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

Great Grey Cup game doesn’t erase uncertain feelings

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

Is the CFL good and feeling alright?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Dan Clark calls signals for the Roughriders in 2019.

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

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

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

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

Johnson gets final salute at Hilltops team awards banquet

Konner Johnson was named the Hilltops most outstanding grad.

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

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

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

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

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

Jaxon Funk was named the Hilltops top lineman.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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CFL keeps on keeping on with CFL Draft

Circuit faces unprecedented questions, uncertainty

Andrew Harris in action for the Bombers in 2017.

It will be a CFL Draft like no other, because the Canadian professional football circuit is facing uncertainty the likes it has never seen before.

On Tuesday, the CFL will hold a CFL Draft that will last six rounds. The first two rounds will be shown on TSN at 5 p.m. Saskatchewan time.

Normally for a prospect player that is selected in the CFL Draft, they take a step towards playing in a CFL game one day. A likelihood still exists drafted prospects will attend a CFL camp, but not make a roster to play in a CFL game.

For the prospects that are selected in Tuesday’s CFL Draft, they might not even get to see a CFL training camp let alone a regular season game.

That is the reality of the CFL as it attempts to operate with a world having been stuck in the grips of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic dating back to about March 11, 2020.

The CFL already has one full draft class that has never seen the field at a CFL training camp. The players who were selected in the 2020 CFL Draft in late April of that year saw the entire CFL season get cancelled.

The league’s nine teams ultimately never did bring players together for any training camp activities.

The CFL pushed for government funding to be able to hold a season in 2020, but the funding the circuit sought never game.

Actually, post-secondary football wasn’t played anywhere in U Sports or the Canadian Junior Football League in 2020, so most of the players from Canada that could be drafted haven’t played a season since 2019.

On top of the pandemic this year, there is another elephant in the room that looms over everything the CFL does – the XFL.

On March 10, news broke that saw the CFL and XFL reveal they’re poised to begin serious discussions about a potential partnership. The XFL is the spring start up league in the United States that was bought out of bankruptcy in August of 2020 by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Dany Garcia and Gerry Cardinale’s RedBird Capital.

According to the XFL’s website, RedBird Capital managers US$4-billion in assets.

There is speculation that these potential partnership discussions are moving in the direction of full merger.

How real this speculation is can be debated.

On April 26, The Canadian Press reported U Sports, the CJFL, the Canadian Football Officials Association and Football Canada sent a joint policy letter to CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie for consideration.

The letter requested the CFL remains committed to essential rule components of Canadian Football in Canada.

This includes traditional field width and length between goal-lines and having 12-players per side. The letter requested the CFL maintains the current mandate of starter and roster positions for national players.

The joint policy letter wouldn’t have been sent, if there wasn’t concern for how far the discussions between the CFL and XFL have gone.

Brendon LaBatte (#57) in action for the Saskatchewan Roughriders in 2017.

On March 29, the community owned Winnipeg Blue Bombers announced an overall loss of $6,982,217 for 2020.

The Bombers won the Grey Cup in 2019, which was the last time the CFL held a season. For 2019, the Bombers posted a $3.5-million operating profit.

The Winnipeg franchise is viewed as one of the healthiest clubs in the CFL. If the Bombers lost close to $7-million in 2020, one wonders what the losses were for the eight other CFL teams.

The Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Edmonton Football Club will eventually have to present their financial statements for 2020 being both community owned franchises.

It should be noted that no new ownership groups or entities in Canada have shown any interest in stepping up to take stewardship of the CFL.

On top of all that, the CFL has to deal with the spectre of the NFL.

In November of 2020, Ambrosie told the Rod Pedersen Show he had talked with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, but there wouldn’t be financial support from the NFL to help the CFL work through its losses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 1997, the NFL provided a US$3-million interest free loan to the CFL, which was struggling financially at the time. In return, the NFL was granted access to CFL players entering a two-month window in the option year of their contracts.

The CFL turned the corner financially and repaid that loan and the agreement with the NFL expired in 2006.

That agreement was done when Paul Tagliabue was the commissioner of the NFL. It was viewed that this move by the NFL helped give a boost to the game of football and the CFL in Canada.

On March 30, the NFL announced it would be looking at hosting neutral site regular season games in Canada along with Europe, Mexico, South America and the United Kingdom as the league increases its regular season schedule from 16 games per team to 17 games per team starting this coming campaign.

Does that mean the NFL is looking to get more of a footing in Canada?

While three-down football is played at all levels in Saskatchewan, the four-down version of the game is played at the grassroots level in other locations like the greater Toronto area and the greater Vancouver area. Together, both those areas make up a sizable portion of Canada’s population.

Noting that, the joint policy letter from U Sports, the CJFL, the Canadian Football Officials Association and Football Canada didn’t make mention about games using either three or four downs.

Ultimately, the CFL might not take the field again in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, even though it is still trying to conduct business as normal as possible.

On April 21, the CFL announced it was pushing the start of its regular season back from June 10 to August 5. Each club is slated to play a 14-game regular season as opposed to an 18-game regular season.

In 2020, the CFL went through scenarios regarding shortened campaigns before the season was cancelled.

Due to the fact there is no certainty mass gatherings will be allowed in Canada in the size that will allow the CFL to have a strong enough income from ticket sales to go ahead despite vaccine rollouts for COVID-19, the CFL is looking at repeating 2020 in 2021.

Evan Johnson (#64) locks up on a block for the Ottawa Redblacks in 2019.

Thanks to the fact the 2020 season was lost and the 2021 campaign might not go ahead, some CFL veterans have already decided to retire from the game and move on to the next part of their life.

For the players that are taken in the 2021 CFL Draft that will be held Tuesday, the draft selection will still be a great accomplishment. Those prospect players will work hard to play, but there is a very real chance they won’t have a CFL league to play in.

As it stands right now, the last CFL game that was played was the Bombers 33-12 Grey Cup win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Nov. 24, 2019 at McMahon Stadium in Calgary, Alta.

That might go down as the last game ever played in the storied history of the CFL.

Cote joins Huskies, other notes

Brandin Cote will be reuniting with first WHL head coach.

