It was back in 1991 that Stephen Ames got a taste of what life in Canada would be like. Cheap Mariners Jerseys . For a guy raised in the tropical temperatures of Trinidad, it was a rude Calgary welcome. "I think the wind chill was minus-55," he said recalling his first Canadian winter spent living in the basement of his mother-in-laws house. "I never left the house." Ames has never really grown fond of winter, but he has certainly fallen in love with Canada. On Wednesday, the country paid him back for that by naming him to the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame. A four-time winner on the PGA Tour including the 2006 Players, Ames is winding down his career on the regular tour and preparing to join the 50-and-over gang on the Champions circuit in April after reaching the magic age of 50. For most of this year, hell split his time between the two tours using his top 50-career money list exemption on the PGA Tour. When asked what he thought the difference between the two tours would be, Ames said it might have to do with what happens off the course. "I think its the 19th hole," he said with a chuckle. "I think its a bit more relaxed after the round." Ames would be a worthy inductee based solely on his playing record, but his contributions to Canadian golf go well beyond that. He has run the Stephen Ames Cup for the past decade, a team event that pits squads from Canada against those from Trinidad. Some of the youngsters who have participated in that event have gone on to earn U.S. college scholarships. And he was instrumental in bringing the Shaw Charity Classic to Calgary, helping line up a team of big rollers in the Western Canadian city to lay the foundation for the Champions Tour event. Ames was also the guy who gave an energetic young teacher named Sean Foley a chance to work with a PGA Tour pro. We all know where thats gone. When asked what the top mark of his career is, Ames didnt hesitate. "Its this," he stated, in reference to his induction. "I think being in the Hall of Fame is the highlight." On the course, Ames said that his Players victory was at the top of his personal list. I can say that in all the golf Ive covered and watched, that is simply the best 18 holes of golf Ive ever witnessed. Ive never seen anyone control his golf ball for every shot as Ames did that day. All he did was beat the best field in golf by six shots. I remember some of the biggest names in the game that day shaking their heads in disbelief at what he was doing to TPC Sawgrass. For some people, Ames is seen as a prickly personality but to those who get to know him, nothing could be further from the truth. Hes a guy with a huge heart who loves to laugh and loves his family. Sometimes when he speaks his mind, it can get him in trouble such as the occasion when he questioned Tiger Woods driving ahead of the 2006 Match Play. While a lot was made of that and the subsequent beating Woods laid on him, what he said wasnt wrong. Woods was hitting it all over the lot with his driver. After he won the Players, some media members took him to task for saying he might skip the Masters to go on a family vacation. They couldnt understand how someone would pass up the years first major, the one thats exceptionally difficult to get into. What many failed to realize was that his wife, Jodi, was recovering from surgery for lung cancer. Suddenly a golf tournament, even the Masters, didnt seem so important. There are also still some who, for small-minded reasons, dont even consider him a Canadian. To me, a guy who leaves his native country to willingly take up citizenship, to give back to the game here, to start businesses here, to create tournaments here and make his home full time in Canada – and even cheer for the Calgary Flames -- is about as Maple Leaf as they come. Ames is more than deserving of a spot in Canadian Golf Hall of Fame, even if hes never learned to love those nasty wind chills. Mariners Jerseys 2020 . Portuguese sides Benfica and Porto also advanced to the last eight while Basel overcame an early red card to win 2-1 at Salzburg and progress from a last-16 second leg that was briefly suspended because of crowd trouble. Lyon, Valencia and AZ Alkmaar will also be in Fridays draw in Nyon, Switzerland, where the team to avoid will be Juventus -- even though the Italian champions made heavy work of their all-Italian last-16 match against Fiorentina. Seattle Mariners Pro Shop .Y. Islanders 4Winnipeg 5 Dallas 2Nashville 3 Colorado 0San Jose 5 Edmonton 2---AHLProvidence 5 St. Johns 4 (OT)Chicago 6 San Antonio 2---NBACleveland 105 Toronto 101Portland 98 Detroit 86New Orleans 104 New York 93Oklahoma City 114 Milwaukee 101Memphis 114 Dallas 105Miami 103 Phoenix 97Utah 100 San Antonio 