Things that make me go hmm....

• Can I be honest? I haven't watched one game of the Memorial Cup. Sure, I've checked the scores at the end of the night, but I've strictly used my TV time in the evenings to watch the NHL playoffs. That said, I am sure Peter Loubardias and Sam Cosentino are doing a terrific job on Sportsnet bringing the games to the fans of the Hitmen, Wheat Kings, Spitfires and Wildcats. Don't get me wrong, I care about the results, I just can't commit three hours a night in front of the television watching junior hockey in May. I should get a pass considering I've had the privilege of watching the tournament four times with my favourite team participating in the event.
• Could I have possibly turned into a Canucks fan? I will admit since they've been eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs, my interest has dropped off significantly. In some respects you are a product of your environment. When it's all the talk at work and with friends, you tend to drink the Canucks Kool-Aid. I wasn't shotgunning it, but I was sipping it.
• A sure sign that I am getting old? Running into Dylan Hood this past weekend at the Hockey Night in Canada 4-on-4 street hockey tournament and coming to the realization that he is entering his 20 year-old season in the WHL with the Moose Jaw Warriors. Wasn't he just 16?
• Color Analyst Gord McGarva pointed out on the weekend that WHL referee Steve Papp was participating in the street hockey tournament down at Prospera Place. Papp came over to speak with McGarva, giving me a true appreciation for how young he, and other WHL officials, truly are.
• You couldn't help but like Brett Breitkruez during his short stint with the Kelowna Rockets. Never shy of the microphone, Kruezer has signed a two year deal with the Cologne Sharks in the German DEL. The 20 year-old will always be remembered as the second player selected by the Rockets in the 2004 WHL Bantam Draft behind Luke Schenn.
• One of the NHL's high profile player agents is apparently considering making Kelowna his home. I have it on good authority that J.P Barry wants to move his family to the Okanagan.
• I've been reading Gregg Drinnan's blog from the Memorial Cup in Brandon. Good stuff, yet he has suggested numerous times this week about the impressive score clock/video monitor at Westman Place, yet still believes we are in the dark ages in Kelowna. While the score clock hasn't changed at Prospera Place since the building opened in 1999, four - 6 by 12 foot video monitors located above the clock provide everything from video replays to the dreaded kiss cam. The video monitors were installed prior to the start of last season. In fact, an entire control room at the opposite end of Manhattan Point Restaurant is dedicated to operating those video screens. Impressive to say the least.
• So Rod Pedersen has parted ways as the pbp voice of the Regina Pats. He will be missed in the broadcast booth no doubt, but you had to know something had to give here. I was often amazed that he juggled both the Riders and Pats play-by-play and often would call a hockey game one night and then would quickly bolt to another city to call football the next day. Good on him to be able to keep both balls in the air, but one of the organizations is going to feel neglected by a radio guy who is getting pulled in opposite directions. It's just the way it is. You would think Dan Plaster, the Pats Director of Communications, would be the man moving behind the mic.
• My good buddy Doyle Potenteau has a new website that he launched this week. Check it out. http://www.dubnation.ca/
• It's looking more and more like the Chicago Black Hawks are off to the Stanley Cup final. While all the attention in the Okanagan is on Hawks d-man Duncan Keith, let's not forget about Kelowna's Kyle Beach. Beach, the Hawks first round pick in 2008, is with the big club for their playoff run. While he isn't playing, even practicing with them at this time of the year has to be a thrill.
• If Duncan Keith wins a Stanley Cup title with the Hawks, he would join Travis Moen (Anaheim) and Scott Parker (Colorado) as former Rockets alumni that have won hockey's coveted prize.