A number of different things to talk about here. It’s been a busy weekend, with lots of hockey news and some football to talk about.

We’re t-minus 1 day from what a lot of people are billing the “free agent frenzy” on Canada Day. We’ll be on the air at 10 am till probably around 4 pm that day. Stay tuned to my blog, Boomer’s and Kerr’s, because we’ll be all over things from an NHL perspective. I’m going to be putting all the new info on my blog, while Boom will weigh in on all the moves. Kerr is going to be all over the Flames, who are expected to do something tomorrow. Do I think it’ll be as busy as last year? No, because a lot of the moves have already happened. But then again, I thought the draft would be quiet.

Stoll to LA makes some sense, as Visnovsky became less valuable in the Kings franchise with their selection of Drew Doughty in the draft. You gotta believe Joni Pitkanen is on the move now in Edmonton. Nice move by the Lightning to pick up Malone’s rights and then sign him long term. Halpern, Jokinen and now Malone have joined since Richards was traded, so they are addressing depth in a big way and probably aren’t done yet, with some believing signings of Rolston and Roberts are looming.

What will the Flames do? Well, if the rumours are true that Nolan will be re-signed, that still leaves a hole on the wing, probably on the second line. Lots of people think it’s Darcy Tucker that might get signed, I don’t know if I like that fit. If Daryl has a shot to sign Michael Ryder to a deal that isn’t too pricey, I think he should. Ryder needs a change of scenery, and a chance to play on one of the top 2 lines here would be great.

I think Hossa gets signed for sure tomorrow…a really good fit would be Edmonton, and they have the room. However, I have this feeling he might wind up in Columbus or something. That’ll be exciting. Oilers are also interested in Redden, and I actually believe he will be ending up there. The most interesting player that I’m watching is Cristobal Huet. If Washington doesn’t resign him, they’re idiots, but that could happen in which case I know teams like Colorado and Ottawa will be all over him.

This week on Sportsline Saturday, we’ll get you ready for UFC 86 with a 2 part interview with Patrick ‘The Predator’ Cote who fights in middleweight action in one of the feature matches. We’ll chat with Mauro from The Fight Network and the guys from Between Rounds as well, plus all the breaking hockey news and lots of Stamps talk.

The Stampeders are 1-0 after a 28-18 win last night at McMahon. Lets break down this sucker…

Pro’s

-Linebackers – Even though Saleem Rasheed went down early (which could prove to be a big injury), the Calgary Stampeders filled in for their defensive anchor in an outstanding manner. Was very impressed with Shannon James who looked like a corner knocking a couple balls down. Mike Labinjo did a great job filling in as well…the Stamps got some outstanding pressure from the strong side linebacker position, and broke through the line on numerous occasions.

-The big boys – The offensive line scared me a little to start…3 holding calls early on had me thinking “the BC front 4 might be too much for this crew.” However, they got on track in a big way and gave Henry Burris more than decent time in pass pro. Joffrey Reynolds ran through some big gaps en route to 125 yards, and the offensive line gets a thumbs up through 1 game.

-Hank – Gotta give it to Henry…he was composed, he was virtually mistake free (Brent Johnson interception notwithstanding), and to me, was the best player on the field. He used his hook up with Ken-Yon Rambo very well, had some nice outside looks to Brett Ralph and used his underneath looks to Nik Lewis and Jermaine Copeland. Henry Burris gets the thumbs up as well.

Cons

-Injuries – It must have been a good game if injuries goes up as a con. The Rasheed Saleem one is a bit troubling. He was so jacked up to get the season going, and he was one of the guys that a lot of people believed could be the new leader in the huddle. As mentioned above though, the Stamps showed last night the rest of the linebackers can pick up the slack.

-Mr. Automatic? – That certainly wasn’t vintage Sandro Deangelis last night. Missing 2 field goals is not what we’re used to with the Stampeders kicker. However, was talking with Chris Schultz on the phone today, and he made a good point. It’ll give him a little jolt, and he should be back to normal for Thursday night against the Eskimos.

