TGIM

With apologies to the late, great Jimmy Cannon, nobody asked me but . . .
a Despite winning just one of 10 games in their inaugural BCFC season, the Kamloops Broncos obviously have made an impression. How else to explain president and head coach Stefen Reid having been saluted this weekend as the conference’s executive of the year?
The Broncos, under Reid’s leadership and with a gung-ho executive, were able to clean up the mess left behind by the Cowboys, meaning the debts were paid off.
After being informed of the award, Reid said all the right things about it being a team award and that he certainly isn’t solely responsible for the franchise’s resurrection. But, in truth, there would be no junior football team in Kamloops were it not for Reid, the former CFLer.
Reid, a Canadian, played a position, linebacker, dominated by import players. He played the game with all the tenaciousness of a hungry man and he attacked the resuscitation of the local junior football program with the same kind of drive.
In all of sports, there can be nothing tougher than trying to build a competitive football program — at any age level. And the task at hand gets that much tougher when you are trying to do it in a city that doesn’t have a minor football program and has a high school program that can best be described as hit-and-miss.
The fact that the Okanagan Sun, one of the most successful junior football teams in the country, lives down the road in Kelowna doesn’t make recruiting any easier, either.
Reid and his bunch should take time to reflect on what they have accomplished to this point and to bask in the glory of this award.
But you know they won’t take too much time. After all, no one knows more than Reid that the work has just begun.
a There was a scene late in Friday’s NLCS game between the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks that pretty much sums up the state of baseball’s playoffs. The TV camera zoomed in on two youngsters, one of whom was sound asleep. The other was about to doze off.
Then came Saturday and an ALCS game that went two extra innings and ended in Boston at 1:38 a.m.
The TV ratings will show that not even the night owls are watching any more. But as long as TV pays the piper it gets to pick the tune. Even if it means hardly anyone is listening.
a Let’s see now . . .
The NHL has had Chris Simon, using his hockey stick as a scalpel, attempt to take off Ryan Hollweg’s head. That was worth 25 games. Then there was Steve Downie launching himself like an ICBM at Dean McAmmond. Goodbye for 20 games. And then it was Jesse Boulerice’s turn, as he cross-checked Ryan Kesler in the face, only the breaking of the stick perhaps saving Kesler from severe damage. See you, Jesse, in 25 games.
But what is wrong with this picture?
You’re right. The message isn’t getting through. And it won’t, not even if NHL hanging judge Colin Campbell starts handing out lifetime bans.
You just wonder when the NHL Players Association will get involved. Or will the union continue to stand idly by as its members continue attempts to kill each other?
a You are a family of four and for the last couple of years you anxiously have been awaiting the arrival of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games. You want nothing more than for your two children to get a taste of the Olympic experience.
And now you have discovered that, barring the winning of a lottery, you are going to have to visit your friendly banker for a loan or take out a second mortgage on your home if you hope to partake in the Olympic experience.
For months you have heard VANOC CEO John Furlong spew the Olympic line about these Games being for everybody. There he was doing it again late last week as ticket prices were announced.
The ticketing program, Furlong said, is “accessible and affordable.”
“When we bid for the 2010 Games we made a promise that anyone who wanted to go to the Games would be able to go, that no one would be left out,” he said. “Today we are delivering a ticket program that is accessible and affordable.”
Which is perhaps the most ludicrous statement made by any Olympic official since the awarding of these Games.
There is no sense trying to summarize ticket prices. Suffice to say that if you are hoping to experience these Games you may want to consider attending a medal-presentation ceremony, at $25 a pop.
Don’t forget that the prices, as announced, don’t include service charges. And don’t forget that after spending $260 for four tickets to one of curling’s qualifying draws, you still have to pay for gasoline, meals, lodging and souvenirs.
Your recliner just got a whole lot more comfortable, didn’t it?

Gregg Drinnan is sports editor of The Daily News. He is at
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca.