Japan Grand Prix: Hamilton wins, Alonso crashes.

The Japan Grand Prix was run under rainy conditions today and the result of the race will influence the result of the drivers championship.

The race started behind the safety car for the first 19 laps because of the amount of water accumulated on the track. Once the safety car went back to the garage on lap 19, Lewis Hamilton showcased his ability to drive in rainy conditions, resisting to Fernando Alonso's attacks to finally finished the race in first place.

This Japanese Grand Prix becomes the 4th victory of Lewis Hamilton this season.

The race for the drivers championship has taken a turn for the worse for Fernando Alonso in the late stage of the race. The defending champion has crashed his McLaren-Mercedes into the railings during the second half of the race, greatly depleting his chances of finishing in front of Lewis Hamilton in the drivers standings.

The Renault cars have also taken advantage of the rainy condition by finishing 2nd and 5th. The best performance of the season for this team. With only 2 races to go to the 2008 championship, Lewis Hamilton now has a 12 point lead over Fernando Alonso.

The next Grand Prix will take place in China during the next weekend. The drivers championship could be decided next week.

Here is the Japan GP top 10 finish:

Winner: Lewis Hamilton (McLaren)
2-Heikki Kovalainen (Renault)
3-Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari)
4-David Coulthard (Red Bull)
5-Giancarlo Fisichella (Renault)
6-Felipe Massa (Ferrari)
7-Robert Kubica (BMW)
8-Vitantonio Liuzzi (Toro Rosso)
9-Adrian Sutil (Spyker F1)
10-Rubens Barrichello (Honda)

Drivers championship after 15/17 races:

1-Lewis Hamilton 107 points
2-Fernando Alonso 95 points
3-Kimi Raikkonen 90 points
4-Felipe Massa 80 points
5-Nick Heidfeld 56 points
6-Robert Kubica 35 points
7-Heikki Kovalainen 30 points
8-Giancarlo Fisichella 21 points
9-Nico Rosberg 15 points
10-Alexander Wurz 13 points

Constructors championship:

1-Ferrari 170 points *(2007 champion)
2-BMW-Sauber 92 points
3-Renault 51 points
4-Williams 28 points
5-Red Bull 23 points
6-Toyota 12 points
7-Super Aguri 4 points
8-Honda 2 points
9-Toro Rosso 1 point

(Pictures: Fernando Alonso, F1-live.com and Lewis Hamilton, Getty images)

Habs finish pre-season tonight.

The last game of the Montreal Canadiens pre-season schedule is tonight as they will face the Ottawa Senators. The Habs will finally reveal who will make the team between Jaroslav Halak and Carey Price.

Some other spots could be filled by youth as Grabovski seemed to click on the Kovalev line. Maxim Lapierre didn't show much during the pre-season matches in comparison to his late last season contribution. Lapierre stays around but could be one of the healthy scratch early in the season. Let's see who head coach Guy Carbonneau will keep on his roster.

But tonight on the other side stands the last Stanley Cup finalists. Should be a good one. Hockey fans can't wait for the real season to open.

Game on!

A 20 game suspension for Steve Downie.

The NHL has made it's decision in the Steve Downie case. The player will be suspended for a total of 20 games for hitting Dean McAmmond to the head, a big suspension in comparison to the average suspension given in the NHL.

The nature of the hit and the aggression factor implied into it has forced the NHL to be severe. But is it enough to prevent another blatent attack? The whole process starts with the respect the players gives to their peers. The way things are going in hockey, the players have little to no respect towards their opponents. This lack of respect in the heat of the moment allows some to go over the reasonnable common sense barrier.

Let's hope that some understood the message given by the NHL. I would like to see the league increase their average suspension penalties AND institute firmer fine penalties. If the league can also hit the players in their pockets, maybe some will think twice before hacking at someone's head or avoid going for the knee-on-knee hit.

Pre-season: Habs defeat Boston.

The start of the season is approaching really fast and the NHL teams are getting ready. Yesterday the Montreal Canadiens defeated the Boston Bruins by the score of 3-2.

Cristobal Huet made 30 saves in net for Montreal while Andrei Markov, Alex Kovalev and Tomas Plekanek scored for the Habs.

