As a Canucks fan, I feel relief and bitter joy knowing that Dan Cloutier has been sent down to the AHL. And it certainly doesn't come as a surprise that it reads like an obituary.

LOS ANGELES (CP) -- The Los Angeles Kings assigned goalie Dan Cloutier to the Manchester Monarchs of the American Hockey League on Saturday.

The 31-year-old played in 24 games with the Kings last season, going 6-14-2 with a 3.98 goals-against average.

He's posted a 137-139-36 record with a 2.75 GAA in 342 career games with L.A., Vancouver, Tampa Bay and the New York Rangers.

Unfortunately, the Manchester Monarchs do not meet the Manitoba Moose during regular season play this year.

Labels: NHL, sports

As if the charges relating to dog-fighting weren't bad enough for Michael Vick. Now he's facing a lawsuit for $63 billion, filed by South Carolina convict Jonathan Lee Riches.

Riches alleges that Vick stole two white mixed pit bull dogs from his home in Holiday, Fla., and used them for dogfighting operations in Richmond, Va. The complaint goes on to allege that Vick sold the dogs on eBay and "used the proceeds to purchase missiles from the Iran government."

The complaint also alleges that Vick would need those missiles because he pledged allegiance to Al Qaeda in February of this year.

Who knew Al-Queda was purchasing weapons from Iran, through NFL stars with funding coming from underground dog-fighting operations? Perhaps this is a case of 'too strange to be true'.

Labels: etc, Iran, sports, Terrorism

Bonds is the greatest player ever... EVER! His record speaks for itself. The records he holds:

• Career home-runs


• Single season home-runs


• Career walks


• Career intentional walks


• Single season on-base percentage


• Single season slugging percentage


• 7 time MVP


• 12 time Silver Slugger


• 8 Golden Gloves


• 14 All-star game appearances


• Joined the 30-30 club 5 times


• The second of only four players to ever enter the 40-40 club

I know a lot of people don't like Barry Bonds because of the steroid allegations (don't allegations usually need to be backed up with evidence?), and because he treats the media like the vile vermin that they are. But, based on career achievements there has never been a player as dominant as Barry Bonds.

Congratulations on hitting 755 Barry Bonds, and to many, many, many more.

Labels: Barry Bonds, MLB, sports

Iraq has won the Asian Cup with a 1-0 defeat of Saudi Arabia.

It's a beautiful time for Iraqi's, as they can come together and celebrate their country's achievement. Across the political and cultural spectrum Iraqi's are celebrating the football teams victory.

Iraq's national football team should be an example to all Iraqi's. They've demonstrated that Iraq can compete and win when they work together and put aside their differences.

Unfortunately, Canada does not have such reason to celebrate. None of the Canadians playing in the Canadian Open managed to produce a run for the title. Stephen Ames was the top Canadian (sort of), finishing at a respectable seven under par. Two shots behind him at five under was Canadian favorite Mike Weir. Yet another year of disappointment for Canadians who want to see a Canadian win the countries most prestigious championship.

Currently, Jim Furyk is maintaining a two shot lead over Hunter Mahan, and a three shot lead over Vijay Singh. With three holes left to play, Furyk is in a strong position to win. While Mahan may be a little green to pull of a come-from-behind victory, Vijay has the potential to make it happen.

Update: Jim Furyk is the Canadian Open golf Champion. Vijay mounted a come-back, but fell one shot short, needing a birdie on the 18th but coming up shy with a par. Congratulations to Jim Furyk on back-to-back victories at the Canadian Open!

Labels: golf, Iraq, sports

Well the Ducks earned it, there's no doubt about that. They did everything better than Ottawa, and game three was an aberration that Anaheim should have won. Anaheim was bigger, faster, stronger, and smarter. Ottawa was out-coached, out goal-tended, and out-scored, out-hit and out-played in every facet of the series. It's tough to turn that into a winning formula.

I could barely even get myself to look up at the TV during tonights game. Ottawa still couldn't get their legs under them, even though it was a do or die situation. I suspect that fatigue set in after the conference finals and they just couldn't recover.

Anaheim's "kid line" of Penner, Perry, and Getzlaf was probably the most influential line of the series. They provided an endless supply of energy to the Ducks, something which Ottawa just couldn't counter.

