Singapore Grand Prix: Ferrari hosed down.

Two separate incidents changed the face of the Singapore Grand Prix today. Fernando Alonso who took the start from the 15th position was on a single stop strategy and the combination of the incidents and his strategy paid off for him.

Nelson Piquet Jr sent his Renault into a wall in the early stages of the race which forced the race officials to send the pace car. While the rest of the pack was still forming, Nico Rosberg and Robert Kubica were forced to stop to get fuel while the pit lane was still closed. Both pilots were penalized with a stop and go.

From the pole position, Felipe Massa was still leading when came the time to enter the pits. A major mistake from Ferrari sent Massa away while the fuel hose was still attached to the car. Massa ripped the hose from the tank and dragged it into the pit lane. The crew members were forced to run the entire lenght of the pit lane to get the hose off Massa's car. A major mistake that will impact his drivers championship race with Lewis Hamilton.

Hamilton led a quiet race and increased his lead to 7 points over Felipe Massa with his third place finish. With three races to go, the margin of error for Felipe Massa is virtually inexistant.

With ten laps to go, the safety car was brought out again and grouped the field for an exciting finish. Fernando Alonso kept his advantage and gave to Renault a much needed victory. Nico Rosberg finished in second place despite a penalty, bringing back Williams to the front of the pack for once.

Kimi Raikkonen completely destroyed Ferrari's weekend with four laps to go when he lost control of his car and hitted the wall. A pole and a third place on the grid for the Scuderia ended with zero points at the end of the day. The team also loses it's edge over McLaren who takes the lead of the constructors championship.

Singapore Grand Prix top ten finish:

Winner: Fernando Alonso (Renault)
2-Nico Rosberg (Williams)
3-Lewis Hamilton (McLaren)
4-Timo Glock (Toyota)
5-Sebastian Vettel (Toro Rosso)
6-Nick Heidfeld (BMW-Sauber)
7-David Coulthard (Red Bull)
8-Kazuki Nakajima (Williams)
9-Jenson Button (Honda)
10-Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren)

Drivers championship after 15/18 races:

1-Lewis Hamilton 84 points
2-Felipe Massa 77 points
3-Robert Kubica 64 points
4-Kimi Raikkonen 57 points
5-Nick Heidfeld 56 points
6-Heikki Kovalainen 51 points
7-Fernando Alonso 38 points
8-Sebastian Vettel 27 points
9-Jarno Trulli 26 points
10-Mark Webber 20 points
11-Timo Glock 20 points
12-Nico Rosberg 17 points
13-Nelson Piquet Jr 13 points
14-Rubens Barrichello 11 points
15-Kazuki Nakajima 9 points
16-David Coulthard 8 points
17-Sebastien Bourdais 4 points
18-Jenson Button 3 points

Constructors championship:

1-McLaren 135 points
2-Ferrari 134 points
3-BMW-Sauber 117 points
4-Renault 51 points
5-Toyota 46 points
6-Toro Rosso 31 points
7-Red Bull 26 points
8-Williams 25 points
9-Honda 14 points

(Picture: Fernando Alonso, Getty Images.)

Singapore Grand Prix: Historic and spectacular.

Bernie Ecclestone isn't one of my all-time favorite person. The way he rules his Formula One circus can be debated on many fronts.

But I have to admit today after watching the qualifying session that his daring idea of running a race under the spotlights during the night will be a total success once the weekend is over.

The images coming from Singapore are simply spectacular and memorable. The lighting for the pilots is safe and adequate and is giving the fans something to cheer about. The city's infrastructure around the circuit is giving us some great pictures.

The stands all around the circuit were filled to capacity for this qualifying session and a record television attendance is expected. The success of the event is undeniable. The experience will be repeated for next season.

As for the qualifying session itself, Felipe Massa was once again the fastest of the group. His Ferrari was just over a half a second faster than Lewis Hamilton's McLaren. Hamilton almost missed Q3 when he was relegated to the 10th position during the second portion of the qualifying session.

Kimi Raikkonen stayed under the radar but managed to qualify in third place while the previous race winner, Sebastian Vettel, once again placed his Toro Rosso in the top ten. Speaking of underdogs, I have to mention that both Williams driven by Nico Rosberg and Kazuki Nakajima both managed to qualify into the top ten.

I cannot wait for the start of the race. It should give a great spectacle to the Formula One fans.

