Blades’ Crnkovic in pursuit of sweet award in WHL scoring title

Kyle Crnkovic sits third in the WHL’s scoring race.

Kyle Crnkovic is trying to go where no member of the Saskatoon Blades has gone in 26 years.

The 19-year-old left-winger from Chestermere, Alta., is in pursuit of the Bob Clarke Trophy, which is given to the WHL’s regular season scoring champion. At the moment, Crnkovic sits third in the WHL scoring race with 23 goals and 34 assists for 57 points appearing in all the Blades 38 games to date, and his goal total is a career high.

Crnkovic sits behind two members of the Red Deer Rebels in the scoring race in Arshdeep Bains and Ben King.

Bains, who is a left-winger in his overage season, leads the WHL in scoring with 20 goals and 39 assists for 59 points appearing in all of the Rebels 43 games. King, who is a 19-year-old centre, sits second in the WHL scoring race with 33 goals and 25 assists for 58 points.

Crnkovic’s Blades have five games in hand on the Rebels, so the Blades personable star has ample opportunity to overtake the two Rebels stars.

One of those games in hand will be played on Wednesday, when the Blades (21-15-1-1) travel to Regina to face the Pats (16-19-0-1) at 7 p.m. at the Brandt Centre.

Crnkovic is trying to become the first member of the Blades to win the WHL scoring title since centre Mark Deyell captured the Bob Clarke Trophy way back in the 1995-96 campaign. 

Kyle Crnkovic has piled up points since his rookie season.

That season, Deyell piled up 61 goals and 98 assists for 159 points in 69 games to win the WHL scoring race.

Deyell played three seasons for the Blades from 1993 to 1996 before embarking on a short stint in the minor professional ranks. 

He suffered an eye injury in an AHL playoff game playing for the St. John’s Maple Leafs on April 27, 1999, when an opposing player’s stick hit him on the follow through from a shot attempt.

Deyell would be forced to retire a handful of years after that injury.

Besides Deyell, only two other Blades players would win the WHL scoring race. Centre Bernie Federko topped the WHL in scoring piling up 72 goals and 115 assists for 187 points appearing in all of the Blades 72 games in the 1975-76 season.

Federko moved on to play 14 seasons in the NHL from 1976 to 1990 with the St. Louis Blues and Detroit Red Wings and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2002.

Left-winger Gerry Pinder won the scoring race in the WHL’s inaugural season in 1966-67 piling up 78 goals and 62 assists for 140 points appearing in all of the Blades 56 games. 

Kyle Crnkovic has 57 points in the Blades 38 games this season.

From 1969 to 1978, Pinder, who was nicknamed “Mouse” due to standing 5-foot-8 and weighing 165 pounds, split nine seasons playing in the NHL and the defunct WHA for the Chicago Blackhawks, California Golden Seals, Cleveland Crusaders, San Diego Mariners and Edmonton Oilers.

Crnkovic, who stands 5-foot-7 and weighs 166 pounds, is the Blades modern day version of Pinder. Since joining the Blades full time as a 16-year-old rookie in the 2018-19 season, Crnkovic has been consistently one of the Blades top six forwards.

From the start of his sophomore campaign in 2019-20, he has formed a dynamic duo with centre Tristen Robins, who was selected in the second round and 56^th overall in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft by the San Jose Sharks and has a signed NHL entry-level contract with the Sharks.

Robin, who is in his 20-year-old season, currently sits in a five-way tie for the seventh to 11^th spots in the WHL scoring race piling up 52 points on 20 goals and 32 assists in 36 appearances with the Blades.

Unlike Robins, Crnkovic hasn’t been drafted by an NHL team. Crnkovic’s small size has been the thing that holds him back.

His skill on the ice is undeniable, and he plays well in the defensive end too.

Kyle Crnkovic goal celebrations are a regular sight in the WHL.

On top of his exploits on the ice, Crnkovic has been one of the Blades top ambassadors off the ice as a fan favourite. He was often front and centre when it came to meeting the team’s supporters before the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic gripped the world in March of 2020 cutting down what the Blades could do for public appearances.

Crnkovic is extremely popular with the Blades office staffers. It is safe to say that anyone who has met and spent time with him is cheering for him to do well.

If Crnkovic won the WHL’s scoring title, it would be an ultimate feel-good story, because he truly is that good of a guy.

He would also add further proof that the small guy with skill will always have a place in the game of hockey.

Brady retires from NFL as the all-time greatest

A pair of Tom Brady jerseys.

Tom Brady said the party is over.

On Tuesday, the iconic quarterback made it official announcing his retirement from the NFL after 22 seasons. He played 20 campaigns for the New England Patriots from 2000 to 2019 and finished up his career throwing for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers the past two seasons.

Brady is the all-time greatest player to ever come through the NFL. He hold NFL career records for most Super Bowl wins (seven), most Super Bowl appearances (10), most Super Bowl MVPs (five), most quarterback regular season wins (243), most career regular season pass attempts (11,317), most career regular season pass completions (7,263), most career regular season touchdown passes (624) and most career regular season passing yards (84,520).

