THROWIN’ ELBOWS WITH BRENDAN MCGUIRE

1. PLAZA OF HONOUR: Mike McCullough was too slow, Weston Dressler was too small and Ken Miller was too old when they joined the Roughriders. None of them should’ve ever made the Riders and yet somehow all three of them carved out a legacy that will be etched forever. Most of all, they all WANTED to be Roughriders and they all WANTED to be inducted into the Plaza of Honour. That isn’t always automatic, either. A great class for 2022. Best one since Corey Holmes, Dan Rashovich and Mike Saunders were all enshrined back in 2011. 

2. CFL LABOUR TALKS: The league is pushing this idea that somehow less Canadian starters will lower their cost of labour. WRONG! The salary cap is what sets their cost of labour. Not the number of Canadian starters. Just like when owners pushed a reduction in Canadian starters following the 1995 season, they are dead wrong in thinking that shifting salaries to American players will have any meaningful impact on their bottom line. Farhan Lalji of TSN suggests that no Canadian starters isn’t where the league expects this to end but finds it to be suspect the league office hasn’t moved off this hard-line stance even a few days before a labour stoppage could disrupt training camps around the league. I’m concerned the Toronto Argonauts ownership, Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, has decided to throw their weight around since they’ve started to cover the team’s multi-million dollar losses. The rest of the league should be careful to not be pushed around by an ownership group not willing to pay much attention to what makes the league great and should also line up some other billionaire to the Argos over if the league has to call MLSE’s bluff. No one organization is bigger than the league. I’m just sayin’.

3. REACTION TO RULE CHANGES: Former CFL players and coaches are supplying swift ridicule and scorn toward the league office over the subtle rule changes coming in for 2022. If the games do poorly, the CFL rules will get all the blame. If the games are entertaining in 2022, as I suspect they will be, the rule changes will get all the credit. Traditionalists like me and some of you know better but we’re entering a lose-lose situation here.

4. ESTEVAN BRUIN SJHL CHAMPS: I never realized until Friday night how beautiful of a trophy the SJHL champion gets until Estevan captain Eric Houk hoisted it above his head after beating the Flin Flon Bombers to win game 7. It was probably my favorite SJHL finals ever to see a blue-collar team that mirrored the identity of its hometown. My last year working for the Bruins was Jason Tatarnic’s first year in the SJ as a little-known assistant coming in to help Dean Brockman’s Humboldt Broncos. Little did any of us know back then that Tatarnic would work in the trenches of junior A for another 17 years to end up leading the Bruins to their finest hour. He was humble way back then just like he is now. You will never find a more deserving bunch than these guys. I love the SJ and always will. No agents or rat race to get drafted, really. Just regular people having their own NHL experience. Hockey the way it ought to be.  

5. THE WINNIPEG JETS AND BARRY TROTZ: Let’s just back the truck up for a second on all of this chatter about the Jets needing to back up the money truck for Barry Trotz. Yes the Regina Pat alumni from Dauphin would be a great candidate to take over in the same province he grew up in but for the sake of Jet fans (I cheer for the Canucks as I just can’t seem to give them up no matter how hard I try) I really hope GM Kevin Cheveldayoff listens to himself and not the idiots filling message boards or polluting the Winnipeg call-in shows. Marv Levy once said “If you listen to the fans, you’ll end up sitting next to them”. It was true then and still is now. Chevy’s future is riding on this offseason with how he handles this coaching hire and whether or not he trades or re-signs Mark Schiefle and Pierre-Luc Dubois. So he needs to go with his gut whether it includes Barry Trotz or not.

6. STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS: I went with Florida at the start and I’m sticking to it. Didn’t look very good on Saturday when they were getting blown out but my picks looked a lot better after Monday night with their pulled-goalie come-from-behind win in overtime over the Capitals to tie the series at two. Everyone is saying the Panthers are too soft and not defensive enough. I say they’re the most entertaining team in the league who could change the game if they just stick to their fun and gun ways and win a Stanley Cup doing it. Would be a refreshing change for this copy-cat NHL.    

7. DANTE DE CARIA: I’ve only met him once and it was over the phone Saturday night but I am convinced this guy is the real deal. I was a pretty dedicated broadcaster in my prime about a decade and a half ago but the voice of the Regina Pats is what I was on steroids. Regina is so lucky to have such a dedicated and passionate sportscaster. We never have nearly enough of those.  

8. THE BLUE JAYS: Why do I get the feeling they’re setting us up for disappointment? It’s like they tease us when it’s late (last year) and now they’re coming up short in games they just have to have. Losing 3 out of 4 might be acceptable in trips to New York, Los Angeles or even Houston. But to do it against Cleveland feels like a total back-breaker. Maybe it’s just my pro-Alex Anthopoulos glasses on and jaded view of current Blue Jay president Mark Shapiro talking, but I feel like the Jays are setting us up to break our hearts. I’m just sayin.

9. BETTING ADS: Seems like they’re everywhere now. Does anyone see the irony in how we don’t allow tobacco companies to advertise but now we’re all gung ho about betting sites doing it instead? Are these sites going to pony up and pay some dollars to amateur sport broadcasts too? Somehow, I doubt it.

10. SOXCASTS: I’m uber-excited to organize the Regina Red Sox webcasts for the coming season that starts in just under three weeks. We have a rockstar crew put together and details will be coming out in the days ahead. Stay tuned! 

(Follow Brendan on Twitter at @brendanhowardmc)