Saskatchewan curlers take class to new heights

Rylan Kleiter releases a shot on January 1, 2020.

During these coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic times where there seems to be a lot of toxic talk on the local sports scene, the curling community in Saskatchewan has provided a breath of classy fresh air.

On Thursday, CurlSask announced the provincial men’s, women’s and mixed double curling championship tournament have all been cancelled due to government restrictions with the COVID-19 pandemic.

On Tuesday, the Government of Saskatchewan extended existing Public Health Orders that include a ban on team sports until Jan. 29.

On Wednesday, CurlSask had its bubble proposal to hold provincial championship tournaments rejected by the Government of Saskatchewan.

As a result, CurlSask used points system taking account the performance of teams over a two season window to determine representatives for men’s and women’s nationals. The evaluations included roster changes on teams.

On the men’s side, the Regina foursome skipped by Matt Dunstone including lead Dustin Kidby, second Kirk Muyres and third Braeden Moskowy were picked as the provincial representative for the Canadian nationals - The Brier.

On the women’s side, the Saskatoon foursome skipped by Sherry Anderson including lead Breanne Knapp, second Chaelynn Kitz and third Nancy Martin were selected as the provincial representative for the Canadian nationals – the Scotties Tournament of Hearts.

The Regina duo of Ashley Quick and Mike Armstrong, who won the 2020 provincial mixed double title, have been tabbed to represent Saskatchewan at the Canadian mixed double championship tournament. They actually never got to play in the 2020 Canadian mixed doubles tournament, which was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

All three of those nationals will be held in a bubble environment at the Markin MacPhail Centre in Calgary, Alta. The Scotties runs Feb. 19 to 28, The Brier is slated for March 5-14 and mixed doubles nationals are set for March 18 to 25.

Normally, you would expect teams that are left out in the cold to be crying foul with these announcements. The opposite happened when those teams took to social media after CurlSask came out with its announcement.

Team Kleiter’s Facebook page post on Jan. 14.

The Saskatoon foursome skipped by Rylan Kleiter including lead Matthieu Taillon, second Trevor Johnson and third Josh Mattern are in their first full season on the men’s circuit after winning four straight Saskatchewan provincial junior men’s titles.

On Thursday night, the Kleiter foursome put up a great post on team’s Facebook page saying they would be cheering for the Dunstone and Anderson rinks.

The Kleiter rink post also said, “It has been a difficult year for everyone, and we are thankful for the games we did get to play. We respect CurlSask’s decision knowing health and safety is a top priority.”

The grace and class by the Kleiter side was outstanding. Kleiter has shown great professionalism and sportsmanship on the football field helping the Saskatoon Hilltops win CJFL titles in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019.

The class was being shared by the big rival curling teams of the provincial representatives too. On the women’s side, the North Battleford foursome skipped by Robyn Silvernagle, including lead Dayna Demers, second Jessie Hunkin and third Kristen Streifel shared a very understanding post on their squad’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts.

The post that rink shared on Thursday started by extended best wishes to Anderson’s rink and went on to state, “This has been a very challenging year for CurlSask navigating through a pandemic, and we thank you for going above and beyond during this challenging time. Your efforts and hard work did not go unnoticed.

“We are all Team Sask, and we will be cheering hard as per usual!”

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A post shared by Team Silvernagle (@teamsilvernagle)

The team one would expect to be the most upset would be the Saskatoon foursome skipped by Colton Flasch, including lead Dan Marsh, second Kevin Marsh and third Catlin Schneider.

Those who follow curling were expecting the Dunstone and Flasch rinks to engage in old school hockey style throw downs.

The Flasch rink stated over the team’s Facebook and Twitter lines on Thursday, “Disappointing news today, but understandable. We are well aware it was difficult for CurlSask.

“Good Luck to Team Dunstone as Team SK!”

The Flasch rink’s posts finished stating fingers were crossed with regards that foursome could slide into a wildcard position.

Those posts concluded with the classic “so you’re telling me there’s a chance” gif.

Disappointing news today, but understandable. We are well aware it was very difficult for @CURLSASK . Good luck to @TeamMDunstone as Team SK! Fingers crossed we can slide into a wildcard spot... 🤞 pic.twitter.com/VCnRDEjoIG

— Team Flasch⚡️ (@TeamFlasch) January 15, 2021

Overall, the curlers showed great respect to their provincial sport governing body and were outstanding with the dignity they showed each other.

