Wyant Group Raceway ready for green flag to drop

The Wyant Group Raceway opens its season on Saturday.

    For members of the Saskatoon Stock Car Racing Association, they might feel like kids opening presents on Christmas morning, because they will begin racing for real.

    On Saturday, the green flag is ready to drop to start an abbreviated season at the Wyant Group Raceway. Normally, the stock car racing season in Saskatoon starts near the last weekend of May.

    Of course, the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic wreaked havoc on the local automotive racing season like it has the entire sports world.

    The SSCRA has had a racing season of some sort every year since 1954, and that streak will go on despite the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

    The front gates are set to open at 4 p.m. on Saturday and the national anthem and invocation will follow at 6 p.m. to kick off the night’s main program.

    Racing is slated to take place in the super late model, bandolero, sportsman, baby grand and mini cup classes.

    Due to Government of Saskatchewan COVID-19 pandemic regulations, the SSCRA was only able to sell 150 tickets for Saturday’s race program, and those tickets were all scooped up a short time after going on sale on Tuesday.
    The fans won’t have any problems when to comes to physical distancing as the Wyant Group Raceway has a capacity of 3,319 spectators, and the track also has 15 corporate chalets that act as box seating.

Racers from the sportsman class head down the front straightaway. 

    With 150 spectators coming to the track, it will almost feel like you could have one fan per every section of stands.

    Still, those in attendance will likely be excited to once again take in one of Saskatoon’s long time summer traditions. The tradition goes back to 1954, when the unincorporated Saskatoon Stock Car Racing Club, which became the SSCRA, operated on the 8^th Street Racing Oval called the Motordrome.

    The track moved to the grandstand area at Prairieland Park for a couple of years in 1970 and 1971. The action shifted to the Bridge City Speedway from 1972 to 2005 before the City of Saskatoon annexed that land to build the residential neighbourhood of Evergreen.

    Since 2006, the Saskatoon Stock Car Racing Association has called the immaculate Wyant Group Raceway home. For those that have never been there, Wyant Group Raceway feels like a piece of race car heaven, and you almost can’t believe a stock car racing facility that nice is located in Saskatoon.

    When the COVID-19 pandemic isn’t on, the Wyant Group Raceway hosts an annual NASCAR Pinty’s Series stop. The NASCAR Pinty’s Series is a minor league circuit that prepares drivers to compete one day at NASCAR’s top level – the Cup Series.

    Still, the racing in Saskatoon’s local classes is top notch and gets the adrenaline pumping. SSCRA supporters will once again be able to see the exploits of various standout drivers in local classes like Aaron Anderson, Neil Schneider, Kevin Dyck, Lachlyn Anderson, Sam Howlett, Blake Erb, Mike Rea, Matthew Shirley and Jim Gaunt.

The super late model class produces tonnes of thrilling races. 

    Prince Albert, Sask., product Shantel Kalika is another track standout, but it is uncertain she will take part in any 2020 races as she is on maternity leave.

    Some of the Saskatoon drivers have been entertaining fans online with a series of iRacing virtual events. While the broadcasts of the virtual events are cool, they can’t replace the feel of live action.

    The shortened SSCRA race season is schedule to run over seven spread out over August and September.

    Considering it seemed possible there wouldn’t be a race season at all in these pandemic times, the 2020 SSCRA season is a special and much welcomed gift.

Could the Saskatoon Field House come back to action?

The front entrance of the Saskatoon Field House.

    It appears the Saskatoon Field House might not be used for any field hospital type purposes at all.

    In early April, the Saskatchewan Health Authority said the Saskatoon Field House was going to be used to stage staff for the field hospital that has been built inside neighbouring Merlis Belsher Place for a surge of COVID-19 cases.

    Merlis Belsher Place was opened on the University of Saskatchewan campus on October of 2018 mainly to serve as the home of the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s and women’s hockey teams. Housing two hockey rinks, Merlis Belsher Place was also home to the Saskatoon Contacts under-18 AAA hockey team and the Saskatoon Stars under-18 female AAA hockey club.

    At the moment, Merlis is a “Linus blanket” field hospital in waiting, and for those that have seen the surge of COVID-19 cases in the United States, it is likely a good thing Merlis is a field hospital in waiting.

    It is well known in the Saskatoon sports community that Merlis won’t be available to be a sports facility for the 2020-21 campaign, and it is uncertain when it will ever serve as a sports facility again.

    With that noted, it appears the Saskatoon Field House might escape having to serve the field hospital at Merlis.

    I went biking through that area on Sunday, and there is no Saskatchewan Health Authority signage on the Saskatoon Field House. There are still signs on the doors of the Saskatoon Field House from the City of Saskatoon stating that sports facility is still closed.

    When you go to the back of the Saskatoon Field House, it feels kind of abandoned as some of the weeds by the back door are about three feet high.

    The City of Saskatoon’s website says the Saskatoon Field House is still closed and there are no notes about when it possibly could reopen. Most of Saskatoon’s leisure centres are close with the exception of the Lakewood Civic Centre and the Shaw Centre, which are partially open.

