Kelly Olynyk, the South Kam product who stars for the Gonzaga Bulldogs, is eligible for the NBA draft, but he must declare by April 28. So what will he do? Here’s Chad Ford of ESPN: “There’s nothing really new to report on Olynyk except that Gonzaga’s second-round loss to Wichita State doesn’t look so bad after the Shockers did the same thing to LaSalle and Ohio State. We are waiting for Olynyk to officially declare, but multiple sources believe he’ll be in the 2013 draft.” . . . With all the strange transactions over the last two weeks, was there ever a point when you asked yourself: “When did the NHL turn into a fantasy league?” . . .
Joanne Ireland of the Edmonton Journal had an interesting story this week about how forward Ales Hemsky was at a movie with Oilers teammates Taylor Hall, Ryan Whitney, Jordan Eberle and Shawn Horcoff on Tuesday night when his cell phone rang. The call was from Oilers GM Steve Tambellini, so all five thought Hemsky had been traded. False alarm! Turns out the call was a pocket dial. . . . Wocheng Ye, a 12-year-old golfer from China, has qualified for a European Tour event. As he told The Associated Press: “I’ve dreamed of this since I was a boy.” . . .
Headline in USA Today last week: Justin Bieber’s pet monkey quarantined. . . . It wasn’t a good month for the Biebs, who perhaps needs some time in a quiet room. . . . At one point this week, Los Angeles Lakers centre Dwight Howard had missed more free throws this season than Steve Nash had missed in his 17-year career — 332-322. Think about that for a moment or two. . . . If you missed it, singer Dionne Warwick apparently owes the IRS somewhere around $10 million. “Could be worse,” writes Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel. “She could be like the Magic and owe $10 million to Hedo Turkoglu.” . . .
Steve Simmons, in the Toronto Sun: “What’s funny isn’t that the somewhat cooked Vernon Wells will be playing the outfield for the Yankees. What’s funny is that Wells will be paid by the Yanks, the Angels and the Blue Jays to do so this season.” . . . Headline at TheOnion.com: Vernon Wells unsure how he’ll fit in with aging, overpaid Yankees. . . . Here’s NBC-TV’s Jimmy Fallon, as North Korea threatened war one more time: “Or as Obama put it, ‘Can’t believe I’m doing this. Get me Dennis Rodman.’ ” . . .
We are so used to hearing little of relevance uttered by professional athletes that it really resonates when Vancouver Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo says his $64-million contract sucks. . . . Give the man credit for his honesty, but I’ve gotta think his life might suck without that contract, too. . . . “The University of Washington will offer its first all-online degree program this fall,” writes Ron Judd of the Seattle Times. “It’s just one more way the university can help Husky football players stay on track for their degrees when they are on the road or in jail.” . . .
The MLB season is off and rolling, meaning Vin Scully is into his 64th season of calling the play for Los Angeles Dodgers games. Here’s Phil Mushnick of the New York Post: “It is highly unlikely Scully, if he were today a young man, could get a second audition from ESPN or any TV or radio entity that broadcasts baseball. Scully works without gimmicks and prefers to work alone. That he is a thoughtful, literate speaker of baseball, disinclined to parrot the latest, foolish expressions, would work against him. Today, if it were John Sterling vs. Vin Scully? No contest — Sterling would get the job.” . . . If you haven’t heard, President Obama took time to shoot some hoops during the annual Easter Egg Roll at the White House. Uhh, he hit just two of 22 shots. “That night,” notes comedian Argus Hamilton, “he was demoted from Commander-in-Chief to Washington General.” . . .
They are learning to love Brendan Gallagher in Montreal. Here’s Jack Todd in the Gazette: “Gallagher’s game reminds me of two players who were starring when I first arrived in Montreal: Henri Richard and Yvan Cournoyer. I’m not comparing Gallagher to the Pocket Rocket and the Roadrunner after half a short season — but five years from now, everyone will be making that comparison. No one ever suggested that Cournoyer or the younger Richard was too small. It was a different era but, like Gallagher, both players were big where it mattered — in the heart.” . . . Gallagher was the 147th selection in the 2010 NHL draft. You are free to wonder how the Canucks missed him when he was right in their own backyard. . . . “There is no other place I would rather coach than at New Mexico, representing the best fans in the country,” said men’s basketball coach Steve Alford as he signed a 10-year contract extension on March 20. . . . Just 10 days later, Alford left for UCLA. . . . “Just business as usual in the NCAA where players are bound by their scholarships and coaches can do whatever they please,” notes Len Berman of ThatsSports.com, “even if it involves being disingenuous.” . . .
A teenage family friend who was in Montreal sent a text earlier this week: “I’m at Notre Dame (Basilica).” To which I responded: “Lots of history there.” . . . Her response: “Celine Dion’s wedding.” . . . “Dodgers deked fans,” tweeted Scott Ostler of the San Francisco Chronicle as the Los Angeles Dodgers prepared to open against the San Francisco Giants. “Told ’em game started at noon, so they all arrived by 1 p.m.” . . . Game time was 1:10 p.m. . . .
The renowned movie critic Roger Ebert’s last written words: “Thank you for going on this journey with me. I’ll see you at the movies.” . . . The balcony closed on Thursday.
(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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