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Columnist Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post, on the cheating mess in MLB:
“This scandal is a perfect illustration of why cheating in professional sports is so bad. It ruins everything. There is no way to fix the damage. And that scar across a sport’s visage is permanent, as with the World Series 101 years ago that is still known by just two words: Black Sox.
“That is why it is so important to make every effort to catch cheaters and crush those who get caught with penalties that get the attention of the next person who is tempted to do the same. We never seem to understand the true weight of the phrase ‘integrity of the game’ until some team or player tries to rip it to shreds to win.”
Boswell’s complete column is right here.
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The person who came up with the idea to feature Cam Hope, the president and general manager of the WHL’s Victoria Royals, in a video as he put together a deal with the Moose Jaw Warriors that brought sniper Brayden Tracey to Vancouver Island deserves a raise in pay. . . . If you haven’t seen the video, it’s about six minutes in length and it’s right here. . . . The script writer got a perfect ending, too, as Tracey scored the OT winner in his first game with the Royals. . . . BTW, I have all kinds of time for Hope, who has never shied away from answering any question that I may have asked him.
Psst! Did you hear about the hockey game that wasn’t able to start on time because one of the referees forgot his pants? No, it wasn’t in the WHL. . . . It was a National Ice Hockey League game in the United Kingdom between the Peterborough Phantoms and Telford Tigers. . . . Officials are required to wear black pants with some padding, and referee Richard Belfitt didn’t have his with him. He ended up finding a pair in the arena’s lost-and-found bin and the game started after a 15-minute delay. . . . That story is right here.
Jack Finarelli, aka The Sports Curmudgeon, noted the other day that there was only one winless NCAA Division 1 men’s basketball team at that point of the season — Mississippi Valley State at 0-13. . . . “Twelve of those 13 losses were road games for the Delta Devils,” he wrote. “The NCAA loves to refer to its ‘student-athletes’. Surely those 12 road games enhanced significantly the ‘student’ portion of college life for those ‘student-athletes’. . . . The Delta Devils have since split two games, both on the road, and now are 1-14. Last night, they beat the host Alabama A&M Bulldogs, 72-66. The Bulldogs are 5-10.
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After the Miami Dolphins fired offensive co-ordinator Chad O’Shea, Finarelli confessed: “I could not pick him out of a lineup with the WNBA all-star team.”
Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times reports: “It now has been revealed that New York Mets outfielder Yoenis Cespedes broke an ankle at his Florida ranch last season when he stepped in a hole while trying to elude a wild pig. Or as Mets publicists immediately tried to spin it, he’s been out because of a bad hammy.”
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One more from Perry: “According to a study conducted by four universities in Ireland, the average doctor visit there lasts 14.1 minutes. Or roughly the same as an NFL video replay review.”
While the Battle of Alberta was showing life in Calgary on Saturday night, thanks to the 
Flames’ Matthew Tkachuk and Zack Kassian of the Edmonton Oilers, the Battle of the Okanagan blew up in Kelowna as the Rockets and the Kamloops Blazers brawled their way to the conclusion of what was a 7-2 victory by the visitors, who had won 4-1 at home on Friday. . . . Saturday’s game included battling goaltenders as Kelowna’s Roman Basran and Dylan Garand of the Blazers gave fight fans across the Internet an orgasmic moment.
“The league’s got to take a hard look at how their refs are letting it get out of control,” Kelowna head coach Adam Foote told David Trifunov of the Kelowna Daily Courier. “I talked to a league official before the game. I said, ‘They’ve let three hitting from behinds go, and they let 23 (Kamloops F Jeremy Appelt) board a guy.’ They call the right call there to control the game . . . Our guys, I never promote that stuff, but I think they just got fed up.”
The Rockets were upset about a hit by Appelt on F Liam Kindree at 12:49 of the second period.
Trifunov added: “The coach said he thought that precipitated much of the shenanigans at 
the end of the game. But he also said after Kelowna’s Pavel Novak was suspended eight games for a check-from-behind on the Blazers’ Kyrell Sopotyk on Nov. 11, the Rockets have watched numerous similar calls go nearly unpunished.”
