US Open: A marathon for Djokovic.

The third round matches of the 2007 US Open were upon completion tonight and the highlight of this night has to go to the marathon match played by Novak Djokovic (3) and Radek Stepanek.

The battle was spectacular, lasted 4 hours and 44 minutes, was punctuated of at least three standing ovations from the crowd and tied a US Open record for the total number of games played.

Novak Djokovic used all of his ressources during the marathon to finally win the match in five excruciating sets of 6-7 (4-7), 7-6 (7-5), 7-5, 5-7 and 7-6 (7-2). A grand total of 63 games were played during the match, tying the US Open record for a single match since the tie-breaker rule was inserted in 1970.

Djokovic said after the match that he was completely drained and that his shoes were smelling really bad....

A long battle like this can really handicap Novak Djokovic. If he wants to keep his hopes high for the second week, he needs some rest and a rapid 3 consecutive set win during the 4th round match to give himself a chance to recover.

(Picture: Novak Djokovic, Canadian Press)

Chad Dawson vs Adrian Diaconu: a date is set.

The light-heavyweight championship bout between Montreal's own Adrian Diaconu and the champion Chad Dawson has now a scheduled date tagged on it.

The promoter of the event, Don King announced that September 29th in Sacramento will be the night and location for this championship fight.

Adrian Diaconu shows a perfect professional record of 24-0-0 with 15 KOs. The champion, Chad Dawson has also an outstanding record showing 24-0-0 with 16 KOs and 1 No Contest.

Jermain Taylor vs Kelly Pavlik will also be an interesting fight on the same boxing card on Sept. 29th in Sacramento.

(Picture: Adrian Diaconu)

Hockey Canada invests in National training centre.

Today, thru a press conference held by Hockey Canada's president Bob Nicholson, a final $69 Millions investment announced from the government of Alberta seals a $280 Millions total budget for a brand new national team training centre.

The Canadian government along with the city of Calgary and finally private investors are completing the total sum of the amount announced today.

The national training centre will help coordonate the different national teams training camps that are held before each major international event. Mr. Nicholson said that Hockey Canada expects the centre to be completed in time for the upcoming 2010 Winter Olympics held in Vancouver.

The first phase of the project includes the construction of two rinks. The first one with international rules dimensions as the other rink is to be built as ruled in the National Hockey League. (A very intuitive idea by Hockey Canada that I personally like)

The complex has also some space allowed for different offices among Hockey Canada's headquarters. The centre will be located in Calgary, a stone throw away from Calgary University.

This will proove to be a sound structure for Canada. The coordination and quality of the teams preparation for international events will be increased with this brand new complex. This project will most definatly benefit the Calgary University as well.

Canada will keep itself on top of hockey for years to come. Bring on the Russians, Czechs, Swedes and those Americans!

(Picture: Bob Nicholson, Canadian Press)

US Open: Gasquet retires.

The second round match of this 2007 US Open between the american issued from the qualifying tournament Donald Young and the french Richard Gasquet (seeded 13th for this US Open) never took place today as Gasquet retired before the match due to an episode of fever coupled to a sore throat.

The road of Donald Young in this 2007 US Open surprizingly continues as he advances to the third round with the retirement of Gasquet.

Richard Gasquet said to be very disappointed to have to retire without even playing a single point. He trained for only 10 minutes on the court this morning, drained of all energy. He then could not figure how he could ever win three sets today. When asked about his chances at this 2007 Open, Gasquet said that he expected to be a part of the second week. He also mentionned that he expected to face Roger Federer during the second week of the tournament.

A disappointment for one becomes an opportunity for an other. Let's see if Donald Young, who was all smiles in interview today, can fully take advantage of this forfeit and break out all the way to the second week.

Other matches of interest today:

(Mens singles)

Tomas Berdych (9) defeats Simone Bolleli in 3 sets of 7-5, 6-3 and 6-3.
Fernando Verdasco defeats Gilles Simon in 3 sets of 6-0, 6-4 and 6-3.
Andy Murray (19) defeats Jonas Bjorkman by 5-7, 6-3, 6-1, 4-6 and 6-1.
Andy Roddick (5) defeats Jose Acasuso 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, retired.

(Womens singles)

Martina Hingis (16) defeats Pauline Parmentier in 2 sets of 6-2 and 7-5.
Svetlana Kuznetsova (14) defeats Camille Pin by 6-3, 4-6 and 6-0.
Anna Chakvetadze (6) defeats Nicole Pratt in 2 sets of 6-3 and 6-4.

