Last night, the believed impossible happened. The Boston Bruins, who set an NHL record of 65 regular season wins and 135 points were unstoppable favorites. A total of 35.9% of the 1 million entrants in the 2023 Stanley Cup Bracket Challenge picked the Bruin to win the Stanley Cup. The Bruins staked a 3-1 series lead over the Florida Panthers who barely eeked their way into the playoffs, 43 points behind the Bruins. The Panthers were undeterred, and last night beat the Bruins 4-3 in overtime in a terrific game 7 of their first round series. Boston fans were stunned; this wasn’t supposed to be a series, it was supposed to be the first step in an inevitable coronation. Instead, the Bruins join the NBA 2016 Golden State Warriors (73-9 but didn’t win the championship), the 2001 Seattle Mariners who won 116 games and didn’t get out of the first round of the playoffs, and the 2007 New England Patriots whose loss in the Super Bowl prevented an undefeated season.
For 36 seasons, the NHL has awarded the President’s Cup to the team that earns the most points in the regular season. (For those who don’t know, each team gets 2 points for a regulation, overtime or shootout win; and teams get one point for an overtime or shootout loss.) Of those 36 teams, 8 have gone on the hoist the ultimate prize – Lord Stanley’s Cup – a 22.2% win rate. The last team to do it were my beloved 2013 Chicago Blackhawks, but it almost shouldn’t count since the NHL locked out the players reducing the number of regular season games and the season didn’t start until January 19, 2013.
The Bruin loss isn’t even rare. The 2018-19 Tampa Bay Lightning earned 128 points but they lost in the first round to Columbus. Lost time readers know that I was upset with then Hawks Head Coach Joel Quenneville in 2010 when he listed the goals for the team: win the division, the President’s Cup, and then the Stanley Cup. I said then that I wanted nothing to do with the President’s Cup. It just paints a bigger bullseye on your back and every team you play consider that series their Stanley Cup. With a 22-0-2 start to the 2013 season, I didn’t have much
Hockey has perhaps more superstitions than any other sports. For example, it is normal for teams who win the conference championship trophy not to touch it – like touching it would mean that the team is satisfied with winning the conference. I can’t find any similar convention for the President’s Cup. All I’m able to find are articles saying that there is no curse. Yes, at 22%, the percentage of teams that have won the Cup is higher than any other seed (2, 3 and 6 seeds have percentages over 10%), but it seems like President’s Cup teams losses are more ignominious, especially first round losses which are against the lowest seeded teams. That’s what makes the Stanley Cup Playoffs so electrifying.
If I were the Bruins however, or the 2021-22 Panthers, or the 2020-21 Colorado Avalanche (who, despite being the defending Stanley Cup Champion, also lost a game 7 yesterday to expansion Seattle), and all of the other failed PC winners, I would want to take the President’s Cup, melt it down and throw it into the Yukon river.

Chicago Bear fans have been generally happy since January 8 of this year, when their former coach Lovey Smith led the Houston Texans to a shocking 32-31 win over the Indianapolis Colts in Indiana, leading to a 3-13-1 record for the season. The Bears lost to the Minnesota Vikings 29-13, posting a 3-14 record. The Texas’ unexpected win gave the Bears the overall number 1 pick in tonight’s NFL Draft. Suddenly, fans, pundits and privately, the Bears’ front office suddenly had an additional pep in their step.
Justin Fields showed a great deal as a second-year quarterback, and probably would have done even better is he had a better offensive line and receivers. While an argument could be made for keeping the pick and getting another QB or a stud like edge rusher like Will Anderson Jr. from Alabama. It was obvious that the Bears have many more holes than just one pick, even the very first one could fill. There is no group of people who second guess more than Bear fans. First came the Fields supporters and the Fields’ critics questioned whether Alabama’s undersized QB Bryce Young or Fields’ successor at Ohio State C.J. Stroud. This puts the QB under the same learning curve that Fields has already been through. Ryan Poles did the smart thing, trading the number 1 pick to Carolina for the number 9 pick in the first round, a second rounder this year and a first rounder in 2024. Most important, the Bears got wide receiver D.J. Moore, who has caught for over 5,000 yards in his first five years in the league. The trade got more picks and filled a desperate need for a number 1 receiver.
The trade was the earliest a number 1 pick has ever been traded, which led the naysayers to ask whether the Bears should have held on for a better deal. This is ludicrous; for once the Bears have been proactive in building draft capital rather than overpaying for a move-up in the draft.
Well, tonight is draft night. The Bears may not be on the clock first, but the draft will be interesting and entertaining. I’ll certainly be watching…

