STACKHOUSE’S 10 THOUGHTS

1 – LACK OF CONTENT – I have to apologize to the millions and millions of loyal readers I have for not submitting much in the way of content over the last couple of weeks.  This whole coronavirus pandemic has me bummed like nothing I can remember and I’ve dealt with some trials and tribulations throughout my life. The last thing I want to do is drag the rest of you down with me and, come up with ten thoughts on the coronavirus and, frankly, it just depresses me further to even write about it unless I see some small sliver of hope when analyzing the daily numbers.

2 – CORONAVIRUS NOT A SPORT – While this virus is far from a sport, the reality is that if you are a sports stats nerd as I am (don’t confuse stats with analytics), then you can’t help but look at the figures associated with coronavirus and try to draw some conclusions about them.  I think, for the most part, Canadians are doing a good job so far but it’s hard to know if we are anywhere near the peak of this and I know there are healthcare professionals bracing for the worst and fearing the day it arrives and my heart breaks for those folks. There is a lot riding on their shoulders, especially those who care for the elderly and most vulnerable.  Unless you work in this industry, I don’t think it’s possible to grasp the mental strain each of them face on a daily basis even if their case numbers aren’t high. There’s a lot of pressure. Pressure that is different and far greater than being the starting goalie of a team playing in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

3 – CARTER LAID OFF TWEET – Some people got fired up the other day after Duron Carter tweeted that Joe Citizen now knows how a football player feels when he loses his job. One of the more common opposition responses to that is that football players expect to be cut and then picked up by other teams, etc and so it’s not anywhere near the same for those of us who have regular jobs. Furthermore, the impression is that professional athletes make quite a bit more money than the rest of us too so they don’t grasp the concept of the stress of not knowing when or where your next paycheque will come from.  I think that is definitely true if we are talking the major professional sports, but that’s not really the case in the CFL. Carter comes from privilege and he shouldn’t ever need to struggle with making ends meet that’s for sure.  Having said that, I think if any professional athlete has a complacent mindset that being released or traded is no big deal because there is going to be another team knocking at the door, then that would be a recipe for career disaster.  Part of what makes the best athletes so great is their fear of failure and their extremely focused quest for success. So, while the rest of us all know an athlete’s time will eventually come to an end, that’s not part of the mental make-up for people like Carter who go through their minor careers and university tenures as the very best at their craft.

4 – FURTHER ON CARTER – Duron Carter played 25 games and scored 9 touchdowns.  He was a fairly good player over his brief tenure but why is he still relevant to Roughrider fans? Off the top of my head I could, likely, name a dozen other receivers who had better careers wearing green than what Carter did.  That’s not disrespect, it’s just fact. I, long ago, stopped paying attention to anything Carter says but there are a lot of slow news days these days.

5 – LIFTED RESTRICTIONS – I won’t proclaim to be an expert or say I’m privy to any inside information, but in talking with a couple of people I consider to be knowledgeable about situations like this, the most logical way towards getting physical movement restrictions lifted would be to do things in reverse to how they were closed.  Don’t look for a government announcement that says we are all free to leave our homes and go back to normal. That’s never going to happen. The more likely method will be that gatherings of 10 will be increased to 25 and that’s where they will stay for a prolonged period of time. Once enough data is collected and if it’s deemed to be safe, those gatherings will go to 50 and so on.  This won’t be a process of days. Each phase will be weeks and we need to be ready for that. Therefore, it shouldn’t take a mathematician to figure out we are out of time to begin the CFL season when scheduled even if things go perfectly. I think we are a long way from seeing thousands be allowed to congregate at one particular venue.

6 – EMPTY BUILDINGS – Assuming something similar to the situation above is how things unfold, it would only stand to reasonably wonder if we may see professional sports resume to empty stadiums?  I am going to say there is less than a zero percent chance of that happening with the CFL as it’s a gate driven league. The NHL may look seriously at it but they too are gate driven to a large degree.  However with nothing else on, it may be worth it for them to get the eyeballs. NBA, I have no idea what they’d do but it sounds as though they are leaning towards not playing without fans. Major League Baseball has already said they will not return to empty ballparks so I think we can cross them off the list too.  The real interesting one will be the NFL. Their TV contract is so huge they don’t need anyone to buy a ticket to go to their games. For most teams, the gate is just bonus money. I think this is why they’ve had a normal offseason and haven’t really addressed the coronavirus situation at all. My gut tells me they feel that by the end of July, they are going to be allowed to conduct workouts together and by early September there will be an all-clear of sorts to play games without an audience and I think that would suit NFL teams just fine.

7 – WRESTLING – Four more points….really?  Yes, I am going to have to write about wrestling to get to my 10 Thoughts.  I recently purchased a subscription to the WWE Network and started watching Raw is War from 1997.  I admit to being a regular viewer for about 3-4 years during this time period when Degeneration X, Stone Cold, The Rock, and The Hart Foundation were the top stars in the business.  I couldn’t name three wrestlers that compete today, but it has been enjoyable to watch those episodes from nearly 25 years ago.

8 – FAVORITE WRESTLERS – I also have to admit I watched wrestling a bit in my high school days too and I always liked the heels.  For as long as I can remember. Larry Zbyszko, Model Rick Martel, and Mr. Perfect Curt Henning (all AWA guys actually too) were near the top of my list as favorites.  Macho Man Savage was always a must-watch for me and then there was Strangler Steve DiSalvo, Lethal Larry Cameron, and Bad News Allen from Stampede (I used to watch every Monday from my Fredericton home).  The connection between Stampede and Atlantic Grand Prix in the Maritimes was fun to see too. Cuban Assassin, Leo Burke, Bulldog Bob Brown, Kerry Brown (Rick Valentine as he was known in New Brunswick) and Ron Starr were just a few of the names and faces I’d go see in person touring the Maritimes in the Summer and then watch on television in the Fall.  I spent a lot of money on Pro Wrestling Illustrated back in the day.

9 – SOCIAL MEDIA GAMES – There are a lot of similar mental exercises going around social media and some of them involve naming your favorite player from each NHL team but another one I saw was name five NHL players that have impacted you in your life.  For many of us, it would not be a personal connection but rather more of an idolization. I’ve got two that are special to me and I think both will indicate just how small the hockey world is. The first is Brian Propp. Propp was the best player on my favorite team as a kid – the Philadelphia Flyers.  I was decimated when Propp was cheap shotted by Chris Chelios in the playoffs. Propp was, for me, the guy I wanted all his hockey cards and the one I followed on television during the rare chance I got to see the Flyers televised. Well, fast forward over 20 years and Propp gets named to the Mastercard Junior All-Time Team in the late 90s and I just happened to be working in the city (Brandon) where he became WHL famous.  Interviewing him was one of my media highlights and a memory I’ll never forget. Now, as I live in Yorkton, I have come to learn he played in Melville in the SJHL and there is a sign bearing his name in Lanigan, another town I drive through on a fairly regular basis.

10 – RICHARD ZEMLAK – I think I’ve just decided that next week’s column will not be 10 Thoughts, but rather a story (of sorts) from my childhood where Zemlak; a former enforcer with Quebec, Minnesota, Pittsburgh, and Calgary; became my absolute most favorite player ever.  And, again…small world. As an 11-year-old in Fredericton, I had no idea I’d ever get anywhere near Wynyard, Saskatchewan later in life and little did I know a radio joke would introduce me to a relative of his and a bit of a reconnection. But, Richard Zemlak and Brian Propp are the two NHLers who have had the most impact on my life.

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