Doing some scattershooting ... Hunchak a Hall of Famer ... Gulutzan keys up Coaches Conference

Prior to the first round of the NHL draft in Chicago on Friday, the NHL sequestered eight potential early selections and their families in a ‘green’ room, rather than have them in the stands with the commoners. It was a disaster. Russian F Klim Kostin and his family were left all alone for a long while before the St. Louis Blues took him with the last pick of the first round, 31st overall. . . . Here’s hoping the ‘green’ room was simply a one-and-done experiment.

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After LaVar Ball, the king of hype, said his son, Lonzo, would get the Los Angeles Lakers into the NBA playoffs in his first season with them, Janice Hough, aka The Left Coast Sports Babe, wondered: “So is he buying them tickets?” . . . Upon hearing reports than Kevin Durant of the Golden State Warriors won’t exercise a US$28-million option and take $24 million instead, all aimed at allowing the team to keep Andre Iguodola, Hough asked: “How will he feed his family?”

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It always amazes me how anyone thinks they can pick the winners and losers from the NHL draft less than 24 hours after it concludes. Let’s check back in four or five years. OK?

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Headline at TheKicker.com: Umps go to video replay to see if they’re slowing game down too much.

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Judging by the empty seats at home-openers in Vancouver and Toronto this weekend, at least a couple of CFL teams have some work ahead of them to get bums back in the pews.

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About 24 hours before F Nolan Patrick of the Brandon Wheat Kings was taken second overall by the Philadelphia Flyers in the NHL draft, Bauer Hockey announced that it had signed him as an “official partner.” That means that Patrick will use Bauer gear in 2017-18. It’s worth noting that Bauer also suppled WHL skaters with equipment, so there won’t be a conflict should Philly return Patrick for another season of major junior.

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BTW, F Nico Hischier of the QMJHL’s Halifax Mooseheads, who was taken first overall by the New Jersey Devils, has signed with CCM.

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After the U.S. Open golf tournament earlier this month, Mike Bianchi of the Orlando, Fla., Sentinel noted: “Erin Hills isn’t just playing easy, it’s more forgiving than the Tallahassee Police Department.”

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A tip of the cap to head coach Ryan McGill and his Owen Sound Attack for leading the CHL’s 60 teams by having six players selected in the weekend’s NHL draft. Yes, that’s a franchise record. . . . McGill, of course, is a former WHL player and coach. He also is the OHL’s reigning coach of the year.

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Donald Trump, the U.S. president, “has made travel more difficult to Americans,” notes Richmond, B.C., blogger TC Chong. “It will remain that way until a new Havana Trump Hotel and Golf Course opens.”

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The best response from a player to a question during the NHL draft came from Swedish D Erik Brannstrom, who was selected 15th overall by the Vegas Golden Knights. He admitted to never having been to Las Vegas, but added: “I’ve seen The Hangover. I’ve seen all three.”

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“Charles P. Thacker, a pioneer in early personal computing, died last week at age 74,” reports RJ Currie of SportsDeke.com. “Out of habit, doctors tried rebooting him.”

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An absolute pro! @Bladesvoice Les Lazaruk has been an excellent host this evening for the @KlippersHockey Banquet! pic.twitter.com/IU1BzZUFpI

— Brad Jennings (@BradHitt75) June 25, 2017

Dave Hunchak, a former WHL coach, was among the inductees when the SJHL held its 2017 Hall of Fame induction dinner in Kindersley on Saturday evening.

It was a homecoming of sorts for Hunchak, 43, who was an assistant coach with the Klippers (1997-

DAVE HUNCHAK

2000) and the general manager and head coach for four seasons (2000-04). Under Hunchak, who is from Warman, Sask., the Klippers won SJHL championships in 2002 and 2004. In his playing days, he spent time with the Saskatoon Titans, who later morphed into the Klippers.

