10 THINGS I THINK I THINK FOR FAMOSO PIZZERIA

1 – BRING EM OUT: It’s alarming, and even a little disturbing, that on CFL Draft Week the most talked-about thing in the 306 is Duron Carter’s Tweet saying the Roughriders’ Bring Em Out anthem is “tired and corny”. Everyone seems to have an opinion on Duron’s opinion yet no one can name one player expected to go in the first round of Thursday’s Draft. My thoughts on Duron’s Tweet? The Riders’ entrance music is just fine.

2 – THE DRAFT: TSN’s Duane Forde told a conference call on Tuesday that he expects Mark Chapman to be the #1 overall pick by Montreal Thursday night. To that, Scruffy responded “The guy who shot John Lennon?” Holy smokes. In my 20 years of covering this Draft very closely, it’s never had a lower profile than it does right now.

3 – WHO’S AT FAULT?: Everyone wants to point the finger these days but it’s hard in this case. The CFL has done nothing wrong. They market their own players well and it’s not the CFL’s responsibility to promote university players. It darn sure isn’t TSN’s fault. They’ve been televising the first few rounds of the Draft for years and will again this year. Can you blame the universities? It’s difficult when they have no budget and their stands are empty. But it’s time to turn this thing around.

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4 – THE SOLUTION: TV rules the universe. So by hook or by crook U-Sport needs to get its football games on television and a network that’s accessible (Access/Shaw). Why did we fall in love with Stampede Wrestling and its characters The Dynamite Kid, The Cuban Assasin, J.R. Foley and Ed Whalen back in the day? Because it was on TV every Saturday AND IT WASN’T EVEN LIVE! I first learned of the NLL because TSN carried the games decades ago. Meanwhile the NLL boasted 1-million viewers of the Champion’s Cup Final last year on Twitter. Let’s get with it. And then you fans need to watch.

5 – NOAH’S ARC: Aside from who the Riders pick on Thursday – they own the #5 overall pick – the thing I’m most interested to see is if or when Rams quarterback Noah Picton is selected. He was the MVP of Canadian university football just two years ago and could aptly be named “the Doug Flutie of U-Sport”. The only knock on him is his size (he’s listed at 5’9″ while Flutie was measured at 5’8″ and fashioned a great career). Noah, to me, is the story of this year’s Draft from a Regina perspective.

6 – NEW YORK, NEW YORK: I’m not going to be around for the Draft anyway. I’ll be following it on my Iphone as I’m headed to Manhattan for training from Hightower Associates. When I return, I’ll be a trained Interventionist. Cris Carter already is. Don’t know what that is? Watch the hit show Intervention on A&E. A huge thanks to my Recovery sponsors Fine Foods, Milk2Go Sport and CJ Evans Home Design for making this weekend possible. It’s expensive, but I can’t remember ever being so excited for anything like I am for this.

7 – MASONRY: Rider Radio CKRM’s Michael Ball Tweeted that U of S Huskies QB Mason Nyhus – a Riffel Royals grad – has been invited to participate in Roughriders training camp as part of the CFL’s Canadian QB development program. Mason’s father is Perry Nyhus, the long-time CKRM drive time host. See you at camp Mase!

8 – SAVE A HORSE: Applause to the Swift Current Broncos for advancing to the WHL Final for the first time since 1993. Here’s hoping they win the whole thing and end up in the Memorial Cup in three weeks in Regina. It’s all positive vibes for the Broncos from here because the Saskatchewan WHL championship drought needs to end. And if the Brandt Centre is filled with Broncos fans for the M.C., so be it. The only question is: how good of a chance do they stand against Everett?

9 – HUMBOLDT STRONG: It’s coming up on a month since the Humboldt Broncos crash but the devastation remains and will for a very, very long time. The Humboldt Strong T-shirts from 22 Fresh are now available in all Saskatchewan Co-ops and online from the 22 Fresh website. If you’re wondering how else you can help the cause, this is a good way. … You may also want to attend the Benefit Hockey Game in Regina for the Broncos’ Adam Herold on Friday, May 11 at the Cooperators Arena. Adam’s Pat Canadians teammates and Pat C’s alumni will lace them up to raise funds for the Herold family and Adam’s legacy.

10 – NOTES: Tuesday night’s Winnipeg Jets 7-4 victory over Nashville was just like their season: up and down but mostly WILD. How can’t you be pulling for the Jets to win the Stanley Cup if you’re from neighbouring Saskatchewan? I am, but I know others are not. … I’m winning lots of bets on the Vegas Golden Knights. Alas, they shall be my team and I won’t worry about being called a hipster. … The latest hot rumour is that the Seattle NHL owners are after Kelly McCrimmon as their GM. … Another one: Alberta Golden Bears coach Serge Lajoie is expected to be the next Head Coach of the Saskatoon Blades. … Join Mick McGeough, Jim McKenzie and me in Estevan on Thursday, May 10 for the Bruins annual Sports Dinner. I promise you, it’ll be a riot! Call the Bruins office for tickets at 306-634-7730.

Y’er welcome,
RP
@rodpedersen