Scruffy’s This N That

1 – HAPPY ANNIVERSARY?  It’s hard to believe the sports world shut down five years ago this month. How did we survive? We all know how COVID-19 devastated the sports world at all levels. Who knew when I was sitting at then-Mosaic Place watching the Scotties Tournament of Hearts that a month later all would be quiet all over the place? I was planning to go to Edmonton to watch the Oilers final two home games of the regular season, but that trip was cancelled for obvious reasons.  

I interviewed TSN’s Rick Westhead on the Sportscage and he warned this would not be a one- or two-week postponement. When I suggested there might be a delay to CFL training camps and that the season was in jeopardy, I had many including management at my radio station at the time saying I was crazy. How did that turn out? 

It is still hard to fathom that games were played in empty stadiums. I remember seeing Connor Bedard and the Pats play Prince Albert in an empty Brandt Centre with the only people in the stands being an assembled group of media who couldn’t go up into the press box because only game officials were allowed in that area. I believe MJ pxp man James Gallo had to do games from the other side of the rink above the benches because he couldn’t get into a broadcast booth. 

Five years later, you can say all you want about the pandemic and what resulted, but I think for the most part everything is back to normal. May we never go back to that. Again, how did the sports fan survive??

2 – BEN HEBERT: I will be 100 percent honest. I wasn’t crazy with Brad Jacobs winning the Montana’s Brier. I am not a Jacobs fan, but I am a Matt Dunstone fan. Dunstone is as good an individual as he is a curler, but he is still searching for that first Brier — one I think he gets soon. That being said, it was good to see Regina’s Ben Hebert get his hands on curling’s biggest trophy for a 5th time. There is no doubt Hebert is the best lead this country has ever produced, and he might go down as the best lead in the world when all is said and done. 

Look at what he has accomplished. The 41-year-old has competed in 17 Briers, his appearance in Moose Jaw at the World Mens will be his 5th time in that event — as he looks for his 3rd crown. He has an Olympic gold medal and teams he has been on have won 14 Grand Slam tournaments.  

I fully recognize curling is a team sport, but if the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame wants to add more individual curlers, Hebert has to be at or near the top of the list. Of course, one needs to retire before being considered and I don’t see Benny giving up the broom anytime soon.

3 – IT’S TIME: Tiger Woods has suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon. It means you won’t see him competing on the PGA Tour again this year and he won’t be swinging it in that TGL indoor thing either. 

Tiger is almost 50. Seeing him compete over the last few years has not resulted in the fire returning. Instead, fans hoping for one last hurrah are wondering if he can play the weekend in pain because he just isn’t the Tiger that turned golf and the sports world upside down in his heyday. 

With guys like Scheffler, Schaueffele, McIlroy, Morikawa and others, I don’t think Tiger moves the needle the way he used to. There are so many good players you can watch on the PGA Tour these days. Yes, you watch Tiger hoping for a renaissance as he goes around a course shooting a 67 or 68 but the reality is that isn’t happening and wasn’t happening. 

The PGA is fine without Tiger. He has to realize that and do behind the scenes work. His body just won’t co-operate so it is time to hang up the wedge and take all the accolades he is given.

4 – MARNER’S STATUS: I am not sure how Leafs GM Brad Treliving could stand in front of reporters just hours after the trade deadline and tell them that the organization wants Mitch Marner around for a long time. 

Really? You want him around for a long time, yet you were willing to trade him for Mikko Rantanen in a deal that Marner supposedly said no to due to his no-trade clause?

If he hits free agency, and I expect he will, Marner will be the big fish in the pond. If he has a terrible playoff again like he has in the past, one wonders if it will mean something when it comes to his new contract with whoever. It could be another team other than Toronto. After all, he knows the team was willing to deal him for someone they thought was a better option to them winning the Stanley Cup.

I’ve heard some rumblings about Marner playing alongside Connor Bedard in Chicago. The Hawks would definitely have the money, but I can’t see Marner going to a place where a Stanley Cup isn’t an immediate possibility. What I do know is that if he leaves Toronto and they make an early playoff exit, is that Leafs fans will turn on him worse than Islander fans turned on John Tavares?

5 – NOT SEEING THE HYPE: When the NHL trade deadline came to an end, several said the Dallas Stars were the team that would hoist Lord Stanley’s fabled mug high when all was said and done this season. The move to acquire Mikko Rantanen would put them over the top. There are still a few weeks to go until playoffs start, but right now I don’t see Dallas being able to compete with the West’s best. Winnipeg just curbstomped them at Canada Life Centre Friday night, and Edmonton handled them last Saturday night at Rogers. They don’t look like world-beaters to me. In fact, if we see Dallas meet the Avalanche in the first round, I would be slapping money down on Colorado. The two teams meet Sunday afternoon in Denver in what will be a must-watch. An Avalanche win should have Dallas asking some serious questions as we inch closer to the finish line. 

6 – THE REBIRTH OF THE PENGUINS: The Pittsburgh Penguins aren’t making the playoffs this year and they might not make it next year either. Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang might want to make one more run at a Cup, but I don’t see it happening. 

GM Kyle Dubas, who did drop the ball in Toronto, is taking heat for not giving the big Pittsburgh three talent to work with to get a playoff spot. However, while the three won’t likely be around in the next 2-3 years, the Penguins are well-positioned for the future. 

Did you realize with all Pittsburgh has done that they have 30 draft picks over the next three NHL Drafts, which includes four first-round selections and 18 picks in the first three rounds? No other team can say that. 

The Penguins have the draft capital folks. I see them being a player in the Stanley Cup race sooner than later.

7 – PROBLEMS IN PA?: Like a lot of you, I was surprised to hear the Prince Albert Raiders were making a coaching change this late in the season. The team decided to let Jeff Truitt go and replace him with Ryan McDonald as they fight with Saskatoon and Brandon for first place in the division. It is a head-scratcher, but my Prince Albert peeps tell me this is the right move for a variety of reasons. I guess we will see where the Raiders finish in the regular season and how long they go in the playoffs to see if it is or not. 

8 – PUT YOUR MONEY DOWN: If you are a fan of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, known as March Madness, which begins Thursday and you like filling out a bracket, then I will gently urge to check out what the U of R Cougar women’s basketball team is doing for a fundraiser. For $20, you get one entry to both the men’s tournament and the women’s tournament. You can get extra entries to either tournament for another $10.  Win the bracket and get 30 percent of total funds raised. Yeah, I will admit to flying by the seat of my pants when it comes to the women’s bracket, but as someone who watches a lot of men’s college basketball, I will be filling out a couple of entries. Regina’s basketball community is a strong one so I hope a lot of people get involved and support the program. You can find information on the team’s Instagram page. (uofrwbb)

9 – RANDOM THOUGHTS:

• Marc Kennedy, the third on the Brad Jacobs team, says he drove home to St. Albert from the Brier in Kelowna with the Tankard in the back of his truck. I wonder if he asked Brendan Bottcher to tag along. 
• The Oilers goaltender last year got them to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final. That being said watching Stuart Skinner play still gives me ulcers. Will it be him or Evan Bouchard that gets run out of town if Edmonton doesn’t get back to the final? It might be both!
• No surprise to hear SJHL’s Warman franchise will be called the Wolverines, but who authorized putting white numbers on white sleeves. Cmon guys, think of the broadcasters!!
• There are a lot of people who shouldn’t be on Sportsnet. Arash Madani is not one of those people. The decision to let him go by Rogers was simply dumb. 

That’s all I got! Have a great week!