While the Cavaliers fans stuck to the typical booing and occasional “asshole” chant throughout LeBron James’ return to the Quicken Loans Arena last night, a few fans in Ottawa had a rather interesting way of showing Dany Heatley how they felt about his abrupt departure during the summer of 2009.

Between whistles at the beginning of the third period, eight Sens fans made their way to the lower level of the Scotiabank Place so that they could toss their Heatley apparel onto the ice.  It was quite the creative twist to the conventional boos and “Heatley sucks” chants that could be heard throughout the arena for most of the game.

So this leaves me with just one question:  Why didn’t the fans in Cleveland think of this?  Probably because they already burned all their LeBron merchandise following “The Decision.”

Thursday, December 2nd, 2010 has been marked down on the calenders of almost every NHL and NBA fan.  After all, it is the day that many have already been calling, “A Night of Unwelcome Returns.”  And headlining this much-anticipated night of North American professional sports action are the Miami Heat’s LeBron James and the San Jose Sharks’ Dany Heatley.

We begin with James, who will be making his highly anticipated return to Cleveland for the first time since announcing over the summer that he would be taking his talents to South Beach, leaving the city he grew up in and played for during his first seven NBA seasons behind.

And then there is Dany Heatley, who had to wait an extra year before returning to Ottawa, but will finally make his first trip back to the Canadian capitol since demanding a trade during the summer of 2009.

So while most birds tend to fly south for the winter, we are quite certain that the boo-birds in both Cleveland and Ottawa have decided to stick around for a few more frigid December evenings, and they should be out in full force tonight.  Things could get interesting…

Total Pro Sports – The first week of the NHL Fantasy 3 Stars sees a mixture of expected and unexpected players make the list.  Leading the expected is a highly skilled winger showing off for his new team and a goalie standing on his head in the dessert for the unexpected.

This week’s honorable mention goes to Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals. Ovie was able to score 2 goals and add 4 assists for 6 points with 2 of those points coming on the power play. He also posted a +/- rating of plus-3  with a staggering 32 shots on goal and zero penalty minutes. Expect even better things from Ovechkin as the season wears on as the top fantasy player.

Lets take a look at the NHL Fantasy 3 Stars for Week 2.

3rd Star – Anze Kopitar (C), Los Angeles Kings

Anze Kopitar has always been looked at as a young skilled center and this year may be his break out season. Last week Kopitar potted 3 goals and 5 helpers for 8 points with 4 of those points coming on the power play. Anze also posted a +/- rating of plus-4 with just 9 shots on goal and zero penalty minutes.

2nd Star – Ilya Bryzgalov (G), Phoenix Coyotes

After a disappointing 208-09 season Ilya Bryzgalov has started the 2009-10 season on fire. Bryzgalov recorded 2 wins while posting a 0.33 GAA, .985 SAV% and 2 shutouts. Ilya has gotten off to a great start, but the Coyotes are still a fairly young team that will most likely finish near the bottom of the standings so consider Bryz a sell high candidate.

1st Star – Dany Heatley (LW), San Jose Sharks

Dany Heatley seems to like his new surrounds in San Jose after filling the score sheet nicely this past week. Heatley scored 5 goals and put up 3 assists for 8 points with 4 of those points coming while on the power play. Dany also posted a +/- rating of plus-5, 6 penalty minutes, 12 shots on goal and 2 game winning goals. After a bit of a disappointing season last year Heatley looks like he’s well on his way to stud status.

Remember to check back in next week to see who the NHL Fantasy 3 Stars will be for Week 3.

The biggest loser in our NHL Power Rankings this week were the Boston Bruins. After winning the East last season all eyes are on the Bruins this season and so far they’ve disappointed with a so-so start and the sub-par play from their goaltenders.

The biggest gainer in our NHL Power Rankings this week were the Los Angeles Kings. It appears that writing off the Kings before the season began was a bit premature. It’s a long season but so far the Kings from Los Angeles have looked impressive.

