Congrats to Larry Popein, who is going to be saluted by the good folks of his hometown. The Pope, who had a stellar NHL career and now lives right here in River City, will be inducted into the Yorkton, Sask., Sports Hall of Fame later this summer. The 5-foot-9, 170-pound Popein, who will hit 83 in August, played 448 NHL games and also spent six seasons with the Vancouver Canucks of the professional Western Hockey League. . . . The Pope, I’m told, is feeling better after a stint in hospital earlier this month. . . . Headline from ProFootballMock.com: Aaron Rodgers: Pay me like Tony Romo, or I’ll start playing like him. . . . A few days after that appeared, Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers agreed to a five-year, US$110-million deal. . . . Coincidence? . . .
Dwight Perry, in the Seattle Times: “Newcastle United fan Barry Rogerson, caught on video punching a police horse in a postgame riot, told the London Mirror: a) ‘I reacted stupidly. I did not go out to attack a horse,’ or, b) ‘Mongo love Newcastle United.’ ” . . . Defenceman Kevin Bieksa of the Vancouver Canucks has been listed as day-to-day for three weeks. So you are free to wonder what it means when the Canucks say that goaltender Cory Schneider is day-to-day with a “body” injury. . . . One thing it means is that once again all of Vancouver is in love with Roberto Luongo. . . . Scott Brown, the Vancouver Sun’s sports editor, tweeted: “Canucks clear up speculation about Schneider’s health by letting us know he has a ‘body injury’. We now know his mind & soul are ok.” . . .
If you weren’t aware, that was Steve Williams, Tiger Woods’ ex-caddy, on the bag for Adam Scott when he won the Masters earlier this month. “Is it just me,” writes Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel, “or have you, too, noticed that all of Tiger’s exes seem to be doing pretty well for themselves?” . . . If you’re looking for some fun on a slow day, head on over to the Halston Connector and cruise it by driving the speed limit. . . . Dare you. . . . A note from former Washington Times columnist Dan Daly: “Now that the name change in New Orleans is official, it’s probably only a matter of time before the NBA starts marketing Pelican briefs.” . . .
“What do you call Kentucky forward Nerlens Noel being the consensus No. 1 pick in the upcoming NBA draft?” asks RJ Currie of SportsDeke.com. “The first Noel.” . . . Here’s Currie, again: “Did I hear the San Antonio Spurs signed Tracy McGrady for his playoff experience? Isn’t that like adding Charlie Brown to your kicking team?” . . . If you missed it, former Vancouver Giants forward Milan Lucic was a healthy scratch with the Beantown boys last weekend. And if you saw that coming a year ago, move to the head of the line. . . .
The way Tim Cowlishaw, a columnist with the Dallas Morning News, has it figured, Glen Gulutzan is done as the head coach of the NHL’s Dallas Stars and Guy Carbonneau is the best candidate as a replacement. . . . Why not the Kamloops Blazers’ coaching tandem of Guy Charron and Dave Hunchak? They’ve done a great job here, their contracts are up and Tom Gaglardi owns both teams. . . . From Reggie Hayes of the Fort Wayne News-Sentinel: “NBC Sports announcer Al Michaels was arrested last Friday on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol. NBC officials had no comment, but they privately shouted, ‘Do you believe in designated drivers?’ ” . . .
If you’re into pond hockey, you may want to think about entering the inaugural Montana Pond Hockey Classic. It’s scheduled for Foys Lake near Kalispell, Feb. 21-23, 2014, and registration already is open. For more info, visit www.PondHockeyClassic.com. . . . Cam Hutchinson of the Saskatoon Express wonders: “How many things are more boring than a between-periods interview with an NHL player?” . . . Maybe an interview with an NHL coach in the middle of the second period? . . . Bill Littlejohn, on Dwight Howard getting his 9,000th rebound last week, 14 days faster than Wilt Chamberlain did: “Wilt’s 9,000th rebound was a New York Knicks cheerleader dumped by her boyfriend.” . . .
You may have heard that David Ortiz of the Boston Red Sox dropped a bomb at Fenway Park a week ago. In addressing the crowd, Big Papi said: “This is our f------ city and nobody is going to dictate our freedom.” . . . As Len Berman of ThatsSports.com noted: “OK, it wasn’t quite ‘Give me liberty or give me death,’ but he made his point.” . . . Jennifer Joyce of Kamloops is back on Athletics Canada’s board of directors. Joyce, a hammer thrower, is the female athlete representative and her term runs through April 2015. . . . When the Toronto Maple Leafs win the Stanley Cup later this summer does Brian Burke get a ring? . . .
Shane Battier of the Miami Heat happened to mention that, when it came to beer, he drank only Bud Light during a 27-game NBA winning streak. So the Bud Light folks sent him 1,100 free cases of the stuff. . . . Battier is making US$3.135 million this season. . . . And what did Battier think of the delivery? He told The Associated Press: “My house isn’t that big to house all that. I’ll have a whole new slew of friends today.” . . . After the New York Jets let everyone know they would be taking the best available athlete with their first pick in the NFL draft, CBS-TV’s David Letterman noted: “It’s the same strategy the Kardashian sisters use.”
(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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