10 WEEKEND THINGS
RODSERVATIONS …
1 – A WORD TO THE WISE: I’ve been waiting all week to make this my #1 point, particularly after a volatile week of seeing people fight over politics, sports team logos, race and more. If there’s something that offends you so deeply and automatically sends you into a blind rage at a moment’s notice, then that signifies there’s a problem deep down inside YOU. *pointing my finger in your chest* The next time you find yourself going off about what somebody posts on Facebook regarding Trump, Coronavirus, Black Lives Matter, a sports team name, etc. or something you see on TV, sit down and ask yourself why you’re being so triggered? 9 times out of 10 you’ll realize it’s out of your control, or has to do with something in your life you haven’t dealt with (and isn’t your target’s fault). This is for YOUR OWN peace of mind. I know the vast majority of you won’t pay any attention to this tip whatsoever but for those who do, y’er welcome.
2 – THE XFL TO RETURN: With one simple 60 second hype video released on Thursday, the XFL announced it’s returning in 2022 after going bankrupt last spring due to the pandemic. League owner The Rock made the announcement from his Twitter account, and the video’s already been viewed well over a million times. Whether this news is good or bad for the CFL remains to be seen, but we all can agree it’s tremendous for the sport of football. As John Lynch famously said on CKCK, “Where do we go from here?”
3 – CFL/XFL: Write it down … there will NEVER be a merger or partnership between the Canadian Football League and XFL. It’s just fun to talk about. For one, it’s not necessary and for two, it would mean the end of Canadian football as we know it. Plus the XFL is a winter/spring league while the CFL is a summer/fall league. Neither one would want to change that. Nor would they want to give up their unique rules. Any affiliation between the two teams would spell the end of the ratio because dating back to the 1990s US-expansion era of the CFL, the US government found the Canadian ratio to violate anti-trust (competition) laws. So they tossed it out for the American teams. No, the best thing for Canadian football is to find their way out of the wilderness and emerge stronger than before, which we’ll get to later in this column.
4 – ALL THINGS BEING EQUAL: I’d love to see a 20-team league with 10 in Canada and 10 in the USA with one gigantic pool of players compiled by league personnel people which would include Americans, Canadians and Globals. If we truly believe in the quality of Canadian players (which we do), let’s put it to the test and not rely on the ratio to prop them up. Then we’d have a draft of these players for the 20 teams. Sound crazy? The American Hockey League is basically doing it right now. Morph the CFL and XFL rules, selecting only the best ones (the rouge, 1-2-3 point converts, safe kickoffs, etc). I think this would be the gigantic shot in the arm football on this continent needs and I could see fans here get real giddy when the New York Guardians or Houston Roughnecks came to town to face the Roughriders. (I remember the hype when the Sacramento Goldminers and Memphis Maddogs came to town. The Sacramento game in 1993 set a Rider attendance record. I was there, along with Troy Arndt, Brent Renwick and Chris Winkler). Y’er welcome.
5 – SOMETHING DOESN’T ADD UP: I’ll admit I don’t have all the information but there’s a few missing pieces to the current story of the CFL. I’m told Commissioner Randy Ambrosie’s meeting with the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance this spring was hastily arranged by one of the CFL owners and Randy had less than 24 hours to prepare the proposal. As we all know the pitch fell flat, the feds wouldn’t write a cheque, and the season went up in smoke. But I’ve been in that position multiple times before asking the government for funds (for Mental Health & Addictions support) and the first time – although I didn’t have a proper proposal prepared either – I was able to tap-dance and get the funds because I know the business of that industry inside-out. Randy can think on his feet too because he was a Canadian offensive lineman. He’s highly intelligent and personable. He of all people should know the business of the CFL inside-out too. It doesn’t make sense. Was he set up to fail?
6 – WHAT’S NEXT: That’s the other confusing thing. Ambrosie said on the podcast It’s Your Business this week that the league’s governors are working on a business plan for the future and the league will definitely not die. (Wonderful interview and great questions by host Mario Toneguzzi by the way). On the other hand I’ve got league insiders telling me we’re watching the demise of the league before our very eyes and the owners never even considered getting a loan from the private sector. I’m told a group of Saskatchewan businessmen were ready to pony up the $30-million the league asked Ottawa for, but the CFL wasn’t interested. Is this stubbornness? Ego? Or is there something else at play?
7 – LAYOFFS: There are many ways this whole thing could shake out. You’ve heard about the layoffs league-wide and you’re going to hear about even more of them. I’m told one team – if the pandemic extends well into 2021 – will have just three people left in their front office by the time they’re done cutting. I’ve also heard there’s a concept being laid out for a Bubble City format in 2021. It might even work if teams get their costs in line. (This is what Montreal owner Gary Stern was referring to). A streamlined CFL may also make the league more attractive for the federal government to provide money, for an investor to buy into the league, and many other exciting avenues.
