Sports Take

Offering a fresh take on the world of sports

recent posts

about

Stuart is a writer and contributor to LWOS in the news and rumours department. Started in October of 2025. He is also a contributor to flameforthought.com as part of the FanSided network.
  • Ottawa REDBLACKS vs. Saskatchewan Roughriders: Game Preview

    Ottawa REDBLACKS vs. Saskatchewan Roughriders: Game Preview

    It’s time for professional football to take over the summer yet again and a brand new season puts the optimism back into the hearts of fans from coast-to-coast, the CFL season is now officially here.

    The CFL is notorious for having week one being the most unpredictable week of the season as old faces in new places plus the potential break out stars lurking in the back waiting to pounce on their opportunity, the new year is always worth watching.

    Starting out the CFL season for Thursday Night Football is the Ottawa REDBLACKS visiting the Saskatchewan Roughriders featuring Trevor Harris starting at QB for the Riders, in 2024 he played in 12 games still throwing for 3264 yards with 20 TD and 9 interceptions.

    Beside him will be a potential MOP candidate A.J. Ouellette who was sidelined by injury for half the season but looks to get back to being a force to be reckoned with. A one time thousand yard rusher looking to get back to that once again.

    One of the guys who’ll be targeted by Harris will be Sam Emilus, a thousand yard receiver for the second time in his three year career so far and looking again to hit that milestone with Harris under the gun. However he’ll also be looking at increasing his touchdown totals from just 5 last season.

    On the defensive side of the ball I’m looking at (who else) Rolan Milligan Jr. last years league leader in interceptions with 8 and Most Outstanding Defensive Player of the Year award winner.

    Ottawa on the other hand will have Dru Brown in the starters spot with veteran Matthew Shiltz behind him, Brown racked up the third most passing yards in 2024 with close to 4000 yards, but the TD-INTs ratio was 18-10, not turning over the ball will make all the difference if the REDBLACKS look to be a better team this season.

    Beside Brown will be Daniel Adeboboye in the starters spot ahead of William Stanback. Adeboboye had 63 carries for 244 yards last season in Toronto and Ottawa is looking for the Toronto native to be among the break out stars in his fourth CFL season.

    The prime target in Ottawa is without question, Eugene Lewis. After a few rough seasons and a dramatic ending in Edmonton Lewis still finished with 1070 yards on 74 catches putting him 6th last season in yards, tack on 10 touchdowns on a struggling team and there’s no doubt Lewis could be the leading receiver in the CFL.

    On the other side of the ball it starts with Lorenzo Mauldin IV leading the way, cementing himself as one of the best edge rushers in the CFL and looking to add to his sack totals entering his 5th CFL season.

    I pick Ottawa to win this game and get the win on the road in hostile ground and get the ball rolling on what could be a fantastic season in Ottawa.

  • Edmonton Elks Reload:2025 Preview

    The Edmonton Elks, (still hate that name) were by far one of the most active teams in the offseason, which includes nabbing a new head coach from the rival Stampeders in Mark Killam. It’ll be his first season as a head coach after being in Calgary for 15 season and serving as assistant head coach in recent years. But he brought a ton of high impact players with him, let’s take a looksie at them.

    Who’s In
    Cody Fajardo Qb
    Kaion Julien-Grant Wr
    Jared Brinkman DL
    Jake Ceresna Lb
    Gregor MacKellar OL
    Royce Metchie Db
    Robbie Smith DL
    David Beard OL
    Steven Dunbar JR Wr
    Tyrell Ford Db
    Tyson Middlemost Wr
    Kobe Williams Db
    Emmanuel Rugumba Lb

    Who’s Out
    Darrius Bratton Db
    Demarcus Christmas DL
    Gavin Cobb Wr
    David Foucault OL
    Josh Hagerty Db
    Tevin Jones Wr
    Eugene Lewis Wr
    Hergy Mayala Wr
    Derrick Moncrief Lb
    Shawn Oakman DL
    Loucheiz Purifoy Db
    Jakub Szott OL
    MacLeod Bethal-Thompson Qb

    Major change for the Elks this season, the good thing is they have brought in good players, the potential bad part is the amount of change being made and whether or not the group can come together to be an effective team on the field on game days. Overall I think the Elks got better but it remains to be seen how they’ll do this season.

