LAY OFF CHARA; A SIX-PACK ON A SUMMER EVENING

Some advice for Ottawa Senators fans: don't hold any bitterness against Zdeno Chara for signing with the Bruins. That rhetorical question that's been on the lips of walk-alike, talk-alike members of Sens Nation -- "What could he have bought for $7.5 million that he couldn't have afforded at $6.5 million?"-- is not only stupid, it's hypocritical and parochial. Even Leafs fans know better than to spout such hogwash.

You can't have it both ways, Sens fans. If you're going to slam Chara for taking Boston's money, then you should curb your enthusiasm about the Sens signing free agents Martin Gerber and Joe Corvo. After all, they could have stayed in Carolina and L.A. for less money, right?

• Should the Maple Leafs bring Eric Lindros back? At $750,000 for one year, it's a steal if he can actually play 65 to 70 games. He's still an effective player when healthy.
• Another parallel between the '06 Jays (losing 6-3 to Texas as of this writing) and the 1998-2000 teams is that both lost their starting right-fielder to injury. Alex Rios is out indefinitely with with a staph injection. In 2000, the Jays were actually leading the AL East at the end of June, but Raul Mondesi went down with a season-ending injury in mid-July and took Toronto's post-season chances with him. Well, that, and a lack of pitching also did them in.
• France-Italy in the World Cup final. Les Bleus against the Azzurri. Hard for this soccer dilettante to pick a rooting interest or a consensus favourite. France has this last-kick-at-the-cat vibe -- 2010 will be too late for Les Bleus. Ultimately, Italy seems to be the deeper team and has been more technically sound, which will probably make the difference on Sunday.
• The CFL is looking for a new commissioner, as Tom Wright has announced he will not seek a new contract. On balance, Wright did a pretty good job, save for the Ottawa Renegades debacle, which was a disaster that he inherited. The problem is the CFL itself; most teams squirm under strong central leadership and would prefer each team be a petty fiefdom. That's why every couple years, there's always one or two franchises in crisis because the league is such that you can't make a profit unless the team is winning. Wright did more to change that culture than anyone else who's been in his position, and for that he'll be missed.
• Hometown Breakdown, indeed: Want to coach hockey in Kingston? The major junior team, the Frontenacs, and both the city's CIS men's hockey teams, the Queen's Golden Gaels and RMC Palladins, are without head coaches. Palladins coach Kelly Nobes is the new bench boss at Wilfrid Laurier.
• You dream about this day, and when it finally comes, you don't know what to say: the Evil Empire lost 19-1 on the Fourth of July, which is also George Steinbrenner's birthday. Incidentally, here's a new member for the blogroll: The Yankees Won't Make The Playoffs.

Just a quick note to readers: There was no regular update today since yours truly, in between blogging, freelancing and my actual full-time media job, needed a bit of a break today. Well, that, and there's a Madden 06 season to finish before the new game is purchased. However, there will be some new content over the next week to 10 days, including some Blog Blast Pasts, plus two articles, Girl-Friendly Sports Movies and The Rules Of The Plugged-In Sports Fan. So stick around.

Related: Blog Blast Past, No. 1: Me 'N' Adnan V. (June 26, 2006)