Scruffy’s This N That

1 – IS RIDER PRIDE DEAD? Let me get this straight: The Saskatchewan Roughriders are playing the BC Lions in a Saturday night game. A win by the Riders likely means they finish in second spot in the West and will host the West semi. I thought by Wednesday, Riders communications woman Arielle Zerr would have put out a release with the team proudly stating the game is sold out. As of the time of writing this, that release has not come, and I am guessing it won’t come. WTF?

How is it this game has NOT sold out? In the past, I was chastised by the older demographic for saying Rider Pride was dead. This just in — Rider Pride is dead! When you have to offer a 2 for 1 promotion for this game, something is inherently wrong. The game itself should be reason enough for a sellout.

It is obvious the younger demographic doesn’t have the same passion for this football team the way it used to and yes, there are many reasons for that and yes, some of that can be blamed on the football team. That being said, there is no reason why this game should not be sold out. Add the importance of it to the fact Darian Durant and Roy Shivers are getting officially inducted into the Plaza and will be recognized during the game.

This should be a sellout. End of story! If this one isn’t sold out, will the playoff game be sold out? I gotta wonder! By the way, with Winnipeg losing last night that game could very well be the Western Final if Saskatchewan wins tonight.

You can make all the excuses that you want as to why it isn’t sold out, but at the end of the day, Saskatchewan Roughriders football is not what it used to be in the 306. The passion may still be there with some, but for others it is gone and may never be back and that is sad for not just the organization, but the league as a whole.  If Rider Pride isn’t dead, it is on life support.

2 – WHAT TO EXPECT: I fully expect tonight’s game to have a playoff feel to it with points at a premium. If the Riders play that soft zone defence that they keep playing, Nathan Rourke may have a field day. AJ Ouellette should give the Riders offence, which is already humming, a boost. That being said, the offence has been operating well without Ouellette in the lineup so a drastic change isn’t needed.  Many games in the CFL have come down to the final three minutes this year.  I expect tonight will be the same.

3 – CONGRATS SHIV!  Roy Shivers officially gets recognized as Riders royalty this weekend as he is inducted into the Plaza of Honor.  Say what you will about Shiv, but without him the green and white aren’t where they are today. He put together some good football teams and if it weren’t for Paul McCallum missing that field goal, he might have had a Grey Cup on his resume as well.  Look at the players on the 2007 Grey Cup winning team and look at how many of those players Roy brought to Saskatchewan.

Many know at “the shot” he took at me in a CBC interview with Costa Maragos when he was let go. As I have said before, we had a good conversation a few years later and while it was a shot, it was one made from respect.

As for Darian Durant, Rider fans who didn’t see the great Ron Lancaster play will tell you he is the greatest quarterback they have seen in Saskatchewan green and they are not wrong. Durant was a rock star in this town when in the 2010’s when this team was the envy of the CFL.  Of course, he capped it off with that magical win at Taylor Field over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats to win the 2013 Grey Cup in a night no Rider fan will forget.  I hope both are received with a lengthy standing ovation when they are recognized at halftime.

4 – PJ WALKER: The CFL is in desperate need of some younger blood at the QB position.  Guys like Zach Collaros, Trevor Harris and Bo Levi Mitchell are still getting it done, but they are both on the back nine of their career. That youth movement has started with guys like Tre Ford and Nathan Rourke with Taulia Tagovailoa hopefully getting a shot in Hamilton soon.

This week, the Stampeders announced the signing of former NFL and XFL quarterback P.J Walker. Like many other American QB’s who have tried to establish a career north of the border, Walker will have to show he can make the throws and adapt to the Canadian game. If he has, the Stamps have probably found themselves a quarterback.

By the way, why was the trade with Toronto to get Walker so secretive? Is the league and its teams hiding transactions from us.  Is that right?

5 – PLAYOFF TIME: Just one more game before we get yet another Prairie Football Conference final between the Saskatoon Hilltops and Regina Thunder.  Yes, the Calgary Colts and Edmonton Huskies could throw a wrinkle into that, but every year it is seemingly the same two teams in the final and sadly for the Thunder, it is usually the Hilltops coming out on top but each year is a different year. If you get a chance, go support your junior clubs.

6 – BUILD A DAMN ARENA ALREADY:  When the plan was announced to build Rogers Place and the surrounding Ice District in downtown Edmonton, there were people in the Alberta capital that said “what a dumb idea!” Where are those people now and how much egg do they have on their face?

It had been a couple of years since I attended an Oilers home game, but when the team made the Stanley Cup final last year, I decided it was time to make another trip for the 24-25 home opener to either celebrate a Cup title or a Western Conference championship.

From the time I got into downtown Edmonton Wednesday night, which was a couple of hours before gametime, you could tell it was game night as people in jerseys were making the trek to the rink. Thankfully none that I saw were wearing Riders or Elks jerseys.  As I got to my hotel, which was about a 10-minute walk from the rink, it was littered with fans of both the Winnipeg Jets and Oilers.  The walk to the arena was fantastic as the energy was tremendous as it is on game night.  Bars around Rogers Place were packed and there were people everywhere.

On Thursday, I went for a walk-through downtown Edmonton and the Ice District and it was alive. People were everywhere.  As I sat in the Canadian Icehouse, which is in the Ice District for those that don’t know and is a place I would recommend, I was told what I already knew.  The building I was in and the area around it would not be had it not been for Rogers Place and what it has done for the downtown.

