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Last Word On Sports

Sports News Since 2011. Honestly.

Last Word On Sports Logo

Sports. Honestly. Since 2011

Month: April 2012

Team Canada Defeats USA, Wins Women's World Championship!

Posted on by Michael Kovacs, ADMIN

Congratulations is in order, as the Canadian Women’s National hockey team defeated their rivals 5-4 in overtime to capture the gold medal.

Many hockey fans still don’t realize the deep-seeded angst between the two nations’ women’s programs.  For years the two nations were the pinnacle of women’s hockey, routinely meeting in the gold medal match-ups, just as they did tonight.  But this year was different.  The trash-talking was raised to a completely different level.

The American team continuously taunted their cross-border rivals, claiming to want to play Canada as they were not as strong as some of the other nations in the tournament.  What you don’t want to do as an athlete is to give any locker room material.  There is no other way to describe the Canadians’ effort tonight than “feisty”.  They were all over the ice, leaving everything there.

After jumping out to a nice two-goal lead, the Americans rallied and took the lead themselves 4-3, before the Canadians answered in the third to send it to overtime.  Meghan Agosta’s goal with less than two and a half minutes to play in the third period ensured that this game would be settled by a Golden Goal.  In Overtime, just a couple of minutes in, a two on one developed in the US zone.  Agosta again carrying the play, she slid a nice pass into the slot where forward Carolyn Ouellette slid the puck low past the American goalkeeper to earn the victory.

Congratulations to both teams for  a well-played game.

…and that is the Last Word.

Italian Soccer Player, Piermario Morosini dies on Pitch, all matches postponed.

Posted on by Frank Giuliano

BREAKING NEWS

Shocking news emerging from the peninsula as Livorno midfielder, on loan from Udinese, Piermario Morosini died on the field today during Pescara-Livorno. The visitors were winning 2-0 after 31 minutes when suddenly the 25 year old Morosini began to stagger and then collapsed as he suffered cardiac arrest. The Livorno medical staff, sitting in the stands, immediately hurried to his aid and tried to revive the young talent who was then rushed to hospital in an ambulance. He was pronounced dead on the scene by paramedics. Both the Serie A and the Serie B have postponed all games this weekend and will be played at a later date to be announced. Thoughts and prayers go out to the Morosini family.

 

Here is the regular article we were going to go with for Week 33 before this was unfortunate news.

After Week 32 of the Italian Championship in mid-week, the table remains the same with five matches remaining. Juventus FC remains undefeated and continues to lead the league by a single point ahead of title holders and contenders AC Milan.

In Torino, the Old Lady took on Lazio who is currently occupying third place with 54 points. The Aquile were aiming to gain more ground on Udinese and Napoli since the third-placed team will directly qualify for the Champions League. The Bianconeri completely dominated this fixture from start to finish and went on to win 2-1 with a stunning beauty of a goal on behalf of Simone Pepe. Italian international playmaker, Andrea Pirlo lobbed in a beautiful cross into the box for Pepe who controlled it with his chest and then scissor-kicked into the net. Spectacular! In the second half, super sub Alex Del Piero scored the game winner from a free kick after Stefano Mauri temporarily equalised on the stroke of half time.

In Verona, Chievo hosted the defending champions, Milan. The Rossoneri grabbed all three points with a 1-0 score line thanks to Sulley Montari’s incredibly accurate long range shot. The Flying Donkeys were correctly disallowed 2 goals for offside offences. Allegri’s men have looked sluggish of late as too many injuries and fatigue may be taking its toll on the Diavoli.

Fiorentina  and Palermo were held to a scoreless draw thanks to Rosanero keeper Emiliano Viviano, standing on his head when being called upon. Viola striker, Amauri, attempted his own personal ‘hand of God’ goal, but the referee was in perfect position and correctly disallowed it.

AS Roma pummeled Udinese 3-1 at the Stadio Olimpico. Roma striker, Pablo Osvaldo, popped in the go-ahead goal 8 minutes into the game. Just before half, Gelson Fernandes, tied it up for the visitors. The Giallorossi left it late to claim the three points for which they were in desperate need. Club idol, Francesco Totti, scored the game winner with key signing Marquinho, hammering in the final nail.

