the mad sports man

 On this day in 1981, Wayne Gretzky scores five goals against the Philadelphia Flyers in a 7-5 win. His fifth, into an empty net with three seconds left, was his 50th of the season in his 39th game. 50 in 39 still stands as an NHL record.  Tim Dancy had the call in Edmonton. Don Cherry says "he's got 50 before anyone's got 30." Remarkable. There's another record he sets later in the 1981-82 season and it's one Phil Esposito had.

 After two more games being forfeited, the iihf is about to cancel the remainder of the world Juniors. Sucks for the players that came to play plus the team staff members and arena staff. Understandable, yet still sucks.

 Not much of a doubt here as Canada blows out Austria 11-2. Connor Bedard becomes: 1. the youngest Canadian to score a hat trick (younger than some guy named Gretzky in 1977) and 2. The sixth Canadian to score four goals in a game (Mario Lemieux, Simon Gagne, Brayden Schenn, Taylor Raddysh and Maxime Comtois were the others). Canada and Finland are atop group a with 6 points, Germany with 2, Czech Republic with 1 and Austria with none. There was supposed to be a game between the USA and Switzerland, but the USA had to forfeit the game due to four players testing positive for COVID 19.  Hopefully that's all that happens. Would love to see the US play more.  Sweden leads group b with 6 points, USA, Switzerland and Russia with three and Slovakia with none. Tomorrow Canada plays Germany, USA vs Sweden, Russia vs Slovakia and Czech Republic vs Finland.

 Quite a game here.  Canada wins 6-3 over the Czech Republic. Owen Power had a hat trick tonight, becoming the first Canadian defenceman to score a hat trick. Canada got two other goals from defencemen (yes five of six goals from the defence). Kris Russel and Thomas Chabot each had four goals IN AN ENTIRE TOURNAMENT.  There was a point where the Czech Republic was leading 3-1.  Anyways, Canada plays again Tuesday night against Austria at 6pm Prince Albert time.

 🎵🎶 It's the most wonderful time of the year. 🎶🎵 The world Juniors have arrived and the first game is in the books. Finland just beat Germany 3-1 to open the tournament. Canada opens tonight against the Czech Republic at 6pm Prince Albert time. Let's go!!!

 I hope everyone has had a Merry Christmas.  Dinner eaten, presents unwrapped, family visited, and Christmas music played (and still playing here).  Maybe a couple of Christmas movies viewed. And Saint Nicholas won't come again for another 364 nights. 🎅🎄

 This season had - you guessed it - 6 teams and 60 games.  Art Ross trophy introduced this season for top point getter. All star game returned as the NHL all stars beat Toronto 4-3.  Bad ankle injury forces Toe Blake to retire. He ends up quite a coach for Montreal.  Dan Gallinger (indefinitely) and Billy Taylor (lifetime) each suspended for gambling. Toronto and Chicago make (at the time) the biggest trade ever. Toronto sends five players for Max Bentley and Cy Thomas. Thomas plays eight games while Bentley shores up the Toronto defense.  Bill Durnan became last goalie to be named captain. Gordie Howe, Ted Lindsay and Sid Abel form the production line. In the playoffs, the semi finals had Toronto beat Boston 4-1 and Detroit beat New York 4-2. Stanley Cup finals had Toronto beat Detroit 4-0 to win their 7th Stanley Cup.

 It's officially arrived. Winter arrived at 9:59am today. Today is the shortest day of the year in terms of daylight hours. After today and up to the summer solstice, we will be gaining daylight hours. We're in the dark days of winter.

 Yup. Just released. Season opens June 9th with Montreal at Calgary. Regular season ends October 29th with three games that day - Montreal at Toronto, Hamilton at Ottawa and Saskatchewan at Calgary. The final two weeks of the regular season has divisional games. The division semis are November 6, division finals are November 13 and the 109th Grey Cup is November 20.  If all goes well, we'll be seeing the full 18 game schedule.

 What. A. Game.  What. A. Finish. The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are back to back champs after beating the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 33-25 in overtime.  And the craziest interception to end it as well. First time Winnipeg has gone back to back was 1961 and 1962 when they beat Hamilton both times. Winnipeg has played Hamilton eight times in the Grey Cup and has won all of them (1935, 1958, 1959, 1961, 1962, 1984, 2019 and 2021). Wow. That's it for this year.

