CFL keeps on keeping on with CFL Draft

Circuit faces unprecedented questions, uncertainty

Andrew Harris in action for the Bombers in 2017.

It will be a CFL Draft like no other, because the Canadian professional football circuit is facing uncertainty the likes it has never seen before.

On Tuesday, the CFL will hold a CFL Draft that will last six rounds. The first two rounds will be shown on TSN at 5 p.m. Saskatchewan time.

Normally for a prospect player that is selected in the CFL Draft, they take a step towards playing in a CFL game one day. A likelihood still exists drafted prospects will attend a CFL camp, but not make a roster to play in a CFL game.

For the prospects that are selected in Tuesday’s CFL Draft, they might not even get to see a CFL training camp let alone a regular season game.

That is the reality of the CFL as it attempts to operate with a world having been stuck in the grips of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic dating back to about March 11, 2020.

The CFL already has one full draft class that has never seen the field at a CFL training camp. The players who were selected in the 2020 CFL Draft in late April of that year saw the entire CFL season get cancelled.

The league’s nine teams ultimately never did bring players together for any training camp activities.

The CFL pushed for government funding to be able to hold a season in 2020, but the funding the circuit sought never game.

Actually, post-secondary football wasn’t played anywhere in U Sports or the Canadian Junior Football League in 2020, so most of the players from Canada that could be drafted haven’t played a season since 2019.

On top of the pandemic this year, there is another elephant in the room that looms over everything the CFL does – the XFL.

On March 10, news broke that saw the CFL and XFL reveal they’re poised to begin serious discussions about a potential partnership. The XFL is the spring start up league in the United States that was bought out of bankruptcy in August of 2020 by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Dany Garcia and Gerry Cardinale’s RedBird Capital.

According to the XFL’s website, RedBird Capital managers US$4-billion in assets.

There is speculation that these potential partnership discussions are moving in the direction of full merger.

How real this speculation is can be debated.

On April 26, The Canadian Press reported U Sports, the CJFL, the Canadian Football Officials Association and Football Canada sent a joint policy letter to CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie for consideration.

The letter requested the CFL remains committed to essential rule components of Canadian Football in Canada.

This includes traditional field width and length between goal-lines and having 12-players per side. The letter requested the CFL maintains the current mandate of starter and roster positions for national players.

The joint policy letter wouldn’t have been sent, if there wasn’t concern for how far the discussions between the CFL and XFL have gone.

Brendon LaBatte (#57) in action for the Saskatchewan Roughriders in 2017.

On March 29, the community owned Winnipeg Blue Bombers announced an overall loss of $6,982,217 for 2020.

The Bombers won the Grey Cup in 2019, which was the last time the CFL held a season. For 2019, the Bombers posted a $3.5-million operating profit.

The Winnipeg franchise is viewed as one of the healthiest clubs in the CFL. If the Bombers lost close to $7-million in 2020, one wonders what the losses were for the eight other CFL teams.

The Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Edmonton Football Club will eventually have to present their financial statements for 2020 being both community owned franchises.

It should be noted that no new ownership groups or entities in Canada have shown any interest in stepping up to take stewardship of the CFL.

On top of all that, the CFL has to deal with the spectre of the NFL.

In November of 2020, Ambrosie told the Rod Pedersen Show he had talked with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, but there wouldn’t be financial support from the NFL to help the CFL work through its losses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 1997, the NFL provided a US$3-million interest free loan to the CFL, which was struggling financially at the time. In return, the NFL was granted access to CFL players entering a two-month window in the option year of their contracts.

The CFL turned the corner financially and repaid that loan and the agreement with the NFL expired in 2006.

That agreement was done when Paul Tagliabue was the commissioner of the NFL. It was viewed that this move by the NFL helped give a boost to the game of football and the CFL in Canada.

On March 30, the NFL announced it would be looking at hosting neutral site regular season games in Canada along with Europe, Mexico, South America and the United Kingdom as the league increases its regular season schedule from 16 games per team to 17 games per team starting this coming campaign.

Does that mean the NFL is looking to get more of a footing in Canada?

While three-down football is played at all levels in Saskatchewan, the four-down version of the game is played at the grassroots level in other locations like the greater Toronto area and the greater Vancouver area. Together, both those areas make up a sizable portion of Canada’s population.

Noting that, the joint policy letter from U Sports, the CJFL, the Canadian Football Officials Association and Football Canada didn’t make mention about games using either three or four downs.

Ultimately, the CFL might not take the field again in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, even though it is still trying to conduct business as normal as possible.

On April 21, the CFL announced it was pushing the start of its regular season back from June 10 to August 5. Each club is slated to play a 14-game regular season as opposed to an 18-game regular season.

In 2020, the CFL went through scenarios regarding shortened campaigns before the season was cancelled.

Due to the fact there is no certainty mass gatherings will be allowed in Canada in the size that will allow the CFL to have a strong enough income from ticket sales to go ahead despite vaccine rollouts for COVID-19, the CFL is looking at repeating 2020 in 2021.

Evan Johnson (#64) locks up on a block for the Ottawa Redblacks in 2019.

Thanks to the fact the 2020 season was lost and the 2021 campaign might not go ahead, some CFL veterans have already decided to retire from the game and move on to the next part of their life.

For the players that are taken in the 2021 CFL Draft that will be held Tuesday, the draft selection will still be a great accomplishment. Those prospect players will work hard to play, but there is a very real chance they won’t have a CFL league to play in.

As it stands right now, the last CFL game that was played was the Bombers 33-12 Grey Cup win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Nov. 24, 2019 at McMahon Stadium in Calgary, Alta.

That might go down as the last game ever played in the storied history of the CFL.

Cote joins Huskies, other notes

Brandin Cote will be reuniting with first WHL head coach.

On April 26, the University of Saskatchewan Huskies announced Cote will be the new associate coach for the athletic program’s men’s hockey team. Cote had been an assistant coach with his hometown WHL in the Swift Current Broncos since the start of the 2018-19 season.

The Broncos closed their developmental 24-game regular season this past Wednesday falling 6-5 in overtime to the Prince Albert Raiders playing in the WHL East Division bubble at the Brandt Centre in Regina.

The 40-year-old Cote will begin his new position with the Huskies on July 1.

Cote will join legendary head coach Mike Babcock on the Huskies bench. Babcock, who is famous from his time in the NHL and leading Canada’s men’s Olympic team to two gold medal wins, is serving as the Huskies interim volunteer head coach for two seasons taking over for long time and legendary Huskies head coach Dave Adolph, whose retirement became official on Saturday.

