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Home / Archive: 28. May 2009
By Jeremy Visser… It brings me great pleasure to finally announce some good news on the Blue Jays front: The road trip from hell is over, plus tomorrow is a day off. The bad news, however, is that the Jays fell in astounding fashion to the Orioles yesterday afternoon, blowing an 8-3 lead in the eighth and a two-run lead in the tenth before losing 12-10. I’m not even angry — I’m more impressed by the way they managed to blow it this time around.
After scoring about three runs in their previous eight losses, the Jays managed six runs in the fourth inning alone and looked well on the way to a win with Doc Halladay on the mound. At least until Baltimore got into Toronto’s bullpen and yada, yada, yada…a 12-10 loss. Yeah, I yada-ed over the best part. Let’s just say Jesse Carlson gave up some runs, Scotty Downs failed to strand a few inherited runners, B.J. Ryan tried his hand at a meaningful situation and Brian Wolfe wasn’t as hungry as advertised.
Yikes — that makes it nine in a row for the team formerly known as 27-14 and three-and-a-half games up. Up next is an off-day on which the team can bask in their achievements from the road trip before a home date with the first place Red Sox on Friday.
This guy Jeremy knows what he’s talking about…NOME SAME?
That’s what I’m saying, guy…
By Alan McGuinness… The Absence of Darren Fletcher
Scottish midfielder Fletcher has been a mainstay in the Red Devils side this season, starting with vital goals early on in the league campaign to towering performances in vital UEFA Champions League ties.
It was evident on Wednesday night in Rome there was something very much missing in the United midfield, and I believe it was Fletcher.
Not only could the Manchester club not get a hold of the ball after going 1-0 down, but when they did eventually get possession, it was often wasted with sloppy passes or simply no player made himself available.
Countless times I saw John O’Shea wave Rio Ferdinand away when he had the ball, telling him just to get rid of it up field. With no one fetching the ball from the centre backs, like Fletcher would normally do, Nemanja Vidic and Rio were forced to hit long aimless balls in the direction of Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney.
In essence, the midfield link was missing.
A quick point too, to remember the tracking back of the Scot on that faithful night away at Arsenal, when Fletcher was sent off for tracking back and putting a tackle in.
Oh, how United would have loved someone tracking back and tackling on Samuel Eto’o last night.
No United Player Capable of Handling Lionel Messi
Messi was outstanding last night, showing how in my opinion he is a far better player than United’s Ronaldo. Even when players in white got near him, they were unable to put a decent foot in.
One wonders again if Fletcher could have made an ounce of difference.
I think not, apart maybe from tracking the Argentine star at Barcelona’s second goal.
The subheading above tells a bit of a white lie, as I do feel there was one Manchester United player capable of doing a job on Messi—Rooney. The England forward is full of energy and tenacity as well as being a player who never gives up.
Rooney was able to outmuscle Messi on numerous occasions last night as he dropped deeper and deeper looking for the ball, therefore encountering the midfield maestro.
It sounds crazy, Rooney man marking, but if anyone in a white shirt last night was capable of doing a job on the Argentine, then it was the former Everton man.
An Unsure Rio Ferdinand
Does anyone remember Rio being so shaky in recent years?
When he first signed for United, and indeed during previous spells at Leeds United and West Ham United, I wasn’t 100 percent sure of his ability at the highest level. He, however, has proved me wrong over the years, going on to be one of the world’s top defenders in what was, until last night, one of the world’s top defences.
But last night that man was missing and was replaced by the indecisive, slack, flash Ferdinand of old, and this may well because he was unsure if he was fit, unsure to which level he could take his game.
His unsure mind (clearly not 100 percent confident) was clearly visible on the park as sloppy back pass after sloppy back pass was shovelled Edwin Van Der Sar’s way.
This was added to by silly flicks in his own box because he had been caught out of position and finally his positioning for Barca’s second goal.
Should he have played?
I think not, but it is easy to say so now.
No Aggression Shown By United
United could easily have been ahead inside 10 minutes, but we all know Barca struck first. What we didn’t know was that United would have no answer. So obviously the main reason they didn’t win is because United went 1-0 down—but what about the players’ reaction to the goal?