 This tournament was in St. Moritz Switzerland. Thirty six games were played in this tournament.  Ottawa RCAF Flyers represented Canada at the games. Tournament was in jeopardy due to 1. The LIHG and IOC had a disagreement and 2. USOC threatened a boycott when two different American teams (one AHAUS and one NCAA) showed up. Avery Brundage of USOC campained to keep the AHAUS team out because he thought they were not an amateur team. He had suggested his NCAA choice play.  He was also angry when LIHG passed a motion that CAHA/AHAUS approved teams could play. Eventually the AHAUS team was allowed to play, but games wouldn't "count" in the standings (wins and losses still stood). LIHG was debating from September 1947 to the last few days before the Olympics on whether hockey would be at the games or not.  Eventually they were. Canada and Czechoslovakia finished tied with 7 wins and a tie. Goals average was used to break the tie. Canada had 69 goals for and 5 against for an av

 The mixed doubles final qualification tournament ended. Australia will have a curling team for the first time ever (curling became an Olympic sport in 1998, mixed doubles began in 2018). They beat South Korea 6-5. The United States will join Australia at the Olympics. They beat Russia 6-4 to qualify. They join Canada, China, Czech Republic, Great Britain, Italy, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland in the tournament. The men's and women's will be decided next weekend.

 ...... Damian Warner. Canada's athlete of the year won gold at the Tokyo Olympics with a personal best of 9018 points.  Congratulations.

 The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are going to the Grey Cup after beating Saskatchewan 21-17 in the west final. It will be a Grey Cup rematch from 2019 as the Bombers will be facing Hamilton next Sunday. Gonna be a good one.

 The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are going to the Grey Cup after knocking off the Toronto Argonauts 27-19 in the East final. Hamilton now has home field for the Grey Cup seeing as they are hosting.  Who will they face? Stay tuned.

 The Western Mustangs are this year's champions after beating the Saskatchewan Huskies 27-21.  First Vanier Cup in two years. It's Western's 8th championship.  Champion in 2019 was Calgary 27-13 over Montreal. 

 Geez the last week has felt like a month. The end of the Olympic Curling Trials was last weekend and it seems like a long time ago.  And to think the East and West final is Sunday.  Who will be in the Grey Cup? Find out Sunday.

 Well hello December, good to see you, I think. Did you see where November went? No? Damn.  What do you have for me? I see you have the Grey Cup game on the 12th, and the division finals on Sunday.  I'm well aware of Christmas coming. It will be here before you know it.  I also spotted the most wonderful time of the year, aka the world Juniors starting boxing Day.  Remind me to stay out of the stores then. I don't want to deal with the loonies. Ahhh yes I see NHL hockey going around. What? I forgot the NFL? Is that so?  Awww did you have to tell me it's going to get chilly?  Maybe snow? Eeep. Well, have fun anyway.

 1946-47 NHL season had 6 teams and expanded the schedule to 60 games.  Tommy Gordon retires as Montreal GM.  Frank Selke takes over after Toronto lets him go. Gordon won 6 Cups as coach and GM. Selke would take a team in financial difficulty and would turn it into the greatest dynasty in NHL history (that time will get here). Red Dutton resigns as NHL president. Clarence Campbell takes over and holds the job for 31 years. He ends up in controversy with Maurice Richard later in the series.  Bill Chadwick devises hand signals to call penalties. Gordie Howe signs his first contract October 8, 1946 at 18 years old and scores his first of 801 NHL regular season goals on October 16.  Maple Leaf Gardens is the first arena to install plexiglass. Bill Durban wins 4th consecutive Vezina, breaking George Hainsworth's record of consecutive Vezinas. Playoff: SF, Montreal beat Boston 4-1 and Toronto beat Detroit 4-1. Stanley Cup finals had Toronto beat Montreal 4-2.

 Brad Gushue, Mark Nichols, Brett Gallant, Geoff Walker and alternate Jeff Thomas beat Brad Jacobs and his team 5-4 and will be representing Canada at the Beijing Olympics. Gallant and Jocelyn Peterman will be going together as a couple. Fun fact: since 2002, the mens curling teams at the Olympics have been a Kevin or a Brad.  2002, Kevin Martin. 2006 Brad Gushue. 2010 Kevin Martin. 2014 Brad Jacobs. 2018 Kevin Koe. 2022 Brad Gushue. Wild.  Will the pattern hold up for 2026? Find out in four years.

 This ended up being a double overtime thriller. Saskatchewan beat Calgary 33-30 and will make the trip on the Yellowhead highway to Winnipeg to face the Bombers. West final is December 5th.

 This game had to have been fun while it was snowing. Hamilton beat Montreal 23-12 to go to the East final. That game is down the road in Toronto on December 5th.