(Picture: Richard Gasquet, Canadian Press)

Villeneuve is satisfied with his progress.

No matter where you are coming from, when you are an Indianapolis 500 winner and an ex F1 world champion, you cannot go around the racing world unnoticed.

This is exactly what is happening with Jacques Villeneuve this last month. Every new step he takes in his career is followed with attention by racing fans and by the press. Villeneuve is still of interest for the press and for racing fans.

This summer highlighted us a new side of Villeneuve; a calm, confident and cool Villeneuve. The press kept us updated with the new chapters in his career: From his participation at the 24 hours of LeMans earlier this summer to his new contract signed last month with the Bill Davis Racing team of the NASCAR series. We can clearly see a new Jacques Villeneuve, his attitude seems to have changed for the better.

These last few weeks, Villeneuve has turned his career towards NASCAR racing as planned. He had already moved back to North America last year along with his wife and kid. The plan was in place, and is now unfolding. Villeneuve said that he is liking his NASCAR experience this far. The last practice session in Chicago on board of a Craftsman truck series was productive according to him and his team members. The times registered by Villeneuve on the track were as good as the series leader.

After the end of the current season, Villeneuve will move from the Craftsman series to the very popular and exciting NASCAR Nextel cup series with the Bill Davis Racing team. Villeneuve has to go thru the same adjustment period as an old opponent from Villeneuve's Indycar and F1 seasons: Juan Pablo Montoya, who extended his career towards the Nextel cup himself.

Jacques Villeneuve said that he is impatient to battle with the best NASCAR pilots next season. Will he be able to perform well in the Nextel cup right off the bat? Only time will tell us.

(Picture: Canadian Press)

US Open: Dancevic eliminated.

The first round opponent was solid, Frank Dancevic gave everything he had, but fell just short as he lost to Marat Safin in three very disputed sets of 7-5, 7-6 and 7-6.

The match was of high quality for a first round matchup. Safin's experience and solid serving was just enough to beat the young canadian tennismen. Dancevic can be happy of what he accomplished this summer as he has increased his ATP tour ranking significally.

With the experience gained participating in the later rounds of important tournaments this summer, the 2008 season could be a breakout season for Dancevic.

The US Open continues tomorrow with 2nd round matches.

(Picture: Getty images)

US Open: Dancevic to face Safin.

Frank Dancevic had to go thru the qualification tournament to be a part of the main draw of this year's US Open.

He managed to get thru without a problem but his first round match cannot be described as an easy match. Dancevic will face the russian Marat Safin, a player who had some good results at the US Open in the past.

The match itself should be exciting because Dancevic prooved this summer, (especially at the Indianapolis and Montreal tournaments) that he can play and stay in the match with the best rackets in the world. Dancevic even defeated Andy Roddick in one of his matches. So the task ahead is difficult for sure but not impossible.

The first round matchup between Dancevic and Safin is scheduled for today.

Bow down to the king.

Yesterday's edition of WWE Monday night RAW marked the return of a huge fan favorite.

The king of kings himself, Triple H has made his return to RAW after a long 8 month inactivity period due to a knee injury that requested a complete surgical reconstruction.

For the first match of his official return this last sunday night at Summerslam, HHH disposed of King Bookah, prooving once again that he is the only true king in the WWE. His return was awaited by the WWE fans all around the world, and the loud crowd reactions he got in two consecutive days at Summerslam last sunday and at yesterday's edition of RAW prooved it.

The role that HHH plays in Raw's weekly storylines was really missing those last months. Raw really presented a couple of poor shows during his absence. The product presented was simply awful for too many weeks. The show contained as well too many Vince McMahon delusions in the storylines. Raw has got to pick up the general show quality and a large part of the upcoming task will probably lie on HHH's shoulders.

Yesterday, HHH has blown on hot ashes and got Vince's attention as he managed (once again) to insult and manipulate the WWE chairman at will. After painting the chairman in the corner by accusing him of running illegal cock fights in his basement (a quick wink at Michael Vick), the cerebral assassin made Mr. McMahon admit he loved cats, dogs, horses and even (cocks). Let's hope that HHH will continue and send McMahon towards the back of the scene, where he can't bother us with his delusional fantasies.

We also know that Triple H is obsessed with the WWE heavyweight title. His throne. He has not mentioned anything about it yet, haven't threatened the champion John Cena...yet. But sooner or later, we know that the championship call will ring in his head, a call that he won't resist for very long. The former 11-time world champion will soon be asking for a 12th reign.

Will the WWE champion John Cena bow down to the king?

US Open: Federer easily thru.

