Ken Yon Rambo was out of CFL game action for more than a calendar year, and after that long road back, Rambo felt pretty good following a 23-20 Calgary win over the Bombers on Saturday night.  Rambo caught a first quarter touchdown pass and finished with 83 yards receiving, while Nik Lewis was once again out of his mind, finishing with 160 yards receiving on ten catches.

First, some postgame audio:

• Media scrums – Stamps Head Coach John Hufnagel, quarterback Henry Burris, and receivers Ken Yon Rambo and Nik Lewis.  Bombers D-lineman Odell Willis.
• Nik Lewis - Stamps receiver with Pat Steinberg
• Henry Burris – Stamps quarterback with John Hufnagel

Rambo got into the game right away, putting up the first points of the game on a 20 yard touchdown reception from Henry Burris.  I thought Rambo was efficient and very crisp running his routes, and didn’t show a whole lot of rust stepping back onto the field.  He was given a great reception from the 30,150 fans at McMahon when he was introduced, and he delivered early on and was a factor throughout the rest of the game.  Rambo lined up in the slot for most of this game, and it’s tough to judge whether or not he was as explosive as he’s been, but one fact is very clear: Rambo is STILL an impact receiver, even after 365+ days out of action.

Once again, Lewis was the most dynamic player offensively.  His 64 yard reception in the first quarter set up Rambo’s welcome back touchdown, and his other catches throughout were typical Lewis receptions.  His underneath presence is second to none in the CFL, and he showed that once again, by extending routine plays with his physical style of football.  Lewis told me on Thursday that he’s off to the best start in his CFL career, and he added another chapter to that book on Saturday.

Defensively, Calgary was strong, save a few breakdowns that lead to Winnipeg scores.  Some miscommunication between Milt Collins and Brandon Browner on the line lead to Browner taking the wrong man, and Terrence Edwards was the benificiary.  Edwards was WIDE open, and he reeled in a 61 yard touchdown pass to get the Bombers back in it in the fourth quarter.  Fred Reid busted a first quarter touchdown run of 46 yards, when he made Dwight Anderson miss bad, serving as the other big play for Winnipeg.  Overall, Calgary made Reid a non factor other than the one big play, and the pass rush was consistent enough to keep Winnipeg quarterback Steven Jyles guessing.

Not a perfect game, as the Stamps offence outgained the Bombers, but at times were unable to convert on good field position.  But, they’ll take it and keep improving.  Follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Fan960Steinberg.

This one was tight and hotly contested through 30 minutes, and a complete wash in the second half as the Calgary Stampeders put together their most impressive performance to date, crushing their rivals in Regina 40-20 on Saturday night.  After a frustrating first half for the offence, Henry Burris lead the way to a third Stamps win, pushing their record to 3-1.

• Stamps-Riders Postgame Audio

But it wasn’t the offence that was most impressive on this night; it was the defensive side of the ball that, once again, left everyone watching with a real strong impresion.  It started on the first offensive series of the game for the Riders, when linebacker Juwan Simpson knocked down a Darian Durant pass, and it carried on throughout the evening.  To me, Simpson was the leader of the pack, as he should be at his mike position…but his performance was outstanding.  He finished with six tackles, one sack, one fumble recovery and a couple pass knockdowns to round it off.  He was a force all night and the Riders couldn’t seem to contain him.

But how about that D line…Tom Johnson was the most dominant, no question.  He absolutely manhandled the Riders front and was extremely difficult to contain in bullrushing from the interior; add in good games from McCune and Hughes, and you had a tough bunch to contain.  In the secondary, it was a field day, with Dwight Anderson, Keon Raymond and Milt Collins all recording interceptions.  For Collins, it was a steep learning curve, as he was matched up with Riders receiver Andy Fantuz all night…after Fantuz exploited him a couple times, Collins really got in sync and made him a lot less of a factor in the second half.

Henry Burris bounced back after a rough first half, highlighted by a couple TD passes to Romby Bryant.  It was sweet redemption for both guys, especially Bryant, after some miscommunication resulted in an endzone interception in the second quarter.  But the final 30 was a different story…after missing Bryant early on in the half on a deep ball, Burris saw something change in the Riders coverage and changed his protection, hooking up with Bryant on a 67 yard pass.  Bryant would score again in the fourth quarter, a major he felt was more satisfying, because of the two “get off me” moves he pulled out to finish things off.

