Metro Marauders Webcasts on Haligonia.ca

Troy Ryan's Marauders of the MHL will play an 8 game schedule on Haligonia.ca beginning with the season opener on September 10th.

Haligonia.ca is proud to announce they are the new home for webcasting of Metro Marauders Maritime Junior Hockey in Halifax.

“The Marauders are the hardest working franchise in the HRM right now, they are doing all the right things to try and make maritime junior hockey succeed here in Metro”, says Bill McLean of Haligonia Sports.

“Haligonia Sports is dedicated to local sport and the chance to cover a first class organization like the Marauders is an exciting opportunity and a huge step forward for us.”

The eight game schedule will run through to the end of the regular season and feature matchups vs. several Nova Scotia rivals, as well as a contest vs. the juggernaut Woodstock Slammers from New Brunswick.

Webcasts of Marauders games will begin with the season opener on September 10th at their new home, the Dartmouth Sportsplex. The Marauders will renew acquaintances with one of their chief rivals, the Truro Bearcats.

“This season we (The new Metro Marauders Brand) are excited to build on an already strong relationship with Haligonia Sports,” says Troy Ryan, Metro’s Head Coach and General Manager.

“We look forward to working closely with Haligonia Sports and together creating exciting coverage for their loyal supporters.”

Haligonia’s coverage will feature a talented crew of broadcasters including Mavs Gillis, the voice of the Halifax Rainmen on haligonia.ca, and Garreth MacDonald, who did play by play for the Marauders last season on Fastthockey.com and is an aspiring journalist currently reporting for CTV.

Splitting time as Marauders colour commentator will be Chris Tremblay and Steve Betts. Chris was a long time broadcaster of the Halifax Mooseheads on local radio, while Steve provides the colour for Dalhousie Tiger’s hockey on ssncanada.ca.

“We’ve got a talented, hard working team at Haligonia.ca to cover a talented, hard working team in the Metro Marauders,” say McLean. “It’s going to be a lot of fun!”

Metro Marauders Schedule on Haligonia.ca

Friday, September 10th, vs. Truro
Saturday, September 25th, vs. Bridgewater
Friday, October 8th, vs. Weeks Crushers
Sunday, November 7th vs. Woodstock
Saturday, December 4th, vs. Bridgewater
Friday, December 17th vs. Truro
Sunday, January 16th vs. Yarmouth
Friday, February 4th vs. Summerside

Haligonia Sports is the website where local sport matters. Join us on facebook and follow us on twitter @haligoniasports

WEC Star to do Seminar in Halifax

by Derek Leblanc

While it may be hard at times to try and get big named mixed martial arts fighters to fight in the Halifax area, doesn't mean that they don't come out to visit. WEC fighter Wagnney Fabiano will be doing a two day seminar on September 18th and 19th over at Fitplus gym in Cole Harbour. The gym will be expecting a good turnout for this one and will help with the fighters at the gym

“We have a commitment met to our gym, we have a history of doing that and were going to continue to the same,” says Scott Maclean, Owner and operator of Fitplus.

“His (Fabiano) jiu jistu is highly regarded so we are going to up the anti our jiu jistu program.”

Fabiano has been a top fighter in mixed martial artist for over ten years and has compiled a record of 10-2. Fabiano has beaten the likes the likes of L.C Davis and John Gunderson just to name a few and was the first and only International Fight League's featherweight champion He is currently moved down to bantamweight to make a title run in the WEC. While he known more for being a mixed martial artist, he has had a accomplished career in Brazilian Jiu Jistu in which he holds a 3rd degree black belt and has won the Brazilian national championships three times plus numerous other awards.

The seminar will cost $100 for Fitplus members and $125 for non members. You can contact Fitplus for spots at 404-THAI (8424).

email Derek at derekleblanc34@gmail.com

Moosehead Dry Wins Pitching Duel, Improve to 3-0 at Nationals.

by Steve Betts

On a beautiful night for baseball at Beazly Field, Steve Nelson fired a one hit masterpiece to lead the Dartmouth Moosehead Dry to their third win in the first two days at the Canadian Senior Baseball Championships.

Behind Nelson's brilliant performance, the Dry defeated Manitoba 4-0 in a yawner of a game that took only two hours to complete.

Earlier on friday, Dartmouth received a three hit performance from Merek Deska to defeat Fort Saskatchewan 3-0.

The Dry's victory was highlighted by a brilliant over the fence catch by Chris Head that helped to preserve the shutout and electrify the Dartmouth faithful in the stands.

Head also provided the offensive spark for Dartmouth with a hit, a walk, a stolen base, and a run scored.

The Dry have outscored their opponents 11-2 so far at the championships and will look to continue their winning ways in Saturday vs. NL at noon at Beazly Field.

Steve Betts is a local baseball pundit and colour commentator for Dalhousie Tigers Hockey on ssncanada.ca. Follow Steve on twitter @bettszee.

