4 – Jeffery Loria killed Expos.

By team Loria purchased Expos, city almost held it’s breath with promise of restoring tradition and longevity to a team that has for over a decade seen it’s best players being sold to what seemed like lowest bidder. With no local ownership stepping up to become majority partner, Montrealers knew that this Art Dealer from New York was their last chance. The real plan or plot was soon revealed as Loria turned out to be another pawn by Bud Selig in his plan. The media crucified Loria and he was made scapegoat. We now have benefit of history to guide us, and it has become painfully obvious that Loria was simply Selig’s patsy. Selig has wanted to get rid of Expos opening since 2001, but most like has been working on this since Claude Brochu in mid 90’s. He is a businessman, and if a franchise does not meeting targeted revenues, then what better way to line your pockets than additional monies made for “expansion fees”.

3 – Blue Monday was worst day in Expos History.

While Blue Monday is universally recognized as dagger in heart to Montreal’s best chance to get to World Series (in a non-strike year), we believe that there was an undisclosed day that was worse than that. It was some day after 1990 when Claude Brochu and Bud Selig made a deal with one hand, and stabbed Expos with other.

2 – Attendance remains low due to indifference of Montrealers.

If there is one thing that Montrealers love to do, it is to go out and party. Any event is good. Jazz festival, Comedy festivals, Canadian Football League, hey, even a North American soccer league. As long as you have a liquor license, you have your self a good attendance. Knowing your franchise is leaving, or your owners are major league baseball, well, that is not exactly a party atmosphere. Even film festival was getting good attendance until rumors started of it being shut down in favor of Toronto. That won’t win you any fans either.

1 – That had strike not cancelled 94 season, things would somehow be any different.

People seemed to forget that Montreal already had a 1994 season back in 1981. The Expos will in lead both times. The difference between 1994 and 1981 was 1 thing. Charles Bronfman. Mr. Bronfman kept his team intact and worked hard to keep Montreal in contention year after year. He only sold team after having foresight of skyrocketing player salaries in his near future. Selig, through Brochu, would have sold off Montreal’s star players despite any success team may, or may not have had during that season. Using recent history as our guide, we see that Selig’s new puppet Loria did same thing with Marlins. Montreal would have been no different. And resulting backlash would have allowed him to move team even earlier.

One last popular method is bottom bouncing. Bottom bouncing works well in faster water, when steelhead are lying on bottom. It is, as name describes, bouncing your presentation along bottom. Cast your fly upstream and allow it to sink to bottom. Generally a couple of split shots BB sized placed twelve to eighteen inches above fly, will get fly down. But sometimes more weight is needed. Once bottom is hit, lift fly line out of water by lifting your rod tip up, keep excess line in your free hand. As fly moves downstream away from you gradually lower line and let more fly line out.

All above methods work with nymphs, streamers or egg patterns. More on fly selection will be presented in upcoming articles.