10 NEW YEARS THINGS

Taking shots …

1 – THE BUZZ: If you’re a football fan, you’re likely talking about one of two things today, or both: 1) Georgia’s historic 63-3 beatdown of the punchless Florida State Seminoles in the Orange Bowl on Saturday, or 2) The Detroit Lions getting jobbed by the officials in a 20-19 last-minute loss to the Cowboys in Dallas. Gallons of ink have been spilled on both in the less-than-24 hours since but my take on both is this: 1) The Bulldogs’ romp put an exclamation point on the notion that Bowl Season Is A Sham! and 2) When you allow a game to come down to an official’s call (or blown call), your chances of winning are 50/50 at best. Somehow or other, the NFL will find a way to back their officials in this one. Again.

2 – BOWL MANIA: There are 43 College Football Bowl games this year and the vast, vast majority have been lopsided, halfhearted affairs. However, sort of like Christmas, the original intent has become lost or muddied and it’s become all about commercialization and monetization. Several years ago the advent of these additional Bowl games was simply to stimulate tourism in Southern States and generate cash for the schools. Wanna sponsor one? I’m told it’ll cost between $350,000 on the low-end to around $25-million on the high-end. … Thank gosh the two biggest, and most important, Bowl games remain on New Years Day featuring the Rose Bowl at 5:00 pm ET (Alabama vs Michigan) and the Sugar Bowl at 8:45 pm ET (Texas vs Washington) with berths in the National Championship on the line. These should be close games. (In fact Michigan is favoured by 1.5-points at Bet Regal, and Texas by -4.)

3 – SWAMP DOG: Closer to home, it was an absolute blessing to spend good time with football icon Ron Estay, his wife Debbie, and her brother Scott in New Orleans, Louisiana over the Holidays. The Swamp Dog was the Saskatchewan Roughriders D-line coach from 2001-2008, but that was only a tiny part of his Hall of Fame career. He won six Grey Cups as a player in the CFL, another as coach, is in the LSU Hall of Fame, on the SEC all-time team, played with the USFL’s Washington Generals and coached with the NCAA’s Liberty Flames. He also played in the 1971 Orange Bowl, sadly losing 17-12 to Nebraska on what Scott remembers was a very cold day in Miami! On many, many road trips I sat beside Ron on a team bus or flight and spent hours upon hours talking about life and what it takes to be a winner. That meeting-up last week was a reminder of a wonderful, lovable time in Rider history.

4 – NHL NOTES: The New York Rangers are the first team to 50 points in the NHL. The last time that happened? 1993-94 when they won the Stanley Cup. … But they were outskated handily in a 4-3 loss to the Florida Panthers in Sunrise on Friday, part of this current 4-game Panthers win streak. … This Florida club has grown up in front of my eyes, as a group of talented yet inexperienced youngsters under Joel Quenneville’s watch when I arrived three seasons ago, to a grizzled group of men whom are still talented, but bare the scars of playoff wars under Paul Maurice and Andrew Brunette. “Mess with one, mess with ’em all,” said one veteran hockey-watcher here last week, of the Cats. An easy team to cheer for. … That’s unlike the Toronto Maple Leafs, who’ve lost five of six and their penchant for “only playing hard when they have to” is catching up to them. Some say it’s still early, even though it is not. … The Panthers have learned from their playoff shortcomings yet it feels like the Leafs still have not.

5 – BEDARD: The kid gives us something new to write about every week. The Blackhawks are at Dallas Sunday night before the NHL largely takes a New Years Day break to observe the Kraken & Golden Knights in the Winter Classic in Seattle. In the month of December, Connor has 14 points in 14 games which is similar to November when he had 12 in 12. Bedard’s only played for three months but his 15 goals have put him on the list for “Goals by an 18-year old in a calendar year”. Steve Yzerman leads that stat with 25!

