Missing Jazz Fest, still haven’t enjoyed all that has reopened

A street performer at the Saskatchewan Jazz Festival in 2012.

    Weird realizations seem to come out of the blue during these coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic times.

    Having passed through downtown Saskatoon over the past week, it popped into my head that the Saskatchewan Jazz Festival should have been going on. Of course, it was announced way back in April the Jazz Festival had been postponed indefinitely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Still, the clock in my mind went off that this should have been going on. The Jazz Festival usually runs during the final full week of June and might run for about the first two to three days in July.

    While my main interests usually revolve around the sports world, the Jazz Festival usually provides the opportunity for me to enjoy something different. I enjoy wandering through downtown and checking out the corner musical acts that seem to pop up everywhere.

    I will usually bike from my home to the free stage for at least one night to see what is taking place there.

A guitar player on the street at the Saskatchewan Jazz Festival in 2012.

    The organizers tried to push the Jazz Festival back to where it would have opened on Friday and ran through to July 12 before the conditions of the pandemic forced an indefinite postponement.

    Even today when I was biking on the Meewasin Trail pointed towards downtown Saskatoon, I thought it would be great if I could check out some of the sites from the Jazz Festival.

    Another thought proceeded to pop into my head at that time. I thought it would be great to go to a play put on by Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan.

    Back in April, it was announced the program for Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan was postponed indefinitely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Believe it or not, I have gone to Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan performances in past summers. I saw Romeo and Juliet in the summer of 2014, and I took in Hamlet in the summer of 2018.

    Both were really good, and it felt good seeing those plays in the quaint tent setting. In my drives past the festival site, it appears construction is proceeding well for the permanent buildings that are going up there.
    The COVID-19 pandemic prevented The Pride Parade from going ahead in Saskatoon in June in a live format. 

The free stage at the Saskatchewan Jazz Festival in 2012.

    I’ve taken pictures of The Pride Parade on a couple of occasions, and I’ve always felt happy seeing the joy and the colour in those photos.

    With the reopening that has taken place in Saskatchewan since May 4, I haven’t taken advantage of everything the reopening has offered.

    I am not staying away due to fears of COVID-19. I have found I have grown accustomed to being a home bug.

    Currently, you can go into a coffee shop and sit in the dining area, which you couldn’t do for an extended time.

    I often frequented the Starbucks at Preston Crossing just north of the University of Saskatchewan to work on writing projects. Many posts for this blog have been written there.

    I last sat and wrote at Starbucks back on March 15. With the shutdowns that occurred, I have gotten used to working at home.
    I just can’t get on the horse of going to sit and work in a coffee shop again.

    I do have an office to go to in order to perform my duties, when I work as the communications coordinator for the Gordie Howe Sports Complex.

People march in the Pride Parade in 2015.

    It took work on my part in the middle of June to make it a habit to go into that office.

    I haven’t gone in to dine in a nice restaurant of a fast food restaurant. During the time heavy shutdowns were in place, I got used to ordering take out from those places.

    I didn’t frequented those places for takeout that much, but ordering takeout and eating food in front of the television at home has become the habit.

    The Great Canadian Brewhouse near my place in the north end of Saskatoon is open again, and usually its parking lot has been full of cars on a nightly basis. I keep asking myself if I want to pop in for a beer.

    I haven’t downed an alcoholic beverage at an establishment since going for a night out on March 14. I also want to pop in to Outlaws for a barbecued burger and a beer. While it is best known as a nightclub, the barbecued burgers there are good.

    I don’t believe the dance floor is open there, but I would like to go to Outlaws to see the staff I know there too.

One of the floats from the Pride Parade in 2015.

    My habit on Friday and Saturday nights have become watching movies or old TV shows I find on Youtube that I watched in my youth. If I want to drink a beer, I usually drink one or two before going to bed on a Friday or Saturday night.

    That has become my habit, and I find the urge to go out disappears as fast as it arrives.

    Before the pandemic, I would also go out to workout at a gym or fitness centre, when I want to switch things up and be around people. I’ve gotten so used to working out at home that I can’t find the urge to go to a gym.

Working out at home has become my habit.
    I wonder what it will be like to go to a live competitive sports event again in person. I haven’t done that for 114 days dating back to March 12, and sometimes I wonder if I will do that again.