 What. A. Game. First time an Olympic trials championship game went into an extra end and Jennifer Jones wins it 6-5 over Tracy Fleury. Jones, Kaitlyn Lawes (going to her third straight Olympics), Jocelyn Peterman, Dawn McEwen and alternate Lisa Weagle will be representing Canada in Beijing. Congratulations.

 This ended up being a no doubter as Jennifer Jones beat Krista McCarville 8-3 in 9 ends and will face Tracy Fleury for a trip to the Olympics. Game is at 11am.  Gushue vs Jacobs is at 7pm also for a trip to the Olympics. Gonna love me this championship Sunday.

 ....a 4-3 win for Krista McCarville over Kerri Einarson in an extra end.  Wow. This ended up a good one.  Also adds up to Brad Jacobs beating Kevin Koe 8-3.  They were shaking hands after the 6th end was done. Jacobs was not fooling around. Jacobs will play Brad Gushue tomorrow night for the right to represent Canada at the 2022 winter Olympics.

 This ended up quite the game. Kerri Einarson beats Casey Scheiddeger 8-6 to go to tiebreaker #2 against Krista McCarville. That game is at 2pm, along with Kevin Koe vs Brad Jacobs semi final. Stay tuned for more drama.

 Final men's draw is finished. No drama here. Kevin Koe won securing the last playoff spot. Brad Jacobs and Brad Gushue won as well.  Meaning Gushue finished first and has the bye to Sundays final. Jacobs and Koe plays in the semi final tomorrow at 2pm, along with McCarville vs Einarson/Scheiddeger winner. That tiebreaker game is at 9am. The women's semi final is at 7pm with Jennifer Jones waiting for the tiebreaker winner.

 Last women's draw at the curling trials is done. Tracy Fleury went undefeated in the round robin.  Fleury's fifth, Chelsea Carey went undefeated in 2017. She lost to Rachel Homan in the final. Jennifer Jones finished second and will be in the semis. Now the drama. Krista McCarville played her last game last night and finished 4-4.  Kerri Einarson lost to Kelsey Rocque to drop to 4-4.  Casey Scheiddeger beat Rachel Homan to go to 4-4.  So the tiebreaker games are as follows (from Devin Heroux):  Einarson vs Scheiddeger in the first game, with the winner to play McCarville in the second. These trials got interesting real quick.

 It's one month to Christmas Eve. Already sent a few cards out. Plus tomorrow is Thanksgiving in the US. It's also 100 days to the winter Paralympics.  They start March 4.  The Roar of the Rings aka the Canadian Olympic Curling Trials has gotten insane.  Some of the top curlers are really not having a great tournament, while others are doing very well. Men's evening draw started a few minutes ago. Three more draws tomorrow and Friday. By then we may know the top three and any potential tiebreakers. Things are heating up.

 The CFL postseason is upon us. Winnipeg finished first in the west and has a bye into the West final, while Calgary visits Saskatchewan to play the Riders. Out East, Toronto finished first and has the bye into the East final, while Montreal plays in Hamilton. Both division semis are on Sunday.

 I'm talking the Canadian Olympic curling Trials a.k.a the Roar of the Rings. One men's spot and one women's spot for the taking. Nine men's and women's teams playing for each spot. All very good teams.  It's going to be a crapshoot.  First draw is at 2pm with the ladies starting it off and the men start at 7pm. Nine days of absolute intense curling.

 Argentina has qualified for the world Cup becoming the 13th team to qualify.  They played to a scoreless tie vs Brazil and had to wait for the rest of the games to finish.  North American games are left, and nobody is in a spot to qualify.  Next round of games are late January/early February.

 Netherlands is the 12th team (and 11th to qualify) to make the World Cup. They finished first in group G to qualify.  Stay tuned for more, although I think this may be it for this round, although there are north and south American games to play.

 England (group I) and Switzerland (group C) are countries 10 and 11 to qualify for the World Cup. That leaves group G tomorrow to decide it. Who else will join them? Stay tuned.

 Serbia and Spain are nations 8 and 9 to qualify for the World Cup. Serbia won group A and Spain won group B.  Stay tuned, a couple more to potentially qualify tomorrow.

The final qualification round is finished and Czech Republic, Sweden and Denmark round out the women's hockey tournament for the 2022 winter Olympics. They will play in group B with Japan and host China. Canada, USA, Finland, Russia and Switzerland make up group A.  Women's hockey begins February 3.

 Croatia has qualified for the 2022 World Cup by winning group H. That is now 7 nations in.  Should be a couple more in a couple of hours.

 Belgium and France have qualified for the World Cup. Belgium finished first in group E and France finished first in group D in the European qualification.  Stay tuned. Three more days of this round of games, could be more.