Also of concern, is that Canadian teams are now on a three-year run of losing in the Stanley Cup finals. This is the kind of thing that curses are made of. What is it going to take for the Cup to be won by a Canadian team again?

Labels: NHL, Ottawa Senators, sports, Stanley Cup, The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim

Was that really Holly Cole singing the Canadian national anthem at tonight's game? She looked like she's been dead for five years.

The Senators finally started getting their hit on again this game, but then forgot to shoot the puck. One more pass... one more pass... one more pass... pass until the other team got the puck seemed to be the strategy of the night.

Spezza must be hurt. He doesn't even want to come within five feet of an Anaheim player. He's playing like a terrified school boy, and since I have a lot of respect for his talent, one can only assume that he's injured.

Emery played a hell of a game. He controlled his rebounds tonight, and quite frankly carried the team.

Chris Neil and Chris Kelly were Ottawa's best players tonight. They were throwing the body around, and creating a lot of havoc deep in Anaheim's zone.

If Ottawa keeps playing the way games one and two have gone, they'll be lucky to make it six games. Brian Murray has very little time to figure out what's lacking.

An interesting statistic was pointed out by Anti-heim in the comments. Beginning in the 1920's, every year that ended with a 7, either a Canadian team has won the Stanley Cup, or the Detroit Red Wings. Since the Red Wings are out, the Ducks will have to break an 80 year curse.

Labels: NHL, Ottawa Senators, sports, Stanley Cup, The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim

If the Sens keep it up, they'll be finished in four games. Emery made a lot of good saves but got away with giving up some seriously savage rebounds.

Brad May had an awesome first two periods. May was doing what he does best, and thats antagonizing the opponent, roughing them up, and generally terrorizing the Senators. Brad May should have gotten a star.

Did Brian Murray tell the boys not to hit? I've always hated his policy of no fighting when up by two or more, but the Sens looked like a pack of high-school field hockey players out there today. They were good on the dump-ins, but absolutely refused to finish their checks. Do the Sens think they're so much faster than the Ducks that they don't need to bruise 'em a bit?

At the same time, Anaheim was finishing their checks at every opportunity. Because of this, the Senators seemed dead tired after the first seven or eight minutes of each period, and thus played on their heels.

I also liked the story about Selanne flying his drunken buddies in for the series. Did anybody else notice that the hooligans somehow ended up sitting next to former Edmonton Oiler Ryan Smyth in the stands? Funny.

And finally, has there even been a fight in the playoffs this year? Nobody seems to want to drop the gloves, no matter what the situation. Tonight there was at least a couple of times that the gloves should have been dropped, but yet nothing! Is there some secret NHL ban on playoff fighting now?

Labels: NHL, Ottawa Senators, sports, Stanley Cup, The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim

Monday, 7pm central at the Duck Pond. The greatest trophy in sports, Lord Stanley's Cup, will be handed to the victor of seven games between the Anaheim Mighty Ducks and the Ottawa Senators.

The finals don't start until Monday, which sorta gives Anaheim the edge. They get plenty of rest, but are gonna be closer to "game speed" come Game 1. Ottawa will have had eight full days off between games and thats going to hurt, especially considering the momentum that Heatly, Alffie and Spezza had going.

Naturally I'm cheering for Ottawa to win. I firmly believe that the Stanley Cup is supposed to remain in Canada forever. But as a Jets Fan, Mennonite from SE Manitoba, and Canucks fan... I'm having a tough time staying loyal.

The Jets fan in my would love to see Randy Carlyle win a Stanley Cup, even if its in a different city, in a different job. Carlyle was also responsible for many of the Jets' good years. Carlyle also coached the Moose during their best seasons. It would bring great joy to many 'peggers hearts to see Randy Carlyle lift The Cup.

I'm also a big fan of Dustin Penner. He's got a good Mennonite name, and comes from a hardcore Mennonite town like Winkler. I remember watching him play two games at the 2005 World Junior Championships. He wasn't quite as spectacular as Crosby, but you could tell he was damn good.

