Monday, June 30, 2008

Wings Rename Home Arena

Courtesy: Kevin Smith
It's an end of an era at the Weyburn Colosseum.

The City of Weyburn announcing the naming rights to the home of the Weyburn Red Wings will have a new name.

Crescent Point Energy Trust has purchased the naming rights to the rink for $200,000.

The new name of the rink is ,"Crescent Point Place".

The Colosseum has housed the Weyburn Red Wings since their inception since 1961.

Crescent Point Place is currently undergoing some major renovations including: the installation of nearly 700 new seats as well as 12 luxury boxes on the south side.

The Red Wings will not get a chance to skate on the ice of their newly named rink until October 17th when Notre Dame comes to town.

The Wings will be on the road for the first month of the season.

Saturday, June 28, 2008

Riders 1-0

Riders won tonight.. well that much you know.

Huge thanks to Rod Pedersen (who doesn't know who I am lol) as he was my eyes and ears for the game tonight. I'm in Saskatoon this weekend; it's my sisters birthday. She turns 24 tomorrow (June 29th) so i was listening to the game on the radio.

The riders seemed to have some flashes of championship form but from what I heard on the radio this game by all means does not mean we should be planning a grey cup parade.

I've been real impressed with WR Adarius Bowman so far in this early season. He has come in and done a fine job substituting for Matt Dominguez. Should be fun to watch both of those guys on the field at the same time.

Anyways I have to go and wrap my sisters present. Those of you who have a long weekend, enjoy it. To those of you (myself included) that have to work monday, well we can still enjoy the weekend.

Oh, by the way, I finished the week 3-1 so that's not too bad. Kevin Gibney was 3-1 as well this week.

Talk to ya soon!

dd

Argo's Pull Through

Well the Argo' s pulled through for me last night and I seem to be rebounding pretty well after that Ti-Cat disaster.

The record is 2-1 so far this week and I will at least finish at .500 this week.

Tonigt it' the Rider season/home opener against the Edmonton Eskimos. Craig Steen said it best today when he said that nobody really knows the riders like Rod Pederen.

I'm going to enjoy some sun and then the game so if you need more of a preview on tonight's contest check out Rod's blog at www.rodpedersen.com.

Enjoy the day and go Riders!

Friday, June 27, 2008

Estevan's New Rink

Well we knew a new rink was coming to Estevan and now it has been passed through city council. Don't get me wrong, the Auditorium was great the way it mimicked the old Boston Gardens, but it is time for an upgrade.

This will be great for Estevan and I know i'm looking forward to visiting the new arena whenever that may be.

(the following is from estevanbruins.com)

City council Monday gave the green light to construct a $19 million civic events centre which will be connected to the Souris Valley Aquatic and Leisure Centre.

Construction is expected to start in September.

Members of council were unanimous in making the long-awaited decision.

"The decision had to be made now," said Mayor Gary St. Onge. "If we're going to do it all, it had to be done now because we've been told that every month we wait, it is going to cost more all the time," He noted that the price of steel, for example, continues to rise.

Among features to be included In the area are: ice seating for more than 2,000, 24 luxury suites, over 3,000 event seats, full-service lounge overlooking the ice surface, ground level concession and washroom facilities, eight large dressing rooms, recessed ice surface, two-lane, recessed and rubberized walking track, state-of-the-art sound system and acoustic design, large glazed windows for use of natural light and energy efficient design and operating systems.

For more than 50 years the Civic Auditorium has served as the recreational and culture hub for Estevan and area. As the region is growing, the City decided the time has come for a larger and modern-use sporting facility.

The new facility, when constructed, will be Southeast Saskatchewan's only year-round ice, indoor sports, entertainment and performing arts centre.

Council agreed that with this facility, Estevan will be able to host sporting, entertainment, cultural events and large conventions of up to 1,000 people.

While there has been no rush to make a decision, St. Onge said the City has been working on this project for more than a year. He said the biggest concern of council was over where the money is going to come from.

