the mad sports man

in 1982 Earl Weaver penciled in Cal Ripken Jr to start at third base.  that began a 17 year 2632 consecutive games streak.  he broke Lou Gehrig's record on September 6, 1995 against the California Angels at Camden Yards. the game was the most watched game on ESPN. Ripken was given a 22 minute ovation from the crowd, all four umpires and the Angels orginization.  during the ovation Ripken did a lap on the warning track shaking hands and high-fiving some of the crowd.  the streak ended on September 20 1998 against the Yankees when he pulled himself from the lineup. he played his last career game October 6 1999 at home.

today in 1976 pitcher Joe Niekro hit his only career home run (in 973 lifetime at bats) with the Houston Astros.  he hit it off his brother Phil.  they ended up the most successful brother combos in terms of wins - 539.  Joe had 221 and Phil had 318.

Austin Dillon has just won NASCAR's longest race after Jimmie Johnson ran out of gas with less that two laps to go.  wow. Kyle Busch finished second and Martin Truex Jr finished third.  Dillon's car just barely made it to the end.  no gas left to get to even victory lane. there was even an hour and a half rain delay. that is it for another Memorial Day Sunday.

Sebastian Vettel won the Monaco Grand Prix in Monte Carlo.  gave Ferrari their first win there since 2001.  it was his second career win there.  his first one was in 2011. Kimi Raikkonen came second and Daniel Ricciardo came third.  congrats to Sebastian Vettel.

Takuma Sato of Tokyo, Japan has just won his first Indianapolis 500.  got around Helio Castroneves with 3 laps to go and stayed there. Castroneves stayed second.  he will get that traditional jug of milk, the victory wreath and a likeness of his face on the Borg-Warner trophy. congrats to Takuma - 2017 Indianapolis 500 champion.

the Pittsburgh Penguins as they knock off the Ottawa Senators 3-2 in game seven and will face the Nashville Predators for the Stanley Cup starting in Pittsburgh on Monday night. game two is May 31, games three and four in Nashville on June 3 and 5, game 5 on June 8, game 6 on the 11th and game 7 June 14th.

1.  in 1935 Babe Ruth hit his final three home runs in his career as he went 4 for 4 as the Boston Braves lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates 11-7.  two of his home runs were off of 1932 World Series nemesis Guy Bush. 2.  in 1951, Willie Mays makes his big league career with the New York Giants against the the Phillies in Philadelphia.  he went hitless in that game.  he went hitless in his first 12 at bats until he hit a mammoth home run off of Warren Spahn at the Polo Grounds. the home run had cleared the left field roof.  Spahn later quipped afterwards "Gentlemen for the first 60 feet that was a hell of a pitch." 3.  in 1982 Ferguson Jenkins strikes out his 3000th hitter with the Chicago Cubs.  he is the first to strike out 3000 and walk fewer than 1000.  wow.

the Nashville Predators are heading to their first ever Stanley Cup finals with a 6-3 win over Anaheim and the series four games to two. Peter Laviolette became the 4th coach to coach three different teams to the Stanley Cup finals (Dick Irvin Sr, Scotty Bowman and Mike Keenan). they will face either Ottawa or Pittsburgh starting next Monday.  congrats to the Nashville Predators - Western Conference champions.

in 2009, Niklas Lidstrom set an NHL record by playing in his 228th consecutive playoff game. wow.  he retired in 2012 playing in 263 playoff games, three behind Chris Chelios.  talk about a solid dependable player.

what a game this was.  in the end Sweden beats Canada 2-1 in a shootout.  it was an even game through the regulation plus the overtime.  Sweden got two in the shootout to win.  Canada ends up with a silver.  congrats to Sweden.  so that is it for another year for the world hockey championship.  next year Denmark is host.

Russia goes home with the bronze as they beat Finland 5-3.  Finland finishes 4th.  considering a few days ago, it wasn't sure if Finland would make the medal rounds and to finish 4th isn't too bad.  in a couple of hours it's Canada vs Sweden for gold.

Cloud Computing became the 4th horse in the last 30 years to win the Preakness and not run the Kentucky Derby.  Cloud Computing with Javier Costellano wins the 142nd Preakness with a time of 1:55.98.  Chad C. Brown is the winning trainer.  Kentucky Derby winner Always Dreaming had the lead and ended up 8th.  next up the Belmont Stakes in three weeks.

