Tuesday, November 21, 2017
CME Golf Championship 2017
The weather
has been perfect the past four days in South-West Florida for the
final event of the year of the LPGA Women's Golf Tour. It takes place
in Naples, just south of Fort Myers, at the fabulous Tiburon course
at the Ritz-Carlton.
I am certain
that course preparation was a challenge this year. The course was
affected by Hurricane Irma. There were many trees down once the storm
had passed, and conditions were soggy. But the crew worked hard, and
the course is in perfect condition. Mind you, golfers still face
those nasty bunkers with the three foot lips, similar to the pot
bunkers in Great Britain. Quite often, players must hit away from the
hole in those bunkers, to get the ball in play.
Brooke
Henderson entered the week with a decent shot at the tournament
title. If she had won, she would also receive the CME Globe bonus
prize of one million dollars. She played consistently all week,
recording the score of 70 on her first three rounds; however, the
competition is fierce at this level, and Brooke's game was not quite
good enough to bag the big prize. Please remember that this girl is
but twenty years old, and undoubtedly will retire some day as
Canada's best female golfer, ever.
Michelle Wie
entered the last round tied for first with Kim Kaufman, Ariya
Jutanugarn, and Suzann Pettersen. Wie had missed several weeks on the
tour, after an appendicitis attack at the Canadian Open. “It was a
shock. I was in contention in Canada, and then it happened. I didn't
expect to be out six weeks.” Incidentally, Wie is a member of the
“P2 Putting Army”. Translation? She is using the P2 Putter grip
which comes out of the Quinte Area, from Steve Auger and company!
All told,
there were 14 golfers within two strokes of the lead going into
Sunday's final round. The CME company announced that they had
extended their endorsement of the event at least until 2023, which is
exciting for those of us who are in the area.
Brooke
finished the tournament at six under, and the other Canadian in the
event, Alena Sharp finished at one under.
As the
golfers entered the final stretch, the wheat began to separate from
the chaff. S. H. Park took the title as the “Rookie of the Year”,
but was out of contention following a disastrous round of 75 on
Saturday. The Korda sisters, daughters of Peter Korda, a long-time
tennis professional, played well up to the final holes.
But it was
Floridian Lexi Thompson, with a strong contingent of fans on hand,
who entered the final holes in the driver's seat. She birdied the
17th to take a one stroke lead on the field. She played
the 18th hole well, and rolled a long putt to within 18
inches. The crowd hushed as she tapped in the short putt to sew up
the victory. There was a group gasp as the putt rolled past the
hole.
Moriya
Jutanugarn is Ariya's sister. She was waiting patiently for her
sister at the 18th green. Ariya shocked the crowd by
rolling in a 20 foot putt to birdie the final hole and take the
championship. Thompson had to settle for second place. She also was
the winner of the CME globe, with the million dollar bonus.
All the
ladies now take a break until the next season rolls around. Not quite
as much pressure in the off-season!!!
James Hurst
November 19,
2017.
Saturday, November 11, 2017
Floyd Crawford-A Hockey Icon.
Floyd Crawford, the talismanic captain of the city's most accomplished sports team, died early Saturday, surrounded by members of his family. He was 88.
"Floyd died peacefully, he didn't suffer,” said Bobby Crawford, one of Floyd Crawford's nine children. “He had a great life.”
Great was a word often associated with Crawford — great leader, great coach, great father and grandfather, great man.
Recruited to Belleville in the 1950s to help build a team that could challenge for the Allan Cup, emblematic of senior A hockey supremacy in Canada, Crawford captained the McFarlands to a national title in 1958 and a world championship gold medal one year later in Prague. At that time, senior A hockey in Canada was only one or two steps below the NHL.
Many members of the Might Macs team remained in Belleville to help guide the next generation of hockey players in the city. Crawford was foremost among them.
He coached, managed and mentored hundreds of young athletes through the Belleville minor hockey system and on into junior. Some would go on to the highest levels of the sport. Many would stay behind and become contributing members of their community, passing down the lessons they'd learned from Crawford during cold winter mornings at Memorial Arena.
Crawford's playing, coaching and life philosophy was built on the cornerstones of faith, loyalty, hard work, determination and optimism. His words of encouragement were often delivered in harsh fashion, but the intended goal was always the same — be your best.
Together with his wife and household manager, Pauline, Crawford raised nine children — Susan, Peter, Michael, Bobby, Marc, Louis, Todd, Danielle and Eric. Three of the boys — Bobby, Marc and Louis — would go on to play in the NHL.
Marc won a Stanley Cup as bench boss of the Colorado Avalanche in 1996 and is now an associate coach with the Ottawa Senators. Louis coached the OHL Belleville Bulls to their only league title in 1999, with Floyd as chief scout.
When he was inducted into the Belleville Sports Hall of Fame in 1992, Crawford — born and raised in Toronto — recalled walking down a busy Front Street on his first Friday night in town after being recruited from the old Quebec senior league to join the Macs, now more than 60 years ago.
"I liked Belleville,” he said. “I thought it was a good place to raise a family.”
Thanks, Floyd. We're glad you stayed.
Notes from Paul Svoboda-The Intelligencer.
