It's A Celebration!

The Canadian Woman's Hockey Team were victorious in their Gold Medal game versus the only real rival that they have in the world and the only team that can play at their level, Team USA.
I am not going to get into the politics involved in woman's hockey right now and whether or not it should be an Olympic Sport as the other countries are slow in developing programs in their respective countries. Finland does seems to be making an effort and china is a lot better they they have been but if they aren't careful it could spell the end of Olympic Woman’s Hockey...but I have deviated away from my original theme.

The Canadian Woman won a spirited and well played game versus the Americans where they managed a 2-0 shutout victory. 18 year old phenom Marie-Philip Poulin was the lone goal scorer and Olympic rookie Shannon Szabados pitched the shutout for Canada. This years team was a healthy mix of young and old and have come a long way since their camp in Calgary last summer and played over 50 games versus many Midget Boys AAA teams and international friendlies versus the same team they beast for the gold, Team USA.

Going into the tournament I knew that, as everyone else did, it was going to be a USA Canada Final. There were a few players that I was excited to watch and see how they would do; Captain Hayley Wickenheiser was one as she was the leader and the most recognizable player on the team. The young Szabados in net as the Canadians had 3 goaltender that could very well have been #1’s. Marie-Philip Poulin was the third (in the summer Lightning Captain Vincent Lecavalier saw her on the ice and remarked that she skated and shot the puck well enough to be in the NHL...and he was not joking). Last but not least was Meghan Agosta from Mercyhurst College - she was the most pleasant of all. Agosta was named tournament MVP with 15 points.

Like I said I was looking forward toward seeing Meghan Agosta play, she did not disappoint on the ice...or after the game. The Woman had a bit of an unscheduled party on the ice at Canada Hockey Place that got caught on “film” where some members of the team were on the ice enjoying beer and smoking cigars in celebration. They worked hard, they came up big, and then they played hard — the way athletes so often do.I don’t have a problem with this as much as some have. Boys may be Boys, but Woman can be Woman and there should be no double standard. If this were a men’s team it probably isn’t as big a deal. Sure it was not a good idea to be doing it in the arena, the lit cigars inside may have been a little above and beyond and maybe the alcohol should have been left in the locker room but come on, hockey players have done worse.

I say no harm no foul. Would I say the same thing if it was USA who won and did the same thing...i don’t know, and thankfully I don’t have to make that decision. I probably would have called them out and said it was a cocky US thing and was in bad taste...but Canada won, so it is OK. Canadians are often criticized for not being patriotic enough or wave the flag enough or pound our chests enough. It wasn’t the best decision but it is done and we are all still proud of our Canadian Woman.

Canada Takes The Next Step

“Hope nobody hurt their ankle jumping off the bandwagon. Miller stood on his head and Canada was in line to play Russia at some point, it may just be a little earlier then we may have wanted. Stop bitching and try to enjoy the extra game” ...

This is what I wrote on Sunday when Canada lost to the USA in the Round Robin portion of the tournament. Then there was the German game where Canada managed to beat Germany 8-2 on Tuesday. Some people were crying that they wern’t shooting the puck enough...they still managed 8 goals not bad for not shooting. In any event they moved on to face the Russians in a game where I would bet no one had any idea which way it was going to go. It was my belief that the team with the first goal would likely take the game, maybe in overtime or in the shootout but not in a 7-3 drubbing.

Mike Babcock proved that he can out-coach the Russian coach. Questionable decisions or lack of decisions were very costly to the Russians. Lines and match up adjustments needed to be made...they were not. Nabakov needed to be pulled after 20min...he was not (Russia outscored Canada 2-1 after Bryzgalov came in).

Now Canada is is still a long way from a possible Gold medal and regardless of who they play (Sweden or Slovakia) in the next round they have at least put themselves in position to play for a podium placement. A step up from the last Olympics where they ended up in a similar position to where Russia is in now.
It will be interesting to see how the rest of the tournament plays out but at least for one night Canada can hold its head high and celebrate a great win and a well played game. I just hope that they know that there are still 2 games left until the job is done. The next game has to be played with the same physicality and passion that they had tonight.

I love Pepsi but lets be real, “Go Canada Go” still is a lot better then “eh-oh-Canada-go” and I am glad that it did not catch on. Also they can cut the Ole-Ole music in Canada Hockey Place this isn’t a “Footie” or “Soccer” match.

Duff & Comrie Engaged

I think that is is just a little bit funny when opening up Yahoo Canada that the headline reads: Hilary Duff engaged to Canadian NHL star
I am not sure what sources they are using but I find it a little far fetched to classify Mike Comrie as a hockey star. Sure it makes for a more enticing headline then to say serviceable hockey player but it is way too much of a stretch to say star.

I will extend a congratulations to the two on their impending nuptials as confirmed by Duffs PR people. "Hilary Duff & Mike Comrie were engaged this weekend while vacationing in Hawaii," the rep said in a statement to Access. "After having been together for over two years, they are very excited to share this happy news. They are thankful for all of your warm wishes."

