Bombers $7-million loss a CFL reality check

Andrew Harris tears downfield for the Bombers in 2016.

So how much money can CFL teams lose and continue to exist?

It seems we are going to find out.

A sizable group of CFL supporters believe the league can survive anything including the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that has gripped the world.

This sizable grouping, which seems to be loud and passionate on social media channels, believes the CFL will return and roll like it did in 2019 when the COVID-19 pandemic ends and large crowds can go to stadiums again for games.

Those supporters also seem to believe the financial elephant in the room CFL clubs are facing doesn’t exist.

The financial elephant made an appearance on Monday, when the Winnipeg Blue Bombers released their annual report. The community-owned Bombers announced an overall loss of $6,982,217 for 2020.

Of course, the CFL didn’t play any games in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Bombers experienced a $32.3-million decrease in revenue in 2020 compared to 2019.

No events have been held at IG Field since February of 2020, but the Bomber still incurred $3.4-million in expenses for the upkeep of their home stadium.

The Bombers won the Grey Cup in 2019, which was the last time the CFL held a season. For 2019, the Bombers posted a $3.5-million operating profit.

Still, Bombers president and CEO Wade Miller tried to put a positive spin on things.

“When you lose 89 per cent of your revenue, obviously it’s tough,” said Miller in a statement on Monday. “We didn’t play any football and didn’t hold any events at the stadium, so it was challenging.

Chris Streveler (#17) throws a TD pass for the Bombers in 2019.

“I wish we weren’t presenting a loss like this today, but a lot of work was done by our entire team to mitigate that. Our projections last June were for a $9.5-10-million loss. There have been some things which really helped change that – the federal programs that were set up and the unbelievable response from our corporate partners who stepped up and our season ticket members.

“Our fans, partners and stakeholders have stuck with is and rallied behind the team. I’m going to use the Andrew Harris line: ‘They had our back.’”

All CFL fans would love to see Harris, who is the Bombers star local product running back, tear down the field again like he did in the 2019 Grey Cup in Calgary. In that contest, Harris carried the ball 18 times for 134 yards and one touchdown, and he caught five passes for 35 yards and a major score.

Harris was named the game’s most valuable player and most valuable Canadian as the Bombers romped to a 33-12 victory.

Still, the reality is we don’t know when Harris, the Bombers or any of the CFL’s other eight franchises will be on the field again.

While vaccines for COVID-19 are rolling out across Canada, the spread of COVID-19 variants are raising concerns.

On Monday, British Columbia introduced a three-week “circuit breaker” style lockdown to combat variants.

Saskatchewan’s provincial capital city in Regina, which is home to the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders, is dealing with tighter restrictions along with surrounding areas to combat spread of COVID-19 variants. The rest of Saskatchewan is dealing with somewhat lighter restrictions.

Ontario is experiencing more concern due to COVID-19 variants.

On the financial side of things, the Bombers are viewed as arguably the healthiest team in the CFL along with the Roughriders. Miller said the Bombers hit the point where they were debt free this past September for the first time since 1992, but that distinction didn’t last long.

Bombers LB Adam Bighill (#4) studies an offensive look in 2019.

If the Bombers lost close to $7-million in a year the CFL didn’t play, one wonders what the losses will be like for the other CFL clubs.

The Canadian Press had previously reported the CFL’s nine teams are expected to lose a collective $60-to-$80-million for the lost 2020 campaign.

As the Roughriders and the Edmonton Football Club are community owned teams, they will have to publicly disclose their finances for 2020 at some point this year.

The British Columbia Lions, Calgary Stampeders, Hamilton Tigers-Cats, Montreal Alouettes, Ottawa Redblacks and Toronto Argonauts don’t have to publicly disclose their finances, but you can expect them all to be crying for financial help.

If the CFL doesn’t play in 2021 or has a shortened season or plays with limited fan attendance, how much more red ink will be added to the already mounting losses?

 Do private owners keep eating the financial losses?

Do creditors look the other way when it comes to community franchises that own them money?

If a team posted a loss like the Bombers did for 2020 in the late 1980s or early to mid 1990s, there wouldn’t even be discussions about the team folding. The team would fold.

It is safe to say a $7-million loss in the current day is viewed differently than a $7-million loss in 1986.

Ultimately, teams will need money in order to continue operating. Your options at that point are hope governments step in and pay off all the debts that are incurred by the CFL member clubs or you attract new owners or investors.

On March 10, news broke that saw the CFL and XFL reveal they’re poised to begin serious discussions about a potential partnership. The XFL is the spring start up league in the United States that was bought out of bankruptcy in August of 2020 by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Dany Garcia and Gerry Cardinale’s RedBird Capital.

The Bombers celebrate a TD from Kenny Lawler (#89) in 2019.

According to the XFL’s website, RedBird Capital manages US$4-billion in assets.

At the moment, no one else with deep pockets has stepped up to dance with the CFL.

Of course, some diehard supporters of the Canadian version of three-down football say they would rather see the CFL die than form a partnership or possibly merge with the four-down XFL game.

Looking at the financial numbers, the Bombers Grey Cup victory in 2019 might go down as the last game ever played in the CFL unless this partnership is explored.

At the moment, no other options seem to be presenting themselves to keep the CFL alive.

“The Rock” is watching

With 15.1-million followers on Twitter and 226-million followers on Instagram, it would be fair it wonder if Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson paid attention to anyone that didn’t remotely approach his star power.

Canadian football supporters got an indication on Saturday that “The Rock” might be paying more attention than you might think.

Football Canada president Jim Mullin and Winnipeg Blue Bombers fullback Jon Rush sent messages back and forth on Twitter talking about a tweet that speculated what a partnership would look like between the CFL and XFL.

Mullin and Rush were commenting on a tweet from Aaron Geisler, who is the executive director of the Ontario Football Alliance. Geisler said he would be interested in a late winter early spring six to eight game CFL/XFL season and then a traditional eight game CFL season that runs August through November.

Johnson along with Dany Garcia and Gerry Cardinale’s RedBird Capital own the XFL.

Mullin said in a tweet that Johnson wanted games at various times of the year. Rush chimed in that he worried about player safety in that type of scenario and injuries could pile up without an adequate off-season to train.

Along with those concerns, Rush worried about time to fully recover physically along with the prospect of players being able to get second jobs.

Out of nowhere, Johnson sent a tweet to Mullin and Rush saying, “Hi gents, I never said that. We’ll figure out a smart season that’ll create phenomenal opportunities for players and be the best experience for fans. I played ball for years and wrestled 280+ night a year (for years) so I know the value of smart scheduling and recovery.”

While there aren’t a whole lot of specifics of what a partnership between the CFL and XFL would look like or how far those discussions have progressed, it is cool to see Johnson is paying attention to what people in Canada are saying about those talks.

Maier becomes Blades all-time wins leader

Nolan Maier won his 86th career regular season game on Wednesday. 

Nolan Maier moved passed one of the Saskatoon Blades all-time greats to capture one of the franchise’s most prestigious career records.

On Wednesday, Maier made 29 saves to backstop the Blades to a 3-2 victory over the Winnipeg Ice in a WHL regular season contest played in a bubble environment at the Brandt Centre in Regina. Maier also chipped in the offensive side of things picking up an assist on the Blades second goal of the contest scored by veteran star left-winger Kyle Crnkovic.

The victory was the 86^th regular season win of Maier’s career with the Blades and moved him past Tim Cheveldae for the franchise’s all-time record in that department.

Cheveldae collected his 85 career regular season wins playing three seasons for the Blades from 1985 to 1988 before moving on to a lengthy NHL career. He was the Blades goaltending coach from 2013 to 2020.

Maier, who turned 20 in January, joined the Blades shortly after the 2017-18 campaign got underway and quickly cemented himself as one of the WHL’s top netminders. He has appeared in 146 career regular season games with the Blades posting an 86-46-12 record, a 2.94 goals against average, a .902 save percentage and eight shutouts.

Brandon Lisowsky and Colton Dach each netted singles for the Blades, while rearguard Aiden De La Gorgendiere has continued to break out as an offensive-defencemen picking up a pair of assists. In the Blades 10 games this season, De La Gorgendiere has two goals, nine assists and a plus-12 rating in the plus-minus department.

Anderson MacDonald and Connor McClennon replied with singles for the Ice. Zachary Benson picked up assists on both Winnipeg goals.

Gage Alexander turned away 25 shots to pick up the setback in goal for the Ice.