For the longest time, I wasn’t actually ready to admit Brady was the greatest of all-time. I began watching the NFL on a regular basis in the late 1980s, when the San Francisco 49ERS were in their dynasty years.

When it came to quarterback, I thought the greatest player was Joe Montana, who had a perfect 4-0 record in the Super Bowl and called signals for the revolutionary system called the West Coast Offence. Montana played at an immaculate level in his four Super Bowl wins with the 49ERS.

I thought 49ERS iconic receiver Jerry Rice was the greatest player due to all the crazy records he set playing into his 40s and his endless quest for perfection. Rice, who was a member of three Super Bowl winners with the 49ERS, could get physical and throw blocks to take out the toughest guys on the opposition too.

I caved and changed my opinion that Brady was the greatest all-time, when the Patriots rallied from being down 28-3 in the third quarter to beat the Atlanta Falcons 34-28 in overtime in Super Bowl LI on February 5, 2017 at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas.

Brady completed 43-of-62 passes for 466 yards and two touchdowns, while throwing one interception in that win, which is the greatest comeback in Super Bowl history.

That was Brady’s fifth Super Bowl win. I didn’t decide to vault Brady to GOAT status just due to passing Montana and Pittsburgh Steelers legend Terry Bradshaw for most Super Bowl victories by a quarterback.

I realized the only reason I hadn’t conceded greatest of all-time status for Brady was the fact the Patriots didn’t complete their run at a perfect season in 2007. After going 16-0 in the regular season in 2007, the Patriots pushed their overall record to 18-0 heading into Super Bowl XLII against the New York Giants.

In that clash played on February 3, 2008 at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, the Giants prevailed 17-14, when quarterback Eli Manning hit receiver Plaxico Burress for winning touchdown pass with 35 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.

That Giants’ winning drive was held together by a miraculous helmet catch by receiver David Tyree in a third-and-five situation after Manning escaped being sacked by three different Patriots players.

 After winning six Super Bowls with the Patriots, Brady won a seventh Super Bowl in a sensational first season with the Buccaneers in 2020.

Brady again had an outstanding campaign this past season leading the Buccaneers to a 13-4 regular season record completing 485-of-719 passes for 5,316 yards and 43 touchdowns, while throwing 12 interceptions at age 44.

No quarterback had even played as well into their 40s like Brady has. For most quarterbacks that make it to their 40s as a player, they are usually a second or third stringer holding a clipboard and acting as another coach for a young starter that is in his 20s.

Brady left you believing he could have an all-star season if he came back at age 45.

He deserves all the congratulations, well wishes and honours that come his way.

I should note there were initial reports on Saturday including a story on the NFL’s website and Twitter feed that Brady had retired that day. Those stories were pulled back, when Brady informed Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht a decision hadn’t been made yet on that front.

I suspect a decision was made, and it was leaked after Brady likely told too many people in his inner circle. I have a suspicion he didn’t want the timing of the announcement to overshadow the AFC and NFC Championship games that were played on Sunday.

The other cool thing about Brady was he knew when to have fun and had a sense of humour. That was best shown from this classic “Mean Tweets” on Jimmy Kimmel Live in early February of 2021.

WHL to host Talk Today games, other notes

The Raiders are scheduled to host a Talk Today game on Friday.

The WHL will be hosting RE/MAX Presents: WHL Talk Today Game Nights with the circuit’s 17 Canadian teams.

The WHL, RE/MAX and local Canadian Mental Health Association branches are teaming up to promote positive mental health.

During these Talk Today game nights, fans in attendance will have the opportunity to learn more about CMHA resources available in their communities in an effort to breakdown the stigma surrounding mental health.

The first Talk Today game is scheduled to be hosted by the Prince Albert Raiders on Friday when they host the Red Deer Rebels (7 p.m., Art Hauser Centre).

The Saskatoon Blades host their Talk Today game on Saturday when they play host to the Rebels (7 p.m., SaskTel Centre).

Fans have the opportunity to donate to their local CMHA branches by visiting TalkToday.ca/WHLDonate.

Leading up to those Talk Today games, WHL clubs participated in an additional awareness campaign aimed at creating positive discussion around physical activity in support of good mental health called “Moves for Mental Health.”

WHL fans were encouraged to post a video on social media showing ways they engage in physical activity for the sake of enhancing their mental health. Fans who participated in the social media campaign were entered to win an autographed jersey from the WHL club they support.

Jersey winners will be recognized at the Talk Today games.

The WHL and its teams have partnered with CMHA branches across Western Canada to provide mental health education and support to all players, coaches, parents, billets and team staff across the league since 2016.

Kelly Hrudey, a former NHL star goaltender and alumnus of the WHL’s Medicine Hat Tigers, is the celebrity spokesperson for this season’s Talk Today games.

