COVID-19 pandemic forces world to face mental health

A Bell Let’s Talk toque with sports items I’ve collected over the years.

Over this past year, people have been forced to meet the elephant in the room face to face.

Those meetings aren’t equal for everyone. For some, the elephant has been a small problem that causes frustration like replacing a rim of a car tire after encountering a pot hole.

For others, it feels like the elephant is Brock Lesnar who has you cornered in a UFC octagon cage, and he is coming to smash the crap out of you.

During the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, it seems unavoidable that everyone in the world has faced a mental health challenge or adversity at this point. The extent of those challenges seems to go all over the map.

Everyone is dealing with the fact their lives are not like they once were.

On my own front, I have known I have battled with issues dealing with anxiety since 2012. Actually, I have to admit I see myself doing a lot better on that front than I did six years ago.

I’ve spent more time in my home office than in past years.

I write about my experiences on the mental health front in hopes it will help others. Since 2016, I’ve kept up with a tradition where I write a post regarding mental health on Bell Let’s Talk day.

There is still a stigma around mental health issues, and they are unfortunately still treated as the elephant in the room in too many circles. Over the past year, people have had to face the elephant more so than likely at any time in the past.

In North America, shutdowns and restrictions started to come into play in a serious way on March 11, 2020. That was the day the NBA paused its 2019-20 regular season, and it seemingly started a domino effect with shutdowns and restrictions.

In Canada, the restrictions in some parts of the country are the tightest they have ever been. In Saskatchewan, a provincial government announcement was made on Tuesday extending the current tight Public Health Orders for a slowdown through to February 19.

Residents in Saskatchewan have a little more freedom to do things in their daily lives compared to the other three provinces in Western Canada. Alberta and Manitoba are experiencing fairly strict lockdown measures.

My life in 2019 talking up Brett Leason (#20). (Photo by Darryl Leason)

With that noted, life in Saskatchewan is far from what it was a year ago at this time.

One of my friends in Rod Pedersen, who does work in the addictions and recovery field on top of his more famed sports broadcasting roles, has consistently stated he has learned of two definitions for the word “trauma” in his dealings on the mental health front. Trauma situations are “any situation your brain can’t comprehend” or “a deeply distressing or disturbing event.”

The shutdowns and restrictions that have happened during this pandemic have been something that most in the world likely would never conceive happening a year ago at this time.

Even at this time, the COVID-19 pandemic fits in the descriptions of “a situation your brain can’t comprehend” or “a deeply distressing or disturbing event.”

When I step back and look at the big picture, I believe I have been in a better situation than most.

I did a lot more biking around Saskatoon in 2020.

I feel my past experiences on the mental health front have helped me navigate the seemingly everyday changes that have come with the pandemic.

Since March 12, 2020, I have only covered two hockey games. I do miss covering football and hockey games in no particular order the CJFL, SFU18AAAHL, SMAAAAHL, U Sports, WHL and WWCFL. I’ve really missed seeing my friends on all those circuits.

In recent days, my mind often thought about people I haven’t seen in a while now on the WHL front. My life on the sports media front has pretty much disappeared.

In response as cliché as it sounds, I have focused on one day at a time.

I’ve continued to work as the communications coordinator at the Gordie Howe Sports Complex on part-time hours. That has kept my mind active and busy and given me something to look forward to.

I’ve also used that pandemic to rediscover other recreational pursuits I used to do like playing Madden football, watching WWE or checking out old 1980s episodes of G.I. Joe, Transformers and Robotech. In summer, I did way more biking than I have done in past years.

The situation in the current day includes wear more facemasks.

I’ve spend more time with my mom, because I’ve worked from home quite a bit and haven’t been on the road. To me, I’ve felt that has been a huge bonus and blessing.

My line of work involves checking out social media lines on a daily basis. I see every day others are not doing as well as I am.

In my mind over the last few days, I have been struggling with what I want to say in this annual post, because I can see others are not doing as well as I am.

One of the toughest parts over the past year was hearing news from my old 10-year home in Medicine Hat, Alta., of friends having taken their own lives. There were days I did feel absolutely gutted.

I know the first time I return to Medicine Hat will be emotional for me knowing what has happened on that front.

At the beginning of my mental health journey, I always believed that if I just continued to grind and work hard on a day to day basis, be a good person and do the right things that good things in life would ultimately unfold in my favour despite difficulties. That would be especially true, if I was in the right on the big issues.

