Nobody asked me, but …
He’s 19th on the NHL’s all-time goal-scoring list with 607, yet he won’t turn 33 until September. He’s registered seven 50-goal seasons (he was one shy of 50 this year). So why is it you sometimes get the feeling Alex Ovechkin is underrated? Perhaps because the Washington Capitals superstar needs a Stanley Cup ring after 13 NHL seasons. It’s the reason I’m hoping the Caps win their first Cup, though you have to think the Tampa Bay Lightning have regained momentum after winning the last two games to knot the series 2-2 … That said, it would be nice to see Ben Chiarot win a championship, too. The Winnipeg Jets’ sixth defenceman played three seasons in St. John’s, unlike Connor Hellebuyck and Adam Lowry, who each played one with the IceCaps, Joel Armia, who played a part of a season in St. John’s, and Mark Scheifele and Josh Morrissey, who each skated in a single post season as IceCaps. Chiarot paid his dues, playing with three different Ontario Hockey League teams, and three and a half years in the minors — including a stint in the ECHL — before making it to the NHL …
If there was another World Cup beginning in the fall, how would Gerard Gallant not handle Canada’s head coaching reigns? … Gallant was Ronnie Boland’s teammate in P.E.I. when the latter — a softball Hall of Famer from Logy Bay — pitched on the island … Six old stadiums I wished were still around that I could visit — old, old Yankee Stadium, Ebbets Field, Polo Grounds, old Wembley Stadium, Detroit’s Olympia and Chicago Stadium … There’s lots of chatter about LeBron James supplanting Michael Jordan as basketball’s GOAT. James might not be there yet, but he’s getting close. As for hockey, it will have to be some kind of player to bump Wayne Gretzky or Bobby Orr off the pedestal. By the way, who’s your top five? I’ve got 1. Gretzky 2. Orr 3. Gordie Howe 4. Mario Lemieux 5. Maurice Richard (and to round out the top 10, in no particular order, Doug Harvey, Bobby Hull, Jean Beliveau, Mark Messier and, yes, Sidney Crosby (three Cups, two MVPs, two playoff MVPs, two scoring titles, two Olympic gold medals, world championship, world junior championship, World Cup, in which he was MVP). And Crosby’s still only 30 …
Could rugby be the next professional sport in St. John’s, after hockey and basketball? That’s the word on the street, but it won’t happen this summer … Joey Votto seemed contrite in his apology after smacking Canada and Baseball Canada this week. So it would be unfair to keep bringing that up every time Votto’s name is mentioned. But what was he thinking in the first place? You don’t turn your back on your own … Hear the Guards are getting back into local baseball, fielding a squad in the St. John’s intermediate league. The Guards Athletic Association is the only group remaining from the old club system that featured Feildians, St. Pat’s, St. Bon’s and Holy Cross. The Feildians are still around, but in name only … St. John’s sporting legend Duey Fitzgerald recalls a time when the club system meant something in St. John’s. “A game between the Guards and St. Bon’s or Feildians and Holy Cross was a big deal, no matter what sport it was,” Duey told me years ago. “Now you got Pepsi playing Coke. Who cares.” …
Hard to believe it’s coming up on 17 years since Mile One Centre opened its doors. And all that while, there hasn’t been a lot of sprucing up, although that will change as the building’s interior will get a paint job and the suites a facelift. Biggest change will be the installation of one of those arena LED advertising rings that will replace signage under the suites … The understanding is St. John’s Edge owner Irwin Simon is taking over the management of Mile One, and the owners of the new ECHL team, Dean MacDonald and Glenn Stanford, will have a hand in there as well. Apparently, they’re getting closer to taking the keys to the building … The former St. John’s council was told (assuming word came from St. John’s Sports and Entertainment, the group which ran Mile One) the building was not previously in the business of seeking out business (i.e. acts or events) to fill out its calendar. Well, that was sure evident. So basically what you had downtown was a glorified Twin Rinks. Looking forward to that changing …
Robin Short is The Telegram’s Sports Editor. He can be reached by email [email protected] Follow him on Twitter @TelyRobinShort
