According to hockey rumour insider extraordinaire Eklund, of HockeyBuzz.com, the NHL will announce the details of a new United States TV deal shortly. Details after the jump. Continue reading
Sports
CIS Basketball Finals Set and Ontario is Fuming
With all the league championships and last chance qualifiers decided on Saturday night, the CIS have announced the rankings for this weekend’s Canadian University Basketball championships. Of course, this being sports run by a faceless committee (e.g. the BCS), fans and pundits were crying foul within minutes of the bracket being announced.
Here are the CIS Final 8 that will battle it out for national supremacy (and how they qualified): Continue reading
OUA Basketball Final Preview – Carleton vs. Western
I’m not entirely sure that my bosses or the OUA would want me to say this, but this Saturday’s basketball game is entirely meaningless. After all, by winning the OUA West division title, the Western Mustangs have already clinched a spot in the CIS National Championships. Meanwhile, the #1 ranked Carleton Ravens are hosting the nationals so they were in even if they didn’t rout the OUA East division en route to their eighth crown in ten years. Still, while this is just a glorified exhibition game, we could be looking at a national championship preview.
Actually, I shouldn’t say that my bosses don’t want me saying the above because one of them pointed this fact out to me. In fact, if the game wasn’t in London at Alumni Hall or it conflicted with the hockey game later that night, we wouldn’t be broadcasting it at all. The fact remains that we are, so here’s a preview of tomorrow’s big OUA Men’s Basketball Final.
#1 Carleton Ravens
The Ravens come into action on Saturday as the heavy favourites. They have decimated the whole of the OUA field this season. After losing their first game of the year to Windsor, the Ravens have run up a streak of 23 straight wins which includes a 79-74 win against the Mustangs at Alumni Hall.
The key to the game for Carleton is to use their perfection on offense. The Ravens are the strongest offensive team in the OUA averaging 8 more points per game than any other team in Ontario. Western’s emphasis on rebounding and solid defending in the paint will only get them so far. It will be the ability of Carleton to drown them the Mustangs with offense that could allow them to lift the Wilson Trophy at game’s end. The man leading that attack will be the East division player of the year Stuart Turnbull and first team all-star Aaron Doornekamp.
#4 Western Mustangs
The Mustangs find themselves heading to the national championships after a surprise appearance last season. This year, the Mustangs started and finished the season ahead of the pack in the OUA West. Unfortunately for the Mustangs, they haven’t beaten the Ravens since 2001.
The Mustangs need to win the battles along the glass to pick up the W at the end of the day. Keenan Jeppesen and Brad Smith are two of the OUA’s most dominant big men and can control a game when “el fuego.” OUA West defensive player of the year is going to play an important part of the Mustangs defensive scheme when he tries to shut down Turnbull and will have to be as good on the offensive end of the floor as Wednesday when he was 6-of-10 from beyond the arc.
Of course, you can listen to this game live on 94.9FM CHRW (in London) and at CHRWradio.com starting at about 1:55 PM on Saturday. And you can spend the following hour-and-a-half wondering who thought it was a good idea to let me be a basketball commentator.
The World Baseball Classic… Why?
I can’t believe that I missed it. Early this morning was the first game of the 2009 World Baseball Classic. Now I know I’m not a baseball guy but I can’t help but ask why the hell there needs to be a baseball world championship. Continue reading
Wrestler-Maina
When The Wrestler took off in popularity, the media lit up with stories on who the lead character, Randy “The Ram” Robinson, was based on. It was almost as if wrestling jumped back into mainstream pop culture like it did in the mid- to late-90s. But with all the controversy surrounding pro wrestling, the media isn’t looking for all feel good stories. They were looking for stories like “The Ram” where the business used them up and spit them out. But with pro wrestling back in the legitimate news, there has been some pretty good stories written. Here’s some of the best ones out there:
Tito Santana
Santana is one of the few feel good stories to come out of professional wrestling (or so the media would have you believe). The two-time WWE Intercontinental and two-time WWE Tag Team champion still wrestles on the independant wrestling circuits while teaching Spanish in middle school. In short, his life has turned out the exact opposite of The Ram’s.
