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Sunday, August 30, 2009

Top 5 University Games in Halifax This Season


Well friends we are just weeks away from the start of another year of exciting varsity sports.

I enjoy watching the Mooseheads and Rainmen, I truly do. But it is the battles waged between universities on the ice, court, and field that get my sports fan juices flowing.
From football, to hockey, to Basketball, I love watching all the big games.

The Saint Mary’s Huskies vs the Acadia Axemen on the gridiron at Huskies Stadium; St FX at the Tower playing Ross Quackenbush’s Men’s Basketball team at SMU; Cape Breton vs Dalhousie in women’s bball at Dalplex; and UNB visiting the Huskies for another showdown in Men’s Hockey.

These are just several examples of huge games that are played every week in Halifax. It’s an exciting time.

It’s actually a cruel overload. With the NFL and NHL in full flight by October, and the Moosheads and Rainmen playing several times a week, it can be hard for a sports fan to keep up. You find yourself having to pick and choose which games you absolutely need to attend, and which ones you can read about in the paper the next day.

To help you prepare for the upcoming varsity season, here are 5 games you should not miss in 09/10.

1) November 21, The Uteck Bowl – For decades an annual tradition, we now get the CIS football national semi-final every second year. Formerly called the Atlantic Bowl, the game is played at Huskies Stadium and is a treat for sports fans who love great atmosphere. This year there is a lot of anticipation for the Uteck Bowl as it pits the AUS champ vs the CanWest Champ. Most observers believe that it will be Calgary vs SMU, meaning that former Huskies’ Blake Nill and Eric Glavic will make their return to Saint Mary’s.

2) October 24/Jan 15, UNB vs SMU Men’s Ice Hockey – These 2 teams have been the best in the AUS over the past several seasons, and therefore 2 of the best teams in the country. The AUS is hands down the best conference in Men’s hockey in Canada. Last year SMU beat UNB for the AUS title, but lost a heartbreaker in the national semi-final vs Western. UNB made the tournament as a wildcard and went on to win the national championship, beating Western 4-2. Both teams will be looking for a measure of revenge in a couple of games that will be fast, physical, and intense.

3) January 27, St FX vs SMU Men’s Basketball- Dalhousie alumni like to think that their rivalry with SMU for supremacy on the hard-court is paramount to both campuses. But at the Tower, it’s the match up with X that gets Huskie’s fan’s psyched up. The X-Men and Huskies have been the top teams in the conference for decades. Both teams have legendary coaches; Steve Konchalski at X, Ross Quackenbush at SMU. The Tower is the Mecca for basketball in Nova Scotia, and when Coach K’s kids come to the hollowed hardwood down in the South End, there are plenty of X rings to be found in the bleachers with exuberant alumni attached. Usually high scoring, competitive, and chippy, these games are standing room only. Finally, this season the game will be a 4 point contest in the standings, so both teams will be ready to play.

4) November 14, Loney Bowl- Assuming SMU finishes first in the regular season standings, this game will be played at Huskies Stadium. The emergence of Acadia and St FX as competitive programs has made this game much more interesting over the years. Last season SMU defeated X in a nail-biter, 29-27. Great family fun; lots of fired up students and alumni; the weather is usually seasonable and the beer tent is a great place to meet and greet at halftime.

5) January 1,2,3, Rod Shoveller Tournament- This annual exhibition Men’s Basketball tournament is the perfect remedy to a new year’s hangover. With the loss of the CIS championships, the tourney gives Haligonians their only chance to see some of the best teams in the country. ST FX and SMU will be there as usual, and it doesn’t hurt that Dalhousie, the defending AUS champs, are the hosts. A perfect tune-up for two exciting months of basketball in Halifax.

Honourable mention:
Cape Breton vs Dalhousie Basketball Men’s and Women’s- January 16
SMU vs Dalhousie Ice Hockey- Oct.16, Nov 28
SMU vs Acadia Football- Oct.30

Monday, August 24, 2009

CKDU Sports, Monday August 24




CKDU sports from Monday, August 24. Commentaries, opinion, and interviews with Pete Belliveau, Head Coach of Dal Ice Hockey, and Mark Forward, Head Coach of Women's Bball at MSVU.