The two shouldn't have any difficulty in furnishing a home together as his uncles Fred Comrie and John Comrie, and his father, Bill Comrie, are the founders of The Brick furniture company.

In any event I am sure that Hillary will make a nice little hockey wife. (Comrie during an interview on The Team 1200 said that she was a good little hockey girlfriend)

I Got A Fever! And The Only Cure Is More Olympics

I watched Beijing and I got hooked and bought into the whole Summer Olympic experience. I watched all I could and enjoyed most of it. Sure I am not going to watch the 3m springboard or the 200m backstroke again until the London Olympics but for those 2 weeks I was in. The same looks to be holding true for the Winter Olympic in Vancouver. I knew that they had me when I watched the entire ski jumping completion including the qualifying. After the announcer explained how they generated the speed and power to launch themselves down the hill, I began to try to break it down myself to see if I could tell if it was a good jump or not (I will admit that I am still no further ahead but that isn’t going to stop me). Luge-cool.....alpine-sure why not....speed skating - close so it is compelling...snowboarding- gnarly. The only thing so far that just isn’t holding water is cross country skiing. They don’t even race. There is a staggered start and they race the clock and then just sit back and hope that their cardio brethren doesn’t match their time. Then at the end to drop like they were hit by a sniper. Yeah, your tired, you sold out and left it all on the course...we get it, so does just about every other athlete in their sport. Marathon runners manage to stay on their feet you’d think that these guys could do the same.

The only down side is just what a Cluster F%#@ the first few days of the games have been. When you start off with a tragic storey like the death of a Luger even before the Opening Ceremony that casts a pretty somber shadow over the games. Then you go to the Opening Ceremony itself it was not as big a success as it could have been. All in all the show was great but there were a few exceptions. The singing of O Canada was sung by a girl with a great voice but she butchered the anthem. She tried to over "Pop" it like she was at the Grammy’s or something. Bryan Adams? Really? Where was Rush? The giant falic symbols were interesting and got some snickers from our brothers to the south. Couple that with the hydraulics not working and only 4 of the 5 sides of the Olympic Indoor Flame structure coming out of the floor.
The Electric "Green" Zamboni that kept dropping hot water on the ice at the long track oval causing countless delays (It didn’t help that the racers kept kicking chunks of ice up). Thankfully a gas one is on the way from Calgary.

Then you have to look at all the events out at Whistler where events are being postponed on a daily basis. Practices, qualifying and finals are being put on hold due to rain, fog, warm weather, snow...pretty much whatever happens it is bad for the hills. Some Snowboard competitions have been postponed as well and spectator tickets have had to be refunded.

Yep That is right people, pack your winter jacket and head to Canada’s warmest city!! Good for golf in February maybe not the best for Nordic events.
Either way I will watch the filler material and catch whatever events come up first.

Go Canada Eh! I’m OOOUT!

SI's Cover Girl

Sports Illustrated has made a young girls dream come true and at the same time will have brought great joy young boys and men alike. Oh yeah and some woman who are looking for the new fashion in Swimsuits (although they may be in the minority).

Last night it was revealed that this years cover girl of SI’s annual and always anticipated Swimsuit Edition is none other then the lovely Brooklyn Decker. Decker has been working with SI for a few years now and she has finally made it to the pinnacle and is now donning the cover, joining the likes of .. Bar Refaeli, Marisa Miller, Kathy Ireland, Elle Macpherson, and Rachel Hunter, Rebecca Romijn, Cheryl Tiegs and others.

Brooklyn is not only known for being ridiculously good looking and by all accounts (based on interviews that I have heard with her) a very nice person who is surprisingly down to earth considering who she is. What adds to her celebrity is the fact that she is married to the top rated USA male tennis player and former World #1 and US Open champion Andy Roddick.

Roddick is known for having a great serve and was involved in the epic Wimbledon match versus Roger Federer that clinched the 15th Grand Slam of Federer’s career in one of the best matches of all time last year. A fiery competitor he has been known to get over emotional on the court but that did result in one of my favorite quotes ‘You aren’t good enough to be this cocky!’...Classic. He also dropped the "You’re an idiot! Stay in school kids, or you’ll end up being an umpire." Not a bad little power couple and will likely have the most beautiful children ever created. Just wait for a few years when their child hooks up with David and Victoria (Posh) Beckham’s kid and creates the ultimate super child that will one day rule the world.

(Little known fact: This year if/when there is a wardrobe issue the word "Pepperoni" is said as a discreet way of letting the girls know that they need to adjust themselves.)

Good call by SI and congrats to Brooklyn.

Super Bowl Sunday

Super Bowl Sunday is here and all the hype over the last two weeks is coming to a head. Thankfully they moved the Pro Bowl to the bye week in between the Conference Championships. Because everyone was able to complain about how useless the Pro Bowl is that enabled the media from breaking down the game to the point where the length of the shoelaces of the players will play a factor on crowning a champion, or about Dwight Freeney's ankle, or Peyton Manning taking on the team that his father played for for all those years.