• On Wednesday, Les Lazaruk will call his 2,000^th game as the play-by-play voice of the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades. The Blades travel to Regina to face the Pats for Lazaruk’s milestone call. Pat McKay of CTV Saskatoon broke the story, which can be found by clicking right here.
• Saskatoon area product Brayden Yager currently sits third in Moose Jaw Warriors team scoring in his 16-year-old sophomore campaign in the WHL. The skilled centre has 22 goals, 20 assists and a plus-seven rating in 39 games this season with the Warriors.
• Saskatoon area product Riley Heidt currently sits second in Prince George Cougars team scoring in his 16-year-old sophomore season in the WHL. The skilled centre has 11 goals, 22 assists and an even-rating in 38 games with the Cougars.
• On Monday, the WHL’s Swift Current Broncos announced Chad Leslie had officially been named the club’s full-time general manager. Leslie had been serving as the team’s interim general manager since October 14, 2021, when Dean Brockman resigned from the team.
• On Monday, Bill Chow announced he will be stepping down as commissioner of the junior A Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League on May 31, 2022. Chow has been serving as the circuit’s commissioner for a little over 10 years.
• The University of Regina community is morning the passing of Dr. Ernie Nicholls at age 84. He had a lengthy involvement with the school’s athletic department. He passed away in his sleep after a battle with Alzheimer’s dementia. An obituary on Nicholls can be found by clicking right here.
• On Tuesday, Gregg Drinnan reported in his Taking Note blog that Brad Hornung, who is an alumnus of the WHL’s Regina Pats, has been diagnosed with terminal cancer. Hornung was left a quadriplegic following a check in a WHL game on March 1, 1987. Drinnan’s story 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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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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Athletes should try to expand their identity

Ultimately competitive sports comes to an end for all

Tim Vanstone salutes Prince Albert Raiders fans after his last game.

Competitive sports will come to an end for all athletes.

Whether that end comes today, tomorrow or more than 20 years from now, all athletes eventually leave competitive sports. The end can come via injury, a health matter that pops up, a decision by a coach or manager or you ultimately get brought down physically by Father Time.

Father Time is undefeated, even though NFL greatest of all-time quarterback Tom Brady is trying to do his best to change that record.

When the end comes, the biggest hurdle athletes deal with is loss of identity. For athletes that compete at the highest level their sport has to offer, they have usually been life consumed by their sport to the point that they don’t have any other way to identify themselves besides being an athlete.

With sport specialization taking place at younger ages in Canada, that only adds to streamlining a person into seeing themselves as an athlete. Outside of school, the only people school aged athletes deal with are usually other athletes and coaches.

It gets to the point that the idea of going to a function like a school dance is laughable.

You are a hockey player, a football player, a baseball player, a softball player, a gymnast, a lacrosse player, a swimmer, a hurdler in track and field or a competitor in whatever sport discipline you pursue.

The Saskatoon Blades enjoy a win in December of 2020.

Back on June 8, 2015, Claire Hanna likely wrote the gold standard piece regarding athlete transition and identity on her personal blog, where she went through what it was like to be cut from Canada’s senior national women’s volleyball team. If you want to check that piece out, you can do so by clicking right here. It is well worth your time to read Hanna’s piece.

Now in 2021, it is crazy to think there are people out there that don’t even think of Hanna as a star volleyball player or know of her ties to the sport. They see her as a sports media personality for CTV Regina.

Due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that has clamped down the world since March of 2020, athletes have had to deal with the loss of identity issue in one form or another earlier than they had to.

In Canada, most athletes that are under the age of 18 have seen their lives in sports ground to a halt. The lucky ones have been able to train on a regular basis.

The extremely lucky ones have participated in a handful of competitions.

The unlucky ones have had to keep motivated training at home as they aren’t able to get into any sports facilities due to restrictions brought in via public health orders.

Athletes have had to deal with how these changes have impacted their mental health. It would not be an exaggeration to say some have taken the halt of sports a lot harder than others.

U of Saskatchewan Huskies football players enjoy a TD in 2019.

For a lot of athletes, it seems like they have lost the purpose for their very existence.

What seems to be forgotten is the root problem is that sports have become the thing that defines these athletes as a person. Sports become who you are versus what you do.

To think this can happen to a person under the age of 18 or like someone who is 11 or 12-years-old is crazy. They are only just starting out on the grand marathon of life.

For the athletes that have hit the point where sports defines them as a person, they got conditioned to think that way, because there is such an emphasis in sports specialization to pursue a chosen sport at all costs with tunnel focus.

This is often instilled in athletes even as young as age 11 or 12.

For these athletes, it is lost that they are also a son, a daughter, a grandson, a granddaughter or a student at the school they attend. These identifiers are not as sexy as being an athlete, but those identifications are there.

To be fair, even those in the adult working world can fall into that trap. If anyone is doing anything that consumes them, they can fall into that trap.

For athletes, the best way to manage the funk where sport becomes the thing that defines who you are is to find another interest. If an athlete is out of action due to restrictions that were put in place to combat COVID-19, now might be the opportune time to find another interest.

The Saskatoon Stars enjoy a win in 2020.

Finding another interest doesn’t have to mean finding a career, but you can do things like taking first aid training to maybe lean towards maybe working as a paramedic one day.

