Tag: Living Kidney Donor Program

Scattershooting on a Sunday night while wondering what to do with the day’s extra hour . . .

Scattershooting

JulieHotel
Julie Dodds soaks up some fresh air and sunshine after being discharged from hospital on Sunday afternoon. (Photo: Allan Dodds)

Julie Dodds of Kamloops, who underwent a kidney transplant on Wednesday, was discharged from St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver on Sunday. . . . She will spend the next few weeks in Vancouver — for now, she’s staying in a hotel close to St. Paul’s — while her medical team monitors her levels through regular bloodwork. . . . Julie, who has a genetic kidney disease, is from Kamloops. The married mother of three young boys received a kidney from a living donor — her younger brother, Jason Brauer of Port McNeill, B.C. . . . After giving up a kidney on Wednesday, Jason was discharged from hospital on Thursday.

If you haven’t listened to this blurb with baseball fan Bob Costas talking about Game 6 of the World Series and MLB’s pace-of-play issue, this is well worth your time.

The book, from Penguin Random House, is to be published on April 6. The title is Call Me Indian: From the Trauma of Residential School to Becoming the NHL’s First Treaty Indigenous Player. . . . The author is Fred Sasakamoose, and if you don’t know who he is, well, Google is your friend. . . . Yes, I eagerly await the arrival of this one.

If you were to take one bite of a hot dog every time you saw a football coach — NCAA or NFL — improperly wearing a facemask you would be as big as the Goodyear Blimp after just one weekend’s viewing.

Here are a couple of hockey chirps left over from the other day when I lifted a few from a Twitter thread started by Jason Gregor of TSN1260 in Edmonton . . .

“Playing junior in PEI and one of the teams had recruited a Newfoundlander who played defence. He got beat 1-on-1 and scored against and while skating past our bench to go off the ice someone said ‘Come by plane, go home by boat.’ ”

“Pushing during faceoff, other guy says, ‘Easy there cheese burger.’ Buddy on my own team was in tears. I was a little portly. Nickname has stuck with me ever since.”

Mess

“At the end of the first half, an all-out physical brawl erupted at midfield between Florida and Missouri football players,” notes Janice Hough, aka the Left Coast Sports Babe. “But, sure, these young men are mature and disciplined enough to play football during a pandemic.”

Disaster

COVID-19 CHRONICLES . . .

MLS postponed one game and cancelled another after more positive tests. . . . Los Angeles FC had three positives so its Sunday night game at San Jose against the Earthquakes was postponed. The league is working to see if it can be rescheduled. . . . Minnesota United had a positive test come up on Wednesday and another one on Saturday. Its game at Sporting Kansas City was cancelled because it wouldn’t have any impact on the playoff picture. . . .

The United Soccer League cancelled its Sunday championship final after what it said were “multiple” positives on the Tampa Bay Rowdies, who were to have played the Phoenix Rising in St. Petersburg, Fla. Head coach Neill Collins was among those who tested positive. . . . The league said it was cancelling the final “for the health and safety of everyone involved.”

“One of the shortest marriages in NFL history was Evelyn Lozada filing for divorce from wideout Chad Johnson after 41 days,” reports RJ Currie over at sportsdeke.com. “Or as football receivers call it — a quick out.”

If you are interested in being a living kidney donor, more information is available here:

Living Kidney Donor Program

St. Paul’s Hospital

6A Providence Building

1081 Burrard Street

Vancouver, BC V6Z 1Y6

Tel: 604-806-9027

Toll free: 1-877-922-9822

Fax: 604-806-9873

Email: donornurse@providencehealth.bc.ca

——

Vancouver General Hospital Living Donor Program – Kidney 

Gordon and Leslie Diamond Health Care Centre

Level 5, 2775 Laurel Street

Vancouver, BC V5Z 1M9

604-875-5182 or 1-855-875-5182

kidneydonornurse@vch.ca

——

Or, for more information, visit right here.

If the West Van Hockey Academy, which had been the home of the Warriors, is to operate again it seems it won’t be until at least 2022-23. The academy had been running its academics out of Sentinel Secondary in West Vancouver, but the school district didn’t renew its contract after last season. The pandemic then got in the way of a possible relocation to Seycove Secondary in North Vancouver. . . . Jane Seyd of the North Shore News has that story right here.

JUST NOTES: Are you ready for Tuesday night and whatever circus that arrives with it? . . . When a team is really poor, like the Dallas Cowboys, there should be a way for the NFL to keep it off TV. . . . The Cowboys didn’t score even one offensive TD in either of their past two games. They are scheduled to play the visiting Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday. The Steelers are 6-0. The Steelers have the NFL’s best defence. . . . The best nickname in sports today belongs to Damon Harrison, aka Snacks, a veteran nose tackle who is on the Seattle Seahawks’ practice roster. How large is Snacks? About 6-foot-3 and 350 lb. . . . The SJHL concluded its exhibition season Sunday and now will open regular-season play on Friday. All games will be played before a maximum of 150 fans.

Puzzle

Julie starts to settle into a kidney recipient’s routine . . . Hoping to be discharged on Sunday . . . A live donor tells her story

JulieMeds
Here’s a look at the anti-rejection meds Julie Dodds took on Thursday night after having a kidney transplant on Wednesday. (Photo: Allan Dodds)

Julie Dodds, a married mother of three young boys who lives in Kamloops, underwent a kidney transplant on Wednesday morning/afternoon at St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver.

She was out of recovery and into her hospital room that night.

JulieIV
Julie Dodds was looking comfortable in her bed at St. Paul’s Hospital on Friday. She is hoping to be discharged on Sunday after having had a kidney transplant on Wednesday. (Photo: Allan Dodds)

Her brother, Jason Brauer of Port McNeill, B.C., was her live donor. He was up and walking to his sister’s room on Thursday morning. Later in the day, Julie and her IV pole wandered down the hallway to visit Jason in his room. And before the day was done, Jason was discharged. Yes, one day after giving up a kidney, he was on his way.

And now Julie is beginning to get a taste of the medication side of life with a new kidney.

On Thursday night, Julie’s husband, Allan, who has accompanied her for this part of her journey, provided a photo that shows the regimen of anti-rejection medication that she is taking for now.

Of course, the new kidney will be a match for Julie, otherwise the surgery wouldn’t have happened. But the kidney still is foreign to her system, so, in brief, the anti-rejection meds work to keep it from being rejected. She will take meds twice a day — 12 hours apart — for the rest of her life.

She also will be going for regular bloodwork as her medical team keeps tabs on various levels, using that knowledge to adjust her medications as necessary. Eventually, a balance will be reached — but the regular bloodwork will continue, although visits to the lab will become less frequent over the years.

As part of getting the various levels where the professionals want them, a transplant recipient often will be given meds via IV. Allan posted on Friday that Julie was hooked up to a potassium phosphate bag.

Still, he wrote, “she’s crushing the peeing.”

And that’s great news!

Julie hopes to be discharged on Sunday, although she knows that she will have to stay in Vancouver for the next couple of months. During that time, she will settle into a routine of visits to the kidney clinic at St. Paul’s as the team there continues to monitor her progress.

What follows is a piece I posted here earlier this year. It was written by Susan Duncan, who was the editor of the late Kamloops Daily News when I started there as the sports editor in the spring of 2000.

It was 16 years later when Susan, by then working for the Interior Health Authority in Kamloops, donated a kidney. This is her story, in her words — and it is really important. So if you haven’t already, please give it a read.

——

I donated a kidney in July 2016. I generally avoid talking about it because people then tell me how brave I was and so on. It’s embarrassing and also a huge exaggeration of my decision.

As well, I worry about encouraging someone else to donate. I don’t want the burden of guilt I will feel if someone does decide to donate a kidney and then has an unhappy experience.

But as I read the appeals by my former colleague Gregg Drinnan on behalf of desperate people searching for live kidney donors, I feel a sense of responsibility to share what it means to be an organ donor.

I realize that the time has come for me to be brave. The chances of having a bad experience are slim and there are so many sick people who need others to step up.

So here is my story. I hope one or some of you will make it yours.

Susan
On Sept. 22, 2017, Susan Duncan found herself on the front page of Kamloops This Week, along with Lloyd Garner.

I donated my left kidney four years ago and I haven’t missed it since. There was no side effect from the surgery, my blood pressure has remained low and my kidney function is normal. One healthy kidney is all this old body ever needed and, various factors aside, it’s probably all yours needs, too.

It was a bit of a fluke that I ended up being a donor. I knew the man’s wife vaguely through work and that she and her husband had three young children. I met her one day in the elevator at work and she told me she was at the hospital because her husband was there for dialysis.

He got sick suddenly in February and a few months later he was spending four hours a day, three days a week in the renal unit at Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops. They also lived two hours out of town so you can imagine what that was doing to their family life.

She introduced me to him and I warmed immediately to his big friendly smile. We chatted briefly about his illness, then we said goodbye. As I walked away, he called out, “Hey, if you know anyone with A positive blood type . . .”

I looked back and said, “I’m A positive . . . maybe I should get tested.” That night I researched live kidney donation and discovered that a person only needs one healthy kidney to live a full life.

The paperwork began, followed by a myriad of tests, including psychological. It turns out it doesn’t take much to be a match for a kidney donation.

At age 59, tests showed that I, an atheist mother of three grown children and two stepchildren, was a match for a 50-year-old man of deep Christian faith and father of three small children.

I went into hospital on a Monday morning and was out of surgery by noon. My husband was barely on the ninth tee when he got the call that all went well.

My former kidney got a good flushing out and was put in her new home later that afternoon. I’m told — and I’m proud of this — that she started pumping out urine before the surgeons even finished sewing her in place.

I stayed two nights in a little room at St. Paul’s Hospital, just down the hall from my match. I left the hospital at noon on Wednesday, walking slowly and feeling very tired.

Spare no tears for me though. The heroes are the patients who get the kidneys — they endure far more. But in the end, they not only stay alive, they live joyously, unencumbered by dialysis machines either at home or in the hospital.

I spent two more days in Vancouver at relatives. I took a few Tramadol (pain killers). Friday morning, my husband and I drove home to Kamloops. On Saturday afternoon, we went to a beautiful outdoor wedding and reception.

I felt really poorly once about a week after my surgery. But by the next day, I felt great and never looked back. The second Monday after surgery, I returned to work. Granted, it’s a desk job, no physical labour required aside from typing into a keyboard. If I had any other kind of a job, I likely would have been off for a month.

I also was back running long distance by September with no change in my energy.

As for scars, if you look really closely, there are two tiny scars on my left side and about a three-inch line well below my navel. If I had my shape from the 1980s, I could easily wear a bikini and no one would be the wiser.

I would like to say it’s because I’m tough, but I’ve read stories by other people who have donated kidneys and my recovery does not appear unique.

So should you donate a kidney? You should at least consider it. If you are a person who spends a lot of time worrying about your health, even though you are healthy, you probably shouldn’t. You will fixate on potential problems and experience stress you don’t need.

But if you are a healthy person who has always had normal blood pressure and you want improve a fellow human being’s life — maybe even save it — the information about live donation is right at your fingertips.

When I do think about my left kidney, I get a warm feeling that I was able to help a family. It makes me smile at times when I am feeling low.

My match regularly sends me a text to thank me. He calls me his angel. His kids wrote letters of thanks. Those are lovely gestures and I am always happy to hear he is doing well.

However, If I had never heard from him again, if he never once said thank you, if he ended up being a person who abused his body because of the disease of addiction, it would not have made me regret my decision.

I gave him a kidney and that’s that. The kidney was his. The decision to donate was mine and I had no expectation or desire for gratitude.

Some people are not able to say thank you for reasons of their own. They don’t make contact and that leaves some donors angry or hurt and second-guessing their decision.

Don’t donate if you expect thanks. Do it because it’s the right thing to do. You have a vital organ that you don’t need and someone else does.

It’s common sense.

If you are interested in being a living kidney donor, more information is available here:

Living Kidney Donor Program

St. Paul’s Hospital

6A Providence Building

1081 Burrard Street

Vancouver, BC V6Z 1Y6

Tel: 604-806-9027

Toll free: 1-877-922-9822

Fax: 604-806-9873

Email: donornurse@providencehealth.bc.ca

——

Vancouver General Hospital Living Donor Program – Kidney 

Gordon and Leslie Diamond Health Care Centre

Level 5, 2775 Laurel Street

Vancouver, BC V5Z 1M9

604-875-5182 or 1-855-875-5182

kidneydonornurse@vch.ca

——

Or, for more information, visit right here.

Julie Dodds: It’s amazing how much better some things feel already . . . Hockey Canada issues invitations . . . AJHL two weeks from season’s start

JulieFirstNight
Julie Dodds was out of recovery and in her own room on Wednesday night.

How’s Julie?

Just fine, she says.

Julie Dodds of Kamloops, who has a genetic kidney disease, received a kidney during a transplant at St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver on Wednesday. The live donor was her younger brother, Jason Brauer, who is from Port McNeill, B.C.

Jason was strolling the hallways on Thursday morning and popped in to visit Julie in her room.

Julie reported that they both were “tired and sore but in good spirits, and honestly it’s amazing how much better some things feel already. Definitely a noticeable difference for me.” She closed her Facebook post with #mylittlebrotheristhebest.

Later in the day, Julie, who was accompanied to Vancouver by her husband, Allan, made the trek to Jason’s room for a visit.

All photos are from Julie and Allan.

JasonVisits
Julie Dodds was on the receiving end of a visit from her brother, Jason, on Thursday.
JulieWalks
Later Thursday, Julie went for a walk down the hallway to visit her brother Jason.

The Canadian national junior team will hold its selection camp in Red Deer starting on Nov. 16 and running through Dec. 13. Hockey Canada announced the Canadanames of the 46 players invited to the camp on Thursday, then later added F Kirby Dach of the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks for a total of 47. . . . F Alexis Lafreniere of the NHL’s New York Rangers may yet be added to the roster, too. . . . The selection camp will be closed to the media and public. . . . Hockey Canada hopes to arrange six exhibition games — two each against the U of Alberta, U of Calgary and Mount Royal. Reid Wilkins of 630 CHED in Edmonton reported that Alberta will play Team Canada on Nov. 28 and 29, with the other four games on the first two weekends of December. . . . Chelsea Stewart, one of Hockey Canada’s national team co-ordinators, said players and staff will be tested three days before arriving in Red Deer and every three or four days while in the camp. . . . The 2020 World Junior Championship is to be played in an Edmonton bubble, from Dec. 25 through Jan. 5. Canada’s first game is scheduled for Dec. 26 against Germany. . . . All pre-tournament games (10 of them) and all 28 tournament games will be televised by TSN and RDS. . . . Hockey Canada’s news release from Thursday is right here. . . . The selection camp roster is right here.

The eight QMJHL teams that are based in what the provincial government has qmjhlnewtermed “red zones” didn’t get permission to return to play on Thursday. The league announced that government officials haven’t provided authorization for a resumption of activities. . . . The Blainville-Boisbriand Armada, Chicoutimi Sagueneens, Drummondville Voltigeurs, Gatineau Olympiques, Quebec Remparts, Sherbrooke Phoenix, Shawinigan Cataractes and Victoriaville Tigres all remain in a holding pattern. . . . The other four Quebec-based teams — the Baie-Comeau Drakkar, Rimouski Oceanic, Rouyn-Noranda Huskies and Val-d’Or Foreurs — will return to play this weekend. The six Maritimes teams also will be in action. . . . The QMJHL has said that it will reassess its schedule next week, and also is looking into options involving a bubble for the red zone teams.

COVID-19 CHRONICLES . . .

Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence, who is likely to be the first selection in the NFL’s 2021 draft, has tested positive. Dabo Swinney, the head coach of the No. 1-ranked Tigers, made the announcement on Thursday with Lawrence’s permission. . . . Lawrence, who according to ACC rules has to isolate for 10 days, won’t play Saturday against visiting Boston College, but could play a week later at Notre Dame. . . . He tested positive on Wednesday, which is when his isolation began. . . .

Former NFLer Desmond Howard, a regular on ESPN’s College Game Day, has tested positive. He tweeted on Thursday that he is “doing okay, but will be doing the show from home this Saturday.” . . .

The Alberta Junior Hockey League announced Thursday that it will begin ajhlplaying regular-season games on Nov. 13. From a news release: “Teams will play within a divisional format composed of a South Division and a North Division. A decision on the annual AJHL Showcase, season-end date, and playoff format will be announced at a later date. . . . Arena capacity limits, social-distancing protocols within the facility, and the ticket sales process will be dictated by the regulations within each community and the respective team. No league passes will be accepted for entry, including all AJHL and CJHL accreditation, until facility capacity limits are significantly increased.” . . .

The six-team Alberta-based Ranchland Hockey League has cancelled its 2020-21 season. The league features senior men’s teams in the Alberta communities of Fort Macleod, Standoff, Lethbridge, Nanton, Brocket and Siksika. . . .

