Recently in Our Take Category

The NHL began its regular season on Thursday and one of the games was a classic Original 6 battle that saw Montreal travel to Toronto.

However, the most amazing thing is the fact that it marks only the second time in 85 years that the Maple Leafs have hosted the Canadiens in a season opener.

I find that almost hard to believe.

Talk about a microcosm.

Jose Reyes (above) tore a hamstring tendon while running in an attempt to come back from another serious leg injury.

That pretty much sums up 2009 for the New York Mets, who are closing one of the most injury-filled seasons in recent memory.

Derek Jeter is a great, clutch baseball player.

The sure-fire future Hall of Famer will soon become the Yankees all-time franchise hits leader, an impressive stat to say the least.

However, despite the Yanks running away with baseball's best record, Jeter is not the American League MVP for 2009 as some would suggest.

Barring a total collapse, anyone who doesn't vote for the Twins' Joe Mauer should have their voting privileges taken away.

Mauer is hitting a robust .367 entering play on Thursday and has 82 RBIs on a team not nearly as good as the one Jeter gets to play for.

Also (sorry New York fans) Mauer fields his position much better than Jeter and to post such incredible offensive numbers as a catcher is downright scary.

Without Jeter, the Yankees still win the East. Without Mauer, Minnesota is well below .500 and is playing September call-ups by now.

Cliff Lee was great on the mound, but was also 2-for-4 at the plate, including a double and a run scored in his Phillies debut at San Francisco.

Lee, who was a victim of shoddy run support with Cleveland, pitched with a lead most of the game, something that rarely happened with the Indians.

Gee ... maybe the Tribe offense would have been better if they let Lee hit.

I realize I am hardly in the minority here, but I must put my two cents in.

Major League Baseball and whoever else is holding the 100+ names on the 2003 positive steroid test list should just go ahead and publish the whole list once and for all.

Otherwise we will have these names trickling out every few weeks, like David Ortiz this week, and will have to keep living the nightmare that will taint baseball forever.

If they publish all the names, we will all speak our disdain and disgust for a while, but it will go away much quicker in the long run.

Of course, the MLB Player's Union doesn't see the logic in that - go figure.

Famed ESPN analyst Peter Gammons said that Major League baseball teams are really starting to put a greater emphasis on defense and speed now.

To that I say, it's about time. It is the perfect strategy for the game, still fighting the effects of the "Steroid Era."

Plus, the excitement of a great defensive play, a stolen base or a runner taking an extra base has been a lost art in the game for many years.

Welcome back exciting baseball.

I've never been one to sit in front of the TV for hours watching tennis. For me, it's one of those better-when-you-see-it-in-person sports.

So it was highly irritating Sunday, when I was juggling numerous tasks for my 8-year-old's party, that I was enthralled with the Wimbledon final between Roger Federer and Andy Roddick.

 Had Roddick put in a few errant shots and been able to handle Federer's devasting
aces, he would have lifted his first major trophy since 2003.

Maybe he'll start to give the Federer-Rafael Nadal rivalry a run for its money.

Sometimes a trade seems to work out for both teams.

So far, that is the case in the Manny Ramirez to the Dodgers and Jason Bay to Boston deal, which also helped restock Pittsburgh's future -- until those players are good enough to be traded away.

Ramirez has already boosted a sometimes anemic Los Angeles offense and should be happy for awhile. Bay is off to a solid start with Boston and gives the Red Sox another quality bat along with a much better defensive outfield.

Plus, getting rid of the biggest headaches the Sox' organization had might be addition by subtraction.

Tell me when people stopped caring about the Major League All-Star Game.
How did this happen?
All I know is that growing up in the 1970s and 80s, fans and players did care. It mattered who won, which was good for bragging rights all the way around.

In a just world, Omar Vizquel and Greg Maddux would be American folk heroes.
Sadly, thanks to steroids, the era of doubt settled on Major League Baseball during their careers.
But the two of them brought class, grace and beauty to a sport often mired in controversy.
And this is probably the last summer we'll get a chance to watch them perform.

I've never done this before. But I've heard it's fun, so I'll try it. I'm going to Yankee bash.
Now I've always dismissed Yankee bashers, attributing their hatred to jealousy directed at a quality franchise. At least the Yankees' performance on the field, most years, justifies the inordinate attention.
But this season, with their record hovering around .500, the Bombers deserve the bombardment of disdain. At 48-42 -- only three games better than the uninspiring Orioles -- the Yankees fall short of relevancy as a mediocre, rebuilding team.
So why does Joba Chamberlain's transition from the bullpen warrant daily ongoing coverage? How can more Yankees make the All-Star team than the Rays, the team with the best record in baseball? Who at ESPN thinks everyone is so interested in a team that probably won't be a factor in the playoff hunt?

Ever since the fans started voting, the All-Star Game has been a popularity contest.
Many times over the years the more deserving players were either reserves or left out altogether.
However this trend hit an all-time low this season with seven American League starters being either members of the Red Sox or Yankees.
Ho hum. It's just another example of what is wrong with baseball as a whole.