10 WEEKEND THINGS

TAKING SHOTS …

1 – TOUCHDOWN ATLANTIC: These aren’t great times for the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Not only did they lose 30-24 to the Toronto Argonauts in Touchdown Atlantic V (a very winnable game) on Saturday, but they also apparently lost their starting quarterback, and are embroiled in another nasty controversy involving the lack of discipline from one of their star players. The Argos allege star Rider receiver Duke Williams spit twice on one of their players, and video from the warmup shows Williams throwing his helmet at that same Argonaut (Shaq Richardson). How Duke was even allowed to play in the game is a mystery, and now this. The Riders are apparently denying the spitting allegations and it would seem the Green & White are happy to have Nova Scotia in their rear view mirror. What an impression they left in the Maritimes!

2 – THE GAME: It’s en vogue to bash Rider QB Cody Fajardo these days so as soon as I saw the game-ending interception on the Riders attempted comeback (his third pick of the day, which was tipped by the receiver) I knew he’d be be on full blast from the Rider Nation. He was, and is. The quarterback always gets the blame but consider this analysis from RP Show analyst and Rider Hall of Famer Jeff Fairholm: “There are a lot of reasons why the Riders lost today but one that I will wonder about is why they abandoned the running game especially on the second-to-last drive where the Pick 6 happened. We were leading at that point.”

Perhaps Offensive Coordinator Jason Maas can answer? Fajardo can only run the plays which were called, and Sask ran the last O.C. out of town.

3 – DISCIPLINE: The Argonauts were actually the most-penalized team in this contest (14/153) compared to the Roughriders (11/132) but it’s not a contest. Those totals don’t include the fracas in warmup which should’ve resulted in Duke Williams’ ejection but the story is the officials weren’t on the field. This is going to be a busy week for CFL Commissioner Randy Ambrosie. The Riders are being roasted far and wide for the team’s discipline problems but as former Rider lineman Mike Abou-Mechrek offered while watching the game on Saturday, “I think you need to have a discipline problem.” The 10-year CFL veteran said it with his trademark smirk/half-smile but clearly he’s alluding to the fact you can’t win a championship with a band of Boy Scouts and choirboys. It’s true, the Rider Nation likely won’t care about all this if there’s a Grey Cup title looming for them in November but the way I see it going, that’s not happening.

4 – MORE ON TD ATLANTIC: From merely watching the festivities from out here in Western Canada, there seemed to be a pall thrown over the proceedings the day before the game when Halifax Mayor Mike Savage admitted there’s no appetite to build a stadium in his city and Schooners owner Gary Drummond (of Regina) said his group wouldn’t participate in TD Atlantic festivities because there have been no formal talks and their involvement on the weekend would look or seem “presumptuous”. So this added up to having all the fun of a funeral but come game day, TSN and the CFL – along with the host city – did a real nice job and it looked like a tremendous success.

By the way, from what I can say, the only teams NOT to have played in TD Atlantic now are BC, Winnipeg and Ottawa.

5 – AMBROSIE: While more and more people continue to pile on the CFL’s embattled Commissioner, I continue to support him although that support is waning. Randy’s always been kind and obliging to me, even stopped for a photo and chat in the Commonwealth Stadium parking lot 10 days ago in Edmonton, and has never turned down an interview request when it’s come from me personally. However I wish he’d be a lot more honest about the state of things in the CFL. Twice in Edmonton I asked Randy if things were good and twice he nodded that yes, things are good. But they are not. You knew the topic of expansion to the Maritimes would come up this week and he was positive/optimistic about the idea, but then Drummond and Savage threw a wet blanket on the notion. The Atlantic Schooners expansion franchise appears completely dead to me and has wasted a lot of peoples’ time and money. Just say it.

I’ve been covering this league pretty much full time since 1991 and the list of Commissioners I’ve dealt with look like this: Donald Crump, Phil Kershaw, Larry Smith, John Tory, Jeff Giles, Michael Lysko, Tom Wright, Mark Cohon, Jeffrey P. Orridge and now Ambrosie. 10 COMMISSIONERS IN 30 YEARS! Anyway, in the 90’s the guy I dealt with the most was Larry Smith and when you’d ask him how things are going, he’d look at you like he’d seen a ghost, rub his forehead and say, “Not that good.” 

All I want is the truth, and I think so do you. Personally I think Ambrosie got into this job with great intentions (CFL 2.0 being one) but has gotten so twisted around by these owners, governors and presidents that he doesn’t know which end is up.

Consequently, I don’t know who to believe anymore and that’s a crappy feeling. Leaders should be held to the truth. I believe the good ones still are.

The point is, in the 80’s and 90’s the CFL was transparent about its problems and the country rallied to support. 30-40 years later, the league leaders are too stubborn and/or egotistical to admit what the problems are.

