Do Hitmen have their men? ... Big day for Seibel family ... Ice adds a coach

Hey folks @gdrinnan Taking Note is working just loading really slowly thanks to a new script from @blogger be patient. #SameGreatWriting

— Terry Massey (@TerryMassey) July 6, 2017

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Spent most of Saturday inside taking a break from the smoke, so here’s some scattershooting . . . 

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Mark Recchi, who is from Kamloops and stands about 5-foot-8, played 21  NHL seasons and, according to hockeyzoneplus.com, had career earnings of US$50,943,000.

Kelly Olynyk, who is from Kamloops and is a 7-footer, has played four NBA seasons with the Boston Celtics and, according to sportrac.com, has career earnings of US$9,321,294. A few days ago, he agreed to a four-year deal with the Miami Heat that could pay him $50 million.

Yes, Olynyk will make almost as much over the next four seasons as Recchi made in 21 seasons.

Over his first eight seasons, Recchi was paid $9,133,000. When Olynyk’s four-year deal with the Heat is up, he will have been paid $59,321,294 over eight seasons.

Meanwhile, James Harden, now with the Houston Rockets, has agreed to a four-year extension that, starting in 2019-20, would pay him US$37.8 million, $40.8 million, $43.8 million and $46.8 million.

If you see anything about Harden and $228 million, that total includes his salary over the next two seasons, too. No matter how you look at it, though, that’s a lot of dough. You just wonder where it all ends, though, don’t you?

Harden signs contract for $228M. Arte Moreno bought the Angels (all of them)  for $184M.

— Mark Whicker (@MWhicker03LANG) July 8, 2017

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⚠️ Report a #BCwildfire via *5555 on a cellphone, or 1 800 663-5555 toll-free.

⚠️ Current Fire Bans/Restrictions: https://t.co/mCb8a9uGdV pic.twitter.com/zbDaPjpGZv

— Drive BC (@DriveBC) July 8, 2017

Yes, we are burning up in B.C.

The photo was taken off our deck, facing east, on Saturday at 1 p.m. You can’t see it, but Mount

Martin is located through all that smoke.

Yes, this is quite similar to the late summer of 2003 although the fires aren’t (yet?) quite as close to Kamloops as they were in that hot time.

Still, you hear nightmarish stories . . . like the employee of a shop in a local mall who on Saturday, with smoke everywhere, says she noticed a woman in a van smoking while hooked up to a portable oxygen tank.

The smoker flipped the butt out the window, so the employee walked over, ground the butt into the asphalt and reprimanded the smoker. The employee also said that she was going to jot down the licence plate, and walked around to the rear of the van to do just that.

At which point, the smoker started the van and put it in reverse.

Injuries were avoided.

Welcome to the burning of B.C.

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“Cornerback Shareece Wright took a 450-mile Uber ride to Buffalo to make the Bills’ voluntary offseason workout,” reports RJ Currie of SportsDeke.com. “At the very least, he's a lock for the taxi squad.”

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Here’s a great suggestion, as passed along by Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times . . .

Author unknown, with a good argument for calling one’s toilet the Jim instead of the John: “It sounds better when I say I go to the Jim first thing every morning.”

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You make the call, suggests the afore-mentioned Perry . . .

The greatest 99 in history is:

Wayne Gretzky

J.J. Watt

George Mikan

Warren Sapp

Aaron Judge

Ricky “Wild Thing” Vaughn

Barbara Feldon

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D William Wrenn (Portland, 2010-12) has signed a one-year contract with Bolzano (Italy, Erste Bank Liga). Last season, he had three goals and six assists in 38 games with the Toronto Marlies (AHL).

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The next general manager of the Calgary Hitmen?

A well-connected source has told Taking Note that the position is to be filled by Jeff Chynoweth, the

former president, governor and general manager of the Kootenay Ice.

Chynoweth, his mother Linda and brother Dean recently sold the Ice, leaving the WHL without a Chynoweth involved for the first time since 1972.

The Hitmen have been without a general manager since May 15 when Mike Moore, who had been the vice-president of business operations and GM, was named vice-president and alternate governor.

The Hitmen also are in need of a head coach, Mark French having left after three seasons in order to coach in Switzerland.

