Edmonton May Be Ready to Welcome NLL Back

There’s no rush, but professional lacrosse could be back in Edmonton by 2018.
The National Lacrosse League is seeking to expand by at least one and as many as four teams that season, and the Oilers Entertainment Group is interested in discussing the possibility of owning a franchise that would call Rogers Place home.
The nine-team league already has franchises in Calgary, Vancouver and Saskatoon, where Edmonton’s former team, the Rush, now resides. The Rush, owned by Bruce Urban, played in Rexall Place for 10 seasons, beginning in 2006.
“We’ve had some interesting conversations and look forward to talking more about bringing lacrosse to Edmonton,” said OEG vice-president Tim Shipton. “It’s interesting. It’s not a done deal, that’s for sure. The conversations have been positive. It always comes down to the details. But there is interest there.”
And it’s on both sides of the equation. NLL commissioner Nick Sakiewicz toured Rogers Place and Ice District last Friday, en route to a Roughnecks game in Calgary. He came away impressed and excited about a potential return of the league to Edmonton.
“In one way,  I’m sorry that the Rush left,” said Sakiewicz. “But I’m excited for Saskatoon because they have a terrific team and a good thing going there and I hope Edmonton is an opportunity for us down the road. We would love to be there.
“My vision for the league is to bring more Calgary-like ownership groups into the league. Buffalo, Calgary and Denver are three flagship franchises in terms of the way they operate the model. They have the NHL back office and NHL leverage. I think it’s a great model.
“My No. 1 priority is to talk to NHL teams and NBA teams that have venues that need programming, because it’s great programming. It’s a great product. We don’t have a product problem, for sure. We have a distribution problem.”
He wants to take that product to three or four new cities in 2018, give them 2019 to find their feet, then expand again in 2020.
“We’re not going to be expanding recklessly and just taking anybody’s cheque for a franchise and getting them rolling right away. We want to give each group of franchises a bit of a runway to launch their teams. We’re not going to expand in 2017. It’s too soon. Teams couldn’t get up and running. It just wouldn’t be right to launch a team in a year or less. The markets we’re talking to now are positioning for 2018.”
He said he is in active conversations with eight prospective owners in six cities, that the league’s franchises are generally on solid footing and the owners have provided him with a mandate to expand, but only if the landscape can support lacrosse. He is new to the league and is critical of its past expansion efforts.
“We want to do this right. Our league has had a bit of a checkered history in expansion. Either not the right owners or not the right market, or not the right building deal. We’ve had to move teams and shut teams down and disqualify owners.
“We’re not going to do that anymore. Those days are over. That’s why I’m really high on the NHL and the NBA, and the sports entertainment companies. Not only are they blue-chip owners but they have the operations behind them. Then we’ve got to have a good market that will embrace the team. Then we have to have a great building to play in.
“If those three criteria are not in place, we’re not going. We’re going to say no more often than we say yes. That’s just the discipline we need to have to build the league in the right way.”
That plan will take time and the OEG is prepared to be patient. They are focused on opening Rogers Place in September. They know they have an ardent suitor in the NLL and that they can accommodate a franchise in Rogers Place, where the Oilers and Oil Kings will also play.
“We have to see where it goes,” said Shipton. “It’s still in the early days. And we want to see where the NLL goes as well. They’ve got some big decisions in front of them, about where the sport is going.
“But it’s something we could do at Rogers Place. And it’s certainly something that we’ve heard from NLL that if it’s going to work in Edmonton, it’s going to work at Rogers Place affiliated with the Oilers.”

(Edmonton Journal)

NHL Three Stars Of Week

Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby, Los Angeles Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick and Calgary Flames center Sean Monahan have been named the NHL’s “Three Stars” for the week ending March 20.


