San Antonio plays home games at AT&T Center but came back to the Alamodome as part of the team’s 50th-anniversary celebration.
San Antonio (AP) – The San Antonio Spurs announced an attendance of 68,323 fans for their return to the Alamodome, which is a record number for an NBA regular-season game.
Spurs, while celebrating their 50th anniversary season, returned to their former playing grounds to face the Golden State Warriors last Friday night.
San Antonio Hall of Famer David Robinson was the one who announced the official attendance at the close of the third quarter. Robinson said, “Spurs fans have again set the standard for the league”
Fans of the team began to chant”Go Spurs Go!” after the announcement.
The given numbers shattered the previous record of 62,046 people who gathered to watch Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls play the Atlanta Hawks at the Georgia Dome on March 27, 1998.
“Yeah, that’s pretty different,” San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said about the record crowd. “It’s a situation where you know… are they selling alcohol? I think that people will be pretty fired up. It is just an exciting moment for everybody. It is nostalgic for everybody. To have that many people in one building, to be able to play in front of them, is pretty damn exciting, actually. We hope it is a good game.”
The Alamodome
Although San Antonio now plays its home games at the AT & T Center, coming back to the Alamodome was a way to mark the Spurs’ 50th-anniversary celebration.
While the team (13-29) is having one of the worst seasons in its history, playing at the Alamodome gave fans an opportunity to relive a former era for the team.
“Having my son here with me, sharing a past and present memory, will be cherished by both of us for years,” said a Spurs fan, Eric Hernandez, who previously attended games at the Alamodome.
The San Antonio Spurs franchise started off at the HemisFair Arena in 1973, but the Alamodome is where they took their first steps toward becoming one of the most respected franchises in the NBA.
They played in the Alamodome from 1993 to 2002 before moving to the AT&T Center.
It was in the Alamodome that San Antonio won its first NBA championship in 1999 and held its championship celebration in the downtown facility.
The Alamodome was also where the 1996 NBA All-Star Game was hosted, it was where Michael Jordan was booed for winning MVP over former Spurs resident Shaquille O’Neal.
“It’s crazy,” said Taro Kotani, a Spurs fan visiting from Japan. “The amount of people here. I’ve never been inside the Dome, so just imagining what it was like here during the ’96 All-Star Game and ’99 Finals is so nostalgic. I wasn’t there but this brings back lots of memories”.
Kotani had planned his annual trip to San Antonio around Friday’s game because he wanted to be there when history was made.
January 15 is known officially as the first day of the international signing period and this day means the world to prospects from across the globe who sign on to the MLB during the 11-month span.
While it’s been called international signing day, other people have renamed it to “international day of joy.”
This is because, for the prospects, it is their first step into playing professional baseball. It is also the day when their dreams come true.
The signing period lasts through December 15, 2023. Below is a list of players from the MLB Pipeline’s list that have reportedly agreed to terms with clubs, and for how much. Unless otherwise noted, no clubs have confirmed these deals.
*+ Shows that the club has officially announced the signing.
Signings Breakdown:
Thirty-one of the players on the Top 50 International Prospects list of 2022 are from the Dominican Republic. 12 prospects are from Venezuela, three from Cuba, two from the Bahamas, and one each from Mexico and Korea.
In terms of position, there are 20 infielders, 18 outfielders, five catchers, six pitchers, and one two-way player.
Here are the international bonus pools for the 2022-23 signing period:
Clubs that received a Competitive Balance Pick in Round B of the Draft (Athletics, Brewers, Mariners, Marlins, Rays, Reds, Tigers, and Twins) received a pool of $6,366,900) while clubs with a Competitive Balance Pick in Round A (D-backs, Guardians, Orioles, Padres, Pirates, Rockies, and Royals) received $5,825,500.
The base signing pool for the Astros, Blue Jays, Braves, Cardinals, Cubs, Giants, Mets, Nationals, White Sox, and Yankees is $5,284,00.
Los Angeles Angels, Phillies, and Red Sox each forfeited $500,000 from their pools for signing players who had rejected qualifying offers – Noah Syndergaard, Nick Castellanos, and Trevor Story – last off-season so each has a pool of $4,644,00. The Dodgers and Rangers each forfeited $1,000,000 from their pools for signing players who had rejected qualifying offers to lower their pool to $4,144,000.
The Dodgers surpassed the luxury tax threshold the previous season and forfeited $1,000,000 for Freddie Freeman. The Rangers forfeited $500,000 each for Corey Seager and Marcus Semien.
Forfeited monies are redistributed to other clubs
Teams will be allowed to trade international bonus slots during this signing period starting January 15
Guidelines:
International players are eligible to sign with a Major League team between January 15 and December 15. They must turn 16 before he signs and be 17 before September 1 the following year – in practical terms, this means players born between September 1, 2005, and August 31, 2006, will be eligible to sign in the upcoming signing period.
Players must be registered with Major League Baseball in advance in order to be eligible to sign.
