Controversial finish at the Bell centre.

During the wee hours on Friday, Lucian Bute was defending his IBF super-middleweight title against Librado Andrade. The fight was entertaining, intense and ended with a controversial 12th round.

For the record, Lucian Bute retained his IBF title by unanimous decision. But should this last round lasted another thirty seconds, Librado Andrade would've walked out of Montreal the IBF super-middleweight champion with a 12th round KO victory.

After the 11th round, Lucian Bute was clearly ahead on the judges' score cards. He managed his fight brillantly using his speed and technique to his advantage. With such a good lead going into the final round, Bute decided to give a little more show to the screaming fans gathered at the Bell centre.

This mistake almost costed Lucian Bute his IBF title. Librado Andrade continued his charges while going forward and caught the champion with a bundle of shots. The champion was reeling, barely hanging on. Then with only a few seconds to go to the final round, Bute fell down in the corner.

The champion was clearly stunned and was brought to the limit of his stamina by the challenger. As the referee was delivering his ten count to the champion, Andrade walked towards the center of the ring, leaving the neutral corner he was assigned to by the referee. Marlon B. Wright stopped his count and admonished Andrade to go back to the neutral corner before resuming his count to Bute.

Those extra seconds allowed Lucian Bute to pick himself up in time before the referee could reach the count of ten. The 12th round ended only a few seconds later to the displeasure of the challenger and his corner. The judges' scorecards favored the champion and a controversy was born.

The challenger and his coaches will appeal of this decision towards the IBF and we should hear a bit more on this situation in the coming weeks. But the best way to resolve this situation is to allow a rematch between those two fighters as soon as possible.

(Picture: Lucian Bute and Librado Andrade, Canadian Press.)

Qualified for the quarterfinals.

The Montreal Impact's participation in the CONCACAF Champions League is becoming a great adventure for the club.

Tuesday evening at the Saputo stadium, Montreal qualified themselves for the quarterfinals with a 1-1 tie versus the CD Olympia. Roberto Brown scored once again for Montreal to insure the club's place into the next round.

With a record of 3-0-2, Montreal is still in first place of Group C. Atlante FC is the other club of the group qualified for the quarterfinals. Both teams will play each other on October 28 to decide of who will finish on top of the group.

The quarterfinals are to be played in February of 2009 and the club is working with the city of Montreal to present the most important match of the club history at the Olympic stadium.

(Picture: Roberto Brown.)

Fifth victory in a row for the Canadiens.

Tonight at the Bell centre, the Montreal Canadiens hosted the only NHL team holding a winning record against the Habs in franchise history: the Florida Panthers.

As strange as it sounds, the Panthers had a 25-22-2 record versus the Canadiens before the start of the match. They represent the only team with a winning record over the Montreal Canadiens in franchise history.

During the first period, both goaltenders kept the game scoreless. Both goaltenders, Tomas Vokoun and Jaroslav Halak did pretty good in front of their respective nets.

Then into the second period, a great pass from Andrei Markov to Saku Koivu allowed Montreal to take the lead. Koivu's goal was his 600th point as a member of the Montreal Canadiens. Jaroslav Halak faced some quality shots during the second half of the period but did not allow the Panthers to tie the game up.

But during the third period, the Panthers finally beat Halak on a rebound. Keith Ballard with his very first goal of the season tied the game at 1.

Before the end of the third frame, the Canadiens scored two more goals. Francis Bouillon who was playing his very first game of the season broke the tie with just over five minutes to play. Then into an empty net, Tomas Plekanec added the insurance goal.

Final score: Montreal Canadiens 3 - Florida Panthers 1.

Montreal continues their great start of season and will host the Anaheim Ducks Saturday night.

(Picture: Jaroslav Halak, Getty Images.)

China Grand Prix: Hamilton dominates and leads by 7.

Starting from the pole at the Chinese Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton did not commit any major mistake and led the race in it's entirety.

This is the fifth victory of the season for the McLaren driver. Felipe Massa in his Ferrari finished in second place and stayed in the hunt for the last event of the season. Kimi Raikkonen completed the podium.