    The Saskatoon Field House in the main practice facility for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s and women’s track and field teams and for the local track and field community. If it isn’t being reserved to assist with the field hospital at Merlis, the optimism that the Saskatoon Field House could be opened for sports purposes at some point in the future has to increase.

    The outside of Merlis has various Saskatchewan Health Authority signs placed all over it. The main entrance has a label for staff to enter and door for couriers bring packages to the building.

    The back side Merlis has a pair of doors labeled for patients to enter, and both doors lead to the hockey rink area.

    While Merlis won’t be a sports facility for some time, it would be a huge bonus for the Saskatoon sports community to get the Saskatoon Field House back.

Softball Saskatchewan cancels provincials, other notes

Saskatchewan softball players will just play in local area leagues in 2020.

    Softball Saskatchewan couldn’t hold out any longer.

    On Wednesday, the minor sport governing body cancelled all of its provincial championships due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While most minor sport governing bodies that oversaw teams sports during the spring and summer hand cancelled their respective provincials some time ago, Softball Saskatchewan was holding out hoping some positive developments would break with regards to the pandemic.

    Softball Saskatchewan cited Government of Saskatchewan restrictions and guidelines for the cancellation. The Government of Saskatchewan still has a ban regarding tournament play for team sports due to the pandemic.

    Only Golf Saskatchewan was able to run provincial championship tournaments this summer due to golf being an individual sport.

    Softball Saskatchewan and Baseball Sask were allowed to get game action going in city and house leagues starting in early July. Those games are continuing throughout August.

    While it is disappointing Softball Saskatchewan won’t be able to host provincial championship tournament, the crew with that organization should be commended for the work they did to try and make those title events a reality.

• On Tuesday, the AHL announced it has cancelled the AHL All-Star Classic for the 2020-21 campaign due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Laval Rocket was set to host the AHL All-Star Classic on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1 in 2021. Laval will host the event for the 2021-22 campaign on dates that are still to be determined. The AHL hopes to start its 2021-22 regular season on Dec. 4.
• On Tuesday, the Saskatoon Blades announced former captain Ralph Klassen passed away at age 64. Klassen, who is from Humboldt, Sask., played 300 regular season games at centre over five seasons for the Blades from 1970 to 1975 piling up 81 goals and 194 assists for 275 points. Following his time with the Blades, Klassen skated for nine seasons in the NHL from 1975 to 1984 playing for the California Golden Seals, Cleveland Barons, Colorado Rockies and St. Louis Blues. He appeared in 497 career NHL regular season games collecting 52 goals and 93 assists for 145 points. Klassen passed away after a battle with cancer.
• On Wednesday, the OHL announced it hopes to start its regular season on Dec. 1. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the OHL is reducing the length of its regular season from 68 games to 64 games for each team. The OHL plans to hold playoffs in a 16-team format slated to start on April 29, 2021. The OHL hopes to host the Memorial Cup tournament to crown a CHL champion from June 17-27, 2021 in either Oshawa with the Generals as hosts or Sault Ste. Marie with the Greyhounds as hosts.
• On Wednesday, Phil Andrews announced via Twitter he was remaining with the WHL’s Regina Pats as the team’s director of media and communications. He was set to step down from that post on July 31. Andrews said he will be remaining with the Pats to bridge the gap in that position until the WHL season starts.
• On Thursday, the WHL announced it is moving the start of its regular season for the 2020-21 campaign to Dec.4 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The circuit is still planning to play a full 68 game regular season for each team and four rounds of playoffs.
• On Thursday, the CJFL cancelled its entire 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The venerable Saskatoon Hilltops have won the last six straight CJFL titles and have taken the league crown in nine of the last 10 years. The Regina Thunder had the lone other CJFL title win during that span of time coming in 2013.
• On Thursday, the University of Alberta Golden Bears men’s hockey team and the University of Alberta Pandas women’s hockey team were reinstated as members of the Canada West Conference for the 2020-21 U Sports season. On June 17, the U of Alberta athletics program suspended play in a number of sports for the 2020-21 season due to financial constraints brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Golden Bears and Pandas hockey teams requested to be reinstated following new financial support from donors. At the moment, regular season play in the Canada West Conference is slated to start in Jan. 2021 depending how the COVID-19 pandemic plays out. The Golden Bears have won the most U Sports national men’s titles with 16, and the Pandas have won the most U Sports national women’s titles at eight.
• Gregg Drinnan continues to do solid work tracking how the COVID-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc on the sports world in his Taking Note blog. His post from Thursday can be found by clicking right here.

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

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“Kickstart My Heart” – Let action at the Wyant Group Raceway go green flag!

The SSCRA’s super late model class jets into action in 2017. 

    Right now, there is a sizable community inside Saskatoon that feels “the need for speed!”

    Usually, the Saturday of last weekend would have marked the start of the new Saskatoon Stock Car Racing Association season. Normally, that would mean you could look forward to Saturday nights at the Wyant Group Raceway watching a mix of racers in seven different classes ripping around the track like their hair is on fire.

