U Sports backtracking on age cap welcome development in COVID-19 world

Yol Piok heads downfield after a big catch for the Huskies.

    It was a headache that wasn’t needed in the U Sports world.

    When the dust settled, it was good cooler heads prevail in the U Sports ranks with regards to the age cap rule for football.

    Under the age cap rule, players who turn 25 before Sept. 1 age out of U Sports football. Football players have seven years to complete their five years of eligibility in U Sports upon graduating from high school.

    On Monday, U Sports announced a review had been launched with regards to the eligibility policies relating to football. The anticipated completion of the review is slated for February of 2021.

    U Sports stated that due to the time frame of the review, it will provide a one-time exception to Policy 40.10.4.3.1.1 permitting all currently eligible student-athletes to participate in the 2021 football season even if they exceed the current policy before the start of the 2021 campaign.

    To put it in simple terms, any athlete that turns 25-years-old before Sept. 1, 2021 will be eligible to play in the 2021 U Sports football campaign.

Colton Klassen piles up the yards after the catch for the Huskies.

    This is important due to the fact U Sports cancelled all its fall national championships due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic back on June 8.

    The football cancellation included the Vanier Cup national title game and the semifinal contests in the Mitchell Bowl and Uteck Bowl. The Vanier Cup had been contested in every year starting with 1965.

    The Canada West Conference, Atlantic University Sport and Ontario University Athletics have all nixed plans to play regular seasons in 2020-21.

    The Reseau du sport etudiant du Quebec (RSEQ) is the only conference under the U Sports umbrella holding out hope of having a regular season in football in the 2020-21 campaign.

    Back on June 8, U Sports said student-athletes without U Sports national championships this season will not be charged eligibility and will remain eligible for athletic scholarships. At the time, there was no word regarding the age cap for football.

    That all changed on July 9, when  TSN broadcaster Farhan Lalji reported over Twitter that U Sports had voted against extending the age cap rule for football by a year due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Kyler Mosley (#85) secures a catch for the Rams.

    That initial tweet caused a surge of stories to come out of various media outlets in the mainstream and non-mainstream that were almost all of the uproar variety.

    University of Alberta Golden Bears head coach Chris Morris stepped down as the head of both a university football coaches’ committee and a technical subcommittee over the initial decision regarding the age cap.

    With U Sports announcing its review of football eligibility and giving a one-time exception to the current age cap policy, it allows around 300 athletes to know their U Sports football careers won’t come to a sudden end due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

    On the University of Saskatchewan Huskies front, that means star utility offensive player Colton Klassen, running back Jace Peters, receiver Yol Piok, offensive right tackle Nick Summach and receiver Joseph Trumpy will all be eligible to play in 2021.

    On the University of Regina Rams front, that means linebackers Robbie Lowes and Cody Peters, defensive lineman Cameron Cross, fullback Colton Hippe and receivers Sam Mike and Kyler Mosley can suit up in 2021.

Nick Summach (#62) leads a running play downfield for the Huskies.

    Of course, U Sports announced their decision in a way via political speak to try and show they weren’t reversing course on the original decision to hold firm with the age cap.
    At this moment, it is a waste of time to get emotionally worked up with regards to the political speak.

    Ultimately, U Sports made the right decision. Those that couldn’t play their final season of U Sports football due to the 2020 campaign being cancelled will be able to hit the field in 2021. That is the big thing right now.

    The overall work in progress debate of eligibility for football in U Sports is something that can be worked on over the next seven or so months.

    When the COVID-19 pandemic ends, it will be a huge benefit to U Sports to return as many veteran players as possible in every sports league under its umbrella. The familiarity will be needed in an attempt to bring back fans.

Bubble visit will be short for some NHL teams, other notes

A Carey Price card.

    For eight NHL teams, their restarts will be a just blip on the radar.

    On Saturday, the NHL begins its 2020 playoffs with a 24-team tournament playing in the bubble cities of Edmonton and Toronto. The Western Conference teams play in Edmonton, while the Eastern Conference teams skate in Toronto.

    The first round features eight play-in series that are best of five in length and will feature 16 out of the 24 teams in the post-season. The other eight teams will be playing round robin games against each other for playoff seeding for what is termed the official first round, where the 16 remaining teams will play in eight series that are best of seven in length.

    At the moment, the final day for the qualifying round of games is Aug. 9. That means eight teams will have left or be leaving their bubble cities on Aug. 10 to head into the off-season.

    Those clubs will have been back together for the period of a month considering training camps began for the 24 NHL teams taking part in post-season play in July 10.

    The NHL paused its 2019-20 campaign on March 12 due to the world falling in the grips of the COVID-19 pandemic. During the pause, it was decided the circuit would try to finish the 2019-20 campaign with a 24-team playoff tournament starting on Aug. 1.

    For the teams that will be eliminate in the play-in series round, the modified playoffs provided a month reprieve for what is an extend off-season. Those players went four months without being together, got together for a month and then resumed off-season activities until possibly going to training camp for the 2020-21 campaign.

