YORKTON THIS WEEK (May 29)

I’ve been following along on Twitter and through other various forms of media and have noticed there is a considerable amount of criticism being handed out at the City of Saskatoon for not supporting the Memorial Cup.  Well, to me, I wouldn’t support that event either simply because the Blades are a perfect example of a Western Hockey League franchise that doesn’t deserve fan support.  I don’t think they have ever won a league title and I don’t know if they have ever been close (at least not in the time I have been in Manitoba/Saskatchewan following hockey).  The most successful franchises in sports are ones that have the most demanding fan bases.  Sports teams and fans are under a common misconception that you should support your flagship sports franchise regardless of their ability to contend.  But watching your local team is a lot like going to the movies.  If Water World is a bad movie, why should you fill up the theatre?  If the theatre brings in a dozen type Water Worlds then they will be out of business because the place will be empty.  Sports teams are similar.  They provide fans with entertainment and if the entertainment isn’t good, fans shouldn’t be expected to just automatically open their wallet and go to the games.  I am a believer that your local teams should promise to be competent.  They can’t promise to be a winner.  The Blades (and Regina Pats for that matter) have had many a season over the last ten or fifteen years where competent hasn’t been in the dictionary.

Don’t misunderstand what I am saying.  The Memorial Cup is a very entertaining event.  However, the main reason for fans to go is to watch the Blades and they don’t belong in this tournament.  They bowed out of the first round of the playoffs by rolling over as easy as any team and they weren’t competitive at the Memorial Cup.  Tough to get fans to come out and support teams from the United States, Ontario, and Quebec  because they, simply, don’t relate to them.  Now, it’s time to see what Blade ownership is made of.  Do they throw their hands up and quit trying to put a winner on the ice or do they work harder at it?  You know ownership wouldn’t hesitate to pressure coaches and players to try harder, but it’s time for ownership to put the appropriate people in place and give them the resources to be competitive year after year after year. 

The Blades did get hot at midseason after they made sweeping player changes, but why did they have to make so many moves?  They knew, well in advance, they were hosting this event.  Better on-ice planning was needed.  I can also tell you as an outsider, that if the Brandon Wheat Kings (Michael Ferland, Brenden Walker) are getting rid of players, you shouldn’t want them.  Kelly McCrimmon seldom gets beat on a trade.

One of the reasons the Saskatchewan Roughriders have had a pretty good run of competitive seasons is because the fan base has gotten more demanding.  The run of sellouts ended right around the time fans got fed up with Ken Miller’s incompetent management and ownership responded with mass changes.  The fans, quickly, returned.   The Montreal Canadiens, Vancouver Canucks, and Ottawa Senators are also good examples of this.  When they are icing bad teams, the fans don’t go.  Meanwhile, teams like Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg, and Toronto don’t need to be good because the fans go regardless of the on-ice quality.  In the US, NHL teams like Boston and Chicago struggle to fill the building if they are not contending.  And, I think that is perfectly fine.  Fans need to hold their sports teams accountable.

Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III and his bride-to-be have registered at Bed Bath and Beyond and fans have been buying them wedding presents!  Griffin has been criticized in the media for accepting these gifts.  He is, after all, a millionaire.  But, I don’t think he needs to apologize at all.  He’s a citizen who has every right to register at a store for friends and family to purchase gifts.  If idiot fans want to do it too, that’s their prerogative. 

My only political comment this week comes from a friend of mine on Facebook, who applauds his NDP for wanting to abolish the Senate.  Well, it’s easy for the NDP to make that boast when they have zero members in the Senate!  If they had a few, they’d be a little more quiet about it.  Having said that, yes, the Senate needs to be abolished.  I can’t find a single person who can provide me with an answer as to what the Senate actually does.  Conservatives should want to abolish it too.  Because people like Mike Duffy and Pamela Wallin are really putting a stain on their government and they just might end up paying for it by watching Justin Trudeau become the next Prime Minister.

I only have space this week for one person in the nice person mentions and that is for Cyndy Mundt.  I, seldom, run across people who are as nice to me as she is.  She also agrees with just about everything I write about and that is worth quite a few brownie points as well.  Now...if I could only get a hefty discount the other way...