THE MacBETH REPORT:

D Jeff Smith (Red Deer, 1998-2002) signed a one-year contract extension with the Hull Stingrays (England, UK Elite). He had three goals and 12 assists in 55 games for the Stingrays this season.
———



1. After 19 years with one radio station, it seems the Prince George Cougars may have a new play-by-play host station when another season arrives. . . . I am told that Prince George radio station 99.3 The Drive and the Cougars weren’t able to work out a new contract, so have decided to part company. . . . The radio station that was 550-CKPG before morphing into 99.3 The Drive in 2003 is owned by The Jim Pattison Broadcast Group. . . . The decision to part also means the end of Cougar View, a weekly 30-minute show on the Cougars that aired on CKPG-TV for 16 seasons. CKPG-TV also is owned by The Jim Pattison Broadcast Group. . . . There are four other radio stations in Prince George — 94 X and 97.3 The Wolf, both of which are owned by Vista Radio; 93.1 CFIS, which is a non-profit owned and operated by the Prince George Community Radio Society; and, CBC. . . . Hello, Vista . . .

2. There can be no doubt but that the day’s biggest story comes from Moscow — that would be Russia, not Idaho — where The Associated Press reports: “A perfectly preserved woolly mammoth carcass with liquid blood has been found on a remote Arctic island, fueling hopes of cloning the Ice Age animal, Russian scientists said Thursday.” . . . There is more right here.

3. D Derrick Pouliot of the Portland Winterhawks will finish this season on an ATO with the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Pouliot was the eighth overall selection in the NHL’s 2012 draft. Earlier in the week, the Penguins added D Olli Maatta and D Scott Harrington, both of the London Knights, to their roster. . . . The Penguins are involved in a semifinal series with Syracuse, and trail the Crunch 2-1 with Game 4 tonight in Wilkes-Barre. . . . Pouliot  had 45 points in 44 regular-season games, missing a good chunk of time with a high ankle sprain. He added 20 points in 21 playoff games.

4. The Montreal Canadiens have signed F Tim Bozon of the Kamloops Blazers to a three-year, entry-level NHL contract. Bozon was a third-round selection, taken 64th overall, in the NHL’s 2012 draft. This season, his second in the WHL, he had 91 points, including 36 goals, in 69 regular-season games. Bozon finished up his season by playing for France at the IIHF world championship in Helsinki and Stockholm.

5. The Buffalo Sabres have signed F Colin Jacobs, a fourth-round pick in the 2011 NHL draft, to an entry-level deal. Jacobs had 53 points, including 25 goals, in 66 games with the Prince George Cougars this season, then moved on to the AHL’s Rochester Americans, where he had a goal and two assists in 11 games.

6. The first time I heard that Hockey Canada and the CHL were discussing the state of goaltending was during the Memorial Cup when CHL commissioner David Branch mentioned it on one of 92.9 The Bull’s pregame shows late in the week. . . . It seems that Hockey Canada isn’t at all enthralled with the state of goaltending and is at least thinking about asking for a ban on imports. . . . Hockey Canada already got rid of its head scout and its goaltending coach. Hey, let’s ban import goaltenders, too. . . . I have long felt that major junior hockey is in the entertainment business and the onus is on the owners to put the best possible product on the ice. If that means a few teams have import goaltenders, so be it. . . . Anyway, Chris Peters, over at The United States of Hockey, takes a look at the situation right here, including a count of just how many import goaltenders got major playing time this season. . . . Brock Otten of OHL Prospects has his take on this issue right here.

7. Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel has an interesting piece right here that explains how Tim Duncan, a free agent during the summer of 2000, almost ended up with the Orlando Magic rather than re-signing with the San Antonio Spurs. Did Duncan's soon-to-be ex-wife figure in his decision?

