WEDNESDAY COMMENTARY – RANDOMS

(Listen daily for the Rod Pedersen Commentary on Cat Country 98, Rock 98.5 FM & LTD)

On this hump day there are just so many things rattling through my mind that I couldn’t narrow them down to just one. So here they all are for your listening pleasure:

#1 – They say the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs is always the best and 2023 has been no different. And what’s gone on over the last week is a great advertisement for parity; there have been no sweeps.

#2 – Ratings are always going to be high in Canada but they seem to be catching on in the U.S. too. The NHL announced Tuesday that TV ratings are up 22% from last year on their networks.

#3 – The case of Minnesota Wild forward Marcus Foligno in these playoffs should serve notice to all hockey players, and athletes in all sports. He called out the refs on the weekend for calls he felt were “B.S.”. Last night in Game 5, Foligno got a five-and-a-game.

I’ve known many refs over the years and they’ve all said bitching at them and calling them out isn’t going to make them go easy on you. Quite the opposite.

#4 – When the Edmonton Oilers play like they can, they are a legitimate Stanley Cup team. They were on Tuesday, putting their foot on the throat of the L.A. Kings with a 6-3 win, to go up 3-2 in the series.

#5 – There is generally an upset in Round 1, it’s looking like it could be Seattle over Colorado. The series is 2-2 with Game 5 tonight and the Avalanche will be missing the suspended Cale Makar; the best defenceman in the game.

And #6 – At long last they announced plans for a brand new arena for the City of Calgary on Tuesday with a pricetag around $800-million. At the conference I’m at at Red Deer, a guy leaned over and said, “Are they going to do it this time?”

I answered, “Yeah, I think so.”

For a team that could use some good news, this would be it. But I don’t think the Flames are done making the news just yet.

That’s today’s Rod Pedersen Commentary

(The Rod Pedersen Show airs daily at 12 pm ET on Game+ TV, WQEE & Streaming)