The Sports Corner

Conroy should focus on contributing offence, not opinions

Without meeting him, it’s still safe to say Calgary Flames veteran Craig Conroy is one of the good guys of hockey.

From watching his numerous media clips over the past seven or eight years, it’s easy to see he makes sufficient time and provides quality insight for the media that cover the Flames – the Abbotsford Heat NHL affiliate.

But to go so far as to call Vancouver Canuck agitator/goal scorer Alex Burrows a “tattletale” is closing in on the term ‘laughable’ for two reasons.

Burrows, if you don’t already know, was fined by the NHL for comments he made two days ago about how referee Stephane Auger was “out to get him” following a 3-2 Canucks loss to the Nashville Predators.

Continue reading ‘Conroy should focus on contributing offence, not opinions’

Burrows spat with NHL ref has some validity, but hard to prove either way

Alex Burrows continues to make headlines in Vancouver and the NHL with his, shall we say, eyebrow raising play of late.

But unlike the past three games where he netted two hat tricks in a row, Burrows has found himself front and centre of what is becoming a major controversy in the league after he went on a tirade during his post game media scrum after last night’s 3-2 loss to the Nashville Predators.

After the game, the popular Vancouver Canucks turned-goal scorer accused referee Stephane Auger of having a personal vendetta against him.

Continue reading ‘Burrows spat with NHL ref has some validity, but hard to prove either way’

Coach Vigneault has the instincts behind the Canucks bench

If Vancouver Canucks head coach Alain Vigneault is guilty of one thing, it’s knowing his team perhaps a little too well.

If you’ll recall last season when the Canucks were mired in an ugly nine-game losing streak on home ice, and an eight-game skid overall and Vigneault was about the only one – aside from his players - who believed this team was close to going on a run.

Low and behold, the Canucks beat the Carolina Hurricanes by a score of 4-3 on a short handed goal by the current toast of the town, Alex Burrows, and went on a two-month rampage through the Western Conference standings.

They caught the Calgary Flames, who had a 13-point cushion over Vancouver at the beginning of the February in ’09, and went on to win the Northwest Division with time to spare. Continue reading ‘Coach Vigneault has the instincts behind the Canucks bench’

Cherry’s comments unprofessional, but he’s done plenty good for the game

Don Cherry is back at the forefront of controversy in Canada after a rant full of expletives to a news reporter was been made public.

Cherry was approached outside a radio station in Toronto by a news reporter from 680 News and asked what his thoughts were on comments made by Dr. Charles Tator, a Toronto-based neurosurgeon who said at a recent seminar that the star of Hockey Night in Canada’s Coaches Corner was a “negative influence” in the fight against violence and head injuries in hockey, according to the Globe and Mail.

The audio clip of the impromptu interview with Cherry, who had not scheduled anything as such said the Globe and Mail, have now made their way onto Youtube.com with several F-bombs to put the stamp on his decline of the interview.

Now, regardless of whether or not you know you’re being interviewed, there was no reason for Cherry to drop the profanities he did.

It was unprofessional and it was basically unnecessary. Especially for a man like Cherry, who is such a big figure in Canadian sports and has had number of memorable his run-ins with controversy.

But it really doesn’t matter what Cherry said. It doesn’t even really matter that the reporter may or may not have gone beyond the boundaries of journalistic ethics to get a story.

Continue reading ‘Cherry’s comments unprofessional, but he’s done plenty good for the game’

Halladay to Phillies, Jays get prospects

With Halladay officially traded to Philadelphia today, the Blue Jays are going to be receiving their new prospects, RHP Kyle Drabek, catcher Travis D’Arnaud and infielder Brett Wallace, very soon.

Originally, the Jays got Drabek and outfielder Michael Taylor from the Phillies and D’Arnaud from the Mariners, but sent Taylor to Oakland to acquire Wallace.

Although the starting rotation will be weaker without the workhorse that is Roy Halladay and the bullpen will be what feels the effects of that, this deal is seen as the start of the rebuilding of Canada’s only MLB team.

In their 2009 campaign, the Jays fell apart mid-season and they couldn’t compete with their tough division rivals, the Yankees, Red Sox and the up-and-coming Rays. Continue reading ‘Halladay to Phillies, Jays get prospects’

Team Canada announces World Juniors roster

The ‘Make it Six’ campaign for Canada found out Wednesday who will be responsible for winning this nation’s sixth straight gold medal starting December 26th in Saskatchewan.

Having won the last five, Team Canada will depend on six returning players from last year’s team and several big names up front including Jordan Eberle, potential 2010 number one overall draft pick Taylor Hall and last year’s Toronto Maple Leafs’ pick Nazem Kadri in order for them to repeat.

In goal, Jake Allen most likely gets the start as he looked to be the favourite even when there were four goaltenders competing for the two spots. The offensive-yet-hard-hitting defensive style famous amongst past Canadian bluelines will once again be present, especially with Teubert back. Continue reading ‘Team Canada announces World Juniors roster’

BC High School Football Power Rankings

BC High School Football Power Rankings – Dec. 10 - Last rankings of the year

Unofficially breaking up with you until next season. It’s not you, it’s me.

1. Centennial Centaurs – The best collection of skilled players in the province brought about their first provincial championship in football in 43 years. Next season might spell trouble for the Centaurs, as their three biggest producers, Durant, Kankolongo and Lang, all move on. Receiver Bobby Pospischil will have to fill the void, at least where big plays are concerned. They have a couple of 300-pound linemen returning in Trevor St. Hilliaire and Connor Nolan so at least there will be bulk up front.

2. W.J. Mouat Hawks – One defensive stop away from stealing the provincial championship away from the Centaurs. Next year the combination of quarterback Cam Bedore and receiver John Watson could be the best in B.C. But that’s not all, receiver Desmond Bassi was excellent all season and look out for running back and linebacker Jacob Heathcote, who will only be in Grade 11 but should have a big impact nonetheless. Dustin Plett returns on the offensive line but replacing Manjot Padda and Iqbal Sidhu won’t be easy. Not to mention the loss of Drew Chung, Tyler Declare and Allan Dicks, three of the toughest players in the province.

3. Vancouver College Fighting Irish – A heart-wrenching loss in the semifinal round to the Hawks put a sour taste on the end of their season. One player who didn’t get to contribute very often because of injuries, Adam Konar, will be back next season and the coaching staff will expect big things out of him. The closet is never bare at VC and you can expect players like Christian Covington (the son of Grover, possibly the best pass rusher in CFL history), Jeff Tichelman and Reiner Theil to be contending for post-season awards. Continue reading ‘BC High School Football Power Rankings’

Expect to hear Mouat Hawks QB Cam Bedore’s name in the future

There were many storylines that came out of Saturday’s B.C. high school football Triple A championship, all of which were compelling in their own right.

But what about the performance of W.J. Mouat Hawks quarterback Cam Bedore? There’s been plenty of talk, and rightfully so, about the work of Lemar Durant and Nehemie Kankolongo from 2009 champion Centennial Centaurs and how successful they were at running the ball through one of the stingiest defences in the province.

Durant’s counterpart, Bedore, had himself quite a game too and served notice to the high school football pundits that his name might be one that is brought up more often than not in the future.

The ’09 Subway Bowl was really the coming out party for the Grade 11 pivot, who threw nine completions in 14 attempts for 213 yards and three touchdowns.

Continue reading ‘Expect to hear Mouat Hawks QB Cam Bedore’s name in the future’