Allsports

Hello everyone, allsports here for a bit of sports news and sports on the web. Fall is a busy time of year in the world of sports. Football is in full swing in both the Canadian Football League and in the National Football League. Hockey is in the preseason, with the regular season just around the corner. Major League Baseball’s regular season is winding down and the playoff picture is becoming clearer. Lacrosse is over for another year and training camps are getting started for the NBA, if there is no strike.

Lindsay ready for the Faceoff

My daughter’s provincials for women’s field were a little disappointing this year. Personally my daughter Lindsay had a pretty good showing but the team just did not perform up to expectations and we did not get into the playoff round. There were many reasons why this happened but I don’t want to say who was not playing up to their potential. Lindsay made the most of the chances she was given finding the net whenever she was given the opportunity. But alas on a whole the chances were slim because the ladies did not play smart lacrosse and got caught chasing the ball instead of controlling it. Enough said.

MLB

The Major League Baseball season is almost over and the main question allsports has is, are the Boston Red Sox going to hold onto the wild card position in the American League? or are they going to crash and burn with one of the worst collapses in Major League history. The Red Sox have had a brutal September and a very comfortable lead has disappeared. Can they hold on? The picture will be clear after this weekends games.

The World Series Trophy

For my money the World Series will be going through Philadelphia this year and the Phillies will be the team to beat.  There is just too much quality pitching in their dugout not to mention a strong offense to complement it. Two questions remain for the regular season.  Justin Verlander should be a shoe in for the Cy Young award in the American League as far as allsports is concerned and will Jose Bautista be the American League MVP. The numbers he has put up this year give him a great chance but some of the time the team performance helps dictate the winner.  Curtis Granderson, could take it away from Bautista. Who would you pick for the National League Cy Young. Two Phillies come to mind, Roy Halladay or Cliff Lee.

Granderson has had a great season and the Yankees did win their division but Bautista still gets the nod from allsports.

National Football League team Logos

The National Football League is in full swing and allsports is wondering if the readers are thinking the same way he is. In the AFC allsports likes what the New England Patriots did in the off season and they have to be one of the favorites to make some noise. Allsports also thinks the New York Jets will still be around when the dust settles. Don’t count the Pittsburgh Steelers out either. They didn’t look good in week one but it is a long season and there is one thing the Steelers know how to do and that is win.

Aaron Rogers

In the NFC allsports thinks that the road to the Super Bowl will go through Green Bay. They showed last year that they have great depth in the organization and Aaron Roger became a star. The Philadelphia Eagles made some very good improvements too and have arguably the best defensive secondary in the league. Micheal Vick running the offense will make sure the Eagles can put some points on the board. Look for the Detroit Lions to finally turn the corner and be a competitive team this year. This could be bad news for my Chicago Bears as they will be in a dog fight to make the playoffs in a very tough division. As I see it now the Eagles will be playing the Packers for the NFC championship.

NHL Logo

The National Hockey League preseason is underway with the regular season just around the corner. Can Boston stay on top or will they have a Stanley Cup hangover. The Toronto Maple Leafs should be better this year and hopefully make the playoffs. Jake Gardiner has been a very pleasant surprise on the Leafs blue line and has shown he has the skating and hockey mentality to play in the NHL Mike Komisarek on the other hand might be playing in the American League soon. Allsports thinks he is too slow for the League and always a half a step behind the play. He will ultimately take unnecessary penalties because of this and may serve the Leafs better on the farm where he can help Dallas Eakins develop the Leafs young talent. There won’t be much interest in Komisarek with the contract he has so he may as well be sent down so he won’t be on the salary cap for the big club.

So there you have it, just a few of allsports thoughts in the wonderful world of sports news and sports on the web.

“No Guts No Glory”

Walt Webb

Allsports

Allsports here with his final Mann Cup sports news and sports on the web article. So the Mann Cup is over for another year and the host city of Langley did a great job of looking after everyone. They did a top notch job of the event and were great to the visitors from Brampton. If you are counting at home it was the 102nd Mann Cup.

Brampton Excelsiors logo

The citizens of Langley did a great job hosting the Mann Cup but it was too bad the home side did not fare a little better on the floor. After two heart breaking one goal losses the Thunder knew their backs were against the wall. They had run out of wiggle room. Although Brampton was a young team they were not nearly as young as the Thunder. They did have previous Mann Cup experience in the locker room and the Brampton squad seemed to ride that through. The likes of Dan Dawson and Anthony Cosmo, guys who knew what it took to win were towers of strength for the Excelsiors.