8. So, I wonder how George Brett is enjoying his new gig as the Kansas City Royals’ batting coach? He joined the Royals in St. Louis on Thursday. . . . His first game, in St. Louis, began with a one-hour rain delay. . . . Later, the Cardinals took a 2-1 lead into the ninth. The Royals scored three runs to take a 4-2 lead and had the bases loaded when the the rains came. . . . I am listening to the guys on the Cardinals radio network. Kevin Wheeler and Mike Claiborne are starting to get giddy. Mike Shannon and John Rooney, the play-by-play team, are sitting out until the game resumes. . . . It’s interesting that the umpires doing this game will make the 300-mile drive to Chicago in a limo once it ends. They’ve got to work a day game at Wrigley Field between the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Cubs. First pitch in that one is scheduled for 1:20 p.m. . . . Portland freelancer Scott Sepich is watching on TV and reports that the San Francisco Giants have checked into their St. Louis hotel and are in the rooms the Royals had occupied. . . . The Royals open a series in Texas later today with a night game. . . . Before the rains came, the big story involved St. Louis right-hander Michael Wacha, 21, who made his MLB debut by retiring the first 13 hitters he faced. He threw seven innings, giving up two hits and a run. He struck out six and didn’t issue a walk. Oh, and he singled in his first at-bat. . . . Yes, just what the Cardinals need — more pitching! . . . Shannon and Rooney are back. It’s 3:04 a.m. in St. Loo. Shannon sounds as though it’s past his bed time. . . . Joe Kelly is on the mound for the Cards. . . . It’s a rain delay of four hours 32 minutes. . . . Miguel Tejada hits into a 6-2-3 double play on Kelly’s first pitch. . . . An intentional walk and a flyball and the half inning is over. . . . Attendance earlier was 43,916. Sepich figures there are about 40 Cardinals fans behind their dugout and maybe 15 Royals fans behind their dugout. . . . The Cardinals go 1-2-3 and just like that it’s all over. . . . It’s 3:15 a.m. in St. Louis. It took about 10 minutes to finish once they resumed play. . . . The Royals are happy because they snapped an eight-game losing streak. . . . The time of the game is 2:27; the rain delays lasted 5:32. . . . You have to love baseball because there’s no clock.
———
THE COACHING GAME:
Jacques Beaulieu was fired as general manager and head coach of the OHL’s Sarnia Sting on Thursday. . . . Co-owner Rob Ciccarelli said in a statement that : "The reasons for his dismissal are not related to the on ice performance of our hockey club. As per the advice of our lawyers we cannot comment any further at this time.” . . . Ciccarelli later told Paul Owen of the Sarnia Observer: “The only comment I'm going to make is that I'm extremely angry, and I'm not going to make any further comment.” . . . Beaulieu and his son, Nathan, a Montreal Canadiens prospect, are facing assault charges from an incident in a home in April. However, Ciccarelli told Owen that the firing didn’t have anything to do with that incident. . . . Owen’s story is right here.

Matt Shaw, who spent this season as an assistant coach with the NHL’s New Jersey Devils, will be introduced today as the general manager and head coach of the USHL’s Dubuque Fighting Saints. . . . Shaw, 47, is a veteran coach, having worked with the San Jose Sharks and Minnesota Wild in the NHL and Houston Aeros in the AHL. . . . He replaces Jim Montgomery, who left to become the head coach at the U of Denver.

Peter Ruicci of the Sault Star reported Thursday evening that the OHL’s Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds will pick up a one-year option on head coach Sheldon Keefe that will take him through 2014-15. . . . According to Ruicci, an announcement is expected sometime today. . . . At the same time, the club is negotiating an extension with general manager Kyle Dubas, who has one year left on his deal. . . . The Greyhounds went 23-12-4 after Keefe replaced Mike Stapleton on Dec. 3. . . . Ruicci’s story is right here.


The OHL’s Barrie Colts have signed general manager/head coach Dale Hawerchuk to a three-year contract extension. The Colts took the London Knights to Game 7 of the championship final this season.



Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post reported late Wednesday night that Regina Pats head coach Malcolm Cameron has declined the opportunity to serve as head coach of Team West at the U-17 World Hockey Challenge in Cape Breton, N.S. . . . Cameron was named Team West’s head coach just before he was named the Pats’ head coach. . . . Regina assistant coach Josh Dixon will keep his post as a Team West assistant. . . . Harder’s complete story is right here.
———


From Tyler King (@tyler_king), the radio voice of the AJHL’s Fort McMurray Oil Barons, who encountered some problems trying to confirm a transactions last night: “Who would've thought it'd be just as difficult to confirm junior A trades as it is to confirm whether Toronto's mayor smoked crack?”

