10 Weekend Things

Truth & Rumours

1 – GREY CUP TO THE NATTIE: It’s going to work out great. The Canadian Football League season is going to end in time for the College Football Bowl season (Dec. 14-Jan. 20) and that’ll run concurrent with the homestretch of NFL season, and then Super Bowl. It’s not like this is new, but this is the first year I’ve paid this much attention to it and also been as much immersed. All-the-while I’ve been covering the NHL for the South Florida Tribune so it’s been busy but F-U-N! As a personal advisor said to me this weekend, “Hockey is your passion but football is your business.” I like that! And right now the most popular football team in South Florida is the 9-0 Miami Hurricanes, whom I’ve long predicted will go to the National Championship against Steve Sarkisian’s Texas Longhorns … Oh, and Canadian quarterback Kurtis Rourke has the Indiana Hoosiers at 9-0 for the first time in school history. In his senior year after transferring from Ohio, Kurtis has an NIL deal of $1.1M US. Methinks he may never play a down of pro football in his home and native land.

2 – FINAL FOUR: The forecasters had it right. Not too sure how much home field had to do with Saturday’s CFL Division Semifinals but Toronto romped over Ottawa 58-38 and Saskatchewan steamrolled BC 29-18 at BMO Field and Mosaic Stadium respectively. In both cases the far better team won, regardless of the venue. A supremely motivated Chad Kelly threw four touchdowns for the Argos, whom are headed to their fourth consecutive Eastern Division Final. Meanwhile in the Western Semi, A.J. Ouellette was the story for the Riders, plowing his way for two touchdowns along the ground. Oh, and the story was also a rash of BC mistakes as the Lions, somehow, imploded their own season somewhere along the way. What an absolutely zany, unpredictable, and wildly entertaining year of CFL football! And the best is yet to come.

3 – COUPE DE GREY: Just confirmed over the weekend, the RP Show will be broadcasting live from the 111th Grey Cup in Vancouver at a location TBA. That too is going to be incredible and has become our trademark, there will be heavy fan/viewer involvement with the live show. … Now, which teams will be featured in the CFL title game? My BC-Montreal Grey Cup prediction from the preseason is now out the window. It’s come down to Toronto vs Montreal in the East, and Saskatchewan versus Winnipeg in the West. Does it really even matter what I think? (Oh wait, that’s why you’re here). … Let’s go with Riders-Alouettes! It feels great to be back on the Rider bandwagon. … Oh, and regarding all the empty seats at Mosaic Stadium for the Western Semifinal — WHO CARES! The Riders evidently do not seem too concerned, so why are others?

4 – AWARDS: With CFL Commissioner Randy Ambrosie poised to leave his post in the coming months, I feel like there could be some sprucing up to be done around the CFL. One of those would be to add the GM of the Year Award. As a matter of fact, I’ve been championing this trophy for years but it’s fallen on deaf ears. Maybe now’s the time? The inaugural winner should be Sasktachewan’s Jeremy O’Day. He hired the West Division Coach of the Year Corey Mace (and perhaps the League Coach of the Year depending on how this shakes down), and also saved the Riders’ season by signing cast-off running back Ryquelle Armstead last month. … What other novelties would I add to the CFL to add a little sizzle? You gotta pay for those.

5 – TIME TO HUNT: The Florida Panthers are coming back to South Florida on a five-game win streak after sweeping the Dallas Stars in the two-game Global Series in Finland, with back-to-back 4-2 triumphs. They are #2 in the NHL (behind only Winnipeg) and people around the League are starting to use the “R-word”. Can you guess what that is? … NHL Radio’s Scott Laughlin predicted a Jets-Panthers Stanley Cup Final last season on the RP Show. Maybe he was a year ahead? … We’ll delve into it more in Wednesday’s edition of the South Florida Tribune.

