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) i the CANADIAN STATESMAN ♦ AUGUST 24,2005 ♦ PAGE 13 durhamregion.com ! Shawn Cayley [Mosport iand NASCAR larea perfect ! match K » 5 Speculation on both sides of the *• border in the recent months has led ; many to believe the NASCAR circuit will finally burn rubber on Canadian " asphalt in the near future. This possibility should catch some il-real attention in Durham Region as the Kmost logical destination tabbed for the rirace is Mosport International Speed- Kway, and for good reason, p While a majority of NASCAR races ptake place on oval tracks, Canada's ['version would be better suited on ^Mosport's 2.5 mile 10-turn road track. PNot only would Mosport, and Durham ^Region, receive plenty of exposure [-being in the intense spotlight that Incomes with hosting a NASCAR race, Cbut the financial benefits would sky-rocket sky-rocket through the roof, fc Trust me, I know. On Monday, I returned home from . t'the GFS Marketplace 400 at Michigan ['international Speedway much light-, îer in the wallet then I was when I [(embarked on the trip last week. This Rêvent is a huge, and I mean HUGE, [[money grabber, which would be great- tyfor the region. ^ Here is a look a just a few , of the [•[costs. P My one ticket for the race in Michi- |gam $80 US. Four nights accommodation camping pat the race track: $250 ÛS. Food and beverage: yet another $250. A Tigercat attacks gmostly US dollars, rj And souvenirs: well, lets just say we pall know how costly those things can [►tget. [Î My point being, NASCAR, Mosport ■(and Durham Region Would all be seeding seeding those nice little green money signs pin their eyes should they conspire and [(bring the world's fastest sport to Mos- wPort- ■ • - ■ I was one of 137,243 spectators at /Michigan and when it was all said and "done, I had spent upwards of $700. If ' everyone spent that much, and I am sure some spent more, that makes for a profit of $96,070,100 for one weekend of the year. Now, sure there would be other costs for all three parties involved, but the upside clearly drowns out the downside downside in this situation. Fans from all over would no doubt flock to Mosport, which could house well over 100,000 fans. I for one would jump at the opportunity, so that I would no longer have to endure the grueling seven hour drive to Brooklin, Michigan. It seems as though there is a common interest between Mosport officials and their NASCAR buddies to form a partnership. partnership. NASCAR has visited the sight previously and has committed to catapulting catapulting the sport onto the international stage. Earlier this season, they ran a NASCAR BUSCH Series race in Mexico City, which went off without a hitch. So, realistically, if Mexico City can make NASCAR work, Durham Region .Should have no problem. ► l am going to make an educated •guess and say all parties involved will '(see this potential for success and NAS- [CAR will have some Canadian flavour (within five years. * V, Soccer Camp registers another win \ CLARINGTON - The Minor Atom /Bowanville Darlington Soccer Camp 'defeated Courtice N ascom Wireless 3-2 •to improve their season record to 5-3-4. ;! Darlington Soccer scoring was provided, provided, by Dylan Ebelthitc, Joshua DcJagcr [and Patrick Wilson. \ Nnscom Wireless received goals from ►Alex Mnudo and Richard Hibbard. Eagles carrying small number of prospects as training camp opens BY BRAD KELLY Sports Editor BOWMANVILLE - The Bowman- ville Eagles are adopting one of those quality over quantity type of approaches approaches in regards to this year's training camp. Not as many prospects hit the ice when camp opened at the Garnet B. Rickard Recreation Complex in Bow- manville on Sunday night, which will ultimately result in an intense battle to gain one of the few coveted spots on the roster of the Provincial Junior A Hockey League club. "It's not a traditional training camp for us," admits general manager Perry Bowles. "We usually have enough players players to divide into two teams and as training camp progresses we start to limit the numbers. "We have a lot of veterans coming back, and we have narrowed the numbers numbers down to the new players we feel will challenge the veterans and have a legitimate legitimate shot at gaining a position position on our team." , There are just a limited amount of spots open on a roster that served as the youngest in the East Conference Conference a season ago, comprised comprised of six regulars born in 1988. With a year of experi- cnee of junior hockey under r their belts, those six should be poised to make an impact, while at the other end of the scale, the club lost just one player, Tom Fitzpatrick, due to overage restrictions. Tuning it up for the season The Bowmanville Eagles will play six exhibition games in preparation for the 2005-06 Provincial Junior A Hockey League regular season. Home and away games have been scheduled against the Oshawa Legionaires, Pickering Panthers and Peterborough Stars. Friday, Aug. 26 . Saturday, Aug. 27 Wednesday, Aug. 31 Thursday, Sept. 1 Sunday, Sept. 4 Tuesday, Sept. 6 vs. Oshawa at Peterborough at Oshawa vs. Pickering vs. Peterborough at Pickering 7:30 p.m. 6:30 p.m. 7:30 p.m. 7:30 p.m. 6:30 p.m. 7:30 p.m. Merle Ftobillard/ The Canadian Statesman Former Toronto Maple Leafs captain Wendel Clark signs a commemorative commemorative plaque for fan Mark Howard at the Pickering Market Saturday