Young Guns

Who's The NFL MVP?

2007-12-19T20:40:00.000-05:00

This entire NFL season has been dominated by the New England Patriots, and more specifically, Tom Brady. Many people think that he is the NFL MVP, but I don't think it's that automatic.

Although Brady had had one of the best seasons in NFL history, i don't think it would have been possible without another player on the Pats. Randy Moss.

Moss came from Oakland looking like he was at the end of his career. But with a good QB, he has become the best receiver in the NFL, getting 19 touchdowns this season, just 3 off the NFL record set by Jerry Rice. I think that Moss may be the real reason for the Pats success. Not only does he get a lot of touchdowns, but with teams double covering him, he gets others in single coverage or even wide open. He could get the MVP award this year.

There is another player in the NFL that I think might get the MVP. Brett Favre.

Favre has lead a rejuvenated Packers club to a 12-2 record this year after a disappointing 8-8 record last year. During the off-season, Favre thought about retiring, but decided to come back. It is looking like a good decision for him. He is 2nd in the league in passing yards, 5th in the league in touchdowns, and 5th in the league in passer rating. And although many think that those wouldn't be MVP numbers, it is what he does off the field and during the game that doesn't get put on the statsheet that counts. He is a leader to a relatively young Green Bay club, and does everything in his power to win.

Those 2 players I think will give Tom Brady a run for his money when it comes to MVP voting. But no matter what happens, Brady has had an amazing year.

Simon Gone for 30

2007-12-19T16:09:00.000-05:00

Last Saturday, it was just another game between the Islanders and the Penguins. But Chris Simon took a rough game too far during a scrum. He stepped on Jarrko Rutto's foot! Today he received his punishment.

He was handed the longest suspension in NHL history, as he will not be playing for 30 games! Although the act might not of been worth 30 games, it was him as a repeat offender that made it such a long suspension.

"There were several factors that were considered in imposing the largest suspension in NHL history for an on-ice incident," explained NHL Vice President Colin Campbell in a statement.

"While fortunate, Mr. Ruutu suffered no serious injury as a result of Chris Simon's actions, the deliberate act of kicking an opponent with a skate blade, especially when that opponent is in a vulnarable position, is and always has been a repugnant and totally unacceptable act in the game of hockey."

"In addition, while the act itself was extremely dangerous, the fact that this is the eighth incident requiring the imposition of supplementary discipline on Simon compelled me to impose a very severe penalty in this case," Campbell added.

"When a player repeatedly evidences the lack of ability to control his actions and conducts himself in total disregard of the rules, as well the health and safety of other players on the ice, each subsequent incident is deserving of enhanced scrutiny and more severe discipline. This response serves not only the purpose of imposing appropriate punishment for the player involved, but also the purpose of deterring the player and all other players from engaging in similar conduct in the future - hopefully creating a safer long-term work environment for all NHL players."

Simon will be eligible to return to the ice on February 21st.

Simon to Recieve More Punishment

2007-12-16T10:57:00.000-05:00

Ever since that game last year between the Islanders and the Rangers, everyone has looked at Chris Simon a little bit differently. That's because during that game, Simon slashed Rangers player Ryan Hollweg in the face. It was one of the most disgusting sights that hockey had ever seen, and they suspended him accordingly. 25 games Simon got, which is the longest suspension in hockey history. Now, it looks like Simon might be facing even more suspensions.

Yesterday, Simon was thrown out of the game between the Islanders and the Penguins because he tried to step on Jarkko Ruutu's foot! At that time, it just seemed like Simon would just get thrown out, but it looks like he's going to missing many more games than just that one.

All signs point to the veteran forward getting the seventh suspension of his career, and it could be another lengthy one considering his status as a repeat offender.

But during a press conference, Simon was remorseful. "I want to apologize to my team and Islanders fans everywhere," Simon said last season in a statement regarding his hit on Hollweg.

"My actions played a major part in our team losing a crucial game. I also want to apologize to the National Hockey League for the damage I have caused this great game of ours."

But this is just another incident in what seems to be a league that doesn't have any respect for their fellow players anymore. Already there have been many acts of hitting from behind and slashing this year, that have resulted in suspensions. It seems that with the new NHL, the enforcer, has now gone to drastic lengths to get ice time, to the point where they may not get ice time, ever again.

The NHL will make their decision about what to do with Simon later this week, but it doesn't look good for him.

Leafs Lose Against Habs

2007-12-16T07:32:00.000-05:00

The Toronto Maple Leafs were facing the Montreal Canadiens in a Saturday Night showdown between the 2 teams. It was a battle of 2 teams going in different directions. The Leafs winning 6 of their last 7, and the Habs playing their worst home hockey since 1968. It was sure to be a good game.

The 1st goal of the game went to the Canadiens, as Saku Koivu snapped a 12-game scoreless drought with goal off Hal Gill's skate. The Leafs then pressured all period to get the goal that would tie it, but they couldn't get it passed Carey Price, who was playing amazing. The shot total was 13-6 in Toronto's favour at the end of 1 period, but the Habs still held the lead.

Then the 2nd period started. The 2nd period had been a place that the Leafs had dominated all year, scoring a league-high 44 goals in the 2nd. But that was not the case in this game.

Early in the period, Saku Koivu scored his 2nd of the game to give the Habs a 2-0 lead, and the effects of the game a day before, were starting to show for the Leafs. They let the Habs have consistent pressure in the zone, playing almost a penalty kill system, but 5-5. Eventually, the Canadiens scored again, when a shot from the point from Mike Komisarek was tipped in by Andrei Kostsitsyn. Going into the 3rd period, the Habs had a 3-0 lead.

It was more of the same in the 3rd, as Alex Kovalev added to the lead before a late goal by Devereaux cut the lead to 4-1. Then, with the game virtually over, Bryan McCabe went down after receiving a check from Kostsitsyn, and went straight to the dressing room. What the Maple Leafs trainers found was not good.

After the game was final, at 4-1, the trainers found 3 breaks in McCabe's hand. The earliest he could come back is in 6-8 weeks. Toronto coach Paul Maurice was livid, saying Kostitsyn horse-collared McCabe and threw him into the boards.

"He's too good a player to miss that much time after a (expletive) play like that," he said.

But in the other dressing room, it was a much happier feeling. Saku Koivu ended a 12-game scoreless drought, and the Habs ended a horrible winless streak at home.

"When you don't score and there's a lot of talk about not scoring, getting that first goal was a big relief," said Koivu. "But this was more about getting that win on home ice. We played well for 60 minutes and, when you play well defensively, it gives you a chance to win."

The Leafs will now play Tuesday against the Ligtning, while the Habs will play the Panthers on Tuesday.

Pettitte Comes Clean

2007-12-15T21:01:00.000-05:00

After the Mitchell Report named close to 90 former and current MLB players, some players have started to come clean about their drug-use. But so far, no one really vital to their teams or former teams had admitted to using steroids or HGH. But today, one of those players did.

Andy Pettitte, fresh off re-signing with the Yankees, admitted today that he took HGH in 2002. He took the performance enhancer after an early-season elbow injury put him on the DL. "I had heard that human growth hormone could promote faster healing for my elbow.'' So Pettitte asked the trainer he shared with Roger Clemens, Brian McNamee, to help him with HGH. McNamee recalled injecting Pettitte two to four times. Pettitte says that he only took HGH on 2 occasions.

''If what I did was an error in judgment on my part, I apologize,'' Pettitte said Saturday in a statement released by his agent. ''I accept responsibility for those two days. I felt an obligation to get back to my team as soon as possible. For this reason, and only this reason, for two days I tried human growth hormone. Though it was not against baseball rules, I was not comfortable with what I was doing, so I stopped. This is it - two days out of my life; two days out of my entire career, when I was injured and on the disabled list,'' he said. ''I wasn't looking for an edge. I was looking to heal.''

Even if Pettitte comes out of HGH problem this unscathed, he has just brought further evidence toward the great Roger Clemens' drug use. As it said earlier, Pettitte obtained the HGH from a trainer that he a Clemens shared at the time. Although Clemens and his attorney deny that he has ever taken performance-enhancing drugs, the evidence seems to piling up on him.

Leafs Continue Hot Play

2007-12-15T09:13:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, the Toronto Maple Leafs were facing the Atlanta Thrashers and the best scorer in the league in Ilya Kovalchuk. It was going to be a real test of Toronto's defensive ability and goaltending, but they were up to it.

The game was expected to be a high scoring affair, but it was a defensive battle in the 1st period. Toskala and Lehtonen stopped a combined 14 shots in the period to keep it scoreless. But in the 2nd period, the scoring started.

While in the late stages of a penalty kill, Toskala stopped a blast from Kovalchuk, and the rebound went right to Hal Gill. He then dumped it to an open Boyd Devereaux coming out of the penalty box, but the pass went to deep and to the goaltender. But good hustle made Lehtonen make a mistake a fan on the dump. Devereaux then got the puck and shoveled it in to give the Leafs a 1-0 lead. Then, 3 minutes later, Mats Sundin took a bad shot from a bad angle, but he caught Lehtonen off his guard, as he opened the 5-hole just as the puck was coming to him. It was Sundin's 16th of the year to give the Leafs a 2-0 lead.

Nut before the period could end, Alexei Ponikarovsky took a hit to the head from Bobby Holik. The result was a hard bite on the tongue, and a whole lot of bleeding. Durong the intermission, he got stitches, but stayed in the game. It turned out to be a good decision.
Because in the 3rd period, after some hard work from Antropov in the corner, Ponikarovsky got the puck, and sniped it top shelf on Lehtonen. And 2 minutes later, he did it again, and again it was off a beautiful play from Antropov. The final score in the game was 4-0, as Toskala picked up his 10th career shutout, and his 2nd of the season.

This was the Leafs' 6th win in their last 7 games, and right now, everyone is firing at all cylinders. Sundin and Antropov are on pace for career years, and Toskala is playing great in goal. He hasn't allowed more than 3 goals in a game in his past 12 games, and hasn't allowed more than 2 in his past 7 games! Ironically, this stretch of good play came 7 games a go, when the Leafs won 4-2 over the Thrashers. So why is Toskala playing so good of late?

"I'm seeing the puck well," Toskala said. "Overall, I'm really comfortable. I'm having fun. That's the key."

The Leafs will now play Montreal in a Saturday night showdown of 2 teams going in opposite directions. The Leafs playing their best hockey of the year, and the Canadians playing their worst home hockey since 1968. It will certainley be a good game to watch.

Taylor Dead

2007-11-27T16:43:00.001-05:00

Today, the entire football world mourned, as young of the brightest young stars of the NFL died today.

Pro Bowl safety Sean Taylor died Tuesday at the age of 24. His death comes a day after he was shot at his house at 2:00am. From that point on, he was in critical condition and in a coma.

"It is with deep regret that a young man had to come to his end so soon," father Pedro Taylor said in a statement on behalf of the family. "Many of his fans loved him because the way he played football. Many of his opponents feared him the way he approached the game. Others misunderstood him, many appreciated him and his family loved him."

Trauma experts said a serious wound to this large artery, leading from the abdomen through the upper thigh, is among the most difficult to fix and can quickly drain the body of blood, which can prevent oxygen from reaching the brain and vital organs.

The attack came eight days after an intruder was reported at Taylor's home. Officers were sent to the home about 1:45 a.m. ET Monday after Taylor's girlfriend called 911.

Doctors had been encouraged late Monday when Taylor squeezed a nurse's hand, according to Vinny Cerrato, the Redskins' vice-president of football operations. But family friend Richard Sharpstein said he was told Taylor never regained consciousness after being taken to the hospital.

"Maybe he was trying to say goodbye or something," Sharpstein said.

Sean Taylor (1983-2007)

Classa of '07

2007-11-12T16:59:00.000-05:00

The Hockey Hall of Fame is set to induct its greatest class of all time.

Mark Messier, Ron Francis, Scott Stevens, Ron Francis and Al MacInnis will be honoured on Monday. Former general manager, NHL executive and director of central scouting Jim Gregory will also be inducted in the builder category.

"To know these guys and their professionalism, they're all such great ambassadors to the game," he told The Canadian Press. "To go in with that select company, you couldn't ask for a better group." said MacInnis, who is in awe of the players he's being inducted with.

It is a sign of the amazing careers of each player. Messier was the one of the most feared players in the league in his prime, as was certainly the most clutch in the league. Stevens became the hardest hitter ever to lace skates up. Francis made himself known as one of the consistent scorers in the league, scoring 20 goals in an amazing 20 seasons! And MacInnis made his slapshot feared by players and goalies alike, winning the fastest slapshot award numerous times.

In the future, it will be interesting to see if any Hall of Fame class will ever top this one.

Pats Stay Undeafeted

2007-11-05T15:26:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, the entire football world was watching 1 game. The Colts vs the Patriots, in a battle of 2 undefeated teams.

The game started in Indy's favor, as they dominated the play and ended up with the 3-0 lead going into the 2nd quarter. The Colts added to their lead scoring 10 points in the quarter, but only after the Pats scored 7. So the score going into the half was 13-7.

But in the 2nd half, New England started a comeback. After a 3rd quarter where the Pats scored 3, Tom Brady took over in the 4th. But before he could get the ball, the Colts scored another touchdown, to make the lead 7 points more. But just a few minutes later, Wes Welker scored a TD to cut the lead by 7. And then, with the score 17-20, Kevin Faulk scored to give the Pats the lead. Indy couldn't come back though, so New England won 24-20.

The win in perhaps the NFL's biggest regular-season game ever keeps the Patriots (9-0) on course for the NFL's first unbeaten season since Miami did it 1972 and gives them the first tiebreaker over Indianapolis (7-1) in the AFC playoffs.

The New Wave

2007-10-27T11:44:00.000-04:00

The NHL has just gone through a huge change with the lockout, which was just a couple years ago. More goals, shootouts and new rules. Now, the NHL is going under a new change. The new wave of young talent.

The last generation of NHL players brought such greats as Teemu Selanne, Chris Chelios and Eric Lindros, but now those players are fighting for jobs, and their talent is deteriorating. But there are more than enough players to take their spot.

The draft this year brought 2 stand out players so far. Sam Gagner and Patrick Kane. Kane is right at home in Chicago, as he shares the pressure of the being the "next one" with fellow rookie Jonathon Toews. Kane already has 13 points in the season and Toews has a good 8 points. Another big rookie combo is in Edmonton, where Andrew Cogliano and Sam Gagner play.

Gagner was expected to play in the OHL for another year, but he impressed at the Super Series, and at Oiler training camp. Now, he is a full-time Oiler and 2nd on the team in scoring. Cogliano also made the team and is 2nd on the team in scoring as well.

But these are just the rookies. What about the sophomores in the league? Guillaume Latendresse, Evgeni Malkin, Jordan Stall, and Anze Kopitar can all call themselves successful NHLers, and none of them are 25! Latendrasse looks to imprive on his rookie year and help the Habs get to the playoffs again. Malkin and Stall both had phenomenal rookie year, with Malkin getting close to the 100 point mark. Both will be key parts of the youth movement in Pittsburgh this year. Finally, Kopitar will try to get to the point-a-game mark this season while on the top line with Mike Cammeleri.

And lets not forget the 2 biggest young stars in the game, Alex Ovechkin, and Sidney Crosby. I really don't think I have to go into detail about these 2. Everyone already knows about their skill and ability. Both players are looking toget to the playoffs and win the Cup. Crosby will have the best chance of doing this, as he has an even better team than the 100+ point team of last year, and Ovechkin has Micheal Nylander and Nicklas Backstrom to centre him now. Both players will challenge for the scoring title.

There are a lot more players I could of covered, but I just did those to show you how much the NHL is turning toward their young players for points. This is the year that the new generation takes over and the last generation of players take a step back.

Canadiens Sink Hurricanes

2007-10-27T06:58:00.000-04:00

Although it has been a long time since my last post, I'm still watching the sports world. Yesterday, I saw a great game that I had to cover.

The Montreal Canadiens were facing the Hurricanes in Carolina. But it didn't look like the Canes had a home-advantage, as Montreal scored 5 goals in the 1st period, to give them a 5-1 lead! From there on, Montreal just held back and kept the lead. Both teams traded goals in the 2nd, and Carolina got 2 i the 3rd, but the Canadiens ended up on top to win 7-4 for!

The key to the game was the Canadiens powerplay. Montreal scored five power-play goals, four in the first period, en route to its third straight victory. The Canadiens have scored eight of their NHL-best 16 power-play goals in two games in Carolina, both wins.

When Montreal coach Guy Carbonneau was asked what was working for the Canadiens with the man-advantage, he answered, "everything."

"There are no secrets to it," Carbonneau said. "We have guys that can move the puck and make plays. You can pass it around for two minutes, but you can't score if you don't shoot it. That's all we did. Just by shooting the puck a lot, it opened other options."

Montreal will now play Pittsburgh in the Saturday Night Hockey game tonight.

Stepping Down

2007-10-18T17:14:00.000-04:00

Joe Torre, the long-time manager of the New York Yankees, is stepping down from his job.

Today, Torre rejected a 1-year offer for $5 million dollars a year that still would have made him the highest paid manager in baseball. "It's a difficult day," general manager Brian Cashman said.

Don Mattingly , the bench coach for the Yankees is expected to replace Torre as manager next season, but broadcaster Joe Girardi, the NL Manager of the Year with Florida in 2006, is another top contender. Torre led the Yanks to 12 straight playoff appearances and won four World Series championships.

This was a day, that the fans in New York could see coming though. After getting to the World Series in 2003, the Yankees had high expectations for the next few years, but no rings came out of it... not even 1. Under Torre, the Yankees went 1,173-767. He trails only Joe McCarthy (1,460) for wins among Yankees managers.

This is the 2nd big loss to the Yankee organization in the past week, as owner George Steinbrunner stepped down and gave the Yankees to his sons, Hank and Hal.

"It is now time for the New York Yankees to move forward," Levine said

Steinbrenner Stepping Down

2007-10-14T14:04:00.000-04:00

George Steinbrenner, the legendary owner of the New York Yankees, is reportedly stepping down as the owner of the Yanks.

Members of the Yankees brass told the newspaper that Hank and Hal Steinbrenner (George's sons) will share leadership in an arrangement to be further ironed out in Tampa, Florida later this week.

"George has taken on a role like the chairman of a major corporation," Yankees president Randy Levine told the Post. "He's been saying for years he's wanted to get his sons involved in the family business. Both of them have stepped up and are taking on the day-to-day duties of what's required to run the Yankees."

Steinbrenner took over as owner of the Yankees when he bought them in 1973. Since then, Steinbrenner has been one of the most controversial owners in baseball history. Some incidents that have occurred include signing Dave Winfield a monster contract, and later called "Mr. May" (in reference to Reggie Jackson, "Mr. Octoer"), and faking the assault of 2 Dodgers fans on him during the 1981 World Series.

Both brothers are expected to have final say on baseball decisions, the running of the YES Network and the construction of the new Yankee Stadium.
Related Info

"There's always been a succession - and that's myself and my brother," Hank told the newspaper. "I'll pay more attention to the baseball part. The stadium, that's more Hal. But basically everything will be decided jointly."

Some people may be saying goodbye and good ridints to Steinbrenner, but I say that were are losing one of the best owners ever.