If you are interested in being a living kidney donor, more information is available here:

Living Kidney Donor Program

St. Paul’s Hospital

6A Providence Building

1081 Burrard Street

Vancouver, BC V6Z 1Y6

Tel: 604-806-9027

Toll free: 1-877-922-9822

Fax: 604-806-9873

Email: donornurse@providencehealth.bc.ca

——

Vancouver General Hospital Living Donor Program – Kidney 

Gordon and Leslie Diamond Health Care Centre

Level 5, 2775 Laurel Street

Vancouver, BC V5Z 1M9

604-875-5182 or 1-855-875-5182

kidneydonornurse@vch.ca

——

Or, for more information, visit right here.

OHL now looking at Feb. 4 start to 40-game season . . . Still lots of unanswered questions . . . World Series aftermath mostly about Turner

OK . . . let’s recap the major junior hockey season to this point:

The QMJHL began its regular season on Oct. 1, but, frankly, things have been a bit messy. As of right now, its 12 Quebec-based teams are in a holding pattern, although four of them are expected to return to play this weekend. . . . Three teams have experienced positive tests. . . . It has three teams with eight games played and three that have played two apiece. . . . The Shawinigan Cataractes have moved their players into a dormitory. . . .

Meanwhile, the WHL has targeted Jan. 8 as the opening date for its next regular season. It has said that players will report to their teams after Christmas for short training camps. . . . Last week, the WHL decided to allow its players to transfer to junior A, junior B and U-18 teams. A number of WHL players have taken advantage of that, especially in joining junior A teams. . . . But there remain about a zillion unanswered questions and Jan. 8 is just over two months away. . . .

On Wednesday, the OHL announced that it will open training camps on Jan. 23 with its regular season — each team is to play 40 games — to begin on Feb. 4 and end on May 16. . . . Earlier, the OHL had said it was aiming to begin play on Dec. 1. . . . The OHL said its teams will bring in American and European players starting Jan. 8 and that they will quarantine. . . . Eight teams, four from each of its two conferences, will qualify for the playoffs. . . . The OHL has three American teams, but nothing has been decided on their immediate futures. . . . Jeff Marek of Sportsnet tweeted that the OHL has had “NO discussion about the contact issue. Teams assume that’s not going to happen.” He also tweeted that there wasn’t any “discussion about fans . . . but that’s not a surprise at this point.” . . . If all goes according to plan, the Memorial Cup will open on June 17 and run through June 27. . . . Again, there are a zillion questions that will have to be answered, in whole or in part, between now and February. Yes, February.

charliebrown

With the World Series having ended on Tuesday night, we should be absorbing all that came before the last out of Game 6. We should be saluting the Los WorldSeriesAngeles Dodgers as a truly great team, one that had a dominating 60-game regular season and was on pace to win 116 games had they played a ‘normal’ 162-game season. We should be celebrating a Dodgers team that won seven of its last nine playoff games to win that World Series. Instead, well, it’s not about that at all.

Having been notified that Dodgers 3B Justin Turner had tested positive, MLB was able to get him out of the lineup during Game 6. But it somehow wasn’t able to him off the field during post-game celebrations.

On Wednesday, MLB announced it has launched an investigation into Turner’s post-game behaviour.

MLB ordered the Dodgers to remove Turner from the game, and he didn’t take the field for the top of the eighth inning. According to MLB, Turner “was placed into isolation for the safety of those around him.

“However, following the Dodgers’ victory, it is clear that Turner chose to disregard the agreed-upon joint protocols and the instructions he was given regarding the safety and protection of others. While a desire to celebrate is understandable, Turner’s decision to leave isolation and enter the field was wrong and put everyone he came in contact with at risk. When MLB Security raised the matter of being on the field with Turner, he emphatically refused to comply.”

——

Meanwhile, here’s a handful of takes from a few writers of note . . .

Stephanie Apstein of Sports Illustrated: “In a season nearly derailed by risky behavior, this was the most irresponsible moment yet. The league has protocols restricting behavior by people who have contracted the virus. ‘Any Covered Individual who tests positive for COVID-19 must immediately wear a face covering (and) isolate from all people,’ the operations manual states. But on Tuesday, the scientists in baseball pants were allowed to make public-health policy based on what seemed most fun.” . . . Her piece is right here.

——

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic: “Maybe little will come of Turner’s post-game behavior. Maybe he will recover from COVID-19 with minimal difficulty, like most people in his age group, and the vast majority of the Dodgers’ bubble contingent, if not all of it, will avoid infection. Still, some with the Dodgers are higher risk. (Manager Dave) Roberts is a cancer survivor. (Pitcher Kenley) Jansen, who had a three-week bout with the virus in July, has a heart condition. At least one of the players’ wives is pregnant.

“If other team or family members test positive, the images from Tuesday night will become that much more indelible, that much more regrettable. No one stopped Turner from returning to the field. He also did not stop himself.”

That piece is right here.

——

Nancy Armour of USA TODAY: “Justin Turner finally got his World Series title and Major League Baseball got its postseason TV riches, so to hell with everybody else.

“That’s how we’re doing it, right? Personal satisfaction and happiness over the collective good, science and common sense be damned.

The appalling flouting of COVID-19 protocols at the World Series on Tuesday night might as well be a microcosm of the United States, bringing into sharp focus why this country has lost almost 230,000 of its mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, grandparents and friends in the past seven months.”

That piece is right here.

——

Scott Ostler of the San Francisco Chronicle: “When you were a teenager, did you ever throw a party when your parents were away?

“That’s what the Dodgers and Major League Baseball did Tuesday night.

“With no parents at home, no adult supervision, the Dodgers partied like it was 2019.

“As with your teenage party, it might take a while before we get a complete assessment of the damage, like when your dad found the broken wine bottle in the hot tub a week later.”

That complete piece is right here.

——

Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post: “The coronavirus had to make a cameo in this series, didn’t it? What would 2020 be without the virus proving it could sneak in anywhere, even an MLB bubble? But Dodgers star Justin Turner, removed in the middle of Game 6 when one of his test results came back positive, did not have to turn himself into a poster boy for pandemic irresponsibility.Turner will and should never live down returning to the field — knowing that he had the virus — to yell with teammates, pose massless in team photos and hug whomever he please.

“Turner symbolizes far too much of America now: I will take a world health crisis, which looks like it might kill more Americans than died in battle in World War II (291,000), sort of seriously — unless I’m having a real good time.”

Boswell’s complete take is right here. Our best baseball essayist also writes about how great this Dodgers team was and how that shouldn’t get lost in Turner’s faux pas.

Poison

COVID-19 CHRONICLES . . .

The AHL now has targeted Feb. 5 as the starting date for its next season. It had been looking to start on Dec. 4. . . . From a news release: “The AHL continues to work with its member clubs to monitor developments and local guidelines in all 31 league cities. Further details regarding the 2020-21 American Hockey League season are still to be determined.” . . .

The Wisconsin Badgers have had 12 positives — six players and six staff — so their game at Nebraska on Saturday has been cancelled. The positive include the first two quarterbacks on their depth chart and head coach Paul Chryst. . . . The Big Ten scheduled doesn’t include room for rescheduling so the game was cancelled. . . . Wisconsin will pause all football-related activities for seven days, while players who test positive, including starting QB Graham Mertz, must sit out for at least 21 days according to Big Ten protocol. . . .

Chilliwack FC, which oversees minor soccer in the B.C. city, has had to hire security in order to make sure that COVID-19 protocols are being followed, in particular by parents. . . . Andrea Laycock, Chilliwack FC’s chairperson, emailed parents on Tuesday, telling them that volunteers, staff and contact tracers have been facing abuse while trying to make sure protocols are being followed. . . . Laycock wrote: “Because the interactions at the contact tracing table and inside the facilities has at times been so horrific and borderline violent, Chilliwack FC has engaged Allegiance 1 Security to do periodic sweeps of all of our venues to ensure everyone is behaving and adhering to our policy. Should any issues be reported, the Chilliwack FC Disciplinary Committee will become involved and the offender(s) risk being banned from attending games to being expelled from Chilliwack FC. Enough is enough!” . . . Tyler Olsen of the Abbotsford News has more right here. . . .

The National Lacrosse League pulled the plug on its 2019-20 season in March and later cancelled it. On Wednesday, the NLL said that it hopes to get its next season started on the weekend of April 9-11. . . . Under what used to be normal circumstances, the NLL season would start in December or January. . . . The league has 13 teams, including five in Canada, so there still are lots of decision to be made before another season can get started. . . .

The 2021 Boston Marathon was scheduled for April 19, but now has moved to an unspecified date in the fall. The 2020 Marathon was cancelled earlier this year. . . .

The NFL’s Houston Texans, who are on a bye week, closed their facility on Wednesday after an unidentified player tested positive. The Texans are next scheduled to play on Nov. 8 against the host Jacksonville Jaguars. . . .

