The baseball season on Prince Edward Island opens this weekend with games in the New Brunswick Junior Baseball League and the launching of a new season in the long-established Kings County Baseball League.
P.E.I. Junior Islanders head coach Dave MacIsaac, by far the best baseball coach in the province, has put together a top-flight junior club, one that is even better than the club that finished second in the league last season.
Let's take a brief look at their roster.
The middle infield is tight with Ryne MacIsaac and Matt Barlow (Summerside) while the corners have plenty of wallop with Kensington's Kyle Pinksen, who led the 2017 national tournament in home runs, and Logan MacDougall from Summerside via the Calgary Dinos at the hot corner. Coach MacIsaac likes his catching duo of Chasse Gallant and Jayden MacLean both from Summerside while the pitching corps of Porter Smith (Cornwall), Brett Hicken (Montague) and Johnny Arsenault (Charlottetown) is strong. Hicken had 10 wins in the same league the last two summers, so there's lots to like.
Centre-fielder Jed Noonan can go get 'em while regulars from last season Brandon Watts and Patrick Gallant add experience and ability to the cast. Multi-talented Connor McGregor will be in the line-up some place for sure and there's a host of rookies, including Elijah Hood, Connor Jones, Chandler LaPorte and Josh Myers.
Josh is the son of former senior hurler Spencer Myers (from Tignish), who was hard-throwing right-hander pitcher that played for me in national senior tournaments 25 years or so ago. Spencer started and won games at that level and if Josh is anything like his daddy, he'll be a great addition to the junior club.
The first game of today’s doubleheader starts at noon with Chatham, which has been battling P.E.I. senior and junior teams off and on for 50 years.
This classy Junior club does not have a sponsor yet, and it would be a great spot for a local business that would like to get their brand out there. Contact GM Vernon Doyle at [email protected] if you would like to come aboard as a sponsor or co-sponsor.
The Kings County league got underway Friday and continues Sunday with the defending champion Peakes Bombers entertaining the over-35 team Charlottetown Jays at 2 p.m. in Peakes. The Jays team plays next Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. at Memorial Field against Northside Brewers and their line-up includes former senior standouts from the past like pitchers Terry (Bubba) MacDonald and Steven Birt and a top-notch hitting catcher in Craig Cooper, so there's plenty to like.
Hockey
The Western Final between Gerard Gallant's Vegas Golden Knights and the Winnipeg Jets has been the best of the NHL’s semifinals.
Vegas had a 2-1 edge before Friday’s game, but this series looks like it could go the distance. In the East, Washington and Tampa Bay are tied 2-2 heading into tonight’s Game 5.
Basketball
On the NBA front, local basketball wizard Charles (C W) Chuck Keating told me at the start of the Eastern Conference final that the Boston Celtics would handle Cleveland Cavaliers and he could be right.
The Celtics are not a great road team but they appear to have more talent and are better coached than the Cavs who could rally at home. Celtics head coach Brad Stevens is considered one of the best basketball coaches in the game, so I'd expect Scott Morrison is loving the experience he's getting as one of Boston’s assistant coaches.
Junior hockey
I noticed the Portland Winter Hawks of the Western Hockey League have drafted defenceman Ty Murchison, a talented blue-liner from the Los Angeles Junior Kings under-14 club. Ty is the son of ex-Western Caps defenceman Ken Murchison and I expect this youngster to be talented and physical like his grandfather Howard and daddy Ken. Murchison also played with UNB before moving to Los Angeles 23 years ago. Besides the Varsity Reds, Ken also played pro in Europe and in the ECHL.
We'll have to follow this youngster.
Harness racing
Live harness racing continues tonight with a 10-dash card at 6 p.m.
The $2,500 class should be interesting as Cartoon Daddy, who won last Saturday in 1:56:2, should give Euchred, last week's winner, all he can handle. Others include Zero Rate, Ashes to Ashes and Winter Blast.
At Mohawk tonight, the $34,000 top class has attracted a field of seven and they include some of the big boys like McWicked (Bob McClure), Easy Lover Hanover (Randy Waples) and Ellis Park (James MacDonald) plus four others.
Percy Blue Chip is also in to go against Ontario's best three-year-old fillies for a purse of $116,000 against Casie Coleman's Play the Bell and seven others.
I see where trainer Ian Moore has Sylvan Filion driving Percy and Classic Pro in place of Trevor Henry, who won the Ontario Regional Driving championship on Wednesday night at Western Fair. Henry and Louie-Philippe Roy will represent Ontario in the national competition at Grand River in September. The drivers and points were as follows after the eight races on Wednesday: Henry (66), Roy (62), Doug McNair ( 52), Jonathan Drury (47), Robert Shepherd (45), J. Harris (42), Bob McClure (38), Alf Carroll (34) and Jody Jamieson (29).
At Pocono earlier this week, Allard Racing and Don MacRae's Eclipse N took the $17,500 top class in 1:50:1 for driver Simon Allard. Filly Forty Seven was seventh.
At the Meadowlands last week, Pappy Go Go was fourth in 1:52 charted in 1:53 in a $13,000 overnight trot.
The $186,000 Confederation Cup goes Sunday evening at Flamboro and Filibuster Hanover is the horse to beat.
Larry Resnitzky sends word his podcast on various world harness racing topics with Rocky Schurman and Nicole MacLeod-MacPherson can be seen at worldharnessracing.com.
Fred MacDonald's column appears every Saturday in The Guardian. He can be reached at [email protected].