Good Start For HRM Teams at Canadian Senior Championships

Despite damp and rainy weather all day everyone got their games in on the opening day of the Canadian Senior Baseball Championship. There was a heavy mist in the air as the Opening Ceremonies were held Thursday evening at Beasley field in Dartmouth, but it began to subside by the time the first pitch was thrown in the host’s opening game against the Windsor Stars.

Dartmouth 4 Windsor 2

Dartmouth used a little small ball in the first inning to take the early lead. Leadoff hitter, Chris Head singled to right and advanced all the way to third after stealing second and having the catcher’s throw wind up in centerfield. Head came into score on a sac fly to to center off the bat of Joel Irvine.
Windsor turned the tables on the Moosehead Dry scoring Justin Pennell in the second. Pennell led off the inning with a single to right and moved to second on a botched pick-off attempt. He later cam into score on a wild pitch from Dartmouth starter Jason Bailey.
Dartmouth firstbaseman Greg West put the home team back on top with a leadoff home run in the bottom half on the second. The Stars tied the game back up in the fourth leading to a competitive finish to the game.
Windsor threatened to take the lead in the fifth, but ended up stranding runners at first and third. The Stars stranded seven runners total in each of the first five innings. The lack of production proved to be costly.
Dartmouth took advantage after a throwing error by SS Brian Dufour moved Beau Chiasson into scoring position in the bottom half of the inning. Catcher Matt Denney laid down a sac bunt to move the runner to third and he later scored on an infield chopper.
The sixth saw some exciting plays as Dartmouth looked to add some insurance runs. Designated hitter, and Home Run King, Darren Doucette scored on a very close play at the plate where it appeared Windsor catcher Rob Mancini had the plate covered and the throw was on line, but the umpire called him safe. The very next play saw another play at the plate where the Dartmouth runner was called out despite the catcher seeming to have dropped the ball. The ump ruled the drop was on the transfer.
Bailey came back out to finish off the complete game (7 innings) and seal the 4-2 win for Dartmouth.
Earlier in the day Halifax beat Fredericton 10-6 in the first match of the tournament.

All the scores from Day 1:

Halifax – 10 Fredericton – 6
Brandon – 1 St. John’s – 2
Ilderton – 2 Red Deer – 6
Brandon – 5 Fort Sask – 4
Windsor – 2 Dartmouth – 4

For updates from the championships, follow Joel on twitter @jmdougall. Joel's website is http://www.route19.wordpress.com/

Doucette Defends Derby Title

Dartmouth's Darren Doucette won wednesday's home run derby at the Canadian Senior Baseball championships.

by Joel MacDougall
In a battle to determine Canadian power hitting supremacy, it came down to couple of lefties from the Maritimes. Jody Peterson of the Fredericton Peterbilt/Dairy Queen Royals and Darren Doucette of the crowd favourite Dartmouth Moosehead Dry had only one home run separating them in the final round, but its was Doucette that sent the nearly 1,000 fans home happy.
On a cool evening with a blustery crosswind that occassionally was blowing straight in, home runs were hard to come by. It was tough conditions for the long ball, especially for right-handed hitters. A number the early competitors were able to hit the ball hard, but the wind would either knock it down or their attempts to keep it out of the wind resulted in stinging line drives. Those line drives will be much appreciated I’m sure during the regular play of the tournament, but on this night they weren’t enough.
All this made for some lower home run totals. That is, until Jody Peterson stepped to the plate in the first round.
Peterson’s first round was the best single round of the evening. He peppered eight dingers, all to left field, some of the moon-shot variety. Up until that point no batter had been able to hit more than one in the round and his total was more than all other competitors combined. The local crowd began to get a little anxious as Peterson proved that local boy Doucette wouldn’t be handed the title without a fight.
Doucette finished second in the opening round of the Derby smacking three bombs to left. He seemed to struggle to find his rythm, but began to swing the bat better later in the round.
The batters would be allowed only five outs in the second round compared to 10 in the first. Peterson and Doucette were joined by Rob Harynuk of the Burnaby Bulldogs, Matt Beaudry of the Fort Saskatchewan A’s and Thomas Grubb of the Windsor Stars in the second round. They kept the totals from the first and tried to add to it for a chance to be in the final two.
Peterson hit a couple solid shots in the second round and was never in danger of not advancing thanks to his strong first round. Grubb made what looked to be a two-man race between Doucette and Peterson a bit more interesting, hitting four homers in the second round. Doucette was then forced to hit at least two to force a tie with Grubb. Doucette came through hitting four to advance.
As happens in many HR Derbies the participants reaching the final began to feel the effects of taking big cuts all night. Peterson opened the final round with two long drives to left. Doucette hit a couple of solid shots of his own to tie Peterson and have a chance to win it all. With a few outs remaining, he hit a screaming shot to left that just hooked foul, leaving the crowd leaning off the edge of their seats. It was only a couple of pitchers later that Doucette hit the third and decisive home run to top Peterson. That would be his final bomb, but it proved enough to walk away Home Run King.
The real winner in all of this was the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, who partnered with the Dartmouth Moosehead Dry to hold the event. You couldn’t look anywhere last night at Beazley Field without seeing the trademark pink on everything. There were numerous prizes and contest sponsored by Tim Hoton’s, Cleve’s Source for Sports, and Grandview Golf Club that helped raise money for breast cancer research.
The weather is a bit damp this morning, but games are underway as we speak. It is supposed to clear up for a good weekend, so get out there and watch some great baseball.

