Maurice ''Mad Dog'' Vachon At The Hall Of Fame.

The legendary wrestler Maurice Vachon nicknamed ''Mad Dog'', today at 80 years old, is now a part of Quebec's Sport Hall Of Fame this week.

Born in Ville-Emard, Quebec, on September 1st 1929, Maurice Vachon had a very successful amateur wrestling career. At the 1948 London Olympic Games, Vachon finished in 7th place. Two years later, he won a gold medal at the 1950 British Empire Games, now known as the Commonwealth Games.

Vachon had an impressive stature. A strong, massive man with a mad look in the eyes. He was able to defend himself as he had to shrug off a couple of drunk spectators at times. One of those encounters earned him his nickname when Don Owen, a wrestling promoter, yelled at him: ''You're just a mad dog!''.

A brilliant professional career followed for Maurice ''Mad Dog'' Vachon who's fame had no boundaries. An approximate 13,000 live events all over the world. I personally remember him as I was a kid when I used to watch wrestling on TV. His WWF days where great as he made a fantastic heel. A bad guy that everyone loved.

Maurice Vachon retired in 1985. One year later, an accident forced the doctors to cut Maurice's right leg under the knee. This event did not undermine his morale as he continued to appear on various TV shows.

The enormous charisma of this generous and tender man is now recognized. This is a well deserved honor. Maurice Vachon will always have a warm place in our hearts.

Congratulations Maurice for your fantastic journey and thanks for the memories.

Carey Price Ends His Losing Streak Against The Boston Bruins.

Despite a sixth consecutive loss against the Atlanta Trashers on Tuesday evening, the Montreal Canadiens sent Carey Price in net Thursday for their game with the Boston Bruins.

The Habs' goaltender was sharp and stopped 42 of the 43 shots he faced, helping the Canadiens in that 2-1 victory acquired at the shootout session. A victory that will feel like a breath of fresh air for Price.

Mike Cammalleri was the only player from both teams able to beat the goaltender in that shootout session. Tim Thomas was fooled by a good wrist shot from Cammalleri.

As for the scoring during regulation, Glen Metropolit put Montreal on the board on a great effort around the net from Andrei Kostitsyn. Patrice Bergeron tied the score at 1-1 with under a minute to play in the third period.

The Canadiens will host the Tampa Bay Lightning Saturday and I think that Carey Price should be sent in net by head coach Jacques Martin. The Canadiens are still hovering at the .500 record with 8 wins and 8 losses.

(Picture: Canadian Press.)

Montreal Canadiens 2009 October Recap: Halak wins, Price doesn't.

The first month of this 2009-2010 NHL season is already behind us and I thought it would be a good time to check out how the Montreal Canadiens initiated their season.

The injury to defense men Andrei Markov during the first game of the season revealed the fragile state of the Canadiens' defensive unit. The team allowed a ton of shots a few games later resulting in an ugly five-game losing streak.

The departure of Mike Komisarek, Mathieu Dandenault and Francis Bouillon was patched by GM Bob Gainey with the acquisition of Hal Gill, Paul Mara, Jaroslav Spacek and later on, Marc-Andre Bergeron. I don't see any significant improvement at that position from last season.

But on a positive note, I really liked Paul Mara's physical contribution and on-ice presence during the first month. Also, Bergeron and Gill registered their first goal with the Canadiens during the month of October. But that's about all the positive points I could ever find about this defensive unit.

On the offensive side of the game, the Canadiens' top line performed to the expectations. Brian Gionta and Scott Gomez produced well early on while Mike Cammalleri took a few games before taking off. Tomas Plekanec on the second offensive line did well but his linemate Andrei Kostitsyn has not been sharp.

A.K. has been under the scope for a while and many think that his work ethic is a problem. Nobody ever doubted the raw talent of the two brothers. The results on the ice and the criticism around him and his younger brother Sergei opens the door to a much deeper problem than those two players: The organization incapacity to fully develop their young talent.

