Oh, what a Frustrating Knight!

Yes, it was one of those games. You know, the ones where you try and try but you end up failing to succeed. Last night was a game of this sort for the London Knights. It started out good for the team with the Owen Sound attack attemtping to hit the Knights and taking foolish penalties because of it. As a result of the Attack's chippiness, London ended up getting NINE power-plays! Yes, you read that right: 9 power-play opportunities. Unfortunately, the Knights could only capitalize on two of them. The team still lead 2-1 after that first period on goals by Seth Griffith and Ryan Rupert. The assists were collected by Vladislav Namestnikov on Griffith's goal and Seth Griffith and Jared Knight on Rupert's goal. Owen Sound did get a goal from Matt Stanisz with Jesse Blacker getting the assist in the period. After that, however, it was almost all Owen Sound the rest of the way. London started out the 2nd period much the way they had played the 1st: score goals and create chances. This resulted in the team scoring first in the frame on a goal by Ryan Rupert with Namestnikov assisting. This made the score 3-1 and it looked as though London was going to be able to pull this one out. However, Owen Sound would score 3 more times to take a 4-3 lead heading into the 3rd and final period. Those goals were scored by Brendan Childerley, Joey Hishon, and Jesse Blacker. Also during the 2nd period, the Knights lost Stephen Sanza to injury and Sanza did not return for the rest of the game. As of this date, it is unclear as to what injury Sanza may have suffered. The 3rd period was no better for the Knights, as they kept taking needless penalty after needless penalty. Near the end, Jordan Tinodi took an instigator penalty for fighting and was ejected from the game. Also too, Colin Martin was assessed a match penalty for slew-footing and was also ejected. Suspensions for the play are expected to be handed out. Lastly, Owen Sound scored an empty-net goal to win 5-3. Here's the boxscore. Anyways, that’s all for now and good luck to the Knights as they try to tie the series at 2 games apiece on Thursday night when they host the Attack for game 4. The start time is 7 PM. Good day and take care!

Knights Bounce Back in Game 2, updates, goodbye to Raptors

On Sunday, the Knights had a job to do: defeat Owen Sound in Game 2 of their first-round series. Being the host, the Knights knew the importance of going back to Owen Sound with a split throughout the first two games. Well, they accomplished their goal by beating the Attack 5-1 in a solid, all-around team effort which is critical in the playoffs for success. Michael Houser came up big again though, as London was horrifically outshot 53-29. London's goals were scored by Seth Griffith, Vladislav Namestnikov, Matt Rupert, Stephen Sanza, and Jared Knight. Owen Sound's only goal came from Roman Berdnikov. The series is now tied 1-1 going into tomorrow night's game 3 back in Owen Sound. Start time is 7 PM. Here's the boxscore.

I haven't been blogging as much because I have been having to rip Audio Bible CD's onto my computer so that I can then sync them onto my dad's USB flashdrive. This is so that he can easily listen on the road to these files while he's driving his truck. (My dad is a truck driver and he has an Ipod.) I would have blogged sooner about this except for the fact that it takes an irritatingly long time to rip the files of the audio Bible discs onto my computer. So, I apologize for any inconveniences. This ripping and syncing process will likely take me a week or two to finish, so I'll have to blog at nights every day that the Knights play just to keep up in the series. Just thought I should let everyone know.

Finally, I should say goodbye to the Toronto Raptors since we all know they won't obviously be making the playoffs this year. It's been a good ride with DeMar DeRozan, Andrea Bargnani, Leandro Barbosa, and Co, but with the Knights in the middle of an exciting playoff series vs the Attack and the Jays season almost ready to start on April 1st, I think it is best if I wish them well now. Here's to hoping that Bryan Colangelo can put the pieces together to bring out a playoff contender in the coming years. Good luck to everyone, and God bless!

Why I Hate ESPN: Propaganda from 1999

This video compared Vince Carter's rookie year to Michael Jordan's rookie year and tried to make the silly case for Vince being the next MJ. The worst part of it is this: they didn't even give out all the facts, but only gave a quick 4-numbers comparison between Vince and Michael. The rest of their tripe was all about dunking, atheticism and 3-point shooting. Plus, it's only about the rookie years of both players! If you love ESPN and are brainwashed because of it, read this post and watch the video. Get a reality check and be like me! Glad I didn't listen to their crap!