With the two most explosive offences in the league it only stands to reason that this will be an old fashioned shoot out and be end to end rushes. Due to that expect a lower scoring game with surprising defensive stops and uncharacteristic turnovers...by both sides. The Colts are favoured big and by all accounts should win big; therefore it will be a close game and will likely come down to whether veteran kicker Matt Stover makes or misses a field goal.

The Saints defence are not bad by any stretch and if Reggie Bush manages to break a punt or kick return could provide the spark that New Orleans needs to propel them to victory. What they have going against them is the MVP of the league and that is Peyton Manning. He is going to want this win to help build a case for the best QB ever. He probably is already and is a first ballot Hall of Fame player but no matter what he does those whispers from the negative uninformed or ignorant people is still 'he can't win the big game'. Couldn't beat Florida in college, couldn't win this one in the big game, can't win a Super Bowl. Then he wins a Super Bowl and now they say, yeah but he only has one. Can't please everyone I guess.

The Colts Should win 35-24, and control the game all the way. That will not happen.

If the Colts do win it will likely take a comeback as I suspect that New Orleans will come out flying, and get up by 14 early either on a defensive stand or a special teams play that will swing momentum.

The final will probably be 31-28. I'd like to see that score for the Colts so that means that will be the score for the Saints.

I am sure that in any event it will be a good game and at the very least The Who is performing at Half Time and that should be AWESOME...Love THE WHO so even if the game is a bust there will still be Roger Daltrey and Peter Townshend with a little Zack Starkey mixed in for good measure.

ENJOY!

When A Goaltender Is Not A Goaltender

While watching the Ottawa Senators game, Chris Phillips took a goaltender interference penalty when the Buffalo goaltender Ryan Miller came out of his crease and made a play on the puck. In doing so he was handling the puck with his side to the oncoming Phillips. Phillips ran into the side of him, not with a violent or predatory hit but just a low impact body check that a Pee-Wee player could absorb.

At this point Tyler Meyers come to the 'aid' of his goaltender and somehow Phillips gets 4 minutes and Meyers gets 2 for roughing. I am all for protecting the goaltender but only when he is in his crease, you know the on painted BLUE. If a goaltender can't play the puck in the corners why is he overprotected behind the net. If those line are there to promote offence is what Phillips did not, by rule, a legal hit to a player playing the puck? If anything it should have been 2 for roughing and 2 for instigating on Meyers and nothing or at best 2 min to Phillips even though all he did was attempt to get away and/or defend himself.

If a goaltender is going to put himself in harms way then he needs to expect to be treated like a skater. Gary Galley said on the broadcast that it was the right call...I would argue that it was the convenient call and the one that always gets made, however, that does not make it the right call. Either fix this rule or don't let the goaltenders out of the crease at all. If it is a contact sport you have to allow contact. This is not as difficult to police as head shots, elbows and hits from behind.

Around The Horn

NFL- The Super Bowl is less then a week away and that means we should only be subjected to 6 days of updates on Dwight Freeney and his ankle. Apparently a ‘grade 3 lower basketball sprain’ in fact means torn ligament. That is a little deceptive. Being the second most impactive player on the Colts the focus on Freeney and his injury will be covered closer then a Brett Favre retirement watch... Certainly Freeney’s ankle is Freeney’s ankle, it is on TV more then Leave It To BEAVER....RE-RUNS

NBA- Sunday the Lakers played the Celtics in a possible NBA Finals Preview. The cam came down to 1 point in the dying seconds of the game. The Lakers wound up victorious. Any idea who took the last shot for the Lakers and made it for the winning basket?? Yeah, figured...it was Kobe....again. When will teams learn. You make the Luke Walton or the Jordan Farmar’s of the world beat you. You can’t keep letting arguably the greatest clutch shooter/player the league has ever seen keep beating you. Coaching 101...Rookie Mistake Doc.

NASCAR- The DAYTONA 500, "The Great American Race". 43 of the best stock car drivers in the world take center stage February 14, 2010 in NASCAR’s biggest, richest and most prestigious race. I love the sport and am a HUGE Jimmie Johnson fan but I do fear looking in the stands to the type of people who will be in the grandstands celebrating St. Valentines Day at the Speedway. The old V-chip in the TV might kick in for inappropriate content by inappropriate fans and viewer discretion may be advised. Hope it is on a delay and any nudity is brief and tasteful (and has a weight limit).

CFL - Congratulations you have a league that not once but twice drafted a deceased person on the entry draft. They have had 2 teams with the same name at the same time (Roughriders and Rough Riders) Now they have made things look even more on the up and up as the Toronto Argos are all set to be sold to BC Lions owner David Braley. It is nice that the team will have an owner and not be in fear of folding but to have an owner own 1 team in the East and 1 team in the West is sketchy at best.

MLB- The Minnesota Twins and catcher Joe Mauer have apparently agreed to terms on a 10-year contract extension. Mauer, who became just the second catcher in the last 33 years to be named the American league’s MVP this past season, is slated to earn $12.5 million this coming season and could have become a free agent at the end of the year. For a small market team who is known for allowing their best player move on when they become stars because they can’t afford them it is nice to see that they actually have made a commitment to the player and the player to the team. A nice change of pace. It probably was made more possible that Maur is also a native of St. Paul, Minnesota.

