Should Canadian hockey fans be concerned? . . . Raiders add assistant coach

Nice work Rider Nation. #riderpool pic.twitter.com/YcX2dp7Ct0

— Brad Wall (@PremierBradWall) August 10, 2016

D Jim Vandermeer (Red Deer, 1997-2001) has signed a one-year extension with the Belfast Giants (Northern Ireland, UK Elite). He had two goals and 10 assists in 13 games last season. . . .

D David Němeček (Saskatoon, 2013-14) has signed a tryout contract with Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia, KHL). Last season, with the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders (USHL), he had two goals and seven assists in 60 games.

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Team Canada, you will recall, finished sixth at the 2016 World Junior Championship in Helsinki.

Last week, Canada went 0-3 in a four-country summer tournament in Plymouth, Mich.

On Wednesday, Canada’s eight-year golden run ended at the U-18 Ivan Hlinka Memorial tournament in Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Hey, Canada, what’s wrong?

After the three losses in Plymouth, Team Canada head coach Dominique Ducharme claimed that he isn't worried. “In August?” he said. “Not really. We’re building, putting in the combinations for Christmas.”

However, there are those who get paid to watch these games who feel that Canada should be concerned.

As Bob Duff, who was in Plymouth, wrote in the Windsor Star: “A Hockey Canada veteran, a former Olympian who was among the scores of NHL people here to scout the event, suggested that the Canadians were the victims of over-coaching, that their natural talents were being squeezed out of their game by the obsessive need to play within the system.

“An NHL GM went as far as to suggest that the European teams are better coached in the ways of the game than Canada, and certainly the Swedes and Finns played with much more flow and skill than was exhibited by Canada.

“The Canadians looked rigid, like they were thinking too much instead of reacting to situations. They always appeared to be a step slower than their opponents. Passes went nowhere, or often to the stick on an opponent.”

Duff also had this: “An NHL scout suggested that beyond (Mitch) Marner and Tyson Jost, there might not be another Canadian who thinks the game well, simply because in today’s robotic style of hockey, where blocked shots are a treasured statistic, thinking isn’t in vogue.”

Look, it has become most apparent that Canada’s U-18 and U-20 teams are struggling to stay in the top four of their age groups. In fact, with the Russians and Czechs also in the hunt, you could make a case for their being a top six.

The Canadian way of sticking to a system at all costs and grinding out greasy goals just doesn’t cut it anymore. If you are a regular watcher of major junior games, you know that most teams in your favourite league play those systemic games, too. Cycle. Grind. Crash the net. Cycle. Grind. Crash the net. Gotta get those greasy goals.

The problem, of course, is that there are too many major junior teams for the size of the talent pool. A team without an abundance of skill has a better chance of winning by grinding, blocking shots and limiting the other team’s scoring chances. The stakes are high, too, and jobs are on the line, so better to increase the chances of winning by installing those systems.

However, it is all but impossible for coaches and players to transition from that kind of system to one that allows them to run and gun on offence — all the while showing defensive responsibility — for a month in mid-season. 

Meanwhile, the Swedes, Finns and Americans have chosen to unleash the hounds on offence, something that has put plenty of imagination into that part of their game.

The other day in Plymouth, the Americans dominated the early part of the second period against Canada to the point where at one point they had 16 straight shots on goal.

Still, Ducharme plays the Alfred E. Neuman card — “What, me worry?” — at least on the outside.

Duff’s complete piece is right here.

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The Prince Albert Raiders have added Brandin Cote to their staff as an assistant coach. He fills the spot created when Kelly Guard stepped aside. Cote will work alongside head coach Marc Habscheid and associate coach Dave Manson. Guard remains with the Raiders as their goaltending consultant. . . . Cote, who is from Swift Current, spent the past two seasons as head coach of the midget AAA Red Deer Optimist Chiefs. He spent two seasons (2012-14) coaching the Bentley, Alta., Generals, a senior team that won the 2013 Allan Cup. He also has coached with the Red Deer College Kings and Red Deer College Queens. As a player, he spent 1996-2002 with the Spokane Chiefs, putting up 255 points in 352 regular-season games. . . . There is a complete news release right here.

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Got a tip or some information you feel could be useful to me, feel free to email me at greggdrinnan@gmail.com.

