THROWIN’ ELBOWS WITH BRENDAN MCGUIRE

1. ROUGHRIDERS STILL GREY CUP FAVORITES: They still have their Rockstar quarterback Cody Fajardo, workhorse running back William Powell and a star-studded defensive secondary that won 13 games in 2019 and finished first in the West. Everyone has had a year-long break and their bodies have had time to heal. There were questions about whether 2019 was a fluke for the Riders and maybe it was. But there’s no reason to think the extra year off will hurt them in any way. The nucleus is still there.  

2. AMBROSIE DESERVES NEW CONTRACT: NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman enjoys regular praise for the work he has done in moving the NHL along into the 21^st century. This, after he presided over that league’s first lost season in nearly a century over greed. Meanwhile CFL Commissioner Randy Ambrosie suffers regular criticism and attacks after presiding over his league’s first loss season in a full century over a legitimate public health emergency. He deserves to enjoy the fruits of his labour, including great new owners in Montreal, and to put all of this nonsense behind him.

3. JOHN CHICK: His Twitter feed, and his social media feed in general, is fascinating and very entertaining. Big John even reached out to me through Facebook Messenger once with a message so long I never had to read through it all. He’s even been known to get into some online dustups with a few of his ex-teammates on there. Hopefully they can all get along and laugh it off at the 20-year reunion of ’07 Grey Cup champs in a few years.  

4. MIKE ABOU-MECHREK: Great story in the Regina Leader Post the other day about big Mike donating a kidney to his father in an effort to help extend his dad’s life. In the time I’ve known Mike since he came to Regina, I can honestly say he’s probably one of my top 5 favorite people I’ve known from my broadcasting adventure. He’s hilarious, down-to-earth and spots B.S. a mile away. It doesn’t surprise me that Mike would do something selfless like that. I recall being disappointed when CKRM radio booted rider colour man Carm Carteri from its airwaves going into the first season in the new park back in 2017. I was double disappointed they never chose Abou to replace him. Nothing against Luc Mullinder. He’s fine, too. But Abou would’ve been must-listen-to radio.  

5. CFL DRAFT SUCKS: I’ve never cared about it. I’ve never followed it. The first round is sometimes interesting but that’s about it. When Roy Shivers was the GM here, he cared so little about it, he designated his Linebackers Coach, Alex Smith, to co-ordinate it. I’m with Roy. Time and resources are better spent fleshing out unknown, affordable American star talent.

6. NHL TEAMS WHO TANK SUCK: I like John Davidson but I also don’t blame the New York Rangers nutty owner for firing JD as their team president or his General Manager, Jeff Gorton. The Rangers are taking the long way back to contention. I like that mentality, but only to a point. Sitting and waiting for good draft picks to finally start winning is just as lazy as General Managers who spend like drunken sailors and try to fast track their way to contending. The good organizations find a way. And judging by the one playoff appearance over the last 4 seasons, and it would’ve been none if not for the wacky COVID format last year, the Rangers haven’t been finding a road to anywhere, lately.

7. REGINA RED SOX RICH HISTORY: Another good piece in the LP last week from Rob Vanstone about Regina Red sox alum Andy Logan, who finished his time with the Sox in 1981 and recently passed away. Regina truly does have a rich and fascinating baseball history. We sometimes allow ourselves to forget that in assuming we don’t deserve nice things like high-level ball in this town. Another reminder of what a downtown ballpark would do for our city and the quality of life entertainment options in the summer that it will bring. Not to say Currie Field is a dump as some have said. I quite enjoy the current park. The that downtown thing is something I just can’t stop thinking about and judging by the reaction I get from all over, neither can many of you, either.

8. REMOTE GAME BROADCASTS: It was a treat to hear both Chris Cuthbert and Jim Hughson chat it out on THE BOB McCOWN PODCAST over the weekend about what got them into it, how they came up with their styles and why they chose hockey over other sports like football and baseball. They have both pushed back against doing games remotely and haven’t done any games off a monitor, yet. Both of them also worry about those changes being permanent. I agree with them both that broadcasters need to be on site with some regularity but I also see great opportunity for smaller startup and mom and pop outfits to do more broadcasts, especially for amateur sport. We don’t all get to work for CBC or Sportsnet and we don’t all have infinite resources. Doing broadcasts from a basement or even allowing a production studio to not travel in order to put the lights on has huge advantages from cost savings to less time stuck on the road. Like any change, this will bring opportunities and challenges.

9. THE PROBLEM WITH JUNIOR HOCKEY: Does anyone out there honestly believe that Graham James and Bernie Lynch are the only ones who see the WHL as their Disneyland? Time to stop encouraging kids to leave home as young as 15. That’s what enables this kind of garbage to go on. At least if they would move the age-range to 18-21, we would see less of this. If the CHL honestly believe Graham James and Bernie Lynch are the only manipulators hiding out in these junior leagues, then they’re naïve as naïve gets.   

10. SALE OF THE SASKATCHEWAN RUSH: Pretty hard for the new owners (the Priestner family) to follow the act of the outgoing owners (the Urban family). The Rush have become an iconic fan experience in just five short seasons. The Saskatoon Blades, whom the Priestner family already own in addition to their new purchase of the Rush, haven’t been that way in decades. They’ve got big shoes to fill. It will be interesting to see how they make out.  

(Follow Brendan on Twitter at @brendanhowardmc)