NHL- The trade between the Calgary Flames and New York Rangers reportedly involving Olli Jokinen, Brandon Prust to New York and Ales Kotalik and Chris Higgins to Calgary. that was supposed to go down on Monday didn’t. The Flames played with Jokinen in the lineup in Mondays game in one of the most odd situations involving a players transaction. Nothing says motivation like knowing that you may be gone 2 minutes after the conclusion of your game. That didn’t seem to help as the Flames were shut out.

Trade Winds Start To Blow

I may hate the team but I will give credit where credit is due. In a time in the NHL where it is so difficult to pull of deals off all let alone blockbusters I was pleased to see the beginning of movement. With the salary cap it is do hard to make a ‘hockey trade’ that works players for players as well as making the money in-money out work at the same time is no small task. This may not be the Flames/Leaf deal that brought Douggie G to the Big Smoke in the early 90’s but not the first time these team have come together.

Brian Burke, the Maple Leafs GM managed to swing 2 big deals that came out of nowhere. What is maybe even more impressive is that with this regime of Burke and Dave Nonis that the deal was kept under wraps until it happened and didn’t drag out in the media..a welcome change as well.

The Leafs pulled in some good players and managed to get rid of some players that either didn’t want to be there or that were expendable. Sure it clearly hurts them offensively but the good seems to outweigh the bad and if you take Burke at his word, and we have no reason not to they are ‘open for business’ and they are NOT DONE. To pull in good players (and in Toronto, name players) is a good place to start. Dion Phaneuf, Jean-Sebastien Giguere, Fredrik Sjostrom and Keith Aulie (who played with Tyler Meyers in the World Jr.s).

Phaneuf is a wild card as he may come off as being a bit toxic right now as you don’t get rid of a player like that just because, he is clearly coming with baggage but a change of scenery can fix all that real fast. Some say that you get the best player in a deal you win that deal. Time will tell if that is in fact true.

Going the other way out of town to the Flames were Ian White and forwards Matt Stajan, Niklas Hagman and Jamal Mayers, while goalie Vesa Toskala and winger Jason Blake were sent to the Ducks. The Flames need help scoring and should get help from Stajan and Hagman while White is under rated and should be helpful on the back end.

Blake was a bit of a shocker to be moved because of a terrible contract but you know what they say, if you can move a Scott Gomez contract you can move any contract. After the Ducks signed Jonas Hiller it made Giguere and his money expendable. How they were talked into taking on Blake coming back is a bit odd. Again I give Burke all the credit in the credit in the world. Remember he was the guy that danced all over Doug Mclean and conned him into taking on Sergi Federov in Columbus from the Ducks. The guy seems to be a decent salesman of nothing else.

Quick Hits

When it was first announced three weeks ago that Andre Dawson would be enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame, he hinted that he would like to enter as a Chicago Cub. Thankfully, as it has been reported that MLB has decided to send him to Cooperstown as a member of the now defunct Montreal Expos will be honoured along with Dawson. I don’t know how Andre feels about the situation but I, for once am glad that baseball are the ones deciding what hat he wears in. Dawson will likely be the one and only player that will be going into the Hall as a Montreal Expo. The book will very soon be closed on the team and having at lest some representation before it becomes a mere footnote.

HBO unveiled a 24/7 documentary on Jimmie Johnson last night. After being snubbed by SI as Sportsman of the year it is nice that HBO has created this show. It may be interesting to see what goes into being a NASCAR driving star and hopefully brings the deserved respect to not only the sport but more importantly to Jimmie himself. It is the best of the best right now and may be in the discussion as the best of all time. Even with his short body of work his star is still bright and accomplishments can be put up versus just about anyone else who has ever been in the sport.

After dropping the first set to Nikolay Davydenko, Roger Federer steam rolled to a 4-set victory in Australia. With Rafael Nadal out the road seems to have cleared a bit for yet another Grand Slam. Anything to add to his greatness is ok by me. Hopefully he can finish out this tournament on top and start working towards padding his already impressive career stats and achievements.

A HUGE thank you to the Canadian Networks who have finally decided to do the right thing and start showing more live US College Sports, namely college basketball. Unlike the NBA you may not know the players but for the most part the games are entertaining to watch and having the option to watch a live event is never a bad thing. Short of actually giving us the option of purchasing ESPN as part of our satellite packages it is nice to see that they are all making at least an effort. (A much smaller props to Sportsnet for showing at least little bits of some AVP beach tournaments, sure it isn’t a lot but one in a while they are actually throwing a few half hours here and there. Baby steps, at least for now and that hopefully is the start of more events more frequently)

Aborigines Offended By Ice Dance

An Aboriginal-themed routine by two Russian ice dancers has stirred up a pre-Olympic controversy, with some indigenous Australians blasting the "rip off" of their culture and Canadian native leaders worrying about the insensitivity of the skaters.