There are a few other WHL teams, like maybe 21 of them, who will be slapping foreheads and chuckling from behind hands over a Rockets coach complaining about the officiating. After all, everyone knows that the Rockets get all the officiating breaks because their owner, governor, president and general manager, Bruce Hamilton, rules the roost.
Right?
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When Basran and Garand tumbled to the ice as their scrap neared its end, the Kelowna goaltender said something to his Kamloops counterpart and the two quickly separated and got to their feet. Basran, though, was favouring his right arm/shoulder as he skated away. . . . Basran is the Rockets’ No. 1 goaltender, having played in 33 games (1,816 minutes) to Cole Schwebius’s 13 (652 minutes). . . . If Basran is injured, remember that the fight took place slightly more than 24 hours after the passing of the WHL’s trade deadline. And remember that the Rockets are the host team for the 2020 Memorial Cup that is four months down the road.
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BTW . . . In the end, the goofiness resulted in one suspension — Kelowna D Kaedan Korczak got three games — and fines totalling $4,500, with the Rockets dinged for $3,000 of that. . . . Steve Ewen of Postmedia pointed out via Twitter that there were “18 fighting majors in the Kamloops-Kelowna game on Saturday night. That’s more fighting majors than all but five teams have incurred this season in the WHL.” . . . Kamloops has won seven of eight meetings with Kelowna this season, having outscored the Rockets 33-14 in the process. They will conclude the season series on March 13 (at Kamloops) and 14 (at Kelowna).
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Meanwhile, in Calgary, there seemed to be a whole lot of consternation from various 
corners because Tkachuk refused to fight Kassian when challenged in the third period of what was then a 3-3 game. Those who are up in arms seem to be forgetting one thing — Why do you play the game? As then-New York Jets head coach Herm Edwards so famously explained more than 17 years ago: “You play to win the game.” . . . Well, Kassian ended up in the penalty box and the Flames, with Tkachuk screening in front of the Edmonton net, scored on the power play as they went on to a 4-3 victory. . . . On Monday, Kassian was hit with a two-game suspension. . . . Gotta think Tkachuk won the night. . . . With the all-star break approaching, Kassian will be eligible to return on Jan. 29 when — you guessed it! — the Flames are scheduled to play in Edmonton.
Paul Stewart, a former NHL referee who was a tough cookie as a WHL/NHL player, has his take on Tkachuk vs. Kassian right here.
The AJHL’s Olds Grizzlys announced on Monday that Joe Murphy, their general manager and head coach, had resigned, effective immediately. . . . Pete deGraaf was named interim head coach. . . . The Grizzlys are 9-17-5 and in sixth place in the seven-team South Division. . . . Murphy, a former Olds player, was in his second season as head coach, his first as GM. . . . DeGraaf is in his third season with Olds.
JUST NOTES: Why do I get the feeling that Houston’s American League time will be known as the Asterisks for the next while? . . . And it would seem that the Boston Red Sox and manager Alex Cora are next up at MLB’s Cheaters’ Waltz. . . . When MLB lowers the boom on the Red Sox, the New York tabloids — the Post and Daily News — should be worth a look. . . . Are the drivers who don’t clean the snow off their vehicles — especially the windows — before leaving home/work the same people who don’t use their turn-signals? . . . All things considered, Boston play-by-play fan Jack Edwards was rather restrained as Bruins F Brad Marchand muffed that shootout attempt last night. Could it be that Edwards simply was in a state of shock? . . . Why do journalists continue to write/report that a team or person has “punched their ticket” to an event? For example, The Canadian men’s volleyball team didn’t punch a ticket to anywhere on Sunday; rather, it qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Summer Games.
