Le Grande Vittoria

It came only four days later, but for Inter Milan fans, Sunday’s Serie A title triumph with a 2-1 win away to Siena and Roma’s 2-1 away loss to Atalanta felt like an eternity in the making. After Inter blew a chance to wrap up the title with a 3-1 loss on Wednesday at home to second-place Roma, Sunday’s title victory looked more uncertain. The Nerazzurri hadn’t won since the beginning of the month with a 2-0 win at home to Parma, conceding seven points in the standings to a Roma team that refused to give up. In the end, Roma’s deficit was too much to make up, as on April 1 they stood 20 points behind and although they narrowed the gap to 13, the mountain proved too hard to climb.

Watching the game, no one would have guessed that Inter would have come out on top. Siena were done in more by their own atrocious passing and finishing abilities, as for most of the game Inter failed to find much rhythm. Both of their goals were scored by Marco Materazzi, the flamboyant defender better known as the head-butt victim from Zinedine Zidane at last year’s World Cup, one from a scrambled corner kick and the other from the penalty spot. There may be those who would say that Siena goalkeeper Alex Manninger’s foul on Julio Ricardo Cruz- a body-check, really- might not have been really a foul, but from the referee’s viewpoint it certainly looked like a hit Don Cherry would be proud of. However, unlike Materazzi’s first-half strike on eighteen minutes that Siena (and ex-Lazio) defender Paolo Negro cancelled out three minutes later, Siena could not find a reply despite creating ample chances. The Inter defence were not at their best and neither was their midfield, but the talent gulf was too much for Siena to overcome, as many of their final balls were late or scuffed. It was a nervous ending, but in the end, Inter got the win.

Inter would have to wait five minutes before Roma’s game against Atalanta finished. Two first-half goals by Cristiano Doni and Riccardo Zampagna put Roma down 2-0, and Luca Ariatti let a tap in squeak by his feet early in the second half that would have made it 3-0. Roma’s Simone Perrotta finished off a rebound some fourteen minutes later at 64 minutes that reduced the gap to 2-1, but Atalanta’s defence would hold its own and Roma would create few chances towards the end. The final score would be 2-1, confirming Inter’s fifteenth title in their history and the first on the field since 1989.

To be fair, this won’t be a season many except Inter Milan fans will want to remember. Already scarred coming off the heels of Calciopoli that saw Juventus dropped to Serie B, Milan handed an eight-point deficit, Reggina 11, Fiorentina 15 and Lazio three, Serie A was rocked by another unfortunate incident as rioting cost the life of Filippo Raciti in early February following Palermo’s 2-1 win over Sicilian rivals Catania. Raciti’s death forced the Italian government to pass harsh new measures aimed at curbing soccer violence, including tighter security at games, preventative arrests for suspected hooligans, and bans on block sales to away supporters. While the rest of the season has so far been problem-free, Raciti’s death cast a grey shadow onto a season many Italians had hoped would be remembered for its football. Thus, one might have hoped for a genuine title race- like what is happening in England between Manchester United and Chelsea- to create a little bit of excitement in the season, but Inter had wrapped up the title effectively months ago, as they moved to 14 points clear of Roma with a 1-0 win at home to Cagliari and a 1-0 Roma loss at Empoli on February 17.

Of course, those snarling that Inter had won it too easily just might have missed some fabulous soccer. When Inter were on their game, they moved the ball with precision and defended with confidence, being a joy to watch whenever they took the field. This may be a team stocked with talent- from defenders such as Materazzi and Fabio Grosso, the composed play of wingback captain Javier Zanetti, midfield dynamos such as Patrick Vieira and Estaban Cambiasso and winger Luis Figo to the deft striking of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Hernan Crespo- but they may be the only team- aside from Lazio- that plays the most as a collective unit, being a team of players that knows their roles and sticks to them. Any holes the team may have- particularly in midfield and on defence- got covered up in Inter’s great on-field co-ordination. This wasn’t a team that was simply lucky- they were a team that definitely played as the class of Italy, and thus their scudetto was well deserved. There are those who say that the title doesn’t count because Juventus was in Serie B and Milan started with an eight-point penalty, but Milan didn’t reach zero until their fifth game, getting dubious draws against Sampdoria and Siena and even dropping another early encounter with Atalanta (although they may be stronger than many might have predicted). Inter, let us also not forget, was once second behind Palermo and hit only 10 points after five games- an on-form Milan could have had a three point deficit at that stage. Finally, taking away the point deductions still doesn’t give anyone enough points to have prevented Inter’s title-clinching performance this weekend. Thus, while Inter may have had “a head start”, their opponents were the ones who didn’t take advantage of their opportunities, allowing Inter to finish them off one by one.

The only thing that is left is the Coppa Italia against Roma in May, but for Inter fans, that prize will just be a bonus. The real prize was won this weekend, capping off a season that may never be repeated in Italy. Will this be another period of Inter domination not seen since Le Grande Inter? Time may tell, but this year’s team certainly played like it.

-DG

Brad May solves the fighting debate

My initial reaction to the news of Anaheim Duck forward Brad May’s sucker punch to Minnesota Wild rearguard Kim Johnsson was like every other hockey fan’s- disgust, it being a graceless act made even more gutless by the fact Johnsson isn’t known for committing dirty acts himself. As a result of his actions- occurring late in Anaheim’s 4-1 loss to Minnesota that averted a Duck sweep of the Wild- May was suspended by the National Hockey League for three games- the equivalent of nine in the regular season- although Wild fans may feel like it’s not enough considering an important part of their defence may be shelved for what is their most important game of the season in Game 5. May’s hit also called to mind when Tie Domi elbowed Scott Niedermayer in the 2001 Eastern Conference Semi-finals, and that hit cost Domi the rest of the playoffs, and although Domi’s hit was far more serious, the resulting injury is not- both Johnsson and Niedermayer were concussed as a result of their actions, so one feels that May might have gotten off lucky.

Then, after a minute, the thought occurred to me- “wait a minute, wasn’t Derek Boogaard playing?” Not only that, it’s not like Boogaard wasn’t noticed, as the Duck commentators couldn’t stop talking about how he was getting away with murder. Never mind their biases- if the Duck commentators dislike what Boogaard is doing, you can be certain so too is Duck coach Randy Carlyle. Boogaard, you may recall, is the Wild’s enforcer, meant to “protect” his team’s star players by acting as a deterrent to any would-be cheap-shot artists; and, at 6’7”, 270lbs., Boogaard is as threatening as they come. However, not even his presence was enough to deter May from taking a shot at Johnsson, one of the Wild’s star players, meaning that either Boogaard didn’t do his job correctly or May couldn’t care less.

Why is this important? Well, this season NHL vice-president Colin Campbell ignited a maelstrom when he posited the question about whether or not fighting belonged in the NHL. He asked this after Colton Orr knocked Todd Fedoruk unconscious in a fight, but the debate had been raging for weeks prior to that. The league had just witnessed Cam Janssen’s hit on Tomas Kaberle that prompted Toronto Star writer Damien Cox to write a piece denigrating fighting, because Janssen and his ilk are the main culprits of dirty hits, as well as the Pittsburgh Penguins acquire George Laraque and Gary Roberts to provide “protection” for Sidney Crosby weeks after he was assaulted in a game against the Montreal Canadiens. However, up to this point, none of those aforementioned incidents occurred when any of those players had a “tough guy” to “answer to” because, as the claim goes, when there’s an enforcer to answer to, players wouldn’t run around taking cheap shots at opponents because then they’d have “someone to answer to” in a fight.

However, after May did what he did, it became clearly obvious that this line of argument became nonsensical rather quickly. Here was a situation where fighting proponents could finally show their adversaries that enforcers do, in fact, protect the star players, and the experiment failed tremendously. Since Boogaard was dressed- and playing- in theory, May wouldn’t have taken a shot at Johnsson, because Boogaard was supposed to protect him. As stated before, it’s not like no one noticed Boogaard on the ice, and Boogaard did play following May’s hit- so despite the policeman being on patrol, a criminal act still occurred.

Now, I had always believed that the idea of the enforcer was a ludicrous idea anyway- intimidation is only as strong as the intimidator, so as long as there’s an even playing field in terms of enforcers, then the system works. However, have just one guy who’s over and above the other enforcers- or simply doesn’t care that enforcers are there- and the system fails. The latter is precisely what happened in Game 4- May knew Boogaard was present, but he didn’t care. Perhaps he thought he could also take Boogaard in a fight- although considering that Boogaard is half a foot and 50 pounds heavier May probably didn’t stand a chance. Regardless, the fact still remains that Boogaard simply wasn’t intimidating enough.

Of course, no doubt May’s actions are going to be forgotten in the coming weeks, stowed away as yet another ugly incident in a sport that’s full of them- from Eddie Shore’s hit on Ace Bailey to Rick Jodzio’s hit on Marc Tardif to Todd Bertuzzi’s hit on Steve Moore (which, by the way, was a retaliatory hit for Moore’s hit on Markus Naslund). Yet there may be the faint hope that hockey might see what May does and view it as the last straw and finally clean up the sport, which receives way too much negative attention when it receives any attention in the first place. However that would require a change in hockey thinking, which is not likely to happen with hockey people believing that “fighting draws fans” (never mind that gymnastics outdraws the NHL); but then again, how much lower do ratings have to fall and how much higher do negative feelings have to rise before hockey people come to their senses? Hopefully it will come soon- because hockey can’t afford to fall any further.

-DG

The Nightmare At San Siro

Inter Milan picked the wrong time to have a bad month.

After securing a 20-point cushion atop the Serie A standings with a decisive 2-0 win over reeling Parma on April 1, Inter has seen their lead cut to 13 after a shocking 3-1 loss to Roma that saw two goals by Francesco Totti and Marco Cassetti conceded in the dying minutes after Marco Materazzi cancelled out Simone Perrotta’s opener after a dubious penalty award. The loss means that Inter now need six points in their last six games to secure their first scudetto on the field since 1989, which can come with a victory at Siena and a Roma loss at Atalanta on Sunday (widening the gap six more points and out of Roma’s reach) or two straight wins at Siena and at home to Empoli. With both teams comfortably where they are- Empoli are in seventh and seven points up on Udinese, while Siena are five points out of the relegation zone- it may sound like the tonic Inter need to get back on track, but the team hasn’t won since beating Parma, and after seeing two very winnable games against Reggina and Palermo slip through their fingers, no result seems assured anymore.

Now, it may still be well too early for Inter manager Roberto Mancini to press the panic button, but if I were him, I’d be close to pressing it. It is true that Inter were still close to the top of their game against Roma and have been through the last three games, but the fact that Inter failed to put away any of those opponents after putting away everyone else has to be disconcerting. This was the year where finally Inter were able to perform to their expectations after years of coming up short, but with the prize firmly in sight, Inter have let their gaze slip a little.