Ever since the NFL season ended, it has been clear that future Hall of Fame Quarterback Aaron Rodgers would not return to the Green Bay Packers, despite a $50 million payday for the season. Rodgers’ idiosyncratic behavior ever since the Packers drafted Jordan Love in the first round in 2020 out of Utah State. Despite the fact that the Packers drafted him while having future Hall of Famer (and embezzling scumbag) Brett Favre, Rodgers has had hissy-fit after hissy fit, threatened to hold out, negotiated a gargantuan contract. He got engaged, then they broke up. He spent time in a darkened cave/room, and eventually said that he wanted to play for the New York Jets.
For weeks, the sports networks, newspapers have been reporting that negotiations were continuing, until finally, this week, the Jets and Packers agreed on sending Rodgers to NYC in return to draft picks. Here in Chicago, there was great rejoicing – the man who right yelled to fans that “I f$%^ing own you (the Bears)” won’t be leading 4th quarter comebacks twice per year against the Bears. However, I have a different take on this.
I was born in Chicago and my grandfather had Bears season tickets for decades. I can remember Gaye Sayers and Dick Butkus as rookies, and therefore I have hated the Green Bay Packers for nearly my entire life. While the losses on the field were bad and upset me, watching the annual soap opera between the Packers and Aaron Rodgers was consistent fun. Rodgers is to me, one of the best QBs to ever play the game, but the California native has always been eclectic to say the least. Relationships with Olivia Munn, Danica Patrick and a short-lived engagement to actress Shailene Woodley cave made headlines; a stilted relationship with his parents, his belief in alternative medicine including saying that he has been immunized against Covid-19 when he wasn’t, and a need for attention by only speaking through Pat McAfee’s podcast.
You could almost see the entire State of Wisconsin cringe at each Rodgers’ incident or comment. Yes, I know wins and losses on the football field are the ultimate goal, but when wins weren’t coming, the unease of Packer fans, especially when the Packers would fail in the playoffs, was worth it all. As much as Bear fans are happy to see Rodgers leave, Packer fans are just as happy. It may be the first time Bear and Packer fans are in complete agreement.
Now, he is off to NYC, a place the entire rest of the country hates. It’s going to be fun to watch, but for me, not as much fun as Rodgers tormenting the Packer fans and front office.

I have posted Academy Awards predictions for many years, but didn’t during the pandemic because I was unable to attend TIFF for those years, but 2022 allowed my to return to the Festival and see some films before they hit the theaters or streaming services. To be honest, just the atmosphere of TIFF makes me feel more a part of the movie industry (although of course, I’m just an interested observer.
I’m going to do things differently this year. I’ll start with who will win, and add who would make me happy if there was an upset.

Best Picture
Will Win: Everything, Everywhere, all At Once
Tony’s Happy Pick: The Banshees of Inisherin

Nominees
All Quiet on the Western Front (Netflix)
Avatar: The Way of Water (20th Century Studios)
The Banshees of Inisherin (Searchlight Pictures)
Elvis (Warner Bros)
Everything Everywhere All at Once (A24)
The Fabelmans (Universal Pictures)
Tár (Focus Features)
Top Gun: Maverick (Paramount Pictures)
Triangle of Sadness (NEON)
Women Talking (United Artists Releasing/Orion Pictures)

