Expect sports to be “the wild west” in transitional season

Gainer the Gopher makes his rounds after a Roughriders TD in 2019.

Do not expect it to be business as usual for the overall sports scene in the world for the upcoming 2021-22 winter season.

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that has gripped the world will still be throwing wrenches into plans in the upcoming campaign even as vaccines for the virus continue to roll out.

Life in North America is proceeding like the COVID-19 pandemic is in its concluding run. You can expect sports leagues at all levels will do whatever they can to ensure that major championship events happen.

Still, you can expect to see inconsistencies on how sports will be rolled out dependent on league and geography. Those inconsistencies have shown up this past week.

Early Friday morning, those that woke up in Canada got to see the country’s senior national women’s soccer team win the gold medal game at the Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, on television. Canada and Sweden played to a 1-1 draw thru regulation and extra time before Canada came away with top spot pulled out a 3-2 win in a penalty kick shootout that went six rounds.

That contest like the whole Summer Olympics was played without fans in attendance. Players wore facemasks during the medal presentation ceremonies.

The precautions are in place as Japan is facing a health care crisis due to the spread of COVID-19.

On Friday evening in Regina, Saskatchewan, a sellout crowd of 33,350 spectators filled into Mosaic Stadium to watch the Saskatchewan Roughriders open their CFL schedule taking a 31-0 lead on the visiting British Columbia Lions before holding on to a 33-29 victory.

It marked the first time in 628 days the Roughriders played a game. The 2020 CFL was lost due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cody Fajardo throw a pass for the Roughriders in 2019.

Those that attended Friday’s Roughriders game didn’t have to show proof of vaccination. That was a big contrast from Thursday’s CFL opener in Winnipeg, Man., where the host Blue Bombers downed the visiting Hamilton Tiger-Cats 19-6.

The Bombers announced an attendance of 29,376 which was just over 3,000 short of a sellout at IG Field. Those that attended Thursday’s CFL clash in Winnipeg had to show proof of vaccination for COVID-19 to gatekeepers before entering the Bombers home park.

“Vaccination” will be the key word in the sports scene going forward. Going hand in hand regarding the issue of vaccination will be question about whether games will be forfeited if teams are unable to play due to a COVID-19 breakout.

It is assumed a forfeit rule will motivate those involved in sports to get fully vaccinated for COVID-19.

On Tuesday, the CFL announced a COVID-19 game cancellation policy.

If COVID-19 issues force a game to be cancelled and it can’t be rescheduled where one club incurs COVID-19 issues, that team will forfeit with its opponent being credited with a 1-0 victory.

If COVID-19 issues are prevalent on both teams, both clubs will be credited with a loss.

In both scenarios, players will be paid for forfeited games, if a team can prove that 85 per cent or more of its contracted players are vaccinated at least partially or fully. If a team falls below the 85 per cent threshold, players will not be paid.

As of Friday, only three of the CFL’s nine clubs have reached that 85 per cent threshold.

Back on July 22, news broke that the NFL had a forfeit policy regarding COVID-19 outbreaks. If a game during the 18-week NFL regular season can’t be rescheduled due to a COVID-19 outbreak among unvaccinated players, the team with the outbreak will forfeit and be credited with a loss.

The CHL is expecting to hold a complete season in 2021-22.

Players on both teams will not be paid for the lost contest. The team responsible for the cancelled game due to unvaccinated players will cover financial losses and be subject to potential discipline from the Commissioner’s office.

In Canada, it remains to be seen if these types of policies will be mirrored in circuits like the CHL, CJFL, U Sports, junior A hockey leagues, under-18 AAA hockey circuits or high school leagues. The same goes for circuits like the NLL, which plays in both countries.

In recent days, it is easy to find news stories that vaccination efforts for COVID-19 in both the United States and Canada have stagnated.

In January, the United States experienced days where it was dealing with 279,000 new cases of COVID-19 a day. As vaccines rolled out, the United States began to experience days where it was only experiencing around 6,000 new COVID-19 cases a day at points in June.