I have missed fun moments like this in the WHL.

I ultimately learned that you can do everything right and still fail. I also learned that life isn’t fair, and it won’t bend to make you happy even when you do everything right or are in the right.

When I check out social media lines, I see a lot of people in the spot where I was at the beginning of my mental health journey. They are to different extents learning that life isn’t fair.

I also know I am not counsellor, psychologist or social worker. I can lend an ear and listen.

When it comes to mental health, you need different games plans for each individual.

In order to figure out that plan, I will advise friends to seek out the help of a professional. In some cases, you might need to actually see a professional just once or twice to figure that plan out.

In other cases, it might take more visits with a professional to figure out the best path in the journey.

For myself, I have a lot more awareness. I am lot more alert to when I am off and what triggered me to being off. That alertness helps me pull myself out of funk.

My look at the Art Hauser Centre on November 21, 2020.

With that said, what works for me isn’t what is going to work for everyone.

There is so much in life that can’t be controlled.

I pray everyone that is struggling can find their path to navigate the waters in their mental health journeys.

If that first step requires someone to lend an ear, I will do my best to stop and listen.

If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com. My Bell Let’s Talk post from last year called “A big mental health challenge is learning to take a break” can be found right here. A piece from 2019 called “Those facing mental health challenges can still be great in all parts of life” can be found right here. A piece from 2018 called “Being content can become a mental health challenge” can be round right here. A piece from 2017 called “Recognizing and respecting triggers is key for mental health” can be found right here. A piece from 2016 called “Feeling connected calms the mental health seas” can be found right here. A piece called “My Mental Health Story” can be found right here. Another post I like that I wrote in February of 2015 about my mental health journey call “Huskies hockey was good for me” can be found right here.

-------

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

COVID-19 pandemic times lead to rediscoveries

Visiting my Dad’s resting place in Regina.

    It has been great to have weekends again for an extended stretch.

    That has been one of the many rediscoveries I’ve come across during these coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic times.

    For the last 20 years, I really haven’t had regular weekends over a lengthy span of time due to making a career covering sports events. When massive shutdowns started to occur on March 11 and 12 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, my weekends opened up.

    With all that noted, I miss covering sports events a great deal. The clock in my head keeps telling me the Saskatoon Hilltops should be well into their CJFL regular season.

I’ve enjoyed getting out to cut the grass during the pandemic.

    The 2020 CJFL season is one of many things that have been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Even with local baseball and softball starting up in early July and the Saskatoon Stock Car Racing Association springing to action at the Wyant Group Raceway on Aug. 8, the last sports event I covered with a focus and intensity was the Saskatoon Contacts getting eliminated from the Saskatchewan Under-18 AAA Hockey League playoffs on March 12 at Merlis Belsher Place.

    The Contacts fell 5-3 to the Moose Jaw Warriors, who swept a best-of-five league semifinal series 3-0.

    Well over five months have passed since that game was played, and weekends have become actual weekends. There is anticipation when Friday arrives and a dread when Monday rolls around.

Yes, I own the DVDs to the “Disney” Star Wars trilogy.

    I haven’t had this many weekends in a row that have been actually weekends where you can have down time since the summer of 2000.

    During weekends, I will do things that need to be attended to at home like clearing snow or cutting the grass depending on what season it is. When the pandemic got real in Saskatoon, winter was still on in full force.

    It seemed like it didn’t start to get warm outside until the beginning of May, and it has been warm ever since.

    On weekends, I will do my workouts in my weight room in the basement. I’ve gotten used to watching movies on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights.

I used the Denver Broncos to win the Super Bowl in Madden.

    I’ve actually found a new joy in just hanging on the homestead on Saturday nights.

    On Saturdays and Sundays, I can often be found playing a game or two of Madden 2008 on my PlayStation 2, or I can be seen venturing on a long bike trip through the city.

    For the first time in like five years, I’ve started and completed a regular season of Madden inside of a calendar year. I can’t remember when was the last time I finished a Madden season inside of six months.

    I used the Denver Broncos and the Carolina Panthers just to be different and have fun. The Broncos ended up winning the Super Bowl over the Panthers 56-28.

    Besides creating storylines on Madden, I got to have a little fun in the statistics department.

The Denver Broncos raise the Super Bowl trophy in Madden.

    With the Panthers, I signed a younger computer generated quarterback with a 99 overall rating and receiver Calvin Johnston, who was nicknamed in real life “Megatron.”