Interests could mean being a fan of a musical artist or band. You might even take up playing an instrument like a guitar or drums or you might become a singer.

You might get into things like following science fiction and get to know all the ins and outs of a franchise like Star Wars. You might take an interest in comic book heroes put out by D.C. or Marvel.

You might even get into following the sports entertainment spectacle of professional wrestling in the WWE or AEW. After I started following WWE and AEW a little more closely back in January, I found out talent like Alexa Bliss, Sasha Banks, Britt Baker, Bobby Lashley and Drew McIntyre have interacted with youngsters that are training to be just like them.

It should be noted this training does not include trying moves you see in WWE and AEW programming outside of a supervised training environment.

Besides those suggestions, you could also take up a hobby of making your own clothes or perfecting your cooking skills in the kitchen.

Come to think of it, high level athletes that come from farm or ranching families might have the advantage of being a bit more rounded, because they have been likely helping out with activities on the family farm or ranching operation at a very young age.

The U of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey season end in 2020.

Overall, it will be beneficial for competitive and high level athletes if they can find ways to expand their identity even in a small way.

Even after the COVID-19 pandemic passes, the day will still come when competitive sports come to an end for all athletes.

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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Saskatchewan trio finds welcome homes with CFL deals

Colton Klassen has been signed by the Alouettes.

They didn’t receive a Vince Lombardi Trophy on Sunday, but a trio of Saskatchewan products got to do some celebrating on the CFL front this week.

Three popular Saskatchewan products in Colton Klassen, Evan Johnson and Jon Ryan all cemented CFL homes for the potential 2021 campaign by signing contracts. While there is still legitimate worry about what the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that has gripped the world will do to the 2021 campaign after the CFL was unable to take the field in 2020, the signings provide a moment of joy, celebration and optimism.

On Monday, which was a day before free agency opened, the Alouettes announced they signed Colton Klassen, who is a star utility offensive player for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies football team in the U Sports ranks. The Alouettes selected Klassen in the eighth round and 69^th overall in the 2020 CFL Draft.

The 25-year-old had been looking forward to playing a 2020 campaign either in the CFL or using his final year of U Sports eligibility with the Huskies to show how well he has bounced back from a major injury.

On October 26, 2019, Klassen went down with a gruesome dislocated right ankle near the end of the first quarter of 22-9 victory over the University of Alberta Golden Bears at Griffiths Stadium. The contest closed the regular season for both sides, which meant Klassen wasn’t able to play in the Huskies two post-season games.

Miraculously at the beginning of March of 2020, he recovered to the point he was ready to attend CFL scouting combines.

At that point, the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic took hold in North America causing massive shutdowns to occur starting on a big scale on March 11 and 12 of 2020, especially in the sports world.

Ignite Athletics held testing in late March of 2020 and Klassen ran the 40-yard dash in under 4.6 seconds which showed the incredible progress he had made.

During the Huskies eight regular season games in 2019, Klassen caught 37 passes last season for 456 yards and two touchdowns and was named a Canada West Conference all-star. 

Evan Johnson (#64) has signed with the Roughriders.

Before joining the Huskies in 2016, Klassen, who is a graduate of Saskatoon’s Holy Cross High School, was the offensive player of the year of the Prairie Football Conference with the CJFL’s Regina Thunder as a running back in 2015.

After joining the Huskies, Klassen made explosive plays as a running back, receiver and kick returner. The Alouettes will like the he can be used in various roles.

While Klassen got his deal done on Monday, the opening of free agency on Tuesday was a big day for U of S Huskies football grad Evan Johnson.

The 26-year-old offensive lineman and Regina product signed with his hometown team in the Saskatchewan Roughriders. After graduating from the Huskies in 2016, Johnson was selected in the first round and ninth overall in the CFL Draft by the Ottawa Redbacks.

With the Redblacks from 2017 to 2019, Johnson, who stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 280 pounds, played in 52 regular season games becoming a starter part way through his rookie campaign. He started games at left tackle, right tackle and left guard.

Johnson’s versatility as a starter will be the biggest asset he brings to the Roughriders. The graduate of Regina’s Campbell Collegiate is also the Tom Brady of offensive linemen in the looks department, so he might get some endorsement deals that could potentially attract causal fans and those that might not normally have an interest in football.

On Wednesday, the Roughriders announced they were bringing back all-time punting great Jon Ryan back for a second season signing him for the 2021 campaign.

The graduate from the University of Regina Rams football team in the U Sports ranks played for the Roughriders in 2019. He appeared in all 18 of the Roughriders regular season games punting the ball 107 times for 5,222 yards for an average of 48.8 yards per punt.

The 39-year-old is best remember for his time in the NFL where he played with the Green Bay Packers in 2006 and 2007 before spending 10 seasons with the Seattle Seahawks from 2008 to 2017. Ryan, who stands 6-feet and weighs 217 pounds, helped the Seahawks win Super Bowl XLVIII following the 2013 season.

With the Packers and Seahawks, Ryan appeared in 191 career regular season games punting the ball 914 times for 40,895 yards and averaging 44.7 yards per punt.