    As these pandemic times go on, I wonder what other out of the blue things I will find I am missing. I wonder if I will discover changes in other small habits I used to have.

Winterhawks name may live on, other notes

Jaydon Dureau, front left, and Haydn Delorme are wrapped in star blankets. 

    It is highly possible Portland’s WHL franchise will continue to use the Winterhawks nickname.

    The nicknames for sports teams once again came under fire this week when news surfaced on Thursday that FedEx asked the NFL’s Washington Redskins to change their name. FedEx is a major sponsor of the team and the Washington NFL’s club’s home park is called FedExField.

    Since the early 1990s, the Redskins nickname has come under fire for being racially insensitive, and there have been calls to remove all nicknames of sports teams that are viewed as not being sound racially. The large majority of these cases involve nicknames that are linked to First Nations.

    Questions of addressing racism have found new momentum in the world following the endless protests that have occurred throughout the world due to the death of African-American George Floyd at the hands of police in Minneapolis, Minn., on May 25. All the soul searching is a good thing.

    In the WHL, I believe there is a good chance the Winterhawks nickname will live on.

    Back on Jan 12, 2019, the Saskatoon Blades were holding their annual First Nations Night contest as the SaskTel Centre, and the visiting Winterhawks were the opponents.

Fred Sasakamoose performs a ceremonial faceoff.

    Portland’s roster that night contained forwards Haydn Delorme and Jaydon Dureau, who are both members of the Ahtahkakoop Cree Nation in northwest Saskatchewan.

    Members of First Nations communities from Saskatoon and the surrounding area put together a warm and a cool culturally focused pre-game show. During that show, the blanket ceremony was performed for Delorme and Dureau, where both players had blankets wrapped around them by First Nations elders.

    They were given star blankets to honour their journey and dedication in sport.

    Fred Sasakamoose, who was the first player of First Nations descent to play in the NHL, was one of the Ahtahkakoop Cree Nation elders that took part in the ceremony and wrapped blankets around Delorme and Dureau.

    Sasakamoose wore his jersey from his old NHL club, the Chicago Blackhawks, while taking part in the festivities. Actually, it is common for Sasakamoose to where his Blackhawks jersey for public appearances at sporting events.

The Winterhawks red jerseys are one of the best looking in the sports world.

    During the pre-game festivities that night, the First Nations leaders spoke to the crowd about how proud they were of the Winterhawks for how well they carried First Nations colours.
    Of course, the Winterhawks jersey design comes from the NHL’s Blackhawks. A number of First Nations community hockey teams across Canada also use the Blackhawks nickname and jersey design.

    As a side bonus, the Blackhawks and Winterhawks red jerseys are arguably one of the best looking uniforms in the entire sports world.
    The pre-game festivities from that night at the SaskTel Centre were covered in the Eagle Feather News, which is a First Nations media publication.

    Due to the fact the NHL’s Blackhawks and WHL’s Winterhawks have had First Nations players on their rosters and have had a positive identification on that front, there is a good chance those nicknames will continue to be used by those clubs.

• On Wednesday, there were numerous reports from media outlets in the United States that the NFL was planning to reduce the number of pre-season games each team plays from four to two due to the COVID-19 pandemic. If each team plays two pre-season games, that would cut the schedule of the entire NFL pre-season in half.
• On Thursday, the junior A Melville Millionaires of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League hired Daniel Wapple as the club’s new goaltending coach. Wapple has been a goaltender skills instructor for the past five seasons and resides in Regina. The Saskatoon product played goal in the WHL for four seasons from 2012 to 2016 with the Moose Jaw Warriors, Medicine Hat Tigers, Regina Pats and Vancouver Giants. He finished the 2015-16 campaign in the junior A ranks with the Estevan Bruins. Wapple played one season in the U Sports ranks with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team in 2016-17.
• On Friday, the Saskatchewan Soccer Association cancelled all of its outdoor provincial champions, the Provincial Soccer League and Soccer Day in Saskatchewan in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Back on June 23, Soccer Canada cancelled its national club championships slated for Oct. 7 to 12 in Halifax, N.S. due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• On Friday, Hockey Canada announced the 2020 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge slated for Oct. 31 to Nov. 7 in Charlottetown and Summerside, P.E.I., has been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

    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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One month anniversary since last live sports event

COVID-19 pandemic puts different milestones on the mind

The Warriors and Contacts go at it on March 12.