Saskatchewan’s curlers showed how those in sports should carry themselves in these pandemic times.

It would be great if those on all the other sporting bodies in Saskatchewan could follow that example. A lot are, but there are too many vocal ones that aren’t.

Sask. government gives funds to WHL and SJHL

The Blades and Pats in action on Feb. 5, 2020.

The Government of Saskatchewan appears set to do what it can to help the province’s five WHL teams and junior A Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League.

On Friday, the Saskatchewan provincial government announced it would give $600,000 to each of the provinces five WHL teams for a total of $3-million to help those clubs navigate their way through the COVID-19 pandemic.

The SJHL will receive $1-million in support, and that funding will be provided to the circuit.

The funding is being provided to help those WHL clubs and the SJHL offset revenue shortfalls due restrictions from the COVID-19 pandemic.

All of the SJHL teams are community owned.

Three of the five WHL teams in Saskatchewan are community owned including the Moose Jaw Warriors, Prince Albert Raiders and Swift Current Broncos.

The Regina Pats are owned by five local businessmen including Anthony Marquart, Todd Lumbard, Gavin Semple, Shaun Semple and Jason Drummond.

The Saskatoon Blades are owned by Mike Priestner, and his son, Colin, is the Blades president and general manager.

Of course, there were some over social media who showed displeasure about taxpayer money going to fund junior hockey teams.

I myself am fine with the Government of Saskatchewan giving financial help to those junior hockey teams get through something that no one can control.

The ownership group of the Pats and Blades owner Mike Priestner have gone beyond the call of duty over the years to make those teams go. I am good with them getting help in these unprecedented times.

The provincial funding won’t cure all the financial hurt these junior teams have absorbed during the COVID-19 pandemic, but it will help.

Sask. hockey not expecting game action until March ends

The Saskatoon Stars and Prince Albert Northern Bears are on pause.

The Saskatchewan Hockey Association seemed to be getting grilled by some for being the messenger.

On Thursday, the Saskatchewan Hockey Association sent out a memorandum regarding a virtual call on Wednesday between all Saskatchewan sport governing bodies and Ken Dueck from the Provincial Government’s Business Response Team.

During that call, the provincial sport governing bodies were told there would be no consideration of return to play where you would see game action for at least four weeks and a return to game play before the end of March was unlikely due to how the COVID-19 pandemic was playing out.

Saskatchewan had a number of days this past week where in led Canada in active COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people.

The Saskatchewan Hockey Association said it was reviewing the state of the game and going to conduct zone meetings over the next two weeks.

Thursday’s development seemingly created a sizable uproar on social media from Saskatchewan residents regarding this development. It seemed a number of people wanted to return to game action the next day, if that could happen.

It should be noted that Saskatchewan Hockey Association general manager Kelly McClintock and his crew did a mountain sized pile of work to get game action going that did happen before November of 2020 came to a close. Even the best thought out plans can easily fail in these crazy COVID-19 pandemic times.

McClintock and his crew have been really transparent throughout the pandemic.

Also, the Saskatchewan Lacrosse Association put out a memorandum to its membership on Thursday, and that memorandum was fairly similar to the one the Saskatchewan Hockey Association released.

Bliss fireball heats up great WWE storyline

OH 🤬!#WWERaw @AlexaBliss_WWE @RandyOrton pic.twitter.com/cJ0GeSP3Ye

— WWE (@WWE) January 12, 2021

Action in the WWE is heating up literally these days.

I must admit I haven’t been the biggest WWE follower over the last 12 or so years. I did watch it a tonne growing up, and followed it fairly heavily in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

On Friday night, I found a couple of online media reports that said Randy Orton, who one of the all-time greatest heels in sports entertainment, received minor burns due to off timing on a stunt on the last Monday Night RAW.

In a cliffhanger ending of that episode of RAW, Orton was left rolling around the ring in pain after being on the receiving end of taking a fireball to the face from Alexa Bliss, who has become one of the top performers in WWE.

The stunt of Bliss shooting a fireball into Orton’s face looks very cool on video. Orton is expected to recover in short order from his minor injuries.

I noticed that Bliss was playing a very dark persona on that night, and she sold it hardcore. I ended up spending Friday night going through various videos on Youtube checking out Bliss’s storyline from the last seven months.

