Tag: Sean Shapiro

Now that was game night to remember! . . . Firebirds in control in AHL final . . . Ex-WHLer to be named Flames’ head coach on Monday

It was one week ago tonight (Monday) when the Sonnes and the Priestners got together at the latter’s Saskatoon home. It was going to be a quiet night featuring dinner and small talk as they watched the second game of the Stanley Cup final.

They didn’t have any idea just how ‘small’ the talk would be!

Colin Priestner, the president and general manager of the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades, and Brennan Sonne, the team’s head coach and the WHL’s reigning coach of the year, were going to watch the hockey game.

Alanna Priestner, who had recently given birth to Elodie, a sister for Pala, 5, and Kaleigh Sonne, pregnant with their first, likely would be chatting . . . quietly. Right?

Except that the best laid plans were tossed into disarray when Kaleigh went into labour during dinner.

Later that night, Lowen arrived on the scene and the Sonne’s lives were changed for the better and forever.

The Vegas Golden Knights beat the visiting Florida Panthers, 7-2, to take a 2-0 leading in the Stanley Cup final that evening. That, however, was only an afterthought in the Priestner household on what was a night that will be long remembered by those who were there.

Snoopy

The Coachella Valley Firebirds have a 2-0 lead in the AHL’s best-of-seven final Firebirdsfor 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.

Batman

The Florida Everblades became the fifth ECHL team to win back-to-back Floridachampionships 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.

Grad

Mike Lupica, in the New York Daily News: “We can talk all day long about the business American companies and the American government does with Saudi Arabia. We can talk about the ties the NBA has with China, and how the Olympics keep showing up in China despite that country’s own hideous record on human rights. So China hides behind basketball and the Olympics. Now Saudi Arabia is hiding behind golf. And the Tour is complicit in that. You know what really happened this week? The Crown Prince won a major.”

——

Lupica, again: “People in sports talk constantly about how Father Time is undefeated. So is money. Blood money in this case. And it will be about growing the game when pigs can fly.”

Dog

THE COACHING GAME:

The NHL’s Calgary Flames are expected to introduce Ryan Huska as their new head coach today (Monday), replacing the fired Darryl Sutter. Huska, 47, has been an assistant coach with the Flames for the past five seasons. He doesn’t have a Stanley Cup ring, at least not yet, but has been on four Memorial Cup winners, three as a player (Kamloops Blazers, 1992, 1994, 1995) and one as an assistant coach (Kelowna Rockets, 2004). . . .

The QMJHL teams held their annual draft in Sherbrooke, Que., on Saturday, but before it started the Cape Breton Eagles apparently fired head coach Jon Goyens. The team hadn’t made an official announcement as of Sunday night, but reports indicated that Goyens had been fired after one season and with one year left on his contract. . . . When Goyens was hired in July, he was the team’s third head coach in as many years. . . . The Eagles went 30-34-4 in 2022-23, then were swept in the first round by the Halifax Mooseheads. . . . Speculation has the Eagles talking to Louis Robitaille, who was fired by the Gatineau Olympiques after their season ended. . . . Cape Breton joins the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada, Drummondville Voltigeurs, Gatineau and Rimouski Oceanic as QMJHL teams without a head coach at the moment.

THINKING OUT LOUD: Ahh, it’s great to have another CFL regular season upon us. But I’m still having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that the Edmonton Elks lost their 18th consecutive home game on Sunday. . . . Whenever I watch the Florida Panthers in action, I wonder why no one has ripped that plastic thingy out of the pesky Matthew Tkachuk’s mouth. . . . Will the 2023 Canadian Open be remembered for Nick Taylor’s victory or the security guard’s hard tackle on Adam Hadwin as he tried spray the winner with champagne?

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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.

