Ryan ReisertFOOTBALL — The playoffs have begun on the Canadian gridiron and the CFL will officially crown a new champion at the Grey Cup in Vancouver. In a David-meets-Goliath semi-final, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats slayed the two-time defending Grey Cup champion Montreal Allouettes in a back-and-forth 52-44 victory. In the other semi-final, Edmonton dispatched Calgary in the Battle of Alberta. Next weekend, Hamilton and Winnipeg will lock horns and Edmonton will meet B.C. for the right to play for Canada’s oldest trophy.
SOCCER — The road to Euro 2012 got clearer for three more teams on Friday as Ireland, Croatia, and the Czech Republic dealt swiftly with Estonia, Turkey, and Montenegro respectively to nudge forward in their qualifying playoff ties. Portugal was stymied by Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Balkan nation, drawing 0-0, and will need to win in Lisbon to qualify for the June tournament in Poland and Ukraine. Closer to home, Canada also managed a meek 0-0 draw against minnows St. Kitts and Nevis, a nation of just 51,300 people, which was enough to secure a ticket to the third round of CONCACAF qualifying for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
BASKETBALL — While each passing day begins with a hope that the NBA owners and players are close to a deal, they all end in disappointment, as there is still no professional basketball to watch. Basketball Prospectus has been simulating each prospective game of the season, and the Toronto Raptors have yet to win. With the Leafs still in the playoff hunt in November, are Toronto fans happy that the dinos are taking a break? The NCAA season finally got underway this week, and the highlight undoubtedly was the Carrier Classic that saw No. 1 North Carolina tip-off against Michigan State on the flight deck of an aircraft carrier in the Pacific Ocean. President Obama was in attendance as college basketball commemorated Veterans’ Day in one of the most unique settings ever for a game of hoops.
BASEBALL — There are three basic things that most baseball fans know about the Florida Marlins: they’re cheap, they occasionally win the World Series unexpectedly, and they wear teal. Times are changing as the Florida Marlins became the Miami Marlins on Friday, in anticipation of their move to a brand new stadium in April. Overshadowing the name change and the move from their distinct teal, fishy look to a decidedly more South Beach-esque motif, the Marlins grabbed headlines by making offers to free-agent superstar Albert Pujols as well as shortstop Jose Reyes and starting pitcher Mark Buehrle. Have the Marlins suddenly worked up the courage to ask out the hottest girl in school, or are they just trying to look a little more like their Miami Heat neighbours? In other news, the Philadelphia Phillies decided that they didn’t have nearly enough high-priced pitching, and signed former Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon to a four-year deal.
HOCKEY — The newest class of Hockey Hall of Fame inductees were immortalized on Monday night as Doug Gilmour, Joe Nieuwendyk, Ed Belfour, and Mark Howe joined hockey’s finest in the building’s hallowed halls. The trip to the Hall in Toronto was a homecoming for Gilmour, Nieuwendyk, and Belfour, since all three spent parts of their careers in the Maple Leafs’ blue and white. Howe and his father Gordie join Bobby and Brett Hull, and Lester, Lynn, and Craig Patrick in the exclusive group of father-son Hall of Fame pairs.
BOXING — Muhammad Ali once said, “I always bring out the best in men I fight, but Joe Frazier, I’ll tell the world right now, brings out the best in me.”
That might as well have been Manny Pacquiao talking about Juan Manuel Márquez.
The two have fought three times now, at three different weight classes, interspersed over the course of seven years. The two first fought in 2004, battling to a draw at featherweight. Four years later, the two met again, this time at super featherweight. Once again the fight went the distance but Pacquiao prevailed in a controversial split decision.
On Saturday, in what was supposed to be the match where Pacquiao finally proved his superiority beyond all dispute, the two fought yet another classic, with Pacquiao eking out a majority decision that left many fans booing.
