Second Best

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“Second best in the world ain’t bad. You Know?” Says one of Edmonton’s sports writers, when talking about Canada’s Under 19 women’s soccer team’s recent loss to the U.S. in the gold medal final. The great baseball man, Leo Durocher once said, “There ain’t nothin’ for seconds.” Leo, I agree with you when it comes to most sports, but not when we’re talking about Canada’s U-19 women’s soccer club. They not only came away with a hard earned silver medal, they also made the entire tournament exciting with their high intensity brand of football. The final game against the strong U.S. team really could have gone the other way on a number of occasions, and I’m sure the record breaking crowds will remember some great moments for a long time. Congratulations to our gals for their tremendous effort on winning the silver in the inaugural FIFA U-19 Women’s World Championship and to the fans who turned out in huge numbers including 47,000 plus at the finals. And a special Tip of the Hat…to Christine Sinclair, tournament leading scorer and tournament MVP. A Tip of the Cap…to our Edmonton Trappers for a great season, leading their division by up to ten games at some points, and are heading to the post season. They begin the Pacific conference championship finals against Las Vegas 51’s on September 4 and 5 in Vegas and head back to TELUS Field September 6 at 7:05pm and also have games scheduled for September 7 and 8 if necessary. Another great feat for our Trappers…Outfielder Michael Restovich was named Trapper of the Year. Michael led the team in runs scored and slugging percentage and was second in the league for extra base hits, trailing only teammate Michael Ryan. He is tied with Ryan for third in the PCL in home runs and tied for fifth in the league for RBI’s. The 6’4, 245 pound Restovich is also fifth in the league in runs scored. The two are also tied with Tim Salmon for the second most home runs in one season by a Trapper player. Only Ron Kittle, who hit 50 in 1983, has more round trippers in a single Trapper season. Restovich leads the club with 27 multiple RBI games and has had three multiple home run games. Also worth noting is that four Trappers were selected to the 2002 All-PCL Team. Along with Restovich and Ryan, were catcher Javier Valentin and right-hand-pitcher Scott Randall. Congratulations guys, and all the best in the playoffs. I’m looking forward to seeing the Trappers win their fourth PCL title. *Quote* Congratulations to our gals for their tremendous effort on winning the silver in the inaugural FIFA U-19 Women’s World Championship