Sports

Seasoned sports broadcaster Buck Martinez soaks up info at Blue Jays camp

Published

7 months ago

March 6, 2024

With trusty black notebook and pen in hand, Buck Martinez covers a wide expanse at the Toronto Blue Jays’ player development complex during spring training in Dunedin, Fla.

Sometimes the veteran broadcaster watches batting practice from the visiting dugout bench. An up-close perch from behind the bullpen fence is ideal for observing pitchers.

Martinez will also walk the paths of the sprawling facility to visit practice fields and gather tidbits of information. Once he secures a nugget, he scribbles a few lines for future use.

“I find if that I write them down, I’ve got a tendency to remember them,” he said, raising his notebook in the air. “I’ve got stacks of these things.”

Martinez, now 75, enters the team locker-room with the slow stride of a knowing veteran.

He had a 17-year playing career in the big leagues, largely as a backup catcher. The Redding, Calif., native spent his last six seasons with the Blue Jays and managed the team for 215 games in 2001 and ’02.

At camp, he’ll check in with major- and minor-leaguers alike as players share stories and update him with recent developments. Pitching, catching and deep-dive baseball chatter are the norm.

“I’m around the best players in the world and it keeps my mind going,” he said. “I feel like I’m young. I don’t feel my age.”

Martinez, who calls games on Sportsnet with Dan Shulman, has spent over four decades in the broadcast booth. He plans to work about 100 regular-season Blue Jays games this season in his 15th year with the network.

He’s also on the mic for a handful of pre-season games this month. But the notebooks start getting filled in mid-February.

“It’s really interesting,” Martinez said. “I’m talking to the pitchers (in) the locker-room and they’re just like, ‘This is what I’m doing and this is why I do it.’

“I have thoughts about what I see during the course of a game and then I can question a guy about it and understand where he’s coming from and what he’s doing.”

Martinez called it the “best time of the year” as he soaks up all the information he can. He keeps an eye on the big names but also connects with prospects like Alan Roden, Andrew Bash and Adam Macko of Stony Plain, Alta.

The interaction between established major-leaguers and young talent is an intriguing dynamic for the longtime baseball man.

“This is what really interests me,” Martinez said. “When you see (Kevin) Gausman talking to Macko. They’re all on the same level. I talked to Bash about that and he said, ‘Everybody treats us equal.’ That wasn’t always the case. When I got to the big leagues as a rookie, they wouldn’t let me hit during batting practice.

“They were like, ‘You’re not going to play, you can’t hit.’ So it’s changed a lot. I give credit to the (Chris) Bassitts and the Gausmans and the Jordan Romanos. They’re anxious to share their time with these kids. It’s only going to help the process of development.”

Martinez will often listen in at the back of the media scrum during availabilities with manager John Schneider and the players. Sometimes he’ll jot something down in his notebook for potential use on a future broadcast.

When scribes wait around the interview area, the former skipper will sometimes hold court.

Martinez will regale those around him with old stories and sometimes sprinkle in tidbits — often loaded with specific detail — from his encyclopedic knowledge of the sport.

It all stems from his passion for baseball but also his learning process. Martinez has always tried to remember as much as he could and then write things down if necessary.

“As a catcher, you had to know all the guys,” he said. “We didn’t have scouting reports. You had to know it yourself and that’s where the books started.

“(Former union officials) Gene Orza and Marvin Miller always used to tease me at our player rep meetings. They’d say, ‘Buck, can we look at your notes?’

“So it’s been something I’ve done my whole life.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 6, 2024.

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Sports

Red Wings sign Moritz Seider to 7-year deal worth nearly $60M

Published

8 hours ago

September 19, 2024

Anne Joseph

DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Red Wings made another investment this week in a young standout, signing Moritz Seider to a seven-year contract worth nearly $60 million.

The Red Wings announced the move with the 23-year-old German defenseman on Thursday, three days after keeping 22-year-old forward Lucas Raymond with a $64.6 million, eight-year deal.

Detroit drafted Seider with the No. 6 pick overall eight years ago and he has proven to be a great pick. He has 134 career points, the most by a defenseman drafted in 2019.

He was the NHL’s only player to have at least 200 hits and block 200-plus shots last season, when he scored a career-high nine goals and had 42 points for the second straight year.

Seider won the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie in 2022 after he had a career-high 50 points.

Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman is banking on Seider, whose contract will count $8.55 million annually against the cap, and Raymond to turn a rebuilding team into a winner.

Detroit has failed to make the playoffs in eight straight seasons, the longest postseason drought in franchise history.

The Red Wings, who won four Stanley Cups from 1997 to 2008, have been reeling since their run of 25 straight postseasons ended in 2016.

Detroit was 41-32-9 last season and finished with a winning record for the first time since its last playoff appearance.

Yzerman re-signed Patrick Kane last summer and signed some free agents, including Vladimir Tarasenko to a two-year contract worth $9.5 million after he helped the Florida Panthers hoist the Cup.

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Veterans Tyson Beukeboom, Karen Paquin lead Canada’s team at WXV rugby tournament

Published

9 hours ago

September 19, 2024

Anne Joseph

Veterans Tyson Beukeboom and Karen Paquin will lead Canada at the WXV 1 women’s rugby tournament starting later this month in the Vancouver area.

WXV 1 includes the top three teams from the Women’s Six Nations (England, France and Ireland) and the top three teams from the Pacific Four Series (Canada, New Zealand, and the United States).