Boulerice Gets 25 Games

2007-10-13T15:51:00.000-04:00

Maybe now Philadelphia will really get the message: The deliberate and dangerous hits that put two Flyers on the suspended list no longer have a spot in a safer NHL.

Jesse Boulerice is now suspended for 25 games for his vicious hit on Vancouver's Ryan Kessler. It ties Chris Simon's suspension last year for the longest suspension in NHL history.

Now Boulerice may have gotten off easy hear because he wasn't a repeat offender in the NHL. But in 1998, Boulerice was suspended for one year by the Ontario Hockey League for violent stick-swinging. He went to the American Hockey League the following season and was ruled ineligible until mid-November.

Boulerice is the second Flyer in two weeks to draw a long suspension -- rookie Steve Downie was suspended 20 games for an intentional hit against Ottawa.

Many are now making comparisons that the Flyers right now could be the a re-creation of the broad-street bullies. But the Flyers coach is saying that that is not the case. "It's almost implied that's the direction we're going when it couldn't be further from the truth," Stevens said.

The Flyers are now at risk at being fined by the the league, and I think they should be. There is now place in hockey for stick-swinging and cross-checking to the face.

Blake's Battle

2007-10-08T11:40:00.000-04:00

Jason Blake was the Toronto Maple Leafs biggest signing this off-season, but through the 1st 3 games of the season, all Blake had were 2 assists. Well today he shared something with the world that may explain that.

“This morning I shared with my teammates news that I was diagnosed with Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia. It is highly-treatable, and I have begun taking a pill on a daily basis that has proven to be very effective in controlling this cancer. The prognosis, and certainly the expectations of my physician, myself and my family, is that I will live a long, full and normal life."

For those who don't know what leukemia is, well lets just say that he isn't joking when Blake says "cancer". It's considered chronic leukemia because it usually progresses more slowly than acute leukemia, sometimes over the course of years.

The pills Blake spoke of are helping him, but may be taking some of his energy away. The pills have been described as "chemotherapy-like pills", and we all know how chemotherapy takes away energy.

Blake missed the last 13 games of the 2000-01 season with the Islanders to be with his pregnant wife, who was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. She gave birth in April 2001, two weeks early, to a girl and later had throat surgery to remove a tumor that turned out to be benign.

Blake isn't the only hockey player to ever have cancer though. Both Saku Koivu and Mario Lemieux had lymphoma and survived, which is uplifting to Blake. Lemieux even came back to win the scoring title!

"Overall I feel good. I'm still here and my goal this whole season hasn't changed. Obviously you take a step back and you kind of re-evaluate everything but for the most part I feel good. I think to get it off my chest and to move forward is a big weight lifted."

"My goal has not changed since I heard this news," Blake said. "And that's come to Toronto, bring another piece of the puzzle and hopefully win a Stanley Cup here."

Even though Jason says that the condition isn't affecting his play, something like this is sure to affect you mentally for a while.

Wish you all the best Jason and good luck with your battle!

Leafs Get 1st Win Against Habs

2007-10-07T10:57:00.000-04:00

The Toronto Maple Leafs have high expectations for this season. They are expected to make the playoffs for the 1st time in 2 years, and contend for the Cup. But before yesterday, the Leafs didn't even have a win. They were looking to change that against the Canadiens.

The game started out fast, as Mathieu Dandenault scored on the Leafs just 2:43 into the 1st. But Toronto answered back quickly when Ian White scored his 1st of the season . The goals were just 2minutes a part! In the 2nd, the Habs once again opened the scoring when Andrei Markov scored a short-handed goal to give the Canadiens the lead. Montreal then padded the lead near the end of the 2nd with a goal from Andrei Kastsitsyn. But the Leafs wouldn't go into the break down 2 goals, as a bad play from Huet led to Alexei Ponikarovsky's 1st goal of the season. In the 3rd, Ponikarovsky struck again, firing the puck past Huet from the slot to tie the game up. The game would be scoreless from there until overtime.

In the O.T period, each time had it's share of chances, but it was the Leafs who capitalized on those chances. They had a powerplay late in the period, gave the puck to Kaberle, who scored his 1st goal of the season to win the game 4-3.

"Finally," Leafs forward Alexei Ponikarovsky said Saturday after the 4-3 overtime win over the Montreal Canadiens. "We worked hard for it. The first two games we've been working hard but we didn't get the results we wanted."

Both teams look great, but in the end, it came down to goaltending. Vesa Toskala was the best player in the game and stopped shot after shot.

The Leafs will look for their 2nd win of the season against the Hurricanes on Tuesday.

Leafs Lose Opener in OT

2007-10-03T17:40:00.000-04:00

Although the official season NHL opener was on Saturday, most of the NHL's teams were playing last night. Those teams included the Leafs and the Sens.

The game started out with some controversy, as Andrew Raycroft got the call to go in net instead of Vesa Toskala. That decision would later prove costly. The 1st goal of the game was scored by Antoine Vermette, who blew by the Leafs' defender and buried it by Raycroft. But the Leafs answered with 2 quick goals, both by Nik Antropov to get the lead. But that lead was later given up, when Daniel Alfredsson scored on an easy shot from the circle. In the 2nd period, the leafs dominated. They got powerplay after powerplay, and managed to get a goal by Matt Stajan by the end of the period.

Ottawa though, did not intentions of losing this game. They fought hard through-out the period, and managed to tie it up when Dany Heatley scored on another questionable shot. From that point, it was scoreless until overtime.

In that overtime period, both teams had some chances,a and the goalies made some great saves. But on another easy shot to the 5-hole, Dany Heatly ended the game. The final score was 4-3 for Ottawa.

The key to the game was goaltending. Th Leafs out-played the Sens in every way expect for goaltending. "We generated enough offence, except for our power play," said Maurice. "Defensively, we have to be better."

The crowd got on Raycroft after Ottawa's second goal.

"I thought the first two (goals) were tough," said Maurice. "They were good shots but . . . clearly he was not loved (by the crowd) early but I think he did a really good job settling into the game, and after that I thought he was very good."

The next game in this series will go tonight in Ottawa.

Phillies Complete Historic Comeback

2007-09-30T18:04:00.000-04:00

On September 12th, everything was going smoothly for the New York Mets. They were getting hitting, they had Pedro Martinez back from injury, and most of all, had a 7.0 game lead on 2nd place Philadelphia in the National League East. But that was September 12th.

Today, on September 30th, just 18 days from the 12th, the New York Mets were tied with the Phillies going into today. Yes the Mets had given up a 7.0 game lead in 18 days. But the Mets could still make the playoffs. They had a game left to do that. But the problem is, the Phillies had one as well. So it came down to 2 games. The Phillies vs the Nationals, and the Mets vs the Marlins to decide the NL East Title.

The 1st game that was played was the Mets game. Coming into the game, many thought it would be a pitching duel between veteran Tom Glavine and ace Dontrelle Willis. But that was not the case. Before the Mets could even come to the plate, the Marlins pounded Glavine for a total of 7 runs! It was just the 2nd in Glavine's amazing career that he lasted less than an inning. He was booed off of the field and for good reason. The inning blew the Mets' entire season. New York could not comeback from 7 runs down. They looked frustrated and depressed the entire game. They only managed 1 run against Willis. The final score was 8-1 Marlins.

Now for the deciding game. But before even 1 pitch was thrown, the out-of-town scoreboard put up the Marlins big 1st inning, which caused a lengthy standing ovation from the Phillie faithful. The ovation inspired the Phillies to play their best, and they did. They scored 3 runs through the 1st 3 innings, then added another 3 by the end of the 7th. The Nationals could only muster up 1 run, which meant the Phillies won the game and NL East Title for the 1st time since 1993!

"A lot of people counted us out," Howard said. "That's why they call us the Fightin' Phillies. We're going to celebrate, the whole town of Philadelphia is going to celebrate, but we're going to come back on Wednesday ready to go."

The playoffs will begin right after the Padres and Rockies have their 1 game playoff to decide the winner of their division.

Kings Beat Ducks in '07-08 Season Opener

2007-09-29T17:42:00.000-04:00

It was a historic day in the world of hockey today. Not only was the 2007-08 NHL season getting underway, but the 1st ever NHL game was being played in London, England, and 2 future stars took to the ice for the 1st time in their NHL careers.

It was packed at the O2 Arena in London with fans from all over the world in attendance. After a short delay due to the lighting, the game got underway. Mike Cammaleri got the 1st goal of the new season early in the period to give the Kings the surprising lead. It was then a full period and 2 minutes until the next goal was scored, and that was in part due to the Kings goaltender, Johnathon Bernier. Bernier played 2 games for Canada in the Super Series and looked superb, and he looked the same facing the games best. He saved shot after shot as the Ducks tried to tie the game up, but Bernier didn't flinch.

Then, in the middle of the 2nd period, the Kings were on a powerplay. Anze Kopitar fired a shot that didn't get through all the way. The puck laid in the crease and to the back of the unsuspecting Ilya Bryzgalov when Rob Blake tapped it in to give the Kings a 2-0 lead. Los Angeles didn't wait long to get goal number 3, as Cammaleri scored his 2nd goal of the game early in the 3rd to give the Kings a 3-0 lead. From then on, Bernier took over... again. He was a brick wall and seemed to have no jitters as he neared closer and closer to his 1st NHL win. His day would of been perfect if it hadn't been for another rising star.

While on the powerplay, Chris Pronger fired a shot from the blueline that was saved by Bernier. But a huge rebound came to the 2nd overall pick in 2005, Bobby Ryan. Ryan showed no hesitation, as he went quickly to his backhand and potted the puck in. But that goal was all for none, as Micheal Handzus scored a empty-net goal shortly after to clinch the game for the Kings. The final score was 4-1.

All the talk after the game was the stellar performance from 19 year-old Johnathon Bernier. "I don't think you could've expected a better game from a 19-year-old goaltender," Kings coach Marc Crawford said. "There was a lot of pressure tonight, and he looked like a really solid, solid goaltender. Not very many pucks bounced off of him, and he made a couple of great saves."

''It's pretty amazing,'' said Blake. ''At 19 years old, the way he plays is very calm. He just stands in there, he doesn't move too much, he seems to swallow those pucks. They got that goal and started coming at us pretty good and he smothered two or three pucks and you could see our bench calm down.''

They other key to the game was Anaheim's lack of discipline. 3 of the Kings 4 goals were scored on the powerplay, and the 4th goal as you might remember was just a empty-netter. ''Our inability to stay out of the box obviously killed us today,'' said Ducks captain Chris Pronger. ''You're going to lose a fair amount of games if you take that amount of penalties.''

The 2 clubs meet tomorrow at the O2 Arena for what promises to be a good re-match.

NHL's Top 3 Breakout Players

2007-09-29T10:50:00.000-04:00

Every year, there is 1 player who has an awesome year, when no one expects him to. Eric Stall did it in '05-06, and his brother Jordan did it last year. This year, there are a couple players that may just be the next Jordan or Eric Stall, and I'm going to give you my choices to be that player.

Number 3: Anze Kopitar Kopitar had an amazing rookie year as he piled up 20 goals and 41 assists for a total of 61 points! This year, he still has Michael Cammalleri (who is only going to get better) to center him, and Alexander Frolov on the other wing. Kopitar is a center, but did play a little wing last year, and I think the Kings will put him there for the entire season. I predict 36 goals, 45 assists and 81 points.

Number 2: Paul Stastny The kid from Colordao tallied up 28 goals and 50 assists last year for 78 points in total. But this year, he has Ryan Smyth with him, and an aging Joe Sakic, so Stastny may get the 1st line job. The Avalanche also has Wojtek Wolski on the wing, another young player to help out Stastny. I predict 35 goals, 55 assists for a total of 90 points for Stastny.

Number 1: Evgeni Malkin Although Malkin is already a superstar, I expect big numbers from him this year. The Russian scored a total of 85 points last year. But with improving players such as Crosby and Stall, and veterans such as Mark Recchi and Petr Sykora, his point total can only go up. I think Malkin gets 42 goals and 58 assist this year for a total of 100 points.

There you have it. 3 player who I think will shock the NHL world and have career years. I will be keeping watch on these players all year, and have regular updates on them.

The NHL Opener

2007-09-29T07:59:00.000-04:00

Sorry about not putting up an alert saying that I would be away for a week. I just forgot. But now that I'm back, it's time to do one of the biggest stories of the year.

The NHL season opener is today at 12:00pm with the Kings facing the defending Stanley Cup champions, the Anaheim Ducks. Don't think I made a mistake with the time. The game is being played in a special place. London, England! Yes the great city of London is hosting it's 1st ever NHL game. But right now, the teams aren't thinking about showing hockey off to English fans. They are just thinking about winning the opener. ''There's a subtle feeling that comes over a team,'' said Kings head coach Marc Crawford. ''And you can see it in the players, there's a little more focus in their eyes."

Although the Kings might be focused as Crawford said, I don' think they have a chance at winning this game. The Ducks did suffer some blows during the off-season, losing Maurice Richard Trophy candidate Teemu Selanne to free-agency, Dustin Penner to Edmonton, and maybe Scott Neidermayer to retirement. But they do have some young players ready to step up, like Corey Perry, and Ryan Getzlaf, how everyone is choosing to have a breakout year.

Because of this, I think the Ducks will beat the Kings in the season opener today. But be ready to see a re-match tomorrow, also at 12:00pm.

Wellwood May Require Surgery

2007-09-22T15:10:00.000-04:00

The Toronto Maple Leafs are expecting to be in the playoffs come spring-time. But they may have suffered a huge set-back to that plan, before the season has even begun.

Kyle Wellwood, the Leafs best young player may need additional surgery for a hernia injury last year. The team received word early Friday evening that extensive testing had discovered an issue in the same abdominal area that was surgically repaired in Montreal last season.

Wellwood missed over 1/3rd of the Leafs games last year with the injury, but still almost tied his point total from the year before in which he scored 45 points. The extent of the injury is unknown. It could be as many as 2 days, to 2 weeks to 2 months!

Wellwood has been picked by many hockey experts to be this years breakout player, as new linemates Mark Bell and possibly Jason Blake will add talent to Wellwood's line.

The Leafs are going to get more info about his injury as training camp goes on, but it seems that Kyle Wellwood may be watching the 1st few games in the Leafs season in the press box.

Leafs Lose Pre-Season Opener

2007-09-19T16:04:00.000-04:00

The Toronto Maple Leafs are coming into this season with high expectations. Fans expect a playoff berth for the 1st time in 2 years. They got their season started yesterday against the Edmonton Oilers.

The Oilers got the 1st goal of the game, when Slava Trukhno scored late in the 1st. But the Leafs came back just 2 minutes later with a goal of their own to tie it up. In the 2nd period, there was no score, so on to the 3rd. In that period, the Leafs got the lead when Bryan McCabe fired a shot past the Edmonton goalie. But just like the Leafs in the 1st, Edmonton came back quick to tie the game back up. The game ended up going into overtime.

In the O.T period, the Oilers scored early when Denis Grebeshkov scored just 3 minutes in to give the Oilers the win. Oilers head coach Craig MacTavish says the whole organization is still discovering what the 23-year-old Grebeshkov brings to the table.

``He has all kinds of skill,'' he said of Grebeshkov. ``For him to win the hockey game has to be a good feeling for him. There were other aspects of his game that we all saw can use some fine-tuning but there is obviously a lot to work with there.''

The Leafs will play tonight against the Coyotes.

Belichick Pays

2007-09-15T08:34:00.000-04:00

Roger Goodell already has a reputation for being strict. He has already dealt with Pacman Jones and Micheal Vick, and now he needed to deal with Bill Belichick, who was spying on the New York Jets.

The New England coach was fined the NFL maximum of US$500,000 Thursday and the Patriots were ordered to pay $250,000 for stealing an opponent's defensive signals. Commissioner Roger Goodell also ordered the team to give up next year's first-round draft choice if it reaches the playoffs and second- and third-round picks if it doesn't.

When Belichick addressed the media yesterday, it was almost painful to watch. "All we're focusing on is the San Diego Chargers." That was his answer to everything. He seemed that he had gone days without sleep, and was hiding something.

The Patriots have been caught once before. Last November, during their 35-0 victory in Green Bay, the Packers caught the Pats shooting unauthorized video and told them to stop.

New England will now try to put this incident behind them and get ready for the San Diego Chargers on Sunday.

Bell Suspended

2007-09-12T17:52:00.000-04:00

After a long wait, the NHL finally announced today the length of Toronto forward Mark Bell's suspension for DUI back in 2006.

Bell will miss 15 games of the season without pay for his actions back on September 1st, 2006. The 27 year-old was has been sober for over a year now. "Playing in the National Hockey League is a privilege, and with that privilege comes a corresponding responsibility for exemplary conduct off the ice as well as on it," said NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman.

"However, over the past year, Mark has made extraordinary strides in his rehabilitation," added Bettman. "This positive progress was a material factor in reducing what could have been a lengthier suspension."

The NHLPA though is not in favor of the suspension.

"The NHLPA sees no basis for the excessive suspension Gary Bettman has imposed upon Mark Bell. Mark has fully accepted the serious consequences of his actions. He faces incarceration at the conclusion of the season and has already been suspended without pay as a result of his placement in Stage 2 of the NHL/NHLPA Substance Abuse and Behavioral Health program (SABH). There is no legitimate purpose served by adding a substantial league disciplinary suspension to the severe sanctions that have already been imposed."

Whether it was fair or not fair, this is all part of the road to staying sober for Mark Bell.

Everett Under Sedation

2007-09-10T13:47:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, during the game between the Denver Broncos and the Buffalo Bills, Domenik Hixon was returning the second half-opening kickoff. It seemed like a normal play. Nothing special was happening. It looked like the Bills had Hixon cornered, and all they had to do was wrap him up. But instead, the Bills' Kevin Everett decided to hit not with his shoulder, but with his head. The moment he made contact, Everett went limp. It took trainers 15 minutes to put Everett on a stretcher properly and put him in a ambulance. Today was the 1st time that we heard from him since that play yesterday. The news wasn't good.

Everett, after under-going 4-hours of emergency surgery was evaluated by doctors. They said that he would be lucky to walk again. Eric Armstead, a partner of the player's agent Brian Overstreet, told The Associated Press on Monday, ''He'll be sedated for the next 24 to 48 hours and we won't know more until then,'' Armstead said. ''We were told by the doctors that the surgery went well.''

Replays showed the player twitching for a few seconds as he attempted to get up before falling back to the ground. Everett had his eyes open but showed no further signs of movement during the next 15 minutes. Everett though did show some signs of life, as he twitched many times when at the hospital.

The reason for this injury, and for other injuries like this is the way these players are taught to hit. They are taught to use their head, instead of the more traditional way of wrapping up the guy with your hands and shoulders. If your going full speed, then putting that kind of force on your neck, your bound to get hurt at some point.

I think the NFL should stop this nasty habit. Maybe put in a new rule that you can't hit with your head or it will be a penalty. Or you could argue that the penalty could be even more severe, and the player should get kicked out of the game. All of these are good solutions. The NFL should really consider doing some sort of rule change.

Tomlinson Leads Chargers to Victory

2007-09-10T10:33:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was the 1st Sunday of the NFL season. There were a lot of teams going at it , but there was 1 matchup that everyone was going to watch.

