Optimism is in the air. The COVID-19 pandemic is coming to an end in my part of the world, Canada, thanks to a robust vaccine rollout. Here, the Canadian Football League even announced it is returning Aug. 5! That’s a sure sign life here is finally, at long last, getting back to normal. Not so…
CFL is poised to end its long shutdown, finally
The Canadian Football League votes on Monday on proceeding with August 5 as a date to start the 2021 season. I’m confident they will give the go-ahead — in fact I would be shocked if they didn’t, given the decline in COVID-19 cases we are seeing across the country. It looks like Saskatchewan and Alberta…
Netanyahu out in Israel after 12 years
I am watching the news coverage right now of the vote in the Knesset to oust Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and replace his government with a multi-party coalition with Naftali Bennett installed as prime minister. This was coming for a while, and it’s been interesting to see this whole drama play out in Israel…
Scary movies racking up all the dough at the box office
I haven’t posted about the movie box office in a while. Maybe I should, because it surely seems like the pandemic at the cinemas is, ahem, over. The weekend hauls in North America these past two weeks look more and more like what you might normally see on a regular basis at the cinemas. It’s…
Once again in Canada, it’s one set of rules for the NHL and another set for everyone else!
The ridiculousness never ceases here in “Shutdown Nation”, even when there is good news. What is the good news, you ask? The news is the NHL is getting a cross-border travel exemption from the Canadian federal government for the next round of the Stanley Cup playoffs! Yes, after months of refusing to grant travel exemptions…
Goodbye Leafs, goodbye Lakers, hello Logan Paul: a review of the week in sports
We’ve come to another weekend after a long week in the world of sports. And for a few fanbases, it definitely was a long week. Good riddance, Toronto Maple Leafs. The Leafs were bounced from the playoffs by the Montréal Canadiens in a shocking upset this week, blowing a 3-1 series lead. Afterwards, I tuned…
The fans are finally back at NHL arenas, and it’s about time!
You know, these Stanley Cup playoffs have so far proved a stark contrast between the United States, where sporting venues have opened up thanks to mass vaccinations, versus Trudeau’s “One-Dose” Canada, or as I refer to it, “Shutdown Nation”. While venues in Tampa, Carolina, Nashville, Vegas et al. have had buildings with lots of fans…
Happy day off, folks. Sports roundup for Monday
Today is a holiday here in “Shutdown Nation” (a.k.a. Canada), so I have been spending my day at home, trying to get good at poker both by playing it online and by watching poker on TV. Heck, there’s nothing better to do here today, especially since it’s raining. This is going to serve as my…
It was a wild and woolly day in the crypto market, as crypto takes a big dive
It was a bad day in the cryptocurrency markets as a number of cryptocurrencies took the plunge today. Bitcoin was down 30 percent at one point before rebounding. I understand others like Ethereum and Dogecoin were less fortunate. (In the case of Dogecoin, it deserves to be less fortunate, but that’s just my opinion.) Making…
Joe Rogan is getting dumped on by the angry mob, AGAIN
So let me get this straight… Joe Rogan is getting dumped on by the Twitter mob because he went on his podcast with Joe List recently and said “you can never be woke enough, that’s the problem. It keeps going. It keeps going further and further and further down the line, and if you get…
One “sport” I never missed during the pandemic: poker. They just kept on going and going!
In my previous post I ran down the list of sports that I missed during the pandemic, and the ones I didn’t. The one “sport” conspicuous by its absence in my list was “poker.” The fact is I didn’t miss poker at all during the pandemic, because it never really left. Yes, the live events…
One thing about this pandemic: it really has underlined which sports deserve my attention, and which ones don’t!
Finally caught some of the HBO sports documentary The Day Sports Stood Still, about the day sports shut down in North America, while simultaneously tuning in a council meeting. I quickly decided it wasn’t worth tuning in — I’m talking about the documentary, not the council meeting. It quickly became obvious the documentary was less…
“Miss Universe” is on tonight — but not on network TV
The Miss Universe Pageant is on right now from Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Florida, and I almost missed it! The reason is because this show is not on U.S. network TV anymore. Instead, it’s on some channel I have never heard of called FYI (?), which my cable system doesn’t have. This,…
USA has called off the pandemic! Meanwhile, rest of world goes to heck in latest News from Nowhere
The pandemic is over! Did you hear the news (from Nowhere)? As of May 14, the CDC announced that fully vaccinated people didn’t need to wear masks anymore in the United States of America. So, the masks have come off all over the ‘States, and the miserable pandemic lockdown life in much of the USA…
Oscars ratings hit rock bottom! Less than 10 million! Even I didn’t watch!
Sunday night’s boring and strange Oscar show, full of movie nominees that nobody watched or cared about, was a total flop with the audience. The show drew 9.85 million, which sounds good until you realize the ratings have plunged almost half from last year’s all time low. Less than 10 million for the Oscars is…
I almost forgot — the Oscars are tonight.
