This is the third of a three-part look at some of the books I read over the past year. Nothing brought back more memories than That Old Gang of Mine, featuring Bill Spunska and some of the gang from Scrubs on Skates. Oh, those were the days! . . . I hope you were able to find a title that intrigued you over the past three days, and here’s to a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
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Nocturne — Ed McBain is the author of a series of books on the 87th Precinct. This is No. 48 in the series, and it begins with the murder of an elderly woman who once was a renowned concert pianist. It isn’t long before there are more bodies and some missing money. Oh, and there’s a dead cat; it was shot alongside the old woman. Lots of good gritty stuff here.
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Playing for Keeps: Michael Jordan and the World He Made — As much as this book, which was published in 2000, is about Michael Jordan’s climb to the top of the NBA’s world and his life in the business world, primarily with Nike, it’s about basketball’s changing times as money took over. Author David Halberstam wrote this terrific book without sitting down with Jordan, who agreed to be interviewed but later changed his mind. There is lots here about basketball under coach Dean Smith at North Carolina, what the arrival of ESPN meant to the NBA, the bad boy Detroit Pistons, the importance of Phil Jackson to Jordan’s career, the enigmatic Jerry Krause, who was the Chicago Bulls’ general manager, and a whole lot more. I highly recommend this book.
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Playing for Pizza — One day, while in Italy, John Grisham, the author of so many legal thrillers, happened upon a football game — as in American football. This book came out of that experience. It’s fluff, but there is some good fun between the covers as QB Rick Dockery tries to rediscover some positives with the Parma Panthers. No, there really aren’t any surprises. The good news is that the book isn’t especially long.
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Raylan — Published in 2012, this was author Elmore Leonard’s last book before his death in 2013. The book, which chronicles the adventures of U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens, is highlighted by Leonard’s usual gift for dialogue and whacky characters. Leonard had featured Givens in earlier works (Pronto, Riding the Rap, Fire in the Hole), which led to the TV series Justified. Raylan, Leonard’s 45th novel, was written after Justified already was on the small screen.
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Resurrection Walk — You can’t go wrong with a book by Michael Connelly, can you? In this one, Harry Bosch, retired from the LAPD, is working for his half-brother, Mickey Haller, the Lincoln Lawyer. And this one is all about whether a young woman killed her husband, who was a cop, and was wrongfully convicted in a conspiracy involving more cops.
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The Rise and Fall of the Press Box — Leonard Koppett had a lengthy career as a sports writer with stints at The New York Times, New York Herald Tribune, New York Post, Palo Alto Times and Oakland Tribune. Yes, he knew the way to a whole lot of press boxes. In this book, finished two weeks before he died on June 22, 2003, at 79, he walks the reader through the rise and fall of the newspaper industry, while detailing the differences faced by today’s sports writers as compared to those who were on the beats 70 and 80 years ago. Insightful and entertaining.
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The Street Lawyer — Published on Jan. 1, 1998, this was author John Grisham’s ninth novel. Michael Brock, one of 800 lawyers with a high-powered firm in Washington, D.C., is at the plot’s centre as Grisham takes aim at such firms and the homeless issue. It’s good Grisham, and will keep you out of trouble for a day or two.
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Taking Down Trump: 12 Rules for Prosecuting Donald Trump by Someone Who Did it Successfully — Tristan Snell, the author of this book, was an assistant attorney general for the state of New York who led the team that beat Donald Trump in court in a case involving the defrauding of hundreds of students to the tune of US$42 million by Trump University. In his book, Snell details how things went down — from start to finish — and really explains all that went into it. Yes, it’s a blueprint for the legal community. It’s also a good look into what is a seriously flawed justice system.
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Texas — Another magnificent work of historical fiction from the prolific James Michener, this one, published in 1985, covers the Lone Star State’s history, starting with the Spanish explorers. It goes on to explore the impact of, among other things, religion, slavery, missions, immigration, ranching, education and, yes, football on the state. Keep in mind that it’s 1,076 pages long so isn’t exactly a two-day read. But it’s well worth whatever time you might want to invest in it. (P.S.: It took me almost three weeks as I finished it 21 hours before it was due back at the library.)
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That Old Gang of Mine — If you are of a certain vintage, you will have fond remembrances of reading Scrubs on Skates, Boy on Defense, and Boy at the Leafs’ Camp, author Scott Young’s trilogy about Bill Spunska and a handful of other Winnipeg high school hockey players. The first of those, Scrubs on Skates, was published in 1952. A couple of months ago, I rediscovered That Old Gang of Mine, which was published in 1982. Canada’s national men’s hockey team has perished in a plane crash and the Winter Olympics, set for Moscow, are fast approaching. What to do? Why not get the gang from Daniel Mac in Winnipeg back together, fill in a few holes and have them represent Canada? That’s exactly what happens in a book that brought back a lot of childhood memories. Unlike the first three books, this one is an adult read that even includes a federal minister having an affair with the national team’s coach.
