pic from theglobeandmail.com

I really need to start matching my “Wagering Wednesday” bets with actual money. I won $405 on my “$500″ last week, meaning Pizzo (who also won money) had to call me by another stupid name. Hurray!

Today we hit on a pretty broad swath of topics, including…

* Steve Yzerman did some interesting dealing yesterday. Who won the trades, and did Avs GM Greg Sherman know Yzerman was going to flip Quincey?

* San Jose has the hots for Rick Nash

* Mike Ribeiro is a wrestling heel

* Gammmmblinggggg

* Some serious NHL stars are hurt right now

* The Coyotes finally gave up more than a goal

* The Kings finally scored a couple goals

* Erik Karlsson for Hart?

* And much

* Much

* More

Listen to it here:

(Having player issues – it’ll post the second we figure it out.)

Download it here, and subscribe on iTunes here.

As you may have quickly surmised, the reason why this is my new favorite Larry Bird photo has absolutely nothing to do with Bird’s presence. The reason why I love this photo is Tom McMillen, the gray-haired gentleman attempting to shoot a J over Larry Legend in this game from the 1983-84 season between the Boston Celtics and Washington Bullets. If you can believe it, McMillen was 31 years old when this photo was taken.

This photo is pretty awesome in the standard format for the top of TBJ blog posts, but you really need to see the full McMillen to appreciate the true majesty of this snapshot of a different time in the National Basketball Association.

The vintage Bullets uniform, short shorts and old-school tube socks are undeniably great, but you’ll get that in any NBA photo from that era. It’s McMillen’s unathletic physique, his unwieldy elbow and knee pads, his double chin and chalky locks that really make this stand out from any photo I’ve seen from the modern (post-Magic/Bird) era. When I look at this photo, I see Mehmet Okur in an old-timers game 25 years from now. In 1984, this guy was playing 20 minutes per game for a Bullets squad that finished 35-47 and ended up losing a first round playoff series to the Celtics.

McMillen played in 11 NBA seasons and clearly wasn’t satisfied with merely competing against Larry Bird while looking like that guy at the Y who might drop dead from a heart attack at any point during your weekly pickup game. He went on to serve as a Congressman in Maryland’s 4th district from 1987 to 1993 and he is believed to be the tallest-ever member of Congress, at 6-foot-11.

If I had to guess the outcome of this play based on the photo, I would assume that Bird rejected McMillen’s shot attempt. What I would like to believe is that McMillen released a jump shot with a gorgeous rainbow arc over Bird’s outstretched hand that touched nothing but net upon its final destination. Then, he hustled back on defense with grim determination as his chunky thighs jiggled and he prepared to guard the most unguardable player of his era at the other end.

We will probably never again see the likes of Tom McMillen in the NBA. I hope you find it at least a smidgen as amusing as I do that somebody who looked like him was a rotation player in the league within the last 30 years.

Maybe it was the thought of Jermichael Finley possibly being categorized as a wide receiver for the purposes of contract negotiations, a move that would have increased the cost of a franchise tag by about $4 million for the Packers.

Or maybe it was Finley realizing that with each drop near the end of this season his value declined, so securing a slightly longer deal before he slid further down that slippery slope became necessary to get the required hours of nightly beauty sleep.

Either way, Finley is in Green Bay now for the next two years.

One of the few major pending free agents on Green Bay’s roster, Finley agreed to a two-year deal Wednesday night worth $15 million. The deal was first reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter, and later confirmed by Finley on his Twitter account.

At $7.5 million annually, the deal is only worth about $2 million more than what Finley would have received as a tight end under the franchise designation ($5.4 million). That minimal number combined with his frequent drops didn’t give Finley much leverage in a push for a far greater pay day, and a longer commitment.

In a league where the tight end’s presence is rapidly growing, holding on to a player who had 767 receiving yards and eight touchdowns became an increased priority if it could be accomplished at such a low figure, and there was little reason for Green Bay to budge much beyond Finley’s tag value. But a reason surfaced, and it centered around the designation of Finley’s, um, designation.

