Good morning, Vancouver

Welcome to Vancouver. Surprise! It is rainy. It often rains in Vancouver.

I lived in the Pacific Northwest for four years, and it was around this time of the year where the weather really began to wreak havoc on my moods. It wasn’t the long, wet winters in which darkness would settle in at 5:00 p.m. that irked me. It was winter’s absorption of spring. In late April and early May, areas of the country would be thawed out from the cold, dark months, I’d see pictures of friends in New York and on the east coast in short sleeves, and in many regions the collective mood seemed to tend more towards the impending summer than the austere and unforgiving expanse of winter. And I’d be gathering my keys, preparing to leave my apartment, all the while wondering whether I’d be able to get by in only five layers of clothing at the Mariners game instead of six.

It’s not raining right now. It’s grey and overcast, which is the default weather in an area where summer doesn’t arrive until July 4 and abruptly ends the day after Labor Day. It was raining last night. You get used to changing the speed of your windshield wipers in these parts.

HIGHLIGHTED LOCAL ARTIST. After reminiscing about the late-1990’s while listening to DJ Shadow yesterday, we’re going to travel back an additional four or five years to the original Whose Line Is It Anyway?, the British improv show that was carried on Comedy Central and later on ABC with Drew Carey as its host. But those earlier episodes, hosted by Clive Anderson and featuring the outstanding Ryan Stiles, Colin Mochrie and Greg Proops amongst a cast of very talented comedians, represented the franchise’s high point. Stiles, who was born in Seattle and currently lives in beautiful Bellingham, Washington, grew up and attended high school in Vancouver.

The Kings are scheduled to practice at Rogers Arena at 1:30 p.m., and I hope to have some kind of update on Drew Doughty around then. That’s not to say that there’s going to be a clear and firm indication of his status at that time, so be patient as the information comes out. That he traveled to Vancouver with the team surely isn’t bad news, but should not be interpreted that the injury isn’t serious, or that he won’t have to miss a period of time. And I’ll end this story with that quadruple negative. More to come throughout the day.