Weekly Takes - Monday, July 29 Edition

Weekly Takes - Monday, July 29 Edition

1. The Oilers hiring of Stan Bowman makes no sense to me.

They are coming off an amazing postseason run and followed it up by having a world-class summer.

Why hire Bowman, who lost his touch in his last few years in Chicago, and comes with tremendous baggage?

2. It blows my mind that Ross Atkins plans to sell-off his rentals at the deadline, but not any core players with term, since he hopes to compete in 2025.

The Blue Jays have no path to competing in 2025.

Keep Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Yariel Rodriguez, Davis Schenider, Daulton Varsho, Spencer Horwritz, and maybe Jose Berrios and Isiah Kiner-Falefa.

The rest all need to be traded before the start of 2025.

3. Nate Pearson was on my list of players who I thought the Jays should "maybe" keep.

He was unlikely to ever pan out in Toronto, but I only would have traded him if it was worth the Jays while.

Their return for him is surely not that.

4. Ditto with Danny Jansen, who was the only pending free agent that I had interest in the Jays keeping.

Trading him is fine, but I wish the return was better.

The Jays -- thus far -- have deepened their prospect pool in terms of quantity, but not quality.

5. Soccer Canada needs to fire Bev Presitman. She has no business coaching high-level soccer ever again.

Everyone else who took part in Soccer Canada's drone spying program should be fired too.

But stripping Canada of six points, all but crushing their Olympic dreams, is cruel punishment to the players who deserve no blame for what happened.

FIFA should be ashamed of themselves and those in Soccer Canada who positioned FIFA to make this decision should be ashamed of themselves too.

6. My last point re: the Soccer Canada scandal.

I am so utterly embarrassed to be Canadian. Not because a coach or two (neither of whom is from Canada) oversaw a cheating scandal, but in our government.

Suspending funding is a soft, weak, cowardly, and spineless. Have the back of your players. Believe in the future of soccer in the country.

Our Liberal government should be ashamed. Have some pride.

7. It is truly amazing to me how bad Donald Trump has fumbled his campaign since being shot.

He picked a boring, two-face, weird, kiss-ass as his VP, he rambled during his convention speech -- refusing to unite the country in the process -- and he and his campaign have had an awful response to Kamala Harris now being his opponent.

He has gone from being a layup to win the White House to being in a battle.