Keeping Score: Head elf arrested . . . How many chances for Gregory? . . . Oh, those TV promos!

A tweet from Thursday night, during the first intermission of an NHL game . . .

Los Angeles now leads St. Louis 2-0.

...both in this game and in professional football teams.

— #LAKings (@LAKings) January 13, 2017

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The Los Angeles Chargers are going to spend a couple of seasons in the 27,000-seat StubHub Center after making the move from San Diego. Why don’t they move to Regina and play out of the new 30,048-seat stadium there? . . . The worst part of the NFL playoffs if you happen to live in Canada? That’s easy. Those interminable CTV promos that hit you in the forehead over and over and over and . . . Headline at TheKicker.com: Chairs voted into WWE Hall of Fame. . . . Gene Collier of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has provided us, again, with his annual skewering of cliches. You should check it out right here because it’s good. Really good. . . . 

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Starbucks barista won over $900,000 in Westgate Las Vegas football handicapping SuperContest. Now he can at least afford his own coffee.

— Janice Hough (@leftcoastbabe) January 3, 2017

There are a lot of Saskatchewan Roughriders fans who are spitting watermelon seeds with quarterback Darian Durant having been traded to the Montreal Alouettes for a sack of deflated footballs. It’s interesting that so many fans didn’t see this coming. From out here near the left coast, it seemed apparent that Chris Jones, who runs the CFL franchise, didn’t want Durant back at any price. . . . “North Pole police have finally cleared Santa’s head elf of charges of careless use of a firearm,” reports RJ Currie of SportsDeke.com. “Authorities admit mistakes were made after finding a cartridge in a pear tree.” . . . Currie, again: “The B.C. government will increase the minimum wage by 40 cents before October 2017. In related CFL news, the Lions announced a major increase in playoff bonuses.” . . . One more from Currie: “A Florida octogenarian pleaded no contest to battery and assault with a weapon in a shuffleboard fight after charges were reduced to misdemeanours. His gums weren’t loaded.”

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Seahawks average ticket price for playoff game: $497. You've got to be joking.

— Ron Judd (@roncjudd) January 6, 2017

Following the announcement that owner Dean Spanos was moving his San Diego Chargers to Los Angeles, Rob Vanstone of the Regina Leader-Post noted: “The Chargers once brought us Air Coryell. Now the Err Spanos label is most appropriate.” . . . Jack Todd, in the Montreal Gazette: “I’ve become a real fan of a special series of NHL games available on either Sportsnet or TSN almost every night of the week. They’re called ‘Game Not Available In Your Region’ and some of them have been truly unforgettable. Seriously. This is what we get in exchange for the $5.2 billion Rogers is shovelling into the NHL. The league gets richer while the most passionate hockey fans in the world get stiffed, night after night. Thanks, Gary.”

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Thank you @SnoopDogg for the Christmas Sweater pic.twitter.com/jzaw7pkQEe

— Willie Nelson (@willienelson) January 4, 2017

Bill Littlejohn, our South Lake Tahoe, Calif.-based correspondent, reports: “New York Giants defensive backs call their unit ‘NYPD’ — that's New York Pass Defense. So in a case of blown coverage on someone's part, do we call them 'NYPD Blew’?” . . . I guess we witnessed NYPD Blew when Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers completed that Hail Mary pass against the Giants just before halftime last weekend. . . . Littlejohn, again: “Jim Harbaugh, Michigan’s head football coach, recently welcomed their seventh child. Nike is busy designing a shoe for his wife and children to move into.” . . . Going into this weekend, the WHL’s Regina Pats were 27-4-7. The midget AAA Regina Pat Canadians were 26-2-1. The junior B Regina Capitals were 26-3-1. Does that mean Regina is Hockeytown?

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Earlier today Russia Today suddenly replaced the regular C-SPAN programming. I'm sure it's just a coincidence.

— Janice Hough (@leftcoastbabe) January 13, 2017

The New York Jets finished 5-11 this season. So, Brandon Marshall, what kind of a season was it? “The best way I can describe it,” the receiver told Showtime’s Inside the NFL, “is having a diaper on and never changing it. And just sitting in that diaper the whole year.” . . . “Dallas Cowboys defensive end Randy Gregory has been suspended a year for another violation of the NFL’s substance abuse policy, his third suspension of the season,” notes Janice Hough, aka The Left Coast Sports Babe. “He will be eligible for the 2017 postseason. It’s all part of the league’s ’12 strikes and you’re out’ policy.” . . . 

