STACKHOUSE’S 10 THOUGHTS

1 – ROD CFL RANT – I’ve watched, with some interest, Rod’s rant on the CFL when comparing it to the NFL hype machine and as I begin typing this week’s 10 Thoughts article I’m not entirely sure how much space I will dedicate to it, but he is right.  However, here’s the big problem for the CFL when it comes to trying to increase its profile – Canadians don’t like sports.  You can look no further than the pandemic when it comes to this.  In January 2021, a lukewarm hockey market in the United States was playing games to full capacity while we couldn’t even figure out how to put youth on the ice with no fans and hockey is ‘our’ game.  That’s not science.  That’s just a lack of commitment and overall interest.  The CFL did much the same thing as hockey in 2020 and they, barely, got off the ground in 2021.  Remember in 2020 when tyrants and so-called ‘leaders’ tried to shut down the NCAA football season but some very passionate people involved with the game stepped up, advocated, and found a way to make it happen?  Yeah none of that in Canada.  

2 – COMMITMENT – When the Saskatchewan Roughriders were at their peak level of success, Jim Hopson ran the show.  It’s just my opinion, but the reason why Hopson was so successful is because of his immense pride in the franchise and his determination for it to succeed, in part, based on his past involvement as a player with the team.  I don’t know Mr. Hopson personally but I know this team meant everything and then some to him.  This is not to take anything away from anyone involved with running the team now because that’s not what I’m trying to do, but the reality is that if the current version of the Riders don’t have success or if the CFL was to fold, just about everyone working with the organization would treat it like a regular job and go find a new position in whatever his/her normal line of work is.  Finding a person like Hopson to be the captain of the ship is extraordinarily hard.  You can locate a former player (see Randy Ambrosie) to take over a franchise or a league but that doesn’t guarantee success either.  However, the CFL needs more Hopsons (passionate, smart, dedicated, loyal, determined, successful) in order to increase its profile.  And, again, please understand this is not a shot at those commandeering the Riders today.  I’m not sure that any CFL team or even NHL team for that matter has a Hopson at the top.  I’m just pointing out why I think the Riders had the success they did (financially and competitively) and what I think it would take to get the league out of its rut.  I truly believe any Rider failure, Hopson took it personally rather than professionally and that’s what separates him from, probably, everyone else and that’s not a slight against everyone else but rather a compliment to a man we all were lucky to have leading our team.  Nevertheless, there are those types of people out there and the CFL, desperately, needs to find them.

3 – COMPARE TO NFL – As Rod has mentioned, the NFL runs a 24-7 hype machine and the general public eats it up.  Millions upon millions of dollars are made and even as we hit the offseason, the NFL will remain at the top of the sports news cycle several days a week for one reason or another.  Because of Canada’s indifference to sports I don’t see how that can ever be possible in Canada.  So what is possible?  The marketing of stars to draw crowds would help.  Remember Doug Flutie.  Okay that was a once in a century player but the CFL has had numerous players that, to me, were with the price of admission at various points over the last twenty years but casual fans never knew who they were.  I’m not sure the league has those players as of today, especially when you consider the loop’s most talented quarterback just retired (Mike Reilly).  I’ve talked in previous articles but there is a talent drain at key skill positions.  Replenishing that talent would be a start and maybe we need some real go-getters who can get the ear of some NFL players who feel as though they are wasting away and just need a chance to show what they can do (as Flutie did).  Trying to convince Chris Streveler to return has to be a priority for some team.  He’s no Flutie, but you can market a league around him.  Why can’t you lure Mitchell Trubisky and give him a chance at revitalizing his career?  As soon as you say we can’t do something like that, we are already beat before even trying.  

4 – MLB WOES – As much as we can pick apart the CFL, how about Major League Baseball?  Those owners and players are completely self-unaware.  They are long past the point of trying to recover fans.  They need to make sure they don’t lose even more of them.  In 1990 World Series, the Cincinnati Reds swept the Oakland A’s and got 30-million eyeballs per game (average) on tv.  In 2021, the Atlanta Braves defeated the Houston Astros and only 11.7-million (average) watched per game and that series went six. Baseball has a long list of issues and fan interest is at the top.  A lockout that wipes out, even a week, of the regular season is a disaster and both sides seem to acknowledge this although I get the feeling they don’t truly believe it.  MLB and its players need to get a CBA signed and then focus on how to create a larger profile for itself much the same way the CFL needs to do here in Canada.

