X (formerly Twitter) worst social media platform of all-time

Connor Bedard in action for the Pats this past April.

X – formerly known as Twitter – is the worst social media platform of all-time.

If I never used what I now call Platform-X ever again, I would be perfectly fine with that. Due to working in media and communications, I still have to be on that social media platform. With the toxicity that exists on that platform, I have limited my posts to the courtesy sharing of information on the sports world.

For my blog, I mainly cover the happenings with the WHL, the Saskatoon Hilltops of the CJFL, the Saskatoon Valkyries of the WWCFL and U Sports.

Thanks to how toxic Platform-X has become, I find people that look for information on those leagues and teams I listed are mainly no longer on that social media platform anymore. The ones that are on that platform are usually saying something quite awful and cutting using an anonymous account.

My best interactions on Platform-X come from fan talk about pro-wrestling specifically WWE and AEW with the Era of Bliss fan account and one of the best persons to come from the province of Quebec in Patrick Mercier. Even with that, you can run into toxic accounts that wants to jump into your fun chat and ruin your day.

Last week, Platform-X continued to prove why it is the worst social media platform of all time. Early last week on November 27, I was putting a house keeping sports information post on Platform-X.

At that time, two days had passed after the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks announced right-winger Corey Perry would take an indefinite leave of absence from the team for personal reasons. I encountered an endless line of posts regarding the family of Blackhawks 18-year-old rookie superstar centre Connor Bedard and Perry.

Having dealt with Bedard and his family when he played in the WHL for the Regina Pats, my first thought was, “This is utterly ridiculous.”

After scanning those posts for 30 seconds of my time I will never get back, I created the posts I set out to create and got off that social media platform.

As the week progressed, it was easy to follow how that story developed without putting in much effort as it regularly came up on sports talk shows and sports news shows. The Blackhawks placed Perry on unconditional waivers on November 28, and after he cleared waivers the following day, the NHL club terminated his contract.

Of course, it came out the rumours were garbage. Perry came out with an apology for an incident that got him released and said he was seeking professional help for substance abuse.

Last Friday a day before playing the Jets in Winnipeg, Bedard met the media in the Manitoba capital. The question about the rumours came up and also how the rumours affected his family and himself.

Bedard handled the queries with a maturity way beyond his years. He said what happened wasn’t fair to him or his family, but they can’t control those things and they just go on and live life.

A picture of the front login page to Platform-X.

Bedard also added what happened with Perry was serious and the first concern was that he is OK and his family is OK. Paul Friesen of the Winnipeg Sun actually did a terrific job with his piece on what Bedard has dealt with in his NHL rookie year, and that piece can be found by clicking right here.

The fact Bedard, who doesn’t have a Platform-X account, and his family had to deal with this was an absolute joke. To show how stupid Platform-X and society of today has become, Edmonton Oilers superstar centre Connor McDavid never had to deal with anything like that as an NHL rookie in 2015-16.

Believe it or not, I found Platform-X to be a good social media line at one time. The first few years after I created an account on it back in 2010 it was great.

The mechanics of the social media platform worked well. You also knew that platform was a social media line where you posted things out in public which the whole world could see.

I found Platform-X took a turn for the worst around the time of November 8, 2016, when Donald Trump won his election race to become president of the United States. That started the rise of the extreme right holding the notion that, “If you aren’t with us, you’re against us.”

The extreme left has responded with similar rhetoric and positioning. On Platform-X seemingly through anonymous accounts, that type of rhetoric played out like promos you would see on WWE shows.

That type of positioning spread to discussion on all sorts of subjects including the happenings in the sports world and entertainment world. Platform-X was and still is the spot where all the bashing occurs.

For a lot of people, the endless toxicity has chased them away from Platform-X.

For myself, I found the 2018-19 sports season where the Prince Albert Raiders won the WHL championship was the last campaign where my posts regarding the amateur sports world that I cover saw a lot of action on Platform-X. When a post does get noticed now, it usually has idiots taking it on a tangent that goes to a dark place that was not intended.

Unfortunately, more stupid will come sooner than later.

On Friday at 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre, the Saskatoon Blades host the Red Deer Rebels in a WHL regular season contest, and the Blades will be holding their “Pride Night” promotion for a third straight season. In the building, that promotion is a healthy and warm celebration that honours LGBTQ+ community that is well received by those in attendance.

The Blades use that night to spread a message that hockey is for all. Unfortunately in the past two years on social media, the worst of society has made the most horrible of comments on the team’s social media lines in posts promoting their “Pride Night” game.

A Blades “Pride Night” post on Platform-X.

The Blades came out with their first posts this week on Tuesday leading to that promotion. I feared what I would find on Platform-X, because it seemed like the worst comments came out there the past two seasons.

The comments on Platform-X and Facebook have been good so far. I found numerous cringe comments on the Instagram post on Tuesday afternoon.

Still, Platform-X is the place that constantly turns discussions into a match in a UFC cage. The behavior of the baddies won’t change on there.

Unfortunately, that means for a lot of people it is time to kick that social media platform to the curve, and lots have done that. I wish I could follow suit, but limiting my time on that platform as much as possible is working for me.

Blades pair off to Canada’s world junior selection camp

Tanner Molendyk will try and make Canada’s world junior team.

