FOOTBALL FRIDAY RUNDOWN: COHON, CHARLESTON AND MORE!

Fridays are for football on Canada’s daytime sports talk show and that was the focus on Episode #302 of The RP Show! Here are the highlights:

• Rod and Dupes got it going with The Rollout for Flooring Superstores covering these Quick Six show topics: 1) The Flames Game 6 meltdown, 2) What’s the CFL news? It’ll be a struggle to stay in the headlines with no season, 3) The lack of federal funding can’t be the only scapegoat for no 2020 CFL season, 4) NFL training camp notebook: Gronk says Tom Brady is “refreshed” and will Aaron Rodgers mentor Jordan Love?, 5) It’s CFL SIM Game Day! Edmonton visits Saskatchewan in Canada’s Game of the Week at 7 pm MT on The RP Show Facebook Live channel, and 6) Thursday Night Races recap from Woodbine (RP’s favourite horse is Touch Em All Joe).
• Former CFL Commissioner Mark Cohon (2007-2014) joined the show from his cottage in Ontario. As Chair of the JUNOS, Cohon said his hands are full planning for the 2021 awards show and how to approach the event in the pandemic. Regarding the plight of the CFL, Cohon figures eventually the media and fans will get over Randy Ambrosie’s failed pitch to Ottawa. When it came to handling CFL owners, governors and presidents during his tenure, Cohon said he handled them with an “iron fist in a velvet glove”. He attributed that quote to Jim Hopson. Regarding his legacy, Cohon said he’s most proud of the stadium renaissance and the rebirth of the Ottawa franchise. Viewers chimed in that Cohon should be applauded for fan engagement and instituting the Fan State of the Union and Fan Parade at Grey Cups.
• The daily Capital Auto Mall/Universal Collision Centre poll question was: Should the Flames retain interim head coach Geoff Ward? On the Twitter poll the majority said no but on the Facebook poll the majority said yes.
• Hour 2 was broadcast on Facebook Live only and it was a treat to welcome Roughriders defensive end Charleston Hughes into the bunker. “Chucky” said he really felt the league was going to play in 2020 and that he can’t afford to burn a season at age 36. For the time being, he’s trying to figure out how to stay in shape while working at landscaping. He admitted that he’s long prepared for life after football with various outside jobs. Hughes took several fan questions and discussed the Calgary-Sask rivalry and Rod’s beef with Bo Levi Mitchell, and vice versa. Charleston thinks the feud is great and that “every story needs a villain.”
• Sportsnet’s Arash Madani joined the show from his Toronto home. He feels the CFL never really wanted to play in 2020 and is using Ottawa as the scapegoat. Madani said he’s been hard on the owners because they’ve screwed up and if it was a player, he’d be cut. CFL decision-makers should face heat too. He said the pandemic exposed the CFL’s flaws and a massive amount of work and ingenuity is required to guarantee the league’s survival. Arash also discussed the Blue Jays and while a pennant likely isn’t going to happen, the team sure is fun to watch right now.
• You can vote now on our Twitter poll for the Rockstar of the Day for RoxDar Supply Chain Solutions. At press time, Charleston Hughes was leading. Thursday’s vote was won by Julie Stewart-Binks.
• Friday’s show is available for viewing now on our Facebook page, you can listen to the podcast by clicking on the PODCAST tab at the top of this page, catch the replay on Game+ TV at 2 pm MT or listen anytime to our 24-hour live audio stream at RodPedersen.com/ListenLive.
• Be sure to join us at 7:00 pm MT for Friday Night Football!
• See you at 10 am MT on Monday on Facebook Live, Game+ TV and RodPedersen.com/ListenLive.