Finally, in the late stages of the month, goaltender Jaroslav Halak helped the team to get back to the .500 record with a winning streak at the Bell centre. In fact, during the last 12 games, Halak registered five wins and two losses while Carey Price suffered five straight losses. Halak also leads Price on the GAA and Save Percentage stat sheet for the month of October.

The burning question in the early stages of November will be asked to head coach Jacques Martin. Which goaltender is your No 1 man? Carey Price or Jaroslav Halak?

Stay tuned for the continuation of this already exciting 2009-2010 season.

(Picture: Jaroslav Halak.)

Crosby Crushes The Canadiens' Winning Streak.

Sidney Crosby scored three goals on Wednesday evening against the Montreal Canadiens and helped the Pittsburgh Penguins win by the score of 6 to 1.

The Montreal Canadiens' winning streak has been stopped at four consecutive games and the overall team record stands at six wins and six losses after twelve games.

Jaroslav Halak was the starting goaltender for a fifth game in a row in this one but was pulled by head coach Jacques Martin during the third period. Carey Price allowed two goals in relief. We can expect Price's return as starting goaltender for the next game.

But the star of the show was Sidney Crosby who completed his hat trick during the second period of the game. The Penguins captain and his troops have an impressive 11-2 record this season.

(Picture: Sidney Crosby, Canadian Press.)

The ''Good Old Days'' Look.

Are you of those who liked the good old days? I remember those great looking bicycles we used to ride on all afternoon long when we were kids. Today, it seems that everyone is using the same mountain bike style.

If you are like me and prefer the good old days, then you should take a look at the selection of stylish bicycles available at www.cruiserstyle.com. And what are those bikes used to look like? Well, for example, this great looking pink beach cruiser, also an interesting selection of kids cruiser is available and they even have choppers! Of course, some accessories and some bike racks are always useful.

Some very interesting shapes and colors are available on cruiserstyle.com. And if you think that those bikes don't sell, make no mistake: they are selling tons of them!

Located in California, the service in the U.S. is handled through FedEx shipping. And of course, it makes a great gift for Christmas.

Montreal Canadiens: Four Wins In A Row With Halak.

The Montreal Canadiens ended their six-game home stand with four consecutive wins with a 3-2 victory over the New York Islanders on Monday night.

The Islanders were a more difficult opponent this time. After being outclassed by the score of 5-1 last week, the Islanders forced an overtime period but ultimately lost the game when Roman Hamrlik scored the decisive goal during the overtime period. This was already the fourth overtime victory for the Canadiens this season.

But I want to keep the focus on goaltender Jaroslav Halak for a moment. Montreal Canadiens' head coach Jacques Martin decided to go with his hottest goaltender in order to win games lately. Martin did not force Carey Price in against the New York Rangers on Saturday like we all expected. Mike Cammalleri's hat trick performance won that game after the team went down by a two goal margin on two different occasions.

The Canadiens will play the defending champions Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday. Will Jacques Martin send Jaroslav Halak in net once again or will he try to send Carey Price in action to extend the team's winning streak to five games?

(Picture: Roman Hamrlik, Canadian Press.)

Montreal Canadiens: A winning streak!

The Montreal Canadiens waited until the 9th game of the regular season to win a first game in regulation. A convincing 5-1 victory over the New York Islanders on Thursday night.

It is true that the best performance of the season came against one of the weakest team of the league but the way the team has been playing lately, any good news is welcome.

Scott Gomez, Marc-Andre Bergeron, Max Pacioretty, Mike Cammalleri and Maxim Lapierre scored for Montreal while only Josh Bailey beat Jaroslav Halak and avoided the shut out.

The Canadiens is currently on two wins in a row and will play the New York Rangers on Saturday evening. Who will be in net for the Canadiens on Saturday? Jaroslav Halak or Carey Price?

Head coach Jacques Martin has an important decision to take.

(Picture: Getty Images.)

Montreal Canadiens: Five Straight Losses, Calling Bergeron Up.

The Montreal Canadiens will try to stop their losing streak to five straight games tonight when they will host the Atlanta Trashers.

Acquired after Andrei Markov's injury, Marc-Andre Bergeron will play his first game with the Canadiens tonight.

