10 WEEKEND THINGS

Taking shots …

1 – HENNNNNRYYY: With all due respect to the CFL National Combine in Toronto and the good work being put in there by the prospects and league & club personnel, the biggest news out of the weekend was Henry Burris leaving the BC Lions after 10 days as a consultant to join the staff of new Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson in the NFL. Let me just say it’s paid off to have the RP Show situated in this football hotbed of Florida, because there have been plenty of pro football scoops come out of here. If you want to score goals, you have to go to the net. Apparently it’s the same in the media “insider” business. It’s all football 24/7 down here, and moving into NFL coverage has been very smooth. They’ve been very welcoming! (Similar to Alberta)

2 – SMILIN’ HANK: The scorn Henry’s faced for bolting on the BC job is childish, but predictable. Fortunately over time, Hank has developed the skin of a rhinoceros and it’s going to serve him well in this new foray into coaching. He could’ve stayed in Ottawa for the rest of his life, done local CTV and CFL On TSN work, ran his football camps for kids and shut it down. Or … he could’ve answered that fire within him and chased his true passion; coaching. I’M SO PROUD OF HIM FOR FOLLOWING HIS DREAM! And the doors keep opening for Burris. From what I’m told, Henry had an offer from the Indianapolis Colts as well but for his own reasons, chose the Jags. He’d be a success at whatever he put his mind to in life.

3 – WAY BACK WHEN: Henry Burris and I’ve had a very close and special relationship since we first met in 2000, his first with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. He had the whole province in the palm of his hand back then, chased that NFL dream for the first time in 2001-2002, then came back to Sask to finish what he started. Unfortunately, Rider GM Roy Shivers and Head Coach Danny Barrett had other ideas and when Hank returned from the Bears in 2003, he got plunked into a red-hot quarterback controversy which involved incumbent Nealon Greene.

4 – STORYTIME: I actually never expected to write this today, but the words are flowing out of my fingertips. When Shivers & Barrett lured Henry away from Calgary in 2000, he was like a son to them. But when he signed with Green Bay in 2001, they had to find a replacement and that turned out to be the dynamic Nealon. Greene, and his dreamy green eyes, led the Riders to the playoffs for the first time since 1997 and did some really good things. However when Hank returned, we expected the team would be returned to him. Not so fast …

4 – TROUBLE AT TAYLOR FIELD: Honestly I never knew why Roy & Danny favoured Nealon over Hank so much but it became a major bone of contention within the organization. (And by the way, we were all getting along great at the time). My colour man Carm Carteri openly questioned on air the braintrust playing Nealon over Hank which led to a heated postgame meeting between Carm, Danny and me at midfield at Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium in 2003. For the most part, I said nothing in that meeting but when we got back to Regina, DB and I had a one-on-one in his office and I asked what exactly he sees in Nealon over Henry? Barrett mildly – if that’s possible – flipped a chair over and said wide-eyed, “Have you ever played the position?” With that, he got me. The hockey guys could never stump me with that point, but the football guys always could and they knew it.

In this case, this was a non-confrontational, mature discussion. I loved Danny Barrett as a person then, and still do.

But if anything, I think Roy & Danny’s loyalty to Nealon was behind their refusal to remove him as starter. Even for a Hall of Famer like Henry Burris.

5 – THE SPLIT: Henry Burris’s finest game as a Roughrider came in the 2004 West Final at B.C., where he threw for 411 yards and 3 TDs however Saskatchewan lost 27-25. It was also his last. When free agency hit a few months later, Tom Higgins and the Calgary Stampeders rushed in with a $500,000/year offer for Hank, off-season jobs for Hank and his wife Nicole and SUV deals. As I recall, Shivers’ best offer was $250,000 and it pretty much amounted to “take it or leave it”. The rumour in the facility at the time was that Roy didn’t want a player earning more than he did. Who knows if that’s true.

I’ll never forget Hank calling me at my Mom & Dad’s house in Milestone, SK and saying that Roy & Danny were trying to circumvent his agent and deal directly with him, which is a no-no. I’m sure the pair knew they could tug on Henry’s big heart and get him to look past the money but, according to Hank – whom I believe – Roy made a rude remark about Nicole and that was the end of it. Off he went to the Stampeders, and he immediately turned the fortunes of that club around. (The Riders would win a Grey Cup two seasons later, but both Shivers & Barrett were long gone).

And of course for years Hank had to deal with the ridicule and scorn from the Rider Nation who never knew the real truth. I admire Henry for “eating shit” for all those years afterwards, but he’s just got too much class to do anything otherwise. I begged him to tell the story but Hank said he’d tell it all in an autobiography 10 years later which would be written by me. I told him no one would care in 10 years, and I think I’m right.