EEAAO has been leading the pack in nominations, other awards, and I have to admit that it is great that there is an Asian film with a solid shot to win. It was quirky, odd, strange, but extremely inventive. You could not guess where it was going. Avatar was all spectacle with a threadbare plot. I saw All Quiet on the Western Front at TIFF is a large theater and was absolutely enthralled. American critics were less enthusiastic, but maybe because they watched it on an iPad. Great film, will win Best Foreign Language Film. I didn’t see Elvis because I saw the subject live twice before he died. I will see it though, but this is not Bohemia Rhapsody. As I was bored with Elvis, I am even more bored by Steven Speilberg’s childhood. A great entertainer and extremely astute entrepreneur, he aspires to be an auteur. A couple of times, it worked (Schindler’s List, Munich, Bridge of Spies), most other times, he is, as I’ve said numerous time, the Walt Disney of the 21st Century. I will stream this film sometime, but I’m not looking forward to it (despite it having one of my favorite actors in it – Paul Dano).
I recently saw Tar, and it was at first, a character study of an extremely talented narcissist, but it got strange in the last third and (Spoiler) there have been reviews that think that the final part is a ghost story or all in the title character’s head. Top Gun was a revelation to me – a big, tentpole sequel of a film I was indifferent about. Implausible, but it had some heart, something rare for a Tom Cruise movie. I really wanted to see Triangle of Sadness at TIFF, but it didn’t fit my schedule. The trailer makes it look hilarious, but in a year that a quirky film should rule, there’s only room for one. Women Talking is another drama from Canadian filmmaker Sarah Polley. I have not seen it, but I will.
If however, EEAAO does not win, it would not hurt my feelings to see Banshees win. When I aw it on the list for TIFF, the reteaming of Colin Ferrell, Brendan Gleeson and Martin McDonagh who made the truly great “In Bruges” from 2008 made me want to see this film. One of the darkest comedies of recent times, the film did not disappoint – I laughed a lot and felt for the characters a great deal. I would be very happy if it won.

Actor in a Leading Role
Will win: Brendan Fraser
Tony’s Happy Pick: Colin Farrell

Nominees:
Austin Butler in Elvis
Colin Farrell in The Banshees of Inisherin
Brendan Fraser in The Whale
Paul Mescal in Aftersun
Bill Nighy in Living

Hollywood loves a comeback story and Brendan Fraser is this part one of this year’s feel good comeback double header. I did not see The Whale, Darren Aronofsky is very hit or miss in this film in my opinion. To be honest, a film about an extremely obese man hits a little close to home for me. I’ve only seen a few brief scenes in Elvis and while, as I said before, I am bored with Elvis, the parts I saw of Austin Butler, seemed like he was channeling “the King.” I did not see Aftersun, but have heard good things about it. Bill Nighy is one of my favorite actors and the remake of the classic Kurosawa film Ikiru again put it high on my list of films to see at TIFF and afterwards, but I couldn’t catch it.
Colin Farrell is one of the best actors working and played against type in Banshees, a not smart man trying to figure out why his best friend no longer wants to be around him.

Actress in a Leading Role

Will win: Michelle Yeoh
Tony’s Happy Pick: Michelle Yeoh

Cate Blanchett in Tár
Ana de Armas in Blonde
Andrea Riseborough in To Leslie
Michelle Williams in The Fabelmans
Michelle Yeoh in Everything Everywhere All at Once

Cate Blanchette again gives a top flight performance, but may be getting into the Meryl Streep “she’s won lots before” category, Ana de Armas is one of the most beautiful women in the world, and she can act. I avoided Blonde because of the bad notices the film received, although it seemed that everyone liked Ms. De Armas’ performance. There was a controversy over the nomination of Andrea Riseborough, but I did not see the film, so I can provide no informed opinion. I generally enjoy Michelle Williams’ performances, she is extremely talented. To me, this year belongs to Michelle Yeoh. She has been a kung-fu film star, a movie tiger mom, but good in everything she’s done, whether she’s acting with Jacky Chan, Pierce Brosnan, or Chow Yun Fat, she is never overshadowed. EEAAO would fly apart in its weirdness without Ms. Yeoh.

