The Monday Morning Goalie For SUDS

TRUTH & RUMOURS FOR SUDS CAR WASH

1 – WHAT A CLASSIC: For just the second time in Labour Day Classic history – and the first since 2023 – a LDC was decided in overtime. It occurred on Sunday before 34,352 at Mosaic Stadium as the Saskatchewan Roughriders held off the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 32-26 in an extra period. The winning points came on backup QB Tommy Stevens’ third rushing touchdown of the day, a one-yard plunge, on Sask’s first possession (where have you gone, Rocky Butler?). The Bombers were stuffed on theirs, as they fell to 6-6, while the Riders improved to 8-4. Did you really expect anything less? Saskatchewan always wins on Labour Day. Or at the very least, this is the 40th time they did in the 61st incarnation of the LDC. Now, you can bet Winnipeg will win in next Saturday’s Banjo Bowl; the backend of the home-and-home set. Death, taxes, and ….

2 – FORE!: Thanks to the folks with AspenLinks in Emerald Park, SK and the Saskatchewan Roughriders Alumni and Winnipeg Blue Bombers Alumni for having me back again to host the 4th Annual Labour Day Golf Classic presented by Supreme Group of Companies. The money and spirits were flowing over the (w)hole weekend as a record amount of money was raised for amateur football in Saskatchewan, and the Bomber Alumni left behind $2,000 of their own dough. The guy I spent the most time with? Rider & Bomber alum Brendan Rogers who won two Grey Cups with Toronto (1996, 1997) and finished his career with Saskatchewan in 1999; coincidentally my first in the CFL. He’s orchestrated the donations from Winnipeg the last two years, including $100o out of his own pocket this year. The other guys I was really glad to see, and spent great time with, were Ray Elgaard and Tad Kornegay. How special! Thanks everyone, especially “Ricky Regina” Kezama. See you next year!

3 – NOT DONE YET: An amazing weekend of football isn’t over yet. The traditional Labour Day Classic Monday doubleheader kicks off at Hamilton Stadium with the Toronto Argonauts (5-6) at the Tiger-Cats (4-8). The Ticats lead the all-time series 37-16-1 but are 4.5-point underdogs in this one at DraftKings. … Later on it’s the Edmonton Elks (8-3) at the Calgary Stampeders (5-6) and Calgary has declared QB1 Vernon Adams Jr. fit to play after being scratched in Week 13. If you can believe, the Stamps lead the all-time series by the narrowest of margins – 32-31-1 – and are favoured by 1.5-points in this one. The addition of V.A. has surely tipped the scales for the oddsmakers. They should both be classics! … Week 14 opened with Montreal holding off BC 37-30 Friday at Percival Molson Stadium. Despite the score, it wasn’t close but it was a great offensive display as Lions QB Nathan “WestJet” Rourke tossed for 375 yards and two TDs while his counterpart Davis Alexander threw for 297 and 1 tud, but got the win. Who’s better? We may find out in the Grey Cup. … I’d stopped referring to Rourke as “WestJet” till I got to Vancouver two weeks ago, and discovered the Lions fans were all calling him that! 😀 So “WestJet” it is. The airline likes it.

4 – RULE CHANGES: Is it the elephant in the room? Yet? CFL fans are starting to point out that this will be the last Grey Cup with a 110-yard field, true East & West Division champions, and the potential for missed field goal returns. Some are crying, some are shrugging, but at least the majority are talking about it. I don’t care for the eight-teams-out-of-nine-making-the-playoffs format but given the patheticness of the 0-11 Ottawa RedBlacks this season, that’s what we already have this year, and there’s still intrigue … Here’s my opinion, which I’m entitled to as a Canadian and someone who’s covered the league since 1991: if the CFL owners are willing to fit the bill to retrofit the stadiums then I have no issue with any of the changes. The small tweaks instituted in 2025 have contributed to, statistically, the best season of CFL football ever and who’s to say it won’t get even better? The crowds are wayyyyyyy up. Besides, it’s their league and they have the right to do whatever they want with it. I love the league and covering it still makes my heart warm, despite the hiccups. Weekends like this remind me why…

5 – COLLEGE FOOTBALL: You’re going to be hearing a lot here about LSU (Geaux Tigers) and Texas (Hook ’em) since two of my close friends’ sons are playing in the SEC this season. Daved Benefield’s son Ty is the starting safety for the LSU Tigers, who opened their season with a 51-10 motorboating of Clemson on Saturday (the worst loss of Dabo Sweeney’s career). Meanwhile CFL alum and Cardinal Gibbons High School (Fort Lauderdale) head coach Matt Dubuc’s son Trey is the long-snapper for the Texas Longhorns, who paddled Texas State 59-7 on Saturday. He will be in the NFL next season but failing that, assuredly the CFL. Especially with his non-import status.  … I’m a slow learner, so it’s taken six years now to fully get my head around the enormity of U.S. College Football, but I can confidently say that I finally have and can explain some of the zany nuances such as why they open the schedules with such non-conference, cupcake games and why it’s so important for the blue blood schools to lay a licking on the lesser lights (it all comes into play on Selection Sunday in December when the 12-team College Football Playoff bracket is unveiled). … Plus, since I live near Miami, the Hurricanes shall be “my team” and the Canes opened with a 45-6 shebockalling of Stanford on Friday night and are ranked #7 in the nation. … A lot to absorb, yes, but a helluva lot of fun. … And nobody seriously thinks College Football is rigged but the Big Ten didn’t help itself by defending the officials’ decision to add 0:01 to Saturday’s game between Michigan and Western Michigan, allowing the Wolverines to execute a Hail Mary pass and stun the Broncos 13-12. Western Michigan fans are still outraged today, and have a reason to be.

