B.C.'s Justin Morneau, one of the elite major league baseball players of his era, has got a lot of hockey in him.
He wears No. 33 with the Minnesota Twins because that's the number worn by his sports idol, former NHL goalie Patrick Roy. He had a taste of major junior hockey as a teen when he was the third-string netminder for the Portland Winterhawks, where one of his coaches, Mike Williamson, advised him to concentrate on hockey over baseball because he said it was so rare for a Canadian to make it as a major league ballplayer.
And now, unfortunately, Morneau and hockey are connected again, because the slugging first baseman has a major injury more closely associated with hockey: a concussion.
It happened during a routine base-running collision at second base last July 7 - in Toronto against the Blue Jays, no less - and he missed half of the 2010 season.
Sidney Crosby, meet Justin Morneau. Two Canadian sports superstars whose concussions are making their futures murky. So sad.
Morneau, the 2006 Most Valuable Player in the American League and one half of baseball's newest M & M Boys Club (team-mate Joe Mauer is the other 'M' in this sweet baseball duo) was in the midst of another MVP-type season in 2010 when his year came to an abrupt end. He took a knee to the head while sliding into second and his equilibrium hasn't been the same since.
The foggy brain symptoms dragged into the winter, but Morneau, who has a baseball park named in his honour in his hometown of New Westminster, B.C., is hoping for a clear head this spring and a return to his home-run-hitting prowess of the past.
On the Twins' first day of spring practice, Morneau was with the rest of his team-mates, but said he still wasn't feeling 100 per cent. But he was on the field for the first time in nine months, and that was a step in the right direction.
"That's a good thing to see, to see Justin out there with a smile on his face," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire told Ian Harrison of Toro Magazine.
If the head becomes clear, and the eyes are sharp, the homers are bound to follow. How about 33 this year, Morneau's lucky number, just to get his career rolling again?
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Janice Hough of leftcoastsportsbabe.com: "Donald Trump said that New York Mets owner Fred Wilpon wants him to buy part of the club but he declined. So let's see, Trump is arrogant enough to think he can run for President and fix the United States, but not so arrogant as to think he can fix the Mets?"
Jeff Funnekotter, after Michael Vick cancelled his appearance on Oprah: "First dogs, now Oprah. What's next in his quest to become hated by all women on the planet? Punching Justin Bieber?"
Comedy write Jerry Perisho: After 23 seasons, Jerry Sloan stepped down as coach of the Utah Jazz. Sloan said he wants to spend more time with his family, making them run wind sprints."
Comedy writer Jim Barach: "A basket from half court in a contest won an 11-year-old Georgia boy free pizza for a year. How bad is it that the only way to to get kids on a basketball court is to dangle some junk food at them?"
Angels outfielder Torii Hunter, to Yahoo! Sports, on his 7-foot-1 teammate, Dutch pitcher Loek van Mil: "His stride is so long, it's like he's handing the ball to the catcher."
Budd Bailey of the Buffalo News, after Trevor Bayne, 20, won the Daytona 500 in just his second NASCAR race: "He's believed to be the first victor of the race to be on a learner's permit."
Royals pitcher Luke Hochevar, to AP, on 5-foot-7 bullpen prospect Tim Collins: "I just want to pick him up and burp him."
Syndicated columnist Norman Chad, on the Clippers' woeful history under owner Donald Sterling: "If Sterling owned Starbucks, nobody in America would drink coffee."
Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times: "Steelers defensive end Brett Keisel will shave his mammoth beard to benefit the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. Barbers are still trying to decide whether the job calls for a Gillette or a Weed-Eater."
Scott Ostler of the San Francisco Chronicle: "Tuesday was the official reporting day for the A's pitchers and catchers, and for Rich Harden's X-ray technicians. If you put an arrow pointing to each of his injuries, Harden would look like General Custer."
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