How about those Blue Jays?
As the Toronto Blue Jays advance to the American League Championship Series for the first time in nine years, this former newspaper sports reporter has a confession to make. Three, actually.
First, I did not believe manager John Schneider was the right guy for this team. My view was that the Blue Jays, especially after last season’s underwhelming campaign, needed a loud, abrasive butt-kicker to light a fire under a few rear ends.
Not so. Schneider’s steady-as-she-goes helmsmanship has proved to be just what the doctor ordered for the good ship Blue Jays. So far, so good.
Second, I wondered if this team could actually win with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. on the roster. Yes, he is supremely talented but not so long ago this observer believed, wrongly, that Guerrero Jr. might be too immature to shoulder a leadership role with a contending club in Toronto.
Again, not so. While “Vladdy Junior” has indeed realized his prodigious skill set, he has also become a highly-regarded dugout leader. It is more than reasonable to believe that he is now fully prepared to take yet another giant step forward in his impressive big-league career.
Third, and I’m not sure how to say this with any degree of political correctness, but it was the assumption from this corner that five-foot-eight, 245-pound Alejandro Kirk was, well, too overweight to hack the day-to-day duties of a full-time catcher in Major League Baseball. Once again, wrong.
Kirk has proven to be a revelation in the Blue Jays lineup, carrying a solid bat and earning kudos from a Toronto pitching staff that absolutely trusts his direction and game management from behind home plate. No, Kirk won’t win a race to first base any time soon, but what he brings to the diamond on a day-to-day basis greatly outweighs (no pun intended) his lack of speed around the basepath.
Toronto made consecutive trips to the ALCS in 2015 and ’16, losing 4-2 to the Kansas City Royals and 4-1 to the former Cleveland Indians (now the Guardians), respectively. The last time Blue Jays appeared in a World Series was way back in 1993 when they beat the Philadelphia Phillies in six games to capture their second straight MLB playoff crown.
If this year’s edition of the Jays can get past either the Mariners or the Tigers in the upcoming 2025 ALCS, Schneider, Guerrero Jr. and Kirk will continue to make a believer of this former Doubting Thomas.
Let’s go Blue Jays.
STORM WARNING
The Carolina Hurricanes have been installed as early-season favourites to win the 2026 Stanley Cup title as the NHL opened its 2025-26 regular-season campaign this week.
DraftKings sportsbook has listed the ‘Canes number one in the Stanley Cup hunt at plus-750 while the Tampa Bay Lightning, plus-800, and Edmonton Oilers, plus-850, round out the top three list of faves. The defending champion Florida Panthers, looking to capture a third straight Cup title, are at No. 6 according to DraftKings at plus-1,000.
The Las Vegas Golden Knights and Colorado Avalanche, both listed at plus-900, come in ahead of the Panthers at numbers four and five, respectively.
The remaining top-10 are: Dallas Stars, plus-1,000; New Jersey Devils, plus-1,300; Toronto Maple Leafs, plus-2,000; and Los Angeles Kings, plus-2,200.
Odds are heavily against Florida pulling off the rare Stanley Cup three-peat. Only three NHL clubs have won three consecutive Cup titles in the 107-year history of the league.
The Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens have each accomplished it twice while the New York Islanders were the most recent NHL club to notch the Stanley Cup hat trick, capping a three-year championship run more than 40 years ago in 1983.
GIRLS GOT GAME
Women’s rugby continues its incredible climb in terms of global participation and popularity, as evidenced by the recent 2025 World Cup final at Twickenham where host England defeated Canada 33-13 in the gold medal match before a record throng of almost 82,000 spectators at Allianz Stadium. The crowd at this year’s final nearly doubled the previous record of more than 42,000 set at the last World Cup in Auckland, New Zealand where the host Black Ferns defeated England in a 34-31 barnburner.
The inaugural women’s Rugby World Cup was held 34 years ago in 1991 in Wales where the gold medal final played at Cardiff drew 3,000 fans to watch USA beat England 19-6.
(PAUL SVOBODA)
