Stackhouse’s 10 Weekend Things

1 – QB MUSICAL CHAIRS – Quarterbacks are coming off the board quickly in the CFL and the Saskatchewan Roughriders are left with minimal options after Vernon Adams got dealt to Calgary and Davis Alexander re-upped with Montreal.  One would assume Cody Fajardo is not in play for the Riders after the way he was treated here.  He’d have to be an incredible sucker for punishment to come back.  That leaves Trevor Harris at the top of the board and while he’s old and probably not everyone’s first choice, the team could do a lot worse and just may in the event they don’t sign him.  Because of age and recent injury history, it’s imperative the Riders get a good back up for him and that may be the trickier signing because who wants to be a back up?  Jake Maier, surely, would want an opportunity to start but he’d be my first option.  

2 – RIDERS COULD BOTCH QB POSITION – Let’s assume Harris isn’t signed and the Riders opt for one of the other remaining options.  Are you comfortable with Nick Arbuckle over 18 games?  McLeod Bethel-Thompson isn’t coming here.  I could see him returning to the US and maybe even retiring.  Tre Ford would be an interesting signing but I think it’s imperative to have Harris or a Harris equivalent on the roster as insurance.  Let’s also not forget the Riders fell into Harris in the first place, he wasn’t exactly someone they targeted for their marquee position.  Over the years, both Rider management and fans have really struggled to identify what makes a good quarterback. I’ve listened to fans tell me why Tino Sunseri, Brandon Bridge, and Rocky Butler were the greatest since sliced bread and I’ve also been told Kerry Joseph was terrible and Darian Durant was a product of the system.  Regardless, if you don’t have a good quarterback you don’t have a competitive football team and it’s as simple as that.

3 – HARRIS DESERVES TO RETURN – Harris is 39-years-old but I don’t view him as an old 39.  He’s not a runner.  His game is based on quick release and accuracy and I don’t see that regressing terribly next season.  Yes, he’s been injured but show me a quarterback who hasn’t been hurt.  I think Zach Collaros was the healthiest in the league this year and I’m not sure he’s a safe bet to stay upright for 18 games either.  In a nutshell, I’d bring Harris back as a proven starter who is competent and led the team to a home playoff game this year.  But I’d make sure there is something proven behind him and my top choice is Maier with Ford as Plan B.

4 – RUSH WIN OPENER – The Saskatchewan Rush played, perhaps, their best game in four years on Saturday night as they outlasted the Albany Firewolves 10-9 in overtime to open the National Lacrosse League season.  The Firewolves are no slouch, finishing as the league runner ups last season and bringing back all of their key players, including Rookie Of The Year, Alex Simmons.  Simmons paced Albany with 7-points in this one, while the Rush got a solid performance from first year player Brock Haley (2 goals and 3 assists).  Zach Manns scored four and also had a five point game and newcomer Austin Shanks got the OT winner and finished with 2 goals and 2 assists.

5 – BOUDREAU ATONES – Jake Boudreau took a penalty with just over four minutes remaining and Albany tied the game at 8 on the ensuing powerplay.  Boudreau made up for the mistake moments later as he scored the go ahead goal only to see the Firewolves force overtime with 11 seconds remaining.  Albany had the better chances in the 7 minutes it took to determine a winner but Rush goalie Frank Scigliano was the difference.  In fact, Scigliano outplayed Doug Jamieson at the other end and that’s no small feat as Jamieson was second in voting for NLL Goaltender Of The Year.  Scigliano is the wildcard for the Rush season, in my opinion.  If he’s a top five NLL goalie, the Rush are going to be in the mix.  

6 – RUSH ROOKIE ON DRAWS – Face offs are a big focus of attention for me and rookie Jake Naso held his own Saturday night.  Going up against Joe Nardella, who would be in the top three in the league at this specialty, Naso started the game losing 7 of 8 draws but won 7 of 15 the rest of the way.  The draws he did lose, he didn’t go down quietly either.  Nardella won 68% of his draws last year so Naso got thrown to the wolves (so to speak) right away.  The Rush next game is, at home, December 14 against Halifax and the Thunderbirds just happen to have the top faceoff man in the league, Jake Withers, who won 74% of his draws last year and that includes 55 of 63 (87%) in two games against the Rush.

7 – KELCE PROMOTION – I have to give Travis Kelce credit for being a master personal marketer.  While his football career is on the brink of falling off a ledge, his name brand within the general public has never been more heightened.  Kelce is on track to register career lows right across the board statistically and none of that should be surprising as his focus is obviously not on football.  Kelce, recently, took a swipe at Elon Musk and called X a ‘toxic waste dump’, to which Musk simply waved bye-bye to him.  Despite Kelce being nearly irrelevant on the football field, the Chiefs are still winning and trotting him out there as a starter and are still considered favorites to win the Super Bowl with Kelce riding the coat tails of both girlfriend and football team.

8 – BAD NFL COACHING – The fact that Matt Eberflus botched the end of the Bears loss to Detroit on Thursday night is bad enough but the fact that he doubled down on his incompetence after the game is, probably, what sealed his fate as the Bears fired him this weekend.  The Bears have had three recent cracks at franchise quarterbacks:  Mitch Trubisky, Justin Fields, and Caleb Williams.  Two of the three times, they gave up early on the signal caller.  All three times now they’ve axed the coach.  Some organizations are just doomed no matter what.  No wonder Eli Manning refused to play for the Chargers.  And, you have to wonder how much longer Joe Burrow will put up with the Bengals.  And, are the Lions truly for real?

9 – SNELL CASHES IN – Despite decreasing need for starting pitchers in Major League Baseball, the Los Angeles Dodgers forked out over $180-million for Blake Snell this week.  Snell refused to take the mound for San Francisco during the last week of the season, fearing catastrophic injury.  A real gamer.  He’s also only surpassed 130 innings twice in his career but that doesn’t matter to the Dodgers, who just won the World Series using Openers for half of their playoff games.  They’ve got money to burn and if Snell can log 4 or so innings in a big game, it’s worth it I guess.

10 – SIX FEET UNDER – The podcast world is quickly becoming oversaturated but if you are a professional wrestling fan and haven’t checked out The Undertaker’s podcast, you are doing yourself a real disservice.  It’s called Six Feet Under with Mark Callaway and it’s a very easy and entertaining listen.  He had Donald Trump on just prior to the American election and he was able to get Trump to show a personal (likeable) side that most don’t get to see.  He also isn’t holding back on a lot of the ‘secrets’ from his wrestling days.  Speaking of Trump, his election win has sure sparked a rapid change in public thinking.  Canada is always slow to react to a changing world and most people who live here continue to think CBC would never lie to them (let alone the other two government funded networks) so that’s a big reason why but you have to wonder if we really will see the return of the Washington Redskins and/or the Edmonton Eskimos.

(Mike Stackhouse is a freelance writer/broadcaster)