Ray Kinasewich, who coached the Edmonton Oil Kings to the 1966 Memorial 
Cup championship, died in Vancouver on Aug. 30. He was 87. . . . Kinasewich took over the coaching reins from Bill Warwick during the 1965-66 season. He guided the Oil Kings to their seventh straight appearance in the Memorial Cup final in 1966 — they also won in 1963 — after beating the Estevan Bruins to win the Abbott Cup, which went to Western Canada’s junior A champion. . . . The 1966 Memorial Cup final, the last one to be played in Toronto’s Maple Leaf Gardens, also featured Bobby Orr and the Oshawa Generals. The Oil Kings won the best-of-seven series, 4-2. . . . Kinasewich went on to stints as the head coach of the CPHL’s Houston Apollos and the GM/head coach of the WHL’s Salt Lake Golden Eagles. By 1972-73, he was back in Edmonton as head coach of the WHA’s Edmonton Oilers. However, “Wild” Bill Hunter, part-owner and GM, replaced him behind the bench in midseason. . . . Kinasewich, from Smoky Lake, Alta., played two seasons (1950-52) with the junior Calgary Buffaloes and one (1952-53) with the Oil Kings. He split 1953-54 between the Oil Kings and the senior Edmonton Flyers. During his playing career, which ended after 1964-65, he also played for the WIHL’s Nelson Maple Leafs, the AHL’s Hershey Bears and Cleveland Barons, and the WHL’s Seattle Totems.
Former Edmonton/Kootenay Ice D Steve McCarthy has joined the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets as an assistant coach after Sylvain Lefebvre quit after refusing to be vaccinated against COVID-19. . . . In the NHL, all team employees not covered by a collective bargaining agreement must be fully vaccinated. . . . McCarthy, now 40, played one season (1997-98) with Edmonton and the next two with Kootenay. The Chicago Blackhawks selected him with the 23rd pick of the NHL’s 1999 draft. He played 302 regular-season NHL games over eight seasons, splitting time with the Blackhawks, Vancouver Canucks and Atlanta Thrashers. . . . For the past five seasons, he has been an assistant coach with the Cleveland Monsters, the Blue Jackets’ AHL affiliate. . . .
In the CFL, two of the Toronto Argonauts assistant coaches — defensive co-ordinator Glen Young and DB coach Josh Bell — weren’t at Monday’s practice and are reportedly on leave. Dave Naylor of TSN tweeted that “this comes after (Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment) implemented a policy requiring all employees (not under a CBA) to be vaccinated.” . . .
Billy Ray Stutzmann, an assistant coach with the United States Naval Academy’s football team, revealed on Monday that he no longer is with the team. “The Naval Academy Athletic Association policy regarding COVID-19 requires all coaches and staff to be vaccinated against this virus,” he wrote. “Based on my religious convictions, and after much thought and prayer, I am unable to follow (those) requirements.” . . . He continued: “After applying for a religious exemption and attempting to further negotiate alternative working arrangements, I was ultimately relieved of my duties here at Navy.”
If you’re wondering why the CFL would schedule a tripleheader on Saturday, well, just maybe it doesn’t want to face the NFL monster that owns TV whenever it’s on. . . . According to Adam Seaborn (@AHBSeaborn), Saturday’s CFL game between the Saskatchewan Roughriders and host Winnipeg Blue Bombers drew 551,000 viewers, with the Calgary Stampeders at Edmonton Eskimos watched by 593,000 fans, and the late game — it had the Ottawa Redblacks in Vancouver against the B.C. Lions — having an audience of 358,000. . . . Meanwhile, Thursday’s NFL season-opener that had the Dallas Cowboys in Tampa against the Buccaneers had a total viewing audience, via TV and streaming, of 26.4 million.
The WHL’s Vancouver Giants and Kelowna Rockets have cancelled an exhibition 
game that had been scheduled for Wednesday in Ladner, B.C. According to a tweet from the Giants, “The game . . . has been cancelled due to a lack of available players.” . . . In a news release on the team’s website, Vancouver GM Barclay Parneta said: “The combination of players currently attending NHL training camps, and the number of recent injuries sustained during training camp have made it so that the Vancouver Giants are unable to ice a reasonably sized roster.” . . .
Meanwhile, with Interior Health having relaxed some restrictions regarding attendance at indoor sporting events, the Kamloops Blazers and Prince George Cougars have adjusted their schedules. The Cougars now will visit Kamloops on Friday, and the teams won’t be playing in Prince George on Wednesday. That game had been switched from Kamloops to Prince George last week when the Blazers were looking at having a maximum of 50 people in their building, while the Cougars were being allowed to play in front of 50 per cent capacity in the CN Centre. . . . All fans will have to show proof of vaccination before being admitted to arenas in B.C. . . .
What this all means is that if you are thinking about attending a WHL exhibition game, you need to check your favourite team’s schedule to make sure the game is on . . . and then check to see what you need to provide in order to get into the arena.
If you are interested in being a living kidney donor, more information is available here:
Living Kidney Donor Program
St. Paul’s Hospital
6A Providence Building
1081 Burrard Street
Vancouver, BC V6Z 1Y6
Tel: 604-806-9027
Toll free: 1-877-922-9822
Fax: 604-806-9873
Email: donornurse@providencehealth.bc.ca
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Vancouver General Hospital Living Donor Program – Kidney
Gordon and Leslie Diamond Health Care Centre
Level 5, 2775 Laurel Street
Vancouver, BC V5Z 1M9
604-875-5182 or 1-855-875-5182
kidneydonornurse@vch.ca
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Or, for more information, visit right here.
JUST NOTES: Byron Bonora, a scout with the WHL’s Spokane Chiefs for the past seven seasons, has left the team to accept a position with Hockey Canada. He now is the head scout of Hockey Canada’s Under-17 program. . . . The OHL has yet to say why it postponed an exhibition game between the visiting Guelph Storm and the Mississauga Steelheads that was to have bee played on Sunday afternoon. A date for the rescheduled game hasn’t been announced either. . . . Yes, we will hope that the remainder of this season’s Monday Night Football games are as entertaining as last night’s contest between the Baltimore Ravens and host Las Vegas Raiders. Right? I mean, were you entertained, or what?
TAKING NOTE 