FIRST STAR – SIDNEY CROSBY, C, PITTSBURGH PENGUINS
Crosby shared the League lead with 2-5—7 in four outings to help the Penguins
(40-24-8, 88 points) extend their winning streak to six games and move into second
place in the Metropolitan Division. He opened the week with one assist in a 2-1 shootout
victory against the New York Islanders March 15. Crosby then registered multiple points
in each of his next three games: 2-0—2, including the winning goal, in a 4-2 triumph over
the Carolina Hurricanes March 17, 0-2—2 in a 4-1 victory against the Philadelphia Flyers
March 19 and 0-2—2 in a 6-2 win over the Washington Capitals March 20. In doing so,
Crosby reached the 30-goal milestone for the seventh time in his 11 campaigns and also
extended his point streak to 12 games (6-14—20). The 28-year-old Cole Harbour, N.S.,
native ranks third in the NHL with 31-45—76 in 71 appearances this season, including a
League-best 14-21—35 in 24 contests since the All-Star break.

SECOND STAR – JONATHAN QUICK, G, LOS ANGELES KINGS
Quick went 3-0-0 with a 1.32 goals-against average, .953 save percentage and
one shutout to help the Pacific Division-leading Kings (44-22-5, 93 points) post four
victories and clinch their sixth playoff berth in the past seven seasons. He began the
week by stopping all 32 shots he faced in a 5-0 triumph over the Chicago Blackhawks
March 14. In doing so, Quick (Milford, Conn.) earned his 41st career shutout to move
past Frank Brimsek (Eveleth, Minn.) and John Vanbiesbrouck (Detroit, Mich.) for the
most by a U.S.-born goaltender in NHL history. He followed that performance with
23 saves in a 4-3 overtime win against the New York Rangers March 17 and 27 saves in
a 2-1 victory over the Boston Bruins March 19. The 30-year-old goaltender ranks second
in the NHL with 37 wins in 58 appearances this season (2.14 GAA, .921 SV%, 4 SO),
two shy of his career high established in 2009-10.

THIRD STAR -- SEAN MONAHAN, C, CALGARY FLAMES 

Monahan paced the NHL with five goals and tied for the League lead with seven
points in four games to lift the Flames (31-35-6, 68 points) to a 3-0-1 record. He notched
2-1—3, including the winning goal, in a 7-4 victory over the St. Louis Blues March 14.
Monahan scored again in a 4-1 triumph over the Winnipeg Jets March 16 before being
held off the scoresheet in a 4-3 shootout loss to the Colorado Avalanche March 18. He
capped the week with another 2-1—3 performance, including the winning goal, in a 4-1
victory over the Montreal Canadiens March 20. The 21-year-old Brampton, Ont., native
ranks second on the Flames with 26-29—55 in 71 appearances this season, including
12-14—26 in 23 games since the All-Star break

Something To "Mitch" About

--Kudos to Sportsnet for what was a great weekend of university sports---Canadian university sports! Sportsnet had the semi-finals and finals of both the mens and womens basketball championship and the mens and womens hockey championship. It was fantastic. The only question I have now is "Why can't we see more of this?".  Yes, the CIS will never, ever be up there in popularity with the NCAA, but I have long maintained there are some excellent athletes and excellent games at the Canadian university level that few know about. All I have to do is look at the quarter-full Co-Operators Centre for Cougars hockey and the less than full CKHS for Cougar basketball games. Make no doubt about it, having more CIS games would help increase that fan attendance and give University athletes like Atlee Simon, Katie Polischuk, Jonathan Tull and others across this fine country some added attention to the sports they play.

  It can be done. Vancouver's Jim Mullin worked tirelessly to get Canada West football games on network TV and it happened this year thanks to Global. I would love to turn on one of our sports networks on a Friday night and see a University basketball game between the Huskies and Cougars or a hockey game between the Huskies and Alberta. I would even watch games from Eastern & Atlantic  Canada, and I think others would as well. It won't happen overnight though and it will need a lot of people smarter than me to get this going, but it can happen. It might be tough at the start, but what isn't?  In the meantime, I can only hope Sportsnet will continue doing what it did this weekend and think of expanding things. If they can give us curling provincials from many different places, they can give us not only national championships, but conference championships as well. At the end of the day, the plea probably falls on deaf ears, but who knows.

