When COVID-19 restrictions are announced, social media is not the place to be

Facebook can be a really crappy place at times.

It appears it was a great week to be a rageaholic.

The rageaholics came out of the woodworks this week anytime new restrictions were announced to combat the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that has gripped the world.

On Tuesday, rageaholics went off the rails in Alberta, when new restrictions were brought forward in that province.

On Wednesday, it was Saskatchewan’s turn to be a rageaholic stomping ground.

Of course, new restrictions are being brought in because the number of new COVID-19 cases are spiking across Canada. Just for Alberta and Saskatchewan alone the cases have been rising at an incredible rate.

As of Friday, there were 14,217 active COVID-19 cases in Alberta and 3,263 active cases in Saskatchewan.

Back on Nov. 1, there were 5,172 active COVID-19 cases in Alberta and 798 active COVID-19 cases in Saskatchewan.

Back on Oct. 1, there were 1,596 active COVID-19 cases in Alberta and 144 active COVID-19 cases in Saskatchewan.

When new restrictions get announced, social media is not the place to be. On Facebook and Twitter, it is quite easy to find posts full or rage, hate and piss and vinegar.

Of course you get the side that goes off that the restrictions are too tight. You also have the side that hammers down the restrictions don’t go far enough.

Looking at all the social media posts, you come away with the impression that everyone in society in general is some sort of version of former NFL diva receiver Terrell Owens.

When Owens used to play in the NFL, one of the common acts to imitate him was to go on a rant and say, “It is all about me. Me! I’m the greatest. Me! Team is spelled M, E. Me!”

In general, it is safe to say all humans are selfish to a certain extent. During the COVID-19 pandemic, it feels like the selfishness of humanity has hit new levels. We are definitely not in this all together.

I hate to say it, but some loud people in the sports world - that includes some in Alberta and Saskatchewan - seem to have abandoned preaching the importance of team and seem to be saying things that makes them symbolize all those “me” traits Owens used to show off.

The urge to play in an effort to stay relevant seems to be the most important thing in the world to those people.

Starting on Friday in Alberta, all sports in that province have been cancelled for a three-week restriction period, but exceptions may be granted.

Hockey Canada’s selection camp for its world junior team is going on at the moment in Red Deer, but the sport body announced on Wednesday that players, coaches and staff had entered a 14-day quarantine retroactive to Monday. All camp activities are paused until Dec. 6.

The Bears won’t enjoy any more wins for a bit.

The shutdown came after the confirmation that two players at the camp have tested positive for COVID-19. A staff member had tested positive for COVID-19 on Nov. 21.

A new batch of restrictions took effect in Saskatchewan on Friday. All team sports and group activities are suspended.

Athletes and dancers 18-years-old and under may keep practicing in groups of eight or fewer if they use masks and physical distance three metres from each other. Fitness activities of groups of eight or less are still allowed as long as masks are worn and there is three metres of physical distance between participants.

Capacity at casinos, bingo halls, arenas, live theatres, movie theatres, performing arts venues and other facilities that had a capped capacity of 150 people will be restricted to 30 people.

Indoor gatherings such as banquets, weddings, funerals, conferences will also have a limit of 30 people and food and beverage service will be prohibited.

All places of worship must reduce capacity to 30 people, and no food or drink can be served.

Restaurants and licensed establishments are limited to seat four at a single table.

Mandatory non-medical mask wearing was extended to more areas. That includes all students, employees and visitors at schools, all employees and visitors in common areas in business and workplaces and all residents, employees and visitors in all common areas in provincial and municipal correctional facilities.

These new measures and public health measures that were all ready in effect in Saskatchewan will remain in effect until December 17.

On Wednesday, the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League junior A circuit announced it won’t be playing any games from Friday through to Christmas.

As sports got going again during the pandemic, it felt like there were some in minor sports bodies and with teams that acted like sports would not be shut down again, and it seemed like that message filtered to some players and parents.

If anyone really believed that, they were delusional, because what happens with the pandemic is out of anyone’s control. Everyone in any sports organization should know that the risk on going ahead with play in these current pandemic times is that games and competitions can be scrapped and sports organizations and teams can lose substantial amounts of money by playing.

It felt like there were some out there that knew the risks, weren’t truly honest about them and got burned by them.

There are also a large number of sports organizations and teams that are honest with their players.

Actually, there have been a number of coaches that have done admirable work in being honest with their players.