Montreal only has one pre-season game left on his calendar. saturday night the Ottawa Senators will face the Montreal Canadiens to finish the pre-season phase.

(Picture: Christopher Higgins, Canadian Press)

Presidents Cup to open today.

On a rainy day in Montreal, everything is set for the prestigious Presidents Cup. The event is scheduled to start today as the American team faces the rest of the world in this classic.

Many notables were on the Royal Montreal golf club yesterday. Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper and former president George Bush only to name those two. Tiger Woods is scheduled to start his round today if mother nature permits it of course. Let's hope the rain forecasted will not ruin the event...

Tiger Woods has been seen two weeks ago on the Royal Montreal golf club as he went for a practice round on the course. The Royal Montreal is one of the few golf courses that really gave a hard time to Tiger. His career cumulative stats show an ordinary +2 overall on this golf course.

Ironically, the first time that Tiger missed a cut in a PGA event in his career was on the Royal Montreal course. Let's see if Tiger can turn it around and tame the course during this 2007 Presidents Cup.

(Picture: Mike Weir and Stephen Harper. Canadian Press)

Steve Downie on Dean McAmmond.

Here is the savage attack I was talking about this morning. Note the unnessary nature of this hit as McAmmond had passed the puck a long time before receiving the hit. This kind of hitting will leave a player dead someday. The NHL has to punish Steve Downie severely.

Dean McAmmond victim of a vicious hit.

The Ottawa Senators and the Philadelphia Flyers were disputing one of their scheduled pre-season games yesterday.

Early during the second period, Steve Downie of the Flyers lined up Dean McAmmond who was skating from behind the Flyers net. Downie lined up McAmmond and hitted him viciously, even leaving the ice just before the hit. McAmmond had no chance to protect himself and suffers a concussion as a result of the hit. The National Hockey League has suspended Steve Downie indefinatly and he will remain suspended as long as he will not meet the NHL discipline commitee.

If the sequence becomes available, I will post it here later on.

I ignore if there was some bad blood between those two players but I think that Downie should serve as an example and will be suspended for a very long time. Yes, I love physical play but a line has to be drawn. The kind of hit that Downie inflicted to McAmmond has nothing to do with hockey nor physical play. This kind of behaviour is an attack, nothing more.

(Picture: Canadian Press)

Carbonneau cuts 23 players.

The first cut has been performed yesterday with the Montreal Canadiens. Guy Carbonneau has cutted a total of 23 players yesterday.

Among the most surprizing cuts we have Sergei Kostitsyn, Matt D'Agostini and Jonathan Ferland. Those players will have to report to the Hamilton Bulldogs of the AHL.

Kyle Chipchura, Ryan O'Byrne and Carey Price stay with the Habs for now as they avoided the monday cut.

Pre-season: Plekanec shines.

The Montreal Canadiens continued their loaded pre-season schedule yesterday, this time the Boston Bruins were the visitors for this match presented in Halifax. The Habs shooted out of the gates early to finally win the game 4-3.

Tomas Plekanec scored the first 3 goals of the game sending the Habs well ahead. The team then cruised all the way to the win. Sergei Kostitsyn, Kyle Chipchura and Ryan O'Byrne were once again the best players coming from the youth squad. Some of them will manage to pierce the lineup for sure.

Today Guy Carbonneau will perform a cut, sending many players with the Hamilton Bulldogs, the team's farm club. We expect at least 10 or 15 cuts today from head coach Carbonneau.

(Picture: Tomas Plekanec, Canadian Press)

Contest: second period.

Here it is, the second period contest of this blog is officially open. In this contest, your hockey knowledge (or just lady luck) will decide if you win the prize.

All you have to do is tell me: With how many points will Sidney Crosby end the 2007-2008 regular season?

-To enter the contest, all you have to do is click on the comment section below and leave your guess, your full name and email adress.

To help you, my good friend Matthias from FREVDs FOREX BLOG has created a 'Crosby Meter' that will evaluate Sydney's pace game-by-game. The meter is now permanently installed on the top left portion of my blog.

-You have until November 30th to enter your guess.

