Ferris and Lindsey Backmeyer: A mother’s love is everything when her child continues to fight . . .

If you’re a regular here, you will know that we have been paying particular attention to Ferris Backmeyer and her family, who are from Kamloops.

That’s because her mother, Lindsey, has been keeping friends and family (and us) updated on Ferris via Facebook.

Lindsey has poured out a mother’s heart in her posts, refusing to hold anything back. She has written with angst and anger and pain and, yes, even some humour as Ferris, at just three years of age, continues to travel a road that hopefully will end with a kidney transplant.

The outpouring of emotions is understandable as Lindsey helps guide husband Pat and Ferris’s two sisters — Tavia and Ksenia — through all of this.

The older girls — the “bigs” as Lindsey refers to them — were in Vancouver for three weeks before returning home with Lindsey’s mother after the weekend.

Lindsey and Pat now are completely focused on getting Ferris through this rough patch, helping her get well enough to go back on the transplant list, and back home. But the last bit hasn’t been an easy stretch.

For example, here’s a bit from a Facebook post by Lindsey on July 20 after doctors implanted a central dialysis line:

“Ferris had complications intraoperatively. The line was technically difficult because of her anatomy and while they were placing it they irritated her heart. Her higher potassium levels lower her threshold for things like that and she went into a PEA arrest. She had roughly 3 minutes of CPR and 1 dose of epinephrine when they got her pulse back. She was hypoxemic and difficult to ventilate for a bit afterwards. They were confident that it was noticed very quickly and that she responded fairly quickly. Thankfully they were able to extubate her and pull her art line before going to the dialysis unit.”

One day later, Lindsey wrote:

IV
Despite all that she has been through, Ferris Backmeyer, 3, can still find a smile for the camera. (Photo: Lindsey Backmeyer/Facebook)

“As for today . . . she’s super low key but perked up by evening and wanted to go to the beach and build sand castles . . . so that’s what we did:) she spent about 5 minutes total on her feet today but that’s okay!! Lots of couch time. She’s sore and much happier with Tylenol on board. I’d be lying if I am not super anxious/protective over her right now. She has little pen crosses on her pulses and blood in her hair that I rinsed off into a paper towel. A bath was not a today thing. She has no idea what a big day yesterday was, and I don’t think I’ll ever forget it.”

Last Thursday, Ferris had more surgery as a peritoneal dialysis (PD) catheter was implanted. She had been doing PD at home when fungal peritonitis brought it all crashing down. That resulted in this most-recent trek to B.C. Children’s Hospital and all that has followed.

After Thursday was over, Lindsey, her emotions on her sleeve by now, wrote: “It was a super hard, inpatient kinda day.”

A day later, there were more complications, this time with cell counts.

“The question of when she could get listed again (for a transplant) comes up and at this point we just don’t know,” Lindsey wrote. “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t shattered by today’s news.

“My heart is breaking for Ferris. She normally takes all the medical stuff in stride and right now she’s really struggling. I call it a trauma cry because it’s one I have hardly ever seen before and she looks like she’s being tortured. With things she used to handle like a champ. As she gets older navigating her mental health is so much more challenging and so ridiculously important!”

The next day, doctors had to put in an IV line, which brought this response from Lindsey:

“Oh man . . . after posting how she’s not doing so well coping . . first time ever IV placement without tears! This is her 5th IV this go-round and she’s not left with a lot of sites. She was so ridiculously cute and compliant for the nurse and she was friggin amazing with Ferris! Decent end to a not so awesome day!!”

And now the Backmeyers are playing something of a waiting game. As Lindsey wrote on Monday:

Couch
Ferris likes the couch a whole lot more than a hospital bed. (Photo: Lindsey Backmeyer/Facebook)

“So far the cultures haven’t grown anything! They have stopped the antibiotics. Gonna repeat a sample on Wednesday and if cell counts have trended down will likely drop the antifungals (she’s been on fluconazole since we got down here a month ago). Then it will be a bit of a wait-and-see. I think they will go ahead and start using the catheter as planned. Best case scenario . . . home in a couple of weeks!! Trying so desperately to remain optimistic!!

“Ferris wants nothing to do with a hospital bed after she gets out of it in the morning. All bad things start with that bed . . . I can’t really blame her! She’s passed out on the couch the last 3 nights. Hoping for a super uneventful week!!”

BTW, Lindsey and Pat celebrated their 16th anniversary last week.

“Happy Anniversary to the most incredible momma bear,” Pat wrote, above a photo of a snarling grizzly bear. On the photo, it read: “Fate whispers to the warrior, ‘You cannot withstand the storm.’ And the mama bear whispers back, ‘I am the storm.’ ”

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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

Here’s the deal on the above tweet. . . . It’s the story of Carrie, who has had a heart transplant and now has met the family of her donor. . . . From the Provincial Health Services Authority: “Filmed in February 2020, Carrie finally got to hug the family of Darcy, her organ donor. After 17 years of writing letters to each other, she was met with open arms by his mother Marie and brother Daryl in a first ever face-to-face meeting.” . . . The video is right here.

Shhhh! Don’t tell anyone we played in Winnipeg tournament . . . Hey, parents, no social media. OK? . . . PCHA fills out coaching staff

You know what makes me sick? Considering the times in which we now live and the sacrifices that a lot of us are making, a story like this makes me want to puke. It really does. Why are some people so selfish? Why do some people have such a lack of respect for others?

Fiona Odlum and Bonnie Allen of CBC News report:

“Several Saskatchewan hockey teams took extraordinary measures to hide their participation in a Winnipeg hockey tournament in July, including changing their team names, withholding player names on game rosters and forbidding parents from posting on social media.

“Despite the secrecy, the teams maintain they did not violate any rules.”

The North American Hockey Classic featured about 60 minor hockey teams  with players ages seven to 12. The NAHC is owned by 50 Below Sports and Entertainment, which owns the WHL’s Winnipeg Ice and MJHL’s Winnipeg Blues.

It’s interesting that while five Saskatchewan teams — players ages seven to 12 — travelled to Winnipeg to compete July 16-19, the Regina Junior Pats chose not to take part.

Stacey Cattell, the CEO of the Pats organization, told CBC:

“Our Junior Pats program was notified that interprovincial travel for the purposes of tournaments was prohibited. That was brought to our attention, and we said, ‘No problem, our kids will stay home and practise, and follow the rules.

“We’re not going to do anything to jeopardize the COVID-19 response and the reopening of our province.”

And then there’s Chris Light, who coaches one of the Wheatland teams that took part. According to the CBC story, he “told CBC News he didn’t attend the tournament and was on a fishing trip. A team photo from Winnipeg shows Light at the tournament.”

There are a whole lot of minor hockey parents who should be absolutely furious about this situation. As one Regina minor hockey parent told Taking Note: “They give every hockey parent who has been following the rules and abiding with what is out there a black eye.”

The complete CBC story is right here.

I have one more question: Where was common sense?

City council in Prince George, struggling to figure out a way to minimize the city’s deficit position in these pandemic times, voted on Monday to keep the CN Centre, home to the WHL’s Cougars, closed though the end of 2020.

Council also voted not to open the Rolling Mix Concrete Arena in which the BCHL’s Spruce Kings play.