London Loses Close One in Game 1

It's time for another Knights recap since they made the playoffs. They made it as the 8th seed in the OHL's Western Conference and their opponent in their OHL Western Conference Quarter-Final round is the Owen Sound Attack, who is 1st in the conference. Last night's game was in Owen Sound and it started off well for the Knights in a fast-paced first two periods. London seemed to be more aggressive in the 1st period with lots of "jump" in their step. The team even scored the only goal in the period which was by Jared Knight compliments of Seth Griffith who picked up the assist. Owen Sound did outshoot the Knights in that period by a 9-7 count, however. In the 2nd period, the action picked up a bit in terms of goal scoring. Owen Sound scored 2 goals in the period to take a 2-1 lead in the game. Robby Mignardi and Garrett Wilson were the goal scorers for the Attack with Matt Stanisz and Jesse Blacker assisting on the Mignardi goal. Liam Heelis and Robby Mignardi assisted on the Wilson goal. Stephen Sanza did tie it up for London, however. Late in the 2nd, he scored to make it 2-2 with Seth Griffith once again gaining the assist. Once again, Owen Sound outshot the Knights in that period by a count of 14-10. In the 3rd period, neither team scored as the goaltenders (Michael Houser for London and Jordan Binnington for Owen Sound) were required to make tremendous saves in the frame, as well as throughout the game. Owen Sound outshot the Knights by a whopping 23-6 margin, so you can guess how big Michael Houser was. So it ended up being 2-2 at the end of regulation, therefore overtime was needed. In that overtime, Owen Sound dominated and outshot London 6-0 with the final shot being the game-winner by Garrett Wilson with 1:55 gone. The assists were picked up by Andrew Fritsch and star Joey Hishon. Thus, the final score was Owen Sound 3, London 2. Here is the official boxscore.

Game 2 goes tonight back in London at the John Labatt Centre. The game time is at 7 PM.

Possibly the Last Knights Recap

Well folks, I promised that Knghts recap, so here it is...

On Saturday, the London Knights played the Owen Sound Attack on the road hoping to turn things around. Michael Houser started in goal for the Knights while the Attack countered with Michael Zador. Houser stopped 21 of 25 shots while Zador stopped 29 of 31. In fact, the total shots on goal were 31-26 in favour of the Knights. Finally, I must recap the scoring of the game. In the first period, Matt Rupert scored the first goal for the Knights at 5:43 to give the team a 1-0 lead. He was assisted by Jared Knight and Jared Tinordi. Then, at 17:04 in the 1st, Owen Sound scored on a power-play to tie the game. Garrett Wilson scored and was assisted by Andrew Fritsch and Joey Hishon. Then in the 2nd period at 19:08, the Attack took a 2-1 lead on Matt Stanisz's goal which was assisted by Joey Hison and Jesse Blacker. Thus, the score was 2-1 Attack after two periods of play. In the 3rd period at 5:42, London would tie the game at 2-2 on a power-play goal by Vladislav Namestnikov with assists by Jake Worrad and Seth Griffith. However, Owen Sound would take over from there, scoring 3 unanswered goals: Jarrod Maidens at 8:08 with Jay Gilbert assisting, Joey Hishon at 10:03 with Garrett Wilson assisting, and Liam Heelis at 19:54 on an empty-netter. This gave Owen Sound the 5-2 victory over the Knights. So, the Knights must now try to save their season next weekend when they play against the Sarnia Sting on Friday, the Owen Sound Attack (again) on Saturday, and the Kitchener Rangers. The game times are all at 7:30 PM except for the Sunday game vs Kitchener which is at 4 PM.
Here is the recap vs Owen Sound.

Remember, the Raptors play on Wednesday at Detroit vs the Pistons. The game starts at 7\;30 PM on TSN2. Catch you later!     

