10 WEEKEND THINGS FOR CAPITAL AUTO MALL

1 – DAY WHATEVER: If you’re keeping track it’s Day 18 without sports, with frankly no end in sight. From a sports perspective it just feels like one long, uninteresting off-season (with no games to gear up for). You don’t see as many people cracking jokes anymore, and the worldwide “pause” is getting to lots of people. Hang in there!

2 – DON’T FORGET: The keys to surviving the pandemic haven’t changed: 1) Self-assess, 2) Follow direction, 3) Stick to your routine, 4) Reach out to others (i.e. Isolate physically but don’t isolate emotionally). Being bored is a really lousy reason for being crabby, getting into trouble, or abusing substances. Regarding your resources, I’ve always favoured the line “If you’re happy with what you have, you’ll always have enough”. 

3 – PLAYERS REACTION: Because of social media, sports figures haven’t really needed the mainstream media for quite some time. They can give their thoughts and release their news right from their own Twitter, Instagram or Facebook pages. (Tiger Woods, Tom Brady and Dana White have been doing this for years).  So it’s been fun to sit back and watch the players’ reaction to the pandemic from their homes. For instance, mercurial NY Jets running back Le’Veon Bell Tweeted: “This quarantine thing all feels like one longggggg day … or am I trippin’? lol”. CFL QBs have kept busy with the Foot Bounce Challenge (thanks to Ottawa’s Nick Arbuckle for inviting me to play). Live hits on some players’ Instagram pages routinely draw thousands of viewers. Meanwhile a lot of the players have taken to Twitter to announce their charitable efforts during the crisis. It’s amazing.

4 – NEWS CYCLE: When this is over, obviously, the world’s not going to be the same. That’s particularly true for the media and I suspect once the lockdown lifts, the media industry – as we’ve known it – will be unrecognizable. (One Sportsnet veteran reminded me how the network laid off a wave of employees during the 2005 NHL lockout, then only hired a fraction of them back). There’s also been a massive shift to digital media (any media transmitted over the internet), and the longer the crisis goes, the more people are turning to their smartphones, devices, etc. Every broadcaster is worldwide now but – just like blogs 15 years ago – only the strongest will survive.

5 – STALLIONS: Can’t lie. Being housebound hasn’t bothered me one bit. I can read, and read, and read all day whether it’s magazines, books, Twitter or the newswire. So I was particularly grateful that McFarland Books in the USA shipped me Ron Snyder’s prized work The Baltimore Stallions, The Brief, Brilliant History this week. I’m halfway done and can’t put it down. Did you know the Stallions (in the CFL in 1994 and 1995) cut future NY Jets great Wayne Chrebet? Or that they had future Pro Bowl WR Joe Horn on their practice roster, but never put him in a game? Did you know Baltimore is called the “Charm City”? Do you know the link between Donald Trump and Baltimore pro football? This book is fascinating, and I haven’t even gotten to the good stuff yet. You can order yours at www.mcfarlandbooks.com.

6 – OLD SCHOOL: One of the great things about books is they can transport you to another time. In the case of Syder’s book, it takes me back to being the sideline reporter for Roughriders radio broadcasts beginning in 1991. (I was 18 at the time). It was an absolute gift for this farmkid to be around all of these legendary pro football figures, and even interview them! What I remember the most about that period was how hard my mentors Willy Cole and Geoff Currier were on me, molding me into the broadcaster I am today. I try to do the same with young broadcasters now but get told I’m too hard on them.

7 – CFL DRAFT: It sounds like it’ll go ahead on April 30, pandemic or not. The NFL’s doing the same on April 23-25. I guess you could say the CFL’s been ahead of its time, conducting the draft remotely for 25-plus years. We all know who will be the #1 pick in the NFL Draft — LSU’s Joe Burrows (whose Dad played for the Montreal Alouettes). Meanwhile the #1 pick in the CFL Draft will be __________.

8 – THE NEXT CONNOR: Have the Regina Pats stopped thanking the hockey gods yet? They can be forgiven if they haven’t. Winning Wednesday’s WHL Draft Lottery, giving them the right to select Exceptional Player Connor Bedard on April 22, has made the Regina Pats “the thing to do” for at least the next three years. The cool term for it is FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out).  On the other hand, I feel somewhat sorry for the kid. I saw firsthand the hysteria which followed Jordan Eberle across this country when he was just a teen. Even around here, fans wouldn’t leave a star named Weston Dressler alone. Darian Durant couldn’t leave his house. Connor Bedard is 14, and his childhood is now gone. What were you doing at 14? Not this, I’m sure. In life, in order to get something, you have to give something up. Connor Bedard has already given up a lot.

9 – REPLAYS: If I’m watching TV these days, it’s ESPN’s live programming or Netflix (Tiger King, Mad Men, Ozark & Queen Of The South at the moment). But the replays of old games on the Canadian sports networks have been a wonderful trip back in time occasionally too. Thoughts: 1) Clark Gillies was an absolute animal. A veritable caged lion for the NY Islanders. And 2) The early 1990’s Blue Jays were one of the most special treasures we have in our lifetime. And when I’ve had the good fortune to meet and spend time with Roberto Alomar, Devon White, Cito Gaston, etc. years later, they did not disappoint. First class gentlemen!

10 – RANDOM THOUGHTS: Freezer burnt Pizza Pops. Mmmmm good. … Not … Dallas Stars President Jim Lites and GM Jim Nill have taken 50% paycuts so that their staff will continue to be paid. That’s the Dallas Stars I know. … Yorkton Terriers star Chantz Petruic has signed with the Carleton Ravens of U-Sports. … Watching NFL replays and hearing John Madden’s colour commentary reminds of George Jones’ song “Who’s Gonna Fill Their Shoes?“. Tony Romo, Booger McFarland and Cris Collinsworth are flimsy imitations. Sorry. … The 2021 XFL season does not seem to be in peril. Players and staff are very open about their plans for next season. What a relief. … Regarding the XFL, Hall of Famer-in waiting Jim Popp said on Friday’s RP Show “For anybody who works in football, the more football the better. There weren’t enough jobs to go around before”. If only everyone had the same outlook on life as one Jim Popp. … If you’re poor, how do you play minor hockey? … Many Sask people have thoughts on Humboldt Broncos player Ryan Straschnitzki’s legal action against some of those involved in the April 6/2018 crash. My suggestion: If it doesn’t involve you nor impact your life, move on. This is an uncomfortable situation and it’s their business, not anyone else’s.

Y’er welcome,
RP
@rodpedersen