Two members of the Saskatoon Blades will have a chance to make their world junior dreams come true for Canada.

On Tuesday, Blades offensive-defenceman Tanner Molendyk and centre Fraser Minten were named as two of the 30 players invited to the selection camp for Canada’s world junior team. The selection camp runs from December 10 to 13 in Oakville, Ont.

The upcoming world juniors are slated for December 26 to January 5, 2024 in Gothenburg, Sweden.

In 23 games with the Blades this season, Molendyk, who has a signed NHL entry-level contract with the Nashville Predators, has recorded four goals, 23 assists and a plus-20 rating in the plus-minus department.

Minten, who was recently acquired in a trade with the Kamloops Blazers, has a signed NHL entry-level contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs. He appeared in four NHL regular season games with the Leafs before being returned to the WHL. In 11 combined games with the Blazers and Blades, Minten had four goals and nine assists.

A total of nine players from the WHL were invited to the selection camp for Canada’s world junior team. Brayden Yager, who is from the Saskatoon area, was the only player with a hometown in Saskatchewan to be invited to the selection camp.

In 25 games with the Warriors this season, Yager has recorded 17 goals, 22 assists and plus-14 rating. Yager was selected in the first round and 14^th overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the NHL Entry Draft held this past June.

Blazers head coach and general manager Shaun Clouston will serve as an assistant coach for Canada’s entry at this season’s world juniors. Lethbridge Hurricanes general manager Peter Anholt serves as the under-20 lead for the Program of Excellence management group.

One player who was omitted from the selection camp for Canada’s world junior team is WHL leading scorer Riley Heidt. Heidt, who is a Prince George Cougars centre, has recorded 53 points coming off 14 goals and 39 assists to go with a plus-10 rating in the plus-minus department in 26 regular season games.

The Saskatoon area product was selected in the second round and 64^th overall by the Minnesota Wild in last June’s NHL Entry Draft.

Near named incoming WHL commissioner, other notes

A WHL Instagram post welcoming Dan Near.

Dan Near has been tabbed as the WHL’s next head person.

Last Thursday, the WHL announced that Near will be the incoming commissioner of the circuit. The announcement was made by Ron Toigo, who was the chair of the WHL Commissioner Search Committee and governor of the Vancouver Giants on behalf of the WHL board of governors.

Near’s tenure in the WHL office will begin on January 1, 2024 as he transitions into the role of commissioner. He will officially take over the full responsibilities as WHL commissioner on February 15, 2024.

At that point, current WHL commissioner Ron Robison will transition to an advisory role providing support and guidance to Near.

The 43-year-old Near served as the global head of Adidas Hockey and was responsible for leading Adidas’s entry into hockey managing their global business since 2016. Prior to his time with Adidas, Near, who is a product of Markham, Ont., spent 10 years with the NHL’s head office in New York specializing in marketing, retail development and consumer product licensing from 2006 to 2016.

Last June, Robison, who is an alumnus of the University of Saskatchewan Huskies Men’s Hockey Team, announced the 2023-24 campaign would be his last as commissioner of the WHL. He took over that role on September 15, 2000. The 68-year-old product of Indian Head, Sask., will depart as the longest serving commissioner in the history of the WHL.

Before joining the WHL as commissioner, Robison spent about 19 years with Hockey Canada.

• On Tuesday, Gunner Kinniburgh, who is a third-year defenceman with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies Men’s Hockey Team, was named to the U Sports all-star team that will face Canada’s world junior hopefuls in a pair of exhibition games as part of Canada’s selection camp to pick its world junior team. Kinniburgh has two goals, four assists and a plus-14 rating in 16 games with the Huskies. The exhibition games between the U Sports all-stars and Canada’s world junior hopefuls will be held December 12 and 13 in Oakville, Ont. Former Saskatoon Blades members in defenceman Scott Walford, who played for the McGill University Martlets, and forward Eric Florchuk, who plays for the University of Alberta Golden Bears, will also be members of the U Sports all-star squad.
• A total of three WHL squads cracked into the latest CHL Top 10 Rankings, which were released on Tuesday. The Prince George Cougars were rated second, the Saskatoon Blades were ranked sixth and the Wenatchee Wild came in at eighth.
• It appears the odds of 18-year-old forward Zach Benson being returned to the NHL have decreased. Benson has played in 16 games for the Buffalo Sabres collecting two goals and five assists. Once he hit his 10^th game played in the regular season for the Sabres in the current campaign, the Sabres committed to burning the first year of Benson’s three-year NHL entry-level contract. The Sabres selected Benson in the first round and 13^th overall in last June’s NHL Entry Draft. Benson’s WHL rights belong to the Wenatchee Wild.
• Saskatoon product and 19-year-old defenceman Kevin Korchinski has two goals and five assists playing 24 games this season for the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks. The Blackhawks selected Korchinski in the first round and seventh overall in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft. Korchinski’s WHL rights belong to the Seattle Thunderbirds, who won the WHL championship last season. Korchinski could be returned to the WHL, but he will be owed the entirety of the first year of his three-year NHL entry-level contract.
• The WHL’s trade deadline is set for January 10, 2024.
• Christine Sinclair’s career with Canada’s National Women’s Soccer Team was the ultimate “smile because it happened” time. It was fitting Canada blanked Australia 1-0 in a friendly on Tuesday night in Vancouver in Sinclair's final game with the Canadian national team. Kudos to the management at B.C. Place to change the name of the venue to Christine Sinclair Place for the night of the game. She deserves all the tributes that come her way.