In the WHL, Hunchak spent three seasons (2004-07) as an assistant coach with the Swift Current Broncos, four seasons (2007-11) as the head coach of the Moose Jaw Warriors, and two-plus seasons on the Kamloops Blazers’ staff. He leaves next month for his first season as an assistant coach with HC Banska Bystrica of the Slovak Extraliga.

Hunchak was inducted in the coach category, joining builder Terry Shea, a long-time Klippers executive; players Troy Schwab, Derek Dorsett and Chris Winkler, all from the Klippers; Kindersley native Devin Edgerton (Humboldt Broncos) and Greg Paslawski, a Kindersley native who played for the SJHL’s Prince Albert Raiders.

The 2003-04 Klippers, who reached the RBC Cup final with Hunchak as head coach, also were inducted.

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The CHL import draft is scheduled for Wednesday, starting at 8 a.m. PT. It is held via telephone. . . . The Kootenay Ice is scheduled to be the first WHL team to make a selection. That will be the third-overall pick, behind the OHL’s Barrie Colts and the QMJHL’s Moncton Screaming Eagles. . . . The order of selection is right here.

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Glen Gulutzan, the head coach of the NHL’s Calgary Flames, is just one of the keynote speakers line up for The Coaches Conference that is scheduled to be held in Vancouver, July 14 and 15. . . . Gulutzan is preparing for his second season as the Flames’ head coach. . . . Also on tap as presenters are Mike Snee, the executive director at College Hockey Inc.; Jim Paek, the head coach of the South Korean national team; Craig Cunningham, who is heading into his first season as a pro scout with the NHL’s Arizona Coyotes; and Ray Ferraro, the highly popular analyst with TSN. . . . Snee has been CHI’s executive director since Aug. 28, 2012; he also is on USA Hockey’s board of directors and USA Hockey’s junior council. . . . Paek also is the director of hockey for the Korea Ice Hockey Association. South Korea will play host to the 2018 Olympic Winter Games. . . . Cunningham had his playing career cut short last season when he suffered an on-ice cardiac event prior to an AHL game. He was the captain of the Tucson Roadrunners. . . . For more info on the conference, click right here.

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Some NHL teams have developing camps starting today (Monday). I’m not tracking invitees but stumbled on three undrafted WHLers with invitations — G Cole Kehler (Portland Winterhawks) will skate with the Winnipeg Jets; F Tanner Jeannot (Moose Jaw Warriors) will join the Washington Capitals; and F Jayden Halbgewachs, a 50-goal scorer with the Warriors last season, will be with the Vegas Golden Knights. . . . If you know of more invitees, email me at greggdrinnan@gmail.com.

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F Brian King of the Everett Silvertips was the valedictorian recently as Everett High School held its graduation ceremony. Nick Patterson of the Everett Herald has a good piece right here on King, what he said and his off-ice accomplishments, including a 4.0 GPA, to this point.

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Oil Kings have a head coach . . . More coaching news, too

F Dustin Cameron (Saskatoon, Prince Albert, 2004-10) has signed a one-year contract with Heilbronner Falken (Germany, DEL2). Last season, with the Ravensburg Towerstars (Germany, DEL2), he had 58 points, including 23 goals, in 53 games. He finished second in scoring on his team.
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1. Steve Hamilton was introduced Monday as the new head coach of the Memorial Cup-champion Edmonton Oil Kings. Hamilton takes over from Derek Laxdal, who left after four seasons to become the head coach of the AHL’s Texas Stars. . . . Hamilton, 40, was an assistant under Laxdal for the past four seasons. . . . The son of former Oil Kings defenceman Al Hamilton, Steve joined the Oil Kings after spending four seasons as GM/head coach of the AJHL’s Spruce Grove Saints. He won three AJHL coach-of-the-year awards. . . . The Oil Kings will hire another assistant coach, who will join Hamilton, assistant coach Sean Brown and goaltending consultant Dustin Schwartz on staff.

2. There now are four WHL teams still without head coaches. The Moose Jaw Warriors, Portland Winterhawks, Regina Pats and Vancouver Giants continue to look for new men to run their benches. . . . The Winterhawks are believed to be close to introducing a GM/head coach to replace Mike Johnston, who now is the head coach of the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins. I was told on Monday that the Winterhawks are on the verge of signing an “NHL guy.”

3. The NHL’s Vancouver Canucks revealed that they are adding Doug Lidster to their coaching staff as an assistant to head coach Willie Desjardins. The two worked together with the Medicine Hat Tigers (2002-03) and the last two seasons with Texas Stars, who won the 2014 Calder Cup as AHL champions. . . . Glen Gulutzan, who was on John Tortorella’s staff in Vancouver last season, is expected to remain with the Canucks as an assistant coach.

4. There seems to be another move afoot to unionize major junior hockey players, but as Rick Westhead and Robert Cribb of the Toronto Star reports right here, it already seems to be stumbling around like a thirsty man in the desert.
Sunaya Sapurji of Yahoo! Sports Canada has more on this story right here.

5. There is quite a scrap going on in Oakland involving the A’s. At least one man, Oakland City Councilman Larry Reid, thinks it all could end with the A’s moving to Montreal or San Antonio. There is more on that right here.

6. It has come to this. . . . The Manitoba Soccer Association has suspended a player for 15 years for an alleged attack on a referee. Oliver Sachgau of the Winnipeg Free Press has more right here. Interestingly, Branko Dukic, who also has been charged with assault causing bodily harm, is a referee himself.
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Mike Kelly, who did a turn as head coach of the Brandon Wheat Kings (2003-04), has joined the NHL’s Florida Panthers as an assistant coach under head coach Gerard Gallant. He and Kelly worked together with the QMJHL’s Saint John Sea Dogs. . . . The Panthers also hired Mark Morris as an assistant coach. He spent the past eight season as the head coach of the Manchester Monarchs, the Los Angeles Kings’ AHL affiliate. When the Kings didn’t renew his contract, it created the opening that has since been filled by Mike Stothers, who left the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . Dwayne Gylywoychuk, who played with the Brandon Wheat Kings and also was in the organization as the head coach and an assistant coach, has been named an assistant coach with Canada’s national women’s hockey team. Doug Derraugh, the head coach of the women‘s team at Cornell U for nine seasons, is the head coach. The other assistant is Tim Bothwell, a former Medicine Hat Tigers head coach (1990-92), who is on staff at the Edge School in Calgary.
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Watching Tsn and im pretty sure this roger sloan guy is a hockey player disguised as a golfer #beaut
— Brendan Riddall (@sonofrawhead) July 7, 2014

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Pats shuffling their deck . . . Giants interested in Gulutzan, Morrison