Yesterday marked the beginning of the US Open at Flushing Meadows in New-York. The number 1 player in the world, Roger Federer, had no problem getting to the second round of the last major tournament of the 2007 season.

In only 90 short minutes, Federer defeated Scoville Jenkins in 3 straight sets of 6-3, 6-2 and 6-4 and is moving on to the second round.

In other matches, Nikolai Davydenko (4) defeated Jesse Levine 6-4, 6-0 and 6-1. Max Mirnyi won his match over Markus Baghdatis by 6-3, 7-5, 3-6 and 7-6 while Richard Gasquet (13) has also qualified himself to the second round yesterday.

The tournament continues today.

(Picture: Canadian Press)

Make some exercise today!

Today let's do just like our friend Bob here and make some exercise today...

The opportunity is knocking.

The Istanbul circuit acted as an equalizer for the championship as Ferrari dominated the Turkish Grand Prix from start to finish.

Felipe Massa has won his 3rd race of the season while his teammate Kimi Raikkonen finished in second place.

The major event of the race happened with only 16 laps to go as Lewis Hamilton's front right tire litterally exploded as he was driving in 3rd place. The extra pit stop to replace his damaged tire costed Hamilton 2 spots on the track. This event is for sure a blow for Hamilton's confidence but the team at least managed to avoid the total catastrophy.

Fernando Alonso also took advantage of Hamilton's tire misadventure as he managed after a very bad start to finish on the podium in 3rd place. Alonso is now only 5 points away from Lewis Hamilton on top of the drivers championship.

Ferrari also closed the gap to only 11 points with McLaren-Mercedes with this perfect weekend. Now with just 5 races to go to the 2007 season, it is anybody's title. We haven't seen such an exciting championship in years.

Next stop: Monza, Italy.

Turkish Grand Prix top 10 finish:

Winner: Felipe Massa (Ferrari)
2-Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari)
3-Fernando Alonso (McLaren)
4-Nick Heidfeld (Sauber-BMW)
5-Lewis Hamilton (McLaren)
6-Heikki Kovalainen (Renault)
7-Nico Rosberg (Williams)
8-Robert Kubica (Sauber-BMW)
9-Giancarlo Fisichella (Renault)
10-David Coulthard (Red Bull)

Drivers championship after 12/17 races:

1-Lewis Hamilton 84 points
2-Fernando Alonso 79 points
3-Felipe Massa 69 points
4-Kimi Raikkonen 68 points
5-Nick Heidfeld 47 points
6-Robert Kubica 29 points
7-Heikki Kovalainen 19 points
8-Giancarlo Fisichella 17 points
9-Alexander Wurz 13 points
10-Nico Rosberg 9 points

Constructors championship:

1-McLaren-Mercedes 148 points
2-Ferrari 137 points
3-Sauber-BMW 77 points
4-Renault 36 points
5-Williams 22 points
6-Red Bull 16 points
7-Toyota 12 points
8-Super Aguri 4 points
9-Honda 1 point

(Picture: F1-live.com)

Crosby and the Penguins in a New Year's Eve special.

The National Hockey League decided to repeat the 2003 experience (between the Montreal Canadiens and the Edmonton Oilers) as they scheduled the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Buffalo Sabres to a game played on a outside natural ice rink on next January 1st 2008.

The official announcement should be made by the League at the NHL training camp opening in two weeks.

The Buffalo Sabres will receive Sidney Corsby and his band at the Ralph Wilson Stadium, home of the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League. The NHL has sold the broadcasting rights to NBC and will try to make of this occasion the most watched hockey game of all-time. The task is enormous for the NHL as the sport of hockey slid in popularity in the USA those last years.

The choice of Crosby's Pittsburgh Penguins is a honest attempt from the NHL. I very often criticized the league for not acting but this time the idea makes sense. The use of the young phenom in their marketing plans should be increased, his personnality is perfect for the task.

So on next January 1st, grab a egg nog and tune in NBC.

Turkish Grand Prix: Massa registers his 5th pole of the season.

This morning on the Istanbul racetrack, Felipe Massa edged Lewis Hamilton by only a few hundreds of a second to register his 5th pole position of this 2007 season.

The leading foursome of the drivers championship have a battle scheduled in front tomorrow as both Ferrari and McLaren drivers took the first four positions on the starting grid.

With all the principal actors of this 2007 season qualified in front, the Turkish Grand Prix promises a good race. Only a quarter of a second separate the pole from the 4th position. Strategy could be crucial for the leaders as every second spent at the stands will be important.