The MLS’s Minnesota United had a player come up positive before playing visiting Colorado on Wednesday night, but the game went ahead as scheduled as all others tested were negative. . . . Also on Wednesday night, the Philadelphia Union, despite having one positive test, went ahead with a home game against the Chicago Fire.

If you are interested in being a living kidney donor, more information is available here:

Living Kidney Donor Program

St. Paul’s Hospital

6A Providence Building

1081 Burrard Street

Vancouver, BC V6Z 1Y6

Tel: 604-806-9027

Toll free: 1-877-922-9822

Fax: 604-806-9873

Email: donornurse@providencehealth.bc.ca

——

Vancouver General Hospital Living Donor Program – Kidney 

Gordon and Leslie Diamond Health Care Centre

Level 5, 2775 Laurel Street

Vancouver, BC V5Z 1M9

604-875-5182 or 1-855-875-5182

kidneydonornurse@vch.ca

——

Or, for more information, visit right here.

Train

A positive ending to World Series . . . OHL looking at February start? . . . QMJHL to get four teams back for weekend

It’s go time for Julie!

This is a big day in the Kamloops kidney community as Julie Dodds, a married

JulieDodds
Julie Dodds is to have a kidney transplant this morning in Vancouver.

mother of three young boys, is scheduled for a transplant this morning at St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver.

Early Tuesday afternoon, she posted on Facebook, indicating that everything is fine.

“All the pre-surgical appointments are done and we’re good to go,” she wrote. “(Wednesday) morning the weird magic of swapping body parts happens. . . . Spending the night in the hotel with plans to eat a big, delicious dinner. Fingers crossed for everything to go smoothly, especially for Jason who doesn’t have to be here.”

Her younger brother, Jason, who is from Port McNeill, is to be the live donor, while her husband, Allan, has accompanied her to Vancouver.

Julie hash-tagged her post: mylittlebrotheristhebest. Hard to argue with that.

Kevin Cash, the manager of the Tampa Bay Rays, can thank COVID-19 for taking at least some of the heat off him.

Cash made one of the more questionable managerial moves in World Series history on Tuesday night, but a lot of the backlash is going to get lost in a discussion on the role the virus played in Game 6.

Considering the time we are living in, it was, I suppose, only fitting that Justin Turner, the Dodgers’ third baseman, wasn’t around for game’s end. He didn’t come out on defence to start the eighth inning. A reason wasn’t provided until after the game.

It turns out he had tested positive for COVID-19.

However, Turner did join the post-game celebration, going sans mask for a team photo. While wearing a mask, he was hugging teammates and holding the World Series trophy.

Through Monday, MLB had gone 58 consecutive days without a positive test.

So . . . had Tampa Bay won Game 6, when would Game 7 have been played? Sometime in mid-November?

In the meantime, MLB is left to try and explain what all went on here. Or is this just one more example of pandemic-induced stupidity?

——

OK. What do we do now?

The World Series, one that will be talked about for a week or two, is over.

The decision by Kevin Cash, the manager of the Tampa Bay Rays, to yank Blake Snell, a Cy Young Award-winning pitcher, in the sixth inning on Tuesday night will be hashed and rehashed, with ‘pure’ baseball fans on one side and analytics people on the other.

Snell was in complete control, having allowed but two hits while striking out nine. Snell, with a 1-0 lead, had thrown 73 pitches. The top of the Dodgers’ order was due up and the top three were 0-for-6 with six strikeouts.

However, Cash didn’t want Snell facing the Dodgers’ lineup a third time. So out came the hook.

Three pitches later, the game was tied. Three more pitches and the Dodgers were leading 2-1 and on their way to a 3-1 victory and the franchise’s first championship since 1988.

Of course, this kind of move has been vintage Cash all season, and it got the Rays into the World Series final. Yeah, but . . .

Meanwhile, the bottom of the ninth inning of Saturday’s Game 4 will be remembered for a while, too. The Rays stole that one from a Los Angeles team, winning 8-7 on a play that included two Dodgers errors. That game featured 13 pitchers, who were touched for 25 hits and nine walks, resulting in this headline in the Los Angeles Times: Rocky Pitcher Horror Show.

But, seriously, what do we do now?

No more baseball. No more NBA. No more NHL. And who knows when we will see them again?

We are left with football. But after the menu we have had to choose from for the last two or three months how will we cope?

Well, there’s always that cribbage board in the closet. Might be a Scrabble game in there, too.

X-ray

The OHL, which had been aiming for a Dec. 1 start to its regular season, is expected to announce this week that the date has been bumped to Feb. 4. . . . Darren Dreger of TSN tweeted that general managers are to meet virtually, with an eventual announcement to include a Jan. 25 start to training camps. “Eight-team playoff also expected to be unveiled,” Dreger tweeted.

If we have learned anything over the last while, it is that (a) everything is qmjhlnewalways in a state of fluidity, and (b) games will be played when the virus permits it. . . . On Monday, there was speculation that the QMJHL’s Quebec-based teams might remain sidelined into December. That changed on Tuesday, though, and now four of those teams are poised to return to action this weekend. The Baie-Comeau Drakkar, Rimouski Oceanic, Rouyn-Noranda Huskies and Val-d’Or Foreurs each are to play two games. They are located in what the province has declared yellow and orange zones, so have the OK for games. . . . The QMJHL continues discussions with health officials on the status of those teams located in red zones. At the same time, the QMJHL said that players and staff with the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada and Sherbrooke Phoenix, teams that have had at least 26 positives tests between them, continue to be tested. . . . The Drummondville Voltigeurs also have experience positives, reportedly at least five, and the QMJHL said that their “activities remain suspended until further notice.”

Apple

COVID-19 CHRONICLES . . .

The NFL administered 42,687 tests to players and team personnel from Oct. 18-24. The league revealed that there were eight “new confirmed” positives among players and 11 among other personnel. . . . Since Aug. 1, the NFL says it has administered more than 500,000 tests, with 55 players and 82 others testing positive. . . .

The men’s basketball program at the U of California, Berkley, is on pause after a player tested positive. Things will be shut down for up to two weeks. The player wasn’t identified and is said to be asymptomatic. . . .

Soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo has tested positive again so may not play for Juventus against Lionel Messi and Barcelona on Wednesday in a UEFA Champions League game. Ronaldo tested positive for the first time on Oct. 14 while with Portugal’s national team. He then tested positive again at some point last week. . . .

QB Graham Mertz of the Wisconsin Badgers has tested positive a second time, so, according to Big Ten protocol, will be sidelined for 21 days. A red-shirt freshman, he led the Badgers to a 45-7 victory over Illinois on Friday night. . . . Backup Chase Wolf also is reported to have tested positive and is awaiting confirmation. . . . The Badgers are to play at Nebraska on Saturday.

If you are interested in being a living kidney donor, more information is available here:

Living Kidney Donor Program

St. Paul’s Hospital

6A Providence Building

1081 Burrard Street

Vancouver, BC V6Z 1Y6

Tel: 604-806-9027

Toll free: 1-877-922-9822

Fax: 604-806-9873

Email: donornurse@providencehealth.bc.ca

——

Vancouver General Hospital Living Donor Program – Kidney 

Gordon and Leslie Diamond Health Care Centre

Level 5, 2775 Laurel Street

Vancouver, BC V5Z 1M9

604-875-5182 or 1-855-875-5182

kidneydonornurse@vch.ca

——

Or, for more information, visit right here.

JUST NOTES: The Trinity Western Spartans will play host to the Captains Cup, a three-team tournament that is to start on Nov. 12. It also will feature the UBC Thunderbirds and Simon Fraser U. The double round-robin tournament, featuring afternoon start times, will end with a Dec. 2 final. All games will be played at the George Preston Recreation Centre in Langley, B.C. With fans not being allowed, all games will be streamed free at www.YouTube.com/SpartansSID. . . . The AJHL has extended its exhibition season through Nov. 8. . . . The SJHL released its regular-season schedule on Tuesday. It will open on Nov. 6 and run through April 3. . . . Reid Coleman is the new head coach of the junior B Nanaimo Buccaneers of the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League. He replaces James Gaertner, who left to join the BCHL’s Cowichan Capitals as an assistant coach. The Buccaneers also added Spencer Deakin as associate coach.

Info

QMJHL looking at December restart? . . . Winterhawks asked to change logo . . . Ice’s Lambos goes to Finland

With the numbers showing no signs of slowing down, François Legault, qmjhlnewQuebec’s premier, has extended the red zone restrictions until Nov. 23. They had been schedule to be lifted on Thursday. . . . The QMJHL has six teams located in these zones — the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada, Drummondville Voltigeurs, Gatineau Olympiques, Quebec Remparts, Shawinigan Cataractes and Victoriaville Tigres. . . . The Armada and Voltigeurs have had players test positive, as have the Sherbrooke Phoenix. . . . Earlier, the QMJHL suspended play for its Quebec-based teams until Oct. 28. There is speculation that those teams won’t return to play until early December. . . .

Meanwhile, the Olympiques won’t be returning to their home arena, the Robert-Guertin Centre, anytime soon, and maybe not at all this season. The arena will continue to be used as an emergency accommodation centre for the homeless during the pandemic. The Olympiques had hoped to have their arena back on Dec. 1. . . . If/when the Olympiques return to action, they will continue at the Baribeau Arena. They are scheduled to move into a new arena next season.

The WHL’s Portland Winterhawks have been asked to dump their primary logo. Shannon Gormley of the Willamette Week reported Monday that “a local nonprofit is petitioning the Winterhawks to change their logo.” Earlier this year, the team unveiled a third jersey with a different logo but, as Gormley wrote, “the team still wears its original jersey, featuring a caricature of an Indigenous person, at most games, and continues to manufacture and sell merchandise with the figure.” . . . Gormley continued: “The Native American Youth and Family Center started the petition two weeks ago, urging the team to permanently switch to a hawk. It’s now nearly reached its goal of 1,500 signatures.” . . . There wasn’t an immediate response from the Winterhawks. . . . Gormley’s story is right here. . . . The Winterhawks are in receivership at the moment and the WHL is searching for a buyer.

Mask

COVID-19 CHRONICLES . . .

Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun, writing in his Sunday column about the NHL’s plans for next season: “There is talk of hub cities. There is talk of an All-Canadian division being played, which is all but a certainty. But just as each market and both Canada and the United States are dealing with increased COVID-19 numbers, consider this: On the day the NHL shut down in March, following the NBA, there were 42 positive tests in Ontario. On Saturday, the number was 978.” . . .

——

Jack Finarelli, aka The Sports Curmudgeon, with a suggestion to the NFL “mavens” in his Monday posting: “You have put in place COVID-19 protocols that are purposefully and intelligently designed to reduce the probability of viral transmission. One element of those protocols is that coaches and team staff must wear masks on the sidelines during games.  Obviously, there will be moments when a coach needs to lower his mask to enable others to hear or understand what he is saying; those sorts of brief ‘exposures’ are imperfect but understandable.

“Here is what should not be tolerated:

(1) Coaches, assistant coaches and staff members on the sidelines with masks that cover only their mouth and not their nose.

(2) In the past, the NFL has levied fines for not wearing a mask; coaches with ‘noses out’ should be fined half that amount and the league office only need to watch the television feeds for the games to identify which coaches to collect from.” . . .

——

Quarterback Graham Mertz of the Wisconsin Badgers tested positive after the freshman led his team to a 45-7 season-opening win over Illinois on Friday night. . . . The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported on Monday that backup QB Chase Wolf, a sophomore, also has tested positive. . . . Paul Chryst, the Badgers’ head coach, won’t comment on the status of either player. . . .

RB Ryquell Armstead of the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars is expected to miss the rest of this season as he works to recover from COVID-19. ESPN has reported that he has twice been hospitalized and has had numerous complications, including “significant respiratory distress.” Armstead is 23. . . .

At least 39 members of the Delta, B.C., fire department were exposed to COVID-19, and a recreational hockey game is getting at least some of the blame. . . . “The game took place early last week,” Vancouver radio station NEWS 1130 reported. “A member of Delta Fire and Emergency Services attended, not knowing they and a family member had the virus. Those who played in the game and others who were later on shift with this person at the department were all exposed to COVID-19. At least 39 members of the department were in isolation at one point.” . . . Firefighters who tested negative have started returning to work, while others await results.

Ghosts

If you are interested in being a living kidney donor, more information is available here:

Living Kidney Donor Program

St. Paul’s Hospital

6A Providence Building

1081 Burrard Street

Vancouver, BC V6Z 1Y6

Tel: 604-806-9027

Toll free: 1-877-922-9822

Fax: 604-806-9873

Email: donornurse@providencehealth.bc.ca

——

Vancouver General Hospital Living Donor Program – Kidney 

Gordon and Leslie Diamond Health Care Centre

Level 5, 2775 Laurel Street

Vancouver, BC V5Z 1M9

604-875-5182 or 1-855-875-5182

kidneydonornurse@vch.ca

——

Or, for more information, visit right here.

JUST NOTES: Mike Sawatzky of the Winnipeg Free Press reports that D Carson Lambos of the Winnipeg Ice has left the Manitoba capital for Jyväskylä, Finland, where he is skating with JYP of the country’s U-20 league. If his transfer gets done, he could play in games on the weekend. Lambos, 17, is expected to be an early selection in the NHL’s 2021 draft. Sawatzky’s story is right here. . . . The BCHL’s Langley Rivermen have decided they won’t have any American players in their roster this season because of COVID-19. “We just thought it was the right thing to do,” Bobby Henderson, the team’s GM/head coach, told Dan Ferguson of the Langley Advance Times. “Normally, we would be allowed to have six” Americans on the roster. Ferguson’s story is right here.

Jupiter

Scattershooting on a Saturday night while wondering if the Dodgers will sleep tonight . . .

Scattershooting

Aware early on that they weren’t going to have enough billets for a new season, Sicamousthe junior B Sicamous Eagles of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League put the wheels in motion. Last weekend, they moved into The Eagles’ Nest — a dormitory that was built on the grounds of the Sicamous and District Rec Centre. . . . Wayne March, the Eagles’ general manager, told Jim Elliot of the Eagle Valley News that he looks at this as a pilot project that other teams may be interested in checking out. . . . Elliot reported that the District of Sicamous paid for the construction and the team pays rent, which “is covered by fees paid by the players who would usually fund a stipend given to billet families.” . . . This is an interesting story, and you wonder if this is soon to become part of our new normal. . . . Elliot’s complete story is right here.

The BCHL postponed a pair of Saturday exhibition games after a player with the BCHLSurrey Eagles tested positive. . . . According to the league, as of Saturday afternoon, “The athlete has been placed in a 14-day quarantine and all other players and team personnel have been tested and we are awaiting results.” . . . The BCHL postponed an afternoon game between the Eagles and Langley Rivermen. Also postponed was a game scheduled for last night between the Coquitlam Express and Chilliwack Chiefs. . . . On Friday night, Surrey and Chilliwack played the sixth of six straight exhibition games against each other. . . . The BCHL said it is awaiting “further direction from Fraser Health.” . . . Earlier in the week, the Eagles had said they were desperately in need of billet families. “We’re in desperate need for one but I could really use four,” Jim Turton, the team’s billet co-ordinator, told the Peace Arch News.

Meanwhile, in the QMJHL, Jonathan Habashi, the sports editor of the qmjhlnewDrummondville Journal Express, tweeted Saturday that he was told the Voltigeurs now have five positives. The Voltigeurs had suspended all in-person activities on Thursday after one player tested positive. At that point, other players and staff members were isolated and were being tested. . . . The QMJHL had shut down its 12 Quebec-based teams on Oct. 14 with the number of positives rising in the province. The league said things would be on hold until at least Oct. 28.

Perishable

I don’t know how your week was, but let’s take a moment to think about Andrew Burke of Calmar, Alta. If you haven’t heard his story, well, he accidentally purchased two Lotto 6-49 tickets with the same numbers for the same draw. Later, he was getting the tickets checked at the gas station in which he had bought them when the clerk told him: “You’ve won $2.5 million.” Burke told The Canadian Press: “I said she better check the other ticket because it’s the same number.” . . . Poor guy. Had to share the $5-million jackpot. With himself! LOL!!

With the WHL now allowing players to transfer to junior A teams, at least until Dec. 20, the Chicago Steel of the USHL has let it be know that it isn’t interested in adding any CHL players. . . . Ryan Hardy, the Steel’s general manager, tweeted: “We are empathetic to any player without a place to play but we will not be adding players on loan from the CHL. We are committed to the development of our current players and will not sacrifice their growth for a perceive short-term gain.”

Dwight Perry, in the Seattle Times: “COVID-19 was listed among those ‘also receiving votes’ in the latest AP football poll. Or did we just wake up from a bad dream?”

——

“The Japan Swimming Federation has stripped Daiya Seto, the reigning world champion in two individual-medley events, of his team captaincy for the Tokyo Olympics after he was caught cheating on his wife,” Perry reports. “In other words, he got DQ’d for not staying in his own lane.”

Janice Hough, aka The Left Coast Sports Babe: “If you were watching Monday Night Football and were unaware, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is one of Donald Trump’s biggest NFL supporters. Who knew karma might be a football fan? Carry on.”

