Monday Morning Musings

Another somewhat fantastic sports weekend is in the books. I had a great time taking in some Chinook Hockey League action on Friday and watching two great days worth of football on TV (which made not having internet at my house this weekend much more bearable)... the benefits of still living a single man's lifestyle in my early 30's :)

- The Red Deer Rebels went into the weekend sitting five points out of a WHL playoff spot. They kept their postseason hopes alive on Friday with a huge 5-4 win over the Wheat Kings in Brandon. It was a massive four-point game that pulled the Rebels within three points of the Wheaties for 8th in the East. The Rebs showed great determination in coming back from a 3-1 first period deficit to get the win. Things didn't go nearly as well on Saturday in a 4-0 loss to the Broncos in Swift Current. The ponies scored just 1:02 into the first period and added three more in the third period for the win. Jon Groenheyde, playing in his 133rd career game, made 25 saves for his first ever WHL shutout. What's worse for the Rebels is they could soon find themselves minus the services of new-acquired forward Marc Mackenzie. He caught an edge and crashed hard into the boards in Swift Current. We'll know more today... but losing Mackenzie would be tough for the Rebels as he had settled nicely into a third line role with the team, bringing a nice mix of toughness and offensive ability. I'll let you know as soon as I hear more. Let's hope for the best. The Calgary Hitmen (finally) make their first visit to the Enmax Centrium to take on the Rebels tomorrow night. Game time 7pm. We'll have the pregame show on 106.7 The Drive starting at 6:30pm.

- Friday night, I ventured out to Bentley to take in some Chinook Hockey League action. My only regret with my Rebels gig is that I don't get to watch as many Senior AAA games as I'd like to... it truly is an outstanding calibre of hockey. The Gens beat Fort Saskatchewan 4-2 in the game I was at. It's a dog fight for positioning in the CHL this season. Check out www.chinookhockeyleague.com for the latest standings and for upcoming game dates and times.

- My "6-49" dream remains alive after this weekend. No, I'm not referring to winning the lottery although I'd be quite alright with that. I'm talking about my dream of seeing the San Francisco 49ers win their sixth Superbowl title. What an absolute thriller it was on Saturday as the Niners outscored the high-octane New Orleans Saints 36-32. Alex Smith... yes, Alex Smith... was the late game hero for San Fran in scampering for a 28-yard TD run and then hooking up with Vernon Davis for what will go down in Niners folklore as "The Catch III." You don't want to know just how excited I was after that play! The New York Giants will visit Candlestick Park for what should be an epic NFC Championship game. I wouldn't call the Giants 37-20 win over Green Bay a complete shock. What was surprising was how disjointed Aaron Rodgers and the Packers offense looked throughout the entire game. They never were able to get on-track while Eli Manning proved (again) that he indeed is an elite NFL quarterback. Elsewhere... Tom Brady and the Patriots ended Tebow Time in a big way and the Ravens won a snoozer over Houston.

- He would never say as much... but you just know Darryl Sutter was 'pleased' after his LA Kings beat Brother Brent and the Calgary Flames 4-1 on Saturday.

- Congrats to Sylvan Lake's Lyndon Rush and teammate Jesse Lumsden for winning a silver medal in two-man bobsled in World Cup action in Germany on Saturday. It's Rush's seventh career World Cup medal and the first for Lumsden

- Jocelyn Peterman and her rink (Brittany Tran, Rebecca Konschuh and Kristine Anderson) won the women's title at the Junior Curling Provincial Championships this weekend in Medicine Hat. They will represent Alberta at the Canadian championships next month in Napanee, Ontario.

That's all I have for now. It'll be another busy day as we tape another episode of 'Southside Dodge Rebels This Week' on a frigidly cold day here in Red Deer. Happy Monday to you all!

TG