Napoli was crushed at the San Paolo in Naples against a dominant Atalanta side. This is Walter Mazzarri’s third consecutive loss which will most cost his men Champions League qualification for next year’s competition. This is a huge victory for Atalanta who currently sit in 11th position, 8 points out an Europa League spot.

Other results: Inter Milan 2-1 Siena; Parma 2-0 Novara; Genoa 1-1 Cesena; Catania 1-2 Lecce.

 

 

 

Week 32 11 Apr 2012
Bologna 1 – 0 Cagliari
Catania 1 – 2 Lecce
Chievo 0 – 1 Milan
Fiorentina 0 – 0 Palermo
Genoa 1 – 1 Cesena
Inter 2 – 1 Siena
Juventus 2 – 1 Lazio
Napoli 1 – 3 Atalanta
Parma 2 – 0 Novara
Roma 3 – 1 Udinese
Week 33 15 Apr 2012 (14.00 UK)
Atalanta Preview Chievo
Cagliari Preview Catania
Cesena Preview Juventus
Lecce Preview Napoli
Milan Preview Genoa(Sat 17.00)
Novara Preview Lazio(11.30)
Palermo Preview Parma
Roma Preview Fiorentina(19.45)
Siena Preview Bologna
Udinese Preview Inter(Sat 19.45)
FIXTURES
Week 34 22 Apr 2012
Catania – Atalanta
Cesena – Palermo
Chievo – Udinese
Fiorentina – Inter
Genoa – Siena
Juventus – Roma
Lazio – Lecce
Milan – Bologna
Napoli – Novara
Parma – Cagliari

 

Ryan Leaf Charged – A Sad, Sad Story

Posted on by Michael Kovacs, ADMIN

We all remember when quarterback Ryan Leaf was going head-to-head with Peyton in the 1998 draft.  Who would go first?  Of course he lost out, and apparently rightfully so, but the 14-year aftermath has been tumultuous at best.

Leaf never caught a break in San Diego, after a wonderful career at Washington State.  A dismal first few seasons had the former #2 pick announcing his retirement, citing “injury” problems.  No one really bought that.

I remember feeling a little sorry for him.  Not because I thought he was some nice guy who deserved the world – I didn’t know the guy at all.  What I felt bad about was the almost unparalleled fall from grace.  He was so hyped-up, too much so, that he had himself believing he was really that good.  Many analysts at the time were spot-on saying he was mostly like a mid-first round pick, not “top-five” quality, but just as many were pitting him against Peyton as if there was some comparison.  Queue the epic fall from grace.

Fast-forward to 2012 and we have Ryan Leaf in the news again, this time for things unrelated to football.  Leaf was charged with Leaf facing “Two counts of felony burglary and two counts of felony criminal possession of dangerous drugs.”   Basically, the claim is that he was in the dumps and was looking for prescription drugs.

The former Washington State pivot was previously put on probation in 2010 when he pleaded guilty to seven counts of “obtaining a controlled substance by fraud and delivery of a simulated controlled substance.”  That certainly doesn’t help his case.

I guess I just feel for a guy who was seemingly on top of the world, considered second to arguably the best quarterback in the history of football.  And now, well, he’s just sad.

…and that is the last word.

 

NHL Draft Prospect Profile #9: Sebastian Collberg

Posted on by Ben Kerr

Drafted #33 Overall by the Montreal Canadiens

Today we take a look at NHL Draft Prospect Sebastian Collberg, a versatile winger playing for Frolunda in the Swedish Elitserien.  He also has a ton of international experience and was a member of Sweden’s recent gold medal winning World Junior Squad.  He is currently playing for Sweden’s Under 18 team in the IIHF U18 World Championships taking place in the Czech Republic.

Right Wing/Left Wing
Born February 23, 1994 – Mariestad, Sweden
Height 5.11 — Weight 174 — Shoots R

2010-11 Vastra Frolunda HC SEL 5 0 0 0 0 0
2011-12 Vastra Frolunda HC SEL 41 0 0 0 0 -8

At Last Word on Sports, our viewings of Collberg have mainly come in international competitions over the last two years.  We saw him in last summer’s Ivan Hlinka tournament, in this winter’s World Juniors, and now in the first few games of the IIHF U18 World Championship.  Throughout the last year we’ve seen a great progression in the young Swede’s game, and every time we see him we walk away more and more impressed.