At the same time, three smaller arenas will open on Aug. 17, one of which is home to the U18 Cariboo Cougars.

On Tuesday, the WHL-Cougars and the Spruce Kings both said they have been told by city officials that their arenas will be available should their seasons get started. The WHL is aiming for an Oct. 2 start to its regular season, with the BCHL planning on Dec. 1.

To recap, MLB had to cancel or postpone — I don’t think it has figured that part out yet — two games on Monday. Miami’s home-opener went by the wayside after the Marlins had a bunch of folks test positive — at last count, there are believed to be 15 players and two coaches.

The Baltimore Orioles, who were to have provided the opposition in Miami, flew home, meaning they wouldn’t be there for a Tuesday game.

Meanwhile, the New York Yankees were to have met the host Philadelphia Phillies on Monday. But the Yankees would have had to use the facilities in which the Marlins had spent the weekend, so Monday’s game in Philly didn’t happen, either.

On Tuesday, MLB announced that the Marlins are done until at least Monday, while the Phillies are on hold until Friday when the Toronto Blue Jays come calling. The Yankees and the Orioles will play each other a time or two this week, then resume their original schedules on the weekend.

Dr. Arthur Morris, a professor of infectious diseases at the University of Toronto, told Rob Gillies of The Associated Press that “anyone who knows anything about this problem and infectious disease epidemiology could have anticipated this. This plan was designed to fail and they went through with it anyways.”

And then there’s LHP Eduardo Rodriguez of the Boston Red Sox, who has said that he now has a heart condition — myocarditis — with which he was diagnosed after a bout with COVID-19.

Rodriguez, 27, was shut down from baseball activities on Thursday, and later confirmed the myocarditis diagnosis.

“The pitcher added that he feels normal health-wise after developing myocarditis, a condition that inflames the heart muscle and can cause abnormal rhythms,” wrote Bryan Mcwilliam of thescore.com. “Rodriguez said he was told that about 10-20% of people with COVID-19 develop the condition.”

OK. So MLB has a team riddled with the virus and a pitcher who contracted it and was left with a heart condition.

Oh . . . let’s not forget Davey Martinez, the Washington Nationals’ manager. Martinez, 55, has a heart condition and actually underwent a procedure for it in September.

On Monday, in talking about the Marlins’ debacle, Martinez told reporters: “I’m going to be honest with you, I’m scared. I really am.”

And still the show goes on . . .

Here’s Ann Killion of the San Francisco Chronicle, writing about the situation in baseball after Monday’s news:

“The fire consuming baseball will likely spread to the NFL, which is scheduled to open training camps this week. Like baseball, football will try to play a sport in the real world, without forcing players into a bubble. Like baseball, the league will test players constantly. And though teams will be using their own designated lab, like baseball, they still are using up supplies like swabs and testing equipment when there are shortages of such things in the real world.

“Unlike baseball, the NFL involves about four to five times the number of humans, greatly multiplying the likelihood of an outbreak. On Monday, the Minnesota Vikings’ infection control officer tested positive for the virus. I’m not making this up.”

Her complete column, which is one in a long line of terrific pieces she has written, is right here.

Jason

The NFL has an opt-out deadline of Aug. 3 and the New England Patriots already have had six players go that route — LB Dont’a Hightower, whose fiancée had a baby on July 16; RT Marcus Cannon, a cancer survivor; S Patrick Chung, RB Brandon Bolden, FB Danny Vitale and OL Najee Toran. . . . Also opting out so far are WR Marquise Goodwin, Philadelphia Eagles; WR Stephen Guidry, Dallas Cowboys; DT Star Lotulelei, Buffalo Bills; DT Kyle Peko, Denver Broncos; OT Andre Smith, Baltimore Ravens; KR De’Anthony Thomas, Baltimore; and DT Eddie Vanderdoes, Houston Texans. . . . There is a list of opt-outs right here.

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Here’s Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports, with NFL players about to start reporting to camps:
”This virus is undefeated at totally reshaping the way every other sport has been forced to operate, and had a massive impact on both the volume and location of games. Expecting the NFL to be different, somehow exceptional to COVID-19, never made much sense, and once the training facilities finally start filling up this week that stands to be more obvious than ever.”

Jason Becker, a former WHL player and coach, has taken over as the U18 prep head coach at the Pacific Coast Hockey Academy in Victoria. Last season, Becker was the head coach of the U18 prep team at St. George’s in Vancouver. He also spent time at the Okanagan Hockey Academy and was an assistant for three seasons with the BCHL’s Penticton Vees. . . . After playing in the WHL (Saskatoon Blades, Red Deer Rebels, Kamloops Blazers, Swift Current Broncos, 1990-95), Becker, now 46, spent five seasons with the U of Saskatchewan Huskies. After playing in Europe, he got into coaching by working for five seasons as an assistant coach with the Prince George Cougars. . . . At PCHA, he takes over from Kelly Shields, who stepped aside after seven seasons. Shields remains on staff as associate head coach. . . . Meanwhile, Greg Smith will be back for a fourth season at PCHA. This will be his third as head coach of the U16s. Dan Bell’s third season as head coach of the U15s will be his fifth at PCHA. . . . Mark Kosick is back as the head of player development and skills coach, and Rod Holt has come aboard as recruiting and scouting co-ordinator. For the past five season, Holt has been a B.C. regional scout for the Victoria Royals.

The junior B Pacific Junior Hockey League plans to open its regular season on Sept. 29. Each of its 13 teams will play 44 regular-season games. . . . The schedule includes the expansion Chilliwack Jets under general manager/head coach Clayton Robinson.

Here’s Jack Finarelli, aka The Sports Curmudgeon, with his Thought for the Day, this one from Will Rogers: “Lord, the money we do spent on government. And it’s not a bit better than that government we got for one-third the money 20 years ago.”

Beer

The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) has postponed competition in cross-country, football, soccer and volleyball for the fall season. It now is working on spring schedules for those sports, each of which has been designated medium- or high-risk by the NCAA. Golf and tennis, which are low-risk, will play this fall in accordance with health directives. . . .

The Summit League, which includes the U of North Dakota, North Dakota State, South Dakota and South Dakota State, has postponed the start of its sports seasons until Sept. 23. That includes men’s and women’s cross-country, women’s soccer and women’s volleyball. . . . It doesn’t include football. For example, the UND Fighting Hawks play in the Missouri Valley Football Conference. . . . UND also announced that it has had 20 student-athletes test positive. . . . Tom Miller of the Grand Forks Herald has more right here. . . .

The Michigan Daily reported Tuesday that the U of Michigan has halted voluntary workouts for ice hockey, volleyball, swimming and diving, and field hockey because of positive tests and contact tracing. The ice hockey team may return to workouts later this week. The university said it has had 12 student-athletes and one staff member test positive. . . . The Daily’s story is right here.

Date

Scattershooting on a Sunday night while wondering what MLB will do about the Marlins . . .

Scattershooting

Go back in time to March 27. The pandemic in which we now find ourselves firmly ensconced was just getting started, at least it was in North America. . . . Now think about April 27 . . . and May 27 . . . and June 27. . . . Today is July 27. . . . Now look around and ask yourself this: What has changed since March 27? . . .

