WHL's playoff stage is set . . . Last pairings set on final day . . . Post-season begins Friday

F Bud Holloway (Seattle, 2003-08) has signed a two-year contract extension with Skellefteå (Sweden, SHL). He had 11 goals and 11 assists in 26 games this season. Holloway started the season with CSKA Moscow (Russia, KHL) and had three goals and six assists in 12 games when he was released on Nov. 18. He signed with Skellefteå on Dec. 1.

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Great atmosphere here at @PGCougars awards banquet less than 24 hrs after clinching BC banner. #cityofpg #whl pic.twitter.com/kawF9DIX0v

— Greg_Fry (@GregFry250) March 19, 2017

The rant is legendary. The NFL’s New York Jets were 2-5 in 2002 and head coach Herm Edwards wasn’t happy.

Addressing a news conference on Oct. 30, Edwards said: “This is what the greatest thing about sports is: You play to win the game. Hello! You play to win the game.”

And then along came the loser point.

The Prince George Cougars, in their 23rd season in the northern city, won their first B.C. Division pennant on Saturday night, despite losing 2-1 in a shootout to the visiting Kamloops Blazers.

This isn’t to slight the Cougars’ accomplishment. After all, you play the hand you’re dealt — and you play by the rules as they are put in front of you — and that’s exactly what the Cougars did. At the end of a gruelling 72-game regular season, the Cougars stood tallest. There is no taking that away from them and the entire organization should hold its head high.

But regulation time on Saturday came to something of a strange conclusion, and it’s something at which the pooh-bahs who are enamoured with the loser point need to look.

Here’s Ted Clarke of the Prince George Citizen, explaining what happened:

“The game was heading into overtime with 80 seconds to play when Cougars defenceman Brendan Guhle got the puck behind the net and just stood there running time off the clock. Guhle wisely figured it was better to play it safe and lock away the point to clinch than try to go for the win in regulation and run the risk of the Blazers popping one in. He stayed behind the net a full 40 seconds.”

The Cougars went into the game with a two-point edge over the second-place Kelowna Rockets. Prince George, then, needed one point to wrap up first place. With the score 1-1 late in the game, the Cougars knew that the single point was all they needed. 

The loser point, then, has brought us to a point where, as Herm Edwards might say, “There are times when you don't play to win the game.”

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Not speculating and have absolutely no knowledge of situation but I will point out that Barzal is not here to accept awards.

— TBird Tidbits (@TBirdTidbits) March 20, 2017

The stage is set for the WHL playoffs to open on Friday and you can bet that teams have fingers crossed in the hopes that the mumps virus doesn’t show up along the trail.

The most recent WHLers to show symptoms — G Jordan Papirny of the Swift Current Broncos and F Mathew Barzal of the Seattle Thunderbirds — may be ready to return to the ice. However, the playoffs also signal the start of the WHL’s secret season, so we may not know how healthy they are until we see the Game 1 lineups.

Papirny hasn’t played since March 7. Barzal, the Western Conference’s top player this season, took part in the warmup on March 10, prior to a game against the visiting Everett Silvertips, but left the ice and hasn’t played since. He has missed five games.

The virus continues to lurk around Western Canadian arenas, too. On Sunday, the NHL’s Calgary Flames revealed that F Michael Ferland has been isolated while they await test results for mumps.

“We’ll probably know in the next day or so,” Brad Treliving, the Flames’ general manager, told Postmedia’s Wes Gilbertson. “When you start not feeling well, start to show some symptoms, then you have to push pause and make sure that gets checked out.

“That’s the key thing — this is precautionary right now. But until such time that we get a diagnosis one way or another, we’re going to take precautions.”

If Ferland tests positive, the Flames will be the third NHL team impacted by mumps this season, along with the Vancouver Canucks and Minnesota Wild.

At least five WHL teams — Seattle, Swift Current, the Brandon Wheat Kings, Medicine Hat Tigers and Victoria Royals — have had players and coaches with symptoms.

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The Vancouver Giants raised $12,102 for the Kidney Foundation of Canada during a recent promotion that involved them wearing sweaters in honour of Don Cherry, and then auctioning them off. . . . Roxanne Hooper of the Langley Advance has more right here, including the news that “an original Don Cherry ensemble, complete with a signed Don Cherry jacket, shirt and tie . . . fetched the largest donation of $1,810.”

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Jimmy Breslin: "I write with my feet not my head" ... In other words, go there. Into tenements, into the ditches where men work and die.

