Thursday . . .

The subject of concussions and their impact on young athletes isn’t going to go away anytime soon.
In fact, it has become a story with legs, as they say.
On Wednesday, USA TODAY ran an editorial that carried this headline:
Who needs concussion laws? 1.2 million young football players
That editorial is right here.
———
On Thursday, USA TODAY, on its op-ed page, carried a piece headlined:
Risk a child’s brain for football?
This piece was written by Katherine Chretien, who is an associate professor of medicine at George Washington University. She touches on the questions and the unknowns involving young people and concussions.
Her essay is right here.
———
Keep in mind that USA TODAY has a daily circulation of 1.83 million, which translates to something like 6 million daily readers.
———
THE COACHING GAME: The QMJHL’s Rouyn-Noranda Huskies have signed GM/head coach Andre Tourigny to a three-year deal. . . .
Rob Vanstone of the Regina Leader-Post takes a look at the Regina Pats’ coaching situation, after the team swept two assistant coaches out the door on Wednesday. That piece is right here. . . .
Might Craig Hartsburg be the next head coach of the NHL’s Minnesota Wild? Hartsburg, the head coach of the Everett Silvertips, says he hasn’t heard from the Wild. Fox Sports has that story right here.
———
The Portland Winterhawks will celebrate a milestone Saturday night as they play host to the Spokane Chiefs in Game 5 of the Western Conference final. Prior to the game, the Winterhawks will welcome the one millionth fan in team playoff history. . . . At present, they are 2,108 fans shy of reaching 1,000,000. . . . According to a news release from the Winterhawks, “The lucky fan . . . will receive season tickets to the Winterhawks’ 2011-12 season, a team autographed jersey and will present the three stars at the conclusion of Saturday’s Game 5.” . . . The Winterhawks take a 2-1 lead into Game 4 tonight in Spokane.
———
The winner of the Western Conference final will meet the Kootenay Ice in the WHL championship series. The Ice completed a sweep of the Medicine Hat Tigers on Wednesday night. . . . The Ice played that game without F Steele Boomer and F Drew Czerwonka. Boomer suffered a concussion in Game 1 and sat out the last three games. Czerwonka got a stretcher ride off the ice in Game 3 after falling awkwardly into the boards. He was cleared to play in Game 4 but general soreness kept him out. . . . Ice GM Jeff Chynoweth told me Thursday “both Steele and Drew should be ready for Games 1 and 2 and there also is a possibility that Brock Montgomery also will be back. We miss all three of them.” Montgomery has been out with mononucleosis. . . . The WHL final could start May 6 in Portland or Spokane, with Games 3 and 4 in Cranbrook on May 10 and 11. That is strictly tentative, however.
———
The ECHL’s Victoria Salmon Kings, who are a dead team skating, head home from Anchorage trailing the Aces 2-0 after dropping a 4-3 overtime decision on Thursday night. . . . F Wes Goldie, who left the Salmon Kings over the summer despite being one of their most popular players, scored the winner at 2:15 of OT. . . . The Aces opened the Western Conference final Wednesday with a 2-1 victory, scoring the winner with nine seconds left in the third period. . . . The series resumes in Victoria with games on Saturday, Monday and, if necessary, Wednesday. . . . The Salmon Kings' fate has yet to be announced, but their owner, Vancouver-based RG Properties, has purchased the Chilliwack Bruins and is moving the WHL team to the B.C. capital.
———
Doug McConachie, a former sports editor of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix, died Wednesday morning after what ended up being a one-sided scrap with pancreatic cancer. McConachie was one of the last of the old breed of newspapermen. There aren’t too many of us left who remember what a typewriter sounded like, never mind what hot metal means (or used to mean). . . . Kevin Mitchell, today the sports editor at The StarPhoenix, remembers McConachie — or McDoug, as some of us called him — right here. . . . And why do I think McDoug is somewhere skiing or fishing right now?

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

Monday . . .

THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Brad Moran (Calgary, 1995-2000) signed a two-year contract with the Växjö Lakers (Sweden Elitserien). He had 20 goals and 51 assists in 79 games for the Oklahoma City Barons (AHL) this season. Växjö won promotion to Elitserien, Sweden's top league, earlier this month. Växjö GM Henrik Evertsson: "Brad is a skilled centre with Elitserien experience. We feel he is an important and exciting piece for our team." Moran played two seasons in Elitserien for Skellefteå (2008-10), where he had 25 goals and 57 assists in 110 league games and was an assistant captain during his second season there.
———
JUST NOTES: D Martin Marincin of the Prince George Cougars has signed a three-year deal with the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers. He was a second-round pick in the 2010 NHL draft. Marincin had 56 points, including 14 goals, in 67 games in his freshman season with the Cougars. . . . F Cody Eakin of the Kootenay Ice is the WHL’s player of the week. He had two goals and two assists as the Ice opened the Eastern Conference final with two victories over the Tigers in Medicine Hat. The series resumes tonight in Cranbrook. . . . The Ice goes into that game having won a franchise-record nine straight playoff games. It also has set a franchise record by winning six of those on the road. . . . The Ice will have F Sam Reinhart in the lineup from now through season’s end. Reinhart, the 15th overall pick in the 2010 bantam draft, is fresh off the Telus Cup in St. John’s Nfld., where he put up 20 points, including seven goals, in seven games for the Vancouver-North West Giants. . . . As of late Monday night, the WHL hadn’t changed the suspension to Medicine Hat F Cole Grbavac from ‘tbd’ to a definite length. He was suspended under supplemental discipline for a hit on Ice F Steele Boomer in Game 1. Neither player dressed for Game 2, and Boomer is expected to miss at least two more games with a suspected concussion.
———
Dave Shoalts of The Globe and Mail reports that Tom Gaglardi, the majority owner of the Kamloops Blazers, “has agreed to a price and most of the terms for buying the Dallas Stars – and if he can steer it through bankruptcy court with the bankers in charge of the sale, the Vancouver businessman will be the NHL team’s new owner.”
That story is right here.

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

NATHAN LIEUWEN

SATURDAY’S PLAYOFF GAME:
In Medicine Hat, G Nathan Lieuwen earned the shutout and F Cody Eakin had three points as the Kootenay Ice dumped the Tigers, 3-0. . . . The Ice leads the series 2-0 as the teams head to Cranbrook for Games 3 and 4 on Tuesday and Wednesday. . . . Lieuwen stopped 25 shots for his franchise-record third shutout of these playoffs. He and Dan Blackburn share the career record with three shutouts. . . . Lieuwen, a 19-year-old from Abbotsford, B.C., has three shutouts in 12 games in this postseason after putting up three in 55 regular-season games. . . . Eakin opened the scoring at 3:57 of the first period, then drew assists on goals by F Kevin King, his first, at 14:32 of the second, and F Joe Antilla, his seventh, into an empty net, at 18:41 of the third. . . . Eakin had 13 points, including five goals, in 12 playoff games. . . . Medicine Hat G Tyler Bunz stopped 37 shots. . . . Attendance was 4,006. . . . The Ice was 0-for-5 on the PP; the Tigers were 0-for-3. . . .
The Tigers were without G Cole Grbavac, who drew a ‘tbd’ suspension for a hit on Ice F Steele Boomer late in the third period of Game 1. Boomer, who is believed to have a concussion, isn’t expected to play in Games 3 and 4 in Cranbrook on Tuesday and Wednesday. . . . F Sam Reinhart, who has been playing in the Telus Cup in Newfoundland, will be joining the Ice on Monday. Reinhart was the 15th overall pick in the 2010 bantam draft.
———
ELSEWHERE . . .
Marc Habscheid was in the house Friday when the Victoria Salmon Kings beat the visiting Utah Grizzlies 2-1 in double overtime to advance to the third round of the ECHL playoffs. Habscheid met with the Victoria media on Saturday. Habscheid spent the last two seasons as the GM/head coach of the Chilliwack Bruins, who have been sold and are relocating to Victoria. And, although there hasn’t been an announcement made as regards Habscheid future, he will run the team’s table at the bantam draft and sure sounds like he’ll be moving to the B.C. Capital.
Cleve Dheensaw of the Victoria Times Colonist has that story right here.
———
The Salmon Kings, the Western Conference’s seventh seed, now will meet the Anchorage Aces, who had the ECHL’s best regular-season record. . . . . They’ll open with the best-of-seven series with games Wednesday and Thursday at Sullivan Arena in Anchorage, then head for Victoria and Games 3 and 4 on April 30 and May 2. A fifth game, if necessary, is scheduled for May 4 in Victoria. If needed, Games 6 and 7 will be played in Anchorage on May 7 and 8.
———
Derek Spalding of the Nanaimo Daily News takes a look at the situation in that city in terms of the WHL and a new arena. He also mentions  that the “Nanaimo Clippers' owners have the first right of refusal to any incoming franchise.” . . . According to Tourism B.C., Nanaimo has a population of more than 84,000. There are more than 138,000 people in the regional district.
That story is right here.

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