Welcome to Friday’s Morning Mashup. For the latest news, start at our WEEI.com home page or click here for the top stories from our news wire.
FRIDAY’S BROADCAST HIGHLIGHTS:MLB: NY Yankees at Toronto, 7 p.m. (MLB Network)MLB: Boston at Tampa Bay, 7:10 p.m. (NESN, WEEI 93.7)NBA: New Orleans at Cleveland, 8 p.m. (ESPN)NBA: LA Clippers at Portland, 10:30 p.m. (ESPN)NHL: Tampa Bay at NY Rangers, 7 p.m. (NHL Network)
AROUND THE WEB:
-- Yankees radio announcer John Sterling debuted his Giancarlo Stanton home run call on Thursday and people are not sold on it.
The call is “Giancarlo, non si può de stoparlo! It is a Stantonian home run” and the reaction was swift and unforgiving.
You guys pretty much agreed, fwiw pic.twitter.com/qJF8aSKXGH
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing)
March 29, 2018 Here's the audio of John Sterling's HR call for Giancarlo Stanton -- in Italian. I don't even know what to say. pic.twitter.com/GY9HQ8z5My
— Jimmy Traina (@JimmyTraina)
March 29, 2018 “No way it stays that. He's gotta come up with something better than that” -- @AndrewHarts
“Yo, John Sterling. You missed on the easy lay-up. ‘It’s not delivery, it’s Giancarlo!’” --
@F3theMissileJohn Sterling cancelled on the first day of the season https://t.co/KCBQTgWUYx
— NOTE (@noteptp)
March 29, 2018 Sterling told the New York Times last week he was nervous about the reception to the call.
"This one is so different," he said. "It's an Italian phrase that rhymes. I don't know if anyone will get it. I'm really worried. Well, not really worried. In fact, I'm not worried. Let's say I'm mildly concerned … Boy, I hope it works. It may not."
Doesn’t seem like it did but chances are there will be more opportunities for fans to get used to it.
-- The Blue Jays honored the late Roy Halladay on Opening Day Thursday by retiring his No. 32 in a special ceremony before the game.
His wife, Brandi, and his sons, Braden and Ryan got a standing ovation when they took the field before Halladay’s former Toronto teammates and coaches emerged one by one from the dugout.
The @BlueJays retired Roy Halladay's No. 32 before their Opening Day game. pic.twitter.com/MqJDNCeDus
— ESPN (@espn)
March 29, 2018 In tribute to Roy Halladay, there will be no ceremonial first pitch at #Jays season opener pic.twitter.com/9xPX5BLALb
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale)
March 29, 2018 Jays announce that In today’s ceremony the late Roy Halladay will join Roberto Alomar as the only players in franchise history to have their jersey numbers retired. pic.twitter.com/JiNzUlNAta
— Andrew Stoeten (@AndrewStoeten)
March 29, 2018 An amazing tribute for an amazing man. #DocForever -- pic.twitter.com/FMoUpCuJ3c
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays)
March 29, 2018 “He was a special guy and not just what he did on the field, he was as good as anybody. But he was a unique guy,” Toronto manager John Gibbons said of Halladay before the game. “He didn’t say a whole lot. He just kept to himself. But you’re not going to find a harder worker.”
The Blue Jays are also wearing the number on jersey patches this season to honor Halladay, who died on Nov. 7 when the small plane he was piloting crashed into the Gulf of Mexico.