Tonight is the Academy Awards. I know they are getting piled on by the right-leaning people who are as always fed up with all the arrogance and virtue-signaling out of Hollywood, but I do have to give the Academy props for refusing to give in to the “Shutdown Nation” mob and for actually putting on…
Now, my thoughts on UFC 261 being held in Jacksonville in front of a full arena of 15,000 people!
It had to happen sometime. That’s it, that’s the post! Name a better view 😍 [ #UFC261 on E+ PPV | https://t.co/AiQckFaOSf ] pic.twitter.com/G0g3OvGJnX — UFC (@ufc) April 24, 2021 Fans are back, OGs are back in full force! 🙌 #UFC261 pic.twitter.com/W732ONFnQJ — UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) April 25, 2021 Megan Olivi appreciation post #UFC261 pic.twitter.com/DBgD6ZgPxD…
The European Super League has imploded! Big win for all soccer fans!
I was wondering what to put up as the big story this week — Derek Chauvin being found guilty of murder in the George Floyd case, or this European Super League nonsense. In the end I decided it’s this Super League nonsense, because it was earth-shattering for the sports world — while it lasted. Ha,…
Now, my last word on the lousy Jake Paul-Ben Askren “fight”
All the hype this weekend in combat sports was about this “Triller” fight between supposed Disney Channel and YouTube personality Jake Paul against ex-MMA fighter Ben Askren. To me, this sure looked like yet another new low for the sport of boxing. It seems like boxing is racing to the bottom in an all-out attempt…
Welcome to Canada, a.k.a. the Lockdown Nation
Well, it has been a particularly tough week for the COVID-19 pandemic situation here in Canada. Our vaccine rollout has gone so slowly that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau received some uncharacteristic hammering in the press from the likes of Jake Tapper at CNN over the lack of supplies. Meanwhile, Israel and the UK are opening…
A sad day: the death of Prince Philip
The story of today is that Prince Philip, husband to the Queen, has died. Sad news, sad day. Funeral next week. It is with deep sorrow that Her Majesty The Queen has announced the death of her beloved husband, His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. His Royal Highness passed away peacefully this…
My last word – for now – on the CFL and XFL
Now up is my column on the talks between the CFL and XFL and why it sure looks similar to the talks between the NFL and AFL so many years ago. I think this is all I’m going to say about the CFL and XFL for now, at least until we have more concrete information….
Another frustrating pandemic Easter News from Nowhere
Welcome to News from Nowhere for what is a pandemic Easter 2021. Just like we had a Pandemic Easter in 2020! I don’t know about you, but I am really sick and tired of the pandemic. Now we have variants on the loose, and those are really wreaking havoc and causing lockdown situations in the…
I have Jenny McCarthy on my mind today for some reason
Hi, Jenny. Just a reminder to myself and the audience that it is Happy Easter, folks! 🐰
George Floyd case: trial of Derek Chauvin is under way with first day of testimony
Today marked the opening statements and first day of testimony in the Derek Chauvin murder trial in Hennepin County, Minnesota; that is the fired Minneapolis police officer accused in the killing of George Floyd. The jury selection wrapped up last week and it took a really long time to get a jury picked, as they…
A terrible day down in Colorado.
I’ve been tuning in today to the live coverage of the horrible and upsetting news of the mass shooting at a supermarket in Boulder, Colorado. Ten people, including a police officer, are now confirmed dead. What is it about the Denver area that brings out the crazy mass shooters? You wouldn’t think this place would…
These CFL-XFL “alignment” discussions sure look like more than just talk
It’s been a few days since word broke in the media that the CFL and XFL were in discussions on a possible “alignment” between the two leagues. The XFL then put out a curious statement that the 2022 season is off, pending their discussions with the CFL. Honestly, when the news first came out, to…
Good news/ bad news in Saskatoon. The good: pro soccer! The bad: Marquis Downs is closing!!
This is been a big but bizarre week for sports in Saskatoon. The big announcement that came down this week was that Saskatoon was getting a professional soccer team in the Canadian Premier League! That was the great news. The terrible news is this is coming at the expense of Marquis Downs, the horse racing…
The NHL is finally back on ESPN! Seven year deal announced today.
Big broadcasting news out of ESPN! They have grabbed a portion of the US rights to the National Hockey League. It’s a seven year deal, and for four of those years they will also show the Stanley Cup final on ABC. Maybe this will force ESPN to actually provide decent coverage to hockey for a…
Cancel culture strikes again! Disney+ pulls Dumbo, Peter Pan and The Aristocats!
It just doesn’t stop! (Although when you think of it, some of the examples cited really are egregious. Couldn’t they just reanimate them or something?)
