Saturday, August 30, 2014





In case you missed it, and you may have, John Daly -- yes, that John Daly -- has recorded a country tune that is getting some radio time. It’s called Hit It Hard, and part of it goes like this: “No laying up, no holding back, ain’t afraid of nothing, it’s a natural fact.” . . . Here’s Adam Hill of the Las Vegas Review-Journal with some advice for Daly, the crooner: “Stay away from golf references. Your real life is more of a country song than anything you’ve done on the course.” . . . Going into the weekend, NFL players, through fines and suspensions, had forfeited US$14,063,619 this year. Last season’s total, for the ENTIRE season, was $10,619,855. Do you think whatever message the NFL is trying to deliver isn’t getting through? . . .

It was nice to arrive back in B.C. after a few days in Alberta and be greeted by headlines pertaining to another ICBC rate increase. Nothing like someone taking more money out of your pocket to make you feel at home in B.C. . . . “I am still smiling about B.C. Lions president Dennis Skulsky having to cough up more than 30,000 tickets after his guaranteed win against the Riders failed miserably,” writes Cam Hutchinson of the Saskatoon Express. “Maybe now he will keep his mug away from TV cameras during games.” . . . Hutch shouldn’t hold his breath, should he? . . .

“Suzuki, which stopped selling cars in the U.S., has recalled 19,000 sedans due to a risk of spider webs affecting fuel lines,” claims contributor TC Chong. “As there aren’t any dealers, owners are given a toll-free line to get further instructions from company spokesman Peter Parker.” . . . Having made two return trips over the Coquihalla Highway and a trek on the Yellowhead to Jasper and back in recent weeks, I feel quite safe in saying that B.C. is the first jurisdiction in North America, and maybe all of the world, to have done away with speed limits. Oh, there are posted speed limits on our highways, but it’s quite apparent that the limit really is whatever you want it to be. . . .

“Notre Dame supposedly has sidelined four football players because of academic fraud,” reports Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel. “My question: Is there a bigger oxymoron in college football than “academic fraud”? Don’t kid yourself, all of the big-time programs — by hiding their dozens of scholastically challenged players in gut courses and pointless majors — are academic frauds down to their very core.” . . . If you aren’t aware, there now are five TSN channels available to some of us, meaning, as Vancouver comic Torben Rolfsen puts it, “Ice fishing inches ever closer to a profession.” . . .

The way Mark Waller, the NFL’s chief marketing officer, has it figured, elementary-school students would do better at math if teachers worked fantasy football into the curriculum. “Well,” notes Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times, “that’s one way to truly prepare students for the real-life workforce.” . . . In B.C., elementary-school students ask: “What is a curriculum?” . . . “Apple apparently will unveil iPhones with bigger screens in September,” reports Janice Hough, aka The Left Coast Sports Babe. “So at least when people look at their screens while walking and driving they won’t have to squint as much.” . . . When outfielder Scott Van Slyke of the Los Angeles Dodgers sprained an ankle this week in Arizona, he said it was because “they’ve got bad grass here.” . . . “Dude!” remarked Hough. “You want good grass, sign with the Colorado Rockies.” . . .

You thought Sportsnet’s NHL package was going to be full of new faces and different voices, didn’t you? Well, they sure fooled you, didn’t they? It’s going to be the same old all over again, with the likes of P.J. Stock and Glenn Healy and all of that gang. . . . If you hadn’t already guessed, the Sportsnet NHL telecast theme song will be Hail, Hail, the Gang’s All Here. . . . “The Dolphins continue to talk to Dan Marino about a front-office position that would be more than a figurehead role but have little real authority,” reports Greg Cote of the Miami Herald. “Suggested title: Senior Vice President of Good Old Days.” . . .

There are those who would have you believe that the NHL is about to expand into Las Vegas and Seattle. Get back to me when the Las Vegas franchise has an owner and a venue in which to play. Seattle, meanwhile, has a potential ownership group but nowhere to play. If you are a regular viewer of NHL games, you might also wonder from where the players would come to stock two expansion teams. Think about what two more teams would do to the quality of play and try not to cringe. . . . Dick Bavetta, a long-time NBA referee, has retired at the age of 74. “Bavetta has seen it all in 39 years,” writes Brad Dickson of the Omaha World-Herald. “Well, except for traveling.” . . .

“(The Oakland) Athletics traded (Yoenis) Cespedes and rented (Jon) Lester for post-season,” tweets Mark Whicker of the Orange County Register. “Now they might not make post-season. What's the title of THAT movie?” . . . In Green Bay this NFL season, you will be able to visit a concession stand and spend $12 on something called ‘Bratchos.’ That would be pieces of brat, cheese and fried chips. Heath Barbato, the executive chef at Lambeau Field, told ESPN.com: “It’s basically Wisconsin in a bucket.” . . . “Caroline Wozniacki lost a point at the U.S. Open when her pony tail got caught in her racquet,” reports RJ Currie of SportsDeke.com. “She won the match but may have suffered a tress fracture.”

(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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