A Jonathan Toews card.

    At the moment, the 2020-21 campaign is slated to start with training camps opening on Nov. 17 depending how the pandemic plays out.

    Actually, the 24-team tournament is going to go by very rapidly reducing the number of teams that are staying in the bubble cities.

    After the play-in series wrap up, the 16 remaining teams begin the official first round of the playoffs on Aug. 11 and action in that round is expected to be wrapped up by Aug. 24 eliminating another eight teams. Those eight clubs will have been together for a month and a half.

    For the clubs that advance to the quarter-final round, the conference finals and the Stanley Cup final, the post-season will feel like more of a marathon grind.

    For the teams that are eliminated in the play-in round and the official first round, the post-season provides just a quick reprieve away from off-season activities.

    Even a hub city will be eliminated as the playoffs progress. The conference finals are slated to open on Sept. 8, and all action in that round and the Stanley Cup final will be played in Edmonton.

    Of course, only four teams will still be in action when the conference finals round takes place.

    For most players in the NHL, the playoffs will end seemingly as quickly as they began. For a lot of fans, they might find the post-season will go by in the blink of an eye assuming there are no complications from the COVID-19 pandemic.

• If you haven’t seen it, this story from CBC Saskatchewan raised a tonne of uproar this week. On Tuesday, Fiona Odlum and Bonnie Allen from CBC released a story that said five hockey teams from Saskatchewan with players aged seven to 12 traveled to Winnipeg for a tournament that ran July 16 to 19. The Government of Saskatchewan has said there is to be no interprovincial travel for sports teams. A number of the Saskatchewan hockey teams that attended the Winnipeg tournament changed their name, concealed the identity of players and told parents not to post anything on social media. One team coach that was contacted said he was on a fishing trip at the time of the tournament, but the CBC story stated there was a photo that showed that team coach was indeed in Winnipeg. The CBC story can be found by clicking right here.
• On Thursday, CBC’s Alex Soloducha wrote a story about how Saskatoon attorney David Samuel trained to get into the best shape of his life, when COVID-19 cases began popping up in Canada. After someone infected with the virus passed through his law office, Samuel is now battling the COVID-19 virus. The CBC piece on Samuel can be found by clicking right here.
• In the MLB, the Miami Marlins and Philadelphia Phillies haven’t return to action since completing a three-game series against each other this past Sunday in Philadelphia. That series opened the respective regular seasons of both clubs. The season was stopped for both clubs after a COVID-19 breakout on the Marlins roster. As of Thursday, 17 players and two coaches from the Marlins had tested positive for COVID-19. The Phillies have had one coach and one clubhouse staffer test positive for COVID-19 as of Thursday. Both teams aren’t slated to play again until this coming Tuesday, when they are scheduled to face each other in Miami.
• On Thursday, Patrick Johnston of the Vancouver Province reported the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks gave a written termination notice to 49 people employed on a full-time basis in its business operations staff on Wednesday. It is estimated roughly 200 people work in the Canucks business office. Johnston’s story can be found by clicking right here.
• On Tuesday, Gregg Drinnan put together another round up about how the COVID-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc on the sports world in his Taking Note blog. As usual, Drinnan provides a sobering reality check. His piece can be found by clicking right here.

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

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Age cap rule hurts U Sports football in COVID-19 times

Nick Summach (#62) leads a running play downfield for the Huskies.

    It was a tough to digest piece of news that dropped for football players in U Sports.

    On Thursday, TSN broadcaster Farhan Lalji reported over Twitter that U Sports had voted against extending the age cap rule for football by a year due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. That initial tweet caused a surge of stories to come out of various media outlets in the mainstream and non-mainstream.

    University of Alberta Golden Bears head coach Chris Morris stepped down as the head of both a university football coaches’ committee and a technical subcommittee over this move.

    Of course, this became a big story in U Sports circles, because back on June 8, U Sports cancelled all its fall national championships due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

    The football cancellation included the Vanier Cup national title game and the semifinal contests in the Mitchell Bowl and Uteck Bowl. The Vanier Cup had been contested in every year starting with 1965.

    The Reseau du sport etudiant du Quebec (RSEQ) is the only conference under the U Sports umbrella holding out hope of having a regular season in football in the 2020-21 campaign.

Colton Klassen heads up field for the Huskies.

    The Canada West Conference, Atlantic University Sport and Ontario University Athletics have all nixed plans to play regular seasons in 2020-21.

    Back on June 8, U Sports said student-athletes without U Sports national championships this season will not be charged eligibility and will remain eligible for athletic scholarships. At the time, there was no word regarding the age cap for football.

    Under the age cap rule, players who turn 25 before Sept. 1 age out of U Sports football. Football players have seven years to complete their five years of eligibility in U Sports upon graduating from high school.

    Any player who would have gone into their final year of eligibility for U Sports football in the cancelled 2020 season will see their career come to an end. According to U Sports, this affects approximately 300 out of 2,335 athletes.

