Last year was a terrible one for professional sports in Toronto. If any other city had as bad a year as T.O. in ’09, it would certainly have to be a monumental disaster. Though there was little good news on the Toronto sports front, the New Year brings faint glimmers of hope. But far from predicting a Toronto sports renaissance, or the hope of a championship (or even a play-off berth), each Toronto team offers a compelling story.

Toronto Blue Jays

The Jays are proof as to why losing hurts more than winning. The Blue Jays went into the year with very few expectations to succeed, and then started off with a bang. They were 27-14 at the quarter mark of the season. Then the wheels on the bandwagon fell off. Had the Jays been knocked out at the start of the year, rather than opening with a flurry before being shot down, perhaps the mood would have been less sour. Luckily, the Jays management has tried to rectify the situation by giving the Jays no hope of competing in 2010.

Okay, that’s a bit of exaggeration. The Jays fired their longtime general manager with one game left in the season. The replacement was forced to trade top pitcher Roy Halladay to the Phillies for a number of prospects, who may or may not pan out. But it’s not like the Blue Jays had brought back their most beloved manager in history, Cito Gaston, and the players led a silent revolt—oh, that did happen. Gaston will be back managing this year, before moving on to a “consulting” role, making him a lame duck for 2010.

The Jays may not win more games than they did in 2009, but the uncertainty provides the drama, as it will be interesting to see which players are giving Gaston the stink eye. Roy Halladay is gone, but as recently as 2001 he was a complete mess. The Jays sent him to the lowest level of the minor leagues, where he was helped by former major league pitching coach Mel Queen. So instead of trying to find the next Roy Halladay, shouldn’t the Jays focus on finding the next Mel Queen?

Toronto Raptors

Though the Raptors have had a little run of success recently, this team cannot play defence. When the offense sputters, it’s pretty much game over. Hedo Turkoglu, Andrea Bargnani, and the injured Jose Calderon on defence are essentially pylons with uniforms.

But lo and behold, when Calderon got hurt and Jarrett Jack stepped in to run the point, suddenly the Raps had a chance.

Now, the future is about the Raptors trio of Amir Johnson, Sonny Weems, and DeMar DeRozan, who have come to be known as the Young Guns. The nickname may have a better chance to stick if Johnson, Weems, and DeRozan emerged onto the court in slow motion to Jon Bon Jovi’s “Blaze of Glory.”

But what about the elephant in the room? Chris Bosh is set to be a free agent after 2010, and he probably will not be coming back. But I think his number four is appropriate, because when the Raptors first got him, he was thought to be the fourth best player in a three-team draft. While he was better than advertised, (and Darko Milicic far worse), easy come, easy go?

Toronto Maple Leafs

What could it possibly take for this team’s fans to give up hope? I am fascinated to see what happens to the Olympic men’s hockey team, because the results are going to be intriguing for Maple Leaf fans. Since the team is coached by Ron Wilson, managed by Brian Burke, and led by top player Phil Kessel, the Olympics will be a chance to see if the core Leafs have the winning formula. Let’s say the team does really poorly, finishing eighth. Then it will be clear that Brian Burke really is a snake oil salesman and a new direction is needed for the team.

But what will happen if the U.S. team surprises, and finishes first or second? Upon the NHL resuming, it will be clear that the Leafs do in fact have the right stuff, and the pressure will be on to replicate that success. Because after the season, especially since no high first round draft pick is coming their way, the Leafs will essentially come down to whatever Brian Burke can secure over the open market, Phil Kessel, Nazem Kadri, Francois Beauchemin, the hugely overrated Mike Komisarek, and a broken-hearted Jonas Gustavsson.

Toronto FC

At least the football club has the excuse of being a recent expansion team. Except that the Seattle Sounders FC, a first-year team, just qualified for the playoffs. Toronto FC did make an off-season coaching change, bringing in their fourth coach in four years, former Chivas USA coach Predrag Radosavljevi, known simply as “Preki.” One of the first moves by Preki was to dump fan favourite Amado Guevara, whom he clashed with while at Chivas USA. Canadian championships are all well and good, but will 2010 be the year that TFC has MLS success?

Varsity Blues Football

Two years ago the Varsity Blues experience a really tremendous season. Slotback Mark Stinson had a great year, Quarterback David Hamilton won the Russ Jackson Award, and Greg DeLaval was named the permanent head coach. Oh yeah, and the losing streak finally ended, and the team came that close to making the playoffs.

Stinson and Hamilton moved on in 2009 and the team struggled to find its way. It was definitely a transitional season with a push towards stability in 2010. However, one bright spot emerged. The Blues lone win, against York, was an away game. The University of Toronto is no longer the worst team in Ontario. Naturally, that dubious distinction now belongs to York, who also hail from Toronto.

Toronto Argonauts

Perhaps, in retrospect, bringing in Bart Andrus, a man with no CFL experience, along with assistants with no CFL experience, was not such a good idea. Andrus produced a 3-15 record, and clashed with top receiver Arland Bruce III, forcing the team to trade Bruce to Hamilton. It was interesting that the team waited until the day of the Halladay trade to fire Andrus after only one season. The Argonauts have said that their new focus will be hiring a coach that is familiar with the Canadian game. Well, duh!

Buffalo Bills

Let’s see, extended playoff drought, coaching changes, top players not producing, lousy games at the Rogers Centre, questionable signings, how are they not a Toronto team again? Make sure to check out new guard Richie Incognito, who the Bills picked up off waivers from St. Louis. At 330 pounds, littered with tattoos, and having a penalty called on him every play, Richie is far from incognito.