Redemption for Fajardo as ragtag Alouettes win Grey Cup

Cody Fajardo raises the Grey Cup.

It was supposed to be career over for Cody Fajardo.

About a year ago at this time, Fajardo was taking flack as the scapegoat of a Saskatchewan Roughriders season that went off the rails. Entering the 2022 CFL campaign as the Roughriders star starting quarterback, Saskatchewan got out to a 4-1 start, and the season fell off the rails at that point.

The Roughriders would proceed to win just two of their last 13 games and finished the campaign with a 6-12 record closing the season out on a seven game losing streak. Fajardo was a reserve quarterback for the club’s final two regular season games as the Roughriders missed the playoffs.

Due to become a free agent on February of 2023, it was safe to say the Roughriders brain trust gave up on Fajardo, and veteran signal caller made it known he felt that way.

While Fajardo had lots of supporters among Rider Nation, there was a sizable loud minority that viewed the quarterback was finished. They said Fajardo would never win a Grey Cup as a starting quarterback.

The Roughriders needed to get rid of Fajardo. He was a flash in the pan and not a good quarterback.

Those might have been the nicest things the detractors said. There were a lot of comments that were downright cruel.

It seemed the detractors were intent on not just driving Fajardo out of town. They wanted him to leave town strapped to the front of a locomotive, and if the locomotive hit a wall or ran into a cliff it was all the better.

Forgotten was Fajardo’s 27-17 career record as the Roughriders starting quarterback or that he signal called them to two West Division final appearances in 2019 and 2021. The Roughriders fell both times to the eventual Grey Cup champion and their traditional rivals the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

Cody Fajardo throws a pass for the Roughriders in 2019.

Also forgotten was Fajardo’s magical 2019 season, where he was the West Division’s nominee for the CFL’s Most Outstanding Player award. During the 2019 campaign, Fajardo started 16 games for the Roughriders posting a 12-4 record, and he completed 338-of-473 passes for 4,302 yards and 18 touchdowns, while throwing eight interceptions. He also ran the ball 107 times for 611 yards and 10 touchdowns.

He was and still is a practicing Catholic who is strong in his Christian faith, and he made “a sprinkle of Jesus” his catch phrase.

With his coming out of nowhere to be a star quarterback story, Fajardo looked like he was going to be the CFL’s version of Kurt Warner. Warner was quarterback who came out of nowhere to light the NFL on fire quarterbacking the St. Louis Rams to a magical 1999 campaign that resulted in a Super Bowl win. He had a career that saw him be inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2017.

Warner was the picture of what it looked like to be the star quarterback who was strong in his Christian faith.

As for Fajardi, it looked like there would be no more glory for him following the 2022 CFL season.

The signal caller wasn’t the only Roughriders scapegoat. Roughriders offensive coordinator Jason Maas’ contract wasn’t renewed following the 2022 campaign. He had been Fajardo’s offensive coordinator in 2021 and 2022.

On December 17, 2022, Maas was hired to be the head coach of the Montreal Alouettes. On the first day of CFL free agency this past February, Alouettes general manager Danny Maciocia and Maas elected to sign Fajardo to a two-year contract and install him as the club’s starting quarterback.

At the start of the CFL season, the Alouettes were ridiculed for their moves. Most pundits were predicting the Alouettes to finish last and be the laughing stock of the nine-team circuit.

The Alouettes were viewed as a team of castoffs and misfits. The castoffs included defensive end Shaun Lemon, who led the CFL with 14 sacks in 2022 playing for the Calgary Stampeders.

Cody Fajardo (#7) was a CFL MOP nominee in 2019.

The Stampeders elected to not resign Lemon. He signed with the B.C. Lions and was cut during their training camp on May 22. 

Lemon signed with the Alouettes on July 23^rd and showed he was pretty motivated getting nine sacks in 13 regular season games.

Still, Fajardo was the overall symbol of how the Alouettes were going to be the CFL’s sacrificial lamb in 2023. The sacrificial lamb turned out to be a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

As it turned out, Maciocia actually built a really good roster that came together to become a great football team as the 2023 campaign marched on. 

On top of that, the Alouettes were a driven football team as everyone with the club came together due to having a chip on their collective shoulders on being left for dead. That ultimately made the Alouettes a very dangerous football team.

On Sunday at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton, Ont., Fajardo, who is 31-years-old, had his finest hour in the CFL. He completed 21-of-26 passes for 290 yards and three touchdowns, while throwing one interception, in a 28-24 upset victory over the Blue Bombers in the Grey Cup.

Fajardo, who stands 6-foot-2 and weighs 223 pounds, wrote a storybook finish in front of a sellout crowd of 28,808 spectators. On Montreal’s final offensive possession with the Bombers holding a 24-21 advantage, Fajardo drove the Alouettes 83 yards in seven plays for the winning touchdown.

He concluded the drive throwing the winning touchdown pass from 19 yards out to Canadian receiver Tyson Philpot with 13 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. 

The Bombers were unable to come out with a miracle play in the final 13 seconds causing the 28-24 score in favour of the Alouettes to hold up as the final outcome of the game.

Fajardo had a championship moment worthy of all the all-time great quarterbacks who played the game in either the CFL or NFL. He was named the MVP of the Grey Cup, and Philpot took honours as the Most Valuable Canadian.

The Alouettes celebrate a Grey Cup championship.

The Alouettes finished the 2023 campaign posting an 11-7 record in the regular season and a 14-7 mark overall, which saw the club close out the season with eight straight wins.

On Sunday, Fajardo showed the good guy can finish first. As a true good guy, he didn’t have to get the girl, because the girl was already there. Laura, his wife who is a doctor of physical therapy, convinced the signal caller in the off-season his playing days were not finished and he still had it.

Cody, Laura and their one-year-old son, Luca, were all together celebrating the Grey Cup win on Sunday. The redemption story ultimately finished as a fairy tale that came true.

Grads haul in Hilltops major team awards

Boston Davidsen, right, is named the Hilltops top grad.

The Saskatoon Hilltops graduating players cleaned up capturing five out of the club’s seven major team awards.

On Saturday, the Hilltops held their team awards ceremony in a new format for the club. Having held an annual awards banquet in past years, the Hilltops hosted the Saskatoon Hilltops Football Club Honors awards ceremony in a live theatre style show at the Roxy Theatre. The event was similar in nature to awards shows hosted by the NFL and NHL.

Graduating star power running back Boston Davidsen was named the winner of the Drs. Landa-Doig Award as the club’s most outstanding graduating player. Davidsen was a first team CJFL all-Canadian all-star had a monster campaign leading the PFC in carries (170), rushing yards (1,184) and rushing touchdowns (nine) during the regular season.

In the Hilltops 17-10 victory over the Westshore Rebels on Nov. 11 in the CJFL championship game – the Canadian Bowl, Davidsen carried the ball 25 times for 157 yards and one touchdown. His major score ultimately held up as the winning score of the contest played at Starlight Stadium in Langford, B.C., which is a suburb of Victoria.