I knew she held multiple singles and tag team women’s championships in WWE and had been one of the company’s most popular performers that came on the scene in the last eight years.

Bliss has over five-million followers on Instagram, over two-million followers on her Facebook page and over 1.5-million followers on Twitter.

Over the past seven months, Bliss has been in a storyline with Bray Wyatt, who also goes by alter-ego persona “The Fiend,” and Orton.

The storyline contains a mix of darkness, scary disturbed stuff and humour. Like many storylines from the late 1990s and early 2000s, this one is all shades of grey as opposed to having clearly defined good guys and bad guys.

The villains that get a following ultimately become antihero types.

Bliss has kind of a persona like comic book villain Harley Quinn taken a step further on the evil spectrum. In the storyline, Wyatt at “The Fiend” pulled Bliss over to embrace the dark and evil side.

Together, Bliss and Wyatt can be playful and comical from a dark humous side and switch to being outright cool and ruthless. The storyline plays them out to being connected to the supernatural.

They feud with Orton, who still plays his classic egotistical legend killer persona to perfection. His character is always being cunning and manipulative looking to strike with a sneak attack at any time while being outright ruthless.

Orton actually sets Wyatt in his persona as “The Fiend” on fire in a late December pay per view. That of course eventually led to Bliss’s fireball attack this past Monday.

Overall, that whole storyline and feud has been the most enjoyable WWE storylines I’ve seen in the past 12 years. Usually over the past 15 years, I’ve found the main event performers in WWE to be enjoyable, but I’ve usually felt the rest of the company’s roster doesn’t have the depth it once had.

I found a lot of the storylines to be bland.

The Bliss, Wyatt and Orton storyline was a fantastic change from that.

For me, checking out that storyline from various clips on Youtube provided a night of great escapism.

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A post shared by Lexi Kaufman (@alexa_bliss_wwe_)

Hofmann featured in video on Young Bucs account

Logan Hofmann is getting some love from the communications crew of the MLB’s Pittsburgh Pirates.

On Thursday, Muenster, Sask., product was featured on a video placed on the Young Bucs Twitter account, which brings news and features on the young players coming up through the Pirates minor league system.

In the MLB Draft that was held on June 11, 2020, Hofmann was selected in the fifth round and 138^th overall by the Pirates. The right-handed pitcher, who stands 5-foot-10 and weighs 190 pounds, signed a rookie contract with the Pirates on June 27, 2020.

The 21-year-old has developed strong command of four pitches in his fastball, change-up, curveball and slider. He is good at getting to help out youngsters who are coming up through Saskatchewan’s minor baseball system, when he gets back to his home province.

Hofmann gives Saskatchewan lots of love in the video on the Young Bucs Twitter account. The video can be found below.

Signing on his back deck was peak 2020 for @lhofmann11. pic.twitter.com/iZCNXGMcGN

— Young Bucs (@YoungBucsPIT) January 15, 2021

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

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Expect society will learn nothing when COVID-19 pandemic ends

Could the oxygen complex next to Merlis Belsher Place be used?

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic could be gone in record time, but it remains to be seen if that development would be truly appreciated.

Of course, the world has been in the grips of the COVID-19 pandemic for some time with the pandemic’s reality taking hold in North America on March 11 and 12. It was on those days almost nine months ago the first restrictions and stoppages started to take hold in North America to combat COVID-19.

Near the end of the November, news broke over mainstream media outlets that there are three vaccine candidates that can be rolled out in 2021.

Over this past week, stories broke that vaccines produced by Pfizer and Moderna could begin arriving in Canada early in 2021. Two other vaccines produced by AstraZeneca and Janssen could be in Canada during the second quarter of 2021.

The first cases of COVID-19 were reported in late December of 2019, and the fact there is talk about four credible vaccines that can combat this virus within a 365 day time period is incredible.

At the moment, the world record for fastest effective vaccine was set in 1967, when Merck licensed an inoculation for mumps in just four years.

Downtown Saskatoon back on March 22.

It is safe to say medical science has come a long way since the 1960s, which is why we are already talking about COVID-19 vaccines in a time span within a year. There has also been a big push throughout the world to create a COVID-19 vaccine.

As the mainstream media reports about the potential rollout for vaccines for COVID-19, you actually start to let yourself get optimistic that everything in the world could potentially return to normal in September of 2021.