With the win, the Blades improved to 9-0-1 to sit first in the East Division, while the Ice fell to 6-4 to sit third in the East Division in the developmental campaign.

The Blades return to action on Friday, when they take on the Moose Jaw Warriors (8 p.m., 98.3 COOL FM).

86 and counting.

Congrats, @NolanMaier1 👏 pic.twitter.com/yLwX5LUUdR

— Saskatoon Blades (@BladesHockey) April 1, 2021

If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

-------                                     

If you like what you see here, you might want to donate to the cause to keep independent media like this blog going. Should you choose to help out, feel free to click on the DONATE button in the upper right corner. Thank you for stopping in.

Finally - All WHL Divisions are back in business

Connor Zary in action for the Blazers on December of 2019.

The WHL was able to do the impossible.

When the circuit paused its 2019-20 season back on March 12, 2020 due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that has gripped the world, there was no certainty as to when the major junior league would hit the ice again.

That pause evolved into the cancelation of the rest of the 2019-20 campaign overseen under the CHL umbrella, which the WHL is a part of.

With the WHL’s 22 teams being spread across four Canadian provinces in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia along with the states of Washington and Oregon in the United States, the prospects of the WHL returning for any type of 2020-21 season seemed daunting.

The WHL had to work with the governments and health authorities in four Canadian provinces and two states in the United States in order to get the circuit going again on the ice. There were days it seemed the odds of winning the main prize of a Lotto Max jackpot were better than that of the WHL coming back for 2020-21.

Ultimately, the WHL came up with the idea of each member club playing a shortened 24-game regular season, which would be held for developmental purposes. All games are being played without fans in attendance and competition is restricted to in division play.

The Swift Current Broncos were moved from the Central Division to the East Division for the abbreviated season to the play the WHL’s four other Saskatchewan-based clubs and the circuit’s two Manitoba-based teams in a bubble format at the Brandt Centre in Regina.

The Central Division hit the ice on February 26. The East Division followed on March 12 and the U.S. Division got in gear on March 18.

Friday marked the first contests played in the B.C. Division with games held in bubble environments at the Sandman Centre in Kamloops and Prospera Place in Kelowna. 

The Rockets were back in action on Friday.

The Kamloops Blazers downed the Vancouver Giants 7-3 in Kamloops, while the Kelowna Rockets blanked the Victoria Royals 5-0 in Kelowna.

Friday would be the first time all four division in the WHL were allowed to be active for regular season games since March 11, 2020.

On Saturday, the Prince George Cougars took on the Kamloops Blazers at the Sandman Centre. When the Cougars took the ice in their 5-4 setback, it meant every team in the WHL has played at least one game in the abbreviated 2020-21 regular season.

It has to be considered a miracle that all WHL teams were able to get back into action. Still, the return to play hasn’t been easy.

All players, coaches and trainers are taking part in weekly testing. On Friday, the WHL announced it had administered 4,094 COVID-19 tests from Feb. 12 to March 26 with only one positive result. From March 20 to this past Friday, the WHL administered 1,002 COVID-19 tests with all results coming back negative.

The 17 Canadian based teams are using private PRC testing provided by DynaLIFE. The five teams in the United States have taken part in private antigen testing.

The WHL is playing this developmental campaign at a sizable financial cost to its member teams. Back during their virtual annual general meeting on Jan. 18, the community owned Lethbridge Hurricanes estimated they expected to lose $1.3-million, if they hit the ice for an abbreviated 24-game regular season that was played without spectators.

With all that said, the WHL has created an opportunity for their players to get fresh game video footage that can be studied by scouts from the NHL, other professional leagues and the U Sports ranks.

Fans have been able follow games on radio broadcasts, check out livestreams or view highlights are various league and team social media platforms.

The Blazers are celebrating a lot of goals early this season.

On Friday, it had to feel good again for league followers that Kamloops star centre Connor Zary was again doing Connor Zary things posting three assists and a plus-four rating in the plus-minus department in the Blazers win over the Giants.

Sophomore 17-year-old right-winger Matthew Seminoff had a big night too for the Kamloops side collecting two goals and one assist to go with a plus-three rating. Thanks to his late December birthday, Seminoff isn’t NHL Entry Draft eligible until 2022.

In Kelowna on Friday, the Rockets played a solid team game in their shutout of the Royals. Veteran centre Alex Swetlikoff paced the Rockets with a pair of goals, while veteran netminder Cole Schwebius made 19 saves to pick up the shutout win.

While WHL supporters are pumped they can follow game action in the league again, the realization shouldn’t be lost that it is amazing these contests are even happening at all.

WCBL still in COVID-19 shadow, other notes

If anyone thought the COVID-19 pandemic was over, developments from the Western Canadian Baseball League say otherwise this week.

As vaccines for COVID-19 continue to roll our across Canada, it seems like a sizable portion in society is treating the pandemic like it is over.

The WCBL continues to plot out a plan for a 2021 season, and it is trying to adjust for various restrictions that are expected to be in place well into summer.

The WCBL is wood bat summer league containing team stocked with college eligible players, and its season typically runs from the last week of May with playoffs ending about the second week of August. Regular season action usually wraps up at the end of July.

The circuit’s 2020 campaign was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

On Thursday, the league announced it plans to go ahead with a 2021 campaign with teams fielding roster containing just players from Canada. Typically, the rosters of WCBL clubs are stocked with a sizable number of players born in the United States.

The Alberta based Okotoks Dawgs with two teams, the Lethbridge Bulls, Sylvan Lake Gulls and Edmonton Prospects have committed to play in 2021.

The Fort McMurray Giants and the Medicine Hat Mavericks are still discussing whether they will play or not. Ryan McCracken of the Medicine Hat News reported on Friday that the Mavericks home stadium – Athletic Park – is slated to undergo renovations this summer.

As a result, the Mavericks are dealing with having to play a 2021 campaign in the smaller Jeffries Park, which is also located in Medicine Hat.

Also on Thursday, the WCBL announced that the circuit’s four remaining Saskatchewan-based teams in the Moose Jaw Miller Express, Regina Red Sox, Swift Current 57s and Weyburn Beavers along with the Brooks Bombers in Alberta have decided to opt out of a possible 2021 campaign and will look forward to returning in 2022.

During a Zoom press conference call, WCBL commissioner Kevin Kvame said the Saskatchewan based Yorkton Cardinals and Melville Millionaires ceased operation as of December.

On Thursday, the Red Sox issued a press release that expanded on why the Saskatchewan teams in the WCBL elected not to play. The circuit submitted a return to play plan to the Saskatchewan Health Authority that requested a gradual increase in attendance throughout the season going up to 100 per cent of capacity for July 1.

The Red Sox release said that the SHA is enforcing a maximum capacity of 25 per cent for the upcoming season at the moment.

The released added, “Player and staff testing protocols will need to be in place at an estimated cost of $40,000 per team, as well as quarantine costs amounting to $2,000 per player. Interprovincial travel continues to be restricted, and the US/Canada border remains closed at this time.”

The statement continued by saying the Alberta clubs that have decided to play with just Canadian players will still be subjected to quarantine, testing and border restrictions.

By the looks of what the WCBL is dealing with, it is realistic to expect minor sports competition this coming summer will likely lean more to being played with teams just traveling within provincial boundaries like they did last summer.

At the moment, interprovincial competition, which would obviously be needed for national championship competitions, still might not happen this coming summer.

