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Week 14 Pretty Sensational… and Two More Games to Go

Posted on December 13, 2010 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — While sitting in the press box in Jacksonville, Fla., yesterday, most of the conversation that wasn’t being directed toward David Garrard and the surprisingly good Jags, was being directed at Brett Favre, his swollen collarbone and the big hole in the Metrodome’s Teflon roof.

Early Sunday morning, the big pillow in Minneapolis collapsed under the weight of a foot and a half of snow which immediately meant two things: (1) Sunday’s game between the Vikings and New York Giants that was already postponed until Monday night because of the blizzard in the Twin Cities, would now have to be played in Detroit and (2) This is the beginning of the end for the Vikings in Minnesota?

You can pretty much guarantee that if a new building for the Vikings isn’t on the front burner of the Minnesota House, the Vikes won’t be playing in the cold much longer. Both L.A. and San Antonio are calling and the money seems to be in place to make that franchise comfortable in warmer climes. If the Minnesota legislature isn’t preapred to build a new stadium soon, you can pretty much start packing up the moving vans.

Art Modell, Georgia Frontiere and the Irsay family would be so proud.

Meanwhile, Brett Favre told reporters in Minneapolis and Detroit that he expects his streak of 297 consecutive starts as an NFL quarterback to end tonight. Favre’s shoulder/clavicle injury has not responded as well as he’d like to treatment and he said it’s likely Tarvaris Jackson will start tonight against the Giants.

Well, it had to end sometime.

OK, Sport Select and Fantasy Players, here are your NFL scores and highlights for Week 14…

Last night…

Philadelphia 30 Dallas 27

The Eagles improved to 9-4 as DeSean Jackson had 210 yards receiving and scored the winning touchdown early in the fourth quarter. Michael Vick threw for a touchdown and ran for another.

Yesterday afternoon…

Detroit 7 Green Bay 3

Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers left the game with a concussion in the first quarter and never returned. In the end, Drew Stanton of the Lions out-dueled Matt Flynn of the Packers.

New England 36 Chicago 7

The Pats clinched a playoff berth and improved to 11-2 as Tom Brady threw for 369 yards and two touchdowns in a snow-storm in Chicago. Deion Branch caught eight passes for 151 yards and a touchdown. The Pats have won five straight.

Jacksonville 38 Oakland 31

The game we watched yesterday here in Florida was a thriller. David Garrard threw three TD passes while Maurice Jones-Drew rushed for 101 yards and a touchdown, the sixth straight game in which Jones-Drew has rushed for 100 yards or more. Oakland’s Darren McFadden rushed for 123 yards and two touchdowns and caught three passes for 86 yards and another TD.

Tampa Bay 17 Washington 16

Washington scored in the dying seconds and were about to kick the extra point to send the game into overtime when they botched the point after and lost.

Miami 10 NY Jets 6

Miami’s Chad Henne found Brandon Marshall for the game’s only touchdown in the first quarter.

Atlanta 31 Carolina 10

Falcons runningback Michael Turner carried 28 times for 112 yards and three touchdowns.

Buffalo 13 Cleveland 6

Buffalo’s Fred Jackson rushed for 112 yards while Cleveland’s Peyton Hillis rushed for 108 yards but neither team had miuch more offence than that.

Pittsburgh 23 Cincinnati 7

The Steelers didn’t have much offence, but Troy Polamalu and LaMarr Woodley each returned interceptions for touchdowns. The Bengals have lost 10 straight.

New Orleans 31 St. Louis 13

Drew Brees threw three touchdown passes, two to Marques Colston.

San Francisco 40 Seattle 21

Niners quarterback Alex Smith threw for 255 yards and three touchdowns.

Arizona 43 Denver 13

Arizona’s Tim Hightower carried 18 times for 148 yards and two touchdowns.

San Diego 31 Kansas City 0

The Chargers Phillip Rivers threw for 226 yards and two touchdowns.

Tonight, two games on a Monday: Baltimore plays at Houston in the real Monday Nighter, while the Giants face Minnesota at Detroit in the fake Monday Nighter.

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Vikings Go To 8-1 With Easy Win Over Detroit.