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Blazers continue hunt for assistant coach

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
Having established themselves as a playoff contender each of the last two WHL seasons, the Kamloops Blazers find themselves with no shortage of possibilities for the vacant position on their coaching staff.
Two weeks after being named the WHL team’s head coach, Dave Hunchak said Wednesday that his search for a lead assistant is continuing.
Hunchak spent 10 days in Saskatoon at the Memorial Cup that concluded on Sunday. While there, he touched base with a number of candidates.
He also admitted that he has spoken with Curtis Hunt, who has WHL head-coaching experience with the Moose Jaw Warriors (2002-04) and Regina Pats (2004-08, 2009-11).
“We had a discussion,” Hunchak said, “but I don’t think it’s going to work out. It’s no secret that we’re pretty good friends. I believe he’s a very good coach.
“But at this point of the game, I’m not sure if it’s going to work or not with him, or with a lot of other guys.”
Hunchak said Hunt is one name “on a long list of people.”
Hunt, 46, who now is working with Investors Group Financial Services in Regina, was dropped by the Pats on June 16, 2011, and hasn’t coached in the WHL since then. This season, he helped out as an assistant coach with the Canadian men’s sledge hockey team and was part of a world championship in Goyang, South Korea, last month. That victory qualified Canada for the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia.
Hunt couldn’t be reached for comment last night.
Hunchak also said he really isn’t in a hurry to fill the spot.
“We’ll let the process play itself out,” he said, “and, hopefully, at the end of the day we pick the right guy . . . when it happens, it happens.”
He added there isn’t a shortage of candidates.
“That’s what’s exciting,” he said. “Now that we’ve got everything back on solid footing again, everybody’s interested in coming to Kamloops.”

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THE MacBETH REPORT:


 F Greg Scott (Seattle, 2005-09) signed a one-year contract with Brynäs Gävle (Sweden, Elitserien). He had 13 goals and 19 assists in 69 games with the Toronto Marlies (AHL) this season. . . .



F Martin Tomasek (Red Deer, 1996-97) signed a one-year contract with Karvina (Czech Republic, 2. Liga). Tomasek started this season by spending one week with Karvina, getting two goals and seven assists in three games, before signing with Neuilly-sur-Marne (France, Division 1), where he had 19 goals and 26 assists in 22 games. Karvina’s press release states that the contract has an escape clause should Tomasek sign with another European club, something the club expects will happen.
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1. Kevin Constantine back with the Everett Silvertips? It could happen, according to a source who told me Wednesday night that “I've heard that this may be a done deal already.” . . . Constantine was fired by the Swiss club HC Ambri-Piotta 14 games into the 2011-12 season. He signed there in October 2010 and is under contract through 2013-14. . . . But word in hockey circles is that he has been trying to get back to this side of the pond and that he also has applied for the opening at the U of Alaska-Anchorage. . . . Constantine was the Silvertips' first head coach and was there from 2003-07.

2. The Montreal Impact and host Vancouver Whitecaps played to a 2-2 draw in a soccer game on Wednesday night. Add ’em up. That’s four goals. . . . In the NHL on Tuesday night, the Los Angeles Kings beat the visiting San Jose Sharks 2-1 in Game 7 of one series, while the host Chicago Blackhawks beat the Detroit Red Wings 2-1 in OT in a Wednesday night Game 7. . . . Yes, the NHL has a scoring problem so, please, no more soccer jokes.

3. Glen Sather, the president and general manager of the New York Rangers, fired head coach John Tortorella on Wednesday. Katie Strang of ESPNNewYork.com explains right here what happened to the fiery Tortorella and how it all went downhill.

4. Nicholas J. Cotsonika of Yahoo! Sports weighs in right here on the firing of John Tortorella by the New York Rangers. . . . “He might be a bully, but he will be back as soon as another team decides it needs a bully — a bully with a Stanley Cup ring and a Jack Adams Award as the NHL’s coach of the year,” Cotsonika writes.

5. On Tuesday, Matthew Boudreau, a forward with the Halifax Mooseheads, was getting a tattoo to commemorate his team’s Memorial Cup victory. On Wednesday, he was talking to Willy Palov of the Halifax Chronicle-Herald about having been traded to the Shawinigan Cataractes. Palov’s story is right here.

6. Things are heating up in Anchorage where the U of Alaska-Anchorage athletic director is out and he isn’t leaving quietly, suggesting that the school’s president may be “mentally ill.” And it all started with the firing of the school’s hockey coach. . . . Beth Bragg of the Anchorage Daily News has more right here.

7. Taylor Leier’s Memorial Cup didn’t go quite the way he had hoped it would. The Portland Winterhawks forward missed the last two games with a brain injury. No, he doesn’t remember that hit that hurt him. But he’s back in his hometown of Saskatoon and Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the StarPhoenix has spoken with him. That story is right here.
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THE COACHING GAME:
Chris Lewgood is the new general manager and head coach of the SJHL’s Estevan Bruins. Lewgood, 31, has been t he head coach of the junior B Pilot Butte, Sask., Storm for the last six seasons. . . . With the Bruins, he replaces Keith Cassidy who was dropped after the season. . . . Josh Lewis of the Estevan Mercury has more right here. . . .


