HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2000-09-27, Page 9THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2000. PAGE 9.
Sports
Area hockey players move on to Jr. squads
Continuing his play
Craig Marks of RR1, Belgrave has moved from playing
minor hockey in Blyth to the Junior C Wingham Ironmen for
the 2000-2001 season.
From the sidelines
Going the distance
By Hugh Nichol
The City of
Toronto should be
an automatic to
host the 2008
Olympic Summer
Games simply
because if the peo
ple of Ontario can
accept the never-ending carousel of
emotion surrounding their profes
sional sports teams they will support
a showing of the world’s elite
beyond imagination.
Take the Canadian Football
League’s Argonauts for example.
Halfway through the season they
fired the coach and replaced him, not
with someone with coaching experi
ence, but with their star player. Now
Mike Clemons has charisma, leader
ship and Hall of Fame credentials
but is he coaching material? And by
placing him on the sidelines they
have deprived Argos’ fans of their
greatest joy, that of watching the
“Pinball” in action.
Last season the NBA Toronto
Raptors lineup featured two of the
games’ most promising stars in
Tracy McGrady and Vince Carter.
Behind the ball-playing magic of
these two cousins, the Raptors made
the playoffs for the first tiam in team
history and appeared on the verge of
becoming a legitimate contender.
Yet, instead of progressing, the
Raptors immedi-ately lost McGrady
to Orlando and may lose the services
of Carter, whose slam-dunk perform
ance at the all-star game brought a
nation of basketball fans to their feet,
4t the end of the upcoming season.
And how about those Blue Jays.
The general consensus among the
fans is that the new Rogers
Communications ownership will
supply the financial backing to allow
the Jays to recapture the glory years
of 1992-93. General Manager Gord
Ash however, cautions that you can
not buy a contender, a theory open to
argument considering Atlanta and
Cleveland are always in contention
and the biggest spender of all, the
New York Yankees has won three of
the last four World Series champi
onships.
Therefore despite the individual
accomplishments of Wells and
Delgado the Jays’ playoff hopes
remain more mathematical than log
ical, their chance to advance depend
ing on someone’s failure rather than
their own success.
The Maple Leafs are a survivor
series all their own. Following one
of the greatest regular seasons in
team history it soon became obvious
come playoff time that they simply
could not compete on the physical
level required to win the Stanley
cup. Therefore in an attempt to com
pensate and appease the general pub
lic Toronto management signed free
agents Shayne Corson, Gary Roberts
and Dave Manson and have con
vinced us they are the missing link to
utopia, conveniently overlooking the
fact that Corson was an eight-goal
man last season, five years ago
Roberts retired for a season due to
injuries and the Maple Leafs are
Manson’s seventh team in the last 10
years.
So, as you see, the alternating out
pouring of sensationalist and suffer
ance experienced once every four
years during the Olympics is wit
nessed almost daily by the Ontario
sports community. For every giveth
there is a taketh away yet regardless
of the outcome we acknowledge,
recognize, welcome and literally go
the distance in supporting our
province’s sports activities while
asking very little in return.
For this reason alone we deserve a
chance to show the Olympic world
what our nation is all about tor it is
we the phrase “I am Canadian" was
coined.
By Janice Becker
Citizen staff
With no senior, minor hockey
teams in the area, several local play
ers are making their foray into
advanced levels of play in other
communities.
Throughout this season, we will he
doing our best to feature stories on
these young players.
Finishing last hockey season as a
member of the Blyth Bantam
WOAA champs, Craig Marks has
made the next move in his hockey
career.
Marks, of RR1, Belgrave and an F.
E. Madill student, now a member of
the Wingham Ironmen Junior C
team, is one of several local hockey
players who have moved up to an
intensified level of play for the com
ing year.
“I think it is going to be good and
we should win a lot of games,” said
Marks of his new squad.
Though the average age of the
Ironmen is just 17 this year, Marks
said the team fared very well at a
pre-season tournament in Kincardine
recently, making it to the finals.
Marks was among the more than
60 players invited to try-outs for the
Ironmen though some were much
younger and just learning from the
experience, he said.
As an Ironman, Marks said he will
have to commit a lot more time to
the team, participating in two prac
tices and two games per week.
Marks began his move through the
hockey ranks at an early age when
he began to play at the age of five in
Belgrave. Since then he has played
in Wingham and Blyth.
As a member of the Blyth
PeeWees, he won the All-Ontario
championship twice and went to th?
finals a third time.
“I have had a lot of successful
years in Blyth” he added.
His dedication to the sport does
not stop when the snow melts. He
has played in Durham in a summer
hockey league for three years.
He has also hit the ice for his high
school team for two years and has
his sights set on a scholarship after
graduation.
At 17, Marks is hoping to continue
playing hockey for quite some time,
hopefully catching on with a Junior
B team somewhere.
Highlanders win 2
This weekend the Grey Bruce
Atom Highlanders continued their
winning ways with two victories.
On Saturday the squad travelled to
St. Catherines and won 6-3. Rhys
Thomas led the offense with a hat-
trick, while Chris Corbett, Mitch
Ferguson and Kevin McArther tal
lied singles.
Assists went to Todd Hellyer,
Ferguson with two, Jordan Wright,
Tremble, Conor Gill and Derek
Widmeyer.
Goalie Sean Van Beurden made
some great saves despite the fog-
clouded rink.
On Sunday the Highlanders
took on Halton in Markdale and shut
the opposition down by a score of 3-
0.
It was the trio of Mike Longpre,
McArthur and Wright all the way
with two assisting the scorer on each.
It was McArthur from Wright and
Longpre then Wright from McArthur
and Longpre, then Longpre from
McArthur and Wright giving the
team the three points, while Colton
Routenberg earned his first shut-out
of the season.
Couple hosts annual trail ride
Amidst red and gold leaves on an
autumn day, horseback riding enthu
siasts are invited to participate in
Hugo’s Fall Colour Trail Ride and
benefit Ontario Special Olympics.
Hugo and Fnedy Bontrup of RR1.
Londesboro will be hosting their
seventh annual trail ride Saturday,
Oct. 7, at Frontier Town, Home on
the Range.
Located just east of Londesboro
on County Rd. 15, 41073
Londesboro Rd., the Bontrups’
Hullett Twp. property can be
enjoyed by riders and their horses
along the trail.
All donations raised for the ride
will go to Ontario Special Olympics.
Riders are asked to bring a door
prize.
Registration begins at 10 a.m. and
the ride leaves at 11 a.m. sharp.
A potluck dinner and barbecue
will follow at 5 p.m.
All participants are reminded to
have liability insurance on their
horse.
For further information, contact
the Bontrups at 523-9678 or fax
523-4273.
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Best of the Best
Nominations are now being accepted
for the 2000 Awards Program
Let's recognize the best of our young people. If you know a young
person, aged 6 to 18, who is involved in worthwhile community service; a
special person who is contributing while living with a limitation; a youth
who has performed an act of heroism; or a 'good kid' who shows a commit
ment to making life better < or others, doing more than is normally expected
of someone their age — help us recognize their contribution — nominate
them today!
Nominations will be accepted until October 31,
2000. Contact this newspaper or the Ontario
Community Newspapers Association at
905-639-8720, Loc. 230.
Nominate a young person from our community today!
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if JUNIOR CITIZEN \-/rOF THE YEAR
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