— Michael Powell (@powellnyt) March 19, 2017

Jimmy Breslin, a legendary New York City newspaperman, had died at the age of 86. No writer has put grit on a newspaper page the way Breslin did. In fact, he was New York City. . . . He was in bed on the night John Lennon was shot. In two hours, Breslin wrote this column right here. . . . If you haven’t read it, it’s also worth your while to chase down the column he wrote after the assassination of JFK. . . . And if you want more of Breslin’s brilliance, click right here and you’ll find three columns that he wrote about the man who now is POTUS. These columns are from 1990, 1989 and 1988.

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Received this last night from @WHLGiants. Support is so inspiring. Some messy tries at writing Puck Cancer, lol. pic.twitter.com/jR9yidURUK

— Steve Ewen (@SteveEwen) March 19, 2017

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THE STAGE IS SET . . . 

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Regina vs. Calgary: Opens with games Friday and Saturday in Regina. . . . Regina won season series, 3-1-0; Calgary was 1-2-1.

Medicine Hat vs. Brandon: Opens in Medicine Hat, Friday and Saturday. . . . Season series went to Medicine Hat, 3-1-0.

Lethbridge vs. Red Deer: Opens in Lethbridge on Saturday and Sunday. . . . Lethbridge was 5-0-1 in season series; Red Deer was 1-4-1.

Moose Jaw vs. Swift Current: They’ll start with games Friday and Saturday in Moose Jaw. . . . The Warriors won the season series, 4-2-0.

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Everett vs. Victoria: They are scheduled to open Friday and Saturday in Everett. . . . The Silvertips were 4-0-0 in the season series; the Royals were 0-3-1.

Prince George vs. Portland: It starts with games Friday and Saturday in Prince George. . . . In the season series, the Cougars were 2-2-0; the Winterhawks were 2-1-1. . . . Interestingly, the WHL website includes dates for only the first four games. Mike Johnston, the Winterhawks’ GM/head coach, told the Portland Tribune that he would prefer a 2-3-2 format. The Cougars want to play 2-2-1-1-1. This one might take some negotiating.

Seattle vs. Tri-City: They’ll get started in Kent, Wash., on Friday and Saturday. . . . Seattle won the season series, 6-2-0.

Kelowna vs. Kamloops: The series begins in Kelowna on Friday and Saturday. . . . Kamloops was 6-3-1 in the season series; the Rockets were 4-6-0.

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SUNDAY’S GAMES:

Tyler's Last WHL game. First class organization EOK pic.twitter.com/Y7eodNtCje

— Dean Robertson (@DeanRobby08) March 20, 2017

At Edmonton, F Riley Stadel completed his WHL career with an OT goal that gave the Oil Kings a 5-4

RILEY STADEL

victory over the Red Deer Rebels. . . . The Oil Kings (23-43-6), who won’t be in the playoffs, concluded their season with three straight victories, the last two over Red Deer. In fact, five of Edmonton’s 23 victories came against Red Deer (30-29-13), which finished third in the Central Division. . . . The Oil Kings scored the game’s first two goals and the last three. . . . D Ethan Cap gave the home side a 1-0 lead at 6:54 of the first period and F Tyson Gruninger (3) made it 2-0 at 8:07 of the second. . . . The Rebels scored the next four goals. . . . F Evan Polei (33) got them to within a goal at 9:38. . . . F Brandon Hagel, who had two goals and two assists, tied it, on a PP, at 19:17. . . . Hagel (31) gave his guys the lead at 11:47 of the third period and F Austin Glover (22), who had two assists, stretched the lead at 14:13. . . . The Oil Kings got close when F Trey Fix-Wolansky got No. 24, on a PP, at 18:29, and F Colton Kehler (18) tied it at 18:59. . . . Stadel won it with his seventh goal of the season. . . . Edmonton got three assists from F Davis Koch and two from F Graham Millar. . . . G Patrick Dea stopped 23 shots for Edmonton, with G Riley Lamb turning aside 32 at the other end. . . . Edmonton was 1-3 on the PP; Red Deer was 1-6. . . . Edmonton F Adam Berg got tossed with a charging major and game misconduct at 4:48 of the third period. . . . The Rebels rested D Colton Bobyk and F Michael Spacek. . . . Announced attendance: 18,102.

