Hitchcock to Edmonton? . . . Wenatchee to BCHL? . . . We Not The North?

With apologies to Blackie Sherrod, we are scattershooting late on a Sunday night:
1. It has been a while since the Kelowna Rockets have faced a challenge. It will be interesting to see how they react now that they’re 1-1 with the Portland Winterhawks and headed to the Rose City for a doubleheader.
2. Perhaps when TSN has six or seven channels, they’ll be able to show all of Sunday Night Baseball, rather than joining it in progress.
3. Whenever I watch G Devan Dubnyk and consider his numbers with the Minnesota Wild, I wonder if goaltending really was an issue with the Edmonton Oilers. Maybe it’s all about defensive structure and commitment.
4. Gawd, I love that Molson commercial that opens with old friend Don Dietrich heading to the hockey game on the glacier. If you haven’t read his book — No Guarantees — give it a go. You won’t be disappointed.
5. The headshot by Calgary Hitmen F Jake Virtanen on F Tanner Kaspick of the Brandon Wheat Kings on Friday is every disciplinarian’s worst nightmare. Virtanen is a star player whose team is down 2-0 in a conference final and that team plays in the city where the WHL office is located. Richard Doerksen, the next move belongs to you.
6. The final buzzer was still echoing Sunday and there was speculation that Ken Hitchcock had coached his last game with the St. Louis Blues. Well, his coaching career began in Edmonton, so why not?
7. Whenever talk to turns to potential homes for WHL franchises, someone invariably mentions Wenatchee, Wash., home of the 4,300-seat Town Toyota Centre. But you can end that talk because it now seems likely that the Wild, which has played in the NAHL, will be in the BCHL for 2015-16.
8. If you’re an NFL fan, you know the draft starts on Thursday. Which means you won’t want to miss Peter King’s Monday Morning Quarterback, which is right here. (Question: If the NFL is moving the draft around — this year's is in Chicago, not New York — so why couldn't the WHL move its bantam draft around?)
9. Why does my TV remote always find the Jason Statham movies?
10. Does what happened to the Toronto Raptors mean We Not The North?
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SUNDAY’S GAMES:

No Games Scheduled.

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A look at the WHL’s 10 winningest head coaches in terms of playoff victories:
Don Hay (Kamloops, Tri-City, Vancouver) 103
Ken Hodge (Edmonton, Portland) 101
Ernie McLean (Estevan, New Westminster) 87
Pat Ginnell (Flin Flon, Victoria, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat) 80
Willie Desjardins (Saskatoon, Medicine Hat) 67
Ken Hitchcock (Kamloops) 66
x-Brent Sutter (Red Deer) 66
x-Don Nachbaur (Seattle, Tri-City, Spokane) 65
x-Kelly McCrimmon (Brandon) 62
Dean Clark (Calgary, Brandon, Kamloops, Prince George) 61
(x — active.)
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The U.S. won the IIHF U-18 men’s world championship, beating Finland 2-1 in OT in Zug, Switzerland, on Sunday. F Colin White score the winner at 12:44 of extra time. . . . G Evan Sarthou of the Tri-City Americans made 19 stops for the victory. . . . It was the sixth time in seven years that the U.S. won the title. . . . Canada won the bronze medal, with a 5-2 victory over Switzerland. F Glenn Gawdin of the Swift Current Broncos scored twice for Canada.
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In the OHL, F Connor McDavid scored two goals as the Erie Otters post a 4-2 victory over the visiting Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds last night. The Otters lead the Western Conference final, 2-1. . . . McDavid has 32 points, 18 of them goals, in 12 playoff games. . . . They’ll play in the Soo again on Tuesday. . . . Also last night, the host Oshawa Generals beat the North Bay Battalion 1-0 in OT. D Dakota Mermis got the winner at 1:00 of the first OT period. . . . That series is 1-1 as it shifts to North Bay for games Tuesday and Wednesday.
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In the QMJHL, the Quebec Remparts have a 2-0 lead over the Moncton Wildcats with Games 3 and 4 scheduled for Quebec City tonight and Tuesday. . . . The Rimouski Oceanic leads the Val-d’Or Foreurs 2-0 in the other semifinal, with the series in Val-d’Or for games on Tuesday and Wednesday.

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From a story by Dan Barry of The New York Times: “Examinations of the brain of Patrick Risha, 32, at the University of Pittsburgh and Boston University revealed chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or C.T.E., the degenerative disease caused by repeated blows to the head that has been found in the brains of dozens of former football players. C.T.E. has been linked to depression, impulsive actions and short-term memory loss, among other symptoms.” . . . You won’t be sorry for giving this right here a read.
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When asked about the officiating tonight, Mavs HC Rick Carlisle put a piece of tape over his mouth. pic.twitter.com/UItDkr3Lmm
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) April 27, 2015

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Wheaties even series . . . Ice get past Hitmen . . . Stadnyk sinks Chiefs

D James Bettauer (Chilliwack, Prince Albert, Medicine Hat, 2008-09, 2010-12) has signed one-year extension with Augsburger Panther (Germany, DEL). This season, with Augsburg, he had nine goals and 17 assists in 50 games. The contract contains a summer opt-out clause should Bettauer sign a North American contract. Bettauer has dual Canadian-German citizenship.
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FRIDAY’S GAMES:

