His new teammates warmed up to him quickly from miao1234's blog
BOISBRIAND, Que. www.cheapjerseyfreeshipping.us . - The Drummondville Voltigeurs handed the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada just their second loss of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League season on Thursday. Georgs Golovkovs and Guillaume Gauthier each had a goal and an assist in Drummondvilles 4-1 win over Blainville-Broisband. Nikolas Brouillard and Christophe Lalancette also scored for the Voltigeurs (13-6-1). Emil Aronsson spoiled Louis-Philip Guindons shutout bid at 8:16 of the third period. Guindon finished with 25 saves for Drummondville. Armada (15-2-2) goalie Etienne Marcoux handled 14-of-18 shots, and also got a slashing penalty. --- WILDCATS 8 SEA DOGS 3 MONCTON, N.B. — Ryan Penny scored in every period to lead the Moncton Wildcats to a rout of the Sea Dogs. Conor Garland opened the scoring for Moncton (10-12-1) 54 seconds into the game, while third-period goals by Cameron Yarwood, Christophe Lalonde, Ivan Barbashev and Will Smith put the game out of reach. Matthew Highmore, Noah Zilbert and Jeremy Doucet scored for the Sea Dogs (6-13-2). Doucets goal, with under four minutes left, was his first of the season. Alex Dubeau made 35 stops for the Huskies, and Antoine Landry made 31 saves Saint John. --- ISLANDERS 5 TITAN 3 BATHURST, N.B. — Antoine Bibeau made 42 saves and Charlottetown rallied from a 2-0 deficit with four unanswered goals. Acadie-Bathurst (8-11-2) opened the scoring in the first period with goals from Christophe Boivin and Scott Oke. The Islanders (11-7-2) tied the game before the period was out with goals from Jack Nevins and Alexandre Goulet. Kameron Kielly put Charlottetown in front with a power-play goal at 3:44 of the second period, and a few minutes later, Alexis Pepin made it 4-2. Spenser Cobbold scored his first of the season in the third period for the Islanders, before Alexandre Gosselin closed the scoring for Acadie-Bathurst. Mason McDonald stopped 23 shots for the Titan. --- HUSKIES 4 TIGRES 1 ROUYN-NORANDA, Que. — Antoine Waked opened the scoring for the Huskies, who built a 4-0 lead en route to the win. Liam OBrien and Francis Perron scored in the second period, and Quinn OBrien closed the scoring for the Huskies (12-6-2) in the third. Victoriavilles (9-10-1) Jan Mandat spoiled Alexandre Belangers shutout bid at 14:44 of the third period. Belanger finished with 20 saves, while Tigres goalie Brandon Whitney turned back 34 shots. --- Cheap Washington Redskins Jerseys . Alex Gough, Sam Edney and the doubles tandem of Justin Snith and Tristan Walker combined in the new event but missed winning a medal by one-tenth of a second. Cheap Lakers Jerseys . The Nationals also swept the three-game series, their first sweep since June 8-10, 2010 when they beat the Pittsburgh Pirates in a three-game set. Jerry Hairston Jr. PHOENIX -- Manny Ramirez arrived at the Oakland Athletics training facility Friday to begin his return to baseball and said he was intent on demonstrating "I can still play." The As are hoping he can return to the level that made him one of the most feared hitters in baseball. Ramirez got off to a good start. After taking batting practice, in which he hit seven home runs off As coach Mike Gallego, Ramirez addressed the media accompanied by his wife, Juliana, and two sons, Manny Jr. and Lucas. "I was kind of nervous coming to the stadium," Ramirez said. "Im here because God brought me here. I know a lot of people are, Oh, hes not going to play anymore, but you know something? When God says that theyre going to open the door for you, no matter what anyone says, the door is going to open. Thats why Im here." Juliana occasionally put her hand on Ramirez as he spoke about difficulties -- he did not address specifics -- hes endured since telling Major League Baseball he was retiring a week into the 2011 season. He was arrested last September for allegedly hitting his wife during a domestic altercation. "I made some mistakes and I want to show my children I can correct them," Ramirez said. "I was about to lose my family. My wife brought me to church. She changed my environment and I found a lot of good people out there." The 12-time All-Star signed a minor league deal with the As on Monday thats worth $500,000 if hes added to the big league roster. He will be allowed to participate in spring training games and exhibition games scheduled in Japan, but must serve a 50-game suspension for his second positive drug test before he can play in the regular season for Oakland. "Sometimes you dont appreciate what you have until you lose it, and thats what happened to me," Ramirez said. "Now I appreciate my family more, my kids, the game. Ive got a beautiful wife, Ive got my kids, my family and Im getting my career back. Its been a blessing." Ramirez had retired from the Tampa Bay Rays last season rather than serve a 100-game suspension. "Im thankful that I have a job," Ramirez said. "At least I can still play baseball in the minor leagues and work on things. Cheap St.Louis Cardinals Jerseys. " Ramirez, the career leader in post-season home runs (29) and RBIs (78), said he has no expectations other than to show he can play. As manager Bob Melvin said someone of his stature could influence the rest of the team. "He can be a great example with his work ethic," Melvin said. "We have some young kids and, who knows, maybe something will rub off." Ramirez is 14th on baseballs all-time home run list with 555 and 18th on the all-time RBIs list with 1,831 and is a career .312 hitter. "I think guys are excited to see what Manny Ramirez is all about," Melvin said. "He said all the right things; that he was thankful to be here. He said you will have no problems with me, and I appreciated that." Ramirez will wear the number 1 -- as in a new start -- because his first choice, 7, belonged to infielder Adam Rosales. "God made the world in seven days," Ramirez said. "And everything starts with one." There was a buzz in the As clubhouse the moment Ramirez walked in and sat in front of his locker. His new teammates warmed up to him quickly as introductions were made around the room. Everybody stopped what they were doing to watch Ramirez take batting practice. Melvin was certainly impressed in the little he saw of it. "I saw all I needed to see," he said. "I saw the one ball he hit off the centre field wall. He truly is one of those guys who has the mechanics of his swing right away. Rarely do you see him off balance." Notes: Brett Anderson and Dallas Braden, each coming off season-ending surgeries, threw side sessions, while tentative opening day starter Brandon McCarthy threw to hitters for the first time. "They both looked like regular pitchers instead of guys on rehab," Melvin said. "McCarthy really went at it and he looks to be in midseason form." ... Ramirez was slotted into a hitting group that also includes former teammates Coco Crisp and Jonny Gomes. ... RHP Ryan Cook continues to impress. "I look for him to compete for a spot in the bullpen," Melvin said. "He has an exploding fastball and movement on top of that." ' ' '
The Wall