Baseball revisits its past, I think, more than any other sport. [url=http://www.authenticnygiantspro.com/Harry-carson-giants-jersey/]Har ry Carson Womens Jersey[/url] . Its storied history is what links it from generation to generation. This year a special committee will once again consider players wh

Baseball revisits its past, I think, more than any other sport. Harry Carson Womens Jersey . Its storied history is what links it from generation to generation. This year a special committee will once again consider players who were passed over for the Hall of Fame - nine former players and one executive. If you are a big enough fan, yoou can probaby make a solid argument for any one of the 10. Two in particular stick out for me and possibly a third, though I didnt see him play. The one who headlines my list is former Minnesota Twins star outfielder Tony Oliva. When we were growing up, between about ages nine and 15, there were two teams we followed intensely in our neighbourhood - the New York Yankees and the Twins. Minnesota had three players we all pretended to be - Harmon Killebrew, one of the greatest home run-hitters of all time, Rod Carew, an incredible pure hitter and base-stealer, and Oliva, maybe the best all-around player of the trio. Oliva played his entire 15-year career with Minnesota. From 1964 through 1971, he led the American League in hits five times. Over those incredible eight years, he received MVP votes every season and was the runner-up for the award twice. He was also an eight-time All-Star with 220 home runs to his credit for his career, as well as a .304 career batting average. The knock on Oliva has always been that he wasnt great for long enough. Though he played until he was 38, knee injuries robbed him of his immense skills and forced him to DH more and more as his career wore on. I dont believe the injuries should be held against him. Though its an apples and oranges comparison, Sandy Koufaxs brilliant career was cut short by an arthritic elbow and yet he still made it to Cooperstown. Why not Tony Oliva? Number two on my list is the late Gil Hodges who died at 47 of a heart attack while golfing, cutting short what could have been a great managerial career. But Hodges had a lot more going for him than just that. He was the first baseman for the Boys of Summer Brooklyn Dodgers of the 50s. Hodges spent 16 of his last 18 years in the Dodgers organization. He slugged 370 homers, was an eight-time All-Star, a three-time Gold Glover and received MVP votes eight times, though never finishing higher than seventh. He was a member of the only Brooklyn Dodgers club ever to win the World Series when they finally beat the Yankees in 1955. But one of his greatest accomplishments was managing the Amazin Miracle Mets to their first World Series title in 1969 in what was the ultimate Cinderella Story. In Hodgess case, I dont know what else a guy has to do to get into the Hall of Fame. My third choice is a player Im not as familiar with, except through reputation and historical accounts in Chicago White Sox long-time star Minnie Minoso. Minnie spent 12 of his 17 years in the Bigs with the White Sox as a third baseman and left fielder. He began his career with the Cleveland Indians in a brief stint in 1949, but was traded to Chicago just eight games into the season in 1951, while still considered a rookie. In his first game with the White Sox, he hit the very first pitch he saw in his 1first at-bat for a home run. He went on to finish as runner-up for Rookie of the Year. Minoso played in nine All-Star Games and won three Gold Gloves, including one of the first nine ever given out in 1957. He is one of only two players to have appeared in the Majors in five different decades and actually played pro in seven different decades. Minnie is so beloved in Chicago that hes already been honoured with a statue at U.S Cellular Field. The last time a Golden Era balloting was done was 2011. That year, the late Ron Santo, former Chicago Cubs star third baseman and broadcaster, was the only one elected with 15 votes. Hodges and Minoso tied for third with nine and Oliva had eight. One other note that should be mentioned - Oliva and Minoso were both born in Cuba and both are still alive. Tony is in his mid-70s and Minnie is 88. At my count, 186 Cuban-born players have appeared in the Majors, yet only four are in the Hall of Fame and, of those four, only one actually played in the Majors. That would be former Cincinnati Reds slugger Tony Perez, the