6 – MORE NHL: I took mild umbrage with the statement from an NHL official that the Seattle Kraken brought hockey to a region which didn’t have it before. Do some research bro! How about the WHL’s Thunderbirds, Silvertips, et al? … It’s nice that the NHL still observes a Christmas break, unlike the NFL and NBA. There is still some sanctity and decorum left in sports, and not surprisingly it comes from hockey. … The Edmonton Oilers have won four in a row and their fans are giddy. Just checking to see if they still don’t have NHL-calibre goaltending?? … On Sunday when Minnesota hosts the Jets, Wild goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury will play in his 1000th game which puts him in a club which already includes Martin Brodeur, Patrick Roy and Roberto Luongo. Of those, only Brodeur has won more games (557). Fleury has 550 wins. … One head coach leads both the Ottawa Senators and Florida Panthers in career wins: Jacques Martin.

7 – WORLD JUNIORS: As usual there is no clear winner and this year’s tournament in Sweden is no different! Canada generally needs to face a wakeup call somewhere along the line and they got it on Friday in the form of a 2-0 loss to the host team. Coach Alan Letting was correct in saying they need more from their top guns and perhaps that’ll come in Sunday’s clash with Germany at 1:30 pm ET. The Germans will still be smarting from Saturday’s inexplicable 6-2 loss to Latvia. But as usual, the best games are still ahead! … It’s nice to see so many good friends (fans) having such a great time at the event! It makes you wish you were there. … I much prefer Mike Johnson’s colour commentary to Ray Ferraro’s on the TSN broadcast. … Always found it odd that European hockey arenas play North American classic rock over the sound system. Do they not have their own music?

8 – CFL: It’s been over a month since the CFL last played so it’s high time the league becomes visible again, if that’s possible anymore around NFL, College Football and NHL hype. The schedule release brought some nice Holiday tidings but the league’s players and coaches need to be visible in interviews and appearances leading up to February’s free agency, and beyond. … You’ll start to hear of some coaches and personnel comings-and-goings soon, which is great fodder for the diehards, but the league will also need to have its “faces” visible in the media to keep the casual fans engaged. … The league generated some positive momentum in 2023 so it’s important to keep the hammer  down in 2024 and I don’t mean the tired old rehashing of Halifax expansion or “Should the CFL expand to the U.S.?” talk. We need something new and refreshing to talk about. Any suggestions?

9 – 2024: 2023 was the Year of the Rabbit which was to be a sign of longevity, peace, prosperity, and above all, hope. I’m extremely grateful to report that for our enterprise, that was the case. We forged great new relationships with the RP Show, began our partnership with USA Football, and launched the successful Cats ‘N Bolts Podcast which covers Florida NHL hockey. 2024 is the Year of the Wood Dragon, which is to bring evolution, improvement, and abundance; it is the perfect time for rejuvenated beginnings and setting the foundation for long-term success. Sign me up!

Here’s ONE of the big differences between Canada and the USA: According to Angus Reid Poll Corp., the #1 story in Canada in 2023 was the rise in the cost of living, particularly the outrageous cost of groceries. Meanwhile according to USA Today, the #1 story in America (most clicks) was the snub of the Florida State Seminoles by the College Football Playoff selection committee. That’s in the NEWS! It’s taken me two years to get my mind around the beast that is U.S. College Football. After spending 20 years in the CFL, you think you know, but you do not.

10 – RANDOM THOUGHTS: The SJHL’s Flin Flon Bombers come out of the Christmas break still ranked as the #1 team in all of Canadian Junior A Hockey. … Prayers up and Godspeed to Bombers player Matt Egan who had successful cancer surgery last week and is on the mend! His will be a story of inspiration. … The NLL’s Saskatchewan Rush (1-2) are hosting a fun New Years Eve party, hosting the Albany Fire Wolves (3-0) at 8 pm ET at SaskTel Centre. … The #1 selling NFL jersey in Canada is Patrick Mahomes. … In the press box at intermissions, the old hockey people are talking to each other while the young hockey people sit in their seats on their phones. Who’s right? … From Jeff Reinebold on the RP Show: “If Nathan Rourke quits the NFL to return to the CFL, I can guarantee you he’ll never realize his dream of starting an NFL game.” … Vegas Raiders star receiver Davante Adams is featured in a commercial where he has a Taco Bell restaurant in his home. For a second, I wondered if he actually does? If you could have one fast food restaurant in your home, which one would it be? Mine would be Taco Time. …  In Recovery, every day is New Years Day. … AND HOW WAS YOUR WEEK?

Happy New Year!
RP
@rodpedersen