Aaron Anderson zips around the track in the pro truck class in 2017.

    These racers are good too, and they are running around the track in pricey toys that can go at high speed comparable to what see with NASCAR races on television. Some of the cars in Saskatoon’s super late model class cost around $34,000, and they perform just as good as or even better than NASCAR cars.

    Unfortunately due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, we are robbed of seeing the exploits of Aaron Anderson, Neil Schneider, Kevin Dyck, Lachlyn Anderson, Sam Howlett, Blake Erb, Mike Rea, Matthew Shirley and Jim Gaunt.

Matthew Shirley in super late model action in 2017.

    The Wyant Group Raceway is home of drivers from Saskatoon and mid to northern parts of Saskatchewan.

    It is also the home track for Prince Albert, Sask., product Shantel Kalika. Kalika has made appearances the past two seasons on the NASCAR Pinty’s Series, which is a minor league series that prepares drivers to compete one day at NASCAR’s top level – the Cup Series.

    While competing on the Pinty’s Series, Kalika has continued to race in the pro truck class at the Saskatoon track.

The Wyant Group Raceway can pack in the fans.

    The best part about the crew at the Wyant Group Raceway is that they are all good people and there are countless names of drivers you could include in this column that are fun to watch. Even if you only have a casual interest in racing, it is a blast being out there.

    When you head out there, it is pretty obvious there is a sizable segment of the community that has found the charm of that track. It is common to see a gathering of at least 1,500 on most race nights.

    The Wyant Group Raceway is a NASCAR Pinty’s Series stop, and that has become the local annual two-day Super Bowl type spectacle at that track during a Tuesday and a Wednesday night in late July.

The Wyant Group Raceway enjoys healthy support in Saskatoon.

    The local classes take centre stage on the first day. On the second day, it is common to see the stands that can pack in 3,319 spectators full to check out two 125-lap NASCAR Pinty’s Series with a local Saskatoon class holding a feature race of its own between the two Pinty’s Series runs.

    Unfortunately, this year’s NASCAR Pinty’s Series stop set for July 28 and 29 in Saskatoon has become a COVID-19 casualty.

    At the moment, Saskatoon Stock Car Racing Association isn’t throwing in the towel as far as the 2020 campaign is concerned. It hopes to start its season at the beginning of August.

Shantel Kalika, left, is one of the SSCRA’s best known racers. 

    The NASCAR Cup Series has already restarted its 2020 campaign in the United States racing in events without fans.

    The top professional level has shown it is possible to hold stock car racing in these COVID-19 pandemic times.

    The racers are shielded from coming into physical contact with each other, because they are inside their cars. The pit crew teams are all spaced out from each other.

    Inside each team, you do work together in close quarters, but the Cup Series races have shown the pit crew teams can get things done just with wearing protective masks.

    On top of that, the drivers at the Wyant Group Raceway are putting a tonne of their own money into their cars and operations. Of course, most of the racers have sponsors, but they are not bringing in big paydays.

Shantel Kalika (#49) races in the pro truck class in 2017.

    Usually the top prize for winning a local class feature race on the NASCAR Pinty’s Series race days is $1,000, which isn’t a whole lot of money in the race world.

    These drivers are out there, because they love what they are doing and they love being at the track.

    If the races have to go on without fans, it would be wise to see of Access7 in Regina could come up to Saskatoon and broadcast the races from the Wyant Group Raceway on the community channels run by Access7 and the stripped Shaw cable company.

Neil Schneider in action in the sportsman class in 2017.

    These races are something the SaskTel Network could look into showing province wide too. The action at the Wyant Group Raceway is a product made for television.

    Actually, if the province could lax up on the restrictions for mass gatherings to allow the Wyant Group Raceway to operate at half its spectator capacity, the track could rock and roll with that.

    Last weekend in Canada, you had gatherings of 3,500 in three cities rightfully protesting to bring an end to racism, and the Wyant Group Raceway’s capacity comes in just under that.

Jim Gaunt is the steady veteran at the Wyant Group Raceway.

    Stock car racing is a long time summer tradition in Saskatoon. The tradition goes back to 1954 when the Saskatoon Stock Car Racing Association started out as the unincorporated Saskatoon Stock Car Racing Club operating on the 8^th Street Racing Oval called the Motordrome.

    The track moved to the grandstand area at Prairieland Park for a couple of years in 1970 and 1971.      

    The action moved to the Bridge City Speedway from 1972 to 2005 before the City of Saskatoon annexed that land to build the residential neighbourhood of Evergreen.

Kevin Dyck (#10) makes a charge in a super late model race in 2017.

    Since 2006, the Saskatoon Stock Car Racing Association has called the immaculate Wyant Group Raceway home, which has 15 corporate chalets on its grounds.

    Stock car racing is something that is doable in these COVID-19 pandemic days. Come on medical health and government officials, let’s make this happen.

White named interim CEO of U Sports, other notes

Dick White, right, with Christine Stapleton in 2001.

    Dick White couldn’t stay retired and has answered the call from Canada’s university sports scene once again.