Over the past week, has become common for the United States to have days with over 125,000 new COVID-19 cases a day as vaccinations stall. The reports commonly say over 95 per cent of those new cases are from people who are not vaccinated for COVID-19.

In Canada, new case counts are starting to rise again. Last Sunday, there were 279 new COVID-19 cases in Canada. On Thursday, there were 1,445 new COVID-19 cases and 1,519 new COVID-19 cases on Friday.

Both the United States and Canada have about a solid 25 per cent of their respective populations that don’t want to be vaccinated for COVID-19. That reality exists despite concerns about variants of COVID-19, especially the Delta variant, that are more transmissible.

That will all translate to bumps in the sports world in both countries, which could result in craziness of “the wild west.”

Could restrictions and Public Health Orders that were lifted in various areas in both countries return?

U Sports is set to play for the first time since March of 2020.

It feels like many decision makers will be very hesitant to backtrack on reopening, so you can expect sports seasons on all levels will go ahead.

How those seasons will play out on all levels remains to be seen.

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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It’s rock ’n’ roll time

Bumps still expected in transitional sports season

Colin Plain sets to fire a pitch for the Saskatoon Cubs on Saturday.

It is easy to get romantic with sports.

Most of Canada likely had that feeling on Monday, when Canada’s Senior National Women’s Soccer team downed the United States 1-0 in a semifinal contest at the Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. Jessie Fleming scored on a penalty kick in the 74^th minute for Canada to account for the lone goal in the contest.

The win felt like redemption from when these two sides met in a semifinal in the 2012 Olympics in London, England, where the United States came away with a 4-3 overtime victory. That contest went to extra time after the United States evened the game late in regulation at 3-3 on a controversially awarded penalty kick.

Captain and all-time great Christine Sinclair and midfielder Desiree Scott are the holdovers from the 2012 squad that are still on Canada’s current roster.

Canada will now face Sweden in the gold medal final at 6 a.m. Saskatchewan time on Friday.

To get romantic about sports, you don’t even have to look overseas to do that. Sometimes, the romanticism is in your own backyard.

On Saturday at Cairns Field here in Saskatoon, the Saskatoon Cubs downed the Saskatoon Giants 4-3 in a really well played Saskatchewan Premier Baseball League contest. The two under-18 AAA sides showed how good that level of ball can be played in front of a gathering of about 100 spectators.

During the game, you could play in your head what each team could do to get runners on base, and then bunt and steal to get them home. The pitching and defence on both sides made the offences work to earn everything they got.

The Tigers team photo after winning the 2007 WHL title.

The sides met again on Sunday at Cairns, and the Cubs pulled out a 5-2 victory in that contest. Following that game, the Cubs sported a 26-6 record, and the Giants were a solid 18-13.

With that said, the romanticism in sport is only a small part of the game. It could even be as small as two per cent.

No one sees the hours of preparation and training the athletes put in at practice or the hours administrators invest in fundraising to keep teams going. At the professional level like the NHL and CFL, the whole business aspect that exists to make those clubs go is quite massive.

While the romanticism can give you those warm fuzzy feelings, sports is ultimately a business. In Canada, sports is not really that big of a business in the grand scheme of things unless you are the NHL.

From what I have been told, the sports industry in Canada is worth $2.6-billion. If anyone disputes that figure, I hope they feel free to pass on the source of what the correct figure might me.

On August 25, 2020, Forbes ran a column that said the sports industry in the United States is worth US$750-billion. The piece said the sports industry is the 11^th biggest industry in the United States.

Of course, one will argue the United States has 11-times greater the population that Canada has. If you do the comparative math to make Canada’s population close to equal to that of the United States, Canada’s sports industry would be worth $29.7-billion in Canadian funds in that scenario.

Outside of the NHL, CFL or Toronto’s MLB and NBA teams, the success of sports in Canada depends on volunteers. Those that make a wage in the sports industry usually have to live with a partner, who has a career that makes $70,000 to $80,000 a year.