-If more than a person guess right, the person who entered his answer the earliest will win the first prize. All the others contestants that also entered an accurate answer but entered after the winner will grab a second prize amount.

-If nobody guesses accuratly, the first prize amount will be added to the third period part of the contest prize amount.

-Only one guess/person is allowed and cannot be modified once entered.

The prizes:

1st prize: $25 CAD (PayPal or check)
any other winners will share: $10 CAD (PayPal or check)

GOOD LUCK!

Pre-season: Ottawa beats Montreal.

The pre-season matches continues as yesterday the Habs were facing the Ottawa Senators. The match ended with a 2-1 Ottawa win but the match was evenly played as it could've tip either way.

A good effort was given by the Habs but they just missed their opportunities to score an important goal that would've turned the game around. Once again, Guy Carbonneau was satisfied by his youth department as Matt D'Agostini, Guillaume Latendresse and Kyle Chipchura (who scored the only Montreal goal during the game) played a good match.

Pre-season matches will end next week, the real season will begin very soon.

(Picture: Canadian Press)

Pre-season: D'Agostini steps up.

After being badly dominated two days ago by the New-York Islanders, the Montreal Canadiens managed to defeat their opponents 3-2 in overtime yesterday. The highlight of the night for Carbonneau's team is the performance of the youth department.

Matt D'Agostini scored 2 goals including the game-winner during the overtime period. This was exactly what the head coach was looking for. Guillaume Latendresse scored the other goal for Montreal.

Carey Price who had put a ton of pressure on himself has done well during the whole lenght of the game. He especially did a good job during the second period as Montreal was penalized for 4 minutes in a row. The young goaltender is trying to stay with the club for this season and wasn't allowed to perform poorly yesterday.

Montreal is now 2-2 this far in pre-season, the two wins coming during the overtime period.

LeBron James had a Lasik surgery.

As I am planning undergoing a Lasik surgery as soon as I can afford it, I read today that LeBron James trusted the Lasik technology and successfully recovered from his surgery.

A report about James' decision is available on the USAEyes website.

Does a Lasik surgery should be considered cheating?

I don't think so. I can understand the point of those who can consider undergoing a Lasik surgery cheating. It in fact does enhance the athlete performances. The only nuance that makes me say that this is not cheating is the fact that many athletes goes for a surgery for a physical related problem like for example a knee or an elbow and are not labeled as cheaters. Why such a surgery for the eyes should be treated differently?

Genevieve Jeanson finally confesses.

A long doping saga in the world of cycling has been finally uncovered in part as Genevieve Jeanson admitted that she took EPO as early as 16 years old. she finally decided to say the truth once in front of Alain Gravel, a Radio-Canada journalist who had to travel to Phoenix Arizona a total of 4 times to manage to complete his report and finally have a positive answer to his questions.

The young 25 years-old ex-world champion has finally admitted the truth after denying the facts for years. But the story has a lot more to be discovered. Jeanson answered a barrage of questions in which she uncovered a part of what she went thru. Among those answers she admitted being hit by her coach (and also her ex-husband) Alain Aubut, but also said being still uncomfortable to talk about it.

She also admitted that she took EPO almost all year long since she was 16. She explained how she could pass drug testing by not taking EPO for 6 or 7 days before a scheduled drug test. Her life was also endangered in all of this because the levels of hematocrit contained in her blood went as high as 56%, increasing the capacities but also making the blood thicker, increasing the risks of a cardiovascular accident.

Finally, Jeanson broke in tears as she said that the worse thing she has ever done was lying to those who believed her.

(Picture: Canadian Press)

Pre-season: Habs lose to the Islanders.

Yesterday evening the Habs gave a pityful performance to the hockey fans in Moncton, New-Brunswick as they were playing the New-York Islanders. Once again, Montreal gave the lead to their opponents very early during the first period to finally lose the match 3-1.

Once again Montreal was dominated physically by their opponents. The lack of intensity and physical play showcased during the first three pre-season games is not a very good sign for the upcoming season. The Habs will absolutely have to play like a pack of wolves or their chances to produce a winning season are very slim.

