DAYTONA HOMES MONDAY MORNING GOALIE

Photo courtesy Keith Hershmiller Photography, ReginaPats.com

5 MONDAY NOTES & QUOTES

1 – PATCHAT:  If you grew up in or around Regina and were any type of a hockey fan, then you were a fan of the Regina Pats.  Maybe you were even a diehard like me, but right now there’s no doubt the passion for this club around here isn’t what it once was.  And if you miss a period of three or four years, it’s hard to get back into it because the players you knew and loved are gone.

However it’s clear the new ownership of the Regina Pats mean business and as they’ve said repeatedly, they’re in it for the long haul.  That’s why on Friday the club dealt franchise star Morgan Klimchuk to Brandon and reportedly over the weekend moved captain Kyle Burroughs and sturdy forward Dryden Hunt to the Medicine Hat Tigers.  There will be many Pats fans disappointed over these moves but the wiser fans see the bigger picture and realize it had to be done.  The foundation of the franchise needs to be solidified rather than the house of cards it’s been for so long.

The tough part is the casual fans in the area were just starting to sit up and take notice of the Pats and now this exciting club is being dismantled.  Still, the core of the club seems strong and better times are ahead.  More on that in a bit.

2 – THE PADDOCK:  The new ownership group maintains then-GM Chad Lang was the first to put forth the name John Paddock as the next head coach of this team to replace Malcolm Cameron over the summer. I’d met the man only on a brief couple of occasions over the years and knew very little of him other than his tenures as head coach of the Winnipeg Jets and Ottawa Senators.  To this day I still haven’t had a face-to-face conversation with him but that will change later this month when we ride the bus to Brandon together.

As a Pats fan I was apprehensive because Paddock hadn’t been involved in junior hockey for 40 years and this league has changed a ton over that span.  However, clearly, he’s grasped the nuances and as he said back in the summer time, “Hockey’s hockey”.  Perhaps the game hasn’t changed that much.  The kids certainly have though.  To that, I can attest.

And I suppose Paddock’s gruff, yet honest, nature took some getting used to.  For years we’ve been used to people peeing on our heads and telling us it’s raining but John Paddock is simply going to tell you how it is, whether you like it or not.

That’s why so many people were astonished at Paddock’s comments in Saturday’s Leader Post in explaining the Klimchuk deal, and foreshadowing the Hunt/Dryden trade.

“The (mistakes) of the past are what has caused this,” Paddock told the L-P’s Greg Harder.  “It is what it is.”

 Wow.  I was still in Las Vegas Saturday morning but my phone blew up with messages from friends saying, “You gotta read today’s L-P and see what Paddock said!”   It’s really nothing we haven’t known for years, but someone finally had the stones to say it.

It’s hard to tell who Paddock’s referring to other than simply, “the past”.   Maybe he’s not referring to anyone in particular but it was the first thing I questioned.

I’ve always wondered if Chad Lang’s hesitancy to move players like Jordan Weal, Brandon Davidson, Matt Hewitt, etc. over the years was his own or was he getting a mandate from ownership?  Perhaps we’ll never know — I’ve never asked him — but he certainly wasn’t afraid to make “The Big Trade” while running the Moose Jaw Warriors.

Now, as a Pats fan, it’s clear this franchise will be a force under Paddock’s leadership and the QCSEG’s ownership.  They will contend for a Memorial Cup.

The only question is: How long before it happens?

3 – RIDER NEWS:  I’ve been off for three weeks and obviously have been off the Roughrider beat.  It was a welcome break because it’s a grind going 24/7 from June 1 – December 1 but it’s time to get back on the trail.  We’ll start with a Rider Monday in the SportsCage on 620 CKRM today at 4 pm.  I’ll be joined by Mike Abou-Mechrek and Phil Andrews and among our guests will be Rider quarterback Tino Sunseri.  We’ve got several things to chat with Tino about, not the least of which is if he’s interested in coming back to Saskatchewan in 2015.  Be sure to tune in for that.

Meanwhile Kirk Penton of the Winnipeg Sun reported late last week that the Riders have released veteran centre Dominic Picard.  I never corroborated the story with either Picard nor the Riders over the weekend but expect to hear something this week.  It’ll really be too bad if the story’s true, and to see “The Angry Frenchman” go.  He was a huge part of this football club, particularly the 2013 Grey Cup championship team.  He was just getting into the Regina Pats too.

Now that everybody’s back from Christmas vacation, you’ll see things start to move.

4 – OH CANADA:  What an interesting story this 2015 WJHC has become!  That’s off the ice, not on.  Canada’s barely been tested through this tournament which has gone by in a blink but will conclude tonight with the gold medal game between Canada and Russia in Toronto.  Even in the semifinal last night, Canada toyed with Slovakia on the way to an eventual 5-1 victory.

