A truism from Janice Hough of LeftCoastSportsBabe.com: “There are relationships that don’t last as long as the last two minutes of a close college basketball game.”
Headline at The Beaverton (@TheBeaverton) — Study: Every child who cheated at NHL 94 now a hardened criminal.
One more Beaverton headline — BREAKING: Will Smith sentenced to 10 years of watching terrible Oscars telecast from home.
When The Masters started on Thursday, Tiger Woods was at 40-1 to win the whole thing. Eben Novy-Williams (@novy_williams) noted that Woods was “the most bet golfer this week.” He added that one oddsmaker had said Woods “actual” odds, if not for his popularity, would likely be 200-1. As Novy-Williams put it, Woods is “the gift that keeps giving for sports books.”
Headline from @NOTSportsCenter — Breaking: Due to LeBron James being eliminated from playoff contention, ESPN has officially canceled the 2022 NBA playoffs.
Speaking of LeBron, here’s Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel: “There’s only one person to blame for the Lakers’ abysmal performance this year, and that’s the general manager who put this team together — LeBron James.”
THINKING OUT LOUD: Have you tired of the gambling commercials on the telly yet? . . . Are you tired of the talking heads going and on about odds and parlays and prop bets yet? . . . How long before we start hearing about the socio-economic cost of being bombarded with all of this? . . . And where does pro sports turn for the next revenue stream? . . . OF Byron Buxton homered in the first and second innings of the Minnesota Twins’ 10-4 victory over the visiting Seattle Mariners on Sunday. When he came to the plate in the third inning, the fans were chanting “MVP! MVP!” If he stays healthy, he just might be in the running. . . . The XM Radio app is installed and running on my tablet and I can tell you that there isn’t anything better than spending a weekend listening to baseball on the radio. . . . No, I didn’t see even one putt. One of the rare few who isn’t a fan of Jim Nantz, Tiger Woods or the tweeting birds, live or on tape, at Augusta.
Tiger Woods won four consecutive majors in 2000 and 2001 and he did it using the same set of irons. In 2010, a rich guy named Todd Brock bought those irons for US$57,242. Earlier this year, Brock sold those irons at auction for US$5,156,162. . . . Now that’s not a bad return on investment for a guy who is a Houston private equity investor. . . . BTW, those are Titleist 681-T irons. You can buy a brand new set for about Cdn$1,400. But you still won’t break 90, will you?
Dorothy is preparing to take part in the annual Kidney Walk for a ninth straight year. She has participated in every one since she underwent a kidney transplant at St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver on Sept. 23, 2013. . . . The 2022 Kidney Walk will be held on June 5, but thanks to the pandemic it again will be a virtual event. . . . You are able to support her by making a donation right here.
SUNDAY IN THE WHL:
Western Conference:
In Kent, Wash., the Seattle Thunderbirds wrapped up fourth place with a 4-1 
victory over the Everett Silvertips. . . . That means Seattle will have home-ice advantage in a first-round playoff series with the Kelowna Rockets. . . . F Austin Roest (13) pulled Everett to within a goal at 15:52 of the third period, but Seattle put it away with empty-netters by F Nico Myatovic (4) and F Reid Schaefer (32). . . . The Silvertips will be more concerned about the condition of D Olen Zelwegger than the loss. He left the game on a stretcher at 12:26 of the first period, but flashed a thumbs up on the way out. He leads all WHL in assists (64) and points (78), all accomplished in 55 games. . . . Seattle and Kelowna will play Games 1 and 2 in Kent on April 22 and 23, then head for Kelowna and games on April 26 and 27. The Thunderbirds were 3-1-0 in the season series; the Rockets were 1-2-1. . . . Everett (45-11-10) remains atop the conference, three points ahead of the idle Kamloops Blazers, who have two games remaining. . . .
