“Saturday Night Live”‘s middle ground problem

“Heated Rivalry” star Connor Storrie’s “Saturday Night Live” hosting debut generated a rare level of excitement during this 51st season, sparking conversation days before he took the Studio 8H stage. But by the time he got there, his monologue had been transformed from a pure celebration of his overnight success into an exercise in damage control. Leave it to “SNL” to bungle what should have been a slap shot straight into an open goal. 

Days before Storrie’s episode, The Athletic announced that Minnesota Wild defenseman Quinn Hughes ...