Lets take a look at the rest of the league: NHL POWER RANKINGS for week 1 & 2

Rank	Team	Record	PRV	Comment
1		5-1-0	-	Have won 5 games in a row after losing their season opener to Pittsburgh.
2		5-1-0	-	The Pens haven’t shown any signs of fatigue winning 3 games in a row.
3		4-1-0	-	Lead by Anze Kopitar‘s 10 points the Kings have been the surprise of the 2009-10 season so far.
4		4-1-1	-	Great start for the Flames as they already have 4 wins and have also shown an ability to score which was a question mark heading into the season.
5		3-1-0	-	Steve Mason hasn’t been suffering from a sophomore slump and it shows with 3 wins in their first 4 games.
6		3-1-1	-	So far the gamble on Ray Emery has paid off as he looked great in preseason and has been solid early in the regular season.
7		3-1-1	-	Have won 2 in a row but some goaltending questions have popped up with the so-so play of Cristobal Huet.
8		3-1-1	-	Another big surprise to start off the season as the Avs have had three big wins over the Sharks, Canucks and Bruins.
9		3-1-1	-	If it wasn’t for a brain cramp by Nikolai Khabibulin in the season opener the Oilers would be undefeated in regulation.
10		3-2-1	-	Despite the disappointing start, the newest Shark Dany Heatley has been on fire and was named the 1st Star for week 2.
11		2-0-1	-	Have managed to win 2 of their first 3 games but scoring seems to be a problem as they have yet to score more than 2 goals in a game.
12		3-2-0	-	Got off to a terrible start but have rebounded and are on a 3 game winning streak.
13		3-2-0	-	The off-ice activities haven’t affected the play of Ilya Bryzgalov as he’s been great for Phoenix in the first two weeks.
14		3-2-0	-	Have won 3 games to start off the season although they were against sub-par teams.
15		2-1-2	-	Steven Stamkos appears to be a lot more comfortable in his 2nd year in the NHL as he has 6 points in his first 5 games.
16		2-2-2	-	Got off to a great start winning their first 2 games but have now lost 4 games in a row.
17		2-1-0	-	Rookie goalie Ondrej Pavelec has looked great so far and just might end up taking the #1 job from Kari Lehtonen.
18		2-2-1	-	Have had a so-so start as they try to figure out who their starter is…my money’s on Jonas Hiller.
19		2-2-0	-	After dropping both of their games to St.Louis in Stockholm the Wings have come back to North America and won their last 2 games.
20		2-2-0	-	After beating the Red Wings in their two games in Stockholm the Blues have struggled since coming back losing their last 2 games to the Thrashers and Kings.
21		2-2-0	-	After getting off to a promising start the Preds have lost their last 2 games.
22		2-3-0	-	After struggling out of the gate the Canucks appear to have turned things around winning their last 2 games.
23		2-3-0	-	Some questions in goal as Tim Thomas appears far from his Vezina winning ways and Tuukka Rask hasn’t been any better.
24		2-3-0	-	Will be looking to work on their consistency as they’ve had an up and down start to the season.
25		2-3-0	-	Despite the solid play of Carey Price the Canadiens find themselves one game below .500 after the first two weeks.
26		1-0-3	-	Although they have yet to lose in regulation they only have 1 win to start the season.
27		1-3-0	-	Disappointing start to the season for the less defensive new-look Minnesota Wild.
28		1-4-0	-	After winning their season opener against Chicago in Helsinki the Panthers have lost 4 in a row.
29		0-1-3	-	Despite the lack of a win John Tavares has looked great so far putting up 5 points in 4 games to start the season.
30		0-4-1	-	So much for the re-vamped defence. The Leafs currently sit last for Goals Against, second last for Penalty Killing and have yet to win a game.

Be sure to check back next week with our NHL Power Rankings for Week 3

Group A: Canada, Slovakia, Belarus, Hungary.

