I heard a very interesting debate while listening to my XM Satellite Radio on Tuesday. The topic was Los Angeles Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart. He was the young man killed by a drunk driver just hours after posting his first career major league win. After a game on Monday where the Angels clinched a playoff spot, they as a team went to the outfield wall where Adenhart's picture is and touched it as a salute to him. In the locker room, the team went one step further and pulled out his jersey that has sat in the dugout all season and poured beer and champagne all over it.
Most people thought it was a very touching gesture and one that symbolized that Adenhart's memory is still very much with the club. However, some thought the jersey soaking was an example of going across the line because of the alcohol involved and the fact Adenhart was killed by a drunk driver.
I don't think anyone in that clubhouse was thinking of that when they started to celebrate. They were doing with Adenhart's jersey what they would be doing if Adenhart was wearing it. Everyone was soaked in beer and champagne which is what most teams do when they celebrate. I don't think anyone had any ill will in their heart, but it did bring up an interesting 10 minutes of chatter. What do you think?
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Councillor Szarka? I think its cool that Rider running back Chris Szarka is running for city council. Chris has spent his entire pro football career here and Regina has given him a lot. It shows that he wants the chance to give back and that he is ready to stay in Regina once his playing days are over. I know there are some out there that think he may call it a career at the end of this season. He may not see the ball, but he is still pretty effective in blocking. If he wins, it will be interesting to see him juggle the two careers. Good luck Zark! Is the rumour of Gene Makowsky running for the Saskparty in the next provincial election still out there? What other Riders might make good politicians?
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As tough as a season as it has been for fans of the Blue Jays, you have to love what you have seen from Adam Lind. He hit three homers last night giving him 35 on the season. He is definitely someone that Toronto fans can look at as this team tries to compete in the American League East. Add Aaron Hill to that list too as he hit number 36 in the win over Boston. I really think that once the arms get healthy that Toronto can play with the Red Sox and Yankees next year. If this team can get rid of Ricciardi as GM and bring someone in who makes a couple of off-season splashes, I really, truly think 2010 could be a year for Jays fans to maybe experience post-season baseball. Of course if they trade Halladay, their chances are zero.
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For those wondering how many Canadians watched the Rider-Eskimo game on Saturday, the answer is 966-thousand. That is down from the over one million that watched the game from Mosaic.
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The CFL is going to play a regular season game in Moncton next year. No word on what teams will play or when. Would the Rider Nation show the Maritimes what the CFL is all about. It wouldn't surprise me. I don't know if the Maritimers would know what had hit them when Rider pride rolls through----and you know it would.
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When the Philadelphia Eagles go into the Wildcat formation, do they call it "Prison Break" or "The Spread Eagle."
4 comments:
Like you say, Mitch, anyone who has a problem with the players dousing Adenhart's jersey, JUST DON"T GET IT! He is and always will be their teammate, and they're showing him the respect he deserves. Now if they can win the WS, that would be a fitting end to this season.
Trust some group to try and tarnish Adenhart's legacy by bringing it up. I think its a very classy move by the Angels because you know that jersey would be soaked if Adenhart were in it. If the Angels win the World Series, I hope they do something like this again or perhaps do something on a more grand scale to honour the young man.
I'm all for the Riders playing in Moncton as long as we don't lose a home gate!!
Good on you for not talking about the Clermont story or should I say non-story. Pedersen is all over that and Clermont this morning. Perhaps he should concentrate on his p x p duties.
Darrell
I agree with Darrell when it comes to not losing a home gate. I would love to see the Riders play whoever in Moncton as long as it was their home game and not ours. I'm guessing it might be Montreal and truthfully, its probably going to be an all-East showdown.
Does Szarka running for council mean he is going to retire if he wins? I'm wondering how many more years guys like him, Makowsky, O'Day, Davis are going to stick around. I could see someone asking Dominguez to run for office some day.
The Angels soaking of Adenhart's jersey is a raw display of emotionally remembering their teammate. It shows that Adenhart is a big part of their season. I also think the critics of this act should consider that alcohol didn't kill Adenhart, he was killed be the extremely bad choice made by the drunk driver... "alcohol doesn't kill peopoel, people kill people!"
Jer K.
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