• On Friday, the Prairie Junior Hockey League junior B circuit in Saskatchewan cancelled the reminder of its 2020-21 campaign due to provincial restrictions brought in to battle the COVID-19 pandemic. The PJHL’s last regular season game was held Nov. 26, 2020 when the Saskatoon Quakers beat the Saskatoon Westleys 8-4.
• On Friday, netminder Dustin Wolf broke the Everett Silvertips team record for longest shutout streak. In the Silvertips 4-0 start to their WHL regular season schedule, Wolf posted shutouts in his team’s first three wins. His shutout streak came to an end Friday, when he was beaten by Portland Winterhawks right-winger Simon Knak at the 13:16 mark of the second period of Everett’s 2-1 overtime victory at the Veteran Memorial Coliseum in Portland. Wolf set a Silvertips record for longest consecutive shutout streak lasting 216 minutes and 27 seconds. The previous record of 195 minutes and 12 seconds was held by Carter Hart, who now plays for the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers.
• On Saturday, netminder Aerin Frankel of the Northeastern University Huskies women’s hockey team was named the winner of the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award as the top player in NCAA Division I women’s hockey. In 23 overall games with the Huskies, Frankel posted a 20-2-1 record, a 0.81 goals against average, a .965 save percentage and nine shutouts. She backstopped the Huskies to the NCAA championship game, where they fell 2-1 in overtime to the University of Wisconsin Badgers on March 20.
• The WHL regular season record for longest shutout streak belongs to Chris Worthy playing for the Flin Flon Bombers in 1967-68. Worthy set the mark for playing most consecutive games picking up a shutout at four, and in the process, he set the record for most consecutive minutes of playing shutout hockey at 265 minutes and 13 seconds. Worthy’s records still have a chance to stand for a lengthy amount of time.
• Speaking of long time records, Medicine Hat Tigers left-winger Boyd Anderson set the WHL regular season records for the fast four goals and fastest five goals on October 7, 1972 in a game against the Flin Flon Bombers at The Arena in Medicine Hat. In the third period of the Tigers 10-1 win, Anderson scored four goals in a span of two minutes and 35 seconds. A short time later, he added a fifth tally, and all five goals were scored in a record time of three minutes and seven seconds. In the current day of hockey, individual players top out getting eight or nine shots on goal for a game. Imagine scoring five times on five shots in a span of 3:07. Anderson’s records may never be broken.
• During the abbreviated 2020-21 WHL regular season, it has been great to hear familiar play-by-play voices over the radio again. Of course, it has been sweet to hear Bob Ridley call games again as the play-by-play voice of the Medicine Hat Tigers. In order of seniority, it has also been great to once again here Les Lazaruk calling Saskatoon Blades games, Phil Andrews calling Regina Pats contests and Trevor Redden calling Prince Albert Raiders games. When you hear those play-by-play voices doing their thing, it feels that much more normal again.
• On Saturday the Edmonton Oil Kings ran their WHL regular season record to 9-0 downing the Calgary Hitmen 5-2 at the Seven Chiefs SportsPlex in Calgary. Star left-winger Jake Neighbours led the way for the Oil Kings with two goals and an assist.
• On Saturday, Paul Figler, who is the founder of the DUBNetwork that is dedicated to covering the WHL, wrote a column on the difficulties people were having with the WHL’s new streaming service to watch games online. Figler’s opinion piece was a good one, and it can be found by clicking right here.

If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

-------                                     

If you like what you see here, you might want to donate to the cause to keep independent media like this blog going. Should you choose to help out, feel free to click on the DONATE button in the upper right corner. Thank you for stopping in.

Blades start 5-0-1 in bubble

Kyle Crnkovic and the Blades are rocking the Regina bubble.

The bubble life seems to suit the Saskatoon Blades just fine.

Playing in a bubble environment at the Brandt Centre in Regina, the Blades have jumped out to a 5-0-1 start to begin their abbreviated 24-game regular season. They lead the WHL’s East Division that contains the circuit’s five Saskatchewan clubs and two Manitoba squads.

A bubble is being utilized for regular season play in the East Division due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that has gripped the world.

The 2020-21 campaign is basically a developmental season, and the Blades are maximizing their opportunity to get back in the ice.

In their latest outing on Monday, the Blades downed the Brandon Wheat Kings in a high scoring 6-4 affair.

The Saskatoon side was paced by left-winger Kyle Crnkovic had two goals and an assist, while left-winger Colton Dach had one goal and two assists.

Crnkovic experience a milestone as he picked up his 100^th career regular season point in the win. In 124 career regular season games with the Blades, Crnkovic has 35 goals and 66 assists for 101 points.

Wyatt McLeod, Blake Stevenson and Caiden Daley rounded out the scoring for the Blades.

Right-winger Lynden McCallum led the way for Brandon offensively with two goals and an assist, while Ben McCartney and Nolan Ritchie had singles.

Koen MacInnes stopped 29 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Blades. Ethan Kruger turned away 22-of-27 shots to take the setback in goal for the Wheat Kings (3-2-1).

Chase Wouters is playing in his final season with the Blades.

The Blades scored their final goal into an empty net.

During their 5-0-1 start, the Blades have benefitted from timely offence and strong play from their defencemen and goaltending. The Blades have allowed two or fewer goals in four out of their six outings.

Offensively, the scoring has been fairly spread out through the Blades lineup. Stevenson, Crnkovic, Tristan Robins and Evan Patrician are tied for the team lead in goals at three.

Stevenson tops the Blades in scoring with three goals and four assists for seven points to go with a plus-five rating in the plus-minus department.

Crnkovic, Robins and Dach have six points each. Daley and captain Chase Wouters each have five points, while 16-year-old rookie left-winger Brandon Lisowsky, Alex Morozoff and Rhett Rhinehart each have four points. Rhinehart is the leading scorer among all Blades defencemen.

Veteran netminder Nolan Maier, who turned 20-years-old in January, has continued his star play. The Yorkton, Sask., product has won all four of his starts posting a 1.74 goals against average and a .926 save percentage.

MacInnes, who is in his second season with the Blades, has a win and an overtime setback in his two starts posting a 2.98 goals against average and a .903 save percentage.

Blades head coach Mitch Love and his staff have to be enjoying how things have come together in the team game for their hockey club. Of course, the Blades coaches are always looking for ways to allow their players to improve.

For the players individually, they have to be happy that they are creating good video footage for scouts.

Wouters and Daley, who are both centres, and McLeod, who is a defenceman, are playing through their overage campaigns. They are looking to leave a final good impression on professional scouts or potentially create an opportunity with a Canadian university team at the U Sports level.

Colton Dach has six points in six games for the Blades.

Robins is a 19-year-old centre who has a signed NHL Entry Level contract with the San Jose Sharks, and he trying to show the Sharks they were wise to select him in the second round of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft and sign him.

Veterans like Crnkovic, Maier and Rhinehart are trying to show professional teams they have been overlooked.

Dach is trying to make a good impression for the upcoming NHL Entry Draft and Lisowsky is showing he has the potential to obtain star status in the WHL sooner than later.

Last season, the Blades had locked up a playoff berth with a 34-24-2-3 record before the remainder of the 2019-20 campaign was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Blades so far are showing they were ready to take that next step. They return to action today taking on the Swift Current Broncos (8 p.m., 98.3 Cool FM).

Overall, it is great the Blades have been able to hit the ice in 2020-21 to show what they’ve got.

SJHL cancels rest of 2020-21 season, other observations

The Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League cancelled the rest of its 2020-21 campaign on Tuesday.

The junior A hockey circuit had hoped to complete its 2020-21 season playing in a bubble format in Weyburn. A total of seven of the circuit’s 12 teams were committed to completing the season including the Estevan Bruins, Flin Flon Bombers, Kindersley Klippers, Humboldt Broncos, Melfort Mustangs, Nipawin Hawks and Weyburn Red Wings.

The Government of Saskatchewan has denied the circuit’s return to play plan and had asked the SJHL to wait another two to three weeks before revisiting the plan. Concerns were raised about the rise of COVID-19 variant cases in Regina including the B.1.1.7 variant that was first found in the United Kingdom.

Weyburn is about 100 kilometres southeast of Regina. The Government of Saskatchewan announced a number of tighter restrictions for Regina and area on Tuesday in an attempt to curve the spread of variant cases.

The rise of variant cases and the fact the COVID-19 vaccination program in Saskatchewan is still in the more beginning stages was enough to bring an end to the SJHL’s plans. There were also concerns that one of the two hotels that was going to house teams in Weyburn was still going to be open to the public.

The SJHL last hit the ice for regular season play on Nov. 23, 2020.

Red Wings head coach and general manager Rich Pilon told 650 CKOM on Tuesday that a COVID-19 testing program that included weekly tests was planned for the proposed bubble environment in Weyburn.

The SJHL has said it now plans to focus on conducting a complete 2021-22 campaign.

Of course, the obvious disappointment from players and personnel from the SJHL surfaced regarding Tuesday’s announcement.

Some cried foul that the WHL is playing and the SJHL won’t play.

By the looks of things, the SJHL didn’t have timing on its side. COVID-19 variants weren’t a concern when the WHL’s East Division began playing in a bubble environment at the Brandt Centre in Regina.

At the moment, COVID-19 variants are a concern, and that affected the plans for the SJHL.

While the development sucks for the SJHL, this shows an example of how quickly things can still change in these COVID-19 pandemic times.

