STACKHOUSE’S 10 LONG WEEKEND THOUGHTS

1 – RIDERS NOT THAT GOOD – I think it’s fairly evident at this point the roster has been oversold and has underdelivered. If you look at the main skill positions on offense, the Riders don’t have a single player in the top five at QB, RB, or WR. Sure, they are dealing with injuries but I don’t know how much that would change things even if they weren’t. Does Shaq Evans move the needle enough to have the Riders in a position where they’d have two more wins? Call me skeptical on that. 

2 – FAJARDO INEFFECTIVE – This brings me to Cody Fajardo and the reality simply is this – if he’s not running the ball 6-7 times for 50 or so yards each game, he is an ordinary quarterback (at best) and you can’t win with that. If Fajardo is hurt and can’t run, he needs to sit. He’s simply not a good enough passer to remove the scrambling from his game. If he’s hurt, he needs to sit. If he’s not hurt he needs to start running again. Period.

3 – FLAG VOLUNTEERS – A couple of things that didn’t sit well with me over the last couple of weeks that I want to get off my chest. First of all, there was the flag volunteer sign-up form that was circulating online prior to Friday’s game and amongst the requirements was ‘proof that you have received 2 doses of a valid Covid 19 vaccine’. First of all, my Premier told me the best vaccine is the first one offered to me (Astra Zeneca anyone?), so I’m not sure what they mean by ‘valid’. Second of all, can someone explain why this would be a requirement when you have an American President dealing with Covid for the second time in as many weeks despite having 4 (not 2) shots. Thirdly, do the Riders really believe taking these stances have no bearing whatsoever on the number of fans coming to games? I’m sorry, but gas is down about $0.30 per litre in the last few weeks and the attendance needle hasn’t moved. It’s almost like they don’t care if this is all they have for fans. Remember when they brought in the vax pass and people boasted that for every person that stayed away there would be six more looking to go because they’d feel safe? Yeah, I bet nobody remembers that.

4 – COVID THEATRE – Here’s another annoying aspect of the game that turns me off and maybe I’m the only one but I’m going to complain about it anyway. In the media scrums after the game in Nova Scotia, I noticed reporters were wearing masks when interviewing Rider players and coaches. Was that a requirement from the organization or left wing media theatre? During the game against the Argos, Sara Orlesky used her 10’ long telephone pole-like apparatus  to conduct interviews. This week against BC, there was none of that.  Why? Either it’s still a thing or it isn’t. Refusing to move on and refusing to acknowledge discrimination and segregation is hurting this team and this league and I’ll stand by that opinion until proven otherwise.

5 – A GOOD CROWD – I chuckle at some of the CFL media types going back and forth at each other on Twitter arguing over what constitutes ‘a good crowd’. Here’s my opinion: A good crowd isn’t something that is debatable. If you have to spin it or argue in favor of it, then it’s not a good crowd. One thing I have been surprised to learn is that fan attendance really isn’t as big of a driving factor when it comes to making money for these teams as I thought. Winnipeg’s financial picture isn’t bad at all despite missing a year and then dealing with diminished crowds, a shorter schedule, and a number of ‘make goods’ to fans for the missed 2020 season. I don’t think the Riders have held their AGM yet, but it will be interesting to see if their situation is similar to that of the Blue Bombers, which I found to be encouraging all things considered.

6 – RATTLERS HOME PLAYOFF GAME – The Saskatchewan Rattlers play host to the two-time defending champion Edmonton Stingers on Thursday as the CEBL playoffs tip-off. The winner moves on to the quarter-finals on Sunday, August 7th. From there, the top four teams advance to Championship Weekend in Ottawa August 12-14. The Rattlers have come a long way from last year’s 1-and-13 disaster of a season and have to be considered a formidable contender to win the title in a league that is full of parity. Having said that, defeating a champion is the toughest task for a challenging team in the playoffs and the Rattlers will have to do it right off the hop in order to continue their season.

7 – RATTLERS STAT LEADERS – The Rattlers shoot the three better than any team in the CEBL and Devonte Bandoo is a big part of that as he is third overall in 3-point percentage and leads the league in 3-point shots made.  Meanwhile, Tony Carr is 5th in the league in scoring and 1st in assists.  I’m biased, but he should probably be the CEBL Most Valuable Player when that award is handed out.  Jordy Tshimanga is 4th in rebounds and 2nd in blocks and it’s maybe the play of Tshimanga that has been the biggest difference between this year and last year.  In addition to being a poor shooting team last year (outside of Bandoo), the Rattlers lacked size and ability to grab balls off the glass.  Both shortcomings have been rectified and the fans have gotten their money’s worth.  Hats off to the likes of Brad Kraft, Barry Rawlyk, and Dean Demopoulos on a job well done no matter what happens on Thursday.

8 – WORLD JUNIORS  – Remember the World Juniors that was canceled back at Christmas time? Well, it’s back on and starts August 9th in Edmonton with Canada’s first game scheduled for the 10th against Latvia. I can’t say I’m super excited about this although there isn’t much competition as far as sports viewing is concerned. Nevertheless, it feels like an unnecessary cash grab now for the powers-that-be rather than a ‘make good’ for the young men robbed of the annual opportunity eight months ago. I also hope these teenagers aren’t saddled with the pressure of trying to rehabilitate the shattered image of Hockey Canada and it would be great if the media could keep their questions of these players to that of the tournament itself but I’m betting that won’t be the case and the two week event will be filled with promotional vignettes about how we are going to ‘be better’ for everyone so that the country can be proud of the game once again.

9 – REVAMPED HOCKEY CANADA – Probably an unpopular opinion, but if Hockey Canada doesn’t survive in its current form, I would love nothing more than to see it come back with a heavy focus on grass roots and recreation.  Leave the elite stuff to the NHL and CHL.  If we truly want to grow the game, we need to make it a lot more attractive to new Canadians who move here from other countries, especially those who come from countries where hockey is completely foreign to them.  We also need to make it a lot more affordable.  For example, most of us wouldn’t notice any difference between a $350 performance stick versus a regular $30 one.  While some parents may love the idea of going on road trips and socializing, the reality is that there are many families who can’t afford this.  There should be no reason for youth teams in places like Regina and Saskatoon to venture beyond city limits to find other teams to play.  If you want to be more inclusive to everyone – costs and attracting new Canadians are the first two things I’d address.

10 – MEYER SURGERY – Miami Marlins rookie pitcher Max Meyer, the third overall pick in the 2020 Draft, is slated to undergo Tommy John Surgery after being removed in the first inning of his second career Major League start.  The evidence will be ignored like it always is, but once again we have a pitcher out for two years and his workload really has nothing to do with it.  Meyer pitched 43 innings in in 2018 and followed that up with 76 a year later and then just 27 in 2020 before rearing back and compiling 111 last year.  He was at 61 this season.  For fun, here’s Dave Stieb’s inning total per season during his prime:  242, 183, 288, 278, 267, 265, 205, 185, 207, 206, 208.  That took him from his age 22-32 seasons.  But workload is the problem.  Got it. 

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