10 WEEKEND THINGS

Taking shots …

1 – GREY CUP BOUND: For the millionth time, this is the time of year when the Canadian Football League shines. Before a record crowd at Toronto’s BMO Field on Saturday, the Montreal Alouettes pulled off the biggest playoff upset in CFL history by stunning the 16-2 Argonauts by a score of 38-17. (The 21-point margin beats Sask’s 11-point upset win over Edmonton in 1989, in a similar David vs Goliath scenario). Among the many stats which favoured Toronto going in, their club record +27 turnover ratio was the most impressive to me. Then, on Division Final Saturday, they turned the ball over nine times to Montreal’s one and that decided the game. Actually, the pair of Pick 6’s thrown by Toronto quarterback Chad Kelly as part of a four interception day – plus a Montreal return touchdown – sealed the deal. It had been going too perfect for the Boatmen! Plus they hadn’t played a meaningful game in 57 days and that had to be a factor. They turned into a pumpkin and likely have already now turned their attention to redemption next season.

2 – FAJARDO AND MAAS: Speaking of redemption, if Montreal can take down Toronto, then they can beat anybody and that includes Winnipeg in the 2023 Grey Cup next Sunday at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton. Just by advancing to that game, Alouettes QB Cody Fajardo and Head Coach Jason Maas have found redemption for being scapegoated in Saskatchewan a year ago. Now with an all-time record amount of navel-gazing going on in the Wheat Province this weekend (i.e. “Who’s responsible for that?”, “Who’s on first?”, etc), Maas and Fajardo are having the last giggle on their way to the title game.

3 – SPRINKLE OF JESUS: Was Fajardo responsible for Saturday’s win? Not on your life but he doesn’t care. Chad Kelly served up his worst game as a pro and Fajardo didn’t have to do much on the other side. That’s certainly the mantra of the Fajardo-haters since Saturday night but there was a time the Brea, CA product was 25-10 as a starter in Saskatchewan. That’s when karma and the current toxic Rider culture took over. There’s something about good leaders which makes everybody around them better, and doesn’t show up in the stats. Anyway, Cody’s long proved he’s a quality quarterback and wasn’t the problem there. Now it’s time to go finish it off.

*Good* always wins in the end.

4 – GM OF THE YEAR: There’s a lot of things I’d do if I was named CFL Commissioner For The Day and perhaps the first would be to institute the GM Of The Year Award. And I wouldn’t have the ballots cast until after the Grey Cup. It’s that way in the NHL; the Coach Of The Year is for the regular season while Executive Of The Year is named after the Stanley Cup is handed out. Anyway, while Ryan Dinwiddie will win CFL Coach Of The Year for 2023, the GM trophy should go to Montreal’s Danny Maciocia. His move to dump Head Coach Khari Jones during the 2022 season wasn’t a popular one among Khari fans but like Maas & Fajardo, Maciocia is smiling now. It’s another clear illustration that new regimes want their people. Period. Nothing personal.

5 – RIDER COACH: As was noted in my Friday Commentary on Sask radio, the coverage around the Saskatchewan Roughriders coaching search has gotten ridiculous and for that reason, I’ve raised the white flag on my reporting. The list of candidates has swelled up near a dozen and even the name Jerry Glanville came up this weekend. (He’s the 1980s Houston coach who famously left tickets for Elvis Presley at Will Call before every Oilers game). After 35 years in this perilous trade, my credibility’s not in question but I also won’t be used to advance a candidate. Stories and chases like this are supposed to be fun – they used to be – but this one isn’t fun. Right now it’s the only pro coaching job available so every football guy with too much time on his hands has heard a rumour. Next.

6 – HURRICANE CONNOR: Not gonna lie … I’ve been waiting for Sunday, November 12 for months. Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks visit the Florida Panthers and I’ll be seated in the lower bowl at Amerant Bank Arena with a sponsor of our Cats ‘N Bolts Podcast for the 1:00 pm ET faceoff. Scott’s originally from Chicago, and a big Blackhawks fan! Bedard had been lagging a little statistically entering the week but his 4-point night at Tampa Bay on Thursday has given him 11 points in 12 games in his freshman season. I lovvvvvvvved getting to watch Bedard live at the World Juniors, and then at the Brandt Centre, and now I get to watch him live in the NHL. If I’m dreaming, don’t pinch me!