The first thing you notice about Collberg’s game is an incredible wrist shot and release.  Collberg possesses a very heavy wrist shot and has a very quick release.  Collberg is also a great stick handler, and not afraid to go to the dirty areas to score goals.  He’s great on breakaways, and has shown that he can beat the goalie in the shootout.  In short Collberg is a natural sniper.  Collberg is also an above average skater and has very good vision and passing ability, which gives him the added dimension of becoming a good playmaker too.

In the World Junior Championships we felt that Collberg outperformed his teammate Filip Forsberg, and was the best draft eligible forward on the Swedish team.  He scored 7 pts in 6 games in the tourney and came up with a huge shootout goal in the semi final win over Finland.  Collberg appears poised to continue his great international play as he’s started strong for Sweden in this year’s Under 18 tourney.

There are some concerns about Collberg’s size, and his ability to handle the physicality of the NHL.  We have been impressed with his willingness to battle along the boards and go to the net, however we are unsure at how well this will translate against bigger opponents at the pro level.  He also needs some work on his defensive game as he sometimes can be in the wrong position on the ice.  We think that Collberg will need some time to develop before he is NHL ready, however we do think he can be a goal scorer for someone going forward, especially if paired with a good centre.  We’d compare Collberg’s potential to become a player similar to Mike Cammalleri of the Calgary Flames.

… and thats the Last Word.

Giuseppe Rossi Crack! Out Six Months!

Posted on by Luciano Giuliano

Italy Coach Cesare Prandelli is dealt a blow ahead of Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine as Giuseppe Rossi is out for 6 months.

The star Villarreal striker is a no-go for Italy this June and will therefore miss out on the up-coming European Championship which would have been his first tournament as an Azzurri.

Rossi had been out for six months after injuring his right knee ligament earlier on in the season. The US-born Italian international returned to full training this month only to have reinjured the same right knee ligament and has been deemed out indefinitely for Italy as he will sit out on the sidelines for the rest of the season.

Prandelli has had a difficult time preparing his frontline as he has been deprived of his star strikers Antonio Cassano and Giuseppe Rossi for most of the season. The former is back to full training for club side AC Milan.

As seen in the last friendly match against the United States, the Azzurri had most of the possession and created several opportunities to bag goals, but came up short as the frontline lacks effective goal scorers. Being placed in Group C, which could also be deemed a ‘group of death’ with Spain, Republic of Ireland and Croatia, the Italians cannot afford an insufficient attack as their qualification will depend on their ability to score goals.

Who will the Italy tactician call up to replace Pepito Rossi? Thinking as an Azzurri coach, here are some of the best possible replacements:

Manchester City striker, Mario Balotelli would be a great replacement but has the tendency to commit very silly fouls leading to expulsion, in which case, may cause Italy dearly in a short competition like the Euro. Is he capable of behaving appropriately with teammates, opponents, and spectators? Balo has all the talent in the world: strength, drive, speed, desire. He just needs to get his act together. Prandelli has warned, though, that he will only choose players who respect his code of ethics. Balotelli, unfortunately, does not fulfill this requirement. Although there is another month and a half for Prandelli to buckle down and make his choices, it may be too little too late for the Man City striker. Should Prandelli give Mario Balotelli a chance? Is it worth missing out on bringing a great option that can change the face of the game such as Mario? This season, Balotelli has scored 13 goals out of 75 shots in 22 games.

Perhaps the better choice is Turin-native Sebastian Giovinco. Nicknamed the Atomic Ant for his pint-sized body, Giovinco possesses strong dribbling and passing abilities, accuracy, and is capable of scoring as well as creating goal-scoring opportunities. Unlike Balotelli, Giovinco is able to keep a cool head and think for the better of the team. He has a lot to prove and has a strong desire to be called up for the Euro tourney to represent his country. This could be the chance for Giovinco to ply his skills on a big stage. This season, the Parma striker has scored 11 goals out of 114 shots in 30 appearances.

Both players’ statistics are comparable. Balotelli has scored more goals with fewer shots in fewer games. Typically though, the English Premiership League is not known for tight defenses and talented goalkeepers whereas the Italian Serie A is well known for just the opposite.

Who do you think should be the player replacing Giuseppe Rossi?

NHL Draft Prospect Profile #8: Morgan Rielly

Posted on by Ben Kerr

Edit Drafted number #5 by Toronto Maple Leafs.