The Chicago Bears and the San Diego Chargers were facing off yesterday in what was supposed to be a game full of scoring. The Bears went to the Super Bowl last year, and the Chargers had the best record in football at 14-2 last year. But after the 1st quarter, no one had scored a single point. The 2nd quarter wasn't much different, as the Bears scored the lone points with a measly field goal. But LaDainian Tomlinson wouldn't be denied in the 2nd half. He got the Chargers in the lead in the 3rd as he threw his 7th touchdown pass of his career to Antonio Gates. Then, in the 4th quarter, LT ran in for his 1st touchdown of the 2007 season. The Chargers defence took over from then, and held the Bears scoreless for the rest of the game for the Chargers to win 14-3.

The Bears, who topped the NFC last year at 13-3 before losing in the Super Bowl to Indianapolis, were nothing short of brutal with four turnovers. Two of the turnovers set up the game's only touchdowns. 'When we're playing at our best, those mistakes don't happen and tonight definitely wasn't our night,'' said Grossman, who was a pedestrian 12-for-23 for 145 yards and an interception. ''We had all the opportunities in the world. Our defence gave us a chance to win this game.''

Here are the rest of the scores from yesterday:

New York Giants vs Dallas - 35-45
Detroit vs Oakland - 36-21
Tampa Bay vs Seattle - 6-20
Tennessee vs Jacksonville - 13-10
Denver vs Buffalo - 15-14
Pittsburgh vs Cleveland - 34-7
Philadelphia vs Green Bay - 13-16
Miami vs Washington - 13-16
Carolina vs St.Louis - 27-13
New England vs New York Jets - 38-14
Atlanta vs Minnesota - 3-14
Kansas City vs Houston - 3-20

Colts Win 2007 NFL Season Opener

2007-09-07T15:40:00.000-04:00

The last time the Indianapolis Colts took the field in a meaningful game, they won the Super Bowl (in convincing fashion I might add). Yesterday, they looked as dominant as ever against the New Orleans Saints, who were coming off a 10-6 year which was ended by the Bears in the NFC Championship game.

The game started out horrible for the Colts, as one the 1st play, Joesph Addia went down. There were a few moments of silence in the crowd, but it was evident that Addia would return. On the Colts 2nd possession, Peyton Manning threw long for Marvin Harrison, who caught it for the 1st touchdown of the 2007 NFL season. In the 2nd quarter, the Saints came back. An interception brought a touchdown and a tie game, and a field goal gave them the lead. But the Colts later kicked their own field goal to have it tied up at 10 a piece at half-time.

The 2nd half was all Colts. 1st, Joesph Addia, who was back in the game ran 2 yards for a touchdown, after Manning marched the Colts down the field. Then, Reggie Wayne scored after catching a 28-yard pass Manning. The Colts kept on coming in the 4th, as Wayne scored another touchdown and Matt Giordano got a 83-yard interception. The final score was 41-10 for the Colts.

The key to this game was the Colts defence. They shut down Drew Brees, and didn't allow anything from Reggie Bush. ''All off-season, that's what everyone talked about, that the defence has lost all these guys,'' said Peyton Manning, who threw for 288 yards and three touchdowns. ''A lot of young guys played good tonight. It's only one game and there's a long way to go, but we played really well tonight.''

Now the Colts can relax and get ready for their week matchup.

Printers Signs With Ti-Cats

2007-09-06T15:58:00.000-04:00

Former MVP of the CFL Casey Printers thought he had football figured out. He went from the CFL to the NFL, thinking he would become a star. It didn't work out, and now he is back in the CFL.

Printers signed a 3-year deal with the Hamilton Tiger Cats today. Financial terms of the contract are unknown, bot is expected that Printers will make a high salary of $500,000. For the past few years, Printers played for the Kansas City Chiefs. He never got much playing time, and failed to make the lineup during this pre-season. As many as five teams were said to be in the running for Printers. The Montreal Alouettes believed they had a deal with the 2004 Most Outstanding Player, until the Ticats swooped in with a last minute offer he could not refuse.

At only 26, the former MVP will look to lead the Ti-Cats past the Argos and into a playoff spot.

Sorry

2007-09-06T15:56:00.000-04:00

For the past week, I haven't been able to update my blog. I apologize to all my readers and I will try to make some more free time in the future.

Top 5 Moments of August

2007-09-02T12:04:00.000-04:00

September was a month to remember. The Super Series, Micheal Vick and a lot of other things make up the top 5 moments of August.

Number 5 - Phil Rizzuto Dies at 89. The former player and announcer died at 89 year early in August. He was one of the best shortstops in Yankee history, and was a fun announcer known for his catch phrase "Holy Cow".

Number 4 - Little League World Series. It was Georgia and Japan in the final of the LLWS late in August. It was a close game that went into extra innings. When Dalton Carriker came in the 8th, he blasted a ball to right, clearing the fence to win the Little League World Series.

Number 3 - MLB History. In the month of August, lots of stuff happened in the MLB. Tom Glavine got his 300th win of his career, Alex Rodriguez hit his 500th homer, and Barry Bonds hit broke the all-time home run record.

Number 2 - Canada/Russia Super Series For the anniversary of the 1972 Summit Series, Canada and Russia decided to do a series with their juniors. It was supposed to be a close Series, but Canada took the 1st 4 games of the Series and will play in Canada on Tuesday.

Number 1 - Micheal Vick and Dog Fighting. After months of investigations and controversy, Micheal Vick finally pleaded guilty to charges of dog fighting. He will face a minimum of 1 year in jail.

Rookie Buchholz No-hits Orioles

2007-09-02T07:44:00.000-04:00

Clay Buchholz. Do you know the name. Probably not. He's an MLB pitcher for the Red Sox. But during his entire career, he had only made 1 start, which he won. Before yesterday he was just a young pitcher fighting for a job in '08. But now he's in the history books.

Buchholz took the mound yesterday against the Orioles and looked for his 2nd career win. He didn't need to wait long for the Sox to get him some runs, as Coco Crisp drove in his 49th run to give the Sox a 1-0 lead. The runs just kept on coming from there, as the Sox cashed in 10 by the 8th. But by then the buzz wasn't about the runs, it was about Buchholz. He had throw a no-hitter threw 8! All he needed was 3 more outs. Brian Roberts was the 1st to go up, and went right back to the dugout after Buchholz struck him out. Then Corey Patterson flew out to centre for the 2nd out. Then, Nick Markakis came up to bat. Buchholz got 2 quick strikes then a nasty curveball to strike him out and throw a no-hitter! It was the 1st no-hitter by a Red Sox rookie ever.

The closest the Orioles came to a hit was when Miguel Tejada led off the seventh with a sharp grounder up the middle. Second baseman Dustin Pedroia raced to his right and dove. He backhanded the ball, stood up and fired to first, where the throw easily beat Tejada, who slid in headfirst.

''I jumped up as fast as I could and I threw it as hard as I could,'' Pedroia said. Buchholz jumped but missed the ball. ''I was thinking it was over,'' Buchholz said. ''When he made that play I knew something was meant to happen tonight. It was an incredible moment in my life.''

Buchholz joined Mark Buehrle of the White Sox (April 18) and Justin Verlander of the Tigers (June 12) among the pitchers to throw a no-hitter this season -- all of whom are American Leaguers. He also became the 21st rookie to throw a no-hitter, the first since Florida's Anibal Sanchez on Sept. 6, 2006.

''There's no going back to Triple-A,'' Red Sox manager Terry Francona said.

Canada Sweeps 4 Games in Russia

2007-09-01T12:47:00.000-04:00

Team Canada was coming into their game today up 3-0 in the Canada/Russia Super Series. They were looking to make it a 4-game sweep of the games in Russia.

Russia started out the game great, putting the pressure on the Canadians from the puck-drop. But Canada managed to get a goal from Brad Marchand near the end of the period to take a 1-0 lead. Same Gagner then added on to the lead with a early 2nd period goal. John Tavares got the final goal of the period, his first in the series and Canada's third of the game with a power-play goal at 12:19 thanks to a heads-up play by Claude Giroux.

But Russia wouldn't go away. In front of the home-town crowd, Russia sored 2 quick ones to get within 1 of the Canadians. But Brad Marchand came up big once again with a goal off a rebound. That took the wind out of the Russians sails, and the Canadians played it safe for the rest of the game. The final score was 4-2 for Canada.

The key to the game was Canadian goalie Steve Mason. As in the 1st game, Mason stopped all but 2 shots in the game helping Canada to a win. If Canada gets even a tie in Winnipeg on Tuesday, Canada will have won the series.

Canada Takes 3-0 Lead In Super Series

2007-08-31T10:33:00.000-04:00

Team Canada was facing the Russians today in the 3rd game of the Canada/Russia Super Series. Canada was trying to keep the momentum going from last game, a game that they won 3-0.

The Russians were starting the game with some bad news, as one of their best players, Alexei Cherepanov was out for the rest of the Super Series. Cherepanov suffered a concussion when he collided with Canadian forward Brandon Sutter in the first period of Game 2. He did not skate this morning and is still in hospital.

So Russia came into the game a little short-handed, and it sure showed. Sam Gagner started Canada off with a quick goal, and then, on the powerplay, Kyle Turris blasted a shot above Russian goaltender Semen Varlamov. Russia answered back though when Pavel Doronin scored a short-handed goal. But near the end of the period, Colton Gillies scored on a breakaway to give Canada the 2-goal lead.

After a 2nd period where Russia scored 1, Canada turned it on in the 3rd. Claude Giroux scored a beautiful goal in the slot to start off the Canadian team, and then Stephan Legein wired a slapshot over the Russian goalie to give Canada a 3-goal lead. From then on, Canada coasted, scoring another one just to be sure. The final score was 6-2 for Canada.

The Canadian team had four power-play goals, including two to open the scoring. Goaltender Leland Irving of the Everett Silvertips got the victory. The next game will be tomorrow in Omsk, and then the scene shifts to Canada.

Oh Canada

2007-08-30T11:26:00.000-04:00

NHL training camps are opening up in a few days, and all 30 teams are starting off fresh. New players, new staff, a new season. That's the beauty of training camp. There are 30 teams that think they have a shot at the Stanley Cup. But as always, only 2 lucky teams can get into the Final. Last year, one of those lucky teams were the Ottawa Senators, who seemed to have shaken off their playoff jitters from years past, only to lose in the Finals. Now they and 5 other Canadian teams hope to bring the Cup to Canada for the 1st time in 14 grueling years. But which of these Canadian teams actually have a realistic shot at bringing back glory to Canada. Well here's what I think.

Calgary Flames - The Flames made the playoffs last year by 1 point, just beating out Colorado. This year though, it seems that the Flames will be going for a much higher spot than 8th. This off-season, the Flames big signings were Owen Nolan and Cory Sarich. Nolan had 16 goals and 24 assists with Phoenix last year, while Sarich had 15 points with Tampa last year, all assists. But Sarich's job isn't to score, it's to fill Roman Hamrlik's spot. Hamrlik spent 2 years with Calgary before leaving for Montreal this off-season. The Flames also acquired Adrian Aucoin from the Blackhawks via trade. Not much has changed for an already solid offence. Veteran winger Owen Nolan should bring some swagger and all-around nastiness up front. Jarome Iginla will have his usual strong supporting cast , as Matthew Lombardi, Alex Tanguay, Kristian Huselius, and Daymond Langkow all had career seasons.

This team looks like a 100 point type of team and could go all the way this year. They will probably get the 4th or 5th seed, seeing that the Avalanche and the Canucks are in their division. This is a team that is made for playoff hockey. They have gritty and skilled players, so watch out for the Flames, they could win the Cup.

Edmonton Oilers - Edmonton's season went from bad to worse last year when Ryan Smyth was traded at the trade deadline to the Islanders. The Oilers finished the season with a measly 71 points. But Edmonton made some changes in the off-season, getting powerplay specialist Sheldon Souray from the Canadiens, Dustin Penner from the Ducks and Mathieu Garon from the Kings. But the Oilers did lose some good players as well, as Petr Sykora, Jason Smith and Joffery Lupal are all on different teams now. If there's one thing GM Kevin Lowe could be looking at sooner than later, it's a top-six forward who can play on the second line. They are likely prepared to part with one of their nine NHL-ready defencemen and a prospect or two to try and get it.

But unless the Oilers make that kind of trade, I don't see them making the playoffs. They lack talent and they don't have a "wow" player, that all teams need to lead them. They will finish 10th-13th in the Conference and last in their division. They are not threat to win the Stanley Cup.

Montreal Canadiens - The Habs missed the playoffs barely last year after losing to their arch rival Toronto Maple Leafs in the final game of the season.

But during the off-season, Montreal looked to get some good players to help them this year. They made great offers to Paul Karyia, Ryan Smyth and even Quebec native Daniel Briere, but none of them signed. But the Habs did get some guys. They signed Roman Hamrlik for the defencive end, and Bryan Smolinski for faceoffs. The Canadiens did lose some key guys during the off-season though. Sheldon Souray went to Edmonton, Alexander Perezhogin left for Swedan and Radek Bonk left for the Preds. At this point, it looks like the additions were made to off set the loss of other players. But Smolinski is a solid faceoff man - something the Canadiens desperately needed.

Faceoffs though don't get you you into the playoffs. I expect the Canadiens to finish 9th-11th in the Eastern Conference. Montreal just lost too many goals with Souray, Perezhogin and Bonk (39 goals between just Bonk and Souray). They are not a threat to win the cup.

Ottawa Senators - The Senators got all the way to the Stanley Cup Final last year, but ended up losing to the Ducks. Ottawa didn't really make any big moves during the off-season, as their only notable loss was Mike Comrie, and their best signing was Niko Dimitrakos. The Senators may not score as many goals this season, but the drop-off will be insignificant. The team is also expected to play a more physical type of game. With players like Chris Phillips and Antoine Vermette, many people expect more hits.

Ottawa has almost the same exact lineup from last year, and they made it to the Final with that lineup, so I have to put them as the front-runners to win the Eastern Conference and the Northeast Division. They are a real threat to win the cup.

Toronto Maple Leafs - The Leafs missed the playoffs by 1 point last season after the Islanders beat the Devils in their final game. But the Leafs made some moves this off-season to make sure that wouldn't happen again. Toronto signed Jason Blake to a long-term contract, and traded for Vesa Toskala and Mark Bell on draft day. The Leafs did lose some people as well as Micheal Peca and Yanic Perreault found new homes.

Those losses aren't that great though, and the Leafs signings will do lots of good. The addition of Toskala will put pressure on Andrew Raycroft to perform better in training camp, or his starting job will be taken away. Blake will be a great force up front, and Bell will help Kyle Wellwood on the 2nd line. I expect the Leafs to finish 5th-8th in the conference and 2nd in their division. Even with those high expectations, I see them as only a minor threat to win the Cup.

Vancouver Canucks - Vancouver is coming off a great year that ended at the hands of the Ducks. The Canucks had 105 points last year and had the 3rd seed in the Conference. During the off-season, Vancouver didn't really sign anyone that can make a difference for them, and they didn't lose anyone good either. They have basically the same team as last year, which is pretty good.

I think that Vancouver will have another great year behind Roberto Luongo and get the 3rd-5th seed in the Western Conference. They are a pretty good contender to win the Stanley Cup.

So out of all these teams, I think that the Ottawa Senators have the best chance to win the Stanley Cup. They have the talent, the grit and the goaltending. But over the past few years, there has always been a surprise Canadian team in the Final. So we'll have to what and see what happens.

Canada Takes 2-0 Lead in Super Series

2007-08-29T12:26:00.000-04:00

After Team Russia dominated Canada in the 1st 10 minutes of game 1 of the Canad/Russia Super Series on Monday, the Canucks turned it up a notch. They came back and won the game 4-2. Today, they were looking to keep the momentum from that game going, as they faced Russia in game 2 of the Super Series.

The Canadians got the lead in the 1st from Kyle Turris after a great give-and-go with David Perron. Canad brought the lead into the 2nd. In the 2nd frame, tempers were flaring. A simple push started a huge fight in which almost all players on the ice contributed in. But Canada got their revenge with their play.

With a minute left in the 2nd, Stephan Legein blasted the puck past the Russian goalkeeper to give Canada a 2-0 lead. In the 3rd period, fog started rolling into the new arena in Ufa, Russia. But the teams kept on playing. The players participated in a few fights during the period, and Canada sealed the win when David Perron scored to give Canada a 3-0 lead with less than 5 minutes remaining. The final score was 3-0 for Team Canada to give them a 2-0 in the best of 8 series.

The Canadians did everything right in their game today, and were much more disciplined than last game. The Canadians had excellent goaltending for the second game in a row. Lewiston's Jonathan Bernier earned the shutout.
Related Info

Games 3 and 4 of the series are Friday and Saturday in Omsk. The Canadian team has a two-hour flight to Omsk on Thursday.

Canada Wins Game 1 of Super Series

2007-08-27T15:25:00.000-04:00

35 years ago, something special happened in hockey. It was the Summit Series between Team Canada and Team Russia, or guess back then, The Red Army. Canadians watched as their dream team, which included Phil Esposito and Bobby Orr lost 2 games and tied 1 in the 1st 4 games at home! It was apparent to both Canadians and Soviets that the Canucks had a fight a head of them.

When Team Canada arrived in their opposing teams country, they again lost. But with a new found respect for the Soviets, Canada turned it on for the final 3 games and won all of them. It was Canada's greatest accomplishment in their history with sports.

Today, Canada and Russia honoured the great series by playing another one. But this time, we got to see Canada's juniors represent in what is called, "The Canada - Russia Super Series.

The 8 game series started off in Ufa, Russia today with both teams ready to roll. The Russians though were the ones who started off with an edge as they scored 2 quick goals to take the lead. But Canada responded with goals 45 seconds apart, one of them off a penalty shot from Kyle Turris to tie it up. In the 2nd period, Canada grabbed the lead when Sam Gagner scored early in the period, and extended that lead later in that period.

From that point on, London Knights goaltender Steve Mason stole the show. He made many spectacular saves the keep the 2-goal Canadian lead and rarely gave up a rebound. He stopped 40 of 42 shots to lead the Canadians to a 4-2 win in the 1st game of the Super Series.

The key to the game was Canada's penalty kill. They killed off 14 penalties plus 2 2-man advantages. If Canada had let even one of those powerplays score, than nobody knows what could of happened with a 1-goal lead.

The second of the eight-game series is Wednesday (Sportsnet, 9 a.m. ET) in Ufa and then two games will be played in Omsk on Friday and Saturday.

Georgia Wins Second Straight LLWS

2007-08-27T08:51:00.000-04:00

My 1st post since last week is definitely an exciting one. Japan and Georgia were playing in the final of the Little League World Series.

The game was very exciting the entire way through. The Japanese got got 2 quick runs during the 1st 2 innings, but Georgia came back getting a 2-run double courtesy of Keaton Allen. From then on, the pitchers took over. Not a run was scored for the rest of regulation, so the game had to go into extra innings.

The 1st 2 1/2 innings of extras were also scoreless, until Georgia's Dalton Carriker came up to the plate in the bottom of the 8th. . The slugger, hitting .769 entering Sunday's game, was 0-for-2 with a walk when he came up in the eighth.

