TIME
OUT
B5
SPORTS
» SEE MORE ONLINE AT WWW.REDDEERADVOCATE.COM
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Greg Meachem, Sports Editor, 403-314-4363 Sports line 403-343-2244 Fax 403-341-6560 sports@reddeeradvocate.com
Olympic squad shaping up CANADA NAMES COACHES AND PLAYERS TO ATTEND SUMMER CAMP FOR HOCKEY TEAM SAM GAGNER
GAGNER GETS DEAL DONE WITH OILERS The Edmonton Oilers have come to terms with Sam Gagner on a three-year contract. General manager Craig MacTavish announced the deal via Twitter on the eve of an arbitration hearing. The 23-year-old centre had 14 goals and 24 assists in 48 games last season. “So happy to remain an Edmonton Oiler for at least three more years,” tweeted Gagner. “Thanks to everyone for the support. Time to get to work.” Gagner reportedly was asking for US$5.5 million a year, with Edmonton offering $3.5 million. He earned $2.275 million last season.
Today
BY THE CANADIAN PRESS The word for players trying to make Canada’s Olympic hockey team is simple — you’ve got to be able to skate. After winning gold on an NHL-size rink at the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver, Canada will be moving back onto the larger international ice surface for the 2014 Games in Sochi, Russia. And as Team Canada executive director Steve Yzerman put it: “There will be more of a premium placed on skating.” There will be plenty of that to chose from, as Yzerman and his staff announced on Monday a list of 47 players who have been invited to an Aug. 25-28 orientation camp in Calgary. Among them are 15 players who won gold in Vancouver, led by Sidney Crosby, Jonathan Toews, Drew Doughty and goaltender Roberto Luongo. The final roster will have 25 players — likely three goalies, eight defencemen and 14 forwards. “Ultimately, we’ll pick the best players available to us, but playing on a bigger ice surface, I believe there is a priority on being able to skate,” Yzerman said on a conference call. “That will weigh into our final decisions on putting this team together.” He said being too slow afoot was one of the reasons Canada bowed out in the quarter-finals the last time it played on the big ice at the 2006 Winter Games in Turin, Italy. Without naming names, Yzerman al-
lowed that there are about a dozen locks to make the team and that the tough part will be filling out the rest of the roster. Some will be young stars who have emerged since 2010, perhaps Steven Stamkos, Claude Giroux or John Tavares. But Mike Babcock, who returns as head coach, said all with have to be two-way players who check in their egos when they put on the Team Canada jersey. “They have to be able to skate,” the Detroit Red Wings coach said. “We expect players to be 200-footers. “They have to play without the puck. And once again, it comes back to playing for Canada. It’s not going to be about any of the individuals, it’s going to be about Canada and executing our plan. So they have to find their game within our game.” Others players invited from the 2010 team were defencemen Dan Boyle, Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook and Shea Weber; and forwards Patrice Bergeron, Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf, Rick Nash, Mike Richards, Eric Staal and Joe Thornton. Not all are guaranteed to make the squad again, but Yzerman said big-game experience will work in a player’s favour. He said older skaters like Scott Niedermayer, who is now retired, and Chris Pronger, who hasn’t played since November, 2011 due to concussion symptoms, were key performers in Vancouver. “We want to put the best team on the ice, but there is great value in that veteran leadership,” he said. “Having said that, we’ve got to make room for some of these
younger players to come in. “Some of these younger players are forcing their way into the lineup. Not only Stamkos, there will be a few of them. They’ve matured, they’ve put their time in and they’re elite players in the league. “So it’s somewhat of a changing of the guard. There’s always been some transition where guys were on the cusp of breaking in at previous Olympics and for various reasons they weren’t selected, and it’s time to move them in.” Some names on the list were a surprise, like Travis Hamonic who has been solid on defence for the New York Islanders, or Boston super-pest Brad Marchand, not to mention the Bruins bruising winger Milan Lucic. There will be debate over some names left off the list, including 41-year-old goalie Martin Brodeur, who was on the four previous Olympic teams with NHL player participation, or 36-year-old winger Jarome Iginla, who played in the last three Games. Iginla made the decisive pass to Crosby on the overtime goal that clinched gold in Vancouver. Also left out were Dallas forward Jamie Benn, goalies Cam Ward of Carolina and James Reimer of Toronto, and Edmonton defenceman Justin Schultz. Players can still play their way onto the team by performing well in the first half of the 2013-14 NHL campaign.
Please see TEAM on Page B6
Blue Jays get blasted by Dodgers
● Senior men’s baseball: Lacombe Stone and Granite vs. North Star Sports, 6:30 p.m., Great Chief 2. ● Ladies fastball: Red Deer League final, first game best-of-three, TNT vs. N. Jensen’s, 7 p.m., Great Chief Park. ● Senior baseball: Red Deer Riggers vs. St. Albert Tigers, 7:30 p.m., Great Chief Park.
Photo by THE CANADIAN PRESS
Los Angeles Dodgers Hanley Ramirez singles during fourth-inning inter-league action against the Toronto Blue Jays in Toronto on Monday.
Wednesday
● Junior golf: McLennan Ross/Sun Tour, Olds. ● Bantam AAA baseball: Red Deer Braves vs. St. Albert, 6:30 p.m., Great Chief Park. ● Parkland baseball: Innisfail at Lacombe, 7 p.m. ● Ladies fastball: Red Deer League final, second game bestof-three, TNT vs. N. Jensen’s, 7 p.m., Great Chief Park. ● Major league women’s soccer: Red Deer Renegades vs. Edmonton Northwest United, 7:30 p.m., RDC.
