Missing CFL a back and forth thing for me

The 2020 Grey Cup Festival T-shirt and baseball cap.

A pre-pandemic birthday gift is my reminder that this should have been Grey Cup week.

On my birthday back on March 4, I was given a T-shirt and a baseball cap to mark that the Grey Cup festival was going to be in Saskatchewan this year. Originally, this week was supposed to be Grey Cup week in Regina, and the championship game for the CFL was supposed to be played this coming Sunday at Mosaic Stadium.

Unfortunately, the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic gripped the world pretty tightly causing most of the sports world to shut down in North America on March 11 and 12.

After trying to figure out a scenario to take the field, the CFL officially cancelled its 2020 campaign on August 17.

Actually back on May 20, the CFL decided to move the Saskatchewan Roughriders hosting rights for the Grey Cup from this year to 2022. Originally on that day, the CFL said the Grey Cup host for 2020 would be the team that had the best record going into the game.

The CFL then experimented with the notion of having Winnipeg host the circuit in a hub city format before ultimately cancelling the campaign.

Evan Johnson, left, in action for the Ottawa Redblacks in 2019.

Across Canada, diehard fans lamented the loss of the CFL season. In Saskatchewan, the pain hit a lot of fans as the Roughriders have a well documented passionate following.

It is likely true that there have been some people in Saskatchewan who have thought about the Roughriders for at least half the time they have been alive through the COVID-19 pandemic.

For myself, I have wavered back and forth over whether I miss the CFL or not. I know when and if I ever get back to Mosaic Stadium for a Roughriders home game the reality of missing the CFL will hit me in a bigger way.

In that situation, I suspect I will see a lot of friends that I haven’t seen in a while that I usually see at Roughriders games. Seeing familiar faces will reinforce I am missing something.

As strange as it sounds, I don’t really miss the CFL on most days. After being involved with the sports industry as a sports reporter for 24 years in some shape or form, I realize that sports are a business.

I also realized that no matter how much I love a team or a league that something can happen that will take that team or league out of my life. That team or league will leave my life due to business.

Brendon LaBatte (#57) in action for the Roughriders in 2017.

I’ve conditioned myself to know that happens, and when it does, I just move on with my life. I always cherish the memories I made, and I’ve made lots of outstanding memories in sports over the last 24 years.

When the time comes that life creates a situation I am no longer a good fit with a team or a league, I realize what happened and just move on. I don’t take things personally.

I chalk things that I can’t control up to being the way they go sometimes. It is on to the next thing.

I actually don’t dwell on what life will be like if the CFL does or does not continue to exist.

That does change on days I see people who are hooked in with the league. If I am at the Gordie Howe Sports Complex and I visit with a number of the CFL athletes that train there, then I really miss the CFL.

That is a point in time I wish the players could be playing and the fans could be in the stands.

Jordan Reaves in action for the Roughriders in 2018.

Some of the CFL athletes that train at the Gordie Howe Sports Complex include Jorgen Hus, Patrick Neufeld and Evan Johnson along with CFL Draft selections Mattland Riley and Colton Klassen.

If I talk to Roughriders left guard Brendon LaBatte on the phone, I miss the CFL.

If I interact with Roughriders players Jordan Reaves or Chad Geter online, I miss the CFL.

If I see social media posts of Rider Nation home game regulars like Michelle and Paige Hansen, Lisa Lukye or Connie Dobson, I miss the CFL.

I do hope the CFL survives the COVID-19 pandemic, and we can all go to CFL games again one day.

If it does or doesn’t come back, life goes on for me and I will focus on adjusting the best I can versus the things I can’t control.

Hockey Harvest Lottery up over $146,000

Jackpot update:

💲1️⃣4️⃣6️⃣,1️⃣2️⃣0️⃣

— Hockey Harvest Lottery (@HockeyHarvest) November 20, 2020

Tickets have been on sale since this past Monday, but the 50/50 jackpot for the Hockey Harvest Lottery has already ballooned to $146,120 by Friday.

The lottery will be used to raise money for the player scholarship funds of the Moose Jaw Warriors, Prince Albert Raiders, Regina Pats, Saskatoon Blades and the Swift Current Broncos. The five Saskatchewan based WHL teams are running the lottery in partnership with the Great West Brewing Company.

The Great West Brewing Company assured that the 50/50 jackpot began at $75,000 before any tickets were purchased.