——

Hough also pointed out this headline from si.com: Nick Saban Adds to His Legacy With Victories Over No. 3 Georgia, and COVID-19 in Same Week.

Roast

COVID-19 CHRONICLES . . .

In spending a chilly Saturday afternoon watching U.S. college football, it dawned on me that the mostly leaderless United States of America has decided that if it has to sacrifice a few hundred thousand people before a vaccine arrives, so be it. . . . The number of college football coaches who should have their facemasks stapled to their faces is off the charts. For example, every time Fox-TV’s cameras showed Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy, his facemask was serving as a chin diaper. . . . Hey, Mike, why even bother? . . . Oklahoma State was playing Iowa State and the Cyclones’ head coach, Mike Campbell, wasn’t much better. . . . No, neither announcer, Tim Brando nor Spencer Tillman, uttered a discouraging word. . . . However, Tillman did use the occasion to introduce a new term into the football lexicon — intentionality. As in, when a linebacker is closing on a running back, he needs to arrive with some “intentionality.”

——

Here’s Scott Ostler, in the San Francisco Chronicle:

“Something to consider: The pandemic dead in America would fill the Bay Area’s six professional sports venues (Chase Center, Oracle Park, Oakland Coliseum, Levi’s Stadium, SAP Center, Avaya Stadium) with only about 2,700 seats to spare.

“We’re days away from full capacity.”

——

Ostler also related a story involving former San Francisco 49ers defensive lineman Fred Dean, who died the other day of coronavirus-related causes. Ostler said he heard the story years ago “from a former 49ers’ exec. Dean sat down with the 49ers to hammer out a contract, in the days before agents. The two sides were close to an agreement, so the 49ers threw in a sweetener. ‘We’ll give you $500 for every sack.’ Dean said, ‘OK, but does my wife have to know?’ ”

Plumber

If you are interested in being a living kidney donor, more information is available here:

Living Kidney Donor Program

St. Paul’s Hospital

6A Providence Building

1081 Burrard Street

Vancouver, BC V6Z 1Y6

Tel: 604-806-9027

Toll free: 1-877-922-9822

Fax: 604-806-9873

Email: donornurse@providencehealth.bc.ca

——

Vancouver General Hospital Living Donor Program – Kidney 

Gordon and Leslie Diamond Health Care Centre

Level 5, 2775 Laurel Street

Vancouver, BC V5Z 1M9

604-875-5182 or 1-855-875-5182

kidneydonornurse@vch.ca

——

Or, for more information, visit right here.

JUST NOTES: Every autumn, tundra and Arctic swans arrive on the South Thompson River and spend the winter here. We have come to recognize their arrival as the start of winter. Uhh, the advance scouts showed up on Wednesday afternoon. The first snow in the river valley, which is where we live, fell overnight Thursday. While the swans will hang around, the snow won’t. I hope. . . . Dorothy was chatting with a longtime married friend from Regina the other day. When she asked the friend how things were going in these pandemic times, the response was: “Well, there’s nobody buried in the back yard yet.” . . . Ron St. Clair, a former radio voice of the Prince George Cougars, will be one of 15 inductees into the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame this year. In an earlier life, St. Clair was the official announcer at the Delaware Speedway in Delaware, Ont. He also was the voice of CASCAR. Catherine Garrett of MYPGNOW has more right here.

WHL not playing games, but some players are . . . Two football bowl games gone . . . Hobbs decides to go back home

Ron Robison, the WHL commissioner, addressed some media folks in a virtual whlgathering on Oct. 15. When the topic of WHL players moving to junior A during the shutdown arose, Trevor Redden of panow.com reported via Twitter that Robison said that if they were affiliated last (season), they’re eligible to play now, and that general managers were to discuss the subject this week.

That meeting apparently took place at some point this week, because the WHL issued a statement late Friday afternoon, stating that it “has granted temporary transfers for WHL roster players to continue their development by playing competitive hockey at the junior A, junior B and under-18 levels . . . through mid-December.”

That something had happened became apparent on Thursday night when the BCHL’s Nanaimo Clippers announced that they had signed Everett D Gianni Fairbrother, 20.

Then, on Friday morning, the Estevan Bruins revealed there was an agreement between the SJHL and WHL that will allow major junior players to play in the junior A league until Dec. 20. The Bruins did that as they announced the signing of F Cole Fonstad of the Everett Silvertips. Fonstad, 20, is from Estevan.

Everett also has loaned D Dylan Anderson, 18, to the BCHL’s Cowichan Capitals, F Jackson Berezowski, 18, to the SJHL’s Yorkton Terriers, and F Ethan Regnier, 20, to the SJHL’s Melfort Mustangs.

A news release from the Silvertips indicated that players are allowed “full participation in . . . practices, workout activities and games, until a loan expiration of Dec. 20. . . .”

The WHL has said it will start its next regular season on Jan. 8, with players reporting to teams shortly after Christmas.

According to Ryan Flaherty of Global Saskatoon, Blades D Rhett Rhinehart, who turns 19 next month, is with the SJHL’s Flin Flon Bombers. Flaherty added that G Nolan Maier, 19, “will likely play for Yorkton, although that has not been confirmed yet.”

As well, Mike Sawatzky of the Winnipeg Free Press reported F Evan Herman, 18, of the Winnipeg Ice has joined the MJHL’s OCN Blizzard, while Connor Roulette, 17, of the Seattle Thunderbirds is with the MJHL’s Selkirk Steelers.

Byron Hackett of the Red Deer Advocate tweeted that Rebels F Jaxsen Wiebe, 18, is to play for the SJHL’s Nipawin Hawks.

The Tri-City Americans have loaned F Parker Bell to the junior B Campbell River Storm of the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League. Bell, 17, is from Campbell River.

Meanwhile, Regan Bartel, the long-time radio voice of the Kelowna Rockets, tweeted that the BCHL’s West Kelowna Warriors have run out of goaltenders — three of them are injured — so have added veteran goaltenders Roman Basran and Cole Schwebius, both 19, from the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets at least for this weekend.

——

Questions . . . yes, there are questions about the WHL’s agreement with junior A and junior B leagues about the loaning of players.

For starters, what happens to the transferred players if a WHL regular season doesn’t get started?

Also, some of these leagues have moved to a pay-for-play model. So who is paying for the WHL players to play in these other leagues?

Braden Malsbury, the radio voice of the SJHL’s La Ronge Ice Wolves via MBC Radio, also has some thoughts in the following tweets:

Grandma

Hartley Miller, the GOAT at 94.3 The GOAT and the analyst on broadcasts of Prince George Cougars home games, offered up this today:

“Leagues like the BCHL and WHL insist they will play a season even if fans are not allowed to their games.
“The financial commitment from those owners should be applauded, but the question remains how safe is it to play?

“There does not appear to be a clear answer but regardless of whether it is a top-notch junior player or one competing at the rec level, the athlete needs to fully understand there is a health risk, even though we remain in the dark how much risk that is.”

That is from his latest Hartley’s Hart Attack, headlined ‘The risk of competition.’ . . . It’s all right here. . . . And if you aren’t a daily reader, you should be.

Nessman

COVID-19 CHRONICLES . . .

Bruce Jenkins, in the San Francisco Chronicle: “Among the many thousands who just don’t get the mask thing, there appear to be three options: (1) Wear it under the nose. Perfected by Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth on Sunday Night Football. Gives those droplets a fighting chance. (2) Down around the chin. Extremely fashionable. Shows you might have cared at daybreak. (3) None at all. Because, you know, what the hell, it’s a hassle.” . . .

The Founders League, which comprises 11 prep schools, announced Friday that it has cancelled all interscholastic competition for the 2020-21 season. It includes 10 Connecticut schools and one from eastern New York. . . .

The KHL has postponed Jokerit’s next two games, which were scheduled for Monday and Wednesday, after four positive tests within the organization. Jokerit underwent testing after returning from its latest road trip. . . . Jokerit also had games postponed early in September because of positive tests. . . .

Two of U.S. college football’s bowl games are gone, at least for 2020. The Holiday Bowl was to have been held in San Diego, while the Fenway Bowl, which was to have been played for the first time, was scheduled for, yes, Fenway Park in Boston. . . .

Scotty Walden, the interim head coach at Southern Miss, tested positive earlier this week. He has been the head coach since Jay Hopson left after the season’s first game. . . . The Golden Eagles, who haven’t played since Oct. 3, are scheduled to play Liberty today (Saturday). Their game on Oct. 17 against UTEP wasn’t played because they were going through an outbreak. . . .

