Cleaning out the Inbox: Passings

     We've fallen behind on our tributes due to personal issues, so I'm working on another post to catch up.

Goodbye to Bob Horner at the age of 68.

The power-hitting infielder was the first overall pick in the 1978 draft by the Atlanta Braves from Arizona State and was moved directly to the majors without playing in the minors.

Horner not only avoided struggling, but he was also named National League Rookie of the Year, hitting twenty-three homers in eighty-nine games.

Horner would hit 218 homers in nine years with the Braves before a contract dispute saw Horner sign with the Yakult Swallows for one season before returning with the St.Louis Cardinals. Still, shoulder injuries held him to only sixty games in the final year of his career.

Goodbye to Dave McGinnis at the age of 74.

McGinnis was a long-time assistant coach before taking the head job with the Arizona Cardinals midway through the 2000 season.

Despite an overall record of 17-40, McGinnis was popular with players and fans with his exuberance and energy. McGinnis was fired following a 4-12 season in 2003.

McGinnis would be an assistant with the Titans and Rams from 2004-2016 before moving into the color analyst position on the Titans radio network.

Goodbye to Charle Young at the age of 75.

Young made the Pro Bowl in his first three seasons after the Eagles took him in the first round of the 1973 draft from USC, and was named either first or second team All-Pro in those years.

Young's receptions were never the same after the Eagles traded him to the Rams before the 1977 season for Ron Jaworski, but he was a solid player for the Rams, 49ers, and Seahawks in the final ten seasons of his career, winning a Super Bowl with the 1981 49ers.

Goodbye to Tony Davis at the age of 73.

Davis left Nebraska in 1976 as the school's all-time leading rusher and in 1973 became the first 1,000-yard rusher under Tom Osborne.

Davis was taken by the Bengals in round four of the 1976 draft and spent three seasons with the Bengals, three with the Buccaneers, and one with the USFL's Boston Breakers.

Cleaning out the Inbox: Passings

  It's time for another series of tributes, and we start with an underrated all-time great in his field.

Goodbye to Dennis Condrey at the age of 74.

"Loverboy" Dennis Condrey was part of the greatest tag team in the history of professional wrestling (my opinion) with partner "Beautiful" Bobby Eaton and manager Jim Cornette to comprise the Midnight Express.

Condrey was a veteran of the three Tennessee territories before getting his big break in 1983 with Mid-South Wrestling, with Eaton and Cornette using the name "Midnight Express" for their team, which Condrey and Randy Rose had used before the move to Mid-South.

Condrey and Eaton would win and lose the NWA world tag team titles against the Rock N Roll Express before Condrey's famous 1987 disappearance, which would lead to Stan Lane as Condrey's replacement in the Midnight Express.

Condrey returned to wrestling with Randy Rose in the AWA, winning the dying federation's tag team titles as the original Midnight Express before moving to the NWA with their famous studio attack on the Jim Cornette version of the Express.

Goodbye to Miguel Canto at the age of 78.

The long-time holder of the WBC flyweight title in the 1970s, Canto defended his title fourteen times from 1975 to 1979.

Known for his silky smooth boxing, Canto lacked any type of power and scored only fifteen knockouts in his sixty-one victories.

Canto lost his title in South Korea to Chan-Hee Park in 1979 but nearly regained it in the rematch, also in South Korea, drawing with Park in a controversial decision.

Goodbye to Claude Lemieux at the age of 60.

The scrappy and controversial Lemieux was known for his ability to get under his opponents' skin and for his excellent play in the postseason.

Lemieux won four Stanley Cups, two with New Jersey and one each with Colorado and Montreal, and won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP for the 1995 champion Devils.

Lemieux was an underrated scorer, scoring 25 goals or more nine times in his career, with a high of 41 in 1991-92 with New Jersey.

Lemieux scored 379 goals in his career, with eighty more in postseason play.

Goodbye to John Garrett at the age of 74.

Garrett played for four teams in the WHA and three others after the merger with the NHL and finished his WHA career with a record of 148-151, the most losses for a goaltender in league history.

