Willie Williams, once a linebacker with the U of Miami Hurricanes, was arrested the other day. For the 15th time. As Greg Cote of the Miami Herald noted: “That’s a milestone. Do they give you a watch for that, or do you have to steal it?” . . . Here’s 83-year-old Rocky Bridges, speaking with the Los Angeles Times, about his more than 40 years in baseball: “I managed, I scouted, I coached, I did everything. I was like a house without toilets. I was uncanny.” . . . You really should get out there on the weekend and enjoy at least one event at the Western Canada Summer Games. . . . The WHL’s Prince George Cougars made a giant step towards more respectability when they acquired goaltender Drew Owsley, 20, from the Tri-City Americans on Thursday. “Our players are excited!” Cougars GM Dallas Thompson wrote in an email. “We haven’t had a goalie for a long time and it hurts a lot.” . . .
A confused comedian Argus Hamilton, still trying to figure out why Tiger Woods fired caddy Steve Williams: “The New Zealander is a master caddy. Williams can look at a green 200 yards away and judge the wind, the slope and whether the blond in the third row is wearing a wedding ring.” . . . If you loved Lucy, wish her Happy Birthday. Lucille Ball would have turned 100 today. . . . You know that it is desperation time in the camp of the B.C. Lions when GM/head coach Wally Buono — aka Mr. Conservative — is coughing up two draft picks in order to acquire a wide receiver, Arland Bruce III, who is highly paid and 33 years of age. . . .
The BCHL’s Quesnel Millionaires and Williams Lake Timberwolves are gone. And now folks in 100 Mile House are hoping to get into the Kootenay International junior league for the 2012-13 season. They have formed the Wranglers Jr. B Hockey Club Society and organizers say they have spoken with three existing teams about relocating. . . . Len Berman, at ThatsSports.com: “Let me get this straight. NBA owners locked out the players, and now the owners have filed an unfair-labor-practices suit against the players. Got it.” . . . Ron Judd, in the Seattle Times: “Our own police blotter announced . . . that an ‘armed woman was shot in the Enumclaw area.’ It had to hurt.” . . . One more from Judd: “The U.S. Postal Service is planning to close 3,700 branches nationwide. It’s a key part of the U.S. Third World application process.” . . .
Asked by Sports Illustrated about his skills as a NASCAR driver, Tony Stewart responded: “You’re not just driving 90 miles an hour down the interstate. My mom does that every day going to work.” . . . I didn’t realize Stewart was from Pasadena. . . . Local charities are reminded that The Daily News Christmas Cheer Fund is again accepting applications for the 2011 festive season. If you would like to be considered for a piece of the pie, visit The Daily News’ website, click on the Christmas Cheer Fund logo and take it from there. . . . The NHL’s Minnesota Wild is expected to make its rookie camp invitations official on Sunday. When that happens, veteran forward Dylan Willick of the Kamloops Blazers is expected to be on the roster. That means he will play for the Wild rookie team at the annual eight-team tournament in Traverse City, Mich., from Sept. 10-14. . . . J.T. Barnett, another Blazers veteran forward, attended the New Jersey Devils’ prospects camp in July and is likely to go to main camp with them. . . .
Scott Ostler, in the San Francisco Chronicle: “If Tiger Woods never regains dominance in his sport (golf), the debate will rage for years over what caused his downfall — bum legs or bimbos. Right now, I’d have to flip a coin.” . . . One more from Ostler: “Not that I feel sorry for him, but if you’re Tiger Woods, by now everyone who comes into your life, however briefly — a caddie, a swing coach, a pancake-house waitress, a pizza-delivery kid — has to look like the author of a future book.” . . . There were two rather interesting developments in the WHL this week as the Brandon Wheat Kings and Regina Pats put more resources into coaching by hiring a second full-time assistant coach. Most teams have one full-time and one part-time assistant, so it will be interesting to see how many clubs follow Brandon and Regina. . . .
The Wall Street Journal conducted an investigation in which it discovered that when temperatures fall below 50 F, there are 5.8 ejections per 100 Major League games, and when it’s above 90 that number hits 11.4. . . . “In other words,” writes Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times, “chill the umpire!” . . . After a British man blew off the tip of a middle finger as he tried to remove a wart by using a shotgun, comedy writer Alex Kaseberg noted: “Good thing he didn’t have jock itch.”
Gregg Drinnan is sports editor of The Daily News. Email him at gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca, follow him at twitter.com/gdrinnan, or visit his blog at gdrinnan.blogspot.com. Keeping Score appears sporadically through the summer.
Posts