Ankle

QMJHL may have seven teams out of action . . . CHL cancels 2020-21 season . . . Ronaldo, Johnson come up positive

The QMJHL is looking at having seven teams unable to play because they are qmjhlnewlocated in what a provincial government deems to be COVID-19 red or orange zones or because of positive tests. . . . The Victoriaville Tigres are the latest team to be forced to halt operations, but restrictions in their zone don’t start until Monday so they should be able to play on the weekend. . . . If things don’t change, they will join the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada, which had 18 positive tests, the Sherbrooke Phoenix, with eight positives, Moncton Wildcats, Gatineau Olympiques, Quebec Remparts and Drummondville Voltigeurs in being idle. . . . The Wildcats are in an orange zone, as deemed by the New Brunswick government, but have been given the OK to return to practice. . . . Kevin DubĂŠ of Le Journal de Quebec reported that the QMJHL continues to talk with health officials about tightening “the concept of the bubble. . . . An answer should come in the next few days. If this proposal is rejected, some fear that the QMJHL will put its season on hold until the situation, especially in Quebec, improves.”

I have to wonder how many major junior hockey fans had their heads just about explode when they woke up Tuesday to this headline: “2020/21 CHL Season Cancelled.” . . . In this instance, CHL refers to the Champions Hockey League, a competition that features 32 of the best teams from 12 European countries playing for the European Trophy. . . . The board of directors has decided to cancel the 2020-21 season. . . . From a news release: “Travel restrictions between participating countries had already put several match-ups at risk. Although a number of authorities would potentially issue special permits for travelling sport teams, a vast amount of uncertainty and risks remained. Many discussions and evaluations have taken place in the last few weeks and months with involved parties, taking all available facts and forecasts into consideration.”

Sean Shapiro, who covers the NHL’s Dallas Stars for The Athletic, has detailed the organization’s difficult times in a story headlined “Stars owner’s mounting financial difficulties lead to more furloughs.” . . . Shapiro reported, among other things, that according to sources, “Multiple . . . employees were told this week they are going to be furloughed for a second time this year.” . . . Tom Gaglardi, the Stars’ owner, also is the majority owner of the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers, who laid off an undisclosed number of employees in March. . . . If you subscribe to The Athletic, that piece is right here.

Password

COVID-19 CHRONICLES . . .

The Portuguese Football Federation revealed on Tuesday that star Cristiano Ronaldo has tested positive. Ronaldo, 35, came up positive while with the national team so won’t play against Sweden on Wednesday. Ronaldo played Sunday in a 0-0 Nations League draw with France, and on Monday posted a photo from a team dinner. . . . According to the national team, he is asymptomatic and in isolation. . . . Ronaldo also plays for Juventus — he has two years left on a four-year contract — and is the captain of Portugal’s national team. . . .

Dustin Johnson, the world’s No. 1-ranked men’s golfer, has tested positive so won’t be playing in this week’s PGA Tour event, the CJ Cup in Las Vegas. . . . Johnson is the 12th PGA player to test positive since June. . . .

The Yale Daily News reported Tuesday night that “Yale Athletics has reverted to Phase 0 following a six-person outbreak on the hockey team.” . . . Phase 0, which means no in-person team activities, will last until at least Oct. 21. . . . The team had been cleared to practice for up to two hours per day. . . . The Ivy League is aiming to start its regular season on Jan. 1. . . .

Fred Dean, a hall of fame defensive lineman in his NFL career with the San Francisco 49ers, is in an undisclosed hospital with coronavirus. Dwight Hicks, also a former 49ers, posted the information on his Facebook page on Sunday. . . . Hicks posted that Dean is in hospital “on a ventilator in intensive care.” . . .

Baylor and Oklahoma State have had to postponed their football game that was scheduled for Saturday. The game has been moved to Dec. 12 after Baylor had to suspend football operations because of what the Big 12 said was “multiple positive COVID-19 test results.” . . . The game was to have been played in prime time on ABC-TV. . . . Neither team played on Oct. 10. . . .

Vanderbilt and host U of Missouri have postponed their football game that was scheduled to be played on Saturday. The SEC said the game was postponed “due to positive tests and subsequent quarantining of individuals within the Vanderbilt football program.” . . . They now are hoping to play on Dec. 12. . . . This is the first game that the SEC has had to postpone due to the pandemic. . . .

Canada’s national women’s soccer team was to have held a camp in England later this month, but Canada Soccer has cancelled it on the advice of medical experts. The camp would have included a friendly with No. 6 England.