Derek Stuart, an assistant coach for three seasons with the AJHL’s Okotoks Oilers, has signed on as general manager and head coach of that league’s Calgary Mustangs. . . . Stuart takes over from Mario Amantea, who spent one season with the Mustangs. . . .

Dale Hladun has signed on as the general manager and head coach of the junior B Fernie Ghostriders of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League. If you’re a regular here, you’ll recall reading that Hladun left the Princeton Posse earlier this month after spending more than eight seasons there. . . . In Fernie, he takes over from Barry Wolff, who now is head coach of the BCHL’s Coquitlam Express. . . . A tip of the cap to George Hurlbut, who blogs right here. . . .

The QMJHL’s Rouyn-Noranda Huskies are looking for help after general manager and head coach Andre Tourigny accepted an offer to be an assistant coach with the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche. Of course, the Avalanche signed Patrick Roy as head coach earlier in the week. . . . Tourigny has been the Huskies’ head coach since 2003-04, missing the playoffs just once in 10 seasons.

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THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Derek Ryan (Spokane, 2003-07) signed a two-year contract extension with Villach (Austria, Erste Bank Liga). He finished second in league scoring with 27 goals and 39 assists in 54 games with Villach this season. . . .
D David Turon (Portland, 2002-03) signed a one-year contract with Meran/Merano (Italy, Serie A2). He had 11 goals and 12 assists in 44 games with Fassa (Italy, Serie A) this season.
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1. The Vancouver Giants announced late Tuesday afternoon that assistant coach Glen Hanlon won’t be returning to work under head coach Don Hay. According to the Giants’ news release, Hanlon left to “pursue a job as a head coach overseas.” . . . Subsequently, there were suggestions that he has agreed to work again as head coach of the Belarussian national team. He previously had worked as the head coach of the KHL’s Dynamo Minsk and with the Slovkian and Belarussian national teams. . . . Hanlon, 56, spent two seasons with the Giants.

2. Grant Sonier was named general manager of the QMJHL’s Charlottetown Islanders on Tuesday. Sonier, who is from Summerside, P.E.I., takes over the franchise that was sold earlier this month and renamed on Monday. It had been the P.E.I. Rocket. A veteran scout, Sonier also did a stint as the Florida Panthers’ assistant GM.

3. In case you missed it, Tuesday was a bizarre night. For the first time in his illustrious career, Mariano Rivera was tagged with a loss without getting even one out. Oh, and LeBron fouled out!

4. If you haven’t been following the goings-on involving the athletic department at Rutgers University, you should be. Bizarre doesn’t begin to describe it. Michael Rosenberg of si.com has a good piece right here.

5. Dale Unruh, who is CEO, president and chairman of the Quality Group of Companies in Fort McMurray, Alta., has bought a piece of the BCHL’s Salmon Arm SilverBacks. Trevor Howlett of Fort McMurray Today has more right here.

6. If you are a baseball fan, you are familiar with the name Dr. Lewis Yocum. If not, well, Dr. Yocum was and is responsible for keeping a lot of players on the field of play. He died on the weekend at the age of 65. There’s more right here.

7. While Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs is awaiting the start of the NBA final, he also is in the middle of what seems to be a nasty divorce. Check out this right here from Deadspin.

8. The Los Angeles Clippers went 56-26 during the NBA regular season. So why did head coach Vinny Del Negro lose his job? Bill Dwyre of the Los Angeles Times tells us right here.
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From Damien Cox (@DamoSpin) of the Toronto Star/Sportsnet: “Kings survive. More exciting hockey to come. Think I'll just watch the east. Or baseball. Quicker pace.”
———
From TSN analyst Darren R. Pang (@Panger40): “That would be best for everyone on twitter. Only you can suck the life out of a GM 7. @DamoSpin"
 ———
From Cox: “@Panger40 Your pay cheque is showing. Again.”
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From Pang: “That has to do with a pay check? That is a bad analysis. Par for course with you. @DamoSpin”

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1. One day after the Memorial Cup tournament ended, the Saskatoon Blades began pruning the tree of 20-year-olds by dealing D Dalton Thrower to the Vancouver Giants for a conditional second-round selection in the 2014 bantam draft. The pick is conditional on Thrower, who is from Squamish, playing in the WHL next season. He doesn’t turn 20 until Dec. 20 but, under hockey’s system, 2013-14 will be his 20-year-old season. . . . Thrower was a second-round selection by the Montreal Canadiens in the NHL’s 2012 draft, but he has yet to sign with the Habs. . . . Thrower found out that he had been traded while doing his exit interview on Friday. . . . The Blades now have 13 potential 20-year-olds on their roster. . . . Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix has more right here.

