A wacked and loony week for social media

Sometimes it is best to not check out those lines

The Blades are doing their part to make Saskatoon a better place.

Social media never seems to disappoint with how crazy it can be in the worst way.

Just when you think social media can be cool, all of a sudden it hits the sewer worse than you ever remember happening before. Out of all the social media lines, it feels like Twitter hits the sewer the fastest and hardest.

For me, the high note of the week on social media came in the early morning hours last Sunday. I got home after covering a WHL regular season game in Prince Albert on Saturday, January 22, where the visiting Medicine Hat Tigers downed the host Raiders 6-4.

Before I went to bed, I decided to check my Facebook and Twitter accounts. Both lines were filled with posts of people saying they were happy to be at the Saskatoon Blades WHL regular season home game on January 22, when they dumped the Winnipeg Ice 7-2.

The majority of the comments focused on the great job the Blades did with their Pride Night theme. The Blades rocked pretty sweet special jerseys for that contest to honour the LGBTQ+ community.

The Blades drew 3,585 spectators to the SaskTel Centre that night, which was their largest crowd since returning from their WHL Christmas break.

I went to bed feeling upbeat about the Blades having done something really positive for inclusion.

Even though I didn’t make that Blades game, it felt like they were able to show that a sports team can truly bring all parts of a community together.

Those feelings were genuine too, because Blades general manager Colin Priestner and his wife, Alanna, live and breathe those values.

Unfortunately, social media started to go south one day later this past Monday.

That was the day the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks announced Emilie Castonguay would be the team’s new assistant general manager. She would become the first female to hold that job title in the history of the Canucks and only the second female ever in the history of the NHL to be named an assistant general manager.

There was a lot of praise that came with that move.

Unfortunately, I came across cringe worthy comments too.

I came across a Twitter account that had just over 100 followers and stated the account holder was based in Alberta.

That account hold wrote a post responding to this announcement that women and gays have no place in hockey.

I was freaked out and felt sad and upset someone would say that so boldly on a public line.

I found a Twitter troll that said women don’t belong in hockey.

That same account said something that was unflattering to a Saskatoon Blades team post about the team’s Pride Game night.

That offending account got pushback from others, with some noting the offending account reinforced negative stereotypes for people from Alberta.

While that offending account that was saying those crazy things wasn’t interacting with my account, I decided to block it just because that offending account was that stupid.

I proceeded to take a look at the accounts the Blades have on various social media lines to check out their Pride Night posts. I found a handful of awful responses in the comments sections of those posts.

On Tuesday, the Blades proceeded to put a story on their website titled, “Saskatoon Blades score one for Pride.”

It was a beautifully crafted post about how great the team’s Pride Night was. If you are curious, that post can be found by clicking right here.

The Blades organization’s reaction to the negative comments was an outstanding one.

Unfortunately, I would continue to encounter rough social media waters in different areas.

Wednesday was Bell Let’s Talk day, which is Bell Canada’s annual mental health awareness and fundraising day.

It felt like the regular fundraising initiatives held over social media lines didn’t get the traction like past years. I traditionally write a post on Bell Let’s Talk day discussing my own mental healthy journey, and my post this year got by far the fewest views in comparison to my Bell Let’s Talk day posts of past years.

I figured that might happen, because I expected there to be a push back against Bell Canada after making huge jobs cuts in less than a week after last year’s Bell Let’s Talk day.

Bell Canada has become a company that talks the talk but doesn’t walk the walk when it comes to mental health. However, any negativity towards Bell Let’s Talk day would not be the craziest thing that would be seen this week over social media.

Wednesday was the first day I started to notice posts from the truckers’ convoy that was heading to Ottawa, Ont., to converge on Parliament Hill to call an end for coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine mandates and other public health restrictions.

Truckers and other protestors made it to Ottawa on Saturday for their protest.

Starting on Wednesday, I saw way too many posts from the radicals in this group on the far right that made me cringe. Even posts that weren’t cringe worthy made me shake my head.

One shake my head post came from the “Truckers Freedom Convoy 2022” Instagram account on Saturday. Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe put out a letter on his social media accounts thanking truckers, and it called for an end to the cross-border ban on unvaccinated truckers that travel between Canada and the United States.

Twitter is likely the most loony social media line.

Moe’s letter also stated in the not too distant future the Government of Saskatchewan would end its proof of vaccination or negative test requirement policy.

The “Truckers Freedom Convoy 2022” account said Moe’s letter was a step in the right direction, but immediate action was wanted right now. The post also used the hashtag #WeTheFringe.

Of course, you could find numerous posts including cringe worthy ones from the far left condemning those associated with the convoy.

To me, all of this devolved into absolutism that has been present since the COVID-19 pandemic gripped the world in March of 2020.

There was lots of my way or the highway rhetoric.

So far during the COVID-19 pandemic, differing views regarding it have been the deal breaker on many friendships and associations and often it has been the only deal breaker.

Ultimately, I don’t think this convoy is going to accomplish much except drown out the voices of people who are reasonable and still have common sense. Any ill feelings will only be intensified.

While the truckers’ convoy dominated the news cycle in Canada, the news cycle in the United States was dominated by escalating tensions between that country and Russia over Russian massing near 100,000 troops near the border with Ukraine. Anything related to the COVID-19 pandemic didn’t seem to be top of mind.

