10 WEEKEND THINGS

Taking shots …

1 – CB98: Quite a week for Connor Bedard. (There are some really sick people in this world). Already thee story of the NHL season, the 18-year old wunderkind scored again on Saturday at Winnipeg but his Chicago Blackhawks lost 3-1 to the Jets. Did you see the goal? The former Regina Pat is making All Star NHL goalies look very average, including his 85-mph snapshot which beat Connor Hellebuyck, to open the game’s scoring. Connor’s rookie 8-game road point streak is the 2nd-longest in NHL history behind Nathan MacKinnon.

“I thought he was excellent,” said Blackhawks coach Luke Richardson. “I thought the first two periods, especially, he had some really excellent bursts out there, which we have been talking about – just adding a little bit more speed to that talent and I think we saw that. He created some on his first goal just by skating.”

2 – SPITTIN’ CHICLETS: The media world is changing and it’s changing fast. A national network NHL analyst told me Saturday they were instructed not to talk about the Corey Perry situation, nor the associated *disgusting* rumour all of last week. That fed right into the hands of hockey’s #1 podcast – Spittin’ Chiclets – which devoted considerable time to hockey’s top story, while the TV & radio stations were forced to ignore it by their bosses. 

Sportsnet has 1.1-million followers on Instagram. Spittin’ Chiclets has 1.2-million. The younger generation now gets their news and analysis from social media so you tell me who’s got the hammer? Nobody planned this, but here we are. We’ll get into more numbers further down.

3 – DON’T LEAVE THE GAME!: There have been 28 third period comebacks in the NHL this season, and three games Saturday night saw the tying goal scored in the final 5:00. (Two actually came in the final minute, including Auston Matthews’ GTG for the Leafs) … Brad Marchand continues to be a Leaf-killer, scoring the game-winner for Boston Saturday night with eight seconds to go. … Nikita Zadorov asks for a trade out of Calgary, gets sent to Vancouver, then assists on the game-winning goal for the Canucks Saturday night, in a 4-3 win over the Flames. Because, of course he did. … The pundits seem startled by the Florida Panthers’ 14-8-2 start (despite their 4-3 home loss to the Islanders on Saturday). I am not, and had them predicted to be in second-place in the NHL’s Atlantic Division this season. But you have to have the ability to watch them every game, and unfortunately not everybody does. … I know hockey far, far better than football.

4 – SARINA: Our Cats ‘N Bolts Podcast focused on Florida NHL hockey is the #1 most-viewed show produced weekly at Podcast Junkeez Studio in downtown Boca Raton, FL. We’ve trucked a bevy of NHL alumni through there and this week’s in-studio guest will be former Blackhawks & Panthers GM Dale Tallon. … It’s been a little strange — everywhere I go people are asking if I brought my co-host Sarina with me, and people are writing into our social media channels asking her thoughts on NHL topics. That’s been .. *new* .. to me. But after a minute of contemplation, it’s a relief. I’m viewing it as a sort of “Elvis/Colonel Parker” relationship (look it up). She can be the star and I’ll handle the business. Again, it’s a relief. … By the way, I’ll put her hockey knowledge and analysis up against anybody’s; male or female. I handle tons of hate mail from viewers and she says not to show it to her. Imagine!

5 – A-MACE-ING: Can’t remember when a head coach hiring by the Saskatchewan Roughriders has come with so much hype and ballyhoo as this one with Corey Mace this week. And I’ve been around for ’em all since first covering the team in 1991. Let’s see, that’s Don Matthews, Ray Jauch, Jim Daley, Cal Murphy, Danny Barrett, Kent Austin, Ken Miller, Greg Marshall, Corey Chamblin, Chris Jones, Craig Dickenson, and now Mace. Hats off to the Riders for making an extremely big deal out of it, and allowing the fans to meet Mace on Saturday. The Rider Nation hasn’t had a lot to cheer about for some time, so this was nice to see. I’m with those in the wait-and-see crowd, but am happy to let the others enjoy the day.

