http://www.winnipegsun.com/2011/10/13/hockey-officials-investigate-possible-hazing-incident
While I never like to see a story like this, I can't say I'm entirely shocked. If you were to ask me about a seriously negative story arising from a junior hockey organization, I would have suggested if there was one out there, Neepawa would be on the top of my list.
As I've said before, all you have to do is log onto the Network 54 MJHL message forum and you can spend hours on end reading about the polarizing figures involved with that organization. And, while message boards tend to have their fair share of garbage associated with the posts, there are a number that are also written by very well informed people, such as players, parents, and other coaches.
At the end of last season, I decided to 'sit' on a story where I talked to several former Neepawa players, who didn't speak highly of their experience there due to those involved with making on-ice decisions. At the risk of identifying those players, I will say no more at this point in time. What I had was a very one-sided story and it did not reflect well on the Natives. I wanted them to have a chance to refute or explain the information I had gathered.
I submitted a list of questions via email to Bryant Perrier (head coach), who declined to answer and wished to speak with me on the phone. We had a good chat and he invited me to come to Neepawa so he could show me all the good things he's doing with the organization. I have not, to this point, taken him up on his offer. I worked in Brandon for five years and spent considerable time in Neepawa covering the Natives through the Brad Wells, Jeff Pister, and Craig Atkinson (all excellent guys and good coaches) years. I'm fairly familiar with how things are run. We ended up not doing the interview. Honestly, I wasn't comfortable taking words in a phone conversation with him and putting them on my blog as I'd risk taking him out of context. I wanted it in writing so nothing could be confused or slanted.
Last summer, I stated publicly that their prized acquisition (goalie Wendell Vye) would be a good bet to not make the season, which he didn't. He left in December, along with the Director of Player Personnel, who was dismissed somewhat controversially (depending on who you talk to). Privately, I have told some other junior hockey observers that I have concern this franchise is going to struggle in a very serious way going forward and they are off to an 0-8-and-1 start. They are scoring just two goals a game and giving up an average of over 4.50. Because it was my 'home team' for five years, I want Neepawa to rebound and be a competitive team again. At this point, they seem to have a very, very long way to go.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
SKILL TESTING QUESTION
Where do you think this Gallagher Centre parking lot row should have ended and a new one begins?I wish I could say I have a prize for the correct answer....but clearly not many in Yorkton know the answer anyway...so it likely wouldn't matter.
Monday, October 10, 2011
LET'S SEE SOME DIRECTION NOW
Despite the score, I was pretty happy with the first half today.
Ryan Dinwiddie showed us he can't play quarterback in the Canadian Football League. Really, that's all you need to see at this point in the season. Any Roughrider management who felt as though this team still had a shot at the playoffs as recently as last week should be canned. You have to look at reality, not mathematical formulas.
Next week, hopefully Cole Bergquist will give us a good answer as to whether or not he can play quarterback in the CFL.
As long as I see a sense of direction and an effort from the players on the field, consider me a fan. I will not cheer or applaud what I've seen this season. Forget the last three weeks. This club sewered their year from the moment Edmonton scored the first touchdown of the season in week one.
Let's get some rookies in there at offensive line. The old guys are...well...old. Time to change the guard. And, not just one of them. All of them. Remember, you can lose 40-3 with rookies and still be happy provided you see they are giving their all and you have a keeper or two amongst the bunch. These last few weeks need to be an early look at next year.
I stand by previous remarks that aside from Durant, Dressler, Fantuz, Shologan, Butler, and Freeman; there should be no guaranteed roster spots next year.
If running backs are a dime a dozen, spend a nickel. The Roughriders should have, at least, that much cash in the kitty.
Find a defensive end that can wreak havoc.
Jim Hopson: please get down on your hands and knees and beg Joe Womack to return to the organization as General Manager and give him full control over football operations.
As far as a head coach goes, I don't know what the answer is. It can't be Miller. Is Marcus Crandell too raw? I don't know about that. Greg Marshall showed us teams were right to 'not' name him a head coach time and time again. Maybe it's time to jump the gun and grab Crandell and let him learn on the job if you think he has the tools to be successful. Scott Milanovich doesn't want to be a head coach bad enough if you ask me or else he'd already be doing it. Mike Benevides is, possibly, headed to Toronto to clean up Jim Barker's mess.
