Author: greggdrinnan

WHL moves goal posts to Jan. 8 . . . QMJHL shuts down two divisions . . . NCHL (not CHL) cancels its season

On a day when the QMJHL shut down some teams until at least Oct. 28, the WHL announced that it has moved its proposed regular-season starting date from whlDec. 4 to Jan. 8. . . . The WHL, which normally begins its regular season in late September, first said it would open on Oct. 2. It later changed that to Dec. 4. . . . If it is able to open on Jan. 8, the league’s 22 teams will play entirely within their divisions, although the Swift Current Broncos will move from the Central Division to the East Division to play with the four other Saskatchewan teams and two from Manitoba. . . . Players will be expected to report to their teams after Christmas for brief training camps. . . . The WHL also has added Dr. Dhiren Naidu, the NHL-Edmonton Oilers’ head team physician, as chief medical advisor. An associate professor at the U of Alberta, Dr. Naidu worked with the NHL during its time in the Edmonton bubble. His role with the WHL will be “to assist with the implementation of comprehensive health and safety protocols.” . . .

The pandemic has been ongoing for more than seven months now, and it is apparent that it is far from being over. That being said, the WHL has a lot of work ahead of it between now and Jan. 8. Here are a few things that have yet to be addressed publicly:

1. The WHL’s news release didn’t mention length of schedule;

2. It didn’t touch on how it will get Canadian players to the five U.S. Division teams with the U.S.-Canada border closed and not likely to be open by then. Although, as I understand it, Canadians are allowed to fly into the U.S., while non-essential travel across the border via vehicle isn’t allowed;

3. The Saskatchewan government has told curlers that they aren’t allowed to leave the province for competitions, nor will out-of-province competitors be allowed in. Presumably the WHL will have to deal with that regulation in some way;

4. Steve Ewen, who covers the Vancouver Giants for Postmedia, pointed out via Twitter: “There are five B.C. teams and viaSport rules have stated that you can play in cohorts of four. Be interesting to see if the WHL gained an exemption regarding that or what their plan is. Cohorts can be changed with a two-week break.” . . . Ewen later tweeted that he asked the WHL how it will deal with B.C.’s cohort regulations, and received this response: “We are continuing to work on those details and remain in conversation with the B.C. government. At this time, it has not been determined what cohorts will look like for the WHL in B.C.”

5. The WHL’s news release didn’t mention anything about testing or contact tracing;

6. The WHL has been adamant for months now that it can’t play unless it has the OK for its team to open up their facilities to at least 50 per cent of capacity. The last sentence of Wednesday’s seven-paragraph news release might indicate that the WHL no longer is prepared to die on that hill: “A final determination has not yet been made as to whether spectators will be permitted to attend WHL games as this will be subject to the approval of the Health Authorities in each jurisdiction.” . . . Could it be that the WHL is prepared to play in empty buildings?

7. Is the WHL attempting to get financial aid from any levels of federal, provincial or state governments?

Questions, questions, questions . . . some of which may not have answers.

One thing is for certain, though: The WHL will play when ’Rona says it will play, which is what the QMJHL is learning these days.

——

Meanwhile, the QMJHL has shut down its two Quebec-based divisions until at qmjhlnewleast Oct. 28. The six-team Maritime Division will continue to play, but with five teams because the Moncton Wildcats, who are in a government-declared orange zone, are limited to practising. . . . Six of the 12 Quebec-based teams are in red zone and have been shut down by government restrictions until month’s end. Two of the Quebec teams — the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada and the Sherbrooke Phoenix — had a combined 26 positive tests. . . . The QMJHL, which has had its teams playing strictly within their divisions, said it will reassess its situation in two weeks. . . . Mikaël Lalancette of TVA Sports wrote: “Behind the scenes, I have already been told that it would be astonishing to see the circuit activities resume in 14 days.”

When last heard from, the OHL said it was planning on opening its regular ohlseason on Dec. 1. However, that announcement was made on Aug. 5. . . . Since then, of course, Lisa MacLeod, Ontario’s Minister of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries, has said that the OHL will have to get rid of body-checking and fighting if it is to return to play. She said: “It would be safe to say that body contact, unless it’s incremental, will not be permitted as a result of COVID-19. That would pose a challenge in terms of how they amend their play.” . . . I think it’s safe to say that negotiations are ongoing.

Bruce Jenkins of the San Francisco Chronicle touched on some truths about the virus in a Wednesday column, beginning with a reference to the NBA’s bubble success . . .

“As success stories go, this one was downright dangerous, offering hope in a pandemic when reality suggests nothing of the sort. It is now quite clear that nothing short of a carefully supervised bubble, free of positive tests for the coronavirus, is going to work in any sport in which athletes compete at close range.

“You’d think the football-crazed folks would get the picture, but instead we’re seeing all sorts of craziness in the NFL, the college game and surely throughout youth sports across the country. As they barge ahead through virus outbreaks, camp shutdowns, postponements and cancellations, they seem to treat positive tests as a minor inconvenience — a veritable sacrifice to the football gods. Fans are streaming back into many Power 5 conference stadiums, including the disturbing sight of some 24,000 people at Saturday’s Texas-Oklahoma game, sitting extremely close together and, in many cases, wearing masks only around their necks.”

That complete column is right here.

Mozart

COVID-19 CHRONICLES . . .

BC Hockey has cancelled all of its provincial minor hockey championships for 2021. Under normal circumstances, BC Hockey would sanction 16 provincial championship tournaments in U-13, U-15, U-18 and U-21 age groups. . . . The pandemic also had resulted in the cancellation of 2020 championships last spring. . . . From a BC Hockey news release: “BC Hockey is making the proactive decision at this time to allow all Districts and leagues the flexibility needed to facilitate programming that best fits into the viaSport provincial guidelines regarding sport participation focusing on the safety and well-being of participants.” . . .

The North Central Hockey League has cancelled its 2020-21 season. The Senior AA league features teams in the Alberta communities of Blackfalds, Bonnyville, Daysland, Devon, Fort Saskatchewan, Lacombe, Morinville, Red Deer and Westlock. . . .

The NFL has cancelled the Pro Bowl that was to have been played in Las Vegas on Jan. 31. The league hopes to replace it with a virtual program, the details of which have yet to be detailed. . . . Cancelling the game also provides the NHL with a bit more scheduling space in case it needs to move regular-season games. . . .

Nick Saban, the head football coach at the U of Alabama, and Greg Byrne, the school’s athletic director, both have tested positive. . . . Upon getting his result, Saban, 68, said he “immediately left work and isolated at home.” . . . The No. 2 Crimson Tide is scheduled to play at home against the No. 3 Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday. . . . Alabama played at Mississippi last Saturday. Lane Kiffin, the Runnin’ Rebels’ head coach, said Wednesday that his team has had some positive tests. . . .

