Commentary: Sticks And Stones

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It’s Tuesday and time for the Good, the Great & the Ugly!

First the good: With favourites going 13-1 in Week 9 of the NFL season, the idea came up Monday that maybe the NFL had become too predictable.

Hogwash! And the Monday night game was exceptional even if we all knew the Kansas City Chiefs would beat Tampa Bay to improve to 8-0.

They did, but it went to overtime thanks to Bucs coach Todd Bowles and a controversial late game decision which sent the game to OT.

The game had an ending very similar to last year’s Super Bowl, with Patrick Mahomes going 5 for 5 during a game-winning touchdown drive to win it in extra time.

Wild! And the Bucs beat the spread. Everything is fine with the NFL.

Next the great: On the weekend I learned that the RP Show will be going to Grey Cup next week which means this commentary will be there too!

I’ve lost track of how many Grey Cups I’ve been at – maybe 21 or 22 – but I’m going with a staff member of ours who’s only been at one other in his life. He’s relying on me to show him the ropes.

It dawned on me how fortunate I’ve been over this career and things like this were truly taken for granted.

Not anymore. And that’s great.

And finally, the ugly: There’s been much debate since the weekend incident where ESPN’s Jason Kelce smashed a heckler’s cell phone after the guy insulted Kelce’s brother Travis, calling him a gay slur during a College Game Day live show.

I’ve gone on record saying Jason was “out of line”, and that stance itself has caused quite a backlash.

But it’s taken me half a lifetime to learn that you can’t engage with fans no matter what, and you have to keep your cool.

Something about, “Sticks and stones.”

For decades I raged against the machine but all it did was add up to unimaginable frustration.

Hey – I didn’t make the rules but I’ve relented, and now comply with them.

Hopefully Jason Kelce learns this more quickly than I did.

That’s today’s Rod Pedersen Commentary.

(The Rod Pedersen Show airs daily at 12 pm & 4 pm ET on Game+TV, WQEE Radio, Podcast & YouTube Live)