Super Bowl XLVI takes place tomorrow from Indianapolis, as the New York Giants play the New England Patriots in a rematch of the Super Bowl from 2007 when the Giants beat the Patriots 17-14 in Phoenix, Arizona.
Currently the Patriots are a 2.5 point favourite.
With all the talk that the Giants have the better defense than the Patriots, I simply don’t buy it. The Patriots allowed 58 fewer points than the Giants this season.
Offensively, there has been some concern regarding who Tom Brady will be able to throw to at the tight end position with Rob Gronkowski hurt. People must remember that Aaron Hernandez is the best backup tight end in the NFL.
I’m picking the Patriots to win their fourth Super Bowl 34-16. For more information on Super Bowl XLVI please go to my blog earlier in the week.
There was an unexpected Canadian victory Saturday on the slopes of Chamonix, France.
Thirty year-old Jan Hudec of Calgary won Gold in posting a time of 2:03.25. Austria’s Romed Baumann won Silver with a time of 2:03.78, and Erik Guay of Mont-Tremblant, Quebec finished third with a time of 2:03.88.
Ben Thomsen of Invermere, British Columbia also skied extremely well by finishing in fifth place.
This was Hudec’s second career victory. He previously won in Lake Louise in November, 2007. Hudec also has a Silver medal on his resume from the 2007 World Alpine Skiing Championships in Are, Sweden.
Since 2008, Hudec has had an injury plagued career, undergoing numerous knee surgeries and back problems. Hudec’s outstanding performance in Chamonix Saturday, host city of the 1924 Olympic Winter Games, was a symbol of tenacity, courage, and self-discipline.
According to the Associated Press, Hudec woke up this morning feeling great and no pain whatsoever.
With the win, Hudec moved to ninth in the World Cup Standings, and Guay moved to sixth with his Bronze medal performance. Didier Cuche of Switzerland continues to lead.
The next World Cup downhill is in Sochi, Russia next Saturday.
This is an odd weekend in sports for me. For the first time in a long time I’m not watching sports on television during the day.
This is not to say I’m not watching sports. As a matter of fact I’ll be up all night watching sports, catch a few hours of sleep, before attending the World Sprint Speed Skating Championships at the Olympic Oval in Calgary.
So, I’ll be missing the NHL All-Star Game Sunday in Ottawa and have decided to boycott the Pro Bowl Sunday night in Honolulu because in my opinion, you cannot have a legitimate all-star game with the two top teams in the league not represented.
This week on the show we talk about the latest on Sidney Crosby’s concussion issues and some other injury notes from around the NHL, including another bad break for Washington’s Mike Green and a close call for Edmonton’s Taylor Hall. As well, we discuss a couple of high profile deaths from around the world of sports.
In the GABBYs: Alex Ovechkin, Terrell Owens, Shaueel van Persie, Manny Ramirez, Trinity College and the Baltimore Ravens. The Punchline this week is Rob Lowe!
Canada lost their match against the Leeward Islands yesterday in Antigua, emphatically, and now has a record of 0-2 going into Tuesday’s contest against Guyana.
The Canadians won the toss and unwisely opted to bat first. In T-20 cricket, it is better to chase, particularly when you are the decided underdogs.
As in their match against the Windward Islands, they were given a terrific start by the openers in the 6-over powerplay, but could not build on it. The middle-order continues to fail and could only muster 108 all-out in the final over. To stand a realistic chance in this format, a score of 160 or better is necessary.
Raza-ur-Rehman, 30, and Hiral Patel, 24, were the top run-getters for Canada. For the Islanders, Kieran Powell hammered a flashy 47 n.o. whilst Javier Liburd chipped in with a breezy 33. The West Indians won by 8 wickets.
The Canada/Guyana match on Tuesday, January 17 can be seen on Sportsnet One at 3:00 p.m. EST or 1.00 p.m. MST.
