No Medal Again!

For the first time in more than 30 years, Canada officially has a medal drought at the World Junior Hockey Championship.

Canada dropped the bronze medal game to Russia by a score of 2-1 on Sunday, marking the first time it has failed to win a medal in back-to-back tournaments since the Program of Excellence's inception in 1982.

Russia stormed out to an early 2-0 lead over Canada on Sunday thanks to first period goals from Mikhail Grigorenko and Eduard Gimatov. It would provide the basis for a lead Russia would never surrender.

Canada would get on the board mid-way through the third with defenceman Josh Morrissey giving the Canadian team some life, but it would not be enough as the Russians would beat Canada to claim bronze for a second straight year.

Andrei Vasilevski turned away 28 of the 29 shots Canada threw at him on Sunday, improving his all-time World Junior record to 11-4 over the course of three tournaments. He was named Russia's Player of the Game.

Aaron Ekblad was named Canada's Player of the Game.

Canadian goalkeeper Zach Fucale took over as starter after Canada's preliminary round loss to the Czech Republic and stopped 30 of the 32 shots he faced in the semifinal.

The Montreal Canadiens draft pick expressed disappointment with the result despite his strong play.

"This is absolutely not about me," he told TSN in a post-game interview. "This is just about the team winning and we came here for a reason and we didn't get it done."

Canada has now gone five tournaments without bringing home World Junior gold. Their last gold came in 2009 when they claimed their fifth consecutive tournament, winning on home ice in Ottawa.

The loss sets Canada up for a tough group at the 2015 World Juniors that will be hosted in Toronto and Montreal. With the fourth-place finish, Canada is set to once again be drawn with the United States for group play in addition to whichever team wins gold later on Sunday. They will also be joined by Slovakia and Germany.

(tsn.ca)

NHL Three Stars For December

FIRST STAR – PATRICK KANE, RW, CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS

Kane earned “First Star” honors for the second consecutive month after posting a League-leading 16 assists, 23 points (tied) and +14 rating, helping the Blackhawks earn points in 11 of 14 games (8-3-3) to maintain first place in the Central Division (28-7-8, 64 points). He recorded at least one point in 13 of 14 outings, stretching his career-long point streak to 14 games (8-17—25) before being held off the scoresheet in the final contest of 2013. It marked Kane’s second such stretch of 10 or more games this season (8-9—17 during 12-game point streak Nov. 3-27). According to the Elias Sports Bureau, he became the first player to record multiple point streaks of 10 or more games in the same season since 2005-06, when Jaromir Jagr posted a pair of 12-game streaks. The 25-year-old Buffalo native and reigning Conn Smythe Trophy winner has played in 43 games this season, ranking in the top five in the NHL in goals (3rd: 23), points (2nd: 53), power-play goals (3rd: 9) and game-winning goals (t-2nd: 6).

SECOND STAR – SIDNEY CROSBY, C, PITTSBURGH PENGUINS

Crosby tied Kane for the League lead in points (23), tallying nine goals and 14 assists to power the Penguins (29-12-1, 59 points) to 11 victories in 14 games and the top spot in the Eastern Conference despite a series of injuries to key personnel. He registered at least one point in 13 of 14 outings, beginning the month with a 10-game point streak (7-11—18) before being held off the scoresheet Dec. 23 versus the Ottawa Senators. Crosby also posted seven multi-point performances, including a trio of three-point efforts: Dec. 5 versus the San Jose Sharks (0-3—3), Dec. 21 against the Calgary Flames (1-2—3) and Dec. 29 at the Columbus Blue Jackets (1-2—3). The 26-year-old Cole Harbour, N.S., native leads the NHL with 59 points in 42 games this season while also ranking in the top five in goals (t-4th: 22) and assists (2nd: 37).

THIRD STAR – JONAS HILLER, G, ANAHEIM DUCKS

Hiller posted a 9-0-1 record with a 1.96 goals-against average and .929 save percentage to help the Ducks (29-8-5, 63 points) go 11-1-1 and move into the top spot in the Pacific Division. He allowed two or fewer goals in nine of 10 appearances, highlighted by a season-high, 49-save performance Dec. 3 versus the Los Angeles Kings. Hiller closed the month with nine consecutive victories, a personal high, and is undefeated in regulation in 11 straight dating to Nov. 30. He also started eight contests during the team’s franchise-record, 10-game winning streak Dec. 6-28 and recorded his 150th NHL victory Dec. 28 versus the Phoenix Coyotes (23 saves). The 31-year-old Felben Wellhausen, Switzerland, native has played in 27 games this season, compiling an 18-4-4 record with a 2.42 goals-against average, .914 save percentage and two shutouts.

