recently-completed four-game series against the Mets, the

LONDON, Ont. -- Anthony Mantha was a goal-a-game man in the regular season and the playoffs for the Val-dOr Foreurs. The 19-year-old from Longueil, Que., was rewarded for that consistency with the Canadian Hockey Leagues player-of-the year award Saturday. Mantha had 81 goals in 81 games and added another 77 assists for the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League champion Foreurs. "For sure Im proud of that," the towering winger said. "Its a lot of goals, but the credit needs to come back to my teammates that helped me out through this year. "I think it was just a great season. I put a lot of pressure on myself by leading the team on the ice, off the ice also." Mantha was chosen for the CHLs top individual trophy ahead of Western Hockey League nominee Sam Reinhart of the Kootenay Ice and the Ontario Hockey Leagues Connor Brown of the Erie Otters. Brown was the CHLs top scorer in the regular season with 45 goals and 83 assists in 68 games. Reinhart earned the CHLs sportsmanlike award for recording just 11 minutes in penalties during the season. Mantha accepted the top-player award not long after the Foreurs were eliminated from the MasterCard Memorial Cup. The Foreurs fell 4-3 in triple overtime to the Edmonton Oil Kings in Fridays semifinal. The game was the longest game in Memorial Cup history at 102 minutes 42 seconds of play. Manthas teammates had already departed for Val-dOr on Saturday morning, but the right-winger remained in London to accept the player-of-the-year trophy. "It does feel weird," Mantha acknowledged. "Today, its an individual trophy that I won. For sure, I would have liked way better the trophy from (Sunday), but I mean Ill take this one. "Its a trophy that my teammates helped me out to win this year and I need to give them the credit." Mantha, six foot five and 204 pounds, finished the Memorial Cup with a goal and three assists. His was the lone goal in a 1-0 win over the host Knights to open the tournament. Mantha was drafted in the first round and 20th overall by the Detroit Red Wings in the 2013 NHL entry draft. Foreurs coach Mario Durocher said during the Memorial Cup that Mantha returned from his first NHL training camp a changed player. "Last year, I would say a lot of critics were on my consistency level," Mantha said. "When I went to Detroit they tried to put that mentality in me and I think it did work for this year. I came back with that attitude and it was just a great thing for me." He was also Canadas top scorer at this years world junior hockey championship with five goals and six assists in six games. Previous winners of the CHLs top-player award include Jonathan Drouin (2013), Jordan Eberle (2011), John Tavares (2007), Sidney Crosby (2004, 2005), Brad Richards (2000), Eric Lindros (1991) and Joe Sakic (1988). "Its a great award to win and I think its something thats going to stay in mind for a few months if not for a few years, but I need to pass to another level in my career," Mantha said. "I think Ill be ready for it." Derrick Pouliot of the Western Hockey Leagues Portland Winterhawks was named the CHLs top defenceman. The Pittsburgh Penguins prospect had 70 points in 58 games with a plus-minus of plus-40. Jordan Cooke of the Kelowna Rockets earned the trophy for best goaltender. The 20-year-old posted a record of 39-7-0-4 with a goals-against average of 2.28 and a save percentage of .922, Halifax Mooseheads forward Nikolaj Ehlers was chosen top rookie. The 18-year-old from Denmark had a plus-minus rating of plus-65 while contributing 49 goals and 53 assists in 63 games. The coaching award went to Eric Veilleux of the Baie-Comeau Drakkar, who reached the QMJHL final before falling in seven games to Val-dOr. Kingston Frontenacs forward Sam Bennett was selected the top NHL prospect. He is ranked first overall among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting for the draft next month. Erie Otter forward Connor McDavid won the scholastic award with an 87 per cent average in his second semester of Grade 11. Moose Jaw Warriors captain Sam Fioretti was recognized for his humanitarian work off the ice. He works with Moose Jaw police in their anti-bullying program. Wholesale NBA Jerseys . Zdeno Chara scored with 13 seconds left in regulation after David Krejci tied it late, lifting the Bruins to a 3-2 win over Pittsburgh on Saturday night in a game that saw Orpik taken from the ice on a stretcher. Cheap Basketball Jerseys . Now Arizonas new manager is hoping Yasmany Tomas can have the same effect on the Diamondbacks. http://www.cheapnbajerseysfromchina.com/ . Sundays race will be held at the Sepang circuit, adjacent to Kuala Lumpurs main airport where the ill-fated flight took off earlier this month. Authorities now say it is almost certain it crashed in the Indian Ocean, killing all 239 people aboard. Cheap NBA Jerseys . His head snapped back from the impact and hit the floor. The All-Star power forward was all right afterward, a relief for the Minnesota Timberwolves. NBA Jerseys From China . -- Billy Donovans bench came up big, bailing out top-seeded Florida in a tight game against what was supposed to be an overmatched opponent.4) Speaking of which, if you invested time in the Cleveland Browns-Washington game, it is time to vote on the most interesting