It’s rock ’n’ roll time

Bumps still expected in transitional sports season

Colin Plain sets to fire a pitch for the Saskatoon Cubs on Saturday.

It is easy to get romantic with sports.

Most of Canada likely had that feeling on Monday, when Canada’s Senior National Women’s Soccer team downed the United States 1-0 in a semifinal contest at the Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. Jessie Fleming scored on a penalty kick in the 74^th minute for Canada to account for the lone goal in the contest.

The win felt like redemption from when these two sides met in a semifinal in the 2012 Olympics in London, England, where the United States came away with a 4-3 overtime victory. That contest went to extra time after the United States evened the game late in regulation at 3-3 on a controversially awarded penalty kick.

Captain and all-time great Christine Sinclair and midfielder Desiree Scott are the holdovers from the 2012 squad that are still on Canada’s current roster.

Canada will now face Sweden in the gold medal final at 6 a.m. Saskatchewan time on Friday.

To get romantic about sports, you don’t even have to look overseas to do that. Sometimes, the romanticism is in your own backyard.

On Saturday at Cairns Field here in Saskatoon, the Saskatoon Cubs downed the Saskatoon Giants 4-3 in a really well played Saskatchewan Premier Baseball League contest. The two under-18 AAA sides showed how good that level of ball can be played in front of a gathering of about 100 spectators.

During the game, you could play in your head what each team could do to get runners on base, and then bunt and steal to get them home. The pitching and defence on both sides made the offences work to earn everything they got.

The Tigers team photo after winning the 2007 WHL title.

The sides met again on Sunday at Cairns, and the Cubs pulled out a 5-2 victory in that contest. Following that game, the Cubs sported a 26-6 record, and the Giants were a solid 18-13.

With that said, the romanticism in sport is only a small part of the game. It could even be as small as two per cent.

No one sees the hours of preparation and training the athletes put in at practice or the hours administrators invest in fundraising to keep teams going. At the professional level like the NHL and CFL, the whole business aspect that exists to make those clubs go is quite massive.

While the romanticism can give you those warm fuzzy feelings, sports is ultimately a business. In Canada, sports is not really that big of a business in the grand scheme of things unless you are the NHL.

From what I have been told, the sports industry in Canada is worth $2.6-billion. If anyone disputes that figure, I hope they feel free to pass on the source of what the correct figure might me.

On August 25, 2020, Forbes ran a column that said the sports industry in the United States is worth US$750-billion. The piece said the sports industry is the 11^th biggest industry in the United States.

Of course, one will argue the United States has 11-times greater the population that Canada has. If you do the comparative math to make Canada’s population close to equal to that of the United States, Canada’s sports industry would be worth $29.7-billion in Canadian funds in that scenario.

Outside of the NHL, CFL or Toronto’s MLB and NBA teams, the success of sports in Canada depends on volunteers. Those that make a wage in the sports industry usually have to live with a partner, who has a career that makes $70,000 to $80,000 a year.

Let’s just say most won’t get rich working in the sports industry in Canada and will scrap to get by financially. The same goes for those that are left covering sports in the media industry.

The Raiders raise the Ed Chynoweth Cup as WHL champs in 2019.

Any of the last big salaried persons left covering sports in Canada’s media industry are being pretty much swerved into retirement.

To be realistic, you can be involved in sports in Canada, if you have some other way to make a healthy income to handle life’s financial worries.

In my family, there are a number of people who have been linked and involved in sports for a lengthy period of time. With that said, the vast majority of people in my family make their livings outside of the sports industry, and they don’t really know all the ins and outs of Canada’s sports world.

During the first seven days of September, I will be tied up with a big family wedding, and I will be humbled.

I’ve covered the WHL major junior hockey circuit in some form in each of the past 22 seasons. In some circles, that is a big thing, but I will run into lots of people at that wedding who won’t view it that way.

Actually, I worked for a few different places in recent years that aren’t linked to the sports world and often the vast majority of the staffers at those places don’t understand why you would go out to cover the Saskatoon Blades, Prince Albert Raiders, the CJFL’s Saskatoon Hilltops, the WWCFL’s Saskatoon Valkyries or the University of Saskatchewan Huskies Football and Men’s and Women’s hockey teams in U Sports.

Most staffers I encounter at non-sports workplaces view sports as a kids’ endeavor playing games and it is a waste of time to be involved in those worlds unless it is the NHL.