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Traitors Gate — This is the sixth book in author Jeffrey Archer’s series that chronicles the life of William Warwick, who by now is Chief Superintendent with London’s Metropolitan Police. This time, Miles Faulkner, Warwick’s long-time protagonist, is working on a heist that involves lifting the Crown Jewels as they are being transported from the Tower of London to Buckingham Palace. The characters are familiar and there are a couple of subplots, involving Warwick’s wife and a fellow officer, but there isn’t much in the way of surprises. Still, like the first five books in the series, it’s a nice, comfortable read.
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12 Months to Live — Jane Smith is a defence lawyer with a client she despises who has been charged with the deaths of three people from one family. She also has been diagnosed with cancer and given 12 months. Oh, and people connected to the trial keep disappearing or being killed. Authors Mike Lupica and the ultra-prolific Richard Patterson spin a gritty tale that is quite readable. . . . I also read the sequel, Hard to Kill, which is similar to the opener. And with the way Hard to Kill ended, it would seem there will be a third entry in the series.
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A Year in the Sun: The Games, The Players, the Pleasure of Sports — George Vecsey, a sports columnist with The New York Times, chronicles his travels through 1986, including soccer’s World Cup in Mexico City, the Mets’ World Series victory (hello, Bill Buckner), some tennis, some basketball and hockey and a whole lot more. Vecsey wasn’t a hack-and-slash columnist; rather he had a soul, and he shows it here. This is a favourite and I can’t believe that I only discovered it in May. Having spent more than 40 years in newspapers, always in sports, there are parts of this book to which I could relate, especially when it came to lugging equipment on road trips.
Part 3 of 3
for the Calder Cup after beating the Hershey Bears, 4-0, in Thousand Palms, Calif., on Saturday night. They’ll play again in Hershey on Tuesday and Thursday, with a fifth game, if needed, there on Saturday. . . . The Firebirds, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Seattle Kraken, are in their first season of existence. . . . On Saturday, Coachella Valley scored four second-period goals to take control of the game. D Ryker Evans, who played with the WHL’s Regina Pats, had a goal and an assist. . . . G Joey Daccord stopped 33 shots in putting up his second straight shutout. The Firebirds won the opener, 5-0, on Thursday. . . . The last time an AHL goaltender opened the championship series with back-to-back shutouts? Moe Roberts of the Cleveland Barons did it in 1939 against the Philadelphia Ramblers. The Barons won the best-of-five final, 3-1.
championships when they completed a sweep of the Idaho Steelheads in Estero, Fla., on Thursday. . . . The Everblades completed the sweep with a 4-3 victory in front of a Hertz Arena record crowd of 7,855. Florida now is one of three teams to have three Kelly Cups. No team has won more than that. . . . The Steelheads erased a 2-0 first-period deficit and held a 3-2 lead 21 seconds into the third period. . . . D Stefan Leblanc’s first playoff goal pulled Florida even at 4:19 and F Tyler Irvine score the eventual winner at 7:59, with the primary assist going to former WHL F Levko Koper. . . . Florida, which is an affiliate of the NHL’s Florida Panthers, went 16-4 on its playoff run. . . . The Everblades’ Game 4 roster included Koper (Spokane Chiefs, 2006-11) and D Cole Moberg (Prince George Cougars, 2016-20). . . . Brad Ralph, who did a turn as the Kelowna Rockets’ head coach in 2015-16, is Florida’s head coach and director of hockey operations.
end, the national governing body is giving indications that it isn’t about to bend any of its rules.
