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!
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
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.
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.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
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.
- "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.
Friday, April 22, 2011
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Bruins Stave Off Habs Comeback to Preserve Win
Yes, this series is no longer dominated by Montreal. Boston made it 2-1 last night by winning at the Bell Centre in Montreal by a count of 4-2. Early on (especially in the 1st period), Boston seemed quicker to the puck and completely dominated the Canadiens on their way to a 3-0 lead after the period ended. The goals were scored by David Krejci, Nathan Horton and Rich Peverley and gave the Bruins a good cushion should Montreal attempt to come-back, which they did. In the 2nd period, Andrei Kostitsyn scored to make it 3-1 which was the score after the 2nd intermission. This evidently gave a spark to Montreal as they came out swinging in the 3rd against Tim Thomas, the goaltender for Boston. Time after time a shaky Thomas stopped the Habs charge making solid saves. The irony however is that if it hadn't of been for a TERRIBLE clearing attempt by Montreal goaltender Carey Price that led to the third Boston goal, the game may have went to OT or even to a victory by Montreal and Boston wouldn't have scored the empty-net final goal by Chris Kelly with 36 seconds left to play. As I was watching the game and seeing Montreal charge the Bruin netminder in the 3rd period, I remarked to my dad that if Montreal had've played like this in the 1st period, they would be winning. As the game ended, I remarked further that Montreal outshot Boston in this game and lost while the first two games saw Boston losing despite outshooting Montreal. The stats prove me right: Montreal had 36 shots on goal in this game while Boston had only 25. So now it's 2-1 in the series for Montreal and the teams will have to play game 4 later. Here's the recap.
Tonight, I believe that Vancouver will finish off the Chicago Blackhawks and sweep them in four straight games. The Canucks have been fairly dominant and when pressure has come from Chicago, they have been able to withstand the attacks on their way to victory. Mark my words, there will be a new Stanley Cup Champion this year. The game time is 8 PM and it can be seen on CBC. That's it for now. Until next time, take care!
Tonight, I believe that Vancouver will finish off the Chicago Blackhawks and sweep them in four straight games. The Canucks have been fairly dominant and when pressure has come from Chicago, they have been able to withstand the attacks on their way to victory. Mark my words, there will be a new Stanley Cup Champion this year. The game time is 8 PM and it can be seen on CBC. That's it for now. Until next time, take care!
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Blue Jays, Habs, and Canucks...oh my!
Yes, that's right: a 3-team blog entry! I've got quite a bit to cover, so I'll just start with the NHL playoffs first...
On Wednesday, the Montreal Canadiens played against the Boston Bruins in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference quarter-final matchup in the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs. Montreal displayed a stiffling defense and held Boston off the scoring sheet in terms of goals, winning 2-0. The Habs picked up those goals by way of key player Brian Gionta. Mind you, Boston did outshoot Montreal 31-20, but goaltender Carey Price was man enough stop all threats that came his way. Montreal is 1-0 in the series because of the win. Here's the recap. Game 2 is tonight in Boston at 7 PM. The game can be seen on TSN. Also, the Vancouver Canucks played Game 2 of their first round vs the defending champion Chicago Blackhawks at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia (in Canada). This game was a far cry from the 2-0 opener that Vancouver won earlier. All in all, 7 goals were scored between the two teams, with Vancouver winning 4-3 to take a 2-0 series lead. Daniel Sedin - brother to teammate Henrik Sedin - scored 2 goals and had an assist in the game. Jannik Hansen and Alex Edler were the other Canucks who scored for Vancouver. Ben Smith scored two for Chicago and Victor Stalberg also scored for the Blackhawks. What made this game interesting was the fact that Vancouver allowed Chicago to come within one goal 3 separate times making for a queasy finish if you're a Canucks fan. However, Vancouver didn't panic and managed to come away with the win. Here's the recap.
