THROWIN’ ELBOWS WITH BRENDAN MCGUIRE
1. PROVINCIAL ELECTION: It’s my favorite politics and it’s my least-favorite politics. My mom ran when I was 8 years old and I’ve always been fascinated by it. It’s become boring because rural Saskatchewan has made up its mind that it doesn’t want to hear anything the NDP has to say and appears more interested in a Buffalo party created by separatists. The NDP has given up on rural Saskatchewan. I grew up in the country surrounded by voters complaining that the rural vote didn’t matter. Now I live in the city and it’s clear the urban vote really doesn’t matter anymore. The shoe is on the other foot. The Sask Party has done a lot to deserve this dynasty they’ve built. But it’s clear they could run a chimpanzee on the ballot in a lot of these ridings and still win. That’s not a good thing, either.
2. DAVID BRALEY DIES: Never spoke to him once in my field of dreams but crossed paths many times. Never a warm and fuzzy sort of guy but his hall of fame induction speech showed a softer side of the old man. He spoke about riding his bike to meet Hal Patterson when he was a little kid and pointed out that the whole purpose of the CFL has always been to “connect people together”. Any rich guy who dumps a big part of his fortune into an enterprise, especially to multiple different teams, isn’t doing it for selfish reasons. Saskatchewan has been the biggest savior to the Canadian Football League. A close 2nd has been David Braley.
3. NOBODY OWES FLUTIE ANYTHING: Still whining about the $700,000 Calgary Stampeder owner Larry Ryckman didn’t pay him for finishing the 1995 season. What Doug conveniently forgets is that after he and his agent agreed to sign with the Argos for the following season for $1 million/year only to change their minds at the last minute and demand an additional $600,000 for the ’96 and ’97 seasons to repay Doug the debt he was owed on behalf of the league. Interbrew/TSN, who owned the Argos at the time, thought about it, shrugged their shoulders and ponied up. Doug isn’t owed anything. He was fun to watch and all but also very nearly bankrupted the league. Don’t get me wrong, Doug Flutie was good for Canada. But not nearly as good as Canada has been to Doug Flutie.
4. DONATING STAR QUARTERBACKS TO THE ARGOS: The Stamps donated Doug Flutie to the Argos in the mid-90’s, almost 20 years before the Edmonton Football Club donated Ricky Ray to the Argos. The whole league seems to get this idea that giving their star quarterback to Toronto will somehow help the league. Not true. Connecting with Indo-Canadian and other new Canadian fans will be what makes the Toronto Argonauts relevant again. Nothing else, period.
5. CURLING COVID RULES: Matt Dunstone is furious about the rules changing, seemingly by the day. And he should be. How would you like it if you were excited about competing in an event and then told ‘no’ at the last minute? The province could have allowed that weekend’s events to proceed and then implemented it’s ban on some of these bonspeils. Our governments are doing a great job handling this pandemic. But this is one they clearly blew.
6. LOCAL SPORTS MEDIA SUCKS: Spent part of the weekend visiting my dad’s old farmhouse near Kipling, reading the Moosomin World-Spectator on his kitchen table. Noticed the local columnist write on and on about things related to major league baseball and the NHL. How embarrassing. No ‘where are they now?’ stories about Moosomin Ranger legends? No updates about when the local senior Triangle Hockey League will play again? Nothing about efforts to get local curling going the way it should be again? I realize the internet and decline of population in rural Saskatchewan and COVID has kicked the crap out of these newspapers. But in a lot of ways, these organizations have done it to themselves. Tip to new writers/broadcasters trying to break in: Nobody cares what you think about big league sports. Reporting on it will put you on the fast track to irrelevancy. Local sports can be your NHL and that’s all you need.
7. LOCAL BROADCASTERS WHO DON’T SUCK: Lee Jones, Gina Martin, Taylor Rattray, Wayne Mantyka, Warren Dean, Adam Hunter, Sam Maciag, Greg Morgan, Mark Johnston, Cody Glydon, Sean Kleisinger and Chad McDonald.
8. MAYOR OF REGINA: I’m voting for Jerry Flegel. He’s the only candidate to give us specifics of what he will do to re-energize our downtown. It’s crucial that something get done. It can be done and it should be done.
9. DID YOU KNOW: Doug Flutie has a losing record at Taylor Field. The only North American college or pro football stadium for that to happen.
10. BIG BROTHER: Anyone notice that the evicted houseguest, who is coming out of isolation, always has to wear a mask coming out for the post-exit interview but the host, Julie Chen, who isn’t in isolation, doesn’t? Backwards world we’re living in these days.
(Follow Brendan on Twitter at @brendanhowardmc)
