In all my decades of attending Stamford Bridge, players, managers and owners have come and gone whilst the only constant was Lo

In all my decades of attending Stamford Bridge, players, managers and owners have come and gone whilst the only constant was Lord Richard Attenborough. Keibert Ruiz Jersey . Honorary life vice-president, shareholder, club director, Stamford Bridge host to the likes of Frank Sinatra and Steve McQueen: If someone had have asked him, Attenborough would willingly have accepted the role of Chelsea FCs chief cook and bottle washer. The connection to the club for the highly acclaimed actor, film director and producer can be traced back over 75 years when as part of his preparations to play the role of a gangster in a movie Attenborough got to train with the players. He is famously quoted as saying throughout his life he had two love affairs - his wife of seven decades and Chelsea Football Club. His lasting legacy occurred in 1982. After decades of neglect, the then-club owners had embarked on overly ambitious plans to completely rejuvenate Stamford Bridge. This coming at a time of volatile oil prices, Middle East tensions and the globe in an economic freefall. All combined with extremely high interest rates construction costs spiralled out of control. Stamford Bridge began to resemble an abandoned construction site, more than it did a soccer venue. The club flirted with bankruptcy. Property developers spotted an opportunity it could not resist they began purchasing from distressed shareholders their holdings in the valuable land Stamford Bridge was situated ona€“ this for a club which had been formed in a pub across the street in 1905. The only news coming out of Chelsea in those troubled days was discussion of demolishing the ground and turning it into a residential area for the super-wealthy. Stamford Bridge borders one of the most expensive postal codes on the planet, and the Royal Borough of Chelsea and Kensington. I recollect it vividly. The Mears Family who had formed the club in that pub back at the turn of the 20th century, began losing control. Brian Mears, the chairman and grandson of the club founder was ousted in a boardroom coup. Speculation was rife on what minority shareholder Richard Attenborough, would do with his shares. In the end, Attenborough got a promise from Ken Bates - who would buy the club in late 1982 for the princely sum of ?￡1 plus all its debts a€“ that he would not move the club out of the community that meant so much to the man who won an Oscar for that years Hollywood Blockbuster, Gandhi. Simply put if Attenborough had sold out to the property developers, a wholly different Oscar would not be running out at Stamford Bridge in the number 8 shirt today. Nor would Roman Abramovich be taking in matches form the luxury of the owners private box. For that matter Chelsea, if it had survived, would most likely be playing in the second or third tier of English football and not competing for yet more Premier League or Champions League titles. We certainly wouldnt be seeing the abundance of Chelsea jerseys in the football pubs and city streets worldwide. Its reason why Chelseas supporters have begun a petition to rename the East Stand at Stamford Bridge in the memory of a man who was friends, and on first name terms with Kings, Queens, Prime Ministers and Presidents. No one outside of players, the coaching and medical staffs are allowed into the fabled Stamford Bridge dressing room pre-game, not even Abramovich. Such is the stature of the man: Attenborough was welcomed with open arms. There was no better sight at Stamford Bridge than witnessing Attenborough taking his seat, next to his wife in the directors box, surrounded by his own a€?private security that came in the irresistible form of the Chelsea Pensioners. Those retired military serviceman - who reside in the Royal Hospital Chelsea and who come resplendent in bright red military jackets - you will often have often caught a glimpse of from Stamford Bridge TV broadcasts. Youd often see Attenborough driving his very distinctive Rolls Royce around the streets which surround Stamford Bridge. My own favourite personal memory came in 1998. Attenborough was in Montreal to film his movie Grey Owl, with the man who would go on to become James Bond, Pierce Brosnan in the lead role. Filming took place in a small Quebec town some 200 km outside Montreal. The name of that town was Chelsea, population 6,500. You couldnt make it up. Sunday, Mar. 29 was deemed an off day and Chelsea were playing Middlesbrough at Wembley, it was the League Cup Final. There were no digital satellite channels back in 1998. You wanted to watch any live football you had to go to one of very few sports bars which had old school bulky satellites which didnt always pick up the signals. Most often they would just provide grainy pictures and no commentary. Not this day. Taking up my usual spot with the other four Montreal-based Chelsea supporters 15 minutes before kickoff Attenborough walked in. Amiable and approachable Attenborough was like a kid who had just had a drop off from Santa Claus. He somewhat resembled him too. Chelsea beat Middlesbrough 2-0, their second coming from the man who in 2012 led them to Champions League Glory, Roberto Di Matteo. Attenborough was in no rush to leave. There was a lap of honour on the hallowed Wembley Stadium pitch to take in. On what would today have been Lord Attenboroughs 91st birthday, Chelsea announced earlier that in consultation with his family, they plan a lasting memorial for Stamford Bridge. Saturday afternoon Chelsea will trot out at Goodison Park wearing black arm bands in memory of a man everyone connected to Chelsea owes an