Follow Joel on twitter @jmdougall and check out his website, www.Route19.wordpress.com.

Taters for TaTas: Home Run Derby Tomorrow Night at Beazly

Article by Joel MacDougall

The Canadian Baseball Championship will kick off on Wednesday night when the top 10 sluggers in Canadian senior baseball display their power in the home run derby at Beazley Field at 6:30.

Regardless of the outcome, the real winner will be the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. The tournament organizing committee and the host club, the Dartmouth Moosehead Dry, have decided to open the gates to everyone who wishes to attend, asking that fans consider a cash donation to the foundation in return for what will prove to be an entertaining evening.

Organizer Alana Doucette has put in countless hours to provide a fun time for spectators. She has received sponsorship support from Tim Horton’s, Cleve’s Source for Sports, and Grandview Golf and Country Club who will provide numerous prizes for those in attendance.

Cleve’s will also provide a gift certificate for the player crowned as winner of the derby.

Follow Joel on twitter @jmdougall. Favorite Joel's blog on your browser, www.route19.wordpress.com.

Frk'ing Horrible Day in Moose Country

by Henry Whitfield

Although the Halifax Mooseheads were 4-3 winners Sunday night in their pre-season game against Saint John, they recieved some terrible news for the future:

Martin Frk is not coming to Halifax this season, unless Bobby Smith takes the option of buying the young Czech stud out of his contract.

As released by the IIHF this weekend,
Czech 16-year old prospect Martin Frk has a valid contract with Karlovy Vary and can therefore not transfer to the Halifax Mooseheads of the Canadian Hockey League. This has been determined by the IIHF.
The Czech forward was selected third overall in the Canadian Hockey League’s so called Import Draft earlier this summer after he had 55 points and 184 penalty minutes in 38 games at the Czech under-20 level last season. But Frk’s Czech club Karlovy Vary challenged the ensuing transfer request from Halifax stating that the player has a valid and binding contract.
After an investigation the IIHF concluded that the professional player contract was validly signed by the player’s parents and the contract was not terminated according to the terms in the contract, a mutual agreement or a just cause.
As it is determined that a valid professional player contract exists between the player and Karlovy Vary, the player has committed a breach of the contract by leaving the club and going to Canada with the intention to play in Halifax.
According to the IIHF Transfer Regulation section II article 4.5, the IIHF General Secretary, on behalf of the IIHF, decided that the player’s International Transfer Card is not approved.

The Mooseheads had taken a gamble on the young player by choosing him high in the European import draft. Now with Frk not coming to Halifax, not only do the Moose miss out on a young scoring forward they must now plan to fill a void left by former captain Tomas Knotek who went back to Europe after last season.

The only positive in this situation has been the stellar play of forward Gabriel Desjardin’s so far this preseason and the prospect of seeing the likes of Darcy Ashley, Luca Ciampini and Matthew Boudreau in the line-up this season.

The next big question of the Mooseheads is which goalie they will keep for the future, with both Peter Delmas and Mathieu Corbeil fighting for the number one spot.

It appears that Peter Delmas is the safer choice as he can still be moved after Monday, however, if the Moose choose to keep Corbeil they would have to wait until December to move him.

Follow Henry on twitter @henrywhitfield

Warrior-1 Coming To Halifax

Warrior-1 MMA will be in Halifax on October 23rd

by Derek Leblanc

While there has been word spreading around there could be an event in Atlantic Canada, Warrior-1 (W-1) has made it official and it will be making the trip out to Halifax, on October 23rd.

The Toronto based mixed martial arts promotion felt it was a no brainer to do a show in this area."There is a market there right now that is kind of dead," says Jack Bateman, W-1 Founder/President."The mma market is dead out in the area right now and in my trip out there, the population was really kind of hoping for it and kind of hurting. This is a test to see if something can open back up."W-1 has only been in the mma game for about two years but it has made some big splashes.

While the may be doing shows only in Quebec they have TV deals with The Score Television Network in Canada and on Fox Sports Net in the United States. The company has also brought in big name fighters like former Pride star Denis Kang, UFC veterans like Shoine Carter, Vernon White, Jason MacDonald and the first Canadian UFC champion, Carlos Newton.

While the company has been bringing in top mma talent, they want to have a mix of everything on this event."I got some really great names coming on this card," says Bateman."It will be a typical W-1 card, star studded. While we took a lot of local talent, we took the top local talent and got it on this show. Our goal is to help push Eastern Canada mma and give them a national stage to showcase themselves. As well we still have the TV deals and we still need to entertain the rest of North America. So there will be some big names on this card and I think you guys will be pretty pleased when you see it."