Finally on Saturday, social media jumped in a tizzy over a subject that was less serious in nature. Early in the afternoon, news broke that Tom Brady, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback and arguably the NFL’s greatest ever player, was retiring only for that story to be shot down seemingly about an hour later.

Brady’s company TB12sports put out a tweet that indicated Brady was retiring, but that was later deleted.

The NFL put a story on its website that Brady was retiring and put out an announcement on Twitter saying the retirement was happening.

Reactions poured in from around the world congratulating Brady on his career.

Later Saturday afternoon, news came out Brady called Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht to say he had not made a decision yet on his football playing future. Brady, who is 44-years-old, is under contract to play for the Buccaneers in 2022.

With all that has gone on this week, the mix up regarding the story if Brady had made up his mind about retiring from his playing career ended up being a humourous one.

A Saturday afternoon screenshot of NFL.com of a story in error.

In the end, all one can do with these crazy social media waves is roll with the punches as best you can. If you can try to pause, take a deep breath and think critically without emotion about what you are seeing, it could potentially help you navigate those seas.

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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Inconsistency only consistency in COVID-19 pandemic

Yours truly with a standard COVID-19 vaccination picture.

“How the (explanative) did you get your shot already?”

That is a familiar refrain you might find in the comments sections on social media post when someone from Saskatchewan posts a picture of having received their COVID-19 vaccination. In Saskatchewan, it is common for people to post pictures on social media after they receive their first COVID-19 vaccination shot along with a circular green sticker.

Saskatchewan residents can receive those stickers at the place they got their vaccine poke from.

As people in younger age groups received their first COVID-19 vaccine shot in Saskatchewan, comments shows up from time to time from a person in another Canadian province saying they still have to wait a bit before getting their first shot.

That right there shows the many inconsistencies that have shown up during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic which has gripped the world.

The first cancellations and restrictions in North America regarding the COVID-19 pandemic started to take hold way back on March 11, 2020.

Since the point, it has been the norm to see inconsistencies when it comes to dealing with the pandemic. Going hand in hand with the inconsistencies is people losing their minds with them.

Why can people, who are traveling within Canada, arrive at one province like Saskatchewan and be able to freely visit and then go to another province like Manitoba and have to quarantine for 14 days?

With North America having dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic for over 14 months now, you would think people would get used to the fact there are inconsistencies. Still, people seem to not disappoint in showing how emotional they can be and get worked up over the inconsistencies.

Mosaic Stadium pictured during the 2019 Labour Day Classic.

One of the most glaring recent ones occurred on Friday.

In Ontario, the City of Toronto cancelled all major in person events for a second straight summer due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That cancellation period runs through to and includes the Sept. 4-6 Labour Day weekend.

The population of the metro area of Toronto is over 6.1-million.

On that same day during a sitting at the Government of Saskatchewan legislature, Premier Scott Moe encouraged the province’s residents to get vaccinated, because if the province accomplishes its vaccination targets, the hint was dropped that the 33,356 seat Mosaic Stadium could be used for events.

“That’s how later this summer we are going to fill that stadium in this town,” said Moe.

Saskatchewan has a population of over 1.1-million.

Moe has talked to the media this week about seeing football fans flock to Mosaic Stadium this summer. Of course, Mosaic Stadium is home to the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders, and those hints had some in Rider Nation jumping up and down believing that there is no doubt their team is going to play.

At the moment, the CFL season is scheduled to begin on August 5. The circuit wasn’t able to navigate a way to get on the field in 2020 due to the challenges the COVID-19 pandemic presented with public health orders and travel restrictions.

In reality, the start of the CFL is far from a guaranteed thing. It is conceivable that Saskatchewan as a province could be in position to host something like a CFL game at the end of August, but the rest of Canada won’t be in that position.

Jess Moskaluke performs in 2016.

Judging by mainstream media reports, Saskatchewan’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout appears to be very efficient, which is allowing “The Wheat Province” to do a lot better in that department than most of the rest of Canada.

If Saskatchewan gets to that place where it is possible to host events at Mosaic Stadium at full capacity at the end of August, you might likely see a Jess Moskaluke concert but not a Roughriders football game.

Of course, there will likely be a handful of Roughriders diehards that will be planning how the entire nine-team CFL can play out of Saskatchewan using Mosaic Stadium and Saskatoon’s the Griffiths Stadium and Saskatoon Minor Football Field in that scenario.

Griffiths Stadium has been able to hold over 8,000 spectators in its current configuration, while SMF Field can seat a crowd of 5,000.

Actually, Saskatchewan might hit the position where hockey at all levels including the WHL, the junior A SJHL, and the under-18 AAA male and female ranks returns to game action before any other area in Canada does.

That might go for all sorts of sports and entertainment activities.

The Atlantic provinces might get to those things earlier as they have been able to have an “Atlantic Travel Bubble” at times during the pandemic.

Still, a lot of Saskatchewan residents don’t seem to comprehend is that the rest of the world doesn’t unfold like it does in “The Land of the Living Skies.”

There are some that believe Saskatchewan’s vaccine rollout and COVID-19 restrictions are mirrored in the rest of Canada, and that is far from the case.

It seems people can’t grasp the continuing inconsistencies when it comes to dealing with the pandemic.

Unfortunately, you likely have better odds of winning the main jackpot for the Lotto Max lottery than seeing those inconsistencies go away.

The Regina Pats salute a Brandt Centre crowd in 2017.