There was sloppy nervous passing, chasing shadows, very little leadership, and no cutting edge.
The midfield three (four including Park Ji-Sung) were terrible and pretty much did nothing right for the final 80 minutes.
I only noticed one difference in the second half, and it was the introduction of Paul Scholes. The veteran immediately appeared next to the centre backs looking for the ball and quickly followed this up with a strong tackle on a Barcelona player, which earned the former England international a yellow card.
Why oh why did someone not do it earlier?
Booting players off the pitch isn’t my idea of fun or the perfect way to play, but when your team is down and out like United were on Wednesday night, it is time to pull finger and get stuck in. Well done Paul Scholes.
One solid tackle can change the momentum of a game; it makes the opposition think twice when they have the ball. Whenever United did put some pressure on Barcelona, it wasn’t long before they were passing backwards, so a bit more pressure could easily have forced some chances.
Sadly for fans of United though, their players were, it appeared, mesmerized.
Edwin Van Der Sar and Senior Players Failed to Stand Up and Be Counted
The Dutch keeper failed to hold on to anything all night and failed to inspire any confidence at all. He was beaten at his front post for the first goal, possibly not a glaring error but a situation he would have expected himself to deal with without conceding a goal.
It was a night where the old heads withered and died. With no leadership, United were awful and lacked any sense of a top football team, as 11 top class players were left to their own devices.
Their choice: to chase Barcelona’s coattails.
By Alex Carroni… Calabogie Motorsport Park. Under sunny skies with just a hint of a cool breeze making for perfect weather conditions, hundreds of visitors lined the hilly ridges around the pristine Motorsport Park in anticipation of the opening round of the 2009 Parts Canada Superbike Series.
“We’ve constantly improved our lap times this weekend,” Steve Crevier commented at the beginning of the weekend from under the trailer awning of the Deeley Racing/Ruthless Racing Inc. team - powered by Buell. Crevier’s observation proved true right through to the end of the sixteen-lap Superbike final on Sunday afternoon, when the six-time Canadian Superbike champ recorded a lap of 2:02.790 on the Buell® 1125RTM Superbike.
Steve pre-qualified the Buell® 1125RTM bike in eighth place, moved up to seventh through the Pirelli Superpole, and eventually placed seventh in the National Superbike Championship final after running as high as fifth. As he removed his helmet post race, Steve commented “ we’ll take what we got and move on.”
In the Yoshimura Sportbike category, constant improvement and, consequently, lowered lap times were the order of the day for the Deeley Harley-Davidson® Canada pit crew and team riders. “We chopped over a second and a half off of our Sportbike time,” confirmed Steve Crevier.
Steve brought the Buell® 1125RTM Sportbike home in a respectable, and competitive, sixth place upon completion of the twelve-lap final. Dave Estok, qualified in twelfth, and then placed eighth in the race after a hard charge in the closing stages that saw him record his fastest lap of the weekend on lap ten. “I’m feeling a lot more comfortable on the bike. We changed some controls since our test so it fits me better,” said the Florida-native rider. “I am really happy for the team though, we got two Buells® in the top ten, and we have room to improve.”
Darren James was riding injured as a result of a crash while preparing to lay down a fast lap in the middle of the qualifying rounds for the Yoshimura Sportbike category. James has had to bounce back from injury before, and he did it again this weekend. He bettered his qualifying time by over half a second in the race, moving up from sixteenth on the starting grid to thirteenth at the finish. As illustration of his grit, James recorded his best lap of the weekend on the final lap of the race while involved in a vicious three-way dice with Marie-Josée Boucher (Honda CBR600) and Martin Grande (Suzuki GSXR 600). The three riders were separated by a mere 0.500 at the chequered flag. “We really did have a really productive weekend – on track and off. I’m looking forward to Montréal. I’ve got two weeks to heal up,” he said, laughing.
The Deeley Racing/Ruthless Racing Inc.- powered by Buell Race Team will see action next the weekend of June 12 to 14 at the Circuit Icar in Mirabel, Quebec, near Montréal, at Round 2 of the Parts Canada Superbike Series.