Mom

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.

Corey Graham was the radio voice of the WHL’s Edmonton Oil Kings in 2017-18. But it all came crashing down when a tumour was discovered inside his spinal cord and he underwent surgery on June 29, 2018. . . . He was in a wheelchair. He was doing rehab. He was determined to get back on the air. . . . Well, he was able to do 30 home games in the Oil Kings’ 2019-20 season, and last night he opened another chapter, this one as co-host of a three-hour sports show on TSN 1260 in Edmonton. . . . Jason Gregor of oilersnation.com has more on Graham’s wonderful story right here.

Bob Molinaro, in the Hampton Roads Virginia-Pilot: “With everything else going on in America ― and the impact it’s having on sports ― MLB playoff games shouldn’t be high on anybody’s list of complaints. But, man, do these games drag ― averaging about three hours 30 minutes. Pitching changes are relentless. Strikeouts come in comic abundance. Let’s face it, baseball is broken.” . . . The man isn’t wrong. . . .

The Tampa Bay Rays scored five runs in the top of the sixth inning of Game 2 of the ALCS on Tuesday night. Doug Kern (@dakern74) pointed out via Twitter: “Top of 6th: 35 actual pitches, seven of them in play. 31 minutes 48 seconds. #PaceOfPlay.”

Eggs

Scattershooting on a Saturday night while hoping we all have a Happy (Canadian) Thanksgiving . . .

Scattershooting

Oh my, but things just aren’t looking good for the QMJHL. Here’s a recap of the past couple of days. . . .

On Saturday, the Quebec government declared Gatineau to be a red zone, qmjhlnewleaving the immediate future of the Olympiques’ schedule in doubt. . . . The Olympiques held their home-opener without fans on Friday night, beating the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies, 3-2, and then won again, 5-4, on Saturday. . . . The Olympiques and Drummondville Voltigeurs, also in a red zone, are expected to be restricted as of Oct. 14. . . .

Earlier in the week, the Quebec Remparts and Blainville-Boisbriand Armada were shut down for the remainder of the month after their areas were named red zones. . . .

According to Pat Hickey of the Montreal Gazette, “Victoriaville, the home of the Tigres, is currently in an orange zone and has launched a virus awareness campaign in an attempt to avoid being classified as a red zone.” . . .

On Friday, the New Brunswick government declared Moncton to be an orange zone, so the Wildcats game against the visiting Saint John Sea Dogs that was to have been played Saturday night was postponed. . . . That declaration went into place on Saturday at 12:01 a.m., shortly after the Wildcats had beaten the visiting Halifax Mooseheads, 4-2. . . . New Brunswick announced 20 new positives on Friday, 12 of them in Moncton. The province hadn’t seen that number since May. . . .

Meanwhile, two of the officials who worked a game last Sunday are reported to have tested positive. The Armada and Sherbrooke Phoenix have a combined 26 positives and have shut down indefinitely. . . .

Interestingly, there isn’t any mention of any of this on the QMJHL website. There isn’t anything indicating the status of any of these teams, and rather than show some games as having been postponed, they simply have been erased from the schedule.

“Mike Pence inspired a torrent of social-media memes during last week’s vice-presidential debate when a fly shockingly landed on his head,” notes Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times. “ ‘I can certainly feel his pain,’ said Jose Canseco.”

——

One more report from Perry: “Provincial authorities have told the Ontario Hockey League that if it wants to play amid a pandemic this season that it will have to ban bodychecking and fighting. In a related story, Don Cherry’s head just exploded.”

Dogsout

It has been surreal to watch the past couple of days as NHL teams have been signing players to contracts totalling millions of dollars. . . . But, hey, business must go on in some areas of our crazy world, although that isn’t likely to happen in some other places. . . . A Greater Vancouver Board of Trade survey released on Friday shows 25 per cent of businesses there don’t expect to last more than 12 months without change. . . . As well, 40 per cent of businesses aren’t expecting a return to regular operations. . . . And while contemplating all of that the news arrived that Ontario was beginning to lock things down. Again. . . . Meanwhile, the numbers in Manitoba are going the wrong way, too, as the province experienced its highest single-day increase to date on Friday, and then broke that record on Saturday. . . . Saskatchewan added 34 new cases, its highest daily total since July, and things are no hell in Alberta and B.C., either. . . . Oh yes, and the WHO reported a new daily high in global cases on Friday (350,766), breaking the previous record that had been set earlier in the week. . . . There is more on the ugly numbers right here.

