Wheaties win in Edmonton . . . Tambellini OT hero . . . Langhamer, Hill pitch shutouts

If you didn’t watch the fifth estate’s episode — The Pain Game: Drugs, Doctors and Pro Sports — you should give it a view. It’s right here.
A lot of the news magazine’s show deals with the late Derek Boogaard and it really is scary stuff.
The foundation for a lot of the show is work done by Len Boogaard, Derek’s father who has retired from the RCMP. Through this, Len has documented the trail of drugs that led to his son’s opiate addiction and, ultimately, to his death.
The document is 23 pages in length and to sit and peruse it, one prescription at a time, really is overwhelming.
“In an effort to better understand the circumstances that contributed to the death of my son,” Len writes, “I requested documentation from team medical staff, outside physicians, the NHL’s substance abuse program, the rehabilitation facilities Derek attended, drug testing facilities and the pharmacies that filled his numerous prescriptions.
“In addition, I have spoken with a number of people who knew Derek and I have analyzed his own personal documents, such as cell phone, bank and email records.
“I was not always provided with the documentation I requested; however, I believe I have obtained information sufficient to construct a time-line of sorts spanning from Derek’s first entry in a rehabilitation facility in September 2009 until his passing.”
The document is heart-breaking and raises all kinds of questions. More than anything, though, it shows how the NHL, a couple of NHL teams, the NHLPA and various doctors — a couple of whom all but run from the fifth estate’s camera — failed Derek Boogaard.
You really need to watch this episode of the fifth estate. And if you haven’t already, read Boy on Ice: The Life and Death of Derek Boogaard. Written by John Branch of The New York Times, this is a devastating look at how Boogaard went from a fun-loving youngster who was just trying to fit in to an NHL enforcer who was enabled every step of the way.
Package all of this together and you get a look at an unseemly side of the NHL.
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SUNDAY’S GAMES:

In Edmonton, G Jordan Papirny stopped 41 shots and the Brandon Wheat Kings scored the game’s last two goals as they beat the Oil Kings, 3-2. . . . The Wheat Kings lead the series 2-1 with Games 4 and 5 scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday nights. Both games are to be televised by Sportsnet. . . . Last night, Brandon D Macoy Erkamps, in his fourth WHL season but in the playoffs for the first time, broke a 2-2 tie at 6:02 of the third period. . . . Brandon F Jayce Hawryluk had tied it at 2:31 of the third with his third goal of the series. . . . The Wheat Kings took a 1-0 lead on F John Quenneville’s goal with 26.3 seconds left in the first. . . . The Oil Kings scored twice in the second — F Davis Koch at 1:54 and D Ben Carroll, on the PP, at 6:30. . . . The Oil Kings thought they had tied the score late in the third period when F Brandon Baddock had his own rebound go off his chest and past Papirny. But the goal was disallowed after video review. . . . “Hands are tied: you can’t glove it in, you can’t high-stick it in, you can’t use your feet, so I tried to use my body,” Baddock said on the Oil Kings’ website.“They said . . . I kind of directed my shoulders into it, and obviously that’s not allowed.” . . . Edmonton G Tristan Jarry stopped 26 shots. . . . Brandon F Braylon Shmyr was unsuccessful on a penalty shot at 16:23 of the first period. . . . Edmonton was 1-for-4 on the PP; Brandon was 0-for-3. . . . Edmonton F Mads Eller left the game in the first and didn’t return. He was injured when he hit one of the gates at the Oil Kings’ bench in attempting to check Shmyr. Eller’s status for Tuesday’s game isn’t known. . . . The Oil Kings took out D Marshall Donald and F Brayden Brown, replacing them with D Jake Kohlhauser and G Tyson Gruninger. . . . Brandon had F Duncan Campbell and F Tanner Kaspick back after they missed the first two games. To get them in, Brandon took out F Stelio Mattheos and D Mark Matsuba . . . Attendance was 5,957. . . . Bruce Luebke, the radio voice of the Wheat Kings, reports that Brandon F Quintin Lisoway is expected to have knee surgery today. Lisoway last played on March 4.

In Calgary, F Adam Tambellini’s goal at 16:36 of OT gave the Hitmen a 3-2 victory over the Kootenay Ice. . . . The series is 1-1 as it heads for Cranbrook, B.C., and games on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. . . . F Pavel Kamaukhov scored both of Calgary’s regulation-time goals, both via the PP. He also drew an assist on the winner. . . . Kamaukhov gave the Hitmen a 1-0 lead at 9:01 of the second period and tied the game 2-2 at 10:31 of the third. . . . F Sam Reinhart got the Ice’s first goal, on a PP, at 17:51 of the second. . . . F Jaedon Descheneau gave the visitors a 2-0 lead at 19:36 of the second. . . . Hitmen F Radel Fazleev had two assists, giving him four helpers in two games. . . . Calgary G Mack Shields came on to start the third period and stopped all 19 shots he faced. Starter Brendan Burke had given up two goals on 18 shots. . . . Ice G Wyatt Hoflin turned aside 30 shots. . . . The Hitmen were 2-for-2 on the PP; the Ice was 1-for-2. . . . D Jake Bean was among Calgary’s scratches. He suffered an apparent ankle injury in the third period of Friday’s game. . . . Attendance was 8,560. . . . Scott Fisher of the Calgary Sun has a game story right here.

