MONDAY COMMENTARY – THE GOOD, THE GREAT & THE UGLY
(Listen daily for the Rod Pedersen Commentary on Cat Country 98 & Rock 98.5 FM)
WE OPEN A NEW WEEK WITH ANOTHER EXCITING EDITION OF THE GOOD, THE GREAT, AND THE UGLY!
FIRST, THE GOOD: IT’S THE STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS. THEY’VE BEEN BORDERING ON GREAT UNLESS YOU’RE THE CALGARY FLAMES WHO HEAD INTO MONDAY’S GAME 4 IN DALLAS DOWN 2-1 IN GAMES TO THE STARS.
THEY LOST GAME 3 IN DALLAS SATURDAY NIGHT, AND IT’S NOT A GOOD SIGN WHEN MILAN LUCIC IS YOUR MOST EFFECTIVE PLAYER!
WHEN THE FLAMES WERE UP 1-0 IN THE SERIES, THE FOLKS I RUN WITH WERE CLAMOURING FOR A ROUND 2 SCHEDULE AND WONDERING WHERE THEY COULD BUY TICKETS?
I JUST BIT MY LIP. THE ROOKIE DOESN’T CHANGE THE MUSIC IN THE DRESSING ROOM.
BUT THE HOCKEY’S BEEN GOOD AND I’LL BE BACK IN MY REGULAR SEAT AT FLA LIVE ARENA IN SUNRISE, FLORIDA WEDNESDAY NIGHT FOR GAME 5 BETWEEN THE CAPITALS AND PANTHERS.
NEXT, THE GREAT: IT HAS TO BE THE THRILLING SJHL FINAL WHICH WENT THE LIMIT, WITH THE HOST ESTEVAN BRUINS DOWNING FLIN FLON 2-0 IN GAME 7 ON FRIDAY.
HOWEVER BOTH TEAMS ARE ADVANCING TO THE CENTENNIAL CUP IN ESTEVAN IN TWO WEEKS’ TIME.
I HAVE TO ASK – SINCE THE HOME TEAM WON EVERY GAME IN THE SERIES, ARE THE BOMBERS STILL NOT IN TROUBLE SINCE THEY STILL HAVEN’T LOST A GAME AT HOME?
AND LASTLY, THE UGLY: OF COURSE IT HAS TO BE THE CFL’S COLLECTIVE BARGAINING DRAMA WHICH HAS SPILLED OVER INTO A P.R. WAR BETWEEN THE PLAYERS AND OWNERS WITH THE CLOCK TICKING DOWN TO TRAINING CAMPS OPENING THIS WEEKEND AND ROOKIE CAMPS SLATED TO OPEN THIS WEEK.
LOOK – THIS IS NOT THE SAME CFL I CAME UP IN. BACK THEN THERE WAS NEVER A TON OF MONEY TO GO AROUND BUT AT LEAST THE LEAGUE LEADERS RESPECTED AND LOOKED AFTER THE PLAYERS. HOWEVER THERE’S BEEN A HUGE SHIFT IN HOW THE LEAGUE DOES BUSINESS OVER THE PAST 5-10 YEARS.
THIS CURRENT SITUATION LOOKS BAD ON EVERYBODY AND IT’S CREATED BAD PRESS WHICH THE LEAGUE CANNOT AFFORD. OBVIOUSLY I’M ON THE PLAYERS’ SIDE BUT JOHN Q. PUBLIC DOESN’T CARE WHO’S AT FAULT OR WHO SAID WHAT. JUST PLAY BALL.
UNLESS SOMETHING DRASTIC HAPPENS, I STILL EXPECT THIS SEASON TO KICK OFF ON TIME.
THAT’S TODAY’S ROD PEDERSEN COMMENTARY
(The Rod Pedersen Show airs daily at 12 pm ET on Game+ TV across Canada and the USA. Call your cable provider for details. You can also watch on YouTube Live and listen 24/7 at RodPedersen.com/ListenLive)
You said; “AT LEAST THE LEAGUE POWERBROKERS RESPECTED AND LOOKED AFTER THE PLAYERS. HOWEVER THERE’S BEEN A HUGE SHIFT IN HOW THE LEAGUE DOES BUSINESS OVER THE PAST 5-10 YEARS.”
Then you said; “LOOKS BAD ON EVERYBODY”
My question is, how does this look bad on the players?
The CFL enjoyed some of its best times when Mark Cohon was Commissioner. With him as the leader of the CFL, there was unprecedented growth. Seven of the nine teams had stadiums that were either had major refurbishments (BC, Edmonton, Ottawa and Montreal) or had new stadiums built (Hamilton, Saskatchewan and Winnipeg). Also had high ratings and corporate sponsorships. Who was the Commissioner that followed Mark Cohon, it was Jeffery Orridge and then it was Randy Ambrosie. You would think that a former player and also business executive would be able to take the CFL even further than a guy… Read more »
Give this guy his own commentary column!
Or RA’s job
Well said Chris.
I wrote a very pointed letter to both the CFL and the CFLPA todayy. Essentially I said, screw this up at your peril. Fans will not stand for it. We’ll see what happens.