Game 6 Ticket Stub

So if you have been following allsports for his sports news and sports on the web, you will be aware from the previous post that the Brampton Excelsior’s are battling the Peterborough Lakers for the right to host the 2010 Mann Cup.  Brampton was up in the series 3-2 going into last nights game at home and with a win, would have earned the right to host the New Westminster Salmonbellies for the Canadian Senior Box Lacrosse Championship.

Salmonbellies Logo

But the Lakers had something to say about that and they were not going to go quietly. There is just too much talent and experience on the Peterborough team to go meekly into the night in 6 games. Brampton did out shoot Peterborough in the game 58-38 and had plenty of chances but Mike Thompson stood tall in the Lakers net and was outstanding. It was easily his best game of the series and his teammates should have been buying his beer on the bus ride home because he was the difference in the game. Anthony Cosmo seemed to be fighting the ball a bit in the Brampton net which is unusual for him. He is arguably the best goalie in the league and rarely gives up a bad goal.

Anthony Cosmo

The game started off as a very close checking affair and the Lakers took a 2-1 lead into the first intermission. Things started to unravel for the home side in the second though as every opportunity  they had was turned aside by Thompson. The Lakers built a 5-1 lead at one point but the Excelsiors closed to 5-3 by the end of the 2nd period.

Mike Thompson

In the third period the wheels fell off for the home side as the Lakers scored five straight goals to put the game away. Brampton got one more goal in the last minute of the game but it was too little, too late and the final score was 10-4 in favour of the Lakers.

Game seven for all the marbles and the right to host the Mann Cup goes, Labour Day Monday, Sept 6 in Peterborough at 7 PM. Brampton will have to play their best game to squeak this one out as the Lakers don’t loose too many at home in front of their very supportive fans. Allsports would like to see the Excelsiors pull it off to bring the Mann Cup back but the Lakers are a formidable team and Brampton has already won a game there. It will surely be a battle royal no matter the outcome.

“No Guts No Glory”

Walt Webb

2010 Brampton Majors Team Photo

So there has been quite a bit going on in the Major Lacrosse Series for sports news and sports on the web while allsports was away on holidays in the past week. Three games have been played since my last post . The series has unfolded as allsports predicted, being very close and hard fought. Which is more than I can say about the Western Lacrosse Association final where New Westminster took out Victoria in four straight games.

Brampton Player

Allsports was wondering what to write about for sports news or sports on the web when I decided to write about the lacrosse game I went to last night in Brampton. The two time defending Mann Cup Champion “Brampton Excelsiors” were taking on the “Peterborough Lakers“  for the eastern championship. The winner of the “best of seven” series will get the right to host the western champion for the Mann Cup, which is the trophy awarded to the senior men’s lacrosse champions of Canada.

Brampton Excelsiors 1893

Lacrosse has been played for a little while here in Brampton, in fact the Excelsior organization has been in existence since 1893, longer than the NHL or NFL have been around and rivaling Major League Baseball. The MLB has been around since 1901 but the National League has been in existence since 1876.

The Mann Cup

The game last night was entertaining to say the least and great value for the $10 admission. Brampton won the encounter by the score of 10-8 but they needed overtime to get the job done. The Lakers had tied the score with about 10 seconds left in regulation. Brampton needed the Game because the Lakers had taken the first game of the series at home 12-8. Brampton could not afford to be down two games to a very talented Lakers team.

Excelsiors vs Lakers

This series will be tough and hard fought and likely go a full seven games. The winner will then host the west for the Cup. The western final is being played between Victoria and New Westminster. New Westminster holds a 3-0 series lead.

Here is the rest of the Brampton Peterborough series schedule

Peterborough Lakers vs
Brampton Excelsiors

Games 6-7 if necessary

NHL Logo

If you have been following the NHL in the sports news or sports on the web this off season, you may be aware that there are some more rule changes that the NHL is looking at. Allsports thinks some of these changes may have some merit and to be honest you have to give the NHL’s research and development camp some credit for  looking at ways to make the game better. Here are a few of the propositions which allsports thinks might have legs and be a change for the better in the game.