Actor in a Supporting Role
Will win: Ke Huy Quan
Tony’s Happy Pick(s): If not Mr. Quan, Brendan Gleeson or Barry Keoghan

Nominees
Brendan Gleeson in The Banshees of Inisherin
Brian Tyree Henry in Causeway
Judd Hirsch in The Fabelmans
Barry Keoghan in The Banshees of Inisherin
Ke Huy Quan in Everything Everywhere All at Once

Mr. Quan was a delight in EEAAO. He had the right mix of seriousness, quiet longing and pathos. Plus to return decades after Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and The Goonies, after being a nobody in Hollywood, this is the other feelgood story of the Oscars. However, if he doesn’t win, I would love for the great Brendan Gleeson to win. He has been one of the best actors working for decades. He is interesting in everything, whether as a lead or as a side character. Barry Keoghan was outstanding as the mentally challenged friend to Farrell’s character. He brought authenticity and a melancholy to the film. I hear that Brian Tyree Henry is outstanding in Causeway. This was one of the big films that premiered at TIFF, but with Jennifer Lawrence in it, those tickets went quickly. I hope to see it soon. Finally, I’ve loved Judd Hirsch since Taxi, and it’s always good to see him in films

Actress in a Supporting Role

Will Win: Angela Bassett
Tony’s Happy Pick: Angela Bassett

Nominees:
Angela Bassett in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Hong Chau in The Whale
Kerry Condon in The Banshees of Inisherin
Jamie Lee Curtis in Everything Everywhere All at Once
Stephanie Hsu in Everything Everywhere All at Once

Early in awards season, it appeared that Angela Bassett was a shoe-in as the matriarch of Wakanda, in the Black Panther sequel, but recently, there has been a lot of support for Ms. Curtis. Both of these women have been toiling in the movie business for decades and both are deserving. Ms. Bassett brought a dignity and sadness to her role; Ms. Curtis played against type, an overweight bureaucrat who gets tied up in the weird world of EEAAO. Like the gentlemen in Banshees in supporting actor, the Ms. Curtis vote may be split with Ms. Hsu from the same film. Ms. Condon was quite touching and provided a nice counter balance to the men. As I wrote above, I did not see The Whale, but Ms. Chau has been excellent in Watchmen on HBO and The Menu, another dark comedy at TIFF and now on cable/streaming. I sincerely hope these women (Ms. Hsu, Ms. Chau and Ms. Condon) all get lots of parts in the years to come.

Directing
Will Win: The Daniels – Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert
Tony’s Happy Pick: Martin McDonagh

Nominees
Martin McDonagh, The Banshees of Inisherin
Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, Everything Everywhere All at Once
Steven Spielberg, The Fabelmans
Todd Field, Tár
Ruben Östlund, Triangle of Sadness

The Daniels should win for EEAAO – they handled a film with action, a fantasy element, fascinating characters and heart. Quite a balancing act for the two men. I would be happy however if Mr. McDonagh were to win. He seems to only get noticed for his screenplay writing, but he has shown a real ability to make his vision real. In Bruges, Seven Psychopaths (which I didn’t like that much), Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and The Banshee of Inisherin, all well directed films. Maybe the Directors’ Guide doesn’t like a foreign scriptwriter and playwright playing in their sandbox?
Compared with Schindler, Saving Private Ryan, Munich and even E.T. and Close Encounters, directing The Fabermans is not as big a stretch. As I wrote above, Tar is a very good film, subtlety telling what could have been a simple “bad talented person gets her comeuppance” into something more. All I know about Mr. Östlund is his reputation and the trailer for Triangle, which made me want to watch it (and will be available on Criterion Blu-ray next month).

All will be revealed on Sunday night. Please send me your thoughts and opinions.