On April 26, the University of Saskatchewan Huskies announced Cote will be the new associate coach for the athletic program’s men’s hockey team. Cote had been an assistant coach with his hometown WHL in the Swift Current Broncos since the start of the 2018-19 season.

The Broncos closed their developmental 24-game regular season this past Wednesday falling 6-5 in overtime to the Prince Albert Raiders playing in the WHL East Division bubble at the Brandt Centre in Regina.

The 40-year-old Cote will begin his new position with the Huskies on July 1.

Cote will join legendary head coach Mike Babcock on the Huskies bench. Babcock, who is famous from his time in the NHL and leading Canada’s men’s Olympic team to two gold medal wins, is serving as the Huskies interim volunteer head coach for two seasons taking over for long time and legendary Huskies head coach Dave Adolph, whose retirement became official on Saturday.

Cote played for Babcock as an associate player call up in 1996-97 and three seasons from 1997 to 2000 with the WHL’s Spokane Chiefs, when Babcock finished up his time as Chiefs head coach.

Cote was a career member of the Chiefs serving as the team’s captain after Babcock moved on to the professional ranks. From 1996 to 2002, the shifty centre played in 352 career regular season games with the Chiefs collecting 101 goals and 154 assists.

In the 2001-02 campaign, Cote won the Humanitarian of the Year awards for the WHL and CHL.

He went on to a career spanning eight seasons in the professional ranks playing in the AHL, the East Coast Hockey League as well as leagues in Germany, Italy and England.

Cote was an assistant coach of the WHL’s Prince Albert Raiders in 2016-17 and was an assistant coach with the Red Deer College Kings men’s hockey team in the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association ranks in 2013-14. He served as the Kings associate coach in 2017-18.

With this move, it is believed Cote could take on the role of becoming the Huskies head coach one day.

• On Friday, the University of Saskatchewan Huskies posted a heartfelt piece regarding long time and legendary men’s hockey team head coach Dave Adolph. Adolph’s retirement became official on Saturday. The piece the Huskies posted on their website on Friday contains interviews from the 17 players that served as captains during Adolph’s time as head coach from 1993 to 2021. The captains talked about how much Adolph meant to the program and themselves personally. The piece can be found by clicking right here.
• Last Wednesday, the Formula 1 announced the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal, Quebec, has been cancelled for a second straight year due to public health protocols brought in to battle COVID-19 pandemic. This year’s race had been scheduled for June 13. The Turkish Grand Prix will replace the Canadian Grand Prix for the weekend of June 11 to 13.
• Last Wednesday, Softball Canada announced it has cancelled all 10 of its Canadian fast pitch and slo-pitch championships for a second consecutive year. Softball Canada made the decisions due to the public health protocols and travel restrictions that are in place in Canada to battle the COVID-19 pandemic.
• On Friday, the International Ice Hockey Federation announced the 2021 women’s world hockey championship has been rescheduled for Aug. 20 to 31 at a location to be announced. The IIHF will evaluate venues with Hockey Canada. Women’s worlds were originally scheduled for May 6 to 16 in Halifax and Truno, Nova Scotia. On April 21, Nova Scotia premier Iain Rankin pulled the plug on the tournament over concerns of rising COVID-19 cases in the province.
• Tickets are on sale for the May jackpot for the Saskatchewan Amateur Football Mega 50/50 lottery. The funds from this 50/50 lottery will go to support the CJFL’s Saskatoon Hilltops and Regina Thunder and the WWCFL’s Saskatoon Valkyries and Regina Riot. The draw date will be May 31. Tickets can be purchased by clicking right here, and purchasers must be in Saskatchewan in order to buy tickets.

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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Wheat Kings, Blades, Ice in final sprint for Subway Cup

WHL campaign to conclude at end of regular season

The Wheat Kings do their traditional head bump goal celebration.

For a second straight year, the WHL won’t be handing out the Ed Chynoweth Cup to a league champion.

On Monday, the major junior circuit announced its 2020-21 campaign will officially come to an end at the conclusion of its abbreviated regular season. The decision was made due to ongoing challenges presented by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, which include navigating public health orders and restrictions on travel across international and provincial borders.

In the 2020-21 campaign, each team is playing a shortened 24-game regular season which is being held for developmental purposes. Due to some teams experiencing positive COVID-19 tests, nine out of 10 clubs in the B.C. and Central Division will play campaigns that are shorter than 24 games.

The Kelowna Rockets will play an even shorter season due to the fact they had nine games postponed after team activities were suspended due to a coronavirus outbreak. On Wednesday, the WHL announced only one of those contest will be made up meaning the Rockets will play a 16 game regular season.

The B.C. Division’s other four teams in the Kamloops Blazers, Prince George Cougars, Vancouver Giants and Victoria Royals will all play 22-games each.

On Wednesday, the Calgary Hitmen were cleared to return to play after undergoing a 14-day isolation period and a halt of team activities due to a positive COVID-19 test. All members of the Hitmen cohort have tested negative for COVID-19 in the latest round of testing.

The Hitmen had six games postponed. After the WHL announced rescheduled games on Wednesday, the Hitmen learned they will be able to make up three of their lost games meaning they will play 21 regular season contests.

The Hitmen return to play Friday, when they host the Lethbridge Hurricanes. The Hurricanes will still get all 24 of their regular season games in.

The Edmonton Oil Kings, Medicine Hat Tigers and Red Deer Rebels will play 23 regular season games each.

The Tri-City Americans have been sidelined due to a positive COVID-19, and they have had five games postponed. No word has been mentioned on dates to make those games up, which means teams in the B.C. Division might not play a 24-game slate as well.

The WHL will still crown champions in each division.

For the East Division, that means the Brandon Wheat Kings, Saskatoon Blades and Winnipeg Ice are engaging in a final sprint for first place and the right to win the Subway Cup. Subway is sponsoring the East Division bubble at the Brandt Centre in Regina and championship trophy that will be given to the first place team.

The Blades have enjoyed a number of wins in the Regina bubble.

The seven clubs in the bubble in Regina have not had their schedules disrupted due to positive COVID-19 tests.

