Sports

History of the Battle of Alberta: What Canadians Should Know

Published

3 years ago

January 24, 2022

Have you ever wondered about the history of the so-called Battle of Alberta? This intense rivalry has been raging for decades, and it’s often just a staple part of matches between the Calgary Flames and their rivals, the Edmonton Oilers. Nevertheless, this wasn’t always the case; in fact, the rivalry actually can be traced back all of the way to its roots in 1980.
As such, today, we’ll be taking a look at the history of the so-called Battle of Alberta. What’s more, we’ll consider who, according to the historical statistics at the least, has the edge over the other for this year’s upcoming matches.

The History of the Battle of Alberta

Many hockey fans just take the Battle of Alberta as an annual, expected event – but the history of this rivalry is much more complex and diverse than this, and it’s always interesting as such to see how the Battle of Alberta has evolved over time.

The Battle of Alberta saw its foundations in 1980 when the Atlanta Flames moved to Calgary. From then on, a raging dispute grew up between the two teams – and this was largely spurred by some of the most professional and successful NHL players of all time.

These included Wayne Gretzky, who played for the Edmonton Oilers and who achieved a massive 133 goals; meanwhile, on the side of the Flames, Al MacInnis certainly held his own with high success rates of 82 goals overall. Meanwhile, in the modern-day, Connor McDavid continues to live up to the role of his predecessor; at just twenty-five years of age, his skills on the hockey field are unparalleled.

Though the Battle of Alberta and the rivalry involved predates the rivalry between the two teams, it’s undeniable that the battle nevertheless gained momentum following the move. To this day, even among non-sports fans, there remains a friendly rivalry between the cities, although this tends to become a lot more pronounced whenever a hockey event is announced.

Who Holds Bragging Rights Historically?

As we look to 2022, it can often seem difficult to weigh up these two teams. Indeed, as explained by Betway Insider, the long-term feud between Zack Kassian and Matthew Tkachuk continues to leave chances for each team at an impasse.

As such, hockey fans from around the world are sure to be left feeling a little unsure about how their favourite team is likely to perform for the coming year. And, with the teams appearing to be largely matched in terms of their skills, a brief look at the history of this iconic hockey rivalry may shine a little more light on how the fates will settle.

How the Wins Compare

From statistics alone, Betway explains that Calgary holds the upper hand, with a total of 126 wins against their rival historically; nevertheless, Edmonton has still held their own in this regard, with a total of 109 wins in response. As such, while there might be a small difference between the teams in terms of overall wins, Calgary holds a slightly more optimistic record overall.

However, there’s a big catch here that we need to mention. Indeed, while Calgary might hold the record for the most wins overall during the Battle of Alberta, the Edmonton team actually clinches the win when it comes to the play-off matches themselves. Indeed, with the Oilers achieving a massive 19 play-offs in head-to-head games compared to the Flames’ 11, it’s easy to see who wins when it really matters the most.

A further factor to consider which complicates things is that, although the Flames have statistically won more matches, they only appeared in the Stanley Cup matches once; by contrast, the Oilers appeared in the Stanley Cup five times.

How Many Goals Has Each Team Scored?

In terms of overall goals, as one might expect, the Flames take the win – but, again, not by much. In fact, there’s only a difference of 38 goals between the teams, and this once again makes it difficult to determine which team is more likely to come out on top this year.

Who is Statistically More Likely to Win?

Based on the statistics we’ve presented above, it’s undeniably difficult to determine based on the stats alone which team likely has the upper hand. With this in mind, based on past performances, it’s generally fair to say that the Battle of Alberta is largely well-matched overall.

Of course, we can never tell how things will play out; as such, hockey fans wanting to see which team will take the crown for this year will just have to follow the feud with interest and see how things play out. And, whichever team you might be rooting for this year, we wish both teams all the best and hope that they’re given the chance to play to the best of their abilities for 2022.

Final Thoughts

The Battle of Alberta has been raging for decades, and with this in mind, it’s well worth considering how this rivalry is likely to continue as we look to the future. Indeed, it can be a little hard to work out who actually holds bragging rights after the many years of battling it out for the title – but whatever the future might bring, it seems likely that we’ll still continue to see the same great intensity in any case.

Sports

David Lipsky shoots 65 to take 1st-round lead at Silverado in FedEx Cup Fall opener

Published

4 hours ago

September 13, 2024

Anne Joseph

NAPA, Calif. (AP) — David Lipsky shot a 7-under 65 on Thursday at Silverado Country Club to take a one-stroke lead after the first round of the Procore Championship.

Winless in 104 events since joining the PGA Tour in 2022, Lipsky went out with the early groups and had eight birdies with one bogey to kick off the FedEx Cup Fall series at the picturesque course in the heart of Napa Valley wine country.

