Like every Olympic Games since 1988, I will be watching very closely.
I had the thrill of a lifetime to attend the 1988 Olympic Winter Games in Calgary, and I was all set to pack my bags this time to attend the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
See my brother Geoff Freeborn, who played professionally with the Calgary Vipers, has dual citizenship with my father being born in Great Britain. A baseball pitcher, he was on the British national team for seven years from 2001-2007.
When the city of London won the bid for the 2012 Olympic Games, the team was playing together at the 2005 European Baseball Championships in Prague, Czech Republic. When the team heard the news, they celebrated knowing their Olympic dream was a reality. Great Britain would have qualified for their first Olympic Games in baseball, being the host country.
It was an historic night for Baseball Canada at the Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico.
For the first time in the history of the Pan American Games, Canada has won the Gold medal in the sport of baseball.
On Tuesday night, Canada defeated the United States 2-1. Down 1-0 in the sixth inning, Jimmy Van Ostrand of Richmond, British Columbia hit a two run double that scored Chris Robinson of London, Ontario and Tim Smith of Toronto.
Andrew Albers of North Battleford, Saskatchewan got the win and former Edmonton Crackercat Scott Richmond got the save.
The North American Baseball League is looking shaky as it nears the end of its inaugural season, but will it fold?
While the Edmonton Capitals have had a pretty successful run so far, sitting in a tie for first place heading into the final week of the season, the same can’t be said for teams like Orange County, Lake County and Maui. The problems being had by those clubs, especially the last two, has some people wondering about the future of the league itself.
The OC Flyers weren’t even on the schedule at the start of the season, because they were forced to “go dark” for 2011 when they couldn’t find a place to play for the year. When it comes to the Lake County Fielders and Maui Na Koa Ikaika though, the problems run much deeper than a venue.
The Fielders made headlines last month when play-by-play guy Qumar Zaman aired out the team’s dirty laundry in a post-game rant that ended in him announcing his resignation from the broadcast booth. As it turned out, the owners were a little slow when it came to handing out paychecks and players weren’t getting “meal money” on the road…which doesn’t sound too bad, until you realize the team started the season on a six-week road trip!
The situation in Lake County turned ugly in a hurry – the coach was sacked after complaining about going months without getting paid and a bit of a protest was staged the next night, with some guys refusing to play and the interim coach using everyone else out of position. That didn’t go over too well with the big wigs and Pete LaCock was fired, while 23 players were either released or traded in the following days. Lake County’s problems didn’t end there though…READ MORE…(more…)
What a couple of weeks for the Lake County Fielders of the North American Baseball League!
In a series of events that is sure to have people questioning the legitimacy of the NABL itself, the Fielders have gone through a stretch that has seen them lose a manager, an interim manager, 23 players and a play-by-play guy…all since July 9th!
The underlying issue here seems to be money – apparently the team, which is co-owned by actor Kevin Costner, has been a bit tardy when it comes to the paychecks. The Lake County Daily Herald says the first one to go was manger Tim Johnson, who quit the team via email after telling his players that he hadn’t been paid since the start of the season!
Eleven Fielders players refused to play that night against Jose Canseco and the Yuma Scorpions, some out of support for their former manager, others because they hadn’t been paid in a while either. It’s tough to say if this, too, was a form of protest, but interim manager Pete LaCock used pitchers as position players and position players as pitchers on the night, which wound up being an 8-3 loss (and a win for Scorpions pitcher Jose Canseco!). LaCock resigned after the game.
If you think the craziness ends there, you’re wrong! (more…)
It was a bit of a strange day in the Major Leagues on Wednesday as we got a taste of the good, the bad, the ugly and the bizarre when it comes to pitching!
If you think you’ve seen it all, you might have another thing coming: It all started in New York with Mariano Rivera hitting an impressive milestone for the Yankees and Toronto’s Jo-Jo Reyes going down in the history books for a reason he’ll want to forget. Then we saw Milwaukee’s Zack Greinke make his presence felt on both sides of home plate for the Brew Crew, while the Phillies – with all the talented pitchers they have on their staff – got a win from a second baseman! (more…)
Only four teams remain in this year’s battle for Lord Stanley’s mug as we get set for the Conference Finals to begin this weekend.
In the West, the San Jose Sharks will travel to Vancouver to face the Presidents’ Trophy winning Canucks on Sunday, after avoiding a complete meltdown on Thursday with a game seven win over the Red Wings. The Canucks had a much easier time with the Nashville Predators in round two, though it did still take six games for them to finish the job. This will be an interesting series because, as good as both of these clubs are, there are still question marks next to certain aspects of each team’s game. (After the jump: Who wins this series? Plus, a preview of Boston/Tampa Bay and a costly celebration continues to cost the LA Angels!) (more…)
We’re officially one week into the new MLB season and already some interesting trends are developing around the league, specifically in the American League East.