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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Riding hamster wheel is not always good for mental health

Excusing yourself even for a short time is good for soul

Working on my Bell Let’s Talk piece in the home office.

Sometimes you just have to get off the hamster wheel.

That was analogy I didn’t know was a thing until about three months ago. It actually came to me via the sports entertainment world of pro wrestling early this past November.

During a promo on an AEW Dynamite show, CM Punk talked seriously about one-time rival Jon Moxley. Moxley, who had been that promotion’s heavyweight champion, had entered an inpatient alcohol treatment program.

Punk, whose real name is Phillip Jack Brooks, said he was proud of Moxley for realizing he had to take himself off the hamster wheel to get the help he needed and that Moxley was brave taking that step.

Moxley, whose real name is Jonathan David Good, is married to Renee Paquette, who first made a name for herself as sports broadcaster in Canada with The Score from 2009 to 2012 before shooting to a huge rise in fame in a run with WWE from 2012 to 2020. Moxley, who has been in the pro wrestling business for over 17 years, and Paquette met in WWE.

I had never linked the analogy of the hamster wheel with the mental health world until I saw that promo with Punk, who is very articulate and well thought out.

 I am starting to have what you would consider a longer run with the mental health world with my first realizations almost a decade ago.

On my own front, I have known I have battled with issues dealing with anxiety since 2012. I write about my experiences on the mental health front in hopes it will help others.

Since 2016, I’ve kept up with a tradition where I write a post regarding mental health on Bell Let’s Talk day.

A Jon Moxley AEW figure.

There is still a stigma around mental health issues, and they are unfortunately still treated as the elephant in the room in too many circles.

On my own front, I am in a way better place than I was 10 years ago. I am in a way better spot than I was six years ago.

While I believe I have gotten a tonne better over the last decade, mental health is something I continue to learn about. I will have “aha moments” come to me in the most unlikely of places.

That Punk promo was an “aha moment.”

He explained he made his own choices to get off the hamster wheel in the past. Punk said Moxley had been on a hamster wheel, because he had been going and going, thinking he had to show toughness all the time, battle through injuries like they weren’t there, be sick and show up for work, help other people and be super generous for a long stretch of time.

Punk said you get to the point you have to take yourself off the hamster wheel.

For Bell Let’s Talk day in January of 2020, I wrote that it was a mental health challenge to learn to take a break, and it was important to take breaks.

Punk’s explanation of the hamster wheel took that to a whole new level of realization.

No matter what walk of life you are in, you do get placed on a hamster wheel.

In the world of competitive sports where outcomes are undecided, elite athletes are on a hamster wheel. Whether it be hockey, football, baseball, basketball, softball, track and field, speed skating, soccer or whatever your athletic pursuit, you are training year round and being evaluated constantly to see if you are performing at a high level and continuing to reach new levels of high performance.

A picture of myself in front of photos I've shot over the years.

Sometimes that results in athletes shouldering extra pressure that their team will lose and they will let their teammates down, if they don’t perform well. That can be a hamster wheel.

Those in sports management positions can be on a hamster wheel too. They are constantly trying to ensure athletes, coaches and staffers are healthy physically and mentally, always having to ensure proper funding is coming in to allow athletes to get to events and have the best equipment possible and ensure the business administrative mechanisms are functioning well.

If you miss time as an administrator, there are always worries those jobs won’t get done. You are on a hamster wheel there too.

Those examples can be taken to any working environment be it health career, education, retail, banking, manufacturing, shipping, policing, energy production or whatever the job may be. All those environments create places where those working in them shoulder pressures that they will let everyone down if they are not there to do their roles.

Eventually, you do hit a point where the pressure becomes too much you have to totally cut yourself away from those worlds. It doesn’t have to be forever, but you might need to be away for a span of time.

In Moxley’s case, he got professional and ultimate returned to AEW after about three months.

In some cases, you might not even the assistance of professional help to come to that realization.

I realized that for myself when I attended a wedding for one of my nieces early this past September in Jasper, Alta.

I'm all dressed up out in Jasper, Alta., early last September.

My everyday world is the sports and media world, and I live those careers to a point they are a lifestyle. If I take a break from one aspect of that world, I am still busy with another aspect be it on sports writing, photography or communications.

That wedding marked the first time I totally cut myself off those worlds for at least a one-week period since the summer of 2014, when I relocated from Medicine Hat, Alta., to Saskatoon, Sask.

With Jasper being a resort town with no links to any part of my life, I truly made a clean break for a week. Ultimately, the wedding was awesome and the week was awesome.

On top of being cut off from the sports and media worlds, I allowed myself to be pretty much cut off from social media too.

One day after the wedding, a feeling came over me that this all felt really good. It was a good feeling I hadn’t felt in a long time.

It reminded me of a time when I took actual vacations during my 10-year run as a sportswriter with the Medicine Hat News from 2004 to 2014 and experience more periods of personal time, while still having a busy schedule. While I wasn’t jumping on a plane to go to Hawaii to lie down on a beach, I was off on social excursions with friends, or like the summer of 2007, taking a pleasure drive through the mountains in southern British Columbia.