April 24. The tournament is to be held in Ostrava and Trinec, Czech Republic, opening on Dec. 26 and concluding on Jan. 5. . . . Ticket prices for the gold-medal game will start at €17.50 — on Friday, Cdn$1 equalled 0.66 Euro; it also equalled 17.07 Czech Koruna. . . . Games will be played in the Ostravar Arena, which has a capacity of 7,800, and the Week Arena in Trinec, with a capacity of 4,200. . . . Ticket prices are the same in both facilities. . . .
selection camp next week prior to the 2019 IIHF U18 World Championship. . . . That tournament will be held in Örnsköldsvik and Umeå, Sweden, from April 18 through April 28. . . . The 23 Canadian players will gather in Kisakallio, Finland, next week for a training camp prior to two pre-tournament games. The camp will run from Monday through Friday, with exhibition games set for April 14 (Belarus, in Umeå) and April 15 (Russia, in Örnsköldsvik). . . . 
to its U-17 team on Friday. These players, all born in 2003, are expected to join USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program and compete as the national U-17 team. The NTDP is a two-year residency program based in Plymouth, Mich. . . . The roster includes two players whose WHL rights belong to the Portland Winterhawks, and one who was drafted by the Prince George Cougars. . . . D Ty Murchison of Corona, Calif., played for the Los Angeles Jr. Kings U-16 team. The Winterhawks selected him in the third round of the WHL’s 2018 bantam draft. He hasn’t signed with them, nor has he made an NCAA commitment. F Chaz Lucius of Grant, Minn., has committed to the U of Minnesota for 2021-22. The Winterhawks selected him in the fourth round of the 2018 bantam draft. This season, Lucius had 39 goals and 23 assists in 13 games with the U-15 team at Gentry Academy in St. Paul, Minn. . . . Prince George selected D Aidan Hreschuk of Long Beach, Calif., in the fifth round of the 2018 bantam draft. He also played for the U16 Los Angeles Jr. Kings. Hreschuk has committed to Boston College for 2021-22. . . . 
early going as the Raiders beat the visiting Saskatoon Blades in Game 1 of their second-round series. . . . They’ll play Game 2 in Prince Albert on Sunday, then head to Saskatoon for games on Tuesday and Wednesday. . . . Montgomery and Leason were in on the Raiders’ first three goals. Montgomery scoring twice, with Leason getting a goal and two helpers. Montgomery later completed his first career WHL hat trick. . . . Montgomery (2) gave the home boys a 1-0 lead at 3:47 of the first period. . . . Saskatoon F Chase Wouters (2) tied it at 5:24. . . . Leason (3) broke the tie at 12:07, and Montgomery (3) upped the lead to 3-1 at 11:39 of the second period. . . . The Raiders went ahead 4-1 when F Parker Kelly (2) scored at 17:42. . . . Montgomery (4) completed his hat trick at 5:51 of the third period, on a PP. . . . Montgomery’s first hat trick came in his 362nd career game — 345 in the regular season and 17 playoff games. . . . It also was Prince Albert’s first three-goal playoff game since F Milan Kraft did it on March 30, 2000. On that night, Kraft scored the game’s last three goals, two of them via the PP, as the Raiders won, 3-2, in Swift Current. F Layne Ulmer had both Swift Current goals. That was Game 1 in a first-round series that the Broncos won, 4-2. . . . Kelly (3) gave the Raiders a 6-1 lead on a PP at 13:40, with Leason earning his third assist, and fourth point, of the night. . . . The Raiders were 2-6 on the PP; the Blades were 0-2. . . . G Ian Scott stopped 23 shots for Prince Albert. He is 5-0, 1.60, .925 in these playoffs. . . . Saskatoon G Nolan Maier was beaten five times on 36 shots in 47:04. Koen MacInnes came on in relief to make his WHL debut with the Blades trailing, 5-1. He gave up one goal on three shots. . . . G Dorrin Luding (undisclosed) was among Saskatoon’s scratches. MacInnes, 17, was dressed as Maier’s backup. MacInnes, from Burnaby, B.C., was a second-round pick in the 2017 bantam draft. He played this season for the Burnaby Winter Club’s prep team.
