10 Weekend Things

Truth & Rumours

1 – RATS!: Saturday wasn’t a great day for Edmonton sports fans. The Oilers lost Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final, 3-0 at Florida, while the Elkimos fell 29-21 to Saskatchewan in a Week 1 CFL home game. Just a bad day at the office, or a sign of things to come? We’ll delve into it below …

2 – WHAT ABOUT BOB: The analytics nerds are shaking their heads at what went on in Sunrise Saturday night. The Oilers outshot the Panthers 32-18, but came away with an “L”. How that? The early analysis is that Edmonton got “goalie’d” by the Panthers’ Sergei Bobrovsky, who became the oldest goalie to post a Game 1 Stanley Cup Final shutout in NHL history, surpassing 35-year old (and 233 days) Patrick Roy in 2001 for Colorado. It was also the first Game 1 shutout by anyone since Roberto Luongo did it for Vancouver in 2011.

3 – #TIMETOHUNT: What no one’s talking about is the fact the Panthers outhit the Oilers 63-35. You also can’t measure “hunger” and Florida was 11/10 on that scale going into the series. The Oilers? I don’t know. I haven’t been around them like I have the Cats. In truth, I underestimated the focus of the Panthers entering these Stanley Cup Playoffs, not wagering that they’d even make it this far. But veteran defenceman Aaron Ekblad was asked what the atmosphere in their dressing room was like after Game 1. “Quiet,” he answered. “This team is all business.”

Three more wins.

4 – SUNSHINE STATE HOCKEY: It’s been a masterclass in reinventing yourself, but also a joy to guest on all these sports radio stations across the land previewing the Stanley Cup Final. There just AREN’T that many hockey pundits in Florida to preview a grand series like this, and the producers all have my number from years gone by. Voila! But in Ottawa this week, the host asked me what it would mean for hockey in Florida if the Panthers lost to the Oilers. (Keep in mind, they still could). I scratched my head and said, “They didn’t come this far to lose.” It’s a fair question, but not something you think about in advance. Regardless, having been there long enough, I know Florida sports fans would refer to themselves as the “Buffalo Bills of the NHL”; three trips to the Final with nothing to show. But again, none of us think that’ll happen. I’ve got Florida in six.

5 – GLOBAL NEWS MEETS CATS N BOLTS: Global News Toronto still has my number too, and asked if I’d join national anchor Antony Robart Monday at 7:00 am ET to talk about the Stanley Cup Final. I replied that I could, but how about bringing on my Florida NHL podcast co-host Sarina Taylor instead, live from Florida? They thought that was a pretty good idea! Watch for Sarina on Global Monday morning. Frankly, I’m enjoying the back-up role at this stage of my career. It’s a lot less pressure!

6 – UP WEEK: Kudos to the Green & White for picking up that 29-21 victory at Edmonton on Saturday to kickoff the 2024 CFL season. It would be unfair to say they were “lucky”, so let’s say they were fOrTuNaTe to have Elks Kicker Boris Bede miss a field goal in the waning moments (what are they blaming that on by the way?), and for quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson to fumble the ball away with a minute to go. But that’s not the Riders’ fault. Sask scored 21 fourth quarter points to win going away, and that’s not something the club has been accustomed to doing. Kudos to head coach Corey Mace for winning his CFL debut, very happy for offensive coordinator Marc Mueller, and QB Trevor Harris looked refined. Winning is a great perfume, and it camouflaged the week’s news that the Roughriders posted a $1.1-million loss in 2023. But for now in the 306, it’s an Up Week.

7 – AROUND THE CFL: Death, taxes, and Cody Fajardo winning. You can count on those three things folks. … Were we all surprised at how the Winnipeg Blue Bombers flatlined in Thursday’s 27-12 home loss to Montreal? Yes. Do we expect that to continue for long? No. … Montreal is 7-0 all-time in season-openers against Winnipeg. … The June 6 kickoff is the earliest date in CFL history. I like it. … QB Bo Levi Mitchell lost in his return to Calgary, as his Tiger-Cats fell 32-24 to the Stampeders in what John Lynch would call an “E.S.B.G.” (Early Season Big Game). Now the snarly Ticats go home to host Saskatchewan in Week 2. … I used to know where to look to find the attendance figures after each game. Now, not so much. But the crowds looked good in Winnipeg and Calgary, but pitiful in Edmonton. … Let’s see how the Argonauts draw on Sunday when they host the B.C. Lions in the Braley Bowl.

8 – MORE CFL: Tom Gazzola did a sensational job filling in for Ryan Rishaug on the sidelines on Saturday’s CFL broadcast from Commonwealth Stadium. Great hair, great reporting and interviews! … Thursday’s news that the CTV will carry CFL games on Saturdays at 3:00 pm ET beginning Sept. 7, plus playoffs, its a watershed day for the League. A complaint I hear from sports fans across the country is that “we don’t know who the players are”, and I’ve had the same experience. This should help change that. … CFL kickers complained enough that they got their way, and the league ditched the microchipped football experience after just one game. To me, it added up to just so much whining. What was Boris Bede’s excuse again?

9 – OTHER SPORTS: Continuing to have a blast calling Moose Jaw Millers baseball games in the WCBL this summer. One thing that’s been comforting is that baseball rules really haven’t changed much at all since I was a kid playing the game. Frankly, it’s been seamless. And it’s been a joy to get to know the Miller players, like shortstop Bobby “Biceps” Pokorney of Margate, FL. Turns out we’re neighbours! We’re making plans to get together when this is all said and done. … The Miller Express visit the Saskatoon Berries Sunday at 1:00 pm at Cairns Field. … Meanwhile after a franchise-record 3-0 start, the Saskatchewan Rattlers of the Canadian Elite Basketball League have cooled, going 1-2 on a recent road trip and sit third in the Western Conference at 4-2. The Rattlers return to SaskTel Centre on Tuesday evening when they host the Brampton Honey Badgers.

10 – RANDOM THOUGHTS: Some sayings really hold true the older you get! Like, “Better safe than sorry”, “What goes around comes around”, and “He who laughs last, laughs best.” Who came up with these? … My personal favourite is, “People plan and God laughs.” … Why do you drive in a parkway and park in a driveway? …. L.A. Chargers receiver Josh Palmer was in Regina Saturday for the NFL Flag Football regionals as teams vie to represent the country at the IFAF Nationals in Los Angeles next month. The NFL will still take your lunch if you’re not looking. … The Moose Jaw Warriors were honoured at Saturday night’s Millers game. GM Jason Ripplinger and staff had the WHL Cup at Ross Wells Park. Warriors forward Atley Calvert threw out the first pitch. … The Millers deejay Frank says the most-requested song at Saskatchewan weddings over the past 30 years is Cotton-Eyed Joe. … What a time we live in! The most-viewed video I’ve ever posted to social media was of a NY Rangers fan being tossed out of Amerant Bank Arena in Round 3. It’s at 3.5-million views and counting from the @catsnboltspodcast account! You never know what’s gonna grab. … A Texas family got a brief scare when a nibble from a giraffe turned a 2-year-old’s safari visit into an airborne adventure. Paisley Toten was in the bed of a pickup truck on June 1 when her family drove through the Fossil Rim Wildlife Center, where visitors can see exotic animals. The family had stopped to feed a giraffe when it grabbed Paisley’s shirt with its mouth and lifted her several feet in the air. Paisley’s mother was in the pickup bed with her and shouted, startling the giraffe into dropping the toddler into her arms unhurt. Video of the encounter taken from the car behind went viral. … AND HOW WAS YOUR WEEK!

Y’er welcome,
RP
@rodpedersen