Stormin Norman Rumack

 

As the World Cup of Soccer advances, it’s most unfortunate that the rules of the game stand still, seemingly lost in the dark ages, with FIFA refusing to recognize the fraudulent nature of an international championship,where obvious human error, which could be easily corrected through video replay, is allowed to remain as part of the game. There were two grotesque mistakes in judgment that were made on Sunday, which the entire world of soccer fans also witnessed. Frank Lampard’s goal, which would have tied England’s game with Germany at 2, was missed by the sideline official, and Argentina’s first goal against Mexico by Carlos Tevez, was clearly offside,and was also missed by the game officials.

It is entirely possible that both Germany and Argentina would have won their games anyway, but no one can say that with absolute certainty now. Why should there be any doubt at all ? Even with the talk that FIFA will place an extra official behind the net for the next World Cup in 2014, why not eliminate...

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I don’t often write about events that are not sports related, however, after the violence in Toronto on Saturday,  carried out by a relatively small number of gutless cowards, I felt compelled to address this issue. The scum who were wearing black scarves while breaking windows, burning police vehicles, and destroying private property, were abusing the rights of free speech and peaceful demonstration, to show how “tough” they were. Instead of making a legitimate point pertaining to the G-8 and G-20 Summit, these losers decided to illustrate their values and sense of responsibilities, which are obviously non existent. Thousands of Canadians have fought and died at war, to maintain our freedom and privileges.

 

It really is a shame that the police do not have the right to beat the stuffing out of these losers,right there on the spot. Unfortunately, it’s likely that the only response these criminals understand and respect, is a fist or a something even more violent than that. What is needed...

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On Saturday night Strikeforce (UFC Competitor ) put on their second major event in June when they co-promote with M-1 Global and hosted a great main event: Fedor vs Werdum in San Jose, California at the HP Pavilion,Home of the NHL`S San Jose Sharks . Fedor Emeilianenko is agreeably the best heavyweight fighter in the MMA world including the UFC.Dana White the president of the UFC, has tried to sign Fedor for over a year but has not had any success. Fabricio Werdum is a former UFC Alum. Fabricio comes into the fight with a 13-4 record.Fedor Emeilianenko came into the fight with a record of 32 wins and one loss but that loss was questionable it was stopped due to a cut.Emeilianenko,has beaten the who`s who is the MMA World like: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Mark Coleman, Matt Lindland, Heath Herring, Brett Rogers Andrei Arlovski,Tim Sylvia and Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipović all of those fighters were and are stars in the UFC.Fedor Emelianenko vs Fabricio Werdum:Round 1: Fedor, lands a hard combination and connects several...

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When the NHL draft comes around each June, I always think back on Cliff Fletcher’s expression from his time with the Maple Leafs in the 1990’s, when he was the general manager, and every team could spend as much money as they wanted to, in order to put together a team. Free agents and talented players were easy to come by, when money was the primary requirement. For some teams of that era, the draft was not considered all that important. That was the case for Fletcher’s Leafs. Having said that, they did find some decent players in the draft during his tenure in Toronto, like Tomas Kaberle,( 204th selection in1996 draft.) and Sergei Berezin ( picked 256th in 1994, scored 37 goals in 98/99 season). It was Fletcher who uttered the phrase “draft shmaft”. The tone of the expression indicates Fletcher’s draft sentiments, at that point in time. No doubt, his feelings about the importance of the amateur draft have been altered, in the salary cap era of the National Hockey League, where draft selections are a...

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For all the gut wrenching, hand wringing and everything else that parallels with anxiety, England’s 1-0 World Cup win over Slovenia, eliminates the apocalyptic ending their fans were fearing, and the media were already preparing to write, as though it were an obituary, which it certainly would have been, if they would have been eliminated from the World Cup on Wednesday. Since the reality for the Three Lions, is that the playing field is now level once again, as they prepare for long time rival Germany, a little perspective on them might be in order.  Let’s face it, if Robert Green hadn’t allowed one of the worst goals in the history of World Cup play,in England’s opener with the Americans, then the Lions would have allowed a total of one goal in three games, and the awful effort against Algeria, would have been a distant bad dream, that would have been dismissed by now. The intensity of England in their match against Slovenia, certainly indicates that there is indeed a heart that goes along with these...

