Author Archives: Ryan Plessl

Will The Raptors Make Playoffs?

Posted on by
Reply

The Toronto Raptors dominated the Detroit Pistons on Friday night with a final score of 118-97. However, even with this amazing performance the Raptors are currently out of playoff contention, currently ranking ninth in the East. They find themselves in the play-in tournament currently but with their performance this year it’s unlikely they beat any team in a seven game series to put them into the playoffs. So will the team be able to make it into the playoffs with just eight games left in the season? Let’s look at the numbers and see what we can come up with!

https://www.instagram.com/p/CqPjzQ0O-Vn/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Currently the Raptors sit ninth place in the standings, just one win away from passing the Atlanta Hawks, and four wins away from Brooklyn and Miami. Therefore with eight games left it’s unlikely that they’ll be able to catch the Nets and Heat. Will they be able to beat the Hawks though for that eighth spot.

In my honest opinion, I doubt it.

The Raptors have a tough schedule to end the year as they are up against the Wizards, Heat, 76ers, Hornets X2, Celtics X2, and the Bucks. The Hawks also have a tough schedule as they are facing the Grizzlies, Cavs, Nets, Mavericks, Bulls, Wizards, 76ers and Celtics. The Hawks schedule is significantly easier though and they are much more likely to win games then the Raptors are.

Time will tell which team will prevail in this race but don’t count on seeing the Raptors in the playoffs this year.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CqOCfmsO8qZ/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

The Raptors play the Wizards today at home.

Dante Leon Wins Gold!

Posted on by
Reply

Canadian grappling superstar Dante Leon faced off against black belt world champion Jeferson Guaresi last night in a very exciting no-gi jiu jitsu title fight!

https://www.instagram.com/p/CpN0xOcum95/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Dante Leon is a very well recognized grappler from Canada that has been in the news as of late due to his passive aggressive Instagram posts directed to Jits Magazine. You can read all about Dante’s problem with Jits magazine here:

Dante Leon Calls Out Jits Magazine!

Coming off his controversial loss to Roberto Abreu “Cyborg” at Grappling Industries, Dante looked to bounce back at Faith and Violence III.

His opponent was a very tough black belt world champion named Jeferson Guaresi. Many fans expected this fight to be a close one with some fans even predicting Dante would lose this match up.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CqQpfN7J1YO/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Dante proved why he is a world class competitor though taking Jeferson to the mat with his superior wrestling skills. Jeferson tried to enter into a potential leg locks exchange shortly after hitting the mat but Dante was able to roll through and take the back. Dante then locked in the rear make choke and got the tap to win the match.

It’s good to see Dante Leon back in good spirits and in the win column again after his rough past few weeks. Let’s hope Dante returns to action again soon!

Ascension Martial Arts Takes Over BFL 76!

Posted on by
Reply

Local mixed martial arts (MMA) gym Ascension Martial Arts will have a busy night at Battle Field Fight League (BFL) 76, as they have four fighters competing on the card!

https://www.instagram.com/p/CqLjp4kPIsk/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Shawn Albrecht is a MMA coach and owner of Ascension Martial Arts in Port Coquitlam. Before Shawn made a full transition to coaching MMA he was a successful fighter and made a name for himself on the local scene.

Shawn now specializes in wall wrestling and Jiu jitsu coaching, and guides fighters on their path to an MMA career.

Shawn will have a particularly busy night at the office next Thursday though as he brings four of his professional fighters to the BFL stage.

Alana Cook, Josh Kwiatkowski, Brandon Briglio, and Dillon Foerester will all be representing Ascension Martial Arts as they enter the cage on Thursday night. Each of them has a very tough opponent but the team has been working hard with Shawn to make sure they are ready for the night.

Watch Ascension Martial Arts athletes take the BFL cage on March 30th, live from the Harbour Convention Centre, or watch live on UFC Fight Pass.

Canadian F1 Team With Another Podium!

Posted on by
Reply

Canadian owned Formula One (F1) team Aston Martin looks to be on track for a phenomenal season this year.

Aston Martin was formally known as Racing Point in 2020 and the team was pretty solid. The car was fast scoring pole position and even a race win throughout the 2020 season. The team ended up finishing fourth place for the season. However, when the team changed over to Aston Martin they’re speed significantly decreased and the team dropped to seventh place for the past two years in the Constructors Championship.

The team was smart though and used those two years to invest money into their 2023 car. With the changes they’ve made to the car they’re seeing massive improvements in their overall speed, lap times, and finishing positions!

