Was there anything more bizarre than watching so-called journalists step all over themselves on Wednesday night as they tried to get confirmation that Jarome Iginla had been traded by the Calgary Flames to the Boston Bruins? And then to find out that he actually was on his way to the Pittsburgh Penguins. . . . Whoo-ee! . . . Cam Hutchinson of the Saskatoon Express tweeted: “Mistakes like Aaron Ward’s would be easier to overlook if there wasn’t such arrogance dripping off the boys on the TSN hockey panel.” . . . Ward, of course, is the former NHL defenceman who has a chair at TSN. He was the first to adamantly confirm that Iginla was, uhh, going to Boston. . . . Now that Iginla has left Calgary, the networks are able to return to feeding us Roberto Luongo rumours. . . . TSN and Sportsnet have untold hours of coverage scheduled for Wednesday, the day of the NHL’s trade deadline. Whatever will they do to fill the time? . . .
Michael Shanks, who was born in Vancouver and grew up in Kamloops, will be in the title role when Mr. Hockey: The Gordie Howe Story, a Hallmark Channel movie, premieres on April 28. Shanks, 42, is perhaps best known for playing Dr. Daniel Jackson on Stargate SG-1. . . . Interestingly, the role of Mark Howe is played by Dylan Playfair, 20. He is the son of former NHL defenceman Jim Playfair, who now is the associate coach with the Phoenix Coyotes. . . .
“Got to love it,” notes Janice Hough, the Left Coast Sports Babe. “Tiger Woods announces he is dating Lindsey Vonn, posts a number of pictures, and thanks fans on his Facebook page for ‘respecting our privacy.’ ” . . . Here’s RJ Currie of SportsDeke.com: “Tiger Woods went public he is dating Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn. A word of caution to Tiger: 9-irons are blunt; ski poles are pointy.” . . . Here’s Currie, again: “The Chicago Cubs reportedly may add a mascot that represents the Cubbies’ tradition. Possible names include Hindenburg, Titanic and Exxon Valdez.” . . .
Kelly Olynyk of Kamloops, who stars with the Gonzaga Bulldogs, has been named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches Division I All-American first team. Olynyk, a junior centre, is only the second Gonzaga player to be named to the first team. The other? Adam Morrison, in 2006. . . . Here’s the aforementioned Currie with a nod to Olynyk “who vowed to shear his signature locks at season’s end for a charity that makes wigs for sick kids. He really is a cut above.” . . .
The Brooklyn Nets visited the Los Angeles Clippers the other night, and the crowd apparently got quite excited when Kris Humphries and Lamar Odom got ready for the game-opening tip. “I’m told it has something to do with a Kardashian and their being former brothers-in-law,” noted Len Berman of ThatsSports.com. “It must be an L.A. thing.” . . . Guard Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls has yet to play this season as he recovers from knee surgery. Asked recently when he might return, he responded: “Nobody knows but God.” To which Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times revealed: “Jim Gray immediately secured first dibs to grill God in ESPN’s The Decision II.” . . .
“Who decided pajama bottoms and slime-green sneakers were a good look for the Notre Dame basketball team?,” writes Mike Lupica of the New York Daily News. “Really, that was an outfit even Manti Te’o’s imaginary girlfriend wouldn’t have been caught, well, dead in.” . . . One more from Lupica: “Anybody else appreciate the irony of Tiger originally getting busted texting an old girlfriend, and now announcing his new girlfriend on Facebook?” . . .
Here’s Richmond blogger TC Chong, on the news that singer Dionne Warwick owes US$10 million to the tax man: “The IRS left a singing message on her voicemail, ‘Do you know the way to San Quentin?’ ” . . . When the Tampa Bay Lightning tied a can to head coach Guy Boucher last weekend, someone mentioned that it was the 20th NHL coaching change in two years. . . . And you still want to be an NHL coach? . . . Upon hearing that the Carolina Hurricanes had signed left-winger Alexander Semin to a five-year extension that will pay him US$7 million a season through 2017-18, you are left to wonder (a) what was the purpose of the lockout, and (b) how much is Sidney Crosby worth? . . . If some guy approaches you on a Kamloops street corner and offers you Taliban gold, the only way you do the deal is if you give up that vacation home on the lakefront in Arizona. OK? . . .
Tyson Gillies of Kamloops is expected to be the starting centre fielder for the Lehigh, Pa., IronPigs when they open their season Thursday against the Syracuse Chiefs. The IronPigs are the AAA affiliate of the National League’s Philadelphia Phillies. . . . Here’s Steve Simmons, in the Toronto Sun: “Will the people who argue the Leafs need Colton Orr to fight so Phil Kessel can play please explain to me who protected Crosby and Pavel Datsyuk when the Penguins and Red Wings won Stanley Cups?” . . .
I don’t know how much money you will earn today, but chew on this with your morning coffee: Right-hander Justin Verlander, who has signed a five-year, US$180-million extension with the Detroit Tigers, will pocket an average of $140,515 every day of every MLB season for the next seven years. . . . You want more? On average, Verlander will earn every three innings what the average major leaguer did in all of 1984.
(Gregg Drinnan is sports editor of The Daily News. He is at gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca, gdrinnan.blogspot.ca and twitter.com/gdrinnan. Keeping Score appears Saturdays, except when it doesn’t.)
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