6 – NHL NOTES: Sidney Crosby scored the game-winning goal for Pittsburgh on Saturday against Montreal. Sid’s 216 “Go Ahead Goals” are #8 all-time. Alex Ovechkin leads that stat with 28. The rest are Brett Hull (264), Jaromir Jagr (262), Teemu Selanne (232), Gordie Howe (228), Mark Messier (220) and Brendan Shanahan (217). … Colorado defenceman Cale Makar – considered the face of Calgary minor hockey – has tied Bobby Orr with an 11-game season-opening p0int streak. #4 recorded at least a point in 15 straight games to open the 1973-74 season. … Meanwhile Alex Ovechkin is just 36 goals away from surpassing Wayne Gretzky for the all-time NHL goals record. Will he make it? It sure seems like he will but as a construction magnate once said to me, “The last 10% is the most complicated to accomplish.” I wouldn’t be engraving anything yet!

7 – HARDY CUP: Massive! Just absolutely massive! The University of Regina Rams miraculously scored the winning touchdown by Nicholas Sirleaf with 19 seconds to go in Saturday’s Canada West Semifinal at Manitoba, earning a 28-25 victory and a trip to the Hardy Cup next Saturday at 1 pm in Saskatoon versus the Saskatchewan Huskies. It’s going to be the Rams’ sixth-ever appearance in the Canada West Championship (1-4 all-time). The RP Show’s Darren Dupont will be broadcasting the game from Griffiths Stadium! What a time for Saskatchewan football.

8 – NFL NOTES: Waiting for some results of the early Week 9 games before I post some thoughts but for the time being, the Dallas Cowboys seem to be on brand this year, losing at Atlanta. … *UPDATE* The Cowboys lost 27-21 and the season is over. Some teams just haven’t figured out how to balance the ever-increasing salary cap and my favourite NFL franchise is in ruins. … OTHER NFL NOTES – The Raiders parted ways with OC Luke Getsy after a disappointing start to the season, following a blowout loss to the Bengals that dropped them to 2-7​ ….Bengals QB Joe Burrow had an impressive five-touchdown day against the Raiders but remained critical, stating there’s always room for improvement. … Cowboys QB Dak Prescott exited the game against the Falcons with a hamstring injury, raising concerns over his availability for Week 10.

9 – WCBL: The Western Canadian Baseball League 2025 schedule came out this week. Next season’s campaign begins on Wednesday, May 28 with a single game featuring the defending champion Okotoks Dawgs at the Medicine Hat Mavericks. … I’m really excited to say that – barring something unforeseen – I’ll be back in Moose Jaw for Season 2 as Voice of the defending East Division champion Miller Express. It really was so, so much fun this summer. Did you forget the Millers went all the way to the league final last year before losing the final game in the bottom of the ninth at Okotoks? Soul-crushing. The Millers open their season May 29 at Medicine Hat. One more time, GO MILLERS!

10 – RANDOM THOUGHTS: You know what’s better than a Papa John’s pizza? Two Papa John’s pizzas. … Just when airplanes all changed their cell phone charging ports to USB, Apple changes their charging port to Lightning. GREAT! … Sport Select was the OG of sports betting companies, right? They wanted me to post my sports picks way back in the 90’s and I was just as uncomfortable with it then as I am now. Do your own research!! Or pay a professional sports bettor. I now know several if you’d like some suggestions. … Here’s something you gotta see on Netflix: The three-part series The Comeback which chronicles the 2003 and 2004 MLB seasons where the Red Sox became the first team in MLB history to come back from a 3-0 series deficit to WIN. You’ll just like you did watching it way back then. … The tipping prompt on these debit/credit machines is out of control. Nobody’s tipping me! … He’s fast, feisty and could play Quidditch. Meet the bat that won a beauty contest! A winged creature from Oregon has been crowned this year’s winner in the annual “Bat Beauty Contest.” The Bureau of Land Management said on Thursday that people went the most batty for a hoary bat fittingly named Hoary Potter. BLM posted photos of wild bats on its Facebook and Instagram accounts, and asked people to vote for the cutest one. Hoary Potter beat out other bats including a Townsend’s big-eared bat named Sir Flaps-A-Lot from Utah. The federal agency holds the contest to raise awareness about the animal’s ecological importance. … AND HOW WAS YOUR WEEK?!

Y’er welcome,
RP
@rodpedersen