Stackhouse’s 10 Weekend Thoughts

2 – RIDERS OFFSEASON – Watching this game, I jinxed the Riders by posting on X in the first half that the Riders appeared to have sorted out whatever had been ailing them for two months because they, very much, resembled the team that got off to a 6-and-2 start as opposed to the team that end ended 3-and-8.  Where they go from here is anyone’s guess, especially if Trevor Harris doesn’t return.  There is no heir apparent on the roster, rookie CFL quarterbacks who realize success in year one are almost unheard of so they are going to need to find somebody on another roster should Harris retire or move on. What concerns me is that the second half of 2026 looked a lot like the second half of 2022 and 2023, which is to say they went from looking great at the start of the season to looking subpar by the end.  This year should be recognized as nothing but unacceptable.  A defending champion should never bow out this way.

3 – BOMBERS/ARGOS – The crossover game was an exercise in pro football embarrassment.  Neither team deserved to win but I will go back to when the Riders defeated Toronto in late August in saying the Argos were a talented team with a low football IQ and they put that on full display yesterday.  More on Chad Kelly in the next point but the Bombers go into Montreal now with a quarterback controversy should Zac Collaros be cleared to play.  Brown was hardly the second coming of Khari Jones but Collaros hasn’t looked great in over a month despite his full body of work that will see him go into the Hall of Fame someday.

4 – RISING SALARIES – The CFL does ‘reported’ and ‘sources’ better than any other league.  We don’t truly know their TV ratings, we don’t truly know the value of their deals with TSN, DAZN, and YouTube.  We don’t truly know the value of Chad Kelly’s contract that was announced this week as a ‘reported’ $1.1-million per year for five seasons.  Kelly has a lot of talent, to be sure, but he’s been injury prone and unable to be available when his team has needed most, including the fourth quarter yesterday.  If Kelly is worth $1.1-million then Davis Alexander is worth double that.  I foresee an issue here down the road despite all the cheerleading that the Kelly contract is going to attract a bunch of big names who are just outside of making the NFL.  I already have Alexander and Nathan Rourke as players who would deserve more than Kelly so we aren’t just talking $1-million salaries.  We are talking $2-million or more within three years.  Can the CFL afford that?

5 – CFL CASH FLOW – For all the criticism of the new CFL rule changes and for all the hand-wringing over diminished crowds, Stewart Johnston deserves a grade of A+ if the league is in a position to fork over that kind of dough to marquee players.  The Argos average 15,000 people a game (assuming there is no lying about the actual bums in the seats) and yet they can afford to pay their QB $1-million a year? My hat’s off.  This means teams like Winnipeg and Saskatchewan are turning out profits like crazy and the Riders should have no issue luring a QB from another team because they should have the dollars to do it.

6 – KELLY – It wasn’t that long ago that media and fans branded Kelly as some sort of serial criminal because he violated a gender based violence policy the CFL has in place but in announcing his contract this week, his image has been totally reshaped.  Such is life now where news cycles simply follow certain narratives which are pushed by those in the background to get people on board with the topic of the day.  A couple of years ago it was all about performative theatre to show the public the league cares about gender based violence and this week it was all about promoting the influx of money teams have to pay players larger salaries.

7 – SOFTIES – It’s starting to finally get some attention but up until now, there has been nearly none given to just how far the typical NHL player has fallen as far as integrity, character, and toughness is concerned when you compare to other professional athletes in other sports as well as the mindset hockey players used to have.  Hockey players used to be the ultimate ‘team’ player.  Now they are anything but that and if you can find a guy who exudes these qualities you keep him.  We’ve beat the Connor Hellebuyck issue to death so I’m not going into that again but here’s what I can tell you – the NHL has upwards of 250 players with no-move clauses while MLB has 35 and the NFL has 8.  Hockey players also talk quite openly about not wanting to play in traditional markets where they are easily recognized by the general public.  Can you imagine Derek Jeter not wanting to play for the Yankees and requesting a trade to the Arizona Diamondbacks where he can, maybe, just blend in with everyone?  Baseball is, pretty much, the opposite.  If a player has the opportunity, he’s going to the Yankees, Dodgers, Red Sox, Cubs, Cardinals, etc.  He’s not banging down the door to go to Colorado, Pittsburgh, or the White Sox.  You can say the ability to pay has a lot to do with those baseball player decisions but all hockey teams have the ability to pay and any player who truly wants to win in a hockey market should be banging down the door to play for teams like Boston, NYRangers, Chicago, Detroit, and Philadelphia but they aren’t.

