10 Monday Things For SUDS
Photo: CFL
Truth & Rumours For SUDS Car Wash
1 – RIDERS & ALOUETTES GREY CUP, PART TROIS: Through a very long, winding, zany year, it’s the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Montreal Alouettes who’ve emerged as the combatants in the 112th Grey Cup in Winnipeg next Sunday. The top two defenses in the CFL. When are teams going to get it through their heads that it’s defense that wins championships? (We’re looking at you Dolphins & Cowboys!) Both of Saturday’s conference title games went down to the wire with Montreal recording a 19-16 walkoff victory at Hamilton and Saskatchewan beating BC 24-21 on a Trevor Harris-to-Tommy Nield touchdown toss with 11 seconds to go. The critics are saying the Lions squandered the game but that’s nonsense. The Riders took it.
BC Lions owner Amar Doman is making headlines for posting photos of the game-winning touchdown actually hitting the ground, therefore it shouldn’t have counted. Welcome to sports. We all have wounds.
2 – GREY CUP WEEK: Grey Cup organizers and the CFL themselves must be tickled that the Green & White have advanced to the championship. It’s an easy trek for the Rider Priders, and 306’ers have started the party already. Any Bomber fans looking to unload their tickets will have no problem now. The early forecast for Grey Cup Sunday is cloudy and +3 Celsius or 38 Fahrenheit. From a CFL perspective, things couldn’t be going much better.
3 – QBS: The quarterback match-up in Grey Cup 112 is a doozy, and already the top story of this game. 39-year old Trevor Harris of Waldo, OH has never won a Grey Cup as a starter and he’s leading Saskatchewan into this game; a team with the league’s third-longest Grey Cup drought. For Montreal you have 27-year old Davis Alexander, who simply has never lost a CFL game. The Gig Harbor, WA product is 13-0 and self-proclaimed “Built for this league”. (I love a cocky player!) Does Trevor Harris break the curse or does Alexander continue the record-breaking start to his career? Stay tuned.
4 – QBS II: On the other side, Hamilton’s 35-year old Bo Levi Mitchell could only watch as the Alouettes drove the field in the final minute to win Saturday’s Eastern Division Final. The Katy, TX product led the CFL in passing in 2025 and started every game but he can’t play defense too. Tough outcome for the Ticats, who haven’t won a Grey Cup since 1999. Ditto for the BC Lions and Nathan Rourke. The 27-year old from Oakville, ON is being chided for jeering Rider fans after his 4th quarter touchdown on Saturday. “This is our time!” Rourke barked at south endzone fans. Whoops! IMO Rourke needed this win to cement his name as the Face of the CFL and prove his worth as the league’s highest-paid player. Maybe next year.
5 – CFL ODDS & ENDS: Ottawa’s hiring of Ryan Dinwiddie away from Toronto as GM, Head Coach & Offensive Coordinator stole the thunder from the conference finals midweek, but they stole it back come Saturday. Dinwiddie appeared on the RP Show on Friday explaining the reasons for his move, and how he plans to divide his time. “Dinner” didn’t care much for Mike Kelly’s comments on the RP Show that the triple role is too big in today’s game. We’ll see! People thought the Elk Grove, CA product was too young (38) when he was hired to coach the Toronto Argonauts but he only won two Grey Cups in five seasons. Now it’s time to move on. … People who should know better are still trolling the CFL for its upcoming rule & field changes, pointing to Saturday’s games asking “Where’s the evidence any changes are needed?” For the umpteenth time – but they refuse to listen – this is all about league expansion and fitting the field into stadiums here in the USA. People won’t accept it simply because they don’t want to. … Others are griping about Mobil’s sponsorship on CFL jerseys and Bud Light sponsoring the Grey Cup, because they’re American companies. GET A LIFE! I don’t see Canadian oil & gas nor beer companies stepping up to write the CFL a cheque.
6 – NHL: It appears the Oilers window is closed. They could’ve fixed their goaltending woes if they’d signed Carter Hart but were afraid of the backlash. Vegas didn’t mind. Sometimes we are the prisoners of our decisions. … On Friday’s RP Show I asked viewers going to the Blackhawks/Flames game to give me a scouting report on Chicago. I maintain they’re not much better than last year, yet Hawks staffers feel they’ve taken a big step forward. Turns out, no scouting report was needed that night. Connor Bedard had 1-3-4 in a 4-0 Chicago victory, and Spencer Knight made 33 saves for the shuttie. ‘Nuff said! The Hawks are winning games with those two alone and for now, apparently that’s all they need. … On Sunday the Hawks spanked Detroit 5-1 and Bedard was 1-2-3. “Bedsy” now has points in 8 straight. Oh yeah, keep criticizing him! … Not to be outdone by Bedard, his North Vancouver neighbour Macklin Celebrini hit 10 goals in 16 games Saturday night for San Jose in a 3-1 win over Florida, making him the fourth-fastest teenager in the past decade to do it. The three who did it in less games? Elias Petterson (10), Patrik Laine (14) and Clayton Keller (15). … Most teams are NOW at the 15 game mark which means NOW is the time to pay attention to how your team fares for the next 15 games (if you believe the old adage by Hall of Fame Flames broadcaster Peter Maher, which I do). … Be that as it may, the Anaheim Ducks have won seven in a row while Boston, Tampa Bay, New Jersey, San Jose have won seven of their past 10. Montreal continues to lead the Eastern Conference at 10-3-2. Nothing to sneeze at.
