The Olympic Curling Trials came as advertised providing many very exciting games throughout the week but in particular in the playoffs. On the women's side, current Scotties' champion Rachel Homan’s rink booked their ticket to the 2018 Olympics and made their hometown fans ecstatic by defeating undefeated Chelsey Carey in the final. Manitoba’s Jennifer Jones, a legend in women’s curling, unfortunately bit the dust down the stretch and one has to wonder whether this week was her “swan song”? On the men’s side, Kevin Koe’s foursome continued their mastery on the pebbled ice and they too will be going to Pyeonchang, South Korea come February after he sidelined Manitoba’s Mike McEwan in a breathtaking final shot victory. To his three World Championships and two Brier wins, Koe can now add title “Olympian” to his impressive resume. Just to let you know, both teams will bring home gold, guaranteed!
In NHL news, there’ll be a lot to celebrate Saturday night in Ottawa as the Senators take on the Montreal Canadiens at the Scotiabank NHL 100 (outdoor) Classic at Lansdowne Park. They’ll be celebrating Canada’s 150th birthday, the 125th anniversary of the Stanley Cup, it’s the 100th anniversary of the first NHL game ever played plus it’s also the 25th anniversary of the Ottawa Senators’ franchise. The other outdoor game on January 1st, the Bridgestone NHL 100 Classic, will feature the Buffalo Sabres and the New York Rangers playing at Citi Field, home of the NY Mets, marking the 10th anniversary of outdoor games.
In conjunction with all the festivities in our nations capital city, there will be a Senator Alumni game played in front of Parliament Hill on the newly opened Canada 150 Rink, which by the way cost the Canadian tax payer a mere $5.6 million to build. Many players from days gone by will be in attendance such as; Fisher, Phillips, Alfredson, Yashin, Lalime, Redden and Daigle among others, and they’ll be split up into two teams and then play a little shinny, re-living the good old times.
Trivia time, name the first captain of the franchise? (You weren’t expecting a “softie”, were you?)
Sticking with celebrations, Toronto is once again delirious over its professional football team but this time it’s not the Argonauts and their Grey Cup win that’s taking centre stage. Instead, they held another parade but this time it was for their soccer team (Toronto FC) that captured their first ever MLS championship with a 2-0 win over the Seattle Sounders, coincidentally the team that beat them 1-0 in last year’s final. If you thought Toronto sports’ fans had “big heads” before, watch out now. And further, can you imagine what it would be like, heaven forbid, if the Leafs won the Stanley Cup this season. OMG!
To many baseball fans, Japanese superstar free agent Shohei Ohtani surprised many pundits by choosing Los Angeles as the place where he will hang his hat next season but it will be with the Angels, not the Dodgers, as expected. The big right-hander, whose fastball can top out at 100mph, joins MVP CF Mike Trout in forming a truly menacing duo that’ll strike fear into their opposition but the Angels better find a much stronger supporting cast before planning any World Series parade in the near future. They’re simply not strong enough, all around, to contend for the big prize.
In the other big MLB news, the New York Yankees, never one to shy away from throwing around cold hard cash, now seem to be the team to beat in the AL after they picked up the best and the most expensive home run hitter in the game today in Giancarlo Stanton. Aaron Boone, their new manager, sure got an early Christmas present from Santa. The Yankees, thanks to their 21st century version of “Murderers Row”, will be the odds on favourite to run away with the American League pennant and have absolutely no concerns about the 11 years and $295 million left on his contract. The Big Apple’s biggest worry, can he and his wonky back stay healthy.
If you have never heard of Lavar Ball and his BBB (Big Baller Brand), you’re missing out on a crazy story about controlling parents in sports. In a nutshell, he’s an American dad with three athletic sons who all play very good basketball with one of them in fact, Lonzo, being a rookie for the Los Angeles Lakers. Son #2, LiAngelo, was on the UCLA team until he was caught shoplifting in China, which resulted in him being suspended indefinitely by the university. Papa Ball, not happy about this situation, took him out of UCLA, plus he took son #3, LaMelo, out of high school and they’re now going to play pro ball in Europe (Lithuania). We haven’t seen this “show” since the Eric Lindros saga when Papa Carl warned the NHL Quebec Nordiques not to draft his son #1 because he wouldn’t report there as they were not very good, plus the Quebec stage (market) wasn’t big enough and his son deserved better. Don’t you just love supportive parents?
Trivia answer, Ex-Brandon Wheat King Laurie Boschman. Until next time....
