Pedersen: 10 Things
Photo: Devin Heroux
Truth & Rumours
1 – GOT THE SMOKE: It’s a weekend which won’t soon be forgotten. In fact they’ll probably be talking about it for years. Friday night’s Calgary Stampeders/Saskatchewan Roughriders CFL game at Mosaic Stadium in Regina was moved to Saturday afternoon due to unsafe air quality caused by Northern Saskatchewan forest fires. If you follow – and believe – all the coverage, the CFL followed protocol by the letter so it’s hard to assign blame but it still wound being an absolute schmozzle, with disgruntled fans waiting around for hours before finally being sent home. You’ve gotta know the very last thing the Roughriders organization wanted to do was move that game to Saturday, but they were at the CFL’s mercy and will take a ton of flak no matter what. Very similar to the vaccination mandate of 2021, which was brought up again over the weekend. It’s just a P.R. nightmare all around, and the Riders lost to boot. Down Week commencing …
2 – YE MIGHTY HORSEMEN: Calgary overcame a horrendous start (committing turnovers on their first two drives) to rout Saskatchewan 24-10, and hand them their first loss. The QB play was fairly equal statistically however Calgary’s Vernon Adams Jr. threw three TDs while Saskatchewan’s Trevor Harris was sacked three times. Now the two teams are tied atop the CFL at 4-1. Meh – it was a bad day at the office for the Green & White and spit happens. The only major concern for me coming out of the game is the continued woes of Rider kicker Brett Lauther, who went 1/3. But he’ll figure it out. … As for the Stamps, it’s funny what one new QB can do for a franchise.
3 – EXPECTATIONS LOWERED: I realize this will be like shouting into the forest but I’ve gotta say it regardless. There has been much back-patting and chest-bumping since the Roughriders announced a $2.1-million profit from 2024 a couple weeks back. Rightfully so! But the fact remains the franchise hasn’t been in a Grey Cup since 2013 and now they’re not even selling tickets in the upper deck at Mosaic Stadium. Somehow, the Rider Nation has become okay with this. In other words, the current Roughriders braintrust has successfully lowered expectations to the point championships and sellouts are no longer the standard. “But they make money,” is the narrative I hear repeatedly a la the Maple Leafs and Cowboys. In the Decade of Decadence (2005-2014), the expectations were Championships Or Bust and the money followed. Somehow, they’ve successfully moved away from that mantra and nobody has noticed. Impressive maneuvering!
4 – OTHER CFL STUFF: Caught the final two minutes of Saturday’s Ottawa-Hamilton game, and that was all I needed. The Ticats eaked out a 23-20 victory to improve to 3-2 while the RedBlacks dropped to 1-5 and are already facing must-win games in July. CFL On TSN’s Jim Barker predicted Hamilton to win the 2025 Grey Cup and he may be onto something. … *They Are Who We Thought They Were*? The BC Lions (3-3) handled the Edmonton Elks (1-4) by a score of 32-14 on Sunday. It was a great confidence-booster for the Leos and proof that Mark Kilam’s Elks still have a long ways to go. … Bye weeks for Winnipeg, Toronto & Montreal in Week 6. A necessary evil, I guess. … There have been plenty of upsets the past two weeks, and therefore very difficult-to-predict games. That’s a good thing!
5 – LUKE WILLSON: Like him or not, the CFL On TSN analyst and Super Bowl-winning Seahawks tightend has been the biggest story so far this CFL season. And the 35-year old from LaSalle, ON really proved his worth on Friday night when the TSN panel was fumbling and scrambling to fill an hour of airtime before finally scrapping it all and showing bloopers for the next two hours. The host basically threw her hands up and said “Luke, entertain us” and he did by telling funny stories on camera, engaging in an impromptu Pass, Punt & Kick contest, and interacting with fans. To quote Hall of Fame Roughriders broadcaster John “Frenzy” Lynch, “He’s a B.T.T.! A Big Time Talent!” CFL Commissioner Stewart Johnston told QR77 Radio in Calgary he has no problem with Willson other than he didn’t like his “hot garbage” comment regarding the Sask-Toronto Game on June 20. QR host Jock Wilson agrees that Luke’s a lot like me 20 years ago so for that, I admire him immensely. However for me, the constant defending yourself and being at war eventually takes its toll. However Luke’s showing no signs of slowing down. In fact, he’s digging his heels in.
6 – AB4: Two-time Grey Cup champion and CFL great Arland Bruce III is trying to find an agent who can help his son Arland Bruce IV land a CFL contract. Banned from the NCAA for betting while at Iowa, AB IV is lighting up the Arena League just like his father did for many years in Canada. He actually signed a contract with Chris Jones’ Edmonton Elks but it was nullified by then-Commissioner Randy Ambrosie. However, with Stewart Johnston now in charge, the Bruce family thinks they may have a chance. The double-edged sword here is obvious, right? The youngest Bruce could be the most-electrifying player in the CFL – which the league dearly needs – yet he carries the Scarlet Letter of a gambling violation. What would you do? I’d let him in the CFL.
