The truce hastily thrashed out last night by the Hockey India officials didn’t last even a full day with the disgruntled players today deciding to go on strike again from tomorrow demanding dues and incentives.

“We are not going back to the camp anymore unless our demands are met,” Indian captain Rajpal Singh told PTI from Pune.

Hockey India reacted sharply to players’ decision with treasurer Narinder Batra accusing them of blackmailing the Federation and holding the nation to ransom.

“It’s really shocking. They agreed to our offer yesterday and now they are back on strike. They can’t hold a nation to ransom,” he said.

Asked why they decided to go on strike again after six players, including the Indian captain himself, met the HI officials last night and agreed to rejoin the camp, Mr. Rajpal said other players felt the amount offered by HI was peanuts.

“It was a marathon meeting that went on and on. At one time, we wanted to end it somehow and return. We returned and conveyed to our team members what HI offered us. But they felt it was too insignificant an amount and there was no question of ending the strike,” Mr. Rajpal said, adding HI had offered Rs 25,000 for each player.

“We have conveyed our decision to the coaching staff and by now, they must have relayed it to HI. HI has to come up with a better offer if they want us back in the camp,” he said.

Mr. Batra said HI officials will travel to Pune tomorrow to sort out the issue.

“I cannot tell you who but HI officials would reach Pune tomorrow to talk to the players. We have as many as six meetings lined up in Delhi tomorrow, including meetings with International Hockey Federation (FIH) vice president Antonio von Ondarza and the Sports Ministry but somebody will go to Pune tomorrow,” Mr. Batra said.

Mr. Rajpal, meanwhile, assured that the players would keep themselves mentally and physically fit for the World Cup which begins next month in the capital.

“We ask people not to worry about our fitness – physical or mental. We would rejoin the camp as soon as our demands are met,” Mr. Rajpal said.

Senior forward Prabhjot Singh also felt the money offered by HI was too meagre.

“We put our proposals in front of Hockey India and they responded with their proposals. We discussed it among ourselves and we think what they have offered us is very little. So we have decided to boycott the camp again and until our demands are met, we would not practise,” said the striker.

“We are merely asking for our incentives for the tournaments we have won in 2009. I think it is our right. We should be paid what we demand. We have won and we deserve incentives. The team is united on this matter and we are prepared for the World Cup too,” Mr. Prabhjot said.
Sourced via the hindu.com

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Joe Hockey has agreed to continue as the Coalition’s treasury spokesman.

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott asked Mr Hockey to remain in the key position shortly after winning a ballot for the federal Liberal leadership yesterday.

“After considered reflection, I have accepted the offer from the Leader of the Opposition to continue as shadow treasurer,” he said in a statement.

“Australians expect the Opposition to be united and a united Opposition should focus on the interests of the Australian people, rather than on themselves,” he said.

Mr Hockey used yesterday’s 25-basis points interest rate rise by the Reserve Bank of Australia to attack the Government.

“The Rudd Government’s refusal to pull back on its reckless spending is putting upward pressure on interest rates,” he said.

Mr Hockey, who went into yesterday’s ballot as favourite, was eliminated in the first round of voting, leaving the contest to Mr Abbott and previous leader Malcolm Turnbull.

“I am authorised [by Mr Hockey] to say how pleased I am that Joe will be shadow treasurer,” Mr Abbott told reporters earlier in Canberra.
Sourced via smh.com.au

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The New Zealand men’s hockey team joined their football counterparts as World Cup qualifiers after maintaining their unbeaten record in Invercargill today.

The Black Sticks progressed to February’s tournament in India by eventually subduing a stubborn Malaysia 2-1 in the final of the World Cup qualifying tournament.

While the All Whites’ qualification for South Africa next year at Bahrain’s expense was a pleasant surprise last night, victory for the hockey side was expected to be a formality after they sauntered through the round robin phase with a healthy plus 23 goal difference.

But Razie Abd Rahim sought to alter the script when he netted a penalty corner in the 18th minute.

It was the first time in the tournament New Zealand had trailed, and it took until 10 minutes from fulltime for them to secure a sixth successive win.

Tournament topscorer Andy Hayward provided the stress-relieving goals with precise drag flicks from penalty corners in the 57th minute and again soon afterwards to ensure the world No 8 Black Sticks did not squander a second opportunity to qualify for New Delhi.

Australia had blocked their route through the Oceania series earlier this year.

New Zealand had beaten the Malaysians 4-2 in pool play last week but coach Shane McLeod remained wary before the final.

“Malaysia played very well,” he said.

“They gained a lot from the earlier game. They did their homework and cancelled out a lot of things we were succeeding with.

