“According to the statement of claim Eric Lindros has filed in his defamation suit against former referee Paul Stewart,” writes Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun, “Lindros was made out to be ‘unfriendly, hostile, rude, insulting, vindictive, cruel, uncharitable and generally a despicable person.’ Which I’m figuring is about five for eight.” . . . “By the way,” Simmons adds, “hands up all of you who haven’t been sued or threatened to be sued by Lindros or his family.” . . . The NHL’s Arizona Coyotes held a Rider Pride promotion on Tuesday night as they played host to the Anaheim Ducks. Attendance was announced at 11,387. Wonder if they had Pilsner available? . . . The Saskatchewan Roughriders have yet to reveal which of their 2015 home games will be designated as Coyote Pride night. . . .
“Facebook and LinkedIn are teaming up,” notes Brad Dickson of the Omaha World-Herald. “The obvious goal is to create the most annoying update known to man.” . . . Dickson also reports: “In Klamath Falls, Oregon, a house was stolen right off its foundation. This sounds like the worst neighborhood watch program ever.” . . . Headline at SportsPickle.com: Red-hot Cavs gaining confidence in that guy who thinks he’s their coach. . . .
Former Cleveland Indians manager Mike Hargrove, in conversation with the Cleveland Plain Dealer, remembers one ejection: “I threw bats and stuff out on the field. I started up the tunnel and saw a bucket that I figured had some sunflower seeds in it. I kicked it as hard as I could. Turns out it was full of water. Try kicking a five-gallon bucket of water sometime. I looked around to see if anybody saw me and just limped to my office.” . . . Whenever I watch The Dark Knight, I am always amazed by the performance turned in by the late Heath Ledger as The Joker. Is he not the baddest bad guy ever, the meanest mean guy of all-time? . . .
For what it’s worth, I agree with Vancouver Canucks general manager Jim Benning, who feels that forward Sven Baertschi was the best junior player in North America in his second season with the Portland Winterhawks. So giving up a second-round draft pick to add Baertschi is an asset well spent. I would expect Baertschi to flourish in the Canucks’ system, which is more about flow and less about the banging that the Calgary Flames do. . . . ICYMI, Keith Olbermann of ESPN served a brief suspension after getting into a Twitter dustup with some Penn State folks. As comedian Argus Hamilton put it: “Olbermann’s been fired more times than a Civil War cannon.” . . .
“Marshawn Lynch gave an interview to Turkish TV and said he expected the ball on the last Super Bowl play,” writes contributor Bill Littlejohn. “He also said, ‘I'm just here so I won't have to take the Midnight Express.’ ” . . . As Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times noted: “So, Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch won’t speak to U.S. media, but he’ll talk Turkey?” . . . “The Volo Auto Museum outside of Chicago will give away a DeLorean, just like the one used by Marty McFly in Back to the Future,” reports Littlejohn, “if the Cubs win the World Series. The bad news — someone will be sent back to 1955 in that DeLorean before the Cubs win a World Series.” . . .
“Police in Georgia recovered Travis Kvapil’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race car that had been stolen from a hotel parking lot,” Perry reports. “But, no, it wasn’t found in Hazzard County.” . . . “Brazilian soccer club Rio Claro has taken uniform monetization to the next logical step – creative butt marketing,” writes Ray Ratto of CSNbayarea.com. “Rio Claro signed an endorsement deal with the Brazilian satirical comedy YouTube channel Porta dos Fundos, and the place where the endorsement rests is across the back of the players’ shorts. And, in case you skipped Portuguese class that day, ‘Porta dos Fundos’ translates as ‘back door’. Of course it does.”
Janice Hough, aka The Left Coast Sports Babe, reports: “To eliminate some of the back-to-back games and insane road trips, the NBA is thinking of lengthening the season into July. Great, so this means the playoffs would finish the week before the start of pre-season?” . . . A note from Vancouver comic Torben Rolfsen: “After giving up three goals on four shots at home against the San Jose Sharks in his season debut, Vancouver Canucks goalie Jacob Markstrom was presented with a game puck. It was inscribed with ‘this is the one that didn't get by you.’ ” . . .
“What would you get if Kim, Khloe and Kourtney took up curling?” asks RJ Currie of SportsDeke.com. “Sweeping up with the Kardashians.” . . . According to Ian Hamilton of the Regina Leader-Post: “It has been revealed in Spain that Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo sends his hairstylist to a local wax museum once a month — to brush the hair on Ronaldo’s wax likeness.” Adds Hamilton: “When it comes to Ronaldo, the rain in Spain falls mainly on the vain.”
(Gregg Drinnan is a former sports editor of the Regina Leader-Post and the late Kamloops Daily News. He is at gdrinnan.blogspot.ca and twitter.com/gdrinnan. Keeping Score appears here on weekends, except when it doesn’t.)
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