10 WEEKEND THINGS
1 – STRIKE: It’s unfortunate the top news item of the week in the CFL was of the league’s stars threatening to strike if a new CBA isn’t signed by May 16. It’s unfortunate because this is bad publicity the league can ill-afford. In the end, the owners will get their way and the simple fact is revenues are NOT up. In fact attendance is down from the last time the CFL went through this (2014). The CFL has never seen a work stoppage in its 108 years and there won’t be one this summer. All it’s going to take is for the players to accept it, and cave like they always do.
2 – TRADE-OFF: The Toronto Argonauts will have two Canadian QBs in camp in Brandon Bridge and Noah Picton. An interesting trade-off in the Canadian starter ratio reduction debate (7-to-5) would be if Canadian QBs began counting towards the ratio in the new CBA. Would you take that deal?
3 – THE CARETAKER: It’s been ages since we’ve heard from Hamilton Tiger-Cats owner Bob Young but he took to Twitter this week to wade into the labour talks. A Ticats season ticket holder went after Young regarding the owners ‘starving’ the players by denying their off-season bonuses. Young replied, “Negotiations are never easy. And you are only getting one side of the story. Commish Randy Ambrosie has too much respect for the players and the process to comment publicly”. I believe that to be true. Randy is a smart, and good, person. But he works for the owners. End of story.
4 – CFL 2.0: People mock what they don’t understand and at times over the past few months, that’s included me. I was skeptical of the CFL’s European movement but my football contact across the pond says people are talking about the CFL over there like they never have before. There’s a buzz. He also says the top five picks in last week’s European draft will stand a good chance to crack CFL rosters and that includes Rider draftee Max Zimmermann. My guy says Zimmerman could make the team as a solid special-teamer. That’ll get Europeans tuned into CFL games on TV. And why would European players choose the CFL over the NFL? My guy says there’s a better chance to actually play in Canada and the NFL spots pay peanuts anyway. All CFL 2.0 needs is a salesman.
5 – J.R.: The Jon Ryan story has gone cold and, frankly, I don’t understand it. Jon’s a very big name in football and he’s worked out the past two weeks at free agent camps for Saskatchewan and Toronto. However no photos have surfaced, nor interviews or evaluations. Why? The story will pick up again and hopefully it ends with him signing in Saskatchewan but for some reason the league doesn’t want the positive publicity. I don’t get it. The league that doesn’t want coverage.
6 – FEEL THE RUSH: The Saskatchewan Rush has the opportunity to takeover the headlines in the weeks and months ahead. The reigning NLL champs are on the verge of clinching 1st place in their conference and heading down the road of defending their title. I’ve been all over this province the past few months and have bumped into Rush season ticket holders in every corner of the 306. THIS franchise is excellence from top to bottom. If you’ve never been to a Rush game (and I’m still shocked at how many Saskies haven’t), join me at the last regular season home game on Saturday, April 27 against the Colorado Mammoth. It’s SuperHeroes Night to boot!
7 – BOOM!: How many Stanley Cup Playoff drafts have gone in the dumpster? Obviously, mine did with Tampa Bay doing a faceplant. However – with all due apologies to blogger Brendan McGuire – these playoffs have been anything BUT boring. Predictability breeds boredom and the NHL has been just the opposite this spring. And for anyone who doesn’t like the fighting and has picked up the crusade to ban it altogether, you need to stop talking. The game would be far dirtier and far more dangerous if fighting was eliminated. If you don’t understand that, ask someone who knows.
8 – S-JAY: Clearly I’ve been having the time of my life following the Canalta Cup and broadcasting the SJHL championship series on MaxTV at the gracious invitation of the SJHL’s Logan Fraser and Bill Chow. I got hit in the head by a puck in Melfort and got to pull the train horn in NB. Awesome!
9 – P.A.: A trip to the conference finals and their best regular season ever has made the Raiders relevant again in Prince Albert after a 20-year slumber. With a capacity of a paltry 3280, the Art Hauser Centre has been bursting at the seams all winter and now there are calls for a new arena. Funny, when I mentioned that on the mic at a fundraising breakfast in June in P.A., I was met with eye-rolls and a scoff? Of course it’s time for a new arena in PA! There are better facilities all across the S-Jay including Melfort, Melville, Estevan, etc. All it took to start the conversation was a winning team.
Speaking of, I got scores of messages from viewers watching the Canalta Cup wondering why there are so many empty seats in the Northern Lights Palace and North Battleford Civic Centre in this series? I asked around and got the usual justifications. The chief one was, “money’s tight these days”. Sorry, but IT’S 15 DOLLARS! People need to get off their asses in this province, open their wallets and stimulate the economy.
10 – RANDOM THOUGHTS: Will the world implode if you back-up while going through the carwash blowdryer? It seems they would have you think that. … A junior hockey team in BC is instituting a No Cannabis policy in its standard player contracts this upcoming season. That should be interesting. … If the Winnipeg Jets crap the bed here, how much more heartache can Winnipeggers take? … Apologies to L.A. Kings coach Todd McLellan if I ever intimated he was part of the problem with the Edmonton Oilers. Clearly he is not. The more immersed in the hockey world I get, the more I realize what an absolute disaster that franchise is. WOW! … Everywhere I go, people are asking ‘How was Brock Lesnar?’ After spending an evening with him in Assiniboia, I can reiterate: don’t judge a book by its cover. He’s a really solid, down-to-earth dude who just happens to be one of the toughest bastards on the planet. … The junior players have gotten me into downloading the podcast Spittin’ Chiclets. I like it. It’s got me feeling optimistic about the podcast I plan to launch in May. Watch for it!
Y’er welcome,
RP
@rodpedersen