This year’s NHL draft is extremely heavy in defence prospects, and as we continue today we bring you yet another.  Our #8 ranked prospect is a premier offensive defenceman, Morgan Rielly of the WHL’s Moose Jaw Warriors.

Defense
Born Mar 9 1994 — Vancouver, BC
Height 6.00 — Weight 190 — Shoots L

2010-11 Moose Jaw Warriors WHL 65 6 22 28 21 -15 6 0 6 6 0
2011-12 Moose Jaw Warriors WHL 18 3 15 18 2 6

Morgan Rielly might have the most high end offensive potential of any defenceman in this draft.  Before his injury he was scoring at a point per game pace for the Moose Jaw Warriors of the WHL.  Rielly is an absolutely elite skater, and is in the conversation with Matt Dumba for the best skater in this draft class.  His speed is off the charts, he uses his edges effectively, he has a great first step and quick acceleration, and his pivots and changes of direction are quick and crisp.  His skating is already at a level that would leave many NHLers in his dust.

Rielly loves to carry the puck, and loves to lead his teams rushes from the backend.  A frequent sight at Warriors games was Rielly trying an end to end rush this season.  He’s great with the puck on his stick, and has good vision and passing ability.  He also has both a great wrist and slap shot and he utilizes these along with his great vision, and ability to make crisp tape to tape passes to be a future elite PP Quarterback.

Rielly does sometimes make mistakes and has a habit of sometimes being a gambler, and making a bad giveaway due to his desire to always push the offence.  He also needs to continue to bulk up and become stronger before he will be able to take on bigger forwards in the defensive zone.  However Rielly’s puck skills do help him defensively as he’s able to quickly move the puck up the ice, most of the time.

Unfortunately Rielly, like our number 4 ranked prospect, Alex Galchenyuk, suffered a torn ACL in a game in November this year.  This has really limited his games this season as he has not played since.  However the Warriors have just received the good news that Rielly has been medically cleared to participate in the WHL Western Conference final vs the Edmonton Oil Kings.  There are sure to be a ton of scouts interested to see exactly how well Rielly has recovered, and his performance in these playoffs and at the NHL Combine will have a huge effect on his stock.  Rielly is another real “wild card” prospect who could really rise or really fall depending on those results, but for now, we rank him Number 8 in our 2012 NHL Draft Rankings.  If Rielly can recover and hits his vast potential we think he would best be compared to Mike Green, of the Washington Capitals.

….and thats the Last Word.

Shea Weber: What is Wrong With the NHL

Posted on by Michael Kovacs, ADMIN

Aren’t you just sick and tired of trying to understand the NHL’s disciplinary actions?

In the final moments of Wednesday’s game between the Detroit Red Wings and Nashville Predators, Shea Weber blatantly drove Henrik Zetterburg’s head into the glass.  Certainly it was in response to a legal hit delivered by Zetterburg.  In a time where concussions are at the fore of 50% (throwing out an arbitrary number) of hockey chatter, what do you suppose Marshall Brendan Shanahan and Company’s response was?

Shea Weber was handed a fine of $2500, and a promise from Shanahan that, it will affect “any incidents involving Shea Weber throughout the remainder of the playoffs.” 

Is he serious?  That is considered a penalty in the eyes of a league?  $2500 is barely a slap on the wrist, and will certainly do nothing to deter anything.  Until the league steps and takes ownership all season long, including playoffs, nothing will change.  In fact, I think we just took a step backward.  Players show no respect toward each other.  I will continue to defend my position that there is way too much senseless violence in hockey.  A clean hit that knocks someone out is within the rules, this incident was not.  For shame.

Agree?

Comments welcomed below.

…and that is the last word.

NFL Draft Prospect Profile #1: Andrew Luck

Posted on by Anto Dowsett

With the NFL Draft looming, we here at LastWordOnSports will also be bringing you draft profiles of the top prospects in NCAAF.  Check back often as we prepare you for what you need to know.

We’re going to start with #1, the highest rated prospect, Andrew Luck of the Stanford Cardinal.