  Speaking of the Huskies, a tip of the hat to Dave Adolph's mens hockey team. The effort they gave at the University Cup beating Carleton in four overtimes and then following it up a with a three overtime loss to St F-X was literally amazing. While I didn't see the four overtime game, I did see a good portion of the three overtime loss on Saturday. That game was outstanding. Was the Friday night game better? Again. those two games were a showcase for CIS hockey, and there is no reason why we shouldn't be able to access more of it on TV. A tip of the hat to tthe womens basketball program as well as Lisa Thomaidis' crew won their first national title beating Ryerson in what was a tight game throughout. Like the Cougars, many girls on the Huskies call Saskatchewan home so its great for Saskatchewan basketball to see the Canadian title settle in the wheat province.

--South of the border, brackets have exploded. Have we ever seen the amount of upsets and great finishes that the first weekend of March Madness brought. My bracket ended when Michigan State lost----many were in that boat. I guess Kansas is the team now, but who knows?

--The WHL playoffs are here, and the first round should be a dandy. It was great to know as we went into the last weekend of the season, not one of the eight first round matchups had been determined. Talk about parity! In he end, the Pats will go to Lethbridge and Moose Jaw is off to Prince Albert. Regina had a lot of success against the Hurricanes this year. Could they pull off a major first round upset? We will see. I am expecting to see some goals scored in that series.

--There is some talk coming out of Edmonton that the Ivan Hlinka tournament may be moving to North America and could be played in the Alberta capital. That would be a tremendous coup for Edmonton and Canadian hockey. That is a great tournament and if TSN hops on board and promotes it the way they do the World Juniors, there could be a win-win here for everyone. If you don't know what the Ivan Hlinka tournament, it is basically one step below the world juniors and is played in the late summer.  That's an event you should check out if this comes to fruition.

--Some sad news late Sunday afternoon as former CFL ref Ken Picot passed away after a battle with cancer. Another one of the good ones has left us. 

--I didn't attend the Thunder dinner Saturday night, but I am guessing it was a first class show. Why wouldn't it be? Congratulations to Marco Ricci (he didn't cater this thing did he) and Frank McCrystal for being recognized and saluted.  I see on Rod's blog there was an Eskimos Getzlaf jersey up for auction. That picture simply didn't look right. I am guessing the first time I see Weston Dressler in blue, it won't look right either.

--Is anyone noticing the Raptors outside of the GTA yet?

--That's all I got. Have a great week!!

Pats-Lethbridge First Round Playoff Sked

The Regina Pats Hockey Club begins the 2016 Western Hockey League Playoffs against the Lethbridge Hurricanes on Friday, March 25 at the ENMAX Cenre in Lethbridge.  The series will come back to Regina for Games 3 and 4 starting Tuesday, March 29.

Regina @ Lethbridge, Friday, March 25
Regina @ Lethbridge, Saturday, March 26

Lethbridge @ Regina, Tuesday, March 29
Lethbridge @ Regina, Wednesday, March 30

* Regina @ Lethbridge, Friday, April 1

* Lethbridge @ Regina, Tuesday, April 5

* Regina @ Lethbridge, Wednesday, April 6

Individual playoff tickets for Games Three and Four go on sale Monday, March 21 at 12:00 pm.  Tickets are available at reginapats.com and the Brandt Centre Box Office.  Safeway Fun Zone tickets will also be available beginning Tuesday, March 22 for $15 at Regina Safeway locations.

*--denotes if necessary 

Eskimos-Ottawa Compensation Issue To Be Settled Soon

 The Edmonton Eskimos are pretty sure they’re about to get their second win over the Ottawa RedBlacks in the past four months.

With a mediator unable to solve a compensation dispute with the RedBlacks, a squabble over Edmonton’s hiring of former Ottawa offensive coordinator Jason Maas to be their head coach in mid-December is now in the hands of CFL commissioner Jeffrey Orridge, who is expected to make a decision by the end of March.

Following comments by Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group president Jeff Hunt earlier this week, the Eskimos have lifted the cone of silence.