Perhaps Inter’s loss was a blessing in disguise for the team. With the team winning, its own flaws were well-hidden, as no one would have dared to tinker with a successful formula. However, it’s now plainly evident that the team is thin on defence and in midfield, with Olivier Dacourt and Ivan Cordoba having lost a lot of their steps since their primes, Nicholas Burdisso being largely ineffective in the back and Luis Figo being wildly inconsistent. The team has an incredible amount of selection up front, boasting four world-class strikers in Julio Cruz, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Hernan Crespo and Adriano, but after their first-choice midfielders and defence, Inter’s lineup is thin. It’s also aging- the youngest of the bunch are Ibrahimovic and Adriano at 26, and while the experience has paid off earlier in the year, one wonders if the team is starting to run out of gas. It’s time now for the older teammates to show their leadership and display the determination that’s been lacking in recent games, because if Inter are to win their championship, they need to rediscover that- and soon.

Of course, this isn’t to say that Roma were lucky- well, they probably were given how late their winning goals were scored. This is a team that defied the odds all season long, boasting a lineup that’s probably no better than mid-table in Serie A and staying in the title chase despite having the odds stacked heavily against them. The result against Inter may have been lucky, but it’s a result that is indicative of how well they have played this season (the Champions’ League result notwithstanding). They really are a team to root for; a team that shows giants like Inter, Milan and Juventus that money alone won’t win a championship. They may be short on talent, but they’re not short on determination, and if Inter are not careful, that could allow them to sneak for the title. The odds are still heavily stacked against them, but at least they’re showing that they won’t quit.

Now it’s time for Inter to do the same- otherwise, the spectre of 2002, when Inter led Serie A until a second-half collapse against Lazio lost them the game and the title will loom very, very large. The clock is ticking.

-DG

DG's Quick Hits- April 16, 2007

AN UGLY DAY AT VIRGINIA TECH

One day it’ll all make sense. Earlier today, 33 students were killed in a murderous rampage at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Virginia, just outside of Washington, D.C. It is the single-highest shooting spree in U.S. history.

The story goes something like this: an Asian man broke into a dormitory and shot two people, a man and a woman, then proceeded to shoot others in the dorm. Then he moved to classrooms and essentially shot anyone he could find. Then he turned the gun on himself, committing suicide. The motives of the man remain unclear, but the most widely held theory is that he was looking for his girlfriend.

Usually in times like this it’s always asked how this incident could happen, but while it’s shocking, it’s always worth noting that these incidents are rare. Pardon The Interruption’s Tony Kornheiser and Mike Wilbon were both in agreement that the easy access to guns in the U.S. is the culprit, and while that may be the case (I certainly don’t doubt it), I’m sure there are other factors. Perhaps it would be time to install metal detectors inside entrances to buildings as well, and step up security measures as well (cameras are one idea, at least inside hallways, although there are privacy issues inside dorms), but no matter how I much I wrap around something like this, I can’t help but think it’ll happen again. This was a crazy man with a twisted ambition, and there probably will be nothing that can stop other crazy people from doing the same. The only thing we can hope for is to make it harder the next time around, and changing the gun laws would be one good step. Right now, though, my thoughts are with Virgina Tech and the hopes that their school rebounds better than anyone could have hoped.

ONE MORE DAY

Well, the question entering yesterday’s match at the Stadio Olimpico between Roma and Sampdoria was how Roma would respond after being crushed 7-1 by Manchester United five days before. The question was answered after an emphatic second half saw I Lupi cruise to a 4-0 laugher over a Sampdoria side still clinging to UEFA Cup hopes. Roma were led by two goals from captain Franceso Totti, who called the loss to United was “the most embarrassing of my career” and made up for a relative disappearing act in that game. Coupled with Lazio’s surprise 2-2 draw at bottom-feeders Ascoli, Roma are now nine points clear for second place in Serie A with seven games remaining.

At the top is still Inter Milan, and despite a 2-2 draw with Palermo at home, Inter- at 16 points clear- can still wrap up the title with a victory over Roma on Wednesday, leaving Inter 19 points ahead with six games remaining. The draw looked in doubt after Palermo went up 2-0 before halftime with goals on either side of the half from Andrea Caracciolo and Cristiano Zaccardo at three and 45 minutes respectively, but Inter battled back with two goals in the space of eight minutes off crosses from veteran winger Luis Figo. Julio Cruz got the first at 66 minutes, then Adriano connected at 74 to quell the worried Inter faithful, who have yet to see Inter defeated in Italian play. However, while Inter manager Roberto Mancini will be pleased with his team’s determined comeback, Mancini won’t be pleased with the fact that this is Inter’s second consecutive draw, with a worrying lack of urgency creeping into Inter’s game. This shouldn’t take anything away from the performances of Palermo or Reggina- Palermo showed that they have the work ethic and talent level to be competitive at the top, and Reggina may be an attacker away from being a contender themselves- but in both games, Inter didn’t get going until the second half. Mancini had said that Inter’s greatest enemy is complacency, and that just may have happened in the past two weeks. However, both times Inter came away with positive results, showing that while the foot may be off the accelerator a little, Inter still have a sense of what needs to be done to secure their first Scudetto on the field since 1989. Also, their next game couldn’t have come at a better time- Inter are at their best when faced against an “inspired” opponent, like Milan in March, and with the players knowing that the title is on the line Wednesday against a plucky Roma outfit they would be determined to put away (not to mention with the game at home), Inter are primed for their best result of the season. Of course, they still need to win first.

PLAYOFF DRAMA OR PLAYOFF BOREDOM?

In 2006, out of the opening four days of the National Hockey League playoffs, six games went to overtime out of the first 20 games. Out of the four opening days of this year’s playoffs, three overtime games have occurred out of 19 games, with two in the same series (Vancouver-Dallas). Also, out of the first 20 games last year, the games featured 135 goals, a 6.75 goals-per-game clip. Out of the first 19 games of this year, the games featured 104 goals for a 5.47 GPG clip. In the 2006 playoffs, GPG went up from the season after 20 games, as the season featured a 6.17 mark. In the 2007 playoffs, GPG has gone down, with the season seeing 5.91 GPG.

The statistics are consistent with how the NHL season has fared this year- after a high following the lockout, the league is back in the doldrums, with attendances down, TV ratings still abysmal, excitement still lacking in the game, clueless NHL executives who propose rule changes like they’re going out of style and impatient criticism from “hockey people” about the rule enforcement, continuing their own complaints from their playing careers. It should, therefore, be no surprise that the playoffs are proceeding the same way.

Perhaps the biggest problem in this year’s playoffs is the overall lack of drama. Wednesday’s overtime marathon between the Vancouver Canucks and Dallas Stars produced one of the most memorable games in NHL history, but since then the playoffs have meandered. The Anaheim Ducks-Minnesota Wild series is now 3-0 to Anaheim in three dreadful contests that the Ducks are coasting through with the Wild simply lacking any kind of urgency. The Detroit Red Wings-Calgary Flames series is going precisely the same way. The San Jose Sharks and Nashville Predators are showing a disinterest in actually playing hockey and the Atlanta Thrashers are clearly outmatched against the inspired New York Rangers. It is true that the New York Islanders and Tampa Bay Lightning are unexpectedly tied in their series with the Buffalo Sabres and New Jersey Devils, but both teams have a history of winning Game 2 and no other game, so it’s anyone’s guess how those ties will play out.

Then there’s the Ottawa Senators/Pittsburgh Penguins and Canucks/Stars tilts, the only two series worth watching. The Senators and Penguins are living up to their billing as a high-flying series, and while Vancouver-Dallas is low-scoring, the series at least has a level of urgency, the Canucks looking to prove last year’s playoff miss was a fluke and the Stars looking to show last year’s early ouster was a fluke. However, even there, the drama level isn’t close to what happened last year- only one game in the Ottawa-Pittsburgh series was a one-goal contest, and while the Vancouver/Dallas series has featured two overtime contests, no one’s going to confuse it with a classic playoff battle. Granted, it is still just the beginning- but things are not looking good so far.