thing you saw. Was it Johnny Manziel "flipping off" the Washington bench, or the five holding penalties called against the Browns defence….in the first quarter?5) You will notice that I didnt mention the name of the Washington team. CBS analyst Phil Simms says he might do the same, while his play-by-play partner Jim Nantz feels it is not his place to "take a stance" on the controversy that will not go away. Whos right? I will only say that Nantz is, indeed, "taking a stance" by using the "R" name--hes saying he has no problem with it.6) Milos Raonics steady rise in the world tennis rankings is worthy of praise, but wheres the breakthrough victory that will signal the dawn of true greatness? The two views of Raonic are that it is inevitable, and that it will never come.7) It is time to tell MLB commissioner Rob Manfred how to save time and make games shorter. Are you with me in admitting that the appeal of the "sport without a clock" has waned?8) So lets begin with the toughest question--Should baseball actually use a clock to make the pitcher deliver the ball to home plate within 12 seconds of receiving it in his glove? The answer here is "yes", because the "discretion of the umpire" is a phrase that doesnt serve baseball well in any application.9) For instance, umpires can be encouraged to call more strikes, which usually means theyre supposed to call "high strikes", but they dont. Isnt it time for strict adherence to one strike zone, never mind the idea that umpires have their own strike zones? And, that strike zone, should you need a reminder, is between the top of the knees and the mid-point between the batters pants and the top of his shoulders, as he is about to swing.10) Batters arent supposed to step out of the batters box with both feet. So why are they allowed to do that for just about any reason, or for no reason? Stop them with called strikes.11) Mound conferences. The manager or pitching coach is allowed one trip, after which the pitcher must be changed. Whats wrong with applying the same restriction to catchers and infielders?12) Intentional walks. Why not save the time it takes to deliver four wide pitches and just wave the batter to first base?13) Video review. Baseball has lost its way with the introduction of challenges to umpires calls. Their number must be limited, and so too, the length of time they consume. Did it not occur to MLB that the only valid criticism of this innovation would be if the umps wore the headsets for more than, say, 90 seconds?14) And now it is time to offend the purists (I used to be one myself), or have I done that allready? If the reason for this overhaul is to shorten games, there must be something done when an extra-inning game stretches to the ridiculous length of five or six hours.dddddddddddd Draw the line where you think it belongs--Ill pick 12 innings--and for all innings beyond that, softballs international tie-breaker applies. (Each half-inning begins with a runner at second base).15) Kudos to the Montreal Alouettes for battling the Saskatchewan Roughriders to the very end of last Saturdays game, won 16-11 by the defending Grey Cup champs. But is there anyone not named Tom Higgins who would have done what the Montreal coach did after cutting Saskatchewans lead to two points with just over three minutes to play? What Higgins did was to order a one-point convert following the Als lone touchdown, when a successful two-point try would have evened the score. Ah, but what if the two-point play failed? Well, Montreal would have trailed by two, needing a field goal to win, which basically was what Montreal needed if the deficit was a single point. In summary, there was much to gain and little or nothing to lose by trying for two, and Higgins didnt.16) How good are the Calgary Stampeders? Well, if youre not willing to answer by saying "Theyre the best team in the CFL", try this: "Theyre good enough to be 6-1 without the services of the leagues top player in 2013, Jon Cornish". And wont it be good to see Cornish in action again on Sunday in Ottawa? (Ya, okay, perhaps not if youre Ottawa).17) Do you want the latest reason why its so frustrating being a Chicago Cubs fan? In their recently-completed four-game series against the Mets, the Cubs managed to hold the Mets to 16 hits, exactly four per game. And they split the series.18) Heres a stat that baseball needs to adjust--the "hold", which is awarded to a relief pitcher if he takes the mound with his team leading by three runs or less and departs without surrendering the lead. On Sunday, St. Louis closer Trevor Rosenthal walked three batters and was responsible for two of them crossing the plate, but because that still left the Cardinals in front for a one-run victory, Rosenthal, blown save and all, got his first "hold" of the season. What he got that he deserved was "the hook".19) If there must be a hockey question in August, here it is--what is the name of the Carolina Hurricanes head coach? (I had to look it up. Why dont you do the same, because the point of this exercise is lost if his name appears here. Or maybe you know it, which puts you ahead of me, unless you can name the NHLs five rookie general managers. It took me a couple of minutes, but hey, its August).20) Will the Los Angeles Clippers continue to employ cheerleaders, or would owner Steve Ballmer suffice? ' ' '