For information on the series, detailed results, and how to catch up on the season at the next race, please refer to www.cdnsuperbike.com.
By Dustin Pollack… As the Stanley Cup finals come to a close and draft day edges closer and closer Toronto Maple Leafs fans lick their lips at the slim chance that General Manager Brian Burke will trade all the way up to No.1 and steal John Tavares from the New York Islanders.
Unfortunately for those fans, the Islanders would probably want a scorer with a future in order to even consider trading away their pick and the Leafs don’t have much to offer up front. A 25-30 goal scorer who is in his mid 30’s isn’t going to cut it.
Right now the Leafs hold the seventh pick in the draft, the exact same pick that they held last year when former General Manager Cliff Fletcher traded up to number five and snagged Luke Schenn.
If Burke holds the seventh pick, odds are the Leafs will draft Spokane Chiefs defenseman, Jared Cowen. Cowen is 6”5 and has been compared to Luke Schenn, only bigger. He scored seven goals and notched 27 points in 48 games this season.
Realistically however, Burke is going to trade up and if he can’t snag the top 1 or 2 picks he should seriously consider a certain somebody not too much further down the draft list with a very familiar last name. Luke Schenn’s brother, Brayden.
Last year, in his rookie season with the Brandon Wheat Kings of the WHL, Brayden scored 28 goals and tallied 71 points in 66 games winning rookie of the year. He followed up his rookie season with an even better performance this year notching 32 goals and 88 points in 70 games. Schenn is a 6″00 200 pound center who is described by mynhldraft.com as “a mature player for his age, who possesses a laser wrist shot and is not afraid to get his hands dirty in the corners.
Brayden’s brother Luke has made a name for himself in Toronto this season becoming a distinctive fan favorite and in an interview earlier in the season Luke said it would be pretty special to have two brothers playing together at the same time in Toronto. However, Luke has also mentioned that he wouldn’t mind playing against his younger brother.
Brayden Schenn may be no John Tavares but he may be another piece of the puzzle for the rebuilding Leafs. Besides GM Brian Burke does have a thing for brothers.
Check out Dustins blog The D League
By Terence Pang…
The Toronto Nationals found themselves in a rare situation to start their inaugural season in Major League Lacrosse. Though the Nationals are not the Rochester Rattlers, they do technically have the title of the defending Steinfeld Cup champions.
It is rare in professional sports today to find franchises that are moved without experiencing an extensive period of losing seasons causing in loss of fans. But because of the situation in which the MLL is in, a franchise moving has become far too common of an event. The Rattlers suffered the same fate. The 2008 Steinfeld Cup champion team was dissolved because of financial problems and sold to a Toronto-Ontario based group, who moved the franchise to Toronto and became the Nationals.
The Nationals kept the Rattlers’ championship roster that includes National Lacrosse League allstars Gary Gait and former Toronto Rock, Colin Doyle. And with that, the Nationals entered the 2009 MLL season with championship expectations and have not disappointed. They beat the Washington Bayhawks 17-16 on a late goal by Jordan Levine and last week they improved to 2-0 when they staved off a late 4th quarter comeback effort by the Chicago Machine to win their home opener 15-11. Merrick Thomson has led the way a league leading 10 goals and 11 points in the 2 games. The Nationals have yet to name a number one goaltender, as Brett Queener and Rob Scherr have split both games 30 minutes each. Queener has picked up both wins and has allowed fewer goals with 13, so clearly he is the front runner right now. Scherr has struggled to say the least, allowing 14 goals on 35 shots in the 2 games.
The Nationals will round out May on Friday the 29th, when they welcome the 1-1 Long Island Lizards to BMO field before they meet with the Bayhawks again for a home and home on June 4th and 13th.
Photos by Paolo Cescato, check out
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By Tommy G…
Dave “Tiger” Williams – LW / Darryl Sittler – C / Lanny McDonald – RW
Williams added some much needed grit to this line as he replaced Thompson on Sittler’s left wing.
He also played really well for Roger Neilson and in the 1978 playoffs this line was an integral part of the upset victory over the rising New York Islanders.
In the regular season Sittler had, a then club record, 117 points while McDonald netted 47 goals. This placed them 3rd and 9th in league scoring, respectively.