“The direction from the league as part of the whole mediation process was that neither side would make public comments — Ottawa or Edmonton,” said Eskimos president and CEO Len Rhodes on Friday. “We were adhering to that request from the league. But given the fact that I’ve read some comments, I’m in the position, unfortunately, where I have to react.”

The RedBlacks gave the Eskimos permission to speak to Maas, then added a condition they would expect some form of compensation if their offensive coordinator, who had a year remaining on his contract, was hired.

“We started off asking for permission, we were granted permission, then something changed along the way,” said Rhodes. “I am not a legal expert, but there is a term in the legal world called detrimental reliance. It’s basically once you are given permission, you’re relying on a set of rules and guidance and that’s what we followed.

“We are so confident we followed all the rules and the process and protocols involved. When we initially requested permission, there was a condition, which we met. I don’t want to get into the he-said, she-said scenarios, but I assure you we followed all protocols. Almost at the midnight hour, the notion of compensation was introduced. We did not want to provide further compensation. We felt firm in our actions, based on all the guidance we’ve been given historically.

“It’s nothing personal with Ottawa. But at the end of the day, I want our fans to know we’re fighting for our rights. I cannot be more confident about our position than I am right now.”

There has been talk that the RedBlacks decided to add in a request for compensation as a result of an Eskimos complaint Grey Cup week — a beef which resulted in Algonquin College’s Loggersports team, which saws off a wood cookie after each RedBlacks touchdown at home games, banned from the sidelines in Winnipeg.

“I’ve got the utmost respect for the Ottawa RedBlacks organization so this is nothing personal,” said Rhodes. “Yes, there was an incident at Grey Cup. We had challenged that decision because we felt Grey Cup should be a level playing field. We had not been offered an opportunity to bring some form of celebration that our fans could participate in. It was introduced at the midnight hour and we said, ‘No. If we can’t do something, we can’t allow the other team to do something.’ We asked the league to reverse the decision, which they did. Did that cause some anxiety or emotional uproar? Maybe. But I don’t think that has anything to do with this case. We have our facts in order and I’m extremely confident that the facts will speak for themselves and the truth will be revealed shortly.”

The Eskimos needed to find a new coach after Chris Jones was hired by the Saskatchewan Roughriders, taking on multiple job titles in his new home. There was no compensation.

“This is not foreign territory for us,” said Rhodes. “We chose not to take that route (with Saskatchewan). What I will say is we asked for guidance on that notion, in terms of what can we and can’t we do and we were given guidance by the league office that there was no precedent for that. So we never wanted to stand in the way when it’s a move up. Whether it was compensation or no compensation, we were not going to get in the way of Chris Jones. And we expect the same from others when it’s a move up.

“Is it petty? I can’t tell another party whether something’s important or not. From my vantage point, it’s unfortunate we can’t just move on. This takes a lot of time and energy. We’re taking the high road, we’re using facts to guide us. As the facts unfold, they do speak for themselves.”

Rhodes looks forward to the season-opener June 25 — with the RedBlacks in Edmonton.

“(The football field), that’s where it should be settled," said Rhodes. "I look so forward to that rematch. It’ll rekindle some of the emotions and celebrations we got to share at Grey Cup in Winnipeg. Now we have to go out and earn it again and we might as well start against them on Day 1.”

(Ottawa Sun)

This And That

Welcome to Friday and the usual set of weekly thoughts running through my muddled mind. As always, they are in no particular order.

 --As mentioned in Monday's "Something To Mitch About", I have been away from the confines of Harvard headquarters in downtown #YQR because of a bout with pneumonia for much of the week. In the time off, I learned one thing.  THERE IS NOTHING TO WATCH ON DAYTIME TELEVISION!! One can only see Sportscentre or Connected so many times and Tim and Sid will someday realize that try and try as they might, they aren't Jay Onrait and Dan O'Toole 2.0 and they aren't funny! I even looked for Springer and couldn't find it. SIGHHHHH!!!

