10 WEEKEND THINGS

Taking shots …

1 – CFL WEEK 3 NOTES #1: Three weeks into the 2022 CFL season the smoke is clearing and we are getting closer to an answer for the question Who’s the CFL’s #1 team? Three teams are unbeaten – Winnipeg, Calgary and BC – and of those, you’d have to go to with the Blue Bombers who’ve shown no real kinks in their armour. The Calgary Stampeders have trailed at halftime in each and every game only to rely on second half comebacks. It says here that’ll bite them in the butt at some point. … Sophomore BC Lions Canadian QB Nathan Rourke has already been anointed The Next One after leading the Lions to a 2-0 start and setting records in the process. However I was at BC Place the night Jonathan Jennings was anointed The Next One by newly-minted Hall of Fame writer Ed Willes – throwing 4 TDs against the Roughriders and catching another – but that was about the last great game Jon ever had. Two games does not make a career, but you can’t ignore what Rourke’s done so far. He’ll be Player of the Week again. … Despite being listed as a Game Time Decision, was there ever any doubt that Bo Levi Mitchell would make his 150th career start for Calgary on Saturday against Edmonton? I think Bo enjoys the endless drama of “Will he?” or “Won’t he?”

2 – CFL WEEK 3 NOTES #2: Who’s the CFL’s worst team? The numbers would suggest it’s Chris Jones’ Edmonton Elks whom are 0-3 but they’re getting better fast. They held the lead in Calgary for a lot of the game and, not that it matters to the coaches or players, but they beat the spread of eight points. I spent a good deal of time with the Edmonton staff at their hotel before the game and something special is being built in the City of Champions. The Elks are reluctantly taking their lumps now, but that only makes it sweeter when the rebuild is complete. … Was it absolutely necessary to change the name? … Ottawa’s 0-2 and had a Week 3 bye. The insiders say new GM Shawn Burke has rebuilt that roster fast but as John Lynch famously blares, “YOUR RECORD IS WHAT YOU ARE!” … Let’s not forget too, that Ottawa had the CFL’s #1 team back-to-back to open the season (Winnipeg). … A tough schedule can probably be blamed for Hamilton’s 0-3 start as well. They’ve opened with losses at Saskatchewan, versus Calgary and at Winnipeg. However that hasn’t stopped the alarm bells from ringing in Steeltown. … CFL icon Jeff Reinebold is making regular Friday appearances on The Rod Pedersen Show’s Football Friday and he rattled Simoni Lawrence’s cage something fierce this week, calling out the Ticats linebacker for being invisible so far this season. Jeff didn’t seem too concerned about Simoni’s Twitter tirade after the fact.

3 – ROUGHRIDERS: The Jolly Green Giants are a good team who played badly in Thursday’s 37-13 loss at Montreal. If you read or listened to my radio commentary, there are some games you just aren’t going to win and the Alouettes home-opener was one of them for Saskatchewan. … However Rider alum Mike Abou-Mechrek is going to be another Football Friday regular and he’s concerned about the interior of the Riders’ offensive line and its “greenness”. Will Logan Ferland and Evan Johnson become the next Roger Aldag and Gene Makowsky? It helped having centre Dan Clark between them, but now he’s gone and has been replaced by newbie Logan Bandy. Abou feels it’s not about lack of ability; it’s about lack of communication and cohesion. Now with WR Shaq Evans out 6-8 weeks with injury, the Riders’ 2-0 start feels like a distant memory. … Reinebold also predicted if Sask can’t get its penalty situation figured out pronto, they’ll be watching the Grey Cup on TV. … As Kermit sings, sometimes It’s Not Easy Being Green.

4 – D-MAX: What a treat it was to spend a good deal of time on Saturday with Edmonton Elks defensive line coach Demetrious Maxie. “D-MAX” should likely get some consideration as a Canadian Football Hall of Famer as a Grey Cup champion, 2-time all star and just overall excellence as a human being. The Shreveport product and Texas-El Paso grad played in the CFL from 1995-2007 with Baltimore, Montreal, Toronto, Saskatchewan and Calgary and has served in various roles with Edmonton going back to 2013. I asked him how many coaches he’s worked with at Commonwealth and he rolled his eyes but the list includes Chris Jones (twice), Kavis Reed, Jason Maas, Scott Milanovich and Jaime Elizondo. D-MAX has survived em all!

Demetrious lists the best time of his career as the 2000-2001 seasons in Saskatchewan where Roy Shivers and Danny Barrett fostered a family atmosphere and built the culture of the franchise. After our chat, Maxie kissed me! Folks, these are the friendships that no one can ever take away. Never.