Some help is needed and it is in the hands of General Manager Bob Gainey. He will have to conclude at least two or three trades to transform this lousy team into a winner. Many veteran players like Saku Koivu and Alex Kovalev have to go. Their lack of leadership abilities and lack of intensity have lasted for long enough.

Please Bob, wake up. Your ship is sinking.

Penguins take their revenge.

The second pre-season game between the Montreal Canadiens and the Pittsburgh Penguins was entirely different than the first one. The Penguins avenged their 3-2 overtime loss and dominated to finally win the game by 5-2.

Pittsburgh did not waste any time as they scored their first goal only 32 seconds into the match. The first period ended with a 3-0 Pittsburgh lead. The damage was done and the Penguins cruised to the victory for the rest of the game.

Goaltender Carey Price got his first taste of NHL action as he came in relief of Jaroslav Halak halfway into the game. His performance was at the image of his inexperience. An adaptation period is surely needed for him to get used to the speed and precision of NHL players.

More pre-season games are scheduled this week for Montreal.

(Picture: Getty images)

Kovalev insures Habs win.

The Montreal Canadiens have started their pre-season games on a good note as they defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Bell centre by the score of 3-2 in overtime.

Alex Kovalev was hot yesterday as he participated to every Montreal goals with one goal and two assists. He scored the winning goal himself in overtime on a brillant feed by Mark Streit. Some young players did well during the game as head coach Guy Carbonneau liked what he saw from his youth department.

The two teams will meet again this week, only this time the match is scheduled in Pittsburgh.

(Picture: Alex Kovalev, Andrei Kostitsyn. Getty images)

Pre-season matches begins today.

The Montreal Canadiens training camp continues as tonight the first pre-season game is to be played. Guy Carbonneau and the Habs faces Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Penguins are a good team to evaluate the youth players of the Montreal organization. Pittsburgh is a young team themselves and it will be interesting to see how some of the young Montreal players will perform in front of them.

The focus for Montreal is how will Carey Price, Ryan Auburn, Maxim Lapierre, Jean-Francois Coté and the Kostitsyn brothers will perform as they all are fighting for a spot on the starting roster for this 2007-2008 season.

Perfect weekend for Ferrari.

The Belgium Grand Prix was dominated by Ferrari from start to finish today. Kimi Raikkonen won the race followed by his teammate Felipe Massa.

Combined with the penalty resulting in the removal of all of McLaren's points, Ferrari clinches today the 2007 constructors championship.

In front, nothing spectacular happened this weekend, the real battles were made behind for the last points available. Kovalainen in the last few laps resisted to Robert Kubica who made a good race. Starting from the 14th place, the BMW-Sauber pilot finished under a second of the 8th place Renault of Heikki Kovalainen. The Renault was one of the few cars to go thru the pits only once during the whole race.

Fernando Alonso finished third a few seconds in front of Lewis Hamilton who sees his lead at the drivers championship vanish to only 2 points. The race for the individual title is still in the balance as we speak. Only 3 races are left to decide of a champion.

McLaren's boss, Ron Dennis has also announced that no appeal will be made from the team on the $100 000 000 fine that the team received this week.

Belgium Grand Prix top 10 finish:

Winner: Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari)
2-Felipe Massa (Ferrari) +0:04.620
3-Fernando Alonso (McLaren) +0:14.330
4-Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) +0:23.640
5-Nick Heidfeld (BMW) +0:51.850
6-Nico Rosberg (Williams) +1:16.860
7-Mark Webber (Red Bull) +1:20.670
8-Heikki Kovalainen (Renault) +1:25.180
9-Robert Kubica (BMW) +1:25.690
10-Ralf Schumacher (Toyota) +1:28.500

Drivers championship after 14/17 races:

1-Lewis Hamilton 97 points
2-Fernando Alonso 95 points
3-Kimi Raikkonen 84 points
4-Felipe Massa 77 points
5-Nick Heidfeld 56 points
6-Robert Kubica 33 points
7-Heikki Kovalainen 22 points
8-Giancarlo Fisichella 17 points
9-Nico Rosberg 15 points
10-Alexander Wurz 13 points

Constructors championship:

1-Ferrari 161 points *(2007 champion)
2-BMW-Sauber 90 points
3-Renault 39 points
4-Williams 28 points
5-Red Bull 18 points
6-Toyota 12 points
7-Super Aguri 4 points
8-Honda 2 points

(Picture: F1-live.com)

Ferrari owns the first line at Spa.

