CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — It is hard getting used to following local baseball in the fall because the first of September usually spelled the end of the regular baseball season here in the Maritimes.
But the advent of Atlantic college baseball has added a new dimension for local players.
The Holland College Hurricanes, under head coach Andrew MacNevin, are currently in first place in the Atlantic league and entertain Saint Mary’s in a doubleheader today at Memorial Field at 1 and 3:30 p.m. Sunday, Acadia visits for another twin-bill at the same times and location.
The UPEI Hockey Panthers opened the regular season last night here against the Dal Tigers, but tonight they travel to St. Francis Xavier, which opened the 2019-20 season with a 7-6 shootout victory on Wednesday over the same Dal club in Antigonish, N.S.
In that game, Dal blew a 6-4 lead in the final minute as X tied it and won in extra time.
The Panthers don’t have Cody Payne and Gabe Guertler back from last year, but they’ve added quality recruits and appear stronger this year. The pre-season poll of league coaches has the Panthers slotted for fourth overall, behind UNB, St. FX and SMU, with Acadia just a vote behind UPEI.
This year, Acadia is hosting the University Cup in Halifax and the Atlantic Conference has been guaranteed three spots.
The trademark of head coach Forbie MacPherson’s UPEI Panthers over the years would be “working hard” and they’ll need that every night if they are to be in Halifax next spring.
Basketball
On the basketball front, Leo Rautins, who has been a major figure on the Canadian basketball scene as an NBA player and later head coach of the Canadian national team and more recently as pro basketball analyst for the Toronto Raptors, will be in Charlottetown for the Breakfast of Champions at 9 a.m. on Oct. 5 at the Wanda Wyatt Dining Hall on the UPEI campus.
A corporate table of eight, plus eight tickets for the annual UPEI Mickey Place tournament, is a steal at $400. Contact Karen Bogle Glenn at (902)-620-5158, or kglenn@upei.ca, for more information and/or tickets.
In addition to the speaking engagement, Rautins will be conducting a skills clinic on Oct. 5 for students from Grades 3 to 9 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. It looks like a great day for basketball followers.
Word around campus is that head basketball coach Darrell Glenn has landed a number of promising recruits. That would be great to see as Darrell really hasn’t had an influx of talent to work with in his first few years here.
His situation the past two years reminds me of an answer the famous New York Yankees great Yogi Berra gave after a reporter asked him, “Yogi, what makes a great coach?
“That’s easy – great players.”
Good luck Darrell!
NFL
The NFL heads into Week 4 and after going 4-for-5 last week, the Sports Prophet is looking for a perfect week.
The New York Giants have a new hero in rookie QB Daniel Jones, who tossed two TDs and ran for two others in the Giants’ first win of the season. The Giants (1-3) host Washington (0-3), which is on a short week, plus have an injury-riddled secondary. Take the three points and play the G-Men.
The Indy Colts have a terrific young QB in Jacoby Brissett and this underrated club is at home to the Carolina Panthers. The Colts by four points.
Cleveland Browns (1-2) at Baltimore (2-1): The Browns have been disappointing offensively and QB Baker Mayfield’s been sub-par. The Ravens have a hot, young mobile QB in Lamar Jackson and until we see more TDs from the Browns, the Ravens by seven points.
Minnesota (2-1) at Chicago (2-1): The Vikes should have beaten Green Bay in their opener. Their defence is as good as, or better, than the Bears. This is a low-scoring game that the Vikings’ Kirk Cousins can win.
Dallas Cowboys (3-0) at New Orleans (2-1): Ex-Souris High School defensive back Tom Mullally, the biggest Saints’ fan in the province, told me last week that back-up QB Teddy Bridgewater would be great in relief of Drew Brees and he was. The Saints are three-point home dogs and worth betting.
Another home dog is the Buffalo Bills (3-0), who host the New England Patriots (3-0). The Bills are tough defensively and they have the personnel that can get after Tom Brady. They also have a top, young QB of their own in Josh Allen and I believe they can cover the 7.5-point spread.
Book launch
On the local front, Dutch Thompson, who pitched in the Charlie Ryan Baseball League in the late 1980s, has a book launch, published by Acorn Press, called The Bygone Days, tonight at the Charlottetown Hotel at 7 p.m. It’s a very interesting picture of P.E.I. from the late 1890s onwards.
Also, we regret to report the passing of ex-Charlie Ryan league player Blair Praught, a popular taxi driver in Charlottetown and an interesting personality. To all connected, our condolences.
Harness racing
Local harness racing continues tonight at Red Shores Charlottetown as the Joe O’Brien Stakes for two-year-old colts, two divisions of $11,000; fillies, two divisions at $13,000, plus four grassroots at $8,000 are in the spotlight.
There’s also another card this afternoon at Exhibition Park, Saint John. Last week, three of the six winners were from horses that were placed first after rulings by the judges.
Todd Trites won the last two, (one a four-horse field, the other five), but was placed last. I never heard of back-to-back rulings like that before.
There’s a great card at Mohawk Raceway tonight as the grassroots semifinals are being contested this weekend. Reg MacPherson’s Carlisimo goes in a three-year-old event while Alan and Andrew Moore’s Springbrookvision goes in a three-year-old filly division.
Last night, Wade Peconi’s Lovedbythemasses (Mike Saftic) was the favourite in his $20,000 division while ex-NHLer Doug Gilmour’s Capistrano (Anthony MacDonald) was one of five from The Stable.Ca in to go.
The annual Atlantic Classic Yearling Sale is set for Friday, Oct. 11, in Crapaud and next week we’ll have a preview.
Fred MacDonald's column appears every Saturday in The Guardian. He can be reached at fiddlersfacts@hotmail.com.
