MIKE STACKHOUSE’S 10 THOUGHTS
1 – FAJARDO HAVING JOSEPH-LIKE YEAR: In 2007 when Kerry Joseph won the Most Outstanding Player Award, he threw for 4002 yards, 24 touchdowns, 8 interceptions and then ran for 737 yards and 13 majors. I don’t think fans really appreciated how great a year this was. Sure, Joseph was quite ordinary in the Grey Cup game but he still won and it doesn’t take away from the amazing year. Twelve seasons later and Cody Fajardo has two games to play but here are his numbers: 3873 passing yards, 16 touchdowns, 8 interceptions, 610 yards rushing, 10 scores. He’s going to have a very similar year and just like when Joseph won MOP, there are a multitude of injuries around the league that have allowed Fajardo to emerge as a serious contender. At this point, I think he’s got to be the favorite to win it. In 2007, Joseph averaged a ridiculous 8.2 yards per rush. Many Rider fans never appreciated Joseph until it was well too late. Eric Tillman rewarded Joseph’s betting on himself to earn his salary by trading him to Toronto where the dumb Argos tried to fit a square peg into a round hole. In my opinion, an unforgivable act by a GM to a player who kept his half of the bargain.
2 – SELFISH PLAYERS: I used to have great disdain for players who forced their way off teams. In particular, Eric Lindros was the first one I can recall who did it. It started in junior and continued after he was drafted by the Quebec Nordiques. After that, we seemed to see a big increase in all professional sports and I had no respect for it at all. My opinions and feelings have changed over time. I look at JT Realmuto who pressured the Miami Marlins to move him to another team in Major League Baseball and now, more recently, Jalen Ramsey who orchestrated his way out of Jacksonville so that he doesn’t have to play with the sad sack Jaguars. A player’s career is only so long and when organizations decide they are going to take their sweet time generating a contending club, why shouldn’t a guy like Ramsey or Realmuto go somewhere else that is serious about it? I look at Christian Yelich, who signed a seven year contract with the Marlins only to learn the franchise was sabotaging multiple years on purpose right after he signs the deal. Good on him to get out of there. The Edmonton Oilers are off to a solid start, but if they fall flat this year I wouldn’t have any problem with Connor McDavid sitting home and demanding a trade at the end of the year. He’s given them more than enough time to get themselves competitive.
3 – ALCS: I haven’t watched an inning of the Major League Baseball playoffs but that may change now that we are in the World Series. This is the first year I can remember not watching any of it. Saturday night, I sat down and thought I’d tune in for game six of the Houston-Yankees series and looked up the score before changing the channel and saw that 96 minutes after the first pitch was thrown, only three innings had been completed and both clubs used openers in a very crucial game. The Yankees, with a payroll of over $200-million and facing a must-win game, decided middle reliever Chad Green pitching the first inning was their best hope. It didn’t work out. Now, I know analytic nerds will point to this opener thing being successful more times than not, but so too is a regular starter successful more times than not when the rest of the club is good. How successful were losing teams at using openers? In the end, the Astros won 6-4 with a Jose Altuve walk-off homer. Five of Houston’s six runs came on homers. Three of the Yankees four runs came on homers. If you didn’t watch, you didn’t miss much.
4 – BASEBALL PLAYOFFS ON TV: I tuned in to MLB Network Radio over the weekend and the two hosts were complaining that Fox won’t put the LCS on their main network, instead bumping it to FS1. One of them said if this were the NFL, a preseason game featuring the Dolphins and Bengals would hit Fox’s top viewing channel before a baseball playoff game would. The dialogue focused on Fox’s favoritism for football over baseball and the issue of why football was favoured never came up. I’d submit that 96 minutes of only three innings is the poster child for why. And, yet there is no appetite whatsoever within baseball to fix their glaring issues of non-competitiveness, no excitement, unrecognizable superstars, all or nothing at bats, and station to station play. I’d even be okay with 96 minutes of three inning baseball if the pace wasn’t so glacial.
