10 WEEKEND THINGS

Taking shots …

1 – THE BOSS: The hockey world was rocked with Thursday’s news that Hall of Famer Mike Bossy passed away at age 67. It was a gut-punch for everybody, particularly those who loved the fabled New York Islanders teams of the 1980s. In 2014 Bossy was in Regina for a sports banquet at the Delta along with fellow Islander greats – and Saskatchewan products – Clark Gillies and Bryan Trottier. I was the emcee and hadn’t met Bossy before, but was told beforehand, “If the event runs from 7:00-11:00, Boss will walk in at 6:59 and leave at 11:01.”

I mistakenly took that as a criticism. Turns out that’s just the way Bossy was. Very buttoned-down, very professional. He did what was asked of him. Never mind the fact that around midnight Gillies and Trottier were on stage with their ties around their heads, in sock feet, singing Johnny Cash tunes while Trotts strummed the guitar. They were the last to leave. I guess that’s just the difference between us and them (Eastern Canadians).

But Mike was hilarious, engaging, and told just as many funny tales as the other two. Of course his prowess on the ice was unmatched and perhaps the best insight into his character was his Letter To My Younger Self in The Players Tribune in 2017. In it, regarding always being referred to as a natural goal scorer, Boss wrote “There was nothing natural about it.” He chalked it all up to the countless hours he spent shooting pucks in his parents’ backyard as a child, honing his craft. What a legend.

2 – TIGER AND CP31: On a happier note, it was a very inspirational week in sports watching the comebacks of Tiger Woods and Carey Price from personal struggles back onto the playing surface. Tiger almost died in a car crash 14 months ago but earned his way into the 2022 Masters field. He’s suffered several other struggles along the way but persevered. Woods finished 47th at Augusta, but it was a win just to be back competing at the highest level. The same goes for Carey Price, who returned Friday night from a nearly season-long absence due to rehabilitation for Substance Use Disorder and other Mental Health issues. (You think there might be some stress involved with being the starting goaltender for the Montreal Canadiens??)  On Friday at the Bell Centre, Price made 17 saves in a 3-0 Habs loss to the New York Islanders. He got a standing ovation upon his return.

What’s very stirring in both cases is that Tiger said he’s only going to play in big tournaments for the time being, while it was left up to Carey whether he wanted to return this season or not. They both earned the right to make that decision over the past couple of decades. Life has a way of humbling you, changing you, but the comeback can often be greater than the setback. If people are still hung up on the person you used to be, that’s their problem.

3 – FLAMES & GOLDEN KNIGHTS: The game of the week in my world was in the Saddledome Thursday night where the Calgary Flames failed to clinch a playoff spot when they were clubbed 6-1 by the Vegas Golden Knights. Vegas is still my favourite NHL team and it was a treat to watch them with a full deck, including Mark Stone, Max Pacioretty, Jack Eichel et al. As of today they’re a point out of a playoff spot with plenty of games to go, and it would be a shame if they missed the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. They’ve missed their top guns for most of the year and as Golden Knights TV analyst Shane Hnidy said on The RP Show this week, “If you took Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk out of Calgary’s lineup, they’d struggle too.” As for the Flames, coach Darryl Sutter knows exactly what his team was missing this week and that loss will turn out to be a blip.

4 – BE-LEAF: Totally random, left-field thought here but I’ve had occasion to be around a lot of ex-Toronto Maple Leafs lately. To a man, these guys played in the Harold Ballard era (1970s & 80s) and they really don’t want to talk much about that part of their careers. It was that bad! I’m always astounded by how many young people in Western Canada are Toronto fans – like RP Show co-host/owner Darren Dupont and Producer Clark Munroe – but they say they bought into the Hockey Night In Canada hype and Mats Sundin era Maple Leafs and the current Matthews/Marner edition. I suppose I get that, but to me the Leafs have never been a franchise I could get behind. These former players have only backed that thinking up.