Week 2 for the Stamps goes on Thursday in Edmonton. It’s another 8 pm kickoff.l

Busy weekend…Stamps made their final cuts, and some were surprised to see Trey Young and Crance Clemons on the list. I was and wasn’t. Young was a guy who I thought struggled at times last year and was going to be hard pressed to get a job this year. He had some rough moments in the first preseason game, and then really struggled in BC for preseason game number 2. Unfortunately, game action is the best evaluation tool for a head coach, and if you don’t perform in 2 straight games, this is going to happen. As for Clemons, I thought he would have fit in nicely on this new secondary. He’s a good cover guy, and has been with the team for a few years. I was impressed with him last year, so I was a little bummed when I saw him on the list.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship presented The Ultimate Finale on Saturday night at the Palms in Las Vegas. Not a bad show, as Amir Sadollah caught CB Dolloway in an arm bar for the second straight fight. Man, from what we’ve seen from Amir in 5 fights now, I wonder how you beat the kid! He’s got a crazy chin, and fights like a vet. Most guys panic when they get opened up early in a fight, not him, he’s composed and has great BJJ even when he’s been beaten up for a round or 2. Diego Sanchez won his second straight fight, and looked fairly impressive doing it. I think the 21-2 Nightmare is back on track as being a force at 170, and a rematch with Josh Koscheck might be in the offing. Kendall Grove was able to take a split decision win over Evan Tanner…an “eh” main event, but not a bad fight. Kendall is going to need a few more wins if he wants to get back on track at 185 pounds. Later this week, I’ll explore something Mauro Ranallo brought up last week…is it time to scrap The Ultimate Fighter reality show on Rogers Sportsnet and Spike TV? I think no, but we’ll throw it out there, probably tomorrow.

We had Mauro Ranallo on from The Fight Network today, and we were talking competition. Competition to the UFC that is. On July 19th, the Affliction clothing brand will present their first ever MMA pay-per-view when they present “Banned”. That is headlined by a heavyweight battle between Fedor Emalianko and Tim Sylvia, which is quite the draw, seeing as how Fedor hasn’t been in the spotlight for quite some time. However, this seems to have rubbed the MMA giant the wrong way. The UFC is the unquestioned juggernaut of the sport, and will continue to be so for the rest of mankind, mark my words.

Dana White is the UFC President, and has publicly stated before that operations such as Affliction and Elite XC pose no threat to his league. However, his actions seem to say differently. Let me state that I believe Dana White is a straight up genius first and foremost, and his actions in this regard bear that out. His first move was to ban Affliction clothing from all UFC events…which is a pretty big move. Other than Tapout, Affliction is the biggest clothing brand in MMA, so a lot of guys weren’t able to wear one of their primary sponsors to The Octagon. His second move was to book a Fight Night card on Spike TV that same night headlined by the top fighter in the world; Anderson Silva. The UFC also aired a Chuck Liddel special the night Elite XC aired on CBS, so clearly the UFC is protecting themselves.

To which I say, who cares? Mauro was of the opinion that he doesn’t think it’s good for the sport, which may or may not be true. However, if you’re Dana White and the UFC, why wouldn’t you do that? You’re at the top of the food chain by leaps and bounds, so keep yourself there! Dana is one hell of a business man, and he’s showing his shrewdness once again…if you’re strapped for cash and were considering purchasing the Afflicition fight card for 40 bucks, and now you see the best pound-for-pound fighter on the planet on FREE TV…well, that’s a pretty easy choice! For me, I’m doing both, like many MMA fans will, but not all of them, and that’s why Dana White rules once again. He is the smartest human being in the world.

The Hockey Hall of Fame announced it’s Class of 2008 today…Igor Larionov and Glenn Anderson will go in as players while the late Ed Chynoweth enters in the builders category. Longtime official Ray Scapinello rounds out the class.

No real debate on Chynoweth or Scapinello, both clearly deserving. However, the argument will ensue in years like this about players like Larionov and Anderson. Years like last year when Messier, Francis, etc. go in, there isn’t a debate. The same about next year when Steve Yzerman will go in. But when you get to years like this where there are no surefire hall of famers, it gets weird.

I really don’t have a problem with Larionov or Anderson going in. However, others do. Some believe the HHoF is reserved for “the best of the best” and not for players that were very good. Some believe smaller parts of great teams deserve a shot. Anderson has 6 Stanley Cups and almost 500 goals…he was a huge part of the Oilers dynasties, especially in their 1990 title. Larionov blazed the trail for other Russians coming to the NHL. Pavel Datsyuk credits him as an inspiration in his career.

