I was watching the semi-final game for the Scotties Tournament of Hearts and something happened on the last shot that totally confuses me. Team Ontario scored 2 points in the ninth end to finally regain the lead and held Team Manitoba to one in the tenth end to force an extra end. Team Ontario had the hammer in the eleventh and looked to be in a great position for the victory. Jennifer Jones, the skip for Team Manitoba, left Sherry Middaugh, Ontario's skip, with a choice of shots for her last rock: a double takeout or a draw.
I am far from an expert in curling but I have watched several events and when one point is needed, the teams generally go for the draw. I have never actually curled but I have played other games where objects are thrown or shot into others (billiards, lawn bowling, shuffleboard)and I know how difficult it is to line up combos (or double takeouts in curling terms). I don't know if there were any high guards blocking a draw attempt because the television coverage only showed the house but the announcers kept talking about the draw so it must have been possible.
Team Ontario decided on the double takeout. Sherry Middaugh didn't catch enough of the first rock, missed the double and gave up the steal. If anyone reads this, saw the match and can explain the decision to me, I'd be grateful to them. I am sure there is a very valid reason and I would love to know it to add to my very limited curling knowledge so I will sound somewhat knowledgeable of the sport in any future posts.
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Road Trip Planning
This winter is starting to take its toll on me and I am already looking ahead to the spring and summer and being able to take road trips with little, if any, concern for the weather. Depite my 2 hour plus drive to Buffalo to watcht he Bandits games, I am itching to go on a road trip. During an innocent email conversation with my sister, we ended up planning a sports packed day trip to Rochester. In the afternoon we will be seeing the baby Jays while they take on the Red Hawks. In the evening we will head to the Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial to watch the Bandits hopefully defeat the Knighthawks. Unfortuantely, that it is a month and a half and a few snow storms away. Maybe I can take a trip to Ottawa to see a Sens or '67's game before that.
Playoff Picture Getting Clearer
With about ten games remaining for each team in the Ontario Hockey League, the playoff picture is becoming clearer, at least for the Western Conference. All eight playoff spots in the west have been claimed; the only thing left to decide is who will play who in the first round.
The Kitchener Rangers remain on top in the west and are just 3 wins away from clinching that spot and earning home ice advantage through to the Western Conference final. Another 3 wins will give them home ice advantage in the OHL final should they reach that stage. The bottom half of the standings are fairly close with the last three playoff bound teams within 2 points of each other with a game in hand on the leaders.
The Belleville Bulls are trying to distance themselves from the rest of the Eastern Conference and have an eight point lead on the second place Oshawa Generals. The only other two teams from the east that have clinched a playoff berth are the Brampton Battalion and the Niagara IceDogs. The Kingston Frontenacs are playing the role of spoiler well as they beat three playoff bound teams in their last six games. (As a side note the Frontenacs played their first game in their new arena, the K-Rock Centre, last night and lost a tough game to the Bulls). Ottawa and Peterborough are struggling and looking at the playoffs as a new season while Sudbury is a Peterborough win away from being eliminated from the playoffs.
As the season ends, the level of play will definately pick up as teams try to avoid playing the top teams by becoming a top team themselves. Teams to avoid for many will be the conference leading Rangers and Bulls and the third place team from the west, the Windsor Spitfires, who are dedicating the rest of the season to their fallen teammate, Mickey "Mouse" Renaud (October 5, 1988 - Febraury 18, 2008). The end of this year's season and the entire playoff's will showcase some inspired hockey and will be a real treat to watch.
The Kitchener Rangers remain on top in the west and are just 3 wins away from clinching that spot and earning home ice advantage through to the Western Conference final. Another 3 wins will give them home ice advantage in the OHL final should they reach that stage. The bottom half of the standings are fairly close with the last three playoff bound teams within 2 points of each other with a game in hand on the leaders.
The Belleville Bulls are trying to distance themselves from the rest of the Eastern Conference and have an eight point lead on the second place Oshawa Generals. The only other two teams from the east that have clinched a playoff berth are the Brampton Battalion and the Niagara IceDogs. The Kingston Frontenacs are playing the role of spoiler well as they beat three playoff bound teams in their last six games. (As a side note the Frontenacs played their first game in their new arena, the K-Rock Centre, last night and lost a tough game to the Bulls). Ottawa and Peterborough are struggling and looking at the playoffs as a new season while Sudbury is a Peterborough win away from being eliminated from the playoffs.