Graduating middle linebacker Matt Wist captured the Courtice Inspiration Award. Wist was named a second team CJFL all-Canadian at linebacker and a first team CJFL all-Canadian at punter.

During the Hilltops eight regular season games, Wist recorded 22 solo defensive tackles, 17 defensive tackle assists, two pass knockdowns, two forced fumbles and three interceptions. He punted the ball 47 times for a gross average of 37.7 yards per kick, a net average of 32.2 yards per kick and three singles.

Matt Wist, right, wins the Courtice Inspiration Award.

Graduating defensive tackle Craig Torgerson claimed the Blue and Gold Award for outstanding leadership and commitment to the team.

Defensive back Carter Wingert, who has exhausted his CJFL eligibility, was given the Ron Atchison “True Grit” Award.

Outside linebacker Wade Keating, who has completed his CJFL career, took the Don and Jim Seaman Memorial Award as the team’s top linebacker.

Defensive end Riece Kack was the only other veteran player outside of the grads to capture a major award. Kack, who has one season of CJFL eligibility remaining, took the Ray Syrnyk Trophy as the team’s top lineman.

Receiver Datiel Fountaine claimed the Past President’s Trophy as the team’s rookie of the year.

The Hilltops won all eight of their regular season games en route to posting a perfect 12-0 record in 2023. Their CJFL championship victory over the Rebels marked the 23^rd time in team history the Hilltops have captured the CJFL title.

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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Is the CFL a place you should or shouldn’t be?

Great Grey Cup game doesn’t erase uncertain feelings

Mosaic Stadium at pre-game of the 2019 Labour Day Classic.

Is the CFL good and feeling alright?

It feels like those who are overseeing the operations of Canada’s professional football circuit want you to believe the answer to that question is yes. The CFL has a solid backing of ultra-passionate fans who believe the answer to that question is yes, and the league doesn’t have any problems at all. Those fans believe the only problem the league has are negative people that want to talk bad about the CFL, and those negative people aren’t real fans.

One step removed from the ultra-passionate fans are passionate fans who have loved the league for a long time, but aren’t sure what their current relationship is with the circuit. Some of those fans that have been season ticket holders for decades are planning to not be ticket buyers in any form in 2023.

As the 2022 CFL season concluded with the playing of the Grey Cup game on Sunday at Mosaic Stadium in Regina with the Toronto Argonauts ousting the two-time defending champion Winnipeg Blue Bombers 24-23, it didn’t feel like the campaign finished off as the normal love in that it usually does.

 No matter what challenges the CFL deals with, it always seems the bad stuff is forgotten during Grey Cup week, and everyone bonds over the circuit’s great attributes. The Grey Cup is often a compelling contest, and when it is completed, fans come away thinking the CFL game is great no matter who won.

The CFL is this league that seems to survive through sheer stubbornness. While I myself have loved the league, the realist in me was surprised the circuit was able to survive financially after the 2020 campaign was completely cancelled due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that has gripped the world.

When the CFL returned in 2021, some of the festivities surrounding the Grey Cup played in Hamilton, Ont., were limited as there were still various restrictions in place across Canada to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. The Bombers downed the host Tiger-Cats 33-25 in overtime before 26,324 spectators at Tim Hortons Field in that contest.

This year marked the first time the CFL could host a full out Grey Cup week since the shutdowns that occurred in 2020. The circuit also ran its first full regular season where each club played 18 games for the first time since 2019.

By all accounts, the Grey Cup Festival events that started last Tuesday and ran through to Sunday were a success. CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie’s state of the league address on Friday mainly received a warm reception. It looked the 2022 CFL campaign was going to conclude with the classic love in the Grey Cup week brings.

The Grey Cup game delivered with lots of thrills. At the start of the fourth quarter, Bombers returner Janarion Grant returned a punt 102 yards for a touchdown. The run back was the longest punt return in Grey Cup history.

The previous record was held by Terry Williams of the Calgary Stampeders, who returned a punt 97 yards for a touchdown in his team’s 27-16 victory over the Ottawa Redblacks in the 2018 Grey Cup played in Edmonton.

The Bombers missed the extra point after Grant’s return score to make their lead at the time stand at 23-14. The Argonauts rallied for 10 straight points to win the game 24-23.

When Toronto closed the gap to 23-17, they had to finish the rest of the comeback behind backup quarterback Chad Kelly as starter McLeod Bethel-Thompson dislocated his thumb on his throwing hand.

Cody Fajardo (#7) slings a pass in the 2019 Labour Day Classic.

After the Argonauts got ahead 24-23, the Grey Cup ended with a wrinkle I had never seen happen in the countless number of football games I’ve watched live in person or on television. The contest ended with blocked field goals on back-to-back series in the final minutes of the fourth quarter.

First Argos kicker Boris Bede attempted a 37-yard field goal attempting the increase his team’s 24-23 advantage, but his kick was blocked by Bombers defensive back Nick Hallett. The Bombers had the ball at their own 29 yard line with two minutes remaining in the frame after the block.

Bombers star quarterback Zach Collaros drove his team into position to attempt a 47-yard field goal to go back ahead on the scoreboard. Winnipeg kicker Marc Liegghio’s kick was blocked by Argonauts defensive lineman Robbie Smith.

The Argonauts got the ball on their own 19 yard line with 45 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. They were able to bring the contest to an end with three kneel downs before going off to celebrate their one-point championship victory.

Even with the exciting finish, there was a visible sign that all was not good. Looking at the game on TV, it was easy to see Mosaic Stadium was about 40 per cent empty. A sellout attendance of 33,350 was announced by the CFL.

Way back on September 28, the CFL and the Roughriders jointly announced the Grey Cup game was a sellout. On Grey Cup game day on Sunday, you could have easily gone on to Ticketmaster’s website and bought tickets for the contest.

During the week leading up to events like the Grey Cup, it is common that tickets that are reserved for dignitaries that won’t be used for that purpose are released for sale to the public. Still, there seemed to be about 1,000 tickets on the Ticketmaster site that were coloured in blue meaning they had yet to be bought by someone in the public.

You could purchase upper deck tickets for $296.85 each or tickets five rows behind a team bench for $546.60 each.

There were a sizable number of tickets available in the resale red, which means people who originally purchased the tickets were trying to unload them.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the NFL had a practice of announcing an actual attendance figure of people who actually entered the stadium and a no show figure. The no show figure was for people who purchased tickets but didn’t go to the game.

It is unlikely a no show figure will ever be released for Sunday’s Grey Cup game.

In the 2000s, it was common for tickets anywhere in CFL stadiums to cost between $40 and $60. The focus was to get the average working person into the stadium.

At least for Saskatchewan Roughriders games this past season, about 70 per cent of the seats at Mosaic Stadium cost at least $100 per seat. In 2019 which was the CFL’s last year operating before the COVID-19 pandemic took hold, the ticket prices in the lower sections between the 20 yard lines was anywhere between $55 to $155 before fees and taxes in eight of the nine CFL stadiums.