(Gregg Drinnan is a former sports editor of the Regina Leader-Post and the late Kamloops Daily News. He is at greggdrinnan@gmail.com and twitter.com/gdrinnan. Keeping Score appears here on weekends, except when it doesn’t.)

There has never been a subscription fee for this blog, but if you enjoy stopping by here, why not consider donating to the cause? Just click HERE. . . and thank you very much.

Brooks vs. Mayweather? . . . Tebow on drums? . . . Spring football popular

“I've reached a big decision,” tweets actor/comedian Albert Brooks. “I will let Floyd Mayweather beat the (bleep) out of me for $300 million.” . . . “Stephen Harper was at the Winnipeg Jets game Wednesday night,” notes Vancouver comic Torben Rolfsen. “The Jets were eliminated from the NHL playoffs and now are owned by Saudi Arabia.” . . . Richmond, B.C., blogger TC Chong also noted that Harper was at that game. “Apparently the tickets were an anonymous gift,” Chong reported, “and the receipt for them had been previously reimbursed to a Mike Duffy.” . . . A Friday tweet from Montreal journalist Jack Todd: “Peter Chiarelli is going to a really bad team. But he's smiling because Cam Neely is no longer sitting on his head.” . . .

Bill Littlejohn, our South Lake Tahoe, Calif., correspondent, had a great week so he gets his own paragraph. . . .“The best and most consistent starter for the defending World Champion San Francisco Giants is not named Peavy or Lincecum, or even Bumgarner — but is named Heston. Fans are wondering: (1) How could this happen; and (2) What are his views on gun control?” . . . “There is joy and merriment at the North Pole — with the Philadelphia Eagles’ signing of quarterback Tim Tebow, Santa Claus knows he won't be alone in being booed in Philly at Christmas.” . . . “An Eagles exec says that Tebow has improved since his stint with the New England Patriots. That's like saying that Eddie the Eagle has improved since the '88 Olympics.” . . . “The Eagles have worked their home schedule around the Pope's visit — but many of their fans plan to show up and boo him anyway.” . . .

Former NFL kicker Jay Feely appeared on Jim Rome on Showtime the other day. Asked about Tebow, Feely said he respects him as a man but said the quarterback was “the single-worst quarterback I ever saw in my career in the NFL.” . . . Ian Hamilton of the Regina Leader-Post noted: “It sounds like Jay is a very touchy Feely person.” . . . French swimmer Amaury Leveaux won gold at the 2012 London Olympics and now has written a book. In it, he claims that cocaine use was prevalent among French swimmers. "Some of us wouldn't spit at a little line of coke from time to time,” he wrote. “For others it's not just a little line, it's a complete motorway covered in white powder which they zoom down at top speed." . . . Hamilton reports that “French officials plan to investigate toot de suite.” . . .

Jimmy Fallon of NBC-TV admits to being shocked when he heard about Tebow signing with the Eagles. Fallon explained: “It is pretty shocking, mainly because I didn’t even know he played an instrument.” . . . In 2013, Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen purchased a 3,310-square-foot apartment in New York City. They paid US$14 million for the 47th-floor unit. You could have rented it — $45,000 per month furnished, or $42,500 unfurnished — but someone beat you to it. . . . Tom and Gisele can use the pocket change. . . . Headline at TheOnion.com: Report: New NFL stadium in Los Angeles could create thousands of local law-enforcement jobs. . . . After Houston Rockets centre Dwight Howard said his home contains 50 guns and 20 snakes, Fark.com pointed out: “Or as that’s called in the Texas homebuilding market, standard features.” . . .

“The Apple Watch, scheduled to be in stores April 24, now won’t be there until June,” reports Janice Hough, aka The Left Coast Sports Babe. “Isn’t the first function of a watch to be on time?” . . . One more from Hough: “San Francisco 49ers right guard Alex Boone apparently told HBO’s Real Sports about former head coach Jim Harbaugh: ‘This guy might be clinically insane.’ Just wondering what percentage of NFL coaches Boone thinks aren’t?” . . . The national-champion Ohio State Buckeyes played their annual spring game last Saturday and 99,391 fans showed up. That is a record for a spring game. The Buckeyes had drawn 95,722 in 2009. In Alabama, the Crimson Tide had 65,157 at its spring game this year, while Nebraska drew 76,881 and Michigan 66,000. . . . Yes, football is king. . . .

