If I ever needed a brain transplant, Id choose a sportswriter because Id want a brain that had never been used. Wade Baldwin Jersey .- Norm Van Brocklin When I was 13, I transferred to a new school for the first time. I had spent ten years from junior kindergarten through Grade 8 at the northwest corner of Bathurst Street and Viewmount Avenue in midtown Toronto. It was my home court advantage. I knew the roll of the rims and the carom of the walls and which teachers were lax at taking attendance. It couldnt last forever. At some point a promotion was coming, and my record setting minor league career wouldnt matter once new maths and makeup-laden girls challenged all that I had honed. I was heading to St. Andrews Junior High. Grade 9. The Show. Embarking on my first day in the wilds of the public school system, I knew I had to make my mark early. Mr. Pelech, my clever English teacher, noticed my t-shirt just minutes into the first class. It was a tattered, ink-drenched Grateful Dead concert tee. He remarked that "Grateful Dead" was an example of a contradiction. Contra what now? Coach tapped my shoulder and I hopped the boards. I proceeded to argue with a shellshocked Mr. Pelech for several minutes. My arguments were lithe, varied and completely illogical, but I had been trained to stand my ground no matter how ridiculous my position. Eventually, a hapless Mr. Pelech scanned the class and sputtered, "Just who is this guy?" Each one of my classmates shook their heads sheepishly as if to say uh, dont look at me. Mark made. Within two weeks I owned that school. They didnt realize the repressed explosiveness that ten years of private school Yiddish lessons would unleash. It is in this brazen spirit I introduce myself to you now, Dear Reader, as your new weekly columnist for Bardown. Why was I chosen as The One to guide you through the international sports landscape, particularly with so many scribes vying for your sports-saturated eyeballs? Commence the elucidation (AKA bring da noize): Basketball. This is my wheelhouse. I know all the lyrics to Kurtis Blows Basketball and I have for decades. I own a Sweet Georgia Brown-humming Harlem Globetrotters pinball machine from 1979. I still play pickup every week at a local high school against stiff competition in their very extremely late twenties. Also, I was an associate producer for the Toronto Towers of the NBA for nearly 500 games, post-games, pre-games and exactly five playoff games. Ooh, another thing, I call the Toronto Raptors the Toronto Towers because I have some self-respect. Baseball. I spent five teenage summers selling peanuts outside the Dome under the alias Mike Simmons. Despite a promising career as a sidearm Eephus pitch-throwing specialist, the leagues advanced scouts were never able to unravel the mysteries of my potential, because apparently throwing over the plate was a "prerequisite for success". Racists. I submit that using the All Star Game to decide home field advantage in the World Series is akin to the winner of the submission portion of Americas Funniest Home Videos determining the nominees for The Oscars Best Picture award. Also, you can thank me for getting the old Blue Jays logo back, as days after writing this piece, the marketing director for the Jays was following me on Twitter, and months later a new logo was born. Also, my therapist says I have something called a narcissistic personality disorder. Football. In 1998, I moved to Los Angeles to pursue the dream of being rich and famous which is why you know me so well today. That same year I became a fan of an upstart outfit known as the Baltimore Ravens because I thought Ray Lewis was almost definitely innocent of murder and I am obsessed with Edgar Allan Poe. Fifteen glorious seasons later I have two championship rings (made of foil and buttons) as my testament. I have correctly predicted, in pre-season, the Super Bowl participants for 13 consecutive years and I defy you to prove otherwise. (Note: Please dont reference my Twitter feed. Just be cool. This claim is all I have.) Hockey. I worked camera on the 2003 documentary A Day in the Life of the Maple Leafs so I know a thing or two about hockey. Well, exactly two things. One, when I was eight years old, my teenage neighbour convinced me his Mats Naslund rookie card could be mine for the extremely low price of my 1979 O-Pee-Chee Wayne Gurtski rookie card. (Note: I have forgotten how to spell that particular Edmonton Oilers name. At least my night terrors have subsided.) Two, I have developed an algorithm demonstrating the NHL to be the worst run league in the history of Industry. It involves a complicated geometric measurement involving my eyes and common sense. (A fact I will gladly prove over and over again until they, oh I dont know, realign the conferences to have an equal amount of teams. Lets start there.) Fantasy Sports. I Am Legend. In its heyday of 2001, my sprawling website, mikegallay.com, was a sports fantasy powerhouse boasting 16 writers covering all sports, catering to an audience of nearly 16 unique daily readers (and fans of ravines who misspelled mygulley.com). Chances are, if you were a Canadian sports fan in the early 2000s, you were reading articles about topics we also covered on mikegallay.com. The Professor And Mary Ann. I will happily cover all the secondary sports every time a participant either murders someone, is attacked by a spouse using the tools of their own sport, has sex on camera on TMZ, or breaks an important racial, cultural or gender barrier while also keeping our interest for more than eight minutes. Thats my pledge. Am I the precisely correct author to bring you whimsical, satirical, deadly accurate analysis of the sports that matter to you? Absolutely. And can I say that with total sincerity because part of my contract stipulates I have no editor? Two for two. Have I earned your attention to read my column next week? Lets put it this way. My topic will be 23 Ways to Make Over 7K a Week Working Part Time From Your Couch. My third column will be Bardown Seeks New Columnist, No Experience Required. Gallays Poll #1 What would you like to see Gallay write about in his next column? a) A 20,000-word essay conclusively proving Mike is the third Williams sister. b) Doug Gilmours Secret Recipes for 3am Snacks. c) My Weekend In The Hamptons With Barry Bonds. d) No column, just use this space to expand Badminton coverage. Brandan Wright Jersey . - Doug Kalitta led Top Fuel qualifying Friday in the NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway with a 3. Mike Bibby Jersey .The 24-year-old quarterback spent four seasons at Northern Illinois and in 