If the world does return to normal by September of 2021 due to COVID-19 vaccines, I believe the bulk of human society in general won’t truly appreciate what happened. I believe humanity as a collective will just brush off the COVID-19 pandemic as a blip on the radar, if vaccines allow the world to return to normal in September of 2021.

While that scenario would shatter the world record for fastest vaccine, I believe it would enable society in general to act like the spoiled little kid who gets everything he or she wants.

It would be like, “That wasn’t a big deal, and now I am going to go back to living my life like I did before the pandemic.”

Will facemasks remain a necessity for a while yet?

While the vaccine stories have been big ones, they have run alongside continuing stories over the past two weeks of seemingly constant new case records for COVID-19 in Canada and the United States. In some spots there are new fatality records due to COVID-19.

The United States is starting to see days of experiencing over 2,800 deaths per day due to COVID-19 over this past week.

There has been talk of establishing field hospitals in Alberta. In Saskatchewan, there has been talk of trying to make adjustments to avoid using field hospitals that have been set up at Merlis Belsher Place in Saskatoon and Evraz Place in Regina for as long as possible.

Both field hospitals are sitting ready but haven’t seen any patients to date.

Despite all the surging COVID-19 cases and a new round of various restrictions across Canada that have come with them, there are still way too many people that act like the COVID-19 pandemic doesn’t exist.

To be fair, there are a lot of people in society that take the COVID-19 pandemic seriously, and they will cherish things more in everyday life that are taken for granted when the pandemic does end.  

With that said, there is a sizable minority that is too big that doesn’t take it seriously, which brings everything down.

You can see those examples as well in the sports world, which will reflect society to a certain extent.

Lots try to emulate “T.O.” in the pandemic.

A return to normal by September of next year would help the sports world in Canada. Even if that plays out, many sports bodies and teams would still have to deal with the reality of significant financial losses that were sustained in the pandemic in attempting to play during it.

In the current world, humanity in general seems content to live trying to be their best respective versions of former NFL diva receiver Terrell Owens.

At the moment, the world’s best option to get out of the COVID-19 pandemic is if the vaccines that have been created deliver results, because society in general can’t get on the same page.

It would be a great development, if the world returned to normal by September of next year.

If the world does return to normal under that scenario, you can unfortunately expect society as a collective will quickly forget about the COVID-19 pandemic and basically learn nothing from that whole experience.

Bedard back training in Canada, other notes

Connor Bedard is back into his off-season routine.

The skilled centre from North Vancouver, B.C., was selected first overall in April’s WHL Bantam Draft by the Regina Pats having already been granted exceptional player status to play full-time as a 15-year-old rookie on the major junior circuit. He is the first player to be granted exceptional player status to play in the WHL.

As a 14-year-old with West Vancouver Academy’s under-18 team playing in the Canadian Sport School Hockey League in 2019-20, Bedard piled up 43 goals and 41 assists for 84 points in 36 games. He was named the MVP of the CSSHL’s under-18 division.

With the start of the WHL season being pushed back currently to January 8, 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Bedard went overseas to play games in Sweden to prepare for the 2020-21 WHL campaign. The hockey season in Sweden was halted due to rising COVID-19 cases in that country.

As a result, Bedard returned to Canada. Having quarantined for 14 days, Bedard hits the ice for six to seven times a week and works out doing dryland training five to six times a week.

On Thursday, he spoke with the media during an online media conference.

“I’ve kind of been treating it like it was the summer,” said Bedard about being home again. “I go workout and train.

“Obviously, I wish I could be in Regina playing right now, but that is not the case. You kind of just have to adapt and try to figure out the best way to improve your game.”

Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post caught up with Bedard for a story in late November. In that piece, Bedard said he got back home on November 13.

In Sweden, Bedard played four games with HV71, which his based in Jonkoping, in that country’s under-20 league collecting two goals and two assists. He played one game with HV71 in Sweden’s under-18 league netting one goal and one assist.

During the media conference on Thursday, Bedard said his stay in Sweden was originally supposed to last longer.

“I was going to come back the third of December, and I was going to play like maybe 10 to 15 more games or somewhere around there,” said Bedard, who stands 5-foot-9 and weighs 165 pounds. “Their season got stuck until the new year, so I decided to come back.

“I am just training trying to get ready for our year.”

Still, he said the time he spent in Sweden was beneficial.