Currently, the Brandon Wheat Kings have the inside track to first place extending their current winning streak to five games with their 6-1 victory over the Swift Current Broncos on Wednesday.

Nolan Ritchie scored twice for the Wheat Kings, while Lynden McCallum, Rylan Thiessen, Brett Hyland and Vincent Iorio all had singles. Matthew Ward replied with a single for the Broncos.

Ethan Kruger made 17 stops to pick up the win in goal for the Wheat Kings. Isaac Poulter turned away 27 shots to take the loss in goal for the Broncos (4-16-1).

The Wheat Kings top the East Division with a 16-3-2 record. Brandon will lock up first place if it wins its final three straight games.

The idle Saskatoon Blades, who have a 14-3-2-1 record, sit three points behind the Wheat Kings for top spot with one game in hand.

The Winnipeg Ice also sit three points behind the Wheat Kings after posting a 6-5 overtime victory over the Moose Jaw Warriors on Wednesday.

Jakin Smallwood netted the winner for the Ice at the 1:46 mark of the extra session. It was his second tally of the contest.

Peyton Krebs and Skyler Bruce each scored twice for the Ice. 

Cade Hayes led the Warriors with a pair of goals and an assist. Riley Krane, Jagger Firkus and Daemon Hunt all had singles for Moose Jaw.

Brayden Yager picked up a pair of assists for the Warriors, while Krane had a helper to go with his goal.

Carl Stankowski made 24 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Ice. Boston Bilous turned away 37 shots to take the setback in goal for the Warriors (8-11-2).

The Ice improved to 15-5-1 with the win. They are playing their second campaign as the Winnipeg Ice after moving out of Cranbrook, B.C., following the 2018-19 campaign. The franchise was known as the Kootenay Ice, when it was located in Cranbrook.

The Blades have a game in hand on the Ice.

Saskatoon will face Winnipeg on Friday and go at it with Brandon on April 28.

The Regina Pats (8-9-2-1) Warriors and Prince Albert Raiders (7-10-2-1) will jockey for fourth, fifth and sixth place in the Division. The Broncos are locked into finish in the basement of the East Division.

Teams in the B.C. Division will play for the RE/MAX Cup sponsored championship trophy. Due to the fact teams in the B.C. and Central Divisions won’t play an equal amount of games, the WHL hasn’t announced how it plans to crown champions in those divisions.

The WHL also announced on Monday the season end WHL awards will recognize individual award winners from each division as opposed to the traditional celebration of conference-based award winners.

Peyton Krebs in action for the Ice franchise in November of 2018.

The WHL Awards, which will be celebrated digitally following the conclusion of the 2020-21 campaign, will culminate with honourees in each major awards category on a league-wide basis.

While the WHL did valiant work to ensure its member teams got on the ice, the major circuit, which plays under the CHL umbrella, has to be thankful luck fell its way too.

On Tuesday, the OHL cancelled its entire 2020-21 campaign without being able to play a single game. The COVID-19 pandemic never subsided enough in Ontario to create a situation for the OHL to get back on the ice.

Desjardins recaptures Tigers career wins record

Willie Desjardins works the Tigers bench in December of 2019.

Willie Desjardins is once again the all-time leader in career regular season head coaching wins for the Medicine Hat Tigers.

On Monday, the Tigers slipped past the visiting Red Deer Rebels 3-2 at Co-op Place. That victory marked the 376^th career regular season win for Desjardins as the Tigers head coach. The Climax, Sask., product is also the team’s general manager.

Desjardins collected his wins serving as the Tigers head coach from 2002-10 and since returning to the team in 2019.

Desjardins surpassed the 375 wins put up by Shaun Clouston, who served as an assistant and then associate coach with Desjardins from 2003 to 2010. Desjardins previously held the Tigers career record for regular season coaching win before Clouston became the team’s head coach.

Clouston picked up his initial head coaching wins with the Tigers from 2008 to 2010, when Desjardins was away involved with coaching duties with Canada’s world junior team. Clouston picked up the bulk of his wins serving as the Tigers head coach from 2010 to 2019 along with becoming the team’s general manager from 2012 to 2019.

Clouston was released from the Tigers following the 2018-19 season to allow Desjardins to return to the roles of head coach and general manager. Clouston has served as the head coach of the Kamloops Blazers since the split with the Tigers.

Desjardins’ career record with the Tigers sits at 376-198-64 with the third column accounting for ties, overtime losses and shootout losses. Clouston’s career record behind the Tigers bench is 375-241-46.

In the Tigers win on Monday over the Rebels, Medicine Hat never trailed in the contest getting singles from Ryan Chyzowski, Rhett Parsons and Oren Shtrom.

The Rebels replied with singles coming off the sticks of Dallon Melin and Chris Douglas.

Beckett Langkow made 27 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Tigers (12-3-0-1). Chase Coward turned away 32 shots to take the setback in goal for the Rebels (2-15-2).

“It’s been an honour to be part of such a great organization,” said Desjardins to Adam Jones of TigersHockey.com. “I’d like to thank (Tigers owners) Darrell and Brent Maser for their support.

“I’ve been fortunate to be surrounded by some great people over the years, and because of that, we’ve had some success. The players win the games. Without their hard work and determination, we wouldn’t be here.”

The Tigers return to action on Thursday, when they travel to Edmonton to face the Oil Kings.

Marleau tops NHL career regular season games list

A Patrick Marleau card.

It seems fitting that a special NHL milestone moment would go to Patrick Marleau

Taking the opening faceoff on right wing for the San Jose Sharks on Monday against the Vegas Golden Knights in Las Vegas, Nevada, Marleau became the NHL’s all-time leader in career regular season games played at 1,768 when the puck dropped.

The Aneroid, Sask., product, who is playing in his 23^rd NHL season, broke a record that was viewed at one time to be untouchable.

The previous mark of 1,767 career regular season games was held by the iconic “Mr. Hockey” in Gordie Howe, who was born in Floral, Sask., and raised in Saskatoon. The late Howe played 25 seasons for the Detroit Red Wings from 1946 to 1971.

