NFL? Sense of humour? . . . Bautista not big in Baltimore . . . Who is Twit of the Year?

A note from comedy writer Alex Kaseberg: “The NFL is unsure why TV ratings are down 14 per cent. But for now let’s cut to the Papa John, Nationwide, GEICO analysis of all the penalties and injuries before we cut to a commercial.” . . . “Boise State and Baylor, in case you missed it, will be paired in the Motel 6 Cactus Bowl on Dec. 27,” reports Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times. “And they will keep a light on for ya: The game doesn’t kick off until 8:15 p.m.” . . . Be honest. You tuned into that Thursday night NFL game, saw the Oakland Raiders dressed in white and thought: “I didn’t know anyone in the NFL office had a sense of humour.” . . .

A report from Bill Littlejohn, our South Lake Tahoe, Calif.-based correspondent: “A day after trading starter Chris Sale to the Boston Red Sox, the Chicago White Sox dealt outfielder Adam Eaton to the Washington Nationals. The White Sox haven’t seen this much upheaval since Disco Demolition Night.” . . . “Congrats to Mick Jagger becoming a dad again at 73,” tweeted Bette Midler. “Which reminds me, I need to pick up a pregnancy test, because I’m, like, 936 weeks late!” . . .

ICYMI, Dan Duquette, the general manager of the Baltimore Orioles, says he hasn’t attempted to sign Jose Bautista because Baltimore fans don’t like the Toronto Blue Jays outfielder. Janice Hough, aka The Left Coast Sports Babe, points out: “Well, that and maybe Bautista’s .234 batting average in 2016.” . . . “Won’t it be wonderful,” writes Cam Hutchinson of the Saskatoon Express, “if Bautista and his inflated ego have to crawl all the way back to Toronto?” . . .

Here’s Hutchinson, again: “The biggest employers in the world are the United States Department of Defence, the People’s Liberation Army in China, Walmart, McDonald’s and the Saskatchewan Roughriders. I’m guessing the Riders are still finding players in basement suites.” . . . One more from Hutchinson: “I flipped on TSN last Saturday and was treated to a U.S. college hockey game between Union, N.Y., and Quinnipiac. There is no punch line.” . . . Meanwhile, I flipped on Hockey Night in Canada on Saturday night and Cassie Campbell-Pascall was one of the analysts for a game between the Winnipeg Jets and the Flames in Calgary. She is married to one of the Flames’ assistant general managers. Hutchinson is right. There is no punch line. . . . 

Torben Rolfsen, who hosts The Rolfsen Report on TSN 1040 Vancouver on Saturday mornings, has an idea for the NHL and its Vegas franchise, which finds itself caught up in a nickname controversy. “At this point,” Rolfsen notes, “the new Vegas NHL team should just call itself the Roughriders. After all, 25 per cent of CFL teams called themselves that for decades and there was never any legal problem.” . . . Headline at Fark.com: Colts coach Chuck Pagano: ‘There’s no trophies for second place.’ Banners conspicuously not mentioned. . . .

Steve Simmons, in the Toronto Sun: “The NHL players who want Olympic participation most are the ones who won’t be playing in Korea. That way, they get two weeks off in the middle of the season. Who wouldn’t vote for that?” . . . Simmons, again: “I feel a whole lot better about Donald Trump, future president, now that Linda McMahon is involved with a significant posting (as head of Small Business Administration). Apparently, Jesse Ventura was otherwise engaged.” . . . Meanwhile, there was this reaction from Brad Dickson of the Omaha World-Herald: “What next? Director of Homeland Security Sergeant Slaughter?” . . .

“Up to 30 inches of snow was predicted for mountaintops in Hawaii,” Dickson wrote early in the week. “Let’s hope we don’t learn that Hawaii has better snow removal than Omaha.” . . . Dickson, again: “The ‘mannequin challenge’ is when someone stands motionless and doesn’t move. In Omaha, this also is sometimes called ‘road construction.’ ” . . . Time magazine has named president-elect Donald Trump its Man of the Year. To which Richmond, B.C., blogger TC Chong wrote: “Not to be outdone, Twitter is expected to name Donald its Twit of the Year.” . . .

“New York City police say a thief snatched a pot of gold off the back of an unattended armoured truck,” reports RJ Currie of SportsDeke.com. “He was last seen being pursued by three leprechauns.” . . . Currie, again: “Emma Morano, reportedly the world's oldest person at 117, credits her long life to eating two raw eggs daily. Today she lives in an old yokes home.” . . . One more from Currie: “The New York Post is questioning why the NFL has failed to address ‘crass, uncouth social-media behavior’ by players. I think we can rule out lack of evidence.” . . .

After San Antonio dropped a 95-91 decision to the Bulls in Chicago on Thursday, Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich was asked whether he had his players ready to play. His response shows why he is who he is: “Guys get a lot of money to be ready to play. No Knute Rockne speeches. It’s your job. If you’re a plumber and you don’t do your job, you don’t get any work. I don’t think the plumber needs a pep talk. If a doctor botches operations, he’s not a doctor anymore. If you’re a basketball player, you come ready. It’s called maturity. It’s your job.” . . . Following the death of Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, comedian Argus Hamilton noted: “San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick praised Castro as a great humanitarian, automatically triggering the NFL’s concussion protocol.”

(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.

