Thursday . . .

While speculation about a possible sale continues to run rampant, the Portland Winter Hawks have hired Jerry Moss as director of fan relations.
How big is this signing?
In a release on their website, the Winter Hawks say it “could be one of the biggest free agent signings in Portland Winter Hawks history.”
According to the release: “Moss will lead the Winter Hawks charge into the community, oversee all aspects of game operations and guide the overall fan experience for the team.”
Moss spent 11 seasons with the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers.
More from the release: “In 11 years with the Trail Blazers, Moss became somewhat of a cult hero to fans, co-workers and the media thanks to his energy and passion for the people, especially children.
“Many fans will recognize Moss from his years as ‘The Man in the Stands’ during Trail Blazers games, his zany characters on television commercials and, to some fans, he may even conjure up images of Jolly Old Saint Nick. Moss was known for growing a sizeable beard during the Christmas season in order to play Santa Claus at community and charity functions.”
According to the release: “Moss wants to hear from fans and urges them to email their ideas to jerrym@winterhawks.com.”
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THE MacBETH REPORT: F Ondrej Fiala (Everett/Saskatoon) is on a tryout with Kärpät Oulu (Finland SM-Liiga), the defending Finnish champions. He took a regular shift on the third line with former Calgary Flames F Vesa Viitakoski in Wednesday night’s 2-1 exhibition loss to Sport Vaasa. From the game report on the Kärpät website –a loose translation: Kärpät were also accompanied by 20-year old Czech forward Ondrej Fiala, who has short tryout with the team. Fiala has played in the North American junior league. "He is a skilled forward and plays a good game with the puck and with power. On the other hand is the fact that he lacks experience at this level," head coach Matti Alatalo says. . . . Fiala had been negotiating with Spartak Moscow of the Contintental league but that deal must have fallen through for whatever reason.
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JUNIOR JOTTINGS: The Tri-City Americans have signed F Brock Zimak, 17, to a standard WHL contract. Zimak is from – you guess it! – Winnipeg and was a fourth-round pick by the Americans in the 2006 bantam draft. He had 35 points in 39 games for the midget AAA Winnipeg Wild last season. . . . While the WHL isn’t expected to release its complete schedule until Aug. 7, you can scoot over to Small Thoughts At Large where Alan Caldwell has pieced together what various teams have released and has most of a schedule posted. . . . As mentioned here earlier, Rob Stouffer, the Brandon Wheat Kings’ athletic therapist for seven seasons, lost his battle with cancer Wednesday. A funeral service is scheduled for Wednesday (Aug. 6), 2 p.m., at Central United Church in Brandon. Central United is located at 327 8th St.

THE COACHING GAME: Former NHL coach Marc Crawford has joined Hockey Night in Canada’s crew. . . . Kind of a big day in the NHL so far, what with Scotty Bowman leaving the Detroit Red Wings to join the Chicago Blackhawks’ front office, alongside his son, Stan. Scotty will be senior advisor of hockey operations; Stan is assistant general manager. . . . And, in Edmonton, the Oilers punted Kevin Lowe upstairs and brought in Steve Tambellini from the Vancouver Canucks as general manager. Lowe becomes president of hockey operations, while Kevin Prendergast, who has been with the Oilers forever, most recently as vice-president of hockey operations, moves up to assistant GM. Adding Tambellini to their organization is a terrific move for the Oilers, and losing him is yet another goofy decision by the Canucks. Tambellini spent 17 seasons in Vancouver’s front office and was their vice-president and assistant GM. But he was passed over when the Canucks fired GM Dave Nonis and hired Mike Gillis. Tambellini is one of the great ‘young’ minds in the game and it’s great to see him get an opportunity like this. . . . But, you have to ask yourself, what the h-e-double hockey sticks is going on with the Canucks?