Scruffy’s This N That

1 – AN EARLY TEST: No matter how good the Saskatchewan Roughriders are, it seems that trips out East can be adventurous especially when they head to Hamilton.  Take away the first 10 minutes and the last 10 minutes and Mace’s Men were more than deserving of their opening week 31-26 win at Mosaic over Ottawa. 

Injuries hurt the team and the worst one may have been to rookie offensive lineman Payton Collins. He graded out as the top o-lineman in the CFL in Week 1, but he won’t be around for a while after suffering a lower-body injury.  It means the unit you want to be consistent will not be as they try to keep Trevor Harris upright. 

The signing of Ka’Deem Carey is an interesting one considering that it looks like AJ Ouellette will see action after having to leave early against Ottawa sparking many to think the signing of the big bruising running back was not as solid as an investment as they thought it would be. It seems to me as if Carey gives them a good 1-2 punch which is what you need and that he provides valuable experience should AJ get knocked out of action again. 

I expect Hamilton to be much better than they were against Calgary, but if they couldn’t run the ball against a Stampeders defence that isn’t in the same league as the Riders D, how are they expected to run it against Saskatchewan.  Bo Levi Mitchell will never be confused with a shifty scrambler so the Riders could make it a long night for him.

Saskatchewan is favoured by 3.5 and while that number is tempting to take the Ti-Cats to cover because of the Riders struggles out east, I will take them to win this one by 5-9 points. 

2 – DON’T SLEEP ON THE BOMBERS: I told you not to sleep on Winnipeg and while it is only one week, the Bombers put up a statement win Thursday at home.  I certainly didn’t think Winnipeg would beat B.C without Zach Collaros, but Chris Streveler silenced some of his critics throwing for 246 yards and three touchdowns while only running for nine in the victory. 

It’s not clear how long Brady Oliveira might be out after leaving the game with an upper-body injury, but it sounds like it will be a few weeks, but they will be more than OK with Matthew Peterson. I said when he was drafted in 2024 that the University of Alberta product from Brooks could be the next great Canadian running back in the CFL and I thought he was stuck in the wrong spot when Winnipeg picked him up via trade.  This may be his opportunity to flourish. 

Bottom line is talk of the Bombers demise may be extremely premature.  That is still a good football team despite what many are thinking. 

3 – NOT AGAIN: Something the CFL does not need is injuries to some of its top players—particularly at the most important position.  Dru Brown didn’t make it through Week 1 before getting hurt and now Nathan Rourke may miss some time after suffering an oblique injury.  The CFL needs its quarterbacks to be healthy.  Some are saying that teams have to address their o-line and get more Americans in there. I call BS to that.  That is an insult to some very good Canadian o-linemen in this league like Logan Ferland. 

4 – CONGRATS FRANK: During a chat with a Regina Rams alumni a couple of weeks ago, the name of Frank McCrystal came up. I am not sure if this person knew what was about to happen, but it was mentioned that the long-time coach of the Regina Rams was not a member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.  That will soon no longer be the case. 

McCrystal will go into the CFHOF as a builder as it was announced on Thursday.  Ask many of the players who he coached over the years and they will tell you what a big influence Frank was on them.  He molded many a man to great careers whether it be on the football field or in life.  He was also one of the last to say it without thinking about it.  In this day where players and coaches give us homogenized quotes and try not to say anything that might be taken the wrong way, Frank just shot from the hip.  Some of his quotes regarding Saskatoon are pure gold!

The Rams have had some great coaches in their junior and university history (Mike Gibson excluded) and there is no doubt that Gord Currie and McCrystal are 1-2 on the list.  Congrats Coach!

5 – QSEG AND THE RED SOX:  I think a lot of people were caught off-guard with Friday’s announcement that Queen City Sports and Entertainment is adding the Regina Red Sox to their roster. I know QSEG is not the most popular group in Regina because of what has happened off the ice with the Regina Pats and I fully understand that.  I do not think the same scenario will happen here.  I think this will be a great thing for the Red Sox, the Western Canadian Baseball League and the Regina/Saskatchewan baseball community.  It will also lead to a new home for the team.  Some people say that is fine as long as there is no civic money involved and again, I can see that.  I will once again say that a downtown facility is what is needed to spur the much-needed revitalization of downtown Regina that the city oh so desperately wants and needs. The city of Edmonton is benefitting from Rogers Place, the city of Winnipeg is benefitting from Canada Life Centre.  South of the border, downtown Denver became revitalized when Coors Field was built and having Target Field in Minneapolis has increased activity there. Those are just some examples.  I think this is positive news for Regina as a whole and I think that a few years down the road we won’t be having the discussions that are being had today.  Time will tell my friends! Time will tell!

