10 Monday Things For SUDS Car Wash
TRUTH & RUMOURS FOR SUDS CAR WASH
1 – MACE’S MEN: Grey Cup-winning Saskatchewan Roughriders head coach Corey Mace had the crowd eating out of the palm of his hand Saturday night at the annual Milestone Sportsman’s Dinner in my hometown of Milestone, SK. I had the great honour of MC’ing the event and it was the first time I’d met the 39-year old CFL Coach of the Year-to-be. I was scribbling down some last minute notes prior to the event when Mace approached with his arms stretched wide open for a gigantic bear hug. What a gift to get 15 minutes of uninterrupted talk-time before we hit the stage along with former NHL & WHL coach Lorne Molleken before a soldout crowd, raising money for the yearly operation of the Milestone Memorial Arena.
It was a real treat to see lots of folks from surrounding communities like Rouleau, Wilcox, Lang, Avonlea & Regina in attendance as well. Great job by Ali Moskowy, Ian Wourms and the entire Milestone Rink Board for pulling off a fantastic event! Thanks for having me.
2 – WHAT YOU SEE IS….: Mace – a Port Moody, BC product – is a what-you-see-is-what-you-get kinda guy and it’s not a shock why his players, and the Rider Nation, have responded to him so well. Everything he said to me privately is exactly what the former Buffalo Bills D-lineman said on the microphone, to raucous ovations like, “I ain’t f%$@ing leaving!” and “This is the greatest place to coach football in the world!” (Should we tell him?)
Mace also mentioned that he’d been advised by friends to can the F-bombs while interviewing for the Roughriders job prior to the 2024 season but he shrugged and said, “That ain’t me”. I’d say it’s turned out pretty well.
The question I was dying to ask him was about sticking with kicker Brett Lauther despite his struggles throughout the season. Mace said he told Lauther, “I need you to figure this out because you’re going to be kicking in the Grey Cup.” He didn’t elaborate on what specifically Lauther fixed, but it worked. Coach of the Year material.
There was also a great illustration to me that Corey is of the new generation (born in 1985). He disappeared into the Milestone Flyers dressing room with the players to sign the wall and didn’t emerge for quite some time while I stayed upstairs, sipping Diet Coke with those of my generation, and talking about the old days. Time marches on …
3 – MOONER, MOONER!: I’ll say it again — it’s going to be a great day when Lorne Molleken goes into the Saskatchewan Hockey Hall of Fame, and Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame. To go from growing up in Weyburn, SK where his Dad managed the pool hall to being head coach of the Chicago Blackhawks? Remarkable. And he’s the only man to coach all three of the Moose Jaw Warriors, Saskatoon Blades and Regina Pats. Lorne told tale after tale on the mic and repeated that Mario Lemieux is simply the greatest hockey player he’s ever seen. A great after dinner speaker …
4 – RUBBER CHICKEN CIRCUIT: Next Saturday we’ll be in Lanigan, SK doing it all over again with guest speakers Marc Mueller (offensive coordinator) and Luc Mullinder (alum & broadcaster) of Roughriders fame as we raise money during the Tinsel For Tots event. I’ll be staying in Sask all week and doing my show out of the Golden Ticket Sports Centre in Moose Jaw. Lots of money is being raised for these communities! To have us out to your event, call our manager Joe Gunnis at 306-631-4123.
5 – STAY IN YOUR LANE: By now you know reviled college football coach Lane Kiffin made his announcement Sunday that he’s leaving Ole Miss – midseason – to take the head coaching role at LSU. To say this news is earth shattering is an understatement. The Mississippi Athletic Director gave Kiffin till this weekend to decide if he’d accept Florida or LSU’s offer, or stay at Ole Miss. When Lane decided upon the Tigers, the A.D. told him “get out”. So Friday’s win over Mississippi State in the Egg Bowl was Kiffin’s last game with the school. They’ve still got the playoffs to go! (If they make it).
LSU sent a private jet to Oxford on Sunday to pick Kiffin up and scores of Rebels fans showed up at the airport to boo him. He may go down as the most villainized college coach of all time. This story morphed into wayyy more than a “Will he or won’t he” story and devolved into horrible things being said – that can’t be taken back – and even Kiffin confronting a podcast host on the sidelines at Mississippi State Friday night after the joker called Kiffin a “hoe”. It’s ironic that Kiffin is the target of this hype after he himself admonished College Football for the chaos caused by the Transfer Portal, and then he ends up causing more than anybody.
For the Canadian readers who aren’t following (I was once one of you), imagine every TV station talking about something, every sportsradio channel, and every watercooler, coffee shop and gym locker room discussion across the entire country being centred one thing. That’s what’s been going on with Lane Kiffin the last two weeks since Florida and LSU have made offers to pry him out of Oxford, MS. This all needs to be revamped whereby schools aren’t able to approach candidates until their season is over. I know that’s not logistically possible right now due to the dates of the Transfer Portal window, but it needs to happen somehow, some way.
6 – FISH WHERE THE FISH ARE: Our analytics people at the RP Show are astonished at the thousands of views our clips get when I talk about College Football (especially recently). It’s just an animal that defies description and for some reason, the viewers like what I have to say. The CFL is never going to enjoy this kind of hype but they need to manufacture something because right now the only story in the league is the vacant Toronto Argonauts head coaching job (recent reports suggest the Argos culture is toxic and no one wants the job. Not sure I believe that). But in today’s sports news cycle, it’s out of sight, out of mind. The CFL can’t afford that any longer, whatwith the recent Angus Reid Institute poll which said the CFL’s popularity in Canada is at an all-time low. Their study showed that only only 16% of Canadians say they follow the league. I’d like to see what the percentage who say they follow the NHL in Canada is. 80%?