He said a little prayer before settling himself in the batter's box. "God, please give me the strength to get a hit and help my team out," Carriker said in recounting his prayer. He did more than just get a little single or double though. He blasted a pitch to right field that easily cleared the 225 foot fences. As he was rounding the bases, Carriker said he couldn't feel his legs. "I felt like I was flying, like Peter Pan," Carriker said. "I didn't know what I was doing."

It was a bitter end for the Japanese team though, who had ironacly gotten to the big game off a walk-off home run yesterday againstCuracao. Japan manager Youichi Kubo, who managed Japan to the 2001 Little League crown, tried to console his pitcher afterward.

"I told Junsho that when you are a reliever these things can happen," Kubo said through a translator. "I told him that he has a bright future and not to let this homer affect that."

Well no matter how any of this will affect these little leaguers careers, both teams can hold their heads high. Playing in the LLWS Championship Game is a huge accomplishment.

Alert!

2007-08-19T11:34:00.000-04:00

For the next week I'm going to be away. I will be back on the weekend and get back to covering sports. See ya.

Canada Wins It's LLWS Opener

2007-08-18T19:35:00.000-04:00

The Little League World Series started out with a bang yesterday with one of the most dramatic games in recent memory. By today, many people were still buzzing about the play that Michael Rando made, but for a lot of the LLWS teams, they had games to play. One of those teams were Canada, who were playing their 1st game of the tournament against Saudi Arabia.

The Canucks sent 6 foot 2, 200 pound Shaylen Buis to the mound, and started off smoking. His 1st 6 outs were all off strikeouts and took a 5-0 lead into the 5th. But the Saudis equaled Canada's 5 to tie it up and chase Buis out of the game. But Canada's bats were not fazed by the shaky inning.

Parker Stefaniuk and Jackson Temple both homered in the inning, which highlighted the 8 runs the Canucks scored. Canada then shut down Saudi Arabia for their 1st win of the tournament. Temple said his players weren't discouraged despite blowing a five-run lead.

''These guys have been in this position before,'' he said. ''They knew what had to be done. There was no panic. We weren't heading for the lifeboats.''

Canada's next game is Monday afternoon against Japan (1-0), the favourites in Pool D. The Japanese pounded the Caribbean 10-3 in their tournament opener Friday, and if they are not careful against them, they may be heading for the lifeboats after all.

The Great Home Run Race

2007-08-18T11:25:00.001-04:00

I saw this picture on ESPN Page 2 and I was amazed. I knew that J.D Drew had been having a bad year, but not that bad. I think that Drew is just another disappointment who was pressured by to much money.

If you take a look, many players are having bad years after signing lucrative contracts. Vernon Wells and Frank Thomas are both having some of the least productive seasons of their careers. Barry Zito was signed to the biggest contract for a pitcher ever in the off-season, and, well lets just say that a guy named Chuck James in his 2nd year is having a better year. I think that GM's around the MLB should just take a little closer look at free agent signings, or they might come back to bite you.

Walpole Wins Little League World Series Opener

2007-08-18T10:58:00.000-04:00

When your 12 years old, most kids are getting ready for high school, hanging out with their friends and just being kids. Things are much different for the kids who play sports at a high level.

If you play baseball or hockey at Triple A level, then a lot of pressure is thrust upon you. It becomes more than just a game. Parents and coaches are focused more on winning than their kids, and many kids do this and end up hating the sport. Many of the kids who don't end up hating the sports won't make it in the professional ranks. But there are a select few who fight through the tough times and get a future in their sport. It was obvious to the crowd at the Little League World Series Opener yesterday that Michael Rando is one of those kids.

The Walpole Americans were facing the Great Lakes regional representative West Side of Hamilton, Ohio yesterday. The Americans were down 1-0, heading into the top of the sixth. Through five innings, Great Lakes starter Kyle Cotcamp had allowed just two hits and struck out nine.

But Walpole’s Matt Bender hit a one-out single to right, with P.J. Hayes pinch-running for him. A wild pitch moved Hayes to second, then Great Lakes decided to intentionally walk Adams. Another wild pitch then put both runners in scoring position for Johnny White. White fell behind in the count before working it full. He then stroked one over the left fielder’s head for a double that scored Hayes and Adams. Mike LaVita greeted new pitcher Tyler Richards with a single to move Adams up a base before Sam Falkson laid down a bunt for a base hit that scored White for a key insurance run and a 3-1 lead.

Then, in the bottom of the 6th, John Cornett came up with 1 man on and 2 out. He hit a 226 foot blast to centre fielder Micheal Rando. Rando tracked it and came to the wall. He jumped and stuck his glove out, hoping he would catch it. He did. Before he even touched the ground, he had the ball in his hand, showing it to the amazed crowd. His teammates mobbed him at centre. "I thought I had a chance to rob it," said Rando, still clutching the ball in his hand during postgame interviews. "I knew it was going out, but I thought I had a chance to rob it - so I went back to the fence and I caught it."

"I couldn’t believe it," said Rando.

The victory gives Walpole American (20-1), the New England representative, a 1-0 record in Pool A play - while also handingWest Side its first loss of the summer. Walpole has today off, returning to action tomorrow.

For more on the Little League World Series, see ESPN Little League World Series 2007

Zambrano Gets 5-Year Extension

2007-08-17T16:43:00.000-04:00

Carlos Zambrano is having the best season of his young career. Today he got rewarded for it.

The 26-year old has signed a 5-year, $90 million dollar contract extension with the Chicago Cubs. The new deal runs through the 2012 campaign and includes a vesting option for a sixth season.

Zambrano is is 14-9 with a 3.86 earned run average in 26 starts this season in the MLB. He is one of the Cy Young candidates in the National League and is leading the Cubs to a possible playoff berth.

Zambrano signed this contract to stay with the Cubs, as he was a free agent at the end of the season. "Not everything is about money, you know," Zambrano said. "I know if I got to free agency there were a lot of things that would come to me and offer me. I feel comfortable here. I feel good here and my family feels good here."

"We were within earshot of this thing, completing a deal near Opening Day. But due to the sale of the Tribune (the Cubs owners, Tribune Co. was sold this season), it changed everything," Zambrano's agent Barry Praver said.

Zambrano will now spend 5 years on a playoff contending Cubs team.

Rizzuto Dies at Age 89

2007-08-14T19:40:00.000-04:00

Phil Rizzuto, one of the best shortstops in MLB history has passed away.

Rizzuto had pneumonia and died in his sleep at a nursing home in West Orange, N.J., daughter Patricia Rizzuto said Tuesday. He had been in declining health for several years.

Rizzuto played 11 years for the New York Yankees getting an MVP award in 1950 and 5 all-star appearances. Popular as a player and beloved as a broadcaster, the New York Yankees shortstop was during their dynasty years of the 1940s and 1950s. "I guess heaven must have needed a shortstop," Yankees owner George Steinbrenner said in a statement. "He epitomized the Yankee spirit - gritty and hard charging - and he wore the pinstripes proudly."

After his playing career, Rizzuto immediately became a broadcaster. He was known for his catch phrase, "holy cow". Rizzuto also became known for saying "Unbelievable!" or "Did you see that?" to describe a great play, and would call somebody a "huckleberry" if he did something Rizzuto didn't like. Phil always did know who to keep it fun in the press boxes. Rizzuto would typically refer to his broadcast partners by their last names, calling them "White", "Murcer" and "Seaver" instead of "Bill", "Bobby" or "Tom."

Rizzuto broadcasted some great moments in baseball, which include Roger Maris' 61th home run. After a long wait, Rizzuto was voted into the hall of fame in 1994.

Just to show how good Rizzuto was, Ted Williams claimed that his Red Sox would have won most of the Yankees' 1940s and 1950s pennants if they had had Rizzuto at shortstop. Rizzuto was a great player on the field, and a character at the least off it.

Coyotes Sign Auld

2007-08-13T20:41:00.001-04:00

Alex Alud has been signed by the Phoenix Coyotes.

The 26-year old was signed to a 1-year contract today by Phoenix. He had a record of 7-13-5 last season with the Florida Panthers. Auld should prove a good backup for David Aebischer.

Auld has a career record of 46-44-13 in five NHL season with Florida and Vancouver. He also has a 2.89 goals-against average and .902 save percentage.

Auld is now part of a good goaltending crew in Phoenix with Aebischer and Mikael Tellqvist.

Is It Over?

2007-08-12T10:50:00.000-04:00

Tiger Woods is one of the most clutch athletes ever. If he is playing his best golf, he is head and shoulders above everyone else on the PGA tour. Right now, he is playing his best golf and has a 3 shot lead heading into the final round of the PGA championship. Right now, the question is, "is it already over?"

Whenever Tiger has gone into the final round of a tournament with the lead, he has never given it up. With a 3 shot lead on Stephan Ames, is there anyone that can catch him. Well if someone is gojng to catch him,it's going to be Ames. If you have ever seen him play or seen him in an interview, you know that he doesn't put much pressure on himself. He just goes out there and does his thing. I saw him on a hole this tournament where he missed a long par putt but an inch, and just laughed. But gaining 3 shots on Tiger during the final round is very difficult.

Neither of the golfers really made any move yesterday, as both of them shot a 1-under 69. "I accomplished my goal today," said Woods, who wore a blue towel over his shoulders in the chilly, air-conditioned media pavilion. "My goal was to shoot under par and increase my lead."

Many reporters have been questioning Ames om his comments during the 2006 WGC-Accenture Match Play. Ames, (who keeps saying he's miss-quoted) said anything could happen with the way Woods was spraying the ball, but the comments blew up in his face when Woods won 9&8. The comments were similar to Rory Sabbatini's when he said Tiger was playing as poorly as ever before going into the final round of a tournament with Tiger. Woods promptly won the tournament.

Tiger also has extra motivation for this major, as it is the last one before the end of the PGA tour regular season. So with all of these factors, I believe that the PGA championship is over, unless Tiger has some uncharacteristic blow up. And if something like that does happen, Stephan Ames will probably be the one to benefit from it.

Update! - Tiger Woods had won the PGA Championship with a 2-shot win over Woody Austin. It is Tigers' 13th major and the 1st this season.

Blackhawks Get Adams From Phoenix

2007-08-12T08:45:00.000-04:00

The NHL free-agent frenzy is now virtually done, and many teams got who they wanted. But some teams didn't really sign anyone good, so they have to trade. The Chicago Blackhawks were in that position yesterday.

The Blackhawks traded for forward Kevyn Adams in exchange for Radim Vrbata. The 32-year old Adams split his season last year with Carolina and Phoenix, piling up 3 gaols and 9 assists, while Vrbata at 26 years scored 14 goals and 27 assists last year.

''In Kevyn Adams we're getting a veteran player who is extremely versatile, is a good skater and is a very good face-off man,'' said Blackhawks general manager Dale Tallon. ''Kevyn has won a Stanley Cup and is a proven leader.''

Even with all of those qualities, it seems Vrbata is a better player than Adams. At 32, Adams isn't very good offensively and Vrbata is young and a great forward. In his NHL career, Vrbata has appeared in 346 games scoring 75 goals while adding 95 assists fro 170 points with 104 penalty minutes. He has also appeared in nine career playoff games and has not scored.

This may be the start of a whole bunch of little trades in the NHL.

Baseball MVP and Cy Young Previews

2007-08-10T17:08:00.000-04:00

The MLB's 2007 regular season is coming to an end soon. Just 2 more months left for teams to get into the post-season and play in the World Series. It also means that there are only 2 months left for players to beef up their stats, and show off their numbers to the sports writers who vote for the MVP and Cy Young Awards. There are many players that might win the awards, but I'm going to look at all those players and see whose most deserving of the MVP and Cy Young Awards.

American League MVP

Candidates

Alex Rodriguez - 36 Home Runs, 109 RBI, .298 Batting Average
Justin Morneau - 28 Home Runs, 89 RBI, .287 Batting Average
Magglio Ordonez - 18 Home Runs, 94 RBI, .348 Batting Average

Out of these 3 players, I believe without out a doubt, (and it pains me to say this as I am a Blue Jays fan), Alex Rodriguez is the American League MVP. After a huge April, A-Rod has been going strong ever since then. No one in the entire league can match his power numbers, and he is leading a Yankee team that could very well lock up the Wild Card be early September by the way they're playing. Morneau is having another great year, but just doesn't have the numbers of last season. Although many say that Ordonez is the MVP, putting up power numbers and a stellar batting average, I believe A-Rod is the AL MVP.

American League Cy Young Award Winner

Candidates

Josh Beckett - 14 Wins, 5 Losses, 3.31 ERA, 132 Strikeouts
C.C Sabathia - 14 wins, 6 Losses, 3,52 ERA, 154 Strikeouts
Dan Haren - 13 Wins, 3 Losses, 2.46 ERA, 127 Strikeouts

This is a tough one. It took me a while just to figure out the candidates, as there are 11 pitchers with 12 or more wins in the AL right now! All these pitches are deserving of the award. But I have to choose 1 and I'm going with Dan Haren. The all-star game starter has been dominating so far during the season and his numbers show it. I think it's the 2.46 ERA that hooked me. And all of this on a sub .500 team in Oakland, unlike the other 2 who are on World Series contenders (nothing against Beckett and Sabathia). If Haren keeps it up, I believe he will be the American League Cy Young Award winner.

National League MVP

Candidates

Ryan Howard - 32 Home Runs, 93 RBI, .271 Batting Average
Prince Fielder - 34 Home Runs, 86 RBI, .287 Batting Average
Jose Reyes - 54 Stolen Bases, .308 Batting Average, 83 Runs Scored

My favourite player out of these 3 is Prince Fielder. I like the way he plays and when he got that inside the park home run, I was cheering for him all the way. And the way the Brewers have been playing, many think he should be the MVP. But I'm going to go against my natural instinct and go for the player who really deserves it - Ryan Howard. Although he has 2 less home runs than Fielder, Howard has more RBI and a stat that many will overlook, has 71 less at-bats than Fielder. Reyes has had a good year, but speed demons rarely get the MVP. So with that being said, I believe Ryan Howard will be the National League MVP at the end of the season.

National League Cy Young Award Winner

Candidates

Carlos Zambrano - 14 Wins, 8 Losses, 3.69 ERA, 139 Strikeouts
Brad Penny - 13 Wins, 3 Losses, 2.66 ERA, 104 Strikeouts
Francisco Cordero - 34 Saves, 3.28 ERA, 61 Strikeouts, 46.2 Innings

He's been my personal favourite to win the Cy Young Award since the beginning of the season. Brad Penny has, like Haren been dominant. Penny also like Haren has an amazing ERA for the MLB level. Zambrano has fought through some tough times this year. Many can remember his fight with former teammate Michael Barrett. The way he's gotten past all of that is great, but he has to many losses for me. Cordero has also been great, as many claim he is the best closer in baseball at this moment. But only once has the Cy Young gone to a closer, and that was when Eric Gagne didn't blow a save the entire year. So I think that Brad Penny will be the National League Cy Young Award winner.

There you have it. 4 awards and 4 predictions. Be sure to look back on this post when award time comes around.

It's Miller Time

2007-08-10T11:33:00.000-04:00

Reggie Miller, one of the greatest playoff performers in NBA history is pondering a comeback. The career Indiana Pacer at 41 years of age may join the Boston Celtics.

The Celtics contacted Miller and asked him to think about joining their revamped team in a reserve role, playing about 15 minutes per game. "[I have] contacted Reggie and he is contemplating a comeback with us," Ainge told The Associated Press through a team spokesman.

If he does join the Celtics, than he will join Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen as the stars of the team, and all of whom have not won an NBA Championship. "I'm always flattered when my name is mentioned as someone who can still help an NBA team win a championship," Miller said Wednesday in a statement relayed to The Associated Press by U.S. cable network TNT. "I've had limited discussions with Celtics management about their roster and a potential role for me. At this time, I'm enjoying my role as an analyst with TNT."

Over the course of his career, Miller scored 25,279 points, with an average of 18.2 points per game during his career. He shot .471 from the field, .395 from 3-point range and .888 from the free throw line. Miller made the All-NBA First Team three times throughout his career and received his only MVP votes in 1998 and 2000.

If Miller joins the Celtics, make sure to mark November 13th on your calender. Boston Celtics vs Indiana Pacers in Indiana.

Ankiel Returns To Cardinals

2007-08-10T08:56:00.000-04:00

It seemed that Rick Ankiel was going to be a good pitcher for some time. That's what everyone was thinking in the summer of 2000. But during the playoffs, Ankiel folded giving up an unprecedented 5 wild pitches in 1 inning. He would not pitch much more after that. He then struggled for a few years in the minors, and it seemed that he had lost his chance. But in 2005, Ankiel made the sudden announcement that he would be switching to outfield.

After a shaky 1st year, he turned it up this year. He was a starting outfielder for the Triple-A All Star Game, and by August 8th had 32 homers and 89 RBI! The Cardinals then decided to bring up Ankiel for a 2nd try at the majors, and this time, Ankiel would not disappoint.

It was the 7th inning, with the game still tight at 2-0 for St. Louis. Ankiel came up to bat with 2 men on against San Diego pitcher Doug Brocail. He blasted a pitch to right-field for a 3-run homer! When he got to the dugout, he came out for a curtain call, and Ankiel got the biggest cheer of his life. The Cards would go on to win the game 5-0.

Ankiel seems to have the making of a great hitter, as even the pitcher was in awe of how Ankiel hit that ball out. "I pitched the report," Brocail said. "I have no idea how he hit that ball. It's good to see the kid back, though. You know, he wasn't too bad of a pitcher."

"I guess Babe Ruth was the last," said manager of San Diego Bud Black, referring to pitchers converting into power-hitting outfielders. "It's quite a show of athleticism and quite a show of being a baseball player.

Ankiel though seemed the most excited out of all the people. "Unbelievable," Ankiel said. "You almost can't put that into words."

Jays Beat Up On Yankees

2007-08-09T08:58:00.000-04:00

The Toronto Blue Jays were embarrassed 2 nights ago. They got their revenge on A-Rod for May 30th, but it was bittersweet as New York won 9-2. But yesterday, they were ready to go.

What seemed like a big pitching matchup was everything but. 12-5 Roy Halladay was facing 13-5 Chien-Ming Wang. Toronto got to New York early as the Blue Jays scored 3 runs in the bottom of the 1st. But Robinson Cano quickly cut that lead down to 1 in the top of the 2nd when he hit a 2-run blast to right field. The Toronto really got the bats going. Without any home runs, Toronto scored 5 runs in the bottom of the 3rd with a couple of doubles. From then on the Jays just kept pounding New York. They scored 6 more runs by the end of the game and won easily 15-4.

This game was not just good for Toronto because they won big against New York, but because of the players that produced. Frank Thomas continued his hot streak with 3 RBI, and Vernon Wells had 4 RBI. Matt Stairs had 2 doubles and 3 runs scored. It was a great all-around effort. "Guys really wanted to keep on them," Jays ace Roy Halladay said. "That's probably residue from yesterday. Nobody wanted to let down. They wanted to keep going, keep hitting, keep scoring, and I think that was the biggest difference from yesterday."