“They’re really difficult if you fall behind by a goal, they defend with a lot of passion.

“It took a long time to break that down.”

McLeod thought the ease of New Zealand’s cruise to the final also hindered their performance.

“They weren’t tested a lot over the week and sometimes it gets a little bit hard to keep trying to lift yourself above other teams.

“With Malaysia getting a goal against the run of play we were in a situation we hadn’t faced.

“Sometimes you’re better off in a more even tournament because you face a lot of situations before the final.”

McLeod said the squad watched, and were inspired by, the All Whites’ 1-0 defeat of Bahrain.

“All sports get motivated by the success of others, I think it assisted us with out campaign,” he said.

“We didn’t have as many people watching but we’re certainly happy.”

New Zealand’s next assignment is in the second tier Champions Challenge starting in Argentina on December 6.

Victory there will see them promoted to the elite Champions Trophy grade next year.
Sourced via stuff.co.nz

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Ever get that strange and unexplainable feeling that you seen this before?

Thrashers playing at home…come out of the locker room in the red third jerseys…get down by two or three goals…mount a comeback…end the game with a final furious rally in front of the visitor’s goal…but fall just short.

Now, was that the Thrashers last game I just described?

Was it last Thursday versus Washington?

Maybe it was the Thursday before that against, again, Washington?

Or was it the Saturday game against San Jose in between the two Capitals game?

Outside of the fact that against the Sharks Atlanta wore their blue jerseys, the same story line held true in the 4-3 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets… who escaped Philips Arena with two points just one night after falling 3-2 in a shootout to the Sharks back in Columbus.

Forget “Blueland”…Philips Arena has become “Déjà vu-land”!

Atlanta lost despite out-shooting the Blue Jackets 35-21…18-8 in the second and 15-2 in the third. They have now out-shot opponents all of three times so far this season…and they have lost all three games.

For the first couple of periods Thursday night the Thrashers looked like a 6-year old soccer team…you know, the way they’ll all mass around the ball focusing their attention to that and paying no attention whatsoever to any positioning. Much like the kids on the soccer pitch, the Thrashers played “follow the puck” too much and left Blue Jackets wide open for easy goals.

Raffi Torres netted a pair for the CBJs, his 7th and 8th goals of the season. Jakob Vorecek scored his 5th and Derik Bressard scored his third of the season.

Toby Enstrom got off of Schnide Island Thursday, scoring his first goal of the season on his 25th birthday. It came during the second period while Atlanta was on the power play, drilling the puck into the net from the right side…and by “drilling the puck into the net”, I mean he literally drilled it into the net as it was lodged into the twine. Toby’s goal came with the assists going to Todd White and Slava Kozlov.

Earlier in the period it looked like Toby had punched his ticket off the island, but his shot from the left point deflected in of Bryan Little’s stick for his second goal of the year. This leaves Nik Antropov, Slava Kozlov, Jim Slater, Marty Reasoner and Christoph Schubert to gather coconuts on the Isle of Schnide.

Pavel Kubina scored his second of the season with a power play goal in the third to get the Thrashers to withing one at the 2:06 mark of that final frame…leaving them with with 17 minutes and 54 seconds remaining to tie the score.

But back to the subject the Thrashers home woes…what is behind the pattern of losses at Philips Arena? Well, coach Anderson said after the game that, “We don’t dictate the game, we wait to see how the game unfolds and then we play”.

He also pointed out in the post-game press conference that the team did stay in a hotel prior to the season opener at home when the beat Tampa Bay 6-3. So, could that mean they should go straight to a hotel after flying home from New York before Sunday’s game against St. Louis, or prior to other home games in the future, to simulate the feel of still being on the road?

“Don Waddell might not like that because it means spending more money”, Anderson explained.

Spend it, Don…spend it!
Sourced via ajc.com

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A U.S. federal bankruptcy judge in Phoenix, Ariz., has given his approval to the sale of the Phoenix Coyotes to the NHL.

Judge Redfield T. Baum agreed to sign the sale order on Monday after attorneys made minor modifications to the deal.

None of the changes significantly altered the NHL’s agreement to pay about $140 million to buy the team from owner Jerry Moyes.

The only party who didn’t join in the agreement is former coach Wayne Gretzky, who owned a small portion of the team.

However, Gretzky did not file a formal objection with the court.

The sale ends nearly six months of an often bitter court battle pitting the NHL against Moyes and Canadian billionaire Jim Balsillie.

Moyes, founder of Swift Transportation, took the team into Chapter 11 bankruptcy on May 5, with a plan to sell the team to Balsillie, contingent on moving the franchise to Hamilton, Ont.