NHL teams, each with as many as 52 people on hand, moved into their ‘bubbles’ on Sunday. Dr. Willem Meeuwisse, the NHL’s chief medical officer, said on Friday: “We don’t expect (the bubble) to be perfect. We expect with the number of people that we’re going to have some positive tests, and we have a method and a process designed in advance to deal with that.” . . .

So the NHL has gone into this part of its bizarre season with eyes wide open, knowing full well that there are going to be positive tests. . . .

Now put yourselves in the shoes of someone who operates a junior hockey team. Do you plan on bringing players, all of them teenagers, most of them away from home, in to training camp in less than two months knowing that there will be positive tests? Do you have a “method and process” in place to handle that situation when it arises? How many positive tests will it take to shut things down?

As Shane Lyons, the athletics director at West Virginia, said last week: “The virus isn’t going away and the virus is going to dictate what we do . . .”

Shoe

If you haven’t heard about what the Miami Marlins are going through, you need to check it out. Since Friday, they have had their starting right-fielder, DH/first-baseman and catcher and one of their pitchers test positive. . . . They went ahead and beat the host Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday, but then delayed their flight home, apparently because they are expecting more test results back today (Monday). . . . If you have access to The Athletic, you will want to read the piece written by Ken Rosenthal that is right here. . . . “I think that by any definition, this is an outbreak on their team,” Dr. John Swartzburg, a clinical professor emeritus at UC Berkeley’s School of Public Health, Division of Infectious Disease, told Rosenthal. “And an outbreak on a team means that the team needs to close down.”

The NCAA’s Sports Science Institute released a report last week that concluded with this:

“At the time of this writing, the rate of spread of COVID-19 has been increasing in many regions of the country. Because of this increase, it is possible that sports, especially high contact risk sports, may not be practiced safely in some areas. In conjunction with public health officials, schools should consider pausing or discontinuing athletics activities when local circumstances warrant such consideration.”

Yes, we all are aware that the numbers in the United States, whose citizens have been left to drown by their federal government, have been haywire for weeks now and don’t seem to be improving.

One of the results is that most Canadians want the border with the U.S. to remain closed at least through the end of 2020.

At the same time, Canada’s numbers, while nowhere near those of our southern neighbours, have been trending the wrong way, too, including in the four western provinces that are home to a whole lot of junior hockey teams.

Backer

Here’s Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times, with a note that will resonate with old-time NFL fans: “The Pentagon team tasked with studying UFOs — the Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon Task Force — plans to publicly release information on its findings. So maybe we’ll finally get our answer: Did Otis Sistrunk really graduate from the University of Mars?”

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Not that old? Google is your friend, and make sure you find a photo of Sistrunk with the Oakland Raiders.

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Perry, again: “The NFL says it won’t conduct its own investigation into sexual-harassment allegations by Washington front-office types but will instead use the findings of an ‘independent’ probe paid for by team owner Daniel Snyder. ‘Now why didn’t we think of that?’ groaned the Houston Astros.

On the subject of “independent” reviews/inquiries, the CHL announced a few days ago that it has put together “an independent panel that will review the league’s policies and practices in relation to various forms of player abuse.” . . . With all due respect to the three people on the panel, including old friend Sheldon Kennedy, is it really independent when it was put together by the CHL, whose practices over the years are what is being reviewed?

Scott Ostler, in the San Francisco Chronicle: “The president has indicated he won’t watch any sport in which the athletes protest during the anthem. So he won’t be watching baseball, football, basketball or soccer. That will leave him more time to do what we elected him to do — play golf.”

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Once upon a time, actor Tom Hanks hawked stuff in the stands for the Oakland A’s. As he once told Jimmy Kimmel: “I went down to sell peanuts and soda, and thinking it would be like in a TV show where you saw the young kid trying to make a thing. Well, first of all, I got robbed twice. Note to self: Hide those wads of cash. Don’t be walking with a wad of cash in your pocket. Then, I came across professional vendors, who did not like the fact kids were there.” . . . Now the A’s are going to use his voice over the public address system to sell hot dogs, peanuts, programs, etc., never mind that there won’t be any fans in the pews.

Here’s Ostler, again:

“Sad baseball stat: Number of hot dogs sold at the Oakland Coliseum this season by ace vendor Tom Hanks: Zero.

“Maybe that’s because fans know Tom had the ’Rona.”

Having watched a bit of MLB since play began on Thursday . . . The fake crowd noise and the cardboard cutouts in the stands are laughable. . . . Starting the 10th inning with a runner on second base is horrible. Why not just have a home run-hitting contest? . . . The Seattle Mariners won’t be in the playoffs.

I don’t know if you saw Dr. Anthony Fauci, the U.S.’s top doc, throw out the first pitch at the Washington Nationals’ opener on Thursday night, but it was just a little bit outside. However, as Alex Brewsaugh noted on Facebook, “Angel Hernandez had it as a strike!”

Here’s Jack Finarelli, aka The Sports Curmudgeon, with his Thought for the Day, this one from Mark Twain: “Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.”

Just the other day, Ed Orgeron, LSU’s head football coach, claimed that America needs football because “football is the lifeblood of our country.” To which Nick Canepa of the San Diego Union-Tribune responded: “No, Ed, you need football. It is the lifeblood of Ed Orgeron.”

Rutgers became the second U.S. college to put its entire football program into quarantine on Saturday after it announced that six players had tested positive. . . . Michigan State did the same thing late last week after one player and one staff member tested positive.

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On July 1, Milo Eifler, a linebacker with Illinois, tweeted: “I understand that people want to see us play this season but in reality how can a team full of 100+ student athletes fully function during a pandemic. Trust, my teammates and I want to play. But schools around the country are showing blatant disregard for student athletes.” . . . The school responded by postponing his media availability.

Later, when he was allowed to speak, he offered this: “Yeah, we want to come back and want to play, but we just want to make sure our health and our safety is the priority. . . . It’s hard when you’re taking this process day by day. We got through today, but are we going to get through tomorrow? Sure, I want to go back to workouts, but am I going to be good Friday?”

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On Friday, Michigan State OT Jason Reid tweeted: “Guys are testing positive across the country left and right . . . why is there still discussion on a season? Why is it taking so long to make a logical decision? Hmm let me guess REVENUE #NCAA #BIG10”

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Clemson has had more than 30 players test positive, while West Virginia is at 28.

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Meanwhile, the Kansas Jayhawks have announced that they will play host to the Southern Illinois Salukis on Aug. 29. The Jayhawks were to have played the New Hampshire Wildcats, whose season has been cancelled, while the Salukis were to have met Wisconsin until the Big Ten pulled the plug on out-of-conference games. . . . Also on Aug. 29, the Missouri State Bears will visit the Oklahoma Sooners, which is a week earlier than originally scheduled.

JUST NOTES: Taking Note has been told that the Portland Winterhawks will play all of their 2020-21 home games in Veteran’s Memorial Coliseum. In recent seasons, they have split time between there and the Moda Center, which also is home to the NBA’s Trail Blazers. . . . Brock Beck, the 20-year-old son of former New Westminster Bruins D Barry Beck, was Hamilton’s 10th homicide victim of 2020 when he was stabbed to death during what police say was a “street disturbance” on Saturday night. Jeff Mahoney of the Hamilton Spectator has more right here. Barry Beck revealed via Twitter that Brock was his son.