Posted on November 15, 2009 by Scott Taylor| 1 Comment

MINNEAPOLIS — OK, so it wasn’t their best effort of the season, but in front of 63,854 spectators — including thousands of Winnipeggers — the Minnesota Vikings drilled the Detroit Lions 27-10 at Mall of America Field on Sunday afternoon.

With the win, the Vikings improved to 8-1. The Lions fell to 1-8.

The Vikings were handed a load of penalties (there were times when this thing looked fixed), many of which, head coach Brad Childress had little trouble questioning. In fact, a roughing the passer penalty against Ray Edwards, caused Childress to call out the official who made the call.

“I said to the official, ‘Ray never hit the quarterback on the head and he didn’t tackle him low so where did he tackle him that would result in a penalty?’,” a frustrated Childress explained. “The official said, ‘He (Edwards) launched himself at the quarterback and hit him high.’ And I said, ‘Where does it say in the rules that you can’t launch yourself at the quarterback?’ When I looked at the replay I noticed that Ray didn’t make contact at all. That wasn’t a very good call.”

It didn’t help that the Vikings lost a couple of fumbles, one by Adrian Peterson near the Detroit goal line, but Minnesota’s Sidney Rice did pitch-in with a career-high 201 yards receiving (on only seven catches) while Peterson did rush for 133 yards (100 in the first half) and scored two touchdowns.

The win gave Minnesota its best start since 1998 when the Vikes went 15-1 and then lost the NFC championship game to Atlanta.

Vikings quarterback Brett Favre (in his 300th consecutive start) completed 20 of 29 passes for a season-high 344 yards with one touchdown pass to backup tight end Jeff Dugan. Meanwhile, Rice’s 201-yard game was the fourth 200-yard receiving game in team history. It was just nine yards short of Sammy White’s team record (210 against Detroit in 1976).

“Wde were coming out of the bye and we were loose,” said Childress. “Maybe we were too loose. We have to tighten things up and play better next week against Seattle. It’s all about improving. We still need to improve.”

THE NOTEBOOK: The Vikings have won 15 of their last 16 games with Detroit… Minnesota was just 3-of-11 on third-down and had 13 penalties for 91 yards, which kept the game close until the fourth quarter… What a great game for Ray Edwards. The Vikings defensive end/linebacker had five tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble… There were 63,854 people inside the Metrodome (the 121st consecutive sellout in Minneapolis) and they were all breathing the same air. Obviously nobody really cared about H1N1… It’s shocking that 16 teams failed to draft Percy Harvin before the Vikings selected him. As Favre said yesterday, “He runs like a runningback, he’s built like a runningback and plays like a receiver. He’s one of the best players I’ve ever seen.” And yet 16 teams passed on him. What does that say about scouting in the NFL?

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Thoughts And News From a Crazy Sports Weekend

Posted on September 29, 2009 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

From Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson battling it out in Atlanta to Brett Favre’s brilliant comeback at the Dome to Jimmie Johnson’s win at the Monster Mile to the Bombers home victory on Saturday night to the Lions first win in 19 games, it was a wild and woolly weekend.

It’s Tuesday morning. Monday Night Football was a dog and our 92-CITI-FM radio show was highlighted by the announcement that we are “An Official Station of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Radio Network.” So  here’s what’s left in my head…

1) Favre was magnificent on Sunday afternoon, hitting Greg Lewis with a 32-yard touchdown pass — a 32-yard bullet, by the way — with two seconds left to beat a very good San Francisco 49ers team.

Yesterday, wherever I stopped in Winnipeg, people were jumping up and down with enthusiasm over Favre’s final drive. Many were happy that they were going to next week’s Monday Nighter between the Vikes and Packers at the Metrodome.

It was a truly great moment in football history, a 39-year-old veteran who has retired twice, once again doing what he’s always done throughout his marvelous career — bringing a team back in the final seconds. On Sunday, Favre earbned his paycheque and Vikings head coach Brad Childress earned the respect he might have lost by encouraging Favre to come out of retirement — after training camp had ended — to play another year (or two).

If you get a chance, go to http://www.kfan.com/pages/psn_paulallen.html and listen to Vikings play-by-play star, Paul Allen’s call. It was almost as exciting as the fact Favre threw the pass about 40 yards on a line.

