DAYTONA HOMES FRIDAY RODSERVATIONS
10 FRIDAY RANDOM THOUGHTS
1 – If the Yorkton Terriers go on to capture the Royal Bank Cup, they’ll have to give a ring to L.A. Kings forward Jarret Stoll of Neudorf, SK. The Terriers stumbled out of the gate at the tournament in Vernon, BC going 0-2 this week but ever since Stoll started calling their hotel and paying for their pregame meals, they are 2-for-2!! It sounds like Stoll is comfortable with footing the bill the rest of the way, as long as the Terriers keep winning. Ironically, he never even played for the Terriers but he did play some minor hockey in Yorkton.
2 – Speaking of pregame meals, Darian Durant ordered steak and eggs at the Ramada on the day of the 2013 Grey Cup. The night before he had a takeout burger and fries from Earl’s! Apparently red meat fuels our franchise player. For years and years teams seemed to think chicken and pasta was the secret but usually when the players are left on their own, they opt for beef.
3 – CFL training camps are due to open in 17 days but there doesn’t seem to be anyone that thinks that will happen. CFLPA President Scott Flory has recommended a strike vote and although teams are planning for training camp, they’re not optimistic they’ll open on time. Sportsnet’s Arash Madani has led the way in reporting on labour negotiations and because of his reports, fans are siding with the players. The owners have proposed a $100,000 bump per team? That works out to roughly $2000 per player and constitutes about a 2% increase which is an insult. I’m starting to realize what our hockey friends went through in their lockout two years ago. I asked San Jose Sharks TV analyst Drew Remenda whose side he was on back then and he replied, “I’m on the side of whoever can get a deal done first”. That’s how I feel about this CFL situation. It’s a nightmare and it’s coming at the absolutely worst possible time.
4 – Gary Lawless of the Winnipeg Free Press and broadcaster Jungle Jim Lang are championing the notion of turning the CFL Draft into a bigger made-for-TV event similar to the NFL. It sounds great, and may still happen, but it’s been tried in the past. In about 1994 the CFL did an NFL-style draft at Centennial Auditorium in Saskatoon but it was a bust. No drafted players showed up except for a few local guys and the teams still made their picks over a conference call. It was kind of bush league. However that was then and this is now so if they think they can pull this off, I’m all for it. The images of players pulling on jerseys and caps from their new teams are great ones but I’ve often said drafts are overrated. I’m more interested in talking about players at the end of their careers (Hall of Fames) rather than the beginning.
5 – Defensive end Wyatt Jurasin of Northern Michigan University is not eligible for the CFL Draft until 2016. He’s the son of Rider legend Bobby Jurasin and is entering his junior year at NMU in Marquette, Michigan. There’s only one team he can play for isn’t there?
6 – A great debate: does Kevin Glenn deserve to be in the Canadian Football Hall of Fame? He’s in the CFL’s Top 10 passers of all time but has never won a Grey Cup. Is Kevin Glenn the Dan Marino of the CFL? It would appear that way. If there was a Hall of Fame for great human beings, Kevin Glenn would be a first balloter. But the CFHOF? I don’t know. Interestingly enough the only two teams which haven’t owned Kevin’s rights at some point are Edmonton and Montreal.
7 – Another great debate: on ESPN this week they said the Montreal Canadiens-Boston Bruins rivalry is the best in sport. However I don’t think it’s even the best rivalry in the NHL. Toronto-Montreal is far more intense in my opinion and us Westerners still love the Battle of Alberta. Unfortunately anyone under the age of 30 doesn’t even know what the Battle of Alberta is. Hopefully that changes soon. For me, the best rivalry in sports is the Yankees-Red Sox and I’m not even a baseball guy.
8 – This is a very special time of the year. The Memorial Cup begins this evening in London, ON as the host Knights take on Val D’or from the QMJHL. Val D’or still causes our skin to crawl around these parts because they beat the Regina Pats in the 2001 semifinal in the Agridome in overtime. The WHL reps are the Edmonton Oil Kings and on Saturday they’ll face the Guelph Storm. TSN’s Chris Cuthbert used to be a part of the Guelph ownership group but I’m not sure if he still is.
9 – A huge congratulations to Curtis Hunt for being named the Coach & GM of the AJHL’s Fort McMurray Oil Barons. They came after Curtis aggressively and made an offer he couldn’t refuse. The MOB, as they’re known, is hosting the Western Canadian Challenge Cup next year and it’s Curtis’s job to build them into a contender. He’s tremendously excited and he’ll do great. Unfortunately the SportsCage loses another top analyst with this move. First it was Gary Etcheverry, then Marc Mueller, and now Huntsy. Oh well, we only hire the best analysts. Now it’s time to beat the bushes a little more.
10 – The Stanley Cup Playoffs continue to fascinate and the L.A. Kings and Anaheim Ducks are appropriately going to a Game 7 tonight at the Honda Center. The NHL has its faults but come playoff time they generally get it right when they let the teams decide it. It’s interesting to see what’s going on in Pittsburgh and how coach Dan Bylsma is on the hot seat after a second round ouster courtesy of the New York Rangers. The Pens’ 2009 Stanley Cup title seems like a distant memory now and Mario could be poised to make a change. Before he does that, I encourage him to enroll Marc-Andre Fleury in a goaltenders school this summer so he can learn to handle the puck. It’s always an adventure when M.A.F. wanders out of the net.
