Saturday, December 31, 2005

Happy New Year !!!

Happy New Year everyone!!!

Big buzz around town all day was the highly anticipated matchup between Canada and USA at the World Juniors and it didn't disappoint. What was disappointing was the Canucks game vs Minnesota, chalk up another L for the LOSERS.

Canada advances to Semis

In the biggest game so far in their young lives, Team Canada bested the favorites Team USA 3-2 tonight at the Old Coliseum in front of 16,000+ jacked up Canadian fans. The player of the game was Team Canada Goalie Justin Pogge who came up with some big saves late in the game to keep the score 2-2. Team USA Goalie Cory Schneider (and Vancouver draft pick from 2004) was almost as good. Overall the game was very entertaining to watch, Canada outworked the Americans in the corners and on the dump ins and of course Pogge was stellar in net. The officials did a better job, especially in the 3rd where they just let the kids play. The game ended on an ugly note right after Canada's Kyle Chipchura scored on the empty net. Team USA Defenseman Jack Johnson used an elbow to take out Canada Forward Steve Downie who was down on the ice for several minutes after the cheapshot. Johnson was given a game misconduct. The IIHF has chosen not to suspend Johnson any further games. That is complete horses**t, the guy clearly went for a TKO and Downie is lucky to be OK. All I know is that Johnson is gonna pay for that cheapshot, what goes around comes around.

Canucks lose in Minny

Almost simultaneously as the Canadian Junior game, the Canucks were playing divisional foe Minnesota in Minneapolis losing 4-3. Maxime Ouellet started his second game for the Canucks making 33 saves. In what has been a major problem lately, the Canucks got behind 3-1 midway in the 2nd, this time not able to comeback. Maxime Ouellet was actually pretty solid, kept the Canucks in the game, but the penalties would eventually sink them. I'm absolutely convinced that Dave Nonis has to make a move here to shake up the team. It's become abundantly clear that the players have gotten complacent and the sense of urgency is not there. The apathy in their play especially evident in the early portions of games is a disturbing trend which seems like a disease spreading throughout the whole team. The Canucks look to solve the puzzle next in St. Louis on Monday, a loss to the lowly Blues should set off all kinds of alarm bells if they haven't already gone off.

NFL Coaches Play Musical Chairs

It's that time of year where many of the non-playoff teams in the NFL begin house cleaning chores and the first order of business is to figure out the Coaching situations.

KC Chiefs - Breaking news out of KC tonight as it has been reported that Dick Vermeil will be retiring again after Sundays game. The Chiefs still have a very slim outside shot at the playoffs. No doubt we will have to sit and watch another one of Vermeil's tear-jerking press conference on ESPN, can't wait.

Minnesota Vikings - Mike Tice will find out Monday whether he will still have a job. Tice will be pointed to as the fall-guy for the infamous Boat debacle, fair or unfair, that's the way it usually works. The irony is that had the Vikings won last weekend to keep their playoff hopes alive, Tice could've miraculously saved his job. Football is a game of inches.

Houstan Texans - Don Capers is almost certainly fired after tomorrow, and the replacements are lining up to interview for the job as the Texans are widely expected to lose tomorrow and win the Reggie Bush sweepstakes. The equivalent of winning the 649 jackpot lottery in NFL terms. Dan Reeves has been mentioned for both GM and Coach, as has Wade Phillips for Coach.

Detroit Lions - Mooch was turfed midway through the season. A search for a permanent replacement for the popular Steve Marriuci might very well start with a search for a new GM first as embattled Matt Millen is on razor thin ice, especially after the highly public "Fire Millen" rally.

St. Louis Rams - Mike Martz is almost a lock to NOT come back to coach the Rams in 2006. Martz has had strained relations for quite some time in St. Louis and although he enjoyed succesful campaigns in St. Louis, there have been some bonehead decisions made along the way that have many Rams fans shaking their head. No rumors of replacements yet.