--The madness is upon us as the NC double A mens basketball tournament is underway. Did you fill out a bracket? If you didn't, it is too late now.  For what its worth, Luc Mullinder will be happy with me as I have taken Michigan State to win it all. Here's one for you to get some talk going. Go to Riderville.com and look at the Rider roster as it stands now, who would be your starting 5 for a Riders basketball team. Since the CFL has a ratio limit, let's put one on here and say one of those starting 5 has to be a Canadian or a National if you so desire.  Have at er!

 --I thought Riders president and CEO Craig Reynolds did an outstanding job answering questions in what is going to be a major operation in getting season ticket holders from their old seat at Mosaic to their new seat at the new Mosaic on Thursday afternoon. The football team has to try and make 24-thousand season ticket holders happy with their new seats. That is no easy task, but Reynolds was willing to answer many questions from the Rider Nation. I'm sure he will do it again if asked as that is the type of guy he is, but you know it is something you can't do overnight. You also know there will be some who won't be happy for one reason or another. For whatever reason, I can't see them giving up their season tickets though. 

--NHL general managers have been meeting in Florida. One of the topics is expansion and what an expansion draft will look like. I'm OK with what is being proposed. I'm not OK with the fact though that if the league expands by one it will be to a place where hockey is a gamble and not where it is a sure thing. How the muckety-mucks can say Vegas over Quebec City is a head-scratcher. There is no guarantee NHL hockey will work in Vegas, but you know NHL hockey will work in Quebec City much like it has in Winnipeg. Nordiques (and yes they will be called that) fans are as passionate for their team as Jets fans are for theirs. The barn will be filled and money will be had. Can the same be said for Vegas? It would just be like giving the NBA a team in Vegas while Seattle sits there with their hand out. It would be better for business if the association went back to Seattle because they are proven unlike Vegas.  I can't even say this is a Bettman vs Canada thing because its not and the cost of the Canadian dollar has nothing to do with it either.  The better business model for the NHL is to expand to Quebec City.

--As a fan, do you want the call right or not? Wednesday in Edmonton, the Oilers got a Leon Draisaitl goal against St. Louis, but it came after the initial rush by the Oilers was offside.  The offside happened about 30 seconds before the goal, but it did happen and the right call was made.  I am not a fan of the coaches challenge, but I do want the call to be right. If that call isn't right, the fans squawk and in some cases, rightfully so. As is the case in football, I simply don't know anymore what is interference in hockey.  Does anyone? What is and what isn't called interference in both games just leaves me baffled at times.  Replay was brought in to get the call right. While we complain that it takes away from the game, at the end of the day, we are seeing more times than not that the call is right. Where do you draw the line?

--Now that the CFL combine is over, do we get one final pre-draft ranking by CFL central scouting or not? I honestly don't know the answer to the question. The answer should be yes, but this is the CFL and well, I think you know the rest of the story.

--Eric Tillman is now the GM of the Ti-Cats. He adds that to being GM of the Lions, Riders, Eskimos, Renegades and Argos. Has anyone else in football (both CFL and NFL) ever been the GM of six different teams. That has to be a record!

--Is the WHL's Most Outstanding Player this year going to go to Moose Jaw's Dryden Hunt or Regina's Adam Brooks. Both have a legitimate stake at the award, but so does Brandon's Nolan Patrick. He has 40 plus goals and 100 plus points at 17. Patrick is the consensus number one pick by NHL Central Scouting for the 2017 draft. I am thinking he could steal the award away from Hunt and Brooks. I think you can make a definite argument for the kid. If you are wondering why Patrick went in the same bantam draft as Sam Steel yet gets drafted a year later, its because Patrick was born in September of 98 while Steel was born in February. You have to be 18 as of September 15 and Nolan was born September 18. I wonder if he would be challenging Matthews for number one overall if he were eligible.

----Tough one for Dave Taylor's Cougar womens basketball team in Fredricton as they lost their national quarterfinal on Thursday night to Ryerson 73-70. Kenaca Pingue-Giles showed why she is the CIS MOP this year as she had 6 three pointers in what was a 29 point night overall. Her twin sisters are headed to Regina next year and if they are anything like their older sibling, the good times should continue for that program. It's tough to see another good year end in disappointment, and it is always tough to see 5th years like Kehlsie Crone and Alyssia Kajati walk off the court for the last time, but that program is still one of the best, if not the best in Canada. With Steve Burrows working his magic with the mens program, basketball at the CKHS will be an event next winter and for many winters to come.

