More than a few years ago, when I was working at the Regina Leader-Post, one of my favourite players with the Regina Pats was Lyndon Byers, a hard-boiled and hard-nosed winger. I was a writer and he was a junior hockey player who always played hard, had hockey intelligence and could put words together. In other words, a writer always could go to Byers and end up with something to write. Writers covering the pro game discovered all of that and more as he played his way through what was an injury-filled career. . . . All of which is to say I wasn’t surprised to pick up the June 9 issue of Sports Illustrated and find Byers quoted. Yes, he is. Right there, on Page 26 (by the way, have you ever tried finding a page number in SI?). . . . It’s a short piece on Jose Canseco, the literary giant, and his attempts to find someone to enter a boxing ring with him. Yes, Byers was offering and it seems he chatted about it with the Boston Herald, and those quotes made their way to SI. “I figured, What the heck, I’ll pound his face for five G’s,” Byers told the Herald. Of course, Byers, 6-foot-1 and 200 pounds, was passed over as Canseco, 6-foot-4 and about 240 pounds, now has a date with former NFL special teams player Vai Sikahema, who goes 5-foot-9 and 190 pounds. They’re scheduled to go at it July 12 in Atlantic City. . . . But wait. Byers wasn’t done. . . . “(Canseco) makes me puke,” he told the Herald. “The guy single-handedly ruined baseball, now he won’t even fight someone his own size.” . . . It’s great to know that Byers hasn’t changed; he’s a man never at a loss for words. . . .
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SOME NOTES: The Tri-City Americans have extended Brian Sandy’s contract through 2010-11. Sandy is the club’s chief marketing officer and senior vice-president of business operations, which means he has played a large role in the turn-around in the desert. As GM Bob Tory put in a release: “Since joining our organization in 2005 from the (Portland) Trail Blazers, Brian has done an exceptional job co-ordinating our sales staff, implementing our marketing strategies and promoting our club throughout the Columbia Basin.” Sandy has been with the Ams since June 2, 2005. . . . And, hey, how about Brent Sutter and the Red Deer Rebels? Sutter, the Rebels’ owner and president, announced Tuesday that he and his organization are donating $1 million to Westerner Park for the purchase of a scoreclock, complete with all the video bells and whistles, for the ENMAX Centrium. . . . Sutter’s generosity is evidence of how financially successful a WHL franchise can be, which is why commissioner Ron Robison’s filing cabinet contains a thick, thick file full of applications from people who would love to buy an expansion franchise or an existing one. . . . C Nick Hotson, a veteran WHLer, is off to play for the U of Manitoba Bisons in Winnipeg. Hotson, who finished up his eligibility with the Lethbridge Hurricanes and their great run, spent more than three seasons with the Portland Winter Hawks before being dealt to Lethbridge. . . . The WHL’s Eastern Conference teams will hold their scheduling meeting in Calgary on Monday, with the league holding its annual meeting there Tuesday and Wednesday. There is no word yet as to whether the league will be scheduling for the Moose Jaw Warriors or the Nanaimo Sno-Kings. . . . The Kamloops Blazers have called a news conference for Tuesday at 1 p.m., at which time they are expected to announce the composition of their scouting staff and to outline the roles of various people in their restructured front office. . . . Brian Fortin, a veteran scout who filled in as the Blazers’ interim GM during the second half of last season, has joined the scouting staff of the NHL’s Minnesota Wild. He will continue to work with the Blazers as a scouting consultant.
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