Stackhouse’s 10 Weekend Thoughts

1 – JALEN HARRIS – I usually start my columns with the biggest news of the week. Most of you aren’t going to see this the same way I do because the CEBL hasn’t caught on to a more broad spectrum of sports fans as of yet but the Saskatchewan Rattlers’ signing of guard Jalen Harris for the upcoming season was the most significant of the week as far as I’m concerned. Harris, a 2020 2nd round draft pick of the Toronto Raptors, played regularly with the Raps in 2021 and scored a career high 31 in a win over Dallas. In 2022, Harris ranked third in the CEBL in ppg at 19.9 while playing with Scarborough. That same season, Tony Carr led the Rattlers at 19.8. The signing of Harris likely signals that Justin Wright-Foreman will not be back although should JWF end up in Saskatoon as well, one has to think the Rattlers rocket to the top of the list as favorites to win the championship. I talked to a basketball fan earlier this week who went on a trip to Milwaukee to watch an NBA game a couple of months ago and he had no idea the CEBL even existed. So, the league is still professional sports’ best kept secret. Do yourself a favor and go to a game if you can. You won’t be disappointed.

2 – ROURKE ANOTHER NFL SHOT – Nathan Rourke was waived by New England and then, promptly, scooped up by the New York Giants which put a sudden stop to the chatter of him returning to the CFL. Rourke has looked very capable of being an NFL quarterback when given an opportunity to get on the field but his chances thus far have been few and far between. He’s currently listed fourth on the depth chart behind Daniel Jones, Drew Lock, and Tommy DeVito. None of those three are cemented in their positions and I believe Rourke is better than all of them but will he get a chance to prove it?

3 – KELLY SUSPENSION – Less than a week after the Toronto Argos came out and, publicly, defended Chad Kelly against harassment allegations the CFL handed down a 9-game suspension against the league’s top quarterback. An independent investigation determined three of the six allegations against Kelly had merit. I’m not sure I understand what that means for the other three allegations. Were they lies or just couldn’t be proven? What constitutes proof? Do you need to find one other person (credibility be damned) to back up the claim or is there some other measuring tool in which corroboration is defined? Because the Argos backed the player, are they also on the hook here for fines and penalties for defending a person who the league has deemed to be a sexual predator? If Kelly isn’t guilty of anything as far as the court system is concerned, what does that mean for other players who may have interest in establishing a personal, intimate relationship with someone? While there are definitely some clear parameters that are over the line as far as harassment is concerned, is it also harassment to ask a person out on a date a second time after you’ve been told ‘no’ the first time? Some would say ‘yes’ after the first time it is, indeed, harassment and that’s fine but let’s just get it all out in the open with clear communication so that the work environment can remain professional and safe for all. 

4 – MORE KELLY – Like most suspensions, to my knowledge, the ruling doesn’t prevent Kelly from being around the team during non-game days or practice. This has enraged a number of people around the CFL and while some of the comments I’ve read come awfully close to detrimental conduct, I don’t see the league’s main office or its member teams doing anything about it.  If anything, I could see them caving and tacking on further sanctions to Kelly.  he league has never been good at withstanding a political correct firestorm. I can think of a handful of players who have been blackballed out of the league entirely in recent years. As far as the Argos are concerned, remember they backed Kelly on this.  They don’t think he’s done anything wrong so why would they ban him from team activities?

5 – MAKE BELIEVE HOCKEY – Shady ‘businessman’ Max Chambers caught a few media people off guard this week by announcing a new 16-team 3-on-3 professional hockey league where each team would have a cap of $30-million. Upon further investigation, it would appear this is nothing more than a fantasy. Chambers is a weird guy who once ran the Yorkton Terriers back in the early 1980s. I uncovered a few tidbits about his tenure while researching my portion of Rod Pedersen’s book Heart & Soul Of The SJHL.  Chambers brokered a few (at the time) unheard of sponsorship deals around the community and local legend has it that many, many months after he departed town there were several cars parked at the Agriplex and nobody knew who they belonged to.  Apparently, they were loaners from a car dealer to Chambers in exchange for advertising. I don’t offer much in the way of advice to people but here’s a piece: don’t ever trust someone who has a lot of someone else’s money.

6 – BOWNESS RETIRES – It, likely, came as no surprise to the higher-ups with the Winnipeg Jets when Rick Bowness announced his retirement earlier this week. There isn’t a lot of suspense as far as who will replace him. The Jets seem to always want people who have Winnipeg or Manitoba ties so to that end, former Jet player and current assistant coach Scott Arniel seems to be the natural fit. Arniel was a head coach with the AHL’s Moose from 2007-10 and had a head coaching job with the Columbus Blue Jackets for two seasons after that (missing the playoffs both years). Aside from that, he’s been an assistant with Washington, the Rangers, and the Jets every year since 2014. It was also part of the package when Bowness was hired. Bowness was to make Arniel one of his assistants.  

7 – BEST COACH NEVER TO COACH NHL – If I was running the Jets (or any other team for that matter), I’d be having a conversation with Gardiner MacDougall to be the head coach. He, literally, wins everywhere he goes. His university club, the UNB Reds, are the cream of the crop in Canada. He, recently, coached Canada’s U18 squad to a gold medal and in 2022 he was hired by the Saint John Sea Dogs (QMJHL) after the Memorial Cup hosts were bounced in the first round of the league playoffs to try and guide them through the national championship tournament. He won that too. This year, the Reds were 30-and-0 and won the nationals. At the very least, someone should call him and get him to explain how or why he feels he has achieved the success (which I’m going to say is unrivaled at any meaningful competitive level) he has and if that would work for an NHL team, he should be hired immediately.

8 – SHANAHAN LEAFS – I wrote a lengthier article on the Toronto Maple Leafs on my personal Substack site but I’ll summarize it here for those who maybe missed it. The fault for the Leafs’ constant failures lies at the feet of Brendan Shanahan. I won’t go into the details here but Shanahan is the one responsible for all of the major decisions and I can make a solid argument that Shanahan himself never should have been hired for the position he has held for the last ten years. He’s a great schmoozer. So good that Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment toyed with the idea of firing Shanahan and not replacing him with anyone. Imagine a job so important that when you have to fire him, it’s not worth getting someone else to do it. Shanahan, during Friday’s media conference, told the fans he accepts full responsibility for the Leafs’ repeated failures yet he isn’t about to impose any consequences on himself. I bet he votes Liberal.  

9 – MONTGOMERY TALKS TO BABCOCK – Boston Bruins coach Jim Montgomery admitted after the series win against Toronto that he talked to Mike Babcock prior to game seven to get some advice and encouragement. Many in the hockey media world are aghast that someone would speak to Babcock.  Regardless of what opinion you may have of him, the fact remains that Babcock is a winner at the highest level and while you may feel a certain way about him based on media reports and rumors, there probably is nobody better when it comes to picking a brain about how to defeat the Leafs. A big reason why Babcock was fired was because of his tactics to try and get Mitch Marner to become a more complete player. Here we are five years after he was let go and the biggest bone of contention with Leaf fans is that Mitch Marner is too soft for the playoffs.  

10 – DEATH THIS WEEK – I think I’ve been back writing on Rod’s website for four weeks and all four weeks I’ve had unfortunate news about a death in the sporting world.  This time, former Major League Baseball player Sean Burroughs, who at the age of 43, suddenly dropped dead while coaching his son’s Little League game. No further explanation has been offered other than some of you will tell me this is a very normal tragedy that has always occurred … we just never reported on them until a couple of years ago.  

(Mike Stackhouse is a freelance writer/broadcaster)