the Victoria Royals in Langley, B.C. . . . They’ll play Game 2 tonight in Langley. . . . Games 3 and 4 are scheduled for Victoria on Tuesday and Thursday. . . . F Davis Koch (2) gave the Giants a 1-0 lead at 13:44 of the first period, on a PP. . . . Koch, who had a goal and nine assists in the first round, now leads the WHL’s playoff points race, with 11. . . . The Giants went ahead 2-0 at 5:50 of the third period as F Jared Dmytriw (2) scored. . . . F Dawson Holt (2) made it 3-0 with an empty-netter at 18:12. . . . Dmytriw also had an assist, while D Bowen Byram had two. . . . Vancouver was 1-3 on the PP; Victoria was 0-3. . . . Miner, who turned 18 on Feb. 5, was 24-5-2, 1.98, .924, with three shutouts, in the regular season. In the playoffs, he is 3-1, 1.51, .938 as he shares time with David Tendeck. . . . The Royals got 25 saves from G Griffen Outhouse. . . . Vancouver F Justin Sourdif played for the first time since he was injured late in Game 1 of a first-round series with the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . As expected, the Giants scratched F Aidan Barfoot. He was injured in Game 4 against Seattle. . . . F Kody McDonald (suspended) and F Kade Oliver (shoulder) were among Victoria’s scratches. Oliver’s season is over.
added F Lucas Cullen, 19, to their roster. . . . Cullen spent the season with the BCHL’s West Kelowna Warriors, putting up 50 points, including 26 goals, in 49 regular-season games, then adding seven goals and three assists in seven playoff games. . . . Cullen is from Kelowna. The Calgary Hitmen selected him in the fifth round of the WHL’s 2014 bantam draft. He played 48 games with them over three seasons, scoring four times and adding five assists.
be renewing Steve Mullin’s contract. Mullin spent six seasons as an assistant coach with the Flyers, then took over as head coach prior to this season when Ken Pearson stepped aside to focus on his general manager’s duties. The Flyers and Pearson parted company on Feb. 19, he since has been named GM and head coach of the MJHL’s Neepawa Natives. . . . This season, the Flyers finished 23-32-5 and missed the playoffs for the first time since the spring of 1981. . . . Jeff Jeanson has taken over the general manager’s duties.
over the Wheat Kings in Brandon. . . . Moose Jaw (38-20-8) will finish third in the East Division and meet the Saskatoon Blades in a first-round series. . . . Brandon (30-28-8) has lost four in a row. It is four points from a playoff spot with only two games remaining. . . . Moose Jaw won the season series, 5-3-1; Brandon was 4-4-1. . . . Moose Jaw went ahead 3-0 on first-period goals from F Yegor Buyalski (6), at 3:46; F Brayden Tracey (36), at 12:56; and F Tristin Langan (51), on a PP, at 14:30. . . . The Wheat Kings got to within a goal as F Stelio Mattheos (44) scored, at 14:54 of the first period, and F Caiden Daley (9) counted at 1:41 of the third. . . . The Warriors put it away with the game’s last three goals, the final two into an empty net. . . . F Daemon Hunt (6), who is from Brandon, added insurance at 5:53. . . . D Dalton Hamaliuk and F Cameron Sterling (1) got the empty-netters. . . . Moose Jaw got 29 saves from G Adam Evanoff. . . . G Jiri Patera stopped 25 shots for Brandon. . . . Tracey was unsuccessful on a first-period penalty shot with his guys ahead, 2-0.
7-4 victory over the visiting Red Deer Rebels. . . . Medicine Hat (34-26-6) has won two in a row and has clinched a wild-card playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. . . . Red Deer (33-27-6) has lost two straight. It holds down the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot, two points behind Medicine Hat and four ahead of Brandon, which has two games remaining. . . . Medicine Hat won the season series, 6-0-0. . . . F Jeff de Wit (17) gave the visitors a 1-0 lead, on a PP, at 7:48 of the first period, only to have F James Hamblin (33) tie it at 8:04. . . . F Zak Smith (13) put Red Deer back out front 57 seconds into the second period. . . . The Tigers took control with the next three goals, in a span of 3:29, from F Ryan Chyzowski, at 3:19, and two from Kemp, on a PP at 4:20 and at 6:48. . . . F Josh Tarzwell (11) got the Rebels to within a goal at 11:35. . . . Chyzowski (26) restored the two-goal lead, on a PP, at 12:59, and Kemp (31) completed his first career WHL hat trick at 7:26 of the third period. . . . F Brandon Hagel (41), who also had two assists, got Red Deer’s fourth goal, at 9:03. . . . F Logan Christenssen (7) finished Medicine Hat’s scoring at 13:07. . . . Hamblin and Chyzowski added two assists apiece. . . . Medicine Hat F Elijah Brown, who was injured in a Feb. 28 practice, was back in the lineup. . . . Red Deer F Alex Morozov sat out as he completed a two-game suspension. . . . The Rebels, of course, are without D Alex Alexeyev (knee). . . . Medicine Hat scratched F Bryan Lockner (ill).
