Allsports has been thinking about what to write about for the past while because after the letdown of the Olympics being finished and the veritable cornucopia of events taking place, there was not too much in the sports news or sports on the web which allsports was too interested in.
Marc Savard
Then the weasel, Matt Cooke reared his ugly head with another cheap shot on the Bruins Marc Savard and allsports figured it was time to react. It is too bad someone could not punch his lights out without getting an instigator penalty for doing so. As people well know allsports is of the opinion that there is a place for fighting in hockey as I wrote way back on February 24th 2009, with the post titled “Allsports thinks there is Method to fighting in Hockey”
Here is the video
So what did Matt Cooke get for this incident in which Savard was knocked cold? Nothing because as far as the rules go it was a clean hit. Never mind that Cooke was predatory in coming up on Savard’s blind side. Never mind that Cooke has already done this little act twice before. So now the NHL brain trust is discussing that a penalty should be given when a hit to the head occurs. That’s it put in another rule. Make it so the players will be afraid to give a hit and the game will turn into a non contact old timers league. Take fighting out too and then Bettman and company will have succeeded in making hockey really BORING.
So being that it is a slow day for sports news and sports on the web, other than the Maple leafs playing in Boston tonight, which they lost by the way in a shootout. There is really not much going on. The trade deadline has past and allsports did not think of anything to write about.
My cousin sent me this link to a video that I thought was quite humorous so I thought I would share it with my readers. Be fore warned that there is some coarse language in it so keep it away from the kids. For the record my cousin is a Bruins fan. I tell him to give it up as it has been years since Bobby Orr played there.
The video was broadcast on youtube by a guy with the byline of OttawaGh0st. Hope you enjoy it
The Olympics are done and allsports has been wondering how to fill the void for sports news or sports on the web. The Maple Leafs were back in action last night, if you can call it that.
As far as allsports could tell the Leafs were still on their Olympic break. They did not show up in a 5-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes last night at the ACC. It sure does make it hard to stay interested in a Maple Leafs game now after the caliber of play during the Olympics.
So the Olympics are all done and over with for another four years. The torch has been passed along to the Russian delegation who will be our hosts in 2014. If you followed any of the Olympics on TV, in the sports news or with sports on the web. Or better yet, if you were lucky enough to witness any of the events live out in beautiful BC you will know that the benchmark was set pretty high and the Russians will have their hands full to pull off a comparable Olympic experience. The last thing allsports wants to hear is any more whining from the Russians. They whined about the hockey and then followed that up by saying that the Canadian athletes were on Steroids to get the gold medal record. Surely they must realize how foolish they look in the eyes of the world.
Scott Neidermayer shows off the bling
Anyway I digress it was a very fitting end to the Olympics for the host nation. Going into the final event Canada was tied in the record for most gold medals in a single Winter Olympics with Russia and Norway at 13. Canada needed to beat the USA in the gold medal hockey game to make the record our own.
The game was great and one of the best ever. Both teams were giving it their all but in the end the Canadian talent came through to beat a very determined US team 3-2 in overtime. Canada was trying to hold on for the victory in regulation but the US tied it up with about 24 seconds on the clock. Sid “the kid” Crosby ended up coming through in the end to give Canada the Gold and send the country into the Olympic record books.
Golden Goal for Sidney Crosby
The US team left everything they had on the ice and has nothing to regret. During the course of the tournament allsports felt they showed the best unity as a team and played with skill and poise. The problem was that there had to be a winner but from what allsports observed, both teams were just that, winners.
So if you have been following along at home in the sports news or sports on the web, you will know that the Olympic hockey Gold medal game will be an all North American affair. Canada will get another crack at the Americans in the game tomorrow.
You would never get them to admit it but I think the Canadians were looking a bit past the Slovaks in the semi-final because by the time they hit the ice they new that the US had breezed past Finland 6-1. That game was closer than the score indicated. Miikka Kiprusoff was just brutal in the Finland net, allowing 4 goals on something like eleven shots.
