Rams-Huskies rivalry isn't what it used to be — but is that a bad thing?

"To be quite honest with you, they kind of started it."

One day, many years ago, I visited then-Regina Rams head coach Frank McCrystal at his office on the university campus for a story I was working on.

He welcomed me in, then pulled down the blinds.

“I don’t want anybody to see me talking to The StarPhoenix,” he said. I wasn’t sure if he was kidding or serious, but it was a good line nonetheless.

This little moment happened at a time when the Rams’ rivalry with Saskatoon was a rough-edged thing, occasionally vitriolic, full of heat and fury.