Group B: Russia, Switzerland, Germany, France

Group C: Sweden, USA, Latvia, Austria

Group D: Finland, Czech Republic, Norway, Denmark

Teams to watch:

Canada: Always a favorite in international play, this years edition of Team Canada showcases a lot of young talent on the back end and speed up front.  Rookie phenoms Luke Schenn, Drew Doughty and Steve Stamkos will look to impress, but it will be the likes of Shea Weber and Dany Heatley that will be counted on to lead the Canadian to gold.

Russia: If this years team wants a shot at repeating, they will have to hope that Washington get eliminated in the first round and the likes of Semin, Federov, and of course Alex Ovechkin are willing to make the trip over to Switzerland and play for their country.  If they are so lucky, they will still be a top team with Kovalchuk, Frolov and Radulov, but may not have enough after that.

Sweden: Not much support for the Swedes as many of their stars are still playing in the NHL playoffs and don’t look like they are leaving any time soom.  That leaves a usually strong Swedish side in a tough position to medal at this years competition.

USA: The Americans bring a well rounded team to this years tournament, and especially looking for production from Dustin Brown and Jason Blake.  Watch out for Boston U forward Colin Wilson.  This Nashville Predator first round pick will likely be a star in his NHL career.

Czech Republic: There is not much to offer on this years edition.  Relying on many players from European leagues, it is not likely they will compete for gold.

Finland: The Finns have seen better days, but they do have Rising young star Pekka Rinne in goal.

Switzerland: The Swiss may be this years surprise.  They are capable of pulling off big upsets, as seen in the 2006 Olympics when they beat Canada.

Outcome:

After a strong run, the home side from Switzerland loses to the Americans in the final, while the Canadians get revenge in a tight game against the Russians.

In the Finals, the Americans and Canadians will face off in a tough matchup, but it will once again be decided in a one goal game, this time in favour of the USA, their 3rd every IIHF Gold Medal.

Firstly, they have two balanced scoring lines(D.Sedin, H.Sedin, Burrows)(Kesler, Sundin, Demitra) which you need in order to win it all; don’t believe me, talk to Jason Spezza, Daniel Alfredsson, and Dany Heatley who had no help in the 2006 final against the Anaheim Ducks (lost 4-1). Secondly, they have a solid defence core. They do not have Norris Trophy material on the back end but collectively: Alex Edler, Kevin Bieksa, Mattias Ohlund, Sami Salo, and Willie Mitchell are more than capable of getting the job done. Thirdly and most importantly, they have the best goalie in the world (whose name is not Brodeur). Roberto Luongo has been waiting a long time to carry a team to the top.

Two years ago he got his feet wet against the Dallas Stars and stood on his head, unfortunately his team was offensively challenged and they lost to the Ducks in the second round. He is entering the post season with back-to-back shutouts to close out the regular season; those were two huge wins because it allowed the Canucks to leap frog the Calgary Flames and win the North West Division. Luongo had 9 shutouts on the season which was 2nd to rookie Steve Mason but let’s keep in mind that Luongo only started 54 games due to a groin injury. Back to Mats, his 28 points in 41 games as a Canuck has left many wondering if GM Mike Gillis made a bad decision in bringing him in.

Remember one thing, Mats is 38 years old and missed half a season; also, he is on a new team for the first time since 1994 and he is no longer the number 1 centre or on the top power play all the time. Instead Vancouver has him as their number 2 centre behind Henrik Sedin and gets rotated on the top power play unit. These are all factors when looking at someone’s production. Be that as it may the regular season is behind us and Mats will be judged by what he does in the Playoffs.

In closing, if Vancouver gets steady production from both scoring lines along with steady play by their defence and all-world goaltending by Luongo, do not be surprised if the Cup goes West this summer. And seeing as I am the self proclaimed biggest Mats Sun din fan, what a way to end a hall of fame career.

The Portugal wingers Ferrari collided with a roadside barrier in a two-lane tunnel near Manchester Airport, police said.

