Keeping Score

Mike Lupica, in the New York Daily News: “People around the Red Sox think David Ortiz needs to pipe down about how he doesn't have enough protection behind him in the Red Sox batting order, because it makes Big Papi sound too much like Big Baby.” . . . One more from Lupica: “Madonna probably wishes A-Rod looked at her the way he looks at himself.” . . . Does it mean anything that the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs will finish this season with more victories than the NBA’s Toronto Raptors? . . . Gary Player, one of the PGA’s all-time great players, is 73 now. And, as he told Golf Digest, “I hit it so short now I can hear the ball land.”

The Mandai Memorials, a Japanese team, had a few ringers in the lineup this week at the 21st annual Victoria Playmakers’ tournament on the Island. Carl Anderson, John Dahl, Gordon Genshorek, George Konrad, Norio Sakaki, Mike Seigel and Keith Wallace all suited up with the Memorials. . . . Who knows? Maybe they’ll hear from one of those Asian League teams and a few stars will have been born. . . . Which brings us to former Blazers sniper Greg Evtushevski. Chevy, who retired from the pro game seven years ago, spent the last week of February at the Wayne Gretzky Fantasy Camp in Phoenix. Now 43 and the operator of Chevy’s Source For Sports in Kelowna, Evtushevski scored 12 goals in four games and was named MVP. Among those on the three teams were Russ Courtnall, Theo Fleury, Ulf Samuelsson and The Great One. No word on whether the Gretzky camp will retire Chevy’s number.

Former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice addressed NFL meetings in Dana Point, Calif., this week. Before wrapping up, she said: “I’m prepared to answer questions on Russia, on the Middle East . . . and why no one should ever run a prevent defence.” . . . Ain’t that the truth. . . . If you were paying attention to the KIJHL playoffs, you should know that the Kamloops Storm’s opposition in the championship final was the Nelson Leafs. They are the Leafs. Period. Not the Maple Leafs. . . . If you weren’t able to take time to listen to the play-by-play of a Nelson home game, let’s just say you didn’t miss much. The opener of the KIJHL final on Sunday was highlighted by one of the talking clowns referring to Storm defenceman Justin Palazzo as a “meathead.” Obviously, the yakkers are Archie Bunker fans. Too bad someone didn’t stifle them.

Tyson Gillies, a Kamloops product, cut his teeth playing hockey. But he is hearing impaired and the bodychecking kept dislodging his hearing aids. So he turned to baseball. Now, writes Larry Larue of the Tacoma NewsTribune, “Gillies, 20, is one of the better prospects in the Seattle Mariners minor league system. The scouting evaluation? Plus-plus speed. Plus-arm. Excellent bat control. Excellent fundamental player.” Last season, at Class A Everett, Gillies hit .313 with 22 steals and a .439 on-base percentage. This spring, he has even gotten into some Cactus League games with the big club. . . . Through Thursday, Gillies was 10-for-32 (.313), with three doubles, a triple and four RBI. . . . All of which means, Gillies will be playing somewhere higher than Class A this season. . . . When the baseball season opens, Marco Scutaro is expected to be the Toronto Blue Jays’ starting shortstop. That will make six different opening-day shortstops during the J.P. Ricciardi regime. As Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times noted: “So when they say short stop in Toronto, they're not kidding.”

When you think about what the Kamloops Blazers accomplished under general manager Bob Brown — four WHL championships in six seasons and three Memorial Cup titles in four seasons — you realize that the WHL made a wonderful decision to honour him with its Governors Award. . . . It also drives home just exactly how far this franchise has fallen — and how far it has to go before it’s competitive again. . . . The NFL has instituted a rule that will prohibit pass rushers who are on the ground from lunging at a quarterback's legs, and many observers feel it came to pass because of the season-ending injury to Tom Brady of the New England Patriots. As Jeff Gordon of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch put it: "Because the Patriots raised the issue, the NFL finally recognized it as a problem. Funny how that works, isn‚t it? If Bill Belichick insisted that the league replace footballs with hams for 2009, Roger Goodell would have just one question: 'Boneless or bone in?' "

Dan Daly, in the Washington Times: “Florida State’s Bobby Bowden is none too happy about the prospect of giving up 14 victories because of an academic-cheating scandal involving some of his footballers. ‘It just seems like they’re killing a flea with a hammer,’ he says. To which I reply: Yeah, kinda like FSU 76, Tulsa 14 (1985), or FSU 70, Tulane 7 (1992).” . . . Saul Phillips, the men’s basketball coach at North Dakota State, got his team into the NCAA tournament. It was a first for the school and was big, big news. As he told the Minneapolis Star Tribune: “Usually when Fargo makes it on TV it's on The Weather Channel.” . . . T.O. gets cut by the Dallas Cowboys and ends up with the Buffalo Bills, who will open Monday Night Football against the New England Patriots. A coincidence? Not likely. . . . Headline at Sportspickle.com: "U.S. baseball team defects to Cuba."

Gregg Drinnan is sports editor of The Daily News. He is at gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca and gdrinnan.blogspot.com. Keeping Score appears Saturdays.