Black Sox take it to the Canadians

The Black Sox won their fourth world softball series crown in 2004, HARRIS CHOY of NZPA was there to record the events.
Softball gave New Zealand's sporting year a super start when the Black Sox won their third consecutive world series in Christchurch.
They came from 0-3 behind to beat Canada 9-5 in an epic final that prompted many sports administrators and coaches to take notice of the game and how they went about to be so successful.
Beaten convincingly, the Canadians whimpered off with their tails between their legs and fired a salvo to discredit the Black Sox' victory from the safety of home.
They claimed the Black Sox "cheated" by using covert video technology to steal signals in the final. The softball world ignored them, and their whinges and whining died a natural death.
For the Black Sox success at Smokefree Ballpack was yet another jewel in their crown, their third world championship in a row and their fourth since the series began in 1966.
For the senior players in the team, the win was the sweetest of the lot as it was achieved in front of their family, friends and fans and it was the last series for several players.
Coach Don Tricker declared the victory was for former Junior Black Sox player Cameron Duncan, who had died of cancer before the series started.
"Cameron always wanted to have a world championship team, this was his team," Tricker said after the win.
Tricker enjoyed standing back and watching the emotions flow from his players when the Black Sox ran out Canada's top order batter Rob Gray at the top of the seventh inning. Celebrations erupted both from the stands and the field and players and paid tribute to Cameron Duncan with a haka in front of the stand named after him.
Although the Black Sox won the 1976 championship in Lower Hutt, it was a shared title then as rain had prevented a playoff.
The Black Sox won the championship in Michigan in 1984 and repeated the feat when the tournament returned there in 1996. They successfully defended it in South Africa in 2000.
"It's pretty special when you win a world championship in front of your own people," match-winning pitcher Jimmy Wana said.
"It's made all the sacrifice really worth it.
Wana had come out of retirement two years earlier in an effort to play in his first world series this year.
He played for the Black Sox between 1988 and 1996 but quit before the 1996 world series.
Wana's Wellington team-mate Mark Sorenson was another to come out of retirement to play because the championship was staged at home. It was his sixth and last championship.
Though New Zealand ripped Canada apart with teamwork, Wana and Sorenson, both 36 at the time of the series, were the most influential players in the victory.
They came from 0-3 down and didn't have to bat in the seventh inning after Wana slammed the brakes on Canada's top order batters.
The Black Sox whittled down the Canadians' early lead, tied the game in the second inning and went ahead in commanding fashion.
New Zealand's much-vaunted batting power was best illustrated by Patrick Shannon, Sorenson and Dion Nukunuku, who all blasted the ball beyond the fence for automatic home runs.
Sorenson scored three with his homer in the third inning to give New Zealand a 6-3 lead and they never looked back.
However, it was Wana's pitching that kept the strong Canadian batters in check.
Wana had stepped in to take over from veteran Marty Grant, whose injured calf robbed him of the championship. Grant later announced his retirement from international softball.
"It was very worthy campaign," said Tricker, who has now stepped aside as the Black Sox coach.
"There are good players coming through to maintain the team's record in future. It'll take a few years to rebuild but I don't doubt they'll carry on."
The Canadians, on arrival back home, raised their claim the Black Sox "cheated".
Tricker slammed the allegation ? made by Canadian outfielder Ryan Wolfe and third baseman Jody Eidt ? at the time, saying it was an unfair slur on the Black Sox' integrity.
He said the Black Sox would not stoop to such tactics and he was annoyed that the Canadians were "questioning not just my integrity, but (assistant coach) Eddie Kohlhase and (catcher) Mark Sorenson".
"We play above the line. We play hard but we play fair."
Tricker said the real reason the Black Sox won the world series was simple.
"Our hitting lineup is the best ever put forward in a softball game." ? NZPA