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Derek Jeter for MVP?


Jeter for MVP?
Before the 2009 Major League Baseball season, many pundits and analysts were saying that Derek Jeter’s days as the shortstop for the New York Yankees could be coming to an end.
There was speculation that he could no longer adequately play his position, that he had lost range, arm strength, and would eventually end up patrolling the outfield at the new Yankee Stadium.
As we head into the stretch drive of the regular season, the same critics are now starting to talk about Jeter as the unanimous selection for American League MVP.
Jeter is having a comparable season to Barry Larkin in 1997. That season the Cincinatti Reds shortstop didn’t have eye popping numbers in any one statistical category, but had great numbers over a wide range of categories.
Jeter is batting .335 with 15 HR’s and 56 RBI’s, 21 Stolen Bases, and an On Base Percentage of .400. He’s fielding the shortstop position with a .987 percentage and has made only 6 errors. Jeter’s stats maybe comprise the best overall package of numbers in baseball.
He’s even made a believer of Bob Ryan, the highly respected Boston sports writer who has covered the Red Sox for over three decades. On the Reporters today (Sunday mornings in TSN; outstanding show), Ryan lobbied for Jeter to be MVP and even said he may be the greatest player of his generation.
Whether or not this was in response to Hall of Famer Jim Rice’s controversial comments about Jeter remains to be seen. It wouldn’t be atypical of a Boston sports writer to challenge comments from the former Red Sox star, Rice and the Boston media always had a contentious relationship.
Regardless, Ryan is bang on. Jeter is putting together one of his greatest seasons. However, without Alex Rodriguez in April, the Yankees were a .500 team. Since AROD’s return, they’re winning nearly every series they play and have built a 7 game lead on the second place BoSox in the AL east.
But as MLB tries to separate itself from the steroid era, it’ll be players like Jeter who receive alot of praise and attention. Any player whose name is attached to the steroid label, will struggle to receive acclaim until they are at least 2-3 years clean.
Other players in the running for AL MVP; Jeter’s teammate, Mark Texeira, Canadian Jason Bay, and Rays outfielder Carl Crawford.
Ortiz Slowly Putting Up Impressive Numbers
Big Papi, David Ortiz, is slowly but surely putting up a statistically impressive season. Is it in the same as the off the chart numbers he put up between 2003 and 2007? No.
But for a guy who is reported to have tested positive for PED’s, did not hit a home run until mid May, and at one point was a hopeless situation for the Sox, Ortiz has become fairly productive at the DH spot.
His .225 average notwithstanding, Ortiz now has 20 Hr’s and over 70 Rbi’s. If he keeps it up, he should finish with 25 and 90. Not bad for a guy who people, including myself, thought would be watching the game from home next season.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Haligonia Sports This Friday at Noon!


Check out Haligonia Sports tomorrow at Noon on live.haligonia.ca. Our guest will be Steve Sarty, the Director of Athletics at Saint Mary's University.

Pity Poor Plaxico?
Former Super Bowl Hero Plaxico Burress plead guily to illegal gun possession and his lawyers successfully plea bargained his sentence to a maximum of 2 years in prison. With good behaviour, Burress should be out of prison in 20 months.
It’s been a short 9 months since that Saturday night in November, when Burress made his fateful decision to enter a New York city night club with a loaded gun in his pocket. We’ll never understand why Burress decided to carry that gun, I doubt he could explain why he did it.
Upon hearing the news that Burress accidentally shot himself in the leg, my first thought was ‘Thank god he only shot himself.” It would have been great if the bullet would have just pierced the club’s hardwood floor, but at least it didn’t injure or kill an innocent bystander. Someone who didn’t care about football, let alone Plaxico Burress. Somebody’s husband, daughter, or father. Someone whose life should never have been cut short by a mistakenly fired gun from the pants of a millionaire who had so many other options.
No, the bullet found Plaxico’s leg. And just like the bullet that travelled in one side and out the other, so must be the thoughts now travelling through his head.
I like to think that he’s desperately trying to find some rationale for why he felt he needed to carry a loaded gun that night in New York. Anything that could provide solace, something which he could cling to, as he prepares to have those prison doors slam behind him.
He won’t find it.
He’ll ask himself why he had that gun in his pocket a million times, and he’ll never find an answer that will provide a sense of relief.
Plaxico Burress represents the type of self destruction that exists in all of us. Each one of us, regardless of our place in society, or our amount of wealth and prosperity, is just one horrible decision away from losing it all.
That’s not to say any of us would carry a loaded and unlicensed weapon into the Lower Deck or Pogue Fado. We are Canadians after all.
However, we each have the ability to completely destroy everything we’ve accomplished.

