STACKHOUSE’S 10 THOUGHTS

1 – JAKE DOLEGALA – The Jake Dolegala supporters were proven right on Sunday as the inexperienced quarterback went up against a top defense and torched them for three passing touchdowns in a 34-29 upset win last night. It makes you wonder why he wasn’t installed sooner, but there’s no point in dissecting that now. The fact remains, Dolegala is the starter indefinitely and he probably should be the starter for the rest of the season. I see no reason to make a change in six weeks when Mason Fine comes off the injured list unless the wheels totally fall off from yesterday’s performance.

2 – OPTIMISM IN RIDERVILLE – Rider fans being Rider fans, the Grey Cup parade is back on after yesterday’s game.  My assumption is that the effort put forth by Dolegala on Sunday guarantees a Labour Day sellout against Winnipeg.  Should he, truly, be for real as a quarterback and continues to play well for the rest of the season, you can expect him to be a one and done QB in the CFL as NFL teams love tall quarterbacks and Dolegala fits the bill at 6’7”.  The only hiccup from yesterday was the time count violation that could have cost them the game, but as much as that’s on Dolegala, it’s also on the sideline for not calling a timeout.  Looking ahead to the Winnipeg game, if Zach Collaros doesn’t play, this, suddenly, looks very winnable.

3 – JUNIOR CHEER COACH – Not all was well in Riderville this week. A social media post from Friday where a lady posted screenshots of an email exchange with the team’s Game Day and Events intern surrounding the selection of the junior cheer coach position doesn’t reflect well. The deadline for applications was 5 o’clock Friday, but at 1:05pm on Friday, the intern informed the woman the position was already filled.  It’s one thing to criticize rules but as long as the rules are followed, you really have no avenue to go down but the Riders aren’t even following their own rules here. Wait until 5:01pm and then pick the person you wanted to pick all along and even though everyone else knows the selection process was a farce, they can’t criticize you for doing what you say you are going to do, which is take applications until 5 and then choose the coach at 5:01 if you so desire. Out of respect for the individual hired, maybe they could have waited until Saturday morning.    

4 – CHECKSTOPS – Here’s my other complaint from Sunday but this one isn’t directed at the Riders, but rather the RCMP who had a checkstop in Chamberlain before the start of the game that could have caused some travelers to arrive late for the opening kickoff.  First of all, I find those checkstops to be chintzy policing at the best of times but if you are going to do them, why not do it after the game as opposed to before? You stand a much greater chance of finding drinking and driving violators due to someone over-consuming while watching as opposed to someone getting blasted before the game and then heading out to go watch and drink some more.  

5 – NINERS QBs – The San Francisco 49ers are, generally, considered to be one of the top NFL teams heading into the season but their quarterback room is in a state of flux with unheralded second year pivot Brock Purdy at the top of the depth chart. Purdy played well in limited time last season but is coming off elbow surgery. Meanwhile, the Niners gave up a king’s ransom in draft picks for Trey Lance in 2021 but he has barely seen the field, in part, because of injuries and ineffectiveness. Lance, it should be noted, didn’t play any college ball in 2020 (Covid) so it’s not at all surprising that he’s struggling. It’s time for the Niners to just eat a lot of crow on this one and send Lance to a team that can afford the growing pains. My guess is he can play, he just needs a better situation. Veterans Sam Darnold and Brandon Allen are also in camp for San Francisco, so they’d be fine should anything happen to Purdy (which it will because it’s been a long, long time since a San Francisco quarterback made it through the season unscathed).

6 – NFL SLEEPER – Brock Purdy type players don’t come around every year but there may be a similar darkhorse sleeper quarterback this season with the Oakland Raiders, which non-coincidentally, has the same starter as San Francisco had this time last year (Jimmy Garoppolo). Aidan O’Connell, who’s currently third on the depth chart, is a fourth round pick out of Purdue and is 26-for-36 for 304-yards, 3-touchdowns, and 0-interceptions through two preseason appearances. My guess is that O’Connell will see regular season action at some point. Meanwhile, Nathan Rourke is 19-of-29 for 274 and 2 TDs in two games with Jacksonville. There’s still speculation that he’s a bubble player but I believe he emerges as the back-up to Trevor Lawrence.

7 – NORTHWESTERN CRITICISM – A group of former Northwestern University athletes (86 to be exact) has sent an open letter criticizing university administrators for their lack of due process before the firing of Pat Fitzgerald, saying it ‘left a welcome mat out for the weaponization of sexual harassment, hazing, and racism allegations’. As we know, university higher ups are, typically, of a certain mindset and belief that is 180-degrees different than sports coaches and, therefore, they aren’t getting the benefit of the doubt when an accusation is made nor are administrators ever going to be held accountable for their methods or lack thereof. Now, it should be noted a subsequent investigation determined allegations against Fitzgerald had some merit as far as hazing is concerned in so much that it did happen but it was also revealed that Fitzgerald and his other coaches had no way of knowing that it happened. Fitzgerald was, later, reinstated and served a suspension. What’s the penalty for his bosses rushing to judgment and caving to the mob mentality? Nothing, of course.

8 – HRUSKA RUSH – The Saskatchewan Rush have signed fan favorite goalie Laine Hruska to a one-year contract. Hruska, from nearby Warman, went 2-and-0 in getting some late season starting assignments, posting an 11.13–GAA and 76%–SPCT, which is right in line with the average numbers posted by starter Alex Buque. It would appear Hruska has the inside track on being newly acquired Frank Scigliano’s back-up.  Scigliano was 10-and-2, 10.71, 78% with San Diego. The Rush have undergone a major facelift this offseason and I am pumped to see it come December.

9 – SJHL TERRIERS – The Yorkton Terriers are in search of a new Head Coach/General Manager after Mat Hehr accepted a position at an academy in northern Alberta. Coaching Junior ‘A’ hockey in Yorkton is a highly-coveted job as far as coaches of that level are concerned so there will be no shortage of applicants.  The quandary the Terriers find themselves in may be in how much they can pay as attendance has dwindled since the Covid canceled season of 2021. My understanding is that two highly qualified veteran coaches have already been told they aren’t on the short list. Having said that, if the Terriers hit on their next hire, it shouldn’t be long before they are back to being a formidable franchise in the SJHL and, suddenly, a league that appeared to have lost parity status would be back to being a really tough league top to bottom again as both Melville and Kindersley are both  now pointed in the right direction. The Mils announced the signing of prospect Kole Keen late last week. Keen was a top player with the Estevan Bears and wasn’t going to Melville until Doug Johnson was hired as coach. Johnson also went out and acquired veteran goalie William Dyke (Lethbridge AB) from Burlington to ensure the team has experience between the pipes. 

10 – WANDER FRANCO – Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco has been placed on leave after social media photos surfaced and subsequent allegations that Franco may be involved in an inappropriate relationship with a 14-year-old girl (or more than one girl).  If true, I’m all for throwing the book at him.  My question, though, is how do we determine who to go after when it comes to abusing underage girls?  Ghislaine Maxwell sits in jail for trafficking underage girls via Jeffrey Epstein, yet nobody that she trafficked them to has ever been charged and if they’ve been investigated nobody knows about it while Franco’s investigation is wide open for the world to also judge.  As an experiment, I posted on social media wondering what’s the difference between Franco and Bill Gates.  I got an interesting response from a few people who must be hired by Gates to defend him because there was some incredible mental gymnastics going on as there is, basically, similar evidence against both Franco and Gates.  Franco has now been scrubbed from anything Rays related.  The visually unhealthy Gates, meanwhile, is allowed to lecture the rest of us on how we should be living.

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