Thirdly, my dark desire for the Ducks to win is driven by my absolute love for Brian Burke. The Burkian-Canucks were better than the Dave Nonisian-Canucks. The new Canucks have Luongo, who granted, is ten times the goalie Cloutier (I can't even remember his first name right now) could dream of being. But offensively and defensively the Canucks were better under Burke than Nonis. Brian Burke did leave behind a hell of a farm club (the Manitoba Moose) for Dave Nonis to pillage.

Labels: NHL, sports

Watching hockey tonight, I couldn't help but laugh how TSN waded into the so-called Shane Doan "controversy", if you can call it that. The whole TSN panel absolutely ridiculed Jack Layton, and more importantly defended Shane Doan (former Winnipeg Jet). The highlight of the segment was when Jeremy Roenick (an American) called Jack Layton was "an idiot".

Also TSN keeps bringing up the idea of 4-on-4 in overtime. Bad idea. The playoffs is all about endurance, and if you can't handle a few quadruple overtime games on the way to the holy grail, then you just don't cut it.

Jagr had one of his best games of the playoffs tonight. Jagr is remarkably a changed man since putting the 'C' on his sweater. He's (finally) learning to use his skill to make the guys around him better.

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The Canucks were so close tonight. But why oh why do they have to get all spastic when the pressure's on? And more importantly why can't we score on the mother (explicative deleted) god (explicative deleted) son of a (explicative deleted) unholy (explicative deleted) eating POWERPLAY? The Canucks are 4-58 on the PP in the playoffs, and I believe 1-25 in this series against the Ducks.

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The Canucks lost, but the AHL affiliate Manitoba Moose came up big with a 4-1 win in game 7 against the Grand Rapids Griffins. The Moose went up in the first, followed by a scoreless second period. The Griffins tied it up midway through the 3rd. The Moose went ahead with two goals late in the 3rd, and cemented it with an empty-netter to win 4-1. Bring on the Hamilton Bulldogs!

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The Toronto Raptors pulled out a nice win tonight. They dominated the first three quarters of the game, but let it slide in the 4th and ended up winning in a close one. They got into a lot of foul trouble, and from what I saw the refs were calling the game real tight.

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The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have chosen the Asper stadium plan. Damn good thing too. The St. Boniface idea would have been a bust simply because the neighborhood has a serious odor problem. Seriously, it stinks. And the idea of having it at The Downs was even worse. I drink far too heavily at football games to make that trek safely. The current location is pretty excellent. If it sees some development, especially with the old arena space available, it could be turned into something quite fantastic.

Labels: Jack Bin Layton, Manitoba, NBA, NDP, NHL, sports, Winnipeg Jets

Canucks beat Dallas in Game Seven!

After the first period, I admit I was feeling a little dismayed. The good-guys just could not get a handle on the puck in the first period. Maybe game-seven-nerves, whatever.... the first period was one of the most embarrassing moments in Canucks history.

The second and third periods were close to brilliant for the Canucks. During the last two periods the Canucks kept the Stars on the ropes. Many offensive chances turned into many power-play opportunities for the good guys.

And on this note, Roberto Luongo is every Canucks fan's dream. I could not help but think through the entire game, "what if that was Dan Cloutier"? Roberto is my new hero.

Speaking of heroes, Naslund was looking like his old self in the third period, and taking control of the game again. Hopefully we'll see more of that as the playoffs progress.

It's also nice to see all the former Manitoba Moose players, like Alex Burrows and Kevin Bieksa kicking ass in "the big show". Randy Carlyle was brilliant with the Moose, and is still brilliant with the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. I can't wait for Wednesday!

Labels: Manitoba, NHL, sports

So the Rangers will move on, with a lot of rest. It might be too much time off for them and kill their momentum. Either way, they're hot and shouldn't be taken lightly.

As far as the Minnesota - Anaheim series, I really can't bother myself to care. I wish both teams could lose.

The CBC did a poor job of updating the rest of the world about what was happening in the Canucks game. I had to go into the other room to find out the final score on the internet, boo CBC. But the Canucks are in a good position right now, and I stand firmly by my prediction of the Stanley Cup coming back to Canada.

The Senator's are not having an easy time with the Penguins, but they're going to win the series handily. The Penguins might also be Ottawa's toughest opponent in the playoffs, since they did pretty well against Buffalo during the season.