The U of Toledo has put its men’s basketball team on hold for two weeks because six players and head coach Tod Kowalczyk tested positive. . . . Marquette’s men’s and women’s basketball teams also have been shut down for two weeks after each experienced one positive test.

If you are interested in being a living kidney donor, more information is available here:

Living Kidney Donor Program

St. Paul’s Hospital

6A Providence Building

1081 Burrard Street

Vancouver, BC V6Z 1Y6

Tel: 604-806-9027

Toll free: 1-877-922-9822

Fax: 604-806-9873

Email: donornurse@providencehealth.bc.ca

——

Vancouver General Hospital Living Donor Program – Kidney 

Gordon and Leslie Diamond Health Care Centre

Level 5, 2775 Laurel Street

Vancouver, BC V5Z 1M9

604-875-5182 or 1-855-875-5182

kidneydonornurse@vch.ca

——

Or, for more information, visit right here.

JUST NOTES: Some European teams are using the four-team Karjala Cup as a tuneup for the 2021 World Junior Championship that opens in an Edmonton bubble on Dec. 25. Former NHLer Igor Larionov is coaching the Russian team, with Valeri Bragin, normally the team’s head coach, having recently recovered from COVID-19. Also in the Karjala Cup are teams from Czech Republic and Sweden. The tournament, in Helsinki, runs from Nov. 5-8. . . . Former WHL D Connor Hobbs (Medicine Hat, Regina, 2013-17) has retired from pro hockey after playing three seasons with the AHL’s Hershey Bears. Hobbs is back at home in Saskatoon and taking online courses as the U of Saskatchewan. Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post has that story right here.

Leg

CHL lawsuit settlement rejected by two judges . . . Third QMJHL team has positive test . . . NHL postpones two events

It was May 17 when the CHL announced that it had agreed to a $30-million settlement in a class-action lawsuit that had been brought against it. The lawsuit asked that teams be forced to pay their plays minimum wage.

Under terms of the settlement, the CHL would pay out $30 million by Oct. 20, 2020, with no legal obligation to treat players as employees.CHL

Two WHL teams, the Moose Jaw Warriors and Prince Albert Raiders, told shareholders at their annual general meetings that they had paid $180,846 and $166,667, respectively, as their parts of the settlement.

Well . . . it turns out that the lawsuit is anything but settled; in fact, it is very much alive.

On Thursday, two judges rejected the settlement.

According to Rick Westhead of TSN, Madam Justice Chantal Corriveau, a Quebec judge, “wrote the settlement terms were overly broad and may give the CHL too much protection from liability for conduct that falls outside the claims alleged in this case.”

Westhead added, via Twitter, that the judge “suggested sides file new settlement with amended terms and noted in her decision the CHL faces at least 3 other legal cases — a proposed class action over concussions, and other cases involving alleged abuse and violation of anti-competition laws.”

Meanwhile, Westhead reported, Ontario Justice Paul Perell “also rejected the minimum-wage lawsuit settlement, saying if it was approved, it might prevent current/former players from suing the CHL in other class actions for compensation for significant injuries.”

Westhead added that “Justice Perell wants a renegotiation of the settlement agreement and seems to take issue with how much money lawyers working on the case were to collect.”

In his decision, Perell wrote: “In the immediate case, Class Counsel had far more to gain ($9M) than the $8,381 net recovery of a class member . . .”

The QMJHL has had a third team hit with a positive test for the coronavirus. qmjhlnewThis time the Drummondville Voltigeurs had a player test positive, so all in-person activities have been halted while other players and staff are tested. . . . The league’s Quebec-based teams have been in a holding pattern since Oct. 14 because of rising numbers in the province. Activities have been halted until at least Oct. 28. . . . Earlier this month, the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada had 18 positives, with the Sherbrooke Phoenix being hit with eight. The teams had met in a doubleheader on the regular season’s first weekend. Two on-ice officials who worked in those games also tested positive.

Cheese

With the WHL and its teams focussed on opening their regular season on Jan. 8, Saskatoonthe Saskatoon Blades are exploring a number of seating plans for their home games, all of them with the assumption that they will be allowed to have fans in attendance. The unknown, of course, is just how many fans will be at their home-opener, whenever that may come. . . . Ryan Flaherty of Global-TV Saskatoon checked in with Tyler Wawryk, the Blades’ director of business operations, and that piece is right here.

Former WHLer JC Lipon is spending this season with the KHL’s Dinamo Riga, meaning his home base is in Latvia. From Regina, Lipon spent four seasons (2010-13) with the Kamloops Blazers before ending up in the Winnipeg Jets’ organization. So how did he end up in Riga? . . . Read all about it, in his own words, right here.

Congrats

The Ukrainian Hockey League began its 2019-20 season on Sept. 14, 2019; it ended it on Tuesday when HK Kremenchuk won the championship, beating Bily Bars, 3-2 in OT, in Game 7 of the final series. When Kremenchuk captain Nikolai Kiselyov scored the winner on a PP, it was the first time his team held the lead in Game 7. . . . As for the 2020-21 season, well, it’s scheduled to get started next week. . . . Andy Potts has more right here.

COVID-19 CHRONICLES . . .

The NHL has postponed its 2021 Winter Classic and All-Star Game. The Winter Classic had been scheduled for Jan. 1 at Target Field in Minneapolis, with the All-Star Game in Sunrise, Fla., on Jan. 30. . . . The NHL continues to have a target date of Jan. 1 for the start of its next regular season. . . .

In what we used to see as normal times, more than 250,000 people would file through Macy’s store in New York City every Christmas just to visit with Santa Claus. That won’t happen this time because, for the first time in 160 years, Mr. Claus won’t be there. Yes, this grinchy pandemic has claimed another tradition. . . . There is more on that story right here. . . .

Emily Potter, a pro basketball player from Winnipeg, has tested positive in the Czech Republic where she plays for KP Brno. Potter, 25, attend the U of Utah and is involved in the Canadian national women’s team program. She tested positive this week with the league already shut down following a nationwide lockdown. So far, the head coach, a manager and two of her teammates also have tested positive. . . . Ted Wyman of the Winnipeg Sun has her story right here. . . .

Massachusetts’ Public Health Department has shut down indoor arenas and skating facilities for two weeks due to rising coronavirus cases. Kaitlin McKlnley Becker of NBC Boston reported that “health officials say the order is in response to multiple COVID-19 clusters occurring at rinks throughout the state following games, practices and tournaments. . . . In Massachusetts, there have been at least 30 clusters of COVID-19 associated with organized ice hockey activities involving residents from more than 60 municipalities. Each of these includes two or more confirmed or probable COVID-19 cases, totalling 108 confirmed cases.” . . . The shutdown doesn’t impact collegiate or professional hockey. . . .

In a cost-cutting measure brought on by the pandemic, Michigan State said Thursday that it will drop men’s and women’s swimming and men’s and women’s diving after the 2020-21 season. . . .

The NFL may be on the verge of moving another game. The Las Vegas Raiders have moved two OL to the COVID-19 list, so many not have enough eligible for Sunday’s scheduled game against the visiting Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Rules call for teams to dress eight OL per game. At the moment, the Raiders only have seven available. . . . The game already has been moved once. It was to have been played Sunday night, but the NFL moved it to the late afternoon slot the Seattle Seahawks at Arizona Cardinals to the night game. The NFL wants to guarantee that there is a game for Sunday Night Football.

If you are interested in being a living kidney donor, more information is available here:

Living Kidney Donor Program

St. Paul’s Hospital

6A Providence Building

1081 Burrard Street

Vancouver, BC V6Z 1Y6

Tel: 604-806-9027

Toll free: 1-877-922-9822

Fax: 604-806-9873

Email: donornurse@providencehealth.bc.ca

——

Vancouver General Hospital Living Donor Program – Kidney 

Gordon and Leslie Diamond Health Care Centre

Level 5, 2775 Laurel Street

Vancouver, BC V5Z 1M9

604-875-5182 or 1-855-875-5182

kidneydonornurse@vch.ca

——

Or, for more information, visit right here.

JUST NOTES: The BCHL’s Nanaimo Clippers have signed D Gianni Fairbrother, 20, who played the past three seasons with the Everett Silvertips. From North Vancouver, B.C., he was a third-round pick by the Montreal Canadiens in the 2019 NHL draft. . . . Mark Readman has joined the junior B Creston Valley Thunder Cats of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League as assistant general manager and assistant coach. Readman, 25, spent last season as head coach of the Dawson Creek Junior Canucks of the junior B Northwest Junior Hockey League. In Creston, he will work alongside GM/head coach Bill Rotheisler.

