Red, Green & Blue

Hey Peeps and anyone else checking in. A special "Hey" goes out to Hazel Mae.

We'll start off in England - Portugal beat Brazil by a score of 2-0 in an International Friendly held at Emirates Stadium in London yesterday. Portugal scored both goals in the last 10 minutes, super sub Simao scored in the 83rd minute and defender Ricardo Carvalho scored in the final minute. Brazil carried the play in the first half, but the boys hung in there and started to assert themselves in the second half, taking the play to the samba boys.

Special moment yesterday came when Cristiano Ronaldo was handed the Captain's arm band before the game - Coach Luiz Felipe Scolari explained that he did it at the request of Carlos Silva, Vice-President of the Portguese FA, who passed away last Saturday. A sign for Euro 2008? The successor to Figo? We can only hope.

Hazel's Maple Leafs won again last night, 2-1 over the St. Louis Blues; Toronto's fifth in a row and fourth straight road win. Alexei Ponikarovsky and Alex Steen scored for the good guys, and Andrew Raycroft was solid again stopping 19 of 20 shots. Unfortunately, the Maple Leafs didn't gain any ground in the race for the 8th seed in the Eastern Conference as both Carolina and Pittsburgh won last night. Toronto sits one point back of Carolina. Next stop...Graceland and ELVIS! as the Buds hit Nashville. Toronto will be in tough against the NHL's top team - but Leaf Nation is counting on a little Hazel Karma to wrap up the road swing on the right note.

More good news for Hazel, the Bruins picked up a win last night in Washington, 3-2 in a shootout. The newest member of the B's Brandon Bochenski scored in his first game as a Bruin - the SenaTards Army has seen this act from BB before. Still, a win is a win - and Dave Lewis and company will take them any way they can get them.

Things are getting ugly in Montreal these days...so ugly in fact that they put former Bruins winger Sergei Samsonov on waivers yesterday. While Bruins fans will no doubt call on Peter Chiarelli to bring Samsonov back to Boston - his $3+ million contract is sure to cause Chiarelli to have some second thoughts. The fact is that Samsonov has been disinterested since the year started and it is hard to see him helping the Bruins this year.

HAZEL'S THREE STARS
Portuguese International Simao Sabrosa scored what proved to be the game winning goal in the 83rd minute against Brazil yesterday in London. Simao has had a history of playing his best games on English soil, and yesterday was no different as he came off the bench to stun the samba boys. Forca Simao!

Toronto Maple Leafs G Andrew Raycroft, fresh off of being named the NHL's First Star of the Week, stoned the Blues last night. I don't have to tell you that its his fifth straight win or that he is now "THE" guy in Toronto. Honourable mention goes to Alexei Ponikarovsky who fought hard to get the Leafs' first goal.

Pittsburgh Penguins G Marc-Andre Fleury made 25 saves in a 4-1 win over the league leading Nashville Predators last night. The only bad thing about his performance is that he is screwing the Maple Leafs.


WEDNESDAY'S THREE PLAY
We started off the week on a tough note going 2-1 and will winding up $140 in the red, thanks to Calgary falling apart and blowing a 2-0 lead with less than 3 minutes left in the game.

Vancouver over Chicago - the Blackhawks are coming off a tough game last night; Canucks rolled over Edmonton last night. Canucks roll over the Blackhawks. Lay $100 on Vancouver - $250.

New York Islanders over Philadelphia - speaking of teams that are playing out the string, the Flyers were out of the race before Christmas; the Islanders still have something to fight for. Lay $100 on the Islanders - $170.

Detroit over Phoenix - Phoenix will find Detroit considerably tougher than Columbus was last night. Lay $75 on Detroit - $280.



KEEPING HAZEL UP ON WHAT'S WHAT IN TORONTO

Steen nets winner for Toronto as Leafs streak hits 5

Raycroft Razor sharp again

Raycroft makes the "save of the year" on Guerin

Leafs turn up the heat

Razor taking things in stride

Razor not quite like Eddie

Razor not getting too excited

Johnny Pohl's fight to the NHL

Poni's shot on net

Noted Leaf Hater Pierre McGuire gives Toronto some credit

Richard Griffin isn't drinking the Chickenhawk's koolaid

Who would Hazel vote for?

By the way, if you find yourself with a few free minutes today or whenever, why not check into Boston Sports Media Poll and cast your vote for Hazel as Boston's favorite TV sports anchor?


That's about it for this morning gang - have a great one peeps!

HAZEL'S WEDNESDAY HOROSCOPE
Incorporate into your everyday routine some of the ideas other people have for doing things. Then, once you have your own life moving in a healthier and more productive direction, you can help the people you love and care about follow suit. 3 stars

Hazel, I hope things are groovy in your world.

Song of the Day on Hazelspeeps - because I forgot to mention that yesterday was also Bob Marley's birthday.

Could You Be Loved - Bob Marley

Peesth Out...Buh Bye!