The progressive 50/50 will run through to December 20. December 21 will be the lottery’s grand prize draw date, and the draw will be conducted in Saskatoon.

Anyone over the age of 19 that is physically in the province of Saskatchewan at the time of purchase regardless of their home residence can purchase a ticket.

The grand prize winning ticket will receive a cash prize of 50 per cent of the final jackpot. The remaining funds will be split evenly between the five Saskatchewan WHL teams and be placed into their respective player scholarship funds.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, WHL teams haven’t been able to raise money for their player scholarship funds like they have anywhere near in the past. The WHL is targeting to start its regular season on January 8, 2021.

Tickets purchased prior to 11:59 CST on November 27 will also be entered into a draw to win a Saskatchewan WHL team jersey prize package featuring a jersey from all five Saskatchewan WHL teams. The early bird draw will be made on November 28 in Saskatoon.

Ticket prices are one for $20, five for $50, 20 for $100, 150 for $500 or 500 for $1,000. They can be purchased through the websites of any of the Saskatchewan based teams or by clicking right here.

WHL launches T’s For Toys Campaign, other notes

The WHL is proud to launch #WHLTsForToys in support of children across all 22 WHL markets this holiday season!

DETAILS 🎅 | https://t.co/sNRrvzwzQe pic.twitter.com/HlmAjxQCeT

— The WHL (@TheWHL) November 17, 2020

On Tuesday, the WHL launched a cute Christmas fundraiser involving the mascots of the circuit’s 22 teams.

The mascots are taking part in the WHL’s T’s For Toys Campaign. Fans will be able to purchase limited-edition WHL club T-shirts feature that features a team mascot.

That means, there are 22 different T-shirts WHL supporters will be able to collect.

T-shirts can be purchased online for $20 in Canadian funds and are available in adult and youth sizes. For each T-shirt that is sold, $7 in Canadian funds will go directly to a local charity in the home community of the mascot depicted on the T-shirt purchased.

The proceeds will be used by these charities to purchase toys for local children in need.

For the five Saskatchewan based teams, the Moose Jaw Warriors funds will go to the Salvation Army in Moose Jaw, the Prince Albert Raiders funds will go to the Prince Albert Optimist Club, the Regina Pats funds will go to the Eagle Heart Centre, the Saskatoon Blades funds will go to EGADZ and the Swift Current Broncos funds will go to the Southwest Newcomer Welcome Centre.

The mascot T-shirts can be purchased by clicking right here.

• The University of Regina Rams football team is running a traditional 50/50 lottery online. The funds will be used to run the Rams program. Tickets can only be sold to those in Regina and surrounding communities of a 30-kilometre radius. The draw date is this coming Monday. Anyone in those areas that want to purchase tickets can do so by clicking right here.
• On Monday, track and field star Savannah Sutherland from Borden, Sask., committed to joining the University of Michigan Wolverines women’s track and field team in the NCAA Division I ranks for the 2021-22 campaign. Sutherland specializes in hurdles events.
• On Wednesday, The junior A Manitoba Junior Hockey League and Hockey Manitoba levied a $5,000 fine against 50 Below Sports and Entertainment, who own the Winnipeg Blues and Winnipeg Freeze on that junior A circuit. The fine was given due to the fact the Blues and Freeze held a practice in Warren, Man., on Nov. 9 going against COVID-19 restrictions at the time that prevented Winnipeg based hockey teams from taking part in any sort of hockey activities. The Blue and Freeze also forfeited their respective first round selections in the 2021 MJHL Draft. Each team will be required to complete a community initiative as approved by the MJHL and Hockey Manitoba. The money from the fine will go towards buying COVID-19 personal protective equipment for frontline workers across Manitoba. Manitoba is now currently in a lockdown that prevents any sports from being played.
• On Friday, the Saskatoon Secondary Schools Athletic Directorate announced it will not be offering the winter sports of basketball, curling, dance and cheer and wrestling in the 2020-21 campaign due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The SSSAD said in a release the decision was made after Saskatoon Public Schools and Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools jointly made a decision to extend the pause on extracurricular activities in schools. The SSSAD hasn’t run any sports so far in the 2020-21 campaign due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• On Friday, Patrick Maze, who is the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation president, asked for hockey and other recreational activities to cease operations to help keep COVID-19 cases out of schools across the province. Keenan Sorokan of 650 CKOM put together a story on Maze’s request, and it can be found right here.
• Gregg Drinnan put together another round up in his Taking Note blog on how the COVID-19 pandemic is wreaking havoc on the sports world on Thursday. That piece can be found 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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Pro sports Black Lives Matter boycotts should be supported

A Fred VanVleet card.

