Kariya Retires And HHOF Inductees

PAUL KARIYA RETIRES

Paul Kariya announced his retirement today, which was necessitated by way too many concussions. In his announcement, Kariya had some harsh words for the NHL, whom he believes has not been serious about stopping the type of head shots that shortened his career. In one of the most famous events, Scott Stevens absolutely leveled him in game 6 of the 2003 Stanley Cup Finals, and Kariya was out for the count with a concussion, but came back to score the game-winning goal. The irony is, both Kariya and Stevens had their careers cut short by concussions. Dangerous hits have been a favorite topic of old-timers like Don Cherry and Mickey Redmond, who both believe, like Kariya that those hits are killing the game.

HHOF INDUCTEES

Doug Gilmour, Joe Nieuendyk, Ed Belfour, and Mark Howe. A golden quartet that are the 2011 inductees into the Hockey Hall Of Fame. Gilmour was the main man in Toronto during the Leaf revival of the mid-90's, while Nieuendyk is one of the few players to win Stanley Cups with three teams (Calgary, Dallas, and New Jersey). Belfour won his cup as a teammate of Nieuendyk in Dallas, and Howe was a brilliant defenseman, mostly with Philadelphia (he has won four Cups as a Red Wings' scout). Howe's dad must have been the happiest man in North America when he heard the news. (You may have heard of him-his name is Gordie, he played some hockey in his time-j/k) Congrats to all.

Women's World Cup: The First Four Days

Four days into the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup, and one of the biggest stories has been the growing legend of Canadian forward Christine Sinclair, who scored a goal against Germany after breaking her nose. Canadian Soccer Blogger Daniel Squizzato has been sending humorous tweets referring to Sinclair's toughness with phrases like "Bobby Baun said it's ok", and "Tomorrow's game is make AND break, make the game, break French hearts". Sinclair is saying she has not been cleared to play tomorrow. I don't believe it. She'll play if she can breathe. The USA, meanwhile, cruised to a 2-0 victory over North Korea on goals from Lauren Cheney and Rachel Buehler, and will play Colombia on Saturday.

This Picture Would Have Michiganders Voting To Convict Casey Anthony

If the Casey Anthony trial were taking place in Michigan, THIS picture would have jurors voting Guilty in a heartbeat!

http://buzzreport.net/casey-anthony-personal-photos/casey-anthony-ohio-state-personal-photo/

BREAKING NEWS: Dodgers Start A New Chapter In Their History: Chapter 11

The Los Angeles Dodgers this morning filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in U.S. Bankruptcy court in Delaware. The filing is the latest event in the ongoing divorce drama between the McCourts, who have mananged to run the storied franchise into the ground, while their divorce case has eaten up funds that were needed to make payroll and other expenses. Many observers believe that the rejection of a Fox Sports TV extension by baseball commissioner Bud Selig necessitated the move, which many of these same observers believe was a move by Selig to force the McCourts to sell the team, given the fact that Selig's move voids the divorce settlement, and will force the parties back into court to re-negotiate the settlement. As far as practical matters go, What this move does to the baseball end of the franchise is unknown, as it may force several quality players onto the market.

Gold Cup final: USA Blows 2-0 Lead.

Mexico has won the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup by a 4-2 score, as they came back from a 2-0 deficit in the Gold Cup at the Rose Bowl tonight. It looked ood for the Americans after Michael Bradley scored just a few minutes in, and Landon Donovan scored his Gold Cup record 13th goal in the 24th minute, but the Mexicans came back, tying the score within 14 minutes, then scoring the game winner in the 50th. They then added an incredible insurance goal in the 77th, as Gio Dos Santos did some incredible dribbling, then shot the ball just out of Eric Lichaj's head to make the final 4-2.

Glen Campbell Announces He Has Alzheimer's

Legendary country music singer Glen "The Rhinestone Cowboy" Campbell announced today, through a statement released by his wife, that he has Alzheimer's disease. Campbell, who is 75, is best known for his 1975 hit "The Rhinestone Cowboy". He also had a string of hits in the late 1960's and early 70's, with songs like "Wichita Lineman", "Gentle On My Mind",and "Galveston". He also had a hit CBS-TV series-"The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour" in the early 70's, where he was known for his signature opening line-"Hi, I'm Glen Campbell!". He was also a legendary studio musician for his work with The Beach Boys in the 60's, including his work on the classic "Good Vibrations" Campbell's wife said in the statement that Campbell is planning a series of retirement shows later this year, and asked fans to "forgive him if he forgets a few words, or plays a few bad notes". I don't know about you, but I get the feeling that "a few bad notes" might kill him faster than the Alzheimer's, given his legendary passion for playing the guitar, and perfectionism.

Game 7: Canuck Meltdown Means Canadian Drought is 6,580 Days...And Counting

The Boston Bruins have won the Stanley Cup...I can't believe it...then again, I did not see the Vancouver Canucks being outscored 23-8 in a seven-game series. 23-8 is, when it happens, usually a sweep. For perspective the Wings were blown out 23-8 in 1985, and blew out the Sharks 24-6 in 1995. Those series both ended in sweeps, whereas this series went to the limit. This may be the strangest Stanley Cup final I have ever seen, since, until tonight, these teams offenses seemed to have been confiscated by Customs every time these teams crossed the border. That all changed in Game Six, as the B's took over the Series, and never looked back. Let there be no doubt that Tim Thomas is a deserving Conn Smythe Trophy winner. He is the MVP, while Roberto Luongo is the LVP.