Maybe it is because that is not my culture that i don't see this as a big deal. I don't see this duo mocking a culture, if anything it is showing appreciation for it. With that said I also don't know how accurate, or in-accurate it is or what amount of research went into the planning and choreography of the routine. Sure it is always a gutsy move for Russians to us this as an adaptation to work from but sometimes there are groups that are over sensitive about this type of cultural crossover.

This was my thought when Vancouver decided to go so heavy with their aboriginal tie in with this Olympics in Vancouver. Embrace Canada as a whole is fine by me, to segregate it is just asking for trouble. Just like the addition of aboriginal artwork to the Canadian Maple Leaf on the Hockey Teams Jerseys.

"The ripping off of our art and songs is not (respectful), and nor is this depiction of my culture," Manton wrote. "Our dance, our ceremony and ... our designs and images have evolved over 60,000 years. We're understandably fond of them, and we don't like seeing them ripped off and painted onto someones body for a sporting contest." a chairperson of the Aboriginal Land Council in New South Wales stated

Was this Dance relay that bad? You be the judge

Kings Of The Castle

Los Angeles Kings have been accused of selling hope, and nothing else which may have made my decision to adopt them as one of my own a difficult one but so far this season they have proven that they were a worthy choice. Clearly the Blues have stumbled out of the gates and are having a tough time finding the back of the net. Injuries are a factor but can not be used as an excuse, just an explanation. Given time the youth will pick things up and get back to the place they were at the end of last season where they just started to click and just kept winning.

As for the Kings, the moves made in the off season so far have looked pretty good. I will admit that I was sceptical about the acquisition of Ryan Smyth but much to my pleasure he came in healthy and ready to contribute. He has slipped right into the top line and found some great chemistry with his line mates: Justin Williams and Anze Kopitar (let the record reflect that it is not An-zee.... It’s Ahn-jay). It doesn’t hurt that Kopitar is leafing the league in scoring and is probably the most underrated star in the league. The ability to be able to score so far this season I making all the difference. Sure they could use another shooter but as it stands now they are doing OK with what they have.

The balance on the lines is a benefit to have as they can roll their lines a little more and have confidence in spreading things out a little. Would I prefer to not see Raitis Ivanans in the lineup, sure but in the long run it is probably best to allow some of the younger players mature in the AHL and season a bit. Knowing that there are some good young talent in Manchester is a nice little bonus. With a little more experience to players like Oscar Moller, Andrei Loktionov, Justin Azevedo and still in Brandon with the Wheat Kings young Braden Schenn should help out offensively over time and on the back end having a Thomas Hickey almost making the team out of camp and Vyacheslav Voinov there as well and Colton Tuebert still in junior gives some nice options going forward. Jonathan Bernier (who was in nets for the AHL All Star Game last night) and Jeff Zatkoff as the goalies in the system it gives some good slid depth and the ability to use them as possible trade bait should the need arise in the future. How good Jonathan Quick continues to play in the future will likely dictate what the team chooses to do in the near future with these two. One can’t discount what depth and even a little bit of cap room can do. Flexibility going forward could become a big deal as this team grows together.

With all that is going on in Atlanta with the lack of attendance and the fact that there are ownership issues there and how long the team will be viable in that market may force the team to part with their superstar Ilya Kovalchuk. Should his services become available and they are allowed to negotiate a contract with him to ensure that he stays, a trade to the Kings could be a very interesting option. Depending on the cost and the players that would need to be involved, finally getting an established player that can elevate an already decent team and give them a legitimate scoring threat could do great things out on the coast. I am not saying that a deal would do what a Gretzky did when he came but marketing would have a field day, ticket sales would probably get a boost and best of all the product on the ice would likely improve. An addition like that could be just what the team needs. They do have some cap space to work with and depending on what would need to be involved in any possible deal may just be a viable option.

I will sit back and watch and see how this all plays down with one half of my new adopted teams. Or if Kovalchuk were to end up in the Blues (unlikely as it may be) then that may work out as well.

Sens Army...Wounded

Mike Brodeur stepped into the Senators lineup and low and behold - pitched a shut out. The Sens took down the Rangers in a battle of struggling offensive teams. Lets not read too much into that. The Rangers have been shut out twice in the last 2 games both by goalies named Brodeur, although one may be a little more seasoned then the other. The next game he started again and he stoned the Habs in Montreal. Boarderline impressive. It was good to see the quick healing Captian Daniel Alfredsson back in the lineup.

The shutout win broke a 5 game losing streak by Ottawa that has seen them fall from a decent 6th place position to 8th and on the brink of falling out of a playoff position...if the season were to end today.... (I hate when people say that).

At this point I am resigned to the fact that the Sens are not the greatest team that they have ever fielded and that they really are not that good. Players at both the pro and minor league level are not top end and that is something that fans here in Ottawa are not used to. The rash of injuries that has hit the team has not done anything to help the situation. When you are not a great team and then you take out some $20 million from your a top scoring line in its entirety and you goal tending, struggling as it may be are out it is tough.

When you have a tough time scoring 2 or more goals a game and your goal tending is considered doing a better job when they allow 4 goals in a game it is no wonder why your team is in a big slide.

