I know, it’s only the pre-season and the Canucks have played pretty well for the past two pre-seasons amassing a record of 12-0-1. They bowed out of last year’s finals earlier than expected against the Chicago Blackhawks on some timely scoring from their young players including NHL 10 cover athlete Patrick Kane. And even though they’ve come so close in years passed and have yet to taste the nectar from Lord Stanley’s Cup, once again it feels like they have a team that can do just that.

On Monday night the team went up against their division rival the Calgary Flames who have been a story of their own this pre-season with the return of long-time Flame Theo Fleury looking to make a comeback after being away from the game for six years. I have to admit that it’s something that I love to see even though he was a menace to the Canucks over the years and someone I detested as an opponent. He played in your face, like a fly that would buzz around that you couldn’t catch. One of the quickest in the game during his peak who held many Flames’ scoring records, now held by teammate Jerome Iginla. I agree with Captain Canuck, Trevor Linden, and that even though he didn’t go out of the game the way he wanted, if he can make the team and play well, it would be great to see and great for Calgary fans.

For the complete blog and video challenge, check it out on the In the Crease blog:  FTW - Will the Canucks Contend for the Cup?

September is one of my favourite months of the year, not only because I get a year older (or despite it, that is) but the presents I receive are usually in the form of one of my all-time favorite games, NHL 10.  This year NHL 10 hits the streets next week on Tuesday the 15th and for the first time we will be hosting a couple of midnight releases at Future Shops in Toronto and Vancouver.  With President Obama welcoming the Pens to the White House today and team prospects hitting the ice this week, it's officially time to think hockey.

Growing up in Vancouver I've been a fan of the Canucks since I was allowed as a kid to stay up late in '82 to watch their magical first run into the Stanley Cup Finals against the New York Islanders.  The series didn't go the way Canucks fans wanted it to, but it was a great run and a great year for the guys who wore the Flying V's.  At seven years old I was hooked on the game and the team, and over the years as the jerseys and the team changed, I longed for them to return to the finals for another chance at their first Cup.  

Then came '94 and that chance against the other New York team, the Rangers.  In a battle where players on both teams left it all on the ice, the series would go seven games and the Rangers would win the Cup by a goal.  One of the most memorable pictures is of the team's captain Trevor Linden leaning his head on goaltender Kirk McLean's mask after the loss.  It signified all the sweat and tears and eventual heartache that came with coming so close to capturing the holy grail of hockey. 

Back then while at UBC, my buddies and I relived the series looking for different outcomes on the SNES with NHL 95 and spent more hours playing the video game than I should have.  We'd set up tournaments and battle throughout the school year and I even remembered playing games to simulate what we thought would happen in games to come.  We didn't care that the game wasn't as authentic as it is today, we only cared that we could be play as our favorite team and feel the rush of scoring the game winner (most of the time with the dreaded one-timer goals).  We always wondered, "Could it get any better than this???"

Your damn right it could and next week the series that has received the Sports Game of the Year nod for the past two years isn't holding back with NHL 10.  The team followed up '09 with 3-on-3 NHL Arcade and still managed to put in over 200 gameplay improvements to kick it up a notch for this year's game.  The producers have been providing the community with regular blogs and videos and screenshots to whet gamers' appetites.  Even the demo was one like none other giving NHL fans new and old to the series a taste of the new Battle for the Cup and Be a Pro modes.

And so with Linden retired, there's time for him to take up gaming and what better game to do so than with NHL 10 where he can don the '94 uni's or, better yet, go old skool with the Flying V's in this year's game.  Recreate those Stanley Cup Finals and hope for a different outcome in the new Battle for the Cup mode which has been implemented into the game very nicely.  Or just jump into Season Mode and play with Luongo fresh off one of the most lucrative contracts ever for a Canuck (is Gillis a genius or what?).  A whole other blog there in itself but something that I may look into with some of my own players with the new Be a GM mode.

