Greetings from Vancouver

Published 9:00 pm Thursday, May 17, 2007

It’s about 4 p.m. on Friday and there’s a lone figure seated along press row at Pacific Coliseum, furiously typing away on his laptop — me! That’s right, I’m here for Day 1 of the Memorial Cup. No, the Silvertips did not get an emergency invitation to replace one of the qualifiers. But given that this is the rare instance in which the North American championship of junior hockey takes place within driving distance, we decided it’d be a good idea to check in and see what it’s all about. However, it does seem odd that the first member of the press to arrive would be from a paper that doesn’t have a team in the tournament. Go figure.

So I’ll be up here a few times over the next 10 days to get a feel for the tournament, and of course I’ll be posting my observations, beginning with tonight’s opening ceremonies and opening game between the OHL champion Plymouth Whalers and the host Vancouver Giants. So check in from time to time to get a little of the flavor.