What brought this to top of mind were reports that the NHL wanted to purchase the vaccine to inoculate players. The thinking was that buying the vaccine and injecting it would get the season started more safely in the New Year.

Where would this vaccine be purchased? Without an excess anywhere in the world, the NHL would certainly be shoving those with a far great need out of the way.

“Sorry, Gramma, but your vaccine just went to Auston Matthews. Isn’t it wonderful that you and the other old folks here at Shady Manor can watch hockey again? Maybe Alexander Ovechkin will autograph your ventilator.”

This hare-brained idea has the finger prints of team owners all over it. Players are in the lowest of the lowest risk zone, unless missing teeth, stitches and broken noses are considered pre-existing conditions.

The NHL has since backed off, saying the plan was to purchase the vaccine after everyone received theirs. Well, that should come sometime between April and September.

Pfizer Canada’s president Cole Pinnow told Global News that a limited supply of vaccines would be available to governments, but none to corporations.

Bill Gates, the second richest person in the world, said he would wait his turn. (Note: Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, is No. 1. He will likely order his online.)

As I poked around online and, specifically Twitter, many people said NHL players and staff should be moved up the list. To summarize, these folks said watching sports is good for mental health.

I miss watching hockey as just about anyone, but the list is the list. Healthcare workers and our most vulnerable go first and second.

Some of you might remember that last time the NHL got involved in a pandemic. More specifically, it was the Calgary Flames in 2009.

That year, Flames players and their families were allegedly told to lie about getting flu shots ahead of those with high risks. Approximately 150 Flames and families jumped the line to get the H1N1 shots in a private clinic.

When discovered, it didn’t play well, with two Alberta Health Services managers being fired, and the team holding a meeting with its seasonticket holders to explain/justify the situation. A public inquiry into the matter was held in 2013.

This year, the NFL, with 53-player rosters, is limping through its season. The NHL can do it too, without putting teams in a two-city bubble as it did earlier this year. There are sure to be hiccups.

Kudos to Curling Canada for moving its major events into a bubble in Calgary. (Note: How many of you are getting really sick of hearing the word bubble? I’m at the point where I won’t take a bubble bath.)

Curling Canada’s plan is to hold the Scotties, the Brier, the national mixed doubles championship and the world men’s championship in Calgary. A couple of Grand Slam events will be played in Calgary as well.

The Scotties is scheduled to begin on Feb. 19 and the Brier on March 4. TSN’s Vic Rauter must be beaming. Watching curling on TV tops my list of sporting events.

Curling Canada, rightly, is going to have a tight grip on the competitions. It has two 40-page documents to prove it. Breaking rules will result in harsh penalties.

For example, if a player or coach leaves the bubble, the player/ coach will be disqualified from the competition and suspended until July 2022. That means any hope of curling in the 2022 Winter Olympics would be gone.

The team will also pay a price for the indiscretion. The team will be sent home at its own expense and lose funding for two years.

Canadian women’s champion Kerri Einarson can’t wait to curl again.

“I’m extremely excited for it,” Einarson told Ted Wyman of the Winnipeg Sun. “Finally getting to hear some good news is so nice. We haven’t gotten a whole lot of good news lately, so it’s good to hear this.” As the national champion, Einarson has a spot locked up.

Up in the air is how provincial and territory representatives will be decided. It seems unlikely competitions can be held in a way that meets health guidelines. It is likely the teams that competed at the Brier and Scotties last year will get free rides to this year’s competitions. I am not sure if there is an alternative. I will leave that to smarter minds.

Meanwhile, John Morris, a longtime curler of renown for his ability and his flamboyant personality, is confident Curling Canada has a good plan. Morris is lining up now in the second spot for Kevin Koe this year.

“One thing that’s very reassuring is that we saw the NHL do something similar with their bubble system,” Morris told Wyman. “The NHL did it the best, under the circumstance and they didn’t have any cases of COVID.

“We have faith in the NHL and the powers that be that are part of this decision that they’re going to create the safest environment possible, using some models that have already been tested. This is something that the athletes will respond very well to.”

Curling Canada is the proverbial well-oiled machine and will have every detail nailed down. If the rules are followed, it will be safe.

And I am confident in saying that Curling Canada didn’t ask if it could purchase vaccines.

-Cam Hutchinson