He helped the Red Wings win the Stanley Cup in 1950, 1952, 1954 and 1955.

Howe skated in one final NHL campaign in 1979-80 for the Hartford Whalers playing in all of the Whalers 80 regular season games turning 52-years-old near the end of that season. In his 1767 career NHL regular season games, Howe piled up 801 goals and 1,049 assists for 1,850 points.

On top of his time in the NHL, Howe played six campaigns in the now defunct World Hockey Association with the Houston Aeros and New England Whalers from 1973 to 1979. During those six seasons, Howe appeared in 419 regular season games posting 174 goals and 334 assists for 508 points.

He helped the Aeros win the Avco Cup as WHA champions in 1974 and 1975.

During the Sharks game on Monday, Marleau wasn’t able to pick any points as the Golden Knights posted a 3-2 victory after a tiebreaking shootout. Marleau was given a chance to try and score in the tiebreaking shootout, but he was unsuccessful.

He received a salute from both team following the game.

The 41-year-old Marleau has always carried himself with dignity and class. When Howe’s NHL record for career regular season games played fell, it was fitting that Marleau was the one to do it.

Before breaking into the NHL, Marleau played two seasons in the WHL with the Seattle Thunderbirds from 1995 to 1997 appearing in 143 regular season games collecting 83 goals and 116 assists for 199 points.

After the Sharks 5-2 loss to the Golden Knights in Las Vegas on Wednesday where Marleau picked up an assist, he has appeared in 1769 regular season games posting 566 goals and 631 assists for 1,197 points.

CFL delays start of season to August 5

Andrew Harris rumbles up field for the Bombers in 2017.

The COVID-19 pandemic is still delivering huge hits to the CFL.

On Wednesday, the CFL announced it will be delaying the start of its 2021 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Training camps were expected to open in the middle of May and the first exhibition game was set for May 23.

Originally, the league planned to kick off the regular season on June 10, where each club would play a standard 18-game regular season campaign.

Now the CFL is targeting Aug. 5 for the start of the circuit’s regular season, where each club will play 14 regular season games each. The Grey Cup is being rescheduled for Dec. 12 as opposed to Nov. 21.

The CFL was unable to get a season off the ground in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The last CFL game was played on November 24, 2019 at McMahon Stadium in Calgary, Alta., and saw the Winnipeg Blue Bombers stomp the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 33-12 to win the Grey Cup.

In a released statement, CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie said the Aug. 5 date is a target date, because the league’s plans are subject to change due to the state of COVID-19 across the country.

In order to play on Aug. 5, Ambrosie said the CFL would need approval from public health officials across Canada of the circuit’s plans for protecting players, coaches and fans. The commissioner added the CFL would need permission from governments to host a significant number of fans in the stands in a significant number of venues at the start of the season and the rest of the venues soon after that.

Ambrosie said the CFL has contingency plans in place in case factors beyond the league’s control delay the start of the season beyond Aug. 5.

“The bottom line is we are optimistic we will have a season in 2021, culminating in a great Grey Cup,” said Ambrosie in a statement. “Everyone who loves the CFL can help us and their communities.

“Please, when it is your turn, get vaccinated. And please follow your local public health guidelines on measures including wearing a mask and social distancing.”

There was no work on where the CFL’s talks on working in partnership with the XFL were at. There was no mention about the CFL’s efforts to secure federal government funding in order to play in 2021.

The CFL failed to get government grants that would allow the circuit to hit the field in 2020.

Once again, CFL fans have to continue to hurry up wait to see if the league they love will be back in 2021.

Government of Nova Scotia nixes women’s hockey worlds

The Government of Nova Scotia dropped the axe on the women’s world hockey championship.

On Wednesday, Nova Scotia Premier Iain Rankin withdrew permission for the 11-day tournament citing concerns over increasing COVID-19 numbers and the circulation of COVID-19 variants.

Nova Scotia imposed new travel restrictions this week barring people from outside the province from entering unless travel is essential or the travels are permanent residents of Nova Scotia. People from Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador are exempted from the ban, which goes into effect at 8 a.m. Thursday Nova Scotia time.

The International Ice Hockey Federation and Hockey Canada were informed early Wednesday morning that the event was called off. Women’s worlds were scheduled to be held May 6 to 16 in Halifax and Truno, N.S.

Hockey Canada was holding its selection camp for the women’s worlds in Halifax, and Wednesday was supposed to be the final day of that camp. An intrasquad game that was supposed to close the camp on Wednesday afternoon ultimately wasn’t held.

Saskatoon products Emily Clark and Sophie Shirley were taking part in the selection camp.

The 2021 women’s worlds were first slated to be held in April but were pushed back to the May 6 to 16 dates before being cancelled. They were also supposed to be held in Halifax and Truno in March of 2020 before being called off due to COVID-19 concerns.

The IIHF will work with Hockey Canada told a women’s worlds later in 2021 but no commitment was made Wednesday to hold it in Nova Scotia.

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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CFL cancellation makes sports reset in Canada more real

Cody Fajardo (#7) fires a pass downfield for the Roughriders.

    Life in Canada’s sports world just got a little scarier.

    On Monday, the CFL officially cancelled its 2020 season due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. That official announcement didn’t come as a surprise.

    The CFL had too many obstacles to clear in order to get back on the field in 2020. Being a gate-driven league when it comes to revenue, the CFL faced rough waters with all parts of Canada having instituted limits on mass gathering to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

    At the moment, it is a battle to get clearance to have 200 people out at an event let alone an average crowd of 25,000 that attends a CFL game.

Bo Levi Mitchell (#19) slings a pass downfield for the Stampeders.

    During the final week of April, news came out that the CFL was looking for $30-million in Canadian funds now to manage the impact of COVID-19. The circuit was asking for additional assistant for an abbreviated regular season and up to another $120-million in Canadian funds for a completely lost season.

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

    In early May, CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie made a presentation to a House of Commons standing committee on finance, and his performance in that presentation didn’t go over well.
    That put the CFL behind the 8-ball in trying to secure funding from the Government of Canada.

Gainer the Gopher meets Rider Nation after a Roughriders touchdown.

