 |
| The Rush celebrate an NLL title win in 2016. |
As a
result, the circuit won’t be held down by an anvil of a huge debt when it does
return to action.
When North
America came under the grips of the COVID-19 pandemic in March of 2020, the NLL
suspended its regular season on March 12, 2020 and ultimate cancelled the
2019-20 campaign.
For a
2020-21 campaign, the NLL was planning to hold an abbreviated season starting
in spring. The league had been looking at playing in a bubble in Hamilton,
Ont., in April.
On
Wednesday, the 14-team circuit, which includes the Saskatoon-based Saskatchewan
Rush, announced the plans for an abbreviated 2020-21 campaign have been
cancelled due to uncertainties arising from the continuing COVID-19 pandemic.
The NLL is
planning for a traditional season start in fall. The exact start date for the
full season will be announced at a later time.
During a
normal season schedule, NLL off-season activities usually start heating up in
September and regular season games usually start in late November.
The regular
season runs through to the end of the following April with the bulk of the
post-season taking place in May. The best-of-three National Lacrosse League Cup
championship series usually runs in late May and early June.
As far as
getting an abbreviated season going for 2020-21 was concerned, the NLL just
couldn’t navigate travel and quarantine restrictions.
 |
| Mark Matthews is one of the star players on the Rush. |
“All the
efforts and innovations we were planning will now go towards a full season
starting this fall and into next year. We thank our players, teams and board of
governors, whose thoughts in this process were invaluable, and we now set our
sights on getting lined up for a full NLL season starting in the fall. We also
thank our fans for sticking with us – we will be back, and it will be even more
exciting than ever before.”
The
decision had the backing of the Professional Lacrosse Players’ Association.
“We
appreciate the League’s extensive efforts to provide us the opportunity to play
an abbreviated 2021 season in a safe and controlled environment throughout the
changing landscape during this pandemic,” said PLPA president Zach Currier in a
release. “While we are disappointed that it will not be possible to play this
spring, we are even more excited and passionate about having a full 2021-22
season and are eager to get back on the floor this fall.”
The NLL was
smart to cancel the action it already has and try to regroup to hold a full
season at the earliest point it can. The circuit is a gate driven one, so to
play in empty buildings doesn’t make sense from a financial standpoint.
When the
NLL does get going, odds are high the game day experience will be as good as it
was before the pandemic.
The Rush
franchise knows how to turn a game day into an event. Rush fans in Saskatchewan
found that out after the team moved from Edmonton to Saskatoon before the start
of the 2015-16 season.
 |
| “Grandma Rush” is the Rush’s most passionate fan. |
Rush games
contained everything from dance teams, a cool official mascot in Bruiser the
Bulldog, a cool unofficial mascot in Rush Hulk, a jumping party zone, a D.J.,
various games for kids and an outstanding sports product on the turf.
The Rush
captured an NLL title in 2015 based in Edmonton and added two NLL crowds
residing in Saskatoon in 2016 and 2018.
The Rush
party was going strong even when they played their last game on March 7, 2020
downing the Vancouver Warriors 17-7 at the SaskTel Centre.
The NLL
will be able to keep launching great game day experiences thanks to not piling
up a massive debt.
Due to
television contracts, circuits like the NFL, MLB and NBA can operate in a
healthy fashion.
The NHL,
which doesn’t have a rich television contract and needs fans in the stands, is
playing with financial fire playing a shortened 2020-21 campaign.
On January
11 in a Zoom conference call with league media, NHL commission Gary Bettman
said his circuit was playing because the stakeholders on the circuit felt it
was important for the game, and they hoped to give fans a sense of normalcy.
NHL teams in Canada are playing games without fans and there are a few clubs in
the United States playing in front of small limited crowds.
Bettman said
it would be cheaper to shut the doors and not play. He said the NHL at the club
and league level is going to lose more money by playing than not playing.
 |
| The Rush captured their third NLL championship in 2018. |
In the United States, the NHL has had a number of games get postponed due to positive COVID-19 tests among team players and staffers, but the circuit is motoring along.
If the NHL
and its teams as a whole go next season and future campaigns with a debt over
the billion-dollar range, you have to wonder how the circuit will keep
creditors away?
