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#1

d for its affiliate in Wilmin

in General Chat Mon Sep 16, 2019 10:06 pm
by yyys123 | 1.470 Posts

While star teenager Cyle Larin is expected to play a starring role at Thursdays MLS SuperDraft, other Canadians are working hard to get their name called at the podium. Canadian midfielder Jaineil Hoilett and defenders Skylar Thomas and Nikola Paunic are attending the MLS Combine in Florida. Defender Jordan Murrell, a native of Markham, Ont., who played alongside Thomas at Syracuse University, is not at the Combine but has drawn attention.The 19-year-old Larin, who left UConn after two years to sign a Generation Adidas contract, could go No. 1 to expansion Orlando City SC on Thursday at the Philadelphia draft.Larin, a native of Brampton, Ont., has already won three caps for the Canadian senior side. Hes currently in Jamaica with the national under-20 team at the CONCACAF U-20 Championship.Montreal picks third overall while Toronto FC has the sixth, ninth and 11th overall picks Thursday. Vancouver will select 13th.Right now pretty much everything is unknown, Thomas said of what lies ahead this week.Right now Im not too sure where I go, but wherever I go I know Ill be happy there, he added. Im ready.Thomas and Paunic, both 21, havent been too far apart at the Combine, which runs through Tuesday. They are rooming together and played 45 minutes next to each other in a Combine game Sunday that saw Thomas score. Its a stressful time for the young players. Not only have most been out of action since the end of their college season, but they find themselves playing on makeshift teams before a high-powered audience of coaches and scouts.Bad weather didnt help matters Sunday.Paunic said he has tried to follow the advice of former South Florida teammate Ben Sweat, who was taken in the first round last year after the Combine.Just go down there, have some fun, play some soccer. Thats it, said Paunic, recalling Sweats words. The 22-year-old Hoilett, the younger brother of Queens Park Rangers midfielder Junior Hoilett, was a late addition to the Combine. He got the invitation while at home in Brampton, Ont., on Friday, one day after most players arrived in Fort Lauderdale.The six-foot-four Thomas, a native of Pickering, Ont., started 56 career games for Syracuse and scored eight goals. A former midfielder, Thomas uses his size to good effect in the air with three goals off set pieces this year — two with his feet and one with his head. Thomas, Murrell and goalkeeper Alex Bono, who is expected to go in the first round, anchored a stingy Syracuse defence that led the Atlantic Coast Conference in fewest goals allowed (12), goals-against average (0.55) and shutouts (12).Bono, the ACC Defensive Player of the Year, was called up by the U.S. national team for its January camp.The Orange finished 10th in the rankings with a 16-4-1 record before losing to Georgetown in extra time in the NCAA tournament round of 16.It was a great experience, Thomas said of his senior year. We played well together as a team. We knew it was our last year for some of us ... there was a bit more urgency than there was in previous years.Thomas and Murrell — who formed the Orange back three with Tyler Hilliard last season — go back before Syracuse, playing together on the Canadian under-18 team.The six-foot-three Paunic, who has played for Canada at the under-20 level, started 40 games in two seasons for a South Florida squad assembled from around the world. The 2014 Bulls drew on talent from Canada, the Bahamas, Botswana, Brazil, England, Ghana, Isle of Man, Serbia, South Africa, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, the U.S., Uruguay, and Venezuela.I dont think theres a (NCAA) team more diverse than us ... Ive got buddies in South Africa and Ghana and everywhere, said Paunic, whose roots are Serbian. Its great.South Florida (10-7-3) lost to Tulsa 6-5 on penalty kicks in the American Athletic Conference Championship game. The Bulls had upset Larin and UConn 2-0 on penalty kicks in the tournament semifinal.Prior to South Florida, Paunic spent two years at the University of Toronto, captained the Toronto FC academy side and played for the Serbian White Eagles in the Canadian Soccer League. Like Thomas, he raves about his college experience on and off the pitch. Paunic, a former winger, is also complimentary about his time at U of T under coach Anthony Capotosto and at the TFC academy, where he captained the team under coach Danny Dichio.I just thought that the move to the States for my last two years of college would be the right decision and it looks like I made the right choice, he said. Hoilett, who qualifies for the draft as a youth international, saw action Sunday after arriving Saturday at the Combine.It was a bit of rush, got all the paperwork sorted out and getting the flight, he said.Hoilett has spent the last few months staying with his brother and training with QPR. In recent years he has played for a variety of teams in Germany.I loved it there. he said. After I learned the language, it was very easy to adjust. All the people are friendly.There have been other opportunities in Germany, where he says the rules on import player arent as stiff as in England. He wanted to see about options elsewhere — including back home. Hoilett has already trained at Toronto FC and played for its affiliate in Wilmington, N.C. Despite the late invite, the Combine was too good an opportunity to pass up.I had to take the opportunity, he said.So far so good. Hoilett said while his fitness is not perfect, he was happy with his first Combine outing.