As the season ends, the level of play will definately pick up as teams try to avoid playing the top teams by becoming a top team themselves. Teams to avoid for many will be the conference leading Rangers and Bulls and the third place team from the west, the Windsor Spitfires, who are dedicating the rest of the season to their fallen teammate, Mickey "Mouse" Renaud (October 5, 1988 - Febraury 18, 2008). The end of this year's season and the entire playoff's will showcase some inspired hockey and will be a real treat to watch.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
The Season of Champions Begins!
Unbeknownst to many in Canada, the 2008 M&M Meat Shops Canadian Junior Curling Championships wrapped up yesterday afternoon in Sault Ste Marie, Ontario. The week long event began on February 2 with 13 mens teams and 13 womens teams competing for top spot and a chance to represent Canada in Sweden at the World Junior Championships in March.
On the women's side, the team from Manitoba, lead by Kaitlyn Lawes, beat Team Saskatchewan, skipped by Stephanie McVicar, 7-6 in the final to earn the title of Canadian Junior Champions. Team Manitoba advanced straight to the finals after posting a 10-2 record in the round robin while the Saskatchewan team finished the round robin at 8-4 and were forced to play two tie-breaker games and a semi-final game for the right to play Manitoba in the finals. Team Saskatchewan defeated Team Alberta 8-7 and Team Northern Ontario 6-5 in the tie-breakers and beat Nova Scotia 8-7 to earn their hard-fought berth in the finals.
On the men's side, Team Quebec, lead by William Dion, held on to defeat Team Onatrio, lead by Travis Fanset, 8-6 to earn the Canadian Junior title. Similar to the women's side, Team Quebec posted a 10-2 round robin record to get the bye into the finals while the team from Ontario needed to get through a tie-breaker game and the semi-final game to earn their spot in the finals. In the tie-breaker, Team Ontario easily defeated Team Saskatchewan 7-2 before ending Team PEI's hopes in the semi-final in a tight 4-3 match.
While the Junior's were playing in Sault Ste Marie, the 2008 TSC Tankard (Ontario men's provincial championship) was being held in Waterloo. Thanks to Rogers Television, Ontarians were able to watch this tournament unfold. The World number 1 ranked Glenn Howard team was poised to duplicate last year's result by going unbeaten in the tournament until they met Mike Harris' team in their last round robin game. After the loss to Mike Harris' team, the Howard rink lost the 1-2 page playoff game to the second seed team skipped by Peter Corner (8-2) and were forced to play in the semi-final game.
The second half of the semi-final matchup was not so clear cut. Two tie-breaker games were needed to decide the fourth place team before the 3-4 page playoff game could take place. In a rare midnight draw, Wayne Tuck's team defeated the team skipped by Wayne Middaugh 9-4 before losing the second tie-breaker game to Rob Lobel 9-8 in an extra end. With that win, Rob Lobel lived to play one more game but unfortunately for his team, one more game is all they played as they lost the 3-4 page playoff game to Mike Harris 8-7.
The semi-final was set and looked to be a good one until the game began. Glenn Howard opened the first end with a three spot then after two blanked ends, they stole their fourth point in the fourth. The fifth end saw Team Harris get on the board with a single but after the break Team Howard scored two more to put the game away. The game ended in a 7-2 score. Glenn's domination continued into the final match as they scored four points in the opening end against Peter Corner en route to a 9-4 victory. This win marked the third consecutive provincial win for Howard's team. They will now play for the National title in the Tim Horton's Brier in early March.
Up next for the Season of Champions: the Scotties Tournament of Hearts beginning Saturday.
Friday, February 8, 2008
The End of Tied Games
Ever since the National Hockey League came up with the hair-brained idea of eliminating ties from hockey, I have been against it. I see nothing wrong with a tie at all. Some games are played so well that having a winner is not necessary while other games are so horrible that neither team deserves the win. It seems sports these days are not about enjoyment any more but more about having a distinct winner and loser. After all, it’s hard to brag about a tie isn’t it?
Society has “evolved” so much that we are not happy with being entertained for a few hours unless we can throw insults at another group of people based on the outcome of a child’s game. A game for which we fans have little, if any, personal involvement in. But now I am getting off topic a bit. Society needs closure in everything. A movie needs a happy ending; a mystery novel needs a clear description of the crimes and how the clever detective solved those crimes; and sports need a clear, decisive winner. Ties have become a thing of the past.
Now that society’s need for closure is so overwhelmingly powerful, the NHL has taken note and is making sure each game has a clear winner. When the league went on strike, the league brass thought it a perfect time to address this issue and came up with the shootout. Now a team sport, deadlocked after both regulation time and a short overtime period, is decided on the ability of individual players. Brilliant! The OHL All-Star game was a perfect example of why shootouts are perhaps the worst possible method of deciding a game. Out of the five skaters that stepped to the line, only one put the puck on net. I can’t think of anything more exciting then the missed shot. Watching the zamboni flood that thin patch of ice prior to the shootout is pretty exciting too.
Someone has to realize that shootouts are not the right way to end a hockey game. Despite the fact that the fate of 20 plus players should never rest on the shoulders of any one of them individually, shootouts are boring. There is no big play that leads up to each scoring chance and no chance of anything really exciting happening. The player either scores or he doesn’t, plain and simple. A really bad end to what could have been a great game all because society needs closure. The only good part is that the refs all but disappear during shootouts. Maybe shootouts aren’t that bad after all.
Society has “evolved” so much that we are not happy with being entertained for a few hours unless we can throw insults at another group of people based on the outcome of a child’s game. A game for which we fans have little, if any, personal involvement in. But now I am getting off topic a bit. Society needs closure in everything. A movie needs a happy ending; a mystery novel needs a clear description of the crimes and how the clever detective solved those crimes; and sports need a clear, decisive winner. Ties have become a thing of the past.
Now that society’s need for closure is so overwhelmingly powerful, the NHL has taken note and is making sure each game has a clear winner. When the league went on strike, the league brass thought it a perfect time to address this issue and came up with the shootout. Now a team sport, deadlocked after both regulation time and a short overtime period, is decided on the ability of individual players. Brilliant! The OHL All-Star game was a perfect example of why shootouts are perhaps the worst possible method of deciding a game. Out of the five skaters that stepped to the line, only one put the puck on net. I can’t think of anything more exciting then the missed shot. Watching the zamboni flood that thin patch of ice prior to the shootout is pretty exciting too.
Someone has to realize that shootouts are not the right way to end a hockey game. Despite the fact that the fate of 20 plus players should never rest on the shoulders of any one of them individually, shootouts are boring. There is no big play that leads up to each scoring chance and no chance of anything really exciting happening. The player either scores or he doesn’t, plain and simple. A really bad end to what could have been a great game all because society needs closure. The only good part is that the refs all but disappear during shootouts. Maybe shootouts aren’t that bad after all.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
The Countdown Is On!
With a major winter storm streaking up the Eastern seaboard, summer seems like a warm, pleasant dream of some far away place. But today I was nicely reminded that at least spring, the precursor to summer, is just around the corner (albeit a long lengthy one). Spring training is set to start February 14 when the pitchers and catchers of eight major league baseball teams report to camp. The remainder of the pitchers and catchers will report to their respective camps by February 18, one day before the position players of seven teams report. Games are set to begin on February 26 when four major league teams take on US college teams. By the end of that week, the spring training season will be in full swing. Three short weeks after that, spring officially begins and three months after that, we will be into the heat of summer and talk of the pennant races.
A Sport Rejuvenated
From the depths of nothingness comes a season saved and a sport rejuvenated. The only question is: can the powers that be prevent history from repeating itself?
Prior to the start of the NLL season, the players and owners had trouble reaching a CBA and the commissioner Jim Jennings announced the cancellation of the season. I previously commented how disgusted I was by that and in fact, I even went as low as to suggest the NLL wanted to be like the NHL. In a way I’m sure it does, or at least did before their lockout/strike/work stoppage/cancelled season (whichever term suits you best) as the NHL was king in Canada and was growing increasingly more popular in the United States. After the CBA was agreed upon and the season was resurrected from the great beyond, a bad taste continued to linger in my mouth.