G Matthew Hutchison stopped 27 shots to lead the Vancouver Giants to a 3-2 
victory over the Rockets in Kelowna. . . . Hutchison, who won’t turn 16 until Oct. 7, is from Nanaimo. This was his first WHL victory and came in his second start. He was a third-round selection by the Giants in the WHL’s 2021 draft. . . . F Adam Hall (17) and F Zack Ostapchuk (24) scored at 1:12 and 2:02 of the second period to give the Giants a 2-0 lead. The Rockets were never able to catch up. . . . The Giants (24-27-4) snapped an eight-game losing skid and moved into sixth place, one point ahead of the Spokane Chiefs and Prince George Cougars, and two up on the Victoria Royals. . . . Kelowna (40-20-6) will finish fifth in the conference and meet Seattle in the opening round of the playoffs.
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Eastern Conference:
In Winnipeg, D Nolan Orzeck drew five assists as the Ice dumped the Medicine 
Hat Tigers, 8-2. . . . F Mikey Milne had one goal, his 36th, and four assists. . . . The Tigers, trailing 3-0 in the second period, cut the deficit to one goal, but the Ice closed it out with the next five scores. . . . The Ice clinched the Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy as the WHL’s regular-season champions with the victory. . . . G Daniel Hauser stopped 24 shots to run his numbers this season to 32-3-1, 1.97, .915. . . . The Ice (51-10-5) will meet either the Swift Current Broncos (59 points), Calgary Hitmen (58), Regina Pats (57) or Prince Albert Raiders (57) in the first round. Only one of those teams will get into the playoffs. . . . The Tigers (11-52-4) have lost 11 straight games. . . .
The Edmonton Oil Kings scored the game’s last four goals and beat the host 
Calgary Hitmen, 4-1. . . . F Jake Neighbours (16) and F Dylan Guenther (45) each had a goal and an assist for the winners. . . . Edmonton G Sebastian Cossa stopped 28 shots. This season, he now is 32-9-3, 2.33 .911. . . . The Oil Kings (48-14-4) will be the conference’s No. 2 seed and will meet the No. 7 Lethbridge Hurricanes in the opening round. . . . The Hitmen (25-33-8) are ninth, one point behind the Swift Current Broncos.
If you are interested in being a living kidney donor, more information is available here:
Living Kidney Donor Program
St. Paul’s Hospital
6A Providence Building
1081 Burrard Street
Vancouver, BC V6Z 1Y6
Tel: 604-806-9027
Toll free: 1-877-922-9822
Fax: 604-806-9873
Email: donornurse@providencehealth.bc.ca
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Vancouver General Hospital Living Donor Program – Kidney
Gordon and Leslie Diamond Health Care Centre
Level 5, 2775 Laurel Street
Vancouver, BC V5Z 1M9
604-875-5182 or 1-855-875-5182
kidneydonornurse@vch.ca
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Or, for more information, visit right here.
friend sent another note: “Oh my goodness! Is the league as we know it dying in front of us?”
manager/associate coach, who was suspended early in February while the league had an unidentified independent investigator review what it said were “allegations of Code of Conduct breaches.” . . . On Wednesday, the league said that while it is reinstating Birkas, “the investigation has been partly completed but is still ongoing.” . . . At the same time, the BCHL said that Darren Naylor, the Clippers’ vice-president, general manager, head coach and director of hockey operations, “will continue on administrative leave until May 31, 2022.” . . . While Naylor and Birkas were sidelined, the Clippers brought in long-time junior coach Bob Beatty to work with assistant coach Ken McPhalen. . . . At the time of the suspensions, Clippers Hockey Limited Partnership, Naylor and Birkas filed a civil claim, arguing, according to CHEK News, “that the league acted ‘erroneously and in a high-handed manner’ in issuing the suspensions when no allegations have been proven, irreparably damaging the coaches’ reputations and putting the team’s season in jeopardy because there are no alternate coaches to take over.” . . . A B.C. Supreme Court judge issued a temporary injunction that would have allowed Naylor and Birkas to continue coaching; however, the team ended up putting the two on administrative leave just prior to what would have been their first game after the league had taken action. . . . With seven games remaining in their regular-season schedule, the Clippers are 29-16-2 and in third place in the nine-team Coastal Conference.
TAKING NOTE 