Magicgames II » Canada at these Olympics. Not only the face an

When Albert Pujols slugged his 499th and 500th home runs the other night at Washington, he became the 51st player in history to reach that magic figure that in most cases guarantees a player a spot in the Hall of Fame. I dont consider myself to be that old, but I was amazed when I looked at the all-time home run list and realized I had seen 47 of the 51, either in person or on live TV. The ones I wasnt born early enough to see included Mel Ott, number 23 on the list with 511, number 18 Ted Williams at 521, number 17 Jimmie Foxx at 534 and of course the immortal Babe Ruth at number 3 with 714. Of those four, I was even fortunate enough to have seen Williams in person when he and Joe DiMaggio appeared at the 1991 All-Star Game in Toronto. I guess my point is home run hitting beyond a select few didnt really begin to take off until the likes of Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle and Duke Snider took centre stage in the 1950s and then took another quantum leap in the steroid era that began in the late 80s. Two of the greatest hitters of all-time, Ty Cobb and Honus Wagner, hit 103 and 101 home runs respectively in careers that lasted over 20 years apiece. Funny that Wally Pipp, the man Lou Gehrig replaced at first base with the Yankees, hit 90 homers in the Majors. Gehrig, who set the longest consecutive games played streak (until it was surpassed by Cal Ripken Jr.) went on to hit 493 home runs. Pujols was the first player in five years to reach the 500 figure and that made me wonder, who might be next? Then I wondered if Pujols could possibly be the last. I wont likely live long enough to answer that question, but there are still a couple of players who have a shot in the next two or three years if they stick around that long. Adam Dunn, the White Sox prodigious slugger, should reach 500. Hes only 34 and just hit his 445th homer, a monster shot over the scoreboard at Comerica Park this week. Dunn made noises about retiring last season, when the White Sox kept piling up loss after loss. But Chicagos decent start this year and the lure of 500 will probably keep him around for a couple of more seasons. David Ortiz, the face of the Red Sox, is four years older at 38, but he only needs 65 more dingers to reach 500. Hes got a shot. The next group of three falls into the unlikely category. Clevelands Jason Giambi has 438 homers, but hes 43 years old. Dunns White Sox teammate Paul Konerko has 434 but isnt playing much these days and intends to retire at the end of the season. The Yankees Alfonso Soriano like Konerko is 38, but only has 410. He would have to hit 40-45 this year to have a chance. The funny thing is of those five players only Ortiz would appear to have a shot at the Hall of Fame. Konerko is a definite maybe, but the steroid connection could keep Giambi out. Since Dunn was so one dimensional, he could become the first to hit 500 homers who wont make it to Cooperstown. Further down the list you have the Rangers 35-year-old third baseman Adrian Beltre who was 376 homers. It could be a stretch for him considering his age and the fact he has already been on the disabled list this season. Tigers mega-star Miguel Cabrera may take another three or four years, but should crack 500. He has 367 now and is only 31. The Yankees Carlos Beltran is only four homers behind "Miggy" at 363, but he is 37. Prince Fielder, who appeared to be a lock a couple of years ago, is sitting on 287 at age 30. Seven more years averaging 30 homers a season and hed have a chance. Incidently, the top active Blue Jays home run hitter is Jose Bautista at 217, followed by Edwin Encarnacion at 196. If I had to bet, Id say Cabrera and Dunn will be the only two to reach 500 in the next two to four years. It could be a long wait, if ever, before it happens again after that. One last note on the chase for 500 homers. Phillies slugging first baseman Ryan Howard reached 100 homers quicker than anyone in history in 2007. Then in 2009 he arrived at 200 faster than anybody else. Now into his fifth season since then, thanks in large part to injuries, his pace has dropped off and hes hit 316 homers. At 34, 500 for Ryan Howard is little more than a dream. The odds of any of us seeing another 300-game winning pitcher are even more remote. The top active pitcher right now is Yankees lefty C.C. Sabathia at 208. Hes 33, but more than that, hes not quite the dominating pitcher he was two years ago and had elbow concerns last year. The Giants Tim Hudson is right behind him at 207 victories, but hes 38. After those two you dip down to the ageless Bartolo Colon of the Mets with 191 victories. The fourth-highest active pitcher in terms of victories is Blue Jays wily veteran lefty Mark Buehrle. At 35, he has 190 victories against 142 losses with a 3.81 ERA. For Hall of Fame voters, 250 victories could become the new 300 in the very near future. Considering his iron man innings stats Buehrle could at least bump himself into the Cooperstown conversation, with another four or five years of 13 or 14 wins. On The Mark Speaking of Buehrle, he takes his 4-0 record into a vital three-game set with Boston this weekend at Rogers Centre. Buehrle will be pitching in the series opener on Friday night against Bosox righty Jake Peavy. The Jays have slipped back to .500 at 11-11 after giving up solid leads at home in their last two games and getting shellacked by Baltimore. The Jays have now fallen to 4-5 at home and 6-7 against the AL East. This three-game set against Boston pretty well completes the first 25 per cent segment against the East. Right now Toronto is sitting in third place, one game up on Tampa Bay and one-and-a-half up on last place Boston. At the very least the Blue Jays