Thursday
● Senior men’s baseball: Printing Place vs. North Star Sports, doubleheader, Great Chief 1; Gary Moe Volkswagen vs. The Hideout, Great Chief 2, 6:30 p.m.
BY THE CANADIAN PRESS Dodgers 14 Blue Jays 5 TORONTO — Josh Johnson didn’t need to think too hard about how to describe his performance Monday. “I was pitiful,” said the Toronto Blue Jays right-hander. “It’s the only way I could put it.” It was difficult to disagree. The Blue Jays’ losing skid hit five games after they made five errors in their 14-5 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers, who were led by catcher A.J. Ellis’s career-best five RBIs. Johnson (1-6) allowed seven
hits and five runs in two-plus innings to drop his fourth consecutive decision. “I didn’t even battle them,” Johnson said. “Everything was in the middle of the plate. So there’s nothing else I can do but take it. Yeah, that was a pretty poor performance.” Ellis had four hits including a two-run homer as the Dodgers extended their winning streak to four games. “He’s been pretty good all year, really,” Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said. “For me, he’s just consistent. He gives you good at-bats all the time.
It’s not always hits but you’re always going to get a quality at-bat from A.J. He’s a guy who knows what he’s doing up there.” Skip Schumaker also drove in three runs with a home run for the Dodgers (51-47) while the Blue Jays (45-53) were outhit only 16-13. South Korean left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu (8-3) allowed four runs in 5 1/3 innings to pick up his second win in his past three starts. Cheered on by a large contingent of fans in the stands along the right-field line, he gave up nine hits and two walks while striking out three.
“That was definitely more than I expected here in Toronto,” Ryu said of his cheering section. “I was very appreciative of that, it was a big help for me.” Blue Jays manager John Gibbons was less appreciative and more selective in his words. “I probably can’t say it right there,” he said. “It wasn’t a very good game. We got whipped all the way around. Josh, they took it to him. Even our bullpen tonight everybody gave a little up. We were sloppy defensively, it was just a crappy game, it really was.” Andre Ethier doubled with one out in the second and A.J. Ellis hit his fifth homer of the season to give the Dodgers a 2-0 lead. Johnson hit Juan Uribe with a pitch with two out and Mark Ellis singled. Carl Crawford singled in a run and Ellis took third on a throwing error by centre-fielder Colby Rasmus. Yasiel Puig singled in the fourth run. The Dodgers chased Johnson in the third. Ethier led off with a double and scored on a single by A.J. Ellis to make the score 5-0. A wild pitch and a catcher’s interference put runners at first and second with none out before left-hander Aaron Loup replaced Johnson. Johnson was at a loss to explain what has gone wrong for him this season as his earnedrun average sits at 5.66. “I don’t know,” he said. “The ball is in the middle of the plate and it’s pretty easy to see why they hit it all over the place. One day it’ll be really good and then the next day it will be back to square one. It’s been really inconsistent. I don’t know. “Sometimes I feel like I make a pretty good pitch — not today — but in past games I make a pretty good pitch and all of a sudden you get base hits, bloopers fall and balls get through. But today I didn’t make a good pitch.”
Please see JAYS on Page B6
More distance doesn’t always mean a better golf game GIVE US A CALL The Advocate invites its readers to help cover the sporting news in Central Alberta. We would like to hear from you if you see something worthy of coverage. And we would appreciate hearing from you if you see something inaccurate in our pages. We strive for complete, accurate coverage of Central Alberta and are happy to correct any errors we may commit. Call 403-343-2244 with information and results, or email to sports@ reddeeradvocate.com.
Grip it and rip it! proved consistency and increased distance. This is the overwhelming response from Consistency is relative to the level of most golfers when asked how they view the golfer. For a beginner or new golfer a game of golf. This is obvious consistency may mean to make when you watch players grab a consistent contact each and evbucket of balls and head out to ery time. For the intermediate the driving range. The first club golfer it may mean to make conmost pull out of their golf bag is sistent contact in the direction their driver. you’re aiming. The advanced When I ask players why they golfer becomes more specific have pulled their driver out inin that they’re looking for constead of warming up with a shortsistent contact, with the same er club and work their way up to trajectory, ball flight and disthe driver, their response is gentance control (from club to club). erally because they want to hit it Regardless of your level of play far. I have to hit the ball further or experience most golfers are than the player standing in the looking for the same result, to SCOTT next stall, further than my budwalk off the golf course satisfied BERGDAHL dies and most certainly as far as that they have played the best the tour players. could play. INSTRUCTION they Distance, it seems, is the numDistance in some ways is ber one result (of many), that satthe root of all evils on the golf isfies the golfing public. Prior to course. If you hit the ball far but the beginning of each new lesson I teach, have no consistency (direction control) then the student is asked to write down their what this generally means is that you hit goals. Although the goals vary from player the ball further into the bush or the water. to player, the two most common are im- Now if score does not matter to you then
this is OK. You have likely just out driven your playing partners. But at the end of the game it’s the player who thinks his or her way around the course and manages their game properly who will end up with the lower score and have bragging rights in their group. When asked about golf course management, most golfers first thought would be that it does not apply to them. Most say ‘I’m not a good enough golfer that I have to worry about managing myself around the course. I stand up on the tee, hit my shot and hopefully I am not in trouble’. Golf course management applies to all players and if you pay attention to the little things and plan your way around the golf course you are likely to stay away from trouble more often ultimately lowering your scores. Some of the little things are where to play from on the tee box, alignment, where is the trouble and distance control. The first step is to understand and to pay attention to the shape of your shot.
Please see GOLF on Page B6