Scruffy’s This N That

1 – A WEEKEND IN COWTOWN:  The Riders will look to go 2-0 in Calgary this weekend. I don’t think they will have much of a problem. Every team is different from week-to-week especially early in the season, but I didn’t like what I saw from Calgary in their Week 1 loss to Winnipeg.  Perhaps a bye week makes things better and they will have Jaylon Hutchings back which will probably make life tougher for the Rider offensive line.  However,  I just don’t see the Stampeders having a lot of success against the green-and-white even though they did last year. The books have Saskatchewan as just a one-point favourite. One point?  That seems like easy money to me kids, but you gotta play the game right? I wouldn’t be surprised to see Mace’s Men win this one by double digits with Trevor Harris having another monster game in which he at least throws for 300 yards.

2 – CFL QB’S:  Are they putting up Madden numbers? Trevor Harris threw for 417 yards in the last-minute win over B.C and it was the only the fourth highest total of the week as Chad Kelly, Davis Alexander and Zach Collaros threw for 445, 441 and 421 respectively. Bo Levi Mitchell had himself quite the night against the Lions last night.  It has some wondering if we are seeing the days of the 80’s return when guys like Flutie, Kent Austin, Warren Moon, Roy Dewalt, Matt Dunigan and others routinely threw for 400 plus.  I am surprised to see the offences clicking so early in the season, but I’m not upset about it.  Makes you wonder if we will see a 6,000-yard passer this year if a QB can stay healthy throughout. If one is going to do it, I would go with Davis Alexander, but we all know he has a tough time staying healthy. 

3 – CANADIAN RECEIVERS:  If we are going to talk about QB’s throwing for big yards, we have to talk about the guys catching the football and do we have perhaps the best ever Canadian group of pass catchers across the league?  Justin McInnis, Sam Emilus, Tyson Philpot and Nic Demski are just four of many Canucks making waves across the league. Milt Stegall was the first to bring the topic up and I don’t know if he is wrong. I’m not complaining and neither should you if are a “Canadian” football league fan. It’s good to see more and more Canadian receivers stepping into the spotlight.

4 – END OF A TRADITION: We all grew up watching Danny Gallivan, Bob Cole, Dave Hodge, Peter Puck, Brian McFarlane and Jim Robson every now and then on Saturday nights. It went from that group to Jim Hughson and Ron and Don to Chris and Craig now. For me, Saturday night was Stampede Wrestling followed by Hockey Night in Canada with Tommy Hunter following—yes remember we didn’t have cable those days as I am sure there would have been something on those horrible Williston stations that we got that would have been better than Tommy Hunter with all apologies to my grandparents. 

It was part of my youth and if you are a hockey fan, it was a part of your youth as well as we watched the best in the NHL come into Maple Leaf Gardens or the Montreal Forum.  We saw Darryl Sittler’s 10 point night. We saw Patrick Roy’s relationship with the Canadiens implode. We saw a lot on Saturday night, but we won’t anymore—at least not on CBC. A piece of Canadiana is gone—or is it? 

The announcement this week that CBC and Sportsnet were cutting the cord on Hockey Night with CBC no longer showing games surprised me in a way but didn’t in another.  CBC was the one that said they wanted out and why wouldn’t they when they were getting little to zero revenue and few show mentions during the game?  I don’t know about you, but I wasn’t watching on CBC.  I was watching on Sportsnet with my cable package thanks to the good folks at Access.  Yes kids, maybe abandon the streaming and look at the basic cable package to get a variety of everything to keep you informed. I digress.

I don’t know what Sportsnet plans on doing with the NHL on Saturday night, but it is time to hit the reset button and give the product a huge makeover and if that means poaching talent so be it.

It would send shockwaves through the Canadian media landscape if Sportsnet somehow managed to find some $$$$ and get Bryan Hayes, Jamie McLennan and Jeff O’Neill come on as your Saturday night hosts. That would send TSN scrambling as the stars of “Overdrive” would be gone, meaning you would have to fill that void which I am sure they could.  What you need is a fresh approach and not the stale product we have seen over the past number of years.  ESPN and TNT do a far better job in my opinion in bringing the game to you.  During the SC Finals, I would watch the pre-game on ABC/ESPN and the p x p on SNET because there is no better than Chris Cuthbert when it comes to calling the game, but the ESPN panel of Mark Messier, PK Subban, Steve Levy and Emily Kaplan was far superior as far as I’m concerned.

When it comes to the 2^nd game, SNET needs to stop making it look like a Flames, Oilers or Canucks game. Fans in those markets get those guys every day of the week.   That means no Jack Michaels (and I love the Jack-Louie combo), no John Shorthouse and no Jon Abbott. Those guys can do their thing Sunday-Friday.  You need another dedicated crew and one that can one day work up to be the number one crew since Craig and Chris won’t be around forever.

Elliotte Friedman can’t be on the desk.  I always questioned why he was there other than to serve as a foil to Kevin Bieksa.  Elliotte, who is one of the best guys out there, is an insider so give him his intermission or pre-game insider feature.  Bieksa can be a character, but I don’t think his bosses want him to be one.  I say that because when Paul Bissonette has sat in on a Sportsnet broadcast, he is nothing like he is on TNT. Why? Let guys like Biz, Colby Armstrong and others be themselves and don’t stifle them. 

