Top Nine Canadian Sports Stories/Moments of 2009

For 2009 I've complied a list of the top nine Canadian sporting moments of the year. Just a warning these moments are probably incredibly bias towards my favourite sports and teams

9. Pittsburgh's Stanley Cup victory this year had a very Canadian feel to it. With the then twenty-one-year-old captain, Sidney Crosby, lifting the Cup after a fantastic playoffs alongside often criticized goalie Marc-André Fleury who made some key saves especially in game seven, many Canadians got behind the Penguins. Although Detroit boasted an array of Canadian talent as well (as almost all NHL teams do) Pittsburgh felt like Canada's team during those seven games.

8. Daniel Nestor won the men's doubles competition at Wimbledon for the second straight year. Along with Serbian partner, Nenad Zimonjić, Nestor won in four sets over the Bryan brothers. Daniel Nestor had already won all four grand slam tournaments and has an Olympic Gold medal to boot as he continues to be one of the most under appreciated athletes this country has.

7. Despite vast opposition to the games coming from withing the city and the country Toronto was awarded the 2015 Pan Am games. What will it mean for the city? Will it lead to a Summer Olympics in Toronto? Will it be a money sucking failure? Who knows... but it will be a very interesting next few years in the lead up to these games.

6. In what looks like it will be the final season of USL-1 the second tier of soccer in North America, the final was contested between the two Canadian teams in the division. The Montreal Impact came out on top of the Vancouver Whitecaps after winning 6-3 on aggregate over two exciting matches. The win for the Impact came after one of the most up and down seasons in the history of sports with embarrassment in the Voyageurs Cup and in the second leg of their CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal against Santos Laguna.

5. Sure the Olympics are next year but with the torch relay, and Canadian World Cup results coming in thick and fast (both positive and some disastrous with the recent skit team injuries), this country really has caught Olympic fever. Vancouver are getting ready to host the big part in less than two months and for two weeks next February the whole world will be watching Canada.

4. Yes, Canada winning the World Juniors is no big deal, especially after the juniors won their fifth straight tournament in Ottawa at the start of the year. But some of the hockey played during this tournament was outstanding. Canada's 7-4 win over the United States (technically during the dying hours of 2008) was one of the greatest hockey games I have ever seen. Jordan Eberle's tying goal against Russia in the semi-finals a few days later to send the game into overtime at 6-6 was brilliant. Of course seeing Eberle score the winner in the shootout against Russia and Canada going on to win the gold against Sweden in the final was the icing on the cake.

3. After what was a fairly average Grey Cup for three quarters, the fourth quarter threw up some real drama with the thirteenth man controversy that will surely go down in Grey Cup history as one of the biggest mistakes of all time. However the final penalty that Saskatchewan took overshadowed a fantastic comeback engineered by Anthony Calvillo and the Montreal Alouettes.

2. The Montreal Impact kicked off their season with a game to remember. In front of 55,000 fans at Olympic Stadium, the Impact pulled out a 2-0 result against Santos Laguna of Mexico. Considering almost all of the support was for the Impact this was a new frontier for Canadian soccer attendances in the current era. Had Montreal not shit the bed in Mexico and gave away what was essentially a four goal lead the result may have marked something much bigger.

1. Three of the best football games that university football has ever seen in this country took place in three straight weeks this November. The Queen's Golden Gaels beat Western 43-39 in the Yates Cup final at Richardson Stadium in a game which feature two quarterbacks passing for over 500 yards. The goal from the outset of the season for the Gaels seemed to be the Yates Cup, but they went above and beyond that the next week knocking off the top team in the country, Laval, the next week. The 33-30 win over Laval took Queens to the Vanier Cup, ironically hosted by Laval. After going down 18 points to the Calgary Dinos, Queens made a fantastic comeback in the second half to win the game 33-31 and come out as Canadian University Champions. On a personal note being able to attend all of these games live was one of my life highlights watching sports.

Here's to an even better 2010 with an Olympics on Canadian soil!