Cote played for Babcock as an associate player call up in 1996-97 and three seasons from 1997 to 2000 with the WHL’s Spokane Chiefs, when Babcock finished up his time as Chiefs head coach.

Cote was a career member of the Chiefs serving as the team’s captain after Babcock moved on to the professional ranks. From 1996 to 2002, the shifty centre played in 352 career regular season games with the Chiefs collecting 101 goals and 154 assists.

In the 2001-02 campaign, Cote won the Humanitarian of the Year awards for the WHL and CHL.

He went on to a career spanning eight seasons in the professional ranks playing in the AHL, the East Coast Hockey League as well as leagues in Germany, Italy and England.

Cote was an assistant coach of the WHL’s Prince Albert Raiders in 2016-17 and was an assistant coach with the Red Deer College Kings men’s hockey team in the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association ranks in 2013-14. He served as the Kings associate coach in 2017-18.

With this move, it is believed Cote could take on the role of becoming the Huskies head coach one day.

• On Friday, the University of Saskatchewan Huskies posted a heartfelt piece regarding long time and legendary men’s hockey team head coach Dave Adolph. Adolph’s retirement became official on Saturday. The piece the Huskies posted on their website on Friday contains interviews from the 17 players that served as captains during Adolph’s time as head coach from 1993 to 2021. The captains talked about how much Adolph meant to the program and themselves personally. The piece can be found by clicking right here.
• Last Wednesday, the Formula 1 announced the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal, Quebec, has been cancelled for a second straight year due to public health protocols brought in to battle COVID-19 pandemic. This year’s race had been scheduled for June 13. The Turkish Grand Prix will replace the Canadian Grand Prix for the weekend of June 11 to 13.
• Last Wednesday, Softball Canada announced it has cancelled all 10 of its Canadian fast pitch and slo-pitch championships for a second consecutive year. Softball Canada made the decisions due to the public health protocols and travel restrictions that are in place in Canada to battle the COVID-19 pandemic.
• On Friday, the International Ice Hockey Federation announced the 2021 women’s world hockey championship has been rescheduled for Aug. 20 to 31 at a location to be announced. The IIHF will evaluate venues with Hockey Canada. Women’s worlds were originally scheduled for May 6 to 16 in Halifax and Truno, Nova Scotia. On April 21, Nova Scotia premier Iain Rankin pulled the plug on the tournament over concerns of rising COVID-19 cases in the province.
• Tickets are on sale for the May 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. The draw date will be May 31. Tickets can be purchased by clicking right here, and purchasers must be in Saskatchewan in order to buy tickets.

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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Memorial Cup nix part of déjà vu moments in Canadian sports

The Acadie-Bathurst Titan celebrate a Memorial Cup win in 2018.

The sports world in Canada seems to like 2020 reruns in 2021.

The 2020 reruns are being caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The pandemic was unfortunately running in full force in 2020, and it doesn’t appear to be slowing down any in 2021 as variants add another difficult layer in trying to deal with it.

That is forcing government restrictions in various degrees around the world to stay in force in order to combat the pandemic.

Vaccines are rolling out across Canada, but life is still far from the normal experienced pre-pandemic.

On Tuesday, the Canadian Hockey League officially announced the Memorial Cup tournament was cancelled for 2021 marking the second straight year major junior hockey’s championship event was nixed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 2021 event was to be played in one of Oshawa, Ont., or Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.

The host city was never finalized and no dates were ever set for the tournament.

The 2020 Memorial Cup was supposed to be held in Kelowna, B.C., before it was called off due to the pandemic.

The cancellation hardly comes as a surprise when looking at the three major junior leagues that make up the CHL.

The QMJHL has attempted to hold a 2020-21 campaign that has included many stops and starts due to positive COVID-19 tests. Most teams have played on average 35 games.

The circuit is looking to start playoffs with action involving the teams paced in the province of Quebec on April 23.

The WHL’s four divisions had staggered and very late starts with each team playing a 24-game developmental regular season. 

The Red Deer Rebels enjoy a win at the 2016 Memorial Cup.

The Central Division began play in late February and the other three divisions hit the ice at different times in March.

Positive COVID-19 tests have caused some schedule reshuffling for the Central and B.C. Divisions.

The OHL hasn’t been able to start its 2020-21 regular season, and with Ontario once again experiencing stricter lockdown measures, it seems like a matter of time before the 2020-21 OHL campaign is outright cancelled without hitting the ice.

In a statement, CHL president Dan MacKenzie said a number of considerations were taken into account when it came to cancelling the Memorial Cup.

“The CHL is committed to the health and safety of our players, their families and billets, our teams, staff and officials, and the communities is which we play,” said MacKenzie in a statement. “The decision was made based on the limitations on travel, border restrictions, and quarantining requirements that would make it impossible to produce league champions.”

The CHL said the timing and location of the 2022 Memorial Cup would be announced at a later date.

For all sports in Canada, it appears limitations on travel, border restrictions and quarantine requirements will remain issues for the foreseeable future especially with regards to interprovincial and national competitions. Those were issues sports in Canada were still dealing with last year at this time.

In the CFL, stories are again circulating about that league talking to the Canadian federal government about financial assistance to play a 2021 campaign. That feels like a repeat of last year, when the CFL ultimately couldn’t secure funds to get back on the field.

Speculation is starting to rise that the CFL will push back the start of its 2021 campaign. Similar speculation was going down at this time last year.

One difference in the realm of the CFL this year compared to last year at this time is there were no talks about forming a partnership with the XFL. For the about the past month, there has been a tonne of speculation about what a CFL and XFL partnership could look like, or if it even will ultimately happen.

As the calendar progresses, one wonders what the summer sports season will look like when it rolls out.

Regina is hoping to hold the Canadian Masters Athletics Track and Field Championships from Aug. 27 to 29.

Cody Fajardo in action for the Saskatchewan Roughriders in 2019.

While that event is still listed as being on for the moment, Athletics Canada has already cancelled the Legions Youth Track and Field Championships, which were set for Aug. 6 to 8 in Sherbrooke, Que.

You can bet a few minor sports governing bodies in Canada will have mixed messages like that when it comes to scheduling. That happened last year too at this time.

As September approaches, one wonders if speculation will begin again about when major junior hockey or U Sports seasons will start up.

Right now in Canada, everything is the sports world hangs on whether mass vaccinations will make the COVID-19 pandemic go away. The actions of society in Canada and for North America for that matter don’t make any other option possible.