What's on TV
NFL, Seattle vs Green Bay, 10:00am PST on FOX
NFL, Houston vs San Francisco, 1:00pm PST on CBS

Picks of the Day
SF 49ers PK over Houston Texans
Washington Capitals +130 over Atlanta Thrashers
Record YTD (2-8, -728)

Friday, December 30, 2005

Godspeed Canada!!!

Nothing of note to report today locally here in Vancouver. Overall a slow news day so we'll breakdown a busy day tomorrow.

Canada vs USA

Time to bring back the old "Hate the Americans" rhetoric as the Canadian Juniors prepare to take on Team USA tomorrow at the Coliseum. The Americans are coming off a disappointing tie vs Switzerland tonight 2-2. Key for Canada will be stellar Goaltending from Pogge and physical play on their forwards. The Americans have more skill and speed but if Canada can keep the play along the boards, they can keep the Americans off the open ice.


I predict a low scoring grind it out game with USA winning 2-1. The Americans are pissed at the tie and will be looking for revenge tomorrow, quote from Team USA's Robbie Shrempf,

"It's always good to have some adversity when you go into a huge game like against Canada, I think we're ready for tomorrow."

Hit the Road, Jack!!!

The Canucks start off their first of 4 straight road games tomorrow night in Minnesota. That's just the start of a brutal schedule in the month of January where the Canucks will play a whopping 12 on the road and just 4 at GM Place. With their recent troubles at GM Place, maybe that's a good thing. As for the Wild, they are coming off a loss to Calgary, but come into this game 6-3 in their last 9 with wins over Edmonton, Colorado, and Dallas. The Wild always play the Canucks tough and the Excel Center has proven to be a tough place for the visiting team. I really wonder how long Auld can stick it out night after night. He's a good backstop, but does he have the stamina to play another 30+ games?? Cloutier didn't (often got injured late in the season), in fact, other than Brodeur, most NHL goalies don't either. So as it stands, we are still waiting for Nonis to make a move. The 64,000 dollar question is, how much further down the standings do the Canucks need to fall before Nonis decides a move has to be made?? Do it already, we've got games to win here. I say the Canucks fall 3-2, a late 3rd period goal seals the deal.

Rose Bowl, does Texas really stand a chance??

The BCS Championship will be the Rose Bowl this year with #1 USC vs #2 Texas. The Longhorns are currently 7.5 point underdogs with all the attention on the potent USC offense with the likes of RB Reggie Bush and QB Matt Leinhart. ESPN breaks down the unheralded Texas offense that has arguably been equal to what USC has been able to do. I think Vince Young and the rest of the Longhorns have a chance to do the unthinkable and beat USC, and here's how. The Longhorns need to use up clock and get an early lead. Take Reggie Bush out of the game and force Leinhart to gamble. Much easier said than done, but Notre Dame almost did it back in Oct losing on the last play of the game. And Texas has way more talent than Notre Dame. On another note, USC Head Coach Pete Carroll signs a fat extension to stay at Troy, terms not disclosed. Carroll has worked a small miracle turning around the school from medocrity to total domination winning 34 straight games going into next Wednesday's Rose Bowl.

Who will take him??

The much maligned Ron Artest who requested a trade from the Pacers, then later backed out of his trade demand and said he wants to be a Pacer has finally gotten to his teammates who basically told him to f**k off. Question is who will take the head case?? Artest is like some kind of mentally retarded version of Terrell Owens. I think a banishment to the Clippers or Golden State Warriors is in order, better yet, how about the CBA. Here are some of my favorite all-time Artest quotes,


"I'm playing like a frog. I've got web hands." -- Ron Artest.

"I've never taken medication (to control moods) in my life. Doctors have suggested it and I say, 'OK, give it to me.' But I throw it in the garbage immediately." -- Ron Ron.


"I didn't hold up no middle fingers. My middle finger is crooked so it sticks out. Maybe that's what was showing." -- Ron Artest.


"If I had a player out of line, I would bench him. That's all you can do, bench him. You don't kiss nobody's rear end, because it stinks." -- Ron Artest.