Perfect

Bedard makes Swedish debut with HK71 . . . Blades’ coach really (new) hip guy . . . Beyak ready to get back to work

F Connor Bedard, who turned 15 on July 17, is expected to play for the Regina HV71Pats when/if a WHL season gets started in January. In the meantime, he’s playing for HV71, which is based in Jönköping, in Sweden’s U-20 league. Bedard played his first game in Sweden on Wednesday, going pointless in a 2-1 loss to Färjestad. . . .

Dave Struch, the Pats’ head coach and assistant general manager, told Taking Note that they released Bedard to HV71 “with the understanding that he will be back to us when we get going.”

The WHL has said it will open its regular season on Jan. 8.

“We have been in regular communication with Connor, his agent (Newport Sports Management) and HV71,” Struch said. “We have built a good relationship that we hope will benefit Connor’s development.”

Bedard was granted exceptional status that allows him to play regularly with the Pats at 15 years of age. He is the first WHL player to be given such status. Following that declaration, the Pats selected him with the first overall pick of the 2020 bantam draft, then signed him to a contract.

The break in the WHL schedule couldn’t have come at a better time for at least Saskatoonone head coach. Mitch Love of the Saskatoon Blades is about 14 weeks removed from having a hip replaced. “The hip is coming along. Sure glad I did it this offseason,” Love, 36, told Taking Note on Wednesday night. Love, who is preparing for his third season as the Blades’ head coach, has been on skates once since the surgery. But, as he said, “I’ll be active on it soon enough.” . . . Love also is an assistant coach with Canada’s national junior team, as is Michael Dyck, the head coach of the Vancouver Giants. André Tourigny, the head coach of the OHL’s Ottawa 67’s, is Canada’s head coach.

Playoffs

Dennis Beyak says it will be great to get back to work.

Beyak, one of TSN’s hockey play-by-play voices, will be spending part of JetsTSNDecember and January in an Edmonton bubble working the 2021 World Junior Championship.

The fun gets underway on Dec. 20 as TSN televises two exhibition games to kickoff a 10-game pre-tournament schedule. That will include a pair of Canadian games — versus Sweden on Dec. 21 and Russia on Dec. 23 — and two featuring Team USA — vs. Switzerland on Dec. 20 and Finland on Dec. 22.

The 10-team tournament starts for real on Dec. 25, one day earlier than it normally would. This is because all games will be played on the same ice surface ice surface. In order to accomplish, the schedule includes four days with three games each and two with four, including Jan. 2 when all four quarterfinals will be featured.

Canada opens on Dec. 26 against Germany, then meets Slovakia on Dec. 27, Switzerland on Dec. 29 and Finland on Dec. 31.

There aren’t any games scheduled for New Year’s Day, with quarterfinals on Jan. 2 and semifinals on Jan. 3. The third-place game is on Jan. 5 at 2:30 p.m. PT (5:30 p.m. ET) with the championship game to follow at 6:30 p.m. PT (9:30 p.m. ET). Yes, the good folks in the east will have to stay up past their bedtime to see the title decided.

Beyak and Gord Miller, as usual, will handle play-by-play duties. Miller, of course, gets lots of exposure, but Beyak, who is the TV voice of the Winnipeg Jets, is one of hockey’s best play-by-play secrets. Beyak did 60 TV games for the Jets last season; he hasn’t worked since March 12 when the Jets beat the host Edmonton Oilers, 4-2.

Yes, he’ll be ready to go by Dec. 20.

The complete WJC schedule is right here.

BTW, if you’re a veteran WHL follower you may remember Beyak as the play-by-play voice of the Flin Flon Bombers and later the Saskatoon Blades and Victoria Cougars. He also worked as the Blades’ assistant general manager and even did stints as the general manager of the Seattle Thunderbirds and Tri-City Americans.

F Keegan Kolesar played four seasons (2013-17) with the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds, and now is with the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights. In fact, he was with them in the Edmonton bubble as they skated in the NHL playoffs, and he signed a one-year, two-way contract earlier this week. . . . But while Kolesar was with the Golden Knights, his father, Charles Peterson, died after a battle with the coronavirus. A former pro baseball player who had turned to scouting, he was 46. . . . Carter Brooks of fullpresshockey.com has that story right here.

Secret

The BCHL’s Wenatchee Wild will scrimmage twice in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, this Wenatcheeweek, on Thursday and Friday, and then again on Nov. 6 and 7, and Nov. 13 and 14. At the moment, at least eight WHLers are scheduled to participate — F Bear Hughes and F Erik Atchison of the Spokane Chiefs; F Mekai Sanders of the Seattle Thunderbirds; G James Porter Jr., who has played with the Kelowna Rockets and Spokane; D Luke Gallagher, who played with the Chiefs but is ticketed to the Wild this season; F Jack Lambert, who played four games with the Everett Silvertips last season; F Sal Collora, who got into five games with the Lethbridge Hurricanes last season; and Everett G Braden Holt. . . . The Wild are taking their show to Idaho for scrimmages because Washington state health regulations at the moment don’t allow 5-on-5 games with contact.

COVID-19 CHRONICLES . . .

Some headlines from Wednesday:

Global News: For the first time, B.C. has recorded more than 200 cases of COVID-19 in a single day.

CBC News: Alberta broke two COVID-19 records on Wednesday, for the most new cases in a single day, 406, and for the most active cases.

CBC Saskatchewan: COVID-19 in Sask: 57 new cases reported Wednesday, 3rd largest daily bump of pandemic.

CBC News: Manitoba posts 3rd-highest daily increase in COVID-19 cases, with 135 on Wednesday.

KOMO News: The Washington State Department of Health reported 720 new COVID-19 cases, 25 additional hospitalizations and four more deaths due to the virus.

KOIN News: Oregon reports 331 new COVID cases, 2 deaths.

The school board in Kennewick, Wash., the home of the WHL’s Tri-City Americans, voted 3-2 on Wednesday to delay the start of middle and high school in-person learning until Feb. 2. The original plan was to have had hybrid learning — a mix of online and in class — begin on Nov. 2. The school district has had 16 positives since Aug. 26. . . .

The Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) has cancelled all of its winter championships. From a news release: “The decision was made in response to the sport restrictions that are in place across the country, the variety of provincial health restrictions CCAA hosts were facing and the limitations effecting travel of teams across the country.” . . . The decision impacts badminton, men’s and women’s volleyball, and men’s and women’s basketball. . . . The curling championships were cancelled in September, while the CCAA cancelled golf, men’s and women’s soccer and cross-country in June. . . .

Michigan health officials have issued a “stay-at-home” order for the U of Michigan’s Ann Arbor campus. This order comes after the county in which the school is located experienced hundreds of new cases, including on campus, and contact tracing showed that students are ignoring restrictions. . . . So the students have been told to leave the campus or stay in residence unless they have an essential reason to go outside. . . . You won’t be surprised to learn that none of this applies to the Wolverines football team. . . . As Dustin Foote of Deadspin wrote: “If there is any silver lining to college sports in a pandemic, it’s that COVID-19 has revealed the rot of amateurism. There are different rules for ‘amateur’ athletes who generate money for the university versus the majority of students who do not.” . . . The Big Ten is to return to football action this weekend, and the Wolverines are to play at Minnesota on Saturday night.

If you are interested in being a living kidney donor, more information is available here:

Living Kidney Donor Program

St. Paul’s Hospital

6A Providence Building

1081 Burrard Street

Vancouver, BC V6Z 1Y6

Tel: 604-806-9027

Toll free: 1-877-922-9822

Fax: 604-806-9873

Email: donornurse@providencehealth.bc.ca

——

Vancouver General Hospital Living Donor Program – Kidney 

Gordon and Leslie Diamond Health Care Centre

Level 5, 2775 Laurel Street

Vancouver, BC V5Z 1M9

604-875-5182 or 1-855-875-5182

kidneydonornurse@vch.ca

——

Or, for more information, visit right here.

JUST NOTES: Cameron Hope, who was the general manager of the WHL’s Victoria Royals for eight seasons (2012-20), has joined BC Hockey as its new chief executive officer. He replaces Barry Petrachenko, who, after 20 years with BC Hockey, was dismissed in April. . . . Enrico Ciccone, an enforcer in his hockey-playing days, now is a Liberal MNA in the Montreal riding of Marquette. As the opposition critic for sports, recreation and healthy lifestyles, he has presented a bill calling for the prohibition of fighting in sports, including hockey, for those under the age of 18. “Of course some people will say ‘look at this guy, he’s a hypocrite. He made a bunch of money and now he wants to change things,’ ” Ciccone told the Montreal Gazette’s Herb Zurkowsky. “Of course I do. And I’m probably the best guy to do it. I’ll raise that flag for the safety of our kids, any time of the day. I don’t care.” Zurkowsky’s story is right here.