96L. https://www.cheapmariners.com/ . -- Detroit Tigers third baseman Miguel Cabrera has a broken bone below his right eye after being struck by a bad-hop grounder, sidelining the star slugger for at least a week with opening day on deck.CHICAGO -- The Chicago Cubs want Manny Ramirez to mentor their minor leaguers at the very end of a colorful career that includes two World Series titles and a pair of suspensions for positive drug tests. Ramirez signed a minor league deal with the Cubs on Sunday and will be a player-coach at Triple-A Iowa after he gets some at-bats in extended spring training at the teams facility in Mesa, Arizona. The 41-year-old Ramirez is a .312 hitter with 555 home runs in 2,302 games covering 19 major league seasons. Seven of those were in Boston, where Cubs executive Theo Epstein was the general manager of two Red Sox clubs that won it all with Ramirez playing a key role and earning a World Series MVP award. "While Manny is not and will not be a fit on the Cubs major league roster, we do think at this stage of his life hes a nice fit as a mentor for some of the young talented hitters we have in the organization," Epstein said in a statement. "Manny will coach full-time and play part-time in a limited role that does not take at-bats away from our prospects. "If he shows there is still some magic in his bat, perhaps he will find his way to the major leagues and help another team, but that is not why he is here. We are thrilled that he wants to work with our young hitters and make a difference." Ramirez most recently played in the big leagues in 2011, with Tampa Bay. The 12-time All-Star had a minor league with Texas before the Rangers released him last August. "Im at the stage of my life and career where I really want to give something back to the game that I love -- the game that has meant so much to me and done so much for me and my family," he said in a release. "I know I am nearing the end of my playing days, but I have a lot of knowledge to pass on to the next generation -- both what to do and what not to do." Ramirez was suspended for 50 games in 2009 while with the Los Angeles Dodgers after testing positive for a banned drug. He retired in April 2011 instead of serving a 100-game ban for a second positive test while with Tampa Bay, but later agreed to a reduced 50-game suspension and played in the minors for Oakland in 2012. The teaching role for Ramirez is a bit of a gamble for Epstein, who is depending on Chicagos rich farm syystem to turn around the floundering franchise. Custom Seattle Mariners Jerseys. The Cubs lost 197 games over the previous two seasons, and began Sunday in last place in the NL Central with an 18-29 record. "The reality is he is a great, great hitter who can provide valuable insight and knowledge," Chicago manager Rick Renteria said before the game at San Diego. Chicagos top hitting prospects at Iowa include infielders Arismendy Alcantara and Javier Baez, a first-round pick in 2011 who is off to a slow start after he was a late cut by the Cubs following a solid spring training. Third baseman Kris Bryant, the No. 2 overall selection in last years draft, is one of the top hitters in the Double-A Southern League and could make it to Iowa by the end of the season. "The Cubs have some very talented young hitters, and I would love nothing more than to make a positive impact on their careers," Ramirez said. "I am passionate about baseball and about hitting, and I have a lot to offer. While I would love to return to the major leagues, I leave that in Gods hands. My focus will be on working with the young hitters, making sure they dont make the same mistakes I made, and helping the team any way I can." Ramirez was selected 13th overall by the Cleveland Indians in the 1991 amateur draft and rose quickly through the minor leagues, with a youthful exuberance and natural charisma that endeared him to just about everyone he met. He signed with the Red Sox as a free agent in December 2000, helping the franchise win an elusive World Series championship a few years later, then doing it again in 2007. Ramirez led the American League with a .349 batting average in 2002, finished second the next year, and had an AL-best 43 home runs in 2004. But there was another side to Manny -- his lackadaisical play, particularly on defence and the basepaths, rubbed some managers and teammates the wrong way. "Manny has made real mistakes in the past but he has owned up to them and moved his life in a positive direction the last couple of years," Epstein said in a release. "He is in a really great place right now and wants to share the lessons hes learned along the way. We think he deserves another chance and that our young hitters will benefit from it." ' ' '