    I’m expecting the Elks to go 7-11 this season

  • Calgary Stampeders 2025 Season Preview

    Part two of the coast-to-coast season previews will focus on the Stampeders, the who’s in and out and what it’ll mean to the worst team in the CFL last season.

    Who’s In
    Vernon Adams Jr Qb
    Gary Johnson Jr Lb
    Damon Webb Db
    Fraser Sopik Lb
    Miles Brown DL
    Godfrey Onyeka Db
    Tevin Jones Wr
    Derrick Moncrief Lb
    Jeshrun Antwi Rb
    Adrian Greene Db

    Who’s Out
    Jake Maier Qb
    Micah Awe Lb
    Julian Howsare DL
    Rysen John Wr
    Adam Konar Lb
    Peyton Logan Rb
    Sean McEwan C
    Tyson Middlemost Wr
    Tre Odoms-Dukes Wr
    Matthew Shiltz Qb
    Tommy Stevens Qb
    Kobe Williams Db

    What it all means
    Let’s face it, when you get the first overall draft choice it’s easy to say you stank up the room in a massive way, there’s no where to go but up. The Stampeders are notorious for not really spending in free agency, or taking big swings in the trade game. Well they did both, making the trade that sees the front runner in the Most Outstanding Player before an injury in Vernon Adams Jr. With the trade it meant incumbent starter Jake Maier was shipped out to Saskatchewan, more on that when we get there. Adams had an outstanding start to the 2024 season, on pace to pass for over 6000 yards in a season through 7 games. It’s safe to say he is the number one guy in the Stampede City.

    The weakness’ were many and hard to not point out, which made the drafting and signing of first overall pick Damien Alford, Wideout from the University of Utah, both a head scratcher and making perfect sense. In 46 games at the NCAA level, Alford posted 67 catches for 1291 yards and 7 touchdowns. Only appearing in 4 games in his senior season at Utah, registering zero’s across the board in his stats. This could be a brilliant pick or a complete bust.

    The Stampeders have shaken up every position, and there’s some hope, remains to be seen if the offseason work has paid off.
    I’m expecting the Stamps to finish the season at a 7-11 record.

  • BC Lions 2025 Season Preview: Key Player Movements

    Oh yeah, it’s almost here. Football season is about to begin and the excitement I feel now is getting up there. As with every season there’s familiar faces in different places so I’ll be going over who went where and what that could do for the team. This will be a team by team summary coming out once a day for all teams in the CFL.

    BC Lions
    Who’s In
    Jeremiah Masoli Qb
    James Butler Rb
    Adam Auclair Lb
    Deontai Williams Db
    Micah Awe Lb
    Rysen John Wr
    Adam Konar Lb

    Who’s Out
    William Stanback Rb
    Jeshrun Antwi Rb
    Joshua Archibald DL
    Ciante Evans Db
    Adrian Green Db
    Bo Lokombo Lb(Retired)
    David Mackie Rb(Retired)
    Manny Rugamba Lb

    What it means
    Masoli is clearly not going to be the starter in BC with Nathan Rourke in the fold at QB, but is a solid backup and insurance policy in case of injury or Rourke doesn’t perform to his pre-NFL form. James Butler coming in to be the starting RB after Stanback was released before free agency began is an interesting choice especially allowing a potential ratio breaker (CFL teams are required to have at least 21 Canadian’s on roster and 7 starters) in Antwi to walk. The biggest change is on the defensive side of the ball with Auclair, Awe, and Konar joining the lineback core, that will be the true question mark for the Lions and how the front seven will shape up to be.

