THROWIN’ ELBOWS WITH BRENDAN MCGUIRE

1. AMBROSIE DREAMING IN TECHNICOLOUR: He’s a good commissioner for the CFL but to truly believe that a season can occur under these circumstances is getting a bit ridiculous. Even as we begin to re-open, does anyone honestly think flight schedules will be back to normal anytime soon? And what are the odds that players can come in from all over North America in time for a training camp, season and playoffs all crammed into a short time window so they can play in empty stadiums for a TV audience that would soon compete directly with the NFL? Would be nice to see but I just can’t see it happening at all.     

2. PLAYERS WRONG TO BLAME COMMISH: He’s trying to figure out a way to get the players paid. It would be easiest for him to just cancel the season and tread water until the dust settles on this world crisis. When Randy Ambrosie took the job, he didn’t ask for this. This is not a mess of his making. He’s doing his best. And the CFLPA can criticize him all they want but it doesn’t sound like they’re offering any real solutions, either.

3. CFL SHOULD FOCUS ON 2021: It’s becoming more and more clear that this year is a write-off and I’m optimistic that we’ll be back to normal by 2022. But even next year is far from a certainty. The league should focus on a return-to-play model that can be implemented early in the new year. Everyone was caught with their pants down going into this season. Next year doesn’t have to suffer the same fate, COVID-19 or not.

4. CODY FAJARDO’S NEW PODCAST: Players are always so shy when media approaches them and like to pretend they don’t want the attention. That is until, they aren’t getting any attention. This is nothing new. Didn’t Bo Levi Mitchell have his own radio show?

5. WILL TOM BRADY EVER PLAY FOR THE BUCS?: I’m not so sure. If the NFL Players Association and league owners squabble like they have in baseball and the NBA, we might not get an NFL season at all. The lost 2004-05 NHL season had a devastating impact on older players like Scott Stevens, Jeremy Roenick, Steve Yzerman and Brett Hull. All of whom either never played at the same level afterward or never played again at all. If that happens here, it would foolish to rule out the possibility of Tom Terrific walking away all together. 

6. CHRIS CUTHBERT ON HOCKEY NIGHT: I’m not saying he should eclipse Jim Hughson as the number one but what would be wrong with rotating Stanley Cup final calls from year to year? I don’t view them as 1 and 2. They’ve always been 1 and 1A when it comes to calling hockey.

7. KOREAN BASEBALL SHOWS US THE MODEL: Watched some Korean Baseball Organization action on ESPN Sunday morning and had a ball. I’ve been watching a ton of old Montreal Expo games on YouTube this spring but had forgotten how much I missed seeing an actual live game. The players looked like they were having fun. The park was beautiful, even when empty. Some of the umps, cameramen and cheerleaders wore masks. But the biggest constant I saw was people everywhere were smiling. That’s what sport does for us. And right now is a time the world needs that more than ever.

8. WHAT’LL HAPPEN IN BASEBALL: The owners have already let it slip they’ll give the players 100% of their pro-rated salaries for a 50-game season. That’ll be a win-win for everyone. The union won’t feel like it caved on anything and the players will get paid. The owners will get paid for a world series TV audience and save the game from a PR disaster. Boom. Done. You read it here first. Y’er welcome.

9. THIS KIND OF MLB SEASON HAS HAPPENED BEFORE: Split season of 1981. Teams played 50-some game schedules to win a half-season pennant and then fought it out in the playoffs. This is nothing new. Look it up.

10. SAMMY SOSA, MARK McGWIRE 30-FOR-30: Producers did a great job of taking us all back into that cocoon of 1998. I’m seeing and hearing an awful lot of complaining about how they waited until the very end before addressing the steroid scandal, under which the legend of that home run chase has since crumbled. Recreating the magic of way back when was kind of the whole point of the story. That said, it’s a perfect example of why we need drug-testing because without it, everyone gets cheated in the end. McGwire himself, admits that mandatory drug-testing could’ve protected him from himself.

(Follow Brendan on Twitter at @brendanhowardmc)