Inside Scoop: Tyson Sexsmith Trade

A new scoop is coming from Vancouver, as Goalie Tyson Sexsmith (left) is rumoured to be on his way out of Vancouver, and into the WHL East Division. This is nothing new, as all pre-season and into the regular season the Alberta native Sexsmith has been named in numerous trade rumours. The newest one involves the Swift Current Broncos, and Sophmore, 19 year old D-Man from North Vancouver, Michael Wilson.

In four games this season, Wilson has 3 assists, and 6 Penalty Minutes. Career, he has 3 goals and 10 assists, in 38 games. The Broncos visit Vancouver Saturday Night, so it'd be a perfect deal to swap Sexsmith and a player (most likely Wilson) when the Broncos are in town.

Sexsmith started the game Saturday night in Seattle, and did pretty well so expect a deal to follow through before next weekend.

Chilliwack Bruins at Vancouver Giants: September 29th

A new rivalry between two WHL teams was created Friday night, as the expansion Chilliwack Bruins headed into Pacific Coliseum to play their first road game, and first game against now rival team, the Vancouver Giants.

The Giants started with a bang, as 2:40 into the game, 1987 born Garet Hunt scored on Chilliwack backup Andrew Pinsent. The Goal was assisted by Brendan Mikkelson, who was on his second shift of the game after returning from Anaheim Ducks Pre-Season action, and by sophmore player Michal Repik. The goal by the way, was on the powerplay created by an interference penalty on Chilliwack Cam Stevens.

With a minute and 14 seconds remaining on the first period clock, Repik along with D Cody Franson set up a Tim Kraus goal, once again on the powerplay, 2-0 Giants.

Over a minute later, with only 6 seconds remaining in the period, Hunt passed to J.D. Watt who netted his third goal of the year, and the Giants third of the game. 3-0 Giants at intermission.

The first half of the second period was filled with nice saves and 6 penalties, and then Jon Blum, with an assist from Spencer Machacek, fooled Andrew Pinsent, 4-0 Giants.

2 minutes later, Mitch Czibere and Lance Bouma gave the puck to Watt, who then scored his fourth goal of the year, and it was suddenly 5-0 Vancouver.

Chilliwack came back firing in the third period, as Oscar Moller scored his first career WHL goal and it was a whopping lead still for Vancouver. 5-1.

Jason Reese later scored for Vancouver, as did Mitch Czibere, but it was nonetheless a boring game, 7-1 Vancouver.

Jeremy's Three Stars of the game:
1. Garet Hunt(left): A goal, an assist and two fights deserves a first star selection.
2. Mitch Czibere: A goal and an assist proves that the sophmore player is ready to play.
3. Dustin Slade: Saving 16 of 17 shots on the night, in what should've been a shutout. Slade broke his glove as a puck came right through it, and had to use backup Tommy Tartaglione's glove for the remainder of the game, which included the Moller goal.


Game notes: Dustin Slade got the start for Vancouver, and Chilliwack Backup Andrew Pinsent got the nod for the Bruins, and was in net for all 7 Giants goals.

The Giants showed off their Third Jersey's (right) friday, and they were not a fan favourite, compared to the previous grey and silver third jerseys.

Tommy Tartaglione is expected to start either tonight's road game in Seattle, or Sunday at 5:00 PM as the Prince George Cougars come to town.

Game time in Seattle tonight is 7:05 on AM 730 Radio in Vancouver.

Professional Basketball is back in Vancouver!

No there isn't an NBA Franchise coming back to Vancouver, but one of the next best things is. The Vancouver Dragons of the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) were announced as one of the new expansion teams for the league. Hours after the expansion was announced, the club selected 6 players in the Rookie Draft.

The 10 Team league is in its 21st season of operation, and the Vancouver club is one of 2 expansion teams this year, the other is located in Pittsburgh. The Dragons (Vancouver) will play out of the Agrodome beside the Pacific Coliseum, and tickets will range between 10 and 60$$.

Vancouver selected the following players in Tuesday's draft:
– J.P Bautista (Forward, 6’9”, 269) Gonzaga
- Justin Williams (Forward, 6'10", 225) Wyoming
- Brendan Winters (Guard, 6'5", 205) Davidson
- P.J. Tucker (Forward, 6'5", 225) Texas
- Jamaal Williams (Forward, 6'6", 240) Washington
- Carldell Johnson (Guard, 5'10", 185) Alabama-Birmingham


So far Vancouver has, 4 forwards and two guards. Only 5 more players before they have a full roster. The season is going to be starting December 1st, and finishing around early April. The Schedule has yet to come out, but will be announced it is believed as early as next week.

Notes about the club:
-They don't have a GM OOPS!
-They drafted Brendan Winters because his dad is an unemployed basketball coach who happened to coach the Vancouver Grizzlies, Winters was projected to be picked in the last round of the draft! OOPS!
-The PNE staff were never consulted about a team using the Agrodome as a stadium for a CBA club! OOPS!
-The club's office is located in Seattle! OOPS!
-P.J. Tucker is expected to play with the Toronto Raptors this season, doubt he'll join Vancouver! OOPS!
The list goes on and on........the closest opposing team to Vancouver is located in Yakima, where the Sun Kings play in good 'ole Yakima.

Spokane Chiefs at Vancouver Giants: September 26th 2006

Coming into Tuesday's game with a 1-0 record on the year, the Vancouver Giants were looking to boost team confidence with a win over recently traded Giant David Rutherford, and his Spokane Chiefs.

The Giants got off to a quick start with Tim Kraus got nothing but net 38 seconds into the game, 1-0 Giants. Just a quick warning, this game didn't end up 9-0 like Saturday. Just over 2 minutes later, Garet Hunt deflected a rebound into the Spokane net, giving the Giants a two goal advantage.

Under 10 minutes later, Spokane D-Man Matt McCue answered back scoring on Giants backup netminder Tyson Sexsmith(left), at 11:19 of the first period.

I think this game broke a WHL Record for least amount of penalties in a period. Only three were called in the first period!! I recall 10 penalties in the WHL Playoffs last year for one team in 20 minutes of play!

Anyways, back to the game. The Gians once again exploded out of the gates in the second period, this time with Overager Kyle Lamb scoring his second of the season, and first of the game. 3-1 Giants.

The Second period involved 9 penalties all-in-all, so there goes least amount of penalties in a game. The rest of the period inolved missed oppurtunities, and according to some Giants Fans, the last 10 minutes of the period, until the end of the third was like the team getting up for a 2:00 AM Wakeup call.

Now third period time. 3-1 Giants, almost 12 minutes into the period and what do you know, its a one goal hockey game after Spokane's J.P. "Tongue Twister" Szaszkiewicz fooled Tyson Sexsmith and the puck went into the back of the net with only 8 minutes remaining on the clock.

