10 MONDAY THINGS

1. HOUSTON, WE HAVE NO PROBLEMS: Greetings from the Great State, where we’re down here on the inaugural Rod Pedersen Show VIP Sports Trip with Uniglobe LGI Travel. It’s been busy with 2 NBA games, 1 NFL game, a NASA tour and a Texas high school playoff game in Katy, TX, (Bo Levi Mitchell’s hometown). Plus we’ve got 2 live RP Shows which include Don Narcisse, George Cortez, CFL/NFL alum Garrick Jones, Rice University WR Coach Mike Kershaw of Regina, and Jackie Mitchell. Best of all, today it will hit 28 degrees!

2. SI MAAS: The hiring of Jason Maas as offensive coordinator of the Roughriders is getting the thumbs-up from all corners of the Rider Nation. As they say, 10% make 90% of the noise and they’re the ones griping about Maas’s famous sideline tantrums as head coach of the Eskimos. Really, is that the best ya got? A) He won’t be in position to do those anymore, B) He likely learned from those because they were undoubtedly part of his firing, and C) We’d all rather have a guy you need to calm down than one you need to light a fire under his ass. This will be great, and I like Jason very much personally and professionally.

3. LAPO: The coaching comings-and-goings are starting to get real juicy, whatwith Paul Lapolice being named head coach of the RedBlacks on Saturday night. That’s a slamdunk hire by Ottawa, because they hired both a head coach AND an offensive coordinator. That’s critical these days with the asinine, penny-pinching coaches salary cap and staff limitation put in place by CFL owners and presidents. Paul will be a success there, but he’s going to need to rely on GM Marcel Desjardins to get him talent because they’re currently devoid of it.

4. STAMPS: It’s remarkable that in the John Hufnagel era in Calgary, they’ve never fired a single coach. That includes the departure of receivers coach Pete Costanza last week. Costanza resigned simply because he saw no room for advancement within Calgary’s hierarchy. (HC Dave Dickenson has no plans to relinquish the OC role). It will be interesting to see where Costanza lands next, as he’s said he aspires to be an OC or head coach. Perhaps he’ll replace Lapolice in Winnipeg.

5. O’WAITING: It’s been over 2 weeks since the Blue Bombers won the Grey Cup and we’re still awaiting word on head coach Mike O’Shea’s status for 2020. He held a media gathering 10 days ago but virtually said nothing. Meanwhile the Argonauts and the Corey Chamblin staff remain in limbo, and you have to think the two situations are connected. The deadline the Argo coaches were given for an announcement has long passed, and still nothing. The good thing for O’Shea is he holds ALL the cards.

6. RIDER STAFF: We mentioned 10 days ago that a shake-up was coming and it did, in the form of the Maas hiring. Are they done there? That’s unlikely. The buzz in the league is that the O’Day/Dickenson regime wants to put more of a stamp on the organization – moving away from the Chris Jones Era – and the move away from OC Stephen McAdoo would reinforce that theory. On the other hand, the Riders retained DC Jason Shivers, who was a loyal Jones soldier. He’s also an excellent coach. Rumours are rampant right now over who’s going where. We should get more news soon.

7. R.I.P. R-KAL: Flamboyant former Roughriders defensive end R-Kal Truluck (1998-2000) passed away last week from ALS and cancer. It’s shaking news for anyone who knew R-Kal because he was a larger-than-life personality. After Saskatchewan, the New York product went on to stints with the Packers, Rams, Cardinals and Chiefs before ending his career in the Arena League. He hosted his own show Inside The Trenches In Arizona after his playing career. So long R-Kal. You left a mark on this world.

8. BY GEORGE: What a treat to have 5-time Grey Cup champion George Cortez appear live on the RP Show from the DoubleTree by Hilton in Houston on Friday. I always refer to him as “One of the greatest offensive minds in CFL history” and he always rolls his eyes. The Texas product served 2 stints with the Riders (2006 & 2013) and talked on the show about winning the Grey Cup at home in 2013. Question: Why isn’t George in the Canadian Football Hall of Fame? His 5 rings should make him a slam-dunk, plus he’s a wonderful ambassador for the CFL here in Texas. Coordinators are people too!

9. NARCO: Rider royalty Don Narcisse also appeared live on our show Friday. That was a day before Don was inducted into the Gulf Coast Sports Hall of Fame & Museum. His story is nothing short of remarkable, and you’ll be able to read it for yourself in his upcoming book The Don Narcisse Story, available next Labour Day. The Riders’ all-time receptions leader is now in 4 Hall of Fames, but more importantly is a Hall of Fame human being.

10. DUMB IT DOWN: Can someone please explain to me in simple English what last week’s announcement on the Halifax stadium was? Municipal politics are not my specialty but it seemed the City of Halifax is willing to put up one-third of the total money requested by the Schooners, and they won’t approve the location which the Schooners owners would like? The announcement didn’t seem positive.

BONUS –  ON THE AIR: Friday’s RP Show was our first out-of-market live broadcast and it experienced predictable technical glitches. We WERE able to transmit on Facebook Live but most importantly, the dozens of patrons on the trip were able to witness a flawless live show and get one-on-one time with Cortez and Narcisse which was priceless. If you’re going to pay thousands of dollars to come on this trip, you’ll be our priority! We’ll likely announce details on next year’s trip in the next few days.

Have a great Monday!
RP
@rodpedersen