Singapore Grand Prix top ten on the grid:

Pole: Felipe Massa (Ferrari) 1:44.801
2-Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) 1:45.465
3-Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) 1:45.617
4-Robert Kubica (BMW-Sauber) 1:45.779
5-Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren) 1:45.873
6-Nick Heidfeld (BMW-Sauber) 1:45.964
7-Sebastian Vettel (Toro Rosso) 1:46.244
8-Timo Glock (Toyota) 1:46.328
9-Nico Rosberg (Williams) 1:46.611
10-Kazuki Nakajima (Williams) 1:47.547

(Picture: Felipe Massa, Bridgestone.)

Montreal holds FC Atlante in check.

The second match of the group phase of the CONCACAF Champions League for the Montreal Impact was presented at the Saputo stadium yesterday. The FC Atlante from Mexico were the visitors.

The weather was surprizingly warm for this time of the year and the stadium was almost to it's capacity as 12 187 fans were gathered for this match.

After a slow start, the Montreal Impact took control of the match and had a few glorious chances to score. FC Atlante's goaltender, Federico Villar, kept his team in the game on a few occasions with spectacular saves to keep the game scoreless.

When the final whistle blew, the score was still tied at 0-0 and both teams gathered a point in the standings. Both teams are tied in first place of Group C and both teams have a record of a win and a tie after two games.

The next match for the Montreal Impact in this Champions League will take place Honduras as the CD Olimpio will host the Montreal squad.

(Picture: The Montreal Impact.)

A comeback for Claude Lemieux?

A very surprising news came out today. At 43-years old and over five years after his last game played in career during the 2002-2003 season, Claude Lemieux announced that he wishes to play again in the NHL.

Lemieux's passion for the game is the only explanation for his return. He wishes to represent himself, is not looking for a multi-million dollar deal and is ready to go through the AHL before making it back into the NHL.

''Pepe'' has won the Stanley Cup four times with three different clubs in his career including the Montreal Canadiens, the New-Jersey Devils and the Colorado Avalanche. He is remembered as a gritty player who isn't afraid of anyone. Lemieux was a pest for his opponents and was loved by his teammates.

In 1986, Lemieux scored the biggest goal of his career during game five of the first round series between the Montreal Canadiens and the Hartford Whalers. The goal is still fresh in my memory as I was a young hockey player myself and had yet to experience a Stanley Cup run from my favorite team.

Claude Lemieux played his last NHL game as a member of the Dallas Stars in 2002-2003.

(Picture: Claude Lemieux, RDS.)

NFL Week 3: Dolphins deflates the Patriots.

The New-England Patriots' consecutive regular season winning streak was stopped at 21 this afternoon as the Miami Dolphins completely dominated the matchup to win by the score of 38-13.

Miami's runing back Ronnie Brown had a phenomenal game. He participated to every Dolphins touchdown, rushing for 113 yards and four touchdowns and added a touchdown pass to his already very productive day on a tricked pass play. The Dolphins' head coach exploited Brown all game long as he received a total of three snaps in this game.

Brown's four touchdowns broke the Dolphins record for most touchdowns in a game, previously held by Paul Warfield since 1973.

Incidently, bofore today's game, the last regular season loss for the Patriots was against those same Miami Dolphins late into the 2006 season.

(Picture: Ronnie Brown, Getty Images.)

Montreal defeats Joe Public FC 2-0.

The group phase of the CONCACAF Champions League begun for the Montreal Impact yesterday with a 2-0 victory over Joe Public FC from Trinidad & Tobago.

Stefano Pesoli opened the score early into the first quarter on a well played corner while the timely saves of goaltender Matt Jordan kept his team ahead. Tony Donatelli doubled the score at the second minute of the second half.

The Saputo Stadium was almost half empty for this important match in the history of the club. The breeze kept some people at home as summer is now over in Canada. Some players from Trinidad & Tobago suffered the discomfort of playing with a mercury below the 10 degrees celsius mark.

Montreal, now at 1-0 (+2) in his group, will host FC Atlante from Mexico on September 24th.

(Picture: Stefano Pesoli, Canadian Press.)

Italian Grand Prix: A superstar is born.

Under rainy conditions this weekend, the Italian Grand Prix was the theatre of the first career Formula One victory of Sebastian Vettel.

After setting a new record yesterday as being the youngest driver in F1 history to start from the pole position, the German pilot brought his Toro Rosso in first place today. At twenty years old, Vettel sets another F1 record as being the youngest driver to win a Formula One Grand Prix.

