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HC’s Greg Casper and Cameron Schneider Go Eh All the Way

What better way to ring in our nation’s birthday than to humiliate some of our Southern neighbours, right? We tested their knowledge of Canada, its oceans, and its currency; things we think to be common knowledge. To be fair even we didn’t know the answer to some of these so we can’t give them too much ___ for wrong answers.

We gave a “come on down” to Greg Casper and Cameron Schneider. These pitchers may have known about the amazing Victoria live-music scene but we wanted to find out how much they knew about the bigger Canadian picture:

GREG

1.       What is the capital of Canada? a.       Ottawa (that would have been a little embarrassing to get wrong…) b.       Victoria c.       Toronto d.       Moose Jaw

2.       Which coin did Canada get rid of in 2013? a.       Nickel b.      Penny (Greg thinks the US should follow along with this movement. Good           thinking, Greg!) c.       Toonie d.       Dime

3.       What is a Mountie? a.       A marmot b.      A waterfall (We guess the stereotype is true. At least he didn’t say candy            bar though…) c.       A police officer d.       A candy bar

4.       What is the only officially bilingual province in Canada? a.       Quebec (He had to think about that one but ended up being con-fee-dont) b.       New Brunswick c.       Ontario d.       Nova Scotia

CAMERON

6.       What is Canada’s national sport? a.       Hockey (We do other things than hockey guys, like our official summer               sport of lacrosse) b.       Lacrosse c.       Curling d.       More than one of the above

7.       What is the population of Canada? a.       30 million b.       23 million c.       32 million (Somehow managed to squeak out a right answer on this. He             claims it wasn’t just a guess but we know better) d.       37 million

8.       Whose face is on the Canadian hundred-dollar bill? a.       Wilfred Laurier b.       John A. Macdonald c.       William Lyon Mackenzie King d.      Robert Borden (This was 100% a certified guess. We knew after he                     asked us to repeat the choices again. Seems like Cameron has a                         horseshoe stuck somewhere!)

All in all, not bad for California and Idaho natives. We were impressed and proud that they could see past the typical Canadian stereotypes and were quite Canada-savvy. Although they did say one of the best things about playing in Canada is post-game Tim Hortons. Give them a wave next time you run into them grabbing a double-double (pfft, like they know what that is) and then head to the game!

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Class is in for HC’s Austin Dondanville & Casey Costello

First up on our school spirit themed interview was Austin Dondaville from Walnut Creek, CA. This pitcher is back for his second year with the HarbourCats after a fantastic 2015 season. Here’s what we learned after taking a crash course with the player:

1.       Would you rather have to take English or math again? Being a self-proclaimed terrible speller, Austin would retake math over English. Probably why he wants to keep his emoji use too.

2.       Would you rather be the most popular or the smartest person at school? After giving a chuckle Austin goes with being the smartest person at school. Admitting he wants to be popular would make it seem like he as a giant ego when he is actually a down to earth kinda guy.

3.       Would you rather go to school wearing a clown or unicorn costume? The unicorn has more “hype” (whatever that means) so Austin decides that is the better option. We think he just has a thing for unicorns.

4.       Would you rather be able to change the past or see the future? “The future would be boring if you knew what it held,” Austin tells us with certainty he would rather be able to change the past. Wouldn’t want to take the excitement out of life, right?!

5.       Would you rather have to give up emojis or Netflix? You probably won’t see this one coming. Austin claims that he is NOT a Netflix user. WHAT?! He never fell into the TV trap and would rather spend his free time doing other stuff. We have a sneaking suspicion we might find him watching House of Cards later this season…

What is your favourite post-game snack?

Austin described getting a tri tip sandwich and fries from a local restaurant with his team as more of a post game ritual. He says the team does this after every home game because it is one of the only places open late. Well that’s what happens when you live in Walnut Creek, Austin.

Next on our timetable was pitcher number two Casey Costello. He told us he was from Palm Springs, CA but we did our homework and found out he is actually from La Quinta, CA which is about a 40min drive south of Palm Springs. Details, Casey, details.

1.       Would you rather have to take English or math again? Casey and math never saw eye to eye. He got straight A’s except for a D in math…yikes, he wasn’t kidding. Maybe Casey and Austin should study together!

2.       Would you rather be the most popular person in school or the smartest? Casey doesn’t want to answer the same as Austin but he tells us “you cant answer being popular” so he goes with smarts.

3.       Would you rather go to school wearing a clown or unicorn costume? Unlike Austin, Casey isnt concerned with “hype” and would rather go dressed as a clown since he is a huge Joker fan. Looks like the seemingly sweet Casey has a dark side to him.

