Allsports and the Canadian Football League Playoffs

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So it’s that time of year again. If you follow the Canadian Football League for sports news or sports on the web you will be aware that the Eastern and Western Conference finals take place tomorrow.

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In the East the Montreal Alouettes play host to the BC Lions. Montreal sported the best defence in the league this year and also finished with the best record. BC will really have their work cut out for them if they hope to move on to the Grey Cup. The Grey Cup has been around since 1909 and is awarded to the Canadian Football League Champion. Allsports thinks the Alouettes will take care of the Lions and move on to the Grey Cup game.

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In the West, the Calgary Stampeders come into Regina and hope to knock off the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

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Allsports Commentary: Different start same Outcome

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If your following the Toronto Maple Leafs in the sports news or sports on the web you already know that the Leafs experienced as Lance Hornby said some “southern discomfort” last night.

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The Maple Leafs were down in Carolina last night taking on the other NHL bottom feeder, the Hurricanes. On this night the Leafs started off great and built a 3-0 lead after the first period. They looked like they would run the Hurricanes right out of their own building. The Hurricanes were looking totally disinterested.

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Then in the second it was like the Leafs thought the game was in the bag an quit working and doing the things that had given them the 3-0 lead. They squandered leads of 3-0, 4-2 and 5-4. Eventually loosing 6-5 in the shootout.

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Allsports News: Leafs just good enough to Loose

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So I was waiting a couple of games to see if there would be anything just a little bit different to write about. Unfortunately if your a Leafs fan that is not the case. If you have been following the Toronto Maple Leafs woes with various sports news sources or looking them up for sports on the web you will know that there has not been too much to cheer about in Leafs land this season.

It has been the same old story of which allsports is getting a little tired of writing. The Leafs are playing just well enough to loose. It was the same story last night in Ottawa, our nations capital. There were plenty of Leafs fans on hand too but that did not seem to help the outcome. The Leafs fell to the Senators by a 3-2 score.

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Vesa Toskala got the start in the Toronto net and played well enough to win. Problem was that Pascal Leclaire played better and made the one goal lead stand up with a strong third period where he stopped all 15 shots he faced. Leclaire’s goaltending had been suspect in his previous two or three outings but there in nothing like facing the Leafs to make a goalie look like the second coming of Terry Sawchuk.

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Allsports news: Coyotes sold to the NHL

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Well allsports is shocked, well no not at all. If you have been keeping tabs on sports news or sports on the web, you would have heard that the sale of the Phoenix Coyotes was finally completed a while back.
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Gee that’s a surprise when good old Judge Baum makes a ruling that effectively makes the NHL the only buyer for Jerry Moyes to sell to. Baum should be sued by the Phoenix share holders for not doing his job and finding the best deal for them. The whole Phoenix Fiasco reeks of collusion as far as allsports in concerned. The price of this franchise and for that matter all the other weak sister franchises in Gary’s NHL are dropping faster than the Dow Jones index during the depression. I had more or less stated this fact back on October 28th with the post titled “Allsports thinks What choice did Moyes have“.

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Of course now we will be into the next faze of the Phoenix saga, where good old Gary has to try and convince some billionaire with deep pockets that hockey in the Arizona desert is a good business choice. Good luck with that Gary, the Canadian owners likely want to run you out of Dodge about now.

“No Guts No Glory”

Walt Webb

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Allsports Commentary: Remembrance of Athletes and Soldiers

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As you may have heard through sports news or sports on the web, last weekend four special athletes and one builder were honored with their induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Brett Hull,  Brian Leetch, Luc Robitaille, and Steve Yzerman were all great players in their time and are worthy of  induction into the hall. Allsports personally has Steve Yzerman as his favorite. Lou Lamoriello, was inducted into the builder’s catagory.

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But on this day in particular and in our thoughts in general allsports thought we should not loose sight of the men and women that make our way of life possible. To be able to honor players in sports and to have our freedom of speech.

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No in the bigger picture of things the men and women of our Armed Forces are the true hero’s that should be honored and never forgotten. For many gave the ultimate sacrifice to ensure that we can carry on and enjoy the fruits of our labours.

