Jerry Crowe of the Los Angeles Times points out that “while the Green Bay Packers have enlisted only two starting quarterbacks since 1992 — Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers — their three NFC North rivals have utilized 54.” . . . Another note from Crowe: “With the addition of prospect Loek Van Mil, a 7-foot-1 right-hander acquired (from the Minnesota Twins) in the Brian Fuentes trade, the Angels now employ the same number of 7-footers as the Clippers.”. . . The Clippers, if you’re not aware, play in the Tall Men’s League (aka the NBA). . . . Well, Roberto Luongo has given up the Vancouver Canucks’ captaincy and now we’re in for a lengthy debate as to who should be next in line. Can’t they just give it back to Orland Kurtenbach and be done with it? . . .
You likely are wondering why American president Barack Obama unveiled his latest economic plan in Cleveland. Here’s Jay Leno’s explanation: “Because those are the Browns fans and, in September, they’ll believe anything.” . . . Greg Cote, in the Miami Herald: “The (Florida) Marlins became the only team not to offer any farewell gesture to retiring (Atlanta) Braves manager Bobby Cox, a snub associated with Cox criticizing the club’s firing of Fredi Gonzalez as manager. Once again, the folks running the Marlins put the ass in class.” . . . Most professional teams have at least one player who serves as the clubhouse barber. In the case of the Calgary Stampeders that would be linebacker Keon Raymond. Did he go to school? No, he learned on the heads of his three sons. “I definitely took a few plugs out of their heads,” Raymond told the Calgary Sun. “They went bald a few times. It’s been a learning process.” . . .
Derek Jeter, the New York Yankees’ veteran shortstop, reportedly wants to dispose of the apartment he owns in the Trump World Tower. The asking price is a cool US$20 million. Jeter will relocate to Tampa where he is building a 30,875-square-foot joint with seven bedrooms and nine bathrooms. . . . Jeter’s contract is up after this season. Do the Yankees give him a blank cheque, or does the poor second-half of his season result in an ugly contractual hassle? . . . Most baseball people are applauding Jeter for his bit of acting the other night in Tampa Bay. But what might the headlines have read had it been A-Rod? . . . Do you think the CFL is discovering, thanks to the David Braley ownership thing, that perception is reality a lot of the time? . . .
You can bet that it isn’t a coincidence that the Boston Bruins have veteran Mark Recchi and freshman Tyler Seguin, the second overall pick in the 2010 NHL draft, in the same group for training camp as it opens today. The Bruins want Recchi to take Seguin under his wing and show the kid everything there is to know about being a pro. . . . Congratulations to the fine folks of Prince George on being named the host city for the 2015 Canada Winter Games. . . . Was I surprised? No. . . . I was shocked. I thought it was automatic that Kelowna got everything. . . .
Steve Simmons, in the Toronto Sun, after Prime Minister Stephen Harper mouthed something about using some of our money to help build an arena in Quebec City: “If federal money pays for a Quebec arena, why not federal money to renovate Copps Coliseum in Hamilton or federal money for a new football stadium in Regina or federal money for new arenas in Edmonton or Calgary or federal money for a second arena in Southern Ontario for another NHL team for this rich hockey market?” . . . Yeah, and what about Medicine Hat, where Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach has said provincial money isn’t available to help build a new complex there? . . . Mike Lupica, in the New York Daily News: “If you still think you’ve got some hop on your fastball, call the Yankees, because they might give you a shot at starting Game 2 of the playoffs.” . . . Budd Bailey, in the Buffalo News: “The co-chairman of the NFL’s Brain, Head and Neck Medical Committee doesn’t see four concussions sustained by players in the season’s first week as a trend. He then left an interview to answer a phone that wasn’t ringing.” . . .
The other night, the Cleveland Indians and the Anaheim Angels took four hours 57 minutes to play 16 innings. That resulted in Bill Plunkett writing in the Orange County Register: “More than 500 pitches were thrown Wednesday, and the only one worth remembering for most of the night was the ceremonial first pitch thrown by former Playboy centerfold Holly Madison.” . . . On Friday, the Yankees were in Texas and the teams combined to use 19 pitchers as the Rangers won in 13 innings. I wish someone would explain to me why Major League Baseball goes to 40-man rosters for the most crucial part of the schedule. . . .
Mitch Albom, in the Detroit Free Press, after the Lions ran into the worst rule in sports and lost to the Chicago Bears on Sunday: “That was a touchdown. You can show me the rulebook. You can cite the referees. You can stand me in front of (Lions head coach) Jim Schwartz even as he defends the call that killed his team. I don’t care. By any definition that makes sense, by any memory of any person who has ever played the game of football in their backyards, on their local fields, in high school, in college, anywhere — that was a touchdown.” . . . Jeff Gordon, in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: “Since the hapless Lions fell prey to this interpretation, the NFL will probably shrug. If this happened to the Patriots or Giants, the league would have a new ‘Calvin Johnson Rule’ in place for the 2011 preseason.” . . . After New England quarterback Tom Brady was in a car accident last week, Patriots offensive lineman Stephen Neal told Ian Rapoport of the Boston Herald: “We can’t protect him all the time.’’ . . .
Outfielder Tyson Gillies of Kamloops continues to work out in Clearwater, Fla., as his cocaine possession case makes it way through the courts. Philadelphia GM Ruben Amaro Jr. told Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer this week that the Phillies won’t discipline Gillies. “He’s a quality kid,” Amaro told Gelb. “Whether he has an issue or a problem, that will be up to the legal system right now. If there is a problem with him, we’ll do what we can to help him take care of it.” . . . The New York Jets talk a good game; they didn’t play one on Monday. The New York Post used this headline: Stupor Men. . . . The Post’s Steve Serby wrote: “Ravens 10, Jets 9, on a night when Ray Lewis & Co. stuffed a purple and gold sock in Jets mouths. On a night when Sanchez and his offense could be called The Mark of Zero.”
