Three game sevens (and possibly a fourth) will dominate my sports viewing this weekend.
In the NHL, there is a game seven in the Eastern Conference Semi-Final between the Washington Capitals and New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden. This will be a battle of Alexander Ovechkin versus Henrik Lundqvist. Despite limited ice time, Ovechkin leads the Capitals in scoring with nine points, but will have to get by Hart Trophy nominee Lundqvist to move on to the Eastern Conference Final for the first time in his career. The game can be seen on CBC tonight at 5:30pm.
In the NBA, there are two game sevens, both involving the Los Angeles teams. Tonight the Los Angeles Lakers host the Denver Nuggets in game seven of the Western Conference Quarterfinal tonight (TSN2, 8:30pm). Questions are surrounding the health of Lakers star Kobe Bryant who played with the stomach flu in game six on Thursday. Afterwards, he was not happy with Pau Gasol for his lack of effort and had no problem telling him so.
Then tomorrow the Memphis Grizzlies host the Los Angeles Clippers (ABC, 11am) in game seven of another Western Conference Semi-Final. Like the Nuggets, the Grizzlies were once down 3-1 in the series but have clawed their way back to force a game seven. Last night in Los Angeles, the Grizzlies won game six 90-88 on Marc Gasol’s 23 points.
Sunday will be a very interesting round of golf for Weyburn, Saskatchewan’s Graham DeLaet.
The 30 year-old golfer out of Boise State shot a 66 on Saturday and is only two shots back of leader Jason Dufner of the United States at the Zurich Classic in New Orleans, Louisiana, this week’s stop on the PGA Tour.
DeLaet is currently tied with American Ken Duke at -15, and is in the final pairing today with Dufner at -17.
With the disappointing results by Canadian golfers the last few years, DeLaet’s performance this weekend is a breath of fresh air.
DeLaet has put together three consecutive rounds in the 60s, shooting a 68, 67, and 66. Elite players in contention this week and cannot be couted out are Ernie Els at -14, Steve Stricker at -13 and Luke Donald at -12 who are lurking in the top ten.
This week on 15 Minutes of Fame – lots of overtime and lots of fighting to kick off the NHL playoffs, the Oilers win the draft lottery & discuss the future of their coach, the Maple Leafs apologize and a number of top players head to the World Championships. Also – the head of the MLB players union talks steroids and the Hall of Fame.
In the GABBYs: Martin Brodeur, Thierry Henry, the NFL, Lamar Odom, Lingerie Football and Dwyane Wade. The Punchline this week involves Augusta and an attempted cup of sand!
One of golf’s most interesting and unique personalities walked away from Augusta Sunday with a green jacket.
American Bubba Watson, known for his creativity and personality, defeated former British Open champion Louis Oosthuizen in a playoff after shooting a 10-under par and then shooting par, par in a two hole playoff.
Watson’s win Sunday might however have been overshadowed a little by Oosthuizen’s remarkable double eagle on the second hole, becoming only the fourth player in Masters history to accomplish the feat, joining Gene Sarazen in 1935, Bruce Devlin in 1967 and Jeff Maggert in 1994.
Sunday also saw a pair of holes-in-one. One was hit by Adam Scott and the other by Bo Van Pelt, who shot an 8-under 64, tying the course record previously set by Maurice Bembridge (1974), Hale Irwin (1975), Gary Player (1978), Greg Norman (1988) and David Toms (1998).
In the end it was Bubba Watson’s day however. The native of Bagdad, Florida (not Iraq) has always thought he might have Attention Deficit Disorder, but has never had his individual suspicion checked by the medical community. A golfer who plays professionally with a possible mental disability is remarkable. A golfer who possibly has A.D.D. and wins the Masters is even more amazing.
I know that Peter Hanson of Sweden has a one stroke lead heading into the final round of the first major of the 2012 PGA season, but the bottom line is he is not the favourite to win the championship.
That person right now is clearly American Phil Mickelson, the three time Masters Champion and four time major winner. Mickelson went birdie, par, birdie, eagle, par, birdie in a magical six hole stretch to begin the back nine. He went from -2 to -7 in almost a blink of an eye.