Garrett became an analyst after his retirement with the Vancouver Canucks. In recent years, Garrett covered other teams for Rogers Sportsnet.

Goodbye to Stacey King at the age of 59.

An All-American at Oklahoma, where he led the Sooners to the National title game. King was a firsr round draft choice by the Chicago Bulls in 1989.

King would play for three championship teams with the Bulls and would play for four other teams before retiring in 1999.

King has spent the last twenty years in various roles with the Bulls local broadcast team as a beloved figure in the Chicago area.

Devils trade Jacob Markstrom to Florida

      The New Jersey Devils will be starting a new era in net as the Devils traded Jacob Markstrom to the Florida Panthers along with forward Angus Crookshank for three forwards: Evan Rodrigues, former Devil Jesper Boqvist, and Ben Steeves.

Markstrom was acquired from Calgary to give the Devils stability in the net, but instead delivered erratic play in his two New Jersey seasons.

Markstrom played well in his first season, but wasn't good at all last season, finishing with a 3.07 GAA and a .883 save percentage, and will turn 37 in January.

The Devils will likely test the market for a veteran goaltender as only Jake Allen remains on the roster.

Crookshank played only last season in Newark, joining the team from the Ottawa Senators and scoring one goal in eight games.

Crookshank spent most of the season with AHL Utica, where he scored 24 goals in sixty games.

The thirty-two-year-old Evan Rodrigues is a solid two-way forward who scored eleven goals with twenty assists in sixty-nine games, and Jesper Boqvist returns to the Devils after a four-goal and nine-assist season in Florida.

Ben Steeves scored twenty-three goals last season for AHL Charlotte and, at twenty-four, has time to break through for the Devils and, at a minimum, will be a key contributor for AHL Utica.

The versatility of Rodrigues will allow him to plug in as a third-line center and penalty killer, and he can move up and down the lines if injuries become a factor.

Boqvist will likely take over the role of  Paul Cotter on the fourth line after Cotter was allowed to leave via free agency.

Former GM Tom Fitzgerald signed Markstrom to a two-year contract extension last year, and trading him allows the Devils to take his entire contract off their books.

Trading Markstrom now for a decent return could be a good idea, as a slow start for Markstrom could have made him untradable, which would have stuck the Devils with a large cap blow.

New Jersey also signed Utah Mammoth center Barrett Hayden to a one-year offer sheet valued at 4.7 million.

Utah will have one week to match Hayden's offer.

Hayden scored ten goals with fifteen assists last season with the Mammoth.

Boxing Challenge: Boots stops Zayas

    The boxing weekend saw Jaron "Boots" Ennis do more than just snatch the WBA and WBO junior middleweight titles from Xander Zayas. Ennis solidified himself as a star in the sport and did it excitingly as Ennis stopped Zayas in seven rounds in Brooklyn, New York.

Ennis dropped Zayas in the first and fifth rounds before finishing Zayas in the seventh, but was forced to survive in the third round when Zayas appeared to have Ennis in trouble.

While Ennis was far ahead on my card at the time of the stoppage (59-53), Zayas had his successes as well in a fight that will be considered for fight of the year.

Ennis's promoter, Eddie Hearn, stated Zayas has a rematch clause should he activate it, but before the fight, Zayas stated he was likely to rise to 160 pounds, so a rematch is not guaranteed.

Ennis seems most likely to meet IBF champion Josh Kelly in a unification fight unless a more lucrative ( and long-awaited) fight against Vergil Ortiz.

Kelly is also promoted by Matchroom.

Two prospects notched impressive KO wins as the co-features as Emiliano Vargas stopped Bryce Mills in four rounds and Ben Whittaker swatted Richard "Popeye" Rivera aside in two rounds.

In the main event from Zuffa on Paramount Plus, former WBC junior welterweight champion Jose Valenzuela avenged a 2022 knockout loss to Edwin De Los Santos with a second round stoppage.

