DAYTONA HOMES FRIDAY RODSERVATIONS

A RIDER DOZEN NOTES & QUOTES

1 – EVERYBODY’S HAPPY:  Cheap gas and temperatures hovering around zero have people in a good mood across the Wheat Province.  Finally.  The good folks at the Sherwood Co-op Gas Bar in Harbour Landing tell me peoples’ moods have brightened due to this perfect storm of good news.  Not everyone’s happy with the price of gas or barrels of oil these days however.  An oilman told me this week he filled up his truck with gas and cried when he saw the bill.  I felt mildly sorry for him but for the Little Man like you and me, these are good times.  Enjoy it, and put a smile on your face.

2 – STARTING WITH THE RIDERS: … Because that’s where our bread is buttered.  The Saskatchewan Roughriders will hold two more free agent tryout camps in the U.S. this weekend.  Saturday they’ll be in L.A. and Sunday they’ll be in San Jose.  If you’re a prospective pro football player in those areas, check out the Riders’ website for information on how to register here: http://www.riderville.com/article/free-agent-try-outs

Some people snickered that only seven players showed up for last Sunday’s workout in Phoenix but that’s to be expected.  From the outside it looks like these workouts were somewhat hastily thrown together and perhaps there wasn’t enough time to get the word out.  Over a decade ago the Riders would put ads in newspapers in Dallas, Atlanta, etc. and go on local sports radio talkshows to spread the word about these camps.  Hundreds would show up.  Matt Dominguez was found at one in 2003.  I wasn’t aware of the 2014 camps until a week before they occurred and it seems the word was only spread via social media.  Interest will pick up, perhaps as early as this weekend.

3 – CHAMBLIN QUOTES:  Right after the Riders lost in the 2014 Western Semifinal at Edmonton, GM Brendan Taman said they would be expanding their scouting department in all areas.  It would appear the addition of these free agent camps is one example of this.  The Roughriders haven’t done these in ages.  Head Coach Corey Chamblin explained why on the SportsCage this week.

“Like anything else you have to be aggressive and progressive,” Chamblin said of this new philosophy.  “There’s a lot of opinions out there about what we’re looking for.  There’s not a guy who’s sat out for five years that we think will show up and be ready to play.  That’s not what we’re looking for.  When you show up to these, you put a charge on it so one or two guys pay for the field.  But there’s a few guys we’d watch on film but wouldn’t be able to see until April.  So my thing on it is I want to be able to view as many guys as I can early, before we get a chance to see them in Florida.”

These free agent camps aren’t to be confused with the mini-camps the Roughriders run in Florida in April.  Those camps are invite only-and the team’s playbook is issued at that time.  The camps they’re holding right now are open to anyone, as long as they pay a fee, and the players who show up are from all walks of life.

“What you’re going to get at these camps is the guys you know shouldn’t be there.  You’re gonna get those,” Chamblin chuckled.  “Then there will be guys who can’t drive to Saskatchewan for a workout and we’re not the NFL where we’re flying guys in and out every week.  So you’ll get a number of local guys, like an Arizona State guy in the Phoenix area for instance, who want a shot.  There are also guys on our neg list in that area so if I get a chance to see him, maybe he’s 40 lbs overweight or something.  If we talk to him on the phone, that doesn’t tell me much.  I’d rather see him in January than in April and there’s only a month until training camp and we need to find replacements.”

So have any players caught Chamblin’s eye so far?

“There’s about two guys, one was real raw,” Corey explained.  “There was a defensive back I thought was real good and we’ve had discussions on.  I told Brendan this guy’s either gonna be a neg list guy, sign him or let’s see the next guy.  We have a some guys pinpointed at other positions so we’ll get a look at them.  Then it’ll go to Jeremy O’Day and we’ll get a better depth when we’re picking from guys throughout the off-season.”

4 – J-E-T-S, JETS, JETS, JETS!:  The NFL’s New York Jets hired Mike Maccagnan as their new General Manager this week.  He most recently had worked as the Houston Texans’ Director of College Scouting but his resume includes personnel stints with the Saskatchewan Roughriders, Ottawa Rough Riders and the World League’s London Monarchs.  I’ll have to ask Brendan Taman if he recalls Maccagnan.  It’s definitely before my time.