With such a narrow difference in optimal performances from Ferrari and McLaren, some battles should also take place on the track. Once again, Sauber-BMW confirmed it's third place status among the constructors as they once again placed both pilots on the third row.

Here is the Turkish Grand Prix top 10 starting positions:

Pole: Felipe Massa (Ferrari) 1:27.329
2-Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) 1:27.373
3-Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) 1:27.546
4-Fernando Alonso (McLaren) 1:27.574
5-Robert Kubica (Sauber-BMW) 1:27.722
6-Nick Heidfeld (Sauber-BMW) 1:28.037
7-Heikki Kovalainen (Renault) 1:28.491
8-Nico Rosberg (Williams) 1:28.501
9-Jarno Trulli (Toyota) 1:28.740
10-Giancarlo Fisichella (Renault) 1:29.322

(Picture: F1-live.com)

McLaren puts back the white gloves on.

At today's practice session, the word came out that McLaren-Mercedes has held a meeting yesterday and that during this meeting, both of their pilots have buried the hatchet.

The meeting was labeled as ''constructive, productive and positive''.

We know that both McLaren pilots are without a doubt talented and both still have a legitimate shot at the individual title. McLaren says that they will continue to offer an equal chance to win to both of their drivers. The tension seems to have gone down a notch between Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton as they showed us on this shot today at the practice session.

Kimi Raikkonen of Ferrari registered the fastest lap of today's session.

To be continued tomorrow...

(Picture: Canadian Press)

The battle continues this weekend.

After a break of 3 weeks, the F1 championship will resume it's activities with the presentation of the Turkey Grand Prix this weekend. The four pilots from the two leading teams will battle for the title until the end.

The last Grand Prix showed us that there is some friction among the McLaren-Mercedes team. Fernando Alonso blocked Lewis Hamilton in the pit lane during the qualifying session of the Hungarian Grand Prix. That unsportman like conduct costed McLaren all of their points for the race. A great occasion for Ferrari who took advantage of this situation as they are now only 19 points away from McLaren.

With only 6 races to go to the 2007 championship, here is the situation in the drivers championship and the constructors championship:

Drivers championship:

1-Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) 80 points
2-Fernando Alonso (McLaren) 73 points
3-Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) 60 points
4-Felipe Massa (Ferrari) 59 points

Constructors championship:

1-McLaren-Mercedes 138 points
2-Ferrari 119 points

Unseen since 110 years!

The Texas Rangers have destroyed the Baltimore Orioles yesterday. It was really more than a simple blowout. The Rangers have scored a total of 30 points in a 30-3 demolition derby.

The Rangers scored 5 points during the 4th inning, 9 points during the 6th inning, 10 during the 8th and 6 during the 9th inning for a total of 30 points. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, a team haven't scored as many points in a single game since Chicago have defeated Louisville on June 1897! Just a bit more than a hundred and ten years!

The Texas Rangers becomes the 9th team in MLB baseball history to get to the 30 points mark in a single game. And to make matters worse for Baltimore, both teams had to play a second game yesterday. A game that the Rangers won 9-7.

Erik Bedard ties Orioles record.

Among the new and emerging MLB stars, it seems that more and more of them are coming from Canada. Russell Martin has risen as one of the best catchers in the game and was even the starting catcher for this year's All-Star Game.

Baltimore Orioles' starting pitcher Erik Bedard is starting to really open some eyes and is now getting the baseball fans attention he deserves. Yesterday, Erik Bedard has won his 9th consecutive game, improoving his record to 13 wins and 4 losses this season. (With a very ordinary team: Baltimore has a 58-65 record this far this season, 16 games games behind the Boston Red Sox.)

During yesteray's game, Bedard registered 11 strikeouts bringing his season total to 218 strikeouts, tying the Baltimore Orioles team record for a single season. At his best, Mike Mussina registered a 218 strikeouts season with the Orioles. Bedard will get past Mussina with the next strikeout he will register during his next start.

Since June 15th, Erik Bedard has an impressive 9-0 record in 12 starts.

(Picture: Getty images)

Ashley is a castaway.

The year 2007 has been a busy one for the beautiful Ashley, one of the WWE Divas.

After appearing on Playboy's cover this last spring, Ashley now prepares herself for her next challenge: being a part of the Survivor China adventure .

Survivor is already at season 15 and this edition promises to be a good one. With the colorful Diva on board, you can bet this adventure will be an eventful one. Our castaways were dropped in China and starting next september 20th on CBS we will be able to witness Ashley's Survivor adventure.