In Brandon, F John Quenneville had a goal and three assists to lead the Wheat Kings to an 8-1 victory over the Edmonton Oil Kings. . . . Edmonton had won the series opener, 4-1, on Thursday night. . . . The next three games will be played in Edmonton, starting on Sunday. Games 4 and 5 are to be televised by Sportsnet. . . . On Friday, Brandon scored the game’s first seven goals. . . . F Tyler Coulter opened the scoring 36 seconds into the first period. One night earlier, Edmonton scored its first goal 11 seconds into the game. . . . F Tim McGauley had two goals and an assist for Brandon, with F Jayce Hawryluk scoring twice. D Ivan Provorov had three assists. . . . Brandon got a goal and an assist from each of D Eric Roy, F Rihards Bukarts and Coulter. . . . Brandon D Colton Waltz had one assist and was plus-4. . . . G Jordan Papirny stopped 33 shots for Brandon. Edmonton starter Tristan Jarry was beaten five times on 29 shots before being relieved by Patrick Dea with 14:08 left in the third. Dea gave up three goals on 12 shots. . . . Dea did turn aside Hawryluk on a penalty shot. . . . Brandon was 3-for-6 on the PP; Edmonton was 0-for-6. . . . Attendance was 4,102, which is 1,016 more than attended the opener.

In Regina, F Pavel Padakin scored two goals to help the Pats to a 4-2 victory over the Swift Current Broncos. . . . Game 2 of the series is scheduled for tonight in Regina. . . . Broncos F Glenn Gawdin got the game’s first goal, at 2:01 of the first period. . . . Regina F Patrick D’Amico tied it at 12:38. . . . Padakin gave the Pats a 3-1 lead with goals 59 seconds part late in the first period. . . . The Broncos got back to within one on F Jay Merkley’s goal at 10:53 of the second. . . . The score stayed at 3-2 until Regina F Braden Christoffer scored an empty-netter at 19:42 of the third. . . . Each team was 0-for-1 on the PP. . . . Regina G Daniel Wapple stopped 35 shots, including 17 of 18 in the first period. . . . Swift Current’s Landon Bow turned aside 28 shots. . . . Attendance was 5,361.

In Calgary, F Jaedon Descheneau’s shorthanded goal stood up as the winner as the Kootenay Ice beat the Calgary Hitmen, 4-3. . . . Game 2 is scheduled for Sunday in Calgary and will be televised by Shaw. . . . Ice F Luke Philp broke a 2-2 tie with his second goal, at 17:17 of the second period. . . . Descheneau scored his shortie at 9:57 of the third. . . . Philp and D Tyler King gave the visitors a 2-0 lead before the first period was 15 minutes old. . . . Calgary D Jake Bean scored a PP goal at 19:44 of the first and F Kenton Helgesen tied it at 4:23 of the second. . . . Calgary F Connor Rankin got his side’s final goal, at 13:07 of the third. . . . Bean was playing his first game since suffering a wrist injury on Feb. 28 in Kelowna. He missed the last nine games of the regular season. . . . Philp also had an assist, and F Austin Vetterl had two of them. . . . D Radel Fazleev had two assists for Calgary. . . . Ice G Wyatt Hoflin turned aside 29 shots, two more than Calgary’s Brendan Burke. . . . The Ice was 1-for-3 on the PP; the Hitmen were 1-for-4. . . . The Hitmen had won their last five games of the regular season, the last two of which were against the Ice. . . . Attendance was 8,256.

In Victoria, F Brandon Magee scored three times in the second period as the Royals got past the Prince George Cougars, 5-3. . . . They’ll play Game 2 in Victoria tonight. . . . The Cougars got first-period PP goals from D Tate Olson and F Chase Witala to take a 2-0 lead. . . . Magee tied it with goals at 4:59 and 5:59 of the second. . . . Victoria F Greg Chase gave his guys their first lead at 12:20 and Magee filled his hat at 18:44. . . . Cougars F Kody McDonald cut the deficit to one with a PP goal at 6:32 of the third. . . . Victoria F Taylor Crunk scored an empty-netter at 19:27. . . . D Joe Hicketts and F Alex Forsberg, who began his career with the Cougars, each had two assists. . . . F Brad Morrison had two assists for Prince George. . . . Victoria G Coleman Vollrath stopped 28 shots, eight more than Prince George’s Ty Edmonds. . . . The Cougars were 3-for-4 on the PP; the Royals were 0-for-3. . . . Attendance was 4,629.

In Kelowna, G Jackson Whistle stopped 18 shots for the first shutout of these playoffs, as the Rockets dumped the Tri-City Americans, 6-0. . . . Game 2 is scheduled for Kelowna tonight. . . . Whistle’s shutout came in his first career playoff start. . . . F Rourke Chartier scored the game’s first goal, at 2:06 of the first period. . . . Chartier scored twice, getting the second one while shorthanded in the third period. F Nick Merkley also scored a shorthanded goal. . . . Chartier also had an assist, while Merkley had two of them. . . . Rockets D Madison Bowey had a goal and an assist, and was plus-4. . . . Tri-City G Eric Comrie stopped 24 shots. . . . Kelowna was 0-for-4 on the PP; Tri-City was 0-for-5. . . . Attendance was 5,369.

