10 WEEKEND THINGS

Taking shots …

1 – CITY OF CHAMPIONS: It’s not over yet but the 2023 CFL Combine presented by New Era will no doubt be dubbed a major success. It was a treat to take in Day 3 at the Fieldhouse at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton on Saturday, and it was an incredibly positive event. Correct me if I’m wrong, but this is the only occasion on the CFL calendar where ALL of the league’s football operations people gather in one place. The Draft continues to be conducted remotely and coaches never go to Grey Cup if their team isn’t in it. So, the Combine is it. And it was evident by the ear-to-ear smiles from everyone in attendance this weekend; they’re happy to be back on a football field.

2 – EVALUATIONS: Who’s ahead of whom? Don’t ask me. I’ve got no business providing player evaluations, anymore than a CFL coach or scout should be writing a column or appearing live on TV for two hours daily. All I can say is there was a high degree of talent and the drills were efficient. The Combine is vital for CFL teams to evaluate players, because they’ve brought the best from coast-to-coast to go head-to-head. That’s where the cream rises and you see the results on Draft Day (May 2, 2023).

However I had to chuckle at how the players have changed over the decades which I’ve been covering the CFL. On Saturday players were smiling and posing for my camera (check out The Rod Pedersen Show’s social media accounts) and that would’ve been a strict no-no back in the day. Back then they wouldn’t have even noticed the media, or tried not to. But no … HipHop music was blaring over the speakers at the Fieldhouse on Saturday and the players & coaches were getting their groove on. These are different times.

3 – NOW WHAT: This positivity needs to be converted to the fans, and monetized. The CFL hasn’t held a Mark’s CFL Week since 2018 in Winnipeg, which came off the heels of the wildly successful inaugural event in Regina in 2017. CFL Week, I believe, was the brainchild of then-Commissioner Jeffrey P. Orridge and it was nothing short of fantastic. However it died – let’s blame Covid – and I have heard no rumblings of it being brought back.

But it has to be. I had very limited chats with league office personnel on Saturday but we did discuss things like the lack of a livestream, and limited fan attendance for this year’s Combine. There’s significant challenges at the moment and I’m not in their shoes so I’m not comfortable criticizing. But Mark’s CFL Week needs to return in 2024. My vote is for CALGARY.

I swear they could hold the drills in the Grey Eagle Event Centre here at the casino resort.

4 – STARS SHINING: Consider this quote from a longtime CFL person – “You know, you look around and think ‘That’s just Geroy’, or ‘That’s just Orlondo’ but you forget that these are legitimate sports stars. Sometimes I think we take these guys for granted.”

Ding, ding, ding! Tell him what he’s won Bob!!! 

Canadian sports fans may or may not connect with current CFL players but they dang sure know Dave Dickenson, Chris Jones, Geroy Simon, Mike O’Shea, Ryan Dinwiddie, Craig Dickenson, Jason Maas and all of those types who graced Edmonton with their presence this week.

How do you cash in on that? Get em in front of the media with the sports talk shows on all the TV & radio networks and whatever’s left of the newspaper industry. It’s FREE!

It just takes a little work, creativity and working together. Is this even possible anymore?

5 – DOWN THE STRETCH: This is it. Hammer time. Where the rubber meets the road. After the marathon that is the regular season, the 2022-23 National Hockey League campaign has reached its final 10 games (thereabouts) and almost nothing has been decided. No one has clinched a playoff berth in the Western Conference yet (the Bruins, Hurricanes and Devils have in the East) and it’s put up or shut-up time. A Flames home win over San Jose on Saturday coupled with a Jets loss at LA left Calgary four points back of Winnipeg for the final spot. And seven points back of Seattle. (You’re smart. You can see the standings).

You should see what the hockey people are saying …

6 – PRESS BOX ROW: I get tingles thinking about the conversations with hockey people that I’ve had this week. THESE guys know what’s going on. Sorry to say, but the media really does not. Or maybe they can’t say. The Jets picked a real great time for the dressing room issues – the ones which caused Paul Maurice to fall on his sword – to rear their ugly head. The hockey guys say Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff tried to move Mark Scheifele and Blake Wheeler last summer but the word is out. No one wants them. So here they are ..

As for Calgary, no one knows where this season went south but the Flames have eight games left to pull their weiners out of the campfire. How do you blame Darryl Sutter for Jonathan Huberdeau being a no-show? Or Nazem Kadri petering out? Or the defence folding? Or for Jacob Markstrom losing his confidence? Other than to say that the head coach is responsible for all of it, which is also possible. 