    Johnston had a 98 overall rating when he was signed and was boosted up to a 99 overall rating by the end of the season. I had Johnson catch 83 passes for 2,398 yards and 23 touchdowns appearing in all 16 regular season games.

    I’ve re-watched a lot of Star Wars movies including all three that are part of the “Disney” trilogy.

    I rediscovered the 1980s animated television shows for Transformer, G.I. Joe and Robotech. I viewed the Transformers shows off old VCR tapes I own.

    I started out watching G.I. Joe and Robotech episodes on YouTube.

A pandemic DVD purchase. Can’t go wrong with 1980s G.I. Joe.

    I later bought a couple of DVD sets of G.I. Joe television shows from the 1980s at Hi-Tech Gametraders in Confederation Mall in Saskatoon.

    I totally endorse shopping at Hi-Tech Gametraders, which is a good local Saskatoon business.

    I found the complete Robotech series on DVD for sale online in the United States and purchased it and had it shipped to my place in Saskatoon.

    The DVD sets were pandemic buys, because I likely wouldn’t have bought them had the world gone on like it normally would.

    I finally made a road trip for the first time in the pandemic traveling to Regina on Aug. 19 and 20. I brought my mountain bike to Regina, and biked there for the first time in 10 years.

    In a cool twist, the mountain bike I road in Regina was the same one I won following the University of Regina Cougars women’s basketball team to U Sports nationals in Thunder Bay, Ont., in 1999.

Another pandemic DVD purchase. Robotech is still cool.

    I won the bike hitting a half-court shot during a halftime competition at the tournament’s championship game.

    I’ve only hit a half-court shot one other time in my life since.

    During my Regina stop, I visited the resting place of my late father, Dan Steinke.

    While it was great to finally hit the highway again, I’ve discovered during the pandemic that I have grown comfortable with being a home body.
    I haven’t been a home body since I was in Grade 9.

    Still, it does suck that the world hasn’t progressed in a normal fashion specifically in North America since early March. When the pandemic does end, I hope I can become active again covering the sports teams in the hockey and football world that I’ve covered over 24 years before the pandemic started.

    There are no guarantees that will happen as that depends on how events in the world play out the longer the pandemic goes.

In the pandemic, I plan to keep making the best with the cards dealt my way.

    With that noted, I am going to continue to rediscovering doing a few things I used to do in taking advantage of the cards that have been dealt to me in the present.

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

-------                                     

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

Madden 2008 finally came out in these COVID-19 days

I dug out Madden 2008 for the PlayStation 2.

    Madden 2008 made its first appearance at my household during these COVID-19 self-isolation times.

    On Friday night, I finally dug out the PlayStation 2 and fired up the Madden 2008 video game. The franchise I was using was in off-season mode, so I didn’t play any actual full out games.

    I spent a couple of hours working through the very realistic off-season that was created in the game. In future versions of Madden, the off-season was toned down to fit with the hyper fast life most of North American society lives.

    Still, real football geeks more tilted to the fantasy side love the off-season mode in Madden 2008. I like it too, but I normally wouldn’t find time to play through something like that.

With society being shut down, I have been in the home office lots.

    With society being shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I worked my off-season up to training camp and played through a couple of drills before packing it in for the night.

    Even just for playing the off-season, it was a fun change of pace.

    Over the past week, I think I have come to accept the fact the world won’t snap back to the way it was before the shutdowns that started to happen in North America on March 11 to try and prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.

    At the moment, it is pretty safe to say the local sports world that I am involved in won’t be resuming normal activity for some time yet or at least until governments at all levels start lifting emergency measures and some travel restrictions.

I pulled out the Wayne Gretzky jersey on Thursday.

    While many things have shut down, I still kept busy this week. Usually, WHL playoffs would have started during this period of time, and I would be hyper busy.

    This week, I have been busy at a steady controllable pace.

    One thing I feel that has gone away for myself is the daily anxiety when it comes to checking messages and social media links for the first time each day. When the shutdowns first started to happen, I dreaded turning on any electronic device to see what new measures governments at any level might be bringing in.

    I like socializing, and I worried what it was going to be like to not be out at sporting events. A lot of my work involves getting out and meeting people.

    Over this past week, it hasn’t bothered me to work from home. Actually, most places I do to or spend time at away from home are now closed, so it is easy to spend time at home.

