A quiz from Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times: “Seahawks fans will remember the ill-fated goal-line pass in the final seconds of Super Bowl XLIX as: a) Picked and Rolled; b) The Wrongest Yard; c) The Agony of Deflate.” . . . “Amazing that Russell Wilson is receiving virtually zero blame for the Interception Heard Round the World,” writes Bob Molinaro of the Hampton Roads Virginia-Pilot. “I’m not making him out to be the goat, but had his pass been lower and not so far in front of Ricardo Lockette, it’s less likely the ball would have been picked off. Some guys get – maybe earn – special treatment after they make a crucial mistake. Fair enough. But if Tony Romo had turned the ball over at the goal line like that in the Super Bowl, he’d be assuming a false identity and moving to Latvia.” . . .

“The Vancouver Canucks have called up rookie Latvian forward Ronalds Kenins, who has already scored two goals in three games,” noted Richmond, B.C., blogger TC Chong earlier this week. “Ronalds says the Canucks looks like they can use all the helps they can gets.” . . . The WHL held its winter meetings in Las Vegas earlier this month. One supposes that all the hotels in Lethbridge, Moose Jaw, Swift Current, Prince Albert, Brandon, etc., were booked, thus forcing the pooh-bahs to go south. . . . Headline at TheOnion.com: New NCAA regulations prohibit student-athletes from studying more than 30 hours per week. . . .

Comedian Argus Hamilton had this take on Deflategate: “(New England Patriots owner) Bob Kraft referred questions about deflated footballs to Bill Belichick, who denied all wrongdoing and blamed Tom Brady, who denied wrongdoing and blamed the ballboys, who might rat out everyone. We baby boomers loved it. For one beautiful day, Nixon was still president and we were all young again.” . . . “The Chicago Cubs’ renovation of Wrigley Field has caused a huge neighbourhood rat infestation,” reports comedy writer Alex Kaseberg. “The good news? They’re Cubs rats, so they’ll be gone by October.” . . .

“As for Warren Sapp’s arrest,” writes Ray Ratto of CSNbayarea.com, “not paying for two hookers he apparently had employed for his own post-Super Bowl party will not help his credit rating, and not just with the International Fille de Joie Workers Guild, especially given that he filed for bankruptcy three years ago. Unpaid debts are a real red flag there, Skippy. On the other hand, Pete Carroll and Johnny Manziel both appreciate Sapp’s effort on their behalf.” . . . Here’s Ratto, again: “It’s an old saying, but an occasionally apt one, so when (head coach) Todd McLellan said the Sharks, who gave away a point to the hideous Edmontons on Monday night, ‘didn’t have the piss and vinegar that it takes to win,’ we elders knew to what he was referring. That said, a lot of the team’s younger players were afraid just what kind of energy drinks they would be offered at Tuesday’s practice.” . . .

On July 27, 2011, shortly after Eric Weddle signed with the San Diego Chargers, Sapp tweeted: “8 million a year for a safety you couldn’t pick out of a lineup!” . . . On Tuesday, after Sapp’s arrest, Weddle fired back: “Thank you for the motivation the last 4 yrs. I really appreciated it. #whoisinthelineupnow.” . . . Liquidation sales began at Target stores on Thursday. Had some of the bargain-seekers who showed up been even semi-regular Target shoppers, all of the employees might still have jobs there a year from now. . . .

The Philippines is the call-centre capital of the world but, as Torben Rolfsen, the host of The Rolfsen Report on TSN 1040 Vancouver, points out: “And still Mayweather and Pacquaio have trouble communicating.” . . . Here’s Rolfsen, again: “NBC News anchor Brian Williams recanted his story about coming under fire on a helicopter in Iraq. He now says it was Lance Armstrong's girlfriend.” . . . Janice Hough, aka The Left Coast Sports Babe, asks: “Anyone but me want to see Lance Armstrong play against Brian Williams in a rousing game of Liar’s Dice?” . . .

“Orange News says Beijing police questioned a man who rode the subway wearing a watermelon mask,” reports RJ Currie of SportsDeke.com. “All they got was his name, rank and Mosaic Stadium seat number.” . . . “How about the drama surrounding the Winnipeg Jets?” asks Currie. “Throw in Humphrey Bogart, and you’d have the Kane Mutiny.” . . . If you weren’t aware, Sports Illustrated has laid off all of its staff photographers. Which means, as comedy writer Tim Hunter points out, that “this year’s Swimsuit Issue could be entirely selfies.” . . . Just wondering, but how is it still Sports Illustrated if it has dumped all of its photographers? . . .

“Tiger Woods has withdrawn from the PGA Tour’s Farmers Insurance Open, leaving midway through the first round with a back injury,” notes The Left Coast Sports Babe. “So over at ESPN, they no longer have to worry this weekend about covering golf.” . . . It seems to me that Woods’ body simply has broken down. Could it be that we have seen the last of him in the top 50? Top 100?. . . “I think it's time for Randy Carlyle to be considered for coach of the year,” tweets Bruce Penton of the Medicine Hat News. . . . A tweet from Ken Campbell of The Hockey News: “Just looking at Martin Brodeur's draft year in 1990. He outscored four skaters taken in the first round of that draft. Had 47 career points.” . . .

