Dein erstes Forum » I think ownership back in the day

MONTREAL - "The Rock" summed it up best. "It feels like I havent left," said Tim Raines, the former long-time Expo, current Blue Jays roving instructor and should-be Hall-of-Famer, just moments after stepping onto the turf at Olympic Stadium. While Raines was referring to the memories that came flooding back, he may have meant it literally. Nothing much has changed about the Big O. Its the same ride to the Pie IX stop on the famous Montreal Metro. The walk from the station to the stadiums dimly lit concourse is no different. Then, you emerge through one of the section corridors into a time capsule. The yellow seats, so often empty in the Expos final years, serve as a reminder of days gone by when fans would rap them up and down to make a clanging sound. The scoreboard, which still sits above the centerfield batters eye, hasnt been updated. Its not high definition or LCD or anything else that resembles what fans enjoy in the stadia of today. The players are different. Well, for the most part, if you consider that Blue Jays utility infielder Maicer Izturis made his major league debut in a Montreal uniform on August 27, 2004. Everything else is the same. "I was joking if they wanted me to do any fan mail," said Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos, a Montreal native whose internship with the Expos, which included the responsibility of answering fan mail, launched his career in baseball. "I was getting ready to go." There was little chatter around the stadium of the 1994 players strike, which happened at a time when the Expos were 74-40, good enough for the National Leagues best record. The resurgent New York Yankees were the talk of the American League that year. What a contrast, those two organizations, in the two decades since. The Expos are gone, the proverbial stick of dynamite given to that 94 team by an uncommitted ownership, the 1995 club a shell of its former self. The Yankees have missed the playoffs only twice since. It took 10 years after the strike for the Expos, which experienced a kind of walking dead status once the likes of Larry Walker, Pedro Martinez, Moises Alou and others left town, to die off. The fans, descendants of the people who watched Jackie Robinson play in their city before he broke Major League Baseballs colour barrier in 1947, were subjected to annual speculation about their franchises relocation. Finally it happened in 2005 with the city of Washington, D.C. receiving a third crack at getting baseball right (the Minnesota Twins and Texas Rangers each descend from failed Washington Senators clubs.) "I think the issues were, and its no knock against the stadium, but the location of the stadium, the fact it wasnt a retractable roof," said Anthopoulos. "Growing up in this city, like you would in Toronto but its a lot colder here in the winter, the winters are long and any bit of summer you can get you want to be outdoors. Its a tough sell to go all the way to the east end and be indoors for a ballgame." This is a 48-hour period for the Blue Jays and Mets to work out the final kinks before the start of the regular season. Just as importantly, its a chance for Montrealers to experience what once was and to pay a posthumous tribute to their beloved Gary Carter, which they did on Friday night. On Saturday, its the 94 Expos turn to feel the love. Larry Walker, Moises Alou and future Hall-of-Famer Pedro Martinez will be among those on hand. One can only hope this weekend serves to exorcise the demon just a little bit. Luis Rivera, the Blue Jays third base coach who played his first three big league seasons with the Expos from 1986-88, doesnt forget. "The crowds, they were loud and there was a lot of whistling, which I do a lot," he said. "It was about sometimes 20-thousand, 30-thousand, 40-thousand. I remember when Pasqual Perez used to pitch it was a packed house." Tim Raines, The Rock, he remembers too. "Its a very good baseball town," said Raines. "My first 10 years here we averaged two million fans a year. They dont just leave. I think ownership back in the day, right at the tail end, played a big part of the lack of success that they had here." Warren Cromartie, the former Expos great, has said the exhibition weekend is the first step toward the return of Major League Baseball to Montreal. Maybe hes right and one day well be able to say, "Les Expos sont la!" Maybe hes wrong and this is nothing more than a pipe dream. For the moment, its just nice to be back at Olympic Stadium. Houston Astros Jerseys .Y. -- It was as if Matt Moulson never left the New York Islanders. Ken Giles Jersey . However, the 38-year-old is in no hurry to sign with another team. "Im not in a rush. This will be my last contract, so I want to do it right," said Burris on Thursday. http://www.astrosteamproshop.com/Astros-Dallas-Keuchel-Kids-Jersey/ .com) - John Wall had 15 points, 12 assists and four steals as the Washington Wizards defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 92-85 on Monday night. J.R. Richard Jersey .ca Fantasy Editor Scott Cullen, NFL Editor Ben Fisher, and Isaac Owusu discuss three hot fantasy football topics. Charlie Morton Jersey . According to TSN Edmonton reporter Ryan Rishaug, agent Rick Valette met with Oilers senior VP of hockey operations Scott Howson and general manager Craig MacTavish on Monday to kick off the talks.Gainesville, FL - Angel Rodriguez was unstoppable down the stretch, scoring Miami-Floridas final 11 points in a 69-67 upset of the eighth-ranked Florida Gators. Rodriguez made one of his five 3-pointers with 16 seconds left to give the Hurricanes a 68-67 lead. After taking a charge at the other end of the court, he made 1-of-2 free throws with 2.3 seconds remaining. Michael Frazier II missed a jumper at the buzzer. Rodriguez ended with 24 points and Miami snapped Floridas 33-game home winning streak. I thought the environment was tremendous, said Miami coach Jim Larranaga. I love the college atmosphere and the enthusiasm from the crowd. It gets you excited. For your freshmen, you dont know how they will respond, on TV, on the road, the hostile environment, so I was very proud how our team handled everything. James Palmer added 10 points for the Hurricanes (2-0), who trailed by 15 early in the second half. Eli Carter tallied 21 points for the Gators (1-1), who were without forward Dorian Finney-Smith due to a hairline fracture in his non-shooting left hand. Jon Horford and Frazier added 17 and 13 points, respectively. As painful as it is for me -- not that I want to see our guys lose -- but they need to learn what really goes into winning, said Florida coach Billy Donovan. As hard as that is to ssay, they just dont have a clue.dddddddddddd Horford and Carter made 3-pointers to give Florida a 41-26 lead with 17:05 to play. And the score was 54-40 when Miami went on an 18-1 run. Rodriguez made a trio of 3-pointers during the surge that Tonye Jekiri capped with two free throws for a 58-55 margin. After Horford stopped the bleeding with a three, Rodriguez made three free throws to spark his teams late charge. Horford made two free throws and added a 3-pointer to give Florida a 63-61 edge with 2:18 to play. Rodriguez answered with a three, but Jacob Kurtz made a layup for the Gators. Rodriguez made 1-of-2 from the line and Carter responded with a layup to give Florida a 67-65 lead. On the next Miami possession, Sheldon McClellan pulled down a big offensive rebound when Rodriguez was off the mark from 3-point range. Following a timeout, the former Kansas State guard redeemed himself by connecting from the top of the arc. Carter was called for a charge at the other end. Florida led 33-21 at the half. Game Notes These two teams met for the first time since Floridas 74-60 home win in the 2009 NIT ... Finney-Smith suffered the injury in Floridas season opener against William & Mary ... The Gators will play the back end of the home-and- home series in Miami next year. 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