Six months completed, and just under six months to go. I’m not sure if I am the only one keeping notes, but 2007 has been an uneventful year in sports, particularly at the professional level. Here’s a recap of the first half year:

January: Canada won gold for the third straight year at the World Junior Hockey Championship. In a score that flattered the losers, the match was never in doubt as the Canadians doubled the Russians 4-2.                                                                                                             

Florida blasted Ohio State 41-14 in an over-hyped NCAA men’s football championship game.                                                                                                                                

PG curling fans were delighted that the Patti Knezevic rink placed 2^nd at  the BC Ladies Championship.  Unfortunately, the Knezevic foursome played its worst game (maybe ever) in the final, dropping a 10-4 decision to Kelley Law.          

     

February:   The Indianapolis Colts outscored the Chicago Bears 29-17 in a “sloppy” (8 turnovers) Super Bowl.                                                                                          

Kelly Scott surprised no one by repeating as champion at the National Scott Tournament of Hearts with a humdrum 8-5 win over Jan Betker.

March:   Kelly Scott had an easier time winning the Women’s World Curling Championship toying with Denmark 8-4 in the final.                                                                                                                                  

In a game that featured little or no drama, Glenn Howard won the Tim Horton’s Brier with a 10-6 triumph over Brad Gushue in the final.                                                                                       

The Cariboo Cougars completed a successful BC Major Midget Hockey season, but dropped a pair of 4-1 decisions to the Vancouver Northwest Giants in the Provincial final.

April:  Glenn Howard, in a dud of a final, won the Ford World Men’s Curling Championship blasting Germany 8-3.                                                                                    

Canada pasted the U.S. 5-1 in the World Women’s Hockey Championship game.                                                                                                                    

The PG Cougars gave their fans something to cheer about by qualifing for the WHL Western Conference Final. However, they were quickly ushered out in five games, losing game five by a lopsided 5-1 score.                                                               

(No name) Zach Johnson won the Masters where no golfer finished under par.                         

Florida was in total control (not quite as bad as when the two universities met in football) of the NCAA Men’s Basketball championship knocking off Ohio State 84-75.

May:   Prince George hosted a once in a lifetime event, the Royal Bank Cup. The good news was the Spruce Kings reached the final after an incredible five overtime win over Camrose. However, the bad news was they had nothing left in “the tank” for the championship game and were beaten 3-1 by the Aurora Tigers. Let’s not forget that attendance figures were much less than projected. 

The WHL and the Memorial Cup Finals (both featuring Vancouver and Medicine Hat) created the most excitement, so far, this year, with Medicine Hat winning the league title in game seven (double OT), and Vancouver capturing the Memorial Cup in a 3-1 victory. Too bad the pros have had nothing of equal.                                                                                                 

The World Hockey Championship featured a complete Canadian domination; 9-and-0 says it all.

June:  The NHL and NBA finals were among the worst ever played.  Anaheim slaughtered Ottawa 6-2 to take the Stanley Cup 4-1 and San Antonio swept Cleveland 4-0 for the NBA title.           

Another “no name” won the U.S. Open with an over par score.  Don’t feel bad if you have already forgotten (the winner) Angel Cabrera.

I don’t mean to imitate scrooge, but these were some of the highlights (lowlights?) in the first half of 2007. On the flip side, the second half couldn’t possibly get any worse, or could it?

From the quote rack:

“I don’t have any sense at all."

Cubs manager Lou Piniella, when asked by the Chicago Tribune if he had a sense that the Central leading Milwaukee Brewers would slide in the standings after the all-star break.

Contributor Janice Hough

Headline at SportsPickle.com

Contributor Bill Littlejohn of South Lake Tahoe, California

Contributor Derek Wilken in his Sport Shtick blog 

And in case you missed it:

And how was your week?