Walker has big-time Hall backers
MELBOURNE, Australia — Canadian teenager Leylah Annie Fernandez has qualified for her first-ever Grand Slam main draw.
The 17-year-old from Laval, Que., beat American Danielle Lao 7-5, 7-5 on Saturday in the final round of qualifiers for the Australian Open.
The 213th-ranked Fernandez will be the lone Canadian woman participating in the main draw at the tournament after downing No. 198 Lao in a match needing two hours 10 minutes to complete.
Canada’s top-ranked player, Bianca Andreescu, was forced to withdraw as she continues to rehab a knee injury that she suffered at the WTA Finals in Shenzhen, China.
There are four Canadians that will be hitting the court on the men’s side.
No. 13 Denis Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ont., No. 20 Felix Auger-Aliassime of Montreal, No. 32 Milos Raonic of Thornhill, Ont., and Vernon’s Vasek Pospisil.
YORKTON, Sask. — Mike McEwen’s Winnipeg rink qualified for the Canadian Open quarterfinals with a 5-4 win over Calgary’s Kevin Koe on Friday.
McEwen (3-1) stole single points in the eighth end and the extra end to secure the victory at the Grand Slam of Curling’s lone triple-knockout competition.
Koe (2-2) now heads to the C event. In other action Friday, Toronto’s John Epping also qualified for the playoffs with a 6-5 win over Regina’s Matt Dunstone.
Defending champion Brendan Bottcher of Edmonton was eliminated after a 6-2 loss to Bruce Mouat of Scotland.
Glenn Howard of Penetanguishene, Ont. (7-3 win over Scotland’s Ross Paterson) and Yannick Schwaller of Switzerland (7-6 win over Jason Gunnlaugson of Winnipeg) stayed in the playoff hunt with victories.
McEwen and Epping join Brad Jacobs of Sault Ste Marie, Ont., Brad Gushue of St. John’s, N.L., and American Korey Dropkin in the playoffs.
On the women’s side, Kerri Einarson of Gimli, Man., American Tabitha Paterson and Russian Alina Kovaleva have secured playoff berths.
The quarterfinals and semifinals are Saturday with the finals on Sunday.
A hot start from the UBCO Heat was quickly forgotten as the visiting UNBC Timberwolves put on a shooting clinic on their way to a 104-54 win Friday night in Kelowna.
UNBC's 104 points were the most by any women's team in any game this season in Canada West play.
The Timberwolves shot 59% from the field while the Heat connected on just 26% of their shots. UNBC forward Maria Mongomo’s season-high 33 points lead her hometown team to victory and broke her program’s record for career points with over 1,500.
The loss drops UBCO to 2-13 on the year while the crucial win for UNBC helps the push for the playoffs as they improve to 4-9. The Heat came out flying on Shoot for the Cure night, taking a 10-3 lead early in the first quarter. However, the T’Wolves stormed back, going small and using the three-ball.
UNBC, nailing 6 of 10 from beyond the arc and 57% from the field in the half, took an 18-point lead by intermission.
For the Heat, Jaeli Ibbetson finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
They meet again today at 4 p.m. in the UBCO gym.
Owen Keyes scored 24 points and eight rebounds as the UBC Okanagan men’s basketball team defeated the UNBC Timberwolves 90-81 on Friday night in Kelowna.
Philip Okanlawon added 18 points, going 4 for 9 from the three-point line.
While UNBC was good on the run, the Heat took control through 48 points in the paint compared to just 30 for the visitors. Imoudu Ibrahim added 15 for UBCO while Hafith Moallin had 10, eight assists and five rebounds.
UBCO shot well from beyond the arc as a team, going 9 for 22 on the night. It’s a good thing, too, because they were bad at the free-throw line, hitting just 13 of 21 (62%) compared to 21 of 27 for the T’Wolves.
The win puts UBCO (2-13) back into the win column for the first time since the first week of the season.
The loss drops UNBC to 4-9 this season. They meet again tonight at 6 p.m. in Kelowna at UBCO.
DETROIT — Sidney Crosby scored a power-play goal 1:33 into overtime to lift the Pittsburgh Penguins over the Detroit Red Wings 2-1 Friday night.
It was Crosby’s third goal in three games since returning from a 28-game absence because of a core muscle injury. Bryan Rust also scored for the Penguins in the third period after Filip Zadina put Detroit ahead in the second. All three goals came with the man advantage.