For the moment, it appears what happened in the Canadian sports world in 2020 is set to repeat in 2021.

Dach back rolling with NHL’s Blackhawks

SNIPE 🚀

Kirby Dach sets up Brandon Hagel perfectly to net the @SUBWAYCanada OT winner! pic.twitter.com/y0zVLcYyAZ

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 13, 2021

Kirby Dach is back, and he is on a roll.

The alumnus of the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades has appeared in nine games this season for the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks posting one goal, four assists and minus-one rating in the plus-minus department.

Back on Dec. 23, 2020, the Fort Saskatchewan, Alta., product fractured his right wrist playing for Canada in an exhibition game in a bubble environment at Rogers Arena in Edmonton, Alta., just before world juniors. 

Kirby Dach in action for the Saskatoon Blades in 2018-19.

Dach, who was Canada’s captain, injured his wrist on what seemed like a harmless bodycheck in a 1-0 victory over Russia.

Dach, who stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 197 pounds, was originally expected to be out four to five months, which would have pegged his return for late April.

The 20-year-old centre made his return to the Blackhawks on March 27 in a 3-1 loss to the visiting Nashville Predators.

On Monday, Dach made the highlight rounds on social media for his beautiful set up pass to linemate Brandon Hagel, who netted the OT winner in the Blackhawks 4-3 victory over the Blue Jackets in Columbus.

Dach’s return is a welcome one for the Blackhawks, who have a 20-18-5 record going into their game Thursday against the Red Wings in Detroit. The Blackhawks are looking to make a push for the final playoff berth in the NHL’s Central Division sitting fifth and four points out of a post-season berth.

Maier equals Blades career shutout record, other notes

Nolan Maier tied the Blades career shutouts record.

Nolan Maier is on the cusp of taking sole ownership of another career Saskatoon Blades goaltending record.

On Wednesday playing in the WHL East Division bubble at the Brandt Centre in Regina, the product of Yorkton, Sask., made 27 saves to back the Blades to a 3-0 regular season victory over the Swift Current Broncos. The win was the ninth career shutout Maier has collected in regular season play.

Maier, who has one season of WHL eligibility remaining, equaled the Blades record for career regular season shutouts held by Andrey Makarov. Makarov collected his nine regular season shutouts playing two seasons for the Blades from 2011 to 2013.

Maier, who stands 6-feet and weighs 173 pounds, holds the Blades career regular season goaltending wins record, which currently sits at 89 victories.

In the first period of Wednesday’s contest, veteran right-winger Blake Stevenson scored twice in the first period to give the Blades a 2-0 lead. Captain Chase Wouters rounded out the scoring for the Blades with a single early in the second period.

Isaac Poulter made 37 saves to take the setback in goal for the Broncos.

The Blades improved to 13-2-2 with the win, while the Broncos fell to 3-13-1.

The Blades return to action on Thursday, when they face the Regina Pats (6-8-2-1) at 4 p.m. at the Brandt Centre. The Broncos get back at it on Friday, when they face the Winnipeg Ice at 6 p.m. at the Brandt Centre.

• Last Thursday, The Canadian Press came out with story that said Canada Soccer, Curling Canada, Hockey Canada, Rugby Canada, Skate Canada and Tennis Canada have joined forces in asking the Canadian federal government for a $75-million sport recovery program. Those bodies want that program to support local and grassroots initiatives for all sports still reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic. The story on CBC’s website can be found by clicking right here.
• On Monday, the Lethbridge Hurricanes head coach Brent Kisio picked up his 200^th career regular season win. Kisio’s Hurricanes downed visiting Red Deer Rebels 8-5 in a WHL regular season clash for the milestone victory. Kisio became the Hurricanes head coach on June 4, 2015.
• On Monday, Saskatoon Blades centre Tristen Robins was named the WHL play of the week. He picked up four goals and five assists in four games for the week ending on Sunday. The Blades posted a 3-0-1 record over those four games. Regina Pats overager Roddy Ross was named the WHL goaltender of the week. Ross won both his appearances for the week ending on Sunday posting a 0.99 goals against average and a .964 save percentage.
• On Tuesday, the WHL announced the Medicine Hat Tigers have been cleared to return to team activities. Last week, the Calgary Hitmen had a player in their team cohort test positive for COVID-19, and the Tigers were deemed close contacts after falling 5-4 after a tiebreaking shootout on April 5 at Co-Op Place in Medicine Hat. Since the positive result from the one player on the Hitmen, the Tigers have continued to test negative allowing for the clearance to play. The Tigers will host the Red Deer Rebels on Friday in Medicine Hat.
• On Tuesday, the WHL announced the Kelowna Rockets were cleared starting Wednesday to resume team activities after all individuals in the team cohort tested negative for COVID-19. The Rockets entered a league mandated 14-day isolation period following the discovery of a positive COVID-19 test on March 30. Shortly after going into isolation, the Rockets had seven other members in their team cohort test positive for COVID-19. Since the club wasn’t involved in team activities and in isolation at that time, the positive tests didn’t effect when the Rockets would return to play. The Rockets are slated to play the Prince George Cougars on Saturday at the Sandman Centre in Kamloops, B.C.
• On Tuesday, former Medicine Hat Tigers import netminder Mads Sogaard signed a three-year entry-level NHL contract with the Ottawa Senators. The Senators selected the product of Aalborg, Denmark, in the second round and 37^th overall in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. Sogaard, who stands 6-foot-7 and weighs 201 pounds, played two seasons for the Tigers from 2018 to 2020 appearing in 74 WHL regular season games posting a 40-21-6 record, a 2.58 goals against average, a .915 save percentage and three shutouts.
• On Tuesday, Calgary Flames left-winger Milan Lucic played in his 1,000^th career NHL regular season game. The 32-year-old had an assist and won a fight in a 3-2 overtime victory over the Maple Leafs in Toronto. After the Flames 4-1 victory over the Canadiens in Montreal on Wednesday, Lucic, who stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 231 pounds, has appeared in 1,001 NHL regular season games posting 213 goals, 325 assists, 1,166 penalty minutes and a plus-81 rating. He broke into the NHL in 2007 with the Boston Bruins and also spent time with the Los Angeles Kings and Edmonton Oilers. Before joining the NHL, Lucic helped his hometown Vancouver Giants win a WHL title in 2006 and the Memorial Cup title in 2007 playing in the CHL championship tournament as the host team.
• On Tuesday, organizers for the annual Country Thunder music festival set in Craven, Sask., announced that event has been cancelled for a second straight year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This year’s Country Thunder was scheduled to be held July 8 to 11.
• On Tuesday, Gregg Drinnan wrote a piece in his Taking Note blog, where he gave another run down on how the COVID-19 pandemic is still wrecking havoc on the sports world. His Tuesday piece led with announcement in Buffalo, New York, that stated all spectators looking to attend home games of the NFL’s Bills and NHL’s Sabres will have to show proof of being vaccinated for COVID-19 before being allowed into those team’s home venues. Drinnan’s piece can be found by clicking right here.
• On Wednesday, former Moose Jaw Warriors and University of Alberta Golden Bears men’s hockey team netminder Zach Sawchenko signed an NHL entry-level contract with the San Jose Sharks, which runs through the end of the 2021-22 campaign. The 23-year-old, Calgary, Alta., product has split time this season with the San Jose Barracuda of the AHL and Allen Americans in the ECHL. Sawchenko, who stands 6-foot-1 and weighs 185 pounds, played four seasons in the WHL for the Warriors from 2013 to 2017 appearing in 177 regular season games posting an 88-65-16 record, a 3.11 goals against average, a .908 save percentage and nine shutouts. In two seasons with the Golden Bears from 2017 to 2019, Sawchenko appeared in 34 regular season games posting a 28-4-1 record, a 1.74 goals against average, a .919 save percentage and five shutouts. He helped the Golden Bears win the David Johnston University Cup as U Sports champions in 2017-18.

