The Lakers take a 2 – 1 series lead

by Murray Crawford…     Down two men, up a goal with 35 seconds to play the game seemed bound for overtime.  But just as quickly as the Brampton Excelsiors had their scoring chances, 3 good ones in the dying minute, the Peterborough Lakers held there own and jarred the ball loose setting up the go ahead goal with 3 seconds to go.

That was the scene to close out game three of the Ontario Lacrosse Association’s Major Series Lacrosse Final between Brampton and Peterborough.  With a minute and a half to go the referee called a roughing penalty on Josh Gilliam of the Lakers setting up a Brampton power play to close out the game.  After a minute of solid penalty killing from the Lakers Scott Evan’s took his own penalty giving Brampton the 5-on-3 advantage and a seemingly glorious opportunity to tie the game and send it to extra fun.

But the Lakers held their own and withstood the attack, and several opportunities, until Ryan Sharp got the ball loose along the half boards and with a full head of steam charged down the floor on Brampton goalie Anthony Cosmo.  Sharp made no mistake and fooled Cosmo on a ricochet off the floor.  Giving Peterborough the 9 – 7 lead and ensuring the victory with 3 seconds left on the clock.  Before the game Cosmo received the league’s award for goalie of the year shared with his teammate Brandon Miller.

The game itself saw its share of the rough stuff but there seemed to be a no fight order from either team.  Every time scuffles would occur during or after play they were separated by teammates.  In one particular instance Laker Tracy Kelusky went in for a scoring opportunity but was instead sent sprawling in the crease to the right of Cosmo.  Kelusky stayed down for an extended period of time and shoving ensued.  Both referees came in to intercede when Cosmo decided to join the fun, by stomping on Kelusky’s calf.  This went undetected by both referees but not by the fans who were livid.

Sharp’s game clincher was not the only shorthanded goal of the night; the other went to the Laker’s John Grant Jr.  During a penalty kill the Lakers had not only managed to get the ball down court but also got their offensive players into play, including Grant.  Grant played keep away by running around the middle of the floor, but when three of the Excelsiors converged on Grant he fought his way to the front of the net.  With two defenders on his back and on chopping at his side Grant somehow found a way to send a shot on net that fooled Cosmo and gave the Lakers a 7 – 4 lead at the time.

Brampton had it’s share of good moments and Colin Doyle led the scoring for the Excelsiors with 2 goals, followed closely by Blaine Manning, Josh “the weasel” Sanderson, Dan Teat, Brodie Merril and Dan Dawson with singles each.

Peterborough was led by Scott Evans who had a hat trick while Tracy Kelusky, Matt Giles, John Grant Jr., Josh Gilliam, Josh Wasson-McQuigge and Ryan Sharp with singles each.  Wasson-McQuigge had the winner and Sharp had the insurance.

The Lakers take a 2 – 1 series lead home and face Brampton on Thursday August 21 at 8:00 pm, a turnaround of less than 24 hours.

Where’s Toronto’s Caped Crusader?

by Jon Dwyer… First, I shall begin by clarifying my position on the Ottawa Senators and their employees.

Formal statement from the desk of Jon Dwyer…
-“May the players, coaching staff, trainers, fan base and entire city populace endure a raging herpes epidemic of leprosy-like proportions”-

My buddy’s cottage neighbours alongside a member of the Ottawa Senators and I got the chance to meet him this weekend. An all around nice guy, &*#$%@’s crew of buddies came over Friday night and played a few games of legendary flip-cup with me and my squadron of highly-functioning alcoholics (we won). ******** was back at his monstrosity of a cottage sleeping, which to be honest is expected of any professional athlete who signed a **-year, $** million contract based on the strength of his play rather then hype. A bit disappointed we didn’t get a chance to meet the **%#$@% native, we consumer copious amounts of alcohol and laughed when my friend “Woody” was shot in the ass with an air-rifle (it was amazing).

Sunday morning I awoke feeling like I’d survived Trinoble and was now at the gates of hell asking Satan for a fight; this was a hangover of magnificent proportions. Down on the dock reading an old edition of GQ I began to wonder just how much dough *&^%$ made. Sleeping on the dock in his boxers using his iPhone as a pillow, I took advantage of my friends’ position (not in that way), and used the phone to surf the Internet to find out.