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Hope Portland enjoys the long bus trip to Prince George

— SpokaneChiefsFanPage (@gochiefsgoblog) March 20, 2017

At Portland, it was a memorable night for the Yamamoto brothers as they led the Spokane Chiefs to a 7-2 victory over the Winterhawks. . . . The Chiefs (27-33-12) won’t be in the playoffs, so this was the final

KEANU YAMAMOTO

game for F Keanu Yamamoto, 20. Head coach Don Nachbaur, with an obvious feel for the moment, had Keanu on a line with his younger brother, Kailer. . . . Keanu finished with two goals, an assist and a fight, while Kailer helped out with three assists. . . . F Riley Wood had a goal and two assists for the Chiefs. . . . Spokane took a 1-0 lead on F Alex Mowbray’s fourth goal, at 5:57 of the first period. . . . Woods (12) increased that lead, on a PP, at 8:04, after Portland was given a bench minor for having an ineligible player on the bench. F Brett Clayton was listed as a scratch but was dressed. Because he was scratched, he was ineligible. . . . D Henri Jokiharju (9) got Portland on the scoreboard, on a PP, at 11:43, but the Chiefs scored the next four goals. . . . Keanu Yamamoto got two of those, to run his total to 26, with F Eli Zummack (9) and F Hudson Elynuik (29) getting the others. . . . F Riley McKay (3) had Spokane’s other goal, while F Keegan Iverson (26) also scored for Portland. . . . Elynuik and Zummack added an assist each. . . . Jokiharju and Iverson each had an assist for Portland. . . . G Jayden Sittler recorded the victory with 30 saves. . . . Portland G Shane Farkas blocked 27 shots. . . . Spokane was 3-6 on the PP; Portland was 2-4. . . . F Cody Glass, who didn’t play in the final two periods of Saturday’s 4-1 victory over the host Seattle Thunderbirds, was among Portland’s scratches. . . . The Winterhawks (40-28-4) had won their previous three games. They finished in the Western Conference’s second wild-card spot and now will move into a first-round playoff series with the Prince George Cougars, who finished atop the B.C. Division. . . . Announced attendance: 9,114.

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Factor in World Jrs, NHL camps, goalie injuries and @SeattleTbirds games missed this season is over 200. Yet team on verge of 46th win.

— Thom Beuning (@ThomBeuning) March 19, 2017

At Kent, Wash., F Alexander True and F Nolan Volcan each scored twice to lead the Seattle

AUSTIN STRAND

Thunderbirds to a 6-1 victory over the Vancouver Giants. . . . Seattle (46-20-6) finished second in the U.S. Division. This victory lifted it two points clear of the Prince George Cougars, something that could come into play in deciding home-ice advantage down the playoff trail. . . . The Thunderbirds will open against the Tri-City Americans. . . . The Giants (20-46-6) lost their last three games. They missed the playoffs for a third straight season and the fourth time in five years. . . . True, who finished with 25 goals, gave Seattle a 1-0 lead 30 seconds into the first period. . . . Volcan, who had 16 goals, made it 2-0 at 8:34. . . . F Elijah Brown (4), and F Matthew Wedman (6) also scored for Seattle. . . . F Johnny Wesley scored his 11th goal for Vancouver, at 15:15 of the third period. . . . D Austin Strand and F Keegan Kolesar each had two assists for Seattle. . . . Strand led the WHL in games played, with 74. He opened the season with the Red Deer Rebels, playing 38 games there before being dealt to Seattle, where he played the final 36 games. . . . Seattle G Carl Stankowsi stopped 19 shots. . . . Vancouver starter David Tendeck allowed six goals on 25 shots through two periods. Ryan Kubic played the third, stopping all nine shots he faced. . . . Seattle was 1-4 on the PP; Vancouver was 0-3. . . . Announced attendance: 4,067.

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At Kennewick, Wash., the Tri-City Americans were this close ( ) to a first-round series with the Prince George Cougars when they scored three quick goals and beat the Everett Silvertips, 6-5, in OT. . . . The