If the NHL wants to avoid things like that, follow the NFL’s or MLB’s lead. If the class isn’t good enough that year, don’t induct anyone! Rarely do we have these conversations when talking about those leagues. But again, I don’t see a need for that, because I think Larionov and Anderson are good choices.

So, the Calgary Stampeders opened their preseason on Friday night taking on the Edmonton Eskimos. Sort of. Now, the Stamps looked good in a 39-14 win, but I feel the need to remind myself and others that this has very little, if any, impact on the regular season. Lets take into consideration a few things…the Eskimos played minus their quarterback, their 2 top receivers and their front 7 on the defence.

Should the Stampeders be faulted for that? Not at all, BUT, just don’t get too excited about John Hufnagel’s team yet. I’m not saying that there won’t be reason to get excited this year. I’m just putting the air brakes on at this point, because believe me, I’m kinda excited too, I just don’t want to be disappointed. Here’s what got my excitement level up…

Dmitri Tsoumpas – Hufnagel got it right on this one. Now, granted, the 2nd overall pick wasn’t going up against a top flight defensive line, but by just watching his fundamentals, you can tell he’s a talent. He pops out of his stance lightning quick, and the way he drops down on a run-block makes a ton of room. There were 2 occasions when Joffrey Reynolds shouldn’t have got positive yardage, but becuase the Stamps ran over Tsoumpas, they were able to get 3 and 4 yards. Don’t write this O-line off yet, when Armstrong gets back, it’ll be pretty good.

Nik Lewis – 82 was in mid-season form on Friday. That bodes well, because if he’s playing like that in week 1, it means he’ll be even better come week 11 or 12. The one handed catch was something else, but what really got me was how Lewis was doing his best to impersonate Wes Welker of the New England Patriots. How? By seemingly being open on every play! Nik was running routes better than anyone on the field…very impressive.

Still…the defence shut down a second string offence, so I’m very curious what happens when they play BC on Thursday. The Lions will play their starters for a bit, so it could be more of an indication. I’m excited, but I’m still waiting to see!

So, the Calgary Stampeders get set for their preseason opener. Unlike a lot of years when a lot of “other guys” see a lot of time but don’t have a chance at making the team, these guys are actually playing for jobs. A good performance in the 2 preseason games from a guy you’ve never heard of, and he might be a starter come week 1. Everyone is talking about the offensive line and what might happen this year, but I’m more focused on the linebackers. No Coe and no Clark…I’ll be very interested to see what happens.

Interesting about Coe…my brother just started playing some high level flag football, and played his first game against a team anchored by former Stamps safety Jackie Kellog at QB and Scott Coe at LB. It made me remember that Coe has yet to get any interest from other teams…that might change in the next few weeks as we move closer to the start of the regular season. I’ve never really felt Coe is an impact player at the position, but he’s certainly worthy of a look from 7 other teams.

Finally, it’s a few months off, but UFC 87 in August looks like it could be the card of the year. GSP main events aganist Jon Fitch and the fight of the year is quite possibly on the card as well with Roger Huerta and Kenny Florian fighting for the lightweight division’s number 1 contender. Add in Brock Lesnar-Heath Herring in heavyweight action and your card is stacked from the get-go. But the rest of the card is set now as well…Chiek Kongo returns to The Octagon as does Hermes Franca. Mark this PPV down, it could be the best of the year.

I’m just glad we don’t have to talk about the “Hockey Theme”…

Trevor Linden will announce his retirement from the NHL tomorrow after 19 seasons. Linden is completely beloved for his accomplishments in Vancouver, but to me, I just don’t see their love affair. Leave it to Steinberg to be a prik and rag on a dude about to retire, so I’ll preface it with this: I respect Linden for having a long career, for being pretty damn good for a good span, and for scoring one of the most memorable goals for me in hockey history. Of course that was 1998 in Nagano when he scored to force OT and a shootout in the semi’s against his retiree buddy Dominik Hasek and the Czechs.

But already, I know there are Canucks fans yelling that he’s a Hall of Famer. I don’t see it…Linden was a good player, a guy who was instrumental in getting the Canucks to the cusp of a Cup, and a very good leader. He got jobbed by Keenan when he took the C off him and garnered both Brian McCabe AND Todd Bertuzzi from the Islanders in the trade that shocked the West Coast. I don’t know, never did PPG numbers in a season, never won a Cup, to me, he’s a good player but not a great one. Maybe I’m jaded about him being the player head of the NHLPA during the lockout.