    I never imagined thought a midget AAA hockey playoff game would cross my mind as a milestone moment.
    Under the specter of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, different types of milestones cross the mind.

    This year’s Easter Sunday already felt weird when I woke up. Usually, there would be a big family get together to look forward to at dinner time.

    My whole mom’s side of the family pretty much lives in Saskatoon, and due to the COVID-19 pandemic, everyone remained at their respective homes during the dinner hour.

    Eventually during the morning hours, my mind began to drift to other things. One included noticing that it was April 12 on the calendar. When I saw that, it popped into my mind that one month had passed since the last time I was at a live competitive sporting event.

    That event was Game 3 of a best-of-five Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League semifinal series between the Saskatoon Contacts and Moose Jaw Warriors at Merlis Belsher Place on March 12.
    Originally, I wasn’t planning to go to that contest to cover it for this blog.

Forward Riley Girod (#10) breaks up ice for the Contacts on March 12.

    I was originally planning to use that night to prepare for a trip two days later to go to Medicine Hat, Alta., to take part in the festivities in Bob Ridley calling his 4,000^th game as the play-by-play voice of the WHL’s Medicine Hat Tigers.

    As of March 10, that was still my plan. Little did I know, March 10 would be the final day that progressed like a regular day.

    The COVID-19 pandemic became a larger reality in North America on March 11, when the NBA announced it was stopping its season. That started a chain reaction of postponements, cancellations and shutdowns in the sports and entertainment worlds.

    The shutdowns quickly included what was the normal every day world as society in Canada went into shutdown and lockdown.

    Looking back now at March 11 and 12, it was crazy to think how quickly all the shutdowns materialized.

    On March 12, the NHL put its season on pause and Canada’s three major junior leagues including the WHL paused their respective campaigns too. That development nixed the trip to Medicine Hat.
    The remaining regular season games and post-seasons for the three major junior circuits have since been cancelled.

Warriors forward Connor McGrath (#15) rushes up ice on March 12.

    About two hours before the Contacts and Warriors took the ice, Hockey Canada put out a release that it was cancelling its sanction events effective on March 13. That announcement wiped out the remaining post-seasons and nationals for the minor hockey bodies under the Hockey Canada umbrella.

    After seeing the Hockey Canada release that night, I figured I better check out the playoff match between the Contacts and Warriors, because my gut told me that would likely be the last competitive hockey game I would see for a while.

    Ultimately, it was the last competitive hockey game held in Saskatoon for the 2019-20 campaign, unless a pie in the sky hope turns into a reality where the NHL uses “The Bridge City” as a quarantine city to host playoff games. At the moment, that is highly unlikely.

    On that March 12 night, the Warriors downed the Contact 5-3 to sweep the best-of-five set 3-0. Looking back now, I am happy I did go to that SMAAAHL playoff game.

    A lot of people from Saskatoon’s hockey community were at Merlis that night, and it was great to see everyone before the shutdowns came into effect. No one knows when that type of gathering will happen again.
    On March 14 and 15, I stopped in to see some friends at what were basically “beer league” games at Merlis. That marked the last time at the moment I have stepped into a hockey rink.

Contacts forward Alex Bernauer cuts to the net on March 12. 

    Since that time, I have only ventured medium distances from home for travel about once a week to pick up supplies. I did drive past Merlis during one of those runs to see it sitting locked up and empty. 
    The biggest talk around the new rink on the University of Saskatchewan campus lately has been about converting it to a field hospital, if the COVID-19 pandemic really goes crazy and overruns the health system in the city.

    When that facility officially opened before the start of the 2018-19 hockey season, I don’t think anyone envisioned using that twin pad rink for that purpose.

    Since that first panic around March 11 and 12, a new normal has been discovered that includes working from home and waiting for the COVID-19 pandemic to pass.

    Still, it is bizarre to think a month has passed since I last went to a live competitive sporting event.      Heck, I haven’t been to a recreational sports activity since March 15.

    It seems like at the moment there is no end in sight for the COVID-19 pandemic as the number of cases and deaths from the virus keep going up.