Let’s just say most won’t get rich working in the sports industry in Canada and will scrap to get by financially. The same goes for those that are left covering sports in the media industry.

The Raiders raise the Ed Chynoweth Cup as WHL champs in 2019.

Any of the last big salaried persons left covering sports in Canada’s media industry are being pretty much swerved into retirement.

To be realistic, you can be involved in sports in Canada, if you have some other way to make a healthy income to handle life’s financial worries.

In my family, there are a number of people who have been linked and involved in sports for a lengthy period of time. With that said, the vast majority of people in my family make their livings outside of the sports industry, and they don’t really know all the ins and outs of Canada’s sports world.

During the first seven days of September, I will be tied up with a big family wedding, and I will be humbled.

I’ve covered the WHL major junior hockey circuit in some form in each of the past 22 seasons. In some circles, that is a big thing, but I will run into lots of people at that wedding who won’t view it that way.

Actually, I worked for a few different places in recent years that aren’t linked to the sports world and often the vast majority of the staffers at those places don’t understand why you would go out to cover the Saskatoon Blades, Prince Albert Raiders, the CJFL’s Saskatoon Hilltops, the WWCFL’s Saskatoon Valkyries or the University of Saskatchewan Huskies Football and Men’s and Women’s hockey teams in U Sports.

Most staffers I encounter at non-sports workplaces view sports as a kids’ endeavor playing games and it is a waste of time to be involved in those worlds unless it is the NHL.

My two most memorable romantic moments in sports came from two WHL title wins separated by 12 years. The first was covering the Medicine Hat Tigers downing the Vancouver Giants 3-2 in double overtime in a series deciding Game 7 of the 2007 WHL Championship Series at The Arena in Medicine Hat. I covered that event for the Medicine Hat News.

The Hilltops celebrate winning the CJFL title in 2018.

The second came from covering the Prince Albert Raiders downing the Giants 3-2 in overtime in another series deciding Game 7 this time in the 2019 WHL Championship Series at the Art Hauser Centre in Prince Albert. I covered that event for this blog and The Canadian Press.

Only two WHL Championships series were decided in overtime in Game 7, and I was in the building for both of those.

Those two victories were life highlights. I have run into many outside of sports who don’t understand that.

In those times, it does put things in perspective that your role in sports doesn’t actually define you as a person, and your role in sports is something you do.

The long drawn out point is that to be involved in sports in Canada you have to want to be there.

As the world transitions to what is hopefully the end part of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, I believe I am at the point I am ready to get back in gear with this blog.

I am going to approach things cautiously. Due to the fact that exploits of sports in Canada aren’t covered anywhere near like they were in the past, I have felt at times I’ve accidentally tried to be all things to all people.

I plan to start out attempting to focus on the Hilltops and the WHL. I believe I might have the opportunity to cover both of those things outside of this blog too.

For myself, I believe those are two good starting points. 

Alex Eyolfson throw a pass for the Valkyries this past July.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, I have found for myself I’ve become a lot more jaded when it comes to dealing with people in general in all forms of life believing everyone is out for themselves.

I have tonnes of great experiences covering the Hilltops and the WHL, and I think that will help me be not as jaded.

I still will likely touch on U Sports, the Valkyries, the Saskatchewan Female Under-18 AAA Hockey League and the CFL. I am going to feel my way through.

For example, I am expecting  Zoom will still be a tool used in covering the happenings in the WHL and U Sports on the interview front. 

At the moment, most of the staffers at the University of Saskatchewan haven’t returned to work at the offices on campus.

I don’t want to overstretch myself, which has happened in the past. Often, I have found I’ve tried to have my blog make up for what is now no longer covered in the mainstream media on the sports front.

During the pandemic, it was also good for me to pick up another interest in following the theatrical sports entertainment happenings of professional wrestling in WWE and AEW. The escapism has been enjoyable for me.

On Saturday, the WWE released one of my favourites in Bray Wyatt, who also goes by a persona known as “The Fiend.”

