So . . . some members of Canada’s goof troop say they again will be protesting whatever it is they don’t like in front of various hospitals today (Monday). . . . There aren’t words anywhere in the English language to describe how despicable these protesters are. We have friends who are doing a stint in Vancouver while John recovers from a kidney transplant. His wife is 61 years of age and as kind and gentle a soul as you would ever hope to meet. The last time the loonies protested in front of Vancouver General Hospital, she had to manoeuvre through the clown show in order to visit her husband and that just shouldn’t be allowed to happen. . . . Come on, people, be better than that. Take your protests somewhere else, like to the nearest landfill.
Another sign that the apocalypse is upon us . . .
Yes, Darren Steinke was in attendance. He’s got a blog entry and photos right here.
One more sign that the apocalypse is upon us . . .
If you watched the visiting Oregon Ducks upset the Ohio State Buckeyes on Saturday afternoon, you may have noticed that there didn’t appear to be many masks in the crowd of 100,482 fans. That’s because Ohio State doesn’t require fans to provide proof of vaccination or a recent negative test, and masks are only required in indoor spaces — like restrooms, suites and the press box. . . . “We’re leaving it up to our fans to be safe and responsible,” explained athletic director Gene Smith. . . . Yeah, because expecting people to be “safe and responsible” really is working well in this pandemic, isn’t it?
Scott Ostler of the San Francisco Chronicle, on the NFL’s first Sunday of another season — “Pregame observation: Jimmy Johnson’s hair is in midseason form. And, is that the same Randy Moss who cave-manned the media throughout his career? Some see it as charm, I call it smarm.”
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Ostler, again: “How many pages are there on that flip chart the 49ers’ quarterbacks wear on their left wrists? It looks like they’re getting ready to order off the TGI Fridays menu.”
The junior B Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League informed fans on 
Thursday that “starting Sept. 13, you must have at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine” in order to attend games. “By Oct. 24, you must be fully vaccinated.” This is, of course, by order of B.C.’s provincial health officer. . . . As the VIJHL pointed out, “These orders apply to everyone in this league: players, team staff, volunteers, executives, etc., and will apply to all spectators at VIJHL games as well.” . . . At the same time, the league has had to postponed the expansion Lake Cowichan Kraken’s first three games. Kevin Rothbauer of the Lake Cowichan Gazette reported that according to the league the decisions were made out of “an abundance of caution” following a decision by its COVID committee. . . . The Kraken was to have played three games by now — at the Westshore Wolves on Wednesday, versus the Comox Valley Glacier Kings on Friday, and at the Kerry Park Islanders on Saturday. All three games were postponed.
By now you will be aware that Montreal’s Leylah Fernandez won over the world after losing the U.S. Open final in New York on Saturday, the 20th anniversary of 9/11. At the ripe old age of 19 — she hit that milestone on Sept. 6 — she took the microphone after the match and told the crowd: “I know on this special day it’s especially hard for New York and everyone around the United States. I just want to say that I hope I can be as strong and resilient as New York has been the last 20 years.” . . . Did you know, though, that she also did post-match news conferences in English, French and Spanish?
Once a person learns to relax and take Twitter for what it is, it becomes a tremendous source of humour. . . . Example? . . . On Thursday, Larry Brooks of the New York Post tweeted that the NHL’s Rangers, among other things, were going to need proof of vaccine from fans 12 years of age and over wanting to attend games. . . . “What if my religion prevents me and my children from getting vax?” responded one fan. To which another answered: “Then it prevents you from going to Rangers games, too.” . . . Still another fan tweeted: “Ok and what about those who don’t want the vaccine? We can enjoy going to games?” That drew this response: “Enjoy the couch, get used to it.”
Janice Hough, aka The Left Coast Sports Babe: “About the idea of banning air travel for the unvaccinated. Strikes me if you don’t believe science could develop a safe vaccine, you wouldn’t believe that science could make 100-plus tons of metal to fly passengers through the air safely either.”
The WHL’s Edmonton Oil Kings have two home exhibition games on their 
schedule, and announced on Thursday that fan’s won’t be allowed in Rogers Place for either contest. . . . The Oilers Entertainment Group will use the games, along with the Edmonton Oilers’ rookie game on Sept. 18, “to deliver staff and building operations training related to the updated venue protocols.” . . . The Oil Kings entertained the Red Deer Rebels on Saturday night and will meet the visiting Calgary Hitmen on Sept. 24.
The OHL postponed a Sunday afternoon exhibition game between the Guelph Storm and the host Mississauga Steelheads, but didn’t provide a reason for the decision. The postponement apparently wasn’t COVID-19 related.