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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Bombers $7-million loss a CFL reality check

Andrew Harris tears downfield for the Bombers in 2016.

So how much money can CFL teams lose and continue to exist?

It seems we are going to find out.

A sizable group of CFL supporters believe the league can survive anything including the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that has gripped the world.

This sizable grouping, which seems to be loud and passionate on social media channels, believes the CFL will return and roll like it did in 2019 when the COVID-19 pandemic ends and large crowds can go to stadiums again for games.

Those supporters also seem to believe the financial elephant in the room CFL clubs are facing doesn’t exist.

The financial elephant made an appearance on Monday, when the Winnipeg Blue Bombers released their annual report. The community-owned Bombers announced an overall loss of $6,982,217 for 2020.

Of course, the CFL didn’t play any games in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Bombers experienced a $32.3-million decrease in revenue in 2020 compared to 2019.

No events have been held at IG Field since February of 2020, but the Bomber still incurred $3.4-million in expenses for the upkeep of their home stadium.

The Bombers won the Grey Cup in 2019, which was the last time the CFL held a season. For 2019, the Bombers posted a $3.5-million operating profit.

Still, Bombers president and CEO Wade Miller tried to put a positive spin on things.

“When you lose 89 per cent of your revenue, obviously it’s tough,” said Miller in a statement on Monday. “We didn’t play any football and didn’t hold any events at the stadium, so it was challenging.

Chris Streveler (#17) throws a TD pass for the Bombers in 2019.

“I wish we weren’t presenting a loss like this today, but a lot of work was done by our entire team to mitigate that. Our projections last June were for a $9.5-10-million loss. There have been some things which really helped change that – the federal programs that were set up and the unbelievable response from our corporate partners who stepped up and our season ticket members.

“Our fans, partners and stakeholders have stuck with is and rallied behind the team. I’m going to use the Andrew Harris line: ‘They had our back.’”

All CFL fans would love to see Harris, who is the Bombers star local product running back, tear down the field again like he did in the 2019 Grey Cup in Calgary. In that contest, Harris carried the ball 18 times for 134 yards and one touchdown, and he caught five passes for 35 yards and a major score.

Harris was named the game’s most valuable player and most valuable Canadian as the Bombers romped to a 33-12 victory.

Still, the reality is we don’t know when Harris, the Bombers or any of the CFL’s other eight franchises will be on the field again.

While vaccines for COVID-19 are rolling out across Canada, the spread of COVID-19 variants are raising concerns.

On Monday, British Columbia introduced a three-week “circuit breaker” style lockdown to combat variants.

Saskatchewan’s provincial capital city in Regina, which is home to the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders, is dealing with tighter restrictions along with surrounding areas to combat spread of COVID-19 variants. The rest of Saskatchewan is dealing with somewhat lighter restrictions.

Ontario is experiencing more concern due to COVID-19 variants.

On the financial side of things, the Bombers are viewed as arguably the healthiest team in the CFL along with the Roughriders. Miller said the Bombers hit the point where they were debt free this past September for the first time since 1992, but that distinction didn’t last long.

Bombers LB Adam Bighill (#4) studies an offensive look in 2019.

If the Bombers lost close to $7-million in a year the CFL didn’t play, one wonders what the losses will be like for the other CFL clubs.

The Canadian Press had previously reported the CFL’s nine teams are expected to lose a collective $60-to-$80-million for the lost 2020 campaign.

As the Roughriders and the Edmonton Football Club are community owned teams, they will have to publicly disclose their finances for 2020 at some point this year.

The British Columbia Lions, Calgary Stampeders, Hamilton Tigers-Cats, Montreal Alouettes, Ottawa Redblacks and Toronto Argonauts don’t have to publicly disclose their finances, but you can expect them all to be crying for financial help.

If the CFL doesn’t play in 2021 or has a shortened season or plays with limited fan attendance, how much more red ink will be added to the already mounting losses?

 Do private owners keep eating the financial losses?

Do creditors look the other way when it comes to community franchises that own them money?

If a team posted a loss like the Bombers did for 2020 in the late 1980s or early to mid 1990s, there wouldn’t even be discussions about the team folding. The team would fold.

It is safe to say a $7-million loss in the current day is viewed differently than a $7-million loss in 1986.

Ultimately, teams will need money in order to continue operating. Your options at that point are hope governments step in and pay off all the debts that are incurred by the CFL member clubs or you attract new owners or investors.

On March 10, news broke that saw the CFL and XFL reveal they’re poised to begin serious discussions about a potential partnership. The XFL is the spring start up league in the United States that was bought out of bankruptcy in August of 2020 by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Dany Garcia and Gerry Cardinale’s RedBird Capital.

The Bombers celebrate a TD from Kenny Lawler (#89) in 2019.

According to the XFL’s website, RedBird Capital manages US$4-billion in assets.

At the moment, no one else with deep pockets has stepped up to dance with the CFL.