2. Alan Caldwell over at Small Thoughts At Large has some closing thoughts on the Memorial Cup and the immediate future of the Saskatoon Blades. Check it out right here.

3. It got lost a bit in the Memorial Cup hoopla, but Hockey Canada dumped its head scout, Kevin Prendergast, and its goaltender coach, Ron Tugnutt, on the weekend. . . . Isn’t it interesting how the coaches and the head scout get shown the door but upper management stays the same?

4. The Montreal Canadiens have hired Shane Churla (Medicine Hat, 1983-85) and named him their chief amateur scout. Churla, 47, had been a scout with the Dallas Stars. After being a sixth-round pick of the Hartford Whalers in the NHL’s 1985 draft, Churla played 11 seasons in the NHL, splitting his career between the Whalers, Calgary Flames, Minnesota North Stars/Dallas, Los Angeles Kings and New York Rangers. In 488 games, he had 71 points and 2,301 penalty minutes.

5. Meanwhile, Stéphane Leroux of RDS has reported that Ryan Jankowski, an amateur scout with the Canadiens since the summer of 2010, has interviewed with Hockey Canada for the position of head scout. Jankowski is a former assistant GM and director of amateur scouting with the New York Islanders. He moved to the Habs after being dropped by the Islanders.

6. Paul Buker of The Oregonian visited with the Portland Winterhawks after they arrived back home on Monday. He’s got plenty of insight right here on the players’ mindset after losing the Memorial Cup final, along with some thoughts from GM/head coach Mike Johnston on the future of Travis Green, who has been acting GM and head coach since Nov. 28.


7. Earlier Monday, Buker tweeted this quote from Johnston: “We feel quite comfortable that we're going to be a contender for next couple years for sure.”

8. The Memorial Cup grist mill spit out some rumours, as it always seems to do. . . . Among the speculation: (a) Former Regina Pats head coach Pat Conacher may end up as the head coach of the Lethbridge Hurricanes; (b) Brian Pellerin is the name most-often mentioned in terms of the opening with the Prince Albert Raiders; (c) the Everett Silvertips want to chat with Travis Green, now that the Memorial Cup is over; (d) the job as lead assistant coach with the Kamloops Blazers if Curtis Hunt’s if he wants it.

 9. The KHL held its 2013 junior draft on Monday, with teams selecting only players born in 1996. Two WHLers were selected, with Calgary Hitmen F Jake Virtanen going to Medvescak with the last pick of the second round and Moose Jaw Warriors F Brayden Point being taken by Traktor Chelyabinsk late in the fifth and final round. . . . The complete draft list is right here.
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From former WHL D Brandon Underwood (@BUND3RWOOD): “If ABC wants real entertainment they should try The Bachelorette with 25 junior hockey players competing for one girl #woof”

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On Aug. 16, it will be 15 years since the passing of Jim Murray. Please considering joining Mario Andretti, Dan Gurney, All American Racers, Inc., Steve Earwood, president of Rockingham Dragway, and Dan Luginbuhl, retired Penske Corp VP of Communication, in an effort to establish the JMMF/Auto Racing Scholarship. Donations to the JMMF/Auto-Racing Scholarship will provide one $5,000 journalism scholarship to be awarded to one of our essay competition winners in August. The above have started the wheels rolling with $500 each. We are at the halfway point in funding the JMMF/Auto-Racing Scholarship. No matter how small, every dollar counts.
Donations may be made via cheque mailed to Jim Murray Memorial Foundation, PO Box 60753, Pasadena, CA 91116 or via PayPal to murrayscholars@aol.com. All donations are tax deductible. Thank you for your support.
Now please enjoy one of Jim Murray’s columns on one of his favourite subjects, the Indy 500.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 23, 1973, SPORTS
Copyright 1973/THE TIMES MIRROR COMPANY