The fund-raising committee has raised more than $6 million and expects to eventually raise $8 million. The City will take out a $5 million loan to be paid off over 15 years. A funding commitment has already come from the provincial government and a contribution is also expected from the federal government.

St. Onge noted that the building committee was able to remove $2 million from the original plan by eliminating a row of seats around the bowl without changing the essential needs. St. Onge said that two members of council, who closely watch how the City spends the taxpayers' money, are now comfortable, and that speaks volumes.

Councillor Roy Ludwig, arena committee chairman, said he is pleased and happy the decision to proceed has been made.

"It's been a lot of work to this point, and as for the committee, all I can say is great things," he said after the meeting. "They've done yeoman's work in all areas to get to this point, and that council has totally been on side with what's been done and with what's going to happen, we're very happy.

Both St. Onge and Ludwig agreed it is important to have the community support on this project.

"That is huge," said Ludwig. "It was so nice to see all the companies, individuals and families coming forward. It meant the community is behind us, and that means so much."

Ludwig told council of the extra support of one company. He said Penn West Energy Trust, donated $90,000 and came back with a second donation for $60,000.

While there are people in the community who don't agree, and that is natural, St. Onge said he hasn't heard of much opposition.

As for the long term loan the City will take out, St. Onge feels comfortable. He is confident the City will be able to handle the loan fairly easily because ofthe projected growth over the next three years. It could also result in a mill rate increase and the doubling of revenue sharing from the province.

While City money will be used on the arena, St. Onge said the City will still be able to do annual capital projects.

"The City is not stopping any other work while we are building the rink," said the mayor.

Mike Cammalleri on NHL.com

At the radio station we cover the Calgary Flames and pick up their broadcasts on the FAN 960.

A found an interview that Brian Compton has done with the newest Flame Mike Camalleri. It's pretty good and is posted on nhl.com. It can be found by clicking here.

CFL picks update

I was taking a minute to do some show prep and realized that, 1330's producer/afternoon announcer, Kevin Gibney is 2-0 so far in his CFL picks. He told me his picks and I posted them in the comments section.

I am on the air this afternoon doing Kev's show as he is up in La Ronge enjoying a bit of a holiday up on the lake.

Lucky B@#%$*d

Have a good afternoon!

1-1 to start the season

Well I really took a beating last night in the opening game of the CFL season.

I thought the ti-cats could put something together, and for flashes (and I mean quick flashes) they did. But the Montreal Allouettes layed the boots to 'em pretty good last night so that left me 1-0 in my CFL picks.

The Calgary Stampeders didn't dissapoint however. The Stamps' Henry Burris had a terrific game running for a touchdown and throwing for a couple more. I went to bed with a minute to go in this one but the Stams came out on top to even my record this week at 1-1.

Rod Pederson reported yesterday that Chris Szarka will NOT be playing in tomorrow's home opener agaisnt Edmonton. He fractured a bone in his foot and could be out 2-3 weeks.

My CFL picks section has been updated with the score of the game in bold and my predicted score in brackets.

Have a great day!

Thursday, June 26, 2008

CFL Picks

Some of you may know me well enough to know that I am a pretty big football fan. I follow the CFL pretty religiously and I dabble a bit in the NFL.

While posting on the SJHL might be a little slow here in the next couple months the CFL should keep me busy and with that I have started my CFL picks. Each week you will see my picks on the right hand side of the blog as well as my current record.

Feel free to post a comment with your picks each week and I will post some of the readers who do well.

I have only one road team to win this week... how close will I be?

CFL season starts tonight! Only 2 months untill SJ training camp.

SJHL Schedule and Other News

The SJHL's schedule was released earlier today and the Klippers open up the 2008-2009 season at home where it seems they will play most of their games before Christmas.

The preseason starts on Monday September 1st with Kindersley hosting the Battlefords who they play 3 times. The other game for the Klips is on the road in Brooks on the 3rd.