    On Tuesday, White was named the interim Chief Executive Officer for U Sports. White takes over from departing president and CEO Graham Brown, who had served in that role since October 2015.

    White is best known for being the director of athletics for the University of Regina from 1995 to his retirement on Dec. 31, 2014. He served as the president of U Sports for two stints including from 2005 to 2009 and the 2013-14 season.

    He graduated from the U of R in 1974 with bachelor of education. White initially joined the U of R’s athletics program in 1981 as administrative assistant and would continue to work in a variety of roles at the university before becoming the director of athletics in 1995.

    White was inducted into the Regina Sports Hall of Fame in 2013 as a builder. Since his retirement, he was inducted into the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame (2015), the U of Regina Sports Hall of Fame (2019) and the inaugural class of the Canada West Hall of Fame (2019).

    “I am pleased to take on this role and am committed to working with our teams and membership in navigating the current environment and positioning the Canadian university sport delivery system to achieve best-case outcomes,” said White in a release. “I strongly believe U Sports will further its important role as a progressive facilitator and advocate for university sport and to advance future opportunities for athletes.”

Dick White, right, with Ralph Nilson in 2002.

    White helped navigate U of Regina athletics out of tough economic times in the early to mid 1990s. Under his watch, U of Regina athletics grew from its original six varsity teams to 16 teams.

    That include having the CJFL’s Regina Rams join the U Sports ranks as the U of Regina Rams in 1999 to play alongside the rest of the varsity teams that operate as the U of Regina Cougars.

    White had a big hand in allowing a new gym in the Centre for Kinesiology, Health and Sport to be built and open on the U of Regina campus grounds in 2004.

    With the world gripped by the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a lot of uncertainty.

    White has vast experience in dealing with government officials during his career, and this will be a huge asset for U Sports as it tries to get itself through these crazy current days.

    White has a great passion for U Sports, and you can bet he is coming into this position to make a huge positive difference.

    In all reality, White has done his part for “king and country” when it comes to Canada’s university sports scene, and he could have deservedly gone on enjoying the retired life. He still regularly attended as many U of Regina athletics events as he could just to enjoy things as a spectator.

    It is pretty big for U Sports that he has come back to action in these unprecedented days.

• On Tuesday, Country Thunder pulled the plug on its festival for Craven, Sask., set for July 9 to 12 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The big tripping was the uncertainty regarding continued restrictions for large public gatherings. Country Thunder said everything was postponed for until July 8 to 11, 2021, when the next festival was planned for Craven.
• On Monday, Baseball Manitoba announced it has been given clearance by medical health and government officials to start executing a return to play plan during the COVID-19 pandemic. In Manitoba, sanctioned baseball training is slated to resume this coming Monday. The start date for when competitions may resume hasn’t been determined, but a July 1 target date has been set.
• On Sunday, members of the Saskatoon Stock Car Racing Association took part in an iRacing virtual event that was broadcast online. Many of the cars the Saskatoon racers used included their real life paint jobs. The video of that race was posted on Youtube and can be found by clicking right here.
• Phase 3 of the Government of Saskatchewan’s reopen plan is slated for this coming Monday. If you drove through downtown Saskatoon on Wednesday night, you would notice the staff at Hudsons Canada’s Pub was preparing the establishment’s patio area for the reopening. It was a site that helps increase things in the hope department.

    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.

Sunday fun day with NASCAR

Any type of live sports makes COVID-19 pandemic life better

Kevin Harvick leading a NASCAR race on my TV.

    I think I just became a fan of Kevin Harvick.

    The 44-year-old race car driver from Bakersfield, Calif., dominated my television screen on Sunday as the NASCAR Cup Series returned to action after pausing 10 weeks due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Sunday’s race would be the fifth of the 2020 season for the Cup Series.

    Driving his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford, Harvick posted his 50^th career victory on NASCAR’s top circuit taking The Real Heroes 400 held at the Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina. He led for 159 of 293 laps and became just the 14^th driver to win 50 career Cup Series races.

    Over the past eight days, folks were able to follow live sports in North America thanks to UFC and NASCAR. It was a welcome development.

    UFC got the ball rolling holding three fight cards at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena without fans. The first was UFC 249 held on May 9 and a pair of fight night cards followed on Wednesday and Saturday.

It was great to have a NASCAR Cup Series race on TV.

    I didn’t watch any of those cards live, but I ended up catching the highlights and post-fight interviews on a TSN channel. While Mixed Martial Arts is not something I watch on a regular basis, it was great to see highlights on major Canadian sports networks of something that happened that day.

    It felt normal to see Robin Black on TSN doing analysis after those fight cards. Way back on Aug. 23, 2015, I covered the UFC Fight Night card that was held at the SaskTel Centre, and Black was in town working that event.

    While I was new to that world and only in it for a short time, Black and I hit it off right away, and he pretty much took me under his wing. I tried to soak up as much of his insight as I could, and he was a huge help in guiding me through why fights would unfold as they did.

