STACKHOUSE’S 10 THOUGHTS

1 – SUPER BOWL PICK – I believe managing the clock is a big part of coaching football and Andy Reid has failed numerous times in this area, but the fact remains he’s 17-and-3 when he has an extra week to prepare for games in his coaching career and therefore I’m going to pick the Chiefs to win the Super Bowl. I also think they have the best quarterback in the world, and they seem to be able to contain the running game on defense to some degree as evidenced by how they kept Derrick Henry under 100 yards in the AFC title match up.  I think Kyle Shanahan has learned a lot from his debacle against New England in the Super Bowl a couple of years ago and I also think Jimmy Garoppolo is a better quarterback than many think. San Fran’s D is excellent and their run game by committee is electric. It should be a good game, but I’m going Chiefs.

2 – YOURS TRULY – OJ Simpson was at it again this week on Twitter and he makes an interesting argument against Tom Brady being the best NFL player ever by saying if you went by the number of titles won, Yogi Berra is the best baseball player ever and Bill Russell is the best basketball player ever.  OJ goes with Jerry Rice and says Drew Brees has the best statistics ever for a quarterback but didn’t anoint him the greatest. He seemed to favour Dan Marino but didn’t really say. Either way, he’s living life to the fullest on the water and on the golf course. No word on how the search for the real killer is going.

3 – GREY CUP TOUR – The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are embarking on a provincial tour with the Grey Cup.  The problem is they are barely leaving the Perimeter. Brandon will get a day but otherwise it’s Winnipeg and surrounding area.  No Dauphin, no Swan River, no Virden, no The Pas, no Flin Flon, no Thompson, no Neepawa, no Russell, you get the idea. It’s laughable. Imagine the Riders winning the Grey Cup and announcing a provincial tour and skipping Prince Albert, Estevan, Kindersley, and Swift Current. Heads would roll and explode and maybe not in that order.

4 – NHL ALLSTAR GAME – It’s a weekend now isn’t it?  Do they play more than just one game? Is it on Saturday or Sunday or both?  I haven’t paid any attention to All-Star games for about 20 years now and as a sports fan I actually dread them because it means several days of nothing to watch on TV.  Is it really an All-Star event anyways? They have to name one from every team so by the time they get through each club I don’t even know how many more spots remain. It’s a complete waste of time and I wouldn’t cross the street to see it.  You can toss the NBA, NFL, and MLB All-Star games in there too. No interest.

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6 – ASTROS CHEATING – Former Houston pitcher Dallas Keuchel has apologized for any involvement he had with regards to the Astros cheating their way to a 2017 World Series, but threw in a ‘it’s not like we did it every game’ comment.  I’ve seen the remarks on my columns suggesting pitchers should throw at the batters whenever they suspect cheating and I don’t disagree with that. The problem is that the pitchers will be ejected in short order while the batters continue to cheat.  Pitchers aren’t even allowed to throw, repeatedly, inside to hitters any more to establish that part of the plate. That’s the world we live in now so the players aren’t allowed to police themselves even if they wanted to.

7 – OUELLETTE UPDATE – A number of weeks ago, Yorkton Terrier goalie Ryan Ouellette left the SJHL Terriers for the brighter lights of the USHL’s Tri-City Storm.  In doing so, he passed up the CJHL Top Prospects Game (which is a heavily NHL scouted game) as well as the SJHL MJHL Showcase and the likelihood of a sure NCAA scholarship for …. Well I don’t know what he was thinking he’d get in Tri-City that he wasn’t getting in the SJHL.  I said at the time he had nothing to gain and everything to lose and so far I’m not wrong. He’s played in 2 of a possible 6 games and is 0-1-and-1 with a 3.44 GAA and .825 SPCT, yielding four goals in 15 shots in his last start. A question now has to be whether Ouellette can get a roster spot next year as a 20-year-old and will he be looking at Yorkton again should he not find one in the States. I know what my answer would be in that case should it present itself, but I’m not Mat Hehr.

8 – SJHL MJHL SHOWCASE – It was another successful event in Regina last week as scouts from all over convened at the The Co-operators Arena to see the best that the SJHL and MJHL have to offer.  What I left with was a very positive impression from Manitoba that they are doing an excellent job with their younger players as the 18U team featured six veterans on the squad and one of their forwards (Joey Moffatt of Portage) has been on the 18U team for all three seasons this event has taken place.  I know the Saskatchewan coaches really want to increase the skill and talent of their younger players as well and this event is a big part of reaching that goal as they try to show families some of the advantages to taking the Junior ‘A’ path and if they do opt for Junior ‘A’, there are more and more reasons why one should do it in Saskatchewan.

9 – VIKING CUP – Junior ‘A’ fans may recall the Viking Cup that was held in Alberta and featured all-star teams from various leagues across Canada as well as some international teams.  I have wondered if the SJHL MJHL Showcase may be headed that direction, but through three years keeping it as a Saskatchewan-Manitoba exclusive event has been successful so I don’t see the format changing anytime soon unless they expand it by a day and invite other leagues.  But, I think two days is plenty for scouts to come and go and if it were any longer you’d run the risk of some of them leaving early for other commitments. You may also have to reduce the number of teams the SJHL and MJHL ice for this and that’s not a good thing. Let’s not fix what isn’t broken.

10 – CPC RACE THEORY – I think the reason why Pierre Polievre, Rona Ambrose, and other potential Conservative heavy hitters aren’t running for the leadership of the Party is because the Liberals haven’t destroyed Canada enough yet for them to want the job.  Let Trudeau and his fellow left wingers turn us into Greece and then there will be more interest from more credible leadership candidates. Look at Ontario and how people are upset over Doug Ford trying to rectify the wrongs of Wynne/McGuinty. I guess the Liberals didn’t damage it enough because a recent poll said Ontario would rather vote for a Liberal Party that has no leader than they would Ford again.  Which makes me think Polievre, Ambrose, etc, know they’d be a one term only Prime Minister even if they could beat Trudeau in the next election because Canadians don’t want to see cuts. They want higher taxes and more reliance on government. For now.

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