Jose Vidro, a three-time National League All-Star second baseman with the Montreal Expos from 1997 to 2004, says that Montreal baseball fans must continue the fight to restore Major League Baseball to the city. “My message to the fans is to keep pushing and not to lose hope,” Vidro said. “I would love to be a part of the return of baseball to Montreal.” Vidro made his debut at the age of 22 with the Expos on June 8, 1997. One of his rookie season highlights was playing with the likes of Pedro Martinez. “It was a lot of fun to be around Pedro Martinez. The way he went about his business, and the way he treated his teammates, he was a professional. And when he was on the mound, our relievers knew they didn’t even have to put their spikes on. Pedro was going to throw nine innings. His recent Hall of Fame honour is well deserved.” It took Vidro a couple of seasons before he would find his .300 hitting form. He credits Manager Felipe Alou with helping him make the transition to the big leagues. “It was great to have a manager who spoke my language and who loved to help young players. Baseball is a hard game and Felipe made it easier.” In a career that spanned 11-plus seasons with Montreal, Washington and Seattle, some of Vidro’s most bittersweet memories were during the 2003 Expos campaign. On August 28, 2003, the Expos completed a sweep of the Philadelphia Phillies and sat tied atop the wildcard playoff standings. The team was banged up but feeling positive, anxious to take on reinforcements when Major League Baseball rosters expanded on September 1. But the call-ups never came. “Most of our position players had played 140 games or so and we were tired. When we were told that there wouldn’t be any September call-ups, we were in disbelief. We felt betrayed. Our bullpen needed help and we needed fresh legs in the lineup. We really thought that it was going to be our year.” Owned by Major League Baseball, the Expos had a set budget and were not permitted to exceed it in order to add players to the roster for September. With no help on the horizon, and with some of its home games down the stretch played in Puerto Rico, the Expos faded. During the final Expos season in 2004, Vidro signed an extension with the organization, believing that the contract offer meant that the team would remain in Montreal. He went on to play two more seasons with the franchise when it moved to Washington, D.C. in 2005, before being traded to Seattle in 2007 and being released by the Mariners in 2008. When pressed to name the best players he ever played with, Vidro cited Vladimir Guerrero and Felix Hernandez. “My locker was next to Vlad. I learned a lot from him, how to mentally prepare for the game. Vlad never stopped trying to get better.” Vidro was also happy to see Guerrero’s recent assertion that he would prefer to don an Expos cap should he be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in the future. “There is no doubt in my mind that Vladimir Guerrero is a Hall of Famer. He put up unbelievable numbers. We are still good friends. I will be there on the day that he gets inducted.” Currently involved in baseball in his native Puerto Rico, Vidro admits that Montreal is still a very special place for him. “I considered Montreal my home and it was a beautiful time in my life. I never got the chance to thank the fans of Montreal. From the bottom of my heart, my family and I thank everyone up there for embracing us as they did. We look forward to returning one day.” Lee Roy Selmon Jersey . On Thursday, they signed former Browns linebacker DQwell Jackson. Terms of the deal were not immediately available. O. J. Howard Jersey . Crawford hit his slam off Pirates starter Edinson Volquez to give San Francisco a four run lead in the fourth and they never looked back. Brandon Belt had three runs batted in as well. Bumgarner pitched all nine innings and allowed just four hits. http://www.authenticbuccaneerspro.com/Warren-sapp-buccaneers-jersey/ . It was the start of one nice night for the goalie and the Minnesota Wild. Backstrom made 33 saves in his first win of the season and the Wild defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 5-3 on Saturday in a rematch of their first-round playoff series. Ronde Barber Jersey . The Redblacks host the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (7-9) Friday night in their last home game of the year and as of Thursday afternoon, the team was anticipating a ninth consecutive sellout. You can watch all the action on TSN1, TSN3, TSN4, and TSN5 beginning at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt. Tampa Bay Buccaneers Jerseys . Vettel only needs to finish fifth or better Sunday to wrap up the championship with three races remaining, and bettered his own lap record to claim his third straight pole at Buddh International Circuit.Wimbledon, England - Australian Open champion Li Na, former Wimbledon runner-up Agnieszka Radwanska and 2011 titlist Petra Kvitova were a trio of second-round winners, while former world No. 1 star Victoria Azarenka was ousted Wednesday at The Championships. The second-seeded Li defeated Austrian Yvonne Meusburger 6-2, 6-2 in just over an hour. The Chinese star converted 6-of-10 break-point opportunities and held a lopsided 33-4 advantage in winners. The two-time Grand Slam champion Li will meet Czech Barbora Zahlavova Strycova on Friday. The fourth-seeded Radwanska was tested in the first set by Australian Casey Dellacqua before posting a 6-4, 6-0 victory in less than an hour on Centre Court. The Polish star was the runner-up at the All England Club two years ago. Radwanskas third-round opponent will be Portugals Michelle Larcher de Brito. The sixth-seeded left-hander Kvitova drubbed German Mona Barthel 6-2, 6-0 to improve to an impressive 21-5 lifetime at Wimbledon. Up next for Kvitova will be five-time Wimbledon champ Venus Williams. The 30th-seeded Williams got past Japans Kurumi Nara 7-6 (7-4), 6-1 for her 73rd career match win here (73-11). The 34-year-old former world No. 1 Williams struck 46 winners, including seven aces, to reach the third round of a major for only the second time in her last 10 Grand Slam tournaments. The 6-foot-1 Williams towered over Nara, the shortest player in the womens top 100 at 5-foot-1. Meanwhile, Serbias Bojana Jovanovski knocked out a rusty eighth-seeded Azarenka 6-3, 3-6, 7-5. The two-time Australian Open champ Azarenka just returned to the tour last week, and lost her only match, after being sidelined with a foot injury for three months. Azarenka reached back-to-back Wimbledon semifinals in 2011 and 2012 before pulling out in the second round here a year ago due to an injury. In another match involving a former world No. 1, 16th-seeded Danish star Caroline Wozniacki committed only two unforced errors in cruising past British wild card Naomi Broady 6-3, 6-2 in a mere 59 miinutes.dddddddddddd Wozniacki, who is still seeking a trip into her first-ever Wimbledon quarterfinal, will meet little-known Croat Ana Konjuh in the round of 32. In other play involving top-16 seeds, No. 10 Aussie Open runner-up Dominika Cibulkova, of Slovakia, edged out Belgian Alison Van Uytvanck 3-6, 6-3, 8-6 and American Lauren Davis upended No. 12 Italian Flavia Pennetta 6-4, 7-6 (7-4). Also, 22nd-seeded Russian Ekaterina Makarova bested Japans Misaki Doi 7-5, 6-4; 23rd-seeded Czech Lucie Safarova saw her way past Slovenian Polona Hercog 7-6 (9-7), 7-5; Zahlavova Strycova upset 32nd-seeded Russian Elena Vesnina 6-4, 6-2; and talented Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia took out American Varvara Lepchenko 7-5, 6-3. Other second-round action saw Larcher de Brito get past Aussie Jarmila Gajdosova 6-3, 4-6, 6-3; Chinese Peng Shuai paste Russian Maria Kirilenko 6-0, 6-3; Konjuh beat Belgian Yanina Wickmayer 3-6, 6-2, 6-2; and Czech Tereza Smitkova cool off American Coco Vandeweghe 6-3, 7-6 (7-4). Vandeweghe captured her first-ever WTA title, on grass, in The Netherlands last week. The first round concluded Wednesday when 2010 Wimbledon runner-up Vera Zvonareva, of Russia, snuck past Brit Tara Moore 6-4, 6-7 (3-7), 9-7 and Kazakhstans Zarina Diyas topped Frances Kristina Mladenovic 7-6 (7-4), 6-4. The second round is scheduled to conclude Thursday, including a match for top- seeded Serena Williams, who will be opposed by South African Chanelle Scheepers. The American great is a 17-time major champion, including five Wimbledon championships, just like her older sister, Venus. Meanwhile, third-seeded French Open runner-up Simona Halep will face Ukrainian Lesia Tsurenko and fifth-seeded Roland Garros champion Maria Sharapova will take on Swiss Timea Bacsinszky. Sharapova captured her lone Wimbledon title by upsetting Serena in the final here 10 years ago. Also on Thursdays schedule will be 11th-seeded former top-ranked star Ana Ivanovic and 13th-seeded two-time 2014 Grand Slam semifinalist Eugenie Bouchard. Wholesale USA Soccer Jerseysdiscount uswnt jerseyWholesale AC Milan JerseysWholesale Arsenal JerseysWholesale A.S. 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