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Now that there is life on the NHL front in Seattle, how long until the Calgary Flames start using that for leverage as they attempt to get taxpayers to cough up cash for a new home? Oh wait, they’re already threatening to move to Quebec City. Here we go . . .
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"If you don't want to get a concussion, be a swimmer" - Brian Burke— CTV - Chris Epp (@CTVchrisepp) June 7, 2017
Brian Burke, the Calgary Flames’ president of hockey operations, spoke to the Canadian Club of Calgary on Wednesday. CTV’s Chris Epp was there and tweeted the above, which should go over well with the many former NHL players who are suing the league in a concussion-related lawsuit.
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Yes, it was Brian Burke who mentioned a new arena in Calgary and Quebec City on Wednesday. The day wasn’t done when Ken King, the president and CEO of the Flames’ ownership, issued a statement pointing out that Burke “is not our spokesperson regarding a new events centre for our city.” . . . Calgary may not be getting a new arena any time soon, but it now has a circus on its hands.
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I’m sorry but there is nothing on TV these days that is as laughable as Buck Martinez pleading for baseballs to leave the park during Toronto Blue Jays’ telecasts. Of course, he practically whispers when the opposition lucks into a long ball.
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The Cincinnati Reds had utilityman Scooter Gennett in left field on Tuesday night. He had never hit four home runs in a month before he hit four in that game, becoming the 17th player in MLB history to perform that feat. . . . At that point, the San Francisco Giants’ left fielders had totalled three home runs this season. . . . One night later, Gennett hit into two double plays for the first time in his career.
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Randy Edsall was the highest-paid state employee in Maryland in 2016, pulling down US$2.673 million. As Eric Kolenich of the Richmond, Va., Times-Dispatch pointed out: “Just one odd thing about this . . . he was fired in 2015.” . . . Edsall was fired as the U of Maryland’s football coach six games into the 2015 season.
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A note from Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times: ““A high-school cheerleader in El Paso was arrested on suspicion of submitting a false police report after she confessed she made up a story that her home had been burglarized so she could keep her uniform instead of having to turn it in. She was released from jail after posting bond of two bits, four bits, six bits, $5,000.”
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Verdun Hayes recently made history at the age of 101 when, as comedian Argus Hamilton reported, he became “the oldest man ever to voluntarily jump out of an airplane. That was United Airlines’ story, and they’re sticking to it.”
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Headline at SportsPickle.com: CBS dumps Tony Romo after Dak Prescott expresses interesting in broadcasting career.
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D Jace Coyle (Spokane, Medicine Hat, 2007-11) has signed a one-year contract with SønderjyskE Vojens (Denmark, Metal Ligaen). This season, he had two goals and two assists in 14 games with the with Quad City Mallards (ECHL). He signed with the Sheffield Steelers (England, UK Elite) on Nov. 28 and had four goals and seven assists in 33 games with them. . . .
D Alex Roach (Calgary, 2010-14) has signed a one-year contract with Grizzlys Wolfsburg (Germany, DEL). He is a dual German-Canadian citizenship. This season, with the Atlanta Gladiators (ECHL), he had two assists in 12 games. He signed with Eisbären Berlin (Germany, DEL) on Dec. 21 and had two assists in 21 games there. . . .
F Ben Walker (Victoria, 2011-14) has signed a one-year contract with Freiburg (Germany, DEL2). This season, in 16 games with České Budějovice (Czech Republic, 1. Liga), he had three goals and 10 assists.
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F Ryan O’Reilly, whose WHL rights belong to the Tri-City Americans, has committed to the U of Denver where he will play for the Pioneers. O’Reilly, 17, is from Southlake, Texas. The Americans selected him in the fifth round of the WHL’s 2015 bantam draft. . . . This season, he had 23 goals and eight assists in 26 games with the U-16 Dallas Stars. . . . In January 2016, O’Reilly had committed to the U of Nebraska-Omaha. . . . He is eligible for the NHL’s 2018 draft.
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Victor Findlay (@Finder_24) tweeted Thursday that Acadia U has commitments from F Rod Southam and D Micheal Zipp. . . . Southam, from Saskatoon, captained the Kelowna Rockets. This season, he had 46 points, 19 of them goals, in 71 games. He began his WHL career with the Tri-City Americans, before being moved to the Rockets early in 2014-15. In 247 regular-season games, he had 101 points, 41 of them goals. . . . Zipp, from Edmonton, was the captain of the Calgary Hitmen this season, during which he had four goals and 22 assists in 71 games. He began with the Everett Silvertips in 2012-13, then was traded to Calgary the next season. In 299 regular-season games, he had 77 points, including 18 goals.
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Daniel Tetrault, a former WHL defenceman, is the new head coach of the ECHL’s Rapid City Rush. Tetrault, 37, spent this season as an assistant coach with the Rush. He also is a former captain of the Rush; that was the fifth team for which he wore the ‘C’. . . . Tetrault played five seasons in the WHL (Brandon, 1995-2000). . . . In Rapid City, he takes over from Mark DeSantis, who was fired in April after a 96-game run (38-47-11) as head coach.
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The NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights have hired Mike Kelly as an assistant coach to work alongside head coach Gerard Gallant. They worked together with the Florida Panthers (2014-17) until both were fired on Nov. 27. . . . Interestingly, Kelly started the 2003-04 season as head coach of the Brandon Wheat Kings, but was fired by owner Kelly McCrimmon on March 1 with a 22-32-12 record. McCrimmon, who still owns the Wheat Kings, is the Golden Knights’ assistant general manager.
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Oh, forgot to mention, here's the new #ICEcountry jerseys! That's ICE co-owner @greg_fettes at our Corporate Kick Off event. pic.twitter.com/sOUYGKyu0D— Kootenay ICE (@WHLKootenayICE) June 9, 2017
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