Now that the season is heading into its sixth week, despite the scars that remain (the absence of the Arizona Sting and expansion Boston Blazers), the pre-season fiasco is almost forgotten. The action’s more intense and with the dispersal of talent from the Arizona Sting, there is even more parity in the league. This is evidenced by a third of games so far being decided by a single score (7 of 21) with five of those games being decided in overtime. Last year, only eight games in all saw an extra frame. Attendance is also up more than 800 fans per game over this time last season but I suspect that is due to the fact that Colorado, the team with the best fan support last season, has played three home games while San Jose, the worst for attendance, has only played one home game.
The cancelled season made me think long and hard about renewing my season tickets in Buffalo but now I am glad I did. After a slow start in their season opener at HSBC, the Bandits came back in the second half and made the game exciting. They gave the fans hope for a huge come from behind win but Rochester was able to hold off the charge and win it 14-9. The second home game for the Bandits saw an extremely spirited affair with lots of hits and scoring. John Tavares electrified the crowd by scoring his 596 and 597th career goal to take the all-time goals scored lead. That game was exactly what lacrosse is all about: tough physical play with lots of scoring. It renewed my excitement in the game and followed by the high scoring, high intensity games last Saturday night, it gave me hope that this type of game is becoming the norm.
These high quality games are reminiscent of the 1999 season when there were only seven teams in the league. Over the past few seasons, some people have been complaining about the NLL being watered down by expansion and now that theory seems to hold water. The degradation of the league has been so slight and so prolonged that someone fairly new to the sport, as I am, could not see the seemingly subtle changes. This year with two less teams (I guess technically only one since the new Boston Blazers team has yet to play a game) the league seems to be rejuvenated; the games are more intense and the goals more spectacular.
Hopefully Jim Jennings is paying attention to the action on the floor so he can see that right now less is more. Although growing, the talent pool of great lacrosse players is still relatively small. The time for expansion has ended, at least for now. Lacrosse as a professional sport has reached the minds of the youth and the minor league organizers and the sport has begun to grow at the grass roots level. The seeds have been planted and now it is time to sit back and watch the talent grow. After all, talent can’t be forced it must be nurtured and allowed to blossom on its own.
Prior to the start of the NLL season, the players and owners had trouble reaching a CBA and the commissioner Jim Jennings announced the cancellation of the season. I previously commented how disgusted I was by that and in fact, I even went as low as to suggest the NLL wanted to be like the NHL. In a way I’m sure it does, or at least did before their lockout/strike/work stoppage/cancelled season (whichever term suits you best) as the NHL was king in Canada and was growing increasingly more popular in the United States. After the CBA was agreed upon and the season was resurrected from the great beyond, a bad taste continued to linger in my mouth.
Now that the season is heading into its sixth week, despite the scars that remain (the absence of the Arizona Sting and expansion Boston Blazers), the pre-season fiasco is almost forgotten. The action’s more intense and with the dispersal of talent from the Arizona Sting, there is even more parity in the league. This is evidenced by a third of games so far being decided by a single score (7 of 21) with five of those games being decided in overtime. Last year, only eight games in all saw an extra frame. Attendance is also up more than 800 fans per game over this time last season but I suspect that is due to the fact that Colorado, the team with the best fan support last season, has played three home games while San Jose, the worst for attendance, has only played one home game.
The cancelled season made me think long and hard about renewing my season tickets in Buffalo but now I am glad I did. After a slow start in their season opener at HSBC, the Bandits came back in the second half and made the game exciting. They gave the fans hope for a huge come from behind win but Rochester was able to hold off the charge and win it 14-9. The second home game for the Bandits saw an extremely spirited affair with lots of hits and scoring. John Tavares electrified the crowd by scoring his 596 and 597th career goal to take the all-time goals scored lead. That game was exactly what lacrosse is all about: tough physical play with lots of scoring. It renewed my excitement in the game and followed by the high scoring, high intensity games last Saturday night, it gave me hope that this type of game is becoming the norm.
These high quality games are reminiscent of the 1999 season when there were only seven teams in the league. Over the past few seasons, some people have been complaining about the NLL being watered down by expansion and now that theory seems to hold water. The degradation of the league has been so slight and so prolonged that someone fairly new to the sport, as I am, could not see the seemingly subtle changes. This year with two less teams (I guess technically only one since the new Boston Blazers team has yet to play a game) the league seems to be rejuvenated; the games are more intense and the goals more spectacular.