Speaking of not panicking, it's time to focus on the Toronto Blue Jays baseball team. After a dramatic comeback victory in Seattle thanks to Jose Bautista's 3-run home run, the team travelled to Fenway Park in Boston to take on the struggling Boston Red Sox. This game started out unexpectantly with Adam Lind hitting what appeared to be a 3-run home run in the top of the 1st inning. Initially, the umpires had signalled the hit to be legit and the ball to be fair, but after review, they found that due to the makeup of the foul territory in Fenway Park, the run had to be disallowed and thus the call was changed. As a result, it was a scoreless tie after that top half of the inning ended. The other interesting thing about the game was the shakiness of the Toronto bullpen. Casey Janssen allowed Boston to score 3 runs in the bottom of the 8th inning to mae the game 7-6 in favour of the Jays, but Jon Rauch restored the order in the 9th to get the save and a Blue Jays victory. Boston also had scored the first 3 runs of the game to go ahead in the 3rd inning. That was off starter Brett Cecil. All in all, it was a "bend and don't break" game for the Jays. Here's the recap. The Jays are playing Game 2 RIGHT NOW. It started at 12:30 PM and it will be seen on Rogers Sportsnet.
Take care. Peace.
On Wednesday, the Montreal Canadiens played against the Boston Bruins in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference quarter-final matchup in the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs. Montreal displayed a stiffling defense and held Boston off the scoring sheet in terms of goals, winning 2-0. The Habs picked up those goals by way of key player Brian Gionta. Mind you, Boston did outshoot Montreal 31-20, but goaltender Carey Price was man enough stop all threats that came his way. Montreal is 1-0 in the series because of the win. Here's the recap. Game 2 is tonight in Boston at 7 PM. The game can be seen on TSN. Also, the Vancouver Canucks played Game 2 of their first round vs the defending champion Chicago Blackhawks at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia (in Canada). This game was a far cry from the 2-0 opener that Vancouver won earlier. All in all, 7 goals were scored between the two teams, with Vancouver winning 4-3 to take a 2-0 series lead. Daniel Sedin - brother to teammate Henrik Sedin - scored 2 goals and had an assist in the game. Jannik Hansen and Alex Edler were the other Canucks who scored for Vancouver. Ben Smith scored two for Chicago and Victor Stalberg also scored for the Blackhawks. What made this game interesting was the fact that Vancouver allowed Chicago to come within one goal 3 separate times making for a queasy finish if you're a Canucks fan. However, Vancouver didn't panic and managed to come away with the win. Here's the recap.
Speaking of not panicking, it's time to focus on the Toronto Blue Jays baseball team. After a dramatic comeback victory in Seattle thanks to Jose Bautista's 3-run home run, the team travelled to Fenway Park in Boston to take on the struggling Boston Red Sox. This game started out unexpectantly with Adam Lind hitting what appeared to be a 3-run home run in the top of the 1st inning. Initially, the umpires had signalled the hit to be legit and the ball to be fair, but after review, they found that due to the makeup of the foul territory in Fenway Park, the run had to be disallowed and thus the call was changed. As a result, it was a scoreless tie after that top half of the inning ended. The other interesting thing about the game was the shakiness of the Toronto bullpen. Casey Janssen allowed Boston to score 3 runs in the bottom of the 8th inning to mae the game 7-6 in favour of the Jays, but Jon Rauch restored the order in the 9th to get the save and a Blue Jays victory. Boston also had scored the first 3 runs of the game to go ahead in the 3rd inning. That was off starter Brett Cecil. All in all, it was a "bend and don't break" game for the Jays. Here's the recap. The Jays are playing Game 2 RIGHT NOW. It started at 12:30 PM and it will be seen on Rogers Sportsnet.
Take care. Peace.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
NHL Playoffs and Blue Jays links
First, I just want to apologize for not posting in so long. I just haven't gotten around to anything lately. I'll try to be more punctual later on. Until then, here are the links for the Jays win vs Seattle and the Canucks Game 1 win vs Chicago:
Vancouver vs Chicago: Game 1
Toronto vs Seattle - Jays Win 3rd Game
That's all for now! Catch you later.
Vancouver vs Chicago: Game 1
Toronto vs Seattle - Jays Win 3rd Game
That's all for now! Catch you later.
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