Report: Leafs make offer to McCrimmon . . . Tigers sign two D-men . . . Raiders newser today

Most Sundays, the Toronto Sun contains a column of odds and ends that is written by Steve Simmons. The one that appeared yesterday included this:
“Leafs have an offer on the table with Kelly McCrimmon, owner, general manager and coach of the Brandon Wheat Kings. When (Leafs president Brendan) Shanahan was hiring Mark Hunter, he kept asking people who are the best talent evaluators in the business: Hunter’s name always came up, right along with McCrimmon. The question with McCrimmon: Whether he wants to walk away from junior hockey empire for an NHL gig?”
There has been enough smoke involving the Maple Leafs and McCrimmon over the past few days that there obviously is something going on here.
There was a time, and not that long ago, when McCrimmon would have jumped at an opportunity such as this. That was then; this is now.
The difference now is that he has put together a team that reached the WHL final this season, a team that is poised for a dominant WHL season in 2015-16, and you can bet that the decision facing McCrimmon is much tougher than it would have been.
One thing is for certain — he wouldn’t consider leaving unless he knew he was leaving the Wheat Kings in good hands. That isn’t a problem off the ice, where his front-office staff, led by Rick Dillabough and Lyn Shannon, is second to none.
But should he leave, who would be the head coach. Assistant coach Darren Ritchie has been on staff for seven seasons, the last three in a full-time position. David Anning has been an assistant coach in Brandon for three seasons.
Should McCrimmon leave, does he promote Ritchie to head coach and bring in another assistant? If that were to happen, who would be the general manager? Or, would McCrimmon hire a general manager/head coach?
Of course, all of this is speculation. At the end of the day, it could be that McCrimmon simply decides to stay put. If he does that, however, he will do it while wondering if the NHL ship will ever come his way again. He’s 54 now, so that is a valid question.
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The Medicine Hat Tigers looked after some signings on Sunday. No, it didn’t have anything to do with a lease for the Canalta Centre. . . . Rather, the Tigers signed two selections, both defencemen, from the 2015 WHL bantam draft. . . . Layne Matechuk was taken with the 39th selection after putting up 38 points in 31 games with the bantam AA Humboldt Broncos. . . . Cole Clayton was taken six picks later. He had 30 points in 33 games with the bantam AAA Rocky Mountain Raiders.
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First, it was FIFA. Then, it was Hope Solo. Both dealt black eyes to soccer. Richard Deitsch, who writes about the media for si.com, takes a look right here at how Fox Sports handled what went on Sunday involving Solo, the goalkeeper for the U.S. national women’s soccer team.
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THE COACHING GAME:

Frank Seravalli of the Philadelphia News is reporting that the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers have interviewed Kris Knoblauch, the head coach of the OHL’s Erie Otters. Apparently, the Flyers are looking for a head coach for their AHL affiliate, the Philadelphia Phantoms. . . . Knoblauch played in the WHL with the Red Deer Rebels, Edmonton/Kootenay Ice and Lethbridge Hurricanes (1996-99) and has coached with the Prince Albert Raiders and the Ice. . . . Seravalli reports that Knoblauch also has spoken with two or three other NHL teams who have openings with their AHL affiliates. . . . Servalli’s report is right here.
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The Prince Albert Raiders have scheduled a news conference for this morning at which they are expected to introduce Curtis Hunt as their new general manager. Hunt resigned Friday as general manager and head coach of the AJHL’s Fort McMurray Oil Barons. Hunt is a former Raiders defenceman who was a freshman on the team that won the 1985 Memorial Cup.
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The Prince George-based Cariboo Cougars will be the host team for the 2017 Telus Cup tournament, at which the national midget AAA championship is decided. Ted Clarke of the Prince George Citizen has more right here.
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In the AHL, F Nic Dowd scored at 5:36 of OT to give the host Manchester Monarchs a 2-1 victory over the Utica Comets in the Calder Cup final. . . . The Monarchs lead the series 2-0 as the teams head to Utica for Game 3 on Wednesday. . . . Manchester won the opener 3-2 in OT on Saturday. . . . Last night, F Zach O’Brien gave the Monarchs a 1-0 lead with a PP goal at 19:05 of the first period. . . . F Nicklas Jensen pulled the Comets even at 1:12 of the second. . . . Attendance was 6,078. . . . Dowd also had an assist on O’Brien’s goal. . . . The Monarchs are affiliated with the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings; the Comets with the Vancouver Canucks.
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In the ECHL, F Vincent Arsenault’s goal at 8:49 of the second OT gave the visiting Allen Americans a 3-2 victory over the South Carolina Stingrays in Game 4 of the Kelly Cup final. . . . The series is 2-2 with Game 5 scheduled for Tuesday in the North Charleston Coliseum. . . . F Dyson Stevenson, who played with the Regina Pats (2010-14), had a goal and an assist as the Americans took a 2-0 lead with goals 29 seconds part in the first period. . . . South Carolina F Caleb Herbert forced OT with a goal at 11:49 of the second period. . . . Attendance was 7,058.
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I say this every year, but the OHL and WHL are really missing out by doing their drafts online. The Q crushes it with the show they put on.

— Willy Palov (@WillyPalov) June 6, 2015

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Is he Say-Hey-Rod? . . . Now that's a kids meal . . . Gone Daddy for Danica

The New York Islanders’ forwards combined for three shots on goal in their 2-1 loss to the host Washington Capitals in Game 7 of their Stanley Cup series on Monday night. That’s right . . . THREE shots! Yes, we’re back into a dead puck era in the NHL. . . . We learn every spring that when it comes to inconsistency NHL officiating is rivalled only by Canada’s winter weather. But remember one thing — the referees call the game the way the governors and general managers want it called. . . . Headline at SportsPickle.com: Thunder hoping to hire Cavaliers coach LeBron James as new head coach. . . .

Four shots from Bill Littlejohn, our South Lake Tahoe, Calif., correspondent. . . . 1. Alex Rodriguez hit his 660th career home run to tie Willie Mays on the all-time list. So is he now Say-Hey-Rod? . . . 2. Things are so rough with the Milwaukee Brewers, Littlejohn reports, that “one player was seen seeking hitting advice from Bob Uecker.” . . . 3. In Alabama, the salaries of high school football coaches are soaring past $120,000 per year. They soon will be on par with Crimson Tide running backs. . . . 4. Q: What do you call it when the IRS is after Plaxico Burress? A: A Plax Evasion. . . .

If you’re like me you’re wondering if head coach Mike Babcock is past his best-before date with the Detroit Red Wings. His contract is up and you have to wonder if the Red Wings will just let him walk. . . . Detroit has lost out in the first round in three of the last four seasons and hasn’t been to the third round since 2009. . . . The Red Wings also have Jeff Blashill with the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins, and he is seen as one of the top young coaches in the game. . . .