Taking a crude look at the numbers, that’s $*** million annually. Since most of us are working schmucks, ***** makes approximately $200, 000 every two weeks.

Yea.

That’s a lot of money, enough to make one think there is no way a ** year old making that kind of scratch would be described as a nice guy, especially after noting that he plays with the likes of such monumental douchbags as Jason Spezza and Chris Neil (I’d like Neil if he sported a Leafs jersey, Spezza on the other hand is such a tosser even Don Cherry doesn’t like him). Low and behold, after a brief jaunt on ***$&#% boat Sunday morning, dude is a stellar guy!

The reason I’m so apprehensive that NHLers can be assholes stems from a very damaging experience I had a few years ago. Sitting in the dining room of the great Harbour 60 Steakhouse, I ate my $50 steak with a huge grim on my face…Tie Domi and Mats Sundin were sitting right beside me. I waited until they finished their meal and tried not piss my pants (it wasn’t easy). The waiter took the plates and the guys sat back easily in their chairs. They weren’t talking and I figured this was a better time then any to move in and go for the golden handshake…

“Umm, Mr. Domi, Mr. Sundin, I just wanted to say thank you for all you guys have done for Toronto hockey, you guys are great…hero’s” (I was 18 and a bit nervous)

“Are you kidding me?” Domi said. And he didn’t even fucking look up. Sundin raised his hand reaching for mine like I was a retard; my arthritic grandmother has a firmer shake.

So now you understand why I’m praising *&%*&, though I have to say I feel ridiculous writing a piece about an Ottawa Senator without mentioning anything that could hold me liable in court for slander. But, allow me this one indiscretion based on the fact that I realized something very important; making fun of a guy who plays for your rival team in an era when your home team simply isn’t reminiscent of what you and your city stand for, is a difficult task when your actually speaking with him.

If it was five or six years ago I assume he would have been a touch self-deprecating when we discussed the upcoming season, instead we all sort of avoided the topic, temporarily anyways. When we did finally discuss hockey, *%&^$ momentarily rejoiced when someone mentioned the obligatory…

-“No, I’m pretty happy in a Senators jersey”- **&&@$#% replied.

That was all the hockey we discussed, five humiliating seconds that could have been harnessed by *&*&%%** like fucking Kryptonite to rain hellfire upon us. However, he was a gentleman, candid…a true sportsman. He invited all of us to hop in his boat and he’d pull us around tubing. Sweet.

I think it’s a foregone conclusion that we as Leafs fans are frustrated and have been so for quite some time now, but meeting *^*&%$** really impacted upon my Leafs-pride and lead me to the realization that…our City is lost.

What Toronto requires is five or six &$%^*# *^&*’s. Need I go through the long list of duds we’ve suffered over the past decade? Players who we hung on to because Toronto sports journalists spun them into the media-darlings of the city. We need men who rise to the occasion and show exemplary character all day long, not Matt Stajan and Kyle Wellwood; guys who were revered in Toronto as Gods yet nobody’s around the league.

Say what you will about me and the fact I’m praising a member of the Ottawa Senators roster (who’s name I cant even mention), I can take it, but when you do, put on your Leafs jersey and take a long hard look at yourself in the mirror and tell me if you like what you see (it’ll help if you wearing pants). Chances are you’ll want a boost in the pride department, something I’m afraid will be in deficit for years to come…unless we find a few caped crusaders that is.

AND ITS NOT SOME GUY NAMED FINGER!!! (My sister has more NHL experience then this guy)

Out of respect for my friend and the un-named player, who in all fairness had no idea I intended to write about hanging out with him, and any animosity it may cause, I chose not to name the guy…it actually works nicely because to be honest, it could have been any player; the point is, we need more guys who resemble 5 or 10 players currently on the Senators Roster. And that’s terrifying.

I await your criticism and death threats.

Wake UP with Sarah Carter

What Are The Top-Ten Best Sports Songs Of All-Time?

by Shane House… Before you read the list I just want to say that I didn’t include college football songs or songs that could only include one sport. Examples being: Take Me Out To he Ball Game, Hockey Night In Canada Theme or anything written by Stompin’ Tom Connor. I wanted to pick songs that could be used in more then one sport.

Secondly. I chose songs that get me jacked and/or focused at whatever sports I play so feel free to include any songs in a comment that you feel should have been mentioned.

