Team Canada Chosen

The players representing Canada at the upcoming 2008 World U20 Hockey Championship in the Czech Republic have been chosen. Coach Craig Hartsburg made 13 cuts earlier today to trim the team to the final 22 players. Among those on Team Canada are John Tavares of the Oshawa Generals, Steven Stamkos of the Sarnia Sting, Steve Mason of the London Knights (I apologize for only highlighting OHL players so far but I live in Ontario and only know these players), and two returning players from the Gold medal winning squad from 2007 Karl Alzner of the Calagary Hitmen and Brad Marchand of the Val-d'Or Foreurs.

With the leading goal scorer in the Ontario Hockey League in Brett MacLean (Oshawa Generals) being cut from Team Canada, this year's team must be solid. The other notable player cut from the squad is Angelo Esposito. I think the only reason Esposito is a notable but, besides the famous last name, is that it was his third straight year being cut from the team, a feat accomplished only once before by Daniel Cleary.

This tournament, always exciting to watch, begins for Team Canada on boxing day as usual. For those who may not be familiar with boxing day, it is December 26. Go Canada!

Series Ends With Canadian Win!

The 2007 ADT Canada/Russia Challenge ended last Thursday with a 4-1 win by Team WHL. Although Team Russia put on a good show and made it tough for the Canadian teams, they still ended up with a 2-4 record. This series has given hope for the Russians, however, as they beat a Western Hockey League team for the first time ever in this annual event and they played two strong games against the team from the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. This series shows some promise for the Russians in the future so let's hope, for the sake of exciting hockey, that Russia continues to send skilled players to this event and that Canada keeps producing top players of their own.

Team Russia Strikes Again!

Team Russia regrouped over the past two days and came out Wednesday night in Cranbrook looking to make history. And they did! For the first time in the five year history of the Canada/Russia Challenge, a team from Russia has beaten the representatives from the Western Hockey League, and they did it convincingly.

Keeping with the theme of the series, Team Russia opened the scoring at 10:27 of the first period. They continued to apply pressure and netted two more goals in the first frame. Team WHL scored their lone goal in the second period in the 5-1 loss. Due to the time difference, I was unable to watch the game but from the penalties it seems that the game started to get a bit rough in the second period, escalating to fisticuffs in the third with Russia receiving an instigator penalty.

The final game in the series goes tonight in Medicine Hat where the visiting Russians look to end the series in a tie for the first time. Game time is 7:00 PM MT and is televised on the Sportsnet channels on a tape delay.

Canadian Football is Alive and Well

Adding the Vanier Cup to the Grey Cup weekend turned out to be a brilliant idea. I am sure having a team from the same province (Manitoba) playing in both games helped the attendance and energy some. From my understanding, the CIS championship usually draws between 10,000 and 14,000 fans (that may even be a high estimate) but almost 27,000 people witnessed this year’s edition. Next year’s Grey Cup is in Montreal and I hope they do the same as this year and link the CIS championship with it as I am sure the Montreal fans (perhaps the best fans in North America) will come out in full force. And if history is any indication, Laval, winners of three of the last five championships, will be one of the competing teams.

The multitude of fans in attendance were not disappointed either. The 2007 Vanier Cup was as exciting, or more so, than Sunday's big event. A backup quarterback started the game for Saint Mary’s and he handled himself fairly well as he opened the scoring with a 13-yard touchdown pass. Unfortunately for Saint Mary’s, he could not rally his team to victory. Manitoba was too determined to win and repay the Huskies for a 2001 Vanier Cup defeat. Mike Howard of the Bisons tied a Vanier Cup record by intercepting three passes to lead Manitoba to a 28-14 win.

The big show on Sunday also saw a backup quarterback get the start, and like the Vanier Cup, his efforts were not enough to get the win. The Saskatchewan Roughriders took advantage of key turnovers to come out on top of the first Grey Cup meeting with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. The game remained close throughout and it wasn’t until early in the fourth quarter before the Roughriders seem to take control en route to a 23-19 victory. The 2007 Grey Cup was played in front of 52,230 at Rogers Centre.

The Russians Came to Play!

The 2007 ADT Canada/Russia Challenge is well underway as they are waiting to play Game 4 on Monday. So far this challenge has been exactly that, a challenge for the Canadians. In years past, Canada has had very little trouble against their Russian counterparts as they swept the series in 2006 and 2005 and took four of six in 2004 and five of six in 2003. It’s interesting to note that all losses to date were all suffered by the representing team from the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

The Russian Selects came out firing in game one of this year’s series by scoring the first goal less than seven minutes into the first period and taking a 3-1 lead into the first intermission. The Quebec team battled back in the second period to tie the game before the second intermission. Team QMJHL looked like they would take control of the game as they scored just thirty-six seconds into the third but the Russians replied with three unanswered goals of their own to take game one 6-4.

Team QMJHL played with a bit more fire in game two, as evidenced by the increased number of penalties, and scored the lone first period goal. The second period saw the Russian Selects fall behind by two before their scorers woke up. By the midway point of the second period the game was knotted at two and stayed that way for the remainder of the game. Since ties are not allowed on this continent anymore, a shootout was used as the deciding factor. Team QMJHL scored twice and shut out the Russian Selects for the victory.

The third game moved into Ontario and into the site of the 2008 Memorial Cup, the Memorial Auditorium (the “Aud”) in Kitchener. Similar to game 1, the Russians came out firing early and took an early 2-0 lead. Team OHL woke up in the second half of the first and tied the game before intermission. In the second each team scored once and the game remained tied going to the last stanza. Team OHL was determined to keep their perfect record against the Russians in this challenge and netted two goals in the third for the 5-3 win. As an aside, the boys from the Gens played a big role in the game as they combined for 1 goal and 5 assists and took the game’s first star.

The next game will be played in Sudbury before heading west for two games against the Western Hockey League. Game five goes Wednesday in Cranbrook BC and game six will be played Thursday in Medicine Hat, AB.

Waiting For Godo

After scoring the first point of the game (on a missed field goal attempt), the Toronto Argos offence, defence and special teams were shut down by the Blue Bombers from Winnipeg for the rest of the first quarter and into the fourth quarter. All game the faithful in the Rogers Centre were waiting for the double blue’s offence to kick in and take over the game. With the score 19-1 and less than twelve minutes to go in the game, the Argos offence finally cracked the scoreboard with a converted touchdown and the fans voiced their hope of a late comeback. Despite the turnovers by the Winnipeg offence, the fans acted the role of the characters in Waiting for Godo because as it turned out, they were waiting for nothing. The Winnipeg Blue Bombers held on to win the East Division 19-9.

In the West Division final, the Saskatchewan Roughriders capitalized on an early fumble by B.C. Lions’ punt returner to open the scoring about six minutes into the first quarter. Further turnovers by the Lions resulted in a 13-10 deficit leading into halftime. It was more of the same in the third quarter as Saskatchewan increased their lead to 23-17 by the end of the quarter. The Roughriders add a field goal in an otherwise uneventful fourth quarter to win the West 26-17 and earn a berth in the Grey Cup. The Grey Cup will be held next Sunday at the Rogers Centre in Toronto. One day prior to the CFL divisional final games, the CIS held their version of the divisional final games as the University of Western Mustangs played the University of Manitoba Bisons in the Mitchell Bowl and the Universite du Laval Rouge et Or played Saint Mary’s University Huskies in the Uteck Bowl. Defence was the theme for these bowl games as the Huskies allowed only two points on route to a 24-2 Uteck bowl victory to earn a spot at next Friday’s Desjardins Vanier Cup. Manitoba continued their perfect season (11-0) as they took a 31-5 lead into halftime on their way to a 50-20 Mitchell Bowl victory to claim the second spot at the Desjardins Vanier Cup. The Vanier Cup will be played on Friday night at 7:30 PM at Rogers Centre in Toronto as part of the Grey Cup festivities.

In other, unrelated news, the Houston Dynamo defeated the New England Revolution to claim their second straight Major League Soccer Cup Final. New England took a 1-0 lead into the second half but Houston tied the game in the 61st minute with a goal by Joseph Ngwenya. Houston took the lead for good in the 74th minute when Dwayne De Rosario scored his second of the playoffs. This game was played at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. in front of 39,859.

Women’s Hockey Championship

The 2007 National Women’s Under 18 hockey championship was held in Kitchener this past weekend. Ontario Red won their fourth straight U18 championship by defeating Quebec 4-3 on November 11. Manitoba defeated Team Atlantic 3-2 to take home the bronze medal. Quebec had the top four scorers in the tournament with Audrey Belanger-Cournoyer on top with 15 points (8G, 7A).

Here are the award winners for this tournament:

Most Valuable Player: Audrey Bélanger-Cournoyer (Quebec)

Top Forward: Marie-Philip Poulin (Quebec)

Top Defenseman: Samantha Watt (Alberta)

Top Goaltender: Delayne Brian (Manitoba)

Most Sportsmanlike Player: Laura McIntosh (Ontario Red)

While the U18 women tried to make a name for themselves in the National championship, the women’s National team was in competition at the 4 Nations Cup in Leksand Sweden. The four teams at the 4 Nations Cup include Canada, Team USA, Sweden and Finland. The home nation did not fair so well this year as they were blanked in their first two games, 4-0 by Team USA and 3-0 by Finland. There was a bright spot for them though as they were able to score three times against Canada, the eventual tournament winners.