5 – SOMETHING BREAUX’ING:  Hamilton Tiger-Cats cornerback Delvin Breaux – who I consider the dirtiest “non-lineman” in the CFL – likely won’t be going back to Steeltown for a third season.  The Hamilton Spectator’s Drew Edwards reports Breaux has tryout offers from over a dozen NFL teams.  In Denver, Broncos President John Elway was in attendance for the workout.  Breaux’s agent is Gil Scott, the same as Kent Austin’s.  It would appear Kent will have to search for a new starting corner.

6 – GOOD MORNING RIDERS:  Have you missed hearing from former Roughriders Head Coach Ken Miller?  Well you can hear him again as Kenny has been announced as the guest speaker at the Regina Thunder’s 2015 fundraising dinner on Saturday, March 14 at the Turvey Centre.  Thunder Coach Scott McAuley made the announcement on the SportsCage and we couldn’t be more thrilled!  Jim Hopson returns as the event MC and I’ll be interviewing Coach Miller on stage and taking questions from the crowd.  This is one of the two main fundraisers for Regina’s junior football team yearly so it would be great if you could attend.  All the information is here: http://reginathunder.ca/2015-sports-dinner/

7 – STADIUM PROGRESS:  Sometimes I forget how lucky we are in Regina to be able to drive by the site of the new stadium on a daily basis and check on the progress.  I picked up a coffee on Thursday at the Tim Hortons at Evraz Place and was making my way over to Mosaic Stadium for the Weldon Brown announcement when I was stunned by how much work has been done on the new facility.  I had to stop and take some shots:

8 – RUMOURS ARE FLYING:  It’s always been bad for rumours around here.  In fact the late, great Ron Lancaster uttered the famous quote, “If they haven’t heard a rumour by noon in Regina, they start one”.  Now with today’s world of social media, rumours fly at rapid speed.  Even the false ones.  That includes a Twitter report this week that Weston Dressler would be signing with Saskatchewan by the end of the day.  Obviously it didn’t happen because Rider GM Brendan Taman told us Thursday “nothing is imminent”.

I got roasted a few years back for reporting Toronto Argonauts coach Scott Milanovich would be joining Marc Trestman on the coaching staff of the Chicago Bears.  Of course, it never materialized however Steve Simmons reported in the Toronto Sun this week that Milanovich was in fact offered the job by Trestman.  However he turned it down, and is now thankful for doing so.  Sometimes rumours – particularly those on this blog – need a while to come to fruition, or sometimes things just don’t turn out the way it appears they’re going to.  But everyone still loves rumours, as long as they’re not the centre of them.

9 – VENTSON SPEAKS:  Michigan State product Ventson Donelson spent 10 seasons with the Saskatchewan Roughriders from 1991 to 2000.  He was, as they say, a “shutdown corner”.  However once his career ended in 2000, thanks in part to a referee’s flag in Montreal hitting him in the orbital bone and causing significant damage, his world started to spiral downwards.  A whole lot of really bad things happened at once for V.  Finally, years later, Ventson has turned his life around and become a big success.  He’ll tell his story, “Unbroken – Let The Truth Be Told” on Thursday, January 22 at Regina’s Performing Arts Centrer at 7:00 pm.

Ventson was on the SportsCage on Thursday to tell a little bit of his story and he broke down twice while recounting the events, and when explaining why he gives so much back to the community.  (Believe me he does).  Tickets for the event are only $30 and can be purchased by calling the Centre at 306-779-2277.  You’ll be glad you attended.  I’ll be there.

Former Voice of the Riders Geoff Currier saw my Twitter post about Ventson last night and replied, “A fine Rider”.  That’s high praise coming from Geoff.

10 – IF THE WEYBURN RED WINGS FOLD:  … I’ll eat my shorts.  The SJHL’s Red Wings got the hockey community’s attention on Thursday with an article at www.discoverweyburn.com in which the club President announced the Wings are up to $200,000 in debt and may not have enough money to ice a team next year.  I don’t doubt for a second the Red Wings are in a world of financial trouble, but reports of their demise may be a little premature.  However they’re doing the right thing by inciting mass panic in the region.  This should be the start of a massive Save The Wings campaign in which local residents and businesses are asked to step up and purchase season tickets or make donations.  Those oil companies who’ve extracted so much cash from the area over the years could step up too, no matter what the price of a barrel of oil is these days.  The Weyburn Red Wings are an iconic institution and people won’t allow them to fold.  From what I’m told, the club could be managed better at the board level as well.