Of course, some diehard supporters of the Canadian version of three-down football say they would rather see the CFL die than form a partnership or possibly merge with the four-down XFL game.

Looking at the financial numbers, the Bombers Grey Cup victory in 2019 might go down as the last game ever played in the CFL unless this partnership is explored.

At the moment, no other options seem to be presenting themselves to keep the CFL alive.

“The Rock” is watching

With 15.1-million followers on Twitter and 226-million followers on Instagram, it would be fair it wonder if Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson paid attention to anyone that didn’t remotely approach his star power.

Canadian football supporters got an indication on Saturday that “The Rock” might be paying more attention than you might think.

Football Canada president Jim Mullin and Winnipeg Blue Bombers fullback Jon Rush sent messages back and forth on Twitter talking about a tweet that speculated what a partnership would look like between the CFL and XFL.

Mullin and Rush were commenting on a tweet from Aaron Geisler, who is the executive director of the Ontario Football Alliance. Geisler said he would be interested in a late winter early spring six to eight game CFL/XFL season and then a traditional eight game CFL season that runs August through November.

Johnson along with Dany Garcia and Gerry Cardinale’s RedBird Capital own the XFL.

Mullin said in a tweet that Johnson wanted games at various times of the year. Rush chimed in that he worried about player safety in that type of scenario and injuries could pile up without an adequate off-season to train.

Along with those concerns, Rush worried about time to fully recover physically along with the prospect of players being able to get second jobs.

Out of nowhere, Johnson sent a tweet to Mullin and Rush saying, “Hi gents, I never said that. We’ll figure out a smart season that’ll create phenomenal opportunities for players and be the best experience for fans. I played ball for years and wrestled 280+ night a year (for years) so I know the value of smart scheduling and recovery.”

While there aren’t a whole lot of specifics of what a partnership between the CFL and XFL would look like or how far those discussions have progressed, it is cool to see Johnson is paying attention to what people in Canada are saying about those talks.

Maier becomes Blades all-time wins leader

Nolan Maier won his 86th career regular season game on Wednesday. 

Nolan Maier moved passed one of the Saskatoon Blades all-time greats to capture one of the franchise’s most prestigious career records.

On Wednesday, Maier made 29 saves to backstop the Blades to a 3-2 victory over the Winnipeg Ice in a WHL regular season contest played in a bubble environment at the Brandt Centre in Regina. Maier also chipped in the offensive side of things picking up an assist on the Blades second goal of the contest scored by veteran star left-winger Kyle Crnkovic.

The victory was the 86^th regular season win of Maier’s career with the Blades and moved him past Tim Cheveldae for the franchise’s all-time record in that department.

Cheveldae collected his 85 career regular season wins playing three seasons for the Blades from 1985 to 1988 before moving on to a lengthy NHL career. He was the Blades goaltending coach from 2013 to 2020.

Maier, who turned 20 in January, joined the Blades shortly after the 2017-18 campaign got underway and quickly cemented himself as one of the WHL’s top netminders. He has appeared in 146 career regular season games with the Blades posting an 86-46-12 record, a 2.94 goals against average, a .902 save percentage and eight shutouts.

Brandon Lisowsky and Colton Dach each netted singles for the Blades, while rearguard Aiden De La Gorgendiere has continued to break out as an offensive-defencemen picking up a pair of assists. In the Blades 10 games this season, De La Gorgendiere has two goals, nine assists and a plus-12 rating in the plus-minus department.

Anderson MacDonald and Connor McClennon replied with singles for the Ice. Zachary Benson picked up assists on both Winnipeg goals.

Gage Alexander turned away 25 shots to pick up the setback in goal for the Ice.

With the win, the Blades improved to 9-0-1 to sit first in the East Division, while the Ice fell to 6-4 to sit third in the East Division in the developmental campaign.

The Blades return to action on Friday, when they take on the Moose Jaw Warriors (8 p.m., 98.3 COOL FM).

86 and counting.

Congrats, @NolanMaier1 👏 pic.twitter.com/yLwX5LUUdR

— Saskatoon Blades (@BladesHockey) April 1, 2021

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Can you smell what the CFL and XFL are cooking?

Panic is unwise as leagues embark on partnership talks

Andrew Harris tears upfield for the Blue Bombers.

“Saskatchewan Roughriders for XFL champions in 2022.”

Just saying that phrase alone is enough to get people in Saskatchewan triggered. Since Wednesday, it seems there are a lot of fans, media members and non-practicing media members across Canada have been in a panic, when it comes to the Canadian version of the game of football.

On Wednesday morning, news broke that saw the CFL and XFL reveal they’re poised to begin serious discussions about a potential partnership. No one on either side would say who initiated the talks.

Both sides said they’ve agreed to collaborate on ways to grow football.

For supporters of Canadian football in circles, this revelation seems to be causing lots of panic attacks.

The CFL is a Canadian institution league that awards professional football’s oldest prize in the Grey Cup to its league champion. The Grey Cup was first awarded in 1909 to the University of Toronto Varsity Blues.

It has been awarded 107 times with the last coming on Nov. 24, 2019 to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

The three-down Canadian game has a storied and decorated history.

The XFL is the upstart United States spring time circuit that plays the four-down version of the game. The four-down version of football has obtained mythic status in the United States at the NFL, college and high school levels.

Despite the mythic status, spring football has had various stops and starts in the United States. The XFL existed first for one season in 2001 co-owned by World Wrestling Entertainment and NBC.

The circuit featured numerous gimmicks and the occasional use of WWE personalities on game broadcasts including Jesse Ventura, Jim Ross and Jerry “The King” Lawler.

The championship game was dubbed the Million Dollar Game after the amount of money that would be awarded to the winning team. The Los Angeles Xtreme would win the lone championship in the only season that first version of the XFL played.

Legendary WWE kingpin Vince McMahon rebooted the XFL in 2018 under the ownership of his Alpha Entertainment company, which was run separately from WWE. The league would focus on faster and simpler play compared to the NFL but without gimmicks and entertainment elements from the WWE, which the original incarnation of the XFL had.

The rebooted more football focused XFL kicked off in February of 2020 and played five week collecting some fairly good reviews. The season was ultimately called off after Week 5 due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that has gripped the world.

Since the circuit was still a startup business, the league filed for bankruptcy on April 13, 2020. On August 2, 2020, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and longtime business partner and ex-wife, Dany Garcia, led a consortium with Gerry Cardinale’s RedBird Capital to purchase the XFL for US$15-million.

