Under Further Review – Douglas Smith with Editor Bill Morphy. Regular contributors include Jordan Moss, Rob Wagner, Howard Steiss, Ian MacPhee, Dave Kittle, Peter Hucul, Ted Tait, Bill and Glen Myles, Frank Sullivan, Mark Hughes, Iqbal Grewall and Charlie Frenette.   

Spanning the digital ether to bring you the constant variety of sport… the thrill of victory… and the agony of defeat… the human drama of athletic competition… This is Under Further Review.

Losing Control – Tiger Woods is an addict. It’s plain to see. Opioid addiction has Tiger by the tail. He needs to seek help.

Woods was arrested and charged with DUI after his latest car accident in Martin County, Florida. It’s the second time he’s faced charges. It really should be the third or fourth. My gawd, Mr. Magoo has a better driving record. Tiger can keep the ball in the fairway but he can’t keep a car on the roadway.

In 2017, when Woods was pulled over, police found himself asleep at the wheel. He had Vicodin, Dilaudid, Xanax, Ambien and THC in his system. Woods entered an in-patient rehab facility for prescription medication addiction but here we are right back at the same crossroads.

Instead of trying to prepare for the Masters, Woods needs to focus on what should be considered his most important recovery. The team around him are clearly a bunch of enablers. The signs have been obvious for years. It would help if he stopped having surgeries every other week. He’s had seven back surgeries alone.

It’s time to forget about competitive golf. Get clean and everything else will follow.

Canucks Notebook – What is there to say? The Canucks season has been about as successful as ‘Melania: The Movie.’

The Canucks will miss the playoffs for the seventh time in nine years. Realistically, they are unlikely to earn a post-season berth for the next five seasons which would make it no playoffs in 12 of 14 seasons. When you step back and focus out on the team’s long-range prospects, you are looking at an historical run of futility.

For comparison, look at the other NHL clubs who have been mired in long, painful rebuilds. Buffalo will be a playoff team for the first time in 15 years. It’s been seven years since Anaheim got in. The Detroit Red Wings are fading fast and their playoff drought may reach ten seasons. In Chicago, the Blackhawks have missed the playoffs for five straight years and counting.

The Canucks have a high mountain to climb and they are starting at rock bottom. Can you positively claim that anyone on the current team is certain to be part of the next great Canucks squad? Only a few of the kids on the current squad are likely to be around when the team becomes competitive again.

The starting point has to be focused on building a bigger team. The Anaheim Ducks came into Vancouver last week and were, on average, 12 pounds heavier than the Canucks. The Columbus Blue Jackets have turned their season around with a forward group that is among the biggest in the league. When Conor Garland arrived in Columbus, he said he noticed the size difference right away. Down the middle, the Blue Jackets can roll out Adam Fantilli, Sean Monahan, Charlie Coyle and Boone Jenner. All big boys. That’s the spine of any good club. Sorry, but Marco Rossi and Braeden Cootes will get crushed by those guys.

Try to wrap your head around the challenge that lies ahead. Everything should be on the table. The idea that anyone is untouchable is ludicrous and that includes Filip Hronek. If an opportunity arises this summer to acquire multiple pieces in return for the veteran defenceman, the Canucks should absolutely consider it.

Out of Edmonton – There is a palpable unrest in Edmonton. We seem to be the only media source to raise the possibility of a Connor McDavid exit as early as this summer. When McDavid agreed to a two-year extension last July, everyone assumed he would remain committed. Trouble is, the roster has regressed to the point where Edmonton can no longer be called a legitimate Stanley Cup contender. Only three other teams have given up more goals than the Oilers this season.   Judging by comments from McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, patience is running thin. You have to wonder if McDavid agreed to a bargain two-year extension at $12.5 million just to make sure he can be easily traded.

Oh, how things could have been different. The Oilers front office has made numerous blunders. Here’s our top five during the McDavid era.

