DAYTONA HOMES FRIDAY RODSERVATIONS

A RIDER DOZEN GAME DAY OBSERVATIONS FROM EDMONTON

1 – The 9-3 Saskatchewan Roughriders oppose the 8-4 Edmonton Eskimos Friday evening at 8:00 pm at Commonwealth Stadium on TSN and the CKRM Rider Radio Network.  The Riders have won eight of their last nine games while the Eskimos have lost three of their last four outings.  Is this a battle of two teams headed in opposite directions?  Maybe not, but hopefully.

2 – The oddsmakers don’t see it that way.  They’ve installed the Eskimos as 5-point favourites.  Meanwhile the weather is supposed to be a factor as there’s a 40% chance of showers and a wind expected to gust to 50 km/h.  Dress warm if you’re coming!

3 – As you can well imagine, the Eskimos’ radio campaign this week that characterized Rider fans as “irritating” and “horrible human beings” has gotten lots of play in Saskatchewan and the Edmonton area.  The Riders aren’t biting and in truth, we think it’s a little silly.  However the Eskimos aren’t backing down, nor are they apologizing.  They feel the buzz it’s created is exactly what they were looking for.

However their billboard a few years back that stated “The Riders Have 13 Men.  We Have 13 Grey Cups” was a lot more succinct, to-the-point, and in a way, classy.  It was a kick in the teeth, but what could we say about it?  It was like the Eskimos were saying, “Hey you’ve got us now but we’re still historically the CFL’s flagship franchise“.  Whomever came up with that ad was brilliant.  However this “horrible human beings” thing is just weird.

Meanwhile, with 20,000-or so Rider fans invading Commonwealth for the game, one Eskimo staffer feared the Rider Nation has received a free pass to be “horrible human beings” at the game.  If Friday night turns into a circus, the Eskimos can thank themselves!  Hopefully that doesn’t happen however.

4 – The relationship between Friday night’s two head coaches – Corey Chamblin and Chris Jones – is a very intriguing and respectful one.  Chamblin was a star defensive back with Tennessee Tech in the early 90’s and Jones was on the defensive staff.  Chris helped Corey get a job with Winnipeg in 2007 and soon brought him over to Calgary.

Chamblin laughed this week that the two had several heated arguments behind closed-doors at the Stampeders’ facility but you’ve got to know Jones welcomed being challenged.  I tried to sneak a photo of the pair on Thursday, but as usual, Chamblin caught me.  He said, “Come on out and take the picture!  We’re friends the day before the game!”

5 – Long-time Rider therapist Ivan Gutfriend noted earlier this season that Chris Jones is the new “Don Mathews”.  Right down to the motorcycle he rides which is parked right outside Commonwealth Stadium.  I interrupted a meeting between Jones and Eskimo broadcaster Dave Campbell on Thursday and Jones gave me a death stare.  For all the world I thought “The Don” was glaring right back at me.  Won’t do that again!

And that makes me fearful of what’s ahead in Edmonton.  If this guy has any type of the success Mathews had, the Roughriders are in for a dogfight in the years ahead under Jones’s watch.

6 – Eskimos GM Ed Hervey nonchalantly strolled past the many TV cameras at Thursday’s walk-through seemingly unnoticed.  With the resurgence of the Eskimos, how much have we even heard his name?  My colour man Carm Carteri chased after him and congratulated him on the turnaround and Ed seemed somewhat taken aback.  Once scorned in the Alberta capital, Hervey has landed a franchise quarterback and a no-nonsense coach.  When he hired Chris Jones, I wondered what the two had in common but an Eskimo staffer told me Thursday, “They’re cut from the same cloth”.

7 – It was wonderful to have an extended chat with Eskimos Special Teams Coordinator Craig Dickenson.  He’s one of my favourite human beings.  He noted that he never wanted to leave Winnipeg but Chris Jones gave him an offer he couldn’t refuse.  Their association goes back to 2003 when the pair worked together with the Montreal Alouettes.  A couple of Eskimo employees told me I’d love their coaching staff.  “They’re all rednecks!” they said.

8 – It’s been a lifetime in sports and I still love travelling with the teams.  On the flight over one of the receivers tapped me on the shoulder and said, “Rod, can you hand me that newspaper?”  I asked if he wanted the whole thing or just the sports section.  He said, “Just the Sports”.  Yep, just like me.

And it was a pleasure to fly beside back-up quarterback Seth Doege, a San Angelo, Texas product.  He quizzed me on what Edmonton’s stadium is like and wanted to know the whole history of the Eskimos and the city of Edmonton.  He was familiar with Warren Moon and Hugh Campbell but wanted to know it all.  He’s a very impressive young man.

9 – Darian Durant is along on the trip but has spent most of it encumbered by the clunky brace on his right elbow.  On Tuesday’s In The Huddle on Access, analyst Luc Mullinder said the chances of Durant returning this year are 85/15 against.  That’s just an estimate but there are few closer to Durant than Luc.  Tino Time it is.

10 – It will be a thrill to be in Montreal for the jersey retirement of #13 Anthony Calvillo on Thanksgiving Day Monday when the Riders take on the Alouettes.  The guy means so much to this league.  And if your business, organization or group is looking for an impactful guest speaker, give Calvillo a call.  His motivational address is one of the best I’ve ever witnessed.  He’s not afraid to admit he was a punk coming out of high school in East L.A. and attributes a lot of his success to backing up Matt Dunigan in Hamilton.  You’ve got to see it.

11 –  The great ratings debate: Sunday’s Super Bowl rematch between Denver and Seattle drew 1,012,000 viewers in Canada while the Saskatchewan-Ottawa game – on at the exact same time – drew 917,000.  Oops.

12 – There are still 7600 tickets left for the 2014 Grey Cup in Vancouver.  It’s the first time since 2008 that the game hasn’t been soldout by the end of September.

13 – HOCKEY NOTES:

– Someone joked on Thursday that Edmonton has forgotten about the Eskimos since the Oilers are back playing and their local NHL team is hogging most of the sports pages …

– Oilers star Jordan Eberle did interviews this week wearing a Rider hat …

– We’re closely watching the progress of Rouleau’s Keith Aulie who signed a one-year $800,000 deal with the Oil.  The Edmonton Journal’s Jim Matheson said Aulie “didn’t wow anyone” in his first game against the Calgary Flames and played “tentative”.   However Matheson feels the #7 D-man job in Edmonton is his for the taking …

– It was almost laughable to read that Oilers coach Dallas Eakins went on a mission to the Dallas Cowboys’ compound to apprentice with their head coach Jason Garrett this spring.  I mean, the Dallas Cowboys?  I’m a Cowboys fan and still can’t believe it.  Did Kansas City’s Andy Reid or New England’s Bill Belichick not return Eakins’ calls?  Who knows.  Maybe Eakins will have the last laugh.  For Aulie and Eberle’s sake, I hope so.

– Former Regina Pats captain Garrett Mitchell may have cracked the Washington Capitals roster by attacking Philadelphia’s Brayden Schenn for a cheapshot this week.

– Our beloved Regina Pats play two games on the road this weekend.  On Friday the Pats visit the Moose Jaw Warriors and the game can be heard on CKRM2 (www.sportscage.ca).  On Saturday they visit the Prince Albert Raiders on 620 CKRM.  7:00 faceoff both nights.

– And lastly, a tip of the cap to the Yankees’ Derek Jeter who finished his home career with an RBI single Thursday evening to go out a winner.  He could be the most iconic Yankee of all-time.  Bravo.

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THAT’S ALL! ENJOY THE WEEKEND AND STAY CLASSY RIDER NATION!
RP
@sportscage