Team Canada took a perfect record into the gold medal game by defeating Finland 4-1, USA 6-3 and Sweden 5-3. USA’s only blemish was against Canada as they beat Sweden 4-0 and Finland 2-1. Finland’s lone win in the round robin was the 3-0 shutout of Sweden. Both winners in the medal games shutout their opponents as Canada blanked Team USA 2-0 and Finland beat Sweden 1-0.

A North American Sweep

North America sweeps the medals at the 2007 World Junior A Hockey Challenge as Canada West defends their title. After both Canada teams were forced into playoff qualifier games, they met in the final match to fight for the gold medal while the two round robin winners had to settle for a chance at bronze.

In a very tight game between the talented Russian squad and the boys from the East, the game was decided by a penalty shot with six minutes remaining in the third period. After a Russian defender closed his hand on the puck in the crease, Louke Oakley, the leading scorer of the Bomanville Eagles, cashed in on the penalty shot to give Canada East a 2-1 lead and eventual victory. The boys from Western Canada had an easier time by cruising to a 5-1 victory over team USA for their chance at their second title in a row.

Canada East opened the scoring in the gold medal game but it was all Canada West after that. The team from the West scored two goals in the first period, one more in the second and another single for good measure in the third for a 4-1 win. Zac Dalpe of Penticton of the BCHL scored a hat trick for the West while teammate Mike Connolly (Camrose of the AJHL), who led the tournament in scoring (5G, 6A), earned tournament MVP honours.

In the bronze medal game, Team USA fought from a two goal deficit several times to earn the victory. Russia got out to an early 2-0 lead and still held a two goal lead (5-3) heading into the third period. Russia could not hold on to the lead as Team USA took the lead at 17:00 of the period. They finished with a three goal victory as they won 9-6 in their first appearance at this tournament.

Canadas Sent to Qualifiers

Both teams representing Canada in the World Junior A Challenge came up short in round robin play and are forced to play a qualification game this evening. Last night Canada West lost 4-2 to Russia in the last round robin game in Group A while their Group B counterparts from Canada East lost to the United States 3-2 in overtime. With their second in two games, Russia earned the top spot in Group A and a bye into the semi-finals on Saturday. The United States also won both their games, both in overtime, to earn 1st place in Group B and a chance to win a medal.

Canada East seems to have the easier game tonight as they face the pointless (0-2 record) team from Germany. The winner of this game will advance to the semi-finals and will have to beat Russia to get into the gold medal game. Canada West faces off against Belarus (0-1-0-1) tonight and with a win, will advance to play the United States in the second semi-final match up on Saturday. Both semi-final games will be played at 7:30 PM PST while the game for fifth place will take place at 2:00 PM PST.

World Jr A Challenge Begins!

The 2007 World Jr A Challenge began yesterday with two games. In the first game, Canada East defeated Belarus 4-1 while the second game saw Russia defeat Germany 6-2. This tournament has two other teams beyond the four mentioned above, one from the United States and a team from Canada West.

The teams are broken into two groups that will play a one-game round robin to determine the playoff seedings. Group A consists of Canada West, Germany and Russia while Group B consists of Belarus, Canada East and the United States. The top team in each grouping will get a bye into a semi-final game with their opponents being determined by a crossover (the 2nd best team in group A will play the last place team in group B, etc). The gold medal game will be played on Sunday Novemebr 11 at 7:30 PM PST and will be broadcast on TSN. The Bronze medal game will be played earlier in the day Sunday (2:00PM PST) but it will not be televised.

For up to date coverage please visit the World Jr A Challenge website.

Tying Up Lose Ends

The Boston Red Sox have called themselves World Series Champions, for a second time in four years, since Friday October 26 when they beat the Colorado Rockies 4-3 in game four. Despite my earlier convictions that the MLB is fixed, I highly doubt that was the case for the final round. I don't think people who get paid more in one year than the American President gets in a lifetime would agree to get embarrassed like the Rockies did in this years World Series. Unfortunately, Colorado lacked the necessary experience, or became too complacent on their eight days rest, to beat such a cohesive unit that had got hot at the right time.

Canada Settles for Silver: The 2007 World Ringette Championship ended yesterday (November 3, 2007) when Finland defeated Canada 5-4 at the Ottawa Civic Centre Arena. The tournament featured one team from four countries: Sweden, Finland, Canada & the United States of America. Canda and Finland dominated the four day competition as they each shutout the team for the US and only allowed two goals versus Sweden. Finland outscored their competition 88-7 while Canada outscored their competition 55-12 (not including the Gold medal game). In the Gold medal game, Canada looked to avenge their 10-5 loss to Finland in the round robin by jumping out to a 3-1 first period lead. Finland quickly tied the game in the second but Canada managed to score one to take a 4-3 lead into the third period. Finland tied the game with just over a minute to go in the game and eventually won the game at 11:06 of the first overtime period.

An Elite Club: Peter DeBoer became the fifth coach in Ontario Hockey League history to win 500 games in the league. On Friday November 2, 2007, the Kitchener Rangers came from behind to beat the Erie Otters 4-3 at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium to earn their coach a spot in history. I think the only thing that will be nicer for Peter this year, is if he can lead the Rangers to a Memorial Cup victory on home ice in May. For more details and reactions on Peter's accomplishment visit the OHL website. The other members of the 500 win club are Brian Kilrea, Bert Templeton, Larry Mavety and Dick Todd.

It's On Again!: The NLL season is back on. A seven year agreement was reached late last month and a new schedule has been devised. The season now begins in Colorado on December 29, 2007. There were two casualties of this mess, the Arizona Sting and the expansion Boston Blazers will sit out the 2008 season and will hopefully return for 2009.

The MLB Playoffs are Fixed!

Before I continue on with this post, I would like to stress that this is just a fun post and should not be taken seriously at all. Not many people take me serious as it is so this post is not one to start. I have no factual information and this post is not based on any real events, other than the final outcome of the series. So while you read this I hope I make you laugh some and maybe cry if you are a tribe fan.

After seeing the score of game 7 of the American League Championship Series, I just couldn't believe it. How could a team who jumped out to a 3-1 series lead end up losing the series? I guess the leading team could have been lucky but I highly doubt that. After losing game 1, the Cleveland Indians won the next three games, outscoring the Red Sox 24-11 in those games, and looked to be in total control of the series. But then, once everyone realized that interest in a Soxless World Series would not be that high, especially since a relatively unknown Colorado Rockies team is the opponent, Cleveland somehow forgot to score runs.

I personally would have enjoyed seeing the tribe take on the Rox (as the lazy people refer to the Rockies) for the simple reason that the Red Sox would not be involved. Unfortunately, there are too many Red Sox "fans" that would not watch the finale if their team was out so something had to be done. Now I don't know who got to the tribe, whether it was Fox or MLB themselves, but someone must have paid the tribe to lose. And did they ever lose, worse than the producers of Major League could even imagine. The same team that put together 24 runs in the three previous games could only manage 5 runs in the next three games, games that really mattered.

The Red Sox "fans" are saying that the Sox are really that good but we all know according to an article on Sportsnet earlier this year (I really wish I could quote the article) the Red Sox are really not that good of a team and surely, they won't be around come playoff time. Yeah, that is from the organization that owns the Blue Jays. Their concept and understanding of baseball is unprecedented. I really wonder why they haven't won any other penants lately. Hmm!

Back to the topic. Given the teams remaining, more money will be made if the Red Sox compete in the World Series than the Indians. I first thought that Fox was behind the ALCS fix but after some further thought, it is just as likely that the MLB perpetrated the fix. With the steriod issue still fairly hot the league cannot afford less than a packed house for the final series not only in the stands but in living rooms across America, oh yeah, and Canada and pockets of Europe. If only the Cubs didn't choke, MLB would have been in heaven. But alas, that dream may never come to pass so the league needs to make the best of what they're left with.

Now that I wasted my time writing this rambling mess of words and sentences, I shall stop. Before I leave I once again would like to note that nothing I have said here is based on facts. It is purely for amusement (or punishment) purposes only. The 7-1 loss in game 5 could very well have taken all steam out of the tribe, or it is even possible that the Sox figured how to pitch around the Indians batters. Anything is possible in the wide world of sports. All I have to say is it is a good thing there is a mute button on tv's because all we will hear is how Boston is so good or how they overcame almost insurmountable odds, not once but twice. And don't forget all the useless facts Fox has stored away about the only team worthy of mention, ready to assault us while inducing seizures with their rapid flash photography.

Just think, before the league decided teams need to play their divisional opponents a billion times each season, I had no qualms about the Red Sox and in fact, I likely would have been cheering for them back in 2004, or whatever year it was, when they finally won a world series. Now, I am so sick of seeing the Red Sox that my indifference has turned to hate. GO ROCKIES!!!

Another Disappointment

The National Lacrosse League wants to be the National Hockey League so bad that they decided to cancel a season too. Due to contract negotiations breaking off without a deal in place by the deadline of 12:00 AM Tuesday October 16, 2007, the 2008 National Lacrosse Season has been shelved. This latest disaster proves that there are no athletes that care about anything, or anyone, but themselves, even the supposed blue collar athletes of the NLL.

