So we are hitting the end of February, time for the playoff race to heat up in hockey. both Calgary teams are pretty secure where they are. the Hitmen will finish first or second in the WHL and the Flames have opened up a 10 point lead on the Canucks for the division lead, and are 8 points back of Detroit!
the Flames have lost a few key players lately, with Bourque out 2 months with a high ankle sprain and Giordano likely out for the season with shoulder surgery. the good news is Iginla has got his game back, he had a 4 point night vs Columbus on tuesday and has played hard in the past 4 games. the Flames are riding a a streak of 6-0-2 in thier past 8, with 22 games left. the flames play home to Minnesota and Tampa bay this weekend before heading out on a crucial 7 game road trip in the east.
the trade deadline is coming up next wednesday and it should be interesting to see what moves are made in the nhl. Flames GM Darryl Sutter said this week he won't be trading any players off the team, so if he does make a trade, it will be a depth trade, which is good. this team had the parts to go all the way in my opinion. we'll see how it shakes out.
in other sports news, the Edmonton Eskimoes will host the 2010 Grey cup.
Go Flames, Roughnecks and Hitmen
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
February sports update
Sooo how about an update.
last night the Flames lost 4-3 in a shootout to the Canucks, after the nucks tied it with less than a minute left. The Flames are 3-0-2 in thier last 5 games and still have an 8 point lead on the Canucks for the division lead, good for 3rd in the west. the Flames(33-18-6) have 72 points and the Canucks have 64, with each team having 25 games left in the season. the Canucks are currently in 5th, one point ahead of Dallas. It will be a close race as vancouver is hot right now (6-1 in thier last 7 games) and the Flames have a tough road schedule coming up. the Oilers are in 7th with 62 points, tied with Columbus. in the east Boston is still running away with 1st, while Montreal and NYR have been slumping lately. the Leafs and Senators are still well out of a playoff spot. the Senators have been on fire recently, but they need to play .800 hockey the rest of the way if they hope to make the playoffs.
Calgary will likely play Dallas or Vancouver in the playoffs, both tough matchups. Vancouver would be fun, and whenever Vancouver meets Calgary in the playoffs, the winner goes on to the Stanley cup final...and this years Flames squad certainly has the tools/depth/speed/grit/energy/goaltending/intangibles to claim thier first Stanley cup in 20 years.
The Hitmen are also favourites to become league champions in the WHL. the Hitmen may break a win record, if they can get to 59 wins. the Hitmen are first in the eastern conference and the season ends next week.
The Roughnecks are off to a great start, at 5-1, sitting atop the west division.
The Stampeders have resigned a few guys, most notably Marcus Howell. they also signed QB Matt D'orazio, last years Arena football league most outstanding player and a Canadian punter (Renaud) to replace Dales, who signed with Winnipeg. Sandro Deangelis and Brandon Browner didn't catch on in the NFL and will remain with the team this season! Edmonton has been busy in the free agency period, signing several players, including Jesse Lumsden.
The Stampeders are hosting the Grey cup this season, and have a good chance of repeating at home, with not alot of change on the roster.
A few notes on Championships...
For the Flames, its been 20 years since they won the Stanley cup, and 5 years since they were cup finalists
for the Hitmen, its been 10 years since they won the WHL title and lost in the final game of the memorial cup
for the Roughnecks, its been 5 years since they won the Champions cup
for the Stampeders, last year they won the Grey cup 10 years after beating the ticats in the 98 cup and 10 years ago this year they were cup finalists
lets hope success continues to come in multiples of 5 this year for Calgary teams
GO Flames, Stamps, Hitmen and Roughnecks, and that 5th team that will also be champions this year, possibly our baseball team, the Vipers
oh and on another note, the Pittsburg Steelers beat the Arizona Cardinals in an exciting superbowl finish(Shocking, I know!) to win thier 6th superbowl title.
last night the Flames lost 4-3 in a shootout to the Canucks, after the nucks tied it with less than a minute left. The Flames are 3-0-2 in thier last 5 games and still have an 8 point lead on the Canucks for the division lead, good for 3rd in the west. the Flames(33-18-6) have 72 points and the Canucks have 64, with each team having 25 games left in the season. the Canucks are currently in 5th, one point ahead of Dallas. It will be a close race as vancouver is hot right now (6-1 in thier last 7 games) and the Flames have a tough road schedule coming up. the Oilers are in 7th with 62 points, tied with Columbus. in the east Boston is still running away with 1st, while Montreal and NYR have been slumping lately. the Leafs and Senators are still well out of a playoff spot. the Senators have been on fire recently, but they need to play .800 hockey the rest of the way if they hope to make the playoffs.
Calgary will likely play Dallas or Vancouver in the playoffs, both tough matchups. Vancouver would be fun, and whenever Vancouver meets Calgary in the playoffs, the winner goes on to the Stanley cup final...and this years Flames squad certainly has the tools/depth/speed/grit/energy/goaltending/intangibles to claim thier first Stanley cup in 20 years.