A lot of that disappeared from 2012 to 2014 when vacations and personal time didn’t feel like those things as those were periods I where I was in my initial stages of working my way through mental health issues.

When Punk gave the promo about Moxley and the hamster wheel in early November, I realized I had gotten off my hamster wheel, when I attended my niece’s wedding. It added a sense of refreshment I hadn’t felt for some time.

Another game day is wrapped up for myself at the SaskTel Centre.

You can also get yourself on a hamster wheel with constant interaction with people you don’t know especially trolls on social media. Sometimes that happens with people you do know on social media.

During this past year with the world still stuck in the grips of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, I’ve found social media to be more toxic than ever before. Twitter is the worst social media line for this.

As for Twitter, I’ve followed an example set by Punk here in just blocking the trolls and people you need to block instead of engaging with them. For myself, it feels good every time I block a troll, especially if it is an anonymous account with less than 10 followers.

These days I try to be a bit more mindful of where I am on the hamster wheel. If anyone feels they need to get off their own hamster wheels for a bit, I hope they feel enabled to take that step, because it ultimately show a lot of courage.

Bell Let’s Talk in specter of “Bell Let’s Cut”

A Bell Let’s Talk toque.

I admit I was unsure if I was going to do my traditional mental health post on Bell Let’s Talk day this year.

In recent years, Bell Canada, which is the telecommunications company that run Bell Let’s Talk day, has had a habit of releasing employees in the months after the company’s mental health awareness and fundraising day.

Bell Canada received huge criticism bringing in job days after Bell Let’s Talk day was held last year on January 28.

Any time Bell Canada cuts jobs, the term “Bell Let’s Cut” is inevitably brought up.

The question is brought up that how can a company that supports mental health initiatives turn around and just cut people, who immediately are faced with the prospects of losing their livelihoods and identities.

Due to the Bell Canada operates in the media world, I’ve had friends that have been released from jobs with Bell Canada, and they were all hard working people that showed great initiative.

Bell Canada has been criticized for using the Bell Let’s Talk campaign as a tax write off while bringing in massive amounts of revenue to make you question why jobs are being cut.

After the layoffs Bell Canada made last year, I had to ask myself if I wanted to go through with a new post this year on Bell Let’s Talk Day.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic gripped the world, I often celebrated the fact so much awareness came up regarding mental health issues on Bell Let’s Talk day.

I also celebrated the progress I’ve made in my own journey often having a nice dinner with my mom in the evening of Bell Let’s Talk day at Cactus Club Cafe in Saskatoon. The last of those dinners came on Bell Let’s Talk day in January of 2020.

I decided to do a post, because of the awareness this day brings regarding mental health issues in Canada.

Searching social media on Tuesday the day before Bell Let’s Talk day, I saw a lot of posts from people saying they had supported Bell Let’s Talk Day in the past but wouldn’t this year due to the employee cuts that have happened in the past.

Today on Bell Let’s Talk day, I’ve seen numerous great shares regarding mental health issues in Canada and people coming forward to share their own stories of challenges on the mental health front.

If people feel better to make donations directly to mental health charities as opposed to participating in Bell Canada’s Bell Let’s Talk day program, I hope people feel free to act in that direction.

If people want to still retweet #BellLetsTalk on Twitter, they should feel free to do so.

It is always a good thing when you can keep the mental health conversation going.

If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com. My Bell Let’s Talk post from last year called “COVID-19 pandemic forces world to face mental health” can be found by clicking right here. A piece from 2020 called “A big mental health challenge is learning to take a break” can be found right here. A piece from 2019 called “Those facing mental health challenges can still be great in all parts of life” can be found right here. A piece from 2018 called “Being content can become a mental health challenge” can be round right here. A piece from 2017 called “Recognizing and respecting triggers is key for mental health” can be found right here. A piece from 2016 called “Feeling connected calms the mental health seas” can be found right here. A piece called “My Mental Health Story” can be found right here. Another post I like that I wrote in February of 2015 about my mental health journey call “Huskies hockey was good for me” can be found right here.

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If you like what you see here, you might want to donate to the cause to keep independent media like this blog going. Should you choose to help out, feel free to click on the DONATE button in the upper right corner. Thank you for stopping in.

When COVID-19 restrictions are announced, social media is not the place to be

Facebook can be a really crappy place at times.

It appears it was a great week to be a rageaholic.

The rageaholics came out of the woodworks this week anytime new restrictions were announced to combat the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that has gripped the world.

On Tuesday, rageaholics went off the rails in Alberta, when new restrictions were brought forward in that province.

On Wednesday, it was Saskatchewan’s turn to be a rageaholic stomping ground.

Of course, new restrictions are being brought in because the number of new COVID-19 cases are spiking across Canada. Just for Alberta and Saskatchewan alone the cases have been rising at an incredible rate.

As of Friday, there were 14,217 active COVID-19 cases in Alberta and 3,263 active cases in Saskatchewan.

Back on Nov. 1, there were 5,172 active COVID-19 cases in Alberta and 798 active COVID-19 cases in Saskatchewan.

Back on Oct. 1, there were 1,596 active COVID-19 cases in Alberta and 144 active COVID-19 cases in Saskatchewan.

