Hilltops’ “Sarge” should have been CJFL coach of the year

Hilltops HC Tom Sargeant makes a point during the Canadian Bowl.

    The Langley Rams fate against the Saskatoon Hilltops was sealed the night before the Canadian Bowl.

    Last Friday at the Canadian Junior Football League awards banquet at the Radisson Hotel, Hilltops head coach Tom Sargeant was up for national coach of the year honours due to winning the coach of the year award in the Prairie Football Conference. Sargeant, who is the all-time leader in regular season coaching victories in the history of the CJFL at 147, was given CJFL coach of the year honours twice way back in 2000 and 2003.

    With Hilltops trying to complete a perfect season and win their fifth straight CJFL and eighth league title in the last nine years, it should have been a slam dunk that Sargeant would be named coach of the year this season.

    The CJFL Gord Currie Coach of the Year award went to Bob Reist, who is the head coach of the Chilliwack, B.C., based Valley Huskers of the British Columbia Football League.

    The next day after the awards banquet, the Hilltops proceeded to wipe out the Rams 58-21 in the Canadian Bowl at Saskatoon Minor Football Field. The win game the Hilltops a perfect season at 11-0, a fifth straight CJFL title, an eight CJFL title win in the last nine years and the 21^st CJFL championship in team history.

Hilltops HC Tom Sargeant gets set for the national anthem.

    If you talk to Sargeant about the coach of the year award, he will shrug it off and say it isn’t that important in the bigger picture. In the big picture, it is about getting the Hilltops players to be at their best on the field in game day action and away from the field in their everyday lives in the community.

    If the team’s coaches do their job correctly, the CJFL title will follow.

    Sargeant has the CJFL championship rings to prove that fact. He has 12 as the Hilltops head coach, two as an assistant coach with the team and one as a player. His first championship ring as a player was earned way back in 1985.

    Still, the fact that the Hilltops won the CJFL national title in eight of the last nine years and Sargeant wasn’t named coach of the year once over that span of time is just wrong. He took on the role of Hilltops offensive coordinator in 2017 and 2018 as well.

    The CJFL lost a good chance to make up for an oversight that definitely added up over the eight previous seasons.

    In Canadian sports, the Hilltops run of success is matched and only exceeded by one team in recent history, and that would be the Carleton University Ravens men’s basketball team in U Sports.

    From 2002-03 to 2016-17, the Ravens 13 won out of 15 U Sports national titles, which includes a run of seven straight national titles from 2010-11 to 2016-17.

    Over those 15 seasons, Ravens head coach Dave Smart was named the U Sports coach of the year in men’s basketball eight times, and every one of those wins came in a Ravens championship season.

Hilltops HC Tom Sargeant backed by DC Jeff Yausie.

    When the Hilltops run in the last nine CJFL seasons is compared that 15-season run of the Ravens men’s basketball team in U Sports, the CJFL comes away looking really bad when it comes to giving out the coach of the year award.

    With that said, the coaches in the CJFL that claimed coach of the year honours have always had a sound case and were deserving of being bestowed that honour.

    Reist guided the Huskers to a 6-4 regular season record and their first playoff berth since 2008. The Huskers had been winless the three previous campaigns before the 2018 season.

    Still, the Hilltops had one of their greatest moments in team history with their Canadian Bowl win last Saturday. In posting their fourth perfect season in team history, the Hilltops had arguably their most dominant campaign.

    Between the regular season and playoffs, the Hilltops trailed on the scoreboard for a combined 81 seconds. Just think about that. They trailed all year for a total of 81 seconds.

    The odds of doing that in any football league are astronomical.

    In posting an 8-0 regular season, the Hilltops outscored their opponents 402-70. Looking at all 11 games they played, the Hilltops closest margin of victory came in the PFC final, when they downed the Edmonton Huskies 28-9.

    Many members of the Hilltops had great seasons. Running back Josh Ewanchyna surpassed 1,000 yards rushing in the regular season. He carried the ball 134 times for 1,007 yards and 14 touchdowns, which included missing one game due to injury.

Hilltops HC Tom Sargeant talks to QB Jordan Walls.

