10 WEEKEND THINGS

RODSERVATIONS

1 – BUBBLE BURST: If you’re a CFL fan, you’re going to like the latest news I’ve received. While there were initial talks of using a Bubble City or Cities as a means for the CFL to play in 2021, I’m told that concept is now “off the table”. However I’m told meetings are being held in earnest across the league right now and the direct quote I got via text this week was, “They are positive there will be a 2021 season”. Absolutely no details on how this will happen were passed along, but at the very least this sounds encouraging.

2 – CFL 3.0: When the CFL comes back, it’s going to look a heckuva lot different than we’re used to. BC Lions GM Ed Hervey resigned Friday and joined a long list of personalities leaving the CFL, whether it be voluntary or by termination. Ed joined a group that includes Chris Cuthbert, Travis Lulay, Stefan Logan, Brandon Bridge, Dwayne Mandrusiak, Jonathan Jennings, Henry Burris, Marcel Bellefeuille, Rick Moffat and that’s just off the top of my head. The league will need to start over in a lot of ways with building recognizable personalities and household names.

3 – JERRY WORLD: But it won’t look entirely different. We’ll still have Bo Levi Mitchell, Cody Fajardo, Mike Reilly, the up-and-coming young gun quarterbacks and defensive stars like Willie Jefferson and Charleston Hughes. In a lot of ways, where the CFL is going simply feels like an extension of CFL 1.0, with a few tweaks. I’m not sure that’s a good thing because as we say in the Recovery world, “Your best thinking got you in this mess”. But it’s clear the owners, presidents & governors don’t want to change too much and are holding off on the CFL becoming a singular-owned entity or selling off the majority of the league to a corporate giant like the NFL or MLSE. As a former CFL player-turned-broadcaster said on the phone this week, “They love playing Jerry Jones! Who would want to give that up?”

4 – MR. ED: The BC Lions announced Friday that GM Ed Hervey has resigned for personal reasons. What are those reasons? I don’t know. They’re personal, and I’m respecting Ed’s privacy by not asking around. Team President Rick LeLacheur told TSN 1040 Vancouver that they won’t fill the role immediately and that player personnel is in good hands with head coach Rick Campbell and long-time personnel guy Neil McEvoy. Don’t forget Geroy Simon is on staff too so I wouldn’t expect the next GM of the BC Lions to come from outside the organization.

5 – CHICKEN & THE EGG: Let your imagination run wild as to how the CFL will look, and will play, in 2021. We’re seeing the junior hockey leagues return to play but that’s with minuscule attendance. Until there’s a change in large outdoor gathering sizes across THIS country, I’m skeptical this boat is going to leave the harbour but my fingers are crossed. Will government funding be a part of the CFL’s return at any point? I recall the Canadian government advising the CFL to come with a plan for 2021 and there could be a grant waiting for them. Meantime layoffs across the CFL continue and staffers are applying for, and accepting, jobs elsewhere. When does the bleeding stop? When will there be an announcement? No one knows because nobody knows.

6 – TRUST THE SCIENCE: They say “trust the science” but the American Coronavirus seems to be different than the Canadian Coronavirus because it allows for team travel, and crowds in the tens of thousands in stadiums. That’s tongue-in-cheek of course, but it illustrates the difference in attitudes between the two countries. Curling teams in Canada aren’t allowed to leave the province for competition even if it’s in groups of four, yet NCAA and NFL teams are jetting all across the country and playing before crowds in the tens of thousands. This isn’t a complaint. It’s an observation. All-the-while we see high profile Americans like Donald Trump, Cam Newton, Auston Matthews and Nick Saban recover from Coronavirus and return to work. Meanwhile as I write this, a headline blares across the TV screen saying “Trudeau Says Canada/US Border To Remain Closed Until Coronavirus Under Control”. Wild! What’s it going to take?

