racingmeridian.com

It was an amazing night. The tension at The Rail was palpable as the Canada - Russia game got underway. It was a noisy, raucous crowd with the event bolstered by the peculiarities of the attending throng. Ginner had discovered his inner communist and was cheering for Team Ovechkin - he was banished to a solitary table we dubbed “Russia Island”. I still swear Goose passed out halfway through the first period, but she was invigorated when presented with yet another birthday cake. As for Hat Head, well, she simply vanished. Hat Head, you see, is not good at making friends.

ICE…Canadian goalie Roberto Luongo was sublime in the first period last night, flaunting rebound control that was immaculate. On numerous occasions Bobby L smothered a wicked shot with Russian snipers perched on his doorstep. The decision to move from Martin Brodeur, a living legend, was painful but also correct. In the simplest terms, Luongo is currently the better goaltender…Canada simply soars when Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry are on their game. The pair had worked so hard through the qualifying games but couldn’t catch a break. That changed last night as the pair hit their stride and picked up a total of five points…Brendan Morrows goal, Canada’s fourth and the game winner, was a classic. In contrast to all the brilliance and creativity of the team’s offence, Morrow simply bulled his way to the net and rammed the puck home. It was a backbreaker for Evengi Nabokov and he should have been replaced at that point. Ilya Bryzgalov appears to have achieved pre-eminence in the Russian goal…despite the score, three Russian players were actually on the Plus side of the ledger; Maxim Afinogenov, Pavel Datsyuk and Ilya Kovalchuk…it was the rarest of all hockey occurrences; a poor game by Alex Ovechkin. Alex The Great was the recipient of a nice shot by Drew Doughty and found himself checked and banged throughout the game…a ten goal game and no points from Ovechkin or the world’s greatest player, Sidney Crosby?…Swede Henrik Lundqvist had gone six periods without giving up a goal. He turned into a pumpkin yesterday against Slovakia, allowing four goals on fourteen shots as the defending champs were unceremoniously dumped from the tournament by Slovakia…many observers have Jaroslav Halak pegged as the best netminder of the games thus far. Canada must approach the red hot netminder with caution. The game against Slovakia is far from a walkover…the Toronto Maple Leafs play the Carolina Hurricanes next Tuesday night. Just so you know ie savour the Olympic Games, they’re almost over…

GRID IRON…the NFL is reportedly in talks with the players union concerning plans to commence testing for Human Growth Hormones (HGH). You’ve got to be kidding. Even the most casual observer of the sport would conclude that the modern professional football player is on something other than apple juice and cranberries. A serious, far reaching program of testing would likely leave the NFL without a vital component of their game; players…the Chicago Bears are the latest team to show interest in Julius Peppers.  The under achieving Bears could be in a good position for a bounce-back with the return of Brain Urlacher and a major addition…both LaDainian Tomlinson and Brian Westbrook are putting on brave faces and professing an eagerness to continue their careers…

PONIES..while the rest of the sporting world may be oblivious to the impending Rachel Alexandra - Zenyatta showdown, the racing press is providing gloriously comprehensive coverage of the preparation. It’s a delight for serious punters. Rachel worked six furlongs in 1.14 yesterday, galloping out seven furlongs in 1.27. She is progressing nicely and looks on course for her March 13^th four year old debut. The Blood Horse mentions she turned right, instead of her usual left, when she entered the track at 6.15am yesterday. Just so you know! The attention to detail is amazing but also beneficial in providing an understanding how an animal is prepared for a peak performance. Trainer Steve Asmussen has yet to ask Rachel for a burst of her brilliant speed, but a work of that nature is coming only after he feels she is sufficiently legged up…I don’t think I’ve ever missed a horse the way I’m pining for Sea The Stars. The colt is off to the stud barn instead of preparing for a four year old campaign, and that’s a shame. The brilliant runner galvanized public attention while collecting an unprecedented variety of Grade 1 races last year. Like Secretariat before him, we’ll never know what heights could have been reached if the colt had been allowed to mature on the racetrack…

PUG LIFE…the proposed Vitali Klitschko - Nikolai Valuev fight is off. Outside of their immediate families I can’t imagine anyone gives a damn. Klitschko will apparently look into booking the obese Oleander Solis as his next opponent…the upcoming Vladimir Klitschko - Eddie Chambers fight will be the first in memory not available on any American network. There simply isn’t the interest. This is a watershed moment for a division in ceaseless and morose decline. Dan Rafael reports the bout will be available over the internet for about fifteen bucks. In an interesting survey of technologies available for the broadcast of the fight, I felt Rafael missed a salient point; the fight will be on You Tube within hours, at the most, of its conclusion, or available on Justin TV. People are refusing to dish out for these mediocre fights…when Rafael reports he is looking forward to the Tomasz Adamek - Chris Arreola fight in April, and describes it as “highly anticipated”, I just feel bewildered. If Adamek and Arreola brawled in a bar people would be outraged at a ‘roid junkie pounding out a fat boy…

MACABRE…trainer Dawn Brancheau was killed by a 12,000 pound whale named Tilikum (”welcome” or “friend” in Chinook jargon) at Sea World in Orlando yesterday. Tourists were partaking in the “Dine with Shamu” show when the whale snatched the woman in his jaws and dragged her underwater. The whale then proceeded to leap into the air with the woman’s bloodied and battered body in his mouth. This is the third human the whale has killed. Isn’t it time someone dropped a live toaster in the whale tank?…bizarrely, this whale, Tilikum, was responsible for a 1991 death at Sea Land in Victoria, British Columbia. I was a card carrying member of Sea Land at the time and remember being stunned to hear of the death. Sea Land was immediately closed and never re-opened. And that malicious fish was left to interact with humans again? Bloody shameful…