F Cody Almond (Kelowna, 2005-09) has signed a five-year extension with Genève-Servette (Switzerland, NL A). Last season, he had 34 points, including 16 goals, in 44 games. Almond, an alternate captain on the team, has dual Canadian-Swiss citizenship. . . .
The KHL has announced that due to civil unrest in eastern Ukraine and the recent arson attack on the Donetsk arena, Donbass Donetsk (Ukraine) will take a “sabbatical” and won’t play in the KHL in 2014-2015. The club is scheduled to return to the KHL in 2015-2016. All players currently under contract with Donbass will remain under contract but will be allowed to sign one-year contracts with other KHL clubs. . . . Donbass announced that it will play in Ukraine Professionalnaya Hokkeinaya Liga this season. Its farm club played in that league last season. . . . Players currently under contract with Donbass include Gennady Razin (Kamloops, 1996-98), Pavel Padakin (Calgary, 2012-14) and Sergei Varlamov (Swift Current, 1995-98).
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Just when things seemed to be settling down on the WHL coaching front . . .
The Regina Pats announced Tuesday that head coach Malcolm Cameron has been fired “effective immediately.”
The Pats also chose to reveal that assistant coach Josh Dixon had quit on June 17, while fellow assistant Billy McGuigan had turned in his resignation on June 5. No one has said why those moves weren’t made public when they happened.
McGuigan apparently cited family reasons when he resigned, while Dixon wasn’t able to come to a contract agreement with the Pats and there are suggestions that he felt low-balled by the franchise’s new owners.
With both assistant coaches having left, it seems the new owners decided to get rid of the head coach and make a fresh start in that area of the front office.
“Coming in we were committed to moving forward as is,” Todd Lumbard, the team’s president and a co-owner, told Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post. “We had a coaching staff that had some success as a unit. (The owners wanted to) keep the momentum going.
“When we knew that neither assistant coach was going to come back for various reasons, we just stopped there for a bit and tried to figure out what we were going to do. We decided we wanted to bring a cohesive group to the team next season. We thought it was best for us to start with a head coach and build our coaching staff that way with someone new that we would hire.”
Cameron was preparing for his second season as head coach. He was an assistant coach there for two seasons before taking over when Pat Conacher left.
McGuigan had spent one season with the Pats, while Dixon had been there through three seasons.
Harder has lots more, including reaction from Cameron, at leaderpost.com.
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Interestingly, the Pats’ new owners, who were so up front and in the spotlight as they purchased the team from Diane and Russ Parker, weren’t very visible on Tuesday.
Here’s Rob Vanstone of the Regina Leader-Post:
“A Tuesday afternoon yak session with the media was devoid of Pat answers.
“The questions persisted for upwards of 20 minutes, leaving Regina Pats general manager Chad Lang as an uneasy and rather sympathetic figure in the face of microphones, cameras and, well, skepticism.
“Lang was essentially served up as a sacrificial lamb by the Western Hockey League team’s new ownership group after head coach Malcolm Cameron was fired — a move that was announced Tuesday morning but never satisfactorily explained to the reporters who convened outside the Pats’ Brandt Centre office.
“The picture became clearer when, in conversation with the Leader-Post’s Greg Harder, new Pats president Todd Lumbard acknowledged that the new regime wanted to bring in its own guy.
“Now, who knows whether the same philosophy will extend to the incumbent general manager?
“The new owners did entrust Lang to meet the media, en masse, on Tuesday. Lucky him . . .”
Visit leaderpost.com for Vanstone’s complete column.
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Glenn Reid, CBC Regina’s veteran sportscaster, took time out to tweet this: “1st strike against #Pats new owners. Fire the coach and don't show up to explain why. Shame.”
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1. Peter Anholt, one of the winningest coaches in WHL history, has joined the Lethbridge Hurricanes as their assistant general manager. . . . Anholt has 450 head-coaching victories to his credit, with the Prince Albert Raiders, Seattle Thunderbirds, Red Deer Rebels and Kelowna Rockets. He is 10th on the WHL list of career coaching victories and sixth in games coached (973). . . . In Lethbridge, he will work with GM Brad Robson. . . . Anholt has spent the last three seasons on Seattle’s scouting staff.

2. Yes, the Pittsburgh Penguins, who are looking for a head coach, are showing some interest in Mike Johnston, the GM/head coach of the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks. Rob Rossi of the Pittsburgh Tribune filed this story right here.

3. Is Eric Lindros a legitimate candidate for the Hockey Hall of Fame? Ken Campbell of The Hockey News explores that issue right here.

4. Darren Gusdal, a forward who spent two seasons with the Brandon Wheat Kings (1978-80), died over the weekend. His obituary is right here; you also are able to leave messages of condolences if you follow that link.

5. It’s not often that #cannibal is trending on Twitter, but that was the case Tuesday afternoon after Italy soccer star Luis Suarez took a bite out of an opponent. . . . Dan Treadway of si.com takes an hilarious look at the situation, including a tweet from Evander Holyfield, right here.

