United States no longer "land of the free and home of the brave"

Well, if you live in America, you can kiss freedom goodbye. The U.S. Congress yesterday voted to pass the National Defense Authorization Act which gives TREMENDOUS powers to government and their military. It also allows the military to hold THEIR OWN CITIZENS in indefinite detention WITHOUT TRIAL, HEARINGS OR CHARGE! Folks, this is tyranny and it officially makes the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights history and meaningless. The folks that you Americans have elected have shown their true colours: they are traitors to God and to humanity. Understand this, the act is a human rights issue and World War 3 is soon coming. Here are some good videos about the topic:

That's all I can do for now. God bless!

Raptors Sign Rasual Butler, Lightning Defeated by Power

Yep, more basketball news. First off, the Toronto Raptors have signed free agent Rasual Butler to the roster. He spent last season with the Chicago Bulls and the Los Angeles Clippers. Butler is a veteran who will provide the team with more leadership on the court. Here's the story.

Also too, the London Lightning lost an entertaining and tight matchup against the Oshawa Power last night. Sitting in the seats at the John Labatt Centre, seeing the players up close and hearing the roar of the crowd in the 4th quarter...it just can't be beat! The team lost 99-93, but it sure didn't feel that way in the game. My mother, brother, and I witnessed a game where the Power outhustled the Lightning for rebounds, were able to gear up and adjust quicker, and were able to be wide open for 3-point baskets. In fact, that's exactly what head coach Michael Ray Richardson and star player Gabe Freeman both said after the game, according to the recap. You can view it here. Two things that irritated me last night were Rodney Buford and the fans who were sitting behind my brother and I. First, Rodney Buford: the man REPEATEDLY would take the same far-out fadeaway shot over and over and he would just keep on missing and missing. The few times that he would get in closer, those he would make. In fact, that was a theme for London in the game. Also too, the team missed quite a few free throws late in the game, prompting the fans behind us to exclaim, "Oh my goodness! Holy cow!" I couldn't agree more. That brings me to how aggravating those fans were. All game long, they seemed to be bashing the NBL for their poor quality of entertainment and they would consistently complain about the calls (some should have been charges against Oshawa, others should have been slaps on arms, etc.). At one point in the game, the two fans said to each other that the game was probably being rigged by the referees in favour of Oshawa so that Oshawa would win the 3-game miniseries. This is ludicrous because the same two teams have to play against each other TONIGHT in Oshawa at 7:30 PM. In other words, Oshawa would be tired as well. Games have been rigged in sports, especially in the NBA, but I don't think the game last night was. Oshawa also received some poor treatment from the refs, so we can't complain at all. All in all, it was a great night out despite the Lightning loss.

That's all I have for now. You all have a good day.

Rethinking Previous NBA rants

Today's been a weird day. I spent the morning arguing against the NBA with my mother and my younger brother and I basically looked like an idiot in the process. I've been pretty much against the league for a while and it looks as though Chris Paul may still go to the Lakers after all. This is the NBA's way of saying, "F... you fans, we don't care about you!" The reason that the trade isn't done yet is because Lakers owner Jerry Buss is recuperating from blood clots that have hospitalized him. So yeah, the league is corrupt. However, on the Raptors side of things, there is some good news. First, the Raptors have signed Jamaal Magloire, a veteran center that will help in the post, with rebounding and with team leadership. Of course, the team has signed him too late, but late is better than never. Also too, the company that owns the Raptors (Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment Limited) has just sold 75% of its shares to Rogers and Bell (two Canadian telephone, TV and Internet provider companies). That 75% was previously owned by the Retired Teachers Pension group. This for me is great news as we will get better coverage here in Canada and it may just give Colangelo and the Raptors incentive to be better. So, I'm denouncing my previous posts about no longer being a fan of the NBA. It's wrong for me to turncoat on my favourite team just because I hate the league. I will, however, leave those posts up to serve as examples of corruption within the business. The one thing this WILL motivate me to do is this: NEVER again watch the All-Star Weekend or any games except for Raptors ones. In other words, expect both Lightning and Raptors recaps from me from now on. Catch you later.

NBA Giving Fans F-Bomb on Chris Paul trade news
Jamaal Magloire Surprise Signing
MLSE Sold to Rogers, Bell 

profile edited with NBA references gone, why I HATE the NBA

This is just a quick post informing you that I am making good on my "no more NBA" one that I just put up. First, I have edited my profile and have deleted the reference I've had on it about the Raptors. You can see that on the right side of the blog (just scroll down until you get there). Also too, I am going to embed some videos that show WHY I hate the NBA nowadays. Enjoy!

Lastly, I'll put a Bruce Blitz video on here from when the NBA lockout was still on. Enjoy!


With all of these videos, you now know where I stand when it comes to the NBA. Catch you later.

An NBA fan no longer

Yes, the sad time has come. It's been hard for me to come to this point, but I must kill any love I ever had for this joke and corrupt business. Don't get me wrong, I still love the game of basketball and always will (the London Lightning are doing great with their win last night at Oshawa vs the Power). However, this is about integrity and about the NBA putting finances ahead of great games and team parity. This has been a long process. It first started in 2002 when the Los Angeles Lakers (who had a fearsome twosome of Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal) defeated the Sacramento Kings in the controversial Western Conference Finals. At the time I didn't think anything of it as I wanted the Lakers to win (I was a huge Kobetard at the time). Years later of course, we all heard about the Tim Donahue game-rigging and betting scandal that went down and Donahue admitted that Game 6 of that series had been rigged. Also too, the Lebron James ESPN special that went down last year had me enraged (and still does make me angry), the recent lockout that has now ended (which was all about both the players and owners being greedy), the sad state of the Toronto Raptors (losing top players such as Vince Carter and Chris Bosh), and the blocked trade of Chris Paul from the New Orleans Hornets to the Lakers (which would have created an EVEN MORE stacked Lakers team to compete with Lebron and his Miami Heat)...this has all culminated in an inevitable conclusion for me:

The NBA CANNOT be cured! It must go! It must be destroyed completely!

As long as David Stern rules the owners around with an iron fist and as long as idiot stars such as Lebron James, Kobe Bryant and others attain all the success, the league will NEVER be a great game worth watching. "But, but you're supposed to be loyal to teams and to those you love!" True, but not if it means tolerating and endorsing evil, sin, corruption, and greed. That is now what the NBA is all about. "What about the Raptors?" Well, what about them? The team is poised to do just as worse this year as they did last year (which was a 22-60 record) only with a new coach Dwayne Casey. Besides that, they ARE a part of the NBA, which is a MASSIVELY corrupt organization. If I watch ANY NBA games, I will be contributing to the problem, so that's out. Now, if the Raps wanted to move to the NBL, I would welcome it with a celebration! However, I don't ever see that ocurring so I'm saying no to the Raptors as well. Now that I've gotten this off my chest I just have one more thing important to say:

SCREW THE NBA! LET'S GO LIGHTNING!

From now on when it comes to basketball, look for Lightning recaps instead of NBA ones! Peace out and God bless!

Dale Hunter a Knights Coach no Longer

By now you've probably heard of the recent news surrounding the London Knights: that after 11 years as a Knights head coach, Dale Hunter is no longer with them. He has now joined the NHL's Washington Capitals as a head coach while his brother Mark takes over as head coach of the Knights. Mark will also remain as the Knight's general manager. This will be the situation for the rest of the Knight's season. London wishes Dale all the best as he tries to turn Alexander Ovechkin's club around from misery to prosperity. Here's the story. I also embedded a video above about the Dale Hunter going to the Capitals story. That's all for now. Catch you later.  