When new restrictions get announced, social media is not the place to be. On Facebook and Twitter, it is quite easy to find posts full or rage, hate and piss and vinegar.

Of course you get the side that goes off that the restrictions are too tight. You also have the side that hammers down the restrictions don’t go far enough.

Looking at all the social media posts, you come away with the impression that everyone in society in general is some sort of version of former NFL diva receiver Terrell Owens.

When Owens used to play in the NFL, one of the common acts to imitate him was to go on a rant and say, “It is all about me. Me! I’m the greatest. Me! Team is spelled M, E. Me!”

In general, it is safe to say all humans are selfish to a certain extent. During the COVID-19 pandemic, it feels like the selfishness of humanity has hit new levels. We are definitely not in this all together.

I hate to say it, but some loud people in the sports world - that includes some in Alberta and Saskatchewan - seem to have abandoned preaching the importance of team and seem to be saying things that makes them symbolize all those “me” traits Owens used to show off.

The urge to play in an effort to stay relevant seems to be the most important thing in the world to those people.

Starting on Friday in Alberta, all sports in that province have been cancelled for a three-week restriction period, but exceptions may be granted.

Hockey Canada’s selection camp for its world junior team is going on at the moment in Red Deer, but the sport body announced on Wednesday that players, coaches and staff had entered a 14-day quarantine retroactive to Monday. All camp activities are paused until Dec. 6.

The Bears won’t enjoy any more wins for a bit.

The shutdown came after the confirmation that two players at the camp have tested positive for COVID-19. A staff member had tested positive for COVID-19 on Nov. 21.

A new batch of restrictions took effect in Saskatchewan on Friday. All team sports and group activities are suspended.

Athletes and dancers 18-years-old and under may keep practicing in groups of eight or fewer if they use masks and physical distance three metres from each other. Fitness activities of groups of eight or less are still allowed as long as masks are worn and there is three metres of physical distance between participants.

Capacity at casinos, bingo halls, arenas, live theatres, movie theatres, performing arts venues and other facilities that had a capped capacity of 150 people will be restricted to 30 people.

Indoor gatherings such as banquets, weddings, funerals, conferences will also have a limit of 30 people and food and beverage service will be prohibited.

All places of worship must reduce capacity to 30 people, and no food or drink can be served.

Restaurants and licensed establishments are limited to seat four at a single table.

Mandatory non-medical mask wearing was extended to more areas. That includes all students, employees and visitors at schools, all employees and visitors in common areas in business and workplaces and all residents, employees and visitors in all common areas in provincial and municipal correctional facilities.

These new measures and public health measures that were all ready in effect in Saskatchewan will remain in effect until December 17.

On Wednesday, the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League junior A circuit announced it won’t be playing any games from Friday through to Christmas.

As sports got going again during the pandemic, it felt like there were some in minor sports bodies and with teams that acted like sports would not be shut down again, and it seemed like that message filtered to some players and parents.

If anyone really believed that, they were delusional, because what happens with the pandemic is out of anyone’s control. Everyone in any sports organization should know that the risk on going ahead with play in these current pandemic times is that games and competitions can be scrapped and sports organizations and teams can lose substantial amounts of money by playing.

It felt like there were some out there that knew the risks, weren’t truly honest about them and got burned by them.

There are also a large number of sports organizations and teams that are honest with their players.

Actually, there have been a number of coaches that have done admirable work in being honest with their players.

Special shout outs go to Saskatoon Hilltops head coach Tom Sargeant, University of Saskatchewan Huskies football team head coach Scott Flory, Prince Albert Northern Bears head coach Jeff Willoughby, Saskatoon Stars head coach Robin Ulrich, University of Regina Cougars women’s hockey team head coach Sarah Hodges and University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team head coach Steve Kook.

Those special shout outs come from interactions with the players on those teams as well as the coaches themselves.

There won’t be any Stars victory celebrations for a while.

That list could be expanded, if it wasn’t for limited interactions due to the pandemic. I know I have left a large number of good coaches out.

Still, it feels like society in general is not in this all together when it comes to dealing with the pandemic. The sports world is not immune to this.

It seems the only way out of this is to hope the mainstream media stories that there are at least three COVID-19 vaccine candidates out there that could possibly be rolled out in 2021 becomes reality. That could optimistically return everything to normal by September of that year.

Relying on humanity as a whole to get on the same page to battle the COVID-19 pandemic right now looks to be a non-starter.

The mystery of Rangers’ Maracle, other notes

So were there Indigenous hockey players in the NHL before the late Fred Sasakamoose?

It appears there was a least one for sure. It also appears that it took some painstaking work a journalist to uncover that one, which might add some historical snapshots of time.

The one Indigenous player that came before Sasakamoose was Ayr, Ont., product Henry Elmer “Buddy” Maracle.

Maracle played 11 regular season games at left wing for the New York Rangers in 1930-31 collecting one goal and three assists and was held pointless in four playoff games. He was a member of the Mohawk tribe.

Irene Schmidt-Adeney, who is a reporter at the weekly Ayr News, has spent a tonne of work uncovering Maracle’s history.

He was born in Ayr, Ont., on September 8, 1904 and passed away on June 20, 1958 in Dallas, Texas. Schmidt-Adeney said Maracle passed away due to a kidney disorder. He was a produce truck driver at the time of his death.