Patrick Neufeld (#53) sets to make a block for the Bombers.

Price point is a big problem in the CFL. It is an even bigger problem in 2022, when inflation in Canada has seen seemingly every product in Canada increase in price. Travel costs are higher, and it seems taking a flight to travel anywhere in Canada via airlines becomes a bigger gamble by the day.

The CFL’s solid backing of ultra-passionate fans don’t seem to mind the increased costs. They see rising ticket costs as a tax increase you pay to show your loyalty to your team. If it means you go into debt to support your team, you do it.

Judging by how many people didn’t show up for the Grey Cup, it appears all the inflationary costs do actually matters to a sizable amount of people these days.

During the regular season, 3DownNation reported the Bombers led the CFL in attendance for the first time in league history averaging 28,652 fans per game. The Roughriders were second averaging 27,431 spectators per game according to 3DownNation, which the first time attendance dropped below 28,000 per contest since 2006.

The Bombers record for average regular season attendance was 30,637 spectators per contest in 2013. The Roughriders record for average regular season attendance was 37,503 spectators per contest in 2013.

The Argonauts had the worst average attendance during the 2022 regular season averaging 11,874 spectators per game. Believe it or not, the Argonauts record for average attendance per contest is 47,355 spectators per game set back in 1976.

It is a fact that attendance in the CFL isn’t what it used to be.

For myself, I often struggle with the notion that the CFL is a place for me when it comes to any form of a role. The last game I attended in person was the Labour Day Classic contest on September 1, 2019, when the host Roughriders downed the Bombers 19-17 at Mosaic Stadium.

I didn’t go to any CFL games in 2021 due to the fact I was covering the CJFL’s Saskatoon Hilltops and the WHL’s Prince Albert Raiders and Saskatoon Blades on a regular basis. The teams in the CJFL and WHL were doing frequent COVID-19 testing and it was still common for teams and leagues to be shut down due to positive tests. No matter what, those three teams elected to interact with the media in person.

I personally didn’t want to be the one that accidentally brought in a COVID-19 case to get the Hilltops, Raiders or Blades shutdown, which meant no CFL games for me. Since March of 2020, I’ve only been out to four big fun social gatherings that included a family wedding in September 2021 and a WWE house show this past October.

I was planning to go to a CFL game this season, but work related projects prevented that from happening.

In Saskatchewan, I felt the negativity when things go bad for the Roughriders has been way worse since they returned to play in 2021 than it had before the shutdowns in 2020. That had been a factor in killing the motivation to go to games even with having a couple of friends on the Roughriders roster. Cost also became a factor too this season as I’ve elected to spend money elsewhere to adjust to various price inflations that are currently seen in Canada.

I also feel the CFL isn’t as connected to the fans as it once was. It seems like the decision makers on that circuit are comfortable with getting by on the support of the ultra-passionate fans who will spend huge amounts of money on the league no questions asked.

Dan Clark calls signals for the Roughriders in 2019.

The rules and the CFL game itself are as awesome as always. This past week I caught the re-airing ESPN broadcast of the 1981 Grey Cup.

Famed NFL analyst Paul Maguire did the analyst work on the 1981 Grey Cup, and he went into great lengths about how great the various unique rules are for the Canadian game. It felt like the ESPN broadcast was an advertisement for the Canadian game.

No matter what happens in Canada or the world, it feels like the CFL will somehow always be around. The Grey Cup game has been awarded in Canada since 1909. Again by sheer stubbornness, the Canadian version of pro-football never goes away.

Will it have another golden age when it comes to fan interest? Being a realist, the jury is out on the answer to that question, but it doesn’t seem possible in the short term or midterm.

Johnson gets final salute at Hilltops team awards banquet

Konner Johnson was named the Hilltops most outstanding grad.

Konner Johnson received one last hurrah with the Saskatoon Hilltops during the team’s annual award banquet, which was held Saturday night at the Delta Marriott Hotel.

The weak side linebacker, who established himself as one of the storied CJFL club’s all-time greats, took home the Drs. Landa-Doig Award as the club’s most outstanding graduating player. During the Hilltops eight regular season contests, Johnson piled up 31 solo defensive tackles, 13 defensive tackle assists, four special teams solo tackles, two special teams tackle assists, two quarterback sacks, five pass knockdowns and four interceptions.

Individually, Johnson picked up a lot of accolades this season. The 22-year-old was named a PFC all-star, the PFC’s most outstanding linebacker, the PFC’s most outstanding defensive player, a CJFL first team all-Canadian all-star and the CJFL’s most outstanding defensive player. This past May and June, Johnson attended the training camp of the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders.

The Past President’s Trophy as the team’s rookie of the year went right tackle Davin Johnson. Davin was a true first year player having graduated from Saskatoon’s Walter Murray Collegiate this past June.

He became the Hilltops starting right tackle about halfway through this past season and started the Hilltops two post-season games. It is rare for any rookie straight out of high school to earn a starting spot as a rookie with the Hilltops, so Davin accomplished big things with the Hilltops in 2022.

Jaxon Funk was named the Hilltops top lineman.

Graduating centre Luciano Jolly took home the Blue and Gold Award for outstanding leadership and commitment to the team. Graduating receiver Dillan Heintz captured the Courtice Inspiration Award.

Defensive back Evan Mantyka, who also exhausted his CJFL eligibility, was given the Ron Atchison “True Grit” award. Middle linebacker Matt Wist, who has one year of CJFL eligibility remaining, claimed the Don and Jim Seaman Memorial Award as the team’s top linebacker.

Graduating defensive tackle Jaxon Funk captured the Ray Syrnyk Trophy as the team’s top lineman.

The Hilltops posted a 5-3 record in regular season play to finish second in the Prairie Football Conference. They advanced to the PFC final, where they dropped a 39-21 decision to the host Thunder in Regina at Mosaic Stadium back on October 30.

The Hilltops graduate 20 players from their 2022 roster including Connor Green, Matt Turple, Mantyka, Damon Dutton, Carter McLean, Steve Gilewicz, Tanner Szakacs, Konner Johnson, Jayson Kehler, Dylan McNutt, Mitchell Clarke, Jordan Bisson, Jolly, Aidan Connoly, Ethan Paslowski, Daylen Hartz, Funk, Presley Peterson, Heintz and Lachlan Horsley.

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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Will Rams “all in” Super Bowl win set a trend in sports?

A miniature Los Angeles Rams helmet.

Will teams all over the sports world strive to be like the Los Angeles Rams?

The NFL’s Rams pushed all their chips to the centre of the table for the 2021 campaign. On Sunday, that move culminated in the Rams winning Super Bowl LVI in front of their hometown fans at SoFi Stadium 23-20 over the Cincinnati Bengals.