John Anderson – LW / Bill Derlago – C / Rick Vaive – RW
The Leafs weren’t a very good team when this line was skating together but this trio made up for that discrepancy.
They are one of the highest scoring lines in club history; Anderson and Derlago were 30-40 goal scorers while Vaive became the first Leaf to score 50 or more goals and he did it for three straight seasons.
Only Wayne Gretzky and Mike Bossy netted more pucks than Vaive during these three years.
Wendel Clark – LW / Russ Courtnall – C / Gary Leeman – RW
The “hound” line was formed half way through the 1985-86 season when the Leafs realized that Leeman was ready for the NHL.
They were named the “hound” line because each player was a graduate of the Notre Dame Hounds (a Saskatchewan high school with a great hockey program).
Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of this line was that both Clark and Leeman were defensemen in their junior hockey careers. The Leafs decided to make them both wingers at the NHL level.
These three hounds were very effective in the 1986 playoffs when the Leafs swept the Chicago Blackhawks in the best of five game series.
Then they drove the St. Louis Blues, equipped with a younger Doug Gilmour, into a seventh game where they lost a competitive 2-1 match up.
In these 10 playoff games, Leeman had 12 points, Courtnall had 9 points, and Clark had 6 points (5 goals).
In the regular season, Clark tallied a rookie team record with 34 goals (46 points) and he was runner-up for the Calder Trophy.
They were even more effective in the 1986-87 season which was their first and last full year together. The next season Clark would start having his back problems which had him playing sparingly for the next three seasons.
Nevertheless, this line helped the Leafs reach another semi final game seven. This time it was against the Detroit Red Wings after beating the Blues in six games.
Clark was much better with 6 goals and 5 assists in 13 games. He had to be in the absence of Gary Leeman who was only able to play 5 games in these playoffs.
Mark Osborne – LW / Ed Olczyk – C / Gary Leeman – RW
This was one of the best hockey lines in the 1989-90 NHL season.
Leeman became the second Maple Leaf player to score 50 or more goals with a career high 51 goals, 44 assists, and 95 points. He was one of the best right wingers in the game for that season.
Olczyk tallied 32 goals, 56 assists, and 88 points almost equaling his career high of 90 points from a year earlier.
Osborne added a solid defensive aspect to this line and he contributed in a checking role. He still managed a respectable contribution on the scoreboard with 73 points (23 goals and 50 assists).
Dave Reid – LW / Vincent Damphousse – C / Daniel Marois – RW
As if one good line wasn’t enough for the Leafs in 1989-90. This line added a dangerous one-two punch for the Leafs.
Damphousse contributed the most assists on the team with 61 to go along with 33 goals. This gave him 94 points, a good point total in the NHL and the second highest on the team behind Leeman.
Daniel Marois found great chemistry playing with Damphousse and Reid. He tapped in 39 goals and assisted on 37 more to earn 76 points; a career high in all three categories. He never found this kind of success ever again.
While Reid only had 28 points, he still added the right kind of chemistry to this line. As a checking forward he did a lot of the dirty work along the boards and he made room for Damphousse and Marois to create their offense. He was also a great penalty killer for the Maple Leafs.
Dave Andreychuk – LW / Doug Gilmour – C / Glenn Anderson – RW
Potent is the only word I can use to describe this line.
Andreychuk and Gilmour clicked from day one and they revitalized Toronto’s offense on a defense oriented team.
In 1992-93 Gilmour set a Maple Leaf record with 127 points (32 goals, 95 assists). The next season he had 111 points (27 goals, 84 assists).
Andreychuk had 25 goals in his first 31 games as a Leaf on Gilmour’s line. In 1993-94, his first full season with the Leafs, he had 53 goals and 46 assists for 99 points. He became the third Leaf to score 50 or more goals.
Anderson donated 65 points (22 goals, 43 assists) to the mix while adding the experience of playing on five cup winning teams with Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier.
This came in handy in the 1993 playoffs when this line combined for 72 points (29 goals, 43 assists).
They helped the Leafs come within one game of a Stanley Cup finals berth; the first in over two decades.
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