Crosby scored by redirecting the puck past goalie Jimmy Howard from in front of the net off a pass from Evgeni Malkin. Pittsburgh was on the power play after Detroit’s Luke Glendening took Jared McCann down away from the play and was called for interference.
Joey Votto admittedly didn’t pay much attention to fellow Canadian Larry Walker during his 17-year playing career.
It wasn’t until after the 1997 National League MVP retired that Votto, an MVP winner himself, started to fully appreciate Walker.
“Sometimes you don’t know how good someone is until you give it a little time and can step back and see how special they are,” said Votto, a six-time all-star with the Cincinnati Reds. “Larry is one of those examples. I got to watch old film of him, I got to talk to his peers, I got to know him, and I looked at his career statistically and it completely changed my perspective of him.”
Votto isn’t the only one who’s experienced a shift in perspective when it comes to Walker.
The former Colorado Rockies and Montreal Expos slugger is on the National Baseball Hall of Fame ballot for a 10th and final time, and he could finally break through after years of missing the 75% threshold needed for induction.
The Maple Ridge, B.C., native was on 85.4% of known voter ballots as of Friday, four days before the 2020 class was to be announced. He received 54.6% last year and 34.1% in 2018.
“How you can jump to 80% over a 10-year time frame, the numbers are always what they are,” said Justin Morneau, another Canadian MVP winner. “Is it just now that voters have a different perspective, or are they realizing ‘Hey, this guy deserves to be in the Hall of Fame and this is his last chance’? It’s surprising to me that he didn’t get as much attention before. I think playing in Colorado worked against him, the perception of that.”
Walker, who will have his No. 33 retired by the Rockies this season, was a career .313 hitter, spent 10 seasons at hitter-friendly Coors Field. But he still had solid numbers on the road, including an .865 on-base plus slugging percentage that’s higher than the total OPS of some current Hall of Famers — George Brett, Tony Gwynn, Reggie Jackson and Roberto Clemente included.
Walker batted an eye-popping .366 during his MVP-winning season with a league-best 49 homers — 29 of those on the road — 46 doubles and a career-high 130 runs batted in. His .452 on-base percentage that year, as well as his .720 slugging, also topped the NL.
The seven-time Gold Glover and five-time all-star also led the league in batting average three times — .363 in 1998, .379 in 1999 and .350 in 2001.
“Obviously (Colorado) is a good place to hit and there have been some batting champions to come out of there, but not everyone who’s played there has put up those numbers,” Morneau said.
As extraordinary as the numbers are, Votto said he’s been most impressed with the way Walker’s contemporaries have described him.
“I trust the players before me when they say this guy was an unbelievable player, he was an all-around player, a guy who was among the best players of his generation and a clear Hall of Famer,” Votto said. “Because I didn’t get to see him at his best, I trust the guys who did see him and can say ‘this guy was fantastic.’ That’s really all I can go off of.
“There are some players when you know, you know. And everyone says Larry was a special player.”
While Votto grew up in Toronto — with limited access to televised Rockies games — Morneau, of New Westminster, was always much closer to Walker’s influence.
The two formed a bond early when Walker sent Morneau some of his bats while the younger Canadian was in double-A. The package came as a surprise to Morneau, who was not aware he was even on Walker’s radar.
Morneau made his MLB debut in a 2003 interleague game in Minnesota against Walker’s Rockies. Walker sent Morneau an autographed bat before that game with the inscription: “To Justin, make Canada proud.”
Walker has continued to stay involved in the Canadian baseball community, serving as a hitting coach with the men’s national team on multiple occasions.
St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Tyler O’Neill, who’s also from Maple Ridge, is among those who have benefited from Walker’s expertise. The two first met when Walker helped coach Canada’s team at the Pan American Games in Toronto in 2015.
“I used to practise at Larry Walker Field,” the 24-year-old O’Neill said. “He’s a legend, in my eyes at least.”
If elected, Walker would be the second Canadian in the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., joining pitcher Fergie Jenkins of Chatham, Ont., in 1991.
Morneau said Walker’s addition could have a lasting impact on Canadian baseball.
“I don’t know if validation is the right word, but if he gets in it almost feels like we all get in,” Morneau said. “He’s the guy we all looked up to.