With A-Rod sitting out, the Jays could just focus on baseball. "I've been around hockey too long and too many hockey fights to know that the next day it's over with," Stairs said. "It's the same in baseball. ... It's done, hopefully. We can get on with playing baseball. We made our statement and they made their statement."

The Jays will now start a 4-game set against the Kansas City Royals on Friday.

Hockey News

2007-08-08T11:38:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was Barry Bonds' day. He hit his 756th career home run and passed Hank Aaron to become the all-time home runs leader. But lost in all of the excitement was the big day in the NHL.

The 1st thing that happened was about the Edmonton Oilers. The Edmonton Investors Group, the group that owns the Oilers announced that the group rejected the latest bid from local pharmacy tycoon Daryl Katz to purchase the team for $185 million.

This is the 3rd time that Katz's bid has been rejected by the Oilers. And Katz will probably not get another chance to buy the Oilers because the Investors group has voted to take the 'For Sale' sign off the franchise. Katz will still be a part of the Oilers, as he owns the Rexall Pharmacy chain, and Edmonton's arena is named after Rexall.

''Clearly I'm disappointed that the ownership group has elected not to proceed with a sale but I accept their decision and wish them well,'' said Katz in a statement. ''As an Oilers' fan and the franchise's largest corporate sponsor, I will continue to be a major supporter of the team.''

Chairman of the Investors group Cal Nichols said that after some research, the money was not all it seemed. "This morning, our shareholders voted resoundingly to reject this offer," Nichols said at the news conference in Edmonton. "The reported sale price was $185 million, but in fact, it is actually closer to $160 million after capital adjustments and adjustments for tax treatment."

''I hope that this, at least for the near term, puts an end to the offer thing because this has been a bit of a circus for four months and no one in our group was going to continue doing what we were doing,'' Nichols told reporters in a news conference at the city's tony Petroleum Club."

The real problem in Edmonton is getting a new arena. This latest rejection of Katz's bid hasn't shed any light on how the Oilers are going to get the money for the new arena and when it will be built.

One bid to buy a team did go through though, as former Panthers coach Doug MacLean bought the Tampa Bay Lightning yesterday. A group led by MacLean bought the Lightning yesterday in a deal that includes the leasing rights to the Lightning's arena and adjacent properties.

''Typically, you come into a situation where ownership has been an issue,'' MacLean said at the news conference. ''We're following a great ownership group that took the Tampa Bay franchise and really put it on the map.'' When asked about re-location, MacLean quickly answered. "0% chance of that happening".

MacLean led the Panthers the Stanley Cup Final and will look to get Tampa back to their winning ways.

The final news of the day was the resigning of Mike Cammalleri. The forward for Los Angeles had 34 goals and 80 points last season, but will only be making $3.1 million next season after an arbitrator awarded him a 2-year deal worth $6.7 million.

''We got there the hard way,'' Kings GM Dean Lombardi told the Times. ''Nobody wins at these things. I think it is safe to say it came out closer to our end. But these situations aren't for winning and losing.''

Bonds Hits 756

2007-08-08T08:31:00.000-04:00

Barry Bonds was 1 home run away from getting to 756 homers in his MLB career yesterday. In front of the San Francisco fans, he did not disappoint.

Bonds came up in the 5th with no one on. He had a full count against pitcher Mike Bacsik. Bonds drove an inside pitch way out of the park. As soon as the ball was hit, Barry raised his hands in triumph and trotted around the bases like he did the other 755 times. He was greeted by his son, and his teammates. After the homer, Bonds gave a salute to the San Fran fans. ''Thank you very much. I got to thank all of you, all the fans here in San Francisco. It's been fantastic,'' he said shortly after crossing home plate, his godfather, Willie Mays, at his side.

Hank Aaron was also there and congratulated Bonds on the record. ''It is a great accomplishment which required skill, longevity and determination,'' he said.

''Throughout the past century, the home run has held a special place in baseball and I have been privileged to hold this record for 33 of those years. I move over now and offer my best wishes to Barry and his family on this historic achievement.

But many people will not recognize this achievement, as many think the record, "will always belong to Aaron", or "the record is tainted forever". For all the people that think that, just be quiet. Bonds has never tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs in his life. Just because he made a large improvement in body stature when he went from Pittsburgh to San Fran doesn't mean he took steroids. It was around that time that athletes did start training more.

This guy had Hall of Fame numbers before all of the controversy came up. Don't forget that Bonds had quite a few MVP's and 30-30 years before the steroid problems came up.

"Right now, I'm very happy that it's all over with," Bonds said long after the Nationals defeated his Giants, 8-6. "I'm really happy with my teammates. That's the most important thing. And the fans, like I said, the fans here are my family."

"No one will ever take that away. No one can ever take that away."

Tiger Wins ESPN's "Who's Now"

2007-08-06T11:21:00.000-04:00

For the past month and 5 days, ESPN has been doing a daily series called "Who's Now". ESPN analysts plus viewer votes would determine the ultimate sports star by considering both on-field success and off-field buzz. Based on fan nominations, ESPN Research selected 32 finalists to square off in a single-elimination bracket.

The athletes competed in a single-elimination, bracketed tournament (like the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship or a typical tennis tournament). Each day a winner would be announced on ESPN's SportCenter. Participants were placed in one of four eight-way "regions" named for historic athletes that, in the judgment of ESPN, best exemplify the qualities of "now": Michael Jordan, Billie Jean King, Babe Ruth, and Muhammad Ali. Each bracket would have 8 athletes which were seeded and faced against each other. In the 1st round, the number 1 seed would face the 8 seed, 2 seed would face the 7 seed and so on.

Tiger Woods, Dwyane Wade, LaDainian Tomlinson, Steve Nash, Peyton Manning, Dale Earnhardt Jr., A-Rod, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Jeff Gordon, Derek Jeter, Reggie Bush, Tom Brady, Maria Sharapova, Tony Parker and Shaq all passed the 1st round. Then those players would face off. Every 2 players on the list I just wrote would be matched against each other (Ex- Tiger vs Dwyane, LT vs Steve Nash). Tiger, LT, Peyton Manning, A-Rod, LeBron James, Derek Jeter, Tom Brady and Shaq all went into the 3rd round of the competition. They would face off the same way as last time. The 4 athletes in the semi-finals were Tiger, Peyton Manning, LeBron James and Shaq. In the semi-finals, Tiger was matched up against Peyton and LeBron was matched against Shaq. Tiger won with 63.8% of the viewers votes, and LeBron won with 60.4% of the vote. That meant that Tiger Woods and LeBron James would face off in the final of "Who's Now".

Yesterday, the champion was announced, and by a rather larger amount than most would expect, Tiger Woods beat King James with 65.1% of the vote! I would like to congratulate Tiger Woods on his win and that he does well in the up coming PGA championship. But I really thought that LeBron would win this match up. I think it's safe to say that more people in USA watch basketball than golf. And with Tiger in his little slump in terms of majors, and LeBron leading the Cavs to the NBA Finals, I though James would get the majority of the vote. But, that's just my opinion, what's yours?

Who Would You Have Voted For?

Create your own myspace poll

Glavine Joins 300 Club

2007-08-06T07:20:00.000-04:00

It has been a historic weekend for baseball. Barry Bonds tied Hank Aaron's all-time home run record, and Alex Rodriguez became the youngest player ever to hit 500 home runs. Yesterday, Tom Glavine could get a milestone of his own, as he was going for his 300 career win.

Glavine looked flawless as he pitched 6.1 innings, and gave up 2 earned runs. But even with the Chicago Cubs scoring, the game was never in doubt for the Mets from the get-go. They scored 5 runs through the 1st 6 innings, and extended their lead after Glavine left to 8-3. All Glavine needed for the win was a good inning by closer Billy Wagner. Wagner shut down the Cubs to seal the 300th win for Glavine.

After the game, the Mets swarmed Glavine, and when he was able to escape the mob of players, he was swarmed by a mod of media. "I think the feeling right now is probably relief. At some point in time, I don't know when, the historic side of it will sink in. I know the company I'm in, and I'm as proud as can be to be in that company."

He is the 23rd pitcher and 5th lefty in MLB history to win 300 games, and may be the last pitcher to do so. The fact that no pitcher had 20 wins last year signals the end of an era. Pitchers will be going up against the best batch of hitters that the MLB has ever seen, so being dominant on the mound will not be so easy. Randy Johnson is closest to 300 at 284, but back surgery threatens to end his career.

If this is the last time that we see a 300 win pitcher, than I think we should really enjoy what we saw yesterday. And there is something that is for sure. Cy Young's 511 wins is a record that will never be broken.

Crazy Eights

2007-08-05T18:44:00.000-04:00

The Toronto Blue Jays continued a rather good tend at home today at the Rogers Centre.

Coming into today, the Jays lead the majors in winning percentage at home with a 27-10 record (.730). Toronto had won 7 straight games coming into todays game with Texas and looked to get a sweep.

The game started out like the previous 2 in the series, and Texas scored a run off starter Dustin McGowan in the 1st. And just like the previous 2 games, the Jays bounced back tying up the game with a Frank Thomas single with Matt Stairs on 3rd. Then, after 3 1/2 scoreless innings, Matt Stairs doubled in Ray Olmedo, a call-up that got the start today. Then the Jays really opened things up 2 innings later, as Stairs and Wells both picked up a RBI to give the Jays a 4-1 lead. McGowan would shut down the Rangers for another inning, and Jeremy Accardo got his 20th save of the year as the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Texas Rangers 4-1.

The game was dominated by 2 people - an up and coming super-star in Dustin McGowan, and an old, Canadian boy celebrating his 1,500th game in Matt Stairs. McGowan was up to his old tricks looking un-hittable at times, and Stairs hit 3 doubles that cashed in 2 runs and scored a run himself.

"He's a good professional hitter. If you give him a pitch in the zone when he's ahead in the count, you're actually not expecting to get the ball back. He got me in a couple of big situations that I'd love to go back and do over again." -- Rangers starter Brandon McCarthy on Stairs.

McGowan seemed to blow away former teammate in Frank Catalanotto, who left for the Rangers just last season. "He's finally put it all together," Catalanotto added. "We always knew he had the stuff but now he's putting it together, mentally too, and being able to execute."

Toronto will now try to extend their home winning streak of 8 games to 9 against the New York Yankees tomorrow with another young star on the mound, Jesse Litsch.

Making History

2007-08-05T07:08:00.000-04:00

It's been a long time coming for both of them. Alex Rodriguez and Barry Bonds were both mired in their longest slumps of the year. But yesterday, they both got out of those slumps.

Barry Bonds and the San Francisco Giants were facing the San Diego Padres yesterday. Barry came up to bat as the lead-off man in the 2nd. He hit a opposite field shot that measured 382 feet! It cleared the left field fence easily. As Bonds ran around the bases, the San Diego crowd, a crowd that included Bud Selig gave Barry a standing ovation. When Bonds touched home plate, he lifted his son and carried him almost all the way to the dugout.

It had been eight days and 28 plate appearances since Bonds hit his 754th home run, and he came out for early batting practice Saturday, hoping to break his slump, which he did. Bud Selig talked about watching history unfold, and his plans to attend the next few Giants games. "No matter what anybody thinks of the controversy surrounding this event, Mr. Bonds' achievement is noteworthy and remarkable," Selig said in a statement.

Selig said either he or a representative would attend the Giants' next few games "out of respect for the tradition of the game, the magnitude of the record and the fact that all citizens in this country are innocent until proven guilty."

The other milestone yesterday also came via the home run. Alex Rodriguez, who was in a huge slump after hitting home run number 499 looked to finally get number 500. He was going up against a good team to do it against also. The Yankees were facing the Kansas City Royals, a team that he hit his 1st ever home run against.

Rodriguez came up with 2 men on in the 1st inning and didn't waste any time. He swung at the 1st pitch he saw and blasted to left field. Rodriguez just stood their in silence, looking at the ball to see if it was fair or not, as were all of the other players on the diamond and in both dugouts. When it finally went into the stands, Rodriguez trotted around the bases in excitement, giving high 5's to anyone he saw in pinstripes. When he touched home plate, his teammates mobbed him at the plate. When he took a curtain call, the Yankee crowd gave him the biggest cheer A-Rod had ever heard in a Yankee uniform.

Rodriguez is the is now the 3rd Yankee to hit 500 home runs, joining Mickey Mantle and Babe Ruth. "It takes a lot in New York. I've conceded the fact that you can't worry yourself to hit a home run," noted Rodriguez. "I tried hard for five days, and you wish you can shake every fan's hand and thank them, but it's great to hit the home run at home and do it in a winning situation. I think I got a good pitch and gave it a ride. It was a good swing."

"It means the world. I didn't realize that until a week ago that Mantle was the last one to do it at home," added the young slugger. "To wear this uniform and do it here, that is so special. I've had some good times and had some tough times, and a day like today brings it full-circle, and maybe there's a happy ending for me somewhere."

A-Rod is now the youngest player in MLB history to get to 500 home runs. Before today, Jimmie Foxx was the youngest player to hit 500 homers at 32 years and 338 days. A-Rod is only 32 years and 8 days old. Other notables on the list of youngest players to hit 500 is Willie Mays at 34 years and 131 days, Sammy Sosa at 34 years and 143 days and Hank Aaron at 34 years and 160 days. That is some elite company.

It seemed fitting that Rodriguez would hit his 500th on the same day that Bonds hit his 755th. Rodriguez will probably be the all-time home run leader some day, and may be the 1st player to 500 homers.

Next stop for A-Rod is 600, and next stop for Barry is the all-time home run record.

Ti-Cats Get First Win

2007-08-04T07:07:00.000-04:00

Although I haven't done any CFL posts yet, I'm going to start right now with the Hamilton Tiger Cats and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

The Ti-Cats were looking for some redemption after last week, the Bombers ran up the score on Hamilton, going for a last minute field-goal while already leading 36-18. But the Tiger Cats looked their old selves as Milt Stegall scored with just 3:20 minutes gone by. After that though, it was all Hamilton.

On his 25th birthday, Jesse Lumsden ran a 69 yard run for a touchdown to tie it up. The Ti-Cats then scored 14 more points by the beginning of the 3rd quarter to get a 14 point lead. After a touchdown by Winnipeg, Hamilton came right back with a touchdown near the end of the 3rd. After that, all Winnipeg could muster up were field goals. Lumsden had another long run for a touchdown, and Jojuan Armour had a 62 yard fumble return for a touchdown. The final score was 43-22 for Hamilton.

After the game, all of the talk was about the birthday boy. Lumsden, scampered 211 yards on 12 carries and got 2 touchdowns. ''This is the best thing I could have ever asked for,'' Lumsden said as he sat in the dressing room surrounded by reporters and checking his Blackberry. ''We didn't let negative things get us down.

''We climbed back. We finished everything. We did everything we needed to do to win.''

Hamilton will have to play like they did this week against the Edmonton Eskimos next week.

Ducks Decline Offer Sheet for Penner

2007-08-03T06:57:00.000-04:00

Brian Burke and the Anaheim Ducks have decided not to match the Edmonton Oilers' offer sheet to Dustin Penner. The offer sheet was worth over $4 million dollars per year, which seems to much for the Ducks to pay.

This means that the Oilers will owe Anaheim their 1st, 2nd and 3rd round picks next year. Last season, Penner scored 29 goals and added 16 assists for 45 points in 82 games. In the Ducks run to the NHL Stanley Cup, he scored three goals and added five assists for eight points in 21 playoff games.

Earlier in the week, Brian Burke, Anaheim's GM lashed out at Kevin Lowe. "I have no problem with offer sheets, they are part of the CBA," Burke said on a conference call. "I think it's a tool certainly a team is entitled to use. My issue here is this is the second time this year in my opinion Edmonton have offered a grossly inflated salary for a player, and it impacts on all 30 teams and I think it's an act of desperation by a general manager who is fighting to keep his job."

"I have not (called him) and I don't plan on it," Lowe said on a conference call. "I have one responsibility and one responsibility only - and that's to the Edmonton Oilers fans and the Edmonton Oilers ownership.

"I'm not in the business of trying to make friends. Never have, never will be."

Edmonton is now gradually getting back to the level that took them to the Stanley Cup Final 2 years ago. They got Penner, and they also signed Sheldon Souray during the free-agent frenzy. People should be looking out for them next year.

Despite all of the this controversy about "a grossly inflated salary", the Oilers still got their man. He will play a big part next year for the Oilers.

Overrated?

2007-08-02T07:42:00.000-04:00

The latest edition of the NHL players survey has just come in, and it seems that the majority of the players have a grudge going.

The most hated player in the NHL as voted by it's players is Sean Avery by a landslide of 66.4%. He was also voted the most overrated player in the NHL with a much smaller 8.5% vote, just ahead of Bard Richards and Bryan McCabe at 8.0%.

Personally, I believe that Sean Avery is one of the most underrated players in the NHL right now. He is the present-day version of Dave "Tiger" Williams. He is already known for his physical play, but many people overlook his stats. After a few shaky years breaking into the NHL, he turned it up last year getting 18 goals with both the Los Angeles Kings and New York Rangers, a 3 goal improvement on his 15 the year before.

One game against Toronto that I watched, Avery was the most dominant player on the ice. He was getting into the opposing player's heads before the puck even dropped, got in a fight which got the Rangers going, and got 2 goals and an assist!

Just a few days ago, Avery went to salary arbitration with the Rangers and was awarded a 1-year contract worth $1.9 million dollars. Many think this is a lot for Avery, but I believe that the Rangers got lucky. Under $2 million is underpaying a great player like Avery.

Link: http://www.thehockeynews.com/en/news/news.asp?idNews=24100

Big Trades

2007-07-31T16:10:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, some big trades in the MLB and NBA took place.

On the MLB side, many teams were looking to get ready for the post-season, as yesterday was the trade deadline. There were some minor trades, but 1 stuck out from the rest.

Canadian Eric Gagne was traded today to the Boston Red Sox for left-hander Kason Gabbard, Class AAA center fielder David Murphy and Class A outfielder Engel Beltre. Although Gagne has had injury troubles in past years, he is still a great player. The Montreal native is 2-0 with a 2.16 ERA and 16 saves for the Texas Rangers.

On the NBA side, another Boston team upgraded their team as the Boston Celtics traded for dominant big man Kevin Garnett. After months of wondering where he would end up, he is now in a place that can win. Earlier in the year, the Celtics acquired guard Ray Allen from the Seattle Supersonics. With Boston already having Paul Pierce, the Celtics are now instant contenders.

"Kevin Garnett is a great player in our league, with a fierce and competitive spirit, who brings offensive scoring prowess and a defensive presence to our team," said executive director of basketball operations Danny Ainge. "The players we're trading to Minnesota have bright futures in the NBA and we wish them well."

Boston did give up a lot though as heading to Minnesota are forwards Al Jefferson and Ryan Gomes; guards Gerald Green and Sebastian Telfair; center Theo Ratliff and two draft picks. One pick is Boston's 2009 first-round selection and the second is the pick Boston acquired from Minnesota in the Wally Szczerbiak-Ricky Davis trade. The Timberwolves also receive cash considerations in the deal.