Goodbye, Greg

It is be a big day for hockey fans, thanks to the Phoenix mess continuing to play out in court and Game 6 of the Stanley Cup final going tonight, and it's also a big day for Canadian basketball fans with Jason Kapono traded from the Raptors (Michael Grange, The Globe and Mail) for Reggie Evans, but there's some important soccer news as well. Toronto FC announced today (John F. Molinaro, CBC Sports) that they had released veteran goalkeeper Greg Sutton (pictured) and traded a 2010 third-round draft pick to the San Jose Earthquakes for American defender Nick Garcia and the MLS rights to Canadian striker Ali Gerba. Analysis on what it all means and some links after the jump.

This is a move that had to be made. Sutton is a talented goalkeeper, but he's been replaced in the TFC starting lineup by rookie Stefan Frei this season, who has been spectacular so far. Sutton may well be picked up by another MLS club and perhaps even have a chance to start, but he wasn't particularly needed in Toronto after Frei emerged as a star and his guaranteed contract of $165,000 was just too high for a backup goalkeeper in the strict salary cap world of MLS. His release opens a roster spot and adds cap room, plus it should give younger goalkeeper Brian Edwards more playing time to develop as Frei's backup. Gerba and Garcia are nice pickups as well, and Sutton's departure paved the way for their entrance.

Ideally, it would have been nice to get something for him in trade, but general manager Mo Johnston didn't have a lot of leverage. MLS has more depth at keeper than any other position; most teams have at least one solid netminder, and many of them are American, which helps with the roster limits on imports. The U.S. has actually been more successful at bringing up talented keepers than most countries, and certainly has done a better job of developing star goalkeepers than other players; Tim Howard and Brad Friedel are two of the best keepers in the English Premier League (for Everton and Aston Villa respectively) and there are plenty of other American standouts in MLS, including Seattle's Kasey Keller. Thus, no MLS team would be too desperate to trade for a 32-year-old Canadian with a history of concussion problems who was likely to be released anyway thanks to his contract; why pay for what you can get for free? If they are interested, he can be claimed quite easily now.

Toronto fans should thank Sutton for his service. He was one of the original members of the club and was their starting goalkeeper for their first two seasons. He played quite well during that time and turned in some solid performances with the Canadian national team as well. Unfortunately, he suffered a severe concussion at the 2007 Gold Cup, which kept him out for a significant amount of time and appeared to affect his play to a degree when he returned to the TFC lineup. He battled back from that, though, and seemed to be back in fine form lately, but he wasn't playing as well as Frei and was very expendable due to his contract. Despite that, he will be fondly remembered by many TFC fans, and he may be again cheered by national team fans in the future depending on where he winds up.

Where will Sutton wind up? It's hard to say. In MLS, D.C. United is most well-known as a side with goalkeeping problems, but many of those appear to be because of their inability to choose and stick with a number-one keeper. I'm not sure Sutton is the answer there. Another MLS side may take a flier on him, perhaps initially as a backup, but his Canadian passport and contract expectations may hurt those chances. He could also wind up overseas.

One intriguing possibility is another Canadian side. Matt Jordan of the Montreal Impact has looked rather shaky lately and was unimpressive in Sunday's match against the Whitecaps. Sutton's Canadian passport would be attractive to Montreal and his tenure with the national team would likely make him a popular player there. The lack of a salary cap in the USL and Montreal owner Joey Saputo's willingness to pay for quality players might also help. It's pure speculation at this point, but it would make a good bit of sense.

Some reaction from around the intertubes:

• Duane Rollins says it's unfortunate, but logical news about Sutton. He also likes the acquisition of Gerba and Garcia (The 24th Minute).
  
• Sam ponders what this might mean for Canada's Gold Cup team (The Canadian Stretford End).
  
• Ben Van Weelden is happy to see these moves after all the recent bad news for the club (TFC Connected)
• J thinks this move could work out for both Sutton and TFC. (Out of Touch)

Canada - USA women's soccer live blog

It's going to be an epic clash of countries at Toronto's BMO Field tonight as the Canadian women take on the top-ranked Americans in head coach Carolina Morace's home debut. It's the 44th match between the sides (the U.S. is 37-3-4 against Canada), but only the fifth match between them on Canadian soil. Canada has never beaten the American senior team at home, losing three times and pulling off one draw. We'll find out if that will change tonight. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. Eastern, and the game will be televised live on all four regions of Rogers Sportsnet. Come join me here then for the live blog! You can also check out my full match preview here.

