THROWIN’ ELBOWS WITH BRENDAN MCGUIRE

1. LEAFS CHOKE AGAIN: And somewhere Mike Babcock is laughing. The Leafs and their bumbling is what makes the buds just so loveable. They still have what the Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs used to have: THE CURSE. Something for Leaf nation to agonize about and something for them to dream about. There’s a certain level of magic to that which is lost as soon as the curse is broken. When I was growing up, I remember fans at Madison Square Garden chanting ‘1940’ in reference to the New York Rangers finally snapping their 54-year Stanley Cup drought when they beat my Canucks in the ’94 Stanley Cup. When I do the math, the Leafs Stanley Cup drought is now at 54 years and will grow to 55, at least. Leaf fans are absolutely due but there’s so much more fun and intrigue in watching them dream that dream than to actually live it.

2. COVID GAVE US SOMETHING GOOD FOR A CHANGE: This thing has been awful and I’m not minimizing any of it. However, from an NHL fan point of view, how else would we ever get to see a Montreal-Winnipeg playoff series? It sucks that Jets fans can’t be in the building for this but at the same time, it’s kind of magical to have this happen at a time when people in Manitoba desperately need something to turn to in order to lift their spirits.

3. PICKING FIGHTS WITH TICAT OWNER A POINTLESS EXERCISE: Media arguing with the guy who has arguably given more and lost more than any other living soul in order to keep the league afloat is some kind of ridiculous. Through it all, Bob Young wants the CFL to play and is willing to lose more money than he would otherwise, just to make it happen. That’s somebody selling out and putting the good of the league over the good of his own bottom line. We should all be so grateful that Bob Young cares about the Canadian Football League and its fans so much. Don’t ever take that for granted.

4. WHY THE CFL IS RUNNING OUT OF EXCUSES: The NHL has to pay multi-million-dollar salaries with empty stadiums. The CFL pays some guys six-figure salaries and a lot of their players only five-figure salaries. There will definitely be some losses to be had by doing this but Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment has no business holding this back. They are derelict in their duty as stewards of the Canadian Football League if they somehow trip this up. In fact, MLSE should not only encourage a return to play but should be offering up ideas and resources to get the league going again. I must say, I’m very disappointed in the leadership role, or lack-there-of, from the Toronto owners on this.  

5. XFL WASN’T COVID IMMUNE, EITHER: I keep hearing how the CFL needs to tap into the XFL for a better business model that can withstand world-wide disasters like the coronavirus. Funny, last time I checked, the XFL had to shut its own doors and cancel games over all of this, too. Hmm. Is it possible these big-talking hotshots from down south maybe don’t know what they’re talking about, after all?

6. OLD TAYLOR FIELD SITE SITTING VACANT NO BIG DEAL: I don’t want to see more affordable housing in north central Regina. We always need more affordable housing throughout the city but not in that neighborhood. It might be an eyesore to see that spot empty for now but I can think of something much worse than putting nothing there: Putting the WRONG thing there.  

7. CFL EXPANSION TO WINDSOR: Was brought up this week on 3DownNation’s website and I first heard this idea in 2006 when I lived out there and worked in the media. I was even assigned to do a story about it with then-CFL Commissioner Tom Wright. He gave us some really good quotes and made an eloquent speech on the subject and suggested it could be do-able on the basis of being as a big as Regina and able to draw from neighboring Detroit. It was and still is an apples-to-oranges comparison. Regina is a city hub surrounded by a region of 800 thousand people without many other live sports entertainment options. Windsor is effectively a suburb, separated by an international border, of a major market with the NFL, NHL, Major League Baseball and NBA options just a hop, skip and a jump away. It’s a non-starter. CFL expansion priorities need to be, in this order, Quebec City, Halifax and London. The last city on that list is a much better comparison to Regina as it serves a county of close to one million people and has some distance separating it from Toronto, Buffalo and Detroit. There’s big potential for the CFL in southern Ontario with London and not Windsor.   

8. INCOMPETENCE IN BLUE JAY DUGOUT: Shook with fury (I really shouldn’t become so angry over a baseball game) watching Blue Jay manager Charlie Montoyo yank his starter after 5 innings and a low pitch total in game one of a doubleheader in Cleveland, only to needlessly use up two of his precious relief pitchers to nail down what should have been an easy win. Then Charlie proceeded to watch his bullpen completely implode to walk in the tying run before coughing up the game in match number two. When your pitcher can’t throw strikes (Tyler Chatwood walked four batters in a row), you shouldn’t be waiting until it’s too late to get a thrower up and warming. That loss in Cleveland was a disgrace and people watching from all across the country deserve so much better.   

9. HOMERISM ON BLUE JAY BROADCASTS: Buck Martinez was, to the surprise of many, very critical of Montoyo’s decision to pull starter Ross Striping from the first game early, cautioning the danger of using too many relievers, needlessly. Dan and Buck are still the best duo in baseball broadcasting and when they work together, they tell it like it is. When Buck is paired with Pat Tabler, I’m not so sure. Haven’t quite figured out why but it’s something I’ve picked up on over the years.

10. GOOD PODCAST LISTEN: NOTHING PERSONAL with DAVID SAMSON is an entertaining 45 minutes where the former Montreal Expo and Miami Marlins team president is clearly in his glory hosting his own talk-show. It’s refreshing to hear people who have had big roles in running a pro sports team actually enjoy communicating with real sports fans.

(Follow Brendan on Twitter at @brendanhowardmc)