10 Weekend Things

Taking shots …

1 – PANTHER FEVER: It’s sweeping South Florida. With the NBA’s Miami Heat having bit the playoff dust, the local NHL team is front-and-centre and looks to grab a 3-1 lead in their second round Stanley Cup Playoff series with a win at Boston Sunday evening. The images you see on TV are no mirage or fluke. The Cats are a big deal, and set a franchise attendance record in Round 1 with three straight sellouts. And should the Panthers score six or more goals in Game 4, they’ll be the first team since the 1995 Detroit Red Wings to score six goals in three straight playoff games. What changed from just a few years ago when you saw crowds of 3,000-5,000 in Sunrise? We’ll get into that later.

2 – THEY’RE REAL: The Florida panther is a North American cougar population in South Florida. Its range includes the Everglades National Park, Florida Panther Wildlife Refuge and rural communities in the counties of Miami-Dade, Monroe, Lee, Hendry, and Collier. It’s the only confirmed cougar population in the Eastern United States. I live in Palm Beach County, and there are none here.

3 – AROUND THE LEAGUE: Carolina downed the Rangers 4-3 on Saturday to avoid a second round sweep, and hand New York its first loss of the playoffs (snapping a seven-game win streak). The Canes were the Stanley Cup favourites at some sportsbooks in April but are now down to their final out. The fate of head coach Rod Brind’Amour hangs in the balance. … The next coach of the Winnipeg Jets? Sounds like Scott Arniel, doesn’t it? … Craig Berube seems to be the frontrunner, and fans choice, to be the next head man in Toronto but he’s also drawing interest from New Jersey. Among the coaching free agents are Jay Woodcroft, Darryl Sutter, Todd McLellan, Gerard Gallant, and of course Joel Quenneville, who might be the best of the bunch. … Oilers & Canucks? Settle in for a long series. … Ditto for Colorado & Dallas. … You win with a guy like Matthew Tkachuk. The Flames should have to explain why that didn’t happen while Tkachuk was in Calgary, not the other way around. … Carolina’s Sebastian Aho has 10+ points in six straight playoff years. The only guys with more are Wayne Gretzky (11), Mark Messier (10), Boom Boom Geoffrion (8) and Brad Marchand & Peter Forsberg (7). … Has there been a better nickname since Boom Boom? Here in South Florida the nicknames are Bob, Rhino, Barky, Ekky and the like. Put some thought into it!!!

4 – CHAD KELLY: No matter what side of the saga involving the suspended Toronto Argonauts QB you are on – and make no mistake there are two sides, maybe three – we can all agree this is an absolute catastrophe for the Canadian Football League with training camps opening today across Canada. Bad publicity is better than none? Not in this case. … An Argonauts season ticket holder told me last week, “If Chad Kelly is quarterbacking the Argos, my wife said she’s not going to the game.” … Without question, the media and CFL head honchos have made Kelly look real bad in this story, meanwhile his boss Pinball Clemons remains in his corner along with the CFL Players Association. If you’ve noticed I haven’t taken a side, and continue to watch with interest.

5 – ON THE FIELD: This whole scenario reminds me of the 1990s when I was the pre- and post-game host for Saskatchewan Roughriders Radio. I’d meet with Rider GM Alan Ford weekly and habitually ask him about the CFL’s financial problems and ownership squabbles (Ryckman, Gliebermans, Pezim, etc.). “CAN’T WE JUST TALK ABOUT THE GAMES?” Al would huff. Now I see what he meant. But snatching discussion points from the headlines was easier, and picking low-hanging fruit is more popular than ever in the media.

6 – QB RANKINGS: Credit Bomber fan Todd Moggey for this ranking of CFL QB tandems entering training camps: 1- WPG Collaros/Streveler, 2- BC Adams/Dolegala, 3- Sask Harris/Fine, 4- MTL Fajardo/Evans, 5-EDM McBeth/Ford, 6- CGY Maier/Schiltz, 7- TOR Dukes/Scott, 8- OTT Brown/Masoli, 9- HAM BLM/Powell.

