VANSTONE ON FAJARDO
QB will likely join Rider greats
ROBSERVATIONS ... Saskatchewan Roughriders fans have an opportunity to get it right. Marquee quarterback Cody Fajardo has signed another contract extension, this one carrying through the 2022 CFL season, and sounds amenable to finishing his career in Saskatchewan. He looks and sounds every bit like someone who will be the next legendary Roughriders quarterback. Now, let's hope that he is treated in a manner that is commensurate with his value to the franchise.
Ron Lancaster, remember, was booed by some alleged fans during his final game at Taylor Field. Kent Austin also heard the catcalls. Ditto for Kerry Joseph. Darian Durant was excoriated by critics who, at one point, lobbied for alternatives named Drew Willy and Ryan Dinwiddie.
Reminder: Lancaster, Austin, Joseph and Durant are the only four Grey Cup-winning starting quarterbacks in Roughriders history. Fajardo could very well be the next one. Ideally, he won't be the next to be treated deplorably by a small, but vocal, segment of the fan base.
This is not to suggest that Fajardo be exempt from criticism. It comes with the territory for someone who is well-compensated to quarterback a community-owned football team. The key, however, is to be fair and keep everything in context. There will be slumps, interceptions and losses, but they will be more than counteracted by the opportunity to watch a generational player.
Throughout the Roughriders' long history, how many quarterbacks have been truly elite? Lancaster, Austin, Durant, Joseph, Glenn Dobbs, Frank Tripucka, Henry Burris and, the way things are trending, Fajardo.
BOO- MER BACKLASH
Irate CFL fans lowered the boom on Boomer Esiason on Sunday, when the CBS yakker offered this appraisal of the Arizona Cardinals' Chris Streveler after the former Winnipeg Blue Bombers quarterback served up a pick-six to the Los Angeles Rams' Troy Hill: “What a horrific mistake by Streveler. He throws it in between three Ram defenders as he is getting hit in the pocket. This isn't the Grey Cup. This isn't the CFL. You can't just take chances and throw the ball down the middle of the field and expect somebody not to come down with it. There's just no reason to throw the ball there.”
Esiason was far too dismissive of the CFL but, that being said, the volcanic nature of the feedback was not a particularly good look for many of the respondents.
Some people who lashed out at Esiason came across as whiny, insecure and overly defensive. The over-the-top “how dare he say that about the CFL?” outrage quickly became irksome. A preferable approach would have been to simply laugh off the ill-informed comments instead of crying about them. As it turned out, Esiason's sentiments received much more attention than they deserved. Fast fact: In the one season (1996) Esiason spent with the NFL'S Cardinals, he threw more interceptions (14) than touchdown passes (11).
WORLD VIEW
The 2021 world junior hockey championship was a tonic, in that most of the world's elite teenage skaters were on display at a time when the CHL season is on hold due to COVID-19. However, the world junior tournament built up to an anticlimax — the United States' 2-0 victory over Canada in Tuesday night's gold-medal game. The superior side deservedly won, even though Canada's roster included 19 NHL first-round draft choices. There should be concern at the highest level of Hockey Canada when one of the most talented teams to have represented our country couldn't eke out one goal in the final.
The deployment of talent should be re-examined. Blessed with an array of skilled players, cookie-cutter Canadian coaches too often defaulted to the dreary dumpand-chase approach. Can't the brightest tacticians in our home and native land come up with anything better than that? Get pucks deep ... cycle, cycle, cycle ...
At least there was an element of intrigue to the gold-medal game. Prior to that, Canada had outscored its opponents 41-4 over six games. The preliminary round, as always, was an overhyped waste of time and money, not to mention a cash grab.
AGENTS OF CHANGE
Winnipeg Jets sniper Patrik Laine on Monday conducted his first media availability since his agents, Mike Liut and Andy Scott, told TSN'S Pierre Lebrun in October that a trade would probably be “mutually beneficial” for the player and the team. When Laine was asked point-blank if he wanted to be traded, his answers were evasive. “I am not worried about all the talk and all the speculation,” he said, conveniently forgetting that his agents fuelled the speculation. Laine added: “I'm not in charge of what other people are saying.” Oh? At last word, Laine's agents worked for him.
How can the Jets end all the “speculation?” Simply by giving Laine the first-line minutes a player of his talents deserves, alongside centre Mark Scheifele. Laine, who possesses 50-goal talent, has a right to be miffed over being relegated to the second line far too frequently. Jets head coach Paul Maurice could repair the situation in a split-second by making an obvious, overdue decision.
AND FURTHERMORE ...
Free, unsolicited advice to the nice people at Evraz Place: Make Iceville — the expansive skating rink at Mosaic Stadium — an annual destination.
By my calculation, president-eject Donald Trump — who will be begrudgingly bounced from the White House on Jan. 20 — has now lost in Georgia more often than the Atlanta Falcons.
Attention hockey poolsters: If you require final NHL team-byteam stats for the 2019-20 season, feel free to email me at the address below and I will be pleased to send you a PDF version.
Nice people who deserve a plug: Keith Hershmiller, Mark (Torch) Simpson, Darren Simpson, Ashley Robinson, Rob Cherepuschak, Lyall Woznesensky, Drew Richardson, Wayne Back, Steven Flynn, Vanessa Bonk, Bev Kowaluk, Sheldon Kennedy, Ken Eskdale, Terry Schiissler, Brent Buchko, Jessika Guse, Lawrence Switzer, Lynn Mitges, Julie Woldu, Sheldon Neald, Harrison Andruschak, Trevor Bowering, Ernie Moski, Lloyd Osten, Ken Zaren, Dennis Nestegard, Marion Nestegard, Kristina Wilson, Darrell Vipond, Govind Achyuthan, Mick Panko, Laura Saal and Lisa Schwann.