11 – TIGER TALES:  The most solid addition to the SportsCage for a long time is NHL penalty minute record holder Dave “Tiger” Williams, a Weyburn product.  It’s no secret he’s one of my favourite all-time hockey players and he joins us weekly from his cottage north of Swift Current.  Haven’t heard it?  Then you’re missing out.  Here’s what Tiger had to say about his beloved Toronto Maple Leafs during one of his Wednesday appearances:

“That’s what the Leafs are missing.  When you have a lack of leadership, you’ll never be in first place and you’ll struggle to make the playoffs the rest of your life.  That’s why Detroit is always in the hunt; because their best players are their leaders,” Tiger said.  “That’s what the Leafs are missing the most.  It’s not the coach.  As a team overall, they’re not that competitive absolutely every shift, every period, every game.  They’re lacking leadership and team competitiveness all the time.  That’s their downfall.  You can only coach what the GM gets you for horses and to me they don’t have the right horses.”

I asked Tiger if talent is an issue with the Leafs.

“They’ve got talented players but they’re not leaders.  Phil Kessel couldn’t lead a ping pong game,” Tiger continued.  “You’re asking a guy who just can’t do it.  Lupul’s not a great leader.  Phaneuf’s not a good leader.  Has he got better in Toronto?  Yes.  But he’s not a Darryl Sittler or a Lanny McDonald or a Chara, or Lafleur or Beliveau.  Those are guys that lead every single day on and off the ice.  They’re lacking that.

“They’re at least in 10th place if not worse in that area.  They’ll be battling Boston to try to get into the playoffs.  What do players want today?  Everyone to tell you you’re playing great when you’re not?  And you’re not competitive?  Randy Carlyle makes you be accountable.  They need a hard, old-time hockey coach to make those guys competitive.  You’re playing in a tough market there.  You’re in a fishbowl.  Everybody knows that so go out and get it done.  You have average goaltending and a soft D.  You’re not going to win many games as far as I’m concerned.”

Tiger and I will be speaking tonight at the Cameco Hockey Day in Saskatchewan banquet in Carnduff, SK and we’ll be broadcasting the SportsCage live from there as well at 4:00 pm on 620 CKRM.

12 – GO PATS GO:  The Regina Pats look to go 2-0 on their western swing tonight when they visit the Edmonton Oil Kings at 8:00 pm on 620 CKRM.  The Twitter account @WHLFacts pointed out on Wednesday that Pats goalie Daniel Wapple is 16-0-1-1 since November 7.  He’s been nothing short of amazing for the Queen City Kids.  Their next home game is one week from today when they host the Moose Jaw Warriors.

13 – MTS CENTRE:  Have you been to a Jets game in Winnipeg since their return to the NHL yet?  The website StadiumJourney.com has ranked Winnipeg’s MTS Centre as the #1 venue in Canada to watch an NHL game and #3 in the entire NHL.  The home of the Jets trails only Minnesota’s Xcel Energy Center (#1) and Washington’s Verizon Center (#2) for best stadium atmosphere, concessions, washrooms and overall game experience.

As far as the Canadian rankings go, they look like this:
#1 – MTS Centre, Winnipeg
#2 – Bell Centre, Montreal
#3 – Scotiabank Saddledome, Calgary
#4 – Air Canada Centre, Toronto
#5 – Rexall Place, Edmonton
#6 – Rogers Arena, Vancouver
#7 – Canadian Tire Center, Ottawa

Additionally, the Gila River Arena in Glendale, Arizona is rated 10th while the Honda Center in Anaheim is rated 30th, or dead last.  I think I told you this when we were there a month ago.

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THAT’S ALL! TALK TO YOU FROM CARNDUFF THIS AFTERNOON
RP
@sportscage
Instagram – ridervoice