The most contentious issue in football isn’t Chiefs/Raiders, or Packers/Bears; it is the rift between the Baltimore Ravens and their star QB Lemar Jackson. Jackson has been one of the top QBs in the league, as a rusher, and more frequently recently, as a passer. With him, the offense ranks near the top of the league, without him, near the bottom. He won the MVP Award in his second season in the league. He has been compared with Michael Vick since he was in college at Louisville because of their elite speed and agility at the quarterback position. Since Jackson has been in the N.F.L., he has proved those comparisons to be sound, breaking Vick’s records for rushing yards in a season, with 1,206 in 2019, and 100-yard rushing games, with 12 through the 2022 season.
Contract negotiations with the Ravens fell apart before the 2022 regular season began, with Jackson and team executives reportedly failing to agree on how much of the contract would be guaranteed. Unfortunately for both sides, the Kansas City Chiefs signed their quarterback Patrick Mahomes to a 10-year $450 million contract in 2020 after he had won a Super Bowl that February and the league Most Valuable Player Award the previous season. However, only $141 million of that contract was guaranteed. Denver Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson signed a five-year extension in 2022 with a reported $165 million in guaranteed money.
Jackson made $23 million this past season on the last year of his rookie contract after turning down an offer ESPN reported as being worth $250 million, but with less in guaranteed money than Russell and Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray received. Jackson took a significant gamble by playing the 2022 season without a long-term contract agreement because a major injury could have greatly diminished what the Ravens would have offered him after the season. That risk became a reality in Week 13 when Jackson strained the posterior cruciate ligament in one of his knees, which caused him to miss the remainder of the season. Jackson, who has a 1-3 career record in the postseason, missed the Ravens playoff loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. His absence sparked skepticism from TV analysts, who questioned why Jackson didn’t feel compelled to play through injury, and commentary from at least one teammate, the veteran receiver Sammy Watkins, who wondered publicly if Jackson was putting his contract negotiations over the good of the team.
Then, the NFL world changed again with the Cleveland Browns signing Deshaun Watson to a five-year contract with all $230 million guaranteed, the largest sum in N.F.L. history. Of course, Watson was facing nearly two dozen sexual assault or harassment allegations and did not play in 2021. With the other owner openly angry at the Browns owners, Jimmy and Dee Haslam for introducing fully guaranteed contracts. The league has always felt better having 60-70% guaranteed, and if the player gets injured or has their performance fall off, they can cut the player to save money. So now, almost every top QB is looking for fully guaranteed money. Jackson is trying to get as much guaranteed money as he can.
The Ravens have been very open in not wanting to pay Lemar Jackson. At first, he was more of a runner, they said, then he became a better passer and won the MVP. The regular season success has not followed in the playoffs, it did not help that Jackson has been injured at the end of each of the last two seasons including a torn posterior cruciate ligament in week 13 last season that essentially ended his season and the Ravens’ Super Bowl hopes.
While there are apparently sound business decisions for trying to limit Jackson’s money, especially due to his injury history, I think it’s deeper than that. I think that the Ravens see this Black man with the strange braided hair and hanging off his hair in many directions as a dumb person. Many people think that Jackson is hurt by not having an agent or a lawyer, and maybe there is something to that. Both sides can be very blunt, and it can be vicious to hear what the team uses as thinking/leverage to get the cost down.
It should be noted that while he is a sexual predator, Deshaun Watson is a rather clean-cut young man. That said, the Ravens put Jackson on the unrestricted franchise tag – he will be paid $36 million for the season, but if some other team decides to sign Jackson, the Ravens get 2 first round draft choices. However, if you ever want to once again prove that the NFL owners collude, five teams have already announced that they will not be interested in signing Jackson. Shades of Kaepernick, Coach Brian Flores, Jackson’s options are limited. The teams/owners are pissed off about Deshaun Watson’s fully guaranteed contract and are going to take it out on Lemar Jackson. The plantation owners are going to put the servants back in their places.

I have watched college basketball for decades and have seen teams coached by a lot of Hall of Fame coaches. Dean Smith, Mike Krzyzewski, Ray Meyer, Al McGuire, John Wooden, Bob Knight, Lou Carnesecca and many others. One coach who is always listed as one of the greats is Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim. I have always thought that Boeheim’s teams underperformed. In 47 seasons as Head Coach, they won only 1 NCAA Men’s Basketball championship.
On top of that, Boeheim was always one of the whiniest coaches in the sport. He always complained about the officiating it seemed, nearly every time Syracuse lost. He also was never the cleanest program, being barred from postseason play in 1993 and having a self-imposed suspension in 2015. Last season, Syracuse posted its first sub-.500 season at 16-17 and were slightly better this season at 17-15, 10-10 in the ACC tied for 8th in the conference.
Today, Syracuse lost 77-74 to Wake Forest in the ACC Tournament, and afterward, reporters asked Boeheim about his future and he said that it was up to the university. He was asked whether he was retiring, Boeheim stated that he didn’t say that. He met with university officials. Two hours later, the university announced that current assistant Adrian Autry, like Boeheim a Syracuse alum would be the new Head Coach.
I think that after 47 years, they could have waited a couple of days to make the announcement. We may never know whether Boeheim left or was pushed out, although Boeheim never found something he couldn’t complain about, loud and high-pitched. However, unlike the dumpster fire that accompanied Penn State’s firing of Joe Paterno in the midst of the Jerry Sandusky sex scandal, this somehow feels like Boeheim is getting the bum’s rush.