• Last Friday, Saskatoon Blades long time volunteer dressing room attendant Bobby Kirkness made it to Regina to see the Blades down the Prince Albert Raiders 3-1 in a WHL regular season game played in a bubble environment at the Brandt Centre. Kirkness, who is battling stage 4 liver and pancreatic cancer, watched the game from the stands. Following the game, both teams skated towards the location Kirkness was sitting, gathered together inside the Blades end and raised their sticks as one in salute. It was one of the most heartwarming and classiest moments in the rivalry between the Blades and Raiders. The Blades posted a story of that moment on their website, and it can be found by clicking right here.
• On Monday, the Swift Current Broncos downed the Prince Albert Raiders 5-2 in a WHL regular season game played in the East Division bubble at the Brandt Centre in Regina. The win allowed the Broncos to stop a 23 game losing streak that dated back to last season. The Broncos, who are 1-5 this season, are still going through a massive rebuild after loading up with a skilled veteran roster in 2017-18 to win the WHL championship and appear in the CHL championship tournament – the Memorial Cup. Even during their losses this season, the Broncos have put forth a good effort on the ice.
• Regina Pats 15-year-old phenom centre Connor Bedard has points in each of his first six WHL regular season games with the world’s oldest major junior franchise. On Tuesday, Bedard picked up an assist in the Pats 8-3 loss to the Winnipeg Ice playing in the East Division bubble at the Brandt Centre in Regina to keep his consecutive games point streak alive. Bedard has five goals and five assists over the Pats first six games. The North Vancouver, B.C., product was the first player to be granted exceptional player status to play in the WHL on a full-time basis as a 15-year-old.
• On Monday, Brandon Wheat Kings centre Nolan Ritchie was named the WHL player of the week for the week ending March 21, 2021. Ritchie posted three goals and four assists in three games in the WHL East Division bubble at the Brandt Centre in Regina for the week of the award. The Wheat Kings posted a 2-1 record in those games.
• On Monday, Everett Silvertips goaltender Dustin Wolf was named the WHL’s goaltender of the week for the week ending March 21, 2021. For the week of the award, Wolf won both his starts via shutout turning away all 40 shots he faced.
• On Monday, the CFL announced the list of players who have been invited to take part in the league’s virtual combine. The invitees include three members of the University of Saskatchewan Huskies football team in defensive backs Nelson Lokombo and Josh Hagerty and centre Connor Berglof. Along with the three Huskies, two members of the University of Regina Rams football team have also been invited to take part in the virtual combine including running back Kyle Borsa and linebacker Robbie Lowes.
• Tickets are on sale for the March jackpot for the Saskatchewan Amateur Football Mega 50/50 lottery. The funds from this 50/50 lottery will go to support the CJFL’s Saskatoon Hilltops and Regina Thunder and the WWCFL’s Saskatoon Valkyries and Regina Riot. One prize will be drawn per month, and the remaining draw dates are Wednesday, March 31, April 30 and May 31. Tickets can be purchased by clicking right here, and purchasers must be in Saskatchewan in order to buy tickets.
• On Monday, the NHL regular season contest between the Montreal Canadiens and the visiting Edmonton Oilers had been postponed after Montreal forwards Joel Armia and Jesperi Kotkaniemi were added to the NHL’s COVID protocol list. On Tuesday, the NHL announced the Canadiens have had their games through Sunday postponed. The league said it is expected the Canadiens will be able to reopen their facilities for practice this coming Monday pending COVID-19 test results over the next few days.
• In the world of sports entertainment, All Elite Wrestling has emerged as a true competitor to the WWE. AEW was founded on Jan. 1, 2019 and has a great two-hour show that airs on TNT in the United States and TSN in Canada called AEW Dynamite. The episode on March 17, 2021 closed with what was known in the late 1990s and early 2000s as a hardcore match between Dr. Britt Baker and Thunder Rosa. AEW called it an unsanctioned lights out match. It also marked the first time a women’s match was the main event on an AEW broadcast show. The match has gathered rave reviews from those the follow the sports entertainment world since it aired, and it might go down as the match of the year. The full match can be found on Youtube by clicking right here.
• With the emergence of AEW, it appears the WWE is beginning to push its boundaries once again. After the WWE bought out WCW in 2001, it pretty uncontested when to came to sports entertainment wrestling shows. Most independent promotions didn’t have the resources WWE had. As a result, WWE started to move back towards more PG programming that families could watch. That has noticeably changed over the last few months involving the storyline feud with Bray Wyatt, who is also known as The Fiend, and Alexa Bliss going against Randy Orton. In a pay per view held on Dec. 20, 2020, Orton burned The Fiend alive after a match. On the Jan. 25 episode of RAW, Orton interfered in Bliss’s match against Asuka for the WWE RAW Women’s title. Orton took out Bliss with his RKO finishing move costing her the title. The video of that moment on the WWE Youtube account nearly had five-million views in a week and currently has over seven-million views. The WWE usually tries to avoid moments where a male performer takes out a female performer. Bliss, who has supernatural powers in the storyline, tormented Orton for months resulting in an intergender match at the WWE Fastlane pay per view this past Sunday. Bliss won the match by raising The Fiend from the dead, and The Fiend took out Orton. Bliss proceeded to get the win the suggestive “straddle mount pin seen round the world.” The WWE used to do things like this on a regular basis during its Attitude Era that ran from 1997 to 2002, which included a period of intense competition against WCW from 1997 to 2000. Of course, Bliss’s straddle pin was done for the shock value. Orton’s wife, Kim, didn’t take to kindly to “the Moment of Bliss” involving her husband. On Sunday night, Kim put out a post on Twitter tagging Bliss which said, “You might have just F*&%ed up little girl.” The tweet reaction got a lot of play on the more tabloid media sites that cover the sports entertainment wrestling industry.
• Another reminder that the COVID-19 pandemic is still here happened to come from the WWE. On Monday, Charlotte Flair, who is viewed as the WWE’s greatest female performer, announced she hadn’t been on any of the company’s shows lately as she is at home battling COVID-19. Last Friday, WWE pulled Flair’s image off graphic advertisements for Wrestlemania 37 coming up on April 10 and 11.

If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

-------                                     

If you like what you see here, you might want to donate to the cause to keep independent media like this blog going. Should you choose to help out, feel free to click on the DONATE button in the upper right corner. Thank you for stopping in.

Sudden NCAA title victory for Shirley sisters, Badgers

Hobson and Huskies fall in heartbreaker

BACK TO BACK NATIONAL CHAMPIONS!!!!!!!

Daryl Watts scores in overtime to help the #Badgers claim their sixth national title

Wisconsin 2, Northeastern 1#OnWisconsin #UWHealth pic.twitter.com/KMUsUQBJHp

— Wisconsin Hockey (@BadgerWHockey) March 21, 2021

Sisters Sophie and Grace Shirley experienced the definition of “sudden victory” with the University of Wisconsin Badgers women’s hockey team.

For Prince Albert product Brooke Hobson, she had to digest a heartbreaking loss as captain of the Northeastern University Huskies.

On Saturday, the Badgers and Huskies collided in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I women’s hockey championship game at the Erie Insurance Arena in Erie, Pennsylvania. The two sides went to overtime locked in a 1-1 draw and the deciding goal was seemingly scored out of nowhere.

At the 3:16 mark of the extra session, Badgers superstar left-winger Daryl Watts took the puck down behind the Northeastern goal. From behind the net, Watts, who is a Toronto, Ont., product, proceeded to bank the puck off a Huskies defender and netminder Aerin Frankel into the Northeastern goal.

NATIONAL. CHAMPIONS. pic.twitter.com/sOht3fVAHS

— Wisconsin Hockey (@BadgerWHockey) March 21, 2021

It was a slick play only Watts and a handful of others could make. In 134 career NCAA games with both the Boston College Eagles and the Badgers, Watts has piled up 108 goals and 132 assists for 240 points. She won the Patty Kazmaier Award as the top player in NCAA women’s hockey for the 2017-18 campaign.

Sophie and Grace Shirley after a Stars title win in 2015.

Watts’s tally gave the Badgers a 2-1 victory and their sixth NCAA title in program history. The Badgers six NCAA titles equals the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers for the most all-time NCAA championships in women’s hockey.

The first NCAA women’s hockey title was awarded in 2001.

Badgers head coach Mark Johnson has guided Wisconsin to all six NCAA titles becoming the all-time wins leader for NCAA women’s hockey in the process.

The Badgers have won the NCAA crown the last two times it was awarded including Saturday’s OT win and in 2019. The2020 NCAA women’s hockey championship tournament was cancelled due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that has gripped the world.

The Huskies were trying to win their first NCAA crown in their first appearance in the NCAA championship game.

