Monday mid-morning water cooler

Could it be a more exciting Monday morning? There are a few things to talk about this morning as we set you up for the week ahead. Let's get to it!

First, we must congratulate Amber Holland and Team Saskatchewan for their Scotties Tournament of Hearts win. It came down to the final shot in the 10th end and Holland was left counting one for the victory. It snaps the recent run of success by Jennifer Jones and, by the sounds of things, most are happy with that.

It has been a great year so far for Saskatchewan curling with both men's and women's junior teams winning nationals and now Holland claiming the top prize. Now it will be up to the men's team to complete a clean sweep; no easy task.

I have been feeling very patriotic lately on a number of levels. It seems everywhere you look 'we' are on top or in the right direction. The term 'we' is said with loose lips. Just from my perspective here is why I'm feeling so patriotic:

• We (Saskatchewan) is dominating the national curling stage
• We (Canada) have tennis' rising star in Milos Raonic
• We (Canada) are celebrating the one year anniversary of the "Golden Goal" and are the best in hockey
• We (Canada) finally have a baseball team (Jays) that have some people excited about their new direction under AA and have entered spring training with some actual hope
• We (Saskatoon) have the best basketball teams in the country in the Huskies men (3rd in CIS) and women (1st in CIS)
• We (Saskatoon) have one of the best junior hockey teams in the nation (Saskatoon Blades) and have hopes of a Memorial Cup
• We (Saskatchewan) boast the most popular and arguably the most successful football team (Riders) for the past few years

And the list goes on. It's a good time to be a sports fan and I'm oozing with pride. I guess the only thing that could make things better is if my Leafs somehow squeak into the playoffs and find some success.

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A surprising move on the Riders front as Omarr Morgan has been released from the team. It comes as a shock as some had thought he would retire as a Rider.

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Are you glued to your tv today? Or is it your computer or cell phone?

Trade deadline day in the NHL and coverage on our national sports networks has become a ritual among hockey fans. It is becoming an event not unlike the Grey Cup or Superbowl where some will even plan to have the day off just so they can sit on the couch infront of the tube for an indefinite period of time.

If this is what you're up to, what network are you watching? I've got it on TSN but occasionally flip to Sportsnet. Word is CBC has some deadline coverage and it's airing on Bold but sadly I don't subscribe to that channel so I do not know. Either way it's good fun but if there aren't a few more deals they may need to cut back some in the future.

I think they said there were something like 31 deadline day deals last year but this year there was plenty of action in the weeks leading up to today. If this trend continues, deadline day coverage may not be needed for as long in the future.

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The Huskies men's hockey team clinched a playoff spot over the weekend in Winnipeg and will now travel to Calgary this weekend for first round Canada West playoff action. Meanwhile, the Alberta Golden Bears will host the Manitoba Bisons who slid into the playoffs by the skin of their teeth with Lethbridge hot on their tails.

Entering the final night of the regular season (Saturday night), Manitoba had a one point lead over the Pronghorns with each playing their final games that night. A Huskies win combined with Calgary loss would give Huskies second place and the Pronghorns fourth. As it turns out, the Bisons come away with a win against the Huskies to clinch the final playoff spot. Likely in the dark about the previous result, the Pronghorns were leaving it all on the ice as they beat Calgary in their final game.

How heartbreaking must it have been for the Pronghorns to enter the dressing room following that win only to learn that the Bisons had won and erased any hope of the playoffs?

That's hockey but good on the Pronghorns on taking it right down to the final day of the season. They will be a team to watch over the next few years.

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Who will be the next coach of the Estevan Bruins? http://www.sjhl.ca/news_item.aspx?news_id=2008

The team is taking applications and the speculation will begin soon as to who could step into that role and create a successful on-ice product.

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GX94's Craig Stein put together a solid poll of broadcasters in the SJHL and the results are up on his blog which is linked on the left hand side of this page. It's a must read.

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Two movie reviews from the past week:

- 'Just Go With It' featuring Jennifer Anniston and Adam Sandler receives two thumbs up from me. I thought it was pretty good and had me laughing out loud on more than one occasion.

