Noteworthy: Timing is everything, and sometimes it can be lethal
By Bruce Penton on July 24, 2024.
Did he get a birdie? Yes or no? In the vernacular of golf, no, he didn’t. But in the world of nature, yes, he did. And it didn’t make him happy. Golfer Kirk Wright on the 18th hole at Desert Blume the other day hit his second shot from the fairway and at that precise moment, a robin darted into the ball’s path. Instant death. “It kind of exploded and then tumbled down the fairway, probably six or seven times,” said Wright. “Hitting that bird was kind of disturbing. The sound it made when I hit it just kind of sticks with me.” Unfortunately, said Wright, “even we average golfers have ball speeds in that 120-miles-per-hour range and he was only 20 feet in front of us when it hit him.” Twenty-three years ago, in 2001, Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Randy Johnson demolished a bird which flew into the path of his 100-mph fastball and the video went viral. It will be found forever on the internet by Googling ‘Johnson bird’. No one was around to make a video of Wright’s misadventure, but it’s a story he’ll be telling from now until the nursing home. – How badly did Matt Dawson want to compete in the Paris Olympics for his New Zealand field hockey team? Well, you’ve heard of someone giving the finger? That’s what Dawson did, choosing to have part of the ring finger on his right hand amputated rather than wait for a couple of weeks – and miss the Games – while his broken finger healed. “I didn’t have much time to make the decision,” he said. – There are 34 Alberta athletes competing in the Paris Olympics, which get underway Friday. Considering the entire country has 337 athletes taking part, 34 is about average. Only Newfoundland has no representation. The top four are Ontario, 140; Quebec, 59; B.C. 45; and Alberta, 34. Our country’s youngest Olympian is skateboarder Fay De Fazio Ebert, who is 14. The oldest is dressage rider Jill Irving, 61. – When Ottawa Senators recently acquired goalie Linus Ullmark from the Boston Bruins, questions were raised about the future of former Medicine Hat Tiger netminder Mads Sogaard. Well, the answer was provided nine days ago when the NHL team announced that Sogaard had been signed to a new contract, a two-year deal. Sogaard, over three seasons while playing sparingly with the big club, posted a 10-10-3 record, a 3.44 goals-against average and an .884 save percentage. He played 102 games with Belleville of the American Hockey League since being drafted in the second round, No. 37 overall, in 2019. The big Dane is built perfectly for a prototype NHL goalie, 6-foot-7 and 195 pounds. – Short snappers: From the New York Times comes word that the average cost of a hospital stay to give birth is $13,000. And then you have to buy formula when you get home. … Hats off to the Medicine Hat College Rattlers, who recently won the Community Service Award from the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association for the third time in the past six years. Rattlers’ athletes volunteered with 85 organizations and events in Medicine Hat, putting in 2,700 hours of community service in seven months. … A quote from American actor and social commentator Will Rogers: “Diplomacy is the art of saying ‘Nice doggie’ until you can find a rock.” … A quickie from Calgary funny guy RJ Currie: “The World Santa Claus Congress recently took place in Copenhagen. Word is more than 150 St. Nicks hammered out a standardized contract – albeit with a lot of clauses.” … A few decades ago, I would have preferred a pub crawl. Today, the Ice Cream Crawl run by Medicine Hat Tourism would be my choice. The Sunshine Trolley moves participants from one ice cream outlet in the city to another. Two more crawls are on the schedule this year, Aug. 7 and Aug. 17. The crawls leave at 2 p.m both days from the Visitor Information Centre (330 Gehring Road SW) and run for around two hours. Now that’s a great idea covered in chocolate sauce and peanuts. Tickets are available online at https://buy.tixx.ca/eventperformances.asp?evt=1473 or in person at the Esplanade front desk. Costs are $43.50 for adults and $33.50 for kids 13-and-under. Bruce Penton is a retired News editor who may be reached at brucepenton2003@yahoo.ca 18-17
