STACKHOUSE’S 10 WEEKEND THOUGHTS

1 – RIDERS CHANGES – The Saskatchewan Roughriders, coming off what may be their most demoralizing and disappointing season ever, have decided to make changes to their support coaching staff and will leave everyone else intact for next year. That’s to say they believe the head coach hasn’t lost the room (did he ever have it, judging by the lack of discipline on and off the field?), the General Manager has done a good job and will continue to do so at stocking the roster despite glaring holes (some of them long term) at quarterback and offensive line, and the President is also safe despite declining fan attendance and an image that has taken a beating in the public eye. I wish them well.

2 – BOTCHED ALL STARS – The CFL sent out a list of all-stars on Wednesday and then retracted it. I didn’t really pay too much attention as to how this happened but the league could write a manual on how to self-implode. While they are bragging about an increase in fan attendance from the capped crowds of 2021, the reality is that reporting on tickets sold or tickets handed out or tickets not physically available at the will-call or however it is that these teams are reporting their attendance, if more bums don’t get into the seats in the very near future (2023), we are going to be discussing major problems and most of the CFL media will be at a loss as to how we got here or will claim to have known all along despite ignoring the issues up until those issues drill you right between the eyes. Again, I wish them all well.

3 – HALFTIME SHOW – The Grey Cup halftime show was announced on Friday at 5 o’clock. I’m not a country music fan so it’s not fair for me to comment any further as to whether or not this is a killer lineup.  I’ve never heard of any of them but that’s a reflection of me more than the acts themselves. What I do wonder about is the timing. Never mind how close this is to the game itself but Friday at 5? Most PR folks will tell you that Friday at 5 is the best time to release something when you don’t want much coverage (i.e. trying to bury something). It’s bizarre. If you didn’t mind waiting this long, why not push it until Monday morning at 10?

4 – NO HITTER – The Houston Astros used four pitchers to no-hit the Philadelphia Phillies in game four of the World Series. Ho hum. I guess the starter was headed right to the surgeon had he worked into the 7th.  Or, maybe he needed to be ‘saved’ for a future outing. By the way, has everyone forgotten how the Astros cheated their way to their last World Series win? Nobody brings it up anymore despite it being as big a scandal as the 1919 Chicago White Sox, who were found guilty of game-fixing.

5 – MATTHEWS NOT TOUGH – I’m seeing some criticism of Auston Matthews for stirring up what many hockey fans of today would call a line brawl, only to walk away from what he started and then he never had to answer for it, and he even laughed at the other players involved. The other night against Philadelphia, 39-year old Mark Giordano came to his rescue, as did second year forward Michael Bunting. Critics are saying that Matthews should and will have to stick up for himself sooner or later. I couldn’t disagree more. This is the brand of game that has been fostered for years and you see this more and more. You wanted it, you got it.

6 – LEAFS – Speaking of Toronto … I don’t often comment in a serious way about the Leafs because there is more than enough coverage for Canada’s perceived only team. The Leafs are off to a mediocre start and some are calling for coach Sheldon Keefe to be fired. Why they aren’t calling for Brendan Shanahan’s job is a mystery to me. He’s oddly never had to pay his dues at the front office level and yet the NHL team with the most money, who could hire anybody they want, picked Shanahan. I’ll give him credit for stripping down the Leafs and rock bottoming them out. He knew that would buy him a good six years at his job because it takes 3 or so to get rid of everyone and another 3 to replenish the system. But, what has he done? He’s a President with no experience. He’s hired a GM with no experience, who I can’t imagine would be hired by any other team. That GM hired a coach who, by today’s ethical standards, would never ever be hired (read Steve Simmons’ book The Lost Dream if you are clueless as to what Keefe’s background is), but because it’s the Leafs and everyone was excited about the future, there’s been no actual scrutiny. To me, Shanahan should be the one to go. He’s run this team in an ‘ass covering’ way all the while using his popularity as a Gordie Howe style player (a style Shanahan now tells people he hates in hockey) to distract from the fact that I don’t think he knows what he’s really doing.  

7 – MORALS/ETHICS – I should just mention that I don’t care what Keefe did when he was a junior hockey player or even what he did as a pro. I think if you dig deep enough, you will see he was less than an appealing person well into his pro career and it, likely, shortened his career because of it. What I am saying is that for all the people criticizing the Boston Bruins for signing Mitchell Miller this week or for the hand wringing over Montreal drafting Logan Mailloux in 2021, go look at Keefe and if you aren’t prepared to punish Keefe for a lifetime, then I think it’s time to leave some of these other people alone too. What you did in grade eight shouldn’t define you forever and what you did when you were 25 years-old shouldn’t define you forever.  

8 – EARLY SEASON DUDS – If you have any of the following players in hockey drafts, it’s probably not going well for you: Sam Reinhart, Moritz Seider, Patrik Laine, Kyle Connor, Gabriel Landeskog, Jordan Kyrou, and Jonathan Huberdeau (to name a few). Personally, I have the first three listed and I’m in last place just like I am every year. It’s also probably not good if you have goalies Jordan Binnington (he did this last year too), Jusse Saaros, Jack Campbell, John Gibson, or Elvis Merzlikins.  (I have Campbell).

9 – RUSH PRIMER – It’s under a month until the Saskatchewan Rush play their home opener (December 3) and it’s becoming clearer and clearer the team appears ready to inject the roster with some youth. The true battle of training camp appears to be in goal, where the Rush dealt with some inconsistency a season ago.  Free agent signing Alex Buque covers most of the net (5’11”, 332 lbs) and comes with a decent track record but his numbers (11.96, .770) weren’t as good as Eric Penney’s (10.29, .774). Watch for both to be challenged by 23-year-old Cam Dunkerley, who looked good in his only start last year. The transition into youth on defense began last year and I think you will see a bit on the offensive side this year although 5-year veteran Marty Dinsdale was brought back after he played with Vancouver last year. Dinsdale had 41-points in 16-games. The Rush play three exhibition games this month, starting next Saturday at the Toronto Rock Athletic Centre, against Buffalo.   

10 – COMMON GROUND – Not sports-related but something to think about as you go about your week.  Who do you have more in common with, the political leaders that fall along the same side of centre that you are on or the common, everyday people who are on the other side of centre? Having less money and dealing with skyrocketing prices is something that I think we can all agree is bad for us yet it does not affect Justin Trudeau, Pierre Polievre, or Scott Moe. Just something to consider next time you sling mud at your fellow Joe Citizen. A nuclear war affects you and me regardless of whether or not I’m right wing and you are left, yet it probably doesn’t affect the politicians that instigate it. As we get into the Christmas season, let’s try and focus on what we agree on instead of what we don’t.  

BONUS – A great quote from one of my favorite movies that applies to life today. “I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was 12.  Jesus, does anyone?”

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