The fact that this team continues to lose man games due to injury makes it very hard for line to gel, players to click and in turn play a cohesive game. When, at one point or another you are missing a Spezza, Alfredsson, Michalek and throw in Brian Elliot, Pascal LeClair, Chris Neil and Nick Foligno for a spell it is of little wonder about the woes in Sens Army. It is getting to the point where maybe it is just worth playing out the string of games and become a seller not a buyer and maybe try and position yourself better for the draft and free up some money going into free agency. Clearly there needs to be a restocking of talent in the minors so when we need help some is available and they need some sort of a consistent scoring threat. Maybe that is too much for Bryan Muray to do but if that is not possible he may be closer to the hot seat then ever before.

I don’t want to see the team just give up and mail it in. Hard work and good games are a must but if they have a chance to better themselves for a quick turn around next season then maybe they need to look at that.

Big Mac Himself, Who’d Of Thunk It?

Yesterday was the day that we all figured would come at some point, we just didn’t know when. Former Oakland A’s and St. Louis Cardinals slugger Mark McGwire finally admitted in a phone call with the Associated Press and followed by an interview with Bob Costas that he had in fact done steroids as well as HGH on and off over the course of his career. SHOCKER. This was not news to anyone. He was always suspected to have been involved in performance enhancing drugs but never admitted it nor did he ever test positive for anything. It is like a girlfriend accusing you of cheating ‘I know you did it, just admit it, I know you did it, just admit it, It’l be ok if you just admit it ’. Then you admit it and they flip out and start yelling at you saying ‘I didn’t believe it until I heard it come from you!

I am not an apologist for what he did, but what he did was perhaps not ‘legal’ but it wasn’t banned either, it was more of a moral issue then anything else. Should that exclude him from the Hall of Fame? Some say yes, some say no. I think he should be in. If there is no policy to break how can you punish him for breaking a policy...he was never suspended either. The only thing that isn’t going to help his case is the fact that he didn’t acknowledge that his use didn’t make him better. His natural talent may have been great but there was still room for enhancement and he got that from the steroids and HGH. The only thing he did was play by the ‘rules’ that were there or not there at the time. I hate to think that the idea of "if you aren’t cheating you aren’t trying" or "it is only cheating if you get caught" is true but it is hard to dispute that fact.

It is easy to sit back and judge the decision that he made, but it wasn’t just him that made that decision. If you take a serious look at it, a professional athlete will do what they need to do to become better. There were no steroids in the 1950’s, because they were not available. You can bet that if they were and it would have made a difference players then would have been all over it. Stimulants are a great example of that. Cold medication, caffeine and other like products were rampant in baseball dugouts throughout the years. Those were also performance enhancing, just not as ‘immoral’ as ‘roids and HGH, but at that point you are just splitting hairs. We now are beginning to see that this was and epidemic throughout the sport for a long time and if baseball wanted to do something about it they would have and could have done so. Truth is, steroids were good for baseball and good for the sport. After the strike in 1994 baseball’s image was in the dumps and any growth that may have come to get the game back into the good graces with fans came in the form of the Sosa/McGwire home run race of 1998. That chase of Roger Maris’ 61 home runs brought people back to the sport. From there baseball has continued to grow and has reached record attendance over the years.

It is clear that money greatly influenced the position that baseball has taken in regards to performance enhancing drugs. Even as a casual fan you can see that something wasn’t right with these players and that they were getting help from an outside source. It helped them and it helped sell the game so to turn a blind eye clearly was an easy thing to do. If you are concerned about the records that the hitters put up, just think about doing that versus pitchers that were doing the same thing. The only real issue is how fair it was for the ‘clean’ player to compete with those that were juicing. My question to that is if so many were on the juice, why would you play clean. If there was no rule to break how could you be breaking a rule? It truly was an internal code of conduct that governed the players that played clean...not baseball.

McGwire's admittance had to be done. He is looking to become the hitting coach for the Cardinals and for that to happen he had to say something before spring training to defuse the situation. Now that he has at least come out and admitted that he used, perhaps we can move on from him and any speculation. It seems like every player that has come out and admitted or have been outed for PEDs has been, not necessarily forgiven but the anger towards them has been greatly reduced. Only the ones that have continued to say nothing or deny are the one that people are still bitter at (Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds). Others such as Andy Pettitte, A-Rod...even Manny who was suspended for 50 games only last season seems to be much more accepted.

It is also interesting to mention that this is really just a baseball, track and cycling issue. This happens just as often in football but it gets nearly no play in the media. A headline that states a player in the NFL has been banned 4 games for a substance violation. They do their time and then are back and not another mention is made about it. A double standard for sure but it is what it is. You want to see bigger, stronger, faster in football and the majority of fans would be more upset if players weren’t doing everything at their disposal to become even better. Maybe it is because baseball is seen as more a game of numbers and is held in a higher regard, who knows.

IIHF World Junior Tournament - The Tradition Continues

First lets just throw some names out and lay all the cards on the table: John Tavares, Matt Duschane, Evander Kane, Cody Hodgeson, Ryan O’Reilly, Tyler Myers Those are the names of some of the players that were elegable for Canada to come back and play for Canada this year...Zach Begosian was basicly the only USA player available to return. Put those guys on the team and it is probably another gold rush for Canada. I am not say’n i’m just say’n. Moving on.