One last thing, I take my hat off to Marc Recchi, who is planning to retire now that he has won his third Stanley Cup. One of the classiest players in the game, and best wishes to him in his future plans, and Tuuka Raask should definitely have his name put on the Stanley Cup.

Game 6-Can't These Teams Take Their Games Across The Border?

We are now 6 games into the 2011 Stanley Cup Final, and one thing has been a constant: these teams keep leaving their "A" games at the 49th parallel, after all the games in Vancouver, all won by the Canucks had these scores, 1-0, 3-2 (OT), 1-0, a total of 5-2. While the scores of the games in Boston, all won by the Bruins, were 4-0, 8-1, and 5-2 for a whopping total of 17-3. Never have the Stanley Cup Final results been this radically different from one venue to the other. It is having the effect of being Hockey's version of the "Invasion Of The Body Snatchers", except it is happening to BOTH teams. If this trend continues, as illogical as it sounds, expect the Canucks to make history Wednesday night in Vancouver, after all, the B's will leave THEIR "A" game at the border.

BTW, No matter what happens Wednesday night in B.C., I believe Tim Thomas will win the Conn Smythe Trophy after game 7, win or lose.

Gold Cup: USA sleepwalks to a loss

The U.S. Men's National Team took way too long tonight to get their act together in their Group C match against Panama, and as a result suffered their first-ever loss in Group play in the CONCACAF Gold Cup tournament at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, 2-1.

The USA did not get going until the 68th minute, as they sleepwalked through the first half, and fell behind 2-0. It looked in the second half, like the USA might equalise, after Goodson scored what would prove to be the USA's only goal. With the loss, team USA now must beat Guadaloupe Tuesday night in order to qualify for the knockout phase of the tournament.

Game 5: Loungo, From Roberto The Zero, to "Roberto Zero"

What a difference a day makes...Game four, Roberto Luongo was yanked after giving up eight goals, and chatter was whether Alain Vigneault would start him or Cory Schneider in Game five. Fast forward 48 hours, change venue, and Luongo silences all that talk by outdueling Tim Thomas, as the Canucks won game five 1-0, and are just 60 minutes away from the city's first Stanley Cup, since the Vancouver Millionaires won the cup in 1915. Maybe Cyclone Taylor is smiling down on his city as they are so close, the fans can taste it.

Game five was very similiar to game one, in that Luongo and Thomas have been matching each other save-for-save in the games that were played in Vancouver. It looked like this one was going to come down to the final seconds, or go into OT like game two, but Maxim Lapierre banked one in off Thomas early in the third to put the 'Nucks ahead to stay, and Loungo held down the fort to preserve the 1-0 shutout victory.

One thing I DO want to bring up: If Vancouver does win the cup, does Tim Thomas join Jean-Sebastian Giguere, Ron Hextall, and The Late Roger Crozier as goalies for runner-up teams, who won the Conn Smythe Trophy anyway?

Game Four: four down, three to go?

Four games down and we're all even in this 2011 Stanley Cup final, as the Bruins evened the series with a 4-0 victory in game four. Tim Thomas has been spectacular in Boston, as he has only allowed one goal in the six periods played at TD Banknorth Garden, while Roberto Luongo allowed 12, and he was yanked late in the second period in favor or Cory Schneider who did not allow any. This begs the question for game five, if you're Alain Vigneault, do you start Luongo or Schneider? Luongo's GAA is way too high, and in the last two games, he has only about an .800 save percentage. That is NOT going to get it done.

Game Three: Bruins Wake Up

The Boston Bruins got back into the 2011 Stanley Cup Final, with a convincing 8-1 victory over the Vancouver Canucks in game 3. It seemed like the Canucks were playing a perfect road game, after a scoreless first period, which included a five minute power play for the B's after an injury to Nathan Horton, who was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital as a result of an elbow to the head from Canucks' Aaron Rome.

In the second, the B's blew the game open, when they scored four goals, the first at :11 by Andrew Ference, which is the same amount of time it took Alex Burrows of the Canucks to score the OT winner of game two. The Canucks got a garbage time goal by Hansen, whereas 43-year-old Marc Recchi, he of the 27 arenas which no longer house NHL teams paced the Bruins with 2 goals, and the B's got other scoring by Krejci, Marchand, Kelly, Ryder, and Paille.

Game Two: OMG!

OMG! 11 Seconds!

For the second straight game, the 2011 Stanley Cup Final went down to the wire. This one went beyond, as Boston's public enemy #1, Alex Burrows (who the Bruins and their fans wanted suspended after a biting incident in game 1), scored his second of the game at :11 seconds of overtime to give the Canucks a 3-2 victory in game two. The overtime goal was the second-fastest in playoff history, after Brian Skrudland's goal at :09 of OT in game two of the 1986 final.