2) Jimmie Johnson, the three-time defending Sprint Cup champion, won the AAA 400 at the Monster Mile at Dover on Sunday, but once again 50-year-old Mark Martin was second and, as a result, Martin remains 10 points ahead of Johnson in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

It was Johnson’s fourth win at Dover, his second at Dover this year, and he’s now just eight consistent races away from a fourth straight Sprint Cup title.

I love Mark Martin, but if Johnson and his crew chief Chad Knauss keep it together, Johnson should take home the Cup once again. And what an incredible feat that would be.

3) My beloved Detroit Lions won on Sunday, 19-14 over Jim Zorn’s (he’s a former Bomber, you know) confounding Washington Redskins.

It’s funny, but all six people in my NFL pool picked the Lions to win (it was one of my few victories this week) and that suggested that nobody, not anybody, thinks the Redskins are a threat.

The Lions won’t likely win more than two or three games this season, but right now there are six winless teams (and the Redskins aren’t one of them) after three weeks — St. Louis, Tampa Bay, Carolina, Kansas City, Tennessee and Cleveland. And three of them — St. Louis, Tampa Bay and Cleveland — don’t look like they’ll win a game. In fact, if you look at every schedule, there is a reason to think all three could go 0-16.

4) Despite his win on Saturday night, Winnipeg Blue Bombers head coach Mike Kelly is still despised by plenty of Bomber fans. I know, I get the e-mails.

However, to be fair, Kelly could be Bart Andrus, a guy who has lost the Toronto Argonauts’ locker room and who has turned the Argos into a 3-9 last-place team. No matter how bad you might think Kelly is – and I’m not so sure he is that bad – it could always be worse.

Yesterday, another veteran has been sent packing by Andrus as the Argos traded cornerback Byron Parker — who has more interceptions for touchdowns in his CFL career than the entire Argos defensive backfield has interceptions — to the Edmonton Eskimos for a fourth-round pick in next year’s Canadian draft. Nice deal.

There is a chance Parker, who was cut by the Philadelphia Eagles to make room for Michael Vick, could suit up for the Eskimos when they play 4-8 Winnipeg at Canad Inns Stadium on Friday night.

If he plays, Parker could be a difference maker in that game so I guess if the Argos can’t beat Winnipeg on the field, they can make someone else better and hope that team beats Winnipeg.

5) Finally, I was able to announce on 92-CITI-FM this morning that our radio station is now “An Official Station of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Radio Network.”

That’s tremendous news, but it also means that 92-CITI will carry Canada’s games, plus the medal round of the 2010 Vancouver Olympic men’s ice hockey tournament.

Here’s the schedule and every game is on 92-CITI-FM in Winnipeg:

Tuesday, Feb. 16: 7 p.m., Canada vs. Norway

Thursday, Feb. 18, 7 p.m., Canada vs. Switzerland

Sunday, Feb. 21, 7 p.m., Canada vs. USA

Tuesday, Feb. 23, 7 p.m. Qualification Game (Canada is not likely to play in this game).

Wednesday, Feb. 24, 7 p.m., Quarter-final game.

Friday, Feb. 26, 2:30 p.m., Semi-final No. 1

Friday, Feb. 26, 9 p.m., Semi-final No. 2 (Canada would likely play in this game if Team Canada qualifies).

Saturday, Feb. 27, 9:30 p.m., Bronze medal game.

Sunday, Feb. 28, 2:30 p.m., Gold medal game.

There is nothing better than Olympic hockey. And there is really nothing better than having Olympic hockey on 92-CITI-FM.

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Favre Does Everything Childress Wanted in Debut.

Posted on August 22, 2009 by Scott Taylor| 1 Comment

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — It was the two hits.

That was what made Minnesota Vikings head coach Brad Childress smile. It wasn’t so much his team’s  17-13 victory over the visiting Kansas City Chiefs that made him happy as much as it was watching his new quarterback’s ability to take a hit. That’s what gave Childress reason to declare Brett Favre was ready to make some noise in purple this season.

Most coaches wouldn’t want anyone near the team’s prized quarterback, especially in a pre-season game, but on Friday night at the Metrodome, the head coach of the Vikings had no problem with it at all. In fact, when Chiefs linebacker Corey Mays picked up Favre and bodyslammed him to the Metrodome turf in the first quarter, it removed all the concerns that a 39-year-old quarterback could no longer take the physical brutality of the NFL anymore.