victory over the Tri-City Americans in Kennewick, Wash. . . . Seattle (29-29-8) has clinched the Western Conference’s second wild-card berth, meaning all five U.S. Division teams will be in the playoffs for a second straight season. The Thunderbirds will play the conference’s top seed, either the Vancouver Giants or Everett Silvertips, in the first round. Seattle will open that series on the road on March 22. . . . Tri-City (34-26-6) has lost two in a row (0-1-1). It will finish in the conference’s first wild-card spot. . . . Seattle went 4-2-2 in the season series; Tri-City was 4-3-1. . . . The Thunderbirds held a 4-2 lead eight minutes into the third period, then watched as the Americans scored three times to take the lead. . . . Seattle forced OT at 16:04 when F Nolan Volcan completed a hat trick with his 26th goal. . . . F Nolan Yaremko had given the Americans a 1-0 lead 31 seconds into the second period. . . . Yes, the first period was scoreless. . . . Seattle took a 2-1 lead on goals from Volcan, at 3:53, and F Matthew Wedman, on a PP, at 13:09. . . . Tri-City tied it at 15:02 when F Krystof Hrabik got No. 20. . . . Seattle took the 4-2 lead as Wedman (39) scored, on a PP, at 0:28 of the third period, and Volcan counted at 4:59. . . . Tri-City went ahead 5-4 on goals from F Parker AuCoin (41), on a PP, at 8:18; F Sasha Mutala (20), at 9:15; and Yaremko (27), on a PP, at 15:23. . . . The Thunderbirds got four assists from F Henri Rybinski. He’s got seven goals and 24 assists in 31 games since being acquired from the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . Wedman added one assist to his two goals. . . . The Americans got two assists from each of Hrabik and AuCoin, with Yaremko getting one.
OT to give the Spokane Chiefs a 6-5 victory over the Rockets in Kelowna. . . . Spokane (38-21-7) is third in the U.S. Division, three points behind the Portland Winterhawks, each with two games remaining. . . . Spokane will finish home-and-home with the Tri-City Americans, while Portland goes home-and-home with the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . Kelowna (26-32-8) has lost three in a row (0-1-2) and now is only one point ahead of the fourth-place Kamloops Blazers in the B.C. Division, each with two games remaining. . . . The Chiefs went 3-0-1 in the season series; the Rockets finished 1-2-1. . . . Spokane led this one 5-2 with fewer than 10 minutes left in the third period. . . . F Nolan Foote (36) got Kelowna to within two goals at 10:49. . . . The Rockets tied it on goals from D Kaedan Korczak (4), at 17:31, and F Kyle Topping (23), on a PP, at 19:20. . . . The Chiefs got the game’s first goal at 0:12 of the first period when F Jack Finley, who is from Kelowna, scored his ninth goal. . . . Foote tied it at 3:54. . . . Anderson-Dolan, who has 20 goals, gave Spokane a 2-1 lead at 8:39, and F Luke Toporowski (20) added to the lead at 17:26. . . . F Ethan McIndoe (15) made it 4-1 at 3:11 of the second period. . . . F Michael Farren (3) scored for Kelowna at 1:58 of the third, only to have D Nolan Reid (16) reply for the Chiefs at 10:03. . . . Anderson-Dolan now shares the club record for longest goal-scoring streak with F Adam Helewka (2014-15), F Marian Cesar (1997-98), F Brent Gilchrist (1986-87) and F Terry Perkins (1985-86). . . . Korczak added three assists to his goal, while Foote had an assist so finished with three points. . . . F Luc Smith and D Filip Kral were among Spokane’s scratches. . . . The Rockets are without D Lassi Thomson, who is in concussion protocol. He hasn’t played since taking a hit from Kamloops F Jermaine Loewen in the Blazers’ 2-1 shootout victory on home ice on Friday night. . . . Kelowna also was without F Mark Liwiski, as he completed a three-game suspension.
TAKING NOTE 