas and then give the other two to Winnipeg and Quebec.  Maybe Carolina, Tampa Bay, or Nashville will fall by the wayside too and another team can go in Hamilton or Toronto.