John Isner vs Nicolas Mahut: Match Of The Century?

This 2010 edition of the Wimbledon Championships has given us a match for the ages.

The first round match opposing the American John Isner to the Frenchmen Nicolas Mahut has broken many records in the big book of professionnal tennis.

Isner and Mahut disputed an intense match on court No. 18 that lasted a grand total of 11h05! The match went for so long that it required three days to be completed. A large crowd gathered around the court cheered loudly for both players during the second and third day of the memorable duel.

John Isner finally managed to end the match during day three of the marathon, winning by the score of 6-4, 3-6, 6-7, 7-6 and 70-68! The fifth and final set alone required a total of 8h11 of play! An amazing record itself.

But the lenght of the match was not the only record for both players. For example, Isner registered 112 aces while Mahut recorded 103 himself. A total of at least twelve records, including Guinness records, were broken, a very rare accomplishment for any single sporting event.

As we already are as far as a tenth of this ''brand new'' 21st Century, I have a feeling that this historical matchup will receive a fair share of votes in the ''Match Of The Century'' vote come year 2100.

A fair comparison to the Isner-Mahut match in the longevity department alone with a different sport could go as far as, for example, a 50 inning baseball game, a Superbowl victory during the 10th overtime quarter, a 40 rounds boxing match or an Indy 1000.

Unless a brand new sport involving cyborgs pops out and steals the popular vote, the Isner-Mahut clash will remain a classic of this 21st Century.

Alright, be sure to be there to register your vote for the ''Match Of The 21st Century'' in a little bit less than 90 years from now. :)

(Picture: John Isner, Getty Images.)

Montreal Canadiens Trade Jaroslav Halak To St-Louis.

The Montreal Canadiens' General Manager Pierre Gauthier announced this Thursday that he concluded a trade with the St-Louis Blues. Goaltender Jaroslav Halak has been traded to the Blues for young prospects Lars Eller and Ian Schultz.

With his late season and playoff performances, Halak's value has gone up. But it seems to me that Jaroslav Halak was worth more than the two players the Canadiens acquired. Many Canadiens fans agree with me and think that Gauthier did not get enough for his goaltender.

So after saving the 2009-2010 season for his team and after he brought them against all odds to the Eastern conference final, Jaroslav Halak was shipped away for two prospects.

Goaltender Carey Price will now have to make the fans forget about Halak and his performances during the course of the next season. The Montreal Canadiens fans will expect a lot from Price and will not miss a chance to boo him should the goaltender experience some problems next season. All the pressure will be on Price.

We all knew that the Halak trade was inevitable with the salary situation in Montreal. The contract negociations with players like Tomas Plekanec and a couple of others forced Gauthier to free some space under his salary cap in order to be able to negociate.

But was it the best that Gauthier could get?

(Picture: Jaroslav Halak, Canadian Press.)

2010 Canadian Grand Prix: Complete Success!

The return of Formula One racing on the Gilles Villeneuve circuit after a year of absence was highly welcomed by racing fans who felt like it happened a decade ago.

Starting from the pole for the third time in three appearances in Canada, Lewis Hamilton in his McLaren Mercedes has led the major part of the event and tagged his second victory in a row this season.

Incidently, this was a second victory in career for Hamilton at Ile Notre-Dame. With this string of good results, the British driver also took the lead in the drivers' championship.

The race itself was disputed at a wild pace as the safety car stayed parked in the pit lane for the whole lenght of the event. The track temperature reached 40 degrees and even the medium tyres suffered, forcing all the teams to add a pit stop to their plan very early in the race.

A lot of action all over the field and many overtakings ponctuated the race to the pleasure of the fans in attendance. Jenson Button placed his McLaren Mercedes in second place: a perfect weekend for the silver arrows. Ferrari's Fernando Alonso completed the podium as he fought well during the whole race.

A bit of a deception for both Red Bull cars as they were pushed outside the podium for a rare time this season. Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber respectively finished in fourth and fifth place.

Also in the notable section, both Force India cars driven by Vitantonio Liuzzi and Adrian Sutil placed in the points just in front of the great Michael Schumacher who fought with his car all weekend long to finish in 11th place.

The stands were packed to capacity and all the tickets available were sold. The event was a clear success. Perfect weather and a lot of festivities insures the success of this event in Montreal for years to come...

But is there any future for the Canadian Grand Prix beyond 2012?

As some of you might already know, the Formula One circus has scheduled a comeback in the United States for the 2012 season. With a brand new circuit in Arizona dedicated to Formula One, the calendar could eventually evict the Montreal event from the calendar and still be in contact with the American market.

I am really wondering this possibility and am praying that I am only hallucinating.

For the moment, let us celebrate the great event we just witnessed in Montreal and follow the continuation of this exciting season.

(Picture: Lewis Hamilton, Canadian Press.)

Stanley Cup Final: Chicago Blackhawks Crowned In Overtime.

The Chicago Blackhawks and the Philadelphia Flyers disputed an exciting and classic Game Six Wednesday at the Wachovia centre in Philadelphia.

