Scruffy’s This N That

1 – RIDERS – OTTAWA: Chalk up another win for the Riders and another loss for Ottawa as Trevor Harris and company cruised to an expected one-sided win (42-20) over a REDBLACKS team that just isn’t very good Friday night in Regina. Yes, the Riders were playing with an offence that didn’t have Sam Emilus, AJ Ouellette or Kian Schaeffer-Baker, and yes they were on the wrong side of a weird call that took a touchdown away, but it didn’t matter. 

While Emilus and KSB weren’t available, Keesean Johnson was and Ottawa had no answer for him as he had a big game, the team’s Canadian depth at receiver showed again as rookie Dylan Djete had a nice game that saw him get his first TD and without Quali Conley who got hurt, Thomas Bertrand-Hudon stepped in. It wasn’t perfect as I still have some concerns about a secondary that seems content in soft coverage but the positives far outweighed the negatives on this night.

I also question why you would take Trevor Harris out late and replace him with Tommy Stevens and not Jack Coan? That was a perfect opportunity to give Coan some reps. If something happens to Harris, is the short-yardage quarterback going to be the guy to run your offence. If so, that may not end well. 

2 – EUGENE LEWIS: Eugene “Geno” Lewis doesn’t have a team to play for after being released by Ottawa. One has to think that maybe Lewis’s shelf life has come to an end.  Take nothing away from him as he has been one of the league’s best receivers over the past few years, but it was obvious the marriage between him and the REDBLACKS wasn’t working thus he was released. He said he didn’t ask for that and Head Coach Ryan Dinwiddie confirmed it. A guy of Lewis’ calibre certainly shouldn’t be out of work for long unless there are factors at play here that we don’t know about. Have we seen the last of him? 

3 – ED HERVEY: Ed Hervey certainly had many across the CFL talking with his comments to Kate Beirness and the TSN panel last week during the game against the Riders. Hervey let the panel know how he started the turnaround we are seeing in the Alberta capital since he became general manager and then he said “What I’m trying to do here is establish Edmonton Eskimo football. I know that pisses people off, but this is the Eskimo Way that you see here. This isn’t anything beyond that.” 

That predictably had some yelling in agreement as there is a huge desire in Edmonton to go back to their familiar moniker that they ditched a few years ago. That is seen as one reason for the fanbase staying away and I can tell you from talking to people there that that move did not go over well.  As one person told me, “How do you think Saskatchewan fans would react if Craig Reynolds said the team would no longer be called the Roughriders?”. We all know the answer to that. 

The Elks name and logo isn’t really seen at Commonwealth Stadium, and I believe if Larry Thompson had not passed away shortly after taking ownership of the team that the move would be on to go back to Eskimos –like it or not. 

Like his methodology or not, Hervey knows what the Eskimo way is and he is determined to bring it back. So far, so good! I don’t know if the name will go back to Eskimos, but it would not surprise me.

4 – MISSING AN OPPORTUNITY: The CFL is often accused of not properly marketing themselves. The CFL had a tremendous opportunity at their feet both this Thursday and the Thursday before and they decided to fumble it away as did eight of the nine teams. 

Many in the U-S were trumpeting the fact over a week ago that Thursday, July 30 was the last Thursday they would have without football until the end of the NFL regular season.  The Bombers, who hosted B.C, reminded many that football has been played on Thursday nights since June when the CFL started. Why wouldn’t the league hop on to protect their brand and let many know that their league is playing? I understand why Winnipeg had to get involved since they were at home but could no other team have taken a little potshot at those ignoring the three-down game? It doesn’t cost you anything to promote your team or league on Twitter and Facebook so utilize it. It’s simply an epic failure as the league proves it is guilty of not properly marketing themselves as so many have mentioned over the years. 

5 – KELLY HRUDEY: We already knew hockey on Sportsnet would look a little different after finding out CBC would no longer be covering games on Saturday night.  We still don’t know what broadcasts will look like, but we found out this week Kelly Hrudey won’t be a part of it as he went to social media to say his contract isn’t being renewed. I think it’s fair to say Kelly isn’t the most animated guy on the panel and I think Rogers would like their guys like Kevin Bieksa to be a little more lively, but no one can deny that Kelly doesn’t know what he is talking about, and he does it in a calm, collected manner. Unless he wants to move on from the game after all the years he put into it, Kelly will be back with someone. It might be TSN, it might be Amazon, it might be with a team, but he will be back because he is that good. If it is the end, thank you for all the years, Kelly.

6 – CHASING THE HARRY: The WCBL playoffs are underway with the Regina Red Sox trying to keep their mitts on the Harry Hallis Memorial Trophy. Saskatoon, Moose Jaw, Okotoks and Lethbridge will certainly have their say on that.

When the regular season ended, Okotoks got the number one seed but only because of the incompetence of Energy City and its ongoing stadium fiasco which resulted in games being forfeited allowing for the Dawgs to get 42 wins compared to Moose Jaw’s 41.  I think it’s a crock that Okotoks gets the overall league pennant and home field advantage throughout the playoffs because of that but I’ve been told it is what it is.

We saw two good games in the East last night with Saskatoon and Moose Jaw getting comeback wins. The crowd was great in Saskatoon, and I am guessing it was pretty good in Moose Jaw as well. Should be a great crowd in Regina tonight as the Red Sox look to stay alive. 

7 – AKRON ZIPS: It may be the greatest promotion I have seen. The Akron Zips college football team says if you are a season ticket holder, you have an opportunity to play offensive co-ordinator in the first series of the year when they play Robert Morris meaning with the head coach’s permission you are the one calling the plays. It could be a three and out or it could be a touchdown. 

When the promotion was announced, they had their biggest single-day sales of season tickets since 2009. 

Imagine this happening here. There are so many “experts” that think they know it all and one could get their chance.  I love it when teams think outside the box and do something like this and it is obviously working and getting people talking Akron football not only in the city, but across the country.  When the game gets played, a lot of attention will be paid on that first drive. 

8 – RANDOM THOUGHTS:

• With all apologies to Hockey Canada and TSN, I can not sit down and watch the Hlinka/Gretzky Cup in Edmonton even though Maddox Schultz and Liam Pue of the Pats are on Team Canada.  It’s early August so watching hockey is not high on my list.
• Where will converts be kicked from when the CFL moves the goalposts to the back of the endzone? They can’t be 47-yard PAT tries can there? If so, I’m not cool with that especially when the wind plays a factor as it can. If this has already been announced, I’ve missed it. 
• The Canadian under 15- and 17-men’s basketball championships have been happening at the University of Regina.  Has there been ANY mention of it? Was there ANY mention of the event coming here? This is what happens when you decimate local media kids.
• Good luck to both the Saskatoon Hilltops and Regina Thunder as another PFC season begins this weekend. Can we already chalk those two into yet another championship battle?  The Thunder open in Edmonton against the Wildcats while the Hilltops will be in Winnipeg. 

That’s all I got.  Have a great week!