Keeping Score

Yes, The Daily News Christmas Cheer Fund will be back for an eighth festive season. Are we excited? You bet. Over the previous seven years, you have given us $246,515.96, every cent of which has been distributed to local charities. . . . Watch for the campaign to get rolling in these pages on Nov. 14. . . . Yes, Sensei Jim Doan and the gang at the Western Karate Academy, who are among your fund’s grandest supporters, already have launched their Kick-A-Thon, with all proceeds coming this way. . . . There isn’t a sport out there today, including that new four-team pro football league, that is as badly run as baseball. Do you need more evidence than late night World Series games in November? In Game 4, Johnny Damon of the New York Yankees stole two bases on the same pitch. How bizarre was that? Here is Yankees bench coach Tony Pena, in conversation with ESPN.com: “You know how people always tell you that they’ve been in baseball for 40 years, 50 years, and things happen every game that they never saw? Well, I’ve never seen that before. I never saw that before in my life.”
After Broadcast Music, Inc., reported that Queen’s We Will Rock You was the most-played song at NFL, MLB and NHL games over a 12-month period, Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times suggested that the Los Angeles Dodgers might begin playing She Got the Gold Mine, I Got the Shaft next season. . . . Mike Lupica, in the New York Daily News: “I hardly ever envy anything that happens in another city in sports. But I sure wish that McCourt divorce were happening here. There’d be front pages every day the way we got with Donald and Marla in the old days.”
Cam Hutchinson, in the Saskatoon StarPhoenix: “The list of media personalities that will carry the Olympic torch includes Jennifer Hedger, James Duthie, Michael Landsberg and Dave Randorf. Among TSN staffers not selected were: 3. Vic Rauter, because he wanted to bring Ray and Linda; 2. Pierre McGuire, because his hot air might extinguish the flame; 1. Darren Dreger, because he doesn’t have sources in the torch world.” . . . As for all those media people, including the Count, Lloyd Robertson, carrying the torch, whatever became of the media not putting themselves into the story? . . . How would you feel if you were a Tampa Bay Buccaneers season-ticket holder? It was a Bucs home game on Oct. 25 when they played the New England Patriots in London. Tom Brady’s Patriots last played in Tampa in 1997 and won’t play there again until 2017.
A political note from the Sports Deke blog: “Former professional snowboarder and Winter Olympics gold medalist Ross Rebagliati is the new federal Liberal candidate for Okanagan-Coquihalla. The Liberals say they are excited about his political potential. It might be because they think he’s great at snow jobs.” . . . The Toronto Maple Leafs went into last night with one victory and 12 losses. But they have seven points. That’s what loser points do for you. . . . Belated congratulations to Kelly Moore, the program director over at Country 103. The former radio voice of the Kamloops Blazers was honoured last month at the B.C. Country Music Association awards celebration. . . . Former Blazers defenceman Micki DuPont is playing this season with Kloten of the Swiss NL A. And he already has signed a contract with Zug of the same league for the following two seasons. . . . Isn’t that kind of like an NHLer playing with one team this season and signing in midseason to play the next two seasons with another team? . . . You’re right. Only in Europe.
Mike Bianchi, in the Orlando Sentinel: “And why is Congress holding hearings on why there are so many concussions in the NFL? You think maybe it’s because 300-pound men are banging their heads together at high speed? Coming soon: Congressional inquiry into why there is so much frostbite in the Iditarod.” . . . If you’re running the New York Yankees, how do you not bring back DH Hideki Matsui after the World Series he had? But he also would go over big in Seattle with the Mariners, wouldn’t he? . . . You may have noticed that the St. Louis Rams (0-7) visited the Detroit Lions (1-5) last weekend. It was Fox-TV’s Jimmy Johnston who noted: “The greatest thing is it’s a skim-milk game — it’s only available in two per cent of the country.” . . . Scott Ostler, in the San Francisco Chronicle: “Mark McGwire as hitting coach: OK, try closing your stance just a bit and gaining 50 pounds of rock-hard muscle.”
Greg Cote, in the Miami Herald: “Shaq has applied to be a deputy sheriff in Cleveland. Man, you know times are tough when even the superstars are getting second jobs.” . . . The Saskatchewan Roughriders go into this final weekend of the CFL regular season with a 9-7-1 record, which means they will finish above .500 for a third consecutive season. Big deal, you say. Well, the Green ’Riders haven’t done that in a long time. In 1976 they did it for a fourth straight season. . . . Is that Olympic fever you’ve got, or is it H1N1?

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