Plaxico Burress is a reminder to all of us to always think twice when making decisions that could carry a heavy penalty.
Burress was a Super Bowl hero. That’s not an understatement. He caught the game winning touchdown in North America’s biggest championship, the winning score in the Giant’s monumental upset of the undefeated New England Patriots. After today, he’s just a 32 year old man off to prison. That’s a tough lesson for a man blessed with extraordinary physical gifts, who had everything one man could ever want.
May we all be so fortunate to live out the remainder of our days free of such a costly and unnecessary lack of judgement.

Ryan Howard is beginning his annual late season emergence as one of the greatest power hitters
in baseball. As usual he’s taking the Phillies for a ride to the playoffs on the way. Philadelphia’s first baseman has shown a knack for heating up at just the right time and this season is proving to be no exception. Howard has 6 Hr’s and 19 Rbi’s in his last 10 games! Not coincidentally, the Phillies are 8-2 in the same span.......Tom Brady took his first hits of the pre –season. Brady took 2 hard knocks from the Cincinatti Bengals in the Pat’s exhibition loss. The Patriots qb was quick to get up after each hit. Brady missed the entire NFL season last year after suffering a knee injury vs KC in the opening game.......Apparently Shaquille O’neal stole the idea for his new reality show from Phoenix Sun’s Point Guard Steve Nash. Nash had mentioned to Shaq his idea for the show when O’neal joined the Suns last season. When Nash found out Shaquille was going to do the show, he contacted a lawyer. The result; Nash is listed as an Executive Producer on the show’s credits.....I’ve always felt that NFL referees should wear black pants.....Just to put the Jay’s season in perspective; since starting the season 27-14, Cito’s boys have gone 28-50....how ridiculous is your country’s pool of hockey talent when Jason Spezza is a late invitee to the national team training camp, and Steve Samkos isn’t invited at all.

Join me Friday at noon for Haligonia Sports. This week our special guest is Steve Sarty, the Director of Athletics at Saint Mary’s University. Check us out on live.haligonia.ca, Friday at noon!

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Brett Favre the Viking


Favre the Viking

It would seem that getting clobbered by a Miami Dolphins defender while taking a lateral pass during a hopeless play while wearing a New York Jets uniform will not be our last memory of Brett Favre.

Today the future Hall of Famer, 3 time NFL MVP, and Super Bowl champion signed a 1 year contract worth over 10 million dollars to play for Green Bay’s chief rival, the Minnesota Vikings (although Chicago Bears fans would claim they are the Packer’s biggest rivals).

The legendary Packer will be the Viking’s #1 Quarterback in a move that seemingly only makes sense to the Vikings and Brett Favre.

Favre is obsessed with getting revenge on Green Bay for not bringing him back to the team last year after he decided to nix his retirement plans. The Packers were ready to move forward and install the young and talented Aaron Rodgers as their quarterback of the future and decided to trade Favre to the Jets, once Favre finally gave his approval.

Favre went on to have a topsy turvy season with the Jets, culminating with a late season swoon that saw the Jets miss the playoffs. Several of Favre’s teammates openly criticized him to the media, citing selfish behaviour and claiming that Favre never made an effort to connect with his Jet’s teammates.

Favre has been very honest about his desire to play Green Bay twice a year in order to gain some measure of revenge on the franchise that he quarterbacked 16 seasons for, took to the playoffs almost every season, and led to a super bowl championship in 1996. Favre is the most popular player in franchise history, and the Packers #4 jersey was one of highest selling NFL products ever.