Today's qualifying session for the Spa Francorchamps Grand Prix was dominated by Ferrari as Kimi Raikkonen placed his Ferrari in pole position while Felipe Massa registered the second best time of the day. The McLaren cars will start from the second line as Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton placed their cars in 3rd and 4th.

Here are the top 10 times of today's qualifying session:


Pole: Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) 1:45.994
2-Felipe Massa (Ferrari) 1:46.011
3-Fernando Alonso (McLaren) 1:46.091
4-Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) 1:46.406
5-Robert Kubica (BMW) 1:46.996
6-Nico Rosberg (Williams) 1:47.334
7-Nick Heidfeld (BMW) 1:47.409
8-Mark Webber (Red Bull) 1:47.524
9-Jarno Trulli (Toyota) 1:47.798
10-Heikki Kovalainen (Renault) 1:48.505

(Picture: F1-live.com)

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$100 000 000 fine for McLaren.

Yes you read correctly, the number of zeros is accurate, the FIA have fined the McLaren-Mercedes team one hundred millions of dollars for industrial espionnage.

In addition to the huge amount of money, McLaren also loses all their constructors points for the current season. This will automatically give the constructor championship to Ferrari for the current season. The only good news for racing fans is that the McLaren pilots will not lose their points and will be able to continue their battle for the drivers championship.

The amount of the fine is without a doubt the biggest penalty ever given to any sport organization in history. An immunity to Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton was given in exchange of their cooperation with the FIA.

McLaren have been caught in possession of a document containing very important data on the Ferrari cars and the Bridgestone tires. The document was given to a McLaren employee by an ex-Ferrari employee.

This makes me wonder: Where is espionnage involved in all of this? The documents were handed out and not the result of infiltration or spying. Could it be a revenge against Ron Dennis who has developped a love/hate relationship with Bernie Ecclestone and Max Moseley of the FIA?

And what if the roles were reversed: What would be the amount of the fine if Ferrari was caught with documents belonging to McLaren? My guess is that the FIA would not fine Ferrari for a hundred millions dollars.

McLaren-Mercedes have declared that they will contest this decision by any means necessary.

(Picture: Ron Dennis, Getty images)

Bill Belichick and the Pats cheated.

This first week of action in the NFL is over but there was lots to talk about. First Kevin Everett's serious spine injury: The news are very good for him. Everett is said that he moved his lower extremities by himself yesterday and is likely to walk again.

Now another big story went out during the course of the week. The New England Patriots and their head coach Bill Belichick are now facing espionnage charges from the NFL.

The NFL security department have seazed a camera and a tape that was held by an employee as he was filming the New-York Jets' defensive coordinator during the course of the game. A game that the Patriots won 38-14.

A NFL rule stipulates that any kind of espionnage during the course of a game is totally illegal. The NFL commissionner, Roger Goodell, said that severe sanctions will be taken against the Patriots. A huge fine is expected as well as the loss of many draft picks.

I cannot believe that a serious and talented team like the Patriots did in fact cheated. With their impressive lineup, they sure don't need to cheat to win many games this season. So why did a respected coach like Bill Belichick allow this? It really is beyond me. The Pats under Belichick have won the Super Bowl three times in a four year span.

My next question would be: Did the Pats cheated during their three Super Bowl championships? The fact of being caught cheating so early during the season will surely bring the question to many reporters lips. If Belichick can order an employee to spy on his opponents during Week 1 of the season, it is fair to think that he could ask for the same during an important match like the Super Bowl.

(Picture: Bill Belichick, Canadian Press)

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Can Carey Price impress Carbonneau?

Tomorrow, the Montreal Canadiens training camp will open and around 60 players will try to secure a spot for this 2007-2008 season. One of those players should be followed closely during this camp: Carey Price.

The young 20 year old goaltender left a good impression last year as he managed to win the gold medal at the World Junior Hockey Championships early in 2007 then has joined the Hamilton Bulldogs just before the start of the playoffs to eventually lead them all the way to a Calder Cup victory.