Into the last minute now, Spokane pulls their goalie, Michal Repik scores on an empty net goal. Twenty seconds later, Giants win! Giants win! Giants win!!!

The G-Men's next game is Friday night at home to the Chilliwack Bruins and captain Josh Aspenlind (right), and this is the one game I recommend all season. First game against Chilliwack, and the Giants will be sporting their new 3rd jersey at the game. Fans, game time 7:30 and you wouldn't be a fan if you aren't at the game.

Vancouver Giants Season Opener: September 23rd

After winning the Western Hockey League Championship Series in 2006, the Vancouver Giants lost their momentum in the 10 day break, in between their series sweep of Moose Jaw, and the start of the Memorial Cup in Moncton. The Giants didn't win "The Cup", but made their first of hopefully many appearances at Memorial Cup. The 2006-2007 season gives them an automatic host berth into the tourny, but that won't stop the Giants from repeating as WHL Champions.

Among the changes in the off-season, a new team has appeared in the BC Division. The expansion Chilliwack Bruins. The Bruins bumped the Kootenay Ice out of the BC Division, and into the Central Division. The Bruins are made up of expansion and bantam draft players, including former Vancouver Giants Landon Jones and Keith Voyteychek, who scored the club's first ever goal Thursday, in their inagural win over the Kelowna Rockets, 3-1.

Saturday was the Giants turn to shine in Southern BC. The G-Men were set to hoist the WHL Championship banner, WHL BC Division banner, and the Western Conference Championship banner. Among those at the ceremony, included Partial Owner Gordie Howe, Former Giants Paul Albers and Mitch Bartley, and Majority Owner Ron Toigo. The big "fan" item of the night were the WHL Mini Championship banners. I was not at the game, but from what I hear, they were paper cut like a banner.

The first period didn't include scoring, yes there was a hockey game going on amongst the celebrations, but the visiting Portland Winterhawks, outshot Vancouver 8-0 early in the game, before Vancouver came back to outshoot Portland before the end of the first frame. With Vancouver's Dustin Slade in net, Portland wasn't beating the overaged fan favourite, and then 3:28 into the second period, Vancouver struck the score sheet first. Dustin Slade:

A faceoff win deep in Giants territory was won by Jason Reese who passed the puck up ice to JD Watt all alone for a breakaway beating Portland Goalie Dustin Butler low for the G-Men's first goal of the season.

Within the next two and a half minutes, Vancouver managed three goals, anchored by Spencer Machacek, Kyle Lamb and Watt who netted his second of the game. 4-0 Vancouver. Later in the period, Machacek beat Butler once again, as did Tim Kraus, giving the Giants a 6-0 lead going into the third.

39 seconds into the third frame, Mitch Czibere held the momentum scoring his first of the season. Cody Franson netted one 2:58 seconds later, making a huge 8 goal gap, followed by a Mario Bliznak showstopping goal, that's right folks, 9-0 Vancouver Giants. Surprisingly, Portland kept Dustin Butler (pictured right) in net the whole game, but man did he look shaky. For the remaining 12 minutes of the game, after Bliznak scored, the crowd shouted "We want 10!" Unfortunately they didn't reach double digits, but hey who can't be happy with a 9-0 win to start your season?

Game Notes: D Brendan Mikkelson (NHL Camp), Chad Scharff (Extra Overager), Kenton Dulle, Nathan Deck, Craig Cunningham and Goalie Tommy Tartaglione were the healthy scratches for the Giants, and expect to see either D Brett Festerling, or F Kyle Lamb rest for the Giants next game on Tuesday, to give Coach Don Hay a chance to see Chad Scharff in action, before having to cut one of the three as part of the Overager rule.

Giants next game is Tuesday at the Coliseum as the Spokane Chiefs come to town.

Some more Notes for you: The Vancouver Canucks won their first game of the Pre-Season Sunday beating the Anaheim Ducks 4-3 in a shootout. Ducks prospect and Giants Defenseman Brendan Mikkelson (center) was robbed by Canucks G Roberto Luongo in the shootout, and Luongo saved a Bobby Ryan shot ending the game. The Canucks next game is Tuesday, at home to San Jose.

A BC Boy makin' some noise

In honour of Oakland Athletic Pitcher Rich Harden, from Victoria, making his return to the A's lineup Thursday, I thought I'd give a little bio info on "Hardenmania".



Rich Harden:
James Richard Harden graduated from Claremont Secondary School in Victoria, BC in the grad class of 1999. Before he graduated, "Rich" was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the MLB FIrst Year Player Draft. Being drafted in the 38th round doesn't necessarily say STAR so he elected to try post-secondary education, heading south to Arizona where he attended Central Arizona Junior College.

One year after being drafted by Seattle, now in his first of two years at Central Arizona, Rich was drafted once again by the Oakland A's, this time 21 rounds earlier. Although he did sign with Oakland that year, he elected to finish Junior College in 2001 before starting his professional baseball career. In the Summer of 2001, Rich spelt Domination in his sleep. His 2-4 record with the Vancouver Canadians (Short Season) wouldn't show it, but with an average ERA of 3.39, and an average of 11.94 strikeouts per 9 innings proved the W-L record wrong. In 74 innings of work, he tossed out 100 batters and led the League in Strikeouts.

In 2002, Rich played with both the Visalia Oakes (High Single A) and the AA Midland Rockhounds. In the '02 season, sporting a 12-6 record with the two clubs, Rich was only second in the Minor League Baseball system with strikeouts (30+ teams, add another 6 minor league teams per MLB Club and voilà you have hundred teams). To be exact, 1,216!

Making his major league debut just 19 months after being drafted has to show you how good Rich Harden is. His debut on July 21, 2003 against the Kansas City Royals, in which he left the game with a no decision in an Oakland win. Harden finished 2003 with a MLB record of 5-4 with a 4.46 ERA.

The next season, 2004, an 11-7 record with a 3.39 ERA in 31 games (all of which were starts) shows you how well his season went, oh yeah did I mention he had a whopping 167 strikeouts!!! The 2005 season is one Rich Harden will never forget, a 10-5 record, accompanied by a 2.53 ERA showed Oakland that Hardenmania is for real, and Rich picked up two complete games, his fourth career, the other two were in the Minors.

The 2006 season got off to a wonky start with injury after injury, and making only his 7th appearance on the season. Sporting a 3-0 record is something he should hold his head high about, and just be happy that he (Rich) is on his way to the MLB Playoffs for the second time in his career.

Rich will be making his first appearance since early July Thursday, and it will mark 26 months to the day he made his Major League debut. September 21, 2006 is the day Hardenmania returns!