During the off-season leading up to the 2021 campaign, the Rams acquired star quarterback Matthew Stafford in a trade from the woeful Detroit Lions in exchange for standout signal caller Jared Goff, a third-round selection in the 2021 NFL Draft, a first round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft and a first round choice in the 2022 NFL Draft.

The Rams acquired Stafford with the promise that they now had the quarterback that could take them to the Promised Land.

Stafford delivered on Sunday. With the Rams trailing the Bengals 20-16 in the fourth quarter, Stafford led the Rams downfield on a touchdown drive that covered 79 yards on 15 plays and ate four minutes and 48 seconds off the clock.

The drive culminated with Stafford hitting star receiver Cooper Kupp with a one-yard touchdown toss with 1:25 remaining in the fourth quarter to put the Rams in front by the 23-20 final score.

The ensuing Bengals drive ended after Rams star defensive tackle Aaron Donald forced Cincinnati star quarterback Joe Burrow to throw and errant incomplete pass on a fourth down play. The Rams were able to run out the rest of the fourth quarter clock with Stafford taking a knee.

Stafford completed 26-of-40 passes for 283 yards and three touchdowns, while throwing two interceptions. He enjoyed a championship moment that seemed impossible to accomplish with the Lions.

Back in the 2009 NFL Draft, the Lions selected Stafford first overall. He played 12 seasons for the Lions making them look more respectable than they should have qualifying for the post-season three times.

Stafford put up passing numbers with the Lions that alone should get him elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He also took a physical beating with the Lions, who never had the supporting cast to help him win an NFL title.

The Rams gave up key draft picks to get Stafford along with a quarterback in Goff who they selected first overall in the 2016 NFL Draft. Goff guided them to the Super Bowl following the 2018 season.

The NFL could see team copy the Los Angeles Rams.

On February 3, 2019, the Goff led Rams fell 13-3 in Super Bowl LIII to the Tom Brady led New England Patriots in Atlanta, Georgia. Los Angeles wasn’t able to return to the Super Bowl following the 2019 and 2020 campaigns.

Stafford was viewed as the quarterback that could take the Rams that next step to being a Super Bowl winner.

Part way through the 2021 campaign, the Rams acquired star linebacker Von Miller via a trade with the Denver Broncos. Los Angeles further stacked its roster signing star receiver Odell Beckham Jr. after he was released by the Cleveland Browns.

While a lot of the Rams roster was built through the NFL Draft that included players like Kupp and Donald, lots of football followers will focus on the trade to bring in Stafford along with the acquisitions of Miller and Beckham. Those moves allowed the Rams to win a tough NFC West Division with a 12-5 regular season record and win four post-season games to capture the Super Bowl at home.

Traditionally, the NFL has been a copycat league, so you can expect there will be teams in the short term that will attempt to do what the Rams have done.

Since the NFL is the most popular sports league in North America, the Rams road to Super Bowl success will likely make teams across the rest of the world of sports try to emulate that road to success.

In North America’s four big professional leagues in the NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL, fans and speculative media will put pressure on the teams they follow to go “all in” and win right now like the Rams did. In those leagues, fans are paying hundreds of dollars in single game tickets, so if teams are viewed as not trying the utmost to win, the fans will be super mad.

For teams that do go “all in,” it seems worth it during the moment of a championship win.

If a championship isn’t won or a team has to suffer through five bad years thanks to going “all in,” fans and media will moan about the losing and criticize their teams for going “all in.”

Even in a circuit like the CFL there will be pressure to go “all in.” For most stadiums, about 70 per cent of the seats cost over $100, so fans expect a bang for their buck.

Back in 2013, the Saskatchewan Roughriders went “all in,” when they hosted the Grey Cup at their former legendary home park in Taylor Field. They didn’t need to find a star quarterback as Darian Durant was already there to fill that role.

Before the season began, they made a trade to acquire CFL all-time great receiver Geroy Simon from the British Columbia Lions. They signed defensive end Ricky Foley and defensive backs Dwight Anderson and Weldon Brown as free agents.

Will QB Cody Fajardo (#7) and the Roughriders go “all in” for 2022?

After defensive end John Chick was released by the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars, the Roughriders were able to bring him in before the start of the regular season. Chick was a key member of the Roughriders 2007 Grey Cup winning team.

The Roughriders proceeded to post an 11-7 regular season record and win all three of their post-season games including a 45-23 romp over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the Grey Cup played on November 24, 2013 to cash in on their “all in” move.

Saskatchewan hosts the Grey Cup in 2022 at their new home park in Mosaic Stadium. After what the Rams did in the Super Bowl along with the precedent the Roughriders set in 2013, current Roughriders management will be under a lot of pressure to go “all in” this season.

Unfortunately, that strategy doesn’t work the majority of the time as only one team in each sports league can win a championship.

In the 2012-13 season, the Saskatoon Blades went “all in” with a number of trades to win the WHL championship and the CHL’s championship tournament – the Memorial Cup. The Blades were the Memorial Cup hosts that season.

The Blades finished first in the WHL’s East Division. They were swept out of the first round of the WHL playoffs by the Medicine Hat Tigers and won one game at the Memorial Cup tournament.

The Blades proceed to miss the post-season for the next five straight years going through a rebuild after going “all in.”

The WHL’s Swift Current Broncos and Regina Pats did the same thing in the 2017-18 season. The Pats were the Memorial Cup hosts in that campaign.

The Broncos won the WHL championship that season, but went winless in the Memorial Cup tournament.

The Pats were eliminated in the first round of the WHL playoffs by the Broncos, but did make the championship game of the Memorial Cup tournament. Regina was blanked 3-0 in that championship game by the QMJHL champion Acadie-Bathurst Titan.

It took the Broncos four seasons to reach the form to be a contender for a lower seed WHL playoff berth and Pats returned to that spot slightly quicker in three seasons.

The 2017-18 Pats went “all in” and didn’t win any championships.

Still, going “all in” will likely be a short-term fad due to the fact the Rams won the Super Bowl. While the Rams had success with their “all in” venture, the risk is often way greater than the reward.

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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Completed seasons major victory for football in Canada

Andrew Harris (#33) and the Bombers are champs again.

Those involved with football in Canada should be popping the champagne corks to toast the completion of the 2021 season.

That has to be considered a major victory.

The campaign was capped in spectacular fashion on Sunday when the Winnipeg Blue Bombers downed the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 33-25 in overtime to capture the Grey Cup as CFL champions. A sellout crowd of 26,324 spectators at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton, Ont., were treated to a highly entertaining contest, even though their hometown Tiger-Cats weren’t able to win.

Bombers quarterback Zach Collaros was named the Grey Cup MVP. He forever cemented himself as a hero in Winnipeg having quarterbacked the Bombers to Grey Cup wins the last two times the trophy was awarded.

Bombers receiver Nic Demski was named the Grey Cup’s most valuable Canadian player, and it seemed fitting that award went to a Winnipeg product who is a proud grad of the University of Manitoba Bisons football team.

