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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1983-03-09, Page 10Page 10 times-Advocat., March 9, 1983 Sports Spotlight By Ross Haugh The 1983 major league baseball season is now less than one month away and many of the teams with spring training well underway are dreaming of league pennants and World Series participation. " While some suppartexs of the Toronto Blue Jays are very high on their chances in the coming season they probably lack one or two players from being a real serious contender. Even the most critical of the Jays must admit they have come a long way in six years and this has been done mostly on a very strong minor league system. A recent release from the club tells us they have 14 minor league players who are ranked in the top 10 of their respective leagues as ranked by the publication Baseball America. Toronto farmhands accounted for 40 percent of the Pioneer league's best 10 prospects and three of the top 10 in the Southern and Carolina leagues. Ona higher level, shortstop Tony Fernandez and catcher Gene Petralli were in the top 10 in the International league, an AAA loop. When we talked to Bobby Cox and Al Widmar a few weeks ago when the Jays caravan was in London they said both Fernandez and Petralli would have a good shot at making the big club this year and lefty John Cerutti was one of their top pitching prospects. The Blue Jays minor league batting instructor Bob- by Doerr who has spent some time in the past couple of years with the parent team has been named to the all-time Boston Red Sox dream team. Doerr was the Red Sox' second baseman from 1937 through 1951 and was selected to the. American league all star team seven tithes and the Sporting News most valuable player in 1944. tie hit .409 in the 1946 World Series. For anyone wishing to purchase tickets for Blue Jays games, the box office opens Friday, Mali 18 and will be open seven days a week from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m. plus three extra hours during night home games. . The Blue Jays and TV Labatt have announced the 1983 television broadcast schedule on the CTV network with 31 games being carried. The television schedule includes the broadcast of both of the Jays opening games, They are April 5 in Boston and April 9, at home against the Yankees. Returning for their seventh season on broadcasting Blue Jay games will be play-by-play announcer Don Chevier and colour commentator Tony Kubetc. Host Fergie Olver starts his third season along with producer Tom McKee and director Mike Lansbury. Recognized as one of the youngest teams in baseball, the Blue Jays headed to spring. training with the youngest roster in their seven year hitory. The average age of the 1983 Blue Jays is 25.3 years with on- ly five players 30 years of age and over." Three of the most senior citizens are in their first year with the team and are expected to add much to the offensive talents of the club. Cliff Johnson is the oldest at 35 and he is expected to be the right handed designated hitter. Johnson comes over from Oakland. He has 16 pinch hit runs, one short of the major league record. Dave Collins at 30 brings his $600,000 a year salary from the New York Yankees. Despite a poor record with the Yanks last year, the Jays are hoping Collins can get back to some of the speed shown at Cincinatti when he was known to steal at least 70 bases in a season. The newest Blue Jay is Jorge Orta, age 32, 'who spent the 1982 season at Los Angeles. His best season was in 1975 when he hit .340 in 190 games for the Chicago White Sox. One could say he "orta help" the Blue Jays. The other two Blue Jays 30 or over are catchers Er- nie Whitt at 30 and Buck Martinez at 34. Opposition continues A number of National Hockey League team gover- nors are apparently still (opposed to the transfer of the St. Louis Blues franchise to Saskatoon. They use all kinds of excuses such as where is Saskatoon?, the weather is terrible in the winter time there and they have only a population of 150,000. Weould think hockey has a better chance of suc- cess in a\lace like Saskatoon where the majority of the population are hockey nuts than some United States cities which are overrun by major league baseball, foot- ball and basketball and a lot of fans don't give a hoot about the puck game. NHL hockey has already failed in Cleveland, Atlan- ta, Denver, Kansas City and Oakland and fans are becoming very scarce at games this year in Los Angeles and Pittsburgh. A number of Penguin crowds this year. have been well below the 10,000 mark. We have recently talked to a relative in Saskatoon and there is no doubt in his mind or any rabid fan out