The Shirley sisters, who are alums of their hometown Saskatoon Stars female under-18 AAA team, got to soak in sudden win.

Sophie, who is a right-winger in her junior season, experienced a second NCAA title win with the Badgers. Grace got to experience her first NCAA championship victory as a sophomore forward.

Hobson, who is an alumna of her hometown Prince Albert Northern Bears female AAA under-18 team, had to digest a defeat as a senior defender that ultimately no one on her side could be faulted on. Saturday marked just the fourth time the NCAA women’s hockey final was decided in overtime.

Sophie Shirley in action for the Stars in 2015.

In Saturday’s NCAA title game, the goaltenders dominated the majority of the contest. Senior netminder Kennedy Blair made 23 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Badgers (17-3-1).

Frankel, who is in her senior season, stopped 35 shots to take the setback in goal for the Huskies (22-2-1).

The Huskies failed to score on four power-play chances, and the Badgers were unable to cash in on their one power-play opportunity.

The Huskies had won 18 straight games heading into Saturday’s title tilt and were the top ranked team in NCAA women’s hockey.

The Badgers entered Saturday’s championship game as the second ranked team in NCAA women’s hockey.

Over the first two periods of Saturday’s battle, Blair and Frankel slammed door in front of their respective goals to keep their sides locked in a 0-0 tie.

The Badgers finally broke through at the 11-minute mark of the third period. Badgers freshman right-winger Makenna Webster fired home the rebound of a shot taken by linemate Casey O’Brien to put Wisconsin up 1-0.

Grace Shirley in action for the Stars in 2018-19.

Just 39 seconds later, the Huskies evened things up at 1-1. Hobson got the puck to the lower left corner of the Wisconsin zone to Northeastern centre Alina Mueller.

Mueller slipped the puck over to junior left-winger Chloe Aurard inside the left faceoff circle. Aurard blew home the equalizer to top right corner of the Wisconsin goal.

That set the stage for the overtime dramatics, where Watts netted the winner.

For the Shirley sisters, this marked the second time they got to enjoy a championship playing together. When the Stars won their first Saskatchewan Female Under-18 AAA Hockey League title in 2014-15, Sophie was a star 15-year-old centre on that team, while Grace was a 13-year-old associate player call up.

Grace was healthy scratch the night the Stars captured their first SFU18AAAHL title.

Following that season, Sophie moved on to play with two different academy programs and one CWHL season with the Calgary Inferno before joining the Badgers. Grace remained with the Stars helping them win SFU18AAAHL championship in 2016, 2018 and 2019.

Brooke Hobson in action with the Bears in 2017.

Hobson captained the Bears to a SFU18AAAHL title in 2017.

Saturday’s game concluded an NCAA women’s hockey season that many weren’t sure would get completed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Badgers had to cancel their last six games scheduled for this past December after a COVID-19 outbreak on the team. Media reports stated at least six Badgers players test positive for the virus.

The Wisconsin side returned after New Year’s Day and hit top stride on their way to winning the NCAA title.

Sophie appeared in all of the Badgers 21 games collecting 12 goals and 13 assists for 25 points to go with a plus-18 rating in the plus-minus department. In 98 career NCAA games, she has 61 goals and 63 assists for 124 points.

Grace skated in all of the Badgers 21 games posting two goals and one assist and a plus-two rating.

Hobson has made her mark as one of the Huskies all-time greats thanks to her skill as an offensive defender. In 128 career games with the Huskies, Hobson has 41 goals and 45 assists for 86 points.

She appeared in all of the Huskies 25 games this season posting two goals, 15 assists and a plus-33 rating.

Hobson could potentially return to the Huskies for a fifth season. The NCAA has ruled the 2020-21 campaign won’t count as eligibility used for players that take part in that season due to the uncertainties created by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Overall, the Shirley sisters and Hobson continue to make Saskatchewan proud. For Saskatchewan’s hockey community, Saturday’s NCAA women’s hockey final was a great day.

That winning feeling pic.twitter.com/rkyRlzuSeP

— Wisconsin Hockey (@BadgerWHockey) March 21, 2021

If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

-------                                     

If you like what you see here, you might want to donate to the cause to keep independent media like this blog going. Should you choose to help out, feel free to click on the DONATE button in the upper right corner. Thank you for stopping in.

Warriors’ Yager takes Round 1 versus Pats’ Bedard

Contacts’ grad nets three points in OT win

Brayden Yager in action for the Contacts in 2019-20.

The initial Connor Bedard versus Brayden Yager battle delivered beyond anyone’s expectations.

On Tuesday, Bedard’s Regina Pats took on Yager’s Moose Jaw Warriors in a WHL regular season clash in a bubble environment played without fans at the Brandt Centre in Regina. The encounter was the first head-to-head match between the two young phenom centres.

In the 2020 WHL Bantam Draft, Bedard was selected first overall by the Pats and Yager went third overall to the Warriors.

Bedard became the first player to be granted exceptional player status to play in the WHL as a 15-year-old on a full-time basis.

After playing with the Saskatoon Contacts male under-18 AAA as a 14-year-old underager in 2019-20, Yager went through the process to try and gain exceptional player status to play in the WHL along with Contacts linemate Riley Heidt. Heidt went second overall in the 2020 WHL Bantam Draft to the Prince George Cougars.

Yager and Heidt weren’t given exceptional player status.

Due to the fact the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic gutted the minor hockey season in 2020-21, Yager and Heidt were allowed to join their WHL teams on a full-time basis after the Saskatchewan Male Under-18 AAA Hockey League decided against resuming its 2020-21 campaign after it was paused in late November of 2020.

Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, WHL clubs are playing a shortened 24-game regular season inside of the circuit’s four divisions. The developmental campaign had a late start with the Central Division getting going on Feb. 26, and the East Division’s bubble taking the ice on March 12.

All of those factors allowed the initial Bedard versus Yager clash to happen on Tuesday.

In that contest, the Pats jumped out to a 3-0 lead and held a 4-1 advantage after the first period. The Warriors battled back to ultimately take the game in overtime 5-4.

Bedard, who stands 5-foot-9 and weighs 165 pounds, had two assists for the Pats. The 15-year-old North Vancouver, B.C., product has three goals, three assists and a plus-one rating over the Pats first three games.

On Wednesday, Bedard had the winning goal, an assist and a plus-three rating in the Pats fourth game of the campaign as they slipped past the Swift Current Broncos 3-2.

2-0 good guys!

Denomie from Bedard and we're rolllling early vs. @MJWARRIORS

More $$ for @BBBSRegina from PTI#JoinTheRegiment pic.twitter.com/G30XLM3ijm

— Regina Pats (@WHLPats) March 17, 2021

Heading into Tuesday’s action, Yager, who turned 16-years-old in early January, had been held off the scoresheet in his first two games with the Warriors. On the Sunday, the Warriors slipped past the Prince Albert Raiders 2-1 after a tiebreaking shootout, and Yager did net the winner in the tiebreaking session.

Against the Pats on Tuesday, Yager, who stands 6-feet and weighs 160 pounds, had a breakout game offensively. The Saskatoon area product netted his first career WHL goal and posted a pair of assists and a plus-three rating.

Yager picked up a helper on Moose Jaw’s overtime winner. The Warriors improved to 3-0 with the win.

After Wednesday’s action, the Pats record sits at 1-2-1.

In normal times, Tuesday’s clash between the Pats and Warriors would have been a marquee match on the CHL circuit due to the presence of Bedard and Yager.

Traditionally, the Pats and Warriors have had arguably the most heated and best rivalry on the CHL circuit. The storyline of Bedard versus Yager adds a unique element to the rivalry.

While it takes more than one player for a hockey team to have success, more people will pay attention to the games between the Pats and Warriors due to the Bedard versus Yager angle.

As for another crazy aspect, the coaching staffs of both teams are playing the two young skaters in all situations. Normally, young rookies like them are eased into the lineup.

Early on in Tuesday’s contest, it looked like Bedard would capture the headlines. As the Pats took a 3-0 lead, Bedard set up Regina’s second and third goals both scored by overage left-winger Carson Denomie.

Defenceman Tom Cadieux had Regina’s first tally.

At the 10:41 mark of the opening frame, Yager scored his first career WHL regular season goal tipping home a point shot from 16-year-old rookie defenceman Denton Mateychuk to cut the Pats lead to 3-1.

On that tally, Yager showed he isn’t afraid to go to the hard areas of the ice and stood his ground in front of the opposition net to tip home a goal.