Short Interesting Tidbit of Info

While reading an article from the Vancouver Courier today, about Vancouver Canadians Pitching Coach Craig Lefferts, whom played in the World Series twice, I read about his son Brady whom is a junior hockey player in Arizona. According to Arizona Amateur Hockey, Lefferts (the younger one Brady) went to the Arizona Hockey Camp in 2006, and should show up again in 2007. He is only 17 years old, but is well past the WHL Bantam Draft Age. Hello Scott Bonner pick this kid up for your hockey club before Craig Lefferts get signed as a Pitching Coach somewhere in the middle of New Hampshire!

In the article on Craig, he mentions about Brady (without mentioning his name), "He might be coming up hear next year to play Junior A hockey."

For the complete article: http://www.vancourier.com/issues06/091106/news/091106nn4.html



Craig Lindsay Lefferts was born in Munich, Germany and played for six Major League Baseball teams throught a 12 year career. 3 of the teams were in the National League, and the other 3 were part of the American League. He helped the San Diego Padres win the NL Pennant in 1984, and the same with San Francisco in 1989. In the '84 World Series, Lefferts picked up the lone save of the series for San Diego.

Going into the 2006 MLB Season, he is 76th all time on most games pitched, and in his career spanning a dozen seasons, he compiled a 58-72 record in 696 games. His 101 saves in 1,145 2/3 innings shows that he did not have much stamina but mostly the strength of a closer, and of the 4,754 batters he faced in his career, 719 of them were sent back to the dugout on three strikes.

Montreal at BC, September 16 2006

If you thought that Anthony Collier's six sacks against the BC Lions in 2005 was impressive, where were you in 2006 when the BC Lions Defense sacked Montreal QB Anthony Calvillo a dozen times, en route to winning the game at home 36-20.

The 12 sacks is now second in CFL History, for most sacks in a game by one team. The record is 13, but the Lions beat their own team record in the win, something that adds to the list of accomplishments in the Lions 2006 season. Although the Defense stole the spotlight in Saturday's game, BC QB Dave Dickenson quietly went 18 for 22 in the air, collecting 309 passing yards along with two touchdowns.

However, in the third quarter with BC leading by 9, Dickenson was hit and fell awkwardly on his right ankle, the same injury that's been bugging him over the past few months. He left the game 2 minutes into the fourth quarter and never returned. Good news is, he is expected to start next Sunday's game as the Lions travel to Saskatchewan to face the Riders.

BC was down 13-12 to start the second half, but an 81 yard TD pass to a wide open Geroy Simon changed that, giving the Lions a 19-13 edge. The Leos would score 7 more points on a Jason Clermont Touchdown, as would Montreal Kerry Watkins style, having the score 26-20 going into the fourth quarter. Buck Pierce was 7 for 8 passing wise with 56 yards of offense in BC's favour, giving him 1030 passing yards to date in 2006.

Geroy Simon had 6 receptions for 157 yards with two touchdown receptions, including the 81 yard pass leading off the second half. Newcomer WR Gilles Colon had 3 catches for 25 yards, and Jason Clermont picked up his first 100 yard receiving game of the season, with 8 catches totalling 102 yards, with that key touchdown in the third quarter.


Geroy Simon passed 6000 career receiving yards, and later told media that he is eyeing 7000 yards before 2008. You have to wonder how long it'll be before he reaches that mark. The record for receiving yards in one season was set back in 1994 as Allen Pitts caught 2036 yards for the Calgary Stampeders. Geroy only has 800 someodd yards to reach that plateau (1357 to date) so watch out Mr. Allen Pitts.

"Superman" Simon is almost halfway to the CFL record for most career receiving yards, also an Allen Pitts record, of 14,891 all recorded as a Calgary Stampeder. Geroy is also 11 touchdowns away from tying Milt Stegall's 2002 record for most TD's in a season, and is 10 TD's away from tying the BC Lions record for most in a season, set by RB Cory Philpot in 1995, 4 years before Superman made his debut as a SB with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.


With their 36-20 win over Montreal, BC is on a 7 game winning streak, and put the record on the table as they face Saskatchewan at Mosaic Field, Sunday.

Canucks, Giants, Lions all in 1: September 15th

With the Vancouver Canucks training camp kicking off in Vernon today, why not talk about Vancouver's most hated team.

Last year, the knuckleheads missed the playoffs by a mere couple of games. So, this year the Canucks management wants to bring a playoff game to GM Place for the first time in over 2 years (lockout baby). In the off-season, drastic changes were made.

Of the changes was Marc Crawford being fired, and former Manitoba Moose Head Coach Alain Vigneault being hired. Vigneault has an NHL Coaching career, with Montreal mostly, and will drastically change the way the Canucks play on the ice.
Todd Bertuzzi and his "I love Vancouver" attitude were booted down to Florida where he joined fellow Canucks alum Alex Auld and Bryan Allen as they were traded to the Sunshine state for Roberto Luongo and Lukas Krajicek.

Among the signees, Jan Bulis joins a weak depth at RW, Ryan Kesler re-signs to anchor a line, Marc Chouinard, a C/LW brings versatility to the 'nucks lineup, and Yannick Tremblay and Rory Fitzpatrick finish out the defense.

Anson Carter and Jarkko Ruutu were the only big departures (besides the Bertuzzi trade) and they will not be missed all that much. Ruutu joins Sidney Crosby's Penguins, and Carter joins Gilbert Brule's Blue Jackets.

At Training Camp today, rumours were flying as to who would replace Todd Bertuzzi as the first line RW. Matt Cooke spent the whole day with Markus Naslund and Brendan Morrison, the two other players on the first line, giving fans a glimpse of a possible line combination. Fans Reaction: Loving it.

Wade Flaherty looks to be the backup to Roberto Luongo in net, and Luc Bourdon will try and be the youngest D-Man in Vancouver's lineup, at the same time when Kevin Bieksa will be fighting his way onto the opening day roster.

More to follow tomorrow. Single Game tickets go on sale 10:00 AM tomorrow from Ticketmaster. Pay 30 bucks for nose bleeds as the Canucks fail to make the playoffs again.


Vancouver Giants:

After a trip to the Memorial Cup in 2006, the G-Men look forward to repeating their WHL championship two years in a row, as they have a bye into Memorial Cup 2007, held in Vancouver, by the way fans Memorial Cup packages go on sale soon!
Forwards Mario Bliznak, Tim Kraus and Milan Lucic have all returned from NHL rookie camps, and Goalie Dustin Slade was cut from the Canucks rookie camp but if he has another productive season, a trip back next year may be necessary.