    On top of that, a large number of veteran players will also lose a year of eligibility under this decision.

    While discussions have come up regarding concerns of more physically mature older athletes going up against younger not as physically mature recent high school graduates, all that talk takes away from the issue in the current day.

Yol Piok heads downfield after a big catch for the Huskies

    The athletes that are getting slighted are being slighted by a factor outside of anyone’s control in the COVID-19 pandemic.

    When U Sports does resume action after the pandemic, it will be in a rebuilding state. That goes for all sports operating under the U Sports umbrella.

    On the football side, you don’t want to be casting aside veteran players, who could help trigger name recognition whenever action resumes.

    At the moment, the University of Saskatchewan Huskies football team is looking at not being able to return star utility offensive player Colton Klassen, running back Jace Peters, receiver Yol Piok, offensive right tackle Nick Summach and receiver Joseph Trumpy.

    In the CFL Draft that was held on April 30, Summach was selected in seventh round and 57^th overall by the Edmonton Eskimos. Klassen was picked in the eighth round and 69^th overall by the Montreal Alouettes.

    All five of those players are fairly well known in the football community of Saskatoon. Klassen is one of the best known Huskies.

Jace Peters rumbles downfield on a run for the Huskies.

    Their returns to the Huskies could bridge action before and after the stoppage due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

    The University of Regina Rams face the same challenges on this front. They are looking to be without linebacker Cody Peters, who should be able to play one more season but is going to age out.

    Peters had a stellar five-year career winning five straight CJFL titles with the venerable Saskatoon Hilltops. He was named the CJFL’s defensive player of the year in 2018.

    Before rejoining the Hilltops for his final CJFL season 2018, Peters attended training camp for the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders. Following his time with the Hilltops, Peters joined the Rams.

    Peters is known in the football community in Regina and throughout Saskatchewan.

    Due to the fact there won’t be a 2020 season for U Sports football thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, some U Sports football players will be making critical life decisions about whether they will continue to play football or move on to another phase of their lives.

    For recruits that just graduated from high school and were planning to join a U Sports football team as a rookie in 2020, those recruits might ultimately decide not to play and focus on other educational or working world opportunities.

Joseph Trumpy makes a big catch for the Huskies.

    Taking a year away from playing meaningful games throws a wrench into the plans of every player. They don’t need to be given any extra incentive to not play.

    On top of all that, football is the only sport under the U Sports umbrella that has to follow an age cap rule. Just from that perspective, it would be fair to eliminate the age cap rule and make football eligibility mirror that of the other sports in U Sports.

    When these pandemic times come to an end, it is likely you won’t see the U Sports football teams filled with veterans in the starting ranks who are aged 26 and 27. That was a trend in the late 1990s and early to mid 2000s.

    This time around concern has to centre on just getting the sport of football going again just like any other sport that is governed by U Sports.

NHL will provide good distraction if show goes on, other notes

The Oilers, seen here in a 2017 pre-season game, are hub city NHL hosts.

    Fan chatter on the NHL is starting to trickle through on social media lines.

    If the circuit can execute its return to play out in two hub cities in Edmonton and Toronto, it will provide a good distraction for sports fans in Canada in these COVID-19 pandemic times.

    The NHL is resuming the paused 2019-20 campaign with a 24-team playoff tournament. Teams are slated to report for training camps on July 13.

    The post-season is scheduled to begin on Aug. 1 with five games that open five different best-of-five play-in series. A total of 16 teams are taking part in the play-in round to determine eight clubs that will advance to the main 16-team post-season bracket.

    The Boston Bruins, Tampa Bay Lightning, Washington Capitals, Philadelphia Flyers, St. Louis Blues, Colorado Avalanche, Vegas Golden Knights and Dallas Stars have been placed in the main 16-team bracket.

    All of the post-season games will be played in Edmonton and Toronto. Both the Edmonton Oilers and Toronto Maple Leafs held off until Friday before making official announcements that their centres would indeed be hub cities.

    That development is convenient for Canadian sports networks that dump tonnes of resources into television coverage of these games.

    Those networks don’t have to fear dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic border restrictions between Canada and the United States due to all the post-season games being played in Canada.

    Over the past couple of days, you are starting to see a social media post two coming from fans who believe the team they support will win the playoff tournament and capture the Stanley Cup.

    If the playoffs can progress to crowning a Stanley Cup champion, fan chatter will likely increase to the point where you won’t know that a pandemic is indeed going on.

    If the playoff tournament gets derailed by positive COVID-19 tests that results in a team or teams dropping out or the post-season not get completed, the fans that want to watch the league for the distraction will likely just go silent.

    Critics that don’t want the NHL to jump back into action will likely become more vocal and might even gloat over the failure.

    For the moment, fans that just want to see games just to have a distraction have something to look forward to.