5 – GUARANTEED *WIN*: People missed the point on the Regina Pats promotion of Guaranteed Win Night against the visiting Winnipeg ICE on Friday. I don’t believe the Pats necessarily thought they were going to beat Winnipeg – they never have – and they wound up getting trounced 6-1. There was an avalanche of scorn heaped on the Pats via social media after the game but all it was was a marketing gimmick to get people into the building, and raise awareness. You were all following weren’t you? I give the Pats a ton of credit for opening themselves up to this criticism because balls like that are rare in sports these days. Bravo to whomever’s idea it was.

6 – THE MEMMER: We had a great visit with WHL Commissioner Ron Robison on Thursday’s RP Show live at Grey Eagle Resort & Casino. The Indian Head, SK product covered every issue related to the Dub, including the 2022 Memorial Cup in St. John, NB in June. For years I’ve been a proponent of going to two games per day at the M.C. and Ron admitted that CHL governors have discussed it, but want to preserve the integrity of the tournament and leave the focus on the players in prime time. I respect that, and at least they looked at it. I just feel 10 days is a pretty expensive ask of junior hockey fans who want to travel from across the country.

That just makes the Centennial Cup all-the-more special to me, and next month’s national Junior A tournament in Estevan will feature two games per day. Granted, they’ll have 10 teams while the Memorial Cup remains limited to four.

*For the record, Robison feels the greatest Regina Pat of all-time remains Fran Huck.

7 – VICTOR-EEEEE: This dude Victor Cui is really shaking things up in the CFL. The newest President of the Edmonton Elks has truly brought a devil-may-care attitude to the Green & Gold and it’s very attractive. He basically opened both barrels on former Edmonton management with his comments this week about turning around the Titanic in the once City of Champions. My friends on the Elks staff love him, but aren’t quite sure yet how to take him. They say he’s the business version of Chris Jones and the fireball pair could go one of two ways. The Edmontonians are predicting it’ll end in a championship sooner than later.

8 – MORE ON CUI: Victor invited the RP Show to participate in his Ask Me Anything online forum which is an initiative most people in his position wouldn’t even think to do. The confidence of this guy! Meanwhile regarding his $99 season ticket promotion, I’m told it netted 4,000 new subscribers which equates to $400,000. What’s wrong with that? That pays for a marquee CFL quarterback.

9 – SPORTS BETTING: It’s cute watching mainstream media members scoff at sports networks, teams and leagues for the daily commentary on odds, prop bets, and the like. If these reporters really had to worry about revenue generation like those of us running our own show, they’d sing a different tune. For instance Bet Regal is the exclusive betting partner of The RP Show and is our biggest partner. The relationship is growing rapidly. I say, “bet away”. 

10 – RANDOM THOUGHTS: The Saskatchewan Rush face another must-win NLL game Saturday night when they welcome the Colorado Mammoth at 7:30 pm at Sasktel Centre. Get your tickets at Ticketmaster.ca. … Got my Wranglers. Thanks Lammle’s Western Wear! 36 x 36 Slim Stretch. … The highly-respected Leger survey company conducted a recent poll regarding the Top 10 most-reputable sports franchises in Canada. The results were: 1) Raptors, 2) Blue Jays, 3) Jets, 4) Alouettes, 5) Stampeders, 6) Maple Leafs, 7) Flames, 8) Oilers, 9) Canucks, 10) Blue Bombers. Congratulations Winnipeg & Calgary for having two franchises in the Top 10!! There was a time the Roughriders would’ve been in there. … A huge congrats to Saskatoon Blades goalie Nolan Maier for becoming the WHL career wins leader this week. He’ll get a pro opportunity somewhere, if he wants it. … Kudos also to WHL grad Cody Beach for officiating his first NHL game this week. Players: if you want to stay in the game, officiating is an avenue that’s just waiting there for you. I’m around NHL referees all the time and they say the NHL favours ex-players now more than ever. One NHL person told me they’d rather take a strong skating former player and teach him the rules than a guy who knows the rulebook inside/out, but never played. We’ll see how it turns out. … Speaking of referees, longtime NHL’er Brad Meier officiates his final game Saturday night in Calgary. The Saskatoon product will have tons of friends and family on hand to celebrate a great career. … Happy Easter!

Y’er welcome,
RP
@rodpedersen