Gregg Drinnan is sports editor of The Daily News. Email him at gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca, visit his blog at gdrinnan.blogspot.com, or follow him at twitter.com/gdrinnan. Keeping Score appears Saturdays.
You likely are wondering why American president Barack Obama unveiled his latest economic plan in Cleveland. Here’s Jay Leno’s explanation: “Because those are the Browns fans and, in September, they’ll believe anything.” . . . Greg Cote, in the Miami Herald: “The (Florida) Marlins became the only team not to offer any farewell gesture to retiring (Atlanta) Braves manager Bobby Cox, a snub associated with Cox criticizing the club’s firing of Fredi Gonzalez as manager. Once again, the folks running the Marlins put the ass in class.” . . . Most professional teams have at least one player who serves as the clubhouse barber. In the case of the Calgary Stampeders that would be linebacker Keon Raymond. Did he go to school? No, he learned on the heads of his three sons. “I definitely took a few plugs out of their heads,” Raymond told the Calgary Sun. “They went bald a few times. It’s been a learning process.” . . .
Derek Jeter, the New York Yankees’ veteran shortstop, reportedly wants to dispose of the apartment he owns in the Trump World Tower. The asking price is a cool US$20 million. Jeter will relocate to Tampa where he is building a 30,875-square-foot joint with seven bedrooms and nine bathrooms. . . . Jeter’s contract is up after this season. Do the Yankees give him a blank cheque, or does the poor second-half of his season result in an ugly contractual hassle? . . . Most baseball people are applauding Jeter for his bit of acting the other night in Tampa Bay. But what might the headlines have read had it been A-Rod? . . . Do you think the CFL is discovering, thanks to the David Braley ownership thing, that perception is reality a lot of the time? . . .
You can bet that it isn’t a coincidence that the Boston Bruins have veteran Mark Recchi and freshman Tyler Seguin, the second overall pick in the 2010 NHL draft, in the same group for training camp as it opens today. The Bruins want Recchi to take Seguin under his wing and show the kid everything there is to know about being a pro. . . . Congratulations to the fine folks of Prince George on being named the host city for the 2015 Canada Winter Games. . . . Was I surprised? No. . . . I was shocked. I thought it was automatic that Kelowna got everything. . . .
Steve Simmons, in the Toronto Sun, after Prime Minister Stephen Harper mouthed something about using some of our money to help build an arena in Quebec City: “If federal money pays for a Quebec arena, why not federal money to renovate Copps Coliseum in Hamilton or federal money for a new football stadium in Regina or federal money for new arenas in Edmonton or Calgary or federal money for a second arena in Southern Ontario for another NHL team for this rich hockey market?” . . . Yeah, and what about Medicine Hat, where Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach has said provincial money isn’t available to help build a new complex there? . . . Mike Lupica, in the New York Daily News: “If you still think you’ve got some hop on your fastball, call the Yankees, because they might give you a shot at starting Game 2 of the playoffs.” . . . Budd Bailey, in the Buffalo News: “The co-chairman of the NFL’s Brain, Head and Neck Medical Committee doesn’t see four concussions sustained by players in the season’s first week as a trend. He then left an interview to answer a phone that wasn’t ringing.” . . .
The other night, the Cleveland Indians and the Anaheim Angels took four hours 57 minutes to play 16 innings. That resulted in Bill Plunkett writing in the Orange County Register: “More than 500 pitches were thrown Wednesday, and the only one worth remembering for most of the night was the ceremonial first pitch thrown by former Playboy centerfold Holly Madison.” . . . On Friday, the Yankees were in Texas and the teams combined to use 19 pitchers as the Rangers won in 13 innings. I wish someone would explain to me why Major League Baseball goes to 40-man rosters for the most crucial part of the schedule. . . .
Mitch Albom, in the Detroit Free Press, after the Lions ran into the worst rule in sports and lost to the Chicago Bears on Sunday: “That was a touchdown. You can show me the rulebook. You can cite the referees. You can stand me in front of (Lions head coach) Jim Schwartz even as he defends the call that killed his team. I don’t care. By any definition that makes sense, by any memory of any person who has ever played the game of football in their backyards, on their local fields, in high school, in college, anywhere — that was a touchdown.” . . . Jeff Gordon, in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: “Since the hapless Lions fell prey to this interpretation, the NFL will probably shrug. If this happened to the Patriots or Giants, the league would have a new ‘Calvin Johnson Rule’ in place for the 2011 preseason.” . . . After New England quarterback Tom Brady was in a car accident last week, Patriots offensive lineman Stephen Neal told Ian Rapoport of the Boston Herald: “We can’t protect him all the time.’’ . . .
Outfielder Tyson Gillies of Kamloops continues to work out in Clearwater, Fla., as his cocaine possession case makes it way through the courts. Philadelphia GM Ruben Amaro Jr. told Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer this week that the Phillies won’t discipline Gillies. “He’s a quality kid,” Amaro told Gelb. “Whether he has an issue or a problem, that will be up to the legal system right now. If there is a problem with him, we’ll do what we can to help him take care of it.” . . . The New York Jets talk a good game; they didn’t play one on Monday. The New York Post used this headline: Stupor Men. . . . The Post’s Steve Serby wrote: “Ravens 10, Jets 9, on a night when Ray Lewis & Co. stuffed a purple and gold sock in Jets mouths. On a night when Sanchez and his offense could be called The Mark of Zero.”
Gregg Drinnan is sports editor of The Daily News. Email him at gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca, visit his blog at gdrinnan.blogspot.com, or follow him at twitter.com/gdrinnan. Keeping Score appears Saturdays.
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