Fanshops » season record fell that year as Mark McGwire

PHILADELPHIA - Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin sees picking 26th in the NHL draft as a sign of success. For Bergevin, the best pick is the 30th — which traditionally goes to the Stanley Cup winner. "Thats our goal. Every team wants to win," he said Thursday on the eve of the draft. "Picking 26th, yeah its far back but again you want to make the playoffs and you want to have success. And thats what happened. Thats the price you pay." After falling short in the Eastern Conference final, the Habs find themselves with a first- and third-round pick and then five selections well down the draft ladder (117th, 125th, 147th, 177th and 207th overall). Their second-rounder went to the Islanders in the Thomas Vanek deal. Bergevin says he is open to moving higher or lower with his first pick, depending on the offers or scenarios. "We could use help everywhere," he said candidly. "Were a good team but we need to get better. Im always open to make our team better." The Canadiens have already made some decisions. Bergevin says free agents Vanek, defenceman Douglas Murray and tough guy George Parros wont be back. Defenceman Andrei Markov and coach Michel Therrien have signed new deals. Talks continue with three other free agents: captain Brian Gionta, and defencemen Mike Weaver and Francis Bouillon The Montreal GM also says there has been a meeting with star defenceman P.K. Subbans agent about a new contract. While much has been made of the Habs lack of size, Bergevin says its only one variable. "Size is something every team looks at," he said. "But character for me and compete (level) always comes into play. You can have a big guy who doesnt compete or you have (five-foot-nine) Brendan Gallagher — Ill take Brendan Gallagher all day long." Trevor Timmins, the Habs director of amateur scouting, said his staff will be keeping its fingers crossed as the first round unfolds. "We think positive about the player we want to get," he said. The good news is he believes there is a lot of parity in players available between the 15th and 40th picks. However he said it is a down year for francophone talent compared to 2013. The Habs scouts have done their homework, with Timmins and his staff having met with some 100 prospects. Air Max Scontate Outlet . -- Jerome Verrier scored once and set up two more as the Drummondville Voltigeurs downed the visiting Chicoutimi Sagueneens 5-1 on Friday in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League play. Scarpe Nike Scontate On Line . He was signed to help with depth to the receiving corps because of the loss of Shamawd Chambers to the 6-game injured list. https://www.scontatescarpeoutlet.it/. - The Jacksonville Jaguars are leaning more toward playing injured quarterback Blake Bortles against Tennessee on Thursday night. Air Max Scontate Uomo . -- The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have released veteran guard Davin Joseph, a mainstay on their offensive line over the past eight seasons. Air Max 720 Offerta . The freestyle skier from Calgary finished sixth in the qualification round with a total of 82.00 points. Groenewoud won a silver medal at the X Games last month, just over five weeks after undergoing double knee surgery.Baseball has one of the best fan experience in sports, and 20 years ago today that was taken away from the people that love it the most. Strikes and lockouts have not been a rarity in the professional sports world, but there is one that many will not forget. The 1994 Major League Baseball Players strike, which led the sport to lose its entire postseason due to a labour dispute, the first time that happened in a North American sports league. One of the main disputes that caused the Players to walk off the job was that the Owners wanted to install a salary cap, while the players opposed the idea. That disagreement plus a few others, led to a 232-day strike, cancelling not only the remainder of the regular season but also the postseason. The Montreal Expos were arguably the team that suffered the most; they had the best record in baseball, 74-40, despite having the second lowest payroll. They were six games ahead of the Atlanta Braves in the National League East Division when the season came to a halt. Success in strike years was not something new for the Expos, the only time the team punched their ticket to the playoffs was in 1981, during the last significant players strike. Following the resumption of the sport, the Expos moved a lot of their star players, which lead to an even bigger erosion of the fan base. Montreal was not the only market hit hard by the stoppage, many fans around the league decided too opt out of games when the players returned to the field.dddddddddddd Attendance was at an all-time low, dropping 20% from the previous season. In 1994, prior to the strike, the average attendance was 31,256 in 1,600 games, while in 2,016 regular season games of the 1995 season they drew an average of 25,008 fans. Interest in the game was slow to return until the 1998 season when Chicago Cubs outfielder Sammy Sosa and St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Mark McGwire started hitting home runs at record paces. The two sluggers may be the reason the love for baseball returned, their chase for the all-time single season home-run record grabbed the attention of former and current die-hard fans as well as casual viewers. The two players were looking to surpass New York Yankee Roger Maris record of 61 homers which he hit during the 1961 season. Both men had a competitive drive, but their personalities and newly formed friendship also helped them grab peoples attention. Maris single season record fell that year as Mark McGwire finished with 70 home runs and Sammy Sosa ended the season with 66 round trippers and though those marks have since been cast into doubt, there is no question about the lasting effect their work that season had on restoring fans of the game. Its been 20 years since the strike, how long did it take you to forgive baseball and come back? As always its Your! Call. ' ' '