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Jeff Woywitka is the new assistant coach with the AJHL’s Sherwood Park Crusaders. He fills the vacancy created when Shawn Belle left to join the Edmonton-based NAIT Oooks as an assistant coach. . . . Woywitka will work with head coach Adam Manah. . . . Woywitka, 32, is from Vermilion, Alta.. He played four seasons (1999-2003) with the Red Deer Rebels before going to a pro career that included 278 NHL games. He last played in Germany, spending two seasons (2013-15) with the DEL’s Augsburger Panther.

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Trump Tower climber is now climbing on Michael Phelps back. 💀 pic.twitter.com/GrmMv4lNd7

— Dylan (@DylansFreshTake) August 11, 2016

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Report: Red Wings assistant to Winterhawks

After six seasons with the NHL’s Detroit Red Wings, Keith McKittrick has left the coaching staff to join the Portland Winterhawks.
Bob Duff of the Windsor Star reported the move on his blog today.
McKittrick, who is from Boston, was the Red Wings’ video coach for the past two seasons.
Before joining the Red Wings, he spent three seasons as director of hockey operations at Michigan State. Included in his duties was video work, some scouting and handling team travel.
From 2002-05, McKittrick, who has a degree in sports management from the U of Minnesota, was with

McKITTRICK

the NHL’s Minnesota Wild, working as an assistant to the video coach and handling the Wild’s hockey school.
He also has done video work with USA Hockey, including with the national junior team that won bronze at the world championship in Sweden in 2007.
With the Winterhawks, McKittrick will work alongside head coach Jamie Kompon, who was introduced last month, and veteran assistant coach Kyle Gustafson. McKittrick replaces Karl Taylor, now an assistant coach with the AHL’s Texas Stars.
McKittrick is the third Red Wings assistant to leave this summer, following Bill Peters, now the head coach of the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes, and Tom Renney, who now is the No. 1 guy at Hockey Canada.
Duff’s blog entry, which deals with the Red Wings’ coaching staff, is right here.

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The latest poll has closed and the Portland Winterhawks appear to be heavy favourites to finish atop the Western Conference.
Asked “which team will finish atop” the conference, 282 of you took the time to vote. Of that total, 189, or 67 per cent, selected the Winterhawks.
The Kamloops Blazers got 51 votes, or 18 per cent, with the Kelowna Rockets next at 29 votes, or 10 per cent. The Tri-City Americans got eight votes and the Spokane Chiefs got five.
Coming out of the weekend, Kamloops and Portland are tied atop the WHL’s overall standings, but the Winterhawks hold four games in hand.
There is a new poll up already. Feel free to vote.
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Bob Duff of the Windsor Star, who once covered the Saskatoon Blades for the Saskatoon StarPhoenix, offers up some thoughts on the WHL-Portland situation right here.
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Iain MacIntyre of the Vancouver Sun tops a Monday column with a look at the WHL and the Winterhawks right here.
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There was a Dan Russell special in Mississauga, Ont., Sunday as the Steelheads and London Knights went 19 rounds in a shootout before the visitors recorded a 4-3 victory. . . . That was London’s 15th straight victory, a CHL high for this regular season. . . . London's Seth Griffith scored twice in the circus, including the winner.
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SUNDAY’S GAMES:
In Calgary, F Greg Chase had two PP goals as the Hitmen beat the Kootenay Ice, 4-1. . . . Chase broke open a 2-1 game with PP goals at 1:28 and 10:01 of the third period. . . . Calgary F Pavlo Padakin, a freshman from Ukraine, had the Teddy Bear goal. He’s got seven goals this season. . . . The 16,912 fans in attendance threw 21,453 stuffed toys onto the ice surface. . . . "Before the game, all the guys talk about who's going to score the goal," Padakin, 18, told Scott Fisher of the Calgary Sun. "Everybody wants to score this goal. I was thinking ‘Oh yeah, I will score.' But I didn't believe it. They can't believe a Ukrainian guy who plays first year in Dub scored this goal." . . . F Brock Montgomery returned from a five-game absence to score the Ice’s goal. . . . The Ice has lost two straight and five of seven. . . .