Like it or not, the inconsistencies are here to stay.

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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Wheels start rolling for WHL to play in Alberta

The Tigers celebrate a road win in January of 2020.

Today, the gears officially kicked into motion for the WHL’s five Alberta-based teams to try and return to action.

On Thursday, the WHL put out a release stating the Government of Alberta and Alberta Health gave thumbs up for a return to play plan for the Calgary Hitmen, Edmonton Oil Kings, Lethbridge Hurricanes, Medicine Hat Tigers and Red Deer Rebels.

With the world caught in the grips of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the WHL is trying to play a shortened developmental season with play contained in each of its four divisions.

Normally, the Central Division contains all five teams located in Alberta along with the Swift Current Broncos, but the Broncos have been moved to the East Division for the 2020-21 campaign.

Today, players and staff from the WHL’s five Alberta-based teams began self-quarantining.

They are slated to report to their WHL club’s on Saturday, February 6. At that time, the players and staff will undergo COVID-19 testing followed by an additional quarantine period.

Pre-season and on ice training for the Alberta-based clubs is set for Friday, February 12 at the earliest.

The WHL’s press release announcing the return to play for the Alberta teams was a lengthy one. The length gives a glimpse to the seas that have to be navigated to even get games going.

The Alberta teams will each play a 24-game regular season schedule that is slated to start on Friday, February 26. The regular season schedule will be announced at a later date.

Teams will be playing games on weekends in home-and-home series likely on each Friday and Saturday in order to avoid hotel stays. Four teams will be in action each weekend, while the fifth club will have a bye.

Jake Neighbours is set to return to the Oil Kings.

Teams will observe a five day break before playing a new opponent.

No spectators will be permitted to enter WHL facilities.

WHL clubs will provide private PCR testing through DynaLIFE Medical Labs in order to ensure no additional strain is placed on public health. 

Players will be tested upon arrival to their WHL team and once again before engaging in any team activity.

The major junior circuit will implement an ongoing weekly private PCR testing strategy.

If a WHL squad has one or more players or staff test positive for COVID-19 at any point in the season, the team will be required to suspend its activities for a minimum of 14 days.

There will be enhanced screening for all WHL players, billets, team staff and officials that will take place on a daily basis including regular temperature screenings as well as symptom monitoring through the WHL Athlete RMS Mobile Application.

Masks must be worn by all WHL players at all times except when they are participating on ice for games and practices.

WHL coaches will be required to wear masks at all times including while conducting practice and while behind the bench during games.

The WHL release added the circuit is still working on getting action going for the East, B.C. and U.S. Divisions.

On Friday, the WHL got another unofficial nod for its plan, when the NHL’s St. Louis Blues announced they were assigning 18-year-old left-winger Jake Neighbours back to the Oil Kings.

The Blues selected Neighbours in the first round and 26^th overall in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, signed him to a three-year NHL entry-level contract and had him as part of their taxi squad to start the current NHL campaign.

The Hitmen aim to enjoy scoring goals again.

The Airdrie, Alta., product had 23 goals, 47 assists and a plus-15 rating in the plus-minus department in 64 regular season games in the 2019-20 campaign for the Oil Kings.

Overall, these games will allow NHL and other professional and U Sports scouts to get more current game footage on prospects.

The WHL has a well-laid plan to get back into action in Alberta. There is still a chance even these short 24-game seasons can be derailed.

Like anything else in the current day, all the players and staffers can do is cross their fingers and do their best to follow the protocols and hope everything works out.

SFU18AAAHL players make valiant video, other notes

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A post shared by Prince Albert Bears (@princealbertbears)

If they don’t get to lace up the skates again for the 2020-21 campaign, the players from the Saskatchewan Female Under-18 AAA Hockey League said their piece.

Players from the seven-team circuit made a video four minutes and 46 seconds in length targeted at the Government of Saskatchewan and Premier Scott Moe making a case to allow them to return to play at this point during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The video debuted on the Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts of the Prince Albert Northern Bears. The Facebook post has been shared 263 times, the Twitter post was shared 130 times and the Instagram post has been viewed 5,134 times.

Due to provincial Public Health Orders that were brought in to battle COVID-19, no actual hockey games have been played in Saskatchewan since late November 2020.

At the time the SFU18AAAHL player video was made, athletes aged 18 and under can participate in sports training and practice sessions in groups of eight players or less. On Tuesday, the existing Public Health Orders in Saskatchewan were extended to February 19.

The Bears celebrate an OT winner in Nov. 2020.

On Jan. 14, the Saskatchewan Hockey Association announced they didn’t expect any game action to resume until late March at the earliest after meeting Ken Dueck of the Provincial Government’s Business Response Team virtually on Jan. 13.

The SFU18AAAHL players listed a number of reasons why they should be allowed to return to play. They talked about mental health being affected and that hockey helped provide an escape from what was happening in the world.

The players said they had religiously followed the Public Health Orders that were laid out when they were playing.

The players added that not playing hampers their development and the graduating players have less of a chance to be seen by post-secondary programs.

They said the family atmosphere they had with their teams has been a big positive in their lives.

Kailey Ledoux, who is a 17-year-old forward with the Bears, was emphatic in stating that hockey was not a hobby for the players but a lifestyle.

After watching the video, the players of the SFU18AAAHL should be commended for making their valiant piece.