This was a tough weekend as we said farewell to Olivia de Havilland, 104; Regis Philbin, 88; Eddie Shack, 83; John Saxon, 83; and Peter Green, 73. We also learned that former NHL star Dale Hawerchuk, 57, is again in the fight of his life with a reoccurrence of stomach cancer. His son Eric revealed “the resurgence of this terrible disease” via Twitter on Sunday. “We are praying for him and he will continue to fight hard #HawerchukStrong,” Eric tweeted.

Duvernay-Tardif a real Canadian hero . . . CHL looking for money from feds . . . Zary: ‘It’s just a waiting game . . .’

Just a few months ago, Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, a native of the Montreal suburb of Mont-Saint-Hilaire, was on the offensive line as the Kansas City Chiefs won the Super Bowl. He played every offensive snap in finishing his fifth season as the team’s starting right guard. . . . On Friday, he became the first NFL player to opt out of the 2020 season, choosing to work on the front lines of the battle against the pandemic over football. . . . His contract with the Chiefs called for him to be paid US$2.75 million this season; instead, he will receive US$150,000 from the NFL’s opt-out deal with the NFLPA. . . . Duvernay-Tardif, 29, has his medical doctorate from McGill U in Montreal, but his football career has kept him from a full-time residency. He worked as an orderly at a long-term care facility in Montreal through June and now is waiting for another role. . . . In making his announcement, he wrote: ”Being at the frontline during this offseason has given me a different perspective on this pandemic and the stress it puts on individuals and our healthcare system,” he wrote. “I cannot allow myself to potentially transmit the virus in our communities simply to play the sport that I love. If I am to take risks, I will do it caring for patients.”

Rick Westhead of TSN reported on Friday that “The Canadian Hockey League has hired lobbyists in Ottawa to discuss financial aid” as we continue to steer our way through this pandemic. . . . Those lobbyists have met with government officials going back to late June. . . . As Westhead wrote: “It’s unclear whether the CHL will be able to hold a 2020-21 season, given restrictions on large public gatherings and how crucial ticket revenue is to the CHL’s business model.” . . . Westhead’s story is right here.

F Connor Zary of the Kamloops Blazers is training as though the WHL season is going to Kamloops1start on Oct. 2, but he is a realist and senses that isn’t likely to happen. . . . “I’m training as if I was starting in August,” he told Chad Klassen of CFJC-TV on Kamloops on Friday. “Obviously, we’re not. Honest opinion is we won’t be able to start in October, but I’ve still got to train and still got to have the train of thought that I’m training as hard as I can, and that’s what I can do to be ready no matter when it does start.” . . . The WHL has said that it is aiming for an Oct. 2 start, but it hasn’t yet released a schedule. . . . However, Zary is expecting a later start, but, like everyone else, hasn’t any idea when that might be. “Just the way everyone’s talking and you hear things,” he told Klassen. “Obviously no one can give you a final answer that ‘yeah, it’s happening.’ It’s up in the air with every single thing that’s going on this year. It’s just a waiting game to see what happens.” . . . Zary, who is preparing for his fourth season with the Blazers, will be an early first-round selection in the NHL’s 2020 draft, which now is scheduled for Oct. 9 and 10. He had 86 points, including 38 goals, in 57 games when last season was halted in March.

Former Kamloops Blazers general manager Stu MacGregor will be back for a second season as a co-GM of the Thompson zone U18, U16 and U15 minor hockey teams for 2020-21. MacGregor will be teaming up with Jan Antons to run the Kamloops-based teams. . . . MacGregor also is a senior regional scout (west) for the WHL’s Victoria Royals.

COVID-19 CHRONICLES . . .

Michigan State said Friday that its entire football team was being quarantined for 14 days after one student-athlete and one staff member tested positive. The school had halted workouts on Wednesday after a different staff member tested positive. . . . David Cobb of CBS Sports wrote that “the full-team quarantine is in accordance with athletic department policy. The policy also mirrors guidelines released by the NCAA last week that mandate 14-day quarantines for student-athletes who are found to have been in ‘high-risk’ contact with others who have tested positive. That means other schools are likely to be faced with similar situations.” . . .

The 2020 Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix officially was cancelled on Friday. It originally was to have run June 12-14, but had been postponed to Oct. 9-11. . . . The U.S., Mexico and Brazil Formula 1 races also have been cancelled. . . .

Before playing the visiting New York Mets on Friday afternoon, the Atlanta Braves scratched their top two catchers. Travis d’Arnaud and Tyler Flowers tested negative but were exhibiting symptoms so were left in Atlanta. It had been hoped that one or both would be feeling better by Friday morning and would then fly to New York. But it wasn’t to be. . . .

D Brett Kulak of the Montreal Canadiens told reporters on Friday that he tested positive after arriving in Montreal for Phase 3 of the NHL’s return-to-play protocol. He was back on the ice with the team on Thursday. Kulak said he tested negative, but then had two positives. He’s feeling fine now, but said he experienced headaches, respiratory issues and a lack of energy. . . .

The Falkland, B.C., Stampede has been cancelled, meaning it won’t be held for the first time since the inaugural event in 1919. Normally held on the May long weekend, it was postponed to Aug. 28-30 before being cancelled.

Seattle NHL team has nickname; Washington NFL team doesn’t . . . Neepawa MJHL team does but it’s changing it

So . . . on a day when Seattle’s expansion NHL franchise dug into the depths for its nickname — Kraken — the NFL’s Washington franchise announced that it will spend the approaching season as the Washington Football Team. . . . The New York Yankees and host Washington Nationals opened the delayed MLB season with a game that was played in front of empty seats and was shortened by inclement weather, while the visiting San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers played before cardboard cutouts. . . . What a time to be alive, eh?

The MJHL’s Neepawa Natives have begun the process of changing their nickname. . . . Ken Pearson, the club’s general manager and head coach, told CBC News: “We’re just trying to get ahead of the curve here and . . . be ahead of the game.” . . . Neepawa has had a team with that nickname, either in intermediate or junior hockey, since the early 1960s. . . . A decision on a new nickname for the MJHL team is expected before the 2021-22 season.

COVID-19 CHRONICLES . . .

OF Juan Soto wasn’t in the Washington Nationals’ opening night lineup Thursday after testing positive. He was placed on the injured list about five hours before game time. . . . Soto, 21, is reportedly asymptomatic and will need two negative tests before he is allowed to return. . . .

OF Hunter Dozier of the Kansas City Royals has tested positive. He said he has a “couple of symptoms” so won’t be available when the team opens the season in Cleveland on Friday. . . . He is the ninth Kansas City player to have tested positive. . . .

Veteran MLB scout Johan Maya died of COVID-19 on Thursday. Maya, 40, had been working for the Arizona Diamondbacks and was in the Dominican Republic at the time of his death. . . .

Former MLBer Mike Napoli, now a quality assurance coach with the Chicago Cubs, has tested positive so has been away from the team. . . .