Tom Kostopoulos

The Hybrid Icing rule. This rule which is already in use in the United States Hockey League allows a judgment call by the linesman. The linesman determines whether a play will be called icing based on which player reaches the faceoff dot first. If he believes the attacking player will be the first to the puck, icing is waved off. If he believes the defending player will eventually win the race to the puck, the whistle is blown and the play stops dead at the faceoff dot, instead of inches from the end boards.

Kostopoulos hit on Van Ryn

Allsports gives a thumbs up to this rule change especially now that there is no interference allowed  to slow up attacking forwards. The icing debate has been a hot topic for a couple of years now as you can see from a post I did way back in May of 2008 titled, “Does Hockey still need touch icing“. I think the NHL may have finally got it right with this rule, it keeps the excitement of the chase in the game but also allows more room so the defenseman is not a sitting duck to opposing forwards, like Van Ryn was with the hit above by Kostopoulos. This hit effectively ended Van Ryns career. If you read my post from way back in May of 2008 you will see the similarity from what I suggested to what this rule states. Again this rule should be a “NO Brainer” and implemented now.

Old Net extra mesh

Make the net shallower by 4 inches. With instant replay now the net could be shallower and there would not be a difference in deciding a goal. Back in the day the nets were deeper with the thought being that the puck would stay in the net. If you look at old footage you could see at one point where they hung a loose piece of mesh in the net to slow down the pucks momentum for that reason. As said now with instant replay it is not required and it will give an extra four inches of ice to play with behind the net. Allsports thinks this would be a good fit too but they may find that the games will become longer if they have to keep checking video.

The Ref

Having the second referee located off the playing surface. Allsports likes this idea too. If you must have a second Referee in the mix at least have him off the playing surface so he is not in the way. The Ref on the sidelines can be used only when needed to get the call right. As I have said before you cannot have two bosses on the ice, it is counter productive. The Ref on the ice should still be the number one guy.

Allsports also likes the rule about the delayed call on a penalty. The offending team must gain control of the puck before the whistle blows, not just touch it . That way the other team has a better chance of making things happen when they get the extra man on the ice and thus more goals for the fans.

Hockey Faceoff

So now allsports will give you the take on what he thinks should go away and not be heard. One face-off dot in each zone, in the center of the ice and a restraining line for a player kicked out of the face off circle. Yeah that’s it, lets just change the layout completely. There is nothing wrong with the face offs the way they are.

Making the Goal crease bigger. The crease is big enough and the goalie gets protection from the rules the way they are.

In overtime, having three minutes of 4 on 4, followed by three minutes of 3 on 3 and finally three minutes of 2 on 2. Allsports can’t see the NHL going to 2 on 2 but 3 on 3 may not be a bad idea. Maybe make the overtime 10 minutes instead of 5. Five minutes of 4 on 4 followed by 5 minutes of 3 on 3 before the shoot out.

Finally I had heard they were going to change the colour of the mesh from White to Red. All I will say on this is that it reeks of the fox glowing puck. Forget about it.

“No Guts No Glory”

Walt Webb

P.S. For those of you that don’t remember the glowing puck or were to young to witness it I have inserted a video for your enjoyment.

Maple leafs logo

So after allsports was away for his kids Ontario Games up in Sudbury he decided to get caught up on the sports news and sports on the web. He also needed to recharge the batteries so to speak after covering more than 1200 kilometers last week. We were done the day before the closing ceremonies so at $120 a night for a hotel room, allsports got the hell out of dodge missing the last of the political B.S.

I also had to have a chat with one of Ontario’s finest, just north of North Bay as well.You know when this happens that it usually results in a dent to the old pocket book and this case was no exception. He dropped the fine and the speed a bit but still you don’t usually say thank you when it costs you about $140 bucks.

