Scruffy’s This N That

1 – ZIP IT:  As soon as I said it, I knew the feathers of some on Rider Nation would get ruffled and they did. Suck it up! As I told RP on his show this week, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers have the best fanbase in the CFL. You don’t have to like that, but you need to accept it. That team sells out its games, no matter what time they play. They show their support for their team by showing up. They sell out all seats that are available. They find a way!

Until last week’s game which was a last-minute sellout of 33-thousand and not 28, the Riders did not have one this year. As I stated last week, the way this team is playing right now, every home game including the Western semi-final or final should be sold out since the team is doing what you so desperately have wanted them to do. You can cry about it all you want, and you have, but if you want to come close to challenging your friends one province over to being the top fan base, it is time to keep selling out games. I don’t see the trend ending in Winnipeg, so you have some work to do. If you don’t like that, too bad. 

2 – PAYBACK?: One has to think Corey Mace and his coaching staff want to do to the Calgary Stampeders at McMahon Stadium tonight what the Stamps did to them at Mosaic last month. The Riders head into Cowtown to face a Calgary team that is the only one to beat the /=S=/ this season and while I don’t think this team is going to 17-1, they certainly don’t want the Stamps to hand them a second straight loss.

The Calgary defence did what it had to do in limiting the green-and-white to just 10 points which is their lowest output this year and with the Riders D not allowing a TD in their last eight quarters one might think this could be a low-scoring, slug-it-out affair. 

There is no doubt it is the game of the week in the CFL and with Calgary owning the season series as it stands right now, it is a game that could be huge come year end especially if the Stamps get the win. 

Get your popcorn ready. It should be a ring-a-ding-dong dandy!

3 – THAT’S A NEW ONE: While scrolling Twitter or whatever we call it these days, I came across a tweet from the Calgary Stampeders which I first thought was saying they had a sellout for tonight’s game. Upon further review, the Stamps were telling fans that certain sections of McMahon were sold out. I couldn’t tell you what section is where in Mosaic Stadium so I certainly can’t tell you where the sections are that are sold out, but I find this to be an interesting approach by the Stampeders. Telling people, you can’t sit in a certain section anymore because it is sold out? Is it important in Calgary as to where you sit when searching for tickets? I’m not sure what to think of this idea. Thoughts?

4 – HE’S NOT PUBLIC ENEMY #1 ANYMORE: The times continue to change in Rider Nation. The fact the team is legit when it comes to being favoured for the Grey Cup as it stands right now and as a result, fan interest is returning as evidenced by last week’s sellout, but it would seem as if the fanbase needs a new villain. 

I thought Bo Levi Mitchell would get a rougher treatment from the leather-lunged crowd at Mosaic last week. A crowd that I thought could have been louder, but that’s another story. Rider Nation has always hated Bo, but it would seem as if him being a Ti-Cat instead of a Stampeder has thrown cold water on the disgust that many have had for him in the past. 

Yes, some crowed over the fact Trevor Harris had a better day than Bo in the Riders one-sided victory because the two players are neck-and-neck when it comes to MOP voting right now but I think any quarterback would have gotten that treatment. 

So, if Bo isn’t public enemy #1 amongst the Rider faithful now, who is? Let’s go one step further, who is your public enemy #1 when it comes to the sports you support?

5 – SCRAP EAST-WEST ALREADY: It’s a hot topic every year so why not revive it now. After a week where all four Western teams beat Eastern opponents, you take a look at the CFL standings, and it would appear another crossover is in store. Can we just get rid of the crossover and go to one nine-team conference? 