No, the story of this year’s tournament was empty seats at the Bell Centre in Montreal despite the fact they got the plum round robin group which included Canada.  They never sold out one game and had some crowds of just over 9,000 in the 21,000-seat areana.  IIHF President Rene Fasel was quick to throw Hockey Canada under the bus on Sunday saying Hockey Canada set the ticket prices, not his federation.

When we walked out of the Saddledome in Calgary following our broadcast of the 2012 gold medal game, there were rumblings that Toronto and Montreal would be in line to host the tournament the next time it was in Canada and we were right.  In fact I think it was even reported here on this blog at the time.  However everyone was skeptical how the country’s two biggest cities would respond to the event.  Frankly, having watched all the games on television, it looks fine to me.  Clearly the organizers know how to fill the lower bowl for television unlike their counterpats in Western Canada.  It has actually come off better than I thought it would.

Regardless, and as usual, the tournament will come down to a one-game showdown for Canada and they’ll have to play at their best for the first time all tournament tonight.  At least they’re assured a medal for the first time since 2012.

And it’s not like they haven’t been fun to watch.  Domi, Reinhart, McDavid, Heatherington, Morrisey, Fucale, etc. are a dangerous bunch.  Here’s hoping they finish it off.

5 – HOW ‘BOUT THEM COWBOYS?:  With profuse apologies to the Regina Pats, it was difficult to leave the house on Sunday when it was minus-42 and television programming featured an NFL playoff doubleheader, a World Junior semifinal and the season premiere of Celebrity Apprentice.

Actually, let’s back up to Saturday.  Arizona visited Carolina in the first game of wild card weekend but the Cardinals now know how the Saskatchewan Roughriders felt in 2014.  When quarterback Carson Palmer went down – and the Cards were 8-1 – you knew their season was doomed.  Back-ups Drew Stanton and Ryan Lindley got them into the playoffs from there but it was up to 3rd-string Lindley to get them past the Panthers on the road and he couldn’t get it done.  The Panthers were turning the ball over and giftwrapping the game for Arizona but Lindley simply couldn’t make the the throws or engineer the offense.  Sound familiar?

As the teams were walking off the field, ESPN play-by-play man Mike Tirico said “And for a 49th consecutive year, the host team will not play in the Super Bowl”.  That’s right.  This is Super Bowl 49 in Phoenix on February 1 and the dream of the Cardinals playing in it has been extinguished.  There has never been a host team play in the Super Bowl.

On the bright side, imagine if Darian Durant had suffered a season-ending injury during the 2013 season!!  I doubt Drew Willy could have gotten it done.

The Baltimore-Pittsburgh (Ravens victory) and Cincinnati-Indianapolis (Colts victory) games were simply the appetizers to Sunday afternoon’s marquee game of the weekend featuring the Detroit Lions at the Dallas Cowboys.  Detroit hadn’t won a playoff game in over 20 years while the Cowboys hadn’t been in the playoffs since 2009 and starting quarterback Tony Romo was 1-3 in the post-season.

It seemed the Cowboys should’ve had that one in the bag but the Lions led 14-0 early and 17-7 at halftime.  However Romo rallied in the second half and they took the lead for the first time in the fourth quarter.  I’ll admit, there was some questionable officiating in the final drives for each team but any notion of a conspiracy is ludicrous.

Officiating got a whole lot worse with the advent of video replay.  Oddly, ESPN’s Jon Gruden was lobbying to make pass interference reviewable during Saturday’s Arizona-Carolina broadcast but he’s arguing for the opposite of what the CFL has.  In Canada coaches can review plays that aren’t called for pass interference however Gruden’s suggesting coaches should be able to review penalties that were called.

Whatever.  The Cowboys won and now they’ll go to Green Bay to try to upset the Packers.  It should be a great weekend of football ahead.

Also, it was funny to watch Jimmy Johnson on the set of Fox’s NFL pregame show when colleague Terry Bradshaw (or was it Howie Long?) was laying bouquets at the feet of Dallas Owner/GM Jerry Jones, and saying what a great job he’s done this year.  Johnson was just staring at the floor, stewing.  They loathe each other.

Oh, and as for Celebrity Apprentice?  The first one fired was Keshia Knight-Pulliam, better known as Rudy from the Cosby Show.  Her biggest mistake?  Not calling Bill Cosby for a donation during a fundraising contest.  Now we know why she didn’t!   Other celebrities in this year’s (weak) field include Geraldo Rivera, Terrell Owens, Johnny Damon and Leeza Gibbons.

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THAT’S ALL FOR TODAY — GOOD TO BE BACK!
RP
@sportscage