Scruffy’s This N That

1 – THE SCHEDULE IS OUT! THE SCHEDULE IS OUT!: Does the older demographic that reads this column on a weekly basis remember the Steve Martin movie “The Jerk”? If you do, there is a scene where Martin’s character gets all excited because the new phone book has come out and his name is in there for the first time. He proudly screams when the book is put in his hands “The new phone book is here! The new phone book is here!!”.   That is how I picture CFL fans across the land this past Tuesday when the league released the 2026 schedule. In Saskatchewan it is a chance to, A) start making excuses as to why you are not going or B) a chance to now make your summer plans.

When I look at the Riders sked, it isn’t perfect, but it never is. Some will be angered with a July Thursday night home game, but you knew that was coming. Some will be scratching their head as to why the team has an opening week bye and why they aren’t opening up the season celebrating their Grey Cup championship?  Some will complain about the starting times as they always do, but I think it’s a pretty good sked for the green and white. 

As far as the league goes, I will never understand why in a nine-team league you schedule back-to-back games against one another. You can do that in the first two weekends of September because of the Labour Day games featuring the Bombers and Riders and the Alberta teams, but it shouldn’t be done at any time other than that. I also don’t understand why you would have last year’s Grey Cup combatants not playing until Thanksgiving but whatever. It is what it is. Do with the schedule what you will.

2 – WHITTLING THINGS DOWN: There is still a long way to go before CFL free agency begins, but teams are starting to get their key potential free agents re-signed — especially at the game’s top position. The Riders have Trevor Harris secured for another year, Davis Alexander and the Alouettes have agreed on a contract extension as has Edmonton with Cody Fajardo. We all know a team is usually only as successful as their starting QB. 

As for the Riders, it is big for them to get Jermarcus Hardrick back and it’s nice to have the short yardage situation resolved with Tommy Stevens (although I do wish there was no such thing as QB3 as discussed before). I think we all know that not all of the pending free agents will be back, but I think it is imperative in my opinion that in alphabetical order the team needs to keep Allen, Campbell, Carney, Coan, Emilus, K. Johnson, Ouellette, Reavis, Robustelli and Rose.  As we get closer to Christmas, it’s so far so good for J-O and crew.

3 – TRE FORD: QB1s are being solidified throughout the CFL before Christmas. As just mentioned, Harris is back in Saskatchewan on what is a nice deal for the green-and-white, Bo Levi Mitchell has re-upped with Hamilton, Davis Alexander is back in Montreal and Cody Fajardo will be wearing Edmonton colours again next year. What does that mean for Tre Ford? It’s pretty clear the Ford experiment has failed in Edmonton. By the time Edmonton gave the reins to Fajardo this past season it was too late. There is a spot for Ford in the CFL as a QB2, but where? I don’t think Saskatchewan would be a good fit for him. Without doing a deep dig on who is where, I am not sure what team would be a great fit for him at this time. Someone will take a chance on the Canadian QB, but who. 

4 – TRANSPARENCY NEEDED:  The CFL came out this week and proclaimed that a tampering investigation involving the Argos and Corey Mace is over, but we don’t know what the results of that investigation were and we won’t. Sorry kids, but the CFL universe deserves to know what the h-e double hockey sticks happened here and whether or not the Argos are guilty. If they are, what punishment are they being given.

The league says they don’t announce discipline involving teams or staff.  That is the wrong approach to have. Transparency is needed.  Things like this cannot be swept under the carpet. 

5 – POOR NOTRE DAME:  The Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team has taken its football and gone home. They found out they weren’t getting into the College Football playoff, so they have decided to “send a message” by saying they are not going to play in a bowl game.  Grow up!

All the Irish have done here is prevent seniors who might be playing their last ever football game as they won’t go to the pro level for whatever reason from having one last experience with their brothers.  They are not giving themselves a chance to maybe look at the future by giving more reps to players who will be back. Notre Dame needs to take a look at the fact that the team that bounced them out was a team they didn’t beat.  They also need to look at the fact that they hardly play tough opponents (losing both games this year against Top 25 schools) and they refuse to join a conference.  If Notre Dame wants to look at why they aren’t competing for a national title, look in the mirror. 

6 – SASKATCHEWAN BASEBALL:  I came across a story from Saskatchewan Dugout Stories (@SKDugoutStories) this week in which they comprised a college all-star team consisting of Saskatchewan players. I know there are a lot of young men who are doing great things on the diamond that come from this province and some of those come home every summer to play in the WCBL.  That being said, the team is extremely impressive which says a lot for the quality of baseball coming out of this province. 

Many that know the game will tell you Carnduff’s Carter Beck will be a major leaguer if he continues on his current progression.  If you have seen the Saskatoon Berries play over the past two summers, you know that this kid can do it all on the diamond.  He isn’t the only one. I don’t know if Beck will be back with the Berries or if Tyler Vanneste will suit up with Medicine Hat or if Jackson Martin will be a member of the Moose Jaw Miller Express in 2026, but these are just three guys who have played in the league that are doing Saskatchewan baseball proud and there are more out there ready to make an impact.  Nothing wrong with that.  It’s also a great reason to check out the WCBL if you are in or near one of the Saskie cities that calls the league home.