Jeff Chynoweth also has worked with the Brandon Wheat Kings, Medicine Hat Tigers, Red Deer Rebels and Spokane Chiefs. He was Kootenay’s general manager for 16 seasons (2001-17). The Ice won WHL titles in 2000, 2002 and 2011, also winning the Memorial Cup in 2002.

Meanwhile, it has been suggested to Taking Note that the leading candidate to replace French as Calgary’s head coach is Dallas Ferguson, who has been at the U of Alaska-Fairbanks since 2004. Ferguson, a 44-year-old from Wainwright, Alta., was an assistant coach with the Nanooks for four seasons and has been the head coach since 2008-09.

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If you are wanting to attend the seventh annual TeamSnap Hockey Coaches Conference in Vancouver but haven’t yet registered, well, we have a deal for you.

The conference runs Friday and Saturday and here’s how you can get 20 per cent off your ticket: Simply click right here to register and enter the coupon code TakingNote to receive the discount.

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There was exciting news in the Seibel household on Saturday when the Vancouver Whitecaps FC announced that Sophia, daughter of Teresa and Steve, has been selected on a full-time basis to the Girls Elite REX (Regional Excel Centre) Program that operates out of Burnaby, B.C. Entrance to this program is by invitation only, so this is a great accomplishment.

From the news release:

“Sophia joined TOFC (Thompson-Okanagan FC) as an intake U12 player in 2014. She is a technically and tactically strong player who has become a perennial BC Soccer High Performance Program selection. She has been part of the Whitecaps FC Prospects Academy in Kamloops for the past three years. Her highly competitive character will serve her well as she moves on to the next level of high performance soccer.”

Sophia’s brother, Sol, was selected by the Swift Current Broncos in the seventh round of the WHL’s 2014 bantam draft. A defenceman, he played last season as a 17-year-old with the BCHL’s Vernon Vipers, putting up eight assists in 49 games.

Teresa is a triathlon competitor and coach, who, among other things, also is a swim coach.

Steve, a lawyer in Kamloops, is a basketball referee who has worked in three Olympic Summer Games, including last summer in Rio de Janeiro, and countless other international games.

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The Kootenay Ice has named Doug Swanson as its mental skills coach. . . . From a news release: “Swanson has more than 20 years of experience as a mental skills coach, working with numerous athletes in diversified sports disciplines including hockey, basketball, figure skating, golf, volleyball, ringette, baseball, swimming, synchronized swimming and gymnastics. (He) has worked with numerous high-performance hockey programs in the WHL, Hockey Alberta and currently supports the U18 and development female high performance program.” . . . Swanson, from Sorrento, B.C., has a masters in educational psychology, along with a bachelor of education in special education, and a mental deficiency nursing diploma. He is a retired teacher, having taught for 32 years.

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I’m also on Twitter (@gdrinnan).

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Thank you to my amazing family for supporting and encouraging me in pursuing my new career, I… https://t.co/Tsi0cU7e6a

— Mark Fistric (@Fistric45) July 8, 2017

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A midweek tweet from Ken Campbell of The Hockey News: “Cautionary tale to NHL teams: Aston Villa of British Premier League had to cancel Goal of the Month promotion because it didn't score any.” . . . This was just days after the Winnipeg Jets scored three goals in three road games and still managed to earn five points. They lost 2-1 in a shootout to the New Jersey Devils, beat the New York Rangers 1-0 in a shootout and got past the Chicago Blackhawks, 1-0. . . . Shades of the dead-puck era. . . . During the World Series, Kansas City Royals manager Ned Yost admitted to having lost some of his anonymity and added that he often uses the name “Frank” when he’s out and about. “I have the same problem,” explains blogger Chad Picasner. “When I make reservations, I use the name ‘Ned Yost.’ ” . . .

The Detroit Lions sent CJ Mosley home from London and suspended him for two weeks. The crime? Smokin’ dope and being a dope -- he disabled a hotel smoke alarm. According to Vancouver comic Torben Rolfsen: “Mosley and the NFLPA have filed a grievance with the league, asking that future overseas games be played in Amsterdam.” . . . “Designer Oscar de la Renta was laid to rest this week in New York,” notes Richmond, B.C., blogger TC Chong. “No word on what he was wearing, but a relative said Oscar wouldn’t be caught dead wearing an Armani suit.” . . .