    With the extra time I have during the day, I have started into a habit of sleeping in. I’ve come to the conclusion that is allowing me to have the extra energy I need to carry on through the day and face anything that comes up.

I suspect I won’t be taking pictures of moments like these any time soon.

    Right now, there is so much uncertainty about how the world will unfold under the COVID-19 pandemic.

    The sports world, especially at the professional level, is really at the mercy of what governments elect to do with their emergency measures and travel bans.

    Even the Summer Olympic Games have been postponed until next year.

    Right now, there is so much speculation going around it is hard to know what to believe. There has been a fear the MLB, CFL, and U.S. college football seasons could be totally called off.

    I’ve heard speculation that society would be smart to stay in lockdown for a year.

    I’ve heard other speculation that this could let up in a month or two months.

The streets in my Saskatoon neighbourhood are quiet.

    Rod Pedersen, who does recovery and addictions work along with sports broadcasting, said and wrote the world is in a state of trauma.

    He said the two definitions of trauma he learned are “any situation your brain can’t comprehend,” or “a deeply distressing or disturbing event.”

    The COVID-19 pandemic is something the brain can’t comprehend, and it is an event that is deeply distressing or disturbing. I am pretty certain the world is experiencing trauma.

    As I have said before, I am just taking things day by day, because that is all anyone can control is how they react daily to something when it unfolds. The governments of the world have chosen their courses of action, and they aren’t going to change.

I’ve spent time reflecting and wondering when things will be normal.

    It feels weird to have not seen or covered a live sporting event since March 12.

    I try not to look too far ahead in the future, because that fuels anxiety. I am mindful that the world will likely be very different when the COVID-19 pandemic runs its course compared to where the world was before it started.

    In Canada, that last normal day was likely March 10.

    I hope this will be over by the middle of May, or the outlook will be better even two weeks from now. That is also an unknown.

    Until then, I just worry about finishing the most pressing task I need to get done that day, and try to spend some down time with family and friends.

    It is really the only way to proceed right now.

Robins cleans up on Blades awards, other notes

Tristen Robins won four Blades team awards.

    Tristen Robins was the man of the hour, when the Saskatoon Blades announced their team awards on Thursday night.

    The 18-year-old sophomore centre from Clear Lake, Man., had a breakout campaign leading the Blades in scoring with 33 goals and 40 assists for 73 points in 62 regular season games. Robins, who stands 5-foot-10 and weighs 173 pounds, posted a plus-16 rating in the plus-minus department.

    Thanks to his efforts, Robins was named the WHL team’s top defensive forward, the most gentlemanly player, best forward and most valuable player.

    Due to government restrictions against gatherings of over 10 people at the present time, the Blades weren’t able to hand out their team awards after the final game of their regular season or at a team function.

    They neatly rolled out their awards via Twitter on Thursday night. They were able to produce great short videos with team supporters announcing the award winners.

    Captain Chase Wouters was another multiple award winner being named the club’s hardest working player and taking the team’s community minded award.
    Overager Scott Walford was named the Blades best defenceman. Left-winger Colton Dach, who was playing through his 16-year-old season, claimed honours as the Blades rookie of the year.

Captain Chase Wouters won two Blades team awards.

    Overage defenceman Nolan Kneen took home honours as the Blades hardest hitter. Sophomore rearguard Aidan De La Gorgendiere claimed the award as the club’s most improved player.

    Rookie 16-year-old centre Jayden Wiens claimed the Bentley Memorial Academic Award.

    Feisty overage left-winger Riley McKay captured the Fan’s Choice Award as the team’s favourite player for a second straight campaign.

    The Blades fan of the year award was given to Ryan Collinge.

    The Blades had locked up a playoff berth for the second straight season and had a 34-24-2-3 record in the regular season before the CHL cancelled the remainder of the regular season and entire post-season in the 2019-20 campaign due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