The New Zealand Ice Hockey Federation has withdrawn two of its teams from IIHF world championships due to concerns about the pandemic. The U-18 women’s team was to have competed in the Division II Group B event in Turkey in January, while the U-20 men’s team was in the Division III tournament in Mexico, also in January. . . . As well, Iran has pulled out of the IIHF women’s world championship Division III Group B.
The Boston Red Sox simply can’t shake COVID-19. Now it’s starter Chris Sale who has tested positive. He missed his start on Sunday against the host Chicago White Sox. The Red Sox did get back SS Xander Bogaerts late in the week; he had been quarantining for 10 days in St. Petersburg, Fla. Over the past two weeks, the Red Sox have put 12 players on MLB’s COVID-19 list with 10 of them having tested positive. . . . RHP Nick Pivetta, a native of Victoria, came off the COVID list to make the start on Sunday for Boston. He allowed one unearned run on three hits in 5.1 innings as the Red Sox dropped a 2-1 decision.
JUST NOTES: Isn’t it about time that the Baltimore Orioles were relegated somewhere, like to High A or the Mexican League? . . . The best team in the CFL? Well, here’s Saskatchewan Roughriders head coach Craig Dickenson after his club was beaten 33-9 by the Blue Bombers in Winnipeg on Saturday: “Winnipeg is the class of the league right now. They are better than the rest of us and it’s by quite a bit.” The Bombers had won, 23-8, in Regina on Sept. 5. . . . Did fans of the Cleveland Browns really believe that they were going to beat the Chiefs in Kansas City even with that late lead? How many Pittsburgh Steelers’ fans jumped from the bandwagon when they were trailing the Bills 10-0 in Buffalo? . . . Famed documentarian Ken Burns has been putting together a four-parter on the life of Muhammad Ali for the past seven years. It debuts on PBS on Sept. 19 and continues each night through Sept. 22.. Enjoy!
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.
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JUNIOR JOTTINGS: The Calgary Hitmen have signed former NHL F Matt Stajan as an assistant coach. He replaces Joel Otto, an assistant for 15 years. According to a news release, Otto “is relinquishing his role on the coaching staff due to a hip injury that will not allow him to continue providing on-ice instruction.” . . . Stajan played in 1,003 career NHL games before concluding his playing career with Munich EHC in Germany’s DEL in 2018-19. He spent more than eight seasons with the Calgary Flames, whose parent company owns the Hitmen. . . . Stajan will work alongside head coach Steve Hamilton, assistant Trent Cassan and goaltending coach Brad Kirkwood. . . .
Steve Young, a former WHL player and coach, will spend this season as an assistant coach with the Prince Albert Northern Bears, a female U-18 AAA team. Young, 52, was on the Prince Albert Raiders’ coaching staff for five seasons (2008-13). As a player, he split 200 regular-season games over four seasons (1986-90) between the Calgary Wranglers, Lethbridge Hurricanes, New Westminster Bruins, Moose Jaw Warriors, Prince Albert and Portland Winterhawks.
Kings. . . . The Raiders (20-1-0) became the first CHL team to 20 victories this season as they ran their winning streak to 13 games. . . . Brandon (10-5-6) had points in each of its previous three games (2-0-1). . . . Scott has four shutouts this season and seven in his career. He didn’t put up a shutout in 50 appearances last season. He made his 18th appearance of this season last night. He now is 17-1-0, 1.39, .950. . . . The Raiders took control in the first period with a pair of PP goals. F Sean Montgomery started it at 9:34 and F Carson Miller (8) made it 2-0 at 15:44. . . . Montgomery added his second goal, and 11th of the season, on a PP in the third period. . . . D Sergei Sapego had three assists, and F Brett Leason ran his point streak to 21 games with his 19th goal and an assist. . . . The Raiders were 3-8 on the PP and got another shorthanded goal. Prince Albert has scored 22 PP goals, while surrendering one shorthanded score. At the same time, it has struck for 12 shorthanded goals while giving up just seven PP goals. . . . Brandon D Braden Schneider left in the first period and didn’t return.
(12-8-0) has lost two straight. The Americans went 7-4-0 on an 11-game road trip. They finished 2-4-0 in the East Division. . . . Tri-City, which last played at home on Oct. 19, is scheduled to entertain the Kamloops Blazers on Friday. . . . D Dom Schmiemann (1) pulled the Americans into a 2-2 tie at 9:53 of the second period, and F Parker AuCoin (12) gave the visitors the lead at 10:13 of the third. . . . F Eric Florchuk got the Blades into a 3-3 tie at 13:53. . . . D Randen Schmidt’s first WHL goal, at 15:32, turned into the winner, and Florchuk added insurance with his seventh goal at 17:34. . . . Schmidt, a 18-year-old from Regina, had seven assists in 36 games with the Blades last season. This season, he has one goal and one assists in 17 games. . . . The Blades got a goal and three assists from F Kirby Dach. The second-overall pick in the 2016 bantam draft now has 13 goals and 26 assists in 23 games. He finished last season with seven goals and 39 assists in 52 games. . . . G Nolan Maier stopped 29 shots for Saskatoon. . . . Tri-City Beck Warm blocked 35 shots in his 13th straight start.
Current and beat the Broncos, 2-0. . . . Medicine Hat (10-11-3) had lost is previous five games (0-4-1). . . . The Tigers went 1-3-0 in playing four road games in five nights. . . . Swift Current (3-18-2) has lost five straight (0-4-1) and has been blanked in three of its last four outings. . . . Søgaard blocked 48 shots. . . . F Ryan Chyzowski scored both goals, at 8:34 and 13:47 of the first period. He’s got nine goals.
victory over the Oil Kings in Edmonton. . . . Kelowna (9-13-1) had lost its previous four games (0-3-1). . . . The Rockets went 2-3-1 on a six-game road trip. . . . The Oil Kings (13-8-3) had points in each of their previous 10 games (8-0-2). . . . F David Kope (4) gave the home boys a 1-0 lead at 9:11 of the first period. . . . The Rockets scored the next three goals, with F Liam Kindree (4) equalizing on a PP at 11:53. Foote, who has 13 goals, counted at 10:06 and 10:38 of the second period. . . . F Leif Mattson had three assists for Kelowna. . . . The Oil Kings held a 27-13 edge in shots. Kelowna had two, seven and four shots, by period. . . . F Zach Russell, a 19-year-old from Calgary, made his Edmonton debut. Russell played one game with the Brandon Wheat Kings last season, but spent most of it with the AJHL’s Calgary Canucks, putting up 16 goals and 20 assists in 43 games. In 2016-17, he had three goals and two assists in 40 games with Brandon.
Kootenay Ice, 5-4. . . . The Rebels (15-5-1) have won four in a row. . . . The Ice (7-13-4) has lost two in a row (0-1-1). . . . Johnson, who has 13 goals, scored Red Deer’s last three goals. He broke a 2-2 tie, on a PP, at 13:21 of the second period. . . . F Connor McLennon (4) pulled the Ice back into a tie with his second goal of the game, at 16:07. He also had an assist. . . . Johnson gave Red Deer a 4-3 lead with a shorthanded score at 2:25 of the third. . . . Kootenay D Jonathan Smart (3) tied it, again, on a PP, at 3:40. . . . Johnson won it on another PP, at 2:50 of OT. . . . Red Deer was 3-4 on the PP; Kootenay was 1-2. . . . F Brandon Hagel drew four assists for the Rebels. He now has 14 goals and 23 assists in 37 games. The four-point game also put him over a point a game for his career. In 213 regular-season games, he now has 214 points. . . . F Owen Pederson scored the game’s first goal, giving the Ice a 1-0 lead at 5:01 of the first period. Pederson, 16, was brought in earlier in the day from the OHA-Edmonton prep team. This was his seventh game of the season with the Ice; the goal was his first point.
the Cougars in Prince George. . . . Kamloops (7-9-2) had lost its previous four games (0-3-1). . . . Prince George (9-9-3) had won two in a row. . . . The Blazers held a 36-14 edge in shots, giving up only four, four and six by period. . . . Kamloops was 3-7 on the PP. . . . F Jermaine Loewen scored twice for the Blazers, giving them 2-0 and 3-0 leads. He’s got eight goals. . . . F Zane Franklin got his 13th goal fro Kamloops. . . . F Mike MacLean (2) scored for the Cougars at 16:25 of the third period. . . . Kamloops won 39 of the game’s 59 faceoffs.
previous seven games (0-6-1). . . . Portland had points in each of its previous seven games (6-0-1). . . . F Jake Gricius, with his first of two goals, and D Clay Hanus (2) put Portland ahead before the game was eight minutes old. . . . Seattle tied it before the first period ended, as F Jared Davidson got his first WHL goal and F Samuel Huo scored his third of the season. . . . Seattle F Matthew Wedman put his guys out front, 4-2, with goals at 5:10 and 5:47 of the second period. . . . F Andrej Kukuca (5) made it 5-2 at 4:08 of the third and the writing was on the wall. . . . Gricius got the game’s last goal, his 12th, on a PP, at 19:26. . . . Wedman also had an assist for a three-point night, while teammate Nolan Volcan had three assists. . . . Seattle G Liam Hughes was busy, with 51 saves, 21 more than Portland’s Dante Giannuzzi. . . . Portland D Brendan De Jong was scratched after leaving Friday’s 5-2 victory over the visiting Everett Silvertips in the first period. De Jong went down, needed help getting off the ice and didn’t return. Mike Johnston, the Winterhawks’ GM/head coach, told Joshua Critzer of 
Chiefs in Spokane. . . . Calgary (8-12-2) has won three straight. . . . Spokane (11-8-3) had won its previous three games. . . . Kastelic gave the Hitmen a 2-0 lead with a pair of PP goals, at 14:26 of the first period and 5:20 of the second. . . . Freshman F Adam Beckman (10) scored a PP goal for the Chiefs at 17:15. . . . Kastelic got that one back as he completed his first WHL hat trick at 19:36. . . . Kastelic, 19, has 19 goals and 11 assists in 22 games. Last season, he finished with 23 goals and 22 assists in 71 games. . . . F Riley Stotts (4, 5) had Calgary’s other two goals. . . . F James Malm had three assists. He’s got two goals and seven assists in seven games since Calgary acquired him from the Vancouver Giants. On the season, he has 11 goals and 13 assists in 20 games. . . . G Carl Stankowski stopped 33 shots for the Hitmen.