She added that stories about Maracle during his hockey career often had racist headlines. His final season of hockey was with the minor league San Diego Skyhawks in 1943-44.

After his hockey career finished, Schmidt-Adeney said Maracle became a United States citizen. According to her research, Maracle gave up his Mohawk status in 1955.

His Texas death certificate from 1958 said his color or race was “white.”

Historical archives and newspaper archives were able to show facts on Maracle. They help paint a snapshot in time.

At the point in time Maracle lived, it was likely more advantageous to renounce your Indigenous status. The fact he did that likely made it harder to track down his cultural background.

As a result, Sasakamoose, who is from the Ahtahkakoop Cree Nation, is often recognized as the NHL’s first Indigenous player with treaty status when he played 11 regular season games for the Chicago Blackhawks in the 1953-54 campaign. Sasakamoose passed away on Tuesday after being recently hospitalized for COVID-19.

Sasakamoose will always live on as a legend, because he did a tonne of work to help better the lives for Indigenous athletes. He always identified with his culture and will always be viewed as a hero.

On Maracle’s front, you can’t fault him for choices he made with the facts that have been uncovered in his life. He was a product of his point and time in history.

• On Wednesday, Softball Saskatchewan announced it was suspending all sanctioned activities until January 15, 2021 due to the rise of COVID-19 cases in Saskatchewan.
• On Wednesday, the WHL announced that the WHL Cup tournament was cancelled for the 2020-21 campaign due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The event features the under-16 teams from British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
• On Wednesday, a Saskatchewan Amateur Football Mega 50/50 lottery was announced 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.
• On Friday night, the 50/50 jackpot for the Hockey Harvest Lottery sat at $220,520. The lottery is being used to raise money for the player scholarship 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.
• On Friday, the University of Wisconsin Badgers women’s hockey team opened their NCAA regular season schedule falling 3-2 to the Ohio State University Buckeyes in Columbus, Ohio. Sophie Shirley, who is an alumna of the Saskatoon Stars female under-18 AAA hockey team, had an assist for the Badgers. The Badgers roster contains Sophie’s younger sister, Grace, who is also an alumna of the Stars.

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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Dale is the real deal, deserves spot with Hilltops

Emmarae Dale practises with the Hilltops on Thursday.

The praise and attention has continued to pour in since the Saskatoon Hilltops announced linebacker Emmarae Dale has joined the storied and historic CJFL club, and all the accolades are deserved.

The Hilltops announced Tuesday morning Dale has officially been added to their roster. Since that time, the social media posts the club put out about the announcement have gone viral.

At the time this post went live, the Hilltops post on Dale’s announcement on Facebook has drawn 944 reactions and has been shared 726 times. The Twitter post has been retweeted 504 times and like over 1,700 times.

The Instagram post has been liked over 1,100 times.

The subsequent posts others have created about Dale being added to the Hilltops roster have attracted countless likes and shares. The Western Woman’s Canadian Football League powerhouse Saskatoon Valkyries, who Dale played for from 2016 to 2019, have seen their congratulatory Facebook post draw 266 reactions and be shared 167 times.

Emmarae Dale is the first female to make the Hilltops roster.

Since Tuesday morning’s announcement, Dale has been on seemingly a barnstorming tour doing media interviews across Western Canada.

One thing that shouldn’t be lost amongst all the media attention is Dale deserves this opportunity.

The Hilltops have won 22 CJFL championships in their history and the last six CJFL titles in a row. This isn’t an organization that needs to do a publicity stunt like this.

Legendary Hilltops head coach Tom Sargeant, who is the all-time leader in amateur post-secondary wins in Canada, and defensive coordinator Jeff Yausie aren’t the type of people who will put players on the team as a novelty.

They put players on the team they believe will be able to play and contribute in games. 

Emmarae Dale has done a tonne of media interviews this week.

In bringing on board the first female players the Hilltops have ever had on their roster and the first female player to be in the CJFL, both Sargeant and Yausie are aware enough that they will not put someone in a position where they will fail or not be able to handle things.

Dale is a very mature young woman at the age of 22. She is an elite athlete with special gifts in the speed, power and strength departments.

On top of her natural athletic abilities, Dale is an experienced football player. She hit the field for four seasons as a middle linebacker with the Saskatoon Valkyries from 2016 to 2019 helping them win WWCFL titles in 2016 and 2019.

Yausie was the Valkyries head coach in Dale’s first year with the team and defensive coordinator in Dale’s second year with that squad. As a result, Yausie has a strong idea of what Dale can do as a player.

Emmarae Dale (#45) makes a tackle for the Valkyries in 2016.

Dale was voted the Valkyries most outstanding defensive player in 2017 and 2019.

She has been a dominate player in the WWCFL since stepping on the field as a rookie. Dale is a fireplug standing at 5-foot-6, and she can flat out fly to the ball.

She has a natural instinct to know where the ball is going on the football field, and her ability to read plays is second to none.

Even with the handful of workouts she has had with the Hilltops veterans, Dale has shown the ability to understand and breakdown plays, when the Hilltops have done non-contact offense versus defence sets.

Dale’s football knowledge is aided by the fact two of her older brothers in Anthony and Donovan played for the Hilltops in the late 2000s and early 2010s. Anthony played on the offensive line, while Donovan suited up on the defensive line.

