Dan Weaver

A hockey game on the last night of summer makes it too early to saddle the Spokane Chiefs with glitzy labels - like Dynasty In The Making. But opening weekend in the Western Hockey League was enough to make an assertion, however premature. After whipping the Tri-City Americans 4-1 Saturday, 24 hours after coming from behind to win 4-3 in Kelowna, the Chiefs served notice on the rest of the WHL West Division.

The Tri-City Americans will have the fatigue factor on their side when they open their season Saturday night against the Spokane Chiefs. The Chiefs have the important edge in personnel.

Only Joe Cardarelli will be missing Friday night when the Spokane Chiefs open defense of their Western Hockey League West Divison championship. Cardarelli, 19-year-old left wing, remains in training camp with the Tampa Bay Lightning, Chiefs coach Mike Babcock said Wednesday.

San Jose's Todd Ewen reaches for the puck after falling to the ice in an NHL exhibition game against Vancouver at the Arena. Photo by Colin Mulvany/The Spokesman-Review

1. Mike Babcock of the Spokane Chiefs, who will handle the Canadian national junior ice hockey team this December, is well on the way toward becoming a big success as a coach. Photo by Dan McComb/The Spokesman-Review 2. Mike Babcock has a bright outlook as he prepares for the coming hockey season. Photo by Sandra Bancroft-Billings/The Spokesman-Review

Opposing coaches believe Spokane's Trent Whitfield can look forward to scoring as many as 100 points during the 1996-97 Western Hockey League season. File/The Spokesman-Review

Rick Berry scored two third-period goals, including the game-winner - a 55-foot slap shot from the perimeter of the power play - to nudge the Seattle Thunderbirds to a 6-3 comeback win over the short-handed Spokane Chiefs Sunday night. It was a weekend exhibition season sweep for the rebuilding T-Birds, who thumped the Chiefs 9-2 Saturday night in Seattle.

Darren Sinclair (10) shows off the scoring form that made him Spokane's most valuable player last winter. File/The Spokesman-Review

A Thurston County Superior Court judge allowed a temporary restraining order to expire Thursday, clearing the way for the Washington Horse Racing Commission to grant 1996-97 race dates. Although that's a setback for Inland Northwest horsemen and representatives of the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe, who want to assume operations at Playfair Race Course, a surprise element surfaced in the drive to keep racing alive in Spokane.

The Spokane Chiefs are down to what their coach calls bare bones this week for their second round of exhibitions. Eight Chiefs, including the top two goaltenders, will leave for pro camp this week. What's left of the Western Hockey League club will prepare for weekend practice games with the Seattle Thunderbirds.

The Spokane Braves open training camp Saturday with the hope that by next year they'll fit into a new era of hockey development. Up to 70 players are expected to greet new coach Gary Braun when the Braves convene for two 2-hour practice sessions at Eagles Ice-A-Rena at 9:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m.

The California manufacturer of the Fontana safety rail says that his criticism of Playfair Race Course was taken out of context and falsely presented to the Washington Horse Racing Commission. Rich Fontana, of Alta Loma, Calif., testified at a July 23 meeting before the commission in Spokane that Playfair is unsafe.

The Spokane Chiefs have the day off today before getting back to work prior to Friday night's exhibition opener. The Chiefs leave Friday for Kimberley, British Columbia, for a 7:30 p.m. practice game with the Portland Winter Hawks minus defenseman Adam Magarrell, among others.

Spokane horse racing interests surfaced on two fronts Monday. Attorneys for New Playfair Park Inc. won a temporary restraining order that prevents the Washington Horse Racing Commission from granting race dates to the state's two other major racing associations, pending appeal.

The future of horse racing in Spokane turned grim Thursday in the wake of a ruling by the Washington Horse Racing Commission.

The Spokane Chiefs and Brandon Wheat Kings - finalists in last year's Western Hockey League playoffs - resume their rivalry in Spokane on Nov. 2. The game is a highlight of the Chiefs' 72-game regular-season schedule released this week.

Trainers can read a Daily Racing Form. Sometimes you wonder if the public can. Rick and Dianne Lukenbill saw nothing in the past performances in the Form that should have reduced their filly, Order Up Molly, to a 47-1 longshot. Nothing, except the feeding-frenzy mentality of bettors on opening day at Emerald Downs. Typically, as the minutes between races melt away, the horse player watching the tote board sees late money as smart money.

The fierce jockeying for racing dates got nastier Wednesday when operators of Emerald Downs asked the state racing commission for a larger slice of the calendar. Officials at the new track in Auburn want an extension of their current season through Nov. 18. They also seek a 148-day race meet next year that could wipe out live racing in Spokane. Approval of the request would leave only the crumbs of winter to be carved up by Playfair Race Course and Yakima Meadows.

Rollins

Drive-in revival Youngsters take in the scene from the top of a Suburban as "Mission Impossible" lights up the screen at the Auto-Vue-Drive-In north of Colville. Photo by Shawn Jacobson/The Spokesman-Review

The Washington Horse Racing Commission heard more than four hours of public testimony Tuesday on the future of Playfair Race Course, then did exactly what it promised it would do at the outset: Nothing. Representatives of the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe had hoped for a favorable ruling on its application for a license to operate the Spokane track. Instead, commission chair Barbara Shinpoch of Renton scheduled an "evidentiary hearing" Aug. 6 in the Seattle area at a time to be announced.

Marc Magliarditi's decision to leave college for the Spokane Chiefs is calculated to give the 20-year-old goaltender contractual leverage with the National Hockey League. That's the bottom line as described by Magliarditi's former coach, Bill Wilkinson of Western Michigan University. Magliarditi announced Wednesday that he would leave Western after one year to join the Chiefs of the Western Hockey League.

The Washington Horse Racing Commission will take public comment in Spokane concerning the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe's bid to take over Playfair Race Course. The hearing is July 23 at Playfair. The Tribe is asking for a revised season - 92 racing days, from Sept. 25 through March 30, at the Spokane track. Playfair initially sought 60 days, assuming Yakima Meadows wanted winter dates.

The Spokane Chiefs will go to training camp next month with a 20-year-old goaltender after all. Convinced that veteran David Lemanowicz will be lost to the Florida Panthers organization, the Chiefs will bring Marc Magliarditi from Western Michigan University to training camp on Aug. 23. Magliarditi, who turned 20 on Tuesday, will forgo his sophomore year at Western Michigan to play major junior hockey, a move he said will better prepare him for a pro career.