SNAPSHOTS

The uproar over the four overtime thriller in Vancouver is just ridiculous. Yes, the game went until 3:30AM in the East, but the game finished at 12:30AM local time; and besides, how often are these games anyway? If there’s one thing the NHL shouldn’t meddle with, it’s playoff overtime…Staying with hockey: if fighting “attracts fans”, why is gymnastics outdrawing the NHL? Also, if players can “police themselves”, why was Steve Moore and Donald Brashear assaulted? Both were victims of players “getting back at them” for things they did earlier…If it were up to me, the top soccer leagues in Europe would consist of just 10 teams. Why? It’s plainly obvious that year in, year out, there are only four teams that consistently vie for the title, leaving 16 schmucks to serve as victims. Where’s the fun in that? Besides, maybe the reduced amount of teams would give the top teams more of a run for their money than they’re currently getting with all that talent pooled together…I think I’ll paraphrase David Letterman: how many more Canadian troops have to die before we all realize that the Afghanistan mission is pointless? Also, before you start telling me I’m “not supporting the troops”, understand there’s a difference between supporting the military and supporting the mission. I support the Army, just not what it’s doing now…Tim Duncan gets ejected from a game for laughing. Okay, so maybe the referee doesn’t like Duncan laughing at what he perceives to be the referee’s ineptitude, but I think that’s going too far. It’s not like Duncan is a recalcitrant whiner who has issues with the referees like Rasheed Wallace…Thumbs up to the National Football League for its policy of harshly suspending players caught breaking the law. In any other profession, those people would be fired. Good job…A story out of the Associated Press says that more parents today are using “rewards” to entice their kids to behave well instead of punishing them when they misbehave. The question is whether or not this is a positive development- will the kids do what they’re told or will they refuse to do something because “the reward is not good enough”? I think, as with everything, moderation is key- kids do need rewards sometimes because then they’ll have a sense of achievement, but they also need to be made aware sometimes that what they did in that situation is wrong and there are consequences. Hey, no one said parenting would be easy…To continue that thought, I do wonder if we as a society work too hard to have kids. Parenting is a difficult job and is very time-consuming, but with both parents working full-time arriving home “just to relax”, it could take away from their parenting role. You want to know where mouthy kids come from? Having their parents think “T.V. is a babysitter”. It’s not…Greg Maddux said that players should take 5% pay cut and have the season reduced to 150 games so that the season can start in mid-April and end in mid-October to avoid the snow and the cold that gets associated with those months. It’s a sensible argument, but try convincing the owners to reduce their home games. It won’t fly…Well, except maybe in Cleveland. The local Indians were required to play a “home” series in Milwaukee after Cleveland’s series with the Seattle Mariners got snowed in. The four-game set with the Anaheim Angels (I don’t care that they’re the “Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim”, they’re the Anaheim Angels to me) cost all of $10 for Milwaukeeans to attend drawing reasonable crowds. Then the Indians shifted their series with the Chicago White Sox back to Cleveland not because of good weather but because they were worried that White Sox fans would make the trek to Milwaukee and turn it into a “home” series for their team. If this scenario won’t knock sense into baseball owners, I don’t know what will…Hot on the dating block: David DeAngelo, the man who claims he can “double your dating”; and hey, what he says does make sense- because it’s plainly obvious. Essentially what he’s preaching is to be comfortable around someone, because then they’d be more likely to date you. Isn’t that just common sense? No one’s going to date someone they’re not comfortable being around. It just makes sense- and you don’t need to buy his book to see that…I will make one complaint about his strategies- his newsletters (yes I signed up- I was curious) repeatedly tell curious readers having problems come up with their own “Cocky & Funny” routine to “practice lines” so they can become funny themselves. I think he’s blurring the line between being able to joke around with someone and being a comic. Being a comic isn’t something that everyone can do, and while yes practice may make perfect, comedy just comes easier for some and not so easier for others, and straining yourself “just to be funny” won’t work. Being able to joke around with someone, though, won’t take half as much work- once you hit a comfort zone with someone (and we all have with our friends), being able to poke fun at things they’ve done or are just comes naturally; and you don’t need to be a comic to do it…I also read in one of his newsletters that men shouldn’t be affectionate and readily give out hugs. That’s not something I can agree with. It is true that most people- male or female- would want someone to be strong, but I don’t think they want someone who can’t be empathetic or comforting. No one’s interested in dating a brick wall…Raise your hand if you’re paying attention to Toronto FC so far this season. No one? Yeah, thought so…Speaking of which, David Beckham’s going to do nothing for Major League Soccer and may even hinder it. A player with his abilities will probably dominate the league using maybe even half of his energy and will show the world just how much of a talent gulf there is in the MLS between them and the major European leagues. *This* is the main reason why soccer in the U.S. isn’t successful- as long as casual fans know that the best players don’t play in the U.S. (further to the point- not even the best Americans play in the U.S.) and as long as they know that those games are on when they’re sleeping or working (because of the time zone difference between Europe and the U.S.), no one’s going to pay attention. Until the U.S. produces a team that can beat a European team in a meaningful game, soccer will continue to be a distant fifth in the U.S.…While we’re at it, why doesn’t FIFA produce a *real* World Championship? You know, one the European teams might actually care about? If it can produce, say, a 12-team tournament that features say two or even four from both UEFA and Latin America, they might do the trick; and hold it in June-July too, like they do for the World Cup. They have a successful national team competition- now it’s time to produce a successful club team competition.

-DG

The Sea Of Goals

Manchester United 7, AS Roma 1. A game Manchester United and their supporters will remember for ages and one AS Roma and their fans would like to soon forget. Perhaps the outcome wasn’t unlikely- Manchester United have been one of Europe’s top teams for the past decade, while Roma progressed to the quarterfinal stage for the first time since reaching the Final in 1984- but result certainly wasn’t. No one would be shocked if the Red Devils put seven past the likes of Shaktar Donetsk or Steaua Bucharest, but against a Roma team that had surrendered just six in the tournament, the result was a dream- or a nightmare depending on your perspective.

The story for Roma was dreary almost right from the get-go. Their most prolific striker, Franceso Totti, actually had a chance rattle the post five minutes in, but Michael Carrick’s 11th-minute chip-shot floater that eluded a wandering Roma goalkeeper Alexander Doni seemed indicative of how the night would go for the beleaguered Italian side. Six minutes later rarely-used striker Alan Smith put United ahead 2-0, then Cristiano Ronaldo- again up to his old tricks- set up Wayne Rooney two minutes later for his second goal against Roma in as many days- this after having never scored in the Champions’ League his entire career. Ronaldo himself would get into the action with a 44th-minute strike that put the Red Devils up 4-0 at the break, and, just so Roma didn’t think he decided to take the rest of the game off, Ronaldo grabbed another goal for himself after 49 minutes off a corner kick. Carrick sizzled his second from just outside the box after a cutting pass from Gabriel Heinze, and while Roma’s Daniele De Rossi scored off a rebound to ruin any United hopes for a clean sheet, Patrice Evra- a left back who had scored only six goals his entire career- completed the rout with a seeing-eye shot that found its way through the small hole between Doni and the far left post. It was a night where every chance United had they buried, while for Roma it was one where everything that could go wrong did.

Perhaps what was more shocking about the result was the manner in which it arrived. This was not a Roma team that looked disinterested or tired- this was a Roma team that put in an honest effort, only to be blown away by a United side that was clearly better. Even after going down 3-0, Roma were still going forward and created several chances, moving the ball very dangerously in the United midfield. One could have even thought that United grabbed its three goals too early, because Roma had more than enough time to grab two goals to go through to the next round. The game didn’t even look out of reach until Ronaldo put United up by five, but even there, the most optimistic of supporters still believed Roma could pull it off with 40 minutes left to play. It wasn’t until Carrick’s second where even the most strident optimist had to concede defeat, because it was only then were Roma clearly deflated. De Rossi may have showed United that Roma were capable of beating their defence, but it was too late.

For Manchester United, the result means that the race with Chelsea is very much on for the Premiership and sets up the tantalizing final between the two Premiership giants- with the game being potentially two weeks before the two clubs would effectively clash for the Premiership title itself. It also assures at least one English club in the Final and means that the entire top three- United, Chelsea and Liverpool- are still alive for the trophy. For Roma, it is indicative of their season- they have played well, but they are supremely outclassed. Roma sits an astounding 18 points behind Inter Milan in the Serie A title chase, and while Inter still hasn’t officially clinched the title, with eight games remaining on that kind of deficit, it is only a matter of time. The title may even be potentially clinched on Wednesday, as Inter’s next two games are at home against the free-falling Palermo and this very Roma club on Wednesday, both teams’ seventh-last game. Inter wins in both contests- or at the very least the status quo after Sunday and a victory against Roma on Wednesday- assures them the title.

However, while Roma were outclassed, it is important to remember that it is just one game. I Lupi got to where they are through determination and work ethic, and while the team isn’t as deep talent-wise as they had been in years past (due to financial difficulties), they showed that teams don’t necessarily need to have deep pockets to have relative success in Europe. It is even possible that had the draw not worked against them- slotting Bayern Munich or AC Milan against them instead of Manchester United- Roma may be a semi-final team. Sceptics may point out that Roma’s 2-1 first-leg win was due to the fact that United were down to ten men, but even then, you don’t go up on United without at least having some talent. Roma may have hung their heads low after the final whistle on Tuesday, but when they look back at their achievements- getting to the Champions’ League quarterfinals for the first time since 1984- they will realize they far exceeded their own expectations.

The Britons may have sacked Rome, but they won’t crush their spirit.

-DG

When a loss isn't a loss

It’s come down to this: April 7, 2007: the Montreal Canadiens at the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Leafs trail Montreal by one point for the eighth and final playoff position in the Eastern Conference, with a chance to leapfrog Montreal with a victory in both teams’ final game of the season. The New York Islanders still have an outside shot at the playoffs with a Leaf victory and two Islander wins, but Saturday’s game should determine who gets into the post-season. Saturday’s contest should provide one of- if not the- most thrilling Canadiens/Leafs match since the Original Six era, but the game carries a bit of a stench.

The catch is that for Toronto to still have a potential playoff date, it needs to beat Montreal in regulation time. If the Canadiens force overtime, Toronto is eliminated because, with both teams assured of a point, the Leafs could only gain one more point with a win and just tie Montreal, but since the Canadiens have three more wins than Toronto, Montreal would finish ahead of Toronto regardless. At this stage, the only reason for Toronto to finish that overtime session would be for the sake of the Islanders, who could still catch Montreal despite that gained point- provided New York beats the Philadelphia Flyers that evening. While the Leafs would probably cherish the ability to eliminate Montreal from playoff contention, it may be small solace for a club that would go for a 41st year without a Stanley Cup championship.

This is precisely the situation the National Hockey League should dread. When the “overtime point rule” came into effect in 2001, the NHL intended it to ensure that more ties are broken, thinking that if teams wanted to preserve their point gained by going to overtime, they would be able to do so and then gain a “bonus point” for winning. In 2005-06, the NHL decided that this wasn’t enough because there were too many ties, so it decided to add a shootout to resolve the ties. It’s an understandable move, but what wasn’t understandable was the decision to preserve the overtime point. TSN’s Gord Miller stated back in 2001 that the situation could mean that someone would “get into the playoffs by losing (i.e., gaining a point from an overtime loss)”, and sure enough, the very first season it was brought in, the Los Angeles Kings lost in overtime to the Vancouver Canucks but the point gained there was good enough to propel the Kings into the postseason ahead of the Phoenix Coyotes. Of course, what didn’t happen then was a team possibly playing a team for a playoff position, with the position decided simply by the clubs forcing overtime and rendering the period useless. Such a scenario exists Saturday in Toronto.

This then begs the question- if you’re Toronto coach Paul Maurice, if the game goes to overtime, do you forfeit the game? You would have nothing to play for. Sure, there’s possibility of ending rival Montreal’s hopes, but since the fans care most about the team qualifying for the postseason, ending Montreal’s hopes would be a Pyrrhic victory. If I was Maurice, I wouldn’t play the overtime to make a point of how silly their rule is. I have no complaint about the NHL would wanting to resolve ties- however, it should also do away with the point system. A win should always mean something, no matter what condition it was arrived at, but sadly, Saturday could render a Leaf win meaningless- with the real loser being the NHL.

-DG

Single on Valentine's Day

February 14. For some people, it’s just a day of the week, this year falling on a Wednesday. For me, it represents my actual birthday had I not been born premature. For most people, however, it means “Valentine’s Day”, or, in proper terms, the (former) feast day of St. Valentine, a legendary martyr whom the Church officially recognized until 1969, when it was deemed that “the traditions of St. Valentine” were the invention of Geoffrey Chaucer in the fourteenth century. Still, the link between Valentine’s Day and love continues to this day, and the feast day is still celebrated in Malta, whose Catholic calendar predates the reformed “Vatican II” calendar.

Those semantics aside, it’s the link between love and Valentine’s Day that I’d like to touch upon here, because it’s this link that brings out the most emotions in everyone. For those in a relationship, it’s a celebration, a day to recognize the relationship and all good that comes out of it. For the rest of us- like myself- who are single, it’s often a day to be dreaded, yet another cold dreary day to remind us about the one thing that’s lacking in our lives (especially this year- considering how cold it is, I think we could all use a nice, warm snuggle).