Ashley said to be honored to represent the WWE and the Divas on this show and she’s confident in her abilities to succeed in this game and win the $1 million prize. Here is what Ashley felt about her chances to win the game before heading to China:

“I think I’m going to win. I really do. I wouldn’t go if I didn’t think I could. Do I understand the risk involved that, ‘Hey, there’s a chance you might not win. You might just spend 40 days out in the middle of nowhere for no reason.’ Yes, I do. I understand that risk and I’m prepared to take it!”

(Picture: WWE.com)

The Vick saga: pleading guilty.

The Atlanta Falcons' quaterback Michael Vick has filled the sports columns all over America this summer and a conclusion to this saga is getting closer.

After refusing to plead guilty for his crimes until yesterday, Michael Vick has decided to finally plead guilty today. The decision was confirmed by Vick's lawyer.

Vick organized many illegal canine fights at his residence. Many dogs were killed after losing fights or after being injured during those illegal and cruel fights. A very shocking story that made headlines all around for a few weeks already. Every animal lover (which I include myself in) felt disgusted of such actions by someone supposed to be a leader and a role model.

The NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, has barred Michael Vick from participating to the Falcons training camp last month and is waiting for the sentence to be heard to decide of Vick's case. Now Vick faces a maximum sentence of 5 years in jail and a $250 000 fine but will probably get less than the maximum sentence. An audition is scheduled on next August 27th.

(Picture: Getty images)

And 50 for Federer!

Roger Federer captured yesterday the 50th title of his glorious career. The Cincinnati Masters tournament final disputed between Roger Federer and James Blake ended in a 6-1 and 6-4 victory for Roger.

Federer, 26 years old, joins a very select club as he becomes only the 9th player to totalize 50 titles in career. Here is a quick list of tennis' 50+ titles club:

Jimmy Connors (109)
Ivan Lendl (94)
John McEnroe (77)
Pete Sampras (64)
Bjorn Borg (62)
Guillermo Vilas (62)
Andre Agassi (60)
Ilie Nastase (57)
Roger Federer (50)

(Picture: Getty images)

Rogers cup: Henin wins the title.

The womens portion of the Rogers cup played in Toronto at the Rexall centre was drawing to an end today with the presentation of the womens final.

Justine Henin difficultly defeated Jelena Jankovic in two sets of 7-6 (7-3) and 7-5 today. A very long battle that lasted over 2 hours and 15 minutes in it's entirety. Jankovic had her chances and was playing very well, especially during the opening set as she was comfortably leading 4-1 at one point.

Finally, the logic was respected as Henin ranked No1 in the world stays on top of the WTA tour despite some problems to a shoulder. Henin's career now shows 35 titles. This will be a nice confidence boost for Justine as the US Open is getting closer.

(Picture: Canadian press)

Funny bloopers.

A collection of funny bloopers found on You Tube.

Some of them made me smile, more specifically the guy holding on to his handles and refusing to let go at the very end of the clip.

Federer looking for 50th career title today.

At the Cincinnati tournament, (a Masters series event) Roger Federer disposed of Lleyton Hewitt yesterday in his semifinal match in three long sets of 6-3, 6-7 (7-9) and 7-6 (7-1). Federer will face in today's final James Blake who defeated Nikolai Davydenko in the other semifinal match by 6-4 and 6-2.

A victory for Roger Federer today will bring his career total titles to 50. For James Blake, a victory over Federer would count as his 10th career title.

Bruno Spengler in a F1 for 2008?

According to Auto moto und sport, a german sport magazine, Bruno Spengler, a young and talented canadian pilot could possibly be hired as test driver on board of a brand new F1 team as soon as the upcoming 2008 season.

A new team named Prodrive, owned by the ex-British American Racing owner David Richards, is said to be about to join the F1 championship. Prodrive would be powered by a McLaren-Mercedes engine and chassis.

Spengler is currently on board of a Mercedes in the DTM series. Spengler finished 2nd of the DTM championship back in 2006 and is currently in 3rd place of the championship this season. He has 26 points after 7 races this season as he won the Norisring, Germany DTM race this season.

Rumor or not, it is good to see the name of Bruno Spengler starting to appear in the F1 surroundings. Even if he is eventually hired as a test driver and don't participate in any F1 Grand Prix for the 2008 season, a test driver seat is just like being ''on deck'' for your first MLB baseball game ''at bat''.

Spengler refused to leave out any comments on the subject this far. More details remains to be clarified later on.



(Picture: Getty images.)

Lucian Bute goes for the IBF championship.

The fight is now official and on October 19th at the Bell centre in Montreal, Lucian Bute will face Alejandro Berrio for the IBF super-middleweight championship.