For the past three seasons I was a season ticket holder: first for the Toronto Rock (2 years) and last year with the Buffalo Bandits. How empty the winter is going to feel without the chants of Let’s Go Bandits! every other weekend, or seeing the flashy orange shoes of Mark (Who’s House?) Steenhuis, or seeing the impact Phil Sanderson will have on the Bandits defence for an entire season. John Tavares, uncle of the young Oshawa General of the same name, will have to wait one more year to break the all-time record for goals scored in the NLL to complete the scoring record hat trick (he already has the record for most points and most assists). Will his body, which seems to defy the laws of aging, be up for more punishment? Will he even want to return to the league? Ryan Benesch, coming off a Rookie of the Year performance in 2007, will have to hope he can retain the knowledge and experience of his lone season in the NLL to come back (hopefully in 2009) and improve on his impressive rookie season.

I thought the NLL and all the other professional sports leagues would have learned from the NHL’s example that losing a season has longer lasting effects. But I guess since the best tv deal they could get was with Versus, who stopped showing the games live after the second week (or thereabouts anyhow), they didn’t really worry too much about that. Not knowing the full proposals it is hard to lay blame on one side or the other but it did not seem like either side tried too hard to get things done.

Whatever the reason for the missing season, the fans are the real losers in the end. The wait for next season will be a long one that may turn some of the already small pool of fans off the league. Hopefully the league and players can find the light soon, get back to playing in 2009 and ensure this does not happen again.

We as fans need to make it clear that we will not put up with so much as another game being cancelled due to labour disputes in any sport. It is us fans who have the power. We decide what we watch on tv (at least to an extent) and we decide what we want to spend our money on. It is time we use some of this power to change the professional sports industry’s attitudes about the way they do business. Let’s see how the athletes deal with playing in an empty venue or how the owners deal with no game day revenues. When the league resumes play, I will not be spending my hard earned money on season tickets and until the league resumes, I will not be promoting the league by wearing any team or league merchandise. The thought of writing a letter to the league has crossed my mind but due to my past history of inaction (see my Letter to GO…the letter still hasn’t been sent to anyone yet), I doubt I will ever get to it this time either. I hope someone out there will take the extra step and voice their displeasure at both the league and the PLPA for allowing a season to be cancelled and I recommend any who reads this and agrees with me, to take a similar stand, whether they communicate this to the league office or not.

Ross Cup & Victory Cup

Last Sunday, October 7, the Senior Men's Field Lacrosse season came to an end with the awarding of the Ross Cup and the Victory Cup. I really wish I knew more about this league and since there is a team (or at least was a team) in Oshawa, I may try to find out more next year. For now, I would like to congratulate the division 1 Tri-City Men's Field Lacrosse (B.C.) for winning their fourth Ross Cup in five years and the division 2 Ladner Pioneers (B.C.) for winning what appears to be their first Victory Cup.

Mann Cup Champions

The Peterborough Lakers best Coquitlam Adanacs 12-8 in games six to win the Mann Cup. This win is the second title in a row for Peterborough. Congratulations Peterborough!

This win is the last of the major indoor lacrosse championships to be played this year. But the National Lacrosse League is not too far off anymore. The 2007/2008 NLL season will begin on December 27. The rest of the schedule will be released today on NLL.com.

Mann Cup Update

The Peterborough Lakers were slow out of the gates at the Mann Cup but have since taken a commanding 3-1 series lead. The Lakers now look to clinch their second straight Mann Cup title and third in four years tonight in Coquitlam. The Coquitlam Adanacs will look to rebound tonight and force two more games on their way to their first title since 2001.

In the series opener, Coquitlam got out to an early 2-0 lead on two shorthanded goals and ran the score to 4-1 before Peterborough woke up. Peterborough never led in the game and Coquitlam won 14-11. The second game opened with a Peterborough goal 14 seconds into the first period but then Coquitlam took control of the period, scoring three straight goals. Peterborough managed to tie the game by the end of the first and turned it on in the second period outscoring Coquitlam 7-4. At the end of the game, Peterborough were 13-9 winners.

The Adanacs came out firing in the third game, scoring three straight goals to open the game but Peterborough rebounded with three in a row of their own and the game was tied after forty minutes. Peterborough outscored the Adanacs in the last period and earned a 7-6 win. With a 2-1 series lead, Peterborough began to smell victory and jumped out to an early two goal lead in game four. Coquitlam responded but found themselves trailing 4-3 after one period. The lead was increased to 9-6 after two periods and the game ended with a 12-8 score in favour of Peterborough.

The Lakers John Grant Jr leads all scoring with 22 points, followed closely by teammate Scott Evans with 21 points. With 10 goals, Scott Evans leads all in goals scored while John Grant Jr. leads in assists with 13. For the Adanacs, Jason Wulder is tops with 15 points on 6 goals and 9 assists while Colin Doyle is second with 5 goals and 8 assists for 13 points.
Game five goes tonight at 7:45 PM Pacific time and if necessary game six goes Friday at 7:45 PM Pacific and game seven on Saturday at the same time.

Super Series it Wasn't

The Canada Russia Super Series has been and gone but it was far from a super series. This years edition was commemorating the 35th anniversary of the 1972 Summit Series but was far from living up to the standards of the original contest. Canada won 7 of the 8 games fairly easily while tying the other one.

The series opened on Monday August 27 with a 4-2 Canada win. Two days later Canada shut out their Russian rivals 3-0. The series then switched venues (from Ufa, Russia to Omsk, Russia) for back to back games in which Canada was victorious in both, 6-2 & 4-2, to return to Canadian soil leading the series four games to none.

Their winning ways continued at home as Canada was dominant in Winnipeg on September 4 winning 8-1 and again the next day in Saskatoon winning that game 4-1. The only non victory came in game seven in Red Deer when Russia opened the game with a 2-0 lead. Canada fought back and ended the game knotted at four. The eighth and final game moved still further west to British Columbia on September 9. Canada remained undefeated as they beat Russia 4-1.

With the unexciting contests this year, one should wonder if there is any point continuing with these meaningless series. It is obvious Russia does not care too much about this event as they rarely send their best players so why bother continuing. Can the Canadians even be happy with winning when the competition is far from equal? The real contest comes around Christmas time with the World Juniors so if, at the end of that tournament, Canada is hoisting that trophy, us Canadians can be proud and applaud the efforts as that tournament consists of the best junior players in the world. The 2007 Canada Russia super series, in my eyes, was nothing more than a series of meaningless exhibition games against mediocre Russian players and nothing to be too proud about. All I can say is it’s good team Canada didn’t lose.

Leafs Win! Leafs Win!

It seems the Toronto Maple Leafs can win, unfortunately for some it is in baseball and not hockey. On Wednesday August 29, the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Brantford Red Sox 13-5 in game seven of the Intercounty Baseball League championship to win the title.

Brantford won the first two games of the series with identical 9-6 scores and looked like they would easily defend their 2006 title but then Toronto woke up. The Maple Leafs took the next three games (8-6, 6-5, 13-8) to put the strangle hold on the Red Sox. Game six of the series, to be played in Brantford, was postponed due to rain twice before they finally played it on August 26. A determined Brantford team came out swinging and jumped out to a 10-0 lead after 2 innings on route to a punishing 13-1 victory to force a seventh game.

The first half of game seven was kept close, with the lead swinging between teams. Brantford scored first in the top of the third before Toronto tied it in the bottom half of the same inning. Toronto then took the lead in the bottom of the fourth while a two run tally only to see it disappear in the top of the fifth when Brantford tied the game with two runs of their own. In the bottom of the fifth, Toronto took the lead for good with four runs.

Paul Spoljaric pitched 61/3 innings for Toronto to earn the win while Jeremy Walker lead the offensive charge with two two-run homeruns. Joe Colameco earned playoff MVP honours. That was the first championship for Toronto since 2002 and was Toronto’s eighth title since 1946.

Picture originally posted on the IBL website.

Minto Cup Champions

For some, the third time is a charm but for the Six Nations Arrows Express, their lucky number is four. It took them four straight Minto Cup appearances to win their second ever Minto Cup championship and they did it in convincing fashion by beating the Burnaby Lakers 19-8.

After losing to the two teams from British Columbia in the round robin (10-7 to New Westminster and 10-4 to Burnaby), the Arrows downed the host team 6-5 in the semi-final game Thursday night to earn a championship berth against the perfect Lakers team (in their twelfth straight tournament appearance). After losing to Peterborough in the final game last year, Six Nations was hungry for the cup as Craig Point, the eventual game most valuable player, opened the scoring at 2:48 of the first period. After Alex Gajic tied the game at 1-1 just over a minute later, Six Nations scored seven straight goals to end the first period leading 8-1. Craig Point, drafted third overall in the 2007 National Lacrosse League’s entry draft earlier in the day, scored a hat trick in the first frame while team mates Cody Jamieson and Shawn Evans each netted two.

In the second period, Six Nations outscored Burnaby 4-2 to take an insurmountable 12-3 lead into the second intermission. Burnaby made a short charge in the third, scoring three goals in a row, but it was all for naught as Six Nations regrouped and scored five in a row to put the game away. After Alex Gajic scored his second goal of the period to complete the hat trick, Keegan Hill scored his first goal of the tournament on the power play to end the scoring.

