STACKHOUSE’S 10 WEEKEND THOUGHTS

1 – CFL SOON – It’s almost unbelievable to think that this time next month we will be watching regular season CFL football. With an abundance of player movement that I can’t keep up to, I’m not even going to pretend to know what team is going to finish where. My hope is that for players like Zach Collaros, the year off allows him to be that much healthier. I hope development for players like Cody Fajardo isn’t stunted because of the layoff. 

2 – LABATTE – Offensive lineman Brendon Labatte made some waves this week by announcing he will sit out the season rather than deal with Covid protocols and playing. It makes a lot of sense. CFL players aren’t collecting millions of dollars like those in the NHL, NBA, MLB, and NFL so the sacrifice for them is much greater when you consider the reward (salary). It also makes no sense to me why CFL players are subjected to any Covid protocols when the general public in many jurisdictions are having them dropped. Couple that with overwhelming evidence that professional athletes, in the event of contracting the virus, handle Covid exceptionally well and not to mention the fact most of them are double vaccinated, I’m just at a loss overall for the measures. If vaccines work (and they do), let’s start acting like it, shall we.

3 – OILERS INTEREST – Depending on who you want to believe, the Edmonton Oilers are looking at veterans Duncan Keith, Corey Perry,and Ryan Getzlaf as potential additions. My assumption is that they wouldn’t want all three however that has not stopped the critics from coming out and damning the Oilers for looking at these ‘over the hill’ players. In my opinion, this is precisely what the Oilers are missing. Keith, for the right price, would be fantastic on the blueline and in the dressing room. 

4 – JETS IMPROVEMENTS – The Winnipeg Jets appear destined to lose Mason Appleton to Seattle in the expansion draft although there are some creative ideas out there that I’ve seen that include leaving Josh Morrissey unprotected.  While the initial thought of leaving your number one defenseman exposed to the expansion team is crazy, I prefer to look at this way – Morrissey is not a number one defenseman but he’s paid like one.  It’s incumbent on GM Kevin Cheveldayoff to get one so if he needs to overpay for a Dougie Hamilton or Seth Jones, letting Morrissey’s salary go bye-bye is the best way to fit a new blueliner under the cap.  Morrissey would be an excellent second pairing guy but he’s paid like a 1.

5 – TWINS BASEBALL DRAFT – I’m in a fantasy baseball draft that is a keeper league and also requires you to affiliate with a Major League team, meaning you have to have a certain number of players from a particular MLB organization in your line-up at all times. The concept of the draft is awesome. I love it. But I’m terrible at it. I went with Colorado a couple of years ago because I was able to secure Nolan Arenado, Trevor Story, and Charlie Blackmon early on. I think I came in last. Now, I’m with the Minnesota Twins and enjoying Byron Buxton on the IL all season, Miguel Sano and Max Kepler hitting under .200, Josh Donaldson on and off the IL, and Mitch Garver on the IL after taking a foul ball where the sun doesn’t shine.  I am pretty sure I will come last again. The silver lining is the team you affiliate with allows you to claim all of their minor leaguers, so I do have the likes of Alex Kirilloff, Trevor Larnach, as well as some other bright spots in the system so I think I will stick it out with the Twins but here is a team that was supposed to be good and they are actually worse than if they were losing on purpose.

6 – TREVOR BAUER – He’s been my favorite baseball player for a few years because of his social media presence but now he’s in hot water after a woman accused him of taking a rough sexual escapade too far. Bauer says he has proof in the form of text messages that indicates this was consensual. The woman says she has medical reports that say otherwise. Here’s what I do know – if you surveyed ten people and asked them to define an acceptable level of rough sex, you’d get ten different answers. What I don’t understand is why athletes put themselves in situations like this, even if they aren’t ‘guilty’ per se. One thing is for certain: if you are going to engage in such acts, I would suggest you do it with someone you trust with your life and not someone you meet on Instagram. Therefore Bauer is definitely guilty of being stupid, at a minimum. At a maximum, he’s guilty of sexual assault.  

7 – RICHARDSON SUSPENSION – American sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson has been disqualified from the 100m at the Olympics later this month as she’s been suspended for 30 days after a positive marijuana test. On one hand, Richardson did marijuana in a state where it’s legal (Oregon) and laws surrounding marijuana are becoming more and more relaxed almost everywhere although as far as the IOC is concerned, it’s still a banned substance. It’s probably long past time for the IOC to treat marijuana like alcohol. In fact, I don’t understand how taking marijuana enhances performance. I would argue it may hinder it. On the other hand, Richardson knows the rules. If the Olympics don’t allow for marijuana use, then don’t use it. It’s really that simple.

8 – RATTLERS – I’m not sure if they’ll go full capacity for attendance or not, but I’ve got my ticket for the July 12th home game against Edmonton and I couldn’t be more excited as I hope they open it right up for those of us not afraid to be in crowds. At the time of this writing, the Rattlers are 0-and-3 with two blowout losses coming at the hands of the Fraser Valley Bandits, who appear to be a league powerhouse so I won’t judge the Rattlers on their record just yet. Their leading scorer is first year pro Devonte Bandoo, a Mississauga native who was named Big 12 Conference Sixth Man of the Year with Baylor. Their top rebounder is Travis Daniels, who played for the defending champion Edmonton Stingers last season. I have high hopes for the CEBL turning into a CFL type of league except it’ll obviously be basketball. I’ve watched a few games on CBC Gem and if you like the sport, the quality is good.

9 – WWE AUSTIN – I spent 15 minutes watching a video sequence of the Stone Cold Steve Austin vs Vince McMahon feud from the days of the Attitude Era of WWE. Was there anything better? It’s hard to pick a personal favorite ‘episode’, although the beer truck and subsequent beer shower is up there. The other top contender, for me, was when Austin dressed up as a doctor and got into McMahon’s hospital room. I realize there are a lot of people who turn their nose up at wrestling and that’s fine, but I am actually even more entertained by those historical clips today than I was at the time watching them live.  

10 – ALBERTA – I was in Alberta on July 1st when Covid restrictions were dropped. The people who live there are proof positive you don’t need government orders to navigate this pandemic. I would put mask usage amongst the people I encountered at 80-90% and I would say other pandemic measures, such as distancing, closed public washrooms, and other various habits picked up over the last eighteen months were still very much a part of life.  

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