Here’s Cam Hutchinson of the Saskatoon Express: “For 30 years no one has cared about the Pan-Am Games. And now Toronto hosts them.” . . . RJ Currie of SportsDeke.com reports: “Word out of Louisville is one of the Kentucky Derby veterinarians has laryngitis. That’s right, he’s a hoarse doctor.” . . . On the topic of Deflategate, reader Connie G. asked the Cleveland Plain Dealer: “Why is Robert Kraft waiting so long to tell Roger Goodell what the Patriots’ punishment should be?” . . .

Molly Schuyler, a competitive eater, took all of 20 minutes to down three 72-ounce steaks, three baked potatoes, three shrimp cocktails, three salads and three dinner rolls. . . . “Or as they call it in Texas,” said NBC-TV’s Seth Meyers, “a kids meal.” . . . Did we mention that Schuyler weighs in at 120 pounds? With an appetite like that, I can’t imagine her being a cheap date. . . . After covering the NBA playoff series between the Toronto Raptors and Washington Wizards, Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun wrote: “A Washington reporter’s first impression of Toronto: ‘Too many homeless. Everywhere I went somebody was asking me for money.’ ” . . . Hmmm. Must be a Canadian thing. . . .

“While MLB is focusing on pace-of-game issues,” notes Janice Hough, aka The Left Coast Sports Babe, “maybe they should consider also fining national anthem singers who add several syllables to one-syllable words.” . . . Here’s Hough, again: “So what was the difference between the Toronto Raptors and the Toronto Maple Leafs this year? About a week.” . . . If you watch a game involving the Chicago White Sox and don’t have a dog in the hunt, you just might agree that Ken (Hawk) Harrelson is the funniest thing on TV today. If you aren’t aware, he is the play-by-play man who doubles as the biggest homer in the sporting world today. It has gotten to the point now where his cheering has become absolutely hilarious. . . .

Here’s Arizona Cardinals general manager Steve Keim, before the NFL draft, about how much attention teams should pay to the off-field discretions of prospective players: “If Hannibal Lecter ran a 4.3, we'd probably diagnose it as an eating disorder." . . . Headline at TheOnion.com: Draft pick hugs family that will bleed him dry over next 5 years. . . .

“The new University of Nebraska – Omaha arena will have a cannon that fires tacos into the crowd at hockey games,” writes Brad Dickson of the Omaha World-Herald. “I saw a cannon firing tacos and my first reaction was, ‘These U.S. military cuts have gone too far.’ ” . . . “I was hoping for a Habs-Wings series,” writes Vancouver comic Torben Rolfsen, “but Tampa Bay won Game 7, setting up an Original 24 matchup.” . . . “It’s now Gone Daddy,” reports Richmond, B.C., blogger TC Chong. “Go Daddy is dropping its NASCAR sponsorship for Danica Patrick.” . . .

ICYMI, there was an occurrence in a baseball game on Tuesday that about sums up the state of professional sports and contracts today. In the game in question, Dan Uggla of the Washington Nationals homered to beat the Atlanta Braves. Interestingly, Atlanta is paying Uggla US$12,692,500 this season, making him the highest-paid player on the Braves’ payroll. . . . “The proposed NFL stadium in Carson, Calif., would celebrate Chargers touchdowns by shooting lightning bolts,” notes Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times. “So what’s next — the Bills flinging buffalo chips?” . . .

(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.)

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The baddest bad guy? The meanest mean guy?

“According to the statement of claim Eric Lindros has filed in his defamation suit against former referee Paul Stewart,” writes Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun, “Lindros was made out to be ‘unfriendly, hostile, rude, insulting, vindictive, cruel, uncharitable and generally a despicable person.’ Which I’m figuring is about five for eight.” . . . “By the way,” Simmons adds, “hands up all of you who haven’t been sued or threatened to be sued by Lindros or his family.” . . . The NHL’s Arizona Coyotes held a Rider Pride promotion on Tuesday night as they played host to the Anaheim Ducks. Attendance was announced at 11,387. Wonder if they had Pilsner available? . . . The Saskatchewan Roughriders have yet to reveal which of their 2015 home games will be designated as Coyote Pride night. . . .

“Facebook and LinkedIn are teaming up,” notes Brad Dickson of the Omaha World-Herald. “The obvious goal is to create the most annoying update known to man.” . . . Dickson also reports: “In Klamath Falls, Oregon, a house was stolen right off its foundation. This sounds like the worst neighborhood watch program ever.” . . . Headline at SportsPickle.com: Red-hot Cavs gaining confidence in that guy who thinks he’s their coach. . . .

Former Cleveland Indians manager Mike Hargrove, in conversation with the Cleveland Plain Dealer, remembers one ejection: “I threw bats and stuff out on the field. I started up the tunnel and saw a bucket that I figured had some sunflower seeds in it. I kicked it as hard as I could. Turns out it was full of water. Try kicking a five-gallon bucket of water sometime. I looked around to see if anybody saw me and just limped to my office.” . . . Whenever I watch The Dark Knight, I am always amazed by the performance turned in by the late Heath Ledger as The Joker. Is he not the baddest bad guy ever, the meanest mean guy of all-time? . . .

For what it’s worth, I agree with Vancouver Canucks general manager Jim Benning, who feels that forward Sven Baertschi was the best junior player in North America in his second season with the Portland Winterhawks. So giving up a second-round draft pick to add Baertschi is an asset well spent. I would expect Baertschi to flourish in the Canucks’ system, which is more about flow and less about the banging that the Calgary Flames do. . . . ICYMI, Keith Olbermann of ESPN served a brief suspension after getting into a Twitter dustup with some Penn State folks. As comedian Argus Hamilton put it: “Olbermann’s been fired more times than a Civil War cannon.” . . .

“Marshawn Lynch gave an interview to Turkish TV and said he expected the ball on the last Super Bowl play,” writes contributor Bill Littlejohn. “He also said, ‘I'm just here so I won't have to take the Midnight Express.’ ” . . . As Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times noted: “So, Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch won’t speak to U.S. media, but he’ll talk Turkey?” . . . “The Volo Auto Museum outside of Chicago will give away a DeLorean, just like the one used by Marty McFly in Back to the Future,” reports Littlejohn, “if the Cubs win the World Series. The bad news — someone will be sent back to 1955 in that DeLorean before the Cubs win a World Series.” . . .

