The Monday Morning Goalie For SUDS
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TRUTH & RUMOURS FOR SUDS CAR WASH
1 – BAD BREAK: What a tragic end to Week 5 in the CFL. Starting quarterbacks Bo Levi Mitchell (Hamilton) and Zach Collaros (Winnipeg) got knocked out of the finale Sunday evening with varying injuries (BTW is there only one ambulance in Hamilton?). In the ensuing battle-of-the-backups, Canadian Taylor Elgersma of the Blue Bombers outduelled fellow Canuck Tre Ford of the Tiger-Cats in an eventual 14-13 Winnipeg victory. The back-up story was a good one, and certainly got played up to the hilt on the TV broadcast, but the QB1’s are two of the top names in the Canadian Football League and the fortunes of both teams anxiously rest on their diagnoses. As far as the result goes, I’da thought Bomber fans would be happy with the victory but they gnashed their teeth on the RP Show Facebook page, saying they were lucky to get the win and that I should stick to Florida hockey! Haha. Maybe I will…
2 – THE REST: Usually as we near the 1/3 turn of a Canadian Football League season we start to see some separation. The opposite is true in 2026, as no one’s running away with things and the standings are becoming smooshed together. However at 0-4, the Ottawa RedBlacks are close to being written off and despite the exasperation of first-year Head Coach/GM Ryan Dinwiddie, I can’t see how anyone’s surprised? The RedBlacks have been the worst team in the CFL for a very long time and people thought Dinner would turn them around in a jiff? The Boise State product from Elk Grove, CA is good, but not that good. Even Wally Buono and Don Matthews wouldn’t be able to whip this bunch into shape overnight.
3 – MORE CFL: It was good for the League that BC beat Edmonton 38-24 in Touchdown Kelowna II this weekend. The Lions got their first win (1-3) and the Elkimos were handed their first loss (3-1). Neither quarterback was stellar as Nathan Rourke won the game with an 87.7 QBR, and counterpart Cody Fajardo clocked a QBR of 85.0. It was Fajardo’s three interceptions which did them in, and the Lions won the turnover battle 4-3. Ironically, Edmonton led the CFL in turnover ratio at +6 going into the game. … Entering Week 5, the team which won the turnover ratio had won 13/14 games this season. … For all the talk that Edmonton scatback Justin Rankin is the CFL’s Most Outstanding Player, he had 19 yards rushing just to go with 100 yards receiving in this one. … The Lions are leaving Kelowna with a good taste in the locals’ mouths and owner Amar Doman didn’t mind me stirring it up that Peach City should be considered for an expansion team, even though he’s not in favour of the idea. All this league is missing is hype, and that’s my specialty. Amar knows that. … BTW for some reason the UFL social media accounts have turned their attention to the CFL – lacking for content I’m guessing – and have taken to sharing 3-down video clips and analyzing the play. They’re getting thousands of views and it’s created an, unintended, craze for the CFL in America. Some are saying Bo Levi should get an NFL look based on some of his on-field heroics this year. Uhhh, check his Wikipedia boys! He’s 36… But the added coverage has been amazing and just imagine if the leagues merged and the U.S. football media machine turned its attention to the CFL! Ahhhh, never mind. I already tried to get that idea going …
4 – OFFER SHEET: If any NHL pundit tries to tell you they totally understand the offer sheets & associated contracts, they’re bluffing. Unless they’re a lawyer too. Philadelphia’s 5-year, $90-million offer sheet to young Anaheim star Leo Carlsson this week was so head-scratching that I hadda call a trusted source inside the NHL to make it all make sense. “This has screwed EVERYTHING!” he blurted into the phone on Saturday. “Bedard’s numbers are better than Carlsson’s so now Chicago’s gotta give him whatever he wants and it’s screwed the pay table for everybody!” One thing’s for sure: the players are laughing all the way to the bank as the revenues, and salaries, keep going up, up and up. … That NHL source feels the Blackhawks simply cannot afford to lose Bedard because he’s in the Crosby/McDavid/MacKinnon stratosphere and those are the kinds of guys who lead you to the Stanley Cup. Mind you Crosby and McDavid have taken less money to make their teams better, yet no one would criticize Bedard if he doesn’t.
5 – BOB: It’s really, really sad what’s unfolding in South Florida and in NHL circles with Sergei Bobrovsky leaving Sunrise to sign with the Toronto Maple Leafs in free agency. Just let him go for Pete’s sake! The media’s trying to tar and feather Bob for not taking less money to stay with the Cats. The fans are buying into that narrative. Eventually his #72 will be retired at Amerant Bank Arena but right now the feelings seem strained. It all boils down to the team and the aging star not being able to agree on his worth. It’s a tale as old as time. End of story, so you gotta just shake hands and part ways. The two sides are fine with it, but the national media keeps picking at it for some reason! Just let it go …
6 – THEO: There are 100 reasons why I love spending my summers in Moose Jaw, SK and this week proved another reason why. Friday was the annual Moose Jaw Warriors Alumni Golf Tourney and the Hillcrest GCC was teeming with past Warrior stars including my old buddy Theo Fleury. The Oxbow, SK product has clearly been ostracized by the Hockey Hall of Fame, the Calgary Flames (at times) and perhaps the WHL/CHL too as Fleury was inexplicably left off the Top 50 list this winter. Yet in Moose Jaw, Theo’s a god and his #9 hangs proudly in the rafters at Temple Gardens Centre. TDGAF. Basically it’s, “You’re our guy and we’ll always love you”. Fleury smiles ear-to-ear when he’s here, and deserves that. That’s the type of people who live here.
