Update!

Man it's been a long time since I've posted a blog here hasn't it? November 2^nd, hmm well since then the Renegades ended their season, Paopao was fired and some clown that is possibly the worst dresser of all time, John Jenkins, has been introduced as headcoach.

The Edmonton Oilers managed to stretch their winning steak to 5 games before dropping the next 2 games. They turned it around last night with a 3-1 win over Columbus. Smith, Pisani and Dvorak all scored for the Oilers as Jussi Marrkanen made his 12^th strait start stopping 29 of the 30 shots he faced. Marrkanen was the difference in the game as the Oilers pulled another one of their classic first period no shows as Columbus out shot Edmonton 13-2 in the first frame. After 2 periods Columbus held a 23-10 lead in shots.

And last but not least the Chicago Bears have managed to get them selves into first place in their division. No they're not that good, the division sucks.

Oilers Update

The Edmonton Oilers have recalled centre Kyle Brodziak from Iowa and have placed Igor Ulanov on the injury reserved list. Ulanov fractured his toe in the Dallas game and in my mind won't be missed much as he always seems to be coughing up the puck. Brodziak will replace injured Mike Peca who suffered a mild concussion in the Columbus game. Secretly I'm hoping that Nash knocked some scoring touch into Mr. Peca who hasn't scored to much yet this season.

Just some Sports Stuff

Oilers Win 5-1 over Columbus

The Oilers have now managed to win 3 in arrow again, lets hope they don't repeat the 7 game losing streak thing again. Jussi Markkanen looked good making 23 saves as Edmonton out shot Columbus 35-24. Ales Hemski had another big night for the Oilers scoring 2 goals, he now has 13 points on the season giving him the Oiler scoring lead. Harvey also scored for Edmonton, the goal was his first as an Oiler. Harvey and Laraque seem to be finally starting to click together. Also scoring for Edmonton were Torres, with his 8th of the season, and Smyth, who scored his 4th of the season. Edmonton's next game is Thursday night in Detroit. This will be a big test for Edmonton as the Red Wings are flying high with a 12-1-0 record.




Renegades News

It seams that the Renegades will not be brining back Joe Paopao for next season. Not much is being said by either side but reports are that John Jenkins has been given a conditional contract to coach next season should Joe Paopao not be signed and right now that doesn't look likely. I have always said the Joe Paopao should be fired but not for John Jenkins – this guy isn't exactly a good coach, he was the offensive coordinator for the Calgary Stampeders in 2004. How was Calgary's offence in 2004? I don't remember exactly but I do know it was bad enough to finish last. He also apparently isn't all that popular with players or the media. He's been described as erratic – not exactly what some one would look for in a coach that is being looked at for building up a team.
The Renegades close out the season this Saturday against the Argos and apparently Joe Paopao is going to give back up QB Bank some game time. Hmmm ......... maybe you should have done that earlier in the season Joe.

How's Ty Conklin doing?

If your wondering how Ty Conklin is doing on his “conditioning” stint with the Hamilton Bulldogs, he hasn't played since Saturday night when Hamilton was hammered 4-0 by Rochester and he now has no wins in the 2 games he has played. So far he has managed to cough up 7 goals on only 61 shots. I'm guessing he needs a bit more conditioning.

Big Sports Weekend!

Had a big sports weekend. First off, Friday the Oilers finally broke there 7 game losing streak by beating the Dallas stars 5-3. Radek Dvorak was actually useful scoring the tie breaking goal as Jussi Markkanen made 19 saves. The Oilers then went on to beat the Nashville Predators 5-1 on Saturday night. Jussi Markkanen made 23 saves as the Oilers scored on 3 of their 6 powerplays (no that's not a miss print – I checked the stat twice). Todd Harvey was back in the line up and it looks as it Ryan Smyth is getting going having now scored in back to back games. Tonight the Oilers play Columbus as they try to stretch their 2 game winning streak into a 3 gamer. I hope this doesn't mean that they will then tank the next 7 games tho. With Harvey back in the line up the Oilers are healthy for the first time this season and are 4-0 with Harvey in the lineup, it's a nice stat but it means nothing. It's funny how just 2 wins in a row and suddenly no one is talking Oiler trades any more.
On Saturday afternoon I was at the Renegades game to watch their playoff hopes be crushed by the Montreal Alouetts. The first half was entertaining enough and I was hopeful and Ottawa didn't give up a big play in the last 3 minutes of the first half. Then came the second half as Montreal started to pull away and from there I started paying less and less attention to the game. At least there are no more “If they could just do this........ and then this happen....... they could make the playoffs” talk anymore. I really hope that the Renegades shake things up in the off season and get rid of Paopao. I have nothing against him, it's just become obvious in the last 3 year that they always give up a big play in the last 3 minutes of the half and then come out flat in the second half and in my mind that's due to bad coaching habits.
After the game Tracy and I met up with my parents and we headed back to our house for dinner and then watched the Sens dismantle the Leafs 8-0. Nothing beats watching the Leafs get blown out on the CBC with Bob Cole doing everything not to start crying on live TV.
Sunday afternoon I sat down and watched the Bears beat the Lions in OT 19-13. It's kinda sad that the Bears are 4-3 and sit in first place, says a lot about their division doesn't it? In the NFC South there are 3 teams tied with a 5-2 record and if the playoffs were to start now Dallas who is 5-3 would miss the playoffs and the Bears would have home field advantage against either Atlanta or Carolina, both of whom have better records than the Bears – Ahh the NFL! The rest of the season the Bears play a much tougher schedule and the real test will come when they play Carolina, Tampa Bay, Pittsburgh, and Atlanta, all of whom have winning records. The 2 time the bears have played teams with winning records so far this season they've lost both games and were out scored 33-14.
Sunday evening Tracy and I went to the Sens/Philly game. The Sens lost 5-3, but our seats were great, we were about 10 row back from the Flyers bench right on the blue line. The game was never really in much doubt as the Flyers came out hitting hard and the Sens seemed a bit tired from giving the Leafs a beating the night before.