7 – THE SKINNER TRADE:  The Stu Skinner bashing can stop in Oil Country. The beleaguered goalie was finally shipped out Friday as he heads to Pittsburgh for Tristan Jarry. Is this the move needed for Edmonton to get to a 3^rd straight Stanley Cup Final? Time will tell, but this isn’t really an upgrade is it? 

Tristan Jarry was a guy placed on waivers last year and while his numbers right now are marginally better than Skinner’s, it is pretty obvious to see Skinner just didn’t fit into the future plans and that there was very little interest in retaining the soon-to-be unrestricted free agent. 

This in no way solves Edmonton’s goaltending dilemma. The only way that is going to happen is through free agency or another trade which is possible and more likely considering there isn’t any long-term goaltending you can get through free agency. 

What is known is the Oilers play in Pittsburgh Tuesday night. What was must-watch TV because its McDavid vs Crosby becomes even more interesting with the potential of Skinner and Jarry guarding the goal for each. 

8 – WEEK 15 NFL NOTES:  No, I haven’t forgotten about the NFL. It’s starting to get real now with a lot of big games this weekend as teams jockey for playoff spots or try to get into one. Here are a few notes to get you ready. 

• New England quarterback Drake Maye ranks second in the league with 3,412 passing yards and a 111.9 passer rating this season.  With a win on Sunday against Buffalo, the Patriots would clinch the AFC East division title and Maye – who has led New England to 10 consecutive victories – can become the sixth quarterback in NFL history under the age of 24 with 11 consecutive wins in a single season.  The others to do it are Ben Roethlisberger, Lamar Jackson, Peyton Manning, Dan Marino and Dak Prescott. 
• Canadian running back Chase Brown has been on a roll.  He goes into the Bengals game against Baltimore on Sunday having 100 plus scrimmage yards in six of his last seven games. 
• Patrick Mahomes looks to bounce back from his worst ever performance as a starting quarterback when the Kansas City Chiefs are home to the L-A Chargers. Mahomes needs 3 TD passes to become the 8^th quarterback in NFL history to throw at least 25 touchdowns in a season. 
• The Houston Texans have more interceptions this year (15) than touchdown passes allowed (12).

9 – PHILLIP RIVERS:  Seriously? A 44-year-old quarterback, five years removed from the NFL, is coming back.  It looks like Phillip Rivers is going to strap on the helmet and sling the rock for the Indianapolis Colts Sunday in Seattle. The Seahawks have the number two defence in the NFL.  Old Man Rivers isn’t playing the Jets or the Bengals. He is playing a defence that is very, very good and can get to the quarterback.  Why do I have the feeling that we are going to see seniors abuse on display at Lumen Field. This can’t end well for Indy can it?  What makes me laugh is the Colts are saying Rivers is the best option. Really? I can think of several CFL quarterbacks who would be a better option and there are former college QB’s still kicking around that could be. I’m not sure how this went down, but this is an organization that decided a few years ago to replace its head coach with a former player who had no head coaching experience when they hired Jeff Saturday.  If you have a FanDuel account (which we don’t in Saskatchewan), you can place a bet as to whether or not the two teams will combine to score more points than Rivers’ age.  This is going to be a fascinating watch. 

10 – MICHIGAN FOOTBALL: The situation involving now former head coach Sherrone Moore has everyone talking. What a sad story for all involved. Yes, Moore has to take the majority of the blame here, but it sounds like a lot of people turned their head the other way until they could no longer ignore it which was wrong. Why is it the world of US College Football is something I don’t think I ever want to get a good look at. This is a story that likely won’t be going away anytime soon and it will probably get uglier. 

*RANDOM THOUGHTS:

• I have no qualms with the fact that the World Junior team only has one Saskatchewan player on it (Cole Reschny). We have had many from the province at that team and we will have many on it moving forward. End of story!
• I don’t know if they ever come north of the border, but two QB’s in the College Football Playoff are Rider neg list guys. They are Alonza Barrett III from James Madison who could find his way up here and the other is Trinidad Chambliss from Ole Miss who likely gets drafted by some NFL team. If you care Oklahoma’s John Mateer is on B. C’s list and Heisman finalist Diego Pavia is on Winnipeg’s list. 
• Nothing against Jeff Kent, but the fact he is going to the Baseball Hall of Fame and Don Mattingly isn’t is a joke. 
• Quinn Hughes is a member of the Minnesota Wild which just made it harder for the Winnipeg Jets to make the playoffs and gives us another reason to say the NHL’s Central Division is the best one in the game today with four of the league’s top blueliners in it (Hughes, Cale Makar, Josh Morrissey and Miro Heiskanen).

That’s all I got. Have a great week! If you are reading this in Saskatchewan on Saturday, stay warm!!