Roger Sloan finally gets to make his debut as a card-carrying, exempt player on the PGA Tour. Hell tee it up at the McGladrey on Thursday afternoon, finally ending the long waiting game hes endured. Sloan didnt get his week of to such a great start however, as this Tweet he sent out explained. Storybook start to the week. Got to the airport and realized my wallet decided to stay at home. #Ugh -- Roger Sloan (@RogerSloan87) Sloan was an alternate at both the Frys.com Open and the Shriners events but never drew into the fields. Thats because his priority ranking is well down the list. Its also because the tournaments in the fall are attracting a lot of players the Tour probably didnt think would play. For Sloan, getting a fast start is vital. He can improve his place on the rankings by playing well in his early starts. The Tour will re-shuffle the Web.com grads at various points during the year, with better performing players moving up the list. Even with good play early on, theres a good chance hell have to split time between the PGA and Web.com tours. Getting into tournaments has been a bit of a problem over the past few years for those who earn their PGA Tour cards through the Web.com Tour, but the Tour is trying to alleviate that. Commissioner Tim Finchem is aware of the problem and is hoping to open up the fields to allow these golfers a chance to play. The first two events of the new season were expanded from 132 to 144 players. Theres also the addition of the Sandersons Farms Championship, which used to be held opposite the British Open. In all, the Tour said, there are 180 new spots for the recent grads. For Sloan, an affable and talented player who won the inaugural Nova Scotia Open last summer, the chance to play on the big tour is a dream come true and the result of a lot of hard work. Hes the third member of the B.C. Boys to play this year, joining fellow grads Adam Hadwin and Nick Taylor. No doubt hell be a little excited when he puts the tee in the ground on Thursday. Thats well deserved. And likely well worth the wait. The Toronto Blue Jays conclude the interleague portion of their schedule over the next three days, with three games in Phoenix against the Arizona Diamondbacks. The D-Backs came into being in 1998 and appear destined to finish second in the AL West after the Tsunami that is the Los Angeles Dodgers swept over them. I thought it might be interesting to see what the D-backs have done over their 16 years compared to what the Blue Jays have done over their past 16 campaigns. The numbers are just this side of startling. Over the last 16 years, including 2013, the Jays cumulative record is 1278-1287. Arizona has a very slight edge at 1279-1285. So what you appear to have on the surface is two mediocre, somewhat underachieving clubs. But the year to year records and accomplishments tell a somewhat different story. Over its 16 year history, the D-Backs have finished in first place in the National League West five times. They also won the National League Championship once, and the World Series in 2001 in a classic seven game victory over the Yankees. Arizona has also finished second twice (probably a third time this year), third place three times, fourth place once and four times in fifth place. In just their second year of existence, the Diamondbacks reached 100 victories -- a total the Blue Jays have never attained. In their fourth year, they won 92 games and won a World Series quicker than any franchise in Major League history. After drawing over three million fans in three of their first five years, theyve off to where they hover around the two million mark, as they have over the past five seasons. The D-Backs have been no strangers to change. Theyve had two principle owners in Jerry Colangelo, and since 2004, Ken Kendrick. Theyve had five general managers over 15-plus season, including the current boss Kevin Towers. Theyve also had six managers; the most successful of which has been one-time Blue Jays catcher Bob Brenly, who led the D-Backs to two division titles and their lone World Series victory. To contrast, this with the Blue Jays over the past 16 years, the Jays have two ownership groups, Interbrew and Rogers, three GMs in Gord Ash, J.P Ricciardi and now Alex Anthopoulos. The Blue Jays have also had eight managers, including John Gibbons twice. Over that same 16 year span, though, the Blue Jays have finished in third place eight times, fourth place five times and fifth place twice if you count this year with four weeks to go. The bright light was in 2006, under John Gibbons, where the Jays finished in second place. Arizona also showed a propensity for the big turnaround. In 2010, they finished in last place. The following year, they jumped all the way to first place. The 29 game improvement from 2010 to 2011 is tied for third best since 1998. Its interestinng both teams have changed the name of their ballparks; Arizona went from Bank One Ballpark to now Chase Field.dddddddddddd. The Jays went from Skydome to the Rogers Centre. There are other connections between these two franchises. In the 97 expansion draft, Arizona chose right hander Marty Janzen and lefty Omar Daal from the Blue Jays. Dahl went on to throw the first shutout in D-backs history on July 30, 1998; a four-hitter against the Cubs at Bank One Ballpark. Another ex-Blue Jay, Todd Stottlemyre, picked up Arizonas first ever post-season victory on October 6, 1998. He tossed a four-hitter over six and 2/3rd innings in a 7-1 victory over the New York Mets. Two other former Jays 2nd basemen figured into hitting marks with the D-Backs. Kelly Johnson hit for the cycle against the Giants on July 23, 2010, then current second sacker Aaron Hill hit for the cycle in 11 days last season -- June 18th versus Seattle and June 29th at Milwaukee. Brooklyns Babe Herman is the only other player in the modern era to accomplish that feat, and he hit for the cycle three times in his career. An ex-Diamondback holds a couple of Blue Jays power hitting records as well. Tony Batista, who spent less than three full years in Toronto, slugged 26 homers as the shortstop and 41 homers as a third baseman -- both franchise records for those positions. Considering the overall records are nearly identical, its not easy to explain why the Diamondbacks have won five division titles in 16 years and the Blue Jays have none. Part of it is the Blue Jays are playing in the tougher American League East. But thats not even as true as it once was, with the Dodgers spending the way they are and the Giants having won two of the last three World Series. This, another one of those stats that really sticks out. Since 2008, Tampa Bay has only used 19 starting pitchers. Speaking of the Rays, theyre sitting three-and-a-half games ahead of the Yankees in the race for that second Wild Card slot in the American. The Rays have 27 more games left, one more than the Yankees. In terms of the teams they are playing, the Rays have the slightly easier schedule. However, Tampa Bay plays only 11 of those remaining 27 at home. They are currently on a western swing with seven to play, including four against the Angeles and three against Seattle. Their only three remaining games with the Yanks are in New York from September 24 through to the 26th. The Yankees, on the other hand, still have seven games left with Boston, including four at home this week. Joe Girardi and company also wind up the season with three games in Houston against the lowly Astros. The Rays, meanwhile, play their final three at Rogers Centre against the Blue Jays. Its going to be a very interesting race indeed. Cheap NFL Black Jerseys Wholesale Black NFL Jerseys Wholesale NFL Gear Wholesale Stitched Jerseys Wholesale NFL Womens Jerseys Cheap NFL Black Jerseys Jerseys NFL China ' ' '