Labels: NHL, sports

Zounds! What a night! Can't think of a better way to kick off the playoffs!

The Senators looked pretty good. They had a lot of chances early, and took advantage of Fluery's nerves. Fluery wasn't as bad as he appeared either, he was getting no help in the first period. I got a good kick outta the way the Sens made Crosby look like a punk. I do think the Pens will come out better in the next game, but in the end Ottawa is gonna roll through this series in five games, tops.

Of the Sharks and Predators game, I really thought that Nashville was better in regulation, even though they had to make the difficult come-back. Yet in over-time, San Jose won. Such is the play-offs, a good bounce is all it takes.

I watched the first four periods of the Canucks/Stars game, and listened to the fifth. Good to see Naslund and Sendin's getting off to a good start. Because of the time, I think I'm backin' it it. Though, I'd like to take this time to reassert my prediction of the Canucks winning The Cup.

Two months of madness, coming up! Yeeeaaaah!!

Update: Canucks win! Though, I'm sure glad I didn't stay up for the 80 minutes of OT.

Labels: NHL, sports

Yesterdays final round of the Masters was another gem. As is the norm at Augusta National, the tournament was decided on the back nine on Sunday.

Zach Johnson held off charges from Tiger Woods, Retief Goosen, and Justin Rose on the back nine on Sunday. Johnson, a relatively unknown player with only one PGA Tour victory previously, was as cool as a cucumber until he three-putted the 17th hole for bogey, and hit a horrible approach to the 18th green, but saved par with a brilliant chip from the right-side of the green. Retief couldn't buy a putt when he needed one. Justin Rose was a roller-coaster, making a total of three double-bogies during Sunday's round, including the killer on the seventeenth hole. Tiger's chances were blown when he hit his second shot on the par-five fifteenth into the water, and after failing to convert a birdie chance on the par-three sixteenth.

But Tiger's not the only golfer who got screwed yesterday. The folks in Selkirk will be without their golf course for several weeks. While the rest of Selkirk is still under flash-flood warning, and much damage has been done already; Gary Doer showed up on Friday to promise funding for repairs, meanwhile doing nothing to actually stop more flooding.

The sad thing is that this flooding is caused by ice jams. Apparently the provincial government can spend billions of dollars protecting Winnipeg from spring flooding, but is completely stumped when it comes to ice. While Selkirk floods, Doer does nothing. Blow it up Gary!

Labels: Environment, Gary Doer, Manitoba, sports

Well, maybe it's cold and there's still snow outside, but it's Masters Sunday today! The Masters is the holy grail of golf, held annually in Augusta, GA.

Golf is a frustrating game to begin with. You're only real opponent is yourself, and you're constantly subjected to the whims of the Golf Gods. One small gust of wind can turn perfection into tragedy - likewise a lucky bounce can turn a terrible shot into something manageable.

The most notable of dumb-luck-shots in golf is the hole-in-one:

Elsie McLean thought she might have lost her ball on the par-3, 100-yard fourth hole at Bidwell Park. Instead, the 102-year-old Chico woman became the oldest golfer ever to make a hole-in-one on a regulation course.

Obviously one can't hold a lot of resentment towards Granny for her lucky shot, but it also reminded me of this story from last summer.

Hockey star Alex Ovechkin hit a hole-in-one on his first day swinging a golf club. Ever. [...]

After a few minutes of instruction, he shanked the ball repeatedly. Then he asked for a bigger club and his next shot settled on the green. A few hours, and dozens of balls later, he aced the 160-yard, par-3 hole.

Speaking of good luck...
Enjoy the Masters and the upcoming golf season!

Labels: Funny, Real Life, sports

The Nashville Predators have picked up super-star Peter Forsberg from the Philadelphia Flyers. In return, Philadelphia got Scottie Upshall and Ryan Parent.

Nashville, being the top team in the Western Conference at the moment are obviously gearing up for a serious run at the Cup. And why not? Their goal-tending has been excellent with Chris Mason leading the league in save percentage. Forsberg will bring veteran leadership to a team that is thick on talent, but thin on any experience.

