MLB Day 3: BJR: Tor: 2, Tam: 3

Blue Jays now know what its like to be a Maple Leaf this season as they lose for the first timr this year. A call made by the ump using the slide rule gave the Rays a 3-2 victory over the Jays. But it wasn't all bad. Sanchez pitched for 7.1 IP and an ERA of 1.29, which is the best of all Jays pitchers so far this year. Jose Bautista hit a triple in the game. Saunders hit for his 3rd RBI in 3 games this year, which is nice to see for the guy. Obviously he's not a Miguel Cabrera or David Ortiz by far, but it's nice to see him succeed. Since he was drafted in the 11th round, he is a diamond in the rough.

Sanchez gave up 5 Hits and 1 Run during his 7.1 Innings. Cecil gave up the other two.

2 To Start: BJR Day 2: Tor: 5, Tam: 3

Blue Jay's win! Sorry Maple Leafs. But once again we win, and I'm starting to see a pattern here. Yesterday, we won 5-3, today we win 5-3 so maybe, just maybe...162-0? Average ERA of 3.00 with 5 runs per game? I'll take that. Anyway this'll be a short post for time reasons. Dickey pitched, well? Idk, maybe it's me but it wasn't ALCS good, but you win some, you lose some, especially right out of the gate. He has an ERA of over 5 but he got the win. Donaldson hit a dinger, so did Saunders, and Thole. Toronto is lookin just fine for my taste.

Toronto's Season Opener; BJR Day 1; Tor: 5, Tam: 3

The season starts off pretty well for my Toronto Blue Jays. Sorry Maple Leafs. You may have the Marlies, but the Blue Jays are better at what they do than you. Anyway, a 5-3 victory for the Blue Jays, and Tulo does it again. I'm excited to see what he does now that we have him for the whole season. He hits a dinger to make it 2-0 in the 1st inning! In the 3rd Tampa gets one but next half inning, Toronto drives in another run to make it 3-1 at the bottom of the 4th. Toronto gets 2 in the 8th, but Tampa earns 2 in the 9th to end it at a 5-3 game. Marcus Stroman became the youngest player in Blue Jays history to make Opening Day start. (24 years, 338 days.) He played 8 innings throughout the entire game. (6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 3.38 ERA, .88 WHIP) to earn the win. Osuna came in in the 9 to close out the game. Hopefully tonight fares just as well for Toronto as Dickey gets the start against Drew Smyly.

Connor Hellebuyck and John GIbson: NHL's Next Legends?

With the exit of Martin Brodeur, Martin St. Louis, Daniel Alfredsson, showing the teams are changing rapidly and using their younger players. Detroit is a big name because the stars Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg, and Niklas Kronwall will sadly be leaving the team in the next 5 years, but the rise of their great prospects like Anthony Mantha, Evgeni Svechnikov, Ryan Sproul, Xavier Ouellet, Ty Bertuzzi, Zach Nastasiuk, and Jake Paterson are still in the AHL or QMJHL. Some of those players are considered active like, Gustav Nyquist, Tomas Tatar, Petr Mrazek, Tomas Jurco, Riley Sheahan, Darren Helm, and 19 year old Dylan Larkin. Not just Detroit is doing this though. The Edmonton Oilers, who've had the 1st overall picks 3 years in a row, how an average team age of 24.3. 22 yr old Taylor Hall, 21 yr old Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, 23 year old Nail Yakupov, and 18 year old Connor Mcdavid consist of some of those players. Many other teams have younger players to cope with the exit of some of their better ones. Chicago's Artemi Panarin, NYR's Oscar Lindberg, Dallas' Oscar Klingberg, Buffalo's Jack Eichel, Winnipeg's Connor Hellebuyck, and Anaheim's John Gibson are to name a few.
The rise of goaltender has changed so much since the 80's more than any other position. Player's like Martin Broduer (retired), Grant Fuhr (retired), Roberto Luongo (Florida Panthers), Henrik Lunquist (New York Rangers) have changed the goalie game completely, and I'm sure that Hellebuyck and Gibson will do the same.
After the 4 straight Western Conference Championship games, the Anaheim Ducks looked like they had the goalie game solved with Fredrick Andersen. But that proved to be false as the young goalie has struggled so far this year. They brought up John Gibson, 22, from Syracuse, and he's performed. His record is 4-2-1 with a save percentage of .944 and a goals against average of 1.47. The team seems to be performing better when he's on the ice. Which is strange because he's still considered a rookie.
Winnipeg is in the same division as Anaheim, but has a better record. Maybe what put them ahead is Connor Hellebuyck. He has a record 3-0-0, and a save percentage of .965 and a .97 goals against average.
These two players have so far made a name for themselves this year. It's no doubt they won't stop there.