Now with only a single event to go in this 2008 season, Hamilton's lead over Felipe Massa has increased to seven points. For Felipe Massa, a victory in Brazil combined with a 6th place or worse for Lewis Hamilton is the only way he can still win the drivers championship. The championship is for Hamilton to lose.

Fernando Alonso continued his great end of season with his 4th place. We can expect great things from Renault during the next season. The car is more and more competitive as this 2008 season unfolded and could be a serious contender come next season.

Will we crown Lewis Hamilton in Brazil? Or will we re-live the spectacular ending of 2007? Tune in for the Brazil Grand Prix to find out who ends up on top.

Chinese Grand Prix top ten finish:

Winner: Lewis Hamilton (McLaren)
2-Felipe Massa (Ferrari) +14.9 seconds
3-Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) +16.4 seconds
4-Fernando Alonso (Renault) +18.3 seconds
5-Nick Heidfeld (BMW-Sauber) +28.9 seconds
6-Robert Kubica (BMW-Sauber) +33.2 seconds
7-Timo Glock (Toyota) +41.7 seconds
8-Nelson Piquet Jr (Renault) +56.6 seconds
9-Sebastian Vettel (Toro Rosso) +64.3 seconds
10-David Coulthard (Red Bull) +74.8 seconds

Drivers championship after 17/18 races:

1-Lewis Hamilton 94 points
2-Felipe Massa 87 points
3-Robert Kubica 75 points
4-Kimi Raikkonen 69 points
5-Nick Heidfeld 60 points
6-Fernando Alonso 53 points
7-Heikki Kovalainen 51 points
8-Sebastian Vettel 30 points
9-Jarno Trulli 30 points
10-Timo Glock 22 points
11-Mark Webber 21 points
12-Nelson Piquet Jr 19 points
13-Nico rosberg 17 points
14-Rubens Barrichello 11 points
15-Kazuki Nakajima 9 points
16-David Coulthard 8 points
17-Sebastien Bourdais 7 points
18-Jenson Button 3 points

Constructors championship:

1-Ferrari 142 points
2-McLaren 135 points
3-BMW-Sauber 128 points
4-Renault 66 points
5-Toyota 50 points
6-Toro Rosso 37 points
7-Red Bull 29 points
8-Williams 26 points
9-Honda 14 points

(Picture: Lewis Hamilton, Getty Images.)

Rough Saturday evening for Andrei Kostitsyn.

The Montreal Canadiens played the Phoenix Coyotes at the Bell centre tonight. As far as the final score is concerned, the Canadiens disposed easily of the Coyotes by the score of 4-1.

But the match itself was a tough encounter. Many times, we saw some pushing after the whistles and the fans witnessed a few brawls, especially during the second period. The incident that initiated the rough stuff came during that second frame when Kurt Sauer used one of his elbow to pin Andrei Kostitsyn hard into the boards. The forward stayed on the ice for a long period of time before being escorted outside the rink.

Tom Kostopoulos and Georges Laraque came to Kostitsyn's defense and fought with Kurt Sauer and Todd Fedoruk during that long second period. Andrei Kostitsyn never came back to the ice, his physical condition will be evaluated this weekend.

As for the scoring in this game, Montreal scored twice during the first period. Alex Tanguay and Saku Koivu continued on their great early season momentum with a goal each. Then into the second frame, Alex Tanguay scored his second of the game while Robert Lang gave a 4-0 lead to the Canadiens.

Shane Doan avoided the shutout halfway into the third period and was the only player to beat goaltender Carey Price. After six games, the Canadiens is one of the few teams without a loss registered during regulation this season.

(Picture: Andrei Kostitsyn, Canadian Press.)

Blackhawks fire Denis Savard.

After only four games into this new season, the Chicago Blackhawks have fired their head coach and ex-superstar, Denis Savard. At the head of the Hawks, Denis Savard kept a record of 65 wins, 66 losses and 16 losses during extra time.

The Hawks announced that they replaced Savard by Joel Quenneville but the real question to ask is: Why wait after only four games into the season? If the team planned to replace Denis Savard, why did they wait after the training camp and after four games into the season to make their move?