"This trade is about improving the Minnesota Timberwolves and improving our team for the future," said Timberwolves vice president of basketball operations Kevin McHale. "The past few seasons our on-court performance has been disappointing to our fans, myself, Glen Taylor and the entire organization. Through this trade, we have obtained very talented, young players with a lot of potential, future flexibility with the salary cap and two future first-round NBA draft picks. This will not be an overnight fix, but it is the big step in renewing our commitment to build an exciting franchise for our fans."

The city of Boston should brace themselves, because this next year is going to be a wild ride.

Braves Land Teixeira From Rangers

2007-07-30T16:44:00.000-04:00

In the 1st big MLB trade of the season, Mark Teixeira, the slugger from Texas was traded to Atlanta today.

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the 27-year old was shipped off to Atlanta with pitcher Ron Mahay and picked up rookie catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia, minor league shortstop Elvis Andrus, pitcher Matt Harrison and a player to be named.

Teixeira has 13 homers and 49 RBI this season, but did miss about a month with injury troubles.

Saltalamacchia is a 22-year-old switch-hitter who can also play first base and was hitting .284 with four home runs and 12 RBI in 141 at-bats for the Braves. Feliz is a 19-year-old left-hander who is 2-0 with a 2.05 ERA in seven games, including six starts, for the Braves' Rookie League team in Danville (Va.). Andrus is a shortstop who is hitting .244 with three home runs and 37 RBIs at Class A Myrtle Beach. He has 25 stolen bases.

This trade is probably the 1st of many to come in the next few days.

Who's Left?

2007-07-29T13:15:00.000-04:00

Most of the NHL free-agents have been signed, but there are still some quality players out on the market.

Forwards

Centre- Peter Forsberg. The 34-year old from Sweden had yet another injury riddled season, as lingering foot problems took some of the jump from his game. But Forsberg still managed 55 points with the Flyers and the Preds. He should go for $4-6 million dollars per year with 1-2 years, because of his injury troubles.

Right Wing- Teemu Selanne. Selanne didn't miss a beat in his 17th NHL season scoring 94 points and coming 2nd in the Rocket Richard trophy race. Selanne has expressed little intrest in retiring at the ripe age of 37, and should probably get $4-5 million dollars in a short-term deal.

Left Wing- Nils Ekman. Ekman had a rough season playing only 34 games, but did manage to get 15 points. He has shown over his short flashes of greatness scoring 21 goals for San Jose in the '05-06 season. He should get signed for $2-3 million dollars and 2-3 years.

Defencemen

Danny Markov- Markov had a great year with Detroit playing as a solid 2nd line defenceman for the entire season. He still has some years on him, so maybe 3 years and $2 million for Markov

Andy Sutton- He played a good Atlanta team last and like Markov is a good 2nd line defenceman. He had a bad year in terms of offence, but has shown in the past that he can produce. 2 years and $1.5 million for Sutton.

Goalie

Curtis Joseph - The veteran goalie had another good year with a bad Phoenix team. His age seems to keeping teams away from him. Although he is past his prime, he can still produce, so probably 1 year and $1-2 million dollars for Cujo.

There are many other players that are out on the market that can produce, but those are the best 6.

Roy Signs Long-Term With Buffalo

2007-07-27T16:03:00.001-04:00

Derek Roy of the Buffalo Sabres earned $627,000 last year and was supposed to be an average 3rd-line centre. But he quickly joined Thomas Vanek as the future stars for the Sabres.

Roy had 63 points last year with Buffalo, good for 5th best on the team, which is amazing considering the Sabres had players like Chris Drury and Daniel Briere in their lineup. Today he got rewarded for his hard work with a new 6-year, $24 million dollar contract, which is $4 million per year.

The announcement of this deal came just before Roy was scheduled for salary arbitration in Toronto.

He will be counted on to play a big role next year with the Sabres after the departure of Chris Drury and Daniel Briere. He, Vanek and Maxim Afinogenov will have to be the top forwards for Buffalo next year.

''Derek is a solid young player who will only continue to improve,'' general manager Darcy Regier said in a statement. ''He will play an increased role for our club, and we look forward to having such a quality player in our organization for many years to come.''

Roy should continue to become one of the best players in the NHL.

Oilers Sign Penner To Offer Sheet

2007-07-27T06:57:00.000-04:00

The Edmonton Oilers are back at it tendering another offer sheet to a restricted free-agent.

Edmonton signed Dustin Penner, a group 2 restricted free-agent tendering a five year, $21.25 million offer sheet to Penner. This is the 2nd time this year that the Oilers have gone after a restricted free-agent after failing to pick up Tomas Vanek from the Buffalo Sabres.

The Ducks have 7 days to match the Oilers offer, and if they don't, get a 1st, 2nd and 3rd round pick from the Oilers!

''We're going to wait and see what happens here in the next seven days before we make a comment,'' Penner's agent Gerry Johannson told The Canadian Press.

Penner had 29 goals and 16 assists in his 1st full NHL season last year.

Staal Brothers Arrested

2007-07-25T18:40:00.000-04:00

It seems there is a discipline problem in sports. The MLB, NFL, and NBA all have troubles, but the NHL seemed to be okay. After today, NHL fans can't say that.

2 Staal brothers, Jordan and Eric were arrested after a weekend bachelor party for Eric. It appeared that the brothers and 12 other members were drunk at the Lutsen Resort and Sea Villas, about 90 minutes south of the Thunder Bay, Ontario., hometown of the Staal brothers. After multiple warnings, the group was ordered out of the building. But the problems didn't stop there. ''After leaving the property, the group gathered on Highway 61 and began harassing passing motorists,'' the Sheriff's release said. ''At approximately 4 a.m. the suspects were placed under arrest for disorderly conduct and obstructing the legal process. Some of the suspects fled in to the nearby woods.''

Eric was one of 10 people to spend the night in jail, and Jordan was released a booking but not before being charged with consumption of alcohol while under 21 years of age, in addition to disorderly conduct and obstructing the legal process.

''I'm sure that everyone involved is embarrassed about the incident - as they should be,'' Rick Curran, the agent for both players, told The Canadian Press on Wednesday. ''Not to take anything away from the seriousness of it, it's what can happen when you get any group of 15 to 20 people together and there's loud noise.''

Yet another discipline problem that the sports community has to endure.

"Worst Situation"

2007-07-25T12:42:00.000-04:00

David Stern,the commissioner of the NBA addressed the betting allegations against retired NBA ref Tim Donaghy yesterday. It was the 1st time since the news hit the public that he spoke about the issue, and he looked like a guy who hadn't slept in days.

As I said in my last post about this, Donaghy may have gambled on NBA games he officiated and didn't. It is so serious, that the FBI is investigating the situation! "I feel betrayed by what happened on behalf of the sport, regardless of how protective I've been," Stern said. "This is not something that is anything other than an act of betrayal of what we know in sports as a sacred trust."

"Not only aren't they permitted to either gamble or provide information to people," Stern said, "they may not even provide other than to their immediate family the details of their travel schedules or the games they are going to work."

The FBI contacted Stern shortly after the NBA Finals had ended, June 20th to talk about a ref that might of been gambling on games. Donaghy resigned on July 9th, just 19 days after the FBI contacted the NBA.

"I can tell you that this is the most serious situation and worst situation that I have ever experienced either as a fan of the NBA, a lawyer for the NBA or a commissioner of the NBA," said Stern, who has held the top post for 23 years.

"This is something that is the worst that could happen to a professional sports league," Stern said. "And I want to say on the other hand that we are going to make good on the covenant that we believe we have with our fans, and I pledge that my involvement will be as intense and complete as it can possibly be." Well at least someone is acting responsibly.

Right now, the NBA is just 1 of 3 of the 4 major sports in North America have some controversy surrounding them? The NFL has Micheal Vick and dog fighting. The MLB has steroids and Bud Selig's hesitation to go to Barry Bonds' potential home run record tying or breaking games. And then this situation with the NBA.

What is going on with the sports leagues right now? With all this controversy it is really hard for kids to look up at these athletes and want to be them. Many great athletes have used steroid or gambles or done some sort of illegal action. I say that all these players and officials of these leagues better get their act together, or their PR will be ruined forever.

Lets Go Streaking

2007-07-25T09:46:00.000-04:00

The Toronto Blue Jays have been defined by 2 things this year. Their injuries and the 9-game losing streak in May. For the entire year the Jays have been trying to make up for that 9-game losing streak. And now, the Jays are going on another streak, and this time, it's the good kind.

One of the MLB's best young pitchers in Dustin McGowan took the hill for the Jays yesterday against the Minnesota Twins trying to get the Jays 4th straight win, which would tie a season high for them this season. McGowan was also trying to get the Jays back to the .500 level.

After 2 1/2 scoreless innings, John McDonald drove home Aaron Hill with a safety squeeze to give the Jays the 1-run lead. Next inning, the Hays would score again as Vernon Wells blasted his 1st home run since July 6th into the bullpen to increase the Jays lead by 2.

While the bats were driving in runs, McGowan was silencing the Minnesota bats as he pitched scoreless inning after scoreless inning. Toronto would get some insurance runs in the 7th and 8th, and McGowan would go 7 1/3 innings of shutout ball. The Jays bullpen then did their job to seal a 7-0 blow out win for the Jays.

This was the Jays 3rd shutout win in the last 4 games. The main reason for this are the starters. The 3 starters who pitched in the shutout games each went 7 or more innings. Gregg Zaun was quick to compliment McGowan's performance, as Zaun caught for him yesterday. "I can see his confidence building with every start, good or bid," Zaun said of McGowan, who has won three of his past four starts.

"I think the biggest difference for Dustin is knowing he's going to get the ball every fifth day. He doesn't have to go home and sweat and worry and look over his shoulder and thinking `are (manager John Gibbons) and (general manager) J.P. (Ricciardi) going to give up on me today and ship me back to the bullpen or even worse, to (triple-A) Syracuse. He doesn't have to worry about that right now. We're going to run him out there every fifth day and let him develop and continue to grow as a player and he's sure starting to respond."

Toronto's Jesse Litsch will try to get a sweep for the Jays when he takes the mound for them this afternoon.

Goodell Puts His Foot Down

2007-07-24T10:42:00.000-04:00

In the few months that Roger Goodell has been commissioner of the NFL, he has shown that he is not afraid of making big moves. He already suspended Tennessee Titans cornerback Pacman Jones for the entire 2007-08 NFL season, and he is already taking disciplinary action on Micheal Vick.

The QB from Atlanta has been been indicted for being at multiple dog fights in past years. Dogs would be trained to kill, and if a dog were to lose and survive, would be hung, electrocuted or shot. Vick's 1st court hearing is on the 1st day of Falcons' training camp.

Goodell made the 1st move of disciplinary action yesterday, ordering Vick to not report to training camp. To the Falcon faithful, taking action before Vick has been proven guilty may be a little pre-mature, but Goodell wrote a letter to Micheal Vick clearing that issue up.

"While it is for the criminal justice system to determine your guilt or innocence, it is my responsibility as commissioner of the National Football League to determine whether your conduct, even if not criminal, nonetheless violated league policies, including the Personal Conduct Policy," Goodell wrote in the letter to Vick.

Vick is just 1 of many sports athletes that have chosen illegal activities, than using their sports talents. Some examples of these people are Ricky Williams with marijuana and Pete Rose with gambling.

No matter what happens with this case though, Micheal Vick's good reputation is now forever gone.

Emery Cashes In

2007-07-24T09:30:00.000-04:00

The Ottawa Senators have avoided salary arbitration with Ray Emery by signing him to a last-minute contract today.

According to TSN, Emery has signed for 3 years and $9.5 million dollars, which is $3.16 million per year. This is a big raise from the $925,000 he earned last season.

Emery had a break-out season last year beating out Martin Gerber for the number 1 goalie spot, and leading the Sens to they Stanley Cup Final, where they lost in 5 games to the NHL champs, The Anaheim Ducks.

Emery is now another young star that has signed a new, multi-million dollar contract. Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers signed for $3 million after 2 stellar years in goal. Sidney Crosby also cashed in signing a 5-year, $43.5 million contract extension which is worth about $8.7 million per year.

These young kids are growing up before our eyes, and now, they are getting grown-up money as well.

Final-Round Thrill Ride At Carnoustie

2007-07-23T07:52:00.000-04:00

Sergio Garcia, a person who is notorious in giving up leads on Sunday had a chance to win one of the PGA's biggest tournaments yesterday.

Garcia started the day 3 strokes up on the 2nd place player in the British Open yesterday. He started his round well staying par threw the 1st 6, but then got 2 straight bogeys to go down to 7-. Meanwhile, Padraig Harrington was having a great round getting birdie after birdie and getting closer to the lead. Garcia then got 2 straight birdies on the 13th and 14th to get a big lead. He would then bogey the next hole though. Harrington kept up the pace getting a eagle on 14 and having the lead going into the final hole.

But on the final hole, he hit it into the water twice to double-bogey! This meant that Garcia needed a par to win the Championship. After hitting his fairway shot in the sand, he hit it onto the green to give himself a 12-foot putt for the win. But it just went left, so Garcia and Harrington went to a 4-hole playoff.

Skip to the final hole, Garcia needed a long birdie put for a tie after Harrington got the lead on then 1st hole. Garcia again burned the edge of the hole leaving the door wide open for Harrington to win the Open with a 3-foot putt. He made it becoming the 1st Irishman more than 50 years to win the Open.

After the round, all of the talk was about Sergio blowing it yet again. "To tell you the truth, I don't feel like I did anything wrong," said Garcia, who closed with a 73 and was 1 over in the playoff. "I really didn't miss a shot in the playoff. I hit unbelievable putts. They just didn't go in."

He had a change of heart in the next interview. "I should write a book on how not to miss a shot and not win a playoff."

Harrington also talked about this win and what it meant for him. "I think if I had lost, it would have been hard to take it," Harrington said. "But because I had a chance, I didn't let myself get down about taking a 6. I convinced myself if there was a playoff, I would do the best in it."

He certainly did do the best he could.

The Ultimate NBA Nightmare

2007-07-21T09:04:00.000-04:00

Sports are very strange in a way. Playing sports is the only way you can fight without getting thrown in jail. There are a lot of things that you can do in sports that you can't do outside of the arena. When someone crosses that line, you know that person has done something extremely wrong.

The FBI is investigating that veteran NBA referee Tim Donaghy bet on basketball games over the 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 seasons, including ones in which he officiated. Apparently Donaghy made calls during the game to effect the point spread of the games for him and his "mobster" friends.

Donaghy has a gambling issue in his life, but this is to far. To put into perspective on how devastating this is to the NBA, Scott Soshnick, a Bloomberg sports columnist said, "David Stern would rather have Shaquille O'Neal in the middle of a dog fighting scandal", referring to Micheal Vick. The law enforcement official said the bets involved thousands of dollars and were made on games during the 2005-'06 and 2006-'07 seasons.

''As we previously stated, we have been co-operating with the FBI in their investigation of allegations that a single NBA referee bet on NBA games that he officiated,'' commissioner David Stern said in a statement Friday afternoon.

''We would like to assure our fans that no amount of effort, time or personnel is being spared to assist in this investigation, to bring to justice an individual who has betrayed the most sacred trust in professional sports, and to take the necessary steps to protect against this ever happening again.''

It is safe to say that right now, everyone agrees with David Stern.

Yashin Goes Home

2007-07-20T13:21:00.000-04:00

Russian native Alexei Yashin has signed a 1-year contract with Locomotiv (Yaroslavl) of the Russian League today. After 12 seasons in the NHL where he has underachieved and been hated, he has finally gone to a place where he will be appreciated.

The 33-year old had 50 points in 58 games last year, and looked like he would be a good number 2 centre for any team. He became an unrestricted free agent after the Islanders bought out the remaining four years of his 10-year contract.

"Alexei has a history with Yaroslavl, having played several games for them during the lockout," Todd Diamond, who represents Yashin along with Mark Gandler, told CP on Friday. "He feels comfortable with them, having a North American coach (Paul Gardner) and a former teammate, Randy Robitaille, being there as well next season."

"They came after him very strongly," said Diamond. "He's going to go there and have a great year. . We'll see where we are 10 months from now.

It seems that Alexei Yashin's NHL career may be over, and many people will remember him, for all of the wrong reasons.

Bonds Hits 2 Out To Break Slump

2007-07-20T08:35:00.000-04:00

For the 1st time in the last 3 games, Barry Bonds was in the San Francisco Giants starting lineup yesterday. He did not disappoint breaking out of the slump that got him sidelined in the 1st place.

In the 2nd inning against Cub's starter Ted Lilly, Bonds swung at the 1st pitch he saw and pounded it out of the part for his 752nd home run of his career. In his 2nd at-bat, he drove in 2 runs with a bases loaded single. And then, in his 3rd at-bat, Barry came up with 2 men on. He whacked to centre field for his 753rd home run. But Bonds' 2 homer, 6 RBI effort was not enough for the Giants to win as the Cubs took this one 9-8.

"It's (feels) real now," Bonds said, swarmed by media in a makeshift dugout press conference at Wrigley Field. "I had to get over them switching those baseballs. Any time that happens, I kind of go into a slide. It's tough because you actually really realize something's going on and you don't really want to think about it. . But when they stop it for a second and switch baseballs, it's very hard to not know something's happening right in front of you."

Bonds next 3 games will be in Milwaukee, a perfect place to hit 756. Hank Aaron's last games where at Milwaukee, and Commissioner Bud Selig is a Milwaukee native. Selig still has not said he will try to attend the game when Barry breaks the MLB all-time home run record.

Accardo Blows It in 9th

2007-07-18T09:21:00.000-04:00

Yankees Stadium can be overwhelming for some. With all the it's history and the great fans, it tough to concentrate. Jeremy Accardo found that out last night the hard way.

After both teams scored runs in the 1st, it turned into a pitching duel between Roy Halladay and Andy Pettitte. The 2 pitchers both threw 6 scoreless innings after the shaky 1st, but then they each got pulled. So in the top of the 8th, Kyle Farnsworth came in for the Yanks.

He struggled giving up a single to Howie Clark, and then later letting him get to 2nd. Aaron Hill then drove him in to give the Jays the lead going into the final innings of the game. Scott Downs shut out the Yankees in the 8th, and Brian Bruney did the same to the Jays in the top of 9th.

So it was up to Jeremy Accardo to get the save and the win for the Jays. Miguel Cairo got to 2nd as a pinch-runner for Andy Phillips, but was thrown out by Alex Rios when he went home after a Melky Cabrera single. But the Jays weren't out of it yet, as on the at-bat, Cabrera went all the way to 3rd off a steal. Then the unthinkable happened. The craziest thing that could happen in the MLB happened. Accardo balked in the tying run! He stepped off the mound during his windup, and balked. But he then got the 2nd and 3rd out to send it to extras.

In the bottom of the 10th inning, Casey Janssen gave up a hit to the gap to Robinson Cano with a runner on 2nd. This ended up with the Yankees winning 3-2.

After the game, all of the talk was about Accardo's balk. ''I caught a cleat and was going to step off. Dumbest thing I've ever done,'' Accardo said. ''I kind of let things get out of hand. I gave up the leadoff single and I started pressing. ''It's a mental mistake. You can't get beat by those. If you're going to get beat, get beat by the hitter,'' he added.

