Justin's Sports Corner

The Colorado Avalanche Hockey Club announced today that the organization has reached an agreement in principle with Patrick Roy to become the franchise’s Head Coach/Vice President of Hockey Operations. Due to the Memorial Day weekend, the Avalanche will hold a press conference next week in Denver to formally introduce Roy.

Roy, 47, becomes the sixth head coach in Avalanche history and the 14th in franchise history. In addition to his head coaching duties, Roy will also work with Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations Joe Sakic in all player personnel decisions.

“This is a very exciting day for our fans and a significant moment in our organization’s history,” said Avalanche President Josh Kroenke. “Patrick’s passion for the game of hockey both as a player and as a coach defines who he is as a person. He is a winner and is coming back to Denver where he created numerous special moments on and off the ice while helping lead us to two Stanley Cup championships.”

“All along Patrick was our top candidate and we are thrilled that he has decided to accept this offer,” said Sakic. “Patrick has a great hockey mind, is a tremendous coach and there is no one more passionate about this game. He will bring that winning attitude to our dressing room to help this young team grow.”

“This is an unbelievable day for me,” said Roy. “It’s a new and exciting challenge that I am really looking forward to. I would like to thank Stan and Josh Kroenke for this opportunity as well as Joe Sakic for the trust they are putting in me. Almost 10 years to the day that I announced my retirement as a player I am back in Denver and hope the fans are as excited as I am.”

Roy has spent the last eight seasons as head coach and general manager of the Quebec Remparts of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. He guided the Remparts to a 348-196 record (.640) in 544 regular season games behind the bench, which included leading Quebec to the 2006 Memorial Cup title as the Canadian Hockey League champions. He is also a part owner of the QMJHL franchise.

Roy, who was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2006, retired with the most regular season wins in NHL history (551), a number that currently ranks second all-time. The four-time Stanley Cup champion is still the winningest goaltender in Stanley Cup Playoff history with 151 postseason wins. Roy is the only player in league history to win three Conn Smythe Trophies as the playoff MVP (1986, ’93, 2001).

The Quebec City native backstopped the Montreal Canadiens to two Stanley Cup championships (1986, 1993), the first of which was his rookie campaign. Traded to Colorado on Dec. 6, 1995, Roy led the Avalanche to the Stanley Cup during the club’s first season in Denver (1996) and again in 2001. He is the only goaltender in NHL history to win 200 or more games with two different teams.

Roy won three Vezina Trophies (1989, 1990, 1992) and five William Jennings Trophies (1987, 1988, 1989, 1992, 2002). He was selected to the NHL All-Star Team on six occasions, the first team in 1988-89, 1989-90, 1991-92 and 2001-02 and second team in 1987-88 and 1990-91. He participated in 11 NHL All-Star Games and was named to the NHL All-Rookie Team in 1985-86. When he announced his retirement on May 28, 2003, Roy was the NHL’s all-time leader in not only wins but also regular season games (1029), minutes (60,225) and 30-win seasons (13), marks that now all rank second. In addition to being first overall in postseason wins, Roy is still the NHL record holder in career playoff games (247) and is second in postseason shutouts (23).

Roy, who is the Avalanche’s all-time leader in nearly every statistical category, had his No. 33 retired by the organization on Oct. 28, 2003.

h/t: ColoradoAvalanche.NHL.com

ST. LOUIS • Rams Quarterback Sam Bradford was in Oklahoma City on Monday for one of the most devastating tornadoes in the state’s history.  Now, he has comeback to St. Louis unscathed to raise money for disaster relief.  

“It’s really hard for me to look at the pictures,” Bradford said on Wednesday, announcing the #STL4OKC fundraising drive, seeking goods and financial support for Oklahoma disaster victims.  A donation site has been set up for Thursday night across from Gate 1 of Busch Stadium for attendees of the exhibition soccer game between Manchester City and Chelsea.

Bradford has partnered with marketing and event production company Switch + Contemporary, and the city of St. Louis to lead the local effort.

“There are people with nothing,” Bradford said. “We’re looking for anything.”  