5 – NBA GETS IT: The NBA is always tinkering with rules to make its game more attractive. Some are good ideas, some aren’t. This year, the G League is experimenting with free throws. When a foul is called, the player awarded the throw will get only one shot. The basket will be worth one, two, or three points depending on what was called. If you are fouled outside the arc, you get one free throw. If you make it, it’s three points.
6 – BURKE ON OVERTIME: Saturday night, Brian Burke suggested the NHL institute a shot clock in overtime. What we are seeing more and more during the 3-on-3 extra period is a game of keep away with very little shot attempts. It’s a great idea. The other idea Burke had is for penalties to be shorter if they are called in OT. I’ve watched many games in which coincidental minors are whistled and then play continues for another minute or more and we lose the 3-on-3 enjoyment.
7 – BEARS SQUANDERING A GOOD CHANCE: The Chicago Bears have a really good team, but they are inept at quarterback. Options at this point aren’t plentiful, but you have to wonder if someone like Eli Manning or Ryan Fitzpatrick wouldn’t be able to elevate them into being a contender. The other quarterback who could be available is Nick Foles, the Jacksonville pivot who got hurt in week one but has been replaced by Gardner Minshew quite well. The Bears have also had no luck running the ball, but it’s possible that is a byproduct of having a bad quarterback. Having said that, the Chargers were a better team when Melvin Gordon was holding out and they should strongly consider moving him (to the Bears?) and making Austin Ekeler their bellcow.
8 – PFC: The Saskatoon Hilltops and Edmonton Huskies will play for the PFC Championship next weekend in Saskatoon. The Hilltops, to nobody’s surprise, beat the Edmonton Wildcats 31-7 while the Huskies beat the Regina Thunder 20-17 in an exciting game at Leibel Field Sunday afternoon. The beauty of being an arm-chair coach is you get to second guess the real coach and I have to admit I wanted to see Eric Maximuik try a 49-yard field goal with a minute to go in an effort to tie the game. If there’s a kicker in the league with the leg to make that, it’s Maximuik. Instead, the Thunder gambled on third down and were unsuccessful (they also took a penalty). The Hilltops beat the Huskies 24-22 in their only other meeting this year. Call me crazy, but I think the Huskies can win this game. They’ve got a balanced attack on offense, their defense has only gotten better over the course of the season, and their special teams is also solid despite an uncharacteristic performance from place kicker Luca Cupelli, who missed three field goals on Sunday. I know the Hilltops are unbeaten and have no glaring weaknesses. They’ll also have the benefit of being the home team. But, I have a hunch Edmonton will be very ready for this game. If they can find a way to keep Ben Abrook under 100 yards rushing, I like the Huskie chances.
9 – TERRIERS GOALTENDING: Netminder Ryan Ouellette is returning to the Yorkton Terriers after a stint with the Minnesota Wilderness of the NAHL. The addition of Ouellette to go with Philippe Bond gives Yorkton one of the best 1-2 goaltending tandems in the SJHL (Nipawin’s Ethan Slobodzian and Ross Hawryluk are likely tops). This would never happen, but wouldn’t it be something if the Terriers decided to hook up with arch rival Melville on a trade as the Mils are in need of help between the pipes as a result of Berk Berkeliev’s injury. The Terriers could use another top four defenseman and the Mils have a few players that would help Yorkton so there is a match here, I just don’t see the two teams even discussing it with one another.
10 – KAMINSKI GOES HOME: Former NHLer Kevin Kaminski is doing a bang up job in his first year as coach of the La Ronge Ice Wolves. They are a tough out every night and are a threat to return to the SJHL playoffs. The Churchbridge native returned home on Saturday as the Ice Wolves and Terriers played a neutral site game in Churchbridge in front of approximately 400 fans. It was a good opportunity for the community to see an SJHL game as well as for Kaminski to go back to the place where it all began. Churchbridge is a 30 minute drive east of Yorkton on the Yellowhead highway.
(Mike Stackhouse is a freelance writer/broadcaster. Follow him on Twitter at @Stack1975)
