STACKHOUSE’S 10 MONDAY THOUGHTS

1 – BENGALS WIN – The Cincinnati Bengals are in the Super Bowl and I’m a kid again. I gave up on them long ago, but it’s impossible for me to never cheer for them. I just don’t have expectations. Nevertheless, I feel like they should be favored in their match up with the Los Angeles Rams. Joe Burrow is quickly ascending up the ladder amongst the QB elite and Jamarr Chase is the best rookie receiver since Randy Moss.  FWIW, the Rams are early 3.5 point favorites. That was an exciting comeback against Patrick Mahomes on Sunday afternoon. The turning point was the Chiefs passing up free points in the form of a short field goal at the end of the first half that would have put KC up 24-10, instead they got stuffed at the goal line and the Bengals came out a completely different team (especially on defense) in the second half. By the way, there’s nothing wrong with the NFL overtime rule. The Bengals showed that yesterday.

2 – RAMS WIN – The NFC title game felt like a game between who wanted it the least. The Rams made several errors strategically and should have won this in a landslide, nevertheless they found themselves down 17-7 entering the fourth quarter before pulling out a 20-17 win. It was, likely, Jimmy Garoppolo’s last game as a Niner and it ended badly with him throwing a no-look interception with a minute to go in the fourth quarter. You have to be happy for Matthew Stafford who played for 12 years in football purgatory only to lead the Rams to the title game in year one. The Lions chased away all-time greats Calvin Johnson and Barry Sanders to the point they both retired prematurely and Stafford showed exactly what he’s capable of as soon as he left town. If players and coaches didn’t already know, Detroit isn’t the place to go for a flourishing career.

3 – RUSH TAKEAWAYS – For the first time this season, the Rush found a team that wasn’t riding a hot goalie as they came out with five quick goals and cruised to a 16-7 win over the expansion Panther City (Fort Worth, TX) Lacrosse Club in front of 8600 fans. Jeff Shattler had his best game of the season, scoring 4 and finishing with 7 points. He’s a fan favorite but his storied career is coming to an end as it’s expected he will retire at the end of the year. Robert Church and Ryan Keenan also had 7 points and Mark Matthews added 6.  It was a ‘must win’ game for the Rush, who are now 2-4 but really have only played one bad game.

4 – MURPHY ADDITION – Secondary scoring has been an issue and Austin Murphy dressed for the first time this season with Josh Currier and Marshall Powless taking a seat. Murphy appeared to fit right in and my guess is he stays in the line-up after a three point game. Murphy played 3 games in 2020 and collected 4 points as a rookie. I’m trying to appreciate the defensive side of things a bit more as I become more knowledgeable about the sport so to that end I was impressed with Kyle Rubisch, who had no points but was a physical force. If I was to list favorite sports, football is first and lacrosse is second on my list.

5 – RUSH HOME GAME – The next home game for the Rush comes in late February and I’m hoping that based on Scott Moe’s hint this weekend that there will be no such thing as a silly vax pass by that date. My guess is that it will be the biggest crowd of the season if that holds true. I’m also going to suggest that whenever this mandate is dropped, the Regina Pats are also going to see a very sudden spike in attendance and restaurants will become quite a bit busier although I’m merely spitballing. However, we need that to go away to, truly, get to the bottom of what specifically is also causing fan woes.

6 – PANETTA – I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t wade into choppy waters so here’s my take on the ECHL suspension for Jacob Panetta, who has been banned for the rest of the season. Panetta has also been released by his team, the Jacksonville Icemen. Panetta’s teammates have come out in support of him saying this gesture has been made a number of times by Panetta and the intention behind it is to mock ‘tough guy’, however that’s not how Jordan Subban took it so Panetta now has a stain that will be impossible to erase. It’s too bad we can’t rationally discuss these issues. Maybe the ‘tough guy’ gesture is simply a racist gesture no matter who you do it to. Fine. But then it shouldn’t take Subban to point it out for it to become an issue. Let’s nip it immediately instead of only finding offense if it is called out when, really, offensive is offensive. I, personally, have been offended a few times in my life but I don’t go public with it. Does that make it less offensive?

7 – SUSPENSIONS – I’m okay with suspending a player who makes racist comments for an entire season. I get it. We don’t want that in our game and the best way to get rid of it is to penalize harshly. I think we can all agree on that. Here’s what I would also like to see: slew foots and other physical incidents that could cause serious injury and are not part of the game should also result in year long bans since we want to stomp out bad acts. This means PK Subban, Jordan’s brother, probably isn’t playing right now. I’ve seen too many dirty hits from him to count. It also should mean Buffalo goalie Aaron Dell takes a seat until next year after he put Drake Batherson on the shelf for 2 months. If we want all hurtful things out of the game, that’s the way to do it regardless of whether it’s a gesture, a mean word, or a physical act. And, what about a referee who misses an egregious play that puts a player at risk? Let’s ban him for a year too. I’m sure if someone on the Boston Bruins made a racist comment, he’d be gone–yet they are proud of Brad Marchand because he’s ‘only’ licked someone.

8 – XAVIER MOON – CEBL stud Xavier Moon (Edmonton Stingers) signed a contract with the Los Angeles Clippers earlier this season and played five games, scoring double digits in two of them.  Moon is 27 and is a 3-time CEBL Player Of The Year.  He’s the third player from the CEBL to get an NBA contract this year as Javin Delaurier of Niagara signed with Milwaukee and Cat Barber, who played with Guelph, inked with Atlanta.  Saskatchewan Rattler Demarcus Holland is in the NBA G League.  CEBL free agency begins February 1st.  This is a great league with underrated talent.  More people just need to be exposed to it.

9 – SJHL FLIN FLON – It doesn’t happen often anymore but I’ll be in the broadcast booth for the Flin Flon Bombers this week as they embark on a crucial 4-game road trip with stops in Yorkton, Notre Dame, Estevan, and Weyburn. Personally, I’m looking forward to Friday’s tilt with the Bruins as that’s the game which will tell me if the Bombers belong in the same conversation as Estevan and Humboldt amongst the SJHL elite.  I’ve got the league in tiers right now with the Bruins and Broncos at the top. Flin Flon, Melfort, and Battlefords are knocking on the door but a step back. The team to watch though may be La Ronge. They defeated Flin Flon on Saturday and are 14-6-and-1 when Xavier Cannon is in goal.  They remind me a bit of Bob Beatty’s team that snuck into the playoffs but once they got there, steamrolled everybody on their way to a league title in 2011.

10 – BEST – With Tom Brady expected to retire, it got me to thinking–and I know we will always be biased towards recent history–but I’ve been really fortunate to see some of the all-time greats during my lifetime. In addition to Brady, I grew up on Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux and then as an adult I’ve watched Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid. Did I just name four of the top ten all-time NHLers? Other dominating athletes that come immediately to mind include Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, Lebron James, Kobe Bryant, Roger Federer, Mike Tyson, Barry Bonds, and Michael Phelps. I’m likely missing a few but that was off the top of my dome. If you appreciate greatness rather than be jealous of it, it’s been a great 30+ years for great athletes.

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