10 WEEKEND THINGS

IN MEMORY OF CONSTABLE SHELBY PATTON 

ONE-TIMERS …

1 – GOOD NEWS: Perhaps I was the last to be convinced, but I’m now fully confident there will be a CFL season in 2021. TSN Insider Dave Naylor has been hinting for a week that Monday’s Board of Governors vote will land in favour of playing beginning August 5, and Nayls wouldn’t go out on that limb if he didn’t have good reason. But what convinced me the most was a conversation from Saturday outlining all the details of the CFL’s Return To Play. There are a lot of pitfalls and risks involved but as the CFL staffer stated, “We’re gonna try it.” Really that’s all any of us can ask. Some Rider players have told me they’re arriving in the Queen City on Tuesday after what they expect will be a “yes” vote, and they’re extremely buoyant (if not fully vaccinated).

2 – WHAT GIVES?: Never in my life have I received so many messages from CFL executives (Presidents, VP’s, etc.) than the past week. It’s WEIRD. They’re all being very nice. Perhaps they’ve realized we need each other moving forward. When this 2021 CFL season kicks off, we could very well be doing two hours of CFL talk per day on The Rod Pedersen Show on coast-to-coast television. And in the United States. These guys know I was just riding their ass for the past 16 months to get them onto the field. Now that it appears they’ve answered the bell, and hold the best intentions for their players and staff, what’s left to criticize? Bravo guys.

3 – RATINGS: We received from pretty exciting ratings news from Toronto this week that the RP Show is showing up in the Top 10 of daytime TV shows in Canada in some key demographics. The Game+/Anthem Sports & Entertainment people are really pleased! Obviously so are we. We are working on getting the specific ratings, and I’ll post them here.

4 – FINAL FOUR: My prediction of a Vegas/NY Islanders Stanley Cup Final isn’t looking too bad now. People didn’t scoff or laugh at the outset of the Stanley Cup Playoffs when I wrote it. They didn’t acknowledge it at all! Now it’s very close to happening. Obviously I’ve had faith in that VGK outfit all along but this Islanders group has been very had to ignore all season. Goalie Semyon Varlamov tied Chico Resch’s franchise record for shutouts this season (7), and they’ve got plenty of fire power too. No surprise that Vegas, Tampa Bay and the NY Islanders have made it this far. But Montreal??

5 – DEFENCE WINS?: The Lightning and Islanders are two of the top three highest-scoring teams in these Stanley Cup Playoffs. Who’s #1? The Colorado Avalanche. So there’s that. Tampa’s Nikita Kucherov has 18 points in 11 games and is looking to lead the playoffs in scoring for back-to-back years. If he does that, he’ll join a group that includes Wayne Gretzky, Guy Lafleur, Mario Lemieux, Phil Esposito and Rick MacLeish. Speaking of records, should Tampa goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy backstop the Bolts to a series win over New York, he’ll join Ken Dryden and Pete Peeters as the only NHL goalies with eight career wins against the Islanders. Love this old stuff!

6 – #KNIGHTUP: A great story came out of Vegas this week, but hasn’t received any pub. Defenceman Alex Pietrangelo was signed in free agency and viewed as the missing piece to a Stanley Cup championship. After the Golden Knights fell down 0-2 to Colorado in Round 2, Pietrangelo guaranteed team owner Bill Foley that they’d win the next four games. Petro then scored the game-winner in Thursday’s series-clinching 6-3 win in Game 6. Anymore guarantees Alex? The thing I love the most about the Vegas Golden Knights: they never take their eye off the ball. There’s plenty of room on the bandwagon!

7 – CANADA WEST: It was our pleasure to be joined by U of R Rams assistant coach Bruce Anderson on our show this week. The Rams are practicing daily and preparing for the 2021 USPORTS football season this fall. How grateful do you think those men are to be on the field? Here’s my 2021 Canada West Football predictions: 1) Saskatchewan, 2) Regina, 3) Calgary, 4) Manitoba, 5) UBC, 6) Alberta.

8 – CEBL: We’ve got a close association with the Canadian Elite Basketball League and this week the league announced its clear intention to tip-off the 2021 season beginning June 24 on CBC and CBC Gem. There will be limited capacity in each region (for instance I’m told 50 fans in Edmonton and perhaps 150 in Saskatoon). But they’re a go! Vaccinations are humming in this province and perhaps the attendance numbers will increase fast across the league. Regina’s Kai Williams – an NCAA and European hoops vet –  stars for the Saskatchewan Rattlers.

9 – JUNIOR A: SJHL President Bill Chow guested on the weekend edition of The RP Show on Access Now TV and was quick to point out that their September 24 Return To Play announcement this week – with government approval – is still subject to Sask Health Authority guidelines and Health & Safety Protocols. So really, they’re no different than the CFL. However Chow said on air that Sask health authorities are optimistic, with the way things are rolling, that the league will be able to face-off on time. Meanwhile Bill said there is no date scheduled for the 2021 SJHL Draft. Last year it was June 7.

10 – RANDOM THOUGHTS: Anyone else see an armageddon coming between teams and the media? The incident in Denver this week with our friend Adrian Dater is another example. … What are we supposed to do with these Tim Hortons commemorative NHL sticks? Use them as stir sticks? If a coffee & donut outfit was pushing mini sticks, then we’d have something worthwhile. … In case you missed it, Regina Pats phenom Connor Bedard was named WHL Rookie of the Year this week. … Can’t believe how many of my friends are refusing the vaccine. Oh well – it’s a free country. … At the movies: Took in A Quiet Place, Part II this weekend. It was … interesting. However the popcorn and hotdog were amazing! The flick gets one thumb down from the MMG. … Former Swift Current Bronco, Kelowna Rocket & Norfolk Admiral Brady Leavold has announced plans to rollerblade across Canada to raise awareness and funding for Mental Health & Addiction Recovery support. Please keep an eye out for him! … The Regina Red Sox issued a news release this week saying they haven’t heard back from the City of Regina Council regarding their new downtown stadium proposal however they’ve conducted a study with a local engineering firm regarding the stadium’s environmental impact. Said Red Sox President Gary Brotzel: “We are encouraged that it appears the baseball stadium design will reduce demands on the City of Regina utility services, as well as likely result in a decrease in City of Regina expenditures for municipal infrastructure related to servicing a baseball stadium versus the RRI plan.” Brotzel added, “We continue to believe a downtown baseball stadium at the Railyards will revitalize and add vibrancy to the entire downtown core and be a source of pride for the City of Regina.” 

Y’er welcome,
RP
@rodpedersen

(Photo: Dave Campbell)