It’s my Parting Shot for some Weekend Short Shots…..
With the seven-hour time difference between Saskatchewan and Milan, Italy, that means that those folks who work 9 to 5, get home in time to realize that the day at the Winter Olympic Games is done! You flip on the T-V and you’re watching highlights and wrap-ups and round-ups and panel discussions with regards to what happened. Before the internet, that was a big deal. But now, watching these recaps of the day’s events is pretty much anti-climactic as most of the highlights have been viewed on your phone or your computer, leaving you stuck with T-V show re-runs on the channels that don’t have broadcast rights to the Winter Games! Thank goodness for me, the Saskatoon Blades’ hockey schedule is busy, a game every second night on average, to keep me occupied!!
When you get all the way to Game 7 of the World Series the year before, any movement the Toronto Blue Jays make during their spring training time in Dunedin, Florida, gets even more closely scrutinized than in the past! Earlier this week, as pitchers and catchers reported on Wednesday, the news was that outfielder Anthony Santander was going to be sidelined for almost all, if not all, of the 2026 campaign, pitcher Bowden Francis was undergoing Tommy John surgery and wouldn’t be available until 2027 and Shane Bieber needed some time with his injured throwing forearm before he would be able to play. Of those three players, only Bieber is of any real consequence as he would’ve been one of the five starting pitchers for Toronto when they came north to start the regular-season at the end of next month. When will he be ready? Your guess is as good as mine, but the Blue Jays seem to have enough starters – even without Francis, whose 2025 campaign was a wash-out with arm problems. As for Santander, he wasn’t much of a factor last season when he was healthy, so no big loss! Bring on baseball!!
And, Maddox Schultz is the real deal! The first overall pick in last year’s W-H-L Prospects Draft gets partial exceptional status from the Western Canadian hockey model, meaning he can play 34 games – or half a season – for the Regina Pats. Last Friday, I was a little, meh, when I saw him for the first time in action against the visiting Saskatoon Blades. But, Regina head coach Brad Herauf put Schultz on the top line on Wednesday against the Bridge City Bunch and all the 15-year-old did was score three goals, including the tying tally and overtime winner! Colour me impressed!!
That’s my Parting Shot. I’m Les Lazaruk…and it turned out nice again!