 Derek Drouin will be getting a silver after Ivan Ukhov was found to have a banned substance in his system. Erik Kynard went from silver to gold. Mutaz Essa (Qatar) and Robert Grabarz (Great Britain) was in a three way tie with Drouin and were also upgraded to silver. Canada now has 2g, 6s and 10b for 18 medals for 2012.

 Brazil has qualified for the 2022 World Cup. They join Germany, Denmark (both qualified last month) and host Qatar.  Stay tuned - there may be more.

 To those who are serving or have served in the past, thank you.

 The annual first dump of snow of the season has arrived. It's still snowing out there.  Highways in and out of the major cities (Regina, Saskatoon and Prince Albert) are not the best from what I've heard.  Drive carefully.

 ...... Kyle Larson. He won 11 races this season, including today's finale. He also won 3 of the last 4 races. Yikes. Congratulations to Kyle Larson.

 It's that time where we get to turn our clocks BACK an hour.  Unless you're in the part where you don't have to touch your clocks.  The latter part is me.

 The 1945-46 had 6 teams and 50 game schedule. Red lights to signal goals were made obligatory starting this season.  Lester Patrick retired as GM of the Rangers, but remained president of Madison Square Garden. Frank Patrick suffered a heart attack and had to stay in hospital for several weeks to recover.  Veterans came back to their teams after WWII ended. Most lost some of their previous form.  Others regained it.  Frank Brimsek, after getting shelled his first game 8-3, bounced back and took Boston to a second place finish. Max Bentley led league in scoring. Bill Durnan tied George Hainsworths record of three Vezina trophies in a row. Playoffs: SF: Montreal beat Chicago 4-0 and Boston beat Detroit 4-1. Stanley Cup: Montreal beat Boston 4-1.

 Some randomness. Got eight puzzles framed in my room. Four I have hanging, the others I have yet to hang. Got a road trip one featuring a map, and old world map one, a world travel poster one, one that has all the planets and other space stuff, license plate map of the USA, panoramic shot of the home of the Blue Jays, a Pacman one, and a map showing where all the baseball teams are.  Eeep.  Plus more in the living room.

 The Atlanta Braves are world series Champions after beating up on the Houston Astros 7-0 in game six and the series 4-2.  It is their second series win in Atlanta (1995 was the first) and their fourth overall (1914 in Boston and 1957 in Milwaukee were the others). Congratulations to Atlanta.

 Well, hello there November. I guess it's good to see you. What do you have for me this month? I see you have more hockey for me. Oh, you're telling me the CFL playoff push is on. What? You're telling me the world series will come to an end real quick?  I understand the run for the NASCAR championship is heating up.  Oh yes, thanks for the reminder of The Roar of the Rings runs from the 20-28.   That Curling Show needs to air. Oh sheesh did you have to tell me you plan on throwing in some snow?  We need to talk about this another time.

 Yep that time of the year where all the nutsy cuckoos dress up and go door to door looking for candy to fill their sugar rush. The adults with no nutsy cuckoos sometimes go to Halloween parties. Time to hide.

 One of those trades that involves "a player to be named later."  In 1962, the New York Mets picked up Harry Chiti from Cleveland for a "player to be named later." After 15 games and hitting .195, Chiti was sent back to Cleveland, being the first major leaguer to be traded for himself.  Since then, Dickie Noles, Brad Gulden and John McDonald have been traded for themselves.

 Yup, 100 more days to the opening ceremony of the 2022 winter Olympics in Beijing.  The medals for these games have been unveiled. Canada earlier unveiled what they will be wearing at the opening and closing ceremonies, and I think during the games. First impressions - I'm not too sure about it. Gonna take some convincing to like them. But that is that for that.

 Halloween is next Sunday, Christmas Eve is in two months, world series starts Tuesday, winter will be here before you know it, as will the snow (inevitable).  I mean, it's a sad reality for some and fun for others.  I'm just stating cold, hard facts.

 The Los Angeles Dodgers are done as the Atlanta Braves win game six 4-2 and the series 4-2. They will face the Houston Astros starting Tuesday. At 88-73, I think this is the worst record of any pennant winning team.  I need to look this up.  Series starts in Houston.

 Houston just put the finishing touches to a 5-0 over Boston to take the ALCS in six games.  Only gave up two hits.  They will get either Atlanta or Los Angeles in the world series.  World Series starts Tuesday.

 It's 21c and the sun is out.  It's October 17.  Getting another shot of Summer here. Seen one or two people wearing shorts.  Take the nice days while you can, not sure they'll last any longer.

