The Saskatchewan Roughriders dropped their fifth in a row, fourth in a row at home, over the weekend as the superior Hamilton Ti-Cats came in and left with a victory. In this contest, I just felt a better team emerged victorious. There really wasn’t anything more Saskatchewan could do, whereas in previous match-ups, the Riders made some major gaffes to cough up wins. At this point, I think it’s time to move out some older veterans, take your lumps with younger players and evaluate what you have going forward. Maybe you can trade a couple of players to help bolster the future. Many are saying fire the coach; but what’s that going to accomplish?
The sinking Canadian dollar has an effect on a lot of things in our economy, but for sports fans it could mean the sign of trouble for NHL franchises in our country. Factor in a $70 million payroll is paid in American funds, so the Winnipeg Jets are actually dealing on a $94 million payroll. Plus, their local sponsorship dollars, ticket purchases, merchandise sales, alcohol and concession sales, are all bought by consumers in Canadian dollars. It can become tough sledding and when teams like Winnipeg and Quebec left for the States back in the 1990s, payrolls were nowhere near what they are today. Other clubs like Edmonton, Ottawa, and Calgary were in dire straits but the dollar recovered to a point where the Canadian teams became the strength of the league. Canadian fans won’t be happy, but if we don’t see a turnaround or some sort of a solution, it’s entirely possible that Connor McDavid will be the face of the NHL in Las Vegas and not Edmonton within the next three or four years.
Sportsnet, recently, published a piece on the best individual NHL seasons ever and Wayne Gretzky occupied eight of them. It made me wonder with how the game is played today, how effective would Gretzky be? He’s recognized as the best ever to lace up skates and, I think, most would laugh me out of the room if I suggested he wouldn’t be anything special in today’s NHL; but consider that Gretz didn’t have size, didn’t skate very fast, didn’t have much of an edge to his game, wasn’t known for being a pinpoint shooter, and had the benefit of a body guard on his line most nights. In today’s NHL, if you don’t have size, you better do something else (usually skating) exceptionally well. Gretzky’s best qualities were vision, anticipation, and smarts. I’d like to think he’d figure out a way, but there is no way he’d put up 200 points. What would he get? Maybe a better question would be what would Steven Stamkos get for points if you dropped him into 1989 NHL? How many goals would Alex Ovechkin get in 1989 when he’s got an actual target to shoot at as opposed to Michelin Man looking goalie?
I’m writing this article on Monday, July 27th and it was on this day in 1999 that the practice of children reciting the Lord’s Prayer in school was deemed to be a violation of Human Rights in Saskatchewan; yet here we sit in 2015 and there are special sinks that have been installed at the University of Regina to accommodate Muslim students so that they can be clean before they begin prayer in their specialized prayer rooms.
There has been a tremendous amount of awareness over the last few years for motorists to ensure they are not speeding on highways where construction workers are present; but it’s clear to me that some of the workers are abusing the law that requires highway speeds to dip to 60 km/h. It is not uncommon for the 60 km/h signs to be put up well in advance of where the work is taking place and it can be confusing for drivers who have slowed and are watching for workers but can’t see any. In some cases, I’ve noticed a good five to ten minute stretch on a highway where there is absolutely nothing taking place. I’ve also run into situations late at night when workers have long gone home, but signs are still present. Another thing that concerns me a bit is when workers are well off the roadway in a ditch. Does that require a lower speed limit? If it does, shouldn’t snowmobilers and quad drivers receive the same consideration? And, what about the highway workers who go about their business and don’t even look at the vehicles driving by? I get it. We are all supposed to drive slow. But, you should still pay attention as a highway worker. There was one near the weigh scales on the way to Melville last week who was criss crossing the highway on foot to remove signs and he never once checked to see if anybody was coming in either lane. Even more dangerous was that I didn’t see a single 60 km/h sign.
The City of Saskatoon has filled 100,000 potholes this year. I’d be curious to know if Yorkton has undertaken a similar task. It sure seems bumpy out there as we hit the dog days of summer. I can only imagine what the roads will feel like next Spring if we continue to let them deteriorate.
Nice person mentions this week to Dennis Skuter, Ryan Duthie, Kelsey Jones, and Stefan Bymak.