However, I’m not here to rail against the relationship or whine about how I don’t have one- I am here to reflect, to wonder why it is that I feel lonely on what is essentially an arbitrary day of celebration. Those of you who are in a relationship, I am truly happy for you- you’ve got something that works and here’s hoping it always works. I’ve been in a relationship before and I know first-hand that it’s not all roses- there’s a lot of challenges and the fact that you’re overcoming them is wonderful. I salute you, I really do.

The rest of us, well, I think it just may be time to think about what it is we’re truly missing. You see, I don’t think that when each of us reminisces about being single, the things we miss most about a relationship includes such things as “I haven’t seen my friends in ages, I see you everyday” or, “why didn’t you call when you said you would?” or “you said you’d be here at 7, it’s 7:05”, things like that. Oftentimes, it’s those petty little arguments that we think back to and thank our lucky stars that we don’t have to deal with them anymore (for those of us who have loved and lost before); and, for those of you who have never been in a relationship, trust me you may think you know what I’m talking about but you don’t- I hate to sound rude, but a relationship truly needs experiencing to really know what it’s all about.

No, rather, what we miss in a relationship are often things you don’t need to be in a relationship to experience (and are often things long-time lovebirds miss themselves). It’s the warm hug and a kiss you get when you’re greeted. It’s the shoulder to cry on, the reassuring hand on the shoulder when things aren’t going quite your way. It’s the knowledge that someone has your back when things are sour and, overall, it’s simply the knowledge that you are not alone, that someone really does care about you in this world. The thing is, none of us have to look very far to find that.

Wait a minute- what about sex you might say? Well, for those of us who think sex is an important part of a relationship- and I’m one of them- I’ll be honest, that is something you miss outside of a relationship (unless you happen to find a lot of “friends with benefits”, but not all of us are that lucky). However, what is it about good sex that you miss the most? Yes there’s the enjoyment and the climax, but most importantly, it’s intimacy, the knowledge that you two truly are one. I understand that it’s possible to have sex without attachment but, from my own understanding, I don’t believe anyone has sex with someone else without some kind of a bond, even if that bond is a fleeting one; and that bond- as I said- isn’t that hard to find outside of a relationship.

Where is this bond you say? Take a look around. Look at your family and your friends. They care about you as much as someone in a relationship with you would- maybe even more. Depending on your dynamics with those friends, they’re certainly able to give you that hug you need or that ear to vent to. For those of you who don’t have family to turn to- for whatever reason- you do have friends, and a lot more than you might think.

Yes, that last paragraph probably is quite obvious, but I think it’s also the most forgotten. I know because I’ve done it- I have forgotten my own friends in my own pursuit of a relationship, and I apologize for that and any other kind of snub. Common wisdom holds that a truly satisfying relationship only blossom when the partners were friends first, and in my ideal version of the relationship, it’s a close friendship with intimacy- which in my case means sex but not everyone thinks the way I do.

So to everyone who’s in a relationship, I hope today produces nothing but happiness. To the rest of us who may be feeling lonely, take the time to reconnect with the friends you already have, and go out and make some new ones if you’d like. You never know which one will blossom into that love you’ve been longing for. The only thing I do know is that if you stress yourself into looking for someone you’re not relaxed- and hence not approachable; and I think we can all agree you’re certainly not going to find someone if you’re not approachable.

I shall sign off now quoting that Labatt’s ad campaign from last year (not that I am encouraging overdrinking- it has a great message):

Cheers. To Friends.

History's Greatest Chess Match

Yesterday, the G-8 Summit of Industrialized Nations released a statement imploring both Israel and its enemies to cease their operations and stop the escalating violence that is currently taking place in what has long been the most volatile region in the Middle East. Justifiably, the world- even Canada now, after Stephen Harper finally came to his senses- reacted in horror as news of rocket blasts hitting civilian targets, killing scores of innocent citizens caught in the shrapnel of Israel’s campaign to see the return of three kidnapped soldiers, the best known of whom is Corporal Gilad Shalit, the soldier kidnapped in Gaza that started the entire campaign.

Now, if Shalit or any of his compatriots are alive it would be a miracle, because the militants that captured them are as extremist as Israel is and wouldn’t give one whit about exercising restraint against an enemy that seeks to destroy them as much as they wish to destroy it. Keeping Shalit alive under these circumstances would become moot, because these militants wanted war and, as far as they’re concerned Israel has already gone too far in their campaign and there’s no turning back. The Israelis would have gone to war if Shalit was dead and they’re already at war with the Gazans as we speak, so there’s nothing Gaza can gain by turning him over. An eye for an eye as Hammurabi would say, and, sadly, in this situation there is no alternative.

Of course, what is missing through this whole ordeal- one that threatens to tear Lebanon apart- is perspective. It’s easy for us in Canada, the United States, Oceania and Europe to say that Israel should be exercising restraint, and while it may serve both Israel and its adversaries better if cooler heads did prevail, the way the Middle East is right now things are sadly going to get worse before they get any better. Where peace deals and treaties of friendship allow the West to operate in harmony with each other, Israel is faced with extremely hostile neighbours and only has a peace deal with two nations in the Middle East in the Western-oriented Jordan and Egypt, the latter one whose deal cost then-Egyptian President Anwar Sadat his life. Whereas we can say here that friends surround us, Israel is surrounded by enemies, so it’s no surprise that at the littlest of provocation it strikes with the mightiest of fury.

Where the problems in the Middle East began is hard to say. “Islamophobia” in the West can date back to at least 732, when Charles Martel, the “mayor” of the Franks- forerunners to today’s France- defeated an invading Arabic force at Poitiers, just east of Tours. Then, Martel was hailed as the saviour of Europe for stopping the incursion of the Arabs deep into the heart of Europe after the Arabs had already taken Spain, North Africa, Egypt, Syria, Palestine, Mesopotamia (Iraq), Persia (Iran/Afghanistan) and the Sind (southern Pakistan) in what was the world’s most impressive wave of conquests since the peak of the Roman Empire. History since that time period has seen the Christians of Europe face off against the Arabs in several set piece battles and struggles for territory and influence in what has become history’s longest chess match. The Europeans would respond to Martel’s victory by staging the successful “Reconquista” in Spain and the Crusades in the 11th-13th centuries, but the Muslims would strike back with the “Gunpowder Empires” in the 14th-18th centuries, with the Mughals reigning in northern India, the Safavids in Persia and the Ottomans- the most successful of the bunch- in Turkey.

It was the Ottomans who placed themselves squarely against the Europeans at this stage, for it was they who took the legendary Christian bulwark- Constantinople- away from Christendom and extended their Empire as far north as Hungary in the Balkans, as far east as Azerbaijan and Iraq, as far south as Yemen and Sudan and as far west as Morocco. Western histories typically display the Ottomans as finally ending the Roman State but the Ottomans believed they were continuing it, and their case isn’t that flimsy, since they didn’t have a state until they took land from the Romans’ successors, the Byzantines. Nevertheless, the Ottomans’ successes inspired new fears in the West of the “growing influence of Islam” and ushered a new counter-offensive, ending in World War I when the British and French divided what they hadn’t yet taken from the Ottomans previously between them. In regards to this story, Britain would land in Israel and start the “Zionist” policy there as early as 1917, with Israel eventually gaining independence as a Jewish state in 1948. The U.S. took the lead from Britain in supporting Israel unequivocally, which would land it- and thus the West- into the middle of the Arab-Israeli conflict, a conflict the Americans have not backed down from with regards to their aggressive policies in Iraq. For their part, since independence in 1948, Israel has had an ongoing struggle for recognition in the Middle East, with only two states since then- the aforementioned Jordan and Egypt- doing so, and both rather reluctantly. Israel’s greatest triumph in their own struggle was the Six-Day War of 1967 (where it handily defeated Syria, Jordan and Egypt and doubled its territory), but at the same time had to face the setback of the stalemate in 1973 and a continuous wave of terrorist strikes that its own military has had a hard time eradicating.

Thus, it’s important to understand the Israeli conflict in this context- it is embroiled in the almost 1300-year chess match between the Muslims and the West, and judging by current events, the end is nowhere near in sight. For Israel, its already fragile existence gets drawn into question at the slightest of setbacks, and while we here may see their actions as extreme, they’re certainly understandable given their history. Probably what keeps Israel alive is rationality- its enemies are so driven ideologically that none of them have bothered trying to physically challenge Israel, believing their sub-par weaponry (and tactics) is enough to win the day because of their resolve, but Israel can’t bank on their advantage holding out forever. What would be beneficial in the long run is for both sides to eventually come to their senses and realize they don’t have anything to gain from continuous warfare, but both sides have far too much pride to let that happen. The truth- the sad truth- is that this situation is going to get far worse before it’ll get better, and that will mean that the stakes will be higher than Shalit and his compatriots alone. It will mean the chess match reaching its conclusion, but with both sides still having most of its pawns left to play, don’t count on the match ending in our lifetime.

-DG

L'Italia: Campione nel Mondo

It seems only fitting that Italy’s fourth World Cup triumph comes as a result of penalty kicks.

L’Auzzurri hadn’t lost a game in regulation at the World Cup since the opening game of the 1994 tournament to Ireland, and, in two of those losses, the Italians lost in a shootout. The most memorable of the shootout losses was in that same 1994 tournament in the United States, as Italy lost a 3-2 shootout decision when Roberto Baggio’s shot sailed over the crossbar to give Brazil their fourth World championship. Of course, not to be outdone was the semi-final loss to France in 1998 and the stunning quarterfinal loss via a golden goal from South Korea’s Ahn Jung-Hwan in the 2002 tournament. It was no surprise that Italians feared a penalty shootout against this very same French team, but it was the Italians who showed superior determination in nailing all five of their penalty kicks while the French missed one, that one via Davide Trezeguet’s shot that caromed off the crossbar and the post and out of play. Trezeguet’s miss was the ultimate payback for Italy, since it was he who gave the French the victory in extra time in the Euro 2000 Final after the Italians held a 1-0 lead until injury time.

This particular final wasn’t the best of games, but for the partying Italians who win for the first time since 1982, they don’t really care. The game got off to a splendid albeit controversial start, as France’s Flourent Malouda was deemed to have been hauled down in the penalty area by Marco Materazzi’s foot, even though Materazzi’s foot didn’t really make contact with him. The legendary Zinedine Zidane- who would figure prominently later in the game for all the wrong reasons- struck the penalty home in the seventh minute to give France an improbable 1-0 lead and hand Italy their first deficit of the tournament.

