10 WEEKEND THINGS

MUSINGS …

1 – HOLD THE PHONE: The Friday article by the Edmonton Sun’s Gerry Moddejonge came as a swift kick to the groin for anyone planning for CFL football this summer/fall. But hang on. The Flying Dutchman quoted a “source familiar with the league at the executive level” as saying the team-formerly-known-as-the-Eskimos are employing a skeleton staff and that the CFL should scrap the 2021 season entirely and focus on 2022 when we know stadiums will be full again. (Do we actually know that?)  I’m just getting started with this one …

2 – PERSPECTIVE: You really need to know the ins and outs of the media business or else you can be fooled pretty quickly. CFL fans, staffers, players and coaches took this report as gospel that the season has gone up in smoke but this wasn’t a CFL source making these comments anonymously. This was a “source familiar with the league at the executive level”. This could be anything from a former Eskimo board member to Edmonton Football Team President Chris Presson’s Skip The Dishes driver. It doesn’t sound to me like this source has any inside league info.

Or he could be entirely right and we’re seeing the end. It could go either way.

3 – QUITE THE OPPOSITE: My league sources have indicated to me that the CFL intends to play in 2021 and that – worse-case scenario – they’re preparing the stadiums to be setup similar to the NFL’s and NHL’s in 2020 (tarps over the lower sections with national & local ads on them). A June or July kickoff is reportedly “off the table” and they’re looking at a late-August or Labour Day kickoff.

That source of the Edmonton Sun’s isn’t wrong in what the CFL SHOULD do but if they did mothball for 2021, it would be the end of the league as we know it. The current staffers would be gone, never to return. You’d see even more retirements (i.e. careers ending prematurely) than we are now. The current people in the CFL are holding on with a death grip and I don’t blame them.

This remains up to the owners and – seeing what other leagues have done – they MUST be on board to play in 2021.

/rant off

4 – OLE, OLE, OLE: Not sure how this was missed but how was the hiring of Jaime Elizondo by Edmonton as the first Mexican-born head coach in pro football history NOT FRONT PAGE NEWS?! Did I miss the coverage? Are the people at the Mexican-Canadian Consulate frozen or did the Rona get ’em? Anyway, my old nemesis discussed the hiring and its ground-breaking nature on Friday’s RP Show: “I’m really proud of it,” Elizondo stated. “My heritage, and I’ve explained it to people before, I was born in a place called Aguacalientes which is literally in the middle of Mexico. The translation is ‘Hot Waters’. My Dad passed away when I was young. We grew up in a tough town which is on the border with El Paso, TX. My Mom remarried and, she was an American, my Dad was a Mexican citizen. When she remarried we moved to El Paso and on the first day of kindergarten, I didn’t know a word of English! So it is something I’m proud of because it represents a lot of things to a lot of different people and shows the things you can achieve. I’m blessed and I’m proud of it, but at the end of the day I’m just a football guy.”

5 – HEAVE HO: Elizondo and I shared a laugh over him famously tossing me out of Ottawa RedBlacks walk-through TWICE in his time as offensive coordinator in the nation’s capital. He was always gracious when he did it, and on Friday he thanked me for being so obliging. I chortled that I’d been kicked out of far classier places than TD Place Stadium, and that I was just having fun. “I know that about you,” Elizondo smiled. “I can’t wait to throw you out again!” God bless the CFL.

6 – ON ROUGHRIDERS: It’s another reason why I believe the CFL will play in 2021; they wouldn’t go through all this financial strife with players and coaches if they didn’t have to (or thought there wouldn’t be a season). GM Jeremy O’Day’s feeling some heat because he’s had to make some tough decisions but that goes along with the job. Whether other teams are adhering to the ‘Gentlemens Agreement’ of cutting salaries or not (Pinball Clemons says the Argos ARE), O’Day will always do things by the book. You won’t hear of any salary cap busts, roster violations or ratio shenanigans with this regime. There are multiple ways to skin a cat but you can’t please everybody. And no one is immune from criticism.