They put themselves out there on social media lines knowing they could see some not nice feedback. Some of those that might deliver the not nice feedback won’t care that these are female player aged anywhere from 15 to 18.

For the most part, the feedback inside their social media lines appears to mostly be positive. There were a couple of cranky responses on the Bears Facebook and Instagram accounts.

In the grand scheme of things, I don’t think the video will ultimately bring hockey games back into action.

Health officials are way too concerned about how easily COVID-19 can spread.

I myself am aware that there are officials in Saskatchewan’s school systems who are very concerned about minor hockey potentially returning to action. In general, officials found their biggest grief in keeping COVID-19 out of the schools came from people having spent time at the rinks for hockey games, when games were allowed to be played.

The Stars celebrate a goal in Nov. 2020.

I am just saying I am well aware those discussions have happened to note that will be a hurdle if hockey games are ultimately resumed.

I always hope I am wrong on all that, but the realist and the gut feeling in me makes me think that will be how this all unfolds.

Had this video ultimately been a story on a CBC platform you could be certain you would encounter a lot more people from that audience that would be against returning to play.

Of course, all of this has materialized how it has because there are inconsistencies to the Public Health Orders across Canada. Canada also borders with the United States, and that creates frustrations up here.

At times, being close neighbours with the United States likely presents a bad example for Canada to follow on some fronts. Also, it seems like there are too many people in Canada that believe Canada is actually an extension or the same country as the United States.

A lot of sports leagues are playing down there, because sports are a huge money industry in the United States. You can follow the exploits of some NCAA women’s hockey teams down in the United States that are currently playing in the pandemic.

If the SFU18AAAHL teams existed in the United States, the head coaches would likely be making $100,000 a year salaries instead of small honorariums.

Even with noting all that, there are a lot of leagues and teams that aren’t playing in the United States. There are areas in that country that are experiencing strict COVID-19 restrictions.

No matter what walk of life you are in, the COVID-19 pandemic does reinforce the notion that life is not fair.

Still, you have to give full credit to the SFU18AAAHL players for having the courage to speak out. Overall, they are all really great teenagers and super young adults.

They said what they felt needed to be said while opening up to the risk of being targets for a backlash.

·        As of Saturday night, the January jackpot for the Saskatchewan Amateur Football Mega 50/50 lottery sat at $6,560. The funds from this 50/50 lottery will go to support the CJFL’s Saskatoon Hilltops and Regina Thunder and the WWCFL’s Saskatoon Valkyries and Regina Riot. One prize will be drawn per month, and the remaining draw dates are Sunday, February 28, 2021, March 31, 2021, April 30, 2021 and May 31, 2021. Tickets can be purchased by clicking right here, and purchasers must be in Saskatchewan in order to buy tickets.

·        On Thursday, the Quad Town Forum, which is a weekly based in Vibank, Sask., reported over Twitter the Qu’ Appelle Valley Hockey League has cancelled the rest of its junior and senior 2020-21 seasons.

·        On Friday, the 2021 Alberta Summer Games that were set for Lethbridge have been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Games were originally set for July of 2020 before they were postponed until 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The dates for the Alberta Summer Games in 2021 were never officially set.

·        On Saturday, Hockey Winnipeg announced it has cancelled the remainder of its minor hockey 2020-21 regular season and playoffs due to restrictions regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.

·        Gregg Drinnan had his latest round up of how the COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on the sports world in his Taking Note blog on Friday. That post can be found by clicking 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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WHL pushing back start date was to be expected

Spencer Moe and the Prince Albert Raiders wait for action.

With the way the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic was going in Western Canada and the United States, it seemed inevitable that the WHL was going to have to push back the start of its 2020-21 campaign.

Coming into this week, both Manitoba and Alberta were engaged in strict lockdown measures to battle the pandemic that are at the moment slated to last until January 8, 2021 and January 10, 2021 respectively.

On Monday, the Government of Saskatchewan announced current pandemic restrictions would be extended to January 15, 2021 and added some new tweaks that come in on Thursday at 12:01 a.m. The tweaks include limiting all private indoor gatherings to members who live in the same household and limiting all outdoor private gatherings to 10 people.

On Tuesday, British Columbia Premier John Horgan was vowing there would be tighter enforcement for the strict lockdown measures in that province.

The measures that are in place in all four Western Canadian provinces have prevented games and competitions in the sports world from happening at all. Where athletic activities can occur, training has been limited to groups of eight.

New COVID-19 case numbers are still rising at a concerning rate in both Canada and the United States.

On Tuesday, the WHL announced that due to public health restrictions in place across Western Canada and the Pacific Northwest U.S., the major junior hockey circuit is not in position to begin its upcoming regular season on January 8, 2021.

All Brandon Wheat Kings head bump celebrations are on hold.

The WHL announced that following further consultations with regional health authorities the league’s board of governors will meet in January to consider potential start dates. The circuit said it would continue to work with governments and health authorities in the region it operates out of to consider schedule options for the 2020-21 campaign.

“We continue to make every effort to get our season started, but our first priority has always been the healthy and safety of our players and everyone associated with the WHL,” said WHL commissioner Ron Robison in a release. “Given the public health restrictions that are currently in effect, we are not in a position to determine a new target date for our season.

“We will continue to consult with health authorities to determine when it is safe and responsible to get our season started.”

Of course, vaccinations for COVID-19 have started in Canada on a very limited scale. It is expected vaccination rollout for the general public won’t happen until at least April of 2021.