Sweden beat Finland 4-1 to play for gold tomorrow.  basically shut Finland down the whole game.  Sweden plays Canada for gold while Finland plays Russia for bronze.  the bronze game is at 8:15 am while the gold medal game is at 12:45pm (all times Edmonton time).

wow.  Russia was up 2-0 after two periods.  they had taken a penalty late in the second.  Mark Schiefele scores on the PP 17 seconds into the third.  Canada then ties it with less than five minutes to go, then goes ahead about a minute and a bit later.  they score an empty netter to seal a 4-2 win and will play for gold tomorrow afternoon. Russia will play for bronze.  four power plays for Canada and outshot Russia 19-4 in the third.  coming up has Finland vs Sweden in the other semi final.

today in 1980, at 8:32am, an earthquake triggers what became the eruption of Mt. St. Helens.  the quake from inside the mountain not only caused the north face of it to slide away, but it also sent molten, high pressure gas, rock and ash into the air.  several glaciers melted away causing fast flowing lahars (volcanic mudslides).  hundreds of acres of forest were reduced to nothing.  approxamately 57 people died directly.  below is the before during and after the eruption.

this one just ended. Canada barely beat Germany 2-1.  Philipp Grubauer for Germany stood on his head facing 50 shots and kept Germany in it.  Canada will face Russia in the semis.  Russia earlier beat the Czech Republic 3-0.  Sweden just beat Switzerland 3-1 and will face Finland, who earlier beat the U.S. 2-0.  the semi finals are on Saturday.

what a finish.  Germany just beat Latvia 4-3 in the shootout and is in the quarter finals.  earlier the US beat Russia 5-3 and Sweden beat Slovakia 4-2.  the U.S. finishes first with 18, followed by Russia with 17, Sweden with 16, Germany with 11, Latvia with 10, Denmark with 7, Slovakia with 4 and Italy with 1.  in France, Canada beat Finland 5-2.  pretty much all Canada.  earlier Switzerland beat the Czech Republic 3-1 and Belarus beat Norway 4-3. Canada finishes first with 19 pts, Switzerland with 15, Czech Republic with 13, Finland with 11, France with 10, Norway with 8, Belarus with 7, and Slovenia with 1.  quarter final matchups on Thursday has the U.S. vs Finland (8am in Cologne), Russia vs Czech Republic (8am in Paris), Switzerland vs Sweden (12pm in Paris) and Canada vs Germany (12pm in Cologne).  all times Edmonton time.

in 1990 the Edmonton Oilers win the longest Stanley Cup Finals game at that time, winning game one 3-2 in triple overtime.  Petr Klima scored the winner 15:13 into the third overtime.  Klima had gone long stretches without playing a shift in this game.  there was even a power outage in the 3rd OT that delayed the game for 25 minutes.  Oilers went on to win their 5th cup in game 5 in Boston.

in Paris, France just beat Slovenia 4-1 in Cristobal Huet's last game as well as Laurent Meunier's.  earlier Canada beat Norway 5-0. Canada leads with 16 pts and has 1st place wrapped up, Czech Republic has 13, Swizterland with 12, Finland with 11, France with 10 (out), Norway with 8 (out), Belarus with 4 (out) and Slovenia with 1 (relegated).  tomorrow's games here has Belarus vs Norway, Czech Republic vs Swizterland and Canada vs Finland to finish the round robin games.  in Cologne, Russia beat Latvia 5-0 while Denmark beat Latvia 2-0.  Russia leads with 17 pts, the U.S. with 15, Sweden with 12, Latvia and Germany with 9, Denmark with 7 (out), Slovakia with 4 (out) and Italy finishes with 1 (relegated).  tomorrow's games here has Sweden vs Slovakia, Russia vs the U.S., and Latvia vs Germany to round out the round robin here.  this time tomorrow we will know the quarter final match ups.

today in 1908 the International Ice Hockey Formation was created in Paris.  Belgium, France, Great Britain and Bohemia (now Czech Republic)  were the first four members.  Louis Magnus was the fifth person to sign and also became the first IIHF president.  it was known under its French name - Ligue International de Hockey sur Glace (LIHG) until 1954 when it adopted its current English name.  it has now 74 members and has several tournaments from the World Juniors to the U18's the World Championships, Women's hockey and the Olympics and even inline hockey.

this one was a flip of the Canada vs Switzerland game yesterday.  Switzerland went up 2-0, Finland switched goalies, then came back to beat Switzerland 3-2 in OT.  the win eliminated France from any quarterfinal action.  earlier Czech Republic beat France 5-2.  Canada and Czech Republic have 13 pts, Switzerland with 12, Finland with 11, Norway with 8, France with 7 (out), Belarus with 4 (out) and Slovenia with 1 (relegated).  in Germany, Sweden beat Denmark 4-2 while the U.S. beat Slovakia 6-1.  the U.S. has 15 pts, Russia with 14, Sweden with 12, Latvia and Germany with 9, Slovakia and Denmark with 4 (both out) and Italy with 1 (out).  tomorrows games has Denmark vs Italy (loser is relegated), Russia vs Latvia, Canada vs Norway and France Vs Slovenia.

seeing as it's playoff time this is kinda cute.

