Russell Martin is currently a MLB free agent (Getty Images)

Shortstop is the toughest position to fill out when a north-of-the-border baseball nut fills out an all-Canadian starting nine.

Whatever the reason, Canada's best diamond talent is concentrated around pitching, power-hitting corner infielders and outfielders who invariably hit left-handed and some catchers. So Russell Martin, the former New York Yankees catcher, has a novel suggestion. The current free agent has offered to doff his catching gear and play shortstop for Team Canada. It's part of reinventing himself as a catcher turned catcher/utility infielder.

Adam van Koeverden with his silver medal from the 2012 Olympics (Getty Images)

Adam van Koeverden found himself up a creek without a paddle after overreacting to his McMaster Marauders getting spanked on the football field.

Everyone who uses social media has posted, Tweeted something regrettable. Like a lot of people in Southern Ontario, the four-time Olympic kayak medallist got swept up in cheering for McMaster, his alma mater, to defend its Vanier Cup title against the colossus Laval Rouge et Or. This Canadian university football championship had more hype and more media build-up than any that preceded it.

[Related: Maxime Boutin key to Laval's revenge]

Adam van Koeverden took heat for this tweet (Twitter)

However, there is a different level of decorum expected from a sports figure. Suffice to say, saying, "f--- you" to the a large, prestigious French-language university in Canada is just bizarre in its lack of self-awareness. It's enough to say, "You know what country you live in, right Adam?" Here's the tweet (warning: includes explicit language):

Grinnell's Dave Arsenault coached in Canada in the '80s

Jack Taylor was likely mentioned in every Canadian newspaper's sports section today after the guard at Grinnell College scored a NCAA record 138 points on Tuesday night.

It probably goes without saying there wasn't space to explain how Grinnell's ultra up-tempo offence works or that the basketball brain it sprang from cut his coaching teeth in Canada. Or that their parquet patsy, Faith Baptist Bible College, has only 330 students, fewer than some high schools in Ontario's smallest high school classification. It probably also goes without saying those same media outlets never give the same amount of space to a CIS star such as Carleton's Phil Scrubb, a significantly better player on a significantly better team who would never dream of taking 108 shots, including 71 treys, since everyone knows that Ravens coach Dave Smart can read your mind.

Deadspin called it a "sham record." Nevertheless, it's worth playing up the fact that Grinnell coach Dave Arsenault, progenitor of the Pioneers' running to extremes style that makes it possible to set those sham records, has ties to the Great White North.

The Jays named John Gibbons as their new manager Tuesday. (The Canadian Press)It's been a franchise-altering week for the Toronto Blue Jays. Less than 24 hours after Bud Selig approved the 12-player deal with the Miami Marlins and the organization officially announced the signing of outfielder Melky Cabrera, general manager Alex Anthopoulos announced Tuesday morning that John Gibbons was returning to the manager's seat some four years after being fired.

Gibbons spent parts of five seasons as the Jays skipper between 2004-2008 and accumulated a 305-305 record.  While he never led the Jays to the post-season, he was a part of one of their most "successful" non-playoff seasons when he led the franchise to an 87- 75 record and second place in the tough American League East in 2006, a record they haven't matched since. Jeff Blair of The Globe and Mail even went as far as to refer to Gibbons as the most underrated manager in Blue Jays history.

Prior to taking over as manager in Toronto in 2006 Gibbons also spent time at other coaching positions within the organization

Nazem Kadri is pulling his weight on offense for the Marlies. (Getty Images)Maybe all Nazem Kadri needed was a wakeup call from his head coach because ever since the 22-year-old was made a healthy scratch for a game against the Texas Stars on November 9th, he's kicked his game into gear and the results are showing.

Kadri was named AHL player of the week Monday, and is currently riding an impressive five-game point streak where he's scored two goals and added nine assists helping the Marlies to four wins in their last five games.

"The great thing about Naz is he's such a competitive kid," Marlies head coach Dallas Eakins told the media after Toronto's 6-1 win over Hamilton on Saturday. "Every night he plays he's in the top three competitive guys on our team and he's responded well [since being scratched.]

"I told him the other day I said 'you've really screwed yourself now' and he didn't know what I was talking about and then I said, 'you've shown what you can do and how you can play and that's your bench mark.' It's good to see him get rewarded."

Less than two

Milos Raonic (Getty Images)The last time Milos Raonic faced off against Andy Roddick and Serena Williams took on Agnieszka Radwanska there was a little bit more on the line.

Williams and Radwanska were fighting for a Gland Slam title at Wimbledon this past summer and Raonic and Roddick were facing off for an ATP title at the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships in Memphis in 2011.

Williams defeated Radwanska in three sets to capture her fifth Wimbledon title and Roddick edged Raonic to clinch his 30^th ATP title.

Both sets of players were up against each other again Friday at an exhibition event at the Air Canada in Toronto, playing for cheers from the just over 6,500 fans in the crowd and bragging rights rather than any kind of sought after championship. And this time around Radwanska was able to extract at least some form of revenge on her opponent defeating Williams 6-4, 6-4 while Roddick edged passed Raonic 6-4, 4-6, 10-7.

Raonic joked that he hopes Roddick doesn't turn his exhibition victory into a

Fire fighter Paul Clatney and Constable Lee Knight pose with the Grey Cup. (Don Landry photo)

When the Grey Cup enters a room for a public function, it's usually a very big deal and that's why it's appearance is almost always shadowed by an accompanying colour guard of impressive men or women in uniform of some description.

When the grand old mug was ushered in to Toronto's city council chambers on Friday to help officially launch the festivities of the 100th Grey Cup Game, a line of seven police officers and two fire fighters stood dutifully behind it. All nine with something more in common than just the opportunity to appear in full dress and smile for the cameras as the dignitaries took to the podium.

All nine invited on this day are former CFL players with more than a dozen Grey Cup rings between them.

They're not the only ones who might have been at the reception. "There are lots more we could have invited," a CFL spokesperson said.

Lots more. Makes you wonder what it is about life as a pro football player might that leads so many of these past Grey Cup champions to step