immense debt of gratitude to. As English football has evolved into the multi-billion dollar global business it is today we can be sure we will not witness the likes of a€?Dickiea€? Attenborough ever again. Hes cut from a cloth not even Abramovich could afford. Listen to Everton v Chelsea a€“ Live on the TSN Radio Network Saturday 12:30pm et / 9:30am pt Noel Butler can be reached at: Noel.Butler@BellMedia.ca @TheSoccerNoel on Twitter Maury Wills Jersey . DeGrom outpitched Jake Peavy in a tantalizing hitless duel that carried into the seventh inning Saturday night before the New York Mets broke loose and beat the San Francisco Giants 4-2. Manny Mota Dodgers Jersey . Kuznetsov, who was selected by the Capitals in the first round of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, has been playing for his hometown team Chelyabinsk Traktor of the KHL. https://www.cheapdodgersonline.com/425h-shawn-green-jersey-dodgers.html . Mike Trout, Josh Hamilton and Kole Calhoun all homered to help the Los Angeles Angels get their first win of the season with an 11-1 rout of the Houston Astros.PHILADELPHIA -- Steve Mason and the Flyers are playing their best hockey of the season heading into the Olympic break. Its a break team chariman Ed Snider would love to abolish. Mason stopped 38 shots, and Mark Streit and Michael Raffl scored goals, leading the Philadelphia Flyers past the Colorado Avalanche 3-1 on Thursday night. Mason blanked Detroit 5-0 on Jan. 28 and stopped the Los Angeles Kings 2-0 on Feb. 1. He was only 2:50 away from his fourth shutout of the season, and third in five games, when Nathan MacKinnon beat him for his 21st goal of the season. Mason stopped his first 33 shots. Mason, who signed a three-year extension last month, has been the key reason the Flyers have been able to hang around in the Eastern Conference playoff race. With one game left before the break, the Flyers recent spurt could stall because of the Olympics. "I hate them," said Snider, the Flyers founder. He added: "Its ridiculous, the whole thing is ridiculous. I dont care if it was in Philadelphia, I wouldnt want to break up the league. I think its ridiculous to take three weeks off, or however long it is, in the middle of the season. It screws up everything. .. How can anybody be happy breaking up their season. No other league does it, why should we? Theres no benefit to us whatsoever. If anything, I can only see negatives." Reminded the Flyers reached the Stanley Cup finals during the last Olympics in 2010, Snider laughed. "Maybe I like them," he said. "I forget about that." Claude Giroux, who scored an empty-netter with 20 seconds left, has plenty of time to rest during the break. He was snubbed Thursday by Hockey Canada when Martin St. Louis was picked as an injury replacement for his Tampa Bay teammate Steven Stamkos. Steve Yzerman, the Canadians executive director and Tampa Bays general manager, chose St. Louis over Giroux and Pittsburghs James Neal. "Its a farce," Snider said. "Hes one of the best players in the game. Its ridiculous. Hes better than half the guys on that team. "Anybody that thinks that Claude Giroux doesnt belong on the Canadian team, they dont know anything about hockey as far as Im concerned. Its politics, to a certain degree. He had to pick his own guy. His own guy is good, but Claude is better." The Avalanche, who lost 5-1 to the New York RRangers on Tuesday, couldnt solve Mason until it was too late. Dodgers Jerseys 2020. The Avalanche called timeout with 1:27 left and pulled goalie Semyon Varlamov in a last-gasp effort at the tying goal. It didnt work. The Flyers scored in the second period, when Streits shot from the blue line was deflected by a defenceman and wobbled past Varlamov for his eighth goal. Streit is heading to his fourth Olympics for Switzerland. The Flyers got a scare when centre Brayden Schenn was checked from behind into the boards by Patrick Bordeleau. Schenn quickly got on his skates, and his teammates went after Bordeleau behind the net. Bordeleau threw his right elbow into Schenns back and the Flyer thumped the board, and then hit the ice. Bordeleau was hit with 5 minutes for checking from behind and a game misconduct. Colorado coach Patrick Roy was red faced and furious as he argued with the officials that the hit didnt merit an ejection. Masons play picked up after a recent pep talk from Hall of Fame goalie Bernie Parent. Mason stopped 14 shots in the first period and made the save of the night in the second when he robbed Gabriel Landeskog with a glove save from his rear. "I think we didnt make it hard enough for him in the first 55 minutes," Landeskog said. "I think the last five, we were in his face, banging rebounds, and trying to bang one home there and made it hard on him. We started throwing pucks from different angles and tough angles and what not." Mason posted a 1.51 goals-against-average over his last four starts, stopped 95 per cent of his shots and had two shutouts. "The job as starting goalie every night is to make sure we provide stability back there, and thats what Im trying to do," he said. Raffls seventh goal of the season, off a nice pass by Sean Couturier from behind the net, early in the third was the insurance the Flyers needed to win their third straight. NOTES: The Flyers had a video tribute and a moment of silence for former coach and general manager Keith Allen. Allen died Tuesday. He was 90. "I love Keith Allen," Snider said. ... Lauren Hart, the daughter of longtime former Flyers broadcaster Gene Hart, sang "God Bless America," alternating lyrics with Kate Smith, who was on a video image. Smiths rendition of the song has been a rallying anthem for the Flyers since the mid-1970s. ' ' '