7 – TEEPEE TALK: The Moose Jaw Warriors are coming home with a 2-0 lead in the WHL Championship Series after a pair of victories in Portland this weekend. With the next three games of the series all coming in the Band City, Moose Javians are rightfully expecting to see the Cup handed out at the Moose Jaw Events Centre later this week. One game at a time! But tickets are on sale now. … As long as Jason Ripplinger is in charge of the Warriors, they will be a contender. This is no one-and-done. … More heartbreak for the Blades franchise after losing Game 7 of the Eastern Final to Moose Jaw on Tuesday, but they’ve become a perennial contender too. This week I chatted with former Blades coach Lorne Molleken at length and he was quick to give credit to Saskatoon GM Colin Priestner for listening, learning, hiring quality people, and letting them do their thing. VOILA!

**BTW flying the championship teams cross-country on the same charter jet is not new (like Moose Jaw & Portland this spring). It was going on as far back as the 1960’s and famed Regina Pats broadcaster Mal Isaac said a brawl broke out on a flight between the Pats and Montreal Jr. Canadiens back then. The media was seated between the teams in order to separate them, but it made little difference.

8 – CENTENNIAL CUP: Experts say we form our sports allegiances and brand loyalty as early as our childhood, and they become very difficult to break. I think that’s why I’ve always been so fascinated with the Centennial Cup. CTV used to televise every game of the national Junior A championship and we watched every game in the 80’s. From our farmhouse living room, it was a window to the country and that’s where we learned of teams like the Richmond Sockeyes, Orillia Travelways, St. Albert Saints, etc. It’s no different in 2024 as the Oakville, ON tourney features teams from Navan, ON (a suburb of Ottawa, we’re told), Miramachi in the Maritimes, and Greater Sudbury. You wanna teach us geography? Mix in some hockey and we’re all ears!!

9 – KEITH PELLEY: Who knows if the Toronto Maple Leafs will ever win a Stanley Cup but, for what it’s worth, I’ll vouch for new Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment President Keith Pelley. I don’t need to read his bio or Wikipedia page because I saw it all firsthand over the past several decades. As a Ryerson grad, Keith started at the bottom and worked his way up through the TV networks, teams & leagues and now has the #1 sports job in Canada. We’ve spent hours talking sports and broadcasting on benches during warmups over the years, and in lounges across the country. Keith’s been a winner everywhere he’s gone, and has always treated those around him with dignity and respect. That’s a great place to start! I’m rooting for him.

*How did the Florida Panthers change their fortunes? Owner Vincent Viola, I’m told, called a meeting with his key people five or six years ago and asked what needed to happen for the team to go from Have Not, to Have. They told him, Mr. Viola opened his wallet to spend on players, and VOILA!

10 – RANDOM THOUGHTS: Fail to plan, plan to fail. … Manny Arceneaux picked the wrong day to announce his retirement (Tuesday). Talk about being overshadowed. … You don’t see a lot of Save The Trees campaigns anymore do ya? … After a lot of thought, I chalk the lack of national CFL coverage up to the fact the reporters and editors of today’s newsrooms are of the generation which the CFL lost, and may never get back. That’s why I’m seeing a lot more PWHL, WNBA, MLS, etc. coverage. These *kids* are about inclusiveness, diversity and the like. Those are all noble causes! And those leagues are all good, but they’re not better than the CFL, NLL, CEBL, WCBL, etc. who all seem to have fallen by the wayside in the headlines. Just my $0.02. … Very exciting that Toronto is getting a WNBA franchise! … Two thumbs up from the Monday Morning Goalie for the movie Challenger, now playing at Landmark Cinemas. It’s about two lifelong tennis buddies who have a lifelong fight over the same girl. She has the same fight internally. It’s very good! … Evidence that spending on players makes a difference? Lionel Messi and Inter-Miami are the best team in MLS. Until Messi arrived, Miami’s soccer team was in last-place and played in an empty stadium in Fort Lauderdale. … The World Video Game Hall of Fame has inducted its 10th class of honorees. The games Asteroids, Myst, Resident Evil, SimCity and Ultima were recognized Thursday for their impacts on the video game industry and popular culture. Anyone can nominate a game to the World Video Game Hall of Fame online. My all-time favourites are Galaga & PacMan! They remind me of hours, and quarters, spent in the Milestone Hotel and Athol Murray Centre. … AND HOW WAS YOUR WEEK?

Happy Mothers Day
RP
@rodpedersen