7 – BELL/TSN CUTS: Seeing the heartache and strife that was dropped on hundreds of TSN Sports Radio staff across the country this week only underscores why I had no interest in rejoining the mainstream media when I left CKRM two years ago. And this is in no way an “I told you so” finger-wagging moment. No one could’ve predicted the pandemic but it’s turned sports & media into a Wild, Wild West, kill-or-be-killed, real-life version of The Hunger Games. The strongest will survive and the meek will perish.

And as much as those guys and gals who lost their jobs will go on with their lives – some in the media and many not – this is as much a blow to sports in Canada as anything. Talking sports 24/7 was a walking, talking, free commercial for the NHL, CFL, MLB, etc. There are many, many roads to go from here. I’m incredibly grateful to be two years down my road already.

8 – DUB HUB: Who actually thought that silly rhyme for the WHL would actually one day lead to Regina being named a hub city for the WHL? Peak 2021. Regardless, we were popping figurative champagne corks around here on Friday when the WHL announced that the Queen City will serve as the centre for a 24-game Return To Play for the East Division. The announcement predictably came with a flood of questions from fans regarding playoffs, broadcasts, fan attendance, etc. and Commissioner Ron Robison answered all those inquiries in an Instagram Live chat with The RP Show Friday afternoon (transcript below). Right now this is groundbreaking, major news. Try to be patient for the next steps!

9 – JUNIOR A: The Manitoba Junior Hockey League pulled the pin on its season Saturday morning and had a strongly-worded statement for the province’s health officials. “As an organization we are extremely disappointed that the government would not allow our Return To Play Guidelines,” the statement read. “which the league successfully implemented in the fall allowing us to begin our 2020/21 season. This unfortunate decision by the Provincial Government has taken the sport of hockey away from our youth in this Province.” How far behind can the SJHL be since the two leagues work hand-in-hand?

As an aside, what a first year it’s been for rookie MJHL Commissioner Kevin “Shooter” Saurette, a former Regina Pats forward from Brandon, MB. Outgoing Commissioner Kim Davis certainly retired at an apt time and as I told Shooter, he’ll never deal with anything more difficult than this in what will hopefully be a 30-year career on the job. However in this case, the players and staff have been letdown and NOT by the league.

10 – RANDOM THOUGHTS: The Golden Knights gold chrome helmets were a miss. … Has anyone heard from Greta? … “Rest is a weapon.” – Patrik Laine … As one coach told me at the front of the bus back in the day, “In this league we trade sh*t for sh*t.” … The average Howard Stern fan listens to his show for one hour per day. The average Howard Stern hater listens for three hours per day. We’d be nowhere without our haters, who consistently bump up our numbers and are obsessed with our every move! Thank you.  … A CFL team V.P. texted this week with a thank you for the positive league coverage from The RP Show. Y’er welcome. … I had a dream the Saskatchewan Roughriders beat the Montreal Alouettes 41-3 in the 2021 Grey Cup. It was the largest, most-historic beating in CFL championship history. I woke up with a smile. … Some local citizens are concerned Mosaic Stadium will sit empty forever. That won’t happen but think of it this way – at least we got the thing BUILT before the Apocalypse! … My wife’s working from home and is forced to overhear ESPN’s Get Up every morning on my office TV. This week she asked what the hosts will talk about with the NFL season being over. “The NFL!” I explained. “They talk about the NFL every damned day year-round!” This is where the CFL has long missed the boat by wanting to go dark for months on end in the off-season. Fortunately with our show, we dictate the direction of discussion and it’s going well. … Is it possible to be addicted to milk? If so, I am. Milk consumption is reportedly down 70% in the pandemic but it’s up 80% in our house. Help out the dairy farmers! *SASK MILK* … It’s not tough to teach an old dog new tricks if the dog is willing to learn. … That’s it for this week. Stay warm!

Y’er welcome,
RP
@rodpedersen