“Police in Georgia recovered Travis Kvapil’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race car that had been stolen from a hotel parking lot,” Perry reports. “But, no, it wasn’t found in Hazzard County.” . . . “Brazilian soccer club Rio Claro has taken uniform monetization to the next logical step – creative butt marketing,” writes Ray Ratto of CSNbayarea.com. “Rio Claro signed an endorsement deal with the Brazilian satirical comedy YouTube channel Porta dos Fundos, and the place where the endorsement rests is across the back of the players’ shorts. And, in case you skipped Portuguese class that day, ‘Porta dos Fundos’ translates as ‘back door’. Of course it does.”

Janice Hough, aka The Left Coast Sports Babe, reports: “To eliminate some of the back-to-back games and insane road trips, the NBA is thinking of lengthening the season into July. Great, so this means the playoffs would finish the week before the start of pre-season?” . . . A note from Vancouver comic Torben Rolfsen: “After giving up three goals on four shots at home against the San Jose Sharks in his season debut, Vancouver Canucks goalie Jacob Markstrom was presented with a game puck. It was inscribed with ‘this is the one that didn't get by you.’ ” . . .

“What would you get if Kim, Khloe and Kourtney took up curling?” asks RJ Currie of SportsDeke.com. “Sweeping up with the Kardashians.” . . . According to Ian Hamilton of the Regina Leader-Post: “It has been revealed in Spain that Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo sends his hairstylist to a local wax museum once a month — to brush the hair on Ronaldo’s wax likeness.” Adds Hamilton: “When it comes to Ronaldo, the rain in Spain falls mainly on the vain.”

(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.)










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If it looks like a catch, talks like a catch, walks like a catch and 100 football fans in a bar say it’s a catch, then it’s a catch. Except in the NFL. . . . Look, by the letter of the NFL law, Dez Bryant’s catch wasn’t a catch. But if I hear one more person talk about “the process,” I am going to be ill. . . . The rule needs changing. . . . One other thing: The NFL, NHL and Major League Baseball need to watch where they are going with video review. Yes, it’s admirable to want to get every call correct. But I’m thinking the games may have been better with more human error and less huddling by officials. . . .

“The Winter Classic has become a lot like baseball’s all-star game,” writes Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun. “It matters in the city it’s being played in. It matters in the cities of the teams involved. It doesn’t matter much anywhere else.” . . . Here’s Simmons, again: “Weird place, Toronto. We’ll buy overpriced Leafs tickets and world junior tickets. But give us reasonably priced tickets for the Argos or the Pan-Am Games and suddenly we’re not so interested.” . . . 

If you missed Rich Sutter as a Sportsnet analyst during the Thursday game between the host Vancouver Canucks and Florida Panthers, you missed a lot. He threw former Vancouver goaltender Richard Brodeur under the bus and how many other talking heads have done that? . . . They were picking the top three goaltenders in Canucks history and Sutter put Brodeur third, accusing him of having quit on the team at times. Sutter, who was with the Canucks at the time, said there were problems in the dressing room back then and that some of that, he claimed, was attributable to Brodeur’s attitude. . . . Hey, Sportsnet, more Rich Sutter, please. . . .

Ron Judd of the Seattle Times writes that he “enjoys the diversion of the NFL playoffs, too. But please spare us the annual torrent of media hype about monitoring of fan-caused ‘earthquake’ symptoms at the local football stadium. There’s probably some value in this hypefest’s main goal — ‘testing’ the impact of large numbers of people simultaneously clicking, in Pavlovian style, on an earthquake-info website. But claiming grand scientific value in the exercise sits between questionable and ludicrous.” . . . Here’s Judd, again: “Baseball pitching great Curt Schilling, ticked at not being inducted into baseball’s Hall of Fame alongside truly deserving honorees such as former Mariner Randy Johnson, whines that being a Republican costs him votes. Now he knows how Mitt Romney feels.” . . .

“Kim Kardashian claims she doesn’t smile often because it causes wrinkles,” writes Janice Hough, aka The West Coast Sports Babe. “Got news for Kim, people aren’t looking at her face.” . . . “Boston beat out San Francisco as the U.S representative amongst bids to play host to the 2024 Olympic Games,” notes Hough. “So they have the Olympic bid and Pablo Sandoval. Wonder which one will give Boston buyer’s remorse first?” . . .

Veteran receiver Steve Smith of the Baltimore Ravens has admitted to The Associated Press that he loves playing in prime time. Why? “Family members get to see you play,” he explained, “ex-girlfriends that wished they wouldn’t have dumped you, they’re questioning themselves right now.” . . . Here‘s Smith after the Ravens lost to the host Houston Texans late in the regular season: "We expect and understand and anticipate all of the negative feedback and all of the fat, lazy, sorry couch quarterbacks are going to come out. We expect that and understand that. We're not going to pay attention to it." . . .

After Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps was given 18 months probation on a DUI charge, Vancouver comic Torben Rolfsen noted: “A judge denied his request to be sentenced to Sea World.” . . . Jim Mora, the head football coach at UCLA, has told The Associated Press that he isn’t in any hurry to return to the NFL. As he explained: “I don’t mind the recruiting. I’m at the point in my life where I would rather deal with moms and dads rather than wives and agents.” . . .

ICYMI, some Michigan-based rocketeers launched an outdoor iffy into the wild blue yonder the other day. As Brad Dickson of the Omaha World-Herald put it: “If the Redneck Games had a space program, this is what it’d look like.” . . . There is something wrong with an intermission interview in which the two participants refer to each other as Sweens and Beersy. But that was the case on a recent night when Bob Beers, an analyst on Boston Bruins’ broadcasts, interviewed Bruins assistant general manager Don Sweeney. . . . Rob Vanstone, in the Regina Leader-Post: “Pet peeve: Any interview that ends with ‘thanks for this.’ ” . . .