7 – SIMMER DOWN: We met, by chance, in the lobby of Ottawa’s TD Place in October of 2017. Hockey guy Shawn Simpson was co-hosting the afternoon show on TSN Ottawa radio while I was doing the same with my radio show out of Saskatchewan during Grey Cup Week. The former Washington Capitals 3rd round pick and I had never met but immediately “clicked”. (It’s an energy/vibe thing). So I was dismayed a year ago when he was jettisoned by TSN Radio for budgetary reasons, and I heard he took it very hard. He’s got a young family, and is just a great guy and broadcaster.

So you can imagine how elated I was to follow his situation and see that he launched the Simmer Down Podcast out of Ottawa this week. It airs live daily, same time as mine, and he’s been summarily lighting the Senators on fire each day for all their missteps in the Melnyk, now Andlauer, and Pierre Dorion eras. Predictably followers are asking why he didn’t report the truth nor his real opinion while on air at TSN? Does that really need an answer? Simmer’s truth-speaking on Twitter and on his show this week have inspired me to do more of the same. It’s not sour grapes, it’s just the truth of what’s really going on. Don’t be fooled.

Meanwhile some have asked how I could promote a show that airs at the same time as mine? Newsflash: Cheering someone else’s success won’t diminish your own. It’s a karma thing and if you have to ask, you’ll never understand.

8 – HALL OF FAME?: We all have free will and the choice of where we put our focus. I used to be a Hall of Fame junkie but what *they’ve* done to it has caused me to lose interest. That’s certainly no disrespect to the inductees this week in Toronto like Mike Vernon, Ken Hitchcock, Henrik Lundquist et al however since the criteria changed, it’s not a lot of fun to debate anymore. What exactly is the criteria anyway? Remember a few months back when Ron Duguay wanted to debate on the RP Show the worthiness of Lundquist as a Hall of Famer because he never won a Stanley Cup? I told him winning doesn’t matter anymore and he asked what does? I don’t know.

Like the Roughriders’ Plaza of Honour hall of fame. Wendy Kelly is in there but Richie Hall and Roy Shivers aren’t?

Okay.

The NFL tried to advance an agenda a few years ago, ratings tanked, and they scrapped that agenda pronto. We’ll see if other leagues and teams follow suit.

9 – DUES?: It’s an incredibly interesting time in the sports, media, and sports media industries. Some young, minority broadcasters who’ve been fast-tracked to their current roles have recently asked for access to my rolodex. Uhhhh, uh uh. I’ve got no issue with networks jumping the shark with these hires, but there is no substitute for having spent hours upon hours, racking up millions of miles across this continent getting to know the players, coaches, GMs, trainers, agents, broadcasters, owners and the like. (You really get to know someone on a 6-hour bus ride from Kamloops to Prince George, or driving to Zenon Park, SK for a sports banquet, or having each other’s back in a back alley ‘disagreement’ in Vancouver). Get the phone numbers yourself.

10 – RANDOM THOUGHTS: If I had unlimited money, I’d get unlimited massages. … Zach Hyman’s first period natural hattrick for Edmonton Saturday night was the first – and only – since Gretzky did it. … Does Nikita Zadorov want out of Calgary, or not? Please advise. …  The rumour on the Jim Harbaugh suspension is that the NCAA wants him out. When it’s time to go, it’s time to go. … Whatever happened to Sally Jesse Raphael? And for that matter, Cybil Shepherd? … One thing I like about America is the harder you work, the further ahead you get. … If you want to be on the team, you need to contribute. … You see these anonymous polls of players and GMs. I’d like to see an anonymous poll of referees!!! The stuff they tell me is mind-blowing. … My hairdresser also cuts the hair of Robert Kraft’s sister. No guff. “If you see a little lady in her 80’s with a blonde bob, that’s her!” my gal Melissa said. THAT’S EVERY LADY IN BOCA! … And how was YOUR week??

Y’er welcome,
RP
@rodpedersen