1. In 2015, then general manager Peter Chiarelli traded the 16th and 33rd picks in the draft to the New York Islanders for defenceman Griffin Reinhart. Reinhart was a massive bust. With the Oilers top pick, the Isles drafted center Mathew Barzal.
2. In 2021, GM Ken Holland signed defenceman Darnell Nurse to an eight-year, $9.25-million-dollar AAV extension. His awareness, vision and puck skills are notably absent. Need proof? Nurse has scored five own-goals so far this season. He’s widely considered the most overpaid player in the NHL.
3. In 2022, Holland signed goalie Jack Campbell to a five-year, $25-million-dollar free agent contract. Campbell was so leaky the Oilers were forced to buy out the contract. The buy-out cost the Oilers $2.3 million against the cap this season. It will count $2.5 million next season and $1.5 million for three seasons after that.
4. In 2024, the Oilers failed to match offer-sheets from the St. Louis Blues for Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg, two emerging talents the Oilers could ill afford to lose. It crushed the team’s organizational depth.
5. Earlier this season, GM Stan Bowman sent Stuart Skinner and Brett Kulak to Pittsburgh for Tristan Jarry in another ill-fated attempt to fix the Oilers longstanding goalie issues. The Penguins flipped Kulak to Colorado for Sammy Girard and a second-round draft pick. Jarry has already lost the starting job and is signed for two more seasons at $5.38 million.

Honourable mention has to go to the decision to hand out contracts to Trent Frederic and Andrew Mangiapane totalling $7.4 million. The pair contributed next to nothing this season.

It’s little wonder McJesus has lost faith in Oilers management. Kris Knoblach is already on thin ice after signing a three-year extension last October. The Oilers may regret not putting in a call to Peter DeBoer.

You can be sure McDavid will be doing some serious soul-searching this summer. Don’t be shocked if he wants out. That’s how soul-sucking the season has been in Edmonton.

NHL Notebook – The NHL could welcome as many as eight new playoff participants this season. We could be witnessing the greatest year-over-year post-season turnover ever.

Every Canadian hockey fan should be applauding the Ottawa Senators gutsy run at a playoff spot. The Sens have managed to make up ground despite having as many as five defencemen out of the lineup with injuries. Getting Jake Sanderson back is critical.

Kudos to former Canucks coach Travis Green who has brought defensive structure since arriving in Ottawa. He should get consideration for NHL coach of the year. Green’s system is not pretty but how can you argue with the results? On January 12th, Columbus and Ottawa were tied for last place in the Eastern Conference with 45 points. For the Sens, the next five games will be a massive challenge with games against Florida, Buffalo, Minnesota, Carolina and Tampa.

Columbus has been a different team since Rick Bowness took over in January. The Blue Jackets had only three regulation losses in the first 26 games with Bowness behind the bench.

Everyone is wondering whether the Sabres free-wheeling style will hold up in the playoffs. The Sabres are among the league leaders in goals scored but can they defend enough to go on a long playoff run? According to contributor Wes Boyd, the key to the Sabres high-powered offence has been activation of the top four defence group. Rasmus Dahlin, Mattias Samuelsson, Owen Power and Bowen Byram are all comfortable joining the attack.

Congratulations once again to George Parros. Like to know how he decided on a three-game suspension to the Panthers A.J. Greer for what was a potentially career-ending hit from behind on the Flames Connor Zary. The video evidence was clear. What are you seeing that we are not?

If the Detroit Red Wings miss the post-season, how does Steve Yzerman keep his job?

Has anyone seen Nils Hoglander? Talk about a lost season. Broken ankle in training camp and only one goal all season for the hard-luck Canucks winger.

Nikita Kucherov doesn’t get enough love. Maybe because he’s tucked away in Tampa. Maybe because he was overlooked all the way back to his draft year in 2011.

Kucherov opened eyes at the 2011 World Under-18 Championships where he set a tournament record with 21 points in only seven games. When the draft rolled around, every team passed on Kucherov in the first round. Tampa finally took a flyer on Kucherov with the 58th pick in the second round. Several teams had multiple cracks at him. With their top selection in that draft, the Canucks took long-forgotten winger Nicklas Jensen. Calgary took swings at Sven Baertschi, Markus Granlund and Tyler Wotherspoon before the Bolts landed Kucherov. How could he be so overlooked? Were the scouts hanging out at the concession stand gorging on those delicious arena hotdogs?