• The Blades have to love the fact they have Mitch Bach as their new manager of communications. Bach was a skilled broadcast sports journalist, who spent a lengthy stretch at CHAT Television in Medicine Hat, Alta. The tribute videos he created for the Blades digital networks for overage players Kneen and McKay have been outstanding. The video for Walford is slated to run at 11 a.m. on Sunday.
• While there is great excitement in Regina the historic Pats will get to select Connor Bedard first overall in the WHL Bantam Draft on April 22, Saskatoon got to enjoy watching two highly touted bantam draft prospects play this past season. Forwards Brayden Yager and Riley Heidt had outstanding seasons playing as underage players for the Saskatoon Contacts midget AAA team. Yager had 18 goals and 24 assists appearing in all of the Contacts 44 regular season games. Heidt also played in all of the Contacts 44 regular season games piling up 17 goals and 20 assists. Bedard has exceptional player status to allow him to play full time in the WHL as a 15-year-old. Yager and Heidt were prospects for the exceptional status tag, but there hasn’t been any word if either of them would get that tag. Even if they don’t get that tag, they will be great additions for the WHL teams they join.
• With most gyms closed across the country and everyone trying to stay home as much as possible due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I’ve seen pictures of a handful of home gyms come across various social media lines. Most have a partial old school feeling to them. Some of the coolest I’ve seen have been courtesy of track and field star Sage Watson, Hamilton Tiger-Cats long snapper Aaron Crawford, Saskatoon Hilltops receiver/kicker and star curler Rylan Kleiter and Hilltops alum and University of Regina Rams defensive lineman Garth Knittng.
• Big props to the crew I work with at the Gordie Howe Sports Complex for the newsletter that was put out this week. The lead front page column dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic and sports was outstanding. Just to note, I did not have a hand in writing it, but it is fantastic. You can check it out by clicking right here.

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

-------                                     

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

Agar more than just a power running back for Riot

Carmen Agar (#23) of the Riots gets past Shaylyn de Jong of the Valkyries.

    It might sound cliché, but Carmen Agar of the Regina Riot is like the Energizer Bunny, because she just keeps going and going.

    The 24-year-old power tailback is in her sixth season running mainly in between the tackles for the Riot. In churning out yards in a cloud of dust, Agar absorbs a large share of hits, but she isn’t showing any signs of slowing down.

    She is consistent too. Whenever the Riot hit a rut moving the ball offensively, they give the ball to #23 and the team always seems to get going again.

    While her ability to run over the opposition is her calling card, Agar is actually a very complete running back. That was seen in the Western Women’s Canadian Football League Prairie Conference championship game on Sunday, when the host Riot downed the defending WWCFL champion Saskatoon Valkyries 34-24 in the last competitive tackle football game ever played at Taylor Field.

Riot RB Carmen Agar (#23) pushes past Nichole LaVallee of the Valkyries.

    Agar carried the ball 13 times for 111 yards and scored two touchdowns along the ground. She also caught four passes for 50 yards to lead the Riot in both of those categories.

    What sometimes can get lost is the fact Agar can take off in the open field, and she has excellent hands catching passes out of the backfield. If the Riot ever needed it, Agar could have the type of game where she gets over 100 yards rushing and receiving in the same game.

    On top of her abilities to gain yards, Agar can block as well and allow Riot star quarterback Aimee Kowalski to get the ball out to a group of talented receivers.

    Agar played a key role in helping the Riot return to the WWCFL title game for the second time in three years. Regina claimed the WWCFL title in 2015 defeating the Edmonton Storm 53-6 in Winnipeg.

Carmen Agar (#23) throws a block on a running play.

    The Riot, who are 5-1 overall, face the Calgary Rage, who are 4-0 overall, on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. in this year’s WWCFL title game at Saskatoon Minor Football Field in Saskatoon. The Valkyries, who are 4-2 overall, take on the Edmonton Storm, who are 2-3 overall, in a consolation final at 5:15 p.m. on Saturday at SMF Field.

    In Sunday’s win over the Valkyries, Agar helped get momentum back on the Riot’s side, when her team needed it the most. After Regina took a 21-3 lead early in the third quarter, Saskatoon stormed back with 13 straight points to cut the host’s edge to 21-16 going into the fourth quarter.

    Early in the fourth quarter, Riot linebacker Artemis Kouropoulou blocked a punt from Valkyries receiver/kicker Carly Dyck near midfield. 

Carmen Agar, middle, scores her second TD in the WWCFL Prairie final.

    Agar went to work churning out yards on the ground and scoring her second major of the game to put the hosts up 28-16. Momentum was back on the Regina’s side, and that surge helped push the Riot to victory.

    On the field, Agar looks to be in the best physical shape she has ever been in, and the 2017 campaign has the potential to be a very memorable one. Besides the chance to help the Riot win a second WWCFL title, Agar will play for Canada at the International Federation of American Football Women’s World Championship, which runs June 24 to 30 in Langley, B.C., with eight of her Riot teammates.