“I think being in a schedule made it a lot more normal,” said Bedard. “I am kind of at the rink all day.”

He found he improved his puck control skills on the bigger sized ice surfaces that are used in Europe.

“That (puck control) is something they focus on a lot and kind of being able to protect the puck,” said Bedard. “Coming back now when I am on the ice, I feel like that has gotten better.”

As for life away from the rink, Bedard said he found it different seeing people in Sweden getting around riding skis that were on wheels, which allowed them to ski on the streets.

When it came to communicating with family and friends back home online, he found he was often going to bed, while they were waking up. Bedard did all his schooling online.

Now back home, Bedard is focused on being ready for when the Pats get going.

He was asked about potentially returning to Sweden, if the start of the WHL campaign got pushed back again.

“It is a thought,” said Bedard. “I am kind of just hoping that we can get going here.”

Bedard said he was aware that the number of new COVID-19 cases had been surging in Canada, while he was away. Now when he works out during dryland sessions, he wears a facemask.

When asked about how worried he was about the WHL season coming up due to how the COVID-19 pandemic has thrown a wrench into things, Bedard said he just tries to focus on his training.

 “Honestly, I try not to think about it,” said Bedard. “I’m not in the meetings.

“I’m not one of the ones trying to schedule it. I honestly have no clue what is going on. Obviously, we are still planning for that start.

“Anything can happen. I’m just trying to train for that start. Hopefully, it goes, but if it doesn’t, I kind of just keep training and see what happens.”

• On Wednesday, CurlSask caused a bit of a panic using the word “cancellation” in a tweet regarding the upcoming women’s and men’s Saskatchewan provincial curling championships, which were slated to run Jan. 29 to Feb. 7, 2021 in Estevan at Affinity Place. A clarification was sent out that the women’s and men’s championships wouldn’t be hosted in Estevan. A release said CurlSask has four scenarios to declare Saskatchewan’s representatives at the Scotties and the Brier, which are the respective women’s and men’s Canadian curling championships. CurlSask did not expand on those scenarios.
• As of Friday night, the 50/50 jackpot for the Hockey Harvest Lottery sat at $240,130. The lottery is being used to raise money for the player scholarship funds of Saskatchewan’s five WHL teams in the Moose Jaw Warriors, Prince Albert Raiders, Regina Pats, Saskatoon Blades and the Swift Current Broncos. Tickets can be purchased by clicking right here, and purchasers must be in Saskatchewan in order to buy tickets.
• As of Friday night, the December jackpot for the Saskatchewan Amateur Football Mega 50/50 lottery sat at $4,420. 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 draw dates are December 31, 2020, January 31, 2021, February 28, 2021, March 31, 2021, April 30, 2021 and May 31, 2021. Tickets can be purchased by clicking right here, and purchasers must be in Saskatchewan in order to buy tickets.
• On Friday, the University of Wisconsin Badgers women’s hockey team announced their NCAA regular season road games on Friday and Saturday night against the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers in Minneapolis, Minn., had been postponed. The decision was made by University of Wisconsin medical officials after positive COVID-19 tests were found within the Badgers women’s hockey program. The Wisconsin State Journal reported on Friday that at least two Badgers players had tested positive for COVID-19. The Badgers roster contains Saskatoon Stars female under-18 AAA hockey team alums and sisters Sophie and Grace Shirley. Sophie recorded her 50^th career goal and 100^th career point when the Badgers split their first two games of the 2020-21 campaign on the road against the Ohio State University Buckeyes.
• On Friday, the Boston University Terriers women’s hockey team opened their 2020-21 NCAA campaign slipping past the University of New Hampshire Wildcats 2-1 in Durham, New Hampshire. Saskatoon Stars female under-18 AAA hockey alumna Mackenna Parker had an assist on the Terriers first goal. Stars alumna Nara Elia is the Terriers captain this season.
• The WHL’s Saskatoon Blades have a fantastic new store in Midtown Plaza in Saskatoon. It is a definite stop for Christmas gift ideas.

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

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2001 Rams/Huskies game provided release in rough time

Some crave similar release from respective local sports scenes

Neal Hughes is off to the races for the Rams.

It was a day like no other when you didn’t realize how good it would feel to be at a football park.

