10 WEEKEND THINGS

156 Days In …

1 – It certainly would be a shame if there was no CFL season in 2020. Lots of work is being put into prepping for the Winnipeg bubble and the games would’ve looked very cool at I-G Field, home of the reigning Grey Cup champions. Imagine a football version of what you’re seeing for NHL games in the Edmonton and Toronto bubbles, with the addition of digital advertising on the field which would be swapped out game-by-game depending on who’s playing. Really cool and definitely innovative.

2 – You have to hand it to the CFL. They truly are moving mountains trying to get their teams on the field but frankly, I don’t see it happening. With Arash Madani’s report that multiple teams don’t even want to play for various reasons, this all seems like an exercise in futility. What’s clear is that we don’t have all the facts and that makes it hard to predict or analyze. So we watch with interest from the outside and react on what we hear from the inside …

3 – There are many agonizing perspectives on what’s going on in the CFL but the two groups I feel for are the players, and the staff. The players have long been getting hosed but this has only illustrated what we’ve always known; they have no rights. (For instance if players are indeed expendable, why can’t the stars pursue NFL opportunities during the season suspension? It would clear up cap space and create goodwill with the CFLPA). As for the staff, it’s agonizing to see them twist in the wind not knowing if they’re going to have a job or not when the CFL eventually returns, which it will. But a lot of positions will be eliminated in CFL 3.0. I’ve been there and it sucks, but you always come out better in the end.

4 – Breaking the silence! Hamilton Tiger-Cats President Scott Mitchell had enough of the naysayers on Friday and Tweeted, “Amazing that the CFL could work exhaustively with world class physicians/advisors, the CFLPA and both the province of Manitoba and a very, very strict federal health authority who speaks positively about the plan yet some people think they know better than all those listed above.” Scott may be venting but at least he’s saying SOMETHING! The silence from CFL head honchos has been deafening and is worrying its fans. Leaders need to be visible, particularly in a crisis.

5 – On the whole Coronavirus thing, it gets more puzzling by the day. With the public being encouraged to wear masks (by some) in this jurisdiction due to an uptick in cases, I wonder why we don’t just go back to the Stay At Home order? (I supposed it allows for slightly more freedom). I agree with the health expert who said “The virus is always going to be out there waiting”, and with Manitoba’s top doctor Dr. Brent Roussin who said “We need to learn to live with this virus”.

6 – Meanwhile some sectors of society continue to crumble. It’s heartwarming to see Agriculture thriving since it’s Saskatchewan’s top industry and to also see R.V., boat and bicycle/excercise equipment dealers selling out. But the people I deal with daily – sports, entertainment, media, fitness facilities, restaurants, etc. – continue to get absolutely dummied. It’s gross! Daily I ask myself why I care so much but it always comes back to the fact I can’t stand to see innocent people suffer. Please make it stop!

7 – To happier topics … like the Stanley Cup Playoffs! Here are some stats you’ll want to file after Friday’s games: Teams who go up 2-o in a Best-of-7 go on to win the series 86% of the time. Meanwhile in series tied 1-1, the Game 3 winner goes on to win the affair 67% of the time. … Canada’s Team? The Vegas Golden Knights have the most Canadians on their roster of all playoff teams. …. The Chicago Blackhawks are the youngest team in the Stanley Cup Playoffs and that should tick off fans of the Edmonton Oilers even more. … When will Sask pick up and get behind the St. Louis Blues given their trio of Sask players: Bozak, Schenn and Schwartz? We’d better hurry. The Stanley Cup champs are down 0-2. … The Maple Leafs parted ways with Lou Lamoriello because he didn’t agree with the direction under GM Kyle Dubas. Now Lou’s NY Islanders are up 2-0 on Washington and the Leafs are golfing. Yikes!

8 – You’ve got to take your hat off to former Coyotes owners Gary Drummond (of Regina) and Anthony Leblanc. They accomplished a lot of things during their four years of ownership including changing the name of the team from the Phoenix Coyotes to the Arizona Coyotes, plus hiring John Chayka as GM. I criticized the hiring at the time but those two were undaunted. Despite the fact the Yotes are down 0-2 to Colorado (perhaps the West’s best team), they’ve gotten better every year and have a pretty bright future. As a reward, the new Coyotes owners showed Chayka the door. Amazing.

9 – Last weekend marked the 32nd anniversary of Wayne Gretzky’s trade from Edmonton to L.A. and also officially marked the day I stopped loving the Edmonton Oilers. They say in a broken relationship you can often point to the exact day the love died. For me, it was August 9, 1988 and my teenaged heart was shattered when Peter Puck got rid of the Great One. I still like the Oilers, but I don’t love them. Still love Wayne though.

10 – RANDOMS TO END: That’s a helluva team Ron Hextall built in Philly! He got shown the door too. … Montreal head coach Claude Julien will miss the rest of Round 1 after undergoing an emergency heart procedure this week. I’m certain it’s stress-related and I’m shocked more pro coaches don’t suffer this fate. Health is wealth people! Money’s worthless if you can’t enjoy it. … If you can’t take criticism, you shouldn’t have gotten into coaching. … Would you be in favour of the government propping up junior hockey franchises who’ve been devastated by the pandemic, as opposed to the CFL? I would. … Again, very happy for the farmers. This weather has been made to order, and the commodity prices are good. Finally it’s the farmers’ time! They’ve been self-isolating for over 100 years. … Local pro hockey players J.C. Lipon (Latvia) and Keith Aulie (Germany) are headed overseas to begin their hockey season. What’s Europe doing right? … I like the cardboard fans in the bleachers at MLB games. The empty stadiums are an eyesore for me. On the flipside, I see absolutely no difference from normal times on the NHL broadcasts. … Bob Cole, Harry Neale, Dick Irvin, Don Cherry, Danny Gallivan, Brian MacFarlane, Dave Hodge, and on and on. Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened. … Global players in the pool for the CFL Global Draft are DM’ing me and asking what the plans are for a rescheduled draft? They haven’t heard anything since May. Something about being visible. Regardless, I’m told the Global Draft will be held four days before the league start, if there is one. … Hope you voted for Pense for Kraft Hockeyville. This is going to be our year!

Y’er welcome,
RP
@rodpedersen