One thing that bothers me is a CFL guy said to me this week “F— Kevin Waugh! He cost us our season!” referring to the Saskatoon-Grasswoods Member of Parliament who held Ambrosie’s feet to the fire in that finance meeting. I replied noooooo, Waugh was doing his job and called the CFL’s bluff. It was shrewd. As long as people keep pointing fingers, the CFL will not survive. Please refer to Point 1.
And we must be allowed to report the truth.
8 – WATERMELON SLICES: I’m not one of those people like Past President Tom Shepherd who’s asking where all the Roughriders money went. That’s a question the Riders Board of Directors needs to ask – or answer themselves – but clearly they don’t seem to be in a rush to do that. I’m not sure how it works over there anymore. But this blog and my show aren’t W5.
What’s that? You say I don’t understand? You’re right, I probably don’t. What I do understand is that I’ve got enough things to think about other than the problems of the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
9 – COVID 15: I tried to slip on a pair of dress pants for a presentation at the St. Jerome School Teachers Retreat Friday afternoon and thought “these must’ve shrunk”. I tossed them aside and grabbed another style. “Dang-it! These shrunk too.” Canadian Football Hall of Famer Jim Hopson spoke to the teachers in the morning on leadership and team-building and I spoke in the afternoon on Mental Health & Substance Abuse, Suicide Prevention and how those things fit with the pandemic (they’ve escalated dramatically with youth). This was some deep, deep serious stuff, and it’s what gets my blood pumping in this new career. We came out of there having made some serious headway, and for me, the realization that I need to lay off the pizza.
10 – RANDOMS TO END: We’ve made it almost through the column without Coronavirus talk! … It was interesting to see Cody Fajardo’s comments on not wanting to play for Chris Jones. It’s interesting because I’m friends with both guys but clearly they don’t know each other very well. Perhaps Jones would’ve coached Fajardo differently if the pair was in Saskatchewan together? Brandon Bridge’s confidence was shattered in Saskatchewan due to the early hook but on the other hand, Zach Collaros was kept in Rider losses far longer than he likely should’ve been. What I’m saying is Jones would’ve devised a unique strategy to deal with Fajardo’s skills and mindset and that’s what makes him an excellent coach. … I’m seeing all the ads for NHL Free Agent Frenzy and the Draft coming up. Buyouts, bridge contracts, age & salary, blah, blah, blah. This is where the NHL loses me. Please wake me up when they’re playing again. … We witnessed country star George Canyon for the first time at a drive-in concert Saturday night benefitting STARS Air Ambulance. He was absolutely amazing!!!! Like really, really good. Thanks to Paul Drouin and IKS for putting us in the front row. Aaron Pritchett was good too, but I’ve seen him many times. Canyon knocked my socks off. …. During his sold-out show, Canyon asked the crowd if it’s true that Saskatchewan could land an NHL team. I leaned out my window and yelled, “No! Then Calgary would want one too!” … There’s a lot of of misinformation out there. I saw someone say somewhere that the XFL pays way less than the CFL. WRONG. The average CFL salary is $95,000 CDN while the average XFL salary is $75,000 US. At today’s US/Canada dollar exchange rate of 1.33, that makes the average CFL salary $58,650 US. … How wonderful it was to spend an hour on the phone with former Pats, Warriors, Hurricanes and Chiefs coach Parry Shockey. He was in a horrific car crash 3 1/2 years ago that should’ve taken his life, and left him in the Trauma Centre of Foothills Hospital for four months. It felt so good to get caught up on the phone. Watch for my feature on Shockey Hockey coming up on the DUBNetwork.ca website in the next while … I wandered to the end of my leash Friday with the interview with Regina Mayoral candidate Jerry Flegel. He announced his plans for a new privately-funded entertainment facility for downtown Regina if elected. Obviously you know I’m not a politico so I was a little surprised when heads started exploding and my phone went off with almost every candidate trying to get on the RP Show. (They will in the coming weeks). Why do the interview? Jerry said he wanted to come on because he trusts me and I wanted to expose the show to new people who wouldn’t otherwise know about it. It worked!
Y’er welcome,
RP
@rodpedersen
The Rod Pedersen Show airs daily on Game+ TV Network in over one million homes in Canada and the USA. It’s available in Manitoba on Bell/MTS Cable, in Saskatchewan on SaskTel Max TV, in Alberta & BC on Telus Optik TV and in Oregon and Washington States on TDS Cable. For other cable carriers, contact your provider. It also airs on Facebook Live and RodPedersen.com/ListenLive
