I Liked What I Saw--Sort Of!

Its only one game, and its only the Swift Current Broncos, who are expected to struggle, but a win is a win and the Regina Pats have that under their belt to start the WHL season.

The future was on display at the Brandt Center as Chandler Stephenson had two goals and two assists while Morgan Klimchuk scored his first of what will be many WHL goals with Jack Rodewald (who this blogger thinks will be a player before his days are over) also had his first ever WHL goal while Matt Hewitt stopped 25 of 26 shots in an impressive 5-1 win.

The Pats looked to be tentative to start off the game and perhaps that was opening night jitters, but after the midway mark of the first period, they took control of the game and outworked Swift Current. If this is what a Pat Conacher team is going to be like, I think you have to be very happy. It won't happen every night, especially against quality opponents, but games like this have to leave what was a very good crowd at the Brandt Center feeling good about the future.

While the game was good, there were two things that happened during the game that leave me wondering if the striped shirts are going to do their part in helping curb the violence that the league wants.

In the first period, Swift Current's Dillon Heatherington and the Pats Dyson Stevenson dropped the mitts. This followed an encounter in which Stevenson had run over Heatherington at the blue line and moments later took a cross check from Heatherington with the ref standing right there. No call thus a fight starts. If the call is made, the fight doesn't happen. Thus, make the call and prevent the so-called ugly stuff from happening.

Stevenson was involved in the 2nd incident as well. He smacked a Swift Current player right by the penalty box with a clean hit, but as we are prone to see in hockey when someone gets hit hard, someone has to come to his rescue and drop the mitts which is what Jordan Evans did as he delivered some payback. I don't understand why it is when someone gets nailed cleanly that someone else has to step in and start a fight. There's no reason for it. If refs would start penalizing these guys who jump in on incidents like this with an additional double minor, it might stop things.
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I'm looking forward to a great game at Mosaic tomorrow between the Lions and Riders. It will be playoff football in September. I don't like the fact that Lance Frazier won't suit up for the green guys as I think his absence will mean more than the void left by Andy Fantuz. This one will be decided by less than a TD and it could come down to the foot of Paul MacCallum or Chris Milo.
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Is it possible that a Riders win tomorrow could not only put them in third, but in real sight of 2nd and perhaps 1st. A win would leave Saskatchewan at 5-7 and if Hamilton were to beat Calgary at Touchdown Atlantic, the Stamps would be 7-5. The Riders have six of their last seven against Western Division opponents so as you can see, dreams of a home playoff game could certainly be alive after this one. We weren't saying that a while ago were we?
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I would love to know what Greg Marshall is thinking these days? He can't be a happy camper as he sees this turnaround as he wonders why this team wouldn't give him the energy that they've given Miller. Is Marshall still in Regina? I hear he is.
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There is no doubt to the greatness that is Mike Modano. However, I ask you this. Would you rather have had  Modano or the equally ageless Teemu Selanne. That's a good debate.
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I really can't believe that someone would be that low on the food chain to throw a banana at a black hockey player as was the case Thursday night in London, Ontario when the Wings took on the Flyers when it happened to Wayne Simmonds. I thought we were above that---especially in Canada. I guess not!
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I had the good fortune to see the iconic Graham Tuer at the Pats game. If you know that old coot, you have to have a profound amount of respect for him. He is a good, good man. He made trips to SJHL arenas more pleasurable last year when he was there.
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I overheard a conversation that Rod Pedersen had with WHL communications guy Cory Flett in Moose Jaw on Thursday at the Warriors season opener. Flett was telling Roddy that he will be flying to this place and that place and this place this year. In Tier 1, you fly, In Tier 2 as I found out last year, you take a yellow truck that is painted up with the SJHL decal across the highways and by-ways of this province. I'll miss those trips with then prez Laury Ryan. They were late nights, but they were good ones.
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It would seem as if Mark Lee is out at CBC Sports. The changes that Hockey Night in Canada announced this week said nothing about Lee and seeing CBC Sports really is Hockey Night in Canada, it would look as if he has been dusted off.
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Good on Brendan Shanahan for giving Jody Shelley a 10 game suspension for his hit from behind on a Leafs player this week. The times have changed in the NHL with a new sherriff in town that has skated down those dirty streets. Hopefully, the WHL disciplinary board will do the same thing with Moose Jaw's Cody Beach after his disgusting elbow to the head of a Brandon player Thursday night. There is simply no room for that and a stiff sentence will hopefully make these guys think twice.
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With player safety being one of the big questions in football, former NFL quarterback Boomer Esiason is absolutely right to question who OK'ed Tony Romo's return to the football field last week after he had suffered a broken rib and a punctured lung. Do the Cowboys have the same personnel that the Bombers have when it comes to treating Buck Pierce?
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The NBA has postponed pre-season games, but you wouldn't know it by watching "The Score" or TSN Friday night. That shows you where basketball ranks on the Canadian sports spectrum. This should be remembered when Canadians talk about the lack of hockey talk in the US. We don't care about hoops in much of this country much the way Americans don't care about hockey.
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If the Blue Jays have a good off-season, I truly believe they can contend for a wild-card spot next season.
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There are just 191 days left until the 2012 baseball season ends meaning I can start being pessimistic about the Cubs chances of ending their drought in about 205 days. SIGHHHHH!!! Speaking of the Cubs, ESPN films will have "Raising Hell--The Steve Bartman Story" on September 27. TSN can't pick that show up soon enough as far as I'm concerned. I must see that.
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I have to go see "Moneyball". End of story!
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UFC 135 should be great. I'm hoping to catch the final couple of fights with my fellow good-natured neanderthals, but I may not be able to make it because of the Rider game. Speaking of which, Ballsy is in Edmonton with the Rams so I will be doing both "The Touchdown Club" and the "Rider Roundtable" after the game. What's the over/under on stupid calls should the Riders lose?
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If money doesn't grow on trees, why do banks have branches??
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GO RIDERS!!