there that the city and surrounding areas can support a big league team. The attitude in Saskatoon is, "NHL governors just don't understand how much the game of hockey means in Canada and Saskatoon, particularly". Playoffs start The South Huron hockey league playoffs start on two fronts Thursday night. The Zurich Buckeyes will be in Hensell while the Ex- eter Mohawks play host to the Centralia Marauders. Pee wees win Shamrock '1' Exeter an Austaged at the South Huron llliary pee wees rc scored three !impressive victories Satur- day to win the Shamrock pee we "B" playoff championship. In the all day tournament Rec Centre the Exeter youngsters blasted Port Stanley 9.3 and blanked South London 4-0 before downing Dorchester 7-2 in the cham- pionship final. Port Stanley won the con- solation title with a victory over Ilderton. In the grand final, the Ex- eter club took a 2-0 first period lead and upped their winning margin to 5-0 before Dor- .vb r cheater was able to bit the scoreboard for the first time midway through the third period. Captain Jon O'Connor open- ed the Exeter scoring on an unassisted effort and Steve 111111110111111088101181118111811111111118011181111181110111MMI • Attention Sportsmen Claybird Gun Club Annual Spring Meeting Exeter High School Room 116 Tuesday, Mgrch 15 7:30 p.m. Everyone Welcome AINIMININIINNNt111NN i 1 PEE WEES WIN SHAMROCK TITLE — The Exeter Legion Auxiliary pee wees won the Shamrock pee wee "B" championship Saturday with three straight tournament wins. Back, left, Mark Coward, Tom Ralph, tourney con- vener Ron Hern, Jeff Hannah, Shawn Forsythe, manager Tom Dalrymple, Jeff Chipchase, Steve Anderson, Jeff Dalrymple, Doug Clark and coach Jack Chipchase. Front, Larry Lewis, Jeff'Rowe, Steve Lingard, captain Jon O'Connor, Fred Gregus, Jeff Kints, Rob McKnight and Shawn Moore. • T -A photo HOME figure skating show attracts many skaters, fans The South Huron Rec Cen- tre was a beehive of activity Sunday as 248 figure skaters from four counties par- ticipated in the annual HOME skating competitions. ' The sixth annual event hosted by the Exeter figure skating club featured skaters from 18 clubs in the counties of Huron, Oxford, Middlesex and Elgin. In charge of the competi- Scores from dart league The 4W's were the only team in the Exeter mixed dart league toscore five 13oints In Friday's yegtllar action. This week's scores were: 4W's 5 Outlaws 0 CB'ers 4 Out of Space 1 Scotties 4 All in the Family 1 Winkers 4 Itchy Niters 1 Wubbu 3 Jaams 2 Shiphunters 3 Evil Eyes 2 Rowdy Ones 3 Canscotts 2 Swat 3 Crusaders 2 Friday's schedule is as follows: 8 p.m. Shiphunters vs All in the Family Out of Space vs 4W's • Jaams vs Winkers CB'ers vs Rowdy Ones 9:30 p.m. Canscotts vs Crusaders Outlaws vs Swat Itchy Niters vs Wubbu Evil Eves vs Scotties tion were HOME chairman Marie Tiernan of the Exeter club and host club president Gary Birmingham. Others assisting in the day's successful operation were Ann Prout, Louise Pin- combe, ' Agnes and Peter Aunger, Connie Birmingham, Doris Weigand, Barb Soldan, Helen Rankin and many other members and supporters of the local club. Exeter mayor Bruce Shaw brought greetings from the town Sunday morning and made presentations of medals to winners in the first five flights. Skaters from three area clubs turned in excellent per- formances and were reward- ed with gold, silver and. bronze medals. From the Exeter figure skating club, Lisa Birm- ingham and Michelle Birm- ingham were first place win- ners in two flights of the preliminary free skate and Kelly Mommersteeg of Zurich was second and Lisa Bedard was third in other flights of the same division. Sue Anne Soldan of Exeter was tied for first in the ladies no test free skate with Colleen Markus of Mt. Brydges. Michael Rankin won a gold medal in the men's no test free skate and Tim Bullock of the Exeterand llderton clubs was second in the pre -juvenile men's free skate. Bullock teamed with Beth Mohawks win grudge match The Exeter Mohawks edg- ed the Exeter Hawks 7-5 in an exciting hockey contest at the South Huron Rec Centre Fri- day night. This was the first of whit is expected to be an annual grudge battle between the Hawks of the' O11A western junior league and the Mohawks who finished second this year in the South 11..ron interrhediate league. The game featured outstan- ding goal tending by Dave Rook of the junior club and a back and forth style of hockey with the momentum changing' constantly. The first period was all even with Dave Robinson counting for the Mohawks on a three-way combination with Brad Daters and Doug Flet- cher and Tony Underhill tying the score for the juniors on an end to end solo rush with one second left in .the