7 – NIEUWY: Wildness. While strolling past the bench of the Florida Atlantic University Owls mens hockey team on Friday evening, I noticed the name “NIEUWENDYK” across the back of one of the FAU players. I thought to myself “There can only be one”. As I headed up to the second floor lounge at the Boca Ice facility, there he was. Hockey Hall of Famer and 2-time Stanley Cup champion Joe Nieuwendyk was there, watching his son Jackson, a newcomer to FAU. We had a great visit, and Joe was here in Boca Raton to catch the 3-games-in-3-nights stretch for the Owls, all against the University of Florida Gators. Joe recalled my father Jim Pedersen, as the pair won a Stanley Cup together with Dallas in 1999. Nieuwendyk spends his summers in Ithaca, NY and his winters in Dallas, TX. Life is good.
8 – HEBSY: In the 80’s my Dad bought a satellite dish and we could pull in all kinds of sports programming from across the continent on our farm near Milestone, SK. My brother was particularly fascinated with the show Sportsline out of Toronto, hosted by Mark Hebscher and Jim Tatti. “These guys are nuts!” my brother laughed. Turns out those two are credited as being the first ever two-person TV sportscast which spawned many after them like Patrick & Olberman on ESPN, Jay & Dan or Tim & Sid in Canada, and Woods & Rimer/Adam in Regina. … So it was a big thrill to welcome Mark Hebscher to the RP Show this week as he promoted his new book “Madness: The Rise & Ruin of Sports Media”, available now wherever you get your books. “Hebsy” discovered the RP Show on Game+ TV while channel surfing and said, “You speak my language”. Regarding his book, you should ask for it for Christmas. Hebscher delivers a forensic deep dive into the history of sports reporting going all the way back to ancient accounts of Greek boxing, right up to whatever we call this in the present day. Hebsy pinpoints where it all took the off-ramp, and the reasons why and, unfortunately, presents a rather bleak outlook for the future of sportscasting. But I don’t want to spoil the ending! Thanks for watching Hebsy, for inspiring, and for coming on our show.
9 – NFL SUNDAY: 38 games have been decided in the final 2:00 through 10 weeks of the NFL season, the most in history (there’s one more game tonight: Eagles/Packers). … Jonathan Taylor’s three rushing touchdowns in Indianapolis’s 31-25 OT win over Atlanta gave him 66 career, surpassing Marshall Faulk (64) for the most in Colts history. … Lamar Jackson registered his 73rd career win in his 100th start (Baltimore 27 Minnesota 19) moving him past Ken Stabler for the fourth most wins in their first 100 games. The three ahead of him are Patrick Mahomes (78), Tom Brady (76) and Roger Staubach (76). … Jaxson Dart of the NY Giants is the only rookie in NFL history to record a rushing touchdown in five straight game. Too bad the Giants lost, 24-20 in Chicago.
10 – RANDOM THOUGHTS: How do people without a smartphone function? … I love Chili’s. … Do you return your tray in the food court or fast food restaurant, or are you an asshole? … It feels like it’s a little early to have your Christmas tree up. … Lukas Scott connected on a 25-yard field goal with 25 seconds remaining to cap off a 16-point, fourth-quarter comeback for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies over the Regina Rams in the 88th Hardy Cup on Saturday. The Dogs will now host Queen’s in next Saturday’s Mitchell Bowl in Saskatoon. … Did you hear about the cannibal who came home late for supper and his wife gave him the cold shoulder? … A dog trotting through a busy Boston tunnel narrowly missed being hit by traffic this week before state police rescued the wrong-way rover. Surveillance video from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation shows the black-and-white pup heading toward oncoming vehicles in the Ted Williams Tunnel. With cars and trucks whizzing by, it moved from the middle of the lane to a side wall. The saga ended when six state police vehicles parked in a staggered formation, forcing the dog into the middle. Initially he tried to run away before hopping into the back seat of a cruiser, providing a happy ending to the story. … AND HOW WAS YOUR WEEK?
Y’er welcome,
RP
“People who should know better are still trolling the CFL for its upcoming rule & field changes,”
You sound like the government, telling me what I have to like.
Thank you
The CFL is dying ugly. It could have gone out with dignity but it’s going to morph into some second rate USFL in a desperate bid to capture attention in Tacoma, Kalamazoo or God knows where else first.
All I know is I’m out after next season, that’s when professional Canadian football effectively ceases to exist.
CFL_ this is the end my old friend. As the league moves forward for the betterment to its future with it’s forthcoming field dimension changes and rule adjustments, enjoy the last archaic vestiges of what once was. The league made sure the Riders were in the GC for its final sendoff via their late controversial touchdown.
The CFL reafirmed itself as minor league with what transpired in the west division final in regina. CFL command center officials determining the outcome of a game is pure bush league.
Check the Justin Dunk recap of that “story”. The picture he has clearly shows the ball complete with logo way above the ground . It would have to be an over inflated beach ball for it to to touch the ground from that height.
Your blog is a breath of fresh air in the often stagnant world of online content. Your thoughtful analysis and insightful commentary never fail to leave a lasting impression. Thank you for sharing your wisdom with us.
I WAS WONDERING IF WINNIPEG COULD TOP THE GONG SHOW OF LOGO-GATE LAST TIME AROUND. ANY WORD YET ON WEATHER THEY WILL BE REPAINTING THE FIELD FRIDAY NIGHT? 5. WONT HURT MY FEELINGS IF THE COMMISSIONER IS BOOED AGGRESSIVELY THROUGHOUT THE WEEKEND. LAME TO CANCEL THE FAN ADDRESS/STATE OF THE LEAGUE. TARGETTING EXPANSION IS THE ONLY EXPLANATION I HAVE HEARD THAT MAKES ANY SENSE FOR THE FIELD CHANGES. IF THEY ARE SICK OF LOSING MONEY AND NEED TO DO IT, I WOULD RATHER THEY JUST WERE HONEST ABOUT IT… I AM MORE WORRIED THAT THE CHANGE TO THE PLAY CLOCKS… Read more »