Sporting Madness

Well, given the amount of hockey predictions popping up these days, I figured I'd throw my hat into the ring. Obviously, it's tough to predict a Cup winner this early in the season, especially with the enforced parity of the salary cap, but there is one team that stands above the rest for me. For any of you who read my other blog (www.undergroundcommand.blogspot.com), this one may not come as a surprise: I predict that this year's Stanley Cup champions will be the Anaheim Ducks. Over the off-season, they may have lost the "Mighty" from their name, but they've improved the on-ice team significantly. General manager Brian Burke once again proved how he belongs with the very best in the game, acquiring superstar defenceman Chris Pronger from the Edmonton Oilers to further solidify what was already a capable defence. Scott Niedermeyer, named the league's top defenceman in 2004, had a terrific season last year, and sophomore Francois Beauchemin should be able ...

This weekend's English Premiership fixture between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur should provide quite a thrilling soccer match. United currently sit atop the EPL table, with a perfect nine points from three games, which is good enough to be two points clear of Portsmouth, Aston Villa, and Everton, and three points clear of Chelsea, the defending League champions. Tottenham are in 14th place, with a win and two draws. However, they are not to be overlooked: their squad contains a wide variety of talented international players, including England's Paul Robinson, Aaron Lennon, and Jermain Defoe, Robbie Keane of the Republic of Ireland, Edgar Davids of the Netherlands, and even Canada's own Paul Stalteri. For United, a couple of key storylines will play a role in the match. Firstly, midfielder Michael Carrick, recently signed from Tottenham, will have his first chance to face his own side, which is always an interesting fixture for a newly transfered player. Secondly,...

Recently, I went to see the movie Talladega Nights, starring Will Ferrell as redneck NASCAR driver Ricky Bobby. The movie was hilarious, and a great send-up of racing in general. However, it wasn't until I began my usual perusal of the sports world the next day that I realized how similar the movie is to the real-life situation currently taking place in the Champ Car World Series (open- wheel racing). Consider this: you have a driver with "two first names" (Paul Tracy) who, just like Bobby, "either wins or crashes" (more crashes than wins lately, though), to the extent that he could be a living example of Bobby's motto, "If you ain't first, you're last." Instead of the arrogant Frenchman Jean Girard from Talledega Nights , Tracy's main rival is another arrogant Frenchman in Sebastien Bourdais. Also, rather than get into the movie's barroom brawl, Tracy and Bourdais recently got into a physical fight on the track after a crash (look...