Nik Lewis bounced back after an early fumble, adding a major in the fourth quarter…the running game was on display early, as the first two drives Calgary put together were highlighted by Joffrey Reynolds runs and receptions.  Jon Cornish also came to play, putting up 77 yards, including a career high 50 yard run.  And tip of the hat to Burke Dales, as the punter destroyed in the special teams game, especially when it was needed in the first half.

So, what do we learn after this game? We know the Stamps have a damn good defence that can go up against the best the Canadian Football League has to offer.  We also found out the Riders are prone to the same mistakes any other team is…you get pressure on them, they’re going to make mistakes, and they did.  It was a very evenly played game through one half, but the Stamps ramped things up, and on this night the Riders didn’t have an answer.  Next up for Calgary, next Saturday night at home to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

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Ilya Kovalchuk is still the biggest fish on the market when it comes to free agents this NHL offseason.  But with a lot of big names (Hamhius, Gonchar, Volchenkov) all snapped up, who’s still kicking around out there for teams looking to make additions?

We’ll take a look at some of the big names still kicking around, and we’ll also try to pinpoint a few good value picks as well.  We’ll start in net.

Marty Turco – With Evgeni Nabokov heading to Russia, it leaves Turco as the highest profile goalie on the market, however I’m not the only one straining to find a good fit for him.  Turco’s cap hit last year was $5.7 million which will surely go down regardless, but what is an ideal situation for Turco?  After playing 53 or more games in the last seven NHL seasons, you have to imagine Marty still wants number one minutes…but for the soon-to-be 36 year old, his market is not very hot.  Some teams with goalie question marks have addressed them already…Mason went to Atlanta, Ellis signed in Tampa, and the Flyers re-upped Leighton.  The one that still jumps out is San Jose, which could still happen…the Sharks lost Nabokov and won’t feel comfortable with a Greiss-Niitymaki tandem.  At least so you’d think.

Jose Theodore – Theodore will probably sign somewhere, if only because he’s a good tandem guy.  He platooned with Semyon Varlamov for parts of the last two seasons, and had some real good results this past year with the Caps.  He won’t get close to the money he made last season…his cap hit was $4.5 million, but a team looking for a quality tandem guy would probably be helped with his addition.  Is it wrong that San Jose comes to mind again?  Philly wouldn’t be a terrible spot either, but that’s just me spitballing.

Andy Sutton – The market on Sutton is confusing.  The 35 year old blueliner probably has some value, but I thnk we’re seeing some teams peg that value at less than the $3 million cap hit he was last year.  Sutton, who has never played a full 82 game season, split time between the Islanders and Senators last season…he posted 13 points in 72 games.  Sutton brings size at 6’6 and 245 pounds, and he also brings experience…but it seems as if some teams are reluctant to sign him to longer than a one or two year contract.

Denis Grebeshkov – The Predators declined to qualify the Russian blueliner after acquring him from Edmonton in exchange for a second round pick.  So, Grebeshkov is now unrestricted, but the rumors continue to swirl that he might follow Nabokov to Russia’s KHL.  However, I’ve heard those rumours are unfounded and that Grebeshkov’s first priority is to sign with an NHL team…signing at or higher than his $3.15 million cap hit might be a stretch though.  He’s relatively young (27 in October), but his defensive gaffe’s have been much talked about.

Alexander Frolov – The 28 year old forward was in and out of Head Coach Terry Murray’s doghouse this past season in Los Angeles, and his point totals have gone down each of the last four seasons.  Frolov had 51 points in 81 games this past season when he counted $2.9 million against the cap.  To me, Frolov isn’t a true offensive impact player, but with the right compliments, he can be very helpful.  If he signed somewhere in the $2.5-3 million range, I think someone like the Penguins or Rangers would be getting all right value.

Mike Modano – Reports are running rampant that Modano will be signing with the Detroit Red Wings anyday now, but a recent interview with ESPNDallas.com suggested that Mike is still undecided.  You can’t really blame him…he’s spent his entire career, until now, with one franchise, so a change is going to take a little mulling over.  Just what is Modano’s value at this stage in his career?  He’s 40 years old and played in just 59 games last season, putting up 30 points.  But you know what you’re getting…great instincts, solid at both ends, and a guy who’s been through the wars.  On a one year deal, if Detroit is the destination, makes perfect sense if the price is right, as it probably will be.

