10 WEEKEND THINGS

Taking shots …

1 – DOWN TO THE JAG-WIRE: If anybody ever asks you why people like us love sports so much, point to Saturday night’s NFL AFC Wild Card game. Jacksonville quarterback Trevor Lawrence proved he’s not the second-coming of Michael Bishop, overcoming four first half interceptions to throw four touchdowns and lead his Jaguars to a shocking 31-30 victory over the L.A. Chargers in Duval County. (More on Michael Bishop in a moment). Not for a second did I think a bum toe was going to keep Lawrence out of the lineup – what, was he going to save it for next week??? – and he helped the Jags to the third-largest comeback in NFL history.

Nine more hours of football today. Bring it on!

2 – BISH: I was reminded of Bishop, the former Patriots and Roughriders quarterback, while listening to the NFL radio broadcast Saturday night during my drive home from the Canucks/Panthers hockey game in Sunrise, FL. Shades of Trevor Lawrence, Bishop infamously threw four first quarter picks for Saskatchewan in the CFL’s 2008 Western Semifinal, and the Riders went on to lose 33-12 to Wally Buono’s BC Lions at Taylor Field. Riders Head Coach & V.P. of Football Ken Miller cut Bishop the next morning.

Incidentally that was the only season that CFL playoff games were played on a Saturday. I didn’t mind the notion back then, and am glad the league’s going back to it in 2023.

Meanwhile thinking of Coach Miller was not the only time a former Roughriders boss crossed my mind this week …

3 – A NYHUS DEAL: When it was learned this week that star U of S Huskies quarterback Mason Nyhus turned down a contract offer from the Saskatchewan Roughriders, my immediate inclination was to call the Nyhus family and find out what the terms of the deal were. What terms could’ve possibly made him want to retire from the game so quickly after such a stellar career in Saskatoon? But a voice in my head said, “It doesn’t matter. Leave it be.” If only I’d listened to a louder voice saying that same thing 18 years ago …

4 – SHIV: The Mason Nyhus situation reminded me of the 2005 CFL off-season when Roughriders GM Roy Shivers & Head Coach Danny Barrett were haggling over contract details with pending free agent quarterback Henry Burris. Henry was calling me with the details of the Riders’ offer (embarrassingly low by the way) and I was reporting them on the radio. Shivers yanked me into his office and huffed, “If you want to be an investigative reporter, you can’t work for me.” I stood my ground and barked, “I DON’T WORK FOR YOU!” In a subsequent meeting with Michael Olstrom, the GM of CKRM Radio at the time, he advised that I basically do work for the team and should abide by whatever Shivers wants. I wouldn’t – favouring Henry instead – and that was about the end of Roy and my relationship.

18 years later, it’s dawned on me these negotiations are none of my business and I guess none of the fans’ business either. Silly me! I just felt the fans should know what’s going on. Now I realize, half of them wouldn’t believe me even if they knew anyway.

Carry on. And congrats Mason, on a stellar football career!

5 – RIDERS NEXT QB: My football Insiders – the same ones who said in September that Jason Maas would be the next Head Coach of the Montreal Alouettes – say Dane Evans will be the Saskatchewan Roughriders quarterback in 2023 and that you can take it to the bank. Please discuss amongst yourselves.

6 – GO PATS GO: History is being made at the Brandt Centre. Connor Bedard scored twice on Saturday night to lead the Regina Pats to a 4-3 victory over the Portland Winterhawks. The night before, Bedard had seven points as Regina slipped past Saskatoon 7-4. So the Queen City Kids are coming out of the weekend on a three-game winning streak but they still sit 7th in the WHL’s East Conference which lines them up with the 29-8-4 Red Deer Rebels in Round 1 of the playoffs. They’d be lucky to win a game in that series, but at least the way things are going, Regina can bank on being in the postseason.

The arena is filled with kids adorned in 98 BEDARD Pats jerseys. It reminds me of my time adoring Derkatch, Reeve, Grimson, Houk, Sillinger, Heward & Kovacs. Now it’s these kids’ time. They’ll never forget it.

Also, one day I might stop referring to the Regina Pats as “we” in conversations.

7 – GO PATS GO II: The attendance for Saturday night’s game was listed at 5,403 which is 1,081 shy of a sellout under the Orange Top. A quick search of Ticketmaster says the cheapest Pats ticket is $30. I’d say you should pack the Brandt Centre and watch Bedard now for $30 before he goes to Arizona or Chicago and you have to pay …. (*checks Tickmaster again*) … uh never mind. You can pay to see the Coyotes or Blackhawks for as low as $75.