    Black Lives Matter and it is a good thing boycotts are happening in the professional sports world in North America to support this movement.

    If you watch television news channels or check out social media lines over this past week, it is unfortunately apparent that racism is alive and well most noticeably when it comes to African-Americans in the United States.

    At times, it feels like things are so bad on this front one wonders if society in North America has advanced since the 1960s and the days Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X were leading civil rights movement rallies. On another sad note, history records both men were assassinated with Malcolm X and King Jr. dying in 1965 and 1968 respectively.

    In the current day, the unjust deaths of Breonna Taylor in March and George Floyd in May at the hands of police in the states of Kentucky and Minnesota respectively ultimate caused the creation of the Black Lives Matter movement. Taylor and Floyd are both of African-American decent.

    On Sunday in Kenosha, Wisconsin, Jacob Blake, who is also of African-American decent, took seven bullets in the back from police in an incident that was captured on video and circulated by various media agencies. Three of Blake’s sons witnessed the incident as Blake was shot leaning into the driver’s door of his SUV.

    Blake had warrants out of his arrest based on charges of third-degree sexual assault, trespassing and disorderly conduct in connection with domestic abuse, but it is unclear if police were aware of those warrants at the time of the shooting. Those warrants were vacated on Friday.
    On Tuesday, Blake’s father, Jacob Blake Sr., announced that Blake Jr. was paralyzed from the waist down and that doctors do not yet know if it would be permanent.

    Also on that same day, the United States Department of Justice announced there would be an investigation into that shooting and the investigation will look into whether Blake’s civil rights were violated.
    Rusten Sheskey was identified as the police officer as the shooter. He along with Vincent Arenas and Brittany Meronek were all by Friday placed on administrative leave by the Kenosha Police Department because of their involvement in the shooting of Blake.

A Norman Powell card.

    The Blake shooting led to the professional athletes protesting systemic racism and police brutality by boycotting games. The boycotts in the NBA started on Wednesday and were slated to run through to Sunday. Action in the NBA playoffs is set to resume Saturday.

    The WNBA postponed all its games on Wednesday and Thursday.

    A number of MLB games were postponed from Wednesday through Friday. A total of five out of six MLS games were postponed on Wednesday.

    The NHL postponed all its games on Thursday and Friday. The NHL Playoffs are slated to resume on Saturday.

    In the NFL, a number of teams have cancelled practices starting with the Detroit Lions on Tuesday. A total of nine teams cancelled practices on Thursday.

    Tennis star Naomi Osaka pulled out of her Western and Southern Open semifinal match on Thursday in Mason, Ohio, to take a stand for the Black Lives Matter movement.

    Following Osaka’s decision to walk out, the U.S. Tennis Association, Women’s Tennis Association and the men’s ATP Tour announced all semifinal matches set to take place on Thursday would be postponed.

    While those that don’t like the Black Lives Matter movement have argued Blake’s arrest warrants were reason to side with the arresting officers, they totally miss the point.

    The overall bottom line is that in the United States there has been a problem where police services in general in that country have harassed African-Americans who haven’t done anything wrong.

    Over the last three days, numerous stories have been told by African-American professional athletes about the racism they’ve faced in their lives and unjust encounters they have had with the police mostly in the United States.

    Unfortunately, sharing these experiences has brought out some of the worst in the general public. On Thursday, Claire Hanna of CTV Regina produced a story about Jordan Reaves, who is a Canadian, and Chad Geter of the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders navigating racism for supporting the professional sports boycotts.

    On Friday, Roughriders receiver Shaq Evans voiced his disappointment on Twitter about how some in Saskatchewan have put down the Black Lives Matter moment and the professional sports boycotts. He said he wondered if he still wanted to play in the province.

    About three hours after that Twitter stream, Evans put out an apology for potentially offending all the good people in Saskatchewan.

    All three are African-Americans.

Jordan Reaves in action with the Roughriders in 2018.

