end of 2008

well it certainly has been awhile since my last post. end of the year, its time for a sports update.

as you likely know (if you live in Canada), the Stampeders won the Grey cup, in a close low scoring game that was won mostly by the Stamps defence. the Stamps defeated the Allouettes 22-14 to earn thier 6th Grey cup in franchise history. here is a video that looks back at 2008 for the Stampeders

http://stampeders.com/multimedia/audio_video/?id=362



as for the Flames, they have continued to be red hot in December, winning again on monday over minnesota to maintain a solid lead in the division and close pull closer to Detroit. the Flames have collected points in thier last 8 games and have 19 (i think) points in december. they play the Oilers tonight in the new years eve game. the Flames have benefited from depth scoring, consistent team play and solid goaltending. they seem to be for real, something tells me this isnt just a streak where they will go back to the way they were playing in october, they have gotten better all season. this team is resilient, and unlike past years, can win without iggy and phaneuf scoring, even if they dont show up for the whole game. The Flames have become a team that finds ways to win. that said, its still early in the season. Iginla is still leading the team in points, with 40, and goals, with 16. Bourque is second in goals with 14 and Camelarri is second in points with 29.

GO Flames



the Hitmen are also still leading the WHL with 68 points, ahead of the Vancouver Giants, who have 65 points. the Giants have the leading scorer, but the next 3 are all Calgary Hitmen (Kozun, Sonne, Bortis). things are looking good for the Hitmen.



the world Junior hockey tournament is once again in full swing, team Canada has dominated with a strong and deep team, defeating the Czechs, Kazakstan, and Germany. they play the Americans today, with the winner getting a bye to the semifinal.

Go Canada Go.



also the Mac's Midget hockey tourney is going on, there are no international teams this time around, and a few Calgary teams have a solid chance at winning.



in the NFL the playoffs have begun, and the NBA season is also rolling.



here are your winnners in 2008



NHL: Detroit Red Wings

CFL: Calgary Stampeders

MLB: Philidelphia Phillies

NBA:Boston Celtics

NFL: New York Giants

WHL: Spokane Chiefs

Macs tourney: Russia Severstal

GBL:Orange County

world Juniors: Canada

MLS: Columbus Crew

CIS Football: Laval Rouge et Or

GREY CUP SUNDAY!! GO STAMPEDERS GO!

TIME TO BRING THE CUP HOME TO CALGARY.

Lets look at what happened in the division finals last weekend first.

in the East final, the hometown Montreal Allouettes came back from a slow start to defeat the edmonton eskimoes. Edmonton had a strong lead nearing halftime when Montreal took the lead with two touchdowns before the half and one not long after. The Montreal Allouettes (12-6)scored 33 unanswered ponits to defeat the Edmonton Eskimoes (10-8) and claim the East Division championship, the first Home team to play in a Grey cup since Edmonton in 2002(which they lost to the same Allouettes).

In the west division, the leagues best regular season team, the Calgary Stampeders (13-5) hosted the B.C. Lions (11-7). This was the first time Calgary hosted the west final since 2000 when they lost to the BC Lions after a Dave Dickenson injury destroyed thier hopes of playing the the Grey cup at home that year. the Stamps came out slow and BC was able to drive the field several times. The leagues number 1 defence was able to hold them in it by preventing the Lions from scoring touchdowns, allowing 4 fieldgoals. The sold out crowd of 35,650 urged the Stamps D and was a major influence during the game. The Stamps special teams in the first half also kept them in it, creating great field position on every return. The Stamps scored a touchdown near the end of the half, closing the gap to 12-9. in the second half the Stampeders played better on offence, though the Defence still won them the game. after trading turnovers, the Stamps D was able to stop the Lions on a first and goal from the one, another field goal for BC. later the Stamps would get a touchdown to go up by 7 at 22-15. the Lions added a field goal and later drove much of the field in the last 2 minutes before throwing an interception. Calgary had the ball for the last minute, up by 22-18, and almost blew it. on 3rd down with 7 seconds left, Burris threw out of bounds, but one second remained. BC had one chance for a hail mary, but couldnt convert a touchdown. The Stamps got the victory, aided by the crowd, in what is the best atmosphere for a football game i have been to. yes, better than the two grey cups (tho they were fun) because the Stamps were in it, the crowd was into it and had a huge impact on the game (plus i had great seats)The Stampeders will play in the grey cup for the first time since 2001, when they defeated the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

this sunday at 4pm (mt) the Stampeders will play in Olympic stadium for the Grey cup vs the Allouettes, in what should be a sellout (near 70,000) crowd of mostly Montreal fans. It'll be loud. the matchup is perfect, the two best teams this season, two rookie head coaches, the two mvp candidates (Burris and Calvillo), west vs east...this game will be awesome. the Stamps and Allouettes have played in two grey cups in history, with Montreal winning both, most recently in...1970. This year, the Stamps defeated the Allouettes in both matches. with the two best offences and top quarterbacks, this could be an offensive game. although, the Stampeders boast the best defence in the league this season, and defence wins championships....

The oddsmakers wont pick a favourite at this point, Calgary would be favoured except for Montreals home team advantage, almost 70,000 fans at home. The teams have been preparing with loud noise at practice and the teams will be ready to roll on sunday. Montreal last won the grey cup in 2002 in Edmonton, Calgary won the year before in Montreal. the winner of this game will match Edmonton, and BC with 2 Grey cup wins this decade.

my pick for the 96th Grey cup....Calgary 33-Montreal 31.

GO STAMPS GO

in other news, the flames beat colorado 4-1 last night.