    There are moments it seems like the lockdown and societal shutdown measures will never come to an end, or they won’t wrap up for a very long time.

Merlis Belsher Place sits empty in the crazy current days.

    On the plus side, I feel like I have gotten into a better habit of ignoring toxic social media posts.

    I also feel like I’ve gotten into the habit of just dealing with the challenges each particular day brings. One of the challenges today included seeing family members be sad that there were no big dinners for Easter.

    I find if you focus on the living day-to-day, it makes it easier to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. 
    Still, it is starting to cross the mind that a sizable amount of time has already passed in dealing with this situation and that amount of time will get even larger before the COVID-19 pandemic becomes part of the past.

Easter fun on social media

    In a rarity in the crazy current days, social media ended up being a good place to be on Easter Sunday.

    At least for me, it was a good place to be.

    In my family, there was a sizable amount of sadness and disappointment there would be no big get together somewhere for dinner due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

    On the plus side, it was great to turn on all the social media lines and see numerous happy Easter posts. It seemed the post came in a steady fashion throughout the day.

    Usually, I find I have to limit time on social media lines due to the posts becoming toxic. It was nice to see that wasn’t the case on Easter Sunday.

    Of course, the Prince Albert Northern Bears female midget AAA hockey team is always game for a good post for days like Easter Sunday.

Happy Easter everyone! Hope you are able to spend time with those you love whether it’s in person or through technology. From our family to yours, we wish you all the best, stay healthy and we miss you all 💜💛 pic.twitter.com/CZbH27rztw

— PA Northern Bears Female AAA (@PABears) April 12, 2020

    Outlaws Country Rock Bar has a sweet one on their Instagram account.

View this post on Instagram

Happy Easter to all our friends and family. We miss y’all #staysafe

A post shared by Outlaws Country Rock Bar (@outlawscountryrockbar) on Apr 12, 2020 at 11:01am PDT

    The Medicine Hat Tigers of the WHL had a cute one featuring forward Corson Hopwo.

Wishing you a Hoppy Easter!! 🐣 #medhat #50yearsofTigers pic.twitter.com/i7W9jMp7Jx

— Medicine Hat Tigers (@tigershockey) April 12, 2020

    The Saskatchewan Rush provided a post from the entire National Lacrosse League.

From our homes to yours. 🐥🐇🌿 pic.twitter.com/eQBxlqEkkn

— Saskatchewan Rush (@SaskRushLAX) April 12, 2020

    And finally, the Cornell University Big Red women’s hockey team put in a group effort to pass on Easter greetings.

View this post on Instagram

Happy Easter and Passover. Take care of each other.

A post shared by Cornell W Ice Hockey (@cornellwhockey) on Apr 12, 2020 at 9:20am PDT

    I could keep going on and list some more posts.

    With that noted, it is great any time social media lines can be more of a positive place. It would be sweet if that could occur more often.

Tweet of Easter Sunday from David Wells

    Retired Major League Baseball star hefty lefty pitcher David Wells was fielding questions on Twitter on Sunday night.

    Wells played in the majors from 1987 to 2007 with the Toronto Blue Jays, Detroit Tigers, Cincinnati Reds, Baltimore Orioles, New York Yankees, Chicago White Sox, San Diego Padres, Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers.

    He was a member of World Series winners with the Blue Jays in 1992 and the Yankees in 1998. He pitched a perfect game with the Yankees at old Yankee Stadium on May 17, 1998.

    Wells began his professional career in 1982 with the Medicine Hat Blue Jays rookie team. The Medicine Hat Blue Jays won the Pioneer League championship that season.

    I decided to fire off a question to Wells and received a wicked response.

Shit how’d you know about that. They were epic https://t.co/F1ZGcY0ugJ

— david wells (@BoomerWells33) April 13, 2020

    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.

Feeling an awful squeeze due to COVID-19 scare

One of the final recreation hockey games at Merlis Belsher Place.

    It feels like society is coming apart over the conoravirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

    Any time there is a new cancellation, postponement or measure enacted to try to curve the potential spread of COVID-19, it seems to trigger another round of panic.

    I myself feel like I am getting more and more unnerved.

    Of course, my life revolves around the sports world, especially the local sports world. I cover it on my blog and for various media outlets on a freelance basis.