Again, even that world has a big business aspect to it dealing with issues of contract sizes, character creative control and usage of performers. Wyatt was one of the WWE’s top merchandise sellers, but a departure after 12 years with that company still happened.

A collectables display of recently released WWE superstar Bray Wyatt.

The WWE has released a lot of talent since April, and it appears no one is safe there in a company that has billions in revenue. My figures are crossed that Alexa Bliss doesn’t get released, because I know I will get tuned out and disinterested at that point.

Overall, it is time to be back in business with this blog again.

As I do that, I will try to navigate this crazy world the best I can.

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.

Much respect to those in sports who keep marching on

Riley Pickett is training for a season in the fall of 2021.

    The elite athletes and those that make a living in sports have to be given tonnes of respect for marching on, while the COVID-19 pandemic keeps casting a shadow over the world.

    Even with the fact there is no certainty of when a next competition or a season will occur, there are a tonne of athletes still training all over the place trying to ensure they will be at their best when action resumes.

    Canadian Olympic level track athlete Sage Watson usually does most of her training in the United States and usually competes around the world in her specialty the 400-metre hurdles. Last year in Lima, Peru, she won gold in the women’s 400-metre hurdles at the Pan American Games.

    When the shutdowns started to occur due to the COVID-19 pandemic on March 11 and 12, she returned to her family ranch near Medicine Hat, Alta. Watson’s family has been in the ranching business for over 100 years in that area.

    Since arriving back home, she has continued to train on her own. She was set to represent Canada at the Summer Olympic Games that were originally slated for July 24 to Aug. 9 in Toyko, Japan.

    Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, those games have been postponed to run from July 23, 2021 to Aug. 8, 2021.

    At this point, Watson doesn’t know when her next competition will be. Still, she can be found training on her ranch or at the Rotary Track in the Crescent Heights neighbourhood of Medicine Hat striving on her own to be the best she can be.

Beautiful day for a speed session #training pic.twitter.com/eqiM2hhTcb

— Sage Watson (@SageWats) May 26, 2020

    Watson turned 26-years-old on Saturday and has enjoyed reconnecting with her family in a way she hasn’t been able to since she moved away from home at age 18 to compete in the NCAA track and field ranks.

    If you are fortunate enough to get to know Watson’s family for even a short time, you know she will always make her father, Wade, and mother, Jolene proud. They are likely feeling blessed that their prodigal daughter has been home for an extended stay.

Brant Morrow is training hard for a season that is uncertain.

    You can bet Sage has enjoyed bonding with her younger brother, Waylon. Waylon, who turned 15-years old in April, was a member of the Medicine Hat AAA All-Stars baseball team that won the Canadian Junior Little League Championship last year.
    Since arriving back home, Sage has shared a number of posts hanging out with Waylon on her Instagram account.

    In all parts of her life, Sage Watson keeps writing an ultimate feel good story.

    Besides looking at Watson’s example, you can find lots of athletes that keep working at their craft. University of Saskatchewan Huskies defensive lineman Riley Pickett keeps training, even though he won’t see any regular season action until the fall of 2021.

    You can find Saskatoon Hilltops defensive back Brant Morrow going hard, and the six time defending CJFL champion Hilltops aren’t guaranteed of a campaign in 2020.

    Big respect goes out to Hilltops president Chris Hengen-Braun and the Hilltops team board and executives.
    They are spending tonnes of hours trying to make a 2020 season a reality.

    At the WHL level, the same goes for Saskatoon Blades general manager and president Colin Priestner and director of business operations Tyler Wawryk for the upcoming 2020-21 campaign.

Blades GM Colin Priestner and staff are working hard on a 2020-21 plan.

    If you travel from Saskatoon up Highway 11, you can find Prince Albert Raiders general manager Curtis Hunt and business manager Michael Scissons are doing their best to try and make a 2020-21 season a go.

    Numerous administrators for minor sports bodies are getting up every day putting in a solid effort trying make things happen.

