20 WEEKEND RANDOM THOUGHTS
Here we go …
1 – Sunday marks, I believe, 45 days since the pandemic came on everyone’s radar and the world stopped spinning. Have we asked for a second opinion? Of course I realize the gravity of the situation and am incredibly grateful to be in a place that’s safe. But holy smokes, how much longer can this go on …
2 – Grocery store workers told me this week of a fistfight between two men over “social distancing”. Across town, a gas station clerk informed me, “They’re getting worse”. Folks, we’re not going to be able to come out and play until we’ve learned our lesson. Be kind, stay home, and be good to each other. Till that happens, the timeout continues.
3 – The words keep ringing in my ears of 22-year old Edmonton Oilers defenceman Ethan Bear from our interview which aired Saturday night. I asked him how he approaches being a role model for First Nations youth: “I just try to teach kids to work hard,” the Ochapace product said. “Be a good person and follow the rules.” It seems everyone could take that advice right now!
4 – The word I’m getting out of Halifax is that those associated with the Atlantic Schooners didn’t see the Anthony Leblanc news coming. On Monday the Schooners frontman left the franchise for a business role with the Ottawa Senators. Getting the Schooners off the ground will be a 24/7 job and if Regina’s Gary Drummond (franchise co-owner) is up for that, God bless him.
5 – Still scratching my head why they can’t award the CFL’s 10th franchise to Moncton, NB, and play out of beautiful Croix-Bleue Medavie Stadium on the University of Moncton campus. The facility is expandable to 22,000. So far we’ve got a whole lot of “why things won’t work” rather than why they will. Yet the CFL needs this as bad as they’ve ever needed anything.
6 – The 2020 CFL Draft goes Thursday but, like usual, there isn’t much fanfare because people don’t know the prospects. Canadian football fans cry afoul that U-Sports football games aren’t made readily available on TV from coast-to-coast. However if you notice, eight of the Top 10 CFL Draft Prospects play in the NCAA. Perhaps we should be directing these fans’ attention to their TV sets on Saturday afternoons. Notre Dame, Oklahoma, etc. games aren’t that hard to find.
By the way, few Americans know who the NFL prospects are past the top 10 yet they tune in in droves anyway. It’s about the show, promotion, and getting the big names of your game together (even remotely) so fans can see their faces after a long off-season.
I’m not wrong. A common refrain from the national media regarding TSN’s CFL coverage is, “If it was the NHL they would”.
7 – A shiver went down my spine this week when speaking to editors at The Athletic Canada about why they don’t feature more CFL coverage on their subscription website. “We haven’t found an audience so far,” I was told. “It doesn’t work out East.” If that doesn’t scare the bejeezus out of anyone who loves the CFL, I don’t know what will.
8 – Here’s what the signing of Exceptional Player Connor Bedard has done for the Regina Pats: There’s been a run on season tickets, BEDARD 98 merchandise is flying off the shelves, and people I haven’t seen at Pats games in years are texting me and commenting on social media about the club. Mark my words; this is Justin Bieber on skates. One popular question is whether current Head Coach Dave Struch is the right guy to handle this kid’s development since the Pats haven’t made the playoffs since Struch took over in 2018. However look at the other side of the coin; Struch finally has some talent to work with and this is HIS time to shine. Great times are ahead.
9 – It’s a fascinating debate that few care about other than me, however the departure of Tom Brady from New England and the meteoric ESPN/Netflix documentary The Last Dance on the 1990 Bulls have stirred up an age-old question: Do players win championships or do organizations win championships? Bulls GM Jerry Kraus and Patriots boss Bill Belichick clearly believe organizations do, while players feel otherwise. You can throw Peter Pocklington in there too. The proof? Chicago’s NBA team has been irrelevant since Michael Jordan and Phil Jackson left – the Oilers basically too without Gretzky – and we are about to see who’s right in the NFL; Belichick or Brady. You fans are also seeing how in pro sports there are two sides: Owners & GMs on one, and Coaches & Players on the other. I’ve switched sides with whom I support and associate with.
10 – Last night I dreamt I was the emergency starting goalie for the NLL’s Saskatchewan Rush, replacing a sick Evan Kirk. I woke up before the game started, thank God. I went back to sleep and dreamt I was hosting a show called The NLL This Week live from the Blarney Stone with co-host Matthew Barnaby! (How could you possibly make that up?) I’ve gotta stop eating pizza before I go to bed.
11 – We’ve seen all the lists over this 45-day break: Who’s the NHL’s best ever goalie? The NBA’s best ever player? Name a song that starts with the Letter B? Who’d you rather get quarantined with? Frankly I’m getting tired of them, but I’ll still play along. The question I’d like to know is: What’s the worst sports movie you’ve ever seen? I’m going with a tie between Goon and Men With Brooms.
12 – Happy birthday this weekend to former Roughrider receiver Lloyd “Rocky” Henry, who also played for the Lions, Blue Bombers and XFL. He turned 45 on Saturday. My Rocky story comes from September 11, 2001. His uncle was a security guard in one of the World Trade Center buildings and Rocky was frantically running around Taylor Field that day trying to find a phone to call New York and check on his uncle. Fortunately, his uncle made it out of the building on time.
13 – You don’t realize how much you hang out in coffee shops until you can’t go to them. I’m sure bar-goers feel the same way.
14 – Five of my past jobs: Farmhand, Cowpuncher, Telemarketer, Broadcaster, Pizza Delivery Boy.
15 – I’m shocked Sportsnet aired a string of this year’s Battle of Alberta games on a Saturday night during “the break”. Clearly I have no problem with it, but I thought the NHL preferred not to glorify fighting? Apparently Sportsnet has no problem with it. It was awesome.
16 – We were told this winter that ONE team was over the CFL salary cap in 2019. Does anyone want to tell us who it was? I’m guessing the Montreal Alouettes, since their GM walked the plank for it mid-season.
17 – WHL Commissioner Ron Robison told the RP Show this week that they plan to begin the 2020-21 season on schedule. For that, he faced a barrage of criticism on Twitter. It seems anyone who wants to be positive at the moment faces the firing squad.
18 – “Hi this is Abbotsford’s Chase Claypool of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Get your B.C. Lions season tickets and join me at B.C. Place this summer for exciting CFL football!”
19 – We’ve really gotten into the Netflix series, The Ranch starring Ashton Kutcher and Sam Elliott. I swear it’s based on the events which occur daily in my hometown of Milestone, SK. It’s based in tiny Garrison, Colorado (population 510) and is about a former pro football player who returns home to help his Dad run the ranch. Hilarity ensues!
20 – You’ve got to hand it to the SJHL marketing department. They thought they’d try something crazy with the PS4 playoff computer simulation and it’s been a HUGE hit! Derek Meyers and Darren Dupont were the original announcers on Night #1 and the only criticism from fans was that they wanted the real SJHL announcers for authenticity. That tweak has been made. The project could’ve fallen on its face, they’ve faced heaps of scorn as it is, but they soon garnered national attention from CBC and Hockey Night In Canada (who called it the hottest hockey ticket in the country). In today’s world everyone’s afraid to try something new in case it fails and they get ridiculed. Not the SJHL. They put ’em on the table and won.
Y’er welcome,
RP
@rodpedersen
“why things won’t work” rather than why they will. That’s a great point about Moncton.
I love CFL draft coverage just wish TSN would market it better
Good morning, 1) Second opinions – Society is odd; we have people that will swear up and down there is no Climate Change. We have people who will go see 3 or 4 Doctors when they get a reading back for high cholesterol to prove a conspiracy someone is against them being able to eat cheese. Covid-19 a.k.a “the flu” happens and the planet falls into line. This was a social re engineering hoax because you can’t have a one world order without minions. I would recommend how a Pimp mentally and emotionally overpowers a “Ho” and that’s what you… Read more »
What a polluted mind, this clown Jerry just ruined a very pleasant Sunday morning read of 20 WEEKEND RANDOM THOUGHTS by Rod Pedersen. This clown with personal recommendation in the second paragraph amongst his other opinions … very disturbing to say the least. There’s no room for his kind of garbage nor should it be tolerated. Have a pleasant day.
Ray, Let me help you and this will make your day and mental state go better. I understand since 2007 my commentary on this blog can be bizarre and get a reaction. At the time it was fun. No so much now and it’s more or less about “opinion”, and we all have our view points. If you are a wrestling fan there is term Kayfabe. This is the portrayal of staged events within the industry as “real” or “true”, specifically the portrayal of competition, rivalries, and relationships between participants as being genuine and not of a staged or predetermined… Read more »
I’m confused – you’re using the Leafs as an example of an organization that wins championships??
No no, the Leafs are a prime example why organizations matter. They are awful and I am a diehard. Al Strachan wrote a book titled Why The Leafs Suck. It was essentially impossible to argue it. Then you flip over and watch how teams like the Yankees, Patriots, Alabama etc., seemingly make it look easy to be consistent and win year after year.
You still on about the “flu”, Jerry? More 1st responders in New York have died from this “flu” than the 412 that died in 9/11. Medical staff don’t normally die treating the “flu”. Flu patients don’t normally end opened up on a table in the OR, or do they? Mothballing a whole string of businesses run by billionaires is a strange way of going about making money & friends in high places. Respectfully Jerry, investing in companies making surgical masks would be an obvious investment for ANYONE as would any number of companies. I look at the Costco lineups, check… Read more »
1. Medical staff consistently have the same message – stay the course. They’re dying out there & overworked. My sister-in-law works in a large hospital in Alberta in ICU. They have been quietly calling retired staff who’ve retired within the past 5 years. You don’t want to be in their shoes right now. Do your part. 2. As the weather warms up, it’s going to be hard to control people. 14. Aah, when you’re young. In my late teens, early 20’s I built furnaces, was an OR porter, postman, security guard & also worked at a car wash when I… Read more »
1) Spare me on the poor overworked Healthcare workers. They don’t like it they can quit. I worked in management in healthcare a very long time. Here is there game. They are “overworked” so call in sick…..they get their sick day at full pay then miraculously recover to take the call in shift their buddies gave up – that next day shift results in time and a half to double time pay – ergo that’s how you have $200K nurses and whatever else is patrolling those hallways. Stay the course – I’ll recall this time as never having more people… Read more »
Get help. Your tinfoil hat is showing.
Cowpuncher…really? I highly, highly doubt that (yes I’m very aware of the definition).
You really think I could put it on here if it wasn’t true?
We attended the first game in Moncton in 2010. At that time other then the Keg lounge there wasn’t a single sports bar in downtown Moncton. It became obvious quickly that even though they had Grey Cup type festivities going on they were very poorly attended. We left town right after the game cause it was very boring.
There’s more to Moncton than Main Street. Maybe Moncton’s not the one that’s boring?
Ouch! LOL
?? In retrospect, a better response from me would be that Regina’s never been known as the entertainment capital of the world yet it’s home to the CFL’s most-profitable team!
Virtially nothing happens in a Maritime community unless Liberal gov’ts throw in millions and millions of dollars… for generations… into the project. Martimers already vote Liberal almost all the time so why do it with this project? I love Maritimers… they have so much in common with Saskies but this is how it works down there.