Calgary Flames red hot

Nice to see my Calgary Flames are on a tear with their sixth straight win. They started the season slow, but seem to be picking it up now. Here's hoping it doesn't slow anytime soon!

Kiprusoff locked up with Flames

Great news for all Flames fans out there! - CP

FLAMES SIGN KIPRUSOFF TO A MULTI-YEAR CONTRACT EXTENSION

Calgary, AB - Calgary Flames General Manager Darryl Sutter announced today the signing of Miikka Kiprusoff to a multi-year contract extension. As per club policy, financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

"The Calgary Flames ownership group has made a huge commitment to Miikka and we expect him to be a major contributor to the success of our organization for years to come," said Flames General Manager Darryl Sutter. "With today's announcement, we have some key players under long term contracts and we look forward to that group leading us to the next level."

Playing in his 4th season with Calgary, Miikka is the franchise leader in shutouts (21) and is approaching his 200th regular season game which ranks him 5th highest in franchise history.

"I would like to thank the Calgary Flames owners for making this long term commitment to me and my family so we can remain in this city and be part of this organization," said Kiprusoff. "I look forward to the responsibility and challenge that comes with this contract. Calgary is a loyal hockey community that expects and deserves the very best from its home team."

If they're all like this...

What a great start to the NHL season. While my Calgary Flames went down to defeat in overtime tonight, it sure was a heck of a game against the Vancouver Canucks. If the season is all like this, it should be fun to watch!

Here's hoping the odds even out and they win the next one!

Bonds does it, hopefully not for long

The moment almost every baseball fan has dreaded for the past few seasons has come to pass. Barry Bonds has tied the illustrious all-time homerun record held by Hammering Hank Arron.

For those of you who have followed my blog for a while, you will know I am by no means a fan of Barry Bonds. I said it when he hit his 715th homerun to pass Babe Ruth, and now I am going to say it again. The man is more than likely a cheater who will always have a dark cloud over his record and his career.

Bonds has been accused of having an attitude problem, and rightfully so given some of the comments he's made over the years. The media loathe him, and with good reason, he does in kind as well.

I can live with that - it doesn't effect the way he swings a bat or the records he sets.

What I can't accept are his blatant attempts to get around the rules. Although Bonds has been widely accused of taking steroids, he refuses to talk about it. His long-time trainer won't talk about it either.

Talk or not, the change is pretty stark. Look at the picture accompanying this post showing Barry Bonds when he broke in to the league, and Bonds today. It speaks for itself.

Bonds is not the only one who has been accused of taking steroids, but he is currently the most visible in that role. He's the poster boy for steroid use, the same way Hank Aaron was for hard work, dedication and sportsmanship.

In my books, and in the books of many other baseball fans, his record won't be worth the paper it's printed on. But it will stand nonetheless.

I can only hope one of the homerun machines like Ken Griffey Jr or Alex Rodriguez catches Bonds one day.

Someone with a little bit of integrity deserves to have that record, and Bonds isn't that player by a long shot.

So close for Sergio, but he'll get his one day

He's got it in the bag. That's was my feeling for Sergio Garcia going in to the final round of the British Open Championship. He had a three shot lead, his putting woes had not surfaced, but most of all, I felt his time had come.

I was wrong.

I didn't take in to account the phenomenal final round performance by Open winner Padraig Harrington. Harrington went in to the day six shots off the lead, with nobody giving him a chance to be the eventual winner. What a difference a 5-under par 67 can make.

Harrington actually went on to the 18th hole at Carnoustie with a one stroke lead, only to hit two balls in to the infamous Barry Burn. That left Sergio back in the driver's seat.

Garcia, who led for almost the entire week, needed a par on the finishing hole to win his first major championship. After a few tricky shots, Garcia had a ten foot putt to win it all. As has been the pattern in his young career, his putter let him down.

In the playoff Harrington made amends for his double-bogey on the 72-hole, erasing any mention of his name with Jean Van de Velde who could not recover from his disaster eight years earlier.

Golf rarely gives anyone second chances. As a golfer myself, I can certainly attest to that fact. Harrington got his, and he made good on it. As much as my heart was cheering for Sergio, I still felt pride for Harrington's feat.

Sergio will learn from this experience. I feel he's the kind of player who will win a major tournament one day, and then he won't stop there. I figure once he gets the first win under his belt, he'll get a few more. It's just a matter of getting that first one out of the way. At 27-years of age, he's got a lot more chances ahead to do it.