After George Springer of the Houston Astros passed Babe Ruth on the postseason home-run list, Phil Mushnick of the New York Post wrote: “Makes sense. Ruth went homeless in wild-card, divisional-championship and league-championship games.”

While flipping among college football games on Saturday afternoon, I started wondering if a portion of the U.S. citizenry has given up and decided that the virus has won so let’s get on with it and, hey, if a few thousand more people die, well, that’s the price we pay. . . . In the midst of my viewing, this headline showed up in my Twitter notifications: The US is reporting over 50,000 new cases of COVID-19 per day for the first time since mid-August. . . . According to data collected by Johns Hopkins University, Friday’s number was 57,420, and it was the third straight day topping 50 grand. . . . The number of deaths in the U.S. now has surpassed 213,000. . . . So let’s just keep that border closed for a long, long time. OK?

It really is unfortunate that more people in the sporting world don’t seem to understand the example they could be setting if they would only wear the masks properly. At one point during this game, Jeremy Pruitt of Tennessee, who is in the tweet above, had his mask completely around his neck as he was face-to-face with a masked referee. . . . Tone deaf, or what?

Scott Ostler in the San Francisco Chronicle: “Memo to my pal Al Michaels, Derek Carr, Jon Gruden, et al.: When influential, popular sports people wear masks, they legitimize the concept of mask-wearing, thus saving lives.”

Ostler also wrote: “Scientists and medical experts say masks are effective for slowing the spread of the coronavirus, but tinfoil hats are not. Still, many sports figures prefer the hats.”

Hartley Miller, the sports guy for 94.3 the GOAT in Prince George and the analyst on Cougars’ game broadcasts, wonders how the WHL will react to comments by Dr. Bonnie Henry, B.C.’s provincial health officer, in his latest Hartley’s Hart Attack that is right here. . . . If you missed it, Dr. Henry said that she doesn’t “see spectators being a large part of the season this year.” . . . The Hart Attack arrives weekly and it’s painless. Give it a read if you haven’t already.

Marker

COVID-19 CHRONICLES . . .

A Friday morning tweet from the USHL’s Dubuque Fighting Saints . . .

MLS has postponed two Sunday games after Minnesota United, Orlando City and Columbus Crew experienced positive tests. . . . The Crew was to have played at Orlando City, while Minnesota was to play at FC Dallas. . . . Earlier, a scheduled Saturday game between the host Colorado Rapids and LA Galaxy was scratched after a Rapids player tested positive. It was the fourth straight Colorado game to be postponed. The Rapids have had 12 staff members and five players test positive since Sept. 24. . . .

The ECHL announced Friday that it has plans to open its regular season on Dec. 11. The league will have 13 teams begin a 72-game season on Dec. 11, with other teams starting a 62-game schedule on Jan. 15, assuming they are able to get what the league calls “jurisdictional approval.” . . . The regular season is to end on June 6. . . . The Atlanta Gladiators won’t play in 2020-21 because of pandemic-related restrictions and their players now are free agents. . . .

The AHL has said that it is aiming to start its regular season on Dec. 4. However, Jim Nill, the Dallas Stars’ general manager, told Sean Shapiro, who covers the team for The Athletic, that the AHL won’t start before the NHL, which is aiming for Jan. 1. . . .

The NFL’s New England Patriots and Tennessee Titans got to Saturday without new positives, however the Chicago Bears, who played Thursday night, had a practice squad player come up positive, while a strength-and-conditioning coach with the Kansas City Chiefs did, too.

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.