If all goes well on the vaccination front, there is optimism that things could be back to normal by September of 2021. Again, that assumes everything goes well.

Still, the world is well in the grips of the COVID-19 pandemic in the current day. According to Worldometer, which is pretty accurate in accumulating daily totals on COVID-19 cases and deaths, the United States went through a 24-hour period within the past two days experiencing 246,996 new COVID-19 cases and 3,486 deaths.

Kyle Crnkovic and the Saskatoon Blades are still sidelined.

If those weren’t new highs for a single 24-hour period in the United States, they are in the top 10 for the worst daily totals that country has faced so far in this pandemic.

As a result, it is unclear what will happen to major junior hockey for the 2020-21 campaign or how all other levels of hockey and winter sports will get going in the 2020-21 campaign.

At the moment, the only junior hockey that will be played will be the action from the upcoming world juniors in Edmonton, Alta., which will be played in a bubble environment at Rogers Place.

Unless you are a big money professional circuit or the top tier of the NCAA, most winter sports in North America might be wise to throw in the towel for 2020-21 and start gearing up for the 2021-22 campaign.

Politicians can’t win in pandemic, other notes

Politicians like Scott Moe can’t escape criticism.

Politicians can’t win in the COVID-19 pandemic.

No matter where on the political spectrum you sit, politicians who make decisions during these COVID-19 pandemic times will be criticised for either doing too much or not doing enough. No matter what decision is made, it seems both types of criticism inevitably come.

It seems like you don’t have to work hard to find people on social media crapping on Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The same goes for Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe.

Actually, you likely can find all sorts of venom directed at any provincial premier in Canada on social media.

Too much of the venom is downright hateful and personal.

Of course, there was one clown who fired off remarks that were racist towards Saskatchewan’s Chief Medical Health Officer Dr. Saqib Shahab at a so-called “freedom rally” on Saturday in Regina.

When you see all the vile comments, it makes you ask, “Why would anyone get into public service or become a politician?”

Even when the COVID-19 pandemic hits a conclusion, I don’t think anyone would want to be rushing to get into public service of become a politician due to the garage that would come their way. No matter what you do, you are never going to get a break on anything and people are going to take out a personal hate on you.

During the pandemic, it seems politicians of all political stripes can only do wrong.

The COVID-19 pandemic is definitely the worst time to be a politician.

• As of Wednesday night, the 50/50 jackpot for the Hockey Harvest Lottery sat at $297,520. The lottery is being used to raise money for the player scholarship education funds of Saskatchewan’s five WHL teams in the Moose Jaw Warriors, Prince Albert Raiders, Regina Pats, Saskatoon Blades and the Swift Current Broncos. Tickets can be purchased by clicking right here, and purchasers must be in Saskatchewan in order to buy tickets.
• As of Wednesday night, the December jackpot for the Saskatchewan Amateur Football Mega 50/50 lottery sat at $5,650. The funds from this 50/50 lottery will go to support the CJFL’s Saskatoon Hilltops and Regina Thunder and the WWCFL’s Saskatoon Valkyries and Regina Riot. One prize will be drawn per month, and the draw dates are December 31, 2020, January 31, 2021, February 28, 2021, March 31, 2021, April 30, 2021 and May 31, 2021. Tickets can be purchased by clicking right here, and purchasers must be in Saskatchewan in order to buy tickets.
• From what I can tell, the start date for the NHL’s upcoming season is still January 1, 2021. There have been speculation stories that said that start date has been moved to January 13, 2021 for a little over a week now. With that noted, I can’t find anything official from the NHL saying the start date has been pushed back. In reality, it doesn’t seem likely the NHL can actually start its upcoming season on that January 1, 2021 date.
• I haven’t done this in a while, so I figured I would add these again for a marker to look back on. According to Worldometer at the time this post went live 1,655,282 people have died so far this year in the world due to the coronavirus even with varying restrictions that have been imposed around the world. Also this year, Worldometer has reported 1,616,515 people in the world so far this year have died of HIV/AIDS, 1,298,066 died by road traffic accidents, 1,031,175 died by suicide, 809,776 people have died by water related diseases, 471,051 died by seasonal flu, and 297,221 mothers have died during birth. The skeptics of the COVID-19 pandemic always want to know the deaths from cancer it seems. Worldometer said 7,897,603 people have died of cancer this year.
• On Tuesday, Gregg Drinnan had some ponderings about the COVID-19 pandemic in his Taking Note blog. The ponderings made good points, but they were of the sad variety. Even though they were of the sad variety, they were still good points to ponder. That piece can be found by clicking 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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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.

Sports, live event industry in uphill COVID-19 world battle

The Rush celebrate a goal in the NLL playoffs in 2018.

There are some business executives in Saskatoon who will likely be brought to tears when you mention the Junos.

The tears will continue to fall when you mention Saskatchewan Rush and Saskatoon Blades games knowing there were going to be playoff dates for both at the SaskTel Centre. The Blades could have potentially played their archrivals, the Prince Albert Raiders, in the WHL postseason which would have given those playoff home dates a huge attendance boost.

The business executives who would likely be shedding the tears are anyone who had a connection with the live event industry during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The live event industry has pretty much been hammered like the Death Star blowing up a planet in the fiction Star Wars movies.

