10 Things
FLA A&M Offensive Coordinator Henry Burris Saturday Night In Boca Raton, FL
Truth & Rumours …
1 – REMATCHES: If you go by the oddsmakers, three of the four games in the CFL’s Week 14 were upsets. By name, those were Ottawa 34-BC 33, Saskatchewan 21-Winnipeg 13, and Edmonton 31-Calgary 19. The only one the betting companies got right was Hamilton spanking Montreal 26-9 but that was a given. The Alouettes have lost five in a row without top QBs Davis Alexander and McLeod Bethel-Thompson. I’ll say it again; I’m sure Montreal regrets trading away Cody Fajardo in the off-season! Cody led the Elkimos to another huge victory on Saturday and they’re alive in the CFL West Division playoff picture at 5-7, tied with BC (5-7) for 4th. The crossover playoff berth is in play, and surprisingly hasn’t been invoked since 2018.
2 – MORE CFL: Great to see all the talk coming out of Saturday’s game in Edmonton was about the play, not the attendance. Justin Rankin had 204 yards rushing and 2 TDS for the Elks, and he’s a product of the Vegas Knighthawks of the Indoor Football League. Vegas – under the guidance of former Roughriders DL coach Mike Davis – won the 2025 IFL championship last month. Put another trophy on the wall for Golden Knights owner Bill Foley, who also owns the Knighthawks, and also for Mike Davis, a longtime friend. … Regarding that attendance in Edmonton, it was announced at 28,365. … The Roughriders are 10-2 entering Week 15 and the mathematicians tell me their magic number to clinch first place is 5. … If defense wins championships, then the Roughriders should waltz to the 2025 Grey Cup championship, their fifth in franchise history. Corey Mace will win Coach of the Year too, after being a finalist in 2024.
3 – SMILIN’ HANK: Henry Burris wasn’t smiling Saturday night. I raced back to South Florida on Saturday to catch Hank’s Florida A&M Rattlers game at Florida Atlantic University (FAU Stadium is 1.8 miles from my house in Boca Raton, FL). However the hometown Owls scored on all but one first half possession, used five different QBs, and smoked the Rattlers 56-14. Before the game Hank said he wanted to meet up but I knew by the way the game went, we wouldn’t get any time together. Next time! … Burris is one of several Riders – or CFLers – doing great things in College Football. Some of the others who come to mind are Geroy Simon (Maryland), Steve Sarkisian (Texas), Kerry Joseph (Texas), Kent Austin (Auburn) and Jeff Reinebold (Hawaii). Yes, there’s life after the CFL.
4 – COLLEGE NOTES: It’s headspinning to keep on top of but some notes coming out of Week 2 — QB Arch Manning got on track in the Longhorns’ 38-7 win over San Jose State … #1 Ohio State destroyed Grambling State 70-0 in a display of what a dreadful cupcake weekend it was. (Why do they schedule these non-conference games?) … #5 Miami blewout Bethune-Cookman 45-3 to go to 2-0 … Bill Belichick got his first win as UNC downed Charlotte 20-3 … “They” are saying LSU is the best team in College Football at the moment. … Last year at this time Florida State was 0-2. This year they’re 2-0. Thank the Transfer Portal and NIL.
5 – LUKE WILLSON: It’s been entertaining following the first-year exploits of CFL On TSN sideline reporter, and Super Bowl-winning tightend, Luke Willson this summer but it’s turned ugly. His bitter feud this week with the iconic Bob Irving in Winnipeg was about 10-15 yards offside. Hey, I got in my share of feuds in my 20 years in the CFL but NEVER did I step on the shoes of the icons like Bryan Hall, J.P. McConnell, John Wells, and Irving. In fact, when I was fired in Saskatchewan, Bob Irving was the first one to call. He’s all class. In fact Bob covered the CFL for 49 years and is the Dean of CFL broadcasters. Has Luke Willson even been covering this league for 49 days?
We may not all agree – we never will – but opinions are what make the sports media world go ’round. To tee off on Bob and demand an apology is cringy. … Willson mentioned that he worked the CFL game Friday night in Ottawa rather than watching the NFL Brazil game featuring Kansas City-LAC like he was doing the CFL some sort of favour. I’m pretty sure they’d have played the game at TD Stadium whether Luke was there or not! Some reality is needed.