- 'Gnomeo and Juliette'. I hate to say it but I was sawing logs through most of this flick. Seriously, I was snoring and had to get nudged. Now, not to say that it was a bad show or anything, it may have had to do with me staying up until 3am the night before but I honestly can't offer much of a review. I did like what I saw and it has me wanting to back and finish it, but after $10 I might way until it hits the Rainbow.

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Good story in this morning's Star Phoenix about 29-year-old Brian Guebert and his quest to make Canada's first national senior team. Guebert is a veteran of the Hilltops, Huskies and the CFL and has a winning pedigree. Brian Towress is one of the coaches on this team and you can be sure he'll make a case for the former Huskie to be on the squad.

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Ok, that's all for this morning. Enjoy the week and the rest of trade deadline day.

dd

SK dominates Canadian curling

TSN.ca ALERT: Saskatchewan's Amber Holland defeats Jennifer Jones and Team Canada 8-7 to win the Scotties Tournament of Hearts.
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless handheld

Huskies @ Bisons

Saskatchewan Huskies @ Manitoba Bisons
Friday, February 25, 7:00pm CT
Saturday, February 26, 7:00pm CT
Winnipeg, MB

Saskatchewan and Manitoba have met five times this season, the first being at a tournament in Regina where the Bisons won 4-2. On Oct. 23-24 the Bisons visited the bridge city and took the first game 2-0 while the Huskies came out on top 4-3 in overtime a night later.

Fast forward to January 14-15 when the Bisons were in Saskatoon again. As was the case in the previous meeting, the Bisons took the Friday contest this time erasing a three goal Huskies lead and winning by a score of 5-3. The Huskies would bounce back the next night for a 5-2 victory.

The two clubs will be scoreboard watching this weekend as neither team has clinched a playoff berth in Canada West. Both the Bisons and the Huskies control their own destiny but I'm sure a little help wouldn't hurt. The Huskies trail the Calgary Dinos by two points in the race for second place while the Bisons only lead Lethbridge by a single point for the final playoff spot in Canada West.

The Huskies have lost three straight coming off a weekend where they were swept clean by the Lethbridge Pronghorns. The Bisons were also swept last weekend but managed two points as both games were decided in extra time.

For updates on the fly throughout the weekend be sure to check back and follow me on twitter at twitter.com/darrendupont.

Breaking down the Canada West playoff picture

As promised here is a little look inside the Canada West men's hockey playoff picture. Over the next few lines we will discuss all the different possible outcomes when dealing with the Canada West playoff picture and what could happen over the weekend.

Here are the standings going into the weekend:

Rank/Team/Points/(Games Remaining)

1. Alberta 39pts (2)
2. Calgary 34pts (2)
3. Saskatchewan 32pts (2)
4. Manitoba 30pts (2)
5. Lethbridge 29pts (2)
6. UBC 25pts (2)

Alberta has clinched first place in the conference and will play UBC who is mathematically eliminated from playoff contention. We won't talk about that weekend series.

The Huskies are in Winnipeg taking on the Bisons for a pair of games this weekend while Calgary will tangle with the Lethbridge Pronghorns. The Dinos have already booked their ticket to the post season but that doesn't mean they'll be on cruse control. The team still has home ice advantage to play for. For Calgary, the worst possible spot they could finish in would be third place as they hold the tie breaker over Manitoba.

Here are the possibilities that could take place over the weekend:

For Calgary to clinch second place: The Dinos need three points to clinch home ice for round one of the playoffs. With the magic number being three that means that any number of Dino's points combined with the number of points the Huskies fail to pick up in Manitoba need to add up to three for the Dinos to clinch second.

Make sense? Here's an example: Dinos pick up a single point in a regulation loss and a shootout loss while Huskies gain two points for a regulation win and a regulation loss in Manitoba. Dinos 1 points + SK 2 points (4 point possible weekend - 2 points actually earned) = 3 points and Dinos clinch second. My math is fool proof!