Like most hockey fans, I'm excited at this time of year as the release of the game next week means that the season is right around the corner.  Can this be the year my 'nucks go FTW and finally put it together?  Again, another blog for another time. 

Next week however, join Trevor Linden along with me and the game producers at Future Shop on Granville & Robson Monday night for the Midnight Release event.  Be first to pick up a copy and see if you have the stick skills to bring home the Cup yourself. And for those of you in Toronto (boooo! Lol), you can join other NHL producers along with former captain Wendel Clark and current Leaf Matt Stajan at the Toronto Life Square Future Shop.  It's time to go FTW with one of the Best Titles of The Year!

It was a weekend of winners as the NBA and NHL crowned new champions over the weekend while at the same time EA SPORTS looks at crowning some gaming winners over the next few weeks as well.

Congratulations go out to Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins as they overcame a 3-2 series deficit to go FTW in the final two games and earn the right to hoist Lord Stanley’s Cup in Detroit, winning only their second game in Hockeytown in the last two years. 

After being chased out of game 5, Marc-Andre Fleury came up with two career games and received a little help from the crossbar near the end of game seven letting in only two goals in game six and seven to backstop the Pens to the Cup.  With Sid injuring his knee in the first period of game seven, the team rallied behind their captain as Maxime Talbot scored two of his biggest goals to give the Pens the scoring needed to win. 

It was quite the moment for Sid the Kid as he shared the ice with owner Mario Lemiuex who hadn’t hoisted the cup since ’92 when he won his second in a row as a player.  Sid was so much into the moment that he almost forgot about shaking the hands of last year’s champions leaving some of the Red Wings to patiently wait for him to shake his hand.  Did he snub the team or was he just into the moment?  I’ll say that patience is a virtue and even for the Wings, though it had to be bitter watching the Kid celebrate, those are the breaks when it comes to winning a championship.

Kobe can now remove the kryptonite from his shorts as he shook a monkey off his back (or a gorilla named “Shaq”) winning his fourth Larry O’Brien Trophy and confidently leading the LA Lakers to the NBA Championship over NBA LIVE 10 cover athlete Dwight “Superman” Howard and the Orlando Magic. 

The Black Mamba was double-teamed throughout game five which left other Lakers shooters open.  The team delivered hitting 50% of their shots from the arc and hitting 75% from the line to disappoint the home side looking to extend the series to a sixth game.  It was a big 16-0 run following a confrontation between Trevor Ariza and Hedo Turkoglu that was the difference in the game.

The championship was also head coach Phil Jackson’s tenth and there was no shortage of celebration as he remains undefeated when his teams win the first game of a championship series.

With these championships in the book, EA SPORTS looks to crown its own champions as we kick off the NHL 09 EASHL Invitational in a couple of weeks.  For months, the EASHL has been running strong and hundreds of teams have played thousands of games and have climbed the leaderboards to earn the right to be invited to our first post-season tournament.

Congratulations go out to the two regular season console champions:  Shammers United who finished the season playing 3235 games and amassing 8234 points on the Xbox 360 while the No CryBabys played 1278 games and earned 7135 points to clinch first place on the PlayStation 3.  These are the first teams that have received invites to the tournament and we will announce the other seven teams per console this Wednesday.

If you haven’t checked it out yet, you have to see the EA SPORTS ‘Joy’ commercial that aired at the NBA Finals last week.  Coinciding with the commercial is our Welcome to the Win webpage from EA SPORTS Beta highlighting athletes’ wins in their respective sports.  We will also be sharing our gamers’ wins as well so stay tuned to the site and look for new areas to unlock in the near future.

To close, congrats go to local swimmer Brent Hayden of Vancouver who went FTW and defeated Olympic Gold Champion Michel Phelps during the Santa Clara International Grand Prix swim meet over the weekend.  Hayden swam a personal best of 48.44 seconds in the 100-metre freestyle to edge Phelps who clocked in at the finish at 48.87 seconds. 