By the end of the game, Shawn Evans amassed eleven points on three goals and eight assists as the leading scorer of the game. Evans’ Six Nations teammate Cody Jamieson (tournament MVP)was second in points for the game, scoring eight points on six goals and two assists while Craig Point (5G) and Dan Hill (1G, 4A) each had five points for the Arrows. For the Burnaby team, Dane Dobbie, the fourth overall pick in the 2007 NLL entry draft, had four points on two goals and two assists while Alex Gajic (3G), Jamie Lincoln (2G, 1A) and Garrett Billings (3A) each tallied three points.

With this win, Six Nations can claim junior lacrosse supremacy, at least in Canada, as the Junior ‘B’ Six Nations Rebels defeated the Coquitlam Adanacs 8-2 to win the national title and earned the right to hoist the 2007 Founder’s Cup. There is one major lacrosse championship yet to be decided this year and that is the Mann Cup. September 7 is when the Senior ‘A’ tournament will begin from the Coquitlam Sports Center in British Columbia.

Minto Cup: On to the Playoffs

Last night's game between the New Westminster Salmonbellies and the Edmonton Miners ended round robin play and helped shape the playoff picture. Edmonton could not come up with a win and is therefore, out of the tournament with a disappointing 0-3 record (identical to their record in the 2006 tournament). With the win, New Westminster goes to 2-1 and claims the second spot while Six Nations Arrows grab up third place with a 1-2 record. The Burnaby Lakers finished first with a 3-0 record to advance directly to the championship on Sunday afternoon.

Tonight the second half of the championship game matchup will be decided as Six Nations will try to upset the Salmonbellies to return to the championship game. The Six Nations Arrows lost to the Peterborough Lakers 9-5 in the final game of the 2006 Minto Cup. New Westminster looks to have the advantage going into this game as they beat Six Nations 10-7 last Saturday. The Salmonbellies, I'm sure, are looking to avenge their earlier loss to Burnaby too when they saw their early four goal lead evaporate into a 7-6 loss. Both playoff games are looking to be good ones and I am looking froward to seeing the final live on Sportsnet.

Minto Cup Day 6 Preview

Five days have passed in the Minto Cup tournament and that means five games have been played. The Burnaby Lakers have won all three of their games, two of them quite handily, and will get a bye into the championship game Saturday at 4:00 PM Pacific time. Six Nations finished their round robin play at 1-2, are still in the playoff picture, and are awaiting the results from tonight's game.

Tonight's game features the 1-1 New Westminster Salmonbellies against the 0-2 Edmonton Miners. If New Westminster wins tonight, they will go to 2-1 while Edmonton will fall to 0-3. This will mean the Ontario champion Six Nations Arrows make it to the semi-final game against New Westminster (who beat Six Nations 10-7 in round robin play). If Edmonton wins, then the three teams will be in a tie and I don't know who would go on. I assume it goes to either head-to-head competition or goals for and against but tournament organizers can be very creative when breaking ties. If anyone knows how ties are broken in this tournament please let me know.

I would also like to thank Barb at the Lacrosse Blog for showing me where I could find up to date scores; muchly appreciated.

Minto Cup Update

Now that the 2007 President's Cup has been awarded to Canada's top Senior 'B' lacrosse team, the Sherwood Park Outlaws, the lacrosse focus turns to the Minto Cup, Canada's Junior 'A' lacrosse championship.

The Minto Cup is halfway over, with four of the six round robin games completed (there are two playoff games to make a total of eight games). The tournament opened on Friday night as the British Columbia champion Burnaby Lakers defeated the Alberta champion Edmonton Miners 17-8. The second game saw the Ontario champion Six Nations Arrow Express lose to the host New Westminster Salmonbellies 10-7 in a fairly close game. On day three (Sunday), the Burnaby Lakers fell behind early but eventually came out 7-6 winners over the Salmonbellies. The score for last night's game (Six Nations vs. Edmonton) has yet to be posted.

The current standings (omitting last nights game) is as follows: Burnaby Lakers are on top with a perfect 2-0 record; second place is New Westminster Salmonbellies at 1-1; tied for third is Edmonton Miners and Six Nations Arrows at 0-1. For game summaries visit the Minto Cup website.

President’s Cup Wrap Up

The week long tournament wrapped up Saturday when the Sherwood Park Outlaws defeated the Ajax-Pickering Rock 8-6. Every player (and maybe even coaches, not too sure on this one) was given a chance to vote for who they thought was the MVP and also the best players of the tournament. This year Jim Veltman of the Ajax-Pickering Rock was voted the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. The results of the voting for the two All-Star teams are below:

First Team All-Stars

Grant McLeod (G) - Sherwood Park Outlaws
Brandon Sanderson - Owen Sound Woodsmen
Jeff Pringle - Ladner Pioneers
Jim Veltman - Ajax-Pickering Rock
Chad Norton - LaSalle Brasseurs
Jimmy Quinlan - Sherwood Park Outlaws

Second Team All-Stars

Steve Dietrich (G) - Ajax-Pickering Rock
Mike Benedict Jr. - Island Redmen
Eddy Dickson - LaSalle Brasseurs
Shawn Summerfield - Ajax-Pickering Rock
Ben Green - LaSalle Brasseurs
Darcy Powless - Six Nations Sting

Next year the tournament will be played in the province of Alberta.

President's Cup Medal Games

Sherwood Park Outlaws, champions of Alberta, are now also the 2007 President's Cup Champions.
After a hard fought first period where Sherwood Park was down one goal at 4-3, the Outlaws came alive in the second period to post another three goals while allowing only one to take the lead for good and retain their perfect record for the tournament. Mike Miron came into to the game, replacing Steve Dietrich in the Ajax-Pickering net after the sixth goal, and allowed only two goals in just over a period to keep the Rock in the game. Unfortunately for the Rock, Grant McLeod found his groove and allowed only one goal in both the second and third periods, making several big saves in between, leading the Sherwood Park team to victory. Final score was 8-6.

In the Bronze medal game, Owen Sound was determined not to let the home fans down too much and jumped out to an early 5-1 lead. That lead was reduced to 5-2 by the end of the first period but on this day, unlike the first day of competition when Owen Sound had a 6-1 lead over the same team at the end of the first period before Ladner fought back and won 11-9, the lead was too much for Ladner to overcome. Owen Sound increased the lead to 8-4 heading into the thrid period and looked to be in control of the game but Ladner fought hard until the end, forcing the Woodsmen to stay sharp, and made the last period interesting. Owen Sound held on to win this contest 9-7 and earned the Bronze medal.

I was lucky enough to see the two medal games as the local Rogers television aired both games. Of course, the Bronze medal game did not come on until the score was already 5-1 Owen Sound so I missed almost hlaf of the scoring and a controversial 'phantom goal'. The camera person also had trouble following the play but I cannot complain too much because they still broadcast the games, which I would not have seen if Rogers did not show them. I must thank Rogers for their efforts in bringing the medal games to live television. Although I would have much rathered being there in person, it was quite a treat for me to see some lacrosse action.

President's Cup: Semi-Final Results

In a repeat of one night earlier, Owen Sound lost 10-9 to Sherwood Park last night in the second semi-final matchup. With the loss, the Woodsmen can only win the Bronze medal while they arte forced to watch Sherwood Park face off for the President's Cup. To make the feeling worse for the Woodsmen, the team they beat for the Ontario title, the Ajax-Pickering Rock, was able to defeat Ladner 9-4 and earn a chance to play for the President's Cup.

The Bronze medal game will be played at 3:30 PM and will put the host Woodsmen against Ladner while the championship game will be played at 7:00 PM and will have the A-P Rock facing Sherwwod Park. In round robin play both the Ontario teams lost to their respective opponents in close games; Owen Sound lost 11-9 to Ladner while A-P Rock lost 9-8 to Sherwood Park. Both games should be close and should provide the fans with some entertaining lacrosse.

Minto Cup Begins

The Minto Cup, Canada's Junior 'A' lacrosse championship, begins today when the Edmonton Miners (Alberta provincial champions) take on the Burnaby Lakers (British Columbia provincial champions) at 7:30 PM Pacific Time. This tournament is being hosted by the New Westminister Salmonbellies (British Columbia) and features the two teams noted above along with the Ontario provincial champion Six Nations Arrow Express.

This tournament begins with a round robin where all teams play each other once. The top team after the round robin gets a spot in the championship game while the third place team battles the second place team for a berth in the championship game.

President's Cup Semi-Final Preview

In the first of the two semi-final games, Ajax-Pickering Rock will face Ladner Pioneers and in the second game, Sherwood Park Outlaws will take on the host Owen Sound Woodsmen. Both games are rematches from earlier in the week. On Tuesday, the A-P Rock beat Ladner 12-6 while yesterday, Sherwood Park defeated Owen Sound 10-9.

Ladner, which had 121 minutes in penalties in the round robin will need to stay out fo the penalty box against the top scoring A-P Rock if they hope to win. As well, they will need to take advantage of all their scoring chances as they are facing the top defensive team in the tournament. In the other game, Sherwood Park is the only team to bring a perfect record into the playoffs. They beat their semi-final opponent in the last game of the round robin and as long as they do not get over-confident they have a good chance to win the game. They do need to stay out of penalty trouble as they had the second most penalty minutes during the round robin with 100. Owen Sound will have the home crowd on their side and should use that to add to their motivation. Owen Sound's goal-tending and defence need to be sharp and both teams will need to take advantage of their scoring chances as this will be a tough game.