6 – SELLING OUT: I’d guess the only hiring that rivals this for hype was Kent Austin in 2007, where Kent was introduced at a splashy news conference in a ballroom at the Hotel Saskatchewan. We carried it live on the radio, but it was Shelley Austin who wound up stealing the show. The topic came up of Kent’s bitter departure from Saskatchewan in 1993 – as a player – but Shelley grabbed the microphone and blurted “IT WAS ME!” That brought the house down, and all was forgotten.

In the ensuing season, the Roughriders soldout every single game – including preseason – with attendance of 28,800 at Taylor Field. I wonder if the Mace hiring will come with the same type of gate receipts.

7 – DICKENSON: In the long list of Roughriders coaches, Craig Dickenson will go down as one of them. Squeezing his face onto the Mt. Rushmore with Eagle Keys, John Gregory, Kent Austin and Corey Chamblin as Grey Cup champions would’ve been nice, but alas it wasn’t to be. The reasons why can be debated for years. However Dickenson leaves with a Conference Coach of the Year award from 2019 which serves as a testament to his abilities and Craig represented the franchise with the utmost class, daily. He is a stellar human being and, no, he doesn’t have any less passion for the game of football than his successor Corey Mace.

Dickie slinked out of town with a 34-34 career record. Initially the parting-of-ways stings but then you find your way elsewhere and life becomes beautiful again. Craig is currently skiing the mountains of Montana, decompressing, and contemplating his future. Financially he doesn’t need to work again, but he undoubtedly will and we look forward to seeing where that is.

Thanks for everything Craig. You’re a good one.

8 – THE BUZZ: 3DownNation czar Justin Dunk and I have different definitions of Fake News. His is “misleading or outright false” news while mine is simply “gossip dressed up as news”. In the end, I think he’s more correct but that doesn’t change the fact that gossip and “buzz” sells every bit as much as hardcore news and quotes. (Ask TMZ). So it just depends on who or what you want to believe. The *buzz* suggests that Corey Mace wasn’t Saskatchewan’s first choice to be Head Coach while the team staunchly denies. Who knows, and does it even matter? A source told me a week ago the Riders were going to hire Mace and I didn’t report it. Meanwhile a source with the Panthers told me a week ago that Florida was signing Patrick Kane. He ended up signing in Detroit. You need to be real careful with this stuff.

9 – NEW MEDIA: Over the weekend Yahoo Canada made the decision to shutdown its sports division, and chop a lot of jobs. That ends a 14-year run which began in 2009, just prior to the 2019 Vancouver-Whistler Olympics. Is it as simple as they were unable to find a way to make ends meet in the digital world? Is Yahoo Canada Sports the media version of Blockbuster or Kodak? Who knows, but you hate to see anyone lose their job. … On the flipside, we’ll soon be announcing from RP Show social media channels that everything is UP including 3-million-plus monthly impressions on Facebook and 1-million monthly impressions on X/Twitter. This week we’re getting TV ratings from Game+ and are anxiously awaiting those. … Our #1 region for viewership remains Saskatchewan, and Regina specifically, but there has been significant growth across the Prairies and in the U.S. … THANK YOU! .. We are a very attractive advertising option for local, regional and national advertisers. (i.e. Key Auto Group Yorkton, Access Communications, Common Crown Brewing & Overtime Hockey Lanes in Calgary, Sober Carpenter, Bet Regal, et al are wonderful examples of that, and we thank you for supporting them).

10 – RANDOM THOUGHTS: Death, taxes, and Alabama winning. … Why is voicemail still a thing? … I will get excited about the Dallas Cowboys once the playoffs start. … A Dallas-Miami Super Bowl? Sign me up. … Officiating is under fire in the NFL. ESPN talking head Jeremy Fowler said this week “They want to get it right.” NO THEY DON’T! Take for instance last year’s WHL playoffs where the right call was taken off the board in Game 6 of the Pats/Blades series because the TV (Access) replay was inadmissible, even though it clearly showed what the arena replays did not. Don’t tell me they want to get it right! B.S. … “Without a program, it’s just a bunch of guys skating around.” – Florida Panthers TV colour commentator Randy Moller. … Funny how some people you become friends with real fast and others are just a casual acquaintance, and that’s all they’ll ever be. It’s about vibration! … If they hate you for no reason, it’s jealousy, and that makes it easy to live with. … AND HOW WAS YOUR WEEK?!

Y’er welcome,
RP
@rodpedersen