Commentary: Tales From Our Backyard
(Listen daily for the RP Commentary on the All New Hits 98 CKHD & LTD Radio)
Saturday was a fantastic night!
I was back in the homeland – in this case, Wolseley, SK – for the town’s first ever Celebrity Sports Dinner benefitting the Wolseley Sportsplex.
On the speaking docket were Rider great Bob Poley, veteran hockey coach Lorne Molleken, Paralympic curler Gil Dash, and me as the MC.
They were all great, with plenty of sports tales being spun and inspirational stories too.
Bob Poley was the headliner and even though he retired from the Roughriders over 30 years ago (in 1992), he kept the crowd in stitches with behind-the-scenes stories.
Nobody tells a story like the Polecat.
Did you know his last ever game, last play in fact, was the infamous Dave Ridgway “miss” on a game-winning field goal in the 1992 Western Semifinal at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton?
Any Rider fan worth their salt remembers were they were that day, and Poley had a better-than-front row seat.
Of course there were all kinds of anecdotes from the greatest Grey Cup game ever played – 1989 – yet Bob told the crowd his favourite coach was in fact Don Matthews.
Poley played with the Regina Pats too, and that worked nicely with Molleken’s hockey stories. Did you know that Lorne is the only man to coach each of the Regina Pats, Moose Jaw Warriors and Saskatoon Blades?
“Mooner” coached the Pittsburgh Penguins too and said there should be no debate over who’s the greatest Penguin of all-time.
“Mario”.
And you could’ve heard a pin drop when Gil Dash told the story of breaking his back while skiing in BC in 2006 but rather than have that be the end of his story, the Kipling product fashioned a remarkable Paralympic curling career which has seen him represent Canada multiple times, including at the upcoming 2025 Worlds.
I’ve had the incredible fortune to travel around and meet the biggest names in sports.
But I hope we never forget that some of the best stories – and athletes – come from right here.
That’s today’s Rod Pedersen Commentary.
(The Rod Pedersen Show airs daily at 12 pm & 4 pm ET on Game+TV, WQEE Radio, Podcast & YouTube Live)