The task at hand is not easy for Price. He really has to impress the head coach, Guy Carbonneau to secure a spot on the regular roster this season. He has to convince the coach that he is be better than both Christobal Huet and Jaroslav Halak and that he is ready for NHL action this year.

Guy Carbonneau said that it's all or nothing for Price: He will either be the No1 goalie in Montreal this year or he'll be sent back to Hamilton. There is no intention from the club to keep Price and only play him 20 or 25 games.

The door is open for Carey Price. Is he ready for the task? The training camp will answer this question.

(Picture: Canadian Press)

NFL Week 1: Kevin Everett health update.

This weekend was the beginning of the NFL season and a tragic accident happened during the Denver Broncos vs Buffalo Bills matchup.

Kevin Everett of the Buffalo Bills has been seriously injuried as he was tackling Domenik Hixon during the normal course of the game.

Everett's helmet collided with Hixon's shoulder pads during the 2nd half kickoff. Everett stayed down and was escorted to the hospital where he went thru an important surgery to relieve some pressure on his spinal cord. The surgery was qualified as delicate and very dangerous but was completed successfully.

The doctors qualified Kevin Everett's chances to walk again from slim to none. The doctors want to examinate the 25 year old player for another 48 hours before giving more info.

Our best wishes go with Kevin Everett.

(Picture: Associated Press)

2007 US Open: Federer ties Roy Emerson.

The 2007 US Open tournament ended yesterday with the mens singles final match between Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.

A great match where the young 20-year old Djokovic, participating to his very first Grand Slam final, has wasted nothing less than 7 set points during the first two sets.

Federer closed the deal during the first two sets tiebreakers after Djokovic let slip too many set points. Roger has won the match in three sets of 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-2) and 6-4. He wins a 12th Grand Slam title in career, tying the great Roy Emerson in second place of all-time, only 2 away from Pete Sampras' record of 14 slams.

This 2007 summer was a breakout season for Djokovic, he pulled himself all the way up to the 3rd rank of the ATP tour, has won the Masters tournament of Montreal and appeared in his first Grand Slam final. A great summer all in all.

Federer in his post-match comments said that he expects many more hard fought battles with Novak in the coming years...a sweet compliment towards his opponent.

Congratulations once again Roger.

(Picture: Canadian Press)

McLaren untouchable in Italy.

The 13th race of the 2007 F1 championship has just ended and the news for Ferrari and their fans are not good.

McLaren-Mercedes totally dominated the Italian Grand Prix today taking the first two steps of the podium. Fernando Alonso has won the race in front of Lewis Hamilton, reducing the rookie's lead in the drivers championship to only 3 points.

Kimi Raikkonen of Ferrari managed to finish on the podium in third place as Felipe Massa was forced to retire. A big blow to Ferrari's hopes in both the drivers and constructors championships.

The only real question mark with only 4 races to go to the season is the identity of the 2007 individual champion. Will it be the defending champion Fernando Alonso or will it be his rookie teammate Lewis Hamilton? There are still four races to declare a champion.

Next stop: The Belgium Grand Prix next weekend.

Monza Grand Prix top 10 finish:

Winner: Fernando Alonso (McLaren)
2-Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) + 0:06.062
3-Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) + 0:27.325
4-Nick Heidfeld (Sauber-BMW) +0:56.562
5-Robert Kubica (Sauber-BMW) +1:00.558
6-Nico Rosberg (Williams) + 1:05.810
7-Heikki Kovalainen (Renault) + 1:06.751
8-Jenson Button (Honda) + 1:12.168
9-Mark Webber (Red Bull) + 1:15.879
10-Rubens Barrichello (Honda) +1:16.958

Drivers championship after 13/17 races:

1-Lewis Hamilton 92 points
2-Fernando Alonso 89 points
3-Kimi Raikkonen 74 points
4-Felipe Massa 69 points
5-Nick Heidfeld 52 points
6-Robert Kubica 33 points
7-Heikki Kovalainen 21 points
8-Giancarlo Fisichella 17 points
9-Alexander Wurz 13 points
10-Nico Rosberg 12 points

Constructors championship:

1-McLaren-Mercedes 166 points
2-Ferrari 143 points
3-Sauber-BMW 86 points
4-Renault 38 points
5-Williams 25 points
6-Red Bull 16 points
7-Toyota 12 points
8-Super Aguri 4 points
9-Honda 2 points

(Picture: F1-live.com)

Henin wins the 2007 US Open.