''I've seen some crazy stuff. I can't remember seeing that,'' Halladay said. ''It can be a tough place to play, and things like that happen from time to time.''

The Yankees have turned it on the past few games, and are looking like they might give the Red Sox a run for their money. ''We just seem to be playing with something in mind right now,'' manager Joe Torre said. ''I think we're at a point now, because good things have happened when we've come after people, that when we lose a game like this it's going to be a surprise.''

Lost in the excitment of the end of the game was the pitching performances. Both Andy Pettitte and Roy Halladay put together amazing 7 inning starts giving up just a run each. Halladay gave up one run and five hits. He struck out six and walked three.

''It's nice to win a close game, that's for sure,'' Pettitte said. ''I knew it was going to be a tough game. Roy was throwing as good as I've ever seen him.''

Pettitte fanned a season-best seven over seven innings, allowing seven hits and three walks. It was the left-hander's sixth no-decision when allowing no more than two earned runs. 'To me, Andy made it all possible, because the only way you're going to have a chance against Halladay is to match him and he certainly did that,'' Torre said.

The Jays will try to win the next 2 games of this series to salvage a split.

Sens Send Schaefer to Bruins

2007-07-17T14:34:00.000-04:00

Peter Schaefer is now a Boston Bruin. Today the Ottawa Senators traded the 3-year old forward from Yellow Grass, Saskatchewan to the Bruins for former Calgary forward Shean Donovan. The move was made to clear up some cap room for some up-coming moves that must be made.

These moves are re-signing players for next year. Some of these players include starting goaltender Ray Emery, centre Chris Kelly and defenceman Christoph Schubert - all of whom are scheduled for salary arbitration. But the team also has three key players to try and re-sign after the 2007-08 season - winger Dany Heatley, centre Jason Spezza and veteran defenceman Wade Redden.

All these players are very valuable to the Senators, who haven't made any big free-agent signings in case these players to leave next year.

If the Sens can't sign the majority of these players, they may go from one of the NHL's top teams, to a bottom-feeder.

Penguins Ink Therrien

2007-07-17T08:10:00.000-04:00

The NHL team with the brightest future has just inked a big part of the next few years to come.

Head Coach Michel Therrien has signed a contract extension through the '08-09 season. Therrien led the Penguins to the Atlantic Division title with 105 points last year and their 1st playoff berth since 2001 last year.

The Penguins GM Ray Shero announced the extension on Monday. “He had a year left, so he wasn’t going anywhere, nor did he want to go anywhere, but I really believe that showing faith in your coaching staff and head coach, especially after the year he had, gives some stability to the franchise, which is important. I think this is just another step in the right direction for us,” Shero said. “What I talked to him about was, if I came in last year and there wasn’t a coach in place and I had hired somebody, I would have hired him for three years. A three-year contract is pretty standard and he has two years left, so he was very agreeable to that. I am hopeful this is something that is going to turn into something more long-term. We’ll see how things go moving forward. It’s well deserved."

Therrien will try to improve on last years 1st round elimination, with young players like Sidney Crosby and Jordan Stall getting better.

Lights Out Litsch

2007-07-16T08:14:00.000-04:00

With the Toronto Blue Jays finally healthy, they faced the Boston Red Sox yesterday in the last of 4 games in that series. With 35km/h winds going, it was a pitching duel out of all things.

The Jays drew 1st blood in this game, as Aaron Hill and Royce Clayton both drove in a run to give the Jays a 2-0 lead. Then after 3 scoreless innings, the Sox got a unearned run off Litsch. Alex Rios made an error in the outfield that let the eventual run get on base. The inning could of gone much worse, but Rios made up for his mistake by throwing David Ortiz out at home plate.

From then on it was a pitching duel. The Jays relievers did the job against the Sox big hitters and didn't give up another run. The Sox pitchers were also lights out, so the final score was 2-1.

This is the type of game that the Jays need more of. Games they shouldn't of won, but they win anyway. Those are the type of wins that good teams have. "That's the way the game works," Toronto manager John Gibbons said. "You go out there and look at the way the flag was blowing today, you never would've expected it to be 2-1. He was great."

The wind also played a big part in the game. The outfield seemed to have the biggest trouble. With the Blue Jays leading, 2-0, in the sixth, Red Sox second baseman Alex Cora drilled an offering from Litsch (2-3) into center field. Wells turned and sprinted after the ball, but his jump was delayed just enough to allow it to fall over his outstretched glove for a leadoff double.

"The weird thing was, Coco Crisp hit me a ball the inning before the same height as Cora's," said Wells, referring to an inning-ending catch he made in the fifth. "Cora's took off and Coco's stayed there. It's good to get out of here. It was totally unpredictable."

Another incident was when Alex Rios seemed to be tracking the ball, but then had to dive for it and ended up losing it. "We were both going that way and I took a look at him," Wells explained. "I saw him kind of go up with his glove. So, I was like, 'OK, he has it.' I went to back him up, and all of a sudden he's diving for it. It's one of those things. In this park, you never know what's going to happen."

The Jays will now play the Yankees today. Toronto will try to cut down Boston's lead in the division, which is the greatest on a 2nd place team in the MLB.

Remembering John Ferguson Sr.

2007-07-15T07:31:00.000-04:00

John Ferguson Sr., one of the 1st real enforcers in the NHL died yesterday in his home in Windsor, Ontario.

The 68 year-old defended all of the great Canadiens of the 1960's. He got in his 1st fight just 12 seconds into his 1st game in the NHL! ''He was tough, he wanted the best for his teams, his teammates and his players, and his country, and would stop at nothing to try to help them win. His fight against cancer was every bit as fierce as his competitive drive on and off the ice.''

But he was more than just an enforcer. He scored 20 goals 2 times in his career. He scored 145 goals and 303 points in his career while tailing up 1,214 penalty minutes. He won 5 Stanley Cups in his playing career.

After retiring from playing hockey in 1971, Ferguson pursued his coaching career. It didn't take him long to get a job, as he was an assistant coach on the famous 1972 Canada team. He then spent a short time as the head coach of the New York Rangers, and then became the GM of that same Rangers team. He later was GM of the Winnipeg Jets of the World Hockey Association and, starting in 1979, the National Hockey League. Later, he worked for the Ottawa Senators in the early 1990s and was a Special Consultant to the General Manager of the San Jose Sharks.

His son, John Ferguson Jr. followed in his dad's footsteps becoming the GM of the Toronto Maple Leafs. ''My father battled cancer with the same spirit in which he played the game of hockey,'' Ferguson Jr., said in a release. ''He showed courage, strength, class and tremendous character. He had deep appreciation for the support he'd received from so many people beginning with his initial diagnosis."

A beast on the ice, but nothing short of a gentleman off it, Ferguson died at 68. A 2nd battle with prostate cancer took his life.

John Ferguson Sr. (1938-2007) ''My father's spirit will continue to live on in all of us whose lives he touched.'' - Ferguson Jr.

What Can You Do?

2007-07-14T18:49:00.000-04:00

It's seems things can't get any worse for the Montreal Canadiens . After missing the playoffs for the 1st time in 2 years, the Habs looked to get better offensively and get a substitute for Sheldon Souray during the NHL free-agent signing period. But that plan is very quickly falling a part for Bob Gainey and the Montreal Canadiens.

After the 1st day of July was done (which was the 1st day of free-agency), almost all of the big names in the free-agent market were gone. Daniel Briere signed an 8-year, $52 million with Philadelphia, Chris Drury and Scott Gomez both signed on with the Rangers, Ryan Smyth went to the Avalanche and Jason Blake signed on with Toronto. Other notable signings include Paul Kariya going to the Blues and Brian Rafalski to the Red Wings.

But where you might ask are the Canadiens in this signing frenzy? Your 1st reaction might be that they didn't try for anyone, or at least didn't make a very good try at anyone. But this is where we get to the problem. The Canadiens did try for some of players, and they made good offers as well. So good, that they offered more money to Ryan Smyth, Paul Kariya and Quebec boy Daniel Briere than they signed for.

These players all signed lucrative contracts, and to think that the Habs offered more money is mind boggling. So what is the Habs answer to this problem, that players don't want to play in Montreal? Well, to the dismay of Habs fans everywhere, there isn't one. The Canadiens can't help it, if players don't want to learn french. The Canadiens can't help it, if free-agents sign for less money, than what they offered.

So the Habs plan to upgrade their offense is gone, but what about their defence? Well the Habs where so caught up in trying to sign offence, they missed out on all of the big defence men. Rafalski as I already told you went to Detroit, Matthieu Schneider went to the Ducks and Scott Hannan signed with Colorado. So the Canadiens solution to Sheldon Souray's is..., Roman Hamrlik? Yes the defence man who was supposed to be the best thing since sliced bread, and then never developed signed with the Habs for 4 years and $22 million! It was quite evident to the world that they Habs signed him for to much, but what happened next was a shocking blow too Montreal.

Sheldon Souray, who was supposed to sign for $6-7 million in either the free-agent market or in a contract extension with the Habs ended up going to Edmonton for 5 years and $27 million! Do the math and Hamrlik, a liability offensively and not much better on defence will make $100,000 more than Souray!

Now, Montreal couldn't of seen the massive under payment of Souray coming. But really, the Habs free-agent troubles are getting embarrassing.

Alert!!!!!

2007-06-29T13:51:00.000-04:00

This is an announcement that I will be away for a while on vacation. I will not be able to post from where I am going, so this will be my last post for 2 weeks unless I can find a computer in the Great White North.- Happy Summer Holidays - Young Gun

NHL Hall of Fame Inductees

2007-06-29T13:42:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, the NHL Hall of Fame announced the inductees for this year. There were lots of worthy players to choose from, but only 4 could go in.

With more than 10 great players to choose from, the Hall of Fame committee chose Mark Messier, Ron Francis, Al MacInnis and Scott Stevens as this years inductees.

Each player had an amazing career. Messier captained the Rangers to a cup and is 2nd an the all-time points list. Francis was one of the most consistent players ever scoring 20 or more goals in most of his seasons. MacInnis was a great defenceman and had one of the hardest shots in NHL history, and Stevens was the best hitter of his time.

"I have a lot of respect for all the guys who were inducted this year," Messier said after the announcement Thursday. "I think their stats and what they've done speak for themselves."

It is the Hall's first four-player haul since 2001 when Mike Gartner, Jari Kurri, Slava Fetisov and Dale Hawerchuk also pushed the selection to the four-player maximum

"There was a number of players eligible this year beyond the number that we could put in," said former Toronto head coach Pat Quinn, a member of the 18-person selection committee. "The deliberations were strong."

That they were.

NBA Draft

2007-06-29T07:53:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, the Portland Trailblazers had the 1st pick in the NBA Draft. They had a choice between Kevin Durant and Greg Oden.

As the time for the number 1 pick arrived, there were lots of question marks about who was going to be picked. But the Trailblazers eventually went for the big man from Ohio State, Greg Oden. "I was on the phone with the radio station back in Portland," Oden said. "They said they stomped the floor like they won the NBA championship once they called my name."

They did that with good reason to, as Oden will be one of the better big men in the league for years to come. He hopes to make Portland a winning team. "They did have a bad (reputation), but I think Brandon and LaMarcus kind of turned that around," Oden said. "I hope that I can come and just push that along some more."

With the 2nd pick, it came as no surprise to everyone in the building that the Seattle Supersonics picked Kevin Durant number 2. But moments after Durant was picked saw Ray Allen being traded away to Boston. Durant was not so sure that he could single-handedly make the Sonics win with Allen gone. He says he is not a savior. "Not at all, not at all," Durant said. "When you play since you were 8 or 9 years old, you know the game is not a one-man sport. I'm far from being a saviour."

Some trades on draft day included the one with Ray Allen, Portland trading Zach Randolf and others to New York for Steve Francis and Channing Frye, and the only other trade involving an NBA player came when Golden State sent Jason Richardson and the rights to Jermareo Davidson, the No. 36 pick, to Charlotte for Brandan Wright, taken at No. 8 by the Bobcats.

Other picks were:

Number 3: Al Hortford
Number 4: Mike Conley Jr.
Number 5: Jeff Green
Number 6: Yi Jianlian
Number 7: Corey Brewer
Number 8: Brandon Wright
Number 9: Joakim Noah
Number 10: Spencer Hawes
Number 11: Acie Law IV
Number 12: Thaddeus Young
Number 13: Julian Wright
Number 14: Al Thorton
Number 15: Rodney Stuckey
Number 16: Nuck Young
Number 17: Sean Williams
Number 18: Marco Belinelli
Number 19: Javaris Crittenton
Number 20: Jason Smith
Number 21: Daequan Cook
Number 22: Jared Dudley
Number 23: Wilson Chandler
Number 24: Rudy Fernandez
Number 25: Morris Almond
Number 26: Aaron Brooks
Number 27: Arron Afflalo
Number 28: Tiago Splitter
Number 29: Alando Tucker
Number 30: Petteri Koponen

The Big Hurt Hits Big Number 500

2007-06-28T15:55:00.000-04:00

Today, the Toronto Blue Jays were facing the Minnesota Twins in the last game of a 4-game set. Although it was just 1 game in a 162 game season, it was certainly very special.

Frank Thomas, who has been one of the best hitters in the MLB for the past decade and some had 499 home runs going into today. It didn't take long for him to get 500. The 1st inning started out with with 2 men getting on with 1 out. Then, Thomas stepped up to the plate and blasted a ball to left field. As he did for his last 499 homers, he went around the infield with his head down, thinking about what he had just done.

The rest of the game did not go so well as the Twins clawed their way back into the game and really opened it up with a 4-run inning in the 5th. The final score was 8-5.

After the game, not only Thomas was happy, but the fan who caught the ball. "I lost it in the roof as it was coming down," Eisenlohr said. He said he traded the souvenir ball for an autographed ball, bat and jersey.

Eisenlohr was one of many fans who gave Thomas a standing ovation in Minnesota today. Thomas now becomes only the 21st player in MLB history to hit 500 home runs. Now, he has a new goal. Yo move up the all-time home run list. He is only 13 homers away from being 16th on the all-time list.

Congrats on Number 500 Frank Thomas

Back With the Blues

2007-06-26T17:28:00.000-04:00

The St. Louis Blues are officially in a re-building stage. They have been one of the worst teams in the NHL for the past 2 years, and have virtually no good players in their lineup. But they took a step toward the right direction yesterday.

The Blues traded for the rights to Keith Tkachuk and a conditional fourth round draft pick in 2008, which could become a third round choice in 2009, in exchange for a conditional first round draft choice in 2008 on Tuesday.

Tkachuk was traded to the Thrashers from the Blues last year at the trade deadline. Before that trade he was a long-time Blue. Keith has played a major part for the Blues organization over the past seven seasons and played some of his finest hockey under head coach Andy Murray," said Blues president John Davidson.

St. Louis does not have a contract with Tkachuk yet, and will try to get one in these last few days before free agency starts. But Tkachuk is a good power forward, and will probably try to test the free agent market for more money then the Blues offer.

Stairs Leads Jays To Victory

2007-06-26T07:07:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, Matt Stairs contributed greatly to the Toronto Blue Jays game against the Minnesota Twins.

After Roy Halladay gave up a run in the 2nd, the Jays scored 3 runs in the 3rd off homers from Rios and Wells. After a bunch of 2 run innings by each club, the game was tied at 5 going into the 8th. In the inning, Matt Stairs launched a homer to right field to give the Jays a 2-run lead. They added one more in the inning. Minnesota wouldn't come back from that as the Jays took this one 8-5.

The Jays offence is finally looking up, as they have the most home runs in the American League since May 18th. Vernon Wells is finally getting hot as he homered for the 3rd time in 4 games. Matt Stairs also contributed with the eventual game winning home run, and has been very consistent.

"When I signed here, I expected to maybe get 200 at-bats. You hate playing due to injuries. Trust me, I'd love to see Overbay and Reed Johnson playing out there everyday," Stairs said. "But it's nice to have a veteran who's been around, and I've been in that situation for the last three years with Kansas City and guys getting injured."

Roy Halladay struggled in his start against the Twins, but still picked up the win.

"Sometimes, during the game, it's frustrating and it's tough, but those are always the more satisfying games after the fact. It's a grind, you kept yourself in it," Halladay said. "To me that's satisfying to be able to get a win with all that stuff going on. It's a good feeling. Sometimes, those tougher ones are more gratifying."

The Jays will try to make the win streak 5 today. They will try to keep the momentum going, as they are one of the hottest teams in the MLB

Dazzling Dustin

2007-06-24T20:04:00.000-04:00

The most difficult thing to do in baseball is a no-hitter. It takes extreme skill, and a whole lot of luck. Today, there was a lot of talent on the mound, and a lot of luck.

Dustin McGowan was 3-3 going into today and looked to get a win and a sweep for the Jays. After 2 shutout innings by both teams, the Jays scored 4 runs through the 3rd and 4th. One of those runs was of Frank Thomas, who homered for the 2nd straight game. The homer was Thomas' 499th of his career.

For the rest of the game, McGowan shut down the Rockies for almost all the game. He had a no-no going into the 9th. But the 1st hitter of the 9th singled up the middle to stop the no-hitter. McGowan had to settle for his 1st complete game of his career and a 1-hitter.

It was a night of almost's. Frank Thomas almost had number 500, and McGowan almost had a no-no. "That would have been priceless, 500 and a no-no," McGowan said.

The excitement of the no-hitter still makes the game a tiny disappointment. ''It's disappointing but you have to give (Baker) credit, he put a good swing on the ball,'' said McGowan, who admitted to being both nervous and excited on the mound. ''I was trying to keep my composure and not try to overthrow the ball. Just do what I was doing the whole game.''

Even tough it was almost a no-no, it was still a great pitching performance. "That was the best pitched game I've seen in a long time." -- Rockies manager Clint Hurdl

Thomas, Stairs Lead Jays Past Rockies

2007-06-24T09:02:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, the Jays were looking to get a win against the Colorado Rockies.

It did not take long for the excitement to begin. In the bottom of the 1st, Matt Stairs homered to left field to give the Jays the lead. Then, with a man on, Frank Thomas hit his 498th home run of his career to give the Jays a 3 run lead. But the next 3 innings saw Colorado score 1 run each inning, which meant it was a tie game.

Skip to the bottom of the 6th when the game was tied at 6, the Jays got something going. They scored 2 runs in the 6th, 1 in the 7th and 2 in the 9th. The Rockies however did nothing, so the Jays took this one 11-6.

It was a good day to be 39 at the ball park today, as Matt Stairs and Frank Thomas had amazing days. Stairs tied a career high with 4 hits, and Thomas was perfect on the day going 4-4.

The Jays' bats are finally starting to heat up. They have 32 hits and 20 runs in just 2 games against the Rockies, and are averaging 9 runs over their last 4 games. "You look at the last two or three days and we've really been swinging the bats," Gibbons said. "That's been big. It gives you a little breathing room. That doesn't make it easy, but that's good to see. We've got to have that, but it's not going to be like that every night. It's good to see some guys get on a little roll."

A great sign for the Jays in this game was Thomas. He had a slow start with Oakland last year, and this was about the time when he started heating up. Matt Stairs has also been a good sign, as he has been the Jays most consistent hitter throughout the season so far. "It's good to have that type of guy sitting around on your bench who can swing like that," Thomas said. "Matt, the last couple years, hasn't been getting that many opportunities. The way we've been swinging the bats all year, he's found his way into he lineup and he's stayed. He's a dangerous hitter."