8 – KUCHEROV – The Nikita Kucherov trade request has come as a stunner to a lot of us because the State of Florida is, widely, attractive for NHLers because of the low taxes and both the Lightning and Panthers have teams that are always in the mix to contend for a Stanley Cup.  I won’t purport to know why Kucherov has requested a trade and notified the Lightning brass that he’s not coming back but I do find it interesting that Montreal would appear to be a team that he’s okay with being dealt to.  It’s no secret the Habs are looking to load up and on the surface it makes sense but Kucherov doesn’t have a better chance to win in Montreal than he does in Tampa.  It’s basically the same in both places.  I am wondering what he is involved with off-ice that would motivate him to leave.  Over a decade ago there was a big criminal investigation that revealed a couple of Russian players on the Canadiens were guilty of ‘bad social relationships’ but if you happen to be fortunate enough to talk to a player or two associated with the Habs during that time, you would know it was a lot more than that and it’s not talked about at all but it is not uncommon for some of these Russian players who are making millions of dollars a year to be involved in some sort of organized crime.  I’m not suggesting that’s the case with Kucherov but if there was an ounce of investigative journalism left in the media, I would suggest someone get to the bottom of the actual reason.  

9 – MLB WORLD SERIES – If you are someone who is still watching Major League Baseball on a regular basis, good for you.  You are the truest fan.  For me, the game has been destroyed by the analytical nerds who now control it.  In the World Series clincher this week, the Rays removed their best pitcher, Drew Rasmussen, after 4 innings, 48 pitches, and just 1 one run allowed.  One inning later after no-name relievers Kevin Kelly and Garrett Cleavinger had been in the game, it was 4-0 as Kelly and Cleavinger combined to allow 3-runs on 5-hits.  Teams are hellbent on getting starting pitchers out of games as fast as they can and replacing them with these anonymous middle relievers and yet starters are still making huge salaries while the relievers are not.  Doesn’t it make the most sense to pay the most money to those who you think are going to make the biggest difference in games? These decisions defy logic and yet all the teams do it because we live in a monkey-see, monkey-do world rather than one where a strong leader can see through the flaws of the herd and go in a different direction.

10 – ANALYTICS – For the most part, analytics has infiltrated all sports and is ruining them.  I’ve heard NHL media talk about how save percentages are down amongst goalies.  I’m not going to deep-dive into it but my guess is because shots on goal are down.  Analytics says it’s dumb to shoot the puck because if you miss the net, you may give up possession.  Of course you can’t score if you don’t shoot, but strong metrics are more important than winning games.  It also makes sports less fun to watch.  In the NFL, you see a lot of puzzling fourth down gambles because ‘the analytics or metrics’ reveal it’s the smart play even though the human eyeball knows full-well it’s a dumb play.  At least in the NFL, the entertainment doesn’t suffer so much as it’s just crazy to watch stupid decisions.  In hockey, watching keepaway isn’t fun.  In baseball, 15 pitching changes isn’t fun.  Sports should have separate committees made up of people who have no invested interest in winning and their number one task should be looking at finding ways to keep the sport exciting while making it harder to win and penalize or eliminate boredom.  I’ll give an example – last night’s UFC main event features Renato Moicano and Tom Nolan.  Moicano was content to lay on his back with Nolan’s back on top of him and do nothing but he was controlling the fight.  He did that for two full rounds and was winning even though the fight was nearly unwatchable.  The referee broke up the hug late in the second because nothing was happening and once on their feet, Nolan went on the offensive and scored an exciting knockout.  Technically, was it the right call?  Purists would probably say Moicano got jobbed.  I say the name of the game should be entertainment.

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