Why did the NHL suspend Ottawa Senators defenceman Eric Gryba for that hit on Montreal Canadiens forward Lars Eller? Jack Todd of the Montreal Gazette sums it up: “This ain’t your grandfather’s NHL. The players are bigger and much faster. There is no red line. Collisions occur at warp speed. Everything from the fate of Marc Savard and Chris Pronger to the threat of billion-dollar lawsuits argues that the NHL has to act to cut down on the mayhem.” . . . What is it with Kamloops drivers and their love affair with the yellow line, or is it a B.C. thing? . . .
Californian Janice Hough, aka The Left Coast Sports Babe, isn’t too enthused with the since-dead plan to charge us a fee to enter her country. “Right,” she notes, “so we have more protection from all those dangerous Canadians.” . . . After Texas A&M revealed plans to expand its football stadium to 102,500 seats, Hough pointed out: “Not that we need anything to put football in Texas in perspective, but the population of College Station, Texas, where A&M is located, is 95,142.” . . . “Not to be outdone,” says R.J. Currie of SportsDeke.com, “the Saskatchewan Huskies will add a folding chair to their luxury box.” . . . One more from Currie: “First John Morris claims he’s lost the passion to curl, then a week later joins a B.C. team. In TV lingo, he jumped from My Favourite Martin to Welcome Back Cotter.” . . .
Virgin Airlines says it will allow passengers to purchase drinks for other passengers. “Not to be outdone,” notes Richmond blogger TC Chong, “Air Canada announced that drinks and food can be ordered from the airport lounge as passengers sit waiting on the tarmac.” . . . Headline at TheOnion.com: Astros TV crew already out of things to say about team. . . . And here’s one from The Borowitz Report at NewYorker.com: NRA leader warns of rising cost of senators. . . .
Forward Dylan Willick, who completed his junior eligibility this season as the captain of the Kamloops Blazers, spent part of this week in Montreal being wooed by the gang at McGill U. In fact, he was in the Bell Centre on Thursday night as the Canadiens were eliminated. Yes, the Habs could have used him on the ice. . . . It seems that the U of New Brunswick Varsity Reds, who won the CIS championship in Saskatoon earlier this spring, also are in there pitching for Willick’s services. . . . At the same time, the U of Alberta Golden Bears are really interested in forward Brendan Ranford, but there are rumblings that he may sign with the Dallas Stars, who are owned, of course, by Blazers majority owner Tom Gaglardi. . . .
If you missed it, Michael Jordan got married a couple of weeks ago. “In a nice salute to the past,” wrote Reggie Hayes of the Fort Wayne News-Sentinel, “Jordan’s bride wore a stunning gown borrowed from Dennis Rodman.” . . . Security guards in Oklahoma City caught a guy trying to steal a Zamboni earlier this week. As Robert Cox of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette pointed out: "As with most Zamboni-related crimes, police said alcohol was a factor." . . .
Are you able to recall the last time an NHL playoff team was the kind of mess the Vancouver Canucks were? Sheesh! They made the Kardashians look like the family next door. . . . The kings of embellishment accusing another team of diving? The goaltending mess? The lack of offence? . . . It’s not AV’s fault, but he’ll pay the price. . . . Oh, and you can buy a penthouse condo belonging to one of the goaltenders for about $4 million. . . . It’s enough to make you wonder what all might have happened had they played a full season. . . . The Canucks are gone. Gas prices as high as $1.39.9. Where are the locusts? . . .
You may have known that the Polo World Cup recently was held in Miami Beach. According to Brad Dickson of the Omaha World-Herald, “The top three teams were sponsored by an Argentine billionaire, a French yachtsman and a backup Auburn tight end.” . . . A woman in Portland was to have labour induced on Friday, but got her doctor to put it off until Monday if she could find a ticket to Game 5 of the WHL final between the Winterhawks and Edmonton Oil Kings. Now that’s customer loyalty. . . . And then there’s Chicago Blackhawks centre Dave Bolland. Asked how close he was to returning from a groin injury, Bolland offered: “I don’t know about the percentage, but I’m halfway there.”
(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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