Before making the NFL, Ryan had two stellar seasons with the CFL’s Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 2004 and 2005.

Jon Ryan (#9) has inked another contract with the Roughriders.

The graduate of Regina’s Sheldon-Williams Collegiate is still fondly remember for his time with the Rams from 2000 to 2003, where he handled all the team’s punting and place kicking duties and became a star receiver too.

In 2000, he helped the Rams get to the U Sports championship game, the Vanier Cup, where they fell 42-39 to the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees. 

In his final season with the Rams in 2003, Ryan was named the all-star punter in the Canada West Conference and a first team U Sports all-Canadian all-star averaging 45.9 yards per boot on 67 attempts. Ryan also had 27 catches in eight regular season games to lead the Rams with 501 receiving yards with four of those catches going for touchdowns.

While these current days in the COVID-19 pandemic often feel like tough sledding, it is great to have the chance to celebrate the signings of Saskatchewan products like Klassen, Johnson and Ryan.

Bucs don’t win Super Bowl without Brady

Tom Brady raising the Super Bowl on TV is a beautiful sight.

This past Super Bowl Sunday produced a regular beautiful sight on your television screen of Tom Brady raising the Vince Lombardi Trophy.

Even the fact the world is in the grips of the COVID-19 pandemic couldn’t stop Brady from winning a seventh Super Bowl title. Of course, the big difference was Brady was quarterbacking the host Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a 31-9 thumping of the Kansas City Chiefs, who were the defending Super Bowl champions at the time, at Raymond James Stadium.

Of course, Brady had a divorce from the New England Patriots following the 2019 season. After 20 seasons together, the Patriots decided they wanted to go in a different direction.

On March 20, 2020, Brady signed a two-year contract with the Buccaneers. He ultimately brought best friend in tight end Rob Gronkowski with him to Tampa Bay.

“Gronk” came out of retirement to rejoin the legendary signal caller on the field.

Brady convinced some other friends to join him with the Buccaneers. Running back Leonard Fournette signed a one-year deal with the Buccaneers in early September 2020 after being waived by the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Brady was able to talk beleaguered receiver Antonio Brown into joining the Buccaneers on a one-year deal in late October of 2020. Brown had been cut in early 2019 by the Patriots.

The newcomers accounted for all the Tampa Bay touchdowns this past Sunday. Gronkowski caught two touchdown passes from Brady, and Brady hooked up with Brown for a third TD toss.

Fournette had a 27-yard touchdown run in the romp.

Before the arrival of Brady and company, the Buccaneers were a team on the rise. With a younger roster, they posted a 7-9 record in 2019.

The Buccaneers defence had a good mix of youngsters with some solid veterans.

Tampa Bay was looking for a way to get over the hump.

Buccaneers management decided they weren’t going to wait anymore for signal caller Jameis Winston to keep developing. In 2019, Winston played his fifth season for the Buccaneers at age 25 completing 380 of 626 passes for 5,109 yards, 33 touchdowns and 30 interceptions.

The turnovers from the quarterback position ultimately caused the Buccaneers to have a losing record in 2019.

In 2020 with Brady at age 43, the Buccaneers posted an 11-5 regular season record, and Brady completed 401 of 610 passes for 4,633 yards, 40 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.

As the season went along, all facets of the Buccaneers team in offence, defence and special teams began to jell together that much better. They finished the regular season winning four straight and extended that streak to eight straight victories on the way to the second Super Bowl title in franchise history.

By the sounds of things, this Buccaneers team could return pretty much as a whole for next season. They have to be considered the favourites to repeat as Super Bowl champions.

Brady seems to have a good sense of humour when it comes to dealing with haters too. In the week leading up to the Super Bowl, he appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live to read some mean tweets, and in the process, Brady produced a classic piece of television.

#BellLetsCut aims at all-sports radio, other notes

It was a dream come true at 24 to get the phone call telling me I would be joining the team at TSN 1290. Can’t say I worked much since then...talking sports with all of you and sharing laughs in the studio wasn’t much “work” at all. Thank you all for the messages and kind words.

— Ryan Brandt (@Ryan_Brandt) February 9, 2021

TSN all-sports radio stations in Vancouver, Winnipeg and Hamilton are no more.

On Tuesday, TSN 1040 AM in Vancouver, TSN 1290 AM in Winnipeg and TSN 1150 AM in Hamilton went off the air while broadcasting their morning programming. All three stations are owned by Bell Media.

Later that day, Bell Media announced the Vancouver station is being converted to a BNN Bloomberg station covering business, innovation, technology and sports.

News also leaked out the stations in Vancouver and Winnipeg will be converted to comedy stations. That sounds like an interesting choice on that front considering it is harder to do comedy in the current day because you always have someone objecting to jokes saying they are offended, but I digress.

The Province newspaper story in Vancouver written by Scott Brown and Patrick Johnson listed a lengthy list of names of on-air personalities who lost their jobs due to the change at TSN 1040 AM.