    Still, I was looking forward to seeing NASCAR’s top level return to action once I found out there would be a live race on Sunday. I covered local level stock car racing during my time in Medicine Hat, Alta., from 2004 to 2014 and a handful of events at the Wyant Group Raceway in Saskatoon.

Jimmie Johnson is coming right into the living room.

    The Wyant Group Raceway is usually home to an annual NASCAR Pinty’s Series stop, which is of the minor league circuits that prepares drivers for the NASCAR Cup Series.

    I admit I wouldn’t even consider myself a casual follower of NASCAR. I am one of those that will watch it once in a while and knows when the Daytona 500 is on.

    With that noted, any time I watch any type of car racing I love it.

    Of course, Sunday’s race at the Darlington Raceway wasn’t your normal race. There were no fans in the stands, and it seemed like everyone on the track that appeared on television were wearing protective masks.

    Prior to Sunday’s race, the last time drivers were in their cars came 71 days prior on March 8 at the Phoenix Raceway in Avondale, Arizona.

    NASCAR is not holding practices or qualifying for the first four races back except for the qualifying of the Coca-Cola 600, which will be held this coming Sunday at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina.

The NASCAR field comes down a straightaway on my TV.

    Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there were new safety protocols including health screenings, social distancing rules and mandatory masks. Some the racing teams had personnel that would normally be at the track performing their roles remotely at other locations.

    Considering the drivers were basically coming in cold without having raced in real cars for an extended time, the race itself was fun. Outside of seeing people in protective masks and noticing there were no fans in the stands, I thought the race proceeded like normal and the quality of the driving was high.

    I got excited when there was a driver I knew in veteran Jimmie Johnson, who has won the NASCAR Cup Series title seven times, jump into the lead during the early portion of the race. My heart dropped when Johnson’s day ended after he crashed into the wall after rubbing with another car before 100 laps were in the books.
    Shortly after the race passed 100 laps, Harvick jumped into lead and remained in front of the field for seemingly the rest of the race.

Kevin Harvick is on his way to victory on my TV.

    It felt like everything he did on the track was clean including when he entered and exited the pits.

    Harvick crossed the finish line with a healthy edge on second place finisher Alex Bowman, who was driving his No. 88 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE for Hendrick Motorsports, and third place finisher Kurt Busch, who was driving his No. 1 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE for Chip Ganassi Racing.

    During these crazy COVID-19 times, it was a treat to see Sunday’s Cup Series race. It made life feel more normal and increased optimism that other sports might come back sooner than later in North America.

    Thinking about the Wyant Group Raceway in Saskatoon, it would be cool, if it could get going on the local level with the same format as Sunday’s NASCAR race.

    While Shaw doesn’t have the ability broadcast local events anymore, it would be sweet if Access 7 could come up from Regina and show Saturday action from the Wyant Group Raceway live across the community channels on its network and Shaw without fans in the stands.

It would be great to have Wyant Group Raceway action on TV.

    Local golf courses in Saskatchewan are open to anyone in the public to go hit a round, but competitive provincial golf events have been held yet.

    On the racing front, NASCAR at the highest level has shown a way for stock car racing at the local level in Saskatoon to get going.

    Now we just need the medical health officials in Saskatchewan to give the green light to make it so. Dreaming and imagining what can be are always good things.

NASCAR Pinty’s Series simulation is a treat

Cayden Lapcevich in action in 2017 at the Wyant Group Raceway.

    I also learned on Sunday watching a simulated sports even can be a fun thing too.

    After the real life The Real Heroes 400 NASCAR Cup Series regular season race was held at the Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina, TSN showed a virtual race from the NASCAR Pinty’s Series, which is a minor league circuit to the Cup Series.

    The virtual Pinty’s Series race was computer simulated to look like action was going down at the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in Bowmanville, Ont. The actual competitors from the Pinty’s Series were driving their cars on simulation machines at their respective homes.

    Outside of noticing the obvious computer graphics, the race looked real. I was glued to see how one of my favourite drivers in the young 20-year-old Cayden Lapcevich was doing.

    Lapcevich has made a name for himself on that circuit over the past four years.

    I watched the first half of that simulated race before going on to do other things with my day.

    Still from what I saw, I can see why people would enjoy watching simulated sporting events, when real sporting events have been put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

    In Saskatchewan, I know the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League has been streaming simulations of its junior A league playoffs. Those simulations seem to be attracting a sizable following and have drawn good reviews.

    On Friday, the Pinty’s Series cancelled the twin races set for July 29 at the Wyant Group Raceway in Saskatoon. It would be sweet to see a simulation held for those two races at some point in the future.

    If most live sports continue to stay on the shelves in Canada and North America, here is hoping other leagues will follow through with showing simulated games, because they do help get your mind off of what is happening in the current day with the COVID-19 pandemic.

CFL’s former training camp day passes quietly, other thoughts

Had today circled on the calendar for a while. Hoping our world will go back to “normal” asap. Missing my brothers and the grind to grey cup 2020 in Regina! Stay up rider nation 🍉🍉🍉

— Jorgen Hus (@Jhus41) May 17, 2020

    It was somber Sunday for CFL fans and anyone who has a stake in that league.