Canadian women set for USA clash

Tomorrow evening, a new era will fully dawn at BMO Field as the Canadian women's national soccer team plays their first home match under new head coach Carolina Morace. It's going to be a baptism by fire for Morace, though. The Canadian women are currently ranked 11th in the world by FIFA. They were initially supposed to face seventh-ranked Japan, but the Japanese team canceled their North American exhibition tour because of swine flu concerns. Replacing them will be the top-ranked Americans, a tough test for any team at the best of times but an especially difficult opponent for a new coach still adjusting to her lineup. Early results under Morace have been promising, including a second-place finish at the Cyprus Cup in March, but this match will be a challenge of a different order.

The U.S. has been much stronger over the history of their women's program, boasting a stellar all-time record of 37-3-4 against Canada. Canada's narrowly come out on the wrong side of some of the most important clashes lately, though, including 2-1 losses in extra time in both the 2006 Gold Cup final and the Beijing Olympics, the last clash between the two countries. One player to watch on the American side is striker Abby Wambach, who's always found a lot of success against Canada. She currently plays for the Washington Freedom in the new Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) league and has 99 career goals for the U.S, but hasn't played an international match since breaking her leg in their last tune-up before the Olympics last summer. She's back in the American lineup and will be eager to hit the century club.

On the Canadian side, famed striker and captain Christine Sinclair is also stuck on 99 goals. She already holds national team records in career goals, single-season goals, goal-scoring streaks, minutes played, and Women's World Cup goals, and she'll come closer to yet another record tomorrow with her 130th appearance for Canada. That ties her with famed striker/defender Charmaine Hooper for second on the list and puts her only two matches back of former midfielder Andrea Neil, who's now an assistant coach with the national team. Sinclair also plays in WPS with California's FC Gold Pride.

Another Canadian to watch is goalkeeper Karina LeBlanc. LeBlanc shone in the Olympics last summer and was a big reason why the Canadians made it to extra time against the U.S. She's also done well in WPS so far with the Los Angeles Sol, including posting a shutout over Wambach and the Freedom in the league's first match. LeBlanc is the longest-serving player currently with the national team and has spent 12 seasons suiting up for Canada. She holds team goalkeeping records for both appearances (69) and shutouts (29).

One other item of note is how many players on both rosters come from the WPS. Almost all of the American players selected play in the league, which is perhaps to be expected, as domestic leagues tend to focus heavily on developing talent for their own national team. Several Canadians have also proven their talent and earned spots in the new league alongside the best players from the U.S., Brazil and Europe, though. Five of the 22 players on the Canadian roster currently ply their trade in WPS (Sinclair, LeBlanc, Kelly Parker, Candace Chapman and Martina Franko), and there's a good chance that many more of the younger players currently starring for college or USL teams could make their way to the WPS eventually. It's good for the national team to have such a high-quality league close to home, as it allows for easier trips for those players than those who play overseas.

Interestingly enough, this match is also a clash of not only female head coaches, but foreign female head coaches. Morace is famous for her work with her native Italy, while American coach Pia Sundhage has spent most of her coaching career in the U.S. but was a legendary player for the Swedish national team. She has a ridiculous record of 36-1-3 since taking the reins of the U.S. team in 2007 and led them to a gold medal in Beijing last year. She'll be looking to continue America's dominance against their northern neighbours.

The match is at 7 p.m. tomorrow night. It will be broadcast live on Sportsnet (and I'll be live-blogging it here and at The 24th Minute), but there are also apparently plenty of tickets still available if you happen to be in Toronto. This could be a great chance to get to see some of Canada's top soccer talent at home against some of the best players in the world, and it's not a frequent opportunity; the U.S. women's team has only played four of their 44 matches against Canada on northern soil. Twenty-five have been played in the U.S. and another 15 took place at neutral venues. That may change now that Canada has a great stadium at BMO Field, and a good turnout would go a long way to help that cause. Famed Canadian soccer fan Dino Rossi still has a few unsold tickets from the batch he bought in advance, and tickets are also still available through Ticketmaster. Check it out if you happen to be in the area, or stop by the live blog if you're not! It should be a great match.

[Cross-posted to The 24th Minute]