 With a 2-1 win, the Dodgers will be heading to Atlanta to face the Braves in the NLCS starting Saturday.  And then there were 4.

 The 1944-45 NHL season had 6 teams and 50 game schedule.  Regular season went from October 28 - March 18. Playoffs went from March 20 to April 22.  Some players started retuning from WWII.  Maurice Richard was the first to score 50 goals in 50 games. Elmer Lach broke the assists record with 54. Richard, Lach and Toe Blake was the first line in five seasons to go 1-2-3 in points.  1939-40 had Milt Schmidt, Bobby Bauer and Woody Dumart.  Toronto signs rookie Frank McCool.  He backstops Toronto to a cup and the Calder trophy for rookie of the year. Semi finals had Toronto beat Montreal 4-2 and Detroit beat Chicago 4-3. Stanley Cup had Toronto beat Detroit 4-3. Detroit nearly pulled off to Toronto, what Toronto did to Detroit in 1942 - a reverse sweep to win. When next season starts, WWII will have ended.

 Atlanta is in the NLDS after beating Milwaukee 5-4 in game four and the series 3-1.  They will face either San Francisco or Los Angeles in the NLCS. That series starts Saturday.

 Boy Houston ripped Chicago 10-1 to win the ALDS in four games. They start the ALCS vs Boston on Friday. Now for some soccer qualification. Germany and Denmark each won their groups and have qualified for the 2022 world Cup. Germany qualified yesterday and Denmark today.  Stay tuned for more.

 Hockey season has arrived. Two games tonight. Pittsburgh at Tampa Bay (Tampa Bay raises their Stanley Cup banner) followed by Seattle at Vegas. Let the season begin.

 Dramatic way to end the series. Red Sox beats Tampa Bay in the bottom of the 9th to win game 4 and to win the ALDS 3 games to one. They will go to either Chicago or Houston to start the ALCS. That starts Friday.

 Felt like fall the past few days.  It has been cooler.  Just been dealing with smoke from a fire east of here.  Regina got the smoke today.  Had it here the other day. My dad had the best line - people are wearing masks alright, but it's for the smoke.  He wasn't wrong. That's how smoky it was Wednesday.

 The Los Angeles Dodgers walks off with a wild card win over the St Louis Cardinals, winning 3-1. Two run homer won it for the Dodgers.  They will face the Giants starting Friday in San Francisco, along with Atlanta vs Milwaukee.

 This had Boston beating the Yankees 6-2 (it just ended). They will travel to Tampa Bay to start their ALDS against the Rays.  Series starts Thursday, as does Chicago vs Houston.

 All but one game is done and the match ups are set.  The AL has the Yankees and Red Sox in the wild card game Tuesday with the winner to face Tampa Bay in the ALDS. Houston plays the White Sox in the other ALDS. The NL has St Louis going to Los Angeles in that wild card with the winner going to San Francisco in the NLDS. Atlanta plays to Milwaukee in the other NLDS.

 Well hello October, what do you have for me? I see you have the NHL season starting on the 12th, MLB postseason starting Tuesday, Thanksgiving on the 11th, plethora of football - both CFL and NFL, and some leafy piles to rake.  Ohhh you're reminding me there's a second women's pre qualification for Olympic hockey and some curling coming.  Aahh yes you're right, there's a last chance qualifier for the Canadian curling trials.  You're telling that's it for now?  I'm sure you'll let me know of more.

 Geez end of September already.  Capped it of by finishing the varnishing at a rental. Spent the past week prepping for painting, puttying any marks or small holes, sanding putty, painting walls, then the trim.  Finished off the varnishing today.  Dad had to change a couple of door knobs after I was done. Step mom was in there cleaning.  It was filthy.  All clean and all ready for whoever is moving in tomorrow.

 For the first week of fall, it's been summer like.  First day of October is supposed to be nice too.  Not going to complain about it.  Just going to enjoy it.

 By this time next Sunday, we will know who will be heading for the MLB postseason.   Ahhhhh the road to the fall classic is upon us. Until then, stay tuned.

 That Curling Show makes its return for season two, co-hosted by Devin Heroux and Colleen Jones, and produced by Sophie Barton. Tonights episode featured potential rule changes and the roar of the rings pre trials. The half hour show that usually goes longer.  Check the CBC sports YouTube page.

 The full men's sked is out.  Some of the women's is out.  I think once the women's qualifications are done we'll see the rest of it, as there are three teams to qualify (November 11-14 is final qualification).  Canada plays Switzerland (February 3), Finland (February 4), Russia (February 6) and the USA (February 7) before the quarterfinals begin. That's group a on the women's side.  Women's hockey starts before the opening ceremony.  On the men's side, Canada plays Germany (February 10), the USA (February 12) and China (February 13).  Should be a fun one.

