The mere possibility of the Roughriders' Shaq Evans occasionally moving from wide receiver to slotback should leave fans salivating.

Robservations …

• How about Shaq as, say, a slotbaq? Marshall Ferguson of TSN and cfperspective.com ruminated about that possibility the other day in conversation with Derek Taylor on CKRM’s SportsCage. Ferguson speculated about Jason Maas , who was named the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ offensive co-ordinator in December, perhaps moving receivers around as opposed to anchoring them in specific positions. If 2019 CFL all-star Shaq Evans were to shift from boundary wide receiver to slotback, even on occasion, it could be open season on defensive halfbacks.

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• When you consider Evans’ size (6-foot-1, 210 pounds) and the CFL’s evolution into a slotback-oriented league, you really have to wonder what he could accomplish if proximity to the sideline did not restrict his options on pass routes. A 72-catch, 1,334-yard season, such as the one he enjoyed in 2019, may be a starting point. As Ferguson noted, what if Evans had the advantage of the waggle?

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Photo by Brandon Harder / Regina Leader-Post

• The same notion came to mind when Matt Dominguez starred as a wideout with the Roughriders. Before Dominguez debuted with the Green and White in 2003, then-head coach Danny Barrett drew a comparison to Allen Pitts. However, Barrett used Dominguez at wide receiver, whereas Pitts was a Hall of Fame-calibre slotback. Pitts was 6-foot-4 and 200 pounds. Dominguez, who played at 6-foot-3 and 220 pounds, was a tight end when he made the Denver Broncos’ roster in 2001.

• Worth noting: On Aug. 2, 2008, Dominguez started at slotback and caught five passes for 104 yards in a 22-21 victory over the host Calgary Stampeders. During that game, he suffered another knee injury and was sidelined until October. A healthy Dominguez, had he been deployed primarily as an inside receiver, would have been a Hall of Famer.

• One more note on this topic — and, yes, it is admittedly a slow time in the sporting world (understatement). Joey Walters was a productive wide receiver with the Roughriders from 1977 until late in the 1980 season, at which point head coach Ron Lancaster decided to move No. 17 inside. The following two years, under field boss Joe Faragalli, Walters lined up almost exclusively at slotback while amassing yardage totals of 1,715 (a franchise record set in 1981) and 1,692 at a time when each team played 16 games.

PANDEMIC PAUSE

• At the risk of being an alarmist, I have serious doubts about whether there will be a CFL season — or any sporting season — in 2020. COVID-19 cases have not yet peaked on this continent. Even when they do, how long will it take for the numbers to decrease to the point where it is deemed safe for sporting federations to begin or resume play? As long as there are any cases in North America, or across the globe, how can anyone give the all-clear for athletes to compete and fans to gather by the thousands? It is one thing to flatten the curve. Flatlining the overall total is another matter entirely.

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• One becomes even more apprehensive after reading that, according to modelling done by the Government of Ontario, the effects of COVID-19 could be noticeable from 18 months to two years. If the worst-case scenario materializes, there will be issues of far greater magnitude than whether the New Jersey Devils can play the Carolina Hurricanes on a Wednesday.

Photo by Bruce Edwards / Postmedia files

NIFTY FIFTY

• In the absence of live action, sports-oriented television networks are mining the archives in search of programming. Sportsnet treated us to a gem Thursday night, when a Dec. 30, 1981 NHL matchup between the Edmonton Oilers and Philadelphia Flyers was replayed. Wayne Gretzky scored five goals (including an empty-netter) to hit the 50 milestone in just 39 games. It is impossible to imagine anyone threatening, let alone breaking, that record.

• Another unchallengeable record: Ray Ferraro’s 108-goal season for the 1983-84 Brandon Wheat Kings.

• One of the nitpicky criticisms of Gretzky was that he did not have a blistering shot. Tell that to Flyers goalie Pete Peeters, who was repeatedly a frozen figure as Gretzky’s slapshots found the net in the aforementioned 1981 game.

• Alas, the live telecast of that Oilers-Flyers contest, played on a Wednesday, was not accessible to most Canadians. The game was aired on a regional basis, for the benefit of Oilers and Flyers fans. Back then, Saskatchewanians could watch only one televised NHL game per week, on Saturday nights. (Mind you, one game per week sounds like a lottery win these days.)

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• ESPN Classic Canada recently aired a Major League Soccer game from 2017. On what grounds does that constitute “classic” television? At a time when people are starving for sports, surely the network can provide something better than a regurgitated telecast from the eye-glazing MLS.

THE NEXT ONE

Connor Bedard should prove to be the next great one for the Regina Pats, who will select him first overall in the WHL’s April 22 bantam draft. Bedard will be eligible for full-time duty as a 15-year-old next season after being granted exceptional-player status. His presence will give the Pats and the league a marketable marquee player at a time when the premier skaters are largely anonymous.

• Quick! Name the top three scorers in the WHL for the 2019-20 season. Diehards aside, is anyone familiar with Adam Beckman of the Spokane Chiefs (108 points), Seth Jarvis of the Portland Winterhawks (98) or James Hamblin of the Medicine Hat Tigers (92)? Long gone are the days in which Joe Sakic (Swift Current Broncos), Theoren Fleury (Moose Jaw Warriors) and Mike Modano (Prince Albert Raiders) were all in the league at the same time.

ROLL CREDITS …