The team would've been better off with their change during the off-season. Now, the new coach is thrown in without any work and preparation. The training camp is designed to put in place a strategy and for the coaches to install their system. So why not fire Savard during the off-season to give a running chance to their new head coach?

Then there is the other side of the story. Why let Denis Savard work thru the training camp if they intended to fire him? The managing personnel of the Chicago Blackhawks are showing signs of indecision and it will not help them in their attempt of rebuilding the franchise.

With young talent like Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane in the lineup, a little stability would do a lot more good. Instead of that, the team now has to go through personnel change after four games into the new season.

(Picture: Denis Savard, Canadian Press.)

One period was enough.

The Montreal Canadiens ended their three-game road trip in Philadelphia as they faced the Flyers.

Many players wanted to avenge last season' elimination at the hands of the broad street bullies. After a tough first and second period, the Flyers were ahead by 2 to 1. Jeff Carter and Mike Richards scored two quick goals to take the early lead into the contest.

But the Canadiens lit the lamp four times in the third period to finally win the contest. Roman Hamrlik and Mike Komisarek scored two goals in a 44 seconds span to definatly put the Canadiens ahead. Robert Lang added a goal for Montreal who was leading by 4 to 2 past the halfway mark into the third period.

Simon Gagné made the game interesting with a goal for the Flyers but it was too late. Steve Begin scored the insurance marker for Montreal during the final minute of the game.

Final score: Montreal Canadiens 5 - Philadelphia Flyers 3.

Montreal comes back home with a harvest of five points on a possible six. The next match for the Habs will be played on wednesday as they will play their home opener against the Boston Bruins.

(Picture: The Montreal Canadiens, Getty Images.)

Japan Grand Prix: Alonso wins a second race in a row.

After winning his first race of the season in Singapore, Fernando Alonso repeated and finished in first place of the Japan Grand Prix.

Besides the fact that Renault has shown that they are back to the front of the pack after a difficult start of season, all eyes were on the battle for the drivers championship between Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa.

Hamilton sabotaged his race at the very first corner. Once the red lights extinguished, the McLaren driver pointed the nose of his car inside of the Ferrari driven by Kimi Raikkonen and locked his wheels, forcing Raikkonen to roll outside of the track.

This loss of control from Hamilton forced the race officials to penalize him sending Hamilton way back. The British driver will finish the race out of the points in 12th place. As for Felipe Massa, he collided with Lewis Hamilton a few corners after the start and was also forced to the back of the pack. Massa will end up in 8th place and will only gather a single point.

The race for the drivers championship is still undecided. Hamilton's lead over Felipe Massa has been reduced to five points while Robert Kubica of BMW-Sauber is still mathematically in the hunt.

Japan Grand Prix top ten finish:

Winner: Fernando Alonso (Renault)
2-Robert Kubica (BMW-Sauber) +5.2 seconds
3-Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) +6.4 seconds
4-Nelson Piquet Jr (Renault) +20.5 seconds
5-Jarno Trulli (Toyota) +23.7 seconds
6-Sebastien Bourdais (Toro Rosso) +34.0 seconds
7-Sebastian Vettel (Toro Rosso) +39.2 seconds
8-Felipe Massa (Ferrari) +46.1 seconds
9-Mark Webber (Red Bull) +50.8 seconds
10-Nick Heidfeld (BMW-Sauber) +54.1 seconds

Drivers championship after 16/18 races:

1-Lewis Hamilton 84 points
2-Felipe Massa 79 points
3-Robert Kubica 72 points
4-Kimi Raikkonen 63 points
5-Nick Heidfeld 56 points
6-Heikki Kovalainen 51 points
7-Fernando Alonso 48 points
8-Jarno Trulli 30 points
9-Sebastian Vettel 29 points
10-Mark webber 21 points
11-Timo Glock 20 points
12-Nelson Piquet Jr 18 points
13-Nico Rosberg 17 points
14-Rubens Barrichello 11 points
15-Kazuki Nakajima 9 points
16-David Coulthard 8 points
17-Sebastien Bourdais 7 points
18-Jenson Button 3 points

Constructors championship:

1	Ferrari	141
2	McLaren-Mercedes	135
3	BMW-Sauber	128
4	Renault	66
5	Toyota	50
6	Toro Rosso	36
7	Red Bull	28
8	Williams	26
9	Honda	14

(Picture: Fernando Alonso, Canadian Press.)