The first semi-final game, at first glance, does not seem like it will be much of a contest as A-P Rock defeated Ladner handily in the round robin but playoffs have a way of allowing for the unexpected. The second the the two semi-final games, at least from the outset, looks to be the more entertaining of the two games and fans should not be disappointed. These games should be available on webcast.

President's Cup Round Robin Wrap-up

The round robin of the President's Cup concluded yesterday, deciding the final spots for the playoff rounds. Sherwood Park retained their perfect reocrd by defeating the Owen Sound Woodsmen 10-9 to finish first in group 2 while Ajax-Pickering Rock had no trouble beating up on the Six Nations Sting 13-2 to claim first place in group 1. With the Six Nations loss, Ladner was assured a playoff berth, however, they took care of their own business earlier in the day defeating the Island Redmen 15-7 to earn second place in group 2. The Redmen's loss was their fourth of the tournament, leaving them with a 0-4 record.

Ajax-Pickering Rock lead the first round with 52 goals scored and only 17 goals against. Fittingly enough, Sherwood Park, the other first place team, finished second in goals scored with 46, one ahead of Owen Sound, and 23 goals against. Owen Sound allowed 29 goals against them, good for third. The Island Redmen were by far the worst team in the tournament as they scored a measly 16 goals and allowed a tournament worst 62 goals against, eleven more than the next team.

The semi-final games go today starting at 3:30 PM. The second of the semi-final games will go at 7:00 PM.

President's Cup: Day 3

Day three of the President’s Cup saw the first shutout of the tournament and saw a team remain perfect. Ajax-Pickering Rock blanked the Island Redmen 19-0 to go to 2-1 while Sherwood Park Outlaws beat the same Redmen team (16-1) earlier in the day to remain undefeated with a 3-0 record.

In other action, the host Woodsmen improved their record to 2-1 to keep pace with their Ontario counterparts by defeating six nations in a relatively low scoring affair at 9-5. This low score dropped Owen Sound to second in goals scored (tied with Sherwood Park) while Ajax-Pickering’s huge offensive outpouring vaulted them into first for goals scored and tops in the goals for/against differential. On the other side of the coin, the Island Redmen are worst in the tournament with only 9 goals scored but their 47 goals against is second worst to LaSalle Brasseurs’ 51 goals against. The fourth game saw Ladner Pioneers beat the team from Quebec, 12-5, to end LaSalle’s chances to advance and keep their own alive.

As the round robin portion of the tournament is set to wrap up today, the playoff picture began to take shape yesterday. In Group 1, the two Ontario teams, with their identical 2-1 record, will be moving on to the next round as LaSalle’s record is 1-3 and the Island Redmen (0-3) have yet to win a game. LaSalle has completed all their round robin games while the Redmen have one game remaining today. Group 2 is a little more open, other than Sherwood Park clinching a playoff berth. Ladner, at 2-1, should advance to the playoffs as they open play today against the 0-3 Redmen. Six Nations (1-2) will have a tough game against the Ajax-Pickering team in the second game today while Sherwood Park looks to remain perfect as they face Owen Sound in the late game today.

I will not be able to see the final games on Saturday but I am still uncertain of my plans for tomorrow so I may be able to see the semi-final games. Either way I may not post again until the tournament is over. Visit the website for web casts if you are interested. They are $9.95 plus taxes per game.

President's Cup Day 2

The second day of the President's Cup was more successful for the Ontario teams as they both won their lone game. Ajax-Pickering Rock defeated Ladner Pioneers 12-6 while the host Woodsmen spanked LaSalle Brasseurs 18-3. The schedule does not seem to favour LaSalle or the Island Redmen teams as hey each play two games in one day. LaSalle played twice yesterday losing both games and falling to 1-2 while the Island Redmen opened yesterday with a loss and will play two games today.

The standings now sit with the two Ontario teams on top of Group 1 with 1-1 records each while in the second group Sherwood Park top the group with a perfect 2-0 record. Sherwood Park look to continue their perfect ways this morning when they play the Island Redmen and they finish facing the host Owen Sound Woodsmen tomorrow evening. Owen Sound has scored the most goals scored and has the best point differential thus far in the tourney but there are still lots of games left so anything can happen.

President's Cup Update

Unfortunately, I am not attending this tournament but there is still hope I can make it to the semi finals and finals. Until then I will rely on the website for my information. By the way, there is a live webcast link on the website as well for all who are interested.

During the first day of competition, both Ontario teams failed to win their games. The Ajax-Pickering Rock, the Ontario finalists, lost 9-8 to the Sherwood Park Outlaws from Alberta while the host team and Ontario champion Owen Sound Woodsmen were defeated 11-9 by the team from British Columbia, Ladner Pioneers. In the third game yesterday, the team from Quebec, LaSalle Brasseurs, beat up on the Six Nations Sting, the champions of the Can-Am league.

This tournament is setting up to be a good one and I really hope I can make it to the finals but we shall see what happens. I will try to update every day on the scores as well and if I make it to the finals I will post when I return from Owen Sound.

A Sigh of Relief

Prior to the SF/SD baseball game this evening, the camera inevitably stopped on Barry Bonds while the announcers were setting up the game. And man, did Bonds look tired and very tense. This evening Bonds was hitting fourth in the line-up and after the Giants went one, two and three in the top of the first, I had made the decision to stay up and watch the entire game (being in the Eastern Standard Time zone, the game would not end until after the day ended).

Lucky for me, Bonds lead off the top of the second inning with a monster shot the opposite way to tie Henry “Hank” Aaron for Major League Baseball’s all-time lead in home runs. After the ball finally landed and the cameras returned their focus to Bonds, there was nothing but relief on Bonds face. Okay, there might have been a smile too but his relief took centre stage.
Congratulations Barry! I look forward to seeing number 756 (hopefully tonight). On the down side, once Barry does reach the magic number, the extra baseball games Rogers Sportsnet is showing will cease. Nothing can be perfect I guess.

What a Let Down

Last night I was busy with setting up my wife's new phone and adding phone numbers to my own but I had the Blue Jays vs Yankees game on in the background. I was aware that the game was close; however, I did not pay attention to the innings as they went by. I finally finished with the phones and turned my full attention to the ball game at just the right time.

The Jays were on top 2-1 in the bottom of the ninth inning but the Yankees were threatening. With one out, runners on the corners and Mr Yankee (Derek Jeter) at the plate, I was in for a great finish. Instead of throwing strikes and making the Yankees batters hit the ball, Jeremy Accardo proceeded to throw a first pitch ball to Jeter. With the pressure mounting and the fans energized in anticipation of an explosive finish, Accardo commits an inexcusable mental error. He committed a balk that allowed the tying run to cross the plate. With that disgraceful act, I turned the tv off and went to bed. The Jays ended up surrendering the winning run to the Yankees in the tenth inning.

2007 President's Cup

As the OLA Senior B division begins playoffs this weekend, the 2007 President's Cup schedule has been released. This year the week long event will be held in Owen Sound, Ontario home of the Woodsmen. It should be a fun filled week where one will be able to call the Harry Lumley Bayshore Community Centre home.

What a Surprise

The Score network broadcast some action from the NCAA Division 1 Men's Lacrosse Championship. While searching for something to watch Friday, I saw lacrosse as an option and immediately flipped to it. To my dismay there was no game on at the time specified but I persevered and found the two semi-final games were going to be aired the following day. Upon further review, I found that the championship game was going to be broadcast also.

After having their season cancelled last year due to criminal investigations involving team member's, Duke scored with only three seconds remaining in their semi-final game against Cornell on Saturday to earn the victory 12-11. That game-winning goal came just fourteen seconds after Cornell tied the game. In the other semi-final game, John Hopkins University defeated Delaware 8-3. Duke was unable to complete their cinderella season and lost 12-11 in the championship final.

Cudos for The Score for showing the games and congratulations to John Hopkins for their victory.

Host Team Wins the Cup

Yesterday, in a battle of the Western Hockey League final, the host Vancouver Giants defeated the Tigers from Medicine Hat 3-1 to earn the right to drink from the Memorial Cup. Earlier in the tournament Medicine Hat pulled out a 1-0 victory but lifted by the home fans, Vancouver won when it counted. Unfortunately, I did not see much of the game as I was entertaining my father and was cooking dinner while the game was on (ham with a sweet pineapple sauce and scallop potatoes, for those curious).

The first two periods were close as they ended the first frame knotted at zero and each team scored a goal apiece in the second period. It was not until there was less than five minutes to go in the third when Vancouver took the lead 2-1. They then scored an empty net goal in the last minute to put the game away.

For the other two teams involved: Plymouth Whalers fought hard to get to the semi-final game by beating the Lewiston MAINEiacs 2-1 in overtime in their last round robin game to force a tie breaker game. They then went on to beat the same team in the tie breaker game before losing badly to the eventual cup winners 8-1 in the semi-final contest. Next years tournament will be held in the Ontario Hockey League city of Kitchener, where the host Rangers lie in wait.