Langley Thunder Logo

But back to the game at hand for now. The first period belonged to Brampton and like a shark smelling blood, they were in going for the kill, building a 3-0 lead after the first period. To the Thunders credit they did not fold up the tents after the first and came out in the second with renewed determination, scoring three quick goals in the first five minutes to draw  even but Jarrett Davis a B.C. boy, restored the Brampton lead.

Brampton presented the Mann Cup

In the third period it was all Brampton and this was when the experience really showed. Brampton ragged the ball and used their full 30 seconds with most every possession. Using good clock management to keep the ball away from the Thunder players as much as possible. When Langley did get an opportunity, Cosmo was there to deny them. Davis scored again for Brampton at the nine minute mark and Frank Resetarits put the final nail in the Thunders coffin with just over two minutes left in the game.The final score was 6-3 for Brampton and gave them a 4-1 Mann Cup series win.

Brampton Excelsiors, the 2011 Mann Cup Champions

Some game notes and statistics. This was Dan Dawson’s fifth Mann Cup win (4 with Brampton and 1 with Victoria) and allsports thinks Anthony Cosmo has won just as many. If you look closely at the picture of Dawson with the Mann Cup you will see a bleeding gash on his forehead. That was caused by a high and cheap cross check by Thunder defenseman Rob Van Beek. Dawson though refused to let anyone retaliate for the questionable blow. The series on a whole though was very clean with few penalties and only one fight which happened in game one. It will be remembered  for its intensity, clean play and outstanding defensive and goaltending efforts.

Allsports with the Mann Cup on the left and the Minto Cup on the right

Cosmo had a GAA of 4.5 making 130 saves in the four games he factored in on, as he won his third Mann Cup MVP.

With the win the East gains a 52-50 advantage over the West in Mann Cup victories and it was the 6th win in a row for the East.

Look for the Langley Thunder to make some noise in future Mann Cups if they can stay together. They are a very young team with great skills and now with some experience and seasoning you could see them representing the West for the next few years.

No Guts No Glory”

Walt Webb

Allsports here for more Mann Cup sports news and sports on the web. So game 4 went off last night in Langley and the home side was in desperate need of a win to tie the series up. Another loss and Brampton would go up 3-1 in the series and it would likely be to deep a hole for the Thunder to climb out of.

The game was scoreless for 31 minutes and 4 seconds (likely some kind of Mann Cup record for goal drought) with neither team giving an inch on defense. until Athan Iannucci opened the scoring. Mike Grimes made it 2-0 for the home side three minutes later but Dan Dawson got one back for Brampton. Iannucci got his second of the frame and Jarrett Davis answered with an unassisted  tally in the last minute of the second period to bring Brampton within one.

Langley Thunder Logo

Kyle Belton restored Langley’s two goal lead two minutes into the third period but Brampton would not be denied, scoring the last three goals of the game to take it by a 5-4 score. Brampton out shot Langley 39-34 in the game and now has a strangle hold on the series and can wrap it up with a win tonight.

The Brampton boys will try their best to finish it tonight because they have jobs and families to get back to. The last thing they want to do is hang around for an off day tomorrow before playing again on Wednesday.

“No Guts No Glory”

Walt Webb

Allsports

Allsports here for more sports news and sports on the web. This sports news is a little lighter than the somber article written the last time.

Brampton Excelsiors logo

So the Mann Cup has gotten underway out in Langley British Columbia. The series started last Wednesday and as of today there are three games in the books. If you have not been paying attention the East representative, Brampton Excelsiors have flown west to play the Langley Thunder for the 2011 Mann Cup.

Langley Thunder Logo

A jet lagged and short handed Brampton team came out for game one and kept it close for the first period going into the intermission tied at 3. But the second and third periods belonged to the Thunder as they cruised to an 11-3 victory.

Game two was a different story though. Brampton’s number one goalie and arguably one of the best in the world, Anthony Cosmo arrived with captain Dan Dawson and a more rested Excelsior team handed the home side a 9-4 loss.  Cosmo made 39 saves in the game and Dawson contributed with five assists. Cosmo is a school teacher and Dawson is a Brampton area fireman. So you cam understand how hard it is for them to get time off for the final.