Another World Junior Hockey tournament has come and gone. Much to chagrin of the proud Canadian hockey fans. Granted a loss in overtime to one of our newest building rivals, the USA, is a tough pill to swallow it can only fuel the fire for next years tournament in Buffalo.

Year in and year out this tournament continues to grow... at least in Canada. Maybe not as much to the average fan anywhere else but to Canadians it is must see TV and or event to take in live should the opportunity present itself. The gold medal game was an epic one with an audience to match. Tuesday night’s thrilling IIHF World Junior Championship gold medal game made television history for TSN. Some 5.3 million viewers tuned in to see some or all of the game. That is the highest rated event TSN has ever had. Some 1 in 3 Canadians watch some or all. It bettered this years Grey Cup and beat any other World Juniors telecast. I am not sure if that takes into account the live web streaming or not and probably doesn’t reflect the radio broadcast. I would like to know those totals as well. Either way it was huge and well represented.

For those 2 weeks or so between boxing day and the first week of the new year it is the showcase for not only the sport of hockey but a showcase for some of the great young players that people can look forward to seeing in the NHL soon. That is what is fun and educational about it. Now when your team drafts a player there is a good chance that you will know who it is. Not unlike the NCAAs March Madness tournament, people don’t pay much attention to the regular season of either college basketball or CHL hockey but when the respective tournaments are on the spotlight is there to shine on potential breakthrough players and that is fun to see.

The level of play is what you want to see in every hockey game, high skill, high speed and a passion for the game that only youthful exuberance can bring. The genuine love of the game, the thirst to be the best while continuing to get better and playing for the pride of a nation is a refreshing change from the professional sports that we are accustomed to watching. It almost makes it tolerable to earn a silver when you lose in a good hard fought game to a team that was surprisingly humble in victory and what seemed to be genuinely humble in victory (perhaps what you may not expect from a USA Team). Credit to the USA and their hockey program. They beat good teams and showed that speed and skill are hard to contain.

Canada entered the tournament winning 5 straight gold medals. It is not like they were handed any of them they have all been earned. The streak could and maybe even should have been stopped in any of the last 3 tournament but some kind of unbelievable event or puck luck fell in Canada’s favour and they had, until this year managed to claw their way to victory. Matt Halischuk’s OT goal saved Canada once and the new version of "Captain Clutch" Jordan Eberle went above and beyond the last 2 years with unbelievably timely goals and solid all around play to keep the team alive and take a country from devastation to jubilation in a heartbeat.

Eberle may well be a great prospect for the Edmonton Oilers and could go on to become a good NHL player and have a long and successful career in hockey but even if he were to walk away and peak as a teenager he has cemented himself as one of the greatest international performers in Canadian hockey history. Sure that would be tough but he is now in Canadian Hockey History highlight reel forever.

It will be interesting next year with the tournament being held in Buffalo. Canada had a good run with most of the tournament being played in Canada with a Pro-Canada crowd. Now the defending gold medalists USA will be defending on their home soil with hopefully a very focused and bitter team from Canada looking to avenge this years loss. Being in Buffalo will allow a lot of Canadians to take the tour over the boarder to help even out crowd support.

New 'Shooting' Guard - Gilbert Arenas 00 Agent

The Washington Bullets, errrr, Wizards are the biggest fans of the morning 'Shoot around' of all teams in the NBA. Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton of the Washington Wizards have been implicated in a clubhouse dispute over a gambling debt where the two apparently pulled guns on each other. There was an investigation before this incident that Arenas was housing firearms in his locker at the Verizon Center. If any investigation finds that these allegations are true there is a good chance that they will face a stiff penalty from the league, likely a suspension of at least a few dozen games. The NBA under commissioner David Stern has worked overtime to clean up its image which is that it is more of a thug league and that there are severe character issues among a large number of its members.

Players may contest that they are targets more now then ever and they need these weapons for personal safety. Granted, with there position in society that they are held in a different regard but one must also take into account that if you are putting yourself in a bad position things can go the wrong way in a hurry. You would think the safest place should be the locker room, will all the building security and that security around the locker room that that would be the last place you would need to store your guns.

What makes this story just a little bit more funny is the team that they play for. It has been a while now but this was a team that had the name of the Washington Bullets but the owner thought that it sent a bad message to the league and its fans. Washington, DC has been known to be a violent city and this was a way of trying to distance themselves from rising gun violence. In one "foul" swoop all the good will of becoming the Wizards has just turned them back into the Bullets. Maybe it was throwback night and they got caught up in the festivities.

Arenas has tried to defuse the situation with humour implying it was all in jest and he was just a practical joker and nothing more then a joke went down. The NBA and other officials don’t seem to be buying into that explanation even if it was in jest it is a serious issue and at the very least relay bad PR for a league that is trying to project a positive image for itself.