Had the Tiger-Cats made one or two more plays, they would have been walked away with the Grey Cup. With six seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, Tiger-Cats kicker Michael Domagala booted a 13 yard field goal to create a 25-25 tie and force overtime.

One play before Domagala’s kick, a pass to the end zone that was tipped by Bombers defensive back Deatrick Nichols and still found its way to the hands of Tiger-Cats receiver Jaelon Acklin. Acklin was unable to make a catch, which would have allowed the Tiger-Cats to win the game.

In overtime, Collaros threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to veteran receiver Darvin Adams. Winnipeg sealed victory on an interception by linebacker Kyrie Wilson on Hamilton’s ensuing OT possession.

The Roughriders could host games without capacity limits.

Of course in a contest that was as thrilling as Sunday’s Grey Cup, people could point to a handful of other plays that could have changed the outcome of that game.

In the overall big picture, it was incredible the football season in Canada got to this point. With the world coming into the grips of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic with the first shutdown occurring in North American in March of 2020, the entire CFL season was lost in 2020.

The Bombers had beaten the Tiger-Cats 33-12 in the 2019 Grey Cup before the 2020 CFL campaign was nixed.

Actually, there was a decent amount of speculation thinking that the CFL might not comeback at all.

The Vanier Cup game, which crowns the U Sports football champion, was cancelled in 2020, and most U Sports conferences didn’t take the field. The CJFL campaign in 2020 was also cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tackle football was played in Canada in 2020, but those contests happened in pockets here and there mainly at the high school level.

When the CFL season kicked off on August 5 with the Bombers beating the Tiger-Cats 19-6 in Winnipeg, there were no guarantees the season would be completed.

When the Saskatchewan Roughriders downed the British Columbia Lions 33-29 on August 6, a sellout crowd of 33,350 was on hand at Mosaic Stadium in Regina, Sask. Up to that point in time, that gathering was the largest crowd that had watched a sporting event in Canada since March of 2020.

Mason Nyhus and the Huskies went to the Vanier Cup.

The CFL was the first league in Canada where some teams were able to start hosting games at the start of the season without capacity limits since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March of 2020.

By the end of the campaign, most teams played without capacity limits, but showing proof of COVID-19 vaccination was standard practice.

The CFL successfully completed a season where each team played a 14-game regular season and the circuit held playoffs in its standard format where champions of the East and West Divisions met for the Grey Cup.

In U Sports, the Vanier Cup was handed out on December 4 in Quebec City, Quebec, when the University of Western Ontario Mustangs downed the University of Saskatchewan Huskies 27-21 at Stade Telus – Universite Laval.

Out of the four conferences that make up U Sports, three played a shortened six game regular season as opposed to an eight-game regular campaign, but the season got done. The football for the most part was outstanding.

Also on December 4, the CJFL crowned a champion as the Langley Rams blanked the London Beefeater 37-0 to win the Canadian Bowl at Western Alumni Stadium in London, Ontario. 

The CJFL had many exciting contests and the Prairie Football Conference and Ontario Football Conference held their usual eight-game regular seasons.

The Saskatoon Hilltops 33-31 victory over the Edmonton Huskies in a PFC semifinal played on November 7 at Saskatoon Minor Football Field will always be an all-time CJFL classic. Hilltops receiver Dillan Heintz caught the winning touchdown with 21.3 seconds to play in that contest.

Dillan Heintz scores the winning TD in a PFC semifinal.

With all that said, there are warts and worries when it comes to the game in Canada. In the CFL, attendances across the league for most of the season have to be a concern outside of the draws that came for a handful of games.

Adverse weather still seems to push a lot of fans away for games late in the campaign, and this had been a pre-existing problem for about five to six years at all levels of the sport.

There are other concerns, but those can be bantered about on another day.

After the exciting Grey Cup that was played on Sunday, those involved in football in Canada get to feel like they are with the WWE faction The New Day, where everything is coming up rainbows and unicorns and it is all about the power of positivity.

The fact the football season in Canada was played from start to completion should be celebrated.

Ochs takes final bow at Hilltops team awards banquet

Mason Ochs picked up Hilltops team awards on Saturday.

Mason Ochs took one last hurrah with the Saskatoon Hilltops during the team’s annual awards banquet which was held around the lunch hours on Saturday at the Delta Marriott Hotel.

The Hilltops all-time great took home the team’s Courtice Inspiration Award and the Drs. Landa-Doig Awards as the club’s most outstanding graduating player. Ochs was also awarded the Sadownick Family Scholarship and a Hilltop Club Scholarship.

The star left tackle was both a PFC all-star and a CJFL all-Canadian all-star in the last four straight CJFL seasons.

The graduate of Saskatoon’s Tommy Douglas Collegiate Tigers football team was named the PFC’s most outstanding offensive lineman for this past season.

Defensive end Riece Kack captured the Past President’s Trophy as the team’s rookie of the year. Boundary corner Jared Giddings claimed the Blue and Gold Award for outstanding commitment to the team.

Graduating right tackle Jonathan Chisholm won the Ron Atchison “True Grit” award, Konner Johnson claimed the Don and Jim Seaman Memorial Award as the club’s top linebacker and defensive tackle Jaxon Funk captured the Ray Syrnyk Trophy as the team’s top lineman.

The Hilltops handed out a number of scholarships on Saturday too.

Funk took the Harold Mitchelmore Memorial Scholarship and the Carl Hoath Memorial Affinity Credit Union Scholarship.

Lachlan Horsley and Wade Keating were recipients of the Bill Trout Memorial Scholarship and Boston Davidsen was awarded the TCU Financial Group Scholarship.

Jonathan Chisholm won the Ron Atchison “True Grit” award.

The Don McDonald Memorial Scholarship went to Brady Fossen, the EY Scholarship was awarded to Ben Marce, the Dr. Gryba Academic Scholarship was given to Brant Morrow and the Rempel Brothers Construction Scholarship went to Matt Wist.

Ethan Paslowski and Jayson Kehler were recipients of the SMF Joe Baier Memorial/Tundra Electric Scholarship.

The recipients of the Saskatchewan Roughrider Foundation Scholarships were Dillan Heintz, Evan Mantyka, Dylan Cook and Presley Peterson.

Football Saskatchewan Scholarships went to Giddings, Ethan Godson, Erik Barsness and Noah Flaman.

Evan Mantyka claimed the Ignite Conditioning Scholarship.

The Evan Kyba Memorial Scholarship went to Josh Wiebe and Carter Wingert.

Kinsmen Club Scholarships were awarded to Johnson, Boden Marley and Daylen Hartz.

Along with Ochs, Hilltops Club Scholarships went to Johnson, Funk, Giddings, Godson, Morrow, Wist, Matt Turple, Justin Adamko, Connor Bevans, Trent Kehrig, Pavel Lalonde, Jordan Levesque, Reace Michnik, Zach Moehler and Andy Scrivens.

The Hilltops posted a 6-2 regular season record in 2021, won the PFC title and concluded their campaign falling in a CJFL semifinal contest to the Langley Rams 17-14.

