LITTLE ROCK — Lee gets real Rush from Jays
Could 2013 be the year for Rush lead singer and bassist Geddy Lee?
Rush will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in April, and Lee’s hometown team,the Toronto Blue Jays, could be contenders in the American League East this season.
Lee was interviewed by MLB.com this week about his thoughts on the Blue Jays, who acquired shortstopJose Reyes, pitchers Mark Buehrle and Josh Johnson in a blockbuster trade with the Miami Marlins during the offseason. Toronto also traded for 2012 National League Cy Young Award winner R.A. Dickey, who won 20 games for the New York Mets last season and startedfor the NL in the All-Star Game.
“I think they’ve done an admirable job of remaking their team,” Lee said. “Myself and my buddies in Toronto have been big fans of [General Manager] Alex Anthopoulos and the job he was doing to rebuild the minor league system and acquire as many valuable baseball assets as he could.
“I think he did an incredible job pulling that deal off with the Marlins to get those amazing players and Melky Cabrera, etc. I think it’s going to be the most fun year for a Blue Jays fan since the mid-1990s.”
The acquisition of theknuckleballer Dickey impressed Lee as well.
“Great pitcher and an interesting person,” Lee said. “He brings a lot to Toronto. I’m sure you’ll miss him in New York.”
Lee grew up watching the Detroit Tigers in Toronto before the Blue Jays started play in 1977 but said “all sports sort of fell by the wayside.” when he first got into music. But once Rush became established and started touring, Lee found that the Chicago Cubs’ televised day games worked well with his schedule, he told USA Today Sports.
“It was a great distraction for me from the touring world and all the nonsense that goes along with it,” said Lee, who checks box scores in intermissions of Rush concerts and every morning during the baseball season. “First of all, I was bored in my hotel room. And it’s an intriguing game, and it’s a game that requires attention.”
Lee added that his interest in baseball grew when he startedreading the work of sabermetric guru Bill James and he is an avid fantasy baseball player, even appearing in a ESPN fantasy sports commercial in 2007.
On Rush’s 1982 album Signals, the band thanked the MontrealExpos in the liner notes. Expos outfielder and first baseman Warren Cromartie was referenced on the back of the Signals album cover, as Rush had a fictional blueprint for Warren Cromartie Secondary School.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony is April 18 in Los Angeles.
“Sometime shortly thereafter, Lee will check the box scores,” wrote USA Today Sports writer Ted Berg.
They said it
Miami Heat forward LeBron James, commenting to the Sun-Sentinel of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on his 40-yard dash time of 4.6 seconds: “It’s better than Manti Te’o, I’ll tell you that.”
Philadelphia 76ers Coach Doug Collins, on his team’s 98-84 loss to the Orlando Magic on Tuesday: “I wish I knew [why we’re struggling]. I really do. I’m sitting there - I gave my body to this franchise. I was never booed as a player, never. I ran through my sneakers. ... There cannot be a game where you just go out and don’t put your heart and soul into the game. We had an off-day, we’ve been on the All-Star break, there’s no reason for that. None.”Quote of the day
“We’re so young and we
were a little nervous. We
wouldn’t even shoot at the first of the game.” North Little Rock girls Coach Daryl Fimple after his team’s victory over Fayetteville on Wednesday
Sports, Pages 18 on 02/28/2013