7 – NFL: I spent the weekend with some lifelong Sask friends who said they’ve turned their attention to the NFL rather than the CFL, for a myriad of reasons. It’s a fun discussion, but not for here today. However one reason is the availability of a wide range of entertaining NFL podcasts like the Kelce Brothers, Bussin’ With The Boys, Pat McAfee and the like. Media coverage, media coverage, media coverage and more media coverage is the biggest reason, in my mind, that the two leagues went down different paths after walking the same one for decades. As a media guy, it’s giving me no choice. … NFL Rookies will report for training camp this week in Buffalo, Baltimore, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Denver, Detroit, Green Bay, Las Vegas, L.A. (Chargers), Miami, NY (Giants), San Francisco, Seattle and Washington. That’s 15 of 32 teams. The other 17 squads will see their rookies report next week. Not sure why the disparity! … So starting later this week, you’ll be inundated with NFL coverage EVERYWHERE till February. Brace yourself …
8 – HOCKEY STUFF: On July 29 we’ll be broadcasting the RP Show live from the Sheraton Cavalier Calgary Airport and the Western Canadian Pro Hockey Scouting Foundation Wall of Fame induction. I can’t wait! My dad is being inducted along with 28 of his scouting chums including Larry & Brad Hornung, Al Tuer and many more. … The hockey people will be buzzing with the NCAA/CHL developments and where this crazy game is going. The latest? Some have said smaller market WHL teams won’t be able to compete when it comes to player spending and that the Swift Currents, Prince Alberts, etc. will be headed back to the SJHL. I say, “Not so fast” and that big money owners of the Pats & Blades won’t be too quick to stroke cheques to players either. Hang on! The scouts will know what’s going to happen. … If somebody ever had the wherewithall to create a Junior Hockey Media Hall of Fame, my first induction class would be Gregg Drinnan (Regina Leader Post/Kamloops Daily News), Annie Fowler (Tri-City Herald), Doug McConachie (Saskatoon Star Phoenix) and Mike Sawatzky (Brandon Sun). Y’er welcome.
9 – BASEBALL STUFF: The pre-All Star schedule wraps up on Sunday and no matter what, the Toronto Blue Jays will go into the break as the first-place team in the AL East. In fact, only Detroit and Houston have more wins in the AL. Jays TV host Jamie Campbell told the RP Show this week that he expects Toronto to be “very active” at the trade deadline. … Baseball people are so cool and have been so good to me! On Tuesday, they’ve offered up Matt Stairs to the RP Show (1:15 pm ET appearance) to promote next Saturday’s WCBL All Star Game in Okotoks. Stairs is arguably the greatest Canadian MLB’er ever, as the 2008 NLCS MVP and current MLB record-holder for most career pinch-hit homeruns. … Congrats to all the WCBL All Stars who will convene in Okotoks next weekend! Check out the WCBL schedule for games in July & August and we’ll see you at the ballpark.
10 – RANDOM THOUGHTS: Nothing’s free. … Empty barrels make the most noise. … “He has a PHD. Papa Has Dough!” … If it drains me, it’s not for me. … The idea of a salary cap for College Football has come up. To that I say, not yet. … An Australian domestic flight was delayed for two hours after a stowaway snake was found in the plane’s cargo hold, officials said Wednesday. The snake was found on Tuesday as passengers were boarding Virgin Australia Flight VA337 at Melbourne Airport bound for Brisbane, according to snake catcher Mark Pelley. The snake turned out to be a harmless 60-centimeter (2-foot) green tree snake. But Pelly said he thought it could be venomous when he approached it in the darkened hold. “Thankfully, I got it on the first try and captured it,” Pelley said. “If I didn’t get it that first time, the engineers and I would be pulling apart a (Boeing) 737 looking for a snake still right now.” … AND HOW WAS YOUR WEEK?
Y’er welcome,
RP
The disappointing Saskatchewan Roughriders fell hard off the podium to 4th place In the 3DOWNNATION CFL power rankings. The Calgary Stampeders sit atop the CFL mountain followed by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 2nd while the Hamilton Tiger Cats occupy 3rd place. A hungry 5th place Montreal Alouettes team is looking to knock the Roughriders 4th further down a peg in next weeks CFL ranking.
One thing has became abundantly clear that Mr. Chris Jones Football Extraordinaire knew about Edmonton Elks qb Tre Ford is that Tre is not ready for Prime Time starting duties anywhere. It’s a good thing Mr. Ed acquired Grey Cup Champion Cody Fajardo, if only new head coach Marc Killiam would see the light and utilize Fajardo as his teams starting qb. If Killiam doesn’t adjust his thinking he’s going to have a short career as a CFL head coach as Tre Ford is not the answer moving forward.