“A time capsule from 1795 was opened in Boston,” reports Richmond, B.C., blogger TC Chong. “Among the articles inside were some petrified baked beans, a bloodied sock once worn by Paul Revere and a loud Minuteman jacket that once belonged to Don Cherry.” . . . Comedy writer Jerry Perisho noted that the most surprising thing found in the time capsule, at least part of which was put there by Revere, was “a Steve Nash rookie card.” . . . “I just hacked into Sony Pictures’ computers,” Chong claims, “and found a movie to be released this week. It’s about NFL coaching brothers Rex and Rob called ‘Saving Ryan’s Privates’.” . . .
 
“British tabloids report David Beckham has approached U.S. goalkeeper Tim Howard about joining his Miami MLS team,” wrote Greg Cote of the Miami Herald last month. “Which would be exciting if Beckham actually, you know, had a Miami MLS team.” . . . One more from Cote: “A Memphis man was charged with stealing 7,500 pair of new LeBron James shoes valued at $1.5 million. That’s galling! I don’t mean the thief thinking he’d get away with it. I mean Nike charging $200 for a pair of sneakers.” . . .

RJ Currie of SportsDeke.com wonders: “If Santa's helpers snap photos of themselves, are they taking elfies?” . . . “Holly Sonders of Fox Sports is one of golf.com’s Most Beautiful Women in Golf 2015,” notes Currie. “So many male admirers voted for her in December, one could deck the halls with beaus of Holly.” . . . The NFL off-season is off to a fast start for the Chicago Bears. Cornerback Tim Jennings was arrested for speeding on a Georgia interstate (he was doing 99 mph in a 65 zone), reckless driving and DUI. Uhh, it was noon. Uhh, he was en route to a parent-teacher conference. His excuse? He said he was late. Perhaps he’ll be late for the next NFL season.

(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.)


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Just the other day, Jack Finarelli, aka The Sports Curmudgeon, came up with a great idea involving pro sports teams and those throwback uniforms. . . . “If the NFL wants to show its ties to the past and to demonstrate some commitment to ‘heritage’ – whatever that might mean – any game using ‘throwback uniforms’ should also occur in a ‘throwback environment’ that would include: 1. Free parking; 2. No more than $2 for a beer or $1 for a soda; 3. No DJ in the stadium creating meaningless noise; 4. No cheerleaders.” . . . Under those conditions, he writes, “I could put up with ‘throwback uniforms’ -- not counting ‘the bumblebees’ -- once a year.” . . . The ‘bumblebees,’ of course, are those hideous Pittsburgh Steelers outfits. . . . As Finarelli puts it, “I would support the NFLPA bargaining against any of its members ever having to appear in public wearing the ‘bumblebee throwback uniform’ that the Pittsburgh Steelers trot out every year. That is a form of public humiliation for union members.” . . .

"I would be very excited about the Winnipeg Blue Bombers bringing back beer snakes next season if I had any idea what a beer snake was," writes Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun. "I’d be more excited if they brought back Dieter Brock." . . . Hey, I'd settle for Ralph Brock. . . . “FIFA (wink, wink) found no irregularities in the way World Cups were awarded to Russia and Qatar, but bid-committee members weren’t available for comment,” reports Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times. “They’d just left on their surprise vacation junkets to Barbados.” . . . Perry also notes that “Mike Vrabel, the Texans’ linebackers coach, lost the three Super Bowl rings he won with the Patriots when burglars broke into his Houston home. Not to cast any aspersions or anything, but how do you say ‘one for the thumb’ in Russian?” . . .

“Lee Chong Wei,, the world’s top-ranked badminton player, has apparently failed a doping test,” writes Janice Hough, aka The Left Coast Sports Babe. “Badminton? Who knew the most honest sport might turn out to be pro wrestling?” . . . Here she is, again: “A new report says a Secret Service agent was chatting on his cellphone while an intruder scaled the White House fence in September. Maybe it’s time to get men out of the Secret Service. Not that women don’t chat. But we can multitask.” . . .

“Doping investigators have now busted curlers, badminton players and golfers,” points out Richmond, B.C., blogger TC Chong. “What’s next? Bowlers and shuffleboard players?” . . . “The Oakland Raiders are 0-9, but head coach Tony Sparano says it’s not too late to save the season,” notes Chong. “With a couple of wins, they could cross over to the CFL East and make the playoffs.” . . . Chong, again: “Charles Barkley can chow down now after saying he wouldn’t eat another meal until the Los Angeles Lakers won. I bet he wouldn’t dare try that with the Raiders.” . . .

Bruce Arians, the head coach of the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals, told SI.com that he often uses a baseball analogy in reminding his backup players to be ready. “I always tell the Wally Pipp story,” Arias said, “even though the players never know who he is, that he’s the guy Lou Gehrig replaced and Wally Pipp could never get his job back. The worst part? They don’t know who Lou Gehrig is.”

“CBC Manitoba says a polar vortex continues to chill the Prairies,” reports RJ Currie of SportsDeke.com. “It all started during Selkirk’s Grand Slam curling event with Cathy O on the same sheet as Jennifer Jones.” . . . Here’s Currie, again: “Anaheim Ducks veterans Corey Perry and Francois Beauchemin have been diagnosed with mumps. That's just swell.” . . .

Phil Mushnick of the New York Post kept time near the end of a recent NBA game between the New York Knicks and Detroit Pistons. “The final 42 seconds . . . ran — I kid you not — 20 minutes, 12 seconds!” he wrote. “It took 1,212 seconds to play 42. With 42 seconds left, you could have ordered a pizza, picked it up, driven home and not missed the end!” . . . The way Greg Cote of the Miami Herald has it figured, free-agent third baseman Pablo Sandoval is a lock to sign with the Florida Marlines. Why? “Miami likes his bat,” Cote explains. “Sandoval likes the Marlins’ ‘All You Can Eat Mondays’ promotion.”

(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.)