“He did tell me nobody’s tackled him off his tractor (at home in Mississippi) so it was good to get hit, knocked on his rear end .. to experience that,” said Childress, during the post-game news conference. “Would I rather have him upright? Yeah, I’d rather have him upright. He’s going to get hit, it’s football. But he’s put together well and he takes good care of himself. He’s strong. He’s built pretty well, he’s not a guy who spent the off-season sitting on the couch eating chocolates.

“Getting hit is part of the game.”

Friday night at the Metrodome, 62,782 fans showed up, cameras a’ flashing, to watch the debut of Brett Favre, the long-hated quarterback of the Green Bay Packers who this week, showed up in Minnesota, signed a two-year, $25 million contract and was on the practice field by 1:30 Tuesday afternoon.

After two and a half days of practice, Favre started Friday night’s pre-season game against the Chiefs and while he didn’t set the world on fire in the two series he played — he went one-for-four for four yards and was drilled twice — he did start to get a feel for Minnesota’s offence.

And, to be fair, that’s all Childress expected.

“Small victories there,” Childress said. “The centre-quarterback exchange and handing the ball off. We sat out (Bernard) Berrian, my decision, so he didn’t have a full complement of receivers.

“He’s practised two and a half days. Based on my experience, for a guy to get comfortable with his receivers, comfortable with our terminology, comfortable with the entire offence, it takes about two weeks. He’s pretty good with those kinds of things. Still, it’s something you have to build toward.”

For Favre, Friday night’s pre-season debut was a relief. Even though Mays and Tamba Hall, hit him pretty hard, he came out of the game none the worse for wear. In fact, he was actually pleased with everything that took place, from the buzz in the crowd, to the buzz in his belly, to his contact with the turf.

“In the meetings, and before the game, I started having butterflies,” Favre said. “I was really nervous. Somebody said to me, it’s good for a quarterback who is nearly 40 to get nervous.

“I’m trying to purge myself of [the pressure],” Favre said. “Because with all of the attention it is kind of hard not to feel like you have to live up to all this hype. Not that I don’t want to do that, but the most important thing is to lead this team to victory, somehow, someway. I didn’t want to get off to the wrong start by fumbling snaps. I wanted to call the plays right, get in and out of the huddle and be as smooth as possible. Based on the facts — two and a half days — I consider that to be a small victory tonight.”

Favre said that he expects to play at least a half of the Vikings’ next preseason game, a Monday nighter on Aug. 31, at Houston. Childress said Favre will have all of his receivers this time and will be given every opportunity to get his timing “and his legs underneath him.”

Favre, meanwhile, just wants to play.

“Getting this over with tonight is a good thing,” Favre said. “Preseason is tough anyways, but this week has obviously been a little bit hectic.

“It was nice tonight to play with live bullets. I know that after Brad saw me get hit the first time he really didn’t want me to go back in, but that’s part of the game. I need to get hit. It’s football. I’m back to business as usual. Now I just want to make sure I help this team win.”

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Favre Plays Two Series, T-Jack Enters Game, Fans Leave

Posted on August 21, 2009 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — After two series, it was over. Brett Favre’s debut with the Vikings lasted barely a half an hour.

In two series, Favre completed one of four passes for four yards. Adrian Peterson carried the ball four times for 11 yards. That was it. Favre’s night was done.

And when Tarvaris Jackson came into the game, the Metrodome started to empty. It was barely the end of the first quarter and all those fans who paid $50 to $100 for a ticket and bought that new Favre jersey, headed for the exits.

We’ll have quotes from the Vikings locker room after the game.

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Crowd Aflutter All Day. Waiting for “Their” Brett.

Posted on August 21, 2009 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — Brett Favre will wear No. 4 for the Minnesota Vikings tonight when the Vikes meet the Kansas City Chiefs at the Metrodome.

The myth that “most” Vikings fans don’t want Favre to be their favourite team’s quarterback appears to be just that: a big, giant, stupid myth.

