10 WEEKEND THINGS

Taking Shots …

1 – MIIGWECH: 23 weeks in Alberta between Calgary’s Grey Eagle Resort & Casino and Edmonton’s River Cree Casino have come to a close and now we’re making our way to the Wheat Province for the 109th Grey Cup! The RP Show simply cannot thank these folks enough for their hospitality and friendship (particularly the Grey Eagle where we spent 21 weeks). As one official said, “It could not have gone better”. Kîhtwâm

2 – RING OF FIRE: One of the highlights of our entire time was the Roast of Flames great Lanny McDonald Thursday night in the Saddleome, which was eloquently named Toast Of The Town 9 by the Flames. Almost the entire 1989 Stanley Cup champion team was on hand along with Lanny’s old Maple Leafs pals Darryl Sittler and Tiger Williams. Frankly I wondered how anyone could roast such an iconic figure and gracious man and the truth is, they didn’t. The gang told hours of Lanny stories but kept it clean.

So much so that Lanny’s daughter got on the mic at the end of the night and expressed her disappointment that her Dad wasn’t roasted more! She told a story where Lanny instructed her, at age 13 at Disneyland, to fib about her age in order to get in for a cheaper price.

That’s about as scandalous as Lanny gets. Love him! He’s been referred to as “The soul of the Calgary Flames”.

3 – CURRENT FLAMES: It’s hard to believe that 13 games into the season, Darryl Sutter has lost the dressing room. HE WAS NHL COACH OF THE YEAR LAST YEAR! But such is the buzz on the streets and airwaves of Cowtown as the Flames have lost seven in a row and prepare to host the red-hot Winnipeg Jets on Saturday night on Hockey Night In Canada. Look – it’s not about changing the lines or getting out on the road (obviously). That sounded silly when I heard it. I knew it long before I even spent time with the Flames greats this week; this team’s problems are 100% mental and that’s why Darryl Sutter is the best there is. If we believe the 2022-23 Calgary Flames are better than last year’s team – which we all do – then there’s no need to panic. The Jolly Rancher will get this worked out and before long this current tough stretch will be a distant memory. Just maybe not by tonight.

4 – FROM FAILING HANDS: The hockey world is a small one and the Recovery world is even smaller. So I got my report out of Montreal regarding Carey Price and it’s a good one. CP31’s in Season II of a long Recovery phase and right now it’s far more physical than mental or emotional (although he’s working on those latter two components as well). The 35-year old badly beat up his body tending nets for 15 years on generally bad teams and it took a toll on his mind as well. Carey and his Recovery team are taking their time, doing this right, and he’s primed for perhaps the biggest comeback in sports history! Just you watch.

5 – MORE. BLEU, BLANC ET ROUGE: At 7-6-1, the Habs are doing far better than anyone imagined under first full-year head coach Martin St. Louis. (They’ve got four rookies on defense!) I saw them play in Sunrise, FL last year and thought they were the best AHL team I’d ever seen. Now they’re even younger! Kirby Dach has been unleashed and rookies Juraj Slafkovsky and Arber Xhekaj have been a force.

What they’re telling me in Montreal is today’s player is different and they relate more to a guy like Martin St. Louis, for reasons that are pretty obvious.

There are a ton of incredibly positive things going on within the Canadiens dressing room and organization which the local media apparently hasn’t even picked up on. And a lot of credit is going to Habs V.P. of Hockey Operations Jeff Gorton, the pride of Melrose, Massachussetts. Habs fans should be elated with what’s going on and just wait until the return of a healthy CP31!

6 – GREY CUP 109: It’s going to be absolutely fantastic to be back in the Queen City for the 2022 Grey Cup. Is this going to be the best Grey Cup ever?? We’ll be broadcasting the RP Show from Ballers Rec Room daily from 11 am – 1 pm Sask Time on Game+ TV, YouTube Live and WQEE Radio and I’m excited to see all my CFL & Roughriders friends! Plenty of CFL and TSN personalities will be dropping by Ballers for the show, and also the huge Twisted Tea Player & Fan Mixer on Friday night. The list of celebrities attending the bash is growing daily and includes Matt Dunigan, Nik Lewis, Paul McCallum, Charleston Hughes & Gregg Zaun. Many more to come! It’s turning into the best event of G.C. Week. Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/playerfan-exclusive-vip-party-tickets-440007392957?aff=ebdssbdestsearch&keep_tld=1

Thank you CFL for the All Access for Grey Cup! They always treat the RP Show SO well!

