STACKHOUSE’S 10 MONDAY THOUGHTS

1 – RIDERS ATTENDANCE – Just over 27,000 was the announced crowd on Saturday night, making it the smallest ever to see a game at the new Mosaic Stadium. I was there and I can tell you the actual number of people in seats was even less than that. My uneducated guess would have put the real number at around 20,000. There’s a multitude of reasons for this, I believe, and the No Fun Club will love to point to Covid and the fact it’s unsafe. I have no idea if there is any validity to this or not but I’m going to say a bigger factor is price. For me, my ticket is nearly double in dollars for a similar seat in the stadium compared to what it was at Taylor Field. Then there are other expenses. Food costs more, gas costs more, a beer costs more, everything is up. For some of us, the pandemic has really hurt finances and even though people may want to return it becomes a real financial burden to go. Those who are wanting a vaccine mandatory order to attend Rider games can look at Winnipeg and see they have the same issues when it comes to fan attendance so that tells me it’s not just ‘scared to be a in a crowd’ that is preventing sellouts. After all, Labour Day is already sold out. I think it’s people choosing when to spend their disposable income which isn’t in the same supply as it was two years ago.

2 – GAME REVIEW – In a nutshell, this is my take on the Riders so far: Cody Fajardo is the best quarterback in the league. The Riders are the second-best team in the league (next to Winnipeg) and could be the best if they get their discipline (penalty) issues under control. This is Craig Dickenson’s second season at the helm and that would be my only complaint about his tenure so far. Let’s figure out a way to take fewer penalties.

3 – CFL POWER RANKINGS – After two games, I have Winnipeg as the top team and Saskatchewan at number two. Montreal has only played one game but it was an impressive win so let’s slot them in at three.  Toronto, Ottawa, and BC are a toss up amongst the three. Hamilton hasn’t been good and Jeremiah Masoli has had a couple of tough weeks but playing Winnipeg and Saskatchewan on the road to open the year was a tough task. Edmonton and Calgary look like they could be in for long years.

4 – CFL BETTING – I see a fair amount of people making a big deal over the BC Lions playing coy over who their starting quarterback will be on a game by game basis citing the uncertainty and inaccuracy for those who wish to place bets on games. It makes some sense and it’s hard to disagree with those arguments but why isn’t anyone ever ridiculing the National Hockey League for their complete lack of transparency on injured players? This upper body, lower body, day to day, week to week stuff is useless (I would think) for those wishing to place bets on futures, although it maybe doesn’t impact game night all that much. And, in defense of Rick Campbell he did call Michael Reilly to be a game time decision. I also am going to venture a guess and say it’s Reilly who decides if Reilly is playing, not Campbell. 

5 – LEAVE MASKS ON – If we are really feeling conviction on the efficacy of masks and it’s not a political statement then why are coaches not heavily fined for pulling down their masks to yell at the referees? I mean don’t you remember how dangerous it was for people to sing in the choir at school? If there was ever a time for the mask to stay on, it’s when you are in the grill of someone else speaking in an animated manner. Also, leagues (not just the CFL) should make keeping their referees safe a priority.  

6 – NHL GATE REVENUE – Some NHL executives are, reportedly, worried people’s buying habits have changed and while full arenas are expected in October and November, there does seem to be concern that beyond that it’s going to be a challenge to fill the barns. For me, I’m stunned that the $3.5-billion loss in gate revenue didn’t decimate the league. While the cap didn’t go up, it also didn’t go down so teams are still making a little bit of money even without fans in the seats. It’s important to listen carefully when a crafty man like Gary Bettman says the league lost $3.5-billion. It doesn’t mean the league went into the hole that far. It just means they didn’t make the amount anticipated had there been fans.

7 – JETS GATE – One team that should have no trouble selling out once again is the Winnipeg Jets. They issued a survey to their fans and the results came back as overwhelmingly supportive for those attending to prove they are fully vaccinated and in addition, the fans want to wear masks as an extra layer of protection in addition to the vaccine. There has been a bit of blowback on this policy but if those going to the games want this, it’s hard to argue with it regardless of whether or not you think it sends the right message on the effectiveness of vaccines. Personally, I have attended about six games a year for the last number of years and am undecided on the upcoming season.  

8 – JETS OR RUSH – My decision on whether or not to go to Jets games may come down to the Saskatchewan Rush schedule. On average, I’d spend up to $125 on my Jets ticket and then add in the other expenses (fuel and food being the main two) and it very quickly adds up to around $1000 a season for me to go to 5-6 games. A middle of the road season ticket for the Rush is $400 and the distance to travel is shorter.  The entertainment value when comparing games is up for debate here. A real good hockey game is something you can’t beat. But a bad hockey game can feel like a waste of money. I’ve been to a few NLL games and have never felt cheated for the entertainment value. If the Rush are going to give me a normal life experience and the Jets are going to continue to punish me despite being double vaxxed, you don’t have to be a fool to see where I’m leaning.  

9 – DALMENY ISSUE – You may have seen quite a gaslighting type of story on CBC this past week about a U13 female who was ‘banned’ from playing hockey in her hometown of Dalmeny. After the story aired, the minor hockey association from Dalmeny issued a response and it may not be seen by as many that saw the news story because once both sides are heard, it’s not nearly as easy to enrage the public when the other side provides some logic for the decisions made. I’d encourage you to check out the Saskatchewan Hockey Association Facebook page and you can read Dalmeny’s reply in its entirety. Of particular importance is the child wasn’t banned, she was released as per a request from the family.  

10 – FIELD OF DREAMS – Thursday’s Chicago White Sox-New York Yankees Field of Dreams game from Dyersville, Iowa was beyond cool. A true home run for Major League Baseball. I’d like to see this expanded to show a sandlot style game in a small community once a year. I think it would be truly amazing. The other thing that made this great was you had two really good teams playing a regular season game that mattered in the standings.

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