Two more NHL players have revealed that they tested positive and have recovered. . . . D Anthony Bitetto, who was back on the ice for the first time with the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday, said he tested positive about a month ago and self-quarantined for 29 days. . . . D Xavier Ouellet of the Montreal Canadiens actually tested negative before coming up positive and never did have any symptoms. He returned to the ice on Wednesday. . . .

The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) has announced a tentative plan under which some fall sports, including football, soccer and volleyball, will start on March 1. . . . Under the plan, basketball would get going on Jan. 4, with track and field starting on April 26. . . . Other sports like cross-country, slo-pitch, golf and tennis are to begin on Sept. 7. . . . Mick Hoffman, the WIAA executive director, said everything remains fluid. “When you look at dates,” he said, “those are definitely written in pencil.” . . .

Earlier in the week, the Florida High School Athletic Association went against the recommendation of its medical people and said football season would begin with practices starting on Monday. After a whole lot of backlash, the FHSAA reversed its field on Thursday and pushed things back until at least Aug. 24. But like so many other things these days all of that seems to be fluid. . . .

The KHL has made it official. With the Russia-China border closed to people — it’s open to the transportation of goods — a decision was made that Kunlun Red Star Beijing will play its home games for 2020-21 in Mytishchi, which is on the northern outskirts of Moscow. . . . The KHL, unsure of how many teams will play this season, has yet to release a schedule but has said that should happen by month’s end.

Social

Here’s Jack Finarelli, aka The Sports Curmudgeon, with his Thought for the Day, this one from former MLB owner Bill Veeck: “Baseball is almost the only orderly thing left in a very unorderly world. If you get three strikes, even the best lawyer in the world can’t get you off.”

The OHL’s Kingston Frontenacs are looking for a general manager, having revealed on Thursday that they won’t be renewing Darren Kelly’s contract when it expires on Aug. 12. . . . The Frontenacs added a new head coach this summer, with Paul McFarland returning after three seasons as an NHL assistant coach. . . . Kelly had been with the Frontenacs since 2008, including the past three seasons as general manager.

Alexander Gusev, a defenceman on the Soviet Union team that played Canada in the 1972 Summit Series, died on Wednesday, according to his former club, CSKA Moscow. Gusev was 73. . . . He was a contributing factor on the Soviet national teams of the 1970s. . . . Andy Potts of iihf.com has more right here.

Pam

I want Edmonton Rough Riders . . . Good news from NBA bubble . . . But not from the KHL

Town council in Bonnyville, Alta., has upped its sponsorship of the AJHL Pontiacs from $5,000 to $15,000, a move that will allow the team to drop some ticket prices. . . . The AJHL is hoping to open its season on Sept. 18. . . . Chris Lapointe of lakelandconnect.net has more right here.

——

Just wondering . . . who’s next?

COVID-19 CHRONICLES . . .

The University Interscholastic League, the governing body for high school football in Texas, has delayed football season for its schools with the largest enrolments. Instead of starting to practice on Aug. 3, they will begin on Sept. 7, with games to start on Sept. 24. This also means they’ll be playing high school football in Texas into January. . . . The smaller schools will be able to start on time. . . .

The California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) has moved its athletic season, including football, from the fall. The CIF oversees all high school sports in California. There are more than 800,000 high school athletes in the state. . . . CIF now hopes to start its athletic season in December or January. . . . Georgia, Arizona, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Washington and West Virginia have delayed fall high school sports; New Mexico, Virginia and the District of Columbia won’t play football in the fall. . . . And then there’s Florida . . .

The Orlando Sentinel reports that the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) has voted to begin the football and girls’ volleyball seasons on time. In doing this, the FHSAA is ignoring the recommendation of its Sports Medicine Advisory Committee: “It is our stance that return to competition for the high-risk sports of football and volleyball is not medically safe.” . . . All of this left Jack Finarelli, aka The Sports Curmudgeon, wondering right here: “Why does the FHSAA bother to have a Sports Medicine Advisory Council?” . . .

There was good news out of the NBA bubble in Orlando, Fla., on Monday, when the league reported that it had tested 346 players in the previous week and didn’t get even one positive. . . . Before teams arrived in Orlando, 25 of 351 players and 10 of 884 staff members had tested positive. . . .

But then there is Avangard Omsk. The KHL team has withdrawn from an exhibition tournament in Sochi, Aug. 4-9, after having 20 people in its organization test positive. There isn’t a player/staff breakdown available, but all were tested during training camp. . . . As well, CSKA Moscow has had seven players test positive. . . .

Former MLBer Jeff Francoeur, now an analyst on the Atlanta Braves’ broadcast crew, has tested positive. He is asymptomatic and in self-quarantine. . . . Todd Kalas, the play-by-play voice on the Houston Astros’ TV team, also tested positive. He, too, is asymptomatic and in self-quarantine. . . .

The Toronto Wolfpack informed the Super League Europe and the Rugby Football League that it won’t be restarting it season so won’t participate if things resume on Aug. 2. . . .

Because of the disruption to the soccer season across the world, the Ballon d’Or, which goes to the world’s best player, won’t be awarded this year. It was first handed out in 1956. . . .

The men’s pro tennis season had hoped to get started with the Citi Open in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 13. That won’t happen, though, as the tournament has been cancelled. . . . The women’s tour is hoping to open in Palermo, Italy, on Aug. 3.

The Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) has cancelled all fall sports for 2020. Yes, that includes football. . . . For now, the conference is hoping football teams will be able to open eight-week training camps in January, leading to some kind of a spring season. . . . The conference features Alabama A&M, Alabama State, Alcorn State, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Grambling State, Jackson State, Mississippi Valley State, Prairie View A&M, Southern and Texas Southern.

Briar McNaney is the new head coach of the junior B Columbia Valley Rockies of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League. He takes over from Wade Dubielewicz, who now is the club’s general manager. . . . Dubielewicz spent eight seasons as the head coach, the last three with McNaney as his full-time assistant.

Scattershooting on a Sunday evening while wondering if the virus will leave when cold weather arrives . . .

Scattershooting

With MLB having started exhibition games and with a 60-game regular season soon to begin, Ann Killion, an excellent sports columnist with the San Francisco Chronicle, sums up the situation:

“Who is going to get the coronavirus next? Where is the roulette wheel going to stop? What will the repercussions be for that player’s or coach’s family? Will the games have to abruptly end?

“A welcome distraction?

“Not likely. Not when we know that the baseball players we’re watching are each receiving multiple tests a week so they can play some games that will carry asterisks forever.”

Nail, meet hammer. Killion’s complete column is right here.

With rookies for the Houston Texans and Kansas City Chiefs reporting to training camp today (Monday), a number of NFL stars took to Twitter on Sunday to question what is going on concerning safety procedures. . . . Russell Wilson, the Seattle Seahawks’ quarterback, tweeted: “My wife is pregnant. Training camp is about to start. And there’s still No Clear Plan on Player Health & Family Safety.” . . . Nicholas Reimann of Forbes has more right here.

Cats

So . . . Sidney Crosby, one of the NHL’s few true superstars, leaves a Saturday scrimmage early and doesn’t return. Mike Sullivan, the Pittsburgh Penguins’ head coach, says: “We’re to permitted to comment.” . . . There isn’t a league anywhere in the world that does a better job of suppressing information than the GBHL — Gary Bettman Hockey League. . . . And the women and men who cover the GBHL better get used to this because I’m thinking it will be the new norm whenever the virus chooses to leave us.

