Keeping Score

Here is Keeping Score from Saturday, Sept. 25. . . . Somehow I forgot to post it. . . . Enjoy! . . .

Here’s syndicated columnist Norman Chad, on the state of baseball on TV: “I used to turn on a baseball game on ESPN and it would tell me the balls, strikes and outs with a little graphic that read simply, ‘Balls 2 Strikes 2 Outs 1,’ but now — because somebody with a college degree and a pocket compass decided that was too confusing — they put up a bunch of little circles, some colored in and some not, and I'm supposed to count the circles that are colored in to figure out how many balls, strikes and outs there are. By the time I have done this correctly, the pitcher has already thrown the next pitch and I have to start all over again.” . . . Isn’t that the truth? Oh, for the days of Curt Gowdy and Tony Kubek. . . . Cam Hutchinson, in the Saskatoon StarPhoenix: “There was a lineup in Saskatoon (last) week for 350 spots in a nursing program. If a person meets the criteria, positions are awarded on first-come, first-served basis. Kind of like how the Maple Leafs pick their roster.” . . .

There are rumblings that the Commonwealth Games, which are scheduled for New Delhi, India, from Oct. 3-14, may end up being cancelled due to any number of logistical problems, not to mention stray dogs defecating in what is supposed to be the athletes’ village. . . . Sheesh, maybe Kamloops, having had its heart broken when it lost out to Prince George for the 2015 Canada Winter Games, could offer to be an alternate host. . . . In Toronto, fans of the Maple Leafs boo their favourites in the first period of their first game. In Montreal, Montreal Canadiens fans unload on goaltender Carey Price in the first period of their opening game. And it’s only the exhibition season. . . . Yikes! . . . With the San Diego Chargers refusing to trade away wide receiver Vincent Jackson, his agent, Neil Schwartz, unloaded on general manager A.J. Smith: “Multiple teams have told me that they can’t get a deal done with A.J. and some of the teams have referred to A.J. as ‘The Lord of No Rings.’ That’s how they characterized him.” . . .

So how big was it in Boston when New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was involved in a car accident the other day? Here’s Dan Shaughnessy of the Boston Globe: “Regional media outlets mobilized with hurricane fury when word broke of the accident involving Brady. Two Boston television stations dispatched helicopters to shoot practice from the sky (thank goodness the Patriots didn’t deploy their anti-aircraft missiles).” . . . That was a couple of days after a wonderful column by Shaughnessy that included this: “The Patriots are the Nixon White House of sports. They see demons everywhere. They bash dissent, deny the obvious, and rely on a silent majority of loyalists (including some credentialed media) to pledge allegiance. The Patriots have a Kremlinesque video camera trained on the assembled media during Bill Belichick’s press conferences.” . . . Congratulations to Jenny John, the queen of Canadian field hockey, on her induction into the B.C. Sports Hall of Fame last week. This hasn’t been the best of months for Jenny, but hopefully this will bring her some joy. . . .

When is the last time you saw a football team — make that any team in any sport — fall apart in the manner in which the B.C. Lions did a week ago? If you have a 12-point lead in the fourth quarter and then turn the ball over five times, well, you’re going to lose, which is exactly what happened. . . . And when this season is over the Lions very well may look at that game as the end, while the Hamilton Tiger-Cats will say that it was their beginning. . . . By the way, if you were watching that game, you saw the officials, on one particular play, make the right call, then overturn it to make the wrong call, all of which led to a Hamilton touchdown. . . . You’re right. It just wasn’t the Lions’ night. . . . The Vancouver Canucks and Calgary Flames split their rosters and played each other in Vancouver and Calgary on Tuesday night. Seriously. Both buildings appeared to be sold out. Do you think the team owners are rubbing their hands in glee as they run to the bank? . . . And if you think there really is competition for spots in NHL training camps, consider that a guy named Marco Rosa was the Canucks’ best forward in Calgary. He was sent to the AHL’s Manitoba Moose on Wednesday. . . .

The McCourts, Jamie and Frank, are going through quite a divorce set-to in Los Angeles. Of course, they also own the Los Angeles Dodgers. . . . Here’s Seattle Times reader Bill Littlejohn, speculating on what will happen should MLB commissioner Bud Selig get involved: “It’s guaranteed to end in a tie.” . . . You know Joe Torre isn’t going to want to go out like this, not after managing the hapless Divorcers, er, Dodgers. So why not go out managing the New York Mets? . . . If you’re interested in soap operas, you should be following the saga involving the potential sale of the NHL’s Dallas Stars. Bill Gallacher, who owns the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks, apparently was interested in buying the team until earlier this week. Tom Gaglardi, the majority owner of your Kamloops Blazers, is said to be still in the chase. And now there is speculation that Tom Hicks, the Stars’ owner who is trying to sell the team, may be working to put together a group to try and buy the team. . . . Yes, only in the NHL. . . .

Terence Moore, over at FanHouse, after Michigan State beat the Fighting Irish with a TD off a fake field goal in OT: “The miraculous play that Michigan State used to beat the Irish in overtime in East Lansing was a fraud . . . no matter how much Big East officials try to clean it up, there was a zero on the play clock before the snap. The play never should have happened.” . . . Scott Ostler, in the San Francisco Chronicle: “Floyd Mayweather Jr. is accused of threatening to kill his ex-girlfriend and her new boyfriend, after giving her $200 to put under their daughter's pillow for a tooth. Always an awkward combo identity to pull off: Tooth Fairy and Grim Reaper.” . . . Ian Hamilton, in the Regina Leader-Post: “Since Urban Meyer took over as head coach of the University of Florida football program, 27 players have been arrested a combined total of 30 times. Sounds like the cops in Gainesville should be known as crime scene investi-Gators.”

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.