Earlier in the week, the SEC postponed two games — LSU at No. 10 Florida and Vanderbilt at Missouri. . . . Florida has had 21 players and two assistant coaches test positive, and has suspended team activities. . . . Vanderbilt also has been hit by an outbreak and wouldn’t have enough scholarship athletes available to play. . . . There now have been 29 FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) games postponed. . . .

Members of Tornado Moscow Oblast, a Russian women’s hockey team, are in quarantine and six games have been postponed because of positive tests. . . .

Skate Canada International, part of figure skating’s Grand Prix circuit, has been cancelled. It had been scheduled for Oct. 30-31 in Ottawa and was to have taken place without fans. Organizers made the decision citing rising COVID-19 cases in Ontario. . . .

George Birger, a former athletic director at Brandon University, died on Saturday in Arizona. He was 91 and had tested positive. . . . The Brandon Sun has a thorough look back at Birger’s career right here.

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

——

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

——

Or, for more information, visit right here.

Time

It will be Halloween to remember for Dodds family . . . Wife/mother has date with transplant team . . . Younger brother will give her a kidney

I’m sure we all can use some good news. Right?

OK. Here you go . . .

The team at St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver has scheduled Julie Dodds of Kamloops for a kidney transplant on Oct. 28.

Julie, a married mother of three, has a genetic kidney disease that has progressed to the point where she is in kidney failure, meaning the next necessary step is dialysis or transplant.

JulieJason
Julie Dodds with her younger brother Jason, who will be giving her a life-saving kidney on Oct. 28. (Photo: Allan Dodds)

Fortunately for Julie, she will be having a transplant before going on dialysis, which is a best-case scenario.

Julie’s husband, Allan, said that “we were fortunate enough to have three amazing people matched for Julie.”

In what Allan said is “a storyline made for the movies,” Julie’s younger brother, Jason, who is from Port McNeill, B.C., has cleared the testing process and has been approved as the living donor.

According to Allan, Julie and Jason underwent COVID-19 testing on Tuesday and now are in pre-surgery quarantine.

Allan added: “We go to Vancouver week of Halloween. Surgery is booked for Oct 28.”

As Allan pointed out, it’s into the world of the unknown after that.

“How long at the hospital? How long recovery?” he noted. “Accommodations are booked for both and we are onto the next chapter.”

As for Julie, on Tuesday night she told me that “we’re excited . . . though a bit nervous and I’m sad to be away from the kids for so long but I know it’ll all work out!”

With luck, Julie will be back home in time for Christmas, with her boys serving her breakfast in bed.

It was on July 6, 2019, when Stevie Wonder told his audience during a show at Hyde Park in London that he needed a kidney transplant. There was a lot written about it at the time, but then the story faded away to nothing.

Until Tuesday when Wonder, who is releasing two new songs, held a virtual news conference. It turns out that he has been living with a transplanted kidney for more than 10 months.

“I was blessed with a new kidney and that happened on Dec. 6, 2019 . . . I feel great. My voice feels great,” Wonder said. “I told my daughter Aisha, ‘I’m going to be like five years younger than you now. I’m going from being 70 to being 40.’ I feel like I’m about 40 right now. I’m feeling great.”

The two songs — Where Is Our Love Song and Can’t Put It in the Hands of Fate — represent Wonder’s first new music in 15 years.

Cheryl Castellani of Hammonds Plains, N.S., first found out she had polycystic kidney disease (PKD) about 30 years ago. Earlier this year, her kidney function slid to 11 per cent, so it was time for — hopefully — a transplant. Fortunately, her younger sister, Heather Blouin, was a match and the transplant occurred on July 23 in Halifax. . . . After the surgery, who is from Grand River, P.E.I., and Castellani went their separate ways. . . . They had a rather joyous reunion on Thanksgiving weekend. . . . Sheehan Desjardins of CBC has more right here.

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

——

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

——

Or, for more information, visit right here.

QMJHL may have seven teams out of action . . . CHL cancels 2020-21 season . . . Ronaldo, Johnson come up positive

The QMJHL is looking at having seven teams unable to play because they are qmjhlnewlocated in what a provincial government deems to be COVID-19 red or orange zones or because of positive tests. . . . The Victoriaville Tigres are the latest team to be forced to halt operations, but restrictions in their zone don’t start until Monday so they should be able to play on the weekend. . . . If things don’t change, they will join the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada, which had 18 positive tests, the Sherbrooke Phoenix, with eight positives, Moncton Wildcats, Gatineau Olympiques, Quebec Remparts and Drummondville Voltigeurs in being idle. . . . The Wildcats are in an orange zone, as deemed by the New Brunswick government, but have been given the OK to return to practice. . . . Kevin Dubé of Le Journal de Quebec reported that the QMJHL continues to talk with health officials about tightening “the concept of the bubble. . . . An answer should come in the next few days. If this proposal is rejected, some fear that the QMJHL will put its season on hold until the situation, especially in Quebec, improves.”

I have to wonder how many major junior hockey fans had their heads just about explode when they woke up Tuesday to this headline: “2020/21 CHL Season Cancelled.” . . . In this instance, CHL refers to the Champions Hockey League, a competition that features 32 of the best teams from 12 European countries playing for the European Trophy. . . . The board of directors has decided to cancel the 2020-21 season. . . . From a news release: “Travel restrictions between participating countries had already put several match-ups at risk. Although a number of authorities would potentially issue special permits for travelling sport teams, a vast amount of uncertainty and risks remained. Many discussions and evaluations have taken place in the last few weeks and months with involved parties, taking all available facts and forecasts into consideration.”

Sean Shapiro, who covers the NHL’s Dallas Stars for The Athletic, has detailed the organization’s difficult times in a story headlined “Stars owner’s mounting financial difficulties lead to more furloughs.” . . . Shapiro reported, among other things, that according to sources, “Multiple . . . employees were told this week they are going to be furloughed for a second time this year.” . . . Tom Gaglardi, the Stars’ owner, also is the majority owner of the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers, who laid off an undisclosed number of employees in March. . . . If you subscribe to The Athletic, that piece is right here.

Password

COVID-19 CHRONICLES . . .

The Portuguese Football Federation revealed on Tuesday that star Cristiano Ronaldo has tested positive. Ronaldo, 35, came up positive while with the national team so won’t play against Sweden on Wednesday. Ronaldo played Sunday in a 0-0 Nations League draw with France, and on Monday posted a photo from a team dinner. . . . According to the national team, he is asymptomatic and in isolation. . . . Ronaldo also plays for Juventus — he has two years left on a four-year contract — and is the captain of Portugal’s national team. . . .

Dustin Johnson, the world’s No. 1-ranked men’s golfer, has tested positive so won’t be playing in this week’s PGA Tour event, the CJ Cup in Las Vegas. . . . Johnson is the 12th PGA player to test positive since June. . . .

The Yale Daily News reported Tuesday night that “Yale Athletics has reverted to Phase 0 following a six-person outbreak on the hockey team.” . . . Phase 0, which means no in-person team activities, will last until at least Oct. 21. . . . The team had been cleared to practice for up to two hours per day. . . . The Ivy League is aiming to start its regular season on Jan. 1. . . .

Fred Dean, a hall of fame defensive lineman in his NFL career with the San Francisco 49ers, is in an undisclosed hospital with coronavirus. Dwight Hicks, also a former 49ers, posted the information on his Facebook page on Sunday. . . . Hicks posted that Dean is in hospital “on a ventilator in intensive care.” . . .

Baylor and Oklahoma State have had to postponed their football game that was scheduled for Saturday. The game has been moved to Dec. 12 after Baylor had to suspend football operations because of what the Big 12 said was “multiple positive COVID-19 test results.” . . . The game was to have been played in prime time on ABC-TV. . . . Neither team played on Oct. 10. . . .

Vanderbilt and host U of Missouri have postponed their football game that was scheduled to be played on Saturday. The SEC said the game was postponed “due to positive tests and subsequent quarantining of individuals within the Vanderbilt football program.” . . . They now are hoping to play on Dec. 12. . . . This is the first game that the SEC has had to postpone due to the pandemic. . . .

Canada’s national women’s soccer team was to have held a camp in England later this month, but Canada Soccer has cancelled it on the advice of medical experts. The camp would have included a friendly with No. 6 England.

Mom

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

——

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

——

Or, for more information, visit right here.

Corey Graham was the radio voice of the WHL’s Edmonton Oil Kings in 2017-18. But it all came crashing down when a tumour was discovered inside his spinal cord and he underwent surgery on June 29, 2018. . . . He was in a wheelchair. He was doing rehab. He was determined to get back on the air. . . . Well, he was able to do 30 home games in the Oil Kings’ 2019-20 season, and last night he opened another chapter, this one as co-host of a three-hour sports show on TSN 1260 in Edmonton. . . . Jason Gregor of oilersnation.com has more on Graham’s wonderful story right here.

Bob Molinaro, in the Hampton Roads Virginia-Pilot: “With everything else going on in America ― and the impact it’s having on sports ― MLB playoff games shouldn’t be high on anybody’s list of complaints. But, man, do these games drag ― averaging about three hours 30 minutes. Pitching changes are relentless. Strikeouts come in comic abundance. Let’s face it, baseball is broken.” . . . The man isn’t wrong. . . .

The Tampa Bay Rays scored five runs in the top of the sixth inning of Game 2 of the ALCS on Tuesday night. Doug Kern (@dakern74) pointed out via Twitter: “Top of 6th: 35 actual pitches, seven of them in play. 31 minutes 48 seconds. #PaceOfPlay.”

Eggs

Mondays With Murray: Remember Those Early Laker Days?

FRIDAY, JUNE 28, 1985, SPORTS

Copyright 1985/THE TIMES MIRROR COMPANY

JIM MURRAY

Remember Those Early Laker Days?

  The letter came right after the Lakers’ win over the Celtics. It opened a window on memory.

  “Dear Mr. Murray,” it began.

  “In reflecting on yesterday’s stupendous Lakers’ victory, I felt compelled to write you ‘in remembrance of things past,’ of my father, Lou Mohs, and for the mondaysmurray2sake of my mother, Alice, who lives with me and is alive with such memories of Lakers’ early days.

  “I remember so well coming out to Los Angeles with the Minneapolis Lakers all those years ago (1960). It was difficult in the beginning. Bob Short, the owner, had sent my Dad out with the team and a debt of $300,000 with the order, ‘Call me for anything but money.’

  “That very first year was lean. My Mom recalls, quite happily, how our family bought the first basketballs, how Mom washed the team jerseys at home, how we all sat up late at night after home games, counting ticket stubs, how the young players, out before their families arrived, would come over for home cooking.

  “The team in the early ’60s was a family nucleus with all the wives and children gathering for holiday parties while the team was on the road. At each home game, everyone involved sat in one corner area of the old Sports Arena and silently prayed, not necessarily for the team but watching the counter mark for each fan’s arrival. Once it had marked 4,000, we knew we had made it into the black for the game — and sometimes that was a struggle.

  “But with marvellous players, the likes of Baylor and West, and with LaRusso, Selvy, Hawkins, Felix, Hundley, Schaus, along with the voice of Chick Hearn, L.A. soon learned to love the Lakers.

  “With the memory of so many almost-wons against the Celtics . . . it was with such pleasure to see this year’s team blow away the ghost of the past. I am sure (the late) Lou Mohs, Bob Short and Jim Krebs were all rooting loudly, wherever they are. Do you remember those days?”

        Martha Mohs Higgins

         Rancho Mirage.

——

  Dear Martha:

  Do I remember those years?! Better than last year.

  I recall so well the last story I did as a magazine reporter was a 10-day trip with the Lakers called in the book, “Ten Tall Men Take a Trip.”

  I hate to brag, Martha, but I was one of the only writers west of the Pecos writing on pro basketball in those days. I know I was the only columnist. Even in New York, the citadel of basketball, the journalistic heavyweights like Red Smith, Jimmy Cannon, and Dick Young pretty much ignored basketball.

  In order to draw in those days, pro basketball had to schedule doubleheaders with the Harlem Globetrotters. I remember, I went to the Sports Arena one Sunday afternoon in the first few months I was writing a column, and the Lakers were playing a playoff game against the St. Louis Hawks — and the “crowd” on the Sports Arena counter was 2,400. They get that to watch them practise today.

  Your Dad, Lou Mohs, told me Wilt Chamberlain was making $15,000 a year in those seasons, and that was also what they paid Jerry West.

  You bet, I remember Lou Mohs and Fred Schaus and Hot Rod and Elg and all the guys. I learned more basketball in one trip with those guys than I have since. The game kind of passed me by when they stopped having 3-to-make-2, and something called the “loose ball foul” came into being. We didn’t have any fancy-schmancy rules about “loose ball fouls.” You got a foul, you went to the line in those days.

  We used to go on trips in quaking, asthmatic old planes, one of which had plowed up a cornfield in a blizzard with the Lakers one night, and often, the little two-engine wheezer would be occupied by both Lakers and Knicks en route to a doubleheader in Syracuse or Kankakee.

  I remember those days proudly, as you do, because Lou Mohs commissioned a portrait of me by the Laker center, Gene Wiley, a painting that still hangs in my living room. “That’s in appreciation,” Lou told me. But about that time, Bob Short got a whole bunch of portraits of General Grant, or whoever it is on thousand-dollar bills, when Jack Kent Cooke bought the club from him for $5,175,000 in cash.

  I like to think we all kind of washed jerseys for the Lakers in those days, Martha. But you and I and Chick Hearn and Jerry West and Elgin are the only ones around who remember it. Thanks for bringing it up.

                 Sincerely,

        JIM MURRAY, 1985

——

Reprinted with the permission of the Los Angeles Times

Jim Murray Memorial Foundation P.O. Box 661532, Arcadia, CA 91066

——

info@jimmurrayfoundation.org|

www.jimmurrayfoundation.org

Scattershooting on a Saturday night while hoping we all have a Happy (Canadian) Thanksgiving . . .

Scattershooting

Oh my, but things just aren’t looking good for the QMJHL. Here’s a recap of the past couple of days. . . .

On Saturday, the Quebec government declared Gatineau to be a red zone, qmjhlnewleaving the immediate future of the Olympiques’ schedule in doubt. . . . The Olympiques held their home-opener without fans on Friday night, beating the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies, 3-2, and then won again, 5-4, on Saturday. . . . The Olympiques and Drummondville Voltigeurs, also in a red zone, are expected to be restricted as of Oct. 14. . . .

Earlier in the week, the Quebec Remparts and Blainville-Boisbriand Armada were shut down for the remainder of the month after their areas were named red zones. . . .

According to Pat Hickey of the Montreal Gazette, “Victoriaville, the home of the Tigres, is currently in an orange zone and has launched a virus awareness campaign in an attempt to avoid being classified as a red zone.” . . .

On Friday, the New Brunswick government declared Moncton to be an orange zone, so the Wildcats game against the visiting Saint John Sea Dogs that was to have been played Saturday night was postponed. . . . That declaration went into place on Saturday at 12:01 a.m., shortly after the Wildcats had beaten the visiting Halifax Mooseheads, 4-2. . . . New Brunswick announced 20 new positives on Friday, 12 of them in Moncton. The province hadn’t seen that number since May. . . .

Meanwhile, two of the officials who worked a game last Sunday are reported to have tested positive. The Armada and Sherbrooke Phoenix have a combined 26 positives and have shut down indefinitely. . . .

Interestingly, there isn’t any mention of any of this on the QMJHL website. There isn’t anything indicating the status of any of these teams, and rather than show some games as having been postponed, they simply have been erased from the schedule.

“Mike Pence inspired a torrent of social-media memes during last week’s vice-presidential debate when a fly shockingly landed on his head,” notes Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times. “ ‘I can certainly feel his pain,’ said Jose Canseco.”

——

One more report from Perry: “Provincial authorities have told the Ontario Hockey League that if it wants to play amid a pandemic this season that it will have to ban bodychecking and fighting. In a related story, Don Cherry’s head just exploded.”

Dogsout

It has been surreal to watch the past couple of days as NHL teams have been signing players to contracts totalling millions of dollars. . . . But, hey, business must go on in some areas of our crazy world, although that isn’t likely to happen in some other places. . . . A Greater Vancouver Board of Trade survey released on Friday shows 25 per cent of businesses there don’t expect to last more than 12 months without change. . . . As well, 40 per cent of businesses aren’t expecting a return to regular operations. . . . And while contemplating all of that the news arrived that Ontario was beginning to lock things down. Again. . . . Meanwhile, the numbers in Manitoba are going the wrong way, too, as the province experienced its highest single-day increase to date on Friday, and then broke that record on Saturday. . . . Saskatchewan added 34 new cases, its highest daily total since July, and things are no hell in Alberta and B.C., either. . . . Oh yes, and the WHO reported a new daily high in global cases on Friday (350,766), breaking the previous record that had been set earlier in the week. . . . There is more on the ugly numbers right here.

After George Springer of the Houston Astros passed Babe Ruth on the postseason home-run list, Phil Mushnick of the New York Post wrote: “Makes sense. Ruth went homeless in wild-card, divisional-championship and league-championship games.”

While flipping among college football games on Saturday afternoon, I started wondering if a portion of the U.S. citizenry has given up and decided that the virus has won so let’s get on with it and, hey, if a few thousand more people die, well, that’s the price we pay. . . . In the midst of my viewing, this headline showed up in my Twitter notifications: The US is reporting over 50,000 new cases of COVID-19 per day for the first time since mid-August. . . . According to data collected by Johns Hopkins University, Friday’s number was 57,420, and it was the third straight day topping 50 grand. . . . The number of deaths in the U.S. now has surpassed 213,000. . . . So let’s just keep that border closed for a long, long time. OK?

It really is unfortunate that more people in the sporting world don’t seem to understand the example they could be setting if they would only wear the masks properly. At one point during this game, Jeremy Pruitt of Tennessee, who is in the tweet above, had his mask completely around his neck as he was face-to-face with a masked referee. . . . Tone deaf, or what?

Scott Ostler in the San Francisco Chronicle: “Memo to my pal Al Michaels, Derek Carr, Jon Gruden, et al.: When influential, popular sports people wear masks, they legitimize the concept of mask-wearing, thus saving lives.”

Ostler also wrote: “Scientists and medical experts say masks are effective for slowing the spread of the coronavirus, but tinfoil hats are not. Still, many sports figures prefer the hats.”

Hartley Miller, the sports guy for 94.3 the GOAT in Prince George and the analyst on Cougars’ game broadcasts, wonders how the WHL will react to comments by Dr. Bonnie Henry, B.C.’s provincial health officer, in his latest Hartley’s Hart Attack that is right here. . . . If you missed it, Dr. Henry said that she doesn’t “see spectators being a large part of the season this year.” . . . The Hart Attack arrives weekly and it’s painless. Give it a read if you haven’t already.

Marker

COVID-19 CHRONICLES . . .

A Friday morning tweet from the USHL’s Dubuque Fighting Saints . . .

MLS has postponed two Sunday games after Minnesota United, Orlando City and Columbus Crew experienced positive tests. . . . The Crew was to have played at Orlando City, while Minnesota was to play at FC Dallas. . . . Earlier, a scheduled Saturday game between the host Colorado Rapids and LA Galaxy was scratched after a Rapids player tested positive. It was the fourth straight Colorado game to be postponed. The Rapids have had 12 staff members and five players test positive since Sept. 24. . . .

The ECHL announced Friday that it has plans to open its regular season on Dec. 11. The league will have 13 teams begin a 72-game season on Dec. 11, with other teams starting a 62-game schedule on Jan. 15, assuming they are able to get what the league calls “jurisdictional approval.” . . . The regular season is to end on June 6. . . . The Atlanta Gladiators won’t play in 2020-21 because of pandemic-related restrictions and their players now are free agents. . . .

The AHL has said that it is aiming to start its regular season on Dec. 4. However, Jim Nill, the Dallas Stars’ general manager, told Sean Shapiro, who covers the team for The Athletic, that the AHL won’t start before the NHL, which is aiming for Jan. 1. . . .

The NFL’s New England Patriots and Tennessee Titans got to Saturday without new positives, however the Chicago Bears, who played Thursday night, had a practice squad player come up positive, while a strength-and-conditioning coach with the Kansas City Chiefs did, too.