    Quarterback Jordan Walls threw for over 2,000 yards in the regular season. He completed 122-of-197 passes for 2,010 yards, 18 touchdowns and four interceptions.

    Walls favourite target in receiver Jason Price hauled in 31 passes for 709 yards and scored four touchdowns.

    Linebacker Cody Peters was named the CJFL’s Larry Wruck Defensive Player of the Year award and was named a CJFL all-Canadian all-star. Hilltops star defensive tackles Garth Knittig and Jesse McNabb were both named all-Canadian all-stars for their outstanding campaigns.

    You could keep going down the roster.

    Sargeant pulled one of the best first class moves ever last Saturday putting his eight fifth-year players on the field for the final kneel downs of the Canadian Bowl in Walls, Price, Peters, receiver Adam Ewanchyna, offensive tackle Kirk Simonsen, defensive end Connor Guillet and linebackers Bobby Ehman and Adam Benkic.

    “Sarge” also has the backing of a stellar coaching staff. Hilltops defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Jeff Yausie is one of the best coaches you will find anywhere in Canada.

    Quarterbacks coach Shane Reider, defensive backs coach Brent Turkington, offensive line coaches Donnie Davidsen and Ben Hodson, defensive line coach Dave Fisher, running backs coach Andre Lalonde and receivers coaches Barclay Schlosser and Evan Turkington and life coach Bruce Rempel all contributed greatly to the Hilltops success this season.

Head coach Tom Sargeant walks the Hilltops sidelines.

    Still, Sargeant is the one who makes the Hilltops machine run and builds the coaching staff. He has had a great impact on the lives of countless Hilltops players for about the last three decades.

    You can be certain the focus of the Hilltops players was sharpened that much more last Saturday, when Sargeant wasn’t named the CJFL coach of the year.

    He is also backed by a great team at home in wife, Kris, and daughters, Macy and Abby. If the veteran sideline boss does have a bad day and it does happen, Kris, Macy and Abby are there to set him straight.

    If there was a Mount Rushmore for great amateur football coaches in Saskatchewan, Tom Sargeant would be on it along with late Regina Rams head coach Gord Currie, who the CJFL coach of the year award is named after, retired University of Saskatchewan Huskies head coach Brian Towriss, and retired Regina Rams/University of Regina Rams head coach Frank McCrystal.

    Currie and Towriss are in the Canadian Football Hall of Fame. McCrystal and Sargeant should be there one day.

    The Hilltops this season clicked in all facets that is rarely seen in sports.

Hilltops head coach Tom Sargeant contemplates a play call.

    The coach of the year award does help show that a team had a good year.

    Ultimately, the Hilltops in 2018 will be remembered for their Canadian Bowl victory. Team championships always create the lasting memory.

    Sargeant will always take team success over any individual honours.

    With that noted, it would have be great to see the CJFL do the right thing and name him coach of the year even if it would have been just once over the past nine seasons.

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

-------

    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.

Huskies women’s hoopsters are set for a bright future

The Huskies pose for a team photo with their U Sports national silver medals.

    You almost forget how young the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s basketball team actually is, because they play so well.

    On Sunday, the Huskies appeared in the championship game at the U Sports national championship tournament in Regina falling 69-48 to the top seeded Carleton University Ravens. The Ravens had a 29-0 record between the regular season and playoffs and a 38-2 overall record for the 2017-18 campaign when exhibition matches were added in.

    It was obvious the Huskies fell to a formidable foe.

    The Huskies had a successful season posting a 25-7 overall record. They finished second overall in the Canada West regular season registering a 17-3 mark.

Summer Masikewich (#11) has become a star post for the Huskies.

    In the Canada West playoffs, they won two elimination contests and made it to the conference championship game falling to the host University of Regina Cougars 75-55 on March 2.

    At the U Sports championship tournament, the Huskies turned the tables on the Cougars prevailing in a semifinal encounter 74-71 on Saturday.

    There shouldn’t be any disappointments for the Huskies this season. It is obvious to point out that if you reverse the results of just two games - the Canada West Conference title game and the U Sports national championship game - the Huskies would be feeling over the moon about the 2017-18 campaign.

    When you step back and look at the big picture, it is amazing to see what the Huskies accomplished this season.

    Back in 2016, the Huskies won the title game at the U Sports national championship tournament held in Fredericton, N.B., over the Ryerson University Rams by a score of 85-71. Following that game, the Huskies graduated fourth players in their fifth-years of eligibility in Laura Dally, Dalyce Emmerson, Kelsey Trulsrud and Taya Keujer.

Guard Sabine Dukate has piled up the points for the Huskies.

    Dally and Emmerson go down as two of the greatest to ever play for the Huskies.

    Fourth-year guard Desarae Hogberg also left the team to focus on life after basketball following that U Sports title win. All five of those players provided the heart of the Huskies team that also claimed the Canada West title in 2015-16.

    It was expected the Huskies would go through a reloading stage and have a drop off.

    In the two seasons since that national title win, the Huskies won a Canada West title in 2017, appeared in the conference final this past season, and made two trips to nationals winning a silver medal on Sunday.

    The Huskies have made 10 trips to nationals over the last 11 years. Their status as a powerhouse is cemented.

Point guard Libby Epoch, right, has become the Huskies floor general.

    They graduated fifth-year veterans in guard Madeline Humbert and forward Megan Lindquist but are loaded with stars who were in their first and second years of eligibility.

    Two of those stars played with significant injuries at nationals in Regina. Third-year shooting guard Sabine Dukate, who is the only remaining starter from the 2016 U Sports national championship winning team, will need shoulder surgery to repair a torn labrum, but she was still a threat to score at all times.

    In the semifinal win over the Cougars, she hit 5-of-11 shots from three-point range to lead the Huskies with 20 points.

    Sophomore point guard Libby Epoch, who stands 5-foot-7, was hampered by a bad ankle, but she still played 114 out of the 120 minutes of total court time the Huskies saw at nationals. She had eight points, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals in the loss to the Ravens.

Guard Megan Ahlstrom has been key at both ends of the floor.

    When you talk to Epoch, you wouldn’t have guessed she is just 19-years-old, because she speaks and acts with a maturity well beyond her years. The Moose Jaw, Sask., product, who has been a member of Canada’s national team system, has already become one of the key public faces in representing the entire Huskie Athletics program. She is the person you want representing your entire athletics program.

    Sophomore post Summer Masikewich, who has also been part of Canada’s national team program, has done a remarkable job is being a star successor to Emmerson.
    Third-year guard Megan Ahlstrom has been a sound contributor at both ends of the floor.

    Sophomore guard Kelsey Lalor has a bunch of untapped potential and rookie forward Kyla Shand improved drastically as the campaign progressed joining the Huskies from Saskatoon’s Holy Cross High School.

Guard Kelsey Lalor will play a bigger role for the Huskies in the future.

    The Huskies played well beyond their years thank to the work of their coaching staff led by head coach Lisa Thomaidis, who is one of the best you will find in any sport in Canada.

    The only time youth caught up to the Huskies was against the Ravens. Leading 25-24 at halftime, the Huskies struggled in the second half rushing shots when the composed Ravens were pulling away.

    The Ravens started three fifth-year and two fourth-year players and substituted in another fifth-year player from the bench. Those six veterans accounted for 50 of the Ravens 69 points, and they stayed steady when the waves were rough in the early going for their team.

    With that said, the Huskies are still playing in conference and national championship games as a young team.

The Huskies are poised to be a U Sports powerhouse for some time to come.

    You know their players are going to put in the work to be that much better in the off-season, and Thomaidis and her staff have to be excited to see what everyone will look like when they all return to school in late August.

    That alone has to get you excited for the upcoming season.

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

-------

    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.

Hockey Huskies to experience March Madness

Jordon Cooke was named the CIS's goalie of the year.

    The University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team will have a different experience at the University Cup compared to their past visits to the national championship tournament.

    The Huskies last appeared at the University Cup as the host team in 2014. That year, the University Cup ran under its long time traditional six-team format. The competing teams were played in two pools of three and the first place team in each pool advanced to the title game after round robin competition within the pool.

    That format often at times could be confusing to follow. If a team lost its first game by a goal, that club still had a chance to make the final. You had to hope the team that beat you lost its next game, and you usually had to win your last round-robin game in blowout fashion to make the title contest.

