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experience when he scores is relief.

the saviour many had expected.

crucial win for the Canucks.

 

By Garth McLennan, Sports Editor

' ) fith the Canucks putting a modestly decent
record together over the past week and a half,
two players have really stepped up their games
to help put Vancouver back in the playoff hunt.

Mats Sundin and Ryan Kesler have really been
hitting their stride lately and while it’s a pleasant surprise
for Canucks’ fans. Whenever Kesler hits the score sheet,
as he’s been doing with increasing frequency lately, fans
rejoice but for Sundin the most common feeling fans

After all, it wasn’t that long ago that many in the city
were calling for Sundin’s head. He had joined the club to
much fanfare; he was out of shape and despite showing
brief flashes of brilliance, he was being thought of as the
team’s next Mark Messier. He was not turning out to be

Thankfully that has, for now at least, changed.
Sundin has been red hot in the Canucks’ recent resurgence
and practically pushed Vancouver to victory against the
St. Louis Blues last Tuesday. Sundin was a monster in the
faceoff circle and managed to repeatedly get himself into
perfect scoring position. Infact, he scored twice in this

breakout season and is quickly establishing himself as
one of the best two-way forces in the NHL. After being
firmly entrenched in his role as a shutdown defensive
center that could score the occasional goal, Kesler has
been Vancouver’s most consistent offensive player. Over
the last little while and even when Vancouver was tanking
hard during their nine game losing streak, Kesler’s play
was admirable. After 53 games, Kesler sits third in team
scoring with a strong 35 points. He has easily been the
team’s most improved player this season and has been
driving the team almost singlehandedly.

In the last four games Kesler has been a beast. He’s
chalked up 10 points in that span, including six goals,
and fans have been able to see his previously dormant
offensive game evolve rapidly to the point where he is
now considered to be a consistent point producer on his
new line with Sundin and Pavol Demitra.

It isn’t a stretch at all to rank Kesler among the best
in the league when it comes to Selke Trophy candidates.
The Selke Trophy is awarded annually to the forward
who best excels in the defensive aspects of the game and
without a doubt that is tailor-made for Kesler.

Many of the Canucks, and particularly goaltender
Roberto Luongo, have been sub-par of late, but if Sundin
and Kesler can keep up their superb play it might not even
Meanwhile, Ryan Kesler has been enjoying a matter.

 

 

 

 

Where are they now? By Garth McLennan

 

Andrew Golota

Now 41, Polish fighter Andrew Golota
is remembered as one of boxing’s
all-time greatest losers. He’s been

at the center of controversy over the
years; his ridiculous bout against Mike
Tyson, in which he panicked and ran
from the ring after taking a few blows
from Iron Mike is the first that springs
to mind.

He hasn’t fought since January
of 2008 when he defeated drifter
Mike Mollo by a 12-round decision
and between that fight and now, he
has also had his share of legal issues.
He’s been in trouble for everything
from impersonating a police officer
at a traffic stop to sexual assault to
various weapons offenses. He has also
displayed a remarkable inability to
drive properly as he’s been subject to
numerous lawsuits, the most recent of
which came in 2007 when he disabled
a young teenage girl.

Like the majority of older fighters
who fade away slowly, Golota has
practically dropped off the map and
his future is completely up in the air.

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Riddick Bowe
Remembered mainly for his trilogy
of legendary bouts with Evander
Holyfield that made him the first man
to ever defeat Holyfield and become the
undisputed heavyweight champion of
the boxing world, Riddick “Big Daddy”
Bowe is now 41 years old and has just
begun his third comeback to the ring.

Fighting on the undercard in
Germany on December 13", 2008, Bowe
defeated journeyman Gene Pukall by
decision in eight rounds. Throughout his
career, Bowe was heralded as one of the
most talented fighters in history, but also
for being brutally out of shape. That is
still the case today, except without the
talented part. In his recent fight, Bowe
looked tremendously overweight and
for fans it was a sad look at how far he’s
fallen from his glory days. Days when
he had the potential to be one of the all-
time greats.

Bowe has never been known
for his hard work. He has made three
unsuccessful comeback attempts and
flunked out of the United States Marines
after just a few days. It is unknown if
he’ll ever fight again.

 

George Foreman

Perhaps one of boxing’s best
businessmen, George Foreman, 60,
has been able to stay relevant after

the conclusion of his boxing career.
Foreman has a long line of popular
products that keep him wealthy, the
most prominent of which is the famous
George Foreman Grill.

One of the oldest heavyweight
champions in history, he won his last
title at age 46, Forman has been a
regular fixture on the commentating
scene, and has become known for
his contradictory nature on the
microphone and his botched sentences.
One of his beauties was “Well, I’ve
thumbed a lot of opponents in my
day.”

Foreman is a member of the
International Boxing Hall of Fame
and has ten children (all named
either George or Georgetta) with five
different women. Currently, Foreman
has his own reality television show,
Family Foreman, and is a part-owner

 

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Michael Moorer
Another former world champion in
the heavyweight division, Michael
Moorer, 41, has said that he wants to
make his own return to boxing, but
that possibility is unfulfilled so far.

Moorer first retired in November
of 1997 when he was KO’ed by
Evander Holyfield. He made a short-
lived comeback a few years later
and competed primarily against
journeymen fighters. However, these
didn’t lead to title opportunities and
he eventually re-retired to enter the
training game.

Like many former high-profile
boxers, Moorer began to guest-
commentate for big time fights on
ESPN and HBO. Aside from his
announcing and fight training duties
Moorer has also, oddly, taken up
a position as the bodyguard of the
world’s greatest golfer, Tiger Woods.
He has been seen a few times in
the company of Woods at prolific
tournaments and has been reported as

of the Panther Racing IndyCar team. Tiger’s protector.
Moorer hasn’t fought
professionally since July of 2004.
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