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

——

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

——

Or, for more information, visit right here.

ICYMI, politicians in Winnipeg have given restaurants the OK to keep their patios open until March 31. Perhaps they have never heard the song Prairie Town that was written by Randy Bachman, who is from Winnipeg and knows of what he penned:

“Winter nights are long, summer days are gone

“Portage and Main fifty below

“Springtime melts the snow, rivers overflow

“Portage and Main fifty below

“Portage and Main fifty below.”

But, hey, the other side of the coin is that we are going to see a new definition of Winnipeg tough during the winter of COVID-19.

Former WHL D Jason Smith is the new head coach of the junior B Peguis Juniors of the Keystone Junior Hockey League. It plans on beginning its regular season on Nov. 7. . . . Smith, 48, is from The Pas, Man. He spent three-plus seasons (Tri-City, Swift Current, Brandon, 1989-93) in the WHL. . . . With Peguis, Smith takes over from Mike Spence, who remains as an assistant coach. Marty Favel is the other assistant. . . . Smith was the head coach of the MJHL’s OCN Blizzard from November 2014 through 2015-16.

JUST NOTES: If you’re like me, you’re wondering if the layer of sanitizing gel on your hands is permanent. . . . Hey, Sportsnet, you can cut back on those Danielle Michaud spots whenever you feel like it. How about twice every five minutes, rather than three times? Thanks. . . . I thought maybe the ’Rona had gotten the phone scammers but I should have known better. After not having had a call for at least a couple of weeks, the guys in Idaho and Maine found us on Friday. I will always be amazed that we can put a man on the moon but we can’t stop the scammers. . . . If you aren’t aware, the first Hallmark Christmas movie — Jingle Bell Bride — is scheduled for Oct. 24. Y’er welcome. . . . If you missed it, the Taliban — yes, that Taliban — endorsed the ’Rona’s new best buddy on Saturday. Hey, is this a great time to be alive, or what?

HomeAlone

Exerce while doing hemodialysis? Yes, it’s possible . . . Some Alberta patients cycled to the moon and back

How can one exercise while doing hemodialysis?

Not only is it possible, but it has become a routine part of treatment in some dialysis units through the installation of pedal exercisers.

In fact, there are patients who have taken on the challenge of pedalling to the moon and back.

Paul Brown, a graduate of the Master of Kinesiology program at the U of Calgary, led a 2017 study on the benefit of exercise while doing dialysis. Specifically, the study looked at what level of intensity was needed for the exercise to be beneficial.

Remember that kidney disease is chronic and brings with it such things as horrible fatigue and nausea. Hemodialysis uses a machine removed toxins from the body, a process that normally is done by the kidneys.

Brown’s study, according to a story from Dec. 15, 2017 on the U of Calgary website, “showed that exercise at even a lower intensity imparted a benefit.”

“The study required each subject to complete three differing protocols — one dialysis treatment with no exercise, one with lower-intensity exercise, and one with higher-intensity exercise,” the story continued. “While exercise made the dialysis procedure more efficient, Brown found no difference between lower- and higher-intensity exercises in terms of dialysis efficiency.

“Brown says research shows that patients who exercise during dialysis also have improved aerobic capacity, leg muscle strength and quality of life, and they have lower markers for inflammation and make fewer visits to the hospital.”

(That story is right here.)

Alberta Kidney Care has taken it one step further with a series of renal fitness challenges.

In 2019, 12 teams of patients and staff “combined their exercise and activity distances in a virtual trip across the province,” according to Alberta Health Services. On a 6,600-kilometre virtual tour, they visited 10 popular tourism stops, checked in with 24 different cities with hemodialysis units.

One year earlier, the challenge was called No Limits: Mission to the Moon 2018. Participants began the 384,000 km trip on June 19, 2018, and wrapped it up on Aug. 31.

“Access to living donor kidney transplant — a life-saving treatment for patients with kidney failure — is dramatically reduced among racialized groups in Canada, with studies reporting up to 70 per cent lower likelihood of living donor transplantation in South Asian, Black, African and Caribbean populations,” reports the United Health Network (UHN).

“A.C.T.I.O.N., a joint project led by UHN’s Centre for Living Organ Donation and Providence Healthcare in British Columbia, is taking a new approach to identify and reduce barriers to access to living donor kidney transplantation among these groups.”

The piece from UHN goes on: “Barriers such as language, cultural differences, trust and representation have an impact in how healthcare is delivered, and that is particularly true with complex specialized treatment such as organ transplantation.

“Access to living donor kidney transplant . . . is dramatically reduced among racialized groups in Canada, with studies reporting up to 70 per cent lower likelihood of living donor transplantation in South Asian, Black, African and Caribbean populations.”

The complete story is right here.

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

——

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

——

Or, for more information, visit right here.

B.C.’s top doc: I don’t see spectators being a large part of the season this year . . . Virus takes big bite out of Raiders . . . Things get worse in QMJHL

If it hasn’t been apparent before, it should be now.

The WHL, which has maintained that its teams can’t/won’t operate without whlbeing allowed to play before crowds of 50 per cent capacity, won’t be playing for a while in B.C., not unless something changes.

Brendan Pawliw, a reported with Vista Radio and mypgnow.com, spoke with Dr. Bonnie Henry, B.C.’s provincial health officer, on Tuesday.

Here is what Dr. Henry said in regards to attendance at such events as hockey games:

“We have been in ongoing discussions with a number of professional and amateur sports leagues about how to do sports safely, and the challenge we are going to have particularly as we go into the next few months is that we’re not having large groups of people together.

“In B.C., the order around no more than 50 people still stands and I know that the WHL and the BCHL are very dependent on gate receipts to keep the league going. But it is just very dangerous during this pandemic to have people in that type of an environment, so I don’t see spectators being a large part of the season this year.

“I know that’s a difficult thing for these leagues and I know the government is looking at how we can support these leagues or postpone seasons until we have something like a vaccine, so it’s still ongoing . . . very concerning and challenging discussions.”

That entire interview is right here.

The Prince Albert Raiders, who won the WHL championship in 2018-19, held their annual general meeting on Wednesday night and announced they had lost Raiders50$331,895 in 2019-20, quite a difference from a year ago when they revealed a profit of $633,314.

The WHL has four community-owned teams that are required to hold AGMs and release their financial statements.

Late last month, the Swift Current Broncos announced a loss of $791,000 for the abbreviated 2019-20 season, while the Moose Jaw Warriors dropped $391,299.

I will do the math for you . . . the three Saskatchewan-based community-owned teams combined to lose $1,514,194.

The Lethbridge Hurricanes, the WHL’s fourth community-owned team, is to hold their AGM sometime in November.

Prior to their championship season, the Raiders had shown losses totalling $806,571 in four of five seasons; the exception being a profit of $3,892 in 2015-16.