Depression doesn't have to be the end of the road

This has to be a tough time to be involved at the management level of a junior hockey team, or even a midget AAA team.
In fact, it must be hard to be involved with the operation of any competitive hockey team.
Aside from the winning and the losing and putting bums in the seats, you have to be concerned about the concussion factor. As we have seen in recent days, you also need to be concerned about something like smokeless tobacco infiltrating your dressing room.
But perhaps the biggest issue of all involves mental health and, yes, that is intertwined with the concussion situation.
I have wanted to write something about hockey and mental health for a few months now, but haven’t been able to find the words.
My late mother dealt with mental health issues for much of the last half of her life. Because of that I have seen the inside of a mental health centre on more than one occasion. I also have seen the inside of more than one hospital psychiatric ward. It was through all of this that I came to know about valium and lithium and placebos and a whole lot more.
I hardly consider myself an expert, but I know something about what my mother went through.
So when something happens in hockey that involves someone’s mental health -- be it a coach or player or anyone else associated with the game -- my heart bleeds.
Such was the case when Terry Trafford, a player with the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit, was found dead in the cab of his truck in March.
The situation involving Trafford received a lot of play at the time, with the best media piece perhaps being this one right here that was written by former player Gregg Sutch for Yahoo! Canada Sports.
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After the Sutch piece appeared, someone from a WHL city tweeted in the direction of Yahoo’s Sunaya Sapurji: “Please make sure the WHL sees this! As a former billet of a player with depression issues, I know how important this is.”
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Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun weighed in with this column right here, on Trafford’s father searching for answers and trying to figure out what had gone wrong.
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The afore-mentioned Sapurji took the time to chat with Dr. Cal Botterill, a sports psychologist who is most qualified to speak on the subject because he also played hockey at a high level, including a stint with Canada’s national team in the late 1960s.
That piece is right here, and includes this from Dr. Botterill: “It becomes an all-or-nothing feeling because of the status that hockey has and how obsessed young people get with thinking this is their destiny and the only thing that’s worthwhile. I think when we think that way it’s dangerous.”
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Another meaningful story that appeared at the time was written by Gene Pereira and detailed the trials and tribulations of Rich Clune, a forward with the NHL’s Nashville Predators.
Clune, who played for the OHL’s Barrie Colts, said the Trafford situation hit awfully close to home because, as Pereira wrote, “he also has battled depression. Clune self-medicated using alcohol and later drugs, leading to an addiction that not only could have cost him his hockey career, but possibly his life.”
The difference between Trafford and Clune may be that “some three years ago, Clune reached out and got the help he needed.”
The Clune story is right here.
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The story involving hockey and mental health touched more than the family, friends and teammates of Terry Trafford during the 2013-14 season.
At one point, Regan Bartel, the long-time radio voice of the Kelowna Rockets, posted this on his blog:
“Am I the only one concerned about two teenage hockey players taking their lives over the last three weeks? . . . These two players, one in the Central and one who was involved with a South Okanagan team, have been put to rest.
“Is it just coincidence or part of a bigger problem? Mental illness is all around us without question. It makes me wonder what pressures these players faced from coaches and parents as they moved up the ranks.
“If they fail in reaching the goals many people envisioned for them, what safety nets are in place to help these individuals deal with disappointment? Maybe that wasn't a factor at all. I don't know.
“I am saddened to see this loss of life, as a father of twin 11-year-old boys. My heart goes out to the families and friends of these two individuals.”
Like Bartel, I was stunned at the time I heard of the deaths of these two young hockey players, young men who should have had so much for which to live.
But, obviously, something went wrong, something that no one recognized, through no fault of their own. Oh, you can bet that there is a lot of looking back and wondering, but is that really fair?
It is one thing to expect adults to recognize the signs that something is wrong; if only it was that easy.
Somehow, young people, and not just those playing hockey, have to come to understand that it’s OK to ask for help. They have to know that help is available, that life, the most precious gift of all, is worth living.
Unfortunately, the stigma associated with mental health hasn’t gone anywhere, as this piece right here from The Globe and Mail’s Gayle MacDonald clearly states.
As we attempt to remove that stigma, perhaps one thing we can do is pay more attention to those people who have dealt successfully with mental health issues . . . people like Garett MacDonald.
MacDonald is the subject of a wonderful story that appeared in Sunday’s Vancouver Province. Written by Steve Ewen, it deals with the story of MacDonald, a former junior hockey player who fell into depression as he struggled with an injury suffered in an Adult Safe Hockey League game that ultimately cost him one eye.
Ewen’s story is right here. It is a wonderful read; it really is, although it also is quite painful. I just hope a whole lot of teenagers read it and come to understand that there are people out there who love you and who can help you.
And please understand that depression doesn’t have to be the end of the road.
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1. The CHL’s import draft, which is scheduled for July 2, is a real crapshoot, one that long has been dominated by agents.
But in all my years of being around the WHL, I don’t know that I have ever read a better description of it than one I found this weekend.
Here’s Cam Hope, the general manager of the Victoria Royals, in conversation with Andy Neal:
“The import draft is one of the strangest animals that you get in hockey. It’s unlike anything I’ve experienced in the pros or junior hockey.
“The mine-field and the quicksand that’s out there is almost indescribable and this year even moreso.
“We’re doing our homework; we had a long meeting for hours and hours and hours going over players who have come to our attention through our research or through their agents. But, in the end, there’s only so much homework you can do.
“There’s a shift in the political landscape; we know there’s problems for some Russian players getting visas as a result of things happening over there so there’s all kinds of things that have nothing to do with hockey that make this dangerous.”
Neal’s filing also takes a look at the Royals’ 20-year-old situation. It’s all right here.

2. “In theory,” writes Alan Maki of The Globe and Mail, “banning body checking for minor hockey players ages 13 to 17 should be an easy exercise. It’s about safety, and most everyone can appreciate that. And yet when to introduce body checking remains a hot-button issue.” . . . The reason for Maki’s piece, which is right here? . . . The Greater Toronto Hockey League and the association that governs minor hockey in Newfoundland and Labrador have voted against banning body checking for players more than 13 years of age. . . . One doctor in Maki’s piece points out that concussion research still is in its infancy. But considering the direction in which that research is headed, it is mind-numbing that some adults still don’t understand the risk involved.

