]. " Connolly denied speculation that the injury was related to either his head or neck, but declined to r

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TORONTO -- Andrew Stein and Glenn Macaulay bought into the Blue Jays hype. Ken Dryden Jersey . Best friends since kindergarten and lifelong baseball fans, the pair were swept up in the promise of 2013 and purchased season tickets. From the top level of Rogers Centre above home plate they watched as Toronto slumped through the spring then came alive during an 11-game winning streak only to finish last in the AL East. Excitement isnt a word they used to describe their hopes for 2014. "I wouldnt say worried," said Stein. "Not optimistic," said Macaulay. "Yeah, not optimistic," said Stein. "Maybe slightly uneasy that its just going to be a repeat of last year." Stein and Macaulay were among the Blue Jays season ticket holders at Rogers Centre on Wednesday for the teams annual State of the Franchise event. Team president and CEO Paul Beeston, general manager Alex Anthopoulos and manager John Gibbons were on hand to take questions as jazz played throughout the stadium and food and drinks were handed out to fans wondering just what the state of the team is. Anthopoulos had no surprise announcements, nor was he worried about being grilled despite promises of change going unfulfilled during a quiet off-season. "When you dont have a good season you expect theres criticism that comes with that, that goes without saying, thats part of it," he said. "But again, these fans, I think its a different type of setting because these are the season-seat holders. They support the club. They love the team good and bad. Obviously were here to be accountable and to make ourselves available to talk and answer whatever questions they might have." Torontos only notable acquisition has been catcher Dioner Navarro, who was brought on to replace J.P. Arencibia. Navarro, who hit .300 with 13 home runs and 34 RBIs in 240 at-bats with the Chicago Cubs last season, barely made the splash that all-stars Jose Reyes or R.A. Dickey did when Toronto traded for them prior to last season. "(Navarro will) be serviceable. Im not going to buy his jersey or anything," said Stein. The Blue Jays real need, the one Anthopoulos promised would be his winter focus, is starting pitching. Dickey, coming off a Cy Young season, struggled, although not as badly as Josh Johnson. J.A. Happ missed time after being hit in the head by a frightening comebacker in May, while Brandon Morrows season ended in July with a forearm injury. Only Mark Buehrle, who also had a slow start to the season, performed to expectation. Torontos rotation finished with a 4.81 earned-run average last season, second worst in the majors, and the starters 899.1 innings pitched were 28th in baseball. But Toronto has stood pat during the off-season. Japanese phenom Masahiro Tanaka was signed by the New York Yankees before veteran Matt Garza joined the Milwaukee Brewers. Several pitchers such as Ervin Santana and Ubaldo Jimenez still remain on the market, but Anthopoulos said progress has been slowed by free agents who cost teams draft picks. That doesnt apply to the Blue Jays -- theyve got two protected first-round draft picks. But Anthopoulos remained non-committal. "We like some of the upside of the guys that are coming back. Wed still like to add," he said. "I think weve been very open about that. I dont know whats going to happen obviously between now and the start of camp. "Depending on how free agency goes or even the trade market, maybe its beyond that, but we are excited about some of the guys coming back, especially some of the young guys. Theres upside to the performance of a lot of these guys. But at the same time were still going to be active and try to get a starter." Whereas Anthopoulos could only ask fans to stick by the team, Gibbons said hes looking ahead after making peace with 2013. "After I was home for about two weeks I said, you know what, its time for a new season," said Gibbons. "Ive always been an optimistic guy. Its smart to look back and look at some areas to do things differently maybe to improve some things. But in the end youve got to turn the page and its a new start here in the next two months." Gibbons, who heard plenty of calls for his dismissal last season, isnt worried about the direction of the team. He acknowledged fans frustrations, and that there wont be as much good will in April as there was last year. "It sure would be nice me coming in here feeling good going to this thing having won something, but until you do that youre just hoping and dreaming. So hopefully we can do that." What, then, is the state of the Blue Jays? Ask again on Opening Day. Brendan Gallagher Canadiens Jersey . Pace had a career-high 10 sacks for Rex Ryans defence-- second only to Muhammad Wilkersons 10 1/2 -- in his sixth season with the Jets. The 33-year-old outside linebacker was an unrestricted free agent. Saku Koivu Canadiens Jersey . The Arena das Dunas in the northeastern city of Natal sustained minor damage during the protests, but demonstrators stayed away on Sunday and officials said the stadium passed its first test, with only minor adjustments needed going forward. http://www.hockeycanadiensfanshop.com/Alex-Galchenyuk-Jersey/ . Kelli Stack and Alex Carpenter also scored for the Americans, who avoided a repeat of Finlands upset at the Four Nations Cup in Lake Placid, N.Y., in November. Finnish goalie Noora Raty made 58 saves in that one, but the three-time Olympian could stop just 40 of 43 U.TORONTO - Tim Connollys injury is worse than initially feared. The 30-year-old centre revealed the news following a short skate at the Mastercard Centre on Thursday. "I dont really know if its day-to-day now," said Connolly, who has yet to play a regular season game with the Leafs this season. "It may a little bit longer, but I cant really speculate. I cant just give you a guess of how long its going to be. Id like to just to give you guys some more information, but whether its a week or two weeks before Im playing I couldnt tell you." Injured at practice on September 26th, Connolly was initially deemed to be day-to-day with an unspecified upper-body injury. After taking a week off from practice, he returned to light participation on October 4th, but was unable to take contact and saw the injury progressively stall. He failed to complete a practice in its entirety this week and plans to withdraw from any participation in the short-term. "Thats what I did initially," he explained, "just took a few days [off] right away [and the] swelling went down, pain level went down. Then got back out there and thought it would just be pain tolerance. But it was pretty severe and thats when we realized it was going to take a little bit longer so I had to back off some of the shooting and puck-handling and even grinding up against the boards, things like that. Larry Robinson Jersey. " Connolly denied speculation that the injury was related to either his head or neck, but declined to reveal the true nature of the malady for fear of targeting on the ice. He also rejected any notion of surgery being required. Signed to a two-year deal worth $9.5 million this summer, the Syracuse native failed to dress in either of the Leafs first two regular season games. He was projected to play alongside Joffrey Lupul and star sniper Phil Kessel in a front-line role, but Connolly has rarely seen even practice time with the duo. The Leafs play six games in a ten-night stretch beginning on Saturday against Calgary, making his return any time soon very unlikely. "It depends the days," concluded Ron Wilson. "Are days on Mars longer? Right? In terms of hours? Hes as far as Im concerned day-to-day and when hes ready to play well let you know." Interestingly, Connollys checkered injury past only began to take shape after the lockout. In fact, from 1999-2000 until 2002-2003, he played in 325 games, tied for second-most in the NHL. Since that point though, hes played in only 302 games, 453rd most in that span. Wholesale NFL Jerseys ' ' '