You could
almost see a circuit like the NHL asking for a government bailout.
The NLL is
smart to not going into the future dealing with that type of led weight. Also,
the NLL marketing staffs are so good it is highly unlikely the issue of
relevancy will be a problem.
When NLL
game days return, the party will be on.
Hockey Canada cancels spring nationals
 |
| The Bears plans of hosting the Esso Cup were dashed again. |
On Friday, Hockey Canada officially canceled the Esso Cup, which is the national female AAA under-18 championship tournament and the Telus Cup, which is the national male AAA under-18 championship tournament.
The Centennial Cup tournament to crown a national champion in the junior A ranks was also axed along with the Allan Cup tournament that determines a champion at the highest level of senior hockey in Canada.
All of those events were cancelled last year by Hockey Canada due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Prince Albert Northern Bears were set to host the Esso Cup last year and this year before the event got cancelled.
As for the other 2021 host centres, Calgary, Alta., was supposed to host the Telus Cup, Penticton, B.C., was slated to hold the Centennial Cup and Dundas, Ont., was set to host the Allan Cup.
In a statement, Hockey Canada said it was left with no other option but to cancel these events due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the fact many regions in Canada aren’t playing organized hockey at the moment.
All hockey season in Saskatchewan were put on ice in late November 2020 due to government restrictions.
Hockey Canada is working on confirming host cities for these national championship tournaments in 2022.
Overall, Hockey Canada’s announcement on Friday did not come as a surprise.
Going forward, one of the big hurdles in holding these championship tournaments or championship tournaments governed by any minor sport body is travel.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the airlines have severely cut back their flights in Canada, and there are no guarantees air travel will return to what it was when the pandemic ends.
You also can’t get across Canada via passenger train, so teams might have to make long hauls via chartered busses. Of course, that would mean some teams would be traveling for days via a bus to get to a championship tournament.
Going forward, these championship tournaments might look different when they are eventually held compared to what they looked like in past years.
TSN axes some of the best, other notes
Had I known last night was my final show, I would have tried a little harder. Ahhhh, who am I kidding. I probably wouldn't have. It was a wild ride. If you got our show, then you laughed along with us. Thank you! Peace and love and let's raise a glass together once Covid is over.
— Dan O'Toole (@notontvotoole) February 4, 2021
TSN appears set to march on minus a few of its biggest names.
After holding their Bell Let’s Talk day fundraising campaign for mental health charities and to promote mental health awareness on Jan. 28, Bell Media has spent the past week making a huge number of layoffs.
Those cuts included letting go 210 staffers at Bell outlets in Toronto and area.
Walking papers were given to four prominent TSN staffers.
On Wednesday, Brent Wallace confirmed his 23-year run came to an end at TSN via Twitter. The in depth reporter was covering the NHL’s Ottawa Senators on a full-time basis when he was let go.
On Thursday, Dan O’Toole announced via Twitter that he had been cut, and he was no longer going to be co-hosting TSN’s nightly Sportcentre show with Jay Onrait. When they did Sportscentre, the show was called “SC with Jay and Dan.”
Late on Thursday, word got out that TSN ace anchor Natasha Staniszewski was let go after a 10-year run. She was popular in the Prince Albert and Saskatoon areas having worked with the CTV outlets in both centres from 2006 to 2009.
On Friday, word dropped that Tim Moriarty, who was known as “Producer Tim,” was also axed by TSN. Moriarty was a long time producer for Onrait and O’Toole. The trio was together at TSN from 2003 to 2013.
All three moved to FOX Sports 1 for a four-year run from 2013 to 2017 before returning to TSN in 2017 to a lot of fanfare.
Moriarty changed his Twitter account title to “The Artist Formerly Known as Producer Tim.”
The cuts of Wallace, O’Toole, Staniszewski and Moriarty show how cruel the mainstream media world can be. All four were still at the top of their respective games and the best in their lines of work.
I want to thank everyone sending kind words regarding my departure from TSN. It hasn’t been easy to digest but your support has helped lessen the sting and I appreciate it more than you know.
