Stop whatever you are doing. On name drop athletes of the 2000s – Curved Ball

My colleague from LaPresse+, Alexandre Pratt, made me dive into nostalgia on Friday morning. You can kind of see me as a millennial Michel Barrette. I’m nostalgic for what happened to me last week.

The columnist of the Montreal daily likes to offer us “statistics that will blow our brains”. On Friday, he opted instead for one of my favorite activities: name dropping former Expos players.

Name a forgotten player in Expos history.

— Alexander Pratt (@alexandrepratt) May 27, 2022

Obviously, it’s not just me who likes to remember Fernando Seguignol, Joe Orsulak, Hiram Bocachica and Terry Jones.

We can also guess your age according to your memories of the Expos.

Let’s do ourselves a favor and revisit these gems from the early 2000s.

And why limit yourself to the Expos?

What and especially who was talking about Frédéric Plante at Sports30, wearing a half-cup ofAlberto mega holdin the late 90s and early 2000s.

World Junior Championship

Let’s start the year off right with the World Junior Championship. The first memory that comes to mind is that of the Quebec goalkeepers who almost always occupied the two goalkeeper positions.

Roberto Luongo who acts as second to Mathieu Garon before taking the pole during the following season. Maxime Ouellet, star goalkeeper of the Remparts who precedes Pascal Leclaire and Olivier Michaud. The good times.

Even more pleasant than remembering Quebec goalies is to list the players who were wrongly predicted a great career.

Hello Daniel Tkaczuk.

How are you doing Rico Fata?

Is Brandon Reid still the fastest skating guy in the world?

Jamie Lundmark, what are you up to, boy?

Our loves

February arrived and training camp began. Serge Touchette told us what was happening in the Journal de Montréal.

There are so many candidates name dropping at the Expos that we could read this text with a parchment letter.

For the sake of argument, let’s focus on one edit. The year 2000.

A miserable team from the first week of April to the last week of September. That was the charm of this team.

Widger behind home plate. Lee Stevens with his Cowboys boots at first.

José Vidro, who hadn’t lost his baby fat, was starting a great career in 2nd. Orlando Cabrera did the same at shortstop.

At 3rd base it was thin. You don’t replace a Shane Andrews that easily.

Rondell White, my childhood idol, Peter Bergeron and Vladimir, Vladimir, Vladimir form your trio of outfielders.

I presented the starting lineup of the Expos aloud in my kitchen by writing it here with the intonation of Denis Casavant. I don’t know if it’s normal, weird or sad.

Your starting rotation? Javier Vazquez, followed by Dustin Hermanson. We all think the same thing when we remember Dustin. Favorites!

Carl Pavano is your third starter. He was to be the reincarnation of Roger Clemens, the great right-hander.

Mike Thurman, as terrible at the mound as at bat and Tony Armas closed the rotation.

Ugueth Urbina was in the paddock…before the wires touched. Sitting next to him? Anthony Telford and a legendary pad.

Fernando Seguignol, Mike Mordecai and Trace Coquillette greet all these beautiful people.

Impact and Alouettes

I was going to be 12 in the summer of 2000. There aren’t many jokes that made me laugh more than just saying the name Uzooma Okeke.

The particular front lineman on a mission to make a path for Mike Pringle. but also for Bruno Heppell and Thomas Haskins.

He was running fast! Not as much as Winston October, though.

We were well represented on the local scene with André Bolduc, Steve Charbonneau, Sylvain Girard, then Pierre Vercheval and our already gray hair.

Still active in the world of analysis at TSN, we also remember Davis Sanchez in defense and Jock Climie in attack. At that time, our sparrows almost automatically offered us a qualification for the Eastern final at the stadium.

On the side of 11 Montreal, there are two certainties.

The first one? Nick De Santis and Mauro Biello were in the team. I haven’t checked, but memories of youth without these two players don’t exist.

Do you remember when the Impact played inside?!

The 2nd certainty? Biello and De Santis had the same hairdresser who worked with the same countertop. No, but what hair, all the same.

Once again, there were several Quebecers at the Center Claude-Robillard.

Don’t tell me about international stars like Didier Drogba or Marco Di Vaio.

Nenon! Patrick Diotte, Patrick Leduc and John Limniatis.

Martin Rucinsky at the top of the pointers

By revisiting these memories, we see that it does not date from yesterday when supporters of Montreal sports were not spoiled.

Caution. The 1999-2000 edition of the Montreal Canadiens is not pretty.

Want to know the first three pointers? Late Sergei Zholtok with 38 points. Dainius Zubrus with 42 points. Your dynamo is Martin Rucinsky with 49 points.

The defense didn’t let anything pass though. Eric Weinrich with his yellow tinted visor and Mission gloves was our man. Karl Dykhuis skated like the wind. Sheldon Souray had come to give us a hand, acquired from the Devils.

Barry Richter and Christian Laflamme were trying hard, but it was a little too slippery for them.

In goal, Jeff Hackett was a more than honest doorman, but playboy Josée Théodore was about to win the hearts of the fans.

Despite the limited talent of this formation, Juha Lind was eating cookies between Marc De Foy and Pierre Durocher on the press gallery.

If you remember Juha Lind, we should already be friends.

It is time for me to finish writing this text. I made an appointment with the hairdresser to have my hair bleached and I bought myself a Hawaiian shirt with a white shell necklace.