Blog about Two NBL Games

I recently watched two National Basketball League of Canada games. The first one was between the London Lightning and the Moncton Miracles at the John Labatt Centre in London, Ontario and the other was between the Oshawa Power and the Summerside Storm in Oshawa, Ontario. In the first game, I watched as the Lightning destroyed the Miracles 122-100 Thursday night in a thrilling matchup. The hero of the day was Gabe Freeman who collected 34 points and an even more impressive 15 rebounds. DeAnthony Bowden scored 23 for the Lightning and Shawn Daniels, the big man in the middle scored 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Here's the boxscore.    I also embedded a photo highlights with rap music kind of video about the game above the text. All in all, it was a great game and I especially enjoyed the Rogers TV commentators during the web stream comment on the backup centre Jamari Spears (wears #35 for the Lightning) about some of his moves, saying "Hey, that's a Shaq move!" Now, onto the next game...

The Summerside Storm came into Oshawa last night and put on quite a show, thrashing the Power to the tune of a 119-97 final score. Summerside's hero was Chris Cayole (wears #34 for the Storm) who put on a shooting display knocking down 6 of 8 3-point field goal attempts and scoring 26 points overall. As I watched the game, I remember thinking, "Wow, is Summerside ever great at hitting 3's?" In fact, Summerside overall would make 11-21 from the 3-point line. Here's another scary statistic: in every quarter except the 4th, the Storm would score at least 30 points or more throughout the game. In the 4th, Oshawa outscored Summerside 27-22. Oshawa's failure in this game was free-throw shooting. The team would only make a lousy 16 of their 44 attempts. Overall, the game was disappointing for me as I wanted the Power to win as they are also in Ontario just as the Lightning. Anyways, here's the boxscore.

With the recaps out of the way, I will sign off. Remember the Lightning don't play again until Dember 2nd. However, the London Knights do play tonight in Erie against the Otters. Game time is 7 PM. Until then, goodbye.

Quick London Lightning Update

Well, the Lightning played two games recently: a home-and-home stand against the Oshawa Power and split them. The team lost in Oshawa in an overtime match and then promptly won a hard-fought game at home in the John Labatt Centre. As a result, the team is now 6-2 and are still 1st in the new NBL league. Their next game is at home vs the Moncton Miracles who are STILL winless at 0-6. As sorry as I am for Moncton, I believe London NEEDS this game to get back to consistent winning. However, if London's recent relaxing against weaker teams spells anything, it ain't gonna be easy. The start time on Thursday is 7 PM. That's all for now! Catch you later.

NBA News Getting Worse, news of a new Canadian pro ball league

Well, it doesn't look as though the NBA season can be saved. There is still a possibility of games being played, but recent developments are truly souring the process. The NBA players union has officially rejected the league's latest offer and they are starting to disband while filing an antitrust suit against the league. This means that there won't be any games until at least after December 15th. Here's the story. However, it's not all bad news. A new Canadian minor professional basketball league has been developed and the season is already underway. It's called the National Basketball League of Canada and there are 7 teams right now: the London Lightning out of London, Ontario(the team I support), the Halifax Rainmen (from Halifax, Nova Scotia), the Summerside Storm (from Summerside, Prince Edward Island), the Saint John Mill Rats (from Saint John, New Brunswick), the Oshawa Power (from Oshawa, Ontario), the Quebec Kebs (from Quebec City, Quebec) and the Moncton Miracles (from Moncton, Quebec). London is currently 4-1 on the year, and sit atop the standings so far. However, with the Lightning losing on Sunday to the Mill Rats (the game that my mother and I went to see live at the John Labatt Centre), the Lightning have made trades. They traded away one of their forwards, Tyrone Levett to the Rainmen for a former NBA player Rodney Buford. They also picked up a new 6 foot 6 inches big man called Shamari Spears. He is 250 pounds with a wingspan of 7 foot 1 inch when he jumps and stretches out for rebounds. This is great news because the Lightning are currently LAST in overall rebounds at 45 per game and also LAST in offensive rebounds at 9.2 per game. The Lightning also released a guard called Tyler Bullock who was brought in to replace Albert White who had trouble getting paperwork in and as a result could not make the team. The other ten players can be looked at on the team website. Here are the links:

London Lightning Stats
The trade with the Halifax Rainmen
London Lightning Roster

One note about the roster, Jamaal Davis is not actually with the team. He was replaced before the season started by Mike King, a forward whose hometown is Guelph, Ontario. He is a 6 foot 7 inch forward who is 235 pounds. The other 9 players that I didn't discuss are actually still with the franchise. The Lightning's next game is Thursday at home vs the Quebec Kebs at 7 PM. London's Schedule

You can watch all the games of this league by going to the league's home page and clicking on the Watch Live page. Link for Watching NBL Games

Wow, a lot of blogging today! That's what it takes to make up for lost time. I'll see you all later.

Great Debate on Evolution; Necessity of Distinguishing between Fact and Interpretation

I'm just back here today to bring you a posting about evolution. First off, there's a pretty cool debate that recently took place about evolution. On the creationist side was Dr. Carl Wieland, director of the Australian branch of Creation Ministries International while the evolutionist was Dr. Paul Willis. Reading the comments, it seems as if Dr. Wieland won the debate fair and square. Anyways, I hope you enjoy watching it.

Also too, CMI has talked repeatedly on their Creation Magazine Live videos about distinguishing between fact and evolutionary interpretation. (Those videos feature two speakers from their Canadian branch, Richard Fangrad and Calvin Smith and give you a taste of what to expect in CMI's flagship publication Creation Magazine.) So I am going to do just that with an old school Kratts Creatures episode. (I already embedded one when I posted about the Tasmanian Devil awhile back.) This episode was entitled "Kickboxing Kangaroos" and in the 1st of the 3-part upload on Youtube, you can see a perfect example of what I'm talking about. From 4:11 to 7:56 of this first part we have fact followed by interpretation. The Kratt brothers first talk about the fact: a lot of unique Australian animals exist and are found only on Australia and the surrounding area such as the platypus, the koala and other creatures. This is then followed by Shannon Duth's character Allison Baldwin giving the evolutionary backdrop or interpretation of why these creatures are only found in Australia starting with some supposed Gondwanaland supercontinent which joined North America, South America, Australia and Antarctica. Then some millions of years later, Australia supposedly just broke off and separated from the rest of the world, leading to the "evolving" of many marsupials. The episode even went so far as to claim that they all evolved from a small marsupial similar to the pygmy possum. No evidence or anything was provided to back up the story other than the existence of the creatures that were mentioned beforehand. Imagine the laughter if a creation scientist had of attempted this for the Bible! I guess that since evolution is more naturalistic and doesn't necessarily need a creator, it must be OK. Anyways, here are the episode parts:

part 1

part 2

part 3


I'm not sure if the kangaroo story is still held today by evolutionists but if so it's a pretty good storyline if you ask me, but that's all it can be called. I just thought it was interesting. Catch you all later!

Knights Lose to Rangers, Angry Fans Sound Off on NBA Lockout

Yes, the Knights were in Kitchener last night to play against the Rangers. It was an exciting game, with the Knights taking the lead early. Kitchener however, took a 4-1 lead and held that until the latter part of the 2nd period when the Knights started to come back into the game. This game would eventually go into a shootout, but the Rangers won the game 5-4. With the loss, the Knights are now 11-3 on the season. Here's the recap. Also too, I read an interesting article about the NBA lockout and read some ANGRY posts from the fans. I decided to also chime in with my own. Here it is:

"As a Raptors fan since 2001, I’ve seen some great and horrible moments from the team. However, I’m really tempted to write the league off for good. It’s obvious that BOTH sides are greedy and care nothing for us fans or they would have already settled. If they cancel more games, then the league should be PERMANENTLY TERMINATED! Sorry to sound harsh, but we must see results. That’s all, and you have a good night."