What's on TV
World Junior Hockey, USA vs Canada, 4:00pm PST on TSN
NHL, Vancouver vs Minnesota, 3:00pm PST on PPV
NHL, Edmonton vs Calgary, 7:00pm PST on CBC
NFL, Denver vs San Diego, 1:30pm PST on CBS
NBA, Phoenix vs Chicago, 4:00pm PST on Sportsnet Pacific

Picks of the Day
Toronto Maple Leafs +110 over NJ Devils
Oakland +8 over NY Giants
Record YTD (1-7, -728)

Thursday, December 29, 2005

Go Canada Go!!!

With the exception of the World Juniors, a pretty slow news day today locally.

3-0, bring on USA

Canada extends their unbeaten streak in round-robin Tournament play by shutting out Norway 4-0 tonight at the Coliseum. Canuck Draft pick Luc Bourdon was named player of the game. The future of the Canucks does look promising indeed, well done Luc!! The matchup everyone has been waiting for is on Saturday where Canada meets the USA. It's going to be a great game, it's going to come down to Goaltending and Special Teams, especially the way the refs have been blowing the whistles. The games have been painful to watch at times with the poor officiating, I feel bad for people who paid good money to see that crap.

Pistons go 24-3

The Detroit Pistons beat the Miami Heat with Shaq in the lineup 106-101 tonight in a rematch of last year's Eastern Conference Finals. What the Pistons have been able to do so far in the season is unbelieveable and some say they will win more than 72 games, the current record for most wins in a season set by the 95/96 Bulls. I think they have a real shot at 72. If you look at the Eastern Conference, the Pistons don't really have much competition, Miami is about as close as they come. Indiana has the Artest situation hanging over them, New Jersey and Cleveland are streaky.

Dungy Rejoins the Colts

Tony Dungy returns to his coaching duties with the Colts 1 week after his son James' tragic death, an apparent suicide. No doubt the playoffs will be one hell of an emotional ride for Dungy and the whole Colts team. This kind of thing usually brings a team closer together and brings a sense of purpose, may just give them the edge to win the Superbowl. In other NFL news, Carson Palmer signs a massive extension 100+ Mill over 9 years. If you ask me, I think it was too pre-mature for the Bengals to make such a leap of faith. Don't get me wrong, Palmer has had a great year so far, Pro-bowl and all, but I don't think you sign a guy to a long-term deal on 1 season. Goes to show how much of a lack of quality QBs there really are in the NFL.

College Hoops Update

2 big movers this week, first Memphis beat Gonzaga a couple of nights ago propelling Memphis to #3 in the nation. Gonzaga has slipped from #4 in the pre-season to #9 currently. Morrisson could be the best player in the Nation but if he doesn't get any support from the rest of the Zags, they could slip further. Illinois beat SE Missouri State to go 13-0 and move up to #6. The Illini were not suppose to be this good after losing their top players to the NBA draft, but they're still getting it done.

Murderball, 2 thumbs up

If you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend you go out and rent it. Murderball is an extremely well done documentary about Quadriplegic Rugby. The movie follows the USA team on their quest for gold at the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens. And their arch-nemesis are the Canadians to boot. It's a great show, so if you're wasting away in front of the tube this holiday, waste away with Murderball.

What's on TV
NHL, NY Islanders vs Ottawa, 4:00pm PST on TSN
NHL, Nashville vs Edmonton, 6:30pm PST on TSN
NBA, Boston vs Sacramento, 7:00pm PST on the SCORE

Picks of the Day
Milwaukee Bucks -6.5 over NY Knicks
Ottawa Senators -1.5(-130) over NY Islanders
Record YTD (1-5, -488)

Wednesday, December 28, 2005

Finally, A Win...

A busy day in sports today locally with 2 big hockey games. There was a couple of crazy Bowl games down south and a full plate of NHL and NBA, so let's get to it.

Canucks End Latest Slide

You heard it here first, as I called a Canuck win yesterday. In a pretty exciting game overall, the re-shuffled Canucks beat the Predators 4-3 at GM Place. Park netted the game-winner, boy did he need that goal in a bad way, 1st goal in 18 games. Auld was the best player in the 3rd making 18 saves in the final period. Still waiting for a goalie Mr. Nonis, pull the trigger already. In other NHL news, Coyotes beat the Sharks 5-4 in Gretzky's return. I was a doubter at the beginning of the season but Gretzky has his boys playing some inspired hockey, if they make the playoffs, he could be Coach of the Year.

