THROWIN’ ELBOWS WITH BRENDAN MCGUIRE
1. LEGACY OF DAVID BRALEY: A net positive for sure. And I do get a kick get out of all of these detractors coming out of the woodwork now that he’s gone. Bob Ackles proved that a good team president and organization could operate and function with David Braley as their boss. Where he came up short as an owner is when it comes to leaving an organization on a sustainable track. Give someone fish, you feed them for a day. Teach someone how to fish, and you feed them for a lifetime. David Braley gave the CFL a lot of fish but didn’t teach the league much about fishing for itself. Sad that someone who still had so much to contribute to our world is gone and it is too bad the BC Lions don’t have their sugar daddy and protector anymore. But change of ownership was inevitable and it can be exciting, too. Onward and upward.
2. BC LIONS NEXT OWNER: If Randy Ambrosie wants to hit a homerun here, he needs to knock on doors in Indo-Canadian and Chinese-Canadian business communities. Only then will the CFL become relevant again on the west coast. New Canadians will enjoy our game if we make the effort to engage them about learning and following our game. A new owner for the BC Lions from one of these communities would go a long way to achieving this essential objective.
3. BEST OWNER IN THE CFL: Hamilton Ticats caretaker, Bob Young. Hands down. Like David Braley, has funded his team’s losses for 17 years. Unlike David Braley, has come up with ideas that have made his organization stable and strong for years to come and for when the day comes where he will no longer be able to rescue it, himself. Also unlike Braley, has not overspent on players or hoarded revenues from hosting multiple Grey Cups as a cash cow. Bob Young loves the CFL, his city and his team without strings attached. And, unlike most owners, he has patiently waited this long for a Grey Cup ring and still doesn’t have one. A better owner in any sport does not exist.
4. JEFF KNOX JR. ATTEMPTED DOUBLE HOMICIDE CHARGES: Sounds like the former Roughrider linebacker is in big trouble. Not a good situation at all. Regardless of circumstances, I sympathize with this young man because he has found himself in a frightening situation that could very easily ruin his life. I sometimes wonder if we deserve a share of the blame by putting these young athletes on this pedestal, allow them to make a living doing so, and then completely abandon them the moment it’s all over. I like to think most of us would know how to react when our livelihood has been robbed from us in the way Jeff Knox Jr.’s has been this year. Hopefully, most of us will never have to find out. But let’s at least try to remember that before rushing to judgment.
5. JEFF GARCIA CONNECTION TO RIDER NATION: I recently did a piece on this subject for 3 Down Nation and I won’t spoil it for you, yet. But the 90’s were considered by many to be a ‘wasteland’ for Roughrider historians. As somebody who fell in love with the league during that decade, I know it’s not true but even I cannot argue there were some lean years where it felt like the Regina Pats were more popular than the Roughriders or the CFL. But for some strange reason, the Calgary Stampeders with Doug Flutie and then Jeff Garcia had real trouble in trying to win here. Seemed like the wind, dumpy old Taylor Field and the atmosphere made them both uncomfortable enough to steamroll the heavy underdog Riders whenever they came through Regina. Doug Flutie never sounded interested in giving Saskatchewan any respect whereas Jeff was always very respectful and complimentary of the Riders and their fans which meant a lot in those days because, quite frankly, we really didn’t have much else going for us. The best part of the 90’s might have been beating Jeff Garcia, earning his respect and then seeing him beat the odds and become a star in the NFL.
6. JEFF GARCIA SHOULD COACH IN CANADA: He still has a fiery personality and nobody loves the sport more than this guy, as evidenced by his rants on San Francisco 49er TV coverage. Did an incredible job with Montreal quarterback Jonathan Crompton in 2014 in cleaning up a 1-7 disaster and finishing 9-9 as quarterbacks coach of the Alouettes. Then it leaked out that Garcia lobbied Wally Buono hard to become the BC Lions new head coach to replace the fired Mike Benevides the following offseason. Wally decided that Jeff hadn’t paid his dues yet and chose Jeff Tedford, instead. The result: The Lions became a mess at 7-11 as interest in the team eroded so badly they started tarping off the upper deck at BC Place and Jeff Garcia would get lost in the mess of politics of trying to coach in the NFL as an assistant with the St. Louis Rams. When COVID ends, any CFL team in desperate need of an offensive recharge should quietly approach Mr. Garcia and his agent and offer a high paying job as Offensive Coordinator/Assistant Head Coach with the promise that a good year will ensure a promotion to Head Coach. A couple of good years in Canada will secure Jeff a Head Coaching job in the NFL, which is what he really wants, anyway. Y’er welcome!
7. LET THE WHL PLAYERS PLAY IN THE SJ: Who cares if it puts some teams at a disadvantage? Will be great for fans to see their hometown heroes for a while. Wouldn’t hurt some of these SJHL regulars to play with and learn from WHL star players for a little while, either.
8. TO ALL SJHL PLAYERS MOVING ON BECAUSE OF COVID: I sympathize and understand your decision to abandon your career because you don’t want to delay getting on with life over this. However, if you’re throwing away your junior experience over this, then you probably didn’t really want it all that badly anyways. Like many coaches and players who sacrifice to chase their dreams, I once lived in a dumpy basement apartment and worked 2 jobs just to experience being an SJHL broadcaster. I loved every second of it and wouldn’t trade those years for the world. If you can’t see the value of that and want to use COVID as an excuse or blame the government for delaying normalcy in these leagues, well then hey, it sounds like it wasn’t all that important to you, anyways.
9. SJHL CROWD SIZES: I really hope the cap of 150 people in the building can be increased as the season moves along and people follow the rules. If spectators are willing to wear a mask and assume their own risks, then what the heck? This bloody vaccine just can’t some soon enough.
10. SANDRA MASTERS CAMPAIGN FOR MAYOR: She says she’s going to find 15% in efficiencies but doesn’t want to map out where those “efficiencies” will be. The moment someone running for public office promises a drastic change like that but won’t lay out specifics is the moment they not only lose my vote but lose my respect, too. It smells of either a hidden agenda or somebody who just doesn’t know what they’re talking about. Perhaps both. Mayor Michael Fougere used to crusade for lower taxes on council, too and has since changed his tone dramatically now that he sees how hard it is to actually operate a city. I have no dog in this race, aside from keeping our taxes low and a better downtown, but will be very disappointed if the voters choose Sandra Masters.
(Follow Brendan on Twitter at @brendanhowardmc)