    In July, the CFL came forward asking for $44-million from the Government of Canada to play the 2020 season. The league had loan discussions with the Business Development Bank of Canada and Export Development Canada crown corporations that fell through.

    The CFL examined using the Business Credit Availability Program with assistance from Export Development Canada and terms couldn’t be found on that front.

    While all that was going on, word came out on July 21 that Winnipeg would be the hub city to play an abbreviated 2020 campaign in a bubble format without fans in attendance.

    On Aug. 3, the CFL asked for a $30-million interest free loan from the Government of Canada and news broke on Sunday via TSN football insider Dave Naylor that the request had fallen through.

Andrew Harris charges upfield for the Blue Bombers. 

    On Monday morning, the CFL put out a release saying the 2020 season wouldn’t be played and the circuit was eyeing a return in 2021.

    Besides not getting funding from the Government of Canada, the CFL was running out of time to get about half the league’s players back to Canada from the United States, follow quarantine rules, stage training camps and hold a regular season and post-season.

    As a result of the CFL cancellation, the Grey Cup will not be awarded for the first time since 1919.

    Back in 1919, the Grey Cup was not awarded due to a lack of interest along with a rules dispute between the league that complete for the trophy at the time. The game was cancelled from 1916 to 1918 due to Canada’s participation in the First World War.

    The Winnipeg Blue Bombers downed the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 33-12 in last season’s Grey Cup held at McMahon Stadium in Calgary, Alta., on Nov. 24, 2019.

Roughriders safety Mike Edem (#15) closes in on a hit.

    Now that the 2020 season has officially been cancelled, all sorts of speculation will surface about what the CFL’s fate will be in the future.

    Like most sports leagues, minor sports bodies and teams in Canada, the CFL is fighting for its survival.

    The sports world in Canada is on the road for a major reset. No one knows for sure what the reset will look like.

    The sports world that existed in Canada on March 10 before all the shutdowns that happened to battle the COVID-19 pandemic is gone for a very long time. Anyone with any type of common sense can see that.

    It is conceivable you could have leagues, minor sports bodies and teams go bankrupt and reboot after the pandemic is deemed to be over and mass gatherings are allowed to happen again.

Roughriders RB William Powell (#29) follows his blocking downfield.

    Odds are high that elite sport in Canada might take a step backwards. Elite level athletes might have to get by working part-time and even full-time jobs outside of the sports world and train for their sport on the side.

    Canada’s sports system relied heavily on volunteers before the pandemic started and that reliance will likely increase when it is declared the COVID-19 pandemic has passed. Volunteers usually burn out and have to retreat to focus on jobs where they can make a living.

    It is hard to envision elite athletes being able to focus on training for their sports like a full-time job unless you play in the NHL, NFL, NBA or MLB.
    The era of elite athletes coming to training camp to get into shape might return in Canada, which happened for most of the time up until around the mid 1990s.

Mosaic Stadium all set for the 2019 Labour Day Classic.

    In the CFL’s case, the circuit might not come back with as many players and coaches that come from the United States.

    Still, the CFL’s cancellation of the 2020 season is a sign the reset for the sports world in Canada became that much more real and hit a higher gear.

    You can be sure there will continue to be a sports world in Canada, but the road that sports world will travel will not be an easy one for the foreseeable future.

    It might even take two or three years to travel that difficult road, which makes things even that much scarier.

Roughriders CEO Reynolds offers reassuring words

Craig Reynolds speaks at Saskatoon Minor Football Field in 2017.

    Craig Reynolds came out with a message to try and help Rider Nation see the light in a dark time.

    On Monday, the CFL officially announced it had cancelled its 2020 campaign. A short time after that official announcement, Reynolds, who is the Saskatchewan Roughriders president and chief executive officer, spoke to the teams fans in a video posted on the club’s YouTube channel.

    In his speech, Reynolds says every avenue was exhausted to trying to make the 2020 campaign a reality. He added he believes the team and its fans will find the resiliency to make it through these challenging times.

    Reynolds helped create a bright spot in what was a sad day for the CFL.

    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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’Riders must win to host 2020 Grey Cup, get big game in 2022

CFL eyes shortened season with September start

William Powell jets downfield for the Roughriders.

    The Saskatchewan Roughriders could still host the 2020 Grey Cup, but it will come down to how they do in a shortened regular season.
    On Wednesday, the CFL presented an update regarding its 2020 season in the face the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that is gripping the world. Had there been no pandemic, CFL main training camps had originally been slated to open on Sunday around the country.

    As for the first announcement on Wednesday, the CFL said it is expecting to start the 2020 regular season on Sept. 1 at the earliest. Teams will play a shortened regular season with the number of games to be determined.

    The circuit announced that barring the creation of a vaccine for COVID-19 there won’t be any regular season games held during the summer months.

    As a result, the CFL has cancelled Touchdown Atlantic slated for July 25 in Halifax, N.S. That regular season contest would have seen the Roughriders face the Toronto Argonauts at Huskies Stadium on the grounds of Saint Mary’s University.

    Due to playing a shortened regular season, the CFL announced the 2020 Grey Cup won’t be played on Nov. 22 at Mosaic Stadium in Regina, which is the home of the Roughriders. The CFL has decided give the hosting rights of the 2022 Grey Cup to Regina.

Roughrider DT Makana Henry (#74) rushes a quarterback. 

    The 2020 Grey Cup host will be determined by a “win and host” model. That means once the two teams that will meet in the Grey Cup have been determined, the finalist that has the best record in the regular season will host the CFL’s title game.

    The circuit said the 2020 Grey Cup could potentially be played in December.

    The 2021 Grey Cup is still slated to be held in Hamilton.

    With the COVID-19 pandemic having wrecked havoc on travel, tourism and the economy, the CFL noted the traditional week long Grey Cup Festival leading up to the CFL’s championship game would not have the size and scope it would normally have.

    The CFL noted that continuing government imposed restrictions on assemblies, travel and border crossings all played into the decisions that were made on Wednesday.

    The circuit’s announcement noted a number of provinces and municipalities have decided to prohibit all sporting events featuring large gatherings until Sept. 1.