 

(NHL Media)

This And That

--Going to save some thoughts for "Something to Mitch About", but here is just a few things I'd like to see more of and less of this year.

THINGS I WANT TO SEE LESS OF IN 2014

--The shootout
--Interviews during the game with the head coach. They bring nothing to the broadcast 99 percent of the time
-- The Oilers blowing two goal leads
-- Cabbie
-- The Gatorade Bath
--Idiots that yell “Get In the Hole” whenever a golfer takes a shot.
--The intentional walk
--Sunday CFL games after Labour Day
-- Poker on TV
--Glenn Healy
--Receivers who bitch and moan about pass interference on every pass that falls incomplete. Run back to the huddle and lets play. Refs should penalize receivers 10 yds for unsportsmanlike when they do this
--Players challenging other players to drop the gloves after a clean hit. It’s a clean hit, play on. A player that jumps another player after a hit should be given a game misconduct immediately.
--Not having to see Tiger Woods hit every shot in a tournament where he is well out of contention. Show me the guys on the leaderboard. If Tiger drills one to within 3 feet from 200 yards away, show it just the way you would show any other good shot
--The Kiss Cam.
--Looking out my front window in the morning and seeing my snow covered car
--3rd quarter stretch songs.
--Those who bemoan their fantasy football team because they left this guy on bench or because some guy on other team is going off. Too bad for you. Move on
-- The Wave
--ridiculous roughing the quarterback penalties

THINGS I WANT TO SEE MORE OF IN 2014

--Graham DeLaet winning a couple of PGA Tournaments
--The runner being thrown out at third as he tries to stretch it out after a base hit to right
-- Charissa Thompson
--More Friday night games from Mosaic Stadium
--Teams shooting the puck on the power play instead of 30 seconds or more of endless passing
--5-4 hockey games
--Me winning on pro-line tickets
--A city grader going down my street in the winter
--All WHL teams to play in all venues
--An NHL exhibition game at the Brandt Centre between the Oilers and Jets
--someone other than Rex Roberts holding the HIW championship belt
--the return of the Minneapolis stations to my cable package and the removal of the Boston ones
--Craig Butler destroying opposition quarterbacks while wearing a green and white uniform
--Darian Durant touchdown passes
--Gus Johnson doing college basketball games
--Oh Canada being played at Sochi

DeLaet Changing His Look

Graham DeLaet will have a different look on the fairways in 2014.

Canada's top ranked golfer revealed he will be sporting the colours of the Puma golf brand for the next three years.

DeLaet had been with Canadian-based Sligo Wear Inc. for the past two years. The company confirmed the two sides would not be extending their endorsement deal on New Year's Eve.

“Graham DeLaet is a perfect fit for the Puma Golf team,” said Cobra Puma Golf president Bob Philion. “He is a world class performer who brings a fresh look to the course, making him the perfect representation of the style and performance blend that Puma Golf embraces.”

Delaet joins Rickie Fowler, Ian Poulter and Jonas Blixt among the most prominent players sporting the Puma brand on Tour.

"Welcome to the team GD!" tweeted Fowler, known for sporting an all-orange look during the final round of a PGA Tour event.

“I have always been a fan of the brand and the innovative combination of function and fashion they bring to the game," said DeLaet.

DeLaet will make his 2014 PGA Tour debut in his new colours at the Farmers Insurance Open in San Diego. Puma Golf says the Weyburn, Sask. golfer will sport red and white on Sunday's during the PGA Tour season.

The Puma Golf deal is for clothing, accessories and headwear. He will not be switching to the Cobra equipment line, continuing to play Titleist.

DeLaet is coming off a breakthrough season on the PGA Tour in 2013 which included a second place finish at The Barclays and a pair of third place results at the Travelers Championship and Deutsche Bank Championship. He earned his first Presidents Cup selection where he starred for the International side and will be making his first Masters start later this spring.

(Globe and Mail)

This Week In Cougar Athletics

Home Canada West Events

Women’s Hockey – vs. Lethbridge, Friday (7:00 p.m.) at The Co-operators Centre
Women’s Hockey – vs. Lethbridge, Saturday (7:00 p.m.) at The Co-operators Centre

Away Canada West Events

Men’s Hockey – at Lethbridge, Friday (7:00 p.m. MST) in Lethbridge, Alta.
Men’s Hockey – at Lethbridge, Saturday (7:00 p.m. MST) in Lethbridge, Alta.

Away Non-Conference Events

Men’s Volleyball – at Enns & Baxter Tournament, Thursday to Saturday in Saskatoon, Sask.
Women’s Volleyball – at New Year’s Classic, Friday to Sunday in Edmonton, Alta.
Men’s and Women’s Wrestling – at Golden Bear Open, Friday and Saturday in Edmonton, Alta.