In Medicine Hat, F Trevor Cox scored the game’s only goal as the Tigers beat the Red Deer Rebels, 1-0, in overtime. . . . The Tigers had won the opener 2-1 on Saturday, so goals have been hard to come by. . . . Cox had two assists on Saturday, so has been in on all three of his side’s goals. . . . The teams now head to Red Deer for games on Wednesday and Thursday nights. . . . Medicine Hat G Marek Langhamer stopped 27 shots in earning his first career playoff shutout. . . . Red Deer G Rylan Toth turned aside 36 shots. . . . Cox finished second in the regular-season points race, with 109 points, including a WHL-leading 80 assists, banked the winner in off Toth. . . . The Tigers were 0-for-5 on the PP; the Rebels were 0-for-3. . . . Medicine Hat had D Ty Lewington, its captain, back in the lineup after he served a one-game WHL suspension. . . . Attendance was 4,006.

In Portland, G Adin Hill turned aside 21 shots to lead the Winterhawks to a 3-0 victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . It was Hill’s first career playoff shutout. . . . The series is tied 1-1 with the next two games in Kent, Wash., on Tuesday and Thursday nights. . . . F Nic Petan scored the game’s first goal, at 14:23 of the first period. . . . The Winterhawks iced it with empty-net goals from F Dominic Turgeon, at 18:02 of the third, and F Oliver Bjorkstrand, at 18:14. . . . Seattle G Taran Kozun stopped 36 shots. . . . Each team was 0-for-2 on the PP. . . . Attendance was 9,119. . . . The game story that freelancer Scott Sepich wrote for The Oregonian is right here. . . . Paul Danzer of The Columbian has a game story right here.
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With the Portland Winterhawks having opened the playoffs with two home games, Scott Sepich, a freelancer who often writes for The Oregonian, looks at the team’s relationship with Veterans Memorial Coliseum, a venue that is 55 years of age and in need of at least some help. . . . That story is right here.
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“More than a quarter of all helmets worn by hockey players, from the NHL to youth leagues, are unsafe, according to an independent study provided to ‘Outside the Lines’ that ranked hockey helmets based on their ability to reduce concussion risk,” writes Steve Fainaru of the ESPN investigative newsmagazine Outside the Lines. “Out of 32 helmets in the marketplace that were tested by researchers at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, nine failed to earn a single star on a five-star scale and were classified as ‘not recommended.’ Just one helmet, made by Warrior Sports, received three stars. The rest received one or two stars.” . . . The really scary part of this report is, as Fainaru writes, “Hockey players wearing the ‘not recommended’ helmets risk incurring at least six concussions per season, and in some cases more than eight, according to Virginia Tech.” . . . The complete story, including a chart showing test results, is right here.
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THE COACHING GAME:

Dwayne Kirkup won’t be back as head coach of the MJHL’s Neepawa Natives. He had been in the position since May 6, 2013, having joined the Natives after a stint as head coach of the MJHL’s Swan Valley Stampeders. He was the MJHL’s coach of the year in 2009-10. . . . This season, the Natives finished 15-42-3, leaving them with the 11-team league’s poorest record.
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LOOK: TV analyst Brian Engblom takes puck to forehead, returns to game after needing stitches http://t.co/hRHZ8KSwhW pic.twitter.com/opGeAdK7Ks
— Eye on Hockey (@EyeOnHockey) March 30, 2015

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The Book Shelf: Part 3 of 4

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

Keepers of the Game: When the Baseball beat was the best job on the paper – Author Dennis D’Agostino has written a fascinating oral history of Major League Baseball and the newspaper business. D’Agostino has spoken with 23 men – including Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun – who either were or are on the baseball beat for daily newspapers. Some of these men are the greatest baseball writers of their time and their stories make for wonderful reading. The book opens with a wonderful forward by the legendary Dave Anderson. As an aside, D’Agostino is married to Los Angeles Times hockey writer/columnist Helene Elliott. (Potomac Books, Kindle, $16.25)