morning. Leaf greats charm BOWMANVILLE - Tyler Moffat of the Clarington Tigercats tries to slow down the progress of York Simcoe Young Bucs Nicholas Pipitone during a Central Ontario Minor Football League triple header in BowmanviHe on Sunday. Unfortunately for the Tigercats, they came up empty in all three games, dropping decisions in the tyke, Atom and Peewee levels. See page 14 for details on the games. Small camp, big expectations What's left is a solid core of returning returning players, including Brent Small, who led the team with 21-22-43 totals, and Brad Dormiedy who finished second second with 16-19-35 numbers and will serve as the team's captain this season. Returning to the fold are winger Jeff Oke and defenceman tyler Brown, who were instrumental parts of the Eagles team that won the East Conference championship championship in 2003/04. Oke returns after a year of an athletic scholarship at Lake Supc- _ rior State, where he intends ' to return after this season, while Brown took a season off to concentrate on his university university studies. But, that doesn't translate Bowles i n t 0 a free ride for any of the returning members of last year's team that posted a 34-12-3-0 regular season mark, warns Bowles. Nobody's name has been sewn onto the back of a home or away jersey just yet. "This training camp is an evaluation of everyone. We will see at the end who we determine deserves to be on the hockey club this year. "There is an opportunity for the new guys to join us. There are some returning returning players who are in tough and need to perform during the evaluation period." period." The only position the Eagles seem to be set in is goal, where Max Desjardins returns after serving a season as backup to Dan Goulding, who earned a scholarship scholarship to Dartmouth University. Bryan Scott, who led the Uxbridge Bruins Jr. C team to the Ontario semifinals last season, has also received a commitment from the team. The hockey club will continue training training camp. Thursday in preparation for Friday's exhibition opener against the Oshawa Legionaires at 7:30 p.m. It will be the first of six games during a busy pre-season that will also include home and home games against Peterborough and Pickering. Sittler, Clark, Bower and Valve meet their fans at the markets BY JASON CHAMBERLAIN Special to The Canadian Statesman PICKERING - The legends were out in force at the Pickering Markets on Saturday. Saturday. For its 'Legends of Hockey Day', the market welcomed former Toronto Maple Leaf greats Darryl Sittler, Wendel Clark, Rick Vaive and Johnny Bower. Hundreds of hockey fans turned up to meet and greet their heroes, and to receive an autograph.:.:' autograph.:.:' "It's rather enjoyable," said former Leaf captain Vaive of signing autographs. "Sometimes you see fans that watched you play when you were younger, and it's a chance for people to get an autograph autograph that they normally wouldn't get, so it's kind of nice." Darryl Sittler also enjoyed the event. "A lot of people want to get an autograph, some want them personalized. They add it to their collection, or they have a sweater that they want to wear. They're Leaf fans, and it's an opportunity for them to get out and meet .some of their favorite Leaf players from the past." That was the motivation for Ajax resident resident David Barths, who came to see one of his childhood heroes. "I'm most ' excited to see Wendel Clark. He's from the era that I remember, these other guys were a little before my time. But meeting them is exciting." John Shaw, a collector from Whitby, also enjoyed the show. "It's the best thing to happen to the market in a while," he said. "They should do it all the time." Also present at the event was John Tavares, the 14-year-old recently drafted drafted first overall, in the Ontario Hockey . League by the Oshawa Generals. Sitting alongside Clark and 1 Vaive and signing autographs was a unique experience for him. "I got to sit with Wendel Clark which was a great pleasure. Watching him with ' the Leafs, he was one of my favourite players. It's a special thing to be able to play in the NHL so being here with all these guys, I'm having fun'today," he said. One thing the hockey legends and their fans had in common was excitement for the imminent return of NHL hockey. "It's great," said Vaive. "It's unfortunate that we had that extended lockout, but in a weird kind of way it's probably the best thing that ever happened to the game going forward. 1 really think it's going to make the NHL a better league. I think the players realize that things couldn't continue the way they were, and they're still going to make a good living playing a game they love." Sittler is also happy to sec the league return. "I'm glad they got this thing settled and they can start moving forward. forward. It's going to be a whole new look around the league with the players who have moved. And with the rule changes, we'll wait and see how they turn out, but they're just trying to do whatever they can to make the game more exciting." With the happiness of the fans being paramount, Vaive feels it's important for athletes past and present to give back. "It's even more important now, not only for us but for the current players, to give back to the fans. It's part of the game, and I think that unfortunately has been lost in the last eight to It) years or so, and 1 think it's important we get back to that."