That day for me happened to be Saturday, September 15, 2001, when I arrived at Taylor Field to see the U Sports football clash between the University of Regina Rams and the University of Saskatchewan Huskies in a contest that was newly dubbed the Hall of Fame Game.

This game provided a significant memory for me because it occurred just four days after the terrorist attacks in New York City on Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001. Those attacks saw the fall of the World Trade Center towers after hijacked airplanes crashed into them.

Jason Clermont, left, rumbles upfield after a catch for the Rams.

It was safe to say everyone who saw the images of what happened in New York City on Sept. 11, 2001 was affected emotionally by them.

A third plane had crashed into the Pentagon that day. A fourth plane in United Airlines Flight 93 was initially flying to Washington, D.C., but it crashed into a field in Stonycreek Township, Pennsylvania after passengers thwarted the hijackers.

It seemed most were in a fog for most of that week after the terrorist attacks happened, and I was one of those that was in a fog. On top of that, I was going through some changes that were the biggest in my life up to that point in time.

Darryl Leason (#8) steps up in the pocket to make a pass.

In May of that year, I had moved away from Regina to work as the sports writer in Prince Albert at the Prince Albert Daily Herald almost a year after graduating from the University of Regina. I had covered the University of Regina’s athletic teams from 1996 to 2001, and most of my old friends from those days were still at the U of R, when I returned from the Hall of Fame Game.

After the terrorist attacks happened, all I wanted to do was go to Regina and see all my old friends again and be around something that felt normal.

It seemed a lot of other people wanted to be around something that felt normal that day as 7,238 spectators attended this clash between the Rams and Huskies. At that time, there pretty tight friendships among most of the members of all the athletic teams at the U of R, and a large sizable contingent from the rest of those teams was at this contest.

Jarrod Livingston watches his Rams from the sidelines.

The U of R was coming off arguably its most memorable season as an athletics program in 2000-01, where the Rams made the Vanier Cup falling 42-39 to the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees, the Cougars women’s hockey team made the U Sports title game coming up short on a 4-3 decision against the U of Toronto Varsity Blues and the Cougars women’s basketball team won the U Sport championship game 94-85 over the U of Alberta Pandas.

Adding in extra fun from my side was I took pictures of the Hall of Fame Game from the sidelines. I wasn’t planning on that, but Brad Woods, who was the U of R’s sports information officer, saw me before the game and set me up with a field pass.

Rams head coach Frank McCrystal evaluates play.

I later enlarged five photos from that contest, got them autographed and gave them to be used for the silent auction at the Rams annual fundraising dinner.

When I got to the sidelines, it was great to see Jarrod Livingstone was out on the field keeping tabs on the Rams. Jarrod, who is the grandson of legendary Rams builder Scotty Livingstone, has spina bifida and has to get around in a wheelchair.

For a lengthy stretch of years, he attended every Rams game and practice. He was the focal point of a lot of fun for everyone involved with the team, and he would give some locker room post-game addresses too from time to time.

The Rams faithful at Taylor Field were jacked up.

As for that contest itself, the cheers during the player pre-game introductions for that contest had a distinctly different feel to them. It seemed like everyone was happy to be out at a football game due to what had happened that past week in the world.

The fans seemed to get a little more engaged into the game when Rams star quarterback Darryl Leason gave a little pump up motion with his arms during pre-game introductions to make everyone remember a pretty big rivalry game was about to take place. Leason at the time was arguably viewed by those in Saskatoon’s sports scene as their greatest villain adversary at that point in time.

Rams LB Jeff Zimmer hits Huskies RB Tyler Siwak.

He loved to get verbal jabs out there that star Huskies defensive end and former Rams team member Brent Dancey would never be able to touch him among a number of other lines that would stir the emotions in the rivalry.

The Rams three key stars in Leason, slotback Jason Clermont and running back Neal Hughes put on a show, and the Rams came away with a 31-21 victory.

One of the game’s signature moments came when six Huskies defensive players were unsuccessfully trying to bring Clermont down, and one of those defensive players came at Clermont with a high flying tackle attempt grabbing the receiver around his neck. Clermont still didn’t go down, but the play was blown dead as his forward progress was stopped.

Darryl Leason ran for 64 yards and threw for 376 yards.

He caught five passes for 113 yards in the win.

Hughes was the night’s MVP. He ran the ball 17 times for 141 yards and scored two rushing touchdowns, and he caught six passes for 80 yards and one receiving major score.