D-Men Cody Franson, Brendan Mikkelsson and Brett Festerling remain at NHL Camps, as does Forward JD Watt who is attending the Calgary Flames main camp. Vancouver has another pre-season game Saturday against Chilliwack before starting the regular season next Saturday at home, hosting the Portland Winterhawks. At the season opener Saturday, the first 10,000 fans will receive a mini WHL Championship banner to hang in their homes as a gift to the fans that supported Vancouver through their 2006 Memorial Cup run.


BC Lions:

The BC Lions have 7 games remaining on their 2006 schedule, all of which in the following 7 weeks. BC's next contest is tomorrow night as they host the Montreal Alouettes at the Giant Marshmellow. THe first 10,000 fans receive free pom-poms as that is the night's giveaway.

Bits and Pieces, September 10, 2006

Here is a list of things that will be posted now due to the low level of activity in the world of BC Sports.

- The Centerfield Scoreboard at Nat Bailey Stadium once belonged to the Seattle Pilots, a professional baseball team in the 1960's. Once their stadium Sick Stadium was torn down the "new" Scoreboard was sent to Vancouver and voilà ends up in Nat Bailey Stadium. The Pilots were a Major League team circa. 1969 but were moved due to the poor conditions at Sick Stadium.
Source: Notesfromthenat.com


- Former NWL All-Star OF Javier Herrera (Vancouver Alum), will miss Winter Ball in the Caribbean this season because of a Spring Training, season ending Injury, in which he had to have Tommy John Surgery. Herrera is expected to make a recovery, and show up for 2007 Spring Training.

- According to Lyndon Little of the Vancouver Sun, Nat Bailey Stadium will be bringing in its fences for the 2007 Northwest League season. Another significant fact is that the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds occupy "The Nat", from Mid-March until April, so questions are now being asked whether or not the "T-Birds" will be lucky enough to have shorter and smaller fences.

-Rumors arose last Winter when it was announced that Rookie Ball, ala Arizona, would be extinct in the near future. This would mean that Vancouver would have the Arizona A's that survived Spring Training from the year before, and that the C's season would start Mid-May. More about this will be posted in December as the Winter GM Meetings heat up in Florida, but for the time being, Vancouver baseball fans may get their share of College Ball (UBC) followed directly by the C's.

- Toronto Blue Jays Ace Pitcher Roy Halladay was injured in the first inning of the Jays game in Anaheim today, but don't fear, Doc Halliday's return is near! "Doc" is expected to make his next scheduled start but don't get your hopes up as Halliday is trying to be optimistic.

- The UBC Baseball team failed to make it far in the annual Grand Forks tournament, involving more than half a dozen College teams from across the Pacific Northwest in Grand Forks, BC. (The Canadian equivalent of Everett) UBC doesn't play until the annual Alumni game in October, which I'm still trying to find out how to get into (Jeff Francis will be there ). The Birds season will start in February, with their schedule set to come out in October.

Any other questions about anything in the world of sports, leave a comment in this post and I will get back as soon as possible.

Oakland Minor League System Update

Since the C's season is over, the Lions are on a bye week, the Canucks are about to start training camp, Gilbert Brule is in Columbus' Rookie Camp, and the Vancouver Giants are 14 days away from starting their 2006-2007 season, there really isn't any big news happening on this site until Tuesday at the earliest.

So here is an update of Oakland's Minor League Playoff Situation.

AAA Sacramento Rivercats: The 'Cats were knocked out of playoff contention weeks ago, so forget I even mentioned them.

AA Midland Rockhounds: The 'Hounds had a poor playoff showing, and benched former 2006 Vancouver Canadian Jermaine Mitchell, showing him how to be a Benchwarmer. Midland didn't advance past the first round and their season is finito. Done. Sianara.

A Stockton Ports: The Ports season ended on another sad note as they got crushed Friday night, ending their season earlier than anticipated. Too bad, considering Landon Powell among others suited up for the club. Oh well, there's always next year.

A Kane County Cougars: The Cougars thank goodness are still in the playoffs, starting the second of three rounds in the playoffs tonight on the road. Thanks to his promotion in July from Vancouver, Ben Jukich has performed well for Kane County, and won the first playoff game of the year for them last week, and some other C's (Chad Boyd and Matt Sulentic) alumni went 6-19, collecting 10 walks combined. Congrats to "Authentic" Sulentic and "Chao for now" Boyd.

That's a rap for now, check back tomorrow for more news, stats and analysis on teams near you!

C's Report Card 2006

Here is Letter Grades and Explinations for where players will end up in 2007. Only a couple players aren't included, because I couldn't get a good enough idea of where they'd end up.

Position Players:

Jermaine Mitchell CF: Jermaine posses a rare power yet consistant threat. His Tuesday promotion to AA proves Oakland wants to develop him to become a future MLB All-Star. Jermaine should in Stockton by the end of next year, but depending on the number of Minor League cuts in Sping Training, Jermaine may end up in Kane County before being moved to the next level.

Matt Sulentic OF: This 18 year old Powerhouse is outstanding and is one of the top prospects in the Oakland Organization. After being Promoted August 3rd to Kane County, Sulentic raised a couple eyebrows in Illinois, and in just under a month, Sulentic leads the team in Batting Average during the playoffs going into Thursday's game. Oakland won't rush Sulentic up to the Majors, meaning that he should remain in Illinois to start next year.

Larry Cobb OF: After compiling a batting average of .292, Larry "Corn on the" Cobb was promoted to AAA to replace Charles Thomas who was promoted to "The Show". He went 0-4 with a strikeout, but it was a good experience nonetheless with the Rivercats. Corn on the Cobb won't have a good shot of making it to Stockton next year with Jermaine Mitchell and Matt Sulentic having more priority, so expect him to be the leadoff hitter in Kane County next April.

Alex Valdez 3B: Being the team MVP is one thing, but having the second best Batting Average playing in the third most games, is another. "Exxon Valdez", hit the second home run of the year for Vancouver, lifting them to their fourth victory in five games. With MWL All-Star third baseman Jeff Baisley ahead of him in the system, Exxon will most likely play for Kane County next year, splitting time with fellow Canadian Wilber Perez.

Greg Dowling 1B: Being the everday first baseman isn't easy, especially when there was no one to back you up. Oakland sent three first baseman to Vancouver at the beginning of the season, but Chad Boyd was quickly moved up, and Don Sutton III was injured and later demoted, making Dowling our only first baseman. He did alright, batting .268 in a team leading 72 games. That means he missed only four games all year for those keeping track at home. (SS Mike Affronti also played in 72 games). Dowling has alot of depth in front of him in the Oakland System, so don't expect him to be in Stockton anytime soon. Depending on how Oakland drafts in 2007, Dowling could either be in Kane County Green, or Vancouver Canadian Red.

