10 WEEKEND THINGS FROM LAS VEGAS

1 – SIN CITY: Welcome to fabulous Las Vegas, NV, home to the NHL’s Golden Knights and now the NFL’s Raiders. The Knights were gracious enough to extend an invitation to “come hang out” and I brought my brother. We’re having a ball and it’s our first trip together in over 30 years. Our family’s taken some hellacious knocks the past couple years but if it’s made one thing clear, it’s that family is the cornerstone of life. It’s too bad it took some tough times to remind us of that, but here we are.

2 – KNIGHT TIME: The story of how the Golden Knights turned Las Vegas into a hockey town in a few short years will make for a helluva book (or ESPN 30 for 30 documentary).  Phoenix hasn’t been able to do it in 24 years. From the outside it looks like the Knights did it with a wave of a wand, but I know it takes a boatload of hard work and teamwork to pull it off. However it’s sad that there’s a lot of resentment in the NHL towards the Golden Knights because their early success made a lot of other teams look bad. But why should they be punished for their own excellence? That’s a line of thinking I don’t understand, and I hope I never do. Run your own race. That’s why racehorses have blinders on.

3 – LA$ VEGA$: The lady sitting behind us at Thursday’s Golden Knights/Blues game has three season tickets at $7,000 each. Yes … you read that right. As my brother said, “She looked like she didn’t have enough sense to come in out of the rain, but she must have some money somewhere”. At $160 per seat, that’s not anymore than your average Vegas show. And the Knights put on such a jaw-dropping game night presentation that it makes most other NHL venues look boring. You want The Show? You’ve gotta pay for it. These days pro sports fans need to get used to their favourite team having their hand in their pocket at all times. Conversely, my 4 Pats season tickets, 2 Rider season tickets and 2 Rush season tickets all add up to a whopping $4,100 CDN. In my mind, that’s a huge bargain. (But I’m still not buying Grey Cup tickets). Why do I buy the tickets? So I don’t have to owe them anything.

4 – BACK HOME: Even at the Golden Knights practice facility where we saw Marc-Andre Fleury stop 1,000 practice shots on Friday, I got asked about the Roughriders’ free agent season. The query came from a Rider fan from Lethbridge. It seems the efforts of GM Jeremy O’Day are getting the thumbs-down by a lot of corners of the Rider Nation, but that notion makes me chuckle. A lot of Rider observers last year at this time (including me) thought the Riders struckout in free agency yet exactly the opposite turned out to be true. Meanwhile the Edmonton Eskimos and B.C. Lions were declared February champs and didn’t even make the playoffs in their own division.

5 – PRESSURE: The intense glare on O’Day’s everyday goings-on only underscores the pressure on Canada’s Team in 2020, the year in which they’re hosting the Grey Cup. O’Day seemed annoyed at his news conference last week saying he “doesn’t understand the question” about facing more pressure this season than any other. RP Show panelist Nik Lewis feels O’Day was just being politically correct with his answer. I don’t. The heat is hot and this fanbase never, ever lets the Riders get comfortable. Meanwhile I’ve been told their WILL be firings if a Grey Cup isn’t delivered in 2020. Six seasons without a Grey Cup berth is unacceptable to the forefathers, especially after what we enjoyed in the Decade of Decadence. This is fascinating to watch.

6 – A CLOSER LOOK: I can’t go along with the negative nellies. The Riders locked up all who they wanted to (Cam Judge, Shaq Evans, Solomon Elimimian, Charleston Hughes, Ed Gainey, Loucheiz Purifoy, Nick Marshall, Jon Ryan, et al), now boast the best receiver group in the CFL, and got QB James Franklin at a 50% off bargain. Introducing a quality, character person like Franklin to compliment franchise face Cody Fajardo seems like a huge win to me. Micah Johnson balking at a payout is not the end of the world, although I don’t agree with the notion that stud D-tackles are easy to find. Whatever. It’s way too early to declare any winners and losers.

7 – LEFTOVERS: No matter how you slice it, this 2020 CFL Free Agency period has been been a thrill-a-minute. Normally names like Derek Dennis, Derel Walker and maybe even Naaman Roosevelt would be classified as Phase 1 free agents, but they remain unsigned five days in. What’s the deal? Are the dollars already committed? Did these guys price themselves out of existence? I don’t recall this happening before. And this is why we love sports; the unpredictability.

8 – KASSIAN SHMASSIAN: The punishment fits the crime. A 7-game suspension for Oilers forward Matt Kassian for kicking an opposing player with his skate blade is appropriate and people should now move on. Sometimes volatile people just snap, have no explanation, and have to pay for it. Time served. (Smacks the gavel). … Meanwhile the story of Jay Bouwmeester is far more grave. Reports suggest the Blues defenseman is legally cleared to play with a cardiac device after suffering a heart issue this week but he’d be silly to continue. He’s made millions and won a Stanley Cup. This is what we call a God Shot. Thanks for your service Bow, it’s time.

9 – ASTROS SCANDAL: Not surprisingly, this is all the talk on the sports networks down here. The Houston Astros (some of them anyway) expressed remorse this week over being caught cheating their way to the 2017 World Series title with the sign-stealing scandal. But it says here until, or unless, MLB strips the Astros of that title and awards it to the L.A. Dodgers, then they’re really NOT serious about punishment. Not serious at all. How would this be handled in the Olympics? You’re getting a close-up look at the grotesque-ness of pro sport. Win at all costs, and apologies are nothing but lip service.

10 – RANDOM THOUGHTS: To say I’m enjoying life right now would be a massive understatement. It’s beautiful how things have worked out. … The Law Enforcement Torch Run Polar Plunge for Special Olympics Saskatchewan is on Monday but I’m still light on the modest fundraising goal of $2000! If we don’t hit it, I’m afraid I can’t participate in this noble charity (and dive into sub-zero, ice waters at Victoria Square Mall). Please have a heart and donate a few sheckles here: https://secure.e2rm.com/registrant/FundraisingPage.aspx?registrationID=4635591&langPref=en-CA&Referrer=%26Referrer%3dhttps%253a%252f%252fsecure.e2rm.com%252fregistrant%252fCheckResults.aspx%253feventid%253d298796%2526langpref%253den-CA%2526RegistrationID%253d4635591. Thank you! … To clarify, Las Vegas is not “The city that never sleeps”. New York is. Sinatra sang about it. Take a walk down both the Las Vegas Strip and Broadway at 6:00 AM and you’ll realize the difference. … Will the Las Vegas Raiders pose a problem for the Vegas Golden Knights? Everybody wonders but nobody knows. The Knights are doing the right thing by welcoming the Raiders with open arms, even recognizing head coach Jon Gruden, owner Mark Davis and franchise icon Marcus Allen at Thursday’s game. … Knights GM Kelly McCrimmon asked what I thought of their game night atmosphere. Frankly, I didn’t know where to look because hundreds of things were going on all over the place at once. (I’ve never before seen dancing girls welcome you into an arena, marriage proposals on the big screen, a pregame centre ice sword fight, unicorns and fairies. You name it). … Saturday night I’ll be more prepared for the chaos, but the opponents are Jordan Eberle and the New York Islanders. It’ll be difficult not to cheer for my all-time favourite Regina Pat but as we’ve seen, I can be bought!

Y’er welcome,
RP
@rodpedersen