6 – CANADA WEST: Loving how many people are into USports football in the west right now and this week’s games were all played on Friday — Regina 47-Alberta 23, Saskatchewan 51-UBC 14, Calgary 15-Manitoba 14. … Not following and in need of an update? Scruffy predicts a Hardy Cup rematch between the Rams & Huskies. Mitchell “Scruffy” Blair called Friday night’s Rams game while my partner Darren Dupont was on the call in Saskatoon where Griffiths Stadium was jammed with 10,000+ on Homecoming Weekend. … Fun Fact: In 2019 Canada West was filling out their broadcast teams and when I didn’t get a call, I asked why? They replied, “We didn’t think you’d do it!” The fact is, I would’ve. Lesson #1: Pick up the phone. Lesson #2: Everything happens for a reason, and we are all where we’re supposed to be.
7 – CFL EXPANSION: Sports fans love expansion talk, in all leagues. CFL Commissioner Stewart Johnston stated right off the hop this spring that expansion is not a priority right now but if they ever do, my prayer is that they go to 12 teams, not just 10. The markets? Halifax, Quebec City and Saskatoon. … Forget about the Rider love in the Bridge City. Ottawa was a Leafs & Canadiens town but that didn’t stop the NHL from going in there with the Senators and it’s WORKED. Now the Nation’s Capital is split three-ways with their fandom, and everybody wins. … A 12-team CFL legitimizes the league even more, and would put some much-needed expansion money in the coffers. Y’er welcome.
8 – DUB HUB: Regina Pats fans have a blossoming Crosby/Malkin duo coming in the form of Maddox Schultz & Liam Pue. Before skedaddling back to Florida this weekend, I took in Friday night’s Pats’ 5-2 victory over Brandon. Regina product Schultz has drawn comparisons to Sidney Crosby and Jonathan Toews – and I see it – but he also appears to be his own player. Although right now, people need to stop with the Connor Bedard comparisons because it ain’t close. As for Pue, I get a “Brendan Shanahan vibe” off of him. Either way, they’re going to be spectacular. A word of caution: they can only play half a season this year due to their age of 15. … Darcy Hordichuk’s 16-year old son Braden is on the bubble after having a solid training camp. I hope the son of the former Blade, Coyote, Panther, Predator, Thrasher, etc. makes the club but as I was told, “We’ll make the decision that’s best for the team.” … Having watched both the Pats & Moose Jaw Warriors in intrasquad/preseason play, I’d give the Pats a slight edge but neither one will be a contender. … Brandon plays nasty. … Wish I could’ve seen more!
9 – KEN DRYDEN: The hockey world paused on Saturday to observe the life of iconic Montreal Canadiens goaltender Ken Dryden, who passed away at age 78 after a cancer battle. It feels like the news hit us all in some way, and for me it felt personal because Dryden’s the reason I became a goaltender at age 6. The target mask!! He was a great man to try to emulate, on and off the ice. Anybody I’ve known who met Dryden said it was a great experience. In Grade 5 I tried reading Dryden’s book The Game but it was a little too deep for me at the time. (Who’s kidding who; it would probably be too deep for me now!) … It seems like a little bit of us all died with Ken Dryden this weekend, but maybe it’s just me. Thanks for the memories Ken. A Canadiens and NHL legend!
10 – RANDOM THOUGHTS: Once it blows, it blows. … The Eagles’ Jalen Carter had the most famous spit since Hawk Thua. … It’s NHL Goalie Week. … You don’t see a lot of George Strait or Clint Black T-shirts anywhere. What I do see is a lot of Morgan Wallen merchandise. Time marches on. … They used to hand out newspapers on flights. I wish they still did. … Thanks WestJet for the bump up to first class on Saturday! I got no issues with Canadian airlines. In fact, I prefer them. … We need a spear or arrow emoji. And for that matter, a wagon. … Hikers who climbed a Colorado mountain on Labour Day Weekend got more than just a sweeping view at the top. A man in an ice cream cone costume unexpectedly was handing out frozen treats. No one seemed to know the man who carried ice cream sandwiches and bars and dry ice in a 60-pound pack up Huron Peak. But word of him spread quickly to hikers still making their way up the more than 14,000-foot mountain that’s one of Colorado’s tallest. Photos on social media show the man in a camping chair, a beer nestled in the armrest, wearing sunglasses with a fake mustache attached to it. Members of a Facebook group for people dedicated to climbing the state’s “14ers” called him a hero, with one declaring him “legend dairy.” … AND HOW WAS YOUR WEEK?
Y’er welcome,
RP
Make sure you keep an eye on former Rider QB GJ Kinne, current coach of the Texas State Bobcats. He’s quickly rising up the ranks and will be a household name at a big time school soon.