    Back on Tuesday, guards Fred VanVleet and Norman Powell, who are both African-Americans, of the defending NBA champion Toronto Raptors talked about their frustration with continuing systemic racism and police brutality and talked about boycotting games.

    On Wednesday, The Milwaukee Bucks were the first team to take action when they elected to not take the floor in the NBA bubble at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at the Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Florida, for Game 5 of their first round NBA playoff series against the Orlando Magic. The rest of the sports boycotts followed.

    The NHL took criticism for not boycotting it playoff games on Wednesday. On Thursday, the NHL players lead the charge in joining the other professional leagues in North America in boycotting games.

    All the players from the four remaining teams in the Western Conference post-season bracket appeared at a press conference in the Edmonton bubble on Thursday. Veteran Vegas Golden Knights right-winger Ryan Reaves, who is Jordan’s older brother, spoke about the importance of including all allies in the Black Lives Matter movement hinting people make realizations at different times depending on their backgrounds.

    “There’s a lot of white athletes in here,” said Reaves. “I think that’s the statement that’s being made now.

    “It’s great that the NBA did this and MLB and the WNBA – they have a lot of black players in those leagues. But for all these athletes in here to take a stand and say, ‘You know what? We see the problem, too, and we stand behind you.’ I hate their guts on the ice, but I couldn’t be more proud of these guys.

    “The statement they’ve made today is something that’s gonna last. These two days isn’t gonna fix anything, but the conversation and the statement that’s been made is very powerful, especially coming from this league.”

Ryan Reaves speaks up for change. pic.twitter.com/xr81Xd9s4c

— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) August 28, 2020

    On the ice, Reaves is one of those tough and hard to play against agitators. He is a player you hate to play against, but he has developed a lot of respect in the NHL with how hard he plays the game.

    That respect was shown early Thursday by reach outs from Tampa Bay Lightning defenceman Kevin Shattenkirk and Vancouver Canucks players asking how Reaves was doing with regards to the racial turmoil. That started the road to the NHL game postponements on Thursday and Friday.

    Besides the athletes speaking out, I remember finding a spoof video on YouTube of the fictional world of Transformers about two or three years ago that had a moment that tried to make comedy of the friction between African-Americans and the police. It wasn’t comfortable to watch.

    In the video, an African-American man happens to show up out of nowhere and stand beside Megatron, who is the leader of the bad guy Transformers, the Decepticons. At this point, there is no battle going on.

Shaq Evans turns after making a catch for the Roughriders in 2019.

    Prowl, who is with the good guy Transformers, the Autobots, and has the ability to change into a police cruiser, immediately blows the African-American man away in an unprovoked attack. All the Autobots look horrified at Prowl, who transforms gets out of Dodge as fast as he can.

    While that video was jarring, it underlines the tension between African-Americans and the police.

    No matter how you cut it, systemic racism and police brutality in the United States is real. Canada also has its faults to with systemic racism.

    While some may disagree, the police in Canada have the reputation of being way more professional than their counterparts in the United States.

    Over the last few days, professional athletes in North America did shake up society with their boycotts. They should be applauded and supported for compelling us to have difficult conversations that need to be had.

Huskies, SMF create options for displaced high school players

Huskies RB Adam Machart (#20) follow at Mattland Riley block.

    One of the recent local feel good stories in Saskatoon goes to the University of Saskatchewan Huskies football team and Saskatoon Minor Football.

    Both programs are doing their best to create opportunities for high school aged players in Saskatoon to continue to improve their skills in the game.

    On August 19, the Saskatoon Secondary Schools Athletic Directorate cancelled high school football for the fall along with cancelling play in high school cross-country running, soccer and volleyball due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

    After the high school football cancellation, the Huskies and Saskatoon Minor Football worked to plan out complementary programming for the displaced high school players that can be conducted under Saskatchewan’s COVID-19 guidelines.

    The Huskies, who play in the U Sports ranks, are running an elite camp that starts this coming Monday and will run through to Thursday. The camp will run on Field #11 north of the Education Building on the U of Saskatchewan campus.

    The players will be divided into offensive and defensive positional groups for the sessions.

    On top of the Huskies camp, Saskatoon Minor Football is opening its North Saskatchewan Academy up to high school students in Grade 10 to 12. Grade 9 students are eligible to play in the Kinsmen Football League, which is run by Saskatoon Minor Football.

