by GABRIEL MORENCY

"Somebody's out there somewhere, waiting for someone to come." Wise words. Sung by Triumph's Rik Emmett, who is not only a member of Canada's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but, as any fan of the band will tell you, one of our country's great poets and philosophers as well.

Think I'm kidding? Just ask any sports fan in the city. Waiting is all they have been doing. The Expos are gone and aren't coming back. The Canadiens haven't played a game in over a year, and while junior hockey filled arenas across the country, the closest action to Montreal was freaking Victoriaville. How the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League has franchises in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, P.E.I. and Maine without having a team in the province's largest market makes as much sense as the NBA's playoff schedule. But that's another story.

Like Major League Baseball, the QMJHL once wielded a heavy hand in the city, as hockey fans took advantage of the opportunity to watch the likes of Mike Bossy, Denis Savard and Mario Lemieux develop into the Hall of Famers they would become. Unfortunately, the Rocket de Montréal were met with the same community indifference and embarrassingly small home crowds as the Expos, and now call Prince Edward Island home.

Ownership was told that Montreal is a "major league" sports town that is not interested in junior and minor leagues, though the Expos' demise proves otherwise. Just exactly what people in this city are interested in besides getting lap dances, cashing welfare checks, smoking crack and, oh yeah, bongo drum Sundays on the mountain, is as much of a mystery as E-Talk Daily being allowed on television. But that, too, is another story!

Impact love affair

The Montreal Impact's title defence has begun in fine fashion. The club has so far surrendered just two goals against and are undefeated (4-0-3) through seven matches. Big crowds continue to turn out for home games, with over 12,000 taking in the Impact's home opener against Rochester.

Which makes you wonder that if and when the Impact move up from the USL to the MLS and are no longer dominant, will they find the same level of support, even in a new, not-so-downtown stadium? Would fans rather see the Impact beat the crap out of the Charleston Battery, or get the crap knocked out of them by Freddie Adu and D.C. United?

The Impact host the Toronto Lynx on Friday night. Final Score: Montreal 3 Toronto 0

Alouette holes

Training camp continues for the Montreal Alouettes at Fort St-Jean, with the Als playing their first exhibition game next Thursday, June 9, at Molson Stadium vs. Ottawa. Montreal was harder hit by player exodus than any other team in the league, with Jermaine Copeland, Barron Miles, Davis Sanchez, Autry Denson, Thyrone Anderson and William Loftus moving on to new jobs, teams and leagues. Normally, exhibition football, particularly Canadian exhibition football, is as exciting as watching Antiques Roadshow, but with all of the available spots open for the taking, this game will be worth a look.

Schumi's comeback starts here

The world's top drivers take over the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve next weekend as summertime in Montreal is set to officially begin. Ferrari's Michael Schumacher might as well have the track named after him, having won a record seven times in Montreal, but, surprisingly enough, is still looking for his first win of the season. Spain's Fernando Alonso leads the driver standings and comes into this race hotter than Paris Hilton's Carl's Jr. spot. This could also be Jacques Villeneuve's last spin around the track named after his father, as Sauber's patience is starting to wear thinner than Villeneuve's chances of actually winning this race. So, who will? Schumacher, of course.

Spurs unstoppable

The Detroit Pistons may be the NBA's defending champions, but it is the San Antonio Spurs that the Las Vegas odds-makers have raising the golden ball when it's all said and done. They're right. Much like the New England Patriots, the Spurs' methodical breakdown of their opponents is too much to handle when you have Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker implementing it.

Sports Rage with Gabriel Morency is vented weeknights from 11 p.m. to 2 a.m. on The Team 990AM. Comments? sportsrage@team990.com