Thirdly. I tried to include all types of songs and not just one genre of music. I felt that all types of songs should have been included in this list and not just one type.

10. Sandstorm - Darude

This is an awesome jack-up song that would make me jacked about playing a board game. It’s a great song to listen to if you want to just go 110% and kick some ass while doing whatever it is that you’re doing at that point and time.

Great sports to listen to it: Hockey, Baseball or just good for working out.

9. Remember The Name - Fort Minor

The only rap song I allowed on in the top ten but it is worthy of it. As soon as I heard it in The Gridiron Gang with The Rock, I wanted to play football ASAP. This song is sick to listen to if you want to be focused and ready to go 110% at ALL aspects of the game.

“This is ten percent luck, twenty percent skill. Fifteen percent concentrated power of will
Five percent pleasure, fifty percent pain. And a hundred percent reason to remember the name.”

Now how can’t you be focused after hearing those lyrics.

Great sports to listen to it: Football, Basketball, Martial Arts

8. Song 2 - Blur

Probably the ultimate jack-up song to listen to. It pumps you up and makes you want to bob your head. Probably played at every sports venue that has a stadium and always gets the crowd yelling Woohoo!

Great sports to listen to it: Hockey, Baseball, Football, Basketball

7. Right Here, Right Now - Fatboy Slim

This is the ultimate overtime song to listen to. Makes you want to focus at every aspect of the game and get that final overtime goal to win or that game winning touchdown with 10 seconds left. Great locker room song to listen to right before overtime starts.

Great sports to listen to it: Hockey, Football, Soccer

6. Thunderstruck - AC/DC

If you want to whomp another teams butt and beat them by like 30 points then this is the song for you. Always gets you pumped when playing sports and honestly makes you want to hit someone while playing too.

Great sports to listen to it: Football, Rugby, Hockey and any Martial Arts

5. Rock and Roll 2 - Gary Glitter

Even though this guy is in jail for liking kids a little too much, he can still make one hell of a sports anthem. Played at every staduim and people of all ages sing along to get the home team fired up.

Great sports to listen to it: Any sport played in a stadium

4. Eye Of The Tiger - Survivor

Anytime you workout and want to give it your all and achieve that ultimate goal while defying all odds, you listen to this song. great song to listen to while training for any type of sport.

Great sports to listen to it: Boxing, martial arts

3. We Will Rock You - Queen

Once again played in every staduim and everybody sings along. This song just makes you want to tough out any injury and go out there and cause hell to whoever you are facing. Well thats how its used in D2: The Mighty Ducks.

Great sports to listen to it: Hockey, football, basketball, soccer

2. Kiss Them Goodbye - Steam

Nah, nah…nah, nah, nah, nah…hey, hey, hey. goodbye! Just wanted to clarify just incase you didn’t know by the title. Played at the most opertune time, when the home team is winning with 3 minutes left. Also amazing to sing at sports games while drunk.

I know it’s unneccessary to say, but its so true.

Great sports to listen to it: Hockey, football, baseball, basketball

1. We Are The Champions - Queen

The ultimate anthem for anytime you win at anything. It’s inspirational, it makes every athlete cry when they just won a championship and it is played, and is sung even at the smallest of contests. There is no better way to celebrate winning then singing this song.

Great sports to listen to it: Any National Championship

So there it is. My list of the top ten best sports songs. I love all of these songs and love hearing them whenever I play sports. If there are any that you think deserved to be on there then by all means tell me.

Why I Can’t Wait for Toronto Maple Leafs Hockey

by Bryan Thiel… The weirdest thought struck me today as I was dismantling an abandoned mall, and packaging garbage, fixtures, and eclectic odds and ends on trucks, possible never to see some of these “useless spare parts” ever again.

I wasn’t thinking about how I used to come here with my parents when we were at the other end of the city, or how the stores that used to line the walkways that were now littered with broken tiles, cardboard, and wooden planks, or how a Zellers stockboy suddenly became “foreman” on a company project that was probably better left to someone who knew whatever it was that they were supposed to be doing.

I began thinking about what it must be like to be a professional athlete—to be loved one minute and loathed the next—and how there are times when the fans can treat you like an empty skid of boxes. No one cares that you once belonged or served a purpose—all they seek is change.