North Bay on the Map

Anyway I digress, so back to the sports news and sports on the web. So I was looking through the sports news for the Toronto Sun on the web and noticed an article that stated ” Kaberle Stays a Leaf“. I had been wondering what was going on between Mr. Burke and Mr. Kaberle for a little while but the last thing I had heard was that Burke had as many as six suitors for Kaberle’s talents. Well I guess either the teams involved were not making very attractive offers for the defense man, or Burke underestimated Kaberle’s worth on the market.

Tomas Kaberle

But whatever it is, the bottom line now is that the window where Tomas Kaberle’s no trade clause was not an issue has evaporated. Kaberle’s no trade clause kicked back in as of Midnight yesterday. So now he can choose where he is traded for the 2010/2011 season. Kaberle will earn 4.25 million this year in the final year of the contract that expires next June. It is a bargain by today’s standards for a puck moving defenseman, but allsports guesses, not enough of one.

Maybe Burke asked for too much in return but in today’s NHL having a defense man that can make that first pass out of your zone is critical. It has to be done quickly and efficiently because with no interference allowed anymore forwards are on you in a heart beat and can hem you into your own zone where nothing good can happen. At 32 years of age Kabby is still one of the best at the first pass to clear the zone but he is getting a little long in the tooth for the Maple Leafs liking. Burke has said all along that he would not give him away and if they have to start camp with him it should make for some good battles to fill the other defense positions.

Tomas Kaberle moving the puck

So now the Leafs have eight NHL ready NHL defense-men for six positions. That is not including Jeff Finger who will likely be hidden away on the farm till his contract is up. At 3.5 million a year he is the last mistake from the Ferguson years that Burke has to deal with. They don’t want his contract on the cap and with the inflated money Ferguson paid him, no other team will have much interest either. Not unless the Leafs pick up most of his salary and they are not about to do that. They would be better off for Finger to help the young guys on the farm.

Jeff Finger

So the Maple Leafs could be in worse positions. It is always better to have more defense than not and it is better looking at it than looking for it. Some teams will need defense once the season starts and GM’s find out that people they thought could play in the NHL can not.  Burke made the right decision in not being too quick to get rid of a player of Kaberle’s caliber. He may find that it may just need to take a bit more time to get what he wants. Re-signing Kaberle would not be the worst idea either. Some might say that he is a little soft but he does have very good hands.

“No Guts No Glory”

Walt Webb

Aerial view of Science North

As far as how the Brampton women made out, they won a silver medal after being defeated by Orangeville in the final. Brampton’s Midget boys box lacrosse team also won a silver medal. The Orangeville girls did play better than our team and were deserving of the gold medal. It was the old adage, your best players have to be your best players and unfortunately some of our best were invisible in the final game. The bottom line though is that the girls had fun and are better off for the experience. It was too bad that they decided to have rookie Ref’s do the gold medal game. They did not have a clue and ran around with their thumb up their ass for the whole game. I don’t blame them for the loss but they were brutal with poor judgment and missed calls on both sides. Allsports was shocked at the short sightedness of the organizers.

Sudbury views

You don’t like to say anything bad about the hosts and I am sure they did the best they could do but the location for lacrosse, both girls field and boys box was deplorable. The fields were as tough as concrete and as rough as cow pasture. Areas of sand a gravel were showing through. The arena for the box games was decrepit and run down. More attention should have been given to the profile of Canada’s national summer sport.

Sudbury sunset

Finally, the local politicians thought it might be a good idea to have the downtown main street all torn up for roadway construction during the games. This made for frustration in trying to move about the city. I know the season for construction is short in the north but they had known for two years that they were hosting the games. The planning was poor and there is no excuse for it.

All in all Sudbury might be a nice place to visit but I would not want to live there.