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So the next time you feel run down or that things are tough just remember the soldiers fighting for you and what a tough job they have.

Thinking of all the Canadian, American and British troops looking out for us and our way of life.

THE FINAL INSPECTION

The soldier stood and faced God,
Which must always come to pass.
He hoped his shoes were shining,
Just as brightly as his brass.

‘Step forward now, you soldier,
How shall I deal with you ?
Have you always turned the other cheek ?
To My Church have you been true?’

The soldier squared his shoulders and said,
‘No, Lord, I guess I ain’t.
Because those of us who carry guns,
Can’t always be a saint.

I’ve had to work most Sundays,
And at times my talk was tough.
And sometimes I’ve been violent,
Because the world is awfully rough.

But, I never took a penny,
That wasn’t mine to keep…
Though I worked a lot of overtime,
When the bills got just too steep.

And I never passed a cry for help,
Though at times I shook with fear.
And sometimes, God, forgive me,
I’ve wept unmanly tears.

I know I don’t deserve a place,
Among the people here.
They never wanted me around,
Except to calm their fears.

If you’ve a place for me here, Lord,
It needn’t be so grand.
I never expected or had too much,
But if you don’t, I’ll understand.

There was a silence all around the throne,
Where the saints had often trod.
As the soldier waited quietly,
For the judgment of his God.

‘Step forward now, you soldier,
You’ve borne your burdens well.
Walk peacefully on Heaven’s streets,
You’ve done your time in Hell.’

Author Unknown~

REMEMBER:

It’s the Military, not the reporter, who has given us the freedom of the
press. It’s the Military, not the poet, who has given us the freedom of
speech. It’s the Military, not the politicians, that ensures our right to
Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. It’s the Military who salutes

the flag, who serves beneath the flag, and whose coffin is draped by
the flag.

I don’t know who wrote this but thought it was fitting.

“No Guts No Glory”

Walt Webb

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Allsports News; Maple Leafs winning streak ends at Two

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So when you check sports news or sports on the web tomorrow you will find out that the Toronto Maple Leafs winning streak came to a screeching halt tonight after two games.

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The Leafs lost tonight at the ACC by a 5-2 score to the Minnesota Wild. The wheels fell off for the Maple Leafs in the second period as the wild scored three unanswered goals in the frame. It proved to be too much for the Leafs to overcome. Niklas Backstrom made sure of that  turning aside most of the chances the Leafs could muster, stopping 37 of the Leafs 39 shots.

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The Leafs did play better in the third period and Phil Kessel recorded his second goal in as many nights but it was too little, too late. The Toronto team did not support the puck well tonight, meaning there was to big a spread between the forwards and the defense.

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The defense was having a hard time moving the puck through the neutral zone. This was caused by the forwards leaving the defensive zone too early and the defense was forced to make a 30 foot pass instead of a 15 foot pass. When that happens you are playing with fire.

Jonas Gustavsson was solid in the Toronto net again and could not really be faulted for the goals the Wild scored. The last of which was into an empty net.

“No Guts No Glory”

Walt Webb

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Allsports News: Maple Leafs clip the Wings

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So start organizing the parade. If you look for sports news or sports on the web you will see that the Toronto Maple Leafs took care of the visiting Detroit Red Wings last night 5-2.

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It was a night of firsts for the Leafs last night. They recorded their first home victory of the season. Phil Kessel recorded his first goal in a Maple Leafs uniform and it was the first time that the Maple Leafs put together consecutive victories this season.

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Jonas Gustavsson was sharp in the net for the Leafs again and is giving the guys in front of him more confidence that if they make a mistake he will be there to cover for them. Gustavsson is playing well but the fact is he is not used to the heavy schedule of the NHL. He came from the Swedish elite league where they only play about 40 games a year. It will be interesting to see if he gets tired around February.

“No Guts No Glory”

Walt Webb

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Allsports says, Leafs finally out of the Cellar

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If your following sports news or sports on the web? Maybe if you are like allsports and follow the Toronto Maple Leafs, you may know that they won their second game of the season last night in Carolina. The Hurricanes have gotten off to an even worse start than the Leafs and last nights game was for which team would get out of the cellar in the National Hockey League standings.

