informed that the shot entered through the side of the

The Toronto Blue Jays got out of the gate with a dismal 10-17 record last season and dug themselves a hole they could never really get out of. Its a scenario they really cant afford to repeat in 2014. Prior to last season, 39 of the last 60 teams that were in first place in their division on June 1 went on to make the post-season. If you look at last years races division by division, there were only two teams that werent in first or second in June who went on to make the playoffs. In the American League West, Texas was in first through April and May with a 34-21 - two games ahead of Oakland. The As went on a 63-32 tear the rest of the way and won the division by five games over the Rangers, who played and lost a sudden death tie-breaker. In the Central, Detroit and Cleveland hit June 1firsy and second in the division with the Tigers leading by a half-game. Detroit wound up taking the division by one game over the Indians. In the East, Boston was on top at 34-23. This is one division where there was a slight exception. Tampa Bay was actually in 4th place heading into the games of June 1 at 30-25. But the Rays were only a half-game back of Baltimore and one game behind the second place Yankees. The Rays finished 61-46 to take second place. The Blue Jays were 23-33 through the first two months and never really came close to getting back in the race, even with that 11 game win streak. In the National League East, Atlanta was 33-22 through April and May and won the division easily with a 96-66 mark. Washington, a pre-season favourite, was 28-28 and missed the playoffs altogether. In the Central, St. Louis got off to a 37-18 start and led the division wire-to-wire on the way to a Major League best 97-65 record. Pittsburgh was third two months in, but overhauled Cincinnati for second place, though both teams won 90 or more and both made the post season. The National League West was the one division where all bets were off after two months. Arizona was on top at 31-24 with a two-and-a-half game lead on the Giants and Rockies. The Dodgers were seven-and-a-half games out through April and May at 23-31. The division practically turned upside down the rest of the way. The D-Backs faded and finished at 81-81 for the second year in a row. San Francisco and Colorado collapsed and both finished 10 or more games below .500. The Dodgers, though, inspired in large part by the arrival of Yasiel Puig went a scorching 69-39 down the stretch and won the division with a 92-70 mark. So it pretty much goes without saying, the Blue Jays need to be at least slightly above .500 through April and May to have any hope of competing in the tough American League East. Their schedule is, by no means, easy with 22 of their 57 games through the first two months against the A.L East, including six against Boston and seven versus Tampa Bay - the two playoff favourites in the division. The Jays only have 10 games over April and May against "lesser" opponents, with three against Houston, three versus Minnesota and a four-game interleague series against Philadelphia. 25 of the 57 are against teams that either made the playoffs last season or were involved in tie-breakers. The Jays also have just one day off in the month of May; a real test of the pitching staff. No team will ever admit theyre out of it after just two months. The Blue Jays didnt a year ago. But in five of the six divisions last season, the two-month mark painted a pretty vivid picture of where teams are really at. The other day I was reading about the new head of the Players Association, Tony Clark, when another name in the article caught my name. It was Steve Rogers, who also works for the Association as a liaison to the players among his many duties. I actually had to double check that it was the same Steve Rogers who once pitched for the Expos. It was. If you get into a conversation with anyone as to who the greatest pitcher in Expos history was, some might suggest Pedro Martinez, who went 55-33 in his four seasons in Montreal. Others might say Dennis Martinez for his perfect game, maybe Bill Stoneman for his two no-hitters or Ross Grimsley for being the Expos first 20-game winner. In my mind, though, it was Steve Rogers. I was surprised to see his career record was only 158-152, but its his other numbers that blow you away. Over 13 seasons, all with Montreal, he pitched over 200 innings in nine of them. Six times he was over 250 innings, four times over 270 and in 1977 when he won 17 games he pitched an incredible 300.2 innings. He actually pitched more innings per season than Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax and had a better career ERA at 3.17 than another Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan. Rogers was a five-time all-star and finished second in the rookie of the year voting and one year was second in the Cy Young balloting. It was a different era, but compare Rogers numbers to one of the Blue Jays all-time greats Roy Halladay in a couple of categories. Rogers had 129 complete games and 37 shutouts and Halladay had 67 complete games and 20 shutouts. Rogers, 64 now, had to retire at 35 when his shoulder essentially gave out on him. He is a member of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame at St, Marys and tries to get back for the Induction Ceremonies every year. He concedes he might even have had a shot at Cooperstown if he had been able to pitch another 5-7 years and could have won another 70 games. The Expos only made the playoffs once in their history - 1981. Steve Rogers beat Phillies legend Steve Carlton twice in the division series and then defeated the Dodgers in Game 3 of the NLCS. But say his name today and many will only remember his relief appearance on "Blue Monday" at the Big "0," when he gave up the series deciding homer to the Dodgers Rick Monday. If you look at the numbers and the character of the man, Steve Rogers should