Sports V V ell, even a good team has bad moments. The Canucks have been on fire as of late, but recently dropped two games in a row. They lost one game to Dallas and another to the Canuck killers, the St. Louis Blues. I don’t know just what it is about Curtis Sanford, or the St. Louis Blues, but they seem to have had our number since last season. Yeah, we beat them earlier in the season, but I am still bitter over last season’s complete stomping. I think everyone is. Last year’s St. Louis team was a team that couldn’t win to save its life. There was no excuse. And this year, the Canucks are a much better team than the Blues. I just do not understand why the never seem to show up to play them. Enough about that though, because what I actually wanted to write about here were the trade deadline acquisitions of Brian Smolinski and Brent Sopel. Yes yes, my friends, the great Brent Sopel has come home! Listening to the Team 1040, they had an interview with Sopel. He was happy to be back. In fact, on the radio they said that they had never seen a player so happy after he’s been traded. Sopel has a raging hard-on for this city. “My family is very excited, we never wanted to leave Vancouver in the first place,” said Sopel. “I'll do whatever the Canucks want me to do.” Bringing back Sopel was a decent move for the team itself as well. Sopel has already played with much of this roster, and will not have to take time to adjust to the chemistry in the dressing room. He will not have to adjust too much to the playing style either, as he was a member of the team so recently. Sopel said, “I’m going to come in, slide o Canucks Corner Stephanie Smith, OP Canucks Fan right in there, have fun with the boys and do what we need to do to win.” He’s ready to play, ready to win, and ready to make a difference. As for Smolinski, well he too was ecstatic to be here. I saw the interview on Sportsnet. I have never seen someone say “I’m ecstatic,” so many times in such a short interview. With Kesler out of the lineup for the rest of the season, the Canucks needed scoring. They needed to fill a gap upfront. Coach Alain Vigneault stated early on that his idea was to put Smolinski with Naslund, as he has been unable to find someone who can play consistently well alongside Nazzy. “[That is] Pretty cool—Markus is a world class player,” Smolinski said. “He’s a guy who makes the players around him very good and that’s why he’s at an elite level. I played with Markus in Pittsburgh and I could see the greatness that he had back then.” Now, | am not saying the Canucks are, or were, in any trouble prior to the deadline, but these small moves are a very good thing for the Canucks. We get a defenseman to pad the backend; a d- man with experience, and with love for the team, which is something not to be underestimated. You would be surprised how far loyalty can go. We also come away with a centreman to play alongside Naslund, something we have been looking for since the beginning of the year really. Subtle moves could make the difference. There were a lot of big moves at the deadline, most of which will not pan out the same way. The Canucks took an already great team and tweaked it just a little. And personally, I think it’s going to work out just fine in the end. Douglas Sports Corner Calendar of Upcoming Games Badminton: CCAA Nationals. Tournament takes place in Richmond, Thursday March 8 — Saturday March 10. Baseball: Exhibition game vs. Western Washington U. Game takes place in New Westminster Saturday March 10 — 11:00am. Exhibition game vs. TRU. Game takes place in New Westminster Sunday March 11 — 11:00am. Doubleheader vs. Western Washington U. Exhibition game takes place in New Westminster Sunday March 11 — 3:00pm. Men’s Basketball: CCAA Nationals. Tournament takes place in Truro, Nova Scotia Wednesday March 14 — Saturday March 17. Women’s Basketball: CCAA Nationals. Tournament takes place in Edmonton, AB Wednesday March 14 — Saturday March 17. Cross Country Track: Mt. Hood Open. Meet takes place in Gresham, OR Saturday March 10. Women’s Golf: Lewis-Clark State Invite. Tournament takes place at Clarkson Country Club Monday March 19 and Tuesday March 20. Men’s Golf: Lewis-Clark State Invite. Tournament takes place at Clarkson Country Club Monday March 19 and Tuesday March 20. Women’s Rugby: Home game vs. Capilano. Game takes in New Westminster Saturday March 10. Away game vs. Bayside. Game takes place in Burnaby Saturday March 10. Away game vs. SFU. Game takes place in Burnaby Saturday March 17. Home game vs. Ravens. Game takes place in New Westminster Saturday March 17. Men’s Rugby: Away game vs. Seattle. Game takes place in Seattle Saturday March 10. Away game vs. SFU. Game takes place in Burnaby Saturday March 17. Men’s Volleyball: CCAA Nationals. Tournament takes place in Nanaimo Thursday March 8 — Saturday Match 10. Women’s Volleyball: CCAA Nationals. Tournament takes place in North Vancouver Thursday March 8 — Saturday March 10. Wheelchair Basketball: BC-CWBL Finals. Tournament takes place in Prince George Saturday March 16 — Sunday March 18. Wrestling: NCWA Nationals. Tournament takes place in Garland, TX Thursday March 8 — Saturday March 10. Junior Nationals. Tournament takes place in Charlottetown, PEI Wednesday March 14 — Thursday March 15. 17