    In all the Lions didn’t change all that much, major question mark in the linebackers and how they’ll line up, my guess is that they’re going to look to outscore their defensive gaps. I’d expect the over in a lot of Lions games this season unless the D jells together early.

    I expect the Lions to finish with a 10-8 record this season.

  • Creating a Winning Canadian Roster for NHL’s 4 Nations

    Creating a Winning Canadian Roster for NHL’s 4 Nations

    With the NHL sponsored 4 Nations replacing the All-Star Game this year in a windup to the return of NHLer’s to the Olympics, I’m joining in on the fun and attempting to create a Canada team that has the best possibility to win.

    My lines are

    Brad Marchand-L Nathan MacKinnon-C Sam Reinhart-R

    Dylan Strome-L Connor McDavid-C Mitch Marner-R

    Brandon Hagel-L Brayden Point-C Brenden Gallagher-R

    Marcus Foligno-L Sidney Crosby-C Claude Giroux-R

    Jordan Martinook-Extra

    Brayden McNabb-LD Cale Makar-RD

    Josh Morrissey-LD Brandon Montour-RD

    Kevin Bahl-LD MacKenzie Weegar-RD

    Travis Sanhiem-Extra

    Logan Thompson-G

    Adin Hill-G

    Jordan Binnington-G

    Let me know what you guys think about this line up, as I think this would be a roster that would win a short tournament like this. Who would you put in and take out?

  • CFL Awards Looking Back at the Predictions

    At about the midway point of the season I made my predication’s for the CFL Awards, now with the awards ceremony completed I go back and see what I got right, and the ones that I was out to lunch for. And so, let’s go.

    Special Teams Player of the Year
    Prediction – Janarion Grant
    Winner – Janarion Grant

    Oh, I’m off to a hot start, one for one. Janarion Grant finished the season with 4 return touchdowns (first) and 2,162 all purpose yards (second).

    Most Outstanding Rookie
    Prediction – Ontaria Wilson
    Winner – Nick Anderson

    And I missed this one hard, I was not expecting a defender to win this one with the stand out performers on offense, but Nick Anderson did end up tied for first in the CFL in tackles with 111, and ended up playing the second most defensive plays with 130 snaps. The Elks have a guy in the middle of their defense that has the potential to be a future Defensive Player of the Year.

    Most Outstanding Defensive Player
    Prediction – Tyrice Beverette
    Winner – Roland Milligan Jr.

    Looking back this was the toss up, both players had reason’s to be MODP, and at least I got both finalist’s right on this one. Roland Milligan finished with a league lead 8 interceptions, add on 20 special teams tackles, 10 pass knockdowns, and 71 tackles.

    Most Outstanding Canadian
    Prediction – Tyson Philpot
    Winner – Brady Olivera

    I truly believe that if the injury to Tyson Philpot didn’t end his season he would’ve won this award, alas it’s my other pick in Brady Olivera which should come as no surprise to anyone who follows the CFL. Rushing champion with 1,353 yards on the ground, plus 476 yards through the air to have the most yards from scrimmage in the CFL with 1,829 yards. The strange part in his year is only 4 total touchdowns

    Most Outstanding Player
    Prediction – Justin McInnis
    Winner – Brady Olivera

    Well I completely missed on both the East and West nominee. I already went over Brady Olivera so for this one I’ll look at the East nominee, Bo Levi Mitchell. That name has been around the MOP almost every year in his tenure in the CFL and I was among those who believed his best was behind him and I was wrong. Mitchell led the league with 5,451 yards, 32 touchdowns, and 18 interceptions.

    Overall my predictions went 1/5 so I might not do this again.

    Ah screw it I will do it again.

  • The Legacy of the Grey Cup: A Canadian Icon

    The quest for the Grey Cup continues on November 9th as it comes down to the final four teams still with a chance at capturing one of the most historic trophies in North American sports. Allow me if you will to bring you on a journey through the years of the second oldest trophy in North American sports, and the unloved gem in Canada.

    The Grey Cup was named after Earl Grey, the Governor General of Canada from 1904-1911, which he donated to the Canadian Rugby Union in 1909. The game of football comes directly from the game of rugby, in the NFL for instance the fair catch comes from a mechanism called a ‘mark’ in rugby. Basically the same principle. The Grey Cup was first awarded in 1909 in a 26-6 University of Toronto Varsity Blues victory over Toronto Parkdale Canoe Club, and has since been handed out 110 times so far with the 111th edition on November 17th. The Canadian Football League took control of the Grey Cup in 1958 when the CFL was founded, with the core 9 teams, the British Colombia Lions, Calgary Stampeders, Edmonton Eskimos(now Elks), Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Montreal Alouettes, Ottawa Rough Riders, Saskatchewan Roughriders, Toronto Argonauts, and Winnipeg Blue Bombers (still officially called Winnipeg Football Club).

    The Toronto Argonauts are the winningest club with 18 Championships in 24 appearances, well 25 now with the advance today. The Hamilton Tiger-Cats have the most appearances in the penultimate game with 30. The 2 most common matchups in the Grey Cup game is Edmonton and Montreal a total of 11 times, and Hamilton versus Winnipeg, also 11 times.

    Before 1948 the Grey Cup was just another championship game, few fans traveling to watch the game. But a raucous group of Calgarians changed that forever, riding horses into the Royal York Hotel in downtown Toronto, serving up pancakes, and putting on a rodeo created the spectacle of the Grey Cup Week. A week long gathering of diehard CFL fans from coast-to-coast-to-coast, united by passion and love for the game, that has continued every year since.

    The Grey Cup is more than just another trophy, it is the great unifying and binding force for all Canadians. The Grey Cup is ours, no one else’s (minus that Baltimore thing in 1994). The Grey Cup is a Canadian Icon.

  • Understanding Jakob Pelletier’s Future with the Calgary Flames

    The Calgary Flames have a decision to make, keep Jakob Pelletier or send him on waivers. On the surface this doesn’t seem to be that big a deal right? Considering Pelletier is 23 years old, a former first round pick, only played in 37 games with 10 points in his career. It’s almost a certainty if he goes through waivers he will get claimed, I can think of quite a few teams who are aware and ready to pounce on the waiver wire if he shows up there. Those teams I believe would be the Montreal Canadiens, Chicago Blackhawks, San Jose Sharks, St. Louis Blues, Columbus Blue Jackets, Anaheim Ducks, Utah HC, and the Buffalo Sabres. 8 teams who give up nothing and get a potential 20-30 goal scorer in the league under the right situation.

    The Sharks look to be a front runner for their team, adding a winger to play along side Tyler Toffoli and Macklin Celebrini, the Canadiens enjoy having a Quebec born player, the Blackhawks would add a little more youth and energy. Utah would get a player who fits into what their trying to build for the future.

    Now the question is, why are the Flames considering this? Well there isn’t a spot on the roster for him. Sam Honzek has taken that spot on the second line potentially. Also considering he’s not in the final preseason game it’s starting to look like Pelletier is on his way to the waiver wire. Sam Morton also had a fantastic camp and looks to be one of the first call-ups of the year.

    Looking at the Flames depth charts on www.puckpedia.com I don’t see a spot for Pelletier at all and I don’t see him being among the first to be called up, the issue with sending him down is poor asset management, losing a former first round pick for absolutely nothing.

  • NHL Pacific Division Standings Prediction

    Now, I saved this division for last because this is the division that I think could be the one that stirs up a completely different ending than the one I think will happen. So much intrigue in this division, so let’s get going.