ICYMI, politicians in Winnipeg have given restaurants the OK to keep their patios open until March 31. Perhaps they have never heard the song Prairie Town that was written by Randy Bachman, who is from Winnipeg and knows of what he penned:

“Winter nights are long, summer days are gone

“Portage and Main fifty below

“Springtime melts the snow, rivers overflow

“Portage and Main fifty below

“Portage and Main fifty below.”

But, hey, the other side of the coin is that we are going to see a new definition of Winnipeg tough during the winter of COVID-19.

Former WHL D Jason Smith is the new head coach of the junior B Peguis Juniors of the Keystone Junior Hockey League. It plans on beginning its regular season on Nov. 7. . . . Smith, 48, is from The Pas, Man. He spent three-plus seasons (Tri-City, Swift Current, Brandon, 1989-93) in the WHL. . . . With Peguis, Smith takes over from Mike Spence, who remains as an assistant coach. Marty Favel is the other assistant. . . . Smith was the head coach of the MJHL’s OCN Blizzard from November 2014 through 2015-16.

JUST NOTES: If you’re like me, you’re wondering if the layer of sanitizing gel on your hands is permanent. . . . Hey, Sportsnet, you can cut back on those Danielle Michaud spots whenever you feel like it. How about twice every five minutes, rather than three times? Thanks. . . . I thought maybe the ’Rona had gotten the phone scammers but I should have known better. After not having had a call for at least a couple of weeks, the guys in Idaho and Maine found us on Friday. I will always be amazed that we can put a man on the moon but we can’t stop the scammers. . . . If you aren’t aware, the first Hallmark Christmas movie — Jingle Bell Bride — is scheduled for Oct. 24. Y’er welcome. . . . If you missed it, the Taliban — yes, that Taliban — endorsed the ’Rona’s new best buddy on Saturday. Hey, is this a great time to be alive, or what?

HomeAlone

Positive tests anything but positive news . . . Seem to be everywhere . . . Tough weekend for sports execs

If you’re a sports executive trying to get our league up and running, you aren’t enjoying this weekend.

The NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning shut down their training facility after three players and two staff members tested positive for the coronavirus.

Then the NHL announced that 11 of its players had tested positive after somewhere around 200 had been tested. The Toronto Sun reported that one those players was Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The NHL said in a statement released via Twitter that while it will be providing a weekly testing update, it won’t “be providing information on the identity of the players or their clubs.”

Meanwhile, in baseball, the Philadelphia Phillies closed their training facility in Clearwater, Fla., after confirming that five players and three staff members tested positive. All eight had been working there. At the same time, the Phillies said eight staff members had tested negative, while 12 staff members and 20 players were awaiting results.

The Toronto Blue Jays followed by closing their Dunedin, Fla., facility, which is near Clearwater. One Toronto player, who apparently had been in contact with some of the Phillies, was showing symptoms.

The San Francisco Giants also got into the act, shutting down their Scottsdale, Ariz., training facility after someone who had visited the complex and a family member showed mild symptoms.

The Giants wouldn’t reveal if the person was a player, but said they are awaiting results of tests on about 20 people.

The Houston Astros revealed that they one player tested positive at their facility in West Palm Beach, Fla.

On Friday night, the NFL Network reported that a player from the San Francisco Giants had tested positive. The unnamed player had been working with teammates in Nashville. The other players have been tested and are awaiting results.

The PGA Tour got in on the act Friday when Nick Watney became the first player to test positive. He withdrew before the second round of the RBC Heritage Open at Hilton Head, S.C.

Watney, a five-time winner on the Tour, shot 74 in Thursday’s first round, showed some symptoms and was tested. He had been tested on site on Tuesday and that one came back negative.

And then there was Clemson U, where at least 28 athletes and staff, 23 of them believe to be football players, have tested positive. That was after 315 people were tested.

The U of Tennessee reported one male student-athlete, believed to be a basketball player, had tested positive, as well.

There are at least three positives in the MLS — two with Atlanta United and one with Inter Miami.

The LSU football team has at least 30 players in quarantine because they tested positive or have been in contact with those who did.