opening period. In the second period, the Hawks moved two goals up in the first half only to have the intermediate club bounce back with three straight suc- cessful shots. For the Hawks Pete Tuckey converted a pass from Tom Coates and Bill Glover registered on an unassisted effort. Jeff Fuller fired the first Mohawks score of the second period on passes from Brad ,Taylor and Brian Mercer, Brad Daters tied the score on a solo dash and Brian Taylor hit on a three-way effort with Barry Baynham and• Jim Guenther on a power play. The Hawks tied the score again at 1:23 of the final frame as Tony Underhill hit the Mohawks net on a pass from Bill Glover with the Mohawks playing a man short. At 7:28, Brian Taylor restored the Mohawks one goal edge on a successful shot with assists going to Barry Baynham and _ Dave Robinson. Mike Clarke was on the fir- ing end of the final junior Hawks goal at 12:40. Setting up the goal scoring play were Ted Hodgins and Tom Coates. Brian Mercer notched what proved to be the winning goal for the Mohawks al 13:50 with Brad Taylor and Doug Flet- cher assisting. The Mohawks picked up the insurance goal with four minutes left. Tom Ryan was the marksman with assists going to Brian Taylor and Rick Lindenfield. Emery, also of the two clubs to win the mixed ,junior bronze dance and Tabatha Froats and Corey Wilson of the Lucan club won the mix- ed preliminary dance event. Kathy Merner of the Zurich club won the ladies pre - juvenile free skate and Michelle Birmingham team- ed with Paul Gibbs of Parkhill to place second in the mixed preliminary dance to the win- ning Lucan pair. Deb Bedard of Zurich was second in the ladies novice free skate and Kim Murray of Exeter was third in the ladies preliminary free skate. Medal winners from the Parkhill Silver Blades were Susan Willemse, Michelle Gibbs, Betty Nauss, Sandra Relouw, Kristen Merritt, San- dra O'Leary, Shannon Turner, Sherry Ansems, Paul Gibbs, Tracy Lightfoot, Laurie Timmermans, Cindy O'Leary, Allison Thompson, Sherrie Willemse, Barbara Lawson, and Laurie Ann Gunness. LOCAL SKATING WINNERS — A number of Exeter figure skating club members won medals at Sunday's HOME skating competition at the South Huron Rec Cen- tre. Above, first place winners Michelle Birmingham and Sue Ann Soldan are shown with their medals along with o third place finisher Kim Murray. Dave Bogart in university .final. For the second year in a row, a graduate of the Exeter Minor Hockey system will be playing on a team competing for a national championship. Dave Bogart, son of Ron and Elaine Bogart, will be on the Laurier Golden Hawks when they compete for the Canadian univers.'y hockey title this weekend in Moncton, N-13 The Hawks, ranked ninth in the nation, knocked off the number one rated Toronto Blues two straight in their A LOCAL GOLD MEDALIST — Lisa Birming am of the Exotor figure skating club won a gold medal In Sunday's HOME figure skating competition at the South Huron Rec Centre. Above, she receives her medal from mayor Bruce Shaw. t -A photo best -of -three Ontario Univer- sities Athletic Association championship. Previously, the Hawks ousted the powerful Western Mustangs. Bogart was a member of two Ontario championship minor teams in Exeter and went on to play with the Hawks and the Strathroy Blades of the Junior "B" league. Two members of the same Ontario championship minor teams, Perry and Paul Pooley, are helping the Ohio State Buckeyes in their quest for a national U.S. college title. On the weekend, the Buckeyes beat Miami of Ohio 10-8 in a total goals series to advance to the conference championship to be played this weekend at the Joe Louis arena in Detroit. The top two teams from the tournament will advance to the regional championship in a bid to make it to the U.S. championship to be played in South Dakota. Last season, Dave Shaw helped the Kitchener Rangers win the Memorial Cup and he'll be one of the mainstays as the Junior "A" team starts playoffs soon in an attempt to repeat. Ile was drafted by the Quebec Nordiques as their first round pick and has played two games in the NHL this season. grand Anderson made It 2-0 conver- ting a pass from Jeff Kints. In the second period, Forsythe fired two success ul shots in less than five minutes with assists going to Jeff Dalrymple and Tom Rolph. Jon O'Connor put the Ex- eter club up 5-0 early in the final frame as he converted a pass from Shawn Moore. - Sandwiched around two Dorchester goals were Exeter counters by Tom Rolph on a pass from Jeff Dalrymple and Steve Anderson with passing help from Jeff Hannah. Jon O'Connor and Steve Anderson each scored two goals to lead their team- mates to the semi-final 4-0 win lover South London