Taking a look at the standings going into Week 12, you have:

• Saskatchewan 16
• Calgary 12
• Hamilton 12
• Winnipeg 10
• BC 10
• Montreal 10 
• Edmonton 6 
• Ottawa 6 
• Toronto 4

If you go to a one nine-team conference, you still have six teams making the playoffs and the top two teams getting a bye. You would have Hamilton face Montreal and Winnipeg play BC with Saskatchewan and Calgary getting first round byes. This would ensure that you could perhaps have the top two teams playing for the Grey Cup which is what you want. As it stands right now, you can’t have Calgary and Saskatchewan playing for the Grey Cup even though they are the top two teams. I think this would be a lot better than what we currently have and when the CFL instituted the crossover they basically said they don’t need an East-West Grey Cup. It’s better than what we have now isn’t it? Discuss!

6 – WINNING IT ALL: Safe to say it has been a great week for Gary Brotzel, Sharon Clarke, Rye Pothakos and others closely associated with the Regina Red Sox. A team that scuffled its way through the regular season for a variety of reasons got it together in the playoffs as they brought the WCBL title back to Saskatchewan for the first time in a long time with a dramatic Game 3 victory in Sylvan Lake. With virtually all of their starting pitchers leaving at some point during the season and some bats as well, Pothakos did a great job in getting new guys into town and having them gel at just the right time. It obviously meant a little more for locals (playoff MVP) Brady Bye, Rhett Hodgins and Xander Oudie-Senger and of course no one forgot what would have been another local had Jesse Lubiniecki not been tragically killed on the way home to Regina just before the season started. 

Who returns next year? That is always hard to say, but I think it is safe to say that team will have a few of the guys that helped them win the championship return. As for Brotzel and company, what a way to go out as they now turn things over to Queen City Sports and Entertainment. It’s an exciting time for baseball in Regina and I hope many get on board for opening night 2026. I know if I am asked to come back as PA guy, I will absolutely return if I can. I think there are some things that can be done to make things better—things that I don’t think the current structure could do but QCSE can. Time will tell and they have a lot of time to figure it out. 

7 – ???: The NHL Network unveiled its quarter century team this week. Jonathan Quick and Andrei Vasilevskiy were chosen as the goaltenders. No Carey Price? No Marc-Andre Fleury? No Henrik Lundqvist? Shea Weber makes the list, but not Erik Karlsson?  Ummmmmm!

8 – LIVING AT CURRIE FIELD: The Regina Red Sox season might be over, but the baseball isn’t. I have been at Currie Field over the last few days watching the Canadian National Men’s Baseball Championship as 10 teams including the host Regina Trappers are battling for the championship with the Trappers looking to get gold after getting silver the last two years. It has been some good baseball with some great games. The event winds up on Sunday and there is a good chance that the Trappers will play in the gold medal game so if you get a chance, c’mon out and check it out.

9 – NO TO REALIGNMENT: It is well known that I think MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred is the worst of the four big head honchos in professional sport. His latest idea about realigning everything is proof of that.  There is no need for MLB to undergo a major realignment. He basically wants to scrap American and National League and have games that are better for time zone purposes. This just in Robbie boy: the NHL can have teams that are based in the East go West and vice-versa every year, so does the NBA and last I looked, there are East Coast teams that play prime time games on the West Coast and vice-versa in the NFL as well as US College Football and Basketball.  Expansion also has a role to play in what Manfred is trying to do. I am guessing cities like Nashville and Salt Lake City are the two front-runners.  Find a way to tweak it if you must, but don’t do anything radical.

There are bigger problems in baseball than this.  Act on those first! 

10 – RANDOM THOUGHTS:

• I am and always will be a Regina Pats and WHL fan. Safe to say that “blue runs deep” is a slogan I am more than ready to endorse.  
• The Cincinnati Bengals will face Joe Flacco when they open the season against Cleveland. The Cincinnati Bengals faced Joe Flacco when they opened the season in 2008. Yeesh!
• Is Dohnte Meyers the next Riders receiver to try his luck south of the border?  Others haven’t fared well when doing so and have never been the same upon returning.
• Why is the group in charge of the US Olympic team not inviting Lane Hutson to their orientation camp? 

That’s all I got. Have a great weekend!