Bo Levi Mitchell fires a pass downfield for the Stampeders.

According to the XFL’s website, RedBird Capital manages US$4-billion in assets.

Plans were put in motion for the XFL to return in 2022. After the announcement surfaced about partnership discussions with the CFL, the XFL put its plans for a 2022 campaign on hold.

Of course, the biggest panic attack for supporters of the CFL are fears that the three-down Canadian game will ultimately cease to exist. The fear in Canada is ultimately there will be a merger between the CFL and XFL resulting in using only United States rules.

The CFL has experienced eras of financial success and financial turmoil. It experienced heights financially in the 1950s and 1960s.

From the late 1980s through the entire 1990s, it seemed the league was in a spot where it was always on death’s door.

The circuit had resurgence in popularity from 2001 to 2014 and experienced relatively good financial times despite the fact the Ottawa Renegades were born and folded after their fourth season of existence in the 2005 campaign.

 Uneasy but not terrible financial times followed after the 2014 campaign as the CFL experienced slow erosion in popularity.

The CFL wasn’t able to get on the field in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Canadian Press reported the CFL’s nine teams are expected to lose a collective $60-to-$80-million for the lost 2020 campaign.

Currently, the eight-team XFL is led by a global star in Johnson. Johnson played defensive line in the NCAA ranks with the University of Miami Hurricanes before attempting to crack the roster of the CFL’s Calgary Stampeders in 1995.

He views Wally Buono, who is the legendary and now retired head coach of both the Stampeders and the British Columbia Lions, as a friend and mentor.

After being cut by the Stampeders, Johnson joined the WWE in 1996 and shot up to stardom as “The Rock.”

He embarked on a successful acting career and partook in various business adventures. He has over 223-million followers on Instagram and over 15-million followers on Twitter.

Johnson is viewed as brilliant. For the last 25 years, all he does is seemly succeed at every challenge he takes on.

While the CFL has a great history, there is a fear in Canada the XFL could dictate how things go in a partnership due to the financial resources Johnson can bring.

At this point in time, there still isn’t a lot of information about how this partnership will unfold. Football supporters in both Canada and the United States have to wait for the partnership to play out a little more before drawing conclusions.

Right now, most reactions seem to be coming from a heightened emotional state.

Roughrider OL Brendon LaBatte (#57) gets set to drill an opponent.

Just from a local standpoint here in Saskatoon, the time hasn’t come to go around asking University of Saskatchewan Huskies football head coach Scott Flory, Saskatoon Hilltops head coach Tom Sargeant, officials from Football Saskatchewan or officials from Saskatoon Minor Football if they fear the end of the Canadian game is at hand.

Some interviews with those individuals and organizations have already happened with regards to the CFL interacting with the XFL.

If anyone is realistic, there is a fair chance the CFL might ultimately not survive the COVID-19 pandemic.

The chances of the CFL getting government money for a bailout are likely not good, because it was dealing with business challenges before the COVID-19 pandemic gripped the world. The COVID-19 pandemic has heightened the CFL’s financial woes.

Partnership with the XFL might be the only way the CFL continues on in whatever version that might be.

CPL enters, Marquis Downs horse racing ends, other notes

Horses round the last corner at Marquis Downs in 2017.

How much does it cost to bring a Canadian Premier League soccer franchise to Saskatoon?

Answer: Saskatchewan’s only licensed horse racing track.

In all honestly, there was likely some sort of franchise fee to bring a CPL team to Saskatoon.

Still, Saskatoon’s sports scene still likely hasn’t processed the shock by the earthquake type of announcements that were made Friday morning.

On Friday morning, the CPL announced it has awarded exclusive rights to Living Sky Sports and Entertainment Incorporated to bring an expansion team to Saskatoon. Alan Simpson, who is a 63-year-old businessman from Regina, is the founder of Living Sky Sports and Entertainment and the leader in the effort to bring a CPL team to Saskatoon.

The deal in principle is contingent on Living Sky Sports and Entertainment building a soccer specific stadium that meets the league standards.

In another bombshell, Living Sky Sports and Entertainment identified the Prairieland Park grounds in Saskatoon as the preferred site of the new stadium.

The plan is to build the new stadium on the spot that is currently occupied by the Marquis Downs horse racing track.

Prairieland Park, which is a non-profit corporation, is on board with this plan and confirmed that horse racing at Marquis Downs had been permanently cancelled. Prairieland Park has moved to the point of entering a memorandum of understanding with Living Sky Sports and Entertainment to make the new soccer facility a reality.

Thoroughbred horse racing had taken place at Marquis Downs for 50 years from 1969 to 2019. The 2020 season was cancelled due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that has gripped the world, and it was announced in late February the 2021 season would be cancelled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Still, it is safe to say most in Saskatoon’s sports community did not expect all this news

Those in the soccer community are thrilled about these developments.

Those in the horse racing community are dealing with shock, disbelief and the feeling of being blindsided.

Prairieland Park has offered to pay compensation to horse owners in the form of $1,000 for each horse that ran three or more races in 2019. That is not going to do much for horse owners.

In an interview with The Canadian Press, Simpson said Living Sky Sports and Entertainment is looking for a stadium that can accommodate 5,000 to 6,500 to start. CPL commissioner David Clanachan told The Canadian Press the plan for the new soccer venue in Saskatoon would see it capable of expanding to 10,000 to 12,000 in the future.

The hope is to have shovels in the ground in 2022 and the team begins playing in 2023. The CPL currently has eight existing franchises located across Canada.

In an interview with Kevin Mitchell of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix, Prairieland Park CEO Mark Regier said Prairieland Park lost $590,000 on horse racing in 2019, which was the last full season held before the COVID-19 pandemic.

He said Prairieland Park and Living Sky Sports and Entertainment would both contribute to the cost of the new stadium.

Horses run down the front straightaway at Marquis Downs in 2017.

While this wasn’t outright said in any media reports, Prairieland Park would likely be able to use the new stadium to attract more and better outdoor concert shows for its annual exhibition and other moments throughout the spring, summer and fall.

These developments offered a lot to digest. They unfortunately bring an end to thoroughbred horse racing in Saskatchewan, because Marquis Downs is the only license horse racing track in the province.

A lot of people still attended races on Marquis Downs, so you shouldn’t expect the horse racing crowd to quietly go away. They will likely be vocal and do what they can to express their opposition.

As for building a new soccer stadium, questions will be asked if taxpayer money is eventually needed for this project.

