THROWIN’ ELBOWS WITH BRENDAN MCGUIRE

1. BASEBALL BACK, OUR LONG AWAITED ‘DISTRACTION’: We were oversaturated with this stuff, or so I thought. Until recently, the 24-hour sports television and radio networks, not to mention the endless amount of content online had me longing for the good old days of 2 channels of normal everyday programming and looking forward to Saturday nights of doubleheader hockey and all that came with it. Then COVID-19 came and reminded us all what life without sport looks like. It was awful. Keith Olbermann once said it best when he walked through Ground Zero only a couple weeks after 9-11 and an NYPD cop/Mets fan recognized him and admitted that although the Mets games mean nothing to the real world, he could go home after work, put his feet up for a few hours and pretend that the Mets season had meaning. That’s what baseball is. The ultimate distraction. We need it in our darkest hour and never have we needed it more than right now. And then the Miami Marlins happened. Yuck.

2. WINNIPEG OVER REGINA AS CFL BUBBLE CITY: This nonsense about the international airport doesn’t meet the sniff test. Regina has an international airport. Does the CFL think Winnipeg’s airport needs the flights any more than Regina’s? Such bogus rationale.

3. AMBROSIE BASHING: The Commissioner of the CFL is doing his very best. I will be mightily impressed if he actually pulls off a season. This is not the time to criticize him or the league’s business model. This is a year of survival and not much more.

4. ASTERISK FOR GREY CUP 2020: Are you prepared to credit a team who wins a Grey Cup off of a 6-game season with a championship ring? I am, but it won’t be the same as another team who actually pulls it off the right way.

5. WHAT NEW NEW DOWNTOWN BALLPARK COULD DO FOR REGINA: Not only a great baseball stadium with breathtaking views of the Regina skyline and access to public transit but also a great place to host events all summer long. The cavernous Mosaic Stadium isn’t suitable for small outdoor concerts. A small 2,500 seat ballpark with room to set up lawn-chairs in the outfield would be perfect for not only concerts but festivals too. This would be a grand slam for the city if they pull it off.

6. BEST BANG FOR YOUR BUCK THIS YEAR: MLB Package. Find 3 buddies and each of you can chip in $15.00 for every game outside of your viewing area the rest of the season. If you can be entertained by baseball, you’ve got it made in the shade.

7. SPORTS ON TV IN JULY: We’re about to find out if the public wants baseball, basketball and hockey all in the middle of summer. My guess is ratings for all 3 will be way down and I hope networks don’t make a habit of this. This is not the time of year to be indoors watching hockey. It just isn’t.

8. SASKATCHEWAN RATTLERS: Nice to see the Rattlers beat the Niagara River Lions Sunday to start the Canadian Elite Basketball League 2020 summer season tournament. Even nicer to see CBC Sports doing the coverage. This is the kind of stuff the mother corp should be doing.  

9. ELLIOTTE FRIEDMAN: First reported of the Arizona Coyotes split with General Manager John Chayka over the weekend. His fabulous quarantine beard aside, Elliotte has become the NHL’s foremost insider. I dealt with Elliotte quite a bit for a short period of time in the mid-2000’s when I was on the CJME Rider beat and he was hosting the last 2 years of the CFL on CBC. I found much of the national media to be stuck up and full of themselves back then. Not Elliotte. He made time for everyone.

10. GREAT NEW SHOW: Speaking of old CBC legends, Costa Maragos is hosting a new show, IN REAL TIME with COSTA MARAGOS all about local issues in Saskatchewan. You can subscribe to that on Youtube. This is the future of local television.  

(Follow Brendan at Twitter at @brendanhowardmc)