THE MONDAY MORNING GOALIE
We had an absolute BLAST on Friday evening at the 6th annual Milestone Sportsman’s Dinner in my hometown. NHL legend Dave “Tiger” Williams and CFL Lineman of the Year Brendon Labatte were the keynote speakers and I had the honour of being the MC. Rider Hall of Famer Roger Aldag was a patron in the crowd and was over-the-moon to get his picture taken with Tiger. Roger is the biggest Leafs fan I know…
Brendon was more comfortable with doing a Q & A on stage and taking questions from the crowd rather than delivering a speech and it went over really well. Some of the quotes are below…
At home behind the mic. Rep’ing the Riders, SportsCage and CKRM…
The three stars sign autties for the fans….
Tiger told an endless string of stories for an hour. After the live auction, Tiger asked if he could get back up on stage because he remembered a dozen more stories!
A jersey from all five of Tiger’s NHL teams plus a few more, including one from Troy Brouwer of the Washington Capitals. He married a Milestone girl, Carmen Diekreger…
It was one of the bigger crowds in years..
Broadcasting the SportsCage live with Tiger from the curling rink. There’s my Dad, “The Old Guy”, of the Dallas Stars in the background. We almost lost the tough bugger in October but he looks like a million bucks now!
Labatte stopped by to chat with Scott Schultz and me. Nice purse Schultzie! If you haven’t already, check out the podcast at www.sportscage.ca. It’s worth a listen…
With Tiger and my cousin Becky, who served as my photographer for the event.
I don’t know why but Tiger and I have really hit it off. I can honestly say I love the man. He paid me perhaps the greatest compliment I’ve ever received on the SportsCage Friday evening. It was great!
Tiger later invited me to be a guest of the Maple Leafs Alumni at the Winter Classic Oldtimer’s Game in Detroit on New Year’s Eve. He will be reunited on a line with Lanny McDonald and Darryl Sittler but also suiting up are Wendel Clark, Mats Sundin, Doug Gilmour, Borje Salming and a host of other Leafs legends. We’ll see. I’ve got family obligations but this one’s tough to turn down.
He’s a little grizzled now, but Tiger was quite a looker in his hayday. One of the game’s all-time greats! Can you believe he actually only road his stick ONCE during his career but it’s the thing people remember him most for?
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MORE MONDAY MUSINGS:
* Where to start? Well Tiger had us in stitches during his speech but even moreso afterwards when he held court and told tales of his time spent with the likes of Bette Midler, Alice Cooper, Hank Aaron, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, U.S. Presidents George H. Bush, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton and the troops in Afghanistan. Tiger is a true Saskatchewan legend.
* He informed us that his Grade 1 teacher gave him the nickname “Tiger”. He also said he was booted out of school after Grade 9 in Weyburn and left home at age 15 to play for the Swift Current Broncos. He said his mother had just passed away and he had nothing to stay home for. He acts crazy but Tiger is a very, very smart guy. And even more wealthy.
* Brendon Labatte was just as entertaining. Athletes give their best interviews in the off-season once the pressure’s off and “Blue” admitted to being quite jealous of Rider Pride while playing for the Blue Bombers. However he said once he signed with the Roughriders, it took awhile to get used to the immense pressure that comes with it. No one wants to be the guy to screw up and let the province down. Fortunately for him, he never has.
* Labatte said he wasn’t confident the Riders were going to win the 101st Grey Cup until Darian Durant was kneeling down to kill out the clock. He said the team had given up countless leads in the past and they weren’t leaving anything to chance in the big game.
* Labatte also said he still “owes” Scott Schultz and Montreal’s Shea Emry for cheapshotting him in the past but I said now he’s got the Cup and the Most Outstanding Lineman trophy. He’s on top.
* Also, in the Q & A segment, Labatte declined to reveal what “NFA” means. It’s the slogan adopted by the Rider offensive line in Week 4 and they’re hoping to carry it over to next season. And keep it a secret.
* Regarding today’s Expansion Draft and the “short-sighted” approach teams have taken towards hooping the REDBLACKS with a raft of free agents, Scott Schultz looks at it a different way. He feels Ottawa simply needs to pull on their recruiting hats a little tighter and go after all these free agents come February. They could come out with a nice little team.
* Believe it or not the Roughriders and Tiger-Cats are the only teams who still have all their coordinators in place from last season. In Hamilton they are Condell/Steinhauer/Reinebold and in Saskatchewan they are Cortez/Hall/Dyce. With each passing day you’d have to think they’ll be back.
* CFL’ers with NFL tryouts so far: Cordarro Law (Calgary/New England), Henoc Muamba (Winnipeg/Minnesota), Chris Mathews (Winnipeg/Minnesota) and Kory Sheets (Saskatchewan/Indianapolis).
* Scott Schultz thinks both Weston Dressler and Kory Sheets will stick in the NFL at least until the end of 2014 training camps. He should know, having toiled for the Steelers and Chargers.
* It’s amazing the look of sheer horror on peoples’ faces at the thought of losing Weston Dressler. But folks, Weston is such an amazing player and person that you have to be pulling for him. All he needs is a chance and he’ll do the rest.