Habs schools the Leafs.

Only 24 hours after their deceiving performance in Buffalo, the Montreal Canadiens were the guests of the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Air Canada centre. Tonight's game was the home opener for the Leafs a few days after their brilliant victory over the defending Stanley Cup champions.

Jaroslav Halak was in net for Montreal and he had to keep Toronto off the score sheet after only a few minutes. The solid play from the Habs goaltender gave confidence to Montreal. Once the early Toronto storm has passed, the Canadiens opened the flood gates on the Leafs.

The Habs scored twice during the first period with goals from Roman Hamrlik and Alex Kovalev. Montreal added four goals during the second frame. Sergei Kostitsyn scored twice, Guillaume Latendresse added one goal while Alex Tanguay scored his first one as a member of the Canadiens.

Montreal's power play was clicking as they converted on the man advantage a total of three times during the evening. The line composed of Saku Koivu, Guillaume Latendresse and Alex Tanguay was hot. The three linemates combined their efforts and it was good enough for ten points.

For the Leafs, only Jason Blake managed to beat Jaroslav Halak. The season will be a long one for Leafs fans as the team is going through a rejuvenation process that should take a couple of seasons before any positive result shows.

Final score: Montreal Canadiens 6 - Toronto Maple Leafs 1

Montreal will travel to Philadelphia as they will face the Flyers on monday. Carey Price should be in net for Montreal.

(Picture: Alex Tanguay, Getty Images.)

Montreal and Buffalo opens their season in a total boredom.

The Montreal Canadiens opened their 2008-2009 season tonight at the HSBC centre in Buffalo. After waiting for months since the last hockey game played in June, hockey is finally back.

Tonight's match between the Habs and the Sabres lacked rhythm all evening long. There was a few moments here and there but in general, the excitement of the new season wasn't there.

I really pity those who bought season tickets for this 2008-2009 Buffalo Sabres season. The team will be a total bore this year and we had a very good sample of it tonight. On the other hand, there was one good news for the Buffalo Sabres tonight: they managed to drag down the Montreal Canadiens to their level of play.

The scoring for tonight is very easy to elaborate. First, the newest member of the Canadiens, Robert Lang, opened the score during the first period with the first goal of the season for Montreal. Lang recuperated a loose puck in front of goaltender Ryan Miller and sent it over the goalie.

Tomas Vanek tied the game at 1 before the end of the first frame when he undressed Montreal's defense to beat goaltender Carey Price between the pads.

The game went to overtime as nobody could manage to score a goal during the second and third period. The extra period itself did not produce any scoring and the contest had to be decided at the shootout. The shootout was eventually won by the Sabres who scored twice on Carey Price while Robert Lang and Saku Koivu failed in front of Ryan Miller.

Final score: Buffalo Sabres 2 - Montreal Canadiens 1 (shootout)

Montreal travels to Toronto to play the Toronto Maple Leafs tomorrow evening.

(Picture: Carey Price and Maxim Afinogenov, Getty Images.)

Montreal loses the Formula One Grand Prix.

As we were remembering and celebrating the first Formula One victory of Gilles Villeneuve thirty years ago this week, a bombshell hitted the organization led by Normand Legault.

Bernie Ecclestone unveiled a version of the 2009 calendar this week and the Canadian Grand Prix is not on the list. The 2009 calendar was supposed to contain a total of 19 races but is now only showing 18. The Canadian Grand Prix is nowhere to be found on the list.

In reaction to this fact yesterday, Normand Legault, the only remaining private Formula One race promoter, announced that he and his company (Grand Prix du Canada) are retiring themselves and will not negotiate for any future Formula One Grand Prix to be held in Montreal. The amount of money asked by Bernie Ecclestone to run again in Montreal is too much for Legault and his company. In a word, the Canadian Grand Prix is officially dead.