6. The Vancouver Giants continue to search for a head coach to replace Don Hay, who was allowed to get out of his contract which had a year remaining and return to Kamloops where he now is head coach of the Blazers. . . . I am told that the Giants interviewed Glen Gulutzan on Tuesday. Gulutzan, a former head coach of the NHL’s Dallas Stars, is an assistant coach with the Vancouver Canucks. When Gulutzan was the head coach in Dallas, Willie Desjardins was an associate coach with the Stars. Desjardins signed as the Canucks’ head coach on Monday.

7. Throw another name into the Giants’ list of potential head coaches. I am told that they have asked the NHL’s Winnipeg Jets for permission to speak with Mark Morrison, who has been an assistant coach with the St. John’s IceCaps for three seasons. Morrison, who is from Delta, B.C., was the head coach of the now-defunct Victoria Salmon Kings of the ECHL for four-plus seasons. . . . Morrison, 51, played four seasons for the Victoria Cougars (1979-83).

8. If Glen Gulutzan is interested in coaching in the WHL, chances are he will be getting in touch with the Regina Pats, who canned head coach Malcolm Cameron on Tuesday. Gulutzan, a native of The Pas., Man., played in the WHL with the Moose Jaw Warriors, Brandon Wheat Kings and Saskatoon Blades (1986-92).

9. How about Lorne Molleken as the next head coach of the Regina Pats? He’s from Regina. He coached the Pats in 2000-01, when they were the host team for the Memorial Cup. He’s available, too, having been bought out by the Saskatoon Blades’ new owners after spending last season as that team’s general manager.
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THE COACHING GAME:
The Seattle Thunderbirds have signed head coach Steve Konowalchuk to a three-year contract extension. Konowalchuk signed on with the Thunderbirds on June 16, 2011, and started off with a four-year deal. . . . The Thunderbirds went 41-25-6 last season and got into the second round of the players.
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TWEET OF THE DAY:

Cash-strapped Canes add assistant GM, I'd guess the reasoning is you don't get better by cutting back. And everyone else has an ass't GM.
— Dylan Purcell (@dylpurcell) June 24, 2014

