10 WEEKEND THINGS

Taking shots …

1 – PENSE: Pretty sure the Pense Sports Dinner Committee will announce that Saturday night’s 2nd Annual Sports Celebrity Dinner & Auction was a smashing success, when all is tallied up. It was an absolute honour to be on stage with Ryan & Chris Getzlaf this weekend for an hour-long Hot Stove, and raise a lot of funds for the community arena. For a long time Moosimin, SK had the record for any sports banquet I’ve attended by raising $85,000 in one night, and that was obliterated by Lampman, SK last October as they went over the $200,000 mark. Pense will likely wind up somewhere in between, and a big thanks goes to title sponsor SynergyAg and the locals who opened their wallets to benefit their town.

I always used to say that next to calling games, hosting these events was the best part of the job. Now that I’m not calling games anymore, events like these are now NUMBER ONE. Thank you Pense. I enjoyed it so much.

2 – #15: There is no doubt that Ryan Getzlaf will go down in history as the best Anaheim Duck of all-time. His jersey retirement ceremony – whenever that is – will be must-see. As a recap of Ryan’s comments, the 37-year old is enjoying retirement greatly and being a Dad to his four kids. The most intense Ducks teammate he ever had was Chris Pronger and his favourite coach was Randy Carlyle (however Bruce Boudreau is a close runner-up). Ryan has no regrets from his 17-year, Hall of Fame career however he admitted he would’ve liked to play for a Canadian NHL team at some point. To see what that’s like. I find that ironic because players and coaches on Canadian NHL teams habitually complain about the pressure and lack of privacy in those markets, yet here’s Getz saying he would’ve liked to give it a shot. As Sara Evans sings, straight-haired girls all want curls and brunettes wanna be blondes.

I’d personally like to thank Ryan for always being such a great person and representing Sask so well on the world stage.

3 – #89: Chris Getzlaf is two years older than Ryan and need not stand in his little brother’s shadow. The two-time Grey Cup champion, two-time CFL All Star and 2013 Grey Cup Top Canadian had several stories of his own to share with the crowd. His favourite all-time coach was Ken Miller and – if I remember correctly – Chris said Darian Durant was the most intense teammate he ever had. For sure, the two were best friends on those great Rider teams. We covered it all, including the tough stretch in Chris’s career where he battled the “dropsies” and had coaches barking in his face to figure it out. But how nice is it to be able to say you’ve got no regrets? The elder Getzlaf got to play for his hometown team, win championships, but also see what life was like elsewhere by playing for Edmonton and Hamilton. Toodle-oo and onto Life After Football! Steve & Sue Getzlaf sure did a great job with those two.

4 – STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS: While we were addressing a sold-out crowd in the Pense Rink, two massive NHL Playoff games were on the ice Saturday night. Both the Toronto Maple Leafs and Edmonton Oilers advanced to Round 2 with Game 6 wins on the road. Two things stuck out from following the scores: 1) I’m overly happy for my Leaf fan friends. If Toronto wins the Stanley Cup, I’ll be as happy for them as anybody. That fanbase may be annoying, but you can’t deny their passion, and 2) The way that Oilers win unfolded in L.A. reminded me of a comment from Philly Flyers great Bernie Parent over lunch a few years ago. “You know who will win the Stanley Cup this year?” the legendary goalie winked. “The best team.” I knew what he meant. After Edmonton goalie Stuart Skinner’s broken stick gaffe which led to a late Kings goal, Skinner’s Oiler teammates rallied around him, supported him, and came back to win. When watching all of that unfold, a voice in my head said, “Now that’s a team.” Let’s see how far they go …

5 – WHEELS DOWN: Anybody with an ounce of common sense is still shaking their head at the comments from Winnipeg Jets star Blake Wheeler regarding his head coach Rick Bowness. As we all know by now, Bowness blasted his top players for their performance in a series-clinching Game 5 loss at Vegas on Thursday night, and said their soft play goes back to January. Wheeler stood in front of reporters this weekend and said he takes issue with Bowness’s comments and felt they should’ve been kept behind closed doors. Ummm … maybe they had been kept behind closed doors for months and Bones finally snapped and went public with it?? I’d chalk this up to the soft nature of today’s pro player (both Getzlafs alluded to this on stage Saturday night) however Wheeler is 36-years old. If he hasn’t gotten it by now, he’s never going to get it. What a mess to clean up in Winnipeg!

6 – OFFICIATING: One thing I love about being in Canada – and took for granted until spending all that time Stateside – is that everyone is dialled in on the Stanley Cup Playoffs. I mean everyone. So the controversial “hand pass” in Game 6 between Boston and Florida – which ostensibly cost the Bruins the game – has been hotly debated in these circles the past two days. It’s forced a deciding Game 7 Sunday night in Boston and the Bruins knees should be knocking. But regarding the call, obviously it was blown but I’d suggest you get used to it. With the direction of the NHL and the Officiating Department, these types of calls are going to become the norm, I fear. Some are going so far as to say this is a Gary Bettman-pushed directive to prop up hockey in the southern states but gosh I hope not. I’m truly, truly loving being on the NHL beat and don’t want to be sucked into this conspiracy narrative. I don’t need to make enemies. Shoot, I’ve finally dug myself out of that stuff in the CFL. No need to go back there.

7 – CFL: Speaking of, the biggest news coming out the CFL this week was the fact that four teams were fined for being over the salary cap in 2022. Of them, the Montreal Alouettes were fined $794. I mean, I’ve seen senior hockey teams fined more than that. Rider great Jeff Fairholm opined on Friday’s RP Show from Ace Casino Airport Calgary, “I don’t know why they’d bother announcing that at all.” It’s a conundrum for the CFL; they want to stay in the news cycle but it’s hard to pick and choose what you want out there, and how it will be received. At least it gave us something to talk about.

8 – SOMEONE SENT ME A NOTE: My phone rang Friday and on the other end was someone I’d call a “CFL titan”. He began, “What does Elliot Friedman say … ‘Someone sent me a note?’ … Well here’s a note for you and your audience: How does the Rider Nation feel that Sask never spent to the cap in a Grey Cup year? They didn’t go all-in?” Honestly that thought hadn’t crossed my mind at all until he brought it up. Then I remembered 2013 – the last time Saskatchewan hosted the Grey Cup – and the team was fined for going over the salary cap. Then-President Jim Hopson smirked and referred to the penalty as “a speeding ticket”. These are different times now, I guess. I personally don’t have any thoughts on this at all. Go Riders

9 – NFL DRAFT: Somewhere, somebody’s doing a study on what it means for Canada that a record number of Canadians – five – were selected in the NFL Draft this weekend. FIVE! At first glance, it’s 100% positive. Football has survived the concussion scandal and Covid and I’d suggest is flourishing more than ever north of the border. What does this mean for the CFL? It depends on how you look at it but I’d continue that it’s all positive as well. Clearly the best Canadian players are going to the NFL, but that’s always been the case. Now there are just more of them. It should mean that the quality of CFL ball has never been higher. Shouldn’t it?

10 – RANDOM THOUGHTS: None this week. I’ve gotta get on the road! Thanks for stopping by. … Talk to you Monday from Ace Casino Airport where RP Show viewers can get 15% off their stay beginning May 6 at Hotel Clique Calgary Airport! They’ve got competitive rates in a “Euro chic” style. Come check them out! … This week’s guest list includes Tim Hunter, Lanny McDonald, Theo Fleury, Jason Ribeiro, Mark Stephen & more.

Y’er welcome,
RP
@rodpedersen