(Full Story: New York Times)
Jon Rechart (A.K.A. Balls Mahoney)
For every story like Tito’s, there’s plenty more about guys still scraping by, beaten from pillar to post by the sport they love. But as the three-time ECW tag-team champion says the roar of the crowd is infectious. While he did make some good money in wrestling, he occasionally did it at the expense of his dignity as evidenced by his WWF run as Xanta Klaus.
(Full Story: New York Times)
Jerry Lynn
There’s not much to this Q&A with the ECW heavyweight and TNA X-division champion. But he resemblence between he and The Ram is scary.
(Full Story: Metromix Chicago)
Michael Taris
While these three stars have all been on major television programs, pay-per-views, and made some decent money, not every wrestler has made the big leagues. Case in point, Taris was charged with insurance fraud and attempted theft after staging a fall to make a $50,000 damages claim. This goes to show that the business can be tougher on you if you can’t make the big leagues.
(Full Story: Philly.com)
Ted DiBiase
I’m ending on this one because this is a redemption story. The media would have you believe that the sex, drugs, rock & roll lifestyle that wrestlers live leads to a downward spiral to an early grave. Ted was caught up in that lifestyle before finding his salvation in God. Now he’s using the lessons of his past to help people as a minister.
(Full Story: The Sun)
And one last bit of fun. Mental Floss has created another epic quiz. This one, appropriately, is about Wrestlemania’s past. Give it a shot and see if you can match my 14/14. Click here for the quiz.
One Month to Wrestlemania XXV: The Road to Wrestlemania
One month from today, for the 25th time in history, the stars of the WWE will step between the ropes and enter the showcase of the immortals. The 25th edition of Wrestlemania brings to mind some of the great moments that Vince McMahon has given us. For all the crap that Vince takes, he’s given us Hogan/Andre, Rock/Austin, Warrior/Hogan, Savage/Steamboat, and I could go on and I’ll get to those moments closer to when the WWE takes to the grandest stage of them all.
Today, though, we build up to Wrestlemania. Almost as fun as the matches themselves is the feuds leading up to Wrestlemania unfolding. So to celebrate 25 Wrestlemanias, here’s some of the best video packages for Wrestlemania matches.
Wrestlemania 6 – Hulk Hogan vs. The Ultimate Warrior
This match was unprecedented for a number of reasons. The two combatants were champions going into the ring (Hogan holding the Heavyweight title and Warrior the Intercontinental) but one would leave empty handed. The match was also the first Wrestlemania main event where two babyface (good guy) wrestlers met which forced the crowd into making a choice to back Hogan or Warrior. And it led to some of the weirdest interviews ever like this one Warrior did.
Wrestlemania 14 – Shawn Michaels vs. “Stone Cold” Steve Austin
This match was the one that ushered in the Attitude Era of the WWE. The man who led the WWE into and through that era was beer drinking, hell raising, son of a bitch by the name of Steve Austin. But to get there Austin had to go through Shawn Michaels and this match’s special enforcer and HBK’s D-X comrade Mike Tyson.
Wrestlemania 17 – The Rock vs. “Stone Cold” Steve Austin
The Rock and Steve Austin was one of the great rivalries of the Attitude Era WWE. This match here though was their most iconic. The end of the match may have been the most shocking in the history of pro wrestling when Vince McMahon and Stone Cold joined forces. But what you knew heading into it was going to be a special match was given an equally as amazing video package to build it up.
Wrestlemania 18 – Hulk Hogan vs. The Rock
We’ll never see Bonds vs. Ruth. We’ll never see Ali vs. Tyson. We’ll never see Gretzky vs. Orr. But one night in Toronto, we saw the one of the biggest stars of the 80s take on one of the biggest stars of the 90s in a match for the ages. This match, like Hogan’s 15 years earlier with Andre the Giant, was the passing of the torch that launched The Rock into superstardom. On paper, this could have been one of the biggest train wrecks in history, it turned out to be an instant classic.
Wreslemania 24 – Ric Flair vs. Shawn Michaels
This could be one of the greatest pre-match video montages ever in the history of the world. Because Flair/Michaels could have been (and was) Ric’s last match, there was so much emotional investment in this match that everything about from the build-up to the video package to the match itself would seem to be the greatest of all time. And every wrestling fan has to admit that he (or she) gets a little choked up seeing the WWE highlight Flair’s career.