    The CFL said the September start is one scenario the league is looking at and noted a cancelled season is still possible. A determination on possibly cancelling the 2020 football season has not yet been made.

The Roughriders hope to have celebrations on the field in 2020.

    The CFL announcement added the league is focused on safety, and a final decision on a return to play on what governments tell the circuit is safe for players, fans and all involved with the game.

    Following the release of that announcement, CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie held an online town hall with season ticket holders.

    “I think we’ve learned three things trying to run a pro sports league during a pandemic,” said Ambrosie during the online town hall. “The first is that certainty is really hard to come by.

    “There are lot of scenarios to consider, but in the end, public safety and the safety of our players is the most important consideration. All of that has gone into the announcements that we’ve made today.”

Phase two Sask. reopening offers some relief, other notes

There were lines to get into some stores at Midtown Plaza on Wednesday.

    Going to a mall near you turned out to be an exciting even this week in Saskatchewan.

    On Tuesday, phase two of the Government of Saskatchewan’s reopen plan for the province took hold in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic that grips the world. With that move, retail stores, hair salons and malls were allowed to reopen, but they have to follow strict health protocols laid out by the provincial government.

    After living through major lockdown restrictions for about the last nine weeks, life at least in Saskatoon seemed a little more regular.

    Traffic as you drove through the city seemed a lot more normal, which brought out the good and the bad. I am sure a number of people experienced their share of frustrations with driving.

    Parking in downtown was a challenge, and the City of Saskatoon announced recently all paid parking zones would be enforced starting this coming Monday.

    Confederation Mall is in my neighbourhood. Going in for a bank trip on Tuesday, it felt like a relief to see Warehouse One, Winner’s and Tim Hortons inside the mall were all open along with the $1. Store Plus.

    I went and bought a lottery ticket at the $1. Store Plus, and the clerk, who I often talk to there, said that was the first lottery ticket he had sold in two months. Due to the fact no one else was in the store at the moment, we proceeded to have a quick five minute chat to catch up.

    I proceeded to check out Lawson Heights Mall on Tuesday and Midtown Plaza on Wednesday. When I went into both places, I would say about 65 per cent of the stores were open.
    There were staff working in some of the stores that were closed, and they appeared to getting things ready for a reopening.

    While the stores were open, it was obvious that life wasn’t normal. Most stores had arrows spelling out which way people should walk.

A video game store at Midtown Plaza was popular on Wednesday.

    Staffers wore gloves and the majority wore masks. I looked in a couple of hair salons and the stylists looked like they were ready to perform open heart surgery.

    At Midtown Plaza, it was easy to see which stores were popular. About four of five stories had customers lined up waiting to get in. Most of the other stores appeared to be quiet.

    Most of the business in Midtown’s food court weren’t open. I walked past where the new Saskatchewan Roughriders retail store was and wondered if it will ever open.

    Still, it seemed like seeing the stores opened gave a glimmer of optimism, and any type of optimism in the current day is a good thing.

• On Monday, the iPolitics site reported the CHL, which is the umbrella that the WHL, OHL and QMJHL all operate under, is lobbying the Canadian federal government for financial aid for its 52 teams located in Canada. Susan Smith, Raphael Brass and Tim Barber of Bluesky Strategy are registered to lobby on the CHL’s behalf.
• On Tuesday, Gregg Drinnan reported the WHL has contracted two lobbyists from the Vancouver-based Bluestone Consulting Group to lobby the Government of British Columbia with regards to returning to play. Mark Jiles, who is the principal owner of Bluestone, and Rob Nagai, who is Bluestone’s vice-president, will be lobbying on the WHL’s behalf.
• The WHL continued to roll out its league awards via an online format this week. On Tuesday, Dustin Wolf of the Everett Silvertips claimed the Del Wilson Memorial Trophy as the goaltender of the year. On Wednesday, Ty Smith of the Spokane Chiefs took home the Bill Hunter Memorial Trophy as the defenceman of the year.
• On Tuesday, the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame cancelled its 2020 induction dinner and ceremony slated for Sept. 26 in Regina due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2020 induction class, which has yet to be announced, will be carried forward as the class of 2021. The organization wanted to all the inductees to be able to gather together with family and friends in person, which is extremely difficult to do with the various travel restrictions around the world.
• On Tuesday, Softball Canada cancelled all its fast pitch and slo-pitch national championship tournament due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 10 Canadian championships were scheduled to be held in six different provinces between late July and early September.

    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.

Should Merlis Belsher Place be on indefinite hold for COVID-19?

The oxygen producing complex next to Merlis Belsher Place.

    It is hard to miss the new addition to Merlis Belsher Place.

    In the parking lot facing the south east side of the building sits a small complex used for producing oxygen. The small oxygen producing complex is connected via pipe to the twin-pad rink facility that contains two full basketball courts.

    Besides that complex, a series of metal box type structures can be found on the north side of the building too.

    Those are obvious signs that the function of Merlis Belsher Place these days is to serve as a field hospital in case of a possible surge of COVID-19 patients. The neighbouring Saskatoon Field House is targeted to house staff for the field hospital.

    The conversion was done regarding original models and predictions the Saskatchewan Health Authority had for impact of the current coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

    When ground was broken for the facility in late April of 2017 with a price tag of $42.9-million, everyone celebrated the construction of the much needed sports facility for the university, which provided a big boost for the hockey community in the city.

A sign in front of the oxygen complex.

    Anyone at that ground breaking ceremony likely envisioned Merlis Belsher Place just being the new home for memorable moments in the local sports scene.

    No one ever envisioned it possibly being a field hospital for a pandemic, or more accurately a field hospital in waiting.

    Right now, the description “field hospital in waiting” might be the tripping point where one questions if the facility is being used properly. By the sounds of things, it could be a long time before Merlis Belsher Place is used as a host site for a sporting event again like maybe even up to a year.

    In a story that came out Wednesday, Dave Hardy, who is the chief athletics officer for Huskie Athletics at the University of Saskatchewan, told Darren Zary of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix he expects the Huskies men’s and women’s hockey teams to be out of the facility for a year.