    Sunday was the day main training camps were supposed to open across the circuit. Unfortunately, the CFL’s activities have been shuttered at the moment thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Currently in North America, only the UFC and NASCAR Cup Series circuit have come back to life holding live events.

    For a number of years, the Saskatchewan Roughriders have held training camp in Saskatoon. This year, the Roughriders were going to hold their training camp in Regina, but they were supposed to come to Saskatoon this coming Saturday for their “Green and White Day” at Saskatoon Minor Football Field, which was to include a mock game type scrimmage.

    The fact that the Roughriders weren’t hitting the field anywhere for camp activities made the COVID-19 pandemic appear even more real to football fans in the province.

OG Brendon LaBatte (#57) takes part in Roughriders training camp in 2015.

    Followers of various other sports like hockey have seen those worlds come to a stop due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so they have dealt with what CFL football fans are now feeling for some time.

    On the Roughriders front, it would have been cool if fans could have been chasing down star quarterback Cody Fajardo for autographs or debate the team’s chances for topping the West Division for a second straight year or possibly winning the Grey Cup at home in November.

    Now fans of the CFL just hope the circuit survives the pandemic.

    During the final week of April, news came out that the CFL was looking for financial assistance from the Canadian federal government.

    The CFL is 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.   

    CFL fans hope the silence on the football fields for practices and games won’t become a permanent thing.

    It would be uplifting if the CFL was able to return to action in 2020.

• Alan Poirier, who was my first managing editor at the Medicine Hat News, put together a column on his blog “On Second Thought” that looked into a couple of theories regarding the origin and start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Poirier is a conservative thinker, but he has penned a lot of good columns that make you question why things are the way they are in a good way. He has a knack of making observations and speculations that turn out to be correct. I’ve seen a lot of his columns over the years, and I thought this one ranked near the top as one of the best. Feel free to check it out clicking right here.
• It was sad to hear Canadian Forces Snowbirds public affairs officer Capt. Jenn Casey died, when a Snowbirds plane crashed to the ground in Kamloops, B.C. on Sunday. That is a tragedy and condolences go out to all of Casey’s family and friends.
•  This COVID-19 pandemic has made me miss a lot of friends in the hockey world. In recent days, I have missed visiting with former Regina Pats general manager Brent Parker at various games in media an scouts lounges. I miss being in my spot in the SaskTel Centre press box next to Saskatoon Blades play-by-play voice Les Lazaruk. We have had a lot of good visits talking about all sorts of subjects. It was great to say “hi” to former Blades general manager Daryl Lubiniecki at a CO-OP grocery store in Saskatoon about a week ago.
• I’ve enjoyed rediscovering Madden 2008 for the Sony PlayStation 2. I’ve been using the Carolina Panthers and Denver Broncos for the season I am currently playing. I pretty much rebuilt the Panthers team through free agency, which included signing receiver Calvin Johnson. Over a 16-game regular season, Johnson hauled in 83 passes for 2,398 yards and 23 touchdowns. Now that was fun.

    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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Demise of Saskatoon Express just plain old sucks

The final Saskatoon Express.

    I never thought the last story I ever wrote for the Saskatoon Express wouldn’t make it into the outlet’s print edition.

    Actually, I believed I would be contributing more stories to upcoming editions of the weekly paper well into the future. This is a common thought at the time when a media outlet ceases operation.

    On the morning of May 13, I was typing out a story on Saskatoon Valkryies linebacker Emmarae Dale from a hotel room in Prince Albert for what was supposed to be the upcoming edition of the Express.
    I was in Prince Albert to cover Game 7 of the WHL Championship series that night between the host Prince Albert Raiders and the Vancouver Giants for this blog and for The Canadian Press.

    I was trying to finish the story on Dale before the lunch hour arrived.
    When the lunch hour did arrive, I had the story on the Western Women’s Canadian Football League standout player ready to be sent into the Express office along with a photo package.

    I opened my email to discover my urgency wasn’t needed.
    A message was sitting my inbox from Express editor Cam Hutchinson that was only five minutes old.

The seniors guide produced by the Saskatoon Express.

    The message thanked me for the stories I wrote for the Express over the years and said the weekly had officially closed its office doors.
    I was caught off guard, because I was expecting the Express to close up shop any time soon.
    The publication was moved into a nice new office space in the north end of the city.

    Plans had been in development for me to work in a closer partnership with the Express, and some of the steps in that plan had already been executed.

    I wasn’t surprised, because this type of things happens on a regular basis in today’s volatile media industry, especially in Canada.

    The story on Dale meant for the Express appeared in my blog and can be found by clicking right here.

     At first, I compartmentalized the demise of the Express, because I was so involved with the WHL final and the Raiders run to the Memorial Cup tournament. Prince Albert won the series deciding Game 7 of the WHL final that night 3-2 in overtime with Dante Hannoun picking up the winner.

Emily Clark on the Saskatoon Express cover.

