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Happy Wednesday, folks.
As I mentioned in yesterday’s edition of this mailing, I got back into the stream of things Monday evening, watching some baseball and Stanley Cup hockey.
The highlight was watching Jays rookie catcher Alejandro Kirk. The lowlight was watching the final three minutes of the Stars and Lightning.
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Built like a fire hydrant (5-8, 265), the 21-year-old Kirk was raking it — going 4-for-4 with a solo home run, a double and three runs scored in Monday’s 11-5 win over the Yankees. Mere seconds after announcers Dan Shulman and Buck Martinez were wondering whether or not Kirk could score from second on a single, he stormed home on a sharply hit ball to left by Bo Bichette.
Wish I could say the fans went nuts on the play, but … well, you know.
Which brings me to Game 2 of the Stanley Cup final. With about three minutes left in the game and down by a goal, the Stars were making a push for the equalizer that would have capped a comeback from being down 3-0. The drama on the ice, however, did not seem the same to me without the noise from frenzied fans in the stands.
Dallas Stars’ Jamie Benn is stopped by Tampa Bay Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy in NHL Stanley Cup finals action in Edmonton on Monday. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson
Perhaps my emotions are more engaged when watching the Jays, but the hockey felt almost antispectic — and not in the good way.
My boss Paul Samyn is a hockey purist and tells me he continues to enjoy the hockey on TV, sans fans. Even likes it better, he says. A lot of you told me the same thing awhile back. Do you still feel that way?
Meantime, plenty of news and speculation over the last week about what the NHL will do for its 2020-21 season and most of the issue centres on those missing fans.
NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said Monday the league is “going to do our best to try to get as many fans in our buildings next season as possible but we’re going to also do it safely.”
Globe and Mail columnist Cathal Kelly wrote this week he thinks the league should look at taking a season off and that a full bubble season would be a distaster for the league.
Our Mike McIntyre also thinks a bubble season next year is a non-starter, suggesting there’s zero chance the players will collectively buy into it.
I personally can’t envision fans in the stands until a vaccine has been developed, we’ve all been inoculated, and a good portion of you feel safe to go back to the rink. But as Mike Sawatzky reports today, the Manitoba Junior Hockey League plans to go ahead with fans in the stands when its season starts on Oct. 9, and while attendance will be far less than an NHL game, it will be interesting to see how this experiment plays out.
As always, I’m curious to hear your thoughts — you can reply to this mailing or send me an email here.
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