There’s a major campaign in the media to get rid of Sutter but wouldn’t it be something if Calgary pulls this out?

The buzz is overwhelming and I’ve heard it all. Some say both Flames GM Brad Treliving and Sutter will be gone, to be replaced by Craig Conroy and Mitch Love. Oh wait … I’ve also heard Darryl will takeover as GM and replace himself on the bench with Love. Or the Flames will make the playoffs and everyone will be back! Wild.

As for the Edmonton Oilers, all the hockey guys are big fans of Dave Tippett but he’s cooling his heels in Scottsdale, AZ and said “I’m done” after being fired in Edmonton mid-season last year.

No one knows why it didn’t work in Edmonton for Tipp, but it sure has for Jay Woodcroft. Sometimes it just doesn’t click.

Good for Jay, they say.

7 – BEDARD: Oh … and everyone has a thought on The Next One. One scout told me he was leaving Calgary bright and early the next day to drive to Regina. I asked if he was going to watch The Holy Child and he replied, “Why bother? We’ll never have a shot at drafting him.” Oh yeah, right!

In an intermission confab during Thursday’s Golden Knights/Flames game, the scouts observed that it’ll likely be a long time before Bedard reaches superstar status in the NHL. He’s going to be going to a junk team no matter what and as one guy put it, “It took the Oilers a real long time to figure out what to do with McDavid and Draisaitl. Don’t forget they were bad for quite awhile till the last couple of years.” Columbus is doing a real nice job of tanking and you’d think it would help Bedard immeasurably to play on a line with Johnny Gaudreau and Patrik Laine. But will the team be any good? Will fans be willing to be patient? Time will tell.

Bedard’s Pats will face the Saskatoon Blades in Round 1 of the WHL Playoffs on Access TV. How many games are left in Bedard’s junior career? Can the Pats pull off an upset? I think they can.

8 – THEO: As usual, reaction was swift and horrible things were said about Theoren Fleury’s controversial appearance on The RP Show this week live at Grey Eagle Resort & Casino. To be honest, the hockey star-turned-politico tried to steer our conversation on Wednesday towards politics but I kept it on the sports road. Fleury’s comments on Connor Bedard and his own exclusion from the Hockey Hall of Fame drew over 40,000 views on Twitter alone. Don’t blame me; point the finger at the sponsors who want clicks and eyeballs before they write a cheque! That’s the name of the game now folks.

As for politics, I’m not really following anything of what anyone says in the news or on Twitter. I have my own views and wonder how anyone in the West could support any politician who’s anti-Oil & Gas or anti-Agriculture (carbon tax) but I just don’t have the energy to fight over it.

As for Theo’s analysis of hockey, it’s not much different than what the scouts are saying. The vitriol and blowback is coming from people who don’t know anything about the game, and that’s why he’s not bothered by it in the least. Nor am I.

9 – JOIN ME IN MOOSE JAW: On Tuesday I’ll be giving my Mental Health presentation at Farm Credit Canada’s FREE seminar for farmers & producers. If you’d like to attend, please fill out this registration form and we’ll see you at the home of the Warriors this week! — https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/level-up-your-operation-registration-534680241997

10 – RANDOM THOUGHTS: If you’re going to wait two days before sending the media your postgame summary as a team, don’t bother. … They like to say sports are a “results-based” business. As my friend Mike L. says, “All businesses are”. That keeps echoing in my head. … I hope Patrick Kane doesn’t catch Mike Modano to become the highest-scoring American NHLer of all time. However he’s only 144 points behind. … One legacy of Gary Drummond’s ownership of the Coyotes; they changed their name from the Phoenix Coyotes to Arizona Coyotes. … Colour me not shocked to learn minority Coyotes owner Andrew Barroway was arrested in Colorado this week. The story is here. I spent enough time around the franchise a few years ago to see this coming. … Anyone who takes a swipe at the WHL or Moose Jaw Warriors for not divulging the details of the team suspensions is simply grumbling over sour grapes that they don’t know what happened. ‘Nuff said. … Personally I don’t think they ever should’ve taken down the phrase “City Of Champions” from the Welcome To Edmonton sign. You can’t ever take those championships away, nor should you. … They say an apple a day keeps the doctor away however I’ve heard if you throw any type of fruit at them hard enough, they’ll stay away. … AND HOW WAS YOUR WEEK?!

Y’er welcome,
RP
@rodpedersen