“I’m going to watch Brett throw seven or eight touchdown passes against the Packers this season and wallow in it,” said Doug Spooner, who has been tailgating outside the Metrodome since 7 a.m. “I hated him in Green Bay, but he’s not in Green Bay anymore. Professional football is a business. It’s kind of like marriages. He had 15 or 16 years married to the Packers and good for him. But he’s divorced from the Packers now and after a brief fling with the Jets, he’s married to us. We love him. And to Packers fans I say, ‘Enjoy Aaron Rodgers.’ This isn’t personal, it’s a business.”

Or a marriage. Or whatever.

Tonight, Favre will make his debut in Minnesota and fans are hoping for two things to happen (a) that he starts and (b) that head coach Brad Childress introduces the offence before the game so the fans can cheer their lungs out for their new hero.

It was suggested earlier today, by an older fan tailgating in front of the Dome, that he would have liked to see Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels get a chance to be the team’s WB, but when it was presented to him that the Vikings don’t have a chance to go to the Super Bowl with Rosenfels or Jackson at the helm and at least they have some chance with Favre, he relented.

“Yeah, you’re right,” he said. “this could be a really good team.”

In Minnesota this year, with the signing of Brett Favre, it’s already being billed as “Mission: Miami.”

That’s because, with Favre, alongside Chester Taylor, Adrian Peterson, Bobby Wade, Bernard Berrian, Percy Harvin, Sidney Rice, Visanthe Shiancoe and that monster defence led by Jared Allen and Antoine Winfield, the Vikings have a legitimate chance to get to the Super Bowl.

And it all starts tonight.

We’ll have reports throughout the evening.

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Favre Now On The Vikings Practice Field

Posted on August 18, 2009 by Scott Taylor| 1 Comment

He has a contract, the fans are still going nuts and Brett Favre is now practicing with the Minnesota Vikings.

Remember this? “And that’s why I still believe the Vikings are going to make some news before Sunday, Sept. 13. Whether that news is spelled F-A-V-R-E or V-I-C-K or something else altogether, I just can’t for the life of me see Sage Rosenfels or T-Jack under centre on Opening Sunday in Cleveland.

“How about Favre coming in about Week 3 of training camp?”

That’s what we wrote right here at www.rivercitysportsblog.com on July 29, after Favre said he wasn’t coming to camp. Later that week (on July 30 to be exact), with Tom and Joe on 92-CITI-FM, I guaranteed that Favre would be wearing a Vikings uniform after the team broke camp at Mankato State University. On Thursday, July 30, on The FAN 960 in Calgary, I told Mike Richards that it was an absolute guarantee that Favre would sign because the NFL had already spent millions on “Favre No. 4″ jerseys.

So on Tuesday, Favre and his wife Deanna hopped on the Vikings private jet in Hattiesburg, Miss., flew to Holman Airport in St. Paul, Minn., were picked up by Vikings coach Brad Childress and given a police escort to Winter Park where he signed the contract that was always there waiting for him.

This was always a no doubter.

After all, at the age of 40, Brett Favre wasn’t going to room with Sage Rosenfels or T-Jack in the dorm at Mankato State. Was not going to happen.

There was no sense bringing him in to start camp with all the rookies around and have nothing but Cirque du Favre every freakin’ day.

And, what the heck? For two weeks, Rosenfels and Jackson got to pretend they were the co-starters on a team that’s going to play very, very good football this season.

Now he’s here and suddenly my season tickets have a whole new value.

Yesterday, according to my friends in Minneapolis, Favre arrived in Winter Park just after noon and the place “was a zoo!”

There were TV camera crews everywhere, fans trying to get a glimpse of the new quarterback and only one police officer, attempting as best he could, to keep order.

At 12:50, Favre had signed his new contract. At 1:29, he was on the practice field. At 12:02, you could purchase Favre No. 4 jerseys on the NFL website. Coincidence? I think not.

Meanwhile, at about 11 a.m., former Vikings receiver Cris Carter said on espn.com: “And another news flash, Brett Favre is going to be starting for them (the Vikings) this weekend at quarterback.”

Friday night at 7 p.m. at the Metrodome, it’s the Vikings vs. the Kansas City Chiefs. Wonder how many No. 4 jerseys will be in the building?

According the Minnesota Vikings, purple is the new green.

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Koskie on Team Canada. Now has offers from two big league teams.