Mask

Meanwhile, in Yakima, Wash., the Herald reports right here that hospitals there “have exceeded staffing capacity, prompting Yakima Health District officials to urge residents to forgo gatherings during the Father’s Day weekend to minimize spread of COVID-19.” . . . Dr. Teresa Everson, health officer of the Yakima Health District, said in a statement: “This is the day we have been fighting to avoid for months, when our hospitals can no longer provide their highest level of care because they are overwhelmed caring for patients with severe COVID-19 infection.” . . . Oh boy, this is scary stuff.

Just don’t think there aren’t issues in B.C., too. . . .

After not having been in Kamloops’ largest mall, Aberdeen Mall, since sometime in February, Dorothy and I ventured there on Saturday afternoon. More than anything else, it was a fact-finding mission aimed at finding out how things are there. Perhaps we would be able to stroll some stores, too. You know, just for a change. . . . Wearing masks, we entered through a second-level door and were pleased to see arrows on the floor and other markings that indicated traffic was to move one way down the right side of the walkways and the other way on the left side. . . . It looked promising. Right? . . . Uhh, not for long. . . . As we moved into the mall, it became apparent that we had walked into a disaster. There were people of all ages walking every which way, with very few masks being worn. . . . Arrows? What arrows? Virus? What virus? . . . A few times, I pointed directly at someone walking the wrong way, and then said: “Arrows!” I got blank stares in return. . . . We didn’t go into even one store. We didn’t complete even one lap of the second level. . . . We got out of there in a hurry, and the mall has been taken off our “To Visit” list.

Here’s Bruce Jenkins, in the San Francisco Chronicle:

“As for MLB . . . it has to be troubling to watch huge sections of the country pretend the coronavirus doesn’t exist. Talk all you want about salaries, the number of games, the isolation from families, even commitment to Black Lives Matter: In all sports, most of them returning too soon, COVID-19 will be the ultimate decider.”

——

And then there was this from the Chronicle’s Scott Ostler:

“Florida.

“The NBA is about to bubble down in Florida.

“But why Florida? Apparently, there were no leper colonies available.”

A Friday note from Sean Shapiro, who covers the NHL’s Dallas Stars for The Athletic, involving an arena in the Dallas-Fort Worth area of Texas:

Pothole

Ken Campbell of The Hockey News spoke with two former players from the OHL’s Sarnia Sting. Both players vouched for the things Daniel Carcillo claimed happened to him as a rookie, all of them in a lawsuit filed Friday against the CHL and its 60 teams. Former Sting G Ryan Munce said he experienced similar abuse and, at one point, realized that he was suicidal. . . . Munce told Campbell he definitely will be joining the lawsuit, which also includes former WHLer Garrett Taylor, who alleges that he was abused in various ways while with the Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . . Campbell’s piece is right here and, yes, it’s a tough but necessary read.

If you are interested, the Statement of Claim can be found right here. But be forewarned that there are a lot of disturbing details in it.

It’s fair to say that the sport of rodeo has been devastated by the pandemic. Check out this list right here of North American rodeos that have been cancelled.

The 17-member Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) announced Friday that it has cancelled its fall 2020 sport season. . . . It hopes to begin badminton, basketball, curling, futsal, men’s and women’s hockey, indoor track and volleyball in January. As well, the fall sports of cross-country, golf and soccer will be rescheduled for the spring. . . . There is a news release right here. . . .

On Saturday, the U of Alberta-Augustana, which plays in the ACAC out of Camrose, announced that it had withdrawn its men’s hockey, women’s soccer, men’s and women’s basketball and men’s and women’s volleyball teams from competition for the 2020-21 season.

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PACWEST followed suit on Friday by cancelling league competition in men’s and women’s basketball, soccer and volleyball, as well as golf, for the rest of 2020. PACWEST includes seven B.C.-based schools. . . . There is a news release right here.

“Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said mask wearing ‘has to be voluntary because the Constitution is not suspended just because there is a virus,’ ” writes Janice Hough, aka The Left Coast Sports Babe. “So why, for starters, doesn’t DeSantis also suspend the state’s seat-belt laws and speed limits?”

Check out Slava Malamud’s Twitter feed for, well, let him tell the story . . .

Call