10 Labour Day Things
Truth & Rumours …
1 – HELLUVA FOOTBALL GAME: The Saskatchewan Roughriders prevailed 34-30 over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in Sunday’s Labour Day Classic LX. It took me till this year to realize that there was actually one Labour Day Classic played in Winnipeg so Sunday’s game was actually the 61st LDC but apparently we are encouraged to ignore that. Regardless, the Green & White atoned for a Week 12 embarrassment in Calgary with a resounding victory, improving their record to a CFL-best 9-2. The Bombers dropped to a humbling 6-5 and while they were a threat at times in this one, they never had control of the game. What’s astounding to me is this could be one of the best Roughrider teams ever and I struggle to name 10 of them. Mario Anderson? Tommy Nield? Who are these guys? Apparently, they’re pretty good.
2 – GROUND & POUND: There’s a reason why I always have the ex-players on the air to break down and preview the games. It’s because they know more than anyone – including the oddsmakers and media – and are rarely wrong. Riders & Bombers alum Mike Abou-Mechrek appeared on the RP Show on Friday and said the LDC would all come down to the running game, and the team with the most rushing yards (or least allowed) would win. He was right. Winnipeg was limited to 25 yards rushing AS A TEAM while Saskatchewan racked up 133. Reigning league MVP Brady Oliveira of Winnipeg only had five rushing attempts and that’s placed considerable heat on Bombers offensive coordinator Jason Hogan. I’m assuming next week’s Banjo Bowl will come down to the same thing? I dunno. We’ll have to ask Abou.
3 – DIVIDED WE FALL, TOGETHER WE CONQUER: It was only the 3rd Annual Labour Day Golf Classic featuring Roughriders & Blue Bombers Alumni at Aspen Links Golf but it was BY FAR the most money ever raised for Regina Minor Football. Thousands upon thousands, in fact. It was our greatest contingent of alumni ever and I want to thank the organizers once again for having me as the host and Draft Commissioner. Hats off especially to the Blue Bombers Alumni who brought more players than ever – plus the Bomber Cheerleader Alumni – and made a cash donation of $1000 to RMF. It got quite rowdy but I guess that’s what the Labour Day tradition was built on! Frankly I feel for this league to flourish it’s going to take more events like this and all teams pulling together to reach greater heights. I’m headed back to Florida with a grateful heart and content with the knowledge that we’ve done our part. Hope to see you in the event next year!
4 – MONDAY: It will be a full day of football-watching. Toronto (3-8) is at Hamilton (6-4) in the early CFL game while Edmonton (4-8) is at Calgary (7-3) in the later clash. Wait till I tell you what’s the third game of the tripleheader! As far as the CFL games go, Tiger-Cats quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell is 7-0 in Labour Day Classics so I’d suggest that’s a good place to put your money if you’re a bettor. At McMahon Stadium, Cody Fajardo and his Edmonton Elkimos carry a 3-game win streak into their clash with the Stampeders and it marks the return of rookie head coach Mark Kilam to Calgary after being painfully dumped in the off-season after a couple of decades with the Stamps. WHAT A STORY! Can God and redemption propel the Green & Gold to victory? We’ve gotta tune in to find out. … Oh, and the third game of the tripleheader is a delicious College Football game as North Carolina hosts TCU in Bill Belichick’s – and Chris Jones’ – debut with the Tar Heels. EGAD!
5 – NCAA: In conversation with a wise old football man on Saturday, I asked what’s with College Football spreading their Week 1 games across Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday & Monday? His response was “The NCAA was behind the times. They’re running it big business now, and coming after all the pie!” Can you imagine? As if they weren’t making enough money before, but Nebraska-Cincinnati on Thursday was a last-minute heart-stopper with Travis and Taylor in attendance, plus we had a pair of eye-popping Top 10 match-ups on separate days with Texas-OSU and Notre Dame-Miami. It’s put more spotlight (aka ratings) on marquee games and allowed us to watch more. What took so long?
6 – WEEK 1 THOUGHTS: It’s hard to imagine a worse showing for Arch Manning in his first game as the entrenched starter for Texas in their 14-7 loss at OSU. He’ll get better, but you’ve gotta wonder how far the Longhorns will tumble from their #1 ranking. My wise old football buddy doesn’t think they’ll tumble too far. … My College Football fandom is up for tender. With Nick Saban long gone from Tuscaloosa and the Crimson Tide already 0-1 after an embarrassing showing at FSU on Saturday, I’m checking out on Alabama. The obvious choice for me would be the Miami Hurricanes but EVERYBODY where I live is now on the Canes bandwagon and I like to go against the grain. … Seminoles fans are trying to recruit me, and that feels like a good fit. … Make no mistake, the Hurricanes are now the preferred football team in South Florida, with the NFL’s Dolphins picked for a last-place showing. … Florida Atlantic got rolled 39-7 at Maryland in rookie coach Zach Kittley’s debut with the Owls and it’s already looking to be a lonnnnnng season.
7 – NFL WEEK 1 NOTES: The Saints have won 6 straight Week 1 games. … Andy Reid’s 17 Week 1 wins are the most among active coaches. … The Chargers’ Jim Harbaugh has won 5 straight Week 1 games. That tells you he always has his teams prepared. … The Dolphins’ Mike McDaniel is 3-0 in Week 1 games. … Rookie head coaches making their debuts are the Cowboys’ Brian Schottenheimer, the Jets’ Aarron Glenn, the Jaguars’ Liam Cohen, the Bears’ Ben Johnson and the Saints’ Kellen Moore. … OJ Simpson has the best Week 1 rushing performance in NFL history with 250 yards for Buffalo in 1973. … Grateful to the NFL for sending me their Game Notes package for the first time in my career! … Onwards and upwards.
8 – JOIN US: Kickoff the NFL season with us Thursday at PumpJacks Cathedral in Regina. It’s first come, first served and we’ll have RP Show personalities on hand plus sponsors. Ultimate Fan Zone in Moose Jaw is donating prizing from the Cowboys and Eagles. Kickoff is at 6:20 pm MT so show up anytime before that! PumpJacks is owned by a bunch of Soo Line boys so it’s not going to be anything fancy. Just a good ol’ NFL Watch Party with friends and we’d love to have you!
9 – ON THE ICE: Had occasion to take in part of the Moose Jaw Warriors Grey & Red game at the Temple Gardens Centre in Moose Jaw this weekend and they looked pretty good. It’s been a long road back from their 2024 WHL championship season and it feels like a playoff berth would be a reasonable goal for The Tribe. … Meanwhile the Regina Pats host their Blue & White Game Monday at the Brandt Centre and it’s your chance to get a glimpse of young stars Maddox Schultz and Liam Pugh. I’m torn between attending that and catching the Belichik debut. … WHL fans – especially in Swift Current & Medicine Hat – have blown up my phone bemoaning the lack of junior hockey coverage in this new era of sports media. Not sure what to tell you! …. Here’s my weekly NHL standings prediction, this time looking at the Atlantic Division: Florida-Tampa Bay-Toronto-Montreal-Ottawa-Detroit-Boston-Buffalo. … This one was hard!
10 – RANDOM THOUGHTS: You’ve gotta start somewhere. … Is Malik Carney related to Mark Carney? … You’ve gotta love the eye-popping achievements from kickers this month: an 85-yard kickoff single by Calgary Dinos kicker Vince Triumbari and Friday against the Rams and a 70-yard field goal by the Jaguars’ Cam Little in the preseason. … Shania Twain is 60. … Can young interviewers please come up with something other than, “Thanks for doing this”? … Hate when my popcorn, pop and hotdog are done before the movie even starts. … One thumb up from the MMG for the movie Nobody 2 starring Bob Odenkirk, in theatres now. … It’s a little early for Hallowe’en candy, no? … “There’s something about Moose Jaw that keeps you coming back to it.” – my hairdresser. … Peter Gzowski referred to Moose Jaw as “The most Canadian of all cities.” There’s a tribute to the CBC icon in the Temple Gardens Mineral Spa. … The southern Dutch city of Tilburg is seeing more colour than usual this weekend, as thousands of redheads from all over the world gather in the Netherlands for a once-a-year festival to celebrate their flaming locks. The 2025 edition of the Redhead Days festival includes music, food trucks and workshops tailored to particular needs of redheads, from makeup explainers to skin cancer prevention. Organizers expect the three-day event to draw several thousand attendees from some 80 countries. The 2013 edition set a Guinness World Record for the “largest gathering of people with natural red hair” with 1,672 people posing for the group photo. … AND HOW WAS YOUR WEEK?
Y’er welcome,
RP
@rodpedersen
RP
@rodpedersen
Montreal Canadiens, a wee tad better than the Toronto Maple Leafs this year. The Canadians have a young team_ fast with a Head Coach of a offense mind.
To the fans who had the banner at the game stating “Kick Lauther out of Saskatchewan” , grow up and move to Winnipeg.