10 WEEKEND THINGS

Taking shots …

1 – STARS SHINING: One week from now the 2023 Honda NHL All Stars will have come and gone from FLA Live Arena. However between now and then, it’s going to be the greatest hockey time in Sunrise, FL since the 1996 Stanley Cup Final! Panthers players Matthew Tkachuk and Aleksander Barkov will both suit up in this year’s NHL All Star Game and Jack Hughes of the New Jersey Devils will be the first ever Florida-born player to appear in the NHL All Star Game.  So you can imagine the hype! Events are planned all week long around Fort Lauderdale and Sunrise and we’ll be in the middle of it all, including a live RP Show from the Beach House on Friday with various sports celebrities. Buckle up!

2 – SHOCKING BOSTON: Again, as has been noted here many times over the years, when you go to the arena or stadium on any give night, you just never know what’s going to happen. NHL history was made Saturday night at FLA Live Arena when the Florida Panthers beat the Boston Bruins 4-3 in OT. Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov scored with three seconds to go to tie it, and Sam Reinhart scored the winner 17 seconds into OT. That 20 second span is the quickest in NHL history! The Panthers are also the only NHL team to beat Boston twice last year. … #ComebackCats

3 – BUMS IN SEATS: Hockey people and fans alike ask me regularly about attendance in South Florida. You’d be surprised to know the Panthers are averaging 16,393 this season which puts them 24th in the NHL, and ahead of Columbus, Ottawa, Anaheim, New Jersey, Buffalo, Winnipeg, San Jose and Arizona. Now, routinely a lot of those fans are rooting for the visitors, but unlike Arizona where I’ve spent lots of time, the Panthers don’t complain about their own fans being outnumbered. They’re just happy to collect the money.

4 – NFL NOTES: More hockey in a moment but first, on this NFL conference championship Sunday, my picks to advance to the Super Bowl today are Cincinnati and Philadelphia. The games are San Francisco at Philadelphia at 3 pm ET (Eagles favoured by 2.5-points at Bet Regal) followed by Cincinnati at Kansas City at 6:30 pm ET (Chiefs favoured by 1.5-points). The 49ers have won 12 in a row going into the game while the Bengals have won 10 straight. Razor-thin match-ups!

5 – CFL NOTES: Kudos to the media outlets across Canada who did CFL interviews this week, keeping the league visible. … Bo Levi seemed to draw the ire of the Rider Nation for explaining on CJME that he shied away from signing in Sask partially because of the precarious position the Head Coach and General Manager are in (1-year remaining on their contracts). I told you in November this was going to be an issue for free agents, and also potential coaches but people scoffed and said it was “sour grapes:. Pshaw. We speak the truth here, and clearly so does Bo.  Sadly, the truth hurts sometimes. … There’s an under current swirling in Montreal with the ownership issue and it’s too bad. What I hear is that if it’s not cleared up (the estate of Sid Spiegel vs Gary Stern) by March 1, the CFL will take over the team. Right now it’s making things difficult for GM Danny Maciocia who can’t get clearance (money) to sign key players. It’s too bad because Spiegel and Stern got into this with the right intentions. … Wouldn’t it be nice if all went according to plan all the time?

6 – RIDER NOTES: This one deserves its own point. Condolences to the family, friends and fans of Rider great Dave Albright, who passed away this weekend. He’s best known as the hero of the 1989 CFL West Final; the Riders shocking upset of the Eskimos in Edmonton. I never met Dave but anyone who has holds him up as a legend. … I don’t know if Dane Evans will be the next QB of the Riders. That’s just what the football people are saying and they’re rarely wrong. …. Meanwhile long-time Rider fans have asked me recently what John “Frenzy” Lynch’s take on the Riders current situation is. As he explained on the phone last night, “The Riders are in S.D.S.! Serious Deep Sh*t!” I asked John twice if he was okay with that going into this week’s column and he said it absolutely is. … Watch for a John Frenzy appearance on the RP Show soon.

7 – GOOD NEWS/BAD NEWS: The good news is RP Show ratings on Game+ TV have quadrupled from January/2022 to December/2022. We have the data upon request. Congrats to all involved! … The bad news is Cash Cab has surpassed us to be the #1-rated show on Game+ TV. They seemed hesitant to tell me that statistic, but my reaction is a simple “hats off” to Cash Cab host Ben Bailey and it’s a sign that we need to dig deeper. The key here is that Game+ is GROWING. Team first. … Meanwhile, unfortunately our streak of Super Bowl appearances ended at one (1). Scheduling conflicts won’t allow a second straight appearance at the NFL championship however we’re super excited to announce the RP SHOW SUPER BOWL PARTY at the 4 Seasons Sports Palace! Join us and your favourite show personalities at the Palace on Sunday, February 12. Details to follow …

8 – GO PATS GO: It looks like another sellout for the Regina Pats as they host the Medicine Hat Tigers Sunday at 4:00 pm in the annual Talk Today game, supporting the Canadian Mental Health Association. Whether it’s Bedard Mania, Mental Health support, or whatever, it’s great to see the Brandt Centre jammed for meaningful Pats games. … I’m also excited that during our stint in Regina next month, the Pats host the Moose Jaw Warriors on Saturday, Feb. 11. That better be jammed too! Can’t wait to be there, in the rink I grew up in.

The NHL All Star Week reminds me of when we hosted the WHL All Star Game in Regina in 1998. We brought in the NHL Skills equipment and ran it just like the big league. We sold out the Agridome and I got to MC it all on the mic. There was a luncheon and we brought Dennis Hull as the guest speaker. Bringing fans together like that was fun!

9 – JANUARY 27: Friday marked eight years in Recovery for years truly and we discussed it on Friday’s show. Sort of like #TalkToday or #BellLetsTalk, it’s important that we share our Recovery, and show that it’s possible. But when this anniversary rolls around every year, I’m not jumping for joy. I remember where I was in life on January 27, 2015 and it was at the end of the road for a very troubled, confused, angry guy. Everyday since has been better but also a clear reminder that I don’t ever want to go back to being that guy, nor having that outlook. If people think I’m still that person, that’s fine and out of my control. … Over the last year especially, I’ve spent a ton of time and resources with a Recovery team where we’ve investigated why I drank so heavily and why I was so troubled. The result is that now I wake up everyday with the goal of being happy and helping others turn their lives around. I’m also not hurting anybody, so if anyone has a problem with what I’m doing with my life, it signifies a problem in them. (That’s called “projectionism”). It’s been a remarkably fun and rewarding journey and I thank everyone for their help and support along the way!

10 – RANDOM THOUGHTS: The BERLIN WALL! Bravo Matt Berlin, and the Edmonton Oilers. … Again, there is only one Night Court. How could you possibly try to remake that? … It feels like I’m the only once concerned with the fact the NFL beat the NHL in TV ratings in Canada last weekend. They tell me it’s only because they were BIG playoff games. Oh, okay. … I was also concerned when the NFL started marketing in major Canadian centres a decade ago but CFL people told me I was imagining things. Oh, okay. … Regina, SK has produced more NHL players per capita than any other city in the world. Here’s the list of the leading provinces currently for NHL player production: Ontario (177), Quebec (50), Alberta (49), Sask (26), Manitoba (23). … They have all these new terms for concepts that have been around for years. What they call “Quiet Quitting” now is what we called “Checking Out”, and still do. … Fall Out Boy headlines entertainment at NHL All Star Weekend. They played the 2015 Grey Cup in Winnipeg and were great. … If you haven’t checked out Behind The R on YouTube yet – chronicling the 2022 Ottawa Redblacks season – you should.

Y’er welcome,
RP
@rodpedersen