Toronto's Pace Too Quick for Indiana

Last night, the Toronto Raptors hosted the Indiana Pacers at the Air Canada Centre. Andrea Bargnani returned to play after being out vs Utah with the flu. Needless to say, Andrea was still feeling the effects of the flu and this reflected in his game: going only 1-13 from the floor and finishing with 8 points in approximately 30 minutes. Toronto did get some help though, in the form of Leandro Barbosa, who went off for 29 points, shooting an impressive 12-21 from the floor, including 2-4 from the 3-point line. He also collected 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal. He did all of this OFF THE BENCH and all in 26 minutes of play. Other Toronto heroes were: James Johnson (13 points on 6-6 shooting, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks and 1 steal in 25 minutes), Reggie Evans (16 rebounds in 26 minutes), DeMar DeRozan (16 points in 30 minutes), Ed Davis (12 points on 5-6 shooting, 13 rebounds & 2 assists in 34 minutes), and Jose Calderon (13 points on 5-10 shooting and 8 assists in 30 minutes). The final score was 108-98 for the Raptors who won their 18th victory of the season. Here are the stats of the game. In the game, Toronto was up early and stretched their lead to 15 points with about 7 minutes left in th 4th quarter. Indiana however, did put up a 12-3 run with approximately 4 minutes left. Toronto responded and bumped it back up to 10, but Indiana fought back with a Danny Granger tip-in and two clutch Darren Collison free throws to make it a 2-point game with about a minute left. Barbosa then misssed a key layup, but Andrea Bargnani grabbed the offensive rebound and Jose Calderon made the layup to give T.O. the win.

Now for a few more stats:
- Toronto outrebounded Indiana by 12.
- game marks 5th straight win at Air Canada Centre over Pacers
- Raptors hit 3-5 3-pointers in 4th quarter
- (next stat says "Jazz" when "Pacers" should be there): Indiana - 4-7 3-pointers in 4th quarter
- is 4th straight game for Ed Davis with 12 points
Here's the recap.

Well, that's about it. I should review a Knights game before their season ends, and tonight's game seems like a great one. London is in a tailspin right now in the Ontario Hockey League, going from 6th in the West to 8th. They play at Owen Sound vs the Attack at 7:30 PM. It'll most likely be the last recap from me about the Knights unless the team makes the playoffs, as I have to get ready for the Toronto Blue Jays and also see the Raptors finish up. However, if the Knights DO make the playoffs, then there will be some more recaps from me. Until then, take care!  

Stunning Raptors and Heat News

Yes folks, it's NBA talk. First we start off with the Raptors. For this post, I'm not really going to recap the Raptors triple-overtime game that the team lost on Saturday vs the Nets in Britain. I'm going to rant a little bit instead. If you want a recap, here it is. My rant complaint is this: I believe the game was fixed. "WHAT? You're crazy." you might be thinking. "What reason would the NBA have for fixing the game? The Raptors and Nets aren't big-market or playoff teams, so there's no point. And you have no proof anyways." You're right in saying that the Raptors and Nets aren't playoff teams, but I think there may be some evidence of fixing nonetheless. Let me start by pointing out that DeMar DeRozan didn't score A SINGLE POINT in both the 2nd and 3rd quarters! This is not DeRozan basketball and it has never been done by any other Raptors star ever - not Damon Stoudamire, not Vince Carter, and not even Chris Bosh. Before that, in the 1st quarter, DeMar had scored 13 impressive points. After his disappointing middle quarters, he suddenly turned it on again and scored more points. In fact, he finished the night with 30 points, 18 of which were scored throughout the 4th quarter and 3 overtimes. "Well, that IS suspicious, but it doesn't really prove anything," you might protest. "It could just prove that DeRozan had an off night or needed to play many minutes to find his groove." Fair enough, I'll grant that you could be right there. What about the officiating, however? Throughout the first three regular quarters, as I watched on TV, it felt like a regular game, going back and forth with a good tight match brewing. The fans were clearly on Toronto's side even though the games were advertised as home ones for New Jersey. The calls seemd to be even in that span. Then in the fourth quarter and throughout the first two overtime periods, the action seemed much different, with the referees "letting the players play" (especially in the 1st two overtime periods), and the Nets and Raptors making difficult shots time and time again. I wish I could look at the calls and free throw differences between the teams from the 4th quarter onwards to see if it really was fixed or not, but since I can't I have no way of knowing. The general feel of the game is that the NBA wanted this game to be as close and as long as posible in order to reel in the money and the British fans so that they will watch more games and support the league. In the 3rd overtime, the calls suddenly seemed more consistent and New Jersey quickly jumped out to a solid lead, only to have Toronto claw back until the end. Also, Andrea Bargnani scored a game-high 35 points in the game, despite shooting only 11-28 from the floor. DeRozan shot only 11-26 from the floor, yet he gets 30 points. NONE of this makes any sense, people. You don't think it's strange or suspicious? Wake up. The London fans were cheated out of a good game, in my opinion. It isn't fair for New Jersey to have to tell its fans, "Thanks for purchasing our season-ticket package, but you're only getting 39 games because the league is having us play in Britain against the Raptors, of all teams. If you don't like it, then screw you. Get lost." Here are the stats to check it out for yourself. With this so-called "game", New Jersey swept the two-game miniseries in the U.K. The final score was 137-136. Next up for Toronto is a game back home tonight vs the Utah Jazz who are now without Jerry Sloan, who is retired and Deron Williams, who is now with the Nets. The game can be seen on Rogers Sportsnet One at 7 PM.