Justine Henin prooved once again that she is the number one player in the world by defeating Svetlana Kuznetsova at the finals of the US Open yesterday. A victory in two straight sets of 6-1 and 6-3.

Henin broke Kuznetsova's serve during the first game of the match, giving the pace right away. She then never slowed the pace and never looked behind to win her 2nd US Open title and 7th Grand Slam title in career.

Today, the mens finals will take place as Roger Federer (1) and Novak Djokovic (3) will battle in the last match of this 2007 US Open.

(Picture: Canadian Press)

US Open: conclusion this weekend.

The 2007 US Open tournament comes to a conclusion this weekend with the presentation of the mens singles semifinal matches today along with the womens singles final.

Justine Henin (1), after eliminating both of the Williams sisters this week, will face Svetlana Kuznetsova (4) this afternoon for the 2007 US Open grand slam title.

On the mens side, the semifinal matches presented today will oppose Roger Federer (1) to Nikolay Davydenko (4) then Novak Djokovic (3) and David Ferrer (15) will go at it.

Head and shoulders ahead.

This morning was the presentation of the Monza, Italy Grand Prix qualifying session. Both McLaren cars looked untouchable for their opponents as they took the first two spots on the starting grid by a fair margin.

Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton will most likely be in front tomorrow. They will be able to continue their battle for the drivers championship. The gap between the two drivers has been reduced to only 5 points after the Turkey Grand Prix.

Only Felipe Massa in his Ferrari managed to stay within one second of the McLaren times registered this morning. Will tomorrow's race be an outrageous McLaren domination on Ferrari's playground?

Here are the top 10 times registered today at Monza:

Pole: Fernando Alonso (McLaren) 1:21.997
2- Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) 1:22.034
3- Felipe Massa (Ferrari) 1:22.549
4- Nick Heidfeld (BMW) 1:23.174
5- Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) 1:23.183
6- Robert Kubica (BMW) 1:23.446
7- Heikki Kovalainen (Renault) 1:24.102
8- Nico Rosberg (Williams) 1:24.382
9- Jarno Trulli (Toyota) 1:24.555
10-Jenson Button (Honda) 1:25.165

NFL season opener: Colts all the way.

Yesterday evening was the official kickoff of a brand new NFL football season. The last Super Bowl champs, the Indianapolis Colts met the New-Orleans Saints. The Colts easily won the season opener by a final score of 41-10.

Peyton Manning and the Colts turned the game to their favor during the second half as they managed to score 24 unanswered points. Colts' quarterback Peyton Manning finished the game with a respectable 288 passing yards along with 3 touchdown passes.

The remaining games of this week's NFL schedule will be played sunday and monday night.

Strap your helmets tight because NFL action is finally back on our screens. Can the Colts successfully defend their Super Bowl championship? We will have an answer at the end of next January. There are 31 other teams that will try to deny them from winning a second Super Bowl in a row.

Happy football season everyone.

Habs to honor Robinson and Gainey.

The Montreal Canadiens organization has revealed yesterday the identity of the two players who will see their number retired and elevated to the roof of the Bell centre this winter. An ultimate honor that is well deserved for those two ex-players.

The number 19 of the legendary defensemen Larry Robinson will be retired in a pre-game ceremony on November 19th 2007. Selected by Montreal in 1971, Robinson played 17 seasons with the Habs collecting 2 Norris trophies, 1 Conn Smythe trophy and 6 Stanley cups during his career. In 1384 NHL games, Robinson totals 208 goals and 750 assists.

As for the number 23 of Bob Gainey, his jersey retirement is scheduled for February 23rd. Montreal's 1973 first round pick played 16 seasons, a total of 1160 games played. Gainey's offensive output was not his primary focus as his 239 goals and 263 assists are showing. Gainey's playing style inspired the NHL to create the Frank Selke trophy. A trophy that Gainey won the first 4 years of it's existence. He also won the Conn Smythe trophy in 1979. Only Jean Beliveau was captain of the Montreal Canadiens for a longer period of time than Bob Gainey during the entire Habs history.