Posted on February 27, 2009 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

It has been February’s good news story. After more than 2 1/2 years away from baseball because of the effects of post-concussion syndrome, Anola, Manitoba’s Corey Koskie, once a third baseman for the Minnesota Twins, Toronto Blue Jays and Milwaukee Brewers, had returned to the game.

But he did more than just return to the game. He went out and won a spot on Canada’s national team, the one that will compete in the World Baseball Classic that begins next week. He’ll wear his old No. 47 and while he’s listed as a backup third baseman right now, he still believes that if he’s given a chance, he could give Mark Teahen a run for the starting job.

 

He also as two offers to play professionally this summer.

 

But first, to his chances with Team Canada. 

 

“I really believe that I’m given a chance to win the job in the exhibition games, then I’ll win the job,” Koskie said, via telephone from Fort Myers, Fla., on Friday afternoon.

 

“I feel really good. No more concussion problems, no more nausea. I’m about 10 pounds heavier than I was when I played in Milwaukee so I find that I’m sore every day. I haven’t played 2 1/2 years and while I feel like I’m shape, I’m going very hard every day. Two years ago, if I was sore in the spring, I would take a day off, say, from infield practice or running or whatever. But right now, I can’t do that. I’m trying to come back in order to be ready for the tournament. I can’t afford to take a day off.

 

“And it’s great to be playing again. I’m just happy being out there again.”

 

Koskie, now 35, played nine years in the majors, but he hasn’t played a game since July 5, 2006. That’s the day Koskie, then with the Brewers, was involved in a terrific play with Milwaukee shortstop Bill Hall. The two combined to make a miraculous catch of a flare to short leftfield off the bat of the Reds’ Felipe Lopez – a play that made the highlight reels all over North America.

Since that day, however, Koskie has been a mess. As the former Twins third baseman tried to make that spectacular over-the-shoulder catch, his legs slipped out from under him and he slammed his shoulders against the outfield grass. He didn’t hit his head (despite what a number of lazy newspaper reporters and news services wrote), but he did suffer the same symptoms a car accident victim would get from a severe case of whiplash.

 

Brewers’ doctors confirmed he had post-concussion syndrome and he hasn’t played a game since. However, in early January he started feeling better and said he’d like to end his career with Team Canada at the 2009 World Baseball Classic.

 

Well, he might not be ending his career at all.

“I have offers on the table from two teams,” he said. “As you know, I’ve been working out at the Twins complex in Fort Myers so because they were good to me, I went to them first and asked if they wanted me. They weren’t interested, but my agent talked to a number of teams and there are two offers out there. I will agree to terms soon, maybe even this weekend. They’re minor league deals, but they are deals and I will play baseball this summer.”

Granted, the comeback of Corey Koskie pales beside the comeback of Tiger Woods, but it’s still a wonderful story. At age 35, after two and a half years out of the game, Manitoba’s greatest baseball player is getting a chance to play again.

Call me a homer. Call me whatever you like. I’m going to spend the summer cheering for him.  

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Renney gone, Koskie on Team Canada, New CFL Rules… the banging in my head goes on unabated…

Posted on February 24, 2009 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

What’s that clanging around in my noggin? 

 

Must admit, can’t think that anyone was surprised when Tom Renney was fired as head coach of the New York Rangers. Great guy, excellent coach, wrong team, wrong time.

 

At the start of the season it appeared as if the Rangers were going to run away and hide, but as the playoffs approach and the Blueshirts have lost 10 of 12 and fallen to within two points of ninth place in the East. Losing to the Leafs on Sunday night was the end of the road for Renney.

 

It’s been clear for awhile that Glen Sather was going to make a change and the move to John Tortorella, a hard-ass, native New Yorker, was so painfully obvious, it bordered on cliche.

 

Tortorella won a Cup in Tampa and also finished last. Of course, he won the Cup with Nikolai Khabibulin in goal and finished last without his Russian netminder, In the end, it always comes down to goaltending and if the Rangers intend to turn this swoon around, Henri Lundqvist had better be ready to carry the load.  

 

2) On the baseball front, Team Canada manager Ernie Whitt confirmed yesterday that Anola, Manitoba’s Corey Koskie, who hasn’t played a game in anger since July 5, 2006, would indeed be one of the 28 players named Tuesday to Team Canada’s preliminary roster for the 2009 World Baseball Classic. Team Canada opens camp March 2 in Dunedin.