Carry on.

8A – NHL NOTES: Three Saskatchewan kids were in uniform Saturday night for the Vancouver Canucks in a 4-3 loss at Florida; Ethan Bear (Ochapawace), Luke Schenn (Saskatoon) and Lane Pederson (Saskatoon). Those three were all good but alas, the Canucks were not. … Blow it up! How it must feel for Canucks fans to see their team’s a full 19 points behind Seattle in the Pacific Division, and the Kraken are only in their second year of existence. … Culture and rotten roots run deep. … The Kraken set an NHL record for the longest sweep of a road trip – eight games – coming off an 8-5 victory at Chicago on Saturday. … The Kraken have also scored eight goals on four occasions this season, tied for the NHL lead. … Meanwhile they’re really down on Paul Maurice in South Florida. The situation for the Cats remains the same; they can beat the poorer teams but can’t beat the better teams.

8B – MORE NHL: There’s some major hand-wringing going on in Alberta right now that one of the Oilers and Flames won’t make the playoffs. Or perhaps both! However a few weeks ago it was guaranteed here that Edmonton and Calgary would be in the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs and I’m not moving off that (for now) :). All it’s gonna take is for those two teams to heat up and it seems that’s the case as we’ve just passed the midway point of the NHL regular season. The Oilers have won three in a row while the Flames have points in four straight. All it takes is playing smart. Simple, huh? … Some say one of Colorado, Calgary and Edmonton won’t make the playoffs. We’ll see. … The Flames almost blew a 6-1 lead at Dallas on Saturday and I saw a fan write on Twitter that it’s “unimaginably disheartening” to be a Flames fan. Let me tell you what: if your biggest problem in life is the fortunes of your favourite sports team, you should get down on your knees and thank God that’s the case. So many others in this world are dealing with unimaginable tragedy which is no fault of their own. Think about that. … C.a.n. n.o.t. wait for the 2023 NHL All Star Game in Sunrise, FL. Been waiting a lifetime.

9 – S-J: Yours truly was a little torn Saturday night when the Estevan Bruins handed the Battlefords North Stars their first regular season loss of the season, 5-0 at Affinity Place, as hometowner Jackson Miller collected his first SJHL shutout. Torn because the Bruins are my team yet I’ve got considerable ties to the Stars. But it’s actually win/win! The Bruins can rightfully puff their chests out while, for the Stars whom I spoke with Sunday morning, the bubble has burst and the pressure is off. They’re still the #1 team in Canada. Carry on. … We’re still hoping to broadcast the RP Show from Centennial Cup in Portage, MB in May but it’s not yet confirmed. I truly wonder if former NHL’ers and CJHL alum will come in for the tournament like Grant Jennings and Alan May did last year in Estevan. IT WAS SO MUCH FUN!

10 – RANDOMS: I hope Dak Prescott remembered to take his Sleep Number pillow with him to Tampa Bay for Monday night’s playoff game. … There’s always an upset on NFL Super Wild Card weekend (last year it was San Francisco over Dallas) and this year I’ve picked it to be the NY Giants over Minnesota. … Sean McVay had to confirm this week that he’d return as Head Coach of the L.A. Rams after initially saying he’s considering offers to get into TV. Note: Don’t take anyone seriously who’s speaking right at the end of the season (i.e. Tom Brady who retired for 41 days right after Tampa Bay’s divisional playoff loss to L.A. a year ago). Decisions made in haste and under stress are often regrettable. … Meanwhile 45-year old Tom’s being snickered at for dating a 28-year old European model just months after his divorce, which was filed in Florida, became final. Guess what? Tom doesn’t care what anyone thinks. … Brady might be QB’ing the Miami Dolphins next year by the way. … They call Florida the “lawless swamp” for a reason. It’s fantastic, and I love it. …  Is your New Years resolution still intact? … After watching the Flames and Blues this week, I had to check the scoresheet to see if Jonathan Huberdeau had played that night. It said he had. … Is it true you’ll ruin your device if you drain the rechargeable battery? Please advise. … AND HOW WAS YOUR WEEK?

Y’er welcome,
RP
@rodpedersen

(Photo: Estevan Bruins)