As a result, there has been a campaign going where buildings used in the live event industry have been lighting themselves up in red lights to raise awareness of the plight of those that work the live event industry. It is a noble showing that should be applauded.

Just thinking about the Juno Awards themselves, business executives in Saskatoon have to envision the millions of dollars that were not spent in hotels, restaurants, transportation and people venturing out into retail spaces in “The Bridge City.”

When you think about 14,000 would have packed into the SaskTel Centre for the Junos on March 15 and most of those people were traveling in from out of town, you have a lot of outside money right there coming into the city.

Plus, you can’t forget the caterers and all those employed building the sets and various temporary structures that are used for an awards show like the Junos.

At the moment, the last two events held at the SaskTel Centre that drew big crowds were a Blades game on March 6 and a Rush game on March 7.

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#LightUpLive We are red tonight to raise awareness for our industry and support Canadian live event workers who’ve yet to be able to return to work. There are over a million Canadians employed directly in events, entertainment and professional sports. #WeMakeEvents #redalertrestart

A post shared by SaskTel Centre (@sasktelctr) on Sep 22, 2020 at 7:35pm PDT

On March 6, 4,478 spectators turned out to see the Blades down the Regina Pats 2-1 in overtime and officially lock up a WHL playoff berth. On March 7, 11,632 spectators saw the Rush bomb the Vancouver Warriors 17-7.

Unfortunately, it could still be a lengthy stretch of time before gatherings like this happen again in Saskatchewan unless credible vaccine is produced for COVID-19.

In the reality of the current day, sports in Canada are actually a business, and that business relies on gate driven revenue.

In another reality, the sports world in Canada is largely perceived as a pastime. That comes from the fact that sports aren’t a big enough business in Canada.

The Blades and Portland Winterhawks go at it in 2019.

In the United States, US$5 billion was spent to build SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, Calif., to house the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams and Chargers. That is more money than the entire sports industry in Canada is worth.

From what I understand, the sports industry in Canada is likely worth 60 per cent of what it cost to build the new NFL stadium in Los Angeles.

We haven’t even got into the tens of billions of United States dollars the NFL, NBA, MLB, NASCAR Cup Series and NCAA football brings in on an annual basis.

There are a handful of fans in Canada that have argued sports are an essential service.

The COVID-19 pandemic has underlined how different the sports industry is in the United States compared to Canada. They aren’t even in the same realm, as the United States sports industry is way bigger than that of Canada.

With that noted, I have had the opportunity to work on a contract basis for a handful of companies that aren’t connected to the sports industry over the last six years. I’ve run into a lot of people that would laugh at the notion that sports in an essential service.

I have encountered my share of non-sports people who think sports people are crazy to be involved in sports.

In my estimate, I believe about 60 per cent of people in Canada have no connection to the sports world, and I suspect I am low balling that number. Governments see those types of things, and they are taken account when making decisions.

Fans pack Mosaic Stadium for a CFL game in August of 2019.

Governments are also tasked with the difficult job of protecting all people, and if they believe in the bigger picture it is better to not play, that is the way they will lean.

In listing to member of the Canada’s federal government over the last few days, it sounds like it will be a long time before the sports and live event are able to hold events like normal. Watching the broadcast news on Canadian mainstream networks in recent days has been more downright depressing than normal over the past six months.

There are constant hints of a second shutdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Wednesday it is too likely Canadian families won’t be able to gather for Thanksgiving, but we have a shot at Christmas.

Those words don’t inspire confidence in life changing to be more normal any time soon.

In Saskatchewan, we did get a small taste of how quickly COVID-19 can spread. The Saskatchewan Health Ministry linked 21 cases of COVID-19 to a recent large social gathering of 47 people at a Saskatoon home.

Under provincial rules, the limit for private gatherings is 30 people provided there is enough space to maintain a two-metre separation between individuals who are not in the same household.

On Sept. 17, a fine of $2,000 was issued to the organizer of that social gathering.

With all that noted, I believe Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe and Dr. Saqib Shahab, who is Saskatchewan’s Chief Medical Health Officer, have been reasonable and outstanding in attempting to navigate a path through the pandemic.

Fans pack a U Sports hockey game at Merlis Belsher Place in Feb.

They have allowed some of the sports in the province to return with a cautious little by little approach. Minor baseball, softball and football along with auto racing have been able to hold games and events.

The sport of golf was able to crown provincial champions. Success on those fronts does great some optimism other sports might be able to come into the mix.

With the Saskatchewan provincial election set for Oct. 26, it is realistic to believe you won’t see games in minor hockey before that date just to ensure that doesn’t become an election issue over any potential COVID-19 outbreaks.

There does seem to be bigger fears around indoor events.

Still, leagues like the WHL that cross over multiple regions will have the toughest task in coming back. It will take a lot of work to get the governments and healthy authorities in four provinces and two states to agree on a return to play.

That actually feels like an extremely enormous task, especially when it doesn’t seem likely the border between Canada and the United States will be opened for non-essential for many more months.

U Sports and the CJFL also face that tough task along with a professional circuit like the National Lacrosse League. While the NHL is back, there is no guarantee that circuit will get going with a 2020-21 campaign.

The U of Saskatchewan Huskies return to play is uncertain.

In the Canadian sports world, there will be similar stories to the one that broke this week of the Edmonton Football Club of the CFL permanently letting go of equipment manager Dwayne Mandrusiak, who spent 49 years with the team. The news of Mandrusiak being let go wasn’t taken well in the Alberta capital.