Andre Piper-Jordan OF: Wow. What can I say. The Ozzie Guillen of the minors. He was on pace at the start of the year to lead the team in strikeouts by season's end, but he played 20 games less than the team leader Alex Valdez. He has a tempur, a screwed up bat, and an attitude that only Dennis Rodman could have. He's a fine ballplayer but his attiude is not a ballplayer's best. Yelling "F***" after flying out in front of a bat boy kid (me). Andre will eiher rejoin the C's or be a benchwarmer in Kane County come 2007.

Chris Vitters SS: A thumb injury sidelined the SS from playing until August, when he only played 9 games before re-injuring himself, before re-joining the lineup September 4th. The A's system's middle infield is a little weak, and if Vitters come healthy to Spring Training, we're looking at a possible Stockton Port.

Jake Smith C: A late season injury didn't help the 2006 Johnny Bench award winner, for top Catcher in the states, but he still managed to lead the club in RBI's while batting .215. The catcher position is really weak right now for Oakland, giving Smith a chance to shine next season as he will probably end up being the starter in Kane County.

Sammy Hernandez IF: The early season success story was Sammy Hernandez as he was the underdog at second base, but managed to really prove he was playing baseball for a possible Major League job someday. Sammy then slowed his stuff down and finished the season with a .212 average in under 50 games. A probably 100 game player in Kane County next season, Hernandez has shown he can hit deep when needed, but it isn't one of his strong points.

Mike Affronti SS: Batting .212 is meteocre, but having 19 errors on the season is pittiful. A-Rod doesn't have that many in 72 games. Shelling out four homers and 31 RBI's in a team leading 72 games, "Iron Mike" is productive when it doesn't matter, but when he is being counted on, the "E" flashes up on the scoreboard. A visit to Vancouver next year may help that, but with Oakland's weak middle infield, Kane County may have to have the Ironman as a backup to Chris Vitters (assuming Vitters doesn't go to Stockton).

Wilber Perez IF: Before leaving Vancouver for Sacramento late in the season along with Larry Cobb, Perez was batting just above .200 with only 11 RBI's in 149 at bats. This was Wilber's Second Season in Vancouver, and could move to SS if Oakland doesn't send Mike Affronti to Kane County, giving "Willy" another shot in Geneva, Illinois (Kane County).

Ramiro Mendez OF: After joining Vancouver due to the promotion of Matt Sulentic, Mendez slugged 6 home runs, and 17 RBI's in 28 games. 3 of those home runs were in the last 6 games of the season, including one Grand Salami in his fourth last game. Mendez only batted .196 giving him a title of Power hitter. Consistent hitter, nah find someone else. His power may be needed as there is talk about Nat Bailey's fences being shortened for next year (according to Lyndon Little, September 7th, 2006). My guess would be start with Kane County in April, and join the C's whenever their season starts.

Mike Klug 2B/Utility: As the second oldest on the team this year, "Klutch" needed to make an impression to keep his career alive, but batting .183 in 45 games (most of which in the first half of the season), Klug was the utility man after Jermaine Mitchell was injured, ending his chances for a starting second baseman role. Mike won the Team Sportsmanlike award, but won't be seeing Major League contracts anytime soon. Another year in Vancouver may help him, but due to the age restrictions, his only hopes may be Kane County as a backup.

Lorenzo Macias OF: Joining the club late in the season didn't help his cause, but "Benzo" batted .165 in 35 games, before being injured in the last game of the season. He will play with Vancouver next season, that's a guarentee. He shows promise, yet needs practise. With Extended Spring Training following Spring Training, he may get that extra practise in Extended ST, before joining Vancouver in June.

Gustavo Rosendo C: Having the lowest batting average on the team isn't phenomenal. But having a great mental attitude is a must. Gustavo has that, giving him the tab of "Team Player". The first one on the field, and last one off, always making time to sign autographs and that is what Minor Leauge ball is all about. The attitude. Although he may never make the Majors, Gustavo has a positive attitude 24/7. He was sent up to Vancouver at the start of the year to help the Spanish pitchers, and will play for the C's once again next season. I for one am looking forward to seeing Gustavo Rosendo be a Vancouver Canadian once again.



That is it for the position players, look tomorrow for a Report of the pitchers that came through Van City. Here is a list of nicknames for all the players listed above:

Jermaine "Big Pain" Mitchell
Matt "Authentic" Sulentic
Larry "Corn on the" Cobb
Alex "Exxon" Valdez
Greg "in the 'peg" Dowling
Andre "DJPJ" Piper-Jordan
Chris "Junior Schooling" Vitters
Jake "The Rake" Smith
Sammy "Happy Face" Hernandez
"Iron" Mike Affronti
Wilber "Willy" Perez
Ramiro "Slugging" Mendez
Mike "Klutch" Klug
Lorenzo "Benzo" Macias
Gustavo "Mr. Happy-o" Rosendo

Canadians Recap September 6

Sorry folks, no recap for last night's ball game, the C's did win the last night game 6-4 however, its just too boring of a game to post.

As for this afternoon's game, the final Regular Season game of the year, I can't recap much of that either, you see I was bat boy.

Sitting in the front row for baseball games is always fun, but when you're 2 innings into the game, asked by the manager to be bat boy! WOW! While my dad and sister were off getting food, I was asked to be bat boy as the second scheduled bat boy couldn't leave school (sorry teachers), so Rick (the manager of the C's) asked me to be Everett (the visitors) Bat Boy.

I got dressed in the C's batting practise uniforms, just in time for the third inning when (wearing my Adult XL pants and XL Jersey), I ran out to the first base side getting ready to be the final visiting bat boy of the year. Everett was up to bat first, so I had to be ready for action just as I got in my seat, along Everett's dugout. My XL pants kept falling down, (I had shorts underneath because I thought that might happen), but with the XL Jersey on, no one noticed.

WHen I went to receive leadoff hitter Ogui Diaz's bat, the pants once again fell down a bit, just great.......the inning ended, no bats were injured btw, and that was the last of the pants coming down! YAY FOR EVERYONE!

Going into the C's half of the sixth inning, I walked over to Vancouver's dugout where I grabbed some much needed water, in the 25 degree heat. In that water break, I overheard some players talking about CF Jermaine Mitchell's promotion to AA Midland for their playoff run. Jermaine was promoted after Monday night's game against Everett, and was on the bench for Midland's first Playoff game last night. Meaning that Vancouver didn't have any Outfielders on the bench when in the next inning LF Lorenzo Macias was injured, and taken out of the game. From what I hear, the C's Bullpen was asked to pick a player to fill in for Macias. That's right, they were so desperate they took a pitcher out of the bullpen to play in left field.