Kindersley opens up the regular season on September 12th at home against the visiting North Stars and back in North Battleford on the 13th.

There are 19 games scheduled at the West Central Events Centre before the Christmas break and 14 games on the road. Following the break 13 of the Klippers final 22 games are played away from the friendly confines. That includes 4 games in 5 nights coming off the break between January 4th and the 8th.

Some dates to mark on your calendar this year include Wednesday October 8th. That will mark the first time Kindersley will meet the Humboldt Broncos after last season's Credential Cup final series that went 7 games. The game will be played in Kindersley. There will be a World Jr A Selection game held in Yorkton on October 7th and the SJ's annual all star game will be on January 18th.

The Klippers have a few lengthy home stands in this campaign. The longest is a 6 gamer from October 8th through to November 4th. They also have a stretches of 5 consecutive home games from November 18th to December 2nd, and four at home from December 11-20.

The Klippers play three games in three nights a total of eight times this season. The longest time spent out on the road will be 6 consecutive games which they do twice from November 6-15 and February 6-14. They also have road trips of 4 games (once) and 3 games (three times).

The season will wrap up for the Klippers Monday February 16tha nd Tuesday the 17th with two games at the WCEC with the Notre Dame Hounds.
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The Nipiwan Hawks continue to search for a head coach after Dave Hyrsky was released from his contractual oblications earlier this week. SJHL.ca reported that Hyrsky was unable to fulfill his duties due to personal commitments he had in Europe.

Assistant Coach and interm GM Dwight Kulchysky has taken over the reins for now but sources say he has NOT applied for the position and has no interest in it. Look for an announcement on this in the next 2 weeks.
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The WHL has released its 2008 exhibition schedule.

Five different regional tournaments will be held.

The Saskatoon Blades tournament kicks off on Thursday, September 5th as they play host to the Lethbridge Hurricanes.

Also participating in the tournament are the Prince Albert Raiders, Medicine Hat Tigers, Moose Jaw Warriors and Swift Current Broncos.

2008/2009 Schedule Released


The 2008/2009 SJHL schedule has been released on sjhl.ca. The schedule will reflect the absence of the September Showcase in Saskatoon, which has been replaced with a training camp for the World Jr A Hockey Challenge.

More on this in a few, i'm on my way to work.

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Wellwood a Canuck


Some days are tougher than others. That we know. Especially when it's sunny and 23 degrees outside.

I should be on the golf course.

But, as SJHL teams continue through the off-season, this last week of June and first week of July is building to be a very exciting one for the NHL.

As some of you may know, I am a Toronto Maple Leafs fan and, thus, will have a post hear and there to let you know how they are doing.
Unfortunate, I know.

Now that I have cut my audience in half. (or worse) The past couple of days have been a little crazy in Leaf land. Goaltender Andrew Raycroft and forward Kyle Wellwood were both placed on waivers while Darcy Tucker was told that he would be bought out of his contract.

This morning it was learned that the Vancouver Canucks have picked up Wellwood off waivers from Toronto. This is good news for the Canucks who could use the scoring should Wellwood live up to his potential.

Another western conference team looking at some, soon to be, former Leafs is the Calgary Flames. Word was out at last season's trade deadline that the Flames had some interest in Tucker and once he becomes a UFA they could try to sign the gritty forward.

The Leafs still have contract trouble in the forms of Bryan McCabe and Jason Blake (Just to name two. I know there are more.) and these are just the first of many moves this off-season.
In other Leaf/NHL news: July 1 marks the beginning of the free agent period. Some big names to potentially become free agents include the Leafs Mats Sundin as well as Ottawa's Wade Redden.

Two of my favorite times of year are the NHL draft and July 1. Just wish I could be at home to watch it on TV.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Welcome

I am entering my third season as play-by-play voice of the Kindersley Jr Klippers and have also been managing the website as well as blogging throughout the seasons.

I have transferred my blog here in the hope that it will help me write more frequently as that has been an issue in the past. Hope you enjoy the blog and feel free to leave your comments.