The Monday Morning Goalie For SUDS

TRUTH & RUMOURS FOR SUDS CAR WASH

1 – KNIGHT KNIGHT: Well that was anti-climactic. The Carolina Hurricanes whitewashed the Vegas Golden Knights 3-0 in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final on Sunday evening, claiming their second NHL championship in franchise history. The VGK offence was non-existent when it mattered most, and the Canes finished off a wire-to-wire domination of the 2025-26 NHL season. … There will be plenty of navel-gazing in Sin City, as the top guns turned out to be pop guns when their back was against the wall. The guys I was sitting with to watch the game questioned the decision to go with goalie Carter Hart in the Vegas goal near the end of the series and my response was, “Why does it matter if you can’t score any goals?” There’s generally never an answer to that. … Do the Golden Knights bring back John Tortorella as head coach next season? I’d suggest only if he wants to.

2 – HAIL THE CANES: It truly was a dominant season by Carolina; matching their best ever regular season campaign. My preseason Stanley Cup Final pick was Carolina-Winnipeg and when I brought that up at the table last night, one guy said “What happened to Winnipeg?” I still don’t think even the Jets know. … Notre Dame Hound icon Rod Brind’Amour has become the 8th man in history to win a Stanley Cup with the same team as a player, and as head coach. The seven who came before him? Toe Blake, Frank Boucher, Hap Day, Lester Patrick, Joe Primeau, Cooney Welland and Dit Clapper.

3 – OILERS: How soon before the Edmonton Oilers name Bruce Cassidy as head coach? …. What a sad scenario this whole coaching thing has descended into with Edmonton. My read? In a clash of egos, Edmonton didn’t like being dangled by Vegas GM Kelly McCrimmon (those of us in the Dub were used to it) so in a stunning lack of impatience to interview Bruce Cassidy, Edmonton worked out an agreement to hire the embattled Mike Babcock. Cue the backlash. Similar to the Leafs hiring John Chayka as GM, I’d like to ask, “Who did you talk to before you did this guys?” … When the U of S Huskies hired Babcock a few years ago which triggered a similar shitstorm, a member of the hiring committee called me and said, “If we’d have known this was gonna happen, we wouldn’t have hired him. Maybe we can walk it back.’ I advised, “IT’S TOO LATE NOW! You shoulda called me!” And Babs is my friend. At the very least, Mike’s appeared on the RP Show multiple times, and he doesn’t do many interviews.

4 – MORE ON BABCOCK: Everytime Mike appears on my show, my phone blows up from his former players who absolutely loathe him, including my cousin. You know what? I don’t care. I’ve been treated like shit by lots of people but I don’t go around scolding those peoples’ friends and associates. It’s life. … Somebody said last week that Babs would be fine with the Oiler star players. WRONG! Ask Mitch Marner. … Babs plays head games and with today’s player, you can’t do that. As Flames coach Ryan Huska told me, today’s player needs to know where they stand each and everyday. For that reason, I wouldn’t hire Mike. … Ryan Getzlaf said on a stage in front of 400 people in Pense, SK that as a rookie with the Ducks, Babcock skated beside him at the first practice and said, “The report I get on you is that you’re soft. I don’t think you’re soft. Why would they say that?” Getz just shrugged, and skated away. You can’t get in Ryan’s head. … But there’s a glimpse of how Babs operates. I don’t think that approach works anymore.

5 – WE’RE REALLY ROLLIN’: Some say you can tell how your season’s going to go by your opening drive in Game 1. If that’s truly the case, then the Saskatchewan Roughriders are in good shape. 40-year old QB Trevor Harris capped a five minute drive with the first of three touchdown passes to WR Sam Emilus for an early 7-0 lead Saturday and the Saskatchewan Roughriders went on to defeat the visiting BC Lions 31-27 in the CFL season opener for both teams. The game had all the feels of last year’s West Division Final, where another last ditch effort by the Lions and their star young pivot Nathan Rourke fell short. “WestJet”, as I’ve nicknamed Rourke, passed for 330 yards and a modest 93.3 QB Rating on Saturday. On the other side, Harris finished the day with an eye-popping 147.6 QBR. What the game showed the world is that as far as this West Division rivalry goes, the Riders are still Big Brother. How long does it last? The sky is not falling for BC, but the game showed they have plenty to work on. As for the Green & White, they’re ticking like a Swiss watch right out of the gate.