JORDAN TOPPING

Silvertips twice held third-period leads — 4-2 and 5-3 — and it appeared that the Americans would end up fourth in the U.S. Division and in possession of the Western Conference’s first wild-card spot, meaning a first-round hookup with the Cougars, who won the B.C. Division. . . . However, F Jordan Topping, who had three goals, cut the deficit to one, at 17:44, and D Dylan Coghlan (15) tied it at 18:33, with Topping drawing an assist. . . . Topping, who finished with 28 goals, won it 2:40 into extra time. . . . F Brandson Hein gave Everett a 1-0 lead at 3:07 of the first period, before Tri-City scored twice — F Morgan Geekie (35), on a PP, at 6:12 of the first period, and D Juuso Valimaki (19), at 2:48 of the second. . . . Everett took a 4-2 lead on goals from F Riley Sutter (20), who later left with an apparent injury, at 4:42, Hein (6), at 13:22, and F Brian King (4), at 4:29 of the third period. . . . Topping pulled his side to within a goal at 6:25, only to have Everett F Connor Dewar (14) get it back at 13:48. . . . All that did was set up the Americans for the big finish. . . . Tri-City F Tyler Sandhu had three assists, D Parker Wotherspoon and Coghlan each had two, and Valimaki had one. . . . King and Hein had an assist each for Everett. . . . Tri-City G Rylan Parenteau earned the victory in relief of Evan Sarthou. Parenteau stopped six of seven shots in 17:36, after Sarthou was beaten four times on 23 shots in 44:29. . . . Everett got 39 saves from Mario Petit. . . . Tri-City was 1-3 on the PP; Everett was 0-5. . . . The Silvertips rested D Noah Juulsen, D Lucas Skrumeda, F Dominic Zwerger, F Patrick Bajkov and F Matt Fonteyne. . . . Everett F Devon Skoleski left early with an undisclosed injury. . . . The Silvertips (44-16-12) won the U.S. Division and Western Conference titles and will meet the Victoria Royals, the conference’s second wild-card entry, in the first round. . . . Everett finished with points in its last four games (3-0-1). . . . The Americans (41-28-3) played three games in fewer than 48 hours to close out the regular season. They won all three, twice in OT and once in a shootout. . . .. . . . Announced attendance: 4,190.

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END OF REGULAR SEASON

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Halifax wants 2019 Memorial Cup . . . Czechs load up on WHLers . . . Coaching change in AJHL

D Ole-Kristian Tollefsen (Brandon, 2002-04) has signed a two-year extension with Färjestad Karlstad (Sweden, SHL). He has two goals and three assists in 25 games. He also is an alternate captain.

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The QMJHL’s Halifax Mooseheads announced on Thursday that they plan on submitting a bid in the hopes of playing host to the 2019 Memorial Cup tournament. . . . From the Mooseheads news release: “The 2018-19 season will celebrate the 25th anniversary season of the Mooseheads. It will also be 20 seasons since the club hosted its only previous Memorial Cup in 2000 when the hometown team electrified the City of Halifax and garnered national attention for the franchise. The fans were possibly the biggest story of the event in the spring of 2000 as 79,877 packed the Scotiabank Centre (then Metro Centre) for the eight-day tournament which at the time was the second-highest total in the history of the Memorial Cup.” . . . Halifax won its only Memorial Cup title in Saskatoon in 2013, beating the Portland Winterhawks, 6-4, in the final. . . . The 2017 tournament will be played in Windsor, Ont. . . . The 2018 tournament, which marks the 100th anniversary of the Memorial Cup, is to be played in Hamilton, Oshawa or Regina.

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The Czech Republic’s national junior team includes seven WHLers on its 22-man roster. . . . Three of the eight defencemen are from the WHL — Vojtěch Budik of the Prince Albert Raiders, Libor Hájek of the Saskatoon Blades and Ondrej Vala of the Kamloops. . . . As well, four of the 12 forwards are from WHL teams — Adam Musil and Michael Špaček of the Red Deer Rebels, Simon Stransky of Prince Albert and Tomas Soustal of the Kelowna Rockets. . . . The WHLers are expected to join their Czech teammates in Montreal on Sunday.

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It was 36 years ago last night — Dec. 8, 1980 — when John Lennon was shot down on a sidewalk in New York City. Jimmy Breslin, the legendary columnist, was with the New York Daily News. He was at home that night when he got the call. . . . This link right here will take you to the column he wrote on deadline. This is what newspapering used to be.

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If you’ve got a comment, some information you would like to pass along, or if you just want to say hello, feel free to contact me at greggdrinnan@gmail.com.

If you would like to donate to the cause, please visit the bottom of this post and go right ahead.

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Ryan Howse no longer is an assistant coach with the BCHL’s Prince George Spruce Kings. According to a news release, Howse “has stepped down . . . for personal and family reasons.” . . . Last season, he was the head coach of the Prince George Coast Inn of the North Cougars, a midget Tier 1 team that won the B.C. championship. . . . Howse played four WHL seasons (2007-11) with the Chilliwack Bruins.

