10 MIDWEEK THINGS FOR REALTY ONE

10 RAPID FIRE THINGS

1 – DON’T LOOK NOW BUT ...: The Roughriders could well be considered the best team in the CFL. If you lop off the club’s 0-2 start (which was really an extended training camp), Craig Dickenson’s charges are 8-2 since. Grey Cup contenders to be sure.

2 – SPICY FAJARDO: The biggest reason for this is QB Cody Fajardo whom has out-performed expectations (although he and the Riders likely expected it). This reporter guesses the chances of Fajardo signing an extension here are 80/20 or even 90/10. He wants to be here, the team clearly wants him, so reaching an agreement should be a mere formality.

3 – FAJARDO-VILLE: This guy could be the most popular Rider QB since Ron Lancaster. John Frenzy says you’ve got to go back even further than the Little General, to the 1950’s Glenn Dobbs, for whom Regina was nicknamed “Dobberville” due to their love for the Rider pivot at the time. Funny how the faces change, but human nature doesn’t. Sign the man!

4 – LEAVE IT TO BEAVER: The best columnist in the CFL these days writes for the Regina Leader Post and goes by the name Brendan Taman. His weekly offering is “must-read” material, from someone who’s actually been in the trenches.

5 – JOCK STRAP: Only one column a week on the CFL has me seriously considering cancelling my subscription to The Athletic. That’s paltry coverage. And the uncensored F-bombs in The Insiders segment are offensive. If you’re going to ask me to pay me for your product, you’d better be far superior than what’s out there. It is not.

6 – BIG PLAY V.A.: It does not make the CFL look bad that Player of the Week Vernon Adams Jr. has been suspended for his helmet-swinging incident in the same game. It’s just one of those things. Ironic, like Alanis Morrissette sang. 

7 – WINNIPEGGISH: These are not good days for the Manitoba capital and their citizens are not to be teased nor messed with. The window appears to be closing on the championship aspirations of the Jets and the Bombers keep learning tough lesson after tough lesson. It wasn’t that long ago that Winnipeg media was asking, “Which of these teams wins a league title first?”

8 – DREGS: Interesting words from TSN Insider Darren Dreger – the pride of Langenburg, SK – on The Rod Pedersen Show. He predicts Connor McDavid won’t ask for a trade out of Edmonton anytime soon, and that the Patrik Laine/Winnipeg Jets contract stalemate could drag on past the NHL Heritage Classic in Regina on October 26. Other notables from Langenburg: Jess Moskaluke and Kelly Buchberger.

9 – DUB HUB: Kudos to Winnipeggers for selling out Wayne Fleming Arena for the Wheat Kings/ICE game on Saturday, the first “real” WHL game in that town since 1984. … The buzz in hockey circles is of Cole Sillinger, the Reginan of the Mike & Karla Sillinger clan, who has 1-1-2 in 2 games of his rookie season with the Medicine Hat Tigers, where he is QB of the powerplay. They say he is “The Next One”. … The Regina Pats host the P.A. Raiders Friday night under the Orange Top. Each team is off to a 1-1 start. See ya there.

10 – RANDOM THOUGHTS: Two thumbs up to the movie The Hustlers, especially if you’re a J-Lo fan. … Wednesday night we are going to Book of Mormons at the Conexus Arts Centre. Will provide a review! … UofR Rams QB Josh Donnelly is the real deal. … The SJHL is a 2-horse race in the early going. Nipawin is 6-0 and Battlefords is 5-0 coming out of the Showcase in Warman. … Join me in Delisle, SK this Saturday for the Chiefs PJHL home-opener. I’ll be doing a book signing for Heart & Soul of the SJHL before the game at the Delisle Arena. … The same goes for Churchbridge, SK on Oct. 19 when Yorkton plays La Ronge in an SJHL neutral site game. … Few things please me more than going to these towns and chatting with the folks. … A big milestone this week for The Rod Pedersen Show; we’ve reached 1,000,000 views across all of our platforms: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram & YouTube. The thanks goes to YOU.

Y’er welcome,
RP
@rodpedersen