The tornado’s worst damage hit south of Oklahoma City.  Bradford and his relatives live on the city’s northern stretch.  

“Growing up in Oklahoma, tornadoes are part of life,” Bradford said, but noted that this storm’s unexpected fury hit very close to home.  None of his family members were hurt in the storm, he said.

Bradford is seeking donations, including cleaning supplies, baby items, pet supplies, and blankets. 

In addition to the donation site near Busch Stadium on Thursday night, other sites are set up for Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the following locations: Loughborough Commons at Interstate 55 and Loughborough; and Kirkwood Commons and Interstate 44 and Lindbergh.

h/t: STLToday.com

I don’t know what happened at Tuesday’s OTA for the St. Louis Rams, but I don’t care. Because whatever did or didn’t happen, quarterback Sam Bradford — the most important guy on the team — gets a pass.

Yeah, I know, this is the year he’s supposed to fast-track his career forward. This is the year he’s supposed to take control of the club, too, as its unequivocal leader. And this is the year he’s supposed to benefit from a new left tackle and a couple of explosive weapons, including rookie Tavon Austin.

Essentially, this is the year Sam Bradford breaks through.

But that can wait. For the moment, Bradford is excused if he’s more concerned with what’s happening at home than he is at practice because home is Oklahoma City, and Bradford was there Monday afternoon when a tornado ripped through nearby Moore, a suburb just south of the city.

Bradford wasn’t affected — he lives in a section north of the city — but he followed the horrifying events through live reports on TV as he readied to leave for St. Louis. And 24 hours later, he couldn’t forget what he witnessed.

“We didn’t get hit,” he said, “but just watching it live on TV was really hard. Then, seeing the photos that have come out (Tuesday) … prayers go out to everyone’s who affected by the tornado. It’s just really sad. It’s just hard to see that happen. You never think it can happen at home, and then to see something like that … in a city and a state that I love dearly … it’s really hard to look at.”

Though Moore is an estimated 25-30 minute drive from where Bradford grew up, he knows the area well.

“We played Westmoore every year when in I was in high school,” he said. “They were in our district. It’s a place that, going from Oklahoma City to Norman (Bradford attended the University of Oklahoma), I’ve probably driven through a thousand times in my life. It’s literally right south of downtown Oklahoma City. It’s really close to home.

“Watching it yesterday … just hearing the TV people trying to call out locations where they thought the tornado was going to hit so they could try to get people out … I mean, the list goes on. You hear about the Warren Theater, which is one of the nicer theaters in Oklahoma City, and places like that … places where I have been before … yeah, I knew about everywhere that tornado was.”

One reason is that it wasn’t the first time tragedy visited Moore. Bradford grew up in Oklahoma City, so he was there in 1999 when Moore was hammered by a tornado that packed winds of 300 mph. Again, his neighborhood was unaffected, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t leave him without an indelible memory … because it did.

“People still talk about the May 3 tornado in ‘99,” he said. “It’s something that’s constantly brought up. Whenever another storm comes through, it’s always compared to that storm. So it’s something that is definitely ingrained in that city and in that community. That’s why it’s just so hard to watch happen all over again.

“I remember driving through Moore after that tornado came through (in 1999), and it was maybe a year or two before things were back to normal back there. You could drive through it months after it happened and literally see the track that the tornado left — and that’s something that our city and that community thought they were never going to have to go through again.

“I’m sure there are people living in Moore who survived the ‘99 tornado that thought they would never have to go through another tornado like that, and, then, what is it — 14 years later? — almost the same track and another tornado of monster proportions rips through that community. It’s hard to see that.

“You hope no one ever has to go through a natural disaster like that, and to have people go through it two times in a fairly short amount of time … I mean, your thoughts and prayers just go out to those people.”

Bradford isn’t sure what he can do to help, but he knows he wants to try. In fact, he said he plans on returning to Oklahoma City after the completion of OTAs and doing something, anything, to aid a community in desperate need of relief.

h/t: CBSSports.com

NEW YORK – And just like that, “NY2” is a reality.