Emmarae Dale (#45) makes a hit in 2019 for the Valkyries.

Besides the exploits in football, Emmarae Dale has been a member of the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s track and field team in the U Sports ranks for the past four seasons. Specializing in throws, Dale has helped the Huskies win the Canada West women’s team title in each of the past three seasons.

That adds to showing the well-roundedness of her athletic ability.

On top of her athletic abilities, Dale has other intangibles that make her a good fit for the Hilltops. She has worked out at Ignite Athletics for a number of years, and most of the Hilltops players do their off-season training there.

She already knows a large number of players on the team, and they have seen firsthand how hard she works to get herself in the best shape possible. A respect tangible already exists.

Emmarae Dale (#45) tracks down a QB in 2019.

Dale is also one of the best and most modest and humble first rate persons you will find anywhere.

She approaches life in a mature and good confident way and is very well spoken. Those traits have shown through in the various media interviews she has done over the past week.

Dale has the make up to handle the spotlight and the extra attention that will come her way in the right way.

The best part is the news of her making the Hilltops roster has been warmly received seemingly everywhere. Over social media, you will still find a couple of crank negative comments, which you have to expect will surface in today’s world, but those types of comments have been few and far between.

Thanks to the CJFL ruling that players who were supposed to be 22-years-old this year will be able to play at age 23 next year, Dale will have one season to enjoy her time as member of the Hilltops assuming the current coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic stops throwing wrenches into how the world operates.

Emmarae Dale and the Valkyries enjoy their 2019 WWCFL title win.

Even with just being on the Hilltops roster, Dale has already accomplished something really special. It is an accomplishment she has earned and deserves.

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 Bantam Draft made me feel normal in COVID-19 times

All set to cover the WHL Bantam Draft last Wednesday in the home office.

    It is a different question to be asked, “What is it like to feel normal?”

    I remember being asked that very query about seven years ago during a rough stretch when I was feeling better again.

    My obvious response was, “It feels good.”

    If you go through a period of time where you don’t feel normal, it is an odd different good feeling when the light bulb goes on when you realize you are feeling normal.

    The part that sticks out in your head at that sort of time is the thought that, “This is how it should be.”

    In the current day under the spectre of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, it seems like the days are never normal.

    Actually, the common term that is thrown around is “the new normal” to basically insinuate that what used to be normal will never return again.

    Back when the shutdowns first started to happen on March 11 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it seemed like the only thing that felt different was adjusting to daily change in society. Eventually going into the fourth week of shutdowns, it seemed like a new daily routine had unfolded in life at least for me.

Some of the pictures I’ve taken on recent WHL playoff trails.

    Still, I had a moment where I felt normal. Actually, it was a run of time where I felt normal.

    The run of time centred around covering the WHL Bantam Draft, which was held last Wednesday. I did pre-draft work the day before WHL Bantam Draft for this blog.

    Last Wednesday, I was covering the WHL Bantam Draft for the Davidson Leader and this blog. The pieces on both platforms focused around highly skilled forwards Riley Heidt and Brayden Yager, who played midget AAA last season for the Saskatoon Contacts and lived for a time in Dundurn, Sask.

    Both were selected in the first round with Heidt going second overall to the Prince George Cougars and Yager going third overall to the Moose Jaw Warriors.

    I’ve covered the WHL for 21 seasons and have worked my share of past WHL Bantam Drafts.

    Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the WHL Bantam Draft was held in an online form. Over the years, that never mattered to me.
    I haven’t attended any WHL Bantam Draft in person, because usually you would be busy trying to phone team officials and players who were selected in the draft.

I try to have some fun when I work from home.

    Only a handful of players in the past have attended the WHL Bantam Draft in person, so it only made sense to follow it online.

    This year it likely felt really different for team officials, because they usually gather in one location for a live in person draft as opposed to conducting a draft online.

    Last Wednesday, I was tracking the WHL Bantam Draft online, made some social media posts in the morning and did a phone interview near the lunch hour with Marc Chartier, who recently stepped down from being the Contacts head coach. I later did a second interview in the early afternoon with Yager.

    After the interview with Yager, it hit me that this was what I was supposed to be doing. I felt normal.

    The only thing that made that moment different was the realization that I felt normal. I was doing exactly what I have done on many WHL Bantam Draft days in the past.
    I should note that from 2016 to 2019 I usually covered off the WHL Bantam Draft with note type items, because I was on the road covering the WHL playoffs.
    A number of other things would be going on too that captured my attention like the Dogs’ Breakfast, which is an annual scholarship fundraiser for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies football team, and the Saskatoon Valkyries starting a Western Women’s Canadian Football League season.

I enjoyed catching up with Marc Chartier, back row right.

    Still, I was working a day last Wednesday that was pretty much identical to days I worked covering the Prince Albert Raiders for the Prince Albert Daily Herald or the Medicine Hat Tigers for the Medicine Hat News.

    After transcribing interviews with Chartier and Yager, I got in touch with Heidt. After the interviews were done, we had short visits over the phone afterwards, and it was great to catch up like you normally would.

    The longest visit was with Chartier, who noted it felt like it was the right time for him to leave the Contacts after 13 seasons. He stepped down after this past season concluded.

    I hadn’t talked with him since the season concluded, and I was wondering how he was doing.

