Tuesday, October 28, 2014
Everblades are back on the Ice
The Florida Everblades played their
third game of the season last Saturday night at their home arena, the Germain
Arena. The arena is located on I-75, between Fort Myers and Naples, close to
the municipality called Estero. More than 7 000 seats fill the barn, and
tickets are most reasonable-starting at $ 16.
The Blades faced their upstate
nemesis, the Orlando Solar Bears for the first of 15 games they will face each
other this year. This year will certainly be one of transition for the
Everblades, as the coach Greg Poss, and the team President and General Manager Craig
Brush, were not happy with the results last year. In a recent interview, Poss
set forth his position on last year’s team: “the intrinsic motivation of the
players wasn’t the level we needed. Instead of 100 percent, we were maybe 98
per cent. The heart of the team wasn’t quite beating as we would like.”
During one of their scouting trips, one
of the players that caught their eyes was Patrick McEachen. Patrick graduated
from Queen’s University earlier this spring, and played all of his
inter-collegiate hockey for the Gaels. Many of you will remember that prior to
his days in Kingston, Patrick played very solid defense for the Wellington
Dukes. He was exactly the type of played that Coach Marty Abrams was looking
for at the time, and he fitted in perfectly.
I chatted with Patrick throughout the
game. He is one of nine defensemen on the roster, and the only rookie;
consequently, he has to show a little patience as the season gets underway. He
knows what he needs to do to make the squad, and he is prepared to work hard to
fill one of the spots on the roster.
One of the first things he told me
was that he was fortunate to have the “best billets in the world”, at the home
of Connie and Pierre Lebrun. He is not the only former Duke to pay respects to billets.
Great billets are critical to the success of junior hockey programs in Canada.
Patrick also got back to wellington for the final game at the old DukeDome, and
the first game at the new arena. “Just awesome,” he commented on the new arena.
Patrick remembered his days in
Kingston. “We had a fabulous season my last year at Queen’s. We had a 21 game
unbeaten streak. I believe it was the most successful season ever for a Queen’s
hockey team. I owe a great deal to my coach, Brett Gibson, who was selected as
the “Coach of the Year” for CIS hockey. I asked him about a popular activity at
Queen’s, attending football games. “Unfortunately, all of our hockey games took
place at the same time as the school’s football games. So I never went to see
the football Gaels.”
One player familiar to McEachen is goaltender
Daniel Altshuller. Daniel also spent a little time in the camp of the
Belleville Bulls. They met at the camp of the Carolina Hurricanes this summer.
McEachen played a couple of games with the rookie ‘Canes in Traverse City
against the Wings and the Stars. The games are used by the scouting fraternity
to assess the young talent on their teams.
The Blades lost 5-1 to the Solar
Bears. They scored in the dying minutes of the game to break the goose egg.
Their record stands at one win, one loss, and one shootout loss. If you are in
the area, check the schedule. ECHL hockey is great hockey, always entertaining.
There are always several future NHL players on each roster.
James Hurst
Sportslices.blogspot.com
October 25, 2014
Thursday, October 23, 2014
2014 World Series
The 2014 World Series between the San
Francisco Giants and the Kansas City Royals opened on Tuesday night in Kansas
City. The teams will play two games in Kansas City, fly out to the West Coast
to play two games, potentially three, then fly back to KC for the final games.
Both of these teams arrived rather
unexpectedly in the final. They were both “Wild Card” teams. A brief
explanation: each time did not finish well enough in the division to merit an
automatic berth in the playoffs. They both had to sneak in the back door by
winning a qualifying game; however, when they got to play in these playoffs,
both teams turned it up a notch or two, and charged to the finish line.
The Giants were led by All Star catcher Buster Posey. He is a team leader on the field, and with the bat. But it is a team game, and the Giants have received unexpected help from other sources. Michael Morse came off the bench against the Cardinals and clubbed a decisive home run to help the team advance to the finals. With the Series starting in Kansas City, he has earned himself a spot on the roster as the Designated hitter.
The Royals have just completed a
sweep of the Baltimore Orioles, in four games straight, to win the League
Championship Series. The Giants knocked off the St. Louis Cardinals in five
games. This is the third time in five years that the Giants have gained a berth
in the finals. Naturally, experience can play a big factor in these things, and
the Giants will rely on that as they take the field.
On the other hand, it has been quite
some time since the Royals dug in at home plate in Championship play. In 1985,
they faced the St. Louis Cardinals to win the World Series. In order to get to
the finals that year, they had to dispose of the Toronto Blue Jays. The Jays
led the Royals three games to one, only to lose the final three games. Those
were exciting times in Toronto, the first post-season experience for the Jays.
They borrowed from that year less than ten years later, when they went on to
win the World Series in 1993 and 1994. Only the work stoppage in 1995 prevented
them from accomplishing a “Three Peat”, according to many baseball analysts.
The Giants have a strong starting
rotation to begin the Series led by Madison Bumgarner. He is a crafty
left-handed pitcher who relies on his slider to confuse opposing batters. The
North Carolina native averages a strikeout per inning, and he has pitched more
than 200 innings the past four seasons. Another brilliant Giants hurler, Tim
Lincecum, has yet to pitch in the post season this year for the Giants. The
enigmatic Lincecum began his career in San Francisco in 2007, winning Cy Young
Awards and world Series rings. But it has been a rocky road for him lately,
undoubtedly due to injury.