When the 2019-20 season was halted, the Raiders were 36-18-10 and had clinched first place in the East Division. They had two home games remaining and may well have had a deep playoff run in their future. Their average attendance also was up 27 over the previous season, meaning the championship love affair in that city still was in full bloom.

The pandemic short-circuited any kind of playoff run, though, and the results of that were evident on Wednesday night.

In explaining the loss, Gord Broda, the Raiders’ president, mentioned a couple of things that were pandemic-related. The Memorial Cup, which was to have been played in Kelowna, was cancelled, taking with it a revenue-sharing plan that included WHL teams. With the season ending prematurely, Sportsnet didn’t have to fulfil the financial aspects of its contract with the CHL.

There also was the matter of a minimum wage-related class-action lawsuit that the CHL chose to settle for $30 million. The Raiders say they had to pay $166,667 as their share of the settlement. Interstingly, the Warriors, at their AGM, said their share of that settlement was $180,846. (BTW, that settlement, while agreed to by the parties involved, hasn’t yet been approved by the court.)

“If you take those things out of the equation,” Broda told Lucas Punkari of the Prince Albert Daily Herald, “we would have had another season in the black.”

Punkari’s story is right here.

Trevor Redden also covered the meeting, for panow.com, and his story is right here.

COVID-19 CHRONICLES . . .

The QMJHL appears to have lost another team at least until the end of October. The Drummondville Voltigeurs play out of a region that is being declared a red zone by the provincial government, which means suspending play until at least month’s end. . . . The Voltigeurs are expected to play two weekend games — tonight and Saturday against the visiting Val-d’Or Huskies — and then shut things down. . . . The same thing has happened to the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada and Quebec Remparts. . . . Meanwhile, the Sherbrooke Phoenix has been hit by at least eight positive tests after playing a weekend doubleheader agains the Armada, which has had 18 positives. The Phoenix also has shut down operations indefinitely.

With officials in the Saskatchewan government having approved return-to-play guidelines the SJHL has the OK to begin exhibition games on Oct. 17 and start its regular season on Nov. 1. . . . The Regina Leader-Post has more on the province’s return to play right here.

The NFL’s Tennessee Titans reported two more positive tests on Thursday, bringing the total to 25, and there were reports that the NFL and NFLPA are looking into multiple instances of players taking part in unauthorized workouts. Once the positive tests started coming in, the team was ordered to shut down everything. Apparently, some players held workouts away from the team’s facility. . . . With the Titans’ facility still closed on Thursday, the NFL moved Sunday’s game with the visiting Buffalo Bills to Tuesday night. Of course, that is only if there aren’t more positives with the Titans. . . . The Bills were scheduled to play the Kansas City Chiefs on Oct. 15, but that game will go to Oct. 18, as long as the Buffalo-Tennessee game doesn’t get postponed again. . . .

Les Miles, the head coach of the Kansas Jayhawks football team, has tested positive. Miles, 66, found out Thursday and is in self-isolation. . . . Kansas is next scheduled to play on Oct 17 when it visits West Virginia. . . .

The New England Small College Athletic Conference, which includes 11 NCAA Division III schools, has cancelled its winter season. The conference said the decision by NESCAC presidents was unanimous. . . . The schools involved are Amherst College, Bates College, Bowdoin College, Colby College, Connecticut College, Hamilton College, Middlebury College, Trinity College, Tufts University, Wesleyan University and Williams College. . . .

St. Francis Xavier University, which is located in Antigonish, N.S., “has suspended all varsity practices and training privileges for two weeks after some student-athletes attended a Saturday off-campus party that exceeded more than 50 people,” reports Glenn MacDonald of the Halifax Chronicle Herald. . . . Leo MacPherson, the school’s director of athletics and recreation, said “there were a number of athletes from a number of teams present . . . in numbers greater than allowed by the public health authority guidelines.” . . . The complete story is right here. . . .

NBC New York reported Thursday night that The Broadway League is to announce today that the theatres will remain closed through May 30, 2021. Broadway performances have been shut down since March 12.

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

——

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

——

Or, for more information, visit right here.

MacLeod: OHL must dump body-checking to play . . . Armada at 18 positives . . . Titans unable to shake virus

Well, that was an interesting day in the world of major junior hockey and I’m not referring to the NHL draft.

First, it was revealed that the QMJHL’s Blainville-Boisbriand Armada now has 18 positives tests in its organization.

Then, Lisa MacLeod, Ontario’s Minister of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries, reiterated something that she told Rick Westhead of TSN last week: ohlIf the OHL wants to play this season, it will have to ban bodychecking and fighting.

In addressing the subject on Wednesday, MacLeod told reporters: ”It would be safe to say that body contact, unless it’s incremental, will not be permitted as a result of COVID-19. That would pose a challenge in terms of how they amend their play.”

MacLeod also said that the 20-team OHL, while it is in “constant contact” with the government is it works on a reopening plan, hasn’t asked for any financial help. That is unlike the QMJHL, which has asked for a $20-million subsidy from the Quebec government.

According to The Canadian Press, “The OHL said in a statement that it will not comment on its ongoing negotiations with the Ontario government.”

The CP story is right here.

——

——

The QMJHL’s Blainville-Boisbriand Armada had one player test positive on qmjhlnewMonday. On Wednesday, the team said that it now had 18 positives in its organization. . . . As a result, players and staff have gone into a two-week isolation period and all team activities have been suspended indefinitely. . . . This all comes after the QMJHL’s first weekend of regular-season play. The Armada opened by playing a doubleheader with the Sherbrooke Phoenix, which also has suspended in-person activities. It reportedly has one positive case. . . . Of course, the Armada and Quebec Remparts also are in a government-designated red zone and team sports in those areas have been shut down through the end of October. . . . Here’s Gilles Courteau, the QMJHL commissioner, from a news release: “Although our sanitary and medical protocol is very strict and rigorous, we knew that COVID-19 was highly infectious and could eventually hit certain players and team staff members. Nevertheless, we are extremely confident that the measures contained in our contingency plan, which is currently deployed, will prove to be very efficient.”

COVID-19 CHRONICLES . . .

——

The NFL’s Tennessee Titans had hoped to return to their practice facility on Wednesday after not having any positive tests on Monday or Tuesday. But two more players tested positive Wednesday, bringing the organization’s total to 22, with 20 of those having occurred since Sept. 29. . . . The Titans are scheduled to play host to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, in a clash of unbeaten teams, although that now may be in jeopardy. . . .

CB Stephen Gilmore of the New England Patriots, the NFL’s defensive player of the year last season, has tested positive. He is the third New England player to test positive. . . . The Patriots, who are to play the visiting Denver Broncos on Sunday, cancelled their Wednesday practice. . . . Patriots QB Cam Newton tested positive on Saturday. . . .