The move took the NHL by surprise, and the league vowed to fight it to the end, accusing Moyes and Balsillie of trying to circumvent the NHL’s rules for who owns a team and who decides where it plays.

Balsillie, co-owner of BlackBerry maker Research In Motion, kept up the court fight until Baum rejected his bid on Sept. 30. Balsillie’s offer grew to $242 million when he added $50 million in a failed attempt to get the City of Glendale to drop its opposition.

Glendale, Ariz., is the Phoenix suburb where the Coyotes’ home arena, Jobing.com, is based.

The City of Glendale issued a statement thanking the NHL for its work.

“This now opens up the opportunity to initiate and finalize negotiations with other parties for the long-term success of the team in Glendale,” the city said.

Baum threw out Balsillie’s bid on the grounds he could not overrule the NHL board of governor’s 26-0 vote rejecting the Canadian as an owner. The judge also rejected the NHL’s offer but left open the possibility the league could buy the team if it made alterations to its proposal.
Ice Edge, Argos owners still interested

In the end, Moyes decided a few million dollars was better than none and reached an agreement with the NHL. As part of the deal, the league will reduce the amount of money it says Moyes owes it from $30 million to $15 million.

The league plans to resell the team, preferably to a buyer who would keep the team in Glendale. The city vehemently opposed Balsillie’s bid.

NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly was encouraged by the result.

“We are pleased and very encouraged by today’s developments in court. Now that approval of the proposed sale has been entered by the court, the National Hockey League will work to close the transaction quickly and assume full control of the Coyotes’ business operations.

“The league also will engage immediately in a process to identify — and expedite sale of the franchise to — new ownership that is committed to the club’s long-term success in the Phoenix-Glendale area, ” Daly said in a statement from the league.

The deputy commissioner also thanked the team’s supporters.

“The NHL thanks Coyotes fans for their continued support of the franchise and hopes that today’s developments will provide fans further reason to embrace the Coyotes in order to ensure the team’s long-term future in Arizona,” Daly said.

Under the purchase agreement, all the unsecured creditors would be paid except Moyes, Gretzky and Glendale. The largest secured creditor, SOF Investments, will get all of its $80 million, either in cash or over time in an agreement with the NHL.

Gretzky, who resigned as coach, says he is owed about $8 million, mostly in deferred salary.

The amount of money available to Moyes and Gretzky was dwindling because the league continued to fund the club, with that cost coming out of the purchase agreement.

Moyes has contended that the NHL never will succeed in the desert, but the league says the team can succeed with a better product on the ice. The Coyotes are off to a good start this season, but crowds at Jobing.com Arena have been sparse.

Ice Edge, formed by a group of investors from the United States and Canada, says it still is interested in buying the team. The owners of the Canadian Football League’s Toronto Argonauts, Howard Sokolowski and David Cynamon, also reportedly have interest in purchasing the team.
Sourced via Canadian press

Popularity: 2% [?]

Canada showed it can hang with the big dogs of men’s field hockey as it took eight-time Olympic champion India to the wire in a 4-3 loss Sunday before a capacity crowd of 1,500 at the University of Victoria pitch.

Dhananjay Mahadik scored his second goal for India with four minutes remaining to clinch the match, the second of a seven-test series. India also won the opener 2-0 on Friday night.

India, which failed to qualify for the Summer Olympics last year for the first time in 80 years – an absence that touched off a nationwide bout of anger and angst – was lucky to escape with the victory Sunday as Canada carried the play in the second half and had several excellent scoring opportunities following the halftime break in which the teams were tied 3-3.

“We were the better team today and I’m confident saying that,” said two- time Olympian Rob Short of Victoria, who scored one of Canada’s goals on a penalty stroke. Wayne Fernandes of Mississauga, Ont., scored the other two off short corners.

‘We created more scoring chances but couldn’t find the finishing. This gives us something to build on over the next five games of the series.”

Surrey, B.C., will host the remaining matches over the next two weeks.

Canada, ranked 11th in the world, and the 12th-ranked Indians are preparing for the 2010 World Cup and 2010 Commonwealth Games, both scheduled for New Delhi.
Sourced via canada.com

Popularity: 2% [?]

We are looking for your nominations for the best looking sport babes in the world. The nominations can include sport babes from around the globe, from any country, from any sporting code-the more the merrier.

Nominations close on 30 September 2009.

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Provinces set to give it stick

THE cream of South Africa’s hockey talent will be on display at the Spar Women’s Inter-provincial Hockey Tournament in Pretoria from Monday to Saturday next week (August 24 to 29), and the return to action of some of South Africa’s greatest players could add some extra spice to what is expected to be a particularly hard- fought battle for top honours.

