Stackhouse’s 10 Weekend Thoughts

1 – RIDERS – I didn’t catch the Rider game on Saturday so it’s difficult to comment on it other than what I saw was the final score. Rider fans should not panic as it’s common to have a let down when it’s been such an easy season. After all, this is their first loss to a team other than Calgary and we are over ⅔ complete of the regular season schedule.  The Stamps also did the Riders a favor last week by losing to Edmonton in the back half of their Labor Day home and home series. 

2 – ATTENDANCE – In true CFL fashion the announced crowd was a number greater than those who were actually there.  The league likes to announce tickets distributed, which in this case was almost 27,000. The number of people who were actually there is unknown but depending on who you talk to, it would appear 22,000 might be more accurate? The excuse, of course, is the rain. Had it been a nicer day perhaps all 27,000 people who received tickets would have gone to the game. I’m not sure why all CFL teams just don’t distribute the same number of tickets as what their respective stadiums could hold. This way, all teams could sell out every single game. Which brings me to another question. What actually constitutes a sellout at Mosaic Stadium?  Is it 33,000 or is it less than that because they don’t distribute 33,000 tickets?  I’ve seen the claim that 28,000 is a sellout as well.  

3 – BOMBERS – I said a few weeks ago that the window has closed on the Winnipeg Blue Bombers as far as being a championship caliber team and now it’s possible that they could miss the playoffs. The team is at a definite crossroads at the quarterback position even if Zach Collaros can come back and play. How much longer should they count on him being effective. Chris Streveler isn’t the answer. Taylor Elgersma probably should get the first crack, but he’s going to need a big contract just to lure him away from chasing an NFL practice squad and he has no track record to suggest he’s worth a starter salary let alone a figure that would put him at the top of the league (which is what I think it may take as long as there are NFL options). Unrelated to the quarterback position, I’m more interested in seeing if their fans will continue to support a losing team by continually selling out the stadium. If I was to guess, as of today, no. Their glory days in this area are over too. 

4 – McDAVID/KAPRIZOV– Time is ticking on four big name NHL free agents however two of them are more in the spotlight as Kiril Kaprizov has turned down a record setting $16-million a season (7 years) from Minnesota and Connor McDavid refuses to give Edmonton an answer even tho the Oilers sitting, willing and ready, to give McDavid absolutely everything he wants. Both situations tell me one thing–the Wild and Oilers need to trade these guys and cut their losses. With it being the eve of training camp both players should tell their teams exactly what they want in order to get their names on the dotted line. If both players would rather be somewhere else, it’s incumbent to let them know so that trades can be completed. If I was in charge, there would be an ultimatum or a drop dead date to sign. If that date comes and goes then they get the Mikko Rantanen treatment that Colorado was forced to follow through on in the middle of last season. In Kaprizov’s case, he’s not worth what he’s turned down.  The Wild will be a far better team allocating the money elsewhere. The guy can hardly get in half a season anyway so it’s more like $32-million he turned down. Beat it. 

5 – LONDON FIVE – The five NHL players accused of sexual assault stemming from a 2018 incident in London Ontario are eligible to return to the NHL December 1st. All five players, who were found innocent, will have missed about 2 years by the time they are eligible to play. If you are a frequent reader of my column, you may know that based on the evidence that was made public, I, for the most part, supported the victim in this case. Having said all that, my question would be why are these players suspended at all, seeing as how they’ve been found ‘not guilty’.  Is their crime the willing participation in group sex?  Does the NHL feel as though there is guilt despite the legal definition of ‘not guilty’? Is their crime simply that this became public and, therefore, the NHL feels a need to appease people who are not invested in its product? I think it’s incumbent to know so that players who engage in non-conventional sex can be aware of the potential punishment.  

6 – GOODENOW – Former NHLPA Executive Bob Goodenow passed away yesterday at the age of 72. No cause was announced. Goodenow is best known for being the union head during tremendous labour strife, including an entire lost season in 2005. Less known was Goodenow’s connection to David Frost, the greasy hockey agent who handled Mike Danton and Sheldon Keefe. In Steve Simmons’ book, Goodenow is mentioned as having a son who played for Frost in his youth. It was always a mystery to many as to how Frost got certified to be an agent and nobody would really talk about it. My speculation is that Goodenow saw to it. 

7 – UFC – Diego Lopes stopped Jean Silva with a spinning elbow and then followed it up with a relentless ground attack before the referee stopped the fight when Silva tried to use the cage to get up.  It’s a big win for Lopes, who lost a decision to champion Alexander Volkanovski earlier this year.  Silva had been on a hot streak and wasn’t shy about bragging about it.  I wonder if this doesn’t setup Lopes for another shot at Volk down the road.  

8 – NLL – The National Lacrosse League is going through collective bargaining agreement negotiations between owners and players. Time is running out for them to come to an agreement on a new framework. However, it was a good sign when the league decided to hold its draft a little over a week ago and free agency is also slated to begin. In addition, the league is set to release a schedule and the Rush will play their first home game on December 6th against Calgary. For the most part, the Rush look to return just about everybody from last season’s roster that came within a victory of winning a league title.

9 – INVERNESS GOLF – I spent the last week on a holiday in the Maritimes and one of my days was spent at the Cabot Cape Breton golf courses in Inverness. One is called Links and one is called Cliffs. Green fees are not for the faint of heart. I’m told they can be upwards of 500 bucks. It’s clearly for a different level of clientele. Apparently Denzel Washington and Tom Selleck have golfed there to name just a couple. Because of the proximity to the NHL homes of Sidney Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon, I’m sure it’s a hot bed for NHLers. There are cottages or condos along the fairways and they retail for between 1 and 4 million dollars each. They are sold out. There is a landing pad for a private helicopter just in case the airport, which is about a 45-minute drive away, is too much of an inconvenience.  It just goes to show that literally anything is possible economically as long as the barriers are down and someone has vision and money. 

10 – CHARLIE KIRK – Just about everybody has an opinion about what happened to Charlie Kirk this week. For the most part I have tried to sit this one out. I have never liked labels being assigned to people. I know many out there would brand me a right winger however I refuse to be identified as such. What I do know is that our world changed a great deal in 2020 as a lot of people have revealed themselves to be, let’s just say, less than kind.  It’s escalated steadily ever since and hit a boiling point this week. One thing that seems to be lost here is that Charlie Kirk was not a politician and regardless of what you may think of his opinions they are just that— opinions.  Kirk was not in a position to change policy. He was simply a person who had a large voice and some people agreed with him and some people disagreed with him. I wasn’t killed in 2020 but when all three Saskatchewan tv media outlets came to hunt me down to try and get me fired from my job for criticizing Covid mandates, it was very evident to me that there are forces out there who will stop at nothing to shut down dissent. I’m just some insignificant joker from Yorkton so I can’t say I feared death although I’ve definitely been threatened with it several times. Sadly, I knew we’d eventually see a day where someone with a major following would just be eliminated permanently. It’s not ending here.  More people are going to die senselessly.  Some of them will be famous. Some of them won’t. But I fear the bloodshed has just started and I shudder to think where it goes but it’s not going to be better anytime soon. 

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