I think its safe to say many of us have been to a major league baseball game. There's nothing like sitting at the ballpark with a cold beer in hand on a nice day watching the game. Those in Toronto didn't get that opportunity last night. Apparently, Rogers Centre was guilty of some liquor violations last year and the penalty was three Blue Jay and one Argo game would be dry this year. The first one of those Jays games was last nite. After a sellout on opening night, less than 17 thousand took in Game 2 of the opening series against the Tigers. I'm guessing a lack of suds had a lot to do with that. It will be interesting to see what type of crowd they get for Game 3 of the series tonight when the sweet nectar that we love can be poured legally again. You just can't have baseball without beer can you?? Well I guess you can but you see the results. By the way, if you want to see all the baseball scores just page down to the bottom of this site as there is a scoreboard that not only brings you MLB scores, but NHL and NBA scores. There will also be a Masters leaderboard up there this week for you golf fans.
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Speaking of golf, the Oilers can polish up the clubs and make a tee-time next week. A season that so many thought would bring great things in Edmonton turns out to be nothing more than a "five coil steamer" that ends with a 2-1 loss to the Kings. Changes are needed!! We will see in the off-season how committted new owner Daryl Katz is to bringing winning hockey back to Edmonton. I don't think that team is far off right now but they need some guys in that room with a winning pedigree. If it means a guy like Horcoff or Hemsky gets traded than so be it. Actually, I can't see Dustin Penner being back and I would be very surprised if Robert Nilsson is back as well. I still believe Jordan Eberle is another year away. This team will pick in the top 10 again and I'm guessing it might be time to invest in a defenceman with that first pick. Perhaps a Ryan Ellis or a Stefan Elliott or a Jared Cowen.
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Spokane and Kelowna have gotten back into their WHL Western Conference semi-finals. The Chiefs beat Vancouver 5-2 meaning they still trail 2-1. Watching that game on Access, the one question I had was if anyone in Spokane knew the game was on. They only had 43-hundred people in an arena that seats over 10-thousand. THAT'S BRUTAL!!! You would think that place would be packed for Game 3. I wonder what it will be like for Game 4. In Kelowna, the Rockets beat Tri-Cities 7-2 with seven different players turning on the red light for the home side who look to even the series at two tomorrow. In Lethbridge, the Hitmen win their 7th straight of this year's playoffs as they knock off the Hurricanes 4-2 meaning they will go for their 2nd straight sweep tomorrow.
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Congrats to the Humboldt Broncos. They beat Melville 5-1 to take the SJHL title in five games. Its now off to the Anavet Cup for them. Speaking of the SJHL, they didn't have any problems getting people to the rink for the playoffs. Check out this release from the league.....
Numbers are up across the board through the conference semi-finals as well as the conference finals.
In the conference semis, SJHL clubs drew an average of 984 fans, up from an average of 866 a year ago. In addition, teams combined to play one additional game over last season for a total of 20,656 fans who came through the turnstiles. That is increase of over 3,300 total fans (17,318 in 20 cumulative games in 2007-08).
The conference finals have had a very similar story. Humboldt (2-dates), Flin Flon (2-dates), Weyburn (3-dates), and Melville (3-dates) combined to bring in more than 11-thousand fans, an increase of 381. The overall numbers work out to an average of 1,110 fans per game during the conference finals.
The Melville Millionaires have led the way, playing in front of 11,623 through nine home games in the playoffs. That represents a per game average of close to 1,300 and an overall increase of almost 800 per game from their regular season numbers.
The Humboldt Broncos rank second in per-game attendance at 1,256 and the Yorkton Terriers averaged 1,226 in three dates during the conference semi-finals.
SJHL President Laury Ryan says, "The Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League continues to have strong attendance numbers for the playoffs and Credit Union Cup Championship. This year the Credit Union Cup is in two of our smaller markets (Humboldt and Melville) and attendance is exceeding our expectations. In both communities they are drawing approximately 30%- 35% of their communities’ population. This is a tremendous demonstration of support of the local team and Junior A hockey. The arenas are packed and the quality of play ensures that fans are coming back to the next game."
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An interesting story is happening at the University of Oklahoma regarding one of the players on the womens basketball team. Courtney Paris did something I don't think I've ever heard of before and may not hear again. She promised that she would repay the university for all four years of her scholarship if the Sooners didn't win their first national championship. The Sooners were beaten by Louisville in the womens final four on Sunday and Paris said she was going to live by her promise. The cost of four years at Oklahoma has been estimated conservatively at $64,000, but the number could be even higher since Paris came from California and would have had to establish residence in Oklahoma to pay in-state tuition. Paris figures to be one of the top picks in Thursday's WNBA draft. Oklahoma's athletic director isn't expecting nor does he want Paris to pay back the 64-grand. He says the exposure Paris has given the program and the school is more than enough. Its been suggested that if Paris does pay up that the 64-thousand go into scholarships for future recruits. I ask the question "Do you think Paris should pay this money back after she couldn't deliver the goods?".If she does, she certainly puts the pressure on some others to follow suit doesn't she.
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Has anyone seen Olli Jokinen these days? Somewhere Matthew Barnaby smiles!!
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Why do people in a parking lot decide to take up three spots by parking vertically instead of horizontally in the spots provided--spots that are clearly marked. Do you think your vehicle is that precious?? If the answer to that question is yes than put in the garage and leave it there!!! If you are one of these people, you are a sad individual indeed and deserve every amount of abuse heaped on you when you do this.
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