Yes, I'm angry about the situation. I'm sick and tired of hearing both sides say, "We're deeply sorry for our fans and that this has inconvenienced them." Really? THEN SETTLE FOR MUCH SMALLER SALARIES AND GIVE US MUCH LOWER TICKET AND CONCESSION PRICES, YOU IDIOTS! I'm sorry for yelling there folks, but I need to speak my mind. Let me tell you people something...if they cancel the entire season, I'm DEFINITELY giving up on the league entirely! So that's that. I hope you enjoyed my short rant. Catch you all later.

Oh, by the way, here's the link to the article about the fan anger. Enjoy!

Knights Cruise Past Bulls

Last night, the London Knights played against former teammate Jake Worrad and his new team, the Belleville Bulls at the John Labatt Centre. This game was no contest at all, as the Knights rolled to a 4-0 victory. Goals were scored by: Dane Fox, Josh Anderson, Seth Griffith, and Matt Rupert. Belleville did outshoot the Knights 31-30, but to no avail. Jake Worrad, however, did get a good shot attempt at London goaltender Michael Houser late in the 3rd period. The play was described by AM 1290 CJBK play-by-play voice Mike Stubbs as Worrad "spinning" during the shot. All in all, a great game and one that makes the team 10-2 on the year. NO other team has won this many contests as of yet! Here's the recap. Until next time, take care.

Knights Stomp over Majors, Jets-Leafs go to exciting Shootout

Wow, were last night's games great or what! First I listened to the Knights game as the team was in Missasauga to take on the St. Michael's Majors. This one seemed to be a close match as it was a match of the top two teams in the entire Canadian Hockey League (Knights are #1 and Majors are #2). Early on, the game seemed to live up to the billing as the Knights ended the first period up 2-1. From then on however, it was all Knights as they went on to win 6-3 to go 9-2 on the season. The other game I followed was an NHL one. The Toronto Maple Leafs were at home in the Air Canada Centre to take on the newest Canadian team, the Winnipeg Jets who had just beaten the Pittsburgh Penguins at home 2-1 for their first victory on the year. After the Knights game, I moseyed on over to the TV set and turned on the Leafs-Jets game. To my surprise, the Jets were ahead of the Leafs 3-1 after 2 periods! The Jets seemed as though they were going to win another one, but Toronto had other plans in the third period. They tied it up with Phil Kessel scoring once to go into overtime with a 3-3 score. Overtime solved nothing, but both teams had their chances with the Leafs doing most of the buzzing around the Winnipeg net. So, they went to a shootout where the Leafs won on a goal by Joffrey Lupal. So, that's that. Here is the recap for the Leafs-Jets game, and here's the recap for the Knights victory. Next up for the Knights is a home game at the John Labatt Centre on Friday night at 7:30 PM against the Belleville Bulls who now have former teammate Jake Worrad. See you then!

Knights Skin Otters in Tough Victory

MAN, what a crazy game! A little bit of everything was in store last night for us Knights fans as the London Knights played against the Erie Otters at the John Labatt Centre. First off, the Knights first goal came NINE SECONDS after the first face-off! Seth Griffith got the goal and the Knights were ahead 1-0. At the 7 minute mark of the 1st period, Jared Knight put London up by two with a goal of his own and it looked as though the Knights were going to blow the contest wide open. The Otters, however were scrappy right to the end and wouldn't go away. After team captain Jarred Tinordi received a penalty for checking an Otter to the head, Erie got their first goal of the game at the 13:41 mark of the 1st. Conner Brown scored to make it 2-1. In the 2nd period, Erie continued their comeback with 2 more goals to take the lead, 3-2. The goals were scored by Sondre Olden and Chris Marchese. It seemed as though the Knights had blown it: the Otters were storming Michael Houser with scoring chances and the team looked less energized than they had been early on in the 1st period. The Knights however were not out: at 9:45 of the 2nd, the goals and the energy came back. Vladislav Namestnikov scored at that point to tie it 3-3 and the team still had 2 more goals to go in that period. Seth Griffith scored his 2nd goal of the game and Bo Horvat helped out at well. This made the score 5-3 in favour of the Knights. The entire game was like this: a giant tug-of-war between the teams, the AM 1290 CJBK radio commentators remarked. Those men were Mike Stubbs (play-by-play) and Jim Van Horne (analyst). Erie still had one more burst of firepower left however. Marchese scored his second goal of the game at 9:08 of the 3rd period to make the score 5-4 and it didn't look good for the Knights as Erie seemed to again have more life in their steps. However, Namestnikov ended the party with HIS 2nd goal of the night to end it at 6-4. That was at 19:28 of the 3rd. The game even included fighting: Erie's Johnny McGuire and London's Jared Tinordi both went off at 16:07 of the 1st period for scrapping with each other. Another fight happened in the 3rd period as Matt Rupert of the Knights and Brett Cook of the Otters both went off at 11:38 for the encounter. To make a tight game even tighter, the final shots on goal count was London 43, Erie 41! With this wild win, London is now 7-1 on the year and await the Guelph Storm who come into the JLC tonight at 7 PM. Here's the game recap. That's all for now. Take care everybody.

Jays Defeat White Sox, Finish at .500

Well, yesterday was the final day of the season for the Jays - a chance to go out on a winning note - and they did just that by defeating Chicago 3-2 to finish at 81-81. Starter Brendan Morrow didn't get the win, but he DID manage to become the 4th Blue Jay ever to finish a season with at least 200 strikeouts! Pretty impressive, isn't it? Anyways, about the game...the team trailed 2-1 going into the 9th inning but they managed to get the bases loaded against reliever Chris Sale who actually WALKED IN the tying run! When I saw that on TV I laughed out loud while eating dinner. Afterwards, the pitcher did it AGAIN to give Toronto the lead! Well, I have to say, "Thanks, Chicago for giving us the win!" So it was all good in the end. What we got was a solid, average season by a team battered with injuries, many roster changes, and inconsistencies. That about does it for Jays recaps. Hope the team can build on this for next season. By the way, don't forget about the Knights. They play tomorrow night! See ya later. Here's the recap.

Jays Lose Due to Stinky Defense, Time to question Einstein as well as Darwin?

Yep, the bad news is true. Tampa Bay defeated Toronto last night 6-2 behind subpar pitching from Ricky Romero and bad defense by the team. After a 2-run home run by star Jose Bautista in the top of the 1st inning, Tampa Bay tied it up in the bottom half, first on a B.J. Upton popup that the Jays failed to catch: blame David Cooper for that. Afterwards, Ben Zobrist grounded to the shortstop who promptly threw it past Cooper into foul territory, allowing Tampa Bay to score their first run. After THAT, Johnny Damon hit a popup that THREE Jays players failed to catch! Talk about blowing a lead! So, after 1 inning, it was 2-2. In the fifth inning, Zobrist struck again with a solo homer off Romero to give Tampa a 3-2 lead. Later, in the 8th, Ricky was still on the mound when Johnny Damon slammed a 3-run homer to give Tampa a 6-2 lead and the final score. It's a good thing I shut off the TV after that. The Jays will now finish off the series today at 2 PM. Here's the sorry story. In other news...