In Edmonton, F Curtis Lazar had two goals and an assist to help the Oil Kings to a 4-3 victory over the Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . . The Oil Kings led 3-0 in the second period before the visitors came back to tie it. . . . Lazar, who went all of November without scoring, broke the 3-3 tie at 16:26 of the second period. He spent 14 games stuck at eight goals. His slump actually lasted 14 games — the last two of October and 12 in November. Still, he’s got 20 points, including 10 goals, in the first 28 games of his sophomore season. . . . F Jaimen Yakubowski scored twice for the Lethbridge, the second one on a shorthanded penalty shot. . . . The Oil Kings were without D Keegan Lowe (ankle) for a second game. . . . Edmonton F Travis Ewanyk (knee) may play Wednesday. He was injured in the Subway Super Series. . . .

In Regina, D Josh Morrissey scored twice and set up another as the Prince Albert Raiders dropped the short-staffed Pats, 8-2. . . . The victory was the Raiders’ 20th of the season. They won 21 all of last season. . . . The Pats were missing eight regulars due to injuries or illness. . . . Regina F Morgan Klimchuk didn’t get a point, ending his point streak at 11 games. . . . The Raiders had a 54-24 edge in shots. . . . “I’m not surprised by it,” Regina head coach Pat Conacher told Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post. “Let’s face it, the dam was going to burst. You know what? No one feels sorry for you. It was a good lesson for our kids. You can’t ever go ‘woe is me.’ (The Raiders) were pounding us over there and the coach kept throwing out their No. 1 power play against us. Maybe I’m from a different school of thought or maybe a different era but I just said to them, ‘Remember that! Put that in your memory bank for the next time.’ They want to rub your face in it. No one should like it.” . . . The teams next meet Dec. 13 in Regina. . . .

In Medicine Hat, the Tigers got goals in the circus from F Hunter Shinkaruk and F Curtis Valk and beat the Brandon Wheat Kings, 2-1. . . . Medicine Hat G Marek Langhamer stopped 38 shots. He faced three skaters in the shootout and was beaten only by F Alessio Bertaggia. . . . Brandon D Eric Roy forced OT with a goal at 19:08 of  the third period and G Corbin Boes on the bench for the extra attacker. . . . Brandon has lost six in a row and 10 of 11. . . . Brandon F Nick Buonassisi played his 300th regular-season game. The 20-year-old from Coquitlam played the first 211 of those with the Prince George Cougars. He also played 59 games with the Lethbridge Hurricanes, who dealt him to Brandon prior to this season.

In Kent, Wash., F Justin Hickman broke a 1-1 tie at 16:52 of the third period as the Seattle Thunderbirds beat the Kamloops Blazers, 3-1. . . . Kamloops F Joe Kornelsen had tied the score at 13:29 of the third period with his first goal this season. He was scoreless in 18 games when he joined Kamloops from the Calgary Hitmen; this was his seventh game with the Blazers. . . . Latvian F Robert Lipsbergs scored twice for Seattle, the second one into an empty net. He has 25 points, including 13 goals, in 28 games in his freshman season. . . . The Blazers (21-7-3) and Portland Winterhawks (22-4-1) are tied atop the WHL’s overall standings. However, Portland has four games in hand. The Winterhawks are at home to Everett on Tuesday, while the Blazers entertain Swift Current.
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CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
D David Musil, Edmonton

CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT:
D Griffin Reinhart, Edmonton
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From Columbus Blue Jackets F Brandon Dubinsky, who played in the WHL for Portland (@BDubi17): “Sanctions against the Portland Winterhawks are a joke! @thewhl should encourage teams to fly families out for the kids.”
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More from Dubinsky: “Maybe even think about paying the WHL kids more then $200 a month to give up their NCAA eligibility at 15 years old... @thewhl”
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From Edmonton Oil Kings F Henrik Samuelsson (@Hsamuelsson1994): “Saw Santa driving a 1976 ford. Thought he drove a sled #dreamcrushed”
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From Prince Albert G Luke Siemens (@siems31), as the Raiders made their way home from Regina last night: “for the second time tonight and 3rd time in the last two road trips the boys are changing buses due to technical difficulties #woohoo”