“A mom in Michigan discovered marijuana inside a pair of jeans she bought at Target for her nine-year-old son,” reports Brad Dickson of the Omaha World-Herald. “This is the first kid ever happy with the clothes his mom picked out.” . . . “The NBA playoffs are underway,” notes Dickson. “This is the annual sports postseason that takes slightly longer than it did to build the average Egyptian pyramid.” . . . Headline at SportsPickle.com: LeBron’s 10-year-old son drops 40 points on Celtics on ‘Take Your Kids to Work Day.’

(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.)

There has never been a subscription fee for this blog, but if you enjoy stopping by here, why not consider donating to the cause? Just click HERE. . . and thank you very much.

Storm stings Oil Kings

Mr. Lazuli Bunting stopped by and said hello. Also said
he was on his way to London for the Memorial Cup. I
just hope he knows which London.

F Bud Holloway (Seattle, 2003-08) has signed a one-year contract with Bern (Switzerland, NL A). This season with Skellefteå (Sweden, SEL), he had 33 points, including 10 goals, in 53 games. . . .
F Bohdan Višňák (Saskatoon, 2006-07) has signed a one-year contract with Nice (France, Division 1). This season with Montpellier (France, Division 1), he had 11 points, four of them goals, in 16 games.
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1. So what happened to the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday afternoon? According to Jack Todd, in the Montreal Gazette, it was  a combination of speed and sympathy. His piece is right here.

2. Remember J.P. Arencibia? He was a catcher with the Toronto Blue Jays, until last season ended. Arencibia says he no longer is with the Blue Jays because of unfavourable media coverage last season. Never mind that he couldn’t hit and struggled on defence. Brendan Kennedy of the Toronto Star has more right here.

3. A Saturday afternoon tweet from Cathal Kelly of The Globe and Mail: “A silent prayer for the all the sportswriters who will have to cover the Belmont Stakes, having never watched a horse race in their lives.” . . . That comes after California Chrome won the Preakness Stakes, becoming the third horse in the last 10 years to win the first two legs of the Triple Crown.

4. If you knew that Big Brown (2008) and I’ll Have Another (2012) were the other two, you know your thoroughbreds.

5. In watching the Stanley Cup playoffs and the first two games of the Memorial Cup tournament, it has become rather apparent that the unpenalized cross-check has returned to the game of hockey.

6. Does the performance by F Milan Lucic in these playoffs, from the chest-thumping to the handshake line the other night, say more about him or a lack of leadership on the Boston Bruins’ roster? Shouldn’t one of the more veteran players have taken him aside earlier and suggested he refocus his energies on what he does best, which is forecheck and cause a ruckus in the offensive zone? Or could it be that Lucic sees himself as the next Brad Marchand?

