STACKHOUSE’S 10 CHRISTMAS THOUGHTS
1 – BETTMAN PRO CANADA – There should be no more talk of NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman being anti-Canadian. The fact he has put up with the bureaucratic nonsense he’s faced with provincial health authorities over the last few weeks and not just uprooted Canadian teams from their home cities and placed them in more appreciative American centres is a true testament to Bettman’s commitment to Canada. Enough of the Bettman hate. I don’t want to hear it. I would think it’s much easier to find 7 American markets that would like NHL teams for the year as opposed to ‘negotiating’ whether or not playing hockey is safe in Canada.
2 – DACH INJURY – Chicago Blackhawks centreman and former Saskatoon Blade Kirby Dach suffered an injured wrist in Canada’s first WJC pre-tournament game on Wednesday night. The usual after-the-fact experts were out in full force claiming the Hawks never should have allowed Dach to play, risking an injury. Apparently, it’s not possible for Dach to get hurt playing for Chicago. There was only risk of him suffering injury while playing for Canada.
3 – STAY SHARP – The fact that Dach and a few other players have been allowed to suit up in the World Juniors is a true testament to those NHL organizations and it shows who’s well run and who isn’t. There has been so little actual game play in the last year that I am stunned to see teams block their teenaged prospects from getting this much needed experience. You just can’t convince me that keeping guys like Alexis Lafreniere and Nick Robertson sidelined until NHL camps open is a smart thing for their development. Practice with the pros is nice but nothing compares to game play and it would give these younger guys a much needed head start on everyone else. Yes, Dach got hurt but there’s also a chance Lafreniere gets hurt at his first Rangers practice and then what?
4 – STAY SAFE BY DOING NOTHING – Managing your prospects out of fear and over protecting them seems really short sighted. Reminds me of how we have handled Covid, actually. So I guess I’m wrong and the rest of you are right. Stay safe and do nothing. Just breathe. It’s not a lot of fun but you are alive. Be thankful. Someone asked me just a few days ago if I was afraid to die and I answered quickly by saying, “Not even a little bit.” That person then pointed out why I’m having such a hard time understanding why we are doing what we have been doing since March. Noted.
5 – GLARING INCONSISTENCY – In Calgary, an outdoor rink gathering of 40 people required police presence and it ended up getting hostile to the point that tasers were drawn. Days later in Edmonton, 40 people were on the ice to warm-up for an indoor game (where ventilation may be more of a concern, but that depends on who’s the scientist) and it was no issue. I have no choice but to laugh. If I don’t, I get incredibly angry and that doesn’t help anything anyway. So just laugh.
6 – NAHL ATTENDANCE – While Canada is paralyzed to restart junior hockey, it’s worth pointing out that there are no problems nearby and south of the border where the North American Hockey League is cruising right along with fans. I had a commenter suggest last week that I was promoting South Dakota as some sort of Covid model for doing it ‘the best’. I never said they were doing it the best, but the fact they are playing Junior ‘A’ hockey with 1300 fans in the rink and most of the people who live in their State are safe should be some sort of an indicator we could do something similar up here and allow players on the ice and fans in the building in smaller numbers. Here are some other attendance counts from the NAHL: Minot (North Dakota and only a stone’s throw from Estevan) had near 500 for their last home date. Odessa 989, Bismarck 287, Aberdeen 1556 (they are drawing more than 1300 now), Shreveport 1485, and Wichita Falls 1183. There is a safe way to do it but it requires a commitment from governments to ‘live with’ the virus and come off the notion that everything else needs to be destroyed in order to get through the ‘pandemic’.
7 – SPITTIN CHICLETS – I’ve tuned out almost all of the mainstream media’s non-game play sports content as I have more than had my fill of social justice preaching as well as sports reporters advocating for their own cancellation by criticizing sports leagues for trying to forge ahead and play. Having said that, I gave Barstool’s Spittin Chiclets a listen earlier this week and I was highly entertained. Wojtek Wolski was a guest and he had some terrific stories about his junior, NHL, and KHL playing days. The hosts were also juvenile at times, and I have to say that used to keep me away from Barstool content, but I am coming around on the immaturity aspect. At least it’s fun and not doom and gloom for hours on end.
8 – NBA OPENING NIGHT – I don’t follow the NBA as close as I follow the other three major team sports; but I’ve watched plenty through the first two nights of the new season. On Tuesday, the Clippers-Lakers game was enjoyable and it looks like Paul George could be in for a bit of a bounce back season after he dropped 33 on Lebron and company on Tuesday. As I write this, I’m checking out Luka Doncic, who many are saying is going to be the next great star of the sport. I think that’s precisely what the Raptors are missing and there’s a chance they disappoint this season. Kyle Lowry, Fred VanVleet, and Pascal Siakam are all really good players. But, there is no James Harden, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant types on the roster anymore. My pick is the Lakers will repeat.
9 – NLL APRIL START – The last I heard, the National Lacrosse League is still planning to go April 9th but surely they are watching what’s going on in Canada with the NHL situation and making contingency plans for the Saskatchewan Rush, Halifax Thunderbirds, Toronto Rock, Calgary Roughnecks, and Vancouver Warriors. If you have followed the Maritimes at all, you’d know they are on a true 0 case crusade there so I can’t imagine them allowing pro lacrosse teams flying in and out and playing games at any point in 2021. The real challenge though is lacrosse players have other jobs. You can’t just move the Rush to Grand Forks and expect it to be smooth sailing when there are Canadian players who have real-life Canadian jobs. Border crossing, while allowed by air because Trudeau has his reasons as to why that’s safe and a car isn’t (but that’s a topic for another day), can be tricky especially when you are supposed to be isolating every time you come back into Canada. I think there are real questions with regards to their season being possible (at least if the NLL plans to include the Canadian teams).
10 – BASEBALL WITH FANS? – I won’t put money on it because with how things have gone during the ‘pandemic’, I refuse to believe anything until I actually see it, but the vaccine schedule plan in the United States indicates they are going to have their older population inoculated by the end of January and a large number of their general population by the end of March. If that’s the case, I think there is a chance Major League Baseball becomes the first sport to allow fans to attend games in large numbers. It could happen in Spring Training as Florida has been the most lenient state all along with regards to mass gatherings. But, how do we go back to normal? I don’t think there will ever be an announcement of ‘okay you can go watch sports, sit next to a stranger, and take your masks off’. I just don’t think that’s ever going to happen. People are going to have to decide on their own how safe they feel. The challenge is going to be when you get some knucklehead beside you who is scared of getting the virus and dying yet feels he needs to be in attendance mere inches away from you and wants you to continue to protect him.
BONUS: SOME GOOD THINGS – I admit to being one of these stubborn people who have dug my feet in and resisted these ‘new normal’ things in society but to be fair there are a couple that have been introduced and I think have their place going forward. The first is the ‘reverse Santa Claus parade’. This was done in Yorkton a number of weeks ago. The floats are set up in a parking lot and don’t move. Instead, the general public drives through. In future years, I would add some hot chocolate stations (as well as a walking option for spectators) and such but this sure beats standing still in the cold and parades never start on time anyway. The other thing that has its place are virtual concerts. It’s not worth the same big money as a typical live show but I am a fan of European hard rock bands and I will never ever get a chance to see them live because they aren’t well known enough to come here and tour. But, for a small fee, it’s worth checking out on-line.
(Mike Stackhouse is a freelance writer/broadcaster. Follow him on Twitter at @Stack1975)