People are wondering if this year is just a blip. I'm concerned 2007, 2009, and 2010 were blips. With three Grey Cups in 101 years, the only real constant through two of them was that Kent Austin was a quarterback for one and a coach for another. In the 2009 and 2010 Grey Cup finalist years, there were still enough support staff and players left over from the Austin/Tillman regime. As those players and staff members drop off, so too does the excellence to which this organization was held to for a brief time. Hopson has his work cut out for him.
Ryan Dinwiddie showed us he can't play quarterback in the Canadian Football League. Really, that's all you need to see at this point in the season. Any Roughrider management who felt as though this team still had a shot at the playoffs as recently as last week should be canned. You have to look at reality, not mathematical formulas.
Next week, hopefully Cole Bergquist will give us a good answer as to whether or not he can play quarterback in the CFL.
As long as I see a sense of direction and an effort from the players on the field, consider me a fan. I will not cheer or applaud what I've seen this season. Forget the last three weeks. This club sewered their year from the moment Edmonton scored the first touchdown of the season in week one.
Let's get some rookies in there at offensive line. The old guys are...well...old. Time to change the guard. And, not just one of them. All of them. Remember, you can lose 40-3 with rookies and still be happy provided you see they are giving their all and you have a keeper or two amongst the bunch. These last few weeks need to be an early look at next year.
I stand by previous remarks that aside from Durant, Dressler, Fantuz, Shologan, Butler, and Freeman; there should be no guaranteed roster spots next year.
If running backs are a dime a dozen, spend a nickel. The Roughriders should have, at least, that much cash in the kitty.
Find a defensive end that can wreak havoc.
Jim Hopson: please get down on your hands and knees and beg Joe Womack to return to the organization as General Manager and give him full control over football operations.
As far as a head coach goes, I don't know what the answer is. It can't be Miller. Is Marcus Crandell too raw? I don't know about that. Greg Marshall showed us teams were right to 'not' name him a head coach time and time again. Maybe it's time to jump the gun and grab Crandell and let him learn on the job if you think he has the tools to be successful. Scott Milanovich doesn't want to be a head coach bad enough if you ask me or else he'd already be doing it. Mike Benevides is, possibly, headed to Toronto to clean up Jim Barker's mess.
People are wondering if this year is just a blip. I'm concerned 2007, 2009, and 2010 were blips. With three Grey Cups in 101 years, the only real constant through two of them was that Kent Austin was a quarterback for one and a coach for another. In the 2009 and 2010 Grey Cup finalist years, there were still enough support staff and players left over from the Austin/Tillman regime. As those players and staff members drop off, so too does the excellence to which this organization was held to for a brief time. Hopson has his work cut out for him.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Monday, October 3, 2011
SOME TRAVEL LIGHT, SOME DON'T
There is a pretty good chance that if my wife ever kicked me out of the house that I would take fewer bags for the rest of my life than what she takes for two days of scrap booking. Furthermore, I'm pretty proud of my bench press as of late. It's nothing compared to what these weigh.
Sunday, October 2, 2011
NO BIG CHANGES PLANNED FOR ROUGHRIDERS
The Saskatchewan Roughriders have lost 42-5 and 40-3 in the last two games.
Head coach Ken Miller said after the BC loss (42-5) that his team did not come out flat. They played hard, but didn't play well as a unit. For some reason, nobody even asked Miller (from what I've read) if he felt as though his team came out flat yesterday against Calgary.
At 4-and-9, this team's season is over. Maybe not mathematically. But, it's over.
It's now time to take a look at what you have at all positions, this includes quarterback. I'm a supporter of Darian Durant, but the reality is that we need to see Ryan Dinwiddie and perhaps Cole Bergquist in a game against the opposing teams' first string defenses. If you have no faith in either back-up, then cut them loose. Otherwise, now is the time to see them. There is no point in risking a serious injury to Durant. Sit him down and see if quarterback is one position whether you have to actively recruit during the offseason or not.
On CKRM yesterday, it was mentioned that six players have been brought in from NFL camps. Get them in the line-up. Doesn't matter at who's expense. Don't waste people's time by adding players and not ever looking at them in a meaningful way. Practice is nice, but with the team being dreadful and showing no heart whatsoever, you have nothing to lose by dressing some raw rookies. At 82-8 over two games, it's not possible to fare worse.
The fact that Miller says he's not planning wholesale changes says a great deal about this organization's accountability level. I said around this time last year that I didn't think there was much accountability starting in the front office and filtering down. Nothing has changed to make me think differently. Miller's constant defending of players, who week after week show no loyalty to the logo whatsoever, is annoying. If Calgary can sit Joffrey Reynolds, the Roughriders can (and should) sit a handful of guys.