JIM MURRAY

Round Trip to Nowhere

    INDIANAPOLIS — I'd appreciate it if this could be kept from the prying eyes and ears of the National Safety Council, Motor Vehicle Bureau, the Indiana State Police, Ralph Nader and the Auto Club, but 33 holiday motorists here are conspiring to break the law on Memorial Day.
    They plan to break the speed limit by as much as 130 m.p.h. in cars that don't have lights, direction signals, reverse gears, windshield wipers, horns, defoggers, license plates, registration or roofs. They don't even have axles.
    Talk about lemons! They cost $200,000 apiece. And they don't even have self-starters. They can't run in the rain, turn right or hold passengers. They are built to go only 500 miles but most of them won't even do that. You can't get insurance on them because Lloyd's of London would rather insure the Japanese fleet going into the Battle of Midway.
    Of the 33 that start the Memorial Day rip, maybe five will complete it. The rest will finish on fire, on top of somebody, on a wall or on a tow-truck. They break every anti-noise ordinance ever passed. They've punctured more eardrums than Krupp's cannon.
    The safety factor is about what it would be for a U-boat under the British fleet. They consume more fuel, faster, than the Luftwaffe in the Blitz. You get just under two miles to the gallon. They spill more oil than a grounded tanker.
    You would think they would put a net over a guy who wanted to spend Memorial Day on a 500-mile round trip to nowhere (for some, of course, it may be a one-way trip). The least a guy aught to want to do driving 500 miles is cross a state line or two. These guys not only stay in the same state, they stay in the same maze, a corridor of death not wide enough for three cars abreast if one turns sideways.
    The drivers wear ear-plugs, bandanna scarves, helmets and flame-proof suits. But no one has found a way to flame-proof lungs.
    They like to think of Indianapolis Speedway and the Memorial Day race as an automotive proving ground. But its history is one of resisting change like a medieval landowner. Seat belts came, not out of an Indy cockpit where they should have, but from an Air Force rocket sled. Not even the roll-bar came from Indy's drawing boards, but from sports car rallies.
    All that Indy pioneered in the way of tire wear was that, if you don't mind spending $200 a tire and maintaining a pit crew of seven to change them for you periodically, you can get 500 miles per new set of rubber.
    They went lumbering about here in clumsy old overheating front-engine cars for almost two decades after European race drivers proved rear engines were more efficient. They changed only when the Europeans came over and beat them at their own game.
    Style-wise, Indy cars are about as aesthetic as a camel. They are 200-m.p.h. billboards with air scoops and tail wings. They look like some amphibious half-tracks put together, in the dark, out of leftover pats in a military junkyard.
    To win this race you first have to survive it. It's a trick 42 guys never got the hang of. And that's only the guys who got killed in cars. One guy got killed (by a wheel) eating a hotdog 1,000 feet from the track.
    All the National Safety Council, state police, FBI, Ralph Nader and Blue Cross can make them do is fence off the customers.
    At least, they don't have to worry about pedestrians. Those kooks in the fireproof suits have their own suicide club going. And so there'll be 33 moving violations (unless one of them won't start as usual) going around Indianapolis this Monday back home in Indiana.
    It's too late to give them a traffic ticket. It might be better to give them a fire extinguisher. Besides, if a motorcycle copy pulled one of these cars over to the side of the road and said, "Where do you think you're going — to a fire?" the answer would probably be, "Probably."

Reprinted with permission by the Los Angeles Times.

