Author Archives: Ryan Plessl

Canucks Predict The Super Bowl… But Are They Right?

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The Vancouver Canucks recently released a super bowl prediction video on their Instagram account.

The video involved players walking up to a camera and quickly sharing their personal predictions for the game this afternoon.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cof3Wmeryp8/?igshid=NDk5N2NlZjQ=

The result was a landslide win for the Eagles. While the Canucks may know hockey, I’m not so sure that I agree with most of their predictions, and I for sure don’t think this game will be a clear cut win for the Eagles.

My bet to win the Super Bowl is the Chiefs.

The AFC division was significantly tougher this year, with the Bengals, Eagles, and Chiefs all having a shot to make it to the finals. The Eagles seemed to have a clear cut path, with no real competition. Even with no significant competition the Eagles struggled in some games.

Patrick Mahomes looked unstoppable all season, especially in the AFC finals game against the Bengals. It’s crazy to think that Mahomes was injured during that game as well. Many counted him out multiple times, and the Joe Burrow hype overshadowed Mahomes accomplishments and abilities, but at the end of the day Mahomes showed why he’s one of the best Quarterbacks in the league.

That’s exactly why I’m picking the Chiefs to win the Super Bowl this year.

Who will be right, the Canucks or me? Tune in to the Super Bowl this afternoon to watch the Chiefs take on the Eagles!

Mitch Strazzella Returns!

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Popular local fighter Mitch Strazzella will make his return to the octagon March 30th at the Harbour Convention Centre.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CoVJFD_P5cF/?igshid=NDk5N2NlZjQ=

Mitch Strazzella is a popular fighter on the Vancouver scene. He fights out of Vancouver Island, but splits his time between the island and mainland for fight camps.

Mitch is currently 2-0-0-1 professional fighter coming off a tough no contest bout against Austin Russell at Battle Field Fight League (BFL) 75.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/ClpyBhCMcrr/?igshid=NDk5N2NlZjQ=

Mitch was seemingly ahead on the judges scorecards when he got taken down early in the second round. Mitch scrambled to get back up to his feet but accidentally caught his opponent with an illegal up kick.

The fight was called a no contest and Mitch was devastated.

Mitch will have his chance at retribution though when he faces off against Ali Wasuk, a 5-2 MMA fighter with legitimate submission, and knockout capabilities.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CmsiLZMLbtP/?igshid=NDk5N2NlZjQ=

The two will meet in the octagon March 30th at BFL 76. The event will take place at the Harbour Convention Centre downtown so get your tickets now!

The Elimination Chamber Comes To Canada!

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The WWE Elimination chamber comes to Canada for the first time ever on February 18th.

Canadas own, Edge will be teaming up with his wife Beth Phoenix to face off against the team of Finn Balor and Rhea Ripley.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CoWUv0osk3o/?igshid=NDk5N2NlZjQ=

This match has been in the works ever since Balor and Ripley turned on Edge, kicking him out of Judgement Day and badly injuring him. Now Edge is back to full health and ready to extract his revenge against the Judgement Day.

Liv Morgan, Natalia, Asuka, Raquel Rodriguez, Nikki Cross, and Carmela will all face off in the elimination chamber to determine who will face the Raw women’s champion at Wrestlemania. All these girls want the win the chance to headline Wrestlemania, so it will be interesting to see who comes out on top!

https://www.instagram.com/p/CoWXp4_sojy/?igshid=NDk5N2NlZjQ=

Austin Theory will also be heading into the elimination chamber as he looks to defend his title against five other men. It looks like all the cards are aligning for Seth Rollins to win the title in this one, and the two will most likely rematch at Wrestlemania.

In the main event fans will be excited to see home town hero Sami Zayn face off against the Tribal Chief Roman Reigns. This feud has been building for months now and Sami will finally have his shot to claim the WWE championship.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CoOeEUhsbGb/?igshid=NDk5N2NlZjQ=

This is a stacked card! Don’t miss the Elimination Chamber event February 18th live in Montreal.

Fernando Alonso Has Faith In His Teammate

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While many Formula One fans may think Canadian driver Lance Stroll doesn’t deserve a race seat, his multiple time world champion teammate Fernando Alonso would disagree.

Lance has been in the sport for many years now, but fans question if Lance Stroll is still there because of his skills behind the wheel, or because his dad is the owner of the team.

AstonMartin

Lawrence Stroll is a Canadian Billionaire and has bought into Aston Martin Racing with the sole purpose of supporting his son Lances efforts to become a Formula One world champion.

Lance has been met with tons of criticism for this from fans who say he doesn’t deserve a spot in Formula One. Lances new teammate Fernando Alonso seems to disagree with fans though.