7 – SORSBY/BRUCE: Back to football. The CFL has declared banned NCAA star QB Brendan Sorsby is ineligible to play due to his college betting history and to much lesser fanfare, Arland Bruce IV as well. The latter’s father forwarded me the letter his son received from CFL Commissioner Stewart Johnston stating as much. ABIV bet on games while at Iowa at age 17 and has been banished to the Major Indoor Football League where he’s lighting it up. … Sorsby has been ruled eligible for the 2027 NFL Draft but if anything, he MIGHT be a late-round pick despite being a Top 10 talent. He’s just that good, the scouts tell me. But I wouldn’t be surprised to see some Kaepernick-level collusion going on on Draft Day. … I’d love to sit down with a league powerbroker to see why these kids are so taboo, since they committed their sins in NCAA, not the pros. Basically I’m saying the zero tolerance policy seems wayyyyy excessive and besides, the CFL built itself on being a second chance league. And if I hadn’t been afforded second, third or fourth chances, you wouldn’t be able to enjoy my talents like you are right now. Football fans should get to the do the same with Sorsby and ABIV, however I respect the leagues’ right to choose. I’d just like to understand why…
8 – WORLD CUP: For most of you, interest in the World Cup was snuffed out with Canada’s 3-0 loss to Morocco on Saturday in Round of 16 play. I’ll still be following at least till Monday evening when USA plays Belgium. As a citizen of both countries, I need to be on top of it and frankly, I’ve enjoyed every moment of the hype and the games. With the added drama of Donald Trump intervening – allegedly – to reverse the suspension of USA’s top scorer Folarin Balogun, this has turned into must-watch TV! And when a single Twitter post about the tournament gets 30-million views, you know people are into it. … But the sport has a long ways to go for nationwide popularity which the Blue Jays and Raptors enjoy when they’re on a run. In my hometown gas station on Saturday, during the game, the TV was on a news channel and the radio was playing Dolly Parton. God bless them! But they’re not soccer people and I believe that’s a reflection of most rural towns across Canada. At least, the West. But it sure was nice to be back for a bit…
9 – WCBL: Finally we made it! The ballparks are packed as the calendar flipped to July and the sun’s come out to play on the prairies. It was a dreary, rainy June which wreaked havoc on the baseball and golf schedules but made the farmers smile like a butcher’s dog. The Moose Jaw Miller-Express played five in a row at home this week and you couldn’t jam anymore bodies into Ross Wells Park with a shoe horn, although there’s always room for you! … Word’s gotten around that the Millers are hotshots and they took two of three off the first-place Saskatoon Berries this weekend. The defending league champion Regina Red Sox are at historic Ross Wells Park on Tuesday for a doubleheader beginning at 6:00 pm MT. … Baseball fans marveled at our MX Concession novelty during our Fourth of July game — the Thomas Soto Hotdog! The Round Rock, Texas All Star shortstop was featured on a frankfurter which boasted salsa, cheese and Doritos. A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! That was a nice old school marketing gimmick by Miller Express President Darryl Pisio! Thomas is my favourite Miller, and I had two of those souped up tube steaks…
10 – RANDOM THOUGHTS: People still hitchhike? … Don’t use ChatGPT as a counsellor. Seek a professional. … Do you Like your own posts? … Country Thunder goes Thursday through Sunday at Craven, SK, headlined by Lainey Wilson. It’ll be my first time out there since entering Recovery 11 years ago. I’m ready! … Jamie Heward of Country Thunder is coming on the RP Show Monday to promote the festival, and talk NHL/AHL. Hewie signed a new 2-year deal with the Henderson Silver Knights this week. … “If you want to hate America, watch the news. If you want to love America, drive through it.” — Antonio Brown. … Do you Like your own posts? … When did America’s Got Talent turn into Jackass? … Crowds gathered in the sweltering heat Saturday to celebrate the United States’ 250th birthday by watching famed competitive eater Joey “Jaws” Chestnut defend his world hot dog eating championship in Coney Island, NY where he downed 66 hot dogs in just 10 minutes. Miki Sudo defended her title as well in the women’s division. The 42-year old Chestnut beat out 13 competitors who came from around the country and world, trekking from the Czech Republic, Australia and South Korea. Defending champion in the women’s division, the 40-year-old Sudo of Tampa, Florida, won the bright pink Mustard Belt for the 12th time, downing 38.75 dogs. In 2024, she ate a record 51 links. “It’s a dream, it’s electric, there’s no place better on Earth,” Chestnut said breathlessly in an interview immediately after the showdown. … AND HOW WAS YOUR WEEK?
Y’er welcome,
RP