London Knight Destroying Everything in Their Path. (OHL)

London Knights. The GOAT of all Junior sports teams. Better than Alabama football, better than Quinnipac Ice Hockey, better than Iowa wrestling, and most certainly, better than Iowa period. I don't like Iowa. GO BLUE!!!! Anyway, ADHD aside, London. No not London, England. London, Ontario. My Team. The London Knights. Home to many of the best players ever to surface. My London Knights, home to Patrick Kane, Mitchell Marner, Max Domi, Matthew Tkatchuk, Christian Dvorak, Max Jones, and more, are tearing it up int the Ontario Hockey League. They scored 8 goals on the Owen Sound Attack to get ahead in the series 3-1. I mean so many players will go in the first round from London. Sure, 3-1, not domination right? Well London had 104 points in 68 games with a record of 51-14-3-1. Now does that seem like domination? Thought so. But they'll have a challenge if they have to face Dylan Strome's Erie Otters. But we'll see.

We can do it Toronto!

Tomorrow starts the second season I've paid attention to the MLB, and the second season as a Toronto Blue Jays fan, (Thanks to +2BCProductions2BC), and I've gotta say, I'm pretty excited. Now in any other sport, yes I'm a hardcore Detroit fan, except for Football, go Philly. But I never liked a baseball team really. To be honest, I let MLB The Show 14 choose for me. I said whoever I get drafted by, that's my favorite team. And by gholly, it was the Toronto Blue Jays. So I know that team across the pond more than any other baseball team.

Last year, the playoff run to the ALCS was spectacular. Josh Donaldson, Troy Tulowitzki, Brett Lawrie, Kevin Pillar, and (at the time) David Price were amazing. Now we don't have Price. So we gotta lean on Marco Estrada. Which is way better than if I did end up liking Detroit's Verlander. Even though we lost David Price to FA, I believe if we played the royals again in the ALCS, we'd win.  WE CAN WIN IT ALL AT THE ROGER'S CENTRE!!!! I'm mean props to Cubs fan's though. Makin  it that far, but I'm happy to see you lose. Keep that streak alive. The Canadians are gonna tear up the MLB this season. Just you wait.

Duncan Keith: Fierce Competitor, or Dirty Player?

Chicago Blackhawks defenceman Duncan Keith: Fierce competitor or dirty player?

Both. But more of the latter as time goes on.

With three Stanley Cups, two Olympic gold medals, two Norris trophies and a Conn Smythe Trophy, Keith has as good a resume as there is in hockey today. And when the conversation begins about the game's best defenceman, he gets plenty of airtime. 

But Tuesday’s slash to the face of Minnesota Wild forward Charlie Coyle had nothing to do with competition. It was simply reckless and vicious. The act of a dirty player who should be treated as such by the National Hockey League's player safety department.

Some will point to the playoffs - five games away for the Blackhawks - and say that any suspension Keith gets should end before the second season begins. 

Nope. 

It’s Keith’s responsibility to control his temper and his stick and he should pay the price regardless of timing. He certainly shouldn’t play over the Blackhawks' five remaining regular season games and sitting him out for a number of playoff games should be part of the parcel handed out by the league.
 
The notion that playoff games count more than regular season games defies logic. An injury doesn’t heal any faster in the playoffs than the regular season. The clock doesn’t speed up in the playoffs.

Sure, playoff games are more valuable to players. And they should take that into account before they use their stick like a windshield wiper on an opponent's face.

How many games will Keith get for ugly slash?

Duncan Keith recklessly slashed Charlie Coyle in the face with his stick. He received a match penalty for the infraction and TH2N explains how long they believe he'll be suspended.

Top end players such as Keith often get a pass for the odd elbow or high stick under the guise of making room for themselves. Fair enough - the best players shouldn’t be slowed down by the second tier and if the interference or late hits start to effect a star’s ability to shine, eliminating such liberties is part of pro hockey. Play with the bull, prepare to get the horn.

But Keith’s swipe at Coyle - who returned to the game and didn’t appear to suffer a serious injury - was a result of the veteran blueliner boiling over and having no respect for his opponent. He swung the stick with one hand and had no control or concern over where it landed and what damage was inflicted. It was the dirtiest of plays. Coyle could have lost his teeth or even an eye. Keith is lucky he didn’t wake up this morning to the cold reality he had permanently disfigured one of his union brothers.

The Blackhawks pay Keith a lot of money to play hockey and he's proven he’s worth it as a tireless skater with elite hockey sense and vision. There's very little he can’t do on the ice. He might be Chicago’s most important player. 

Keith has been suspended previously, five games for an elbow to the head of Vancouver Canucks forward Daniel Sedin and one for slashing Los Angeles Kings forward Jeff Carter. And  historically, he's been referred to as an elite player with an edge. One that opponents tip-toed around because he was unpredictable and if crossed, could snap. It makes Keith more valuable.

Button: Keith deserves to be suspended into the playoffs

TSN's Craig Button joined Dean to discuss Duncan Keith's slash to the face of Charlie Coyle and to take a look around the night in the NHL.

But Tuesday’s actions, and the suspension to follow, changes that narrative.
 
This morning, Duncan Keith is a dirty player. A selfish player and one the Blackhawks shouldn’t be able to count on when they begin their bid for a fourth Stanley Cup in seven years.

Who wants to be known as that kind of player?