While W-1 will be bringing in quality fights on October 23rd, they can not officially say any names at this time because all the fighter contracts have not been signed, W-1 is expecting to release that information in the next couple of weeks and has said that he has been welcomed with open arms by the mma community in Atlantic Canada.

There has been one fight reported as topmmanews.com has said that a featherweight bout between Bellator veteran Will Romero and Dartmouth's Tristan Johnson is going to be on the bill.While the show is still two months away, you have to think that Toronto is still on W-1's radar.

The big news last weekend was that the province of Ontario legalized mma starting in 2011. this means that promoters can try and put on shows in Canada's biggest market for the sport. While Bateman is happy about the news, he is going to wait and see how everything plays out."The whole reason for this company existing because of the possibility of Toronto and Ontario opening up," says Bateman.

"Two and a half years ago when I started the company, the goal was to have a few shows under our belt and have a good name behind us so, if it opens up we can slide right in and be the big boy in town outside the UFC and other major promotions. Right now we have no information at this point expect that sometime in 2011, mma will be legalized and that is all we know. There are some hard plans so we can plan our work and wait for to get information from the government."

While W-1 may be ready for the future ahead, it is preparing for the now and that now is in Halifax on October 23rd. Stay tuned to Haligonia Sports and we will keep you updated as more information is released.

Derek Leblanc is a Halifax based sports writer and broadcaster. Email Derek at derekleblanc34@gmail.com.

Dartmouth Set To Host Nationals

We are just over a week away from the 2010 Canadian National Senior Baseball Championships being held in Dartmouth, NS.

The teams are set, and the pools are drawn. It’s now just a matter of time until they get down to business and faceoff to determine the who is the best baseball team in the country.

The tournament kicks off next Thursday morning (Aug. 26) with one of the local favourites, the Halifax Pelham Molson Canadians, taking on the team from New Brunswick, the Fredericton Peterbilt/DQ Royals at the Halifax Mainland Commons.

The host Dartmouth Moosehead Dry will play their first game against the Windsor Stars later that evening following the championship’s opening ceremonies at 7:30 pm at Beazely Field in Dartmouth. The Championship game is schedule for Sunday evening at 8:00 pm in Dartmouth.

The field for this year’s tournament is a strong one, featuring former champions such as the defending champs, the Fort Saskathewan Athletics. The competition will be tight and promises some great baseball.

The teams have been divided into two pools as follows:

Pool A
Halifax Pelham Molson Canadians (Nova Scotia )Fredericton Peterbilt/DQ Royals (New Brunswick)Ilderton Red Army (Ontario 2)Burnaby Bulldogs (British Columbia)Red Deer Riggers (Alberta 1)

Pool B
Brandon Cloverleafs (Manitoba)St. John’s WINMAR Capitals (Newfoundland/Labrador)Windsor Stars (Ontario 1)Fort Saskatchewan Athletics (Alberta 2)Dartmouth Moosehead Dry (Host)

The night before the Championship opens, representatives from each team will take part in a Home Run Derby in support of breast cancer research. Admission to the Home Run Derby is free but donations are encouraged.

Tickets packages and to individual games are still avaiable for the Canadian Senior Baseball Championships and children under the age of 10 are free when accompanied by an adult. So take advantage of this chance to see some of the best in our country in our backyard. You can find the full schedule of games here.

I will be post results and scores as the tournament goes on, and you can get live updates by following me on http://twitter.com/JMDougall.

Tiger's Soccer Announces Recruiting Class

The Tigers are loaded and hope to avoid another disapointing finish.

By Dylan Matthias

The Tigers men's soccer team has finally announced its recruiting class for thr 2010 season. It's a defense-heavy group which will likely see more time in 2011 and 2012 than 2010, but head coach Pat Nearing has fulfilled his main recruiting goals: a left back and a striker.

Defenders Zach Bauld and Kieran Hooey should challenge for starting spots next year. Bauld played on the extremely successful Suburban FC Men's NSSL team this summer, a team which only conceded 13 goals in league play. Hooey played for Glebe Collegiate Institute and is a left back, a position Dal sorely need depth in.

Nearing also added former Ottawa Fury U-17 player Tyler Lewars up front to help replace Michel Daoust. Lewars has 10 goals this year in the USL Super Y-League. Lewars' brother Ryan plays at Cape Breton, meaning the weekend of September 18th should be a good game to watch at Wickwire.

Also added to the Tigers are Zack Fisher, JP Rodriques, and Brian Kironde.

The additions give the Tigers two big check marks on their two big needs: a left back and a striker. Jordan Mannix struggled at left-back last year, but an extra year of experience and pressure from Hooey for his spot should give the Tigers a competent left side.

Lewars and Afani will likely be the go-to tandem up front, unless Julian Perrotta returns to 2008 form. Afani has the ability to create space for his partner with his speed, a trait Daoust capitalized on last year. If Afani can find early chemistry with Lewars, there's no reason Dal won't be just as potent offensively this year as they were last year.

Most of Dal's best players are returning and the Tigers will have no problem competing in every game.

