Stackhouse’s 10 Weekend Thoughts

2 – CFL KELOWNA – The BC Lions picked up their first win of the season by defeating previously unbeaten Edmonton in the second straight game played in Kelowna.  For all the hand-ringing about attendance in just about every CFL centre (don’t worry about it, the league doesn’t need bums in the seats to survive or it would already be dead, plus they are bragging about revenue increases), Kelowna has come out in solid numbers to support the CFL.  I’m not sure if it’s the camera location or what it is exactly, but the overall production and presentation of the games on TSN from Kelowna have been better than in any other CFL stadium.  I don’t feel as though the league should be discussing expansion in any form but Kelowna would appear to be, to me, the only city that could be under credible consideration.  

3 – CEBL LATEST – The Saskatoon Mamba got back in the win column on Friday night by squeaking out a 96-92 win over the Calgary Surge in the first ever pro basketball game played in Whitehorse.  Attendance was listed at 1532, which officials have called a sellout.  The Mamba would need to go on a bit of a run to get a home playoff game, but the fact they are even in the playoff conversation at all is a big step up from where they’ve been for most of the last half dozen years.  They have a 5 ½ game lead on the Surge for the final playoff spot in the West with nine games to go.

4 – FLYERS CARLSSON – The Philadelphia Flyers have thrown the NHL salary structure completely out of whack by throwing a 5-year, $90-million offer sheet at Anaheim’s Leo Carlsson.  The Ducks, notoriously cheap, have issued warnings to any team considering signing Carlsson or any of their other Restricted Free Agents by saying they’ll match all offers, no matter how exorbitant.  We are about to find out if they are bluffing.  Either way, Carlsson is getting $18-million a year and that probably means we are going to see our first $20-million a year player at some point this summer.  Macklin Celebrini, Connor Bedard, and Cale Makar are the most likely benefactors of the Carlsson mega offer.

5 – MORE CARLSSON – Should Anaheim match the offer for Carlsson, you have to wonder if the Flyers won’t try again with Bedard.  The only hiccup is that Bedard suffered a shoulder injury while playing a scrimmage in BC earlier this week and the severity is not known although there are fears it’s not a minor matter.  Bedard has had shoulder issues already in his young career and depending on his prognosis, he may not be able to command the same dollars and length of a contract that Carlsson has drawn out.  Regardless of what happens here, you have to admire what the Flyers are doing.  They are in bad need of a number one centre and they are never going to get one any other way.

6 – OILERS GOALIES – The Edmonton Oilers are, likely, to head into the season with Frederik Andersen, Tristan Jarry, and Devon Levi as their potential goaltenders.  Jarry is the holdover while Levi was picked up in a trade with Buffalo and is still only 24-years-old so there is plenty of time for him to fulfill the potential he exhibited after he was named an all-star goaltender at the World Juniors in 2021.  Andersen, for all of his faults and questionable ability to stay healthy, should provide the Oilers with a solid option between the pipes for as often as he’s able to play.  Here’s another tidbit for you – Andersen played for Mike Babcock in Toronto and doesn’t seem at all scared off by having him as a coach again.

7 – JOMBOY – For as much gunk as there is on social media, there is also an equal amount of excellent accounts that add to the overall enjoyment of sports.  One such account is Jomboy, a lip reader who breaks down baseball on-field conflicts and interactions between players and umpires.  Recent higher profile situations involved Willson Contreras of the Red Sox, the first of which was an ejection for tapping his helmet on his way to the dugout (indicating he’d like to challenge long after his ability to challenge had expired) and a second Contreras situation came up earlier in the week when he struck out against Washington pitcher Cade Cavalli and their back and forth resulted in benches being cleared and each player earned a 7-game suspension.  There’s also an ongoing saga between Dodger pitcher Shohei Ohtani and rookie catcher Dalton Rushing.  Jomboy broke down how the two aren’t on the same page and I find all of his posts to be very interesting and entertaining.

8 – McGREGOR UFC – Connor McGregor makes his return to the octagon for the first time in five years next Saturday night as he headlines UFC329 against Max Holloway.  The two fought back in 2013 with McGregor winning a unanimous decision.  Holloway is the betting favorite but he’s also jumping up a weight class from lightweight to welterweight, which I think favors McGregor.  Having said that, it’s McGregor’s first fight since breaking his lower tibia so nobody really knows what to expect from McGregor, who is 38 years-old but is still going to draw a big audience.  The undercard of Paddy Pimblett against Benoit St. Denis is just as, or more, intriguing.  Pimblett last fought in January and went the distance against Justin Gaethje despite losing a unanimous decision.  St. Denis is a dangerous human being who is riding a four-fight win streak and has defeated the likes of Mauricio Ruffy and Beneil Dariush.  He’s coming off a January knockout of Dan Hooker.

9 – SOCCER – Canada bowed out of the World Cup of soccer on Saturday by getting wiped out by Morocco 3-nil but that didn’t stop our coach from throwing up several silly and nonsensical quotes when asked about his team’s overall performance.  If you haven’t seen it by now, I can say in a nutshell that Jesse Marsch felt that despite the lopsided loss, his team was the better team and he’d rather be Canada than Morocco.  While Canadian media applauded Marsch, everyone else on the international spectrum offered polite criticism.  In this case, it’s soccer but in most things we have become a nationwide punchline to the rest of the world except we continue to believe we are smarter than everyone else and they are all just jealous of us.

10 – CANADA DAY – I know Canada Day was on a Wednesday but shouldn’t it be custom to have a CFL game played on Canada Day?  In a perfect world, a tripleheader should be on the menu but I get it.  There were games played the previous Saturday and it’s a bit much to ask players to get ready to go just four days later.  Still, we have Winnipeg and Hamilton playing today.  Couldn’t they have played Wednesday instead?  Hamilton had a bye last week and the Bombers played Thursday.

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