On the other hand, Philadelphia is getting two up and coming stars in Scottie Upshall (23) and Ryan Parent (19). Philadelphia sucks, make no mistake about it. They are by far the worst team in the NHL, and this season is a complete write-off. But Upshall and Parent will be their stars of the future, and give the team something to build around in the off-season.

Can't wait for the play-offs!

Labels: NHL, sports

Well, I almost called the result of the Superbowl. I predicted 27-27 for the Colts, and the final score was 29-17 Colts. Now where's my props?

Payton Manning and Tony Dungy are both deserving of the title, and the team played a pretty good season. Tonights game belongs to the Colts' defense, they were the real MVP.

The rain definitely made the game more interesting than it would have been otherwise. Both teams obviously had some trouble with the weather, but oddly enough it seemed the Colts handled it better than the Bears.

Prince, what a brutal half-time show! I hope the NFL fired the guy who made that decision.

Tony Dungy became the first black coach in the NFL to win the Superbowl. Of course, it was inevitable since the opposition coach was black as well, but Dungy is the name that will be remembered.

You'll also notice, that unlike the Grey Cup in November, there were no sniveling local politicians on the field groveling for photo-ops.

Labels: sports

Super Bowl week always makes me laugh. The sports media decend on the chosen city every year this week, and turn a simple football game into a media spectacle like none other.

Because the media will probably miss this one fact, I'll mention it here. The Super Bowl is being played between the Indianapolisi Colts and the Chicago Bears in Miami, Florida. There, I said it.

Now, prepare to hear about the following in the media:

• Nightlife and Eating in Miami - the good, the bad, and the odd


• Which team is under curfew, and which is not - this is always a highly controvertial subject (for some reason)


• Some idiot on one of the teams WILL be suspended for breaking curfew the night before the game - always happens


• Commercial previews - most people actually watch the Super Bowl for the commercials these days, and the possibility of a "wardrobe malfunction". Commercials get more hype than the game


• Scalpers and the massive markup their making on tickets. The price for a Super Bowl ticket goes up every year and those lucky few scalpers who can get their hands on tickets (with the help of the Minnesota Vikings perhaps?) make small fortunes


• Much speculation about the weather on Super Sunday, and an in-depth analysis of how this could potentially affect field conditions, which could possibly affect footwear choices

Oh ya, and there's a football game to be played too! Far too often the Super Bowl turns out to be a blowout and not very fun to watch. This could explain why people are always hungover the day after.

This years game looks like it could be different. Two of the best teams in the league, and both had to fight tooth and nail to be there. It'll also be a classic battle of Indianapolis' Offence vs. Chicago's Defence.

The tales of the two quarter backs is quite interesting also. The Colts' Payton Manning being the son of a Hall of Fame NFL Quarter back, has always been expected to win the Super Bowl, though he has yet to break through and is entering the peak of his career. He is very clearly one of the best offensive minds in the NFL, but seems to have trouble pulling the trigger in big games, though last weeks performance against the Patriots sugggests he may be over it.

The only thing known for sure about Rex Grossman is that he's young. He has played some fantastic football games this season, and has also had some of the worst performances. In fact ESPN voted him the second worst Super Bowl Quarterback ever. Grossman also had a game against the Green Bay Packers this season in which he had a 0.0 QB Rating, and a 3.0 QB Rating against the New Orleans Saints. To put that in perspective for you non-NFL folks - the theoretical average passer rating is supposed to be 79.2, while a perfect rating is 158.3. So clearly a 0.0, and a 3.0 are far from stellar performances.

And the sweet sweet gambling all week long. Vegas odds will be as inconsistant as Stephane Dion, bouncing up and down on every piece of news or rumour. As it stands the Colts are favoured by most odds-makers as 7-point victors.

Just to put this on the record, I'll call it: Indy wins 27-17.

Labels: sports

First we were treated to David Asper's plan for a new football stadium for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Today, we get a second proposal from CandInns. And both are terrible.

Asper's plan will carry a price-tag of $145 million, and he'll get sole ownership of the team. The Pro's of Asper's plan are:
1) The new stadium will be built at the same location as the current stadium, and continue to bring business into the area.
2) If the Bombers were privately owned, the team would probably do better and services at the Stadium would be improved. Asper's a fan, and a savvy businessman who would bring stability and success to the team.
3) The 40,000 person capacity would be a good fit for the Bombers.

