Good news is great for the soul.
Right?
OK, hereâs some good news.
Jack Redlick, the Alberta Midget Hockey Leagueâs coach of the year for 2018-19, has returned to the St. Albert Raiders as their head coach.
Redlick, a former WHLer (Kamloops, Vancouver, Regina, 2000-03), sat out the 2019-20 season after being seriously injured in an accident on June 29. Redlick, 36, was riding his motorcycle near Idaho Falls, Idaho, when another motorcycle driver crossed the centre line and struck him head-on.
In March, Redlick posted this on Facebook:

âOn my birthday eight months ago I got a birthday gift that forever changed my life. When a man crossed the centre line and hit me head on. After almost three months in the hospital, eight surgeries, an amputation and 55 pounds later, today I took my first running steps. Iâve figured out how to skate again and although neither running nor skating is pretty. Iâm back, and it will only get better.
âIâve had so many people say they are sorry this happened to me. My response is always the same: âDonât be, you should be happy for me, I shouldnât be here.â
âAs coaches we always teach our players that in both hockey and life there are only two things you can truly control â your work ethic and your attitude. Might as well make what you can control positive in nature. Things happen for a reason. No sense bitching about it. Just OORAH up, and accept the challenge no matter the obstacles. Donât waste your time with the negativity. Focus on the process and not the result. Live in those 10-second evolutions. Lol.
âAll those hockey cliches that I preached to my players over the years, Iâve had to live by for the last eight months. Sport truly does reflect life.â
With all that Redlick has been through since the end of March, itâs great to see him back and eager to get started. So hereâs hoping that the next hockey season gets started on time.
Here is some more good news; well, it is if youâre a fan of the Saskatchewan Roughriders or even just looking for something to do on a nightly basis. . . . Rob Vanstone of the Regina Leader-Post holds a Riders Trivia gathering every night at 9 oâclock CT. . . . You will find him on Twitter at @robvanstone and that will get you started.
Northland Properties, which is huge in the hospitality industry, has laid off thousands of workers, according to Bob Mackin of thebreaker.news. . . . Tom Gaglardi, who owns the NHLâs Dallas Stars and is the majority owner of the WHLâs Kamloops Blazers, is Northlandâs president. His father, Bob, is the organizationâs founder. . . . The company, which is based in Vancouver, had about 12,000 employees before all of this hit. Taj Kassam, the senior vice-president of corporate affairs, wouldnât tell Mackin how many had been laid off. . . . Mackinâs story is right here.
The government of the province of Quebec wants sporting events cancelled through Aug. 31. The ban also will apply to cultural events and festivals. . . . However, the Montreal Impact of the MLS has said that it was told none of this will apply to professional sports teams. . . .
The Rogers Cup womenâs tennis tournament, which had been scheduled for Montreal from Aug. 7-16, has been postponed to Aug. 6-15, 2021. . . . Chances are that the men’s tournament, set for Toronto at the same time, also will be postponed. . . .
The XFL appears to have left us, without being able to complete its first season. The spring football league suspended its inaugural season on March 12. It now has laid off all employees and is refunding money to those who purchased 2021 season tickets. . . . Kevin Seifert and Field Yates of ESPN reported that the XFL âcurrently has no plans to return in 2021.â . . . Headline at fark.com: EXFL. . . .
Earlier this week, the 13-team National Lacrosse League cancelled the remainder of its regular season. It had suspended play on March 12. In a statement, the league said âofficials are looking at any number of scenarios to return to play when all stakeholders and health officials deem that possible. There is no timeline on when decisions will be made.â . . . The NLL includes franchises in Calgary, Halifax, Saskatchewan, Toronto and Vancouver. . . .
With Japan now struggling to contain COVID-19, Toshiro Muto, the CEO of the organizing committee for the Tokyo Olympic Summer Games, has cast some doubt on whether they will be held in 2021. âI donât think anyone would be able to say if it is going to be possible to get it under control by next July or not,â he said on Friday. âWe certainly are not in a position to give you a clear answer.â . . . The Games were to have been held in July. They have been postponed to July 23, 2021, with the Paralympics to start on Aug. 24. . . .
Los Angeles County has extended what it calls its âsafer-at-homeâ order through May 15. It was first set in place at midnight on March 20. . . .
The 2020 Cloverdale, B.C., Rodeo and Country Fair has been cancelled. It had been scheduled to run from May 15-18. . . . The Falkland, B.C., Stampede that is a May long weekend tradition has been postponed until Aug. 28-30. The Stampede was first held in 1919.
The Thought for the Day from Jack Finarelli, aka The Sports Curmudgeon, this one from Will Rogers: âThere are men running governments who shouldnât be allowed to play with matches.â
Stephanie Apstein of Sports Illustrated has taken a look at some of the ideas that have been floated regarding the potential return of pro sports to our entertainment landscape. . . . Word of warning: There isnât any false hope in her story. All you will find here is reality. . . . Like this from Zach Binney, who has a PhD in epidemiology and teaches at Emory U in Atlanta:
âIf people just decide to let it burn in most areas and we do lose a couple million people itâd probably be over by the fall. Youâd have football. Youâd also have two million dead people. And letâs talk about that number. Weâre really bad at dealing with big numbers. That is a Super Bowl blown up by terrorists, killing every single person in the building, 24 times in six months. Itâs 9/11 every day for 18 months. What freedoms have we given up, what wars have we fought, what blood have we shed, what money have we spent in the interest of stopping one more 9/11? This is 9/11 every day for 18 months.â
Think about that for a bit as we await decisions by the NHL, NBA, MLB, NFL and so many others.
Jason Fortier is the new head coach of the Odessa Jackalopes of the junior North American Hockey League. They play out of Odessa, Texas. . . . Fortier signed on as general manager of hockey operations and head coach. . . . Fortier is the BCHLâs reigning coach of the year after guiding the Coquitlam Express to the leagueâs best regular-season record. . . . Fortier left the Express late in March. Long-time BCHL observer Brian Wiebe reported at the time that Fortier wasnât able to reach agreement on a contract with Express owner Fayaz Manji.
Tom Webster, a former NHL coach who played in the NHL and WHA, died on Friday morning. He was 71. . . . Webster was a brother to Barry Webster, a long-time member of the Moose Jaw Warriorsâ board of directors. . . . Helene Elliott of the Los Angeles Times has more on Tom Webster right here.
Condolences to old friend Daryl Lubiniecki on the death of Lolamae, his wife of 53 years. She left us on Thursday after battling cancer. . . . There is a complete obituary right here. . . . Daryl served the Saskatoon Blades as general manager, head coach and advisor and also worked with the Prince George Cougars over a long career in the WHL. He also supplied us with more laughs than should have been legally allowed.