2013 was a finalist for the Heisman, which is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in U. http://www.thegrizzliesofficial.com/Authentic-Chandler-Parsons-Grizzlies-Jersey/ .com) - New England Patriots starting center Bryan Stork will not play in Sundays AFC Championship against Indianapolis due to a knee injury the rookie sustained last week.TORONTO - The Raptors havent had an All-Star player since Chris Bosh left town but that could change this February, especially if coach Dwane Casey has his say. "Im pushing our guys," Casey said after practice Friday, making the case for his backcourt duo, Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan, to get voted in as first-time All-Stars. "I dont know if we can get two [but] Im going to push two and hope to get one, because both guys are playing at a high level." The Raptors coach initially broached the subject in Miami on Sunday. "Theyre playing like All-Stars," he said. "You look at the other guards in the East and theyre right there with them." Since then, he has been busy campaigning to his peers. "All my friends, all the coaches, [Ive] talked to them about it, texted them, they did me the same way when they were trying to get their guys in last year," Casey admitted. "Ill beg the coaches, bribe them with lunch or dinner, whatever, when we have a coaches meeting," he joked. "But its what we should be doing as an organization, and we are doing it as an organization and Im doing it with the coaches." More than likely, Miamis Dwyane Wade and Clevelands Kyrie Irving will get the nod from fans to start in the backcourt for the Eastern Conference. The leagues coaches will then vote in the reserves, two backcourt players, three frontcourt and two wild-card spots (players at any position). Theres a legitimate case to be made for both Raptors guards to represent the East as reserves in the annual midseason showcase, taking place on Feb. 16 in New Orleans. DeRozan is 13th in the NBA in scoring, averaging a career-best 21.2 points per game. He has made notable strides as both a passer and a defender, once considered to be holes in his game. Hes recorded five or more assists in eight of 34 games after doing so 12 times last year and accomplishing that feat in just five contests combined over his first three seasons in the league. "Look at what hes doing," Lowry said of his teammate. "He leads our team in scoring, hes done a great job of being our go-to guy, hes been a complete professional and he gets better every single night." Lowry has been Torontos most valuable player, carrying the team at the point guard position. In his eighth season, Lowry is averaging career-bests in points, assets and steals while shooting his highest percentage from three-point range. His career-best streak of 24 consecutive games with six or more dimes recently came to an end, topping his previous high of eight straight. Hes fourth in the league in assist-to-turnover ratio. "Look at the stat sheet after he plays," said DeRozan, making the case for Lowry. "Any given night he gives you 16 points, 11 rebounds, nine assists, somewhere around that margin every game. Thats just what he [does]. He goes out there and plays hard, hes scrappy, hes a bulldog when hes out there on that court. Hes definitely a leader, he definitely wants to win, I see it in his eyes." True to character, both players were hesitant to make their own case but neither could downplay what the honour of being namedd to the All-Star squad, alongside the leagues best, would mean to them. Shareef Abdur-Rahim Jersey. "It would be an unbelievable, phenomenal thing, it would be humbling," Lowry admitted. "Im sure if either one of us [makes] it, it would be a great time and a great accomplishment and achievement to tell our families and our kids one day." Lowry made sure to follow up that statement with a reminder that he, DeRozan and the rest of the team remain far more concerned with their collective success than individual accolades. The Raptors recent success could be the very thing that nets them their first All-Star since Bosh was named to the team in 2010. "We deserve it," Casey said proudly. "Our record, were ranked at the top of our division, were number four in our conference so we do deserve All-Star ranking and All-Star consideration with our players, because those guys are playing at a very high level." Entering Fridays slate of games, Toronto is one of just four teams in the East with a record at or above the .500 mark. As a team, the Raptors have gone 11-5 since the early-December trade of Rudy Gay with both Lowry and DeRozan - the teams two leading scorers - playing key roles in the resurgence. Although his percentages have dropped slightly, DeRozan is taking the same amount of shots as he was pre-trade and hes averaging nearly two more assists per contest. Lowry is tied for fifth in the league in assists since the trade was made on Dec. 8, averaging 8.4 to go along with 17.6 points. While Lowry may be more deserving of the honour given his value over replacement this season, DeRozan should have a favourable shot at earning recognition from the leagues coaches. DeRozan is highly thought of as a hard working, evolving player and has been universally praised by opposing coaches this season, whereas Lowry has developed a reputation for being somewhat combative. "Kyles showed hes a positive leader," Casey said of his point guard, who - in the final year of his contract - came into training camp with a renewed focus, in the best shape of his career. "I think that was the biggest question among coaches around the league, could he be a positive leader and be productive on the court. Hes done that." "I think theyre [both] very well respected. DeMar has been playing at a very high level, being very efficient, not just a volume shooter, so hes done that. Everything those guys have [done have answered] the questions about them as players. Plus on top of that theyve put us at the top of our division." The Raptors backcourt duo, or at least one of them, could be the beneficiary of a weak Eastern Conference. Unlike the loaded West, the conferences player pool reflects its overall inferiority. Their primary competition figures to come from Washingtons John Wall (19.7 points, 8.7 assists), Orlandos Arron Afflalo (21.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists), Atlantas Jeff Teague (16.8 points, 7.9 assists) and Indianas Lance Stephenson (13.4 points, 6.6 rebounds, 5.2 assists). All-Star starters will be announced live on the TNT broadcast Jan. 23 and the reserves will be revealed a week later, also on TNT. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '