THROWIN’ ELBOWS WITH BRENDAN MCGUIRE

1. CFL STRIKE: The Players Association has long been the subject of ridicule even by its own membership. If the CFLPA gains nothing in monetary concessions from league owners in this first players strike in 48 years, they will gain something far more important than anything the fans or owners could possibly give them: some self-respect. For years, we’ve all scoffed at the idea of CFL players going on strike and for years the players have been kicked around like a rag doll and not really taken all that seriously. Until now. The players put their long-term health on the line each time they suit up for our own thrills and joys and put their own lives on hold to come to a foreign country or province and entertain us all. They deserve to be treated with better respect than this garbage of commissioner Ambrosie negotiating through the media. The players have behaved in a respectful manner in all of this. Too bad we can’t say the same about the league office. 

2. WHY CANADA NEEDS THE CFL: We lived through a summer without the Canadian Football League in 2020 and it was pure misery. God help us all if we have to live through that again. But it’s not just here in Regina where our summers are partly defined by the CFL. Just about every other CFL city would be pissed if their summer sports entertainment was erased by a strike. Maybe not in Toronto but definitely in Montreal and Vancouver. Maybe a prolonged strike is what all of Canada needs to finally appreciate the CFL. I hope we don’t find out. 

3. CHARLESTON HUGHES: Probably minimal expectations from the Riders and from Charleston, himself. I hope the team was careful in not committing a bunch of guaranteed money they didn’t have to just like I hope Charleston isn’t expecting to be an every-game player this season and isn’t expecting to be paid like one, either. Like any other partnership in life, this can work as long as both sides know their role.

4. HERB’S BEEF WITH DAVE: I’ve witnessed Montreal Gazette CFL scribe Herb Zurkowsky take at least a couple of swipes at TSN’s CFL scribe Dave Naylor through Twitter. I quite like the material from both of them but can’t quite understand why Herb seems to have a pickle up his keister over his national counterpart. It does make for some entertaining online drama to us CFL nerds who care enough to notice. The only CFL media personality I ever had a beef with was Milt Stegall because of the way he would make fun of Regina. Milt has since assured me that this perception of him hating the Queen City is “not true” and that it was all a misunderstanding.

5. STANLEY CUP PLAYOFF ANALYSIS PART ONE: Being the Canuck fan that I am, I was rooting for Los Angeles and Dallas but the hockey gods peed on me once again. Big surprise. 

6. STANLEY CUP PLAYOFF ANALYSIS PART TWO: Had the misfortune of stumbling upon a Darryl Sutter post game media conference Sunday night. There is nothing on God’s green earth that’ll suck the life out of watching a thrilling OT winner than listening to that.

7. STANLEY CUP PLAYOFF ANALYSIS PART THREE: The Battle of Alberta is a good reminder to us all that the NHL in western Canada is very much alive and well. After the 60-cent Canadian dollar of the 1990s and more recent COVID-19, we should never take that for granted. Sports fans on the prairies owe so much to Wild Bill Hunter and the other founders of the old World Hockey Association. Would the NHL exist in Calgary and Edmonton if the WHA had never happened? I’m not so sure. 

8. WORST NAME/LOGO IN PRO SPORTS: Minnesota Wild. Just can’t get into it. And logos do matter!

9. ISLES NEW COACH WITH MOOSE JAW CONNECTION: Congratulations to Lane Lambert, who was Curtis Hunt’s old assistant coach in their Moose Jaw Warrior days of the early 2000’s. I have no idea if he’ll be a good fit for the Islanders or not but it’s a pretty cool story nonetheless to see someone else work their way up from the smelly little offices of the old Moose Jaw Crushed Can to the bright lights of New York and the NHL. 

10. IN THE HUDDLE THIS WEEK: Marshall Hamilton, Olivia Lawrence and I will be joined by the intrepid Rob Vanstone from the Regina Leader Post to break down all things CFL strike and preview the battles at Rider main training camp if and when it gets going.