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1. There can be no doubting which team was the best one in this Memorial Cup. The Halifax Mooseheads beat the Portland Winterhawks 6-4 in Sunday’s final, the second time in this tournament that the QMJHL champions beat the WHL’s best. . . . The Moosheads completed this season with a 77-8-4 mark (58-64 in the regular season; 16-1 in the playoffs; 3-1 in the Memorial Cup).
2. The referees for the final were Kendrick Nicholson of the OHL and Nathan Wieler of the WHL. The linesmen were WHL officials Bevan Mills and Nathan Van Oosten. . . . Referees Jean-Philippe Sylvain of the QMJHL and Reagan Vetter of the WHL didn’t work again after doing Portland’s 4-2 victory over the Saskatoon Blades on Wednesday. They missed the call when Saskatoon D Dalton Thrower hit Portland F Taylor Leier.
3. The Memorial Cup’s tournament format was first put into play in 1972. Since then, the WHL has won 18 times, but none since 2008), the OHL 14 and the QMJHL 10. . . . The QMJHL has won the past three tournaments, the first time it has had three straight winners.
4. The Mooseheads were a QMJHL expansion franchise for the 1994-95 season. They won the city’s first QMJHL championship this season. Yes, this was the franchise’s first Memorial Cup title.
5. The Mooseheads led the final 5-2 at 11:11 of the third period. At that point, Halifax players had picked up 15 points. Those 15 points, however, were split among just four players — F Jonathan Drouin, who finished the game with five assists, F Nathan MacKinnon, who ended up with three goals and two assists, F Martin Frk and D Konrad Abeltshauser, who enjoyed his second two-goal game of this season.
6. Drouin’s five assists tied a Memorial Cup single-game record that had been held by F Dan Hodgson of the Prince Albert Raiders. He drew five assists in an 8-6 round-robin victory over the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds on May 14, 1985. The Raiders went on to beat the host Shawinigan Cataractes 6-1 in that event’s final game.
7. Attendance at Sunday’s final was announced at 11,488, leaving the tournament total at 85,503, the fourth-highest in the event’s history.
8. A tweet from Vancouver-based journalist Bob Mackin (@bobmackin): “Beer-branded Halifax Mooseheads win Memorial Cup. Eight players on major junior champion squad not yet legal drinking age.”
9. Lost in Halifax’s victory was the fact that Portland F Ty Rattie went out with a goal and three assists.
10. Dave Struch, the Saskatoon Blades’ associate coach, wants to be a head coach. He just doesn’t know whether he will get to coach the Blades. . . . Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix has more right here.
11. Thanks to the gang at 92.9 The Bull for providing so much live coverage of the Memorial Cup tournament, from beginning to end. It was listenable and it was entertaining and the listener can't ask for anything more than that.
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When the 2008-09 WHL season began, Rich Kromm was the head coach of the Portland Winterhawks. The sale of the franchise to Bill Gallacher was finalized early in the season and Kromm was relieved of his duties, with Mike Johnston and Co. coming on board. . . . Today, Kromm finds himself out of work again. He was dropped in April as the GM and head coach of the ECHL’s Evansville IceMen after three seasons there. . . . Kromm is eager to stay in the game, and Randy Beard of the Evansville Courier & Press has more right here.
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“Until now,” writes Jack Todd in the Montreal Gazette, “the rules for 99.9 per cent of the kids playing minor hockey have been set for the benefit of the .1 per cent who have a small chance of making it as far as junior A. So the kid who is just out there to have a little fun and is still having trouble skating backwards risks his health for the bruiser who might someday get a cup of coffee at an NHL training camp.”
Todd, of course, is writing about the decision by Hockey Canada to eliminate bodychecking from peewee hockey levels and below. . . . Todd goes one step further and suggest there isn’t any reason to have bodychecking in bantam hockey.
Todd’s column is right here.
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The Saskatchewan Hockey Association was the only one that voted against Hockey Canada’s decision to ban bodychecking. Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post has spoken with SHA general manager Kelly McClintock and has that story right here.
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F Joey Anderson of Roseville, Minn., has made an oral commitment to attend the U of Minnesota-Duluth and play hockey for the Bulldogs. . . . “I am excited to announce I have committed to play my college hockey for the University of Minnesota Duluth #Bulldogs #dream school,” Anderson (@JTA_8) tweeted. . . . Why is that interesting? Well, for starters, Anderson won’t turn 15 until June 19. Secondly, he will be a high school freshman in the fall, meaning that the earliest he would likely play NCAA Division 1 hockey would be the fall of 2017. Thirdly, the Brandon Wheat Kings selected him in the ninth round of the WHL’s 2013 bantam draft earlier this month.
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Emanuel Viveiros, a former WHL player, and Rob Daum, a former WHL coach, will be at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia. They will be there as head coach and assistant coach, respectively, of the Austrian national men’s hockey team. . . . Dave Leaderhouse of the Prince Albert Daily Herald has more right here.
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From The Globe and Mail’s Roy MacGregor (@RoyMacG): “Nathan MacKinnon completely unnoticeable at WJC in Ufa. Fourth-line grinder? HCanada needs to re-think int'l game strategy.”
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From Mitch Wahl (@mitch_wahl): “Watching the #MemorialCup final in Seal Beach, CA with @chrisbruton1987. The last #WHL captain to hoist the cup. #CHL @chiefshockey”
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From Michael Scissons (@mrscizz): “First fight of the #MCMemorialCup and I'm involved. Green guys got game misconducts, all I got was an ovation. #hometowncrowd”
Scissons if the director of sales with the Saskatoon Blades.

