STACKHOUSE’S WEEKEND THOUGHTS

1 – CUP FINAL – I’m sure it’s just because I’m getting old, but a Stanley Cup final between Florida and Vegas that starts on June 3 is of less than no interest to me. Hockey season should be done by May 31.  I know times have changed, especially with the NHL playing in warm climates it really shouldn’t matter what time of year the season begins and ends, but I just have no desire to watch at this point.  I gave it an honest effort on Saturday night but there was nothing captivating.

2 – RATTLERS – Meanwhile, the Saskatchewan Rattlers got absolutely pasted by the previously winless Niagara River Lions 116-74 and I”m not proud to admit that while the NHL finals are of no interest, I sat through the entirety of this butchering.  I guess because I missed the season opener, a 109-85 Rattlers win over Vancouver, I was curious to see the talent.  Justin Wright-Foreman, who was parachuted in on the eve of the home opener is an absolute godsend.  Wright-Foreman has NBA experience with the Utah Jazz and he has CEBL MVP potential written all over him.  He’s had back to back 20 point games despite only playing about 20 minutes in each game.  On Wednesday, he left with an eye injury.  On Saturday, there was no point playing him down by 40.  The Rattlers are going to need to rebound better.  Much better actually.  And, they’ll need to shoot better than the combined 1-for-18 that Malik Benlevi, Drake Jefferies, and Jermel Kennedy were on Saturday.  Here’s to hoping we see more of Anthony Tsegakele, who dropped 11-points and 7-rebounds in just 15-minutes of playing time.

3 – RIDERS – The Saskatchewan Roughriders are 2-and-0 in games that don’t count, and optimism is hitting all of the high notes over the last 24-hours as fans are stoked at the potential.  You’d think the Riders had enough players to field two teams based on how good the ones are that they have to cut, according to social media pundits.  I’m going to suggest with improved quarterback play and improved discipline, the team could go 10-and-8.  I didn’t watch the Winnipeg game on Friday and finding the stats was an exercise in futility so I don’t really have much else to say on it.

4 – DUBAS/TRUDEAU – Kyle Dubas has been put in charge of the Pittsburgh Penguins.  He’s, quickly, becoming the Justin Trudeau of the NHL.  The media loves him, he’s got a small quadrant of hardcore supporters, he’s done nothing of note to justify said support, and the personality is showing to be that of someone you wouldn’t want to have on your side in the event of a knife fight.  I’m going to suggest Toronto wins a Cup before Pittsburgh does.

5 – BABCOCK BACK – Mike Babcock will be named head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets July 1st and I will instantly become a fan.  I’m rooting for Babcock in a big way.  While I felt he let the media attention in Toronto go to his head, I think he also got a very raw deal when he was fired.  There may be some measures Babcock has used in the past that I don’t approve of (sitting Mike Modano so that he came one game shy of 1500 for his career being the biggest), but the reality is that these are supposed to be men that he’s coaching and there shouldn’t be any entitlements.  Even with the Modano milestone.  If his play is bad enough to get scratched, then scratch him.  I mean that’s really the way it should be even though it never actually goes like that.  I think Babcock will find what Patrik Laine’s potential is and don’t forget Johnny Gaudreau had his career year under hard nosed Darryl Sutter.  My guess is Babcock hasn’t forgotten how to coach and the proof is in the pudding on the work ethic of the four sweethearts in Toronto now that Babs is gone.  I think now that we have more information, Babcock wasn’t wrong to try and get more from them and while you may not like his psychology, again, these are supposed to be men and it’s clear even several years later the Leaf superstars are not ‘men’.

6 – BASS/KERSHAW – There may eventually be a boiling point with professional sports leagues using its players as virtue signal symbols for various left wing social causes.  Blue Jays pitcher Anthony Bass has apologized for what some deem to be ‘anti trans gender’ comments for encouraging people to continue their bans on Target and Budweiser.  The reality is that Bass isn’t a good enough player to find work anywhere else should the Jays release him so he’s got no choice but to bow to his employer on this (not unlike many people who got vaccinated because they financially couldn’t afford not to).  However, Clayton Kershaw is a potential future Hall of Famer (although this is now in jeopardy because of his pro-Christian stance) and he’s come out and voiced his disapproval of the Los Angeles Dodgers welcoming a satirical gay ‘nun’ group for a Pride Night award.  Kershaw’s opinions do carry more weight than Bass and the Dodgers, at Kershaw’s strong suggestion, have announced they will hold Christian Faith and Family Day on July 30.  

7 – TOLERANCE NOT ENOUGH – I maintain there is a difference between being anti something vs tolerant vs promoting but more and more we are seeing tolerance simply isn’t good enough and because of that there is now a bit of a backlash coming from those who don’t wish to promote.  I’m curious to see the casualties along the way.  It’s become ‘cool’ to boycott Budweiser and that brand may never recover although the decrease in sales does seem to have flatlined at around 28% less than where they were before their woke stance.  In Saskatchewan, I believe we have two professional sports teams that have seen their attendance suffer because of societal positions that are not reflective of who their customers are but I’m sure executives with both of those teams would disagree with me on that.

8 – HOW TO FIX – I find myself searching for a solution on how to handle all of these divisive issues that have made their way into enjoying sports and the only thing I can come up with is to ban all theme nights.  Whether it’s for Pride, Christians, Military, it doesn’t matter.  I think you have to get rid of all of them in order to save face.  This includes playing the anthem at the start of sporting events.  Just get rid of it.  If we can’t make you promote Pride Night, we shouldn’t be making you stand up and show respect for the flag either.  Just get rid of all of it.  If you are that passionate about the anthem, play it in your home before you go to the stadium.  The reality is this:  if sports teams need people to attend games, they shouldn’t be doing things that chase some of them away.  You can say those people are bigots all day long, but they are still customers and unless the virtue signallers step up and claim the seats of those society finds to be unholy (which they always say they will do but never follow through on) you have to find a way to walk a line that makes all fans feel welcome.

9 – LAP DANCES – Speaking of unholy, there is a strip club in Las Vegas that is offering the Golden Knights players free lap dances for life if they go on to win the Stanley Cup.  I’m always amused to see which morals are non-negotiable as far as getting into trouble and which ones are ignored.  I mean I don’t care, but the Boston Celtics fired their coach for having an affair with a woman on their staff.  The Buffalo Bills cut their rookie punter over a sex assault allegation that was later determined to be a witch hunt as the player wasn’t even at the party in question.  You’d think that in light of the bad publicity and questionable actions of the 2018 Canadian World Junior Team that encouraging this type of behavior would be very much frowned upon rather than widely applauded.

10 – SJHL MILS – The Melville Millionaires of the SJHL are slated to announce the hiring of a new head coach early next week and while I can’t go into details as to who they hired, I will just say this franchise will very quickly go back to being relevant after suffering through eight straight losing seasons (I don’t count the joke year of 2021).  Fans in Melville are still very engaged with their team and are starved to cheer for a contender.  As they say, Rome wasn’t built in a day, but the foundation starts this week and Mils fans have every reason to start to get excited.

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