Interesting, isn’t it, that the feeble Edmonton Oilers gave up on a couple of veteran players who promptly got bigger jobs on better teams.
Fernando Pisani did not hesitate long when approached by the Chicago Blackhawks. Similarly, Mike Comrie moved quickly to join the Pittsburgh Penguins.
In case you haven’t noticed, both of those players now have a shot at the Stanley Cup. If they had remained as Oilers, their only positive should would have been aimed at the bottom rung of Western Conference playoffs.
At this point, it’s impossible to tell whether general manager Steve Tambellini was right to unload all of the veterans. Only time will tell, but it’s obvious that Tambellini wants to unload every memory of the miserable season he endured as big hockey boss a year ago.
You can’t question Pisani’s character, but his health is another matter.
You can’t question Comrie’s fearlessness, his work ethic or his ability to score goals. But he lacks straight-ahead speed and of course is considered too small for a long and healthy life in the current NHL.
Comrie put up with a lot of pressure when he returned to Edmonton last seasonl. Pisani has fought both illness and injury in recent seasons.
There’s always a chance that some youngster can step up to fill Pisani’s role as a disciplined and consistent third- or fourth-line player. And there’s an equal chance that Comrie can be replaced by one of the presumed rookie hotshots on the roster.
Continue Reading…
September 3rd, 2010 | Posted by John Short | Filed under Home, NHL | No Comments
About five years ago, there was a general belief that chuckwagon racing would be , could be, should be, might be the next big thing in spectator sports.
The change, and decline, has been both immense and saddening. Chuckwagon racing has dropped to a level resembling cult status. There are many reasons.
Continue Reading…
September 3rd, 2010 | Posted by John Short | Filed under More | No Comments
Rebecca Marino (Bing Images)
There are no more Canadians left in the singles’ draws at the 2010 U.S. Open in Flushing Meadows, New York.
But that’s not to say there wasn’t any impressive performances by Canadian tennis players this week.
On the contrary.
Vancouver’s Rebecca Marino and Thornhill, Ontario’s Peter Polansky both advanced to round two of the tennis season’s final grand slam and both have impressive tennis futures.
Marino, 19, defeated Russian Ksenia Pervak 6-4, 4-6, 7-5, before losing to American superstar Venus Williams in straight sets yesterday. She has a lot of power to her game, something very important for any female tennis player today, and looks extremely more impressive than when Alexandra Wozniak was 19 three years ago.
Continue Reading…
September 2nd, 2010 | Posted by Jeremy Freeborn | Filed under ATP World Tour, More | No Comments
Paul Tracy (Wikimedia Commons)
A good friend of Edmonton’s Prospect Magazine has signed a two year deal with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing.
Paul Tracy of West Hill, Ontario was featured in the magazine’s fall, 2009 edition, as he contributed in the “Words from the Next Level” segment.
Tracy has competed three times on the IndyCar circuit in 2010, and recorded his best result in Edmonton, finishing sixth.
At 41, Tracy has shown he still has a lot of skills left in the tank. His energy level remains excellent and is very competitive every time he gets in a car.
His 30 career wins on the Champ Car/IndyCar circuit, and his 2003 Champ Car World Series Title will make Tracy appear in the Canada Sports Hall of Fame one day.
For now Edmontonian race fans and all open wheel auto racing fans worldwide will get to see Paul Tracy in action over the next while. This in itself is great for Canadian sports.
September 1st, 2010 | Posted by Jeremy Freeborn | Filed under Indy Racing League | No Comments
Once again, a professsional athlete gets off lucky in the court of law.
Edmonton Oilers goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin escaped with 30 days in jail after being found guilty of serious driving infractions while under the influence of alcohol.
There is much reason to believe he should have received a longer stay in what old newspaper cynics call “the crowbar hotel.”