    “We anticipate it will be utilized, and constructed, as a field hospital, perhaps up to a year,” said Hardy to Zary. “Certainly, our hockey plans do not include Merlis Belsher Place.”

The oxygen complex sitting beside Merlis Belsher Place.

    Merlis Belsher Place is slated to supply 250 beds for COVID-19 patients. In battling the pandemic, the Saskatchewan Health Authority had designated 272 beds at Saskatoon City Hospital, 291 beds at St. Paul’s Hospital and 453 beds at Royal University Hospital for COVID-19 patients.

    With the total added in from Merlis, a total of 1,266 beds have been set aside for COVID-19 patients. Between the three regular hospitals, there are 301 beds left for other patients.

    At the moment, the Huskies teams as well as the Saskatoon Contacts under-18 AAA hockey squad and the Saskatoon Stars under-18 female hockey club are looking for new homes for the upcoming 2020-21 campaign.

    If Merlis Belsher Place isn’t available, it would be safe to assume the Saskatoon Field House won’t be available for any sports functions either as long as the twin-pad rink facility remains a field hospital in waiting. The Huskies track and field teams are one of the user groups that trains out of the Saskatoon Field House.

New box structures on the north side of Merlis Belsher Place.

    It is highly possible that Merlis Belsher Place might never have to be used as a field hospital and the hockey teams that call that facility home will play some sort of season in 2020-21.

    If that scenario plays out, one has to ask if Merlis Belsher Place was utilized properly?

    Saskatchewan Healthy Authority officials said in early April it would take about four weeks to convert Merlis Belsher Place to a field hospital.

    Still, one wonders if you could have waited before starting the process of making Merlis Belsher Place a field hospital?

    The rush to convert the facility came over fears of worst case scenario models.

    Could the conversion process have been done more efficiently in less than four weeks?

    As time keeps progressing, one has to keep asking the question when will Merlis Belsher Place be converted back for its original purpose?

    At the moment, it appears medical officials have been given the authority to hold all the power in making these calls.

Merlis Belsher Place is a COVID-19 field hospital in waiting.

    It is entirely possible that there won’t be a 2020-21 winter sports season. Medical officials have the final say as to when teams and leagues can return to action.

    It is possible the Contacts and Stars could play a hockey season and the Huskies do not.

    The Huskies play out of the Canada West Conference in U Sports. The programs in Canada West have agreed the conference can’t return to action until there is an OK by medical officials in all four provinces in Western Canada.

    Even if the Canada West season doesn’t go ahead, the Contacts and Stars could play regular seasons in their respective provincial leagues.

    If the sports world isn’t allowed to return to action, the availability of Merlis Belsher Place for sporting activities becomes a non-issue.

    With that noted, questions about whether it was used properly should still be asked, if it is held for a field hospital and is never used for that purpose.

The spot where the ice plant used to sit at the Rutherford Rink.

    One thing the Huskies hockey teams can’t do is return to their former home on the U of S campus in the ancient Rutherford Rink. The Huskies last used the Rutherford Rink in late September of 2018.

    The Rutherford Rink no longer has an ice plant, and enough decommission work was done on its interior to cause that facility to be no longer usable.

    Like most aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic, it will be interesting in two or three years down the road to look back and wonder if the correct actions were taken as far as the Huskies current home rink goes.

Americans in CFL make voices heard over compensation

Dane Evans in action for the Tiger-Cats last season.

    The United States products in the CFL made their voices heard this week, and they delivered a good message.

    The U.S. players spoke out with regards to compensation that might come from any possible financial assistance from the Canadian federal government.

    During the final week of April, news came out that the CFL was looking for $30-million in Canadian funds now to manage the impact of COVID-19. 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.

    On May 7, CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie made a presentation to a House of Commons standing committee on finance regarding his financial assistance request.

    After Ambrosie’s presentation, he was grilled by MPs Kevin Waugh (Conservative, Saskatoon), Peter Julian (NDP, New Westminster-Burnaby) and Peter Fragiskatos (Liberal, London North Centre).

    Ambrosie came away not looking good after that grilling.

    On Tuesday, Fragiskatos told Rick Westhead of TSN it would be “alarming” if that emergency relief was used to pay American players living in the United States.

    Fragiskatos said to Westhead, “The supports announced by the government are for the benefit of Canadians and the country.”

    When the CFL made a pitch for financial assistance to the Canadian federal government, it had to be expected this exact thought would rise to the surface somewhere.

    When it did from an MP, the U.S. players playing in the CFL rallied on Twitter and made a good case about not being left out in any compensation package.

    Veteran star British Columbia Lions quarterback Mike Reilly said he had been playing Canadian taxes for a decade, has two daughters with Canadian birth certificates and has spent hundreds of hours giving back to Canadian communities.

It’s “alarming” that he would feel this way about U.S. players. I have been paying Canadian taxes for a decade now. Have 2 daughters with CAD birth certs. Spent hundreds of hours giving back to Canadian communities. As have all CFL payers, both Canadian and American.

— Mike Reilly (@Rikester13) May 12, 2020

    Dane Evans, who is a quarterback for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, wrote U.S. players pay taxes in Canada and in some cases pay more taxes than Canadians do. He questioned why U.S. tax-paying employees in the CFL would be left out of compensation.

But we Americans still have to pay taxes in Canada just as the Canadians do, in some cases more! So why would we not be eligible to receive the same benefits of the rest of the tax-paying employees in the CFL?? https://t.co/pYxog514OU

— Dane Evans (@daneevans9) May 12, 2020

    It should be noted Calgary Stampeders star quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell and his wife, Madison, make their home year round in Calgary, and they are involved in a lot of community functions in that centre.

    Saskatchewan Roughriders star defensive end Charleston Hughes decided to remain in Regina in the off-season. He did doing a number of appearances before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and he is still doing community work with club and on his own initiative.

    There are a number of other U.S. players in the CFL, who have elected to remain in Canada.

    A number of U.S. players decide to remain in Canada after completing their CFL careers. Former star quarterback Henry Burris might be the most notable.