The Cons:
1) $80 million of public investment. This is absolutely insane. This, in a city where the sewer system needs massive overhaul (which the city claims we can't afford without help from the feds and the province), and where the roads and bridges are in shambles.
2) The stadium will be only partially covered. If taxpayers are expected to pony up $80 million, you'd think we could at least get an enclosed dome of some sort, so it could be of use during Winnipegs long and cold winters.

Okay, on to the CanadInns proposal, the Pros:
1) The CanadInns proposal includes an indoor, climate controlled stadium. This would be more useful to Winnipeg than an indoor stadium.

That was quick, on to the Cons:
1) CanadInns is proposing a $275 million facility, of which they will only be paying $50 million. One can only guess where the remaining $225 million comes from (cough, taxes, cough).
2) The team would remain community-run, meaning fans can expect more of the same mediocre performances from the Big Blue.
3) Location, location, location. CanadInns wants to build the new stadium outside of the perimeter on the Ex grounds. For one, we'd have to rename the team the Headingly Blue Bombers. Two, thats a tonne of shuttle buses to transport the booze-fueled fan to and from each home game. Three, the only other business in the general vicinity for fans to support would be whatever CanadInns decides to put in place.

Overall both proposals are a complete waste of tax dollars. By spending a few million dollars, the old stadium could be upgraded, and Asper's retail complex could also be added. During the Grey Cup this year, we've also seen that there is plenty of room in the current stadium to add extra capacity.

It's beyond me why Winnipeg would want to spend $80 - $225 million on a plan that would give us a slightly more comfortable stadium, with the potential to move a lot of business outside of the city, all the while the roads are too bad to drive there, and you feel guilty using the washrooms because you know the sewage is just going to get dumped into city rivers.

But maybe I'm just cynical.

Labels: Blue Bombers, Manitoba, sports

Really, they should move hockey day in Canada to later in February, and make it a National holiday.

Because it's been so treacherously cold out the last few days, it makes for a perfect Hockey Day in Canada. I've got enough munchies for a week, enough beer to drown a small army, and the good ol' boys coming down to hunker down in front of the TV for the night.

The day's off to a good start, the Ottawa Senators are trouncing the Montreal Habs 4-0 after the first. The big one will be my Canucks against the hated Maple Leafs

Labels: sports

While every other dog and his blogger is doing a preview of what the year 2007 will hold, here goes nothing.

• Gary Doer will win another provincial election here in Manitoba. Scandal's don't mean squat to the NDP's socialist base, which will be enough to win; Meanwhile the Manitoba Liberal party will pick up seats at the expense of the Progressive Conseravtives, who seem to have dropped the Conservative part of the party platform.
• Stephen Harper's Conservative government will win a majority government some time in the first half of the year. The party will campaign on their long list of achievements in a minority position, which most clear thinking Canadians are fond of. The Liberal Party will attempt again to campaign on anti-Americanism, and bribing Joe Public with Social programs.
• My tarot cards also show me the end of the NDP and Jack Layton on the federal scene. The party has, in the last two years, been unable to separate itself from the Liberals on most major policies. Their biggest strength, the environment, has now been hijacked by a much more "centrist" party in the Greens, while the Liberals will also try, unsuccessfully, to stake claim to being Canada's "Greenest Party". In the end, it's Layton's blatant anti-Canadianism that will send him packing.
• Coalition forces will start to exit Iraq. The result of this will be two-fold; One, Iraq will be divided into three autonomous provinces divided between the Kurds, Sunni, and Shiite. Two, it will leave behind a power-vacuum that will be filled by different regional powers who will wage a bloody proxy-war in Iraq.
• The Nation-building efforts in Afghanistan will see rapid improvement, with the continued defeat of remnant Taliban fighters, and with the aid of a refocused US Army. The Afghan army will continue to improve and take more responsibility for the security of the country.
• In US Politics, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama will fight a savage Democratic Presidential nomination battle, with Obama coming out on top. Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani will handily win the Republican Presidential nomination, a sign of the impending doom for Obama.
• Global Warming will continue to wreak havoc with the climate causing warming, cooling, mass floods, and extreme drought in various locations around the globe. The Climate-Cultists will continue to preach about the falling sky, while Skeptics will continue to deny, deny, deny.
• The Vancouver Canucks win the Stanley Cup over the Ottawa Senators. The Winnipeg Blue Bombers win the Grey Cup. The San Diego Chargers will win the Superbowl (duh). The Toronto Blue Jays will make the playoffs, only to lose to the damn Yankees in the first round. The Toronto Raptors will have the best season in franchise history, going to the Conference Finals before bowing out, while the Denver Nuggets will go on to win the NBA Championship.