    You could tell he felt comfortable with his decision. Of course, we shared a bunch of old hockey stories too.

    On Monday, reality hit again, when you go back to living your lockdown life. That included doing work in the home office and not going to any sports events or anywhere in fact.

I look forward to return to live WHL games when normal times return.

    There is no place to go as everything is shutdown.

    Usually at this point in the year, I would be life consumed busy with the WHL playoffs going on. I am still busy, but it is a controlled busy.

    I actually have time to help around the home and enjoy down time things like movies, YouTube videos and video games. I have gotten it into my mind I will allow myself to enjoy these things.

    With all that said, it was great to feel like I was living my life before the COVID-19 shutdowns during the WHL Bantam Draft week, even if it was just a seemingly short period of time.

Money, economics elephant in COVID-19 days, other thoughts

Will people have cash to go to sports events after the COVID-19 pandemic?

    I feel like money and economics are the elephant in the room during these shutdown times of the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Of course, the top priorities have to be health and safety. It is cool to see that it feels like everybody is on board with saving as many lives as possible.

    I think new compassion has developed with regards of caring for the elderly.

    After the shutdowns started to occur on March 11 due to COVID-19, it seems like for me people try to shy away from talking about money or economics. To be honest, I have lots of days were I do the same thing.

    Still, questions go through my head every now and then. I wonder how businesses will stay open as the time span increases where they are bring in a lot less income than they used to?

    How will sports teams continue without money coming in from ticket sales and dealing with decreased sponsorships?

    How will minor sports organizations keep going without being able to conduct the fundraisers they used to while also dealing with a decrease in sponsorships?

    How will everyone be able to keep paying their bills, especially those that are dealing with a reduction in pay, reduction in hours or have been laid off?

Will the paused businesses in downtown Saskatoon survive COVID-19?

    I know the Government of Canada has rolled out a number of emergency measures, but you have the gut feeling there will be a catch there in the tax department. Nothing is ever free.

    On top of that, how much debt will governments at various levels take on, and how will that affect things going forward?

    It feels like the Canadian thing to do is throw everything on credit and expect your life insurance to pay for everything once you pass on. I kind of had that jaded view about Canada for a least the last 10 years.

    My head also proceeds to ask, “When will the bottom fall out when it comes to throwing everything on credit?”

    Over the past week, I have heard one economist on news talk radio say more damage has already been done to the economy than what occurred in the years of the first half of the “Great Depression” spanning 1929 to 1934.

    To me it seems like the defence mechanism that all walks of life use is to not talk about money at all and proceeded with your day as normally as possible.

    As for me, I just take things one day at a time, and I have said that lots before.

    My gut feeling that when it comes time to eventually pay the piper, there will be a lot of people that forget what happened in the COVID-19 pandemic with regards to saving lives, and they will constantly say how upset they are.

• It seems like it is pretty easy to find a COVID-19 conspiracy theory out there or find people who believe a conspiracy theory. I believe conspiracy theories take root because there is a distrust of politicians and world leaders that has hung around for a number of years. I believe that distrust helps feed conspiracy theories.
• For what it is worth, I think most of the politicians and leaders in Canada have handled themselves well and have handled the COVID-19 pandemic well. To me, it seems like you those with different political views are all pulling in the same direction to gain the best result possible in navigating this crisis.
• When I have made a supply run to the grocery store and I see someone wearing a mask, I always keep thinking of Canada’s criminal mask law. Of course, that doesn’t apply to shoppers and those out an about in public. They are trying to protect themselves from COVID-19. The mask law introduced by the Government of Canada in Bill C-309 that became law on June 19, 2013 bans the use of wearing masks during a riot or other unlawful assembly, and those convicted could face up to 10 years in prison. Canada’s Criminal Code, Section 351(2) covers “Disguise with Intent” that makes it an indictable offence to wear a mask or disguise to commit an indictable offence. I can’t see those laws having to be enforced during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• It was four years ago today on April 28, 2017 the ground-breaking ceremony was held for Merlis Belsher Place, which is the new hockey rink facility on the grounds of the University of Saskatchewan campus. At the moment, Merlis Belsher Place sits in waiting to see if it will become a field hospital for overflow COVID-19 patients. Hopefully, that day never comes. My old story on the ground-breaking ceremony day can be found by clicking right here.
• A Twitter fan account has been created for Dr. Saqib Shahab, who is Saskatchewan’s Chief Medical Health Officer. The Twitter handle is @ShahadFanClub and followers call themselves the #ShahabSquad. To me, it feels like Shahab is the best out of all the Chief Medical Health Officers who has been shown in the media dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. It does feel like Dr. Shahab is becoming a celebrity. I can already see him doing a ceremonial kickoff of home game for the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders when the COVID-19 pandemic ends. If you haven’t been following the account, it is worth your time to do it.

It's the weekend! It's time to sit back, relax, and admire Dr. Shahab's best knits.

Pictured: March 17 and April 24 Press Conferences pic.twitter.com/I57Q8VbTYP

— Dr. Shahab Fan Account (@ShahabFanClub) April 25, 2020

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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    If you like what you see here, you might want to donate to the cause to keep independent media like this blog going. Should you choose to help out, feel free to click on the DONATE button in the upper right corner. Thank you for stopping in.