However, if France hoped that Italy would collapse like the Brazilians did, they were mistaken. Twelve minutes later Materazzi would make up for his mistake by heading home the equalizer off an Andrea Pirlo free kick. The game was 1-1 before the 20-minute mark, a surprise for many who believed this game would be another 0-0 affair. Reality would set in for the rest of the game, as neither side really generated a lot of chances as the game ended 1-1 after extra time.

This wasn’t to say that the game was devoid of more special moments. The biggest of these moments came late in the second extra time period, when Zidane, for whatever reason, decided to viciously head-butt Materazzi to the ground. Before the incident, Materazzi and Zidane were exchanging words and seemingly laughing, but somewhere in all that Zidane got angry, lost his head and hurled it into Materazzi’s chest. Zidane would be red-carded and probably would have been suspended for several games if this wasn’t his last one, but because the game had barely five minutes left to play, Italy couldn’t capitalize on their new opportunity sending the game to shootouts.

Once the game went to shootouts, it was the Italians who would emerge victorious. Every one of them was poised and confident in taking their shots, with the last goal by new Inter Milan pickup Fabio Grosso- who has made a name for himself at this tournament- to seal the victory. Trezeguet’s miss was the only one in the entire shootout, vindication for an Italian side he beat in 2000.

Perhaps, in many ways Italy’s World Cup victory was a telling sign for this year’s World Cup. The defence-first Italians encapsulated what really was a defensive-minded World Cup, as goals per game were only a shade above the record low for goals per game with a 2.30 average. Worse, the average for the knockout stages was only 1.88 goals per game- after a 2.40 clip during the group stages- with four games decided by penalties and two of those dour 0-0 games- the England/Portugal semi-final and the Switzerland/Ukraine Round of 16 game, the one where the Swiss did not find the back of the net at all. The statistics don’t lie: the knockout stages produced few impressive displays of soccer, a sharp contrast to the electrifying group stages, and while the Germans were excellent hosts, far too many of the games themselves went far below expectations.

There were also many other problems that marred this edition of the World Cup besides there being far too few goals, top of which was incredibly inconsistent and inefficient refereeing. At one end was the “War of Nürnberg”, the famous Portugal-Netherlands Round of 16 match that featured four red cards and 16 cards total, most of which occurring in the second half where both sides decided not to play soccer. At the other end was the Switzerland-Ukraine opening round match-up played after the Portugal-Netherlands game, where obvious fouls were missed, attackers were mugged and, predictably, no goals were scored except in the shootout. Another slight against the tournament was the fact there were far too few surprises in the tournament and, essentially, only one surprise team in Ghana, a team that would eventually be outclassed by Brazil but also done in by the referee’s whistle. There were also far too many question marks that came out of this tournament. Did Australia’s Lucas Neill trip Grosso in the penalty area or did Grosso intentionally run into him just to get tripped? Did Ghana’s Asamoah Gyan really dive in the penalty area or did Brazil’s Juan, who indicated to the referee that it was Gyan’s second yellow card, trip the attacker? Was Adriano really offside in scoring the second goal for Brazil against Ghana or was it a call the referee just missed? Should Luis Figo have been sent off for head-butting the Netherlands’ Mark van Bommel? Was Cristiano Ronaldo really tripped in the penalty area in the Portugal-France semi-final shortly after Zidane scored on his spot kick or was it a dive? Did Ronaldo egg on England’s Wayne Rooney just so he could blow his top and guarantee he be sent off for stomping on Ricardo Carvalho’s groin or did Rooney really lose his cool? Was Brazil’s Ronaldo really overweight to start the tournament, and why did the Brazilians suddenly collapse against the French? Was referee Jorge Larrionda extremely harsh in the U.S.-Italy group stage game or were each of his cards justified? Finally, probably the biggest question of them all: what on Earth was Zidane thinking when he head-butted Materazzi?

In the end, there can be no one who won’t say the best team didn’t win this tournament- the Italians had the superior defence and, ultimately, the superior determination. Their Football Association is in shambles after a match-fixing scandal that will send Juventus down to the third division of Italian professional football in Serie C and may end up sending three other high-profile teams, Milan, Fiorentina and Lazio, down with them. 13 of Italy’s 23 players play for the clubs in trouble and their futures are very much uncertain, even Italian captain Fabio Cannavaro, who said he’d stay with Juventus even in Serie B but nobody is really going to believe him. They deserved to win, and for this Italian-Canadian, L’Azzurri’s victory will be one that will be savoured for the rest of my life. It may only amount to a consolation for a sub-par tournament, but at least it’s a satisfying one.

-DG

New Ideas For The Beautiful Game

Two days ago, FIFA President Sepp Blatter stated that he was worried that there were too few goals being scored at this year’s World Cup. The statistics would prove him right: before Germany’s 3-1 demolition of Portugal in the third place game today, a total of 141 goals had been scored in 62 games at the World Cup, for a clip of 2.27 goals per game. That is a shade above the 1990 record low of 2.21, and, had there been no goals in either the Germany-Portugal third place game or the Italy-France Final yet to be played, the average would have dipped below 2.21 but just barely, to a clip of 2.20.

It did take Blatter a while to reach this conclusion, but in this case, at least it is better late than never. In light of his realization, I have decided to put forward my own ideas for Blatter and the soccer brain trust to consider in helping improve the Beautiful Game and breathe some new life into soccer’s top competition. In no particular order they are:

1. A set of standards for cards and fouls. This is the biggest problem facing the World Cup this year- there appears to be no set standards with regards to what qualifies for a foul or a card, and, expectedly, a lot of players and coaches have been confused as a result of it. So, I suggest the following system of fouls to be put in place: (1) Minor fouls- these are fouls that specifically impede a player from doing his job, such as tripping, clutching and grabbing, holding, pushing and “body-checking”. Four of these kinds of fouls by one player brings an automatic card. (2) Major fouls- these are fouls worthy of receiving an automatic card, such as a two-footed tackle, a tackle from behind, “unnecessary roughness” or a “professional foul”. Should this foul also result in a player’s fourth foul and he has yet to be yellow-carded, he would receive a red card.

2. New Penalties for Diving. Blatter and his associates make a big deal about catching “divers”, and, after seeing Cristiano Ronaldo’s performance earlier today, it’s high time he acted. However, I don’t think FIFA goes far enough simply giving a yellow card for diving- FIFA should also award the opponent a spot kick, either a penalty kick if it’s in the penalty area or a free kick close to the opponent’s goal if it’s not. Yes, it’s an extreme decision, but this is an extreme infraction, plus the point of diving is to draw a penalty or free kick anyway so why not award it to the other team?

3. Have a standard for awarding penalties. This goes along with the diving component, but it does stand alone- far too often in the World Cup, the referees have been afraid to call a penalty kick, probably because they’re afraid that decision will turn the game and public opinion against them. This has resulted in a considerable amount of penalty calls- such as the obvious foul on Ronaldo in Portugal’s semi-final against France- that are just not called. It is thus impertinent that the same types of standards used for fouls outside the penalty area be used inside it as well, because obstruction in the penalty area- which, in this World Cup, has resulted in far too many fouls being called on attacking players- kills far too many scoring opportunities, and the most skilled players in the game should be allowed to strut their stuff without being mugged. Yes, fouls should continue to be called against attacking players should they commit them, but sometimes attackers should be given the benefit of the doubt, as sometimes they push away because they’re being grabbed or pushed themselves. Defenders should only win the ball with their feet and that should be the standard throughout the field, not just in the penalty area.

4. Offside Changes. Here’s a bold new idea: should the ball be inside the penalty area, offside should not be called. The reason is simple: inside the penalty area it’s too small for any “cherry pickers” to gain much of an advantage, plus there isn’t a whole lot of room in there for which to cherry pick. This will result in a lot more goals being scored off deflections and one-on-one goalkeeper battles, and will ensure that the goalkeepers are just as alert as their defenders. Perhaps the rule could be even bolder by having a line stretching the width of the field extending from the top of the penalty area or a few yards above it where, if the ball precedes the attacking players, offside cannot be called. It’s similar to the offside rule in hockey and should help maintain pressure in the attacking zone because the attackers can “hem in” the defence, although this could also lead to crowding. A benefit, though, is that potentially a three-on-none break could occur in front of the opposing goal and create a bona fide scoring chance, forcing the defenders to be extra alert. There are those who might say that scores may become ridiculous because of changes like this and they may be right, but I will say that being one-on-one with a goalkeeper isn’t as easy as it looks and, as it stands now, soccer’s counterattacks are rarely as thrilling as they are in hockey or basketball because they always have to deal with a wall opposing them, and that helps suck a lot of goals out of the game.

There we have it- four bona fide rule changes that would help The Beautiful Game. Yes, some are radical but after watching what should be the world’s most exciting tournament turn into a snooze-fest, it’s within soccer’s best interests to open up the game a little more. The best club teams can produce lots of thrilling, open-ended games- the come-from-behind 2-1 win by Barcelona in the Champions’ League Final with Arsenal is a splendid example- and it is something FIFA can learn from. The World Cup is supposed to feature the world’s best teams, but most of us would agree that this has been far from a world-class tournament.

-DG

Kings Without A Crown

It’s not quite as if Montserrat had beaten them but it’ll do.

Thierry Henry’s 57th minute toe flick is all that separated France from Brazil in an otherwise squalid 1-0 game that saw the French advance to the semifinals of the FIFA World Cup while the defending champions Brazil- who had not lost a World Cup match since losing to the French in the 1998 Final- were sent home early for the first time since 1990. It is, without a doubt the World Cup’s biggest upset and the day’s only bright spot in what was otherwise a turgid display of soccer in the two quarterfinal matches today.

For the French, the role of “giant killers” couldn’t be more rewarding as the team tries to win its second World Cup and thus the second for its legendary midfielder, the Algerian-descended Zinedine Zidane. It’s true “Les Blues” have always been one of the world’s leading soccer powers, but in this tournament the French came in as somewhat of an underdog. They had a lot to prove since the debacle at the 2002 World Cup where they didn’t even score a goal and lost to the likes of Senegal, and, early on in this tournament the French looked like they’d continue their 2002 form, drawing 0-0 with the Swiss and conceding a late equalizer in a game against the Korea Republic. They qualified for the last 16 with two second-half goals against lowly Togo, and- despite rallying from 1-0 down against the favoured Spaniards- France’s 3-1 win could have been chalked up as yet another Spanish collapse. Given no chance against a Brazilian team that many were prepared to simply hand the World Cup to, their victory today is a remarkable accomplishment, being the closest we’ve come to a true David beating Goliath.

For the Brazilians, the loss cannot be described any other way except in being a shock. Nobody expected them to lose, especially not after breezing through their group matches and their Round-of-16 match against Ghana, and many had predicted that the far-from-form Brazilians were just rounding into shape as they progressed in the finals. Yet it just may be that easy first set of games that did them in here, since despite all the talent that the team possesses, they’ve never had to play from behind, so when they were faced with a real challenge against the French, it should come as no surprise that they didn’t know what they were doing.