Fernando Alonso was holding the record of being youngest pilot to register a victory before today's race. The amazing fact about Vettel's win is that it was accomplished with a very ordinary race car. At the same time, the Toro Rosso team also gets it's first taste at victory.

Heikki Kovalainen and Robert Kubica completed today's podium. Kubica's performance is also worth of mention as he took the start from the 11th place. A perfect pit stop strategy allowed Kubica to wear the right type of tires at the right time.

As for the points leaders, they had to race for the last available points. Felipe Massa finished in sixth place while Lewis Hamilton settled for a seventh position. Hamilton's lead over Massa for the drivers championship now consists in a single point. McLaren appealed of last week's penalty on Lewis Hamilton and their case will be heard on September 22nd. A definitive decision will be taken the very next day.

But today's race and focus belongs to Sebastian Vettel. A very promising future is ahead of him. A new superstar is born!

Italian Grand Prix top ten finish:

Winner: Sebastian Vettel (Toro Rosso)
2-Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren) +12.5 seconds
3-Robert Kubica (BMW-Sauber) +20.4 seconds
4-Fernando Alonso (Renault) +23.9 seconds
5-Nick Heidfeld (BMW-Sauber) +27.7 seconds
6-Felipe Massa (Ferrari) +28.8 seconds
7-Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) +29.9 seconds
8-Mark Webber (Red Bull) +32.0 seconds
9-Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) +39.4 seconds
10-Nelson Piquet Jr (Renault) +54.4 seconds

Drivers championship after 14/18 races:

1-Lewis Hamilton 78 points
2-Felipe Massa 77 points
3-Robert Kubica 64 points
4-Kimi Raikkonen 57 points
5-Nick Heidfeld 53 points
6-Heikki Kovalainen 51 points
7-Fernando Alonso 28 points
8-Jarno Trulli 26 points
9-Sebastian Vettel 23 points
10-Mark Vebber 20 points
11-Timo Glock 15 points
12-Nelson Piquet Jr 13 points
13-Rubens Barrichello 11 points
14-Nico Rosberg 9 points
15-Kazuki Nakajima 8 points
16-David Coulthard 6 points
17-Sebastien Bourdais 4 points
18-Jenson Button 3 points

Constructors championship:

1-Ferrari 134 points
2-McLaren 129 points
3-BMW-Sauber 117 points
4-Toyota 41 points
5-Renault 41 points
6-Toro Rosso 27 points
7-Red Bull 26 points
8-Williams 17 points
9-Honda 14 points

(Picture: Sebastian Vettel, Getty Images.)

Patrick Roy's number to be retired this year.

At a press conference scheduled yesterday at the Bell centre, the Montreal Canadiens announced that the number 33 worn by the legendary goaltender Patrick Roy will be retired.

Before a match with the Boston Bruins on Saturday November 22nd, the hall of famer will see his famous number 33 join the other retired numbers of legends like Maurice Richard, Howie Morenz and Jean Beliveau.

The team owner, George Gillett, and the team president, Pierre Boivin, said that they were thrilled to bring back Patrick in the great family of the Montreal Canadiens. The team's rich history over the last hundred years was marked by the passage of Patrick Roy.

The team's last two Stanley Cups in 1986 and 1993 were in a large part due to the exceptional talent of Roy in net. Patrick was able to win a hockey game by himself. Roy holds or shares at least 20 team records and as many league records.

To this date, Patrick Roy is also the goaltender with the most wins in career. His record of ten consecutive overtime wins during the 1993 playoffs will should not be ever broken.

After being traded to the Colorado Avalanche in 1995, Patrick Roy added two Stanley Cup championships to his record and saw his number retired by the Avalanche a few years ago.

When asked about his thoughts on this upcoming ceremony, Roy said that it has a special meaning for him.

''This is where it all began. I am proud of my ten years in Montreal. It is where I learned to be a winner.'' Roy also thanked Serge Savard, the club's ex-General Manager for giving him his first chance in the NHL.

The ceremony promises to be very emotional and the crowd gathered at the Bell centre on November 22nd are in for an historical night. I will not miss this ceremony for any reason.

A new fight for Eric Lucas.

The former WBC champion Eric Lucas intended to come out of retirement and was training seriously since the month of June for a fight in next December or January.

But his plans of coming back to the competition have been seriously jeopardized this week. His four year old daughter Melodie was sick and had a strong case of persistent fever. The Lucas family decided to go on and see a doctor hoping for a minor diagnosis.