I just read an exciting article about the speed of light today! This finding could doom Albert Einstein's General Theory of Relativity if it is verified, which may also prove problematic for evolution. Scientists at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) ran an experiment with neutrinos and they cooperated with the Gran Sasso laboratory in Italy. They fired a total of 15,000 neutrinos towards Gran Sasso which, according to the article, is 500 miles away. These neutrinos reached the city 60 "nanoseconds faster than they should have." You'll have to read the article to understand exactly what this means, but it could be a stepping stone for us to reexamine everything. Here's the whole amazing story!

Also too, the Vancouver Sun posted a brief blurb about the finding. Read it here.

That's all for now. Have a good day!

Knights Crush Spirit of Saginaw in Season Opener

Wow, the Knights start already! Their first game was last night at home in the John Labatt Centre. This year's team featured plenty of new faces (Max Domi - the son of former Toronto Maple Leaf Tie Domi, Olli Maata, Kevin Raine, Tyler Ferry, Josh Anderson, Kyle Flemington, Jake Patterson and Bo Horvat). With all of these new, younger players fans and team personnel alike weren't sure if the team would succeed this year, but they sure did last night. It was a rout bordering on the ridiculous with London winning 8-0 on the strength of a hat trick (3-goal night) by Max Domi and 2 goals from returning player Seth Griffith. One of the newcomers, Bo Horvat also got in on the action with a goal. The shots on goal count favoured the Knights with a 45-36 mark. It remains to be seen what the Knights will dish out the rest of the season but they sure are off to a great start! The team is off tonight, but they play again in Guelph against the Storm tomorrow afternoon at 2 PM. Here is the game summary. By the way, the Jays played great last night vs the Tampa Bay Rays on the road. Here's the recap. The Jays play tonight against the Rays at 7 PM. Take care! 

Obama: Stop the Smears and Watch the People!

Yes, the left-wing crazy U.S. President known as Barack Obama has recently released a website called Attack Watch that mainly calls conservatives and Republicans liars and/or smears their persons. All of this is done in preparation for the upcoming 2012 election. According to an article from the blog Conservative News and Views, Obama has now engaged in Socialist and Stalin-like political tactics. This is another example of why big government is tragically evil and flawed. Memo to everyone: keep following the signs of the times!

Jays Victorious in Walk-Off Win

Last night, after taking 3 of 4 from the mighty New York Yankees, the Toronto Blue Jays received an awesome 9-inning performance from Ricky Romero. Afterwards, Adam Lind drove in the game's winning run. The play was ruled a fielder's choice by the umpire and Scott Downs took the loss for the Los Angeles Angels. Downs fell to 6-3 on the season and was a former member of the Blue Jays. As a result of this win, the Jays are now 78-75 and are looking strong to finish out the year. Here's the recap. They continue tonight at the Rogers Centre against the Angels. The game starts at 7 PM and will feature Brett Cecil for the Jays vs Joel Pineiro of the Angels. Catch you soon!

STRANGE NBA News: Ron Artest's NEW Name??!

Yes, it's true. Ron Artest of the infamous fame of the "Pistons vs Pacers" brawl, has recently changed his name (actually it's a pseudonym) to Metta World Peace. I guess it's to promote peace worldwide amongst people. Click here to read the wacky story. UNBELIEVABLE! According to the article, Metta is a Buddhist term that stresses kindness toward others. It only makes me wonder what other wackiness Ron Ron has up his sleeve. Later!

Jays Doing Well in September

Yep, the team's been faring well lately. Winning a series against Boston and two against Baltimore will open things up for September callups such as Adam Loewen. He was instrumental in yesterday's comeback victory vs the Baltimore Orioles, and so was fellow callup David Cooper who hit one of the key home runs during the 7th inning. Here's the recap. That's all for now. The team will rest today before playing against the Red Sox in Boston for a short two-game series. Take care!

Jays Win Thanks to Bautista and Lawrie

Well, another game went by for the Jays and I couldn't watch it due to the thunderstorms last night. The Kansas City Royals were up 1-0 after the 1st inning when the storm hit, knocking out our cable. As a result, I had to hole up in my room for the night. What makes it even more lousy is that the Jays actually WON! The final score was 4-3 on Brett Lawrie's late home run in the 7th inning. Star slugger Jose Bautista also homered in the victory. Jesse Litsch got the win and improved to 5-3 on the year, while Louis Coleman took the loss for Kansas City and fell to 1-3. Frank Francisco recorded the save for Toronto and now has 11 for the year. Here's the recap. As a result of this victory, the Blue Jays improved to 66-63 on the year and now wait until tonight when Brett Cecil will take to the mound for the team in the final game of the 3-game series. The game starts at 7 PM on Rogers Sportsnet. Take care!

Jays Wrap up Series Today

After losing 5-1 last night to Oakland, they will be hoping to split the series 2-2. Henderson Alvarez lost the game and it's a good thing I stopped watching after the 3rd inning when the two clubs were still tied 1-1. The start time for today's game is 4 PM on Rogers Sportsnet. Here's the recap. Have a good one!

Jays to play in Oakland Tonight

After taking 2 out of 3 from the Seattle Mariners in Seattle, the Jays are now in their series against the Athletics. The two teams have split the first two games and game 3 goes tonight at 9 PM on Rogers Sportsnet. Tune in! You all take care, and have a great night.

Jays Win Comeback vs Angels Yesterday

So, I was watching the Jays game and the team was first down 3-0 in the 3rd inning, when Eric Thames and Jose Bautista went back to back to make it a one-run ball game. The pitcher was Brett Cecil who admittedly didn't have his best game for the team, allowing 4 runs and all. However, he was off the hook because newcomer Brett Lawrie batted in another newcomer Colby Rasmus in the 9th inning to tie things up and send the game into extra innings. That of course set the stage for Edwin Encarnacion who smacked the ball into left-center field to win the game 5-4 for the Jays. It took him awhile, but he's FINALLY producing! So, the team was all smiles after this win and now they have to get ready for the Mariners in Seattle tonight and this means a late start for the game. Here's the recap. You people take care. I'm out!

Jays Take Two of Three from Orioles

After the shellacking in the first game, Toronto won the other games in the series: 3-0 on Wednesday and 8-5 last night. On Wednesday, Ricky Romero almost got a complete game as he poured in 8 1/3 innings to get the win and J.P. Arencibia slammed a solo home run in the game. Here's the story. Last night, Edwin Encarnacion and Eric Thames went back-to-back last night for solo homers in the game. The starter for the game, Carlos Villaneuva struggled in the first inning as Baltimore hit his fastball well, but later on he resorted to his other pitches and played a solid game. Here's THAT story. That's all for now. I'll be back later with some more postings. Take care.

Bautista A Hit with the Glove at All-Star Weekend

On Sunday night, Jose and the rest of the all-stars played their game at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona. Granted, Jose didn't get a home run but he did contribute with a great catch early on in the game. The ball was heading to right field. As Bautista was falling down, the ball landed in his glove to save the American League from being scored on. That play elicited decent amounts of cheers and excitement from both myself as I viewed the action on TV and from the crowd who were attending the game at the stadium. In addition to the amazing play, Jose Bautista also contributed a single in the game before going out in the 6th inning. So, the game was more successful for Jose than the Derby. As for Ricky Romero, he didn't get a chance to play as there were more than enough relief pitchers for the teams to use. Needless to say, the National League won 5-1 and Prince Fielder of the Milwaukee Brewers received game MVP honours. So now the rest of the year begins for the Jays as they start a 4-game series at home vs the New York Yankees. Game time is 7 PM on Rogers Sportsnet. Here's the game recap. Have a good one.