6 – OTHER CFL: Due to Calgary Stampeding, I only watched about 40% of CFL football in Week 6 but here are some observations – 1) Again, Winnipeg might win 15 games. 2) It’s not the worst thing that Calgary didn’t have its best game in Friday’s loss at Winnipeg. There have been years where the Stampeders didn’t face adversity till the Grey Cup, then they didn’t know how to handle it. 3) I refuse to believe that Paul LaPolice is not head coach material, despite his team’s 0-5 record. But he’d better start winning soon. 4) Who cares if the Riders’ two losses have come against the weaker East Division? They’re unbeaten against the West. 5) No Nathan Rourke this week? How does BC have two byes in five weeks??, 6) Ambrosie said the results of an independent study came back overwhelmingly positive for adding a 10th team, including scheduling balancing. NO KIDDING! You could’ve asked me and saved yourself the money. 7) Three weeks in, I and the City of Edmonton, were writing off the Elks. Now they’ve won two of their past three games. #FearTheDeer. 8) The elk is the largest member of the deer family. Look it up. 9) I think Montreal Alouettes owner Gary Stern has been hoodwinked. 10) Very happy for Tiger-Cats fans that their time finally won, 25-23 over the RedBlacks on Saturday. They got a good game, and they deserve better than what they’ve gotten so far this year. 11) Looks like a Winnipeg-Toronto Grey Cup in November in Regina, and 12) Week 7 games: Montreal at Ottawa, Hamilton at BC, Winnipeg at Edmonton, Toronto at Sask.

7 – CALGARY STAMPEDE: It will be an emotional day on Sunday! It’s Championship Sunday here at the Calgary Stampede which, for you city slickers, is the Super Bowl of Rodeo as far as I’m concerned. As kids, my family would gather around the TV in the farmhouse living room on this third Sunday of July and watch announcers Ernie Afaganis and Bob Tallman call the action of the world’s best rodeo cowboys competing for $50,000 in prize money in each event (I thought every family did). 40 years later, it’s still $50,000. Cowboys need an agent! Anyway, for the first time in my 49 years I’ll be there in person along with RP Show COO Lee Genier and we’ll actually be in a luxury suite at GMC Stadium hosted by Buckle Vodka. Pinch me. I’m getting tears just thinking about it. Can’t wait!

8 – HOCKEY: If you are sick of hockey coverage, enjoy what’s going on now. Nothing! The draft and free agency are over and there’s nothing going on now till training camps. The hockey guys have gone to the cottage (or the Cabbage, as TSN’s Darren Dreger calls it, combining the words cabin and cottage). … In Calgary, they’re still not over Johnny Gaudreau leaving. Chuckwagon announcer Grant Buchanan brought it up on the mic at Friday night’s races. Overall, Flames fans just can’t get their minds around why someone wouldn’t want to live in Calgary. I get it. … I popped by the Flames Development Camp this week at Seven Chiefs Arena on Tsuu’tina Nation, not far from the Grey Eagle Resort & Casino. It was the day after Gaudreau left. The mood was a combination of a bomb going off, and a funeral. They really liked Johnny here. … Got great reports on the play of Regina Pats goalie Matthew Keeper in the camp! … To the Flames credit, over the past couple of years they’ve acknowledged their culture problem and have taken steps to improve it. The results are visible. But it wasn’t enough to keep Gaudreau. And even then, it seemed he craved the anonymity that a city like Columbus, OH provides. … Go enjoy the rest of summer!

9A – C.S.R. > CALGARY SPORTS RADIO: If Calgary Sports & Entertainment Corporation (CSEC) is smart, which they are, they’d either start their own radio station or buy Fan 960 all-sports radio outright. With expiring contracts with both the Flames and Stampeders, now would be the time to do it and instead of charging rights fees, they could collect broadcast ad revenue themselves and it would be a de facto 24-hour commercial for all the teams they own: NHL Flames, AHL Heat, CFL Stampeders, NLL Roughnecks & WHL Hitmen. It practically is now anyway. Fan 960 is crumbling before our eyes – or ears – with staff jumping off the ship left and right. They’d rather not work in the media AT ALL than work for Rogers Media. So now’s the time for CSEC to strike while the iron’s hot. Y’er welcome.

9B – RP SHOW: By the way, that’s not me angling for a job but it would be nice if C.S.R. carried The Rod Pedersen Show live from 10 am to noon daily. Not surprisingly, our fastest-growing region for listeners is Alberta. This is why we created the show in the first place; to own it ourselves and pitch it to various radio and TV stations. Game+ TV was the first to pick us up, and it just happens to air across Canada and the USA as a specialty channel. Unfortunately we got a “no” from all the radio companies in Saskatchewan, but it’s turned out better than we envisioned anyway. We were forced to look elsewhere. I’m not sure if Saskatchewan radio is afraid of the Roughriders, they don’t believe in me or what, but here we are. Everything happens for a reason.

Any Saskatchewan radio station could still carry our show at anytime, and make a lot of money.

10 – RANDOM THOUGHTS: Treated myself to a jumbo corndog and jumbo lemonade on the Stampede midway Friday night. It was the best decision I’ve made in awhile. … I had a dream this week that the Riders would win Touchdown Atlantic by five points. Clearly, don’t follow me for betting advice. … On Friday we awarded two pairs of tickets to the 2022 World Junior Hockey Championship in Edmonton to viewers of the RP Show. The winners get to pick their games! We’ll play the contest again this week. Join us at 10 am MT daily on Game+ TV Network and YouTube Live. … In August we’ll be broadcasting live from Rogers Place in Edmonton for two weeks during the World Juniors. … In case you were wondering, web traffic (hits) have doubled to this website. … Time to get ready for Championship Sunday. Have a good one and thanks for stopping by!

Y’er welcome,
RP
@rodpedersen