7. Will Lucic spend the off-season getting ready for the welcome he is going to receive in enemy arenas next season?
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F Ethen Frank has committed to attending Western Michigan U and playing for the Broncos. Frank, who played this season with his hometown U-16 Omaha AAA Lancers, was selected by the Victoria Royals in the fourth round of the WHL’s 2013 bantam draft.
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At the RBC Cup in Vernon, B.C., the host Vipers of the BCHL lost a semifinal game, 6-3, to the SJHL’s Yorkton Terriers, whose pregame meal, again, was paid for by F Jarret Stoll of the Los Angeles Kings. Have to think Stoll is buying again before today’s final. . . . The Terriers scored two empty-net goals to put away that victory. . . . In the other semifinal, the CCHL’s Carleton Place Canadians got past the MJHL’s Dauphin Kings, 5-3, with an empty-netter. . . . Today’s final is to begin at 4:30 p.m. Pacific (7:30 Eastern), and it’s scheduled to be televised by TSN.
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The junior B Pacific Junior Hockey League has done some juggling of its conferences, what with the North Delta Devils moving to Langley and becoming the Langley Knights. They will play out of the George Preston Recreation Centre.
Thus, the Knights have moved to the Harold Brittain Conference, with the Port Moody Panthers shifting to the Tom Shaw Conference.
Here is the new alignment:
TOM SHAW CONFERENCE
Delta Ice Hawks
Grandview Steelers
North Vancouver Wolf Pack
Port Moody Panthers
Richmond Sockeyes
HAROLD BRITTAIN CONFERENCE
Abbotsford Pilots
Aldergrove Kodiaks
Langley Knights
Mission City Outlaws
Ridge Meadows Flames
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MEMORIAL CUP
(at London, Ont., all times Eastern)
(all games televised by Sportsnet)
Friday: Val-d’Or 1, London 0 (8,863)
Saturday: Guelph 5, Edmonton 2 (8,842)
Sunday: London vs. Edmonton, 7 p.m.
Monday: Guelph vs. Val-d’Or, 7 p.m.
Tuesday: Edmonton vs. Val-d’Or, 7 p.m.
Wednesday: London vs. Guelph, 7 p.m.
Thursday: Tiebreaker, if necessary, 7 p.m.
Friday: Semifinal, 7 p.m.
Saturday: No game scheduled.
Sunday, May 25: Final, TBD.
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SATURDAY’S GAME:
The OHL-champion Guelph Storm scored the game’s last four goals and beat the WHL-champion Edmonton Oil Kings, 5-2, on Day 2 of the Memorial Cup tournament. . . . Guelph went 2-for-3 on the PP, scoring its first two goals with the man advantage. . . . Guelph got two goals from each of F Kerby Rychel and F Tyler Bertuzzi. Rychel is the son of former NHLer Warren Rychel, who now owns a piece of the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires and is the team’s general manager. Bertuzzi is a nephew to Detroit Red Wings F Todd Bertuzzi, who also played for the Storm. . . . Rychel scored the game’s first goal, with 4.2 seconds left in the first period, scoring on the PP after a soft roughing penalty to Edmonton D Aaron Irving. . . . The Oil Kings roared back early in the second period, getting goals 27 seconds apart from F Henrik Samuelsson (1:19) and D Ashton Sautner (1:46). . . . Guelph G Justin Nichols, who stopped 37 shots, was perfect after that. . . . Rychel tied the game at 7:40 of the second, giving Guelph goals on its first two PP shots of the game. That goal came as Jarry left his net to play the puck, a move that resulted in Edmonton F Mads Eller rifling an attempted clearance off Rychel and into the net. . . . At that point, Rychel had scored his club’s last four goals, as he scored the tying and winning goals as the Storm eliminated the North Bay Battalion in the OHL final. . . . F Brock McGinn gave Guelph its first lead at 14:52. . . . Bertuzzi added his goals at 5:46 and 15:49 of the third period. . . . Edmonton was 0-for-5 on the PP. . . . Jarry stopped 27 shots. . . . The Oil Kings have a quick turnaround as they meet the host London Knights tonight.
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From Edmonton Sun columnist Terry Jones (@sunterryjones): “Good gawd. Attempt from behind own net by Mads Eller to ice puck on power play hits Rychel and in off Jarry. Steve Smith flashback. It's 2-2.”
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From Alan Caldwell (@smallatlarge): “Not a must-win game for the Knights and Oil Kings (today), but loser almost certainly needs to go through tiebreaker game to win Cup. Hard.”


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“Tiger Woods says he isn’t sure if he will be able to play at Augusta,” notes Janice Hough (aka The Left Coast Sports Babe). “And if you thought that little boy at the Kansas-Stanford game was crying, wait until you see the Masters’ TV sponsors.” . . . Hough, again: “Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper has installed beer taps in the governor’s mansion. And visitors from out of state are thinking ‘beer schmeer, what about brownies?’ ” . . . With Fleetwood Mac preparing for its first tour in 16 years, Hough writes: “Start building that shelter in the backyard. Last year, Stevie Nicks said there was ‘more chance of an asteroid hitting the earth’ than of Christine McVie rejoining Fleetwood Mac.” . . .

Here’s Bob Molinaro of the Hampton Roads Virginian-Pilot, after the Arizona Diamondbacks and Los Angeles Dodgers opened the MLB season in Sydney, Australia, last weekend: “The first time a big-league baseball team appeared Down Under was in 1888 when the touring White Sox played on the same cricket grounds used by the Dodgers and D-backs. Apparently, the American game never took off there.” . . . The MLB season hits high gear this weekend and, really, there’s nothing better than that first week of play. . . . The New York Yankees will have slimmed-down-southpaw CC Sabathia on the mound for the sixth straight Opening Day. The last Yankees pitcher to start six straight Opening Days? No, it wasn’t Ron Guidry. It was Lefty Gomez (1932-37). . . .

Here’s Jack Todd in the Montreal Gazette, writing about the Big Owe: “To pour another $300 million into putting a new roof on the place would require a whole truckload of stupid on the part of our politicians — so we can’t rule it out. But the only approach that makes sense is to take it apart, sell it off one piece at a time to defray the costs, and replace it with urban green space or some plan that does not involve another billion in taxpayer dollars. Meanwhile, if you really have to spend $300 million, spend it to help build the real baseball stadium that should have been put up 20 years ago.” . . .