The news that came out of the examination of Melodie Lucas this week was everything but minor. The young girl was diagnosed this week with a rare form of cancer. A tumor around her kidneys was found by the doctor.

Eric Lucas' plans of coming out of retirement are now seriously compromised. At this very moment, there is no official decision as of the continuation of his boxing career. A new kind of fight has now been scheduled for the former champion and his family.

I sincerely wish the best for Melodie Lucas and her parents, Eric Lucas and Marie-Claude Descoteaux. My prayers for a speedy recovery are going to the young girl. May the family find the strenght and courage to go through these dark times.

(Picture: Eric Lucas.)

U.S.Open: Federer keeps his crown.

Roger Federer successfully defended his title at the 2008 U.S. Open once again as he defeated Andy Murray in three consecutive sets of 6-2, 7-5 and 6-2.

This is the 13th Grand Slam title in the great career of Federer, only one away from the record of the great Pete Sampras. Roger has won the title five times at Flushing Meadows. He also became the first player to win Wimbledon and the U.S. Open five times in a row.

With this victory, Federer brings a bit of joy in a very difficult season for him. Rafael Nadal gave him a hard time this season by defeating him at Wimbledon, by winning the gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and after taking his No 1 spot on the ATP tour.

(Picture: Roger Federer, Getty Images.)

U.S. Open: Serena wins for a third time.

The bad weather forced the tournament directors to push the womens final between Serena Williams and Jelena Jankovic to sunday.

Serena defeated Jankovic in two sets of 6-4 and 7-5 to capture her third U.S. Open title in career. This year's victory at Flushing Meadows also allows her to grab the No 1 WTA rank. This is her second reign over the tennis world. In 2003, Serena was also sitting on top of women's tennis world.

As for the U.S. Open itself, Serena has won the tournament in 1999, 2002 and now the 2008 edition.

The mens final, again because of the weather, has been pushed back and will be disputed today.

Yesterday for the second semifinal, Andy Murray disposed of Rafael Nadal in four sets. Roger Federer will face Andy Murray for the last Grand Slam title of 2008.

(Picture: Serena Williams, Getty Images.)

Belgium Grand Prix: Spectacular until the end.

The rain appeared during the final two laps of the race and gave the fans the most exciting finish of the season today at the Belgium Grand Prix.

Lewis Hamilton had a lot of ground to make up on Kimi Raikkonen after his second and final pit stop. Raikkonen was in control and looked like he was untouchable. But the British driver worked hard and managed to close the gap with the Ferrari driver with only a handful of laps to go.

The rain appeared during the last couple of laps and complicated the task for the drivers on the track. The conditions deteriorated quickly and the cars who were still on slick tires at that point were slipping all over the place.

The battle between Raikkonen and Hamilton during the final laps was epic. Both cars exchanged the lead twice due to the slippery conditions as both of them slipped and spun virtually at every corner. Kimi Raikkonen finally made a fatal mistake and spun his Ferrari into the wall during the final lap of the race, handing out the victory to Hamilton. This is the fifth victory for Hamilton this season. Felipe Massa also kept his slick tires and finished in second place.

The situation was identical for the rest of the field as many position changes occurred during this portion of the race. Nick Heidfeld went into the pits to change to rain tires as soon as the rain broke out. The decision was very good for him as he passed many cars during the final lap to take the third position at the finish line. This is the first podium for Heidfeld since the British Grand Prix.

Fernando Alonso also chose the rain tires for his Renault and took the fourth place. The story was different for Sebastien Bourdais who was running in third place just before the finish. His Toro Rosso slipped all over the circuit as he lost four positions to finish in seventh place.

The second place of Massa is important as it allows him to keep Lewis Hamilton at a reasonnable distance ahead. Hamilton's lead over Massa has increased to eight points.

Belgium Grand Prix top ten finish:

Winner: Lewis Hamilton (McLaren)
2-Felipe Massa (Ferrari) +14.3 seconds
3-Nick Heidfeld (BMW-Sauber) +23.8 seconds
4-Fernando Alonso (Renault) +28.9 seconds
5-Sebastian Vettel (Toro Rosso) +29.0 seconds
6-Robert Kubica (BMW-Sauber) +29.4 seconds
7-Sebastien Bourdais (Toro Rosso) +31.1 seconds
8-Timo Glock (Toyota) +56.5 seconds
9-Mark Webber (Red Bull) +57.2 seconds
10-Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren) +1 lap

**UPDATE** The FIA has penalized Lewis Hamilton of 25 seconds for cutting thru a turn while battling with Kimi Raikkonen. This penalty sends Hamilton to the 3rd place and his lead over Felipe Massa has been cutted to 2 points.