I’ll keep piling on…Marc Crawford fired today after 2 crap seasons in LA. Funny enough, I don’t think we’re going to start hearing “he’d be a great fit here or here” when it comes to Crawford the same way we have with Ron Wilson, John Tortorella, Joel Quenneville, etc. Why? Because Crawford hasn’t done anything in 12 years! The Cup was great, but follow that with a conference final loss to Detroit, a blown shootout roster against the Czechs, a first round exit at the hands of the Oilers, and to me less than impressive stops in Vancouver and Los Angeles. I don’t buy this guy as being a good coach…again, I’m biased though…

Funny story, last year, Kings-Flames at the Dome, Kings lose, Crawford not happy. I’m waiting to talk to a Kings player postgame, so I’m standing by the locker room as they walk the carpet from the bench to the locker room. I’m the ONLY media guy there, Crawford comes out first, he’s pissed, and he just glares at me, and only me, his entire way to the locker room. That’s like 20 feet, and he just glared at me…I just wanted to say “spell your name right Marc, oh, and nice hair” but I just looked down. What a clown that guy is.

Good little pay per view on Saturday afternoon in London. It was UFC 85, and even though the pay per view was marred by injuries and bad luck, it actually ended up being a pretty solid card. It was disappointing to see Lethbridge product Jason Day lose his match to Michael Bisping, but at the same time, Bisping is a monster. Day was just overwhelmed by Bisping’s attack…it was relentless and forced a TKO. This was by far the best showing thus far for “The Count” and, in my eyes, he elevated himself to the second tier of the middleweight division. That’s pretty damn good, seeing as how the first tier is occupied by the seemingly peerless Anderson Silva, who is an alien according to Joe Rogan.

As for the main event, it went exactly how Thiago Alves probably gameplanned for. He blocked numerous takedown attempts from Matt Hughes, got a few of his one, and clearly had the advantage striking in the stand up game. Alves caught Hughes with a flying knee and got the win, and looked very impressive doing so. Here’s the catch(weight)…Alves failed to get down to the welterweight limit of 170 pounds for weigh-in’s, so the fight was a catchweight bout instead. Had this been under normal circumstances, I would suggest Alves was in line for a title shot. However, not making weight doesn’t sit well in the eyes of UFC President Dana White, and rightfully so. Alves publicly asked for a title shot post-fight with Joe Rogan…I guess we’ll see. Hughes looked overmatched to me, but as always, he was classy after the fight. He said he has 1 more fight left in him and it’s reserved for Matt “The Terror” Serra, who he was supposed to fight a number of months back. Needless to say, that fight will be taking place, maybe on the UFC’s traditionally stacked New Year’s event.

Oh, in less important and inevetible news, the Maple Leafs look on the verge of hiring Ron Wilson to be their new head coach. Can I please say, on the record, how ridiculous the Toronto Maple Leafs organization is? You suck. Could you just hire the man and stop drawing the process out…did you really need to keep his identity secret for a day, then say he was your target, then say you offered him a contract, then say you gave him a deadline, and then…ugh…shut up and go away. I don’t want to talk about this anymore, yet, we will. I hope the Leafs get worse under Wilson just to penalize them for being complete morons in this hiring process. Say what you want about the Flames, but at least you never get this kind of crap from them…like it or not, DS and gang keep things close to the vest and announce it when they’re good and damn ready. I’m no Flames fan (when it comes to on-ice allegiance), but long live Daryl Sutter!

Just 2 weeks after an epic UFC 84: Ill Will card, we get UFC 85: Bedlam at the O2 Arena in London, England. It’s just the way the schedule worked, but man, that’s 3 straight weeks of AWESOME MMA action. 84 in Vegas, followed by XC and WEC the next weekend, and back to 85 this weekend, it really is awesome to see.

The main event pits the best welterweight ever in Matt Hughes against The Pitbull Thiago Alves. The interesting story here is that Alves was unable to make weight for his fight…the welterweight limit is 170 with 1 pound grace and Alves clocked in at 174. Not good. Dana White does not like dudes who don’t make weight. Nonetheless, Hughes decided to accept the fight so it’s on for tomorrow. If you’re not familiar with the process that is cutting weight, a good majority of fighters walk around well above their fighting weight. For instance, a guy like Rich Franklin walks around at about 200 pounds, yet fights at 185. In the weeks and months leading up to a