Ronaldo (23 year old European Player of the Year) escaped with no injuries.  Also the police gave him a breathalyzer and he blew a negative.  Officers said there will be an investigation of the crash.

“He’s fine and is training as normal with the team this morning,” Manchester United said.

Photographs showed the front of the Ferrari completely crushed after the crash.  The front left wheel was blown off the car.  No other vehicles were involved in the crash but police said United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar was traveling behind Ronaldo at the time which could have been a really bad situation if van der Sar would have collided with him.

Maybe Edwin van der Sar and Christiano Ronaldo were racing?  There were no reports on this, but may just be a possibility.

Here is another case where a high profiled athlete crashes his really expensive car driving to fast.  On Sept. 29, 2003, Dany Heatley crashed his Ferrari killing long time friend and teammate Dan Snyder.  He was also speeding.

This is the problem with giving all this money to these young kids.  What do you expect them to do.  Of course their going to buy fancy cars that have alot of horsepower, of course their going to speed and this is whats going to continue to happen!

With all the money Christiano Ronaldo has, there is not need to repair the car.  He probably will just go out and buy another new Ferrari.

Week: | 1-2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9

Total Pro Sports – Things have seemed to settle down a bit in this week’s NHL Power Rankings as 9 teams remain in the top 10 from last week with the Wild dropping out and the Flames moving in.

NHL Power Rankings Movers And Shakers

The biggest Shakers in our NHL Power Rankings this week were the Toronto Maple Leafs moving down 5 spots landing at #27.

The second biggest shaker was the Columbus Blue Jackets also falling 5 spots to end up at #23.

The biggest Movers in our NHL Power Rankings this week were the Edmonton Oilers climbing up 4 spots to sit at #17.

Lets take a look at the rest of the league: NHL POWER RANKINGS for Week 9.

Rank	Team	Record	Previous	Comment
1		22-3-2	-	The machine just keeps on runnin’. JoeThornton is now leading the team with 32 points while Dan Boyle leads the defence with 24 points.
2		18-4-4	-	Seems like their determined to prove that this isn’t a fluke. They outscored their opponents 7-1 in their two games last week.
3		18-4-4	1	Bounced back from a so-so week by winning all three of their games. Marian Hossa now leads the team in points again with 29.
4		18-10-2	1	Seem to be going through a bit of a rough patch losing two of their three games last week and scoring just 6 goals in those three games.
5		15-7-4	-	Up until last week Dany Sabourin had done a great job filling in for the injured Marc-Andre Fleury, but he might be slowing down a bit after a not so great week.
6		15-6-5	2	Solid week for the Habs collecting 5 out of a possible 6 points. Saku Koivu continues to lead the team with 22 points.
7		15-10-3	1	Ryan Getzlaf continuing his great play now leading the Ducks with 34 points in 27 games.
8		15-10-3	1	The Sedin twins are keeping up with their solid play scoring a combined 53 points in 28 games.
9		16-10-1	2	Good week for the Flames winning two of their three games and Jarome Iginla continues to lead the team with 32 points.
10		15-10-3	-	An alright week for the Caps going 2-2. Bruce Boudreau splitting starts between Jose Theodore and Brent Johnson seems to be working so far.
11		13-7-6	2	Philly seems to be hitting their stride winning 8 of their last 11 games.
12		15-10-1	3	The surprising Mikko Koivu is maintaining his point per game pace with 29 in 26 games.
13		14-8-2	1	Devils managed to win both of their games in Overtime last week. Scott Clemmensen seems to be on a hot streak right now, only question is how long will it last?
14		12-6-7	-	The Blackhawks’ young players are continuing to put up good numbers and Jonathan Toews scored a highlight reel goal against Detroit on Saturday.
15		14-10-2	2	Won all three of their games last week and Shea Weber is continuing his impressive play with 25 points and a plus-12 rating.
16		13-12-3	1	Looks like the Canes will need more than just a coaching change to get things back on track.
17		13-11-2	4	The up and down season continues for this young team winning all three of their games last week.
18		12-11-3	2	Thomas Vanek is trying his best to get wins for his team as he’s leading the league with 20 goals.
19		11-11-4	-	Disappointing week for the Kings losing to the Leafs, Coyotes and then the Oilers in Overtime.
20		13-13-1	3	Good week for the Avs going 2-1-1. Surprise, surprise, Paul Stastny still leads the team with 24 points.
21		11-11-3	1	Brad Boyes leads the team with 25 points and Carlo Colaiacovo has looked good since coming over in a trade with the Leafs.
22		12-13-2	2	An okay week for the soon to be extinct Yotes going 2-2. Their captain Shane Doan leads the team with 26 points.
23		11-13-3	5	Kristian Huselius and Derrick Brassard are finally giving Nash some secondary scoring but so far it doesn’t seem like it’ll be enough to push them into the 8th spot in the West.
24		10-10-4	2	Thanks to some solid goaltending and the improved play of Dany Heatley and Jason Spezza the Sens got two big wins last week.
25		11-12-3	2	Good week for the Panthers going 2-1. Jay Bouwmeester has picked up his play lately and now leads the team with 16 points.
26		10-12-4	2	Just like the Panthers, the Stars went 2-1. Despite their bad record they’ve been getting widespread scoring as Mike Modano, Mike Ribeiro, Loui Eriksson and Brad Richards all have 20+ points.
27		9-12-6	5	Disappointing West Coast trip losing to the Sharks and Coyotes then come up flat against the Capitals on Saturday night.
28		10-14-2	3	Horrible week losing both of their games while being outscored 10-3
29		9-14-3	-	Ilya Kovalchuk has picked up his play of late leading the team with 26 points. It’s just too bad the rest of the team isn’t following suit.
30		6-12-8	-	Nothing going right for the Lightning right now. They only have one win in their last 13 games…I repeat one win in their last 13 games.