Anthony Rea was the lucky pitcher, getting every reliever's dream of hitting in a Minor League Baseball game. Rea caught the inning ending fly ball, in the Top of 8 when the lucky hitter Matt Vogel yelled at his coach, "I flew out to a pitcher! You owe me!" Rea caught another fly before the game was over as well. The C's were so desperate they even let him hit! When Rea was in the on deck circle Andre Piper Jordan was up (Remember he started the bad blood between the teams), and a pitched sailed at his head on the first pitch, but for Andre it missed him, no harm no foul right? Except he tried to charge the mound, to no avail as Umpire Quinn Walcott held him back.

Piper hit a single later in the at-bat giving Vancouver something to cheer about. (They were down 5-0 at this point) The next batter Rea was about to ground into a double play, but as Andre slid into second he nearly handicapped the second baseman, guess who VOGEL! Rea was safe at first, with PJ out at two, but both benches cleared as Everett complained about Andre trying to intentionally hurt Matt Vogel. Spyder Webb, Everett's trainer was the most furious cursing, and throwing bats in disbelief that Piper wasn't thrown out. Anyways, Vancouver lost 5-0 and ended the season with a loss but hey I was bat boy and Everett 3B Leury Bonilla gave me a bat so everyone's happy!

Good luck 2006 C's, hope to see you at a higher level next year! The 07 season is only 9 months away folks, and the schedule will be out before November!

GO C'S GO!

C's Notes, September 5

- Don't think that the promotions of Larry Cobb, Wilber Perez and Scott Moore are the last for the C's this year, many players including OF Jermaine Mitchell among others will be promoted to Kane County for their playoffs which start Thursday in Illinois. The C's finish the year off with a nooner Wednesday, meaning most players getting promoted will be sent up immediately after Wednesday's game, or as early as Wednesday morning, in preparation for the Midwest League playoffs.

- The Vancouver Canadians havn't managed selling their cards well since they became a Single-A franchise, in 2000, the inagural year, they were out mid-season. In 2001, the year that ended up having more than half a dozen major-leaguers (Jeremy Bonderman, Neal Cotts, Mike Wood, Rich Harden, John Rheinecker, Dan Johnson, among others) the cards came out three months after the season ended, in December!!! The cards were priced at 10.00 then (same price as usual), and once season started due to the number of promotions of some of those mentioned above, the Cards were 20.00!!!!!

In 2002 they came out for the last game of the year, all beit a 12:00 game on a Thursday after Labour Day. In 2003, they were surprisingly early (3 weeks after Opening Day to be exact) which wasn't so good, as now Major Leaguer Omar Quintanilla was not in the set (he arrived the day before the cards were sent out). In 2004, the cards were on the shelf Mid-August, and it included all players that played in more than 5 games, followed by a 2005 arrival that left out numerous players.

Now, here in 2006 the final regular season game is Tomorrow, and when I called this aft. they said 1. They havn't arrived yet, and 2. They're hoping the cards will be out by the END of the game tomorrow. That's right, when you're leaving the stadium you'll have to purchase them even though there will be only a handful of staff members working at the Nooner. Unbelievable, and to make things worse, 2 players aren't included in the set (Ramiro Mendez and Lorenzo Macias, both of whom had played for the C's for over a month now), along with one players card has the wrong photo and position!!!

-Jason Fernandez gets the nod as the starter for the C's tonight, and Inoel Deaza will finish the year off for the C's, Chad Lee, Keith Eusebio and Kevin Bunch will all see action in either tonight's or tomorrow's ball game, and Pat Currin along with Shane Presutti will be #4 and 5 to set foot on the mound in relief.

Game time 7:05

C's recap, Labour Day Monday

If the 29 runs Vancouver scored in a 3 game set in Everett over the weekend, was any indication, Vancouver was on a run roll. So, you may have wanted Monday's game to have alot of runs, something that would be expected. The final score, as a warning, was nowhere near the 27 runs scored in Sunday's 20-7 win for Vancouver.

The game went a little something like this:

the first inning was three up, three down for both sides of the field, as Vancouver and Everett were hitless going into the second inning. With C's ace Andrew Bailey on the hill, that was to be expected, even though he took the loss in his last outing against Salem-Keizer.

Marcos Villezcas just got a ball to drop in front of RF Ramiro Mendez, in the top of the second to break the No-Hitter.
Followed by an Alex Valdez error, Leury Bonilla struck out to finish the inning.

Oakland draftee Christian Vitters appeared in his 12th game of the season, his first in over 3 weeks, due to an injury, and with two out in the Bottom of 2, he singled bringing his average up to around .190. Catcher Jake Smith was next up at hit a hard double to Left Field bringing Vitters to third with Everett Series MVP Andre Piper Jordan on deck. Piper Jordan's at bat: K, K, K...Strike three, side retired no harm done.

Everett went hitless in the Top of 3, making room for Vancouver to make some noise. Here's how the bottom of 3 went:

Mike Klug Single
Jermaine Mitchell Double, Klug scores
Mike Affronti Sac Bunt, Mitchell to third
Greg Dowling Sacrifice, Mitchell scores
Alex Valdez strikeout, side retired 2-0 VANCOUVER CANADIANS!

Everett later scored a run on an error, and with the assist of RP Matt Manship and CP Anthony Rea, Vancouver held Everett, winning 2-1 in front of 4,000 fans, one of the largest crowds to date at Nat Bailey this year.

Jason Fernandez is on the hill for Vancouver Tuesday night, and former SP Chad Lee is expected to come in relief for the C's.

Chris Vitters will more than likely start tomorrow afternoon, with Jermaine Mitchell switching to DH Tuesday, and Ramiro Mendez switching to CF, and Lorenzo Macias taking over in RF for the last night game of the season.

C's in Everett, Recap September 2 and 3, 2006

If you've ever been to Everett you'd know why they don't have a major sports team. They do however have the Everett Silvertips (WHL) and the Everett Aquasox (Northwest League Baseball) and the Everett Explosion a new basketball team coming to town as in March of 2007. The Restaurants close at 10 (yes the American version of Grand Forks, BC), and the biggest restaurant in town is a Chinese Food Restaurant in a back alley of a side street. All in all, unless you're interested in seeing the baseball, hockey or soon the basketball, don't think Everett is a good holiday trip just because Seattle and the Tulalip Outlet mall are all within 25 minutes.

Luckily I was heading down for the Aquasox-Canadians game Saturday and Sunday afternoon. Heading into Saturday's game, Vancouver was on a crappy 8 game losing streak, started in Eugene just over a week ago, followed by a 6 game sweeping by the Salem-Keizer. The reason the C's were 15 some odd games behind first place Salem, the 22 Home Runs they had going into Saturday's game, by the end of the playoffs Salem's Catcher will have had 22 home runs in the season let alone his team!!

