Stackhouse’s 10 Weekend Thoughts

1 – RIDERS WIN AGAIN, THIS TIME NOT CLOSE – The Saskatchewan Roughriders improved to 7-and-1 with a convincing win over the Montreal Alouettes on Saturday.  Admittedly, I didn’t see a second of this game as I’m away on a bit of a vacation.  Having said that, I’m not surprised.  I’ve been saying since before the season started that I view the Riders as the top team in the CFL and even moreso when they go up against teams without their starting quarterbacks.  I had Saskatchewan at 13 wins before the season.  15 is attainable.  A Grey Cup win without even an ounce of suspense is possible.

2 – LUKE WILLSON – This Luke Willson stuff isn’t necessarily interesting to me, but what I do find interesting is how riled up everyone is getting over some of the things he says.  He’s never once said he hates the CFL.  He’s never once said he hopes the league goes under.  What he has said is akin to being a head coach who is unhappy with his team’s play and so he rips them a new one with hopes of getting them to improve.  I have watched Eddie Steele talk about Willson being right in some of his critiques but the way he says it rubs him the wrong way.  Well sorry for not being soft, I guess.  Instead of saying Genius is garbage for a stats program because they still don’t have their act together after three years, maybe he should have said, ‘too bad about the stats and I know it’s been three years but we need to be patient’.  How does that hold anyone to account?

3 – PASSION IN THE OFFICE PLEASE – Willson maybe doesn’t have the suit and tie guy credentials to be CFL Commissioner, but his passion far exceeds that of anyone else the league has had since Mark Cohon and I’d also say just about everyone that preceded Cohon.  The league could do a lot worse than having Willson work in the main office and be thorn in the side of everyone else pushing them to be better.  Of all the things this league is missing, passion from people who run it is at the top of the list.  Get some people who love the game and love the league and want the best for the league and put them in charge.  Having some guy with a bunch of letters after his name, verifying credentials as a businessman is nice but not going to cut it in the long run.  The last commissioner had potential but putting social justice issues at the forefront was a recipe for disaster.

4 – LIVE SOCIAL MEDIA COMMENTARIES – Willson’s live commentary on X during Thursday’s game between Ottawa and Calgary drew rave reviews from many and this is what I’m talking about when I say get someone with some passion in there.  His live commentary is something I’ve been wondering about for a few years as we have all of these different ways for fans on the couch to make an impact and become influential, why aren’t more people doing it?  You don’t have to be Luke Willson and it doesn’t have to be the CFL.  Why can’t someone who has a magnetic personality start doing live X commentary during Hockey Night In Canada or even start up a rival show to go up against the intermission shows?  I know when I drive home after Rush and Rattler games, I’d love for nothing more than to be a part of something like this where I can throw in my own two bits.  Heck, there was a time in my life where I’d be all over wanting to host such a thing but I’m passed that stage now and, besides, all of your comments on my articles have left me battered and scarred and void of confidence.

5 – BLUE JAYS SEASON/MLB RACES – The Toronto Blue Jays made a big splash at the MLB trade deadline and no matter what happens, they are going to be playing meaningful baseball from now until whenever their season is over.  For the first time in a number of seasons there are actual races around both the American League and National League Division leaders.  The Jays, Yankees, and Red Sox are going to go right down to the wire in the East.  Detroit leads Cleveland by 8 games in the Central but they’ve been bad for three weeks and I don’t think this division is settled.  Houston, Seattle, and Texas appear to be in three horse race in the West.  Over in the National League, it’s the Phillies and Mets in the East, the Cubs and Brewers in the Central and then the Dodgers and Padres in the West.  Somehow with all that money being spent, the Dodgers have still found a way to keep themselves close to the rest of the pack.

6 – RED SOX GUTSY TRADE – Chemistry matters.  The Boston Red Sox dealt away malcontent Rafael Devers over a month ago and they rattled off a 10-game winning streak before the All-Star Break and are now in a position where they are challenging the Jays for the division lead and would be in the playoffs if the postseason started today.  Meanwhile, the Giants are an MLB worse 13-and-24 since acquiring Devers and Devers has, in fact, started playing first base after refusing to do so in Boston.  Talent wise, Boston is a lesser team without Devers.  Talent wise, the Giants are better with Devers in the middle of their lineup.  But, there’s something to be said for a group of players who are happy and enjoy doing what they do on a daily basis.  I’ve seen this a lot in junior hockey and it’s true all the way to the top in every sport.  

7 – BEDARD YEAR THREE – I caught a couple hours of an NHL radio show on Sirius XM while on my travels this weekend and the two hosts discussed Connor Bedard and the fact that his second season in the NHL was a disappointment and that, usually, the generational talents are well on their way to establishing themselves as such by the end of year two.  Well, I’ve said this before in this column and I’ll say it again:  Bedard needs to ask out of Chicago.  I get why he would be reluctant to do so as it’s a bad look on the surface, but the Hawks are ruining this young man’s career.  It started with the Corey Perry innuendos that management contributed to by being evasive over the reasons for his release from the team.  From there, it’s been all down hill and the Blackhawks haven’t taken one single meaningful step towards surrounding Bedard with decent talent.  Their actions this summer on the free agent market suggests Bedard is going to be in for more of the same this Fall unless he can make Andre Burakovsky the next Bernie Nicholls.

8 – RATTLERS NEAR SEASON END – The 5-and-15 Saskatchewan Rattlers have four games remaining in their season and their top player for most of it, Nate Pierre-Louis, has left to pursue other professional opportunities.  Usually I’m opposed to this type of thing but the Rattlers are not in playoff contention and whether they have Pierre-Louis or not the rest of the way has no bearing on how the year will play out so I wish him well and hope he comes back next year.  I admired his work ethic and determination.  I hope the Rattlers come back next year.  

9 – NLL COLLECTIVE BARGAINING – The National Lacrosse League is going through a testy negotiation with the players on a new collective bargaining agreement which has pushed back the start of free agency to August 15th.  The NLL is in a weird spot in that the league appears to be gaining in popularity on a national scale but it’s still not in a position to be paying players the kind of money they desire and maybe even deserve.  Hopefully a compromise can be reached and the players can make some gains on non-financial aspects.  It would be a shame for the Rush to have built the momentum they did at the end of last season, only to lose it because of a work stoppage.

10 – TENNESSEE TSHIRTS – This is from 2019, but I just noticed it on my social media feed this week and wanted to pass along in case I’m not the only one living under a rock.  An elementary school student (grade four) in Florida has been given a scholarship after his T-shirt design sold almost 115-thousand units for the University of Tennessee.  It started with the kid making a logo on a piece of paper and tacking it on an orange shirt.  Apparently, he was made fun of and then word got to the Volunteers Athletic Department that the youngster was ridiculed and bullied.  The Vols decided to turn the boy’s ‘logo’ into authentic spirit wear.  In total, almost a million dollars has been donated to STOMP Out Bullying.

(Mike Stackhouse is a freelance writer/broadcaster)