10 Monday Things For SUDS Car Wash
Photo: Wanda Harron Photography
Truth & Rumours For Suds Car Wash
1 – OKAY BLUE JAYS: I know what your plans are for Monday at 8:08 pm ET. You’ll be watching Game 7 of the ALCS between the Mariners & Blue Jays at Rogers Centre! Toronto forced it with a convincing 6-2 victory in Game 6, with starter Trey Yesavage getting the win after 5 2/3 innings of work. I went to bed after Vladdy homered to make it 5-0, and prayed that the Jays bullpen wouldn’t blow it. Prayer works! Now, one more win. Shane Bieber vs George Kirby.
Meanwhile the L.A. Dodgers have already advanced to the World Series and await the winner of TOR-SEA. The Dodgers are giving off a Yankees vibe aren’t they? Defending World Series champs with the #1 payroll in baseball. I still think of them as the lovable guys in Dodger Blue, Tommy Lasorda and Vin Scully. But they’ve become this generation’s Evil Empire, while New York’s Aaron Judge still doesn’t have a ring.
2 – CFL: It’s not the most dramatic ending of a Canadian Football League season of all-time, but it’s still pretty good. Your scores from the just-completed Week 20 are – Winnipeg 17-Saskatchewan 16, BC 37-Edmonton 24, Montreal 39-Ottawa 28, Calgary 44-Toronto 13. What does it mean? The Tiger-Cats & Alouettes are tied atop the East at 10-7 but if Hamilton can beat hapless Ottawa in Game #18 on Friday, they’ll get first. In the West, BC & Calgary are tied for second-place at 10-7 and they both play opponents with nothing to play for in Week 21. Calgary is at already-eliminated Edmonton while BC visits the already-clinched-first Saskatchewan Roughriders. Frankly, it’s a toss-up how this will go. … CFL Game Notes pointed out there was a potential for a 4-way tie for second-place entering Week 20 which would’ve been mind-boggling! However Edmonton losing at BC on Friday extinguished that possibility.
3 – ON ROUGHRIDERS: Analyst Jim Barker pointed out on Friday’s RP Show that Saskatchewan’s Corey Mace should be named Coach of the Year. The Port Moody, BC product was a finalist in 2024, his rookie campaign. Mace’s handling of kicker Brett Lauther’s struggles has been nothing less than masterful. (It reminds me of Canada’s Jon Cooper sticking with goalie Jordan Binnington in the Four Nations Faceoff, despite his goalie’s struggles in the round robin). The notion of whether or not to rest players in Week 21, and the “rest versus rust” argument which follows clinching first place are actually luxuries earned by clinching top spot with time to spare. Not headaches. Corey Mace has done the finest job of coaching in the CFL this year.
4 – GREY CUP HALFTIME: It’s mind-boggling to me that the Grey Cup halftime act wouldn’t be mandated to ALWAYS be Canadian however I gave up that campaign years ago. Having worked in Canadian radio & entertainment for decades, I’ve had plenty of Canadian acts thank me for carrying their flag in that effort (including Tom Cochrane, who played halftime of the 1994 Grey Cup) however alas, we didn’t win this one. One CFL marketer said to me years ago, “But we wanna appear BIG TIME!” Newsflash: Canada IS big time. Anyway, I’ve got no issues with Machine Gun Kelly. I’ve looked up his music, and it’s good. At least I knew who he was, unlike Super Bowl halftime performer Bad Bunny. You’re not gonna please everyone, and I know that better than anybody.
5 – YEAH BABY!: Everybody’s going off half-cocked over starts by various teams including the 1-5-0 Calgary Flames, the 1-3-2 LA Kings or even the 5-0-0 Carolina Hurricanes. Consider for a second this advice from Hall of Fame Flames broadcaster Peter Maher who joined the RP Show at the Grey Eagle Hotel & Casino back in the day: “It’s not the first 10 games, or even 15 games, that count. You’re still figuring out who you are as a team. It’s Games 16-30 that you need to zero in on. That’s when you really find out what you have. If you have a bad record in that stretch, you’ve got to do something. If you have a good record in that stretch, you’ve got a chance.” I’ve never forgotten that, and love Peter Maher to death.
