10 WEEKEND THINGS

Taking shots …

1 – GOOD PROBLEMS: All you can really ask for, is a good game. That was the case for the Roughriders in Saturday’s 30-27 preseason victory over the BC Lions at Mosaic Stadium. The Riders trailed by double digits in both the third and fourth quarters but rallied for the victory thanks to a pair of Mason Fine-to-Mitch Picton TD tosses in the final quarter to send the Green & Whiters home happy. Veteran players are usually the ones to standout in the silly season and both Fine and Picton did that. Real good game.

2 – BACK-UP BATTLE: If Coach Craig was looking for a quarterback to stand out in the battle to be the top back-up behind Trevor Harris, he might be disappointed; they ALL stepped up. It’s a good problem that Jake Dolegala, Shae Patterson and Mason Fine all had a grasp of the offense in the preseason debut, moved the ball and put up points. (The pick six thrown by Fine to BC’s Ryder Varga – a former Ram – was tough, but even Tom Brady throws ’em). Kudos to offensive coordinator Kelly Jeffrey and the offensive line for giving the QBs the opportunity to shine. The defense had its problems, but at least the score didn’t matter in the standings. The final decisions will be made Friday when the Riders visit Winnipeg.

3 – CFL NOTES: You can bang on the CFL all you want for whatever reason – and people always will – but you just can’t knock the product. The majority of games on the weekend were cliffhangers, like a last-second field goal for Montreal to win at Ottawa on Friday or a last-minute 46-yard TD run by a Winnipeg QB to win at Edmonton on Saturday. Bo Levi Mitchell looking crisp in his Hamilton debut sent the Ticats faithful home happy on Saturday too. … Only In The CFL Moment: The Calgary Stampeders played their intrasquad game after their first preseason game. Couldn’t be helped. … Records are made to be broken. Monday’s Victoria Day clash in Calgary which saw the Stamps beat the Elks 29-24 was the earliest game played in CFL history (May 22). I believe we (the 2018 Riders) had the prior mark by playing on Sunday, May 27. That game was notable for me because the Pats were playing the Memorial Cup final that day so I was watching that game while calling the Eskimos & Riders, and, I got left behind in the stadium by the team bus afterwards which was a first in my broadcasting career. And last. …. People can gripe all they want about the CFL Preseason Live streaming feed but it worked flawlessly for me Saturday night in Boca Raton, FL. … Critics can gripe about the U.S. TV deal too but early indications are that it’s no different than the former ESPN deal and this one actually nets the CFL some TV money. Bravo Randy. … Yes, I want to be a flagwaving CFL guy and not a Negative Nelson in 2023. Nobody likes a complainer!

4 – KNIGHT TIME? NOT SO FAST: The Vegas Golden Knights gotta be a little nervous. They failed to sweep Dallas in the NHL Western Conference Final on Thursday night and then lost Game 5, 4-2, on Saturday night at The Fortress. So now they go back to Dallas for Game 6 on Monday night and will try again to close it out, with a 3-2 series lead. Momentum is a “thing”. Ask the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics. … Jason Robertson has five goals for Dallas in this series, which accounts for 42% of the Stars offence. Only three other Stars have had as many goals in a series before the Stanley Cup Final: Brett Hull (2000), Jamie Langenbrunner (1999) and Bill Goldsworthy (1968).

5 – TIME TO HUNT: Had Vegas won Saturday night, the Stanley Cup Final would’ve begun Wednesday night in Sin City between the Golden Knights and Florida Panthers. Now, since they didn’t, the SCF will begin next Saturday night no matter what. … The Panthers really don’t mind. They can use the rest, get their feet under them a bit, and enjoy the run they’re on. Matthew Tkachuk was the star of Saturday night’s Celtics/Heat playoff game in Miami, being interviewed on the NBA On TNT set by Chuck & Shaq, and drawing a large ovation when introduced on the big screen by the Heat faithful. … Sure, half the arena didn’t know who he was but I couldn’t pick Jimmy Butler out of a lineup either. … Just go with it!

Meanwhile the Panthers need not make any apologies for the fact they were only in a playoff spot for 28% of the regular season. They’re the first team in NHL history to get this far, with that stat. They also don’t need to apologize that Boston, Toronto and Carolina choked, nor that Sergei Bobrovski is playing over his head.