Last King of the Sports Page: The Life and Career of Jim Murray – Written by Ted Geltner, it is just that, a look at the life, times and career of Murray, the Pulitzer Prize-winning sports columnist who is mostly remembered for his work with the Los Angeles Times. But he was more than that because he also was a Hollywood-type reporter at one time – he covered the movie scene for Time magazine – and also was in on the ground floor when Sports Illustrated got started. (Kindle, $16.01)

League of Denial: The NFL, Concussions and the Battle for Truth – Written by ESPN investigative reporters Mark Fainaru-Wade and Steve Fainaru, who are brothers, this book accompanies the two-hour Frontline special that appeared on PBS-TV in October. The TV special was heavy-hitting; the book is that and then some. The book opens with the devastating story of former Pittsburgh Steelers centre Mike Webster and goes from there. It details the moves the NFL made to keep concussion-related information from players, the battles between experts, especially those who were in the NFL's hip-pocket and those who weren't, and what would become the race between interested party to get their hands on the brains of deceased players. History will show that the TV show and this book played an important role in the concussion story. Read this book and you will never, ever look upon the NFL the same way again. (Crown Archetype, 416 pages, Kindle)

Live By Night – No one does Boston gangsters any better than Dennis Lehane. This one isn’t up there with his best – Mystic River; Gone, Baby, Gone – but it’s still pretty damn good. Start with Joe Coughlin, the son of a Boston police captain who takes the wrong fork in the road, and throw in South Florida and Cuba and you’ve got an entertaining read. Oh yes, there’s also a touch of baseball here. (William Morrow, soft cover, 402 pages, US$16.99, Cdn$18.99)

Mulligan’s Stew – The ubiquitous Terry David Mulligan tells his story and, yes, it’s interesting if a little shallow. Uhh, the book is shallow, as in thin, but his life has been anything but. Mulligan actually started out in the RCMP before heading off into radio and then TV and movies. Yes, there is some name dropping in here but, all in all, it’s a quick and interesting read. Glen Schaefer, an entertainment writer at the Vancouver Province, helped with the writing. (Heritage, soft cover, 221 pages, Cdn$19.95)

The Murder Room – The Vidocq Society was started by three men, each a crime fighter in his own way, and eventually grew to involve almost 200 members and associates. It would meet and attempt to solve cold cases. This is an intriguing look at the society, focussing primarily on two members – forensic artist Frank Bender and profiler Richard Walter. More than anything, though, this is a window in the evil that lives in our world. Author Michael Capuzzo tends to over-write at times, and the story jumps around a bit, but, still, this is an intriguing if scary read. (Gotham Books, soft cover, 439 pages, Cdn$19.50, US$17.00)

Northern Light: The enduring mystery of Tom Thomson and the woman who loved him – It somehow is only fitting that Roy MacGregor, one of our country's great essayists, has an obsession with Tom Thomson, the Group of Seven artist, and what happened to him in July 1917. MacGregor, who spent a lot of his young life in what had been some of Thomson’s haunts, explores Thomson's demise from every angle and then some in what is a thoroughly engrossing read. You don't have to know anything about Thomson or landscape art to enjoy this book, although, in the end, it will leave you wondering what really happened. (Vintage Canada, soft cover, 358 pages, US$19.50, Cda$22.00)

The Notorious Bacon Brothers: Inside Gang Warfare on Vancouver Streets – If you live in B.C., you are well aware of the Bacon brothers – Jamie, Jarrod and Jonathan. And you know full well of all the blood that has been shed as the various gangs, including the mighty Hells Angels, battled for control of the drug trade on the Lower Mainland, in Prince George, and in Kamloops and Kelowna. Author Jerry Langton does a good job of outlining the history of gangs in B.C., and all those involved. In fact, you really do need a scorecard in order to keep track of all the players. But he does make some logistical errors involving the location of some Lower Mainland areas; also, there isn’t a Tim Hortons within crawling distance of the Aberdeen Mall in Kamloops. And if you’re looking for a whole lot of background on the Bacon boys, including just how much their parents knew, that really isn’t here. Still, as a straight-up, easy-to-read book explaining all that’s gone down, including the Surrey Six shooting that really shook things up, this is a pretty good read. But if you are a follower of reporter Kim Dolan in the Vancouver Sun, there won't be much here that is new. (Wiley, Kindle)

Over The Line: Wrist Shots, Slap Shots, and Five-Minute Majors – The acerbic and colourful Al Strachan provides the reader with 265 pages of anecdotes, bon mots and tales from the world of the National Hockey League. . . . Of “radio people,” he writes: “They’re biased and proud of it. That’s why the continent is full of stations calling themselves The Fan or The Team. I don’t know an any called The Truth.” . . . Strachan thinks Don Cherry should be in the Hockey Hall of Fame and that Gary Bettman shouldn’t be the commissioner of the NHL. If you follow the NHL, you will enjoy this one. (McClelland & Stewart, soft cover, 265 pages, Cdn$19.99)