big RBI man on the Big Red Machine of the 70s. These kind of votes should never be based on race or country of origin, but surely, it has to factor in when you consider the tremendous careers of Tony Oliva and Minnie Minoso. The vote will be conducted on December 8 at the Winter Meetings in San Diego and the inductees for the class of 2015, if there are any, will be announced on January 6. - We probably say this every year, but what an October!. It was one of the greatest postseasons I can ever remember. Full credit to the San Francisco Giants for winning their third World Series title in five years by defeating a stubborn and talented Kansas City Royals team in seven games. Still, you have to wonder if the Angels would have written a different final chapter if their breakout star right-hander, Matt Shoemaker, hadnt been injured down the stretch. I guess well never know, - Teams have until Monday to make the $15.3 million qualifying offers to their potential free agents. In other words, thats the day the Blue Jays will officially cut ties with closer Casey Janssen and centre fielder Colby Rasmus. Carl Banks Youth Jersey . And fellow Leaf, Jake Gardiner, hiking in Whistler. Lawrence Taylor Giants Jersey . The Detroit Tigers closer blew a three-run lead in the ninth inning Wednesday night against the Dodgers. http://www.authenticnygiantspro.com/Lawrence-taylor-giants-jersey/ .com) - Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson lost an appeal to have his indefinite suspension overturned, the NFL announced Friday.Hat tricks for Alex Galchenyuk and Vladimir Tarasenko, another good night for Phil Kessel, lineup news, Fantasy tips and more in Scott Cullens Statistically Speaking. HEROES Alex Galchenyuk – The third-year Canadiens forward played centre, with Max Pacioretty and Brendan Gallagher on his wings, and notched his first career hat trick in Montreals 4-1 win over Carolina. Pacioretty added three assists in the effort. Galchenyuk has been progressing and this season he is playing more (16:28 per game) and generating more shots on goal (2.19 per game) than ever before, so its not altogether surprising that his point production (21 points in 32 games, 0.66 per game) is higher than his first two seasons. Theres lots of room to keep climbing, but Galchenyuk appears to be on the right trajectory. Vladimir Tarasenko – What a breakout season for the third-year Blues winger, who tallied three goals and added an assist in a 5-2 win over Los Angeles, giving him 36 points (20 G, 16 A) in 31 games, good enough for fourth spot in the scoring race. Phil Kessel – Recorded two goals and an assist, with 10 shot attempts (4 SOG), in a 6-2 win over Anaheim, giving him 11 points (6 G, 5 A) in the past nine games. After adding a couple assists against Anaheim, LW James van Riemsdyk also has 11 points (4 G, 7 A) in those same nine games. ZEROES Marcus Johansson – Failed to register a shot attempt and had team-worst 23.5% (4 shot attempts for, 13 against) with 50.0% offensive zone starts in Washingtons shootout loss to Florida. Drew Miller, Joakim Andersson – The Red Wings fourth-liners both played more than nine minutes at even-strength against Columbus and werent on for a single shot attempt for (six against). Short nights for goalies: Frederik Andersen – Was pulled from Anaheims 6-2 loss in Toronto after allowing four goals on 20 shots. Andersen got off to a great start, with a .941 save percentage in October, but has a .903 save percentage in 19 games since. Karri Ramo – Calgarys goaltender surrendered four goals on 13 shots in a 5-2 loss to the Rangers. Ramo had been going pretty well until his past couple starts, allowing eight goals on 32 shots and dropping his save percentage from .917 to .903 for the season. LINEUP NEED TO KNOW Duncan Keith – Out of the Chicago lineup due to illness, which meant first-unit power play time (2:55) for Brent Seabrook who had a three-point game (1 G, 2 A) in Keiths absence. Jonathan Drouin – Played 17:28, his most since his fourth game of the season (October 25) and had an assist while skating with Steven Stamkos and Ryan Callahan on Tampa Bays top line. Jeremy Morin – Played a season-high 12:50 in his first game with Columbus, spending most of his night with Brian Gibbons and Nick Foligno. Fedor Tyutin – Played 20:41 in his return to the Columbus lineup, after missing a little more than a month with a knee injury. Vincent Trocheck – With Aleksander Barkov returning to the Panthers lineup, Trocheck was a healthy