Fernando Alonso is a two time Formula One world champion and widely regarded as one of the best drivers in the world.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Coe5LZCrgAZ/?igshid=NDk5N2NlZjQ=

Alonso stated that he thinks stroll is a young, obsessed, talented driver. Fernando also believes that Stroll has world championship potential.

This is huge coming from a driver of Alonso’s caliber. While fans may not think Lance deserves to be there, their opinion doesn’t matter as much as a former world champions.

With kind words like these, it seems that the pair are getting along as teammates so far. Time will tell if sunshine and rainbows will continue at Aston Martin though.

What’s Going On With Jey?

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Jey Uso has one of the most intriguing storylines in WWE right now.

When popular Canadian superstar Sami Zayn first tried to join the Bloodline, he was met with resistance from one Bloodline member in particular; Jey Uso.

As time went on though Sami and Jey formed a bond and became very close friends in the Bloodline, at times even trumping Jey’s connection to tribal chief Roman Reigns.

When Sami Zayn turned on the Bloodline to help out his friend Kevin Owens, Jey was in shock. He refused to beat up Sami with his brother and left the ring crying. He later posted to social media a photo of himself with the caption “I’m out🩸”

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CogVBrzAIf8/?igshid=NDk5N2NlZjQ=

Tonight Jey Uso finally made his return to Smackdown to help out his brother Jimmy in their tag team title match. The pair won the match and Jey was met by Sami backstage.

Sami insisted that he let Jey know that he acknowledges him. Jey was hesitant at first but then gave Sami a fist bump and nodded at him, a sign of respect.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CogXm5hAtUZ/?igshid=NDk5N2NlZjQ=

Where does Jey go from here? A turn on Roman Reigns makes sense, but Roman is already fully booked with two potential Wrestlemania matches.

Let’s hope Jey Uso can find his place in the WWE main event scene and finally get the recognition he deserves.

Will Ferrell Visits Wrexham!

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Will Ferrell made a appearance at the Wrexham game today.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CohoPsVIbIw/?igshid=NDk5N2NlZjQ=

Wrexham AFC is a welsh football team owned by Vancouver born actor Ryan Reynolds. Reynolds has owned the team for two years now and has helped take the team to the next level.

Fans were surprised to see a familiar face in the crowd today though at Wrexham’s home game against Wealdstone.

Reynolds close ffiend Will Ferrell came out to support the team and cheer on Wrexham. The two recently worked on a movie together called Spirited and must have talked about the team while filming together.

Will took the time to engage and talk with fans throughout the day and stayed through the entire course of the game.

Wrexham must have felt willed on (pun intended) by Ferrells presence today as they got the 3-1 win against Wealdstone.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Coh5idaoNv3/?igshid=NDk5N2NlZjQ=

Who knows what other co stars of Reynolds could start to attend these games. Maybe we will get to see Hugh Jackman next!

Roller Hockey Game Takes Place In Langley!

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The Hockey House in Langley hosted an epic roller hockey battle between the Sea Men and the Timbers on Thursday night.

 

Kurt Renvall is a member of the Sea Men roller hockey team and has been playing the game since he was little:

“When I was 14 I watched my best friend play goalie. It looked really fun and, I was a fan of NHL goalie Nikolai Khabibulin and roller hockey was a good starting point to get into hockey with transferable skills that move into ice hockey.”

Kurt happened to be playing goalie for another team Thursday night before his game against the Timbers. After the game ended Kurt quickly rushed to the change room to get out of his goalie pads and change into his Sea Men gear.

However, by the time Kurt got back from changing he saw his team was down 5-0 within the first five minutes of the game! Kurt realized it was time to step on the gas but wasn’t extremely worried for his team:

“It was time to get into gear. The good thing with Roller hockey is it’s a very high scoring game by nature with it being 4 on 4 with no offsides or icing rules so it’s easier to get back into the game even down by 5.”

The game did end up being a high scoring one, as the Sea Men rallied and put some good points on the board.

However, the Timbers took the win with a final score of 8-7. The game was a tense one and it was evident both teams wanted to win. When it was all said and done though both teams lined up and shook each other’s hands at the end of the game. Kurt says the teams are all a part of a tight nit community:

“It’s a small community, but a very fun one. You see the same teams every year. Some easily playing together 20 years plus.”

If you ever find yourself in Langley come visit the Hockey House for some great games!

Smothers In Local Jiu Jitsu Tournament?

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Popular local Jiu jitsu tournament All Vs All (AVA) just announced that they will be allowing smother chokes at the rest of their tournaments from now on.

Many local tournament tend to go the opposite way when it comes to legality of smother chokes. The choke is often considered to rough and dangerous.

