Allsports Was in Tough Watching Sports on the Web While Playing Santa

So Christmas has come and gone for another year, and I hope it was a very joyous occasion for everyone.

I was able to get a few glimpses of some sports on the Web and on TV over the break. The Toronto Maple Leafs followed their poor game against the Dallas Stars up with another stinker out on Long Island, falling to the lowly New York Islanders, 4-1. Vesa Toskala has been anything but sharp in both losses, but the rest of the team has played poorly, as well.

The Canadian Junior team opened the defence of their gold medal in Ottawa on Boxing Day. The first period was close against the Czech Republic, but Canada scored with about two seconds left in the first period to go up, 1-0. The rest of the game was all Canada, as rolling to an 8-1 thrashing of the Czechs.

Coach Pat Quinn has them playing some responsible hockey and allsports would be surprised if they don’t bring home the gold again. Quinn is a very familiar face in both the Toronto and Vancouver areas.

The Canadians play Kazakhstan later today (Sunday, Dec. 28, 2008) in Ottawa. Unless there are some surprises, this game should be another romp for the Canadian team.

“No Guts, No Glory”

—Walt Webb