Production of the CBC-TV show Battle of the Blades is on hold because a member of the production team tested positive. This means that the season premiere that had been scheduled for Oct. 15 has been postponed. . . . The show was to be taped at the CAA Centre in Brampton, Ont. . . .

The host Colorado Rapics and LAFC were to have played an MLS match on Wednesday night. However, it was postponed after the Rapids had a staff member test positive. The Rapids now have had three players and 12 staff members test positive, and they have had three straight games postponed. . . .

Appalachian State and Georgia Southern have postponed their football game that was to have been played on Oct. 14 at Georgia Stadium. The game has been rescheduled for Dec. 12. Appalachian State now has had two straight games postponed because of 19 positive tests around the team.

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

——

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

——

Or, for more information, visit right here.

Allow me to correct something that was posted here on Tuesday night. . . . Phil Andrews, who has been the Regina Pats’ manager of media and communications, as well as the team’s radio voice, tells me that Evan Daum will be doing “the marketing portion of my job . . . not the play-by-play/hockey communications.” . . . So if you are an aspiring play-by-play person, there’s still a chance.

JUST NOTES: A note to B.C.’s political parties — Dorothy and I already have mailed in our ballots, so you are wasting your time with the phone calls. . . . If you haven’t been watching the MLB playoffs, you should know that there’s some real emotion in the mostly empty stadiums. Wednesday night’s game between the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers looked to be a powder keg for a lot of the time. You didn’t need to be a lip-reader to understand what was happening, that’s for sure.

Saskatchewan curling teams will be staying home . . . Pats make front-office hire . . . SPHL has five teams opt out

The Ministry of Health for Saskatchewan informed curlers on Tuesday that their travel will be limited this year. “We just received word that our teams are not able to travel outside of Saskatchewan this year,” Ashley Howard, the executive director of CurlSask, told Claire Hanna of CTV News Regina. At the same time, Hanna reported that “teams from outside the province won’t be allowed to come to Saskatchewan for competition.” . . . You are free to wonder what that means, if anything, for the WHL, which includes an East Division comprising four Saskatchewan teams and two from Manitoba. The Swift Current Broncos, a fifth Saskatchewan team, play in the Central Division with five teams from Alberta.

The Regina Pats have hired Evan Daum as their director of media and Patscommunications, a spot that had been filled by Phil Andrews before he announced his resignation. Daum, who is to start work in Regina on Nov. 2, also will handle play-by-play and social media. He has been working as the associate director of communications and marketing with Canada West, which oversees university sports in Western Canada. . . . His father, Rob, is a former WHL coach, having worked with the Prince Albert Raiders, Swift Current Broncos and Lethbridge Hurricanes (1989-95). He has spent the past nine seasons coaching in Europe.

COVID-19 CHRONICLES . . .

——

Mikael Lalancette of TVA Sports reported Tuesday that the public health investigation involving the QMJHL’s Blainville-Boisbriand Armada isn’t complete but “there is said to more than one case of COVID-19 in the locker room. . . . It is unlikely that the team will resume operations soon.” . . . The Armada shut things down on Monday after reporting that one player had tested positive. . . . The Armada played a weekend doubleheader against the Sherbrook Phoenix, who also have been shut down pending testing.

The NHL, which had been looking to start its 2020-21 regular season on Dec. 1, now has adjusted that to Jan. 1. The NHL and NHLPA said Tuesday that dates for training camps will be announced in the future. . . . The NHL’s 2019-20 season ended on Sept. 28 with the Tampa Bay Lightning winning the Stanley Cup in the Edmonton bubble. . . .

Steve Yzerman, the Detroit Red Wings’ executive vice-president and general manager, is taking part in the NHL draft from a remote location rather than with team staff. The team explained that he recently was exposed to someone who tested positive. Yzerman has tested negative repeatedly but decided to handle the draft virtually as a precaution. . . .

D Matt Niskanen has retired, leaving the Philadelphia Flyers despite having one year and US$5.75 million left on his contract. It seems that Niskanen, 33, simply grew tired off all the uncertainty involved in hockey these days. . . . Neil Sheehy, his agent, told Ken Campbell of The Hockey News: “He told me he didn’t want to go through it again. He mentioned COVID to me. I don’t think he wanted to get ready for another season by Nov. 15 and then have to go into isolation and be away from his two kids and his wife. I think he always (wanted to) finish his contract and then stop, but I think because of COVID and his experience of the bubble, he decided now is the time. He basically said, ‘With COVID, I just don’t want to do it. I don’t want to prepare anymore.’ ” . . . Niskanen and his family live in northern Minnesota, which is where he grew up. . . . Campbell’s piece is right here. . . .

The Southern Professional Hockey League is planning to open a 42-game regular-season schedule on Dec. 26, but it only has five teams left after five decided not to play in 2020-21. . . . The Birmingham Bulls, Huntsville Havoc, Knoxville Ice Bears, Macon Mayhem and Pensacola Ice Flyers are planning to play, but the Evansville Thunderbolts, Fayetteville Marksmen, Peoria Rivermen, Quad City Storm and Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs have opted out. . . . According to an SPHL news release, the latter five teams are out “due to state and local restrictions related to the continuing COVID-19 pandemic that limit their ability to host spectators and the projected economic impacts.” . . .

Arsenal of soccer’s Premier League has fired its dinosaur mascot, Gunnersaurus, as it works to cut costs because of a shortage of revenue due to not having fans at home games. Arsenal has said it will have to cut 55 jobs and Jerry Quy, the mascot for 27 years, was one of those.

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

——

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

——

Or, for more information, visit right here.

JUST NOTES: Darin Schumacher is the new head coach of the junior B Spokane Braves of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League. He replaces Mike Bay, who stepped down, according to the team, in order to spend more time with his family. The Braves won’t be playing in 2020-21 because of the U.S.-Canada border being closed. . . . Hey, Sportsnet, enough with the onslaught of those spots pushing your streaming serve. OK? . . . Wilson Housley has signed on as an assistant coach with the USHL’s Tri-City Storm. Housley, a 28-year-old who was born in Winnipeg, is the son of former NHL D Phil Housley.

Lynn Lake legend takes on the ‘Hammer’ . . . Remembering a fax from Rocky . . . The virus finds the QMJHL

When I was a hockey-playing teenager in Lynn Lake, Man., Steve Andrascik was THE MAN.

Two years older than me, he played two seasons (1967-69) with the Flin Flon Andrascik.Bombers, totalling 62 goals and 62 assists in 110 games. He also earned 230 penalty minutes as he sometimes rode shotgun with Bobby Clarke and Reggie Leach. Steve was selected 11th overall by the Detroit Red Wings in the 12-team NHL’s 1968 draft — 24 players were selected over three rounds.

Steve would come home in the offseason and work in the mine. Competitive? Sometimes he would stop off at the fastball diamond on his way to work and pitch for one of the men’s teams . . . while wearing work boots.