Hanson may be 25th in the world and at -9, but he doesn’t have the experience of playing in a major like Mickelson. Another key statistic is that 18 of the last 20 winners of the Masters have played in the final grouping. Only Zach Johnson in 2007 and Charl Schwartzel last year weren’t among the final two to tee off. Another interesting statistic is that eight different golfers had the lead Saturday.
The entire golf world knows about 52 year old Fred Couples. The man from Seattle with his rich grey hair and the 1992 Masters Champion.
But what do we know about Jason Dufner, who like Couples is at five under par, and has a one stroke lead on golfers with great major resumes–Rory McIlroy of Great Britain (2011 U.S. Open Champion) and Louis Oosthuizen of South Africa (2010 British Open Champion), along with American Bubba Watson and Spain’s Sergio Garcia, who are part of the elite group of the world’s best themselves?
Well, Dufner is a 35 year old golfer, born in the same year as I, from Auburn, Alabama, a town that is known more for its university football than golf. His most famous tournament to date was the 2011 PGA Championship where he lost in a playoff to fellow American Keegan Bradley. He has won twice on the Nationwide Tour, but never on golf’s largest stage.
Just remember, Couples and Dufner are the current leaders at -5, but it is Dufner that is in his prime at the moment, while Couples is the veteran on the Senior Tour.
Lee Westwood might be leading after the first round of the Masters, but Thursday was also a very special day for Sarnia, Ontario’s Mike Weir.
Weir, the 2003 Masters Champion, who qualified for the tournament because he was a prior winner, shot an even par 72 in what was by far his best round of golf this season.
Weir, who has been battling elbow issues the last two years, finally had reconstructive surgery on the tendon in his right elbow this past November from world famous physician Dr. James Andrews.
So far this season it has been a struggle for Weir as he has been +40 during a handful of tournaments on the PGA Tour this season. While golfers such as Westwood, Ben Crane, and Jason Dufner will be battling for the lead, Weir’s goal this week should be a) to make the cut and b) to get out of the weekend as healthy as possible.
Another interesting story for Weir this year is that he plans on playing more in Europe. He has already played in Spain, and plans on playing in Germany, France and Ireland later in the year as well.
Canadian golf fans need Mike Weir because he is a great ambassador for the game, and it is great to see he is on the road to recovery!
It will be an historic playoffs at the Tim Horton’s Brier in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan starting today. For the first time ever, Yukon/Northwest Territories will be part of the final four. There is another unique storyline here because the 3/4 game will be a battle of brothers. Jamie Koe of Yukon/Northwest Territories will take on his brother, the formidable Kevin Koe of Calgary, the 2010 World Champion. The game can be seen at 12:30pm on TSN.
The winner of the 3-4 game will play Manitoba’s Rob Fowler this evening at 6pm (TSN) in the semi-final with the winner of the semi-final playing Ontario’s Glenn Howard in tomorrow night’s final also at 6pm (TSN). Howard gave Fowler a 9-3 spanking last night in the 1-2 game, a game completely dominated by the veteran skip from Midland.
On Sunday, McIlroy passed Luke Donald of England as the best golfer in the world by winning the Honda Classic in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
McIlroy shot a four day total of -12 to defeat Tiger Woods and American Tom Gillis by two strokes.
McIlroy also finished second last weekend to Hunter Mahan in the World Matchplay Championships in Tucson, Arizona. The back-to-back top two finishes for McIlroy was very impressive because of the long travel between Arizona and Florida. McIlroy also became the first non-American to win on the PGA Tour this year.
Another red hot golfer at the moment is England’s Lee Westwood, who was a semi-finalist at the World Matchplay Championships and finished in fourth place this past weekend.
There is another World Golf Championship this weekend in Miami, Florida with the Cadillac Championship. The course is known for its very difficult 18th hole. If golfers shoot anywhere left, it is highly likely they will land in the water, which is known as the blue monster. American Nick Watney is the defending champion.
American Hunter Mahan won the World Golf Matchplay Championship on Sunday.
Mahan defeated Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy 2 and 1 in Tucson, Arizona to prevent McIlroy from passing Luke Donald of England into first place in the World Golf Rankings.
Mahan built a strong four hole lead after the first ten holes, before hanging on to the two hole advantage. Mahan earlier in the day defeated Mark Wilson of the United States in the semi-finals.