Upon arrival in the NHL, Kucherov quickly became one of the league’s top players. In 2019, he broke out with 128 points, the highest total ever for a Russian player, which earned him Hart Trophy honours. He followed that up by leading Tampa to back-to-back Stanley Cup wins, finishing as playoff scoring leader during both championship runs.

Kucherov now has three scoring titles and has blown past the one-thousand-point plateau. This season, he has 45 more points than any other Tampa player. During the Lightning’s recent road trip, Kucherov put up three or more points in five straight games. He’s undoubtedly one of the greatest draft steals in NHL history.

Many hockey observers will argue the 2015 NHL Draft was the greatest in hockey history. That was the McDavid-Eichel draft. All of the top 10 including Marner, Rantanen and Werenski are still playing in the NHL. In fact, 20 of the top 25 first-round picks are still going strong.

The Magic Man – Outside of Number 99, the most talented hockey player I ever covered was “The Magic Man,” Kent Nilsson. He was Nikita Kucherov before Kucherov. In terms of sheer talent, Nilsson was right at the top. Unfortunately, like William Nylander, Nilsson’s motor wasn’t always running.

Nilsson played with the Calgary Flames for five seasons from ’80-’81 to ’84-’85. In his first season in Calgary, Nilsson recorded 49 goals, 82 assists and 131 points. He drifted off to the Minnesota North Stars for two seasons before landing with HC Bolzano in 1987 where he put up crazy numbers – 60 goals, 72 assists, and 132 points in only 35 games. He signed a short-term contract in Italy and it proved to be very lucrative. Nilsson was paid a significant salary but also reportedly received “$1000 per point” which means he pocketed $132 thousand in bonuses for only 35 games of work.  Nilsson joined the Edmonton Oilers at the end of the season and was part of the Oilers 1987 Stanley Cup team. He would finish out his career with Djurgårdens IF in Sweden.

Nilsson put up 686 points in 553 career NHL games which is testament to his ability. That’s a Hall of Fame scoring pace. Nilsson went by the beat of his own drum but he was magic with the puck on his stick.

MLB Notebook – Two games. Two walk-off wins. The season is only two games old and already the Blue Jays are setting records. Kevin Gausman and Dylan Cease are the teammates since 1901 to record 11+ strikeouts in the first two games of the season. Gausman had 11 in the home opener Friday night in front of a sell-out crowd. Cease chalked up a dozen in only five and a third innings on Saturday afternoon in his Blue Jays debut. All together, the Blue Jay staff struck out 35 Oakland batters in the opening two games.

Durability is so lacking in baseball. Only four major league pitchers have made 30+ starts over each of the past five seasons. The Blue Jays have three of them – Cease, Gausman and Jose Berrios.

What a difference a year makes. Last season’s opening day Blue Jays lineup included Will Wagner and Alan Roden. Both have since exited the organization. Anthony Santander was also in the lineup. No need to review the black hole he’s fallen into. Japanese slugger Kazuma Okamoto looks like he will make a smooth transition to the majors. Could even challenge for AL rookie of the year.

How would you like to be Phillies third baseman Alex Bohm? He’s launched a lawsuit against his parents accusing them of siphoning off large amounts of money from accounts they managed on his behalf. Thanks Mom. Thanks Dad. Bohm should put himself up for adoption.

World Baseball Classic – Isn’t karma a beautiful thing? In light of the politics, it was the ultimate pay-back that Venezuela would slay the U.S. to capture the World Baseball Classic. And make no mistake, Venezuela was the deserving champion.

There were plenty of takeaways from this year’s tournament. No question, pitching dominated. The U.S. squad couldn’t seem to string any hits together. It was long ball or bust.