4.       Would you rather be able to jump very high or run very fast? Contrary to the popular baseball player answer, Casey opts for crazy jumping ability. To be fair he is a pitcher and doesn’t need to run. “You could go on some cool buildings, see some neat stuff,” Casey tells us. That you could, Casey.

5.       Would you rather have fingers as long as your legs or legs as long as your fingers? These are both pretty bad options for a pitcher. There was no good answer on this one according to Casey (and we let him off the hook for the obscurity of this question).

What is your most inspiring quote?

“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take,” Casey replied right away, “it applies to every opportunity you face in life.” He guessed it was some basketball player who said this but we’re going to cut him some slack since he’s American. Casey should brush up on his hockey if he’s going to be spending the summer in Canada!

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PJ Floyd: A Nike Commercial with a Bat

Next up to the interview plate is HarbourCats outfielder PJ Floyd. Coming from Sacramento, CA to Victoria for his second year with the team, PJ is glad to be back in front of Canadian fans. The great atmosphere, the weather; Victoria has it all.

We stole him away from BP and got to know him a little better.

1. Would you rather be able to run incredibly fast or jump incredibly high? “Obviously being able to run fast is the better choice,” PJ told us, “You can do so much cool stuff.” Duh.

2. Would you rather be a dragon or have a pet dragon? PJ’s first response was asking if he could morph between dragon and human form. Sorry PJ, there is no best of both worlds with these type of questions. After some serious deliberation, PJ settled on having a pet dragon because he would miss doing human things too much if he became a full time dragon. What “human things” are cool enough to warrant giving up “dragon things?” You’ll have to ask PJ.

3. Would you rather be able to speak any language fluently or be able to talk to animals? This question is a thinker according to PJ. Like his teammate Josh Miller, PJ eventually picked the ability to talk to animals. His reasoning? “If a dog is looking at you, you can just ask him what’s up instead of having a staring match.”

4. Would you rather give up emoji use or Netflix use for a month? Surprisingly quick with the response, PJ told us he’d rather give up emoji use because he would miss watching FRIENDS too much. We hear you PJ, we hear you.

5. Would you rather take a trip to Mars or the Moon? Apparently a trip to Mars is completely off the table for PJ due to its impossibility. Maybe PJ needs to cut down on the Netflix and do a little brushing up on NASA research!

Describe your teammates in five words. Who knew coming up with a five-word description was so difficult. PJ spent a couple minutes counting fingers and mindlessly swinging a bat while he brewed up the perfect response. After some help from his buddy Dakota Dean, PJ chose the phrase “always having a good time.” When asked why he picked those words he simply said that its never a dull moment with the HarbourCats. PJ claims to be pretty good with his words although he does sound oddly like a Hallmark greeting card or a Nike commercial…

Make sure to look for PJ at the team’s next home game TONIGHT (June 9th) and remember to ask him about the “dragon things.” We know we will.

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Victoria HarbourCats’ Josh Mitchell goes NASA style pre-game

He isn’t the new kid on the block here in Victoria. The Pittsburgh native will play his second season with the Victoria HarbourCats this summer and couldn’t be more stoked to spend the summer on the island again. 

We caught up with him during BP and asked some (unexpected) questions to get to know him better. 

1. Would you rather only be able to shout or only be able to whisper? 

Josh goes with only being able to whisper. He says he already has a loud voice so whispering would help keep him quiet (you’re welcome Josh’s mom)

2. Would you rather have a pet dragon or be a dragon? 

Be a dragon. No question about it.

3. Would you rather speak any language fluently or be able to speak to animals? 

In his hometown, Josh is surrounded by geese, raccoons, & deer so speaking to animals could be pretty fun...and a valuable skill when squirrels have a early morning party on his roof. (He even had some fun with geese on the field during BP)

4. Would you rather give up emoji use or Netflix use for a month? 

This is a VERY tough question he admits. After humming and hawing for a minute or two he finally settled on Netflix. He claims this would be a good thing for him as he watches it too much (is that even a thing?!) What does a college ball player watch you might ask? Law and Order all the way. Plus all the fancy American Netflix shows we don’t get here in Canada. He’ll miss them for the summer.

Would you rather always have to say everything on your mind or never be able to speak?

He always speaks his mind and wouldn’t have it any other way.

What is your go-to post game snack?

Ice cream has always been his thing. Cookies and cream if you want to get specific. Not too sweet, not too fancy. Josh is a simple kinda guy. 

Josh was a great sport with these goofy questions. And we might add an absolute rock star for wearing the NASA helmet even when given the choice not to. 

If you want to see his talent for yourself, get tickets for Victoria HarbourCats right here http://www.ticketrocket.co/event/season/1