“The NFL is suing rapper M.I.A. for $16.6 million for her on-camera middle-finger salute during the halftime show of Super XLVI,” writes Ian Hamilton of the Regina Leader-Post. “Strangely, the league isn’t suing the Denver Broncos, who were M.I.A. during Super Bowl XLVIII.” . . . “Russia has been kicked out of the G8,” notes Richmond, B.C., blogger TC Chong. “I had no idea it was involved in Gatorade formulations.” . . .

“My wife asked my thoughts on New Brunswick skip Jimmy Gratton choosing Kate Upton for his Dream Team,” offers RJ Currie of SportsDeke.com. “I said, ‘Let he without a sinful thought throw the first stone.’ " . . . One more from Currie: “Twitter was down for roughly 45 minutes on March 11. So for a while millions of people with no life had no one to share it with.” . . . “According to the Daily Record UK,” Currie reports, “38 celebrities recently were wedded in secret. I'll go out on a limb and say none of them are Kardashians.” . . .

“The Raiders must be flattered,” writes Scott Ostler of the San Francisco Chronicle. “Richie Incognito says he’d love to play for them because he knows the coaches and because ‘the Raiders have that aura.’ Talk about desperate sucking up. The Raiders are a lacklustre football organization with an interesting past and questionable future. Aura? Ghostbusters couldn’t locate the Raiders’ aura.” . . . The Chicago White Sox will offer a three-pound dessert at games this season. Included in the package are vanilla, chocolate and strawberry ice cream -- four scoops of each, don’t you know -- with caramel and strawberry sauces and chocolate syrup. It’s all topped, naturally, with whipped cream and cherries. Column contributor Bill Littlejohn says: “The American Heart Association calls it Sundae Bloody Sundae.” . . . Brett Enright, a restaurateur in Florida, claims to have set a world record by building a 125-pound hot dog. Littlejohn says it may not be a record. As he points out: “Many are disputing that claim, saying that with his recent weight gain, Yasiel Puig of the Dodgers weighs 245 pounds." . . .

“Sad to report that Roberto Luongo, the only NHL player worth following on Twitter, has decided to scale back on his social media activities,” notes Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun. “All I can say is @strombone1 please come home soon.” . . . Yes, Twitter is a drearier place since @strombone1 quieted down. . . . One more from Simmons: “David Braley must be a dreamer. He has the Argos and the B.C. Lions up for sale, if anybody’s asking. The Argos price: $20 million. The Lions price: $60 million. At those prices, Braley will be owning two teams for a while.” . . . Cam Hutchinson of the Saskatoon Express has heard from friends in Toronto who “tell me many of the lawn chairs set up at Yonge and Bloor for the Stanley Cup parade now are sitting empty.” . . .

You may have noticed this week that the Detroit Tigers signed third baseman Miguel Cabrera to baseball’s latest unbelievable contract. Someone did the match and discovered that Cabrera will earn US$49,423 for each of his at-bats over the next 10 years. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2010 the median annual income of a Michigan household was $49,445. . . . A tweet from Mark Whicker of the Orange County Register, as Stanford’s men’s basketball team was losing to Dayton on Thursday: “Tiger Woods was here, apparently. Stanford won't be playing on the weekend. He can relate to that.”

(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.)

There has never been a subscription fee for this blog, but if you enjoy stopping by here, why not consider donating to the cause? Just click HERE. . . and thank you very much.

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.

There has never been a subscription fee for this blog, but if you enjoy stopping by here, why not consider donating to the cause? Just click HERE. . . and thank you very much.

THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Jakub Sindel (Brandon, 2004-05) signed a one-year contract with Dinamo Riga (Latvia, KHL). He had one assist in four games during a one month tryout with Kloten (Switzerland, NL A) that ended last week. Sindel missed two weeks during the tryout with a broken jaw. Dinamo's press release notes that Sindel was offered a contract for the rest of the season by Kloten but the offer was declined; Sindel had already decided to move to Dinamo. Last season, Sindel had 15 goals and 18 assists in 59 games for Pelicans Lahti (Finland, SM-Liiga).
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Two more suspensions came out of the WHL’s justice department, which apparently no longer takes weekends off — or long weekends, for that matter.
F Kale Kessy of the Medicine Hat Tigers and D Griffin Reinhart of the Edmonton Oil Kings each drew five-game suspensions.
Kessy took a double minor for a check from behind on D Zach Habscheid of the host Victoria Royals on Thursday. Habscheid is believed to have suffered a concussion.
Reinhart took a kneeing major and game misconduct against the visiting Kootenay Ice on Wednesday. Ice F Brendan Hurley hasn’t played since taking that hit.
Jeff Hollick, the radio voice of the Ice, reported Sunday on his blog: “Brendan Hurley will be seeing the team doctor to determine the extent of the knee injury.
The early feeling is he could be out 4-6 weeks but that is just a guess.”
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SOME SUNDAY HIGHLIGHTS:
In Portland, G Ty Rimmer stopped 43 shots to lead the Tri-City Americans to a 4-0 victory over the Winterhawks. . . . The Americans (5-2-0) have beaten Portland three times in as many tries this season. They won’t meet again for six weeks. . . . F Adam Hughesman had two goals, giving him six on the season. . . . Rimmer has one shutout this season and five in his career. . . . G Mac Carruth stopped 18 shots for Portland. . . . Attendance was 2,400. . . . The Winterhawks were playing their third game in as many nights; the Americans didn’t play on Saturday.
In Swift Current, G Laurent Brossoit made 28 saves to help the Edmonton Oil Kings to a 4-1 victory over the Broncos. . . . F Stephane Legault scored twice for the Oil Kings, although teammates after the game were congratulating on scoring three times. Perhaps a change to the online scoresheet on the WHL website will appear Monday. . . . Attendance was 2,022. . . . Broncos G Jon Groenheyde, acquired last week from the Oil Kings, turned aside 29 shots. . . . Edmonton (4-2-2) won two games on a three-game weekend trip into the East Division.
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JUST NOTES: The Regina Pats had F Nils Moser back Saturday night for the first time this season. He had knee surgery over the summer. . . . The Pats, who lost 2-0 to the visiting Prince George Cougars, were without D Colton Jobke, who has a sore foot after blocking a shot on Friday. Regina head coach Pat Conacher told Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post that X-rays on Jobke’s foot were negative.
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Got a note on Sunday:
“Hey Gregg, you should check out the PIJHL standings on their website. The Richmond Sockeyes are 6-0 to start the season.... WITH SIX SHUT-OUTS!!!! What!??”
So I took a look. Yikes! The question in the junior B Pacific International league isn’t who will be the first team to beat the Sockeyes. No, the question is: Who will score the first goal against the Sockeyes.
To date, the Sockeyes have beaten the Mission Icebreakers 6-0, North Vancouver Wolf Pack 10-0, Ridge Meadows Flames 7-0, Mission again (8-0), North Delta Devils 4-0, and Port Moody Black Panthers, 9-0.
The Sockeyes are at home to the Delta Ice Hawks, who are 5-1-0, on Thursday night. Both teams play in the Tom Shaw Conference.
Goaltender Jonah Imoo, the son of former WHL G Dusty Imoo, has put up four of the Sockeye’s six shutouts. Dusty is the Seattle Thunderbirds’ goaltending coach.
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Jack Todd, who long has columnized in the pages of the Montreal Gazette, has never been one to pull his punches . . . or his words. Today is no different.
“Just when we thought that we knew how low our national buffoon could sink (and our estimate of him is pretty much bottomless),” Todd writes, “we were stunned last Thursday evening when Don Cherry plumbed the depths with a vicious attack on the very gladiators who have made him rich and famous.”
Todd’s complete column is right here.

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
     
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F Adam Hughesman of the Tri-City Americans has signed an ATO with the NHL’s New York Islanders. Hughesman, a 20-year-old from Winnipeg, is coming off a season in which he totalled 81 points, including 39 goals, in 60 games. He is preparing for his fifth full season with the Americans.
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In a column in the Montreal Gazette, veteran NHL observer Jack Todd writes: “Enough is enough. It's time to outlaw fighting in hockey, to put an end to the game's goon culture for once and for all.”
Todd’s complete column is right here.
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George Johnson of the Calgary Herald is perhaps the most under-rated sports columnist in Canada today. If you aren’t reading him regularly, you should be.
Following the death of Wade Belak, Johnson talked with Theo Fleury about depression, something with which the former NHL star has had first-hand experience.
Johnson’s column is right here.
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Eric Duhatschek of The Globe and Mail has written an interesting piece that is headlined: Former NHLer Jim Peplinski backs abolition of fighting. . . . It is right here. . . . Interestingly, it includes this: “Peplinski . . . said his distaste for fighting was a contributing factor in his decision to retire prematurely from the NHL . . .”

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