10 WEEKEND THINGS

Taking shots …

1 – TAKE WARNING: For once, they’re talking about the same thing in Florida as they are in Canada: the Stanley Cup Playoffs and the Florida Panthers. Whew, what a relief! That makes things so much easier for me. So the Cardiac Cats, or Comeback Cats, are up 2-0 in the NHL’s Eastern Conference Final following a 2-1 OT win at Carolina on Saturday night. Matthew Tkachuk scored the winner in both games so far. There’s so much to get into here.

And as my friend Thad, a Panthers season ticket holder and manager of Beach House Pompano, texted after last night’s game, “We’ve got a lot of experience dealing with Hurricanes down here.”

2 – CHUCKY: You’ve gotta love the stats … The Panthers have won eight straight road playoff games which is two shy of the NHL record of 10, set by the 2012 Stanley Cup champion L.A. Kings … Tkachuk has tied the NHL record for playoff OT goals (3), held by Corey Perry, Maurice Richard and Mel Hill. … Florida’s 6-0 record in OT this spring makes them the second team in NHL history to do it, behind the 2007 Stanley Cup champion Anaheim Ducks. … See a trend developing? … In Thursday’s marathon, four overtime Game 1, Panthers defenceman Brandon Montour played 58 minutes and skated 9 miles. … Montour, Vegas’s Zach Whitecloud and Vancouver’s Ethan Bear are the three First Nations players in the NHL.

3 – DOUG’S NO SLUG: There’s always got to be a broadcasting angle to this column. Panthers radio voice Doug Plagens is getting properly celebrated for calling the Game 1 marathon by himself on 560 WQAM Thursday night. Doug’s colour commentator Bill Lindsay doesn’t broadcast road games due to NHL Network commitments and other Panthers requirements (he coaches the Jr. Panthers Learn-To-Play program). Doug’s call of the goal has gone viral and what’s shocking to me is how strong his voice was through 139 minutes of hockey, at 1:28 am ET. When I called four OTs of Pats/Hurricanes in 1996, my voice was GONE and I even had Al Dumba with me. But Thursday night certainly brought back some memories. Nice job Doug, friend of the show!

4 – JUNIOR BEAT: Sunday’s Centennial Cup championship final is set, and what a showdown it is! The Battlefords North Stars will take on the defending champion Brooks Bandits at 4 pm ET in Portage, MB. If you follow Junior A hockey at all, this is quite a story. The Bandits are basically known as the Evil Empire of Junior Hockey and make no apologies for it. The Stars have won their second SJHL title since 2019 and were robbed of continuing the dynasty due to Covid wiping out the 2020 and 2021 playoffs. But now they’re back. See how it unfolds today on TSN.

5 – BRAYDEN KLIMOSKO: If you haven’t heard the name by now, you should have. Those championships in the Battlefords have come on the watch of Klimosko, a Humboldt, SK product who played four seasons with the Broncos (2004-2008) and won a national championship as a player. He’s had even more success as a coach and I’ve spent a great deal of time with him over the past number of years, for various reasons. Here’s what you need to know about Brayden: He’s incredibly intelligent, cares every bit as much about his players and staff as people than as players, coaches or administrators, and he is focused on winning today. If you asked him what his career aspirations are, my guess is he’d say he hasn’t thought too much about it. He’s concerned with winning now, and the rest will take care of itself. Today his team plays for a national championship.

6 – UP IN SMOKE: The report I got from Saturday’s Roughriders Green & White Scrimmage in Saskatoon was that they got two series in before they had to call the thing due to poor air quality related to forest fires in B.C. and Alberta. That’s a shame all the way around! The players really look forward to that as an opportunity to make or break at least the preseason roster, and the fans want to see the team! Guess you’ll have to do that Saturday’s preseason clash versus B.C. at BC Place. … There were a few other things emanating from Saturday including the fact there will be $5 concession items at home games this year. It’s an idea *borrowed* from teams like the Falcons and Blue Bombers, and has gone over amazingly well with fans. Not too much is original in sports marketing, or marketing, anymore but if you find yourself on the cutting edge of these things, that’s where you lead. It’s also where you get criticized the most …

