STACKHOUSE’S 10 THOUGHTS

1 – ROUGHRIDERS DISCIPLINE – I still think the Riders end up 10-and-4 and probably win both of the next two games against Calgary but this is a team that has refused to correct it’s on-field penalty issue and because of that, the ceiling is low for this team.  We can talk all day about the various strengths the Riders have but penalties are going to be this team’s demise.

2 – FAJARDO COMMENTS – After the game there was some buzz about comments made by Cody Fajardo with regards to the passing game.  It definitely looked as though there was a difference of opinion between what OC Jason Maas wanted done on the final play of the game and what Fajardo wanted to do.  I will say this from where I’m watching:  the receivers aren’t good enough and they are lucky to have Fajardo at the helm.  Update – I then had to delete the rest of my point because it was announced Monday afternoon the Riders have signed Duke Williams.  This will make a big difference and hopefully Shaq Evans will be ready to go in a couple of weeks as well.

3 – PAYING THE BILLS – Nobody seems to be talking about it but attendance is down right across the CFL and if memory serves me correct I believe the fans that are in attendance are doing so with 2020 ticket money and not 2021.  There is basically no walk-up revenue to speak of anywhere.  Places like BC, Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal are playing in front of under 15,000 a game and actual ‘real’ fans in attendance could be closer to 10,000 in a couple of centres.  Less ticket revenue also means less revenue at the concession stand, less money being made in the souvenir booth, and less being taken in for parking and other various streams used to pay the bills.  I’m not about to debate the whys as far as low attendance but simply pointing it out and I wonder how the league survives beyond this year with almost no revenue coming in from the gate.  We should be talking a lot more about this.

4 – FANTASY FOOTBALL MVP – We are 25% through the season and if I was to pick the top player to this point I think I’d go with Cooper Kupp of the Rams with Austin Ekeler of the Chargers and Tyreek Hill of the Chiefs right behind him.  In one particular draft, I’m fortunate to have all three and haven’t lost yet.  In another league, I happen to have none of these three and am 1-and-3.  Other contenders would be QBs Kyler Murray of the Cardinals and Patrick Mahomes of the Chiefs.  The biggest surprise so far has to be Sam Darnold of the Panthers with Eagle QB Jalen Hurts also in the mix for that honour.

5 –  URBAN MEYER – The chances of Urban Meyer finishing the season as Jacksonville’s head coach dwindle by the day.  The most recent incident that has everyone outraged is a seven second video where Meyer is shown at a bar and a woman is…how shall we say…getting cozy with him.  Meyer doesn’t know he’s being filmed and the woman appears to be enjoying herself so you can’t determine whether or not Meyer is doing anything unwanted.  Nevertheless, it’s extremely upsetting for the general public to see this and the Jags’ owner has called this behaviour ‘inexcusable’.  For me, the bigger issue is that Meyer has already, reportedly, lost the locker room.  Some are saying Meyer has ‘zero credibility’ and players are laughing at his awkward apology.  I knew this was going to go bad in week one when Meyer decided Carlos Hyde was a better option to run the ball than James Robinson.  What he does in a bar with another consenting adult really isn’t as big an issue for me as it is for everyone else.

6 – BASEBALL PLAYOFFS – There has been considerable belly aching over the Los Angeles Dodgers winning 106 games and being stuck playing a one-game wildcard playoff.  I have zero sympathy for this.  First of all, they won 106 games because there are way too many junk teams out there.  Therefore, the 106 wins is a bit misleading.  Also, San Francisco won 107  and also won the season series with the Dodgers 10-9.  In the good old days, the Dodgers would miss the playoffs completely for finishing second in the division.  If you want to give them a better standing than Atlanta or Milwaukee, so be it but then what’s the point of having divisions?

7 – STYLE OF PLAY – I have many grievances with baseball and I wish I didn’t because it’s the sport I grew up playing and have loved everything about it.  However, when it comes to the Majors I find that the style of playoff baseball doesn’t at all resemble that of regular season baseball in that there are too many off-days that allow teams to juggle their pitching staffs in a way they wouldn’t be able to do during the season.  Take the 2018 Red Sox, for example.  They used Rick Porcello, Nathan Eovaldi, and Chris Sale in the bullpen and they never ever would have won if those starters had been unavailable.  They’ll do the same thing in the wild card game tonight and also did it on Sunday to clinch the wild card as Eduardo Rodriguez and Nick Pivetta pitched the 8th and 9th respectively.  

8 – HOUCK PERFECT – I’ve written about it a lot but it bears repeating.  One of the reasons why baseball fans have walked away from following the game is because of the infiltration of analytics.  The Red Sox pulled Tanner Houck (on Saturday) after 5 innings of no runs, no hits, no walks pitching and 53 total pitches thrown.  Why?  Is there a study out there somewhere that says if he pitches into the 7th he’s headed for a surgical procedure?  Or is there some sort of formula that says he’s going to get lit up by the 100-loss Nats a third time through the order?  The final four innings of that game were painful to watch and the Sox almost deservedly lost the game.  Having said that, I wonder should Eovaldi struggle tonight if Houck isn’t the long man out of the pen.  

9 – SJHL SUSPENSION – I’ve always had a skeptical nature about me and that is a character flaw, admittedly.  I say this to preface my comment about appeals filed by those suspended in all sports at all levels are, essentially, pointless because they are going to rubber stamp what the original authority has handed down or if they do reduce it, it will be done at the most minimal level.  Well that thought process of mine was destroyed over the weekend when Melville Head Coach Mike Rooney had his 10-game, $1500 fine completely overturned.  Details as to the nature of the offense have not, to my knowledge, been reported and I’m not about to talk about it either.

10 – RAIDERS JERSEY – One day after it was unveiled online, the Prince Albert Raiders have discontinued and pulled their alternate jersey after the WHL called it ‘insensitive and offensive’.  I’m not arguing on either side but if this is something that is so blatantly obviously offensive then how did it ever get created in the first place?  In a statement, WHL Commissioner Ron Robison said he ‘regrets the design was approved’.  This isn’t the first run-in with those who decide what is okay for a hockey logo.  Back in 2014 the Raiders faced similar criticism upon revealing a new mascot with the same design and it was, ultimately, also pulled.  Safe to say if it was offensive in 2014, it’s definitely terribly upsetting in 2021.

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