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The AJHL’s Grande Prairie Storm has fired general manager/head coach Kevin Higo and replaced him with Matt Keillor. . . . Higo had the rest of this season left on a three-year contract. . . . Keillor has spent the past two seasons as an assistant coach with the Storm, while also working as head coach of the midget AAA Storm. . . . The AJHL’s Storm is 7-22-5 and in sixth place in the Viterra AJHL North, 14 points out of fifth. . . . Under Higo, the Storm was 33-108-13.

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The SJHL’s Kindersley Klippers have added Larry Wintoneak to their staff as an assistant coach. He will work alongside GM/head coach Geoff Grimwood. . . . Wintoneak, who has coached in the SJHL with the Flin Flon Bombers, La Ronge Ice Wolves and the Klippers, has been Kindersley’s strength-and-conditioning coach for the past two years. He will continue with those responsibilities while also working as an assistant coach.

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Tweet of the Day

2.12 - Over the past 2 1/2 weeks, @C_Hart70 has improved his career GAA to 2.12, now tied with Cam Ward for the 6th best in WHL history https://t.co/Vixo6A9MCC

— WHL Facts (@WHLFacts) December 8, 2016

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THURSDAY’S GAMES:

No Games Scheduled.

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FRIDAY’S GAMES (all times local):

Red Deer at Calgary, 7 p.m.

Brandon at Edmonton 7 p.m.

Medicine Hat at Lethbridge, 7 p.m.

Victoria at Portland, 7 p.m.

Moose Jaw at Prince Albert, 7 p.m. (TBG)

Seattle at Prince George, 7 p.m.

Swift Current at Regina, 7 p.m. (TBG)

Kootenay at Spokane, 7:05 p.m. (TBG)

Kelowna vs. Tri-City, at Kennewick, Wash., 7:05 p.m.
Everett vs. Vancouver, at Langley, B.C., 7:30 p.m.
TBG: Teddy Bear Game.

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The Book Shelf: Part 4 of 4

Just in time for Christmas, here’s a brief look at some of the books I have read over the last while:

Tales of a First-Round Nothing: My Life as an NHL Footnote -- Terry Ryan, who was selected by the Montreal Canadiens with the eighth overall pick of the NHL’s 1995 draft, went on to play just eight games in the NHL. What happened? Well, if you can get through all of the clichés and the obscenities, you will come to have some understanding of what went wrong. Ryan also paints a pretty vivid picture of the worlds of junior and professional hockey. And his dissing of the widely respected Red Fisher, a Hockey Hall of Famer who covered the Habs for the Montreal Star and Gazette for eons, is must reading. (Kindle)

True Confessions -- This book, by John Gregory Dunne, was published in 1977. I don’t understand how I missed it until the summer of 2014. But it was worth the wait, because this is a classic. Set in Los Angeles just after the Second World War, it is the story of brothers Des and Tom Spellacy, one a Catholic priest and the other a cop. Both are playing the game, their worlds dominated by men of power and their bagmen. Not for the faint of heart or tender ears, the dialogue in this book is as real as you will read anywhere from any era. . . . Under the headline The Book You Have to Read, a review at therapsheet.blogspot.ca by Steve Nester, includes this: “Obviously a tribute to the genre, True Confessions is not obsequious, imitative, or slobbering. A nice long kiss on the mouth but with too much class for tongue, True Confessions says, ‘I love you,’ without any meretricious groping. As a work of art it takes its place in a long literary tradition of crime novels where the only new ground broken is originality of voice and the adroitly and distinctively depicted confluence of character, motive, and circumstance.” (Kindle)

Tune In: The Beatles: All These Years -- This is Volume 1 of what author Mark Lewisohn has said will be a trilogy. Lewisohn is recognized as the leading historian of the Beatles, and Volume 1 is evidence of that. There can be no calculating the amount of research that went into this work that covers The Beatles from the childhood of all band members through 1962. Between the covers are anecdotes and minutiae of all kinds. Not be missed if you’re a Beatles or music lover. (Crown, hard cover, 944 pages, Cdn$45.00)