The young and talented Lucian Bute forced his way into such an interesting position with impressive wins over top ranked opponents. His accumulated wins until his latest victory over Sakio Bika during the month of June allowed Bute to become the mandatory opponent for Berrio's title. The time has come for Lucian bute to mimic Joachim Alcine and grasp his long-life dream of becoming a world champion.

Lucian Bute has a professional record of 20-0-0 with 16 KOs. His opponent, Alejandro Berrio, is the current IBF super-middleweight champion and has a professional record of 26-4-0 with 24 KOs. This is Bute's toughest challenge ever. As you can interpret Berrio's record, he is a tough puncher and a dangerous opponent with 24 of his 26 wins coming by knock out.

Lucian Bute is an intelligent fighter and has reasonnable punching power coupled with great reach and quickness. He sure has a legitimate chance at winning Berrio's title on October 11th. The fight promises a lot of action.

Sam Pollock 1925-2007.

Yesterday, an entire hockey era vanished with the passing of Sam Pollock, 81 years old. The legendary general manager of the Montreal Canadiens was known to be a tough negociator and a very wise man. Pollock contributed in a large part to the building of the Habs dynasty in the '60s and '70s.

''The godfather of hockey'' as he was often named, Sam Pollock succeeded to Frank J. Selke as General Manager of the Montreal Canadiens in 1964. In the following 14 years, Montreal won the Stanley Cup 9 times. Pollock's ability to evaluate a hockey talent was unmatched. He was one of the first general manager to understand that the best way to build a team was thru efficient drafting.

Pollock wisely pulled the strings in 1970-1971 in order to select Guy Lafleur with the first overall draft pick. Pollock traded minor players to the Oakland Golden Seals in return of the Seals first round draft pick with the intention to draft Guy Lafleur. But the Los Angeles Kings were doing worse than the Seals during the 1970 season so Pollock decided to trade a veteran player, Ralph Backstrom, to the Kings. Los Angeles finished in front of the Seals giving back the first overall pick to the Habs.

Sam Pollock was inducted in the Hockey Hall of Fame and was elected great Montrealer in 1978. My condolences goes to the Pollock family members.

(Picture: Sam Pollock and Clarence Campbell, CTVglobemedia publishing Inc.)

Who will sign Peter Forsberg?

The talk around the NHL those last few days is around Peter Forsberg as different teams continues to improove their lineups thru free agency.

This week in particular, some of the focus seems to be around Nashville Predators' center player, Peter Forsberg. The Ottawa Senators' General Manager has officially confirmed yesterday being interested in the swedish star forward.

The Ottawa Senators' General Manager, Bryan Murray, admitted to the press that he had a conversation with Forsberg's agent a few days ago and was in line to get Peter Forsberg under contract for the upcoming season.

Along with the Ottawa Senators, the Philadelphia Flyers, the Detroit Red Wings and the Colorado Avalanche are also interested in signing Forsberg for next season. Peter Forsberg played an exhibition game earlier this month after undergoing an ankle surgery last month. He said that he didn't feel any kind of pain and felt good while skating during the exhibition game he played.

Forsberg is a Philadelphia Flyers 1991 first round draft pick (6th overall) that was traded before playing a single game for the Flyers to the Quebec Nordiques in the Eric Lindros mega-trade. Forsberg played for the Quebec Nordiques, the Colorado Avalanche, the Philadelphia Flyers and the Nashville Predators during his NHL career.

Dancevic rewarded for his efforts.

The performances of Frank Dancevic on the courts over the last month are starting to pay off for the young 22 year old canadian tennisman. His new rankings on the ATP tour have been updated yesterday.

Dancevic has jumped from the 91th place of last week to the 67th place this week. This is the best ranking in his career this far and Dancevic has a chance to raise himself among the top 50 players of the tour with a solid performance at the upcoming US Open at the end of the month.

Tiger Woods wins the PGA championship.

For the second year in a row, Tiger Woods has won the last major tournament of the season. Yesterday with an aggregate of -8, Tiger won the PGA championship by 2 strokes. Already a 4th PGA championship for Tiger in career.

Tiger had a 3 strokes lead going to the final round and was never worried by his opponents yesterday. In his career, Tiger has never dropped a lead when leading by 2 strokes or better going to the final round of a major tournament. He is a perfect 13 for 13 in those conditions.

This is also Tiger's 13th major tournament title in career, getting closer from the golden bear. Tiger is now only 5 major titles away from Jack Nicklaus' record 18 major titles.


(Picture: Getty images)

Novak Djokovic wins the Rogers cup.