In Everett, F Carson Stadnyk scored three goals early in the third period as the Silvertips erased a 1-0 deficit and beat the Spokane Chiefs, 5-1. . . . They’ll play Game 2 in Everett tonight. . . . Spokane F Liam Stewart scored the game’s first goal, at 13:55 of the second period. . . . Everett scored five goals on 12 third-period shots. . . . Stadnyk tied it 17 seconds into the third, then gave his guys the lead at 1:34. He completed the hat trick at 4:03. . . . He scored three times in 3:46. The WHL playoff record for fastest three goals by one player is 2:39 by F Doug Saunders of the Kamloops Jr. Oilers. He did it on April 14, 1984, in the third period of a 10-5 victory over the host Portland Winter Hawks. . . . Stadnyk also drew an assist on F Ivan Nikolishin’s first of two PP goals in the latter half of the third period. . . . Everett was 2-for-8 on the PP; Spokane was 0-for-4. . . . The Chiefs took 87 of the 156 penalty minutes that were handed out, with 138 of those coming after Everett went ahead 3-1. . . . Everett G Carter Hart stopped 22 shots, five fewer than Spokane’s Garret Hughson. . . . Attendance was 3,358.
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Condolences to former Portland Winterhawks head coach Mike Johnston on the death of his mother. Johnston is in his first season as head coach of the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins.
From a Penguins’ news release:
“Sheila Margaret (Mickey) Johnston . . . passed away Friday in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. She was 81.
“Funeral services will be held Tuesday.
“Mike will coach both games this weekend, then travel to Nova Scotia for the funeral.”
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Former Brandon Wheat Kings D Don Dietrich has been to the top of the world — well, kind of — and back, and he loved every minute of it. There’s more right here from the Winnipeg Free Press.
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Tim Hunter, the head coach of the Moose Jaw Warriors, has been named head coach of the Canadian U-18 team that will play in the IIHF World championship that runs April 16-26 in Lucerne and Zug, Switzerland. . . . Hunter, 54, has just completed his first season with the Warriors. A former NHL player and NHL assistant coach, he will be making his first appearance behind a Team Canada bench. . . . His assistant coaches will be Ian Herbers, a former WHLer who is the head coach of the CIS-champion U of Alberta Golden Bears, and Louis Robitaille, an assistant coach with the QMJHL’s Drummondville Voltigeurs.
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“As a former NHL player, Sheldon Kennedy spent eight years skating for three teams, but his true life’s work has been focused on being a champion for millions of abuse survivors,” reads a news release issued by the University of Guelph on Friday. “It is because of his ability to stand up in the face of adversity and create positive change that the University of Guelph and College of Business and Economics will recognize him with the Lincoln Alexander Outstanding Leader Award on May 27.” . . . The complete news release is right here.
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Rudy Poeschek, a former NHLer who played in the WHL with the Kamloops Jr. Oilers/Blazers (1983-87) has been charged with assault, driving while prohibited and dangerous operation of a motor vehicle. . . . Tim Petruk of Kamloops This Week has more right here.
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Fight in the first. Puck in the face in the second #hockey pic.twitter.com/g9eRIoW6gt
— Ryan Olsen (@rolsen94) March 28, 2015

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Family Day is hockey day in B.C. . . . Wheaties move to the top . . . Hitmen run streak to eight

Today (Monday) is a holiday — Family Day — in B.C., and that’s good for hockey fans. There are four games on the WHL schedule, all of them afternoon games in B.C. . . . The Edmonton Oil Kings visit the Victoria Royals, the Tri-City Americans travel to Kamloops to play the Blazers and the Seattle Thunderbirds are in Vancouver to meet the Giants. Those three games all start at 2 p.m. . . . In the other game, the Prince George Cougars are in Kelowna to face the Rockets, at 2:05 p.m.
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The Red Deer Rebels aren’t certain how long they’ll be without F Conner Bleackley, their captain. He suffered an undisclosed injury on Friday night in Vancouver and didn’t play Saturday in Victoria. . . . “He said it felt better yesterday, but to be honest he has an injury that could keep him out for days or maybe for weeks,” Brent Sutter, the Rebels’ general manager and head coach, told Greg Meachem of the Red Deer Advocate. “He won’t skate until Thursday at the earliest, and we probably won’t know the extent of the injury until then.” . . . The Rebels don’t play until Friday when they entertain the Lethbridge Hurricanes.
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It was wonderful to see old friend Don Dietrich getting some TV time on Saturday night. Dietrich, a former Brandon Wheat Kings defenceman who went on to play with Canada’s national team and in the NHL, has had a tough time in recent years but you won’t hear him complaining. . . . If you missed the TV spot, it’s right here. . . . And if you’re looking for a great read, he wrote a book — No Guarantees — a few years ago. You should be able to find it right there.
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F Quinn Benjafield of the Kamloops Blazers won’t play today against the visiting Tri-City Americans. He was hit with a ‘tbd’ suspension for a headshot major and game misconduct during Saturday’s 5-2 loss to the visiting Kelowna Rockets. He hit Kelowna F Tyson Baillie late in the third period. . . . Baillie needed attention on the ice, but was able to get off under his own power. He went directly to the dressing room. His status for today’s game against visiting Prince George isn’t known. . . .
F Tyler Lewington of the Medicine Hat Tigers will sit out one game for instigating a fight in the final five minutes of Saturday’s 4-1 loss to the visiting Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . . The Tigers were fined $500 for Lewington’s actions. . . .
D Arvin Atwal of the Vancouver Giants won’t play against the visiting Seattle Thunderbirds today. He drew a one-game suspension for the game misconduct he took in Saturday’s 3-0 loss to the Thunderbirds in Kent, Wash.
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SUNDAY’S GAMES:

In Lethbridge, the Brandon Wheat Kings moved into first place in the overall standings with a 7-2 victory over the Hurricanes. . . . The Wheat Kings are one point ahead of the idle Kelowna Rockets, who hold two games in hand and are at home to Prince George this afternoon. . . . The Wheat Kings scored four times in the game’s first 11 minutes to take control of this one. . . . F Rihards Bukarts scored twice, giving him 23, as Brandon completed a road trip with its fourth victory in five days. Brandon outscored its opponents 22-9 in the four games. . . . Brandon F Peter Quenneville scored his 15th goal and added an assist, while D Macoy Erkamps and F Reid Duke each had two assists against their former team. . . . Brandon F Tyler Coulter scored his 10th goal after going 22 games without a score. . . . Brandon F Tim McGauley had an assist to run his point streak to 11 games. He’s got 22 points, including eight goals, in that stretch. . . . Wheaties D Mark Taraschuk was pointless but finished plus-4. . . . Lethbridge F Giorgio Estephan scored his 14th goal on a third-period PP and also had an assist. . . . The Wheat Kings held a 55-25 edge in shots. . . . Brandon was without D Ivan Provorov, who suffered an undisclosed injury early in the third period on Saturday night in Cranbrook. . . . The Wheat Kings already were without F John Quenneville (suspected concussion) and F Jayce Hawryluk (undisclosed injury). . . . The Wheat Kings (41-9-5) are 17-2-1 since coming back from the Christmas break. . . . The Hurricanes (15-32-6) had a three-game winning streak end. . . .

In Everett, F Carson Stadnyk scored the OT winner and had two assists as the Silvertips beat the Portland Winterhawks, 4-3. . . . Everett, the U.S. Division leader, went into the game with a five-point lead over Portland. That lead now is six. . . . Stadnyk, who scored at 1:34 of extra time, has 21 goals. . . . Portland F Chase De Leo forced OT when he scored his 27th goal with 31.3 seconds left in the third period and G Adin Hill on the bench for the extra attacker. . . . With the score 2-2 in the third, Portland defencemen Blake Heinrich and Layne Viveiros took delay of game penalties 30 seconds apart. . . . Everett F Kohl Bauml scored his second goal of the game 40 seconds after the 5-on-3 began. . . . Bauml, who also had an assist, has 27 goals this season. . . . Everett took a 2-0 lead into the second period on goals by F Dawson Leedahl, his 10th, and Bauml, the latter scoring at 19:17. . . . Everett had a 19-9 edge in first-period shots despite giving up the period’s only two PP opportunities. . . . Portland scored twice in the second period, with F Oliver Bjorsktrand getting his 37th at 8:13 and F Paul Bittner getting No. 22 on a PP at 10:53. . . . Everett D Noah Juulsen and F Patrick Bajkov each had two assists. . . . D Adam Henry had two assists for Portland. . . . Hill finished with 45 saves, 15 more than Everett G Carter Hart. . . . Portland D Josh Hanson, a 20-year-old from Eagle River, Alaska, played in his 300th regular-season game. . . . Everett improved to 34-16-4, while Portland now is 31-20-4. . . .

In Saskatoon, the Calgary Hitmen ran their winning streak to eight games with a 5-2 victory over the Blades. . . . F Brett Stovin got the Blades on the board with his 22nd goal, on the PP, at 3:57 of the first period. . . . Calgary answered with three goals and took a 3-1 lead into the third period. . . . F Kenton Helgesen tied it with his 17th goal at 6:27 of the first. F Adam Tambellini scored his 38th, shorthanded, to give the Hitmen the lead at 8:06 of the second. D Michael Zipp upped the lead to 3-1 with his eighth goal at 18:25. . . . Zipp and D Keegan Kanzig, who scored his second goal and added an assist, each was plus-4. . . . Helgesen also had an assist, as did Stovin. . . . Calgary D Jake Bean drew an assist on his club’s fourth goal to set a franchise record for single-season points by a rookie defenceman (33). He was sharing the record with Matt Kinch (1996-97). . . . The Hitmen (31-17-5) are second in the Central Division, six points behind Medicine Hat and three ahead of Red Deer. . . . The Blades (15-34-3) have lost three in a row. . . . Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix has a game story right here.
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For anyone wondering, @bdnwheatkings are first team in Eastern Conference to clinch a playoff spot. #bdnmb
— Bruce Luebke (@wheatkingsvoice) February 9, 2015

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Books, books and more books

The calendar has turned to December. Which means that it won’t be long before panic sets in. What to buy so-and-so for Christmas?
Well, if you happen to be shopping for a book lover or two, here is a brief look at some of the books I have read in 2011, and, no, they aren’t all sports-related:

Back in the Bigs: The subtitle is How Winnipeg won, lost and regained its place in the NHL, and the subtitle pretty much sums it up. This is an over-sized book — although not quite coffee-table size — written by Randy Turner of the Winnipeg Free Press. It is loaded with anecdotes involving the Jets, going back to the days of Ben Hatskin and the Junior Jets and taking you through the times in the WHA with Hull, Hedberg and Nilsson, to the NHL with Hawerchuk and onto the AHL and the Manitoba Moose. Turner spins some fine stories and the photos are awesome. If you look closely enough, you will even find F Jordan DePape of the Kamloops Blazers in one of the photos taken at The Forks. (Viking Canada/Winnipeg Free Press, hard cover, 208 pages, Cdn$35)
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The Big Short (Inside the Doomsday Machine) — Written by Michael Lewis, who also wrote Moneyball and The Blind Side, this is the story of the fall (?) of Wall Street in 2008. Upon finishing this book, you will pause and say to yourself: “This is a work of fiction, isn’t it?” . . . Unfortunately, it isn’t. And, as a result, you will never look on politicians or Wall Street-types the same way again. (Norton, soft cover, 291 pages, US$15.95, Cdn$20.00)
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Blood, Sweat and Chalk — If you are a football fan, you won’t want to miss this one. Written by Tim Layden of Sports Illustrated, it is subtitled The Ultimate Football Playbook: How the Great Coaches Built Today’s Game. Layden visited with a number of football’s most influential coaches and numerous other footballers and produced a real gem. It will help you understand the genesis of such things as the Wildcat, the Wishbone, Air Coryell, the West Coast Offense, the Zone Blitz, the BYU Air Raid and on and on. Layden does it in layman’s terms, too, so it’s a fun and easy read. (Sports Illustrated Books, hard cover, 255 pages, Cdn$31.95)
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The Devil and Bobby Hull — Long-time hockey fans think of Bobby Hull and see him, adorned in a Chicago Black Hawks’ sweater, swooping down the left side of an NHL ice surface and firing a slapshot from the top of the circle. Or playing tic-tac-toe with Ulf Nilsson and Anders Hedberg while with the Winnipeg Jets. Author Gare Joyce, however, knew there was a lot more to Hull’s story than that, and he tells that story right here. Subtitled How Hockey’s Original Million-Dollar Man Became the Game’s Lost Legend, this is the mostly sad story of a one-time hockey superstar. Upon reading Chapter 11 – there are 12 chapters – you will have tears in your eyes as Joyce draws obvious inferences between Hull’s inability to maintain some thoughts and the possibility that he may have suffered an untold number of concussions during his playing days. (Wiley, hard cover, 274 pages, US$26.95, Cdn$32.95)
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Eight Million Ways to Die — Written by Lawrence Block, this book won the Shamus Award and was short listed for the Edgar. It was first published in 1982 and introduced private eye Matthew Scudder to the masses. You can’t lose with this one. Awesome. I stumbled on it on a discount shelf somewhere; see if you can do the same. (William Morrow, hard cover, 318 pages, Cdn$23.50)
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Evel (The High-Flying Life of Evel Knievel: American Showman, Daredevil, and Legend) — No less an authority than the late Jimmy (The Greek) Snider once said of Evel Knievel that the odds were about “three-to-one this guy is crazy.” Veteran writer Leith Montville proves it in this book. When I started reading this book, I wondered why I was bothering. But it quickly became a page-turner. Why? Because it was amazing what Knievel, who wasn’t something of an oaf and a boor, was able to accomplish simply with his overly abrasive personality and perhaps the biggest set of cojones in American history. By the way, when you get to the end of this one you realize Jimmy The Greek was wrong. The man was crazy. Period. (Doubleday, hard cover, 398 pages, Cdn$31.00, US$27.50)
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I Am Not Making This Up — Al Strachan covered the NHL and its teams for almost 40 years. He was on the Montreal Canadiens beat for a time, but he made his name in Toronto where he wrote for The Globe and Mail and the Toronto Sun. He also was a regular on Hockey Night in Canada’s Hot Stove Lounge – it hasn’t been the same since he departed – and a regular thorn in the side of NHL commissioner Gary Bettman. You can bet, then, that Strachan has lots and lots and lots of stories, some of which are related here. At 224 pages, this is a quick, light read, one that will keep you enthralled if you are a veteran hockey fan. It also leaves you wanting more and thinking that there just might be a sequel or two or three or four to come. And a recent visit to a bookstore did indeed find a new Strachan book. (Fenn Publishing Company, soft cover, 224 pages, Cdn$22.95)
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Junior Hockey’s Royal Franchise: The Regina Pats: If you’re a fan of junior hockey, you won’t want to miss out on this one. It was written by Darrell Davis, a veteran Regina Leader-Post sports writer whose late father, Lorne, once coached the Pats and later scouted for the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers, and Ron (Scoreboard) Johnston, who knows everything there is to know about this team. Johnston spent the better part of 13 years doing the research; Davis later supplied the words. This book is loaded with anecdotes and lots of terrific photos. There aren’t a whole lot of really good books out there that involve major junior hockey or its teams. This is one of them. If you‘re interested in this one, contact the Regina Pats at their office. (Published by The Leader-Post Carrier Foundation Inc., hard cover, 272 pages, Cdn$49.95)
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The Last Boy — Subtitled Mickey Mantle and the End of America’s Childhood, this is one of the two best books I read in 2011. I finished it in mid-February and knew then that I wouldn’t read a better one during the calendar year (although, as you will see further into this piece, I later declared a tie). The Last Boy was written by Jane Leavy, who also wrote the terrific Sandy Koufax: A Lefty’s Legacy. Unlike the book on the Los Angeles Dodgers’ left-hander, though, this is a devastating book if you are of a certain age. If you grew up as a fan of the M and M boys (Mantle and Roger Maris), this will destroy the myth of Mickey Mantle, All-American boy, moreso than did Jim Bouton’s groundbreaking Ball Four. Mickey Mantle, it turns out, was a tortured soul — oh, was he! — and a prime example of why we shouldn’t put our athletic heroes on pedestals. . . . There also is a lot of neat baseball stuff here, and Leavy’s research and writing on some of Mantle’s tape-measure homers is exceptional. The work she did in tracking down Donald Dunaway, the man who as a boy got the ball that Mantle hit out of Washington, D.C.’s Griffith Stadium on April 17, 1953, and the resulting chapter helps make this an exceptional book. (Did you know that Roy Clark, later to become a country music star and a friend of The Mick’s, and his father were seated along the first-base line when Mantle went so deep?) . . . (HarperCollins, hard cover, 456 pages, US$27.99, Cdn$32.99)
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The Lost Dream — Written by Toronto Sun sports columnist Steve Simmons and subtitled The Story of Mike Danton, David Frost, and a Broken Canadian Family, this should be a must read for every parent whose has even one son playing minor hockey anywhere in North America. This is the horrible story of what happened to one family when its hockey-playing son got tangled up with David Frost, a minor hockey coach who later became a player agent. There is a tangled web here and you will be stunned at some of the names that became entangled in it. Danton, of course, later went to jail after a failed attempt to have Frost assassinated. My only real quibble with the book is its title; it should have been The Lost Family. (Viking Canada, hard cover, 255 pages, Cdn$32.00)