goals early in the third period as they beat the Seattle Thunderbirds, 4-2, in Kent, Wash. . . . Seattle leads the best-of-seven conference final, 3-2, with Game 6 in Kamloops on Monday. If they need a seventh game, it would be played on Tuesday in Kent. . . . F Jared Davidson (9) gave Seattle a 1-0 lead at 6:25 of the second period. . . . F Matthew Seminoff (8) sacred at 16:00 and the teams were all even going to the third. . . . Seminoff (9) broke the tie 43 seconds into the third period. . . . F Ryan Hofer then scored his seventh and eighth goals, the latter while shorthanded, at 1:06 and 5:31, and just like that Kamloops held a 4-1 lead. . . . F Reid Schaefer (5) got Seattle to within two, on a PP, at 5:48. . . . Davidson’s goal set a franchise record for career playoff goals. He has 22, one more than F Scott Eansor (2013-17). . . . D Olen Zellweger and F Logan Stankoven, the Blazers’ offensive stars, each had one assist. . . . Seattle was 1-for-4 on the PP; Kamloops was 0-for-2. . . . Kamloops got another big night from G Dylan Ernst, with 36 saves, 10 more than Seattle’s Thomas Milic. . . . D Logan Bairos was back in Kamloops’ lineup, while D Ryan Michael remains sidelined. . . . The Thunderbirds remain without F Jordan Gustafson.
forget it. . . . You may recall that the Travellin’ Bedards were in Brandon and the attendance was announced as 5,954 and that was said to be a single-game attendance record for the Wheat Kings in Westoba Place. . . . Well, upon further review. . . . it turns out that there was an announced attendance of 6,042 for a March 13, 2010 game in which the Wheat Kings beat the Pats, 3-1. And, on March 10, 2010, there was an announced attendance of 6,022 as the Wheat Kings beat the Moose Jaw Warriors, 8-2. . . . Here’s hoping the printer hadn’t started running off copies of a new record book. . . . BTW, according to the Keystone Centre’s website, Westoba Place has 5,102 seats. So I’m guessing that the higher attendance figures include standing room and seating in private suites.
F Nathan Pilling and D Vojtech Port — will miss the remainder of this season due to undisclosed injuries. . . . Hauf, who turned 19 on Jan. 11, is from Krefeld, Germany. He had 21 points, including five goals, in 45 games. . . . Pilling, 18, is from Calgary and in his second WHL season. He was acquired from the Moose Jaw Warriors, for whom he had 10 points, including seven goals, in 23 games. With Edmonton, he recorded 13 points, 10 of them goals, in 35 games. He is the grandson of former Oil Kings player/coach Gregg Pilling, who played for the 1963 Memorial Cup champions. . . . Port, 17, is from Jilhlava, Czechia. He had 17 points, four of them goals, in 48 games after coming over from the Red Deer Rebels early in the season. . . . The Oil Kings, the WHL’s defending champions, are 8-44-3, which is the 22-team league’s poorest record. With Hauf and Port, both freshmen, out for the duration the Oil Kings will finish the season without any import players. They have 13 games remaining, including a date with the visiting Winnipeg Ice today.
hard hit in a game with the Vancouver Giants at the Langley Events Centre on Friday night.
the team’s six owners and the organization’s president.
tonight (Monday) when they visit his former club, the Dallas Stars. Bowness tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday and missed that night’s home game, a 4-1 victory over the New York Rangers. The Jets are hopeful that Bowness will be available on Friday when they meet the Colorado Avalanche in Denver. . . . With Bowness sidelined, associate coach Scott Arniel is in charge.
Everett on Friday night. Dach, 19, needed help getting off the ice after a hit from D Dexter Whittle, who was given a major and game misconduct. On Saturday, he was hit with a three-game suspension.
Hockey League, the umbrella under which junior A leagues operate in Canada, more than a year ago. That means that BCHL teams can’t compete for the Centennial Cup that was won this season by the AJHL’s Brooks Bandits at a 10-team tournament in Estevan, Sask. . . . With the BCHL on the outside of the CJHL and looking in, it is at least a bit interesting that the Wenatchee Wild will play four road exhibition games against USHL teams in September, while the Cranbook Bucks will go on the road to play games against the AJHL’s Bandits and the Okotoks Oilers. . . . If you’re wondering, the Wild will play two games against the Fargo Force and singles versus the Sioux Falls Stampede and Sioux City Musketeers.
Junior Hockey League on Monday when it released its regular-season schedule, one that includes the Spokane Braves. . . . Because of the pandemic, the Braves have sat out the past two seasons. . . . From the KIJHL news release: “The Spokane Braves are scheduled to play their first KIJHL regular-season game since February 2020 when they host Osoyoos Coyotes on Sept. 23 to begin their long-awaited 50th season. The league is continuing to monitor circumstances around the Canada-U.S. border and will provide updates.” . . . Taking Note has been told that the Braves have been given until Aug. 1 to declare their intentions for 2022-23. So you have to think that the KIJHL has another schedule ready to be released, one that doesn’t include Spokane. . . . With the U.S. and Canadian governments not allowing anti-vaxxers to cross their borders, the Braves don’t have enough vaccinated players to ice a team. In fact, owner Bob Tobiason and head coach Darin Schumacher aren’t vaccinated, either. That fact prevented Tobiason from attending the KIJHL’s annual general meeting at Fairmont Hot Springs in late June.