The Two Faces of January -- Written by the award-winning Patricia Highsmith, this book -- the movie is billed as a psychological thriller -- was published in 1964. I found the book to be more of a character study than a thriller. Still, I quite enjoyed the story of an American student in Athens, who ends up in a bizarre relationship with a con artist and his wife. Highsmith, who died in 1995, also wrote The Talented Mr. Ripley, among many other books, and The Two Faces of January is very much in that vein. The movie, starring Viggo Mortensen, Kirsten Dunst and Oscar Isaac, was released early in 2014. (Kindle)

Up, Up & Away: The Kid, The Hawk, Rock, Vladi, Pedro, Le Grand Orange, Youppi!, The Crazy Business of Baseball, & the Ill-fated but Unforgettable Montreal Expos -- Despite what has to be one of the more unwieldy titles in publishing history, author Jonah Keri hits this one clear out of Olympic Stadium. Yes, he hits it through the hole in the roof and right out of the Big Owe. If you were an Expos fan, reading this book will cut you to the quick. Keri, who lived in Montreal and had an obvious love affair with the team, opens the corpse and lays it all out there -- the good, the bad and the ugly. You may be surprised to learn that Claude Brochu and Jeffrey Loria shouldn’t get all the blame for the Expos’ departure; no, before Loria there were some cheap partners who may well have prevented this team from becoming a dynasty. Oh, and Bud Selig, the commissioner, might have some blood on his hands, too. (Kindle)

The War That Ended Peace: The Road to 1914 -- Margaret MacMillan’s incredibly well-researched book probes all that went on in Europe in the years, indeed decades, leading up to the start of the First World War. The Globe and Mail has described MacMillan as “one of the most recognized and respected historians in the English-speaking world” and she more than lives up to that reputation with this work. It is a compelling read, although it’s hard to comprehend the mess that was created as those in charge, some qualified and many not, jockeyed for position. (Kindle)

Wild Pitches: Rumblings, Grumblings, and Reflections on the Game I Love -- Jayson Stark has covered baseball, and had a grand time doing it, for ESPN since 2000. Before that, he was a veteran newspaper reporter on the baseball beat. His love affair for the game shines through this collection of columns that were written for ESPN. The columns revisit various recent World Series and other happenings of note. But it is the offbeat columns -- on such things as glove talking, the Home Run Derby and strange occurrences -- that give this work its charm. (Kindle)

The World According to Breslin -- Jimmy Breslin, who won a Pulitzer Prize for opinion writing, is a newspaper columnist of the highest order. He is a columnist’s columnist. No one loves New York like he does and that, more than anything else, shines through this compilation that was first released in 1984. He is at his best, though, when he takes on those in the world of politics and doesn’t take any prisoners. These days, at the age of 83, Breslin writes one column a week, for the New York Daily News’ Sunday edition. (Kindle)

--30--

The Book Shelf: Part 1 of 4

Just in time for Christmas, here’s a brief look at some of the books I have read over the last while:

The Black Ace -- An old friend has died and Brad Shade, a former junior hockey star and ex-NHLer, is in Swift Current for the funeral. Of course, he gets drawn into the situation as there may be more to an apparent suicide than what meets the eye. If you are aware of author G.B. Joyce’s history with the citizens of Swift Current, there is more to this book than meets the eye, too. (Penguin, 362 pages, soft cover, Cdn$22.00)

Boy On Ice: The Life and Death of Derek Boogaard -- John Branch, a writer with The New York Times, wrote a three-part series on Boogaard, a WHL and NHL enforcer, for his newspaper. That led to this book, a thoroughly engrossing and unsettling look into the life on and off the ice of a giant of a man-child who wanted only to fit in and not be lonely. You need to read this book and then ask yourself why there still is fighting in hockey. You also might ask yourself how many positive drug tests it takes before the NHL, NHLPA or teams will intervene in the life of a troubled player. (HarperCollins, 371 pages, hard cover, Cdn$32.99)

Can’t Anybody Here Play This Game? (The Improbable Saga of the New York Mets’ First Year) -- That first year was 1962. Casey Stengel was the manager and he’s the one who coined the book’s title. Pulitzer Prize-winner Jimmy Breslin, the legendary New York newspaper columnist, takes us inside the Mets’ world, and it‘s hilarious and touching, all at the same time. Sheesh, Richie Ashburn could have returned for a second season with the Mets, but he chose to join the Philadelphia Phillies’ broadcast crew and took quite a paycut to do so. This is a quick and terrific read that should be on the must-read list of any sports fan. (Kindle)