Continue Reading…
August 31st, 2010 | Posted by John Short | Filed under NHL | No Comments
Â
Cricket fans burn posters during a protest to condemn Pakistani players in Lahore, Pakistan
The cricket world was rocked by a shocking match-fixing scandal, revealed on Sunday, 29 August by the ‘News of the World’ newspaper, an affiliate of the London Sun, during the fourth and final Test at Lord’s between England and Pakistan. The news effectively took the gloss off the result of the match which England won heavily by an innings and 225 runs. It has also brought the gentlemanly sport into disrepute.
Four Pakistani players are accused of being involved in the spot-fixing scam. They are Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Asif and Kamran Akmal. They now face possible suspension pending resolution of the allegations. Spot-fixing involves the prediction of specific events (like No balls, illegal deliveries) within the match at predetermined times. They often yield lucrative sums to the winners.
If the allegations are proved correct, the players involved could face lengthy jail time and a lifetime ban. The agent at the centre of the allegations, Mazhar Majeed, was arrested but has since been released without charge on police bail. He is reported to have been paid £150,000 in cash by an undercover reporter. Mr. Majeed and two others were later rearrested by British customs officers on suspicion of money laundering.
Continue Reading…
August 31st, 2010 | Posted by Ron Saywack | Filed under Cricket | 2 Comments
LPGA star Natalie Gulbis in a bikini (Bing Images)
Well, I won’t discuss football here because John and I have already discussed the Eskimos and Stampeders in length, while Brian Swane has blogged about Canada’s devastating loss to Lithuania yesterday morning at the World Basketball Championships in Turkey.
So, that leaves me discussing about golf– and the CN Canadian Women’s Open yesterday in Winnipeg.
The tournament was won by Michelle Wie. The 20 year-old Hawaiian won her second LPGA event. Lorie Kane, a previous Prospect Magazine “Words from the Next Level” Contributor finished tied for 11th, her best showing on tour in 2010.
But I will remember the 2010 CN Canadian Women’s Open because a quote from one of Canada’s most famous broadcasting personalities.
While watching Hawaiian Michelle Wie win, CBC’s Ron MacLean who was the head broadcaster yesterday, said the following:
“Statistics are like bikinis. They reveal a lot, but don’t reveal everything.”
Ok, his comment might have been risky. If he said it in the 1970’s when the feminist movement was in full swing, there might have been a huge uproar. But I thought it was a little funny. I would like to know what your thoughts are? Did MacLean cross the line here or did he put a smile on your face?
August 30th, 2010 | Posted by Jeremy Freeborn | Filed under Ladies Professional Golfers Association, More | No Comments
Bing Images
The Calgary Stampeders only beat the British Columbia Lions by 13 points Friday night in Vancouver, but it seemed like more.
A lot more.
The Stamps once led in the game by a score of 48-20 when the Lions got two late touchdowns when the game was completely out of reach.
Friday was another very strong effort by the Stampeder D. Casey Printers was never in sync with the Lion receivers, as he only went 10 for 26 with 191 yards and a major. His poor performance early in the third quarter, led to his benching.
Continue Reading…
August 30th, 2010 | Posted by Jeremy Freeborn | Filed under CFL | No Comments
It’s tempting to write off the Eskimos’ weekend victory over Saskatchewan as a lucky accident.
After all, the Roughriders are proven to be solid on the field and in the coaching ranks, something that can’t be said of the Eskimos this season — not so far, at least.
Besides, Saskatchewan built a two-touchdown lead in the first quarter and made it look in doing so.
Now the real season starts.
Continue Reading…
August 30th, 2010 | Posted by John Short | Filed under CFL | No Comments
Â
(Reuters)
For Canada, opening weekend at the World Basketball Champions in Turkey, the national men’s basketball team’s biggest tournament in eight years, has been surprisingly encouraging, painfully frustrating.
The former being their ability to compete with the world’s best, the latter being their inability to put said teams away.