The team scored second place in first practice, first place in second practice and third and sixth place in the first race of the season in Bahrain. When the team returned at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix this past weekend they had another stellar performance and secured yet another podium.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cp_Pzw4LFaY/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

With Fernando Alonso’s third place podium he made history as the teams first ever consecutive podiums. Aston Martin currently sits second in the Constructors Championship.

Let’s hope the Canadian team can keep the momentum rolling and secure solid rankings in the Drivers and Constructors Championship throughout the course of the year!

Edge VS Balor In Hell In A Cell!

Posted on by
Reply

Canadian wrestling superstar Edge is set to face Finn Balor at WrestleMania in a Hell In A Cell match!

https://www.instagram.com/p/CpwWqzeMw8d/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

This match has been building for months now but reached its boiling point the other night on RAW.

Edge announced that he would be accepting Austin Theory’s open challenge on RAW right after the Elimination Chamber event. Edge had just defeated the team of Finn Balor and Rhea Ripley alongside his wife Beth Phoenix.

Edge was looking to move on from that chapter of his career against Judgement Day. The feud has been a long one with Edge being the one who formed Judgement Day. The faction eventually turned on Edge though and injured him. Edge returned at the Royal Rumble event to exact his revenge leading to his match with the team at Elimination Chamber.

Facing Austin Theory for the United States Championship seemed to be the perfect opportunity for Edge to move on from this feud and work towards one more title run in his career.

Edge was on fire during his match with Theory. Austin Theory had some good moments but Edge was large and in charge for the majority of the match.

However, Finn Balor was not looking to move on from his feud with Edge just yet. He interfered in the match costing Edge the title. He then proceeded to beat Edge down and went backstage to tell the camera crew “Edge thought this was over? Are you kidding? This is just the beginning!”

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CpvCft8p5vW/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Edge got his revenge the following Monday night though as he speared Balor to the canvas and screamed in his face “this is not over!”

Finally a match between the two was announced for WrestleMania in the Hell In A Cell. This means no interference from the judgement day, no disqualification, and no more unanswered questions for these two men. We will see who is the better wrestler next weekend at WrestleMania!

All VS All Grappling Ups Their Game!

Posted on by
Reply

All VS All (AVA) grappling tournament are ready to put on a show for their upcoming Western Championship tournament.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CqGWUJVgmVO/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

AVA is a submission only grappling tournament that has taken British Columbia by storm these past few years. The event is popular due to its ruleset and submission only structure. Competitors are put into a round robin bracket which means maximizing matches for competitors, with a heavy reward for submission wins.

The tournament has upped their game this year though with a tournament series called the Western Championship. The championship tournament will take place June 10th and 11th at Riverside Secondary School! AVA is pulling out all the stops for this tournament, creating new medals for the championships and awarding the Pro Division winners a title belt if they take home the gold.

AVA posted the new medals to their Instagram account earlier today. They captioned the post:

“Attention AVA grapplers! We are excited to introduce our new design for the medals at the upcoming AVA Western Grappling Championship. 🥇🥈🥉

So, get ready to bring your best game to the championship and aim for the top spot on the podium. We can’t wait to see you there! 🤼‍♀️🤼”

https://www.instagram.com/p/CqOI2lRJ19g/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

This will be a super exciting event so make sure you come out and watch some of the best grapplers in Canada compete for the Western Championships.

The Canucks Win Again!?

Posted on by
Reply

The Vancouver Canucks destroyed the San Jose Sharks for the ninth time in a row on Thursday night.

JT Miller started out the scoring for the night with a nice slap-shot to give the Canucks the early lead. Andrey Kuzmenko scored shortly after giving the Canucks the two goal lead. This was Kuzmenkos thirty-fifth goal of the season making him the highest scoring rookie in franchise history! The Sharks finally answered back though as Tomáš Hertl scored shortly after Kuzmenkos goal. It seemed as though this was all the action the first period would see, but Dakota Joshua made a late charge to the goal and put one in at the buzzer to give the Canucks the two goal lead heading into the second period.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CqJ7jOwrT6S/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Conor Garland kicked off the scoring halfway into the second period to increase the Canucks lead even more. San Jose was able to answer back short handed though as Andrew Agozzino shot one past Thatcher Demko to end the second period.

The Canucks were on fire in the third period as Vasily Podkolzin, Phillip Di Giuseppe, and Sheldon Dries all scored to give the Canucks a five goal lead!

https://www.instagram.com/p/CqKLbhmODdj/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

The Canucks dominated this match up with a final score of 7-2.