    Before going to that game, I put posts up on Facebook and Twitter linked to Hutchinson’s farewell column for the Express.
    When you motor around Saskatoon now 18 days later, you wouldn’t even know the Express existed for an eight-year run.
    All the yellow bins that held the print versions of the paper have been picked up.

    If you try to connect to the Express’s website, most links come up with an error message. The Express’s Facebook and Twitter social media lines have gone untouched for about a couple of weeks.

    In the Lawson Heights Mall, I found copies of the seniors’ guide that was produced by the Express.
    That was the only sign I could find in town that the Express even existed.

    Hutchinson wrote in his column that advertising dollars were drying up. The final edition of the Express was covered in an advertising wrap and about 35 percent of the interior of the publication contained ads.

    I am speculating here, but I believe there was a fear in this volatile economy that ad revenue would dry up.
    Most of the people who had money invested in the Express were older veterans from the newspaper industry who were nearing retirement age, at retirement age or past retirement age.

Julia Flinton on the Saskatoon Express cover.

    Again, I am speculating, but I think that played a lot into the decision to close up shop. Eventually, people would like to have the option to roll into the sunset and not work.
    Still, the fact is the Express is no more.
    The thing that hurts the most is Saskatoon lost a media voice that was an alternative from the mainstream outlets.

    Hutchinson did a great job of rounding up what I call were the “outlaws” or media members that were often cut loose by the Saskatoon StarPhoenix.

    Due to the connections these media members had, the Express as a weekly was a vehicle that could keep the mainstream outlets accountable in their coverage, especially if they are owned by chains.

    You can bet the big local managers with companies like Postmedia, which owns the StarPhoenix, have to be doing fist pumps, because a competitor went down giving them more of a free rein.

    The Express’s demise reinforces the notion for chain media companies that they wait out local competitors and watch them close when they run out of steam.

    Because the mainstream outlets in Saskatoon are shadows of what they were 19 years ago, there are tonnes of stories in Saskatoon not being covered.

A Saskatoon Express story featuring Kaitlin Willoughby.

    When the Express was around, the mainstream outlets had to check it out to see if there was anything pressing or big that was missed.

    The Express carried stories in arts and sports that often were overlooked elsewhere or wouldn’t become stories unless the big local managers at the mainstream outlets took an interest in them.
    The weekly contained writers that typed out political columns you would not likely see in mainstream outlets as well.

    The Express provided a vehicle to showcase some of my stories on the Saskatoon Stars of the Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League.

Kirby Dach on the cover of the Saskatoon Express.

    The Stars won four of the last five SFMAAAHL titles and earned berths at the Esso Cup female midget AAA nationals in each of those runs.

    Global did stories on them. If it wasn’t for Global and myself doing stories on the Stars, their exploits would have been ignored.
    They have produced players that have skated in Canada’s national team system too.
    The most traction the Stars had in mainstream outlets came in the 2017-18 campaign, when they fell in the Esso Cup title game to the St. Albert Slash 2-1.

    Even looking at the sports scene, there is so much I am not able to do as a solo person with my blog.
    The high school sports scene in Saskatoon is barely covered, and it was a staple of coverage for years in mainstream outlets.

    For minor sports at that level, they are usually the first to get cut because they draw the most jealousy complains by irate parents, who often confront the big bosses at mainstream outlets. The complaints usually revolved around one school getting more coverage than other schools or one minor sports team getting more coverage than other minor sports teams.

A Saskatoon Express story featuring Ashley Messier.

    The big bosses realize if those sports aren’t covered, they don’t deal with irate parents and have more hours in their day to focus on other things.

    I’ve often written stories on the University of Saskatchewan Huskies football team and hockey teams.
    When I’ve tried to do stories on the other Huskies teams on top of that, I find my time gets too taxed, and those teams I don’t write about deserve props too.

    In Saskatoon, the WHL’s Blades and the CJFL’s Hilltops aren’t covered to the extent they should be even with the work of my blog added in.

    In a naive way, I was hoping to work with the staff at the Express and hopefully try to better bridge gaps in the coverage.

Cianna Lieffers on the Saskatoon Express cover.

    The Express helped me work with sports scenes that I didn’t have any links to like the local stock car scene at the Wyant Group Raceway.

    Another thing I found disappointing with the demise of The Express was the lack of reaction.
    My initial social media posts on Facebook and Twitter drew no reaction.
    The Express Facebook page had three readers write in with their sympathies.
    I was told by lots of people in the community they loved checking out the Express, because they finally got to see a well put together print publication again.

    I have been met with lots of surprise over the past two weeks when I tell people the Express is no more.

    The Express offered lots of support to this blog. I admit I will have to deal with a hole not having that support there.
    Overall, I enjoyed working with the staff at the Express. Hutchinson, who is a long time friend, and general manager Dan Senick are gems.

The Saskatoon Express office all closed up.

    If they ever wanted me to work together on another media venture, I would be all for it.

    At the moment, I am still feeling disappointment the show isn’t going on.

    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.

Lapcevich lives up to hype at Saskatoon’s NASCAR Pinty’s stop

Cayden Lapcevich and his crew celebrate a first place finish.

