Things That Make Me Go Hmm....

• The father of Rockets forward Colin Long was shaken, not stirred, when he felt the affects of an earth quake in the state of California on Tuesday. Steve Long - my hero - says he felt the quake at his home, which was about 30 miles from the quakes epicenter. The good news is no one was hurt and their was no damage to his place.
• Colin Long is off to the US Junior Teams evaluation camp tomorrow (Thursday) in Lake Placid New York. The camp runs August 1 to 9. Long will have a chance to play against Rockets European prospect Michal Backlund during an exhibition game against Sweden. My hope is 'Longer' will rub Backlund into the boards hard for not attending training camp this fall.
• Is it any surprise that one of the players participating at the Tampa Bay Lightning's prospects camp this week is Tyson Barrie? Barrie's dad Len is a co-owner of the team, yet he isn't technically Tampa Bay property. I guess that can be said of Brady Leavold, who is there as a free agent. You have to know that if Tyson Barrie gets overlooked in the 2009 NHL draft - which he won't - the Lightning will be there to pick him up.
• Torrie Jung got the shutout last night in the Lightning's Prospect game in Victoria. Jung played both the first and third periods and got the goose egg. Jung has looked sharp at the camp, and credits Rockets goaltending coach Kim Dillabaugh for getting him ready.
• The Swift Current Broncos radio broadcasts will have a different sound this season as colour man Ryan Switzer moves over for Tim Tisdale. Tisdale scored the most important goal in Broncos history when he scored in overtime in the championship game at the Memorial Cup in 1989. Why was Tisdale such a successful scorer in major junior? He gained his scoring confidence from shooting on me in practice when we played pee-wee hockey with the Swift Current Kinsmen Kings. Tisdale and I won a provincial championship that season. Tisdale was scoring while I was riding the pine as a backup to Dean Walsh.
• Switzer brought a unique flair to the radio airwaves. His dry sense of humour and quick wit made him a fan of the casual fan, but he was more than just that. In the time I heard him, he knew the game, knew the players, and was a polished broadcaster. On top of that he wore a tie in the broadcast booth, something other talking heads could take a lesson from.
• Rob Carnie is leaving radio. The former Moose Jaw Warrior broadcaster will be missed. I often laugh now when looking back at the time I spent with him in my early years as the Broncos radio head. I remember chatting with Carnie during the intermissions, always with a cigarette in hand. He was always larger than life on the air. When the mic went on, Carnie came to life and was a real showman. I loved it. His 'hey dittle dittle, her comes Reimer up the middle" was just one of his little phrases he used over his time in the broadcast booth. Carnie's voice on Saskatchewan radio will be missed.
• Kristofer Westblom is giving Canadian college hockey a try. The 21 year-old has signed on with the Acadia Axeman.