It would be great if the sports world and the live event industry in Canada could return to normal right now.

Unfortunately, the realist can the road for the sports world and the live event industry in Canada will be a long hard one to recovery, and the countless good people that work in those setting should get as much sympathy as possible.

The future path for those people is likely more out of their control than any other walk of life in Canada at the moment.

Notre Dame football paused due to COVID-19, other notes

The iconic football institution known as the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish is not immune to the realities of the current COVID-19 pandemic world.

On Tuesday, the University of Notre Dame announced seven student athletes for the Fighting Irish football team tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday out of a total of 94 players that were tested. The school has paused all football related activities and the Fighting Irish’s game this coming Saturday against the Wake Forest University Deacon Demons at Truist Field in Charlotte, North Carolina, has been postponed.

On Wednesday, that contest was rescheduled for Dec. 12.

This past Saturday, the Fighting Irish bombed the University of South Florida Bulls 52-0 at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana in an AAC regular season game in the top tier of NCAA football. That contest was played with limited in-person attendance.

Notre Dame at the moment won’t see action until Oct. 10, when they host the Florida State University Seminoles at Notre Dame Stadium.

Overall, Notre Dame said on Tuesday that 13 players were in isolation and 10 were in quarantine with last’s weeks testing results combined with those of this week.

On Wednesday, the Bulls paused football activities due to the positive test on the Fighting Irish team. The Bulls were to travel to Boca Raton, Florida, this coming Saturday for a regular season against Florida Atlantic University Owls of Conference USA, but that contest has been postponed.

As of Thursday, 21 NCAA top tier football games have been either postponed or cancelled.

The Fighting Irish have a national television contract that has seen all of their home games televised on NBC dating back to 1991. Notre Dame is the only school that has such a contract.

Even with a storied history that is hard to match anywhere else in the sports world, the Fighting Irish couldn’t prevent their season from experiencing disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Last Sunday, TSN’s John Lu announced on Twitter he had been battling COVID-19 since being diagnosed on Sept. 6. Traderumours.com did a story listing the majority of Lu’s tweets regarding his COVID-19 diagnosis, and it can be round right here.
• On Tuesday, the 2021 National Aboriginal Hockey Championships slated for May 1 to 9, 2021 have been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• On Tuesday, organizers of the prestigious Mac’s AAA Hockey Tournament announced this year’s event has been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Mac’s takes place annually from Dec. 26 to Jan. 1 in Calgary.
• On Tuesday, the NCAA announced Division I athletes who normally play sports in the fall will get to compete for a championship in spring of 2021. The fall sports that get to play in the spring of 2021 include men’s and women’s cross-country running, men’s and women’s soccer, field hockey, women’s volleyball, men’s water polo and the Football Championship Subdivision. The Football Championship Subdivision is the second highest tier of NCAA football.
• On Wednesday, U Sports’ Canada West Conference announced football receiver Don Blair as the first inductee for the Canada West Hall of Fame’s class of 2020-21. Blair played for the University of Calgary Dinos from 1992 to 1995 and helped them win the Vanier Cup as U Sports champions in 1995. In 1995, Blair had 1,112 yards receiving and caught 15 touchdown passes in the Dinos eight regular season games. Both totals are still Canada West Conference regular season records. Blair played eight seasons in the CFL from 1996 to 2003 with the Edmonton Football Club, the British Columbia Lions and the Calgary Stampeders. He was a member of the Lions Grey Cup championship team in 2000. Before joining the Dinos, Blair played one season in 1991 with the Regina Rams, when they were still members of the CJFL.
• On Thursday, the Pac-12 Conference voted to hold an abbreviated fall football season beginning on Nov. 6. The conference had voted last month to not play due to the COVID-19 pandemic. All teams are slated to play six regular season games, and they are all slated to finish the season playing on a championship weekend. The Pac-12 plays in the top tier of NCAA football.
• On Thursday, the Mountain West Conference announced it will play an abbreviated football season beginning on Oct. 24. The intent is hoped each team will play eight games. The decision is subject to approval from state, county and local officials. Back on August 10, the Mountain West Conference had indefinitely postponed all fall sports. The Mountain West Conference plays out of the top tier of NCAA football.
• On Thursday, the Regina Community Basketball League announced its fall programming had been cancelled due to time constraints created by difficulties in renting facilities.
• On Thursday, the Regina High School Athletic Association announced there will be no games played between schools this fall due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This decision effects the sports of cross-country running, football, soccer and volleyball. All RHSAA schools will be allowed to coordinate extra-curricular athletics, practices or intramurals within their own respective institutions.
• On Thursday, Rod Pedersen, who hosts The Rod Pedersen Show naturally, dropped a truth bomb. For some it will sting, but it is the truth. Check out the tweet below.

Think you’re irreplaceable? 🤔 Unfortunately, think again ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/uwDQrv7roS

— The Rod Pedersen Show (@RodPedersenShow) September 24, 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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Gordie Howe Sports Complex revamp in home stretch

Premier Scott Moe speaks at the Gordie Howe Sports Complex.

    Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe hopes the revamp of the Gordie Howe Sports Complex will clean up an oversight.

    The 46-year-old product of Shellbrook was speaking at a press conference at the Saskatoon sports facility on Wednesday, and he told a story about playing in a fastball provincials at the complex, when he was growing up.