    Cayden Lapcevich is leaving the sophomore jinx in the dust.
    Last year, the Grimsby, Ont., product burst on to the scene becoming the first driver to win the NASCAR Pinty’s Series championship and the NASCAR Pinty’s Series rookie-of-the-year award in the same season. He accomplished both those feats at age 16.

    This year as a 17-year-old sophomore, Lapcevich has a win and two finishes in the top five after the first five races of the Pinty’s Series season. He sat fifth in the driver’s standings, but he considered the start a slow one due to the fact he has visions of repeating as the circuit’s champion.

Cayden Lapcevich (#76) holds of the Pinty’s Series field.

    On Wednesday, Lapcevich made big gains as the series stopped at Saskatoon’s Wyant Group Raceway for unique pair of 100-lap feature races called the Bayer Velocity Prairie Thunder Twin 100.
    He came away with a third place finish in the first race and captured top spot in the second race at the three-eighths mile oval track.

    Thanks to getting his second win of the season, Lapcevich was pleased with how his day progressed.

    “I thought it went pretty good,” said Lapcevich. “We were good in practice. We qualified OK.

    “We’ll build on it. I think there are still improvements to be made. It was definitely tough staying mentally prepared for today.

    “I’m excited to see what the rest of the ovals bring. I think we’re back in the championship chase.”

Cayden Lapcevich won last year’s NASCAR Pinty’s Series title.

    If it wasn’t for a short moment of bad luck, Lapcevich could have left Saskatoon with two feature race wins. On lap 40 of the first race, Lapcevich was involved with a bump and a spin with another car that drew a caution. He pushed back in the field because of that mishap.

    From there, Lapcevich worked his Dodge racer back into third spot behind race winner Alex Labbe and runner-up DJ Kennington. Kennington led a number of laps in that first run before being overtaken by Labbe.

    Lapcevich said all he could do was shrug off his bad luck.

    “It is part of racing,” said Lapcevich. “You build on it and learn from it.

Alex Labbe (#32) captured Wednesday’s first Pinty’s Series race.

    “After we had a tough first race, it was definitely good to rebound and win the second one and be able to climb in the championship.”

    In the second feature race, Lapcevich calmly maneuvered his way through the field like a seasoned veteran. After the first 39 laps, he sat outside of the top four. At the 59^th lap, Lapcevich worked his way into third place.

    By the 75^th lap, Lapcevich worked his way into second spot and vaulted into the lead by the 78^th lap. He held top spot for the duration of the race. Kennington finished second and Labbe came in third.

DJ Kennington placed second in both Pinty’s races in Saskatoon.

    On the twin feature race day, Lapcevich said the biggest challenge was to maintain focus, but the day wasn’t that much out of the ordinary when compared to a day with just one longer feature race. In previous years, the NASCAR Pinty’s Series stop in Saskatoon consisted of one feature race 250-laps in length. Lapcevich won the 250-lap feature race last year in Saskatoon.

    “It is not too much different,” said Lapcevich. “It was just tough to stay mentally prepared.

    “We pushed through and worked hard at it. I’m glad to come out with a win.”

Trent Seidel holds off the local super late model field.

    The two Pinty’s Series races were divided by a 100-lap feature race from the Saskatoon Stock Car Racing Association’s super late model class. The local class put on a great show before large turnout of spectators that packed the track’s stands.

    Andrew Hardy led the early portion of the race in his Dodge Challenger before being overtaken by veteran standout Trent Seidel driving his Chevrolet SS with about 65 laps to go. Seidel held on to top spot from there.

    While Seidel was pacing himself to victory, the battle that was occurring behind him for positioning turned out to be interesting. Matthew Shirley, Kevin Dyck, Jim Gaunt and Kelly Admiraal all jockeyed to get into the top three. When the dust settled, Admiraal slipped into second while Shirley came in third.

Trent Seidel (#70) and Matthew Shirley (#12) battle in a corner.

    Wednesday’s action closed the annual two-day Pinty’s Series stop, which featured racing in the SSCRA’s local classes on Tuesday.

    The SSCRA season resumes at 7 p.m. on Aug. 11 at the Wyant Group Raceway.

    As for Lapcevich, he turns his attention to the next stop in the Pinty’s Series, when the circuit hits the Edmonton International Raceway in Wetaskiwin, Alta., on Saturday.

    The young driver did take some time to reflect on everything that has happened to him this season and last season. In May, he was named to the NASCAR Next program, which gives additional help to young standouts over a 12-month period so they may one day race at NASCAR’s higher levels.

Cayden Lapcevich aims to rocket up the NASCAR ranks.

    The Pinty’s Series is a minor-league circuit that prepares drivers to compete one day on NASCAR’s top level – the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.

    With being part of the NASCAR Next program, Lapcevich receives media training and sponsorship support to help him develop professional skills to assist him in growing his marketability. At times, the last 19 months have been a whirlwind for Lapcevich.

    “It has progressed so much quicker than I thought it would have been,” said Lapcevich. “It has been a lot of fun, and I am excited to see what my future holds.”

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