while Fred CG wins in Zurich tourney - C. G. Farm of Zurich cap- tured the "B" title in last week's Zurich rec league tournament, while Goderich won the "A" title with an 8-1 triumph over Zurich Jets. In the tournament opener, Seaforth bombed Crediton by an 8-1 count with John Schwindt potting the only tal- ly for the losers, while Ian Doig paced the winners. Zurich Jets tackled Pfaff Electric in the second tilt and posted an easy 12-3 win. Glen Zirk paced the attack with three goals, while picking up two each were Kim McKin- non, Mark Regier and Rick Schilbe. Singles came off the sticks of Ken Clarke and Rari- dy McKinnon. Larry Taylor, Brian Camp- bell and Fred Campbell scored for Pfaff. There was little in the way of defence in the third game, won. by London with a 10-7 verdict over Varna. Lorne Taylor had two for Varna and singles were recorded by Dale Ratcliffe, Ervin Keys, *Ron Keys, Wayne Cantelon and Bill Stephenson. Goderich took the fourth game with a thrilling 5-4 ver- dict over C.G. farm. Bill Hoff- man was a two -goal man for the losers with Rick Ipgram and Kerry Bedard picking up the singles. In the second round, Pfaff Electric ousted Crediton by a 7-2 count. Brian and Fred Campbell scored two each for 'the winners with the singles going to Preston Dearing, AI Knight and Brian Penhale. Rob Funston scored both Crediton goals. :. Zurich Jets made it to the "A" final with a 6-1 verdict over Seaforth ih a penalty fill- ed contest that the Jets wrap- ped up with five unanswered goals in the third. Randy McKinnon and Ray Weido had two each for the winners with singles being tallied by Kim McKinnon and Pat Bedard. Doug Phillips scored Seaforth's lone goal in the first period. C. G. Farm powered their way to a 10.1 drubbing of Var- na to gain a "B" final berth. Bob Mommersteeg was the big gun, scoring three goals and assisting on four. Kerry Bedard also had three goals and three assists. Picking up single markers were Rick In- gram, Glen Overholt, Bill Hoffman and Harold Borden. Goderich then won the last game of the preliminaries as Paul Corriveau scored with 48 seconds left in the game to cap a 3-2 verdict over London. In the "B" final, C. G. Farm broke open a close game with a third period onslaught to take an 8-3 win over Pfaff Electric and the $175 prize. Kerry Bedard, Harold Borden and Rick In- gram had two goals each to pace the win, with singles go- ing to Bob Mommersteeg and Bob Merner. Randy Fisher had two for the electricians and Brian Campbell notched the other one. Goderich had a surprising- ly easy time taking the "A" ti- tle as they juntped into a quick 4-0 lead and coasted to an 8-1 victory. Pat Bedard scored the lone goal for the Jets. Novice lose The Exeter novice hockey team dropped a 7-5 decision to South London in exhibition play on the weekend at the Argyle arena in London. The South London took a 3-1 first. Captain Jason Heywood fired the first Exeter goal on an unassisted effort. The Exeter club bounced back with four goals in the se- cond period and were tied at 5-5 going into the third period, but, London scored two unanswered goals to take the victory. Jason Heywood registered three of his team's middle frame scores with two coming on solo dashes. The other score was set up by Joel Smith. ' The other Exeter marker came from the stick of Fred Godbolt on a pass from Fred Steciuk. charnpionship Gregus in goal picked up a Exeter scorer with a hat trick well earned shutout.` to his credit. He also added On the playmaking side of one assist. the ledger, Anderson and Next on the scoring ladder O'Connor each gained one with a pair of goals apiece assist as did Jeff Chipchase were Jeff Dalrymple and Jon and Rob McKnight. O'Connor. The letter also had The opening game scoring two assists. pattern was similar to the Scoring in single fashion for final contest as Exeter mov- the winners were Jeff Rowe ed well in front, this time 8-0 and Steve Lingard. Getting before the opposition could .' one assist apiece were Jeff score. - Chipchase, Jeff Kints and Steve Anderson was the to Rob McKni t. IN DIAMOND FINAL — An Exeter rink skipped by Helen Burton will be in Gravenhurst Monday to com- pete in the Ladies Diamond Championship. Back left, Beatrice Richardson and Win Marshall. Front, Janie McDowell and Helen Burton. The local foursomewon a recent district playoff to qualify for the trip north. T -A photo PYOteCt )fwr lmestnrent! T $ 11.96 011 a,xl FILTER CHANGE Install up l0 5 litres of 1 OW30 Motor OR and an Autopar Oil Filler. M. •OOI.I.4 ru11.....,,.,.- 1 O•f0 r.r.:o.0 •I.InO.V ITIa. M rag WARNER AUTO MARINE GRAND BEND 2382391 ,1.14LOt•,. 'ISC.II.OL' OL'I1,1, i.1. 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