    All these sports people are trying to do their flat out best, when the reality is a health or government official could easily strike down the most innovative idea to make action happen.
    Of course, the concern about returning to action is real, when you consider the constant stories coming out of the United States this past week about positive COVID-19 tests in the sports world. It has gotten to the point it is hard to keep up with the information on the positive tests.

    Late this past week, positive tests were confirmed in Major League Soccer, the National Football League, the National Hockey League and Major League Baseball.

    The MLB’s Philadelphia Phillies shut down their facility in Clearwater, Florida, and the Toronto Blue Jays did the same in Dunedin, Florida, due to COVID-19 concerns. The Phillies had five players and three staff members test positive and one Blue Jays player showed symptoms.

Raiders GM Curtis Hunt and staff are working towards a 2020-21 plan.

    The San Francisco Giants closed their facility in Scottsdale, Ariz., after a visitor and one family member exhibited symptoms.

    A report surfaced on Friday from Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun that Toronto Maple Leafs centre Auston Matthews tested positive for COVID-19, and he is apparently self-isolating at his home in Arizona.
    On Saturday, media reports surfaced that at least 30 players from the defending NCAA football champion Louisiana State University Tigers have been quarantined due to a COVID-19 outbreak in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

    With all that noted, you have to love how elite athletes continue to train and administrators and executives bring a top level effort on a daily basis, even if that work does not produce a result due to factors beyond anyone’s control.
    At the moment, it appears those in the sports world are going up against a stacked deck.

No COVID-19 vaccine thoughts fires up anxiety, other thoughts

Downtown Saskatoon was deserted early in the COVID-19 pandemic.

    During the COVID-19 pandemic, a couple of thoughts come up that fire up anxiety regarding the idea of a vaccine.

    One thought is what happens if a vaccine isn’t developed for COVID-19 or the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes the COVID-19 disease?

    The other thought is what happens if it takes a long time to develop a vaccine for COVID-19 or the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes the COVID-19 disease?

    I try not to think about those questions, but they do cross my mind from time to time.

    The COVID-19 pandemic is often compared to the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918. The Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918 was a deadly influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus.

    The first licensed flu vaccine didn’t appear in North America until the 1940s. When the Spanish Flu pandemic hit in 1918, the frequency of cases about 15 months later dropped to negligible levels.

    In an apples to oranges comparison, medical science has developed light years from what the world knew in 1918. Back in 1918, people still died of all sorts of ailments, and it was still a frequent occurrence in North America to see babies pass away within the first three months of being born.

    You have to hope it doesn’t take over 20 years to develop a vaccine for COVID-19.

    On the front of thinking about a vaccine not being developed, HIV/AIDS comes to mind.

    HIV/AIDS was first identified in the early 1980s. There still hasn’t been a vaccine developed for the HIV virus that causes AIDS or effective treatment for HIV/AIDS. It has been classified as a pandemic for decades.

    The HIV virus mutates quickly, which makes hard to develop a vaccine for it.

    In thinking about those two situations, one wonders if we are going to have to figure out a way to live with COVID-19 for the long stretch. Over the past week, there have been constant media reports that several states in the United States have seen a record number of cases in recent days.

    There has been a steady stream of positive COVID-19 tests from the sports world in the U.S., which gives further proof as to how easily this virus spreads.

    Looking at past historical examples, it is possible the COVID-19 pandemic could continue for some time without a vaccine. There are no clear paths on how to react, if that becomes the case.

    Thinking too much about all of that just does damage on the mental health front with regards to anxiety, so the best move is to try to stay focused on day to day tasks.