Wrestlemania 17 – Gimmick Battle Royal
Alright, this isn’t part of any feud nor is there a video package. Think of this as a bonus. This is all about old fashioned WWF (and I use that deliberately) fun. Okerlund and Heenan calling the action with some legends between the ropes as well isn’t an amazing Wrestlemania moment but is worth the watch for nostalgia’s sake.
For Part 2 click here.
Lowdown Prediction Game Results
Last night on The Lowdown radio show (which you can listen to here) we played the “Guess Where the Guy on the Trading Block is Going” game. We took a look at five big names and predicted their future less than 24 hours from the deadline. Results after the jump. Continue reading
NHL Trade Deadline Day Bash Live Blog
Welcome to The Lowdown’s live blog of the 2009 NHL Trade Deadline. While most other leagues see their trade deadline come and go with relatively little fanfare, in Canada, the NHL deadline day is almost like a national holiday. All three Canadian sports networks will cancel their regularly scheduled programming and have live coverage of the deadline from 8:00 or 9:00 in the morning through to at least 5:00. Now I know that nothing much happens until about 10:00 when it seems that the West Coast GMs wake up and then it’s game on.
Keep refreshing this page throughout the day to keep up with all the breaking news and rumours. Continue reading
The First NHL Trade Domino Falls
Breaking news: The Pittsburgh Penguins trade Ryan Whitney to the Anaheim Ducks for Chris Kunitz and Eric Tangradi.
Whitney is considered one of the best young defensemen in the game today and has the potential to be a first-pair defenseman in the future. The fact that he was traded is not surprising because the return of Sergei Gonchar to the Pens’ lineup left Pittsburgh with a surplus of blueliners. With the Pens looking (again) for a winger for Crosby, Whitney was seen as likely to get the best return in a trade. With Scott Niedermayer expected to spend at most one more season in the NHL, this is Anaheim’s long-term solution.
Kunitz isn’t the biggest name in the league and probably not the biggest name that the Pens could have received if they pushed the issue. In his favour, Kunitz is a decent goal scorer with a career high of 25 goals in a season. Playing with Crosby or Malkin, that number should go up but Miroslav Satan and Ruslan Fedotenko (who came to Pittsburgh this season) haven’t thrived playing with those superstars (both are on pace to score less than 40 points each). As for Tangradi, he’s been rated as the second best prospect in the Ducks’ farm system.
My early pick for trade winner: The Ducks
This past off-season, defensemen were paid a huge premium with even second pair defensemen getting contracts in the $4 million per season range. Being able to get a top player through 2013 for $4 million per year is a great spot for the perpetually salary cap challenged Ducks to be in.
Red Light District: Leafs Try To Ruin More Coaches Careers
NY Rangers 1 @ Toronto 2 (SO) – It wasn’t the prettiest game ever and neither team really deserved to win but Nikolai Kulemin’s shootout goal was all the Make Believes needed for two points. New Rangers coach John Tortorella was already calling out his team after one game saying that they needed better conditioning. Well, that’s one way to get them on your side.
NY Islanders 0 @ Pittsburgh 1 – Petr Sykora scored with less than 3 minutes left in the game to prove that the Pens don’t need Sidney Crosby to compete. They just need him to have any jump. Without Sid the Kid, the Pens played down to the level of the cellar-dwelling Islanders and were lucky to escape with a win.
Los Angeles 0 @ Philadelphia 2 – In another exhibition of an offensive master class, Jeff Carter scored in a scramble in front and Simon Gagne scored an empty netter to pickup two points for the Flyers. Martin Biron made 34 saves for his 25th career shutout.
San Jose 1 @ Detroit 4 – Henrik Zetterberg scored a highlight real goal while short handed to put the dagger to the Sharks. In a game that was being hyped for the return of super villain Claude Lemieux’s return to Detroit, there were no major incidents involving the cheap-shotting one. The win moves the Wings within 3 points of the Sharks for top spot in the West but the Sharks still have two games in hand. As a bonus, here’s that Zetterberg goal.
The Lowdown 