Lee Stempniak – This is one of the more intriguing free agent situations to watch, at least in my opinion.  For the Coyotes, they gave up mimial resources to acquire the 26 year old Stempniak, and the returns for Phoenix were rather large.  In 62 games with Toronto, Stempniak had 14 goals and 30 points…in 18 games with Phoenix, he had 14 goals and 18 points.  Everyone in the league took notice of what Stempniak was doing down the stretch, helping the Coyotes lock down home ice advantage in the playoffs.  But here’s where the waters get murky.  I think it’s fair to ask “how much of that was just a hot streak, and how much of it was what Stempniak is capable of?”  That’s the question that isn’t easy to answer.  His cap hit was $2.5 million last season, and his final point total had him with 48 (four off his career best in 2006-07).  That return isn’t terrible for the dollar figure, in fact it’s pretty good, but I wonder how much the Stempniak camp is banking on that 18 game stretch in the dessert.

Alex Ponikarovsky – After being traded from Toronto to Pittsburgh at the trade deadline, big things were expected for Ponikarovsky, and why not?  He saw plenty of time with Evgeni Malkin, which in theory should jack up the point total of a skilled player like Poni.  However, the point totals stayed at around the same clip they were in TO…he had nine points in 16 games with the Pens, adding five more in 11 playoff games.  The book on this guy is fairly established by this point…inconsistent, but very good for stretches.  At just over a $2 million cap hit last season, I still think there’s a shot someone gives him that this summer.

Brendan Morrison – At 35 years old, you know what you’re getting from Morrison, and I think what you’re getting is still valuable.  He’s a good playmaker who can still dish, and he’s a guy you can count on to be good in the room.  I’m not saying going out and signing Morrison to a three year contract, but for a team who think they’re close…a one year deal for this guy doesn’t hurt you at all.  It’ll be less than the $1.5 million he counted against the cap last year, and he’s coming off a 42 point season.  Granted, those points came on the offensively potent Washington Capitals, but I still think he can put up some all right points.

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I’m still in absolute shock after witnessing Saturday’s UFC 116 in Vegas, and that’s shock in a good way.  In my eyes, it was by far the best card of the year, and probably one of the best cards of all time, with heartstopping action right from the very start.  Brock Lesnar’s successful Heavyweight Title defence in unbelievable fashion over Shane Carwin put the finishing touches on an incredible night.

Where else to start than with the main event.  Shane Carwin entered the fight 12-0 having never seen one of his fights exit the first round, and he showed you why that was the case in his 13th professional fight.  Carwin put on one of the most impressive and dominant first round clinics I’ve ever seen, with seeing it so lopsided that “10-8″ was not uncommon to hear.  His powerful punches and knees rocked Lesnar on multiple occasions and there was no question who was the aggressor after five minutes.  But it wasn’t enough, and Carwin could not finish the champion off.

Joe Rogan wondered aloud on the PPV broadcast if Carwin was in danger of punching himself out as the first round continued; his attempts to finish Lesnar visibly sapped a lot of energy from him.  However, at no point did I think the fight should have been stopped, contrary to the Lesnar haters watching with me.  I watched the fight again, and not once did Brock stop intelligently defending himself; he was blocking, scrambling, and moving away from the onslaught that Carwin was offering.  Lesnar survived, and just barely, but came out of the first round smiling and ready to go for a second round.  And what a different round two it was.

Right from the get-go, you could tell the energy level was markedly lower from Carwin, and he was taken down early in the round because of it.  And then we saw some BJJ…Brock Jiu-Jitsu.  After taking Carwin down and passing his guard, Lesnar worked smartly for a mount and transitioned very nicely to an arm triangle from side control, and that’s what started the beginning of the end.  Carwin had plenty of room it seemed with his own arm inside to block any air stoppage, and then that space disappeared and the fight came to a stunning conclusion.

I came away impressed with both fighters.  On Carwin’s end, he lost and showed he has some more work to do in a few areas.  Cardio would be the one that comes to mind right away.  And it’s not even cardio…but pacing.  He gassed after putting all his eggs in one first round basket…with 99% of other fighters, he finishes and has his hand raised in the middle of The Octagon.  But against Brock, he couldn’t, and it cost him, and I’m sure Shane will work on it.  And of course, you come away impressed with Lesnar.  Can he take a punch?  Yep.  Should we question his chin anymore?  No, I don’t think we should.  He showed he’s a smart, aware, and resilient mixed martial artists…his survival job resembled someone with loads more experience than just 6 professional fights.  And he showed, once again, that he can finish…sure, he couldn’t finish off Heath Herring…but ask Randy Couture, Frank Mir and now Mr. Carwin about his finishing skills since then.  Lesnar said it best…he still is the baddest SOB on the planet.