Ask these guys if every second counts, and you’ll appreciate what it takes to be a champion.

Welcome to the first Sk88z FTW!, my blog taking a whirl around the EA SPORTS universe bringing you all the big winners and cool events that come across my path.

This past weekend saw two more regional winners join the eight that have already won their regions in this year's NBA LIVE Challenge.  At the Best Buy store in New York, NY Ryan Dawson from Walkersville, MD came out on the winning end while Steffon Dunlop of Queens, NY made a name for himself taking the Washington, DC title at the Fashion Center at Pentagon City.  They will be joining the following regional winners for a shot at the Championship Grand prize of $25,000 in cash and prizes:

Jamiah "J-Swith" Anderson - Sacramento

Marcus "Live Boss" Smith - San Francisco

Jordan "Hands" Simmons - Los Angeles

Trace "Kilirugi" Kieliszewski - Indianapolis

Bill "Wakka" Patschak - Chicago

Derek "Ace-Duece-King" Patrick - Minneapolis - Defending Champion

Anthony "Kid Gorgeous" DiNardi - Philadelphia

Anthony "Boy Wonder" Caruso - Boston

I'll be out with our EA SPORTS World crew to cover the Phoenix Regional this Friday along with the Championships Finals on Saturday at the All-Star Jam Session.  For those in Phoenix who want to take part in the Regional event, click on the jump and register for a ticket to get into the Jam Session.  You'll still need to be there early (5PM start) to be one of the 128 players entered.  Will Ace-Deuce-King be able to repeat as Challenge Champion or will one of the newcomers continue to live the dream and make his way to the top of the pyramid?  Who's your pick ftw?

While in Phoenix we'll also be covering a story around Tim Ahmed.  Tim created the design for the Rookie & Sophomore jerseys which not only garnered him a ticket to a Knicks game, but he will also be taking part in the T-Mobile Rookie Challenge where the players will be donning his creation.

If you're in Phoenix, look for me running around with Rob Thompson, Eric Gray, and Nate Lundy who'll be all over the events and looking for community stories to include with these.  As for the big game, my bet is on the West ftw, 138-129.  If you can't make it to Phoenix, we'll bring you as much news as we can on our Inside EA Sports blog, so keep tuned in!

Looks like a big win for the NHL team as early reviews of 3-On-3 NHL Arcade released last week have been pretty good.  Check out reviews by Pasta Padre, ARS Techica, Gamerzone, and the Virtual Sports Network as well as a recent Q&A Video from Producer Matt Mahar.  As well, a small article by my man, Derek Fobe who I've had some epic battles on the sticks with this game and his look at the EA Sports' first arcade title in It's Christmas in February.

I have to say that since Ryan Kesler's visit to EA over a week ago, the Canucks have looked to have turned their game around with a couple of big wins including a 7-3 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks Saturday night.  Kesler himself has eight points (five goals) in three games and seems to be the spark on the newly formed line with Matt Sundin and Pavel Dimitra who have been feeding off the youthful leader's energy.  Not only has he been on fire, his work on the penalty kill helped the 'nucks keep a very strong 'hawks power play to just 1/5.  Pick the Canucks ftw going into the playoffs as they're looking at getting hot at just the right time.

For you soccer fans, the North American qualifiers begin for the 09 FIFA Interactive World Cup. The FIWC has become one of the largest and fastest growing sports gaming competitions in the world with players from around the globe battling it out on EA Sports FIFA Soccer 09 in a bid to be crowned the best virtual soccer player in the world and receive the $20,000 1st place prize.  The best interactive soccer players in North America will be competing for one of 32 berths in the FIWC Grand Final in May in Barcelona, Spain.  For more details check out last week's press release.  Are you ready to go ftw footy style?

That's it for now, but check out the next FTW! where I'll be looking into some of the nominees in our Toughest College Basketball Arena competition, an inside look at our upcoming Fight Night Round 4 Community Event, and whatever else I can fit in.  Until then gamers, Go FTW!