Boxing Challenge

TRS: 67 Pts (5)

Ramon Malpica: 54 Pts (4)

Vince Samano:  44 Pts (2) 

Devils draft Alexander Command

      The New Jersey Devils held the twelfth selection in the first round of the NHL Draft and selected Alexander Command, a center from Sweden.

The eighteen-year-old Command is 6'1 and spent last season with Orebro of the Swedish Under 20 league, scoring seventeen goals and twenty-seven assists in thirty games.

 I've often written that I go by others in reviewing the NHL Draft, as I haven't seen enough of these players to form a knowledgeable opinion, but it seems that some see this as a mild surprise, as the Devils were mocked with several other players.

Command's offensive stats last season belie his reputation as an excellent two-way player, and known for physical play, which some compare to the Devils captain, Nico Hischier.

Command will likely return to Sweden for next season.

Boxing Challenge

   Boxing finally has a top-notch fight to discuss as Xander Zayas defends his WBA and WBO junior middleweight titles against former welterweight champion Jaron "Boots" Ennis in New York City.

Zayas has won his titles in his last two fights, winning the vacant WBO title over Jorge Perez and adding the WBA strap with a win over Abass Baraou.

Ennis knocked out Uisma Limia in one round in his first bout at the weight.

The difference to me seems to be that Zayas lacks the power to keep Ennis at bay and eventually would be worn down by the pop of Ennis.

The undercard features two prospects on the verge of the top ten in their divisions, with junior welterweight Emiliano Vargas facing Bryce Mills and light heavyweight Ben Whittaker meeting Richie Rivera.

Sunday, former champion Jose Valenzuela meets Edwin De Los Santos in a rematch of their 2022 where De Los Santos stopped Valenzuela in three rounds, handing him his first loss and establishing De Los Santos as a division contender.

Boxing Challenge

WBA and WBO Junior Middleweight Titles, 12 Rds

Xander Zayas vs Jaron "Boots" Ennis

Ramon Malpica and TRS: Ennis Unanimous Decision
Vince Samano: Zayas Split Decision

Junior Welterweights. 10 Rds

Emiliano Vargas vs Bryce Mills

R.L: Vargas KO 7

TRS: Vargas KO 4

V.S:  Mills Unanimous Decision

Light Heavyweights. 10 Rds

Ben Whittaker vs Richie Rivera

All; Whittaker Unanimous Decision

Lightweights. 10 Rds

José Valenzuela vs Edwin De Los Santos

R.L: De Los Santos Unanimous Decision

TRS: De Los Santos Split Decision

V.S: Valenzuela Unanimous Decision

Devils add Chisholm and Lombardi

  No, not Shirley Chisholm or Vince Lombardi, but on the eve of the NHL Draft, the New Jersey Devils have added two players who should compete for back spots on the roster and, at minimum, help the Devils AHL affiliate in Utica.

The Devils traded their fourth-rounder in this draft to the Detroit Red Wings for forward Amadeus Lombardi, and their fourth-rounder in the 2027 draft to the Washington Capitals for defenseman Declan Chisholm.

Chisholm (pictured) has played for three teams (Winnipeg, Minnesota, and Washington) and played in only twenty-six games, scoring one goal with six assists as the seventh defenseman.

Chisholm will compete for the six/seventh defenseman spot on the roster, but could also bring a veteran presence to a young defensive corps in Utica who could be called to the big club if injuries deem it necessary.

The more intriguing addition is Amadeus Lombardi, for reasons beyond an unusual name, as the twenty-three-year-old center has been very productive at the AHL level and might just need a chance to break through to the NHL.

Lombardi is reported to be a two-way player and has yet to make his NHL debut, having spent the past three seasons in the AHL with the Grand Rapids Griffins.

Lombardi scored sixteen goals with twenty-six assists in forty-seven games for the Griffins and will compete for the center spot on the Devils' third or fourth lines.

Sometimes, a young player who is blocked by better players just needs a chance to prove themselves with another organization, and Lombardi might be one of those players.