SCRUFFY’S THIS ‘N THAT
Welcome to Friday and the usual thoughts running through my muddled mind. As always, they are in no particular order:
-What I have heard out of Melfort this week at the sentencing hearing of Jaskirat Sidhu has made me feel a wide range of emotions. I simply don’t understand why this man was behind the wheel of that semi. Did he know the rules of the road? It certainly doesn’t seem so. He seemingly had no clue as to what was going on around him. His cluelessness left 16 dead, another 13 injured and a community – if not a country – in a state of mourning. While some of the questions have been answered, some have not and may never be while others have come up.
The victim impact statements have been compelling to hear. I really don’t know how I would react, nor do I want to, if put in that situation. Would I forgive him as some have? I don’t know the answer and I hope never to cross that bridge. I am guessing everyone of you feels the same way.
What type of sentence should he get? Again, that is a question that could get 100 different answers if you asked 100 different people. At the end of the day, I think we all just want this story to end, but sadly I don’t think it will for a long time.
-The Patriots and the Rams meet in Atlanta Sunday to end the NFL season and make football fans like me wait for May when CFL training camps start–if they start. I don’t like the Patriots like many others, but I don’t know how you can’t give them the advantage. As I said two weeks ago when we found out who the final two teams standing were, the Rams were the team the Patriots beat to start their dynasty and if they win, perhaps they are the team to end it.
When you give Bill Belichick two weeks to prepare, you almost have to play the perfect game to win. Seattle thought they had the Patriots beat a few years ago and so did Atlanta and we know how those turned out. The Giants beat the Patriots thanks to two unbelievable catches by David Tyree and Mario Manningham and would the Eagles have won last year if it weren’t for the Philly special. Sean McVay better reach into his bag of tricks if he wants to win. I would expect Johnny Hekker to execute a fake punt at some point in the game. In the end, I have the Patriots winning 29-25.
-As we wait for Super Bowl 53, ask yourself this if you know your Boston sports. In a city that has had Bobby Orr, Ted Williams and Larry Bird just to name three, is Tom Brady the greatest athlete to have called Boston home. It would be hard to argue against him.
-I am still skeptical of the Raptors being a team that gets to and maybe wins the NBA Championship. That being said, the narrative might change a lot if Anthony Davis comes from New Orleans in a trade. The Raptors have the ability to pull off such a deal. If it happens, it will have Milwaukee and Philadelphia standing up and taking notice. As it stands right now, I still think the Bucks are the best team in the East and that was only reinforced by seeing what they did to the Raptors in Toronto on Thursday.
-It’s now official. The Kootenay Ice are heading to Winnipeg in a move that doesn’t really surprise a lot of people. I understand how some think the market will be over-saturated with the Jets and Moose as competitors with the Bisons in that sentence as well. It is up to the Ice’s owners to market this in a way where it can succeed. Junior hockey has lived in other NHL centres across Western Canada, but they have had the support of the NHL team. To my knowledge, True North has no involvement in this venture at all. If the venture does succeed. will True North want to get involved. I have heard rumblings that this will mean the Manitoba Moose will move to Saskatoon. Don’t hold your breath on that one Saskatoon. It ain’t happenin!
-Who will go down as the best player all-time for the Kootenay Ice? My guess would have to be Jarret Stoll.
-As a Pats fan, do you like the fact a provincial rival in Swift Current is moving to the Central Division. I understand the move to have Winnipeg in the Eastern Division and there was no other choice, but moving Swift to the Central takes away the Highway 1 rivalries they had with both Regina and Moose Jaw.
-Can’t let a Friday column go down without some Rider talk. I like the signing of Mike Edem on Thursday. He didn’t get mentioned like some of the other players on D last season, but he played a significant role. It also means if I am not mistaken that all five defensive backs who started the Western semi-final are now under contract and ready to return.
-Safe to say I am excited for this weekend’s Canada West regular season basketball finales between the Huskies and Cougars at the CKHS. I am expecting four tremendous games. Dave Taylor’s team still hasn’t forgotten what happened at last year’s National semi-final and I expect them to come out with just a little more “oomph” than usual on Friday. As for the men’s team, I expect the same kind of exciting up and down the floor basketball they have given us all season against a Huskies team that somehow has a better RPI than Regina even though the Cougars have the superior win-loss record. People have tried to explain this RPI to me, but I just don’t get it.
-If your name is Rob Banks, I am guessing you shouldn’t pursue a career as a police officer. Just sayin!
-That’s all I got. Have a great weekend and enjoy the Super Bowl for the game or for the ads or whatever.
(Follow Mitch Blair on Twitter at @scruffyregina)