A study by Pro Football Focus outlined a contractual obligation due to Finley’s official position under a franchise tag, an obligation to pay more money that the Packers brass were no doubt well aware of during negotiations. In short, since Finley was aligned as a wide receiver for 60 percent of his offensive snaps in 2011, he had a legitimate argument to be classified as a wideout for the purposes of a tag under the new CBA.

The Packers knew this, and Finley knew he was set to gain some leverage back, and would be worth $9.4 million as a tagged WR instead of $5.4 as a tight end.

That likely led to the compromise and split right down the middle. Now the Packers have their promising 25-year-old wide receiver tight end for two more years, and Finley gets a chance to keep growing into his upside, cure his case of the dropsies, and earn a more lucrative contract.

Guess who’s back!?!? Missed THE FOOTY SHOW tonight? Check out some of the best clips from the show as James Sharman & Kristian Jack recap the week’s Champions League action and more.

Claudio Ranieri won’t be sleeping well tonight after Inter Milan lose in the final minutes of a boring 90 in Marseille.

The knives are pointed at Chelsea manager Andre Villas Boas after his selections saw Chelsea exposed by a high flying Napoli side.

It’s YOUR segment, ‘Avin It or Not ‘Avin It.

THE FOOTY SHOW replays tonight on theScore at 11pm EST and Thursday at 12:30pm & 3pm.

The way Tim Boetsch sees it, it’s he, the American, who may have the home-field advantage when he fights this weekend in Japan.

The UFC middleweight, who is 2-0 since dropping down to 185 pounds, battles former title contender and Japan resident Yushin Okami on the pay-per-view portion of UFC 144, and when he does so he will have a very special figure in his corner: Matt ‘The Wizard’ Hume.

It’s Hume, whom Boetsch trains under at AMC Pankration, that gives “The Barbarian” a very special confidence heading into this pivotal middleweight bout. Hume was the rule director and official trainer for the legendary PRIDE Fighting Championships and Boetsch feels all of his coach’s time in the land of the rising sun gives him the edge heading into a foreign battleground.

“Matt is definitely my ace in the hole in this fight,” Boetsch told The MMA Show with Mauro Ranallo.”I don’t know if I would have taken the fight without Matt, because there’s so many challenges involved in going to Japan and acclimating and finding the right foods and communicating and getting around. Without him it would be much more difficult and a much harder decision to make. But with Matt as my coach, my corner, and my guide in Japan I feel very confident going there that we’re going to come back with the W.”

As far as Boetsch is concerned, there is no better coach in the world of MMA, which is quite the compliment in a sport inhabited by renowned trainers such as Greg Jackson, Mike Winkeljohn and Rafael Cordeiro.

“(Hume’s) coaching style fits my fighting style perfectly. He reminds me of some of my old school wrestling coaches in that he doesn’t coddle us fighters at all, he makes us work hard, he beats us up, he tells us when we’re doing things wrong,” he said. “It’s just a great training environment (at AMC Pankration) and I truly believe 100% that Matt’s the best coach in the world. He formulates some of the best game plans in the world, can train us to execute them and he himself can execute them. So if we have a hard time understanding what he’s looking for, he’ll jump in the cage and show you exactly how to do it. I don’t think there’s any other coach that can do that. He can beat up anyone in the room at any given time. He’s definitely a living legend.”

After losing via rare ‘Mr. Wonderful’ submission to Phil Davis at UFC 123, Boetsch decided he had had enough of fighting monsters at light heavyweight and so decided to make the drop to 185 pounds with the blessing of his coach. With victories over ‘The Ultimate Fighter: Season 3′ winner Kendall Grove and ‘The Ultimate Fighter: Season 11′ participant Nick Ring since, it’s looking like he made the right call.

“I feel this is definitely the right class for me because I can fight the way I want to, using those ‘barbarian’ tactics where I’m moving forward and grinding on guys and throwing them around. That’s just easier when you’re dealing with lighter guys,” he said. “With that being said, Okami is one of the bigger guys in the weight class but I certainly think I’ll still have an advantage over him rather than I did at light heavyweight — he’s not going to be as big as those guys are. I feel stronger and faster — everything’s just better for me at middleweight.”

