Two for the road … straight to the Halls of Fame

This corner would simply like to echo the sentiments of Dave Perkins, one of Canada’s very best [long-standing] sports writers, regarding the majestic careers of …

A first ballot HoFamer

                                                 and

Best of her generation

Two class-act athletes step off

re: Sorenstam

“You might need to go back to Mickey Wright or Babe Didrikson Zaharias to find her match – and even then you might not. “

re: Maddux

“While win totals are far from the best way to evaluate starters, 355 is an awfully impressive number. Factor in his durability, ERA, baserunners-allowed stats – not to mention all those Gold Gloves – and he was at the top of his era’s class.”

Each was a Master craftsperson when it came to understanding, How Exactly The Game SHOULD be played … and it was a simple pleasure to watch them work their magic.

Baseball vs Football

Thanks to Graydon Gordian (Hardwood Paroxysm; 48 Minutes Of Hell) for re-introducing this corner to yet another All-Time Classic …

RIP, Mr. Carlin.

Manny being Manny

Providing a different type of inter-active experience for a lucky paying customer at a major league ballpark near you …

Courtesy of Retire Early: Tracking My Progress

Otherwise known as … making an assist, the hard way.

Touching all the bases

Intriguing stories today about Toronto’s ‘pro sports’ environment …

Ticket scandel rocks MLSE

A senior executive at Maple Leafs’ parent company Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment has resigned and five other employees have been fired after the company learned of ticket irregularities …

News of the scandal comes in the wake of an already sour week for MLSE. The Toronto Raptors are struggling and may miss out on the chance for home-court advantage in the NBA playoffs, while the Leafs will miss the playoffs for the third straight season. Both developments could cost the company hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Struggling Raptors starting to take on scent of Leafs

Last night, it was as if the stink of the Maple Leafs’ despicable performance against the Ottawa Melnyks 24 hours earlier was wafting up through the floorboards, infecting the efforts of the Raptors as they attempted to nail down a playoff spot through their own efforts against the still expansion-like Charlotte Bobcats …

 

For MLSE, this is troubling, for the Raps are their crown jewel at the moment, given the state of the Leafs and the fact the corp’s sophomore soccer squad [TFC] declined to aggressively improve itself after a predictably awful debut campaign.

Glory days recalled at home plate

We were all young together, once, when major league baseball was itself a wildly popular neophyte ’round these parts. When the park was always full to capacity. When the Jays seemed always to make the playoffs and it appeared the fun, the swagger, would never end …

Now, the ball team makes a low-decibel debut on home turf, parenthetically on the same weekend the Maple Leafs slink out of town for their season wrap in Montreal, two chronically non-post-season franchises passing in the night.

————————————

UPDATE:
- Bottom of the 4th … the Blue Jays (Litsch/+117) strike back for 3 runs to regain the lead (4-2) against the World Champion, Boston Red Sox (Buchholtz)
- FINAL SCORE: TOR 10, Bos 2

The last opening day

Q1. Know what today is?

A1. The beginning of the end for ‘the Stadium Ruth Built‘.

Turn the sound up …

it’s worth it.

Take that, Mice

Courtesy of ‘Clutch is Everything‘ … yet another classic on-line ‘pic’.

Opening Day … is just around the (hot) corner!

Hook, line and sinker

* Brian Kamenetzky, SportsHubLA.com, re: Straight-up filthy … and a name you ‘might’ want to remember

Dodgers’ lefty phenom … Clayton Kershaw.

UPDATE:

* Phil Gurnee, SportHubLA.com, weighs in today … with ‘the rest of the story’ and the sort of moniker that can stick with a fella …

meet ‘the Minotour‘ unleashed.

Big Train vs the Babe

Peanuts, popcorn & Cracker Jack … 

With Spring Training in ‘full swing’ and ‘Opening Day’ just around the (Hot) Corner …. this newsreel footage comes courtesy of Mario Alejandro’s, Blast from the past! 

Let’s Play Ball!