7 – BOMBERS/ARGOS GREY CUP: Wayyyyy back in July, I called a Winnipeg-Toronto Grey Cup so I’ll stick with that prediction here on Division Finals weekend. Last year I drilled all my predictions – complete with point spreads – but have been a little off this fall (I simply haven’t been following it as closely). No matter who reaches the 109th Grey Cup, they will have earned it. But I’m sticking with an All-Blue CFL championship game. The long range forecast for the game calls for a high of -9C which could be worse.

Game Notes: In the modern era of CFL football, the home team has won the East Division Final 70% of the time while in the West Division Final, the home team has won 58% of the time … Argonauts D-lineman Ja’Gared Davis is gunning to appear in his sixth-straight Grey Cup game. … Bombers linebacker Adam Bighill has never missed the playoffs in his 10-year career.

8 – RIDERS: Major downer that the Green & White won’t be in the Grey Cup, but there’s nothing that can be done about that now … The Insiders are buzzing over what next season holds for Saskatchewan and the popular notion is that Bo Levi Mitchell will be Saskatchewan’s starting quarterback. As my Calgary football people have told me – not to be confused with Stampeders people – “Bo Levi will fit in real well with what Saskatchewan’s got going on there”. They also pointed out to me that Bo has removed all reference to the Stampeders from his social media.

As a Rider fan, will the team have to sell this one on you or not? Has there ever been a better case of ‘You Can’t Predict The Future’?

Meanwhile Travis Moore’s quote on CKRM this week regarding being fired as Rider Receivers Coach being a “blessing in disguise” was telling.

9 – THE BUZZ: I should’ve mentioned this near the top but at Lanny’s Roast, the Flames were nice enough to seat me at a table of CFL & WHL Alumni, plus Edmonton Oil & Gas executives. Inevitably the topic rolled around to the CFL and the questions were flying at me. “Do you think Craig Dickenson’s a good coach?” said one Stamps great. I replied, “Yes”. … The Edmonton O&G guys threw their hands up at the Elks and CFL and said they’ve focused all their sponsorship and energies on the Oilers in the past couple years. Victor Cui and Chris Jones still have quite a job in front of them if that’s a reflection of how Edmonton feels about their pro football team.

10 – RANDOM THOUGHTS: It’s Championship Saturday in Saskatchewan. The Canadian Bowl goes Saturday afternoon at Mosaic Stadium between the Regina Thunder and Okanagan Sun while the Hardy Cup goes in Saskatoon between the Saskatchewan Huskies and UBC Thunderbirds. Both will be on TV. … Tiger Williams for the Hockey Hall of Fame! It’s time the league’s career penalty minutes leader, innovator and one of the game’s all-time characters be recognized. … Why would you build a Tim Hortons and not put any seats in it? … 33+ years in this business is my blue checkmark. … Getting listener mail from Atlanta is a highlight among many highlights of 2022 … Why is it called a “Lazy Susan”? … Colour me blown away that Sportsnet commentator and longtime Hockey Night In Canada Executive Producer John Shannon said on our show that he’s been listening to me for decades and is very impressed by the RP Show’s massive growth in the USA. As God is my witness, I was sure John had no idea who I was. … TSN’S Frankie Corrado doesn’t look old enough to have as much wisdom as pours out of him on Sportscentre. I’m a fan. … All these new phrases in society are simply new ways of saying old things. “Quiet Quitting” is nothing more than “Checking Out”. Why we gotta go changing things? … An exciting hockey game is now known as a “High Event Game”. … “Shot Volume” is nothing more than “Lotsa Shots”. … “Puck Management” is fancy for “Don’t be an Idiot”. …  Said an American friend of mine regarding Andre Proulx, “Is he the only ref you guys got up there?” … I’m told a Regina Pats preseason game for Estevan next September is already locked in. This year’s soldout. Neutral site games are where it’s at! The NFL is playing in Germany this weekend. … People who talk to themselves seriously freak me out. … Proper etiquette is to wear your poppy through this Sunday. … AND HOW WAS YOUR WEEK?

Y’er welcome,
RP
@rodpedersen