Canada takes on the Leeward Islands today at the Sir Vivian Richard Stadium in Antigua, having lost their opener on Wednesday to the Windward Islands at the same venue. There are six teams in the annual competition including Guyana, Trinidad & Tobago and Jamaica.
The match can be seen live on Sportsnet One at 3:00 p.m. EST or 1:00 p.m. Alberta time.
On January 17, Canada will play Guyana at the the same time; and on January 19 they face defending champs T&T also at the same time. All matches can be seen on Sportsnet One.
One of Canada’s top faces in a sport making its debut for the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, is currently fighting for her life in a coma.
Freestyle skier Sarah Burke of Midland, Ontario, who competes in women’s ski halpipe, and was the 2005 World Champion, suffered a serious injury Tuesday while training for the Winter X Games in Salt Lake City, Utah.
According to the Canadian Press, Canadian Freestyle Skiing Association Chief Executive Officer Peter Judge said that Burke’s fall did not look very severe because she bounced onto her feet. American snowboarder Kevin Pearce was injured on the same halfpipe in 2009.
Burke, who has also done some successful modeling, was voted as one of the top 100 sexiest women by FHM in 2006. She was instrumental in getting ski halfpipe into the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia. Very disappointed that her sport was not included at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, Burke became a significant voice for getting ski halfpipe full Olympic status.
For the second time in three years, the Alabama Crimson Tide have won the BCS National Championship.
On Monday night at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, the Crimson Tide defeated the Louisiana State Tigers 21-0.
Running back Trent Richardson led the Crimson Tide rushing attack with 96 yards on 20 carries. Richardson, also recorded the game’s only touchdown, one of 34 yards in the fourth quarter.
Alabama, ranked number two heading into the game, but was a game-time favourite, recorded the first shutout in BCS Championship Game history. The Crimson Tide previously lost 9-6 to the Louisiana State University Tigers on November 5. Prior to Monday’s game, the Tigers had gone undefeated throughout the entire season and that was the Crimson Tide’s only loss.
Crimson Tide kicker Jeremy Shelley kicked five field goals, but also missed a fourth quarter field goal and a chip shot convert on Richardson’s touchdown.
This is Crimson Tide Head Coach Nick Saban’s third national title. He previously won with Louisiana State in 2003 and Alabama in 2009.
This the Crimson Tide’s 18th National Championship in team history.
For the first time since 1981, Team Sweden has won the Gold medal at the World Junior Hockey Championship.
On Thursday night at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Mika Zibanejad, a prospect of the Ottawa Senators, scored the game winning goal at 10:09 of overtime to give Sweden the 1-0 victory. In what could be considered a dominant performance by Team Sweden, they outshot Russia 58-17. Swedish goaltender Johan Gustafsson recorded the shutout, while Russian goaltender Andrei Makarov, who plays his junior hockey with the Saskatoon Blades in the Western Hockey League, made 57 saves.
But if you look at the game a little further, Sweden might have played a very stingy game defensively, but they didn’t really generate a lot of key and significant scoring chances throughout the contest. I felt Makarov wasn’t tested with any real dangerous Swedish scoring opportunities. Out of the 57 saves Makarov made, none of them you would say, “Oh my God! I can’t believe he stopped that!”
That said, the Oilers should be pleased with Oscar Klefbom. He led Team Sweden with a +8 and was third on the team with 23 shots.
It might not have been the medal that Team Canada had hoped for, but the Canadian National Junior Hockey team salvaged some hardware Thursday afternoon in Calgary with a 4-0 win over Finland at the World Junior Hockey Championships at the Scotiabank Saddledome.
In winning the game, Team Canada won the Bronze medal and recorded a medal at the World Junior Hockey Championships for a 14th consecutive year.
Canadian goaltender Mark Visentin made 27 saves for the shutout, including an outstanding save on a penalty shot in the second period and a remarkable glove save early in the third period. Quinton Howden of Oakbank, Manitoba scored twice, while Tanner Pearson and Mark Scheifele, who each play for the Barrie Colts in the Ontario Hockey League, recorded a goal and an assist.