It’s my understanding that the virus will go away once the weather turns cold.

The St. Paul Pioneer Press reported: “Lindsay Whalen, the Minnesota women’s basketball coach, says she’ll buy hot dogs for the first 500 fans at the Gophers’ home opener this season.” . . . To which Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times responded: “In a related story, Joey Chestnut just bought 75 tickets.”

——

Danica Patrick’s mouthpiece says that the former race-car driver and Green Bay Packers QB Aaron Rodgers have visited Splitsville. Here are the aforementioned Perry’s thoughts: “Rodgers apologists claim he called an audible; her spinmeisters say they hit the skids.”

The QMJHL announced on Saturday that its plan right now is for each of its 18 teams to qmjhlnewplay 60 games in a regular season that will open on Oct. 1. Training camps will open on Aug. 26 with teams bringing in a maximum of 34 players, down from around 60 in previous times. . . . The league also will be split into three divisions and teams will play only within their own divisions, meaning 12 games against each opponent. . . . The QMJHL hasn’t yet announced a playoff format, nor does it know whether fans will be allowed to attend games. . . . The QMJHL features six teams in the Maritimes, who would play in one division, with the other two divisions comprising the 12 Quebec teams. . . . If you were wondering, the Quebec Midget AAA League says it will start its regular season on Sept. 11.

Knife

Here’s Jack Finarelli, aka The Sports Curmudgeon, with his Thought for the Day, this one from Will Rogers: “The taxpayers are sending Congressmen on expensive trips abroad. It might be worth it, but they keep coming back.”

Headline at fark.com: Astros owner wants fans in the stands wo he can sell overpriced, watered down cold beer.

COVID-19 CHRONICLES . . .

The Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN) has trimmed its Baltimore Orioles broadcast crew because of the pandemic, meaning play-by-play man Gary Thorne and analyst Jim Palmer won’t be on the air when things get restarted. Rick Dempsey, Brian Roberts and Gregg Olsen also won’t be taking part. . . .

Former MLB P Bob Walk, now a broadcaster with the Pittsburgh Penguins, is recovering after testing positive.

1B/DH Jose Martinez was on the field with the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday. He had been out while quarantining following a positive test. . . .

P Collin McHugh of the Boston Red Sox, who has had elbow issues of late, has opted out of the season. He likely was headed to the injury list, but will spend time with his family. . . .

Golfing great Jack Nicklaus said Sunday that he and his wife Barbara, both of whom are 80, tested positive in March. Jack had some symptoms into late April, while Barbara was asymptomatic. . . .

Brandon Banks, the CFL’s most outstanding player in 2019, said via Twitter on Sunday that he won’t play in 2020 if there is a season. A wide receiver and kick returner, Banks tweeted that “Idk what they gonna do but I won’t put on a helmet til 2021.”

Gregor Chisholm, a baseball columnist with the Toronto Star, after the Canadian government refused the Blue Jays’ request to play home games in Toronto: “This was never about the sport itself. The Jays got caught up in something much bigger than a game. This is about Canada wanting to continue to distance itself from a dysfunctional neighbour who seems to have lost touch with reality.”

——

So . . . why didn’t Jason Kenney, Alberta’s premier, invite the Blue Jays to play their home games out of Edmonton’s RE/MAX Field? It seats 9,200, but who cares because fans wouldn’t be allowed. Imagine the smile on Kenney’s face if he had the NHL and MLB in Alberta’s capital at the same time.

——

With the Blue Jays on the move, apparently to Buffalo or Dunedin, Fla., let’s check out the standings in the Strat-O-Matic simulation league. . . . The Blue Jays were shelled 12-1 by the visiting Cleveland Indians on Sunday, falling to 46-54 and leaving them 13 games behind the AL East-leading Tampa Bay Rays (59-41). The New York Yankees (52-46) are six games back in second place. . . . The other MLB division leaders — Cleveland (61-39), Houston Astros (65-33), Washington Nationals (58-42), Milwaukee Brewers (53-45) and Los Angeles Dodgers (64-36).

After organizers cancelled the 2021 Rose Parade in Pasadena, Calif., Jack Finarelli, aka The Sports Curmudgeon, wondered: “If the Rose Parade is a public-health risk not worth taking, would a Rose Bowl game played in the same venue make sense?”

Hook

Things are messy in Portland . . . BCHL aiming for Dec. 1 start after long training camps . . . Stampede Corral soon to fall

We are halfway through July and the Portland Winterhawks haven’t yet changed hands.

Paul Danzer of the Portland Tribune reported on June 18 that the WHL “is optimistic that the Winterhawks will have a new owner by the end of July.”

In that story, Danzer quoted Ron Robison, the WHL commissioner, as having told whlreporters: “We’re hopeful that we will be in a position later this month and into July to select a candidate to become the new owner of the Portland Winterhawks. It’s important to have that resolved as quickly as possible. Our target is to have that resolved by sometime in July.”

If you aren’t aware, the Portland franchise has been in receivership since May 7 after owner Bill Gallacher ran into some financial difficulties. The Winterhawks had been used as part of the collateral for a Cdn $20-million loan for which a repayment deadline was missed.

However, things have changed in Portland.

Of course, there is the pandemic. Also, the city has been through seven weeks of protests and demonstrations against the treatment of Black Americans by police. There’s a lot more right here on what transpired in Portland on Thursday night.

On Friday, Oregon Public Broadcasting, in a piece that is right here, reported:

“Federal law enforcement officers have been using unmarked vehicles to drive around downtown Portland and detain protesters since at least July 14. Personal accounts and multiple videos posted online show the officers driving up to people, detaining individuals with no explanation of why they are being arrested, and driving off.”

A WHL fan who lives in Portland emailed me . . .

“The Oregon Health Authority reported a record-high 437 new coronavirus cases and two deaths on Thursday. It’s the third consecutive week that state officials reported a record-breaking daily total, according to Oregon Live. . . .

“A headline from oregonlive.com: Federal officers respond to Portland protests with gas, munitions Thursday amid growing attention from Trump administration . . .”

Then he added: “Gregg, it is an absolute mess and disaster in Portland . . . and in Oregon. . . . Oregon — record number of COVID cases . . . hospitalizations are on their way up — it’s very sad.

“I have just gotten numb to the protests . . . downtown businesses are being crippled. No sane person wants to go down to the city after about 5 p.m.

“NOBODY would want to go near the Rose Quarter for a game these days.”

The Winterhawks play out of Veterans Memorial Coliseum and the Moda Center, both of which are in the Rose Quarter.

Perhaps there might be better times to try to sell a WHL franchise in the Rose City.

Clone

The BCHL began its 2019-20 season on Sept. 6. On Friday, it announced that it “is BCHLplanning to start the 2020-21 regular season on Dec. 1, pending approval from the Provincial Health Office (PHO).” . . . Here’s Chris Hebb, the BCHL commissioner, from a news release: “We’ve been having discussions with the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture since March around a safe return to play. The PHO has indicated to us that waiting until December gives us the best chance at ensuring we have an uninterrupted season, while also maximizing the amount of regular-season games we’ll be able to play.” . . . Teams will be allowed to open on-ice sessions on Sept. 8 — yes, almost three months before they hope to open the season. . . . The BCHL news release is right here. . . . The Nanaimo Clippers announced that “all players will be reporting” as of Sept. 8 and that teams in the Island Division will hold a tournament in October. . . .

