This And That

Welcome to Friday!  Here are the usual weekly thoughts running through my muddled mind, and as always they come in no particular order.

  --When will Randy Ambrosie do something that isn't considered to be a good thing?  The CFL commissioner scores another touchdown with "Randy's Road Trip".  Ambrosie knows what the fans mean to this league and while they can't make every decision, he wants to hear what they are thinking from coast-to-coast.  He is even going to Halifax to talk to what I am guessing is an excited fan base.  He will hear many questions relating to the same topic everywhere he goes, but there should be location-specific questions for him too.  It's another fantastic move by the commish and just makes me wonder again why he wasn't considered when Jeffrey Orridge was hired.  Let's add to this the fact that he shut down the whole contract situation and didn't let it fester anymore. He just gets it done!

--Can the Philadelphia Eagles hang with the New England Patriots in Super Bowl 52? Can they beat them? I just don't see Nick Foles being able to do it for a 3rd straight week.  I'm hoping the Eagles can somehow find a way to keep it close or win the game, but the mystique of the Patriots (and their luck) will win out again right?  At least the Patriots have not been as robotic as they have been in the past this week.  We've even seen Bill Belichick smile and we've seen Tom Brady show some class in the situation involving the Boston radio host and his young daughter.  What idiot makes fun of someone's kids these days.  That wasn't done before social media and it shouldn't be done now.   Brady really took the high road on this one and good on him for doing so. 

--Was there a huge argument in Regina when the baseball team known as the Cyclones came to town? If there was, I don't remember.  Does anyone in Chicago or did anyone in Chicago have a problem with the Major League Soccer team being called the Fire?  The twitter account called CFL in Halifax that has been doing a great job with potential nicknames and jerseys for what would be the 10th team had some angered this week for suggesting one name should be the Halifax Explosion.  Funny how no one in Halifax got angry when that name was given to a womens football team.  What these guys have done to get people talking about the CFL and what a possible name could be has been great.  Anthony Leblanc would be making the right move if he adopted one of the logos and jersey concepts from these guys for a small price.   Makes you think once that is over they should move west and start an NHL to Saskatoon account with the same type of idea.

--No Mark Schiefele, no Jacob Trouba and on Tuesday night, the Jets didn't Connor Hellebuyck in the lineup and they beat Tampa and with Hellebuyck back in net they lost to Vegas in overtime in what was a great hockey game.   There is no doubt Canada's best hope for winning the Stanley Cup lies in Winnipeg this year. They seemingly have all the ingredients to make a long run and Schiefele and Trouba will be back. What a scene the next few months in Winnipeg could be!

--Cam Talbot says his team will make the playoffs. I had to check when I read that to make sure the Oilers hadn't traded their goaltender.  C'mon Cam!  Let's be real here.   I don't know if a 10 or 11 game unbeaten streak can save this team now.  It is time to start looking to next year.  If the Golden Knights are the surprise of the year, there is no doubt who the disappointment of the year is.

--The good thing for the Pats.  They are beating teams that aren't the Moose Jaw Warriors or Swift Current Broncos.  The bad news is those are the two teams they need to get past once the playoffs hit.  They still have regular season games against those two teams ---games that can be used as measuring sticks, but right now it seems as if there is still a gap.  One must remember, they will only face one of those teams at the Memorial Cup if indeed one of them gets there as the Western Conference champs will have something to say.  In the end, it may not matter as the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds are said to be the class of the CHL with the lineup they possess.  I'm hoping to get a good look at that squad through Sportsnet or something before the Memorial Cup hits to see if the hype is true.

--Watching the new-look Scotties is somewhat confusing. I can't decide if I like it or not. You went from 12 teams to 16 and split the field into two pools of eight. There is no more round-robin so you don't play everyone with the top four in each pool advancing and the bottom eight being seeded for one game for next year when it comes to decide who is in what pool.  We even get a rink coming in as a "wild-card". It's being done so teams like Nunavut and the Yukon can get pasted.  Some say this helps grow the sport, others say it is damaging the sport. The arguments are being tossed around, and a lot of them are valid.  As a fan, I don't know if this is what I want to see.  I like the 8 rink format from Thursday on, but after that I'm not sure.  It will be this way at the Brier too.  A course on what exactly will be happening may be needed.

--February is here which means before March arrives, there will be baseball as another season will be close at hand.  This is a good thing. Yes, yes it is!

--If in Saskatoon this weekend, check out the action at the U of S as the Huskies and Cougars meet to decide first place in Canada West women's basketball. This won't be the last time these teams play this season regardless of the results.  That last meeting could very well take place at the CKHS in the USports Canada championship game next month.

That's all I got.  Have a great weekend!  Enjoy the Super Bowl!