Some reaction after Dr. Bonnie Henry, B.C.’s provincial health officer, held her daily pandemic-related briefing on Monday . . .
Meanwhile, there is speculation in the east, too . . . Larry Mellott is the radio voice of the OHL’s Guelph Storm on 1460 CJOY . . .
The story by Ken Armstrong of ProPublica and the Seattle Times’ David Gutman and Lewis Kamb is headlined: Health Officials Recommended Canceling Events with 10-50 People. Then 33,000 Fans Attended a Major League Soccer Game. . . . It is a terrific story and looks at the early days of the pandemic in Seattle and King County, in Washington state, and how, despite warnings, the Seattle Sounders played a home game at CenturyLink Field on March 8. . . . The story begins: “On March 6, at 2:43 p.m., the health officer for Public Health — Seattle & King County, the hardest-hit region in the first state to be slammed by COVID-19, sent an email to a half-dozen colleagues, saying, ‘I want to cancel large group gatherings now.’ ” . . . They write: “Two days after the public health department wrote on Facebook, ‘We are making a recommendation to postpone or cancel events greater than 10-50 people,’ officials in King County allowed a soccer match to be held with 33,000 fans, squeezed together.” . . . That story is right here. . . . The WHL isn’t mentioned in this story, but it’s interesting that it went ahead with games in Everett on March 6 and 7, and in Kent on March 8. . . . All told, the WHL played eight games in the U.S. Division — including one in Spokane, two in Kennewick, Wash., and two in Portland — from March 6 until the season was suspended on March 12.
The U of Lethbridge brought an end to its men’s and women’s varsity hockey programs on Monday, saying it was “facing three successive years of significant reductions to its operating grant.” . . . From a news release: “The elimination of the hockey programs is one of a number of budget reduction strategies in response to unprecedented cuts from the provincial government.” . . . The Pronghorns men’s team had been around since 1984-85 and won a national championship in 1994 under head coach Mike Babcock. . . . The women’s program began in 1997-98. . . . Without the two U of Lethbridge teams there will be seven teams in each of the Canada West leagues. . . . The men’s team is full of players who played in the WHL. You can check out the 2019-20 roster right here. . . . The university’s news release is right here.
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You know there are concerns at a lot of Canadian universities, such as the U of Alberta. Gerry Moddejonge of Postmedia wrote late last week about a letter sent by Dr. Ian Reade, the school’s athletic director, to coaches, sponsors, donors, volunteers and alumni. . . . That story is right here, and it isn’t pretty.
“It’s a small point,” points out Janice Hough, aka The Left Coast Sports Babe, “but is every single person in the White House terrified to tell Trump that the Spanish Flu was 1918, not 1917?” . . . Uhh, yes. Yes, they are. In fact, they are petrified, as is every Republican in the country.
Here’s Jack Finarelli, aka The Sports Curmudgeon, with the Thought of the Day, this one from H.L. Mencken: “The worst government is often the most moral. One composed of cynics is often very tolerant and humane. But when fanatics are on top there is no limit to oppression.”
Nick Sinclair announced his resignation as general manager of the OHL’s Sarnia Sting on Saturday. He had been with the organization for 11 seasons, the last six as GM, before deciding to leave. . . . According to a Sting news release, Sinclair has “elected to pursue other career opportunities.” . . . Sinclair left just two weeks after taking the club through the annual OHL draft. . . . Interestingly, Mark Malone of the London Free Press reported that “a Sting spokesman said Saturday no team officials were giving interviews.” . . . That would include co-owners David Legwand and Derian Hatcher, who also is the head coach.
TAKING NOTE 