    It often took a university’s best math ace to figure out the goal spread that was needed in that final contest to advance.

    Last year, the University Cup converted over to a final-eight format that is often used for various other sports in Canadian Interuniversity Sport and down in the United States in the National Collegiate Athletic Association. That means the eight-team field plays single elimination games through a quarter-final, semifinal and championship final rounds.

    The Huskies were eliminated in the first round of the Canada West playoffs last season, so they weren’t part of the University Cup tournament.

    This year they will get their first taste of a hockey style March Madness at nationals hosted in Halifax, N.S.

    U of S is the second seed and will face the seventh seeded Carleton University Ravens in one quarter-final match on Thursday.

    The Huskies, who are making their 17^th appearance at nationals, topped the Canada West standings with a 22-6 record and claimed the Canada West championships with four straight post-season wins. The Ravens were 20-8 in the regular season, have gone 5-2 in the post-season so far and won a bronze medal in the Ontario University Athletics conference playoffs.

Kohl Bauml was named to the CIS all-rookie team.

    An elite-eight tournament is easy to follow, because every team knows you win you move on, or you lose and you have no chance to make the final. If you fall in the semifinal round, you can still play for a bronze medal.

    Most players on the Huskies have limited experience playing in this type of tournament. As their roster is made up players main from the major junior ranks and also members of the junior A ranks, those players are more used to best-of-seven series. The best-of-three series that are played in conference playoffs usually feel like the post-season on speed.

    Single elimination leads to a possibility of a hot goaltender or a strange goal creating an upset. In extra time, the joy of victory becomes that much more heightened, while the agony of defeat is that much more training. The drama also increases, if a game’s finish comes during that stage.

    For now, the Huskies, or any of the other seven competing teams, can’t look past their quarter-final games.

    If the Huskies prevail on Thursday, they will advance to one of Saturday’s semifinals to face the winner of the quarter-final match between the third seeded St. Francis Xavier University X-Men and the sixth seeded University of Alberta Golden Bears. U of A has won the last two University Cups.

    The University Cup final is set for Sunday (5:30 p.m. Saskatchewan time, Sportsnet 360).

    Before the quarter-final round starts, a couple of Huskies picked up individual honours on Wednesday. Jordon Cooke was named the CIS goaltender of the year and a first team all-Canadian all-star. Forward Kohl Bauml was named to the CIS all-rookie team.

Flinton collects all-Canadian honour

Julia Flinton was named a first team all-Canadian all-star.

    Julia Flinton collected one last accolade to further cap her five-year career with the U of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team.

    The Williams Lake, B.C., product was named a first team all-Canadian all-star at the CIS women’s hockey awards night held on Wednesday in Calgary, where the CIS women’s tournament will run Thursday to Sunday.

    Flinton led all CIS defenders in scoring netting four goals and 22 assists in 28 games. She also posted a plus-15 rating in the plus-minus department.

    During her career, Flinton was named a Canada West first team all-star twice, a Canada West second team all-star once, and she made the tournament all-star team at the 2014 CIS championship tournament, where the Huskies won a bronze medal. She was also a member of Canada’s FISU games team in 2015.

    Flinton leaves the Huskies as their all-time career leader in assists with 66 helpers and their fourth all-time leading scorer with 80 points in 131 games. Besides having a spectacular finesse game, Flinton was also tough and departs the Huskies as their all-time career leader in penalty minutes with 176 thanks to taking the odd infraction for bodychecking.

Hoop Dogs aim to capture elusive national crown

Laura Dally received all-star honours.

    The U of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s basketball team hopes this year’s trip to nationals will finally be a golden one.

    The Huskies are making their eighth trip in the last nine years to the CIS championship tournament. In the previous seven visits, they made the championship final once falling 63-49 to the University of Windsor Lancers in 2011. That started a run of five straight CIS titles for the Lancers, who did not qualify for this year’s national championship tournament that will be held in Fredericton, N.B.