• On Wednesday, Sportsnet announced it was trimming its six-stop Grand Slam of Curling circuit to just two events next season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The first slam event will be the Players’ Championship set for Toronto from April 13 to 18 in 2021. The second event will be the Champions Cup set for Olds, Alta., starting on April 27, 2021 running to May 2, 2021. The Grand Slam of Curling stops are part of the World Curling Tour seasonal calendar.
• Gregg Drinnan has been doing ace work in rounding up the havoc the COVID-19 pandemic is playing on the sports world, especially in the hard hit United States, in his Taking Note blog. His round up from Friday can be found by clicking right here, and the round up from Thursday can be found by clicking right here. The amount of positive tests, postponements and cancellations keep piling up.
• On a sobering note, the United States has hit the point where just over one out of every 100 persons in that country has contracted COVID-19 at some point this year. At the time this post went live, the United States had 3,355,646 total COVID-19 cases this year for a country that has a population of just over 331,060,000. Worldwide deaths this year from COVID-19 at 567,628 at the time of this post have passed total deaths by suicide, which sit at 566,508.
• While U Sports decision to hold firm on the football age cap was disappointing for many, Dick White, who is the U Sports interim Chief Executive Officer, is still the right person to lead that sports body through these trouble current pandemic days. White has a strong passion for U Sports and has experience dealing with tough financial times as the director of athletics for the University of Regina. Like most sports bodies in Canada, U Sports is in for a tough road ahead.
• Baseball and softball got going at the house and city league levels this past week in Saskatoon. It was a great site to see various diamonds in action around the city. Many have their figures crossed that this great development continues.

    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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    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.

Riley’s day – Huskies OL goes seventh overall to Roughriders

Mattland Riley will be looking to open up huge holes for the Roughriders.

    Mattland Riley will become the latest to live out the Saskatchewan football dream, and he totally deserves that opportunity.

    On Thursday, the Melfort, Sask., product and left guard with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies football team was selected in the first round and seventh overall by the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the CFL Draft. 
    Riley’s selection helps the Huskies uphold their reputation as “O-line U” as the storied U Sports program has a history of sending numerous offensive linemen to the Canadian professional ranks over the years.

    The 23-year-old becomes the latest player to go on the journey of growing up in a smaller Saskatchewan learning the game of football there, moving on to the university ranks and finding his way to the province’s CFL team.

    Riley, who stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 300 pounds, played high school football in the nine-man ranks with his hometown Melfort and Unit Comprehensive Collegiate Comets before joining the Huskies in the U Sports ranks.

    Over the past two seasons, Riley piled up the individual accolades with the Huskies.

Mattland Riley has been an elite pass protector.

    In 2018, Riley was a Canada West all-star and a second team U Sports all-Canadian all-star. He helped the Huskies win the Hardy Cup as Canada West Conference champions.

    In 2019, Riley was again named a Canada West all-star and a first team U Sports all-Canadian all-star. The Huskies finished second in the Canada West Conference with a 5-3 record and advanced to the Hardy Cup title game falling 29-4 to the eventual U Sports champions and Vanier Cup winners in the University of Calgary Dinos.

    Riley, who has used four years of U Sports eligibility, has all the physical tools to succeed at the professional level. He is really skilled at using his hands to tie up the hands and arms of on-rushing defensive linemen.

    The engineering major has smarts too.

    On top of all that, Riley is pretty down to earth, easy going and enjoys each day as it comes. He is pretty humble and never likes to have himself put in front of his teammates as individual awards pile up.

    When he arrives with the Roughriders, he is going to find he has a lot in common personality wise with veteran star offensive left guard in Brendon LaBatte, who grew up in Weyburn, Sask. The main difference between the two is LaBatte likes to race fast stock cars and does that as a hobby.

    Riley is one who legitimately puts the team first. He knows that if the team succeeds he will ultimately find success.

Mattland Riley, right, was a first team U Sports all-Canadian all-star.

    He always notes he plays along with some really good guys on the Huskies offensive line.

Riley will also get to renew some old football ties and seen an old friend when he begins working out with the Roughriders.

    In late November, the Roughriders signed offensive lineman and fellow Melfort product Logan Ferland to their main roster. Ferland was on the Roughriders practice roster last season and played his fifth and final CJFL campaign at left tackle with the Regina Thunder.

    Riley and Ferland were former teammates on the Comets and will now get to reunite in the professional ranks.

    While the spectre of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic hangs over the world having shutdown most walks of life in Canada, Riley has continued to work out at home turning the spare room at his place into a weight room.
    On Thursday, he got to enjoy a great day as all the hard work he has put in and continues to put in has resulted in the chance to live out the Saskatchewan boyhood dream, because he will have a chance to play for the Roughriders.

Mattland Riley, right, is at locking up a D-lineman’s hands.

    Overall, Riley was one of five Huskies player to be selected in the CFL Draft. Defensive end Nicholas Dheilly, who stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 230 pounds, was selected in the fifth round and 46^th overall by the defending Grey Cup champion Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

    Receiver Sam Baker, who stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 205 pounds, was picked in the sixth round and 48^th overall by the Toronto Argonauts.

