STACKHOUSE’S 10 WEEKEND THOUGHTS

1 – FAJARDO FALTERS – I’m a supporter of Cody Fajardo but I also like to think I’m fair. Fajardo’s late fourth quarter gaffes cost his team the win on Saturday and while I could point to his knee injury as being a factor, the reality is that if you are well enough to be out there, you can’t be using a knee injury as an excuse.  Having said that, I don’t think he should be playing as he is, simply, not a good enough one dimensional quarterback. A big part of what makes Fajardo as good as he can be is his ability to run and make plays with his legs. If you take that away, he’s greatly diminished as far as his effectiveness. So, either get him back to playing the style of game that made him a star or if he can’t do that, he needs to sit until he gets better.  

2 – FAJARDO BANGED UP – Listening to his post game interview, I feel as though he needs some time off and that isn’t a bad thing for fans who think Fajardo isn’t that good anyway. Careful what you wish for Rider fans. It wasn’t all that long ago that Rider faithful were telling me how Darian Durant was blocking the superior Tino Sunseri. How’d that work out? The Riders have Mason Fine behind Fajardo and the intriguing Jake Dolegala behind Fine but my guess is Fine will have a decently long leash in the event Fajardo can’t go.

3 – NOT A PENALTY – The Roughriders, unsuccessfully, challenged a roughing the passer ‘non call’ involving defensive end Shawn Oakman grabbing Fajardo by the lower leg (the one that is well documented as being injured) and twisting it while trying to make a tackle. Some people have argued the play isn’t dirty, but it’s important to cut Garrett Marino. He’s the epitome of everything bad and the league is perfect if the Riders would just release him, right? Let’s take a closer look at Oakman, shall we. He was investigated and charged with sexual assault while at Baylor. This was an ordeal that took three years to get his name cleared, but he was ultimately acquitted. He also, prior to Baylor, was with Penn State but was dropped from the team for being too aggressive against his teammates in practice so I’m sure it’s perfectly reasonable to assume he’s not out there to injure Fajardo, right? And since the CFL is so serious about removing unsavory characters from the league (such as Marino), what’s Oakman doing on a roster knowing full well he has a history of trying to injure his own teammates, let alone those suiting up for the opposing team? 

4 – BLACK EYE DISCIPLINE – Here’s the most bitter pill that is hard to swallow: I think the punishment on Marino is heavyhanded and the social media mob, led by mainstream CFL media (who I’m convinced must hate the league because they turn more people off than they attract) is disgusting. However, Marino has too long of a track record of being undisciplined for me. Duke Williams swinging his helmet pre-game is also a bad look, not to mention he’s accused of spitting which I put up there as the most insulting thing you can do to someone. The team takes an ungodly number of penalties each game, although there have been some baby steps of improvement in this area the last two weeks. Ultimately, the continued unacceptable behavior of multiple players is chronic and it is a reflection of the coaching staff. Period.  

5 – CODE OF CONDUCT – Much is being made about Roughriders’ leadership and code of conduct with the recent antics of Marino and Williams however this isn’t strictly a Rider issue. Hamilton has Simoni Lawrence. Montreal has defensive tackle Michael Wakefield, who embarrassed his team in the game against the Riders a couple of weeks ago. Not much was said, but Ottawa lineman Dino Boyd injured Rider Pete Robertson with a bad hit last week and I’m sure if I looked hard enough, I could find despicable behavior on every team right across the board. So, this goes a lot further than just the Riders. I’m not saying the Riders don’t need to clean up their act, but this is a CFL wide problem and you can’t take the league seriously at this point with any of it.

6 – ZERO TOLERANCE – Just my opinion, but I find the whole premise behind the Banjo Bowl to be somewhat offensive. Troy Westwood called Rider fans ‘banjo picking inbreds’. Try saying such a thing about any other group of people and let me know if you think a professional sports league would market an entire game around such a classless comment. We all know the answer to that. So zero tolerance starts with banning that stupid, meaningless title of a game but that’s never going to happen because being all-inclusive and having zero-tolerance means there is still one particular group of people that it is always going to be okay to slander and to even point out such hypocrisy may cause you to be branded a racist.

7 – RATTLERS ADVERSITY – The Saskatchewan Rattlers stopped a four game losing skid this week in heartstopping fashion. They fell behind 15-2 in the early going to the Ottawa BlackJacks, only to bounce back and outscore the BlackJacks 49-15 for the rest of the first half. They were up 83-72 going into Elam Time and needed Tony Carr to drop both free throws to win 92-90. Of greater concern now is the departures of Scottie Lindsay and Sebastian Aris because of ‘personal issues’. Lindsay is one of Saskatchewan’s top offensive producers (he leads the CEBL with 52 three-pointers) and his natural replacement would be Aris but now both have gone home with four games left in the regular season.

8 – GAUDREAU MOVES – Johnny Gaudreau has signed with the Columbus Blue Jackets, leaving fans and media alike completely perplexed as the Calgary Flames offered more money and, presumably, have a better chance at winning the Stanley Cup. One thing that isn’t talked about, especially in Canada, is the fact that Gaudreau is an American and living in Canada is hardly desirable for people who have a choice between the two countries. Yeah, yeah I know. At least it’s not Ukraine. It’s also far from the country I grew up in too, just because Putin isn’t bombing my city doesn’t mean I should shut up about it. Multi-millionaire athletes who have families to consider would be wise to stay the heck out of here if given the option and that’s not to say the United States is the be-all end-all because it isn’t either. We live in crazy times and most of us seem apathetic to it. For me, I don’t blame a guy who picks a place where he may be able to be left the most alone and raise a family with as minimal interference as you can find.

9 – DUBOIS JETS – The Winnipeg Jets are said to be discussing a Pierre-Luc Dubois trade with the Montreal Canadiens. Dubois has already informed the Jets he’s counting down the next two years because he can’t wait to get out of town. I wonder what changed from when the team acquired him for Patrik Laine and Jack Roslovic. The Jets are now, dangerously, close to having nothing to show for the Laine trade, which was bad the day they made the deal and looks even worse today. Dubois, for me, is a confusing figure as far as fan adornment. Here’s a guy that totally shut down on Columbus, is about to do the same to Winnipeg, has never scored 30 goals in a season, yet is deemed to be some $9-million a year centreman. At his best, he’s a second line centre.  I don’t know what Montreal could possibly have other than draft picks to entice the Jets. Nick Suzuki is already better than Dubois and costs less per year.  Guaranteed the Habs are looking to make this deal with Dubois slotting in behind Suzuki.  The only other player attractive would be Kirby Dach and perhaps that’s the Jets’ target but it really is a huge step down from when they had Laine and Roslovic in the lineup.  Speaking of Roslovic, wouldn’t it be something to see him form some chemistry with Gaudreau.

10 – SOTO SAYS NO – Juan Soto has turned down 15-years and $440-million from the Washington Nationals, which immediately puts him on the trade block.  I’m not sure who will step up to acquire him but someone will and they’ll do it without really considering the collateral damage that it will inflict on their franchise.  The Nationals are going to demand a massive haul in players/prospects and then the team getting Soto will have to commit nearly half a billion dollars to keep him long term, thus handcuffing them to surround Soto with quality players.  The Anaheim Angels have two MVP level players in Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani.  Ohtani, the best player in the game, is due a raise and Trout makes $37.5-million a season. Yet, the Angels are the worst team in baseball.  Using the Angels as a cautionary tale, I wouldn’t go anywhere near a Soto trade but someone will.

(Mike Stackhouse is a freelance writer/broadcaster. Follow him on Twitter at @Stack1975)