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On the Tuesday Grill Room TV show,( on Sun TV in Toronto ) with guest host Rob Higgins from XM Radio, veteran sportscaster Jim Tatti, and my good friend from the Fan 590, David Alter, the popular subject of discussion was the Hockey Hall Of Fame inductees. On a personal note, I was quite pleased that Jim Devellano finally got into the Hall. In his case, it was long overdue. As the head scout for the New York Islanders, Jim drafted all of their key players, who were the foundation of their Stanley Cup dynasty in the early 1980’s. From Long Island, he was hired as the General Manager of the Detroit Red Wings in 1982, and rebuilt them from a sad sack team that could only draw fans to their home games, by giving away a car at each one, to a dynasty that has won 4 Stanley Cups since then. His first draft pick with the Wings was Steve Yzerman, also a Hall Of Famer,and the recently appointed general manager of the Tampa Bay Lightning. Devellano groomed Ken Holland from being a minor league goalkeeper, to a scout working...

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While it seems that both England and France are about to exit the World Cup of Soccer, we all know that on occasion, both teams and individuals can rise up and deliver an inspiring performance, when it appeared to outsiders, usually fans and media, that all was lost, and there was no chance of success. The truth however, is that professional athletes,both in team and individual sports, do not follow our expectations, and they don’t react to adverse situations the way the rest of the population does. So it is not so unusual when athletes perform much better than we thought they could. In spite of their shabby showing so far,it is entirely possible,that either England or France, or both, could shock the world, and win their next games, and perhaps perform well beyond that one game, and redeem themselves somewhat, or entirely. That is one of the unique aspects of sports. You can go from hero to bum and vice versa just as quickly. The fans will quite quickly get over ineptitude or bad attitude, with a good effort,...

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I’m certainly not a psychologist or an expert on the dynamics of the French national men’s soccer team, but when you hear some of the comments from the players, it is crystal clear that the team is in turmoil and the coach, Raymond Domenech, has lost both the respect of his team, and not surprisingly, control of the room. On the surface, the story surrounding Les Blues, is about Nicolas Anelka getting into a heated exchange with the coach after being taken out of the game against Mexico at halftime for lackadaisical play, refusing to apologize, and subsequently, being kicked off the team entirely.

 

When you hear what the other players are saying, it is obvious that this team is imploding, and Domenech is a coach by his title,but not in terms of the direction of any of his players. The clashes within the squad, indicate that the coach is completely out of touch with his men. The out of control inner turmoil, is both blatantly obvious in their comments, and the alleged acrimony, as detailed...

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On Sunday Night June 20th (Father's Day Happy Father's Day to my and all Dad's) the WWE presented their latest Pay Per View (PPV) "Fatal Four Way" from the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, NY home of the New York Islander's of the NHL.Fatal Four Way:Mr. Vince McMahon the chairman of World Wrestling Entertainment. Vince walked onto the stage. Vince said he was sorry "Unfortunately, the general manager of Raw, Bret Hart, will not be here tonight," Vince said.Because of NXT beat down last Monday on Raw.Kofi Kingston VS. DREW McIntyre For The INTERCONTINENTAL TITLE:Long match about 17 minutes. Drew brought Teddy Long to sit at ringside and give him the belt when he wins tonight. Ref Charles Robinson was knocked down.Drew made Teddy Long the ref and wear Robinson ref shirt. Drew hit a DDT. Long went to make the count but held up at two. Matt Hardy then ran in and used a twist of fate on Drew,Kofi hit Trouble in Paradise for the win. Winner: Kofi Kingston still champ good match.EVE Torres VS. Maryse VS. Gail Kim. VS....

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