scratch. Ilya Bryzgalov – The veteran goaltender was pressed into action, his first appearance for Anaheim, when Andersen was taken out of the Ducks net. Bryzgalov has fallen on hard times. Since the start fo the 2011-2012 season, his .906 save percentage ranks 31st out of 33 goaltenders that have played at least 100 games. Cody Hodgson – Assisted on Buffalos only goal in a 5-1 loss at Winnipeg, but played just 4:55. Hodgson, who led the Sabres with 44 points last season, has five points (2 G, 3 A) in 31 games this year. Michael Stone – The Coyotes defenceman played just 1:59 before leaving with an upper-body injury against Edmonton. SHORT SHIFTS Jets C Mark Scheifele, who previously had three points in a dozen games, had his second thhree-point game in the past three games, picking up a pair of goals and adding an assist with 12 shot attempts (5 SOG) in a 5-1 win over Buffalo…Lightning C Tyler Johnson had a goal and an assist in a 3-1 win at Philadelphia, giving him 33 points in 33 games this season. Michael Strahan Womens Jersey. Not bad for an undrafted second-line centre…Ducks C Ryan Kesler had a goal and an assist and 11 shot attempts (7 SOG) in a 6-2 loss at Toronto, giving him eight points (5 G, 3 A) in the past six games…Jets RW Michael Frolik had a goal and an assist in a 5-1 win over Buffalo, his third multi-point game in the past four…Kings LW Marian Gaborik scored both Los Angeles goals in a 5-2 loss at St. Louis; Gaborik has 27 points (12 G, 15 A) in 39 regular-season games with the Kings since he was acquired last season...Blackhawks C Jonathan Toews and RW Patrick Kane each had a goal and two assists in a 5-3 win against Minnesota. Kane now has 14 points (7 G, 7 A) in the past 11 games, while Toews has nine points (2 G,7 A) in the past eight games…Rangers LW Rick Nash scored a pair of goals in a 5-2 win at Calgary, giving him 14 points (8 G, 6 A) during an 11-game point streak. Ducks D Clayton Stoner, who has the worst possession numbers (45.7% Corsi) among Anaheim defencemen with at least 100 minutes of 5-on-5 play, had an unusual, if score-affected, night in Toronto, with 37 shot attempts for and eight against (82.2%) at even-strength…Jets fourth-liners Anthony Peluso (12 shot attempts for, 3 against) and Chris Thorburn (11 for, 2 against) both had better than 80% possession against Buffalo…Arizonas top defence pairing of Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Zbynek Michalek combined for 25 shot attempts (13 SOG) against Edmonton, with Ekman-Larsson finally breaking through for the winning goal with 0.3 seconds left in overtime. Maple Leafs G Jonathan Bernier turned back 40 of 42 shots in a 6-2 win over Anaheim. Bernier has keyed the Leafs recent run with a .935 save percentage in December…Blue Jackets G Sergei Bobrovsky had a 30-save shutout in a 1-0 shootout win at Detroit…Red Wings G Jimmy Howard recorded a 29-save shutout in the loss…Bruins G Tuukka Rask stopped 38 saves on 40 shots and Predators G Pekka Rinne turned aside 33 of 35 shots in Nashvilles 3-2 shootout win…Oilers G Ben Scrivens stopped 42 of 44 shots faced in a 2-1 overtime loss at Arizona. FIRSTS Andrei Vasilevskiy – With Ben Bishop out, the Lightning brought their highly-touted 2012 first-rounder in for his NHL debut and he stopped 23 of 24 shots in a 3-1 win at Philadelphia. Justin Shugg – A fourth-round pick of the Hurricanes in 2010, 22-year-old Shugg made his NHL debut, playing 5:11 against Montrea. Shugg had 11 points (9 G, 2 A) in 17 AHL games with Charlotte before getting promoted to a Carolina team that has Jordan Staal, Alexander Semin and Jiri Tlusty injured. FANTASY FOCUS There are three games on the schedule tonight. Here are three players to consider adding to your lineup: Scott Gomez – Given the lack of options in New Jersey, Gomez is getting a remarkable opportunity, playing nearly 19 minutes per game, mostly with Jaromir Jagr, while getting first-unit power play time. Charlie Coyle – The power forward has just two goals (and 11 points) in 29 games, but has been inserted onto the Wilds first power play unit, expected to use his big frame as a presence in front of the net. Jannik Hansen – His ice time has been up and down all year, but the Canucks winger got to skate with the Sedins last game and does have nine points (5 G, 4 A) in the past 12 games. Much of the data included comes from www.war-on-ice.com, www.puckalytics.com, www.hockeystats.ca and www.naturalstattrick.com Scott Cullen can be reached at scott.cullen@bellmedia.ca ' ' '