Brian Wiebe, who covers the BCHL like fog atop the Coquihalla, posted a Q&A with Hebb.

Asked if he is “convinced that B.C. and Canada will be healthy enough for the BCHL to return to play in December,” Hebb told Wiebe: “We’re going to give the health authorities a chance to ascertain that. The problem that all of us have is that we’re not medical doctors. One of the things we’ve done a good job with at the BCHL is listening. Starting December 1 gives you a much better chance of not getting shut down because if the health authorities allow you to play in December, it’s probably a pretty good sign that they think things are under control.”

Hebb also explains how the BCHL arrived at the Dec. 1 date, how many games each team may play in the regular season, if the season could start earlier than Dec. 1, how many fans might be allowed in arenas, what teams might do with training camps that could run to three months, the possibility of the Wenatchee Wild operating out of Canada, and a whole lot more.

It’s all-encompassing and it’s right here.

The MJHL’s Swan Valley Stampeders reported a loss of $80,906 at their annual general meeting on Thursday night. “The Stampeders reported a substantial loss this year, mainly due to a decrease in ticket sales, the inability to hold a spring camp, loss of playoff revenue, and fundraising falling short thanks in part to the COVID-19 pandemic,” according to a news release on the team’s website. . . . There is more right here. . . . Earlier this month, Danielle Gordon-Broome of the Swan Valley Star and Times reported that the Stampeders “went into last season carrying nearly $200,000 in debt.”

Coupon

COVID-19 CHRONICLES . . .

The NFL Players Association revealed on Thursday that 72 players had tested positive as of July 10. . . . Some teams will be having rookies report to training camp this weekend. . . . Nate Davis wrote in Thursday’s USA TODAY: “The league and players union still have widespread issues to resolve, including opt-out scenarios for players and numerous workplace protocols as well as COVID-19 testing procedures and even the actual number of preseason games, before football resumes in any form or fashion.” . . .

Dan Graziano of ESPN tweeted a number of the NFL’s travel rules that will be in place for this season, including no use of public or private transportation to or in other cities; no leaving hotel to go to restaurants open to public; no room visits by anyone outside the traveling party; no use of shared hotel facilities (pool, gym, etc.); masks required while traveling; buses at no more than 50 percent capacity; and at least one open seat between passengers on the plane. . . .

——

NCAA president Mark Emmert had this to say on Thursday: “Today, sadly, the data point in the wrong direction. If there is to be college sports in the fall, we need to get a much better handle on the pandemic.” . . .

Here’s Pat Forde of si.com:

“There will be no college football crowds of the usual size. There might not be college football, period. Pessimism percolates as the time for solutions dwindles. We are speeding in the wrong direction as a nation in terms of combating the coronavirus pandemic, and one of the cultural casualties of American casualness is an endeavor millions of us want and every college athletic department needs.

“If the season dies, we know who had the biggest hand in killing any chance of it happening: Donald Trump.” . . . The complete column is right here. . . .

The Great Northwest Athletic Conference has suspended all intercollegiate athletics through Nov. 30, a move that affects 17 sports. A decision on the status of competition after Nov. 30 is expected to be made by Oct. 15. Simon Fraser U of Burnaby, B.C., is a member of the GNAC. . . .

The U of New Hampshire has cancelled all fall sports for its athletics teams in football, men’s and women’s cross-country, men’s and women’s soccer, field hockey and women’s volleyball. . . . A decision on winter sports, including hockey and basketball, is to be made at some point “in early fall,” according to the school. . . .

The West Coast Conference has shut down most of its sports until at least Sept. 24. Sports impacted are men’s and women’s cross-country, men’s and women’s soccer, and women’s volleyball. Not impacted, at least not yet, are men’s and women’s basketball and football. . . .

The Oregon-based four-team Wild West League, a wood-bat college-level baseball circuit in its infancy, is on hiatus for at least seven days after two players tested positive. The WWL made the announcement on Wednesday, just four days after beginning its first season. The Gresham Grey Wolves, Portland Gherkins, Portland Pickles ad West Linn Knights are the four teams in the league. . . .

The Canada West conference announced on Wednesday that it will hold championships in golf and swimming, but the cross-country championship won’t go ahead. . . . The golf championship tournament is scheduled for the Okanagan Golf Club in Kelowna, Oct. 2-4, with the swimming championship to be held at the U of Calgary sometime early in 2021 rather than in November. . . .

——

MLB announced nine players and one staff member tested positive in the week that ended on Thursday. MLB now has had 93 positive tests — 80 players and 13 staff members since late last month. . . . OF Austin Meadows, an all-star with the Tampa Bay Rays, is one of the players to have tested positive. . . . OF Yasiel Puig, a free agent, revealed on Friday that he has tested positive. He reportedly was on the verge of signing with the Atlanta Braves, but the positive test short-circuited that deal. . . . Twenty-eight of MLB’s 30 teams have had at least one positive test in their organization. . . .

——

D Caleb Jones of the Edmonton Oilers skated with the team’s first group on Friday, then told reporters that he had tested positive, which is why had missed the first few days of training camp. He doesn’t know how or where he contracted the virus, but tested positive after arriving in Edmonton from Dallas and being tested two weeks ago. . . . Jones is one of only three NHLers whose positive tests have been made public, the others being F Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs and F Jayce Hawryluk of the Ottawa Senators. . . .

——

The KHL team Kunlun Red Star will play its entire 2020-21 season out of Russia. It is moving its operation to Mytishchi, about 20 km northeast of Moscow. . . . Mattias Forsblom of svenski.yle.fi reported that Kunlun and Dinamo Riga, from Latvia, were told by the KHL that they had to move to Russia because borders are closed and there aren’t any plans to open them. . . . Dinamo Minsk (Belarus), Jokerit (Finland) and Barys Nur-Sultan (Kazakhstan) also operate from outside of Russia, but there haven’t yet been announcements concerning their relocation. . . . The KHL plans on starting its regular season on Sept. 2. . . .

——

The Central Okanagan Minor Baseball Association suspended play on Friday because “a player within the organization has come in close contact with a COVID-19 positive individual.” There aren’t any confirmed cases with players or coaches, but the association has suspended activities as a precaution. . . . The association, which is based in Kelowna, covers girls’ and boys’ teams from ages five to 18.

Headline at The Onion: Jerry Jones Changes Team’s Name To Redskins Now That It’s Available.

Billy Keane is the new general manager and head coach of the MJHL’s OCN Blizzard. . . . He spent three seasons as the head coach of the MJHL’s Winnipeg Blues before being replaced by Gord Burnett prior to last season. Burnett signed on as an assistant coach with the WHL’s Moose Jaw Warriors earlier this month. . . . Keane is a brother to former WHL/NHL F Mike Keane.