The final match of the Rogers cup between Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic was at the image of the rest of the tournament. Yesterday's final was a high quality match that ended in a three set victory for Djokovic by 7-6 (7-5), 2-6 and 7-6 (7-2).

This was the very first win for Djokovic over Roger Federer in his career. During the course of the week, Djokovic went perfect: he defeated the No3 player in the world (Roddick) during the quarterfinals then defeated the No2 player in the world (Nadal) in the semifinals to finally defeat the No1 player in the world (Federer) during the final.

Another challenger for Federer has just shown his colors. Now Federer has to watch Rafael Nadal closely, but now he also has to worry about that 20-year old challenger from Serbia too.

An unforgettable week for Novak Djokovic. Congratulations.

(Picture: Getty images)

Rogers cup: conclusion today.

The Rogers cup masters series tournament is concluding this afternoon with the final match. The No1 player in the world, Roger Federer will face a young rising tennis star, Novak Djokovic for the championship.

Novak Djokovic defeated Rafael Nadal in one of the semifinal match yesterday by 7-5 and 6-3 to advance in finals. As for Roger Federer, he defeated Radek Stepanek in two sets of 7-6 (7-1) and 6-2.

The tournament was once again a success, a lot of spectators attended to the tournament at the Uniprix stadium of the Jarry park in Montreal. Many of the matches were sold out during the course of the week. Also, the quality of the matches was very high during the tournament. To top it off, local hero Frank Dancevic also made the delight of the fans by participating to the quarterfinals.

Next week, the womens draw of the Rogers cup will be disputed in Toronto.

Are you considering Lasik?

I am currently using the good old contact lenses myself to correct my vision and I really am considering having a Lasik surgery to get rid of my lenses once and for all. If you are considering such an option, the choice of your doctor is important.

For accurate Lasik information, your first stop has to be USAEyes.com. USAEyes is a non-profit organization that does not offer Lasik treatments directly. They in fact provide a list of certified doctors that meets the USAEyes certifications requirements. Fewer than 250 doctors nationwide have achieved USAEyes certification. That is really a select club to say the least.

Here are a few links to some of the latest news about Lasik and more specifically USAEyes:

USAEyes Website Gains HON Accreditation

USAEyes Recommended in Congressional Report

Your eyes are important, plan your surgery and take the time choose your doctor. USAEyes.org is there to provide information.

Rogers cup: semifinals.

The semifinals of the Rogers cup will take place at the Uniprix stadium in Montreal today.

Yesterday evening, the central court was sold out for the quarterfinal match between Rafael Nadal and the canadian Frank Dancevic. The young Dancevic pushed Rafael Nadal to his limits during the match. In order to win, Nadal really had to raise his playing level. Nadal finally won the match in three exciting sets of 4-6, 6-2 and 6-3.

The turning point of the match happened during the second set as Nadal saved 7 break points, every time using all of his talent, power and experience. Frank Dancevic can be proud of his performances this week. The last canadian to ever appear in the quarterfinals at the canadian open was Andrew Sznajder back in 1989.

Rafael Nadal will face Novak Djokovic in his semifinal match. Djokovic defeated Andy Roddick yesterday in two sets of 7-6 (7-3) and 6-4.

The other semifinal will oppose Roger Federer who defeated Lleyton Hewitt by 6-3 and 6-4 in his quarterfinal match to Radek Stepanek who defeated Nikolay Davydenko by 6-4 and 7-5.

We could witness another Federer-Nadal battle tomorrow for the final.

(Picture: Canadian press)

Rogers cup: Dancevic to face Nadal.

Frank Dancevic's adventure at the Rogers cup continues as he defeated Fernando Verdasco in three sets of 4-6, 6-4 and 6-3 yesterday. Dancevic is now facing a huge challenge. Today's opponent for Dancevic is none other than Rafael Nadal, the No2 player in the world.

This quarterfinal match is scheduled today at the Uniprix stadium of the Parc Jarry in Montreal. Dancevic prooved that he can compete with the best in the world as he defeated Andy Roddick in Indianapolis 2 weeks ago.

Rogers Cup: Dancevic advances to the third round.

Yesterday was the second round match for Frank Dancevic. Dancevic defeated Wayne Odesnik in an exciting three set match of 6-3, 4-6 and 7-5. For the third round, Dancevic will face Fernando Verdasco who defeated Richard Gasquet in the second round.