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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Great culture powers 2021 return for football Huskies

Memorable campaign culminates in Vanier Cup appearance

The Huskies won the Hardy Cup as Canada West champions.

Everybody wanted to be there.

That in a nutshell was the intangible that allowed the U Sports football season to go for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies. 

Of course, you can nitpick and drop names of players that didn’t return to the Huskies after a season off in 2020. The Canada West Conference season was cancelled and no U Sports nationals were held in 2020-21 due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that has gripped the world.

When it game to the Huskies, the bottom line is a significant number of veterans felt so attached to the program that they were going to help the team return to the field no matter what happened.

In September and October of 2020, the Huskies held regular practices even though they weren’t going to play a meaningful game that year. They wanted to be prepared for the next season whenever it might come.

The Dogs took advantage of expanded practice regulations and staged workouts through the summer hoping they would get the chance to step on the field for game action in September.

When the Huskies gathered for training camp back on Sept. 1, there were no guarantees the football season would be seen to its conclusion.

They ultimately did see the football portion of the U Sports season to its end falling 27-21 to the University of Western Ontario Mustangs in the Vanier Cup championship game at Stade Telus – Universite Laval in Quebec City, Quebec, before 5,840 spectators last Saturday.

The 2021 campaign was a memorable one just from the fact the Huskies advanced to the U Sports title game for the first time since 2006. The icing on the cake would have been a victory in the Vanier Cup, which is something the Huskies last achieved back in 1998.

Adam Machart had a forever memorable run for the Huskies.

The Huskies don’t get to the Vanier Cup unless they had a large group of people that still wanted to be with the team, when the squad was grinding through those practice sessions in 2020 and the workouts the team staged this past summer.

On top of that, the players spend countless hours on their own individual workout sessions away from team activities to ensure they had the physical conditioning to play the next season whenever it game.

You don’t do all those things unless you truly enjoy being a part of that team and being part of the Huskies is a huge positive thing in your life.

Basically, the culture and atmosphere on the Huskies was so good that those who were apart of the program wanted to come back to it even if it meant jumping hurdles of unforeseen world events that came their way.

The Huskies had seven players return to play their fifth and final seasons of U Sports eligibility in Colton Klassen, Clovis Lumeka, Kyle Newton, Carter Dahl, Finley Easton, Nick Summach and Yol Piok, who were all played out their fifth and final seasons of eligibility.

Klassen came back from a gruesome dislocated right ankle near the end of the first quarter in a 22-9 victory over the University of Alberta Golden Bears back in October 26, 2019.

Piok became a mental health advocate after coming forward with his own story of his battles with mental health.

Ultimately, all seven of those players brought special aspects that helped the team in 2021.

A whole host of other key veterans returned including Mason Nyhus, Adam Machart, Connor Berglof, Noah Zerr, Riley Pickett, Nathan Cherry, Jonathan Leggett, Tom Whiting, Charlie Ringland and David Solie. All the returning players played a part in making the Huskies motor along.

Colton Klassen had a great final season with the Huskies.

Head coach Scott Flory and pretty much his entire coaching staff came back. Flory deservedly received the coach of the year nod for the Canada West Conference.

The Huskies again received outstanding contributions from defensive coordinator Warren Muzika and special team coordinator Jerry Friesen. The rest of the assistant coaches performed at a top level and that added to the atmosphere that kept the players connected to the team.

Support staff like team manager Andrea Eccleston, assistant equipment manager Jay Starecki and hydrologist Tom Benson were again outstanding in thankless roles behind the scenes. They’re always positive and always seem to be having good days.

Also behind the scenes, the parents group has been super valuable as a support system for the players and team, especially when an emotional pick up is needed. Candice Klassen, who is Colton Klassen’s mom, did unbelievable amounts of work with the parents group over the years, and she was huge in making Huskies football feel like family.

It shouldn’t be noted lots of newcomers were key contributors on and off the field.

On the field, the Huskies made news when middle linebacker Nick Wiebe transferred from the University of Oregon Ducks of the NCAA Division I ranks to the Huskies. 

While the Huskies are deep at linebacker, Wiebe’s addition still increased the talent level at that position with his addition.

First year players in running back Ryker Frank and outside linebacker Lane Novak were already making big plays and the impacts they could potentially have on the Huskies program in years to come can be huge.

Clovis Lumeka suited up for a solid five seasons for the Huskies.

The Huskies had a totally new group of student trainers from the last time they took the field in 2019, and the new group including Madison Corrin, Jon Gough, Ashlyn Taillon, Rourke Wunder-Buhr and Joshua Sauverwald did stellar working helping players persevere through injuries.

Still when the games started to happen, the Huskies had to wonder where they would stack up with everyone as rosters of the various Canada West teams were shuffled.

After beating the University of Manitoba Bisons 31-14 in an exhibition game on Sept. 18 at Griffiths Stadium, the Huskies opened the regular season on Sept. 25 falling 34-20 in Calgary to the University of Calgary Dinos.

The Dinos won the Vanier Cup in 2019, so there had to be some uncertainty of just how good could the 2021 campaign could be.

The Dinos ultimately missed the playoffs posting a 2-4 record in a regular season that was shortened from eight games to six games for each team.

The Huskies proceeded to win eight straight games finishing first in the Canada West Conference and advancing to the Vanier Cup. They beat the Dinos 31-23 on Nov. 6 at Griffiths Stadium to close the regular season.

In the post-season, the Huskies captured the Hardy Cup winning the Canada West Championship game with a 45-17 victory over the Bisons on Nov. 20 at Griffiths Stadium.

The Huskies followed that win up taking a 14-10 thrilling finish in the Uteck Bowl over the Universite de Montreal Carabins at The CEPSUM in Montreal, Quebec on Nov. 27.

The Huskies linebackers are pictured with the Hardy Cup.

Machart’s electrifying 13-yard touchdown run to win the game with five seconds remaining in the fourth quarter became an all-time storied moments in the history of the Huskies program.

That set the stage for the Vanier Cup title clash with the Mustangs. On a frozen turf at Stade Telus – Universite Laval, the Huskies came up a handful of plays short in a 27-21 setback that was really well played by both sides given the conditions.

All involved with the Huskies football team gave the squad a dream return in 2021. They all would have to agree that the journey to get to this point was worth it.

Hilltops grads Ochs and Chisholm join Rams

Mason Ochs in action for the Hilltops this past season.

On Saturday, the University of Regina Rams head coach Mark McConkey announced they signed two important keys from the Saskatoon Hilltops offensive line, who just graduated from venerable CJFL club.

Left tackle Mason Ochs and right tackle Jonathan Chisholm have committed to joining the Rams for the 2022 U Sports season. Both just finished up playing their fifth and final seasons with the Hilltops help Saskatoon win CJFL titles in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019.

Included in those title wins was an 11-0 perfect season in 2018 and a 12-0 perfect season in 2019.