7 – DUBAS & HARRIS: No, it’s not an injury law firm. (i.e. “If your grandma got run over by a reindeer, you might be entitled to compensation. Call the injury lawyers at Dubas & Harris …”). No, rather, I’m referring to sports figures Kyle Dubas and Trevor Harris. The now former GM of the Maple Leafs and current Roughriders quarterback – ironically both 37 years of age – are in the news for putting family first. Dubas told the Toronto media on Monday about the toll his job has taken on his young family, and five days later he was fired. (My guess is his family didn’t have a problem with the millions Dubas earned as Leafs GM). And as for Harris, he’ll be excused from the Roughriders’ first preseason game due to the birth of he and his wife’s third child. That much was learned on Saturday.

I’ve got no issues with either case! I missed a Pats game for the birth of my daughter, and never thought twice about it. But the balancing act of family and career in sports & business isn’t getting any easier to navigate as the years have gone on. If anything, it’s gotten more difficult. What hasn’t changed is this: if you track the most successful coaches, managers and CEOs, there’s a trail of divorces and resentful kids in the wake.

The choice is always yours.

8 – JERSEY RANKING: In the absence of a whole lot else to discuss before the 2023 CFL preseason kicks off, here’s my ranking of the nicest jerseys CURRENTLY in the CFL (forget about past jerseys, third uniforms, etc.): 1) Winnipeg 2) Toronto 3) Saskatchewan 4) Montreal 5) BC 6) Edmonton 7) Calgary 8) Hamilton 9) Ottawa.

Some of my all-time favourites for the Riders are the blacks from the Shivers & Barrett era, the melon green from the Taman/Miller era, and the current Labour Day classic set.

The nicest CFL jersey ever? The 1980s era Argonauts double blue.

9 – MEDIA BUZZ: I read with interest the Canadian Press story of the old newspaper guys bemoaning the state of the media industry and the fact newspapers aren’t sending reporters on the road to cover the games any longer, including the Regina Leader Post, if I’m correct. In a business meeting this week in Boca Raton, FL, an ad agency exec brought up the term, “Who Moved My Cheese?” I had to ask to what he was referring. He directed me to the popular book of the same title, and short YouTube video. It’s all about dealing with change in the workplace. Go with the flow. Adapt or die. Pining for the way things used to be is a waste of your time while the rest of us are out hustling for new cheese. Always have been. Y’er welcome.

10 – RANDOM THOUGHTS: Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. … “While you’re thinking about it, I’m out there doing it.” …. Never really understood the idea of “Raise & Blaze”, but to each their own. … My next door neighbour today in the Florida Keys is running with that idea at the moment. … From what I’m told, Darryl Sutter’s family would like to see him coach again. Meanwhile, he is undecided. He’s not going to take just “any” job. … The smart money, I’d say, has Craig Conroy as the next GM of the Calgary Flames, and Mitch Love as head coach. Apparently Jarome Iginla will be joining the team in some capacity. … Why did the New York Rangers fire head coach Gerard Gallant? Apparently it was due to a blow-up with GM Chris Drury in the middle of the New Jersey series regarding the roster. … Junior Mints and the movies are a perfect pairing. … A thumb-and-a-half up from the Monday Morning Goalie for the movie Blackberry. You’ve gotta love a movie title which tells you exactly what the movie is about. And you’ve gotta go, although it brought back painful memories of the “Crackberry” and regrets of spending wayyyy too much time on it. … There’s been a lot of criticism of NHL On TNT analyst Paul Bissonnette for the zany things he says and his odd quirks. But he’s the new breed, not unlike Tony Romo of CBS. If you don’t like him, then don’t watch but I want to say this: Biz is a really, really good guy. He’s been on the RP Show and I got to me friends with him during the IceEdge era in Arizona. Cut him some slack and just go with it. …You repeat what you don’t heal. … AND HOW WAS YOUR WEEK?

Y’er welcome,
RP
@rodpedersen