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Congratulations to Regina’s Taylor Souliere who won a trip for two to the Stanley Cup Finals at the Press Box Sports Bar Wednesday evening! Taylor is the son of former Regina Pats trainer Mike Souliere. A good time was had by all at the Press Box the other night.
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THAT’S IT! CHAT ATCHA IN THE CAGE AT 4 PM
RP
@sportscage
Good on Stoll. Nice gesture!
When the Terriers had their send-off party last Wednesday I overheard one of the players' dads that knows Stoll mentioning how he was going to do something for the team while they were in Vernon. Classy move on his part. Glad to see the boys have found that focus again and hopefully they've got enough left in the tank. Two more games for a national championship. Speaking of Chris Cuthbert, he got his start in Yorkton as play-by-play man for the Terriers way back in the day. Ken Danyko was part of that team.
Rex
you are right drafts are overrated especially the cfl college draft 90 percent of these guys wont make it past pre season
Pittsburgh has fired both Shero and Bylsma.
Dan Marino is an all-time great and a Hall of Famer. Probably best pure passer in NFL history. When he retired most yards, most TD's. Kevin Glenn is a journeyman. No one would say he is ever been the best player in the league over a season much less a career. You can't compare.
agree 100%. Ever since people were lobbying for KG to start here in Sask, I've said that he's a career backup. He just doesnt have everything that you need in a starting qb.
Anonymous
Ditto Rider number one, he just doesn't have everything that you need in a starting qb, he's adequate to get by, but has his moments of ….a career backup on other teams.
100% it's an insult to mention Glenn's name in the same sentence as Marino
90% eh? If that's true, on average, each team will get 1 player out of their draft.
83% of stats are made up on the spot.
DJ
Just Shero has been fired, not Bylsma. Wonder if he'll end up in Van or T.O.
As a habs fan, I can say that the Leafs rivalry is special, but it has meant very little in the post expansion era. Saturday night games against the leafs are great, but now we hate them more for their dominance of the airwaves. we hate them more because we can't watch the Habs play on a Saturday if they don't play Toronto, even with Centre Ice (they blackout the Habs on Saturday), Thier terrible fans (including Glenn Healy) – how is that guy on the air still?), and thier self anointed status as "Canada's Team". Games against the leafs… Read more »
A few posts have been made regarding Kevin Glenn that I have to disagree with. A) CM stated that Glenn was never the best player in the league in any year, let alone his career. If you remember 2007 he was arguably the best player in the league. Had he not broken his arm in the East Final, we may have very well just won our 3rd Grey Cup as Winnipeg very likely would have beaten us. B) A previous Anon posted that he doesn't have everything you want/need in a starting QB. Seriously, look at how well he has… Read more »
He has the track record that unequivocally shows he's an effective backup. If your strategy was to play KG as your starter for the season, the end result has always been the same, and hes in the twilight of his career. There's a reason hes played for most every team in the league.
Morin you're forgetting one thing: he's never won a championship. It would seem that more often than not he's come up short in the biggest game of the year. 2012 was his first Grey Cup as a starting quarterback. He lost. 2011 east final with Hamilton, he lost. And last year against us in the west final he again had a poor performance throwing three interceptions. So all these people who say that if Glenn would have played the Bombers would have won the 07 Grey Cup are full of it. You have no idea how he would have played… Read more »
Mr Morin – he has never one a championship as the #1 guy in a 8/9 team league. He's played on 4, now 5 teams, as backup and sometimes starter. That's a journeyman
Weston is gone and will not be forgotten, but it is time to change your blog background.
It will stay this way possibly forever.
If, in the unlikely event that Weston does come back to the CFL later this year or next, I hope that the Riders go all in on a contract offer. Failing that, the only other team in the CFL that I would be glad to see Weston with would be the Redblacks. It would be a very good thing for the new Ottawa franchise and the league to have Weston promoting the CFL.
Weston + Blue Bombers = a very lucrative playing contract, ending a very good CFL career in Winnipeg.
Go Bombers Go ! Go Bombers Go !
Oh look! One of the hillbillies from Manitofu made an attempt at a joke. Emphasis on attempt.
Rod, as you know, requesting a strike mandate is not the same as saying a strike is desirable or necessary. Bargaining 101 – a strike mandate is essential to resolving the impasse with the CFL team owners, as it is in many collective bargaining processes. I expect a very high strike mandate as requested by Scott Flory and the CFLPA, as it is the key for the players to achieve a far deal and progress at the table. In 99% of bargaining situations a strike mandate does not lead to a strike, but a fair settlement. Unless the CFL bargaining… Read more »
Exactly Jean Claude, A strong strike vote is just a part of the barganing process, a chip to play.
Rider great Weston Dressler on any other team in the western division would be a devastating to behold for all of Rider nation!
It is time for Rider Nation to start to shoot some of the holy cows. Look at the CFL history and realize in all likelihood almost any star player will make the rounds. DD is probably going to wind up taking snaps against the riders one day. Dressler may well one day be in a Stamps or Bombers jersey. It's not an FU to the fans it is professional sports in a league that players circulate.
The statement that ANY quarterback is not a starter but a very good backup is ridiculous. The whole idea of a backup is that he will have to start some day. If he can't be a good starter he can't be the backup.
On the other hand if you guys like a backup who never plays maybe I could audition for the backup job. I can not play as good as anybody.
the statement that any any qb can be a starter is ridiculous.
Oh lookie! One Hill- Billy Bum'kin from the stuble flatlands made an attempt at a joke. Empathisss on a temp.
awww, thats cute!