Quebec's Stadium Folly Comes Closer to Reality

Quebec City is planning on a September 2012 groundbreaking for a new stadium that just so happens to comply with the NHL's mandate of certain attendance and amenity numbers.  Granted, the Quebec Nordiques haven't played in Quebec in nearly 17 years, but that isn't stopping the powers that be from building this US$400 million dollar behemoth with the HOPE that a team will decide to relocate.

Now the majority of the time, the team comes to the City and the stadium is built while they play at an existing arena for a few years - similar to what happened with the Hartford Whalers moved to North Carolina 14 years ago.  Teams just don't build these kinds of arenas - and spend this kind of money - without some strong assurances that a move is imminent, or at least a pretty strong suspicion that a team would be moving.  So what are we missing here?

Now there are numerous teams that are still candidates to move - the Islanders and the Coyotes, just to name two, but the talk isn't as strong here as it was this time last season.  So would Quebec City build a $400 million dollar arena for the occasional Celine Dion concert?  Perhaps City officials believe that by the time the stadium is built, one of these teams will be a stronger position to move.  But that's quite a chance to take.

It's not my money, but it seems like a waste of public money with no definitive plan for relocation back to Quebec.  Incidentally, Le Colisee can accommodate most of the functions that would happen here, if hockey doesn't come back to town.

Gary Carter's Montreal Expos Legacy

[[posterous-content:pid___0]]I remember Gary Carter mostly as one of the culprits of the most astonishing World Series comeback in baseball history.  If you live around these parts, you probably feel the same way.  The Red Sox, up by two runs in the bottom of the Ninth of Game 6 of the 1986 World Series, was just one out away from their first World Series since 1918.  After harmless flyballs from Keith Hernandez and Wally Backman were caught for the first two outs in the 10th inning, Gary Carter, on an 2-1 count singled to left center field, starting an onslaught that would scar Red Sox fans like me for years to come.  I remember watching the little floater like it was yesterday, hoping Mike Greenwell or Dave Henderson would make the catch, all to no avail. What a lot of people forget is that Gary Carter also drove in the tying run in the bottom of the EIGHTH inning in that same game to bring the game into extra innings in the first place.  So, Calvin Schiraldi blew the game not once but TWICE.

That was my first thought when I heard that Gary Carter died this afternoon of brain cancer.

While many believe that 1985 and 1986 were Carter's best years - playing for the New York Mets - an argument can be made that Carter's best days were indeed for the Montreal Expos.  He suited up for the rouge, bleu et blanc from 1974-1984 during the team's heyday, what with Andre Dawson, Al Oliver, Tim Raines and Steve Rogers anchoring a strong contending team.  While with the Expos, Carter was second in the 1975 Rookie of the Year Ballot, 2nd in the 1980 MVP vote and won received two Silver Slugger awards.  1984 saw Carter lead the National League with 106 RBIs as an everyday catcher.  All three of his Gold Gloves were awarded while with the Expos.  His WAR was All Star quality for 7 of the last 8 years he played in Montreal, including three years 1982-84 where his WAR was high enough to garner the MVP.  All in all, a stellar career in Montreal.

To further define his value for the Expos, in the 1981 Playoffs, Carter batted .429 with a .488 OBP in 10 games against the Phillies in the NLDS and the Dodgers in the NLCS.  With that performance, he nearly singlehandedly carried the Expos past the Los Angeles Dodgers into the World Series.

While Carter always wished to have the Expos and the Mets be his cap when enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame, the Committee ultimately chose the Expos as the hat he would wear.  Personally, I think his career with the Expos warrant this honor.  And the city of Montreal was a better place for having known him.

But, yes, I will always remember that dumpy little single back in 1986. RIP.

Rams' Norm Van Brocklin Reminds of the Moderrn Day Quarterback

2011 will go down as the year of the Quarterback.  Whether you gauge that year with not one - but three - quarterbacks passing for 5,000 yards (Brees, Brady and Stafford), or with the emergence of Cam Newton and Tim Tebow as viable quarterbacking threats, 2011 will most certainly go down as the year of the Quarterback.

One record that was not broken this year, however, was a record that has been in existence for 60 years.  A record accomplished by an unheralded Quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams who never threw for more than 2700 yards in a season, was a platoon quarterback in the year that he broke this record, and had more touchdown passes than interceptions only 5 of the 11 seasons in which he was the primary quarterback.  It's a record that seems outlandish considering that it was not accomplished by Dan Marino, Warren Moon or Drew Brees.  The record for most passing yards in one game is not held by one of the modern day quarterbacks, but instead by guy who hasn't thrown a football for over 50 years.

Norm Van Brocklin, drafted by the Los Angeles Rams in the 4th Round of the 1949 Draft out of Oregon, was in just his third year when his Rams team (that incidentally won the NFL Champtionship in 1951) took on the New York Yanks in the first game of the season.  Van Brocklin at the time was splitting snaps with the Rams veteran Quarterback Bob Waterfield.  The platoon was successful as the Rams made it to the Championship Game in 1950 and won the Championship in 1951.  And 1951 certainly started with a bang.

The game against the Yanks started quickly for the Rams as Van Brocklin (the primary starter in this game) hooked up with Elroy Hirsch and Vitamin Smith on long touchdown passes in the First Quarter to shoot the Rams out to a 21-0 lead.  Van Brocklin ended up throwing 5 touchdown passes and threw for a record 554 yards, more than 100 yards to each fo the Rams Wide Receivers, Smith, Hirsch and Tom Fears as the Rams rolled over the Yanks by the score of 54-14.

While Stafford and Brady both approached Van Brocklin's record this year as they each threw over 500 yards in a game, neither was able to eclipse the record.  There is still next year.