10 WEEKEND THINGS

TAKING SHOTS …

1 – LABOUR DAY CLASSIC LVII: Christmas came early for prairie football fans. The 57th Labour Day Classic comes in Week 5 of the shortened season with the 3-1 Winnipeg Blue Bombers at the 3-0 Saskatchewan Roughriders Sunday at 4:00 pm. Not since 1954 have the two teams met while being 1-2 in the CFL West Division standings. Saskatchewan is 37-19 all-time in the L.D.C. and have won 14 of the last 15. They always win on Labour Day weekend. Take the Riders by 3-or-less.

2 – MORE NOTES: Saskatchewan has won 14 of 15 home games overall and are looking for their fourth home win in a row. Head coach Craig Dickenson is 2-1 all-time versus Winnipeg while the Bombers’ Mike O’Shea is 8-9 all-time against Saskatchewan. It’s been Winnipeg that’s been putting up bulletin board material this week with running back Andrew Harris boasting about “shutting up” 30,000 Rider fans (upon review I felt he was misquoted somewhat) while defensive end Willie Jefferson basically said Saturday that the Riders are overrated. I guess the Riders plan to do their talking on the field! I haven’t seen a response back from the green guys.

3 – OTHER WEEK 5 GAMES: What a paradox Friday’s 51-29 Montreal beatdown in Ottawa was. How could a game with 80 points scored be the worst game of the year?? But it was. What we learned is that Als QB Vernon Adams Jr. is who we thought he was (very capable) while the Ottawa RedBlacks may be the least-talented team in the CFL. Is anyone else wondering how Ottawa could’ve opted for Matt Nichols over Nick Arbuckle at quarterback? Fans are howling for changes in the nation’s capital but Paul LaPolice and Nichols are in their first season over there while GM Marcel Desjardins has already proven he knows what he’s doing. What happened?

Meanwhile over in Calgary, the Stampeders have named rookie Jake Maier as the starting QB for Monday’s L.D.C. against Edmonton and placed Bo Levi Mitchell on the 1-game injured list. They should be able to beat Edmonton without Bo.

4 – ELKS: In the final analysis, the Edmonton Elks made their bed and now need to lie in it. Just like the NFL’s Denver Broncos last year, the Elks had a Covid breach and will be forced to play despite it. In 2020 all four Denver QBs were placed in protocol but the NFL made them play, which forced a defensive back to line up behind centre. In the case of Edmonton, they weren’t Covid-conscious and now will have to play three games in seven days in November (in Regina, Edmonton and Vancouver). It’s harsh – and doesn’t even follow the rules the CFL itself laid out – but imagine the howling if the game was cancelled and players didn’t get paid altogether! I’m giving the CFL a pass on this one; they’re literally doing the best they can.

5 – ILILLI: Can’t get enough CFL talk? Want it in the palm of your hand? Download the new app ILLILY (pronounced EYE-Lilly) and hear instant analysis from pro football voices like Dave Naylor, Farhan Lalji, Dave Campbell, Matthew Scianitti, Darrin Bauming and me daily. The audio clips are in short, 15-second bursts so it’s easy to scroll through. The Halifax-based app has been described as “Twitter for audio” and is actually a heckuva lot of fun!! For more info, read the news coverage here: 

6 – COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Ratings and viewer comments spiked on Friday’s Rod Pedersen Show when we delved into opening week of the NCAA schedule. Who knew? It shouldn’t be a surprise since our latest analytics show over 50% of our audience is officially now American. I explained how the Alabama Crimson Tide are my favourite team for two reasons: 1) I always knew I could get their games on cable TV up here and 2) The bevy of friends and colleagues who’ve come through that program (Chris Jones, Blake Sims, Trent Richardson, Trevis Smith, etc.) They say this year’s Tide boasts the best defense Nick Saban has had in Tuscaloosa and Saturday’s 44-13 win over the Miami Hurricanes didn’t dispel that notion. I’m also closely following ex-Roughrider and good friend Steve Sarkisian’s Texas Longhorns who opened with a 38-18 win over Lousiana-Lafayette. The viewers said they enjoyed the variety of discussion – something new – and college football provides us a bottomless pit of content. Plus it’s fun! I just have to watch a lot more football. What a job!