    U of S is seeded second in the elite-eight tourney and faces the seventh seeded U of Ottawa Gee-Gees in a quarter-final match on Thursday. The Huskies topped the Canada West standings with an 18-2 record and captured their third conference championship in six years winning four straight post-season games. They downed the U of Regina Cougars 73-62 in the Canada West final.

    The Gee-Gees topped the OUA standings with a 17-2 record, but fell in the conference title game to the Ryerson University Rams 66-60.

    If the Huskies win their quarter-final, they will advance to a semifinal contest on Saturday to take on the winner of the match between the third seeded Saint Mary’s University Huskies and the sixth seeded U of Alberta Pandas.

    The CIS final is set for Sunday (12 p.m. Saskatchewan time, Sportsnet 360).

    On Wednesday, fifth-year Huskies guard Laura Dally was named a first team all-Canadian all-star.

Stars return to SFMAAAHL final

Joelle Fiala had a goal and an assist on Tuesday for the Stars.

    The Saskatoon Stars will try to keep the Fedoruk Cup in Saskatoon.

    Saskatoon returned to the Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League championship series for a second straight year after knocking off the Weyburn Southern Range Gold Wings 2-0 in Weyburn on Tuesday. The Stars claimed the best-of-five SFMAAAHL semifinal series between the two clubs 3-1.

    Joelle Fiala and Grace Shirley accounted for all of Saskatoon’s offence in the series clincher each picking up a goal and an assist. Emma Johnson made 26 saves to earn her sixth career SFMAAAHL playoff shutout.

    Chantal Burke turned away 21 shots taking the loss in goal for Weyburn.

    The Stars will face the Swift Current Diamond Energy Wildcats in the best-of-five league championship series. The dates of the games are still to be announced.

    The Wildcats semifinal series with the Prince Albert A & W Bears went to a deciding fifth game on Wednesday in Swift Current. The hosts prevailed 2-1 in double overtime against the visiting Bears thanks to a breakaway winner by Josee Casavant.

    The Bears thought they netted the winner in the first overtime, but the goal was waved off.

    Saskatoon claimed last year’s SFMAAAHL title sweeping a best-of-five series with the Bears 3-0.

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

CIS fights an uphill battle for exposure

Jon Ryan launches a punt for the U of Regina Rams in 2000.

    Canadian Interuniversity Sport is uniquely Canadian – it is a league that contains a large number of the country's most talented athletes, but it is also a circuit no one talks about.
    Actually, there are people that talk about the CIS, but they usually are a stakeholder being a program's staff member, a player or a friend or family member of a stakeholder. There is a niche audience that follows the teams in the CIS. Those audiences can be bigger in centres like Saskatoon or Thunder Bay, but are smaller in bigger cities like Winnipeg, Calgary and Vancouver.
    One of the disappointing things about the CIS on a subjective level is it appears its audience hasn't grown over the last 20 years.
    If an athlete from Canada does something special in the United States in the big old National Collegiate Athletic Association, it seems Canadians are more likely to take notice of that person as opposed to if someone does something great in the CIS. It seems to go back to the notion that Canadians don't like to brag about great moments inside of their borders.

Jesse Ross speeds down ice for the U of Saskatchewan Huskies.

    There was a time in the 2000s a CIS all-star team would take on an all-star team of NCAA players in men's hockey. When the CIS teams earned some victories in those clashes, there were observers who would try to wave it off saying the CIS team was stacked with older players from the major junior ranks. In an attempt to make that put down, there was also a concession made that the players in CIS men's hockey are actually pretty good.
    For an example of lack of attention, the Carleton University Ravens men's basketball team make for a prime case. Out of all the CIS teams in the league's various sports, the Ravens are the most successful program having won 11 of the last 13 CIS men's hoops titles. If you go out on any street in Canada outside of Ottawa where Carleton University is situated, how many people could name one let alone two members of the Ravens.
    The most known post-secondary hoops player in Canada likely comes from the Medicine Hat College Rattlers of the Canadian Colleges Athletic Association, which is a league that is a step under the CIS. The Rattlers men's basketball team roster contains a 6-foot-6 third year forward, who has drawn national attention due to the fact his last name that is spelled exactly like a swear word.
    Guilherme Carabagiale Fuck (pronounced "Foo-key") became an all-Canadian all-star in the CCAA ranks. The Brazilian product, whose last name is of German origin, has been featured in numerous media outlets in Canada due to the spelling of his last name. Big award winning credit should be given to Medicine Hat News sports staffers in editor Sean Rooney and reporter Ryan McCracken for how well they handled this story.