    The SMF program will be similar to its annual spring academy with skills and development followed by a league draft and mini games or controlled scrimmages. The SMF camp will run at Saskatoon Minor Football Field.

    If games are played, it will depend on how Saskatchewan’s COVID-19 protocols evolve. There are hopes that games can be played in six-man format.

    The six-man game of tackle football is commonly played by Saskatchewan’s high schools in rural areas.

    Both Huskies and SMF programming are filling up fast.

    Registration for the Huskies camp can be found by clicking right here, and the SMF academy can be found by clicking right here.

Sask Five Giants claim SPBL title

The Sask Five Giants were snagged a league title.

    The Sask Five Giants were able to do what most sports teams haven’t this year – claim a provincial league championship.

    Last Sunday, the Giants, who are based out of Martensville, traveled to Regina and blanked the host Athletics 2-0 in the Under-18 AAA Saskatchewan Premier Baseball League championship game at Optimist Park.

    The Giants scored one run in the top of the second inning and added a key insurance run in the top of the sixth inning.

    Cooper Price went the distance on the mound for the Giants striking out five batters and giving up only three hits. Jesse Lubiniecki took the loss on the hill for the Athletics striking out six batters in six innings of work.

    The Giants advanced to the SPBL final after downing the Diamondbacks in Saskatoon 12-2 in the North Division title game on Aug. 21. The Athletics took the South Division championship game 10-1 over the Regina White Sox on Aug. 21 in Regina.

    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.

Roughriders had good season, can’t cannibalize over one game

Kyran Moore celebrates a punt return touchdown for the Roughriders.

    Sheer panic gripped Rider Nation way back in just Week 3 of the CFL season.

    On June 30, the Saskatchewan Roughriders fell to 1-2 dropping a 23-17 decision to the lowly Montreal Alouettes at Mosaic Stadium. With that win, the Alouettes halted a 13 game losing streak that dated back to the previous season.

    That was also the Roughriders “Humboldt Strong” game, where the green and white were honouring the junior A Humboldt Broncos of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League.

The Roughriders defence played tough in 2018.

    The CFL contest was part of the various efforts to rally and support the Broncos in the wake of an April 6 team bus crash that resulted in the deaths of 16 players and team officials and injuries to 13 other players on the team.

    There was a vocal contingent of Roughriders fans that wondered what type of team they were cheering for. A consensus existed in the fan base that 2018 would be a non-playoff year.

    Fast forward five months and the Roughriders finished second overall in the CFL regular season and the West Division with a 12-6 mark. Had they won just one more game, they would have beat out the Calgary Stampeders for top spot overall in the league and first in the West Division.

Special teams ace Jordan Reaves emerged as a fan favourite.

    If any member of Rider Nation was told that would be the type of regular season the Roughriders would have, they would all likely sign up to take it.

    Unfortunately, the overall memory of the Roughriders in 2018 comes from their last game. In the West Division semifinal just seven days ago on Nov. 11, they dropped a 23-18 decision to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

    In the aftermath of that clash, there was a huge uproar over an unpenalized helmet-to-helmet shot hit delivered by Bombers defensive end Jackson Jeffcoat to Roughriders quarterback Brandon Bridge in the second last play of the game. That hit knocked Bridge out of the game.

    To add further insult to the Roughriders and their fans, the team lost starting quarterback Zach Collaros in the club’s final regular season game on Oct. 27, when he was hit helmet to helmet by British Columbia Lions defensive lineman Odell Willis in a 35-16 Saskatchewan victory.

QB Zach Collaros missed five total games due to injury in 2018.

    The uncontrollable aspects of the game mounted against the Roughriders at the end of their 2018 campaign.

    Still, they were likely two changed plays away from winning the playoff encounter against Winnipeg.

    In an idealistic world, it would be cool to see most of the roster return to see if they can improve on where they left off. Due to the realities of professional sports, there will likely be medium sized turnover at least.

    The Roughriders defence played strong in 2018. Players like defensive backs Jovon Johnson and Nick Marshall, defensive tackle Zack Evans, linebacker Samuel Eguavoen, and defensive ends Willie Jefferson and Charleston Hughes, despite his legal troubles with charges from an alleged diving under the influence incident that are before the courts, all had outstanding years.

Roughriders DB Jovon Johnson, second from left, was out in the community.

    All were great at dealing with the fans, and in the case of Johnson and Jefferson, getting out into the community.