Patrick Kane broke the 3-3 tie during the overtime period for Chicago when he beat goaltender Michael Leighton with a very precise shot from a sharp angle.

The Blackhawks' captain, Jonathan Toews, was awarded the Conn Smythe trophy as he was voted the most valuable player of these 2010 playoffs. Toews lifted the Stanley Cup for Chicago for the first time since 1961.

But this Game Six was a lot more than just an overtime goal.

The Hawks opened the score during a man-advantage in the second half of the opening frame. Dustin Byfuglien put the puck past Leighton as he was standing alone right in front of the goal.

The Flyers replied during a man-advantage of their own, just before the end of the first period. Scott Hartnell tied the game at 1 with a savvy backhand shot on a rebound allowed by goaltender Antti Niemi.

In the second period, Daniel Briere gave the lead to the Flyers. A brillant passing play that was concluded by a real warrior for Philadelphia. Briere received a nasty high stick during Game Five of the final last Sunday and an immense scar that required 10 stitches could be clearly seen under his right eye.

The Hawks tied the game and even took the lead during this second frame. Patrick Sharp and Andrew Ladd with a tip-in gave the Hawks a one goal lead going into the third period.

Philadelphia applied a ton of pressure on Chicago's net and the hard work finally paid off. Scott Hartnell scored a second goal in this game, and with only 3:59 to play, both teams were in a 3-3 deadlock once again.

Patrick Kane ended Philadelphia's exceptionnal playoff run with a heart breaker of a goal. I have to salute the efforts of Daniel Briere, Simon Gagné, Ville Leino, Scott Hartnell and Ian Laperriere who played like champions during those 2010 playoffs but fell just a bit short.

Final score: Chicago Blackhawks 4 - Philadelphia Flyers 3 (overtime) (Chicago wins the series by 4-2.)

Congratulations to the Chicago Blackhawks for their fantastic victory.

(Picture: Jonathan Toews, Canadian Press.)

Stanley Cup Final: Philadelphia Gets On The Board.

Game Three of the 2010 Stanley Cup Final was presented Wednesday at the Wachovia centre in Philadelphia. The Philadelphia Flyers could not afford to drop a third game in a row and gave their best effort in order to pull a victory from the Chicago Blackhawks.

This third game was without a doubt the most exciting of the series. Both teams took the lead at some point in the game and the suspense kept building on and on.

The Flyers opened the score during the first period when Daniel Briere beat goaltender Antti Niemi during a man advantage. Briere scored after receiving an awesome pass across the goal mouth from Scott Hartnell.

The Blackhawks tied the game at 1 early into the second period. Duncan Keith's shot from the blue line was deflected in front of Michael Leighton who did not have a clue on the play. Halfway into the second frame, Scott Hartnell deflected a shot from the blue line that barely came across the goal line. The video review was needed to award Philadelphia's second goal.

The Hawks tied the game once again only a couple of minutes before the end of the second period. Brent Sopel's powerful shot got past Leighton after a face off won by John Madden.

The third period was intense and this time the Hawks took the lead when Patrick Kane went alone on Leighton. A chance that Kane did not miss. But the Flyers tied the game at 3 only thirty seconds later. Ville Leino pounced on a rebound allowed by Niemi and tied the game up once again.

The game carried over in overtime and the Flyers needed to score twice to finally claim their first victory of the series.

After a deflected shot hitted the Hawks' goal post, a mad scramble in front of the Hawks net screened referee Bill McCreary momentarily. McCreary lost sight of the puck and blew his whistle. At the same time, a Philadelphia forward pushed the puck in the net but the referee disallowed the goal, disgusting most of the home team fans.

But the injustice was repaired only a couple of minutes later by Claude Giroux who deflected a shot in front of Antti Niemi to finally seal the Flyers' first win of the series.

Final score: Philadelphia Flyers 4 - Chicago Blackhawks 3 (overtime) (Chicago leads the series by 2-1.)

Game Four will be disputed tomorrow at the Wachovia centre in Philadelphia.

(Picture: Canadian Press.)

2010 Stanley Cup Final: Chicago Takes The First Two Games.

The Chicago Blackhawks have taken a 2-0 series lead over the Philadelphia Flyers with two consecutive victories at home.

Game One will go in the books as a furious offensive game that the Blackhawks managed to reel in. An ugly outing for both goaltenders, Antti Niemi and Michael Leighton.

Five goals in the first and five other goals during the second period and both teams were tied up at 5-5 after 40 minutes. The Blackhawks scored the lone third period goal to take the 6-5 victory and 1-0 series lead.

Monday for Game Two, the defensive adjustments from both head coaches paid off.

A lot more physical game and heavy bodychecks brought the scoring down a bit. The Hawks managed to score two goals in a 28 second span during the second period. Marian Hossa and Ben Eager beat Leighton while the Flyers could only score a single goal, from Simon Gagné, during the third period despite a flurry of shots and pressure on Antti Niemi.

A 2-1 victory for the Chicago Blackhawks who now leads the series by 2-0.

Games Three and Four will be disputed in Philadelphia and the Flyers desperatly needs to win games now or this final will end very soon.

(Picture: Ben Eager, canadian Press.)