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THE MacBETH REPORT:
D Justin Kurtz (Brandon, 1993-97) signed a one-year contract with Dresdner Eislöwen (Germany, 2. Bundesliga) He had six assists in 33 games with the Linz Black Wings (Austria, Erste Bank Liga) last season. Kurtz is scheduled to arrive in Dresden on Thursday.
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Cliff Wright, a former bus driver for the Swift Current Broncos, has been killed in a motorcycle accident near Castlegar, B.C. Wright, 66, was declared dead at a hospital in Nelson. . . . Wright and his wife, Stephanie, owned Sun West Coach in Swift Current. . . . The Nelson Star has more on the accident right here.
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Alan Millar, the general manager of the Moose Jaw Warriors, was a veteran of OHL front offices before coming to the WHL. Right here, he talks with discovermoosejaw.com about the sanctions delivered by OHL commissioner David Branch against the Windsor Spitfires for recruiting irregularities.
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Although the OHL is operating under a cone of silence when it comes to naming names from Spitfiregate, Bob Duff of the Windsor Star has taken a look at some of the players who may have been involved. That piece is right here.
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Here’s Mike Chappell, writing in the Indianapolis Star:
He led the Colts in tackling for seven seasons before retiring in 1998. But now, at age 46, Herrod said he's paying a big price. Migraines and memory loss. Sleep issues and sensitivity to light. Full-body pain. Blink-of-an-eye mood swings.
"I know I'm not going to be any better," said (the player), who made 1,337 tackles for the Colts and played 11 NFL seasons. "It's going to get worse. That's expected."
Chappell’s story is right here.

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THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Andrej Podkonicky (Portland, 1996-98) signed a one-year contract with Zvolen (Slovakia, Extraliga). He had three goals and three assists in 16 games with Kometa Brno (Czech Republic, Extraliga) and six goals and nine assists in 31 games with Mlada Boleslav (Czech Republic, Extraliga) last season. . . .
F Gilbert Brule (Vancouver, 2002-06) signed a one-year contract with ZSC Zurich (Switzerland, NL A). He had eight goals and 10 assists in 27 games with the Oklahoma City Barons (AHL) and five goals and nine assists in 33 games with the Phoenix Coyotes (NHL) last season. . . .
F Tyler Redenbach (Prince George, Swift Current, Lethbridge, 2001-05) signed a one-year contract extension with HIFK Helsinki (Finland, SM-Liiga). He had six goals and 15 assists in 23 games with Olten (Switzerland, NL B) and six goals and 13 assists in 26 games for HIFK after joining the club in January. . . . Redenbach is a former WHL scoring champion, having won the title in 2003-04 when he put up 105 points for the Swift Current Broncos.
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D Zach Habscheid won’t be back with the WHL’s Victoria Royals. Instead, Habscheid, 20, will play for the USHL’s Sioux Falls Stampede. The son of veteran coach Marc Habscheid, Zach played three seasons under his father, two with the Chilliwack Bruins and last season with the Royals. In 139 regular-season games, the 6-foot-4, 205-pound Habscheid had 13 points, two of them goals, and 195 penalty minutes. Injuries, including concussions, limited him to 45 games in 2010-11 and 41 games last season.
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Terry Ruskowski (Swift Current, 1971-74) is the new general manager and head coach of the Central league’s Quad City Mallards. He replaces David Bell, who resigned from both positions after one season with the Mallards. . . . Ruskowski, 57, has been a pro coach for 17 seasons, nine of those in the CHL. He spent eight seasons with the Laredo Bucks and last season with the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees. He also almost two full seasons (1989-91) as head coach of the Saskatoon Blades. He lost his job late in the 1990-91 season with the Blades at 22-30-2. . . . Saskatoon GM Daryl Lubiniecki hired Bob Hoffmeyer to replace Ruskowski. Hoffmeyer finished the season but didn’t return to the Blades, ultimately signing on as head coach of the IHL’s Kalamazoo Wings. . . . Lubiniecki then signed Lorne Molleken as head coach.
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David Branch, the commissioner of the OHL, won’t name names when it comes to the Windsor Spitfires and the recruiting violations that cost them a $400,000 fine and five draft picks. (The Spitfires, it must be noted, are appealing.) . . . “For good or bad,” writes columnist Bob Duff of the Windsor Star, this could prove to be Branch’s defining moment in a long and storied career as the man in charge of the OHL.” . . . Duff also calls for Branch to reveal the names of the players who were involved in this situation. Not doing so, says Duff, tars too many players with the same brush. . . . That piece is right here.
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Bob Duff, the afore-mentioned Windsor Star columnist, has another piece right here that includes reaction on the Spitfires situation from some U.S. hockey people.
Here’s some of what Duff writes, this in reference to a lawsuit that was filed by the OHL's Kitchener Rangers following a story that appeared in the Michigan Daily:
Herschel Fink, the Detroit-based lawyer who represents the paper, has implied that he might put the entire Canadian Hockey League and its recruiting practices on trial, a can of worms that no junior hockey operator wants to see opened.
"Sometimes things come out and there are unintended consequences that you wish you hadn't started," Fink said in an interview with Toronto's Sportsnet 590 The Fan. "I don't know if that's going to be the case here.
"If it did go all the way and if it moved into the U.S. courts . . . there's a potential to dig into this whole question of compensation of players and whether it takes place and how the league deals with this issue."
That's a scary proposition for those in the hockey development business and may very well be why everyone is afraid to cast the first stone against the Spitfires.

