10 LONG WEEKEND THINGS

Taking shots …

1 – A FINE DAY: Mason was Fine. The Roughriders QB2 was 23/37 for 296 yards and a touchdown in Saskatchewan’s 26-24 CFL win over Ottawa Sunday at Mosaic Stadium. Mason Fine’s efficiency rating was 96.2, which included 17 yards rushing. Believe it or not, Rider fans DO NOT know more than the coaches. Nor does the media, obviously, whom were screaming to bench Fine and coaches to be fired. However Craig Dickenson’s failed 3rd-and-1 gamble deep in his own end in the waning moments was a head-scratcher. Still, the Green & White got out by the skin of their teeth with a much-needed victory. That’s a very encouraging sign!

2 – LAUTHER FOR MOP: Veteran kicker Brett Lauther is Saskatchewan’s MVP through nine weeks. He kicked the game-winning 54-yarder in the final minute on Sunday, and booted a game-winning rouge against Edmonton in Week 5. With QB1 Trevor Harris on the shelf for possibly the season, Lauther is the team’s Most Outstanding Player at the moment.

In truth, the Truro, NS product should be in the NFL but I firmly believe we’re all exactly where we’re supposed to be at the moment.

3 – RADICALLY CANADIAN: It was a classic CFL game, which hopefully will be reflected in the ratings. At no point did Sask have it in hand, including losing the turnover battle 4-1. However they won the sack tally 6-0, and dominated along the line of scrimmage. The Rider Nation needed an UP Week, after three weeks in the barrel.

4 – CFL LANDSCAPE: Ottawa is tied with Hamilton for third in the East Division, each with identical 3-5 records. The RedBlacks visit 6-1 Toronto in Week 10 while the 4-4 Roughriders visit the 4-3 Montreal Alouettes, led by Cody Fajardo. There will be no more motivated man on Planet Earth this week than Montreal QB Cody Fajardo, who was exiled by the Riders almost a year ago.

However like death and taxes, you can always count on Fajardo winning and he’s doing it again, now with Montreal including a 27-14 win at Hamilton in Week 9.

*At that wedding in Weyburn two weeks ago, my cousin said she did like Cody because he’s “too arrogant”. I rolled my eyes and thought, ‘They really did a good job of vilifying him, didn’t they?’ He’s probably the LEAST arrogant guy I know. 

5 – SADDLE UP: The Calgary Stampeders showed that it’s a little early to write them off, upsetting the Toronto Argonauts 20-7 on Friday night at McMahon Stadium. That moved Calgary to 3-5 heading into a Week 10 clash at the 6-2 BC Lions Saturday night. After spending the Long Weekend in Sask, we’ll be back in Cowtown this week and will be part of the Stampeders Official Watch Party at Shark Club Deerfoot Meadows for that Saturday game. How many other CFL teams are doing this? At the last one, I couldn’t believe the among of costly swag the Stamps were giving away!

6 – CFL THOUGHTS: The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are still the CFL’s #1 team in MY mind. … Meanwhile as long as TSN treats the CFL like a minor league, why could Canadians treat it any differently? I’m specifically thinking of the promo where they feature Bo Bichette, Auston Matthews, a Raptor and Patrick Mahomes. I mean, C’mon. … A lot of folks are griping about which specific channels the CFL games are on, but I never have a problem finding them. … I guess it’s their network so they can do what they want, however it’s certainly not helping.

7 – STATIC:  A lot of people who don’t follow it don’t understand the importance of live game stats – and the CFL’s lack of them – but this gaffe is DESTROYING the betting component of CFL games. (Particularly prop bets). But it’s not a mistake! Oh, okay. … Let’s talk about Maritime expansion instead!

8 – THE UNKNOWN FAN: I honestly thought they were joking when they said the Edmonton Elks tossed a fan out of Commonwealth Stadium for wearing a paper bag over his head. YOU’RE OH-AND-8!!!!!!!!! I like Victor Cui and Chris Jones, but were they behind tossing this guy out?? YOU’RE OH-AND-8!!!!! Whatever happened to “You pay your money, you can do what you want”? This is a perfect example of what’s wrong with sports right now: No fun, and teams refuse to look in the mirror or take responsibility.

9 – HOCKEY NOTES: I’m told the Calgary Flames & Fan 960 Radio are close to naming a radio colour commentator to replace the outgoing Peter Loubardias. It’ll be a former player. … Btw I spoke to Pete last week and he’s on Cloud 9 after nine seasons in that role. Good on ya Captain Lou! … Watch for Calgary Flames head coach Ryan Huska to join us live in-person at the RP Show at Century Downs Racetrack & Casino in Calgary this month. Our relationship goes back to the 2012 Canadian World Junior Team. You know who else was on that squad? Mark Scheifele and Johnathan Huberdeau. … I’ve finally gotten past the insult that people didn’t know I’m “hockey first”, or what my background is outside the CFL. What was the realization? That it never mattered what people think or thought. … Similar to GM Brad Treliving’s time in Calgary. For some reason people think he “ruined the Flames”. IMHO, he bought the ingredients for a beautiful, delicious cake, but Darryl Sutter burnt it black. Just my $0.02. … Did Kyle Dubas ever swing a deal with Toronto as large as his Eric Karlsson swap with Pittsburgh? This will be a fun division to watch. Always is. … #TimeToHunt. Florida soon!

10 – RANDOM THOUGHTS: If you watch real closely, the Littlest Hobo’s coat is different from scene-to-scene. … The field is set for the CEBL Championship next weekend in Langley, BC. It’s similar to a Memorial Cup format and features Vancouver, Calgary, Niagara and Scarborough. … The CEBL’s media relations strategy is as good as I’ve ever seen, and I’ve dealt with em all. … When I was 30, I asked my parents for money. They laughed at me. In retrospect, I’m glad they did. … I asked a six-year old Regina kid on Saturday who his favourite athlete is. He answered, “Messi”. … Lionel Messi has, by my count, scored seven goals in four games since joining Inter-Miami. IMO he’s making the league look poor (a la Wayne Gretzky playing in the ECHL or SPHL). … On September 20, Toronto FC visits Inter-Miami and I plan to be in the house. … 2-time Stanley Cup champ Chris Dingman was staying in my Calgary hotel all week and we worked out together each morning. Regarding the emerging sports media landscape (Dinger worked in radio in TV & Radio in Tampa for years), Chris shrugged “People just want good sports talk”. Amen. … I can see why the former Brandon Wheat King was so popular on the air. Dinger has strong opinions on Ron Desantis, illegal immigrants, Mike Babcock and much more. Fortunately so do I! … No one in North America has hosted more Sportscentres than TSN’s Darren Dutchyshyn. … Why would you make Ketchup Chicken Nuggets when you can just put ketchup on your chicken nuggets? … AND HOW WAS YOUR WEEK?

Y’er welcome,
RP
@rodpedersen