For one, the Toronto Blue Jays are looking like a pretty solid ball club early on!
The Jays kicked off the regular season with a 13-3 rout of the Minnesota Twins last Friday and followed that up with a 6-1 win the next night, before losing a close 4-3 ballgame on Sunday. Earlier this week, the Jays opened up a three-game set with the Oakland Athletics by scoring a pair of come-from-behind wins at the Rogers Centre to sit at 4-1 with…three percent of the season in their rear view mirror.
In the City of Champions, dealing with snow is just a part of life.
For well over half the year, it clogs up the side streets, it makes people drive like rookies and you’re required by law to keep it off your sidewalks, which is a total hassle. Sure, it’s great for the traditional recreational purposes that we’ve come up with as a society to make it seem not so bad, but it’s not good for much else, is it?
Oh, but it is!
Ladies and Gentlemen, I bring you “Yukigassen.”
“It’s a Japanese word for Snow Battle,” says Dave Hennessey with OOMPH! Events. “Essentially, it’s a competitive snowball fight!”
Yes, you read that correctly. Someone has created a socially acceptable venue wherein grown men and women can throw snowballs at each other, and if they’re good enough, be named the Canadian Snow Battle champion!
Fort Edmonton Park is the venue for Yukigassen Edmonton which runs from March 4-6th and will be our country’s first ever national championship tournament (and just the second event ever held in Canada).
I know, I know, it’s a lot to take in right now. I won’t even mention the fact that they’ve got a machine they use to manufacture dozens of perfect snowballs all at once (until later on). At this point though, you’re probably asking yourself “what genius came up with such a brilliant idea for a sport?” Don’t worry, I asked that question too! (more…)
Do you think UFC president Dana White ever wishes he could move his entire production up to our side of the border?
Every time the UFC comes to Canada, records are set and that’s a trend that continued this week with a couple of new ones ahead of UFC 129 in Toronto – the organization’s first Ontario-based event. If Las Vegas didn’t have the deep connection and history with the fight game that it has, I’m sure more cards would find their way up here given our country’s track record.
In less than one hour on Thursday, more than 42,000 tickets (valued anywhere from $50 to $800) were sold for the April 30th event! That’s right, the “pre-sale” for the Toronto date almost doubled Montreal’s UFC attendance record of 23,152! (more…)
Did you hear what happened last week in the National Lacrosse League?
The Boston Blazers brass are a little red in the face after a halftime production drew some bad press from everyone but “Scorch,” the team’s mascot. Personally I don’t know what all the fuss is about – what says “fun for the whole family” like a “best lap dance” contest?
That’s right! Three female contestants from the crowd squared off during the break at the TD Garden in Boston to see who could give “Scorch” the best lap dance, as an arena full of parents and kids looked on. (more…)
Fifty-one weeks ago the Toronto Blue Jays shattered the collective heart of its fan base when the club sent Roy “Doc” Halladay packing, leaving the team without a sure-fire ace in its starting rotation.
Despite the loss of their star player, it was still a pretty average year for the Jays, who toil in arguably the toughest division in all of baseball; but there’s no question that Halladay was missed on the mound.
Well, it’s now exactly fifty-one weeks later, and a replacement may finally be on the way!
Word out of the MLB Winter Meetings is that Toronto GM Alex Anthopoulos is actively pursuing 2009 Cy Young winner Zack Greinke of the KC Royals, one of the two big name pitchers available this off-season. (more…)
The Edmonton Capitals are taking a franchise-record 12-game winning streak into the Golden Baseball League all-star break thanks to a 4-2 win over the Tijuana Cimarrones Saturday night at TELUS Field.
The Caps closed out the first half of the season with a five-game sweep of the Cimarrones, outscoring their Mexican opponents 45-23 during the series.
Like every Olympic Games since 1988, I will be watching very closely.
What a couple of weeks for the Lake County Fielders of the North American Baseball League!
It was a bit of a strange day in the Major Leagues on Wednesday as we got a taste of the good, the bad, the ugly and the bizarre when it comes to pitching!
Preview: NHL Conference Finals
We’re officially one week into the new MLB season and already some interesting trends are developing around the league, specifically in the American League East.
In the City of Champions, dealing with snow is just a part of life.
Fifty-one weeks ago the Toronto Blue Jays shattered the collective heart of its fan base when the club sent Roy “Doc” Halladay packing, leaving the team without a sure-fire ace in its starting rotation.
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