For Saskatchewan to claim second place: This formula is slightly different but close to the same. For the Huskies to claim home ice in the playoffs their magic number is two. This time that magic number means that the Huskies points earned in Manitoba minus the Dinos points earned against Lethbridge needs to equal two or more for the Huskies to earn second. For example: Huskies sweep Manitoba and Dinos split with Lethbridge. 4 Huskies points - 2 Dinos points = 2 and SK claims second.

The Huskies own the tiebreaker with Calgary but not with Lethbridge. Currently the Huskies do not have the tiebreaker with Manitoba as the Bisons have picked up one single point more than Saskatchewan in their season series thus far.

Now that we have dealt with the two possible options for second place let's move onto third.

For Calgary to finish third: The only way that Calgary finishes in third place is if Saskatchewan finishes in second and we already mentioned how that can happen.

Saskatchewan finishes third and Manitoba fourth if: Manitoba points over the weekend subtract SK points earned over the weekend is less than or equal to one and Lethbridge earns less than or equal to one point more than Manitoba earns. Confused?

Example: Manitoba win in regulation and loses in ot. MB gains 3 points subtract Huskies 2 points earned equals 1 point while Lethbridge earns two points over weekend from Calgary with a split.

MB PTS - SK PTS = X where X must be > or = to 1 AND Leth PTS - MB PTS =Y where Y is < or =" to">

Saskatchewan finishes fourth

Ok how about Saskatchewan finishes third and Lethbridge finishes fourth: IF AND ONLY IF Lethbridge points earned over weekend subtract Manitoba points earned over weekend is greater than or equal to 2.

Leth PTS - MB PTS > or = to 2.

Manitoba finishes third and Saskatchewan fourth if: this happens if Manitoba pick up two wins over Saskatchewan regardless of overtime or shootout and Lethbridge points earned this weekend subtract SK points earned is less than or equal to 2.

Saskatchewan misses the playoffs if: For this to happen Manitoba would finish third and Lethbridge fourth. For this to happen Manitoba NEEDS two wins over Saskatchewan regardless of overtime or shootouts and Lethbridge points earned against Calgary subtract SK points earned in Manitoba must be greater than or equal to 3.

Clear as mud?

I think that is all the different scenarios that could play out but I expect to hear from you if I've made a mistake or something is not clear. Now, print this out and keep it by your side as you follow all the different games on your blackberry or i pad. Remember, I'll be tweeting over at my account twitter.com/darrendupont throughout the weekend with results and notes as the playoff picture unfolds.

The Huskies will be aiming for 2nd or 3rd but nothing is guaranteed and this is a very important weekend. A preview of the Saskatchewan/Manitoba series is coming tomorrow.

SJHL Survivor Series

(courtesy SJHL.ca)

Sherwood Conference Survivor Series Breakdown

MELVILLE MILLIONAIRES VS ESTEVAN BRUINS

SCHEDULE

Game 1- @ Estevan Fri Feb 25 730 pm

Game 2-@ Melville Sat Feb 26 730 pm

Game 3-@ Estevan Mon Feb 28 730 pm

Game 4-@ Melville Tues March 1 730 pm ***

Game 5-@ Estevan Thurs March 3 730 pm ***

STANDINGS

Melville 24-30-1-3 – 52 pts (5^th in Sherwood)

Estevan 29-23-4-2 – 64 pts (4^th in Sherwood)

HOME-AWAY

Melville 15-12-1-1 (home) 9-18-0-2 (road)

Estevan 16-8-3-1 (home) 13-15-1-1 (road)

POWER PLAY

Melville 53/284 =18.7 % (10^th in SJHL) 11 SHGA

Estevan 52/263= 19.8 % (7^th in SJHL) 6 SHGA

PENALTY KILL

Melville 76.6 % (10^th in SJHL) --allowed 64 PPG, scored 11 SHG

Estevan 77.5 % (9^th in SJHL) –allowed 62 PPG, scored 6 SHG

HEAD TO HEAD

Estevan 6-1

Melville 1-4-0-2

TOP SCORERS (year)

Melville- Lucas Froese 22-21-43

Estevan-Jonathan Ceci 26-43-69

TOP SCORERS (HEAD TO HEAD)

