Stackhouse’s 10 Weekend Thoughts

1 – RIDERS RALLY – I didn’t catch the Saskatchewan Roughriders season opener but 21 fourth quarter points is nothing to sneeze at as they emerged victorious over hapless Edmonton in Week 1. From here the Riders go into Hamilton and while we are only two weeks into the season, it’s not hard to envision a path for Saskatchewan to win the West Division. Winnipeg is, clearly, on the decline. Edmonton is a tire fire and that leaves the BC Lions and Calgary Stampeders as threats and I don’t get a sense either of those teams are championship material. The Riders could come up the middle here.

2 – WEATHER KEEPS FANS AWAY – I guess there was a rain storm and severe weather warnings in Edmonton on Friday night so there was, literally, nearly nobody in the seats to watch them lose 23-20 to Montreal.  Someone sent me an X post where the 50/50 winning number was revealed but the pot of money available was so small it wasn’t announced how much it was. I think there is real trouble here and while there are some that will say a rich tradition is at risk of dying, I would tell you the name change killed the tradition back in 2021. While it’s true the drop in fans wouldn’t be as steep if the team was winning, it’s also worth noting that an organization like Edmonton’s wouldn’t be playing to empty seats if they just catered to those who are their customers rather than appease people who have hated them since the dawn of time.

3 – FANS – Assuming bums in the seats account for something as far as revenue is concerned, I would think the chatter behind closed doors at the CFL head office is focused on how to bring back the fans that have left and not returned in recent years.  Calgary is down, approximately, 13 thousand fans per game from their record setting campaign of 2009  The Roughriders are down about 10 thousand from their memorable record setting season of 2013.  Even Winnipeg is down 3 thousand from their top drawing year of 2013.  So nobody can say they are at an all-time prosperous high when it comes to in-person generated revenue streams.

4 – BOMBERS SLOW START – Winnipeg is off to an 0-and-2 beginning to the year and if this is a sign of things to come for the Bombers, then the stars could be aligning perfectly for the Montreal Alouettes to lay claim to their second straight Grey cup with Jason Maas and Cody Fajardo as the most recognizable faces of that franchise.  Imagine had the Riders kept Maas and made him head coach at the start of 2023 and hung on to Fajardo, it’s possible we are talking dynasty for the Riders.

5 – RATTLERS HEATING UP – The Saskatchewan Rattlers won three straight to start the year, then lost two in a row, and now have won back to back to sit 5-and-2 overall in the 20-game regular schedule.  Wednesday night, Jalen Harris set a new CEBL record by dropping 45-points in a 104-93 win over the Brampton Honey Badgers.  Harris leads all players in scoring with an average of 27.7.  Both the Rattlers and Edmonton Stingers sit a game behind the 6-and-1 Vancouver Bandits.  The Bandits’ only loss came at the hands of the Rattlers in the second game of the year.  The CEBL remains a professional sports secret.  Ticket prices are affordable, entertainment level is top notch.

6 – PLAYER CONTINUITY – My one complaint about the league would be the lack of continuity as far as players on teams is concerned. It’s difficult to establish long term connections with players for the fans.  In the case of the Rattlers, their longest serving player is Anthony Tsegakele at three years but he’s a bench player.  The fans, clearly, love him although it would be nice if there was a top player or two that you knew was always going to be here. Fortunately, they have had elite players each of the last three years (Tony Carr, Justin Wright-Foreman, and now Harris) so it hasn’t been hard to get into the team.  One of the fan favorites so far this season has been Grant Basile, but he’s left the club to try his hand with Italy’s Olympic team. As Basile left, Bryson Williams arrived and he put up 13-rebounds in his season debut on Wednesday against Brampton.

7 – JWF WHO – Speaking of Wright-Foreman, I was choked to read the transactions on Wednesday to see he was signing with Winnipeg and would be teaming up with Teddy Allen to make-up the most dynamic scoring threat duo in the CEBL.  I even butted in on an X feed conversation that involved Lee Genier, the Rattlers President, and I mentioned that it was going to be tough sledding the rest of the way with the Sea Bears running out Wright-Foreman and Allen every night.  Genier told me not to worry with Harris playing out of his mind.  It was clear foreshadowing as mere hours later, Harris put up the record setting performance.

8 – OILERS DOWNFALL – The Florida Panthers are on the verge of winning the Stanley Cup despite Edmonton’s 8-1 offensive explosion Saturday night.  The Oilers have surprised me by getting this far despite sketchy goaltending every step of the way.  The way they won on Saturday probably makes fans feel a lot different from 24 hours earlier but I still watch Oilers games and every time an opposition shooter gets a shot on goal, I am expecting it to go in so I can’t imagine how the players feel.  I think the Panthers clinch this back on home ice in game five.

9 – PATRIK LAINE – Patrik Laine wants out of Columbus and while his reputation has taken a massive hit in recent years, call me a sucker as I think Laine would thrive in the right situation.  What that situation is, only a select few who take the time to try and get inside of his head, can tell you.  The impression I have always got with Laine is that when he’s happy he belongs getting recognized amongst the NHL’s very very best.  I think he’d be great in Boston, Detroit, or Nashville.  I also think Philadelphia may take a long look at him but I’m not sure how Laine would mesh with John  Tortorella.

10 – BRITTA CURL – Female hockey player Britta Curl is under some fire from the media for ‘liking’ posts on X that promoted so-called Covid conspiracy theories (which most ended up being proven as truth but ignored by mainstream media), support for Kyle Rittenhouse, and attacking the use of pronouns when it comes to how some people want to be addressed.  Curl would like to have a professional hockey playing future so she’s been forced to apologize for her thought crimes.  The pronoun thing I have always found interesting.  I can’t say for 100% certainty but most of the time when I refer to a person with pronouns, it’s because the person isn’t actually in the room so how can the person even be aware of your mis-use?  I also find it hypocritical that the PWHL is going to stand on a soapbox of ‘inclusion’ when sports leagues everywhere supported segregating and ostracizing those who refused to go along with various government mandates.

(Mike Stackhouse is a freelance writer/broadcaster)