Third-ranked Canada faces No. 4 France, No. 7 Ireland and No. 1 England in the elite division of the three-tiered WXV tournament that runs Sept. 29 to Oct. 12 in Vancouver and Langley, B.C. No. 2 New Zealand and the eighth-ranked U.S. make up the six-team WVX 1 field.

“Our preparation time was short but efficient. This will be a strong team,” Canada coach Kevin Rouet said in a statement. “All the players have worked very hard for the last couple of weeks to prepare for WXV and we are excited for these next three matches and for the chance to play on home soil here in Vancouver against the best rugby teams in the world.

“France, Ireland and England will each challenge us in different ways but it’s another opportunity to test ourselves and another step in our journey to the Rugby World Cup next year.”

Beukeboom serves as captain in the injury absence of Sophie de Goede. The 33-year-old from Uxbridge, Ont., earned her Canadian-record 68th international cap in Canada’s first-ever victory over New Zealand in May at the Pacific Four Series.

Twenty three of the 30 Canadian players selected for WXV 1 were part of that Pacific Four Series squad.

Rouet’s roster includes the uncapped Asia Hogan-Rochester, Caroline Crossley and Rori Wood.

Hogan-Rochester and Crossley were part of the Canadian team that won rugby sevens silver at the Paris Olympics, along with WXV teammates Fancy Bermudez, Olivia Apps, Alysha Corrigan and Taylor Perry. Wood is a veteran of five seasons at UBC.

The 37-year-old Paquin, who has 38 caps for Canada including the 2014 Rugby World Cup, returns to the team for the first time since the 2021 World Cup.

Canada opens the tournament Sept. 29 against France at B.C. Place Stadium in Vancouver before facing Ireland on Oct. 5 at Willoughby Stadium at Langley Events Centre, and England on Oct. 12 at B.C. Place.

The second-tier WXV 2 and third-tier WXV 3 are slated to run Sept. 27 to Oct. 12, in South Africa and Dubai, respectively.

WXV 2 features Australia, Italy, Japan, Scotland, South Africa and Wales while WXV 3 is made up of Fiji, Hong Kong, Madagascar, the Netherlands, Samoa and Spain.

The tournament has 2025 World Cup qualification implications, although Canada, New Zealand and France, like host England, had already qualified by reaching the semifinals of the last tournament.

Ireland, South Africa, the U.S., Japan, Fiji and Brazil have also booked their ticket, with the final six berths going to the highest-finishing WXV teams who have not yet qualified through regional tournaments.

Canada’s Women’s Rugby Team WXV 1 Squad

Forwards

Alexandria Ellis, Ottawa, Stade Français Paris (France); Brittany Kassil, Guelph, Ont., Guelph Goats; Caroline Crossley, Victoria, Castaway Wanderers; Courtney Holtkamp, Rimbey, Alta., Red Deer Titans Rugby; DaLeaka Menin, Vulcan, Alta., Exeter Chiefs (England); Emily Tuttosi, Souris, Man., Exeter Chiefs (England); Fabiola Forteza, Quebec City, Stade Bordelais (France); Gabrielle Senft, Regina, Saracens (England); Gillian Boag, Calgary, Gloucester-Hartpury (England); Julia Omokhuale, Calgary, Leicester Tigers (England); Karen Paquin, Quebec City, Club de rugby de Quebec; Laetitia Royer, Loretteville, Que., ASM Romagnat (France); McKinley Hunt, King City, Ont., Saracens (England); Pamphinette Buisa, Gatineau, Que., Ottawa Irish; Rori Wood, Sooke, B.C., College Rifles RFC; Sara Cline, Edmonton, Leprechaun Tigers; Tyson Beukeboom, Uxbridge, Ont., Ealing Trailfinders (England);

Backs

Alexandra Tessier, Sainte-Clotilde-de-Horton, Que., Exeter Chiefs (England); Alysha Corrigan, Charlottetown, P.E.I., CRFC; Asia Hogan-Rochester, Toronto, Toronto Nomads; Claire Gallagher, Caledon, Ont., Leicester Tigers (England); Fancy Bermudez, Edmonton, Saracens (England); Julia Schell, Uxbridge, Ont., Ealing Trailfinders (England); Justine Pelletier, Rivière-du-Loup, Que, Stade Bordelais (France); Mahalia Robinson, Fulford, Que., Town of Mount Royal RFC; Olivia Apps, Lindsay, Ont., Lindsay RFC; Paige Farries, Red Deer, Alta., Saracens (England); Sara Kaljuvee, Ajax, Ont., Westshore RFC; Shoshanah Seumanutafa, White Rock, B.C., Counties Manukau (New Zealand); Taylor Perry, Oakville, Ont., Exeter Chiefs (England).

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024.

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Vancouver Canucks star goalie Thatcher Demko working through rare muscle injury

Published

9 hours ago

September 19, 2024

Anne Joseph

PENTICTON, B.C. – Vancouver Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko says he’s been working his way back from a rare lower-body muscle injury since being sidelined in last season’s playoffs.

The 28-year-old all star says the rehabilitation process has been frustrating, but he has made good progress in recent weeks and is confident he’ll be able to return to playing.

He says he and his medical team have spent the last few months talking to specialists around the world, and have not found a single other hockey player who has dealt with the same injury.

Demko missed several weeks of the last season with a knee ailment and played just one game in Vancouver’s playoff run last spring before going down with the current injury.

He was not on the ice with his teammates as the Canucks started training camp in Penticton, B.C., on Thursday, but skated on his own before the sessions began.

Demko posted a 35-14-2 record with a .918 percentage, a 2.45 goals-against average and five shutouts for Vancouver last season.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.

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