SCRUFFY’S THIS ‘N THAT

1 – THE TIME HAS COME:  The Montana’s Brier is over and Brad Gushue has once again gone home with the big trophy. I think I called that in last week’s column. It was a great weekend of curling in Regina as I knew it would be.  Many turned out to watch the best men’s rinks in this country go after the title and a lot of fun was had by all.  It would have been better had Mike McEwen won, but Team Saskatchewan just couldn’t make the shots in Sunday’s final.

While it was a great week of curling, the fact that two rink-related incidents occurred can’t be ignored. First, a leak came from the roof disrupted a game for 20 minutes with a couple of days later, many were inconvenienced for a while because of some plumbing problems.

I love the Brandt Centre just as much as anyone in this city. The memories I have from being at events both as a spectator and a media guy at the Agridome/Brandt Centre are many. However, just like it was at Taylor Field, the time has come for a new facility in Regina and this week showed it.

So much work has been done at the Brandt Centre over the years, but you can only do so much before you realize that what you have is all you are going to get. An elevator or elevators are not going to be built. Seats that are considered not wide enough are not going to expand and the concourse isn’t going to get wider. I can’t imagine what it would be like if a concert had to be delayed because of a leaky roof or if people were told they could only use facilities or get concessions from one end of the building.  That day might come.

Yes, a new rink should come downtown and yes, a funding formula will have to be developed so that the Regina taxpayer is not on the hook for construction but talk of an arena and an entertainment district needs to be revived and accelerated.

While I think that “entertainment district” needs to be downtown, some will argue that maybe the Brandt Centre just needs to be stripped down and reconfigured.  I don’t know how you really do that and I am guessing the Regina Pats and REAL don’t really want that but something needs to be done.

This week showed us all that the Brandt Centre needs replacing. It’s been a great facility, but something new is needed.

2 – HOCKEYVILLE:  The annual Kraft Hockeyville contest is upon us again and once again; a small Saskatchewan town will try and win the contest. I’ll be completely honest. I have grown a little tired of this promotion, and I wonder if at the end of the day if this is just a fraud or not. Towns like Wilcox, Ituna, Lafleche and Pense have all tried and failed. Really? In a province where hockey is king, not one Saskatchewan community has won this contest. I think something smells when it comes to the results, especially when Kraft doesn’t release the final vote. Take nothing away from the communities in our province that try as they do what they can while engaging the community, but it is seemingly not enough.

Wolseley will try and become the first Saskatchewan town to win since the promotion was unveiled in 2006. While I hope they are successful and I know they will do everything they can to win, the reality is they probably won’t for whatever reason. I’ve seen others do everything and fail when they shouldn’t have so my optimism is low. I hope I’m wrong on this one.

3 – CONGRATS EBS:  Its been quite the career for former Regina Pat Jordan Eberle. As most of you likely know, he hit game 1000 the other night and was recognized before the Seattle Kraken played Washington Thursday night. Have you ever seen someone score a nicer first career goal than what Eberle scored as a member of the Edmonton Oilers back in 2010? I think we all know this guy has been built for the moment as he scored several big goals for the teams he has played on with no goal bigger than that one in Ottawa at the World Juniors in the final seconds against Russia.  The only thing he hasn’t done is get his name engraved on the Stanley Cup.  Hopefully that day comes.

4 – THE VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS:  I think it is safe to say that if you aren’t a fan of the Vegas Golden Knights, you hate them no matter who you cheer for. They seem to have a different rulebook at their disposal, but the reality is they don’t. How could the Knights swoop in and make a trade for Tomas Hertl just as the trade deadline ended? Simple, they found a way to make a deal and GM Kelly McCrimmon, whom WHL fans know quite well, knows what he is doing, He has used every loophole to his advantage.

The Knights had extra money because Mark Stone is on LTIR. Will Stone be back in time for Game 1 of the playoffs. Of course he will. The only way that this changes is for the loophole to be closed and that the salary cap remains in effect for the playoffs as well. It is either that or a player that goes on LTIR has to miss a minimum number of games and if that means the first round of the playoffs so be it. Hockey fans think Vegas is cheating, but they are not. If karma means anything, Vegas struggles down the stretch and doesn’t get into the playoffs. That would be great, but I don’t think that is going to happen.

5 – BRAYDEN POINT: As I watched the Tampa Bay Lightning battle the New York Rangers Thursday night, I watched former Moose Jaw Warrior Brayden Point have one of his best career games as he had six points in a victory including three goals giving him 36 on the season. In my mind, there is no doubt he is on Team Canada when it comes time to start talking about the 2026 Olympics. Many a good player has gone through the Warriors system, and I think it is safe to say Theoren Fleury is the top player to have worn the jersey. Would Point be number two on the list? I would say it’s time for the Warriors to retire his jersey isn’t it?

6 – FRIDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL – FOX STYLE:  Should the CFL be worried? A league that wants the younger demographic to tune in may have a problem. FOX says it will be airing a prime-time US college football game on Friday nights. Sorry CFL, I think a lot of the eyes that you want on your game are going to tune in to FOX. I know I might be depending on what game we are getting. This won’t be a problem until college football starts in September, but I wonder what type of hit the CFL will take once that season does start.  They certainly won’t go back to playing Sunday games.

7 – KING HENRY CHANGES HIS ZIPCODE: Make an investment in the Baltimore Ravens to win the Super Bowl. The signing of free agent running back Derrick Henry to an offence that already has a dual threat in Lamar Jackson makes that team a lot better. If Henry is in the lineup for the AFC Championship, Taylor Swift isn’t going to the Super Bowl and the Chiefs aren’t in the game.

8 – WELL DONE THUNDER: If you haven’t seen the Regina Thunder schedule release on social media, do yourself a favour and find it.  It’s tremendous! 

9 – REUNITING IN CALGARY:  Former Riders head coach Craig Dickenson has landed on his feet as he will work with his brother Dave in Calgary. Is it just me or did Justin Dunk break this about two weeks before it was officially announced? It seemed like old news when people finally started talking about it. If I was putting money down on where Dickie would end up, it would have been in Calgary. His CFL days aren’t done!

10 – TYSON VS PAUL: Is anyone interested in seeing a boxing match between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul? Does Jake have to go through Glass Joe, Piston Hurricane and Bald Bull before getting to Mike?  If you have no idea what I am referencing, you were born in the 2000’s right?

BONUS: BEST POTATO CHIP: Thursday was not only PI day, it was national potato chip day.  Who doesn’t love potato chips! The question is what’s your favourite. You give me a bag of Rip-L-chips or those Hawaiian salt chips you get at Costco and you add some onion dip to that and I’m happy. What about you?

That’s all I got. Have a great weekend!