be remembered for much more than that. Nike Shox Cheap Free Shipping . The 20-year-old Pelicans big man glanced up and smiled widely at the well-wishers -- a fitting end to a day he wont soon forget. Davis responded to his selection earlier in the day as a Western Conference All-Star with 26 points and 10 rebounds, and the New Orleans Pelicans overcame a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to defeat the Minnesota Timberwolves 98-91 on Friday night. Nike Shox Canada Clearance . Rosbergs time of 1 minute, 33.185 seconds at the Bahrain International Circuit was a quarter of a second faster than Hamilton, who had to abandon his final flying lap after running wide at the first corner. http://www.cheapnikeshoxcanada.com/. Calgary finished atop the CFL standings with a 14-4 record and earned the right to host the West Division final at McMahon Stadium on Nov. Nike Shox Canada Online . -- David Price didnt think he would be in Port Charlotte this spring. Nike Shox Clearance Wholesale . This should be celebrated because it will not always be this way. With the amount of money given to players by their clubs these days, it is a wonder that so many of those teams allow the sport to continue to take away many of their assets so they can play for a different team in the middle of their season.Got a question on rule clarification, comments on rule enforcements or some memorable NHL stories? Kerry wants to answer your emails at cmonref@tsn.ca! Hi Kerry, In Saturday nights game between the Canadiens and Flyers, there was a shot from PK Subban at the point that went wide and was stuck in the side of the net forcing a whistle. At this point, Montreal was on a power play and up 2-0 in the game. My question is, why did the face-off after this whistle stay in the Flyers end? If a shot from a Canadiens player goes over the glass or onto the back of the net and is blown dead, the face-off should come outside, shouldnt it? I am just wondering how this case is different as it did not touch a Flyers player before becoming lost in the side of the net. This was a very pivotal point in the game as the Canadiens scored shortly after the next draw which remained in the Flyers zone, putting the game pretty much out of reach. Thanks for taking the time to answer my e-mail and I look forward to your response. Brett WalkerMelita, MB Brett, You are correct in your understanding and interpretation of Rule 85 - Puck Out of Bounds. The ensuing face-off should have been conducted on the neutral zone spot nearest to the Flyers blue line once the puck became lodged under the protective netting skirt directly off the shot by PK Subban (which was not deflected by a Flyers player or goalie Ray Emery). Im giving the game officials a free pass on this one as a result of some miscommunication they apparently received during the video review process from the situation room. You need to give them a pass this time around as well! First, you need to understand the variations in the rule that could apply in this situation. The overriding premise regarding face-off location when a puck goes out of bounds or becomes unplayable is to provide the team at fault with the least amount of territorial advantage. An unplayable puck is one that becomes lodged in the netting on the outside of either goal. This understanding is verified in Rule 85.5 - "Should an attacking player cause the puck to go out of play or become unplayable in the attacking zone, the face-off shall take place at a neutral zone face-off spot or at a face-off spot in the zone from which the puck left the ice, whichever is less advantageous to the attacking team. For a puck that is unplayablle due to being lodged in the netting or as a result of it being frozen between opposing players, the resulting face-off shall be at either of the adjacent face-off spots unless in the opinion of the Referee, the stoppage was caused by the attacking team, in which case the resulting face-off shall be conducted in the neutral zone…" PK Subban clearly caused the stoppage of play in this situation.dddddddddddd (An exception to this rule is when the puck deflects off the goal post or crossbar, when cause by either team, either shot directly or deflected off any player or official, the face-off is always to be conducted in that end zone at the nearest face-off spot. Rule 85.1) The next logical question we ask is why the face-off remained in the Flyers end zone following video review and a lengthy conference between the Officials to determine puck drop location? We need to look no further than the explanation posted on the NHL Situation Room blog which states: "At 4:42 of the third period in the Flyers/Canadiens game, video review determined that P.K. Subbans shot entered through the side of the net. No goal Montreal." In looking at the replay, it is clear that the puck did not enter the net but was trapped on the outside of the mesh between the protective skirting. As a result of the Situation Room written explanation, it is only logical to assume that Referee Eric Furlatt would have been informed that the shot entered through the side of the net! Furlatt would communicate this information to his colleagues on the ice during their conference. Given this flawed information, the correct face-off location rule application (oxymoron) would be found in a portion of Rule 85.2 that states; "Should the puck go under the goal either from behind or the side or through the mesh from behind or the side, the ensuing face-off should take place at the nearest face-off spot in the zone nearest to the location where the play was stopped." That location would be in the Flyers end zone to the right of Ray Emery! Whatever the reason Brett, the incorrect face-off location resulted once PK Subban caused the stoppage of play in the attacking zone when his direct shot became caught in the outside netting and rendered unplayable. It would appear to have been lost somewhere in the communication. ' ' '