Canadian Juniors Survive a Scare

Watched the game today, Canada won 4-3 over Switzerland, the Refs were terrible. Several bad calls made on penalities. I hope they don't bring that German guy back to ref anymore games, he was downright incompetent. The Swiss played a hard game, and scored 3 times on the PP when given the chances. Canada needs to be better, they should've put the Swiss away when it was 4-1. The Americans had a scare, beat the Fins 6-5. They still look like the team to beat. Canada plays Norway tomorrow, Sutter will light a fire under their a**, expect a 5+ win. All setting up for a Canada-USA showdown on Saturday.

Kobe on Fire

Anyone following the NBA the last couple of weeks knows that Kobe has been lights out recently. He dropped another 45 points tonight in the OT loss to the Grizzlies tonight. He's averaging a sick 32.2 PPG including an unheard of 62 point outburst vs the Mavs a couple of weeks ago. Whether it is Phil Jackson coming out of retirement to coach him or maybe his wife Vanessa finally deciding to put out after Kobe's "affair", either way, it's been great to watch. Keep it goin' Kobe, lets see if you can hit a hundred one of these games.

Holy S**, Did that Just Happen??

2 bowl games with some wild finishes today. First at the MPC Computers Bowl, the Boston College Eagles survived a final drive on their goaline to win 27-21 over Boise State. I watched a bit of this game and I can't believe Boise State painted their own turf blue, it's the stupidest thing I've ever seen. Check out the highlights for the final play of the Alamo Bowl where Nebraska beat Michigan 32-28, trust me you want to see the last play. That play has got to be one of the craziest plays I've ever seen, would've been amazing if the guy actually scored the TD.

Favre Should Call it a Career this Weekend

In my mind, I can't even imagine what would be worth coming back to next season after the horrendous year that Favre and the Packers have had. There's even talk that the Packers don't want him back. If the Packers lose on Sun, which they probably will, they will be in line to draft a Matt Leinhart or a Vince Young, keeping in mind that they used their first-round pick this year on QB Aaron Rodgers. So, given all that, and the current state of rebuilding the Packers are in, I expect Favre to have played his last game on Sun. He will probably annouce it officially after the Packers draft Leinhart.

What's on TV
World Junior Hockey, Canada vs Norway, 4pm PST on TSN
NHL, Minnesota vs Calgary, 7:00pm PST on TSN
College FB, Emerald Bowl, Georgia Tech vs Utah, 1:30pm PST on SCORE

Picks of the Day
Miami Heat/Detroit Pistons U195
NJ Devils -130 over Pittsburgh Penguins
Record YTD (1-3, -248)

Tuesday, December 27, 2005

Crow Shakes Things Up

It's been a pretty slow news day, but I'm adding my comments on a couple of non-Vancouver related news items.

Preds are Hot, Canucks are Not

Latest news is that Crawford has shaken up the lines leading up to tomorrow's game vs the Predators. Nazzy, Bert, Ruutu on the top line, Morrison moves to the 3rd line with Cooke and Park. Should give the team a new look and a wakeup call. The Nashville Predators come into town tomorrow/today to face our slumping Canucks. The Preds beat Calgary tonight 4-3 in Calgary and ride a 6 game winning streak into tomorrow's game. The Canucks have lost 5 straight, at home. I still like the Canucks to win here, the Preds are coming off a hard fought game and are playing a back-to-back here. Also, I like the matchups here, Vancouver is a fast team that can not only stay with the speedy Preds but should be able to lay them out.

Nash Named as AP Canadian Athlete of the Year

No surprise here, simply unbelievable what Steve Nash did last year and is still doing this year. A lot of guys have a lot more talent, hops, "handles" than Nash does. But Nash is better, credit a strong work ethic (something lacking in most NBA'ers) and good old Canadian grit. Other NBA updates, 2 teams with 6 game winning streaks on the line, something had to give, Nets are now officially the hottest team in the NBA, and yes Carter is having a great season.