People will note that the 5,000 seat Saskatoon Minor Football Field exists on the grounds of the Gordie Howe Sports Complex and the 5,743 seat Griffiths Stadium, which has held over 8,000 spectators, is on the grounds of the University of Saskatchewan campus.

With those two facilities in existence, people will ask if Saskatoon needs another similar capacity sports stadium in the city.

Questions will come up if Saskatoon is getting too saturated with elite level sports teams. Saskatoon and surrounding area has a population of about 300,000.

Elite sports teams that call Saskatoon home include the Saskatchewan Rush lacrosse team, the Saskatchewan Rattlers basketball team, the Saskatoon Blades WHL club, the Saskatoon Hilltops CJFL team, the Saskatoon Valkyries WWCFL team and the 15 varsity teams that are part of the University of Saskatchewan Huskies program.

You also have stock car racing at that takes place at the Wyant Group Raceway, which is an annual stop on the NASCAR Pinty’s Series. You also have the Saskatchewan International Raceway auto sport facility, which is home to drag racing.

We haven’t even gotten into the various national championship competitions that make their way to Saskatoon from various minor sports on an annual basis in normal times.

If taxpayer money is needed for a new soccer stadium, it might be a hard sell for some Saskatoon residents who are already upset with the money spent on the Remai Modern Art Gallery and the proposed cost of a new downtown library.

When the City of Saskatoon committed $3-million in 2017 for the Merlis Belsher Place sports facility to be built on the grounds of the University of Saskatchewan, it was a divisive decision for the citizens of Saskatoon.

There are many residents in Saskatoon who believe local government officials have a spending problem, or local government officials spend money like drunken sailors enjoying leave time.

The voyage to build a new soccer facility in Saskatoon for a CPL team seems destined to hit very rough waters.

• On Friday, the WHL’s board of governors unanimously approved Shaun and Gavin Semple of the Brandt Group of Companies becoming the principle owners of the Regina Pats franchise. The Semples shared ownership in the team Anthony Marquart and Todd Lumbard before buying the latter two out. Shaun Semple becomes the Pats new governor replacing Marquart. Lumbard, who was the Pats alternate governor and president, will remain with the team in an advisory role.
• On Friday, the Portland Winterhawks announced they will be able to play the last 11 of their 12 home games in their abbreviated WHL regular season in Portland, Oregon, at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum, which is their regular home rink. The Winterhawks first official home game is actually being played at ShoWare Center in Kent, Wash., on March 21 against the Spokane Chiefs. The ShoWare Center is the home rink of the Seattle Thunderbirds. The Winterhawks first game against at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum is March 26 against the Everett Silvertips.
• On Saturday, the Saskatoon Blades played in their first WHL regular season in over a year. Skating in the East Division bubble at the Brandt Centre in Regina, the Blades downed the Swift Current Broncos 4-2. Brandon Lisowsky, who is a 16-year-old rookie left-winger, scored his first two career WHL goals for the Blades in the win. The Blades selected Lisowsky in the first round and ninth overall in the 2019 WHL Bantam Draft. Previous to Saturday’s contest, the Blades last regular season game was played on March 10, 2020, when they blanked the Warriors in Moose Jaw 6-0.
•  Of course the WHL was buzzing on Friday when 15-year-old phenom centre Connor Bedard made his regular season debut with the Regina Pats in the Regina bubble. The North Vancouver, B.C., product scored twice with his goals coming 48 seconds apart in a 6-3 setback to the Prince Albert Raiders. He is the first player to be given exceptional player status to play in the WHL. Bedard’s first goal on a coast-to-coast rush was a thing of beauty.

🚨 Here’s the history maker

Connor Bedard’s first in ⁦@TheWHL⁩! pic.twitter.com/Wxh2JPChH9

— Regina Pats (@WHLPats) March 13, 2021

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Raiders’ Protas picks up WHL Eastern Conference sportsmanship award

Aliaksei Protas won a WHL Eastern Conference award.

    Aliaksei Protas has continued to rise during his two seasons in the WHL, and it has resulted in a conference award nod.

    On Wednesday, the Belarusian import centre with the Prince Albert Raiders was named the most sportsmanlike player from the WHL’s Eastern Conference. The Western Conference’s most sportsmanlike player honour went to Seth Jarvis, who is a centre for the Portland Winterhawks.

    Protas had a stellar sophomore season with the Raiders leading in the team in scoring with 31 goals and 59 assists for 80 points in 58 regular season games. Out of his 31 goals, seven were game winners.
    He posted a plus-37 rating in the plus-minus department and just eight minutes in penalties.

    A signed NHL Entry Draft selection of the Washington Capitals, Protas is eligible to return to the WHL for a 19-year-old campaign next season.

    Protas joined to the Raiders after being selected in the first round and 26^th overall in the 2018 CHL Import Draft.
    Standing 6-foot-6 and weigh 210 pounds, Protas came to the Raiders with impressive physical tools and soft hands in the offensive zone.

Aliaksei Protas (#21) picked up 59 assists this season.

    As he got used to a new culture in Canada, Protas had a sound rookie regular season in 2018-19 posting 11 goals, 29 assists and a plus-24 rating in 61 regular season games. The Raiders finished first overall in the regular season standings with a 54-10-2-2.

    The product of Vitebsk, Belarus, became a fan favourite as rookie campaign went on, and he picked up the nickname “The Viper of Vitebsk.”

    The 2018-19 regular season was just a small precursor of what was in store for Protas in the post-season.

    In the 2019 WHL playoffs, Protas turned a lot of heads with a number of big performances playing left wing on a line centred by overager Sean Montgomery and Brett Leason staring on right wing.
    Protas appeared in all 23 of the games the Raiders played in the WHL playoffs piling up 12 goals, 10 assists and a plus-12 rating.

Aliaksei Protas topped the Raiders in scoring with 80 points.

    He played a sizable role in helping the Raiders win the Ed Chynoweth Cup as WHL champions for the second time in team history and appearing in the CHL championship tournament – the Memorial Cup.

    In the NHL Entry Draft in June of 2019, the Capitals selected Protas in the third round and 91^st overall. The Capitals has selected Leason in the second round and 56^th overall in that same draft.

    Leason was signed by the Capitals and played this past season with their AHL affiliate the Hersey Bears.

    After all those experiences as a rookie, Protas came back to the Raiders with added jump and confidence.

    Having helped the Raiders finish first in the East Division with a 36-18-6-4 record, Protas was named a WHL Eastern Conference first team all-star last week. His season allowed him to have his name inscribed on the Raiders’ Dave Balon Leading Scorer Award, which was officially presented online on Tuesday.

