Well, With No ‘Hockey Night in Canada’ ...

A baby boom has overtaken Prince George Regional Hospital in the Canadian province of British Columbia, where 106 births occurred from April 22 to May 19 and 95 from May 20 to June 16.

“We normally have 60 to 80 babies born each month,” Val Stewart, patient care manager in the maternity ward, told Canadian Press. “There’s no way to prove it, but ... when you think about it and start counting, it’s been about nine months since [NHL] hockey was canceled.”

It has been reported that more than half a dozen sets of twins are among the newborns but not a single hat trick.

Wrote Jerry Green of the Orlando Sentinel: “Don’t be surprised if there’s at least one baby born in Canada this week with the first name of Puck.”

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Trivia time: Which former Notre Dame running back has the most NFL yards rushing of any Fighting Irish alumnus?

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Tuning up: Lance Armstrong, winner Sunday of his seventh Tour de France in a row, has joked that his plans are to go on tour with girlfriend Sheryl Crow as her “guitar tech guy.”

Wrote Scott Ostler of the San Francisco Chronicle: “The perfect job for Armstrong: roadie.”

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Last Lance: Nobody in the U.S. will pay attention to next year’s Tour de France, according to Jim Armstrong of the Denver Post: “It was never about the sport. It was all about Lance Armstrong. Once he rides off into the sunset, cycling will become as popular in America as warm beer.”

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Looking back: On this date in 1997, golf great Ben Hogan died nine days before his 85th birthday. This would qualify Hogan as one of the longest living professional golfers, right? Not even close, according to reader Ross Pake of San Juan Capistrano.

“Gene Sarazen lived to age 97, Harry Cooper to 96, Paul Runyan to 94, Byron Nelson is alive and well at 93, J.H. Taylor to 92, Sam Snead to 89, Henry Picard to 89, Chick Evans to 89 and Johnny Farrell to 87,” Pake said. “Tiger Woods will need to wait until 2073 to beat Sarazen’s record -- a little harder, perhaps, than besting Jack Nicklaus’ 18 majors.”

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Frozen football: The Jacksonville Jaguars are giving away ice cream to potential season-ticket buyers by going around the city in an ice-cream truck.

Wrote Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel: “Can’t you just see the kids rushing out into the street when they hear the ice-cream truck music and screaming at the driver: ‘I’ll have a Nutty Buddy, a Toasted Almond Bar, a Fudgesicle and two tickets on the 20.’ ”

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Quidditch, anyone? On much-traveled Larry Brown parting ways with the Detroit Pistons and eyeing the New York Knick job, Dan Daly of the Washington Times wrote: “About the only place Brown hasn’t coached, it seems, is Hogwarts.”

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Trivia answer: Jerome Bettis of the Pittsburgh Steelers, with 13,294 yards.

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And finally: “In golf, a talented 15-year-old girl might be able to compete against men one week, and might not be able to compete against men the next week,” wrote Dan O’Neill of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “Reason being, she’s really competing against the golf course.”