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1. The QMJHL has never won three straight Memorial Cup championships. The Halifax Mooseheads will try to complete the trifecta today against the Portland Winterhawks in the championship final in Saskatoon. . . . The Saint John Sea Dogs won it two years ago and the host Shawinigan Cataractes won it last year. . . . The WHL hasn’t won the Memorial Cup since 2008 when the Spokane Chiefs did it. . . . The last time one league won three in a row was 1987-89 when the WHL’s Medicine Hat Tigers won it twice and the Swift Current Broncos won it in 1989, right in Saskatoon.
2. The Winterhawks first won the Memorial Cup in 1983. They won it again in 1998. This is 2013. If you do the math, those are 15-year increments. Omen? Coincidence?
3. The Mooseheads beat the Winterhawks 7-4 on the second game of this tournament. You may recall that Halifax F Nathan MacKinnon scored three goals in that one as Portland G Mac Carruth had a less than average night. . . . Carruth has gotten a whole lot better since that game. The Mooseheads haven’t played since beating the London Knights 9-2 on Tuesday. Yes, that’s a lot of time off.
4. A ticket price-related note from a Winterhawks fan: “I took an informal survey on the ’Hawks fan forum . . . and every respondent (including myself) wrote back and said that if they turned the $32 club level seat (WHL playoffs) into a $100-plus Memorial Cup ticket that we would all bypass the event and just watch it on TV.”
5. Assuming that both goaltenders, Carruth and Zach Fucale of Halifax, play well, I would suggest that the outcome of this game will rest with Portland’s big four on defence. Seth Jones, Derrick Pouliot, Troy Rutkowski and Tyler Wotherspoon are capable, as a group, of controlling a game. If that happens in this one, Portland wins. But if Halifax forwards Jonathan Drouin, Nathan MacKinnon and Martin Frk get time with the puck in the offensive zone, the Mooseheads will win.
6. Some observers may look at this game as MacKinnon versus Jones. If you absolutely have to go in that direction, rather than Mooseheads versus Winterhawks, I’d suggest it’s more MacKinnon versus Ty Rattie. . . . MacKinnon is cooler than a Saskatchewan winter when the puck is on his stick; Rattie wants it on his stick when the temperature is the hottest.
7. The Mooseheads and Winterhawks have been the two top-ranked teams in the CHL throughout the season, so it’s only fitting that they meet today with all the marbles on the table. . . . And, if you were wondering, the Mooseheads will be the home team, so get the benefit of last change.
8. F Ben Fanelli of the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers was honoured Saturday as the CHL’s humanitarian of the year. Fanelli‘s hockey career almost ended after he suffered a serious head injury that cost him most of the 2009-10 season. If you aren’t aware of his story, it’s worth at trip to Google. . . . Fanelli, 20, played out his eligibility this season and is working towards a psychology degree at Wilfrid Laurier University.
9. Considering what the Winterhawks have gone through this season, wouldn’t you like to know just how many WHL front-office types are pulling for them to win today? I’m thinking the over-under might be about two.
10. Memorial Cup attendance . . . it’s the story that just won’t go away. Kevin Mitchell, the sports editor of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix, has been tackling the issue all week and his latest missive is right here. It includes some rather pointed comments from former Blades D Rhett Warrener. . . . Oh, and ticket prices in the upper deck apparently have slid to $27 for the final.
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The Reading Royals won the ECHL title on Saturday night, beating the host Stockton Thunder, 6-0, and winning the series, 4-1. . . . This is Reading’s first championship; the Royals completed their 12th ECHL season. . . . Reading D Patrick Wellar (Portland, Calgary, 2000-04) became the second player in ECHL history to win the Kelly Cup three times. The other is F Scott Burt (Seattle, Swift Current, Edmonton, Red Deer, 1994-98).
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If you missed it, Hockey Canada, which is holding its annual general meeting in Charlottetown, P.E.I., voted Saturday to dump body checking from peewee hockey and below.
The reaction, at least on Twitter, was to be expected, perhaps best summed up by this from Harrison Mooney (@HarrisonMooney): “I've never been more upset that my son won't be constantly hit in the head than I am right now. #BringBackBodychecking”
I would like to thank TSN’s Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) and Willy Palov (@CH_WillyPalov) of the Halifax Chronicle-Herald for providing me with so much Saturday morning entertainment. Your tweets and retweets were things of beauty.
A sample . . .
McKenzie: “I laugh at meatheads who say, If kids don't like hitting, play another sport. That's the point: they and their parents are goin to do that.”
Palov: “Concussions and hockey politics/toxic adults are why my kids play basketball.”
Palov again, this time in response to a tweet sent his way: “Because that's what matters? @AdamMX182: your kids will probably go nowhere sports career wise playing basketball in Canada”
And one more from Palov, in response to the intelligentsia: “I think it makes perfect sense." @MC_MooseCountry: “so your kids play basketball but you're a hockey reporter?? doesn't make sense”
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From Steve Webb (@SteveWebb20): “@HockeyCanada now that the game will be safer for kids on the ice.Can something be done about the crazy parents #unrealistic expectations”


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