Leason completed 23-of-39 passes for 376 yards and one touchdown, while running the ball 10 times for 64 yards and a major score.

The Huskies did manage to gleefully intercept Leason three times including one pick that was run back 31 yards by defensive back Eric Duchene.

U of S did have other highlights in the game. The Huskies led 7-0 after the first quarter thanks to a 12-play, 89-yard drive that finished with star quarterback Sheldon Ball hitting slotback Greg Meikle with a 16-yard touchdown pass.

Jeff Zimmer made 12 tackles for the Rams.

Huskies powerback Tyler Siwak ran the ball 16 times for 131 yards and scored one touchdown. With the Rams leading 21-7 early in the fourth quarter, Siwak ran his major in from 42 yards out to cut the U of R lead to 21-14 with 9:51 remaining in the frame.

The Rams answered that score with a monster 13-play drive that covered 100 yards that ate up over five minutes and 30 seconds on the clock. On that march, the Rams converted three third down gambles.

The march ended when Leason hit Hughes with a 19-yard touchdown pass to put the hosts up 28-14 with 3:58 remaining in the game.

U of R was able close out the contest from that point.

Linebacker Jeff Zimmer topped the Rams with 12 tackles. Dancey had four tackles for the Huskies, but wasn’t able to come close when it came to trying to register a sack.

Neal Hughes (#36) ran for 141 yards and two touchdowns.

Jon Ryan punted the ball twice for the Rams averaging 49.5 yards a kick.

On the legendary coaches’ front, Frank McCrystal patrolled the sidelines as the Rams head coach, and Brian Towriss worked the opposing sidelines as Huskies head coach.

After the Rams received the Hall of Fame trophy, everyone from the U of R side slipped off to their favourite long time night spot in Checkers for a joyful and spectacular post-game victory party. The festivities ran well into the early hours of the morning.

During the celebrations, you could tell everyone was feeling a release from being bombarded with what happened that week in world events on top of enjoying the Rams victory.

The U of Regina Cheer Team does their thing.

In the current world that is gripped by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, many right now would love to revel in a similar experience following sports teams in their respective local centres.

It doesn’t matter the sport. 

If you are involved with or follow football, hockey, basketball, curling, baseball, softball, racing or any sport that holds the heart of a town or centre, you would like to be able to go to a game and try to relive an experience you have had many times before.

It makes you feel good.

Back when that clash between the Rams and Huskies was played in September of 2001, a lot of the sporting world in the United States had paused in order to come to terms with what happened with 9/11 terrorist attacks.

The anxiety of those events spilled into Canada, and the battle between the Rams and the Huskies gave a break from all that tension.

The Rams get the Hall of Fame Game trophy.

That break and being able to feel good are partial reasons why some sports and leagues have gotten back into action in modified forms. 

In North America, nothing is running exactly like it did on March 10 of this year, which was last real normal day on the calendar before massive restrictions happened due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

It will likely be some time before sports events in North America are held exactly like they were back on March 10.

When the day comes sports events can go ahead without restrictions again, you will likely see a lot of joy along with relief at various venues.

COVID-19 caution in local curling, hockey?

CurlSask is throwing caution to the wind in the curling scene.

It appears caution regarding the COVID-19 pandemic has hit a new gear in Saskatchewan when it comes to curling and the under-18 AAA hockey scene.

On Friday, stories came out over various mainstream media outlets that CurlSask postponed a provincial men’s curling tour stop at the Highland Curling Club in Regina and a women’s curling tour stop in Martensville. Both events were originally slated to begin Friday and run through to Sunday.

CurlSask said the decisions were reached based on the advice of the Government of Saskatchewan’s Business Response Team and the recent increases of COVID-19 cases.

On Saturday, the Government of Saskatchewan reported there were 78 new COVID-19 cases in the province, which was a new record for the province over a 24-hour period. Saskatchewan currently has 574 active COVID-19 cases, which is also an all-time high.

Gregory Strong of The Canadian Press put out a story on Friday showing that Matt Dunstone’s Regina-based rink and Colton Flasch’s Saskatoon-based rink are frustrated with Saskatchewan’s COVID-19 restrictions.

In the story put out by The Canadian Press, the Dunstone team hinted they were thinking about moving to Alberta in order to have the chance to get more competition in these COVID-19 pandemic times. At the moment, CurlSask won’t allow Saskatchewan curling teams to participate in events outside Saskatchewan and is barring teams from outside the province from coming into the province to play games.