Melville-Michael Desjarlais, Roger Tagoona 6 pts each

Estevan-Ryan Andersen 11 pts

Bauer Conference Survivor Series Breakdown

SCHEDULE

Game 1- @ Battlefords Fri Feb 25 730 pm

Game 2-@ Battlefords Sat Feb 26 730 pm

Game 3-@ Flin Flon Mon Feb 28 730 pm

Game 4-@ Flin Flon Tues March 1 730 pm ***if necessary

Game 5-@ Battlefords Thurs March 3 730 pm ***if necessary

STANDINGS

Flin Flon 25-31-2-0 – 52 pts (5^th in Bauer)

Battlefords 26-29-2-1- 55 pts (4^th in Bauer)

HOME-AWAY

Flin Flon 15-13-1-0(home) 10-18-1-0 (road)

Battlefords 15-12-1-1 (home) 11-17-1-0 (road)

POWER PLAY

Flin Flon 58/305 =19 % (9^th in SJHL) 14 SHG

Battlefords 61/291= 21 % (5^th in SJHL) 7 SHGA

PENALTY KILL

Flin Flon 77.8 % (8^th in SJHL) --allowed 62 PPG, scored 3 SHG

Battlefords 74.0% (12^th in SJHL) –allowed 73 PPG, scored 12 SHG

HEAD TO HEAD

Flin Flon 3-3

Battlefords 3-3

TOP SCORERS (year)

Flin Flon- Ryan Fox 27-41-68

Battlefords-Blake Tatchell 26-48-74

TOP SCORERS (HEAD TO HEAD)

Flin Flon – Andrew Johnston 11 pts

Battlefords – Blake Tatchell 12 pts

Match play golf

I love match-play.

I'm talking about match-play golf. I love playing match-play and I love watching match-play golf. With that, the accenture Match Play Championship begins today and I'm glued to the golf channel.

Every year I fill out my NCAA March Madness bracket and, while I'll do that again, this year I'm filling out my Match-Play bracket.

Here's a link to the tournament bracket. http://www.pgatour.com/leaderboards/current/r470/

I'll just post my final four in each of the four brackets:

In the Bobby Jones bracket:

-Westwood

-Molinari

-Stricker

-Donald

In the Ben Hogan bracket:

-Fowler

-Kuchar

-McDowell

-Poulter

In the Gary Player bracket:

-Kaymer

-Mahan

-McIlroy

-Jimenez

And in the Sam Snead Bracket:

-Woods

-Watson

-Casey

-Holmes

My final four consists of Kaymer, Woods, Donald and Fowler with Martin Kaymer winning the event. So expect it to be the complete oposite! I'll update later this week or on Monday morning before the final.

BlackBerry CIS Top 10: Huskies fall after being swept

CIS MEN’S HOCKEY TOP 10 (#15)

Voting is based on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis, with a 1st place vote worth 10 points. The CIS Men’s Ice Hockey Top Ten Committee is made up of media members from across Canada.

(regular season record) / votes (first-place votes) / (previous rankings)

1. UNB (23-5-0) / 179 pts (17) / (1)
2. McGill (24-2-2 / 2-0 playoffs) / 152 (1) / (2)
3. Alberta (18-5-3) / 141 / (3)
4. Saint Mary’s (18-9-1) / 127 / (4)
5. Western Ontario (20-3-5 / 2-0 playoffs) / 96 / (6)
6. St. Francis Xavier (17-10-1 / 2-0 playoffs) / 87 / (7)
7. Calgary (16-8-2) / 78 / (8)
8. Saskatchewan (16-10-0) / 56 / (5)
9. UQTR (19-8-1 / 2-1 playoffs) / 31/ (9)
10. Carleton (18-8-2 / 2-1 playoffs) / 17 / (10)

Other teams receiving votes: Acadia (14), Manitoba (4), UPEI (2), Waterloo (2), Wilfrid Laurier (2), Guelph (1), Nipissing (1).

Monday morning water cooler

Due to Family Day on Monday, we bring you a special Tuesday edition of the water cooler. This week we focus mainly on Huskies hockey but we'll also touch on the junior hockey playoff pictures in the province as well as some other odds and ends. Grab your morning joe and I hope you enjoy.