    After quarterbacking the Ottawa Redblacks to a Grey Cup title in 2016, Burris and his family decided to remain in Canada living in Ottawa. He is analyst on TSN’s CFL broadcasts and can often be found being a hockey dad for his sons Barron and Armand.

    The CFL’s U.S. players crushed it out of the park regarding the impact they have on the centres they play out of. It should help in the push to obtain federal financial aid.

PWHPA rolls out new regional structure

    On Wednesday, the Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association announced a new structure that will see five regional training hubs set up for its members.

    There will be three hubs in Canada located in Calgary, Toronto and Montreal. The two hubs in the United States will be set up somewhere in the states of New Hampshire and Minnesota.

    The regions will aim to provide players with improved access to resources like full-time dressing rooms, access to strength and conditioning facilities, support staff and coaches.

    Players will be required to tryout to make a regional training group. Each hub will carry a roster of 25 players who will be eligible to attend showcases. Each regional hub will play more regional games too.

    The PWHPA was formed as a non-profit after the Canadian Women’s Hockey League folded on May 1, 2019, and its members include most of the high-profile players that skate for senior national teams in Canada, the United States and Europe. The PWHPA said it was boycotting the National Women’s Hockey League until players received health insurance and a livable salary.

    The PWHPA states its mission is to promote, advance and support a single, viable professional women’s ice hockey league in North America. The PWHPA has been in a standoff with the NWHL.

    It has been hoped that this women’s league would have the backing of the NHL and mirror the relationship the NBA has with the WNBA, where the NBA fully backs the WNBA.

    Last season, the players win the PWHPA played a series of exhibition games at various locations in North America calling the series of contest the Dream Gap Tour.

CHL settles minimum wage lawsuits, other notes

    After being before the courts since 2014, the Canadian Hockey League minimum wage lawsuits have been settled.

    Back in 2014, Charney Lawyers PC, a firm specializing in class action lawsuits, filed lawsuits on behalf of former CHL players against the CHL and its member major junior leagues in the WHL, OHL and QMJHL. A total of three lawsuits were filed.

    The lawsuits contented the players of major junior hockey teams are employees of their member clubs and should be entitled to minimum wage, back pay, overtime play, holiday pay and vacation pay.

    On Friday, the CHL and the plaintiffs announced the CHL has agreed to pay $30-million to settle the lawsuits.

    The settlement was reached in February before the COVID-19 pandemic caused massive shutdowns in North America starting on March 11.

    Lawyers’ fees and expenses will come out of the $30-million before it is split up between players.

    The lawsuits were originally seeking $180-million.

    Over the years while these lawsuits were before the courts, the provinces and states where CHL teams are located have changed their laws to exempt CHL players from minimum wage laws.

    The only way the CHL could be exposed to further litigation on this front is if subsequent governments rolled back these changes.

    The CHL has always contented the players are amateur student-athletes.

    After the settlements were announced, the CHL posted an open letter on its website. In the letter, the CHL said it elected to settle because these types of cases are expensive and a distraction to the league.

    The letter added the settlement does not mean the CHL agrees with the plaintiffs.

    A sizable part of the CHL’s settlement will be paid via insurance.

    Over the years, I had followed the developments of these lawsuits more in a casual form. There were warnings that many clubs in the CHL wouldn’t be able to pay minimum wage to the players outside of teams like the Calgary Hitmen and Edmonton Oil Kings, who are both owned by the NHL’s Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers respectively.
    In my opinion, I believe the major junior level of hockey would have ceased to exist if the clubs had to pay minimum wage. Most of the teams are small businesses and a $500,000 profit would be seen as a good year.

    If the clubs in the CHL had to pay minimum wage, I believe the junior A level of hockey would rise up to be basically the new major junior level to replace a CHL that would go by the wayside.

    I also felt these lawsuits mirrored the proceedings of a divorce, which allowed lawyers to make lots of money.

    In the end, you can be sure the CHL teams are happy to have that issue dealt with.

• The WHL continued to roll out its league awards via an online format this week. On Tuesday, Calgary Hitmen centre Riley Fiddler-Schultz was named the recipient of the Doug Wickenheiser Memorial Trophy as the humanitarian of the year. On Wednesday, Dylan Garand of the Kamloops Blazers took the Daryl K. (Doc) Seaman Memorial Trophy as the goaltender of the year. On Thursday, right-winger Seth Jarvis of the Portland Winterhawks claimed the Brad Hornung Trophy as the most sportsmanlike player. On Friday, Edmonton Oil Kings left-winger Dylan Guenther claimed the Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy as the rookie of the year.
• On Friday, the NASCAR Pinty’s series announced it has cancelled its race on July 25 in Edmonton and its twin races slated for July 29 at the Wyant Group Raceway in Saskatoon due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• On Friday, Football Canada announced it was cancelling its national and regional summer flag and tackle football events due to issues associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. The women’s national championship that was originally scheduled for July 30 to August 7 in Sherwood Park, Alta., has been postponed.
• On Tuesday, the City of Medicine Hat announced all organized sports and league play in the Alberta centre will not be permitted due to the COVID-19 pandemic until further notice. The city said the decision was made to follow provincial guidelines that limit large gathers to 15 people. All the city’s bookings for ball diamonds and sports fields have been cancelled through to the Aug. 31.
• On Thursday, the Saskatoon Blades announced captain Chase Wouters raised $10,000 through the Nutrien Faceoff for Hunger Campaign, where all the proceeds went to the Saskatoon Food Bank and Learning Centre.  Nutrien was donating $10 for every faceoff Wouters won in the 2019-20 campaign to the Saskatoon Food Bank and Learning Centre with the goal of winning 1,000 draws. Wouters won 837 faceoffs before the WHL season was called off due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Nutrien still covered the remaining funds to reach $10,000. Wouters also put $200 of his own money to the initiative pledging on Jan. 30 to donate $1 for every draw he won from that point in time to the end of the season. Wouters made a call to the public to match his pledge and 11 pledges to match Wouters donation were collected through the Blades website.

Thanks for the amazing opportunity @NutrienLTD ! @yxeFoodBank @BladesHockey pic.twitter.com/Fay3DbPlnq

— Chase Wouters (@wouters_44) May 14, 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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