5 – ATTENDANCE: If you watch The RP Show daily on Game+ TV, YouTube Live, or are among the many who listen to the podcast on Apple, Amazon, Google, Stitcher or Spotify, you’ll notice we very rarely discuss attendance at CFL games this year, nor get drawn into the debate by viewers. It’s low-hanging fruit, it’s not positive, and frankly this discussion doesn’t help the league. Droning on about poor attendance certainly doesn’t make Canadians want to go to the games! … Having said that, Percival Molson Stadium was roughly 50% full for the Alouettes/Roughriders game this week. The Stampeders announced 22,739 on Saturday while the Lions announced 15,500. I was at McMahon Stadium and those who were in attendance were having an absolute blast in the sunshine, with the booze and good times flowing. If you’re not at CFL games, you’re missing out. That’s all I can say. … Clearly the CFL isn’t going to fold or it would’ve by now. If we all do our part, pull on the rope and attend games in our markets, this league won’t have any problems. … Bitching about it isn’t going to help anybody. Plus selling tickets isn’t my job, nor my problem.

6 – GAME 6: Clearly my Stanley Cup Final prediction of the Tampa Bay Lightning beating the Colorado Avalanche in six games isn’t going to come to fruition but Tampa could still win it in seven! However they’ll need to pull off a win Sunday night at home against the Avalanche to force a deciding Game 7 in Denver. Colorado leads the series 3-2. … This game pits the NHL Playoffs’ best home team in Tampa Bay (8-2) versus the best road team in Colorado (8-1). … If the Conn Smythe Trophy as Playoff MVP was handed out today, it would go to Colorado defenceman Cale Makar. The Calgary product has notched 29 points so far in these playoffs and only three NHL defencemen in history have scored more points in one playoff season. By name, they are Paul Coffey, Brian Leetch and Al MacInnis. That means Makar has surpassed the likes of Bobby Orr, Denis Potvin, Ray Bourque and Larry Robinson. We are witnessing history folks.

7 – POMO: This week proved again why we love sports so much. The unpredictability! Absolutely no one saw coming the Florida Panthers hiring Paul Maurice as head coach and very few predicted Barry Trotz would turn down all coaching offers to enjoy more family time. (Although kudos to Peter Loubardias, who forecast the Trotz decision). Initially in Florida fans were excited about the Maurice hire but upon review, media and fans were griping to me that Maurice has never won anything! That’s ‘Merica folks. If you’re not first, you’re last. But they always say “You never have” until you finally do. The Maurice/Panthers marriage looks like a perfect fit.

8 – TROTZIE: In the case of Trotz, sympathies to the Winnipeg Jets fanbase who got their hopes sky high and even I figured it was a slam dunk that he would takeover his hometown(ish) team. Apparently those two guys in the gas station in Swift Current who Trotz allegedly told he’s going to Winnipeg were wrong. What now? … It’s going to be a few more weeks of tail-chasing in Winnipeg, trying to follow this story. … As for Barry Trotz, good for him for stepping off the high pressure merry-go-round of NHL coaching. However hopefully he’s not out of the game for too long! … The list of top notch coaches NOT coaching in the NHL right now is head-spinning, including Joel Quenneville, Dave Tippett and Mike Babcock. … I found how who’s running the show in Vegas with the Golden Knights. It all makes sense now.

9 – MEMORIAL CUP: So the host Saint John Sea Dogs have advanced to Wednesday’s final of the Memorial Cup and Monday’s semifinal pits Hamilton (OHL) up against Shawinigan (QMJHL). What a tournament it’s been! And TSN has done a masterful job of its coverage. The Edmonton Oil Kings (WHL) bowed out but at least they won a game, ending the troubling drought of “no wins by a WHL representative since 2016”. … However that drought was nothing more than a fad to me. The 2018 Memorial Cup host Regina Pats won two games and made the final and to me, that counts as a WHL rep. That comment created a stir this week, but it’s simply fun to debate. … Who remembers Sea Dogs coach Gardiner MacDougall in the SJHL? … Enjoy the hockey this week folks! It’s almost over.

10 – RANDOM THOUGHTS: Social media isn’t real people. Spend your Sunday absorbing and understanding that. … PARENTS: Teach your kids it’s inappropriate to talk during a movie at the theatre. A group of snot-factories nearly ruined last night’s Jurassic World Dominion performance at Landmark Cinemas Shawnessy. As it is, one thumb up. … However an enthusiastic TWO thumbs up for Top Gun – Maverick, now playing at your local Landmark Cinema. It’s a thrill-a-minute and a shame we had to wait 30+ years between movies in this series. I can’t wait for the next one, 30 years from now, seeing an 80-something Tom Cruise jet through the skies and make women’s hearts swoon! I bet he’ll still look the same 30 years from now too. … It’s long been understood that the Calgary Stampeders have the CFL’s best tailgating but on Saturday we got to witness it for ourselves. They’re not kidding! It’s NFL-calibre. … The Mayor of Pittsburgh is named Ed Gainey. … Did you know Ticats alum Mike Morreale and Rob Hitchcock have a podcast entitled Morreale & Hitch? Neither did I, but it was discovered while listening to a Ticats broadcast. I need to check it out. … Ticats play-by-play man R.J. Broadhead does a fine job. … In 2006, then-Swift Current Broncos Coach & GM Dean Chynoweth droned, “Everybody’s got a blog nowadays”. 16 years later, it’s a podcast. As always, the best ones will survive! … Have a great Sunday.

Y’er welcome,
RP
@rodpedersen