10 WEEKEND THINGS

Taking shots …

1 – RING OF FIRE: If you’re a fan of the Calgary Flames, you should find this week’s report by Ottawa Postmedia & TSN reporter Bruce Garrioch very troubling. Garrich reports Flames ownership blocked trades between Calgary and Toronto because Flames ownership is sore over their former GM Brad Treliving now running the Maple Leafs. There’s more on that relationship in a great article at Calgary’s TheWinColumn.ca by writer John MacKinnon but if any of this is true – which I believe it is – you’ll all start to see why the Flames have been mired in mediocrity and lack of success for so long. Karma’s real and it is very much alive in the sports world. If you let personal grudges get in the way of what’s best for your team, then you’re doomed for failure. However I wouldn’t hang it all on owner Murray Edwards (a Regina product who grew up across the street from my cousins). There’s another name which keeps coming up with that club in my discussions with hockey people regarding what’s wrong in Calgary. One, or two, bad apples can certainly spoil the whole barrel.

2 – NOW HEAR THIS: People who work in sports all know this and fans need to know it — success or failure starts with ownership and/or leadership. Consider this quote from ESPN NFL reporter Kimberly A. Martin this week on ESPN Radio when discussing the foibles of the hapless N.Y. Jets: “The best owners I’ve been around know what they don’t know, get out of the way, and allow the people they’ve hired to do their jobs.”

She’s a good one! Excellent in fact.

Meanwhile I never, ever heard from the best leaders/owners with the teams I worked with for 30 years in this perilous trade. They were too busy finding ways to WIN. Meanwhile the lousy leaders and owners were always trying to manipulate and micromanage everything I said or wrote. (i.e. worrying about the wrong things). When you win, you don’t need to buy the media.

3 – OTHER NHL NOTES: The L.A. Kings saw their NHL record 11-game road win streak (to start a season) come to an end courtesy of a 3-2 OT loss at the NY Islanders on Saturday. Was anybody in Saskatoon paying attention to that clash? The coaches were two former Blades – Todd McLellan (L.A.) and Lane Lambert (NYI). The pair has deep ties. … Connor Bedard was held pointless in Chicago’s 3-1 win over St. Louis however The Next One still leads all NHL rookies with 21 points. … Jarome Iginla’s son Tij scored the winner for Kelowna as the Rockets beat the Pats 5-4 in Regina in WHL play on Saturday. … Was the addition of Jarome to the Flames front office supposed to pay dividends to the Calgary club? … Disagree with Hockey Night In Canada’s Kevin Bieksa. The hit which knocked Detroit’s Dylan Larkin unconscious on Saturday WAS dirty. … There is an NHL quadruple-header on Sportsnet on Sunday – Florida at Columbus, New Jersey at Edmonton, Washington at Chicago and San Jose at Vegas. … And some say tripleheaders in football are too much! Haha. Not a chance!

4 – JOHN FRENZY: John Lynch went to the big broadcast booth in the sky on Friday, passing away at age 86. Sad, sure, but not tragic. Frenzy was in failing health and is now reunited with his pals Bob Hughes, Ron Lancaster and George Reed. They’re probably having a ball as we speak! John bailed my butt out for years as the football brains behind our TV and radio shows and when asked, the two stories which come to mind about Lynch are when Danny Barrett was beating on the doors of our radio station after one of our shows in 2006, very upset about something John had said that evening. It culminated with a tete-a-tete in the radio station lobby! (As it turned out, Lynch was right with what he said). The other was Frenzy filling in as colour analyst on Rider Radio in August of 2008. It was truly magical to call a game with him. He and my Dad graduated Luther College together in 1955. Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.

5 – HOT, HOT, HOT: It’s with great amusement that I’m following the reaction of Marc Mueller being named Offensive Coordinator of the Saskatchewan Roughriders. It’s a role he was born for, and the grandson of Lancaster – blessed with his mother’s brains and cursed with his father’s talent – will likely end up as Head Coach or General Manager of the Green & White one day. But Marc’s now feeling the scorching heat of the Rider Nation, with the ne’er-do-wells criticizing his hire for a myriad of silly reasons. I didn’t see that one coming! But neither did I see them turning on Cody Fajardo either, but they sure did. Let’s be clear: Marc was hired on football merit and his resume, not his bloodlines. That’s the truth, but some will never hear it.