Several former members of the national team, including defender Fiona Butler and the great Pietie Coetzee, who was regarded as one of the best strikers in the world, will be turning out for Southern Gauteng. Western Province captain Kate Woods says this could make them formidable opponents.

“Southern Gauteng are always a tough team to beat, and the return of some of these players is going to make them even tougher,” Woods said. She said the new format of the tournament, in which the teams in the A section are divided into two pools, would make it hard for Western Province to defend their national title.

“We are in a pool with KZN Coastals, Northerns and Wit watersrand, which means that every match we play is going to be hard, before we even get to the semifinal stage,” she said.

“Natal are pretty good, with players like Kelly Madsen; Northerns are always very competitive and Southern Gauteng are so good that Wits, who are their B-team, are also very good,” she said .

“But (if) all your matches (are) tough ones (it) prepares you throughout the week. It’s better than playing some easy games during the week, and then having your first tough one in the final.”

She said Western Province had some injury problems, with three Proteas – Kathleen Taylor, Tarryn Bright and Lenise Marais – out of action.

Pool A of the A section comprises Western Province, KwaZulu-Natal Coastals, Northerns and Witwatersrand, while Pool B is made up of Southern Gauteng, North West, WP Peninsula and KZN Inland. Matches will be played at the Tuks sports grounds and at the Tshwane University of Technology .
Sourced via Sapa

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Canada’s entry at the Memorial of Ivan Hlinka under-18 hockey tournament is benefiting from a potent Ontario Hockey League connection.

OHL forwards John McFarland, Tyler Toffoli and Tyler Seguin were the difference for the second straight game, combining for six points in a 6-3 win over Switzerland that improved the defending champions to 2-0 in Pool A. The Swiss fell to 0-2.

McFarland scored twice – giving him three goals in the first two games – while Toffoli had a goal and an assist and Seguin added a pair of helpers. The trio had seven points in Tuesday’s tournament-opening 3-2 win over Sweden.

McFarland, coming off a solid rookie season with the Sudbury Wolves, said the team’s training camp earlier this month in Calgary helped the players build cohesion, both on and off the ice.

“Having that couple days at camp to grow with some linemates has really helped us,” said McFarland. “(It’s) a great group of guys that all want to get better as a team, and are all here to do one thing, and that’s win a gold medal.”

Canadian coach Bob Boughner lauded the trio for its offensive creativity, going so far as to suggest that the team’s gold-medal chances hinge on how well the line performs the rest of the way.

“That line’s got great chemistry,” said Boughner. “They’re a line that doesn’t need many chances to bury it. Sometimes, because they’re so talented, they tend to get overcreative, but our job as coaches is to make sure that they play the same as every other line.

“That line’s got to be our best line every night for us to win a gold medal.”

Jeffrey Skinner of the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers also had a pair of goals and was named the player of the game, while Michael Bournival of the QMJHL’s Shawinigan Cataractes added a single. Calvin Pickard stopped 14 shots to earn the win.

Reto Schmutz, Eric Arnold and Gaetan Haas replied for the Swiss, who fought gamely for one period but couldn’t keep up with a relentless Canadian attack. Canada outshot Switzerland 42-17 – highlighted by a 15-2 advantage in the second period – and would have won by more had it not been for a strong performance from Swiss netminder Lukas Melli.

Switzerland actually held a brief lead in the first period, when Schmutz and Arnold scored just over a minute apart to erase a 1-0 deficit. McFarland tied things up late in the first, but that didn’t spare the players from a Boughner tirade between periods.

“I was thinking about calling a timeout early, but I didn’t want to waste it,” said Boughner. “So I let them get through the first period, and I laid into them pretty good in between the first and second about not coming out hungry and prepared and focused.

“To tell you the truth, that’s been our problem the last two games. I challenged the leadership and character of the team, and they came out harder.”

Skinner’s short-handed goal early in the second gave Canada the lead for good, and Toffoli, who plays for the Ottawa 67’s, expanded the lead on a power-play at 7:05. Haas cut the deficit to 4-3 late in the period, but McFarland restored the two-goal advantage at 12:24 of the third on a pass from Seguin, a Plymouth Whalers winger.

Bournival completed the scoring with 23 seconds left.

The Canadians face the host Czechs on Thursday, and McFarland said the players are encouraged by the progress they’ve made so far – though there’s still plenty of room for improvement.

“We’re getting there as a team,” said McFarland. “We have one more game to ultimately get ourselves ready to win a gold medal.

“We have things that we want to get better in, and things we’re learning night in, night out.”