 

We first reported this story here at rivercitysportsblog.com at 10:03 a.m. CDT on Sunday, Feb. 22. Later in the day, a story on Koskie’s good fortune appeared on the St. Paul Pioneer Press’s website and the next day the story appeared at cbc.ca. Of course, cbc.ca — which only occasionally gets things right — wouldn’t credit rivercitysportsblog.com. 

 

The mainstream media continues to act despicably. One can only hope the Harper government one day shuts down the CBC, a $1 billion-plus waste of taxpayers money. We live in a time when private broadcasters — the people in this country who pay their own way — are struggling to survive and yet we toss public money down that big CBC toilet.

 

That has to stop. And soon.

 

3) Meanwhile, in the CFL, for the first time, Canadian Football League fans are being asked to propose rule changes that can “make our great game even better,” according to commissioner Mark Cohon’s comments on cfl.ca. 

 

Fans are asked to send their ideas by visiting CFL.ca/rules or by e-mailing rules@cfl.ca by this coming Friday.

 

My suggestion was simple. If a CFL team employs a Canadian as its No. 3 quarterback, then that team should get to use an import starter at another position. It’s time CIS quarterbacks got some training at the pro level in their own country.

 

Interestingly, I’ve heard from a number of 92-CITI-FM listeners who suggested we simply play NFL football in Canada. “One game on one continent,” said our friend Fort Rouge Ted.

 

It’s certainly not patriotic, but it does make sense. 

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Koskie could be going to the World Baseball Classic.

Posted on February 22, 2009 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

Our old friend Corey Koskie might just have taken a very big step toward returning to Major League Baseball. Saturday night, Koskie — who was not listed on Canada’s provisional roster for the World Baseball Classic roster — was told he will be named to Team Canada’s roster for the 2009 WBC. 

Koskie, now 35, played nine years in the majors with Minnesota, Toronto and Milwaukee, but he hasn’t played a game since July 5, 2006. That’s the day Koskie, then with the Brewers,, was involved in a terrific play with Milwaukee shortstop Bill Hall. The two combined to make a miraculous catch of a flare to short leftfield off the bat of the Reds’ Felipe Lopez – a play that made the highlight reels all over North America.

Since that day, however, Koskie has been a mess. As the former Twins third baseman tried to make that spectacular over-the-shoulder catch, his legs slipped out from under him and he slammed his shoulders against the outfield grass. He didn’t hit his head, but he did suffer the same symptoms a car accident victim would get from a severe case of whiplash.

 

Brewers’ doctors confirmed he had post-concussion syndrome and he hasn’t played a game since. In fact, for more than two years, Koskie couldn’t watch much TV without getting sick. He couldn’t sit at  his computer without getting dizzy. Walking into a big venue like Rogers Centre or the Metrodome in Minneapolis would leave him disoriented and prone to panic attacks.

 

However, in early January he started feeling better and told me he’d like to end his career with Team Canada at the 2009 World Baseball Classic. 

“I still don’t know what’s going to happen, but I’d like to play for Canada. It would be a great way to end my career,” Koskie said, from the living room of his home in the suburbs of the Twin Cities last month. “I’ve talked with the Twins and they said they’d let me use the facilities in Fort Myers in early February. Nobody has given me any indication they’d look at me in terms of a contract or anything like that and I haven’t asked. I just want to see if I can still play. I mean, I’ve been out of the game for 2 ½ years. That’s a long time. I’ve just been hanging out with my kids for two years. I might not even want to play again. But I want to see how it feels.” 

 

It must be feeling pretty damn good. 

 

Koskie, who lives year round just outside Minneapolis, did ask the Twins if he could work out with the club at its spring training facility in Fort Myers and it looks like the best ask he ever made. On Saturday, during a workout with the big club, he faced live pitching for the first time in more than two years and looked comfortable. Doctors had already given him the green light to play again and he now believes Team Canada GM Greg Hamilton will put him on the club’s final roster, a roster that must be submitted this Tuesday. 

 

Team Canada will begin its formal training camp at the Toronto Blue Jays’ facility in Dunedin, Fla., on March 2.

 

If the dream does come true tomorrow, what a wonderful, wonderful story. 

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