    Aimee Kowalski, her sister Alex Kowalski, Kouropoulou, Adrienne Zuck, Ashley Viklund, Katie Hungle, Claire Dore and Emilie Belanger will all be on the Canadian team. 

Carmen Agar (#23) celebrates a TD with her teammates.

    Riot head coach Olivier Eddie will be the special teams coordinator and receivers coach for the national team.

    Last year, Agar had a strong showing on the national stage at Football Canada’s in augural Senior Women’s National Championship tournament, which was held in Regina. In the event’s championship game, Agar piled up 137 yards rushing on 20 carries and scored a touchdown to help Team Saskatchewan down Team Quebec 34-22.

    It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Agar turn heads on the international stage later this month.

    Agar keeps on going and keeps getting better. There is no telling how good she may get.

Madden football a preferable house visit from Roughriders

The Roughriders do a cheer after their mock game last Saturday.

    Hmm…. If I had members of the Saskatchewan Roughriders over to my place for a social get together, I think I would prefer a Madden video game football party over dinner.

    Knowing how offensive and defensive lineman can eat, I think having a Madden party would be a wiser social encounter. For football teams at all levels, normally one of the common away from the game bonding experiences is playing Madden football at someone’s house.

    When everyone arrives, everyone throws in money for pizza or takeout. Often, the Madden party is done on the cheat day, when it comes to getting a break from eating healthy.

    So you are liking this baby that came out of the blue?

    I got the inspiration to write that when I received a trio of emails on Monday saying Saskatchewan Roughriders play-by-play voice Rod Pedersen was taking shots at me. I checked his blog post on Monday and got a chuckle over it. I think the “taking shots” idea might have been a little overblown.

    Anyways, Pedersen was responding to a blog post I posted on June 1 regarding familiarity with players on the Roughriders roster. He wrote that he took “umbrage” with a “Who are these guys” comment I wrote.

    There was a mention about getting over the fact that players like Darian Durant, John Chick, Weston Dressler and Chris Getzlaf are no longer with the team. On a side note, the Roughriders still haven’t played a regular season game since Durant’s rights were traded to the Montreal Alouettes in January.

    Pedersen also didn’t mention my name in his piece.

    He asked if I expected the current Roughriders to show up at my place for dinner.

    That expectation never crossed my mind or was it ever expected, but like late CFL icon Cal Murphy, I don’t mind being the host for a visit. Unfortunately, I don’t think I could match Murphy’s level at being a real good host. I’ve visited Murphy at home, so I would know.

    With that said, my mind began to think about a possible good team bonding activity. I figured a Madden football party would be perfect.

    I remember NFL legend Brett Favre saying jokingly in an interview once there are guys in the pros that likely know their Madden playbooks better than their actual playbooks. The comment reveals how addictive that game can be even for grown men.

    During Madden parties with football teams, I always find guys get into situations where they like to tease each other in a good-natured way or just have overall fun cheering big plays.

    The only downfall is all the versions of Madden I have are older ones. Life kinds of gets in the way of pursuits like playing video games.

    My newest version is Madden 11 for the Playstation 2. 

    I have four versions of Madden for the Sega Genesis including a cartridge of the original Madden football.

My collection of Madden football games.

    If you want to really go down memory lane and see a real blast from the past in video football game history, I could dig out the old Nintendo Entertainment System to play “Tecmo Super Bowl.”

    I could see that developing into situations where guys are using the Los Angeles Raiders to play the Los Angeles Raiders, because everyone knows Bo Jackson is “The Truth” in that game.

    Hey, it would definitely provide a break from Roughriders practices and video study sessions.

    Actually during the regular season, the Roughriders communications department should do a story about who is the best at Madden football on the team. It would make for hilarious video.

    On the dinner front, I wouldn’t mind hanging out with an individual player getting a meal in the lounge of a nice restaurant, where sports is on television. Back in 2011, I had a great impromptu dinner with then Saskatchewan Roughriders defensive back Lance Frazer at the Earl’s lounge on the east side of Regina the night before that year’s Labour Day Classic.

    We had a great visit and talked about all sorts of subjects. To top things off, the Roughriders won the next day.

    In Saskatoon, Cactus Club Café is a great classy spot to pick up a nice meal. That spot has traditionally been great bring members of the Saskatoon Valkyries women’s football team and the Saskatoon Hilltops Canadian Junior Football League team on as staff, so eating there helps those individuals out too.