It was not without effort. Roberto Carlos was a workhorse on the field, furiously running up the flanks and never backing down from a challenge for the ball, while Ronaldinho- misplaced as a forward (he’s more of a playmaker)- was again making crisp, accurate through-balls that were bungled by his teammates, the biggest of which was a botched header from Ronaldo, who looked today like the overweight player he was accused of being before the tournament. However, it became apparent that after Henry got his goal Brazil became antsy, with their passes coming forced and their tackles poorly timed, since the Brazilians were for the first time in eight years playing in unfamiliar territory- from behind. This isn’t to say that the French were not worthy of their win- their midfield was a wall anchored by a Zidane who looked like he was 32 going on 23, and when it mattered most the French capitalized. There were nervous moments when the theatrical Fabien Barthez saved a Brazilian shot in the dying minutes, but in the end it was the Brazilians who didn’t execute and that is why they’re going home.

A parallel here- a not-so outrageous one considering TSN’s Vic Rauter compared the French to the Edmonton Oilers- could be drawn with hockey’s Ottawa Senators, a team like Brazil handpicked by many to cart around hockey’s Stanley Cup championship before the season began. They were, like the Brazilians, true to form in the regular season in finishing second overall in the National Hockey League and in hammering the Tampa Bay Lightning in five games in their best-of-seven first-round playoff series. Meeting the Buffalo Sabres in the second round of the playoffs, Ottawa appeared destined for its first Stanley Cup since re-entering the NHL in 1992, since there was no way the team could have been beaten after playing so well for so long.

However, in Game 1 of their best-of-seven second round series, the Sabres and Senators traded goals in what truly was a classic game. The two teams were tied 4-4 at the end of the second period, and with only a minute and a half left in the third period and thus the game, Ottawa clung to a 6-5 lead off a Bryan Smolinski goal. It was here that it all fell apart. The Sabres were determined to knot the score like they had so often in the game, and, with just 10.7 seconds left, Buffalo’s Tim Connolly did just that. The game went to overtime, and, eighteen seconds in, Ottawa’s Anton Volchenkov fanned on a pass attempt, gave the puck over to Buffalo’s Mike Grier who then found Chris Drury who rifled it home. The stunned Senators lost the game 7-6 and were down 1-0 in the series and were never the same. The mighty Senators were tentative and nervous for the remainder of the series, and, despite a far-from-convincing 2-1 win in Game 4 that kept their season alive, Ottawa limped out of the playoffs losing their series 4-1 to a Buffalo team that just displayed more determination. Like the Brazilians, Ottawa are now faced with the tough questions concerning why they didn’t win when they were certain to do it so early on in their campaign.

The similarities here are nauseatingly close- both Brazil and Ottawa had stellar opening rounds and had impressive first-round victories; and both were knocked out in the second round by a team that simply displayed more determination than they did. Both teams were essentially done in by the fact their second round contests were not the breezes they thought they would be since neither had come under the same kind of adversity their second round opponents entered their match-ups with, as Buffalo had famously dropped two straight games in their opening round series against the Philadelphia Flyers while France stunningly came back from 1-0 down against Spain. Hand Brazil or Ottawa the lead and they keep it, because their talent is enough to send them through. Put them behind the eight-ball and they fall faster than a house of cards. For Ottawa, the next opportunity will come in 2007, but for Brazil they’ll have to wait four long years for a second chance, and it could be with vastly different players. Several key players- Cafu, Ze Roberto, Carlos, goalkeeper Dida, Ronaldo, etc.- are getting long in the tooth and may not be back in 2010. What’s worse is that the prospect of an ageing Brazil could mean that they might not even qualify for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa- which would be a first for the team- since they won’t have a lot of time to allow the new line-up to gel into a World Cup-winning form. In many ways, this 2006 defeat could very well be ominous in marking the end of the Brazilian dynasty and plunging the team into its own veritable “Dark Age”.

For the French, the collapse of Brazilian soccer couldn’t have come at a better time. For the Brazilians, they now have a lot of questions left begging to be answered, the most important of which is trying to prevent that Dark Age from coming. That is their top priority, for if they don’t correct their mistakes, today’s defeat could leave an unsavoury taste for a longer time than many may think.

-DG

A Yellow Card For FIFA

For Ghana, despite the fact they lost 3-0 to Brazil earlier today, their World Cup campaign can be considered a smashing success. Picked to be the incredibly weak sister in a Group E featuring powerhouses Italy and the Czech Republic as well as a not-bad United States side, the Ghanaians surprised everyone with a convincing 2-0 win over the Czechs and an equally impressive 1-1 draw with the United States, and, if it weren’t for an errant pass late in the game by Samuel Kuffour that led to Vicenzo Iaquinta’s goal for Italy, the Ghanaians just might have pulled out a shock draw with Italy, having played that well. They were then thrown into the fire against Brazil here today because of that 2-0 loss to the Italians, and despite an incredible effort not reflected in the scoreline, the Brazilians offensive weapons were too much for the Ghanaians, despite the fact Brazil have yet to fully hit their stride here in the tournament.

Yet, despite Ghana’s impressive play and the Brazilians’ deft display themselves, this was yet another game marred by controversy, with the fingers again being pointed squarely at the referee. To be fair, the referee didn’t do that badly in this game since for the most part it was officiated fairly and correctly, but two key blunders really stick out in this game- Asamoah Gyan’s second yellow card and the offside goal scored by Inter Milan’s Liete Ribeiro Adriano late in the first half- and both helped swing the tide Brazil’s way in this game to send Ghana home early.

Now, don’t get me wrong- I’m not taking anything away from the Brazilians, who were the superior team today despite some obvious help from the referee. However, the way the game played, had either of those two decisions been reversed the game would have been dramatically different.

First off, Adriano’s goal gave Brazil a 2-0 lead into the half, a lead that would later prove too monumental to climb for a Ghanaian team short on raw talent. The goal came mere minutes after Ghana defender John Mensah’s header was dramatically saved by Brazilian goalkeeper Dida, and while the Ghanaian defence could be accused of trying to play the offside trap too much instead of actually defending, Adriano’s goal was still an offside call that should have nullified the goal. In this case, it could be argued that the referee’s assistant simply didn’t see it, since he was just barely offside and the play moved rather quickly, but in a game like this, you would expect a referee’s assistant to be able to pick up on this, especially after several other “near-offside” calls have been called previously. These are not lower-level officials who may or may not have the training required to call a World Cup match- these are (presumably) the best officials in the game today and while Sepp Blatter can say all he wants that they’re humans, these guys are expected to make calls like this one and they didn’t.

Still, the blunder on Adriano wasn’t nearly as big as the blunder on Gyan, the player who struck that shocking early goal against the Czechs. In the 80th minute, with the Ghanaians pressing, Gyan dashed into the penalty area only to be tripped by Brazilian defender Juan Silveira dos Santos (“Juan”). Juan had already picked up a yellow card before in the match and, after the referee blew his whistle and reached for a card, I expected Juan to receive his second yellow card and be sent off. Instead, it was Gyan who was booked, his second yellow card that sent him off and any further chance for Ghana to strike for two quick goals to bring the match level again. Gyan’s offence was “simulation”, a dive to draw a penalty, in a call the Federation Internationale de Football Associations (FIFA) specially asked its referees to crack down upon, a directive that has substantially reduced the amount of spot kicks here in the tournament. So, instead of a Ghana penalty kick that could have brought the game to 2-1 with ten minutes to play, it was a Ghana team reduced by a man and forced to play against the superior Brazilians who, four minutes later, made no mistake in stringing together 25 passes to set Zé Roberto’s first goal of the tournament to give Brazil an insurmountable 3-0 lead with six minutes to go.

Could the game have gone differently if these two blunders were changed? Probably not- Brazil still had more raw talent than the Ghanaians and played superior soccer, with Dida making marvellous saves and the defence holding Ghana to only seven shots on target despite 18 total shots. Still, a legitimate complaint could be made that Ghana were done in by terrible officiating in a game that just adds to a standard-less officiating performance here at this edition’s World Cup.

That, in a nutshell is what has been wrong here at the World Cup- there are no standards, and, expectedly, a lot of calls are missed and a lot of dubious decisions are made. Nowhere clearer is the standard-less officiating made prevalent than in last night’s dreadful Switzerland-Ukraine second round contest, as it featured several trips and shoves that went unpunished by the complacent Mexican referee, who in previous contests would have certainly called or even booked those offences. It was exactly the type of game FIFA shouldn’t want on its top level of competition, but considering that Blatter gave a yellow card in effigy to Valentin Ivanov, the referee who called the Portugal-Netherlands War at Nürnberg, it shouldn’t be surprising that the Mexican official didn’t even feel like showing any cards lest he get one himself. In doing so, he not only embarrassed himself and the viewers of the game itself, but he also embarrassed FIFA in producing a dour game in a tournament where the level of play has been to this point excellent. Now it’s the Black Stars who are going home, and while they went down with a fight, they also went down because the official here today was intent on calling the game by FIFA’s Rulebook for the Day, a rulebook that decried that a referee can be lenient on offside but adamant on not giving away penalties, however obvious they may be. This, let us not forget, was the Rulebook that just yesterday gave Italy’s Fabio Grosso a penalty, despite the fact that Grosso may or may not have embellished Australian Lucas Neill’s trip in order to draw the winning penalty.

So a yellow card shall henceforth be shown to FIFA for showing a complete lack of direction in any of its calls, and, with three rounds left to play, it had better smarten up before more countries, players and fans protest in disgust, shut off their television sets and give FIFA their ultimate red card.

-DG

The Greatest Game Ever Played- Round 2

Buffalo 7, Ottawa 6 (OT)

I wish I had set a tape.

Buffalo Sabres captain Chris Drury scored from Mike Grier at the 18-second mark of overtime to lift the Sabres to an unpredictable, wild 7-6 win over the stunned Ottawa Senators. Drury’s goal came on the heels of Tim Connolly’s tying goal with just 11 seconds left, turning topsy-turvy a game that seemed destined to go Ottawa’s way.

Yeah, I probably wouldn’t call this “The Greatest Game Ever Played” if Buffalo didn’t win, but I have my reasons. You see, the last time I declared “The Greatest Game Ever Played”- when Montreal Canadiens defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 6-5 in double overtime- it featured three thrilling comebacks: Carolina from 3-0, Montreal from 4-3, then Carolina from 5-4 then Montreal again scoring the game winner. Here, Buffalo came from behind after every Ottawa goal besides the first one, upon which the Senators came from behind after Grier opened the scoring 35 seconds in. It was the eighth straight game where Buffalo scored first- including their shutout win against Carolina that ended their regular season- but whereas against the Philadelphia Flyers the first goal would stand, it wouldn’t against Ottawa.