Reggie Bush Sweepstakes Heating up

Most intruiging storyline going into the final week of the NFL season doesn't have anything to do with the usual playoff races, but will focus instead on the 5 teams in the hunt for the consensus #1 pick in the upcoming NFL entry draft. Bush would make the most sense for the Texans as they already have a starting QB in Carr and wouldn't need a Matt Leinhart or Vince Young. Expect the Texans to intentionally lose their game vs the 49ers this weekend to guarantee them the right to pick #1, how sad is that!! On another note, ESPN finally giving the Seahawks their due as the best team in the NFL. Everyone around here has known that for the past month or so, East Coast finally waking up to find the Seahawks have won 11 in a row, talk about ignorance.

Blue Jays continue to Shop and Spend

The biggest player in this MLB off-season so far (other than the usual Yankees) has been the Toronto Blue Jays. They've gone out and acquired AJ Burnett, Lyle Overbay, and signed BJ Ryan to a huge deal already. Today, they added the bat of 3rd Baseman Troy Glaus in a trade with the Diamondbacks parting ways with Pitcher Miguel Batista and Shortstop Orlando Hudson. I like the trades and moves the Jays have made so far. With whiz kid GM Theo Epstein out of Boston, I think the Jays have a chance to be #2 (Yankees should still take the Pennant) in the AL East and get into the post-season for the first time in over a decade. Either that or JP will join Epstein in the unemployment line.

What's on TV
World Junior Hockey, Canada vs Switzerland, 4pm PST on TSN
NHL, Nashville vs Vancouver, 7:30pm PST on TSN
College FB, Alamo Bowl, Michigan vs Nebraska, 5pm PST on SCORE

Picks of the Day
LA Lakers -3.5 over Memphis Grizzlies
NY Rangers +112 over NY Islanders

Monday, December 26, 2005

Sucking the Fat One

Hey, welcome everyone to the Inauguration of this Blog. I've been blogging for a while now and I've decided to expand my horizons and go big. I plan on posting every day, with my highly opinionated view on the sports scene with a Vancouver twist. I welcome any comments, the only rule I ask is that you have an opinion. I want to hear your take, your rant. Without further ado, here goes...

Vancouver "Sucking the Fat One" Canucks lose again

Well, it was better than Friday, but once again the Canucks fall flat on their face (literally) and got whacked again at home losing 2-1, a place they supposedly were so dominant at. Bottom line is that the Flames were more physical and dictated the tempo. Slow, grind it out, stick you to the boards style of play. Canucks had all but 17 shots on net the whole game, that stat tells the whole story. Nonis, you listening, make the deal, what are you waiting for, let's get Biron in here NOW.

World Juniors, Canada cruises, USA dominates

Our beloved Canadian Juniors did not disappoint the 17,000+ at the Ol Coliseum and millions of Canadians watching last night cruising past Finland 5-1. Overall, they looked great, but Finland wasn't very good, too small to really compete. Next up, Switzerland tomorrow, should be another rout. As for the Americans, they clobbered Norway 11-2. Bourque gets 5 goals. Can anyone touch them this year??

MNF last broadcast on ABC, Pats win

Well, in case you weren't channel flipping between Canucks and MNF, last night's broadcast was the last broadcast on ABC. MNF moves to ESPN next year, SNF goes to NBC. Same s** different pile, as long as Al Michaels stays with MNF that's all that matters. Pats quietly wrapped up the division last weekend and starting to make some noise, won easily 31-21 over the lowly Jets. In my books Brady should get heavy consideration for MVP, he's been the difference between a 5-10 team and a 10-5 team.

What's on TV
NHL, Leafs vs Penguins, 4:30pm PST on CBC
NBA, Kings vs Clippers, 7:30pm PST on SCORE
College FB, Insight Bowl, Arizona St vs Rutgers, 5:30pm PST on TSN

Picks of the Day
Nashville/Calgary u5.5 -140
Detroit -12.5

That's it, I'm out, email me or leave comments if you have a take.

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