After three years of discussions and negotiations, Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber announced on Tuesday that English Premier League powerhouse Manchester City FC and Major League Baseball’s legendary New York Yankees have teamed up to acquire MLS’s 20th expansion club.

The new team will be named New York City Football Club (NYCFC) and is expected to begin play in 2015. 

“We proudly welcome two of the most prestigious professional global sports organizations to Major League Soccer,” Garber said in a statement released by the league. “This is a transformational development that will elevate the league to new heights in this country. The New York area is home to more than 19 million people, and we look forward to an intense crosstown rivalry between New York City Football Club and the New York Red Bulls that will captivate this great city.”

“New York is a legendary sports town, as well as a thriving global city with a rapidly expanding soccer fan-base,” said Ferran Soriano, CEO of Manchester City. “We are thrilled to contribute to the energy and growth of New York City Soccer. In the Yankees, we have found the absolute best partner for developing a world-class sports organization and a winning team that will carry the New York City Football Club name with pride.”

Manchester City will be the majority owner, according to the league’s announcement, while the Yankees will play an active role in the ownership group, with Yankees President Randy Levine playing point for the ballclub.

In order to begin play in 2015, NYCFC will arrange for an interim venue but will also seek a permanent home in New York. The club says it will continue the discussions already under way with the City of New York, local residents, community and business leaders, and soccer leagues about a possible new stadium in Flushing Meadows Corona Park (FMCP) in Queens, while also continuing to look at other potential sites.

“New York City FC will have a permanent home in the City in the great traditions of New York sports and world soccer — a home that must be a sports, commercial and civic success,” Soriano said. “But in considering any stadium site, we will listen first. This is what we have always done in Manchester and what we will do in New York. Only in this way, can the Club truly represent the City whose name it will carry.”

But it’s on the field in New York where NYCFC will have its biggest impact. The arrival of another club in the Big Apple establishes MLS’s second local derby — after the Los Angeles SuperClasico between the LA Galaxy and Chivas USA — and given that this is New York, the rivalry between NYCFC and the Red Bulls is expected to be a heated one.

H/T: MLSsoccer.com

The thing that’s strange – the thing that’s sad – is how little excitement there is now when he comes to the plate. Let’s go to a moment in Sunday’s Angels-White Sox game. The count is 3-0, and Albert Pujols has the green light. There should be an electrical charge buzzing the air. Only … really … there isn’t a buzz. There isn’t a charge. There isn’t anything at all. The thrill-o-meter is at zero.

So strange. So sad. It used to be one of baseball’s great thrills to watch Albert Pujols hit. Whether you were a Cardinals fan or not, you would find yourself marking the pace of games by Albert Pujols’ at bats.

Pujols just hit, so he probably won’t come up for another two innings, let’s get a hot dog.

St. Louis is down two, but Pujols is scheduled to hit fourth in the eighth.

Hey, the Cardinals avoiding the double play means Pujols will get up one more time before the game’s over.

Stuff like that. Here are the top five players in baseball history after 10 years in Batting Wins Above Replacement – so, perhaps, the five best hitters after 10 seasons (the slash statistics are batting average/on-base percentage/slugging percentage):

Ted Williams: .347/.484/.633 with 366 doubles, 323 homers, 1,261 RBIs, 1,273 runs.

Albert Pujols: .331/.426/.624 with 426 doubles, 408 homers, 1,230 RBIs, 1186 runs.

Lou Gehrig: .343/.440/.640 with 321 doubles, 267 homers, 1,143 RBIs, 1,075 runs.

Stan Musial: .347/.431/.584 with 373 doubles, 206 homers, 923 RBIs, 1,044 runs.

Babe Ruth: .346/.477/.701 with 271 doubles, 305 homers, 932 RBIs, 969 runs.

Now, Ruth was a pitcher for much of his early career, and Pujols played in a better offensive era than many, but let’s not get too technical about all this. In his first 10 years, Albert Pujols hit more homers than any player ever, and also more doubles.