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THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Petr Nedved (Seattle, 1989-90) signed a one-year contract extension with Liberec (Czech Republic, Extraliga). He led the Czech Extraliga in scoring and assists with 24 goals and 37 assists in 49 games and was named Extraliga Player of the Year last season. Nedved, who turns 41 in December, has been captain of Liberec the past four seasons and was an alternate captain on the Czech National Team at last year's world championship. He had three goals and two assists in nine games there, helping the Czechs win the bronze medal.
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Bob Duff, a sports columnist with the Windsor Star, weights in right here on the OHL’s decision to whack the Windsor Spitfires for recruiting irregularities. . . . Duff, by the way, knows his way around the CHL. Back in the day, he was at the Saskatoon StarPhoenix and his beat was the Saskatoon Blades.
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Jim Parker of the Windsor Star talks right here with a former OHL general manager about the impact disciplinary action taken by the OHL will have on the Windsor Spitfires.
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As he prepares for life in Antigonish, N.S., F Cole Grbavac, who completed his WHL eligibility with the Medicine Hat Tigers last season, has been named a recipient of a Danny Gallivan Memorial Scholarship. The announcement was made by StFX Athletics. Grbavac is on his way to StFX to study business and play for the X-Men. . . . Gallivan, the legendary voice of the Montreal Canadiens, graduated from StFX in 1942. . . . According to a StFX news release: “The Danny Gallivan Memorial Scholarship is awarded to Canadian male and female varsity athletes who combine qualities of leadership with academic excellence. The award is currently valued up to $5,000 per year and is renewable for up to four years as long as the recipient remains on the academic Dean’s List.” . . . F Brennen Wray, who split five WHL seasons between the Moose Jaw Warriors and Red Deer Rebels, is preparing for his fourth season at StFX and was earlier awarded a Gallivan Scholarship.
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Jimmy Watson of the Shreveport Times has an interesting piece here on the subject of concussions in sports. . . . “While the NFL has borne the brunt of the bad PR, maybe it’s not the exposure (in just that league),” Dr. Julian Bailes, chairman of neurosurgery at the NorthShore University HealthSystem in Chicago, is quoted as saying. “It might be the exposure in adolescence or youth. The brain between 14 and 17 begins to remodel. There is mounting evidence in humans that sub-concussion may be real.” . . . It also is interesting that concussion-related lawsuits have been filed against the NFL and the NCAA, and that there even are litigious examples involving high school sports.

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Dumont going from ice to front office

THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Kris Beech (Calgary, 1996-2001) signed a one-year contract with Lukko Rauma (Finland, SM-Liiga). He had 14 goals and 17 assists in 48 games for HV71 Jönköping (Sweden, Elitserien) this season. Lukko director of player personnel Hannu Vanhatalo: "Beech is a large, strong, and skillful player who plays every night for the team. His strength is his overall game play, but he is also a very good player on the power play with a great shot. Beech is also a very popular guy with his teammates. He has shown himself to be a winner in many different categories and we are very pleased to have this level of player on our team next season."
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Here are the first three paragraphs to Bob Duff’s column in today’s Windsor Star:
In his third National Hockey League game, Windsor’s Barry Potomski, then with the Los Angeles Kings, dropped the gloves and fought with Toronto Maple Leafs forward Ken Baumgartner, who was among the league’s most feared tough guys.
“You have to have one of those in your first five games,” suggested former Detroit Red Wings tough guy Darren McCarty of Leamington at the time. “It’s your initiation to the club.”
The Essex County Enforcers Association.
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Potomski died Tuesday. Duff’s column, in its entirety, is right here.
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Wondering what it’s like when you’re 16 years of age and your hockey season is cut in half by a concussion? John MacNeil of the Brandon Sun has the story of Moose Jaw Warriors F Brayden Cuthbert right here.
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If you want more, or even if you don’t, MacNeil also has a piece on Brandon Wheat Kings G Liam Liston. He took a puck off the mask in practice during the playoffs and didn’t play again. That story is right here.
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LOUIS DUMONT

One of the great careers in modern minor pro hockey history came to an end this week with the retirement of F Louis Dumont of the Central league’s Mississippi RiverKings.
Dumont, 38, has been named general manager of the Southern Professional league’s Louisiana IceGators.
Dumont played the last five seasons of his pro career with the RiverKings, who were based out of Memphis in the first of those seasons. He also played three seasons (1996-99) with the IceGators, who were then in the ECHL.
After playing in the WHL (Regina, Kamloops, 1990-94), hockeydb.com shows that the native of Calgary, went on to play for the Wheeling Thunderbirds (ECHL), Tallahassee Tiger Sharks (ECHL), Syracuse Crunch (AHL), Louisiana IceGators (ECHL), Manitoba Moose (IHL), Ayr Scottish Eagles (BISL), Augusta Lynx (ECHL), Lowell Lock Monsters (AHL), Pensacola Ice Pilots (ECHL), Mississippi Sea Wolves (ECHL), Utah Grizzlies (ECHL) and Mississippi River Kings (Central).
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The tide may come rolling in this morning in Victoria where the WHL’s newest franchise — remember the Chilliwack Bruins? — is expected to reveal its nickname and introduce its general manager and head coach. Hello, there, Marc Habscheid.
Cleve Dheensaw of the Victoria Times Colonist has more right here.
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JUST NOTES: Multiple reports Wednesday night have Don Hay being named today as head coach of Canada’s national junior team. Hay, the head coach of the Vancouver Giants, was Canada’s head coach in 1995 when it won the World Junior Championship in Red Deer. The 2012 tournament is to be played in Calgary and Edmonton. . . . Team Canada will hold its summer camp in Edmonton, Aug. 3-6. . . . As well, reports indicate that Steve Spott, head coach of the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers, is to be named head coach of the Canadian under-18 team that will compete in the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament in Czech Republic and Slovakia in August. . . .
The Edmonton Capitals of baseballs North American league announced Wednesday that all residents of the fire-ravaged community of Slave Lake will be admitted free of charge to any home game in June. According to a press release: “Slave Lake residents who wish to capitalize on this offer can simply show valid identification at the Capitals Ticket Office at TELUS Field and may redeem up to six complimentary tickets for any game in the month of June.” . . . And when the Capitals play their home-opener on Tuesday, F T.J. Foster of the Edmonton Oil Kings, who is from Slave Lake, will throw out the ceremonial first pitch.
Joanne Ireland of the Edmonton Journal has more right here on Foster and what he and his family have been through of late.
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THE COACHING GAME: The Central league’s Tulsa Oilers have signed head coach Bruce Ramsay to a two-year extension through 2012-13. He his heading into his third season with the Oilers.
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The host Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors scored a 3-1 victory over the OHL-champion Owen Sound Attack at the Memorial Cup on Wednesday. That puts the Attack into the third-place tiebreaker against the Kootenay Ice tonight. . . . The winner of that game advances to Friday’s semifinal against Mississauga. . . . The QMJHL-champion Saint John Sea Dogs have clinched a berth in Sunday’s final.
One of the big stories at this Memorial Cup has been the officiating. Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun has more right here.
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Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal has written a good piece about the Morrow men — father Dave and sons Josh and Joe. That piece is right here.
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And now for something completely different . . .
Is America a great country, or what?
If you haven’t already, check out the American Shifter website and take a look at the latest shift knob. It’s called Osama bin Hidin’ Shift Knob, and you can take it all in right here.

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
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