Darren DuPont’s Moose Droppings

We’ve all been waiting for Wednesday so let’s not waste any more time!

1. The wait is over – Yes, I’m back. Wait, that’s not what you were waiting so long for? Oh, that’s right, the Stanley Cup Final begins tonight. D’oh! Florida and Edmonton will FINALLY drop the puck on the final and I’m more than ready. The break was awful!

2. Rematch – The Florida Panthers were very impressive jumping out to a 3-0 lead in the final a year ago and did a great job in game seven halting the Oilers comeback effort for a Cup-clinching win. This time around the pundits are predicting an even tighter series! (if that’s possible!). The Oilers enter the series as slight favourites this year and perhaps that has to do with home ice advantage.

3. The Odds – The odds for the length of this series is tied between six and seven games as the top odds meaning the bookies think this won’t be a quick one. Figure this one out: The Oilers are favourites to win the series but the top odds for the exact length of the series is Panthers in six. Second is the Oilers in seven. Not surprising to anyone is a sweep by either team would pay out BIG if you decided to take the gamble. The over/under for goals in the series is 35.5. The two favourites for the Conn Smythe? Connor McDavid followed by Sergei Bobrovsky. I’m only scratching the surface of what you can bet on!

4. Prediction – I’m not on the RP Show this week but I better make my bets or I won’t hear the end of it. KIDDING of course! I’ll take the Oilers to win game 1 and the series in six games. There you go.

5. CFL Preview – I’ll admit that the CFL has been a little lost on my radar with all that’s been going on. My head has been buried this week in golf prep (I’ll get to that soon) and without the Stanley Cup playoffs to watch I’ve been all-in on the French Open which wraps up this weekend. The tournament has been fantastic viewing but football does start for real on Thursday and I can’t wait for kickoff!

6. CFL on TSN – While I haven’t been dialed in (YET), I did notice TSN did a wonderful job of lining up season preview content on my TV Tuesday night. With too much prep to do I locked in the PVR and will watch it all Wednesday night after golf. Among other things TSN has done the top-50 players special and a full hour CFL season preview. Based on what I’ve seen on social media it’s going to be great viewing!

7. Spicy – Why do I think it’ll be great? I saw a clip of Geno Lewis sitting down for a one-on-one with Kate Beirness and addressing the Ed Hervey/Edmonton situation. If that’s the trailer for what’s on my pvr to watch Wednesday night then I better get the popcorn ready! Bring on Ottawa/Saskatchewan Thursday night!

8. Canadian Open – Ok, to golf. I’m out at TPC Toronto this week taking in and working the Canadian Open. This is a real treat for me. I’ll be hosting “The Rink” hole all day Wednesday during the pro-am event interacting with players and fans and having a great time. The PGA stars include Masters Champion Rory McIlroy along with stars Shane Lowry, Max Homa, Ludvig Aberg, Justin Rose among others. There’s a really strong Canadian contingent in the field headlined by Cory Connors and Nick Taylor. I can’t wait!

9. Canada’s Sports Hall Of Fame – The Class of 2025 was unveiled on Tuesday and it’s a good one. Christine Sinclair headlines a class that includes curling legend Kevin Martin, ski racer Erik Guay, paralympic athlete Michelle Stilwell, softball player Daren Zack, builder Martha Billes and hockey coach Ted Nolan. Congrats to them all!

10. Randoms – Congratulations to the London Knights on winning the Memorial Cup. I feel really good for goaltender Austin Elliott who joined the Knights as an overager after starting his junior career with the Saskatoon Blades. The kid was sensational this season and throughout the playoffs… The Oilers win song is “Plead The Fifth” by Cooper Allen and it’s a banger. Catch and has a very Alberta feel to it…. It finally feels like summer… The Grey Cup prediction I made on the RP Show? Winnipeg/Hamilton. Write it down… Condolences to Milt Stegall and the entire family as we learned Tuesday that his son Chase had tragically passed away at age 20. Time is precious and we all have a limited amount of it. Makes you really think. Heartbreaking.

Ok, gotta run.