Home Run Derby not a Success for Bautista

So last night was the Home Run Derby in the Major League Baseball All-Star Weekend. Jose Bautista of the Toronto Blue Jays was one of the participants in the event. I wanted him to win because he is on the Jays and because he has hit the most home runs so far in the season in all of the major leagues (31 homers). Sadly, he didn't win the contest, hitting only 4 home runs in the 1st round and thus was unable to continue. The event was won by Robinson Cano of the New York Yankees. After the 1st round, I switched off my TV in disgust because the remaining players were mostly from either the Boston Red Sox or the New York Yankees, and I don't like either of those teams. The only other participant left was Prince Fielder from the Milwaukee Brewers. All in all, it was a disappointing night as a Jays fan, but I did admire Bautista for backing up his pre-game words about just having fun and not worrying too much about winning the Derby. Here's the story.

That's it. Stay tuned tonight for the All-Star Game which will be at 8 PM on Rogers Sportsnet. Be good.

Reminder About Tonight's Home Run Derby

This is just a short post reminding everyone that you can catch Jose Bautista and the rest of the participants in this year's Home Run Derby tonight at 8 PM on Rogers Sportsnet. Also too, you can catch Jose Bautista and Ricky Romero in the All-Star Game tomorrow night at 8 PM on Rogers Sportsnet. Enjoy the festivities, everybody! Take care.

Ricky Romero Struggles vs Red Sox

So far, Toronto's ace has become a solid pitcher in the majors. However, he wasn't solid at all last night in Boston. Ricky gave up 6 runs in just 4 1-3 innings to get the loss, 6-4. Two of those runs were homers, one from Jacoby Ellsbury in the bottom of the 1st inning, and the other was from Kevin Youkillis in the bottom of the 2nd. After I saw the disastrous bottom of the 4th when Romero and the Jays gave up 3 doubles and 4 runs to Boston for them to go ahead 6-3, I switched off my TV in disgust. It's a good thing I did, because the only other thing I missed was 1 run afterwards. Ricky Romero is now 7-8 on the year while Tim Wakefield the "knuckle-baller" improves to 5-3 with the win. John Papelbon earned his 19th save of the year in the game. Toronto now has to travel to Cleveland for a series vs the Indians in the last few games before the All-Star break. Here's the recap vs Boston. That game against Cleveland will start at 7 PM and it can be seen on Rogers Sportsnet. Until then, be good.

Toronto's Jose Bautista All Raring to go in All-Star Weekend

Last evening, Jose Bautista was officially named to the 2011 Home Run Derby which will take place at All-Star Weekend. That will take place on Monday at 8 PM on Rogers Sportsnet. He got the news in a phone call from Boston Red Sox star David Ortiz. Jose will also be in the All-Star Game as well since he received the most fan votes of any player in the running. The game will take place on Tuesday at 8 PM on Rogers Sportsnet. Here's the story. That's it for now. Be back with more later. You all take care.

It's Official: Greedy NBA Imposes Lock-out on us Fans!

As of midnight today, the NBA and its players entered into a lock-out. This means that, at least for the time being, there will be no more NBA basketball to be played and watched. Why is there a lockout? Answer: It's ALL about the money! The players want more and the owners want a hard cap (which I actually agree with). Why should the players get more? They already make enough, and so do the owners and commisioner crew! As far as I see it, the players are going to starve the league into submission while clown David Stern and his crew of game-fixing officials and people cower in fear. If that doesn't happen, then we can kiss the league goodbye forever. What is basketball? Is it about entertainment, or money or media prestige? NO! It's a game that we all love and cherish, and it stirs up great emotions and memories. For me, it's always going to go back to when I first started watching the Raptors. That team was tough, with many veterans to back up a much younger and more athletic Vince Carter. Who can forget the 2001 team taking out the New York Knicks and then duking it out with Allen Iverson and the Philadelphia 76ers? The next season was also memorable, seeing the team come back to the playoffs after losing 13 games in a row, all without Vince! Antonio Davis was key that year, and he helped lead the team to duke it out with the Detroit Pistons. For me, that's where it's at. Heart, hustle, determination, and a willingness to be loyal: this is what Raps fans want. Say no to the league's current direction! Demand change, and go watch the Jays or Leafs instead. I'll just close by embedding a great Bruce Blitz video down below:

By the way, here's the official press release from the league. Have a good day!

One Issue...Three Starkly Different Perspectives

Yes, this is an off-topic posting, and it's about atheistic (belief in no gods) and theistic (belief in a personal god) elitism. I'm going to just simply embed three videos so that you can decide for yourself which is the more reasonable and respectful perspective. One is from an atheist on Youtube named Laci Green and  the other is from a Christian on Youtube whose user name is "togetherforpeace". The third one is from an atheist on Youtube named "DeadManTalkingLD" Here they are:

                         Laci's video (which oversimplified and broad-brushed Christians)

                         Jack "togetherforpeace" and his response to Laci Green

                                 a video from an atheist that confronts Laci head-on and refutes her

That's all for now, folks! Remember, if you're going to address any issue DO NOT be like Laci was in her video. Be more like Jack and "DeadManTalkingLD" and try to see both sides clearly as you are conversing with others. One final note: I'm not sure why atheists are saying that Jack is full of "bleep" and why his video is rated lower that Laci's was (3 stars compared to her 4.5), as this video sounds a lot more open than Laci's. I guess that's what Youtube is all about: militant atheism is more cooler than theism. Sad! Anyways, don't forget: the Jays play today against the St. Louis Cardinals. They won last night 5-4, so let's see if Toronto can keep it going. The game starts at 7 PM. Catch you later!

Raptors Draft Lithuanian Centre in Last Night's Draft

Yes, you heard the news. Toronto's newest addition is 19 year-old 231-pound Jonas Valanciunas from Lithuania and he was the fifth pick in last night's NBA draft which took place (as it usually does) in New York. With this pick, Andrea Bargnani can move into the power forward spot, which means that Ed Davis will probably move to being a reserve player, if the new guy is good enough. While I like Valanciunas for his inside presence and his apparent ability to score the big inside baskets, he still needs defensive work which means that Dwane Casey will have his work cut out for him. Also too, he is a European product, which makes the "Euro-centric" accusation against the Raptors legitimate. Mike Ulmer from the team's official website, disagrees (of course!). He believes Bryan Colangelo made the right move (as far as getting a center is concerned). Here's the article.  Also too, here's a highlight video about the new addition:

                                                      A highlight video featuring the Raptors 5th pick in the draft


Well, that's it. The Jays were swept against the Atlanta Braves in 3 games and begin a new series tonight vs the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. The game starts at 8:15 PM on Rogers Sportsnet. Have a good night!

P.S.: By the way, the NHL board of governors voted recently to approve of BOTH the relocation of the Atlanta Thrashers to Winnipeg and the ownership of this new team! Great news, Canada! Let's drop the puck!

New Head Coach for Raptors

Wow, it's been over a week since I last blogged and a lot has happened! The Dallas Mavericks won the 2011 NBA Finals vs the Miami Heat (great thing!), the Boston Bruins won the 2011 NHL Stanley Cup Finals vs the Vancouver Canucks (bad thing!) and the Vancouver city erupted in riots (bad thing again!) and now I find out that Jay Triano is no longer the head coach of the NBA's Toronto Raptors! Former Mavericks assistant Dwane Casey is the new man. Being that the Mavs just won the championship, I'd say that this is a good move for Toronto, as Casey was in charge of the defence for Dallas, and that is EXACTLY what the Raps need. We'll see how next season develops for the team. Here's the story.