The Hitmen are also favourites to become league champions in the WHL. the Hitmen may break a win record, if they can get to 59 wins. the Hitmen are first in the eastern conference and the season ends next week.
The Roughnecks are off to a great start, at 5-1, sitting atop the west division.
The Stampeders have resigned a few guys, most notably Marcus Howell. they also signed QB Matt D'orazio, last years Arena football league most outstanding player and a Canadian punter (Renaud) to replace Dales, who signed with Winnipeg. Sandro Deangelis and Brandon Browner didn't catch on in the NFL and will remain with the team this season! Edmonton has been busy in the free agency period, signing several players, including Jesse Lumsden.
The Stampeders are hosting the Grey cup this season, and have a good chance of repeating at home, with not alot of change on the roster.
A few notes on Championships...
For the Flames, its been 20 years since they won the Stanley cup, and 5 years since they were cup finalists
for the Hitmen, its been 10 years since they won the WHL title and lost in the final game of the memorial cup
for the Roughnecks, its been 5 years since they won the Champions cup
for the Stampeders, last year they won the Grey cup 10 years after beating the ticats in the 98 cup and 10 years ago this year they were cup finalists
lets hope success continues to come in multiples of 5 this year for Calgary teams
GO Flames, Stamps, Hitmen and Roughnecks, and that 5th team that will also be champions this year, possibly our baseball team, the Vipers
oh and on another note, the Pittsburg Steelers beat the Arizona Cardinals in an exciting superbowl finish(Shocking, I know!) to win thier 6th superbowl title.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
a song, about how the Oilers are losers haha
what would a rivalry be without rubbing it in everyonce in a while.
a little song made by the fan 960, after the Oilers lost ...wait....got smoked...better yet embarrased by the buffalo Sabres 10-2 on tuesday.
http://fan960.com/ondemand/media.jsp?content=20090128_184247_53784
the flames by the way, defeated the same Buffalo team the next night 5-2...
Go Flames
a little song made by the fan 960, after the Oilers lost ...wait....got smoked...better yet embarrased by the buffalo Sabres 10-2 on tuesday.
http://fan960.com/ondemand/media.jsp?content=20090128_184247_53784
the flames by the way, defeated the same Buffalo team the next night 5-2...
Go Flames
Monday, January 12, 2009
Flames midpoint
alright, seeing as its the halfway point of the Flames 2008-2009 season, its time for an update.
The Flames are still on a killer roll, after a weekend off, the Flames record sits at 25-12-4, good for a 5 point lead on Vancouver for the division lead, with 3 games in hand. the Flames have a somewhat easy schedule until march, plenty of home games and games against teams back of them in the standings.
It has been said many times that the true measure of a team in the regular season comes from the second quarter of games, games 21 through 41. the Flames record in the time?
here are some projections at the halfway point.
- flames pace - on track for 108 points, and to finish ahead of Vancouver by 15 points, 3rd in the conference. will they catch detroit, no, san jose? possibly. hopefully the Flames will lock up the division and have a week or two to rest key guys (aka, kipper).
- Kipper is on pace for 50 wins, a league record for wins in a season, what makes this more amazing, none of the wins so far have come in the shootout. also on pace for 6 shutouts. Broduer currently has the record for wins at 48. I personally hope Kipper plays less down the stretch, let McElhinney get some time, otherwise Kipper going down means a rusty goalie, unless we pull up Keetley from Quad City.
- the Flames have 4 players on pace for over 30 goals! iggy (18), Cammaleri (15) Bourque (15) and Langkow(15).
- six players are on pace for 20 goals
-despite a 'subpar' season for Iggy so far, he is still on pace for 94 points! not so subpar after all
im trying to think of who the standout players are this season, but many of them have stoodout so far this season, such team play, different players stepping it up. biggest suprise for me has to be Adam Pardy on defence, did not expect him to have a role on this team, but when you look at it, he is older than Phaneuf.
highlights from the Flames skills competition here http://flames.nhl.tv/team/console.jsp
notables - Aucoin wins hardest shot - 102.2
Nystrom wins Puck relay
Glencross wins fastest skater - 13.542
Cammalleri won the accuracy comp - hit all 4 targets
The Flames play St. Louis tomorrow and face at tough road test in San Jose on thursday. The more I watch this Flames team, the farther into the season they get, I feel more and more confidence that this is the team that will get the 2009 Stanley Cup. 20 years after thier last one. This team is for real. they can compete with Detroit, San Jose, Boston etc and have the heart, teamwork, leadership and goaltender to do it.
A quick look at the other teams representing Calgary and you see a trend...
summer 2008, Calgary baseball team in Golden league comes up one win short of a league championship in semi-pro baseball.
November 2008 - the Calgary Stampeders cap an strong and dominant season with a well-deserved Grey cup win!
January 2009 - Calgary Buffaloes win the Macs midget hockey tournament, only Calgary based team to win it this decade.
as of right now?
the Calgary Hitmen continue to dominate Junior hockey. not only are they in first in the Western Hockey league, but they are first in the Canadian Hockey league, pounding opponents into submission every time they step on the ice.
the Calgary Roughnecks have started thier season, 2-0. after a 12-10 win over San Jose and a 10-9 overtime win over Edmonton.