Wednesday’s other Pool A game saw the Swedes even their record at 1-1 with a 4-1 victory over the Czechs (1-1) at Breclav.

In Pool B action at Piestany, Slovakia, Russia improved to 2-0 with a 7-1 rout of Slovakia (1-1), while U.S. (1-1) earned a 3-2 victory over Finland (0-2).
Sourced via The Canadian Press

Popularity: 2% [?]

The man the Penguins have nicknamed ‘Flower’ is a commanding presence for a team that forces a Game 7 against Detroit by showing his skill and resilience.

Marc-Andre Fleury’s grin was visible through the slats of his mask, a smile as wide as the net he protected so staunchly when circumstances demanded he be as close to perfect as a goaltender can be.

Fleury’s resilience and skill in the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 2-1 victory Tuesday at Mellon Arena are the reasons the Stanley Cup was returned to its packing case after it was polished instead of going home with the Red Wings.

Three days after allowing five goals in 21 shots in a startlingly bad 5-0 loss whose end he watched from the bench, Fleury was a commanding presence for a team that needed every bit of assurance it could find.

It’s because of him, even more than the rare secondary scoring the Penguins got from Jordan Staal and Tyler Kennedy in the second period and the gritty shot-blocking game of defenseman Rob Scuderi, that the NHL season has come down to one game, Friday at Detroit’s Joe Louis Arena.

A year ago, the Penguins watched the Red Wings claim the Cup at Mellon Arena in Game 6. Fleury’s nerveless, 25-save effort Tuesday ensured that history would not repeat itself.

The man the Penguins have nicknamed “Flower” picked the right moment to blossom.

“It’s a great feeling that we won. Last year was tough to lose and to see the other team have the Cup,” Fleury said.

“Now that we’re still alive we have a chance at it in Game 7. It’s awesome.”

That also describes Fleury’s work in the third period, when the Red Wings scored their lone goal and threatened several times to pull even.

Kris Draper beat him at 8:01, lifting the rebound of a shot by Jonathan Ericsson, but the Red Wings would get no more despite a 14-7 edge in shots in the period.

In his most memorable stop, Fleury thrust out his glove to blunt a breakaway by Dan Cleary with 1:41 left, calmly pushing himself across the crease to reach the right post and force Cleary wide.

“Myself, like a lot of guys, we expected Flower to stop it the way he was playing tonight,” Sidney Crosby said. “He saved us many times but I had all the confidence in the world that he was going to make that stop.”

So did his coach, Dan Bylsma, who played in a Game 7 of the Finals with the Ducks in 2003 and on Friday will coach a Game 7 in the Finals.

“He’s a guy who has come up big in a lot of big games,” Bylsma said, “and there were a handful of times he came up big in this game.”

During the frantic final seconds, after the Red Wings had pulled goalie Chris Osgood in favor of an extra skater,

Fleury kicked out his right leg to stop a backhander by Johan Franzen and maintained his poise and positioning when all around him were losing their balance and their breath.

What mattered is that he never lost his belief in himself despite that Game 5 debacle in Detroit, so his teammates never wavered in their belief in him.

“When he’s on his game you can tell from the first stops he makes and tonight he was on,” Maxime Talbot said.

“He wanted to come back. He’s a proud guy and he was loose this morning and he had the performance we needed to have.”

Fleury had said several times in the days between Games 5 and 6 that he had put that bad loss well behind him, but those were just words until he backed them up with deeds.

The extra day between games proved a blessing for him, not a poisonous period to brood on what had gone wrong. That’s a sign of maturity that the young Penguins, who are still developing the substance to support their undeniable style, can only welcome.

“I think I’ve learned throughout my years that it doesn’t matter how many goals you give up in a game. I think it’s a matter if you lose, you lose,” Fleury said. “So it doesn’t matter if I give one or five.

“So I try to forget about it, put it in the back, and next day come to the rink with a smile on and try to be positive and confident for tonight’s game.”

Now, all he has to do is duplicate this level of performance on Friday at Joe Louis Arena, where the Red Wings are 11-1 in the playoffs and won their previous three home games in the Finals.

Gulp.

But even that daunting prospect couldn’t dim Fleury’s incandescent smile Tuesday.

This is the game every hockey player plays in his driveway or a neighborhood pond and now he’s going to play it for real. The Cup will be in the house and the Red Wings will try to keep it at home.

Fleury is ready for the biggest challenge of a mercurial career.

“It’s a great opportunity,” he said. “Since I’m young I’ve been dreaming about making a save on a breakaway for the Cup. So to have a chance like this to get that thing, it’s awesome.”
Sourced via latimes.com

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