Hopefully Jim Jennings is paying attention to the action on the floor so he can see that right now less is more. Although growing, the talent pool of great lacrosse players is still relatively small. The time for expansion has ended, at least for now. Lacrosse as a professional sport has reached the minds of the youth and the minor league organizers and the sport has begun to grow at the grass roots level. The seeds have been planted and now it is time to sit back and watch the talent grow. After all, talent can’t be forced it must be nurtured and allowed to blossom on its own.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Playoff Bound
As a follow up to my previous post, the Kitchener Rangers officially became the first team to clinch a playoff spot in the Ontario Hockey League Saturday night. Kitchener beat Belleville Friday night and Sudbury Sunday afternoon while Owen Sound lost to Plymouth Friday and Sudbury Saturday. In the past, teams that clinched early lost some motivation and by the OHL finals, they were on the outside looking in. Kitchener now has the difficult task of staying sharp for their remaining twenty games to prevent the possible breakdown.
Friday, January 25, 2008
This Weekend Has Playoff Implications
With about 2 months left of the OHL season, not too many teams are focusing on the playoffs just yet. The Kitchener Rangers are, perhaps, the lone exception. Playing in the host city for the Memorial Cup means that the Rangers have already secured their spot at the national tournament but that has not stopped them from playing for the OHL title.
The Kitchener Rangers are currently the top team in the Midwest Division, the Western Conference and the entire Ontario Hockey League. They are performing so well that they have a chance to clinch a playoff spot this weekend. For that to happen though, they will need to beat the Eastern Conference leading Belleville Bulls tonight and the basement dwelling Sudbury Wolves on Sunday while they will also need the Owen Sound Attack to lose at least one of their two games this weekend. Or, if Owen Sound loses both of their games and Kitchener wins at least one of theirs, Kitchener will be playoff bound.
Whether they clinch this weekend or not, the Kitchener Rangers will be a part of this year’s OHL playoffs. They lead their conference by eleven points over the Sault Ste Marie Greyhounds and after making some trades prior to the deadline, are looking like they will end the season on top of the Western Conference. If the Rangers do end up in the OHL finals, the team representing the Eastern Conference will automatically get a spot in the Memorial Cup irrespective of who wins that series. Whether Kitchener can remain focused to continue their success is yet to be seen. These last two months will show what kind of character the Rangers have.
The Kitchener Rangers are currently the top team in the Midwest Division, the Western Conference and the entire Ontario Hockey League. They are performing so well that they have a chance to clinch a playoff spot this weekend. For that to happen though, they will need to beat the Eastern Conference leading Belleville Bulls tonight and the basement dwelling Sudbury Wolves on Sunday while they will also need the Owen Sound Attack to lose at least one of their two games this weekend. Or, if Owen Sound loses both of their games and Kitchener wins at least one of theirs, Kitchener will be playoff bound.
Whether they clinch this weekend or not, the Kitchener Rangers will be a part of this year’s OHL playoffs. They lead their conference by eleven points over the Sault Ste Marie Greyhounds and after making some trades prior to the deadline, are looking like they will end the season on top of the Western Conference. If the Rangers do end up in the OHL finals, the team representing the Eastern Conference will automatically get a spot in the Memorial Cup irrespective of who wins that series. Whether Kitchener can remain focused to continue their success is yet to be seen. These last two months will show what kind of character the Rangers have.
It's Official!
Despite what many may have believed before, it is now official: John Tavares is the best player there ever was in the National Lacrosse League, statistically speaking. Last Saturday night, Tavares netted his 597th career goal to surpass Gary Gait’s career record of 596. He did this by scoring his fourth goal of the game at 13:08 of the third quarter in the Bandits win over the New York Titans. Even though Tavares now holds the all-time scoring records for goals, assists and points he is not finished. This season is only 3 games old for the Bandits so Tavares has 13 more in which to increase his totals and given the good young talent coming into the league in the recent past, he might need every last one of them to lengthen his reign. Now that Tavares has finished that business he can focus all his attention on leading Buffalo to the Champion’s Cup final. Congratulations, JT and Let’s Go Bandits!
*Picture courtesy of NLL.com
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