    Right tackle, Nick Summach, who stands 6-foot-8 and weighs 330 pounds, was selected in the seventh round and 57^th overall by the Edmonton Eskimos. Summach’s selection helps further cement the Huskies reputation as “O-line U.”

    Utility player Colton Klassen, who stands 5-foot-8 and weighs 200 pounds, went in the eighth round and 69^th overall to the Montreal Alouettes. Klassen made an amazing recovery from a season ending broken right leg.

    Defensive end Tom Schnitzler, who played for the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds and is an alumnus of the 22-time CJFL champion Saskatoon Hilltops, was selected in the eighth round and 72^nd overall by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Schnitzler, who stands 6-foot-5 and weighs 245 pounds, is an accomplished long snapper too.

Mattland Riley (#55) has enjoyed being part of the Huskies O-line.

    The University of Regina Rams had two players picked in the CFL Draft.

    Offensive lineman Theren Churchill, who stands 6-foot-6 and weighs 280 pounds, went in the first round and ninth overall to the Toronto Argonauts.

    Offensive lineman Andrew Becker, who stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 280 pounds, was selected in the sixth round and 49^th overall.

    The British Columbia Lions traded up to get the first overall selection from the Calgary Stampeders in the CFL Draft. In a trade that was announced at the draft, the Lions sent the third and 12^th overall selections to the Stampeders for the first overall pick and 15^th overall selection.

    With the first overall pick, the Lions selected linebacker Jordan Williams, who stands 6-feet and weighs 230 pounds, from the East Carolina University Pirates football team in the NCAA Division I ranks.

CFL seeks financial aid from federal government, other notes

Will the COVID-19 pandemic crush the CFL?

    On Tuesday evening, The Canadian Press broke a story the CFL was looking to the Canadian federal government for financial assistance due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

    After The Canadian Press broke that story, it blew up on all of Canada’s mainstream media outlets. It was even covered by FOX News in the United States.

    The CFL is looking for $30-million in Canadian funds now to manage the impact COVID-19 has had on league business. The circuit is asking for additional assistance for an abbreviated regular season and up to another $120-million in Canadian funds for a completely lost season.

    In other words, the CFL is looking for $150-million in financial assistance if its nine teams are unable to play the 2020 regular season and playoffs.

    The CFL isn’t the only sports organization looking for financial assistance from a government in Canada due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On April 22, the British Columbia Hockey League, which is a junior A circuit, asked the provincial government in B.C. for financial aid.

    On Tuesday, the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League, which is a junior B circuit that has 19 out of its 20 located in B.C., said in a release it will be seeking financial assistance from both the B.C. provincial government and the Canadian federal government.

Will fun times like this return to Mosaic Stadium in Regina?

    On Wednesday, it came out the Canadian Premier League, which is an eight-team professional soccer league, is asking the Canadian federal government for $15-million in financial aid.

    Also on Wednesday on the profession basketball front, Devin Heroux of CBC Sports reported the Canadian Elite Basketball League is looking for a $5-million loan from the Government of Canada to help with finances.

    I have no problem with the CFL going after financial assistance from the Government of Canada. I believe the CFL is a Canadian institution that needs to be preserved.

    I could see the CFL folding if it doesn’t have a season in 2020 and doesn’t receive financial assistance.

    Actually, I do not have a problem with any sports league, sports entity or non-sports business seeking out financial assistance from the Canadian federal government of any of Canada’s provincial governments.

    In order to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, all these governments have ordered shutdowns and prevented all of these entities from doing business. The ability of any of these outlets to bring in revenue has been extremely hampered due to no fault of their own.
    It is highly unlikely any of these sports leagues, sports entities or businesses would be asking for aid if a pandemic didn’t happen. 

Will Canadians like Evan Johnson (#64) be able to show off their skill.

    If the pandemic didn’t happen, all of these entities would go on with business as usual and be healthy.

    They weren’t mismanaged, and they didn’t ask to be forced to shut down by governments.

    If you shut down the entire whole non-essential work sector in society, there will be massive consequences, and these financial aid requests are part of the consequences.

    On Wednesday, Global News national telecast said Statistics Canada had complied data with the cooperation of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, and the numbers aren’t good.

    In that story, Statistics Canada said 53 per cent businesses surveyed reported revenue decreases of 20 per cent or more during the first three months of this year compared to the first three month of last year.

    Statistic Canada said one-third of businesses surveyed reported revenues dropped by 40 per cent or more during the first three months of this year compared to the first three months of last year.

    Out of the businesses surveyed, 41 per cent of businesses have been forced to lay off some employees. In the accommodation and food services sector, 24 per cent of those businesses surveyed said they have laid off all of their workers.

Will Zack Evans, right, be able to keep playing in his home city?

    I suspect if you take out what happened in January and February out of that Global News report the gloom of those numbers would be worse.

    I have no problems with sports leagues, sports entities or non-sports businesses asking for financial assistance from governments in these COVID-19 times. I also realize that there is only so much money to go around.

