DAYTONA HOMES FRIDAY RODSERVATIONS

THE USUAL

1 – THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM: I don’t know about you, but I can’t escape it.  Morning, noon and night, people are talking about the 2014 off-season for your local CFL team.  By our count, the Saskatchewan Roughriders have lost a total of 20 players and coaches from the 2013 Grey Cup championship team.  Scruffy has the complete list on his blog today which is linked on the left side of this page.  We’ve deeply delved into the issue on our sports talkshows this week and also discussed it on coffee row.  The conclusion I’ve come to is this: the vast majority of Rider fans don’t feel this is a blight on the team.  While they’re alarmed at what the exodus means for the team’s chances of repeating as champions, they’re resigned to the fact that it’s just “one of those things”, an odd set of circumstances, perhaps a perfect storm, but they still have faith in the management and coaching staff that they’ll be shaped into a contender by training camp in June.

2 – SIMON SAYS: Like most everyone in Riderville, Saskatchewan slotback Geroy Simon is watching this situation with interest.  However he’s taking it in stride.

“In this business you’re going to lose players each and every year no matter how good or bad you play,” Simon said on CKRM’s SportsCage this week.  “But when you have a good team like we had last year, people are going to try to cherry pick as many players from your team as they can.  They’re trying to bring the same magic that you had, to their team.

“You kind of understand it but you hope that guys can see the value in sticking with the team that they were with because sometimes it’s not as good as you think it is playing for someone else.”

3 – THE MONTREAL SITUATION: You’ve been reading about it on this blog all off-season.  What exactly is going on with the Alouettes?  To recap, if what’s been reported is true, Alouettes owner Robert Wetenhall and his son selected Tom Higgins as the team’s new head coach without consulting General Manager Jim Popp.  They said Popp was a candidate for the job, so including him in the process would be a conflict of interest.  One CFL executive privately called the situation “bizarre” this week.  From the outside it appears that something must have happened between Wetenhall Sr. and Popp during the season which has created this discord.  Sportsnet/SportsCage CFL Insider Arash Madani was asked this on Thursday’s show and he replied, “I haven’t been told that but all signs point to that”.  The question now becomes — ‘How long does Jim Popp remain GM of the Alouettes?’

4 – A SURPRISING DROUGHT:  Maybe Wetenhall is onto something.  The Alouettes currently own the East Division’s longest Grey Cup-appearance drought going back to 2010.  The Argos, Ticats and Blue Bombers have all been in the CFL title game since.

5 – QUOTE OF THE WEEK: Canadian Inter-University Sport President Pierre Lafontaine spoke at Thursday night’s CIS Womens National Volleyball Awards Gala at the Casino Regina Show Lounge and needled the crowd that the Alouettes beat the Roughriders this year.  Global Regina’s Derek Meyers quipped, “We knocked your quarterback into retirement.”

6 – QUOTE OF THE WEEK #2: It was frigid in the Brandt Centre for Regina Pats home games this week so I asked Zamboni driver Phil to turn the heat up in the facility.  He shot back, “It’s a hockey rink, not a shopping mall!”  I looked back at him and he was grinning ear-to-ear.  Which is rare.

7 – HAPPY BIRTHDAY NARCO: Roughrider great and Canadian Football Hall of Famer Don Narcisse turned 49 on Wednesday.  There may not be a more positive person on the planet.  Happy birthday Narco!  And happy birthday today to Regina Pats and Spokane Chiefs alum Sean Fleming of Regina!!

8 – HERE WE GO AGAIN: Calgary Sun writer Scott Mitchell reported on Thursday that the first round of Collective Bargaining Agreement talks between the CFL and the CFLPA will be held in Calgary March 6-7.  It doesn’t seem that long ago that the current deal was struck and while there seemed to be a mild squabble at the time, the deal got done in time for training camp.  While there are some stickier points this time around (including the wealthy new TV deal with TSN), both sides plan on an amicable agreement and training camps will open on time.

9 – A BURRIS SIGHTING: Ottawa REDBLACKS quarterback Henry Burris will be in Moose Jaw Saturday evening for a Hot Stove roundtable along with the Riders’ Chris Getzlaf and Chris Best and Rider alumnus Luc Mullinder.  The moderator will be Craig Hemmingway.  It promises to be a great event.

10 – NOT A CHANCE: Did anyone catch Calgary Flames executive Brian Burke in-studio with TSN’s James Duthie during Thursday evening’s Flames-Kings broadcast?  Duthie asked Burkie if he’ll be Calgary’s GM next season and he shot back, “Not a chance!”   James responded that not many people believe him and Burke snapped, “Save the tape.”  I don’t know about you but as a Flames fan, I’m hoping Burke goes back on his word.  He’s running the show anyways and there’s no one better for the job.  They’re playing an exciting brand of hockey and the playoffs are still within sight.

11 – THESE ARE YOUR DAD’S REGINA PATS: The Regina Pats are in first place but they’re still struggling at the gate.  It’s like when announcer Harry Doyle said in the movie Major League, “In case you haven’t noticed, and judging by the attendance, you haven’t…….”   Be that as it may, the best compliment I can give this year’s Pats team is that since the New Year, they haven’t let us down.  Unlike years past, when they face a big challenge, they rise to the occasion.  They’re smoking the weaker opponents and doing enough to beat the tough ones.  Wednesday’s 6-2 loss in Swift Current can be explained by the absence of top players Boston Leier, Morgan Klimchuk, Dryden Hunt and Dmitry Sinitsyn.  Whether the Pats capture the pennant or not, it appears we’re in for some playoff hockey under the Orange Top this spring and maybe then the city will sit up and take notice.  The Pats are home to Swift Current Friday evening at 7:00 on 620 CKRM.

12 – IS IT TOO EARLY?:  The Pats’ Malcolm Cameron and Chad Lang are being touted as early candidates for WHL East Conference Coach and Executive of the Year respectively.  I’d have to check the WHL Fact Book but if Lang were to win that award, he might be the first to win it with two different teams.  Tell me who deserves it more right now?

13 – FINALLY, A SPONSOR MENTION:  From the blog mailbag, and the Press Box Sports Bar managing partner Kevin Dureau:

Hi Rod,
Our Olympic Beer Fridge giveaway courtesy of Molsons was a huge success. We made the draw last night and our winner was:
Devyn Gemmell


Special thanks to Molsons for providing this exciting prize. Have a great day.
Kev
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That’s all – we’ll talk to you in the SportsCage on Friday live from the CIS Women’s National Volleyball Championships from the University of Regina.  It’s Four Seasons Football Friday and I’ll be joined by Rider great Scott Schultz.

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!
RP
@sportscage