A little bit of this, a little bit of that and a whole lot of opinion in a weekend wrap…
You know Teemu Selanne is a very special person when, during a 13-minute delivery Sunday at the Honda Center in Orange County where they raised his Anaheim Ducks jersey No. 8 to the rafters, he thanks the cleaning lady. And the Zamboni driver.
Seriously.
It is, of course, common practice for honored athletes to acknowledge teammates, coaches, club owners, dressing room staff, front office staff, friends, family and fans, but not many mention the very little people. Selanne did that, and more. I cannot recall an athlete—ever—thanking a cleaning lady. Until the Finnish Flash.
As one who has scrubbed other people’s floors and toilets for a living for the past 6 1/2 years, I have one word for Selanne’s mention of charwomen—priceless.
Hither and Yawn: So sad to hear of the passing of Shawn Coates, former media guru with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and top dog with Football Manitoba. Shawn joined the Canadian Football League outfit not long after I left River City, so I never got to know him, but I’m advised he was one of the truly good guys…Exactly why was Dustin Byfuglien penalized in the first minute of Saturday’s joust between the Jets and Los Angeles Kings? For hitting Anze Kopitar too hard?…Hands up anyone who thinks we’ll ever see Big Buff playing forward for the Jets again. Didn’t think so…Some fine work by local scribes in the past week. Paul Friesen of the Winnipeg Sun tracked down both Terry Simpson and John Paddock to get their takes on the trade that sent Teemu Selanne to Orange County. Simpson was head coach of the Winnipeg Jets at the time of the deal, while Paddock, the general manager, pulled the trigger on the trade. Meanwhile, kudos to Winnipeg Free Press sports editor Steve Lyons for dispatching hockey scribe Tim Campbell to Anaheim ahead of the Selanne number-raising ceremony. Campbell’s interview with the Finnish Flash was excellent…Nice to see Paul Wiecek of the Freep in the Wheat City to spread the word about Nolan Patrick, the Brandon Wheat Kings gifted, 16-year-old forward and son of Steve Patrick and nephew of James Patrick, both former National Hockey League players. It was, as usual, top-drawer work from Wiecek…Cool of the Winnipegs to wear Jets 1.0 jerseys with Selanne’s name and No. 13 during the pre-game warmup for their assignment vs. the Disney Ducks on Sunday…The Continental Cup, which wrapped up this past weekend in Calgary, is very quirky curling, but I like it. I also like the TSN curling gab crew of Vic Rauter, Russ Howard and Cheryl Bernard, who has replaced the highly respected Linda Moore. After all these years, Rauter’s “Make the final…” still doesn’t sound stale and he still knows enough to let the other two people in the booth do most of the talking…At each of the major curling competitions in this country, a daily event newspaper is produced by the Canadian Curling Association. At the Brier, it’s the Tankard Times. At the Scott Tournament of Heats, it’s the Heart Chart. At the Continental Cup, the Canada Cup and the World Championships (when in our country) it’s the Morning Cup. The man who performs most of the leg work, much of the writing and lays out the package is former Winnipeg Sun sports editor and longtime curling scribe Dave Komosky, who hangs his hat in St. Norbert. It’s boffo stuff…Shrewd, veteran move by Ted Wyman, who unshackled himself from his duties as sports editor at the Winnipeg Sun to accompany the Jets on their junket to Arizona and California. I mean, who wouldn’t want to escape Pegtown in January for a bit of sun and shinny in the desert and La La Land? Wyman has what we call moxie.
Bottoms up, boys: Loved this quote from Teemu Selanne on one major difference between NHL players when he broke in with the Jets in the early 1990s and today…
“We’d go out, and some guys would have two beers, and some would have 20. After the game, you’d take the helmet off and get beers, first thing. Now, it’s protein shakes. I don’t think guys knew what was good food for you. When I came into the league, guys were still smoking. Now, I don’t even know one guy off the ice who smokes.”
What our old friend didn’t tell us is who among the early 1990s Jets was drinking 20 beer after a game. But we can guess, can’t we?
Patti Dawn Swansson has been writing about Winnipeg sports for more than 40 years, longer than any living being. Do not, however, assume that to mean she harbors a wealth of sports knowledge or that she’s a jock journalist of award-winning loft. It simply means she is old and comfortable at a keyboard (although arthritic fingers sometimes make typing a bit of a chore) and she apparently doesn’t know when to quit. Or she can’t quit.
She is most proud of her Q Award, presented to her in 2012 for her scribblings about the LGBT community in Victoria, B.C., and her induction into the Manitoba Sportswriters & Sportscasters Association Media Roll of Honour.
The River City Renegade 
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