The story stated TSN 1040 AM morning hosts Mike Halford and Jason Brough started their morning show like normal at 6 a.m. on Tuesday only for the show to get yanked at the start of the third hour to be replaced with U.S. radio programming from ESPN.

During those hours, the Twitter account for TSN 1040 AM was deactivated.

As Tuesday went on, there were more stories of staffers from the three stations in Vancouver, Winnipeg and Hamilton telling stories they found out they lost their jobs that day without any notice.

Included in the cuts was Ryan Brandt of TSN 1290 AM in Winnipeg. Before moving to Winnipeg, Brandt was a sports reporter for 650 CKOM in Saskatoon.

The cuts were done in a heartless way, and Bell is making a habit of making cuts.

The week prior, Bell Media made a huge number of layoffs, which included letting go 210 staffers at Bell outlets in Toronto and area.

Walking papers were given to four prominent TSN staffers in Brent Wallace, Dan O’Toole, Natasha Staniszewski and Tim Moriarty, who was best known as “Producer Tim.”

All those cuts came after Bell Media held its annual Bell Let’s Talk day fundraising campaign for mental health charities and to promote mental health awareness on Jan. 28.

Bell was also recently criticized by Ontario-based regional rival Teksavvy for taking more than $122-million in government aid through the form of wage subsidies during the COVID-19 pandemic even as it was raising its payout to shareholders and cutting jobs.

Last week, BCE Incorporated announced its quarterly profit rose to $889-million in the fourth quarter of 2020 up from $672-million the year before.

In the end, these cuts will ultimately hurt Canada’s sports scene, which will even less media coverage than it was getting before.

• In a bit of news that was missed, Tom Schnitzler, who is a defensive lineman and a graduate of the CJFL’s Saskatoon Hilltops, signed with the CFL’s Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Jan. 21. Schnitzler, who is 25-years-old, played for the Hilltops from 2013 to 2017 and spent the 2018 and 2019 campaigns with the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds in the U Sports ranks. The Tiger-Cats are looking for Schnitzler to potentially become the team’s new long snapper. On Feb. 1, the Tiger-Cats released veteran long snapper Aaron Crawford, who signed a one-year deal with the Calgary Stampeders one day later.
• I helped produce new content for the Howe Happenings blog that supports the Gordie Howe Sports Complex early this week. The new content went live on Tuesday. I put together a feature on the Sentinels Lacrosse Club and a photo post that contains a number of my pictures around the complex. The Sentinels are an elite program that aims to expand the horizons of the sport for young players. The story on the Sentinels can be found by clicking right here, and the photo post can be found by clicking right here.
• 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 Monday, the World Curling Federation announced the 2021 women’s world curling championship was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was slated to be held March 19 to 28 in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. This marks the second straight year the women’s world curling championship has been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• On Tuesday, the Sask East Hockey League senior circuit announced it has cancelled the rest of the 2020-21 campaign due to time constraints caused by restrictions from Public Health Orders that have been put in to battle the COVID-19 pandemic. The circuit has decided to plan for the 2021-22 campaign. The league has been on pause since late November of 2020.
• On Wednesday, Hockey Alberta announced all remaining competitive seasons for junior and senior hockey in the province in the 2020-21 campaign were cancelled due to restrictions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. The Alberta Junior Hockey League junior A circuit was exempted from that decision. The last competitive games on Alberta were played in November of 2020 before all circuits went on pause.
• In the realm of sports entertainment, a scary situation is unfolding involving WWE superstar Alexa Bliss, whose real name is Alexis Kaufman, having to deal with an online stalker since June of 2020. Authorities have been notified, but the situation with the online stalker, whose current Twitter account handle is @AlbertLittle666, is getting more and more disturbing. The stalker has threatened to kill Bliss’s fiancé, Ryan Cabrera, and made false statements claiming to be married to Bliss. The stalker account has made threats to visit Bliss’s home in Orlando, Florida, and threatened Bliss fan accounts that have been reporting and continue to report his online activities. Bliss didn’t make an appearance on WWE’s Monday Night RAW program this past week as the most recent disturbing messages poured in at times coming in five-minute intervals. On Wednesday, the offending stalker account sent a disgusting message to another female WWE star in Sonya Deville, who escaped a kidnapping attempt from a stalker in her own home in August of 2020. Deville’s attempted kidnapping incident is still being dealt with in court. It is easy to find the play-by-play of these stories from the media outlets that cover the WWE via a Google search. These celebrity stalker situations are a couple of the worst I’ve heard of, and I can’t believe things like this are allowed to happen. People like these stalker types need to be taken off the streets immediately and locked up forever.

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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Johnson would bring beauty to Roughriders OL

Evan Johnson (#64) locks up on a block in 2019.

Offensive linemen aren’t usually associated with the word “pretty,” but the Saskatchewan Roughriders offensive line would get a boost in the glamour department, if they could add Evan Johnson.

Johnson, who is a Regina product, has been a member of the Ottawa Redblacks since the Redblacks selected him in the first round and ninth overall in the 2017 CFL Draft. Before joining the Redblacks, the graduate of Regina’s Campbell Collegiate played four seasons with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies football team in the U Sports ranks from 2012 to 2016.