    Brett Lauther, who was the team’s 28-year-old kicker, played a full CFL season for the first time in his life, and he made 54-of-60 field goal attempts with his long coming from 56 yards out. The Truno, N.S., product played well enough to earn a look from an NFL team. He deserves that chance to come his way.

    Special teams ace Jordan Reaves grew into a fan favourite with his hustle and the fact he got his nose dirty doing unglamourous work like blowing up blocks.

    On offence, the Roughriders bit the bullet and decided to go with a younger group of receivers, and they steadily improved as they gained experience as the campaign moved on. You pass catchers like Jordan Williams-Lambert and Kyran Moore were fun to watch.

Jordan Williams-Lambert, left, became a key receiver for the Roughriders.

    The ground game was in the capable hands of Tre Mason, Marcus Thigpen and Cameron Marshall.

    The offensive line had some ups and downs, but always had a steady base anchored by Brendon LaBatte and Dan Clark.

    If the Roughriders had more consistent play at quarterback, they would have placed first overall in the league. Bridge seemed to regress, which was unfortunate. Bridge is a phenomenal person who is easy to cheer for.

    Collaros appeared in 14 of the Roughriders regular season games and missed four regular season games and the club’s playoff contest due to injury. He was good at reading defences and had a good command of the offence.

HC and GM Chris Jones did a great job guiding the 2018 Roughriders.

    The Steubenville, Ohio, product seemed to struggle throwing the ball deep and throwing wide side outs. There were times opposing defences gave him those options and focused on defending short and intermediate routes expecting him to struggle with deep and wide side out throws.

    Seeing those physical flaws, a few Roughriders fans have gone public with a dream that the team might be able to sign soon to be free agent Edmonton Eskimos star quarterback Mike Reilly.

    Head coach and general manager Chris Jones often takes criticism from the fans. He has always been a great coach, and he is improving in the general manager’s role. Looking at the Roughriders over the past three seasons, Jones is proving to be a good hire by the club.

Rider Nation is always ready to back their team.

    An incoming football operations salary cap next season will mean Jones will be releasing some coaching staff and other football operations staff.

    In 2018, it seemed like the expectations for the Roughriders by the fans increased as the team’s win total grew larger.
    When a loss did happened, it seemed fan criticism went more overboard than normal, which is part of life being with the Roughriders.

    Overall, the campaign was a good one for the Roughriders, and it created a lot of excitement for the fans.

The Roughriders celebrated victory on 12 occasions in 2018.

    The good did overshadow the bad for the green and white in 2018.

    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.

“No. 38 Special” - Reaves will always be at home in the ’Peg

A Willard Reaves football card from 1987.

    It has been 31 years since he stepped on the field for the Blue Bombers, but Willard Reaves still feels the love from the Winnipeg fans.

    Known as the “No. 38 Special,” Reaves spent only five seasons in a Bombers jersey from 1983 to 1987, but he became a CFL legend leading the league in rushing on three different occasions. During those five years, the product of Flagstaff, Arizona, was the top running back in Canada.

    His best season was his sophomore 1984 campaign, where he was voted the league’s most outstanding player rushing for 1,733 yards and scoring 14 touchdowns on 304 carries in a 16-game regular season. He also hauled in 40 passes for 407 yards and scored four majors.

    Guided by Canadian Football Hall of Fame head coach Cal Murphy, the Bombers posted an 11-4-1 record to finish second overall in the CFL and romped into the Grey Cup game in Edmonton and thumped the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 47-17. The win ended a 22-year Grey Cup drought for “the Blue and Gold” at that time.

    “Back in that time, I didn’t really grasp the big huge thing about the Grey Cup until months later,” said Reaves. “Those Bomber fans were absolutely nuts. 
    “We had lots of sellouts that year, especially 83 and 84.”

    In Winnipeg, Reaves is still a legend. He said he could have hit a unique milestone in his MVP season in 1984 and chuckles about how it was missed on one play.

Willard Reaves in the 2008 Bombers media guide.

    “As a matter of fact, I did say I was going to rush for 1,800 yards and whatever,” said Reaves. “I think it was a game against Ottawa. 
    “I burst up the middle there for like 69 or 70 yards or something like that. David Black was holding. It pretty much cost me the 1,800 yards, (but) 1,733 yards is not too bad I guess.”