Yep, the sports scene is looking real good in Calgary at the moment. enjoy it.
here is a link to some cool CFL plays of the year from 2008
http://www.cfl.ca/media/videoCFL/id/5963
thats all for now!
The Flames are still on a killer roll, after a weekend off, the Flames record sits at 25-12-4, good for a 5 point lead on Vancouver for the division lead, with 3 games in hand. the Flames have a somewhat easy schedule until march, plenty of home games and games against teams back of them in the standings.
It has been said many times that the true measure of a team in the regular season comes from the second quarter of games, games 21 through 41. the Flames record in the time?
here are some projections at the halfway point.
- flames pace - on track for 108 points, and to finish ahead of Vancouver by 15 points, 3rd in the conference. will they catch detroit, no, san jose? possibly. hopefully the Flames will lock up the division and have a week or two to rest key guys (aka, kipper).
- Kipper is on pace for 50 wins, a league record for wins in a season, what makes this more amazing, none of the wins so far have come in the shootout. also on pace for 6 shutouts. Broduer currently has the record for wins at 48. I personally hope Kipper plays less down the stretch, let McElhinney get some time, otherwise Kipper going down means a rusty goalie, unless we pull up Keetley from Quad City.
- the Flames have 4 players on pace for over 30 goals! iggy (18), Cammaleri (15) Bourque (15) and Langkow(15).
- six players are on pace for 20 goals
-despite a 'subpar' season for Iggy so far, he is still on pace for 94 points! not so subpar after all
im trying to think of who the standout players are this season, but many of them have stoodout so far this season, such team play, different players stepping it up. biggest suprise for me has to be Adam Pardy on defence, did not expect him to have a role on this team, but when you look at it, he is older than Phaneuf.
highlights from the Flames skills competition here http://flames.nhl.tv/team/console.jsp
notables - Aucoin wins hardest shot - 102.2
Nystrom wins Puck relay
Glencross wins fastest skater - 13.542
Cammalleri won the accuracy comp - hit all 4 targets
The Flames play St. Louis tomorrow and face at tough road test in San Jose on thursday. The more I watch this Flames team, the farther into the season they get, I feel more and more confidence that this is the team that will get the 2009 Stanley Cup. 20 years after thier last one. This team is for real. they can compete with Detroit, San Jose, Boston etc and have the heart, teamwork, leadership and goaltender to do it.
A quick look at the other teams representing Calgary and you see a trend...
summer 2008, Calgary baseball team in Golden league comes up one win short of a league championship in semi-pro baseball.
November 2008 - the Calgary Stampeders cap an strong and dominant season with a well-deserved Grey cup win!
January 2009 - Calgary Buffaloes win the Macs midget hockey tournament, only Calgary based team to win it this decade.
as of right now?
the Calgary Hitmen continue to dominate Junior hockey. not only are they in first in the Western Hockey league, but they are first in the Canadian Hockey league, pounding opponents into submission every time they step on the ice.
the Calgary Roughnecks have started thier season, 2-0. after a 12-10 win over San Jose and a 10-9 overtime win over Edmonton.
Yep, the sports scene is looking real good in Calgary at the moment. enjoy it.
here is a link to some cool CFL plays of the year from 2008
http://www.cfl.ca/media/videoCFL/id/5963
thats all for now!
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
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
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
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Grey Cup - eve
alright, tomorrow is the Grey cup (4pm, tsn). i watched pregame stuff on tsn today, great coverage. they showed a little stamps story of how they got to the cup. linky
http://watch.tsn.ca/cfl-news-and-highlights/clip115039#clip115039
Another reason the Stamps will win, Burris lost the MOP award to Calvillo, Calvillo gets the award, Burris gets the trophy everyone Really wants. and Montreal is expected to win because of the home crowd. Calgary has overcome many obstacles that have haunted them in the past, this season. this Stamps team has everything it needs for the win.
that being said, it will be a close game, and it is football, you never know who is really going to win. this game is a pickem, too close to call. For the sake of picking tho, im sticking with my 33-31 victory for the stamps, a 2 point victory just like in '98 over the Ti-Cats
GO Stamps
and the flames play tonight vs Detroit, and they beat Colorado 1-0 on thursday
http://watch.tsn.ca/cfl-news-and-highlights/clip115039#clip115039
Another reason the Stamps will win, Burris lost the MOP award to Calvillo, Calvillo gets the award, Burris gets the trophy everyone Really wants. and Montreal is expected to win because of the home crowd. Calgary has overcome many obstacles that have haunted them in the past, this season. this Stamps team has everything it needs for the win.
that being said, it will be a close game, and it is football, you never know who is really going to win. this game is a pickem, too close to call. For the sake of picking tho, im sticking with my 33-31 victory for the stamps, a 2 point victory just like in '98 over the Ti-Cats
GO Stamps
and the flames play tonight vs Detroit, and they beat Colorado 1-0 on thursday
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
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.
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