 

 

Women’s Hockey – The Cougars finished with a 1-2-0 record last weekend at the Martlet Invitational in Montreal, defeating Moncton but losing to Western and host McGill. They’ll now turn their attention back to the Canada West schedule, as the fifth-place Cougars (9-6-1) host Lethbridge (5-8-3) on Friday and Saturday at The Co-operators Centre. Both games will face off at 7 p.m.

Men’s Hockey – The second half of the Canada West schedule starts on the road this weekend for the fourth-place Cougars (8-8-0), who are just one point behind third-place Saskatchewan and one point ahead of Manitoba in the tightly packed conference standings. The Cougars face the University of Lethbridge (1-14-1) on both Friday and Saturday at the Nicholas Sheran Ice Centre in Lethbridge. Game time is set for 7 p.m. both nights (canadawest.tv).

Women’s Volleyball – The Cougars return to action this weekend at the New Year’s Classic non-conference tournament hosted by the University of Alberta. They’ll take on the host Pandas, Toronto, and Mount Royal at the three-day event before returning to the Canada West schedule on Jan. 11 and Jan. 12 at home against Alberta.

Men’s Volleyball – The Cougars will play four non-conference matches at the Enns & Baxter Tournament in Saskatoon starting on Thursday night against Brandon. They’ll also take on host Saskatchewan and Sherbrooke on Friday before finishing off with a match on Saturday morning. The Canada West schedule resumes on Jan. 11 and Jan. 12 against the University of Alberta in the friendly confines of the Centre for Kinesiology, Health & Sport.

Men’s and Women’s Wrestling – The Cougars will travel to Edmonton to wrestle in the Golden Bear Invitational on Friday and Saturday. It’ll be a busy month as both teams have three tournaments on the schedule and the men’s team also has duals against Dickinson State (Jan. 17) and Minot State (Jan. 23). Both teams will be back in action next Saturday, Jan. 11 at the Cougar Open in Regina.

Women’s Basketball (CIS Ranking: No. 5) – The Cougars won all three games last weekend at the Frontier Conference Shootout in Las Vegas, defeating Montana State-Northern, MidAmerica Nazarene, and Lewis-Clark State College to record a 3-0 record at the tournament for the second consecutive year. The Cougars have this weekend off before returning to conference play with a rare Thursday/Friday home weekend against Thompson Rivers and UBC Okanagan on Jan. 9 and Jan. 10.

Men’s Basketball – The Cougars ended up in fourth place at the 2013 Wesmen Classic last weekend, starting out the non-conference tournament with an 83-79 win over Dickinson State before losing to No. 2 Ottawa in the semifinals and dropping an 89-82 decision to Manitoba in the third-place game. The Cougars will prepare for home games against Thompson Rivers and UBC Okanagan on Jan. 9 and Jan. 10 as the Canada West schedule resumes.

Wild Card Weekend Capsules

The NFL playoffs start this weekend with the wild-card games. For a look at the AFC matchups, click here.

For a look at the NFC games. click here

Great Pics from 2013

1. No one caught Rider defensive back Tyron Brackenridge soaking me in the dressing room after the Riders Grey Cup win, but Global's Kent Morrison caught him soaking "The Grand Poobah" Premier Brad Wall. This might be the pic of the year!

2. Is it just me or does the Dallas Cowboys mascot say it all after Sunday's loss to Philadelphia to knock them out of the playoffs for a 3rd straight year in a winner goes in loser goes home game...



 

3. What exactly is this Winnipeg Jets fan thinking?

 

 

 

 

4. You go former President Bush, you go sir! Hugh Hefner has nothing on you at this moment. Look at that silly grin! Then again, who is kidding who you would have that silly grin too.

 

 

 

 

 

5.  I finally made it to CenturyLink Field---the home of the Seahawks and my football mecca!!

 

 

 

6. Sorry Chris!! It was a cheap shot by Eric Fraser, but it was a great picture!

 

 

 

7. This is just too cool...

 

 



 

8. LOOK OUT!!!!

 

 

 

9. SIR, YOU HAVE TO GO HOME, WE DON'T OPEN UNTIL NOON!! ARE YOU REALLY JAMES DUTHIE?

 

 

 

10. I HOPE CRAIG FRAMES THIS PICTURE 









 







 

11. SPEAKING OF WHICH....

 

 

 

12. HELLO BRITTNEY, WE WILL ALWAYS HAVE WINNIPEG

 

 

 

13. WELCOME TO REGINA SUMMER RAE!!!

 

 



 

14. DOES ANYTHING REALLY NEED TO BE SAID??

 

 

 

One bonus shot-----one of Weston Dressler catching a TD pass against the Alouettes which I just love.  One day, I may have to get a print of this made and have WD7 sign it.