The Expositor from Brantford, Ontario, Canada • 13

INSIDE SPORTS QUOTE OF THE DAY huge to be able to play the calibre of rugby that Ontario rugby is at for girts right -Jen Grierson co-coach of the BQ Mustangs rnaHawB drafted in first round wednesdayjjune 572002 Ron Francis of the Hurricanes is knocked down by Red Wings Frederik Olausson after scoring the overtime period in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup final in Detroit on Tuesday How that Francis overtime hero for PACE' B3 1 E'AR ElFACiTSl many runs do you need Brantford 1 'be thing Ron Stead treasures most as 1 he reflects on his career with the Brantford Red Sox more than the many records he set on the mound or the Intercounty Major Baseball League championships the team won was the camaraderie A left-handed pitcher he had uncanny control and an assortment of pitches that sent rival batters back to the dugout mumbling words that be repeated in a family newspaper Who was the best pitcher ever to throw strikes in the Intercounty? Thatis a loaded question which might ignite more heated ar guments than the no-smoking bylaw in any bistro populated by old-time ball fans While unfair to compare pitchers from one era to another because the calibre of Intercounty varied cade to decade doubtful that any pitcher dominated the league the way Stead did in the 1960s When the Red Sox retire his No 11 in 1 a ceremony at Arnold Anderson Stadium on Saturday afternoon bring back memories of the way Stead and his pitching partner Spud Bush were almost unbeatable in leading die team to five consecutive league championships and six all-told during that stretch Whole forests were cut down to produce enough newsprint to publish all of records He set almost as many records on die diamond as Wayne Gret-j zkydidonice same nucleus sort of stayed together in those recalls Stead who now resides in Chatham was a joy to play in Brantford The championships added to it but even without that there was die feeling of togetherness There any real bickering or pieople not getting along with one another were no complaints from guys who had to sit out Young guys sometimes get antsy when not playing but none of diem compdained" Jimmy Wilkes who in patrolling centre field used to cover more ground than a real estate salesman coukl almost take a night off when Stead pitched Few balls ever got hit out of die infield say to Ronnie many runs do you need tonight? and say me two or Wilkes recalls Hiree would often be superfluous Fbr instance when Stead broke the Intercounty record for eamed-iun average in 1963 he allowed an average of less than one run per game His record of 063 lasted 12 years before another Red Sax lefty Bob Bodden broke it with a 039 Stead twice won the ERA tide was named the most valuable player three times and was selected to die all-star team 10 times from 1959 to 1970 He had the best won-lost record in 1961 with 11-1 and in 1963 with 14-1 He led the' league in wins on three occasions and was the strikeout leader four times breaking the league's strikeout record in 1965 with 156 What Stead win Bush did In 1961 Bush led die Intercounty in wins with 16 which was then a record and also in strikeouts Stead who grew up in Toronto was signed by the Maple Leafs of the International League and played with their form teams in Orlando in Gainesville in 57 and Duluth for part of the 58 season before deciding to quit pro ball and return to Ontario Hie Red Sax jumped in and signed him before anybody else in die Intercounty could blink their eyes He remained here until a job transfer (he was working for Union Gas at the time) forced him to leave and he completed his Intereounty career in Guelph realty enjoyed Brantford" he says didn't like to leave I enjoyed my stint in Guelph but it wasn't quite the Stead and Bush not only were near-invincible but both were durable often patch with only a day or two's rest After his baseball days ended Stead played slo-pitch in Chatham until his legs prompted him to quit two yeats ago knees started bothering he expkdns could do evetything else but i I couldn't I His arm? That was never a problem The txrosuoK Hurricanes play at 15:21 Glen Wesley was sent off by referee Bill McCreary for interference for bumping Tomas Holmstrom into the side boards to keep him from completing a checking assignment It was obstruction but it happens all the time and more often than not it doesn't result in a penalty Steve Yzerman took a long shot Holmstrom standing with his back to goalie Arturs Irbe tried to deflect the puck and missed it Irbe blocked it and Hurricanes defenceman Aaron Ward pushed Holmstrom into Irbe Irbe and Holmstrom went down in a tangle and Fedorov fired the rebound into the gaping net did all the said Fedorov was empty net pretty Ice in June even in a well-refrigerated arena is never the best and players had trouble controlling the puck because it kept bouncing said Yzerman ice is terrible right now It's tough to make had one break scored a try and that was said BCI co-coach Stu Martin girls played well but the other team also played well They (Barrie) rucked really well They play a very controlled clean game and our girls play the same way was one of our strong games It BOYS RUGBY will be against either Dunbarton High School or Barrie Innisdale on Thursday at 10 am If the Mustangs win their second-round game play a semifinal Thursday at 3 pm If all the games go according to form BCTs semifinal game will be against Oakville-Trafal- If BCI wins their semifinal play for the championship Friday at 1 pm likely against Barrie CcntraL If the Mustangs lose their semifinal play for a bronze medal Friday at 11:30 am