 Fall began here at 1:20pm Prince Albert time.  Time of the year where the amount of daylight hours is the same as amount of darkness.  With the leaves changing colors and the cooler air hanging around, it's okay.  Also means hockey and curling is around the corner. I guess you could say it's the most wonderful time of the year.

 It has certainly felt like and looked like it.  Fall officially starts Wednesday. Time to enjoy it, the bone chilling crap will be here soon enough.

 1943-44 NHL season had 6 teams and 50 game schedule. Center red line was introduced on the rink, hoping to open up play.  CAHA past president George Dudley recommended payment from NHL for amateur players be deferred until the players had returned from war action.  Montreal Canadiens end up class of NHL, finished regular season 38-5-7. Meanwhile New York was on the bottom finishing with six wins. Two miserable highlights had New York lose 15-0 to Detroit and a week later lose 12-2, with Syd Howe scoring 6 goals. Ouch. Playoffs had Montreal beat Toronto 4-1 while Chicago beat Detroit, also 4-1.  Stanley Cup finals had Montreal sweep Chicago 4-0.

 This first timer is Leylah Fernandez of Canada. She could be the second Canadian to win it.  And she is playing confidently.  The final, I believe is Saturday.

 Brent Lakatos just finished the marathon and he ended up 4th.  Missed out on a podium. Quick little nap for Lakatos before the closing ceremony where he will carry the flag.  No other Canadians competing so Canada will finish with 5g, 10s, 6b for 21 total.  A pretty good haul.  I think that's it until the closing ceremony.

 Nate Reich not only takes gold in the T37 1500m event, he breaks an Paralympics record with a time of 3:58.92, winning by a wide margin.  That is now 5g, 10s, 6b for 21 medals.

 ........ Brent Lakatos.  He was just announced as flag bearer at the closing ceremony early Sunday morning here. Congrats.

 This one, a bronze courtesy of Marissa Papaconstantinou in the T64 100m event. That is now 4g, 10s, 6b for 20 total. Yes.

 Danielle Dorris has herself a gold and a world record in her pocket as she won with a time of 32.99.  That is now 4g, 10s 5b for 19 medals.

 This one from Brent Lakatos again.  This one in the 800m. While racing in the rain. That is now 3g, 10s, 5b for 18 total.

 Aurelie Rivard has her 5th medal at these games and 10th overall, this time a silver in the S10 100m backstroke. That in now 3g 9s 5b for 17 total

 Let's start with Brent Lakatos. He wins yet another silver on the track, this time in the T53 100m event. I believe his third medal at these games. Now with Aurelie Rivard. She picks up a gold in world record fashion in S10 400m event. The time was 4:24.08.  Her 9th career Paralympic medal. That is now 3g, 8s 5b for 16 total. Uuuf that is a good haul.

 Not long after ice hockey gold, 7' 2" worth oh Greg Stewart just won gold in shot put. Pretty much ran away with it. That is now 2g, 7s, and 5b for 14 medals

 Marie Philip Poulin scores the gold medal winner as Canada beats USA 3-2 in overtime.  First gold medal since 2012 when Caroline Oullette won it. YAAAAAAAAAAAY.

 Finland beat Switzerland 3-1 to take Bronze.  Switzerland's highest finish since bronze in 2012.  Coming up - USA vs Canada for gold.

 Russia beat Japan 2-0 to take 5th place at the women's worlds. Japan will finish sixth.  Czech Republic has seventh and Germany 8th.  Coming up - the bronze medal game between Finland and Switzerland.

 This one from Zachary Gingras in the T38 400m event.  Also his first Paralympics.  That is now 1g, 7s and 5b for 13 medals.

 It will be Canada vs USA for gold tomorrow, while Finland will play Switzerland for bronze. Canada beat Switzerland 4-0, USA beat Finland 3-0. Russia plays Japan for 5th tomorrow.  Tomorrow is the final day.

 Yesterday the final qualification in men's ice hockey ended with Slovakia, Latvia and Denmark winning their groups and will be heading for Beijing in February. Slovakia and Latvia will join Sweden and Finland in group C, while Denmark joins Switzerland, Czech Republic and Russia in group B.  Canada, USA, Germany and China is in group A.  Women have two rounds remaining to qualify three teams.  October 7-10, then November 11-14.

 Yep.  This one from Danielle Dorris in the S7 100m evening.  And no disqualifications either. That is now 1g, 7b and 4b for 12 total.