How good did Chris Leben look on Saturday?  Damn, his 3rd round triangle win over Yoshihiro Akiyama was impressive enough…but the fact he was fighting just 2 weeks after his last fight (a TKO win over Aaron Simpson at the TUF 11 finale) made it even better.  This is what pisses me off about Leben…he can be such a good fighter when he goes in and executes something resembling a gameplan.  And while there were times his 116 fight consisted of teeing off and throwing, there was some real strategy shown at times.  And this time, his killer instinct came to play, and it helped him finish off one of the best 185 pounders in the world.  Leben’s post fight request to UFC matchmaker Joe Silva sounds just fine to me…any fight fan who wouldn’t pay to see Leben square off against Wanderlei Silva needs their head checked, especially after Leben’s last two performances.

Too bad to see Krzysztof Soszynski lose to Stephan Bonnar, but it was another unreal fight.  It was already a rematch of a February tangle; and I’d love to see them hook up for a third time.  Both guys looked great for the first round, but I had Krzysztof slightly ahead on my scorecard…but Bonnar is a savvy, savvy UFC veteran, and hung in to finish things off via TKO at 3:08 of round two.  Great win for Bonnar, so important for his career…and I don’t think the loss does anything to hurt the future stock of Soszynski.

Not a bad fight on the main card, and now we look ahead to UFC 117 in August…but not before a free card on Versus on August 1st.  Follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Fan960Steinberg.

Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin.  It’s the fight that we’ve been anticipating for months upon months, and it’s finally here on Saturday night as the Ultimate Fighting Championship presents UFC 116.  The Heavyweight Title bout is one of the most hyped fights of all time.

Before we get into it, I encourage you to listen to Krzysztof Soszynski.  I interviewed him earlier this week ahead of his fight with Stephan Bonnar, a rematch of their disputed February fight in Australia.  Krzysztof is representing Winnipeg, as per usual, and has a great story to tell ahead of what could be a great fight.

So where is Brock Lesnar? He hasn’t fought in almost one calendar year, back at UFC 100 when he dominated Frank Mir to unify his Heavyweight Championship.  Following the explosion that was his post-match antics, Lesnar went AWOL thanks to a serious intestinal issue that put his fighting future in serious jeopardy.  However, he did recover, and is back and better than ever, at least according to him.  Judging on how he’s backed up his claims before, nobody has any reason to doubt one of the most dominating fighters to ever step insde the Octagon.

Lesnar enters Saturday’s action on a 3 fight win streak, having clobbered Heath Herring and Randy Couture along with his dismantling of Mir last July.  In each fight, he was the larger man and used his incredible combination of size, speed and strength to overwhelm his opponent, especially on the ground.  Because Brock is so strong, and because he’s such a good wrestler, none of his prior opponents have been able to stop his forward progress.  His only loss, to Mir in February 2008, came when he left a leg vulnerable and was caught in an expert submission.

However, Lesnar has never fought someone like Shane Carwin, who comes in sporting a downright scary 12-0 record.  His last 5 fights have come in the UFC, and not one of them has left the first round.  In March, Carwin took a KO win over Frank Mir at UFC 111, cementing his spot as the number one contender to Lesnar for the unified belt.  These two were supposed to fight prior to Lesnar’s sickness, but the match was postponed, instead setting up the showdown between Carwin and Mir.

But prior to the Mir fight, Carwin was already making his mark.  His 69 second dismantling of Gabriel Gonzaga in March of last year was stunning; not because of the result, but because of the ease in which it happened.  And now he gets his real shot at the belt he covets.

Lesnar may have finally met his match when it comes to the wrestling game.  Lesnar’s a former NCAA champion wrestler, well, so is Carwin (albeit Lesnar in Div 1 and Carwin in Div 2).  Both guys have explosive power in their punches, and both guys have to cut weight to reach the 265 pound weight limit.  So what happens?

Well…that really is anyody’s guess.  My guess?  I think Lesnar wins this fight, only because he’s got that aura.  We all know there’s no such thing as an unbeatable guy in this sport, but to me, Lesnar is as close as they come.  But then again, Carwin has so many of those same traits.  So, I’ll take Lesnar…with the full knowledge it’s ludicrous to make predictions, especially in a fight like this.

I’m really excited for two other fights on the main card.  I think veteran welterweight Chris Lytle is always exciting as hell to watch, and he’ll take on the extremely powerful Matt Brown.  Whenever Lytle is involved, you’ve got a fight of the night possibility.  And Chris Leben will take on Yoshihiro Akiyama at 185 pounds…I think there’s the chance of an extremely entertaining fight there as well.

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