A bit of this, and a bit of that
Nobody asked me, but … This from the useless information department (but thought I’d share it nonetheless, if only to show how times have changed): A couple of years ago, my old buddy, Snowy Carroll, gave me a 1960 New York Yankees official game program and scorecard. The Yanks were playing the Red Sox that day, and whoever had the program scored the game (Roger Maris had two hits and Mickey Mantle doubled. Despite the fact Ted Williams didn’t play, the BoSox won 8-1). Anyway, the program — a pamphlet, really — was only 24 pages, yet it contained 12 booze and beer ads and nine tobacco ads. “They give me a real smoking satisfaction,” Reds slugger Ted Kluszewski said of some brand. Kluszewski, by the way, died in 1988 at age 63, two years after suffering a massive heart attack, according to Wikipedia …
I like curling. I really do. The athletes are smart, personable and they’re good for the quotes. But take it from me, as someone who’s seen more than his share of curling, from the Tankard to the Brier to the Olympics, it’s hands down the worse sport to watch live. Sitting in the stands, you don’t know what shot the curler’s trying to make, and chances are you don’t know whose rocks are counting. Best to let my old buddy Russ Howard (Russ and I knocked heads once or twice) and Vic Rauter fill in the blanks on the TSN broadcasts … Or you could watch the Brier from the Patch. That’s one part of the curling championship you won’t want to miss. Trust me on that one … And more thing about the Brier: I’m certain Curling Canada is one of the most affluent sports governing bodies in the country, not quite in Hockey Canada territory but up there with Soccer Canada. The organization, for example, makes a bundle of the Brier and Scotties Tournament of Hearts. Which makes the idea of charging “volunteers” a hundred bucks for the jackets or shirts or whatever it is they get a bit chintzy … I can still see Burton Cummings banging on the piano keys in the Patch at the 2008 Winnipeg Brier. Wicked show. No truth to the rumblings Mile One has Corey and Trina lined up for the Convention Centre …
It’s looking doubtful there’ll be hockey at Mile One Centre next season, and the Central West senior league is as good as gone next year. But like the proverbial cockroach in a nuclear blast, you can’t kill the Avalon East Senior Hockey League. It’s a credit to those who run the operation … The best four words of winter? “Pitchers and catchers report.” … Still say Mickey Klutts is/was the best name in baseball. Nothing tops Wonderful Terrific Monds III, but he was a minor leaguer. Rusty Kuntz is pretty good, too …