10 WEEKEND THINGS

Taking shots …

1 – ATLANTA TO ASSINIBOIA: It’s been one heckuva whirlwind weekend with stops in Atlanta, Georgia – where the Rod Pedersen Show airs daily on WQEE 99.1 Your Home For Southern Sports & Talk – and in Assiniboia, SK where I had the great honour of calling the first ever Junior Hockey game in the brand new Southland Co-op Centre on Huber Radio’s Cat Country 98.

In Atlanta, they’ve stopped airing our show on a replay from 7-9 pm ET nightly on WQEE, and as of last week, started carrying it live daily at 12 pm ET. The listeners asked for it! Amazing.

In Assiniboia, the host Southern Rebels were outclassed 8-3 by the visiting Carrot River Outback Thunder Saturday night in a game where I’m really hoping nerves on opening night in a brand new arena got the best of the home team. They got their clocks cleaned pretty much for 60 minutes but fortunately I had a ball on the air with Steve “Hurricane” Huber and Curtis Nelson. We’ve all known each other since elementary school.

For posterity’s sake, Rylan Numrich scored the first ever Rebels goal in the new arena at 13:06 of the second period.

There’s an adage that says, “If you want something new in life, you have to give something up” and I’ve always believed that, and seen it proven over and over. However it seems like we can grow the RP Show into major NFL & NHL markets on TV, radio & streaming while still dedicating coverage to our cornerstones like the CFL, Junior Hockey, curling and more, and being connected to Sask.

I mean … we are.

2 – CFL NOTES: There were some heart-stopping, edge-of-your-seat moments in Week 19 of the CFL. Hamilton absolutely floored the Stampeders in Calgary with a last minute touchdown and a 35-32 victory on Friday. Stamps head coach Dave Dickenson told CHQR Radio after the game that his team lost in all four phases: offense, defense, special teams and coaching. The result put the Ticats in the driver’s seat for the final playoff spot and, for the first time this year, Saskatchewan does not hold a playoff spot.

In Edmonton, the Elks lost a pro football record 16th consecutive home game on Saturday as they dropped a heartbreaking 28-23 decision to the Toronto Argonauts. The TSN Turning Point came late in the fourth quarter when Edmonton QB Taylor Cornelius was removed from the game by concussion spotters and his replacement Tre Ford threw an interception which directly led to the winning points for Toronto.

Will there be an outcry over this other than from the Elks coaches room? Will Chris Jones continue to be blamed for Edmonton losing 16 in a row at home when he’s only been there for half of it?

We’ll find out more this week.

BTW in June I said the Winnipeg Blue Bombers would win 15 games. Now sitting on 14 wins, they’re resting guys including in Saturday night’s 40-32 loss at BC. But you get the point!

3 – RIDER PRIDE: Perusing the crowd at Southland Coop Centre in Assiniboia, I noticed that the clear leader in merchandise on the fans was Edmonton Oilers garb (hats, bunnyhugs, etc.). It solidified my long-standing belief that Saskatchewan is an Oilers province (thanks Wayne, Mess, Slats, Connor, Leon, etc.). There was also some Leafs gear, and some Blue Jays, and of course the familiar Blue & Orange of the hometown Southern Rebels. I saw one teenaged gal wearing a camouflage Rider hat but it seemed like she was more into the style of the cap than the /=S=/.

For a change it was me who brought up the Riders to the locals and what I got for a reaction, wasn’t what I was expecting.

They laughed.

That area of the province has always been hardcore Rider country but with the Green & White losing five games in a row at a critical time and hopes of a Grey Cup appearance at home pretty much gone down the drain (the Riders are given a 4-7% chance of making it), the fans I talked to view the 2022 Riders as a punchline.

The Powers-That-Be with the Roughriders should be gravely concerned about the state of this franchise on and off the field, and across this province.

But I seriously don’t think they even know.

4 – DEEP SOUTH: Just a couple more notes on one of my favourite towns in Saskatchewan. Like Estevan and a few others, we’ve just always clicked and once or twice a year we get together for events to raise a lot of money. So it was a little spine-tingling to be in the gleaming new Southland Coop Centre Saturday night, knowing we all played a role in making it happen. (Not dissimilar to Affinity Place in Estevan! These are special people, forward-thinkers and go-getters).

Prior to the game I had a chat with a young farmer who said he really enjoys the RP Daily Commentary on Cat Country. I related that sometimes I don’t know what to comment on since now I split my time between Alberta and Florida. He replied, “We don’t care. We just like hearin’ ya!”

What a feeling.

Then he introduced me to his 3-year old daughter and said her favourite team is the Dolphins and her favourite player is Miami wide receiver Jaylen Waddle.

Let that one sink in awhile.