3. I’m still laughing about the CFL’s attempt to change the adjectives ‘import’ and ‘non-import’ into ‘international’ and ‘national’. . . . Of course, this is the same league that has an expansion team with the nickname Redblacks.

4. Darren Gusdal, who played two seasons (1978-80) with the Brandon Wheat Kings, has died. Gusdal, who was born in Erickson, Man., just north of Brandon, was 53. He could skate like the wind, although he had a funny style, and was a terrific penalty killer on one of the greatest teams in WHL history, the 1978-79 Wheat Kings who went 58-5 with nine ties.
 
5. Former WHLer Cody Smuk (Chilliwack, Lethbridge, Moose Jaw, 2006-10) is battling cancer, and funds are being raised to help him pay the bills. If you would like to donate, you are able to do so right here.
Smuk posted this message last week:
“Hey All. I just wanted to thank each and every one of you for donating. It has been very touching to see all the support I have received in the past 24 hours. I am truly grateful and I mean that from the bottom of my heart. Day 1 went well but it will be a long road ahead. Thanks for making this easier for my family and myself. Take care.”

6. It’s Canada week at MMQB, and you should give it a look right here. That is The Monday Morning Quarterback site that is edited by Peter King, the best-connected football writer on the planet. Today, MMQB has former Montreal Alouettes head coach Marc Trestman as a guest writer, and they’ll be all-Canadian all the time this week. . . . MMQB plans on staffing three CFL games this week, with King himself traveling to Calgary and, yes, Regina.
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The Vancouver Canucks are expected to announce today that they have signed Willie Desjardins as their head coach. Desjardins is a former GM/head coach of the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . Kevin Parnell, who manages the website and media relations for the Kelowna Rockets, tweeted Sunday night that the club will make a “major announcement” at a news conference today at 1 p.m. Bruce Hamilton, the governor, president and general manager, will be there, along with head coach Ryan Huska and assistant coach Dan Lambert. Gotta wonder if Lambert is about to be named associate coach?
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The Everett Silvertips have taken scouting to a new level, witness this from assistant coach Mitch Love . . . 

Maui will work for a few days #scoutinghawaiianhockeytalent pic.twitter.com/VHZYbNXY0e
— Mitch Love (@mlovehockey) June 23, 2014

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.

Jack Finarelli, aka The Sports Curmudgeon, chimed in on the CFL-CFLPA dispute on Friday. “There is even a dispute between the parties here as to what the average salary per player was last year. The Players Association says it was not $82,904 but was only $71,700. Calculating ‘average salary’ is not exactly a mathematical feat comparable to proving Fermat’s Last Theorem. Therefore, when the two sides perform this mathematical operation and come up with numbers that differ by about 14 per cent, my conclusion is that the two sides would probably not agree that the sun came up in the east this morning even after they called their favourite local weatherman to ask.” . . .

“The Ottawa Redblacks held a ceremony Thursday at TD Place, where a 1976 silver dollar was embedded in the asphalt under the field as a tribute to the last Ottawa team to win a Grey Cup,” scribbles Ian Hamilton of the Regina Leader-Post. “Current Redblacks likely paid close attention as the coin was buried. If/when there’s a strike and their source of income dries up, they’re going to need to know where to dig.” . . . “Clay Buchholz recently became the second Red Sox pitcher ever to lose seven pounds in a single appearance,” writes contributor Bill Littlejohn. “The first involved a burglary at Bill Lee's house.” . . .

On Wednesday night, the Los Angeles Kings and host Chicago Blackhawks played what was a terrific Stanley Cup playoff game. If you missed it, and you can bet Bill O’Donovan didn’t, the Blackhawks won 5-4 in double overtime. But it was the first extra period that had fans buzzing. It took only 26 minutes of real time to play the entire 20-minute period. Yes, it was hockey at its best. . . . Meanwhile, the visiting Miami Heat and Indiana Pacers were hooked up in an NBA playoff game. The Pacers won, 93-90. It took eight minutes to play the game’s final 12 seconds. . . . With the NBA draft approaching, Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel has some advice for the Orlando Magic: “Personally, I believe the Magic should package their No. 4 and No. 12 picks and try to move up in the draft to take Johnny Manziel.” . . .

If you have been paying attention to the NBA playoffs, you know that Paul George of the Pacers suffered a concussion in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference final, but was still back on the floor for Game 3. During the regular season, Orlando’s Nik Vucevic sat out 12 games with a concussion. “If you’re tanking, you miss three weeks,” Bianchi wrote in explaining the NBA’s concussion protocol. “If you’re in the conference finals, you miss three days.” . . . “The (Cleveland) Browns supposedly drafted Johnny Manziel after owner Jimmy Haslam heard a homeless man tell him, ‘Draft Manziel,’ ” writes Greg Cote of the Miami Herald. “Cannot confirm the homeless man was a former team sports owner bankrupted by taking personnel advice from homeless men.” . . .

“A clueless French Open reporter congratulated Nicolas Mahut for a match Mahut had just lost,” writes RJ Currie of SportsDeke.com. “He also congratulated the Chicago Cubs on 106 great years.” . . . A Friday night tweet from Ray Ratto of Comcast SportsNet Bay Area: “With apologies to our atheist and agnostic friends, the seventh game is the closest we as a species have come to proving that God exists.” . . . After his Kings lost Game 6, 4-3, to the visiting Blackhawks, forcing a Game 7 on Sunday, head coach Darryl Sutter was asked: “What did you say to the team after the loss?” . . . His response: “We fly at 11.” . . .

If you hadn’t heard, Donald Sterling paid US$12.5 million for the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers in 1981. On Friday, the franchise was sold, pending NBA approval, for $2 billion, which is four times the selling price for any other team. . . . “Because of an illegally recorded private conversation,” notes syndicated columnist Norman Chad, “an NBA owner is forced to sell his team at a 16,000-per cent profit. Only in America.” . . . Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times put it this way: “We all know how Donald Sterling feels about blacks. Now we’ll find out if he has a higher opinion of green.” . . .