BLASTS FROM THE PAST-A PARTIAL LIST OF FORMER NHL ARENAS MARC RECCHI HAS PLAYED IN

Montreal Forum
Great Western Forum
Hartford Civic Center
Le Colisee De Quebec
Chicago Stadium
Boston Garden
Winnipeg Arena
Maple Leaf Gardens
Greensboro Coliseum
Met Center
Pacific National Coliseum
Tropicana Field
Miami Arena
Phillips Arena
Ottawa Civic Centre
The Cow Palace

Different Sports, Different Cities, Same Team Name

In 1984, after winning five Grey Cups with the Edmonton Eskimos, Warren Moon left to join the Houston Oilers, so a pun at the time, said that after WINNING THE CUP, Moon had left EDMONTON to join the OILERS!

How many other such puns exist?

Hopefully, if I have my way, any Ranger or Islander player who is traded to the former Atlanta Thrashers, who are moving to Winnipeg, could leave NEW YORK and join the J!E!T!S!

A Boston-area basketball player who is recruited by UCLA, could leave BOSTON and join the BRUINS!

Yankee or Met players who are traded to Texas, would leave NEW YORK and join the RANGERS.

A Detroit ballplayer who is released, and ends up in the minors in Rochester, New York, would leave DETROIT and join the RED WINGS.

A Rams player who is traded to Arizona, would leave ST. LOUIS, and join the CARDINALS (just like for historical purposes, where a Bears player would leave CHICAGO and join the CARDINALS).

Do YOU have any similar ideas?

Game One:What A Finish!

The Vancouver Canucks moved on step closer to their ultimate goal, with an incredible 1-0 victory over the Boston Bruins in game one of the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals at Rogers Arena in Vancouver.

Roberto Luongo outdueled Tim Thomas, as the game stayed scoreless, until, with 19 seconds to go in regulation, Ryan Kesler stole the puck, and passed it to an open Raffi Torres in front of the net, and he made no mistake, as he put the proverbial "buscuit in the basket" in what was basically overtime, to give the Canucks the win and a 1-0 lead in the series. Game two at Rogers Saturday night, which will be the last saturday night game of the year, which is big for fans watching on "Hockey Night In Canada", as saturday night is their traditional game night.

Happy 70th Charlie!

Today is the 70th birthday of the man many consider rock's greatest drummer, Charlie Watts. He is the man who has for nearly fifty years, first with Bill Wyman, then with Darryl Jones,provided the rhythm to the "Greatest Rock and Roll Band in the World", The Rolling Stones. I had the pleasure to watch him from about 20 feet away during their August 31, 2005 concert at Comerica Park. It is, because of the basic rhythms the band uses in their songs, easy to overlook how good he really is, but when you are that close, you get a new appreciation of his talent, since you can watch what he is actually doing.

It wasn't always this way. Charles Robert Watts was born 2 June, 1941, the son of a lorry driver. His passion as a youth was football, and he dreamed of becoming a football player. That began to change when he got his first drumkit at age 15. He had become, and continues to this day, to be a passionate jazz fan, and jazz and big-band rhythms are his greatest influence, which is pretty amazing for a man renowned for his rock drumming. He then played in Alexis Corner's Blues Incorporated, through which he met Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Brian Jones, and the rest is history.

6,578 Days

6578 days. That is the period between June 9, 1993, when the Montreal Canadiens became the last Stanley Cup Champion from Canada to date, to Game six of the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals, when the Vancouver Canucks become the next.

FORWARDS

The Canucks have U.S. Olympian Ryan Kessler and the Sedin brothers. They may be getting some help with a return of Manny Maholtra, who has been out since March with an injury. The Bruins have rookie star Tyler Seguin and Milan Lucic. EDGE-CANUCKS

DEFENSEMEN

Boston has the monstrous Zdeno Chara, while Vancouver has Kevin Bieksa, and former Predator Dan Hamhuis. Basically these teams are EVEN on the blueline.

GOALTENDERS

Vancouver has Roberto Luongo, who won the Olympic gold medal for Team Canada at Rogers Arena. He obviously knows how to win in that building. Boston has Tim Thomas, who has a Vezina Trophy, and may well have another in a couple of weeks. These guys are two of the league's best.
SLIGHT EDGE TO THE CANUCKS

I believe that this is Vancouver's year to win it all. It's time for the Cup to go back to Canada. 6,578 days is a long time. The CANUCKS win in six.

JIM TRESSEL GONE

Jim Tressel was forced to resign Monday. Ohio State University's (or excuse me-"THE Ohio State University") Athletic department is a mess-Tressel is out, There is pressure on both the A.D. and university President to also step down, and probation is likely. This is what happens when there is a lack of institutional control over the football program.

BRING BACK THE JETS!
Hopefully, with the return of the NHL to Winnipeg, the Jets name will return with it. It is the city's hockey legacy, and it is time for it to come back.

BREAKING NEWS TODAY-SHAQ HAS ANNOUNCED HIS RETIREMENT VIA HIS TWITTER ACCOUNT-Undoubtedly he will eventually be inducted into the Basketball Hall Of Fame.