My two most memorable romantic moments in sports came from two WHL title wins separated by 12 years. The first was covering the Medicine Hat Tigers downing the Vancouver Giants 3-2 in double overtime in a series deciding Game 7 of the 2007 WHL Championship Series at The Arena in Medicine Hat. I covered that event for the Medicine Hat News.

The Hilltops celebrate winning the CJFL title in 2018.

The second came from covering the Prince Albert Raiders downing the Giants 3-2 in overtime in another series deciding Game 7 this time in the 2019 WHL Championship Series at the Art Hauser Centre in Prince Albert. I covered that event for this blog and The Canadian Press.

Only two WHL Championships series were decided in overtime in Game 7, and I was in the building for both of those.

Those two victories were life highlights. I have run into many outside of sports who don’t understand that.

In those times, it does put things in perspective that your role in sports doesn’t actually define you as a person, and your role in sports is something you do.

The long drawn out point is that to be involved in sports in Canada you have to want to be there.

As the world transitions to what is hopefully the end part of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, I believe I am at the point I am ready to get back in gear with this blog.

I am going to approach things cautiously. Due to the fact that exploits of sports in Canada aren’t covered anywhere near like they were in the past, I have felt at times I’ve accidentally tried to be all things to all people.

I plan to start out attempting to focus on the Hilltops and the WHL. I believe I might have the opportunity to cover both of those things outside of this blog too.

For myself, I believe those are two good starting points. 

Alex Eyolfson throw a pass for the Valkyries this past July.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, I have found for myself I’ve become a lot more jaded when it comes to dealing with people in general in all forms of life believing everyone is out for themselves.

I have tonnes of great experiences covering the Hilltops and the WHL, and I think that will help me be not as jaded.

I still will likely touch on U Sports, the Valkyries, the Saskatchewan Female Under-18 AAA Hockey League and the CFL. I am going to feel my way through.

For example, I am expecting  Zoom will still be a tool used in covering the happenings in the WHL and U Sports on the interview front. 

At the moment, most of the staffers at the University of Saskatchewan haven’t returned to work at the offices on campus.

I don’t want to overstretch myself, which has happened in the past. Often, I have found I’ve tried to have my blog make up for what is now no longer covered in the mainstream media on the sports front.

During the pandemic, it was also good for me to pick up another interest in following the theatrical sports entertainment happenings of professional wrestling in WWE and AEW. The escapism has been enjoyable for me.

On Saturday, the WWE released one of my favourites in Bray Wyatt, who also goes by a persona known as “The Fiend.”

Again, even that world has a big business aspect to it dealing with issues of contract sizes, character creative control and usage of performers. Wyatt was one of the WWE’s top merchandise sellers, but a departure after 12 years with that company still happened.

A collectables display of recently released WWE superstar Bray Wyatt.

The WWE has released a lot of talent since April, and it appears no one is safe there in a company that has billions in revenue. My figures are crossed that Alexa Bliss doesn’t get released, because I know I will get tuned out and disinterested at that point.

Overall, it is time to be back in business with this blog again.

As I do that, I will try to navigate this crazy world the best I can.

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

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Completed summer season huge accomplishment for Sask. baseball, softball

Nothing comes easy for sports in COVID-19 world

A Saskatoon Selects pitcher fires in a pitch.

    Everyone involved with minor baseball and softball in Saskatchewan came away winners in 2020.
    They came away winners because those sports were able to have a summer season. During these times that has the world caught in the grips of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the fact a sports body was able to have a season should be considered a major accomplishment.

    On a cool, crisp and picturesque Thursday night at the diamonds at the Gordie Howe Sports Complex, local leagues played out their final games of the 2020 campaign. With most leagues first hitting the field on July 6, close to two full months of baseball and softball was played in Saskatchewan.

    That is likely far more action than most expected to see in those sports. The games on Thursday were watched by modest groups of spectators that physically spaced apart from each other around the diamonds.

    Teams were able to play for city championships and house league championships. In the case of the Under-18 AAA Saskatchewan Premier Baseball League, they were able to hold a championship game for a circuit that had teams around the province.
    On August 23 at Optimist Park in Regina, the Sask Five Giants from Martensville slipped past the host Regina Athletics 2-0 to capture the Saskatchewan Premier Baseball League crown in a one game showdown.
    The odd league was slated to host post-season games this coming weekend.

A Saskatoon Outlaws pitcher chucks in an off-speed pitch.