Ochs departs the Hilltops as one of the team’s all-time greats. He was both a PFC all-star and a CJFL all-Canadian all-star in the last four straight CJFL seasons.

Jonathan Chisholm in action for the Hilltops this past season.

The graduate of Saskatoon’s Tommy Douglas Collegiate Tigers football team was named the PFC’s most outstanding offensive lineman for this past season.

Chisholm became a starter on the Hilltops offensive line at the start of the 2019 campaign. The graduate of Swift Current Comprehensive High School Colts suffered a knee injury in the Hilltops second regular season game this past season but returned to the lineup in the team second last regular season game.

On Oct. 24, Chisholm caught a touchdown pass on a trick play as the Hilltops beat the Rifles in Winnipeg 32-17 to close their regular season.

Ochs and Chisholm helped the Hilltops win the PFC title for a seventh consecutive season before the club’s season came to an end with a 17-14 CJFL semifinal loss to the Rams in Langley, B.C.

Langley Rams capture first Canadian Bowl in 37-0 route

The #CJFL champion @LangleyRams for 2021 pic.twitter.com/hgnvltb5b9

— CJFL News (@CJFLnews) December 4, 2021

The Langley Rams proved to be too much for London Beefeaters to handle in the CJFL championship game – the Canadian Bowl.

Last Saturday at Western Alumni Stadium in London, Ont., the Rams flattened the Beefeaters 37-0 to capture their first CJFL title in team history. The Beefeaters were only able to gain 20 yards of net offence for the contest.

The Rams piled up a Canadian Bowl record 10 sacks in the contest with defensive lineman Tyler Eckert collecting 3.5 sacks, which was also a Canadian Bowl record. He was named the defensive player of the game.

In the first quarter, Rams kicker Tato Ferreyro Araya hit field goals from 17 and 18 yards out to give Langley a 6-0 lead.

The Beefeaters conceded four safeties in the second quarter to extend the Rams lead to 14-0.

At the start of the third quarter, the Beefeaters conceded another safety to allow the Rams to assume a 16-0 edge.

Before the third quarter ended, Rams receiver Daniel Kubongo returned a punt 85 yards for a touchdown to increase the Rams advantage to 23-0.

In the fourth quarter, Rams quarterback Micheal Calvert connected with receiver Mario Johnson for a 15-yard touchdown pass. Running back Derek Best rounded out the scoring for Langley with an eight-yard touchdown run.

Calvert was named the offensive player of the game completing 12-of-25 passes for 144 yards and one touchdown, while throwing two interceptions.

Kubongo claimed special teams player of the game honours returning two punts for 108 yards to go with his one touchdown.

The Rams concluded the 2021 campaign with an 11-1 overall record including a 7-1 mark in regular season play.

The Beefeaters closed out the season with an 8-3 overall record that included a 6-2 mark in regular season play.

Since 2017, teams from the Ontario Football Conference, which the Beefeaters play out of, have posted an 0-4 record in CJFL semifinal and championship games having dropped each of those contests by 25 or more points.

Thunder’s MacAulay named CJFL coach of the year

Scott MacAulay was named the CJFL’s coach of the year.

Head coach Scott MacAulay captured a major CJFL award after leading his Regina Thunder to their best regular season in team history.

MacAulay guided the Thunder to their first ever first place finish in PFC regular season standings and their first undefeated record in regular season play with an 8-0 mark. For those accomplishments, MacAulay was named the winner of the CJFL’s Gord Currie Coach of the Year Award last Wednesday.

MacAulay took over as head coach of the Thunder in 2013 and guided the club to its first ever CJFL championship that season.

He became the first Thunder head coach to capture CJFL coach of the year hours since Randy Shaw back in 2002.

In 2021, the Thunder’s run of success came to a halt in the PFC final, when they fell to their provincial rivals the Saskatoon Hilltops 29-9 on Nov. 14 at Mosaic Stadium in Regina.

The CJFL announced its major award winners over its website all last week in the lead up to last Saturday’s Canadian Bowl, where the Langley Rams blanked the London Beefeaters 37-0 in London, Ont., to become CJFL champions.

On Friday, Okanagan Sun running back Malcolm Miller claimed the Peter Dalla Riva Offensive Player of the Year award.

Calgary Colts linebacker Austin Daisy captured the Larry Wruck Defensive Player of the Year award on Thursday.

The CJFL’s Rookie of the Year award went to Langley Rams receiver Daniel Kubongo last Tuesday.

Rounding out the CJFL awards, Valley Huskers receiver Mateo Tuioti was the CJFL Past Commissioners Award for community service, BCFC president Tyler McLaren claimed honours as the CJFL’s Stewart MacDonald Executive of the Year, and CJFL Life Member Awards went to Ed and Terry Plant of Edmonton and OFC president Darren Cocchetto.

Schnitzler versus Neufeld in Grey Cup

Tom Schnitzler in action for the Hilltops in 2015.

The Saskatchewan Roughriders aren’t in the Grey Cup, but there will be a Saskatchewan flavor in the CFL’s championship game.

The Grey Cup is set for this coming Sunday at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton, when the host Tiger-Cats (10-6 overall) face the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (12-3 overall). The Tiger-Cats features defensive lineman Tom Schnitzler and the Bombers roster contains veteran right guard Patrick Neufeld.

Schnitzler, who is a Saskatoon product, played defensive end for the CJFL’s storied Saskatoon Hilltops from 2013 to 2017. He helped the Hilltops win CJFL championships in 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017.

Following his time with the Hilltops, Schnitzler played two seasons in the U Sports ranks on the defensive line for the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds Football team. The 26-year-old is playing in his rookie season with the Tiger-Cats having dressed in three regular season games and both of the Tiger-Cats post-season contests.

Neufeld, who is a Regina product, played four seasons in the U Sports ranks with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies from 2006 to 2010. He is in his 10^th full season in the CFL beginning his career with the Roughriders before a trade on Oct. 10, 2013 brought him to the Bombers.

Neufeld helped the Bombers win the Grey Cup in 2019. The 32-year-old played in 13 out of the 14 regular season games and the one post-season contest the Bombers needed to play to advance to the Grey Cup.

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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Return to play honeymoon over for Roughriders

Outrage back in Rider Nation over losing

Cody Fajardo (#7) sets to throw a pass in 2019.

So do any Saskatchewan Roughriders fans remember missing the CFL a year ago at this time?

Judging by the reaction to the Roughriders 22-19 setback to the Calgary Stampeders on Saturday night at Mosaic Stadium, it appears the answer is no.

After jumping out to a 3-0 start, the Roughriders have lost four of their last six games. Fans consumed by ragehol have returned too.

The Roughriders sit second in the CFL’s West Division with a 5-4, but the hold on second spot is far from secure. The British Columbia Lions sit third at 4-4 and the Stampeders sit in fourth place with a 4-5 mark.

Having posted two straight wins over the Roughriders, the Stampeders have already claimed the seasonal series between the two clubs and hold the head-to-head standings tiebreaker.