Overall recruiting grade: A-. Nothing truly special, but nailed the team's two biggest needs--all expectations are met, and the team has most of what it needs already.

Dylan Matthias is the incoming sports editor at the Dalhousie Gazette. He runs Dal Soccer Live on the side to provide more in-depth coverage of AUS and ACAA soccer. He has been a Toronto FC fan since Danny Dichio scored the team's first ever goal. It showed him the magic of soccer.

Halifax Dunbrack Win NSSL Championship in Shootout

by Henry Whitfield

After finishing atop the Men’s Nova Scotia Soccer League, Suburban FC went in against Halifax Dunbrack Tuesday evening with all the confidence in the world.

The match pitted outstanding soccer talent Mesut Mert, League MVP and goals leader, against a stingy Dunbrack defence that has allowed just seven goals all season and backstopped by an outstanding keeper in Ben Ur, who finished the regular season with 10 clean sheets.

First Half Recap

The opening twenty minutes were cagey and both teams probed the defensive lines looking for breaks, the only bright spot was a brilliant ball played in by Mert but keeper Ur was quick off his line to break up the run of play.

The deadlock was broken in the 21st minute when Jon Cordoba broke away, showing off his speed and the striker’s shot blasted right through keeper Hogg who got a piece of the ball but just couldn’t keep it out of the net.

The goal spurred both teams on and the pace of play picked up, with Mesut Mert coming right back down the field and scoring just more than a minute later. Mert clear on goal used his agility and skill to weave around keeper Ur and calmly placing the ball in the back of the net.

The game continued to go back and forth, with not much difference between the both sides. However, it was once again Dunbrack to break the deadlock. In the 35th minute Alex Cordoba put Ryan Devereaux free past the last defenders and he blasted a shot past a helpless Hogg to put the score to 2-1.

In similar fashion Suburban FC broke quickly to respond, but this time Dunbrack covered well and kept their slim one goal lead after strong defensive play.

Dunbrack made the first substitutions of the game in the 38th minute, taking Peter Garonis out and throwing Ahmed Negahban into the mix. Followed up shortly it was Marvin Okello coming off due to injury in the 41st minute, meanwhile the coaching staff of Suburban FC took issue with the delay in allowing a substation and berated the fourth official.

With the rain pouring down Halifax Dunbrack got another excellent opportunity from a free kick with Jon Cordoba forcing a brilliant save from keeper Hogg, and then another shot came near from J. Cordoba.

The game looked destined to be a 2-1 score lineat halftime but Suburban FC upset the storyline when Ian Greedy struck a fantastic strike past the Ur and into the upper left corner just below the woodwork. With that wonderful strike from the Greedy, the game was deadlocked at two goals apiece at halftime.

At half time it was clear that the raw pace of Jon Cordoba was causing issues for the Suburban FC defence, unable to keep up with the speedy striker, with player/coach Mesut Mert saying that the team was giving the striker too much space.

Second Half Recap

The game was played at a much slower pace for the start of the second half, with both teams playing more cautiously and not wanting to concede the next goal in the deadlocked match.

The only action in the first twenty minutes of the second half was a pair of nasty challenges on Dunbrack players Shawn Kodejs and Jon Cordoba, with the Dunbrack star in obvious discomfort after the challenge.

In the 75th minute Dunbrack were given another set-piece in a dangerous area, but were unable to convert an opportunity with a foul being called against Kerry Weymann. Suburban FC came right back down the pitch and were awarded with their own set-piece just outside the Dunbrack box, however, it was Ben Ur getting down to his left to make a spectacular save off of the Mesut Mert strike.

Extra-Time Recap

Both teams seemed content with playing for extra time and neither side seemed the likelier to score the next goal. Both Mesut Mert and Jon Cordoba were quiet in the second half; neither stars able to make an impact for their teams.

The first half of extra-time started much the same, but just a few minutes in Chris Maceachern went down hard and remained on the ground for a few minutes as he received medical attention. The player was able to make it off the field under his own power, but would not return to action.

Thick fog covered the field at the extra-time interval and both teams sat back and let the play run, with neither side looking interested in scoring the go ahead goal.

Late drama in the second half of extra-time, with Suburban FC Captain Talal Al-Awaid being awarded a red card, giving Dunbrack ten minutes of play with a man advantage. It was ten-man Suburban FC who had the best chance of the final moments, with Ian Greedy coming close but skied a ball over the net.

In the dying moments and with Marvin Okello ready to come on as a substitute to be in the shootout, the ref blew for full-time and off to penalty kicks the game went, without a visibly upset Okello to shoot.

Penalty Shootout Recap

One of the cruellest moments in sports, the Penalty shootout but with Ben Ur in net Dunbrack had the clear advantage heading in.

Suburban FC Ian Greedy – SCORES – Off the post and past the keeper Ur

Halifax Dunbrack – Shawn Kodejs – SCORES – Sends keeper wrong way and score easily

Suburban FC – Second Shooter– MISSES – Ur chooses right side but Reddich misses net

Halifax Dunbrack Peter Garonis – SCORES – Blasted over the keeper to the right

Suburban FC – Jason Paul – SAVED – Ben Ur Dives left and saves

Halifax Dunbrack – Fourth Shooter– SCORES – Another shot hammered into the top right

Suburban FC – Fourth Shooter – SAVED – Ben Ur guesses right again and its another brilliant save!

