10 Labour Day Things

Truth & Rumours

1 – BACK TO THE FUTURE: Actually it never was this way. Saskatchewan used to always win on Labour Day Weekend but in the 59th edition, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and their fans came into the Queen City and became the Riders’ daddy. The Blue won 35-33 and took first-place from the Riders too. It would be infuriating if it wasn’t so embarrassing! I saw fans say at least they were entertained? Pro sports is a wins business, not an entertainment business. At least, in some places it is. If you want entertainment, go to the movies or the Fair. The Roughriders are in big trouble as a team and if you didn’t know it before, you should by now. When the epiphany hits, it’s going to slap. Hard.

Oh – and Bomber President Wade Miller is upset about the shot on his QB Zach Collaros in the game? The same Bombers team which employed Jackson Jeffcoat, who headhunted Brandon Bridge and knocked him out of the 2018 Western Semifinal? Quit your crying Wade. Imagine if they’d lost!

2 – FORE!: A huge thanks to the crew from Aspen Links, Ballers Rec Room & The Tap for having me in to emcee the 2nd Annual Labour Day Golf Classic over the weekend, which included the very fun Draft on Friday evening. The Blue Bomber Cheerleader Alumni came to town as well and let me tell you, those gals like to Rock ‘N Roll! Although I quickly realized I have to update my jokes. I used to make fun of Cal Murphy and Dave Ritchie on the mic at events like this, but had to switch it up to Mike O’Shea and Wade Miller on Saturday! It’s fantastic that Labour Day Weekend is getting back to the mini-Grey Cup feel like we had for all those years.

3 – CHUCKIN’ KNUCKLES: Aside from the distasteful coverage Sunday’s brawl-in-the-stands between Riders & Bombers fans at Labour Day Classic LIV has generated, I have to wonder how much of it is a surprise? You fire up the fans, build up the rivalry, then ply them with booze all weekend. What could possibly go wrong? The NFL starts next Sunday and you’ll see this in every single venue across America. Next!

4 – GAUDREAU: There is no silver lining in the tragic event in the U.S. which kicked off the weekend; the deaths of Johnny & Matthew Gaudreau as caused by a drunk driver, on the eve of their sister’s wedding. It touched off wide-spread mourning across the hockey community which continues into this week. It provided a feeble lesson too — don’t drink & drive — which is little consolation to the Gaudreau family. Ironically I was speaking at a Recovery event in Saskatoon on Friday and my inbox was jammed with sad hockey fans throughout the day. “How are we supposed to forgive this guy?” some people asked. That’s entirely up to you and nobody would judge if you didn’t. But the forgiving is for YOU, not him. It’s not going to bring the boys back. If anything, remember what’s important because of this tragedy.

5 – ROURKE: The BC Lions smoked Ottawa 38-12 in the CFL’s first-ever Touchdown Pacific on Saturday. Lions QB Nathan Rourke got back on track after his NFL sojourn however he got bad publicity for, what I’d call, “big-timing” TSN’s Farhan Lalji during a halftime interview. Nathan didn’t like the question about personal stats, brushed him off, and sprinted to the locker room while Farhan stared in disbelief. It wasn’t a good look for Rourke in any way, shape or form and attempts at defending his behaviour by others have been cute. And he got “marketing money” from the Lions for what exactly? I got called out habitually at Rourke’s age for doing things deemed inappropriate so I don’t feel bad for pointing things out now. Do the interviews.

6 – NFL: It’s one thing I noticed almost immediately after beginning to do NFL interviews on the RP Show, and then attending NFL events like Super Bowl, Sober Bowl, USA Football Championships, etc over the past few years. The people in the NFL work together to ensure the overall growth and health of the league. The perfect example is all the events the famed Patriots crew is doing together now – Belichick, Brady, Kraft, etc. If you believe what you watch and hear, those guys all HATED each other by the end of their tenure in Foxborough but now they’re one big happy family again for the cameras. Impressive! There seems to be this whole “we’re all in this together so let’s work together” mentality in the NFL which I’ve never, ever seen in the CFL and I first began covering that league in 1991. 

7 – COLLEGE: I’ve been back in Florida for less than 24 hours but already feel the fans buzzing about the college football season and Week 1 results like the Miami Hurricanes slapping around the Florida Gators 41-17 in Gainesville in Saturday. In fact, Miami fans are calling it “Canes-ville” and toted signs which read “Drain The Swamp!” It’s an atmosphere you can’t avoid even if you tried. This Saturday I’ll be attending Florida A&M at Miami, as the Rattlers’ QB coach is Henry Burris. Hank extended the invite, and I’m pumped to go! Plus my good friend Chris has never been to Hard Rock Stadium so we’re excited to attend.

8 – BLOWOUTS: One thing that marred Week 1 in college football, in my mind, was the blowouts like Alabama 63 Western Kentucky 0, Ole Miss 76 Furman 0, Texas 52 Colorado State 0, etc. Sportscasting icon Dan Patrick said last year, “Fans all know the blowouts are coming and the results are predictable, but they don’t seem to mind.” It’s a facet of the college football phenomena which I plan to investigate this Fall. I’ll be covering the NHL for the South Florida Tribune but publisher Scott Morganroth has threatened to put me on the CFB beat too. Shoot, why not? Btw the Cats N Bolts Podcast returns on Thursday, and the RP Show continues to air daily at Noon ET on Game+TV, WQEE Radio & YouTube Live.

9 – FOOTBALL NOTES: As either a player or coach, Dave Dickenson has appeared in 336 games for the Calgary Stampeders. … Said a Blue Bombers fan who asked for a selfie at Crave Kitchen & Wine Bar on Saturday night, “Rod, thanks for your love of the CFL!” … What you need to know: Coach Prime Deion Sanders’ Colorado Buffaloes are 1-0 after beating North Dakota State University 31-26 in Week 1. We’ll be following the Buffs all year. … Jeff Reinebold’s Hawaii Rainbow Warriors are 1-1 after falling 16-13 to UCLA. … The 2024 NFL season opens Thursday with Baltimore at Kansas City followed by the first-ever Friday NFL game featuring Green Bay at Philadelphia. The NFL is coming for it all. … The Cardinal Gibbons Chiefs – coached by CFL alum Matt Dubuc and Duron Carter – are 1-1 in the Florida High School Athletic Association.

10 – RANDOM THOUGHTS: Twigs Pretzels are out-of-this-world. And just like Ginger Beef, they were invented in Calgary. … Familiarity breeds contempt. … Exciting changes are coming to this blog/website. Keep coming back for details! … What’s Mary Brown’s Chicken like? … If you don’t wear headphones on an airplane while watching movies or listening to music, you’re an asshole. … Pat McAfee & Spittin’ Chiclets? I was told behaviour like that is frowned upon. … Fall Supper or Fowl Supper? … Never made it to the Tunnels of Moose Jaw this summer. Next year! … A Massachusetts boy whose ice cream stand was shut down has become a minor celebrity after several businesses took up his campaign to raise money for charity. Twelve-year-old Danny Doherty told his mom that he was bored and wanted to set up an ice cream stand selling several homemade flavors. She allowed it as long as half the money went to charity, in this case his brother’s hockey team. But a day after setting up near his house in Norwood, town officials said he was violating state regulation and had to stop. His plight caught the attention of residents and local businesses who have since raised nearly $20,000 on his behalf. … AND HOW WAS YOUR WEEK?

Y’er welcome,
RP
@rodpedersen