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COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. - On the day before Barry Larkin and the late Ron Santo are inducted into the Hall of Fame, Tim McCarver and Bob Elliott were the centre of attention. The two were honoured Saturday in a ceremony at Doubleday Field. McCarver received the Ford C. Frick Award for his contributions in broadcasting, while Elliott of the Toronto Sun was given the J.G. Taylor Spink Award for sports writing. It was the second straight year the awards were not given on induction Sunday. "I received a text from Al Michaels today. The text was very, very thoughtful and very nice. And I also received a text from Bob Costas," McCarver, the former big league catcher in his fourth decade in a broadcast booth, said before the ceremony. "And the reason Im dropping those two names is to show you the importance of the weekend that Bob and Barry and the family of Ron Santo and I are about to experience. "Im humbled by the whole experience. ... Its very difficult to be here without being overwhelmed. And I am. And Im trying to get over it so I can get through my talk." While Elliott, a national fixture in Canada for the past 30 years, also called the honour "humbling," he did recall with some joy a school guidance counsellor who wasnt exactly encouraging. "He said, What do you want to be? and I said, Id like to work at the newspaper. So hes looking at my marks and laughing and said, Youve got a 61 in English Composition and youve got a 63 in English. Youve got no chance," Elliott said. "I said, Sir, Ive been working there for three years on weekends. He said, You can never work there full-time. Maybe you can get a job at the Napanee Beaver. Its a bi-weekly. "I went back to a reunion about 20 years later and I couldnt find him. Not that I was looking for him," he said with a smile. The awards presentation also celebrated the three living former managers who led the St. Louis Cardinals to World Series titles: Hall of Famers Red Schoendienst and Whitey Herzog, as well as Tony La Russa, who led the Cards to the 2011 championship. The late afternoon featured an inductee press conference held on the Clark Sports Centers gymnasium floor, where three of Santos children shared their thoughts on a father who passed away at the age of 70 in 2010 "Were as a family just very honoured to be here representing our father who we know very much wanted to be here, of course, and was looking forward to it," son Ron Santo Jr. said. "Were very honoured and very proud of him and hoping that we can represent him the best that we know we can." Santos daughter, Linda Santo Brown, added: "Were able to experience a little bit of what my dad would and its a remarkable feeling. I feel in a way hes experiencing it through us and thats what gives us true satisfaction." With less than 24 hours before being honoured with his bronze plaque in front of thousands of fans sporting Cincinnati red, Larkin began his pre-induction press conference talking about what the lead-up has been like. "Im really excited about this. The last couple of days have been great," he said. "Ive spent a lot of time with many of the Hall of Famers and theyve made me feel very welcomed here and very comfortable." As for his induction speech, Larkin, the longtime Reds shortstop now working for ESPN, gave some clues as to what to expect. "Ive been very vocal about the keys to my success as a player. And what those are basically is what Ill speak about during my speech," Larkin said. "Its the perspective that guys gave me when I first got to the big leagues. The tone that they set, the work acumen that I followed, the work ethic that they talked about, the requirements to be a professional, how to handle success and failure, all those things that my mother and father instilled in me as a young boy but they were reinforced by the players on the team." "So not only did they help me on the field with becoming a better player but they helped me also become a better person on and off the field." cheap jerseys . The Raptors announced Wednesday that they have signed the seven-foot centre rookie contract. cheap jerseys us .Y. - Padres manager Bud Black tried spinning a tale about extra batting practice in the cages during the rain delay to explain why his offence came alive when the game resumed.TORONTO – The sore spot has emerged to the forefront with the trade deadline fast approaching. On display again in the opening four minutes of a 4-2 loss to the Capitals on Saturday night – the eighth loss in nine games for the Leafs – was a shaky start between the pipes for the Leafs, James Reimer yielding two goals on the first four shots. “The two goals early in the game were stoppable chances,” said Ron Wilson succinctly after the game. “We dug a hole because of that. And were kind of always waiting now for something bad to happen on the goal-line and weve got to find a way to get over that.” Only 32 seconds had elapsed on the clock before Reimer was beaten on a wraparound by Marcus Johannson, Alexander Semin sneaking a shot five-hole behind the beleaguered 23-year-old minutes later. The Capitals