* One would think Eric Tillman is in line for a more significant role in Hamilton this season after the departure of Danny McManus. Tillman was a consultant for the Ticats in 2013 while still being paid out by the Edmonton Eskimos. That will come to an end soon.
* What will Tom Higgins do next? He told the Calgary Herald he’s a complete free agent after being dumped by the CFL as Director of Officiating. Higgins feels the league wanted a former ref in that role and they did just that with the hiring of Glen Johnson. Tom did not mince words with his comments to writer Vicki Hall.
* The Grey Cup trophy is busy around the clock since the Riders’ captured it on November 24. Remember when country star Johnny Reid asked for it a few weeks ago for a Regina concert? Coach Corey Chamblin had it that night.
* Brendon Labatte said he had the Cup for only 12 hours and took it to the Radville, SK Arena for fans to take pictures. He had to have it returned to Mosaic Stadium by 1:00 am.
* Saturday was a true treat. I was able to broadcast the Pats-Kelowna Rockets WHL game on Access and it was so exciting to be back in the hockey booth! I headed down to the Brandt Centre by 4:00 pm and put on Hockey Night In Canada in the media/scouts room while making coffee and setting up tables and chairs. It felt great. Unfortunately the Pats fell 5-4 in overtime to the Rockets last night and you can call it the Access Curse. The Pats are 0-3 on TV this year.
* Regina lost 4-3 in a shootout at Medicine Hat Sunday evening but they’ve been finding a way to grind out points. That’s how you make the playoffs, even at this point of the season. It’s looking like post-season hockey will return to the Brandt Centre after a one-year hiatus. The Pats are truly fun to watch.
* By mid-December, the wheat is separated from the chaff in the Western Hockey League. Kelowna’s won 11 in a row, Edmonton’s won nine in a row and Saskatoon has lost 10 in a row. The top eight on each side are generally decided and the next 36 or so games will be jockeying for playoff positioning.
* It was a further bonus on Saturday evening to run into Rockets radio play-by-play man Regan Bartel. He runs one of the WHL’s top blogs at www.reganbartel.blogspot.ca and we had many laughs before the game. His blog is hilarious but the best when he recalled pulling into Swift Current last week in the huge Rockets bus. It’s emblazoned with the team logo all over and people stopped and stared all over town. Bartel quipped, “Now we know how the Huttarites feel!”
* Reading his blog reminded me to have fun with these things and not get too serious. I’ve been hesitant to let fly for a long time because we tend to get roasted so bad in the comments section but Regan’s got it right.
* The quote of the week came from colour commentator Jared Dumba on our TV broadcast Saturday evening. I said a shot was “high and wide”. Jared joked, “Are you talking about Rob Ford?”
* A 15-game suspension for Boston’s Shawn Thornton is far too long. What he did is reprehensible, but it’s really no different from a sucker punch from days-gone-by. The NHL needs to figure out what they’re doing.
* Regarding the lawsuit by alumni against the NHL for concussions, Tiger Williams said the other night, “I don’t feel sorry for those guys”.
* The broadcast world is abuzz over the recent Rogers-NHL deal. The Globe & Mail reported over the weekend that Rogers offered a huge deal to TSN’s James Duthie but he declined. Bob McKenzie and Darren Dreger each got brand new deals from TSN and Chris Cuthbert reportedly said he’d like to be back on the network next year. It’s going to be a merry-go-round of epidemic proportions over the next several months.
* The Cowboys LOST??? Oh my. At least Marc Trestman’s Bears won. Marc was getting skewered by ESPN’s Michael Wilbon during the Cleveland game but Chicago came out on top.
* Speaking of, hit up the Press Box Sports Bar for Monday Night Football between the Ravens and Lions from Ford Field. You can get a full rib dinner for $10.99 and will have the chance to win a jersey from either team. Kickoff is 7:40 pm.
THAT’S ALL! ENJOY THE DRAFT
RP
@sportscage
A few items 1) Milestone Arena where Hockey Regina Coaches and parents of those teams come to cry and whine…..and lose. Rather than try to get better it's just easier to not let Milestone into Hockey Regina. Great life lessons for the Regina kids I guess. 2) Great photos, great Photograper. 3) Tiger had a great autobiography he should do a second edition as he has more insight to add. The stories of growing up in Weyburn and Brian Merk whom I know cleaning his clock and Merk's Dad apologizing to Tiger's really talked about a different time where parents… Read more »
i agree with your last point obama. if orpik would have just dropped the gloves with thorton we wouldn't b talking about all this. also how many times does someone punch someone in a scrum and just because they didn't get knocked out no penalty and no suspension. It makes me mad when prople like derek meyers and arash trash the NHL every time they see a fight.
I remember being a young girl whose parents dragged her to Bronco hockey games when Tiger played in Swift Current. In fact, I remember standing by the boards, barely being able to look over them, and Tiger standing and looking at me from the other side. This was one of my first WHL memories.