The only way that another Formula One race could be held on the Gilles Villeneuve circuit is through a negotiation with the Canadian government. This is the way that the other Grand Prix are negotiated right now and there is no alternate way to negotiate for the ''money hungry'' Bernie Ecclestone.

There is a waiting list coming from all around the globe to organize an event to replace Montreal and Bernie knows it too well. He will ignore the fact that the majority of the pilots and crew chiefs appreciate the city and the event itself for him to earn even more money.

As they say, there are no feelings in business.

(Picture: Gilles Villeneuve circuit, Canadian Press.)

Ready for an historic season.

This weekend, the Montreal Canadiens will begin the 100th season of their rich history. A hundred years that will be celebrated all year long. The club has prepared a couple of celebrations and fans will have the chance to join in all year long.

The club is without any contest NHL's most recognized hockey club on the planet. The 24 Stanley Cups won in it's history and the many legendary players that worn the uniform will be celebrated in this 100th season.

A first occasion to remember the glorious past of the organization will take place on November 22nd when the Canadiens will retire Patrick Roy's number 33. The legendary goaltender will see his number retired and raised to the roof of the Bell centre before a match with the Boston Bruins.

Montreal will also host the All-Star game and the 2009 NHL entry draft. All the focus will be on the city of Montreal during this 2008-2009 season. There is also another event brewing up as the club is trying to organize a special game that could be played at the Olympic Stadium.

As for the club itself, the Canadiens did a good job this summer to improove their lineup. First, the Canadiens did not renew Michael Ryder's contract. The right-handed winger was not in the team's plans anymore. Ryder signed a contract a few weeks later with the Boston Bruins.

The Canadiens signed Alex Tanguay and Robert Lang during the off-season to add a little more punch to their already explosive attack. The Canadiens will have three very good offensive lines this season and they are already considered by many experts among the serious contenders in this 2008-2009 season.

Will the Canadiens grasp a 25th championship in history during their centennial? Stay tuned all season long to find out.

Jeff Hardy's indiscipline.

As we are now only a couple of days away from ''No Mercy'', I have read that just a couple of weeks ago, WWE superstar Jeff Hardy was removed from a plane by police officers because he was too drunk to board.

Hardy is a part of the main event this weekend as he has a shot at the WWE Championship held by the great Triple H. This kind of bad publicity could jeopardize an eventual reign atop of the WWE. The championship belts are usually awarded to wrestlers who contribute the most to the success of the company.

In this last month's incident, Jeff Hardy was boarding on a plane in Nashville with his brother Matt who is incidently the current ECW champion. A Southwest Airlines employee called the police when he or she felt that the wrestling star was intoxicated. Jeff Hardy was not arrested nor handcuffed but was clearly ''escorted'' by officers.

This is not the first incident involving Jeff Hardy this year. Just a few months ago in march of this year, Hardy was suspended for 60 days by the WWE after failing another drug test. The superstar lost his Intercontinental championship belt and was barred from Wrestlemania. Hardy was also fired by the WWE for drug abuse back in 2003.

Will this new case end up with a Triple H victory at No Mercy? We will have the answer this weekend.

(Picture: Jeff Hardy.)

The Montreal Impact strikes again.

For their third group phase match of the CONCACAF Champions League yesterday, the Montreal Impact were visiting the CD Olympia in Honduras.

After a quick goal from the head of Roberto Brown during the second minute of the match, the local team started to pick up the pace. A well played free kick allowed the CD Olympia to tie up the score at 1.

Then late into the second half, a penalty was awarded to Montreal at the 79th minute. Roberto Brown converted this glorious chance and gave Montreal a 2-1 lead. A lead that the team did not waste.

With this victory, the Montreal Impact improoves their record to 2-0-1 (+3) and occupy the first place of Group C. The FC Atlante can tie up Montreal's record with a win over Joe Public FC.

The next group phase match for Montreal will take place on October 8th in Trinidad & Tobago.

(Picture: Roberto Brown, Canadian Press.)