This is just so Chicago Cubbish. The Cubbies are paying three managers right now -- Joe Maddon, who was just signed; Rick Renteria, who was fired to make room for Maddon; and, Dale Sveum, who was dumped before Renteria was welcomed aboard. . . . When the Cubs signed their latest manager, the headline in the Chicago Sun-Times read: Maddon 15. . . . Last season, Arkansas Razorbacks basketball coach Mike Anderson and forward Alandise Harris didn’t see eye-to-eye. When asked by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette just what happened, Harris explained: “He didn’t like the answers I was giving him. We solved that when I got suspended.” . . .

Fox Deportes has decided to add stock car racing in Spanish to its TV schedule. As Greg Cote of the Miami Herald noted: “NASCAR previously had been broadcast in only two languages: English and Redneck.” . . . If you are of a certain age, you will remember Bruce Jenner as the winner of the Olympic decathlon. “When I was growing up his face was on a box of Wheaties,” says Jimmy Kimmel. “Now his face isn’t even on his face anymore.” . . .

Headline at SportsPickle.com: LeBron: ‘It’s just now hitting me that I chose to play in Cleveland again.’ . . . Headline at TheOnion.com: Sportswriter has hunch team will use bye week to get healthy. . . . Another headline from TheOnion.com: New evidence confirms A-Rod invented steroids. . . . “How do the Philadelphia 76ers mark the end of Daylight Saving Time?” wonders Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times. “They set their clock back one hour, and then some other team comes and cleans it.” . . .

You may have heard that former big league outfielder Jose Canseco was cleaning one of his four guns the other day when he shot off a finger. “On the bright side,” notes CBS-TV’s Craig Ferguson, “he’s taken so much human growth hormone that the finger grew right back.” . . . Apparently, it was the middle finger of Canseco’s right hand. . . .  “Doctors say he’ll recover,” reported Bruce Murdock of Portland radio station KKCW, “but he’ll never be able to drive in New York City again.” . . .

RJ Currie of SportsDeke.com was in Selkirk to watch some Grand Slam curling on Oct. 31. Why? He explained: “3. I enjoy watching others clean house; 2. I enjoy being the youngest spectator; 1. Anna Sidorova.” . . . One more from Currie: “I apologized to my wife for being late for dinner and said I was a real dumbell. I got held up at the gym.” . . . A tip of the fedora to Mike Wiens, who owns the Great Canadian Oil Change franchise in Regina. He is offering free oil changes for drivers with veteran's licence plates through Monday. Gotta love that. . . .

Kelly Olynyk, who played his high school basketball in Kamloops, is in his second season with the Boston Celtics and is the NBA team's starting centre. In each of his last two games, he has gone 2-for-2 from three-point range. According to Elias Sports Bureau, "Since the NBA instituted the three-point field goal in 1979-80, the only other starting centres who shot 2-for-2 or better from beyond the arc in each of two straight games are the Lakers' Vlade Divac in January 1993, Utah's Mehmet Okur in January 2009, and San Antonio's Boris Diaw in January 2014. None of those players extended their streak to three games." . . . On Saturday, Olynyk went 2-for-4 from long range -- he missed his second attempt -- as the Celtics shocked the host Chicago Bulls, 106-101. Olynyk finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds in 33 minutes 26 seconds of playing time. . . .

“President Obama has declared the lava flow from Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano to be a major disaster, which frees up federal money to help,” reports Janice Hough, aka The Left Coast Sports Babe. “Wonder how many people are thinking.‘Yeah, just like Obama to send U.S. money overseas.’ ” . . . Here’s Hough, after courts upheld a ban on gay marriage in the states of Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee: “So in those last two states, men can still marry their sisters, just not their brothers?” . .

“The price of gas jumped six cents one day last week,” writes Cam Hutchinson of the Saskatoon Express. “What happened? Did somebody in Saudi Arabia fart?” . . . ICYMI, pro golfer Keegan Bradley decided the other day to tweet this about Michael Jordan: “MJ how does it feel to get beat by me everyday at Bears Club? #GoHornets.” . . . To which Jordan tweeted back: “Last time I looked, you were wearing MY shoes. You don’t see me wearing Air Keegans . . .” . . . Bradley came back with: “Hahaha. Damn. Game over.”

(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.)

