RODSERVATIONS FOR PEDERSENMEDIA SUMMIT 2.0

Thursday’s SportsCage from Long Creek with Chris Getzlaf & John Lynch

FACTS & FIGURES

1 – That gunshot you heard signaled the start of the golf tournament season, and, FOOTBALL season around here. On Wednesday John Lynch and I travelled to Long Creek Golf Club near Avonlea for the 4th Annual Getzlaf & Friends Charity Golf Classic. Over the years, over $300,000 has been raised by the Getzlafs and friends for the Childrens Wish Foundation. It was fantastic to get out there, breathe the country air, and talk football.

2 – Among the guests were Weston Dressler, Matt Dominguez, Jim Hopson, Brendon Labatte, Jason Clermont and Mitchell Picton. Most of them joined us on the air on the patio of the clubhouse and the complete podcast is available at www.sportscage.ca or on ITunes.

Among the things we learned:

– Mitchell Picton is coming to Rider camp to make the football team despite the fact he has one year left of elligibility with the UofR Rams. The Regina product can finish off his business degree within the next few years as well. He’s a physical beast and has been told by the older players he’s working out with (Getzlaf, Dressler, etc.) that the difference between him making the Riders or being sent back is all between his ears. Picton’s camp will be one to watch closely.

– Brendon Labatte is healthy and tipping the scales at 306 lbs. “My weight is the Saskatchewan area code!” Labatte smiled. If he’s healthy, that’s fantastic news for the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

– Chris Getzlaf is without a CFL contract but is staying in shape and hoping for a call from a team this summer who needs a trusted, veteran non-import receiver.

– Weston Dressler expects big things from his Winnipeg Blue Bombers this year. They made huge strides last year in achieving an 11-7 record and most years, that would mean a home playoff game. Dressler said they return almost everybody, and they will be a force to be reckoned with.

– Having said that, John Lynch picked Winnipeg to finish last. I have Edmonton slated to finish fifth. We both have the Riders picked to finish third.

– Interviewing Dressler face-to-face was somewhat gut-wrenching for me because of all he did for this franchise and now he’s playing elsewhere. But it’s a new, exciting era here now.

As they say, “Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.”

The Decade of Decadence.

3 – Jim Hopson was all smiles, laughing heartily amongst his former players in Avonlea on Wednesday. He spent four months in Mexico this winter and now is doing regular speaking engagements and business consulting. He’s watching the Riders closely, but just as a fan like you and me.

4 – I’ve said it on the radio a few times recently but will print it here for those who missed it: the Saskatchewan Roughriders will be must-see TV this season, beginning with Day 1 of training camp on May 28 in Saskatoon and hopefully carrying right through to the final gun of the season.

There are lots of things to watch in Saskatoon: The quarterback battle involving Vince Young, the battle to be starting tailback, the carousel of top-flight receivers, the holes to fill in the secondary, the possibility of starting two Canadian linebackers … the list is endless.

You can be forgiven for losing interest in 2015 and 2016.

However now if you miss a minute with this team, you’re going to be left behind.

5 – The seventh birthday of the SportsCage on 620 CKRM came and went with little fanfare on Wednesday, however it was great to mark the occasion at the Getzlaf event. Our inaugural show was Monday, May 17, 2010 and it featured Kelly Hrudey, Peter Loubardias and Craig Smith. There was a fourth guest but I can’t remember who it was. Happy Birthday to us!

6 – Happy Birthday today to Roughriders offensive lineman Josiah St. John. Last year’s #1 overall pick in the CFL Draft is a gigantic piece of this year’s team as he’s pencilled in at Right Guard. Is he in shape and rustless, unlike last year? Is he ready to take the next step? We’ll find out in 10 days when training camp opens.

7 – So RCMP in Tisdale are searching for a masked man who robbed a liquor store of Pilsner this week? Apparently the police description of the suspect is, “Adult male, wearing jeans, a hoodie and a denim jacket.”

WOW! He’ll stick out like a sore thumb in Saskatchewan.

8 – In the end the prognosticators of the WHL Finals were right. The Regina Pats just couldn’t handle the “heavier” Seattle Thunderbirds. That’s what they said before the series, but I didn’t even know what the term “heavier” meant unless they’re referring to the actual bodyweight of the two clubs.

Pats Coach John Paddock mentioned on Tuesday’s SportsCage that he felt his team “left it all out there” during that Seattle series, and has no regrets. I have a feeling he was biting his tongue a bit with those comments, but here’s hoping the Pats are “heavier” next year if they hope to contend for a Memorial Cup.

Incidentally Keegan Kolesar of the Thunderbirds led all WHL playoff scorers with 31 points and that includes being suspended for a time. He also cost the TBirds Game 2 of the league final when he kneed the Pats’ Connor Hobbs in the groin.

Doesn’t he sound like someone you’d want on your NHL team? Think of a cross between Dustin Byfuglien and Brad Marchand.

9 – The Memorial Cup begins Friday in Windsor, ON and this is the first time since 2007 that two American teams are featured: the Seattle Thunderbirds and Erie Otters. The other participants are the host Spitfires and the QMJHL champion Saint John Seadogs.

I’ve been reading lots on the tournament and it sounds like the Otters are coming in with their hair bleached blonde as a form of team unity during the playoffs. It took them 45 minutes in a salon to get it done correctly.

Thank God our Regina Pats didn’t do anything of the sort. That’s another reason to love our team.

10 – 2,000 empty seats in Ottawa for Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals Wednesday night? (A 5-1 Sens win and a 2-1 series lead). Don’t blame the people of Ottawa. BLAME THE NHL!

It’s the only thing I’ll repeat from my conversation from Jim Hopson last night: Canadian pro teams are pricing themselves out of the market. Obviously Hopson has little concern with the NHL and whatever they do, but the skyrocketing prices of CFL tickets is something he’s greatly concerned with.

When do fans finally say, “Enough’s enough!”?

But the leagues still have you by the short ones though. There’s still nothing better than being in the stands.

11 – There are just a few days left to register for the Pedersen Media Summit 2.0 in Moose Jaw’s Mosaic Place on May 27. If you’re a team, charity, organization or business struggling to get the word out for your great product, come to my seminar and learn tips on Media Relations, Social Media and Branding. The cost is only $75 and the event runs from 1:00-5:00 pm.

Please register at http://emjmarketing.com/Store.php or email me directly at pedersenmedia@outlook.com. People who’ve attended this event in the past rave about it. Please consider attending, and we’ll see you in Moose Jaw!