Scruffy’s This N That
1 – IT’S OK TO HAVE FUN KIDS: Troy Westwood got the Bombers-Riders rivalry heated up years ago when he made a lot of comments about Saskatchewan people which resulted in the Banjo Bowl. It is one of THE games on the calendar and has been since the comments were made. Westwood trolled Rider fans and it went just the way he wanted it to. Over the years, teams have loved trolling other teams. The Riders have done it; other teams have done it to the Riders. It is all in good fun! It gets the fanbases fired up. The Bombers did that with their Regina-style pizza social media post which went over here on a scale of 1-10 like the amount of Grey Cup rings Milt Stegall owns (sorry Milt!). Pro teams and college teams have a blast trolling teams when they win. It is great!
What the B.C Lions did after their game against Ottawa was great, but noooooooo!!! The extreme softness that Canada has become resulted in the Lions taking down the tweet because of backlash received. It was interesting to note the Alouettes took a potshot at BC with a similar chirp after last night’s game. At the time of this writing, that seems to be OK.
Maybe we should all hold each others hand and sing Kumbaya after a sporting event and never ever make fun of another team’s fanbase. If Ottawa wins a game this year, you know they will be ready and if that game is in Vancouver later this year, look out. After all, the football gods remember, right! Remember that Winnipeg when the Riders stuff some Regina-style pizza down your throat. PS: I am also expecting the Riders social media team to come up with something delightful for the Banjo Bowl regardless of the Mosaic result Sunday.
It’s OK to have fun, kids. We seem to forget that from time to time. No one is dying!
2 – LABOUR DAY WEEKEND: Is it safe to say that the next two weeks of CFL action might tell us who ends up where at the end of the regular season? The annual back-to-backs are always anticipated by football fans in the Prairies, but maybe moreso this year. With Edmonton playing Calgary twice and the Bombers battling the Riders twice, the standings could either loosen up a little or get very, very tight. You know that records don’t matter when there is a battle of Alberta or when the LDC/Banjo Bowl hits, and you also know we usually see some great football. I’m expecting a solid weekend of CFL ball. LET’S GO!!!
3 – SORRY NATHAN: Nathan Rourke is suggesting a top-ranked NCAA team could beat a CFL team if American rules were used. Rourke makes some good points, but to think that a top-ranked NCAA team could beat a CFL team is ludicrous—no matter if it was a three down or four down game. Does anyone out there think the Grey Cup champion Riders would lose to Indiana or Miami? Luke Willson says the Riders would win by 50. I think the margin would be at least 14, but there is simply no way Saskatchewan would lose to the Hoosiers, Hurricanes or any top 5 NCAA team last year. Does anyone think Indiana could realistically beat a bottom-feeder NFL team? Not a chance. It’s still a case of boys playing men. The Memorial Cup champ London Knights would have no chance against the Carolina Hurricanes unless their goalie stopped a lot of shots. I thought this chatter was over with. Apparently not!
4 – SURVEY SAYS: As the NFL season gets ready to start, the CFL/NFL talk ramps up. It would seem that as if many of us are OK, including me, watching the three-down game or the four-down game.
2500 people were asked across the country (51 percent male, 49 percent female) about their love for the CFL and NFL in an Angus Reid poll.
According to the survey, last year seven per cent of participants said they were CFL-only fans while 10 per cent professed to be NFL-only supporters. But another 10 per cent stated they followed both leagues. Seventeen per cent of respondents said they followed the CFL closely while 20 per cent added they followed the NFL closely.
The survey also notes 27 per cent of Canadians following pro football is at the same level as major league baseball (27 per cent). It’s second only to the NHL (38 per cent), and well above that of the NBA (nine per cent). None of this really surprises me. At the end of the day, Canadians just want to watch football and now they can do it from Thursdays-Mondays. If you want to hate on the CFL that’s fine. If you want to hate on the NFL that’s fine. I am one of those that just wants to watch football, and I think many of you are too which is one of the reasons you are watching yours truly on the RP show Mondays and Tuesdays along with watching the rest of the week too.