— Natasha Staniszewski (@tvnatasha) February 5, 2021
I feel nothing but love and gratitude for the 10yrs I had with the network. 1/2
Just my observation, it seems management at mainstream outlets starts looking for ways to get rid of talent once talent hits the age of 40. All four TSN veterans were over the age of 40.
Bell has also taken heat over the layoffs when it was recently revealed that the company had received $122-million in COVID-19 relief while increasing dividend payouts to shareholders.
Thanks to all the Bell Media cuts, young Victor Findlay, who is best known for covering action in U Sports men’s hockey, called his first NHL game on Thursday on TSN5, when the Ottawa Senators visited the Montreal Canadiens.
Findlay, who is in his mid 20s, is hard-working and accurate on details. He is also a good guy, and if he contacts me needing help on a story, I will try and help him.
When someone like Findlay gets a break, you are happy to see that happen.
When you connect the dots, it would be nice if that type of break didn’t come at the expense of veterans who did not deserve to get dumped.
- Tickets are now on sale for the February jackpot for the Saskatchewan Amateur Football Mega 50/50 lottery. 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 Wednesday, the NWHL announced the remainder of the circuit’s season that was being played in a modified bubble with looser restrictions in Lake Placid, N.Y., was being suspended due to new positive COVID-19 tests and resulting concerns over player safety. The Metropolitan Riveters pulled out of the bubble on Jan. 28. The Connecticut Whale dropped out of the bubble on Monday leaving four teams including the expansion Toronto Six to try and continue the season at that point. The NWHL season was supposed to last two weeks in Lake Placid. The NWHL wasn’t able to play its Isobel Cup championship game last season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Minnesota Whitecaps were supposed to meet the host Boston Pride in last year’s Isobel Cup title game.
- Late Friday night, the WHL announced its five-team U.S. Division is set to begin regular season play on March 19. The five clubs are expected to play a 24-game regular season schedule. The WHL said it received clearance to play in the state of Washington, which contains the Everett Silvertips, Seattle Thunderbirds, Spokane Chiefs and Tri-City Americans. There was no word on what was happening with the Portland Winterhawks, who are based in the state of Oregon. It is likely the Winterhawks will locate to the state of Washington for a shortened season. The WHL said no spectators will be permitted to enter WHL facilities. It was already announced the WHL’s five teams located in Alberta are slated to begin regular season play on Feb. 26. The league is still looking for clearance to allow competition to be held in the East Division and the B.C. Division.
- On Friday, the Boston University Huskies women’s hockey team blanked the visiting Merrimack College Warriors 6-0 in an NCAA regular season game broadcast on TSN. The Huskies roster contains two alums of the Saskatoon Stars female under-18 AAA hockey team in Nara Elia and Mackenna Parker. Elia had an assist in the win, while Parker potted her first goal of the season. The Huskies improved to 3-3, while the Warriors fell to 1-12.
- On Friday, the University of Wisconsin Badgers women’s hockey team won their fifth straight slipping past the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers 4-3 in overtime in an NCAA regular season game in Minneapolis, Minn. The Badgers roster contains two alums of the Saskatoon Stars female under-18 AAA hockey team in sisters Sophie and Grace Shirley. Sophie had an assist in the Badgers win. The Badgers improved to 9-2, while the Golden Gophers fell to 9-5.
- In the realm of sports entertainment, huge respect has to be given to Orangeville, Ont., product Adam Copeland for his performance in the WWE’s Royal Rumble pay-per-view last Sunday. Copeland, who is best known by his wrestling persona as Edge, won the men’s Royal Rumble match entering the rink as the first among 30 wrestlers taking part in the bout. Edge is one of the greatest performers the WWE has ever had. Edge is also 47-years-old, but even at that age, he was still in shape to perform for over an hour in the ring. While WWE is scripted entertainment, the talent that takes part in matches in the ring has to have incredible athletic ability to do all the stunts they do. The fact that Edge can still perform at a high level at his age is incredible. He also returned from a real neck injury that saw him step away from the company for a lengthy stretch from 2011 to 2020, which makes his story that much more amazing.
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comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them
to stankssports@gmail.com.
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