Roy Halliday is God in pinstripes...seriously he is the real Chosen One!

(Tim Shaffer / Reuters / October 7, 2010)

Last night...I witnessed one of the greatest sporting feats of my lifetime...as Roy "Doc" Halladay recorded the first no hitter in baseball playoff history since Don Larsen produced a perfect game in the World Series way way back in 1956! That's right...54 years ago was the last time a pitcher recorded at least a no-hit game in the playoffs. There's been some phenomenal pitchers since that time including and not limited to Nolan Ryan, Sandy Koufax, Randy Johnson, Roger Clemens, Tom Seaver, Jim Palmer, Greg Maddux and on and on and on. But none of them produced a no-hitter in the playioffs...In fact how many of them even threw 1 or 2 hit playoff games? Not sure...but probably not many of them.

This is for the most part a basketball blog...but being a sports lover I had to say a few words after witnessing history last night. The Philadelphia crowd was awesome. They could sense it was going to be a special evening and the man who waited 10 years to start his first playoff game did not disappoint!
It only took...104 piches, 79 strikes and incredibly only 3, three-ball counts to push Halladay from being one of the best pitchers over the last several years, to one of the best, if not the best of his generation. When I say only, I'm being facetious because 104 pitches calls for some serious arm action. To add an exclamation point to the night, Halladay even knocked in a run with an RBI single in the bottom of the 2nd to help his cause.

Harry Leroy Halladay III was born in Denver, Colorado and the late great Tom Cheek of Canadian and baseball broadcasting royalty coined the name "Doc" after the Wild Wild West gunslinger Doc Holliday. He is a gunslinger in the the way that he hunts down batters and relegates them to golfing ground ball outs or swinging wildly at pitches that seem to defy all laws of physics! Halladay is simply God in Pinstripes!

Back in 2004-2006 when I was reporting for Global TV(Global Sports) I got to cover all the major sports in Toronto, including hoops, hockey and CFL football. Of all the sports I must say baseball was my least favorite to cover, and not because of anything other than the game was too slow at times for my liking. Pitchers knitting quilts between pitches, managers going to the mound every other pitch to talk about last night's team dinner menu, batters re-arranging their uniforms and crotch grabbing while at the plate, etc.etc.etc. Most games took in excess of 3 hours. Which is way too long...especially now in this age of Facebook and and 140 character messages to friends and strangers called Tweets!
But I covered a ton of Blue Jay games in those days...used to love the free popcorn in the media room! I also loved talking to some of the older reporters who would fill me in on how great baseball was and what it needed to do to be great again.

Usually I would cover 3-4 baseball games a week on top of my full-time job as an Investment Representative at TD Waterhouse(I'm still there by the way), and really I don't know how I pulled it off! 8 hours at the bank...go home...get changed and race downtown to the Roger's center or the Air Canada Center and then "work" another 7 hours or so covering sports! Long days to say the least!

Safe to say whenever I knew Halladay was pitching I was ecstatic on the way to the ballpark because I knew it would be over in about 2 hours. Halladay pitches so fast and efficient that baseball should just clone him every night and the games would be speedy and they'd get some younger fans back to the game because they  get antsy sitting down after even a half an hour. After the game I'd get in the locker room and there would be Halladay, never shunning the media, with that same serious after game "Game Face" on. He would always give credit to his catcher and his teammates and basically downplay anything he did to get the W. He was simply class and professionalism personified!

Last night...I still pictured him wearing the Blue Jays uniform even though he was wearing red and white instead of the blue and white of Toronto's squad. Still the same ol' Doc, mowing down batters, keeping things simple and pitching at his pace. I'm rooting for him this post-season because he played here with purpose and poise despite some very lean times and teams. I'm rooting for him because he plays with no fanfare and no chest-thumping bravado. I'm rooting for him because he is God in pinstripes!

Super K...Kevin Pangos verbally commits to the Gonzaga Zags!

Kevin Pangos...simply a magician on the court.