Be sure to check back next week with our NHL Power Rankings for Week 10.

Bryan Murray often receives phone calls for there top players, Dany Heatley, Jason Spezza, Antoine Vermette, Chris Phillips and Anton Volchenkov.  Unless the deal is right and in favor of the Sens there is no chance the Senators will trade any of these players.

“It appeared, at the moment, that nobody is any hurry to make many moves. When you get to the 10-game mark, you’ll probably get a little more interest in talking,” said Murray. “

2.  Ottawa Senators Season Preview

After getting off to a hot start they took a big nose dive in the second half of last season and even ran a possible risk of missing the playoffs. I see them finishing stronger this year.

The Sens forwards are lead by the three amigos: Daniel Alfredsson, Dany Heatley and Jason Spezza. I’m a fan of Antonie Vermette and he should help out with the secondary scoring, but that’s pretty much it. Mike Fisher is far from horrible but has yet to reach 50+ points in the NHL and should be looked on to win faceoffs and play solid in his own end rather than put up points. Nick Foligno, Chris Neil, Shean Donovan, Dean McAmmond and Jarkko Ruutu are okay options for the bottom 6, but wont be looked upon to fill the net.

Even with the addition of Jason Smith, Ottawa’s defence is weaker than last year losing both Redden and Meszaros. Chris Phillips and Anton Volchenkov are solid defencemen, but are a step down from what they had as their top pairing last year. Filip Kuba is a decent 2nd pairing defenceman but isn’t quite capable of leading a PP which is what he’ll have to do in Ottawa. Brian Lee, Alexandre Picard and Luke Richardson are good depth guys but wont be making any type of impact.

In net the Senators are taking a risk with Martin Gerber as the #1. Unlike most people, I do believe Gerber is a good goalie, but I don’t think he’s good enough to steal games, especially in the playoffs. Alex Auld is solid as the backup.

This team isn’t as good as last year with a lack of depth up front, no real big threat on the blue line and so-so in net. However, as I stated the Northeast is weaker that it’s been in a while so I still expect them to finish second in the division.