Outside Ilya Kovalchuk's playing quality, the Trashers never represented a force in the NHL since their arrival. It is then a good occasion for the Habs to snap out of their losing streak tonight with a strong performance. The Canadiens did not give a full 60 minute effort this far this season and it would be a great time to start doing so.

As for Marc-Andre Bergeron, he will wear the ''bleu blanc rouge'' uniform for the first time of his career. A dream for any French-Canadian hockey player. He was impressed by the size of the Canadiens' dressing room and can't wait to contribute.

This season, Bergeron played three games in the AHL with the Hamilton Bulldogs and registered 6 assists. Shawn Belle was sent back to Hamilton.

Yesterday, head coach Jacques Martin talked about his expectations regarding Marc-Andre Bergeron. The Habs coach should use him on the man-advantage along with Jaroslav Spacek and will give him around 16-18 minutes of ice time.

(Picture: Marc-Andre Bergeron, RDS.)

Montreal Canadiens Season Opener: Will You Cheer or Will You Boo?

The Montreal Canadiens will open their home season at the Bell Centre after playing their first five games of the 2009-2010 season on the road.

The early season road trip brought so many discussion topics to the couch managers. Hell, the press still cares and debates about what will happen to Sergei Kostitsyn! The guy's in the AHL...move on guys!

So, despite losing to injury defense mens, Andrei Markov and Ryan O'Byrne, losing 7 to 1 to the Vancouver Canucks, despite losing their last three games of this road trip and finally despite being ranked the 29th penalty killing unit of the NHL, the Canadiens managed to win two of those five games, for four points in the standings. That's a tie with the 7th place in the Eastern Conference before tonight's games.

The regular season AND the finger pointing season is now started. Especially the second one.

After five games, the candidates for the ''I have so much fingers pointed at me right now!'' award would be: Carey Price for his Vancouver game, Andrei Kostitsyn because it's ''in'' to blame him, Hal Gill for his -3 and 11 PIM, Maxim Lapierre and Max Pacioretty for their absence.

I know I have not mentioned a couple of others, pick your own winners and go ahead, blame them.

For me, and for a few others, I see the glass half full. I did not expect a good start and I believe that the team will suffer a lot until the new year.

The team has four points, which were won by none other than Carey Price and the new players on the roster. In two of five games Price played well enough to steal the win while the Gionta-Gomez-Cammalleri trio gave a couple of options to head coach Jacques Martin. We still are waiting for Cammaleri's first goal of the season but his presence is positive on the ice. I still think the he will have a good season and score his 30 goals.

Winning a game is big for the Canadiens right now, and for a couple of months. Each win will reduce the amount of points the team will have to recover in the final rat race towards the playoffs.

And right now, the Canadiens will host the next six games. Will you cheer or will you boo?

You will be the sixth player on the ice for the next six games. Think before booing.

(Picture: Brian Gionta, AP.)

How About A $20,000 Kitchen Makeover Canada?

You have read correctly, Dr. Oetker Kitchen Makeover Contest, offers Canadian residents to register right now for a chance to win a $20,000 kitchen makeover!

All that is needed to do is to pick up your PIN from a specially marked package of Casa di Mama Pizza from Dr. Oetker and visit the contest site, register and enter your PIN. The contest ends on January 4th 2010 and is for Canadian residents only.

A couple of very interesting minor prizes are also up for grabs. Eight secondary winners will each pick up one of the following Whirlpool kitchen appliances. A fridge/freezer, an electric range, a dishwasher and a microwave only to name those. An additional 2,000 people will win either a Casa di Mama Pizza or a pizza cutter.

I can't stop thinking about what my kitchen would look like after a $20,000 makeover. My house would never look the same again with such an investment. Think about it: A brand new fridge, a brand new range and oven, a brand new coffee machine (oh yes...), a brand new table and new chairs! A total makeover.

I know you want to win too. Just get your PIN with your next Casa di Mama Pizza purchase and register on Dr. Oetker's contest site.

Anyone can register as many PINs as he wishes. Good luck and bon appetit!