    Since the start of January, I have served as the communications coordinator for the Gordie Howe Sports Complex.

    At the moment, the sports world is basically shut down. Even checking on Instagram today to find out Merlis Belsher Place would be closing on Monday almost created a panic attack.
    Just back on February 29, I covered the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men's hockey team winning a Canada West Conference title in that building.
    Another scare came from hearing Canadian Hockey League teams are sending their players home before travel bans become even more of a worry. The WHL’s Saskatoon Blades and Prince Albert Raiders both announced on Sunday they were sending their players home.

Most sports venues in Saskatoon sit empty.

    I am in my comfortable spot when I am interacting with the sports world or I am at a facility be it an arena, football field or court. At the moment, all of that has been taken away, and it makes me sad.
    I almost feel like I have to put in work to avoid depression.

    I have had many moments where I have fought off the feeling of being flat out scared.

    Early last week, I personally thought all the reaction to the coronavirus scare was overreaction. I believe it is something that needs to be taken seriously.
    I still think an overreaction has occurred, but that thought doesn’t amount to anything.

    When the NBA suspended play on Wednesday, that seemed to be the moment when the dominoes really started to tumble to bring the sports world to a halt.

    The powers that control the rest of the world are bringing in clamp down after clamp down. Basically, the horse has left the barn on that front, and all anyone can do is try to take a deep breath and react to the next seemly inevitable change that is about to come.

    Introverts might be good with the concept of social distancing.

    My gut feeling is this will be a struggle for most people. For myself, the idea of not having face to face social encounters is terrifying.

The players of the Raiders and Blades have been sent home.

    I still find in person encounters are the best way to establish connection and community, where messages passed in electronic form can be twisted in interpretation.

    I almost don’t want to check social media. I find there are extremes where some people think COVID-19 shouldn’t be a worry to others who believe the world is going to end tomorrow or a significant portion of the population is going to die.

    It feels like society is being squeezed. I believe I am not the only one that feels this way.

    On Saturday night, I went out to Outlaws, which a Saskatoon nightclub hotspot, and I encountered a tonne of people who felt squeezed too. Everybody who was out that night treated each other super well.

    It felt good just to go out and have a party and feel a release. It seemed everyone that was there was happy to just be having a good time.
    For at least a few hours, the worries of what was happening in the world were in the background of the mind.

I rarely take pictures at Outlaws, but it was great to see everyone have fun.

    Even when I work up this morning, it was great to see a number of social media posts from the fun skate the Prince Albert Northern Bears female midget AAA hockey team had in “Hockey Town North” on Saturday night.

    It is comforting to know you can still find upbeat social media posts that are a pick me up. It feels like it takes extra work to find them.

    I wonder when the world will get back to being normal. I can’t wait to get back to a sports venue to cover an event again.

    I know things are on hold to allow the medical experts to get a handle on COVID-19.

    I know it has been speculated that issues relating to liability and insurance have played a part in why the shutdowns have occurred in every walk of life. I believe those speculations have merit too.

    Organizations like Hockey Canada put sizable resources into risk assessment, and the experts working in that area in Hockey Canada do great work. I feel you have to lean to accepting their recommendations are right.
    Still, I am struggling with how the world has been since the start of Wednesday. I also have long stretches where I will be doing great.

The Huskies winning the Canada West title on Feb. 29 seems long ago.

    I had been thinking about typing this post for a couple of days just to put out how I am feeling. I think it helps me, and maybe it will help others.

    I figured this post would be a rambling one too.

    Even before writing it, I had to gather myself. I decided to work at the Starbucks just north of the University of Saskatchewan.

    I stepped into the store and was shocked to see all the tables and chairs pushed off to one side. I was told starting on Monday customers would only be able to go in for their orders, but wouldn’t be able to lounge inside the outlet.

    After a chat with the staff, I was able to calm down and get to work.

    I desperately want the freedom to see my friends and not to feel like I am being locked down.

    The only approach I can take is the approach I have been taking with life the last number of years. I just take things one day at a time.

    I try not to worry about tomorrow until the challenges of the current day are met.

I can’t wait to see everyone when the world is in a better state.

    I look forward to the COVID-19 scare coming to an end and being able to have the freedom to see you all again in a more joyful set of circumstances.

    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.