Again, just go with it, But hopefully the layoff isn’t too long …

6 – COVERAGE PLANS: The RP Show has been invited to Vegas to broadcast from the Stanley Cup Final but a quick check of the cost of Vegas hotels has concluded, “It’s not in the budget!” However we’ll be able to cover the series just fine from South Florida with our assembled Florida hockey crew. It’s a small, yet tight-knit, fraternity which I’m beyond grateful to have been welcomed into. It’s been a dream come true! … However I’m excited to also get back to Sask and Alberta for the summer to host the show, attend speaking engagements, and family events.

7 – DENNY & THE STEER: It was a really tough week for the Regina sports community with the loss of two local sports pillars. Hockey guy Dennis Ulmer and football guy Gary Uhren both passed and I had a deep connection to both. Dennis was a coach & administrator at Notre Dame College when my brothers were playing there so I’ve known him since I was about 12. Later he was a scout for the Swift Current Broncos, and a neighbour of mine in South Regina, so we saw each other regularly and he was always positive and supportive. Great guy! … As for Gary, “The Steer”, he was the manager of the Regina Rams when I was their broadcaster in 1991. I was 18, and they were the first team I was ever the “voice” of. Frank McCrystal gets all the credit but teams don’t have success like that without guys like Steer and he made sure everything was looked after from top-to-bottom so the players could just go out and play and the coaches could coach. Great guy too! … Condolences to their families.

8 – MEMORIAL CUP: So I guess any talk of the “Dub Curse” at the Memorial Cup went up in smoke with the Seattle Thunderbirds smoking Peterborough 6-3 on Saturday in Kamloops, BC. Flames broadcaster Peter Loubardias and I debated the WHL’s struggles at the Memmer lustily on the RP Show this week, and later on Twitter. Lou contends that it’s not a “curse” at all, but rather fact that the WHL representative hadn’t won a game at the Memorial Cup since 2015. Or something like that. I’m not really following the drought because I think it’s nothing more than a blip or a fad. Obviously I respect Pete’s Jr. Hockey knowledge immensely and I hope he’s the same but he blames population, geography of the leagues and a few other reasons why the WHL has “fallen behind” the OHL and QMJHL. On the other hand, I want to hear nothing about any of that. They’ve been contesting the Memorial Cup for over 100 years and all those factors have been in place for just as long. But it’s a problem now?

Sorry, not buying it.

9 – OTHER SPORTS: They’re not “big time” so the public isn’t following them as closely but the NLL and the CEBL are drawing big crowds. KeyBack Centre in Buffalo was sold-out Saturday night to watch the Bandits down the Colorado Mammoth 13-12 in Game 1 of the NLL Final. Meanwhile in Winnipeg, over 7,000 turned out to watch the Sea Bears win their inaugural game, 90-85 over Vancouver at Canada Life Centre. The Calgary Surge won their first-ever game too, 74-70 over Edmonton at a packed WinSport. … The CEBL in particular has worked its ass off to promote its league in the absence of mainstream media coverage so hats off to everyone who’s made the season launch a success! … Kudos to TSN for broadcasting a portion of these games, plus the CHL. Sportsnet doesn’t seem to give a rat’s ass about any of it, including the CFL.

10 – RANDOM THOUGHTS: We’re now stopping in Saskatoon to scoop up Rider fans for the Woody’s RV & Engelheim RP Show Summer Football Road Trip to watch Sask at Calgary on June 24! Message us for details. … Does anyone talk on the phone anymore? Everyone wants to “jump on a Zoom call” these days. I’d still rather just text! Phone calls it is. At best! … If you’re gonna hack someone’s Facebook account, at least make it believable. “Hello. How are you doing?” isn’t that original of an opening line. … Do the hackers think we all don’t know each other and have each other’s cell numbers too??? 🙂 … From all accounts, Doug Gilmour and Paul Coffey were exceptional speakers at this week’s Estevan Bruins Sportsmans Dinner. … Excited to speak at the Saskatchewan Angus Association and the Angus’s National Convention on June 10 in Saskatoon. My family has a deep history with the Association. … We’re booking into the Fall now for speaking engagements on the Prairies! Please contact EMJ Marketing at 306-631-4123 to get me out to your organization speaking on Sports, Mental Health and/or Motivation! Thank you … And …

Y’er welcome,
RP
@rodpedersen