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Baseball has one of the best fan experience in sports, and 20 years ago today that was taken away from the people that love it the most. USA Soccer Pro Shop . Strikes and lockouts have not been a rarity in the professional sports world, but there is one that many will not forget. The 1994 Major League Baseball Players strike, which led the sport to lose its entire postseason due to a labour dispute, the first time that happened in a North American sports league. One of the main disputes that caused the Players to walk off the job was that the Owners wanted to install a salary cap, while the players opposed the idea. That disagreement plus a few others, led to a 232-day strike, cancelling not only the remainder of the regular season but also the postseason. The Montreal Expos were arguably the team that suffered the most; they had the best record in baseball, 74-40, despite having the second lowest payroll. They were six games ahead of the Atlanta Braves in the National League East Division when the season came to a halt. Success in strike years was not something new for the Expos, the only time the team punched their ticket to the playoffs was in 1981, during the last significant players strike. Following the resumption of the sport, the Expos moved a lot of their star players, which lead to an even bigger erosion of the fan base. Montreal was not the only market hit hard by the stoppage, many fans around the league decided to opt out of games when the players returned to the field. Attendance was at an all-time low, dropping 20% from the previous season. In 1994, prior to the strike, the average attendance was 31,256 in 1,600 games, while in 2,016 regular season games of the 1995 season they drew an average of 25,008 fans. Interest in the game was slow to return until the 1998 season when Chicago Cubs outfielder Sammy Sosa and St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Mark McGwire started hitting home runs at record paces. The two sluggers may be the reason the love for baseball returned, their chase for the all-time single season home-run record grabbed the attention of former and current die-hard fans as well as casual viewers. The two players were looking to surpass New York Yankee Roger Maris record of 61 homers which he hit during the 1961 season. Both men had a competitive drive, but their personalities and newly formed friendship also helped them grab peoples attention. Maris single season record fell that year as Mark McGwire finished with 70 home runs and Sammy Sosa ended the season with 66 round trippers and though those marks have since been cast into doubt, there is no question about the lasting effect their work that season had on restoring fans of the game. Its been 20 years since the strike, how long did it take you to forgive baseball and come back? As always its Your! Call. USA Soccer Gear . On Wednesday, Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas hit back. In a passionate defence of himself and the London clubs medical staff, the Portuguese coach rebuked the "incompetent people" who have attacked Tottenham for allowing Lloris to continue playing after being briefly knocked unconscious against Everton on Sunday. USA Soccer Jerseys 2019 . Subway workers in Rio de Janeiro, meanwhile, were holding an assembly to vote on whether they would strike to demand higher wages, threatening to disrupt transportation. By late Tuesday night there was no announcement of their decision. https://www.cheapusasoccer.com/ . -- Byron Scott is taking over the Los Angeles Lakers with the vocal support of his fellow Showtime greats.The Minnesota Wild aim to stay alive in their Western Conference first round series on Monday, as they host the Colorado Avalanche in Game 6 at Xcel Energy Center. You can watch the game on TSN and TSN GO at 8:30pm et/5:30pm pt. Florida Panthers goaltender Roberto Luongo joins the NHL on TSN Panel to offer his analysis on the game. Playing at home has meant everything so far in this best-of-seven series, with the host winning the first five tests. Colorado broke a 2-2 deadlock with an OT win in Saturdays Game 6 at the Pepsi Center, and the Wild hope the trend holds true again tonight. If Minnesota can extend the series on Monday, a decisive Game 7 will be played Wednesday in Denver. Colorado, however, could have star forward Matt Duchene back in Game 6. Duchene, who has been sidelined since March 29 with an injured left knee, practiced Sunday and will be a game-time decision on Monday. "If he is back its a huge addition for us," Avs forward Ryan OReilly said. "Hes been one of our best players all year, and for me, he really helps create offense playing on a line. He brings so much to the table it makes it a lot difficult for them (opponents)." Duchene led the Avs with 70 points (23 goals, 47 assists) in 71 games this season. The 23-year-old centermans only career playoff action came in a six- game run with Colorado against San Jose in the 2010 conference quarterfinals. Duchene had three assists in those six games. After winning the first two games on home ice, Colorado allowed Minnesota to tie the series at 2-2 with two straight victories in St. Paul. However, the Avalanche were able to regain their advantage on Saturday with a comeback victory. Nathan MacKinnons terrific rookie season continued, as the leading candidate for the Calder Trophy scored 3:27 into OT to lift Colorado to a 4-3 win in Game 5. MacKinnon also added two assists after being held without a point in consecutive losses at Minnesota. He had a goal and six assists in the first two games at Pepsi Center. Before getting the game-winning marker from MacKinnon, Colorado had to tie the game late in the third period. In a bad break for the Wild, the game-tying goal shouldnt have counted based on video review as Paul Stastny narrrowly beat a puck-carrying MacKinnon into the Minnesota zone. USA Soccer Jerseys 2020. . However, the play wasnt blown dead for an offside. With play allowed to continue, MacKinnon chipped the puck ahead to Stastny, who snapped a shot from below the left circle that Wild goaltender Darcy Kuemper turned away. Stastny then gathered the rebound and slipped the puck into the slot, where P.A. Parenteau fired the puck home with 1:14 remaining in regulation for his first career playoff goal. "It is what it is, but to sit here and dwell on it, I dont think is going to do us any good," said Wild head coach Mike Yeo. "Obviously frustrating, obviously disappointing, but bottom line is, its not going to do us any good." In overtime, MacKinnon handled a pass from Gabriel Landeskog in the left circle, made a move around Wild defenseman Marco Scandella and scored on a shot to the top right corner. "I was kind of screaming for the puck from Landy. He obviously made a good heads-up play to me," MacKinnon said. "(Stastny) looked great on the forecheck. I kind of just fired it to the net and I dont know if it tipped off one of their defenders or not, but Im definitely very fortunate for the win." MacKinnon (18 years, 237 days) is the second-youngest player in NHL history to score an overtime goal in the playoffs. Don Gallinger was 17 years, 339 days when he scored an OT winner for Boston on March 21, 1943 against Montreal "We knew when we drafted him what kind of player we were drafting, and he had a solid game again tonight," Colorado head coach Patrick Roy said about MacKinnon. Semyon Varlamov made 29 saves for Colorado, but the best save belonged to Avalanche defenseman Nick Holden, who prevented a goal in the extra session by blocking a Matt Moulson shot. Kuemper surrendered four goals on 35 shots after facing a combined 34 shots in the previous two games. This is the third all-time playoff meeting between the clubs. The Wild won a 2003 conference quarterfinals matchup in seven games, while the Avalanche knocked off Minnesota in six games during the same round in 2008. Thirteen of the 18 all-time playoff games between Colorado and Minnesota have been decided by one goal. ' ' '