    Unless the governments of Canada elects to throw open the economy for business as usual, it is hard to optimistic about what could happen to these sports leagues, sports entities or non-sports businesses on the business front.

    One thing is for certain, I can’t see life in Canada returning to what it was on March 10 of this year before all the shutdowns happened until after a lengthy stretch of time passes.

• On Wednesday, Donna Spencer of The Canadian Press wrote a story that quoted a trio of people involved with the now defunct Canadian Women’s Hockey League being upset about men’s professional sports leagues asking for financial assistance. The CWHL folded on May 1, 2019 due to financial difficulties. The article quoted others who worried this will widen the gender gap in sports. Spencer’s piece can be found by clicking right here.
• On Tuesday, the 2020 Hlinka Gretzky Cup hockey tournament, which is an under-18 national team best versus best event, was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Hlinka Gretzky Cup was set for Aug. 3 to 8 in Edmonton and Red Deer, Alta.
• On Tuesday, the Medicine Hat Exhibition and Stampede summer festival scheduled for July 22 to 25 was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• On Tuesday, the Clunie-Cooper Memorial Professional Bull Riding event slated for June 12 to 13 at the Art Hauser Centre in Prince Albert was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• On Tuesday, it was announced the Saskatchewan Summer Games set to run July 26 to Aug. 1 in Lloydminster have been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They are now slated to be held in Lloydminster July 18 to 24 2021.
• On Monday, the Saskatoon Blades signed offensive defenceman Tanner Molendyk to a WHL Standard Player Agreement. The Blades selected the McBride, B.C., product in the first round and fifth overall in the WHL Bantam Draft held on April 22.
• On Wednesday, the Prince Albert Raiders signed defensive defenceman Terrell Goldsmith to a WHL Standard Player Agreement. The Raiders selected the Fort St. James, B.C., product in the first round and 15^th overall in the WHL Bantam Draft held on April 22.
• On Thursday, the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team announced that 21-year-old forward and Saskatoon product Dawson Holt has committed to the team. Holt played for four and a bit seasons with the WHL’s Vancouver Giants from 2014 to 2019. Last season, he started the campaign in the WHL with the Regina Pats before joining Vernon Vipers of the British Columbia Hockey League in the junior A ranks.

    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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    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.

Huskies play coy over Hec Crighton talk for Machart

Pickett only football national player of the year for U of S

Adam Machart is having a stellar season for the Huskies.

    The Hec Crighton whispers are starting to come Adam Machart’s way.
    Machart is having a dream season at running back with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies football team. In helping the Huskies amass a 4-2 U Sports regular season record, Machart has already posted the third best rushing regular season in the history of the program.

    He has carried the ball 109 times for 931 yards and scored seven touchdowns. With the Huskies having two games left on their regular season schedule, there is an outside chance Machart could break the Huskies record for most rushing yards in one regular season set by Doug Rozon in 1999, when Rozon carried the ball 151 times for 1,267 yards and five touchdowns.

    When the Huskies thumped the University of Manitoba Bisons 49-21 on Oct. 4, Machart had the third best rushing game in the history of the Huskies program carrying the ball 23 times for 219 yards and two touchdowns.

    Through the air this season, Machart has caught 16 passes for 153 yards and hit the end zone twice.

Adam Machart has rushed for seven touchdowns this season.

    Thanks to those efforts, supporters of the Huskies football program have started to float talk and discuss the chances that Machart could win the Hec Crighton Trophy as the U Sports football player of the year.

    For his part, the 22-year-old isn’t concerning himself where he could be in the race as far as individual awards go.

    “I try not to think about it,” said Machart, who stands 5-foot-8 and weighs 185 pounds. “We have a couple of games here left, so we can’t start looking too far ahead.

    “We just have to keep winning games as an offence and as a team, so we’re just going to keep doing that.”

    Machart is in his second season with the Huskies after spending three campaigns from 2015 to 2017 with the venerable Saskatoon Hilltops.

Adam Machart (#20) has rushed for 931 yards in six games.

    He helped the Hilltops win CJFL national titles in each of those seasons.

    Before joining the Hilltops, Machart played high school football with Saskatoon’s Centennial Collegiate Chargers.

     While the Huskies have had many great seasons including winning the Hardy Cup as Canada West champions 19 times and the Vanier Cup as U Sports national champions three times, only one member of the football squad has ever won the Hec Crighton Trophy since it was first awarded in 1967.

    That one Hec Crighton award win came way back in 1973, when quarterback David Pickett was the U Sports national player of the year for football leading the Huskies to a 6-2 regular season record.

Adam Machart, right, has the Huskies third best rushing season.

    In 1973, Pickett completed 162-of-268 passes for 2,251 yards, 16 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.

    At the time, Pickett’s completions, passing yards and touchdown passes were all Huskies records for one regular season and were numbers that were way beyond what anyone else put up in the Canada West Conference in that campaign.

    It took 15 years before Pickett’s regular season team records for passing yards and touchdown passes were surpassed. His mark for completions in one season stood until 2010.