Freddie Hamilton of the Niagara IceDogs also recorded a multi-point game with two assists.
Team Russia plays Team Sweden for the Gold medal this evening at 6pm.
A comeback for the ages was just one goal short for Team Canada on Tuesday night at Calgary’s Scotiabank Saddledome. Trailing 6-1 with 11 minutes left, Team Canada scored four unanswered goals before losing 6-5. Team Russia got three goals and one assist from Washington Capitals prospect Yevgeni Kuznetsov and four assists from Nail Yakupov, who is expected to be selected very high in the 2012 National Hockey League Entry Draft.
The top Canadian in the hockey game was Brendan Gallagher, who scored a goal and two assists. With the win, Russia will look to win back-to-back World Junior Hockey Championships since 2003.
Team Russia’s opponent Thursday will be Team Sweden, who will be looking to win their first World Junior Hockey Championship since 1981. Tuesday afternoon in Calgary, Team Sweden came back from a 2-0 deficit in the third period to beat Team Finland 3-2 in a shootout. Sebastian Collberg and Max Friberg each scored for the Swedes who won in dramatic fashion for the second consecutive game. On Christmas Eve, Team Sweden came back from a 3-0 deficit to beat Team Russia 4-3.
Team Russia will now play Team Canada and Team Finland will now play Team Sweden in the semi-finals of the World Junior Hockey Championships at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary on Tuesday.
On Monday, Team Finland beat Team Slovakia 8-5 in a game where the goaltending was very poor. Finland, scored four unanswered goals in the second period to blow a 2-2 first period tie wide open. Mikael Granlund led the way with a goal and three assists, and his younger brother Markus, a draft pick of the Calgary Flames scored two goals and one assist.
Finland also got great production from their youngsters. Rasmus Ristolainen, a young 17 year-old defenceman was excellent on the Finnish blue line and picked up two assists. Aleksander Barkov, a 16 year-old forward, scored the game winner.
On Monday night, Russia defeated the Czech Republic in overtime in a game with brilliant goaltending at the junior level. Andrei Vasilevski made 38 saves in a 2-1 Russian overtime win. Petr Mrazek responded with 43 saves for the Czech Republic. With the score tied 1-1, and the Russians moving up ice following a Russian penalty late in the third period, Grigori Zheldakov scored on a pass from Nikita Kucherov to send Russia to the semi-finals.
One of the feel good stories of 2012, might just have happened on the very first day of the new calendar year.
On Sunday at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Russia Severstal/Locomotiv defeated the UFA Bisons out of Strathmore, 5-0 to take the world famous Mac’s Midget Hockey Championship in Calgary.
It was a huge game for Alexander Sharov who recorded a hat trick. Artyom Vorobyov also notched a multi-point game with two assists. Ahmed Gimbatov scored the game winning goal, and Vasily Demchenko made 14 saves for the shutout.
Sharov was the player of the game and should have been player of the tourament for his outstanding performance in the Gold medal game. Organizers should have waited until the Championship game was over before determining that UFA Bisons goaltender Wilson Sproule be tournament MVP. Performances in championship games should go a long way in determining the MVP of a tournament, and when a MVP goaltender allows five goals in the final game, the process of determining the MVP needs to be questioned, under review and scrutinized.
I think many will feel good for Russia Severstal/Locomotiv winning their second tournament title after the tragedy that took place this past year when every player on the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl hockey team died in a plane crash this past September.
On the girls’ side, the Regina Rebels defeated the Edmonton Thunder 3-2 in the final at Max Bell Arena.
Super Bowl XLVI takes place tomorrow from Indianapolis, as the New York Giants play the New England Patriots in a rematch of the Super Bowl from 2007 when the Giants beat the Patriots 17-14 in Phoenix, Arizona.
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