Keeping Score

In two or three years, could the Seattle Mariners have an outfield including two Canadians? Michael Saunders, who is from Victoria, is getting better by the day as he patrols left field. He has yet to show power — observers feel that will come — but has marvelous speed for someone 6-foot-4 and 205 pounds. . . . And perhaps the centre fielder in the not-too-distant future will be Kamloops’ own Tyson Gillies, who is having an incredible season with the High Desert Mavericks of the California League. After Thursday’s games, Gillies is third in the batting race (.338), fifth in hits (140), second in stolen bases (36), first in on-base percentage (.431) and eighth in OPS (.911).
Cam Hutchinson, in the Saskatoon StarPhoenix: “A full frontal nude photo of Joe DiMaggio taken in 1940 is on display at a San Francisco art gallery. I really shouldn’t be the one to judge, but in the picture Joltin’ Joe bares a striking resemblance to Pee Wee Reese.” . . . One more from Hutchinson: “Actor Jeremy Piven recently was made an honourary Toronto Argonaut. They should have made him the quarterback.” . . . The fat toad now is a fighting dog. Pitcher Hideki Irabu, once called “a fat pussy toad” — as in full of pus — by New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, has signed to pitch for the Kochi Fighting Dogs in a Japanese independent league. The right-hander, who is 40, had been 5-3 with a 3.58 with the Golden league’s Long Beach Armada.
The Left Coast Sports Babe, after it was reported that David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez of the Boston Red Sox tested positive for performance enhancers in 2003: “And Boston has fired two employees for alleged steroid use. Sounds like it’s time to start referring to the 2004 world champions as the PED Sox.” . . . Steve Simmons, in the Toronto Sun: “Things you didn’t see coming: Ed Belfour, goalie coach; Todd Stottlemyre, financial market wizard; David Ortiz, druggie.” . . . One more from Simmons: “The Vancouver Olympic Committee must be reeling from the embarrassment of having to move the Canadian Olympic speed skating trials to Calgary because its Richmond oval won’t be ready in time for the December meet. The whole point of having an Olympics at home is to provide home-field advantage for your athletes. The fact they won’t compete on the Richmond ice before the Games is beyond ridiculous.” . . . Headline at Fark.com: Ortiz looking for info on positive PED test, will let O.J. know if he stumbles across the real killer.
As you may have read earlier this week, women’s volleyball coach Carrie Barrett, who has been on maternity leave, won’t be returning to TRU. She will remain in Edmonton where hubby Simon Fedun is the men’s volleyball coach at NAIT. TRU’s athletic department and Barrett settled things — she apparently owed some benefits money, which the department decided to swallow — and she officially resigned. . . . On the subject of TRU, look for the men’s soccer and baseball teams to carry the initials EW and BW respectively on their jerseys. Those would be in memory of Errol Wild and Bob Winters, both of whom left us in recent days. . . . There also is a move afoot to have NorBrock Stadium named in honour of Winters and to name one of the McArthur Island soccer pitches in memory of Wild. . . . And, hey, why not? . . . Errol Wild Memorial Field sounds a whole lot better than McArthur Island No. 7, doesn’t it?
Greg Cote, in the Miami Herald: “CBS announced that Michael Vick will appear on 60 Minutes on Sunday, interviewed by a James Brown. A nice get for the network. If you can’t get Erin Andrews, Steve Bartman or Jimmy Hoffa, Vick may be the next best thing.” . . . Yeah, but wouldn’t you rather watch Barbara Walters make Vick cry on ABC? . . . Gary Loewen, in the Toronto Sun: “With the Blue Jays clearly in cost-cutting mode, can we start calling the team owner Rogers Sportsnot?” . . . Anyone old enough to remember when Charlie Finley tried selling Oakland A’s stars to the Boston Red Sox has to wonder if Bowie Kuhn, were he still alive and baseball’s commissioner, would let Blue Jays’ management dump outfielder Alex Rios and get nothing in return?
Columnist Ron Judd, in the Seattle Times, has what he calls “one final lingering question about the Michael Jackson estate.” Judd wonders: “Who gets custody of the giraffe?” . . . Scott Ostler, in the San Francisco Chronicle: “I won’t say those new swim world records set in Rome are cheap, but my ‘World’s Greatest Dad’ trophy is starting to look legit.” . . . One more from Judd: “OK, just one more MJ query. What about the monkey?” . . . Dr. Ohm, a South Korean volleyball coach, is soon to join the TRU WolfPack men’s volleyball team as an assistant coach under Pat Hennelly. Dr. Ohm, it’s assumed, will give Hennelly and Co. a real charge. . . . What’s this we hear about goaltender Anthony Manfredi, the KIJHL veteran, deciding to return to the Kamloops Storm now that the team has the host’s berth in the Keystone Cup? Apparently, Manfredi had been ticketed for the hockey team at TRU.
Two weeks from tonight the Kamloops Blazers play host to the Vancouver Giants. You’re right. It’s about a month too soon. . . . At least one person was pleased with my return a week ago. “Welcome back, missed your Saturday columns,” writes Joe from Merritt. “Had to talk to the wife over breakfast, that didn’t go well. She doesn’t like sports.” Which means that Mrs. Joe must have been really, really pleased to have me back. . . . If you’re a veteran baseball fan, you may remember left-hand hitting John Olerud as having one of the smoothest swings in the game but not being all that fleet of foot. Still, he hit 54 doubles with the 1993 Toronto Blue Jays. As he told the Toronto Sun the other day, “Some were triples.” . . . It isn’t triples, but TRU’s golf team will feature triplets. The Gruber boys — Adam, Brett and Mark — will be part of the team. . . . The last word this week goes to the afore-mentioned Judd: “Some good news: The ‘cash for clunkers’ program has been re-upped by Congress. Still time to trade in Eric Bedard?”

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