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THE MacBETH REPORT:
D Steve McCarthy (Edmonton/Kootenay, 1996-2000) signed a one-year contract extension with ZSC Zurich (Switzerland, NL A). He started the season with Abbotsford Heat (AHL), getting two goals and eight assists in 30 games. McCarthy then signed with ZSC in late January and had one assist in eight games.
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Lester Munson, who is a legal analyst at espn.com, has taken a look at the wrongful death lawsuit filed against the NHL by the family of the late Derek Boogaard. He provides some insight into what all is going on. That piece is right here.
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The WHL got some pub at SI.com this week. Of course, the story is about the Portland Winterhawks having won the WHL championship and, yes, it mentions the little matter of those sanctions. That piece is right here. (BTW, the same story got some play from the Washington Post.)
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The Tri-City Americans have signed F Nolan Yaremko, who was a second-round pick (29th overall) in the 2013 WHL bantam draft. The 5-foot-11, 178-pound Yaremko, who is from Spirit River, Alta., played for the Edmonton-based Southside Athletic Club Southgate Lions, putting up 69 points, including 28 goals, in 33 regular-season games. He added 25 points, 11 of them goals, in 11 playoff games. . . . The Americans signed F Parker AuCoin earlier in the week, meaning they have signed their first two selections from the 2013 bantam draft.
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Travis Green, the acting GM and head coach of the Portland Winterhawks, is the flavour of the day in the coaching game. He has done a terrific job since the WHL suspended Mike Johnston, the club’s GM and head coach, for the remainder of the season on Nov. 28. But what’s next for Green? Paul Buker of The Oregonian tackles that question right here.
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Glen Gulutzan, who was fired this week as the head coach of the NHL’s Dallas Stars, now is on staff with the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades. Gulutzan will work with the Blades through the end of the Memorial Cup. . . . Gulutzan was with the Blades on Wednesday. . . . "We’re happy to have another set of eyes to help us out," Lorne Molleken, the Blades’ general manager and head coach, told Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix. "He’ll be the eye in the sky. As we go through the different games his input will be real, real important." . . . What’s the connection between Gulutzan and the Blades. As Nugent-Bowman explains: "Gulutzan played for the Blades in 1992, captaining the team to Game 7 of the WHL final before losing to the Kamloops Blazers. Molleken was the coach that season and current associate coach David Struch was the alternate captain."
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Now here's an interesting story.
Jon Kuiperij of the Metroland Media Group has a story right here about a junior A league in Ontario that is about to begin charging players to play. In fact, one general manager said his club may charge between $3,000 and $4,000. . . . Players already pay to play, but the ceiling is being removed. . . . That story is right here.
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THE COACHING GAME:
Dave Hunchak is the new head coach of the Kamloops Blazers. Hunchak, the team’s associate coach for the past two seasons, replaces Guy Charron, who now is the advisor to hockey operations. . . . The Blazers now will hire a full-time assistant coach. . . . Before joining the Blazers, Hunchak spent four seasons as head coach of the Moose Jaw Warriors and three as an assistant coach with the Swift Current Broncos. . . . According to a Blazers news release: "Charron’s new role with the hockey club will include attending practices and home games while assisting the general manager, coaching and scouting staff on all hockey related matters. Charron will also aid in on-ice skill development and represent the Blazers at local community events." . . . Charron went 144-97-20 in 3½ seasons as the Blazers head coach. He is tied with Don Hay, behind only Ken Hitchcock (291) in terms of coaching victories with the Blazers. . . . The Blazers also have re-signed Colin (Toledo) Robinson, their athletic trainer/equipment manager. Robinson, who is preparing for his 18th WHL season, joined the Blazers from the Vancouver Giants over the summer of 2005. . . . Hunchak and Robinson signed multi-year contracts. No other details were provided by the Blazers. . . . Hunchak will attend the Memorial Cup in Saskatoon, where he also is to be involved in a daily radio show during the tournament.
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TWEET OF THE DAY:
From ESPN's Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons), who is a huge NBA fan and follower: "Between tonight's playoff games, David Stern is going to ram a knife into the back of a giant Seattle SuperSonics piñata."

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Monday . . .