The Royals will rely on speed and
defense. That was the assumption going into the playoffs. I recently heard a
report indicating that the Royals outfield, led by Lorenzo Cain, ranks with the
best in baseball history. They are quick, and have a lot of ground to cover in
both cavernous stadia. But they also have been swinging the bats on their way
to the championships. They have won eight straight games in the playoffs, going
back to 1985. The Giants have a string of 8 straight playoff series titles.
Neither team is interested in breaking those strings.
Pablo Sandoval leads the Giants from
the cleanup position. The popular player, affectionately known as “The Panda”
caries almost 250 pounds on his frame, less than six feet in height. He also
turns in spectacular plays from the “hot corner” at third base.
To those of you who put all your
sheckles down on both teams in Vegas prior to the start of the season, I tip my
cap. A most unexpected pairing in the final games of the season. In this World
Series, I predict that anything can happen!
Play ball!
James Hurst
October 21, 2014
Monday, October 13, 2014
Exciting Stuff for Young Bulls
Last Wednesday night,
Matt Luff walked into the local restaurant and dropped a puck on the table in
front of his mother. Not just any puck, mind you, but a most significant puck.
It was his first goal as a Belleville Bull in the
Ontario
Luff earned the honour
of being selected as the second star of the game. On Saturday night, he was
also selected as the second star. He had another goal and two assists in that
game. With six points, he is tied for third in the league in rookie scoring. He
realizes that it is a team game, and that he needs to contribute wherever it is
necessary.
Going into Saturday
night’s game, the Bulls could brag about the fact that they had the best
goaltender in the OHL. Charlie Graham has simply been outstanding. He has a
.962 save percentage, and a Goals Against Average of 1.20, remarkable
statistics for a Junior goalie. Graham did stop pucks in a Wellington
Dukes cage before getting the call up to Belleville
I spoke with Bulls’
assistant coach Jake Grimes before Saturday night’s game. “Granted, we are
playing really well at this time,” he told me. “Maybe a little better than
expected. But I do believe that we can and will play better. And we are getting
great goaltending.” Grimes patrols the bench along with Bellevillian Jason
Supryka, assistants to George Burnett, the coach and General Manager.
Last year was not a
banner year for the Bulls. They missed the playoffs, and spent the summer
regrouping. It appears that they made some good decisions, based on the results
thus far. Another former Duke, Jake Marchment, is the team captain, and also
scored his first goal of the season Saturday night. At the 12 minute mark of
the first period, the Bulls had scored four times on nine shots. A goalie
change for the Niagara Ice Dogs stemmed the
tide to some extent; nonetheless, the Bulls went on to win 8-5.
There were a lot of
empty seats at the Yardmen Arena. I know there are a lot of “Band Wagon” fans
in the area, and they will start to come out soon. Rest assured the boys can
use fan support at any time in the season. I still believe that Cogeco coverage
of the game, and radio coverage does affect the number of fans in the seats,
perhaps even more so in the colder weather.
The Ice Dogs had
seven drafted players in their line up whereas only three Bulls have been
drafted: Marchment (Los Angeles Kings), Jordan Subban (Vancouver ),
and Remi Elie (Dallas
After Wednesday’s
game, Coach Burnett summarized the efforts of Luff and Brandon Saigeon.
“They’re playing good, sound minutes for us so we are certainly pleased with
where really all of our young players are at. But like our team, they have to
continue to try and get better each and every day.”
The Bulls travel to
Niagara for a game Thursday night, then return home to play Sault Ste. Marie on
Saturday, and Sarnia
James Hurst
Sportslices.blogspot.com
October 13, 2014
Tuesday, October 07, 2014
Jeter Hangs 'em Up
Jeter Hangs ‘em Up
It took a little
while for Derek Jeter to hang up his spikes. An entire season, in fact. It has
become a tradition for the very best players in professional sports to play
their final games in stadia throughout the year, and receive gifts and
accolades from the fans. I call it the “victory lap”.
In the world of
baseball, no one is more deserving than Derek Jeter. On May 29, 1995, Jeter got
the call to suit up for the New York
He had been drafted
by the Yankees in 1992, and spent time in the minor leagues. (A note to
aspiring young athletes: the road to success in sport can be rocky. In his
first season in pro ball, Jeter batted .202, just above the Mendoza
To his credit, Jeter
has emerged from the murky waters of professional sport unscathed. He was never
associated with the drug scandals. His father may have played a part in that.
Jeter Senior is a substance abuse counsellor. There is no doubt in my mind that
he may have had some “fatherly advice” for his son over the years. In addition,
Derek signed a contract every year as a youth. It stated that he would follow
“acceptable forms of behaviour”.
Tony Fernandez signed
with the Yankees for the 1995 season. It was when he went down with an injury
that Jeter got the call. Jeter struggled somewhat in his first season, then
seemed to find the magic. He won “Rookie of the Year” honours in 1996, due to
the fact that he played fewer than 130 games in 1995.
The New York
Jeter wears five
World Series rings. He contributed significantly in all of his years in New York
I do hope that Jeter
will find a spot for himself in the game. Another former Yankee great, Don
Mattingly, now manages the Los Angeles
From the game itself,
Jeter put $ 265 million in the bank. He has also done quite well in the
endorsement game. Only Ichiro has made more from activities off the baseball
field, especially in the Japanese market.
And now, back to the
game. The Orioles and Kansas City
James Hurst
Sportslices.blogspot.com
October 7, 2014