    Besides remembering his football exploits, Bomber fans also remember the time Reaves saved a man from drowning at a pool in a Winnipeg hotel in 1985. After his football career was finished, he made his permanent home in the Manitoba capital.

    Reaves said he still encounters fans all over the place in Winnipeg seeking his autograph. He admits he is impressed he is still remembered.

    “It is such a great town,” said Reaves. “Even now (and) when you are playing of course, they are coming up to you and getting autographs. 
    “They just want to come and sit and talk to you and stuff like this. I have people coming left right and centre for autographs and this and that still even to this day. It is amazing that people still remember and stuff like this.
    “I am meeting their kids and their dogs.”

    When he played, Reaves said the passion Bomber fans had for their team compared to the passion that Saskatchewan Roughriders fans have for their club.

A Willard Reaves football card from 1985.

    The 1984 Grey Cup was a big deal for the Winnipeg faithful, because the Bombers were facing a Hamilton team that was quarterbacked by former Winnipeg star Dieter Brock. Brock was traded out of Winnipeg during a messy divorce late in the 1983 campaign for fellow pivot Tom Clements, who happened to become a hero in Winnipeg.

    Brock had expressed frustration about his life in Winnipeg, which didn’t sit well with the Bombers faithful. Bomber fans were wearing “Brock Busters” T-shirts during Grey Cup week in 1984. Reaves remembers the atmosphere created by the 60,081 spectators at Commonwealth Stadium being in a frenzy.

A Willard Reaves football card from 1983.

    “It was absolutely nuts,” said Reaves. “I didn’t see it, but I heard the train ride there was absolutely crazy.

    “People were rocking and partying all the way down from Winnipeg to Edmonton, and of course the “Brock Busters” and the stadium.”

    Reaves believes he had the personal success he did, because Winnipeg’s offence was well rounded at that time. He enjoyed watching the receiving corps that was nicknamed “The Untouchables” make plays catching passes from Clements.

    “It went both ways,” said Reaves. “We both complimented each other.

    “When they wanted to tee off and stop our running game, we just took to the air, and that was it. Of course, you have Joe Poplawski, Rick House, Jeff Boyd and James Murphy and stuff like that (as receivers), and then you have their backups.

    “We were quite good. I am thinking we were very good.”

    During his playing days in Winnipeg, Reaves gained a number of memories from the rivalry showdowns the Bombers had with the British Columbia Lions. 
    The most memorable clash between the two clubs for Reaves occurred in the 1984 West Final at B.C. Place in Vancouver, which the Bombers won convincingly 31-14. The two clubs split their two regular season meetings in 1984.

A Willard Reaves football card from 1984.

    “The (Grey Cup) game was fun, but the best game that we had was the week before, when we played the B.C. Lions,” said Reaves. “That we thought was our signature thing.

    “It was always B.C. and Winnipeg. We split on the regular season. We came out the Western Finals and went into B.C. Place and as noisy as it was and stuff like that we calmed it down real quick.

    “We just whooped the crap out of them.”

    In 1987, Reaves played his final season with the Bombers having another banner year leading the CFL with 1,471 yards rushing and scoring nine majors on the ground to be named an all-Canadian for a third time.
    After that campaign, he elected to try his luck in the NFL and spent time over the next two seasons with the Washington Redskins and the Miami Dolphins. He only appeared in three regular season games in 1989, while the Bombers would win Grey Cups in 1988 and 1990.

    As a 59-year-old looking back at that decision, Reaves had no regrets, because he also knew his career after football was looming.

    “Football wasn’t my first love,” said Reaves. “That is why it made it so easy to walk away from the game regardless of what happened elsewhere.

    “I knew that this was not going to last forever. I had to get into something else, and I did. I went and joined into the justice department.”

Willard Reaves, left, with son, Jordan.

    These days Reaves tries to watch his sons Ryan and Jordan venture through their respective professional sports careers. Ryan is a 31-year-old right-winger with the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights, while Jordan is a 28-year-old defensive lineman and special teams ace with the Roughriders.

    With his old team experiencing a current league long 28-year Grey Cup drought, Reaves would love to see his Bombers reach the CFL’s pinnacle once again.

    “I’d like to see it happen,” said Reaves. “It would be good for the city of Winnipeg. 
    “It would be good to get back into the spirit of things.”

    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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