As for Minnesota, it gives them a significant upgrade at QB on Sage Rosenfals and Tavarius Jackson. However, Favre is nearly 40 years old and has had significant shoulder problems in the past couple of years. Favre and Minnesota Head Coach Brad Childress to have a history together, and Favre should be able to learn the Vikings system in a hurry.

The key for Childress will be to keep Favre under control. Favre does not have the arm strength he once had but still tries to force passes to receivers that are often turned into game changing interceptions. The best season Favre has had in the past several years was two seasons ago when he stuck to Green Bay Head Coach Mike Mccarthy’s playbook and didn’t take too many chances. Whether or not Childress will be able to get Favre to stick to his game plan remains to be seen, but Favre has a great deal of respect for Childress so that bodes well for his chances.

There has been a lot of speculation about how this will affect Favre’s legacy. The history of legendary NFL quarterbacks finishing out their careers with other teams after their skills had seriously diminished would show that it holds little bearing on how we remember them. Joe Montana finished his career with the Kansas City Chiefs, yet we remember him as a multiple Super Bowl winning San Francisco 49er. Joe Namath spent his remaining NFL days with the L.A. Rams, but we still call him Broadway Joe and picture him holding up that finger after beating Johnny Unitas’ Baltimore Colts in the 1969 Super Bowl. Speaking of Unitas, he played out his career with the San Diego Chargers. But it’s the image of Unitas in a Colt’s uniform with that classic sixties buzz cut that resonates in our minds.

With that said, none of those quarterbacks played for the biggest rival of their signature teams, let alone tell anybody who would listen how badly they wanted to stick it to them.

This is what separates Favre. A need for revenge on a franchise whose fan base worships the ground he walks on. A future hall of famer, hurt and betrayed by a team that had made plans to move forward after Favre retired, and were unwilling to welcome him back with wide open arms.

Brett Favre is one of those few elite athletes who reaches the point of his career where he can do anything he chooses to do. Sadly, Favre has chosen to pursue a path in which there is no glory. Only a measure of revenge that is fleeting at best, and best left alone.

The Vikings play the Packers on Monday Night Football on October 4.


Jays lost tonight 10-9 to the Red Sox. Casey Janssen booted a bunt attempt in the 8th inning

and then threw the ball past first base into right field to hand the Sox the win....Randy Ruiz is a lot of fun to watch. He was called up to replace Alex Rios last week. He’s already hit three home runs and a couple have been pretty impressive. Will he stick? Well it looks like any breaking pitch away is going to get him on strikes. But Ruiz has been playing in the minors for over a decade with 11 different organizations, so I’ll be cheering for him regardless.....Mindy McCready will reveal all regarding her affair with Roger Clemens for a reality television show that will air in the new year. Has any athlete in the history of sport fallen farther than Clemens? He was arguably the greatest pitcher of his generation. Now he’s mired in scandals involving steroids and adultery. Wow. www.fannation.com/truth_and_rumors/view/115232-mccready-to-discuss-clemens-affair-on-tv?eref=sihp

Friday, August 14, 2009

Haligonia Sports Postponed Until Aug.21..Mike Vick is back.


Haligonia Sports Postponed Until August 21.
Haligonia Sports will be back on August 21 featuring Mark Mclaughlin, star basketball player for the Saint Mary’s Huskies and SMU Director of Athletics, Steve Sarty. Apologies for the delay, please tune in next week at noon!

In the meantime....


Mike Vick is back. The former Atlanta Falcon/felon signed a contract with the Philadelphia Eagles. Vick will miss the first 4 games dues to a suspension handed down by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.

Of all the teams in the NFL that we thought Vick might sign with, Chicago, Green Bay, Miami, New England, Minnesota, the Eagles were certainly a surprise, but it makes a lot of sense upon evaluation.

Vick gives a talented Eagles team another extremely talented weapon, and the Eagles give Vick a chance to work his way back into the NFL without bearing too much responsibility for the franchise’s fortune.

Face it, if the Eagles don’t win the Super Bowl this year, and they will be a serious contender, it

won’t be Vick’s fault. The Eagles will use him in a wildcat offence (which they deny, but they will), bring him in on short yardage situations, put him on special teams, have him line up at wide receiver, and give him 10-15 carries a game.