The other option SNET has is maybe selling Saturday nights to TSN. It’s not like TSN doesn’t have a Saturday night hole to fill knowing the CFL is going to DAZN.  Having James Duthie as your host wouldn’t be a bad thing and then maybe Gord Miller and Mike Johnson get that 2^nd game with decisions being made when the World Juniors hit seeing those two guys are a little busy during that tournament.  Realistically, I don’t see Saturday night hockey on TSN. 

I don’t know what the plan is, but it needs to be better than what we have seen. Much better!

5 – MITCH MARNER: I don’t know what Connor McDavid’s NHL future is, but I do know this: If he leaves Edmonton, he will not be going to Toronto and sorry Toronto fans and media, but you can blame yourself. Connor, maybe with the exception of Mark Spector, has a pretty good relationship with the Edmonton media and the fanbase—a fanbase that will be upset if he leaves, but certainly will understand the reasons why.  You can’t tell me Connor isn’t looking at the way the jackals descended on Mitch Marner at the end of the Stanley Cup and going to himself—thanks, but no thanks. 

Those in Toronto hated it when Marner was on the verge of winning the Conn Smythe which he would have had Vegas won the Cup, but they were cackling with glee when he disappeared in the final two games as did his teammates.  While Marner struggled, so did Tomas Hertl, so did Jack Eichel, so did Ivan Barbashev, so did Pavel Dorofeyev.  Those in Toronto seem to forget that though and want to give no credit to the Hurricanes for completely smothering VGK in those final two games.  Vegas losing was not because of Marner. It was a complete team failure. 

I don’t know what McDavid’s future is and while there has been suggestions, he will sign a long-term deal to stay in Edmonton which is what I heard before he signed the short extension no one knows for sure.  What is known is he has no desire to head somewhere where he will be expected to be the golden child and have the jackals pick his carcass if he fails to deliver. 

6 – RIP GREASE:  When you think of the best-ever players to put on a Regina Pats jersey, Kyle Calder’s name won’t be front and center.  When you think of a guy who was never afraid to get his nose dirty on and off the ice, he might be near the top of the list.  Kyle Calder was a great Pat and a greater individual. What a character! The stories about him that I was told and some that I saw happen are memories I won’t forget during the many years I covered the Pats. He was a point-a-game player in the WHL and he won silver at the World Juniors. His career in the NHL with several teams including Chicago was nothing to sneeze at either. He was one of the good guys and he leaves us far too early at 47 years old. If you had a top 50 Regina Pats list, Calder would be in my Top 50 for sure and that would be an accomplishment considering the rich tradition of the team. 

7 – DECISIONS, DECISIONS, DECISIONS:  At this time next week, we will be going over the first round of the NHL draft and seeing who did what and if guys like Dylan Larkin, Bowen Byram and Darnell Nurse are still with their respective teams. Will Connor Hellebuyck still be a Jet? I think he will for what it’s worth and I’m surprised at the trade chatter that seemingly came out of nowhere. 

Speaking of the Jets, they are one of several teams that have some interesting decisions to make in the upcoming week with their first-round selection. Do they keep it or move it? The same could be said with San Jose and Chicago. I think all three teams could make moves to improve their squads. The Sharks and Hawks are knocking at the door and the Jets after taking a big fall last year could add some players needed by trading their first-round selections.  There is a lot of talk about player movement happening before and at the draft. I’m skeptical of that seeing we have heard that before, but who knows. 

PS: If the Leafs don’t take Gavin McKenna at number one, I will be cackling for a while, and I just can’t see Vancouver taking Manny Malhotra’s son at number three.  Having your son as one of your players in the NHL is not a good dynamic if you ask me. 

8 – HYDRATION BREAK$$$$:  Congratulations FIFA.  You found a way to turn two 45-minute halves into four 22:30 quarters.  The game of soccer has been played for years and players have found a way to keep themselves hydrated, but now they just have to wait for the midway point of the quarter.  FIFA did not do this to protect the players.  They have done it to get a guaranteed commercial break in which means more $$$$$ come to them.  There is a lot of negativity surrounding this rule considering the World Cup is the only place where this is happening. Again, congratulations FIFA on your greed.  The event is great.  Those in charge of it—not so much!

Meanwhile, the soccer has been extraordinary.  The global stars of the game like Lionel Messi, Kylan Mbappe and Harry Kane have all come to play, we have seen some results we weren’t expecting, and we are seeing fandom from some countries that is just awesome to see. How about the Scots invading Boston and drinking all of their beer ( look the story up)! Take that challenge up Rider Nation!! LOL

Meanwhile, Canada showed the world that we belong when it comes to the global game after that mollywhopping of Qatar. I think many expected a Canadian win, but not a 6-0 win.  It creates a lot of excitement for Wednesday’s game against Switzerland and then we will see who they draw as the tournament becomes a winner moves on, loser goes home one. 

9 – RANDOM THOUGHTS:

• The Tampa Bay Lightning had the coach of the year, the goalie of the year and the league’s MVP but they didn’t win the Stanley Cup. It takes more than one or two to win the title kids. 
• Has there ever been or is there a coach in professional sport as ripped as Rod Brind’Amour? Is he a guy that should be in the Hockey Hall of Fame for leading his team to a Stanley Cup both as a player and a coach?
• Sad reality. If the New York Knicks can end a 50-plus year drought and the Chicago Cubs can end a 100-plus year drought, there will be a day when the Toronto Maple Leafs win a Stanley Cup.  This man approaching 60 hopes he is well into his 80’s if I get there before that happens. 
• Could new Leafs coach Jim Hiller win second place in a Gordon Ramsey look-alike contest?

That’s all I got.  Have a great week! Happy Dad’s day!