Well, that's it for another post. The Jays are playing tonight vs the Atlanta Braves. I'll see how that goes for them. See ya later.

A Special Blog Post, Presenting...THE TASMANIAN DEVIL!!!

Yes, that is correct. You probably guessed that I'm doing a different kind of blog post for this entry. (No, I'm not talking about the Warner Bros. version of the animal!) I'm posting about the real-life animal that lives in the wild ONLY on the Australian island of Tasmania. Tazzy devils are assumed to be scary, ferocious creatures but they're actually not nearly as fearsome as Warner Bros has made them out to be in their Looney Tunes and Taz-Mania cartoon shows over the years. These animals are mostly scavengers (eating things that are already dead) and their feeding times have been described as free-for-alls, filled with screams, growls and other noises. However, they will actually sometimes eat alone and take only what they need rather than trying to consume the whole carcass. Due to their scavenging nature, they are great at cleaning up the island of dead carcasses which of course helps the island stay clean and free of disease. Also too, these guys come out mostly at night (they're nocturnal). T-Devils are about the size of a small dog or guinea pig with black fur and with some of them sporting white patches on their bodies. Another cool fact about Tasmanian devils is that younger ones can actually climb trees. This has been speculated to be the devil way to sniff and spot out more food to eat. These creatures are my favourites, one reason being their ability to carry their young in pouches just as kangaroos and koalas do (these creatures are all called marsupials). Another great thing about devils is that they have immense jaw power that (in adults at least) is capable of chomping through kangaroo leg bones and/or leather boots! One more thing about T-Devils is that they love to sunbathe. No one knows why these lovable critters sunbathe, but I think it's because they like the sun on their fur and it helps to warm them up when they are cold. (Cats such as leopards will do the same thing.) These creatures are a protected species, but they are still in danger of extinction. Why? Tazzy devils have no genetic diversity which makes them more susceptible to diseases. One such disease is known as "devil facial tumour disease". This is a cancer-like tumour that attacks the face of the Tazzy devil, making it more difficult to eat. They get infected due to biting during the short and fierce mating season that goes on every year. Infected devils can die of starvation only months after first contracting the tumour. The immune system of the T-devil doesn't recognize and respond to the tumour because of the low genetic diversity. T-devils have 14 chromosomes while the tumour has 13 and the chromosomes of both are eerily similar. This is also why the immune system of the animal doesn't attack the tumour. In fact, according to the website of the Save the Tasmanian Devil Program, 90% of the devil population in some areas of the island have been wiped out by the disease. Here's some more information about the problem.   You'll see the 90% thing at the top of every page on that website. We'll just have to pray and donate and volunteer and hope that this disease can be eradicated for good. Some more information about the Tasmanian Devil can also be found here: Wikipedia In addition, here are some great videos on the subject:

National Geographic (TV segments)

                                                   Bite of the Tasmanian Devil

                                                      Mutant Devils
These next ones are for the kids!

Kratts Creatures (an old 90's TV show)
(the episode is in three parts):

                                                              In Search of the Tasmanian Tiger (part 1)

                                                                   In Search of the Tasmanian Tiger (part 2)

                                                                 In Search of the Tasmanian Tiger (part 3)

Wild Kratts (Chris and Martin Kratt's newest show)
(this episode is in two parts):

                                                                   Tazzy Chris (part 1)

                                                                   Tazzy Chris (part 2)


Two more videos for us adults!

Bill Flowers (the snake artist on Youtube):

                                 A Talk to get the Christians to accept the Taz Devil as a symbol of Christ

                                               Just to show that you CAN be friends with Tazzy Devils!

Lastly, here is the Amazon link for a good book that I have in PDF format. It's called Tasmanian Devil: A Unique and Threatened Animal by David Owen and David Pemberton. It was first released in 2004, but it has been reissued since then. The Amazon copy is from 2006. Here's the book info. Well, there you go! I hope this post has been a great one and I hope the Tasmanian Devil will win the battle against Devil Facial Tumour Disease! Have a good one.

Link for Last Night's Atrocity of a Hockey Game

Well, it looks as if this Stanley Cup Final will be going to at least 6 games. Boston won 4-0 to tie the series up at 2 apiece. After Boston scored its 3rd goal on a breakaway late in the 2nd period, I turned off the TV in disgust. Let's hope Vancouver can win tomorrow night back home at Rogers Arena. Stanley Cup Final Tied at 2-2 That's all for now. Remember to tune in to CBC tomorrow night at 8 PM for the game. Have a good one.

Corrections for Last Two Blog Posts, Small Victory for Christians

Short Posting this time...

I have to apologize for giving the WRONG start date for my last two blog posts. My mistake was posting that Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals would start at 9 PM, but it actually started at 8 PM. I had also incorrectly stated elsewhere that Game 2 would start on Sunday at 9 PM, but it actually starts TODAY at 8 PM! Wow, this is embarrasing! Guess I'm going to have to start paying attention from now on! Anyways, something that ISN'T embarrasing...

I just read a cool article about a legal case in Texas where a school apparently wasn't allowed to allow its valedictorian to pray at their high school graduation. It had been banned by a ruling from San Antonio judge Fred Biery. This unjust ban was in response to a lawsuit by the parents of an agnostic student named Corwin Schultz. This student was a member of Medina Valley High School's graduation class, which was the school that was (and probably will continue to be) facing the trouble that this lawsuit brought. Apparently the federal appeals court struck down the ruling saying that the complainers arguments were based upon old situations that are no longer in place. Examples used were: the absence of words such as "bennediction" and "invocation" in their graduation program. Also too, there is question over whether this praying is actually school-sponsored and supported. So, this whole "violation of rights" crap that was coming from the lawsuit is simply that...crap! This shows us the trouble we Christians are in for when we go against culture and stand for our faith, and it also shows us that we will have joy in the midst of our trials. Anyways, go and check out this link for the whole story.

Wow, I'd better get to bed! It's 2 AM in the morning over here! Good night!  

Canucks Grab Nail-Biter from Bruins in Game 1 of Finals

Whoa, was last night's game ever close! It took a Raffi Torres goal with 19 seconds left to play for Vancouver to win the first game 1-0. When my dad and I were watching the game I told him that I thought the game would go into overtime. Suddenly my dad exclaimed, "Oh, they scored!" I turned to look at the TV screen and sure enough, the Rogers Arena crowd was celebrating and the Canucks were as well. This win gives Vancouver a 1-0 lead in the series and puts them on the path towards a championship. The goaltenders (Tim Thomas for Boston and Roberto Luongo for Vancouver) looked unstoppable but Luongo won the duel, getting the shutout. Luongo stopped all 36 shots while Thomas stopped 33 of 34. The shots on goal were 36-34 in favour of the Boston Bruins with Vancouver outshooting Boston 14-10 in the 3rd period. All in all, it was a great hockey game and I look forward to game 2! Here's the recap.

That's all for now. Until the teams play again Sunday night, |I'll sign off. See you all later!

Reminder About Stanley Cup Finals

Just wanted to inform everyone that since Vancouver defeated the San Jose Sharks in six games in their Western Conference Finals, they will now face off against the Boston Bruins in the Stanley Cup Finals. The series starts off tomorrow night in Vancouver at 9 PM and can be seen on CBC as will ALL the games in the series. Until then, have a good one!