Pull Up a Chair: The Vin Scully Story – This apparently is the first biography of Vin Scully, the legendary radio voice of the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers, and it’s a fun and entertaining read. Author Curt Smith writes in something of a different voice, and it takes a bit to get used to it. But once you get into the rhythm, it’s great. “The sound of (Scully’s) voice,” actor Robert Wuhl once said, “like the sound of your dad coming home and throwing his keys on the kitchen table, is the sound of comfort and security for so many of us.” Ain’t that the truth. (Potomac Books, hard cover, 264 pages, US$29.95; actually found this one at a Walgreens in Bellingham, Wash., for $5. Perhaps my best buy of 2013)

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It wasn't supposed to turn out like this

It is enough to make a grown man weep.
A father, with a concussed son and seemingly nowhere to turn, makes contact with a sports writer.
Names and numbers are exchanged.
A while later, the father writes that his son “is very slowly coming through the fog . . . due in large part to your blog and the contacts it generated.”
Now 22 years of age, the son last played a WHL game in 2012. It was his 20-year-old season. It wasn’t supposed to turn out the way it did.
Five weeks later, the father writes again. There are times when the sunshine is having a hard time cutting through the fog.
There was progress, they thought, when the son got a job this summer. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to hold it.
Why not?
On three separate occasions he returned to the family home in the middle of a shift. However, upon arriving at home, he had no recollection as to why he had left work.
“Upon contacting his employer(s) at the time,” Dad writes, “they all referred to him as having had a ‘meltdown.’ ”
The employers all were “very understanding” and promised that there would be a job for the son “once he gets well.”
The son, feeling “too embarrassed by his brain inury,” hasn’t gone back.
Still, he will forge ahead. He has to; after all, life goes on. Despite still suffering from occasional headaches and some memory loss, he has registered for university and plans to return next month.
“I would wish this upon no one,” the father writes. “And by that I don't mean his mother and me. I mean him.
“Life as a 22-year-old is supposed to be full of wonder and anticipation, of plans and of holding hands by a campfire with the girl of your dreams.
“The girl of his dreams has left him and he is a mere shell of his former confident, bigger-than-life, smiling, loving, laughing self.
“My heart breaks just a little more every time an ‘event’ occurs and his former presence becomes just a little more diminished.”
Meanwhile, another WHL player announced his retirement on Monday. Defenceman Tanner Muth, 20, of the Kootenay Ice is reported to have suffered three brain injuries last season. There won’t be a fourth as he has decided not to return for a fifth winter in the WHL.
At least four WHL players have ended their hockey careers in the last while due to post-concussion syndrome. One other player doesn’t appear to have made it official but he isn’t in training camp. Still another has left the game with what his team says is a neck injury, although he suffered a brain injury during a game in Kamloops early last season.
They fight depression. Some aren’t able to hold any job that is at all physically demanding. The headaches, the dizziness, the lightheadedness, the memory loss . . . it’s all too much.
The toll is mounting. The list of young men whose hockey careers — not just their WHL careers, but oftentimes their athletic careers — have been brought to a screeching halt by brain injuries grows ever longer.
Whatever it is that the WHL is doing to get brain injuries out of its game, it isn’t enough. The elbow pads still are too big and too hard. Ditto for shoulder pads. There are too many hits from behind. There are too many checks in which the head is targeted. There are too many fights where there shouldn’t be any.
In December 2007, former WHL forward Dean McAmmond, by then an NHLer, told the Toronto Star’s Randy Starkman:
“People say I have got concussion problems, but I don't have concussion problems. I have a problem with people giving me traumatic blows to the head, that's what I have a problem with.”
That, in a nutshell, is the problem that faces the WHL. Young men with a sense of invincibility don’t understand the consequences of striking another player in the head, be it helmeted or otherwise.
And don’t think for a moment that the issue of concussions in sport is going to go away. It isn’t. In fact, the spotlight on it is only going to get brighter.
On Oct. 8, a book titled League of Denial: The NFL, Concussions and the Battle for the Truth is to be published. It was written by brothers Steve Fainaru and Mark Fainaru-Wada, who are investigative reporters for ESPN.
On Oct. 8 and 15, the PBS-TV public affairs series Frontline will carry a two-part documentary — League of Denial: The NFL’s Concussion Crisis.
Millions of viewers are expected to tune in. The NFL, the most-popular sporting league in all of North America, will come under fire.
There will be collateral damage and hockey, its season underway by that point, will get caught up in it as questions are asked.
Somewhere a father will watch and he will weep as he wonders what the future holds for his son.
No, it wasn’t supposed to turn out this way.

(Gregg Drinnan is sports editor of The Daily News. He is at gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca, gdrinnan.blogspot.ca and twitter.com/gdrinnan.)

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