In the world of hockey, the talent pool has become depleted to the point where third-line NHLers are signing for US$4 million per season. And now there are whispers that Gary Bettman wants an expansion franchise in Seattle. . . . Which makes about as much sense as putting a franchise in Atlanta. Oh, wait. . . . If you were wondering, Rolling Stone magazine doubled its single-copy sales after putting the Boston Marathon bomber on its cover. . . . There have been reports that Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III was sexting a former Hooters waitress on his wedding day. As Ian Hamilton of the Regina Leader-Post noted: “Sounds like RGIII was calling an audible.” . . .
“In about five years time,” writes Jack Todd in the Montreal Gazette, “MLSE boss Tim Leiweke, the original bull in a china shop, is going to go down as the worst executive in the history of Canadian team sports. From planning the route for the Leafs Stanley Cup parade to taking down photographs of former Leaf greats (hey, they don’t have that many) to signing Dave Nonis to a five-year extension, Leiweke has set himself up for a spectacular fall.” . . . “Kim Kardashian and Kanye West reportedly spent $750,000 on four gold-plated toilets,” notes R.J. Currie of SportsDeke.com “I recall an ex-friend installed one of those for a party; I found out later it was his tuba.” . . . The Edmonton Eskimos have opened a season 0-3 for the first time in the 35-year history of Commonwealth Stadium. . . . No, head coach Kavis Reed isn’t in trouble. He got a contract extension on July 6. . . .
Robert Fick, who got into 846 games in a 10-year major league career, has admitted to using steroids on two occasions as he attempted to rehab injuries. “Time to put an asterisk next to those 69 career homers and his .258 batting average,” notes Vancouver comic Torben Rolfsen. . . . One more from Rolfsen: “Reports say visitors to Biogenesis in Miami also included NBA players. Yeah, but they only went because they thought it was a nightclub.” . . . If you’re playing Tobiano on Aug. 10, be careful around the par-3 15th hole. Roger Sloan, the pro golfer from Merritt, and Casey Mcanelly, who is big in volleyball in Texas, will be tying the knot during the afternoon. When Sloan puts his finger in the ring, is it a hole-in-one? . . .
After the city of Detroit claimed to be US$18 billion in debt as it filed for bankruptcy, Richmond blogger T.C. Chong pointed out: “They did manage to scrounge up enough bucks to post a huge sign reading, ‘Welcome Daniel Alfredsson. We accept Swedish kronas.’ ” . . . After a couple of players scrapped during a badminton match on the Lower Mainland, Chong wrote: “I guess there is no Lady Byng trophy in badminton.” . . .
National Geographic has filmed NFL speedsters Chris Johnson and Devin Hester versus a cheetah for a show to be aired in November. Who wins? Well, cheetahs can hit 70 miles per hour. Here’s Steve Schrader of the Detroit Free Press: “So the smart money says the cheetah will have them for lunch.” . . . “Why not let the cat run against a couple of NFL officials?” added the afore-mentioned Hamilton. “After all, cheetahs eat zebras.” . . . The defending World Series champion San Francisco Giants are having a rather rough season. “But, really, the Giants can’t catch any breaks in 2013,” Janice Hough writes at leftcoastsportsbabe.com. “Where are the Houston Astros when you need them?” . . .
Kelly Olynyk will be in these parts later this month for the Olynyk Klynyk. The Boston Celtics rookie will take part in his basketball camp, Aug. 12-16, after spending three days at Team Canada’s camp in Toronto. Unfortunately, he’s fighting plantar fasciitis in one foot so may not be too active. The Celtics don’t want him doing anything too strenuous in an attempt to get him back up to speed. . . . After the Olynyk Klynyk, he’ll head for Boston to find a place to live and get ready for his first NBA training camp. . . . Former Kamloops Blazers defenceman Ray Macias has signed a one-year deal with the Braehead Clan Glasgow of the UK Elite league. Last season, Macias had 18 points in 39 games with the Schwenninger Wild Wings of Germany’s 2.Bundesliga. . . .
If you’re going to be in Prince George any time between Aug. 13 and 23 you should know that the World Baseball Challenge is gearing up. It features the Chinese Taipei national team, a team of Northwest college all-stars from the U.S., a Japanese team that is the two-time champions of the Intercity league; the Ciego de Aviles Tigres from Cuba; and, a Canadian team. It all starts Aug. 13 with the Americans meeting Canada at 7 p.m., at Prince George Citizen Field. . . . Bob Molinaro of the Hampton Roads Virginian-Pilot had this “idle thought” recently: “It’s a sign of the times that two of the happiest words in college and pro football are ‘charges dropped.’ ” . . . Over at sportscurmudgeon.com, Jack Finarelli wonders why we let some of these clowns off the hook by saying he/she “made a bad decision.” He adds: “Sorry, but ‘making a bad decision’ is when you choose to eat that week-old sashimi that is sitting in the back of the bottom shelf of your refrigerator.”
(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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