 First the silver. Brent Lakatos takes it in the T53 400m event. Yes. Now the bronze in the 4x100m relay-34points event. From what I read from Devin Heroux, Canada had finished fifth.  It was found that both Great Britain and United States both got disqualified for early exchange in the second exchange.  USA protested. Protest was denied. The team of Katarina Roxon, Morgan Bird, Sabrina Duchesne and Aurelie Rivard gets the bronze. After 5 days, that is now 1g, 6s 4b for 11 total.

 It will be Canada vs Switzerland at 5pm Monday and it will be USA vs Finland at 1pm Monday for the semis.  Canada beat Germany 7-0, USA beat Japan 10-2, Switzerland Beat Russia 3-2in overtime and Finland beat Czech Republic 1-0.  The end is near.

 Stefan Daniel picked up a bronze in the para triathlon.  Gutsy effort by the looks of it after he collapsed once he crossed the finish line.  He is okay though.  That is now 1g, 5s and 4b for nine overall.

 This one courtesy of Brent Lakatos. He takes it in the T54 5000m race. Also his 8th career medal. That is now 1g, 5s and 2b for 8 total.

 Aurelie Rivard has won Canada's first gold as she won with a time of 58.14.  Oh yeah that's a world record.  Hours after she won her heat - in world record time.  That is now 1g, 4s and 2b.

 First from Kate O'Brien in the C4-5 500m time trial track cycling. This after she was in a serious wreck that almost killed her. Talk about coming back. Second silver comes from Priscilla Gagne in judo as she got hers in the 52kg class. Yes. That is now 4s and 2b for six total.

 Canada beat the USA 5-1, Japan just beat Germany 2-1 and Finland beat Switzerland 6-0.  Quarterfinals matchups goes as: Canada vs Germany, USA vs Japan, Finland vs Czech Republic and Russia vs Switzerland.  Quarters are on Saturday.

 Comes from Nicolas-Guy Turbide as he takes it in the S13 100m backstroke event.  That is now 2s and 2b for 4 medals total. I think that is almost it for day two.

 This one goes to Tristen Chernove in the C1 3000m individual pursuit. That makes 1s and 2b for 3 total.

 In group B, Hungary just beat Denmark 5-1 and will finish 4th in the group and Denmark 5th. Also 9th and 10th overall.  Also in group B, Czech Republic beat Germany 2-0 and will finish first in the group and will face the third place team in group A.  Germany plays Japan tomorrow for second and third. Group A had Finland beat Russia 4-0. Tomorrow Finland vs Switzerland to decide 3rd, 4th and 5th, while USA vs Canada will decide top spot in group A. Nitty gritty time

 This one in the pool. Aurelie Rivard gets a bronze in the 50m S10 event. Yeees.  That is now 2b so far.  Not a bad start to the Paralympics so far.

 Canada just got its first medal and it's a bronze from Keely Shaw from Mildale Saskatchewan. She got it in the C4 3000m track cycling race.  Yippee.  And we're on the board. (Thanks to Devin Heroux).

 First medals went in women's pursuit C1-3. Paige Greco of Australia with the gold, Wang Xiaomei of China with the silver and Denise Shindler of Germany with the bronze. More to come.

 Japan beat Hungary 4-1 to round out day five and sit tied with Germany with Six points, while Hungary and Denmark have none. Hungary and Denmark will not qualify for the quarterfinals.  In group A, the USA beat Russia 6-0 and Canada beat Switzerland 5-0. USA and Canada have 9 points, easily into the quarterfinals, Russia with three points and Finland and Switzerland have none.  Oddly Finland and Switzerland will go to the quarterfinals. (Odd setup with all of group A are into quarters plus top three in group B).  Tomorrow has Russia vs Finland (group A), Czech Republic vs Germany (group B) and Denmark vs Hungary (group B).

 The cauldron has been lit. Speeches made. Performances were done. 4403 athletes and 165 nations at the Paralympic Games. Priscilla Gagne led 128 Canadians during the parade of nations. Action begins tonight in Canada. Who will be Canada's first medallist? Who will win the first medals of The games? Stay tuned.

 Germany beat Denmark 3-1 and Czech Republic beat Japan 4-0.  Czech Republic leads group B with 9 points, Germany has six, Japan with three, Hungary and Denmark both have none.  Tomorrow has USA vs Russia, Switzerland vs Canada (both group A) and Hungary vs Japan (group B). Getting down to the nitty gritty here.

