Could a collection of pros capture the hearts of a country again?
Like what was on display in Vancouver 13 days ago?
The Pittsburgh Penguins can’t.
They couldn’t carry the whole state of Pennsylvania when they won the Stanley Cup.
The Maple Leafs can’t.
Ottawa Valley fans would stick with the Senators, while Montreal Canadiens fans are steadfastly loyal.
The New York Yankees can’t.
The Yanks have backers from coast to coast but when New Yorkers win, Los Angeles Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies fans don’t rush into the streets.
The New England Patriots can’t.
Not everyone would give the points.
There is only one pro team that has shown it can capture a whole country the way coach Mike Babcock’s red-and-white team did on the way to hockey gold.
Don’t laugh, but the Blue Jays are the answer.
The Jays are years away from duplicating what they did in 1992, and again the next year, with World Series wins.
A coast-to-coast radio network was patched together, TV ratings climbed, the country came together and people danced in the streets.
Wearing Jays apparel was a must, like the red and white we saw in Vancouver.
The summer ball team in Saskatoon was nicknamed the Riot. Why?
Saskatoon was the only place where a riot broke out after the Jays won in 1993.
They danced on Yonge St. until the early hours of the morning.
The Prediction Machine (www.predictionmachine.com) says it won’t be this season. The Predictalator played every 2010 MLB game 50,000 times, with the Boston Red Sox winning the World Series 18.2% of the time and the Yankees next, winning 18.1% of the time.
The Jays, according to the website, have a 0.1% chance of winning a wild-card berth.
WATCHING
The Blue Jays had two scouts, including Jim Beattie, in Fort Myers, Fla., on Tuesday to see the Minnesota Twins.
Twins closer Joe Nathan is awaiting word on the condition of his right elbow and whether he needs Tommy John surgery. The Twins are interested in Jays reliever Jason Frasor.
Twins lefty Glen Perkins is available.
HALL CALL
How ’bout the 2014 HOF class? Tom Glavine, Frank Thomas, Greg Maddux and Jeff Kent (the best Jays pick ever, a 1989 20th-rounder, signed by David Blume) will be among those eligible for the first time. It should beat the 1999 first-ballot lineup of George Brett, Nolan Ryan and Robin Yount.
Wells No. 2
The Bleacher Report website calls the contract the Blue Jays have with outfielder Vernon Wells the second-worst contract on its current top 10 list. Wells is owed $98.5 million US until 2014, which does not include the $8.5-million final installment of his bonus payment which was paid March 1.
The website says the worst contract is between the Chicago Cubs and Alfonso Soriano, who is owed $90 million.
It could have been worse. No. 7 on the list is Alex Rios, now of the Chicago White Sox, who is owed $60.2 million.
DL time
Chris Bisson of Orleans, Ont. was hit with on the nose with a pitch when the Kentucky Wildcats played Monmouth in San Diego. The pitch broke Bisson’s nose and sent him to hospital, where surgery was performed.
Bisson was hitting .378, with 10 RBIs and slugging .649 through Kentucky’s first 10 games.
North York’s Marcus Knecht hit his 12th homer of the season and knocked in four runs as the Connors State Cowboys beat Maplewood 12-1.
Guelph’s Tyler Wheeler also had a pair of RBIs.
Double T
Guelph second baseman Trentt Copeland hit a two-run homer as the Evansville Purple Aces handed No. 22-ranked Kentucky its first home loss of the spring.
Copeland also singled, as did Brampton’s Nate Smith.
Spring fling
Mississauga DH Brendan Emmett of the Central Michigan Chippewas had two hits, knocked in a run and stole a base in a 7-4 win over the Central Florida Golden Knights at Orlando, Fla.
bob.elliott@sunmedia.ca
