Sports in the News – April 1, 2014

Baseball weekend in Montreal

Montrealers saw something they haven’t seen since 2004 this weekend: Major League Baseball (MLB). The Toronto Blue Jays and New York Mets met at the Big O for two preseason games. On Friday night, the late Expos catcher Gary Carter, who passed away in 2012 of brain cancer was honoured before the game. Carter spent 11 years as an Expo from 1974-1984 and then returned to Montreal for the 1992 season before retiring at the end of that year. The organization unveiled a banner at the Big O honouring Carter, who was inducted into the baseball Hall of Fame in 2003. According to the Montreal Gazette, the announced attendance for Friday’s game was 46,121, which saw a walk off single in the ninth inning by Blue Jay Ricardo Nanita, that proved to be the game winning run. The Blue Jays took that game with a 5-4 win.

On Saturday, the game was preceded by the honouring of the 1994 Montreal Expos team, which at the time was the best team in the MLB until a lockout just before the playoffs cancelled a potential championship for the Expos. According to the CBC, the announced attendance was 50,229. The Blue Jays took the second game 2-0.

 

Impact get a well needed draw

The Montreal Impact were in Philadelphia on Saturday to take on the Union. The Impact trailed after the first half, with a goal in the 35th minute by Philadelphia midfielder Vincent Nogueira. Montreal has trailed in every game so far this season. The Impact were then forced to play the last 15 minutes of the match a man down after forward Andrew Wenger receive a red card. In the 80th minute however, Montreal rallied with a late goal by veteran forward Marco Di Vaio, who was playing in his first game of the season after serving a three-game suspension that carried over from last year’s playoffs. With the draw, the Impact earned their first point of the year and will try to build on that late goal with a win on Saturday, April 5, when they take on the New York Red Bulls at the Olympic stadium at 4 p.m..

 

Habs keep rolling

The Habs had a busy week, playing four games and improving their winning streak to five straight wins. The biggest victory was on Monday when they snapped the Bruins 12-game winning streak; their longest winning streak in franchise history. The Canadiens are currently in second place in the Atlantic Division, but are in a race with the Tampa Bay Lightning, who are two points back of Montreal with one game in hand.

 

March Madness final four

After starting the tournament with 64 teams, the NCAA’s March Madness basketball tournament is now down to the final four teams, with only one number one seed left, the Florida Gators, who will take on the seventh seed Uconn Huskies. The other matchup will be between the number two seed Wisconsin Badgers and number eight seed Kentucky Wildcats. Both games are on Wednesday, April 5.

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