I'd like to start the column off with a quote from the Greek Stoic philosopher Epictetus if I could.

"The greater the difficulty, the more glory in surmounting it. Skillful pilots gain their reputation from storms and tempests."

Sometimes it's the way we handle adversity that truly determines if we are great or capable of being great. Over the next couple of weeks we will find out what the Huskies men's hockey team is made of.

As I mentioned in my Sunday post, the Huskies came up with a dud on the weekend in Lethbridge and now face an uphill battle to regain the momentum they once had as playoffs approach. The team has lost its last three games and have fallen from (what once was thought to be a fairly comfortable lead in) second to third and there is no guarantee that Saskatchewan will even make the playoffs.

I'm not going to take too much time this morning talking about the match-up with Manitoba; I'll devote an entire post to it later in the week. We know it's important for both teams and if the Huskies have any thought of a home playoff date, a sweep is a must in my opinion.

I'll try to catch up with Huskies' coach Dave Adolph and get you that preview in the next couple of days. In the meantime I will also devote an entire post, likely tomorrow, to the different scenarios that could play out this weekend and the effects of each.

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I am writing this post over a bowl of Cheerios and a few pieces of fruit this morning fresh off thirty minutes of yoga.

Yep, yoga.

I've been doing yoga daily for about a week now and already I can tell you that my posture, flexibility, and overall feeling has improved 100%. Needless to say I won't be stopping anytime soon.

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The Saskatchewan Huskies women's hockey team had their season come to an end over the weekend in Edmonton. The Huskies were handed losses of 3-0 and 1-0 to be swept away by the Alberta Pandas in first round Canada West playoffs.

Looking ahead, the Huskies are eligible to return leading scorers Cara Wooster and Breanne George next season and should be contenders in 2011/2012.

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Saskatchewan's Amber Holland is off to a perfect start at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Charlottetown PEI. Holland's rink is 5-0 and tied atop the Scotties standings with Ontario. The two teams meet today at 12:30pm Saskatchewan time in a battle for first place. Many, including myself, will be glued to TSN for this one.

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The Heritage Classic is in the books for another year and again, the NHL can sit back and count its cash after another successful event. The game left something to be desired but the weekend seemed like a total hit. The WHL outdoor game a day later was a different story. The weather was a little milder and the game was exciting. Sportsnet did a bang on job with the national broadcast and I was impressed. It should be the goal of the CHL to piggy back off the NHL with this event whenever possible.

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One last note about the game. I loved the Flames jerseys. It may not be the popular opinion but it's one I'd buy if I were a Flames fan.

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A note from the fine folks at the CIS Blog: "To all those people who complained about Wickenheiser playing CIS: the Dinos didn't even win a playoff game with her."

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The Saskatoon Blades will welcome the Brandon Wheat Kings to the CUC for a pair of games this week. The Blades play the Wheaties on Wednesday and Friday and youth tickets are on for just $5! Great opportunity to take the kids.

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The SJHL regular season wraps up today with three games on the schedule. Unfortunately, there is nothing to play for on the last day of the regular season other than pride and momentum.

The playoff picture is set and in the Sherwood Conference the Melville Millionaires claimed the final playoff spot edging out Notre Dame and will play Estevan in the survivor series. The winner will play the Yorkton Terriers in the conference semis while Kindersley will play Weyburn in the other.

In the Bauer conference the Flin Flon Bombers and Battlefords North Stars play in the survivor series with the winner taking on La Ronge while Humboldt will play Melfort in the other semi.

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The Regina Pats are on the verge of missing the playoffs for the third consecutive season but they way they played in Calgary you wouldn't know it. The team is still five points out of the final playoff spot and, while they aren't mathematically eliminated, the road is a tough one. They haven't done themselves any favors in meaningful games, especially losing recently to Prince Albert.

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This week is a short one but there is no shortage of action. Enjoy the week!

dd

Sunday blogging

It's a rare Sunday entry but I feel I need to check in. I was incommunicado yesterday and felt I needed to update you on a few things that took place yesterday.