Wednesday, November 08, 2017
National Hockey League 2017-2018
Auston Matthews 2017-2018 opc
With the
addition of the Vegas Golden Knights this year, the National Hockey
League now has 31 teams. Each team carries about thirty players, with
a few on the bubble, not always dressing for each game. So now we are
saddled with about 900 players to keep track of, each year.
One of my
strategies to help muddle through the process is to purchase a couple
of sets of hockey cards. I have done it for years, and it helps.
Without resorting to the computer, I am able to lock down plenty of
information about every player. As an example, Joe Thornton is
featured on card # 327. On the front of the card, Joe is pictured
heading up ice with his trusty CCM stick. You can easily identify him
by his beard, which rivals that of the big ol' guy that visits most
of us on Christmas Eve.
On the back
of Thornton's card, in writing that almost requires a magnifying
glass for a septuagenarian's eyes, is a complete record of all of
Joe's pertinent stats for his entire career!! Nineteen seasons boiled
down to fit on the back of a hockey card. A true hockey warrior.
On the other
hand, there is only one season's experience listed on the back of
Auston Matthew's card. But in his first magical season with the
Leafs, Matthews managed to score 40 goals, had 29 assists, and firmly
entrenched himself as a superstar in the NHL. Those are powerful
words coming out of this laptop so early in his career. So far, very
well deserved.
The
O-Pee-Chee set does not include the cards of every player in the NHL.
There are 600 cards in the set. One card for each team is dedicated
as a “Team Check List”. There are special cards for “League
Leaders”...goals, assists, points, penalty minutes, save
percentage, etc. There are ten cards dedicated to “Season
Highlights”. There are also 50 cards of the young players in the
league called “Marquee Rookie” cards. Some of these players may
spend considerable time in the minor leagues this year. For those of
you wintering around Belleville, you can see these young stars in
action. Ottawa's Colin White is pictured on card # 505.
The cards
become available just before the season breaks; therefore, there are
several players shown in last year's uniforms. That will all change
with subsequent printing. As well, there are no Vegas players in the
set. A bit of a disappointment.
Card
companies are also affected by trades. In a recent three-team trade,
Ottawa's Kyle Turris ended up in Nashville, and Colorado's Matt
Duchene has become a Senator. There are several other players
involved in the trade, including Andrew Hammond, an Ottawa goalie who
was expected to see plenty of ice time with the Belleville Senators.
He is now with Colorado.
Duchene, a
Haliburton native, seems pleased with the trade. “I'm excited. It
will be amazing to be close to home. They've got a team that can win
the Stanley Cup. But it was a real pleasure to have player in
Colorado.”
Turris and
Duchene will face off against each other this coming weekend in
Stockholm, Sweden at the Ericsson Globe Arena. All part of the
expanding world of hockey!
When I
return home, I will bring all of my traders with me. We roughly
estimated almost 2 million cards, in that category. There will be a
reduction this summer. I promise!
James Hurst
November 7,
2017
Tuesday, November 07, 2017
Doc Halladay
Wednesday, November 01, 2017
World Series-2017 Three Games Each
World
Series-2017
I have found
several friends and acquaintances who watched the entire
Dodgers-Astros game on Sunday night. I know that it broke all kinds
of records, especially for the being the longest nine inning World
Series game ever. They call this thing the Fall Classic. That game
was far from being a “Classic”.
There were
errors, hit batters, good calls, bad calls, reversed calls. After
more than 160 games, fatigue becomes a factor.
The pressure
was on late in the game. A ball was hit to the Astros' centre
fielder, George Springer. Springer made a very poor decision,
misjudged the flight of the ball, and dove to make a spectacular
catch. He watched the ball trickle by him all the way to the wall. By
the time the other fielder got to the ball, the batter was jogging
safely into third base.
Up came
Springer at a critical stage in the game,the very next inning. He
atoned for his error with a crushing drive into the seats. And that
was the essence of that game. Four times the game was tied, there
were five lead changes, and seven home runs to break another World
Series record.
The Astros
caught a break when the Dodgers opted to sign Yu Darvish at the
trading deadline. They passed on Justin Verlander and the $ 56
million that was owed to him on his contract. Big Mistake? It looks
that way right now, but the game on Tuesday night is pivotal. By the
time this piece of parchment reaches your hands, Verlander could be
on top of the baseball world. Or he might be in the dungeons, having
lost game six.
Many of the
ballplayers, including Blue Jay Marcus Stroman, believe that the
league has changed the nature of the ball to “create more offence”.
Stroman believes that the balls are slicker, causing more blisters
this past year. Verlander faces Rich Hill this evening. Hill does not
believe the balls have changed. This controversy arises every now and
then, mainly as a distraction.
Most
prognosticators felt that the Series would be long, six or seven
games. These two teams are evenly matched. Many fans thought other
teams would be in the finals: Jays? Possibly. Yankees? Had their
chances. Red Sox? Not this year. Cleveland? So close. Twins? Showed
great promise. Nationals? Wasn't it supposed to be their turn?
When Spring
rolls abound next year, there will be plenty of baseball activity
here in Florida, and in Arizona. Each and every team knows, that with
some slight wrinkles and a few breaks, they could be on top of the
baseball world.
After
tonight, we will have a better idea!!!
James Hurst
