1. Does F Liam Stewart of the Spokane Chiefs have a copy of his father’s Christmas album? If so, does he listen to it? (Has Liam read his dad’s book yet?)
2. Are you aware that I will be on SportsTalk with Dan Russell tonight? We chatted for almost an hour recently and he’s playing that conversation tonight. Yes, it’s all about Sudden Death: The Incredible Saga of the 1986 Swift Current Broncos. (Listeners to CBC Regina will be able to hear an interview with Ted Deller that was taped Friday morning. I also have done an interview with CBC Kamloops that will be played sometime next week. . . . You also will be able to hear me with Shawn Mullin, the play-by-play voice of the Swift Current Broncos, during an intermission on Saturday or Sunday.)
3. How can the Los Angeles Lakers fire head coach Mike Brown when his big four — Kobe, Paul Gasol, Dwight Howard and Steve Nash — were on the floor together for a total of 45 minutes during the 1-4 start?
4. Do you care that the NHL and NHLPA have spent time talking this week, or is this a case of ‘Wake me when it’s over?’ ”
5. Are you aware that F Roman Horak of the Abbotsford Heat is leading the AHL in goals, with 10? Horak, whose NHL rights belong to the Calgary Flames, played two seasons (2009-11) for the WHL’s Chilliwack Bruins. Surely, you remember them.
6. Might the 5,500-seat Langley Events Centre, at some point in time, end up as the home to a WHL franchise? In the last two weeks, I have had two long-time WHL watches tell me that the league would be much better off there than it was in Chilliwack.
7. How much impact have the TV cameras that are documenting the Saskatoon Blades’ every move had on the team’s shaky start? And if the adults in charge had it to do all over again would they cut the same deal? It’s all four a 24/7-type show that is being tied in with the Blades being the host team for the 2013 Memorial Cup.
8. The Kamloops Blazers and Portland Winterhawks, the team’s with the WHL’s best winning percentages going into the weekend, will play Sunday in the Rose City. But with each team playing its third game in as many nights will that be a real test? Or will a better test come Nov. 16 in Kamloops when both teams will be coming off four off days?
9. What will the Everett Silvertips do with D Ryan Murray? The Silvertips are 6-13-2 and have lost seven in a row as the weekend begins. What is the asking price if the NHL talks break off and it looks as though the season is in jeopardy? What is the asking break if there remains a chance that the NHL season may get started at some point?
10. Where have the fans gone in Kelowna? The Rockets are drawing about 5,300 fans per game, down more than 700 from recent seasons. Bruce Hamilton, the president and general manager, told AM1150 play-by-play man Regan (Clark Griswold) Bartel that a lot of former season-ticket holders didn’t renew because they are wintering in the south. But, sheesh, isn’t that a lot of ticket-holding snowbirds flying south at one time?
And a freebie — Whatever happened to the WHL’s Ask The Commissioner on Facebook? Just wondering . . .
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