10 MIDWEEK THINGS FOR CAPITAL AUTO MALL

1 – DAY 13: Still, here we sit. Not much has changed from a week ago, although many lives have been altered by layoffs and some businesses have closed their doors. Possibly for good. Some sports careers have ended prematurely (junior hockey players for instance, and older Olympic hopefuls), and that’s certainly tragic in its own way. I have less time for the people who are struggling with boredom, yet have money in the bank and a job to return to once the crisis is over. All I can say to everyone affected is, “Somebody has it worse. Be grateful it isn’t you.”

2 – THE SILENT EPIDEMIC: 690 people in America die daily because of suicide, alcohol abuse and drug overdoses. That’s escalating rapidly right now too. I realize it’s not a contest between the Coronavirus and Mental Illness & Addiction, but I ask you to simply look at the numbers. If you’re one of the people who say, “Ya but that’s a choice“, I’d love to debate you on that. No one in their right mind would choose the devastation in their lives that comes with Addiction. This is the crisis I’m dealing with everyday as a Recovery coach and while the Coronavirus will eventually go away, this other one will not. Yet no one wants to talk about it.

3 – BRADY VS BELICHICK: Tom Brady-to-Tampa Bay is a salacious topic I’d love to devote two hours per day to on The RP Show. Brady met with Tampa media on a 32-minute conference call on Tuesday, and had nothing but glowing things to say about the Patriots and his time there. Other than that, he said he prefers to look forward, and not back. Pundits expect Brady’s Buccaneers to win more games than Bill Belichick’s Patriots in 2020, and I agree.

4 – WHO MADE WHO?: Of more fascination to me is the 20-year marriage between Brady and Belichick. It’s no secret Tom felt “under-appreciated” near the end of his tenure in Foxborough, while it’s also no secret the Patriots felt Tom’s brand (TB12) had become too big, and he had to go. So the question is: Did Tom make the Patriots or did the Patriots make Tom? The correct answer is that it’s a 2-way street, but teams and corporations are generally too stubborn to admit it. So the debate will be settled by wins in the years ahead!

5 – CFL SEASON: The top question in the land seems to be — Will there be a CFL season in 2020? I’ll vote yes, whether it be a shortened training camp, a shortened season, whatever. Frankly, I’d be willing to wager the season kicks off as planned on June 11. The fact is no one knows for certain. NOBODY. But it doesn’t hurt to be positive and while I’ve heard many on the street predict “this will take longer than shorter”, I believe it’ll play out exactly the opposite. 

6 – NEGATIVE NELLIES: It’s clear that a lot of people prefer to live in chaos, and love the “fear factor” of times like this. They relish the fear-mongering media reports. That’s cool. Just don’t come near me.

7 – TOP 10: We got it going on Twitter Tuesday night and it generated quite a response – My all-time Top 10 Saskatchewan Roughriders greats. Hopefully no one’s feelings got hurt: 1) Ron Lancaster, 2) George Reed, 3) Darian Durant, 4) Kent Austin, 5) Roger Aldag, 6) Don Narcisse, 7) Ray Elgaard, 8) Bobby Jurasin, 9) Glen Suitor and 10) Dave Ridgway. If there was a #11, it would be Gene Makowsky. This list mirrors the franchise record book, and I’m satisfied with it.

8 – SASK’S ALL-TIME HOCKEY TEAM: The Sask Sports Hall of Fame posed that question Tuesday on Twitter and that’s a darn good one too, although they asked for the starting six. Here are mine: G – Glenn Hall (Humboldt), D – Brad McCrimmon (Plenty), Wade Redden (Hillmond), F – Gordon Howe (Floral), Ryan Getzlaf (Regina) and Clark Gillies (Moose Jaw). That’s pretty good representation from all across the province! The fact is we could ice two or three great all-time All Star teams, and the next one would include Bryan Trottier and Johnny Bower or Braden Holtby. Or Cam Ward!!

9 – WHL DRAFT LOTTERY: Hey! This is exciting stuff! The WHL Draft Lottery goes Wednesday morning in Calgary and the Regina Pats have a ball in the bin. Just Tuesday night, 15-year old Connor Bedard of the West Vancouver Warriors became the first player from Western Canada to ever be granted Exceptional Player Status meaning he’ll be able to being play next fall as a 15-year old! He’s a generational player that can turn a franchise around (a la Sam Steel). So pay close attention later this morning.

10 – RANDOM THOUGHTS: Nobody’s going to be in the mood for April Fool’s jokes. … The NFL is winning the publicity race at the moment. Again. … … Oiler fans are bemoaning a potentially wasted season. I get the love for the team but some are comparing it to the 1994 Montreal Expos who were the best team in baseball before a work stoppage scrapped the season. Stop it! The Oilers aren’t the best team in the NHL. … How are we supposed to take someone seriously if they only just heard of Dick Pound? Yes the Canadian IOC member has a hilarious name, but we were laughing about it 25 years ago. … Buy local. … The whackiest theory I heard all week came from a Rider fan named Steve Johnson on Twitter: “Now we know why Jeremy O’Day wasn’t as active in Free Agency. He had the intuition about the season being in jeopardy“.  Speechless. … Golden Knights insider Gary Lawless said on the RP Show this week that his 2020 CFL West Division favourites are Winnipeg and Sask. … I’m really, really proud of the staff of the RP Show for the way they’ve pulled together during this hurricane. When I wake up in the morning, I CAN’T WAIT to get into that building. What a great feeling. … There’s a noticeable increase in nastiness on social media at the moment. Here’s a reminder to be good to each other out there! This current crisis is proof that we are indeed, all connected.

Y’er welcome,
RP
@rodpedersen