The C's put Lefty James "Doogie" Heuser (How-Sir) on the mound to face the last place Everett Aquasox, in the second of a 6 game home and home series with the two clubs to finish off the year. The C's lost 5-1 Friday night and they were not too pleased about that, so as expected they came out hard out of the gates to start the game.

The first Two C's batters Jermaine Mitchell and Mike Affronti both struck out, which didn't help the C's cause, and even with Greg Dowling on third, and Alex Valdez on Second, Ramiro Mendez couldn't bring either home, leaving the Top of the first 0-0. I'm gonna skip the boring parts and head to the top of the fourth inning when Inning Leadoff batter Ramiro Mendez was at the plate, well since I skipped the blah blah it is pretty obvious what happens next, a dinger to the Home Run Porch in right field, his team leading fifth of the season, in only one month with the club! Now I was pretty mad, having missed this homer getting food for my mom.

Lucky enough for me, after the next batter Lorenzo Macias grounded out, Hometown Hero Andre Piper-Jordan cranked a solo blast over left field. Nothing beats hitting a homerun in front of your friends and family! The next two batters Gustavo Rosendo and Mike Klug (his second at bat of the game, and his second at bat in almost 10 games) struck out but who cared, the C's hit 2 home runs to lead 2-0!

Everett went down 1-2-3 in the bottom half of the inning, with Jermaine Mitchell, Mike Affronti and Greg Dowling due up for the C's. If you thought either of the first two dingers were impressive, you had to have seen Jermaine Mitchell's Leadoff Home Run! A towering shot over the Home Run porch in right, clearing the netting 10 feet behind the wall, and over 70 feet high! His first homer of the year, which isn't surprising considering he's been injured for 3 quarters of the season.

Next batter Mike Affronti. With two homers accounted for before the game, Iron Mike smacked one outta the park deep into Left Field, in the lonely quiet Everett Evening, no wait a bird was chirping my bad!

After the back-to-back blasts, Greg Dowling, Alex Valdez and Ramiro Mendez went down on strikes ending the inning, but who cared 4-0 C's all runs accounted for on FOUR solo shots.

Here's how the bottom of five looked for Everett: Double, K, Pop Up, Sacrifice Single, Walk (Bases Loaded now), Grand Slam, K. That's right Everett hit a grand salami, you can credit Gavin "Fickle" Dickey for that one as he cranked it over Right Field, almost as deep as Jermaine's blast. So let me do a recap to this point, score 4-4, all runs accounted for on Home Runs, Five Home Runs in two innings, more than any other Northwest League game this season.

Top of 6: Now this may not sound like much, but the C's scored 2 more runs on doubles, yes fans sorry to disappoint but no dingers this innning. 6-4 C's.

Bottom of 6: James Heuser shutouts Everett this inning, finishing with a good pitching line for the C's, 6 IP, allowing 4 earned runs on five hits, and two walks. Well done Doogie.

Top of 7: Side retired 1-2-3.

Bottom of 7: Shane Presutti into pitch. No runs on two hits.

Top of 8: Lorenzo Macias strikes out, Andre Piper-Jordan's up, one dinger already accounted for, and GOODBYE BASEBALL! Yes, Andre Piper-Jordan hit his third home run of the season, his second of the game, but even though another run was accounted for, some bad blood was started. As he was crossing second base on his homer Andre jumped in the air in celebration, only to start a mental brawl between the two teams, no one fought but keep reading near the end of this article to find out what the bad blood is for.

Next batter, Catcher Gustavo Rosendo....TRIPLE! His first of his two year career, and only his fourth extra base hit all season! Rosendo later scored as Jermaine Mitchell did a Sacrifice with two outs, giving the C's a 8-4 lead with an inning and a half of baseball left to be played.

Bottom of 8: Pat Currin now pitching. And then, Manelik Pimental did what all baseball players dream of, hitting a home run, except in this game, it was more of a "Yeah whatever" kind of thing. With Pimental's home run it was 8-5 Vancouver with one inning remaining.

Top of 9: Side retired 1-2-3.

Bottom of 9: Ogui Diaz scores on a throwing error, 8-6 C's. Now let's hear the final call of the game: "Brian Sabatella up at bat 8-6 Vancouver, man on, two away and he grounds it to Second baseman Mike Klug who throws it to Greg Dowling, game over!" C's WIN!!!! C'S WIN!!!! Snapping an eight game losing streak at last!

James "Doogie" Heuser got the win for the C's, while Pat Currin picked up the save. Series tied 1-1, now let's see how Sunday's game went shall we?

Sunday:
This game was so boring I won't even get into everything, I'll only revisit the Home Runs, yes all EIGHT of them.

None out, top of the first, bases loaded, Ramiro Mendez at the plate, Grand Slam into Centerfield! 4-0 C's.

Top of two, one out, two men on, Mike Affronti at the dish, Home Run into left field! 7-0 C's.

The C's got four runs in the top of three, but no Homers, 11-0 Canadians.

Two more runs scored the next inning, 13-0 C's.

Bottom of five, two men on, Leury Bonilla crushes the ball into left field for Everett, 13-3 Canadians, Everett scored four more, including a home run by Manelik Pimental in the fifth, 13-7 Vancouver.


Two out, man on, Top of sixth, and Jermaine Mitchell crushes one into the outfield for his second home run of the year, 15-7 Canadians.

Top of seven, Man on, Ramiro Mendez hits a bomb to right field, his second of the game, third of the series and team leading fifth of the year! 17-7 Vancouver. Another run was later scored, 18-7 V-Town.

Top of eight, Jermaine Mitchell crushes one to Centerfield, his third of the season, second of the game, 19-7 Vancouverites.

Top of nine, Sam Hernandez at the dish, and he just killed the ball into the Everett air, his first career Home Run 20-7 Canadians.

Bottom of nine, Earl Oakes pitches his third scoreless inning for the save, as Scott Deal gets the win. C's w...i...n.....boring.....if you thought home runs were exciting you should've been in Everett, and I guarentee you, your mind would change.

C's win the series, and now finish out the season at home, Monday Night, Tuesday night, and Wednesday afternoon against Everett at the Nat.

Now after Andre Piper-Jordan "Over" celebrated his second home run of Saturday's game, Everett wasn't too happy, so when Greg Dowling was batting for Vancouver Sunday, Evertt mouthed him as he swung, along with everytime Piper-Jordan was running to first base.

Good job Aquasucks, let's see who finishes last next season shall we?

Game time tonight, 7:05 with Andrew Bailey on the mound for Vancouver.