As the Dunbrack players swarmed their keeper, it was clear that Ur was the hero for Halifax Dunbrack. The keeper came up with two gigantic saves in the shootout and he coolly booked Dunbrack’s place at Nationals.

Suburban FC will be left wondering `what if,` as they came so close to a Championship but had their dreams snuffed out in one swift, cruel moment.

Now League Champions, Halifax Dunbrack will get ready for Nationals where they will hope to add to their current silverware.

Henry Whitfield is a local Football analyst and devoted fan. Follow Henry on twitter @henrywhitfield

England's Goalkeeping Makeover

Joe Hart is the face of the future for England's national team in net.

by Henry Whitfield

Flashback two months, David James was the England number one, with Robert Green and Paul Robinson seen as backups to the Portsmouth keeper.

Due to injury Green started the first match in place of an injured James, but had a gaffe that will make his career for decades, while Paul Robinson never got a shot at the big show.

James returned to injury and although he played well in his first two matches, he showed a lack of skill and very slow reflexes in the four to one drubbing by Germany.

With England playing Hungary on Wednesday, Fabio Capello has gone full


Joe Hart look's to be the future for English goalkeeping
circle on his goalkeeping selections and has named young Manchester City keeper Joe Hart as his starter. Meanwhile Scott Carson will be his backup and Ben Foster had been named as third choice.

Many will wonder that after a strong season with Birmingham, why didn’t Joe Hart get a shot at the World Cup? He will seemingly be the England goalkeeper for the next decade and the experience would have given him valuable insight into the pressures of playing in important matches.

Ben Foster has since pulled out due to injury problems and this prompted Capello to call up inexperienced Watford keeper Scott Loach and Blackburn reserve keeper Frankie Fielding.

Loach has become England’s U21 first choice after Hart made the move to the senior level and is seen as a possible replacement in years to come but has little experience at the top level. While Fielding is a Blackburn player he has yet to play for the club at Senior level and has been on loan at various teams since 2007, his most recent stint with Rochdale where he made 17 appearances.

Fabio Capello promised a youth movement in the aftermath of a terrible World Cup and it seems the first changes will be at the back.

Follow Henry on twitter @henrywhitfield.

Frk'tastic! Martin Frk Coming to Halifax

A few weeks ago we broke that Frk’s agent was hopefuly he’d be in Halifax come the fall.

His agent has now confirmed highly touted Czech forward Martin Frk is on his way across the pond and should be lining up for the Halifax Mooseheads this fall according to his agent Allen Walsh via twitter,

@Walsha: Czech forward Martin Frk has arrived in Montreal to participate in our Octagon summer training camp and will be heading to Halifax on 8/15.

This is exciting news for the Mooseheads, as they had been hoping the European would fill the void left when Captain Tomas Knotek signed a contract in Europe during the off-season.

Last season, Frk had 28 goals and 56 points last season and should add offensive pop to the Moose lineup this year.

With this addition, the Mooseheads should see some exciting hockey at the Metro Center this season with the likes of Mathew Boudreau, Darcy Ashley, Luca Ciampini looking to crack the team in training camp.

Home Runs To Help Fight Breast Cancer

by`Joel McDougall

One month from now, Canada’s top ball players will converge on Dartmouth for the 2010 Canadian Senior Baseball Championship. Nova Scotia will be represented by the Halifax Pelham Canadians and the host, Dartmouth Moosehead Dry. The Championship will kick-off with a display of power for a good cause.

Wednesday, August 25th Beazley Field in Dartmouth will be the scene as The Moosehead Dry team up with the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation to present the Canadian Senior Baseball Championship Home-Run Derby in support of breast cancer research.

Dartmouth Moosehead Dry slugger, Darren Doucette, and the participants from the other nine teams will be sporting the trademark pink attire to show their support for the cause. This opportunity will be especially meaningful to Doucette as he attempts to defend the home run crown he won at last year’s event.


Darren’s wife, Alana, is responsible for the dress code for all the sluggers entering this year’s derby. Last summer Alana was diagnosed with breast cancer and it was a heavy burden for both to carry. The couple have remained strong and have persevered. With a clean bill of health over her last four examinations, and reconstructive surgery required in the fall, Alana has turned her attention to raising funds for the CIBC Run for the Cure. Over the past season Alana has raised $6,000 for breast cancer research.

“I couldn’t be happier with how things have turned out for us as a family, we’re all going to be wearing pink, even my teammates will be cheering me on, and most certainly in pink too,” said Darren.

The CBCF has also thrown its full weight behind the effort and will be prominent in its assistance at the event. Besides the pink t-shirts worn by the players, fans will be able to purchase their own pink t-shirts. Pink ribbons will adorn the field and the fence surrounding Beazley Field. A girl’s team will don pink uniforms to chase down balls that stay within the park.