Anthony Cosmo

Game three was a hard fought, close contest that saw Brampton jump out to a 4-0 first period lead. Langley fought back scoring the next six goals before the Excelsiors got two late goals to tie it a six going into the third period. The Thunder drew first blood in the third period but Brampton got the last two goals of the game to win it 8-7 and take a 2-1 series lead. Cosmo made 31 saves in the game. Dawson had 3 goals and 1 assist and Joe Walters kicked in three helpers. Athan Iannucci was Langley’s top point producer with two goals and two assists.

Game 4 goes tonight with Brampton holding a 2-1 series lead. Can the Thunder answer tonight? They can’t afford to let the Excelsior’s get up three games to one. If the Thunder can answer the series will likely go the full seven, if not, it could be over fairly quick. Tonight is a huge game for both teams.

“No Guts No Glory”

Walt Webb

Allsports

So where allsports left off in his previous post the Major Series Final between Brampton and Peterborough was all tied up at one game each. I mentioned that Brampton had the youth and young legs while Peterborough had the experience. So who do you think won with those considerations?

Peterborough Lakers at Brampton Excelsiors

Peterborough Lakers at Brampton Excelsiors

Game 3 in Peterborough

Brampton snuck away with a 12-10 win on enemy turf to take a 2-1 series lead heading back to Brampton for game 4. The Excelsior’s seemed to be the faster team and the Lakers were doing a lot of chasing. Loose balls were the key and Brampton got more of them. Those young legs might be doing the job.

Brampton Excelsiors at Peterborough Lakers

Brampton Excelsiors at Peterborough Lakers

A bit of Rough Stuff

Game 4 in Brampton

The game was a battle royal but eventually the Lakers came out on top by a 10-9 score. So the series was tied back up at two games apiece. Its smelling a lot like a seven game series now. Due to a scheduling mix up, both games five and six were played in Peterborough. Brampton will need another win in enemy territory.

Brampton Players that were on team Canada

Peterborough Lakers at Brampton Excelsiors

Peterborough Lakers at Brampton Excelsiors

Peterborough Lakers at Brampton Excelsiors

Game 5 had the same hall marks as the previous contests, tight checking, great goaltending and some brilliant offense to get the ball behind the goalies. Peterborough as always controlled the ball well when they had it but Brampton was quicker on the loose balls and their defense did force the Lakers to cough the ball up once in a while. That was the difference in the game as Brampton prevailed by a 13-11 score.

Brampton Defeats Peterborough

Game 6 was back in Peterborough and more or less a carbon copy of game 5. Brampton controlled the lions share of the loose balls again and proved to be the faster team. Ball control is a very important aspect of the game but at the end of the day, speed kills and the Lakers found that out, taking it on the chin again in front of their home town fans by a 9-7 final score. This is the first time in quite a while where the visiting team has won three games on the other teams home floor. Brampton moves on to go west and battle for the Mann Cup winning the series four games to two.

Brampton Takes out Peterborough

It is somewhat poetic that Brampton ended Peterborough’s hopes of a repeat as Mann Cup Champions. Last year as I wrote in an article on September 10th,  titled “Lakers deny Brampton three peat in Mann Cup” Peterborough took away Brampton’s chance to win a third straight Mann Cup. Peterborough became the host and took out New Westminster to become Mann Cup champs. Well there will be a new Champion this Year.

Brampton now travels out to Langley B.C. to play the Thunder for the Mann Cup. The Thunder defeated New Westminster in six games this year for the right to host the Mann Cup. The games can be seen on the Western Lacrosse Associations website, The Box Rocks but it will be pay per view. Here is the schedule. Allsports thinks Brampton has a good shot of bringing home the hardware because in recent years the Eastern League has been better than the West.

Mann Cup 2011 Schedule:
Game 1: Sept 7, 2011 @ 7:45pm PST

Game 2: Sept 8, 2011 @ 7:45pm PST

Game 3: Sept 10, 2011 @ 7:45pm PST

Game 4: Sept 11, 2011 @ 7:45pm PST

Game 5: Sept 12, 2011 @ 7:45pm PST*
Game 6: Sept 14, 2011 @ 7:45pm PST*
Game 7: Sept 15, 2011 @ 7:45pm PST*

*if necessary

All games played at
Langley Event Center
7888 – 200th Street
Langley, BC, V2Y 3J4

Ticket prices have been announced for the 2011 Mann Cup. They are as follows:

Adults………………………$ 18.00

Students / Seniors………$ 12.00

Kids…………………………$ 7.00

In closing allsports would like to thank  Paul Grottoli’s Photo Gallery for the pictures displayed in this post. Paul has 700 plus images for each of the games so if you would like to see more of his great work, head on over to his website.

