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The voting results for the Baseball Hall of Fame will be announced on January 8 in the new year. Unlike last year when nobody got in, there have been estimates of as many as five getting voted in this time around and as few as one, Greg Maddux. Going over the list of players already in Cooperstown, I found it interesting that four went by the nickname "Kid" or "The Kid". They would be former Expos and Mets star Gary Carter, the Brewers Robin Yount, the immortal Red Sox legend Ted Williams and one you may not be as familiar with, Charles "Kid" Nichols. "Kid" Nichols began his career in the Majors in 1890 and was through in 1906. But the numbers he put up were truly remarkable. Starting in 1890, with the Boston Beaneaters in the National League he went 27-19 with a 2.23 ERA. In seven of the next eight seasons he won 30 or more games. He finished his career with 361 victories against 208 losses and a 2.96 ERA. Not only that he started 562 games over his career and finished 532. In other words he pitched complete games in about 95 per cent of his outings. Granted it was a different era. In his first three seasons, 1890-92, the distance from the pitching mound to home plate was only 50 feet. Nevertheless Nichols was the main reason the Beaneaters won three consecutive pennants. After that though the mound was pushed back to its current distance of 60 6" but Nichols remained every bit as dominant. The funny thing is Nicholls wasnt physically imposing. It has been estimated he only weighed about 138 pounds when he broke in with Boston and looked like a teenager, hence the nickname "Kid". "Kid" Nichols threw straight over the top and threw few if any breaking pitches. He and others have credited this for his durability and good fortune in avoiding injuries. He had impeccable control, and an uncanny ability to change speeds on his fastball. Nichols was almost lost in the annals of baseball history and didnt get into the Hall of Fame until 1949 when he was selected by the Veterans Committee. One of the loudest voices in getting him elected was a charter member of the Hall of Fame was none other than Ty Cobb. The most amazing fact about "Kid Nichols" is that he won his 300th game when he was only 30 years old. Again, there is a bit of a caveat. During his career teams usually only carried five pitchers at most and depending on circumstance you could be pitching every second or third day. Still the numbers he put up and the career he had was amazing. Heres the thing Im wondering about. Its "Kid" Nichols Canadian connection. Baseball Reference.com claims he went to secondary school at Queen Elizabeth High School in Surrey, BC. If you click on the school name, Nichols name comes up along with another former Major Leaguer who attended the same school, Kevin Nicholson. Nichols was an American born in Wisconsin, who spent part of his youth in Kansas City. I can find no mention of how he wound up in a Canadian high school. Interesting to say the least. I also wanted to mention another "Kid" who is not in the Hall of Fame. You might remember the name "Kid" Gleason. He was the manager of the infamous 1919 Chicago White Sox, of the "Black Sox" scandal infamy. Gleason played no part in throwing the series to the Cincinnati Reds, in fact he called out some of his own players for tanking after they played a brutal first game of the World Series. Well before that series, Gleason was a decent player in his own right. In 1890 for instance, he pitched 506 innings and completed 54 of the 55 games he started. Gleason was also a decent position player over part of his career in addition to being a manager. It was said he was every bit the fiery competitor Cobb was, if not more so. Bringing Back Banks It seems only fitting, when Disney is releasing the movie "Saving Mr. Banks" about the making of the "Mary Poppins" movie, the Blue Jays should be shooting out a lifeline to a Mr. Banks of their own. Theyve signed right-hander Josh Banks, a pitcher they originally drafted in the second round in 2003 to a minor league deal. Banks only pitched in three games for the Jays back in 2007, then bounced from San Diego to Houston and finally to the minor league systems of the Giants and Orioles. He was actually released by the Os on March 31, 2012. So why is he back? Well back in the day Banks could throw eight pitches including a knuckleball. Now at age 31 he has re-invented himself as a knuckleballer. The Jays are hoping theyve caught "Lightning in a Bottle" on this one. Altogether now, the Jays have three knuckleballers in their organization, R.A. Dickey, Tomo Ohka who is coming back as a knuckler at age 37, and now Josh Banks. If Banks makes it after three years out of the Majors maybe Disney will come calling about another movie. Steven Brault Jersey . Goodell said in an ESPN Radio interview Monday (http://es.pn/1gkbauy ) that participants played harder and made the game very competitive. Goodell says he had fun watching the game Sunday and thinks fans