TORONTO — When the Texas Rangers host what, as of today, is expected to be the first full-capacity crowd any U.S.-based major sport has seen in more than a year on April 5, the Toronto Blue Jays will be in the opposing dugout at Globe Life Field.
Not only will the players be in the dugout, but support staff and front-office execs will be in the building, too, all of them entering a state that’s turning a blind eye to a pandemic that is far from over.
Considering they’re currently based in Florida, another state that’s taken an interesting approach to implementing pandemic guidelines to say the least, the Blue Jays as an organization are at least aware of navigating life around major COVID-19 concerns.
They’ll travel as usual from New York City to Arlington following their Sunday, April 4 matinee at Yankee Stadium for a 3:05 p.m. local time first pitch against the Rangers on the Monday.
“It gets back to us controlling our adherence to the protocols, us being steadfast, us recognizing what that means for our ability to stay healthy and ultimately compete,” Blue Jays president and CEO Mark Shapiro said Thursday.
“Last year, our guys were incredibly rigorous in how well they adhered to the protocols and we didn’t have any outbreaks or even cases. Even though things are moving in a more positive direction, that doesn’t mean we’re out of danger. We have to remain steadfast.”
While many players might initially welcome the normalized game atmosphere, it goes without saying there are health and safety questions for all involved.
Those clearly don’t concern Texas governor Greg Abbott, and the Rangers claim the 40,518 that could be in attendance will still be forced to follow some protocols that the state is no longer mandating.
Fans will be required to wear masks, except when they’re eating or drinking, which is the same rule they had in place for the NLCS and World Series when they allowed 28 per cent capacity — 11,388 fans — into their brand new $1.2-billion stadium last October.
With the seats full, there will obviously be no semblance of social distancing on April 5.
“We’re very confident we won’t be a super-spreader event,” Rangers CEO Neil Leibman told the Associated Press on Wednesday. “With all the protocols that we’re following, we’ll be extremely responsible and provide a very comfortable environment for somebody to enjoy the game without worrying we’re going to be a spreader event.”
The pandemic is still a day-to-day situation, even in Texas, so things could change between now and the time the Blue Jays are scheduled to arrive for their fourth game of the new season, but the Rangers seem committed to a capacity crowd on April 5 at this point.
“Obviously, the state of Texas has made a series of decisions that placed them as an outlier, but my expertise is not to judge them, it’s to operate the Blue Jays, so that’s what I’m focused on,” Shapiro said.
On the Major League Baseball side, they are allowing teams to operate under local capacity policy.
The Yankees will also have fans in the stands when the Jays open their season in New York, albeit far less than a capacity crowd after governor Andrew Cuomo announced last month that stadiums seating at least 10,000 can open at 10 per cent capacity, which would see about 5,400 fans in attendance.
Per New York state guidelines, staff and spectators must have a negative COVID-19 test within 72 hours of an event in order to attend.
Based on conversations behind the scenes, the announcement Wednesday from the Rangers wasn’t a total surprise to Shapiro.
“I know from MLB calls that they’d been consistently the strongest in pushing to extend limits, but again every team’s got its own local jurisdiction that’s governing so no one’s paying attention to what anyone else is doing other than what we can learn from it,” Shapiro said. “In the case of Texas, there’s nothing for us to learn from.”
At this point, the Rangers plan to host a full capacity crowd for only their April 5 home opener, leaving the final two games of the series against the Jays with additional social distancing measures in place and less fans allowed into the retractable roof building.
According to the AP, the roof will be open weather permitting, and the Rangers plan to install plexiglass barriers on top of the dugouts and enclose the bullpens.
Shapiro isn’t sure if he’ll be at Globe Life Field when the series gets underway, but general manager Ross Atkins could be.
“I haven’t made a decision yet,” Shapiro said. “Ross will likely be with the club, so it seems redundant for me to be there, as well.”
Forced out of their Rogers Centre home in Toronto thanks to the closed border, the Blue Jays have been diligent in their efforts to keep players and their families safe, and they are still one of the teams that has been able to avoid a positive COVID-19 test since the 2020 regular season began July 24 in Tampa.
After travelling to a couple of hotspots last season, namely Tampa, and now residing full-time in Florida, at this point it’s business as usual heading to Texas to play in front of a packed house next month.
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.