    Huskies fell in a one-game playoff for the Canada West title 21-8 to the Bisons in 1973.

    Knowing how long the odds can be when it comes to winning the Hec Crighton Trophy, Huskies head coach Scott Flory said the team’s focus is on finishing the regular season strong before heading into playoffs.

    “We don’t worry about any of that stuff,” said Flory, whose Huskies are the defending Canada West champions. “We wanted to make sure we get back here and get these two games.

Adam Machart has caught 16 passes for 153 yards and two TDs this season.

    “We’ll take the back half of this season when it comes.”

    The Huskies will be guaranteed a second place finish in Canada West and will host a home playoff game, if they win their last two regular season outings.

    The Dogs return to action on Saturday, Oct. 19, when they travel to Vancouver, B.C., to face the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds (1-5).

    U of S closes the regular season on Saturday, Oct. 26 by hosting the University of Alberta Golden Bears (4-2) at 2 p.m. at Griffiths Stadium.

    Huskies star left guard Mattland Riley said it would be nice if Machart could win the Hec Crighton Trophy, but added individual awards are far from the first concern of the squad.

    “That would be great, but to be honest, we’re focused right now on UBC,” said Riley. “All the awards and stuff like that, that will come when our team succeeds, but it is the team.

Adam Machart (#20) hopes to enjoy my team success with the Huskies.

    “It is all about the team. It is always about the team.”

    For now, Machart wants to help the Huskies win their last two games and become the third player in team history to reach the 1,000-yard mark in rushing.
    He believes that would be a good way to pay tribute to the offensive line that blocks for him including starters in left tackle Noah Zerr, Riley, centre Connor Berglof, right guard Tanner Secord and right tackle Nick Summach.

    “It would be a huge honour,” said Machart about the possibility of getting to 1,000 yards rushing. “Obviously, I’m just going to take it one game at a time.

    “If I were to reach that milestone, it would be a huge honour.”

    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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Huskies bash Bisons 49-21, Machart amasses milestones

Adam Machart (#20) piled up 219 yards rushing for the Huskies on Friday.

    Whether it was over land, sea or air, it felt like Adam Machart wouldn’t be stopped.
    Running behind the road grater of an offensive line, Machart piled up the third best rushing game in the history of the University of Saskatchewan Huskies football team on Friday night.
    The 22-year-old running back carried the ball 23 times for 219 yards and scored two touchdowns as the Huskies thumped the University of Manitoba Bisons 49-21 before 2,412 spectators at Griffiths Stadium.

    Thanks to that monster game, Machart has posted the third best rushing regular season in the history of the Huskies program. In the Huskies six games to date, Machart has carried the ball 109 times for 931 yards and seven touchdowns.

Adam Machart has run for 931 yards in six games.

    “I try not to worry about that kind of stuff,” said Machart, who had two catches for 16 yards to go with his rushing total. “At the end of the season, it would be cool to reflect on that and see where I am at.

    “For now, I think we have like bigger goals set for ourselves as a team.”

    The victory in the U Sports regular season clash allowed the Huskies to win the season series with the Bisons and earn the head-to-head standings tiebreaker between the two clubs.

    The Bisons thumped the Huskies 43-19 at IG Field in Winnipeg, Man., on Aug. 30, which was the regular season opener for both squads.

    The Huskies, who are rated seventh in the U Sports Top 10 rankings, claim the head-to-head series with the Bisons holding a 68-64 edge in points scored in the two encounters between the two sides.

    U of S sits third in the Canada West Conference with a 4-2 record.

The Huskies offensive line cleared the way for a successful night on Friday.

    The Huskies, who are the defending Canada West champions, secured a playoff berth with Friday’s win.

    The Bisons fell to 3-3 to sit third in Canada West.

    Going into Friday’s game, Machart said the Huskies weren’t thinking about getting the head-to-head standing tiebreaker with the Bisons.

    “You have to go into the game just hoping to get the win,” said Machart, who stands 5-foot-8 and weighs 185 pounds. “That is the first thing you have to do.

    “Towards the end of the game, then we can start thinking, ‘OK, pile on some points.’ It worked out.”

Adam Machart, centre, powers in for his first touchdown on Friday.

    While the Huskies never trailed on the scoreboard in Friday’s encounter, much of the contest was tightly contested. The host side led 14-8 after the first quarter, 28-18 at halftime and 35-21 after three quarters.

    Early in the fourth quarter, the Bisons were driving with the ball, and it appeared they were going to score to make the contest a one-possession game. U of M elected to gamble on a third-and-five situation from the Huskies 18 yard line.

    Huskies defensive back Bowan Lewis broke up a throw from Bisons star quarterback Des Catellier to force a turnover on downs.

    The Huskies earnestly started thinking about scoring enough points to get the standings tiebreaker late in the fourth.

Trysten Dyce celebrates a TD in classic Bisons style.