Michael Vick, the newest quarterback with the NFL’s New York Jets, has told the New York Daily News that he can help the team get to the Super Bowl. “Apparently,” added comedy writer Jim Barach, “he has a GPS system and a license to drive the bus.” . . . The premier of Turks and Caicos has said he doesn’t have any problems with joining Canada as our 11th province. “Good news,” says Janice Hough, aka The Left Coast Sports Babe. “It would raise the average temperature of Canada by about 10 degrees.” . . .

After the New York Rangers finished off the visiting Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night, Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun pointed out a couple of things via Twitter: 1. At the Olympic break, the Toronto Maple Leafs had a three-point lead over the Rangers; 2. The Maple Leafs took the first Swedish goalie, Mikael Tellqvist, in the 2000 draft. The Rangers, 135 picks later, selected Henrik Lundqvist. . . . “Dale Weise and Alexei Emelin of the Canadiens both sat out Thursday’s game versus the Rangers,” claims Richmond, B.C., blogger TC Chong, “as they wanted to avoid the post-game handshake in case Milan Lucic of the Boston Bruins showed up again.”

(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.

“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.

If you were wondering, the Tim Hortons Brier, the Canadian men’s curling championship that concluded last Sunday, drew 65,005 fans to the Interior Savings Centre in Kamloops. That was an average attendance of 2,955 per draw, when 4,000 was thought to be the break-even point. . . . This was the poorest-attended Brier since 1988 when attendance in Chicoutimi was 45,220. . . . The one bright note in Kamloops was that Sunday’s championship game drew 5,238 fans. . . . The Brier was last held in Kamloops in 1996. The attendance was 127,746. . . . What happened this time? The buzz blames the price of tickets and the fact that TSN televised every draw and does a tremendous job of it. . . . Based on the Brier attendance and the decline in junior hockey attendance across the country, I would suggest there is a trend here. . . . Perhaps we can call it the Netflix Affect. . . .

According to RJ Currie of SportsDeke.com, the top three reasons the Los Angeles Angels gave a salary bump to Mike Trout are: “3. He’s a good catch; 2. To avoid an arbitration herring; 1. Just for the halibut.” . . . One more from Currie: “The South Florida police report and videos from Justin Bieber's arrest have been released. Bieber tested positive for marijuana, Xanax and outright stupidity.” . . . “The fact the (Buffalo) Bills in Toronto series is on hold and might be over says nothing about Toronto as an NFL city,” offers Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun. “What it says is this market has wise consumers: Way-overpriced junk packaged as something it wasn’t won’t sell anywhere and didn’t sell here.” . . . And just how many markets could that be applied to in today’s sports world? . . .

Somehow it was only fitting that the Florida Panthers held Tim Thomas Bobblehead Day last Sunday and Roberto Luongo was in goal for them. Thomas, of course, had been traded to the Dallas Stars following the arrival of Luongo. . . . Considering that Vancouver Canucks general manager Mike Gillis and head coach John Tortorella each has four years left on his contract, it doesn’t seem likely that either one is on his way out of Vancouver. . . . “At the Iditarod, where some say dogs are mistreated, Scott Janssen, known (seriously) as the ‘Mushing Mortician,’ had a rough day,” writes Scott Ostler of the San Francisco Chronicle. “He crashed his sled, hit his head on a stump, woke up, slipped on the ice while chasing a dog and broke his ankle. Do dogs snicker?” . . .

After 12 Years a Slave won the Oscar for 2013’s best picture, Richmond, B.C., blogger TC Chong scribbled: “I had no idea anyone would make a movie about my first marriage.” . . . After Movie 43 was honoured as the worst film of 2013 at the Razzie Awards, Vancouver radio and newspaper personality Torben Rolfsen noted: “They never should have made a sequel to the Jackie Robinson story.” . . . Here’s Rolfsen, again: “Barack Obama has warned Vladimir Putin not to stir up anything else that requires his attention until after the NCAA basketball tournament.” . . .

A couple of weeks ago, there were satellite pictures floating around that seemed to show the firing of a short-range missile by North Korea. “It was intended to be a long-range missile test,” Chong pointed out, “but officials say the elastic band launcher didn’t have enough torque.” . . . After noting that the new word of the year for 2013 was “selfie,” Chong claims the leading candidate for new word of 2014 “is ‘twerking’ . . . as in the Canucks’ power play isn’t twerking.” . . . After playing Quebec in that third-place game at the Brier last Sunday, Manitoba skip Jeff Stoughton told Paul Wiecek of the Winnipeg Free Press: “It’s a game neither of us want to play, neither of us have any interest in, neither of us are focused out there at all.” . . . The Quebec rink had played Saturday night and was there Sunday morning on minimal rest, what with having to deal with the ‘spring forward’ time change as well. . . .

You may have heard that NASA has discovered another 715 planets. As Brad Dickson of the Omaha World-Herald noted: “Commissioner Jim Delany is inviting 712 to join the Big Ten.” . . . One more from Dickson: “Robert Griffin III declined a fan’s wedding invitation and instead sent an autographed photo of himself. Try that next time you’re invited to a wedding.” . . . Receiver Eric Decker has left the Denver Broncos, and quarterback Peyton Manning, for Geno Smith and the New York Jets. Here’s football fan Christopher Campbell, in a post on the ESPN.com website: ““Decker will miss Manning a lot, but Geno will miss Decker a lot more.” . . .

“The Canucks blew a 3-0 third-period lead and lost 7-4 to the New York Islanders on Monday,” scribbles Ian Hamilton of the Regina Leader-Post. “You know things are bad in Vancouver when something like that happens and no one bothers to start a riot.” . . . "Barbie, the world’s most famous doll, turned 55 on Sunday," writes Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times. "She celebrated her big day at the beach, strutting her stuff alongside PED Ken." . . . During a men's basketball game at UC Santa Barbara, a fan ran onto the court and confronted Hawaii coach Gib Arnold. As he told ESPN: “You can’t control crazy. That’s why they’re crazy.”

(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.