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The Canadian Press story was posted on CBC’s website, and some of the reader comments directed towards the curlers weren’t that nice. The Canadian Press story on the CBC site can be found by clicking right here.

There has also been a trio of cancellations on the under-18 hockey front including two male exhibition games and one female pre-season contest on Friday and Saturday in Saskatchewan. COVID-19 wasn’t named as the reason for the cancellation, but “unforeseen circumstances” seemed to be the buzz words.

On Friday, the Saskatoon Blazers announced their exhibition home again that night against the Warman Wildcats was cancelled in male under-18 AAA play.

On Saturday, the Saskatoon Contacts announced their exhibition home clash that night against the Battlefords Stars was cancelled also in male under-18 AAA play.

Also on Saturday, the Prince Albert Northern Bears announced their pre-season home game against the Saskatoon Stars on Sunday was cancelled in female under-18 AAA play.

Bedard hits the ice in Sweden for games, other notes

Connor Bedard is seeing game action, and business is picking for other players on WHL rosters.

On Wednesday, Gregg Drinnan was the first in North America to report in his Taking Note blog that Bedard, who turned 15-years-old on July 17, played his first game that night with HV71 in Sweden’s U-20 league. HV71 is based in Jonkoping.

HV71 fell 2-1 to Farjestad, and Bedard was held pointless in that contest.

Bedard, who is from North Vancouver, B.C., was given exceptional player status to allow him to play in the WHL on a full-time basis at age 15. The Regina Pats selected the skilled centre first overall in the WHL Bantam Draft back in April.

Dave Struch, who is the Pats head coach and assistant general manager, told Drinnan the Pats released Bedard to HK71 with the understanding Bedard will return to the Pats when the WHL get back into action.

The WHL regular season is targeted to start on January 8, 2021.

Bedard has a goal and an assist in his first two games with HV71.

On Friday afternoon, the WHL announced it has granted temporary transfers for WHL roster players to play at the junior A, junior B and under-18 levels in order to continue their development.

On the same day, the Everett Silvertips announced they had loaned five players to the junior A ranks with the loans slated to expire on Dec. 20.

One of those players includes overage left-winger Cole Fonstad, who joined his hometown Estevan Bruins in the SJHL. Fonstad was a member of the Prince Albert Raiders until he was dealt to the Silvertips in October of last year.

Overall, a number of WHL players are now on rosters of junior A, junior B and under-18 teams.

All of these moves would not have come to pass at this point in time had it not been for the COVID-19 pandemic.

• On Thursday, TSN’s Rick Westhead reported on Twitter a judge in Quebec and a judge in Ontario have rejected the $30-million settlement in the CHL’s minimum-wage class-action lawsuit. There is no telling when this legal proceeding may actually conclude.
• Back on August 25, Forbes put out a piece stating the five biggest threats the COVID-19 pandemic poses towards the future of sports. The piece is geared towards a more United States viewpoint. The first threat mentioned is the financial threat noting the sports industry in the United States is worth US$750-billion. Some will see some parallels to the sports industry in Canada. The Forbes piece can be found by clicking right here.
• On Thursday, Greg Harder put out a story in the Regina Leader-Post catching up with Connor Hobbs, who was a great with the WHL’s Regina Pats. The 23-year-old defenceman said he had retired from professional hockey after playing three injury riddled seasons in the AHL with the Hershey Bears. The Bears are an affiliate with the NHL’s Washington Capitals, who selected Hobbs in the fifth round and 143^rd overall in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. Hobbs is taking business classes online at the U of Saskatchewan and has been practicing with the Huskies men’s hockey team with younger brother, Declan, who is a goalie. From 2013 to 2017, Hobbs played in 180 WHL regular season games split between the Medicine Hat Tigers and Pats posting 53 goals, 94 assists and a plus-36 rating in the plus-minus department. Harder’s story on Hobbs can be found by clicking right here. Hobbs arguably most hilarious moment in the WHL is contained in the tweet below.

Connor Hobbs thinks you should come enjoy games 1 & 2 and get in on the BRAND NEW pulled pork sandwich at @BrandtCentre! #JoinTheRegiment pic.twitter.com/uyENVUdTi9

— Regina Pats (@WHLPats) March 22, 2017

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