5 – TSN INVESTMENT – I’ve seen some float the idea about TSN not investing enough non-game air-time to the CFL and I think there is something to be said for that although how do you hype a draft (for example) and make it a big production when precious few of those picks make an immediate impact?  Hamilton took Jake Burt first overall in the 2021 Draft.  Granted, he was injured, but he never played a game.  Saskatchewan’s first pick, DB Nelson Lokombo, also missed the season with an injury.  The top skill player in the 2020 draft was WR Dejon Brissett of the Argos and he caught all of 9 passes for 131 yards this year.  So, as you can see, the CFL draft is much different than the NFL one.  You aren’t drafting starting quarterbacks first overall and sometimes it takes a couple of years to make an impact.  I’m just not sure what you can expect TSN to do.  There is also the issue of people no longer consuming their non-game sports through traditional forms of media anyway.  These aren’t simple solutions for simple problems.

6 – PREGAME HYPE – I will give local radio stations plenty of credit for their pre and post game shows.  This extends beyond Regina but because I’m closest to Regina, I feel those are the ones I’m best suited to comment on.  As a person who drives a couple of hours each way to and from games, I always like to have a way to pass the time and chatter about what I’m about to see and what I did see is an excellent way to do it.  I wish the Saskatchewan Rush did this, actually.  Even if it was just a half an hour while everyone is trying to get out of the parking lot.  I think it would go a long way to, perhaps, bringing some of your casuals back to more games.  NLL news is something I wish was more easily accessible and, perhaps, it is and I just haven’t been smart enough to find it yet.

7 – RUSH DECLINE – Speaking of the Rush, that was a very disappointing loss to Vancouver on Friday.  They weren’t hitting, weren’t scoring, and weren’t keeping goals out of their net.  I’m clueless as to how NLL trades work but I do have some suggestions for Rush brass to try and get out of these doldrums.  First of all, bring back Austin Murphy.  I see he’s on the short-term hold-out list.  Why?  Murphy had 3 points in his first action, the last game against Panther City, and really looked like he fit in with the offense.  Secondly, make a trade for a veteran scorer.  Curtis Knight played for the Rush in 2019 and scored 48-points in 18-games.  He’s got 34-points in 8-games for Rochester this year, but the Knighthawks are 7th in the eight team East Conference.  However, it’s not like the Knighthawks are out of it either so perhaps they aren’t willing to wave the white flag.  The other issue has been goaltending and San Diego currently has three of them that have played games this year and all had success.  I look at Justin Geddie, who models his game after former Rush goalie Aaron Bold.  Geddie is a rookie who beat the Rush this year in his only start and looked very good in doing so.  Maybe he can be pried away as Frank Scigliano is their starter and one of the best in the league.

8 – RATTLERS NEWS – The Saskatchewan Rattlers have hired Dean Demopoulos as their new coach.  Demopoulous has NBA experience with Portland and the LA Clippers.  Regardless, the real challenge for the Rattlers will be securing talent.  The free agent season opened on February 1st and I haven’t seen anything of note come across the wire.  Following the CEBL is new for me, much like the NLL, but I’m going to suggest that when the curtain opens on free agent season there isn’t a ton of activity on opening day.  Edmonton re-signed one of their key players from last year, guard Mathieu Kamba on day one.

9 – NO VAX PASS – I will be watching attendance numbers at sporting events with great interest this week.  In my hometown, the SJHL Terriers play host to Estevan on Wednesday night.  The Terriers have seen their attendance completely nosedive and while I am not blaming all of that on the vax pass, it wouldn’t surprise me to see more than 500 in attendance, which would be an uptick of 150 per game.  The Regina Pats are home next Monday afternoon, Family Day, and my guess is they’ll surpass their season average of 3500.  This could be because it’s a holiday so let’s see what next Wednesday night’s game brings for fans.  In Yorkton on Monday, I am told restaurants struggled to keep up with the number of people dining in and one place says they are booking well into next week for reservations.  So much for people being scared to dine with a filthy unvaxxed patron.  Yes, I know It’s Valentine’s Day but dangerous is dangerous.  It just goes to show how damaging and segregating this entire idea has been.  Don’t even get me started on the Ottawa situation with the former War Measures Act being invoked but that’s not about to help any of the divisiveness either.  Some of you will cheer it, some of us (like me) loathe it and are as scared and alarmed as I’ve ever been in my life.

10 – BE KIND – No real 10th thought this week other than to encourage each of you to be good to someone you wouldn’t ordinarily be good to.  We all need it and the only way to fight that negative energy is with positive vibes.  I’m not usually one to offer this type of advice but buying someone a coffee in the drive-thru line or following through on that compliment with a casual acquaintance may just make a huge difference in that person’s life.  I won’t participate in hating my fellow Canadian no matter how much I may disagree with you.  Have a great week.

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