1. Having grown up in northern Manitoba, I always will have a soft spot in my heart for the Flin Flon Bombers. So I was thrilled to hear that the Bombers are in possession of their first team bus. Happy travels!
2. Here's Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times, with a thought on the WNBA final: "So who would’ve ever guessed that the U.S. government would cease operations before the WNBA did?”
3. Congrats to old friend Bob Ridley, the radio voice and bus driver for the Medicine Hat Tigers. City council there has decided to name the press box in its soon-to-be constructed arena in honour of Ridley. Well done! . . . Here's Ridley, via Twitter: "Thoughts of having my name on new Event centre press box is awesome . Thx to the Maser family for the request to the city of M.H."
4. Here is Michael Hiltzik of the Los Angeles Times: "Gov. Jerry Brown on Tuesday signed a bill giving the National Football League an enormous break — at the expense of players who get hurt, sometimes devastatingly, entertaining the fans. He should be ashamed." . . . Yes, the rich get richer and the NFL owners continue to show an amazing amount of gall. . . . Hiltzik's complete piece is right here.
5. If you missed the telecast of League of Denial on PBS on Tuesday night, you are able to view it on-line. Just visit PBS-TV's website. . . . In the meantime, right here is Cam Cole of the Vancouver Sun writing about what he heard and saw, and its impact on him.
6. And how many of you had the Seattle Thunderbirds trading D Jesse Forsberg before the Prince George Cougars dealt his younger brother, Alex? Jesse is on his way to the Moose Jaw Warriors, as Seattle got down to three 20-year-olds on Wednesday.
7. If you're a baseball purist, you have to love the idea of the St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Dodgers meeting with a World Series berth on the line. Close your eyes and there are visions of Gibson and Drysdale and Koufax and Gibson and Torre and Javier . . .
8. The WHL's U.S. Division teams are loving life on the eastern side of the Rocky Mountains. The Everett Silvertips won in Edmonton last night, meaning the American invaders are 5-0 over there this season. . . . Some other surprising numbers as I watch from afar: The Silvertips, the least-penalized team in the WHL, are 5-1-1 under old-new head coach Kevin Constantine; the Vancouver Giants are 1-6-1 and have scored only 13 goals in eight games; the Lethbridge Hurricanes are 1-5-1.
9. "Researchers at a Mayo Clinic conference on concussions in hockey called Wednesday for a ban on fighting at all levels of the sport, eight days after a Montreal Canadiens enforcer was hospitalized because of a fight on opening night of the NHL season," writes Jeff Z. Klein of The New York Times. That piece is right here. At one point, Klein adds: "Other attendees said the NHL and junior leagues should drop fighting for liability reasons, as well as health and safety reasons." . . . Yes, for liability reasons!
10. There isn’t anything more exciting in sports than a deciding game, which is what we have today as the Detroit Tigers meet the host Oakland Athletics. It’s veteran Justin Verlander of the Tigers starting against fresh-faced Sonny Gray of the A’s. . . . I think I have to go with Verlander, but there’s something about the loosey-goosey A’s that intrigues me. . . . At the same time, does Detroit manager Jim Leyland ever look as though he’s enjoying a game?
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