10 WEEKEND THINGS

Taking Shots …

1 – CFL: Week 9 is in the books and some things are becoming shockingly clear in the Canadian Football League – the 2022 Winnipeg Blue Bombers (9-0) are better than the past two seasons when they won the Grey Cup, the 6-1 BC Lions are the Comeback Team of the Year (so far), BC QB Nathan Rourke is the Most Outstanding Player in a cakewalk, and if they don’t scrap the East-West Playoff format after this season the the CFL will never get it right. As we approach the midway point of the season, only one team in the East Division has a winning record (Toronto 4-3) while only one team in the West Division has a losing record (Edmonton 2-6). Enough’s enough. The CFL needs to go to a Top 6 playoff format immediately. Perhaps even this year.

2 – DISPARITY: Several weeks ago I philosophized that the CFL’s West Division has been dominant for decades simply because we take the game far more seriously than Eastern Canada. While I still think there’s some truth to that, if that was the case, then Canadian NHL teams would be similarly dominant. Instead, no Canadian team has won the Stanley Cup since 1993 and the prospects of it happening soon really aren’t that great. Next theory please!

3 – RIDERS: Wouldn’t you love to be a fly on the wall in the Rider meetings during this bye week? Head Coach Craig Dickenson said they were going to take the week to assess what’s gone wrong during their current three-game losing streak but you know they won’t say publicly what they’ve found. But it sure is fascinating to watch from the outside! On Friday’s RP Show, CFL greats Wes Cates and Nik Lewis picked apart Rider starting QB Cody Fajardo and while I’m still not convinced Cody’s not “thee guy”, it’s clear there’s also no convincing his critics that he is. 

4 – FURTHER ASSESSMENT: So if Fajardo doesn’t have “it” and benefited in the past from a ferocious defense which handed Fajardo turnovers and short fields to work with, then it was a major whiff by the front office to make Cody the highest-paid Roughrider in franchise history despite never winning a Grey Cup. Will someone pay if this all falls flat and the Riders fail to reach the Grey Cup at home this November? I’d suggest that’s doubtful. It doesn’t feel like the pressure is the same as 2013. The insiders feel the Rider Board doesn’t have the nerve to make such a move. Can’t disagree.

5 – CITY OF CHAMPIONS: For the next couple weeks Edmonton will be the place to be so imagine how thrilled we are to have The RP Show broadcasting live from Rogers Place and the 2022 World Junior Hockey Championship throughout the tournament!  Thanks so much to River Cree Resort & Casino for coming on board as our presenting World Juniors sponsor. It also just so happens that Saskatchewan visits Edmonton in CFL play Saturday night so we’ll be able to take it all in. It’s so much fun being in the eye of the hurricane. Alberta has presented so much opportunity for us! A thousand thank you’s.

6 – CANTON: It’s always a highlight of my year; the Pro Football Hall of Fame induction speeches. They went Saturday night in Canton, OH and if you have the opportunity, go back and watch the addresses from linebacker Sam Mills, defensive back LeRoy Butler, defensive linemen Bryant Young and Richard Seymour, wide receiver Cliff Branch, Left Tackle Tony Boselli, coach Dick Vermeil and longtime head of officiating Art McNally. Folks, these speeches are a How To guide for life. Who can forget Michael Irvin’s famous speech where, through tears streaming down his face, the Playmaker said, “Get up, show up, and don’t ever give up!” That’s been the mantra of my life.

I so wish the CFL would make a bigger deal out of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame induction night and the speeches. Maybe one day.

7 – WORLD J’S: Hockey in August has been such a delicious treat. Thank you Covid. Canada won the just-completed Hlinka Gretzky Cup on Saturday with a 4-1 victory over Sweden in Red Deer and TSN analyst Craig Button said this might’ve been the best Canadian team ever at the tournament. And that’s WITHOUT Connor Bedard who will be playing with the big boys beginning this week in Edmonton. Bedard’s Regina Pats linemate Tanner Howe scored a nice one on Saturday for the Red & White proving that he doesn’t necessarily need #98 to have success. Watch for all sorts of previews and coverage here on this website. Plenty of viewers have asked what Canada’s chances are? I answer that with Bedard and a goalie, that’s all they need.

8 – WOODBINE: We are so pleased to welcome back Woodbine Entertainment as a major sponsor on the RP Show promoting the 163rd Queen’s Plate running August 21 at Woodbine in Toronto, and their Dark Horse betting app. Woodbine is run by some really good old-time CFL people – Jim Lawson, Michael Copeland and Jamie Dykstra by name – plus longtime Stamps TV host Alannah Nolan has joined their team as well. For our eastern readers & viewers, pick up your tickets at Woodbine.com and for everybody else, download their fun and easy-to-use app! I like it almost a little too much.

9 – QUEEN CITY: We were back in the bunker on the RP Show this week at our IKS Media home and it was a good time, if not a longtime. Thanks to all our rowdy friends for dropping by like Jim Hopson, Mike Abou-Mechrek, Cates & Lewis, Derek Meyers, Kelly Remple, Rob Vanstone, Dante DeCaria, and Stanley Cup winning defenseman Ryan Murray of the Colorado Avalanche. Friends like that are the reason the RP Show is the #1-rated program on Game+ TV. Now, it’s off to tackle the next big challenge in Edmonton. IT’S SO MUCH FUN!

10 – RANDOM THOUGHTS: Too bad Cody Fajardo wasn’t around to enjoy a corndog at Buffalo Days. I got mine at Calgary Stampede! … The best flavour on earth, to me, is maple. A close second is the combo of chocolate & peanut butter. … Current streaming favourites: Season 4 of Good Girls, the FANTASTIC documentaries on Dolly Parton and Shania Twain, The Lincoln Lawyer, and Our Father. … If you’re coming up to Edmonton for the World J’s, join us at River Cree! There’s plenty of room for you.

Y’er welcome,
RP
@rodpedersen