That’s way too much tongue in cheek analysis, but seriously, you could line up Mike Vick at a baker’s dozen of different positions and he’d be successful. Imagine that dude as a safety!

Essentially it makes a team that came one win away from a Super Bowl appearance much better. It doesn’t hurt that Vick and Donovan Mcnabb are good friends, and his head coach will be Andy Reid, a man who believes in giving people second chances, after dealing with his son’s drug peddling charges from a couple years ago.

On the surface it certainly appears to be a win-win situation for all involved. In his defence, Vick has paid his debt to society. I was hoping for a longer suspension from the NFL, maybe 8 games. But at least Goodell gave him four.

It also makes the NFC East, most interesting division in football, even more interesting. It actually makes it unfair for the other 7 divisions. How do you compete for notoriety with a division that has the New York Giants, America’s team the Dallas Cowboys, the Washington Redskins, and the Eagles now equipped with Mike Vick.

The answer; you don’t.

Speaking of the NFC East and quarterbacks, the Giants just signed Eli Manning to a 6 year extension which will make him the highest paid player in the NFL. How is it possible that Eli makes more than Peyon?.... If you aren’t following the Rick Pitino saga, you should be, it’s turning out to be a doozy even by the impossible standard set by major sports in the USA. Pitino, the head coach of Louisville basketball and a man who revolutionized the game, is mired in a legal battle with a woman who claims he had sex with her, impregnated her, gave her money for an abortion, then paid off his equipment manager to marry her. Believe me, I’m not smart enough to make this up. Check it out in CNNSI http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/basketball/ncaa/08/14/sypher.marriage.ap/index.html......

Thursday, August 13, 2009

JP Ricciardi Contract Blunders


This is a couple excerpts from a great article from CNNSI on bad contracts in baseball. Specifically, JP Ricciardi and his outrageous contract given to Vernon Wells.


Make sure you tune in tomorrow to Haligonia Sports, live at noon, especially if you're a fan of the SMU Huskies. I'll have basketball star Mark Mclaughlin and new Athletics Director Steve Sarty. Haligonia Sports this friday at noon!


I don't want this to sound rude ... but I have never understood Toronto Blue Jays general manager J.P. Ricciardi. I mean that sincerely. I just don't understand. I have friends all around the game who will tell me what a bright guy J.P. is, what a good baseball man he is, what a grounded person he is, what a nice guy he is, and so on. And I have no reason to doubt them except this: I have absolutely no idea what they are talking about.
And no, this isn't about the incredibly dumb things Ricciardi says, like the time he basically called Gil Meche a loser because he signed with the Kansas City Royals instead of his own multiple-championship team in Toronto (Ricciardi's team career record is 489-483 with zero playoff appearances in seven seasons). Or the time he ripped Adam Dunn for not liking baseball and then claimed to have apologized to Dunn even though Dunn insisted that he never heard from Ricciardi (at which point Ricciardi made some comment about how someone was PRETENDING to be Dunn, or something like that). Or the time he lied about B.J. Ryan's injury and then offered up the classic, "They're not lies if we know the truth," quote.
No. Forget all that. Here's my thing about J.P. Ricciardi, the thing that really baffles the heck out of me: How can someone keep giving out contracts THIS BAD and keep his job and reputation? I'm serious. How?
Obviously, you can start with the Alex Rios contract. You probably know that Rios has SIX YEARS and about $60 million left on his contract. And the guy is 28 years old and has a 94 OPS+ this year. He has a lifetime .335 on-base percentage, which is pretty darned mediocre. He has never hit 25 home runs in a season. He has not slugged .500 since 2006. He has been a good outfielder, but he even appears to be losing that. This contract is SO BAD that the only way for Ricciardi and the Blue Jays to escape it was to put Rios on waivers and have Chicago White Sox general manager Kenny Williams come in, like Bagel in Diner, and pay off his gambling debts.
I don't know if the White Sox will get much for their money. They might get something ... Rios, in that hitters' ballpark and a new environment, might be revitalized and might have some good years. I wouldn't bet on it, but it could happen and, again, some of the people I trust around the game say it will happen. But no matter what happens, that contract was so bad that the Blue Jays needed a bailout. If that was the only time it happened to Ricciardi, OK, everyone is entitled to a mistake. And you could see how the Blue Jays made this mistake: Rios was developed in the Blue Jays organization and put up a couple of pretty good years.
Trouble is, this is a frightening pattern for Ricciardi -- B.J. Ryan. Vernon Wells. Frank Thomas. Just for starters. For fun, I put together an unofficial list of the worst contracts in the game. And, as you will see, Ricciardi's name is all over it.