“No Guts No Glory”

Walt Webb

Allsports

Well allsports has been out of the loop for the past week because I was back up at the cottage with the girls and my dog Scooby. My daughter did inform me that she had downloaded the pictures of the women’s provincials but who knows where they ended up. Sure as hell not in the location where I asked them to be. So that story is still on hold for now. Likely next week sometime when she can actually show me where she put them.

Brampton Excelsiors logo

The last time I wrote I mentioned that Brampton had just defeated Brooklin to move on and that the Peterborough Lakers could do the same against Six Nations. Well they did, taking out the Chiefs 10-3. So now the Brampton Excelsiors will be fighting it out with the Peterborough Lakers to see who will have the right to represent the East in the Mann Cup.

Peterborough lakers

These two teams are pretty evenly matched and the series should go at least six or seven games. You have the youth and young legs of the Excelsiors against the veteran savvy of the Lakers. These two teams are very strong and would give any of the teams in the NLL a run for the money.  The Lakers have the home floor advantage and will get the seventh game if it is needed. The Lakers won the first game of the series at home 9-8 in double overtime and Brampton countered in game two with an 8-5 home win of their own.

Game three is taking place in Peterborough as I write this post. You can’t beat the value of entertainment to go and see these games. A ticket in Brampton is about $10.00, while Peterborough charges about $17.50. Still a good bang for your entertainment dollar considering the talent is as good as you will see in the NLL for about twice that much or more.

“No Guts No Glory”

Walt Webb

Allsports

Well allsports was going to talk about the womens lacrosse provincials last weekend in Whitby Ontario but when you are relying on your 16 year old daughter to download the pictures for you sometimes you just have to wait.   Its a very busy life don’t you know and what dad wants seems to take a back seat to other more pressing issues. The camera with the pictures needed disappeared for the weekend and ended up at the Britney Spears concert last night. She went there with her half sister and by all accounts they had a good time. Problem is that it does not help me with the lacrosse post.

Britney Spears in Toronto

So with that said Allsports thought he would talk  little about sports in General for sports on the web.

Brampton Excelsiors logo

Brooklin Redmen

The Brampton Excelsiors lead the Brooklin Redmen three games to two after a 10-8 overtime win in Brooklin last Thursday night. Brampton can put the Redmen away with a win at home tonight. This is some of the best sports entertainment you will find and the cost is only about $10. If Brampton moves on they will play the winner of the Peterborough Lakers, Six Nation Chiefs series which the lakers also lead 3-2 and can wrap up tonight as well.

National Football League team Logos

Well it was good to see that the NFL owners and players finally gave their heads a shake and averted a strike. There is plenty of money to go around in the NFL and it would have been foolish of either party to force a lock out. You can’t blame the players on this one because their careers could be cut short by injury at any time. All it takes is one play and a player could be done. Greed was what was fueling the owners fire and sorry but you can’t have it all. Allsports was not completely sure what all of the fuss was about but I still find it amazing that the NFL owners can get away with un-guaranteed contracts to the players. They are the only professional sport that gets away with it. Who knows maybe that was one of the issues the players were bitching about. I know I would be if I was a players union rep, Careers can be quite fleeting in this league. So now everyone can rest easy with the bets and pools.

Bautista Beaned

I could not believe that the Toronto Blue Jays did not retaliate against the Orioles when their starting pitcher Jake Arrieta beaned Jose Bautista in the head a couple of weeks back. It was an accident but still the Blue jays should have hit one of the Orioles batters in the ribs with a good fastball just to let them know you don’t screw around with our star player. That in a nut shell is why the Jays are going no where again this year, get tough out there boys and don’t take any shit. Do you think the Red Sox or the Yankees would take that crap, not in your life. That’s why the Jays are 13 games behind the Red Sox with no hope of getting back in the race. Boston does not loose to often to the weak sisters in the league while the Jays always have trouble with the bottom feeders, enough said.

“No Guts No Glory”

Walt Webb

Allsports

Wow where has the time and the summer gone. It has been over two weeks since my last post and quite frankly the time has just seemed like a blur. Busy moving a business through the days and my girls field lacrosse practices and games will do that. I did manage to get a couple of weekends up at my cottage but to be honest I was just too burned out to have any inspiration at all to write anything.

6 AM at the lake

Now the end of the lacrosse season is in sight. The girls or I guess you would say young ladies play their provincial championships this weekend in Whitby, Ontario, at Iroquois Park. So there will be some sports news and sports on the web after this weekend.