They were right. Three minutes in, Ottawa gets goals from Jason Spezza and Brian Smolinski to put Ottawa up 2-1, then, a minute later, Buffalo’s Teppo Numminem scored on the power play to knot the score at 2. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s Bob Cole and Harry Neale were commenting about how the game featured four goals in under five minutes, setting up what many predicted as a high-scoring series. Then the defences clamped down and the score remained 2-2 after one.

The second period didn’t feature a fluke opening goal, but it did feature the prettiest, this one from Martin Havlat who deked out Ryan Miller, like he had done against Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender John Grahame in the first round, to put Ottawa up again 3-2. Moments later, while shorthanded, Connolly broke in on a two-on-one break with Jason Pominville, but Connolly elected to shoot it himself banging one in on the near post past a confused Ray Emery who should have had that post covered. At 4:15, though, Dany Heatley restored the Ottawa advantage at 4-3 on the power play with Pominville in the box for hooking, but only after Miller had stopped three Ottawa attempts on the doorstep. At that point, it looked like Ottawa would carry the lead into the second period, but then a streaking Derek Roy potted the tying goal with thirty seconds left in the second. The period ended 4-4, with each team scoring twice in each period.

The third was where the game really went wild. On the opening faceoff, Ottawa won it and sprung along Mike Fisher, who stuffed a rebound past Miller on what was a beautiful rush that caught Buffalo off guard to again give Ottawa a one-goal advantage at 5-4 just sixteen seconds in. Again, Ottawa looked like they would control the play, carrying the lead until Roy converted on a shorthanded two-on-one opportunity with a minute and a half left in the game to knot the game at 5. The Senators- still on the power play, something Cole reminded everyone watching at home on, promptly fired back on a goal on the doorstep from Smolinski, who rifled the puck in after a beautiful set-up from Daniel Alfredsson. Ottawa was up 6-5 now, and, as Smolinski’s confident, defiant celebratory stance suggested, looked as though they had won the game.

The Sabres had other ideas.

With just 10.7 seconds left and their net empty, Buffalo applied tons of pressure on Emery, with several shots before Connolly jammed the puck home during a mad scramble where Emery just had the bouncing puck on the reach of his stick but couldn’t get to it before Connolly got to it. The goal stunned the sellout crowd who were ready to celebrate a 1-0 series lead, sending a wild game into overtime at 6-6. That is when Buffalo took charge and took the game away from Ottawa.

The overtime period started innocently enough. The Sabres won the opening faceoff, dumped the puck in which the Senators defence got to easily. They passed it to Anton Volchenkov- who is probably lucky this was Game 1, not Game 7- who looked like he would pass it up ice for an Ottawa rush. Instead, he fanned on the puck, allowing Grier to pounce on it and feed it to a wide open Drury, who made no mistake on the shot. The result stunned the sellout crowd more than it already was, giving Buffalo an improbable 7-6 victory and a 1-0 series lead.

I couldn’t believe it. How Buffalo had won was unexplainable, since the Sabres were playing catch-up with an Ottawa team that clearly had more talent. The Senators out-shot the Sabres 33-23 and 20-12 after two, and were probably a few bad breaks from the series lead themselves. Still, Buffalo’s resilience paid off, much as how the Edmonton Oilers’ did against the Detroit Red Wings and the Anaheim Mighty Ducks’ did against the Calgary Flames. It went to show that what happened during the regular season- and, more importantly, talent- means nothing if you don’t use it. I’m not taking anything away from Buffalo- they are a very talented team- but Ottawa is over and above them. The Senators showed they were clearly stronger against the Lightning, but they’re now in danger of yet another early exit unless they can match their hearts- and wits- with their talent. Buffalo looked beatable, and pretty much only won because mentally they were better.

Either way, it looks like a fine series. Buffalo and Ottawa were primed to be THE series of the second round and it looks like it will be. After tonight, Buffalo may look like they’ll take it, but they have to remember they still have three games left to win. As for Ottawa, they have to show that they have as much heart as talent- otherwise, it’s another early trip to the golf course.

-DG

The Greatest Game Ever Played

Montreal 6, Carolina 5 (20T)

Wow. What a wild one that one was.

Yesterday, the Montreal Canadiens and Carolina Hurricanes played what was probably the finest hockey game in a while- and the finest I’ve ever seen- in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference Quarterfinal Series. In a game that featured more drama and cliffhangers than a Hollywood blockbuster, the Canadiens overcame a blown three-goal deficit to win 6-5 on Michael Ryder’s double-overtime goal, taking a 2-0 series lead over a Hurricanes team that is quickly unravelling.

“We stuck with the same plan, we kept believing,” Canadiens centre Mike Ribeiro told ESPN. “It was a great game to watch, I’m sure, for everyone.”

He probably couldn’t have said it better. After the Canadiens staked out a 3-0 lead in the first period off some erratic play by Carolina starting goaltender Martin Gerber, the Hurricanes found their “on” switch in the second period. Gerber- who allowed three goals on 13 shots- was pulled from the game in favour of former first-round draft pick Cam Ward, but it was the previously dormant Carolina forwards who put Carolina back in the game. 1:42 into the second with the Hurricanes buzzing around the net of Canadiens goaltender Cristobal Huet, Matt Cullen’s centering pass got a lucky bounce of Huet’s misplaced stick to cut the Montreal lead to 3-1. After that goal, the Hurricanes were virtually unstoppable; continually buzzing along the ice with the Canadiens repeatedly in footraces they had no chance of winning. It comes as no surprise that with the increasing pressure- and a span of 3:05 worth of Montreal penalties- that Carolina’s Rod Brind’amour found the back of the net halfway through the second period to cut the deficit to 3-2. Brind’amour’s goal was similar to Cullen’s goal in that it was on the doorstep, being a redirected centering pass past a helpless Huet, who now looked extremely vulnerable down low. It was a fabulous display of hockey, with the Hurricanes displaying the run-and-gun form that brought them to within a point of the top-ranked Ottawa Senators in the Eastern Conference.

The Hurricanes sustained their form in the third period, scoring 33 seconds in the third period off yet another redirected centering pass, this time off the stick of Ray Whitney. 42 seconds later Brind’amour again found the back of the net with a nifty wraparound that handcuffed Huet that catapulted Carolina to its first lead of the game and of the series. The Hurricanes’ goals- coming only after 1:15 of the third period- both also came on the powerplay, with Montreal’s Alexander Perezhoghin and Francois Bouillion both in the box from two late second-period penalties, causing the CBC’s Don Cherry after the third to criticize the Habs, telling them “they should be ashamed of themselves” for taking the penalties and essentially handing the game to the Hurricanes. While I think the Habs didn’t help their situation here with their penalties, they literally had no answer for the continued Carolina pressure. The Hurricanes just seemed to race up the ice unopposed with the Canadiens continually in a hopeless pursuit, and when the ’Canes were on their game- as they were in the second and early in the third- their passing game was in a deadly synchronicity. This is what allowed them to exploit Huet’s weakness in covering the bottom of the net, because each of those centering passes were dead on to the stick of a hungry Carolina player.

However, time would not be on the Hurricanes’ side. They still had 18:45 of the third to kill, and as the third wore on, it became apparent that the Hurricanes’ footrace wouldn’t hold up for long. The Canadiens- having realized that their penalty trouble gave Carolina the room to operate- realized that with five players on the ice they might be able to set up an impregnable wall that could stop the Carolina rushes before they got dangerous. They played a poise and composure that CBC play-by-play announcer Jim Hughson noted was just like their coach, Bob Gainey, which contrasted with the frantic pace the Hurricanes were by now desperate to keep up. The Canadiens’ poise and patience wore on the Hurricanes, as well as Carolina’s refusal to dump the puck into the Montreal zone, as Carolina’s roaring attack was stopped time and time again at the Montreal blueline like barbarians trying to scale the Great Wall of China. The Canadiens would later turn their defence into offence, springing loose Alexei Kovalev and Richard Zednik who scored 36 seconds apart halfway through the third to hand Montreal back the lead at 5-4. Both goals came off bad angles near the goal line over Ward’s left shoulder, “goal scorer’s goals” as TSN’s Jay Onrait called them. Suddenly, a game in which Carolina looked in control suddenly became a topsy-turvy mess, with a Canadiens team that wasn’t supposed to be winning somehow in the lead.

Of course, just how time was against the Hurricanes, so too was it against the Canadiens. With Peter Laviolette pulling Ward for the extra attacker unusually early at 18:06 of the third, Carolina’s Cory Stillman connected on a one-timer from just inside the left face-off circle to knot the score at 5. Just before Stillman’s goal, the CBC’s Harry Neale commented that Laviolette “had to take a chance to get a chance”, and Laviolette’s gamble paid off. The Hurricanes were re-energized heading to overtime, looking to run-and-gun Montreal into submission.

It very nearly worked. The Hurricanes came out flying to start the overtime period, racking up a 7-1 shot advantage halfway through the period. Their best chance of the period came when Craig Adams almost jammed the puck around Huet’s left pad, but Huet- learning from his mistakes against Brind’amour and Whitney- got his skate on the puck in time, prevent Adams from converting a goal he knew from his reaction afterwards he should have had. However, the Hurricanes stunted their momentum with two penalties before the ten-minute mark of the overtime period, and the one shot Montreal did have was very nearly the one that ended the game. This shot came on the Canadiens’ second power play of the overtime period eight minutes with Michael Ribeiro almost jamming the puck past the skate of Ward, who quickly smothered the puck to prevent a second chance.

If there was a turning point in the hockey game- besides Ryder’s overtime winner and the 3-0 Montreal first period lead- it would have been Carolina’s inability to wrap up the game following Tomas Plekanec’s interference call on Cullen. The Hurricanes’ power play, which had been phenomenal all game, suddenly couldn’t get any shots past Huet, with barely any coming from in close. They spent a good chunk of the power play setting up the shot instead of taking it, with the Hurricanes displaying none of the confidence that allowed them to storm to the lead to start the third. Predictably, the Canadiens killed off the penalty, and with it, any chance of a Carolina victory.

The death knell came in the second overtime period. The Hurricanes, for their part, generated some chances but most were tentative and easily stopped by Huet. The Canadiens- who probably had more energy since they didn’t play at full speed like the Hurricanes did- waited for their chances, and on a rush two minutes into the second overtime period, Saku Koivu, Christopher Higgins and Ryder set up a triangle that arched from behind the net to Ryder that ended the game. The tic-tac-toe passing play was extremely quick and caught me (and probably Ward) off-guard, sending the Hurricanes into a hole and the Canadiens ready to fill it up.