Brayden Yager tips one home for his first career WHL goal.#SubwayWHLHub pic.twitter.com/stKuZF74Km

— Moose Jaw Warriors (@MJWARRIORS) March 17, 2021

A short time later, Cole Dubinsky scored to extend the Pats advantage to 4-1 heading into the first intermission.

In the second period, the Warriors trimmed the Pats lead to 4-3 with singles coming from the sticks of Tate Popple and Eric Alarie.

Just 63 seconds into the third, Yager picked up his first assist of the night, when veteran Warriors centre Ryder Korczak popped home a loss puck in the crease of the Regina goal to even the score at 4-4.

In overtime, Yager gave defenceman Daemon Hunt a drop pass at the Regina blue-line. The 2020 NHL Entry Draft selection of the Minnesota Wild proceeded to do his best Paul Coffey imitation weaving around a Pats defender and roofing home the winner to the top left corner of the Regina goal.

Veteran netminder Boston Bilous started the contest for Moose Jaw turning away 12-of-16 shots sent his way. He was pulled after the Pats fourth goal.

Brett Mirwald, who is a 17-year-old rookie, played the rest of the game in relief turning away all 27 shots he faced to pick up his first career WHL victory. Mirwald is a graduate of the Saskatoon Blazers under-18 AAA team.

Following the game, Yager told Claire Hanna of CTV Regina that Bedard congratulated him after he scored his first career WHL goal. The congrats came during a stoppage in the opening frame.

“It was a class act by him (Bedard),” said Yager. “He congratulated me on my first goal.

“It shows what kind of a person he is. He’s a great kid. We’re buddies.

“I mean, he didn’t have to do that. It was just a nice act.”

Yager added he previously passed on congratulations to Bedard, when Bedard netted his first career WHL regular season goal.

While the Pats and Warriors have an intense rivalry, there has been a lot of respect and class shown by both sides over the past five to six years.

Bedard and Yager, who have also known each other through minor hockey for about four years, are continuing that aspect of respect and class too.

If there were any doubts that the head-to-head meetings between these two players were must-watch encounters, those doubts were erased by what took place on Tuesday night at the Brandt Centre.

It should be great to see how this latest aspect of the rivalry between the Pats and Warriors plays out for at least the next two-to-three years to come.

What a play from @mnwild prospect Daemon Hunt, who drives the net & wins it in OT for the @MJWARRIORS! #SubwayWHLHub pic.twitter.com/w46aLK2BIA

— The WHL (@TheWHL) March 17, 2021

Lisowsky getting big minutes for Blades

Brandon Lisowsky, right, in action for the Blades on March 6, 2020.

Brandon Lisowsky is being allowed to find his top gear skating in his rookie season with the Saskatoon Blades.

The 16-year-old left-winger has been skating on a line with overage captain Chase Wouters playing centre and overager Caiden Daley holding down right wing.

Lisowsky, who stands 5-foot-8 and weighs 160 pounds, was selected by the Blades in the first round and ninth overall in the 2019 WHL Bantam Draft. In the team’s abbreviated 24-game regular season played against East Division teams in a bubble environment at the Brandt Centre in Regina due to the COVID-19 pandemic that has gripped the world, the Blades coaching staff is playing Lisowsky in all situations in the developmental campaign.

In the Blades season opener this past Saturday, Lisowsky scored his first two career WHL regular season goals in a 4-2 victory over the Swift Current Broncos.

He scored the Blades first goal at the 6:41 mark of the second period converting a backdoor set up from Wouters. Lisowsky also potted Saskatoon’s final tally in that victory.

He was held off the scoreboard in the Blades 6-3 victory over the Regina Pats on Sunday and the Blades 2-1 overtime setback to the Winnipeg Ice on Wednesday.

So far in the Blades 2-0-1 start, Lisowsky is experiencing a typical rookie season for a 16-year-old in the WHL as far as offensive production goes.

With that said, Lisowsky did get to play in two regular season games as a 15-year-old call up in 2019-20. The Blades are doing the right thing in ensuring Lisowsky benefits from some valuable experience in this shortened developmental campaign.

Founder leaves NWHL, other notes

It has been a tough 2021 so far for the National Women’s Hockey League.

Having had the 2020 Isobel Cup championship game originally set for March 13, 2020 between the Minnesota Whitecaps and the host Boston Pride ultimately cancelled due to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic that had gripped the world, the NWHL was hoping to crown a league champion for the 2020-21 playing in a bubble format.

The circuit’s six team were supposed to play in a bubble environment taking part in a short regular season round and a playoff round running from Jan. 23 to Feb. 5 at the Herb Brooks Arena in Lake Placid, New York.

The bubble environment ended up being too loose allowing COVID-19 to infiltrate the teams. The Metropolitan Riveters and Connecticut Whale pulled out of the bubble while the regular season portion of the campaign was in progress.

On Feb. 3, action in the NWHL bubble was suspended due to new positive COVID-19 tests and resulting concerns over player safety. The suspension occurred right before the playoff round was supposed to occur.

Since the circuit first hit the ice in 2015, the collapse of the bubble in Lake Placid, New York, has been arguably the NWHL’s biggest failure.

The NWHL is planning to finish the season with semifinals and a championship game for the Isobel Cup to be held March 26 and 27 at the Warrior Ice Arena in Boston, Massachusetts.

On Tuesday, the NWHL announced that league founder Dani Rylan Kearney was leaving the circuit. The 33-year-old announced her resignation as an NWHL advisor and president of W Hockey Partners, which is the entity that owns the Buffalo Beauts, the Whale, Riveters and Whitecaps.

W Hockey Partners operates those four member clubs with the intent to sell those teams to new owners.

The expansion Toronto Six rounds out the NWHL’s membership.

The Whale, Whitecaps, Pride and Six are the teams slated to compete in the upcoming playoff round.

At age 27, Rylan Kearney founded the NWHL in 2015-16 as the first women’s professional hockey circuit that paid its players. At the moment, the NWHL splits its revenues 50 per cent with the players on the circuit.

Rylan Kearney was the league’s inaugural commissioner.

Rylan Kearney held that role until stepping down on Oct. 12, 2020. She was replaced by Tyler Tumminia as interim commissioner.

Also on that day, the NWHL changed its governing model to an incorporated association that is overseen by a board of governors with on representative per team. At that time, Rylan stayed on with the NWHL as an advisor while becoming president of W Hockey Partners.

During her time with the NWHL, Rylan Kearney had an icy relationship with the Canadian Women’s Hockey League. The CWHL had been a longer standing women’s professional league operating in North American until it folded on May 1, 2019.

Rylan Kearney also had icy relationships with the biggest names in the women’s game and became one of the most polarizing figures in women’s hockey.

It should be noted that Rylan Kearney’s roll started to change with the NWHL after she married Sean Kearney on Aug. 1, 2020.

After the CWHL folded, the Professional Women’s Hockey Players’ Association was formed as a non-profit, and its members include most of the high-profile players that skate for senior national teams in Canada, the United States and Europe.

The PWHPA said it was boycotting the NWHL and any other women’s professional league in North America until players received health insurance and a livable salary.

Basically, the PWHPA would like to see the NHL come in and have the same relationship the NBA has with the WNBA, where the NBA fully backs the WNBA.

The PWHPA participated in a series of exhibition games in 2019-20 called the Dream Gap Tour.

For the 2020-21 campaign, the PWHPA organized into five hubs. The Canadian hubs are Calgary, Montreal and Toronto and the United States hubs are Minnesota and New Hampshire.

PWHPA teams have played a number of exhibition games in the United States in 2020-21 despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Dream Gap Tour continued with a game on Feb. 28 at Madison Square Garden that aired live on the NHL Network in the United States and Sportsnet in Canada.

At the moment, it would appear the PWHPA is looking better than the NWHL.

While Rylan Kearney was a polarizing figure, she put in a tremendous amount of work to build a league from the ground up. During her time with NWHL, she showed she was skilled at growing the business side of the game.

Now that Rylan Kearney is out of the picture, it remains to be seen what direction professional women’s hockey will head in North America.

It is highly unlikely the PWHPA and the NWHL will get together and make nice any time soon.

