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sports // no. 5

e An interview with Terry Jones, veteran
sports reporter

¢ How sports leagues are handling the
pandemic

..and that's everything!

Edmonton Oilers celebrate anniversary
of fourth Stanley Cup win in five years

» An interview with Terry Jones, veteran sports reporter

Brandon Yip
Senior Columnist

 

he world of professional sports has

been on hiatus since March due to
COVID-19. Sports stations such as TSN
and Sportsnet are replaying classic sports
moments to fill airtime, along with
broadcasting one-on-one Zoom interviews
with ex-athletes reminiscing about past
sporting feats. This month marks the
anniversary when Wayne Gretzky won his
fourth Stanley Cup as a member of the
Edmonton Oilers.

It would also be his final
championship as an Oiler and player. “The
Great One” was a member of a dominant
Oilers team considered by many to be the
last great Canadian NHL dynasty team. On
May 26, 1988, the Oilers won their fourth
championship in five years. The team was
noted for its high-offensive prowess led
by “The Great One,” the speed and finesse
of Glenn Anderson, snipers Jari Kurri and
Craig Simpson, agitator Esa Tikkanen,
the grit of Mark Messier, and the stellar
goaltending of Grant Fuhr.

  

Craig Allan
Staff Writer

 

s the world begins the recovery from

COVID-19, the one area that is going
to have the most difficulty returning will
be the world of sports. Seeing as sports
is normally done in front of a crowd of
spectators, the stadiums and arenas will
likely be one of the last venues to open once
this pandemic ends. This forces the leagues
to answer many questions; when do they
play, how do they play, and if they can even
play at all? The Other Press looks at major
sports leagues to see how they are planning
to play on in a coronavirus world.

Canadian Football League (CFL)

Of all the leagues mentioned, no one is in
more dire straits than the CFL. The CFL is
not like other leagues that have billionaire
owners and worldwide recognition. The

The 1988 cup final was also notable for
a power failure that occurred at the Boston
Garden on May 24 during the middle of
game four with the game tied 3 to 3. After
a long delay, the game was canceled by
then NHL president, John Ziegler. Game
four would later be replayed in Edmonton
at Northlands Coliseum on May 26. But
the temporary delay was just postponing
the inevitable as the Oilers would win
decisively 6 to 3 with Wayne Gretzky
scoring the cup clinching goal on a power
play—along with two assists.

For Terry Jones, veteran sports reporter
for the Edmonton Sun, he remembers the
1988 cup final vividly. But he recalls not so
much the action on the ice, but the lack of
“electrical” action off the ice after the power
went out inside the Boston Garden during
game four. “I remember finding a corner
of the rink where there was a light [that]
was on from a secondary power source,
found a garbage can, turned it upside down
and wrote my column,” Jones said in an
interview with the Other Press. “Nights like
that you don’t forget.”

Jones also remembers the excitement

CFL is a fan dependent and
gate dependent league.
Because of this, and the fact
that some of the restrictions
in place now could be

in place for another year
according to Dr. Bonny
Henry, going to a football
game soon is unlikely. Ina
video conference call with
the House of Commons,
league commissioner Randy
Ambrosie came before the
House asking for $150-million
dollars to keep the league going through
the pandemic, stating that the league will
likely have to cancel the upcoming season.
He claims to want a “partnership” when
asked if the CFL was looking for a “bailout,”
but getting the government to agree to
give any government money to the CFL
will be a tough sell. The CFL, combined
with its Grey Cup championship have
survived World Wars, other financial hard
times, and failing franchises—could the
coronavirus be the last straw for the three
down league?

National Football League (NFL)
Unlike other leagues, the NFL may be
able to weather this storm with little
ramifications. Because the average NFL
season runs from September to the Super
Bowl on the first Sunday in February,

Illustration by Sonam Kaloti

and atmosphere
at Northlands
Coliseum when
the Oilers were
celebrating their
cup victory.
"[This] was also
the night they
won their fourth
Stanley Cup and
Wayne Gretzky
gathered the team
at centre ice for an
impromptu team
picture,” Jones
said. “Every team
in the NHL has
done it every year since. It was [also the]
year of Gretzky's ‘Royal Wedding’ and you
don't forget attending something like that
and the reception that followed. Of course,
it also turned out to be the summer when
Gretzky was sold to the Los Angeles Kings.
So, there was that.”

Almost three decades have passed
since a Canadian-based NHL team won
the Stanley Cup. The last Canadian team

the NFL has been able to skip over the
coronavirus epidemic. They are not
entirely unscathed though, as they have
had to cancel their international games in
Europe, but outside of that, they are not

as concerned as other leagues. In some
cases they have even been successful, as the
recent NFL Draft had the highest ratings of
any draft in history.

National Hockey League (NHL)

The NHL was only about a month away
from the beginning of their playoffs when
the pandemic forced them to pause the
action. Since then the league has been
planning and spit balling ideas for how they
can finish the season. One idea that has
gained a lot of traction is the idea of “hub
cities” having all the teams play out the
season in set locations with no fans. Cities
like Edmonton and Vancouver have put in
their applications. The idea will still have
some obstacles like the fact that players will
have to be tested for the virus frequently,
and players may have trouble just getting to
the cities—but the league is determined to
finish out the season.

National Basketball Association (NBA)
The NBA, who was also about a month
away from its playoffs, were really the
canary in the coal mine when it came

to the coronavirus in sports. Utah Jazz
player Rudy Gobert was the first athlete

in the Big 4 sports to be diagnosed with

  

Illustration by Udeshi Seneviratne

to capture the cup was the Montreal
Canadiens in 1993—-defeating the Los
Angeles Kings in five games. For Terry
Jones, he is not optimistic that another
Canadian NHL team will eclipse what
the Oilers accomplished in the 1980s: “Tl
reply with Gretzky’s normal response to
a question like that. ‘Never say never, he
said. Things change. But in my lifetime,
with 32 teams, the salary cap and so many
other factors, I don't expect to see it.”

Playing 1n the pandemic

>» How sports leagues are handling the pandemic

the coronavirus. The NBA has no set plan
to return to action, but they are allowing
teams in places with more laxed social
distancing regulations to open their
practice facilities.

Major League Baseball (MLB)

The MLB was the closest league to
beginning their season when they had to
announce they were suspending operations
due to corona. Of all the leagues, the
MLB’s plans to return may be the most
elaborate, as they have tossed around

every idea from a season contained in the
teams spring training facilities, to three
team divisions where all teams play in their
stadiums within driving distance of their
divisional competitors. Baseball may have
the best possibility of returning of all the
sports, as the structure of the game is the
easiest in regards to maintaining social
distancing, but playing while maintaining
a worthwhile profit margin, especially due
to the fact that they will be obligated to pay
for each player's full salary, will likely be the
league’s biggest struggle.

This is uncharted waters for the sports
world. At this time, no one knows how it
will go forward in the future. For the time
being, it looks like the raising of the Stanley
Cup, a home run into the stands, and the
roar of the crowd will be done or replaced
with muted silence.