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The Man from Beijing — The Los Angeles Times refers to author Henning Mankell as “Sweden’s greatest living mystery writer.” This book is a prime example as to why that very well may be true. Yes, this is a novel and, yes, it is a mystery. However, it is anything but your average who done it. This one involves a Swedish judge, the changing times in China and how that country’s government is/was impacted and a whole lot more. A perfect read for a couple of wintery evenings. . . . (Vintage Crime/Black Lizard, soft cover, 454 pages, US$15.00)
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Never Look Away — If you’re into beach/cabin fiction, here’s one you’ll quite enjoy. Author Linwood Barclay, a former Toronto Star columnist, tosses twist after twist at you in the story of David Harwood, a small-town newspaper reporter, in what is a satisfying read. There might be one twist too many near the end, but that really is nit-picking. Great for a rainy day because you won’t put it down. (Seal Books, soft cover, 496 pages, Cdn$10.99)
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No Guarantees — Subtitled An Inspiring Story of Struggle and Success in Professional Sport and with Parkinson’s and Cancer, this is Don Dietrich’s story. From the farming community of Deloraine, Man., Dietrich played for the WHL’s Brandon Wheat Kings before moving on to play in the AHL, NHL (with the Chicago Blackhawks) and in Europe. He tells some hilarious stories as he wanders through hockey’s hinterlands and, in the end, you will weep as he comes face-to-face with Parkinson’s Disease and cancer. When others wanted to give up on him in hockey and in life, he chose to move forward. Get this book and read it; you won’t be disappointed. (Trafford Publishing, soft cover, 200 pages, Cdn$20.87)
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Playing With Fire — This is Theo Fleury’s story in all its blazing colours. Finish this book and you will wonder how it is that Fleury still is alive. It is absolutely mind-numbing all that he has gone through since he left a rocky childhood life in Russell, Man., to play hockey in Winnipeg for Graham James. The abuse, the alcohol, the drugs . . . something should have killed him. Fleury doesn’t pull any punches here, and he throws a lot of hockey players under the bus. He bares his soul and admits to his mistakes, but doesn’t preach. This book should have come with a language warning. It’s interesting that Kirstie McLellan Day helped Fleury with this book and then moved on to write the late Bob Probert’s book, Tough Guy, which also is freely littered with hockey talk. (HarperCollins, soft cover, 350 pages, Cdn$19.99)
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The Rebel League — Subtitled The Short and Unruly Life of the World Hockey Association, this is that story. “No one seems to remember the WHA wrestled the game away from a handful of NHL owners and took it to new markets,” writes author Ed Willes, a sports columnist with the Vancouver Province, “that I opened the door for Europeans, and that it offered a generation of players their first chance at a real payday.” Willes tells that story here and, yes, there are assorted anecdotes, some hilarious, some funny and others unbelievable. If you are a hockey fan, you will enjoy this one. (McClelland & Stewart, soft cover, 277 pages, US$17.95, Cdn$22.99)
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Roger Maris (Baseball’s Reluctant Hero) — Authors Tom Clavin and Danny Peary do a masterful job of portraying Roger Maris, the man who wasn’t sure how badly he wanted to break Babe Ruth’s single-season home run record. This follows Maris from his early years in Hibbing, Minn., to his formative years in Fargo, N.D., from Roger Maras to Roger Maris and beyond. The writers paint a picture of a tortured man, especially in 1961 as he hit 61 home runs, but one whose family meant everything to him. It also is an honest and ugly portrayal of baseball when the owners were the lords of the diamond. For example, the way the New York Yankees treated Maris in 1965 as he struggled with a hand injury was criminal. Front and centre, too, is Maris’s relationship, or lack of same, with the New York media, something the authors claim may well be the reason that Maris isn’t a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. Read this book and hear what former teammates have to say and you will reach the same conclusion. (Touchstone, soft cover, 430 pages, Cdn$18.99, US$15.99)
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The Snowman — One of the benefits of the Stieg Larsson trilogy — The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo et al — having been such a raging success in North America is that book nooks have been all but inundated by works from other Scandinavian writers. Jo Nesbø, a Norwegian, is one of those writers. While I had heard of his work, I had never picked up one of his novels until coming across The Snowman. This book involves Harry Hole, a hard-bitten cop who is involved in a number of Nesbø books. But this work has an edge to it that not a lot of other writers are able to capture. I definitely will be reading more about Det. Hole. (Vintage Canada, soft cover, 454 pages, Cdn$19.95)
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The Third Rail — Michael Kelly is a private investigator. He used to be a cop. In this first-rate detective novel, Kelly ends up in the middle of a really messy situation in Chicago. It involves cops and shooters and a female judge. You knew there had to be a love interest. Right? The best part of this novel, however, is author Michael Harvey’s style. Back in the day, Mickey Spillane was the man. With his writing, Harvey has torn a page out of Spillane’s book . . . (Vintage Crime/Black Lizard, soft cover, 281 pages, US$14.95, Cdn$16.95)
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Unbroken (A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption) — This was the other best book I read in 2011. Written by Lauren Hillenbrand, the author of Seabiscuit, it tells the story of Louis Zamperini, who may have been the first person to run a four-minute mile had the Second World War not gotten in the way. He ended up on a life raft in the South Pacific and then in Japanese POW camps. His story -- from brawling, thieving youngster to world-class runner to airman to prisoner of war to Christian – is emotionally draining and terrifically uplifting. Don’t miss this one; it was named 2010’s top book by Time magazine. (Random House, hard cover, 473 pages, US$27, Cdn$31)
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War Without Death (A Year of Extreme Competition in Pro Football) — I love nonfiction books that are basically diaries, written in chronological order. This one, by Mark Maske of the Washington Post, is a terrific look inside the NFC East during the 2006 NFL season, providing great insight into how the big boys operate. The contrast in operating styles between the likes of owners Daniel Snyder (Washington Redskins), Jerry Jones (Dallas Cowboys) and Jeffrey Lurie (Philadelphia Eagles) is striking. This really is a great sports book. (Penguin, soft cover,393 pages, US$16.00, Cdn$17.50.)
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Willie Mays (The Life, The Legend) — Willie Mays deserves this book. Written by James S. Hirsch. a former New York Times and Wall Street Journal reporter, it was written with Mays’ authorization. This is a long, well-written book that details Mays’ life and career, from his days as a youngster growing up in Birmingham, Ala., through his major league life and beyond. The best thing about this book, and there are many, is that it clears up the misconception that continues to hang in the air, like fog at Candlestick Park, about the last days of Mays’ career. He didn’t finish up as a bumbling, stumbling outfielder; he really didn’t. But he didn’t finish with the New York Mets, who had a manager, Yogi Berra, who, for whatever reason, chose to forget about him. (Scribner, hard cover, 628 pages, US$30, Cdn$$36)