City of Fallen Angels: A Mike Ward Mystery -- Mike Ward is a journalist for a wire service. He is Canadian and has been writing from Europe in the pre-Second World War years. But now he has been assigned to Los Angeles and all its glitter and its grunge. Yes, there has been a suicide, or was it a murder? Author Howard Engel gives the reader characters who are rich and dialogue that is richer. (Kindle)

Collision Low Crossers: A Year Inside the Turbulent World of NFL Football -- The New York Jets allowed author Nicholas Dawidoff access to all corners of their operation during the 2011 season -- they gave him everything he needed, including a security code, a locker and a desk. He attended meetings, stood on sidelines, watched games with co-ordinators. The result is one of the best sports books I have read. It especially provides the reader with a real feel for the brutality of pro football, not only with the injuries, but with the lack of job security for players and coaches. If you get the opportunity to read this book, do so. (Little, Brown, 485 pages, hard cover, Cdn$32.00, US$29,00)

A Drink Before The War -- Dennis Lehane is a favourite of mine, and he doesn’t disappoint with this book that introduced us to private investigators Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro. The action takes place in Boston, so, yes, there are politicians involved. It’s Lehane’s ability to turn a phrase and to capture the seamy side of Boston in all its stinking glory that allows this book to rise to the top. This is good stuff, really good stuff. (Harper, 323 pages, soft cover, Cdn$12.99) 

The Drop -- I don’t know that anyone writes about the mean streets of Boston better than the afore-mentioned Dennis Lehane, and that is in evidence here. There are gangsters and bartenders and love and a puppy, all wrapped up into a nifty, grungy story. This one isn’t long so is perfect for a cold winter’s night. (Kindle)

Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt -- Michael Lewis, perhaps best known in sporting circles as the author of The Blind Side and the terrific Moneyball, has turned to Wall Street for his latest book. He has been here before, especially with Liar’s Poker, a book that read like a novel but was about his time as a trader, so the ground isn’t unfamiliar. But, like Liar’s Poker, Flash Boys is so fantastic that the reader thinks it has to be fiction. Making Flash Boys even more interesting is that the hero, if he can be called that, is Brad Katsuyama, a Canadian who, in the beginning, works for the Royal Bank of Canada and wants only to do the right thing. (Kindle)

Future Greats and Heartbreaks: A Year Undercover in the Secret World of NHL Scouts -- Author Gare Joyce, who knows his way around more hockey arenas than he no doubt cares to admit, is a draft geek, no matter the sport. But with hockey in his veins, he is partial to the NHL draft. Thus, he spent the 2006-07 season inside the world of NHL scouts and the resulting book, which was published in 2008, is a terrific read with great insights from a number of perspectives. The reader gets a feel for life as a scout, some of which isn’t especially comfortable, and for the pressures on teenage hockey players as they strive to reach the NHL. (Kindle)

The Book Shelf: Part 4 of 4

A brief look at some of the books I have read over the last while:

Raylan – Raylan, of course, is Raylan Givens, the U.S. Marshal who is the focus of the TV series Justified. Raylan, the book, was written by Elmore Leonard, and it is a treat to read any of his work. His dialogue and his characters always make his work worth reading, and this one is no different. Even if the first half deals with the stealing of kidneys. (William Morrow, hard cover, 263 pages, US$26.99 -- found at Chapters for $7.99)

Randy Bachman's Vinyl Tap Stories – If you are a fan of Randy Bachman's Vinyl Tap, the popular CBC radio program, you'll enjoy reading this book. And if you haven't heard even one Vinyl Tap show, you'll enjoy it, too. Lots of music-related stories here, and lots of anecdotes involving Guess Who, BTO, Bravebelt, Chad Allen and the Expressions, and on and on. The last few pages feature a whole bunch of interesting lists, too. (Penguin, soft cover, 224 pages, Cdn$20.00)

Red Mittens & Red Ink: The Vancouver Olympics – Vancouver-based journalist Bob Mackin takes an intriguing look at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games that were held in Vancouver and Whistler. Mackin tackles the years before the Games, the leadup to the Games, the two weeks of the Games and the post-Games period. If you have any interest at all in what went on behind the scenes, in the impact the recession had on these Games, the city of Vancouver and the province of B.C., you absolutely must read this book. If you want to know whose backs got scratched, you absolutely must read this book. If you are a sports fan and a taxpayer, and wonder how our dollars get spent, well, have a towel ready because you will cry your eyes out. . . . This book is available in many forms; I found a Kindle version at www.shamswords.com.