Once again, fans, experts, and myself were left wondering, why are the Canucks winning? This team should be tanking right now to get a better draft pick but they can’t seem to lose a game as of late. The team are 8-2 in their last ten!

The Canucks return tomorrow night to play the Stars. Let’s hope they can finally start losing again soon.

Lance Strolls Bad Luck

Posted on by
Reply

Canadian Formula One (F1) driver Lance Stroll has had a rough start to the new season.

Lance got injured on his bike, went into surgery, and had metal rods inserted into his wrists just a week before the first F1 race of the season in Bahrain! He then told his Aston Martin team that he couldn’t race his best because he couldn’t turn with the state of his hands during practice. However, after qualifying eighth and finishing the race sixth it seemed as though Lances season was on a upwards trajectory.

This weekend in Saudi Arabia Lances season once again took a unexpected turn for the worst though. Lance qualified sixth and looked to be on pace for a good result during the race. At the start of the race Lance pulled off a brilliant move on Carlos Sainz to move into fifth place.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CqDxUOggOrF/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

However, Lances race success was short lived as his car failed on him causing him to come to a unexpected stop on track. Lance finished the race twentieth due to his early DNF (Did Not Finish) result.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CqDRtdvIjAU/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Between Lances accident, surgery, and car failure its obvious that Lance is suffering from some bad luck right now. If Lance is able to hit his stride though its clear that he has the pace to be fighting at the front of the grid with Red Bull, Ferrari, and teammate Fernando Alonso. Let’s hope Lance can shake this bad omen and unlock his true potential.

Canadian Wrestlers Finally Reunite!

Posted on by
Reply

Fans have been waiting for Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens reunion for a long time now. After months of waiting, they finally got their wish.

Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens have been involved in a long feud with the Bloodline over the course of the past few months. Kevin Ownes started out his feud with the team while trying to get his best friend Sami back on his side. Owens faced off against the Bloodline in the main event for two pay per views (PPV) in a row. Owens lost his singles match against Roman Reigns for the WWE championship but succeeded in getting Sami Zayn to turn on the team and join his side.

Sami was quick to want his best friend back after he helped Owens out, but Owens didn’t fully forgive Sami for turning on him in the first place.

However, over the past few weeks the WWE has been teasing that these two would eventually be teaming up again by having them work together in multiple different segments.

Finally, on Friday Night Smackdown the two reunited with a huge hug after fighting off the Uso’s. The whole crowd erupted as the two Canadian brothers finally put their differences aside and decided to work together to take down the Bloodline.

Sami and Kevin then stood in the ring Monday night for RAW and called out the reigning, defending, undisputed Tag Team Champions, the Uso’s! The Uso’s accepted and a match was made for WrestleMania!

https://www.instagram.com/p/CqCXrQ1M_xL/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Time will tell if the Canadian duo can takedown the champions at WrestleMania. One thing is for sure though. They’ll have the whole WWE universe behind them and willing them on during this match.

Vancouver Canucks Face Off Against The Vegas Golden Knights!

Posted on by
Reply

The Vancouver Canucks faced off against the Vegas Golden Knights last night in a close back and forth game that left fans on the edge of their seat throughout the game.

Vegas started out strong with a fast goal from Phil Kessel just three minutes into the game. Golden Knights player Reilly Smith scored again just a few minutes later to give Vegas a two goal lead heading into the second period.

Thatcher Demko made some nice saves to start out the second period. The Canucks were finally able to get a goal when J.T Miller was given a penalty shot due to a stick hit from Vegas. Vegas was fast to battle back though as Theodor Blueger shot one past Demko to give the Knights a two goal lead once more. J.T Miller wasn’t settling for a two goal lead in this game though, as he scored once again after a nice pass from Quinn Hughes. Vegas refused to stop putting pressure on the Canucks though as Pavel Dorofeyev scored to give Vegas the two goal lead once again heading into the third period.

The Canucks played like they wanted to win in the third, and they once again started to close the gap after a nice goal from Phillip Di Giuseppe. It was not enough to tie the game or take the win for the Canucks though as they lost the game to the Vegas Golden Knights.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CqFAm23ug1Z/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Final score 4-3 for the Knights.

This was a decent game for the team. They showed that they can play well but also lost the game which is crucial for the Canucks if they want to get a good draft pick. More of this from the team would be great.

The Canucks return tomorrow night to play the Seattle Kraken at home.