Congratulations to the Vancouver Giants!

For more in depth information visit the MasterCard Memorial Cup website.

Canada Retains Title

The 2007 World Indoor Lacrosse Championship ended with the same result as the inaugural event in 2003, at least in the top three spots. Team Canada won an exciting overtime contest against the Iroquois Nationals 15-14 to retain the title of world champions while the team from the United States beat up on an injury laden team from England winning 17-10 for the bronze medal. With this tournament win, Canada became the first nation to hold both the indoor lacrosse title and the field lacrosse title at the same time (Canada won the 2006 field lacrosse tournament in London, ON last summer). Canada will go for the world lacrosse triple crown in 2008 when the world once again comes to Canada for the under 19 World Lacrosse Championship.

The final standings for the 2007 World Indoor Lacrosse Championship are as follows:

1. Canada
2. Iroquois Nationals
3. United States
4. England
5. Scotland
6. Australia
7. Czech Republic
8. Ireland

Five areas are interested in hosting the 2011 tournament including Ottawa, ON, the Czech Republic, Australia, Iroquois Nationals, and one other country (possibly England).

Streak Ends at Four

After going 0-4-0 to start the season and being held scoreless in all four contests, Toronto FC finally earned their first win, stopping their losing streak at four. Being outscored 10-0 in their first four games, Toronto FC was in desperate need of a goal and Danny Dichio fulfilled that need in the 24th minute of their fifth game last Saturday afternoon. Toronto FC went on to score two more goals in that contest en route to a 3-1 victory. That win stopped the longest losing streak in Toronto FC history at four and became the first win in their current two-game winning streak, also the longest in club history (don’t worry fans, the team is new so there will be streaks lasting longer…on both ends).

Toronto FC earned their second straight win Wednesday night, again in front of their home crowd, by shutting out the Houston Dynamo 1-0. The two wins have propelled the team out of the league basement and has, more importantly, given the team and their fans hope.

2007 MasterCard Memorial Cup

Tomorrow, May 18, is the start of the 2007 Memorial Cup to decide the National champion of the Canadian Hockey League. The four teams competing in the ten day tournament are the host Vancouver Giants, the Western Hockey League champion Medicine Hat Tigers, the Ontario Hockey League champion Plymouth Whalers and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League champion Lewiston MAINEiacs. The tournament opens Friday at 9:00 PM Eastern with the Vancouver Giants facing the Plymouth Whalers and will end next Sunday at 1:00 PM Pacific with the championship game.

All games are being broadcast on the Rogers Sportsnet stations. Here is the schedule:

• Friday May 18 9:00 PM ET - Plymouth vs Vancouver
• Saturday May 19 4:00 PM ET - Lewiston vs Medicine Hat
• Sunday May 20 4:30 PM ET - Lewiston vs Vancouver
• Monday May 21 8:00 PM ET - Medicine Hat vs Plymouth
• Tuesday May 22 8:00 PM ET - Lewiston vs Plymouth
• Wednesday May 23 10:30 PM ET - Medicine Hat vs Vancouver
• Friday May 25 8:00 PM ET - 3rd Place vs 2nd Place (Semi-final)
• Sunday May 27 4:00 PM ET - Championship Game

World Indoor Lacrosse Update

Today is an off day for the participants of the 2007 ILF World Indoor Lacrosse Championship, leaving them time to prepare for the quarter final round and wander the streets of Halifax. I figured this would be a perfect time to provide an update of this event.

At the end of round robin play, Canada and Iroquois finished first in their respective groups, winning all three games, and earned a spot in the semi-finals. Behind Canada in Group A is USA at 2-1 followed by Australia at 1-2 and Ireland at 0-3 completes the group. In Group B, England at 2-1 occupies the 2nd spot followed by Scotland at 1-2 and the Czech Republic at 0-3 sits in last place.

Play resumes tomorrow with the two last place teams battling it out for some respect along with the two quarterfinal games. In the first of the quarterfinal matchups, USA plays Scotland while in the second quarterfinal game, England will play Australia. The winner of these two games will go on to the semi-finals to face either Canada or Iroquois while the losers will play each other to decide fifth and sixth place. The winners of the semi-finals will play for gold on Sunday while the losers will compete for the bronze medal. Both medal games will be televised on Sunday on APTN and Iroquois' semifinal game on Saturday will also be televised.

World Junior Hockey Championship

Canda will be the host country for three of the next four World Junior Hockey Championships. The 2009 tournament was previously given to Canada as well as the 2012 tournament. It was just announced on Friday that Canada has also been given the right to host the 2010 tournament making it the first time Canada is to host back to back World Juniors. The host city for the 2009 event will be Ottawa, Ontario (December 26th, 2008 to January 5th, 2009) while the host cities for the 2010 and 2012 events have yet to be determined.

For more information please visit hockeycanada.ca.

2007 Royal Bank Cup

For the second time in four years, the Aurora Tigers are Junior A hockey champions of Canada following a 3-1 win over the host Prince George Spruce Kings in the final of the 2007 RBC Royal Bank Cup on Sunday night at CN Centre.

-You can see the entire article at hockeycanada.ca

2007 IIHF World Hockey Championship

The 2007 IIHF Worlds Championship ended yesterday with Canada beating Finland 4-2 to earn the Gold medal. The Bronze medal game saw the host team from Russia defeat Sweden 3-1 in a dominating performance. The IIHF World Hockey Championship will be held in Canada for the first time ever next year with Halifax and Quebec City as the host cities.

The final tournament rankings are as follows:

1. Canada
2. Finland
3. Russia
4. Sweden
5. USA
6. Slovakia
7. Czech Republic
8. Switzerland
9. Germany
10. Denmark
11. Belarus
12. Italy
13. Latvia
14. Norway
15. Austria
16. Ukraine

Streak Extends With Cup Win

John Grant Jr. led Rochester to the Knighthawks’ second ever Champion’s Cup and the team’s 15th straight win. For his three goals and five assists performance, Grant was named game MVP. Pat O’Toole was also solid in net for Rochester making 42 saves in the win.

Both teams had trouble finding the back of the net early in the first quarter, despite some good scoring chances by both sides. Rochester finally got the scoring started at … of the first quarter then extended their lead to two on a spectacular over the shoulder goal by John Grant Jr. The first quarter ended with a 2-1 score after Dan Dawson scored a goal late in the opening quarter for Arizona. The second quarter started with Arizona on the power play where they promptly scored to tie the game. The score remained tied for just over two minutes when Shawn Williams scored the first of five straight goals to give Rochester a 7-2 lead. Craig Conn scored his second of the game and reduced Arizona’s deficit to four goals and after one more goal by Arizona, the second quarter ended with Arizona trailing by three in a 7-4 game.

The third quarter began much like the first as it took almost five minutes for the first goal of the quarter. Mike Accursi scored his third goal of the game for Rochester … seconds before Arizona answered back. Rochester then scored two straight goals to gain a five-goal lead before Arizona scored their sixth goal of the game to take a 10-6 deficit into the last quarter. Less than a minute into the fourth quarter, Rochester gets back their five-goal lead with a goal by … Arizona, leg by Craig Conn, then took over and scored four straight goals to climb back to within one goal with nine minutes to go. Regaining their composure, Rochester gets back a two-goal lead on Bill Greer’s first goal of the playoffs. Despite outscoring Rochester 5-3 in the last quarter, Arizona could not complete the comeback and fell to the Knighthawks 13-11.

Along with John Grant Jr., two other Knighthawks scored a hat trick, Mike Accursi (3G, 2A) and Shawn Williams (3G, 3A) while Craig Conn was the only player from Arizona to complete the hat trick, finishing with five goals and three assists. Dan Dawson was held to just one goal in the game but had seven helpers for eight points and his Arizona teammate, Derek Malawsky, amassed seven points on six assists and one goal. Rob Blasdell made 48 saves for Arizona in the loss.

Something’s Missing, And It’s A Good Thing

While watching a TSN broadcast of the IIHF World Championship, something struck me as missing. The commentary and in-game analysis was not quite what I remembered TSN providing in past years; Pierre McGuire was not a part of the commentary crew (I hope we are still getting the analysis we need even without Pierre because according to his TSN bio, "McGuire gives viewers the analysis and commentary they want - and need - to hear"). After his debauchery of the World Junior Championship a few years ago, I am surprised he still has a commentary type job anywhere. As it turns out, Pierre is not involved in the above-mentioned event at all and the games have been very enjoyable to watch. Even though Bob Errey’s commentating has been less than stellar, he is far less annoying than Pierre is. He does not repeat himself every minute and he holds himself very professionally. I guess the first part of the title should be corrected because Pierre’s commentary is not missed at all but his absence is a very good thing.

On a side note: Canada will meet up with Finland in the Gold medal game tomorrow at 12 pm eastern. Canada played their best game in the semi-final match against Sweden, beating them 4-1. If they carry that play into the final game, they will be bringing home Gold.

Where’s the Coverage?