Week 17 NFL Picks

After 2 Weeks of + .500 picks I regressed back to the red when I went 7-9. I blame the way the NFL is set up and teams throw in the towel early to "rest players". Just like this week, only a few teams have anything to play for so picking winners vs the spread becomes even more difficult. Tough to make a choice when you don't know if a starter is going to play more then 1 series of not. So more so then any normal week I a just tossing out a guess and hoping that I am right. Lets see how that goes.

Happy New Years!

A Happy New Years to all those who faithfully come back to my little blog day in and day out. I appreciate that you take a few seconds of your time to read my little musings and updates from personal sports stories to events in the news to breaking sports stories and the ones that are the most fun, the funny ( or attempted to be funny) postings on silly sports related topics.

I hope that everyone will continue to make A Bit Of Everything Sports part of their daily routine and I hope that I can at least keep up the same level of quality and hopefully raise the bar even higher in 2010.

All the best to you and yours in the New Year!

Holiday Season A Busy One

This is a great time of the year to be a sports fan. There is a little something for everyone. You are treated to maybe a little bit more if you are a hockey fan, so this may be more directed to those in Canada and the upper East Coast. First we are right in the midst of the college football Bowl season. Granted with some 30 Bowls or something silly like that there are a lot of meaningless games out there but If you are just going to watch for the entertainment of the game or just want something to keep gambling on then you are in luck. All of the real important games don’t begin until New Years there is still plenty to fill the schedule.

You then have the regular season for both college basketball and the NBA. Both regular seasons are just a matter of jockeying for position for the playoffs and for the NCAA Tournament but there are still some entertainment to be had in watching either of these two distinctive versions of the same sport.

The final week of the NFL schedule is hear and teams are making the final push to make the playoffs, gain home field and to either rest star players or keep their foot on the gas. It can be a week where it is a real crap shoot of games. It depends on what teams come to play. 2 great teams facing off may become the worst games of a weekend. 2 terrible teams with players playing for jobs next year may be the most entertaining. Every year in the NFL the elite teams have nothing to play for...so they don’t. It is games like that that rob the fans of not only specific teams but the sport in general. This is the reason why an 18 game schedule is a bad idea....just more meaningless games.

Then there is hockey. Everywhere you look there is something to take in. You have the NHL regular schedule and it’s array of games, the Spengler Cup which most people in Canada don’t even realize that Canada has a team in that tournament. It is probably one of the most under the radar Major International Tournaments. It is a huge deal overseas but seems to get lost in the shuffle over here. Even with names like Alexandre Daigle and a coach like Craig McTavish. Then of course there is one of my personal favorites, the IIHF World Juniors Tournament. This is one event that I very much enjoy watching. I will be honest, it is a bonus that Canada is prolific and more often then not are one of the teams to win year in and year out (as shown by the 5 straight gold medals) but the style and tempo of play is enjoyable to watch. To see the stars of tomorrow in a competition where they are playing the most elite competition from each country is fun to watch. Sure when you beat a Latvia 16-0 that is not the greatest of games but good for the national pride. It is the games against the USA and the Swedes and the Russians that are the most fun.
And this year we get the added bonus of having the Team Canada Olympic Roster announced before New Years...

All of that equals an embarrassment of riches for the sports fan, whether your interest is sport specific or you just love them all and are a fan of the games

Team Canada Final Roster Prediction

Noon on Wednesday will be the much anticipated time for Steve Yzerman and Team Canada. It will be at that time when they will unveil their final choice on who has made the Olympic squad. Well, in actuality, since it is a list and we are in Canada it will quickly turn to who didn't make the team. When you have enough quality to send 2 very capable medal contending teams there will be some deserving people left off.

Sure this "Final Team" will not be the team that suits up for Canada when the games begin but it will be close. You have to figure that there will at least be a few injuries that will effect the roster.

My final roster is who I think should be on the team but not necessarily whom I believe that Team Canada will select for their final roster.

As you can compare from my from my Last Update there has been some movement in just over a month and that one changed fro the orientation camp from August.

Forwards:
Jarome Iginla - Sidney Crosby- Jonathan Toews
Rick Nash - Ryan Getzlaf - Dany Heatley
Martin St. Louis - Joe Thornton - Steve Stamkos
E. Staal - Mike Fisher - Corey Perry
Brad Richards

Defence:
Scott Niedermayer - Shea Weber
Chris Pronger - Dan Boyle
Brent Seabrook - Drew Doughty
Duncan Keith

Goal:
Roberto Luongo, Martin Brodeur, Marc-André Fleury

Taxi Squad:
Mike Green, Jeff Carter, Patrick Marleau

How close I am will be interesting to see, I am just putting Fisher in as a long shot sentimental pic. If I was going to be completely objective he would not be on my list but I want to give him a little extra credit so I will include him. I think that it is more likely that Milan Lucic has a better chance of making the team, even with his recent string on injuries he serves a similar role but may be a little grittier. Maybe even a Mike Richards but without knowing how he gets along with Chris Pronger I amy not want the two of them in the same room.

We will just have to see what Stevie Y and his team has in mind on Wednesday...then we can begin the criticism.