Friday, May 24, 2013

MLB, NHL returns

Avs Getting the Band Back Together

- The Colorado Avalanche are attempting to bring back some of the mojo that brought them a couple of Stanley Cup Championships. First they brought back former captain and franchise leading scorer, Joe Sakic to their front office to help shape their team moving forward.
- The biggest move was bringing back Patrick Roy (pronounced "Wa") to be the newest head coach. Roy was one of the greatest goalies to play the game in the 80's and 90's and popularized the "butterfly goalie style" where the goalie drops to his knees to protect the net.  The Avalanche finished last in the Western Conference and the second worst record in the whole NHL so Colorado is hoping Roy can have some of the success he had on the ice as a coach.
- Roy brings, in addition to 8 years of coaching in the Canadian Junior Hockey circuit, a hall of fame career in Montreal and Colorado, 2 Stanley Cup championships and NHL records for most Playoff Games played and won by a goal tender. Roy’s fiery coaching style has come under fire a few times, including being suspended once for goading his son (a goaltender on his team) into a fight. This fire could help the Avalanche who have been underperforming for many of the last few years.


Francona wins in Fenway return

- Terry Francona, manager of the Cleveland Indians but more famously the Boston Red Sox' leader from 2004-2011, managed his first game in Boston since his release and his new team won significantly, 12-3.  Francona led the Red Sox to two World Series titles and was involved in one of the greatest comebacks in baseball history after being down 3 games to 0 (and losing in the 9th inning of game 4) in the 2004 ALCS against the New York Yankees before coming back to win the series and then the World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals.
- Despite not wanting to be the center of attention, Francona watched as the Red Sox played a video tribute of the manager's time with Boston.  Then after it was done, his team went out and won for the 22nd time in their last 31 games, increasing their lead in the A.L. Central.
- A year after winning only 68 games, Francona has the Indians on pace to win 95 in his first year with the team.

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