• Medicine Hat Tigers overage defenceman Cole Clayton was named the WHL’s player of the week for the week ending on Sunday. Clayton had four goals and three assists in the Tigers three games this past week against the Calgary Hitmen. The Tigers won two of those three contests. In the Tigers seven games this season, Clayton has five goals, nine assists and a plus-one rating. Moose Jaw Warriors veteran netminder Boston Bilous was named the WHL goaltender of the week for the week ending on Sunday. Over the seven-day period ending on Sunday, Bilous, who turned 20-years-old in February, won both his starts stopping 46-of-50 shots sent his way posting a 1.90 goals against average.
• Tickets are on sale for the March jackpot for the Saskatchewan Amateur Football Mega 50/50 lottery. The funds from this 50/50 lottery will go to support the CJFL’s Saskatoon Hilltops and Regina Thunder and the WWCFL’s Saskatoon Valkyries and Regina Riot. One prize will be drawn per month, and the remaining draw dates are Wednesday, March 31, April 30 and May 31. Tickets can be purchased by clicking right here, and purchasers must be in Saskatchewan in order to buy tickets.
• On Monday, the Saskatchewan Female Under-18 AAA Hockey League announced Saskatoon Stars netminder Kaitlyn Cadrain has committed to play for the Maryville University Saints women’s hockey team in St. Louis, Missouri. In 2021-22, the Saints will be a sophomore Division I program in the independent American Collegiate Hockey Association. In three seasons with the Stars from 2018 to 2021, Cadrain played in 29 regular season games posting an 18-8 record, a 2.24 goals against average, a .911 save percentage and four shutouts.
• On Monday, the Saskatchewan Female Under-18 AAA Hockey League announced Notre Dame Hounds forward Brynn Maclean has committed to play with the University of Wisconsin-Superior Yellowjackets women’s hockey team in the NCAA Division III ranks. The school is located in Superior, Wisconsin. In four seasons with the Hounds from 2017 to 2021, Maclean has appeared in 65 regular season games posting five goals and 14 assists. She had one goal and five assists in four games with the Hounds in the 2020-21 campaign before it was called off due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• On Tuesday, the Prince Albert Raiders announced their captain and star defenceman Kaiden Guhle will be out indefinitely with a hand injury. He suffered the injury in the Raiders 2-1 setback in a tiebreaking shootout to the Moose Jaw Warriors on Sunday.
• On Tuesday, Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post reported Regina Pats left-winger Jakob Brook is out for the after undergoing surgery to repair a break in his lower right leg. The injury occurred 34 seconds into the Pats regular season opener this past Friday, when they fell 6-3 to the Prince Albert Raiders. Brook helped the Raiders win the WHL title as a 16-year-old rookie in 2018-19 before being traded to the Pats on Jan. 9, 2020 in a blockbuster deal that saw netminder Max Paddock sent to the Raiders.
• Sophie Shirley, who is an alumna of the Saskatoon Stars female under-18 AAA hockey team, has been named a top-10 finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award presented to the top player in the top level of NCAA women’s hockey. In 19 overall games this season with the University of Wisconsin Badgers women’s hockey team, the skilled third-year forward has 12 goals, 13 assists and a plus-18 rating in the plus-minus department. Shirley was nominated for the same honour last season. On Thursday, the Badgers are slated to play an NCAA Frozen Four semifinal game against the Ohio State University Buckeyes in Erie, Pennsylvania.
• While there is optimism things will return to normal during these COVID-19 pandemic as vaccines across Canada are distributed for COVID-19, one wonders how much variants of COVID-19 will continue to prevent things from returning to normal. The B.1.1.7 variant, which was first detected in the United Kingdom, is present in Saskatchewan, and it has a sizable enough presence in Regina that it will continue to have slightly tighter restrictions than the rest of the province. On March 4, the Mayo Clinic listed three variants that are causing concern including the B.1.1.7 variant, the B.1.351 variant found in South Africa and the P.1 variant found in Brazil. These variants seem to spread easier and quicker than the regular COVID-19 strain. The Brazil variant has been identified as potentially the most dangerous and less vulnerable to antibodies generated by a previous COVID-19 infection or a COVID-19 vaccine.
• Gord Steinke, who is not related to me, of Global Edmonton had a good interview with Kaleb Dahlgren, who is a player that survived the Humboldt Broncos bus crash in 2018, on Tuesday. They chatted about Dahlgren’s new book. The interview can be found by clicking right here.

If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

-------                                     

If you like what you see here, you might want to donate to the cause to keep independent media like this blog going. Should you choose to help out, feel free to click on the DONATE button in the upper right corner. Thank you for stopping in.

Can you smell what the CFL and XFL are cooking?

Panic is unwise as leagues embark on partnership talks

Andrew Harris tears upfield for the Blue Bombers.

“Saskatchewan Roughriders for XFL champions in 2022.”

Just saying that phrase alone is enough to get people in Saskatchewan triggered. Since Wednesday, it seems there are a lot of fans, media members and non-practicing media members across Canada have been in a panic, when it comes to the Canadian version of the game of football.

On Wednesday morning, news broke that saw the CFL and XFL reveal they’re poised to begin serious discussions about a potential partnership. No one on either side would say who initiated the talks.

Both sides said they’ve agreed to collaborate on ways to grow football.

For supporters of Canadian football in circles, this revelation seems to be causing lots of panic attacks.

The CFL is a Canadian institution league that awards professional football’s oldest prize in the Grey Cup to its league champion. The Grey Cup was first awarded in 1909 to the University of Toronto Varsity Blues.

It has been awarded 107 times with the last coming on Nov. 24, 2019 to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

The three-down Canadian game has a storied and decorated history.

The XFL is the upstart United States spring time circuit that plays the four-down version of the game. The four-down version of football has obtained mythic status in the United States at the NFL, college and high school levels.

Despite the mythic status, spring football has had various stops and starts in the United States. The XFL existed first for one season in 2001 co-owned by World Wrestling Entertainment and NBC.

The circuit featured numerous gimmicks and the occasional use of WWE personalities on game broadcasts including Jesse Ventura, Jim Ross and Jerry “The King” Lawler.

The championship game was dubbed the Million Dollar Game after the amount of money that would be awarded to the winning team. The Los Angeles Xtreme would win the lone championship in the only season that first version of the XFL played.

Legendary WWE kingpin Vince McMahon rebooted the XFL in 2018 under the ownership of his Alpha Entertainment company, which was run separately from WWE. The league would focus on faster and simpler play compared to the NFL but without gimmicks and entertainment elements from the WWE, which the original incarnation of the XFL had.

The rebooted more football focused XFL kicked off in February of 2020 and played five week collecting some fairly good reviews. The season was ultimately called off after Week 5 due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that has gripped the world.

Since the circuit was still a startup business, the league filed for bankruptcy on April 13, 2020. On August 2, 2020, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and longtime business partner and ex-wife, Dany Garcia, led a consortium with Gerry Cardinale’s RedBird Capital to purchase the XFL for US$15-million.

Bo Levi Mitchell fires a pass downfield for the Stampeders.

According to the XFL’s website, RedBird Capital manages US$4-billion in assets.

Plans were put in motion for the XFL to return in 2022. After the announcement surfaced about partnership discussions with the CFL, the XFL put its plans for a 2022 campaign on hold.

Of course, the biggest panic attack for supporters of the CFL are fears that the three-down Canadian game will ultimately cease to exist. The fear in Canada is ultimately there will be a merger between the CFL and XFL resulting in using only United States rules.

The CFL has experienced eras of financial success and financial turmoil. It experienced heights financially in the 1950s and 1960s.

From the late 1980s through the entire 1990s, it seemed the league was in a spot where it was always on death’s door.

The circuit had resurgence in popularity from 2001 to 2014 and experienced relatively good financial times despite the fact the Ottawa Renegades were born and folded after their fourth season of existence in the 2005 campaign.

 Uneasy but not terrible financial times followed after the 2014 campaign as the CFL experienced slow erosion in popularity.

The CFL wasn’t able to get on the field in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Canadian Press reported the CFL’s nine teams are expected to lose a collective $60-to-$80-million for the lost 2020 campaign.

Currently, the eight-team XFL is led by a global star in Johnson. Johnson played defensive line in the NCAA ranks with the University of Miami Hurricanes before attempting to crack the roster of the CFL’s Calgary Stampeders in 1995.

He views Wally Buono, who is the legendary and now retired head coach of both the Stampeders and the British Columbia Lions, as a friend and mentor.

After being cut by the Stampeders, Johnson joined the WWE in 1996 and shot up to stardom as “The Rock.”

He embarked on a successful acting career and partook in various business adventures. He has over 223-million followers on Instagram and over 15-million followers on Twitter.

Johnson is viewed as brilliant. For the last 25 years, all he does is seemly succeed at every challenge he takes on.