5 – AND AWAYYYYY WE GO: The Canada West football season is underway with the Rams playing in Edmonton Friday night and the Huskies in Winnipeg to battle the Bisons on Saturday. From the sound of it, many are expecting the Hardy Cup to once again be contested between Regina and Saskatchewan meaning a game in Regina midway through the season will likely be the decider as to who gets home-field.
The Rams should not miss a beat on the defensive side of the ball as 10 starters from last year are back. With 22 4th year and 9 5th year players on the team, this is the year to get a banner.
6 – LINE IN THE SAND: USports and Football Canada are telling the CFL that they are not changing. Both say they will continue on with a 55 yard line and goalposts at the front of the endzone.
This has those against the changes waving the flag and saluting USports for their approach. How noble! The bottom line is those waving the flag are for the most part hypocrites as they wouldn’t know what USports Football was if it was right across the street from them.
It amazes me how we will go en masse to junior hockey rinks to see the stars of tomorrow in the NHL, but we won’t go to USports games to see the future of the CFL. I will never forget how offended a Riders fan was with me when I was doing Rams play-by-play asking of Mitch Picton was a good pickup for the green-and-white when he was drafted. He didn’t like it very much when I asked him if he had seen Mitch play and he said he didn’t even know who he was until he was drafted. Picton isn’t the only guy that I have had Rider fans —not football fans ask me about.
Perhaps if there was more interest in USports in Canada, I would see this as a bigger story, but I don’t. Those in Vancouver, Calgary, Regina, Edmonton and Winnipeg don’t come out to watch their University teams play. I know the Rams do a nice job in promoting/marketing the team, but I don’t know about the other locales. Those in Saskatoon definitely support the Huskies, but would they if a CFL team was there? Perhaps someday we will find out the answer. That’s not a dig at the Husky fanbase either. Their fanbase is the best in CanWest without a doubt in my mind. Sorry Rams fans and I’m one of you.
You can sit there and say Bravo to USports and Football Canada, but if you weren’t going to games before then you aren’t going to start going now, just because the precious 55 is staying.
This also makes me think that unless there are some plans out there to revive the idea of the U of R playing on campus that their permanent home will be at Leibel Field which provides a better atmosphere on game day than Mosaic.
7 – NFL PREDICTIONS PART 1: At this time next week, we will be preparing for the first Sunday of the NFL season. The Seahawks begin defence of their Super Bowl title on Wednesday night against New England in a Super Bowl rematch while the Niners and Rams will play in Australia Thursday.
I will give a Super Bowl prediction next week, but here is who my playoff teams are
AFC: Buffalo, Cincinnati, Jacksonville, Denver (Wild cards: Baltimore, Houston, Chargers)
NFC: Dallas, Chicago, Tampa, Rams (Wild Cards: Seattle, Giants, Detroit)
8 – OHHHHH TORONTO: Leafs fans want Connor McDavid to wear blue and white so bad. Some might even sacrifice a family member for that to happen. They look and have looked for any little sign to indicate McDavid will leave Oil Country for the Six. It isn’t going to happen.
McDavid’s wife got Leafs fans all lathered up again this week when she was in Toronto to unveil a clothing line she is manufacturing. She was pictured wearing a Leafs jacket which had everyone going crazy saying it’s a sign Connor is coming home. She had to go to IG to tell everyone to relax because her clothing line will include 12 teams including Edmonton.
I don’t know what happens to the McDavid’s when it is time for him to decide if he is staying in Edmonton long-term or not, but I know they established themselves in the community and that there are many who are very impressed with her business acumen. I don’t think he wants to leave Edmonton and I don’t think she wants to either, but if they do they probably realize Toronto would not be the place to go for reasons I shouldn’t have to explain.
9 – RANDOM THOUGHTS:
- Not sure if Justin Timberlake brought sexy back, but Sydney Sweeney has.
- Is this the weekend Tommy Stevens throws the football downfield?
- This question was posed on Twitter this week: Is “Janie Got a Gun” or “November Rain” a better song. Love them both, but gotta go with November Rain!
- Congratulations to Ryan Getzlaf as the Regina product will see his #15 retired by the Ducks next season. With all apologies to Chris Kunitz, Getzlaf is the best NHL product to come out of Regina right?
That’s all I got. Have a great week!