--What happens if the Golden State Warriors don't win the NBA championship this year after all the hype they have been given? Would they go down as the best team in sports history to not get the job done?

--Why do I get the feeling Rogers Communications is going to screw things completely up and have it get to the point where the 2017 MLB season will start with Toronto not having both Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion playing for them. By the way, why is Josh Donaldson on the cover of MLB  16 this year and not Bautista. I thought Jose was the face of the franchise.

--The Adam LaRoche-Chicago White Sox story is a fascinating one. LaRoche is giving up 13 million and retiring because the team doesn't want his son in the clubhouse all the time anymore.  When I first heard this story, I thought the White Sox were in the wrong. Then I heard LaRoche's son is 14. Cut the cord dude!! Who brings their 14 year old to work everyday? There is probably more to this story than we are being told, but the guy is calling it a career and giving up a 13 million dollar payday because of his teenage son. Ummmmmmmmm!!!!

--That's all I got. Have a great weekend!

Carlyle's Brenden Morrow Retires From NHL

The Dallas Stars and Brenden Morrow announced today the forward's retirement from the National Hockey League after 15 seasons. Morrow signed a ceremonial one-day agreement with Dallas on Thursday and retired as a member of the Stars.

Morrow, 37, recorded 575 points (265-310=575), 1,362 penalty minutes and a plus/minus rating of +107 in 991 career regular-season games over 15 NHL seasons with Dallas, Pittsburgh, St. Louis and Tampa Bay. The forward also skated in 118 Stanley Cup Playoffs games in his career, registering 46 points (19-27=46) and 130 penalty minutes. Morrow appeared in two Stanley Cup Finals in his career with Dallas in 2000 and most recently as a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2015, while also reaching the Conference Finals twice in 2008 with Dallas and 2013 with Pittsburgh.

"The game of hockey has given me so many opportunities in my life," said Morrow. "Winning a gold medal for Canada at the Olympic Games and appearing in two Stanley Cup Final series are things that I only dreamed of growing up. Getting to perform on those stages is still surreal to me. To all my family, friends, trainers, equipment managers, coaches and teammates, thank you for supporting and pushing me throughout my career. Being able to put on an NHL sweater was something that I never took for granted, and it's with a full heart that my family and I have decided that it's time for me to officially retire from the National Hockey League."

Morrow was originally selected by Dallas in the first round (25th overall) of the 1997 NHL Draft. Morrow spent his first 13 NHL seasons with the Stars, recording 528 points (243-285=528) in 835 career regular-season games with the club. The forward also served as the fifth captain in Dallas Stars history, and the 22nd captain in franchise history, from 2006-13, the second-longest tenured captain in club history.

"Brenden exemplified what a captain should be," said Dallas Stars President, CEO and Governor Jim Lites. "He left an indelible mark on this franchise, leading with heart and passion. There wasn't a night where he didn't give every ounce of energy he had, and we deeply appreciate all of his contributions to the game."

The 6-foot, 205-pound native of Carlyle, Sask. ranks fifth in Stars history with 835 games played, while he shares seventh with 243 goals, ranks eighth with 528 points and 10th with 285 assists. Morrow also ranks second in Stars history with 43 career game-winning goals and a +102 career rating with the club, while his 1,203 penalty minutes are good for fourth in franchise history and his 79 power play goals are tied for fifth.

Morrow competed at the international level on seven different occasions with Team Canada. The forward won a gold medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, recording three points (2-1=3) in seven games with Team Canada. Morrow also won gold with Canada at the 2004 IIHF World Championship and at the 2004 World Cup of Hockey, while he won silver medals at the 1999 IIHF World Junior Championship and the 2005 IIHF World Championship.

Morrow will reside in Dallas with his wife Anne-Marie and their three children.

(Dallas Stars)