Water

Tale of three WHL cities: P.G. closes arenas, P.A. sets opening date, things messy in Portland

The City of Prince George announced Tuesday that it has closed all arenas indefinitely as it works to cope with a budget that it says could come up $9 million short because of the pandemic. . . . Arenas had been on schedule for an Aug. 4 opening. . . . The city has laid off or terminated about 130 workers. . . .

Meanwhile, in Prince Albert, the city has said it hopes to have ice in the Art Hauser Centre, the home of the WHL’s Raiders, later this month, and hopes that the arena is ready for hockey camps by Aug. 10. . . .

Here’s something that caught my eye in The New York Times earlier this week, all of which should be of interest to the WHL and its fans . . .

“The state (of Oregon) set a record on Thursday with 389 new infections.

“If the spread of the virus continues at its current rate, Oregon Health Authority models predict that Portland hospitals will hit capacity in a month, and hospitals throughout the state will be overwhelmed within 90 days. . . .

“As serious as the recent caseload has been, many fear that the upcoming harvest season could make things even worse, as additional agricultural workers pour in and processing plants kick into high gear.”

Jack Finarelli, aka The Sports Curmudgeon, with his Thought for the Day, this one from Will Rogers, who died in a plane crash in 1935: “Last year we said, ‘Things can’t go on like this,’ and they didn’t. They got worse.”

Chicken

Dan Wolken, writing in USA TODAY, about the SEC, football and the pandemic:

“For all the airtime devoted to COVID-19 misinformation merchants who cherry-pick statistics to suggest this virus is no big deal and engage in performative whataboutism to try and discredit public health officials, the virus will determine whether SEC football is played — not the other way around. . . .

“ . . . the arrogance with which too many people in this country approached COVID-19 from the beginning has also been a hallmark of the conversation around college football. Too many administrators have spent the last four months offering nothing but happy talk and publicly presenting the rosiest possible scenario rather than speaking directly to the massive challenges of pulling off a season in a college environment where any type of bubble isn’t possible and there’s no financial incentive for the players to take the kinds of health risks their professional counterparts are being asked to take.

“In fact, the mere suggestion that college football wouldn’t go off as planned has been met with outrage.”

Wolken’s complete column, and it’s dynamite, is right here.

Boxes

COVID-19 CHRONICLES . . .

City officials in Philadelphia said Tuesday that fans won’t be allowed in any facilities for sporting events in 2020. . . .

The Rose Parade, a New Year’s Day fixture in Pasadena, Calif., has been cancelled for 2021. First held in 1891, it has been held every year since then with the exception of 1942, 1943 and 1945, because of the Second World War. . . . It usually draws about 700,000 spectators. . . .

USA Hockey has cancelled the 2020 World Junior Summer Showcase that was to have been held in Plymouth, Mich, from July 24-31. Canada, Finland and Sweden pulled out of the event earlier, but USA Hockey had hoped to bring in 44 players and evaluate them. It’s all part of the selection process in picking the team that will play in the World Junior Championship that is, at least for now, scheduled for Red Deer and Edmonton, from Dec. 26 through Jan. 5. . . .

The NFL’s Green Bay Packers will hold their training camp at Lambeau Field, but fans won’t be allowed in for practices. There also won’t be any fans allowed for Packers Family Night or any home exhibition games. . . .

Former MLB C Tim McCarver has opted out, so won’t be part of the Fox Sports Midwest TV crew doing St. Louis Cardinals games this season. McCarver, 78, made the decision after consulting with his doctor. . . .

NASCAR driver Brendan Gaughan, the driver of the No. 90 car, has tested positive and is in quarantine. Gaughan, who last raced on June 22 at Talladega, tested positive on Friday. . . .

F Harrison Barnes of the NBA’s Sacramento Kings revealed on Monday that he has tested positive. . . .

The Associated Press reported on Monday that “about 10” MLB umpires have opted out of the season “because of concerns over the coronavirus.” . . . By Wednesday, that number was up to 11.

Dwight Perry, in the Seattle Times: “Two teams — FC Dallas and Nashville SC — had to pull out of the MLS is Back Tournament after too many players tested positive for coronavirus. On second thought, just call it the Well, Most of MLS is Back Tournament.”

Meeting

Zach recovering after fistula surgery . . . Ferris finds two new friends . . . A kidney recipient says thanks

Zach16Zach Tremblay and his mother, Jana, arrived in Kelowna on Monday evening, and the 17-year-old underwent surgery on Tuesday morning.

He was in recovery later in the afternoon, at which time Jana reported:

“He is alert and awake with some pain.”

Zach and his family live in Robson, B.C., across the Columbia River from Castlegar. He is in need of a kidney transplant — would you consider helping? — and had been doing peritoneal dialysis (PD) on a nightly basis at home. However, it began to lose its effectiveness late in 2019, so he and Jana ended up at B.C. Children’s Hospital in Vancouver early in January and he was transitioned to hemodialysis.

Back home, he has been travelling to Trail, which is about 30 minutes from Robson, for his dialysis runs. After his Monday run, Zach and Jana left for Kelowna.

On Tuesday, doctors inserted a fistula, which will make doing hemodialysis easier, while also removing his PD catheter.

Zach was becoming more alert as Tuesday afternoon wore on, and Jana was hoping that he would be released so that they could spend the night with relatives in Kelowna. Either way, Zach is scheduled for a run this morning (Wednesday) in Kelowna.

“We will see how he’s feeling and decide whether to come home, or stay one more night,” Jana wrote on Facebook.

She closed with: “We sure appreciate each and every one of you loving and supporting our family.”

UPDATE: Zach was released from hospital last night, so he and Jana are overnighting with relatives in Kelowna. He will do a dialysis run this morning at 7:30. If he is feeling well enough after that, they will head for home. Otherwise, they will remain in Kelowna for the day to allow him to rest.

What follows is a note received recently by a kidney donor from the person who has a new lease on life having received that kidney:

“Thinking of you today. Anniversary of my Kidney is here again. A huge thank you for your willingness and your sacrificial donation. You are the angel that just showed up and caused my life to thrive again. Blessings to you!

“I am healthy and things are going well.

“Praying you are doing well. 

“May God’s love and protection surround you and your family.”

Yes, I get a lump in my throat and things get a little dusty when I read things like that because Dorothy and I have driven that same road. There are no words to explain how much that gift of life means.

FerrisFriends
Ferris found two new friends while she and her family explored Granville Island this week. (Photo: Lindsey Backmeyer/Facebook)

Meanwhile, the Backmeyers continues to explore Vancouver’s waterfront between having to get Ferris, 3, to B.C. Children’s Hospital for her dialysis runs.

Ferris, you’ll recall, was doing peritoneal dialysis at home in Kamloops when an infection reared its ugly head and brought all of that to a screeching halt. Her PD catheter was removed because of the infection, and she has been doing hemodialysis for the past couple of weeks.

However, Ferris has had some struggles with hemo, and her mother, Lindsey, reports that “we have a surgery date for a new PD cath and it’s a week sooner than we were originally told.”

That surgery now is scheduled for July 27. If all goes well, Lindsey says Ferris will be admitted on July 26 and “should only be in a couple of days before being outpatient again.

“It’s hard to imagine having to go through this surgery again . . . and the recovery, but at this point I just want to bring her home.”

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

Mike

kidney