Headline at fark.com: British boxer Ricky Hatton’s house robbed after he tweeted he’d be out of town for the weekend / He really telegraphed that one. . . . Letroy Guion, a defensive tackle with the Greent Bay Packers, is facing marijuana- and gun-related charges. As comedy writer Alan Ray noted: “The NFL will follow its routine judicial protocol — Innocent until proven a liability.”

(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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With Canada winning both gold medals in Olympic hockey, Prime Minister Stephen Harper won two cases of beer from U.S. President Barack Obama. As Ian Hamilton of the Regina Leader-Post put it: “Harper had better be asking for cases of Molson Golden.” . . . With former NHLer Sean Avery having been selected to appear on Dancing With The Stars, Hamilton pointed out: “It’s ironic that Avery has agreed to compete on the show. When he played, he refused most of the invitations he received to dance.” . . . Tim Hortons plans on adding 500 outlets in Canada over the next five years. You mean there are 500 places in Canada in need of one? . . .

Michael Rosenberg, at SI.com: “Americans generally chafe at any sport that is judged, but judges contributed so much to the American medal count in Sochi, the USOC should pursue lifetime appointments, like we have for Supreme Court justices.” . . . LeBron James, who once worked in Cleveland, and Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo apparently chatted last week. During that conversation, James is said to have given Romo some advice on how to ignore criticism. According to James, he told Romo not to watch ESPN. . . . To which ESPN’s Bob Ley tweeted: “Help me here, @KingJames. ‘Don’t watch ESPN.’ -- except when you’re the focus of a 1 hr show announcing your free agent destination?” . . . Ley wins that one, with a slam dunk. . . .

Headline at TheOnion.com: Sochi’s Euthanized Dogs To Be Returned To Streets After Olympics. . . . If you were starting an NHL team and could have either Sidney Crosby or Jonathan Toews, which one would you take? . . . It’s nice that so many hockey coaches are using Team Canada’s defensive play as an example for their own teams. But how many of those coaches have access to that kind of talent? . . . “Now that Robinson Cano is making the kind of money he’s making with the Mariners,” writes Mike Lupica of the New York Daily News, “I think he should just hire somebody to run out ground balls for him.” . . .

Here’s Will Leitch of Sports on Earth, with his take on curling after the Olympic Winter Games: “Curling is super fun, particularly on television, where its inherent goofiness is both intriguing and, ultimately, soothing. (I find it comforting and an easy transition into a pleasant nap.) But in person, there are four games going on at once, and if you think you have a hard time following one curling match, try understanding four. The games also take nearly three hours, the first two of which are almost entirely setup. And they do three of these a day . . . a full day of curling, with three matches, can last up to 14 hours. I like curling, but that's a lot of curling. Also, in Sochi, they didn't sell alcoholic beer at the curling venue, which defeats half the purpose.” . . .

After Adelina Sotnikova skated to gold in the ladies’ singles figure-skating event in Sochi, Conan O’Brien of TBS noted: “The Russian skater said she was inspired by her family, her coaches and what happened to the losing — and now missing — Russian men’s hockey team.” . . . It seems that New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter and model Hannah Davis are an item again. As Fark.com put it: “Apparently he’s batted around and is back to the top of the order.” . . .

In case you think Major League Baseball’s pot of gold is running out consider that during the offseason the Atlanta Braves spent US$280.7 million on first baseman Freddie Freeman, right fielder Jason Heyward, closer Craig Kimbrel, shortstop Andrelton Simmons and starter Julio Teheran. . . . We should find out something about the Seattle Mariners in the early part of the baseball season. They will meet the Oakland A’s, the defending AL West champs, six times before May 8. As well, Seattle will play 11 of its first 27 games at home. . .

“Sadly unrealized was my Olympic dream,” writes Scott Ostler of the San Francisco Chronicle, “in which the U.S. men win the hockey gold medal, beating Russia 1-0, the goal caroming off Vladimir Putin’s forehead as he leans over the glass, and after the game the guy who scored the goal comes out as gay.” . . . Here’s Jack Finarelli, aka The Sports Curmudgeon, with, we think, tongue planted firmly in cheek: “By the way, how come the IOC has not jumped in on dogsled racing as an Olympic event? In fact, there could be multiple events from ‘sprints’ to multi-day competitions. If horse jumping can be an Olympic sport for the Summer Games, why not dogsled racing for the Winter Games?” . . .

During the Olympic Winter Games, Sir David Attenborough, a veteran British broadcaster who is perhaps best known for narrating documentaries, was asked to do some play-by-play during a curling game that involved Great Britain’s women’s team. Here’s part of it: “And off she goes: gently but flamboyantly launching the oversized walnut down the frozen river. The alpha female’s job is complete. It’s now up to the herd to frantically follow the walnut down the river, gently frisking the foreground.” . . . Take that, Vic Rauter!

(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.