CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. – It is not the type of opponents that P.E.I.'s pro basketball team hoped to meet here this weekend.
The injury-riddled Island Storm can lay the blame on the schedule maker as the squad met the first-place London Lightning Friday night and conclude their two-game home set tonight at 7 p.m. at Eastlink Centre against Atlantic Division leaders, the Saint John Riptide, who edged Halifax Thursday in double-overtime.
The Storm was in first place in the hotly contested Atlantic Division three weeks ago but the loss of their big men Marcus Bell to Mexico, his replacement Meshack Lufile (ankle injury) and more recently Brad States, who does a lot of the heavy lifting, has hampered the fortunes of the local club.
In addition to the missing big boys, the Storm was without leading scorer Du’Vaughn Maxwell and pure shooter Andrew Stringer in their overtime loss to the Riptide here last Sunday. Franklin Session, Chris Johnson, Kemy Osse,Tyler Scott and Torrence Dyck Jr. played their hearts out and Holland College and UPEI graduates Trinity Burdine and Dut Dut, respectively, showed they can be useful players, but at the end of the day size matters, especially in basketball.
The Storm has traded for Jarion Henry, a six-foot-10, 210-pound forward from the St. John’s Edge, who was a teammate of Session last season in Los Angeles.
The Riptide has a talented club with the likes of Gabe Freeman and Malcolm Miller, who had 55 points and 20 rebounds between them in the win over Halifax.
University
On the hockey front, the Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde UPEI men’s puck Panthers started of the second half of the campaign at home with an impressive 3-2 win over powerhouse St. FX, but the next night came up flat in a loss to sixth-place Dal in a game that tightened the race for the last two playoff spots.
Three points separated UPEI, Dal and Moncton before Friday’s action when the latter two faced each other.
The Panthers played Acadia Axemen Friday and conclude their home stand tonight at 7 p.m. against Saint Mary’s and although there was a 20-point gap in the standings, anything is possible with the Panthers. They have plenty of scoring with Kameron Kielly, Marcus Power, Darcy Ashley and Gabe Guertler, who always gives a solid effort plus veterans Brent Andrews, Beau McCue, Cody Payne and high-scoring defenceman Ryan MacKinnon, so they could surprise. The problem is we never know who shows up, Jekyll or Hyde.
The Panthers are entertaining and SMU is an arch-rival, so I expect a full house for the 7 p.m. game at MacLauchlan Arena.
Baseball
Spring training for major league baseball is just around the corner and Blue Jay fans are chirping already.
Toronto signed veteran outfielder Curtis Granderson, 36, who still has some pop in his bat and shelled $23 million for Josh Donaldson for one season. The Jays outfield offensively is still fair at best.
New York Yankees inked shortstop Didi Gregorius, relief pitcher Dellin Betances and starter Sonny Gray. Baltimore kept baseball's best third-baseman, Manny Machado, on a one-year deal. The Red Sox have all their key players signed except Mookie Betts, who is headed for salary arbitration.
Harness racing
The passing of harness racing superstar Somebeachsomewhere is a severe loss for the harness racing game everywhere and especially for the Schooner Stable of Truro, N.S., who co-owned the popular stallion with Hanover Shoe Farms of Pennsylvania.
Purchased for $40,000, Somebeachsomewhere developed into one of the great colt pacers of all-time and certainly a super horse in the modern area banking $3.3 million and stepping to a lifetime best of 1:46:4. He had the size and looks of a champion, was slick gaited and brave — all the requirements for a special horse, which he was.
Somebeachsomewhere won 20 of 21 starts lifetime with his only defeat coming in the 2008 Meadowlands Pace in one of the great races in the history of the sport, losing by half-length in 1:47 to Art Official after being rimmed through fractions of 26 and 51:4 to the half.
His Messenger Stakes victory over Shadow Play in the mud at Yonkers in 1:52 was another memorable race and his 1:46:4 win in the Bluegrass Stakes was another epic. When he retired to Hanover, he rose to the top of the pacing ranks, siring a long list of champions and earned much more in the breeding shed than he did on the race tracks. Beach is the leading sire of two- and three-year-olds in 2017 with stars like Down By The Sea Side, Hunstville, Filibuster Hanover, Pedro Hanover and the great mare Pure Ivory among others. His passing is a huge loss for the industry and for the owners Brent MacGrath, Gerry Pye, Reg Petitpas, Pamela Dean and Jamie Bagnell.
One of Somebeachsomewhere's greatest sons, Captain Treacherous, sends his first crop to the races this summer and they will be followed closely.
Live harness racing continues today at 12:30 p.m. with a 13-dash card at the city track.
Online video
Pigskin picks
The NFL conference finals are set for Sunday with the winners meeting Feb. 4 in the Super Bowl in Minnesota.
Jacksonville Jaguars at New England Patriots — Jacksonville stunned the Pittsburgh Steelers 45-42, which was not surprising since the Jags beat the Steelers earlier in the season. Ben Roethlisberger threw for 5 TDs and
almost 500 yards against an exposed and questionable Jags secondary. Pats QB Tom Brady has five or six sure-handed receivers and they are already 9-10 points betting favourites in Las Vegas.
The only way to beat the Patriots is by chasing Brady out of the pocket and pressuring him, but that's easier said than done. Of note, ex-Pittsburgh linebacker James Harrison has been impressive in his two Pats starts and could be a difference maker with his pass-rush ability. It's hard to understand the Steelers released the former all-pro, who fills a Patriots need with the injury to Dont’a Hightower.
In case you think this is going to be a Patriots blowout, keep in mind ex-New York Giants head coach Tom Coughlin is now a close advisor to Jacksonville head coach Doug Marrone and his record is 5-2 against Brady and Belichick. He knows what must be done to beat Brady, sounds interesting.
Minnesota Vikings at Philadelphia Eagles – This is a battle of two starting quarterbacks who began the season as backups, but have played like stars.
Eagles QB Nick Foles and Viking Case Keenum, who is in the running for League MVP, have played great in the playoffs but the Eagles at home are favourites with the Vegas odds-makers.
After last week's Miracle at Minnesota on the final play of the game would anyone feel comfortable betting against the Vikings? In a sudden-death playoff game, anything can happen but from here it looks like a Patriots-Eagles Super Bowl.
If, however, injury to a quarterback were to play a role tomorrow, the Vikings are best suited to advance with Sam Bradford waiting in the wings.Fred MacDonald's column appears every Saturday in The Guardian. He can be reached at [email protected].
