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| Setups in progress for the Rogers Hometown Hockey Tour stop. |
It seems like
everything is running to Saskatoon this weekend.
One can almost forget how busy life
can get in a bigger city. When you leave Medicine Hat, Alta., which has a
population of about 62,000, Towntown definitely feels like a big city with a
population of about 261,000 calling it home.
During a walk through downtown
today, I immediately encountered crews setting up for the Rogers Hometown
Hockey Tour stop. The tour is part of the promotional package Rogers put
together in conjunction with its new broadcast deal with the NHL, which started
this year.
Crews were scattered along 21st
street extending for about two blocks from the front of the Delta Bessborough
hotel already starting to set everything up. Equipment was scattered
everywhere.
Activities with the tour stop start
at 12 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday. There will be a meet and greet with NHL
alumni, local hockey heroes and celebrities, a market showcasing local culinary
and hometown food trucks, local bands and entertainment, and a kids zone filled
with hockey themed games.
There will also be a viewing party
for the broadcast of Sunday’s NHL contest between the Ottawa Senators and
Chicago Blackhawks. Of course, long time hockey broadcaster Ron MacLean will be
in town as part of all the festivities.
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| Items wait to be placed for the Rogers Hometown Hockey Tour stop. |
Besides that toured in function, the
local sports scene is frantic. The Saskatoon Blades host a pair of WHL games, The
University of Saskatchewan campus is packed full of varsity athletics activities
including basketball, football, soccer and hockey, and the Saskatoon Hilltops
host the Calgary Colts in the Prairie Football Conference championship game on
Sunday at 1 p.m. at Saskatoon Minor Football Field.
That is just a quick rundown of what
is happening as far as sports is concerned, and I am not even close to knowing
what is going on as far as the arts scene or anything else that might be
happening.
The rebuilding Blades are starting
to frequent the win column on a more regular basis lately. They are 4-1 in
their last five games and sit 4-7 overall.
On Friday, the Blades tangle with the Lethbridge Hurricanes (2-8-0-1),
and on Saturday, they face the Portland Winterhawks (3-9-0-2). Game time is 7:05
p.m. on both nights at the SaskTel Centre.
Blades rookie goaltender Nik Amundrud picked up his first career WHL
victory on Wednesday night making 31 stops in a 5-2 victory at home over the
Kootenay Ice. Before that contest, Ice left-winger Tim Bozon, who is out with a
lower body injury, dropped the puck for a ceremonial faceoff before a standing
ovation from the 3,498 spectators on hand. He spent 27 days at Royal University
Hospital last March while battling Neisseria meningitis.
On campus, the men’s basketball team
is hosting the Graham Shootout pre-season tournament, which started on
Thursday. The Huskies faced the Edmonton based MacEwan Griffins on Thursday
night, were to battle the Nipissing Lakers from North Bay, Ont., at 7 p.m. on
Friday and the University of Victoria Vikes at 7 p.m. on Saturday.
The Huskies women’s hockey team has
a two-game set against the University of Calgary Dinos at 7 p.m. on both Friday
and Saturday night at the ancient Rutherford Rink. The Huskies football team
battles the University of Alberta Golden Bears at 1:30 p.m. at Griffiths
Stadium.
The Huskies soccer team are both
hosting Canada West single elimination quarter-final games on Sunday at
PotashCorp Park. The women’s team faces the MacEwan Griffins at 12 p.m. and the
men’s team battles the University of Winnipeg Wesmen at 2:15 p.m.
The Hilltops battle the Colts in
Sunday’s PFC final for the right to go to the Canadian Junior Football League
championship game, the Canadian Bowl, which will be hosted by the British
Columbia Football Conference winner.
Saskatoon topped the PFC with a 6-2
record in the regular season, while the Colts were third in the six-team league
with a 4-4 mark. The Hilltops thumped the Colts in Calgary 47-19 in the only
regular season meeting between the two clubs on Sept. 21. Calgary turned the
ball over five times in that contest, while Saskatoon avoided any giveaways.
The Colts outgained the Hilltops in
total offensive yards 404-340. If the visiting Colts clean up the turnovers,
this contest could be closer than a lot of people anticipate. I still expect
the Hilltops to prevail.
With all that is going on, this will
definitely not be a weekend in Saskatoon, where you want to stay home.
Safety a state of mind
It still seems hard to believe two
Canadian soldiers died this week in two suspected home-grown terror attacks on
home soil.
It feels like no words would ever be
able to comfort the families of Corporal Nathan Cirillo, who was shot guarding the
National War Memorial in Ottawa on Wednesday, and Warrant Officer Patrice
Vincent, who was run down by a car in a community just south of Montreal on
Monday. I do offer condolences to both families on deaths that were tragic and
needless.
When I was in downtown Saskatoon on
Thursday at about 1 p.m., I ran into a curious situation. I saw a radio
reporter interviewing two separate individuals on the street asking them if
they felt more fearful about their safety after the two attacks.
The reporter and the interview
subjects were just a short distance away from three different street creatures
situated in three different spots. The three street creatures turned out to be
fine, as they did talk in a friendly manner to me, when I walked past. I could
also envision a different scenario, where you are mugged for the possessions on
your person.
Living in a city like Saskatoon, you
can face dangers on the street every day. While Saskatoon is a beautiful
centre, it isn’t immune to the crime problems that plague a big city, and
anyone who lives here can honestly tell you that.
If
you are hanging around 20th Street or 22nd Street
during a night hour or at times during the day, you likely have a better chance
of something bad happen to you than being the victim of a terror attack.
In February of 2010, one of my old
buds Bob Florence, who is now a former desker and sportswriter for the
Saskatoon StarPhoenix, was knocked out heading home from work, and he spent two
weeks in intensive care, in an induced coma, and required
two months of hospitalization. Charles Ellwood was convicted for assaulting
Florence, who has no memory about what happened that night because of his
injuries.
In
all reality, you will only feel as safe as you want to feel safe. I feel if you
let a terror attack convince you not to go somewhere, you have allowed the
terror attacker to win at some level.
If you have any feedback on this
blog, feel free to email comments to stankssports@gmail.com.