 Night cap had the USA beat Finland 3-0. Earlier Canada beat Russia 5-1.  Both the USA and Canada have six points, Russia has three, Finland and Switzerland have none.  Only group B game had Czech Republic beat Hungary 4-2. Czech Republic has six points, Germany and Japan have three (both played one game), Hungary and Denmark have none. Tomorrow has Germany vs Denmark and Japan vs Czech Republic. Until then.....

 Interesting one here as Japan beat Denmark 1-0.  Bit of a surprise.  Also in group B, Germany beat Hungary 3-0. Czech Republic, Germany and Japan all have three points. In group A, Russia beat Switzerland 3-1, while last night the USA also beat Switzerland 3-0. Switzerland has two losses, while USA, Canada and Russia have three points. Tomorrow has Canada vs Russi (group A), USA vs Finland (group A) and Hungary vs Czech Republic (group B).

 The 1942-43 season had 6 teams and had a 50 game season.  USA and Canada governments wanted sports to keep going as WWII raged on.  WWII ravaged all teams.  November 21, 1942 overtime was ended due to wartime travel restrictions as teams needed to get to trains on time.  February 4, 1943 Frank Calder dies of a heart attack.  Red Dutton becomes president. Playoffs format has 1st place vs 3rd place and 2nd vs 4th and semi final winners play for Stanley Cup.  Semis had Detroit beat Toronto 4-2 and Boston beat Montreal 4-1.  Stanley Cup finals had Detroit beat Boston 4-0.  It's their third cup victory.

 Priscilla Gagne as she leads the 128 member delegation at Tuesday's opening ceremony of the Tokyo Paralympics. It's getting real now.

 Canada opened with a 5-3 win over Finland after trailing 2-0. Finland has played Canada fairly well the last two or three years.  Earlier Czech Republic beat Denmark 6-1 in pool b action. Switzerland vs USA will round out day one (also group a, which is Canada's group). Canada plays again Sunday vs Russia.  Tomorrow has Russia vs Switzerland (group A), Germany vs Hungary (group B) and Denmark vs Japan (group B).

 Gonna be a good couple of weeks. Friday starts the women's world ice hockey championships (finally. Been looking forward to this). Next Tuesday starts the Paralympics. The 26th starts the final Olympic hockey qualification in men's hockey (3 teams to round out the Olympic tournament), and the women begin their hockey qualification (Iceland, Hong Kong, Bulgaria and Lithuania to try to move to the second round).  Fun times ahead.

 Tyler Gilbert, in his first start, threw a no hitter as Arizona beat San Diego 7-0. He is the fourth pitcher to start his MLB career with a no hitter.  He had 5 strike outs and had three walks. Wow.

 All from Devin Heroux. First the numbers.  Canada will be sending 128 Paralympians to Tokyo.  Also 4237 among 96 nations will be heading there.  As for the potential upgrade? In the men's 4x100m relay in which Canada got a bronze, one of the silver medal Great Britain runners may have been caught with a banned substance in his system. If true, the British team will lose silver, Canada upgraded to silver and whomever finished 4th will get bronze.

 Here are some numbers of Canada at the Olympics. 1. 600.  Amount of minutes Kadeisha Buchanan played (not including stoppage time) in all of Canada's games. 2. 304. Amount of international games Christine Sinclair had played. 3. 17.  Amount of years since Malindi Elmore's last Olympics appearance (2004 Athens). 4. 36. Amount of hours before competition before Annie Guglia found out she was going to Tokyo. 5. 6.  Amount of events that Andre DeGrasse has competed in and won medals in (3 in Rio, 3 in Tokyo).  Also amount of medals in track and field won in Tokyo - the most ever. 6.  0.064.  amount of seconds Kelsey Mitchell won by to win her gold. 7. 236.  Combined weight Maude Charron lifted on her way to gold. 8. 9018. Amount of points Damian Warner picked up on his way to gold, an Olympic record.

 The closing ceremony are done.  Speeches have been made. Performances had. Handover from Tokyo to Paris, followed by the Paris presentation. Flame extinguished. USA finished with most medals at 113, followed by China at 88, then Russia at 71. Canada finishes with 7g, 6s and 11b for 24 medals.  Paralympics coming up in a couple of weeks. Next winter Games in February 2022 in Beijing, then the summer games in Paris in 2024.  

 Kelsey Mitchell just picked up Canada's 7th gold as she won the sprint portion of track cycling. I read that ties the most golds in a non boycott year. Anyways that is 7g, 6b and 11b for 24 medals.

 Damian Warner has been chosen to carry the Canadian flag at the closing ceremony, which is in about 12 hours. He 1. Became 4th (?) decathlete to score 9000+ points, 2. Scored the third highest total (9018), which 3. won him gold.  Loads of good quality choices.