Also some notables were beginning their tournament yesterday. Roger Federer defeated Ivo Karlovic by 7-6 (7-2) and 7-6 (7-3) and advances to the third round. As for Rafael Nadal, he defeated Marat Safin in two sets of 7-6 (7-4) and 6-0 and also advances to the third round of the tournament. Andy Roddick also won his match. Facing Arnaud Clement, Roddick won in two sets of 6-1 and 7-6 (7-5).

(Picture:Getty images)

Bonds breaks Aaron's record.

Yesterday was the night where Barry Bonds broke Hank Aaron's home run record. The San Francisco Giants outfielder has hitted his 756th home run of his career, a new all-time record.

The record breaking home run was hitted against Mike Bacsik of the Washington Nationals. As soon as Bonds hitted the ball to deep center-right field he knew that this ball had enough to cross the fence. He went around the bases with his arms in the air and was welcomed to the home plate by his son Nikolai along with Willie Mays and his teammates.

Here is a quick list of players who totals 500 home runs and more in career:

1. x-Barry Bonds 756
2. Hank Aaron 755
3. Babe Ruth 714
4. Willie Mays 660
5. x-Sammy Sosa 604
6. x-Ken Griffey, Jr. 589
7. Frank Robinson 586
8. Mark McGwire 583
9. Harmon Killebrew 573
10. Rafael Palmeiro 569
11. Reggie Jackson 563
12. Mike Schmidt 548
13. Mickey Mantle 536
14. Jimmie Foxx 534
T15. Willie McCovey 521
T15. Ted Williams 521
T17. Ernie Banks 512
T17. Eddie Mathews 512
19. Mel Ott 511
20. x-Frank Thomas 505
21. Eddie Murray 504
22. x-Alex Rodriguez 500

x= active players

Rogers Cup: tournament opens.

The 2007 Rogers Cup presented in Montreal at the Uniprix stadium began yesterday in a very rainy monday morning. The heavy rain lasted at least two hours, completely freezing the tournament until noon. Matches were completed during the afternoon and already a few seeded players like Thomas Berdych are already eliminated from the tournament.

As for the best canadian hope, Frank Dancevic (now ranked 91st in the world after his appearance in final at Indianapolis) has won his first round match yesterday in three sets of 6-4, 3-6 and 6-3 over Manuel Del Potro, ranked 75th on the ATP tour.

Dancevic will face Wayne Odesnik in the second round. Odesnik is a qualified player who defeated Ivan Ljubicic the 11th seeded player of the tournament yesterday.

Free for all.

The Hungarian Grand Prix was not very spectacular today as very few passing opportunities are available on that track. The biggest part of the action took part between the qualifying session and the race itself where the FIA penalized Fernando Alonso and McLaren.

First of all, Fernando Alonso was stripped of his pole position and taken 5 places behind for blocking Lewis Hamilton during the final qualifying session yesterday. Also, the McLaren-Mercedes team was penalized for that same obstruction. All of their points accumulated during the Hungarian grand prix will not count in the constructors championship. McLaren has appealed of this decision and their appeal will be heard by the FIA in september.

From the pole to the finish line, Lewis Hamilton was in front today and won his 3rd race of the season just in front of Kimi Raikkonen and his Ferrari. Nick Heidfeld confirms the good BMW performances during the whole weekend finishing in 3rd place.

We will have to be patient now as the F1 championship is taking a break and will resume in 3 weeks in Turkey.

Hungarian Grand Prix top 10 finish:

Winner: Lewis Hamilton (McLaren)
2-Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) +0:00.750
3-Nick Heidfeld (BMW) +0:43.129
4-Fernando Alonso (McLaren) +0:44.858
5-Robert Kubica (BMW) +0:47.616
6-Ralf Schumacher (Toyota) +0:50.669
7-Nico Rosberg (Williams) +0:59.139
8-Heikki Kovalainen (Renault) +1:08.104
9-Mark Webber (Red Bull) +1:16.331
10-Jarno Trulli (Toyota) +1 lap

Drivers championship after 11/17 races:

1-Lewis Hamilton 80 points
2-Fernando Alonso 73 points
3-Kimi Raikkonen 60 points
4-Felipe Massa 59 points
5-Nick Heidfeld 42 points
6-Robert Kubica 28 points
7-Giancarlo Fisichella 17 points
8-Heikki Kovalainen 16 points
9-Alexander Wurz 13 points

Constructors championship:

1-McLaren-Mercedes 138 points
2-Ferrari 119 points
3-BMW-Sauber 71 points
4-Renault 33 points
5-Williams 20 points
6-Red Bull 16 points
7-Toyota 12 points
8-Super Aguri 4 points
9-Honda 1 point

(Picture: f1-live.com)