Taking Note . . .

Janice Hough, the Left Coast Sports Babe, after southpaw Randy Johnson announced his retirement: “He received a number of phone calls, texts and emails from fellow athletes, including one from Brett Favre, which simply said, ‘The first time is the hardest.’ ” . . . After a new biography of Warren Beatty was released in which it is claimed that the actor slept with more than 12,000 women, the Babe noted: “But to be fair, they haven’t released all of Tiger’s texts yet.’’ . . . Is it too late for Vancouver to switch over and play host to the Olympic Summer Games? . . . Does anyone in sports scowl better than Calgary Flames head coach Brent Sutter? . . . The big football news this week is that the Lingerie Football League is soon to begin selling game-worn uniforms. . . . Could be that Tiger Woods will be able to do one-stop Christmas shopping. . . .

Just when you think Jose Canseco has gone away, hopefully for good, another steroid-user tries to come clean and The Injector surfaces again. . . . Len Berman, writing at ThatsSports.com: “Wisconsin hunters mistakenly shot 10 buildings in November, (but) that’s a vast improvement from the 25 they shot in 2008. I guess authorities figured it out when hunters were spotted driving home with dead barns tied to the roofs of their cars.” . . . After watching last weekend’s NFL games you have to ask yourself if the aura that has surrounded New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has disappeared. . . . Headline at SportsPickle.com: NBC moves Jay Leno to Notre Dame head football coach. . . . Is anyone having a better year than outfielder Matt Kemp? First, he hooks up with Rihanna on a Mexican vacation and then he gets a two-year, US$10.95-million deal out of the Los Angeles Dodgers. . . .

Steve Schrader of the Detroit Free Press, with a question — “Why is Tiger Woods on the cover of Vanity Fair without a shirt? — and some possible answers: a) It’s his way of saying, eat your heart out, Phil Mickelson; b) It’s a warm-up for his upcoming foldout in Golf Digest; c) Don’t know, but he sure looks naked without a Swoosh, doesn’t he?; d) He lost it in the divorce settlement.” . . . Silly me. I thought it was Tiger’s way of advertising his availability. . . . By the way, does anyone know when the next PGA season begins? . . . Outfielder Tyson Gillies of Kamloops, who was dealt by the Seattle Mariners to the Philadelphia Phillies in the Cliff Lee deal before Christmas, will be going to training camp with the big club. He is expected to open the season with the Double-A Reading Phillies, but observers are speculating that he could be a starting outfielder in Philly come 2011. . . . Right-handers Phillippe Aumont and J.C. Ramirez, who moved to the Phillies in the same deal as Gillies, also are expected to open in Reading. The Phillies, however, are planning to convert the 6-foot-7 Aumont into a starter. . . .

If you were wondering, the Seattle Seahawks owe fired head coach Jim Mora about US$12 million over three years, which isn’t a bad parting gift. . . . The Prince George Spruce Kings cashed in their BCHL chips at Sunday’s trade deadline, dealing five 19- and 20-year-olds, all for future considerations. One of those dealt was defenceman Wes McLeod, a 19-year-old from Kamloops. He came out of it OK, though, as he ended up with the AJHL’s Spruce Grove Saints, who went into this weekend with a 37-3-1-3 record. . . . McLeod has committed to play next season for the U of Alaska-Anchorage Seawolves. . . . Sheesh, did Vancouver Canucks forward Alex Burrows really think he could win by publicly trashing an NHL referee? You’re right. Burrows ain’t seen nothin’ yet. . . .

Jim Armstrong of the Denver Post yearns “for the old days, when an NBA player would miss a game with a pulled hammy, not a pulled .45.” . . . If you’re a PETA fan or if you aren’t a fan of the Vancouver Olympics, you are going to love the spoof collectible pin that is making the rounds. On the pin, produced by PETA, Ilanaaq, the Vancouver Games’ symbol, is clubbing a baby seal. The Olympic rings also are on the pin, with blood dripping from the red one on the upper right. . . . Would have loved to have been the fly on the wall when the VANOC gang first saw it. . . . From the Sports Venting column in the Edmonton Journal: “I can’t wait for 3-D television to arrive, so we can watch the Oilers lose in another dimension.” . . . And one more: “The Oilers should prorogue the rest of the NHL season.” . . . Headline at theonion.com: Colts to rest starters for first game of playoffs. . . . With Edmonton’s Nikolai Khabibulin out for the season with his bad back, former Blazers goaltender Devan Dubnyk is likely with the sad-sack Oilers for the rest of this NHL season. . . .

Some of these things are closely guarded secrets — like how to get the caramilk into the Caramilk bar — but it seems Melinda Kuhnegyi, a former Olympian (1984) and a coach with the Kamloops Skating Club, will carry the Olympic torch in Sorrento, while artistic gymnast Kate Richardson, an Olympian (2000, 2004) from Vancouver will get it in Kamloops. Both will carry it on Jan. 27. . . . Old friend Ross Jardine, at the young age of 76, will take a turn with the torch near 108 Mile on Jan. 28. What a thrill that will be for family and friends. . . . According to the New York Post, New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter and actress Minka Kelly have set Nov. 5 as their wedding date. Jeter obviously doesn’t expect the Yankees to be in the World Series. . . . Jerry Crowe, in the Los Angeles Times: “Mark McGwire’s weepy confessional brought to mind the scene in The Godfather where Johnny Fontane whines to Don Corleone, ‘I don’t know what to do,’ and the godfather shakes him violently and commands, ‘You can act like a man!’ ” . . . Part of McGwire’s confession included his claim that steroids didn’t help his power numbers. As CBS-TV’s David Letterman put it: “He just liked the minty-fresh taste.”
Gregg Drinnan is sports editor of The Daily News. He is at gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca and gdrinnan.blogspot.com. Keeping Score appears Saturdays.