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The leafs started the game in the all to familiar manor of getting behind early 2-0. But Ron Wilson must have kicked some verbal ass between the first and second period because the Leafs came out in the second like a different team and tied the game within the first ten minutes of the second period.

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The game stayed knotted at two with both Cam Ward and Jonas Gustavsson keeping their teams in it. Blake finally broke the tie with about eight minutes left in the game to give the Leafs a 3-2 lead. Toronto managed to nurse the one goal lead the rest of the way for the victory.

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Prized off season Burke signing, Jonas Gustavsson was solid in the Toronto net, stopping something like 36 shots for the win. He has both Toronto wins this year by the way and seems to have taken the number one position away from Vesa Toskala who has been anything but stellar.

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It does not get any easier for the Maple Leafs as they play host to the Detroit Red Wings tonight. The Wings should be fired up because Steve Yzerman will be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame tonight before the game

No Guts No Glory”

Walt Webb

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Allsports Commentary: New York Yankees World Series Champions

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So if you have been following allsports in sports news or sports on the web, you will know that my predictions came true all the way through the 2009 MLB playoffs. The final piece was the New York Yankees winning the World Series, which they did the other night by a final score of 7-3.

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It was the 27th World Series title for the Bronx Bombers. The most titles by one team in professional sports. The Montreal Canadians are second with 24 Stanley Cups.

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Hideki Matsui was the World Series MVP and was the first full time DH to win it. He needed an interpreter when interviewed. Matsui’s stats for the six World Series games were a .615 batting average, 8 hits, 3 home runs and 8 runs batted in. He had a total of  13 plate appearances. Matsui had six runs batted in for the game with a single, double and a home run. This tied another World Series record held by former Yanks second baseman Bobby Richardson, who knocked in six in Game 3 in 1960 against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

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Pedro Martinez started for the Phillies and was not too sharp with his pitches appearing flat and lacking zip. He was gone after four innings and 77 pitches. He trailed at the time 4-1 with all the Yankee runs courtesy of Matsui’s bat.

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The Yankees then got into the Phillies bullpen which was no where near the form it showed last year when they won the series. The Yankees pen, on the other hand was pretty solid and could have been one of the main reasons for the series outcome.

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Mariano Rivera came on for the final five outs. With the appearance he became the pitcher with the most appearances in World Series history. As is the norm with Rivera in the game you could stick a fork in the Phillies cause they were done just like your Thanks Giving day Turkey.

“No Guts No Glory”

Walt Webb

Allsports says Congratulations to the New York Yankees

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Allsports World Series: Phillies live another Day

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If your into sports news or sports on the web you may already know that the Phillies staved off elimination last night with what turned out to be an 8=6 victory. Brad Lidge never saw the field.

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It had some of the same components as their game one victory. Cliff Lee although not as dominant as game one still pitched pretty well and Chase Utley banged out two home runs, one of which was a three run job in the bottom of the first inning to get the Phillies started. Lee was better than A.J. Burnett, who became only the second Yankee pitcher to give up six runs while only recording six outs. The other was Andy Pettitte, the starter for the Yankees in game six.

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Utleys home run in the bottom of the 7th tied him with Reggie Jackson for the most home runs in a World Series. They both have five but Utley is going to get at least one more game to see if he can make the record his own.

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On a negative note for the Phillies, Ryan Howard stuck out a 12th time to join Willie Wilson (1980) as the only players with 12 whiffs in a Series. If Howard could have shown even half the production of Utley in the series maybe the Phillies would be the team in the drivers seat.

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It was a very nervous ninth for the Phillies before they held on for the victory. The Yankees battled to the very end and were down as many as 6 runs at one point in the game.

Pedro Martinez gets the game six start for the Phillies, facing Andy Pettitte as mentioned above.

So now it is back to New York to finish the series with  the Yankees lead cut to 3-2. The Phillies have a very up hill battle to overcome, having to win the next two in New York to claim the series. Never say never but that will be a tough task indeed.

“No Guts No Glory”

Wallt Webb

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