Keeping Score

Outfielder Tyson Gillies of Kamloops definitely impressed with his hustle during his stint in the Philadelphia Phillies’ major league training camp. He ran everywhere, whether he simply was shagging fly balls or on the base paths. One day, when rain washed out an exhibition game, veteran second baseman Chase Utley rewrote the lineup card. He put Gillies in the three hole and for position wrote: “All outfield.” . . . No one summed up Gillies’ performance better than did Phillies manager Charlie Manuel, who said: “He definitely has energy. He can run, too. I was watching for two days. He started one day in centre field. They hit a ball to right field and he went all the way over there and caught the ball. He stayed there. And then somebody hit a ball to centre field and he went back and caught it. He does that every time. He’s something, man. He takes shagging to another level.” . . . And, yes, someone then came up with the movie poster pictured with this column and it’s on the Internet now. . . .
Merlin Olsen, who died last week at the age of 69, was a true great. He was a defensive tackle in a brutal sport and was a 14-time Pro Bowler. Jerry Kramer, a Hall of Fame guard with the Green Bay Packers, offered: “Merlin was 6-5 and a shade under 300 pounds. He was a Phi Beta Kappa, had a master’s degree in economics. He had a great heart, he never quit, he never slowed down, he never gave you an inch. And those were his weak points.” . . . It was the late, great Jim Murray of the Los Angeles Times who wrote: “Merlin Olsen went swimming in Loch Ness, and the monster got out.” . . . You no doubt have seen Ron Artest of the Los Angeles Lakers and his blond hair-do with the Hebrew, Hindi and Japanese words for “defence” cut in in purple. Here’s Brad Dickson in the Omaha World-Herald: “So why can’t I find a barber who can get my sideburns even?” . . .
Bryann Palmer of Kamloops is headed to Calgary and the 2010 Canadian ski cross championships that open March 27. She won bronze at the NorAm Cup finals at Big White last weekend. “All of my results this season have been in the top 10,” she writes in an email, adding that she is “very excited about that” as she heads for Calgary. . . . After Manny Pacquiao took care of Joshua Clottey a week ago, Dan Wetzel of CBSSports.com wrote: “Clottey didn’t come to fight. He came to cash his check and go home, spending 12 rounds covering up as Pacquiao wailed on him. Boxing put on a heck of a show Saturday, with almost 51,000 fans making Cowboys Stadium an electric environment. It just didn’t stage much of a fight.” . . .
If you weren’t aware, an organization that calls itself Okanagan All Pro wrestling is to debut here, at the Pavilion Theatre, on April 17. According to a press release, “10 men (will) compete to be the first ever OAPW champion . . . Marty Sugar defends his Okanagan championship belt.” . . . So if a “first ever” champion is to be crowned how is it that Mr. Sugar already is a champion? . . . Welcome to the world of pro grappling. . . . You may have heard that officials with the Smithsonian Institution have said they don’t want anything to do with a suit worn by O.J. Simpson during his 1995 murder trial. So where does the suit go now? “Thanks to a booking agent,” Greg Cote of the Miami Herald writes, “the O.J. suit will be on tour later this summer as the opening act for the Monica Lewinsky dress.” . . .
Former Blazers goaltender Devan Dubnyk was getting close to the NHL record book when he finally got his first NHL victory last night. Dubnyk, now with the Edmonton Oilers, was 0-8-2 going into a game with the visiting Detroit Red Wings. He was six decisions away from the NHL record for most games played without earning a victory. The record is held by Wilf Cude, who went 16 games before winning with the 1930-31 Philadelphia Quakers. Thankfully, Dubnyk escaped ignominy with a 2-1 victory over Detroit. . . . One of the sponsors of the Miami Marathon referred to the event as “the Pro Bowl of running events.” To which Cote responded: “I take that to mean half the runners pulled out with fake injuries?” . . . We are a society of lawbreakers. We ignore the speed limit. We ignore STOP signs. We ignore no left turn signs — or haven’t you watched the traffic exiting the TCC and turning left onto McGill Road? We don’t use our turn signals. And on and on and on. So why are we shocked when people ignore avalanche warnings? . . .
The 2010 Baseball Canada senior championship will be decided in B.C., and the communities of Kelowna, Prince George, Trail and Victoria are bidding for it. A B.C. Senior Baseball Association committee will announce a decision in the fall. . . . There is something horribly wrong with a league that suspends Alex Ovechkin for two games and James Wisniewski for eight, but does nothing to Matt Cooke. And it all starts at the top, doesn’t it? . . . You have to wonder if Tom Larscheid is still in love with the Cooker? . . . Forward Malcolm Gwilliam of Kamloops was pointless in his professional debut with the ECHL’s Reading Royals on Thursday. The Royals dropped a 4-3 shootout decision to the Charlotte Checkers. The winning goaltender was Garrett Zemlak, who spent the season with the WHL’s Prince Albert Raiders. Zemlak also was making his pro debut. . . .
Despite what you may have read, the name of The Masters won’t be changed to The Mistresses. . . . According to the Salt Lake Tribune, police in Salt Lake County arrested former Utah Jazz centre Robert Whaley when they discovered baggies full of marijuana hidden between his buttocks. As Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times put it: “Given the contraband’s 10-20, we’d have suspected crack cocaine.” . . . Via Twitter, Mark Cuban, the owner of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks explains his trading philosophy: “Every team has guys that are morons. . . . But you want to dump your morons on the other guy. So you try to play hide the morons.”

Gregg Drinnan is sports editor of The Daily News. Email him at gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca, or visit his blog at gdrinnan.blogspot.com. Keeping Score appears Saturdays.