Meanwhile, in other NBA news, the Miami Heat have now lost 5 games IN A ROW! That's right, you read it correctly. After last night's home loss to the Portland Trailblazers (who now have former Charlotte Bobcats star Gerald Wallace), the Heat are in a tailspin and everybody's panicking. I love it! Here's the great recap.  The final score was 105-96. Also too, Chris Bosh is acting like a crybaby during this streak, whining about not getting the ball more. Read the article here. As the article says, "Bosh wants to play like he did in Toronto, when he was the No. 1 option on largely mediocre teams and piled up impressive statistics working his way inside and out as he saw fit." It even goes on to say, "Bosh is supposed to take all of this up with his teammates and Heat coach Erik Spoelstra. Too bad he didn’t try that first. Because by whining (crying would be too strong a term in this matter) about this publicly before addressing the matter within the confines of the Heat locker room, Bosh is feeding the daily beast that is the Heat hate machine." Suggestion to Bosh: take it up with your coach and teammates. Surely LeBron can help you out. After all, you ARE buddies, right? As Phil Jackson says, "Big boys don't cry." Quit acting like a child and be a man, Chris. If you want to play like you did as a Raptor, then WHY did you ever want to leave? Folks, it looks as if all is not well in paradise.

Well, that's all for now. Until next time, game on.

Raptors Left Hanging on New Jersey's Nets in U.K.

Yep. The Raptors played against the Nets in London, England (now known as the United Kingdom) for the first time ever. For the first 3 quarters, it was close and it looked as though Toronto was going to win, but New Jersey turned it on in the 4th. You can thank new star guard Deron Williams for that. However, you can also thank former Raptor Kris Humphries as well. He scored 18 points on 8-14 shooting and he also grabbed 17 rebounds and 3 assists. 4 of his rebounds were on the offensive end. Humphries looked different than when he had been a Raptor. In Toronto, he had tried to do too much on offense, which limited his minutes and earned him quick and silly fouls. With New Jersey, Kris has thrived: he's simply on the rebounds and getting the hustle plays done. This has led him to play more minutes and be more of an important piece for the Nets. The Raptors hero, on the other hand, was DeMar "no props needed" DeRozan. He scored a game-high 30 points on 12-19 shooting and made all six of his free throw attempts. Final score: 116-103 for New Jersey. Here's the recap.

By the way, Lebron's "lovely" Miami Heat have been struggling lately. They lost to Orlando the other night and last night they lost to the league-leading San Antonio Spurs who hit 17 3-pointers in the game. The final score was 125-95. Ouch! This series of events confirms what I've known all along: the Miami Heat WILL NOT win the championship this year. The winner will either be the L.A. Lakers, the San Antonio Spurs, or the Boston Celtics. Even the RAPTORS played better against San Antonio than what \Miami did last night! Here's the recap.

Well, that's all I have. Stay tuned to Rogers Sportsnet One for the rematch of last night's game in London, U.K. against the Nets. Game time is 3 PM. Until next time, play on!

link for Raptors win over New Orleans

Just wanted to give you the link to the recap. It will get you ready for their 2-game trip to London in the United Kingdom where they will play as the road team vs Deron Williams and the New Jersey Nets. Williams used to play for the Utah Jazz but was traded in a deadline deal for guys such as Devin Harris and Derrick Favors. So yeah...Utah is going to stink a little bit because their coach Jerry Sloan is now retired and their former star is now a Net. Anyways, here's the recap.  That's all I have for now. The two London games are Friday and Saturday for Toronto. Friday's game is 7 PM on Sportsnet while Saturday's game is 3 PM on Sportsnet One. See you later.