Mike Lupica, in the New York Daily News: “I love watching the Masters every year, and always think that the last day of the Masters is the Super Sunday of golf. But it really is fun every year listening to the golfers and the announcers talk about a golf course like it’s church, isn’t it? And not just any church. Like the Vatican, that kind of church.” . . . Former Kamloops Blazers goaltender Cole Cheveldave, who was traded to the Prince Albert Raiders last summer, will attend Saint Mary’s U in Halifax and play for the Huskies next season. . . .

Brad Dickson of the Omaha World-Herald, writing about an event of last week: “On Friday, the Syracuse Chiefs, a AAA baseball team, are hosting ‘Deport Justin Bieber Night.’ It’s just nice to see one minor league team stop with the dumb promotions and delve into important social commentary.” . . . The New York Yankees turned a triple play against the host Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday. It was the third triple killing by the Yankees’ defence since 2010, each one coming with CC Sabathia on the mound. . . .

So if you aren't cheering for the Montreal Canadiens, the lone Canadian team in the Stanley Cup playoffs, does that mean you are a Canadien but not a Canadian? . . . The CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders gave quarterback Darian Durant a contract extension this week. “The deal is said to involve multiple years and all the water he can walk on,” writes RJ Currie of SportsDeke.com. . . . The water will disappear after Durant throws his first interception. . . . Here’s Currie again: “A pair of Wall Street financiers bought Milwaukee’s last-place NBA team for $550 million. There’s a shrewd investment: over half a billion dollars to get a few lousy Bucks.” . . .

“Chad Johnson signs with Montreal Alouettes,” tweeted Mark Whicker of the Orange County Register, “(and) changes name to Chad Quatre-vingt-cinq.” . . . The afore-mentioned Currie is disappointed that the Als no longer play in Olympic Stadium. As he put it: “The Big O-chocinco has a ring to it.” . . . According to Richmond, B.C., blogger TC Chong, Graham DeLaet of Weyburn, Sask., wasn’t too disappointed when he missed the cut at the Masters. Why not? As Chong explained: “He already owns quite a few green jackets, even though they all say John Deere on the front.” . . .

“I kind of like Brian Burke’s hedgehog look,” notes Cam Hutchinson of the Saskatoon Express. . . . Is that what that look is called? . . . . If you’ve been watching, you will know that Major League Baseball’s new system of reviewing plays has a few bugs in it. As Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe tweeted: “MLB replay system. More bugs than a $19-a-nite hotel room.” . . . “Well,” notes Janice Hough, aka the Left Coast Sports Babe, “Boston manager John Farrell has become the answer to a future trivia question – the first MLB ejection that resulted from arguing about a replay ruling. Are we shocked that it was about a call that went in favour of the Yankees?” . . .

Kelly Olynyk, the pride of Kamloops, has finished up a pretty good first season with the NBA’s Boston Celtics. The 7-footer definitely showed improvement as the season went on. On April 12, he put in what was then a career-high 25 points and added eight rebounds, seven on the defensive boards, as the Celtics beat the Cavaliers 111-99 in Cleveland. More impressively, he started and played 38:52. . . . On Monday, he started again, playing 35:17, and scoring 28 points and adding nine boards, in a 113-108 loss to the Sixers in Philadelphia. . . . The Celtics wrapped up their season at home on Wednesday, losing 118-102 to the Washington Wizards. Olynyk started and had a team-high 24 points and seven rebounds. . . . For the season, he averaged 20.0 minutes, 8.7 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.6 assists over 70 games. The Celtics, in rebuilding mode, finished 25-57 and well out of the playoffs. . . . Olynyk is expected to spend some time with Canada’s men’s team this summer, but he also will be back in Kamloops. His annual Olynyk Klynyk is scheduled for Aug. 16-20. . . .

“We keep hearing about players with ‘flu-like symptoms,’ ” notes Phil Mushnick of the New York Post. “How are they treated, with cure-like remedies?” . . . You may have been watching last week when starter Michael Pineda of the New York Yankees had something that sure looked like pinetar on one hand. That got Mushnick to recalling an anecdote involving writer Phil Pepe, who covered the Yankees. As Mushnick wrote: “Pepe recalled when Jim Kaat was accused of applying a ‘foreign substance’ to the ball. ‘It’s not a foreign substance,’ said Kaat. ‘It comes from North Carolina.’ ”

(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.