STACKHOUSE’S 10 NEW YEARS THOUGHTS

1 – WORLD JUNIORS – Brendan McGuire and I come from totally opposite ends of the political spectrum so we won’t agree on much. So it’s a significant day when I can say I read his note about not being able to get into the World Juniors this year and I have to agree with him despite the fact Yorkton’s Kaedan Korczak is on the team as a defenseman and Tarrington Wyonzek, who used to live down the street from me, is one of the on-ice officials. I’m not sure if it’s because there are no families in the stands watching their sons they are so proud of (the zoom shots after goals are scored don’t cut it for me) or whether it’s because the games are incredibly lopsided but I haven’t been as engaged as usual.

2 – TILTED FOR CANADA – Let’s be honest, this tournament is a cash cow and it needs Canada to be the focal point to maximize those financial benefits. I can’t help but wonder if Canada would have been forced to play the first few games with 14 players like Germany was. What if Canada had to withdraw because of Covid cases? Would they even have held the tournament at all? Remember a couple of years ago when they deviated from their regular schedule so that Canada could play the US in an outdoor game? That was about money and nothing else. Don’t get me wrong. I’m fine with it. Money talks, everything else walks.

3 – BILLS PLAYOFFS – Speaking of money talks, the Buffalo Bills will host their first playoff game in 25 years in a couple weeks and they will be allowed to play in front of 7000 fans despite the fact they haven’t been allowed to play in front of them all season and New York has more virus cases than ever before.  But….science. Right?

4 – JERRY – I got the chance to speak with Jerry (frequent commenter on my blog posts) this week. Thank you for the conversation and revealing your real name, lol. I think we could have gone on for many hours solving the world’s problems. One of the topics we have discussed is the CFL’s potential future in the Maritimes. I’m still not sold on it. I think it has to happen in Moncton, because it’s more central than Halifax and could more easily draw from PEI, Fredericton, Saint John, Halifax, Truro, etc. I also think the team would need a larger than life star who falls in love with Atlantic Canada for the region to identify with, much the same way Cody Fajardo has with Regina (not that Saskatchewan necessarily needs that kind of CFL figure for a team to be successful).

5 – NBA THOUGHTS – I’m looking for a team to have rooting interests in and I think I’ve settled on the Portland Trail Blazers despite the fact the city is a total liberal wasteland that wants to defund the police and the basketball team doesn’t play a lick of defense. But, they are fun to watch with Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum leading the way. I also had no idea Carmelo Anthony was still in the league, but he’s on the Blazers too. Nevertheless, they got waxed by the Clippers the other night and after four games of watching the Raptors and after watching the Clippers twice I’ve come to the conclusion losing Serge Ibaka was massive.  I’m also not sure the Raptors are any better than a 7 seed in the Eastern Conference.

6 – HARDEN RAPTORS – There are whispers the Raptors are in the mix for James Harden but those who know the NBA better than I do point out that unless Fred VanVleet or Kyle Lowry go the other way, this makes no sense from a starting line-up point of view. The reality is VanVleet is going nowhere and the Rockets would have no reason to want Lowry so there doesn’t appear to be much traction here.

7 – HUMBOLDT TRAGEDY – I always say it’s important to reach out to folks during times when they aren’t expecting it.  Check in and let them know you have them in your thoughts. I don’t know how or why but I stumbled on to a website that has documented the death of hockey players while they were still playing and, of course, the names of the Humboldt players were all on there. It’s easy to reach out on the anniversary of this tragedy but consider reaching out on a random day. You never know that may actually be a day where someone really needs that little bit of encouragement. This occurred to me after seeing Russ Herold’s year-end tweet where he mentioned it was a good end to the year, but he misses Adam. It’s a punch in the gut whenever I see a tweet like this. On a happier note, there was a video posted about a month or so ago of Layne Matechuk on skates. If it doesn’t bring tears to your eyes, you have no soul.

8 – DUNCAN MACPHERSON – Also on this website was the name Duncan MacPherson. I remember following this really close when Duncan went missing in 1989. I was a 13-year-old boy in Fredericton who looked for the story in the newspaper each and every day until it was no longer ‘news’ anymore. It’s weird how the world goes. I brushed up on this story and on one hand it’s nice for his family to have a bit of closure (his body was found in 2003) but it’s obvious many questions remain to this day surrounding the circumstances of his death. What’s also strange for me is how I’ve ended up in a part of the country close to where Duncan grew up, and I’ve gotten to know a few people Duncan played with (Blaine Gusdal, Blair Atcheynum, Gord Paddock, Kevin Kaminski to name a few). I don’t know Duncan’s family at all but if any of them read this I’d like them to know that even though I was just a kid this accident was in my thoughts a lot as a youngster and I thought a lot about them again over the Christmas Holidays as I read up on some of the information I wasn’t aware of.

9 – SORRY TO BE DEBBIE DOWNER – The other thing that really struck me while going over this website was three deaths in a row – Terence Tootoo, Roman Lyashenko, and Trevor Ettinger. All were suicides in 2002 and 2003. I can’t help but wonder how much we, as a sports society, have failed so many involved in our games that we all love over the years. All three, to those of us on the outside, had so much to live for and maybe were the envy of many and yet something just wasn’t right. Casual well being checks are a good idea no matter how much you think that person has the cat by the tail. Especially in these really whacked up times where many young athletes have been purposely discriminated against by governments and had their lives turned upside down and inside out. Unless you live it, you can’t possibly understand and that’s okay. But check in anyway.

10 – HAPPY NEW YEAR – All the best to everyone who reads my thoughts, many of you disagree with me but read anyway and those are the folks I really wish to say thank-you to. I also want to say thanks to Rod for giving me the creative leeway to be honest in what I write. It’s not always easy for him in a cancel culture world to let someone like me put my thoughts down on record but I stand by my opinions and won’t even proclaim them to be right. They are just my thoughts and if you agree that’s fine. If you don’t, that’s also okay. What I hope to do from time to time is offer a differing perspective. If that somehow offends you, then by all means find your safe space and stop reading. If you disagree it’s okay to say so and we don’t need to hate each other. The world needs more collaboration from people who are willing to say their piece, find some compromise, and still leave the room with respect for one another while keeping in mind we all want the best for ourselves and those we care about.

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