1. Vernon Wells (Toronto Blue Jays). Cot's Baseball Contracts -- the incredibly awesome site where I got these numbers from -- is one of my favorite Internet stops. And on occasion, just for fun, I will go to the site just to look up Vernon Wells' contract. I don't know why. It gives me hope, somehow. It tells me that in this world, anything is possible. It tells me that good things happen, funny things, unexpected things. Don't tell me that I won't win the lottery ... just look at Vernon Wells' contract.
In 2011 Vernon Wells will get paid $23 million. No. Really. He will get paid $23 million.
In 2012 he will have to take a paycut and will only get $21 million. Same in 2013. And same again in 2014.
This isn't a baseball contract. This is a testament to the power of mankind to do the impossible.
Oh, Vernon Wells also has a full no-trade clause in his contract. Well, sure, why not? Then, what difference would it make? This is the most untradable contract in the history of the world. Vernon Wells turns 31 this year. The Dewan has him a minus-29 center fielder, which means he's exactly as bad defensively as you can be while a manager who is still breathing allows you to play centerfield. He has an 85 OPS+. He has a lifetime .329 on-base percentage. He's slugging .408. He IS third in the American League in making outs. So he has that going for him.
And it never made sense. Ever. Wells had a very good year in 2003 (and he was a very good fielder then), a couple of OK years, a good year in 2006 at age 27. But he never got on base much, and he was inconsistent, and ... then the Blue Jays gave him this hysterical contract: seven years, $126 million.
This deal, to be honest, is not the sort of thing that leads to a general manager getting fired. It's the sort of thing that leads to entire villages getting pillaged. And that's what I mean about Ricciardi. I mean, this contract alone should be enough to put him in the Bad Contract Hall of Fame. But when you look over the whole body of work ... he IS the Bad Contract Hall of Fame.
In fact, really, we should just start referring to bad baseball contracts as "Ricciardis."

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Loveable Big Papi's A Steroid User



Loveable Big Papi’s a Steroid User
It has been several days since Boston Red Sox DH, David Ortiz, was named in a report of Major League Baseball players that tested positive for steroid usage in 2003. The backlash from fans and media has been quiet at best, a polar opposite of the scorching Alex Rodriguez took when it was alleged that he had taken steroids dating all the way back to his high school days.
Why no outcry about “Big Papi”? Well...he’s Papi. Big, loveable Papi! This is the fan favourite of Red Sox Nation. I went to a Nationals/Red Sox game a few years back. The fans would cheer pretty loud for Youk and Manny, but the biggest cheers were for Papi. He’s the adopted son of Boston. The teddy bear with the big smile and big bear hugs for all his teammates.
Alex Rodriguez? He’s a jerk. His teammates don’t even like him.
Did David Ortiz take steroids? Of course he did.
Papi offered us a rather dizzying and confusing half excuse/apology in a press conference last week, but few reporters have taken Ortiz to task and really pushed him for an explanation. Even after he publicly criticized players who had tested positive for steroid usage before the season began.
Talk about the pot and the kettle.
Ortiz’s steroid story is all about numbers. In the past 9 years, you would be hard pressed to find any noticeable differences in Papi’s physique. However, when you look at his individual statistics, the numbers reek of steroid usage.
As a Minnesota Twin in 2002, Ortiz had 20 HRs and 75 RBIs. As a member of the Red Sox from 2003-2007, Ortiz averaged 40 HRs, 120 RBIs, and routinely had a batting average above .300.
Starting last season, as MLB finally began to crack down on steroid testing, Ortiz hit 23 HRs.
This season Ortiz has 15. Papi didn’t hit his first dinger until mid May. Worse, his batting average is .219.
Those are classic numbers of a steroid user in Major League Baseball. A rapid rise in production, followed with an equally dramatic decline.
So enjoy the smiles and hugs while you can Papi. This time next season you may very well be watching the game from home.