    Of course, players, coaches and team staffers were disappointed there were no big provincial or Canadian championship tournaments to go to in 2020 due to COVID-19 restrictions.

    Still, it didn’t seem to be lost on anyone that took part in games that it was a good thing they got to play games. In some cases, there might have been a new found appreciation for being able to play games.

    Most of the spectators that usually turned out during the season were friends and family members of the players, but it was still great for them to have something to look forward to during the week and somewhere to go.

    During a normal year, the bulk of the baseball regular seasons are usually played in May and June.
    Teams that play in July and August are some of the few that have won enough to take part in a provincial champion or national championship tournament.

    Considering there was a very real possibility there could be no season at all, what took place from July 6 through to Thursday felt like a welcomed thing that injected some normalcy into life.

    Memories were made during practices and games. For a few hours, players, coaches and staffer were able to get their minds off what was happening in their daily lives.

The Sask Five Giants ran to a Saskatchewan Premier Baseball League title.

    On the field, some great athletic performances took place too. Sometimes one forgets how well these teams in local leagues can play ball.

    Overall, all those involved with minor baseball and softball in Saskatchewan proved it is possible to play sports during a pandemic created by an easily transmitted virus.

    That meant paying attention to extra precautions like no post-game handshakes between teams after game, frequent use of sanitizers and having people stay home who are sick, even if it is just a minor illness.

    The fact minor baseball and softball in Saskatchewan were able to complete campaigns in 2020 helps increase the optimism for other sports it is possible to play during these crazy times.

Hat High retires use of “Mohawks,” “Kwahommies,” other notes

Quinton Slack tears downfield during a 2012 Hat High practice.

    Despite support in Medicine Hat for the monikers, it seemed like it was only time before Medicine Hat High School elected to change the names of its sports teams.

    That time came on Thursday when principal Boris Grisonich announced at a press conference in the school’s gym that Hat High was discontinuing the use of “Mohawks” for its boys teams and “Kwahommies” for its girls teams.

    Of course, Hat High was continuing a trend that has gone on for the last about 20 years with various stops and starts of sports teams at all levels of sports in North America electing to no longer use team nicknames that come from First Nations. The changes were made due to concerns about racism.

    The only program immune from that trend is the Florida State University Seminoles of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. That comes from the fact the Seminole Tribe in Florida has officially sanctioned that post-secondary institution to use the names and images associated with Seminole history.

    In Hat High’s case, Grisonich said the decision to retire the “Mohawks” and “Kwahommies” names had been years in the making. The “Kwahommies” name was developed by spelling “Mohawks” backwards.

    Grisonich said no new name has been picked and the school teams will play under just the Medicine Hat High School name for the 2020-21 campaign and use the institution’s “M” logo.

Grisonich said with what has been going on the world lately it made now a good time to retire the “Mohawks” and “Kwahommies” names.

    In 2020, the world has been caught in the grips of the COVID-19 pandemic and more involved talks around racism with the Black Lives Matter moment that originated in the United States.

The Hat High football team’s defence gets a gang tackle in 2012.

    After the start of the Black Lives Matter moment, the NFL’s Washington franchise decided to drop the name “Redskins” after facing pressure from sponsors. After the change with Washington’s NFL team, the CFL’s community owned Edmonton franchised decided to drop the name “Eskimos.”

    Back in 2015, Suzanne Tripp, who graduated from Hat High in June of that year, had a petition going to try and get the names of Hat High’s sports teams changed. At that time, it was decided to continue with the use of “Mohawks” and “Kwahommies.”

    The Hat High football teams did use the “Redskins” moniker in the 1950s and early 1960s, and few people in Medicine Hat remember the use of that name in the current time. Had “Redskins” still been in use after the 1960s, that name likely would have been changed about a decade or two earlier from the present time.

    With all that noted, the Medicine Hat High School teams when they went by the names “Mohawks” and “Kwahommies” were associated with the characteristics pride, honour and class.

    When you think of the Hat High sports teams, you picture football head coach Quinn Skelton guiding the Green and White to another win. Skelton, who was named the NFL Canada youth coach of the year in 2008, has been the head coach of the school’s football and rugby teams since the 1990-91 season.

    Over the decades, he has had a huge positive impact on his players and also the students at Hat High from his role as a teacher in that school. Very few are held in as high regard amongst the student body at school as Skelton is at Hat High.

