Big weekend of oldtimers baseball
Invitational pace highlights harness racing card in Summerside
The Canadian oldtimers baseball championships are underway in Charlottetown, with games going all weekend. Championship day is slated for Monday. A total of 33 teams, involving over 500 players, will take part, including four teams from P.E.I. There are four divisions. including 35-plus, 43-plus, 50-plus and 57-plus. Two teams from Kings County and two from Charlottetown are the Island representatives, and what is surprising is that there are no teams from Summerside or western P.E.I. One would think that a national championship would be enough of a lure for some local oldtimers to dust off the gloves and play. As I said last weekend, baseball is dead in these parts, and lacks any kind of leadership to resurrect the sport. When you look at the rosters of the Island teams, only Blair Creelman and Steve MacLean are from this area, with most players having played, or are now playing, in the Kings County Baseball League. There is a lot of former Charlie Ryan Baseball League players as well. The tournament is being played on five diamonds, and the good weather will make for a great championship.
Harness racing
It has been a long time since Red Shores at Summerside Raceway had an invitational pace in August, but that is about to change. The best pacers in the region are in Summerside on Sunday as part of a 13-race program. Eight horses go to post in the $4,000 Race 13 feature, including recent Governor’s Plate winner Czar Seelster along with Rose Run Quest, Euchred and In Spades to name a few. It is great to have the best horses back in Summerside, and it will be a great race.
Umpires’ salaries
According to MLB.com, a Major League Baseball umpire just starting out makes an annual salary of about $120,000 plus expenses, which can add another $20,000 plus to their bottom line. A senior umpire can make as high as $300,000, plus expenses, and all fly first class. A rookie NHL referee collects about $110,000 starting out, and can go as high as $255,000. Linesmen earn from $72,000 to $162,000. An NBA official makes anywhere from $100,000 to $300,000, and an NFL official makes from $25,000 to $70,000. The NFL has an abbreviated schedule, and many of the officials have other jobs.
MLB
There is a big weekend in Boston as the New York Yankees take on the Red Sox in what is a must-win series for the Yankees. The Red Sox clobbered the Yankees 15-7 in the opening game on Thursday to open up a 6 ½-game lead in the American League East. With only 50 or so games left, that is a lot of ground to make up against a very good Red Sox team, which entered Friday’s play with the best record in baseball at 76-34 (won-lost). Finishing behind Boston will leave the Yankees as one of the wild-card teams and face a one-game playoff against either Oakland or Seattle. The post-season is still two months away, but the American League standings today give a clear indication of what the playoffs are likely to look like. The addition of Ian Kinsler to an already potent Red Sox lineup makes them even better. Kinsler is a five-tool player who can do it all, and makes any team better. He may be the best trade deadline deal made by any team. If Thursday’s performance against the Yankees is any indication of what’s to come, the Red Sox got themselves a steal of a deal.
Holiday weekend
It is a long weekend in most parts of Canada except for us here on P.E.I. Islander Day in February gives P.E.I. a winter holiday while most of Canada enjoys theirs in August. Would it not make more sense to be like the rest of Canada, and have this weekend as well instead of a holiday in what could be a snowstorm in February? Have a great week!