SCRUFFY’S THIS ‘N THAT

It’s Friday and that means that once again it’s time for some thoughts running through my muddled mind, and as always they are in no particular order:

— The CFL playoffs are here, but around here the only thing people seemingly want to discuss are the 3-15 Riders. Why?  It’s over so let’s move on, which is exactly what the football team is doing as Jeremy O’Day got down to work and re-signed 5 Canadians on Tuesday as he refuses to let the uncertainty surrounding his position stop him from trying to make this team better for the future. Would or could anyone blame O’Day if he just stood pat and waited for an answer from the higher-ups before making any off-season moves? Jeremy wants this job and is showing those who will make the final decision why he should have the job. He has a plan just like every other general manager so let’s see if the plan works. If it does, great, if it doesn’t, he will be just like many others in a business where you are hired to either be fired or move on.  Yes, the Riders have to do their due diligence and talk to others who are interested, but the right man might just very well be occupying an office already.

— Bob Dyce has said he is interested in continuing on full-time with the football team as the head coach and O’Day did say Dyce would be given consideration if becomes the general manager.  Dyce did see this team and what players did and didn’t do. Does he have a plan to complement O’Day’s?  I didn’t agree with everything Bob did, but considering what he was left with, I think 3 wins was about as much as you could expect.  I can’t imagine what Dyce must have thought as he saw the defense miss tackle after tackle after tackle. It’s a good job he’s bald if you know what I mean. Dyce could have had the hair of an 80’s rock band lead singer and be bald by season’s end the way they played.

— Lost in the shuffle of the front-office personnel is that of the assistant coaches.  The one I wonder about is offensive co-ordinator Jacques Chapdelaine.  There wasn’t a lot wrong with the offense this  year and I would hope Chapdelaine is back, but that depends on who the new head coach is.  Does Darian Durant really need to start learning the system of ANOTHER O-C? How many has he had already?

— I was very impressed with Craig Reynolds and the way he handled some tough questions when speaking about who will be the new Riders GM and VP of football operations on Thursday. Time will tell if the first major decision made by Reynolds when it comes to team personnel was the right one, but I think he knows exactly what he is doing despite what some say is his lack of football knowledge. He knows what he wants, he knows what is out there and he will ask the right questions to find the man to lead this team forward. The two things I took away from his 20 minute session with reporters was 1) He knows he will be criticized no matter who the selection is which doesn’t bother him one bit and 2) He doesn’t need a marquee name, he needs the right name. Reynolds certainly isn’t putting his future at risk, but he is putting his stamp on the football club by getting the guy he wants. I have no problem with that.

— Reynolds must know exactly how Jeremy O’Day is feeling when it comes to who will be the GM. Reynolds wanted to be Jim Hopson’s successor, but there had to be uncertainty on his part as the board of directors interviewed him and many others to see who would be the new president and CEO. The only difference is Reynolds never performed the duties Hopson had while O’Day has been auditioning for the job since getting it.

— After CFL numbers fell six percent in 2014, the league took another 15 percent dive in 2015. Is this a league thing, a TSN thing or is it something else? The numbers can’t be ignored as fewer and fewer Canadians are watching the CFL. The diehards will hate it, but stop playing Sunday games after the NFL season starts might be one way.  Find a way to get the games in from Thursday to Saturday after Labour Day. It can be done. You can throw the odd Sunday game in there if one of the teams think it would be feasible for them, but it has become painfully obvious more and more people are interested in the NFL on a Sunday afternoon than the CFL.

— I just want to make sure I got this right. The Montreal Alouettes nominee for most outstanding player is Stefan Logan, yet running back Tyrell Sutton led the league in rushing and defensive end John Bowman led the league in sacks.  What am I missing here?

— Jon Cornish or no Jon Cornish, the BC Lions are not beating the Calgary Stampeders. If they do, that will be a huge upset! I’m also going to take Hamilton to beat Toronto in a tight one.

— If you do want a huge upset, take UBC over Calgary in the Hardy Cup final.  Don’t know why, but I get the feeling the Dinos are going to soil the linen at home like they did last year.  It seems to be so Calgaryish for the home team to lose in the big game doesn’t it?

— I will take Henry Burris to beat Bo Levi Mitchell in the M-O-P balloting. I don’t think it should be close even though the Calgary quarterback had a fantastic season.

— Wouldn’t it be great if CFL player salaries were public so we could play GM and see who is earning what as teams including the Riders make decisions on players.

— Week 10 NFL Lock of the Week — Packers over Lions
— Week 10 NFL Upset of the Week —  Bucs over Cowboys (Has Dallas won without Romo in lineup?)

— I would love to say the Giants over the Patriots as the upset of the week, but I won’t. There is no denying though that Eli Manning and Tom Coughlin have been the kryptonite to Tom Brady and Bill Belichick.

— The state of New York says one day fantasy sites Draftkings and FanDuel are illegal gambling. If that is the case, than I guess the state of New York should disallow all hockey pools and fantasy football, baseball and whatever pools that are run by ESPN, Yahoo and many others.  There is no difference as far as I am concerned.  The process of the one-day fantasy contests is the same as the hockey draft and all other fantasy sports that are played. You put down money and select a team hoping it is enough to win you some cash at the end of the day or season. This story isn’t going away anytime soon and either are daily fantasy sites.

— It’s nice to see the Regina Pats salute one of the best goalies to ever wear the uniform with a Josh Harding bobblehead night. He is one of my all-time favourite Pats. Is he the best Pats goalie ever or is it Eddie Staniowski. It all depends who you talk to and what the age of that person is. To me, its Harding because my memories of Ed would be when I was young and going to my first games. There is no doubt though they are 1-2.

— Congrats to the University of Regina and the womens basketball program for being selected as the host of the 2018 CIS womens basketball championship. If the event is anything like the two previous ones held at the CKHS, Regina is in for a treat as a first class show was put on at both events with Dave Taylor’s girls making it to the final both times before getting beat. Here’s hoping the girls can get back to the final and win it all in 2018 in what would be a very special night for many.  Perhaps by the time the ball tips off to get the event started, the CKHS will have a name for it. Why not the Dick White Center. For all that the former U of R director of athletics has done for the University and Canadian University sport as a whole, I think that would be a tremendous gesture.

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