There is much debate about the best time to hold the showcase. Having it during spring training may actually help the Latin teams because many Latin players play winter ball and appeared to be more prepared. One suggestion is to hold the preliminary round at the same time but then bring back the eight qualifiers out of pool play for a mid-season playoff with quarterfinals, semifinal and final scheduled when MLB holds normally the all-star break. Could work. All the players would be in mid-season form.

Most of all, what we saw was national pride and plenty of raw emotion. A shining moment for Venezuela in the midst of all the political instability.

Road to the Final Four – Big weekend in college basketball as they move from the Sweet Sixteen to the Elite Eight and onto the Final Four.

On Saturday, No.1 seed Arizona captured the West Regional by taking out Purdue. The Wildcats will be making their first trip to the Final Four since 2001. Arizona will meet the winner of Sunday’s Midwest Regional Final between No. 1 Michigan and No. 6 Tennessee.

No 3. Illinois topped Iowa to win the South Regional. The Illini will await the winner of Sunday’s East Regional Final featuring No. 1 Duke vs. No. 2 UConn in a matchup of two perennial heavyweights.

If Sunday’s games stick to script, we could have three number one seeds in the Final Four.

Seahawks Notebook – We will do a deeper dive as we get closer to the NFL Draft in April but here’s a few early thoughts on the Seahawks draft strategy.

With only four selections in the entire draft, it will be hard for the Seahawks to fill every potential roster need. Seattle holds the 32nd and final pick of the first round plus selections in the second, third and sixth round. It’s doubtful they have a first-round grade on more than 20 players so expect the Seahawks to try and trade down and add additional draft capital.

If Seattle keeps the pick, they may target a cornerback to replace Riq Woolen. Colton Hood of Tennessee and Chris Johnson of San Diego State are potential names to watch. Notre Dame running back Jadarian Price would be an excellent replacement for Kenneth Walker. They may also look at positional needs at safety, edge and the interior of the offensive line.

NFL Notebook – In the NFL, you hear a lot about ‘dead money.’ The short explanation is it’s the remaining amount of the guaranteed portion of a  contract that needs to be paid out after a player has been traded or released. It can’t be passed along to the next team and it counts against the cap.

For the 2026 season, the NFL salary cap has been set at $301.2 million per team. The ‘Kings of Dead Money’ are the Miami Dolphins who will carry an unconscionable $175 million in dead money. It’s by far the largest amount ever. After being released, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa carries a dead cap hit of nearly $100 million. The Dolphins will also pay out $28.2 million to Tyreek Hill, $26.3 million to Jaylen Waddle and $20.9 million to Jalen Ramsey. Minkah Fitzpatrick, Bradley Chubb and Terron Armstead are all owed over $10 million apiece.

It’s unprecedented what the Dolphins are doing. They are so cap-restricted, no player will earn more than $11.3 million next season. Consider Miami the frontrunner in the Arch Manning draft sweepstakes.

Can someone explain what the Minnesota Vikings are doing? The Vikings are so desperate at quarterback they signed Kyler Murray who takes lazy to a whole new level. Don’t forget, this is a guy who had to be contractually obligated by the Arizona Cardinals to watch game film.

A Broken System – The entire Canadian sport ecosystem needs an overhaul. That’s the conclusion of the Future of Sport in Canada Commission. The final report claims sport overall has become too expensive, inaccessible and exclusive for broad participation.

Among the calls for action is the creation of a dedicated department led by a single federal minister responsible for sport. Sport is currently overseen by both the Heritage and Health portfolios. The department would act as a Crown Corporation but structured like a private corporation. The federal government spends over $250 million annually on sports for high-performance sport, hosting international events, increasing participation and improving safe sport practices.

There’s little doubt the current system can be improved upon. Sport needs to be accessible and safe. As much as we like to point to declining results, some perspective is needed. When you count all the medals won by the Canadian women and men’s hockey teams, Canada received more gold medals at the 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympics than all other countries combined.

The Jim Irsay Collection – It was the largest memorabilia auction in history. The extraordinary collection of musical instruments, historical artifacts, sports and pop culture items owned by late Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay recently sold for a staggering $94,484,903 at Christie’s Auction House.