Fans following the Mustangs to Barrie should take the Bayfield Street exit north off Highway 400 follow Bayfield to Highway 26 (whidt veers to the left off Bayfield) and then go to Nursery Road where the Barrie Community Sports Fields are By Neil Stevens CANADIAN PRESS Detroit old the seafood and put away the brooms Ron Francis scored 58 seconds into overtime to give the persistent Carolina Hurricanes a 3-2 upset victory over the heavily-favoured Detroit Red Wings in the opening game of the Stanley Cup final Tuesday night Humucames 3 Wings 2 OT i Carolina leads series 1-0 i Sean Hill and Jeff also scored for the Hurricanes while Sergei Fedorov and Kirk Maltby scored for the Redwings Francis cruised to the front of the crease and redirected the puck past goaltender Dominik Hasek off an pass out of a comer in the Detroit zone sending the 20000 Joe Louis Arena witnesses into shock Carolina improved to 7-1 in sudden death this spring while Detroit slipped to 1-4 huge for us to get the first Hill told CBC "We came to get one game and we already accomplished that going to have to focus and come back and get one While the whirling of an octopus is a pre-game ritual in The Joe the Hurricanes made it abundantly clear seafood is not their menu preference Detroit had a vastly superior record to Carolina during the regular season Hence suggestions of a sweep Yet it is the Hurricanes who are three wins away from the title knew we were an Hurricanes coach Paul Maurice said no point in making it out to anything bigger than it already The table is set for Game 2 Thursday night (8 CBC) Fedorov who caught fire during the seven-game Western final against Colorado opened the scoring on a power winning goal during the first appmo Carolina goalie Arturs Irbe stops one of 25 Detroit shots Tuesday night good Hasek who closed out the Western final with two consecutive shutouts had his streak of perfect minutes end when Hill scored on a power play 3:30 into the second period Carolina had a two-man advantage with Igor Larionov off for high-sticking and Kris Draper for hooking Hill slapped a shot from the top of the cir- his knees and allowed over his left shoulder Detroit regained the lead at 10:39 of the second thanks to strong forechecking by the line of Maltby Kris Draper and Darren McCarty Draper forced a turnover in a comer McCarty got the puck to Maltby in the middle of zone and Maltby beat Irbe with a fluttering knee-high wrist shot finals had to be or we would have got crushed by that team They won their first game (at OFSAA) 76-0 The Mustangs opened with a 20-0 win over Brother Andre Catholic High School Cardinals of Markham The Mustangs are known more for their ballhandling and speed than they are for their brawn The wet weather simply made it more difficult for them to play their style of game play better when a dry Martin admitted Martin and Grierson praised forwards Becky Shelby and Pauline Lavallee for playing strong games against tough opponents Mustang backs Jessie Vance and Natalie Wayland also turned in strong efforts as did scrum half Jamie Hendrie The Mustangs fell 10-0 down to Napanee in the first half They used more of their regulars in the second half when Katie Miller scored a try The Mustangs were pressing within 15 yards of the Napanee end zone when the whistle blew to conclude the match The graduating players with the Mustangs are: Laura Purkiss Brielle Brazier Stephanie Fisher Meghan Dodgson Julie Hill Beth Lefler Amanda Mosur Amy Mc-Fadzean Morgan Agnew Karlie McEleveny Miller Wayland Hendrie Lavallee and Dodgson ONTARIO FEDERATION OF SCHOOL ATHLETIC ASSOCIATIONS' CHAMPIONSHIPS BQ edged in quarter pr: girls ruoby! Jen Grierson huge to be able to play the calibre of rugby that Ontario rugby is at for girls right Central scored its onfy try in die first half Mustangs open title defence By Ed EXPOSITOR STAFF Cambridge The Brantford Collegiate Institute Mustangs are suited more for a fast track than one muddy Iarbi 5 BQ 0 BCI eliminated i -I Barrie Central Collegiate Phoenix a squad which features powerful forwards edged the Mustangs 5-0 here at Rogers Field on Tuesday morning in an Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations girls rugby quarter-final game a match that was halted early in the first half for 40 minutes because of lightning and thunderstorms Officials deckled to resume die game when the lightning and thunder vacated the area but heavy rains still pounded the ground The loss to the Phoenix rated No 4 heading into the tournament ousted the No 5-ranked Mustangs from the competition However BCI went on to play a game against the Napanee Hawks The Mustangs using players who generally get much playing time lost 10-5 to finish the season with a record of 20 wins and three losses BQ won the Brant County and Central Western Ontario Secondary Schools Assixsation's championships to qualify for OFSAA make it this for is a huge said co-coach EXPOSITOR STAFF Brantford The Brantford Collegiate Institute Mustangs will open defence of their Ontario Federation of School Athletic senior boys rugby championship this afternoon at the Barrie Community Sports Fields The Mustangs who head into the tournament with a record of 19 wins and two ties will face Toronto York Mills in their first-round game at 4 pm Tournament organizers have made the Barrie Central Collegiate Phoenix die No 1 seed in the tournament and the Mustangs are the No 2 seed The Mustangs were recently ranked as the No 1 team in a coaches poll and the Phoenix No 2 Oakville-Trafalgar which played to a 5-5 overtime tie with the Mustangs on April 14 in Stoney Creek has been seeded third The second-round game -7: 1.