Vancouver Survives Shark Attack in San Jose

Yesterday, the Canucks played game 4 of their series vs the San Jose Sharks, but the action was slow until the end of the 2nd period. The Canucks killed off 5 STRAIGHT penalties, and then scored 3 STRAIGHT power-play goals (some on 5-on-3 situations) to take a commanding 3-0 lead. Ryan Kesler and Sami Salo scored those goals and the Canucks headed into the locker room up by three goals after the 2nd period ended. In the 3rd, San Jose outshot Vancouver 17-3 and outshot the Canucks for the game by a count of 35-13. Goaltender Roberto Luongo was great in net, stopping 33 of 35 shots and allowing the Canucks to get into the game. Alex Burrows would score the final goal for Vancouver in the 3rd period to seal the deal. San Jose's goals were scored by Andrew Desjardins and Ryan Clowe. Now, Vancouver has a chance to go to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 1994. First off however, they must win one more game in the series. Game 5 goes tomorrow night back in Vancouver at 9 PM. The game can be seen on CBC. Canucks Win Crucial Game 4 vs Sharks (recap)

Well, that's it. Until tomorrow night's game, stay cool.

Jays Crush Twins, Canucks Bite Off Sharks

Yesterday afternoon, the Toronto Blue Jays played against the Minnesota Twins in Minneapolis, MN. This game was no contest, as the Jays won 11-3 with Jose Bautista slamming 3 home runs during the game and driving in 4 runs. With this win, the Jays have now won 5 in a row and have the leading home run hitter in the entire major leagues. Bautista already has SIXTEEN homers! At this point last year he didn't. Also too, they swept the Twins in the series. It's getting fun watching these guys again. Here's the recap.

Also too, the Vancouver Canucks defeated the San Jose Sharks last night in Game 1 of the NHL Western Conference final by a score of 3-2 with Vancouver scoring twice in the third period to win. The goal scorers for San Jose were Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau. Vancouver's scorers were Maxim Lapierre, Kevin Bieska and Henrik Sedin. Bieska and Sedin scored the winners in the 3rd period. Shots on goal favoured Vancover 38-29. It looks as though things are off to a great start for the Canucks. Here's the boxscore.

For now, that's it. The Jays play tonight at Comerica Park in Detroit to take on the Detroit Tigers at 7 PM. The game is on Rogers Sportsnet. Have a nice day! 

Reminder of tonight's big game

This is just a short post, reminding everyone that the Vancouver Canucks can FINALLY resume their chase for the Stanley Cup tonight in Game 1 of the Western Conference final vs the San Jose Sharks, who just recently took out the Detroit Red Wings in Game 7 of their conference semi-final series. The score of that game was 5-2. The game starts at 9 PM and it can be seen on TSN. Let's hope Vancouver can take out the Sharks and get off to a great start. That's all for now.

Some Leftovers

Just wanted to post about the Wings victory last night in Game 6. They won 3-1 to tie the series vs the San Jose Sharks at 3 apiece. Henrik Zetterberg, Valtteri Flippula, and Darren Helm scored for Detroit while Logan Couture scored the Sharks only goal. All of the goals were scored in the 3rd period. Shots on goal for the game were 45-25 for Detroit. Jimmy Howard played great for Detroit, stopping 24 of the 25 shots that he faced, while his opponent Antti Niemi stopped 42 of 44 shots. The final Detroit goal was an empty-netter by Darren Helm. Here's the boxscore. Also too, Vancouver recently finished off the Nashville Predators in Game 6 at Nashville. The final was 2-1. Here's the recap. All Vancouver has to do now is wait until Detroit and San Jose finish off their series which will happen tomorrow night in San Jose. The teams will play Game 7 in the series and it will start at 9 PM. It should be a good one! Meanwhile, you all take care.

Vancouver: Winners in OT vs Nashville, Jays lose Another Close One

With the start of a new month, it's time to blog once again. This post will focus on the title subjects - Vancouver winning Game 3 of their 2nd round vs the Nashville Predators and the Toronto Blue Jays losing another baseball game, this time to the Tampa Bay Rays. The game started out bad for Vancouver, with Nashville striking first on a goal by David Legwand in the first period to go up 1-0. That of course is how the period would end. However, the Canucks wouldn't go down easily. In the 2nd period, Vancouver went on a power-play that had started at the end of the 1st and Ryan Kesler scored on a tip-in play that tied it up at 1-1. Thus, the 2nd intermission saw the game tied at that score. Now, during the 3rd period we saw Chris Higgins score early on for Vancouver to make it a 2-1 score. However, Nashville kept pressing and trying to give their sellout crowd something to cheer about. Eventually, the Predators responded and scored on a late goal by Joel Ward late with around 6 minutes left in regulation time. This tied the game up at 2-2 and set the stage for a great finish. Both teams skated hard after that goal and tried to get that final winning goal. Both Roberto Luongo (Vancouver) and Pekka Rinne (Nashville) had to stand tall for their teams and make great saves. However, the game went to overtime. In that overtime, Kesler again scored for Vancouver to give them a 3-2 victory and a 2-1 series lead. Vancouver also won easily on the shots on goal category: 47-30. Game 4 is Thursday at 8:30 PM in Nashville. Here's the recap.

Last night, the Jays took to the ball diamond in their first game of this current series vs the Tama Bay Rays. It started well enough, with a good performance by struggling starter Jo-Jo Reyes who went 6 innings and only gave up 1 run and 4 hits to Tampa while striking out 4 himself. He was actually looking to be the winner until the 9th inning when the bullpen crashed again for Toronto. Jon Rauch, the closer for Toronto blew the save by giving up a 2-run walk-off home run to B.J. Upton for a 3-2 Tama victory. The Rays have now won 3 straight games while the Jays have lost 3 straight. Here's the recap.

That's all for now. The Jays will try for a win in Tampa Bay tonight at 6:40 PM and will put Brendan Morrow on the mound to face off against Jeff Niemann. Take care!  

Montreal and Vancouver Both Victorious in Elimination Games

Yes,  that's right. Both teams won last night in their playoff matches with Vancouver defeating the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 7 with a 2-1 score in overtime. Alex Burrows scored both of Vancouver's goals and even had a penalty shot attempt to boot. Of course, both the goaltenders were spectacular last night: Roberto Luongo snagged 31 saves and looked dominant tonight, erasing many Blackhawk scoring chances. However, the Hawks goaltender was just as superb: Corey Crawford was especially good in the 3rd period and ended many Canucks chances to win the game. This set up Jonathan Toews game-tying goal late in the period which sent the game into overtime. He also picked up 36 saves along the way. The shots on goal in the game were 38-32 in favour of Vancouver. Thus, the Canucks put Chicago away after blowing a 3-0 series lead. Now they have to wait to play the Nashville Predators in the 2nd round of the playoffs. Here's the recap. Also too, here are the game highlights:

                                                  video of WGN Radio recap (Chicago station)

Now, for the Montreal Canadiens game 6 vs Boston matchup. It was a big win for Montreal in their home rink (the Bell Centre in downtown Montreal) with the final score being 2-1 (but in regulation this time). Stars Michael Cammalleri and Brian Gionta scored the Habs goals on two separate 5-on-3 power plays and goaltender Carey Price was big as well, making 31 saves and facing 32 saves. Of course, Tim Thomas wasn't too shabby either: the Boston Bruins goaltender stopped 25 of the 27 shots that he faced. The shots on goal as you can guess was 32-27 in favour of the Bruins. Boston's only goal came from Dennis Seidenberg in the loss. Two other details of the game to blog about: with about 3 and-a-half minutes gone in the 1st period, it appeared as though Montreal had already scored the game's first goal. However, it was disallowed because the silly referee couldn't see the puck! Needless to say, the Habs fans booed their hearts out about the bad call and they even threw some towels onto the ice in protest. What happened was this: Scott Gomez dumped the puck in and Tim Thomas misplayed it, allowing for Brian Gionta slipped it in the net. Then the goal was disallowd. Gionta would make up for it though by scoring the game-winner in the 2nd period. All in all, it was a great game for Montreal. Here's the recap.