    Due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the Raiders weren’t able to finish their regular season schedule and the CHL cancelled all its post-season action for all three of its member leagues including the WHL, OHL and QMJHL.

Aliaksei Protas (#21) celebrated lots of goals with his Raiders teammates.

    The Raiders have handed out three more of their team awards so far this week. Sophomore centre Ozzy Wiesblatt took home the Three Stars Award on Tuesday.

    On Wednesday, the Raiders named rookie defencemen Nolan Allan and Landon Kosior as the co-winners of the Belle Merrell and Calla Grasley Award as the team’s scholastic player of the year.

    Also on Wednesday, overage defenceman Jeremy Masella captured the Travis Laycock Award as the team’s humanitarian of the year.

    For Protas, he cemented himself as one of the WHL’s top players in 2019-20. He has the potential to have even better days in the sport of hockey in the years to come.

Hurricanes get two conference front office awards, other notes

Hurricanes GM Peter Anholt, left, was named a top executive.

    As the WHL has continued to roll out its major conference awards online, the Lethbridge Hurricanes took a couple of big honours as far as front office work goes.

    On Tuesday, Hurricanes general manager and alternate governor Peter Anholt was named the executive of the year for the Eastern Conference. Anholt has been with the Hurricanes since the start of the 2014-15 campaign and played a major role in turning the Hurricanes around from being one of the WHL worst franchises into a club that now enjoys elite status.

    This season, the Hurricanes posted a 37-19-2-5 record to finish third in the WHL’s Central Division and eighth overall in the entire league standings. The Hurricanes had locked up a playoff berth for a fifth straight year before the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of the final part of the regular season and the entire post-season for all CHL leagues.

    Anholt selected Slovakian left-winger Oliver Okuliar in the first round and 49^th overall in the 2019 CHL Import Draft. The 19-year-old finished second in Hurricanes team scoring with 33 goals and 35 assists for 68 points in 55 regular season games to go with a plus-25 rating in the plus-minus department.

    Anholt acquired overage centre Brett Davis in a trade with the Red Deer Rebels to help boost the Hurricanes scoring. In 57 regular season games played between the Rebels and Hurricanes, Davis had 25 goals and 24 assists.

    Anholt brought in depth right-winger Dino Kambeitz to further solidify the Hurricanes offence. The veteran GM added local Lethbridge products in left-winger Zack Stringer and netminder Erick Roest via separate WHL Bantam Drafts.

Zack Stringer was a big local WHL Bantam Draft pick by the Hurricanes.

    Stringer had a solid campaign as a 16-year-old rookie netting 11 goals, 23 assists and a plus-13 rating in 48 regular season games. Roest will attempt to crack the team’s roster next season as a 16-year-old rookie in goal.

    On Friday, the Hurricanes claimed the Eastern Conference business award. The Hurricanes have tried out new things like having intermission segments with skaters dressed in dinosaur costumes and providing more features on their website.

    They strive to give back to the community contributing over $163,000 to communities and organizations in Lethbridge and surrounding area.

    Matt Bardsley, who is the vice-president and general manager of the Kamloops Blazers, was named the Western Conference executive of the year on Friday. Bardsley helped build the Blazers roster and revamp the coaching staff by bringing in Shaun Clouston as head coach to allow the Kamloops club to top the B.C. Division with a 41-18-3-1 mark.

    The Seattle Thunderbirds claimed the Western Conference business award on Friday.

    On Monday, Edmonton Oil Kings head coach Brad Lauer was named the coach of the year for the Eastern Conference. Lauer guided the Oil Kings to the best record in the Eastern Conference and third best overall mark in the league at 42-12-6-4.

    Everett Silvertips head coach Dennis Williams was named the Western Conference’s coach of the year on Monday. Williams guided the Silvertips to the second best record in the WHL at 46-13-3-1.

• On Monday, the XFL filed for bankruptcy citing in a release the harsh economic impacts and uncertainties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The XFL suspended operations on March 12 and laid off most of its employees on Friday. The 2020 campaign was the first of a rebooted XFL and drew a high amount of positive reviews. A rowdy version of the league ran for one season in 2001. The XFL was owned by WWE chairman/president Vince McMahon and Alpha Entertainment. On Wednesday, the WWE laid off a significant number of its performers.
• The 2020 Saskatoon Fringe Festival became a casualty of the COVID-19 pandemic on Tuesday, when it was cancelled. The Fringe Festival was slated to run July 30 to August 8.
• Canada Basketball announced on Tuesday its under-15 and under-17 men’s and women’s national championships set for Aug. 2-9 were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Kingston, Ont., was slated to host the men’s under-15 and under-17 tournaments. Charlottetown, P.E.I., was set to host the women’s under-15 and under-17 tournaments.
• The Canadian Elite Basketball League announced on Wednesday its original regular season start in May had been pushed back to June due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. A league release cited government regulations currently limiting the size of public gatherings and causing the closures of team practice facilities as the reasons for the schedule change. The regular season was originally slated to start on May 7 with the Niagara River Lions hosting the Ottawa Blackjacks. The Saskatchewan Rattlers won last year’s inaugural CEBL championship.
• The Thursday edition of the weekly Quad Town Forum is online, and the Vibank, Sask., publication is well worth the read. Brad Brown, who is the publisher and owner of the Forum, has a great tribute piece on late Edmonton Oilers system forward Colby Cave. As a staffer for the Prairie Post in Swift Current, Brown covered Cave during part of the two-way player’s time with the WHL’s Broncos from 2012 to 2014. Brown typed out a good piece on Prince Albert Raiders 17-year-old rookie defenceman Landon Kosior. I contributed a piece on Saskatchewan Roughriders star left guard Brendon LaBatte. The online version of the Quad Town Forum can be found by clicking right here.
• The feel good tweet of the week so far comes from University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s basketball team head coach Lisa Thomaidis. She shared a short video put together by team video coach Connor Jay of the squad’s U Sports national title win on March 8. The Huskies downed the Brock University Badgers 82-64 in the national final held in Ottawa, Ont.

It's been 5 weeks since our @USPORTSca National Championship. So grateful to @CJ7Ten for capturing our @HuskieWBB "One Shining Moment" in such a beautiful way. @HuskieAthletics ` pic.twitter.com/GmPVRVrCz1

— Lisa Thomaidis (@LisaThomaidis) April 14, 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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