Live . . . from Portland

A couple of thoughts after a day spent searching for the Portland Winter Hawks' head coach, followed by a dip in the hot tub . . .

No real surprise that Ryan Huska now is the head coach of the Kelowna Rockets. GM Bruce Hamilton, never one to rush into anything, took his time, explored all of his options, couldn’t land Marc Habscheid and went with Huska. And regular readers here won’t have been surprised at the signing of Jeff Finley as assistant coach. Finley was mentioned here a couple of weeks ago.

What’s with the Calgary Herald and Sportsnet reporting Jarome Iginla’s involvement with River City Hockey Inc., as though it’s fresh news? Sheesh, should we tell those folks that story is at least two weeks old.

As reported here last week, Jim Hammett has left Hockey Canada and now is the New York Rangers’ head amateur scout. He replaces Gordie Clark, who now is director, player personnel. . . . As of Tuesday night, Hockey Canada’s website listed Hammett as head scout, but you’ve got to know that HC is looking.

Is anyone else amazed at how many trades are made in junior A hockey that involve players moving from a league in one province to a league in another province? The BCHL website shows some of its teams involved in seven transactions this month, all seven involving teams in other provinces -- Estevan, Kindersley, Notre Dame, Markham, Bancroft, Okotoks and Brooks. Hey, just asking . . .

The NFL has Michael Vick. The NBA has referee Tim Donaghy. Baseball has Barry Bonds. The NHL has . . .

I’m in Portland for a couple of days. Ikea is opening a store here today, one that is located near the airport. People have been camped out in anticipation. So many people are expected to show up that traffic patterns are expected to be altered.

The best part of traveling is seeing different newspapers. Portland readers may not know it but they are lucky to have three to absorb. The Oregonian, of course, is one of the best. The Portland Tribune, which publishes twice a week, is a real gem. And there also is The Columbian, a daily that is based across the river in Vancouver, Wash. Competition and different ownership, it would seem, makes each of these newspapers better. And each is an enjoyable read, so enjoyable, in fact, that I haven't even looked at USA TODAY.

Noel Freedman, a Seattle Times reader, made this point in a letter to the editor: “I’ve come to believe a perfect marriage would be a deaf man hitched to a blind woman.”

My wife and I headed south from Everett on I-5 at 4 p.m. And we lived to tell about it. But it was a good thing we didn’t have to be at a Thunderbirds’ game by 7. We might have missed the start. Now that’s traffic . . .