There's a reason this franchise has won just three Grey Cups in 101 years. You'd think they'd win six or seven just based on accident. The league isn't that big. I come into contact with fans all the time who suggest you have to cheer through thick and thin. I don't buy it. This team has more support and more money than any other CFL club. Yet, they do nothing with it. If the Riders want to continue their run of sell-out crowds and record selling merchandise, I would suggest they try this: fix this mess. Show the fans you are trying to rectify a disaster. Saying you are not planning wholesale changes tells me you are content to let the rest of the season pass you by without any meaningful on-field evaluation. I'll cheer a 4-and-14 season next year if I see measures of a rebuilding effort. Right now, all I see is a front office in denial of how horribly terrible they are. Yes, the coaching is bad. But, the players are worse. And, they are not going to get better trotting the same guys out there (who, obviously don't care) week after week without recourse.
In my opinion, the following players can come back next year (everyone else should be fighting for a job):
Craig Butler, Weston Dressler, Darian Durant, Andy Fantuz, Jerrell Freeman, and Keith Shologan.
Dressler, Durant, Fantuz, and Shologan are players I would tell to take the rest of the year off. Freeman and Butler should continue to play in order to improve as I still see even greater upside.
Of those keepers, only Dressler has shown me a willingness to compete week in and week out regardless of the score.
Which brings me to another area that should be of great concern: leadership. I don't think this team has it. Every team should have a strong leadership group amongst its players.
Good luck next week in Edmonton. They are going to need it.
Head coach Ken Miller said after the BC loss (42-5) that his team did not come out flat. They played hard, but didn't play well as a unit. For some reason, nobody even asked Miller (from what I've read) if he felt as though his team came out flat yesterday against Calgary.
At 4-and-9, this team's season is over. Maybe not mathematically. But, it's over.
It's now time to take a look at what you have at all positions, this includes quarterback. I'm a supporter of Darian Durant, but the reality is that we need to see Ryan Dinwiddie and perhaps Cole Bergquist in a game against the opposing teams' first string defenses. If you have no faith in either back-up, then cut them loose. Otherwise, now is the time to see them. There is no point in risking a serious injury to Durant. Sit him down and see if quarterback is one position whether you have to actively recruit during the offseason or not.
On CKRM yesterday, it was mentioned that six players have been brought in from NFL camps. Get them in the line-up. Doesn't matter at who's expense. Don't waste people's time by adding players and not ever looking at them in a meaningful way. Practice is nice, but with the team being dreadful and showing no heart whatsoever, you have nothing to lose by dressing some raw rookies. At 82-8 over two games, it's not possible to fare worse.
The fact that Miller says he's not planning wholesale changes says a great deal about this organization's accountability level. I said around this time last year that I didn't think there was much accountability starting in the front office and filtering down. Nothing has changed to make me think differently. Miller's constant defending of players, who week after week show no loyalty to the logo whatsoever, is annoying. If Calgary can sit Joffrey Reynolds, the Roughriders can (and should) sit a handful of guys.
There's a reason this franchise has won just three Grey Cups in 101 years. You'd think they'd win six or seven just based on accident. The league isn't that big. I come into contact with fans all the time who suggest you have to cheer through thick and thin. I don't buy it. This team has more support and more money than any other CFL club. Yet, they do nothing with it. If the Riders want to continue their run of sell-out crowds and record selling merchandise, I would suggest they try this: fix this mess. Show the fans you are trying to rectify a disaster. Saying you are not planning wholesale changes tells me you are content to let the rest of the season pass you by without any meaningful on-field evaluation. I'll cheer a 4-and-14 season next year if I see measures of a rebuilding effort. Right now, all I see is a front office in denial of how horribly terrible they are. Yes, the coaching is bad. But, the players are worse. And, they are not going to get better trotting the same guys out there (who, obviously don't care) week after week without recourse.
In my opinion, the following players can come back next year (everyone else should be fighting for a job):
Craig Butler, Weston Dressler, Darian Durant, Andy Fantuz, Jerrell Freeman, and Keith Shologan.
Dressler, Durant, Fantuz, and Shologan are players I would tell to take the rest of the year off. Freeman and Butler should continue to play in order to improve as I still see even greater upside.
Of those keepers, only Dressler has shown me a willingness to compete week in and week out regardless of the score.
Which brings me to another area that should be of great concern: leadership. I don't think this team has it. Every team should have a strong leadership group amongst its players.
Good luck next week in Edmonton. They are going to need it.
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