6 – ARE YOU ENTERTAINED? This might be the best Stanley Cup Final I have seen.  As an Oilers fan, it has been stressful, and I think it is safe to say the same can be said if you are a Panthers fan.  As you know three of the four games have gone to overtime and there really hasn’t been a lot to separate Edmonton and Florida.  The mental toughness both are showing is phenomenal.  One has to think this series is going seven, but with the OT we have seen it can end in 6.  It’s as good as it gets. 

I don’t know how things will end up, but I do know that barring something crazy in the last three games that either Leon Draisaitl or Sam Bennett will win the Conn Smythe Trophy and that Calvin Pickard should have the Edmonton net for the rest of the series.  It also makes me wonder about the future of Stuart Skinner in Oil Country. Could he be the guy that is sacrificed to get Evan Bouchard the contract he is looking for.  Say what you want about Bouchard, but Edmonton wants to keep him and he will get paid.  If Skinner were to leave Edmonton, you would have Pickard and ______ going into next year. It never ends folks.  It never ends!

7 – HANGIN AROUND: Was I wrong on the Blue Jays this year? It certainly helped that the Vladimir Guerrero Junior contract dilemma came to an end and through the first six weeks of the season that team was not very good but that isn’t the case right now. I am just trying to figure out if what we have seen since June 1 is a mirage or not.  While they were spanked 8-0 in Philadelphia on Friday night, the Jays have won 12 of their last 15 putting them 2^nd in the American League East and in the wildcard hunt.  Yes, with the exception of the Yankees and the Tigers there are a lot of average teams in the American League like Boston, KC, Cleveland, Minnesota, Seattle, Texas and Houston.  Yes, there isn’t one player doing the damage on a consistent basis for Toronto as everyone seems to be contributing on a nightly basis which is good.  The pressure will be ramped up once the calendar hits July and it will be interesting to see who rises and who falls.  At the end of the day, I still don’t think Toronto is a playoff team, but I didn’t think they would be seven games above 500 on June 14 either. 

8 – LET THE COUNTDOWN BEGIN:  You are going to hear a lot of soccer talk over the next 14 months. We are now a year away from the World Cup being contested in Canada, the U-S and Mexico. You won’t catch me watching the Premier League or other leagues from Europe, but I am dialled in when it comes time for events like the WC and the European Championships.  I would love to see a friendly or two played at Mosaic Stadium before the event gets going, but I don’t think playing a game on turf is what FIFA wants.  That being said, this event will be great for the sport in our country if Soccer Canada, who has been known to screw off the field things up, can market it right.  

9 – HACKIN AND WHACKIN! I am enjoying the US Open Golf Championship.  The best in the world are getting annihilated by Oakmont. I’m not a fan of 72 hole tournaments being won with scores of 13-16 under, but I do like seeing golfers getting challenged or for the most part having to pay if they miss the fairway or hit a bad shot into the green.  There were only three players in the field under par at the midway mark.  Some felt going in the winner might be 1 or 2 over par.  I don’t disagree! 

10 – RANDOM THOUGHTS: 

• It has been suggested that Brad Marchand could get a 3-4 year deal in free agency worth between seven to eight million a year. Nothing against Brad, who I would love to see in Edmonton, but I don’t see him getting that because of his age.  Why do I get the feeling Toronto will overpay!
• Having a Riders game on at the same time as the Stanley Cup final is not ideal. We know TSN loves the /=S=/ on the road, but I am guessing a lot of football fans will be tuned into hockey tonight and for good reason.
• EA Sports’ College Football 26 will pay schools on game usage. Can we in the 306 help North Dakota or Montana become a powerhouse??!! 😊
• Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce were at Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals in Sunrise. Did the two not know that Rod is in Moose Jaw? Maybe they will show up at a Millers game! 

That’s all I got! Have a great week and Happy Father’s Day to all the Dad’s out there. Mom did a lot for us, but so did Dad!