6 – COVERING THE RIDERS: For 20 years as Voice of the Riders I had people always on my back for being a homer, and not “telling it like it is”. It bothered me a lot and caused sleepless nights because … they were right. Now in this fun new role where I can report the truth, I got the other half yelling at me for not “promoting the team” enough or supposedly “being bitter”. You see it? Either way somebody’s going to criticize. However I like this position wayyyyyy better because I know the critics have it wrong, and now I can sleep like a baby. It’s so damned much fun!

7 – BOWL SEASON AND COLLEGE FOOTBALL NOTES: SportsGrid betting expert Jo Madden – who hosts her U.S. show out of OKOTOKS, AB – says the winner of the Rose Bowl will win the national championship. That works for me! It’s Michigan vs Alabama on New Years Day and the Crimson Tide have long been my college team. … There are 41 Bowl Games in all including the RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl on Dec. 21 just down the street from me at FAU Stadium. The game features the University of South Florida Bulls against the Syracuse Orange. We’ll again be broadcasting from the Boca Bowl as my good friend Matt Dubuc’s son Trey plays for USF. Matt is an Argos/Bombers alum and current coach at Cardinal Gibbons High School in Fort Lauderdale. It’ll be fun! Football ties are AWESOME. … #1 CFL Draft prospect Kurtis Rourke of Oakville, ON announced this week he’s entering the Transfer Portal and therefore leaving Ohio University where he has quarterbacked the Bobcats the past couple of years. Why? Well as TSN and RP Show football analyst Jim Barker stated on Friday’s show, Rourke stands to make “7-figures” in endorsement money through the NCAA’s Name-Image-Likeness deal. Kurtis will be a millionaire long before, or if, he ever plays in the NFL or CFL.

8 – COVERING THE CFL: It was easy to issue a public apology to the Montreal Alouettes on the RP Show this week because I like them a lot. I apologized for doubting Alouettes GM Danny Maciocia and for saying mean things about him when he fired Khari Jones. As it turns out, it wasn’t personal. Khari just wasn’t Danny’s coach; Jason Maas was. Maciocia acknowledged the apology and we moved on. … Some have criticized the Edmonton Elks for signing Arland Bruce IV this week, following the Iowa Hawkeye receiver’s history of being charged for underaged gambling and breaking NCAA rules. Sure – let’s all hold people responsible for the rest of their lives for mistakes they made as teens. Geez Louise. … We have some MASSIVE things planned for CFL coverage in 2024, the likes of which have never been seen! Can. Not. Wait.

9 – OHTANI COVERAGE: It’s a gigantic amount of egg on the face of the media who reported free agent MLB star Shohei Ohtani was on a plane to Toronto to sign with the Blue Jays on Friday when in reality he was at home in Southern California all along, and signed with the L.A. Dodgers the next day. An ostrich egg. But who’s kidding who? I’ve gotten bad scoops too, however none caused this much scorn and ridicule. … Wouldn’t it be something if the overzealousness of the Toronto media actually COST the Blue Jays the chance to sign Ohtani? How ironic would that be. … However the deeper I get into NHL circles and major market media, I can definitely see how the media can adversely impact the teams they cover (i.e. the Maple Leafs). … In the aftermath of the Ohtani gaffe, I’ve seen people wish that this will smarten the media up in the “race to be first, rather than correct.” … It will not.

10 – RANDOM THOUGHTS: At what age can I start claiming “senior moments”? … We really need the National Lacrosse League in South Florida. … Some people still appreciate a job well done. … God doesn’t wear a watch. … Caught the movie Silent Night this week from director John Woo, now playing at Landmark Cinemas. Can you believe this action thriller doesn’t feature a signal word of spoken dialogue? It gets one-and-a-half thumbs up from the Monday Morning Goalie but beware: people leaving the theatre were overheard complaining about the movie’s violence. Also keep in mind I was the youngest one in the theatre by about 20 years. … The Dolphins and Cowboys are in prime time the next two nights so the evening planning is set. What a job! … AND HOW WAS YOUR WEEK?

Y’er welcome,
RP
@rodpedersen