Switzerland was trailing 2-0, came back and beat Canada in OT 3-2.  wow.  Canada deserved to lose that one.  earlier Belarus beat Slovenia 5-2 and Finland beat Norway in OT 3-2.  Canada still leads with 12 pts, Switzerland with 11, Czech Republic with 10, Finland with 9, Norway with 8, France with 7, Belarus with 4 and Slovenia with 1 and is relegated to Div. 1a.  in Germany, the Germans beat Italy 4-1, Russia beat 6-0 and the U.S. beat Latvia 5-3.  Russia leads with 14 pts, the U.S. with 12, Sweden with 10, Latvia and Germany with 9, Slovakia and Denmark with 4 and Italy with 1.  tomorrows games has:  Slovakia vs U.S., Denmark vs Sweden, France vs Czech Republic and Switzerland vs Finland.

in Germany, Denmark won a thriller in OT 3-2 over Germany.  earlier Sweden blew out Italy 8-1.  Russia still leads with 11 pts, Sweden with 10, U.S. and Latvia with 9, Germany with 6, Slovakia and Denmark with 4 and Italy with one.  and this one just ended. France just beat Belarus 4-3 in a shootout.  quite a game here.  earlier, Czech Republic beat Slovenia 5-1.  Canada still leads with 12 pts, Czech Republic with 10, Swizterland with 9, Norway, Finland and France with 7, and Slovenia and Belarus with one.  tomorrows games has Latvia vs USA, Russia vs Slovakia, Italy vs Germany, Norway vs Finland, Slovenia vs Belarus and Canada vs Switzerland.

Canada just hung on to beat France 3-2.  France battled in this one, earlier, the Czech Republic beat Norway 1-0 in OT.  Canada leads with 12 pts, Switzerland with 9, Czech Rep, Norway and Finland  each have 7, France with 5, Slovenia with 1, and Belarus with 0.  in Germany Sweden barely beat Latvia 2-0 while Russia beat Denmark 3-0.  Russia leads that group with 11 pts, Latvia and the U.S. has 9, Sweden has 7, Germany has 6, Slovakia has 4, Denmark with 2 and Italy with 1.  tomorrows games has: Sweden vs Italy, Denmark vs Germany, Czech Republic vs Slovenia and France vs Belarus.

the Anaheim Ducks are in the western conference finals with a 2-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers.  they also exorcize the last four years of losing a game seven.  they will face the Nashville Predators i heard starting Friday.  stay tuned

with a 2-0 win in game 7, the Pittsburgh Penguins eliminate the Washington Capitals for the second year in a row and will face the Ottawa Senators in the eastern conference finals.  schedule to be determined later.

day 6 is in the books.  Germany just beat Slovakia in the shootout 3-2.  earlier the U.S. beat Italy 3-0.  Latvia and the U.S. are tied for first with 9 points, Russia has 8. Germany has 5, Sweden and Slovakia with 4, Denmark with 2 and Italy with one.  in France, Finland beat Slovenia 5-2 while Switzerland beat Belarus 3-0.  Canada and Swizterland have 9 points, Finland with 7, Norway with 6, France and Czech Republic with 5, Slovenia with 1 and Belarus with none.  tomorrows games inlcude: Russia vs Denmark, Sweden vs Latvia, Czech Republic vs Norway and Canada vs France.

with a 4-2 win in game 6. the Ottawa Senators are in the eastern conference final, beating the N.Y. Rangers four games to two.  they will face either Washington or Pittsburgh in the East final.  that series will be decided tomorrow night.

in the capper, France just beat Switzerland 4-3 in the shoot out.  was a pretty decent game.  earlier Norway beat Slovakia 5-1.  Canada still leads with 9 pts, Switzerland and Norway has 6 pts each, Czech Republic and France with 5, Finland with 4, Slovenia with 1 and Belarus with none.  in Germany, Denmark beat Slovakia 4-3, also a shootout and Latvia beat Italy 2-1.  Latvia leads the group with 9 pts, Russia has 8, the U.S. with 6, Sweden has 4, Germany and Slovakia with 3, Denmark with 2 and Italy with one.  everyone has played three games.  tommorow's games include: U.S. vs Italy, Slovakia vs Germany, Switzerland vs Belarus and Finland vs Slovenia.