Well, that about wraps it up! Remember, Montreal has to do it again tonight in Boston for game 7. The game is on CBC and it will start at 7 PM! Take care!

Home-Run Hitting Lifts Jays to Win in Texas

Caught some of the game last night, and I saw the Jays play very well against the Texas Rangers. In the top of the 5th inning, Toronto hit 3 home runs to support starting pitcher Kyle Drabek and secure the victory. First, new member Corey Patterson smashed a 3-run bomb to make the score 3-0 in favour of the Jays. Then, on the VERY NEXT at-bat, star Jose Bautista hit a solo shot and earned his 8th homer of the year. Finally, struggling DH Juan Rivera slammed a key 2-run shot to make it 6-0. Those runs stood up as the Jays won 6-4 to take the first game of the series. It wasn't easy though, as Texas would claw back into the game. It started with Yorvit Torrealba hitting a solo home run in the bottom of the 5th inning to make it 6-1 Jays. Texas would also get RBI's (runs batted in) from Michael Young and Ian Kinsler in the game, but Toronto won in the end. The winning pitcher was Kyle Drabek for the Jays and the loser was starter Corey Lewis for the Rangers. This started the Jays 10-game road trip on a very good note. Here's the recap.

Don't forget, the NHL playoffs are on tonight. The 6th game of the bizarre series between the Montreal Canadiens and the Boston Bruins goes tonight at 7 PM on CBC. Vancouver meanwhile will try to defeat Chicago in game 7 of their series at 10 PM. That is also on CBC. That's all I have right now. Be back later.

An Off-Topic Easter Rant Concerning Liberal Newspaper Views about God, Suffering, Easter, etc.

It's that time of year again, folks. The time of year that we call Easter is here. For most of us it's simply a time of family, friends, Easter eggs and bunnies, among other things. However, for me it's a time to reflect on WHY I celebrate: to commemorate the death, burial and resurrection of the one who is called Jesus Christ. That's why I have to rant. I was reading in my local newspaper (the London Free Press) and I came across a panel discussion concerning human suffering, God, and other topics. The panel featured a Jewish rabbi, a Muslim imam, and many influential local Roman Catholic, United Church and Orthodox figures. Some of the comments I read simply STUNNED me beyond belief, but the main thing I noticed was how MAN-CENTERED the whole discussion was: no talk was made about God's absolute sovereignty (control over all things), his justice and holiness, our true condition of depravity and sin and abject REBELLION against God, what it really means to sin, the "new creation" (2 Corinthians 5:17) aspect of the Christian life as a result of faith alone in Christ alone, what it truly means to be regenerated (set apart as holy) by the Holy Spirit, etc. What WAS brought up was God giving human beings free-will, understanding our role in life, know that God "suffers" with us, etc. Other conversations with these leaders revealed their contempt for God's holiness and justice which they termed "the vengeful God". Basically, their idea is that God is just all about forgiving and "loving on people" because folks have been beaten down by preaching about sin and hell, so we need to "reach people where they're at". However, the Scriptures do indeed talk about wrath and sin. I'll just give you a few references to get the point across:
- "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who supress the truth in unrighteousness..." (Romans 1:18, NASB)
- "And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life." (Matthew 25:46, ESV)
- "Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness." (1 John 3:4, NKJV)

I also read another article in the same Saturday edition of the paper that was written by a retired United Church minister named Bob Ripley. His column gave the standard liberal view of the gospel accounts providing us with "sketchy" details: who really went to the tomb, who did Mary Magdalene see, etc. My reaction is "who cares?" What really counts is that Christ atoned for sin on the cross, and was buried and then rose again three days later for our justification (being declared to be righteous before God). My thinking was the following: "Let's discuss what THE GOSPEL actually is and WHY Easter is so important in the first place. After that, the discrepanicies don't matter so much. Don't get me wrong, I do believe that the Bible itself is God's perfect, inerrant and inspired Word. Let's not get lost on the main points though. The main points are:

God created us in his image so that we could have a relationship with him. We however rebelled against God and chose to go our own way in the Garden of Eden (Adam and Eve). Romans 5:12 tells us that death came through one man and sin entered our world. Since God's standard is holy and perfect, he cannot tolerate sin. He must judge it and remove it from his presence. Jesus even said that lust and hatred were akin to adultery and murder during his Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapter 5. However, God also loves us since we are his creation and were made in his image (Genesis 1:26-27). This means that a sinless one must atone for our sins because we cannot do it. That person was Jesus himself, the Messiah. Past generations of people could only atone for sin through animal sacrifices, which many of us Christians believe was a representation of what Jesus would do for us on the cross. Christ was prophesied by many writers of Scripture, and Jesus has fulfilled many of those prophecies. The reality is that we have broken God's laws and have been condemned by God to be eternally separated from him in hell. We cannot attain salvation by works for our righeousness is as filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6) Salvation is a FREE gift (Romans 6:23) and we become saved by trusting completely in Christ's substitutionary work on the cross for us ALONE (John 3:16, John 3:36, Acts 16:31). God justifies the ungodly (Romans 4:5), and imputes Christ's righeousness to us when we trust in Christ with a believing and repentant heart just as he did to Abraham (Genesis chapter 15). When we become believers, we are a new creation and the Holy Spirit regenerates us (Titus 3:5). However, we still struggle against sin (Romans chapter 7), so we must rely on God to give us strength in order to see us be victorious over the sin that can still so easily entangle us (Hebrews 12:1). We do this by keeping our eyes (focus) on Jesus (verse 2 of the same chapter). One day, Christ will come back to judge the world and its sin and his people will be finally free from the very PRESENCE of sin. (Revelation 21:4)  Until then, we must rely on God for protection and help.  There is the true Gospel. There is the essence of Christianity, or "mere" Christianity as C.S. Lewis once called it.

Bob Ripley got one thing right in his article: "we are left with an empty grave." Sadly, he skipped past explaining that and giving REAL hope to people, the hope of eternal life. That is sorely needed in the world today and we must give this message to others. All of these articles that I read remind me of an old-school Christian thrash metal song that I've heard. It is called "Prophet of Idiocy" by the group Deliverance and it was recorded for their "What a Joke" album which was released in 1991. Here are the lyrics:

The preacher speaks his idiocy
in the name of prophecy
Submit to me to be allowed
into the Ministry
He knows what to say
to make you feel good
But your mind is plagued with confusion
something's left not understood

Who is man to formulate
the way God uses men?
They pervert the Word to indulge
In their lusts
You fool you're being lied to
In the name of Christianity
Sixty six books tell it like it is
Not an act or liturgy

Prophet of idiocy

The website for the lyrics is here.

If you want to hear the song, I'll embed the video below:

                                                                    Deliverance's song "Prophet of Idiocy"
Sad, isn't it? That's how Biblically illiterate and self-centered we've become, and the articles reflected that. That's all for now. I'll catch you later.