And the C's Woes continue: Sports Wrap-up September 1st

When the Vancouver Canadians were 5 games out of first place with 25 games left on the season C's fans were mad, but when the club was 10 games back with 15 games left, the fans didn't give up hope, and now 10 games later, they are a whopping 17 games behind first place Salem Keizer (Thanks to an 0-6 home and home series with the Volcanoes) and the C's worsened their woes even more friday night as they fell below five hundred (.500) as they lost 5-1 to the Everett Aquasox.

Of course it didn't help that OF sensation Larry Cobb was sent up to AAA Sacramento late Thursday night when OF Charles Thomas was kicked up to the "Show" (MLB) as part of the A's september callups list. 3B Alex Valdez was rumoured to leave the C's for Sacramento with Cobb but Valdez started for the C"s in Everett tonight, giving there two options, he stays with the C's, or catches the first fight out of Sea-Tac for Sacramento Saturday.

Back to the game: Scary moment Thursday in Vancouver when CF Jermaine Mitchell was Hit by a pitch, may not sound so serious, except that Jermaine was just in his 8th game since breaking his ankle July 18th vs Spokane after being hit by a pitch. As a precautionary measure, he was Pinch Run for by Andre Piper-Jordan, but luckily for Mitchell, the C's and Oakland he started the game Friday in Cobb's place.

Since his return to the lineup, Mitchell hasn't been "on fire" as he was before the injury back in July. He extended his Hit streak to 21 games Tuesday, his 6th game back in a C's uniform but his League leading streak was ended Wednesday as he had an 0 fer day.

He started a new one Thursday and extended it Friday, the only sad thing is there is only 5 games left in the season meaning a 7 game hit streak is the most he can accomplish in 2006. Mitchell was 1-4 tonight with the only C's RBI as he cashed in Andre Piper-Jordan on the way to the C's loss.

Some other notable hitters for the C's on the night:
Greg Dowling went 2-3 with a walk
Alex Valdez was 1-3 with a base on balls
Sammy Hernandez made his return since his ejection Wednesday going a quiet 0-3
And Andre Piper-Jordan was 1-3 with a double and the lone C's run on the evening.

Now the pitching line for starter Inoel Deaza: 5 innings pitched, 5 hits, 4 earned runs, 2 base on balls, 5 strikeouts and he gave up the homerun to Gavin Dickey in the fifth inning.

Reliever Keith Eusebio pitched the remaining 3 innings (Everett didn't need their ninth inning bats), allowing one hit, one earned run, 2 walks and two K's.


The C's are putting 5th round draft Pick Chad Lee or Sophmore prospect Scott Deal Saturday night, and whichever one doesn't pitch Saturday will pitch the C's final Road Game Sunday, in Everett at a 2:00 PM Start time.

EDIT: Wilber Perez was sent to Sacramento not Alex Valdez, don't blame me, they both have Z's in their names;)

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Ted Lilly didn't need to worry about being tossed early in Friday's game at Fenway park, as he went a strong 6 2/3 innings infront of Red Sox Nation, but left disatisfied as he gave up a late inning balk allowing the Red Sox second and final run to score. The Jays bats stayed cold for the fifth straight night (all of which have been losses) especially when Bengie Molina left Alex Rios on third base (the tying run) to end the game. 2-1 Red Sox and that ladies and gentlemen spells the end for a late season comeback for the Jays.



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In other MLB news, Oakland edged Baltimore 5-4, despite Baltimore SP Eric Bedard pitching a strong six innings before collapsing and allowing Oakland to come through and take an even bigger AL West 1st place lead.

The New York Yankees clobbered the Minnesota Twins 8-1, the Seattle Mariners were edged out 2-1 by Tampa Bay, and Cincinatti beat the Padres 6-2.

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And in other Oakland Athletic Minor League Action:

Former 2006 Vancouver Canadians Chad Boyd and Matt Sulentic had big nights in a 8-2 Kane County loss, the Cougars were downed by Cedar Rapids, despite 18 year old High School sensation Sulentic's deep solo home run and a 3-4 night for 1B/OF Boyd. Former C's SP Ben Jukich pitched strong for Kane County, and former c's closer Brad Kilby finished the game despite the losing cause.

And the Stockton Ports also went down 8-2, with alumni Canadians including Luis Perez having big nights, Perez went 2-4, and Gregorio Petit went 1-4 in the loss.

The Midland Rockhounds won both of their double-header games Friday by one run. The first was an 8-7 affair with Danny Putnam and Brian Stavisky going yard for the Hounds, and the second was a 1-0 Pitchers duel.

Sacramento Rivercats lost a 9-1 to Colorado Springs, and Larry Cobb went 0-1 in the game as a Pinch Hitter (He was in Single A just yesterday going 0-4) and EDIT it wasn't Alex Valdez being sent to AAA, it was IF Wilber Perez instead. Perez joined the C's in July and was a utility infielder. He also went 0-1 in the game.

Oakland's Minor Leauges in total were 2-4, and the player of the system is: Matt Sulentic, 1-4, HR, RBI, R, youngest Oakland system player and he hit a homerun! Congrats Matt!

Tune in Sunday for another Sports wrap including an In-Depth report from Everett where I'll see the C's first hand on the Road Saturday night!

BC Lions at Montreal, September 1 2006

If you thought that last year's BC Lions opening 3 week schedule was wack, take a look at the Late Summer-Early Fall edition of the 2006 sched. The Lions had a bye week going into tonight's game vs Montreal, which is nothing out of the ordinary, except for the fact that after tonight's tilt, they have another bye week, as does their next opponents...the Als. That's right the Lions have a 15 day gameless streak going, some players are rumored to be going home, most notably tonight's Quarterback Buck Pierce.

Now onto the game review:
Montreal opened the scoring midway through the first quarter with a Damon Duval Field Goal, followed by BC's first touchdown of the game, a stellar catch by Jason Clermont, diving like a Vernon Wells Sportscentre Honor Roll grab. At that point BC QB Dave Dickenson was still playing, which would change after another change of the scoreboard, as K Paul McCallum kicked one through the uprights giving BC a 10-3 lead.

Ed Phillion gave a smack at Dave Dickenson's ankle (I'll have to see more of a replay on that play FTR), keeping Dickenson out of the remainder of the game.

A couple touchdowns later, a 13 for 16 night for backup Buck Pierce, 100 yards rushing for Joe Smith, 175 receiving for Geroy Simon and 97 yards Receiving later for SB Jason Clermont (he picked up his first TD of the year by the way) and oh yeah DE Brent Johnson got his 3rd TD this season, the Lions won single handidly 48-13 over the Als sending the Leos winning streak to 6 games, and extending the Als losing streak to four games, the first time Don Matthews has lost four games in a row as the Als coach.

Next up for the Lions: September 16th 7:30 PM vs Montreal in the Giant Marshmellow. Come one come all, see the Alouettes fall.