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
     
Taking Note on Twitter

The Tri-City Americans dealt defenceman Brock Sutherland
to the Calgary Hitmen on Thursday.
(Photo courtesy John Allen Photography)

THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Jakub Sindel (Brandon, 2004-05) was released from his tryout with Kloten (Switzerland, NL A). He had one assist in four games during his tryout. Sindel returned to action last week after missing two weeks with a broken jaw.
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Peter Mansbridge of CBC-TV has spent some time with researchers, including Dr. Ann McKee, who have studied and are studying the brains of deceased athletes.
Mansbridge’s report appeared on CBC’s The National on Wednesday; if you missed it, it’s right here.
The report is especially interesting when Dr. McKee discusses the brain of former Buffalo Sabres sniper Richard Martin. Dr. McKee examined Martin’s brain — he died of a heart attack in March — and found chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). Interestingly, unlike Reggie Fleming and Bob Probert, in whose brains CTE also was found, Martin wasn’t a fighter.
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The Tri-City Americans are down to three 20-year-olds after trading D Brock Sutherland to the Calgary Hitmen for F Nathan MacMaster, 19. . . . That leaves the Americans with F Adam Hughesman, F Brendan Shinnimin and F Mason Wilgosh as their three 20-year-olds. The Americans also hold the rights to D Matt MacKenzie, 20, who signed a three-year deal with the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday and is with the AHL’s Rochester Americans. . . . MacMaster, a second-round pick by the Moose Jaw Warriors in the 2007 bantam draft, has 49 points and 115 penalty minutes in 190 career regular-season games. The Warriors dealt him to the Hitmen last season. . . . Sutherland has 40 points and 155 penalty minutes in 186 regular-season games split between the Lethbridge Hurricanes andthe Americans. . . . The Calgary roster now includes five 20-year-olds — F Jimmy Bubnick, F Kenton Miller, D Ben Wilson, G Mike Snider and Sutherland. Wilson is with the AHL’s Lake Erie Monsters on a tryout deal.
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JUST NOTES: The Buffalo Sabres signed two more 20-year-olds to three-year contracts on Thursday. F Riley Boychuk of the Portland Winterhawks was a seventh-round pick in the 2010 NHL draft, while F Jonathan Parker of the Prince Albert Raiders was in camp on a free-agent tryout. Both players are with the AHL’s Rochester Americans at present. . . . The Vancouver Giants have assigned G Brendan Jensen, 18, to the AJHL’s Spruce Grove Saints. The move came after the Giants acquired G Adam Morrison, 20, from the Saskatoon Blades earlier in the week. . . .
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Earlier this week, I offered up a review of a book written by Don Dietrich, a former defenceman with the Brandon Wheat Kings.
I was remiss in not mentioning that Dietrich spent part of last weekend in Winnipeg, where he was inducted into the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame . . . not as a player, but as a builder.
Here, from the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame newsletter, is Dietrich’s bio:
“Don Dietrich of Deloraine, a former defenseman and captain of the Brandon Wheat Kings, soaked up a lot of knowledge as a player in the AHL, NHL, East Coast League, with Team Canada and in Germany and Switzerland. He has passed on this knowledge as an assistant coach in Switzerland and, after returning home, as a coach with the Southwest Cougar midgets, the SWHL Deloraine Royals and as a scout for the Spokane Chiefs. Dietrich has been an active member of Canada’s national coach mentorship program, doing ‘one-on-one’ mentoring, as well as clinics. Despite personal health problems, he was instrumental in developing the Breakfast Club where young players have come out twice a week to practise their skill development.”
Hockey in our countries needs more Don Dietrichs. And if you missed it scroll further down on this blog and read all about his book. Then get on the Internet and order one. You won't be sorry.
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Jon Rosen, the former radio voice and PR guru of the Everett Silvertips, is in his first season with Fox Sports West and is in Europe covering the Los Angeles Kings. They open the NHL season in Stockholm today (Friday).
Earlier this week, Rosen blogged from a game in Hamburg and provides a pretty good feel for what it was like in the stands.
That piece is right here.

