The Edmonton Elks have defeated the Montreal Alouettes once already this season. Does the result of the upcoming rematch with Montreal in Montreal impact the next Elks home game attendance on August 15th? A win the Club is 7-2, a loss the Club is on a 2-game losing streak. Like the name debate or not, the significant portion of fans lost are over the name change have not had their resolve to stay away challenged until this season, therefore a road loss this Saturday will affect next Saturday.
No one is denying the impact that Saskatchewan Roughriders fans had in the Elks opening the upper deck back on August 1st. No one is denying that the Toronto Argonauts will not have that effect. The home game versus the Argos on August 15th is a good barometer to see where the team is, off the field, in rebuilding their fan base. Edmonton is an event city, the next Elks event is the Labour Day rematch. How do you convince thousands of extra fans to treat a mid-August game against an East Division opponent as a must-see event?
Wish one is I wish I knew how to speed up the process of the Elks being able to open up the upper deck of Commonwealth Stadium.
My introduction to the Edmonton Huskies and Edmonton Wildcats, two member teams of the Prairie Football Conference (PFC) of the Canadian Junior Football League (CJFL), was when FC Edmonton (RIP) effectively kicked them out of Clarke Stadium. The plan has been to attend one of their games ever since.
The Huskies play out of the Jasper Place Bowl located at 9210 - 163 street in Edmonton. Weather permitting, this Saturday will be the first CJFL game attended. Look for a report on the new experience Sunday morning. Learn more about the Huskies at EdmontonHuskies.com
The Wildcats play out of Emerald Hills located at 4501 Emerald Drive in Sherwood Park. Their schedule and mine conflict but if someone wishes to file a report from their home opener, please reach out. Learn more about the Wildcats at EdmontonWildcats.com
Wish two is that both teams have Ma Nature treat them well.
Coach and General Manager Jordan Baker has had a challenging year with his Edmonton Stingers basketball team. Opening day starters Au-diese Toney and Dain Dainja, both with G-League experience, did not make it far enough into the season to see the return of incumbents Mike Nuga and Nick Hornsby. Only Dainja got the public goodbye as he went to NBA Summer League. Then their was the Isaih "not feeling you Edmonton" Moore episode and slowly but surely the Club said goodbye to .500 basketball finishing 9-15.
Their first round opponent on Thursday August 6th is the Vancouver Bandits. A team the Stingers did play .500 basketball against winning two of four meetings. This is not a "David vs Goliath" matchup. It is fair to suggest that while being the underdogs, a win by the Stingers does not defy all logic. The other first round matchup features the Saskatoon Mamba going to Winnipeg to face the Sea Bears. The Sea Bears recently announced their star Teddy Allen will miss the playoffs due to a currently being investigated night club incident. This drastically changes the trajectory of any team facing Winnipeg including a perspective second round matchup with Edmonton.
My final wish for today is for the Edmonton Stingers to make the CEBL Finals. Be a wonderful way to say goodbye to co-owner Jamie Burns, who the Club announced on Tuesday had passed away.
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