In his three complete CFL seasons, Johnson has dressed for 52 regular season games. He became a starter part way through his rookie campaign in 2017.

Since that time, Johnson, who stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 280 pounds, has shown his versatility starting games at left guard, right tackle and left tackle. During his career, He has been tasked with taking on defensive end quarterback sacking terrors like Charleston Hughes.

On Tuesday, Johnson could potentially become a free agent as his contract with the Redblacks will expire with the opening of the CFL’s free agency period. Canadian offensive linemen are gold in the CFL, and Johnson’s value due to his versatility is huge.

If he becomes a free agent, he would be a huge home product signing, if the Roughriders could ink him to a deal.

Dallis Johnson (#23) makes a tackle for the Valkyries in 2019.

Johnson comes with another bonus.

As far as the looks department goes, Johnson is the Tom Brady of offensive linemen.

Taking things a step further, Johnson and his wife, Dallis, are the Brady and Gisele Bundchen in the offensive linemen community.

When it comes to the looks department, Evan and Dallis Johnson are beautiful.

On top of that, they are your classic humble young Saskatchewan couple as Dallis hails from Canwood.

For another bonus, Dallis is a veteran defensive back with the powerhouse Saskatoon Valkyries of the Western Women’s Canadian Football League and owns two league championship rings. When Evan isn’t involved with team activities with his CFL club, he is one of the Valkyries offensive line coaches.

Together, Evan and Dallis have the overall package that those in Rider Nation have to fall in love with, if Evan signs with the Roughriders.

Of course, franchise quarterback Cody Fajardo and his wife, Laura, are the Roughriders rock star couple.

With that said, offensive linemen are the most likeable guys on any football team. There is room for Evan and Dallis to be in a bigger spotlight.

Evan Johnson, right, played three OL positions for the Redblacks.

If Evan signs with the Roughriders, companies in Regina and Saskatchewan would look stupid if they didn’t get Evan and Dallis endorse their products.

If you are business that sells men’s suits, you should be running out to get Evan wearing all the best suits that your business makes.

If you sell fancy dresses, you should be running out to get Dallis wearing all your best dresses.

If you make nice clothes for men and women, you should be doing your best to get Evan and Dallis to endorse you products and dress in your gear.

If you are a car dealer, you should be getting the young couple the best pimped out truck, car or any type of vehicle they might desire.

With their looks, all they have to do is flash their smiles and Roughriders fans will be buying up any product they make a pitch for.

As for the Roughriders team itself, the value of having a couple like Evan and Dallis representing your club in the community is priceless.

You can send them to all the high class functions. At those functions, they are going to look good, and they will make the team look good.

Dallis Johnson drops into coverage for the Valkyries.

You can send them to community fundraisers and people will be enamored with them, because they have a Saskatchewan folksy feel to them to go with their incredible looks.

Of course, the world is in the grips of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, and how developments play out on that front will ultimately determine if there is a CFL season in 2021. The CFL was unable to get on the field for any games in 2020 due to the pandemic.

Still, the Roughriders would get a big boost, if they were able to have Evan Johnson on their roster when they begin playing games again. As a couple, Evan and Dallis bring an enormous potential to attract causal fans back to the team coming out of a stoppage.

So if Evan Johnson becomes a free agent, the Roughriders need to sign him to ensure he and Dallis are in Saskatchewan year round.

That development would look awe-inspiring good on all fronts.

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A post shared by Evan Johnson (@theofficialevanjohnson)

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Huskies, Thunderbirds rivalry is for real

Should that be played up in U Sports women’s hockey?

The Huskies and Thunderbirds scrum at the end of their 2018 playoff series.

    Should a women’s hockey rivalry be played up in U Sports?
    I have been struggling with that question since a best-of-three Canada West quarter-final series was cemented between the University of Saskatchewan Huskies and the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds.

    Game 1 of the series is set for Friday at 7 p.m. at Merlis Belsher Place. Game 2 is set for Saturday at 7 p.m. at Merlis, and if necessary, Game 3 is slated for 7 p.m. at Merlis.

    The Huskies finished third in Canada West with a 17-7-2-2 record, while the Thunderbirds were sixth with a 10-13-4-1 mark.

    This will mark the fourth time the two sides have faced each other in the post-season since 2014 and the third time since 2017. Due to the recent playoff encounters, a lot of ill will has built up between the two sides causing the squads to become archrivals.

    When these teams last met in the post-season, the lasting image was of then Huskies captain Kaitlin Willoughby trying to get after Thunderbirds centre Mathea Fischer after a Thunderbirds player hit Huskies star netminder Jessica Vance at the third period buzzer.

The officials break up the Huskies and Thunderbirds in 2018 playoffs.

    A huge scrum developed in front of the Huskies goal, and tensions were high enough that a brawl could have resulted.

    That was how a 2-1 Huskies victory concluded of Game 2 of a best-of-three Canada West semifinal series, which U of S swept 2-0.