6 – THANK YOU BC: Lions owner Amar Doman and I’ve forged a new and great friendship – which I’m incredibly grateful for – and the Lions sent me a ticket and invitation to Saturday’s game. I actually spent a great deal of time with the club at their downtown Regina hotel on Saturday and it cool to see how they do business. Very impressive! (I’ll be heading out to Vancouver for a game later this summer). So naturally I thanked the Lions on my social media posts on Saturday. FYI: The code is/was always that when you’re posting content, respect and thank the entity which granted you entry. Most media these days ignore that, but I never will. And while my “thanks” drew a mostly positive response, there’s still gotta be some jerks in the crowd. NEWSFLASH: Me thanking the BC Lions is not a slap in the face to the Roughriders for the love of Christ! I am so sick and tired of dealing with these numpties. As a CFL pundit said recently, “Rod’s great for the CFL”. Amar sees this, and so does the League. Let’s go …

7 – WEEK 2 THOUGHTS: The biggest thing popping out to me from this week’s games? Toronto QB Chad Kelly came back from a year’s absence, threw for 445 yards and 3 TDs, and the Argos still lost 37-30 in Montreal. It reminded me of similar heroic efforts by Henry Burris with the early-2000s Roughriders. The Als won the game on special teams but so what? Right now it’s looking like a Sask-Montreal Grey Cup in Calgary, eerily similar to 2009. Y’all ready for that? Meanwhile the Argos have a lot to work on defensively. … The Hamilton Tiger-Cats spoiled the Chris Streveler Retirement Party on Thursday, beating the Bombers 37-27 to open Week 2 in Winnipeg, in a game which went down to the final few minutes. Bo Levi Mitchell turned back the clock in that one, and pundit John Murphy told the RP Show he expects BLM to go out this season with a blaze of glory. The teams emerged from Thursday’s game both at 1-1. … Streveler, John Murphy and veteran CFL/NFL punter Richie Leone are all offering quality analysis on their X/Twitter feeds and I urge you to follow, Like and Share. … That’s one path to this league flourishing, rather than “operating in silos” as we say in the Recovery industry. There, we succeed by working together. The same can apply here …

8 – WEEK 3: Hang onto your hats; the week opens with the BC Lions (0-1) at Hamilton (1-1) Friday, and then a tripleheader on Saturday – Toronto (0-1) at Ottawa (0-1), Montreal (2-0) at Edmonton (1-0) and Saskatchewan (1-0) at Calgary (0-1). … Follow the RP Show social media channels for our picks presented by PumpJacks Steakhouse & Saloon in Regina & Weyburn! I was 1-2 on picks this week (got the Rider game right). Our social media impressions have soared into the millions monthly and the biggest reason is the kickoff of the CFL season. Thank you!

9 – WORLD CUP: In my shoes, you’d be a fool not to get swept up in World Cup hype and coverage and as a matter of fact, 75% of our viewers said they’re following the world’s biggest soccer tournament. Frankly I’m stunned by the amount of people who said they’d like to join our livestream Thursday evening when Canada plays Qatar. I’m hosting it on the streaming platform GOSH, and it’s presented by BCGame, a global crypto casino. They came to me to host the “Watch-A-Long”, as they call lit, and I said sure why not!? Follow my personal social media accounts for the link to watch. It’s a marathon stream which runs on their website through all the games with a bunch of other hosts. Pretty cool actually!

10 – WCBL: The weather seems to be turning pretty sunny and it’s time for you to get out to the ballparks and enjoy some Western Canadian Baseball League action! Everybody in baseball loves historic Ross Wells Park in Moose Jaw and our Miller Express are on a 4-game winning streak under rookie head coach Michael Gonzalez of New Jersey. I’ve told people this club will win 5-10 games on good culture alone, and it may turn out to be many more. … The stories of the players are amazing! 6’5″ righthander Westin Walls of Terrell, Texas set a Millers season strikeout record last year and he’s back in 2026. His family runs a Christmas Tree/Pecan Farm in the Great State. Star second baseman Ben Waliczek of Wichita, KS was a teammate of Carter Beck’s at Indiana State, and his dad Lonnie is a PBA GOAT! … I’ve met all their families and love my time with them so much. Come meet ’em for yourself! … BTW, speaking with Carter Beck’s grandpa Gus at Friday’s game, Carter is projected to go in the second round of the MLB Draft in July. it’s just so blood exciting for everybody!

RANDOM THOUGHTS: Congrats to the Knicks. … Had a dream this week that I went out for supper with Jerry Jones. … 1 in 3 criminals have cats. Source: Forensic Files. … They don’t call them “homeless” anymore. The correct term is “unhoused”. I’m sure that makes them feel so much better. … In our day we respected the elders. We hung on the words of Howie Meeker, Stan Fischler, Don Cherry, Bob Hughes, etc. Those days are gone, but frankly I get a kick out of the young viewers referring to Tim Hunter, Ray Elgaard, etc., and myself as “boomers” or “geriatrics”. At least they’re watching. … Nearly 50 years after Elvis Presley’s death, a gaggle of exuberant young boys and teens shook up his hometown, intent on keeping the king’s legacy alive for a new generation. Ranging in age from seven to 17, some in jeweled jumpsuits, they took the stage at the Tupelo Elvis Festival’s youth tribute artist competition this week. In contrast to their peers, who may never have heard of Elvis, the competitors have dedicated an enormous amount of time and energy to embodying the king’s singing voice, mannerisms and style. “We’re not trying to be him,” said Tucker Gladden, 17, from Madison, Mississippi. “We want to recreate the experience as much as we can for people that maybe didn’t get to see Elvis in their lifetime.” … AND HOW WAS YOUR WEEK?

Y’er welcome,