It has been a strong start to the year for Wilson, as in January he won the Humana Challenge (previously known as the Bob Hope Classic) in the standard 72 hole event for the first time in tournament history. Since the event’s beginning in 1960, the Bob Hope Classic has been 90 holes.
The World Matchplay Championships is the first of four golf events that are a part of the World Golf Championship. The WGC Cadillac Championship is in Miami in March, the WGC Bridgestone Invitational is in Akron, Ohio in August and the WGC HSBC Championship is in Shanghai, China in November.
This is a big weekend in Alberta curling. Edmonton’s Heather Nedohin will try to win Alberta’s first Canadian Women’s Curling Championship on Alberta soil in Red Deer. She has the capability and overall team skill. Nedohin just has to put it together and notch three victories against Team Quebec, Team Manitoba and Team British Columbia.
A major reason for Alberta’s success this week has been the solid play of their overall team. Lead Laine Peters was second to Manitoba’s Dawn Askin in overall shooting percentage (87%). Alberta’s Jessica Mair was second among seconds at 83% and Alberta’s Beth Iskiw was second among thirds at 84%.
One of the interesting events of the year is the World Matchplay Championships that is going on currently in Tucson, Arizona.
The event is extremely unique because of all of the head-to-head battles on the golf course. You simply don’t see this type of format at any other time in professional golf except for the first two days of the Ryder Cup and President’s Cup.
One could argue the event has been unique so far because of the upsets– Ernie Els over number one seed Luke Donald, Kyle Stanley over fourth seed K.J. Choi, Y.E. Yang over third seed Graeme McDowell, Miguel Angel Jimenez over Sergio Garcia, Sang-Moon Bae over previous champion Ian Poulter, Ryo Ishikawa over number three seed Bill Haas and Italian teenager Matteo Manassero over second seeded American Webb Simpson.
But one could argue, like me, that there haven’t been any significant upsets at all, because unlike tennis, there are no dominant golfers in the game today. Tiger Woods is not even close to being the golfer he once was, Phil Mickelson is not even here because he is on a family vacation and no other golfer is dominating the game consistently enough to be considered a clear favourite–even at the World Matchplay Championships. Also, Els is more experienced than Donald (and has three majors), Yang is a major winner as well and Ishikawa is a rising star in the game today.
One of the most exciting sporting events of the entire year got under way last night in Vancouver.
For only the fourth time since 1923, Canada is in the main World Group of the Davis Cup, and yes folks there are reasons to be very excited.
Last night, Milos Raonic was dominant with his serve in his 6-2, 6-4, 7-5 win over France’s Julien Benneteau. Equally as dominant though was France’s Jo-Wilfried Tsonga who beat Canada’s Vasek Pospisil yesterday afternoon 6-1, 6-3, 6-3.
Now the stage is set for exciting doubles action today. I know Milos Raonic is the best Canadian tennis player today, but you could make the serious case that Daniel Nestor is the greatest Canadian tennis player ever. Nestor is a doubles specialist, who has a remarkable career record of 830-318. The seven-time major winner is still going great at age 39 and is currently ranked number three in the world. Like Steve Nash who I discussed yesterday, Daniel Nestor is playing at an elite level which is truly amazing to watch. Nestor along with Pospisil will play the French duo of Michael Llodra and Benneteau with the Canadian team favoured to win the match (Sportsnet, 3pm).
Play will continue Sunday (Sportsnet, 3pm) with Raonic taking on Tsonga and a fifth match with possible meaning. The two have never faced each other.
Here are the other events I’ll be watching this weekend:
Say what you will about the internet, but it really is the gift that keeps on giving when it comes to viral videos!
Don’t believe me? Fine. Be that way.
For those of you who are picking up what I’m throwing down though, I’ve got another batch of delicious internet awesomeness for you to check out. This week in “When Sports Go Viral,” we’ve got a couple of pro athletes goofing off, an interesting dangle from the KHL’s All-Star weekend and a highlight from the support staff!
Let’s start with the latest viral video from Phoenix Suns star Steve Nash – not content with playing in the NBA, Nash is apparently trying to convince ESPN to let him enter the Real Snow snowboard competition.
Check out Nash debuting The Corn Chopper:
(AFTER THE JUMP: More sporty viral videos!) (more…)
Say what you will about the internet, but it really is the gift that keeps on giving when it comes to viral videos!
Loading ...
