The longest road trip of the season so far for the Boise Hawks is underway, including the 6-5 loss to Vancouver last night…but we first need to talk about the “Next One”.

Or so how the Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa and any other Canadian media outlet that showed up for yesterday’s press conference outside the Hawks dugout at Nat Bailey Stadium called Trevor Gretzky.  It was as if Queen Elizabeth had come to Vancouver – as C’s radio man Rob Fai mentioned, it was the biggest turnout for a presser in his time with the club.

Here is a link of video from the presser from the Vancouver Sun

When we got back to the hotel – I turned on the local news (CBC, CTV, CityTV) and saw a story with video on Gretzky on each, along with highlights of him in the game (went 1-for-3 with a run scored and an outstanding defensive play in left)…but felt sorry for Vancouver, because they didn’t show anything on the C’s – not even the score.

But it got better – I turned on Sportscentre (notice the spelling), the Canadian (TSN) version of the ESPN brand…and there was Trevor Gretzky…I turned on Rogers SportsNet (Here is their story) for their national show…and there was Trevor Gretzky…GlobalTV…there was Trevor Gretzky…I honestly wonder if there is a bump in Boise Hawks gear being purchased online because every kid in Canada probably saw Trevor wearing the BP hat.

The trip up was outstanding…gotta give props to Caldwell Transportation drivers Steve and Craig for an outstanding job – we got to the Accent Inn in Richmond BC at 11:35 AM…a funny note was when Bill Buckner woke up in the morning and noticed a new driver (we picked Craig up in La Grande OR and Steve stayed there for the night) – he was like “Bussie, when did you get here?”  I had a chance to take some random pictures from around town yesterday morning…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The first picture made me think of summer baseball in the states…American Legion ball…I didn’t know there was a Canadian Legion, let alone a “Royal” Canadian Legion.

The second picture is a Canadian version of a railroad crossing ahead – though I see it more as a cross-road.

The third picture is a play on words…as when I was walking by the “Rich Hill” subdivision, I immediately thought of former Boise Hawks and current Cleveland Indians lefty, Rich Hill…I wonder if he gets any royalties from it?

Around Boise, you’ll see A&W/KFC’s every now and then…in Vancouver, it’s the A&W/Chubby Chicken…Chubby Chicken?

The fifth picture is of the local Denny’s in Richmond BC – do you notice the subtle Canadianism of the logo?

The final picture is that of the sign outside the gym that the team works out at in Vancouver – yes, it is owned by L.A. Lakers guard Steve Nash, and is the top gym that we work out in on the road during the season.