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
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Taking Note on Twitter

First off, a disclaimer. I was working at the Brandon Sun and covering the Brandon Wheat Kings when Don Dietrich was a defenceman on their roster.
Over the last few years, we have communicated infrequently, but often enough that I consider him a friend.
Now . . . let’s get on to the book.
While attending the 2010 Memorial Cup in Brandon, I picked up a copy of Dietrich’s book. And then, foolishly, I put it on the next-to-read pile and it got forgotten.
I rediscovered it recently and have since read it.
If you are a hockey fan, you absolutely have to get a copy of this book. Why? Because it will make you giggle. It will make you howl with laughter. And it will make you weep. You can't ask for anything more than that.
It is titled No Guarantees, with this subtitle: An Inspiring Story of Struggle and Success in Professional Sport and with Parkinson’s and Cancer.
Written by Dietrich, with his wife, Nadine, and journalist Brad Bird, this is an account of Dietrich’s hockey career and his personal battle with Parkinson’s Disease and a particularly lethal kind of cancer.
Understand that this isn’t a weepy biography by some old beaten up hockey player who feels life owes him something.
No, it isn’t.
Rather, it is a terrific read about a boy’s journey to manhood, about a young hockey player’s travels to retirement and beyond. It’s about a man who married a Penthouse Pet and, with her, raised three sons, two of whom went on to play in the WHL.
Dietrich provides a realistic look at life in the WHL, from the travel to the fighting and beyond.
But it is the tales he tells of his days in the AHL, the NHL and Europe that are so wonderful and often so hilarious.
Dietrich’s writing on being a rookie in the training camp of the Chicago Blackhawks — and also of being a young man from smalltown Manitoba (Deloraine) thrown into Chicago — is priceless.
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At one point, the night before the first on-ice session of training camp, a group including Doug Wilson, Terry Ruskowski, Steve Larmer and Dietrich is about to order dinner in a Chicago restaurant.
Dietrich tells the story . . .
I’m looking at this menu and I see it’s stuff that I don’t know — and then I see, sirloin steak. That’s what I’m going to take. And I’m paranoid, because I’m looking around and trying to watch what other guys are doing and I’m trying to play the part. I’m sitting with four NHL guys and three or four future NHLers, and I’m just pumped. I’m just above everything. I’m sitting there and the girl comes up and she says, “So what’ll you have?” And she’s looking right at me.
I’m thinking, Why me? So I said, “I’ll have the sirloin steak.”
She said, “How would you like it done?”
Well, all my life it just came to me on the plate. At home, Dad cooked it on the barbecue and put it on the plate. At my billets, Ma Muirhead and Marnocks in Brandon, I came to the table and it was on the plate. Every Saturday night we had steak at home, it was on the plate.
I’m sitting there thinking, what does she want? I know Mom puts it in the oven. They don’t boil steak. I’m sitting there and I’m starting to sweat and the guys are looking as if to say, “C’mon, we want to order.” So I sat there and said, “Cook it.”
The table erupted in laughter.
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Later, in an episode you may recall, Dietrich ended up at the 1994 Olympic Winter Games in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia. He was to have played for Team Canada, however the Americans protested the inclusion of Dietrich, who had played six NHL games, and Mark Morrison, who had played two. The IOC upheld the protest, so Dietrich headed for home.
His retelling of his time in Sarajevo is an incredible story, and his journey home is even beyond that. You will read this part of the book and wonder how it was that the kid from Deloraine didn’t disappear forever somewhere in that European winter.
This is a soft cover book that is 200 pages in length. The writing is a little rough around the edges, which only adds to its authenticity. There are some incorrect spellings — Chris Nilan is Chris Nyland, Steve Yzerman is Steve Izerman, Pelle Lindbergh is Pelle Lindburgh — but they don’t ruin what is a great read.
There are marvellous stories from his days playing in Europe and a lot of insight into what a fringe NHLer goes through when he realizes his career is over.
And then, on Page 175, Dietrich is diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. On Page 184, he finds out he has leiomyo sarcoma, which his doctor tells him is “one of the most active and deadly cancers there is.”
That was late in 1999.
In recent times, Dietrich has discovered that “at my home rink in Deloraine when my old pal (Parkinson’s) leaves me alone, I just go out on the ice.”
He helps everyone from six-year-olds to oldtimers, he told me in an email on Tuesday.
“You see,” he added, “Kelly McCrimmon told me one time, ‘Dieter, you have a wealth of knowledge in that noggin up there . . . why don't you start friggin sharing it’.
“SO I DO. LOL.”
Dietrich closed the email with this:
“So I have been doing good my friend thanks to hockey, the greatest game there is!!”
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You can find No Guarantees at amazon.com ($20.87) or at trafford.com (also for $20.87).
Order a copy today. You won't be disappointed. I guarantee it.

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
     
Taking Note on Twitter