Friday . . .

Steve Ewen, who covers the Vancouver Giants for the Vancouver Province, isn’t going to like this . . . but hats off to him. He is this blog’s Man of the Month!
(OK. There’s no such award, but if there were it would be all his.)
The information that follows was provided by a little birdie . . .
Ewen worked as the analyst, alongside play-by-play man Dave Sheldon, on more than a handful of Giants’ broadcasts this season. That included the Giants’ final game of the season, which happened to be Monday in Kelowna.
Analysts who help out Sheldon are paid a fee by the Giants and, as soon as Monday’s game was over, Ewen asked that the money due him be directed elsewhere.
Alex, Sheldon’s 13-year-old son, is autistic and needs a lot of time and resources, including speech therapy, to help him get through life. Ewen asked Sheldon to direct the money to an area where it could be of some use to Alex.
What all this means is that Ewen has made a donation of almost $1,700 to Club Aviva on behalf of Alex Sheldon. The money will be used to help Alex and others get the therapies they need to get through their challenging lives.
“On behalf of my son and all the others out there who benefit from the generosity of Steve and others like him,” Dave Sheldon told me, “words cannot express how much I am humbled by your gift . . . Thank you!”
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JUST NOTES: According to Brian Wiebe, the radio voice of the Merritt Centennials, the BCHL team’s board of directors has voted not to offer a new contract to general manager and head coach Al Glendinning. . . . It has been suggested by more than one Calgarian that Flames head coach Mike Keenan should be fired after a first-round flameout. Jeff Blair of The Globe and Mail, who I would suggest has become this country’s best read among sports columnists, has a different take. Give him a read right here.
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Ian Hamilton of the Regina Leader-Post, from over there at That Thing Hammy Does: “NBC is to carry Game 1 of the NHL’s Eastern Conference semifinal between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals (on Saturday) — but maybe not all of it. If the contest goes beyond one overtime period, NBC reportedly plans to leave the game and send viewers to Churchill Downs for the network's coverage of the Kentucky Derby. The NHL on NBC? Not furlong!!”
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WHL CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL . . .
GAME ONE: D Tyler Myers broke a 1-1 tie in the third period and the Kelowna Rockets went on to beat the Hitmen 3-1 in Calgary on Friday night. . . . Game 2 is scheduled for Calgary on Saturday night. . . . The loss ended Calgary’s 12-game playoff winning streak, keeping the Hitmen from taking sole possession of the WHL’s single-season playoff record. . . . The Hitmen are 12-1 in these playoffs; the Rockets are 13-4. . . . Myers’ goal came via the PP. Myers also had two assists. . . . Kelowna LW Jamie Benn scored twice, including a shorthanded empty-netter that put it away, and also drew an assist on Myers’ winner. . . . Benn had missed the last five minutes of the second period after taking a big hit from Calgary D Keith Seabrook. . . . Benn opened the scoring on the PP at 9:09 of the first period. That goal was his franchise-record 29th point of these playoffs. Jesse Schultz set the previous record in the spring of 2003. . . . Calgary D Paul Postma tied it at 6:33 of the second period. . . . Myers got the winner at 10:14 of the third period. . . . The Hitmen hit at least three posts. . . . Kelowna was 2-for-3 on the PP; Calgary was 0-for-4. . . . Calgary had a 29-21 edge in shots. . . . Calgary lifted G Martin Jones with 1:17 left in the third period, the first 58 seconds of which was left on a PP. . . . Jones had to go back in after the Hitmen were called for icing with 58 seconds left in the period. . . . Kelowna G Mark Guggenberger was solid, with 28 saves. . . . The Hitmen are 38-5 at home this season, with two of those losses to the Rockets. . . . Kelowna F Kyle St. Denis, whose season has been dominated by a hand injury and a concussion, wasn’t on the Rockets’ bench in the third period. . . . Attendance was 12,364. . . . Quote of the night goes to Kelowna radio analyst Gord McGarva, following Benn’s empty-net goal: “The Calgary fans are pouring out of the building like lemmings going off a cliff.” . . . Of course, lemmings committing mass suicide is a myth. But we all knew that, didn’t we? If you weren’t aware, that myth was created by a 1958 Walt Disney-produced show, White Wilderness, that was part of an adventure series. As was later discovered, the lemmings shown going over a cliff actually were thrown over the cliff by the filmmakers.
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WHL CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL (all times local):
Friday: Kelowna 3 at Calgary 1
Saturday: Kelowna at Calgary, 7 p.m.
Monday: Calgary at Kelowna, 7 p.m.
Wednesday: Calgary at Kelowna, 7 p.m.
Thursday: Kelowna at Calgary, 7 p.m.
x-Saturday, May 9: Calgary at Kelowna, 7 p.m.
x-Monday, May 11: Kelowna at Calgary, 7 p.m.

x -- if necessary.
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THE PICKS:
John Down (13-1), Calgary Herald: Calgary, in 6.
Jeff Bromley (12-2), Kootenay NewsAdvertiser: Calgary, in 6.
Alan Caldwell (12-2), Small Thoughts At Large: Calgary, in 6.
Scott Fisher (12-2), Calgary Sun: Calgary, in 6.
Dan Russell (11-3), CKNW Radio, Vancouver, and Shaw Cable: Calgary, in 5.
Gregg Drinnan (11-3), Kamloops Daily News: Kelowna, in 6.
Rob Vanstone (11-3), Regina Leader-Post: Calgary, in 4.
Cory Wolfe (11-3), Saskatoon StarPhoenix: Kelowna, in 6.
Kevin Mitchell (10-4), Saskatoon StarPhoenix: Calgary, in 7.