Selling The Dream: How Hockey Parents and Their Kids are Paying the Price for our National Obsession – The subtitle pretty much says it all. You may have heard stories about the lengths some parents go to in order to facilitate their child’s minor hockey career. Well, Ken Campbell, a veteran writer with The Hockey News, and Jim Parcels, a veteran minor hockey observer, have taken some of them and put them between the covers of one book. But there is more to this book than that. There a whole lot of numbers, statistics and facts, explaining just what the odds are of your child making it to the NHL. This should be required reading for anyone with anything whatsoever to do with minor hockey. If you are a parent about to enter the world of minor hockey, well, be prepared to have nightmares. And, yes, the authors agree that spring/summer hockey sucks. (Viking, hard cover, 360 pages, $32.00)

The Short Sweet Dream of Eduardo Gutierrez – Written by famed New York newspaperman Jimmy Breslin, this is one of those books that will stay with you long after you have finished reading it. The teenaged Eduardo Gutierrez leaves Mexico, taking the overland route across the border, and goes to New York City looking for a job and money to send home. He ends up dead after drowning in concrete following the collapse of the apartment building on which he was working. In between life and death, Breslin, as only he can, takes apart the bureaucracy that allowed all of this to happen. This was published in 2002 but still has its bite today. (Crown, hard cover, 214 pages, Cdn$33.00, US$22.00)

The 34-Ton Bat: The Story of Baseball as Told Through Bobbleheads, Cracker Jacks, Jockstraps, Eye Black, and 375 Other Strange and Unforgettable Objects – Like your grandfather or favourite uncle who loves to tell you stories, author Steve Rushin presents for our reading enjoyment about a million wonderful baseball-related stories, as he lets us in on a whole bunch of the game’s secrets. It isn’t just that he tells us about the evolution of the catcher’s mitt; he tells us through anecdotes and is able to put faces on the players. This is one of those books that will have you saying “I didn’t know that! That’s interesting!” a few thousand times. (Kindle)

A Wanted Man – This is the latest (No. 17) in the Jack Reacher novels, all of them written by Lee Child. Following the 6-foot-4, 240-pound Reacher’s wanderings throughout the U.S., as the former military policeman encounters situations, conspiracies and crooks and thieves, is great escapism. (Dell, soft cover, 533 pages, Cdn$10.99, US$10.99)

What the Dog Saw: And Other Adventures – Author Malcolm Gladwell, as only he can do, explores various subjects in this work that was published in 2009. Gladwell writes some interesting stuff and this is no different. The highlight, perhaps, is a chapter that deals with Ron Popeil, the king of television marketing. Or maybe it's the one on Enron. Or maybe . . . Each of the 19 essays contained in this book have appeared in The New Yorker. (Little, Brown and Company, 432 pages, Kindle)

Whitey Bulger: America's Most Wanted Gangster and the Manhunt that Brought Him to Justice – There were a couple of Boston-based gangsters who believed they had immunity granted to them by the FBI, so they acted accordingly. Yes, they killed, they extorted, they did it all. You're thinking it's a work of fiction. Uhh, no. Authors Kevin Cullen and Shelley Murphy, a pair of Boston Globe reporters, detail the story of James (Whitey) Bulger, from his childhood in South Boston through his arrest in Santa Monica, Calif., at the age of 82. This is a great, if terrifying, read. (W.W. Norton & Co., 496 pages, Kindle)

The Whore of Akron: One Man's Search for the Soul of LeBron James – Scott Raab, who has written for Esquire since 1997, was born and raised in Cleveland. He is a Cleveland fan. Cleveland Browns. Cleveland Indians. Cleveland Cavaliers. No, he is not a fan of LeBron James. This is Raab's story of that relationship and all that went wrong. It is profane. It is hilarious. (Harper Perennial, soft cover, 302 pages, US$14.99, Cdn$16.99)

Winter of the World – Author Ken Follett’s Century Trilogy follows five familes through the 20th century. This is the second book, following Fall of Giants and preceding Edge of Eternity, which is scheduled for publication in the fall of 2014. Winter of the World’s focus is on the Second World War – the buildup, the fighting and the aftermath. If you are looking for a lengthy easy-to-read work of historical fiction, this is for you. It is escapism, for sure, and there also is a hint of American propaganda, but, hey, it’s enjoyable prose. (Kindle)

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