    Moe’s team was down by one in the bottom of the seventh inning with two runners on and two outs. One run was need to force and extra inning and two runs were needed to win.  If his team won, the squad would go to nationals.

    “A pitch came in, and I got a hold of it,” said Moe. “It was going out to right field and went to the warning track, and it was just five feet short from clearing the fence and us going on to nationals.

    “I think it is quite obvious this being Phase 3 of the renos at Gordie Howe Bowl that I hope that if it wasn’t fixed in Phase 1 or Phase 2 that the right field fence on Diamond 1 is obviously 10-feet too far. I would hope in Phase 3 that would certainly be rectified.”

    Politicians from the federal, provincial and municipal levels of government were on hand to confirm funding that will help finish the massive renovations going on at the Gordie Howe Sports Complex in Saskatoon’s Holiday Park neighbourhood. The complex is in a final Phase 3 of a master plan.

    The federal government will be contributing just over $8.352-million, the provincial government $6.959-million and municipal contribution is slated for $5.568-million. The Friends of the Bowl Foundation will be fundraising the municipal contribution with the goal of hitting $6-million to cover any unforeseen expenses.

Federal minister Jonathan Wilkinson speaks at Wednesday’s presser.

     Friends of the Bowl, which is a not-for-profit corporation with initial roots dating back to 2011, was formed for the purpose of advocating and raising funds for the sports facility and has done just that.

    “The expansion involves adding a new multi-sport complex, an outdoor artificial turf field, an outdoor baseball training and practice complex, Nordic ski trails, as well as a new ticket booth and bleachers,” said former Saskatoon resident Jonathan Wilkinson, who is the minister of fisheries, oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard. “This project will have far reaching impacts not only for residents who will benefit from these modern sport and fitness facilities, but also for the city as a whole.

    “These new spaces will provide new opportunities to host a wide variety of events, which will help promote tourism in the area and events and services available to families in this community.”

    The announcement on Wednesday officially gave funding to 12 different infrastructure projects across Saskatchewan including the Gordie Howe Sports Complex through the Integrated Bilateral Agreement. Dignitaries were on hand representing various communities that will benefit from these projects.

Bryan Kosteroski gets set to speak at Wednesday’s presser.

    Overall, Wednesday’s announcement provided a function where members of all three levels of government could bask in the spotlight with positive news. It marked a short and happy time for celebration.

    For those that have overseen the developments at the Gordie Howe Sports Complex over the long haul like Friends of the Bowl chairperson Bryan Kosteroski and board member Johnny Marciniuk, Wednesday’s announcement was a big reward for countless hours of hard work. Kosteroski reflected on part of that journey during his speech at the presser.

    “Going back eight years to now, this project has been in our hearts,” said Kosteroski. “The partnerships and the collaborations we have seen and the growth of partnerships and people working together in Saskatoon has been tremendous.

    “There are nine sporting organizations working together right now. That is unheard of. If you would have said eight-and-a-half years ago that softball would be talking to baseball or football would be talking with lacrosse, that is unheard of.

    “Now, it is a common thing. It is like we are family. Everybody works together.”

Saskatoon Mayor Charlie Clark speaks at the Gordie Howe Sports Complex.

    Saskatoon Mayor Charlie Clark recalls getting constant comments that dumped on the facility eight years ago, when he sitting with the Saskatoon city government as a city councillor.

    “We had delegation after delegation come to the city and say the field sucks, the dressing rooms suck (and) the stands suck,” said Clark. “Basically, it was getting beat down, because there was so much football being played at this facility, and players are getting injured and we’re embarrassed.

    “To be honest, it took a few starts to even get things going.”

    Clark enjoys seeing the progress that has been made since that time.

    “It is an incredible thing for kids to be able to have access to this,” said Clark. “We look forward to hosting kids from across the province and across the country and top class athletes to put on great performances and to help inspire the next generation and to build sport in our community.”

    Moe touted that the provincial government was pleased to play a part in revamping the Gordie Howe Sports Complex.

    “The Government of Saskatchewan is proud to be on the funding team alongside the Government of Canada and alongside the local community,” said Moe. “When completed, this project will surely live up to the Howe’s namesake, whose iconic #9 has been memorialized in the logo of the Gordie Howe Sports Complex.”

Greg Yuel speaks at Wednesday’s press conference.

    Originally when the revamp got rolling in 2011, the hope was to refurbish Gordie Howe Bowl, which was an eyesore. The refurbishment began on that facility in 2014, and it was renamed Saskatoon Minor Football Field.

    The success on that front created momentum to get the wheel in motion on improving the rest of the Gordie Howe Sports Complex.

    When the master plan of the complex in complete, a total of $62-million will have been put into renovating and improving the complex. As of July of last year, $42-million was raised towards that goal.

    Greg Yuel, who is the chairperson of the fundraising committee for Friends of the Bowl, was pumped at how close Wednesday’s funding announcement gets the project into the home stretch.

    “It is a game changer for all youth and athletes across Canada,” said Yuel. “This is huge milestone in our campaign.

    “It isn’t done yet. We have a few more million to go before we finish it off and put a ribbon on it. Please don’t hesitate to tell your family and friends and reach into your own pockets and help us finish this off.”

Various dignitaries pose for a photo at Wednesday’s press conference.

    If anyone wants to still get in with a donation to refurbish the Gordie Howe Sports Complex, they can do so by clicking 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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    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.