On Saturday, coach Leo Rautins’ Canadian team, which includes Edmonton’s Jermaine Bucknor, blew a fourth-quarter lead in losing 81-71 to Lebanon, a team they probably should have beat, then blew a 17-point third quarter lead Sunday as they fell 70-68 to Lithuania, a team they had absolutely no business beating.
Canada now sits 0-2 in group play, with games still to come against France (Tuesday), New Zealand (Wednesday), and Spain (Thursday). They’ll need to win two of those to advance to the single-elimination round of 16, and all three opponents are ranked significantly higher than Canada on FIBA’s world chart.
Continue Reading…
August 29th, 2010 | Posted by Brian Swane | Filed under NBA | No Comments
Frank Gore (Wikimedia Commons)
Hello everyone, just wanted to let everyone know that I am hosting my citywide 4th Annual Fantasy Football Expert Pool at Moose McGuire’s Beanery & Bar, 1941 Uxbridge Drive NW, in the Stadium Shopping Centre this afternoon at 3:30pm.
Some recognizable media names that will be attending include Patrick Steinberg, Radio Voice for the FAN 960, host of Flames Overtime and play-by play man for the Calgary Roughnecks, Kevin Warriner, former Sports Director of SUN FM in Grande Prairie and currently the P.A. Announcer of the University of Calgary Dinos Hockey Team, and John Lowther, former anchor of 660 News.
So, if you want to come by and say hello to all of us this afternoon, you are more than welcome to. Just not when I am about to make my tight end  or defensive team selection, because those are the most important selections in any keeper pool.
August 28th, 2010 | Posted by Jeremy Freeborn | Filed under NFL | No Comments
Andy Rautins (Wikimedia Commons)
The World Basketball Championships takes center stage this weekend from Turkey. Canada is playing its round robin games in Izmir, a city of about 2.7 million people on the western part of the region.
Canada is led by Joel Anthony of the Miami Heat and Andy Rautins, the Syracuse product who was recently drafted by the New York Knicks. Edmonton’s Jermaine Bucknor, who plays professionally in France for Clermont will be counted on to provide valuable minutes off the bench.
Canada’s first game in the World Championship goes tomorrow morning against Lebanon, a team that beat Canada in a tuneup game 88-76 earlier in the week. The game can be seen on TSN2 at 9:30am MT.
Then on Sunday, Canada will face the powerful Lithuanians, the co-favourite with Spain in Group D (TSN2 at 7am). When Lithuania was part of the Soviet Union, the majority of basketball players that participated for the powerful USSR in international basketball events came from the Lithuanian region. As an independent country, Lithuania has won the bronze medal at three Summer Olympic Games in 1992 (Barcelona), 1996 (Atlanta), and 2000 (Sydney). They also won the 2003 European Basketball Championships in Sweden.
Continue Reading…
August 27th, 2010 | Posted by Jeremy Freeborn | Filed under CFL, Ladies Professional Golfers Association, MLB, More, NBA | No Comments
Donald Fehr (Associated Press)
Don’t be at all surprised if NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman doesn’t get any sleep the next month.
The NHLPA’s decision to name  Donald Fehr as its Executive Director on an interim basis just might be his worst nightmare.
Things will probably get tougher for the NHL now. Oh and Gary, I wouldn’t really ask Bud Selig for guidance, because that whole baseball scenario in the 1980’s and 1990’s was darn ugly.
For those that aren’t too familiar with Fehr, he was the Major League Baseball Executive Director from 1986-2009, and helped generate $280 million toward its players in the 1980s after he successfully challenged the owners on  a series of collusions they apparently had with one another so MLB salaries would not skyrocket. Then in 1994, the MLBPA, under Fehr’s guidance, rejected a salary cap in baseball, and the entire World Series was washed out (sorry to bring that up Expos’ fans!). Absolutely nothing was accomplished from the strike, and baseball is in more turmoil now than ever before.
Continue Reading…
August 25th, 2010 | Posted by Jeremy Freeborn | Filed under NHL | No Comments
Loading ...