Fans, young and old alike, are encouraged dress up in anything pink and win some great prizes from proud sponsors like Tim Hortons, Cleve’s Source for Sports, and the Grandview Golf and Country Club. Patrons will be asked to make a cash donation to the CIBC Run for the Cure in lieu of paying an admission at the gate.

In the actual Home-Run Derby, after the last out is recorded for each batter a pink baseball will be used and if that ball is knocked over the fence, a fan will walk away with a prize.

This event will be an opportunity to enjoy a fun evening of great entertainment and prizes while supporting a great cause. “Our goal is simply to make this evening a fun event, but to make people more aware of breast cancer occurrence and educate as many people as possible,” Alana says of the purpose of the night.

As we get closer to the event watch the blog for further updates.

Joel McDougall lives in Halifax and writes about all sports. Follow him on twitter @jmdougall. Visit his blog at www.route19.wordpress.com

Road to Recovery

Tristan Johnson looks to stay undefeated at Ringside

One of the hardest things for a mixed martial artist to do is sit on the sidelines at a young age because of injures. Tristan Johnson has been doing that for about a year now with a shoulder injury. He is now ready to get his career back on track as he faces Guillaime Lamarche this weekend at Ringside: Invasion. Johnson comes into this fight undefeated at 5-0 and is ready to step in the cage.
"I feel in good shape," says Johnson
"This is my first fight since my shoulder injury, I feel like I am ready to get it on."
Johnson injured his shoulder last year after his win against Brad Duguay at Absolute Fighting 3 early in the match. While his shoulder was popped he was still able to win by TKO. The surgury afterwards sidelined him for six months. While everything has been going well for him since being able to train again, ring rust could be a factor going in against Lamarche but he feels that it is nothing then just talk.
"It could, but it is hard to say," says Johnson.
"You never really know. Sometimes guys get it in there and it is fine and other times it isn't. I have been laid off before for this long and fought before so it is not the first time it has happened to me so I am not too worried about ring rust."
Before the injury was there, the Digby, Nova Scotia native has been a rising star in the mma scene in Atlantic Canada. He does have the perfect record and now fights out of Dartmouth at Fit Plus where he trains along guys like TJ Grant and Chad Cox. While he has only had five fights in his career of mma, he was also a professional boxer where he went 3-2-1 according to boxrec.com. Johnson has some major KO power and has been advancing in his Maui Thai and ground skills. While Lamarche may be expecting nothing but a standup game from Johnson, he could be in for a surprise.
"Everyone thinks that since I used to be a boxer that I don't work jiu jitsu in the gym," says Johnson.
"I am always working constantly on my jiu jitsu in the gym as well as my wrestling and my Maui Thai standup too.. I am ready to go if it hits to the ground. I don't go in every time and think I am going to catch somebody with a punch, I am working on everything."
While Johnson has been improving in all aspects on his game. this is expecting to be a classic standup vs ground fight on paper. Guillaime Lamarche comes into this fight at 6-3 with 5 of his wins coming by submission. Lamarche also does have a wealth of experience having fought in TKO and past fights in Ringside. He is however coming off a lose Michel Gagnon at Ringside :Rage in April so he will be trying to get back on the winning track. While he does have the record and a bit of a name in Quebec, Johnson doesn't seem to know he resume of work.
"To be honest I do not know too much about him" says Johnson.
"I know he is more of a ground guy. I know that he trains at a Maui Thai gym I do believe. I fought a guy from his camp before (Eric Leclerc) and I heard that they fight similar but I have never seen him fight before."
While Leclere and Lamarche could be the same kind of fighter on paper, it could be a whole other story going in to the fight on Saturday. All we know right now is that Johnson will be looking for the same result.

Derek Leblanc is a local sports writer and broadcaster. Email Derek at derekleblanc34@gmail.com.

A look at the 2010/2011 Football Season

by Tom Dobbyne

With the World Cup closed out and champions Spain still enjoying the afterglow of their glory, a new season of football dawns upon Europe.

While our main focus is on the English Premier League, this is a brief look at what the rest of Europe has to offer this year to the footballing world so without further ado we’ll start with the World Champions, Spain.

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La Liga

After a summer spending spree rivaling that of Paris Hilton Real Madrid were tipped to win La Liga comfortable last season, however newly crowned treble winners Barcelona managed to pull a victory over the Galacticos dos (2) and forced Madrid to sign a new manager in Jose Mourinho (formerly of Chelsea and Inter Milan) however as of yet – no high-profile signings however with the departure of legends Raul and Guti, new signings are sure to come before the transfer window shuts. Meanwhile Barca’s reaction was to sign the most wanted hit-man outside of Chev Chelios, DAVID ‘don’t call me Aston’ VILLA - not a bad signing to replace Thierry ‘all hands on deck’ Henry.

Winning Prediction: Barcelona – I’m of the mindset that unless Madrid are whipped into a team that isn’t playing for the money which might be harder without Guti and Raul it’ll be another disappointing year for Ronaldo and co.