After missing the cut in his three previous tournaments, Lipsky flew from Las Vegas to Arizona to reunite with his college coach at Northwestern to get his focus back. He also spent time playing with some of the Northwestern players, which helped him relax.

“Just being around those guys and seeing how carefree they are, not knowing what’s coming for them yet, it’s sort of nice to see that,” Lipsky said. “I was almost energized by their youthfulness.”

Patton Kizzire and Mark Hubbard were a stroke back. Kizzire started on the back nine and made a late run with three consecutive birdies to move into a tie for first. A bogey on No. 8 dropped him back.

“There was a lot of good stuff out there today,” Kizzire said. “I stayed patient and just went through my routines and played well, one shot at a time. I’ve really bee working hard on my mental game and I think that allowed me to rinse and repeat and reset and keep playing.”

Mark Hubbard was at 67. He had nine birdies but fell off the pace with a bogey and triple bogey on back-to-back holes.

Kevin Dougherty also was in the group at 67. He had two eagles and ended his afternoon by holing out from 41 yards on the 383-yard, par-4 18th.

Defending champion Sahith Theegala had to scramble for much of his round of 69.

Wyndham Clark, who won the U.S. Open in 2023 and the AT&T at Pebble Beach in February, had a 70.

Max Homa shot 71. The two-time tournament champion and a captain’s pick for the President’s Cup in two weeks had two birdies and overcame a bogey on the par-4 first.

Stewart Cink, the 2020 winner, also opened with a 71. He won The Ally Challenge last month for his first PGA Tour Champions title.

Three players from the Presidents Cup International team had mix results. Min Woo Lee shot 68, Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., 69 and Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., 73. International team captain Mike Weir of Brights Grove, Ont., also had a 69.

Ben Silverman of Thornhill, Ont., had a 68, Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., and Roger Sloan of Merritt, B.C., shot 70 and Adam Svensson of Surrey, B.C., had a 71.

Lipsky was a little shaky off the tee for much of the afternoon but made up for it with steady iron play that left him in great shape on the greens. He had one-putts on 11 holes and was in position for a bigger day but left five putts short.

Lipsky’s only real problem came on the par-4 ninth when his approach sailed into a bunker just shy of the green. He bounced back nicely with five birdies on his back nine. After missing a 19-foot putt for birdie on No. 17, Lipsky ended his day with a 12-foot par putt.

That was a big change from last year when Lipsky tied for 30th at Silverado when he drove the ball well but had uneven success on the greens.

“Sometimes you have to realize golf can be fun, and I think I sort of forgot that along the way as I’m grinding it out,” Lipsky said. “You’ve got to put things in perspective, take a step back. Sort of did that and it seems like it’s working out.”

Laird stayed close after beginning his day with a bogey on the par-4 10th. The Scot got out of the sand nicely but pushed his par putt past the hole.

Homa continued to have issues off the tee and missed birdie putts on his final four holes.

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AP golf:

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Canada’s Marina Stakusic advances to quarterfinals at Guadalajara Open

Published

4 hours ago

September 13, 2024

Anne Joseph

GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Canada’s Marina Stakusic is moving on to the quarterfinals of the Guadalajara Open.

The Mississauga, Ont., native defeated the tournament top seed, Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (0) in the round of 16 on Thursday.

Stakusic faced a 0-4 deficit in the third and final set before marching back into the match.

The 19-year-old won five of the next six games to even it up before exchanging games to force a tiebreaker, where Stakusic took complete control to win the match.

Stakusic had five aces with 17 double faults in the three-hour, four-minute match.

However, she converted eight of her 18 break-point opportunities.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.

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Sports

France investigating disappearances of 2 Congolese Paralympic athletes

Published

6 hours ago

September 12, 2024

Anne Joseph

PARIS (AP) — French judicial authorities are investigating the disappearance of two Paralympic athletes from Congo who recently competed in the Paris Games, the prosecutor’s office in the Paris suburb of Bobigny confirmed on Thursday.

Prosecutors opened the investigation on Sept. 7, after members of the athletes’ delegation warned authorities of their disappearance two days before.

Le Parisien newspaper reported that shot putter Mireille Nganga and Emmanuel Grace Mouambako, a visually impaired sprinter who was accompanied by a guide, went missing on Sept. 5, along with a third person.

The athletes’ suitcases were also gone but their passports remained with the Congolese delegation, according to an official with knowledge of the investigation, who asked to remain anonymous as they were not allowed to speak publicly about the case.

The Paralympic Committee of the Democratic Republic of Congo did not respond to requests for information from The Associated Press.

Nganga — who recorded no mark in the seated javelin and shot put competitions — and Mouambako were Congo’s flag bearers at the opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games, organizers said.

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AP Paralympics:

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