Yes, he was a Lynn Lake legend.

As a pro, he played 77 games in the WHA and had stints in the CHL, SHL and AHL, finishing up with the Hershey Bears with whom, as I understand it, he was quite popular.

His NHL career consisted of one game, a playoff game in Madison Square Garden. After spending the 1971-72 season with the AHL’s Providence Reds — he had 14 goals, 10 assists and 104 penalty minutes in 74 games — the New York Rangers added him for their playoff run. On April 20, he was in their lineup for a 3-2 victory over Chicago in Game 3 of what would be a sweep of the Blackhawks.

The Rangers would lose the Stanley Cup final in six games to Bobby Orr’s Boston Bruins. Steve didn’t get in the New York lineup but he was along for the ride.

That brings us to the following tweet . . .

——

The tweet referencing the bout between Steve Andrascik and Dave Schultz reminded me of a WHL-related story from a few seasons back.

This is one of those stories that really is too good to try and confirm just in case it didn’t happen. It just may be one of those stories best prefaced with “Legend has it . . .”

But, hey, here it is . . .

It was early in December of 1996 and Rocky Thompson and the Medicine Hat Tigers were preparing to head out on a three-game swing into B.C. They were scheduled to visit the Kelowna Rockets (Dec. 10), Kamloops Blazers (Dec. 11) and Prince George Cougars (Dec. 13).

Defenceman Scott Parker was the man with the Rockets, while the Blazers had forward Rob Skrlac. In Prince George, Zdeno Chara, a young 6-foot-8 defenceman from Trencin, Slovakia, was making people sit up and take notice.

Thompson, of course, knew the challenges he would face on this road trip. He was in his fourth season with the Tigers, although he would be traded to the Swift Current Broncos on Jan. 24, which was the trade deadline. Todd McLellan, the Broncos’ general manager and head coach, acquired Thompson, 19, and sniper Josh Green, 19, for F Tyler Perry, 19; F Andrew Milne, 18; D Kevin Mackie, 15; F Brett Scheffelmaier, 15; and a 1997 second-round bantam draft pick.

But that trade was yet to happen.

Preparing to head into the rugged B.C. Division, Thompson was well aware of just who would be his dance partners.

He knew all about Parker and Skrlac, both of whom were WHL veterans. But, hey, what about the new guy in Prince George?

Well, Thompson thought it would be a good idea to really test the new guy, so before heading out on the road he sent a fax to Chara via the Cougars’ office. “I’m coming for you” is all it read.

The Tigers opened the trip in Kelowna and, true to form, Thompson and Parker scrapped right off the opening faceoff. Moments before the puck was dropped, Parker skated up from the Kelowna blue line and traded shots with the Rockets’ starting right winger, which put him nose-to-nose with Thompson, who was lined up at left wing. The epic bout that followed is available on YouTube.

One night later, Thompson was back in the Tigers’ lineup in Kamloops, but as hard as Skrlac tried in the early going he wasn’t able to engage the Medicine Hat tough guy. Eventually, the referee approached Thompson and  asked if he had plans to accommodate Skrlac. Thompson told him that he had damaged a hand in the bout with Parker so wasn’t about to scrap with Skrlac.

Two nights later, Thompson picked up a roughing minor in Prince George, but there wasn’t a bout with Chara.

The best laid plans — and sent faxes — and all that . . .

BTW, the Tigers made out just fine on the trip, beating the Rockets 5-4 in OT on a goal by F Jason Chimera at 4:48 of extra time, winning 3-1 in Kamloops and earning a 2-2 OT tie (remember ties?) in Prince George.

Of course, we are referencing the same Rocky Thompson who, at the age of 43, is preparing for his first season as an associate coach with the NHL’s San Jose Sharks. He spent the previous three seasons as head coach of the AHL’s Chicago Wolves. He also was the head coach of the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires for two seasons, helping them to the 2017 Memorial Cup title.

These are interesting times in major junior hockey, where the OHL and WHL are qmjhlnewhoping to get their regular seasons started in December. The QMJHL, meanwhile, has one weekend under its belt and has lost three teams. . . . The Blainville-Boisbriand Armada and Sherbrooke Phoenix have suspended all in-person activities. That comes after an Armada player tested positive following a weekend doubleheader between the teams. . . . At the same time, the Armada and Quebec Remparts have been shut down at least for the rest of this month as they are in a red zone as defined by the provincial government. . . . Armada staff and players are in isolation as they await further testing and results, and the outcome of contact tracing. . . . The Armada and Remparts each has eight games on their October schedules.

From a QMJHL news release:

“Following the Quebec government’s announcement to prohibit the practice of sports in the designated red zones, the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League is very disappointed in this decision.

“The conduct of our activities has been above reproach since the start of training camps at the end of August. The return to play protocol was approved and applauded by public health officials in Quebec and by the three Maritime-based provinces in which the league operates. It has been hailed as thorough and effective. The league would like to congratulate the players and team staffs for its flawless execution.

“Over the course of the next few days, we will share with Quebec public health officials additional measures which will render the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada’s and Quebec Remparts’ bubbles even more secure. We hope that these new directives will be well-received by Quebec’s health agency. The QMJHL is convinced that these additional measures will go above and beyond what is required to protect our players, staffs and officials and enable all of our teams to continue playing.”

That’s Kelly Olynyk at the left of the photo in the following tweet. He and his Miami Heat are scheduled to play Game 4 of the NBA final tonight in Orlando. The Los Angeles Lakers lead the best-of-seven series, 2-1.

COVID-19 CHRONICLES . . .

F Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers tested positive on Monday. According to the Oilers, he is “in voluntary self-quarantine at his home. He will continue to be monitored and will follow all associated health protocols. He is feeling well and is experiencing mild symptoms.” . . .

Kevin Sumlin, the head coach of the Arizona football team, has tested positive. He is in self-isolation while contact tracing is conducted. His team is scheduled to begin practising on Friday, with its first game scheduled for Nov. 7 against host Utah. . . . “My family and I have been aggressive in our efforts to remain safe and healthy throughout the past seven months,” Sumlin said in a statement. “My positive test result, while a shock, is a stark reminder of how we must all remain vigilant in our focus on hand washing, physical distancing and face coverings.” . . . At least four FBS coaches have tested positive since July, the others being Florida State’s Mike Norvell, Jason Candle of Toledo and Blake Anderson of Arkansas State. . . .

Bobby Bowden, who spent 34 years as the head coach of the Florida State football team, has tested positive. Jim Henry of the Tallahassee Democrat reported that Bowden, who will turn 91 next month, “tested positive following his release from (a Tallahassee) hospital last weekend while being treated for an unrelated leg infection.” . . . He had been released from hospital on Thursday and was informed on Saturday that he had tested positive. . . . Bowden retired in 2009 after 44 seasons as a football coach.

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.