Surprise of the Season: Valencia - after selling their two best players in David Villa (Barca) and David Silva (Man City) and reports of HUGE debt Valencia are in a make or break season; either they make it into Europe and the money that follows or be forced to sell more stars which can only head downwards…

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Bundesliga

After almost reaching the promised land, Bayern Munich look likely to storm to the title again with talk of Ribery moving to Madrid or Chelsea proven to be nothing but scuttlebutt, Bayern again look to be the clear favorites - however with Steve McClaren in charge of FC Wolfsburg, could he be the first Englishman to conquer Germany since 1945?? And bigger news former Chelsea player Michael Ballack is back playing in his home country.

Winning Prediction: Bayern Munich – Can’t really see anyone else taking it if Bayern can hold to their best players and sign one or two more to hold out for injuries I can see them working through Europe as well.

Surprise of the Season: FC Wolfsburg – Steve McClaren might be able to do a good job with FC Twente but whether he can do the same with Die Wolfe is an interesting test which might rely on being able to keep Edin Drazo with Man City and a host of other clubs wanting his signature times are interesting…

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Scottish Premier league

After a season of pretty much nothing Celtic fans need their team to do well – with fan’s favorite Neil Lennon at the helm maybe this time they’ll be able to compete. However Rangers under Walter Smith will be looking to keep the title and progress further in Europe, however a few departures which may hurt the team in the long run shouldn’t affect the team that badly this year, whilst Celtic are strengthening in every department, in signing of Joe Ledley, Celtic have a good young player who will add something different to the side. Hopefully a team such as Hearts or Hibernian will FINALLY break in……..

Winning Prediction: Celtic – I dunno but I’m a hoops fan and I feel that this year Neil Lennon is going to have the right attitude towards the team and the fans.

Surprise of the Season – Any team other than Rangers and Celtic who finish in the top two will be a joy to watch.

Eredivse

With Holland reaching the World Cup finals this year, it should more draw attention to the Eredivse, however with Steve ‘wally with a brolly’ McClaren escaping to Germany, FC Twente’s hopes of securing back to back titles are incredibly slim. Ajax with there 104 goals last year should be contenders, led by World Cup surprise Luis Suarez, and despite strong interest from Fulham they managed to keep manager Martin Jol, however the they face tough competition. Meanwhile, former champions PSV look a shadow of their former selves and are outsiders to win the league title back.


Winning Prediction: Ajax, I can’t really see anyone else unless Suarez leaves and PSV sign one or three good players. FC Twente will be focused on Europe next year and the financial gains that it brings.

Surprise of the Season: This one is tough, but FC Twente are the ones to watch to, if only to see whether the work by Steve McClaren falls apart or is built upon.

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Serie A

With Inter Milan strolling through Serie A last season, one might think that a continued pattern could occur, however with local rivals AC Milan improving towards the end of the year, one might hope a closer race occurs this year. Juventus has shown a strong resurgence and Roma are always looking to crash a party. Combined with the national side’s poor showing at the world cup expect many players to be proving a point this year.


Winning Prediction: Inter Milan: Always been a fan of AC but I still feel the squad is too old to win major titles so my faith is going the blue half (never thought I’d say that) of Milan.


Surprise of The Season: Juventus: The old lady is coming back and she has a point to prove watch out for her to upset the title race and almost definitely have a final say in its outcome.

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Follow Tom Dobbyne on twitter @TomDobbyne.

No Jays Migrating This Season

Many thought the MLB home run leader, Jose Bautista, would be traded before the deadline.

by Henry Whitfield

On Saturday, the trade MLB deadline came and went, while big moves were expected from the Toronto Blue Jays, it was quiet north of the border on deadline day.

With Jose Bautista leading the majors with 31 homeruns and adding 79 RBIs, there were a number of suitors trying to pry the player away from the jays, while the bullpen trio of Scott Downs, Jason Frasor and closer Kevin Gregg also drew the attention of teams around the league.
However, no team was able to match what the Jays expected in return for the players and General Manager Alex Anthopoulos was content to sit back and wait for the draft picks he could get in return if the players leave.

If they leave, Fraser and Downs are both worth two drafts picks and John Buck is worth one, while the Jays have a number of prospects able to come in and replace the trio if they move on.

Looking to next season catcher prospect J.P Arencibia looks to make the jump to the big leagues and replace John Buck, while AA will expect Aaron Hill and Adam Lind to rebound from a tough year for both players.

Here’s a recap of the Jays trade action in the days leading up to the deadline:

- Acquired prospect Anthony Gose from the Houston Astros, who had just picked him up in the Oswalt trade, for first-base prospect Brett Wallace

- Acquired Mike Jacobs from the NY Mets on Friday in exchange for a player to be named later. Jacobs will be sent down to Triple-A and is considered a depth player for first-base.

With the roster set until they expand in September, the Jays have a tough schedule facing the Yankees, Red Sox and Rays over the next month.

Follow Henry on twitter @henrywhitfield.