Did you watch the hockey game on TV last night? If you did you were just like millions of other Canadians out there. If you had to work or had other plans, allsports would think that by now your curiosity would have sent you to the sports news or maybe here for sports on the web to see what happened. The hockey game is all that needs to be said but for those who need it spelled out it was the Olympic quarter final hockey game between Russia and Canada.
Allsports thought that the Canadian team was deeper than the Russians and that our third and fourth lines were better. Well that held true because the Canadians came out guns blazing and hitting everything in sight that was wearing a red sweater. All four lines were rolling and wave after wave of hard fore checking was beating down the Russian defence.
Crushing the Russian Front
By the end of the first period the Canadians were up 4-1, having out shot the Russian team by something like 22-12, with most of the Russian shots being weak efforts from the outside. To coin a phrase from an old Led Zeppelin tune, the Russians looked “dazed and confused” going into the intermission and really did not know what hit them.
So if you have been watching the Olympics on TV or searching for them in the sports news or sports on the web, you will be aware that Canada won it’s fifth Gold medal of the games last night in Ice Dancing.
Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir were flawless and as close to perfect as you can be to run away with the gold medal. The marks were staggering: 110.42 in the free dance and 221.57 overall, about six points ahead of the silver medalists from the US who just happen to be their training partners. Meryl Davis and Charlie White.
Well the road to the gold medal got a little steeper for the Canadian Olympic Men’s hockey team last night. As you have likely heard by now from following the sports news or sports on the web, Canada lost to the US last night by a final score of 5-3. One US goal was into the empty net after Brodeur was pulled for the extra attacker.
No the game was not pretty and to a certain extent it was the veterans that were making the mistakes. Martin Brodeur got the start last night and was not his usual stingy self. Earlier in the games Brodeur had said that he was excited to be playing without the trapezoid area so he could handle the puck more. Well Marty instead of concentrating on making a big play handling the puck you should have been doing a better job of stopping it.
Its day 9 of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics and you will find content about them throughout the sports news and sports on the web. Allsports is finding it hard to write about the Olympics considering I have been busy watching them. Maybe a laptop would help with that dilemma.
Canada is holding its own in the medal count and currently sits in 4th spot with the US, Germany and Norway ahead of them. Jon Montgomery of Russell, Manitoba was our latest gold medalist, bringing it home in men’s skeleton. Canada’s medal count now stands at 4 gold, 3 silver and 1 bronze.
The events are going through on Schedule. This is no small feat considering the weather out in Vancouver. Most of the days are hitting temperatures in the double digits. This is making it very difficult to keep the Skiing and Snow Board courses from deteriorating. Mind you most of these are up in Whistler so there is a bit of a break on the temperatures because Whistler is usually about 10 degrees colder than in the city.
It is still a credit to the volunteers and maintenance staff that stay up all night grooming to make sure the courses are ready to go when needed the next day.
I guess the biggest disappointment so far from a Canadian perspective is the results turned in by our Men’s alpine ski team. Some were favoured but the results have been back in the pack, this is something they did not foresee considering they have trained on this course for 2 years. Hopefully they can turn it around. The Women have not fared any better than the men.
The Canadian Luge teams did not fair that well either. After the tragic death of Nodar Kumaritashvili the IOC decided to reduce the length of the course, taking the top 3 turns out and having the Men start from the women’s gate. This played right into the German sliders hands as they are noted for their fast starts. Allsports has a bit of an issue with this, yes it was a tragic accident but these are the best in the world, deal with it. The Canadian team had trained on the course for two years without incident and any home advantage they may have had was taken away.
If you have been checking out the Olympics on TV, in the sports news or looking up sports on the web, you are likely aware that Montreal moguls skier Alex Bilodeau wrote himself into the record books yesterday by being the first Canadian to ever win a gold medal on Canadian soil.