7 – WHAT I’D DO: Recently a reader asked what some of the things are that I’d do to jumpstart CFL interest. Here they are 1) Expansion, immediately. 2) Centralize the Draft in rotating CFL markets annually with top prospects in attendance and most importantly, beloved alumni on site, 3) Engage the alumni, 4) Engage the alumni, 5) Have this all as part of CFL Week, which died during Covid, 6) A concerted media tour across the country. There’s still media, but they’re not talking about the CFL. At all, 7) Multiple TV rightsholders. I know, I know, TSN writes the biggest cheque. But how’s that worked out?. These are just some of them. Changing the rules wouldn’t be one of them.
8 – NHL: When I asked Lorne Molleken on stage if he’s enjoying this NHL season, the most competitive in history with unprecedented parity, his answer was “some games”. He related that Tampa Bay’s 4-1 win at the NY Rangers on Saturday was “boring”. If that’s the case – and Mooner would know – then the NHL’s doing a helluva job with marketing because ratings and attendance remain sky high. … Lorne also said that as far as Team Canada at the Olympics goes, he’d be taking Connor Bedard, Macklin Celebrini AND NY Islanders rookie #1 pick Matthew Schaeffer. … Hey, this is why I defer to the hockey guys. Us media pundits can have all the opinions we want, but they don’t amount to a hill of beans compared to a guy like Lorne. … Similarly, Bruce Boudreau was aghast on NHL Radio this week during his weekly appearance, saying the Toronto Maple Leafs were only seven points out of first place yet Toronto’s on fire. INSANE! …. That stat that 75%-80% of teams in playoff spots at US Thanksgiving go-on-to-make-the-playoffs needs to be garbaged. At least for this year, and maybe permanently. The standings are an earthquake and for example, Tampa Bay went from the second wildcard playoff spot to first place in less than a week. … The Minnesota Wild were an NHL-best 11-1-1 in November.
9 – ANTHONY MARQUART: I’m still trying to get my mind around the recent passing of former Regina Pats co-owner Anthony Marquart. His obituary has been posted in a number of places online but there has been very little fanfare for a guy who helped rescue the club back in 2014 as part of an ownership consortium which included Todd Lumbard, Shaun Semple and the Drummond family. Within three short years, the Pats were back in the WHL Final for the first time since 1984. Anthony and I used to spend A LOT of time together, we’re the exact same age, but we drifted apart as our lives went separate ways. The Red Deer, AB product had a lifelong dream of owning a sports team and that’s one of the many things he was able to check off in his lifetime. A year or so ago he texted and asked to go to lunch. I wrote him back, “Are you in Florida?” He hadn’t heard. Thank you for being such a great friend Anthony!
10 – RANDOM THOUGHTS: $8.40 for a Saturday edition of the Globe & Mail? Yikes! No wonder people aren’t buying newspapers anymore. … Just once I’d like to hear the flight attendant say on the speaker, “For those of you travelling with small children, WHAT THE HELL’S WRONG WITH YOU?” … I asked Jim Barker on the RP Show why coaches keep jumping around in pro & college football, more than any other sport. He answered, “More money and more power”. Got it. Is it ever enough? … Fox Sports sideline reporter Erin Andrews got flamed for her remarks on a podcast stating that in that job, you gotta give up weekends, holidays, stability and a good wage for years to make it. The haters said, “What about those working multiple jobs? And shift workers? And first responders?” and, and, and. Erin didn’t say anything wrong. In today’s world, people are sucking a lot of the fun out of life. If you let them. … A woman in Thailand shocked temple staff when she started moving in her coffin after being brought in for cremation this week. A Buddhist temple in Bangkok posted a video on its Facebook page, showing a woman lying in a white coffin in the back of a pickup truck, slightly moving her arms and head, leaving temple staff bewildered. Pairat Soodthoop, the temple’s general and financial affairs manager, told The Associated Press on Monday that the 65-year-old woman’s brother drove her from the province of Phitsanulok to be cremated. He said they heard a faint knock coming from the coffin and found out shortly he was alive! … And how was your week?
Y’er welcome,
RP
“More money and more power”, get it Cory Mace _Toronto Argonauts. You deserve it.
Mr. Rod Pedersen, Welcome home to Saskatchewan.
I was thinking the same about Marquart, surprised his death has gone unnoticed or not much said about it. Wasn’t sure why and hadn’t heard how he passed away, but I guess it’s not my business as well
7 – WHAT I’D DO: How about access to near instant and accurate stats?
THAT’S A GIVEN!
You accomplished your task in Sask Cory Mace, you’re now excused from your obligations with the Roughriders of Regina, the Argonauts are waiting on you and need you, after all you are alum with them.
of course like your website but you have to check the spelling on several of your posts A number of them are rife with spelling issues and I in finding it very troublesome to inform the reality on the other hand I will certainly come back again
git.
The CFL is on life support. Changing the rules is a last ditch effort to jumpstart a pulse. It’s a different looking Canada that it was 20 years ago and this Canada has evolved past it. The CFL was a part of Canadian culture and it simply isn’t anymore. Look at our population trends.
Expansion? Yeah right. That means expensive new stadiums funded largely by government and with our country’s infighting over our own resources and exports, that isn’t happening.