Iroquois Park.

The ladies play games Friday and Saturday in their pool with the top two teams advancing to the semi finals on Sunday. Hopefully we will be one of the two teams that advance. Our Brampton Girls are in a pretty tough pool though with games against Orangeville, St. Catharines and Six Nations. If Brampton plays their game and controls the ball we should advance.

Iroquois Park

In closing for now allsports would just like to congratulate the Brampton Intermediate Box Lacrosse team on a job well done. They captured the Provincial “A” Championship tonight by defeating Newmarket 3-2 in the final. The son of a very good friend of mine is on the team and allsports coached a couple of them when they were young lads. Good work boys and enjoy your success.

“No Guts No Glory”

Walt Webb

The Stanley Cup - What they are fighting for

Allsports here with a quick post for sports news and sports on the web.

NHL Logo

Both Conference finals are underway now in the NHL playoffs. Vancouver Canucks are up 1-0 in the West due to their 3-2 come from behind win the other night in Vancouver. Antti Niemi had a great game in a loosing effort for the Sharks to keep the game close. Game two goes in Vancouver tonight.

Tyler Seguin

In the East, fueled by a four point night from rookie Tyler Sequin, the Boston Bruins held on for a 6-5 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning to even the series at one game apiece. Boston now travels to Tampa for dates on Thursday May 19th and Saturday May 21st.

Derek Boogaard

On a much sadder note, Derek Boogaard was found dead in his Minneapolis apartment last Friday the 13th of May. Initial indications were that no foul play was suspected. It will take weeks for a full autopsy to be completed and the whole hockey fraternity is mourning the loss. Derek played six seasons in the NHL and was one of the toughest combatants on the ice. But friends and family said he was one of the nicest most kind hearted people you would ever meet off the ice. Allsports sends his condolences to his family and friends. Derek Boogaard was only 28 years old. His brain was donated to sports science and it will be a whole new can of worms opened up for the NHL if concussions are proved to be the cause of his death.

Stephan Leblanc

On a much happier note, the Toronto Rock defeated the defending Champion Washington Stealth 8-7 last Sunday, May 15th at the ACC to lay claim to their sixth NLL Lacrosse Championship. With the Championship the Rock tied the Buffalo Bandits for the most championships in NLL history. Bob Watson who had announced earlier in the season that this would be his last, went out on top into retirement. Bob was also the MVP of the championship game. Click the link above to see some of Bob’s NLL accomplishments. Allsports congratulates the Toronto Rock on a great season.

“No Guts No Glory”

Walt Webb

Peterborough Lakers 2010 Mann Cup Champs

There is a new Mann Cup Champion for 2010. Allsports here for sports news and sports on the web. Yes the Peterborough Lakers proved to be just too tough an opponent for the New Westminster Salmonbellies. Allsports had predicated a Lakers victory as you can see from the post back before the series began titled, “Lakers deny Brampton three peat in Mann Cup“. At the bottom of that post allsports predicted that the Lakers would win the series in 6 games and they did just that. The final score of game 6 and the clinching game was 15-9 in favor of the Peterborough squad, the largest margin of victory than in any of the previous games.

Lakers Logo

That makes it five straight Mann Cup victories for the East. The West has not one it since the Victoria Shamrocks did it in 2005. Anthony Cosmo was their MVP in 2005 and yes he is one and the same that guards the cage for the Brampton Excelsiors now.

Salmonbellies Logo

You have to feel for the New Westminster team. They have been to the dance for three straight years and come out on the short end of the stick all three times. It seemed that the Salmonbellies appeared to wear down as the series progress and could not deal with the Lakers experience and ball control. It is always more tiring when you are chasing, trying to get the ball, than when you have it and are controlling the ball. We will see if New Westminster can keep their team together for a fourth kick at the can next year when the WLA representative will be the host.

Scott Evans with Mann Cup

So now congratulations are in order to the Peterborough Lakers, the 2010 Mann Cup Champions. It was Peterborough’s 13th Mann Cup. The New Westminster Salmonbellies have the most Mann Cup Championships of any team with 26, dating back to 1901.

Shawn and Scott Evans with Mann Cup

It is very disappointing to find that there is very little coverage of this event in the sports news or sports on the web considering that Lacrosse is Canada’s National summer sport and has been around much longer than hockey.

“No Guts No Glory”

Walt Webb