It seems I wasn’t the only person to make the connection between the 2011 Stanley Cup final and the 1960 World Series.
Moments after writing the brief piece that appeared here last week, I heard from a fan of the Portland Winterhawks who had pretty much the same thoughts.
And then, a couple of days later, I heard from another reader of this blog:
“I had one of those coincidences where I let out a ‘wow’ and did a double take on Saturday.
“I had just gotten off the phone with my dad (White Plains, N.Y., native, ardent Yankees fan since birth). He was comparing this year’s Stanley Cup final to the 1960 World Series, and relived the Mazeroski home run to me through the eyes of (then) a seven-year-old (he cried).
“Not even two minutes after getting off the phone with him, I logged on to Taking Note and read your depiction of one of the greatest World Series ever played.
“I remember the excitement of sitting in front of my TV as a 12-year-old in 1993 during Joe Carter’s series-ending home run, but that doesn’t come close to equaling the scope of Mazeroski’s home run.
“Imagine how much fun Twitter would be if the Yankees and an anonymous NL team battled into the bottom of the ninth in a tied World Series Game 7!”
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Of course, the Boston Bruins whipped the visiting Vancouver Canucks 5-2 on Monday night, forcing Game 7 on Wednesday in Vancouver.
Through six games, the Bruins hold a 19-8 edge in goals scored. The Canucks went into Monday leading the series 3-2 despite having scored only six goals.
In 1960, the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the New York Yankees in seven games, winning the deciding game 10-9 on Bill Mazeroski’s walk-off home run, the first such blow in World Series history. It also was the only one before Joe Carter did it for the Toronto Blue Jays — albeit in Game 6 — in their victory over the Philadelphia Phillies in 1993.
In that 1960 World Series, the Yankees outscored the Pirates 55-27 but somehow managed to lose Game 7.
Here, from Wikipedia, is a look at Game 7. It was played Oct. 13 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh.
Linescore
Team                1     2     3     4     5     6     7     8     9     R     H     E
New York         0     0     0     0     1     4     0     2     2     9     13     1
Pittsburgh         2     2     0     0     0     0     0     5     1     10   11     0
WP: Harvey Haddix (2–0)   LP: Ralph Terry (0–2)
Home runs:
NYY: Bill Skowron (2), Yogi Berra (1)
PIT: Rocky Nelson (1), Hal Smith (1), Bill Mazeroski (2)
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Bob Turley, the winning pitcher in Game 2, got the nod for the Yankees against the Pirates' Vern Law, the winning pitcher in Games 1 and 4.
Turley lasted only one inning. After the first two Pirates made out, Turley walked Bob Skinner, then Rocky Nelson homered to give the Pirates a 2–0 lead. Turley was then pulled after giving up a single to Smoky Burgess leading off the second. Don Hoak then drew a base on balls against new pitcher Bill Stafford, and Bill Mazeroski's bunt single loaded the bases. Stafford appeared to get the Yankees out of trouble after inducing Law to hit into a double play, pitcher to catcher to first. But Bill Virdon's single to right scored both Hoak and Mazeroski and increased the Pirates' lead to 4–0.
The Yankees got on the scoreboard in the fifth on Bill Skowron's leadoff home run, his second homer of the Series. In the sixth, Bobby Richardson led off with a single and Tony Kubek drew a base on balls. Elroy Face relieved Law and got Roger Maris to pop out to Hoak in foul territory, but Mickey Mantle singled to score Richardson. Yogi Berra followed with a home run that gave the Yankees their first lead, 5–4.
The Yankees plated two more runs in the eighth. With two out, Berra walked and Skowron singled. Johnny Blanchard then singled to score Berra, then Clete Boyer doubled to score Skowron.
The Pirates opened the bottom of the eighth inning with singles by Gino Cimoli (pinch-hitting for Face), then Virdon (the latter's was on a ground ball to short for what could have been a double play; instead the ball took a bad hop and struck Kubek in the throat). Dick Groat then chased Bobby Shantz (who had entered the game in the third and had pitched five innings, after not pitching more than four during the regular season) with a single to score Cimoli. Jim Coates replaced Shantz and got Skinner out on a sacrifice bunt, which moved the runners up. Nelson followed with a fly ball to right, and Virdon declined to challenge Maris' throwing arm. Coates then got two quick strikes on Roberto Clemente and was one strike away from getting the Yankees out of their most serious trouble of the afternoon.
Clemente eventually hit a Baltimore Chop towards first with first baseman Skowron and Coates trying to get to the ball at the same time at the cut of the infield grass. Clemente's speed forced Skowron to just hold onto the ball as Coates could not make it to the base on time after trying to get the groundball. The high chopper allowed Virdon to score, cutting the Yankee lead to 7–6. Hal Smith followed with a three-run home run to give the Pirates a 9–7 lead. Ralph Terry relieved Coates and got the last out.