    The post-game handshakes from that Game 2 weren’t actual handshakes but a series of “low fives” like you would see at a minor sports event played at the eight-year-old age level.

    Huskies head coach Steve Kook received a one game suspension, when it was deemed his players broke an archaic league rule by coming up the bench at the end the game before the referee’s command.

    Both teams return a lot of players from that 2018 series to this year’s tilt including Vance and Fischer. Since that series, it is safe to say there has been bitterness in the encounters between these two teams.

    Even with that back story, I have wondered if it worth playing up the rivalry angle leading up to this series. 

Huskies D Morgan Willoughby and T-birds D Celine Tardif talk dinner plans.

    While the rivalry is a great one, it isn’t the Prince Albert Raiders taking on the Saskatoon Blades in the Western Hockey League. On that circuit, the fact the fans get passionately into that rivalry makes in that much better.

    The Art Hauser Centre in Prince Albert is usually packed for those games, and it is fair to expect 5,000 to 6,000 spectators to appear at the SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon when those teams meet.

    Fans will bring signs to the rink to show their dislike for the rival and beaks will go off on various social media lines.

    Comparatively, games in U Sports women’s hockey are mostly family and friends games when it comes to attendance and receive extremely little play in the mainstream media. If attendance exceeds 200 for a U Sports women’s hockey game, it is deemed a success.

    One of the few exceptions to that reality was the last Crowchild Classic in Calgary, Alta., that featured the women’s game between the U of Calgary Dinos and the Mount Royals University Cougars in the primetime spot. 

Huskies D Isabella Pozzi (#8) nails a Thunderbirds player this season.

    That contest on Jan. 30 drew 10,002 spectators to the Scotiabank Saddledome to see the Dinos down the Cougars 4-1. That attendance figure is a U Sports record for women’s hockey.

    The Huskies women’s team has been one of the attendance leaders in Canada West since moving into Merlis for the start of the 2018-19 campaign. In 2018-19, the Huskies averaged 650 spectators through 14 home regular season games to lead all women’s hockey teams in Canada West.

    This season, the Huskies averaged 496 spectators for their 14 home regular season dates to sit second behind the Dinos, whose figure was propped up being pegged as the home team for the Crowchild Classic.

    Also, it seems like to me U Sports women’s hockey is patronized, where you should cheer players like an eight-year-old athlete who has learned a skill.

    U Sports women’s hockey teams are elite squads made up of highly skilled athletes, but they don’t get anywhere near the following to make it worthwhile to play up the rivalry angle.

Huskies D Emma Nutter (#21) and T-birds C Mathea Fischer trade words.

    If you do, you come off as a jerk.

    Plus, I don’t believe the appetite is there for U Sports programs to play up a rivalry angle. If you do and things get over the line out of hand, teams ultimately have to answer to university presidents and university board of directors.

    Both traditionally have had no patience for sports teams going overboard with rivalries as university are deemed institutions of higher learning. The academics thumb their noses at athletes who get too worked up over rivalries.

    Outright suspensions from school have to be the biggest worry in that scenario too.

    I always feel the fan codes of conduct are used as a deterrent with regards to cheering at a U Sports event.

    On the Huskies hockey front, the last time a crowd was extremely engaged in a playoff series was the 2016 men’s Canada West final between the Huskies and their “forever rivals” the U of Alberta Golden Bears. The Huskies hockey teams were playing out of the ancient Rutherford Rink back then, and that place was rocking like the Art Hauser Centre during Raiders Western Hockey League playoff games.

    I don’t condone going out and getting offensive with heckles. If a fanbase wants to do the Winnipeg, Man., fan thing and chant someone on their team is better than someone on the opposition, go for it.

Hannah Koroll would be great, if she played for the Huskies.

    As for me, I think I will finish off going down the “jerk” road in the women’s hockey rivalry between the Huskies and Thunderbirds, because I believe rivalry sells tickets.

    Being based in Saskatoon, I can’t wait for the U of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team to take on the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds women’s diving – er – I mean women’s hockey team. I wonder if the Thunderbirds prefer to work from the three-foot board or the 10-foot board?

    Thunderbirds sophomore defender and Saskatoon Holy Cross High School grad Hannah Koroll is a good player. She would be a great player, if she played for the Huskies women’s hockey team.

    Actually, you could get your dislike in the jealously department on for Koroll, because she is a 13 out of 10 in the looks department, great in school, and if she want to be, she can be the best player on the ice in any game she skates in. She might end up being like Tom Brady one day.

    Anyways, take a screenshot of this post and send it to the Thunderbirds women’s hockey team to see, if you like. I don’t care.

    This post might get me unfriended on all social media lines by celebrity University of British Columbia Thunderbirds women’s volleyball team alumna Claire Hanna. I don’t care.

There won’t be a lot of love between the Huskies and Thunderbirds.

    As Rod Pedersen used to say as the play-by-play voice of the Western Hockey League’s Regina Pats when they would take on the Moose Jaw Warriors in major junior hockey’s greatest rivalry, “Let’s get it on, because we don’t get along.”

    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.