10 WEEKEND THINGS

RODSERVATIONS

1 – A STERN LECTURE: Is Gary Stern the hero we’ve all been waiting for? The Montreal Alouettes owner has appeared in interviews and issued statements over the past few months that very clearly lay out the plan for the Alouettes and CFL moving forward. I love what I’m hearing. Stern has said, “We can’t use Covid as an excuse for not getting better”. He’s predicted there will be CFL play in 2021 even if there’s no fans, and even scolded Montreal QB Vernon Adams for opting out of his contract. I don’t agree with Gary on that, but I admire his honesty! Credibility, leadership, visibility … Mr. Stern, you have our attention! What’s next?

2 – WAIT A SEC: Will Gary Stern now get a scolding from his fellow CFL owners for spilling the beans on 2021 plans? Probably. If the CFL plays in 2021 – with or without fans – will it be nothing more than a prolongation of the current CFL 1.0 which means top-heavy front office salaries, a badly fractured relationship with the players, an aging demographic and brand, declining attendance, etc., etc.? Then I’m not sure I’m interested. We were promised a more efficient business model and a stronger foundation for the next version of the CFL; not pounding a square peg into a round hole just for the sake of playing or proving a point.

3 – WINNIPEG THE FOOTBALL CAPITAL?: It’s hard not to recognize the big current football names who’ve come through the Blue Bombers organization in this century: Kliff Kingsbury (Arizona head coach), Zac Taylor (Cincinnati head coach), Ryan Dinwiddie (Argos new head coach), Chris Streveler (Arizona back-up QB). Although, chatting with Bombers great Troy Westwood on TSN 1290 this week, he told me he has no recollection of Zac Taylor when the two were teammates in 2007. 😀

4 – CFL TIES IN NFL WEEK 2: Weyburn’s Brett Jones makes his 2020 NFL debut on the offensive line with the Minnesota Vikings at the Indianapolis Colts. Former Rider (?) Deon Lacey makes his Buffalo Bills debut against Sam Eguavoen and the Dolphins in Miami. Lacey signed with the Riders last spring, but never played a game and opted out of his contract.

5 – PET PEEVE: Players’ Wikipedia pages include tryouts or practice roster deals as “time spent with team”. For instance, Deon Lacey’s bio will say he spent the 2020 season with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Should that count in history? If that’s the case, then I spent time with the Regina Pats, Brandon Wheat Kings, Weyburn Red Wings, Humboldt Broncos and Estevan Bruins. I don’t count that on my bio.

6 – 1-0 STARS: Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final was a bit tough to digest, statistically. Dallas spanked Tampa Bay 4-1 but the Lightning outshot the Stars 36-20. Tampa had more shots on goal in the third period (22) than Dallas had in the whole game! I’ve picked Tampa to win the Cup but they’ve got to spend the next couple days resting and healing up. Losing the opener was not a good sign. Teams who win Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final have an all-time record of 61-19 since the NHL moved to a Best-of-7 format 80 years ago!

7 – THANKS BARNDOG: He doesn’t know it, but Humboldt Broncos Head Coach & GM Scott Barney made my dream come true. He shot me a text message last week that said he and his fellow Broncos coaches watch The Rod Pedersen Show every morning at 10:00 in the Broncos dressing room at the EPA while they’re working out and getting ready for practice. That was my dream! I’d long felt this country was missing a daytime/morning TV sports talk show for the sports people to watch in their facilities every morning. A coffee get-together to discuss last night’s games and discuss the day’s news. Voila! The Broncos are watching it on Game+ on SaskTel Max TV. If anybody else in sports is doing the same, please shoot me a note!

8 – GRAPES: Weeks later, people are STILL bringing up our interview with Don Cherry on The RP Show. This week someone asked why we didn’t have him appear via video and the simple answer is that he wanted to do the interview over the telephone. WHEN DON CHERRY ASKS FOR SOMETHING YOU GIVE IT TO HIM! But that will likely go down forever as our biggest interview, and, it’s one I’ve been waiting 30 years to do. Even my high school classmates messaged me over that one, knowing it was a lifelong dream.

9 – CLARIFYING: No one got upset, but I want to clarify last week’s comment where I quoted columnist Stephen Brunt who said the CFL is “a minor league that enjoys major exposure”. The CFL is minor league in salary only (at an average of $95,000/season). As far as the coaching goes, it is absolutely as good as the NFL and NCAA and that’s why you see coaches go back-and-forth all the time. The same goes for the talent, as evidenced by Point 4. No one disrespects the American Hockey League so I’ve never understood why people throw so much shade at the CFL. A career in the AHL and ECHL is very respectable but a lot of those players pick up second jobs. When did that become an embarrassing thing to do for football players? That’s another perception that needs to be fixed.

10 – RANDOMS TO END: Why didn’t anyone tell me about Cobra Kai on Netflix?? I’m getting roasted in Calgary for comparing series star William Zabka to Bo Levi Mitchelll, and for being two years behind in watching the series. SORRY! I haven’t exactly been sitting around on my ass watching Netflix till now. … Farming is fun when you don’t lose money and don’t have to operate machinery! … 97 days till Christmas … Saw somebody getting Skip The Dishes from Tim Hortons. Now THAT’S lazy! … Seen on LinkedIn: Daryl Edralin is celebrating 12 years at Peel District School Board. Daryl was Don Matthews’ righthand man and the pair did A LOT of winning together in the 1990s. … Is there no ratings data out there for the Stanley Cup Playoffs? I’d love to see it but it certainly hasn’t been publicized. … Doesn’t anybody read anymore? Everybody’s sending me podcasts to listen to. Sadly, I don’t have time to go through them all. … It’s a painful sight across the country to see so many sports facilities sitting empty as we sit seven months into the pandemic, with virtually no end in sight. Normally hustling and bustling this time of year, Evraz Place here in the Queen City is dead as a doornail. Here’s a friendly reminder to whomever should hear it; sports is a business too, not just a recreation or pastime. Thousands of peoples livelihoods depend on it.