Ss Moats,

Campbell’s pain could be Canucks’ gain
Ugly to think about, but a weak Chicago is good for Vancouver

By Garth McLennan, Sports Editor

examples in the highly publicized

headshot debate which has been
sweeping the NHL in the last two
weeks, but one very important aspect
of the Alexander Ovechkin hit on
Chicago’s Brian Campbell, which left
the Blackhawks’ rushing defenseman

|: has become one of the central

 

last season, and they shredded the
Vancouver blue line with their speed
and skating. Campbell was a big part of
that. Now, he’s done for the remainder
of the regular season at the very least,
and quite possibly for Chicago’s post-
season run as well.

Now, if this is indeed the year the
Canucks intend to make a serious

run to the Stanley Cup, all roads to

Without Campbell, who, along with Duncan Keith and Brent
Seabrook make up one of the most potent defence corps in the
NHL, Chicago looks at least measurably more mortal.

with a fractured collarbone and broken
ribs and may keep him out for the

rest of the NHL season, hasn’t been
mentioned all that much—and that is
the very positive impact it could have
on the Canucks’ playoff hopes.

Now, nobody likes to see a player

get injured, especially in the brutal
manner that Campbell did. However,
from a strictly playing perspective,

the Canucks probably aren’t all that
displeased with the situation. After

all, Ovechkin got slapped with a two-
game suspension, which gives Henrik
Sedin an excellent opportunity to get
ahead of the Washington superstar

in the scoring race that the two have
been duelling over all year, but more
importantly, one of Vancouver’s chief
rivals lost one of their best defensemen
for the foreseeable future.

As just about every Canucks fan is still
painfully aware, the Blackhawks were
the ones who eliminated Vancouver
from the playoffs in the second round

18

hockey’s holy land run through the
Windy City. There is a very high
likelihood that if Vancouver goes

far enough, they’Il run into the
Blackhawks, who from all accounts
look stronger this year then they did
when they blew by the Canucks.
Without Campbell, who, along with
Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook
(who himself was the victim of a
vicious headshot at the hands of the
Anaheim Ducks and whose health
situation is unclear) make up one of the
most potent defence corps in the NHL,
Chicago looks at least measurably
more mortal.

Now, with or without Campbell,
Chicago won’t be an easy test. The
firepower that the forwards on that
team bring is well documented, and
last year in the playoffs the Canucks’
defence, which hasn’t been reshaped or
retooled at all since then, looked more
than shell-shocked against the blitz.

 

Pacquiao dominates Clottey

Can anyone but Mayweather stop Manny?

By Garth McLennan, Sports Editor

nce again, Manny Pacquiao
O= proven beyond a shadow
of a doubt that at the
moment, he truly is the best pound-
for-pound fighter in the world.

In his recent defence of the
WBO Welterweight Championship
in Dallas, Texas, Pacquiao shredded
the highly conservative defence
of challenger Joshua Clottey, and
scored a unanimous decision victory
in dominant fashion.

The performances of the 31-
year-old Filipino, who sports a 51-
3-2 record with 38 KO’s, just keep
getting more and more impressive.
Pacquiao is currently riding a 12-
fight win streak, and since his win
over Oscar De La Hoya back in
2008, which sent the aging champion
into retirement and garnered
international attention, Pacquiao has
been taking increasingly high-profile
fights.

Clottey, who extended his
mark of never having been knocked
down but lost every round against
Pacquiao and was pummelled form
start to finish, was a replacement for
Floyd Mayweather, the “other” top
pound-for-pound boxer in the world.

 

The two superstars were supposed

to clash in Dallas on the same day

as the Clottey fight, but plans for

the fight that everyone wants to

see fell through officially due to
complications over drug testing but
in reality because of some major ego.

Mayweather himself instead
opted to fight Shane Mosley, and
the two will go at it on May 1.
Mayweather, who has never been
defeated or knocked down, will
likely meet Pacquiao sometime
down the road, assuming he bests
the 38-year-old Mosley, who hasn’t
fought since January of 2009.
Mayweather, who has always been
among the game’s best defensive
fighters, is coming off a big win over
Juan Manual Marquez, and it'll be
an even bigger upset if Mosley is
able to take him down.

Pacquiao has made it abundantly
clear that he is only interested in
fighting Floyd Mayweather from
here on out. He’s a national icon
down in the Philippines and has
hinted numerous times at a political
career after his boxing days are
through. He’s even gone as far as to
say that Mayweather could be his
final opponent before retirement.