    #8) San Jose Sharks
    This should come as no surprise as the Sharks were by far the worst team in the NHL last season. But the additions of Will Smith, (Not the actor) and Macklin Cellebrini, will definitely make this team more watchable this season. Add on Askarov’s demand for a trade out of Nashville and the fact that he will be the guy for the Sharks makes it incredibly interesting.

    #7) Anaheim Ducks
    What is this team? I don’t know, Getzlaf retires and things just rolled down hill with Zegras. He’s flashy, he’s skilled, but he is not a player that will win you a Stanley Cup. I get having fun on and off the ice, I’m all for it. But the compete level out of him in the past few years leaves so much to be desired.

    #6) LA Kings
    The Kings are the team I think that drops quite a bit from the past few seasons, but again, without Pierre-Luc Dubois this could lift the spirits of the locker room. PLD is the same as Zegras, we’ve seen it at the World Championships, when he cares and has the want to do it he can no problems. When he’s not all there he’s just a skate and glide player.

    #5) Calgary Flames
    Yes I know this surprises you that the Flames are ranked this high. However, the Flames have done something I think is fantastic. They’re letting the young guys truly compete for a spot. For years the Flames have almost guaranteed all the roster spots for veterans and PTO contracts and let the young guys suffer in the minors long past their time and wasting that capital. There’s competition in camp for everyone, and that just makes the team that much better.

    #4) Seattle Kraken

  • NHL Central Division Standing Predictions

    Rolling right along to the Central Division, to me this division provides some considerable intrigue and is full of different possibilities as to who will finish in what position. Let’s getting into it.

    #8) Chicago Blackhawks
    This team should be more competitive within the realm of the NHL with Connor Bedard entering his second NHL season, a full season with Taylor Hall who is another former first overall draft pick mentoring the young star will prove beneficial to the team, however the division is just that much better than they are as a whole.

    #7) Utah HC
    Man they need to get a name, it felt weird typing HC like its an English Premier League team. Anyway, this team showed signs of life early on and just snowballed downhill midway through the season, they looked gassed by the end of the year and they didn’t really make any changes that I saw that could curb the fatigue. They rely on the top guys being the top guys game after game and that gets tiring for these guys, some secondary scoring when the big guys hit that wall would make this team a lot more dangerous. As it stands, 7th is where they’ll be.

    #6) St. Louis Blues
    It seems like the Blues are just an afterthought sometimes, they’re not really good, they’re not awful. This was the most difficult one to place in this division, I really don’t know how this season will go for them.

    #5) Winnipeg Jets
    Again the coin flip, I did consider putting the Blues ahead of the Jets, but given this team didn’t go through many changes and running it back again makes me think they aren’t going to be higher than this, and I think they make the playoffs as Wildcard 2.

    #4) Minnesota Wild
    Bill Guerin is still in cap hell, the Wild are very close to the cap with some contracts that seem untradable such as Jared Spurgeon, but there is hope for a playoff spot with the likes of Brock Faber leading from the defensive side and Kirill Kaprizov on the forward side of the ice. I do think the Wild’s season will be one to watch.

    #3) Nashville Predators
    This is by far the biggest movers in the offseason, signing Steven Stamkos, and Johnathan Marchessault, two key pieces from the teams they leave behind in the Lighting and Golden Knights respectively. The Predators have gone for broke and this is a playoffs, if not Stanley Cup, or bust season.

    #2) Colorado Avalanche
    The consistency of the roster and the knowledge of how to win will continue to drive this team, and having not one, but two of the best players in the world in Nathan MacKinnon, and Cale Makar, the question mark is goaltending, all other facets of the game are well covered.

    #1) Dallas Stars
    The Stars are the best all round team I believe in the Western Conference, the mix of speedy youth and veteran experience puts this team over the edge, the goaltending is elite and quite frankly, I’m shocked and surprised they haven’t won a Stanley Cup yet. I believe this is the Stanley Cup Champions of 2024.

    The Central is a strong division once again and it will hard pressed to see a Pacific Division team beat out one of these teams to be in a wildcard position.