Prized Super-Canadian PG Kevin Pangos, has finally let the cat out of the bag by verbally committing to play at Gonzaga University starting in 2011/2012. Pangos, a Newmarket, Ontario native and son of a basketball coach wasn't pursued by several top level NCAA Division I teams that in my opinion have missed out on a future true point guard leader and stud at the collegiate level. He remained an unknown commodity even in this age of lightning fast spread of information over the world wide web! What Pangos lacks in athleticism he clearly makes up with a savviness and on-court demeanour that belies his young age. He is often underestimated because he doesn't slam or play the game with too much outward emotion...simply put...he just plays!
Somewhat of a coup for Mark Few and the formerly "Cinderella darling" Zags, Pangos had apparently whittled his short list down to Notre Dame, Virginia and Gonzaga. Three other Canadians ply their wares for the Zags, Big man Robert Sacre, Kelly Olynyk and Mangisto(Manny) Arop, who's projected to have a breakout season at the small forward slot. Bol Kong, another Canuck via the Sudan, recently left Gonzaga due to personal reasons and is headed back to Canada to finish out his collegiate career.
Gonzaga does have a couple other top-level guards signed for the 2011 campaign including Gary Bell Jr. and Kyle Dranginis but Pangos should be able to eke out substantial court time despite a logjam in Gonzaga's back court starting next season.

Crown has the scoop on the signing right HERE.

Pangos...Gonzaga's newest baller.

Even the mighty ESPN also seems to think Pangos flew under the radar:

"Gonzaga recruit not a star yet


October, 6, 2010 Oct 6 4:55PM By Eamonn Brennan
Canadian point guard and class of 2011 recruit Kevin Pangos verbally committed to the Gonzaga Bulldogs.

Wait: Who is Kevin Pangos?
If you looked only at recruiting rankings, this would be a difficult question to answer. Pangos is an unscouted, unranked commodity. Part of that has to do with his native land; it's harder for recruiting analysts to get a read on foreign players, and Canada is no different. Part of that might just a typical under-the-radar-type situation. Some players just don't get a lot of recruiting hype, no matter where they're from. But if you look elsewhere -- namely, at the results of the FIBA U-17 World Championships in July -- you might start thinking Gonzaga found a steal. Pangos averaged 15 points per game in that tournament. He was named the tournament's top point guard and was a member of the all-tournament team, which also included high-profile 2011 recruits like James McAdoo and Bradley Beal. He was the youngest Canadian ever to participate in a senior men's international game. Some have (inevitably, it seems) compared him to fellow Canadian point guard Steve Nash.
So, wait: Did the next Steve Nash just commit to Gonzaga? Why aren't we more excited?
It might have something to do with the difficulty in recruiting foreign players; even top-flight schools have to limit their recruiting focus somehow, and if the top schools weren't looking at Pangos, it's easy to see why he could slip through the recruiting tracks. And it's not as though Pangos ended up at a nowhere school. He was recruited by plenty of high-major programs (Michigan, UNLV, Cincinnati, Portland, Boston College, Temple, Virginia, and Notre Dame among them) and he chose one of, if not the, best. (Not to mention one with several fellow Canadians and a good mix of European players. Mark Few is awfully good at recruiting outside the states.)
Despite all that, it feels a little like Pangos is flying under the radar. We'll see if that's still the case in two years' time. If those Nash comparisons are remotely true, I guess we can't say we weren't warned.
(Update: Almost immediately after I published this post, Pangos was upgraded to a 93 overall on our recruiting boards. He's now a four-star prospect ranked No. 29 at his position. That didn't take long.)"

Here's the UPDATED ESPN rankings on Pangos...who didn't seem to have much of a profile on him on their website before the verbal commitment became news in the blogosphere yesterday. The "World Wide Leader in sports" came through though giving him a 93 ranking and labelling him a 4-star recruit and has some nice things to say about KP's game and prospects for the future.

Canadian Denham Brown not going to Poland...heading to the Ukraine instead!

Will Denham Brown return to the NBA one day?
Photo Courtesy of http://www.geocities.co.jp/Athlete-Acropolis/5944/denham.html

Canadian Sr. Men's National Team member Denham Brown will be taking his talents to the Ukraine instead of Poland...according to Canada Basketball's website. Brown who left the national men's team for a couple of years to attend to personal matters has undergone a sort of resurgence internationally and will play for one of the better squads in Europe...Dnipro Dnepropetrovsk. He had originally inked to play with Asseco Prokom Gdynia in Poland(2-time Polish champions) but the team and player have "mutually agreed" to part ways. Brown, a graduate of the University of Connecticut Huskies of the Big East in the NCAA, has had an up and down professional career so far, bouncing around a several countries like the Italy, The Philippines, Turkey and Poland as well as a stint in the NBADL last season in limited action for the Iowa Energy. Despite being drafted 40th overall by the Seattle Supersonics(now the Oklahoma City Thunder) in 2006, the Toronto native has not had much luck getting back to the NBA. Safe to say Denham may be better served playing overseas where his athleticism would be a plus in the Euro league play.
Brown, 27, played for Canada this past summer's at the FIBA World Championships for Men in Turkey, and finished 3rd highest on the team in scoring at 8.8ppg. His highest total was 13 points against Lebanon in the team's opener and later he notched 12 points against a pesky New Zealand squad. Here's hoping Denham will be afforded the playing time to shine in the Ukraine in 2010/2011. Good luck Mr. Brown.