It wasn't a good Saturday for the Huskies hockey teams and for that matter it wasn't a very good weekend. In fact, it is one that both teams would rather forget.

Let's start with the women's team.

They were in Alberta for first round playoffs with the Pandas with a trip to nationals on the line. Friday saw them lose 3-0 to go down one game and yesterday the Pandas wrapped up the series with a 1-0 victory over the Huskies to take the series in two games.

Going out in two straight and not scoring a goal is a tough way for the Huskies to go out but the season should not be considered a failure. Yes, the team was capable of beating Alberta but they have taken great strides toward earning a birth at the national tournament and next year looks bright indeed.

Now onto the men.

The team entered the weekend sitting pretty in second place with just four games left in the season and on the road in Lethbridge. Well, Friday night the Huskies lose 5-3 and Alberta wins and so does Calgary. Even better the Alberta/Manitoba game goes to a shootout and the Bisons pick up a point.

Fast forward to the very next night and the Huskies are doubled up by the Pronghorns 4-2 and what do you know? Calgary and Alberta both win and guess what? The Alberta/Manitoba game goes to overtime giving the Bisons a point.

Ouch!

So, here's what we know following the weekend and what lies ahead for the Huskies:

• Alberta has clinched first place in Canada West
• Calgary has overtaken Saskatchewan for second with 34 points
• Saskatchewan sits in third place with 32 points and, if the season were to end today, would travel to Calgary for round one of Canada West playoffs
• Manitoba has climbed to within two points of Saskatchewan in the chase for third place
• Lethbridge has kept their playoff hopes alive and now trail Manitoba by just a single point in the race for fourth

How huge was it for Lethbridge to sweep Saskatchewan? The Pronghorns could somehow earn a playoff berth and that would be an incredible feat for them. Good for them. The Horns would be sitting in fourth spot if it wasn't for Manitoba taking Alberta to overtime both nights and earning two points over the weekend.

It is possible that Saskatchewan could miss the playoffs. The Huskies have lost three straight after being the best team out of the gate in 2011. It is possible that the four teams in the Canada West playoffs could be Alberta, Calgary, Manitoba and Lethbridge.

Here is how some of the different scenarios could play out: (and I'll devote an entire post to this later in the week once I figure out all the different possibilities)

-Calgary will play Lethbridge and Saskatchewan will be in Manitoba this coming weekend.

-If the Huskies sweep the Bisons and Lethbridge can manage a regulation win against Calgary then Saskatchewan would finish second with Calgary third and Lethbridge fourth.

-If the Bisons sweep the Huskies and Lethbridge can sweep Calgary then Saskatchewan would finish fifth.

Saskatchewan needs at least two points (to force a tie breaker) and possibly a sweep to earn second place in Canada West and home ice in round one of the playoffs and even that might not be enough. Saskatchewan needed at least two points out of this weekend and they got zero. All of a sudden the road to the Cavendish Cup is looking a lot less pretty.

Pandas strike first

Edmonton, AB -- The University of Alberta Pandas drew first blood in their best-of-three Canada West women's hockey semi-final series with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies winning 3-0 on home ice Friday afternoon.

The Pandas opened the scoring in the first period. On the power play Karla Bourke put the puck past Huskies' goaltender Mackenzie Rizos at the 2:53 mark and Alberta led 1-0 after one period of play. The Pandas added to their lead early in the second - just 18 seconds in - when Leah Copeland found the back of the net and the Pandas took a 2-0 lead into the third.

The Pandas would add one more in the third when Katie Borbely put one home at the 13:17 mark to make the final 3-0 Alberta.

Kanesa Shwetz got the start in goal for the Pandas recording the shutout but the Huskies managed just 13 shots on goal compared to the Pandas' 33. Mackenzie Rizos was in goal for Saskatchewan.

The Huskies power play couldn't muster much in the form of opportunities going 0 for 8 while the Pandas' power play clicked twice on seven opportunities.

The two teams get back on the ice in Edmonton for game two of the series Saturday afternoon at 3:00pm Saskatchewan time.