AVA had followed suit and announced on their Instagram that they would not be allowing the smother at their tournaments:

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cnh4G6wSOoG/?igshid=NDk5N2NlZjQ=

The post was met with a enormous amount of backlash though. The traction the post gained is largely because of how big the AVA tournaments have grown in the lower main land over the past few years. Many jiu jitsu practitioners even travel to take part in these events which has gained AVA a lot of attention.

In this case though many people were unhappy with AVA and their decision to ban smothers. Jiu jitsu practitioners agreed on the post that the smother choke is part of the sport and a risk that one takes when signing up for the competition.

AVA considered the oppositions point of view and shortly after announced that they would now be allowing smother chokes for competitors over the age of 16:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CnkTOHcvtSr/?igshid=NDk5N2NlZjQ=

This seems like a fair compromise as many competitors are happy to see the smother choke introduced into their categories, and the younger athletes taking part can still remain safe.

The next AVA tournament takes place March 4th and its almost guaranteed we will see lots of smother chokes.

Canucks Defeat The Islanders!

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The Vancouver Canucks and New York Islanders had an incredible back and forth game last night.

Tensions were high heading into this game as both teams were looking to prove they got the better of the huge trade that took place just last week.

The game started with a goal from Kyle Palmieri. The Canucks answered back fast though with a goal from Ekman Larson to tie the game. Then just a few short seconds later the Canucks scored again. Brock Boeser slap shotted the puck in to give the Canucks the lead. The Islanders were the ones to answer back this time though as Brock Nelson brought the puck down the ice and tied the game for the Islanders to end the first period.

The second period started out with a goal from former Canucks captain Bo Horvat that was over turned by the referees. The Islanders were still able to make use of their power play though as Mathew Barzal was able to score giving the Islanders the lead. A few minutes later Barzal was able to feed the puck to Bo Horvat who was able to score against his former team (his second goal in two games with the Islanders) increasing the islanders lead. Nils Åman scored late in the second but it wasn’t enough to tie the game headed into the third.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Codu3uKrdXi/?igshid=NDk5N2NlZjQ=

In the third period the Canucks were on fire as Pettersson scored two goals in a row to give the Canucks the lead. It was new team member Anthony Beauvillier that sealed the deal for the Canucks though as he scored his first goal as a Vancouver Canuck against his former team. That goal gave the Canucks the two point lead. The Islanders were able to score once more on the power play late in the third but it didn’t matter.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cod1jatrfXL/?igshid=NDk5N2NlZjQ=

Final score 6-5 for the Vancouver Canucks.

Both teams wanted this win badly and they sure played like it leading to non stop back and forth action.

The Canucks face the Red Wings tomorrow night on the road.

Hero Academy And The Vancouver Jiu Jitsu League Aim For Inclusivity!

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The Vancouver Jiu Jitsu League (VJJL) is good for growth in the community.

The VJJL is a event started by Matt Kwan, a well known local jiu jitsu coach and competitor. The event is a monthly competition where competitors can be booked for super fights and come out to test their skills. You can read PT.1 of the VJJL here:

Vancouver Jiu Jitsu League Is What The Community Needs!

The most recent event for the VJJL was hosted at a relatively new gym in North Vancouver. Hero Academy opened its doors close to a year ago and has been growing in popularity since. Owner and head coach of Hero Academy Meego Yassin said inclusivity was very important to him and his partner when opening this gym:

“We (my partner Jaime and I) were motivated to create an academy (space) that provides a safe space to learn martial arts for all walks of life, with a focus on under represented communities: women, children and adaptive athletes. We wanted to change the stereo type around martial arts academies, which can be somewhat toxic and intimidating and create a space that is welcoming, supportive and accessible.“

https://www.instagram.com/p/Clj5mafyrxQ/?igshid=NDk5N2NlZjQ=

When presented with the opportunity to host the next VJJL event at his gym, Meego quickly accepted. It’s important to Meego that these events take place so that athletes from all different backgrounds have the chance to showcase their skills:

“We think VJJL is a great way for athletes to get experience before an actual tournament, and it helps grow and unite the JiuJitsu community in the lower mainland.

It has introduced the sport to a lot of young (kids and teen) athletes, and gives them a chance to showcase their skills without the pressure of an actual tournament.  Our (personal) hope is that it will continue to open up the sport to more female athletes as well as adaptive athletes (we have both a blind athlete and a paraplegic athlete who will be partaking later in the year).”

https://www.instagram.com/p/CjL_bFrPevv/?igshid=NDk5N2NlZjQ=

Hero Academy and the rest of the VJJL are great examples of what the rest of the world should strive to be. A community where all are welcomed and everyone is treated equally.