Controversy has continued to swirl in Houston in the wake of MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred’s punishment of key figures in the Astros’ front office, and the fallout that led team owner Jim Crane to fire GM Jeff Luhnow and manager A.J. Hinch.
Pete Rose is no stranger to MLB controversy himself, having been handed a lifetime ban three decades ago for betting on his own Cincinnati Reds in the late ’80s. The longtime player and manager weighed in on the Astros debacle Monday, arguing that, in his view, the team’s sign-stealing issues outweigh his own baseball crimes.
“I bet on my own team to win. That’s what I did in a nutshell. I was wrong, but I didn’t taint the game,” Rose said Monday to NJ Advance Media’s Randy Miller. “I didn’t try to steal any games. I never voted against my team. I bet on my team every night because that’s the confidence that I had in my players. And I was wrong.
“But this (Astros’ situation) is a little different. It’s a lot different, actually, and I think that’s why the commissioner came down so hard.”
While Manfred’s punishment of the Astros organization wasn’t slight — one-season suspensions apiece to Luhnow and Hinch (prior to their firing), the loss of two years’ worth of first- and second-round picks, and a $5-million fine — Rose felt the penalties weren’t enough.
“So they fire the GM, they fire the manager, and (MLB) probably is going to get (Boston Red Sox manager) Alex Cora, who was the (Astros) bench coach at the time. But what about the players who were behind this and taking the knowledge? Should they get off scot-free?” Rose said.
“Don’t you have to do something to the players who were accepting the stolen signs? Nothing’s been done. Is that fair?”
The three-time World Series champion and ’73 NL MVP shared his perspective as a former player as well.
“…In the 14,000 times I batted, I never wanted a guy on second to tell me what was coming,” Rose said. “My philosophy was he might say it’s a low-and-away sinker and it’s really an up-and-in fastball, and I get hit in the ribs because you can’t always be a hundred per cent sure that the signs are correct.
“It helps if you can steal a sign from a third-base coach, but that’s really not cheating. That’s a third-base coach not doing his job. If you can’t conceal a hit-and-run or a steal sign, you belong in another business.”
What the Astros have been said to have concocted appears to be another scheme altogether, though, says Rose. And the 78-year-old believes the onus ultimately falls on the players involved.
“Most players don’t give a damn about what happens to an organization as long as it doesn’t happen to them,” he said. “If I’m a player and every time I bat I’m getting the signs from the dugout, I’m just as guilty as the guy who is giving me the signs.”
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.
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.”
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024
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.