I'm not a fan of Arash's and Duke's stance on the NHL and fighting either. Arash is not a hockey fan at all and has publicly stated so. Myers is the Wes Mantooth of the sports reporter scene here in this town and it's no wonder why. He should stick to covering golf. George Parros's accident was a complete fluke and even he admitted that. If the instigator rule was not in place, Orpik and Thornton could have dropped the mitts, went at it and everything would have been settled. But some bleeding hearts like the aforementioned reporters rule the… Read more »
George Parros is 34 years old and plays one shift a game. He got knocked out cold in a staged fight to start the year. He comes back and 2 minutes into the game comes off the bench cold and gets knocked out again. Why was he out there to have that fight? What does that settle. You need to have guys that can play a shift and chip in. Clark Gillies, Tiger Williams, Bob Probert, Dave Semenko etc., could take regular shift and could all get you 20 goals a year. Go look up Dave Brown's stats. Dave Brown… Read more »
Obama, I have a little experience with tier 2 and 3 novice and atom coaching. Milestone, Southey, Rouleau, and Pilot Butte have great teams. Before you shoot your mouth off, know a little background. Those kids in small towns get the luxury of stick and puck every after school, ample FULL ICE practices and a team that grows up together every year. They also tier differently due to population therefore they have top notch talent on the tier 1 but still are able to have good talent and effort filter downwards. Here in Regina, we get kicked off the ice… Read more »
The best receiver in the CFL is Fred Stamps. But would he be able to catch on in the NFL?
You want to stop that? Teach your kids to Forecheck, Backcheck and then see the Paycheck when it pays off. The ice time is bunk. Get out on the street and play road hockey and that's where the skills come. You want them to do well then go after the puck. It was one excuse after another year after year after year. This ice time access is bunk. Kids in Milestone – 2 practices a week, 1 hour. If there are 11 Skaters maybe 1-3 could play Tier 1 somewhere, but what about the 5 or 6 that would be… Read more »
Atom hockey and this guy is talking parity? Right there is the issue. What about outdoor ice? I played in Regina we played on outdoor ice all the time if we couldn't get inside. We had our skates at school and it was what we did right after school and after supper along with weekends. Get the Regina kids off the couch and quit making excuses. Shoot a puck against the outside wall of the Mahon. This was the 1980s and 1990s so it wasn't a million years ago. Obama laid it done and spoke the truth. The truth doesn't… Read more »
The truth doesn't have to answer questions ?
The truth has to be verified accountable fact to be the truth.
I hate to be a rat Rod, but your old pal Scruffy, in his blog post "Something to Mitch About" has called today's draft a dispersal draft – Yikes!
Kelly McClintock told me this summer and Kelly is a good guy and a good coach in Hockey Regina. He told me frankly the kids just don't know how to play and that goes for Baseball and Hockey in the city. They are 10-13 years old + and you are still having to tell them where to go and what to do. They don't leave their houses to learn the nuances and develop the skills. Many of the kids don't go to Pats games, or watch hockey on TV. You need to take in a lot of information to just… Read more »
NFA??? How about "No F*cking Around"?
Not sure, but would make sense…
Kel in Victoria
Hey Derek Myers might not be such a good sports caster but at least he has nice hair………..oh wait….sorry thinking of someone else lol.
I did not mean to cause a fracus. Yes it is atom and I wrote about parity. Practice 101 is forechecking and backchecking. Not that much of an idiot. At least I am not talking about something that I don't know. We live in a newer neighbourhood. There is NO outdoor rink relatively close. We have some players in Harbour Landing and there is no rink there either. I would love shinny to happen. Pretty tough to play with two to three kids. Not as many kids in a smaller area to get together and play shinny anymore. Not sure… Read more »
BTW, another thought. We haved lived in this newer neighbourhood for just about 9 years. We almost moved to Pilot Butte because of the community spirit and have our kids flourish with the shinny, stick and puck, etc
Tiger William could out do Don Cherry any day. All Cherry has been whining about lately are the OHL kids not invited to the WJC camp. He made no mention about the WHL or QMJHL players not invited. I am getting sick of him and frankly can't wait to see him done.
Harbour Landing? It all makes sense, rich boys don't like to get dirty and face a little adversity. Drive to an outdoor rink then, make the kids skate, and watch a DVD in your big SUV. As for these volunteers doing it out of the kindness of their hearts I call B.S on that one. In Regina there is also some agenda at play. They want to make damn sure they are coaching so their kids get the ice time they think they deserve. This is why you have the 4 or 5 man Coaching staffs in Regina yet the… Read more »
Pilot Butte gets 1/2 hour of ice time and they share ice for the younger groups. Maybe because they make ONE Tier 1 team with kids that can actually play that level is why they tend to do well. In Regina everyone wants a Tier 1 jacket or Bantam AA jacket. Putting in the effort isn't a consideration.
Hockey parents kill me. It's a child's game, all the chatter about boundaries, politics and agendas. Hope you guys get half as mad when the government screws up. It's supposed to be FUN boys. Take a step a back. In five years, more than half of the kids will quit hockey so they can afford a car – let them enjoy it.
Tell that to Gary Busey and for that matter Jesus.