Special shout outs go to Saskatoon Hilltops head coach Tom Sargeant, University of Saskatchewan Huskies football team head coach Scott Flory, Prince Albert Northern Bears head coach Jeff Willoughby, Saskatoon Stars head coach Robin Ulrich, University of Regina Cougars women’s hockey team head coach Sarah Hodges and University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team head coach Steve Kook.

Those special shout outs come from interactions with the players on those teams as well as the coaches themselves.

There won’t be any Stars victory celebrations for a while.

That list could be expanded, if it wasn’t for limited interactions due to the pandemic. I know I have left a large number of good coaches out.

Still, it feels like society in general is not in this all together when it comes to dealing with the pandemic. The sports world is not immune to this.

It seems the only way out of this is to hope the mainstream media stories that there are at least three COVID-19 vaccine candidates out there that could possibly be rolled out in 2021 becomes reality. That could optimistically return everything to normal by September of that year.

Relying on humanity as a whole to get on the same page to battle the COVID-19 pandemic right now looks to be a non-starter.

The mystery of Rangers’ Maracle, other notes

So were there Indigenous hockey players in the NHL before the late Fred Sasakamoose?

It appears there was a least one for sure. It also appears that it took some painstaking work a journalist to uncover that one, which might add some historical snapshots of time.

The one Indigenous player that came before Sasakamoose was Ayr, Ont., product Henry Elmer “Buddy” Maracle.

Maracle played 11 regular season games at left wing for the New York Rangers in 1930-31 collecting one goal and three assists and was held pointless in four playoff games. He was a member of the Mohawk tribe.

Irene Schmidt-Adeney, who is a reporter at the weekly Ayr News, has spent a tonne of work uncovering Maracle’s history.

He was born in Ayr, Ont., on September 8, 1904 and passed away on June 20, 1958 in Dallas, Texas. Schmidt-Adeney said Maracle passed away due to a kidney disorder. He was a produce truck driver at the time of his death.

She added that stories about Maracle during his hockey career often had racist headlines. His final season of hockey was with the minor league San Diego Skyhawks in 1943-44.

After his hockey career finished, Schmidt-Adeney said Maracle became a United States citizen. According to her research, Maracle gave up his Mohawk status in 1955.

His Texas death certificate from 1958 said his color or race was “white.”

Historical archives and newspaper archives were able to show facts on Maracle. They help paint a snapshot in time.

At the point in time Maracle lived, it was likely more advantageous to renounce your Indigenous status. The fact he did that likely made it harder to track down his cultural background.

As a result, Sasakamoose, who is from the Ahtahkakoop Cree Nation, is often recognized as the NHL’s first Indigenous player with treaty status when he played 11 regular season games for the Chicago Blackhawks in the 1953-54 campaign. Sasakamoose passed away on Tuesday after being recently hospitalized for COVID-19.

Sasakamoose will always live on as a legend, because he did a tonne of work to help better the lives for Indigenous athletes. He always identified with his culture and will always be viewed as a hero.

On Maracle’s front, you can’t fault him for choices he made with the facts that have been uncovered in his life. He was a product of his point and time in history.

• On Wednesday, Softball Saskatchewan announced it was suspending all sanctioned activities until January 15, 2021 due to the rise of COVID-19 cases in Saskatchewan.
• On Wednesday, the WHL announced that the WHL Cup tournament was cancelled for the 2020-21 campaign due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The event features the under-16 teams from British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
• On Wednesday, a Saskatchewan Amateur Football Mega 50/50 lottery was announced to support the CJFL’s Saskatoon Hilltops and Regina Thunder and the WWCFL’s Saskatoon Valkyries and Regina Riot. One prize will be drawn per month, and the draw dates are December 31, 2020, January 31, 2021, February 28, 2021, March 31, 2021, April 30, 2021 and May 31, 2021. Tickets can be purchased by clicking right here, and purchasers must be in Saskatchewan in order to buy tickets.
• On Friday night, the 50/50 jackpot for the Hockey Harvest Lottery sat at $220,520. The lottery is being used to raise money for the player scholarship funds of Saskatchewan’s five WHL teams in the Moose Jaw Warriors, Prince Albert Raiders, Regina Pats, Saskatoon Blades and the Swift Current Broncos. Tickets can be purchased by clicking right here, and purchasers must be in Saskatchewan in order to buy tickets.
• On Friday, the University of Wisconsin Badgers women’s hockey team opened their NCAA regular season schedule falling 3-2 to the Ohio State University Buckeyes in Columbus, Ohio. Sophie Shirley, who is an alumna of the Saskatoon Stars female under-18 AAA hockey team, had an assist for the Badgers. The Badgers roster contains Sophie’s younger sister, Grace, who is also an alumna of the Stars.

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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