It happens in sports: Willie Mays in a Mets uniform, Joe Montana playing for the Kansas City Chiefs; Michael Jordan playing for the Wizards. Some things in sport just don’t look right, but they happen. Sports is a business, and while fans always hope to keep their heroes with the same team forever, it rarely happens. Age, injury, rebuilding team, sometimes, a player’s inability to say goodbye; all factors that lead to a player’s trade. Yesterday, it finally happened to Patrick Kane.
Kane was traded to the Rangers for draft picks and Arizona got picks to pick up 25% of Kane’s salary (the Hawks pay 50%). The Blackhawks are in a rebuild, greatly caused by the mismanagement of former GM Stan Bowman. The coin Kane’s position, if not worse.re of players who won 3 Stanley Cups got older, although a great part of it has to be attributed to the number of games they played between 2009 and 2016 – all deep playoff runs along with a couple of Olympic Games. All that was left were Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane.
For 16 years, these two graced us with their excellence on the ice. I always was a bigger Toews fan because he is a 200-foot player, outstanding on offence and defense. I have always compared Toews to Mark Messier, a pure winner who sublimated his considerable scoring acumen for the good of the team. Kane was the scorer, the magician. Toews was Captain Serious – never in the spotlight off the ice; Kane was the party animal. A lot of my hockey knowledgeable friends teased me over Kane, being pictured shirtless and drunk in a limo, with girls at bars. I always asked what would we do if we were young, talented, single and very rich. Especially in a sport where drinking and machismo have always been held in high regard? I know that I would have certainly been in Kane’s situation, if not worse. Of course, he needed to grow up and first the altercation with a Buffalo cab driver and the rape accusation that almost got him jailed sobered the kid up. We’ve seen him become a father and less of the party monster. We’ve watched him grow up even though he still looks as boyish as ever.
On the ice however, Kane was genius. Toews and Kane were the centerpieces for three Stanley Cup Championships. Who will ever forget the goal in Philadelphia in overtime of Game 6 in the 2010 Finals that trickled underneath Michael Leighton, with Kane being the only player on the ice starting to celebrate winning the Cup for the first time in 47 years. All of the magical shootout and breakaway goals. The Madhouse on Madison rocking for every home game.
After Bowman’s firing in light of the video coach sexual scandal, the new GM Davidson announced a full fledged rebuild. The Hawks would be near the bottom of the league in points as the team traded “assets” for draft picks. First to go was Alex DeBrincat, a true gem that Bowman drafted and turned into a 40 goal/season player, and only 24. Kane, who became very close to his linemates – first Artemi Panarin who the Hawks couldn’t afford to keep under the salary cap. Then DeBrincat, and while maybe not as closely off the ice, on the ice, he has built a great combination with Max Domi (Who I personally hope the Hawks keep). Both times, Kane missed his friend and his play declined a little bit, but then Kane got competitive again.
This season though, knowing it was his last under his contract, Kane was a shadow of his former self. Never a dynamic defensive players, Kane often played even less defense than usual. His point total dropped. As it turns out a serious hip problem that Kane kept secret. I still think that Kane was depressed; no real chance at a playoff spot. No chance at another Cup. Toews has suffered through medical issues that eliminated the entire 2020-2021 season, and he recently announced that he is still suffering from Chronic Immune Response Syndrome and Long COVID. Despite the 16-year pairing, contracts equal as to not prefer one over the other ,and even the same agent, Kane and Toews have never been close friends, but Toews’ illnesses may end his career. It certainly ended any interest teams may have had for Toews.
So farewell Kaner. Maybe farewell Toews too. Farewell to the glorious Blackhawks dynasty. We will never see its like again, but god, the memories we will always have…