The auction broke 28 world records, including the most expensive guitar ever sold at auction, $14.55 million for David Gilmour’s “Black Strat.” The auction also produced the second- and third-most expensive guitars of all time: Jerry Garcia’s custom-built “Tiger” guitar sold for $11.6 million and Kurt Cobain’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” guitar sold for $6.9 million. Irsay is widely believed to have owned the greatest guitar collection on earth.

Among the other records set:

• For a total guitar auction: $84,091,350
• Most expensive literary manuscript: Jack Kerouac’s original typescript scroll for “On the Road,” $12,135,000 (reportedly purchased by country singer Zach Bryan)
• For any Beatles object: John Lennon’s Broadwood upright piano, $3,247,000
• For a drumhead: Ringo Starr’s Beatles ‘Drop T’ logo drum head used on The Ed Sullivan Show, $2,881,000
• For lyrics: Bob Dylan’s handwritten lyrics for “The Times They Are a-Changin’,” $2,515,000
• For a horse racing object: Secretariat’s saddle worn during the 1973 Triple Crown: $1,524,000

The Name Game – Who can ever forget Johnny Dickshot, an outfielder with the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1930’s?

Random Leftovers – It’s hard to be optimistic about Canada’s prospects in the upcoming World Cup of Soccer. The team has been decimated by injuries. Seven players were unable to make the call on Saturday in the opening game of a pair of friendlies. The 29th-ranked Canadians has to settle for a 2-2 draw against No. 74 Iceland. Canada faces No. 47 Tunisia in another exhibition match Tuesday night at BMO Field in Toronto.

We are one big step closer to the NBA returning to Seattle. The NBA Board of Governors has agreed to explore bid applications for expansion teams in Seattle and Las Vegas. It opens the door for a final vote to add the two new franchises later this year.

The White House has announced it will host six UFC matches on the South Lawn sometime in June. Now you know where American priorities lie. No word on whether Donald will serve as referee.

The IOC has had a come-to-Jesus moment and has ruled transgender female athletes will now be excluded from women’s events at the Olympics starting in Los Angeles in 2028. All women’s individual and team events will be limited to biological females. Competitors will be required to undergo a mandatory gene test.

Sudarshan Yellamaraju has been the best Canadian golfer on the PGA Tour this season and it’s not even close. Yellamaraju is T7 after a 5-under 65 Saturday at the Houston Open. He’s sitting in 28th place in the FedEx Cup standings which places him ahead of Rory McIlroy. How good is that?

Meanwhile, it’s time to put out an All Points Bulletin for Taylor Pendrith. His season to date has been a disaster after yet another missed cut.

YouTube Music Video of the Week – This week’s feature band is the Boston-based roots-rock outfit Reckoners. The band is fronted by singer/guitarist Tim Gearan and features guitarist Johnny Trama, drummer Tom Arey, bassist Marc Hickox and keyboardist Darby Wolf. Together they channel the grit and groove of classic soul and rock into a sound that feels both timeless and personal. Here’s the band performing “Second Skin” at The Sinclair in Cambridge MA, in 2026.

https://youtu.be/ccTpBCHkhNE?si=MfDFQ1gd9-ZIxG4m

Check out “Broken Promise Land” from a show at the Lizard Lounge located in the basement of Cambridge Common on Mass Avenue just north of Harvard Square in Boston.

https://youtu.be/LdSZpNwkxeM?si=CItjIur0AxRUmB3M

From the Lizard Lounge in 2023, here’s “Bigger Than the Sky.”

https://youtu.be/bl0cZIL5hwI?si=kLNNLGQltzKhjM1-

As a bonus, check out Van Morrison performing “Up Country Down” at Real World Studios in Bath as part of the BBC’s flagship music show “Later… with Jools Holland.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8DBC6ymaDs&list=RDC8DBC6ymaDs&start_radio=1

And finally, Joe Bonamassa performing “Jelly Roll” from Tour de Force: Royal Albert Hall, 2018.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dN521Py2Sk&list=RD_dN521Py2Sk&start_radio=1

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