Sports

Blue Jays’ Cavan Biggio gives scouting report on Sahlen Field – Sportsnet.ca

Published

4 years ago

July 24, 2020

Playing games at Sahlen Field will be a homecoming of sorts for some of the Toronto Blue Jays, and Cavan Biggio thinks the team can take full advantage of that.

The utilityman, who played 43 games for the triple-A Buffalo Bisons in 2019, joined Baseball Central with Jeff Blair and Kevin Barker on Friday to give a scouting report on his team’s new temporary home.

“It’s definitely a bigger park than Rogers Centre, no doubt,” Biggio said on Sportsnet 590 The Fan. “It plays deeper to right because the wind is usually from right-field pole to left-field pole so sometimes you’ll get a little bit of flow out to left field but right field you got to hit it out to get it. So no cheap home runs to right there.”

Livestream Toronto Blue Jays games all season with Sportsnet NOW. Plus, watch marquee MLB matchups, the post-season and World Series.

The Blue Jays announced Friday that they will call Sahlen Field their primary home almost one week after the Canadian federal government denied approval to host games in Toronto due to concerns around the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. Biggio is one of 14 players on the Blue Jays’ 30-man Opening Day roster who has already played in Buffalo in triple-A.

The Jays’ first home series of the season next week against the Washington Nationals will be played in D.C. as upgrades are needed to get Sahlen Field up to major-league standards. In a conference call Friday, Blue Jays president Mark Shapiro outlined the areas that need to be upgraded, which include: lighting, expanding the clubhouses, cleaning up the field after months of inactivity, and adding training and rehab facilities for both the home and away teams.

It’s a lot of work in a short period of time, but Biggio believes in the end the Blue Jays may benefit from their unique situation.

“By no means is Buffalo a bad field,” Biggio said, adding the infield surface “is probably one of the best” he played on during his minor-league career.

“Having the New York Yankees come to a minor-league ballpark, I know they’re not going to be happy about that. So if we can just keep a positive attitude throughout the course of the year, its only 60 games… I think we could use this to our advantage.”

You can listen to Biggio’s full interview, which includes his thoughts on Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s shift to first base and how he stayed busy during the pause, in the audio player below.

Baseball Central

Cavan Biggio can see how Sahlen Field can serve as an advantage for the Jays

July 24 2020

Your browser does not support the audio element.

Let’s block ads! (Why?)

Source link

Sports

Edler to sign one-day contract to retire as a Vancouver Canuck

Published

10 hours ago

September 17, 2024

Anne Joseph

VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Canucks announced Tuesday that defenceman Alex Edler will sign a one-day contract in order to officially retire as a member of the NHL team.

The signing will be part of a celebration of Edler’s career held Oct. 11 when the Canucks host the Philadelphia Flyers.

The Canucks selected Edler, from Ostersund, Sweden, in the third round (91st overall) of the 2004 NHL draft.

He played in 925 career games for the Canucks between the 2006-07 and 2020-21 seasons, ranking fourth in franchise history and first among defencemen.

The 38-year-old leads all Vancouver defencemen with 99 goals, 310 assists and 177 power-play points with the team.

Edler also appeared in 82 career post-season contests with Vancouver and was an integral part of the Canucks’ run to the 2011 Stanley Cup final, putting up 11 points (2-9-11) across 25 games.

“I am humbled and honoured to officially end my career and retire as a member of the Vancouver Canucks,” Edler said in a release. “I consider myself lucky to have started my career with such an outstanding organization, in this amazing city, with the best fans in the NHL. Finishing my NHL career where it all began is something very special for myself and my family.”

Edler played two seasons for Los Angeles in 2021-22 and 2022-23. He did not play in the NHL last season.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.

Source link

Sports

Sixth-ranked Canadian women to face World Cup champion Spain in October friendly

Published

16 hours ago

September 17, 2024

Anne Joseph

The sixth-ranked Canadian women will face World Cup champion Spain in an international friendly next month.

Third-ranked Spain will host Canada on Oct. 25 at Estadio Francisco de la Hera in Almendralejo.

The game will be the first for the Canadian women since the Paris Olympics, where they lost to Germany in a quarterfinal penalty shootout after coach Bev Priestman was sent home and later suspended for a year by FIFA over her part in Canada’s drone-spying scandal.

In announcing the Spain friendly, Canada Soccer said more information on the interim women’s coaching staff for the October window will come later. Assistant coach Andy Spence took charge of the team in Priestman’s absence at the Olympics.

Spain finished fourth in Paris, beaten 1-0 by Germany in the bronze-medal match.

Canada is winless in three previous meetings (0-2-1) with Spain, most recently losing 1-0 at the Arnold Clark Cup in England in February 2022.

The teams played to a scoreless draw in May 2019 in Logroñés, Spain in a warm-up for the 2019 World Cup. Spain won 1-0 in March 2019 at the Algarve Cup in São João da Venda, Portugal.

Spain is a powerhouse in the women’s game these days.

It won the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2022 and was runner-up in 2018. And it ousted Canada 2-1 in the round of 16 of the current U-20 tournament earlier this month in Colombia before falling 1-0 to Japan after extra time in the quarterfinal.

Spain won the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2018 and 2022 and has finished on the podium on three other occasions.

FC Barcelona’s Aitana Bonmati (2023) and Alexia Putellas (2021 and ’22) have combined to win the last three Women’s Ballon d’Or awards.

And Barcelona has won three of the last four UEFA Women’s Champions League titles.

“We continue to strive to diversify our opponent pool while maintaining a high level of competition.” Daniel Michelucci, Canada Soccer’s director of national team operations, said in a statement. “We anticipate a thrilling encounter, showcasing two of the world’s top-ranked teams.”

—

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024

Source link

Sports

Maple Leafs announce Oreo as new helmet sponsor for upcoming NHL season

Published

20 hours ago

September 17, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced cookie brand Oreo as the team’s helmet sponsor for the upcoming NHL season.

The new helmet will debut Sunday when Toronto opens its 2024-25 pre-season against the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Arena.

The Oreo logo replaces Canadian restaurant chain Pizza Pizza, which was the Leafs’ helmet sponsor last season.

Previously, social media platform TikTok sponsored Toronto starting in the 2021-22 regular season when the league began allowing teams to sell advertising space on helmets.

The Oreo cookie consists of two chocolate biscuits around a white icing filling and is often dipped in milk.

Fittingly, the Leafs wear the Dairy Farmers of Ontario’s “Milk” logo on their jerseys.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.

Source link