With three major sports networks and a television station that is supposed to represent all aspects of the country (history, heritage and current events), one would expect television coverage of a world sporting event, especially when the said event involves one of the country’s national sports that is being held on Canadian soil. This does not seem to be the case when it comes to the sport of lacrosse and in this case the World Lacrosse Championship.
Lacrosse, just like its winter counterpart hockey, is one of Canada’s national sports although, unlike hockey, it does not get the recognition as such. TSN claims to be Canada’s leader in sports but they all but ignore the sport of lacrosse. Rogers Sportsnet only show games from the professional National Lacrosse League and ignore the Major Series Lacrosse league, a summer league with participation from many of the professional players from the NLL. To give Rogers credit, they did show a MSL and OLA Junior “A” game of the week on their local station in some areas of the province last summer. Then there is The Score, which used to show Toronto Rock games early in their history but to the benefit of lacrosse fans, let Rogers Sportsnet take over the past two or three seasons. The Score does show the scores of some, if not all, the NLL games so they at least acknowledge the sport.

Not one of these sports stations provided broadcasts for the World Lacrosse Championships from London, Ontario last summer but instead the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation had to step up and broadcast Team Canada’s games. CBC might step up again and show Team Canada games from the indoor championships but as of now, there is no indication of this happening. It looks like us Canadians will have to tune into APTN to get any coverage from this tournament.

Lacrosse has been labelled the fastest growing sport in North America and it is time that the sports networks in this country realize the increasing interest in the sport and start broadcasting more games. Not to have any coverage of a world event such as the upcoming World Indoor Lacrosse Championship on a major sports network is absolutely ludicrous. It is time for the major sports networks to acknowledge and help the growth of Canada’s national sport, lacrosse.

Spontaneous Internal Combustion Does Exist!

Just look at the Jays the past two weeks if you need proof. They are not playing to their potential, but then when your starter cannot even get through three innings what does one expect? Sending Towers to the pen and putting "who can hit my hanging cheese ball the farthest”, Zambrano, into the starting rotation was perhaps the dumbest move made by the team this year. It is time for Gibbons to wake up and manage or take a hike. If this play keeps up all month, the Jays will be out of playoff contention before the all-star game.

A New Season, A New Hope

As many professional sports leagues are in the midst of their playoffs, some of the smaller amateur (?) leagues are underway or are set to begin. The OLA and Can-Am Senior “B” lacrosse leagues are heading into their fourth week of play while the Intercounty Baseball League began this past weekend. Not to forget the Major League Soccer league that started April 7.

In OLA action, the Ajax-Pickering Rock and the Brooklin Merchants are atop the East division with a 2-1 record while in the West, the defending President’s Cup Champion Wellington Aces are leading with a 3-1 record. The host team for the President’s Cup, the Owen Sound Woodsmen, is off to a slow start losing all three of their games so far. The OLA season consists of a 14 game schedule for each of the six competing teams with seven home games and seven games on the road. The OLA regular season ends on June 30 while the playoffs will be over by August 15 at the latest. The Can-Am season is two games longer than the OLA with the nine teams playing a total of 16 games (eight at home and eight on the road). Tonawanda Braves are leading the league with a perfect 3-0 record while the Newton Golden Eagles and the Six Nations Sting are close behind with a perfect 2-0 record.

Turning to baseball, the Intercounty Baseball League began play this past weekend with three games Saturday and four more on Sunday. The result of these games: the Guelph Royals are tied with the defending champions Brantford Red Sox at 2-0 while the Hamilton Thunderbirds and the Kitchener Panthers are sitting in the cellar with an 0-2 record. The IBL consists of nine teams scattered throughout Southern Ontario playing 36 games each, including several scheduled double headers. The regular season goes until July 22 and includes an all-star game on July 7 in Brantford.

Finally, Major League Soccer, with the new addition Toronto FC, is already a month into their season. The league leaders after about five games played are the Kansas City Wizards in the East at 4-1-0 while the Houston Dynamo and the Colorado Rapids both have an even 2-2-1 record in the West. Toronto FC is in last place overall with a 0-4-0 record while Real Salt Lake only has three ties in five games for second worst overall and bottom rank in the West.

The OLA Junior “B” lacrosse season has also started and is into its fourth week. Other seasons starting this month include Major League Lacrosse starting May 12, OLA Junior “A” lacrosse starting this weekend and Major Series Lacrosse starting May 24. This summer is sure to be packed with sports. The only question is which event to attend?

One Game to Decide it All

We are fast approaching the Champion’s Cup Final. The match-up for the title was decided over a week ago when Rochester and Arizona defeated their opponents in the divisional finals. Rochester, with a league best 14-2 record in the regular season, earned home field advantage throughout the playoffs, however, due to a scheduling conflict at Blue Cross Arena on Saturday, the league has decided to have the game played in Arizona instead of rescheduling the game or having a neutral site host the game.

Bringing a 16-2 season record into the game (including the two playoff games played), Rochester is the favourite to win, even with the change of venue. They bring an all-time second best 14 game winning streak into the game as well as being the top scoring team in the regular season. They had the league leader in points this year in John Grant Jr. with 111 points, and two others in the top ten. In head to head competition, Rochester won their only meeting this season but lost in their lone visit to Arizona 14-4 back in 2004.

Arizona counters the league best offence with the league’s second best goaltender in goals against average as well as a defence that allowed the third fewest goals in 2007. Moving the game to Arizona works to Arizona’s benefit as they only have one win in Rochester in three visits. As well, Arizona has a 67.7% win percentage (23-11 record) in Arizona all-time as opposed to a 40.5% win percentage (15-22 record) away from the confines of the Jobing.com arena. Leading Arizona offensively is the second best point getter this year in Dan Dawson with 107 points.

Both teams are full of talented players and could win this game. Arizona will be trying to capture their first championship after losing in Toronto in 2005 while Rochester will be going for their second championship. Rochester should win this game but they will have to want it more and they should after having the game moved from Rochester to Arizona. Rochester has also appeared in the playoffs all thirteen years of their existence in the league but only have one championship to show for it. If Rochester keeps those two facts in mind and play to their potential then they will win; if they take Arizona lightly, Arizona can easily steal the win.

The 2007 MLB Season Can Officially Begin

Most players in professional sports live by the rules and procedures of the league they play in, whether they are league MVP’s or kids just out of college. They respect the league, the teams they represent, their teammates, and some players even respect other players in the league. Roger Clemens is not one of these players. He lives by his own rules.

While most players were working hard to secure a spot on a team in spring training, Roger, or should I say Mr. Clemens, was sucking down whiskey sours on his hobby farm in Texas or on some golf course working on correcting his slice; in other words, he was not among the players at spring training. Is He too good for spring training? Many teams would be more than happy to overpay to have him on their team, even at age forty-four. Maybe he just thinks he is above the league so the normal rules and procedures do not apply to him. Whatever the reason, it seems that MLB, along with some individual teams, is bending over backwards to accommodate Roger in his attempt to cling on to his youth.

This year, three main teams were in the running for Clemens: the Houston Astros, the Boston Red Sox, and the hated New York Yankees. Well today, Clemens again showed his lack of respect for the game by interrupting the Seattle/Yankee game to announce that he will be joining the New York Yankees for this season, what’s left of it. In my opinion, he should have stuck to his 2003 decision to retire while everyone still held him in high regard and could remember him as a great player. Instead, Roger decided to tarnish his image, the league’s image (which is hard to do after the steroid scandal) and his great accomplishments by continuing the circus show of his.

Thankfully, the ‘suspense’ is over (at least for this year) with Clemens’ decision to continue playing so the 2007 season can officially begin.

Champion’s Cup Match-Up Decided

Both teams came out firing to start the East Division final, combining for eleven goals in the first quarter. Buffalo opened the game with two straight goals and led 3-1 (on two short-handed goals) before Rochester scored four straight goals to take the lead. Rochester held that lead until 2:42 into the second quarter when Mark Steenhuis tied the game. Buffalo then went on to take the lead at 4:22 and by halftime, the lead had grown to two.

Buffalo expanded their lead to three going into the last quarter. Rochester seemed to take over in the fourth quarter, peppering Mike Thompson, and came back to tie the game with less than three minutes remaining. Mike Accursi’s fifth goal of the game gave Rochester the lead at 12:37 of the quarter. On the other end of the field, Rochester’s defence only allowed Buffalo to get eight shots on Pat O’Toole in the fourth quarter. Less than a minute after Rochester went ahead, Delby Powless scored his lone goal of the game for Buffalo to force overtime. Twenty-six seconds of overtime was all that was needed as John Grant Jr. beat Thompson to give Rochester the 14-13 victory.

Mike Accursi led the goal scoring for Rochester with five goals while his teammates, Scott Evans and John Grant Jr. each scored a hat trick. Mike Accursi also added two assists in the game to lead in points with seven. Scott Evans (3G, 3A) and Shawn Williams (1G, 5A) had six points. For Buffalo, five players scored two goals while John Tavares (2G, 3A) and Kevin Dostie (2G, 3A) again led the team in points with five. Pat O’Toole made 43 saves for the win while Mike Thompson made 52 saves in the loss.
In the West Division final, Arizona took control of the game early and held on for the win. Arizona scored first and after San Jose tied the game, they went on to score six straight goals to take a 7-1 lead into the half. Entering halftime there was only one way for San Jose’s game to go, and they did not disappoint. San Jose took over in the second half outscoring Arizona but could not quite make up the six-goal deficit they found themselves in after the first half. Final score Arizona 9, San Jose 7.

