Stackhouse’s 10 Weekend Thoughts

2 – LUKE WILLSON – I may be in the minority here but I can’t say Luke Willson has been an improvement to CFL TV broadcasts as a color commentator.  I knew Willson was given the green light by TSN last year to be an edgy presence and drum up some emotions amongst the fans and that his appearance to be a rogue media person was just that – an appearance.  In case you haven’t noticed, his tone is noticeably different this year.  Even wearing a corporate muzzle, Willson would be best served given a bit of freedom during the games like he was given on his social media account last year.

3 – HOCKEY CAMPS – We are approaching training camp time for junior hockey teams across the country and it will be interesting to see how the latest dominos affect the Junior A ranks, which have been in a very unstable state for the last few seasons as a result of BC’s break from Hockey Canada.  The recent change that allows NHL draft picks who are 19 to play in the American Hockey League is going to result in some scrambling for WHL teams who may start to peer into leagues such as the AJHL, SJHL, and MJHL for star 19-year-olds who are maybe not NHL prospects but are good players who could fill a top six or top four role if given an opportunity.  For now, some of those players are still looking at the BCHL as Yorkton’s Gabriel Courchesne, who led the league with 80-points, is expected to play with Victoria.  The trickle down won’t likely end there.

4 – NHL EXPANSION – The NHL is, likely, to announce official expansion plans for Houston by the end of the calendar year.  Canadian fans left in bewilderment over the NHL’s lack of interest in Quebec City or a second team in Toronto are going to have to realize the league is never adding another Canadian team ever again and as soon as the window opens to leave (I’m talking to you Ottawa, Winnipeg, and Calgary), they are bolting.  It’s not about a city’s fanbase.  It’s about market size and whether or not the people who live there like hockey doesn’t matter.  This is why Atlanta will, probably, be franchise number 34 after Houston becomes 33.  Atlanta has failed twice but the NHL model is designed so that bums in the seats in the arenas is only a small part of the revenue stream.

5 – UFC FIGHT NIGHT – UFC Fight Night is, usually, just a blip as the quality of the cards isn’t on par with the numbered events but Gregory Rodrigues beating Anthony Hernandez by unanimous decision last night opens up some new possible pairings in the middleweight division, where the champion is the polarizing Sean Strickland.  Rodrigues is, likely, going to find himself just outside the top five in the rankings and he’s already called out former champ Dricus du Plessis for his next fight.  Du Plessis would be wise to take it.  Strickland isn’t interested in defending against him having lost to DDP twice already and Du Plessis was dominated by former champ Khamzat Chimaev so du Plessis needs a top five level opponent.

6 – UFC CFL CONNECTION – The CFL got a mention during UFC Fight Night.  Newcomer Anthony Wint, a heavyweight, won his tilt during the preliminaries and it was mentioned he had a football background as a practice roster linebacker with the New York Jets but he also signed a contract with Hamilton in December 2019.  When the league (with government help) wiped out the 2020 season, Wint opted out of his deal and took up mixed martial arts.  He won his Dana White Contender Series fight against Matt Adams 11-days ago and made his UFC debut last night, submitting Terrance Chatman late in round one.

7 – UFC NUMBERED EVENTS – UFC333 has filled out its card and it appears to be the best of the year.  What’s strange is that we still don’t know what the main event is for UFC332, scheduled for October 3rd.  There is speculation of an Alex Pereira-Josh Hokit heavyweight tilt and there are rumours Tom Aspinall may be ready to go after suffering an eye injury against Cyril Gane in October of 2025 and it’s assumed those two will have an immediate rematch once Aspinall is declared fit to fight.  Nevertheless, with what we know who will be in UFC331 and 333, there are not a lot of options left to headline 332.

8 – DODGERS MONEY – It would appear all the money the Los Angeles Dodgers are spending on player payroll is propped up by a house of cards.  It hasn’t gotten a ton of player in mainstream media, for obvious reasons, but Dodger co-owner Mark Walter is facing a US federal fraud investigation over allegations his insurance companies improperly concealed and misclassified billions of dollars in related-party loans.  It’s a complicated scheme that you have to really take a deep dive in to understand it all but the long and the short of it is that I don’t believe there is actually any money to pay out the deferred contracts of Shohei Ohtani, Kyle Tucker, and more.  It should be noted Ohtani has an opt out should Walter sell his stake in the team.   Hmmm, I wonder why that was put in his contract.  Should it be proven the Dodgers are dealing with phantom money, it’s going to damage the owners’ quest for a salary cap.

9 – IN GAME VIEWING – My two favorite leagues to attend games in-person are the NLL and the CEBL so I’m in a down period until December although I went to a couple of U-Sports football games last Fall and I intend to follow it again this season so that should help fill the void.  I know some of you are wondering why I don’t go to CFL games and for me it just comes down to bang for my buck.  The amount of money spent on tickets versus the entertainment value that I get in return along with the added costs of fuel have made the CFL, at least for me, a league that I can watch on television and be satisfied with it.  The NLL and CEBL don’t translate as well on tv but the live in-game experience is second to none at a very affordable cost.  I will also note a U of S football game costs me $22 and it’s really not that far off from a CFL game, in my opinion.

10 – TRADE WAR – I realize it’s not sports (although soccer fans in Montreal and Vancouver booed the American anthem last night) but everyone has been weighing in on the failed trade agreement between the United States and Canada.  I have a different take.  I think it’s highly likely that both sides didn’t bargain in good faith and while we know what killed the deal for Canada, we don’t know what was on the table that Carney was okay with.  We also can be assured of this:  some Canadians won’t notice any difference in their day to day life and they will be the ones who talk the biggest as far as standing up to Trump.  The politicians, who act on our behalf, are also not going to feel any pain whatsoever.  They’ll tap into the money tree known as Canadian taxpayers in order to maintain their lavish lifestyles all the while telling you to hang in there for the greater good.  But, ask yourself what Scott Moe, Doug Ford, Wab Kinew, and Mark Carney are doing to hang in there.  Will any of those leaders offer Canadians a discount on their taxes to offset the trade war?  Carney has already talked about restructuring the tax system to rely more on the people who can afford to pay but I assure you who you think can afford to pay and who the government thinks can afford to pay don’t match.  Most of us don’t even remember who good we used to have it prior to 2015.  We just think it’s all Trumps fault the country is in shambles and my question to those people would be this – what kind of a country are we if our level of prosperity is determined by some other country’s administration?

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