Check out the piece on Canada Basketball's website...HERE.

A-Game game summary against the Mohawk College Mountaineers in Hamilton October 2nd, 2010

The Guelph Phoenix are all business between the lines!

Guelph Phoenix 96 Mohawk College Mountaineers 67

On a rainy Saturday, October 2nd the A-Game Hoops Guelph Phoenix Senior Men's team traveled to Hamilton battle the talented Mohawk College Mountaineers.
The Phoenix looked primed and ready to go from the opening tip. The lights out shooting of
Kyle Julius and the returning Jay Mott soon had the Phoenix up 20 with just minutes to go in the first half.
A gritty press from the Mountaineers chipped away at the Phoenix lead in the half's closing minutes sending the teams to the locker rooms with the Phoenix up 47-34.
The second half saw an energized Mountaineers team threaten to close the lead, but the flurry of offense from Julius and Mott was eventually ended any hopes of a comeback. The Phoenix went on to win 91-67 after shooting a combined 55% from the field. Julius finished the game with 36 points on 12 for 17 from the field (7-11 3pt). Jay Mott returned to his usual sharp shooting form in his first game back from injury netting 19 points while being 5 for 9 from 3 point range.Mike King may have been the deciding factor in this game as he hauled in 10 rebounds and dominated the paint for the majority of the game.

Rising high-schooler Agunwa Okolie.

The Phoenix are in action next weekend as they travel to Toronto to play the University of Toronto Varsity Blues on Friday night(October 8th) for a game at 8pm. Then they take on the UBC Thunderbirds(Ranked 2nd overall in final CIS regular season standings for 2009/2010) on Saturday(October 9th) at home in Guelph at 12 pm.

Kevin Pangos and Henry Tan.

Game Summary Courtesy-Matt Hayes

For more info on the Mohawk College Mountaineers check out their team page HERE!

A-Game game summary against the Waterloo Warriors September 29th, 2010

Guelph Phoenix squad

Waterloo Warriors 73 Guelph Phoenix 71

After a tough 2 point loss to the University of Waterloo in which the Phoenix only had 7 guys and missing 3 starters they bounced back and competed hard vs Mohawk college on Sunday.

Coach Mauro DiVito giving his son Vince some tips at practice.

"Even though we suffered our first loss to CIS competition in 15 games we still followed through with our plan of playing high school kids at this level. We had two high school players play major minutes and contribute in a close game vs CIS competition. There aren't to many high school players that get such an exciting opportunity". -Stu Julius
Henry Tan and Troy Knight were outstanding, turning the Waterloo guards over and playing tough against guys 3 to 5 years older. They both played over 20 minutes.

Agunwa Okolie of Archbishop Dennis O'Connor and Henry Tan of Vaughan S.S.

Game Summary Courtesy-Matt Hayes


The Waterloo Warriors website also produced their own game summary...read below...

September 29, 2010: Putting the Jerseys On


The Waterloo Warriors put on the game jerseys on Wednesday evening for a scrimmage against the visiting senior men's team, Guelph Phoenix. Matt Hayes and Graham Jarman are two former Warriors playing for the Phoenix. Eleven Warriors hit the court, with 10 figuring in the scoring. It was a pretty veteran team that started with Luke Kieswetter, Wayne Bridge, Cam McIntyre, Alan Goodhoofd and Brendan Smith getting the starting assignments. Rookies Andrew Melbourne, Mike Wright and Troy Stevenson saw some time coming off the bench. Cam McIntyre led the Warriors in scoring with 21 points. For the visiting Phoenix, Guelph Gryphon alumni Kyle Julius and Radhi Knapp led the scoring with 26 and 22 points.
The Warriors also used the scrimmage to work on their end game. Down by three points with 2:36 remaining, the Warriors outscored the visitors 6-1 to close out the game and secure a 2 point margin of victory. The final score was Waterloo 71, Guelph Phoenix 69.

For more info on the Waterloo Warriors Men's basketball team check them out HERE.