need to take two out of three to stop the bleeding before they hit the road for Kansas City and Pittsburgh. Getting swept by Boston could drop the Jays into the cellar and start the same snowball rolling that saw them tumble to 73 and 74 wins the last two seasons. Zach Parise Jersey . When New Zealand finally held on for an 8-7 win, France No. 8 Imanol Harinordoquy collapsed to the ground, having given every drop of energy he could muster, and lay prone as All Blacks danced around him in celebration. Few critics had given France any chance, but coach Marc Lievremonts team rallied from 8-0 down and came within one kick of taking the lead with 15 minutes remaining, only for flyhalf Francois Trinh-Ducs 49-meter effort to drift wide. Jason Zucker Jersey . Dallas also Monday recalled defenceman Aaron Rome from his conditioning assignment with the Texas Stars of the American Hockey League and assigned goaltender Jack Campbell to the AHL squad. http://www.authenticwildpro.com/Jared-spurgeon-wild-jersey/. The Calgary skip fell 10-8 to Swedens Oskar Eriksson in semifinal action Saturday and will face Switzerlands Peter de Cruz for the bronze medal (Saturday at 10pm et/7pm pt on TSN2). Luke Kunin Jersey . Cabrera-Bello shot a 1-over-par 73 and was caught by Webster, who carded 70 at Doha Golf Club for three-round totals of 12-under 204. They were only one stroke ahead of Adrien Saddier of France, the biggest mover with six birdies in his opening seven holes in a round of 64, South African Thomas Aiken (70) and Denmarks Thorbjorn Olesen (68) on a packed leaderboard. Eric Staal Jersey . -- The Orlando Magic have made no secret that the future of their franchise will depend on how well they can develop their young players.SOCHI, Russia – Gabriel Landeskog was a 13-year-old kid in Stockholm standing on his couch and cheering emphatically when Henrik Lundqvist helped secure gold for the Swedes at the 2006 Olympics in Italy. "My dad was kind of yelling at me to sit down and relax," recalled Landeskog, now 21 and a member of the Swedish Olympic squad here in Sochi. "Im like what do you mean, sit down and relax? We just won the Olympics!" Prominent in those memories for the budding Colorado Avalanche captain was the performance of a then-23-year-old Lundqvist, who stopped 25 shots in the final with Finland, preserving the second Olympic gold for Sweden. "He pretty much singlehandedly won that final game," said Landeskog of the 3-2 victory. Hes known as the King and stands as perhaps the biggest obstacle to a gold repeat for Team Canada at these Olympics. Not only the face and cornerstone of the New York Rangers and one of the top goaltenders in the NHL, Lundqvist makes a strong case as one of the best Olympic goaltenders ever and a major obstacle for the Canadians in Sundays 94 gold medal rematch with Sweden. "Hes a tough guy to beat," said Rick Nash, a teammate of Lundqvist with the Rangers, but an opponent with gold on the line. Unbeaten in Russia (5-0-0), Lundqvist enters the afternoon affair at Bolshoy Ice Dome with the second-most career wins by an Olympic goaltender – trailing only the great Vladislav Tretiak with 17 – and the second-best career goals against average (1.71). He made 25 saves Friday, including all eight in the final frame, to preserve victory for the Swedes in their semifinal matchup with Finland. "Hank has been playing unbelievable for us," said Erik Karlsson afterward. "In that part, we feel pretty confident." And in a one game scenario for all the marbles that can be the difference. Sweden may not boast anywhere near the talent of Canada – especially with injuries to Henrik Sedin, Henrik Zetterberg and Johan Franzen – but they might not need it if Lundqvist delivers a masterpiece. &quoot;He can stand on his head for us," said captain Nicklas Kronwall.dddddddddddd "Thatd be good." Led by Carey Price, who has sizzled in his first test on the Olympic stage, the Canadians have had no trouble defending here in Russia, but scoring has been another matter. They managed (and ultimately needed) just a single marker against Jonathan Quick and the Americans in the semifinal and have scored a mere four goals in the past nine regulation periods. Chances have been aplenty, but few have ended up in the back of the net, a concern when Lundqvist lies on the horizon at the top of his game. "I get to see him every day," said Nash of the soon-to-be 31-year-old, a winner in 12 of 14 Olympic starts. "Hes a guy that plays kind of a different style – deep in his net. Hes a tough guy to figure out even when you shoot on him every day. He doesnt play like regular goalies." And he seemingly doesnt prepare like regular goalies either. Swedish teammates have been struck by the preparation of the 2012 Vezina Trophy winner. "Im really impressed the way he prepares for the games off the ice and how hes mentally prepared for each game," said Niklas Hjalmarsson. "To see his preparation has been pretty impressive and the way hes been playing has obviously helped our team a lot." "You dont want to bother him game-days," Jonathan Ericsson observed. "You see that hes in his own bubble." Ericsson described Lundqvist as "standing, focusing and doing his own thing". Winning 10 of his final 14 starts with the Rangers before the Olympic break with a sparkling .937 save percentage, Lundqvist has picked up right where he left off in Sochi, stopping 117 of 123 shots in a perfect run for Sweden. He is a barrier that Canada will have to overcome to claim a second consecutive gold and third in the past four Olympics. "He makes saves that you think you have an open net and he finds a way to smother that puck," said Patrick Sharp. "Hes definitely a guy thats going to be key for them." 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