Hat High HC Quinn Skelton, left, with Nathan Coehoorn in 2014.

    Alums like Dan Federkeil, who is a former offensive lineman with the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts and the Calgary Stampeders, and Nathan Coehoorn, who is a former receiver with Edmonton’s CFL team, will always be part of Hat High’s storied sports history.

    The goes for Canadian track and field star Sage Watson.

    Memories of students doing the “Cha Cha Slide” during halftimes of football games at the Methanex Bowl will live forever.

    The great memories that have been made at Hat High will never disappear.

    Of course, there has been push back over the name change in Medicine Hat. All one has to do is look at the comments section from social media posts about the name change coming from the Medicine Hat News and CHAT Television media outlets.

    Over time, the hurt feelings will likely fade.

    Hat High will continue to build on its spectacular history, because of the quality people that are inside that institution.

• On Wednesday, Regina sports radio voice Michael Ball said his son Ethan has tested positive for COVID-19. Ethan is a freshman defensive back with the University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks football team and is down in Grand Forks, N.D. The Fighting Hawks play in NCAA’s Division I Football Championship Subdivision. Ethan is a graduate of Regina’s Riffel High School Royals football team. Michael interview Ethan for “The Growing the Game with Ballsy” podcast on Wednesday that can be found by clicking right here.
• On Wednesday, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson revealed he, his wife and two children tested positive for COVID-19. In an Instagram video that lasted 11 minutes and 35 seconds, Johnson said his family is on the other side of the virus and they are no longer contagious. Johnson’s Instagram video can be found by clicking here.
• According to Worldometer at the time this post went live 878,133 people have died so far this year in the world due to the coronavirus. Also this year, Worldometer has reported 1,141,158 people in the world so far this year have died of HIV/AIDS, 727,946 died by suicide, 665,855 died by malaria, 571,650 people have died by water related diseases, 331,539 died by seasonal flu, and 209,820 mothers have died during birth.
• You get the feeling the way Dr. Bonnie Henry, who is B.C.’s provincial health officer, talks that restrictions regarding COVID-19 will like last well into 2021.
• On Wednesday, Dan Barnes of Postmedia reported nine positions were terminated at the CFL head office in Toronto and 20 staff members were furloughed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The departed includes Steve Daniel, who was the league’s senior director of game information and statistics.
• On Wednesday, The Associated Press reported the NCAA plans to furlough its entire staff from its head office in Indianapolis, Indiana, anywhere from three to eight weeks due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The furloughs will take place between Sept. 21 and the end of January of 2021. The NCAA’s Indianapolis office employees about 600 people.
• Way back on August 27, 1980, the Winnipeg Tribune news paper closed after a 90 year run. Patti Dawn Swansson and Gregg Drinnan posted tributes to the late publication on their respective blogs. Swansson’s piece can be found by clicking right here and Drinnan’s piece can be located by clicking right here.
• Back on this past Aug. 27, the City of Saskatoon reopened the Saskatoon Field House fitness and weight room and track and court area.
• On Thursday, Hockey Canada cancelled three events due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They include the National Women’s Under-18 Championship set for Nov. 2-8 in Dawson Creek, B.C., the Canadian Tire Para Hockey Cup set for Dec. 6-12 in Bridgewater, N.S., and the World Junior A Challenge set for Dec. 13-20 in Cornwall, Ont.
• On the good news front, the Saskatoon Hilltops announced they will return to practice next week. Practices for the venerable club, which has won 22 CJFL title, will run from Tuesday to Thursday for six weeks.

View this post on Instagram

WE'RE BACK!!.... as much as you can be during a pandemic. We're starting practices next week - how exciting is that? We've scoured the Saskatchewan Health Authority and Government of Saskatchewan's return to play guidelines and we're confident we meet and exceed all health and safety protocols. These optional practices are our way of keeping our team as unified as possible, and providing the physical and mental health benefits of sport to our athletes. What will our practices look like? Smaller groups, hand sanitizer, little to no contact, hand sanitizer, waivers, temperature checks, hand sanitizer, COVID-19 screening, hand sanitizer, masks, hand sanitizer. If we could hose the guys down with sanitizer every ten minutes, we would. Practices will run Tuesday through Thursday for the next six weeks and we. cannot. wait.

A post shared by Saskatoon Hilltops (@saskatoon_hilltops) on Sep 4, 2020 at 12:36pm PDT

    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.