“No Guts No Glory”

Walt Webb

Stage Ontario Games

Hi Everyone well allsports got here to Sudbury after about 5 hours of driving and at times not within the law. People say in Canada there are two seasons for driving in Canada, winter and construction, lol. You get caught in it and then have to race like a mofo to try and get back on schedule. The things you do for sports news and sports on the web, not to mention getting your kids to the team on time.

athletes getting ready for opening

So everyone is now settled in, the girls had their team meeting, having a blast with their team mates and got off to the opening ceremonies. Allsports was there but keeping a low profile talking to different people and other parents who’s kids are involved in lacrosse as well as other sports. The last thing the girls want to see is dad hanging around, part of the whole experience is to hang out with your team, meet other athletes and have some fun without parental supervision.

The bleachers

As far as the sports go, there are too many to name but you have lacrosse which obviously I will be watching and everything from canoeing to Baseball and rifle shooting. Some of these young adults will be our future Olympians and maybe it should happen every year instead of every two.

The Field with CTV there

The city of Sudbury have been gracious hosts and seem to have everything well organized. There are many volunteers and event coordinators. Numbers I will be able to post later with information I get from Kristina Lang, the “Marketing Officer” for Sudbury Tourism.

Womens Lacrosse coming in

Anyway allsports must confess that I took off a bit early once the political bags of wind got the microphone, but really people can you blame me? Getting robbed by them is enough, do I have to listen to them too?

Our Team with other athletes

I did manage to get so pretty good pictures of the events though and will share them with you now. This event is great for our young athletes regardless of the political wind you have to endure to carry it off,

” No Guts No Glory”

Walt Webb

P.S. Sorry about the pictures but they had to be reduced for the blog. Almost makes me think they are not worth taking

NHL Logo

So if you follow sports news or sports on the web you will have first heard that Ilya Kovalchuk signed a 102 million dollar 17 year contract with the New Jersey Devils. When allsport first heard this he thought that Devils GM Lou Lamoriello had fallen and bumped his head. Lou is not noted for throwing around the cash and allsports thought though Kovalchuk is a pretty good player, he was not worth that kind of money and really did not fit into the Devils team philosophy.

Ilya Kovalchuk playing for Russia

Then the NHL board rejected the deal making Kovalchuk  a free agent again and now the NHLPA , really having no other choice in the matter filed an appeal on Kovalchuk’s behalf. The whole thing is a circus and Bettman is the ring leader. His and the owners incompetence is showing through once again.  Did they not think when they were kicking and screaming for a salary cap that agents and general managers alike would start to get creative on ways to circumvent the cap for salary? It is not like it has not been done before. Rick DiPietro signed a 15 year deal with the Islanders and that was ok, although allsports would bet that the Islanders wish they never put that offer on the table, considering in allsports humble opinion, DiPietro will likely never play another NHL game. Or how about Marion Hossa’s 12 year deal with the Black Hawks, it was ok but I guess 17 years is just too hard for the NHL to swallow. If the NHL board had a clue they should have written the maximum length of a contract into the CBA, whether it was 5, 7, or 10 years does not matter, at least you would not have the muddled B.S. we are seeing now.

You see the way it works is the NHL club will pay X dollars over the term of the contract, so in Kovalchuks case 102 million , but it is divided by the number of years, 17. So the actual cap hit would be 102/ 17 =6 million a year which the Devils can stomach to meet the cap. Don’t forget that the Devils will have to keep a few bobbles around to sign their best player, which is not Kovalchuk by the way, it is Zach Parise.

Garry Bettman

Now were Bettman and his board of governors too stupid to see this coming, well I guess they were. The only reason they needed the cap in the first place was to make the players protect them against themselves. So once again the players have to bail out the owners. You can’t blame the players for signing for as much money as they can after all their career could be over at any time and they have to look out for their own well being.

So lets look at why the cap was needed in the first place. It was put into place to protect the owners against themselves and we see now that they have managed to get themselves into trouble anyway. No the cap was in place so all the weak sister franchises that Bettman brought into the league could survive. Do you really think that the Toronto Maple Leafs or New York Rangers, etc. needed a cap. Of course they did not. Nashville, Atlanta, Florida and so on needed the cap and those are Bettmans foolish expansion teams that he refuses to let die. He just makes the strong teams pay the weak ones so they can stay afloat an keep his misguided dream alive.