Quarterback
Born:Sept 12 1989–Washington, D.C
Height: 6.4 – Weight: 234 – Throws: R

Season

Passing

Rushing

Comp

Att

Yds

Pct

TD

Int

Rating

Att

Yds

Avg

TD

2009-10, Stanford

162

288

2,575

56.3%

13

4

143.5

61

354

5.8

2

2010-11, Stanford

263

372

3,338

70.7%

32

8

170.2

55

453

8.2

3

2011-12, Stanford

288

404

3,517

71.3%

37

10

169.7

47

150

3.2

2

A highly-rated high school recruiting target, Andrew Luck committed to the Stanford Cardinal football program on June 30, 2007. Dreaming to follow in his father’s footsteps and one day make the NFL, Luck played his first game for Stanford in 2009 and led his team to victories over top-ten teams Oregon and USC. He also contributed to their berth in the 2009 Sun Bowl. Unfortunately, Luck injured a finger on his throwing hand in the final regular season game and needed surgery, preventing him from playing in the Sun Bowl.

Fast forward to 2011 where you find that Andrew Luck led Stanford to a record of 11-2 and a berth in a BCS bowl (the Fiesta Bowl). He was a close runner-up for the Heisman Trophy for the second consecutive year, becoming the fourth player to do so. Luck set multiple school records while quarterbacking the Cardinal, some of which including: 82 career touchdown passes, 37 touchdown passes in a season and 10, 387 total offensive yards in his career. He also set a single season Pac-12 record by throwing the highest completion percentage in a season by any quarterback, with 71.3%.

In the days leading up to the NFL draft, one can hear from multiple sources that Luck is the “best quarterback prospect since Peyton Manning”. Despite Robert Griffin III’s incredible Heisman Trophy winning season, Luck is easily projected to go first overall.

Throughout the 2011-12 NFL season, many fans of mediocre, or just plain bad, teams called for their team to “Suck for Luck” (try to lose their remaining games) in order to have the best chance at drafting this “once-in-a-lifetime” talent. Eventually, it was the Indianapolis Colts who won the “Luck Sweepstakes”, and with their aging, all-pro quarterback Peyton Manning coming back from surgery, the Colts decided to release Manning in order to make room for Luck.

Luck projects as a franchise quarterback, and many Colts fans are hoping that he can match, or do better than, what Manning did for them over the last fourteen seasons.

…. and that is the Last Word.

Ontario Racing in Full Effect

Posted on by Dwayne Edwards

With opening weekend of Woodbine racetrack in the past now, owners, trainers and jockeys can start collecting some money instead of handing it out to employees. It’s sometimes a very long winter for thoroughbred horse people here in Ontario as there is no hometown racing. Many Canadians do travel south for the winter in order to generate a year-round income, or to keep the finest equines in their stables fit for the beginning of the Ontario meets.

The first winner in 2012 was Jim Ensom’s “Absolute Heaven” ridden by local jockey Steve Bahen. The first weekend consisted of three days of racing, Friday – Sunday, featuring two stake races. The Debut Stakes was the 8th race on Friday’s card and the winner, “Gypsy Ring” did not disappoint as the heavy favourite. “Justin Stein” got the victory aboard this 6-year-old gelding for trainer Paul Buttigieg passing a determined long shot “Executive Fire” right at the wire.

In the other stake race of the weekend, last year’s male sprinter of the year “Essence Hit Man” pulled out an impressive victory in Saturday’s Jacques Cartier Stakes. Winning with relative ease this 5-year-old gelding, owned, trained and bred by Audre and Gord Cappuccitti is showing he is once again the cream of the crop for sprinters in Canada.

Another very strong opening weekend by trainer Wesley Ward and his jockey of choice this year, Jesus Rios, as the combination win 5 of 13 races. Almost as impressive as last year where Ward seemed unbeatable in the first couple weeks, along with high percentage trainer Don MacRae both very good trainers and continue to prove year after year they have their horses ready for the beginning of their yearly campaign.

Others who started the year off on the right foot were “Justin Stein” winning 4 races including his big stake win, and “L Contreas” continuing where he left off with 3 wins. A group of riders win 2 races, but the kid who stands out to me here is fellow Fort Erie boy, Jeffrey Alderson, who is proving his talents as an apprentice rider in the big show at Woodbine.

With the second weekend coming there are two stake races being held; the Star Shoot and the Woodstock, where there is a lot of money to be won. Will Ward and Rios continue the winning ways or is Mark Casse looking to beat his record wins from last year? Questions will be answered, races will be won, and the cheers from the crowd will be loud and proud as the horses come to the finish line in another weekend at Woodbine Racetrack.

…and that is the last word.