day four is done.  the Czech Republic was trailing 3-0 to Finland midway through the third, came back to tie it and won it in the shoot out 4-3.  wow.  earlier Canada beat Belarus 6-0.  Canada still leads the France group with 9 pts, Switzerland and the Czech Rep with 5pts and Finland with 4.  in Germany,  Russia beat Germany 6-3 while the U.S. beat Sweden 4-3.  Russia leads the group with 8 pts, Latvia and the U.S. with 6, Sweden with 4 and Germany with 3.  tomorrows games has Italy vs Latvia, Slovakia vs Denmark, Slovenia vs Norway and Switzerland vs France.

the Nashville Predators are in the Western Conference final after beating St.Louis 3-1 in game six and the series four games to two.  they will face either Edmonton or Anaheim.  it is Nashville's first ever trip to the conference finals.

day three is done.  Latvia won its second game, beating Slovakia 3-1.  earlier the U.S. beat Denmark 7-2 and Russia blew out Italy.  Latvia leads the Germany group with six points, then Russia with 5, Sweden with 4,  the U.S. and Germany with 3, Slovakia with 2, Italy with 1 and Denmark.  in France, Switzerland beat Norway 3-0 in the night cap, Canada beat Slovenia 7-2 this morning and France beat Finland 5-1.  after this game for the player of the game awards, the French fans were chanting "Hardy Hardy" for Florian Hardy.  Pierre-Edouard Delemare ended up winning it.  he reluctantly went up, then told one of the presenters to let Hardy win it, which was granted. Hardy was definitely outstanding. it was also France's first win over Finland in their 9th game.  so Canada leads with 6 pts, Switzerland with 5, then a log game for 3rd ti 6th with three pts (France, Czech Rep, Norway and Finland)., then Slovenia with 1 and Belarus with 0.  tom...

Always Dreaming has won the first jewel of the Triple Crown, winning the Kentucky Derby with a time of 2:03.59 on a muddy track.  Todd Pletcher was the winning trainer.  it had been raining up until the last hour when it cleared.  next race is in two weeks with the Preakness.

the evening games had Norway beating co-host France 3-2, while Sweden beat other co-host Germany 7-2.  earlier in France, Czech Republic beat Belarus 6-1 and Switzerland beat Slovenia 5-4 in the shootout. Switzerland was up 4-0 at one point in the first.   the top four all have three points. Canada (1-0), Finland (1-0), Norway (1-0), and the Czech Rep. (1-1) sit atop.  in Germany, Latvia beat Denmark 3-0 and Slovakia beat Italy in overtime 3-2.  Sweden leads the Germany group with 4 pts, Latvia (1-0) and Germany (1-1) have three pts, while Slovakia and Russia have two (overtime wins).  tomorrows games has: Italy vs Russia, USA vs Denmark, Latvia vs Slovakia, Slovenia vs Canada, Finland vs France and Norway vs Switzlerland.

day one is in the books.  Canada just beat the Czech Republic 4-1 to open their tournament.  earlier Finland beat Belarus 3-2. Canada and Finland lead  the France group with three points each.  meanwhile in Germany, the Germans just beat the U.S. 2-1 to open the Germany group.  earlier Russia beat Sweden in a shootout 2-1.  Germany leads with three points, Russia with 2 pts, Sweden with 2 and the U.S. with none.  tomorrow's schedule has:  in France, games include Swizterland vs Slovenia, Belarus vs Czech Republic and Norway vs France.  in Germany games have Latvia vs Denmark, Slovakia vs Italy and Germany vs Sweden.

50 years ago today, the Toronto Maple Leafs won their last Stanley Cup.  they beat the Montreal Canadiens four games to two to win it.  it was appropriate that 1967 was also Canada's centennial year. and Expo 67 was in Montreal.  that was the last Stanley Cup won in the Original Six era.  that was Toronto's 4th cup in 6 years (1962, 1963, 1964 and 1967) and eleven players were on all four championships  wow.

1.  in 1670 the Hudsons Bay Company was incorporated by English royal charter known as The Governor and Company of Adventurers of England trading into Hudson's Bay.    known as a retail store now, it started as a fur trading company. 2.  in 1939 Lou Gehrig pulled himself out of the line up in a game in Detroit, ending a 2130 consecutive games streak (over a 14 year period).  Gehrig took the line up card to the shocked umpiring crew.  in June of that year he was found what is known as Lou Gehrig's disease.  he died June 2, 1941.  here was his speech from July 4, 1939 after his retirement and number retirement ceremony: "Fans, for the past two weeks, you've been reading about a bad break. [73]  [pause] Today [74]  I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the [75]  earth. I have been in ballparks for seventeen years and have never received anything but kindness and encouragement from you fans. "When you look around, woul...