Go ahead, take your best shots. If you want any specific predictions from my tarot cards, feel free to post requests in the comments. Happy New Year!

Labels: Afghanistan, politics, sports

Some good news, some bad news from Pittsburgh (Link).

The Pittsburgh Penguins gambled on getting a new arena for free from a slots-machine casino firm and failed, leaving owner Mario Lemieux with the difficult decision he never wanted to make.

So the Penguins are completely screwed in Pittsburgh. The only people coming to the games are drunken frat-boys who get their rush tickets for $20 a piece. And thats with possibly the most entertaining team to watch in the entire NHL.

The bad news is that Jim Balsillie backed out of buying the Penguins, after the NHL made it clear that they did not want the team to move. In a way this is a good thing, since Balsillie seemed hell-bent on bringing another NHL team to the Greater Toronto Area, which would have made me want to end my own life. On the other-hand, Darren Ford speculates that Gary Bettman does not want any more NHL teams in Canada, no matter how badly they fail in the Sunbelt.

Bettman's "stay the course" strategy with the NHL is a massive failure. The Southern Experiment did not work. The NHL in the states is in a state of serious disrepair. Darren, on his website Jetsowner.com has a new feature showing the low attendance figures at NHL games in the States, and its kinda shocking to see.

An Original-Six team, the Boston Bruins, on December 14th had just over 11,000 tickets distributed, and on the 16th, they didn't quite get to 11,000. Not to mention, these are not seats filled, but tickets sold and given away. If an O-six team like the Bruins can't fill seats, how can a shoddy team like the Pheonix Coyotes expect to have a chance?

Which brings me to ticket prices. There has, and always will be in Winnipeg, a discussion on weather or not Winnipegers could afford to buy tickets to an NHL team. The biggest argument against Winnipegers are the ticket prices in Toronto, Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Ottawa, and Montreal. "Winnipegers won't pay $150 a seat to watch the NHL", they say. The reason that argument makes no sense is that all six of those Canadian teams have no problem selling out every game. If Winnipeg could sell every seat for $150, we wouldn't be bitching would we? Should we bitch if we sell out every game for $100, or $50 a seat?

Three clicks on the Pittsburgh Penguins website, and I see that in Pittsburgh the priciest ticket is $105, while the folks in the nosebleed section pay $25. Apparently Joe Pittsburgh won't pay $150 a seat either. The problem in Pittsburgh is that people don't want to watch hockey. Thats not a problem in Winnipeg.

The other problem teams south of the border have, is getting asses into seats. They can't sell tickets, but they have an even tougher time getting those tickets put to use. I watched a St. Louis game on TV the other day, where the announced attendance was just under 10,000, but there was not even close to that many people there. Tickets are one thing but hungry, beer-drinking, jersey-wearing hooligans are the guys spending real money. And Winnipeg loves beer.

The other thing that Winnipeg has going for it, is an extremely competent group of folks who know how to run a hockey team. The fact that the Moose have been so successful is a testament to this fact. If the Moose-guys were to buy an NHL franchise, there is not a doubt in my mind that they would make it work.

In conclusion, fuck you Gary Bettman. It doesn't matter if you hate this city and this country, you've failed the NHL and the game of hockey. The NHL will return to Winnipeg some day, sooner than later, and our team's success will be a testament to your incompetence. Let's hope Bill Daly is a better Commish than Bettman.

Labels: sports, Winnipeg Jets

The Bums Bombers might stand a chance next year.

Labels: Blue Bombers, sports