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EMPTYING OUT THE NOTEBOOK

With TSN’s Vic Rauter Wednesday night in Ottawa

1 – Hello from Ottawa!  Canada’s Team touched down in the nation’s capital around 7:45 pm ET Wednesday evening in advance of Friday’s Week 16 showdown with the East Division-leading RedBlacks (5:00 pm ST, TSN, 620 CKRM).

The move caught some of us off-guard as the Riders generally travel to road games 24 hours prior but Head Coach & GM Chris Jones is pulling out all the stops to win games down the stretch.

“We actually looked real closely after the second loss out East,” Jones said Wednesday.  “Because our two worst games all year actually came out East.  I just reminded them 15-20 minutes ago that our travel is different this time because we decided to go a day early.

“We’ll try to see if an extra day’s sleep helps and look at ourselves as coaches and see if there’s something planning-wise that’ll help our football team play better.”

2 – Jones isn’t kidding about his club’s woes in the Eastern time zone.  Saskatchewan has been outscord 94-10 in their prior two trips to the East Division (41-3 in Montreal and 53-7 in Hamilton).  The move to come out two days before the Ottawa game should show everyone – especially the players – that Jones means business the rest of the day.

3 – It was a comforting feeling to read in the CFL’s weekly Game Notes package that ALL nine teams are still in playoff contention in 2016 with five weeks to go.  It may be small consolation but more than any coach I’ve dealt with before, Jones has made it plain as day that he’s undeterred by other scores around the league.  Corey Chamblin used the mantra “It’s About Us” as well, but Jones seems even more intent on living by it.

4 – After this game in Ottawa, the Riders will stay down east for a week before their Week 17 game in Toronto on Saturday, October 15.  In between games, the Riders will practice in Ottawa before bussing to Toronto next Thursday.  They’ll also utilize several team-building techniques including a trip to Parliament Hill.  I’d love to be in the vicinity if Chris Jones was to run into Prime Minister Justin Trudeau!

5 – That would correct a long-standing wrong by the way.  Why is it that in the USA the champions of the NHL, NFL, NBA and MLB visit the President at the White House but the same great tradition isn’t carried out in Canada?

Likely cost.  But again, I’d love to eavesdrop on a conversation between Jones and Trudeau.  At least the Grey Cup-winning coaching staff from 2015 will have a chance to visit the House of Commons.

6 – Back to Friday’s Rider game at Ottawa.  The forecast calls for sunshine and 24 degrees Celsius at the 7:00 pm ET kickoff.  Oddsmaker Bodog has the hometown RedBlacks favoured by 6.5-points.

The warm weather here was a nice reprieve from the blizzard going on back home.  Upon de-planing, many Rider players were heard to say, “Ahhhhhhhh!” as they smiled and pulled off their warm outerwear.

And this of course will be a far different Roughrider club than the one which beat Ottawa 30-29 back in Week 5, on July 22 in Regina.  Mitchell Gale was the Rider starting quarterback that night before a crowd of 30, 172 at Taylor Field.  However this Friday Darian Durant will be behind centre for the Green, and receiver Jeff Fuller, defensive lineman Willie Jefferson and linebacker Henoc Muamba will make their Saskatchewan debuts.  All are All Star-calibre players.

7 – Who else is somewhat shocked that Henoc Muamba will play on Friday after only signing in Saskatchewan on Wednesday morning?  Carm Carteri is.

“I was surprised to tell you the truth,” said the long-time Radio Radio colour commentator upon our arrival in Ottawa.  “But then you think about it, and this is a veteran football player that is probably going to see a lot of special teams.

“I don’t think it’s a big deal.  The big deal is that it happened so quick.  Does it surprise me?  Yes it does, but we’re still not sure how much game time he’ll see.  He’ll probably be on all special teams because, like I say, he’s a veteran, he knows what’s going on, and I think he’s going to help this team.”

Like Fuller and Jefferson, Muamba was undeterred by the Riders’ 3-10 record.  “This about the future,” Muamba told reporters.  His contract is reportedly through the 2018 season.

8 – The social media line of the week came from Rider fan Wade Wyatt on Facebook: “The beer tosser from the Blue Jays wildcard game has been caught and given a swift punishment of lifetime season tickets to the Argos.”

Slow cap.

9 – There aren’t a ton of pressing issues facing the CFL’s Board of Governors these days but I’m told by one league source that the most-serious is the Toronto Argonauts situation. That has the suits very concerned.  The BMO Field transition has been a flop and now the team seems to be imploding on the field down the stretch.

One Rider player – a former Argo – says a lot of the leadership the Argos have boasted over the past number of years has been slowly gutted and they’re now seeing the effects.  The decision to let quarterback Trevor Harris go in free agency has backfired, and they’re left scrambling.

The 2016 Grey Cup in Toronto is also an elephant in the room, and I’m told Toronto Grey Cup staff are calling former Grey Cup ticket-buyers and imploring them to buy seats.  However with several tickets being in the $500-$800 range, the sellers are getting their fair share of hang-ups.

And now if they slash Grey Cup ticket prices, the host committee will upset those who already paid full price.  What a conundrum.

10 – Some blog readers have bemoaned my weekly writings of declining CFL TV ratings (wondering what that has to do with the game), but the fact is it’s a HUGE issue in the CFL.  It’s a big topic in the States as well, as the NFL is seeing double-digit percentage reductions in their viewership.

The culprits?  Pundits are pointing to the #BoycottNFL online campaigns relating to the national anthem protests, and also the cord-cutting generation eating into TV ratings at an alarming rate.  The most recent edition of Forbes magazine published an extensive expose on the crisis this week.

What’s the answer?  That’s what has football executives scratching their heads all over the continent.

11 – Of course you’re planning on watching Game 1 of the American League Division Series on Thursday with the Blue Jays at Texas.  But don’t forget it’s an early start at 2:38 Sask Time.  Yeah, like you, I’ve caught Blue Jays Fever and hung on every pitch of the wildcard game on Tuesday night.

Regardless, it was interesting to see Connor McDavid named captain of the Oilers on Wednesday. Did anyone see that coming? But you have to know Todd McLellan knows the pulse of his team and that the kid is ready.

13 – Sometimes I feel guilty subjecting my Facebook Friends to so much Rider propaganda however I noticed on Wednesday that my timeline is full of people posting videos of their cat snoring or doing 22 push-ups.  Those are great causes too!  Mine cause just happens to be the Saskatchewan Roughriders.  The social media assault will continue.

14 – Another week, another Top 10 ranking for the Regina Pats in the Canadian Hockey League.  In Wednesday’s rankings the 3-0-1 Pats were ranked 8th.  The 6-0-0 Prince George Cougars are #1 in the nation while the 1-1-1 Brandon Wheat Kings are 5th.  The Pats are home to the Kootenay Ice Friday at 7:00 pm on CKRM2 (www.sportscage.ca).

15 – Two Thursday pet peeves:  The new fancy lingo they’ve come up with to describe our favourite sports.  1) “Play-in Games” to describe the MLB wildcard contests (borrowed from NCAA’s March Madness) and, 2) “Best-on-Best” as it relates to international hockey competition, and the World Cup of Hockey.  What an insult to those who represent their countries at the World Hockey Championships and Spengler Cup!

I’m also not a fan of junior hockey types who refer to 18-year olds as “99’s” or 19-year olds as “98’s”.  I’m not even sure I got that right!  So confusing.

THAT’S ALL! THANKS FOR STOPPING BY …
RP
@rodpedersen

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