"I don't know where we'd be without him," Toronto manager John Gibbons said about Stairs. "[He's] been unbelievable this year. And you see Frank is starting to get going. A lot of things are going to happen when he's swinging the bat."

Top 6 NHL Free Agents

2007-06-23T12:28:00.001-04:00

Right now, all of the NHL's teams have lots of spots because of players lost to free agency. Even with all of the signings that are going to happen in the next few days, there will probably be over a hundred players going into the free agent market. But I narrow them down to the top 6. 3 forwards, 2 defenceman and 1 goalie.

Forwards

(LW) Ryan Smyth - After many years as an Oiler in the city of champions, Smyth finally had an all-star year. But at the trade deadline, he was dealt to the New York Islanders to help them get to the playoffs. He did help them as they took the 8th seed in the Eastern Conference. He finished the season with 36 goals and 68 points. Now, without a contract, Smyth is one of the top forwards on the free agent market and will probably be signed to a contract worth $6-7 million. But the Islanders may be able to re-sign him, so if he is your key free agent that you want to sign, maybe start talking with him now.

(RW) Keith Tkachuk - Tkachuk spent most of last year playing with the St. Louis Blues . But at the trade deadline, he was shipped off to the Atlanta Thrashers to help with a playoff run. Although the Thrashers went out pretty early, he contributed great as he was a scoring threat and a physical presence. He scored 27 goals and 58 points in the regular season. Tkachuk is getting older though,s so I predict he will go for $3-5 million with a short-term contract. The Thrashers have not publicly expressed that they want to re-sign Tkachuk, so put him on your wish-list.

(C) Daniel Briere - Briere is one of the best players of the new NHL. He spent the entire '06-07 season with Buffalo, going deep into the playoffs. They went to the Eastern Conference Finals, but were then knocked out by the Senators. He scored 32 goals and a whopping 95 points and is by far the best centre in the free agent market. The Sabres though may want to re-sign either him, or Chris Drury. Buffalo only has room for 1 of those players. If Briere does go out into free agency, he will be getting $6-7 million with a long-term contract.

Defencemen

Sheldon Souray - The skilled defenceman from the Montreal Canadeins had a huge year last season. He added some spark to the Canadiens (who missed the playoffs for the 1st time in a while last year) on the powerplay. He became the Bryan McCabe of the '06-07 season. He was 2nd on the Canadiens in goals with 26 and was 2nd on the team in points. Montreal has not expressed publicly that they want to sign him, so he will probably be on the market. He will go for $5-7 million with a short-term contract.

Roman Hamrlik - After being signed to a big contract with Calgary 2 years ago, Hamrlik played averagely this year. He had 7 goals and 38 points, but can play better. The Flames just got Arian Aucoin in a trade, so they have no need for Hamrlik. He will probably try to get back on his game with a short-term contract worth $ 1-3 million.

Goalie

Curtis Joesph - Cujo may be a little passed his prime, but he is still a solid goalie. Playing for a bad team last year, he had a GAA (Goals Against Average) of 3.19. He is the perfect goalie for any team looking for a short-term commitment with a goalie. He will probably go for a short contract because of his age and be paid around $2-3 million.

Those are my top 6 free agents.

Draft Day Trades

2007-06-23T09:11:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was draft day in the NHL, and while many teams were looking at what players to draft, some were focusing on their team right now.

Before the Draft even started, there were some draft day trades. First, the Toronto Maple Leafs acquired Mark Bell and Vesa Toskala from the San Jose Sharks in exchange for a conditional first round pick, a second-round pick in 2007 and a 2009 fourth-round pick.

This will force Andrew Raycroft to play better in the pre-season, because Toskala has an equal chance of being the starting goalie. Toskala seems very excited to be a Leaf. "I think every player in the world wants to play in Canada at one point in their careers," Toskala told CP. "The fans, the media, people live for hockey in that country, especially in Toronto. I'm actually very very excited to take on that challenge." Mark Bell is also a young talent, that was a 20 goal scorer with Chicago, but had an off year with the Sharks last year.

Another trade happened that included a goalie. Tomas Vokoun of the Nashville Predators was traded to the Florida Panthers for a first-round pick and two second-round picks. Vokoun will really help an up-and coming team that missed the playoffs last year by less than 7 points. "We saw Chris Mason emerge as a No. 1 goaltender in 2006-07 and with full confidence in Chris and Pekka Rinne, we felt as if we could make this move," said Predators general manager David Poile. "Mason won 24 games for us this past season, starting 21 in a row at one point, and finished with the second-highest save percentage in the NHL.

For coverage on the actual Draft, look to the post below

NHL Draft

2007-06-23T06:37:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, the NHL Draft took place in Columbus. There were some surprises, and there were some trades.

In the Draft, the number 1 pick was held by Chicago. With many young players to choose from, they choose Patrick Kane #1 overall. Dale Tallon, Chicago's General Manager is optimistic that Kane can make the lineup i September. "We're going to be a young team so he'll get every opportunity to play," Tallon said. "He'll have 10 games before we make a decision so we're going to give him a good chance."

With the Number 2 pick, the Philadelphia Flyers bypassed Kyle Turris and went for a much tougher player in James van Riemsdyk. The Flyers GM wanted to get back to the basics, which for Philadelphia, is big and strong.

Number 3 was the Phoenix Coyotes pick, and they took, without hesitation, Kyle Turris. "I saw Wayne Gretzky stand up and bring a jersey up to the podium and I was just hoping and praying," he said. "It was pretty cool."

Los Angeles was next and took Thomas Hickey, a defenceman, even though Karl Alzner was the top rated defenceman in the draft. "I was sort of dozing off thinking of later picks and I sort of heard my name and thought it was maybe a mistake and maybe I just heard it wrong," he said. "I got a few nudges in my side and it still really hasn't sunk in yet."

Rounding out the top 5 were the Capitals, who picked Alzner. He will be a great addition to the Caps, who don't have any defencemen I can name.

Sam Gagner went next for the Edmonton Oilers. "I'm happy to be picked but I realize this is just the beginning, there's a long way to go," said Gagner. "There's a lot of work to be done."

A player that got picked later in the draft than expected was Angelo Esposito, who instead of being picked by Montreal as many expected, was taken 20th overall by the Penguins. The Montreal boy was passed by the Canadiens with pick 12, and went all the way down to number 20.

Other picks were:

Number 7 - Jakob Voracek
Number 8 - Zach Hamill
Number 9 - Logan Couture
Number 10 - Keaton Ellerby
Number 11 - Brandon Sutter
Number 12 - Ryan Mcdonagh
Number 13 - Lars Eller
Number 14 - Kevin Shattenkirk
Number 15 - Alex Plante
Number 16 - Colton Gillies
Number 17 - Alexei Cherepanov
Number 18 - Ian Cole
Number 19 - Logan Macmillan
Number 20 - Angelo Esposito
Number 21 - Riley Nash
Number 22 - Max Pacioretty
Number 23 - Jonathon Blum
Number 24 - Mikeal Backlund
Number 25 - Patrick White
Number 26 - David Perron
Number 27 - Brendan Smith
Number 28 - Nicholas Petrecki
Number 29 - James O'Brien
Number 30 - Nick Ross

Giguere Re-Signs With Ducks

2007-06-21T17:06:00.000-04:00

After another great NHL playoffs, in which he led the Anaheim Ducks to a Stanley Cup, J.S Giguere is now getting rewarded.

Today, the Ducks announced that Giguere has been signed to a four year, $24 million contract extension. This comes on the eve of July, when teams can sign free agents, and all contract negotiations are finished.

"J.S. Giguere has been an instrumental part of this franchise for the last six years," said Ducks Executive Vice President/General Manager Brian Burke said in a statement. "We view him as one of the top goaltenders in the NHL today, one with tremendous character and competitive fire, traits we value greatly in this organization."

Giguere found a groove in the playoffs last year playing like he did in 2003, when he won the Conn Smythe Trophy, despite being on the losing end of the Finals.

"I'm very excited to be staying with the Ducks," said Giguere in a statement. "Orange County has been a great place for my family over the last six years, and we are grateful to the entire organization for the opportunity to stay here."

Giguere will now lead the Ducks into next season, and try to repeat as Cup Champions.

Julien Hired as Bruins Coach

2007-06-21T15:16:00.000-04:00

Last week, the Boston Bruins fired head coach Dave Lewis after just 1 year. They have now filled that spot.

Claude Julien, who was fired late in the season last year by the Devils, is now the new Bruins head coach. He is the 3rd Bruins coach in less than a year. 'He demands execution,'' Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli said. ''He demands that his players do what he wants.''

Julien will try to improve a Bruins team that was last in their division last year with a record of 35-41-6. The Bruins haven't been to the playoffs in 2 years and hasn't won a playoff series since 1999.

It will be a tough test for Julien, but he might be able to do it. ''You want to be gritty in all areas,'' he said.

Slammin' Sammy Gets 600

2007-06-21T06:53:00.000-04:00

Willie Mays, Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron and Barry Bonds. All of these players have one thing in common. They have 600 home runs. Yesterday, Sammy Sosa looked to become a member of the 600 club.

Playing just his 2nd game against his former team the Cubs, Sammy had a 1-2 count. He then whacked a ball away to right field. It went out for his 600th homer of his career. "It was something that cannot be explained," Sosa said. "Getting my 600th against the Chicago Cubs, and my first team (was) the Texas Rangers. It's liked everything clicked. My emotions, I don't know what they are."

Sosa hit 545 home runs with the Cubs, and hit his 600th against them. Sosa played 12 years with the Cubs and won the '98 NL MVP. No. 600 came off Jason Marquis, the 364th pitcher the 38-year-old Sosa has homered off in his 18 major league seasons.

Lou Piniella expressed his thoughts about Sosa hitting his 600th homer against his team. "Sammy's had a great career," Piniella said before the series began. "It's maybe apropos that here the Cubbies are in town. . He was an icon in Chicago for a long time, was loved."

Congratulations Sammy Sosa - Number 600!

NBA Trade Rumors

2007-06-20T20:03:00.001-04:00

Right now, the NBA is looking for a spark. It just had the NBA Finals, which received the lowest T.V ratings ever for the Finals. It refuses to re-seed in the playoffs, which led to the best series of the playoffs going in the Western Conference Semi-Finals between the Spurs and Suns. But finally, there might be some excitement on the way.

2 of the NBA's top players might be traded before the start of the '07-08 season. One of them is Kobe Bryant.

After changing his mind on whether he wanted out of Los Angeles, he has finally come to the conclusion that he does want to be traded. And he wants to go the the East (no surprise that the East is the worst Conference). After asking for Shaq to go, he now suddenly wants out for a better team, in a Conference that he has a better chance of winning in.

Bryant does have a case though. He is the best individual player in the league, but is playing with a bunch of nobody's. Trade offers for Shawn Marion and Jason Kidd have been unsuccessful, and the Lakers don't want to give up Lamar Odom, Andrew Bynum and a first-round pick in the same trade for Indiana's Jermaine O'Neal because they see it as a lateral move that doesn't automatically shoot them up the ladder in the West. The Lakers better do something before the start of the season, because knowing Kobe's personality, he will either refuse to play or not play good.... in which case he won't play.

The other player that is apparently on the trade market is Kevin Garnett. One of the original players to come out of high school had oneof his best season's last year in terms of statistics. But the Minnesota Timberwolves could not help him out, as they went 32-49 last year and missed the playoffs for the 3rd straight year.

Phoenix and Boston are the teams currently interested is Garnett right now. But knowing that Steve Nash and Garnett have become good pals over the years after playing in several All-Star Games together, it's safe to say he'd much prefer the desert.

No matter what happens with these players though, these trade rumors will provide a much needed spark to the NBA's reputation.

Neidermayer Ponders Retirement

2007-06-19T15:16:00.000-04:00

Until today, everything was looking good for the future of the Anaheim Ducks. They had solid young players in Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perrey, a good goalie in either Iyla Bryzgalov or J.S Giguere, and solid veterans in Chris Pronger and Scott Neidermayer. But one of those veterans may not be coming back.

After winning his 1st Stanley Cup as a captain this year with the Ducks, all-star defenceman Scott Neidermayer is now contemplating retirement. This morning, he informed his GM of his the possibility of retirement. ''Scott has indicated that he's thinking about retirement,'' Ducks GM Brian Burke told The Canadian Press on Tuesday.

ESPN asked Neidermayer some questions about this today. 'I think every player, as they get older, begins to think about how much longer they're going to play,'' Niedermayer told the website. ''I know I think about it.''

Scott Stevens was also questioned about this topic. He captained the New Jersey Devils to 3 Cups with Neidermayer. 'When I was playing with him, he never seemed, in my opinion, like he was planning on playing that long, or as long as I did,'' Stevens, who played 22 NHL seasons, told CP on Tuesday. ''I kept saying to him, `You'll have no trouble surpassing my amount of games and this and that.' And he'd say, 'Oh no, you won't see me doing that.' But there's no question the guy can play as long as he wants.''

Although he only turns 34 on August 31st, he still may call it quits. ''He's earned the right to walk if that's what he wants to do,'' said Burke. ''We told him we'll support him.

Flyers Dip Into Free Agent Pool Early

2007-06-18T20:19:00.000-04:00

Because of the unknown future with the Nashville, the Predators arranged with the Flyers to give them exclusive negotiating rights to two coveted free agents - defenceman Kimmo Timonen and forward Scott Hartnell.

Now, the Flyers have reportedly signed each player to multi-year, multi-million contracts. Hartnell has signed a contract for a 6-year, $25.2 million deal for a cap hit of $4.2 million per year. Timonen was also signed to a 6-year, $37.8 million contract for an annual cap hit of $6.3 million.

The Preds in return for those 2 players will receive a 1st-round pick from the Flyers, which is the pick that was sent to the Flyers in the Peter Forsberg trade. Although the deals aren't official, they are pretty close to being official. "We're extremely close to getting it done," Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren said. "We'll get it done in the next day or two."

The Preds wanted this to happen before July 1st, when the free agent signing happens. ''We expected both Scott and Kimmo to be among the most sought after at their respective positions when the unrestricted free agent marketplace opens on July 1, and it did not appear as if we were going to be able to sign either player before then,'' said Predators executive vice president/ and general manager David Poile. ''That being said, we received a first-round pick for the exclusive right to negotiate with two players who ultimately could have hit the market in two weeks.''

''Timonen was our team captain this past season and an All-Star,'' added Poile. ''Hartnell is a young player that we drafted, inserted in our lineup at age 18, and saw develop into a 25-goal scorer. Both of these players have been important contributors to our franchise's success and we wish them the best going forward.''

Muckler Fired By Senators

2007-06-18T16:47:00.000-04:00

Today, a huge move was made in the NHL. John Muckler, GM of the Ottawa Senators was let go by the organization today, and is to be replaced by head coach Bryan Murray. But Murray told reporters that he will not take on both roles of coach and GM, and said he will conduct interviews for a new coach over the next few weeks.

"The last three years as head coach has shown me we have a very strong foundation of players to build upon," Murray said at Monday's news conference. "The depth and experience of this team presents us with an enormous opportunity to a create a long-term plan that will allow us to bring forward a competitive team for many years to come."

Last year, the Senators went to their 1st Stanley Cup Final in modern history. That apperantly was not enough to keep Muckler. "I leave Ottawa with a great sense of satisfaction at what I've helped to accomplish here," Muckler said in a statement. "It is a first-class organization, and I'll very much miss being part of it."

For the draft this weekend, Murray will run the Sens' draft efforts. "Bryan shares our focus and drive on building a championship team in Ottawa," Melnyk said in a statement. "His combined 25 years of NHL experience as a coach and general manager was something we simply could not overlook as we build for the future."

Cabrera Wins U.S Open

2007-06-18T16:20:00.000-04:00

Angel Cabrera started well back of Tiger Woods at the U.S Open yesterday, and wasn't even in the same group as him. But even with the pressure of not knowing what Tiger was doing in the course behind him, he made all the right shots at all the right times.

After an early triple-bogey by leader Aaron Baddeley, it was anyones tournament. Angel Cabrera, who was playing 4 holes ahead of that group was playing stellar holding on an under par round for all of the round. By the end of his 18 holes, he had the lead, but Jim Furyk and Tiger were looking to catch him. A late bogey put Furyk out of contention, so it was up to Tiger to catch up. He had a putt on the final hole to force a playoff, but it just went right. This meant that Angel Cabrera won the US. Open!

Cabrera is the 1st Argentinean to win a major in 40 years. 'It is very difficult to describe this moment,'' Cabrera said. ''Probably tomorrow, when I wake up with this trophy beside me, I will realize I won the U.S. Open.''

Canadian Stephan Ames was one of many to be beaten by Oakmont. His round of 76 was capped off by a double-bogey on 9. Tiger was also disappointed by his 2nd place finish. ''Finishing second is never fun,'' Woods said after closing with a 72. ''You play so hard, and it's just disappointing.''

The "Hamilton Predators?"

2007-06-17T15:28:00.000-04:00

There is definitely excitement in Hamilton. Everyone is excited. And why shouldn't they be. Their Hamilton Bulldogs just won the Calder Cup, and Jim Balsillie has just bought the Nashville Predators, and is looking to move them. Hamilton so far is the number 1 spot for the Preds to be re-located to, but will it happen?

Hamilton is doing it's best to make sure it does. So far there have been more than 4,700 deposits for lower bowl seats and almost 2,500 deposits for upper bowl seats in Coops Coliseum. Also, 60 deposits for $5,000 boxes have been received. But because of the lack of those boxes, Balsillie's lawyer Richard Rodier has stopped selling the seats.

"I've put a cut-off on the suites because we're quickly approaching selling out the suites," said Rodier, before adding: "You can take that as a reflection of interest generally."

This is a great reason for the Preds to be moved. It is obvious that people in Hamilton want hockey, and that is what the NHL is looking for. If people keep buying seats like this, than most games would be sold out if Hamilton gets a franchise. This would be a huge boost to the money-strapped Predators, who averaged 15,259 fans per game last season.

And any problems about to many franchises in Southern Ontario and Northern U.S.A have already been dismissed by some teams, like the Buffalo Sabres. The Sabres are one of a possible 3 teams within 2 hours of each-other.

"It's a fool's game for me to speculate on things like that," Sabres managing partner Larry Quinn said Thursday. "If and when somebody decides to put a franchise in Hamilton, they're going to have to go through a procedure. .. We'll act accordingly."

Just a few days ago, Hamilton's city council has approved an agreement that would allow Copps Coliseum to become the home of the NHL's Nashville Predators if they are relocated. "If a relocation application is put forward, the league would like us to look at all reasonable alternatives," said Rodier. "Our preliminary indication is that Hamilton would be ahead of the pack." Hamilton mayor Fred Eisenberger is confident that the city has adequately protected its future prospects.

So everything is looking good for the Hamilton Predators to become a team. For the next few days, weeks and months though, all we can do is wait.

Did the Senators Make the Right Move?
	Yes
	No
	The Sens will be good either way
	The Sens will be bad either way

pollcode.com free polls