Bob Friend, an eighteen-game-winner for the Pirates and their starter in Games 2 and 6, came on in the ninth to try to protect the lead. The Yankees' Bobby Richardson and pinch-hitter Dale Long both greeted Friend with singles, and Pirates manager Danny Murtaugh was forced to bench the veteran pitcher in favor of Harvey Haddix. Although he got Roger Maris to foul out, Haddix gave up a key single to Mickey Mantle that scored Richardson and moved Long to third. Yogi Berra followed, hitting a short grounder to first, with Rocky Nelson easily making the second out. In what, at the moment, stood as a monumental play, Mantle, seeing he had no chance to beat a play at second, scurried back to first and avoided Nelson's tag (which would have been the third out) as Gil McDougald (pinch-running for Long) raced home to tie the score, 9–9. (Had Mantle been out on the play, the run still would have counted if it had scored before the tag.)
Ralph Terry returned to the mound in the bottom of the ninth. The first batter to face him was Mazeroski. With a count of one ball and no strikes, the Pirates' second baseman smashed a historic long drive over the left field wall, ending the contest and crowning the National League as champions. As the Pirates erupted, the Yankees stood across the field in stunned disbelief. The improbable champions were outscored, outhit, and outplayed, but had managed to pull out a victory anyhow. Years later, Mickey Mantle was quoted as saying that losing the 1960 series was the biggest disappointment of his career, the only loss amateur or professional he cried actual tears over. For Bill Mazeroski, it was the highlight.
Mazeroski became the first player to hit a game-winning home run in the seventh game, to win a World Series. Thirty-three years later, Joe Carter would become the only other player to end the World Series with a home run, doing so for the Toronto Blue Jays in 1993, albeit in Game 6. Although most noted for the series-ending homer, Game 7 is also the only game in all of postseason history with no strikeouts recorded by either side.
Bobby Richardson of the Yankees was named MVP of the Series, the only time that someone from the defeated team has been so honored.
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Fans of the Boston Bruins and Vancouver Canucks are free to pore over Game 7 of that 1960 World Series in a search for omens of what awaits us on Wednesday. That is when the Bruins and Canucks will meet in Game 7 in Vancouver.
And let’s be honest — there isn’t anything better in all of the sporting world than a Game 7, no matter the sport.
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JUST NOTES: The Kamloops Blazers have signed D Jordan Thomson, the fourth overall selection in the 2011 bantam draft. Thomson, from Wawanesa, Man., had 16 points with the Southwest Cougars of the Manitoba Midget AAA league last season. He was the only 1996-born player in that league. . . .
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THE COACHING GAME: Sean Gillam is the new head coach of the Southern Professional league’s Fayetteville FireAntz. The 35-year-old Gillam (Spokane, 1992-96) is from Lethbridge. He had been an assistant coach with the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees for five seasons. Gillam replaces Tommy Stewart, who was let go following his fourth season with Fayetteville. . . . Gulutzan also played for the Killer Bees, who retired his jersey (No.7) in 2008. . . . The Dallas Morning News has reported that the Dallas Stars are negotiating with Glen Gulutzan, who could be named head coach later this week. Gulutzan (Moose Jaw, Brandon, Saskatoon, 1986-92) will turn 40 on Aug. 12. He is a native of The Pas, Man., which is also the hometown of Montreal Canadiens scout Vaughn Karpan. . . . Gulutzan spent the last two seasons as head coach of the AHL’s Texas Stars, going 87-56-17. With Dallas, he will replace Marc Crawford, who was dropped after the season. . . . The AHL’s Abbotsford Heat is looking for a head coach following the resignation of Jim Playfair, who has signed a multi-year deal as an associate coach with the NHL’s Phoenix Coyotes. Playfair (Portland, Calgary, 1981-84) has been in the coaching game since 1993-94. He spent the last two seasons with the Heat, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Calgary Flames. Playfair had been in the Flames’ organization since 2000-01. . . .
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Patrick Kennedy of the Kingston Whig-Standard has today’s good read. It’s a piece on former Vancouver Canucks D Dennis Kearns and it is terrific.
"When I was in Portland,” Kearns told Kennedy, “our coach, Hal Laycoe, wouldn't allow any water on the bench, but you could smoke between periods. I didn't smoke but I can still remember my defence partner Doug Messier, Mark's dad, coming into the dressing room dripping with sweat and reaching for a cigarette."
That piece is right here.

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
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