7 – GAME+: We received more ratings data from The Rod Pedersen Show television carrier Game+/Anthem Sports this week and we’re proud to say the RP Show has double the ratings in Canada of the next highest-rated show on the channel. We’re also closing the gap on TSN in that daytime time slot but are only in a fraction of the homes they are. I don’t mind reporting this, because TSN knows it. We’ll be taking the show out on the road more this fall and winter as we’ve received invitations to broadcast live from Seattle (Kraken), Las Vegas (Golden Knights) and Florida (Dolphins & Panthers). This summer we’ve already broadcast from Montreal, Winnipeg & Saskatoon; all Game+ strongholds. The teams know that in exchange for tickets and hotels, they get four hours of promo on national television (two live and two replayed) on Game+!

To say we’re thrilled with the growth of the show is an understatement. Bringing on big new sponsors BetRegal.net, Explore Edmonton and CORR Grain – along with our wonderful longstanding partnerships – has been huge.

8 – HOCKEY’S BACK: It’s been a little odd trying to piece together WHL training camps since they’re all starting on staggered dates but that’s still likely a holdover from Covid. The Regina Pats are deep into training camp and will hold their Blue & White Game Tuesday at 7:00 pm at the Cooperators Arena. Meanwhile some teams haven’t even opened training camp yet. The preseason schedule has been trimmed to four games and the regular season pushed back a week. Other than that, you wouldn’t notice a difference.  Our AccessNow Regina Pats TV schedule has been announced and it features 20 games on province-wide TV, 16 at home! Perfect.

Meanwhile SJHL camps are well underway and here’s my prediction for the 2021-22 standings: 1) Estevan, 2) Humboldt, 3) Battlefords, 4) Nipawin, 5) La Ronge, 6) Melfort, 7) Flin Flon, 8) Yorkton, 9) Melville, 10) Notre Dame, 11) Weyburn, 12) Kindersley. Please debate.

Regarding the Montreal Canadiens declining to match the 1-year/$6.1M offer sheet from Carolina to Jesperi Kotkaniemi, it’s not a surprise at all. He’s proven to be not worth that money, was becoming a whipping boy amongst Canadiens fans, and needed a change of scenery. Plus now they get Carolina’s 1st and 3rd round picks to boot. However what the Hurricanes are thinking is anyone’s guess.

9 – LAKE LIFE: You might’ve noticed I’ve taken the foot off the gas pedal this summer with regards to weekend columns, and spent as many weekends at the lake as possible. Will I step on it again? Who knows. This weekend was very reflective. While Saskies are gaga over the “last weekend of summer” and the L.D.C., for 20 years this weekend always represented 30 hours of work to me (MINIMUM) and more of the grind. And for what? This weekend at Kenosee/White Bear, I was refreshed after just one day and LOL’ed that I’ve still got two more to go! A family friend mentioned that my Dad always loved it down here and she’s right. He lives on through me.

My city friends ask what I do out here. My response is, “Nothing”. I figured it out.

10 – RANDOM THOUGHTS: Darren “Moose” Dupont is up for the Young Entrepreneur Of The Year at the Paragon Awards this week. Let me tell you something about this kid from Wynyard, SK: He’s the best boss I’ve ever had – BY FAR – and favours individuality, inclusiveness, resourcefulness and independence. For that reason, people are clamouring to work for him and is also why Dupont Media and The Rod Pedersen Show Corp have grown exponentially over the past three years. I sure hope he wins! … The faded sign at Carlyle, SK that boasts “Proud home of NHLers Brenden Morrow and Jim McKenzie” needs an update to reflect this beautiful town is also home to the Seattle Kraken’s Haydn Fleury and Cale Fleury. Also with Jordan Eberle, Jaden Schwartz and Kole Lind on the roster, the Kraken are truly Team Saskatchewan. … Sometimes it’s frustrating waiting for everyone else to catch up. … How does Dairy Queen expect us to do this? Right now on their Blizzard lineup you have to choose between, among others, Oh Henry Peanut Butter, Pumpkin Pie and Pecan Pie. … Enjoy the games.

Y’er welcome,
RP
@rodpedersen