It you have read some of allsports previous posts, like the one back in April titled “Allsports wonders how the NHL Owners like Mr. Bettman now” you are quite aware that allsports has no use for Garry Bettman. He is a pompous little clown with a distorted view on the game of hockey. In fact allsports would guess that Bettman does not have one fan up in Canada, we as Canadians are universal in our thinking that he is just a bad joke. Much like the Philly faithful thought of him when he came out to present the Stanley Cup to the Black Hawks this past year. But this is another story for another day.

“No Guts No Glory”

Walt Webb

World Field Lacrosse Logo 2010

The Canadian men’s lacrosse team put up a valiant fight for world field lacrosse supremacy but in the end they came up just short. If you have not heard yet through the sports news or sports on the web, the US edged the Canadian men 12-10 in a hard fought championship game.

Team USA Player

The USA jumped out to an early 3-0 lead and then held a 3-2 lead after the first quarter. By the half the US had expanded the lead to 8-4. Canada held off the Us in the third quarter and got back to 8-8. Canada went ahead early in the fourth quarter 10-9 but the US rallied with 3 goals to take back the lead then killed the clock by holding possession with some good ball control passing. There is no time limit for a shot in field lacrosse but in box lacrosse you have a 30 second clock that counts down. If there is no shot on goal when the clock expires, you loose possession to the other team.

Team Canada Goalie Chris Sanderson

The CBC thought the final was important enough to put on the front page for sports and TSN 2 did show the final but other than that allsports thought the coverage of the event or lack there of was very disappointing. Lacrosse is Canada’s national summer sport but still does not get the recognition it deserves. Nothing was broadcasted in the sports news and you have to search sports on the web for any results. Allsports feels that’s just not good enough. For more on the game go here.

Allsports thought he would add a couple of video’s here at the end of the post just to give the readers an idea of the field game and box game.

Here is a introduction video put out by US Lacrosse

Here is a video on Box Lacrosse so you can see the difference.

They are both pretty tough games. Canada is more noted for box lacrosse but can play with the US now in field.

I would also like to take this opportunity to send allsports best wishes to Chris Sanderson, arguably the best field lacrosse goalie Canada has ever produced, and one of the best ever. Chris always battled to the end on the lacrosse pitch but now he has to face his biggest battle yet. Chris has been diagnosed with Cancer but allsports is sure that if anyone can beat the dreaded decease, Chris can.

“No Guts No Glory”

Walt Webb

Greater Sudbury

First, the summer is a busy time of year as I have likely mentioned before. Both of my daughters are very active in rep lacrosse and play it at the highest level available here in Canada. Games on the weekend followed by practice at least twice a week. In fact we are up in the northern Ontario city of  Sudbury next week so the girls can participate in the Ontario Games.  For those of you not familiar with how vast Ontario and Canada is. Sudbury is about a 5 hour ride by car, north of Toronto. To get there in 5 hours  you would need to have an average speed just above 100 kilometers per hour. I have written previously on the girls lacrosse with the last article that was done last August, titled Allsports and the All Sports Buzz.

Daughter Lindsay Last year

The second reason why allsports has not been on the net as much had to do with the company that was hosting “All Sports on the Web”. It was driving me crazy, everyone that I talked to could get to my Blog but me. Every time I would try to get on and write a post, the URL would time out on me, so I could not get in. I did trace routes and pings. The pings would go out but not be received. The trace route would max out at over 30 hops and the IP address where it got stuck was somewhere in Virgina. The  last few posts that allsports did were thanks to my friends at Success Patrol and Success Blog Net.

BlogNet-Awards

I would write an article to my Google documents, then share it with my friend, who would then post it for me through my admin area. I was not the best arrangement but when you are going crazy trying to figure out whats wrong, it was the next best thing. Needless to say without going into much detail, the host that allsports had is no longer the host for “All Sports on the web”

So hopefully now I am back and the technical issues have all been laid to rest.

” No Guts No Glory”

Walt Webb