These are some other prospects who signed for $300,000 or higher:
Former Los Angeles Angels RHP Matt Harvey is looking to make an MLB comeback. MLB Insider Jon Heyman of the New York Post wrote “Matt Harvey is hoping to pitch again this year” in a recent article.
The Right Hand Pitcher has not pitched since the 2021 season when he played in 28 games for the Baltimore Orioles. That year, he went 6-14 with a 6.27 ERA and a 1.54 WHIP.
In 2020, Harvey made seven appearances with the Kansas City Royals, going 0-3 with an ERA of 11.57 and a WHIP of 2.74.
Matt Harvey with the New York Mets
Prior to that, Matt spent the 2019 season with the Los Angeles Angels. He ended the season with a career-worst (at the time) 7.09 ERA and a 1.54 WHIP in just 59.2 innings (12 starts). He also played for a while with the Cincinnati Reds and spent his five seven-plus seasons with the New York Mets.
When he was at the peak of his career, Harvey was an All-Star in 2013 and had sub-three ERAs in 2012, 2013, and 2015.
Any MLB team may take a chance on Harvey and give him a role that fits his current skill set. But for now, there is no indicator that he would get a chance, particularly at the major league level.
Odjick led the NHL in penalty minutes during the 1996-97 season.
Former National Hockey League (NHL) veteran player Gino Odjick died of a heart attack at a Vancouver hospital on Sunday, where he was going to get leg bandages. He was 52 years old.
In 2014, Odjick was diagnosed with amyloidosis, a disease that attacks the organs and the heart.
Following the news of his death, three out of the four teams that Odjick used to play for sent their condolences.
“The New York Islanders are deeply saddened to learn the passing of former family member, Gino Odjick. The team extends our condolences to the Odjick family and friends.”
Odjick played for 12 years in the NHL for the Vancouver Canucks, New York Islanders, Philadelphia Flyers, and Montreal Canadiens, between 1990 and 2002.
Gino Odjick playing for the Vancouver Canucks
In the history of the Canucks, Gino holds the record for minutes spent in the penalty box with 2,127.
For the 1996-97 campaign, Odjick led the league in penalty minutes at 371.
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The chairman and governor of the Canucks, Francisco Aquilini said in a statement: “Gino was a fan-favourite from the moment he joined the organization, putting his heart and soul into every shift on and off the ice. He inspired many and embodied what it means to be a Canuck.
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Chicago Fire striker Jhon Durán was signed for $22m by Aston Villa after a massive breakthrough season in Major League Soccer.
Durán is leaving Major League Soccer for the Premier League.
The signing deal hinged on the Colombian teenager gaining a visa and passing a medical test in England.
Premier League’s Aston Villa have signed Colombia International Jhon Durán from Major League Soccer club Chicago Fire in a deal worth almost $22 million.
Before Villa drafted him, some other Europe clubs like Chelsea and Liverpool were hoping to get the striker who scored eight goals in 27 games for Fire last season. But he was scouted by Aston Villa, earning him his first cap for Colombia.
Durán had already played thrice for Colombia and is now the second Chicago Fire teen to leave the MLS for the EPL, following in Gabriela Slonina’s footsteps.
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Slonina joined Chelsea for $15m last August.
Chicago Fire Striker Jhon DuránGabriel Slonina
ESPN reports that the deal to take Jhon to Birmingham, England is worth $18m, with $4m for performance-related add-ons.
Colombian club Envigado, where Durán started his career, is also entitled to a percentage of the transfer fee.
When confirming the move, Aston Villa said, ‘the deal is subject to the player passing a medical, agreeing personal terms, and obtaining the necessary work visa.’
Jhon Durán in actionAston Villa Boss Unai Emery
If the deal is finalized without any hitches, Durán’s move would be one of the three biggest in MLS history.
His $22m transfer would match the amount Bayern Munich paid Vancouver Whitecaps for full-back Alphonso Davies. But it would rank behind the $26m Newcastle United paid to sign Miguel Almiron from Atlanta United back in 2019.
Before now, Durán’s career has been watched with great interest by a number of English Premier League clubs, like Manchester United, Liverpool, and Chelsea.
According to reports out of Colombia, Liverpool in the past, sent the same scout that discovered Luis Diaz at Porto before he joined the Reds, to watch Durán.
Portuguese club Benfica was also said to be scouting the Fire striker, he appeared on the front page of Record, a newspaper in Portugal, back in December as teams’ interests in him grew.
Jhon Durán in front of Record Newspaper
Chicago Fire coach Ezra Hendrickson, when speaking on Durán said, ‘He is a player that, once he gets it all together, he can be a really really special player. He has all the tools.’
In January 2021, Fire sporting director Georg Heitz defined Durán as being “really gifted”.
“He is not only physically interesting especially if you consider his age, but also technically, he’s really good in front of the goal, he’s good in the box, he’s smart, he’s quick with his feet. A raw talent, but really gifted,’ Heitz told the Athletic.
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Durán is currently away with the Colombian national team as part of the 2023 South American Under – 20 Championships.