———Follow @NeilMDavidson on Twitter. Nike Huarache Deutschland . The 29-year-old from Port Colborne, Ont., who trains out of San Diego, will fight bantamweight champion (Rowdy) Ronda Rousey on July 5 in the co-main event of UFC 175 in Las Vegas. Air Force 1 Schwarz Sale .com) - Will Conant booted a 39-yard field goal as time expired and Air Force played spoiler with a 27-24 win over 21st- ranked Colorado State on Friday. http://www.airforce1gunstig.de/air-presto-deutschland.html .Y. - Geno Smith still thinks of himself as the New York Jets starting quarterback. Air Force 1 Damen Deutschland . Team spokesman Donald Beauchamp said there was no new information on the 80-year-old Hall of Famers condition. The family has requested privacy. Nike Air Force 1 Herren Deutschland . PETERSBURG, Fla.In 2007, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays were in their second season under skipper Joe Maddon. They actually finished with a better record in ‘07 than they did in ‘06 but only marginally, going from 61 victories to 66. They had a slugging first baseman in Carlos Pena who ripped 46 homers and drove in 121 runs while batting .282. They also had an up-and-coming outfielder in B.J Upton who hit 300 while ripping 24 homers and driving in 82 runs. The Devil Rays had two pitchers who managed to get into double digits in victories in James Shields who went 12-8 with a 3.85 ERA and left Scott Kazmir who racked up a 13-9 mark with a 3.48 earned run average. They also had a closer in Alberto Reyes who saved 26 games. Otherwise, it was pretty grim. They scored 782 runs but surrendered 944. The team ERA was a horrendous 5.53. Their attendance of 1,387,603 was the worst in the American League. Back-to-back years like ‘06 and ‘07 could have been enough to cost some managers their jobs, but the Rays had a plan and they also had some blue chip prospects on the way. In 2006, they drafted a highly regarded third baseman in Evan Longoria third overall,. In 2007 they grabbed hard throwing lefty David Price number one. Those were their best two picks since B.J Upton in 2002. In 2008 Tampa Bay got rid of the Devil and became simply known as the Tampa Bay Rays. The turnaround season was remarkable. They went from 66 victories to 97. They shaved their team ERA from 5.53 to 3.82. The Rays actually scored eight fewer runs in ‘08 than they did in ‘07, but they cut their runs against by 273 to 671. All five of their starters, James Shields, Edwin Jackson, Andy Sonnanstine, Matt Garza and Scott Kazmir -- all betweenn 24 and 26 years of age -- won in double digits with Shields and Jackson leading the way with 14 apiece. Four of the five pitched at least 183 innings. Shields had a staff high 215 and four of the five starters made at least 30 starts. They also added veteran closer Troy Percival who saved 28 games. He also had a great support staff in J.P Howell. Dan Wheeler and Grant Balfour who chipped in with 17 victories. Though Penas numbers dropped off a bit to a ,247 average with 31 homers and 102 runs batted in, Longoria emerged as a force with 27 homers and 85 RBIs while batting .272. Former Blue Jays rookie of the year Eric Hinskie chipped in with 20 homers and 60 runs batted in off the bench. The key though was pitching depth. That 2008 staff had eight pitchers who established themselves as manager league starters including&nbbsp; Shields, Garza, Jason Hammel, Jackson, Kazmir, Sonnanstine, Jeff Niemann and Price who pitched in relief late that season.dddddddddddd The 2008 Rays went all the way to the World Series where they lost to the Philadelphia Phillies in five. Over the last six seasons they have racked up a record of (550-423) and been to the post-season four times. The only thing that hasnt improved greatly is their attendance. The incredible season of 2008 boosted the turnstyle count by nearly half a million from the year before to 1,811,986. But by last season the numbers had diminished again to 1,510,300 -- the worst in the American League. The Rays has still never come close to matching the attendance figures of their inaugural season of 1998, when they drew 2,506,293. Its sad really, but at least it is living proof that a well managed, small market club can compete and in fact thrive in the American League East. The Blue Jays have the star power in Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion, some possible blue chippers in Brett Lawrie and Colby Rasmus, a decent bullpen and a couple of solid veteran pitchers in R,A Dickey and Mark Buehrle. They just havent been able to stay healthy enough or keep grinding out pitching prospects the way the Rays have. Its still too early to predict how the A.L East is going to unfold in 2014, but in some circles, the Rays are already being called to win the division with the Blue Jays to finish last behind Baltimore. The Blue Jays are still waiting for some kind of solid return on the Roy Halladay trade. Back on December 16th of 2009, they shipped "Doc" to the Phillies for Kyle Drabek, Travis DArnaud and outfielder Michael Taylor. They wound up flipping Taylor to Oakland for Brett Wallace and then sent Wallace to Houston for Anthony Gose. The Astros designated Wallace for assignment this week when they signed veteran right hander Jerome Williams. Wallace never really developed as a hitter and didnt play well enough defensively at first or third. The Jays are still waiting for Drabek and Gose to arrive as major leaguers and DArnaud was used as part of the package to get R.A Dickey from the Mets. I bring all this up because Halladays illustrious career is now over. The Phillies are going to honour him on their alumni weekend this summer during a series against the Mets. On Aug. 8 the Phils will hold a special ceremony for Roy and will give the fans a special Halladay bobblehead. That same weekend on Aug. 9, the Phillies will induct Charlie Manuel to their wall of fame. ' ' '

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