THROWIN’ ELBOWS WITH BRENDAN MCGUIRE
1. CFL BUBBLE CITY: Legendary Blue Bombers broadcaster Bob Irving says Winnipeg is the “obvious choice” to be the CFL’s bubble city if a 2020 season does in fact go ahead. Based on what, Bob? Are you telling me the locals there are any more deserving of the benefits than we are in Regina? I hope he’s not daring to suggest that stadium is as good as ours. Not even close.
2. RETURN TO PLAY: I’ve cringed at the idea, only because it’s just not all that important right now. We’ve been spoiled rotten for 75 years without having to deal with a world crisis of this size. We can survive a year or two without pro sports. However, denying pro athletes the ability to make a living any more than the rest of us isn’t right, either. If players want to play and owners want to play, then they should play. But the headache and liability issues will make us all wonder if rushing back was ever really worth it.
3. WCBL SEASON SIMULATION: Special thank you to Access Communications, especially Spencer Burridge and Sandra Norman, for designing an MLB The Show simulation of the Western Canada Baseball League season. I’ve never been one to much get into these simulations but the baseball version stands above the crowd. Sony’s MLB The Show graphics are far superior to anything EA Sports puts out and the work done by Access to produce the 6 Saskatchewan (some now defunct) home and away uniforms and Currie Field for the games to be played in have been off-the-charts. Eagle-eyed Leo MacDonald and I are hosting the broadcasts and it’s been a life-saver to get out and talk some ball again. Follow Access on twitter, like them on facebook and check your local listings for when games are on.
4. YORKTON CARDINALS: I grew up watching Yorkton TV. It was a great sports town in the 90’s and early 2000’s, too. The Terriers were always well supported. The local sports coverage with Jay Boyd, Lee Jones, Mike Ciona, Natasha Staniszewski, Craig Adam and countless others was always first-class. Today, their baseball team is on a leave of absence from the Western Canada Baseball League and in the process of being kicked out. I’ve always believed that a franchise with a proper venue out there, with support from places like Melville, Dauphin and Swan River would be a home run. This is really too bad but the reality is I’m not hearing a lot of enthusiasm for high-level ball out in Yorkton. Maybe it just isn’t the sports town it once was. Time for the WCBL to focus on expanding its Saskatchewan presence to other locales like Saskatoon and maybe even Prince Albert, too.
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6. EDMONTON ESKIMOS NAME CHANGE: I’m not sure what’s holding them back. Just call them the Empire, hold a press conference and sell a bit more merchandise. The end.
7. RACIST TEAM NAMES: Washington Redskins and Cleveland Indians. Some others are debatable. These two are not. The end.
8. DAN SNYDER’S LEGACY: I really hope the world doesn’t praise the Washington football owner for changing the team. He’ll have no choice in the matter by the time it happens anyway. The world needs to remember that Dan Snyder has been dragged kicking and screaming on this for the past decade-plus. He’ll probably make a crapload of money when the re-brand happens but it will be in spite of him, not because of him. His head coach, Ron Rivera, whose made a windfall coaching NFL teams already should have the courage to say it publicly, too. Instead, Riverboat Ron wimped out when asked about it in a recent radio interview. Cleveland Indians manager Terry Francona, on the other hand, is stepping up and admitting it is time to change the name of the franchise he works for. I’ve always liked Francona, another proud Montreal Expo alumni.
9. MLB PREDICTIONS: I’m struggling to care about any of this enough to put any real thought into it. But in a 60-game schedule, where stars are opting in and out at the blink of an eye and players are being infected and removed because of COVID, anything can happen. Would love to see a Blue Jay-Minnesota ALCS where maybe some fans will even be allowed into the park with masks or social distancing.
10. FILM OF THE WEEK: THE BRONX IS BURNING is an 8-part mini-series done by ESPN about the turmoil New York and its baseball team lived through in 1977. Was very well done and offers a glimpse into how George Steinbrenner became “The Boss”. Episodes are about 40-minutes in length. I watched them all on YouTube and so can you.
(Follow Brendan on Twitter at @brendanhowardmc)