6 – NFL: Don’t look now but this was the final weekend without NFL football in 2026. The regular season kicks off Wednesday with a Super Bowl rematch; New England at Seattle, followed by a Thursday Nighter featuring San Francisco at the LA Rams in Australia. The usual spate of Sunday games includes two intriguing clashes for me: Miami at Las Vegas as Malik Willis and Kirk Cousins debut for their new teams (the Raiders are favoured by 3.5 points), and the Dallas Cowboys at the NY Giants (‘Boys favoured by 3.0). Picks For PumpJacks is going to be LIT!

7 – DROP THE PUCK: The hockey boys are glad to have me back on the beat, but nowhere near as happy as I am. For more intense Warriors coverage, check out my weekly column in the Moose Jaw Express newspaper. … Here, I’ll cover more of the entire Western Hockey League and specifically the Regina Pats, whom are 4-o in the preseason following Saturday’s 6-4 victory over Brandon at Ochapowace. Connor Bear scored twice and added an assist for the Pats in his hometown. #1 overall pick Maddox Schultz scored as well, and Bryan Trottier’s grandson Parker Trottier assisted on the winner for the Queen City Kids. … 4-0 wouldn’t normally mean a lot in September but considering the Pats have used Schultz and older veterans sparingly in exhibition games, this has to be a good sign. … However the Queen City seems reluctant to catch on. Only 612 fans showed up to watch Regina take down Moose Jaw 3-2 in OT at the Brandt Centre on Wednesday – I can attest since I was there – and that’s a little face-palming since tickets were only $10. What gives?

8 – EAST PREDICTIONS: I texted a few random scouts and management types for an informal poll on WHL East Division standings predictions for 2026-27. I promised anonymity and apologized for the intrusion. One responded, “Are you kidding? I love this sh*t!” Quality coverage of the Dub isn’t as widespread as it used to be! So after tabulating the results, here’s the what we came up with: 1) Prince Albert, 2) Regina, 3) Moose Jaw, 4) Brandon, 5) Saskatoon, 6) Swift Current. Read ’em and weep.

9 – NHL: After spending the summer in Canada, I reached one very clear conclusion — they hate the Tkachuk Brothers north of the 49th parallel! That came up at least once per week between the Regina/Moose Jaw corridor all the way out to the west coast and everywhere in between. Did I ever tell you how much I love Western Canada? … Can’t wait to get these NHL training camps and rookie tournaments underway. I’m SOOO sick of hearing about Rogers, Sportsnet, and the Elliotte Friedman/Kevin Bieksa stuff. Those guys are gonna be on the air somewhere this season. The fact that it’s dragged on this long tells you all you need to know about how Rogers does business (at least on the sports broadcasting side) and it’s not good. I mean, they destroyed and ended Hockey Night In Canada. What more do you need to know?

10 – RANDOM THOUGHTS: Be kind, please rewind. … I’m told the report of DAZN poised to name Mike Hogan and Doug Flutie to its CFL broadcast crew is erroneous. … What do I love about Moose Jaw? It’s still 1985 there and while people snicker when I say that, just remember back to how great 1985 was. To this day in Moose Jaw, people still read the newspaper, use payphones, call a cab, and there’s no senseless crime. A handshake still means something and they treat me unbelievably. What’s not to love? I’m back in Florida now, but will really miss the Band City and its people. Till next time … Dolly Parton had no children. … What kind of scumbag vandalizes the Dolly Parton star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame? … The Blue Bombers’ trolling of Regina pizza didn’t bother me one bit, because they’re wrong and we know it. And by the way, Moose Jaw pizzaiolos at The Mad Greek and Rodos put their pies up against ANYONE. Dial ’em up when ordering for football-watching this fall. … Glad I’m not the only one who uses Walmart bags as luggage. … Like death itself, this was no joke. A grave-digging contest in a Hungarian cemetery on Saturday may sound like the opening line of a comedy sketch. It proved to be anything but as 38 competitors grabbed picks and shovels. The Hungarian Association of Cemetery Maintainers and Operators organizes the contest to showcase the grave-digging trade and its skills, and shake off death-related taboos. “Speed is the main thing here, not the beauty,” said Róbert Nagy, the victor with his teammate László Kiss. Their winning time was 1 hour, 21 minutes, digging to grave specifications of 5’6″ deep, 6’6″ long, and 2’6″ wide. They shared a cash prize of 200,000 Hungarian forints (about $640US). … AND HOW WAS YOUR WEEK?

Y’er welcome,
RP