Drivers championship after 13/18 races:

1-Lewis Hamilton 76 points
2-Felipe Massa 74 points
3-Robert Kubica 58 points
4-Kimi Raikkonen 57 points
5-Nick Heidfeld 49 points
6-Heikki Kovalainen 43 points
7-Jarno Trulli 26 points
8-Fernando Alonso 23 points
9-Mark Webber 18 points
10-Timo Glock 16 points
11-Nelson Piquet Jr 13 points
12-Sebastian Vettel 13 points
13-Rubens Barrichello 11 points
14-Nico Rosberg 9 points
15-Kazuki Nakajima 8 points
16-David Coulthard 6 points
17-Sebastien Bourdais 4 points
18-Jenson Button 3 points

Constructors championship:

1-Ferrari 131 points
2-McLaren 119 points
3-BMW-Sauber 105 points
4-Toyota 42 points
5-Renault 36 points
6-Red Bull 24 points
7-Williams 17 points
8-Toro Rosso 17 points
9-Honda 14 points

(Picture: Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa, Getty Images.)

Belgium Grand Prix: The points leader on pole.

The Belgium Grand Prix will be run tomorrow and the points leader, Lewis Hamilton, will start from the pole position on board of his McLaren-Mercedes.

His closest opponent in the points race, Felipe Massa, will start from the second place. The Ferrari driven by Massa is one third of a second behind Hamilton. As for the second row, McLaren and Ferrari are there once again. Heikki Kovalainen edged the defending champion, Kimi Raikkonen by less than two tenths of a second.

We have a BMW-Sauber in fifth place but this time it was not Robert Kubica's car. Nick Heidfeld was faster than Kubica this time. Kubica only managed to place in eight place on the starting grid. As for the rest of the top ten, we can mention that both Toro Rosso cars managed to place in the top ten.

Belgium Grand Prix top ten on the grid:

Pole: Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) 1:47.338
2-Felipe Massa (Ferrari) 1:47.678
3-Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren) 1:47.815
4-Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) 1:47.992
5-Nick Heidfeld (BMW-Sauber) 1:48.315
6-Fernando Alonso (Renault) 1:48.504
7-Mark Webber (Red Bull) 1:48.736
8-Robert Kubica (BMW-Sauber) 1:48.763
9-Sebastien Bourdais (Toro Rosso) 1:48.951
10-Sebastian Vettel (Toro Rosso) 1:50.319

(Picture: Lewis Hamilton, Bridgestone.)

Qualified for the group phase.

The Montreal Impact has tied the second leg of their series with the Real Esteri FC yesterday. A 0-0 tie game in Honduras that allowed the Impact to win the aggregate score by 1-0.

The team is now qualified for the group phase of the CONCACAF champions league. Montreal will be a part of Group C along with clubs from Mexico, the Honduras and Trinidad & Tobago. The first mactch of this group phase for Montreal will be played at the Saputo stadium on September 17th. Each teams will play each other twice during this group phase.

The organization is delighted to be a part of this first edition of the CONCACAF champions league. The fans are also excited to see their club qualified for such an important tournament. This is without a doubt a highlight in the club's history.

The Saputo stadium will be filled to capacity on September 17th and the fans support will be an important part for the opening match of the group phase. A victory in this opening match will open the possibilities of going further into the competition.

(Picture: Felix Brillant and Pato Aguilera.)

Wanted: Football Superstars!

Is there any hardcore football fans around here?

We are looking for new football superstars for this massively multiplayer online game that is now open for registration.

So if you think you know all about the great sport of football and want to measure up with the best, then register to Football Superstars today. A brand new season is about to begin and it's your chance to register to this great new online game.

So what is Football Superstars? It's an online virtual world, designed by football fans and for football fans in which the players will be even able to re-create themselves online as a virtual footballer.

The new ''sport MMOG'' (massively multiplayer online game) category is evolving rapidly and this title is probably a pioneer in the genre.


With the possibility for the players to add themselves directly into the game, the power of attraction and addictiveness is higher than ever. It is a brand new way for ''sport gamers'' to enjoy their favorite sport. The graphics look to be of great quality, the many screenshots available on the website will proove it to you.

Don't delay, we are only a few days away from the official launch date! So get yourself registered to Football Superstars at www.footballsuperstars.com today and good luck to you all!

May the best player win, may the brightest stars shine!