How in the hell do you pronounce Jim Balsillie’s name? I’ve heard about 8 different versions.....Former NFL Head Coach turned journalist, Tony Dungy, has declared that Michael Vick will be picked up by an NFL team this season. My money in on Miami. Can you imagine Vick running the Wildcat offence?!......Jays game was fun tonight. Canadian Scott Richmond looked decent and Randy Ruiz, just called up from Triple AAA, hit a Home Run. The guy grew up 5 minutes from Yankee Stadium....too bad Hadeki Matsui and Jorge Posada ruined the party with back to back home runs in the 8th....Patrick Kane is slowly but surely getting off the hook in Buffalo. News out today that the cabbie he allegedly assaulted did not even have a driver’s license and has had two arrests for DUI.......news out of Louisville that Head Coach Rick Pitino had an affair with a waitress in 2003, impregnated her, then gave her $3000 to have an abortion...news that once again proves you have to watch sports with one hand squeezing your nose.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/0908/mlb.remember.when.baseball.uniforms/content.1.html?eref=sihp. Great piece on CNNSI about baseball uniforms through the years. My favourite is the Houston Astros from the early eighties.

Monday, August 10, 2009

Jays Get Rid of Rios


Haligonia Sports is back after a two week hiatus. This week’s episode on Friday will feature Steve Sarty, the Athletics Director at Saint Mary’s University. Please join us at noon!

Jays Gets Rid of Rios

What a strange and unpredictable fall from grace for Alex Rios over the past several seasons.

Once hailed as the future franchise player of the Toronto Blue Jays, Rios was picked up on Monday off the waiver wire by the Chicago White Sox.

An all star in 2007, Rios was looked upon as one of the up and coming stars in Major League Baseball. He was even selected to participate in the Home Run Derby that season.
Shortly after the all star game, Rios’ production began to drop off dramatically. It was rumoured that the Home Run Derby had a negative effect on his swing. Instead of just looking to drive the ball into the gaps, Rios was swinging for the fences and hitting pop flies instead.

Like his teammate Vernon Wells, Rios began to struggle mightily when hitting with runners in scoring position. His stock plummeted so dramatically over the remainder of 2007, that he became trade bait for JP Riccardi, who nearly used Rios to pull of the steal of the century.

Riccardi almost obtained Tim Lincecum straight up for Rios at the beginning of the 2008 season. The San Francisco Giants were desperate for a young, athletic player with lots of potential and had a stockpile of young arms. Before the deal was made, Giant’s GM Brian Sabean thought better of it and nixed the transaction.

Since then, Lincecum has won a Cy Young Award, was selected as the starting pitcher for the National League in this year’s all star game, and has led the Giant’s resurgence while becoming one of baseball’s most exciting pitchers.

Alex Rios has settled into a habit of mediocrity which didn’t seem like it was going to change in a Jay’s uniform. Like most of his Jays teammates, Rios has been painfully average this season and has fallen far below the expectations that came with the 7 year/70 million dollar contract he signed at the start of 2008.

Finally, the youtube video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2cxHRLJy6wf) of Rios exchanging profanities with a fan in Toronto that has circulated the past couple of months did not play favourably with Blue Jay’s faithful. A spattering of boos addressed to Rios had been common place at the Rogers Centre throughout the summer.

The Jays will receive nothing in exchange from the White Sox for Rios. However, they will have Rios’ outrageous salary completely wiped off the payroll, giving them some options come free agent season.

More importantly a message has been sent, albeit from a possibly lame duck GM. Mediocre play will no longer be accepted. Just showing up to the park and going through the motions is no longer an option. Now if Vernon Wells and Lyle Overbay are listening, the Jays might become a contender again.

Next year, that is.