Looking at the game, it was easy to see why the Hurricanes lost. Montreal displayed in Game 1 that it had the horses to run with the Hurricanes’ gunners and the ability to shut them down, and showed in Game 2 that if they needed to run with the Hurricanes they could. They also showed patience and composure, refusing to give up when momentum clearly swung Carolina’s way, playing a smart positional game that allowed them to contain the Hurricanes and ensure that if things did get wild, they wouldn’t get away. The Hurricanes, by contrast, refused to come up with any counter to Montreal’s wall, insisting on ramming into defenders when the Canadiens wouldn’t give an inch. The Hurricanes made it easy for them to be coached against, since all the Canadiens needed to do was set themselves up at the blueline and they would be able to stop the Carolina rushes, since Carolina wouldn’t dump the puck in behind them. They had to rely on power plays to generate chances because that opened up the ice for their attack, and while the Hurricanes were able to hit their groove in spurts, they played without any of the confidence and poise the Canadiens had. They seemed like a racecar driver who always has his foot on the pedal, unable or unwilling to let their foot off even if it means hitting a wall.

This isn’t to say that the Canadiens didn’t win the game deservedly- they did. Many teams would have folded under the pressure of the Hurricanes, but the Canadiens didn’t relent, choosing to wait until the Hurricanes gave them the chance to respond. The result was a splendid victory that puts a stranglehold on the series, which now shifts back to Montreal. The Canadiens played like a Stanley Cup winner, and, dare I say it, they may have just proven themselves capable of taking the silverware home in June, a relief for long-suffering Canadiens fans who have now had to endure their longest drought without the Cup. In the process, they played in one of the NHL’s finest games in a while- if not ever- with the fact that Montreal was in it being a worthy honour for a team as rich in history as the Canadiens. Carolina and Montreal represented the clash of the old (Canadiens) and the new (Hurricanes), with both putting on a show that won’t be repeated for a while. In the process, Montreal showed why they’re the winningest team in NHL history playing with a championship-level poise that left Carolina in the dust. In the meantime, Carolina have shown themselves as mere pretenders, being a team that may look like a winner but, when faced against a real winner, they wilt like a weed, and they only have themselves to blame.

-DG

Hi hi, hi ho, it's off to the playoffs we go! (whistles) Hi ho, hi ho, hi ho hi ho!

Buffalo 3, Toronto 2 (SO)

It’s ugly, but we’ll take it.

The Buffalo Sabres found themselves clinching a playoff berth today after defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-2 in a shootout, snapping a 1-7-1 slide that saw them fall from within a point of catching the Northwest Division-leading Ottawa Senators to their current position, still firmly in fourth and nine points back.

“It was a relief to get that one point and clinch a playoff spot,” Buffalo goaltender Martin Biron told ESPN. “Even though this last stretch was a bad one, the biggest stretch of the year is coming up in three weeks. That's really important.”

The Sabres were the first to get out of the gate, ringing up a 7-2 shot advantage on the Leafs midway through the first and appearing to get two goals by the time the period was half done. Derek Roy scored his 16th goal of the season after redirecting an errant Ales Kotalik shot that had gone off the boards into the net past Toronto goaltender Jean-Sebastein Aubin, but a goal was nullified later in the period after Adam Mair was shoved into Aubin forcing the puck in with him (the referees had ruled they had called the play dead at that point). The missed goal was only one in a series of questionable calls during the game on both sides, from penalties that shouldn’t have been called (Chris Drury’s trip) to ones that should have (Ian White was once tripped with no call, and there was the Darcy Tucker knee-on-knee hit on Jochen Hecht that had Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff infuriated, although the play that started it was haphazard- Mike Grier did hit Tucker first, so it’s not like the Sabres were off the hook).

The first period ended 1-0, as the life the Sabres had was shorn from some erratic and frankly too eager play that Buffalo had been known for all season. Buffalo managed to show a fury of life on the power-play midway through the second- resulting in Maxim Afinogenov’s 20th goal of the season- but let the game start to slip away when Toronto’s John Pohl- a call-up- scored to cut the lead to 2-1. Buffalo’s flopping and flailing ways- continued into the third, where Matt Stajan capitalized on some brutal defensive work to tie the game up at two, giving Toronto a life they shouldn’t have had. The Sabres shouldn’t allow games to be this close when they claim to be a playoff contender, and, if they want to go far in the playoffs, they need find a way to develop the killer instinct. Of course, to their credit, the Leafs were also showing a lack of execution, as they had multiple chances but failed to convert (a common complaint this season about the Maple Leafs). It should also be noted that Biron stood on his head and that will be an asset come playoff time, but Buffalo can’t **only** rely on its goaltender if it wants to succeed.

In overtime, Buffalo outplayed the Leafs but barely, garnering the overtime’s best chance when Daniel Briere stood all alone jamming the puck at the impregnable Aubin. Since overtime solved nothing the teams went to the shootout, where Afinogenov potted the only goal and Biron stood on his head to deny Mats Sundin and Tucker. Alexei Ponikarovsky- not known for his stickhandling- tried to deke out Biron but only met his right pad, with the puck stopped on the goal line (this was reviewed but the decision stood). The result gave Buffalo its first playoff berth since 2001, which is about time.

The game was endemic of both teams’ seasons. Toronto proved time and again it had the talent to be a top-level team but also showed it lacked the execution and the management to get there (there’s no reason why Ponikarovsky- who had never scored in the shootout- should have been picked for the shootout, because he was bound to fail, which he did). Buffalo, meanwhile, was erratic and haphazard, being the kind of team that may not overwhelm anyone but still finds a way to succeed in the end. I’m not yet convinced that my Sabres are Stanley Cup material yet- since they need a game-breaker to stop their over-reliance on goaltending- but, with three weeks to go before the post-season, there’s still time to gel to post-season form. When they do, this’ll be a team that’ll be fun to watch and impossible to stop, as they’ve got enough youthful energy to keep pounding away at teams relentlessly. It’s about time- I’ve been waiting for this moment for far too long.

-DG

Toronto loses another one

Today marked the funeral of Scarborough native Kevin Persaud, run down and killed last Monday near Canmore Park where Persaud was at a friend's house. The Toronto Police believe that Persaud was pursued by his attackers- whose relationship to Persaud, as of yet, is not known- and killed following an altercation that night. An 18-year-old and a 17-year-old, both males, have been charged with the attack.

Now, if this is the first time you've heard of Persaud, you won't be the only one. The story itself appeared with a small photo on the third page of The Toronto Star (date: March 12, 2006), with a much larger picture at the top devoted to the story behind the death of American Tom Fox, a member of the Christian peacekeeping group that was abducted by the Swords of the Righteous Brigade. Persaud's story was much more noticeable than Fox's, but it was still not front-page material, only being known to those who bothered to open the paper past the frontpage.

This contrasts with the treatment of the murder of Jane Creba. You know her- the 15-year-old girl who was gunned down by a stray bullet after a shootout between gangs at Yonge & Dundas Square in downtown Toronto on Boxing Day, 2005. Her story was frontpage news and garnred nationwide attention as proof that Toronto's gun problem- which hit 52 victims in 2005- was at the boiling point and something needed to be done. Days afterward Paul Martin- who at the time was running for re-election- proposed a ban on handguns, and Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty and Toronto Mayor David Miller called for tougher gun and sentencing laws. Her memorial on January 26, 2006, one month afterward, received widespread media attention, with the weepy ceremony making the 6 o'clock news. We saw stills of the happy girl being presented while Creba's favourite song- James Blunt's "You're Beautiful"- played in the background. It was gripping stuff, sure, but at the same time it was sickening.

You see, the first thing that shot to my head when thinking of the differences between the Creba case and the Persaud case is that Creba is a 15-year-old Caucasian girl and Persaud is- I believe- African-Canadian. Yeah, I hate to play the race card too, but it sickens me that Creba's funeral and memorial got the play that it did and that the memorials of the other gun victims that year- almost all of which were visible minorities- got little or no play at all, with their names barely being a footnote in contrast to the well-known Creba. Remember Ali Mohamud Ali and Loyan Mohammed Ahmed? No? Well, they were the two youths killed outside of The Phoenix nightclub last June shortly after it closed. The killings themselves received a lot of play in the paper as people suddenly became frightened over the violence, but the victims' funerals and memorials were bypassed with nary a mention in the press. In fact, McGuinty, Miller and Martin did nothing in the aftermath, with the only person actually doing something was Ontario Conservative Leader John Tory, who visited the homes of the victims to send his condolensces. Several days later, the whole ordeal was forgotten, much like the names of the victims shortly after they were killed.

This is not to marginalize the death of Creba- by all means, what happened to her was tragic. However, it's disgusting to think that the media seemed to only care about Creba and not about Persaud, Ali or Ahmed, all of whom were visible minorities and all of whom received far less press than she did. It's like we seem- almost- to "expect" the minorities to get into trouble, but when it comes to a Caucasian, the alarm bells ring and the community reacts as if we've all lost a family member. Sure, the reaction to Creba's shooting is justified, but Persaud, Ali and Ahmed are just as much "family" as she was. It sickens me to think that in a supposedly liberal and tolerant country like Canada people like Persaud can be marginalized like they are now.

This, however, is just treading water- the problem- gangs- is much bigger and larger than a few random shootings, and what's worse is that nothing as of yet has been done about it except talk. The politicians have talked widely about how they want to get tough on gangs, but the only person with the fortitude to do anything is Curtis Silwa, the head of the "street vigilante" group The Guardian Angels, a volunteer organization that uses laws allowing for citizen's arrests to target and combat street gangs. The Angels are, effectively, an outreach program, and while I don't like the idea of- in effect- a "legal gang" running around the streets of Toronto, it is refreshing to know that someone wants to do something. Of course, lost in all this is the real problem behind the gangs: a culture of marginalization, poverty and no opportunities. Just looking at Toronto's housing costs alone will tell you that: the lowest rents are in the neighbourhood of $700/month for a single person, and combined with food and travel costs, there's not a lot left over if the person works a minimum wage job, which most immigrants have been sadly forced into. Furthermore, just look at Jane & Finch, the high-crime neighbourhood that's close to my University, York University. A walkthrough of the area reveals literally a dump, with shanty apartments, a mall and no community centre of any kind in the vicinity. I take a look at Jane & Finch and think, "no wonder there's a lot of crime here- there's nothing to do and everything about this place says 'poor'. What else are the residents going to do?" All this talk certainly won't make the area look any nicer, nor will it help the decrepit lot many of the residents have.

In the meantime, I'm going to take a moment to dedicate this space to all of Toronto's murder victims, including Kevin Persaud, Jane Creba, Loyan Mohammed Ahmed and Ali Mohamud Ali. You will all be missed, equally.

-DG