did, too. Jose Osuna Jersey . Dumont, a fifth round draft pick of the Canadiens in 2009, has four assists and 20 penalty minutes in 12 games with the Bulldogs this season. The 23-year-old split last season between Hamilton and Montreal, recording 16 goals and 15 assists in 55 regular season games with the Bulldogs. https://www.cheappiratesjerseys.us/882e-...ey-pirates.html. -- The Orlando Magic finally are showing the patience in critical moments that coach Jacque Vaughn has been waiting for all season. Clay Holmes Jersey .com) - Former New York Mets general manager Omar Minaya is joining the Major League Baseball Players Association staff as a senior advisor to executive director Tony Clark. Dick Groat Jersey . Dr. James Andrews is to operate next week on the 24-year-old pitcher, who made the AL All-Star team last year. Moore will be the first Rays pitcher to undergo Tommy John surgery since Jason Isringhausen in June 2009.ATLANTA - Jeff Teague says he never doubted the Atlanta Hawks would be in the playoffs. Even with Al Horfords season-ending injury in December and a 1-14 stretch in February and March, the Hawks made the Eastern Conference field with two games remaining. "Im happy for all the guys," Teague said. "We worked so hard all year. Injuries and everything that can happen to a team happened. We were able to still make it to the playoffs." Teague scored 25 points, Lou Williams had 18 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter and the Hawks earned the Easts final playoff spot with a 98-85 victory over the Miami Heat on Saturday night. Atlantas third straight victory eliminated the New York Knicks from playoff contention. Williams scored the Hawks last 12 points. LeBron James finished with 27 points and Dwyane Wade, in his first game since missing nine straight with a sore left hamstring, scored 24 for Miami. The two-time defending champion Heat, who have lost three of four, gave up the ground they gained in the standings Friday by beating Indiana at home and taking a one-half game lead over the Pacers. Miami and Indiana are now tied atop the Eastern Conference with 54-26 records. The Heats 85 points were their third-fewest this season. "Its not finished," James said. "I see the standings. Theres a couple games left and the seeding is changing every day." James and Chris Bosh returned to the floor with 6:42 remaining and Miami trailing 81-72, but DeMarre Carroll stole the ball from Bosh and Mike Scotts fastbreak dunk put Atlanta ahead by 11 with 6:09 remaining. Heat coach Erik Spoelstra called timeout to settle down his team, but James missed a jumper and Teague hit a free throw to make it 84-72. James hit a 3 two possessions later, but Teague drove to the rim again for an 11-point lead, and Miami never got closer than eight the rest of the way. Wade finished the first half with 16 points, going 7 for 7 from the field in just 11 minutes. He began the third quarter with an offensive foul, a missed jumper and hit one of two free throwws, but he finished strong before sitting out the final 5:46 to rest.dddddddddddd "It was good, better than I can envision," Wade said. "When youre out so long, youre just thinking of getting your wind back. I think the best thing that happened was the first play of the game, getting that block and then LeBron kind of holding up and letting me get the first dunk. From there, I kind of was into the game." The Hawks never trailed after Teagues 12-footer made it 53-51 early in the third. Carroll finished with 17 points, and Paul Millsap added 11. Scott scored 12 points in a reserve role, joining Williams to help Atlantas bench outscore Miamis 35-8. Bosh finished with 11 points. "Needless to say that was a tough second half," Spoelstra said. "We couldnt get it going on either side of the court. Its disappointing to have this type of performance on the road." Miami visits Washington on Monday and end the regular season at home Wednesday against Philadelphia. The Pacers host Oklahoma City on Sunday and visit Orlando on Wednesday to close the regular season. Atlanta hosts Charlotte on Monday and visits Milwaukee on Wednesday. As the No. 8 seed, the Hawks will play either Miami or Indiana in the first round of the playoffs. "Im happy that we get to play more games and I get to talk more about improving and getting better each practice," Atlanta coach Mike Budenholzer said. "We want to build something here. Miami has been in the Finals for three years in a row. There are a lot of teams that have had a lot of success. It takes time to build your habits." NOTES: A moment of silence was held before the game following the death Friday of Lou Hudson, the six-time All-Star with the Hawks who retired in 1979 and still ranks as the franchises third-leading scorer. ... The Hawks are wearing a black stripe on their uniform to acknowledge Hudsons passing. ... The Heat dropped to 22-18 on the road. ... The Hawks improved to 24-16 at home. ... Atlanta is in the playoffs for the seventh straight year, longest active streak in the East. ' ' '