And a win over Okami with Hume in his corner yelling him on would certainly be a cherry on top.

“I definitely want to make a statement. I feel like I belong at the top of the weight class,” he said. “With Okami coming off the title shot (against Anderson Silva), a victory over him would prove I belong with the top guys and a decisive win would definitely show that. I want to go to Okami’s home town in Japan and beat him up.”

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When I was a kid, I thought that the term “lawsuit” referred to the robes that judges would wear in courtroom scenes on television.

Today, we learn from Sport In Law via HardBall Talk that there exist some fully grown and developed individuals on this planet whose understanding of what constitutes a lawsuit isn’t a whole lot more developed than my childish definition.

Omeranz & Landsma Corporation is suing the Miami Marlins Baseball Club, claiming it bought the team at a public auction in 2008. The plaintiff claims it attended the Fourth Annual Awards Banquet at Diplomat County Club and Spa in Hallandale Beach, Florida on February 8th 2008. Allegedly, a major component of the banquet was an auction. David Samson, President of the now Miami Marlins (it was the Florida Marlins at that point-in-time), was the auctioneer at the event. According to the suit, the Marlins were offered for sale with bids starting at ten million dollars. Omeranz & Landsma claim they made the only bid and a bidding contract was created.

I don’t think I’m reading too much into things by assuming that the auctioning off of the Marlins was done in jest. I just hope that common sense can prevail and the no-humoured opportunists suing the baseball team don’t profit from their actions at all.

Ever since Ezekiel Jackson lost his Intercontinental Title on August 12^th to Cody Rhodes he’s been out of the spotlight, mostly appearing on Superstars, dark matches or randomly in a battle royal on Friday Night Smackdown. Although the last few weeks it’s been refreshing to see Big Zeke back out on both Smackdown and RAW as a singles competitor especially with Teddy Long in his corner. What’s in store for Big Zeke? Can the big man from Guyana make it back to having gold around his waist?

Okay, maybe saying that Ezekiel Jackson will win the Intercontinental Championship in the near future is a bit of a stretch. He did lose to Jinder Mahal and David Otunga (twice) recently. You can catch his most recent loss on the Smackdown Supershow at WWE.com. But after seeing him walk down that entrance ramp with Teddy Long at his side it’s got me thinking that maybe he’s headed in the right direction. Even in the days with the short lived faction “The Corre” Ezekiel seemed like the type of Superstar that didn’t quite fit in, someone who needed a little direction. A monster like Big Zeke could use a manager.

The days of the manager are pretty much long gone with the exception of Vickie Guerrero’s  guys Dolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger. It would be nice to see someone step up with a group to rival Vickie’s boys on Smackdown, someone to get a guy like Ezekiel Jackson or Drew McIntyre on the right track. Here are some wild speculations of who that person could be…

Rosa Mendes: She’s currently in the corner of the World Tag Team Champions. Rosa along with Epico and Primo are really rocking the Latin thing right now but get Big Zeke some salsa lessons and he’s got himself a top notch manager that’s easy on the eyes.

Teddy Long: With the new battle between Theodore Long and John Laurinaitis for the General Manager position on Smackdown and RAW who knows where Teddy will be in the near future. Let’s say, he gets the out on Smack down and Johnny Ace becomes the new Smackdown GM. Wouldn’t being in Ezekiel Jackson’s corner be his next logical move?

Reverend Slick – The Doctor of Style: I’m sure he’s not doing anything! He can for sure infuse some style into Big Zeke just look at what he did for One Man Gang! He’s turned him into the African Dream! Slick knows how to do one thing really well, control monsters. He’s managed Big Boss Man, Warlord, Kamala and Zeus from No Hold Barred!

I hope that Jackson get back on the right track. I would hate to see the big man get on a McIntyre type losing streak. Also, is it just me or did Ezekiel Jackson speak with an accent before?