Belarus and begin his pro career with Shakhtyor Soligorsk of the Belarusian Extraliga. . . . Lethbridge GM Peter Anholt, from a news release: “We are really disappointed about the news of Klavdiev not returning. It’s disappointing to lose a good player who was going to be a key 19-year-old for us this coming season and someone that we were going to count on. The timing isn’t great for us, but his decision was made, and we respect that and wish him the best in his next step.” . . . Klavdiev had 21 goals and 26 assists in 61 games last season; he was one of three 20-goal scorers on the roster. . . . F Justin Hall led Lethbridge with 34 goals last season, but that was as a 20-year-old. F Jett Jones, who is to turn 20 on Aug. 27, was the other 20-goal man last season, with 20. . . . In the CHL’s 2022 import draft, the Hurricanes selected Slovakian F Alex Ciernik, who turns 18 on Oct. 8, in the first round and then passed on their second pick. The Hurricanes also hold the rights to Swiss F Liekit Reichie, 19, who had two goals and nine assists in 34 games after being claimed off waivers from the Prince George Cougars last season.
the Q.” . . . It has long been a way for observers to shrug off some of the bizarre things that often seem to occur involving the QMJHL and its teams. Take Saturday, for example. The QMJHL’s summer trading period opened and no one was more active than the Cape Breton Eagles. How active were they? Well, they made 10 trades in one day — yes, 10 . . . in one day. When they were done, the Eagles had acquired seven players and nine draft selections while moving out eight players and nine picks. . . . Only in the Q.
Vancouver Giants, posting a 6-0 victory in Langley, B.C., to win their WHL Western Conference semifinal, 4-2. . . . 
over the No, 8 Vancouver Giants. . . . The Blazers won the conference semifinal, 4-2. . . . The Blazers will be in the conference final for the first time since 2013 when they lost in five games to the Portland Winterhawks. . . . Kamloops will meet either the No. 3 Winterhawks or No. 4 Seattle Thunderbirds in the final. Portland holds a 3-2 lead in that series going into a game tonight in Kent, Wash. The conference final is to open in Kamloops with games on Friday and Saturday. . . . Minten opened the scoring with his fifth goal of the playoffs at 6:06 of the first period. . . . F Luke Toporowski (8) made it 2-0 at 10:27. . . . Kamloops got second-period goals from F Daylan Kuefler (4), at 12:03, and F Logan Stankoven (10), on a PP at 13:07. . . . Kuefler also had two assists. . . . Toporowski (9) added a PP goal at 1:05 of the third period and F Caedan Bankier (5) closed out the scoring at 12:30. . . . Kamloops was 2-for-6 on the PP; Vancouver was 0-for-3. . . . Vancouver held a 12-10 edge in first-period shots, but was outshot 15-4 in the second. . . . Garand posted his third shutout in 10 playoff games. He is 8-2, 1.51, .940. . . . D Alex Cotton, who left Game 5 with an undisclosed injury, was in the Giants’ lineup, as was F Colton Langkow, who hadn’t played since Game 1 on May 6. F Cole Shepard left after one period on Sunday. He hadn’t played since March 16, then came back for Game 4.
Langley, B.C., for their WHL playoff game with the Kamloops Blazers on Sunday. He was in Las Vegas where he was a presenter during the Billboard Music Awards. . . . But he planned on listening via his phone, even while was on the red carpet. . . . “Forget about being an owner, I love hockey and I’m a proud Vancouver guy,” he told Simon Little of Global News earlier Sunday, “so even if I had nothing to do with the Giants, I’d still be on the red carpet listening to the game.” . . . He also said that he is really proud of the Giants, who went into the playoffs as the Western Conference’s eighth seed and knocked off the No. 1 Everett Silvertips in the first round. . . . “I’m not sure if people realize but it’s the first time in the history of the WHL that an eighth seed has taken out the top seed,” he added. “There’s not a lot of parity in our league, it’s not like the NHL, the No. 1 seed is a goliath. The fact that we’re here, hoping to push it to seven is absolutely wild. . . . I’m surprised more Vancouverites aren’t as excited as I am. I say it all the time, I love my city but sometimes I wonder, are we a hockey town or are we a Canuck town? Prove me wrong Vancouver.” . . . The Blazers beat the Giants, 6-0, on Sunday to win the series, 4-2. The announced attendance was 4,310.
TAKING NOTE 