But the thing that was most striking about Pujols is that he was always exactly as good as he had been the year before. He never had a bad year. He never had anything RESEMBLING a bad year. They called him “The Machine.” If you take the WORST statistical totals he had those first 10 years – that is, the lowest batting average he had over those 10 years, the fewest home runs he hit, etc. — you STILL come up with this season:

.312 average, .394 on-base, .561 slugging, 33 doubles, 34 homers, 117 RBIs, 99 runs.

Repeat: Those are his WORST numbers in those first 10 years. The guy was a first-ballot Hall of Famer on his worst day.

And he was thrilling to watch hit. He stood at the plate with that wide stance – he looked so sturdy and immovable, like he was magnetically connected with the batters’ box. He was like a marble statue up there.

Look: He is 33 years old, just beginning a $240 million contract, and he’s playing for an overpriced and kind of dreadful team that looks like it was built by a rotisserie baseball beginner who ran out at the last minute and bought three fantasy baseball magazines. He looks hurt. He looks tired. He looks out of place. He looks … well, truth is, who is even looking anymore?

Miguel Cabrera, who for years had to deal with being kind of a poor-man’s Albert, won the Triple Crown, something Pujols could never quite do. He’s the one who inspires awe now. St. Louis, the team and town he had come to represent, has gone on without him, and the Cardinals have the second-best record in baseball. And Pujols is not even the most exciting or interesting player on his own team.

You tell me: If you are a young Angels fan, who will you associate with and whose jersey will you buy – Albert Pujols or Mike Trout?

It wasn’t supposed to happen like this. Few players in baseball history have worked as hard as Albert Pujols to achieve greatness. He was doubted every step of his life. He moved to Kansas City from the Dominican Republic when he was young, and everyone always whispered that he was older than he said. As a high schooler, he hit legendary home runs his average topped .500 … but he was not even on the Kansas City’s Star’s all-metro first team, and he was not drafted. He went to Maple Woods Community College and crushed the ball with such ferocity that no self-respecting scout could possibly miss it … he hit .461 with 22 homers in 40 games and, according to legend, did not strike out a single time. But scouts did miss it. Pujols was not drafted until the 13^th round by the Cardinals.

Eighteen months later, Cardinals manager Tony La Russa got his first good look at Pujols. His mind was utterly blown. Pujols played every day in St. Louis and had one of the greatest rookie years in baseball history. He was better every year after that.

He was driven by the doubters, spurred by the skepticism, galvanized by people’s pessimism. He talked often about his faith and how God awakened and strengthened him. He spent hours swinging bats in the cage. He cut out anything at all that might be a distraction. And he became the best player in baseball. Then, he became the best player in baseball again. Then he became the best player in baseball again.

It was a never-ending cycle for him. They said he was slow – he stole 16 bases the next year. They said he struck out too much – he started to annually appear in the Top 10 for fewest strikeouts per at-bat. They said his defense was a liability – he won two Gold Gloves and almost certainly deserved a few more.

Then, two years ago, he was a free agent and, he did not think the Cardinals respected him enough. Their first offer to him was insultingly low (well, relatively speaking, it was a five-year deal for $130 million). The Cardinals seemed to want him on the cheap (well, relatively speaking, $210 million with a bunch of it deferred). There’s no way to get into Pujols’ mind but you suspect he thought that, as the best player in baseball, he deserved the most money in baseball.

He got $240 million. He will be getting an average of almost $28 million a deal for the next eight years. Other than Alex Rodriguez’s insane contracts – which brought their own pain – it was the highest baseball deal ever signed.

h/t: NBCSports.com

There already isn’t much of an offseason for the NFL, and the league’s schedule reportedly is on the verge of becoming even more of a year-round event.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on Monday that the NFL and NFLPA are “on the verge” of moving the NFL draft to May and moving up the start of the new league year to before the combine, which started on Feb. 20 this year:

These proposed moves would allow teams more time to get their rosters in order before the draft. The proposed changes would also give teams more time to investigate potential rookies before singing them to lucrative contracts.  

H/T: Bleacher Report