BLUE JAYS PITCHING DESERVES NOTICE

In the last 10 years it’s become a tradition to talk only about the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox in the American League East. The two teams have dominated the division since the mid-90's and are the two most marketable teams in baseball.

This may be the season that two teams from the A. L. East make the playoffs and one of them may not be the Yankees. Don't look now, but the Toronto Blue Jays could be in the playoff hunt for the long haul. In fact they may have the best starting pitching in the American League.

Playing north of the border, the Jays are often performing under the national radar. But Toronto starter Roy Halladay is as respected a starting pitcher as there is in the American League. Featured last week in a front page spread in USA Today, Halladay has pitched four complete games already this season. He is a four time All Star and won the American League Cy Young Award in 2003.

But Halladay is not the only effective starter for Toronto. Dustin McGowan has a 2.95 ERA this season and another young starter; Shaun Marcum is also under 3.00. There are also Scott Downs and A. J. Burnett, Sprinkle in closer, B. J. Ryan and the Blue Jays have a solid pitching nucleus.

There are other good stories in the A. L. East. Baltimore has played well, but is not expected to have staying power. Tampa is improving. But the Blue Jays may be the team that finally breaks the Yankees and Bosox grip on post-season play. It could happen sooner than later.

Frank Giardina

ANNE BOWDEN: The Ultimate Sports Mom

This past Sunday was Mother's Day, a day to honor mom's around the country. In the sports world, mom plays a significant role.

Think about it, when a young athlete is growing up, it’s mom who often provides the taxi service and does most of the driving to practice. It’s mom who cleans the uniform, makes sure the equipment is available and provides the pre-game and pre-practice snack. When it comes to games, mom never misses.

The unsung hero in most families is the wife and mom, for a coach and his family even more so. It’s the wife who sits in the stands and listens to insults and complaints about her husband. It’s the wife and mother who has to pack up the kids, sell the house and re-locate the family if the coach is fired.

When I think of the ultimate sports mom in the USA today, I think of Anne Bowden. Anne is the wife of long time Florida State head coach Bobby Bowden. She’s been married to coach Bowden for over 40 years—she’s raised two coaches in sons Tommy and Terry. Anne Bowden has seen all of the emotional highs and lows of a coaches wife.

She’s also been put in the situation where her son, Tommy, the head coach at Clemson, has had to coach against her husband, Bobby at Florida State. Who does she root for in this game? She says she tends to root for whoever needs the win the most, but who really knows.

I’m not sure that there’s a more interesting sports mom than Anne Bowden. In my opinion she’d be the winner of the Sports Mom of the Year award.
Frank Giardina