went on to add two more in the middle frame, a late Leaf comeback ultimately falling short. “When not even really scoring chances are in the net, ‘boom youre down 2-0, youre seeing an uphill battle the rest of the night,” said Wilson. The Leafs have just one win since February 7 (1-7-1), the duo of Reimer and Jonas Gustavsson combining for an ineffective .875 save percentage (35 goals on 281 shots) in that stretch. Sinkable goals – such as the pair on Saturday – have become part of the recent norm. Leafs President and General Manager Brian Burke addressed the concern on TSN 1050 earlier in the week, noting his intent to explore the trade market as it pertained to goaltenders before the February 27 deadline. Floundering with 20 games left, the void now has to be considered near-must for improvement if postseason aspirations are to be chased and ultimately reached. Currently sitting 10th in the Eastern Conference with 65 points, the Leafs trail the Jets by three for the eighth and final playoff spot. “Weve got to figure out a way to get a save here and there and I think well be in good shape,” concluded Wilson when the prospect of improvement was raised. “We were in good shape before and in the last two weeks weve had trouble keeping the puck out of our net.” Five Points 1. Dion Phaneuf delivered a passionate address following the loss, leadership certainly enduring a test in midst of a tumultuous patch. “Were going to get out of this together,” said Phaneuf forcefully. “Were still confident as a group. And right now were going to keep our heads up and go back to work and get out of this together because no ones going to get us out, no ones going to help us but the guys that are playing in this room. Its not a time to sit here and feel sorry for ourselves. Were going to come out of it. Were going to hold our heads high and were going to push our way through this rough patch because its definitely a hole weve put ourselves in at a crucial time of the year, but were still in the race and theres lot of hockey to be played.” 2. Instability between the pipes aside, Saturday marked the fourth time in six games that the Leafs have fallen behind 2-0 in the opening period. “Were not playing with enoughh urgency right off the bat, especially in our building,” said Phaneuf.dddddddddddd. “Theres no reason for it and theres no excuse for it…We talked about it. We want to start better and they come out and they score the first shift, it puts you right behind the eight-ball early.” 3. Asked before the game if his team was growing tight amidst a series of losses and the lingering deadline, Wilson responded with a message similar to the one presented in his post-game remarks. “Some of that comes [because] we havent had consistent goaltending so I think a lot of times you get a little tentative,” he said. “Weve scored a lot when weve had good goaltending and then if it goes south a little bit were tentative.” The Leafs have scored just 17 goals in the last nine games (1.89 per game), down considerably from January when they posted 37 goals in 12 games (3.08), backed by sturdy netminding from Gustavsson. 4. Clear-cut in his assessment, Phaneuf related growing tension in the dressing room to uncertainty surrounding the deadline. “Definitely tight,” he said. “It is a tough time of year for guys playing in a big market like this and hearing stuff day in and day out, but its part of the business…Theres no time to worry about the stuff that outs of your control. Weve got to win hockey games.” 5. Now without a goal in 12 consecutive games – his longest drought this season – Mikhail Grabovski is one player likely to be pleased to see the deadline come and go, despite earlier assertions that trade and contract talk (hes an unrestricted free agent following the season) had little effect on his performance. Clarke MacArthur was in a similar boat to Grabovski at the deadline last year, heading into restricted free agency the following summer. “Once the trade deadline hit last year they didnt have to sign me right then because they still had me for another year whereas his is sign or they bite the bullet,” MacArthur told TSN.ca. “I remember I was in Buffalo, they bit the bullet with [Brian] Campbell, [Danny] Briere and [Chris] Drury one year…Sometimes you have to bite the bullet to make the playoffs…Thats a tough business thing for the player and the team.” Added MacArthur, "I dont know whats going to happen there. Hes such a good player for the team. You just hope they can work it out together because its a guy you dont want to lose." Bonus Points MacArthur has just one goal in the last nine games…Matt Frattin was recalled before the game, eventually joining MacArthur and Grabovski on the second line. Frattin fired two shots on goal in 16 minutes…Phil Kessel had a five-game point streak snapped in the loss…Jake Gardiner led the Leafs again in ice-time with 26:31…Colby Armstrong scored his first goal of the season…Tim Connolly added his third in the last five games...The Leafs have given up the first goal in seven of the past eight games...The Leaf powerplay finished 0-4 in the loss, now 6-58 in the last 20 games (10%). ' ' '