Racism in Hockey?
Hockey Manitoba, whether they know it or not, have found themselves sitting on a powder keg with the fuse, unfortunately, already lit and it may explode sky high. The KJHL (Keystone Junior Hockey League) is a ten-team Junior "B" league founded in 1977 that plays in the southeastern and northern part of our province.
Earlier this year the five southern teams decided to form their own league due to "safety concerns" (the long drives up north), without directly citing the Humboldt Broncos' tragedy. The southern teams also say that many of their players cannot, due to school or job commitments, take so much time off to travel north and play.
It all sounds legit and reasonable until you find out that the five teams that formed the new CRJHL (Capital Region Junior Hockey League) happen to be Caucasian teams while the five remaining teams that are left out on the tundra are all Indigenous. Coincidence? Could it be a case of sour grapes (the Peguis Juniors have won the last three league championships)? Possible? I'll let you decide but does it pass the "smell test"?
You know what's coming next, don't you? Peguis FN Chief Glenn Hudson is screaming blue murder, "it's blatant racial discrimination" now that the league is split along racial lines and he's gone to court to try and rectify the situation by asking for an injunction. The court has ruled, correctly, against this injunction thus allowing the 100 players to continue playing in the new league but we haven't seen the last of this case because now it moves up the "chain of command" in the judicial process.
When and how this mess is going to be resolved is a good question but I simply cannot see these two sides coming together under these circumstances, now or in the future, court ruling or not. Meanwhile good old Hockey Manitoba takes its usual "ostrich" position, burying its head in the sand, waiting and praying for the problem to go away on its own. Some things never change!
Bears and Cougars
The VCI Golden Bears hockey team (8-6) finished off 2018 with decisive home win over REMP (Reston, Elkhorn, Melita and Pierson) in their annual afternoon Christmas match played in front of a large boisterous crowd made up of parents and students from not only the four Virden schools but the visitors' schools as well. Next home game is Jan. 15 when the Major Pratt Trojans come to town.
Shout out to SW Cougars Grady Lane and Hunter Wallace for cracking Manitoba's U16 hockey team that will participate in the Canada Winter Games in Red Deer come February. This prestigious national competition has 19 sports with 150 events and will welcome over 3,600 athletes representing all the provinces of Canada.
College football
Over the Christmas Holidays you could be subjected, sadly, to numerous meaningless college football bowl games with names that border on the ridiculous. Obviously it's alright to have a few games to declare a national champion but this year there will be over 40 bowl games with some of the teams having a losing record. Some of the crazier names include; the Potato Bowl, Gasparilla Bowl, Redbox Bowl, Pinstripe Bowl, Belk Bowl, World Camping Bowl and the quite apropos, Cheez-It Bowl. Until next time....