6 – THE SECOND HALF: However here we both are in our 40’s writing the next chapters of our careers – Act II if you will – and both of us couldn’t be happier with where it’s going.

Like my advisors in Florida said several months ago, “You’re at halftime of your life and you’ve built up a 52-0 lead. What are you going to do for the second half? Come out and kneel down or attack downfield?”

Hank and I are both throwing it deep.

7 – STAMPS SALE: The biggest conundrum with my job now is deciphering which football buzz I can report, and which I can’t. And which to trust. In the fall I reported the sale of the Calgary Stampeders had been agreed to – a story which was backed up by Calgary media – but that trail promptly went cold. However after spending significant time in Calgary this winter, I was told the deal fell apart when the conditions of the sale changed. (This happens regularly, and did multiple times over the years with the BC Lions under David Braley and potential sales). However I DID find out who the prospective buyer is so this story isn’t nearly dead. For those wanting an update on the story, there it is.

8 – TIME TO HUNT: Can’t wait to get back into FLA Live Arena this Tuesday when the NHL Eastern Conference-leading Florida Panthers host the Montreal Canadiens. The Panthers have been asking where I’ve been! Anyway, they posted their third 3-goal third period comeback victory of the season Saturday night in Ottawa; a 4-3 shootout win. Only three other teams in NHL history have posted more third period comebacks: the ’83-’84 Minnesota North Stars, ’83’-84 Edmonton Oilers and ’89-’90 Detroit Red Wings. … When they’re not talking about football in South Florida, they’re talking about the Panthers on sports radio and the team played before near-sellouts just before leaving on this trip. Fans are snatching up playoff tickets and many happily reported to me ticket prices were only hiked $5 per game for Round 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. … The Panthers loaded up with Claude Giroux and Ben Chiarot for a deep run. Do you remember a team making deadline deal acquisitions which sprung them to a Stanley Cup title? Off hand, I cannot.

9 – MORE NHL NOTES: Boy the Edmonton Oilers better hope to avoid the Calgary Flames if they make the playoffs last year. The Flames have had their number, including Saturday night’s 9-5 win at the Saddledome.  That was the highest-scoring Battle of Alberta game in 32 years! … The Vegas Golden Knights posted a 3-goal third period comeback win on Saturday – 5-4 over Chicago – which was a franchise first. … The Indoor Football League’s Las Vegas Knighthawks – coached by my good chum Mike Davis – play their inaugural franchise game Sunday night versus the Tucson Sugar Skulls in Henderson, NV. … Marc-Andre Fleury notched his 20th win of the season on Saturday as Minnesota beat Columbus. He’s won at last 20 games in 14 seasons. The NHL record for that feat is 17 seasons, held by King Roy. Not sure if the Flower will be around long enough to break that. … The NHL General Managers meetings are this week in South Florida, situated 23 km from where I’m sitting right now. Again, you’ve gotta go where the action is.

10 – RANDOM THOUGHTS: They tell me the Saskatoon crowd serenaded Connor Bedard with the chant, “OVERRATED” during Friday’s Blades-Regina Pats game in SaskTel Centre. That doesn’t surprise me. The kid will have to develop the skin of the rhinoceros because as the fandom grows, so do the haters. Is he the best Regina Pat to ever pull on the uniform? That’s a fun debate. …  The NLL’s Saskatchewan Rush fell 8-6 at home to the Calgary Roughnecks on Saturday night and with that, you’d have to think their playoff chances are over. However mathematically, they are not. … Scoring is NOT down in the NLL this season despite a 1-year Covid absence. So you can toss that reason out for why CFL scoring in 2021 was the lowest since 1974. … Upon review, rule changes in the CFL aren’t necessarily a bad thing. The NBA’s new 7-10 Play-In Tournament has been an outstanding addition, and teams are playing their asses off in order to finish in the Top 6. … However the CFL is incredibly change-averse. At least the fans are. … The Centennial Cup-host Estevan Bruins are through to Round 2 of the SJHL Playoffs after finishing off Notre Dame 8-1 in Game 5. But the Hounds put a scare into ’em! Not a bad inaugural season for Hounds coach “Pickles” Pilkington. … Don’t forget to join us in Assiniboia on April 9 for the annual Assiniboia Sports Celebrity Dinner & Auction! Lanny McDonald, Chris Walby and I will be there to entertain you, have some fun and raise lots of money for the new arena! Get your tickets at Nelson Motors & Equipment.

Y’er welcome,
RP
@rodpedersen