• On Thursday, former NHL and CHL player Daniel Carcillo and Garrett Taylor, who played in the WHL for the Lethbridge Hurricanes and Prince Albert Raiders from 2008 to 2010, filed a proposed class-action lawsuit against the CHL and its three member leagues in the OHL, QMJHL and WHL in Ontario Superior Court in Toronto over hazing. The allegations haven’t been proven in court. Carcillo played in the OHL from 2002 to 2005 with the Sarnia Sting and the Mississauga IceDogs. This appears to have the potential to get extremely ugly and drag out for years before it is done. The allegations that have been made are extremely ugly. Rick Westhead of TSN did a story, and it can be found right here.
• On Friday, the Government of Canada approved a cohort quarantine proposal by the NHL. The proposal makes players and staff exempt from the 14-day quarantine period for anyone entering Canada. Instead of quarantining individually, the cohort quarantine would keep NHL players and staffers separate from the general public. The move clears one hurdle towards making a Canadian city a hub city for NHL post-season play.
• On Friday, the 17-member Alberta Colleges Athletics Conference cancelled all sports season play for the fall of 2020. For sports that are only conducted in the fall in golf, cross-country running and soccer, the ACAC is planning to run those sports in April of 2021.
• On Friday, the Camrose, Alta., based University of Alberta-Augustana Campus Vikings, who play out of the ACAC, announced the program was withdrawing from men’s hockey, women’s soccer, men’s and women’s basketball and men’s and women’s volleyball from the 2020-21 campaign. Vikings Athletics cited economic and COVID-19 pandemic concerns for the decision along with aligning a plan of action with what the University of Alberta Golden Bears and Pandas programs have done at the U Sports level.
• Over this past week, I thought social media was a little more kind than it was in the week previous. It seemed a little rough on Saturday. That was just from my subjective observation, but other might have not had the same experience.
• I am fine with sports administrators and executives trying to find ways to make their sports work in these COVID-19 pandemic times. Besides trying to prevent falling off people’s radars, many sports teams and organizations in Canada are just trying to find ways to survive.
• Starting about seven days ago, New Zealand began holding professional rugby games allowing full stadiums with no social distancing guidelines. One game at Eden Park in Auckland on June 13 drew around 43,000 spectators. The moves were done after New Zealand got down to zero active COVID-19 cases. It helps that New Zealand is an island nation with about 4.9-million people. As of the time this post went live, Worldometer, which accurately tracks various worldwide statistics, stated New Zealand has nine active COVID-19 cases. New Zealand observed strict lockdowns to originally get down to zero cases, so one has to wonder if those lockdowns will return. Still, it was cool to hear one country held large sporting events with no restrictions.
• Just want to add a disclaimer that what I write or say about the COVID-19 pandemic doesn’t matter in the big picture of things. I am not a government official or a health official that has power to make decisions on that front. In the big picture, what I say doesn’t really mean much on that front. I just try to navigate the waves on day by day basis the best I can, because I don’t have control over anything else.
• I am pleased I wrote a review on Friday’s #CFLsim broadcast put together by The Rod Pedersen Show. It appears the simulation game broadcast and my review gave people some much needed fun and helped provide some relief from the difficult times the world is experiencing. I think the public at least in Saskatchewan misses seeing comments like the one below from Fake Gainer.

Very good write-up especially on the violent hits Mitch Picton took during that game.

While it is entertaining, I sure hope the league dishes out fines to the Al's organization.

Wouldn't be shocked if the concussion spotter is suspended as well.

Have a blessed Sunday.

— 𝙛𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙂𝘼𝙄𝙉𝙀𝙍™🍉🌾 (@fakeGAINER) June 21, 2020

    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.

Those facing mental health challenges can still be great in all parts of life

All set to cover the Memorial Cup in Regina in May of 2018.

    People who have mental health challenges can still function and be great in life.

    It seems like that last sentence I wrote is hard to believe.

    Since 2012, I have known I have battled with issues dealing with anxiety. There is still a stigma around mental health issues, and they are unfortunately still treated as the elephant in the room in too many circles.

    I write about my experiences on the mental health front in hopes it will help others. Since 2016, I’ve kept up with a tradition where I write a post regarding mental health on Bell Let’s Talk day.

    This year, I am hoping to get the message out that those that deal with mental health challenges can still be great in their everyday lives and have success.