victory over the visiting Regina Pats. . . . Victoria improved to 11-6-0. . . . Regina (7-15-0) has lost three in a row. The Pats are (0-2-0) on a seven-game road trip. They won’t play at home again until Dec. 1. . . . F Jake Leschyshyn (15) gave Regina a 1-0 lead at 12:57 of the first period. . . . Victoria tied it when F Kaid Oliver (13) scored, on a PP, at 17:19. . . . Sidaway, a 19-year-old from Victoria, won it at 17:15 of the third period with his second goal of the season. . . . G Griffen Outhouse stopped 17 shots to earn the victory over Max Paddock, who blocked 25. . . . The Royals continue to be without D Ralph Jarratt and F Dante Hannoun.
6-5 victory over the Vancouver Giants. . . . Everett (16-7-0) leads the U.S. Division. . . . Vancouver (14-5-2) leads the B.C. Division. . . . D Jake Christiansen (6) gave Everett a 4-1 lead, on a PP, at 18:56 of the second period and this one appeared close to being over. . . . D Matt Barberis (1) scored for Vancouver, on a PP, at 10:04 of the third period, but Everett F Sean Richards (6) got that one back at 12:50. . . . F Jared Dmytriw (4), on a PP, and F Davis Koch (5) pulled the Giants to within a goal, before Dewar scored his 18th goal into an empty net at 18:03. . . . The empty-netter turned into the winner when Giants F Dawson Holt (4) scored at 18:49. . . . D Artyom Minulin had three assists for Everett. . . . Vancouver got three assists from F Milos Roman, with Dmytriw adding two assists to his goal.
the Ed Chynoweth Cup, beating the host Swift Current Broncos, 2-1, on Friday night. . . . Everett F Connor Dewar (10) broke a 1-1 tie at 1:49 of the third period. . . . F Patrick Bajkov (14) gave the visitors a 1-0 lead, on a PP, at 14:43 of the first period. . . . The Broncos tied it at 11:26 of the second period on a goal by F Aleksi Heponiemi (4). . . . F Garrett Pilon had two assists for the winners, who got 34 saves from G Carter Hart. . . . G Stuart Skinner blocked 23 shots for Swift Current. . . . The referees were Chris Crich and Steve Papp. . . . The Broncos took three of the game’s five minors. . . . Everett was 1-2 on the PP; Swift Current was 0-1. . . . Announced attendance: 2,890. . . . They’ll play Game 2 in Swift Current tonight (Saturday). . . . Everett now is 8-0 on the road in these playoffs.
victory over the host Spruce Grove Saints, the AJHL champions, on Friday night. . . . The Wild won the best-of-seven Doyle Cup series, 4-1, and now advance to the Royal Bank Cup that opens in Chilliwack on May 12. . . . F Logan Ganie’s second goal of the game, at 1:00 of the second period, pulled the Saints into a 2-2 tie. . . . Wild F August Von Ungern broke the tie at 1:57 and the Wild never looked back. . . . Wenatchee will be the second U.S.-based team to play in the Royal Bank Cup; the Minnesota Wilderness of the Superior International Junior Hockey League got there in 2013.
and took a 2-1 victory over the SJHL-champion Hawks on Friday night. . . . The Pistons hold a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series for the ANAVET Cup and a berth in the Royal Bank Cup. . . . The teams now head back to Steinbach for Game 6 on Monday and, if needed, Game 7 on Tuesday. . . . Last night, F Brandan Arnold gave the Hawks a 1-0 lead at 17:05 of the first period. That was his sixth goal — and 11th point — of the series. . . . The Pistons pulled even on F Drew Worrad’s goal at 3:58 of the third period. . . . F Jack Johnson broke the tie at 12:22 with his first goal of the series. . . . Steinbach G Matthew Thiessen stopped 24 shots, while Nipawin’s Declan Hobbs turned aside 34.
TAKING NOTE 