Sporting Madness

"We search for the truth/We could die upon the tooth/But the thrill of just the chase/Is worth the pain" - Ronnie James Dio , The Last In Line Tonight's Voyageurs' Cup game against the Montreal Impact may well be one of the most important matches of the Vancouver Whitecaps' season. Thanks to a pair of lacklustre draws at home, they must win on the road [ Marc Weber , The Province ] against their bitter rivals to maintain their hopes of claiming the Nutrilite Canadian Championship and its attendant berth in the CONCACAF Champions League. They have two points from two matches, while Toronto FC have seven from three. The teams play each other in the final clash of the competition next Wednesday, though, so the Whitecaps still have a shot at the title. In order to make that game relevant, though, they need to come away with three points tonight. As I wrote at Fighting For Canadian Supremacy before the season started , this competition may be the crucial one...

The Montreal Canadiens are in tough against the Philadelphia Flyers in the first-ever NHL conference final between a #7 seed (Philly) and an #8 seed (Montreal). They're down 2-0 in the series, they've given up nine goals and they haven't yet been able to beat Flyers' goaltender Michael Leighton . As Bruce Arthur wrote in his column in today's National Post , Philadelphia's rounding into form nicely and Montreal hasn't been impressive. If that continues, it seems likely the Canadiens' Cinderella run will end here. Yet, there are several factors that have me thinking this one isn't over yet. For one, Philadelphia's lineup doesn't overly impress me, especially without the injured Jeff Carter . They have talented players like Mike Richards , Danny Briere , Simon Gagne and, as much as it pains me to say it, Chris Pronger , but much of their roster is filled with guys who are most known for their thuggery. Montreal wasn't any better during...

Sean Gordon of The Globe and Mail reported this afternoon that David Beckham may be looking into joining forces with Joey Saputo in the Montreal Impact's bid for MLS. The story's apparently based off this report from Jack Bell of The New York Times over at the paper's Goal blog. Here's the money quote from Bell's piece: "According to a person with knowledge of Beckham’s planning who spoke on condition of anonymity because of concern about jeopardizing a potential deal, Beckham, 34, and his management team at 19 Entertainment (led by Simon Fuller) and Creative Artists Agency (led by Jeff Frasco) are interested in being partners with Joey Saputo, the owner of the Montreal Impact. The Impact plays in the United Soccer Leagues First Division, one tier down from M.L.S." Obviously, Montreal's push for MLS is no secret, and it's been gaining plenty of force lately. The financing struggles of George Gillett , owner of Liverpool, soon-to-be-former ...

My Grey Cup preview is up over at Out of Left Field . It should be a great game. I'll hopefully have some post-game thoughts up there as well later on.