Rob Blasdell, Arizona’s goaltender, kept San Jose scoreless for about twenty-five minutes from the first quarter until the third quarter and made 44 saves in the win. Leading the charge offensively for Arizona was Dan Dawson (2G, 3A) and Craig Conn (1G, 4A) with five points each. For San Jose, Gary Rosyski (4G, 3A) and Colin Doyle (6A) were the most successful players offensively with seven points and six points respectively. Anthony Cosmo did not fare too well in net for San Jose making only 28 saves in the loss.
With the win, Arizona will travel to Rochester to challenge the best team in the league on May 12.

The Division Finals

With the first round over, we now look forward to the second round: the Division finals. The East Division will be the first division to be decided as the Buffalo Bandits travel to Rochester Friday night to face the Knighthawks. The West Division will be decided the next night as the San Jose Stealth challenge the Sting in Arizona. The two winners of this weekend’s games with meet on May 12 to battle it out for the Champion’s Cup in a one game showdown.

The East Division Final

The advantage for this match-up lies with the Rochester Knighthawks, who finished the season with a perfect 8-0 record in the Blue Cross Arena and currently have a twelve game winning streak at home, including last weekend’s first round playoff game. Their last loss at home was on March 18, 2006 when they lost to the Buffalo Bandits in overtime. Rochester had the most potent offence this season with 249 goals, including a league high 67 power play goals and a league high 23 short-handed goals. Two of the top five goal scorers and two of the top five in points were Knighthawks, including John Grant Jr. the leader in both categories. As a team, Rochester is 70-25 all time in front of their home crowd with a 14-5 all-time record at home versus the Bandits. Rochester also leads the all time head-to-head match up 23-14.

After losing both games on the last weekend of the season to the Knighthawks, Buffalo is going to be looking for some revenge. With their starting goalie unlikely to start due to an injury suffered in a game on April 13, Buffalo’s chances may lie on backup goaltender Mike Thompson. Thompson has proven he can play in this league as he shut out the Swarm in the second half of last weekend’s first round playoff game to go along with the five wins he earned during the regular season. For Buffalo to win, they will need Tavares to continue to play the role of leader and the defence to hold the Knighthawks to ten goals or less.

This is a key game for both teams, as it will decide not only who will go to the cup final from the East, but also where the final will be played. Buffalo wants nothing more than to avenge their loss in the finals last year at home by winning the cup this year in front of their fans. A win in Rochester will give them that chance. This game has the making of a classic and if Buffalo can play a full game to their potential, they have the ability to beat Rochester. Rochester looks to win only their second championship despite making the playoffs every season since their inception into the league, losing five times in the championship game (the most losses in the championship game).

The West Division Final

In the West, San Jose has a tough road ahead. They already beat the Mammoth in Colorado, their first ever win in the Pepsi Center, and now travel to Arizona on Saturday night where they have only one victory in five visits. Colin Doyle, the best big game player in the league, is hoping to lead the young Stealth to their first Championship game appearance since moving to San Jose from Albany for the 2003 season. San Jose has the number one goalie from the regular season in both goals against average (10.22) and save percentage (79.2%) in Anthony Cosmo. Cosmo stumbled early in their first round playoff game but recovered by the second half where he kept Colorado to three goals. This team proved they can play against the big teams when they beat the best from the West in the first round, the only question remains is if they can continue their winning ways for two more games with the amount of travel they will have to endure?

Arizona stumbled into the playoffs, losing three straight to end the season, but recovered in the first round to beat the Calgary Roughnecks. Arizona beat San Jose in both of the head-to-head match ups this season, is 4-1 all time at home against the Stealth, and have a 7-3 all-time record versus San Jose. Arizona won their only other playoff game at home, beating Colorado in 2005, and has a 4-2 record all-time in the playoffs. Leading the way offensively for the Sting is Dan Dawson, the number two point getter and the number 3 goal scorer in the regular season this year. They have a roster full of guys who can score so they do not rely solely on any one player thus, making it hard for teams to defend against them. Arizona’s goaltender, Rob Blasdell, finished the regular season with the second best goals against average with 10.94 but only the ninth best save percentage at 76.1%. Arizona definitely has what it takes to win but every player needs to show up and play hard for a full sixty minutes if they hope to go on to the Champion’s Cup final.

Both teams finished the season with a 9-7 record but they achieved them differently. Arizona seemed to ease up once they secured a playoff spot while San Jose made it to the post season by winning. Arizona comes in to the game as the favourite, at least on paper, while San Jose is seen as the underdog in these playoffs. Arizona relies on a team game where anyone can score from anywhere while San Jose relies on a few players to score and solid goaltending from Cosmo. As mentioned, San Jose’s offence relies primarily on four players, Doyle, Rosyski, Wiles and Zywicki, if they are kept off the scoreboard then more pressure will be put on Cosmo to shut down Arizona’s multi-pronged attack. This should be a close game featuring the two best goaltenders in the regular season this year. No matter which team wins this game, they will make for a tough opponent for the East Division finalist and will make the cup final interesting.

My picks:

Rochester over Buffalo
San Jose over Arizona

To the Victor Goes the Spoils

The first game in the 2007 NLL Playoffs went as predicted: Rochester defeated Toronto by a score of 10-6 in front of 7,003 fans at the Blue Cross Arena. Toronto stayed in the game into the fourth quarter thanks mainly to the strong performance of Bob Watson who stopped 50 of 58 shots. On offence, Toronto was lead by rookie sensation Ryan Benesch (my vote for rookie of the year honours) who scored three (3) goals and Aaron Wilson with three (3) assists. On the other side of the floor, Rochester’s offence was lead by Shawn Williams with seven (7) points (2G, 5A), Scott Evans with four (4) assists and Mike Accursi who scored a hat trick. Pat O’Toole was also solid in net stopping 46 of 52 shots. Rochester will continue their run for the Champion’s Cup Friday April 27 against the Buffalo Bandits in the East Division final.

In the first game Saturday night, Colorado came out of the gates firing and had a 7-3 lead after the first quarter. It looked like Colorado might run away with the game but San Jose shook off their first quarter jitters to reduce Colorado’s lead to three by halftime. It took only 1:16 of the third quarter for San Jose to get to within one goal and Jeff Zywicki tied the game late in the quarter. At the end of regulation, this game was tied at 14 and became the first overtime game of these playoffs. In the overtime, San Jose killed off an early penalty before Jeff Zywicki netted the winner over ten minutes in to defeat the defending champions and give San Jose their first ever win at the Pepsi Center. Colin Doyle led the San Jose attack with ten points (1G, 9A) while his team mates Jeff Zywicki scored seven goals for eight points and Gary Rosyski tallied seven points on two goals and five assists. In the loss, Brian Langtry and Jamie Shewchuk led Colorado with five points on three goals and two assists each. San Jose will travel to Arizona Saturday for the West Division final.

In the second game Saturday night, the two teams battled hard and ended the first quarter in a three-three tie. It looked like Arizona was starting to take control early in the second quarter with four goals in the first five minutes but Calgary hung in there and clawed back to even early in the third quarter. Arizona finally did take control of the game early in the last quarter by scoring two quick goals to extend their lead by four. Arizona held Calgary scoreless for the last quarter and coasted to only their second victory ever at the Saddledome. Dan Dawson (5 points) and Curt Malawsky ( 4 points) each scored a hat trick to lead in goals scored for Arizona while Derek Malawsky (2G, 4A) and Craig Conn (1G, 5A) led Arizona in points with six apiece. Scott Self also had a five-point night for Arizona with two goals and three assists. Tracey Kelusky (3G, 1A) and Jeff Shattler (4A) led the attack for Calgary. Arizona will host San Jose Saturday to determine the Champion’s Cup representative from the West Division.

In a repeat of last years first round match up, Minnesota came out strong by scoring the first four goals of the game. Buffalo woke up halfway through the period and got on the board with a goal by Pat McCready. Buffalo was able to lull Minnesota to sleep and they ended the first quarter tied at four. Amidst the sloppy play, Minnesota was able to head into halftime with a disappointing 8-7 lead on an empty net goal late in the half. The sloppy play continued into the second half but Buffalo was able to score three goals to take the lead. Buffalo really came alive in the fourth quarter playing tight defence and solid offence, scoring another four unanswered goals. After some first quarter nerves, Mike Thompson settled down, allowed three more goals in the second quarter then shut the door in the second half of the game. John Tavares came alive in the second half of the game to lead the Bandits in scoring along with Kevin Dostie with three goals and two assists each. Clay Hill and Delby Powless also had solid offensive games for Buffalo with 4 points each, one goal and 2 assists for both players. Minnesota’s offence was well spread out, maybe too well, as the leader, Ryan Sharp, only had three points (1G, 2A). Four other players for Minnesota had two points, including the goaltender, Nick Patterson. The Bandits will need another solid outing by Mike Thompson in the East Divisional final Friday in Rochester if they are to make it to the Champion’s Cup Final on May 12.

The NLL playoffs now come down to four teams, Rochester and Buffalo in the East and Arizona and San Jose in the West. Due to the better records in the regular season, the winner of the East Division final will also host the Champion’s Cup final. Rochester is still the favourite but San Jose has proven that any team can win on any given night so the Champion’s Cup is still for the taking.