    With 2:50 remaining in the fourth, Machart ran home a touchdown 14 yards up the gut to extend the Huskies lead to 42-21.
    On the second play of the ensuing Bisons offensive series, Catellier was intercepted by Huskies defensive back Josh Hagerty at the U of M 41 yard line. Hagerty gained a couple of yards on the return to set the Huskies up at the Bisons 39 yard line.

    It took the Huskies three plays to get the ball down to the Bisons one yard line. From the one, Huskies reserve rookie running back Keagan White creased his way into the end zone to put the Huskies up 49-21 with 1:59 remaining in the fourth quarter.

    The Bisons drove the ball 49 yards in eight plays on their final series, but the clock expired causing the series to stall on the Huskie 28 yard line. U of M converted one third down play on that final march.

    “It was a great play by Hags (Hagerty),” said Huskies head coach Scott Flory, who doubles as the team’s offensive coordinator. “We need a play at that point.

    “The game plan it is what you saw. I think our defence executed it. We didn’t give up a lot big strikes.

Josh Hagerty secures an interception for the Huskies.

    “We’ll give up some of those chunk plays and that kind of stuff. A whole part of the game plan going in offensively was just to keep grinding and keep grinding. I got away from that in the second quarter, and then I got back to it and I think you see the results.”
    Huskies quarterback Mason Nyhus completed 16-of-28 passes for 182 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.

    Nyhus threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Sam Baker, a five yard scoring toss to Joseph Trumpy and hit star utility player Colton Klassen with a 31-yard pass for a major score.

    Klassen topped the Huskies in receiving hauling in five passes for 84 yards to go with his major score.

The Huskies celebrate a touchdown from Keagan White (#34).

    Running back Josh Ewanchyna had the Huskies first major score on a one-yard run in the first quarter.

    Catellier completed 23-of-42 passes for 271 yards, one touchdown and one interception. He was the Bisons leading rusher as well piling up 67 yards on eight carries.

    Trysten Dyce led the Bisons in receiving with six catches for 76 yards and one touchdown. He hauled his touchdown reception from 15 yards out with 22.9 seconds remaining in the second quarter.

    Near the end of the first quarter, Bisons receiver Colby Kyliuk blocked a Huskies punt and recovered the ball in the U of S end zone for a U of M touchdown.

    Bisons kicker Matt Riley made a 17-yard field goal and scored two singles off missed field goals both from 28 yards out.

Colton Klassen, left, ensures the ball gets into the end zone.

    The Huskies conceded a safety in the contest to contribute to the Bisons point total.

    Huskies defensive ends Riley Pickett and Nicholas Dheilly combine on one sack. Linebackers Ben Whiting, Tom Whiting and Ramsey Derbas each had nine total tackles for the host side.

    Defensive end Derek Dufault had the lone sack for the Bisons. Linebacker Julian Luis had an interception for the visitors.

    Defensive end Brock Gowanlock topped the Bisons with nine total tackles.

    The only two running backs to rush for more yards than Machart did in a game for the Huskies were Doug Rozon and Morrie Norsten.

The U of Saskatchewan Cheer Team entertains the crowd.

    Rozon piled up 292 yards in a game against the University of Alberta Golden Bears in 1999, while Norsten had 244 yards rushing in a game against the University of Calgary Dinos in 1994.

    Huskies left guard Mattland Riley, who was a second team U Sports all-Canadian all-star last season, said the team’s offensive line enjoys blocking for Machart.

    “It is absolutely awesome,” said Riley. “Machart, he is just such a good guy.

    “All the offensive line love him. We just love blocking for him. We do our job a little bit, and then he goes and gets another four or five or 10 yards.

    “It is great. We love it.”

    At the moment, only Rozon and David Stevens have rushed for more yards in one regular season for the Huskies than Machart has.

Sam Baker, left, secures a touchdown reception for the Huskies.

    Rozon piled up 1,267 yards on 151 carries and scored five touchdowns in 1999. Stevens ran for 1,229 yards on 174 carries and scored 12 touchdowns in 2005.

    Flory said Machart has meant a tonne to the current Huskies.

    “He (Machart) is, number one, a special young man, and obviously, an incredible football talent,” said Flory. “He has a good offensive line in front of him, don’t kid yourself.

    “He makes things right. People make mistakes. I make bad calls. Players make mistakes.

    “That happens, but he is the corrector. He just makes it right. You see what he does; it is a joy to watch.”

The Huskies enjoy their win on Friday night.

    Machart said the Huskies offensive line has allowed him to have the success he has had. The Huskies starting O-line of left tackle Noah Zerr, Riley, centre Connor Berglof, right guard Tanner Secord and right tackle Nick Summach were steamrolling Bisons defenders on Friday night.

    “All five of those guys, it is a lot of fun,” said Machart. “When they make holes like that, it makes being a running back quite a blast.
    “We are getting more comfortable with each other. It just starts flowing a little bit better as the season goes on, so it has been good.”

    The Huskies return to action on Oct. 19, when they travel to Vancouver, B.C., to face the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds (1-5).

    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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