A honor well deserved for those two ex-players.

US Open: Exit Nadal.

The second player in the world, Rafael Nadal didn't look at his best yesterday as he was defeated in four sets by David Ferrer (15). The final score: 6-7 (3-7), 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) and 6-2. A match that ended in the wee hours of the night. So Ferrer surprizingly qualifies himself for the quarterfinals with this upset victory.

In another very disputed match yesterday, Novak Djokovic (3) also qualfied himself for the quarterfinals as he defeated Juan Monaco (23) by 7-5, 7-6 (7-2), 6-7 (6-8) and 6-1.

Other matches:

(Mens singles)

Carlos Moya (17) def. Ernests Gulis by 7-5, 6-2, 6-7 (5-7) and 6-4.
Juan Ignacio Chela (20) def. Stanislas Wawrinka by 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (8-6), 1-6 and 6-4.

(Womens singles)

Justine Henin (1) def. Serena Williams (8) by 7-6 (7-3) and 6-1.

(Picture: Novak Djokovic, Getty images)

And 3000 for Pedro!

Pedro Martinez of the New-York Mets has registered the 3000th strikeout of his illustrious career. He becomes only the 15th MLB pitcher to get to this impressive plateau.

During his career, Pedro Martinez played for the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Montreal Expos, the Boston Red Sox and the New-York Mets.

Aaron Harang of the Cincinnati Reds was Pedro's 3000th victim.

Here is the 3000+ career strikeouts select club:

5714- Nolan Ryan
4666- Roger Clemens*
4616- Randy Johnson*
4136- Steve Carlton
3701- Bert Blyleven
3640- Tom Seaver
3574- Don Sutton
3534- Gaylord Perry
3509- Walter Johnson
3342- Phil Niekro
3258- Greg Maddux*
3192- Fergusson Jenkins
3117- Bob Gibson
3101- Curt Schilling*
3002- Pedro Martinez*

* = active player

(Picture: Pedro Martinez, Getty images)

US Open: a Roddick-Federer encounter in quarters.

The quarterfinalists of the 2007 US Open are now known and an interesting clash is scheduled in one of the quarterfinals. Andy Roddick and Roger Federer will battle for a place in the semifinals.

Yesterday, the most spectacular match was played by James Blake and Tommy Haas. A long five set battle that Haas managed to turn to his advantage after losing two sets to one. Haas qualified himself for the quarterfinals by 4-6, 6-4, 3-6, 6-0 and 7-6 (7-4). A spectacular match that lasted over 3 hours and that really pleased the crowd. The final set was intense, the playing quality was there and some shots were simply spectacular.

Here are today's most interesting matchups:

(Womens singles quarterfinals)

Justine Henin (1) vs Serena Williams (8)

(Mens singles 4th round)

Rafael Nadal (2) vs David Ferrer (15)

Justine, Venus, Serena and Rafa are thru.

The second week of the 2007 US Open is beginning today as yesterday many of the favorites insured their place into this decisive week.

(Womens singles)

Justine Henin (1) defeated Dinara Safina (15) 6-0 and 6-2.
Serena williams (8) def. Marion Bartoli (10) 6-3 and 6-4.
Venus Williams (12) def. Ana Ivanovic (5) 6-4 and 6-2.
Jelena Jankovic (3) def. Sybille Bammer (19) 6-4, 4-6 and 6-1.

(Mens singles)

Novak Djokovic (3) def. Juan Martin Del Potro 6-1, 6-3, and 6-4.
Rafael Nadal (2) defeated Jo-wilfried Tsonga 7-6 (7-3), 6-2 and 6-1.
Stanislas Wawrinka def. Robby Ginepri 5-7, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 and 6-3.

The tournament continues today with the presentation of the 4th round matches. Here are two interesting matches to look out.

Andy Roddick (5) vs Tomas Berdych (9)
James Blake (6) vs Tommy Haas (10)

(Picture: Rafael Nadal, Canadian Press)

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