Matthew Busse hammers a kill for the Huskies.

    As a result of the national attention, a random person on any Canadian street has a better chance knowing there is a college level player in Medicine Hat whose last name is Fuck as opposed to naming one player on the Ravens roster. On the plus side, all the staffers from Medicine Hat College who have been interviewed about Fuck say he is a first rate individual.
    A CIS athlete would draw the same attention of he or she was the subject of this type of unique story. It is unfortunate a CIS athletes' stellar exploits wouldn't draw the same attention.
    Players from the CIS's football league might get a little more exposure due to the fact those athletes are trying to earn spots in the CFL.
    The most famous CIS football grads made their names in the NFL in current Seattle Seahawks punter Jon Ryan, who is a grad of the University of Regina Rams, and former veteran Chicago Bears defensive lineman Israel Idonije, who is a grad of the University of Manitoba Bisons.
    The status of both was elevated due to the fact they played in the biggest professional league in the United States, which has huge media exposure. As a result, the attention they received when they return to Canada is heightened, which as a by-product did give more attention to the CIS football programs they came from.
    The CIS can't rely on Canadian media outlets for increased exposure, because those outlets have been significantly slashed for staff and resources over the last two decades. Also, those in Canada in independent media also have a limited number of hours in a day to cover anything, which results in those outlets focusing on subjects of interest.
    The mainstream media outlets in bigger centres will focus resources towards covering the NHL, because that is where you get the most bang for the buck due to the fact that league has a huge captive audience.

Dalyce Emmerson drives for a score for the Huskies.

    Overworked media outlets like weekly publications in small towns might pick up a feature here and there of a CIS athlete from the geographical area of the small town, but that is also a hit and miss proposition.
    In order to increase its own brand, the CIS likely has to take their media relations and sports information departments up another level.
    The NFL was a leader in the late 1990s, when its teams began hiring print and broadcast media professionals for the various websites run by each club. In 2003, the NFL also launched its own television network.
    Of course, the CIS does not have anywhere near the billions in revenue the NFL draws. If the CIS tried to start a television network, there would be a lot of Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission hoops to jump through let alone of satisfying the logistics of running a station, but it would still be a good idea to strive for.
    Currently, the media relations and sports information departments in the CIS can't even stack up resource wise to their counterparts in the NCAA.
    You quickly glance at the website of the Florida State University Seminoles, and you can see a number of the Seminoles teams have their own exclusive media contact person.
    Even programs that don't have the resources like a program as big as the one the Seminoles run have multiple people in their media and sports information departments. A few of these programs have the ability to send regular updates to media outlets from the home regions its players might be from.
    For some NCAA programs, if they have a player from Brandon, Man., that NCAA program might send regular updates to the media outlets in the Brandon region about the athlete from that area.

Tyler Chow rumbles downfield for the Huskies

    Too many of the CIS teams have media and sports information departments that might have one or even two people dealing with a program that has anywhere from six to 20 varsity teams. 
    Those staffing levels were about the same about 15 years ago before social media exploded.
    It is quite easy to see those in media and sports information departments in the CIS will quickly run out hours in the day to do anything.
    Over the past 20 years, the product on the fields, courts and ice surfaces in the CIS has increased greatly. Players train like professionals year round. The number of full-time coaches and coaches that are paid by CIS programs is also at all-time high.
    The league is not some over glorified recreation league. It is major league at the amateur level.
    In major junior hockey in Canada, a number teams have put more resources into media relations departments, which has seen an increased number of staffers producing video and print features on players for websites. The mantra of even community owned clubs is they must step up like that to promote the team.
    The programs in the CIS have to do the same and employ more media professionals, which could start with even just two or three extra people. The players and coaches in that league have come up a level, and the media relations and sports information departments have to do the same. If not, the profile of the CIS won't have a chance to increase.
    
    If you have any comments about this blog, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.