6 – DUB HUB: Portland Winterhawks grad Seth Jarvis has become the first player in NHL history to score four game-winning goals in his team’s first five games. He’s done that with the 5-0 Carolina Hurricances. … Former Regina Pat Josh Mahura snapped a 135-game goal drought with the winner for the Seattle Kraken in a 4-3 OT win at Toronto on Saturday. As George Yannitsos from the 4 Season Sports Palace has pointed out, the goal was assisted by two other former Pats: Jordan Eberle and Chandler Stephenson! …. Brandon Wheat Kings product Mark Stone has assists in six straight games for Vegas to open the season, a new Golden Knights record. …. Oh, and for the OHL folks, #1 pick Matthew Schaeffer led the Islanders in ice time (22:33) in their 5-4 win at Ottawa on Saturday. The D-man has a 5-game point streak on the go. The only other #1 picks to achieve that as rookies? Alex Ovechkin, Alexandre Daigle, Sidney Crosby and Eric Lindros. All forwards.
7 – SUNSHINE STATE WOES: The Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning are a combined 4-7-2 and have their fanbases up in arms here in FLA. Frankly, their records don’t feel too bad but the Cats are on a 4-game losing streak which includes an ugly 3-0 loss at Buffalo on Saturday. “They just can’t seem to get going,” offered Panthers analyst Ed Jovanovski on Saturday’s telecast. Again, we’re not even 10 games in but you want your fans to be engaged and they definitely are. Five seasons ago, when I first got here, no one would’ve even noticed the early-season swoon by the Panthers. Funny what winning! … It’s early, but you can sense the tension with the teams.
8 – NFL WEEK 7: Sportstalk icon Dan Patrick threw out on Monday, “Is the NFL over-saturating the sports market?” He was referring to the fact there’s been 12 hours of football on the tube most Sundays of late, plus games on Thursday and Monday. My answer to that is “no”, and that you can watch as much, or as little as you want. Sort of like enjoying a buffet. Next question. … Almost through seven weeks, things are settling down after a turbulent opening six. There were very few upsets on Sunday but there were some stirring endings, none moreso than the Denver Broncos’ home 33-32 victory over the NY Giants. … Dallas routed Washington 44-22. Why would anyone be surprised? The Cowboys should win every game. Yet they’re 3-3-1. … Just when you thought things couldn’t get worse in Miami, the listless Dolphins were destroyed 31-6 in Cleveland coach Mike McDaniel benched Tua in the third quarter. After the game, he pointed the finger at him for not being a good guy. It’s going to be another long week!
9 – JR FOOTBALL: The Regina Thunder are returning to the PFC championship game with their 49-10 win over the Edmonton Huskies. Jackson Harnett led the Thunder ground game with 209 yards on seven carries. He also added two rushing touchdowns. Overall, the Thunder rambled for 402 yards. Quarterback Adam Mosher was 9 of 18 for 165 yards in the passing department. Mosher also tossed two touchdown passes. The Regina Thunder will meet arch-rival Saskatoon next Sunday, October 26 for the PFC championship. The Hilltops advance to the final with a 60-26 thumping of the Winnipeg Rifles.
(Outlaw Communications)
10 – RANDOM THOUGHTS: They’re billing me for killing me. … Twizzlers are addictive. … Whatever happened to Billy Crystal? … Oleg Tverdovsky’s son Daniel is a defenceman for the SJHL’s Estevan Bruins. Oleg is a 2-time Stanley Cup champ with the Devils & Hurricanes, and former Brandon Wheat King. … Copying someone else never works. … I asked Scruffy which coaches are on the NHL hotseat. He responded, “Can we wait for the water to get hot first?” … Thank God you don’t have to pay to listen to CFL games unlike NHL & MLB. … Here comes the NBA! Couldn’t you at least hold off until after the World Series? … Dogs dressed up as everything from Elvis Presley to Scooby Doo’s Mystery Machine went trick-or-treating in Michigan’s capital of Lansing on Friday as part of the annual “Howl’oween” event organized by a local pet store. The costumed canines made a loop through Lansing’s Old Town arts district, stopping outside restaurants, gift shops and jewelry stores, where owners were waiting to provide treats and a scratch behind the ears. Other costumes included an Army general, and Taylor Swift. The event is organized each year by Preuss Pets, an Old Town fixture. General manager Kirbay Preuss said Howloween is “joyous” and “a very good thing. I think right now with everything going on in the world we need more joyous events, and that’s what this is,” she said. … AND HOW WAS YOUR WEEK?
Y’er welcome,
RP
I think it was very poor judgement on the Riders not to bury the Bombers and eliminate them from the playoffs. We don’t owe them any favours.
In most cases, former Canadian Football League quarterbacks have been successful as head coaches; Trevor Harris would have been a most excellent choice as a potential Saskatchewan Roughriders field boss with his accumulated knowledge gained throughout his playing career. Trevor it’s obvious sees the big picture on the field of play, high intellectual individual.
If Trevor retires next year, maybe he could assume the role of pass game co-ordinator or quarterback coach.