    Part of the stigma around mental health is the belief it isn’t possible for those dealing with mental health challenges to be great in their everyday lives.

    When you admit to dealing with a mental health challenge, it almost feels like others treat you as damaged goods, and that you should be thrown away. At least, that is how I have felt some have reacted to me in some circles, especially if I go out and interview for jobs. It seems like anything you have done to meet or overcome those challenges is not noticed in job interviews.

Pictured with a Parker Kelly bobblehead doll in Prince Albert.

    It seems like there is a belief that those that deal with mental health challenges aren’t capable functioning well at anything, so they should be tossed to the side.

    If we as a society are to break the stigma that surrounds mental health, that line of thinking has to change.

    Put it this way, Clara Hughes won two bronze medals competing in the 1996 Olympic Summer Games in cycling and one gold, one silver and two bronze medals over three Winter Olympics in speed skating while battling depression. She accomplished some pretty impressive things dealing with her mental health challenges.

    As for me, I find the spot I really take off is when I am covering a sporting event, especially WHL hockey games. Since I am in my 20^th season covering major junior hockey, I seem to be in a comfortable spot, when I cover one of those games.
    When I cover a WHL game, it seems my mind often gets triggered to remembering some other good time I had from covering that circuit in past years. Those memories get me even more pumped to do well at that night’s game.

Visiting the Broncos bus crash memorial in Swift Current.

    If a game is intense or hangs in the balance needing to be decided by a late third period goal or in an extra session, I feel like I am absurdly calm. At that point in a game, I am looking to see who will be the player that steps up to make a play to win the game. Overall, I am always intrigued what that night’s story is going to be.

    Covering games on that circuit is second nature to me. When I head to the rink, my mind is set I am going to get to the game, do my thing and everyone is going to be impressed by what I do.

    Of course, readers won’t agree or be impressed with everything I write, but I take pride in calling things as I see them.
   When I head out on the road, it is second nature planning out road trips. I know how to regiment my day to ensure I am hitting the highway at the right time to arrive in the city I will be covering a game in at a punctual moment. There is a comfort level in going through that process of hitting the road due to the fact I have done it tonnes of times before.

Hanging out with Emma Manson, left, after covering a WHL game.

    I also take pride in trying to represent myself well when I am in another league centre. I try to be personable as possible to others when I am on the road.
    In my mind, I always feel I am going to give the readers something special to check out when I write stories, take pictures and layout the entire package.

    When I was putting together my post for my top memories of 2018, I found myself looking back at the pieces I produced while covering the Memorial Cup held last May in Regina. My best memories of the event involve renewing ties with the large number of friends I have made covering the sport.
    Still, I actually impressed myself when I checked out the pieces I produced.

    I don’t want to sound egotistical, but I really did think to myself, “Wow! I did a lot of good work at this event.”

    I have also formed so many great relationships on that circuit, and it does make me feel good renewing those relationships.

    Day in and day out, I can still function as well working in media like I did before I knew I was dealing with issues dealing with anxiety.

The end of a WHL game night at the SaskTel Centre at home in Saskatoon.

    Since moving to Saskatoon in the summer of 2014, I have engaged in various contract opportunities to supplement my media work. I feel I have always adapted well to any contract opportunity I have taken up.

    I still do regular life activities like everyone else like gassing up my car, working out, going to movies or going out to a nice dinner.

    When you have challenges with mental health, it doesn’t mean you are constantly rolled up into a ball and crying.

    It is still possible for people to be great, excel and do special things even when they face mental health challenges.

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com. My Bell Let’s Talk post from last year called “Being content can become a mental health challenge” can be round right here. A piece from 2017 called “Recognizing and respecting triggers is key for mental health” can be found right here. A piece from 2016 called “Feeling connected calms the mental health seas” can be found right here. A piece called “My Mental Health Story” can be found here. Another post I like that I wrote in February of 2015 about my mental health journey call “Huskies hockey was good for me” can be found here.

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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.