With the way the records are shaping up in the East Division, it is conceivable the Roughriders could miss the playoff all together.

When the losing happens, the members of Rider Nation point the fingers in all directions. It is the fault of vice president of football operations and general manager Jeremy O’Day, head coach and special teams coordinator Craig Dickenson, franchise quarterback Cody Fajardo, the offensive line, the receivers who aren’t catching passes and the defence that gives up big plays at inopportune times.

The misfortune is a team effort.

Roughriders HC Craig Dickenson works the sidelines in 2019.

This type of outrage wasn’t even thought about a year ago at this time.

A year ago at this time, a lot of different public health orders were in place across Canada to combat the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. At the moment, the world is still firmly in the grips of the COVID-19 pandemic, but vaccines have allowed sporting events to be held in front of full capacity venues at a large number of places in North America.

The CFL wasn’t able to navigate the public health orders in 2020 and didn’t hit the field at all. A year ago at this time, there was a lot of speculation that the CFL might have played its last game and might become a pandemic casualty.

There was a lot of speculation that the financial losses the CFL’s nine teams would incur would end the league.

There were people who wondered if you would get to see a Roughriders game again at Mosaic Stadium.

For the longest time, the Bombers 33-12 Grey Cup victory over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Nov. 24, 2019 at McMahon Stadium in Calgary, Alta., stood as the last game played in the CFL.

As the calendar turned to 2021, news of team financial losses for 2020 came in.

In late March of this year, the community owned Winnipeg Blue Bombers, who won the Grey Cup in 2019, announced a loss of $6,982,217 for 2020. In May, the community owned Edmonton Elks announced a loss of $7.1-million for 2020.

Dan Clark calls signals at centre in 2019.

Just past the middle of June, the community owned Roughriders announced a loss of $7.5-million for 2020.

It is believed the six other CFL franchises posted bigger financial losses for 2020 than the three community owned teams did.

Somehow, the CFL returned.

On August 5 at IG Field in Winnipeg, the host Blue Bombers downed the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 19-6 before 29,376 spectators to open the CFL regular season.

I personally thought it was a miracle the CFL returned to play.

One day later on August 6, the Roughriders returned to a sellout crowd of 33,350 spectators at Mosaic Stadium to down the visiting Lions 33-29. 

Most in Rider Nation savoured this day as a sign that things were returning more to normal.

It was safe to say the fans were just happy to see the Roughriders play a game again.

Another normal also returned, as fans went crazy over analyzing and cutting down the team when losses started to happen. 

That was pretty evident in the aftermath of Saturday’s setback to the Stampeders.

Gainer the Gopher makes his rounds in 2019.

When you look at the complaining in comparison to what has happened in the world since March of 2020, the phrase “this is why we can’t have nice things” rings true.

On the bright side, attendance was still listed as a solid 27,964 to see the Roughriders fall to the Stampeders on Saturday.

For myself personally, I give the Roughriders a mulligan for everything that happens this season. They’ve already played nine more games than I thought they would play.

For a half glass full argument, at least Rider Nation has a team to complain about. That is better than not being able to complain, because the team ceased to exist.

Raiders stumble out of the gate, other thoughts

The Raiders have stumbled to an 0-4 start this season.

It appears the Prince Albert Raiders are on the road to a reload.

After topping the WHL regular season standings in 2018-19 and winning the league championship, the Raiders have stumbled out of the games to start the 2021-22 campaign dropping their first four games getting outscored 21-5 in the process.

On Saturday, the Raiders dropped an 8-0 decision to the Winnipeg Ice at the Wayne Fleming Arena in the Manitoba capital. The Ice, who improved to 4-0, appear to be the powerhouse team for the current campaign.

Right-winger Connor McClennon had a hat trick for the Ice, while centre Matthew Savoie had three assists. Savoie appears ready to take on star status fitting the fact he was selected first overall by the Ice in the 2019 WHL Bantam Draft, which is now known as the WHL Prospects Draft.

Jakin Smallwood had a pair of goals for the Ice, while Mikey Milne, Conor Geekie and Zachary Benson had singles.

Ronin Geraghty went the distance in goal for the Raiders turning away 26 shots. Gage Alexander turned away all 13 shots he faced to pick up the shutout for the Ice.

The Raiders have had to deal with the fact they have had guys away at NHL training camps. At the moment, they are still missing star defenceman Kaiden Guhle, who is still at camp with the Montreal Canadiens.

By the sound of media reports coming out of Montreal, Guhle is having a great camp with the Canadiens. Due to the fact Guhle is 19-years-old, he has to be returned to the major junior ranks unless he cracks the Canadiens NHL roster.

I still would like to see what the Raiders would look like with Guhle and Nolan Allan as a top defensive pairing.

If the season turns into a reloading campaign, general manager Curtis Hunt and head coach Marc Habscheid are the right guys to have in their respective places to guide the club through rough waters.

They are both experienced hockey leaders who have seen and dealt with all types of scenarios before. The Raiders will always be in good hands with Hunt and Habscheid on board.

During my 10 seasons covering the Medicine Hat Tigers for the Medicine Hat News from 2004 to 2014, I saw how key it was to have good people in those leadership positions as Willie Desjardins and Shaun Clouston ensured the Tigers kept being an elite franchise over that time period.

After the Raiders won the WHL title in the 2018-19 campaign, they captured a banner for finishing first in the East Division in a 2019-20 that got cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic.

They finished fourth in the seven-team WHL East Division bubble last season.

With the way junior hockey cycles go, it is hard to avoid the reload year after having highly successful seasons.

• The Saskatoon Blades have started out 2-1 thanks to a familiar sight. Veteran 19-year-old left-winger Kyle Crnkovic has three goals and two assists, and veteran centre Tristen Robins, who will turn 19-years-old in November, has one goal and four assists.
• Can you see the Calgary Stampeders running the table to win their last five straight games to running their current winning streak to seven games and finish the regular season 9-5 after a 2-5 start? If any team can do that in the CFL, it is the Stampeders quarterbacked by Bo Levi Mitchell.
• Could this be a big year for football in Winnipeg? The Blue Bombers sit first overall in the CFL with an 8-1 record, and the University of Manitoba Bisons football team has started the U Sports regular season 2-0 to sit first in the Canada West Conference. If both the Grey Cup and Vanier Cup end up residing in Winnipeg in December, you can bet you will hear all about it.
• The University of Saskatchewan Huskies and University of Regina Rams have both started their U Sports regular seasons with 1-1 records. It would be fun if one of those teams could have a special campaign in 2021 with a Vanier Cup win.
• One of the most fun moments this season might occur if Saskatoon Blades general manager Colin Priestner makes a visit to Prince Albert in the role as president and governor of the NLL’s Saskatchewan Rush. In branding themselves as Saskatchewan’s team, the Rush like visiting communities across the province, and I suspect Priestner would be able to ham it up with Raiders fans being on the same side when it comes to the Rush.

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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