5 – RING OF FIRE: The Calgary Flames grabbed a 4-1 lead in Edmonton and held on for a 4-3 victory over the Oilers Saturday night in the first Hockey Night In Canada telecast of the year. The Flames are now 2-0 with wins over NHL contenders Colorado and Edmonton this week. I maintain the Flames are the #1 team in the NHL right now, even though that statement has been universally “flamed” everywhere outside of Southern Alberta. … This week on NHL Network, analyst Mike Rupp stated, “The Flames are the most-talented team in the Pacific but that doesn’t mean they’ll lead the division.” I could’ve reached through the TV and kissed him. SOMEONE ELSE GETS IT. … Sometimes it’s lonely out here on the end of the limb. … Starting Monday we’ll be broadcasting from Grey Eagle Resort & Casino in Calgary in the first of a three week stint. Prepare yourself for visits from our new/old buddies Lanny McDonald, Jamie Macoun, Tim Hunter, Mark Stephen, Jock Wilson, Jeff Fairholm, Mike Abou-Mechrek et al from Calgary’s Entertainment Destination! … Beginning this winter Calgary has NHL, AHL, WHL, AJHL & USPORTS. Hockey Heaven, and I hope to be at a game every night.

6 – NHL NOTES: The Florida Panthers are 2-0 and Matthew Tkachuk has scored in both games. … There are 10 new head coaches in the NHL this season and six of them are unbeaten: Bruce Cassidy (Vegas 3-0), Derek Lalonde (Detroit 2-0), Jim Montgomery (Boston 2-0), Paul Maurice (Florida 2-0), Peter Deboer (Dallas 2-0) and John Tortorella (Philadelphia 2-0). … Happy 24th birthday to Seattle Kraken forward Kole Lind of Shaunavon, SK. I will be driving through his hometown today. … 2,717 was the announced attendance at Wednesday’s Pats game versus P.A.? WTH? Don’t they know it was Wiener Wednesday?

7 – THE PEG: With the dominance of the Blue Bombers and the nice start of the NHL’s Jets (4-1 win over the NY Rangers in Friday’s home-opener), it dawned on me that Winnipeg might be Canada’s best sports city right now. It was a fun debate on the RP Show this week with viewers across the country! Can you name me one better? Edmonton jumps out but the Elks really stink. Please don’t even say Toronto. Just don’t. The only city that rivals Winnipeg for the success of its teams is Calgary, but they’re devoid of Cups at the moment. Please discuss.

8 – DROUGHTING: At the other end of the spectrum, the Seattle Mariners may have been swept in an MLB AL Division Series by Houston but at least they kicked their 21-year playoff drought – the longest in North American major sports – to the curb. Now the NBA’s Sacramento Kings have the longest playoff drought, not having made the playoffs since 2006. The longest playoff droughts in the NFL and NHL belong to the NY Jets and Buffalo Sabres, both dating back to 2011. … I love tracking this stuff! … In case you forgot, the longest Grey Cup drought in the CFL belongs to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (1999).

9 – THE ROCK: We told you a few weeks back in this column that something was afoot in pro football. Then this week I got word from two sources that global entertainment star Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was meeting with MLSE Chairman Larry Tanenbaum in Toronto. These messages were somewhat cryptic and definitely ambiguous, not clarifying if a meeting with Tanenbaum was the reason The Rock was in Toronto, coincidentally also appearing at the Maple Leafs home-opener. … For the record, I’m in favour of CFL expansion, merging, whatever it takes to stop being a hand-to-mouth, hat-in-hand league like it’s become over the last decade. … Laugh and scoff all you want – I’m used to it – but when it happens, don’t say you didn’t hear it here first.

10 – RANDOM THOUGHTS: Being a Sask farmkid now living in South Florida, the thought that recurs in my head the most is, “Where the hell does all this water come from?” … Canadian baseball fans don’t know how could they have it with Buck Martinez, Dan Shulman and Pat Tabler. I’ve now been subjected to ESPN’s Tim Kurkjian. Yikes. … I’m so old that my workout gear is Reebok. … Watching Ron Duguay’s Instagram stories where he films girlfriend Sarah Palin and she tries to dodge the camera is the best entertainment available right now. … Said my good friend Rod Dallman about playing with Ron Duguay with the San Diego Gulls in the 1990s, “I was only 22 years old from McDowell, SK and I didn’t even know what ‘cool’ was. But I knew Ron Duguay was cool.” … Where can I find the best WHL and SJHL coverage other than the league websites? We are currently in a different era. Not sure if I like it. … Congrats to Rider great Jeff Fairholm for completing his first football radio broadcast on Saturday for Rams-Huskies! … A Minnesota farmer set a USA record by growing a 2,560 lb pumpkin last month. He had to trailer the pumpkin all the way to San Francisco to enter the contest, and won! … And how was YOUR week?

Y’er welcome,
RP
@rodpedersen