    The players I would like to eat out with at the Cactus Club Café with would be receiver Duron Carter or receiver Nic Demski. From Carter, I would love to hear his take on what the interactions between his father, legendary NFL receiver Cris Carter, and colourful late NFL coach Buddy Ryan were actually like.

    As for Demski, he once played for the University of Manitoba Bisons football team, so I would love to hear more comical stories involving Bisons head coach Brian Dobie.

    I have a few stories Murphy told me that I always get pumped to retell to anyone of any walk of life.

    On the serious front, I know how much of a CFL players’ time is eaten away with preparation. Anytime you get a free moment, you dash to spend it with family. If social interactions occur with players, they will develop over time.

    The interactions I’ve had with Roughriders players in the past have all developed over time as part of regular life.

    As far as my “Who are these guys” line goes, that is an old Sun Media tabloid technique reflective of that company’s days before being owned by Postmedia. It was the eye-catching and maybe over the top line to draw a person into the piece. I believe it worked.

    I think I did a good job in that piece painting a picture of that moment in time about a fan’s difficulty in figuring the “who is who” on the Roughriders. That realization hit me the first time I saw the team live at a workout. A few fans in public have come up to me and shared those same comments.

    Of course, you always have people that don’t agree with what you say, and I am all good with it.

    Pedersen’s line with the dinner reference also reflects Sun media-type tabloid writing before that company was purchased by Postmedia.

    When it comes to writing about the Roughriders in his blog, Pedersen will at times have the tone of “us against the world” towards those that write anything that is viewed at taking a shot towards the current team and also fall extremely heavily on the homer side.

An all-time classic video game.

    Hey, a sizable minority of Roughriders fans exist that have an “us against the world” attitude when it comes to following the team if you say anything against the team. To me it is all fun and good.
    There are a number of fans that identify with what Pedersen writes, and I enjoy what he writes. It is all part of the game.

    There are a lot of times when any type of bad comments or press are good business. I know a lot of bosses at big mainstream media companies usually direct employees to ignore individuals that have exited from the mainstream to keep those individuals out of sight and out of mind. That includes individuals that are members of sports Hall of Fames.

    Pedersen’s brief post sent a few readers my way even if my name wasn’t mentioned, so I thank him for that. Plus, it allowed me to have fun writing this part of my post.

    If you want to see my post regarding familiarity of cheering on the Roughriders, you can do so by clicking here.

    If you want to see the part in Pedersen’s post about what I wrote, it is point “number nine” and you find it by clicking here.

Blades prospect Maier off to Hockey Canada goalie camp

    Saskatoon Blades prospect goaltender Nolan Maier will get a chance to ingrain himself on Hockey Canada’s radar.

    The 16-year-old product from Yorkton, Sask., will be one of 30 netminders that will take part on Hockey Canada’s 12^th annual Program of Excellence goaltending camp. The camp starts Friday and runs through to Sunday in Calgary.

    Maier, who stands 5-foot-11 and weighs 160 pounds, will be one of 16 goalies looking to earn a spot at Canada’s national under-17 development camp later on this summer.

    The Blades selected Maier in the second round and 25^th overall in the 2016 WHL Bantam Draft. As a 15-year-old rookie in the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League, he had a strong campaign with the Yorkton Rawtec Maulers posting a 13-9 record, a 2.72 goals against average and a .920 save percentage.

    Maier represented Team Saskatchewan at the Western Canada Under-16 Challenge Cup in October of 2016.

    If Maier can keep improving, he could help the Blades potentially set up one of those more welcome situations for the coming season in goal at the major junior level, where you have an older starting goalie paired with a young apprentice goalie. That would mean pairing Maier with overage netminder Logan Flodell, who named to a WHL Eastern Conference second team all-star last season.

    With that noted, there is always the potential for things to happen between now and when training camp begins typically in the second half of August.

    There are a few goaltenders with WHL experience at the Hockey Canada Camp. Carl Stankowski of the Seattle Thunderbirds is one of seven netminders there at the under-18 level. Carter Hart of the Everett Silvertips, Ian Scott of the Prince Albert Raiders and Stuart Skinner of the Lethbridge Hurricanes are part of the group of seven netminders that are at the under-19 level.

    Hart was a member of Canada’s world junior team last season. Hart played in the gold medal game at the last world juniors on Jan. 5 in Montreal, where Canada fell 5-4 after a tiebreaking shootout to the United States.

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