7 – FOOTBALL ISLAND: In the meantime, CFL icon Steve Mazurak has come up with a concept for a Made-For-TV event featuring CFL All Stars in a skills competition this winter. He patterned it after the 1970s CFL All Star Countdown he participated in TWICE. (Maz still has the belt buckle each player received). The Roughrider Hall of Famer pitched the idea on Friday’s RP Show and feels if there’s enough of an appetite for viewers, he’ll get to work on it with his Marketing/Event Firm SM70. I told him I’m in for whatever he can dream up and CFL players are already raving about it! Thoughts? (IKS graphic design staff came up with the logo)

8 – CURLING: Viewers tuned in by the tens of thousands for this weekend’s Vaderstad Saskatchewan Super Series featuring five of the top mens teams in the province. I tuned in on Saturday and was blown away by four things: 1) The amount of viewers, 2) The intensity between Team Dunstone and Team Flasch (think Hatfields & McCoys or Red Sox/Yankees, 3) The smooth tones of broadcasters Warren Woods, Darren Dupont and Lyle Muyres, and 4) The quality of the TV production from IKS Media for CurlingZone, owned and operated by Paul Drouin. There is a major, major appetite for televised/streamed curling in Western Canada and fortunately we’re in position to provide it. The highlight of the weekend was Dunstone’s 6-5 Extra End victory over Flasch on Saturday afternoon. The playoffs go Sunday and are broadcast at CurlingZone. Look em up on Facebook Live or YouTube.

9 – UNIVERSITY SPORTS: This is where people should be getting very concerned if they have a fondness for postsecondary athletics. University sports have been scrapped for the year across the country and the coaches and students are hopping mad. My phone’s been blowing up and I’ve invited them to come on my show and say it for themselves because I’m tired of taking all the shots as one of the lone voices sticking up for sports. They’re considering it. My guess is they need to get their message clear and consistent. Government has provided a clear Return To Play blueprint which has been followed by a variety of amateur sports leagues so you can’t point the finger at the government. In the case of U-Sports and the schools, this is all about the schools pulling the pin, not health officials or politicians.

10 – RANDOMS TO END: We’re entering Week 20 in the CFL Esports League and there are storylines abound! We’ve received the blessing, if not the endorsement, of the Canadian Football League to carry on with the season right through the Grey Cup. Four wins separate teams 1-through-6 and we’re using a Top 6 playoff formula rather than the traditional East-West playoff. 12-4 Calgary failed to clinch the #1 overall seed by virtue of a 21-11 home loss to Ottawa on Friday Night Football, so they’ve got some work left with two weeks to go! The Saskatchewan Roughriders clinched a playoff berth long ago but even at 9-7, they’re riding a 5-game losing streak. This has been a BLAST and we’ve got tons of things in store for the playoffs. It’s especially fun when CFL and NFL players watch and comment during the action! … The SJHL announced its preseason schedule on Saturday and it opens with La Ronge at Flin Flon this Thursday and closes with Humboldt at Notre Dame on Nov. 1. The regular season schedule will be announced between now and then. The Return To Play proposals were largely left up to the coaches to submit so kudos to all those gentlemen for pulling it off! I’m thrilled to be calling Notre Dame Hounds games along with Jamie Neugebauer on Hounds Hockey Radio. It’s fantastic; it gets me out of the house, back in the game, and I’ll get a handle on all the Junior A players so when the scouts call – and they always do – I’ll have a better report for them. … AT THE MOVIES: People are figuring out that theatres are open. The only show we could reserve tickets to Saturday night was War With Grandpa at Landmark Cinemas at 6:00 pm because the other shows were all sold-out in advance. I’ll give the movie one thumb up from the Monday Morning Goalie. Initially I thought it was really silly with bad acting but then all the children’s laughter from the rows behind reminded me it was a kids flick and was intended for nothing more than good clean fun. Plus the popcorn was amazing. … Can’t remember the last time I heard a George Strait song on Country FM radio around here. Longtime record exec Skip Taylor saw my Tweet about that and said it’s like a Classic Rock station dropping AC/DC from their playlist! He calls this development “astounding”. … I’ll be upset when pumpkin spice goes away for another year. … Are the Maple Leafs assembling an old-timers team? Joe Thornton is part of “The Plan”? The Shanaplan? Yikes. … I was pulling for the Astros. … Coming to a rink near you — Connor Bedard; aka Justin Bieber On Skates. … I notched a new experience this week when I went door-knocking with Sask Party Walsh Acres candidate and long-time friend Derek Meyers. When an older lady was asked if she’d made her mind up on voting she replied, “I don’t divulge that. I don’t want to make any enemies.” I almost swallowed my mask! Newsflash: You’re going to make enemies no matter what so you might as well be yourself. Everyone else is taken!

Y’er welcome,
RP
@rodpedersen

The Rod Pedersen Show airs daily at 10:00 am MT on Game+ TV 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 Washington and Oregon states on TDS Cable. It’s also available on Facebook Live and RodPedersen.com/ListenLive

(Photo: Edmonton Football Club)