While the CFL has a great history, there is a fear in Canada the XFL could dictate how things go in a partnership due to the financial resources Johnson can bring.

At this point in time, there still isn’t a lot of information about how this partnership will unfold. Football supporters in both Canada and the United States have to wait for the partnership to play out a little more before drawing conclusions.

Right now, most reactions seem to be coming from a heightened emotional state.

Roughrider OL Brendon LaBatte (#57) gets set to drill an opponent.

Just from a local standpoint here in Saskatoon, the time hasn’t come to go around asking University of Saskatchewan Huskies football head coach Scott Flory, Saskatoon Hilltops head coach Tom Sargeant, officials from Football Saskatchewan or officials from Saskatoon Minor Football if they fear the end of the Canadian game is at hand.

Some interviews with those individuals and organizations have already happened with regards to the CFL interacting with the XFL.

If anyone is realistic, there is a fair chance the CFL might ultimately not survive the COVID-19 pandemic.

The chances of the CFL getting government money for a bailout are likely not good, because it was dealing with business challenges before the COVID-19 pandemic gripped the world. The COVID-19 pandemic has heightened the CFL’s financial woes.

Partnership with the XFL might be the only way the CFL continues on in whatever version that might be.

CPL enters, Marquis Downs horse racing ends, other notes

Horses round the last corner at Marquis Downs in 2017.

How much does it cost to bring a Canadian Premier League soccer franchise to Saskatoon?

Answer: Saskatchewan’s only licensed horse racing track.

In all honestly, there was likely some sort of franchise fee to bring a CPL team to Saskatoon.

Still, Saskatoon’s sports scene still likely hasn’t processed the shock by the earthquake type of announcements that were made Friday morning.

On Friday morning, the CPL announced it has awarded exclusive rights to Living Sky Sports and Entertainment Incorporated to bring an expansion team to Saskatoon. Alan Simpson, who is a 63-year-old businessman from Regina, is the founder of Living Sky Sports and Entertainment and the leader in the effort to bring a CPL team to Saskatoon.

The deal in principle is contingent on Living Sky Sports and Entertainment building a soccer specific stadium that meets the league standards.

In another bombshell, Living Sky Sports and Entertainment identified the Prairieland Park grounds in Saskatoon as the preferred site of the new stadium.

The plan is to build the new stadium on the spot that is currently occupied by the Marquis Downs horse racing track.

Prairieland Park, which is a non-profit corporation, is on board with this plan and confirmed that horse racing at Marquis Downs had been permanently cancelled. Prairieland Park has moved to the point of entering a memorandum of understanding with Living Sky Sports and Entertainment to make the new soccer facility a reality.

Thoroughbred horse racing had taken place at Marquis Downs for 50 years from 1969 to 2019. The 2020 season was cancelled due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that has gripped the world, and it was announced in late February the 2021 season would be cancelled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Still, it is safe to say most in Saskatoon’s sports community did not expect all this news

Those in the soccer community are thrilled about these developments.

Those in the horse racing community are dealing with shock, disbelief and the feeling of being blindsided.

Prairieland Park has offered to pay compensation to horse owners in the form of $1,000 for each horse that ran three or more races in 2019. That is not going to do much for horse owners.

In an interview with The Canadian Press, Simpson said Living Sky Sports and Entertainment is looking for a stadium that can accommodate 5,000 to 6,500 to start. CPL commissioner David Clanachan told The Canadian Press the plan for the new soccer venue in Saskatoon would see it capable of expanding to 10,000 to 12,000 in the future.

The hope is to have shovels in the ground in 2022 and the team begins playing in 2023. The CPL currently has eight existing franchises located across Canada.

In an interview with Kevin Mitchell of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix, Prairieland Park CEO Mark Regier said Prairieland Park lost $590,000 on horse racing in 2019, which was the last full season held before the COVID-19 pandemic.

He said Prairieland Park and Living Sky Sports and Entertainment would both contribute to the cost of the new stadium.

Horses run down the front straightaway at Marquis Downs in 2017.

While this wasn’t outright said in any media reports, Prairieland Park would likely be able to use the new stadium to attract more and better outdoor concert shows for its annual exhibition and other moments throughout the spring, summer and fall.

These developments offered a lot to digest. They unfortunately bring an end to thoroughbred horse racing in Saskatchewan, because Marquis Downs is the only license horse racing track in the province.

A lot of people still attended races on Marquis Downs, so you shouldn’t expect the horse racing crowd to quietly go away. They will likely be vocal and do what they can to express their opposition.

As for building a new soccer stadium, questions will be asked if taxpayer money is eventually needed for this project.

People will note that the 5,000 seat Saskatoon Minor Football Field exists on the grounds of the Gordie Howe Sports Complex and the 5,743 seat Griffiths Stadium, which has held over 8,000 spectators, is on the grounds of the University of Saskatchewan campus.

With those two facilities in existence, people will ask if Saskatoon needs another similar capacity sports stadium in the city.

Questions will come up if Saskatoon is getting too saturated with elite level sports teams. Saskatoon and surrounding area has a population of about 300,000.

Elite sports teams that call Saskatoon home include the Saskatchewan Rush lacrosse team, the Saskatchewan Rattlers basketball team, the Saskatoon Blades WHL club, the Saskatoon Hilltops CJFL team, the Saskatoon Valkyries WWCFL team and the 15 varsity teams that are part of the University of Saskatchewan Huskies program.

You also have stock car racing at that takes place at the Wyant Group Raceway, which is an annual stop on the NASCAR Pinty’s Series. You also have the Saskatchewan International Raceway auto sport facility, which is home to drag racing.

We haven’t even gotten into the various national championship competitions that make their way to Saskatoon from various minor sports on an annual basis in normal times.

If taxpayer money is needed for a new soccer stadium, it might be a hard sell for some Saskatoon residents who are already upset with the money spent on the Remai Modern Art Gallery and the proposed cost of a new downtown library.

When the City of Saskatoon committed $3-million in 2017 for the Merlis Belsher Place sports facility to be built on the grounds of the University of Saskatchewan, it was a divisive decision for the citizens of Saskatoon.

There are many residents in Saskatoon who believe local government officials have a spending problem, or local government officials spend money like drunken sailors enjoying leave time.

The voyage to build a new soccer facility in Saskatoon for a CPL team seems destined to hit very rough waters.

• On Friday, the WHL’s board of governors unanimously approved Shaun and Gavin Semple of the Brandt Group of Companies becoming the principle owners of the Regina Pats franchise. The Semples shared ownership in the team Anthony Marquart and Todd Lumbard before buying the latter two out. Shaun Semple becomes the Pats new governor replacing Marquart. Lumbard, who was the Pats alternate governor and president, will remain with the team in an advisory role.
• On Friday, the Portland Winterhawks announced they will be able to play the last 11 of their 12 home games in their abbreviated WHL regular season in Portland, Oregon, at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum, which is their regular home rink. The Winterhawks first official home game is actually being played at ShoWare Center in Kent, Wash., on March 21 against the Spokane Chiefs. The ShoWare Center is the home rink of the Seattle Thunderbirds. The Winterhawks first game against at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum is March 26 against the Everett Silvertips.
• On Saturday, the Saskatoon Blades played in their first WHL regular season in over a year. Skating in the East Division bubble at the Brandt Centre in Regina, the Blades downed the Swift Current Broncos 4-2. Brandon Lisowsky, who is a 16-year-old rookie left-winger, scored his first two career WHL goals for the Blades in the win. The Blades selected Lisowsky in the first round and ninth overall in the 2019 WHL Bantam Draft. Previous to Saturday’s contest, the Blades last regular season game was played on March 10, 2020, when they blanked the Warriors in Moose Jaw 6-0.
•  Of course the WHL was buzzing on Friday when 15-year-old phenom centre Connor Bedard made his regular season debut with the Regina Pats in the Regina bubble. The North Vancouver, B.C., product scored twice with his goals coming 48 seconds apart in a 6-3 setback to the Prince Albert Raiders. He is the first player to be given exceptional player status to play in the WHL. Bedard’s first goal on a coast-to-coast rush was a thing of beauty.

🚨 Here’s the history maker

Connor Bedard’s first in ⁦@TheWHL⁩! pic.twitter.com/Wxh2JPChH9

— Regina Pats (@WHLPats) March 13, 2021

If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

-------                                     

If you like what you see here, you might want to donate to the cause to keep independent media like this blog going. Should you choose to help out, feel free to click on the DONATE button in the upper right corner. Thank you for stopping in.