As I walked around, it just made me laugh as to the city of Regina’s inability to get something done here while downtown Regina bemoans the loss of restaurants.  This just in.  People don’t want to spend time in downtown Regina because there is no reason to spend time in downtown Regina after work.  It was like that in Edmonton as well at one time and I am guessing it was like that in Winnipeg before Canada Life Centre sprung up.  Tell me Moose Jaw would be thriving if the Civic Centre was still there and the Events Centre hadn’t been built.

If Regina and Saskatoon want to breathe some life into a dying downtown, build a facility and watch the benefits. It is as simple as that. I don’t know who the mayors of each city will be in a couple of months time, but getting a downtown arena built needs to be high on the priority list otherwise what we are seeing now will just continue.

7 – IT WAS JUST ONE NIGHT RIGHT?  The joy of being at the Oilers home opener was quickly subdued as Winnipeg put two home in 20 seconds in the 2^nd period to take a 4-0 lead and all the energy out of the rink.

Last year’s whipping boy became this year’s whipping boy in a big hurry as Edmonton fans DO NOT like Darnell Nurse.  As a fan in my section said, I’ll cheer Nurse in the pre-game intros and that’s it. By the time, an in-game promotion featuring Nurse was held, fans were booing it. By judging from the pre-game intros, they aren’t big on goalie coach Dustin Schwartz either.

The game was horrible and Edmonton’s weakness was exposed early on. It is evident that the “D” is just not good enough. It wouldn’t be any better with Philip Broberg either.  A debate can be had on Cody Ceci.  Championships aren’t decided in October, but GM Stan Bowman (I hate typing that) has some work to do.

8 – YOUTH MOVEMENT ON: My NHL predictions can be found at the bottom of this column.  Spoiler alert, I may be taking the team that many others are picking to win the Stanley Cup and that would be the team I cheer for and the one that came one goal short last year.  When the NHL released some numbers to start the season, I was surprised to see the Edmonton Oilers have the oldest team in the NHL with an average age of just over 30.  In fact, Edmonton is the only team with an average age of over 30.

What also stood out to me was the amount of players in the league under 25.  33 percent of those on opening night rosters are 25 or younger.  Even though he is in his 2^nd year, Connor Bedard is still the youngest player in the league.

9 – NFL WEEK 6:  Here are a couple of tidbits as you get ready for another Sunday of NFL action

• Prior to Detroit’s bye last week, quarterback Jared Goff became the first player in NFL history with a 100 percent completion percentage on 15-or-more attempts, going 18-for-18 in the Lions’ Week 4 win over Seattle. Including his final pass attempt in Week 3, he has completed 19 consecutive pass attempts. If Goff completes his first seven pass attempts at Dallas, he will set the all-time NFL record for consecutive pass attempts without an incompletion, surpassing Nick Foles (25 consecutive completions in 2018), Marcus Mariota (25 in 2018), Philip Rivers (25 in 2018) and Ryan Tannehill (25 in 2015).
• Entering Week 6, the New York Giants lead the NFL with 22 sacks and have recorded at least five sacks in three of their first five games. With five sacks against Cincinnati on Sunday Night Football, the Giants will become the third team since 1990 to record at least five sacks in four of their first six games of a season, joining New England in 2019 and Tampa Bay in 2000. With six sacks on Sunday night, the Giants will tie the 2000 Buccaneers (28 sacks) and 1998 Seahawks (28) for the third-most sacks by a team in their first six games of a season since 1990. The 2013 Chiefs had 30 sacks to hold the NFL record for most sacks through six games.
• Between Washington’s Jayden Daniels (four wins), Denver’s Bo Nix (three) and Chicago’s Caleb Williams (three), rookie quarterbacks have combined for 10 wins this season, the second-most by rookie quarterbacks in the first five weeks of a season since 1970, trailing only 1987 (12 wins). Daniels became the third rookie quarterback since 1950 to start and win four of his team’s first five games of a season, joining Joe Ferguson (1973 with Buffalo) and Dak Prescott (2016 with Dallas). Nix is the first rookie quarterback to win three consecutive games in Broncos franchise history. Williams became the fourth rookie quarterback since 1950 to win each of his first three home starts and throw no interceptions in each game, joining Matt Ryan (2008), Tua Tagovailoa (2020) and Russell Wilson (2012). 

10 – RANDOM THOUGHTS:

• Is Daniel Jones the best quarterback on a NY team in the NFL right now?
• NHL predictions:
• Division winners – Florida, Rangers, Dallas, Edmonton

                                 Art Ross – Connor McDavid

                                 Rocket Richard Trophy – Kirill Kaprizov

                                 Jack Adams Trophy – Derek Lalonde

                                  Calder – Lane Hutson

                                   Vezina – Jake Oettinger

                                   Norris – Cale Makar

                                   Hart – Connor McDavid

                                    SC winner – Edmonton over Rangers

• I LOVE playoff baseball! So much for my WS prediction of San Diego vs Cleveland.
• Not sure who is responsible, but it is ludicrous that the Bombers and Jets played on the same night at the same time. Do they not communicate with one another? Then again, the Canucks are playing a home game on Grey Cup Sunday against Nashville that I think will be going on at the same time.

Have a great week all! Happy Thanksgiving!