It’s that change that drives sports—and it’s that change that drove the Toronto Maple Leafs offseason.

It’s that change that has me more intrigued than excited to start the upcoming NHL season.

I could say I’m looking forward to seeing if the Leafs will be competitive or not—I’d be the entirely wrong person to ask about that, what with the bias and all. But I’m just not sure. Popular consensus is that this team will finish nowhere near the bottom three in the league—because Vesa Toskala, among others, is just too good to let that happen.

Meanwhile, there are those who say that this team could thrive without the burden of expectations, that no one in hockey-heavy Toronto is screaming “Stanley Cup” at this team, but just biding their time, waiting to see what happens. Some think that could be a key to victory.

Me? Well I’ll save my opinion on where they’ll finish for later—but win or lose this year, what I’m really looking forward to is watching the construction and the development that’s going to take place.

The spare parts have been shed, the mall has been gutted, and the broken tiles of past performances that were below the standard expectations in such a market litter the Air Canada Centre, while empty boxes that once held the dreams of so many fans’ vision of their team finally hoisting a Stanley Cup litter Bay Street.

The empty shell of a team that underachieved in the eyes of some, and overachieved in the eyes of others, is sitting out there, now empty, with the expectation that the remaining steps will be taken to have it leveled—to have a new foundation built in place, and a new team in which to build memories, and hopefully (one day) house glory once again.

The head contractors on the project—Paul Maurice and John Ferguson Jr.—are gone. The inability to get the house “up to standards” is the reason.

Darcy Tucker, the once proud-to-wear-the-Blue-and-White agitator that seemed to endear himself to every fan (until he signed a contract paying him $3.5 million a year and ran into a stumbling block last season) is gone, taking his rough and tumble game to Colorado.

Andrew Raycroft is out after a forgettable showing, joining Tucker in Colorado, while a few of the spare parts brought in by John Ferguson Jr., like John Pohl, have been let go.

Bryan McCabe—the slowly-rotting support beam—may finally be gone as well, depending on if he receives his money or not.

Even Mats Sundin—one of the greatest leaders, captains, and scorers of all time for this franchise—for all intents and purposes will probably be gone, leaving the Toronto Maple Leafs in a state of flux, a state of demolition—but a state of growth at the same time.

So it’s a time for change. A change the ultimately begins with leadership.

There’s no real leader to this team. We can argue that Jamal Mayers, Alex Steen, and Matt Stajan are eligible to lead this team, but the fact is that there’s nothing in place—this is the season that the young players must step up.

Sure, there can be leadership developed from all different kinds of places—but if this team has aspirations of becoming more then a laughing stock, they need a leader to emerge and become the support beam, the backbone, and the foundation of the franchise. Besides, when was the last time a team made the Cup Finals with “captain by committee”?

The “heads” of this project have also changed, as Cliff Fletcher (despite not knowing how long he’s here for) and Ron Wilson—one guy with the experience of reshaping teams, and another with a reputation of getting the best out of young players—have been brought in, completely changing everything that Maurice and Ferguson had established.

But what about on the ice?

The scoring and defense need to emerge as well, as Nik Antropov must prove he can remain healthy (and effective) for two straight seasons, Jason Blake will have to hope more of his shots find the back of the net, and Nik Hagman will have to be able to provide both a great, speedy, two-way presence, and some semblance of the scoring he showed last year.

The defense? Well, the names Jonas Frogren, Jeff Finger, and even Anton Stralman to an extent are names that fans around the league don’t know—aside from Frogren’s contract situation and Finger’s big-money contract—but they’ll have to provide V-Tosk with a solid base from which to work.

And then there’s the youth, with Robbie Earl, Nikolai Kulemin, Jeremy Williams, and Mikhail Grabovsky—which will be its own story altogether this season.

But if you tally all of the offseason subtractions and additions, then the result could be just what it appears to be—a package that is hardly expected to compete to a meaningful degree, but could be developed down the road. \

A house with a concrete foundation that needs to be set, featuring a few ordinary pieces of furniture, but nothing flashy yet—at least at the elite level, or until we see more of Luke Schenn. A car with a frame, but no leather interior or air freshener.

Yup, the 2008-09 Maple Leafs are really just a growth spurt, or a step in the blueprint—and I’m looking forward to every minute of it.

Besides, good or bad, it’s not like it can be any worse than the past three years.